A ragtag fleet of humans beating the odds every day. That’s the spirit in the hit sci-fi show, Battlestar Galactica. The show centers around a battered group of humans fleeing their successors, the race of Cylon. They aim for Earth with very limited and stretched resources. As such, the general economy in the show is quite interesting!
How are supplies regulated? What are things like beyond Galactica’s cache of supplies? Are there children (or others) starving? Laura Roslin is quaking. This is why we’re analyzing 10 Hilarious Ways Battlestar Galactica’s Economy Makes No Sense!
Vipers and Munitions
How many times have you seen the wings blown off of a Viper? Be honest, it was on your mind. It seems like once an episode where a Viper is moderately to severely damaged. How does Galactica have the resources to keep their birds in the air? Sure, they picked up plenty of munitions and supplies from Ragnar in the beginning, but look at how much they do throughout the life of the show.
There are frequent dogfights that often end with several explosions. They also love exerting stress on fighters and ammunition during their training exercises. At least none of their pilots hit asteroids, nearly killing other pilots. So at least they have that going for them.
Poker Games
A small area where we see the trading of goods. We might want to add that it’s not always currency that’s in these games! The poker games truly highlight humanity’s need to gamble. People are literally starving in this economy, yet people risk their resources continuously!
Where’s the logic? That food or money that’s being gambled could mean life or death in this environment. You would think that people would be smarter about their resources. Then again, these people have been through a lot. If gambling is what it takes to stay happy, then okay!
Food and Water
The essentials of life. Who regulates food and water? Does the military? Kara uses a water hose on Cloud 9 to spray Lee for fun. Also, just how much food is available? The show starts with roughly 50,000 mouths to feed! So where does that food come from? We see an example of the ‘Botanical Cruiser’ in the miniseries, which interim-President Laura Roslin visits.
Little Cami was going to “Cap-REE-ca City” to meet her parents! Good thing she made it, right Laura?! Laura is soo glad that Cami is okay! Anyway, we do see a similar cruiser which keeps to the fleet later on, which insinuates some food production. But where does Adama get his noodles? So many burning questions.
Tylium
The fuel which jumps the fleet around. The reason humanity is able to flee the Cylons! Tylium is mentioned here and there throughout the life of the show. With roughly 75 FTL-capable vessels supporting the human race, it’s needless to say that fuel is an important resource. How many light-years per gallon do these ships get? How are other systems aboard powered?
The fleet stops a couple of times, risking literally everything against the Cylons for fuel. Not to mention, Galactica is an old Battlestar, with the likelihood of lower fuel efficiency. So did they really get enough to support their fleet for so long? What does that look like?
Alcohol and Bars
The one place where we consistently see economic activity. Ellen Tigh certainly is there a lot! We do see Lee frequently as well. Then again, Ellen does need someone (that’s not her husband) to play footsie with. This sector of the economy is visited quite frequently throughout the show. Clearly, everyone has enough resources to blow on booze. But, just what is the total supply of alcohol compared to this ridiculous demand?
Again, we start with roughly 50,000 souls. We do see the brewing and distillation of alcohol in the nooks of the Galactica. But it certainly doesn’t seem like everyone is drinking homemade liquor! There are so many questions about what’s clear to be a fleet-wide addiction!
Medical Services
“Paging Doctor Cottle! Doctor Cottle?!” Just how many times a day does that man’s phone ring? There are thousands of people in the fleet. Disease and injury are both highlighted often throughout the show, yet this man is the only doctor we really see! Think about it. A paramedic had to perform surgery on Adama because the Galactica was separated from the fleet, and there were no other doctors on board.
Not to mention, medical supplies! What was the compliment throughout the fleet? Starbuck calls Lee (who’s aboard Pegasus) later on to get help for Anders’ pneumonia. Also. No doctors on Pegasus? The most technologically-advanced vessel we see? How do these people stay healthy??
Living Arrangements
Welcome to Algebra 1, we’re going to start with a simple math problem. We have a rounded, 50,000 people. There are 75 places to live among these people. How many people live in each place if it’s proportional? The answer is roughly 667 people.
We know the compliment of Galactica to be about 2,000 people from the beginning of the show! So that means a general estimate of 650 civilians per ship. Let’s also note that many of these ships are much smaller than the Galactica. And then there’s Colonial One! People living aboard would most certainly need to be screened.
The Black Market
Here we go. The dark part of the economy. The place people turn to when the normal systems have failed them. The black market is really only touched upon in the episode, you guessed it: “Black Market”. The best part here, is that this sector of commerce is only mentioned like, once.
The aforementioned episode ended with Lee saying, “We’ll keep an eye on them…” They are never mentioned again! Good job, Lee! Shevon (hopefully) no longer needs to sell herself after that episode. But this goes to show just how desperate people became for resources in the fleet!
New Caprica
The entire concept of “New Caprica.” The age of the Cylon occupation. The Cylons grounded the ships that humanity used to flee, stripping surface-dwelling humans of all defensive capability. They then governed them with force. There are so many questions! What purpose did Tyrol’s Union serve? Did they really expect the Cylons (or magnanimous President Baltar) to hear them?!
How was everything regulated? Also, the Doral model of Cylon mentions their (the Cylons’) resources being stretched. What are they bringing to the plate? And after the rescue, how was the economy just fine again? The Cylon’s took everything? This issue doesn’t keep any of us up at night!
The General Lack Of Currency
Okay, come on! How often do you see money in the show, or someone buying something? You usually don’t! How many of us even know what the form of currency in Battlestar Galactica is? The answer is probably: not many. It’s called a “cubit” for the record! We really only see them in the aforementioned bars and poker events.
That’s really all there is to it. That’s what’s keeping the economy afloat. If you wanted a shot at making it in this climate, your best shot is at gambling! Maybe they weren’t so crazy after all.
