Halfway Through Hiatus

My fellow fans, we are now at the halfway point of our 7-month BATTLESTAR GALACTICA hiatus. It’s a long one …and we all need some distraction. Distraction from wondering what THE PLAN is about…from the endless spoiler discussions… from the disturbing news of the final dismantling of all of BSG’s sets… from worrying about when the frak SciFi is going to air that two hours of CAPRICA. OK, yes, I'll admit there may be a few other things going on right now as well.

What better way to distract ourselves than with...other TV shows and TV news?! Some of the BSG cast and crew seem to be drifting out into the rest of the shows I watch…I recently posted on FanGrrl Magnet a rundown of Fall shows that have my attention.

As we catalog some comings and goings today, we’d love you, dear readers, to chime in here with rec’s for hiatus distractions of your own...


Mark Verheiden has been blogging up a storm lately, pointing out his new Fangoria interview, details about the long awaited release of the feature he wrote, MY NAME IS BRUCE starring the infamous Bruce Campbell, and details about the many comics projects he’s involved in. He also posted about why this month’s Region 2 PAL release of BSG "Season 4" and "Seasons 1-4 Box" are a bit of a misnomer.

Speaking of DVDs…while we Americans wait for the Region 1 DVDs of Season 4.0 that are coming in January, the Galactica Science blog has transcribed all the deleted scenes included on the Region 2 PAL DVD set (here’s the link to Part 1 of 3).

Mark Verheiden is also busy these days working on scripts for the second half of HEROES third season, subtitled VOLUME 4: FUGITIVES. The show just announced a fun new cast member who will appear in the second half of the season: Zeljko Ivanek, who just won an Emmy for his amazing performance in season one of DAMAGES. (I finally caught up with that show in a marathon this August, wow it was great stuff! DAMAGES season 2, which will include new castmembers William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, and Tim Olyphant, begins in early 2009.) After you’ve checked out HEROES on TV, its webisodes, and the massive official site, I highly recommend the blogs by director/producer Greg Beeman, writer/producer Jesse Alexander (who loves fanvids), and "HRG" himself, actor Jack Coleman.

Jane Espenson, when she isn’t writing/producing the BSG movie or the BSG webisodes, or meeting Stephen Colbert, or giving sage advice to budding TV writers, is working on a new BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Season 8 comic book.

Speaking of comics…io9 has a preview of the spin-off miniseries Battlestar Galactica: Ghosts (out now), and Newsarama has an interview with the writers of Battlestar Galactica: Cylon War, a 4-issue miniseries which debuts in January 2009.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA director/producer Michael Rymer, and CAPRICA co-writer Remi Aubuchon, have both signed on to the new Fox TV show PERSONS UNKNOWN, described as a “Mystery revolving around a group of strangers who wake up in the middle of nowhere and try to figure out how they got there.” Rymer will direct the pilot episode, and Aubuchon will be showrunner. (Does this mean anything to the future of CAPRICA as a series? Unknown…)

We had the scoop a while back on Mary McDonnell’s run on GREY’S ANATOMY this fall, and now Mo Ryan has a lot more detail about her character:

Fortunately, we won’t have to wait that long to see Mary McDonnell again. McDonnell...has a new gig on "Grey’s Anatomy," as I reported a few weeks ago. She'll make her "Grey's" debut Nov. 13.

Her character is a doctor named Virginia Dixon, and she’ll appear on “Grey’s” about three or four times this season, according to the network.

Dixon faces a formidable task at Seattle Grace Hospital: She is a surgeon who will do her best to bring “rules and order to the OR” according to ABC. Who better than McDonnell to play a woman faced by a daunting challenge? She’s faced down Cylon armadas, so flirty docs should be no big deal.

In any case, the actress’ “Grey’s” nickname stands at the ready: Some of McDonnell’s “Battlestar” fans nicknamed her “Mary McAwesome” years ago.

Mo also has news about Katee Sackhoff who, in addition to shooting a new pilot LOST AND FOUND with producer Dick (LAW & ORDER) Wolf, will be guest starring in an upcoming episode of LAW & ORDER. It was also recently announced that the very excellent Brian Cox (X-2, DEADWOOD) will co-star in LOST AND FOUND.

Sam Witwer continues his turn as Doomsday on this year’s SMALLVILLE, and I hear things are just getting good on the show. The BSG blog has a bunch of details.

Aaron Douglas spoke recently to the Cort & Fat Boy radio show...his fans are celebrating the recent news that his Canadian TV pilot THE BRIDGE has been picked up for series.

As we mentioned the other day, Stephanie Jacobsen is starting an arc of unknown length over on TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES.

Lucy Lawless will guest on the final season of THE L WORD, which will begin airing on Showtime in January 2009.

In a recent interview with MovieHole, Seth Green reconfirmed that Ron Moore (along with Joss Whedon and Seth MacFarlane) will be making a cameo appearance in the forth season premiere of ROBOT CHICKEN in early 2009. The BSG blog noticed that Katee Sackhoff did some great commentary track work for ROBOT CHICKEN’s latest DVD release.

First Showing and several other bloggers attended a TRICK R TREAT screening in LA this week -- this is a film that Tahmoh Penikett is featured in -- and apparently it is big horror fun. Keep your eyes out for it.

CAPRICA pilot director Jeffrey Reimer is a director/producer on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, one of the best dramas on TV nowadays. In fact Reimer directed the first two wonderful eps this season. The show’s signature style – intimate, with an improvisational feeling and gorgeous cinematography – is based on the movie and TV pilot work by Peter Berg. Berg is the director of, and a producer on, Ron Moore and Michael Taylor’s pilot VIRTUALITY. FNL airs this fall exclusively on DirecTV Network 101, and will run again on NBC in early 2009.

My favorite new show this season, Alan Ball’s TRUE BLOOD, is adding BSG vet Michelle Forbes as a series regular for season 2. Charlaine Harris herself dropped the news on her fansite that Forbes is playing The Maenad, a dangerous and mythical woodland creature. If you want some spoilers about what this character might be up to next season on the show, dig up reviews or synopses for Harris’ second novel, LIVING DEAD IN DALLAS. A peek at what the casting sides allegedly say: “This wild woman is supernatural, articulate and polished. She feeds on the fears of others and is a BIG DEAL in season two. Nudity might be required.” Fun stuff…According to recent announcements, we get our first peek at The Maenad briefly in this season’s finale episode.

One of my other favorite shows, MAD MEN, ends this Sunday. If you’re a fan, don’t forget that Jon Hamm is hosting SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE tomorrow night…and if you live in the New York City area, why not stop by the Basket of Kisses finale episode party here in Manhattan?

Callum Keith Rennie has been a gas as the raunch-soaked and brilliant music producer Lew Ashby on this fall's season 2 of CALIFORNICATION. We're up to ep 205 and he has been in every one of them...my favorite of his scenes thus far involves a shotgun, a hooker and a hair band rolling around in his living room. Lew's house on the show turns out to be the real home of legendary music producer Rick Rubin, according to the production blog.

Although that BSG season 4.5 promo you lucky few got to see at San Diego Comic Con in July has yet to surface elsewhere…we LOST fans have finally got our first taste of new video! Yowza! (Come on SciFi Channel – pony up!)


What are you watching to help make the hiatus go faster?