Bryan Singer's BSG

Some new info is floating about the Bryan Singer Battlestar Galactica project, with the recent news that "Anonymous" writer John Orloff would be taking a crack at the screenplay.

Steve Jobs

Rest in peace.

EJO Dexter Tonight

Watch Edward James Olmos on Dexter, starting tonight on Showtime.

Future Spaceflight from Space X

Epic

BSG Online Press Release

Press Release:

Battlestar Galactica Online Jumps past Five Million Players; Humans and Cylons Steeped in Competition for Control of the Veil Sector

Bigpoint Celebrates Milestone and Recent European Game Award with Introduction of New Recon Ships

San Francisco – Sept., 7, 2011 – Bigpoint (www.bigpoint.com) – a worldwide leader in online games – today announced that Battlestar Galactica Online (http://battlestar-galactica.bigpoint.com/) has surpassed five million registered players worldwide since its February launch. Based on the internationally popular Syfy television series produced by Universal Cable Productions, Battlestar Galactica Online is a free-to-play, browser-based space combat MMO that combines high-quality graphics with intense gameplay. The Unity-based title recently won ‘Best Browser Game’ at the 2011 European Games Awards. Battlestar Galactica Online is licensed through Universal Partnerships & Licensing on behalf of NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group.

“As BSGO continues to evolve, we’re excited to offer new content to the fans and growing community,” said Sarah Levantine, Producer, Bigpoint. “We listen very closely to what the players ask for and are happy to announce that more features and items, including a number of new ships, are on the way.”

Since its launch, Bigpoint has added a number of new ships and game modes to the title. To bolster the available fleet, a new line of Fleet Recon ships will soon become available for both Colonial and Cylon players. Armed with the ability to “Jump-To-Target” in proximity of an erupting battle, these light freighters are built to aid in combat as Recon versions of the series’ classic Raptor and Heavy Raider. Bigpoint maintains a multi-tiered development schedule, which organizes the team’s activity into three key areas: ongoing optimization and bug repair, short-term updates, and long-term content additions.

Beginning mid-September, basic models of both vessels will be obtainable with Cubits, BSGO’s in-game premium currency that can be earned through gameplay or purchased with real money, along with advanced models that will enable greater mission flexibility. The recently unveiled Brimir Class Carrier is also scheduled to become available this fall, though its size, complexity, and impact on game balance must be optimized before its general release.

In the recent European Games Awards ceremony held in Cologne, Battlestar Galactica Online was presented the award for Best European Browser Game, Europe’s largest and most prestigious consumer-voted gaming award. Bigpoint’s vast international distribution network of over 1,000 media partners, localization in 25+ languages, and team of worldwide community managers has helped Battlestar Galactica Online attract over five million users to the game, with over 25,000 new pilots enlisting every day.

About Bigpoint
Bigpoint (http://www.bigpoint.com) is an online-game developer, publisher and content provider for more than 1000 global distribution partners. Bigpoint’s free-to-play games are played by over 200 million registered users in over 25 languages. The company‘s portfolio includes casual, core, and hardcore titles, including Battlestar Galactica Online, The Mummy Online, and Drakensang Online. Over 800 employees from more than 35 countries work together at Bigpoint offices in Hamburg, Berlin, San Francisco, São Paulo, and Malta. For more information please visit www.bigpoint.net.

About NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group
NBCUniversal is a leader in providing entertainment programming to the domestic and international marketplaces. NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group manages all global ancillary television business endeavors for the NBCUniversal Television Group, including third-party home entertainment distribution, consumer products, musical soundtracks, special markets projects and the NBCUniversal Online Store.

About Universal Cable Productions
Universal Cable Productions creates quality content across multiple media platforms, including USA, Syfy and other networks. A leader in innovative and critically acclaimed programming, UCP is the studio behind USA's "Covert Affairs," "Suits," “Royal Pains,” "Psych," "In Plain Sight," "Fairly Legal" and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” along with Syfy's "Warehouse 13," "Alphas" and “Eureka." The studio is also producing "Against the Wall" for Lifetime and "I Just Want My Pants Back" for MTV. UCP is a division of NBCUniversal.

About Syfy
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 99 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)

The Future, According to Rob Kutner

Rob Kutner is sort of like Ray Kurtzweil on crack. Kutner is a writer for TBS’ Conan and the author of the satirical end-of-times bestseller Apocalypse How: Turn the End Times into the Best of Times! He has also written for The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, won four Emmies writing for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”, and contributed to its bestseller, America (The Book). Other writing includes HBO’s “Dennis Miller Live,” as well as humor and feature pieces for the Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, and Maxim.

His new book, The Future According to Me, a collection of 35 short comic scenarios of what our future might look like -- touching on everything from nanotechnology to existentially self-aware Smart Toilets to the upcoming Chocolate Famine.

The breezy book is full of great humor and wry comic observations that any sci-fi geek would greatly enjoy geeking out on.

In Rob Kutner’s future, peace will be achieved in the middle east thanks to quantum physics. You can live forever, as long as you can deal with baby boomers who keep hanging on. You will prepare for the invasion of the Xoxians. Learn how to eat artificial lab grown meat, before the meat gets uppity. Watch out as nanotechnology grey goo takes over, in unexpected ways. All in all the future is so bright, you have to read this book.

Get it at Amazon.com for the amazing low price of 99 cents. (You don’t need a Kindle to read Kindle books, just download the Kindle app for your Mac, iPad, iPhone, PC, or other device.)

Read a few excerpts from the book here and here and here.

And check out this review from the Princeton Alumni Weekly.

And in our Sitrep archives, be sure to read my colleague ProgGrrl's Battlestar Galactica discussion with Rob Kutner and John Hodgman from 2009.

Hiatus

The Galactica Sitrep is signing off for a now as we take a brief hiatus. The site will relaunch in the very near future. In the meantime click these links to keep up with Battlestar Galactica and Blood and Chrome news. And you can follow me on Twitter as well.

And be sure to visit the Battlestar Wiki.

Thanks for your continued support.

Logan

See Zoot Suit and Edward James Olmos

On Wednesday, June 22 at the Million Dollar Theatre at 307 S. Broadway, in Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Conservancy's program of Last Remaining Seats presents, Zoot Suit (1981):

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, this vivid musical is the filmed version of the play that made Edward James Olmos a star. Olmos reprises his role as the narrator, the mythical “Pachuco,” in this blend of fact and fantasy based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial and Zoot Suit Riots of 1940s Los Angeles.

Daniel Valdez (also reprising his stage role) stars as Henry Reyna, the leader of a group of young Mexican Americans wrongfully imprisoned for murder. Both the play and film were written and directed by Luis Valdez and feature the music of Daniel Valdez and Lalo Guerrero, the “father of Chicano music.” Print and film still courtesy of Universal Pictures.

Special Program: The evening’s host and panel moderator will be Betto Arcos, independent radio producer and host of KPFK's "Global Village" world music show. Panel discussion with film director Luis Valdez, film stars Edward James Olmos and Rose Portillo, and Dr. Eric Avila, Associate Professor, Chicano Studies, History, and Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles.

Falling Skies TNT Tonight

Mark Verheiden, former BSG co-exec producer, talks about his new project, Falling Skies on TNT tonight at 9 p.m. on his blog:

Join us Sunday on TNT, at 9:00PM for the two hour premiere on 6/19, then at 10PM after that.

You got your aliens. You got your resistance fighters. You've got the talents of series creators/executive producers Steven Spielberg and Robert Rodat.

Plus! You've got the amazing Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Sarah Carter, Colin Cunningham, Jessy Schram, Seychelle Gabriel, Maxim Knight, Dylan Authors, Connor Jessup, Mpho Koaho, Peter Shinkoda and Dale Dye... plus guest stars Steven Weber, Henry Czerny, Blair Brown and a whole bunch more!

And! There's writing by series creator Robert Rodat, along with Graham Yost, Fred Golin, Melinda Hsu Taylor, Joe Weisberg, and Joel Thompson. And, well, me. Exceptional supervising/producing by Greg Beeman, exceptional line producing by John Ryan, superlative direction by Carl Franklin, Greg Beeman, Fred Toye, Sergio-Mimeca Garcia, Anthony Hemingway and Holly Dale!

Plus Noah Sorota's music! The incredible post crew! Our amazing FX guys! I could go on and on and probably will as time rolls ahead...

This amazing site is a list of links to a plethora of reviews, most good.

I'll be posting as the mood strikes after the show's debut. And keep watching this space for updates re: my other projects (*cof Dark Tower *cof) as the Summer continues...

Something Dark Is Coming - Solo Piano

BSG on BBC America

Maureen Ryan talked to Mary McDonnell about Battlestar Galactica coming to BBC America on Saturday, June 11th, and about Mary's upcoming staring role in a spin off of TNT's The Closer, called Major Crimes.

More Music from Bear

Bear McCreary has posted some more solo piano videos to YouTube.

Whale Wars

Tonight on Animal Planet the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's Battlestar fleet wages war to prevent the Cylons from murdering whales in the Southern Ocean.

Upcoming Benefit for Mychal's Learning Place

On Saturday night June 18th, former Battlestar Galactica co-exec producer Michael Angeli and his wife Karen, are hosting a benefit event to support Mychal's Learning Place with a night of entertainment to acknowledge the necessity of Mychal’s Learning Place for our families, friends and community. For the evening the mistress of ceremonies is Mary McDonnell. There will be live music by Trainwreck!, featuring Edward James Olmos and guest singers Shaun Cassidy and Kerry Norton also, performances by Tom Arnold, Michael Mell, with Mychal’s Learning Places’ own Lexi Aaron and music by DJ Cameron/Music Savages.

Mychal’s Learning Place is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assist children and adults with developmental disabilities build self esteem and independence through social and recreational activities, emphasizing life skills training in a safe and loving environment.

The event is by invitation, but you can support the great cause by donating online here, or Mail your donation to:

Mychals Learning Place
4901 W. Rosecrans Ave
Hawthorne CA 90250

Bear McCreary Plays Prelude to War

An Exquisite Piece of Art

Quantum Mechanix Viper.

(On another topic check out Qmx's Big Damn Replica.)

And Anovos will soon offer up their replicas of the Commander's Duty Blues. They have all the good stuff: patches, double tanks, and insignia pins.

BSG -- Old School

Cairo

Swag

Television blogger Michael Ausiello is having an Ebay auction for charity of numerous swag items that are given out to members of the media. The collection includes items from many shows including Battlestar Galactica. Among the items, a framed and numbered rare print of The BSG Last Supper:

Place a bid for the chance to own this rare promotional art collectible from the fraktastic Syfy smash BATTLESTAR GALACTICA — and support one of my favorite charities in the process!

In celebration of the beginning of the fourth season of BSG in April 2008, Syfy had the cast pose for this dramatic “Last Supper” recreation (first seen by the general public in Entertainment Weekly’s January 11, 2008 issue).

Lucky TV journalists like myself were gifted with this rare collectible art print. This limited edition piece is framed and double-layer matted. For more details on this incredible BSG momento click here.

The frame measures 16 by 20 inches, and the art within the matte is 13.5 by 9 inches.

This piece is numbered 886 out of 1850.

Also check out these promotional screener DVD packages from season 1 and season 3.

And attention Browncoats, check out this awesome unopened press kit Firefly cargo crate.

The auction ends soon, so hurry.

In other cool merchandise news, Intrada records has something awesome:

World premiere release of complete Stu Phillips soundtrack from 3-hour pilot episode of costly, spectacular Universal sci-fi series starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch. Complete 1/2" multi-track stereo session masters survive in perfect condition in vaults at NBC Universal, including all format music (main titles, bumpers). This first volume in ambitious CD series focuses on entire pilot score, includes both original opening sequence plus post-production edited version as well as composer's lively disco source cues heard during Carillon sequence, also presented in stereo. ("Love, Love, Love" vocal was not written by Phillips and was recorded elsewhere. It is not included here due to contractual reasons.) Phillip's prepared a 40-minute LP in 1978 using meld of soundtrack performances by full Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, made at 20th Century-Fox Studios Scoring Stage, plus re-recorded cues by same players at later sessions.) Intrada CD presents every cue from LAPO recording sessions, premieres wealth of previously unreleased stereo music. For some episodes of single-season show, Universal commissioned new scores, recorded at Universal Scoring Stage with orchestras ranging from roughly 20-40 players, while other episodes simply tracked existing material. Multi-track stereo session masters were retained for many newly-scored episodes with other episodes stored in pristine condition on 1/4" mono formats only. Future volumes of this exciting Intrada series will cover remaining episodes from stereo session elements when they were made plus mono session masters when those were the only recordings prepared. (TV series, of course, was produced and broadcast only in mono back in 1978-79.) Stu Phillips supervised new digital mixes at Universal and editing sessions at Intrada, producing this definitive CD presentation of his landmark and justifiably famous score. Stu Phillips conducts Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. First volume in series, released as part of Intrada Special Collection and limited to 3000 copies!

Order the 76 minute CD and listen to clips here.

I have the original soundtrack release of that album that came out in 1978 on vinyl, so an upgrade might be order. And thank the gods of Kobol that "Love, Love, Love" isn't on this new special edition.