New Version

SevorTB has discovered another version of the Lee Adama ad.

ETA by ProgGrrl: there are some serious visual spoilers, even in the embed visual, so I'm removing this embed.

The Los Angeles Times

The LA Times ran a nice meaty and unspoilery piece this weekend, getting some great quotes from Edward James Olmos, Jamie Bamber, and Tricia Helfer, and also speaking to Tahmoh Penikett and Grace Park.

Material for this article seems to have been gathered from the set during shooting of 4.0. The interviews are terrific, but this article is also notable for the relish it takes with using actors' quotes to insult the show's fans. Fanbashing is certainly something any of us long-term trufans in any niche or genre have to get used to. Yet this journalist seems to savor bashing in a discomforting way. People love their cliches, clinging to them beyond statistical evidence. For every one inappropriate/overburdening fan, there are 10,000 who are good folks just looking to celebrate their favorite entertainments. For every one basement-dwelling virginal geek there are 100,000 fully-functional genre nerds working, partying, walking in the sunshine and loving their favorite shows.


Whatever.


To cheer myself up after reading the bashing, one need only dive back into fandom.

Demonqueen666's Battlestar Galactica and Mystery Science Theater 3000 mashup icon art, parts one and two.

Crazyvictoria's banner and wallpaper art from recent photo shoots.

Meshel73, who took the time to point out what's new and exciting in the extras on the S3 DVD set.

And ack_attack's list of her top 43 favorite BSG moments of all time (many of which I heartily and fangirlishly agree on).


5 MORE DAYS PEOPLE.

2nd Bear McCreary Show Added

Via SoundtrackNet:

Bear McCreary: The Music Of Battlestar Galactica has added a second performance, Tuesday April 15th at The Roxy Theatre. The first performance scheduled for April 13th has sold out.

The performing ensemble, conducted by composer Bear McCreary includes former members of Oingo Boingo and vocalist Brendan “BT4” McCreary, who sings “All Along the Watchtower” from Season 3. An original documentary about the making of the score will also be presented.

CINEMEDIA PROMOTIONS, LALA LAND RECORDS, PRESENT
BEAR MCCREARY: THE MUSIC OF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

SOLD OUT: Sunday April 13, 2008 8PM
JUST ADDED: Tuesday April 15, 2008 8PM

The Roxy Theatre, 9009 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA

Tickets for the April 15th Show: $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

Available at The Roxy Theatre box office now, or at Ticketmaster.com beginning 3/29.

Katee Sackhoff revisited

Battlestar blog gathered all the various reports and transcripts from Katee Sackhoff's press call here. And below is embeded video of the first two Katee Sackhoff EW video interviews. The third will be posted tomorrow on EW.com. (Hat tip to multipleverses.)






Meanwhile, thanks to fangirl canadiangirl-86 for pointing out that EW seems to have a thing about posing gorgeous kick-ass blonde action heroines from excellent TV shows in black tanks next to brick walls. LOL.

Laura Roslin - Diplomat or Dictator?

New Laura Roslin ad, with a few visual spoilers sure to raise eyebrows. Proceed with caution. Thanks to SevorTB for posting the vid.

New Space promo

New Space (Canada) advert posted by Murphy987987.

Pretty Tough

Tricia Helfer's photo feature in FHM UK magazine has hit the stands. (Page1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6...) Thanks to fans Panda39 for scanning, and bingobango for posting here.

I have to admit, I'm a straight girl who is feeling a tad gay at the moment.

Meanwhile, I assume it's a typo, but this piece also mentions that BSG will run on Sky One in the UK starting April 1st. Has anyone on that side of the pond figured out when the season is starting? You would think it would be clear on Sky One's web site by now.

Still not finished...

I've posted my thoughts on the extended cut of Unfinished Business (S3 x 09), and the deleted scenes on the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Season 3 DVD release, over here on my LJ.

Massive spoilers ahoy.

Legend or Leader?

Once again, posted to YouTube by master of videos, SevorTB

Interviews

Sci Fi Pulse has “Part One” of video interviews from the Upfronts press conference.

Sci Fi Wire has several more pieces this week. Ron Moore describes the post-strike rewrite process in more detail - and here Scifi.com’s writer repeats again that the back 10 will air in 2009. Oy vey. *tries to remain calm* There is this chat with Mary McDonnell, and this paper ran a much longer version of the interview. Finally there is this one with Edward James Olmos - who reveals that he’d be just fine if BATTLESTAR GALACTICA goes out like THE DEPARTED instead of THE SOPRANOS. Not a big surprise if you've been following his statements about this show down through the seasons. ;)

TV Squad (no spoilers) and io9 (moderate spoilers) have reports on a press conference call with Sackhoff that happened today. Cinema Blend is promising to post a transcript of the entire call at some point soon (hat tip to greycoupon). The io9 piece also has better versions of some of the photos from Katee’s EW shoot. Apparently Katee is up for getting a part in David Eick’s CHILDREN OF MEN, if all the stars align correctly. Meanwhile - maaaaan, if one more journo asks Katee what prop she most wants to take after the series wraps, I’m gonna….grrrr!

Zap2It talks with Moore and Sackhoff.

Sci Fi Channel UK has posted video interviews with Nicki Clyne on their web site (UK users only); here’s a shorter excerpt on their YouTube channel for the rest of us.



Apparently Nicki now lives in New York City; she blogged this week about her experience in the Letterman audience watching the cast do their bit.

The March 8th edition of the Hypaspace podcast features an interview with James Callis.

Tricia Helfer’s site continues to spread the word about various magazines she and the BSG cast will be appearing in…the latest is Interview’s May issue and upcoming issues of Los Angeles Confidential and FHM (UK).

Also Tricia will be taping one of NBC’s “The More You Know" PSAs this season.

Only 7 days to go people. 7 days.

"They usually call those people movie stars."

Entertainment Weekly continues to corner the US market in Katee Sackhoff.

The new issue hits our mailboxes today with a feature piece on Katee, to which a little birdy has fed me some scans. The scanner isn't so good but you get the idea (1... 2... 3... 4... 5); mind the mild spoilers on the bottom half of the final page. ETA: much better scans can now be ganked over here.

EW.com has the second of three videos shot of Katee during her photo shoot.

Meanwhile EW also is posting BATTLESTAR GALACTICA episode guides to refresh yourself for the season premiere next week. Season one and season two are up now.

What The Frak to air on Sci-Fi

SevorTB posted to YouTube this "What the frak is going on with BSG?" promo. Sci-Fi Channel is going to show the 8 minute recap video during "The Creature" next Thursday night, the day before the season 4 debut.

SevorTB also recently posted video of the BSG cast members on VH1's Best Week Ever.

Roush Review

Matt Roush has a mostly spoiler free review of the BSG season 4 debut at TV Guide:

As the emotional roller-coaster that is Battlestar Galactica launches its fourth and eventually final season, I find myself marveling again at its psychological depth, its relentless intensity, and its provocative mix of political, spiritual and military intrigue.

This series has TV legend written all over it. Equally concerned with inner and outer space, Battlestar is that rare show worthy of being mentioned alongside The X Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost for its ability to use dark fantasy to explore the nature of humanity so deeply and honestly it often hurts to watch.

Katee Speaks

Entertainment Weekly's Adam B. Vary of the PopWatch Blog recently sat down with Katee Sackhoff:

We holed up inside a spookily atmospheric warehouse as she took a breather from the photo shoot for this week's EW feature story on Katee, and at this point, I should ask those who have not fully caught up with the show to calmly and quietly scroll to the next PopWatch item lest they endure even the whiff of a spoiler.

Part one of three-part video interview is here. EW will have more of the interview Friday.

Via the Katee Sackhoff fan site, Team Spank I found a new interview with Katee Sackhoff and Grace Park in Macleans.ca in Canada. It's an awesome interview, but beware of some spoilers and hints. Well worth the read though.

Tahmoh Penikett welcomed to the DOLLHOUSE

News from TV Guide:

Joss Whedon is letting his obsession with Battlestar Galactica get the best of him — and I couldn't be happier about it!

Whedon has tapped Galactica stud Tahmoh Penikett (aka Helo) to play Eliza Dushku's "twisted romantic foil" in [his new series] DOLLHOUSE, a spokesperson for Twentieth Television confirms.

Penikett's character, Paul Smith (originally named Paul Ballard), is described as an FBI agent who becomes obsessed with both the urban myth that is Dollhouse and its most recognizable inhabitant, Echo (Dushku).

Here is another description of the character, from E!Online:

Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Smith: 30s, good looks hardened by a cynical distaste for most of humanity. An FBI field agent, he's been chasing the urban myth of the Dollhouse long enough to have lost any shot at promotion. Becomes obsessed with and a twisted romantic foil for Echo (Eliza Dushku).

Whedon's DOLLHOUSE has a 7-episode order from Fox; no word yet on how many of these eps Tahmoh will be featured in.

Questions for Jamie Bamber

Tomorrow afternoon, the TVaddict.com has an interview of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA star Jamie Bamber. If you want to submit questions to Jamie, post a comment on the TV Addict site.

Watching Season 4 Online & Legal Downloads

There are many, many burning questions racing through the minds of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA fandom as we sit out the mere 9 days left of our one-year hiatus.

Here is one I am pondering at the moment: what sorts of legal streaming or downloading access can we expect to get for season 4 episodes?

TPTB obviously want to address this (at least for the US audience), since they have announced that the Season 4 premiere will be streamed online a full 9 hours ahead of its broadcast premiere on April 4.

One would hope that in this day and age, the TV nets would be thinking a little harder about how to deliver their products to eager viewers across the globe.

Amazon Unbox is certainly going to sell each ep – in fact they already are offering What The Frak?, BSG: Revealed and BSG: Phenomenon as free downloads. But that does not include us Mac users. Hulu is now open for business…will NBCU/Sci Fi Channel take advantage of their shiny new platform and stream eps there? And what about iTunes...will Steve Jobs and Jeff Zucker kiss and make up in time for BSG season 4?

Meanwhile, there is the new deal NBC made this year with Pando Networks. This service, which promises to deliver the good (HD files) with the bad (lots of heinous DRM technology and “watermarking”), has no start date as of now.

This page on Sci Fi Channel’s site, Sci Fi Rewind, is pretty new and has several season 3 eps posted for streamed viewing. Will this be a place to go for online viewing in the USA?

It is also worth noting here that for our US readers, the entire back 10 eps of season 3 are all available for streaming right now. Sci Fi Rewind has RAPTURE through DIRTY HANDS; and Hulu has the rest through CROSSROADS PART 2.

Six - Saboteur or Savior?

Advert posted by SevorTB.

BSG Marathon on Sci Fi Channel

Next week Sci Fi Channel will run a BATTLESTAR GALACTICA marathon, showing almost every episode aired to date, from Monday March 31 through Friday April 4. The marathon seems to include everything except the Miniseries and the beginning of Season 1.



If you need a refresher on BSG episode order, there are ep guides on the official US site and the BSG wiki.

Interviews & Spots 'O the Day

Sci Fi Wire has a bit more from Ron Moore this morning on his directing debut on episode 12 of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, which the SciFi writer mentions is likely to premiere in 2009. *ggggrrrrrrrr*

Bamber News spotted this Sci Fi Weekly interview with David Eick, Jamie Bamber, Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer.

Battlestar blog found the next Hypaspace Weekly promo...which I haven't watched, because I am so overdosing on promos and trying to be at least 75% spirginal for the next 10 days. (10 DAYS! W00T!) Logan, let us know if this is spoilerish, will you?

Rolling

BSG co-exec producer Mark Verheiden reports that cameras roll on Tuesday on the first post strike episode in Vancouver, B.C.:

Tomorrow's the big day, we start shooting episode #12 of the twenty episodes left for season four and the series. Mr. Ron Moore himself writes and directs this opus, and... that's all I'm going to say about the episode itself. Except it will probably run the usual 42-ish minutes and I can almost guarantee it will be shot in beautiful color.

Season 4 Spoilers & Other News

Matt and Nat of the BSG Cast videocast have a short news update and talk about their season 4 Frak Party in Las Vegas April 4th and 5th to celebrate the commencement of the 4th season.

Steve West of Cinemablend has a preview of what to expect in season 4 of Battlestar Galactica.

Digital Spy reveals some spoilers (and one false spoiler) for the season debut. They also have a broader spoiler heavy preview of season 4.

Cujoy's Pop Media Cult Live Journal has updates on the known season 4 episode titles thus far, as well as a full spoiler round up with excellent citations.

MaryAnn Johanson, The Flick Filosopher has photos and reports on details from the Sci-Fi Channel BSG upfront presentation, as well as the Sci-FI Channel party.

Good strong women can be hard to find.

Sci Fi Wire has a couple of interview bites this morning: Ron Moore discussing J.J. Abrams' new STAR TREK project...and Katee Sackhoff pondering her chances of finding future roles as strong, passionate and singular as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. Let's hope the indie film world (or Joss Whedon? *g*) can step up and help her with that...

A different kind of joy...

Sci Fi Channel has posted (in a sort of secretive, hard-to-find way) the entire 47-minute Upfronts press conference video with Ron Moore, David Eick, and most of the lead cast of Battlestar Galactica. Hat tip to the ever-vigilant folks at battlestar_blog.

Meanwhile the hardest working vidder fan in fandom, SevorTB, has uploaded a short piece that ran on the TV Guide Network this week, featuring cast interviews from the Upfronts...



Here Ron Moore mentions the remaining cylon in The Final Five will be revealed before the last episode of season 4...and Mary McDonnell volunteers to play Laura Roslin's mother in the prequel CAPRICA. *squeeee*

De-crucify him or I'll melt your face!

Some very kind folks over at the skiffy boards have scanned and uploaded the Katee Sackhoff, Tricia Helfer & Grace Park photo feature in April's GQ Magazine. Eat your heart out, Barbarella.

Nine last rounds on the BSG obstacle course

The Toronto Star has three count 'em three pieces on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA today. This great interview with BSG "postergrrls" Katee Sackhoff and Grace Park; this piece on Moore, Eick and their history with "reimagining" projects (including more comments from Sackhoff about BIONIC WOMAN); and a short and sweet outline of the entire BSG series from Mini to end of Season 3.

Livejournalist cujoy posted scans of last week's TV Guide interviews with "the final four," which apparently is spoilery...so I just looked at the pretty pictures.

Livejournalist asta777 over at Bamber News has scans of the Jamie Bamber cover story in DirecTV magazine's April issue.

[photo: Colin McConnell/Toronto Star]

Kara Thrace

A new Kara ad posted by SevorTB.

More from SevorTB:
Gaius Baltar - Pariah or Prophet?


And:
Chief Tyrol - Loyalist or Deserter?

Make A Cylon contest

The SciFi Channel's SciFi.com & Dvice, along with with Make Magazine, have announced a MAKE A CYLON contest.

Tricia Helfer and Grace Park will judge all entries. Looks like you can build either a humanoid or toaster-style cylon or, if you prefer, other objects from the BSGverse. Winning entries will get prizes and be featured on the Sci Fi Channel.

Get the details here from Make's blog.

Some Spoilers

This is your spoiler warning....

If you want to read some of the latest spoilers for season 4, io9 has a few Starbuck spoilers first here and with some added details here (along with spoilers for a ton of other shows.)

There are some other spoilers and rumors on the loose out there, but as always take them with a few grains of salt. I don't believe half of them myself.

Stay in Vegas

Wouldn't it be cool to watch the season debut of Battlestar Galactica in Las Vegas at the Golden Nugget with Matt and Nat of the BSG Cast video podcast? Well, you can add yourself to the event on their Facebook page. Kandyse McClure, Tahmoh Penikett, Kevin Grazier and Richard Hatch are expected to attend. Matt and Nat will also be filming an installment of their BSG Cast. Check out the full schedule of fun and find out the details on all the costs involved here. It'll be a great frak party.

ETA: Justine from the excellent All about Tahmoh Penikett blog notes in the comments, that the last she heard Tahmoh probably won't be there. Keep an eye on the BSG Cast's site for up to date guest announcements.

News and Notes

Tory's commercial posted on YouTube by SevorTB.

Sci-Fi Wire reports that David Eick is working on turning the P.D. James novel Children of Men into a TV series. The work was previously adapted as the excellent film directed by Alfonso Cuarón in 2006 staring Clive Owen.

Jamie Bamber talked to Sci-Fi Wire about his work on the horror film, Pulse 2.

Michelle Forbes was recently profiled by TV Squad writer Allison Waldman:

Mysterious. Mesmerizing. Interesting. Dynamic. Compelling. Any and all of these words accurately describe actress Michelle Forbes. She is one of the finest actresses in television, and yet she has maintained a distinct quality that makes her as elusive a performer to come around since Garbo! Intensely private, there's not much known about the Austin, Texas native....

However, it was her characterization at Admiral Helena Cain on Battlestar Galactica starting in 2005 (which she recently reprised in 2007's Razor episode), that's brought her tremendous acclaim. Speaking of Battlestar Galactica's Cain, a tough-minded, ruthless, militaristic hawk, she told the Chicago Tribune, "I think that there is something compelling... about her sense of duty, and her sense of getting the job done at whatever cost. There is comfort in that in difficult times, in times of war. But people like that may be misguided."

Right now, Michelle is appearing as therapist Paul's (Gabriel Byrne) wife, Kate, on HBO's In Treatment. As with so many of her characters, there's nothing simple about Kate and her complicated relationship with Paul makes for fascinating drama.

Fascinating, in fact, may be the perfect word to describe Michelle Forbes. She never fails to be a fascinating presence in whatever endeavor in which she participates. And that, although she may not like to hear it, is why she's a star. Just don't expect her to ever play the same role in the same way. That's not her style. In her own words, she states it clearly: "As an actor, you want as much variety as you can muster up. Otherwise you just keep playing the same chord over and over again."

Grace Park was interviewed by Wizard Universe.

W. Morgan Sheppard, the father of Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin) is reported to have a small part in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, according to Trek Movie Report.

Lesbian Geek sites the actor connections and crossovers between Battlestar Galactica and Showtime's The L Word. (Both shows shoot in Vancouver, B.C.)

Kate O'Hare of Zap2it.com reports on Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff's motorbike sojourns.

A recent interview with the creators of Battlestar Galactica sheds light on Cylon/human rights and raises the issue of torture once again.

Going a bit off topic.... I don't know if BSG writers, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle watch Battle 360 on History Channel, but they would probably like it. The documentary series uses CGI effects to recreate the WWII battles of aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, along with the first person stories of veterans of the Enterprise crew. If you're a history buff, and you like the military realism that BSG strives for, you'll probably like Battle 360.

There's a good chance you'll get to see me naked.

The Battlestar Galactica cast appearance on Late Night With David Letterman yesterday, is up on youtube and CBS.com.

They have no idea of the threat they've unleashed.

The fantastic Upfronts Promo that io9 posted the other day with their wonderful review is now up on YouTube. ETA: the best quality version seems to be this one at Cinema Blend - you can even go full-screen mode with their player. We love the full screen mode. *g*

Love love love this one. I broke my promo/spoiler fast for this, and it was worth it. (Moderate spoilers, nothing too specific.)

Best Week Ever

Tipster extraodinaire Whitney Matheson over at Pop Candy twittered this today: "Just heard that three Battlestar actors -- Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer -- will be on Best Week Ever this week."

Best Week Ever is on VH1, Friday night at 9pm & 11pm EST.

A bit more on CAPRICA from TPTB

SciFi Wire posted a bit more on the CAPRICA pilot today, with David Eick and Ron Moore describing their vision for this new show in greater detail, and how it will differ "markedly" from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

Moore also indicates that he'll be "very involved" with this pilot, but it is not clear if he will stay involved with the show, should it get the needed ratings and be greenlit to go to a full series order.

Here are key excerpts:

Eick compared [Caprica] to the feature film American Beauty, while Moore referenced the TV soap opera Dallas.

"Caprica is a story that Ron Moore and I concocted with [co-executive producer] Remi Aubuchon, and we're casting as we speak," Eick said in an interview at SCI FI Channel's upfront presentation to advertisers in New York on March 18. "I'm very excited about that. If Battlestar Galactica is Black Hawk Down, I would say that Caprica is American Beauty. Caprica is all about the inner lives of the people on a planet and how their personal relationships as well as their professional relationships inform what will become the creation of the Cylons."

Moore, a former Star Trek writer and producer, said that Caprica is not a show along the lines of any Trek spinoff series. "It's a different animal altogether," he said in a separate interview. "Unlike those shows, which are all riffs on the same notion of what Star Trek was, Caprica is really a completely different kind of genre. We're trying to do something different."

Instead of Galactica's action-adventure space-based war show, Caprica will tell a story that takes place before any of the wars happened. "This is really more of a sci-fi Dallas," Moore said. "It's a political story, a family story. It's about the creation of the Cylons, and it's about a company. It's planet-based. It's very character-oriented, very serialized and very much about the characters. It's a whole different genre, and that's what makes it exciting."

"Starbuck loves me so much...it's weird..."

The second special program leading up to the season 4 premiere, Battlestar Galactica: The Phenomenon, is now up on the official site. Here a gaggle of well-known and articulate BSG fans (including Joss Whedon, Jesse L. Martin, Seth Green, Joel McHale, Scott Ian and Brad Paisley) explain why BSG is so excellent.

ETA: Below is Part 1 on youtube, and the rest of it can be found here.

Eick confirms: No more Bionic Woman

BSG exec producer David Eick told Sci-Fi Wire that the NBC series, Bionic Woman won't be back. Eick elaborated on the experience:

"I just felt that the process was so frustrating, and the conditions under which we were making that show never really came to fruition in such a way that I felt like we could make the show well," Eick said in an interview at SCI FI Channel's upfront presentation to advertisers in New York on March 18. "The actress [Michelle Ryan] we found was wonderful. Some of the writing was good."

But, he added: "We just didn't ever bring it all together like we did with Battlestar. At a certain point, when it becomes that frustrating, I think you're better off to say, 'Let's try again another time,' and let it go."

From the Home Office

Maureen Ryan has a sneak peak of the Top Ten list on the reasons to watch Battlestar Galactica this season our BSG heroes recite tonight on Letterman on CBS.

Mo is right, reason number five is excellent. But, I can't wait to see Eddie deliver the number one reason...

New Clip and More Praise

io9 has posted an exclusive Battlestar Galactica promo video for Season 4 (mildly spoilery) and a very nice overview/review. You know, when a BSG character jumps onto a table, we're all in for a big treat. *\o/*

The LAist has the shortest rave review I've ever seen for BSG and Katee Sackhoff.

Wired has a bunch of candid snaps from the NYC upfront event, and this adorkable journo-fangirl shot...good one!

CAPRICA Press Release

Mo Ryan has posted the official Sci Fi Channel press release on the new BSG prequel CAPRICA. Some key excerpts below:

SCI FI GIVES 'CAPRICA' THE GREENLIGHT
Two-Hour Backdoor Pilot for 'Battlestar Galactica' Prequel Series To Begin Production this Spring

New York, NY – March 18, 2008 -- As the Peabody and Emmy-winning original series Battlestar Galactica heads into its fourth and final season, SCI FI Channel has greenlit production on Caprica, a two-hour Battlestar backdoor pilot prequel from executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick. Production on Caprica is slated to begin in Vancouver this spring.

"We couldn't be more excited to see this long-anticipated project get off the ground. It's an amazing script, and, though clearly inspired by the Battlestar mythology, it is not just a pale spin-off. This is a smart, thought-provoking, emotional, and compelling character drama in its own right," said Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of Original Programming.

Set 50 years before Battlestar Galactica, Caprica follows two rival families – the Greystones and the Adamas – as they grow, compete, and thrive in the vibrant world of the 12 Colonies. Enmeshed in the burgeoning technology of artificial intelligence and robotics that will eventually lead to the creation of the Cylons, the two houses go toe-to-toe. Caprica will deliver all of the passion, intrigue, political backbiting, family conflict and hardcore action that always leaves Galactica fans begging for more.

"I'm thrilled with the chance to expand on the Galactica world and get deeper into the origins of the story we've been telling," said Moore. "It's also great to have a chance at doing a completely different kind of science fiction series, one that's even more character-oriented and doesn't rely on pyrotechnics to carry the story."

"While Caprica will have its own personality, it will carry on Battlestar's commitment to pushing the boundaries of the genre, and we're thrilled that SCI FI has seen fit to giving us another opportunity to tell character-driven stories in challenging ways," added Eick.

Executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick (Battlestar Galactica), Caprica is co-written by Moore and Remi Aubuchon (24), and will be directed by Jeff Reiner (Friday Night Lights). Universal Media Studios will produce.

What a nice pedigree this show has; not only was Jeff Reiner a director on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS - he was as Mo Ryan points out, a co-executive producer and one of the crew very much responsible for FNL's signature look and feel. Very cool news.

I wonder if we'll get to see the birth of the Tighbot in this one? Can Taylor Kitsch or Scott Porter do a cameo? ;)

Rag Tag Fleet finds Earth, heads straight to New York City

Ain't It Cool News has the first frame grab shot of the Battlestar Galactica cast's visit to David Letterman's show. The piece was taped on Monday here in New York, and airs tonight on CBS.

Tons of photos of the cast arrivals at Letterman's studio and posing in costume, and arriving at the upfront presentation are all over the net.

Here are downloads from Wired, TV Squad, E!Online, Variety, Broadcasting & Cable, and IGN, of the Sci Fi Channel upfront presentation. Multichannel News has coverage plus arrivals video of Edward James Olmos.

Looks like episode 4x03 "He That Believeth In Me," will be available to stream on scifi.com as of noon on April 4th...and that casting on the CAPRICA pilot is just getting started. Ron Moore apparently referred to this new series as DALLAS in space.

[top photo: TV Squad / bottom photos: the wires ]

Countdown

A Battlestar Galactica season 4 countdown widget for Mac OS X 10.4 or later by Damage Studios. Download it for free here.

16 days, and 20 hours to go, as I post this.

Season 4 Premiere to debut online...more webisodes...

More news from the Sci Fi Channel upfronts in The Hollywood Reporter, as we see what the network's new production exec Dave Howe has in store for BSG fans:

Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" will live on with "Caprica."

At its upfront presentation Tuesday in New York, the cable channel said that it has greenlighted a two-hour back-door pilot for the prequel, which had been in development for two years.

[snip]

"Caprica," which is set 50 years before the events in the departing "Battlestar," will begin production in the spring. It hails from the "Battlestar" masterminds Ronald D. Moore and David Eick.

As for "Battlestar," the series' final-season premiere will debut online nine hours before it airs on TV.

[snip]

The channel also will expand its digital offerings with a game site launching in mid-April as well as "Battlestar" webisodes and a social game based on the show.

Very exciting news, eh?

Also in THR is this piece in which Ron Moore repeats his opinion that BSG is not well suited for feature film format (nor will any be necessary at the end of this season)...and also mentions that he re-thought the big arc of the "back ten" during this winter's WGA strike, and is tweaking the final episodes to reach "a clearer vision for the show."

Meanwhile, in our Off Topic Department: rumors continue to swirl about the fate of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Keep yer fingers crossed.

CAPRICA News

This just in from Cinema Blend:

Cinema Blend writer/editor Steve West is at this very moment, attending the Sci Fi Channel’s annual network Upfront. Prior to the gathering, he had the opportunity to sit in at a press conference with the cast and crew of Battlestar Galactica. Of the things that were discussed was the fate of the rumored BSG prequel, Caprica. Apparently, Caprica has officially been greenlit for production by the network.

According to executive producers, David Eick and Ron Moore, SciFi has given them the go ahead to get started on what will be a 2-hour pilot for a potential series. Caprica will take us back fifty years before the first Cylon war and tell the story of the cylons’ origins. Their aim is to premiere it this fall. We’ll post more details if we get any.

Revealed on YouTube

The TV Addict has posted part of Battlestar Galactica: Revealed on youtube today. This is one of the special shows airing on the Sci Fi Channel on March 28.

The direct youtube links for the 4 sections are coming from The SciFi Channel's youtube channel.

ETA: Thanks meshel73 for pointing out that now Daemon's TV has the entire show posted in a another player that non-Americans can watch.

Amazon Gold Box Deal

Today, the release date of the Region 1 Season 3 DVD set, Amazon has Battlestar Galactica Region 1 Season 2.0 and 2.5 sets on sale in their Gold Box special. For the next 8 hours, each set is only $25.

Season 4 Interviews

Katee Sackhoff was a guest on the morning news on CW11, WPIX New York where she talked a bit about BSG season 4, and about her future plans once Galactica wraps.

Edward James Olmos was interviewed by Lewis Beale of the NY Daily News. Eddie talked about wrapping up BSG as well as his community work.

Sean Elliot of If Magazine talked to Lucy Lawless about her work on season 4.

And beetlemier posted scans of Sci-Fi Magazine's article previewing season 4.

Revealed

Battlestar Galactica: Revealed is a special program hosted by Ron Moore and David Eick, that explores the series' main characters and concepts through the end of season 3.

This program will air on Sci Fi Channel on March 28th - and is streaming now on the show's official site. It's a nice refresher on the entire series, if it's been a while since you've watched it, or you are trying to convince someone to give the show a try.

You Are So Money

For those of you who didn’t already pre-order your Season 3 DVDs two months ago like I did, note some sweet shopping deals this week: In the USA, Best Buy is offering any 2 DVD seasons of BSG for $60 total. In Canada, FutureShop has a few more copies of their “exclusive steelbook" edition of Season 3…and Best Buy Canada is bundling a free issue of the Battlestar Galactica: Origins comic book with the Season 3 package.

For you Amazon forum geeks, there is a BSG community set up on the site now.

Season 4 promotions continue forward…the first set of publicity photos for episode 4.03, “He That Believeth in Me,” are now available.

While the Battlestar Galactica cast are heading to New York this week for the television biz upfront presentations and their Letterman appearance on Wednesday, fans in New York and Los Angeles have been spotting great outdoor ads around both cities. Below is a photo of one of the phone booth side ads (this one on 7th Ave & 14th), which I have heard is also up at 72nd & Broadway and 78th & Broadway...and looks even better at night when it's backlit.


In Los Angeles things are a bit more grandiose – there is a billboard on Fairfax Avenue at Colgate (apparently there may be another one of similar size on Melrose and/or LaBrea)…


And this huge building side ad has gone up on the Sunset Strip (facing West?) - not too shabby!


Anyone looking for a big clean JPEG of this new Last Supper ad design, can get it from meshel73 at the battlestar blog, here.


[hat tip to all the awesome fans who’ve snapped these photos over the past few days!]

Tickets on sale to Paley Center NYC Event

You can now buy tickets for the panel I will be speaking on, at The Paley Center for Media here in New York City. Full info from their site and ticket discount info...

Click Critics: The Power of Fan Websites

Monday, May 19, 2008; 6:00 to 7:30 pm

TV recap/fan sites like Television Without Pity have a significant impact on television's creative community, as producers are able to instantly track fans' reactions to their programming. In addition to the entertainment these portals provide readers, they have become the ultimate focus group, making passionate, informed, unfiltered audience responses to new material a simple click away. We are gathering writers behind some of the more well-known sites to discuss the influence of fan sites on programming, the culture of actively engaged critical communities, and their position in the "legitimate" critical landscape.


In Person: Kevin Croy (Lostpedia), Remona Outar (Ugly Is In), Erica Blitz (Galactica Sitrep), Dan Manu (Television Without Pity), Damon Schmidt (Whedonesque), Jennie Tan (OfficeTally)

The panel will be moderated by Alan Sepinwall, and will include a performance by the LOST recap band "Previously on LOST," for added fan-atical goodness.


All Sitrep readers can get $8 discount tickets: go here, select "May 19 / 6:00 PM" and enter promotional code "sitrep" to purchase.

Hope a few of you can make it!

More New Promos

Hypaspace had Katee Sackhoff and Grace Park in their studio this past week to host a season 4 sneak peek. Warning for mild spoilers.




Here's a promo for the two specials airing on March 28 - Battlestar Galactica: Revealed, and Battlestar Galactica: The Phenomenon...




A big eternal hat tip to the fans over at the battlestar_blog for continuing to hunt down and post any and every video out there! Good hunting.

Ron Moore on directing, Star Trek, Romo...and Joss Whedon

Mo Ryan over at The Watcher spoke to Ron Moore for an hour this week, and has posted short pieces of her interview - including a lot of great tidbits about Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, and Moore's upcoming projects.

And yes the rumor is true: apparently Joss Whedon was trying to work out some way to direct an episode of BSG this season...but now it's not looking very likely. What a shame.

Free Pizza for your Frak Parties April 4th

Movieweb just leaked news that SciFi seems to be working on a promotion for LA & NY fans, to order free pizza during the live broadcast time of the season 4 Battlestar Galactica premiere. Here's a peek at the promo flyer they are working on:


No news yet about which pizzerias are participating.

LOST / BSG Crossover Picspam Silliness

There are days when fandom just kills me.

This is one of those days. Thank you ack_attack! (BTW check out her very funny LOST picspam recaps over here.)

Season 4 Fan Trailer

Katee and Grace Canadian Interviews

Katee Sackoff on Canada's MTV posted by Canuckgirl86.


Katee Sackoff and Grace Park on Canada AM Posted by Meshel73.

Press Clips

Ron Moore gives IGN a short interview, in which he confirms that the CAPRICA spinoff series is still a possibility.

Katee Sackhoff talked to Zap2It about girls on hogs, and what she did during the WGA strike.

There were a few other interviews that happened today per previous posts: No clips yet but a fan who saw Katee on MTV Canada wrote about it here. You can listen to Katee & Grace Park on CBC Radio, over here.

Watch With Kristin on E!Online has a final cylon poll, and is opening the floor to fandom: if you have any questions for ANY Battlestar Galactica cast or crew, she can try to get it answered by April 4th. And: don't forget to send questions for the cast video interviews that are happening soon.

The South Park: Imaginationland DVD is out, featuring extended commentary and homage to BSG.

Mark Verheiden gave a far-ranging interview to Fear Zone, about everything else he is doing when he's not working on BSG. Note he will be at Wizard World con this Saturday in Los Angeles.

Leah Cairns answered fan questions over at the battlestar blog recently. I haven't listened to this one yet but I heard it was a lot of fun and quite in-depth.

Tricia Helfer’s site wants us to know that she is getting a cover story in the April issue of FHM UK…and she, Katee Sackhoff and Grace Park will be in the April issue of GQ Magazine. Fanartists, start your engines! *g*

Pop Culture America radio show spoke briefly with Mark Sheppard at MegaCon last week.

Not sure if you’re a geek, nerd or dork? This article should clear things up. It shouldn't surprise any self-respecting geek to see that BSG gets a mention.

Blogger Dark Orpheus discusses the music in BSG, and links to some cool fanvids.

The etiquette columnist at The Boston Globe takes issue with calling Roslin and Starbuck "sirs," Caprican traditions be damned.

Interestingly, LA Times' The Envelope has included BSG's S4 in their latest Emmywatch post. A good sign of things to come.

Katee on the CBC

You can now watch the video stream of Katee Sackhoff on CBC's The Hour on their website. (h/t Meshel73, who also uploaded it to YouTube.)



No spoilers for season 4 in the interview. Just general good conversation.

Sci Fi Channel confirms Letterman

This was posted today on SciFi Wire:

Ten stars of SCI FI Channel's original series Battlestar Galactica will make an appearance on CBS' Late Show With David Letterman to present the Top 10 List on March 19.

They include Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas and Lucy Lawless. The show airs at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT.

The fourth season of Battlestar Galactica kicks off on March 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT with two back-to-back half-hour specials, with the first new episode premiering the following week, April 4, 10 p.m.

Katee Sackhoff live on MTV Canada

We have another tip: Katee Sackhoff will appear live on MTV Canada in Toronto today at 6pm Eastern (repeated 11pm Eastern and a few other times throughout the day).

Fans can go ahead and line up today to try to get into the studio...I'm hoping our informer will get back to me with an address. Come early, at least an hour ahead, because apparently it will be crowded.

James Callis To Host Bear's Concert

The poster for Bear McCreary's Battlestar Galactica concert has been updated with the news that James Callis will be hosting the event at the Roxy.

Meanwhile organizers in London are asking fans to register their interest in bringing Bear and the BSG concert performance live in Europe for the first time. This would be a great event for European BSG fans.

Also, Grant Gould of the Battlestar Blog posted this music video from Bear's website:

Upcoming interviews

Thanks to tipster livejournalists, we now know that Katee Sackhoff will be appearing on the Canadian TV show "The Hour" on CBC tomorrow at 11pm Eastern...and that there will be an interview with Michael Trucco in TV Guide the week of April 4th.

Hopefully we'll have clips soon for those of us who cannot watch the CBC.

ETA: Thanks to reader sean, we also have heard that Grace Park and Katee Sackhoff will be on CBC Radio's Q this week, possibly tomorrow.

Paley Center Panel

I will be speaking on a panel at the New York location of the Paley Center for Media, called “Click Critics: The Power of Fan Websites,” on May 19th. Hopefully some of you local fans might join us – also scheduled to speak are folks from Whedonesque, Lostpedia, OfficeTally, Ugly Is In, and Television Without Pity. Here’s the panel description:

TV recap/fan sites like Television Without Pity have a significant impact on television's creative community, as producers are able to instantly track fans' reactions to their programming. In addition to the entertainment these portals provide readers, they have become the ultimate focus group, making passionate, informed, unfiltered audience responses to new material a simple click away. We are gathering writers behind some of the more well-known sites to discuss the influence of fan sites on programming, the culture of actively engaged critical communities, and their position in the "legitimate" critical landscape.

Gotta admit, it sounds fun. Then again - I'm a marketing geek, not a normal person. If you're nearby, do come on down and heckle me. Here’s the web page for details (panel listed on bottom right).

I'll be posting a link for ticket sales on Friday. Sitrep readers can get tickets for a measly 8 bucks!

Of Ships and Centurions

Galactica.TV has three galleries of renderings and art by concept designer Richard Livingston, of material he created last year for Battlestar Galactica.

The galleries include work done to reimagine the 1978 Cylon Centurion for use in RAZOR; other RAZOR concept pieces; and ship designs for possible use during the rest of Season 4.

More on Letterman and Callis

Some connected fans over at the battlestar blog have confirmation that Edward James Olmos and Jamie Bamber will be two of the BSG cast appearing on Letterman next Wednesday night to present “The Top Ten Reasons to Watch Battlestar Galactica.” Also, James Callis has confirmed he is going via a message left recently on his fan forum.

Thanks also to the fans on that forum for tracking down some more videos of Callis speaking at Farpoint Con last month. There’s a single clip here, plus a much longer one uploaded in fragments by amrezi - it starts here and seems to have 10 parts.

Deleted scene

Season 3 deleted scenes are beginning to trickle onto the grid now folks...keep an eye out.

Amazon has posted one with Helo and Dualla, on the Season 3 DVD page. Enjoy and remember to preorder your disks… [hat tip to All About Tahmoh Penikett]

Baltar

Meschel73 has posted the latest Battlestar Galactica season 4 preview on HypaSpace Weekly that centers on the journey of Gaius Baltar.

Quiet Life

Laura Roslin promo via Starbuck92 at Mary McAwesome.

Sci Fi Channel - Q&A with Cast

The official SciFi.com Battlestar Galactica forum is taking questions from fans for Lucy Lawless, Edward James Olmos and (*glee*) Michael Hogan. The forum says the Q&A will be taped early next week, so get those questions in soon.

Videotaped responses will be posted to the show's official site over the coming weeks.

If any of our readers don't feel like joining the forum to post questions, go ahead and leave your questions in the comments here, and I will post them on Friday of this week.

Verheiden pens his last one. Sigh.

BSG writer/producer Mark Verheiden posted on his blog this weekend, taking a break from finishing his last script for the show. *tears up*

Posting has been light for the last few days because I'm up to my eyeballs in various projects, including what will sadly and almost certainly be my ninth and final Battlestar Galactica script. We're getting down to the nitty gritty, the wire, the wrap-up, figuring out the last batch of shows while production gears up in lovely Canada.

While the staff is naturally consumed with writing, producing and finishing the "back nine" of the show, I'm also relieved that the "front ten" will finally start airing starting April 4. (Math majors, never fear, there will be twenty more episodes of BSG, ten starting in April, another ten when the Sci-Fi folks deem fit. For scheduling reasons, we already have eleven in the can though.) I've been caveating conversations about the show for so long, as in "sorry, no spoilers, all I can say is, watch the show!", that I don't know if I can handle discussing episodes after they've actually run.

We're being especially careful about giving away plot points, significant or otherwise, because we all feel the upcoming season is one that will play better if major developments come as a surprise. (We actually had a well-known director opt out of the running for one of the last nine shows because they're a fan and would rather be surprised then learn all the secrets in advance!) That said, I'm sure stuff will leak out, somehow it always does, but you'll be doing yourself a favor if you avoid the leaks and let the shows play out. I'm just sayin'...

Oh man. Guys, I think I know who this mystery director is...and I AM FRAKKING SAD TO HEAR THAT. (Don't ask, I ain't gonna tell.) Nevertheless, I cannot wait to see the show! Is it April yet? I hope Mr. Verheiden changes his mind about talking S4 after the show starts airing...writer interviews are some of the tastiest morsels for us TruFans. Most of us enjoy reading articulate and loving show autopsies.

SPIRGINS FTW


ETA: I've changed the title of this post...since the old title implied that Verheiden is no longer in the writers room which is not the case. My bad... ;-)

More Promos

Caprica Six

Worshipping at the Baltar

Hypaspace aired another featurette promo tonight, interviewing James Callis about what Baltar is going through this season.



[Thanks to canadiangirl_86 at the battlestar_blog]

Bear at the Roxy

Bear McCreary has announced the details for his Battlestar Galactica Concert at the Roxy Theatre on Sunset Blvd. for Sunday April 13th 2008 at 8:00 p.m. in Los Angeles, California. Buy your tickets now.

New Character Promos

Airing on Sci Fi Channel this week...

Tigh




Apollo




Starbuck




Baltar




What's Tigh referring to here - the First Kill? Heartbreak? Puberty?