Hero

After a long break, my wife and I finally watched another season 3 episode last night, Hero. It was a pretty cool look back at pre-war Adama. The flashbacks added some nice information to my understanding of the state of affairs before the Cylon attacks. As a self-contained episode, I enjoyed it. I'm still not entirely sure what's up with the existential crisis that Xena Cylon is having. I'm sure that will become clear shortly.

Battlestar may indeed air on NBC

Long time no blog! Just heard about an IGN article rehashing the possibility that NBC may opt to air episodes of Battlestar Galactica while the strike plods on.

Battlestar Galactica May Re-Air on NBC
- IGN December 6, Eric Goldman

"Rumors of Galactica re-airing or even moving new episodes to NBC go back much further than the strike and seem to pop up once a year or so. NBC has in fact re-aired select Galactica episodes in the past, but never on a regular basis. While it's highly unlikely first run episodes will be moving to NBC -- the show's fourth and final season is set to premiere in the spring on SCI FI, though production on the second half is suspended thanks to the strike -- the rumors of ongoing reruns on NBC have resurfaced recently, as the networks run out of scripted series to air and a greater possibility looms of them looking to cable programming that would be new to a larger audience."

While I was browsing IGN, I saw this link to a whole buncha BSG videos. Might be fun to check out if you have the time.

In other non-news... I just picked up Razor on DVD. Yeah, I caved. I had these thoughts of boycotting the DVD release - I think partially because of the strike, and partially because I thought it might make a statement against the delayed release of season 3 on DVD and the pushing back of season 4, but truthfully I can't remember exactly why I was planning the boycott anymore. I just had to see the extended and unrated edition that "you couldn't see on TV". I picked it up at Best Buy and it says it has an exclsive Bonus Disc only available at Best Buy. Hmmmm. Kind of doubt that. I'll post about the DVD later, as I'm just about to settle in to watch it tonight.

Razor Flashback Minisodes

If anyone has the desire to see all 7 of the Razor Flashback minisodes put together, they aired them Friday night, so I figured I'd upload it as an easier viewing option:

Total runtime is 16:54

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Razor Flashback 7

This will be the last separate Flashback. Read below for BSG programming next week...

airdate November 16, 2007

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Next Friday, Flash Gordon isn't scheduled to air - instead, Star Trek Enterprise is scheduled to run from 9 to 10:30PM on Sci Fi, and the "BSG MINISODES" will be included (I assume they will take that extra 1/2 hour to show all the Flashbacks, hopefully at the end). If we're lucky, there will be an 8th included in next Fridays bundle, but as you can see with this mini, there ain't much more to say with this story line. They could probably fit these all in well under 20 minutes. Perhaps they have a whopping 5 minutes of surprise material for next week.

Here's the Sci Fi programming schedule for the 23rd and 24th concerning BSG:

November 23, 2007 on SciFi:

9:00 - 10:30 PM - Star Trek Enterprise w/ BSG MINISODES!
(looks like they will be airing them all together after STE?!)

November 24, 2007:

1:30 AM - Exodus Part 1 (S3 E3)
2:30 AM - Exodus Part 2 (S3 E4)
* S3 E5 "Collaborators" is not scheduled to air!?
3:30 AM - Torn (S3 E6) * Sciffy calls this part 1!?
4:30 AM - A Measure of Salvation (S3 E7) *Sciffy calls this part 2!?

9:00 PM - RAZOR

November 25, 2007:

1:00 AM - RAZOR (again!)
3:00 AM - Hero (S3 E8)
4:00 AM - Unfinished Business (S3 E9)
5:00 AM - The Passage (S3 E10)

Razor Flashback 6

Razor Flashback minisode 6: "Survivors"

VERY short this week:


Online Videos by Veoh.com


CREDITS


View Razor Flashbacks courtesy of scifi.com here

Resistance Webisodes

The Resistance webisodes take place between seasons 2.5 and 3. There were 10 short episodes. The video here strings them all together.
Runtime: 28:19
Battlestar Galactica Resistance Full

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Razor Flashback 5

Totally Halloweenie! Ewwww...

"The Lab"


Online Videos by Veoh.com

CREDITS

View Razor Flashbacks courtesy of scifi.com here

Razor Flashback 4

Razor Flashback minisode 4: "Free Fall"


Online Videos by Veoh.com


CREDITS

View Razor Flashbacks courtesy of scifi.com here

Awesomeness. This is sci-fi.

Season 4 set to air in April 2008

In (season 3 spoilers in link!) an LA Times article yesterday, we got a confirmation that season 4 will not air until early April, 2008. The length of any seasonal gap is still unknown, and everything seems to be subject to the looming WGA strike.

Which isn't all bad. Thanks to that and the potential lack of material which would result, NBC is planning on airing older Battlestar episodes.

Oh yeah, and Moore will direct an episode. I care a little less about this. While it will be interesting to see, the show has still become what it is without Moore directing.

Of course, still not even a peep about season 3 on DVD, but I would expect it to be as late as a couple of weeks before season 4 begins, since they've done that with previous Battlestar DVD releases. Thanks Universal. You've made the decision to engage in illegal downloads a no-brainer to the majority of fans.
;p

BSG Razor on DVD

I was just perusing the bestbuy.com site and noticed that Razor is scheduled to be released on DVD on 12/4/07!!! Woo-hoo!

Strange that it will be released before Season 3 on DVD?!?!?? WTF! ;)

It'll be great to have Razor anyway. :)

Other Battlestar updates...

I'm usually not huge on soundtracks, but frankly, lately I haven't been huge on any new music at all. I know, lame. But the season 3 Battlestar Galactica soundtrack just came out, and it has been getting a lot of attention for being a pretty quality piece of work. I love all the Battlestar music while watching the show. Composer Bear McCreary is unique and a legend in his own time. I'm definitely going to pick this one up.

Did I ever post this Razor advance review? I can't warn those of you who haven't seen season 3 to the end enough that this contains MAJOR SPOILERS as to the events that occur throughout the second half or so of season 3.

Speaking of Razor and SPOILERS - Thanks to rancor_breath in the sw.com message boards for the pointer to this Razor synopsis
at TrekWeb. Okay, now I'm laughing at myself since I got Battlestar Galactica news posted at a Star Trek website, from a Star Wars message board. Geek? Prolly.

I don't love SyFy Portal. They post way too many rumorific information, with not so clear sources. Just don't like it. Yet I frequent there enough wih a lot of attentiveness to Battlestar news. I guess I'm just a fan like that. But one recent self confessing speculative article was rather interesting. It discusses the real possibility that successful cable shows like BSG might get airtime on the major networks (In BSG's case, SciFi is part of NBC Universal) due to the WGA strike which is due to start sometime after November 1. Check it out.

... and you know what would happen if BSG were aired on NBC? It would be available in HD! Yeahoo! I'm all for this strike now (plus, I have a zillion movies to catch up on anyway) ;)

Nope. No new news on that pesky issue of the season 3 DVD release. The chatter has been pretty steadily pointing toward sometime after January, and possibly as late as April.

Razor comes to theaters November 12

NICE! Early screenings of Battlestar Galactica: Razor will come to theaters across US major cities on November 12. To quote this Watcher article:

There will be free screenings of the film in movie theaters in eight cities on Nov. 12: Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, San Francisco, Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle and, yes, Chicago. The screenings will take place at multiple locations in each city, but all of the screenings will be on the evening of Nov. 12.

Awesomeness. I'll have to try and get down to Boston that night. Otherwise, Razor will air on SciFi on November 24th. Check out the previous post here for more info on special Battlestar Galactica programming surrounding the big event.

Also, Cinema Blend follows up (I was a little confused at the info at the Wather at first):

On Friday (10/26), a website will go live that will give BSG fans the opportunity to sign up for tickets. It’s a first-come/first-serve thing and as The Tribune didn’t list the actual time that the site will go live, if you really want to get tickets, you might need to prepare to camp out online hitting refresh. The Tribune listed the web address as battlestarevent.com. Clicking that before Friday will re-route you to an Events Management company.

The two things i would travel for: Anything Batlestar Galactica on the Big Screen, and Blade Runner: The Final Cut (which is also spreading screenings outside of NY and LA).

Season 3 half mini-marathon end of November

I falsely reported awhile back that season 3 would be rerun again through October. This was an assumption based on the fact that the Sci Fi Channel had been rerunning season 3 in a continuous loop, and after finishing one season 3 rerun in early September, it had continued right along again with scheduling the first two episodes of season 3 for the final two weeks of September.

Of course, I made that assumption before schedule-bot had October's schedule up, which was instead jam-packed with Halloween programming, and neigh a trace of season 3. Well, we got Razor Flashbacks at least.

... and speaking of those Razor Flashbacks. As the 8 total minisodes lead up to the double episode Razor event on November 24, Sciffy has scheduled a kind of half mini-marathon of season 3 in the wee hours for the night before and the night of the big event. It looks like first they will be picking up right where they left off (episode 2 "Precipice") at the end of September, with episode 3 of season 3 "Exodus Part 1" starting at 1:30am (EST?) on November 24th (however this actually appears on the November 23rd schedule, in true schedule-bot form). They will air 4 epsodes in a row through the wee hours of the night/morning, and commence the following evening after Razor is aired twice almost in a row with only a few more episodes. At the end, we will be at epsiode 10 of season 3, and my hopes are that they will continue in December with the last 10 episodes, and perhaps we will get another actual full marathon before season 4 starts (which apparently "early 2008" is definitely not January, and could be as late as April).

Here's another thing - either there is a flaw in the scheduling, and actual airing will be different, or Sciffy is messing with us again... or it's still early and they haven't cleaned up the scheduling yet. Maybe I'm the one who's messed up. Noted below *

Confused yet? Either refer to the link I posted above, or look below. I'm just posting the relevant stuff:

November 23, 2007 on SciFi:

9:00 - 10:30 PM - Star Trek Enterprise w/ BSG minisodes
(looks like they will be airing them all together after STE?!)

November 24, 2007:

1:30 AM - Exodus Part 1 (S3 E3)
2:30 AM - Exodus Part 2 (S3 E4)
* S3 E5 "Collaborators" is not scheduled to air!?
3:30 AM - Torn (S3 E6) * Sciffy calls this part 1!?
4:30 AM - A Measure of Salvation (S3 E7) *Sciffy calls this part 2!?

9:00 PM - RAZOR

November 25, 2007:

1:00 AM - RAZOR (again!)
3:00 AM - Hero (S3 E8)
4:00 AM - Unfinished Business (S3 E9)
5:00 AM - The Passage (S3 E10)


That's it for the rest of November. At this point, December's schedule-bot hasn't kicked in yet, so we'll just have to see if they finish it up. If you type in a search on schedule-bot, it tells me "12/07/2007 08:00 AM DAYTIME ROTATION - BATTLESTAR GALACTICA" so hopefully that means season 3 continues in December :D

Razor Flashback 3

Razor Flashback 3 airdate October, 19 2007. "Operation Raptor Talon"

Online Videos by Veoh.com

CREDITS


Watch Razor Flashbacks courtesy of scifi.com here


FAN MADE extended Razor preview.
"About This Video
BSG Razor Spoof..models are cgi enhanced & extensive alterations created by myself. Original Model authours..aldrickG & Chris Diston creators of the original Pegasus model. Original Galactica By Will Jaspers. Space Station created By ATASR55....cylon war ship created by Atasr55. Scorpion fleet base Headquarters created by Atas55. All permissions given to release folowing trailer given approval from various resources due to nature of non conflicting copywrights being a theme based trailer from an non-profit organisation."

Season 3 on DVD within our lifetime?

This from digitalbits 10/17/07:

"When's Battlestar Galactica: Season Three coming out? When is Universal going to announce the third season of Battlestar?" You know, aside from "When is this format war going to be over?" I don't think we get asked anything more often.

Well, folks... it just so happens that we're Battlestar fans around here at The Bits too. So we asked our friends over at Universal. The long answer is (of course) that what follows is unofficial, as the title hasn't actually been announced yet and production is still underway on the special features. However... their short answer is that it's tentatively penciled into their release schedule for next Spring, specifically April 2008.

Yeah, I know that's a fracking long time. Don't kill the messenger. I'm just telling you what they told me. There's no specific word on why they're taking so long to get it done, other than presumably they're just trying to get all the extras finished. Perhaps they want to give Battlestar Galactica: Razor plenty of time by itself on the DVD shelves, so that all you fans will make sure to buy it. Maybe they want to have another DVD product to sell during Season Four's mid-season break. Maybe they're working on an HD-DVD version as well (that's not official or anything, but it seems a likely possibility). Anyway, as of now, April 2008 it is.

Stay tuned...

The studios need to get their act together. Either they are totally oblivious to the fact that their money-making ploys through delayed releases are useless since anyone can download this stuff if they want to, or conversely, they know too much about that and are freaking out to desperately try and get what they can from a DVD release. Well, not me. I'm going to refuse to purchase Razor on DVD as a new release, and maybe not at all unless it's dirt cheap or I get it used. This is an act as a matter of principal by a fan and a consumer. Of course, any bad DVD sales could be read by the companies as Razor being unpopular. But who really cares, since Galactica is ending after season 4 - and perhaps if they see it as unpopular (which is unlikely since it's already made a claim to fame), they won't feel compelled to spread season 4 out so long. But then again, it could deter any movement on the possible Caprica series as well. It's a hard life being so conscientious. I'm just a leeetle perturbed right now *sigh*

The one valid reason for a delayed DVD release is that they are working on special features. They better be worth the wait, and they better include the Resistance webisodes and all the "exclusive clips" and bonus scenes that were aired after season 3 episodes first aired, and which are now no longer available to view on the website - save for a few.

This is my rant. No news is... still no news ;)

Razor Flashback 2!

For you, my fellow frakkers. Last week we had a sex scene. This week, we have gore. In six more weeks, we'll have more than two minutes at a time to watch. Then... who knows how long...

Razor Flashback minisode 2: "The Hangar"

Online Videos by Veoh.com

CREDITS


View them on scifi.com here

Gettin' chatty with David Eick

David talks to "Two Tivos to Paradise" (whatever the heck that is). Not really info heavy, but it's nice to see David's words. I really think he's an interesting and funny guy. What is it with producers anyway? David Eick and Rick McCullum seems like they could be long lost twin brothers.

Here's the more interesting non-news I drew out of the conversation:

TTTP: Switching up yet again, has there been any final call on the scheduling of the final season of Battlestar Galactica?

DE: Not that I know of. I'm not always privy to the decisions they make.

TTTP: Any update on the status of Caprica (the BSG spin off that is in development at Sci-Fi)?

DE: No. Ron Moore and I are still waiting patiently for some encouraging news on that front. I know it's still a consideration of theirs and they haven't moved off of it, but I don't have any updates on that either, unfortunately.

So there ya have it. Razor Flashback number 2 tomorrow night! I feel like a half starved torture victim. I'll get it up here as soon as possible for non-USA peeps.

Season 4 teaser!

Sweet new season 4 teaser. OMG!

Razor Flashback 1 video

This is pretty good quality, even if you click the full screen view in the bottom right corner of the player. Razor Flashback minisode 1: "Day 4,571" aired October 5, 2007. Please check out the credits linked below the video...


Online Videos by Veoh.com

CREDITS

BTW - I think this mini-sodhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gife series may also be titled "Takeover". Hey! It's what I saw in sciffy's page source is all I'm sayin' ;)

Here's a lesser quality version, but it has Razor promos in the beginning:

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Enjoy all my foreign amigos :D

Note: If you have the ability to view these on the SciFi webpage, please go there to view:
Razor Flashback Minisodes courtesy of scifi.com

Razor Flashback 1 Transcript

I saw the first mini-sode of Razor Flashback tonight, which came on about 1/3 of the way through Flash Gordon. I was going to not even bother, and just watch it on SciFi.com since the site specifically said All the flashback clips will be available on SCIFI.COM immediately after broadcast. Pfft. Here it is almost 3 hours later, and still no video on sciffy.com.

Check out the main page for BSG at SciFi.com:

ABOUT BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: RAZOR

The Two-Hour Event

The special two-hour episode "Razor", which will serve as a backdrop for the events of season four of Battlestar Galactica, tells the story of Lee Adama's first mission as the commander of the battlestar Pegasus — and the harrowing tale of that ship's desperate fight for survival in the immediate aftermath of the Cylon's genocidal siege of the Twelve Colonies.

Lee Adama's new XO, Major Kendra Shaw, is plagued by memories of her service and sacrifices under Admiral Helena Cain, who was able to save her ship during the Cylon attack — but only by making Shaw and her fellow officers rationalize suicidal battle tactics and brutal war crimes against their own people.

In the crucible of war, Shaw must let her hesitation and doubts burn away, until all that remains of her is the honed edge of a living human weapon — what Colonial veterans call "a razor." But an edge so fine cuts in more than one direction. It can cleave an enemy to pieces … or it can carve away a person's soul.

The Razor Flashbacks

From October 5 through November 16, SCI FI whets Battlestar fans' appetites every Friday night with Razor Flashbacks during all-new episodes of Flash Gordon. All the flashback clips will be available on SCIFI.COM immediately after broadcast.

Written by Michael Taylor and directed by Wayne Rose and Felix Alcala, these intense, roughly two-minute segments tell the story of young William "Husker" Adama's rookie Viper mission during the first Cylon war. In addition to fighting for his very survival against relentless Cylon centurions, Adama makes a terrifying discovery that will come back 40 years later to threaten him, the crew of the Pegasus and the survival of the human race.

This isn't footage you'll see in the premiere of Razor, so make sure to watch every Friday for a new flashback adventure, then see it again on SCIFI.COM!

Luckily I was around so I kept Flash Gordon on in the background and actually got to see Razor Flashback #1. If you missed it, here is a transcript that some kind soul posted in the message boards. I'm guessing it will be up on youtube before sciffy.com gets it "immediately" posted at it's own site:

First Cylon War
Day: 4,571

Battlestar Galactica

(Starboard bow shot...)

(Cut to Pilot's bunks...feet shuffling under sheets...giggles...)

Jaycie-Hey, you put your boots out?

Adama- Ran into the commander while I was doin' it...

Jaycie- (Giggly expression) FRAK... What he say?

Adama- He took one lok at my barefeet and said (gruff) Whattya' hear Husker?

Jaycie- Nothin' but the rain, SIR!!! (mock salutes)

Adama- Grab your gun and bring the cat in...

Jaycie- (moving down again for a kiss) Boom... Boom...

(Both)- Boom...

(Cut, both getting dressed in the empty room)

Intercom (male voice)- Attention all hands, set material condition Costellation. Radiological warfare procedures are now in effect. This is not a drill.

(Adama's helmet rools off into the floor. He turns around for it as she picks it up and hands it to him.)

Jaycie- Hey...take it easy. You're gonna' do fine.

Adama- (Staring up at the ceiling) Three Raider wings, ground forces, defensive batteries... All to defend a chunk of ice in the arse-end of nowhere. Toasters must think it's pretty important...

Jaycie- Yeah, rumour's they're building somekind of superweapon, or something.

Adama- I heard they were, uh, negotiating. Trying to reach a peace settlement.

Jaycie- Yeah, I think I heard that too... But, if ya' think about it, why would they surrender? You know they're frakkin' machines. Shoot one down...they just build more.

Adama- Remember when the war started? Stunt school? Never thought I'd get out here in time to get a shot at em'.

Jaycie- Moving in close to him) My first engagement...one of their fighters lined up on me. Had me dead to rights. Next thing I know, our Raptor's blowing through a cloud of debris. (both smile ever so slightly) I looked down and realized my thumb was on the trigger. Training just kicked in, ya' know? Your's will too.

Intercom (male voice)- Raptor Squadron 2 to readyroom 1...

Jaycie- That's my cue, Billy Adama... See ya' tonight, Rook... (kisses him, walks out)

Adama- Hey! Just because I've never flown in combat doesn't make a...

Intercom (female voice)- Division 3 to launch stations! Division 3 to launch stations!

Razor Flashback Previews

It's October, and that means one thing... well, aside from my most favoritest holiday EVAR (nooo, not talking about Columbus Day either :P)- Razor Flashbacks! The previews and trailers have been airing in recent months (just saw one a few minutes ago, which inspired me to do this entry). So for your previewing pleasure, here are the lot of 'em: trailers, previews, teasers etc. for Razor and Razor Flashbacks. Flashbacks are airing starting this Friday, all the way up to the late Novemeber air date for Razor.



Actual Razor previews/trailers:



Exclusive clip #1


Exclusive clip #2


Sneak peek of a sneak peek








Bonus vids (don't really have to do with Razor):

From Comic Cons "Ladies of BSG"


BSGcast interview with Katee Sackhoff


See other BSGcast stuff here on youtube

Battlestar Galactica this week...

Not too much for news, save for a semi-juicy recent interview with RDM:

First Look: Battlestar Galactica Razor

'we also do things like flash back to the original Cylon wars 40 years ago. We see a young [William] Adama [who will be played by a younger actor, not Edward James Olmos] fighting in a Viper. We move around quite a bit in the chronology of the series.'' Although that chronology won't include any sort of resolution to the season 3 cliffhanger, Moore does guarantee that ''there are some things that happen in Razor that set up things in the fourth season.''
...

Oh, and Moore says that, yes, he does know who the final unknown Cylon is; yes, whoever is playing that character knows he or she has been anointed; but no, they haven't shot the reveal yet (it will most likely be in the second half of the season).



(heh heh - I posted this in the sw.com Cantina BSG thread, and the yodacon transferred ;)

~Also... a recent post on BuddyTV talks about the economic influences regarding the possible season 4 split and makes it sound like the Caprica series is indeed a real possibility:

"The network is hoping to reach a final decision by January. One of the key factors is figuring out which new shows will be well-suited to accompany Battlestar Galactica, and how much those shows will cost.

One of the shows being considered is the Caprica spin-off series. Network executives believe the spin-off may help retain and expand the loyal Battlestar Galactica fan base, and are even considering a two-hour pilot similar to that of Razor. Should the pilot perform poorly, it will subsequently be sold as a DVD to make up for the losses. On the other hand, should the pilot do well, the network will have a new series to serve up."

~Trekkies and RDM fans will appreciate the appearances by Major/Colonel Kira Nerys aka Nana Visitor in an episode of season 4 of BSG. TrekWeb.com

~ Battlestar Galactica got some mention in this New York Times article:

"Science fiction is one thing: “Battlestar Galactica” has intellectual cachet.

“The humans are pagan polytheists and the robots are monotheists, whose divine jihad is against the humans (even though the former know that the latter created them),” Anthony Gottlieb, the author of “The Dream of Reason: A History of Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance,” explained off the top of his Blackberry from an airport baggage claim..."


~ Still no new peeps about season 3 on DVD. Looks like everything is on hold until they figure out all the politics over at Sciffy *sighs* (but tell me that picture of Katee Sackhoff doesn't totally rock!)

Resistance webisodes

Last night my wife and I watched the 10 Resistance webisodes in preparation for watching the first episode of Season 3 that recorded a couple nights ago. The webisodes were cool. They were an interesting little glimpse at the state of life in occupied New Caprica City. I'm curious to see if Jammer was leaving to notify the Cylons of the impending Resistance activity. I get the feeling he wouldn't mind seeing Tigh go down. Tigh has a knack for rubbing people the wrong way.

I'm fascinated by Tyrol's ever-expanding beard. Ever since he beat up Callie, married her and had a kid with her, I don't think he's shaved.

I'm also fascinated by the religious practices in this show. In particular, the little figurines of the gods (I'm guessing) are pretty interesting.

All in all, the webisodes were a nice little fill-in between seasons. Nothing spectacular, but definitely interesting. On to Season 3!

Finally... some Battlestar NEWS!

It seems almost everything reported about Battlestar Galactica - the upcoming season 4 possible split, the season 3 DVD set, the fabled Caprica series - has all been heresay with little or no follow-up confirmations. What gives? Well, there is a little trickle of info about all of the above issues reported on TV Guide.com today. One would think it's a pretty reliable source, but then again, they could easily have a lot of facts wrong (and who can blame them, since it's all so frakking confusing). I'll just copy and paste the whole thing, or you can follow this link for the story from the source...

Will Galactica Split Season 4? Plus Spin-off, DVD News

Michael Trucco and Jamie Bamber in Battlestar Galactica by Eike Schroter/Sci Fi Channel Photo

"Sci Fi Channel execs continue to be at odds over whether to cleave the final season of Battlestar Galactica into two 10-episode chunks. As one source tells TV Week, "the money people" are itching to amortize the pricey series across two half-seasons. Showrunner Ronald D. Moore, however, tells the trade it might be better to run all 20 at once, "so [the fans] don't have to wait" — especially since viewers reportedly will "freak out" when they see the ending of Episode 10. A decision on the game plan may not come until January.

Elsewhere, Sci Fi is said to be pondering a two-hour standalone Caprica spin-off movie that, if successful, would serve as a pilot for a new character-driven, less-action-heavy series.

Also, TVGuide.com has learned that the Season 3 DVD set isn't due out until spring 2008. "

Good: RDM seems to be putting his two cents in about keeping season 4 together for the shttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifake of the viewers. Also, especially awesome is the hopeful news about the Caprica series, which I would personally love to see.

Bad: I hope they aren't confusing the Caprica series with the Razor movie, as some other media sources have done, but I don't believe they are. The really bad news is the push for the season 3 DVD set. Spring 2008? Gah!

The way they worded this also implies that a possible season split really is for the money, although this report could easily be hyping up non-information anyway. It does make sense if they are considering a Caprica series though, since if Sciffy let BSG season 4 play itself out without a long hiatus, their main attraction would be gone sooner. Therefore, the promise of more Battlestar in some shape or form would make up for the loss.

Edit - Another article on the same subject, but a little more in depth and closer to source.

No Battlestar reruns in October

Sorry about any misinformation everyone. I reported on Aug 30, after zealously scanning the Sci Fi schedule-bot (which only showed August and September at the time) that season 3 of Battlestar Galactica would loop back to the beginning and rerun again starting September 21/22 at 2am. Occupation, season 3 episode 1, will be aired that night, and the following week (September 28/29 at 2am) episode 2 of season 3, Precipice, will also be aired.

Now that I see the October scheduling, it looks as though it is blocked out with Halloween programming and the like, and no Battlestar Galactica anywhere. I jumped the gun on that one, but it's kind of strange - why wouldn't they rerun the rest of season 3 right up to the Razor special on November 24. I mean, they have enough time to do exactly that - interlacing with the Razor mini-sodes during the final lap (which will start airing in October during Flash Gordon: Fridays at 9pm). Oh right. Silly me. I forgot this is SciFi (SNAP), and that would be way too much Battlestar Galactica at one time. Like they don't have Star Trek, Stargate, and Beast Master on 3 or 4 times a day each or anything. Funny. It seems like they might be trying to lure viewership from their flagship show to try and save the Flash flop or somthing. If you think about it, it is a pretty slick business move.

Maybe... just MAYBE, we'll get another season 3 marathon like they did back in the spring. I mean, it's the least they can do, and they are having marathons for other lesser shows all the time!

I'm still excited for Razor and the mini-sodes, even if I don't give a whoop about Caine - it's still new and it will give us another perspective of the Battlestar world.


This picture is for you rj ;)




On a more positive note - The two part season finale of season 3 begins tonight (or tomorrow) at 2am with Crossroads part 1, and part 2 will be the same time next week. I'm up for that... well my VHS is at least :D

Split this SciFi!

Heh - Quite a stir, but probably over nothing much more than an exaggeration of something that was inevitable in some shape or form...

It seems as though SciFi spokespeople have felt the stir created by Bamber and Douglas last week at D*C, and while it has been known for a long time that a split in season 4 was likely to occur, it was never confirmed as to how long the split was to be. SciFi execs are still mapping everything out, but for now - keep vocal (and civil) fans! If the decisions are unfavorable, there are things that can be done (and no, I don't mean by mass toaster mailing campaign. That's so 2005!).

The Watcher, September 5, 2007:

“I know people are anxious but there is no news yet,” regarding when the second and final block of Season 4 episodes will air, a Sci Fi Channel spokeswoman added.

Imagine you’re right in the middle of the final Harry Potter book – but then someone takes it away from you and you’re denied the pleasure of reading the concluding chapters. For a year.

SyFy Portal, September 5, 2007:

"We were told that SciFi was thinking about splitting the final season, but we do not know how long the gap in that split will be," producer David Weddle told SyFy Portal's Michael Hinman. "As far as I know, SciFi has not decided yet. The SciFi Channel executives are the only ones who will be able to answer that question, once they've arrived at a decision."

If I have to wait 10 months to a year, can I at least have an animated series or something in between? Please?

BSG Season 2.5: scattered thoughts

Some scattered thoughts on BSG Season 2.5, now that I'm done. Spoilers ahead. Cross-posted at Geek Rebellion.

• The finale was pretty sweet. I dug the jump ahead a year. It was a nice shake-up to the "on the run" scenario that encompassed the first two years.
• Just when I was starting to develop a smidge of sympathy for Baltar, he turns into the worst president you could imagine. That guy is all groin. So, Gada (sp?) is his aide now? Interesting.
• It seems like something happened between Starbuck and Apollo that really put their relationship on the deep freeze. I'm assuming it was something more than Starbuck being rude to Apollo about D.
• Either Apollo put on some real weight for the scenes one year in the future or they did some good prosthetics.
• They sure got complacent after a year of no Cylons. I like that the fleet was so ill-prepared that they had to jump away. Good dramatic tension.
• So, Apollo puts on some weight and doesn't shave everyday and his dad grows a mustache. It's funny the things that can be done to show that a year has passed.
• New Caprica City looks like a little slice of gray heaven. I suppose it's better than living on a ship, but not by much.
• I really dig the Dean Stockwell Cylon. Cool character and well-acted.
• Now I'm really not sure what the Cylon's plan is. Why are they just occupying New Caprica? What's their goal?
• So, the Chief and Callie are having a baby, eh? Good for them.
• Now, it's on to the webisodes and the terrible wait until Sci-Fi starts at the beginning of Season 3 in a couple weeks.

Season 4 sit-rep

Some news is starting to trickle in from the Battlestar Galactica panel at Dragon-Con, and some really ominous rumours to boot. Word has it that Jamie Bamber and Aaron Douglas had a little roast at the expense of Sci Fi Channel politics, and supposedly "joked" that season 4 was to be split into two stints of ten episodes each, the first half being aired in February 2008, and the second the following February. I've checked around some of the forums and it seems that this truly is a false alarm by attendees of the panel who accepted Bamber and Douglas's gesture as a joke. Many others are skeptical. It's not like we haven't heard "slips" from the actors before that were later confirmed as truth. Nor is it so far fetched to believe the Sci Fi channel would do this, since the second season of BSG was similarly split along with other scheduling catastrophes for other programs.

First report from Ain't it Cool

Rumor catches on at Buddy TV

The fan-world goes nuts, and is undecided as to the validity

Frown not fans. Here's a wonderful thing that came from Dragoncon: An interview with Jamie Bamber. Some great words in there!

Other recent S4 stuffs:

In the span of a week, we thought Kevin Smith was going to guest-direct an episode of BSG in season 4, but it looks like that's a no-go. I stated my feelings on this previously, and I really have respect for Kevin Smith in his own right. He actually, and very humbly, describes in his own blog what happened, and the reasons why he was hesitant himself are exactly the reasons I was hesitant to be enthusiastic about the prospect of a Smith directed BSG episode.


In the meantime, I'm sitting on my hands until an official statement is made concerning the season 4 split.

Here's some news for fans of Ye Olde Tyme BSG... BSG 1980 on DVD rumors!

Mini-sodes update

Well, not much of an update, since SciFi.com posted this back on August 7:

Beginning in October, SCI FI will air Battlestar Galactica "mini-sodes" entitled "Razor" during episodes of the hit series Flash Gordon, Fridays at 9 p.m. The two-to-three-minute shorts will lead into the Nov. 24 premiere of "Razor," the two-hour Battlestar special TV movie, which will tell the story of Lee Adama's (Jamie Bamber) first mission as commander of the Battlestar Pegasus and will reveal the story of how Adm. Cain (Michelle Forbes) served her ship during the original Cylon attack on the Colonies. "Razor," which airs at 9 p.m., will provide a backdrop to events in the rest of Battlestar, which returns for its fourth and final season in early 2008.

"Razor" is written by Michael Taylor and directed by Felix Alcala. It also stars Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer and introduces Stephanie Jacobsen as Kendra, Adm. Cain's protege.

Full article here: SCI FI Announces Fall Dates

There will be a total of 8 mini-sodes, spanning for eight weeks straight, prior to the two hour special Razor. The mini-sodes will be available on SciFi.com, but it's still unclear if they will be posted the same evening they are aired. I imagine they will be though, and I hope so. I don't think I can stomache sitting through Flash Gordon just to see the mini-sodes. I tried with Flash, I swear I did. Just didn't work out for me ;)

Season 3 rerun reboots in September

Not many people may know that Battlestar's season 3 has been rerun late nights on the Sci Fi Channel ever since the actual season finale this past spring. The show time has consistently been at 2:00 am EST on Saturday mornings (or Friday nights, depending on your lifestyle - read below for notes on Sci Fi's schedule-bot scheduling), with some exceptions. The exception this week will be a Stargate marathon. However, on September 7/8 the Battlestar reruns will continue with part 1 of the season finale Crossroads, followed by part 2 the following week on September 14/15.

The good news is that the Sci Fi channel will start right back up at the beginning of season 3 with the season premiere The Occupation, the very next week; September 21/22 at 2am EST, then continuing on with the rest of season 3 once again, same time as usual.

That's plenty of time to get some blank VHS tapes, DVD-RAM, or to clean out the good ol' DVR. Of course we could make every Friday night a Frak party, and stay up until the wee hours watching each episode. Of course what I think we're all waiting for is the DVD release of season 3, but who knows when the hack that will be.


Notes on Sci Fi's schedule-bot:

- It's a good idea (in my geeky opinion at least) to bookmark Sci Fi schedule-bot main index page in your browser so every time you open it, the schedule for that day will come up. The daily scheduling is listed from 6:00 am to 5:00 am the following morning. You'll see the listings for Battlestar when you click on Fridays (in the monthly calendars at the bottom of the page), even though it's actually scheduled for 2am on Saturdays. Set your recording devices accordingly, and lock s-foils in attack position. :D

Don't forget the webisodes!

Before starting watching season 3 from the beginning again, don't forget to first watch the 10 part series of short webisodes titled Resistance. These minis cover what happened on NC right before the first episode of season 3 begins. They can be viewed here on the Sci Fi Pulse site, as well as all together in one cut here.

The link to Battlestar Wiki's season 3 episode guide is now available in the sidebar as well.

A month later... News!

Well, not too much has happened in BSG world in the last month, since they're busy MAKING IT!

One cool thing is that the new comic series Battlestar Galactica Season Zero has hit comic shops, which I wasn't expecting until later this fall. I follow some comics nowadays still, but only moderately. The premise and setting of BSG Season Zero does spark my interest though. Set two years before the events of the miniseries, Galactica's crew sets off on it's first mission together. I think I remember Tigh mentioning in season 2 somewhere that Sharon came on to the scene just about then as a nugget.

I don' know how much this will set continuity in motion, especially concerning the possibility of a Caprica series, which supposedly was planned to take place a full generation before the current BSG. I'm still very intrigued about this time frame as it pertains to the characters we know from the show. I might pick up issue #1, or at least flip through it (or wait for TPB). Can't get enough of BSG!

There's a few write ups with sample pages for the first issue in the following links:

www.comicbookresources.com
www.comicscontinuum.com
http://trekweb.com

The same creators of Season Zero are also putting out a one shot issue of Pegasus just in time for the air date of Razor.
...

- In other news, Kevin Smith will be directing an episode of BSG s4. *yawns* You know? I used to be entertained by Kevin Smith, maybe even a bit inspired. But now. Meh. Maybe I'm just jealous, but as the above linked article kind of points out - I don't really wan to see Kevin Smith style mixed with my BSG. I just don't.

- The first season of BSG is going to HD DVD, but not Blu-Ray. Yeah, I don't really care either. I don't have an HD res TV yet anyway, and when I do, I'm not re-buying all 4 seasons (plus Razor?). Upconverting works fine for me :)

- And last but not least... some more promising news - Moore closed a deal with Universal Media which could allow him to continue working with Battlestar (so sez that article), among other projects. Maybe all our Caprica series dreams will come true!

Still no news on the release of season 3 on DVD :(

Mini-sodes: Prelude to Razor

Remember the webisodes from right before season 3? (If you don't or haven't gotten to that point yet, I'll post them here at some point soon). Well, something similar is coming up...

SciFi recently announced:

In anticipation of the premiere of the two-hour event, Battlestar Galactica: Razor, the SCI FI Channel will whet viewers' appetites with an eight-week series of exclusive 2-3 minute "mini-sodes." Premiering in October on SCI FI during primetime, these promotional shorts will lead into the November 24 premiere of "Razor"... ... the mini-sodes will be included in the unrated Universal Home Video release of "Razor." They will also be available on SCIFI.COM after their on-air debuts.

From IGN

An updated report on the mini-sodes from Buddy TV

More BSG News:

4 Emmy nominations (I don't think it's enough either!)

Continuing a conversation with Ron Moore (spoilers!)

Great article (even more spoilers!)

That last article also covers more from the press interview panel I posted about last month.

Razor preview!

THANK YOU Club Jade for bringing this to my attention. As I commented there, I haven't been watching the Sci Fi Channel much of late since BSG hasn't been on the air (well, I haven't been watching much TV at all anyway). What we've all been waiting for, a first glimpse at Razor to be aired this fall:


Apparently this was aired on SciFi last night during the season premiere of Eureka. It's also up to view on the official site (look over on the lower right side of the page for featured video - there's some other cool newer stuff up there too).

And here's an interview with Ron Moore, posted at iF Magazine yesterday, discussing season 4 and Razor (spoilers likely if you haven't seen the series up to the end of season 3).

So say we all!

Season 1: Episodes 5-8

A few quick thoughts on episodes 5-8 of Season One, which my wife and I just completed.

• Episode 5, where Starbuck finds the Cylon ship, was pretty sweet. The Cylon ship had a very Yuuzhan Vong feel to it, as a living ship. Starbuck's mechanical manipulations were interesting to watch. At the end, when Apollo saw "Starbuck" on the bottom of the ship, I exclaimed: "That's awesome". It's cool to see confirmation that Starbuck really is that damn good in a plane.
• Episode 6 was so-so. It felt like an obligatory "McCarthy" episode. It had some good plot movement, particularly involving Galactica's Boomer. But, I thought the tribunal was a little stereotypical and rushed. This one just didn't grab me.
• In Episode 7, things really heated up. It was great to see Baltar really squirm. I am simultaneously cracked up and disgusted by Baltar. "No more Mr. Nice Gaius!" He's quite funny, but he's also heavily responsible for the destruction of human civilization and is almost entirely led by his crotch.
  
• I really liked Episode 8. The showdown between Leoben and Starbuck was great. I found myself more sympathetic with Leoben's professions of faith in God than I did with Starbuck's handling of the situation. I think Starbuck's tough-guy act really demonstrated how insecure she is about these human-like Cylons. She doth protest too much. Her prayer at the end was particularly poignant.

At this point, I'm really fascinated trying to figure out what the Cylon's plan is. Why are they so focused on their monotheistic God? Is Caprica Boomer trying to get pregnant with Helo? Is that even possible? I'm sure I'll learn more on the next disc.

Season 1 Episode 6: Litmus

You keep my planes flying. I need my planes to fly.

Will Adama to Galen Tyrol

Once again, spoilers are noted below, so easy on the scrolling if you haven't seen this...

What was already getting messy gets downright slovenly in Episode 6 of Season 1: Litmus. However, I think this episode might have been a misnomer, since there's really not a lot of litmus-ing going on. It just barely touches on Gaius's "project", which is actually much more of a topic in the successive episode(s). Although this episode isn't of a lower quality by any means, it's more of a go-between, almost a little break from the action, from previous episodes to the latter part of season 1. It's more like a "business as usual" kind of episode where the crew seems to have settled in to their situation a bit more. I needed this episode to happen now and I think it was good timing in the production of the season. Even us fans can only take so much excitement before our devoted little fan-hearts give out. Don't get me wrong; this episode isn't a total sleeper by any means. There are several shocking moments to be had. I guess it's just that in Litmus, the action isn't as non-stop as it has been in the series thus far. Phew! Finally the crew (and I) can relax for a moment. Not!

This episode touches on a little bit of politics and law, as well as loyalties and humanity. Of course that last subject is the very foundation of this show. One of the highlights of Litmus is that it really gets us (me at least) thinking about this humanity thing, and what it is that really seperates the humans from the Cylons. The differences at this point are starting to look more like the conflicts between nations at war, which of course is a completely human phenomenon. Basically some more story development goes on here, and my oh my - some very UNcomfortable situations are starting to boil over. As if a whole civilization going into exile from it's home world and being constantly chased by an unpredictable and not always identifiable enemy wasn't uncomfortable enough...


*LITMUS AND SEASON 3 SPOILERS*
This episode might be even more interesting to those who have seen the entire series thus far, particularly concerning events that tie in all the way through season 3. For one, it's hard not to wince when we see Boomer and Tyrol consummate in that back room and think about all the different levels their relationship would have been unproductive. Heh heh. I mean really unproductive. Boomer is still a sleeper at this point too, but you would think she must know by now, especially with all the hub-bub around the ship and all the weird things she's been going through. Basically she seems to be in a major state of denial. More like a clinical state of denial, which, along with everything that Sharon becomes later in the series, makes me question just who is more human; the humans or the Cylons, who are the children of the humans?

Jammer! Oh poor, poor Jammer. It is good to see him again, but I get shivers thinking about his fate. *gasps*

Even though Doral was exposed as an agent way back in the miniseries, and Tigh was one of the select few "in the know" about the skin-jobs until this episode... what I know now about Tigh from the end of season 3 makes me a little hyper aware about how quickly Tigh recognized Doral before he done blowed himself up. It's just kind of cool to think about it all again in retrospect to the beginning of the series. I really believe the final 5 are with the humans to somehow help protect them from the other Cylons, and to look back on what Tigh has done in that respect makes him, and the other final 3 we know of now, seem more like super heroes. Man... who the heck IS the fifth of the final 5?

Even though I'm a girl, I got a little thrill out of seeing Number Six beat the crap out of Sharon, although I probably enjoyed it in a different way than most male fans would. It's just pretty cool to see girls kick ass, even if it's each other's, and even though they're not really human. It was a nicely shot scene, as so much is in BSG. Add photography as another strong point in the production value of this show. I'm having a hard time finding weak points. One little spot might be with a few moments where Grace Park is becoming less convincing as "on the ship Boomer". But geeze! I can't even imagine ever doing the acting job she does, and furthermore, I am more convinced that her degrading performance as "on the ship Boomer" is completely intentional. She's really starting to act more distant as she becomes more isolated from everyone else, as everyone is to each other at this point with the witch hunt and all. But Boomer is really just starting to talk like someone who is controlled by a base ship. A little more like "on the roof with the other Cylons Sharon". In the meantime, "on the roof with the other Cylons Sharon" is doing a fantastic double acting job of interacting with Helo on Caprica. As we know from later in the show... "getting into character" has so many more levels of meaning now with Sharon/Boomer/Athena/Mrs. Agathon/#8.

This episode ties in with season 3 on many levels. The whole idea of the litmus test, and that it wasn't really supposed to work anyway (but then again, it did), all the issues of humanity, the wooden ship Adama is playing with becomes a very symbolic prop later on (isn't that shown in the season 3 episode Maelstrom?), the whole thing with Tyrol and Boomer... okay, NOW we know how Cylons make babies!

*END OF SPOILERS* (unless you follow the links below)

Litmus at scifi.com/battlestar

Litmus at battlestarwiki

Season 1 Episode 5: You Can't Go Home Again

This entry will contain some spoilers for Season 1 Episode 5: You Can't Go Home Again, but I'll mark them where they occur, so scroll down slowly...

You'll have to excuse me because I am still a little weepy after watching this episode again for the *counting* 4th or 5th time. I was really choked up in a good way then a bad way, then good again, etc. This is quite possibly my favorite BSG episode of all time (with the exception of season 4 which hasn't come out yet). I guess I can't really pick one favorite, since different episodes have different elements in them. But You Can't Go Home Again has to be the one episode that really *moved* me. Maybe it has to do with the mood I am in now, or possibly having to do with just being engrossed in the story as I rewatch it all in order.

It's just that this episode is where the story *really* starts to evolve. Make that stories, plural. So much was introduced in the miniseries and the consecutive episodes of season 1 (episodes 1 through 4). We really got jolted right into the action with episode 1: 33. I think a lot of people really favor that episode, which I do as well. The next few episodes are also compelling, but mainly introduce some of the scenarios between different characters to us, and build the characters themselves a little more. But episode 5, the one I am speaking about today, this one brings you right inside the very souls of several of our main characters; primarily Will and Lee Adama and Kara Thrace. A second story is still evolving at this point, which is that of...

*SPOILERS BEGIN HERE*
...Helo and Boomer/Sharon (wait... Boomer is back on the Galactica - right? LOL) who are still "stranded" (okay, I use that term loosely, since it is really just Helo who is stranded) down on Caprica, looking for a way out. Some of the really cool things about this side story are first, the visual reference of Helo putting bread in the toaster not seconds before the other toasters, the walking toasters with bullets, bust in. It may be trite and extremely obvious as an omen, but I just got a good chuckle with that. You've got to appreciate that little pun the writers threw in there. Secondly, the ensuing shootout scene is one of the most awesome shootouts I've seen in film or television. Keeping this as a spoiler only within this episode, I won't mention how Karl and Sharon's experience on Caprica now reverberates throughout the rest of the series.
Back to the matter at hand... Kara is also stranded; alone, with little oxygen on an uncharted gas planet. Everything about this part of the story is just gripping, both visually and emotionally. As unbelievable and unlikely as it might be that she would free herself from the parachute about to drag her over a cliff AND moments after praying to the Lords of Kobol for a break, lo and behold a downed Cylon Raider appears around the next corner... I just don't care that this is all too lucky (oh that destiny of Kara's!). My eyes and my emotions ate this whole episode up like Luke Skywalker craves that exotic hot chocolate drink. This series is all about Kara Thrace for me, so I admit I am a little bias as to why I favor this episode. She is just so frakking lucky, but at the same time, she is so real to me. She is me.

Back on the fleet, tempers flare and the true feelings of some of our other main characters are surfacing. Will Adama has to face his own heart. Tigh and Roslyn may be the level headed ones here, but really I was waiting for everyone to admit that aside from the family issues between Lee, Will and Kara, the real reason they should have ALL been so concerned with getting Starbuck back is because she is the best frakking pilot they got. They are extremely low on talented Viper pilots at this point. Losing Starbuck could be even more dangerous than taking a calculated risk at saving her. My opinion of course, but as conveyed by Lee when sent out solo to intervene the lone dradis: "This bastard is good!", this is obviously a known fact among the Galactica crew. Not to mention the fact that she was the only instructor available to teach the groms.

Everything about bringing Starbuck back in was awesome and too cool. Unbelievable, yes. But isn't this one of the things we love about sci-fi? We know this couldn't really happen, but my belief is suspended. My faith leaped. Add the human emotion to that, emotion we can really feel and relate to, and this made for the some of the most stellar moments in moving picture storytelling for me. The two moments at the end, when Kara speaks to Lee about her "new toy" and after when Kara is in the sick bay and Will comes to face her... I cried. I started to choke when in the beginning of the third act of this episode, Lee and his father had a little chat about what Will would have done if it were Lee stuck down there. "We would have never left" or something to that effect. *choke*

*END OF SPOILERS* (unless you click on the links below)

All in all, this episode was so well constructed and so rich in story... it's no wonder people stick around to watch this thing. As cliche as some elements might be, the timing is so right on it makes the cliches more like integral parts of the story, rather than cliches. Almost every episode in BSG has some great quotables, but this one in particular had tons of them. More proof that the writing, directing, and acting are superb.

Here's some links to refreshers and references for this episode:

You Can't Go Home Again at scifi.com/battlestar (official site)

You Can't Go Home Again at battlestarwiki

Catching up with rj...

Over the course of the last month or so, I started re-watching the entire series again. Actually, it was more like this: somewhere around late April or early May, I popped the miniseries in with plans on watching the whole series again, but I really only got around to watching the mini, then episode 1 of season 1, "33" right after. Then life took over, and I got sidetracked.

Until rj's recent entry. It gave me a good point to catch up to, which is basically the first two discs of the season 1 box set: the mini and the first four episodes.

Egad! I'm not sure how many times I've seen these already, maybe 5 or so... but it continues to overwhelm me... in a really good way. The writing is really so rich, and even in the "less intense" episodes, there's always some arc or element that captivates. This show has it's highs and lows as any other show does, but the difference is that it's lows are pretty high in my own humble opinion. And because it's highs are so high, they kind of set a bar for themselves that's hard to live up to, if that makes any sense.

The emotion of it all is what really sticks to me, as well as the character development. Even though I know everything that is going to happen to these characters by watching from the beginning again, I am no less engrossed. In fact, maybe I can look even deeper now, and see the finer details which show me once again just how expertly written this show is. The tie-ins across episodes and seasons are easier for me to catch, and believe me, there are a lot of them and surely more to be seen. There's so many subtle details but our imaginations are still allowed to glue everything together. It's a lot like Star Wars in these ways to me.

Watching Kara tackle flight instruction again, after her and the Adama family's trauma... it's just so frakking human, it tears me apart. The ways I can relate to Starbuck are so vast it scares me a little, yet this one character in particular (as well as the show as a whole) I just can't get enough of. There's something addicting about this show that isn't like any show I've ever watched before. It's the same kind of addiction as Star Wars for me. Maybe I just have a good story abuse problem.

So, I watched the first two discs of the season 1 box set again, and happened to have the chance to visit with my parents this weekend. I finally gave those two discs to my dad to watch. He really loves science fiction, loves Star Wars like me (although he's also really into Star Trek, unlike me), and he's a writer and editor (did I mention I got my screen writing teacher totally into the new BSG?). I've had some pretty lengthy discussions with my dad about the new BSG, and I think we both recognize that one of the only deterrents that he might come across with it is the violence (less so) and the political references (more so) - one major factor being that my mother is a displaced person from the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, so some political references can be a little touchy in my family. A little too much info there...

Basically, I'm really anticipating how my dad will like it. On the one hand, I think that he will absolutely love it (he loves Firefly and Serenity too BTW), but on the other hand I'm a little scared that he will be turned off by some of the references. I know he will love the SFX (remember Boomer and her co-pilot finding the water planet in "Water" - that one shot with the Raptor skimming on the planet surface - incredible), and I hope he will enjoy the writing as much as I do - the pure genius in the story.

The "new sci-fi" + BSG press

Check out this article from The Guardian Unlimited UK: The new sci-fi
- It talks about the state of sci-fi today and a pretty grand influence by the new BSG.

Also, yesterday (June 26th) SciFi sponsored a press interview panel for some of it's top shows in Vancouver. TV Squad's Keith McDuffy reports back with a two part video, and the promise of more to come. WARNING - May be somewhat spoiler-ish for season 4, and therefore season 3 and any other part of the series you haven't seen yet:
Part 1
Part 2

Now I'm off to read rj's thoughts on season (1 *wink*wink*)...

Season 1: First four episode thoughts

My wife and I finished the DVD of the first four episodes of Season 1. The next DVD should be coming our way soon.

The beginning of season 1 was a very strong start. It may be difficult to ever match how blown away I was by the mini-series, but these first four were very, very good. I thought the first episode, 33, was the best.

The water episode was good. I really liked the development of Boomer's split personality. It's also cool seeing the juxtaposition of the two Boomer's. I feel bad for Helo.

My favorite part of the prison riot episode was the last scene, after President Roslyn tells Apollo that she has cancer. I forget the exact exchange, but I believe Roslyn's last line is something like: "Of course you will. You're Captain Apollo." There's just something so great in the way she delivered that line, her smile after she says it and the music. In general, I absolutely love the music and sound in this show. It plays a huge part in setting the awesome tone. I feel similarly about the music and sound in Heroes. So important. And Mary McDonnell is genius in this show. She is just fantastic in that portrayal.

The rookie pilot episode was very interesting. That was our cliffhanger for now as Starbuck plummets away from her Viper.

Oh, and I also have to mention how much I dig Baltar. He is so funny in his own disturbing sneaky way.

I'll report back after we get through the next disc.

Recent BSG News

Just thought I'd post some recent news bits about Battlestar Galactica and it's journey toward the fourth and final season:

The following article contains MAJOR SPOILERS concerning season 3. I know some of you may have not gotten to that point yet, so DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT READING THIS ARTICLE. It's the equivalent to a "Luke, I am your father" kind of spoiler/surprise. In my opinion at least....

CraveOnline: Battlestar Galactica: Ronald Moore talks about *the E word* (<-edited!)

Next one is spoiler-free. Just a few words from Eick talking about how they plan and write the show (and consolations to actors for the upcoming final season)...

CanMag: David Eick on Closing Out Battlestar Galactica

The next few are accounts of the All Access Battlestar Galactica event in LA last week, where fans and press joined together to screen the season 3 finale on a big screen, view a recap of the whole of BSG seasons 1-3, attend a Q&A with cast members moderated by Lucy Lawless, and top the night off with a special preview of the upcoming fall release of the double episode/movie Razor*. There may be some spoilers in these, since they talk about how season 3 might lead into season 4, and events in season 3 in general (see my above opinion about the level of spoiler this is ;)...

UnderGroundOnline: Battlestar Galactica: Q&A in L.A.

Film.com: They Have a Plan: The Battlestar Galactica All Access Event

IGN: Battlestar Galactica Cast and Creators Discuss Season 4

Photos from the event

* Apparently there has been some recent talk about the possibility that the BSG movie "Razor" would not be allowed to go into production by Gary Larson, the producer of the original Battlestar Galactica series and owner of all rights to any Battlestar movie since that time. Larson is said to not have fully accepted the reimagined series, and some reports mention that he wouldn't give the go ahead unless the "movie" were tied into his original series. The most recent news on the Razor movie have included statements by Ron Moore about the possible content, which include a tie in to events from the original series (Supposedly Admiral Caine has flash-backs to her childhood and escape from the Cylon attack from the 1970's movie). Veeery interestink! The most recent reports also make it seem like the movie is still underway, business as usual. I have some doubts as to the sources for the above mentioned flash-backs, so take this as only rumor. For a more reliable preview and statement about the movie, click here.

Mini-series thoughts

Here are a few of the things that I thought about the mini-series:

• The acting was outstanding. Really great stuff period, but particularly for a sci-fi show based on a 70's TV show.
• The story was exceptionally compelling. Characters and a culture in crisis. How do they react? What do they do?
• The variety of characters are also wonderful. Each one is interesting in their own right. Starbuck; Apollo; Adama; Tigh; Boomer; Baltar(!); the bleached-blonde Cylon; the awesome new President (I love her); even the people on the bridge whose names I forget. Oh and the chief mechanic/engineer guy who is hooked up with Boomer.
• The visuals are awesome. I love that the tech seems 'realistic' in the sense that it's a reasonable outgrowth of things that we are familiar with. It's not spacey. In particular, I like that the voices are garbled when they are communicating over their comms.
• The music is a big player in setting the tone. It sets a very, very cool and effective mood. It reminded me of how the music in Heroes is just perfect for that show.
• I thought it was funny that Boxy (sp?) still had to have the bowl haircut in this series.
• The new Cylons are suitably menacing. The last scene revealing a surprise Cylon model was frak-tastic. I loved seeing the old school Cylon in the museum.
• The story is just superb. In the end, that's what matters. All of the sci-fi aspects of the show kick ass. But, it's the story that got me hooked. It was well written, suspenseful and just plain interesting.

I'll get to season 1 as soon as I can.

I think I just wet my pants from squee

I'm not going to give a detailed review, but I just finished watching the initial BSG mini-series. Oh...my...gawd. That was the best three hours of TV I've watched in a long, long time. I am hooked but good. Maybe later when I have time to process all the greatness I'll give more thoughts. But for now, I'll just leave it at...frak.

Fourth season to be the last

So it's official, almost. A friend of mine sent me this news link stating that the producers of the new Battlestar Galactica will officially announce the finalization of the series after it's upcoming fourth season.

It's a little sad, but as they explained in the article, it really is the kind of story that has a beginning, middle, and an end. As much as I'm addicted to the show, I think making a clean encapsuled story arc is the best way to do it. All good things must come to an end. When I think about how televison series really work, and how they work well, its by keeping a captive audience through a strong story (unless you're a variety show of course). Even though I don't follow the show Lost, I've been hearing the buzz about how it seems to be leaving it's audience "Lost" in it's dragging story lines. Hey, Star Wars has an end, at least as far as the saga in film goes, but because it's such a great story, it lives on in our hearts and imaginations, and the gaps are forever being filled in (I might add, there's a certain point where that gap filling can get old too).

I think they might have been able to push BSG on to a fifth season though. In an interview from about a year ago, Moore or Eick had commented that they wanted to only go as far as five seasons max. However, season four is slated for 22 episodes, which is longer than your average TV drama usually stretches for a season. I'm not sure if they are counting what they are now calling an "extended episode" (formerly known as the straight to DVD movie) Razor, to be aired this November as one or two of those 22 episodes. Heck, 20 episodes it's is rather lofty as well. I'll take it!

Here's the other thing. There was some chatter in the past about another BSG project called Caprica, which would predate the timeline of the current BSG by a generation or so, but the idea was put on the back burners. I always likened this concept to that of iRobot (either the book or the Will Smith movie). I think this is a spinoff that could really work and hope to see it reconsidered as they wrap up the end of BSG.

Lets keep fan chatter and communities like these alive and active to show interest in projects like Caprica!