Final Comic-Con Schedule Is Out

Here is a full list of all the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and CAPRICA related events announced for San Diego Comic Con from the official event schedule. Still no sign of Ms. Sackhoff; those of you that need to know should keep an eye out. If you are going to San Diego this year, check out the terrific personal scheduling app available for SDCC for the first time. It works on smartphones, you can sign in using Twitter, FaceBook or LinkedIn, and share your panel-going plans on social networks.

ETA: now there is a rumor that James Marsters will attend the CAPRICA panel. No confirmation yet...


THURSDAY

12:00-1:00 Caprica, Battlestar, and Beyond— Hosted by actor/author Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek, Capt. Apollo, So Say We All), this panel features composer Bear McCreary (Battlestar, Eureka, Caprica), producer/writer Michael Taylor (Battlestar, Caprica, Star Trek), science consultant Kevin Grazier (Battlestar, Eureka), and special guests. Richard and the panelists will proide reviews, discussion, and Q&A of Caprica, Battlestar Galactica, and the upcoming BSG movie, including trailers. Room 6A


FRIDAY

10:15-11:15 Hawaii Five-O: Aloha, Earth! — Lost castaway found! Battlestar Cylon becomes human! Star Trek writers return from space! A supernatural force has drawn some of sci-fi's giants back to Earth­ -- and they're all gathering on a beautiful and mysterious island in the Pacific. It's Hawaii Five-0, a modern-day reimagining of one of television's most beloved and iconic classics. The epic series, one of the most anticipated new shows of the season, will explore the origins of the Five-0 team and build on an already rich mythology. Executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Star Trek) and Peter M. Lenkov (24), director Len Wiseman (Underworld), and stars Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) and Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica) present an exclusive sneak peek at the series and an in depth discussion on how they plan to marry their genre sensibilities with a classic police procedural. Room 6BCF

11:30-12:30 Caprica— Syfy presents an exclusive glimpse into the future of humanity. Featuring Alessandra Torresani (Zoe Graystone), Sasha Roiz (Sam Adama), James Marsters, Ronald D. Moore (co-creator/executive producer), and David Eick (executive producer) and moderated by Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times. Ballroom 20

2:15-3:15 The Cape: Sneak Peek and Panel Discussion— One man can make a difference...When Vince Faraday, an honest cop on a corrupt police force, is framed for murder and presumed killed, he assumes the identity of his son's favorite comic book superhero -- The Cape -- to reclaim his name, family, and his city from the ruthless ARK Corporation and the masked villain known as Chess. Join the cast and creators including David Lyons (ER), Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles), Dorian Missick (Six Degrees), James Frain (True Blood), Keith David (Gamer), Vinnie Jones (X-Men: Last Stand), Martin Klebba (Pirates of the Caribbean), composer Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica), creator/executive producer Thomas Wheeler (Empire), and showrunner/executive producer John Wirth (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) for this sneak peek at the pilot episode and panel discussion. A limited collector edition of The Cape comic book, with a cover by superstar artist John Cassady (Astonishing X-Men), will be given away at the panel. Room 6A

3:15-4:15 Spartacus: Blood and Sand— Andy Whitfield (McLeod's Daughters) makes his Comic-Con debut, along with Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess), John Hannah (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor), and Viva Bianca (Bad Bush). Executive producer Stephen S. DeKnight (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) joins the cast to discuss the upcoming prequel, titled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, expected to air on Starz in January 2011, and the exclusive content found on the first season Blu-ray discs, available September 21. Room 6BCF

4:45-5:45 Falling Skies— They're coming. Get the very first look at Steven Spielberg's new series that envisions a world where aliens have invaded and the fate of humanity lies in the hands of a few survivors. Noah Wyle (ER, TNT's The Librarian movies) and Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) join co-executive producer and writer Mark Verheiden (Heroes, Battlestar Galactica) for a Q&A on the new series. Falling Skies premieres on TNT next summer. Room 6A


SATURDAY

3:30-5:00 Warehouse 13 and Eureka— Don't miss two of Syfy's biggest hit series in one exclusive event. Catch back-to-back Warehouse 13 and Eureka panels, featuring Warehouse 13's Eddie McClintock (Pete Lattimer), Joanne Kelly (Myka Bering), Saul Rubinek (Artie Nielsen), Allison Scagliotti (Claudia Donovan), and Jack Kenny (showrunner/executive producer) and Eureka's Colin Ferguson (Jack Carter), Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Allison Blake), Neil Grayston (Douglas Fargo), James Callis (Grant), Jaime Paglia (co-creator/executive producer/writer), and Bruce Miller (executive producer/writer). Room 6BCF

6:30-7:30 Her Universe: Shining The Spotlight on Female Fans— Ashley Eckstein (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) brings together some of today's leading women who are movers and shakers in the various fields of sci-fi and fantasy. Looking at science fiction through female eyes, the panel will discuss what kinds of entertainment female sci-fi fans want to see more of, what strides have been made, what has been missing up to now, what kinds of merchandise female fans want to see, and what female fans can do to encourage more of all of this. Panelists include Jane Espenson (producer/writer, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Melinda Snodgrass (author, The Edge series; story editor Star Trek: The Next Generation), Erika Kennair (director of development and current programming, Syfy Channel), Cat Staggs (artist, Star Wars sketch cards, Marvel card sets), Bonnie Burton (content developer, Lucas Online, official SW Blog), Katie Cook (artist, Star Wars, comics, webcomic Gronk), and Mary Franklin (senior events lead, Lucasfilm Ltd.). Q&A with audience members, too! Room 24ABC

ETA: Information on signings and some new CAPRICA merch!

Alessandra Torresani, Jane Espenson, and Bob Harris from CAPRICA are all doing signings at the Entertainment Earth booth over the weekend (schedule here). Mark Sheppard and Richard Hatch are doing signings elsewhere at SDCC booths. And...

NBC Universal will debut "Beyond Caprica - A Visitor's Pocket Guide to the Twelve Colonies" ($10) and an all-new Caprica T-shirt ($20), available for purchase at Entertainment Earth's booth. Here's your chance to own a piece of the hit Syfy channel drama set in the Battlestar Galactica universe.

Random Caprican Culture

Sasha Roiz shares with Show Patrol Blog an incredibly detailed history of Sam Adama's tattoos, as written by CAPRICA's writer/producer Jane Espenson. Impressive!

BSG/CAPRICA executive producer David Eick gave WGA West an interview.

New video: "Hackers Interrupt Buccaneers Promo" - don't miss a single thrilling centum!

The Plan: Reviewed

Following up on the post below, reviews are coming in for Battlestar Galactica: The Plan. Bill Hunt, editor of The Digital Bits gives the film a B+ and highly recommends the Blu-Ray release. Ron Henriques for The Latino Review notes:

We were never actually told the details of the Cylons' ultimate plan to annihilate humanity when the series began. The made a dramatic reappearance after vanishing for forty years and with the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, nearly wiped out the human race. Now with this new film all is revealed. The story opens 281 days after the destruction of the colonies during the season one episode 'Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II' where Brother John Cavil (Dean Stockwell) has just been exposed as a Cylon by another model of himself. This is the story of two Cavil's: Fleet Cavil, who has infiltrated the surviving fleet as a minister, hoping to break it from the inside and Caprica Cavil, who gets involved with a group of resistance fighters led by Sam Anders (Michael Trucco) and begins to question whether the Cylon attack was justified. Flashing back two days before the attack we finally get to see the destruction in full detail (thanks in part to an increased visual effects budget).

Yet Battlestar Galactica is not about visual effects, but rather character and story. Graduating from supporting player to central character, Dean Stockwell puts in some brilliant work playing not one, but two versions of the same model. When revealed to be one of the final five in season four, Ellen Tigh (Kate Vernon) described him as a spoiled child, yet he is something far worse. Cavil yearns for mankind's destruction because they created the Cylons and though they are near perfect machines they are still limited. The final five are their creators as well yet no matter what they do as long as man survives they will love them more. We get to see exactly what each of the five were doing when the bombs dropped and how Cavil infiltrated the fleet and was responsible for many of the dilemmas throughout season one.

...If you are a fan of this series, both the blu-ray and dvd are highly recommended. This film will no doubt be edited down for length (and a surprising amount of sex and nudity) when it is broadcast next year so if you decide to wait, you may find yourself missing out.

Other reviews from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Eric Goldman for IGN, Chris Chiarella for Big Picture Sound, Kenneth Brown for Blu-ray.com, and Scott Chitwood for Coming Soon.net.

Check out stills from The Plan, here and here.

Win a copy of The Plan.

Also, you can win Dinner with the Admiral, just sign up at UGO for a chance to dine with Edward James Olmos.

Dave Howe talks CAPRICA, THE PLAN, and Comic Con

Chicago Tribune writer Maureen Ryan is interviewing Sci Fi (SyFy?) exec Dave Howe today and has twittered a few important factoids:

Sci Fi prez Dave Howe says debut of Caprica, BSG prequel series, is likely to be in January. (tweet)

Sci Fi panels at Comic-Con: Stargate Universe, Caprica, Warehouse 13, Sanctuary, Eureka. BSG movie The Plan "likely" to be there too. (tweet)

The Plan, BSG film, airs in Nov. Also, there *may* be a Battlestar theatrical film in 3-5 years. Not for sure, but possible, sez Dave Howe. (tweet)

Two Comic Con panels? Huzzah! As for a BSG movie, my excitement over that will depend on what sort of movie we are talkin' about. To be continued.

Keep an eye out for a full feature by Ryan over on her site The Watcher...

Caprica Reviewed

Reviews of the pilot ep of Caprica, available now on DVD:

Mo Ryan, Chicago Tribune:

“Caprica,” even more than “Battlestar,” is an examination of how greed, selfishness, heedlessness and pain prompt people to use technology to avoid difficult situations.

Technology isn’t really the problem; the trouble comes from our belief that we can always control it and use it to keep life from hurting too much or being too hard. Yet anyone who has ever tried to set up a balky new device or felt oppressed by the constant presence of a BlackBerry knows that things that are supposed to make our lives better don’t always do so.

....One reason Sci Fi is making "Caprica" -- and starting a promotional campaign early by releasing the DVD months before the show arrives -- is because the network wants to catch the attention of viewers who may not be regular viewers of sci-fi fare. There are no space ships and no outer-space battles in this new show, which is set 58 years before the events of "Battlestar"; the world of Caprica looks much like our own.

With any luck, "Caprica" won't have to battle the perception problems that "Battlestar Galactica" faced; it took a couple of seasons for the latter show to get people to realize that it was a taut, bold and thought-provoking study of the heights and depths of human nature, not a superficial remake of a '70s show about robots and the swashbuckling heroes who fought them.

Still, hard-core "Battlestar" fans should be aware that these are different shows. Ronald D. Moore, an executive producer and co-creator of the new show, has been upfront about calling "Caprica" a prime-time "soap opera" (for a few more of Moore's "Caprica" comments look here). It's not about life during wartime; it's about the sacrifices, mistakes and fateful decisions made by individuals, corporations and families.

“Battlestar” has “come to an end, and it’s a beautiful end and [fans] should mourn that show,” Malcolmson said in a March interview. “You can’t just come along with another show that’s going to replicate it. That’s not what we want to do, we want to give them something else.”

The good news for "Battlestar" fans is that show's outstanding composer, Bear McCreary, and special-effects wizard, Gary Hutzel, are part of the new venture. And several of that show's writers will be on "Caprica's" creative staff as well.

Jane Espenson, a co-executive producer who is set to become "Caprica's" day-to-day showrunner, said in January that the new show "will certainly be different, but it's like a different garment made from the same fabric. The beating heart of it will be the same -- complex moral situations, high stakes, compelling characters. Robots."

Thomas Rogers for Salon says, "Frak This Prequel":

In an unconventional launch strategy, SyFy has just released the one-and-a-half-hour pilot episode of the show on DVD and digital download (the actual series won't premiere on television until 2010). Described by blogs as "'Dallas' in space," "Caprica" is, indeed, a very different beast from its mother series. Planet-bound, slow-paced and with hardly any action scenes, the series is primarily a melodrama about two families on the planet Caprica (one of the 12 home planets of the human race in the "Battlestar" universe) as they overcome a personal tragedy. It also, of more interest to science fiction fans, tells the story of the birth of the Cylons, the race of robots who, as we learned in "Battlestar," eventually become hell-bent on destroying all human life.

The drama builds slowly, and scenes unfold without much, if any, tension. What little tension it has owes to viewers' knowledge of what will happen 58 years later. There are no hostage crises or food shortages to resolve, since the show's main concern is the emotional state of its two families. In fact, robot subplot and holographic excursions aside, there really isn't much that’s science fiction-y about "Caprica."

...Unfortunately, "Caprica" doesn't make for tremendously engaging melodrama either, largely because it doesn't have any characters as immediately riveting as Katee Sackhoff's Starbuck or Mary McDonnell's President Roslin. Eric Stoltz brings quiet soulfulness to his grieving father, but Esai Morales feels wooden and stilted as Adama, and the rest of the ensemble (especially, it has to be said, the child actors) aren't a particularly inspiring bunch. As for the show's visuals -- unlike "Battlestar," "Caprica" is filmed largely with fixed shots (no hand-held cameras), which robs it of much of its flair and immediacy. Its clean urban setting feels antiseptic and cold and a bit dull. Judging by the pilot, the planet Caprica is Vancouver with a fancier train system.

In the spirit of "Battlestar," "Caprica" also references a number of real-world topical issues: Adama is a member of a disliked immigrant group called the Tauron, and during their investigation of the bombing, the authorities become suspicious of a certain religious minority. But while "Battlestar's" space-bound setting was strange and destabilizing enough to make its political allusions seem fresh -- one of the joys of the series was seeing it fragment and rearrange issues like abortion and terrorism to make provocative arguments -- in "Caprica," they merely feel awkward. It's obvious that Tauron is a stand-in for Mexico (there's even a subplot about Tauronese gangs) and monotheism a replacement for Islam -- but there's nothing new to be learned here by renaming things.

When the show premieres on television next year it could take off in some interesting and unexpected directions. The show’s writing is fairly strong (one of the debut episode's co-writers, Jane Espenson, was responsible for many of "Battlestar's" best shows), and SyFy clearly has a lot of faith in creator Ronald Moore. But given the high expectations that "Battlestar" fans have for the series, and the tepidness of this initial offering, I wonder how many will come back to find out what happens in 2010.

Alan Sepinwall Star Ledger:

TV series finales don't get much more polarizing than the end of "Battlestar Galactica." (Spoilers flying at you in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...) For every fan who found the finale a moving and appropriate capper to a great series, there was at least one who felt betrayed that producer Ronald D. Moore chose to ascribe many key developments in the series to divine intervention, or that he had the surviving colonists decide to throw away all their technology upon arriving on a primitive Earth.

As one commenter on my blog put it, "Ron ruined the last five years of my life ...god, why?"

Today's DVD release of "Caprica," the two-hour pilot episode for a "Galactica" prequel series, might be just as polarizing, even among the people who liked the end of "Galactica."

...It's an attempt to open up the franchise to viewers who would never watch a show with the title "Battlestar Galactica," or one where all the characters live on spaceships. But like Sci Fi Channel's larger attempts to attract new viewers -- starting with the pending name change to the much sillier SyFy (if you're going to change the name, change the name) -- it feels like something that may wind up seeming too foreign for both potential new fans and old ones.

"Caprica" is intriguing, don't get me wrong. The most frustrating part of watching the DVD was knowing that Sci Fi (or SyFy) won't be airing the series until 2010, when this is a show that begs for a second episode to evaluate. But while it's good, it's (deliberately) not "Galactica."

"Caprica" grapples with many of the contemporary dilemmas that "Galactica" handled -- religious strife, terrorism, overreliance on technology -- but, in placing them in a world that looks like the one outside our window, it can be blunter about it. The holo-band nightclub where Zoe and her friends meet in secret -- an online Sodom and Gomorrah, filled with (virtual) sex, drugs and even human sacrifice -- is like every parent's worst nightmare about what his kids are up to on Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the web. And by casting all of the prominent Tauran characters immigrants with Latin actors (and the Capricans with whites), it emphasizes the race and class distinctions in a way that "Galactica" couldn't with its use of Cylons as stand-ins for Muslim extremists.

The performances by Stoltz and Morales - two actors who tend to come across as bland in certain roles - are extremely strong. And the direction by "Friday Night Lights" veteran Jeffrey Reiner, coupled with work by the familiar "Galactica" production team, creates an absolutely gorgeous-looking pilot episode.

Moore initially pitched "Caprica" as "a sci-fi version of 'Dallas,'" and while the show has moved well beyond that initial template -- among other things, it adds an organized crime component -- there's enough soap opera sheen left, coupled with the planet-bound setting, that I wonder how many "Galactica" fans will stick with it.

Science fiction used to be a catch-all term for any kind of story featuring technology or worlds not quite our own, but in recent years, the definition has narrowed until its only meaning for some fans is "outer space action." It's that kind of thinking that led Sci Fi execs to want to change their channel's name, but I fear too many fanboys won't want any part of a show that trades the interplanetary combat of "Galactica" for healthy doses of teen rebellion and legal intrigue. And I also have no idea if people who refused to watch "Galactica" would ever watch a spin-off, even one that looks more soap than space opera.

And because of the huge lag between DVD release and TV premiere, we have a long time to find out how many people might come back for a second episode.

Christopher Schwartz:

Taut, introspective, and very, very adult; much more mature than its predecessor series, which is saying a lot — Caprica is brimming with potential. Where Battlestar Galactica, quite controversially, seemed to return to its Mormon theological roots, Caprica, although set 58 years prior to the events of the original show, seems to be reaching forward toward the Techological Singularity prophecied by futurists since the 1950s. Questions about morality and belief, the value (and undermining) of family and multicultural democracy, and the nature of humanity and transhumanity, abound in a dense hour and thirty minutes.

Lewis Wallace, Wired:

In the “uncut and unrated” Caprica pilot, there are no nuclear explosions, no grimy spaceships, no sexy or deadly encounters with robotic Cylons.

Aside from a bloody assassination and some gratuitous topless shots, the show almost completely lacks the action and hard-edged sci-fi eye candy that helped give Galactica its gritty appeal.

Instead, Caprica delivers a broad, deliberately paced introduction to the themes that will presumably drive the show: the tension between science and religion, the dangers of religious zealotry, the racism that can simmer in a societal melting pot, the nature of humanity in a world filled with sentient machines.

...Set 58 years before the Cylons’ sneak attack on humanity, the Caprica pilot does not deliver the kind of explosive action that turned Galactica into a nail-biting sensation. Instead, it is a little like the “begat”-riddled genealogical sequence that opens the New Testament: It draws much of its tension from the knowledge of what lies ahead.

The characters are richly drawn and ripe for further exploration. And the show’s willingness to tackle religion, immigration, corporate espionage and racism right out of the gate indicates that Moore is framing up another thoughtful sci-fi series.

Caprica could become another sacred text for sci-fi fans yearning for brainy television.

Other reviews and observations from: The Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly, NBC LA, Winnipeg Sun, Monsters and Critics, Complex Blog, Deseret News, Airlock Alpha, Philadelphia Daily News, The Jackson Sun, IGN, io9, Jimmy Akin, Motion Pictures Comics.Com, the Vancouver Sun, The Boston Herald, TrulyObscure, TrekWeb, and The House Next Door.

Televisionary talked to Caprica showrunner Jane Espenson. Ron Moore talked to The Insider. The Futon Critic reports on the Caprica Paley Fest event. Sci-Fi Wire has cast arrivals at that event. Actress Magda Apanowicz of Caprica spoke with The Ampersand and Hello Magazine.

Reuters examines killer robots.

Caprica Paley Video

The Paley Center has video from their Caprica event.











Much more from daphnesadventures's YouTube Channel.

See also a preview from PlayStation Pulse.

Caprica

Caprica comes out on DVD and digital download next week, and the PR for the show is ramping up. AMC's Sci-Fi Scanner Blog interviewed Caprica EP Jane Espenson.

Josh Awtry of The Salt Lake Tribune has a review. ScreenRant writer Bruce Simmons reviews Caprica as well, concluding:

If you enjoy true character driven stories, you won’t be disappointed. It’s like Moore and Eick practiced with BSG and used their honed skills on Caprica. It’s believable and if you’re inclined to purchase this gem of a DVD, I think you will be pleased with this product.

It’s dark and desperate, on a completely different level than BSG was. Where society was running for its life in BSG, these Caprica families desperately pursue misguided dreams that make society what it will be. I think the casting of many of the characters was dead on and that makes this experience complete. Both Stoltz and Morales are Greystone and Adama. Additionally, I think this could have been a stand alone movie and that it would have been incredibly satisfying. And yet, they have 20 more episodes. I find that enticing and I can’t wait until it airs in early 2010.

SF Universe asks if Caprica can franchise BSG.

A copy leaked to the nets a bit early, leading to other reviews coming online.

Gizmodo and io9 note a technical item from the Caprica script about downloading human consciousness.

Market Watch reports that 'Galactica's' legacy is not lost on NBCU exec Jeff Gaspin, president and chief operating officer of NBC Universal.

And the upcoming Caprica event at the Paley Fest at the Arclight Cinema is all sold out.

Caprica will have its broadcast premiere on SyFy in 2010.

Also, explore "Discover Caprica" to watch an exclusive clip and help fans reveal additional video by removing pixels one by one.

Caprica is available on DVD and Digital Download 4/21. Win a copy here.

SYNOPSIS:
An astonishing breakthrough is taking shape on the planet Caprica. The rapidly evolving spheres of human and mechanical engineering have collided, along with the fates of two families. Joined by tragedy in an explosive instant of terror, two rival clans led by powerful patriarchs, Joseph Adama (Esai Morales, Jericho) and Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz, The Butterfly Effect) duel in an era of questionable ethics, corporate machinations and unbridled personal ambition as the final war for humanity looms. The latest phenomenon from the executive producers of Battlestar Galactica (Ronald D. Moore and David Eick), set in a time over 50 years earlier, Caprica is entirely its own world - provocative, thrilling and startling relevant to our own.

BONUS FEATURES:
* Feature Commentary with Director Jeffrey Reiner and Executive Producer/Writer Ronald D. Moore and Executive Producer David Eick
* Deleted Scenes
* Video Blogs
* What the Frak is Caprica?
* The Director's Process
* The V Club
* The Birth of a Cylon

All This Has Happened Before...

Another topic thread for you folks: at BATTLESTAR's end, Baltar, Caprica Six, and their "Head" dopplegangers were explained...sort of. What did you think of these revelations? Are we seeing angels? Demons? Projections? Hallucinations? God(s)? Aliens?

I'd like to quote BSG/CAPRICA writer/producer Jane Espenson here, from a Q&A she did at Boston Globe's Viewer Discretion blog earlier today:

Question: Starbuck an Angel??? Really???

Espenson: I'm going to answer re Starbuck and the "head" people, too. Well, here's how I always saw it. If someone from a far-advanced culture somewhere in the universe took an interest in humanity, isn't it possible that with their advanced tech that they could have abilities that would seem to us miraculous. Maybe we'd think of them as "Angels." Maybe they're the whole reason we have a myth of "Angels." But that's just me. The great thing about great novels (or tv series) is that some things are left open to your own philosophical solutions.



...That final ending was an image that Ron had in his head since Season One, which amazes me. He always felt that the show ended with a Six and a Baltar walking through Times Square.



Question: I was wondering if the angel Baltar in Times Square was actually Lucifer.

Espenson: I can see that -- there is something very much like the ol' bar bet about Job going on there, isn't there? There's something very appealing to me about Head Baltar having been the original source for the Lucifer character.

Question: ...I'm still a bit stuck on the Kara Thrace story...I don't make the conection on how she was the "Harbinger of Death" - it would seem that she was quite the opposite. Can you elaborate?

Espenson: I took that to be a reference to the fact that she led us to the place at which (pure) humanity ends -- from here on out, what we call human has Cylon DNA in it.

Time Sensitive

A couple of time-sensitive things have popped up this week, so let me post them all here right away:

There is a contest over at Wet Paint BSG Wiki to win a CAPRICA pilot film DVD, which asks you to guess how many BSG characters will still be standing at the end of the finale.

AfterEllen will be hosting a live chat online with BSG/CAPRICA writer/producer Jane Espenson, this Thursday at 9pm ET.

Something to read (and bitch about) before Friday night: Ron Moore discussing the fan theories that have popped up around Daniel The Cylon, during the podcast commentary for "Islanded in a Sea of Stars." Since we don't have a spoiler-cut here, I've posted a transcript at the BSG blog. Thanks to reader Trey for typing it up!

Chief Speaks

Via the LiveJournal Battlestar Blog, and The Chief's Deck, Aaron Douglas himself comments on the latest BSG episode, Deadlock:

In many ways I agree with all of you. I am still totally convinced that Tyrol would leave but I do have my own reasons why he would...

Tyrols judgement is clouded and we can see that by the fact that he ignores the pleas of Anders to stay with the ship.

All will be revealed, have patience my young apprentices....

Jane Espenson is one of the finest writers I have ever met. She was not just a writer of singular episodes but she is a true force in the breaking of stories, the shaping of each script, the development of characters and is always makes herself available for questions and discussions. Let's not forget that it was Jane who wrote the incredible episode where Adama busts the Chief down to private, one of my favorite scenes of the entire show.

Last nights episode was more of the 'information' ep like the last one. The remaining few eps will really inform this episode.

Have patience....

AD

Read the entirety of Aaron's comments here.

ETA: Check out this funny story from Wil Wheaton involving Aaron Douglas and Gil Gerard. (Also check out Wil's spoiler free comments from an advance screening of Watchmen he attended.)

Interviews

Bunch of good interviews floating around today...

• Mo Ryan talks to Jane Espenson about "Deadlock" (with a few supplementary questions from Alan Sepinwall)...and to Tahmoh Penikett about BSG and his new show DOLLHOUSE.
  

• Thanks to Morjana for finding these Space/Circuit interviews with Michael Hogan and Jamie Bamber.  (And thanks to Space for letting us lousy Americans get your stream this time!)
  

• Much to our collective luck, Bear McCreary continues to interview cast & crew for his season 4.5 blogging -- this week he talks with Michael Hogan. 
  

And congrats to Aaron Douglas, who has a new CTV show THE BRIDGE which has just been picked up for American broadcast on CBS...

Situation Report

A ton of interviews and news items....

Richard Huff of The Daily News spoke to Kate Vernon. Rick Bentley of McClatchy Newspapers talked to Vernon and Ron Moore.

Tahmoh Penikett has been doing lots of press to promote BSG's final eps, and the debut of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. He talked to Timeout Chicago, Zap2It, and the Boston Herald.

Kat Angus of Canwest News Service interviewed Katee Sackhoff about the end of BSG and the beginning of Lost and Found. (And Starbuck makes a top ten list.)

Jamie Bamber reflects on the end of BSG and promotional photos of his work on Law And Order: London are online via pu5h1n6_da15135 of the BSG LJ blog.

Aaron Douglas spoke to io9 about the final 5 cylons, and the the endgame for the series. (No spoilers.)

Kandyse McClure talked to MediaBlvd Magazine about her end on Battlestar Galactica, and her new work on Children of the Corn, and other projects.

Galactica TV has recent interviews with Grace Park, Jane Espenson, Nicki Clyne and Micheal Tayles.

Dean Stockwell is scheduled to appear at the upcoming Leap Back Quantum Leap Convention in Los Angeles, California, March 27-29, 2009 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Quantum Leap.

Other news and notes: Kevin Smith mentioned BSG at a talk at Ohio State University... Battlestar Galactica leads in shout-outs on other TV shows (like The Office.) ...Dvice's Steampunk Cylon contest continues... Viper cars, and bento boxes...

Upcoming comic books continue the story of BSG and Cylon history, in Ghosts and Cylon War.

Answers

Mo Ryan has posted BSG writers Ryan Mottesheard's and Jane Espenson's, answers to readers questions about No Exit.

Cylon Intrigue

The new David Eick video blog explores the nature of Cylons and the real development of Posthumans is pondered.

From Jimmy Kimmel Live, Tricia Helfer:

More on the CAPRICA writing staff

Jane Espenson, in an interview with io9 this week, named a few more of the writers hired for season one of CAPRICA:

Io9: Congrats on becoming the showrunner at Caprica. Do you get a lot of input in crafting the first-season character arcs in Caprica, as the showrunner? How much of that stuff was already in place when you came on board?

JE: I'm pleased to say that I will have a lot of input in crafting season one of Caprica. Ron is still the ultimate king of us, and I hope that doesn't change, but I will be getting a lot of my ideas in there. We also have an amazing staff — Michael Taylor, John Zinman and Patrick Massett, Kath Lingenfelter, Matt Roberts and Ryan Mottesheard — and they will be contributing mightily.

Since more FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS staffers are joining the CAPRICA fold, now seems like an appropriate time to post this great piece by TIME's James Poniewozik, in which he compares Bill Adama to FNL's Coach Taylor. You know I cannot help myself, I love both shows way too much. ;) A few great excerpts:

I don't often enough give props to Edward James Olmos, so let me say it here: the man is amazing. The way he carries himself in this last scene says more about Adama's core and sense of honor than any scene of screaming and high drama. He kisses Roslin in front of his crew, sends her off to escape, then picks up his gun and gets ready for a last stand. And sits down. That, for me, was the beauty moment. Olmos is playing "the old man" as an old man. He's strong, he's resolute, he's angry. But he's also tired. He's come this far, this is his gods-damned ship, and he is not going anywhere.

...between BSG and Friday Night Lights airing at 9, we have back-to-back two rare, classical examples of a kind of manhood that Hollywood rarely manages to pull off anymore. Coach Taylor and Adama are different men in different situations, of course. But they are both examples of old-fashioned manly virtues—honor, loyalty, integrity—portrayed in a way that's neither sentimentalized nor cynical.

...TV has done great things with antiheroes like Tony Soprano, who whined about the death of the strong, silent "Gary Cooper type" without realizing that he was himself part of the problem. But it's even more rare, and difficult in this day and age, to portray actual Gary Cooper types in a way that seems neither phony nor snarky. Eric Taylor and Bill Adama are a rare breed. We should appreciate them while they're still around.

(You know, I already caught FNL's new season on DirecTV this winter -- but man, watching FNL and BSG back-to-back on Friday nights? That would be one helluva double bill.)

CAPRICA writers room shaping up

Mo Ryan got the news yesterday...

The "Battlestar Galactica" prequel "Caprica" will have some familiar names among the credits when it debuts next year on Sci Fi.

Jane Espenson, co-executive producer of “Battlestar Galactica,” will have that title on “Caprica” and will eventually become “Caprica’s” showrunner.

...Ron Moore said he’d be running the writers’ room when it first convenes in early February, but he added that at some point, he’d be handing over those day-to-day showrunner duties to Espenson, who will take on the title executive producer midway through the season.

...Espenson said that "Battlestar" writers Michael Taylor and Ryan Mottesheard would also be joining the "Caprica" staff. On Jan. 16, the day "Battlestar" returned with the first of its final 10 episodes, Galactica Sitrep reported that "Battlestar's" composer, Bear McCreary, as well as its production designer, Richard Hudolin, and special effects supervisor, Gary Hutzel, would also be working on "Caprica."

Los Angeles Times <3 BSG

The LA Times Show Tracker blog is taking fan questions for, well, apparently the ENTIRE cast and all the producers of BSG. Seriously. Go here and leave some; you never know who they’ll interview next.

The blog just published interviews with Jane Espenson and Richard Hatch, one assumes there is much more to come.


Sitrep was a tad remiss this past month and didn’t mention that the LA Times print edition also showed BSG some massive love in late November, when they decided BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is one of the main sci-fi franchises of our day. On November 23rd they published an entire Sci-Fi Movie/TV themed issue of their Sunday Calendar section. Yoda, Spock and a Cylon graced the front page…



On the next page was this Jamie Bamber interview…



And the cover article continued inside with more BSG photo goodness…



Also in the issue was a piece speaking with Dave Howe of SciFi (formerly known as the Sci Fi Channel), waxing poetic about BATTLESTAR GALACTICA coming to an end and how much it has effected their network. By very little coincidence, the CAPRICA pickup was announced a week or so after this issue hit the newsstand.

Keep that love flowin’, LAT…

More Better. And Jane.

Time Out NY thinks BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was the best show on TV this year. (And that the characters on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS are like unicorns. And that Gaeta's song was really, really good.)

The Los Angeles Times thinks finding Earth on BSG was one of the best moments on TV this year.

Jane Espenson has been busy talking to Sci Fi Wire about THE PLAN, the webisodes, and her new gig working on DOLLHOUSE. So busy is Jane, in fact, that she's apparently ending her blog on TV writing.

Another busy one: Mark Sheppard, who spoke with iF Magazine about his work on the new show LEVERAGE, as well as the BSG finale and his parts on DOLLHOUSE and MEDIUM. 

Random Mary McDonnell-related sidenote: the director's cut of DONNIE DARKO hits Blu-Ray early next year.

Webisode 2 (YouTube)

With Espenson commentary:


h/t tracyloowho via BSG blog.

Webisode One

With commentary from writer Jane Espenson:


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