Notes

Michael Taylor's episode, "Unfinished Business" has been nominated for the Nebula Award.

Katee Sackhoff is interviewed by Sci Fi World.

Promotional photos from the season finale, Crossroads Part 2. (Some visual spoilers.)

Things to come

Preview of Maelstrom


Promotional photos from Crossroads Part 1.

Mary McDonnell talked to Zap2It. Jamie Bamber spoke with TV Guide. Edward James Olmos talked to Cult Times.

Could a 22 episode long 4th season mean the end of the series?

Dirty Hands

Kevin Smith hosted a entertaining and informative talk with James Callis and Tricia Helfer at New York Comic Con.

My Thoughts on "Dirty Hands"
That's the kind of episode BSG's writers should always strive for: Drama, conflict, and a insightful exploration of human issues. It even had a nice feel good ending for Selix. A perfect episode -- but then I am partial to the rights of labor. Aaron Douglas each week delivers great work, and he and the creators have crafted the chief into BSG's "every man" character -- the kind of character you usually don't see on SF shows that tend to focus on bigger than life and perfect heroes. BSG is still unique in dealing these topics. The only other SF show that jumps to mind that dealt with the labor force working in the bowels and the underclass in Downbelow, was JMS's Bablyon 5 series. But, Galactica's life and death situation takes into a darker level of reality. Anne Cofell Saunders and Jane Espenson created an excellent examination of the hardships in the fleet, and important labor issues to think about.

YouTube clips

Tricia Helfer on G4's Attack of the Show


Canada's Space Dirty Hands promo


Dirty Hands 1.5 minute preview

Ausiello

From TV Guide's Ask Ausiello column:

Question: Any news on whether we'll discover the identity of the final five Cylons this season on Battlestar Galactica?— Matthew


Ausiello: You better believe that was the fourth question out of my mouth when I sat down with executive producer David Eick last week for an exclusive interview. While he confirmed that we'll see the face of one of the five before the Mar. 25 season finale (and yes, it's someone we know well), he was a little more cryptic about the remaining four. "I think the audience has to start by asking the question, 'What really defines a Cylon?' That's part of what Season 4 is really going to be dedicated to. And the tip of that iceberg will be introduced in the season finale."

Ausiello also interviewed BSG exec producer David Eick, who reveals a bit about what's to come before the end of season 3.

Creation

Jamie Bamber at Creation BSG Convention in L.A.


David Eick's Videoblog has been updated with a report on how the prop department came up with Starbuck's scrap book, and how it helped Katee Sackhoff in the upcoming episode, Maelstrom.

A Day in the Life promo

A Day in the Life was written by Mark Verheiden.


Also on Sunday, Jamie Bamber guest stars on CBS's Cold Case, Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune reports:

What do Bob Dylan and “Battlestar Galactica” have in common? “Cold Case,” that’s what. Jamie Bamber, better known as Lee “Apollo” Adama on “Battlestar,” guest stars on this satisfying CBS drama as part of a group of former student radicals.

More on Season 4

David Eick's video blog has been updated with a funny segment showing the shooting of an FX scene from the next episode involving Aaron Douglas (Tyrol) and Nicki Clyne (Cally).

SyFy Portal reports that season 4 could have as many as 22 episodes. They also report on a rumor about the plot of the DVD movie.

Press Release

Here's the Sci-Fi Channel's press release announcing season 4:

SCI FI RENEWS 'BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'
Published: February 13, 2007

Season 4 To Premiere January 2008

New York, NY – February 13, 2007 – SCI FI has renewed its Peabody-winning signature series 'Battlestar Galactica.' The Channel will bring the critically-acclaimed series back for a minimum of 13 hours. Production will resume this summer with an eye toward a January 2008 premiere.


The decision comes after the series' incredibly successful move to Sunday nights. Since moving to its Sunday night (10pm) slot last month, 'Battlestar's audience has grown in Total Viewers (+8%), Female Viewers (+double digits across every female demo) and in the show's Target Demos of Adults 18-49 (+19%) and Adults 25-54 (+14%), versus the season 3.0 averages. The January 28th episode, "Taking A Break From All Your Worries," delivered 2.5 million total viewers and 1.6 million Adults 18-49 – the largest audience for any 'Battlestar' episode since the season 2 premiere (7/15/05).

"We're thrilled to bring 'Battlestar' back for another season. This series has delivered on every level – from the writing to the acting to the production values," stated Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of Programming, SCI FI. "SCI FI is proud to be the home of the best show on television."

Redefining the space opera with its gritty realism, Galactica's intensity, issues-driven topicality, and command performances have garnered it unprecedented critical acclaim. In addition to winning a prestigious Peabody Award, the series has been honored as one of the 10 Outstanding Television Programs of the Year by the American Film Institute (AFI) for two years running. Battlestar is also responsible for introducing the expletive "frak" into the pop culture lexicon.

"While we never had any doubt that SCI FI would get behind a fourth season of 'Battlestar,' it's thrilling to finally make it official, and for Ron and I to continue using this great genre to investigate the darker corners of society, politics and humanity," stated Executive Producer David Eick.

'Battlestar Galactica' is the gripping drama of human survival against unimaginable odds. When the Cylon robots rose against their human creators, they launched a devastating nuclear attack that left less than 50,000 survivors. On the run and in search of a new home, the last remnants of humanity struggle against waning supplies, weapons and hope.

The series is from NBC Universal Television Studio and is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick. Its stellar cast is led by Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer and Grace Park. 'Battlestar' recently returned with the second half of its third original season on its new night and time, Sundays at 10pm, immediately following SCI FI's newest original series, 'The Dresden Files.'

SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com ) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 86 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.

###
Andrew of the CIC says:

While I'm a little annoyed that we're going to have to wait 9-10 months for the series to return in January, I'm glad that we're getting it back. The 13 episode order is interesting, as it seems to look back to the first season, which also had only 13 episodes. Comparitively, between Seasons 1 and 2/3, Season 1 was much more focused on the storyline, while the other two episodes have had a number of standalone episodes that quite frankly, weren't the greatest hours of Television that Galactica should be, consistantly. So, does this mean that we're going to be getting a more miniseries like story, or are they trying to save some money? Or, does it also herald a positive light for the possible direct to DVD/TV movie that's been thrown around? Time will tell.

I think there will certainly be the direct to DVD movie, that will also likely air on Sci-Fi before season 4 starts in January. I also hope that the 13 episode order will mean a return to the more tight and focused story telling in season 1. If NBC/Universal grants a 5th season, we could be looking at Battlestar Galactica being wrapped up in 26 more episodes after the end of season 3. For a lot of shows a 13 episode season works very well. (HBO series like Deadwood, Six Feet Under, and Rome tend to be 13 episode seasons.) Of course some of the math involved in figuring out how many episodes to make has to do with DVD sales and future syndication deals, along with the ratings and advertising money Sci-Fi gets from the show. So, some accountant in the bowels of NBC/Universal working with a Ouija board and an abacus might have a better idea of exactly how many more episodes of BSG there actually will be.

Season 4 On

The Los Angeles Times reports that Battlestar Galactica has been approved for a 4th season.

[Ron] Moore said that he had a general idea of where the story would go in the fourth season but hadn't committed anything to paper. He and Eick went to Las Vegas over the weekend to get started.

"We'll hash it out over blackjack and Jack Daniels," Eick said. "We came up with the second season cliffhanger over a Johnny Walker Blue." The season finale airs March 25.

Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune has further comment.

Justine at All About Tahmoh Pennikett runs down all the reviews of Helo's episode, "The Woman King".

Here are some preview promotional photos of the 3rd from last episode of season 3, "The Son Also Rises".

Woman King

The Woman King one minute preview


Jamie Bamber spoke with Los Angeles radio station KROQ and you can listen to the interview here.

Studio Daily has an article and video podcast with commentary about the FX used in BSG by Atmosphere.

Thoughts on BSG

An excellent article in Salon takes a look at season 3, what's worked, and perhaps what has not.

The David Eick video blog has been updated with a tour of Bill and Caroline Adama's home on Caprica conducted by some guy named Colin.

Sky One

I really like Sky One's adverts in the U.K.

Veronica Mars

Veronica Mars recently had a ton of Battlestar Galactica references once again.


See more via the Battlestar Blog on Live Journal.

Also, found on the BSG Live Journal blog, Tricia Helfer was interviewed on Los Angeles radio station KROQ and here's audio.

If you live in Austin, Texas, you can see Battlestar Galactica (and Lost and 24) at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema for free.

Kara Thrace

Check out some promotional photos of the the upcoming episode of BSG, "Maelstrom" HERE. "Maelstrom" is likely to become the most talked about episode of the season....