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Ronald D. Moore has updated his Battlestar Blog with his views on surviving disasters.

It was a year ago, as I watched the Katrina coverage, that I first thought about doing this blog entry. Now that we're on the first anniversary of that catastrophe, it seems like as good a time as any to at least talk about this subject.

The subject is the one most likely to inspire yawns and rolling of eyes, so ready your mouse to click onto something else: Disaster Preparedness.

And Sci-Fi Wire reports on the Battlestar Galactica writers at Worldcon over the weekend in Anaheim.

Death Comes To Galactica

Ronald D. Moore, executive producer of SCI FI Channel's original series Battlestar Galactica, told fans that the upcoming third season of the hit SF series could see some fatalities among the characters. "Oh, there're some changes in the air," Moore said at the 64th World Science Fiction Convention, or WorldCon, in Anaheim, Calif., over the weekend. "We're going to lose some people this year. Not all of our friends are going to make it all the way." Moore declined to be specific, but said that the show's writers have finished breaking the story arc for the end of the upcoming third season.

Moore added that the upcoming season 2.5 DVD set will include a special 90-minute version of the episode "Pegasus," which ran only 60 minutes in the original broadcast. In addition, fresh material in the form of specially filmed "webisodes," Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance, will air on SCIFI.COM's SCI FI Pulse broadband network twice weekly, starting Sept. 5. The two- or three-minute shorts will serve as a lead-in to the new season and, although not essential to the plot, will enhance the viewing experience.

Moore was joined at WorldCon by executive producer Mark Verheiden, supervising producer Michael Taylor, story editor Anne Cofell Saunders, producers David Weddle and Bradley Thompson and SCIFI.COM senior vice president Craig Engler in screening a trailer for and talking about the upcoming season.

When asked whether the show was still true to his initial vision, Moore said he felt it was on track, but that there had been surprises along the way, from both writers and actors, that made both the storyline and the characters richer.

"One of the great things about writing for Ron is you do feel empowered to try things, and it doesn't have to be ... what was in the story outline," Weddle said. "I'm sure many of you remember in season two, where Callie shoots Boomer. That was never in an outline. That wasn't a planned moment. ... [Writer] Toni Graphia called Brad [Thompson] and [me] one day and said, 'You know, I think I want Callie to shoot Boomer.'"

Moore agreed: "There's nothing like reading a script and being surprised," he said of his reaction to the change. "It's the experience of watching the show." Season three of Battlestar Galactica begins airing Oct. 6. Galactica will air Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. —Nephele Tempest