Colonial Dispatch 1.31.09

We're 3/10 of the way through season 4.5 now with "The Oath" this past Friday. Full episodes and commentaries are available for all 3 on SciFi.com and Hulu (actually, Hulu does not have commentary for 'Notion' presently). A little note about the episode commentaries, or "enhanced" versions - if you are a complete spoiler virgin, it isn't recommended that you watch/listen to these since Ron makes a good amount of allusions to what may (or may not) happen in future episodes, amongst other generally mild spoilers. I can't help watching them myself, but sometimes I wish I hadn't because I start to know what to expect.

^ That all being said, here's yet another interview with Ron Moore by Maureen "The Watcher" Ryan from the Chicago Tribune, discussing his directorial debut in "A Disquiet Follows My Soul". Very mild spoilers alluding to the remainder of the season.

... and today Mo Ryan has an interview up with writer Mark Verheiden discussing "The Oath" (includes her own thoughts on the episode).

Looking for an interesting recap and analysis of the epsiodes? Check out Ben Scarlato's thoughts from the perspective of ethical technology from The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. Deep thoughts.

Kandyse McClure talks to MediaBlvd Magazine On Dee's Departure From 'Battlestar Galactica', and she's currently filming her new series Persons Unknown in Mexico City. *winks to location*

Michael Trucco recently visited his hometown and students who actually have Battlestar Galactica on the curriculum. Lucky kids. San Mateo Daily Journal

Get the Stealth Cylon Centurion figures while they're hot at NY Comin Con! A limited quantity will also be available online, as reported by Action Figure Insider Mag, who also mentions the "2009: Year of the Minimate" panel at NYCC! You mean BSG Minimates might be easier to find this year??

LOL at io9's commentary on "How the BSG Writer's Room Works". I knew I couldn't have been the only one thinking that when I listened to Ron's commentary of 'Disquiet'. Spoiler - retconning might ruin your imaginations natural ability to take a leap of faith for the show!

Buddy TV has an interesting look/speculation at where the rest of the show can move onto in the remaining (8) episodes. I know some of you must also be wondering "Where do we go from here?" as well - ?

Colonial Dispatch 1.26.09

BrickCon 2008 is getting a little recent boost in recognition for the Battlestar Viper hangar complete with 35 models and variations of Vipers composed of LEGO bricks. See the pics at Gizmodo and DVICE.

Could the new Obama administration be too happy-shiny-hopeful for Battlestar? io9's Annalee Newitz asks "Is Battlestar Galactica Relevant in the Obama Era?".

Kandyse McClure talks to SciFi Wire about her role in Children of the Corn.

Also at DVICE - A steampunk Cylon contest! The winner will be announced by the March 20 season finale, which leaves you plenty of time to submit your Cylon! Details

A little about Angel of Death's Zoe Bell who will costar with Lucy Lawless in the upcoming web series.

How Caprica differs from Battlestar, and how it's the same from SciFi Wire.

And the last SciFi Wire bit for today is - Ron Moore talking about his directorial comeback in "A Disquiet Follows My Soul".

Yet another interview with Ron and Kate, this one from Media Blvd Magazine.

The latest from Mo "The Watcher" Ryan: 'Battlestar Galactica' veterans move on to 'Caprica'

A couple of not so recent videos from Access Hollywood's Dish of Salt blog: Tahmoh Penikett talking about the end of BSG, and Tricia Helfer on the end of the show.

Battlestar gets nominated for a Golden Reel for music editing in the TV category. Yeah, I'm pretty pissed about the SAGs too.

io9 deciphers parts of the "Cylon Bible".

Here's what you thought of "Sometimes a Great Notion" - No haters or non-believers here!:

Loved it - Sheer perfection	10 (45%)
Very good, but we'll see how it looks after the show finishes	8 (36%)
Hated it	0 (0%)
Too depressed to comment	2 (9%)
Feeling rather 50/50 about it	3 (13%)
Haven't seen it yet	0 (0%)

22 Votes

New poll coming shortly!

Colonial Dispatch 1.22.09

The next episode airs tomorrow night, and SciFi Wire has a super spoilery article (which I haven't read yet, since they said it had major spoilers), which we'll just hold off linking to until after Friday night, since it apperently concerns that episode. If you want to be super-spoiled, you can navigate there yourself (and if you do, perhaps you can describe what the spoilers pertain to exactly, without actually giving us the spoilers).

Kate Vernon and Ron Moore's conference call with Deadbolt.com: Ronald Moore and Kate Vernon Look Back on Galactica's Final Cylon

TVaddict.com also got in on a conference call: On the Phone with Ronald D. Moore and the Fifth and Final Cylon

Did we totally miss this interview with Jamie Bamber at the Star-Telegraph last week? Better late than never: A conversation with Jamie Bamber of 'Battlestar Galactica'

Gamespy speculates about a possible video game/virtual world tie-in to Caprica in 2010. Scroll down to the third to last paragraph.

"Sometimes a Great Notion" did pretty frakking good ratings-wise.

Prezzy Laura Roslin is celebrated as one of TV's smart women at the msnbc.com blog Test Pattern.

Looks like fans can get 10% off BSG stuff (excluding the Cylon and QMx items) at the SciFi.com shop by using the coupon code "BSGFAN". Offer lasts until April 15, 2009. Ooooh. They have Mini-mates! via Monsters and Critics

This may seem like old news, but some retailers are giving an extra push to get those cob-webby old external HD-DVD drives for the Xbox 360 out the door and off their shelves. The BSG relevance? For 50 bucks you get the player bundled with season 1 of BSG, season 1 of Heroes, and King Kong all on HD-DVD. You still may not be impressed unless you are an Xbox 360 owner who knows what happens when you let the disc drive built in to your console spin more than absolutely necessary. The HD-DVD add-on also upconverts standard DVD, so you're not left watching season 1 of Heroes and BSG, King Kong, and perhaps Transformers over and over again. CNET

Know anybody who needs to catch up on BSG? I may be in the minority here, but I would never be so cruel as to refer anyone to watch/listen to those annoying speed-recaps (the narratoress makes my skin crawl). There are alternatives! One is the "10 Things You Need to Know" video series with Ron and David, but IGN also has a Timeline series they've been cobbling together. Here's Part 1, Part 2, and most recently Part 3. Sorry speed-recap narrator lady. You can't win them all.

Eddie Olmos drove home a powerful point to focus on the youth during Wednesday's luncheon fundraiser at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County. I'll be on the lookout for a transcript, and if anybody catches one (or video) give us a heads up. Monterey County Herald

More Eddie stuff! I usually like to get spoilery stuff out of the way first, but I wanted to embed this SciFi Wire video (because I can) which seemed to make more sense at the end of this post. The extent of the spoilers are that EJO expresses his feeling for the tone of the remainder of season 4.5. You may have already heard his feelings on this before, and other than that there are no specifics:

Colonial Dispatch 1.20.09

Happy Inauguration Day!

Now that "Sometimes a Great Notion" has aired, the LA Times has posted some more behind the scenes photos from the set of the episode.

Wow. Did I just say wow? Out loud (in writing)? Oh, excuse me. You may be almost as taken back with this post from Dirk Benedict (I hope I don't have to explain to anybody who that is) at the Breitbart Big Hollywood blog as you were after watching "Sometimes a Great Notion", but in a rather different way. I think Dirk actually makes some very valid and interesting points, but unfortunately it does seem to come across more as a jealous rant, with more than a pinch of self-contradiction. You know what though? I still love and respect the guy, and honor his perspective. Spotted via LA Times

Here's a special treat for Toronto area BSG fans; The Bad Dog Theater has started running a new improv spoof show called "Battleawesome: Awesomestar", about - you guessed it - Batlestar! Shows run on Saturdays up until the 31st, and it only costs 10 cubits to get in. Check out the story with a video clip at blogTO.

A few more reviews of "Sometimes a Great Notion":
- Den of Geek
- 411 Mania
- SyFyPortal

Some post-Propworx auction reports:
- The Auction Network has a lot of blogging activity leading up to and from during the Propworx auction. If you start from this blog post, and continue to toggle to the next post, you will be able to follow the event. Lots of great photos and it basically takes you through the whole event!
- Galactica Sitrep's ProgGrrl was lucky enough to visit the auction. Check out their blogs about it with lots of links, pictures, and video!

Propworx auction video with cast

Access Hollywood just put a video up on HULU from their Dish of Salt blog featuring a walk through of the Propworx auction with a few cast members (Tricia, Michael Trucco and Michael Hogan):



Note about the bunk beds (and all BSG beds) - I have been looking everywhere for an "off the rack" version of the metallic gray comforters they use in the show. If anyone has some tips on where they can be found, give me the heads up!

Battlestar Finale Special

From The Futon Critic:

""Battlestar Galactica" will wrap its four-season run on Friday, March 20 at 9:00/8:00c with a two-hour finale. As a build up to said event, look for the "Battlestar Galactica Finale Special" (working title) on Monday, March 16 at 10:00/9:00c. The one-hour special and the March 13 installment of the series will also replay on March 20 starting at 7:00/6:00c, leading into the two-hour finale."

Colonial Dispatch 1.19.09

Just another spoiler reminder - We will talk freely about any episode that has aired (USA schedule), so if you haven't seen the most recent episode, read on at your own risk. Spoiler warnings will continue to be posted where appropriate when any unaired material is involved.

Episode 4.11 (also known as episode 13 if you include Razor as episodes 1 and 2) is available to view at scifi.com and HULU. The full episode with Ron's commentary is also at sciffy and HULU, and you can easily navigate to previews of episode 4.12 on both sites as well.

New David Eick video blog up at scifi.com: Inserts Action & FX

Tried to find video of Eddie Olmos on a local talk show from Sunday to no avail, but while searching youtube the following video was found (from community coalition) of a little "up close and personal" with Eddie. Love what he has to say about race:



Eddie was also spotted in DC at an Inaugural event, and Watching BSG.com has some pics!

The following interview with Mary and Eddie from TV Guide is kind of moderately spoilery. If you advance the video to 1:04 you will miss what Mary hushes Eddie about, and you might also want to stop the video at about 4:35 to skip a very mildly spoilery (only for the true virgins) remark about how a certain actor performs:



From SciFi Wire:
- "Dualla" Speaks About Last Night's Battlestar Episode
- Battlestar Stars Remember Their Favorite Moments

MediaBlvd Magazine and the GalacticaBS boards collaborated to bring this interview with Ron Moore (very mild spoilers - general discussion of series including the remainder of 4.5) - Ron Moore Answers Tough Questions About BSG's Final Season

More of the BSG series from LA Times:
- 'Battlestar Galactica' countdown: Visual effects with Gary Hutzel
- The Final Cylon speaks! Exclusive interview with Kate Vernon

From DVR Playground - Exclusive Interview: Tamoh Penikett Talks BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and DOLLHOUSE Star John Francis Daley

Entertainment Weekly and Access Hollywood's "Dish of Salt" give us the following video (mild spoiler warning - this seems to vaguely hint at possible future content... I think!):

'Battlestar Galactica': The fifth Cylon speaks



Check out this wonderful study of "The Lingo of Battlestar Galactica" by Mark Peters.

Want to thank the cast and crew of BSG collectively? Grant Gould (awesome Star Wars and BSG artist!) is putting together a "Thank you from the fans" for everyone to sign. The deadline is January 25th for your submission. Click here for more info and instructions.

A solemn farewell to the show from VFX artist "Darth Mojo"

"Sometime a Great Notion" reviews continued...

- Bear McCreary talks about the episode and the music! Bear also spoke with episode writers Bradley Thomspon and David Weddle about the episode's progression.
- BSG “Sometimes A Great Notion” - Honey, I’m Home from tanveernaseer.
- 13th Colony
- Galactica: Variants
- Salon.com
- /Film
- Flick Filosopher
- Screen Rant

If anyone else has a review or comment, post 'em in the comment section!

Quickie for Eddie

Just a quick note for anyone in the Boston vicinity (eastern Mass, southern N.H. and Rhode Island) should turn on WBZTV channel 4 at 11am tomorrow - Edward James Olmos will be appearing on Sunday with Liz Walker. We'll try and find a video clip of that and post it here if possible.

Battlestar Galactica episode 4.11 reviews and a spoiler notice

Let's start with the spoiler notice. Now that episode 11 has officially aired, we will speak relatively freely about it here without any spoiler warnings, as will also be the case after each consecutive episode airs future forward. We will continue to post spoiler warnings when appropriate for anything concerning future unaired episodes as well as the upcoming Battlestar movie. If you're up to date with the show, you shouldn't have much to worry about, and since we (most of the posters here, even though it's pretty much down to one lately) try to stay away from major spoilers ourselves, you should rarely or never see major spoilers (i.e. leaks) posted or linked to here anyway.

That being said, and since there was some pretty major stuff that went on in episode 11 last night, if you haven't seen it yet I'll remind you now that this post in particular is in the major spoiler category ;)

What follows below is a listing of a few (very mixed!) reviews so far of last night's episode, then I'll give my own first impressions. I think a lot more reviews will be rolling in as so many of us are taken aback. I hope that everyone feels welcome to post their own impressions as well in the comments (or link to your blog posts in the comments)! We'll add more reviews to the Colonial Dispatch posts as they come up.

First things first, and with no delay - If you have seen episode 11, then you may proceed (mild spoiler warning - includes insinuations as to what will be covered in future episodes and some pretty direct answers to some things that may not have been so clear before) to the Ron Moore interview at The Watcher, which discusses 'Notion' and also includes commentaries on the making and writing of the episode by director Michael Nankin and co-writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle.

Reviews and recaps from:

- The ever eloquent Alan Sepinwall
- io9 - A live blog from last night, and entertaining in itself!
- Carmen Andres writes an interesting review from a religious perspective.
- Tim "The Bastard" Goodman at San Francisco Chronicle
- Time Magazine's Tuned In
- LA Times
- Newscoma
- TV Squad
- Buddy TV
- Sci Fi Crazy
- Television Without Pity
- Premium Hollywood
- Entertainment Weekly
- Cinema Blend

___________________________

It was just really strange watching "Sometimes a Great Notion" last night. I kind of felt like someone who had survived a great and perilous journey (that of an avid BSG fan who has had to endure the anticipation of the "great hiatuses"), only to face a new and uncertain future. Hey! That's pretty much what is actually happening on the show right now. Ah - art imitates life, life imitates art.

What made it so strange? Well, I for one had exceedingly high expectations (for this episode as well as the rest of 4.5), yet had absolutely no idea what to expect. Upon reviewing season 4.0 on DVD, one of the things that rang louder than before (or maybe it had just been awhile since I watched it) was D'anna's assertation that only 4 of the final 5 were in the fleet. That made my mind run around in circles like a dog looking for that sweet spot before finally lying down, yet my mind never did lay down completely. I think it kind of surrendered to not lying down at all... until now. At the beginning of the episode, they flash the words across the screen about "only 4 are in the fleet", and that immediately made my dog (tired) mind get back up for a few laps. And holy frak - I totally didn't expect it to be revealed in this episode. I had only heard that the final cylon would be revealed by the middle of 4.5. At first I thought Tigh was delusional, and they would take it another way in the other episodes (still not out of the question I suppose), and quite frankly I was a little horrified at Ron's (and co) choice of the 5th. I can't wait for the commentaries and hope they tell us a little about exactly when and how that decision was made, as well as the editing process involved in the episode (still have to read the interview with Ron at The Watcher linked above). Throughout the course of the day so far, however, my feelings on the fifth have come to almost a complete 180. So many things have sunk in within the past 14 or so hours that have made it make such perfect sense and wonderfully intertwined with so many things from the entire series. I still have some residual feelings of it being a cheap and easy answer, but perhaps that's because I'm so perturbed at myself for not having immediately realized this way back when the final 4 came out.

Looking at the final 5 in retrospect, it seems they all have a key place in the leadership of human society. They aren't in top spots, but they are mostly number 2's; Tory as assistant to the President, Tigh as the XO and New Caprican resistance leader, Ellen as the wife of the XO and key player in the resistance, Sam Anders as a popular professional athlete and leader of the Caprican and New Caprican resistances... and then Galen Tyrol as a head New Caprican resistance leader, a union leader, and the chief in charge of maintaining the main resources of the fleet of survivors. Chief is the everyman's leader, and I hope we see his relevance get filled in even more - especially since he's sort of been on the sidelines lately with just that semi-catatonic maniacal grin.

And Dee. That really pissed me off at first. It still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but apparently it doesn't for the rest of the characters either (art, life, life, art...). It immediately came across as a cheap shot at shock value, but sometimes I have to push back the hyper-critical film school stuff in me and let the geeky, leap of faith, high concept action/sci-fi fan step back in. But perhaps its true to an extent; maybe Ron (and co) are so immersed and attached to the show that the objectivity is a little fogged. When the beginning of the episode was getting so Dee-centric, I found myself starting to think she might really be the fifth, but then I remembered who created this show, and that it had to be a mind-frak (loving lol). Then, BAM! Like a smack in the face if you were still thinking she was the fifth, Dee's gone (yet that still didn't mean she wasn't the fifth). I guess they were talking about killing someone off for a couple of seasons now, but still... it seemed a little out of place. I think my reaction to Dee's suicide made me a little skeptical about the Ellen reveal.

And Kara. What the frak? Totally creepy scene with her finding the Viper and a charred pilot , presumably her, inside. This is obviously one of the bigger questions (where/when the frak did she go, and how/when did she get back?) not answered in this episode, and I like the way this theme is being carried out (although I have to wonder if they had this plotted out when they wrote this episode). Didn't care for the "Frak Earth" graffiti - it was just too literal. Also a little uneasy about the flashes of "other memory" by Galen, Tory, and Sam. Sam on broken air guitar made me particularly squeamish (and I am a huge Anders fan). They got a little too "pointerlicious" when it was straight-up explained to us (as the characters realized it) what the 13th colony was all about and how/why they got to Earth. I felt myself being a little overly sensitive about a lot of things, probably because my emotions are so on edge with this show. Sure I wanted answers, but I think they may have been piled up a bit too much for one single episode. I like the less heady stuff anyway, so I'm hoping Cavil will come back soon and stir up some crazy space (or Earth) fight action - but I still love this show warts n' all.

Some big questions answered, some big questions created, and a lot of questions still lingering. Eager for more.

This will distract you... in a good way

The excuses for posting this here a several. First, I could have posted it at my neglected Star Wars blog, but I decided to continue the neglect over there. Second, it actually has a quick little BSG reference in there if you pay attention. Third, it's just so funny and cute... and lastly, I think a lot of us could use a little something to keep our minds occupied for the next (checks time) 5 hours and 15 minutes. Check out "Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it)" via io9:


Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

Coloial Dispatch 1.15.2009

JUMP!

Let's start with Eddie and Mary on ABC's The View from this morning (thanks to lester94111):



JUMP!

On to the headlines and articles...

The Propworx auction is almost on! Good luck getting onto the Propworx site though (the page has been trying to load for me for ages). The Auction Network site seems to be loading okay though.

LA Times continues their BSG beat, with mild spoilers (in that they are somewhat suggestive of the screener of episode 11 they watched) in each: One supposedly "safe" set photo from 4.5 appears in 'Battlestar', countdown to the end, and just way too talky about tomorrow's episode in 'Battlestar' crew confronts a terrible reality. Here's a non-spoilery LA Times post: 'Battlestar Galactica' countdown: Alessandro Juliani's Felix Gaeta.

The only other "spoilery" thing is at The New York Times online. They are also just a little too chatty about what they saw and presumed to have not seen in the advanced screening of episode 11. Maybe wait until Saturday to read The Things You Can't Know About 'Galactica'.

Also at NYT online, but non-spoilery, is John Hodgman's "expert" answer to a reader's question about BSG (LOL!).

Variety.com has a frakking awesome series of posts about real people relating to BSG. It would be too hard to link to all of them separately here, but if you click on The U.S. Marine: Byron R. Harder:'Battlestar' captures essence of military life to start, then continue reading the "More Articles". They are all similar real life takes on BSG. Also don't miss 'Caprica' aims for broader demo, which may have more links to the series not found in the previous link.

Speaking of Caprica, check out The Deadbolt Interview's Back in Time with the Crew of Caprica.

Crave online continues with their BSG series with James Callis on Gaius Baltar's End, and Jamie Bamber Wraps Up on BSG.

From IGN - Tricia Helfer Returns in Battlestar and Burn Notice: The actress talks to IGN about Galactica's end and conflict with Michael Westen.

Helo speaks: Chatting with 'Battlestar Galactica's' Tahmoh Penikett at zap2it

Rekha Sharma of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ at Louisiana's channel 2 2theadvocate.com

Find a Frak party near you! From Wired online: Frak Partiers Prep for Battlestar Galactica's Final Season.

Some thoughtful thoughts about BSG so far from Newsarama with 5 Things I Love (and miss) about Battlestar Galactica by Lucas Siegel.

Also somewhat thoughtful from The Washington Times - TELEVISION: Battlestar America? Politically conscious sci-fi program begins its final countdown.

Very nice nuts n' bolts cross analysis going on at DVICE (although admittedly, I think they might be a little bias) - Starship Enterprise vs. Battlestar Galactica: Who would win?

Heads up for a coming Lucy Lawless web series! From PR Newswire: Crackle.com to Premiere Thriller Web Series 'Angel Of Death' on Monday, March 2nd.

JUMP!

Colonial Dispatch 1.13.09

All circuits are burning. Almost exactly 3 days (72 hours) to go at the time of this posting. Let's see if we can sift through the madness of the moment...


As usual, spoiler-free unless otherwise noted (there were a few postings that were spoilery enough that we won't even link to them here).


That being said, we'll just get the most spoilery link out of the way first. Over at the LA Times, they've been covering the frak out of Battlestar in this final stretch, and the latest post in their Hero Complex blog starts off by giving us the name of the episode that will air this Friday (not a big deal for some, but for total spoiler virgins it is), and although they mention that they viewed an advance copy of the episode, they promised no spoilers and they came through, except the behind the scenes photos from the filming of the episode which they posted courtesy of director Michael Nankin. So now you know what to expect. The photos are really not very telling, but again, if you're a purist do not click this link to 'Battlestar' behind the scenes.


DVR ALERT (or other pending plans)!! This Friday's episode, and the premiere of season 4.5, will run 3 and 1/2 minutes longer. Okay, I really say "DVR alert" because everyone else says that, but don't most DVRs automatically detect the beginning and end of the program? Eh, what do I know - just don't jump up to pee at the turn of the hour thinking you're scott-free (Sci Fi Wire). But then again, as they say in Nerdvana; "No DVR can contain the return of Battlestar Galactica".

Jane Espenson talks to Newsarama about wrapping up Battlestar and other projects.

IGN continues their series of goodbyes to Battlestar characters with a Jamie Bamber interview in Battlestar Galactica: Apollo's Journey

Crave online jumps on the series coverage band wagon with some interviews - one with David Eick and the other with Tricia Helfer.

As far as I can tell, there are slight variations in the transcriptions of the teleconference last week with David and Ron, by various members of the media. Here's the Eclipse Magazine version.

Here's a note from HULU about their Battlestar offering (because if you can access HULU and SciFi.com video, you know the former kicks the frak out of the latter):

"New episodes of BSG return to Hulu 1/17. The first five episodes will be posted on Hulu the day after their TV broadcast. Subsequent episodes will be posted 8 days after their original broadcast date....We are able to offer five older episodes from the previous season; they will be available until 5 a.m. PST on 1/31/09."

Speaking of the latter, SciFi.com has recently posted the latest installment of David's video blog, which is a TOTAL MIND FRAK. Speculation warning (not quite a spoiler): The beginning of the video may be indicative of which episode the final Cylon is revealed. At least that's something I read into it. Otherwise, the video blog titled "The 5th is Among Us" is just as unrevealing and goofy as all the other video blogs, and you can watch it here at sciffy (sometimes HULU posts these things too, but not this time).

Ooh! I don't think I've ever watched an actual episode of The View on ABC, and I'm a little scared to start, but apparently both Mary and Eddie will be guests on this Thursday's show (January 15, 11:00am EST), so that might be my first. We'll try to get the video for that up here if possible! Via The Watcher via Sitrep

Thanks to io9 for the reminder that the first of the four part comic book series Battlestar Galactica: Cylon War is due out tomorrow (January 14)! I don't indulge in comics as much these days, but 'Cylon War' will be telling a part of the Battlestar story we haven't been able to see before (aside from the Razor "flashbacks"), and if there's any chance to encourge a Battlestar "expanded universe" then I'll take it! If you can't make it down to a comic store, TFAW is my trusted online source.

Lastly, the random BSG mention of the day: At The Boston Herald's blog The Edge, Mark Perigard refers Barack Obama to the experiences of some famous TV presidents, including Laura Roslin. If you don't feel like following the link:

"Laura Roslin, “Battlestar Galactica” (Mary McDonnell, 2003- present, known for trying to shepherd the last remaining humans to a promised land and for being tricked by the crafty Cylons in her midst): Don’t try to rig an election, no matter how badly you think the nation might need you for another term. You’ll be horrified by the karmic payback. Anyone who seems to be too good to be true is probably a robot."

The Face of the Enemy Webisode 10

Thank you indysid:



Credits

Sponsor info

THIS FRIDAY WE WILL KNOW THE TRUTH (or start to at least)! *winks*

Latest 4.5 trailer

From youtuber MaureenAppleton, and as is hopefully obvious, if you don't want to know a thing about 4.5 then don't watch:



Spotted at Melancholygeek blog

Aaron chats with Slice of SciFi and The Chief's Deck

Check out the podcast interview with Aaron Douglas at Slice of SciFi "about the history of his character and his approach to playing Chief Tyrol." The interview officially starts around 29:20, but really starts at 30:15, if you want to skip the rest of the news and podcast, but they do have a pretty cool Dollhouse discussion right before Aaron's interview. Also, here's the Rekha Sharma interview from July that they mentioned, and if you click their "Battlestar Galactica" tag, there is a good amount of other juicy BSG stuffs. And wow - I could totally deal with going to CactusCon in Phoenix (Starting January 23) after suffering the northeastern winter so far.

(Edit) Here is a Q&A with Aaron over at the Live Journal fan site The Chief's Deck in their "Ask the Chief" section.

Colonial Dispatch 1.10.09

Less lip flapping, more BSG headlines...

Both from LA Times, for their "Battlestar Galactica Countdown" series:
Michael Hogan, surprised to be a Cylon
Rekha and embracing the inner Cylon

Battlestar Galactica: Life after Earth from Time Magazine online

IGN.com's Battlestar features this week:
Battlestar Galactica: Gaius Baltar's Farewell
Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck Says Goodbye

Who is Battlestar Galactica's Final Cylon from Film.com (Hilarious! I am with them on this theory too, even though anything goes at this point)

Ten Sc-Fi Flicks for the Thinking Man from Rotten Tomatoes and inspired by the painstaking wait for BSG 4.5

Verheiden Talks Galactica, Heroes, and My Name is Bruce from Comic Book Resources

Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins out There - a book preview (?) at EurekAlert.org

A Better Way to Play Battlestar Galactica - an older article, but totally wicked cool, about a hand-made Viper cockpit for video gaming at Popular Science online

Ron and David's conference call now fully transcribed at Media Blvd Magazine and Cinema Blend - I haven't cross reference these yet to check for differences

Last but not least - Also via Cinema Blend is a 3 part video series with Ron and David explaining the "Top Ten Things You Need to Know about Battlestar Galactica". It's really cool hearing Ron and David recap everything from the series leading to the end of season 4.0, even if you've seen it all:

Katee's Hit List

Browsing through today's print version of The Wall Street Journal, of course the most captivating article for me was a brief part in the Weekend Section featuring Katee Sackhoff talking about her top 3 sci-fi movies. Aside from the absence of any Star Wars movie, this list is a match to mine. Blade Runner is definitely number 1 for me. The Fifth Element is in my opinion one of the most underrated sci-fi films... possibly ever. But Alien... well, aside from being absolutely traumatized by this movie thanks to a mom that thought I was old enough to see it with her (but I really wasn't - I hid in the bathroom for half of it), I really appreciate how much was done right in this movie and that it is certainly an all-time classic, now that I'm all grown up that is. Still can't can't take the parts with aliens latching onto people's faces and the bursting bellies though.

WSJ has the main interview with Katee posted in whole here.

ONE MORE WEEK! Is it true?

The Face of the Enemy Webisode 9

Thanks this time to youtuber nahiyyeaa. Sorry about the absence of commentary versions for webisodes 8 and 9. Once we find them, they'll get edited in to their respective posts.



Webisode 10 will be airing on January 12, but if you're just itching to see the final one, go ahead and run a search on youtube.

Credits

Sponsor info

Edit - Here's webisode 9 with commentary thanks to SevorTB/ddt73:

Colonial Dispatch 1.7.09

It looks like the Colonial Dispatch might be pretty busy in the coming weeks as Battlestar news is coming on like a deluge. We'll try to sort through it here...

The LA Times makes good on their word to incorporate reader questions into interviews with Battlestar cast and crew. Here's a chat with writer Jane Espenson and one with Richard Hatch at the Show Tracker blog. The LA Times has also given recognition to Battlestar Blog blogger Tara Gelsomino's Facebook creation Battlestarbook. Keep up to date with The LA Time's Battlestar coverage at their main BSG page.

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Ron and David have been busy with press conference calls. Cinema Blend will have more on that in the near future, Deadbolt.com gets a few questions in to the dynamic duo, as does Geek Sugar.

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Cinema Blend also has a feature with Eric Stoltz which mostly discusses Grey's Anatomy, but there's a few words about Caprica in there too.

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There's no shortage of nice things being said about the greatness of the new Battlestar series, especially now (and more keeps pouring in). Time Out New York takes a look at Starbuck's character and Katee Sackhoff, we'll excuse The Washington Post's Express Night Out blog for it's use of the original series spelling of "frak" since their review of what makes BSG so awesome is so compelling, and Culture 11 lauds BSG with their FAQ that touches on The Face of the Enemy webisodes, Jane Espenson, and other BSG stuffs.

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To end today's Colonial Dispatch: Chris Gore's DVDuesday review of season 4.0 (at end of segment) which is brief but positive, and because I have a filmy fangirl crush on Chris :D

Season 4.0 on DVD: Frak Yeah

It's finally here for region 1! I went for the Best Buy exclusive which includes a set of Starbuck's dogtags, the unrated extended edition of Razor (the case says it includes the same bonus content as the stand alone "exclusive" release of Razor from Best Buy, but since it's one disc instead of two I can't see that happening - we'll have to see), and a nice little collectible character book "Battlestar Galactica: So Say We All":


The case for this DVD set is also different from the regular version of the 4.0 set which instead has a picture of Apollo, Bill, and Starbuck with the obligatory pensive stares. Even though I love that the BSG "Last Supper" is on the exclusive cover (albeit only partially), it doesn't quite match all the other season DVD sets thus far.

At first look through the character book, I thought it was merely a reproduction of the cast profiles on the Battlestar site at Sci Fi, but it's not. The booklet includes a nice little story set up, and two page spreads with profiles of all the main characters with lots of great photos (promo shots that we have moslty seen before anyway).

Before the season 4.0 marathon begins, I'll be digging through the bonus materials and deleted scenes right off the bat. (Edit) - After a run through of the bonus content, the absolute winner is "The Music of Battlestar Galactica" which is an extended version of the bits that got out during Comic Con right before Bear's big concert. This feature is absolutely hilarious! The rest of the bonus content, aside from the deleted scenes, are mostly regurgitated bits from David's video blogs.

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I also recently scored the "official" Battlestar Galactica 2009 wall calendar. I say official because it's the same one listed at the NBCU store, even though another version also seems to be available with a different cover (I definitely prefer the "Last Supper" cover) and slightly different photos. Some of these photos have to be the same though, since they are obviously from the same batch of promos as the formerly mentioned calendar. Grace and Tricia, as pictured in the Amazon link, are wearing the same clothes in both calendars, and even the "official" calendar features different shots of cast members wearing the same clothes. Kind of lame if you ask me, especially since a lot of these promotional shots are obviously dated from even as far back as season 1 (you can tell by the hairstyles mostly).





"Official" version photos:



Even so, I'm glad to have these shiny pictures of the prettiest group of humans ever to trek across the galaxy to find their true home. And what a nice way to start off the new year with a spread of the boyz of BSG for January (I also wasn't disappointed to find Helo as the hunky poster boy for April - my birthday month). As you can see below, I might have gone a little overboard on wall calendars this year. It's not my fault calendars go for 50% off after the new year!

Colonial Dispatch 1.6.09

Today is the release of season 4.0 on DVD for region 1! See the next post for more on that. Otherwise, welcome to the first Colonial Dispatch of 2009, and the 3rd one ever. We comb the web so you don't have to :p

First up to bat: I've been sort of inadvertently following the Auction Network's campaign to hire a host for their coverage of the Propworx BSG prop auction coming up in a couple of weeks. Tomorrow they will announce the winner, but right now they have some great audition reel material posted on youtube. If you go down to the videos section you will find the most recent ones are all the auditions for the BSG spot. Fun stuff, and I especially enjoy trying to answer the trivia questions before the candidates do. Lauren is my first choice; I want to see a woman up there, but not just any old booth babe. She's obviously a fan from her answers, and compared to other interviewees I watched, she has the best personality:

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After finally updating my news feed for SciFi Wire since they changed the site at the end of December, I'm catching up on a couple of weeks of Wire news. Most recently they posted a new exclusive clip from Caprica. How dare they interfere while we are in the angst ridden final stretch of BSG? Well, it definitely summons some intrigue. I believe SciFi Wire video can be viewed internationally. If anyone outside of the USA can't view the video in that link, please mention it in the comments.

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Check out Cinema Blend's "Best of 2008" where they give props to BSG for Eddie Olmos's performance as Bill Adama. I don't think I can forgive them for their choice of Best Drama though.

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Lucy Lawless gets a nice feature in her hometown paper The New Zealand Herald. It's mostly concerning her work in the new release Bedtime Stories, but it's good to hear her also talk about how she's getting back to work in general.

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Here's something random but really cool - This post from January 2008 at Robin Shantz's blog bloginhood was recently stumbled upon during a web search for some other BSG stock images. One should note that the photos shown in the post are of the set for season 4.0's final episode "Revelations" which aired in June. Hopefully it wasn't seen by too many fans until then (unless of course they wanted to be spoiled). Otherwise, how cool would it be to have been out for a hike and then stumble upon something like this?!

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Tis the season for top 10 lists! This one at Mutant Reviewers from Hell is a must see though. Al and Lissa list each of their top 10 BSG moments of all time (which actually gives us 20 moments), as well as the 5 moments they'd rather forget. This got me brewing up what my top (and bottom) moments are in the series so far, which I'll post down in the comments when I get it all sorted (and after I watch a few season 4.0 episodes). What are yours? This might have to be a new poll.

The Face of the Enemy Webisode 8

Thanks to indysid this time around! And an FYI - If you do want to see all 10 webisodes, they are banging around youtube thanks to that Amazon glitch I presume, which if that is the case, you will probably not find webisode 9 anywhere. Otherwise, webisode 9 airs in just two days on January 7.



Credits

Sponsor info

Still looking for a youtube version with commentary. Be back shortly...

The Final Stretch

Here we are exactly two weeks before the night of the premiere of Battlestar Galactica season 4.5, and as some of you may be noticing (if you browse around the web for it) there have been press screenings of the January 16th episode, along with the almost inevitable spoilers that go along with that. We here at FRAK hope to continue maintaining a spoiler-free environment (with spoiler warnings where necessary), especially as we tread the final stretch.

Over at The Watcher, Maureen Ryan has been privy to one of those screenings. While she has no spoilers in her recent post (except the title of the January 16th episode and a very un-telling photo from it), she does recommend that Battlestar fans remain as spoiler free as possible to enjoy the unfolding of the series finale, and to steer clear of any internet or print mention of the final episode(s) until after they've aired. Thanks Maureen, and again - FRAK is here to serve and protect!

Alan Sepinwall also posted at his blog yesterday about viewing the screening and vows to remain spoiler-free as well, and the entailing discussion from that post prompted him to post a July interview with Ron Moore today which discusses in a mostly non-spoiler way the themes of the coming series Caprica and the formulation of the Battlestar Galactica finale. The extent of the spoilers in the interview are general thematic and character discussions of Caprica, and some direct yes or no answers about whether certain issues in Battlestar will be adressed in the final episodes (Alan was prepared with a list gods bless him!). There is also some discussion about how Caprica does and does not tie into Battlestar, as well as other TV series that Moore has been influenced by. That being said, you can read this incredibly insightful interview here at nj.com or at his blog What's Alan Watching. Originallty spotted at Galctica Sitrep