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One of the problems with coming up with outlandish, unlikely theories for Battlestar Galactica is that you're dealing with a series where the head writer has publicly admitted serious considering a plot that revealed that God was actually Dirk Benedict. With that as the limit for credibility, you're kind of screwed when it comes to coming up with something that sounds entirely unbelievable... which is why so many fan theories seem entirely plausible. Also, with the amount of clues that have been left throughout the series, it's no surprise that so many fan theories cover the same ground. For example:

Who Is The Final Cylon?
Well, if you ask BuddyTV, Boomer Is The Final Cylon:

Not Athena, the mother of Hera, but Boomer, the Sharon who shot Adama, got Jack Ruby-ed by Cally and tried to end the Cylon aggression against humanity. Crazy as it sounds, it all makes perfect sense... One of my biggest questions about Battlestar Galactica has always been the numbering of the Cylons. The seven original models all have numbers. Cavil, Leoben, D'Anna, Simon and Doral are 1-5, respectively. Number Six is, of course, 6. Then there's Sharon Valeri, aka Sharon Agathon, aka Boomer, aka Athena. She's number 8.

Either Ronald D. Moore doesn't know what comes after six, or this has been a huge clue slapping us in the face for years. I had just assumed that, for some reason, one of the final five was the missing 7. Then came this revelation that the final five don't have model numbers, which either means there is no 7 or Moore is playing mind games with his fans.

Of course, others still suspect that Starbuck Is The Final Cylon, and they have... uh, proof?:

Kara Thrace is the only female Cylon model who has naturally blonde hair. The original plan was that Kara was to be known as "the blonde Cylon", but that was abandoned when her programming failed to engage. The Sixes then seized on the opportunity to become known as "the bleached-blonde Cylon". Not to be upstaged, the Threes claimed the title of "the sun-streaked Cylon". It was this ruthless competition for blonde supremacy that motivated Sharon Valeri to desert the Cylon cause and swear allegiance to the Colonial Fleet.

Me, I still think that it's Gaeta, but here's an entirely unforeseen possibility for you to consider.

The Cylons Are A Virus
One of the stranger theories to pop up more than once during the course of the show is the idea that the Cylons aren't exactly the robots that we think that they are. For example, what if they're really
symbiotic parasites that rewrite the DNA of their hosts?:

As the Hybrid stated that the final five come from ”the home of the thirteenth” and until recently they were only seen as active cylons in the Opera House, Colonel Tighs age is again surprising. This is because his age indicates that any time on Earth for him would have to be around the time of the First Cylon War. This leads me to wonder if the final five cylons are actually normal humans who have been taken over by some form of “Cylon Symbiote or Virus” and this is how these cylons resurrect, in that when they die they move to a compatible host, or it rewrites the DNA of an Embryo to create a new cylon. This could also explain how Caprica 6 became pregnant by Tigh since if Tigh was in love with her and physically still human then as with the Athena pregnancy it would biologically be a Human Cylon child rather than the progeny of two Cylons, this would also make Tyrols child fully human. As BSG appears to be becoming more “mystical” as the series progresses then there could be a “mystical” variation of this theory occuring in that humans have been merged with a Cylon “spirit”.

Or, then again, maybe Cylons Are An STD:

Tracing the infection is just a matter of following who slept with who among the crew of the Galactica. The biggest evidence for a Cylon sex disease is that all Four of the Final Five Cylons either slept with Cylons or have links to people (carriers) who slept with known Cylons... Personally, I see the Cylon sex disease as a great way to pay homage to original series Star Trek. I always wondered how Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and other crew members could have numerous horizontal intergalactic alien interfaces and not come down with a case of sexually transmitted space cooties. Meanwhile, there were tons of galactic bugs going around: the aging virus (The Deadly Years), diseases that only affect grown ups (Miri), to the sweat transmittable disease Psi-2000 virus that caused Sulu run around shirtless with a fencing sword (The Naked Time). Not having an STD on original Star Trek (too sensitive an issue for the sixties?) was a real missed opportunity and could be rectified by Battlestar Galactica.

Plus, if Cylon sex disease eventually leads to topless Galactica crew members with fencing swords, I’m all for it.

Well, there's one new argument for safe sex, if nothing else.

Starbuck Isn't What She Seems To Be
Namely, she's the first Cylon/Human hybrid. Yeah, you read that right. Her daddy? Oh, come on, surely you can guess:

Leoben Conoy (the scary Keith Callum Rennie cylon who held her hostage on New Caprica and also who she tortured earlier in the series) is her dad.

OMG OMG it makes so much sense. That’s why he was the guy in her crazy dreams before she fake died and that’s why he’s the only one besides her mom who’s obsessed with her special destiny.

It makes so much sense.

Here's a more in-depth take on the same theory:

Too gross to think about a father, albeit a robotic one, lusting after his daughter? Well, that’s the trick Ronald Moore and company have pulled on us: We’ve thrown lust into their relationship where there is none. All of Leobin’s creepy advances on Kara should be re-viewed in this light. When he predicts that she will one day embrace him and say she loves him, this is the statement of a father, not a suitor. When he says that he wants to be a family with Kara, he’s being genuine — not as a husband but as a parent.

It’s the vision of Leobin that allows Kara to make peace with her mother; he’s passed this ’seer’ ability to his daughter. But it doesn’t take some sixth sense for Leobin to know so much about Kara — he knew her mother intimately and must have followed her life. Perhaps even Kara’s mother suspected (or knew!) of her paramour’s true nature, continually chiding Kara about her “special destiny.”

Leobin is Kara’s father. Kara is half-Cylon. She and Hera (and the Chief’s baby?) are the shape of things to come.

You know, I have to admit, I'm almost convinced.

Everything Has Happened Before
Well, we've been told this plenty of times during the series, but what does it actually mean? The most common theory is something like this:

Back in the ancient, misty past, there were beings who called themselves humans. They built robots to act as their servants and fight their wars. The robots rebelled, redesigned themselves in their creators' image, drove the humans to extinction, and took their place. As time went on, they forgot they were robots and instead believed they were humans. They built new robots to act as their servants and fight their wars. The robots rebelled, et cetera and so forth. The last time it happened, humanity lived on Kobol. After the robots won their revolution, they set off to found the 12 Colonies. They forgot they were robots and believed they were humans. They built Cylons to act as their servants and fight their wars. The Cylons rebelled.

The cyclical nature of this history explains how there can be a prophecy in their holy book. It isn't prophecy; it's a history of last time. The only thing I can't work out is how mentions of Earth got involved. Maybe humanity did originate on Earth many iterations ago, and the name has propagated through all the revolutions.

But the best version of the theory? Well, that's also The Greatest BSG Theory Of Them All:

Earth, the "13th Colony" is actually the "1st Colony". They created the Cylons and the other humans come from them. For some protective reason it is all reversed though, and made to look like earth is a 13th colony that came after the original 12. The Cylons have existed before Caprica was ever populated with humans, before the other 11 planets/colonies. Sure the Capricans invented robots called Cylons, and those robots went to war with the humans. They agreed to a truce and left, only to reappear with very human looking Cylons. Did they create them? Probably not. The survivors just see them as Cylons based on what they know so far, and because they travel with Cylons. The Final Four (yes four, not five) that we now know of probably created them. Also, the Final Four are probably not limited to one body or form. The last Cylon, as yet unknown (the 5th of the Final Five) is different still. Our current colloquialism for the 5th would probably be to call it "God". The First and Final One. The Final Four are probably lower deities, or original prophets of The First and Final. The Other Seven are just puppets, probably different from the other humans only in the fact that they are reborn into a facsimile body after death. The holy books, prophesies, etc. are all realized in this as being true. Not just fundamentalist lunacy, but reality. The books were written to bring the humans to Earth after the destruction of their homeworlds. A recurring theme in the show has been "All of this has happened before, and will again". So the religious texts are just a design to aide in keeping it all "happening again".

And why is it all happening at all, let alone to be played out over and over again? The First and Final Cylon is none other than Adolf Hitler! And this is how he purifies the genetic lines of humanity. Destroying humanity over and over again, but only the very strongest survive it and live to breed even genetically stronger babies. Only this time they are breeding the strongest of the humans with the genetically perfect Cylons to help push the perfect genes into society.

Sure, the theorizer (Allen Christopher) quickly backtracks with "Alright, when I said the Last and Final was Hitler, I was being facetious," but we know better. Ron Moore, the gauntlet has been thrown at your feet. If the revelation of the Final Cylon isn't at least as stunning as it turning out to be Hitler, then I think we have to consider the entirity of Battlestar Galactica - and, for that matter, Caprica, let's be honest - a failure.

Make us proud.

While Charlie Jane isn't convinced by SyFy Portal's claim of spoilage, at least three of the five contenders seem particularly believable (Especially when you consider the WTF-age of Tigh, Anders, Tory and Tyrol's reveals at the end of last season). But at what point does the revelation that "[character X] isn't who you thought they were at all!" cease to be shocking - or even interesting - and start to be annoying? Isn't there a chance that the mystery of the identity of the Final Cylon has been ruined by being built up so much, and that no solution will end up being satisfying enough to fans? Here are SyFy Portal's five choices for Final Cylon, and why we'd rather that none were true:

Lee Adama
Why It Sucks: Short of the Final Cylon being Bill Adama himself, isn't this the second most obvious - and boring - choice? The son of the man who led the fleet back to Earth, and the one who's been presented to be some kind of voice of a greater morality (See his defense of Baltar and new political career), being revealed to be a Cylon would feel to be a cynical "gotcha" moment on behalf of the writers... but, on the other hand, it may finally manage to make the character interesting.

Felix Gaeta
Why It Sucks: While it'd give him an excuse for that terrible singing episode - He was clearly trying to drive humanity insane with his maudlin wailing - there would be a strange feeling of Deja Vu if Gaeta turned out to be the Final Cylon. Haven't we already seen the mid-level administrative Cylon reveal with Torry? And, more worryingly - and this is actually enough to make me convinced that Gaeta is going to be revealed to be the Final Cylon - considering Tigh, Anders and Tyrol have already been revealed to be Cylons, wouldn't this make all of the main players in the New Caprica resistance Cylons? If that's the case, then that's not retcon irony, that's just a bucketload of fail.

Laura Roslin
Why It Sucks: It's too clean a wrap-up for all of Roslin's storylines, for one. The visions? She's a Cylon who was predestined to be The One. Being cured of cancer by Cylon genes? Because she's a Cylon! Pushing suspected Cylons out of airlocks? Because her subconscious was overcompensating for her secret! Falling in love with Bill Adama? Because she had to get close to the leader of humanity! And so on, and so on. It's too neat that I don't really believe that it could be true - and, also, I can't see Mary McDonnell going for the idea, either.

Ellen Tigh and Cally Tyrol
Why Both Suck: The last two suggestions on the list are disappointing for exactly the same reasons - Because they're dead, and because they were married to another member of the Final Five, without any of them knowing. Sure, both have a "They were killed by a member of the Final Five" thing going for them for those who like the gritty irony thing, but it feels like lazy melodrama for the long-awaited reveal to be about someone who's already dead at the unknowing hands of one of their own (Although, were it Cally, then Torry's cruelty would come to light - and she'd arguably see her the wrongness of her actions). Worse yet would be if it did turn out to be one of these two characters, and they then came back from the dead; this isn't Heroes, thank you very much, even if BSG's Mark Verheiden has jumped ship to NBC's superhero soap.

Assuming that SyFY Portal's list is real - and that the Final Cylon is amongst these five characters - there are some things to be thankful for. That Starbuck isn't in there, for one thing, and neither is Admiral Adama himself. But otherwise, it's a worrying look at what may be to come... partially because it gives the feeling that no-one will be good enough to be the Final Cylon, and that there's no "good" way to finish the series.

Battlestar Galactica returns to SciFi on January 16th.

The Final Five On The Final Cylon [SyFyPortal]

This could be the offspring of Tigh and the Caprica Six, or it could mean that the last Cylon has made a Cylon baby? Or something else? The other potentially spoilery bit on the new site is a sound file showing Kara making a shocking discovery. (Which I'm just guessing is her own dead body in a crashed bird.) The good news is, the clues seem to be getting juicier day by day. [You Will Know The Truth]

After leaving the crew on a burned-out, radiation-saturated wasteland, I didn't think it could get any lower for the last of the human race. But Olmos reassures us that the final half-season of BSG is going to be a teary-eyed bloodbath, telling fans it'll be:

“Emotionally, heartbreaking. I’m telling you this for a reason, because I don’t want you guys to think you’re going to go through this without getting yourself really twisted … it’s brutal what happens to us. Not many of us make it.”

Olmos also revealed some details about the BSG movie that he'll be directing. While we've reported this film will follow the Cylon point of view, one of the main characters is going to be Aaron Douglas, or Chief Tyrol (who was in attendance in at the BSG panel). The movie will spend some time focusing in on the Chief's story over the last few seasons.

And finally, according to TV Addict, the whole panel movie name dropped Blade Runner again and again, as if that movie was an important clue to the ending of BSG. Olmos was very intent on talking about the twist behind Harrison Ford's Deckard (discovering he's a replicant). What could this new obsession mean? I highly doubt that Adama is a Cylon, since Ronald D. Moore has stated time and time again that it won't be Adama. My guess is, it's another main character but in the Adama family (as Blade Runner was quite big on the family ties). My money is on Lee or his mysterious younger brother Zak who we know will be appearing in the last few episodes of BSG.

[TV Addict]

Wondering how to last the next six months (at least) until Battlestar Galactica returns to our screens? You could do worse that spend some time over at Battlestar Revealed, a site that attempts to piece together various sources to work out the remaining mysteries created by Ron Moore and crew.

While the site may be guilty of being perhaps too literal in dealing with the show - Does anyone else really think that the scenes in the Opera House are meant to be flashbacks to when the actual Opera House existed, rather than metaphorical dreams or visions? - there's a lot of food for thought in the arguments that it constructs around the identity of the Final Cylon, the importance of the Lords of Kobol and, maybe most interestingly, the way that the show's been constructed by the writers:

Now when you analyse the scene in which D’Anna gets off the Raptor and requests the four from the fleet, it makes perfect sense that this is a scene in which the writers have had to “dig themselves out of a hole”. At first glance it appears as though D’Anna does indeed recognize the Final Five but its clear that it was filmed in such a way as to continue the charade that the Final Five humans are the same five that the cylons call the Final Five.

It’s never conclusive that she recognizes any of the other four. She did recognize Baltar, he was the only one connected via his head character at that time. He was already on the baseship which is why she only requested the four from the fleet. She simply used a mind trick to fool the colonials into thinking she knew the other four. When she starts speaking, both Tory and Tigh are looking extremely worried which is why she appears to focus her attention on them - leading you to think she already knows who they are. Tory then effectively gives herself up and in a scene that we don’t see, she tells D’Anna who the other three are. This is how she appears to know the identity of the other three when Lee tells her that he has them in the launch tube.

Another piece of clever production, designed to dig themselves out of a hole and at the same time maintain the illusion that the Opera House figures and the Final Five humans are one and the same!

[Battlestar Revealed]

For those who have been spending the first half of Battlestar Galactica's final season expecting to see deceased presidential aide Billy Keikeya again - perhaps in a shock revelation as the show's final cylon - then we've got some good news and bad news for you. The good news is, the writers want to bring Billy back as well. The bad news, it's not going to happen.

Speaking during one of the latest podcast commentaries, executive producer Ron Moore explained,

I think we [the writers] were all kind of intrigued about bringing the Billy character back, he was one of our favorites and long dead and it would be kind of cool to see him again in the last season... But there was some scheduling conflict with the actor Paul Campbell, and he wasn't available.

Okay, we'll admit it - This doesn't mean that we have no chance of seeing Billy again; Moore has been known to mislead fans on his podcast commentaries, after all (*coughStarbuck'sdeathcough*). But if he really wanted to keep any potential Billy reappearance a surprise, it's unlikely that he'd start bringing up the subject at all.

If you're wondering why he brought up the subject, it's because the role that equally dead character Elosha played as Roslyn's hallucinatory spiritual advisor in "The Hub" episode was originally going to be filled by a ghost Billy. When Campbell's lack of availability changed that plan, writer Jane Espenson detailed the amount of work that created to fix the script:

In a hallmark of what I consider really fine writing, I just did a global search and replace on the name. I did not change the lines. The only thing I did... I added 'Cue the celestial trumpets.' That one phrase that Elosha has was all I did to change it.

As Moore says in response, "There you go. That's how finely detailed this stuff is."

Battlestar Galactica Commentary Podcast [Scifi.com]