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Wertzone Classics: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

Borogravia is a minor but bellicose country, with a long history of invading its neighbours under the pretext of religious commands given by the deity Nuggan. With Nuggan's commands becoming more unhinged (banning ginger hair, garlic, cats, jigsaw puzzles and the colour blue), the reasons for war become increasingly random as well. Its neighbours, finally fed up by its constant aggression, have joined with the regional superpower of Ankh-Morpork to finally end the threat once and for all.

With war raging - or shambolically bumbling around - bar worker Polly Perks decides to go searching for her missing brother. She poses as a man to join the army and is assigned to a new regiment, only to find out almost the entire company has had the same idea. With women doing men's work also deemed an Abomination Unto Nuggan, the regiment has to keep their heads down, infiltrate an enemy keep, and work out how to rescue/escape their assorted family members, and, if possible, end the war before it causes any more damage.

Throughout his prolific career, Sir Terry Pratchett had a knack for using his witty dialogue, sharp prose and keen knowledge of history and culture to explore many different concepts. In most cases, he produced a brilliant Discworld book exploring a certain idea, like the press or the dangers of fundamentalist religion. But, when he turned his attention to the idea of war, he uncharacteristically dropped the ball. Jingo was perfectly okay, but lacked his trademark intelligence and depth.

Ten books later, he decided to give it another go, and this time nailed it. If Jingo was about the superficialities of going to war for absolutely no sane reason, Monstrous Regiment is about war as a much more complex force. Here we have burned-out homesteads, villages standing amidst salted fields and people's homes being invaded for reasons they don't really understand. Borogravia is fighting a defensive war against invaders, but it's also been a bellicose lunatic in the past, and is being flattened under the weight of the abuse heaped upon it by its own rulers. This creates a complex stew of ideas and themes, which is where Pratchett is at his best.

Polly and her fellow soldiers have little interest in the greater geopolitical complexities of the war, instead just trying to rescue individual people from the maelstrom. But, thanks to a chance encounter with newspaper reporter William de Worde (cameoing from The Truth), their mission inadvertently becomes famous across half the continent, and takes on a grander importance. It's also symbolic of the losses Borogravia has suffered, where an entire regiment is made up of women because there's increasingly few men left able to fight.

As in his best, most cutting books, Pratchett remembers to keep the funny: the regiment consists of an assortment of funny characters, the most memorable being Maladict, a suave, reformed vampire who has sworn off blood but developed an equally crippling addiction to coffee. But there's an undercurrent of seriousness here that is powerful: more than a few of the recruits have been victimised, and how they deal with trauma is a subtle but constant theme of the book. Sergeant Jackrum also emerges as one of Pratchett's most fascinating characters, a counterpoint of his more familiar Commander Vimes (who has a few brief appearances in the novel as an Ankh-Morpork liaison) who went down a decidedly more disturbing path (with more than a whiff of Life on Mars' Gene Hunt to them as well, for good and ill).

The book unfolds with a very deliberate pace: at just under 500 pages this is one of the longest Discworld novels but it earns its length by dividing the narrative into several distinct sections as the mission unfolds, as well as the larger-than-normal cast giving Pratchett a lot of characters to develop. But this also gives the book the feel of holding a stick of dynamite that's about to go off. Pratchett is known for being funny but he is absolutely at his best when he is angry, and I get the distinct impression as he wrote the book and continued researching things like the treatment of people in war, especially women and "non-conformists," he got progressively angrier. By the time the book concludes, the humour is so laced with white-hot rage that it is positively acidic. But Pratchett also never loses control. He doesn't go into some lecturing rant (a weakness some of his other books suffer from) and he never dissipates the focus on the story or characters.

Monstrous Regiment (*****) is Pratchett's take on war - actual, messy, horribly murky war - and gender and politics. It's a long book, by his standards, but he maintains the pacing and tension to deliver one of his finest and most thought-provoking novels.

Thank you for reading The Wertzone. To help me provide better content, please consider contributing to my Patreon page and other funding methods.

So Say We All: The Oral History of Battlestar Galactica by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross

In 1978, ABC aired a TV show designed to cash in on the success of Star Wars. Produced by reliable industry stalwart Glen A. Larson, Battlestar Galactica launched to huge ratings, but risible reviews and declining popularity saw it cancelled after twenty-four episodes. An attempted sequel series, Galactica 1980, was cancelled after ten episodes two years later, and far worse reviews. Finally, in 2003, Star Trek producer Ron Moore launched a reboot of the show that became one of the most acclaimed TV shows of the decade, winning Hugo and Peabody Awards and culminating in the show having the first TV cast to host a panel at the United Nations.

It's an interesting story with more than a few surprise twists, and Mark Altman and Edward Gross set out to tell that story through extensive interviews with the producers, writers and cast of all the different iterations of the franchise, from the pilot of the original Battlestar in 1978 through the release of the "experimental" TV movie Blood & Chrome in 2013. Altman and Gross had written several previous books in a similar vein, namely two for Star Trek and one on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and since this one have gone to write similar tomes for James Bond, Star Wars and John Wick.

The format simply has the interviewees talking about their experiences without any questions being interposed, with brief linking passages as the only editorial intrusion into the text. The interviews are a mixture of those carried out specially for this book and excerpts from magazines at the time, useful to get the input of creatives who are sadly no longer with us, such as Lorne Greene (who played Adama in the original show). Glen Laron's input is sadly mostly missing, as he passed away in 2014, over three years before this book was written, and his contributions are largely lifted from interviews from the time. His son David, who as a child was an extra on the original show, provides some much-needed context on his father's approach to making the series.

The book spends 230 pages analysing the original show and Galactica 1980, and these contain some of the most deranged and entertaining parts of the book. ABC wasting vast sums of money because it couldn't decide on whether it was making a TV movie, a mini-series or an ongoing TV series is fairly ridiculous, but the circumstances and limitations of making Galactica 1980 are even more insane. Memorable stories abound, like Lorne Greene, fed up with yet another awful script, taking a large quantity of alcohol into the writers' room to get everyone "relaxed" so he can find out what's really going on. It's also interesting to see the frustrations of Richard Hatch, who played Apollo in the original show and Tom Zarek in the reboot. Hatch felt the original show had a lot of potential but wasted it through bad writing and terrible budget limitations, leading to his own aborted attempts to relaunch the show in the 1990s.

The bulk of the rest of the book is spent on the reboot show, understandable as it was much more successful and lasted far longer. With the entire cast still with us, and with Ron Moore providing a large amount of new interviews for the project, there's also a lot more resources available to cover the show. If you're a hardcore fan of BSG 2.0, you'll probably be familiar with most of the stories here (Eddie Olmos threatening to walk off the show if an alien appears, the producers' attempts to make everything think they'd really killed off Starbuck blowing up in their faces). A more interesting strand is the perspective of Mark Stern, a senior executive at SyFy, who argues for the reasons behind some of the "network interference" the network undertook during the show's lifespan. The book also fully confirms that they could have gone for a fifth season, but Moore and fellow showrunner David Eick were frustrated by SyFy's late renewals so decided to end the show in its fourth season. The show also expands a little more on the semi-contentious finale, and how Eick and Stern argued for an explanation to be provided over Starbuck's death and enigmatic return, whilst Moore did not consider it necessary.

A further, brief section skims over the making of both Caprica and Blood & Chrome before signing off with an evaluation of the entire franchise.

The book is overall a fascinating read, and the account of making the original show is of great value as there's a few stories there that I hadn't heard before. The stuff on the newer BSG didn't have as many surprises, but there is some useful information in there and some of the stories by the actors (especially Olmos, Katee Sackhoff and James Callis) are hilarious. The relative paucity of material on Caprica is a shame, as the show's 19-episode run was riven by network interference and disagreements, leading to a change of showrunner. We get some information on that, but it is very brief and none of the cast of Caprica are interviewed themselves, which feels like a missed opportunity. I'm assuming this is down to the book's length, as at 720 pages they were probably pushing the limits of what the publisher could accommodate anyway.

The best bit of the book is the account of the making of Galactica 1980, where some solid writers (including "proper SF" authors Chris Bunch and Allan Cole, of Sten fame) are given insurmountable requirements by the studio, such as having almost no budget for the visual effects the show was famous for, and the need to include a bunch of kids in the plot, as well as limited or no violence due to the earlier timeslot, and not being able to afford a large cast or most of the cast of the original show. For the most reviled part of the franchise, the story of its making is surprisingly compelling.

So Say We All: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Battlestar Galactica (****) is a well-written, well-edited account of the making of three TV shows in the same franchise, with some great interviews and analysis by the creators on what they were trying to accomplish. There are some gaps that could have perhaps been a little bit better filled in, but this is chunky tone that retains interest over its whole length, and may well inspire a fresh rewatch of the show.

Thank you for reading The Wertzone. To help me provide better content, please consider contributing to my Patreon page and other funding methods.

Happy 20th Anniversary to LOST

Era-defining TV show Lost celebrates its 20th anniversary today. The Lost pilot episode aired on 22 September 2004 on ABC, and was an immediate smash hit. The show chalked up 121 episodes over six seasons, concluding in 2010. Widely sold around the world and shifting tens of millions of DVD boxed sets (becoming, alongside Battlestar Galactica and 24, a prime motivator of the "box set binge" phenomenon), Lost was arguably the biggest global TV "watercooler" hit prior to the release of Game of Thrones, which debuted just one year after Lost concluded.

The show opens with the crash-landing of Oceanic Flight 815 on a somehow-uncharted, large island in the South Pacific. The plane had been flying from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles. The pilot episode establishes the chaos of the initial crash and the attempts to regroup. Although there are forty-eight survivors, the show initially zeroes in on fourteen of them:

• Jack Shephard: a divorced doctor from LA, who was in Australia to retrieve the body of his alcoholic father. Jack rapidly becomes the group's de facto leader, to his own disquiet.
• Kate Austen: a criminal who was on the run for murder. She had gone to ground in Australia and was being brought home for trial. She is very careful about whom she shares this information with.
• John Locke: a middle-aged worker with a dull office job, but who has studied survival techniques and has a huge amount of knowledge about wilderness survival. He becomes the group's go-to expert on hunting and finding food and water. He is initially happy to take a back-seat role but eventually starts clashing with Jack over their plan to survive.
• Sawyer: a con-man with an eye on the prize. He loots the plane early on and sets himself up as a shop, giving out supplies in return for favours, including medicine, to Jack's annoyance.
• Sayid Jarrah: an Iraqi war veteran, who formerly served in the Republican Guard as an interrogator. His no-nonsense practicality and knowledge of weapons and survival techniques are in great demand on the Island.
• Hugo "Hurley" Reyes: an fun and laidback guy who is a good source of morale-boosting ideas, but who is harbouring secrets about his background and why he was on the plane.
• Charlie Pace: the guitarist and songwriter of one-hit-wonder band Driveshaft, from Manchester. He is frustrated at not being taken seriously by the other survivors, and struggles with his heroin addiction and withdrawal on the Island.
• Claire Littleton: a friendly and outgoing young Australian woman, who is eight months pregnant. How to handle the impending birth causes stress and tension in the group.
• Jin-Soo Kwon and Sun-Hwa Kwon: a married couple from South Korea. Jin, who cannot speak English, initially appears controlling and hostile, whilst Sun is meek and submissive. However, as their stay on the Island unfolds, Sun learns to stand up for herself and Jin realises he can't expect to get anywhere through constant hostility.
• Boone Carlyle and Shannon Rutherford: step-siblings who have a difficult relationship, with Boone portraying himself as a self-made businessman (who was actually given his company by his rich mother) and Shannon coming across as a spoilt rich girl. In reality, Shannon is far more resourceful than it first appears.
• Michael Dawson and Walt Lloyd: a construction worker from New York, who was coming back from Australia with his estranged 10-year-old son after the death of Walt's mother. They have a prickly relationship, as Walt barely knows his father. Michael's construction skills soon come into demand on the Island.

Early storylines revolve around securing supplies of food and water, exploring at least the local part of the Island, and avoiding a large, weird-sounding creature that operates in the jungle. After several weeks pass with apparently no rescue operations being launched, the survivors also start planning how to build a boat or raft to escape from the Island, whilst rumours spread of the presence of "other" people, who were already on the Island. Boone and Locke discover a strange metal hatch in the jungle, and a crashed light aircraft, suggesting the Island might not be as uninhabited as it first appears.

By the time Lost ended, this story and mythology had expanded to include electromagnetic weirdness, multiple competing groups of "Others," a Scottish guy living in the hatch, polar bears, confused kamikaze birds, time travel, and an exploding cow (the producers maintain the cow did not explode, but I remain sceptical).

Lost's mix of compelling character arcs, its addictive format of splitting episodes between a contemporary, on-Island story and a flashback for each character in turn, and intriguing mysteries about the Island and its mythology saw it raking in a massive audience each week, starting north of 20 million. Fans gathered on forums like The Fuselage to discuss the latest episode, literary clues (which book Sawyer was reading that week become eagerly followed, with a book club set to read each book in turn and discuss its applicability to the plot of the show) and attempting to build maps of the Island. The show became a phenomenon not just in the United States, but elsewhere in the world. Channel 4 in the UK commissioned its own special trailer and idents and the show was a smash hit for the channel (alas, from Season 3 onwards it aired on Sky TV, an expensive satellite channel with a far smaller viewership, and the show dropped out of the cultural conversation). The show was a huge unit-shifter of DVDs and then Blu-Rays, which showed off its gorgeous Hawaii filming locations all the better.

However, the strain of making 25 episodes a season quickly started telling. Co-showrunner Damon Lindelof suffered from nervous exhaustion and vanished for a week mid-production. Two actors were arrested for drunk driving in Hawaii. The set was riven with relationship drama. One actor was unable to get home to Britain to attend the funeral of his parents, leading him to later quit the show in anger. Last year, allegations of systemic bullying emerged, leading to Lindelof to acknowledge and apologise for issues in the production of the show.

The writing also suffered as ABC attempted to keep the gravy train going as long as possible. Early Season 3, which saw an overly-drawn out prison storyline and flashbacks now resorting to stories about Jack's tattoos, convinced ABC that they needed to set an end-date for the show and a reduced episode count. This allowed the writers to steamroll towards an ending they had mapped out three seasons ahead of time. Despite this, the show was increasingly accused of making it up as they went along, with unsatisfying answers to long-term mysteries or, in a few cases, no answers at all being given.

Producer-writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach published a lengthy account of the making of the first two seasons a few years ago. In this account he confirmed that several major storylines were planned and in place from the pilot episode, or very early in Season 1, despite not coming to fruition on-screen for several years. However, other storylines, subplots and especially character arcs were reached more organically, with sometimes major character details (such as Locke being in a wheelchair) not being decided until the episode in question was being filmed. The conclusion was that more of Lost was pre-planned than is generally thought, but not every storyline was.

Lost's finale was divisive, with some viewers confused over whether they'd been in purgatory all along (they had not) and why the story ended in a random church (something that even annoyed Joker in one of his battles with Batman). In retrospect it was a flawed ending rather than a disastrous one - the contemporaneous ending to Battlestar Galactica was more negatively received, and both were blown out of the water by the endings to shows like Dexter and Game of Thrones - and the reception to the ending seems to have grown warmer now newer viewing generations can sit down and watch the whole thing from start to finish over a few weeks rather than six years.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary, the pilot is airing in some cinemas in the UK and USA over the next week or so, and a new documentary, Getting Lost is also getting a limited release.

A few years ago I did a full rewatch of the show, details of which can be found here.

Lost is currently streaming on Hulu in the USA and Disney+ in the UK.

Thank you for reading The Wertzone. To help me provide better content, please consider contributing to my Patreon page and other funding methods.

A Timeline of Battlestar Galactica

For this article - a bit of a return to my old-school big articles from the blog - I decided to combine all available canonical sources to create a new timeline for the Ronald D. Moore incarnation of Battlestar Galactica. This took quite a bit of work, involving comparing dates from multiple sources.

Admiral William Adama's dossier, utilising a dating system suggesting over 21,000 years of recorded history.

A Note on Dating Systems

In the Battlestar Galactica universe, three distinct dating systems are used.

The most common one is Before and After the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. This sets the events of the Mini-Series and the destruction of the Twelve Colonies as Event 0. We then have events happening before that (generally, the backstory and mythology) and after (the events of the show itself). This is not a formal system but an ad hoc one used intermittently in the Fleet and by the creators and fans.

Dates After the Fall can be surmised from the timekeeping in the show itself. The show counts the number of days Helo spends on Caprica through Season 1, giving us a detailed timeline for the events of Season 1. This stops in early Season 2, but we can continue to surmise dates from indicators given (Cain indicating it is six months since the Fall in the episode Resurrection Ship, the length of Athena’s pregnancy, the date indicators given in the episode Downloaded). In Seasons 3 and 4 the date-keeping becomes more sporadic, but several key episodes (Unfinished Business, No Exit) drag the timeline back on track by pinpointing how much time has elapsed since major events with some reasonable certainty.

The oldest dating system appears to be the Kobol Calendar. It appears exclusively in the Season 3 episode Hero and features a five-digit dating system. We see this clearly as Roslin reads through notes on Adama’s career. The spacing of the digits confirms they refer to years, and indicates the year at the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies is "21354." What Event 0 is on this calendar is unknown, but given it (massively) predates the departure of the thirteen tribes from Kobol, we can surmise it dates back to the start of civilisation on that planet. 21,354 years of recorded history is insane (our own recorded history gets spotty much past 6,000 years ago), and it may be this calendar is not actually based on hard historical data but on a religious or mythological tradition (potentially similar to the Mayan calendar, which counts backwards in cycles of many thousands of years).

The Caprica calendar system is used throughout the spin-off show of the same name. This calendar system dates back 1,942 years before that show begins and is meant to represent the number of years since the Twelve Tribes left Kobol and arrived to colonise the Twelve Colonies. Since Caprica begins 58 years before the BSG Mini-Series, that means the Mini-Series takes place exactly 2,000 years after the flight of the Twelve Tribes from Kobol.

Dating Events

Multiple and sometimes competing dates are given for “ancient history” events in the backstory. We are told that events on Kobol took place 4,000; 3,600; 3000, and 2,000 years ago. Later dates contradict earlier ones. Later changes and retcons to the story also result in discrepancies: for example, in Seasons 1 and 2 the creators seem to be working on the assumption that the thirteen tribes departed Kobol together, but one group veered off to Earth whilst the rest continued to the Twelve Colonies. Season 3 confirms that the Thirteenth Tribe departed Kobol considerably earlier than the other twelve. Season 4, specifically the revelatory episode No Exit, allows us to start dating events with greater precision once certain information is confirmed (i.e. the Thirteenth Tribe did not use FTL drives, only near-luminal drives with relativistic effects).

For this reason, later and usually more specific information from the show is considered more reliable than earlier and generally much vaguer information.

Primary sources are otherwise assumed to consist of all screened episodes of the Ronald D. Moore or “2.0” iteration of the franchise: the Mini-Series; the four seasons of Battlestar Galactica itself; the TV movies Razor, The Plan and Blood & Chrome; and the one-season spin-off show Caprica and assorted ancillary material (notably the official Map of the Twelve Colonies, which was created as a reference document for Caprica and The Plan).

In terms of sources beyond the shows, the Final Five graphic novel is considered to occupy a secondary level of canon: it is based on information decided upon in the Season 4 writers’ room and was written by one of the TV writers with Ron Moore’s approval, although he refused to rule everything in the story as being strictly canon.

The 2017 official Battlestar Galactica video game, Deadlock, expands on the First Cylon War and provides several credible explanations as to how the Colonials endured for twelve years before the war ended. Although considered an official product by NBC Universal, none of the BSG writing team was involved with the game, so it is considered tertiary canon at the absolute best.

Kobol, birthplace of mankind.

19,354 Before the Exodus from Kobol / 21,354 Before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies / 0 Kobol Calendar

• Start of the Kobol Calendar by unknown events. Possibly this dating is a mythological or customary belief rather than rooted in real history, given the lack of hard information on events much more recent. (Hero)

Unknown

• According to myth, the Lords of Kobol – humanoid beings of immense power, either literal humans elevated to some unknown higher status or literal supernatural beings – dwell in peace alongside humanity, creating a utopian civilisation. At an unknown point, humans fall from grace and into barbarism, ritual sacrifice and cannibalism. The Lords of Kobol sever their direct relationship with humanity. Humankind recants and tries to return to a state of perfection to win back the approval of the Lords. The Lords of Kobol become figures of religious veneration to humanity (Valley of Darkness, Fragged).
• Isolated, easily-dismissed stories of individual humans being visited by visions of people nobody else can see or hear begin. (The Final Five, No Exit and the whole show)
• Humans on Kobol splinter into twelve distinct tribes, each dedicated to one of twelve symbols of unclear provenance, but each one represents an animal or ideal. The Twelve Tribes govern humanity on Kobol for millennia.
• The sport of pyramid is invented on Kobol. (Caprica official Twitter feed)
• In the Kobolian religion, Atlas is said to support Kobol on his shoulders. (Caprica official Twitter feed)
• The ancient language of Kobol is Proto-Kobolese, which evolves into Kobolese, various different dialects of which take old and then form new languages, one for each of the Twelve Tribes. (Caprica official Twitter feed)
• Kobol develops advanced technology, including spaceflight.
• Atheists become more widespread on Kobol and reject the religion of the Lords of Kobol. They pursue scientific developments which shock the more conservative tribes, but benefit them and make their lives more comfortable. The atheist faction is eventually recognised as the Thirteenth Tribe and allowed to join the Quorum, to considerable controversy. (The Final Five)
• The Thirteenth Tribe begins experimenting with cybernetic enhancements, memory augmentation and consciousness-storage. These challenge the very foundations of Kobolian theology. (The Final Five)
• The Thirteenth Tribe perfects organic memory transfer, or resurrection technology. They transfer their consciousnesses into new, artificial-but-organic bodies with superior resistance to disease and injury, becoming functionally immortal. Whenever they are killed, they resurrect immediately in a body cloned in a vat of amniotic fluid, with their memories intact. This is declared a grand heresy by the High Priests of all the Kobolian religions, triggering pogroms and riots against the Thirteenth Tribe. (The Final Five, No Exit)

c.  2900 BE / 4900 BF / 16454 KC

• A supernova takes place, creating the Ionian Nebula. (Rapture)
• Note that Gaeta says in dialogue the nebula is thirteen thousand light years from the algae planet, but this is incompatible with the scaling used in the rest of the show or the distance and time given for the Thirteenth Tribe’s journey (which limits them to a four-thousand round-light year trip from Kobol to Earth and back again). It is therefore assumed that Gaeta misspoke and meant thirteen hundred light years.

c. 2000 BE / 4000 BF / 17354 KC

• Facing religious persecution on Kobol and opposition from the prophet Pythia, the Thirteenth Tribe departs the planet on the so-called "Caravan of the Heavens." Pythia is martyred before the Caravan departs. The Caravan is led by the Thirteenth Tribe’s former Quorum representative, Michael Tigh, and a business entrepreneur, John Cavil. They travel at sublight, relativistic speeds so centuries pass on Kobol whilst only months pass for them. They follow visions of messengers who guide them to a promised land, which they call "Earth." (The Final Five graphic novel)
• The Thirteenth Tribe leaves beacons marking their route to Earth, including one at the Lion’s Head Nebula. (A Measure of Salvation)
• Michael Tigh starts having visions of a striking woman in a red dress. She variously claims to be an "angel" or "messenger" sent by God to protect him and guide humanity to survival. (The Final Five)

The "algae planet," location of the Temple of Hopes.

c. 1600 BE / 3600 Before the Fall / 17754 KC / Departure +3 months (Thirteenth Tribe reckoning)

• The Thirteenth Tribe arrives at a planet beyond the blazing heart of a star cluster. Their lead ship crashes on the planet. It is repaired, but resurrection technology is lost in the process. They find the planet to be a rich source of food, in the form of algae. Pythia apparently returns from the dead, promising to guide them the rest of the way to Earth, which she has already visited but only has vague memories of. The Thirteenth Tribe remains long enough to build a monument to thankfulness, the Temple of Hopes, and Pythia completes the writing of her Prophecy containing details of the journey so far to Earth. Included in the scrolls are plans for the city they plan to build on Earth, and the constellations as she saw them in her trip to the planet. A human ally of the Thirteenth Tribe, Magnus, returns to Kobol with the Prophecy. (The Eye of Jupiter, Rapture, No Exit, The Final Five graphic novel).
• Michael Tigh's "messenger" claims that Pythia is not Pythia, but she has been killed and replaced by the being humans know as Aurora. Aurora is of the same order of entity as the messengers, but wishes to interfere more directly rather than just offer guidance. She picks one individual and guides her through her life to a destiny, and then replaces her at the moment of her death. She loses access to her immortal memories and can only fumble her way towards her goal. (The Final Five)
• The light from the supernova that created the Ionian Nebula reaches the algae planet, allowing the Thirteenth Tribe to follow its light on the next stage of their journey. They inscribe the symbol of the supernova inside the Temple of Hopes, naming it the Eye of Jupiter. (Rapture)

c. 1200 BE / 3200 BF / 18154 KC / Departure +6 months (Thirteenth Tribe reckoning)

• Magnus and the Pythian Prophecy reach Kobol and, despite early attempts to quash the texts as a heresy, they become a key part of the Sacred Scrolls of the Kobolian religion, particularly among devotees of Aurora. However, knowledge that the Thirteenth Tribe are artificial lifeforms is quashed. Kobol has suffered a rebellion by mechanical servitors, but has managed to survive and defeat the uprising. Development of artificial lifeforms is presumably banned. It is possible Kobol undergoes a technological regression at this time as a result of the war and religious strife. (The Final Five)

c. 400 BE / 2400 BF / 18954 KC

• A number of artistic carvings, totems and elaborate statues are created on Kobol. Thousands of years later, they are displayed in the “Art Treasures of Kobol” exhibition in the Caprican Art Museum. (Caprica: The Imperfections of Memory)

c. 300 BE / 2300 BF / 19054 KC / Departure +14 months (Thirteenth Tribe reckoning)

• The Thirteenth Tribe reaches the Ionian Nebula, the last major waystop on their way to Earth. Following additional, unknown signs, they locate Earth and proceed there.

Earth, the world colonised by the Thirteenth Tribe.

c. 50 BE / 2050 BF / 19304 KC / Departure +16 months (Thirteenth Tribe reckoning)

• The Thirteenth Tribe arrives and makes landfall on the planet they dub Earth. They quickly establish a technological civilisation, and enough of them survive to establish several cities in different parts of the planet. In the first and largest city, they build a temple to Aurora. (Revelations)

Unknown

• Pythia helps change the Thirteenth Tribe’s genome, enabling them to start breeding naturally. The Tribe decides against pursuing the reconstruction of resurrection technology. (The Final Five)
• Ellen Cavil, Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol, Tory Foster and Samuel T. Anders are born on Earth. (No Exit)
• Ellen Cavil’s father, John, creates a cybernetics corporation and invents robotic servitors to make life easier for the Thirteenth Tribe. (The Final Five)
• Pythia herself dies of natural causes on Earth, but her body mysteriously disappears. (The Final Five)
• Michael’s refusal to save Pythia by authorising the rebuilding of resurrection technology angers many, including his son Saul. (The Final Five)

A starmap of the Twelve Colonies. Please click for a larger version.

Year 0 of the Exodus / 2000 Before the Fall / 19354 KC

• The Blaze engulfs Kobol, a planetwide catastrophe of uncertain origin. Athena, of the Lords of Kobol, kills herself in despair at what has become of their world. The Tomb of Athena is built to host her remains, along with the leaders of each of the Twelve Tribes who are sacrificed. The Tomb also houses information from the Scroll of Pythia pointing the way back towards Earth. It can only be accessed with the Arrow of Apollo. (Home, Part 2)
• A possibly apocryphal story states that the exodus from Kobol is precipitated when "one jealous god tries to elevate himself above all other gods." (Kobol’s Last Gleaming, Part 1 deleted scene)
• Another, also likely apocryphal story states that a "war of the gods" takes place on Kobol and at its conclusion, the Twelve Tribes choose to leave Kobol. The truth remains unclear. (Fragged, deleted scene)
• The Great Galleon of the Stars, an FTL-capable starship, takes off from Kobol. The Exodus of the Twelve Tribes takes place. According to legend, Zeus apparently bans the Tribes from ever returning to Kobol, warning of a price to be extracted in blood. The Arrow of Apollo is taken in the Exodus. (Home, Part 2)

Year 1 / 1999 Before the Fall / 19355 KC

• The Twelve Tribes reach the Cyrannus quaternary star system, some 2,000 light-years from Kobol, and make landfall on the planet they dub Gemenon. The planet is not as habitable as others in the same system, and soon lesser exoduses take place to eleven other planetary bodies capable of supporting life. (Caprica, Map of the Twelve Colonies)
• The Galleon is scuttled and left adrift in a nearby star system. (BSG Deadlock video game)

c. Year 40 /1940 Before the Fall / 19394 KC / Departure +90 years (Thirteenth Tribe reckoning)

• On Earth, several of the Thirteenth Tribe (Saul Tigh, Ellen Tigh, Tory Foster, Galen Tyrol) begin re-developing resurrection technology, to considerable controversy. They recruit musician Sam Anders to help them as a guinea pig and he undergoes the first successful resurrection. (The Final Five)

The mechanical servitors created on Earth by the Thirteenth Tribe.

(These "early Cylons" are based on concept art originally developed for the abandoned 2001 BSG sequel concept by Bryan Singer and Tom DeSanto)

c. Year 50 / 1950 Before the Fall / 19404 KC / Departure +100 years (Thirteenth Tribe reckoning)

• The Thirteenth Tribe falls to infighting and schisms, partially resulting from the argument over whether to maintain the ability to breed or recreating resurrection technology. Cavil’s robot servitors rebel (possibly at his instigation). Cavil and Michael Tigh die before resurrection technology is reactivated. (The Final Five)
• Earth is destroyed in a nuclear war, but the so-called “Final Five” (Saul and Ellen Tigh, Samuel T. Anders, Tory Foster and Galen Tyrol) are able to resurrect on an orbiting ship. With little choice, as Earth will be uninhabitable for millennia to come, they decide to return to Kobol. The Thirteenth Tribe has not yet developed FTL, so again the journey will be at subluminal but relativistic speeds. (The Final Five, No Exit)

Unknown

• The Twelve Colonies are settled, but without the Galleon or a pre-existing industrial base, most of the technology brought from Kobol fails (some believe that a deliberate rejection of technology may have also taken place). The Colonials are thrown back into the Dark Ages of using wooden sailing ships and antique firearms, but are eventually able to rebuild to a reasonable level of technology. FTL diagrams survive, and are eventually deciphered to allow the Colonials to create rapid trade and travel across the vast star system of the Twelve Colonies. (BSG Series Bible, Pegasus, Maelstrom)
• There is native plant and animal life on most of the Twelve Colonies, but colonisation and settlement and intermingling of the native life with transplants from Kobol (such as cats and dogs) results in a confused ecology. Some species are killed off in the process, others find themselves spread across multiple worlds. (Caprica official Twitter feed)
• The Virgon and Leonis tribes depart Gemenon and settle their own planets. Both worlds prosper and they become the two strongest colonies, and are among the first to venture back into space with functioning FTL drives. Eventually the two superpowers engage one another in a conflict that becomes known as the Imperial Wars, with both trying to become the dominant power of the Twelve Colonies. Virgon founds settlements on Caprica and Picon. (Caprica Series Bible, Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game, Map of the Twelve Colonies)
• Gemenon remains the spiritual heart of the Twelve Colonies, with the most devout followers of the Lords of Kobol. This sparks a rebellion, in the form of a breakaway monotheist faith. Despite attempts at suppression and long periods of limited activity, this faith always seems to find a way of bouncing back. It eventually gains official standing, to extreme controversy, but its following remains limited. (Caprica official Twitter feed)

c. Year 942 / 1058 BF / 20296 KC

• By this time, Canceron has become a constitutional democracy. (Map of the Twelve Colonies)

c. Year 1092 / 908 BF / 20446 KC 

• Virgon and Leonis forces on Tauron fight one another to exhaustion, allowing Tauron to drive both occupying armies offworld and establish full independence. (Map of the Twelve Colonies)

c. Year 1600 / 400 BF / 20954 KC / Departure +101 years (Thirteenth Tribe reckoning)

• The Final Five reach the algae planet and locate the Temple of Hopes. They realise they are on the correct course back to Kobol. (The Final Five, No Exit)

Caprica, fourth planet of Helios Alpha. The richest and most military powerful of the Twelve Colonies at the time of the Fall, though neither the oldest, largest nor most populous.

c. Year 1742 / 258 BF / 21096 KC

• Picon and Tauron gain their independence from Virgon and Leonis, respectively. Decline of both Virgon and Leonis. (Map of the Twelve Colonies)
• The Imperial Wars end with Virgon and Leonis both exhausted from decades to centuries of intermittent warfare. Ironically, their mutual exhaustion allows Caprica to establish itself as the preeminent military, scientific and economic superpower of the Twelve Colonies. The planet considers itself enlightened, but tends to look down on both neighbouring Gemenon and Tauron, but is happy to accept low-paid immigration to help with manpower issues. (Caprica Series Bible, Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game)

c. Year 1800 / 200 BF / 21154 KC

• By this time, humanity on the Twelve Colonies has developed an immunity to the virus causing Lymphocytic encephalitis. (A Measure of Salvation)

Year 1899 / 101 BF / 21253 KC

• Joseph Adama born on Tauron to William and Isabelle Adama. (BSG: The Dirteaters)

Year 1901 / 99 BF / 21255 KC

• The Delphi Convalescent Institute is founded. Its address is 45 Terreo Avenue, Delphi, Caprica, D52871. (Caprica: The Imperfections of Memory, BSG: The Farm)
• Samuel Adama born on Tauron to William and Isabelle Adama. (BSG: The Dirteaters)

Year 1904 / 96 BF / 21258 KC

• Clarice Willow born on Caprica. (Caprica: False Labor)

Year 1912 / 88 BF / 21266 KC

• Start of the First Tauron Civil War. (Caprica)
• William Adama Sr. and his wife Isabelle, members of the Ha’la’tha resistance, are tortured by Heracleides militia. Isabelle is killed. Joseph Adama kills the militia and then euthanises his mortally wounded father, at his request. (Caprica: The Dirteaters)
• End of the First Tauron Civil War.
• Shortly after the end of the First Tauron Civil War, Joseph Adama and his brother Sam are sent to a refugee camp on Caprica. Sam is inducted into the local branch of the Ha’la’tha, who fund Joseph’s path through law school. On Caprica they take the surname "Adams" to hide their Tauron ancestry and avoid discrimination. (Caprica: The Dirteaters)

The Adama family on Tauron, during the Civil War.

Year 1925 / 75 BF / 21279 KC

• Zoe Graystone, Lacy Rand, Ben Stark and Tamara Adama are born on Caprica. (Caprica)
• Zoe’s birthday is confirmed as 1925/YR25 in Apotheosis; she, Lacy, Ben and Tamara are 16 in the pilot and would turn 17 in the school year 1942-1943. Lacy, Ben and Tamara are therefore born in 1925 or 1926.

Year 1926 / 74 BF / 21280 KC

• Clarice Willow graduates from Caprica University. (Caprica: False Labor)

Year 1927 / 73 BF / 21281 KC

• Daniel Graystone meets with MicroCap corporation, leading to the development and funding of Holoband technology. (Caprica: There is Another Sky)

Year 1929 / 71 BF / 21283 KC

• William "Willie" Adama is born on Caprica, to Joseph and Shannon Adama. (Caprica: Pilot)

c. Year 1930 / 70 BF / 21284 KC

• Holobands rapidly spread through the Twelve Colonies, becoming a ubiquitous technology. Daniel Graystone becomes fabulously wealthy and founds Graystone Industries. (Caprica)

c. Year 1932 / 68 BF / 21286 KC

• A militant monotheistic organisation, the Soldiers of the One, based on Gemenon, carries out a series of terror attacks on Caprica and several other colonies. Gemenon cracks down on the organisation and Caprican anti-terror measures drive the organisation underground. (Caprica: Pilot)

Year 1938 / 62 BF / 21292 KC

• Daniel Graystone creates Serge, a domestic robot with a basic level of artificial intelligence. (Caprica official Twitter feed)

c. Year 1941 / 59 BF / 21295 KC

• Zoe Adama, Lacy Rand and Ben Stark, classmates at the Athena Academy in Caprica City, secretly join the Monotheist Church. Unbeknown to Zoe and Lacy, Ben goes further and joins the Soldiers of the One, the militant branch of the organisation. (Caprica)
• Ben Stark is arrested by the Caprican Police and interrogated over his affiliation to the Monotheists. However, they fail to find enough evidence to charge him and let him go. (Caprica: The Reins of a Waterfall)

Daniel Graystone and the U-87 prototype Cybernetic Lifeform Node, or "Cylon."

Year 1942 / 58 BF / 21296 KC

• The events of Caprica take place.
• The precise dating for events in Caprica is highly confused: the Mag-Lev train bombing is dated to November on a television screen, but a newspaper published just a few days to weeks after the bombing is dated Aprilis (April). Tad Thorean visits Joseph Adama in Februarius (February) based on the datestamp on security footage. The majority of dates given in the show tend to support a summer 1942 timeframe for the bulk of the show, but many anomalies and contradictions exist.
• Zoe Graystone and Tamara Adama are killed in a terror attack on the Caprican maglev train system, with Ben Stark acting as a suicide bomber. (Caprica)
• Cylons invented by Graystone Industries. Zoe Graystone’s digital consciousness is downloaded into the first Cylon, inadvertently giving the entire line a rudimentary form of consciousness and a belief in the One God. (Caprica)
• Second Tauron Civil War takes place and is resolved through the use of Cylon troops. (Caprica)
• William “Willie” Adama is killed. (Caprica: Here Be Dragons)
• An attempted massive terrorist bombing at Atlas Stadium is averted through the use of Cylon security troops, several of whom are destroyed in the process. The popularity of Cylons soars in the Twelve Colonies. Graystone Industries rapidly becomes the most successful company in the history of the Twelve Colonies. (Caprica: Apotheosis)

Year 1943 / 57 BF / 21297 KC

• Willie’s younger brother William "Bill" Adama born and is named for his brother (note: Hero states that Adama was born in 21290 but this is incompatible with any of the dates in Caprica).
• Adama’s birth date is contentious given the requirement for him to be a reasonable age to fight in the First Cylon War before it ends, the conclusion of which is only seventeen years after this date.

Year 1947 / 53 BF / 21301 KC

• Graystone Industries successfully creates a "skinjob" Cylon model with realistic features. Zoe Graystone incarnates in this body. (Caprica: Apotheosis)
• By this year, Lacy Rand has become the supreme leader of the Monotheist religion. Clarice Willow has become a missionary and preacher of the Monotheist religion to the Cylons, or as she calls them, the "differently sentienced." (Caprica: Apotheosis)

Unknown

• Use of the Cylons in all fields of life becomes widespread in barely five years. The Cylons serve as everything from soldiers to nannies to cooks to medics. Despite pleas to the contrary, they are not always treated well by their human masters, sometimes disposed of too easily.
• The Colonials construct a number of advanced spacecraft for the use of Cylon military forces, to put down rebellions and civil strife. Unbeknown to the Colonial authorities, the Cylons begin expanding their fleet and building new ships beyond those given to them by the Colonies. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game)
• The sentience and consciousness in the Zoe-A Cylon model rapidly spreads to all other Cylon models. They eventually refuse to continue working as slaves for the humans, and request fair recompense, a homeworld of their own, and a voice on the Quorum as a thirteenth tribe. They also request recognition of their faith in the One True God to be acknowledged. Despite some sympathisers, the Colonials reach with horror. Graystone Industries attempts to shut down the Cylons but fails. The Cylons believe this to be an attempt at genocide.
• The growing Cylon crisis leads to emergency discussions between the governments of the Twelve Colonies about creating both a joint administrative body, growing out of the existing diplomatic forums, and a mutual military force. The former becomes known as the Quorum of the Twelve, in homage to the ruling body of Kobol, and the latter as Colonial Fleet. However, staunch opposition to federalisation delays the former project. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game)
• As support for the Colonial Fleet gathers ground, the Caprican design for the formidable Jupiter-class battlestar is finalised. It is proposed that each colony receive one designated Jupiter-class to defend it. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game, Mini-Series)
• The Viper Mk. 1 space superiority fighter enters service (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game, Mini-Series). It is a successor to the Caprican Air Force Viper, an iconic jet aircraft (Caprica: The Imperfections of Memory), and the even earlier propeller-driven Viper. (Caprica: There is Another Sky)

The First Cylon War begins with a surprise attack by Cylon forces on Picon, destroying Colonial Fleet Headquarters. Fortunately, the Colonial Fleet is able to quickly rally.

Year 1948 / 52 BF / 21302 KC

• The First Cylon War begins, in the first half of the year. (Razor)
• The Cylons launch a surprise attack on Picon, destroying Fleet Headquarters in the opening hours of the war. However, the Cylon surprise attack is blunted by the strength of the Colonies’ missile defence systems (originally designed to defend against inter-Colonial wars). (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game)
• The Cylons also attack the Scorpia Shipyards but, stretched thin by their multi-pronged offensive, are repulsed. Fleet Admiral Lucinda Cain assumes command of Colonial Fleet from the mobile shipyard Daidalos. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game)
• Battle of Caprica Terminal. A major Cylon push on Caprica is thwarted by the Daidalos fleet, supported by the newly-commissioned Jupiter-class battlestar Galactica. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game)
• Battle of Marathon. The Daidalos-Galactica fleet defeats the Cylon fleet and destroys the Cylon mustering point at Avalon Station, complicating Cylon lines of supply and communication into Cyrannus. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game)
• The outbreak of the war results in the emergency signing of the Articles of Colonisation and the unifying of the Twelve Colonies under a single federal government, led by the Quorum of Twelve. This is celebrated every year as “Colonial Day.” (Colonial Day)

Year 1949 / 51 BF / 21303 KC

• Colonial warship Brenik is lost in battle with Cylon forces. 55 crewmembers are killed by Cylon forces, who are eventually repulsed. The battle and the heroic last stand of the crew become well-known in the Colonial Fleet. (Valley of Darkness, deleted scene)
• Years later, Saul Tigh is imprinted with memories of the battle, presumably taken and altered from witnessing Centurions, to give him a credible backstory of having fought in the war. (The Final Five)

Year 1951 / 49 BF / 21305 KC

• Helena Cain born on Tauron. (Razor)

Unknown

• The Cylon offensive against the Twelve Colonies is complicated by stellar geography; Cylon FTL drives can deliver them into Helios Alpha from their staging ground at Marathon but no further without a second jump. After initial setbacks, this allows the Colonial Fleet to eventually interdict and destroy Cylon forces once they jump into the system before they can re-spool. This creates political problems with the colonies in Helios Beta, Gamma and Delta sometimes slow to give aid to the Alpha colonies (Picon, Caprica, Gemenon and Tauron). This leads to a controversial one-year truce between the Beta, Gamma and Delta colonies and the Cylons which allows the Cylons to attack Alpha with no reinforcements from the rest of the Colonies. Alpha is able to hold the line, barely. This effectively splinters Colonial Fleet and the Quorum. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game)
• At the end of the one-year truce, the Cylons resume attempts to attack the other colonies, encouraging the reformation of Colonial Fleet and the Quorum. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game)
• Cylon offensives are complicated by internal Cylon disagreements on how to proceed. One faction, led by the scientific unit Clothos, is dedicated to scientific improvement and has no interest in exterminating humanity. Another, led by the military unit Atropos, disagrees and persecutes the war with genocidal intent. Internal disputes sometimes see Clothos aid the Twelve Colonies against the other Cylons, providing vital intel on Cylon tactics and technological knowledge in return for aid. This is classified at the highest level of Colonial security. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game)
• Shipyard Daidalos is due to be scuttled in the atmosphere of the gas giant Ragnar, but during a Cylon attack, it is discovered that Ragnar’s magnetic fields have a disastrous effect on Cylon computer systems. The shipyard is retained as a possible fallback position and redoubt, relatively safe from Cylon incursions. The effect on Cylon systems is classified at the highest levels of Colonial security. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game, Mini-Series)
• During the conflict, the Cylons discover the Galleon, the ship that brought the Twelve Tribes to Cyrannus from Kobol, abandoned in a nearby system. The Galactica destroys the Galleon rather than allow it to fall into Cylon hands, causing extreme controversy with religious members of the crew. Unbeknown to the Colonials, the Cylons have already extracted the location of Kobol from the ship and, eventually, dispatch a reconnaissance basestar. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game, The Final Five)
• Thanks to Clothos’ data, the Colonial Fleet gains the upper hand in the conflict and begins to push the Cylons back. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game)
• The Viper Mk. II enters service and rapidly supplants its predecessor as the primary Colonial space superiority fighter. (Mini-Series)
• Silas Nash becomes Commander of the Galactica. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game, Blood & Chrome)

Year 1957 / 41 BF / 21311 KC: 

• William “Bill” Adama completes training and receives his military commission. (Hero)
• Combined with the date of Adam’s birth in Caprica, this makes Bill Adama only 14 or 15 when he is commissioned in the Colonial Fleet. This may seem young, but may reflect the desperation of the Twelve Colonies at this point of the war.

Year 1958 / 42 BF / 21312 KC

• William “Bill” Adama joins the Colonial military and goes through crash-training as a Viper and Raptor pilot. He is assigned to the battlestar Galactica, under the call-sign “Husker.” (Blood & Chrome)
• The Colonial Ghost Fleet Offensive is launched against Cylon forces deep behind their lines, causing considerable damage. (Blood & Chrome)
• Jupiter-class battlestar Archeron destroyed in the Battle of Sector 12. (Blood & Chrome)
• The Viper Mk. III enters service. However, its high cost prevents it from totally replacing the Mk. II before the end of the war. (Blood & Chrome)
• Following from the above, Adama is likely only 15 years old during the events of Blood & Chrome, which is not particularly convincing for a trained fighter pilot, nor for his appearance (Luke Pasqualino was 23 when he played the role of Young Adama).

Operation Raptor Talon, on the final day of the First Cylon War. Three Jupiter-class battlestars (including Galactica and Columbia) engage a Cylon fleet.

Year 1960 / 40 BF / 21314 KC / Departure +102 years (Thirteenth Tribe Reckoning)

• The Final Five arrive at Kobol and find the planet deserted. Whilst they explore the ruins of the Opera House, a Cylon basestar arrives in orbit, following the information contained on the Galleon to locate the human homeworld. The Cylons identify the Final Five as artificial lifeforms and take them to the First Hybrid. The Five agree to help the Cylons create biological models with resurrection technology in return for them ending the war. The Cylons agree. (The Final Five, No Exit)
• The Battle of Tauron; Cylon basestars attack Tauron and land ground troops. Nine-year old Helena Cain sees the attack in progress before they withdraw. Her mother Saundra, father and younger sister Lucy are all killed in the battle. (Razor)
• Operation Raptor Talon takes place on the 4,571st and final day of the war, or 12 years, 6 months, 1 week and 4 days into the conflict. Destruction of the battlestar Columbia in combat operations. William “Husker” Adama discovers a Cylon command basestar on a remote planet and strange experiments with organic matter. The ship escapes before it can be destroyed. (Razor)
• The Cimtar Peace Accords and the Armistice are signed. Armistice Station established to act as forum for future human-Cylon relations. It is never used. (Mini-Series)
• End of the First Cylon War.
• Shipyard Daidalos is repurposed as the Ragnar Anchorage ship repair and ammo depot. (Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock video game, Mini-Series)
• William “Husker” Adama musters out of the Colonial Fleet post-armistice. (Hero)

Unknown (between Year 1960 and Year 1970)

• The Cylons establish a new base of operations, a massive space station called "The Colony." The Colony is built around the Final Five’s subluminal ship. (No Exit, Daybreak)
• The Final Five create humanoid Cylon Model Number One, dubbed "John Cavil" as he is inspired by Ellen Tigh’s father. He is followed by Number Two ("Leoben Conoy"), Number Three ("D’anna Biers"), Number Four ("Simon O’Neill"), Number Five ("Aaron Doral"), Number Six (various), Number Seven ("Daniel") and Number Eight ("Sharon Valerii").
• The humanoid Cylons are given different human emotions and traits, with the Final Five hoping this will allow them to empathise with and understand humanity better, and act as a bridge between the mechanical Cylons and humanity. However, Cavil continues to be extremely sceptical of this idea and advocates for the elimination of the humans.
• Cavil is particularly incensed by the creation of Daniel, an artist and dreamer, and Ellen’s favourite among the Cylon models. In a fit of jealousy, he destroys the entire Daniel line beyond any hope of recovery. (The Final Five, No Exit)
• At an unknown point, the resurrection technology on the Final Five’s ship is moved into the custom-built Resurrection Hub, to provide greater security. (The Hub)

Year 1963 / 37 BF / 21317 KC

• Adama joins the Colonial Merchant Fleet and serves as Deck Hand. (Hero)

Year 1970 / 30 BF / 21324 KC

• Cylon Model Number One (John Cavil) stages a revolution. Tory, Anders and Tyrol are killed and their lines boxed, prevented from resurrecting. Cavil taunts Saul and Ellen Tigh before killing them by ejecting them into space. Their resurrected bodies are wiped of all memories and they are given new ones. They are then introduced into Colonial society as unknown sleeper agents. Cavil means for them to see the evil of humanity before he destroys them (The Final Five, No Exit).
• The remaining, surviving Cylon models all have their memories of the Final Five blanked and removed. Cavil begins agitating for the utter destruction of humanity, a position it takes considerable time to argue the other Cylons into agreeing with. The Cylons build up a considerable fleet of more advanced basestars, equipped with nuclear weapons. (No Exit, The Final Five)
• Thomas Zarek emerges as a political agitator on Sagittaron, demanding equality for his colony and equality for all the peoples of the Twelve Colonies. His rhetoric is considered dangerous by the government of the Twelve Colonies. Zarek’s failure to achieve ends through peaceful protest eventually encourages him to consider more violent tactics. (Bastille Day)

Year 1972 / 28 AF / 21326 KC

• Alleged birth of Galen Tyrol. (Mini-Series, Resistance)

The first meeting of William Adama and Saul Tigh.

c. Year 1974 / 26 BF / 21328 KC

• Adama meets Saul Tigh in the Colonial Merchant Fleet and they become best friends. (Scattered)

Year 1977 / 23 BF / 21331 KC

• Adama is recommissioned in the Colonial Fleet, with the rank of Captain. He is assigned to the battlestar Universal. (Hero, Scattered deleted scene)
• The date of Adama’s recommissioning clashes from Scattered to Hero by two years; since the scene in Scattered was deleted, it is assumed the on-screen date from Hero has greater validity.

c. Year 1980 / 20 BF / 21334 KC

• Thomas Zarek is arrested for the destruction of a government building on Sagittaron. He chooses prison over politically recanting his beliefs or support for violence. (Bastille Day)
• Galactica makes its last FTL jump for over two decades. Due to the ship’s age, it is decided to not stress the hull any more with additional jumps and instead restricts it to sublight trips in the vicinity of Caprica. However, the ship’s legendary status as a survivor and veteran of the First Cylon War makes decommissioning it politically unthinkable. (Mini-Series)

Year 1983 / 17 BF / 21337 KC

• Adama promoted to Major and assigned to battlestar Atlantia. Saul Tigh’s commission is reactivated at Adama’s urging and he is reassigned to the Colonial Fleet. (Hero, Scattered)

Year 1987 / 13 BF / 21341 KC

• Adama promoted to Colonel and made XO of battlestar Columbia. (Hero)
• Given Columbia's destruction in Razor, it is assumed a new battlestar is commissioned to replace it.

Year 1991 / 9 BF / 21345 KC

• Galen Tyrol starts serving on battlestars. It is unclear if this marks his introduction to Colonial society or if he is introduced later with faked memories of serving on battlestars earlier. (Resistance)
• Adama promoted to Commander and made CO of battlestar Valkyrie. Saul Tigh promoted to Colonel and accompanies Adama to Valkyrie as XO. (Hero)

Colonel Tigh and Commander Adama in the CIC of the battlestar Valkyrie.

Year 1994 / 6 BF / 21348 KC

• Secret mission to scout the Armistice Line ends in the disappearance of Lt. Daniel “Bulldog” Novacek. Adama transferred to become CO of battlestar Galactica. Saul Tigh transfers to Galactica with him. (Hero)
• Note there is a discrepancy in dating with dialogue in Hero suggesting these events happened ~2 BF. However, this is contradicted by the dates given for Tyrol, Gaeta and other crewmembers serving with Adama on Galactica, and in fact is contracted by Adama’s own dossier in the exact same episode.

Year 1995 / 5 BF/ 21349 KC

• By this time, Galen Tyrol, Samuel T. Anders and Tory Foster have been unboxed, memory-wiped and introduced into the Twelve Colonies by Cavil. Tyrol becomes a battlestar crewman, Sam Anders becomes a professional pyramid player and Tory Foster becomes a political advisor. (The Plan)
• Galen Tyrol assigned to Galactica. (Scattered)

Year 1997 / 3 BF / 21351 KC

• Felix Gaeta assigned to Galactica. (Mini-Series)

Year 1998 / 2 BF / 21352 KC

• Sharon “Boomer” Valerii assigned to Galactica. She nearly washes out as a Raptor pilot after failing to make the trap multiple times in a row. Adama gives her one more chance and she succeeds. (Mini-Series, Daybreak, Part 3)
• Caprica Six begins residence on Caprica, first meets Dr. Gaius Baltar. They start a relationship after she helps him find a new home for his elderly father. Baltar grants her access to the Defence Mainframe, ostensibly to help her bid for a new defence contract. In reality she plans to sabotage it ahead of a Cylon attack. (Daybreak, Part 3)
• Zak Adama dies in a flight school accident. (Mini-Series)
• Lt. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace meets Commander Adama for the first time, is reassigned to battlestar Galactica. (Act of Contrition)

The Fall of the Twelve Colonies. The Cylons achieve total strategic surprise and destroy the Twelve Colonies with barrages of medium-sized nuclear warheads. However, not all humans are killed.

Year 2000 / 0 BF / 21354 KC

• The Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Start of the Second Cylon War. (Mini-Series)
• Complete destruction of the Twelve Colonies and the Colonial Fleet. Battlestar Galactica under Commander William Adama escapes from the Cylon trap and is able to stage a flight from the system via Ragnar Anchorage. More than 60 civilian ships escape with it, carrying a civilian population of around 50,000. Laura Roslin, Secretary of Education, becomes President of the Twelve Colonies.
• Battlestar Pegasus under Admiral Helena Cain manages to survive a Cylon sneak attack on the Scorpia Fleet Shipyards and escapes by making a blind FTL jump.
• +1 to +7 days: 33
• Destruction of the Olympic Carrier.
• +10 days: Water
• +12 days: Bastille Day
• Mutiny on the prison ship, Tom Zarek emerges in the Fleet. Laura Roslin agrees to hold elections.
• +14 to +15 days: Act of Contrition, You Can’t Go Home Again
• Kara Thrace captures a Cylon Raider.
• +17 days: Litmus
• +24 days: Six Degrees of Separation
• +25 days: Flesh and Bone
• +28 days: Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down
• Ellen and Saul Tigh are reunited.
• +36 days: The Hand of God
• +46 to +49 days: Colonial Day
• Re-institution of the Quorum in the Colonial Fleet.
• +50 days: Kobol’s Last Gleaming, Part 1
• Rediscovery of Kobol. Kara Thrace steals the Cylon Raider to return to Caprica. A Raptor crew crash lands on Kobol.
• +51 days: Kobol’s Last Gleaming, Part 2, Scattered, Valley of Darkness, Fragged
• Adama arrests Laura Roslin. Cylon basestar orbiting Kobol is destroyed. Sharon “Boomer” Valerii shoots Adama, revealing herself to be a Cylon.
• +52 to +54 days: Resistance
• +61 days: The Farm
• Kara Thrace, Karl Agathon and Sharon “Athena” Valerii depart Caprica to return to the Fleet.
• +62 to +64 days: Home, Part 1
• +65 days: Home, Part 2
• Discovery of the Tomb of Athena and the starmap indicating the position of Earth. Laura Roslin reinstated as President.
• +75 days: Final Cut
• +91 to 175 days: Flight of the Phoenix
• Construction of the Blackbird stealth ship.
• +175 days: Pegasus, Resurrection Ship, Part 1
• Pegasus joins the fleet. Admiral Cain assumes command. Lt. Alistair Thorne is killed by Karl Agathon and Galen Tyrol during “interrogation” of the Number 8 model recovered from Caprica. They are arrested and taken to Pegasus for trial and execution. Adama risks firing on Pegasus to recover them. The two ships receive intelligence on the Cylon “Resurrection Ship” and agree to table their argument for now.
• +175 to 177 days: Resurrection Ship, Part 2
• Resurrection Ship destroyed. Admiral Cain is shot dead by an escaped Cylon prisoner. William Adama promoted to Admiral and releases Agathon and Tyrol with a full amnesty. Pegasus is integrated into the fleet. Fisk becomes Commander of Pegasus.
• +189 days: Epiphanies
• approx. +200 days: Black Market
• Fisk is murdered. Garner becomes Commander of Pegasus.
• approx. +210 to 228 days: Scar
• approx. + 240 days: Sacrifice
• approx. +250 days: The Captain’s Hand
• Garner dies during a battle with Cylon forces. Lee Adama becomes Commander of Pegasus.
• approx. +260 days: Razor
• Destruction of the Guardian Basestar and the First Hybrid.
• +270 days: Downloaded
• Caprica Six and Boomer convince the other Cylons to abandon the genocide of humanity and instead look for opportunities to live alongside them. However, Cavil perverts this to mean the Cylons conquering the humans and imposing rule on them instead.
• +270 to +281 days: Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 1
• Discovery of New Caprica.
• +281 to 285 days: Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2
• Destruction of Cloud Nine.
• Gaius Baltar elected President of the Twelve Colonies and orders the immediate settlement of New Caprica.

Year 2001 / 1 AF / 21355 KC

• +660 days: Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2
• Cylon Occupation of New Caprica begins. Galactica and Pegasus jump away.

The Battle of New Caprica. Battlestar Galactica sustains heavy damage and battlestar Pegasus is destroyed, but the bulk of the civilian population of New Caprica is successfully rescued from the planet.

Year 2002 / 2 AF / 21356 KC

• +794 to 795 days: Occupation
• +795 to 796 days: Precipice
• +796 to 797 days: Exodus, Part 1
• +798 days: Exodus Part 2
• Battle of New Caprica, destruction of battlestar Pegasus.
• Successful rescue of the bulk of the Colonial forces from New Caprica. Resumption of the search for Earth.
• Ellen Tigh dies during the Battle of New Caprica and resurrects with her full memory intact. Cavil keeps her around to torment her. 
• +800 days: Collaborators
• +850 days: Torn
• +851 to +852 days: A Measure of Salvation
• Battle of NCD2539.
• +935 to +938 days: Hero
• 45th anniversary of William Adama being commissioned during the First Cylon War.
• +950 days: Unfinished Business
• +1023 days: The Passage
• The Fleet passes through a star cluster to reach the algae planet. Death of Lt. Louanne Katraine.
• +1037 to +1038 days: The Eye of Jupiter
• The Fleet reaches the algae planet. Discovery of the Temple of Hopes, now known as the Temple of the Five.
• +1038 days: Rapture
• Destruction of the algae planet in a supernova. Colonials capture Gaius Baltar. Cylon Model Three/D’anna Biers sees the faces of the Final Five. Her entire line is boxed by Cavil.
• The Fleet heads to the Ionian Nebula.
• approx. +1050 days: Taking a Break from All Your Worries
• approx. +1060 days: The Woman King
• +1087 days: A Day in the Life
• approx. + 1090 days: Dirty Hands

Kara Thrace's apparent death and resurrection marks the beginning of the final phase of the search for Earth.

Year 2003 / 3 AF / 21357 KC

• approx. +1095 days (this would be three years exactly after the Fall): Maelstrom
• Apparent death of Kara Thrace in a storm system in a gas giant, after seeing visions of unknown provenance.
• approx. +1109 days: The Son Also Rises
• approx. +1155 days: Crossroads Part I, Crossroads, Part II, He That Believeth in Me
• End of Baltar’s trial. He is found not guilty.
• The Fleet arrives at the Ionian Nebula, losing all power inexplicably for several minutes. During this time four of the "Final Five" in the Fleet are reactivated: Tory Foster, Samuel Anders, Galen Tyrol and Saul Tigh.
• Battle of the Ionian Nebula. The Fleet is ambushed by multiple Cylon basestars. A Cylon Raider discovers one of the Final Five, Anders, in the fleet and the Cylons retreat to avoid hurting them.
• Kara Thrace inexplicably reappears in a Viper of unknown origin. She claims to have no memory of events after entering the storm on the gas giant two months earlier, other than confused memories of being to Earth and knowing the way there.
• approx. +1156 days: Six of One
• Cylon Civil War begins.
• Kara Thrace given command of Demetrius and sent to find clues on the way to Earth.
• approx. +1178 days: The Ties That Bind
• Death of Cally Tyrol.
• Three weeks into Demetrius scouting mission.
• approx. +1180 days: Escape Velocity
• Memorial service for Cally Tyrol.
• approx. +1214 days: The Road Less Travelled, Faith
• Day 58 of Demetrius mission. Discovery of the crippled rebel basestar.
• approx. +1215 days: Guess What’s Coming to Dinner
• Provisional alliance with the rebel Cylons and agreement to destroy the Cylon Resurrection Hub.
• approx. +1216 to +1218 days: Sine Qua Non, The Hub
• Destruction of the Cylon Resurrection Hub. D’Anna Biers/Number Three is unboxed.
• approx. +1219 days: Revelations
• The four members of the Final Five in the Fleet are revealed. Kara Thrace discovers a signal that will lead the Fleet to Earth in her Viper.
• The Fleet arrives at Earth to find it a blasted, radioactive wasteland.
• approx. +1219 to 1220 days: Sometimes a Great Notion
• Discovery that the Thirteenth Tribe was made up of organic Cylons, apparently destroyed by their mechanical servants. Despondency and despair in the fleet. Suicide of Lt. Anastasia Dualla. Eventually Adama recovers and begins searching for a new planet to settle. The Cylons are invited to join the fleet, to widespread controversy. D’Anna Biers elects to remain on Earth, and dies there.
• Galen Tyrol, Sam Anders, Tory Foster and Saul Tigh experience memories of their lives on Earth. Tigh remembers that Ellen was the final member of the Final Five.
• approx. +1228 days: The Face of the Enemy
• approx + 1330 days: A Disquiet Follows My Soul
• +1337 days: Blood on the Scales, The Oath
• Felix Gaeta and Tom Zarek lead a major mutiny in the Colonial Fleet against President Roslin and Admiral Adama’s leadership. The Quorum are executed. After several fierce engagements, Adama regains command of his ship. Gaeta and Zarek are executed. Sam Anders is shot in the back of the head and starts experiencing hallucinations and visions, memories of his time on Earth.
• Ellen Tigh escapes from the Cylons with the help of Sharon “Boomer” Valerii (No Exit).
• +1338 days: No Exit
• Sam Anders reveals information about the Final Five’s existence on Earth to the others, but slips into a coma after his bullet is removed.
• +1339 days: Deadlock
• Ellen Tigh returns to the Colonial Fleet and is reunited with the other members of the Final Five.
• approx. +1353 days: Someone to Watch Over Me
• Sharon “Boomer” Valerii kidnaps Hera. Kara Thrace discovers the notes of the song that awoke the Final Five translate into spatial coordinates.
• approx. +1354 to +1356 days: Islanded in a Stream of Stars
• approx. +1357 to +1359 days (3 years, 8 months, 3 weeks and 3 days after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies): Daybreak, Part 1 and Part 2
• Battle of the Colony. Destruction of the Colony with all hands. End of the Second Cylon War.
• Successful retrieval of Hera.
• Kara Thrace uses her music-inspired coordinates to jump Galactica into orbit around a paradise world.
• Settlement of the new planet. William Adama decides to name it “Earth,” the shining hope they were looking forwards to.
• The Colonials decide to settle the planet in small groups scattered all over, rather than trying to repeat the mistakes of the past with a city like New Caprica.
• Sam Anders guides the ships of the Fleet into the Sun, destroying them and all trace of their existence.
• Laura Roslin dies shortly after the discovery of Earth.
• The remaining humanoid Cylons settle on Earth. The mechanical models depart in the last surviving baseship.
• Kara Thrace disappears, her job of guiding the fleet to Earth accomplished.

The Colonial Fleet reaches its destination, albeit not quite the one it had in mind.

Unknown

• The Colonials teach the primitive, native human species about language, art and culture.
• Hera’s part-Cylon, part-human DNA extends down through the ages so that, eventually, all subsequent humans share Cylon and human heritage.

c. Year 152,000 / 150,000 AF / 171357 KC / 2009 CE

• "Head Six" and "Head Baltar" visit New York City on the new Earth. Though there are some signs of humanity repeating its mistakes again, “Head Six” is hopeful that the cycle can be averted again.

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