The Firefly Easter Egg You May Have Missed In Battlestar Galactica

Sci-fi fans are great at ferreting out Easter eggs in TV shows and films, and as someone who reads (and writes) a lot of Easter egg posts, I thought I'd seen them all. Little did I know that there is a "Firefly" Easter egg hiding in the two-episode "Battlestar Galactica" miniseries, according to Screenrant. SYFY's version of "Battlestar Galactica" was a remake of the original 1978 series that began airing with a miniseries back in 2003, and began its four-season run in 2004. Last we heard, Sam Esmail and Mike Lesslie are working on a new series set in the universe, and I'm so excited. (Go back and watch the prequel series "Caprica," friends. It is also awesome.) "Battlestar Galactica" was the story of a time in the future where AI (Cylons in this series) has become so advanced that it has tried to take over from humanity and kill us off. The humans (and some Cylons) have to head off through the galaxy to find a new home. That's a very simplified explanation for a very complex series, but that's it in a nutshell. 

"Firefly" is one of my favorite sci-fi series. The idea of the two crossing paths, even in a very tiny way, gladdens my sci-fi-loving heart. In "Firefly," a group of criminals (mostly) fly through the universe on grand adventures in the year 2517, quipping at each other in the most delightful way. They're riding on a ship (a sort of worn-out one, but don't tell Kaylee I said that) called Serenity, which is a Firefly-class ship. (It sort of looks like the bug that shares its name and the back end lights up.) That brings us to our Easter egg. 

Over the skies of Caprica City

The Easter egg in question is a teensy one, but delightful. In the photo above, you can see a Firefly-class ship flying over the skies of Caprica City in the left of the shot. This happens in the first episode of the miniseries, which you can watch on Peacock, as of this writing. Do make sure to distinguish between the series and the miniseries as they're not together on the site. It happens at 14:44 when Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) visits a doctor in Caprica City to learn about her terminal illness. You can see it pass overhead above the glass ceiling after a few other ships. It's clear now that I know it's there, but I never would have seen it the first time I watched. 

The site points out that this Easter egg (which happened while "Firefly" was airing its single season, and before it became a cult hit and got me to subscribe to Netflix) showed up because Jarrod Davis, an animator for "Firefly," and then a digital artist for "Battlestar Galactica" (and later the "Firefly" film sequel "Serenity"), and Lee Stringer who was a CGI supervisor on both series wanted to do it. This comes from Davis in a Facebook post that was later discussed on Reddit. The post said that Stringer suggested putting Serenity in the background of a scene and that Davis was the one who did it. 

I love this so much. I miss both shows, and there is a little part of my heart that holds out hope for some sort of "Firefly" reunion. I know, I know. It will never happen — especially now — but the heart wants what the heart wants.