This has been an interesting read, old thread but i just found it
I know this has been done before on another movie, I had this idea for long
time that the transmission received should've or could've been perhaps Hitler
opening the Olympics. (i think 70's TV mind set prevented that) and maybe
amplified through space via gravitational lensing or accelerated through a
white hole. I think it would've made more sense, I think, to have an older
transmission.
The other idea I had was no transmission received at all, instead, Galactica's
scanners pick up a large gravitational anomoly on the planet the 3 base ships
are hiding behind. They discover the USS Eldridge. (or is that to comical?)
Cheers.
Edit: umm, that last bit was an idea for one of my stories.