Tara Merrin
December 30, 2005

Click on the link to read the entire article and about other celebs.

Posted By CylonGod

BY ILEANE RUDOLPH

We've been waiting since September's cliff-hanger for Battlestar Galactica's return, and who better to spill about the next ten episodes than Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin) and Edward James Olmos (Commander William Adama)?

Will the president survive cancer?

Olmos: She's dead, She's gone, It's over.

McDonnell: He wishes it were that easy! She's like one of those punching bags. She pops back up and smiles at him and he doesn't know what to do. I'm not going anywhere-for now. I'll say she has a pretty strong spirit.

Can Cylon technology save her?

McDonnell: There's an element of that.

Edward, are Adama and President Roslin close now after much strife?

Olmos: We realize how much we mean to each other. It's the ultimate understanding between people who've suffered.

What's this we hear about an unscripted on-screen kiss?

Olmos: Oh yeah. I kissed her. McDonnell: It just felt very natural between us to have a physical moment. In [the first two new episodes] President Roslin is very close to death. I felt a tremendous sense of urgency that I was leaving so much to deal with. It was an overwhelming feeling of abandoning ship with Adama. I was able to feel that care that I had developed for him as a human being. Part of why I liked it is the poignancy of suddenly having your heart come to life when you're about to die.

Will the relationship go further?

McDonnell: He's getting way too cozy with her. Olmos: I want them to have a relationship. Adama deserves it.

Was Laura ever married?

McDonnell: No. But I had a long-term scandalous boyfriend, the former president. He was married. There's a glimpse of it in the third episode. During the moments of death, I starts to run through the past. And I come back with a bit of  information about Dr. Baltar.

Does Adama's shooting by a trusted crew member still affect him?

Olmos: Definitely. He's not as quick to judge or able to command. McDonnell: From Laura's point of view. He's much more acceptable as a human being, but there is a hesitation now in his decision making. She's got to take more of the tough decisions.

In what way is Mary similar to Laura?

Olmos: Mary is self-assured. I've seen it in her dealing with her contract and producers, fighting for her character.

Is Edward similar to Adama?

McDonnell: He is an un wavering, committed human being. He brings that command into everything he does. He galvanizes people through a kind of personal charm and Latin warmth. The cast and crew would do anything for him.

Is it true that you're like mother and father figures to the cast?

McDonnell: Well we're old enough. [Laugh]

Are you strict parents or loving parents?

McDonnell: We're both. Olmos: We assemble the group in our trailers and talk about anything and everything. McDonnell: Because Ed and I have had many. Many decades of experience, we can communicate to the younger actors that they should articulate their ideas and share in collaboration with the writers.

Any hints as to which crew members are Cylon moles?

McDonnell: We just know that their numbers are becoming more apparent. I was at a restaurant the other night and I thought the waitress was a Cylon. It's really starting to get under my skin. It got me back in therapy. [laugh] 

How do you think BSG will end someday?

Victoria may have secrets, but not so far for Tricia Helfer, The former lingerie model who plays Galactica's identical Cylon murder-machines known as Number Six. Helfer tells us that fans will soon see exactly how the Cylon consciousness is downloaded to another version of Six's body as they "die."

 That spells job security for Helfer, 32, who pulls off the multiple roles with sex appeal, wit, and even pathos. To play Gina, the battered POW version of Six, for example, Helfer researched post traumatic stress syndrome and lost a few pounds. "I wanted to feel vulnerable and kind of exposed," she says.

The Cylon Weekly World News
Tue 27th Dec

These Episodes Where Keepers                   
Tue 27th Dec 2005



From TwinCities.Com:

Click on the link to read the rest of the article.

These episodes were keepers\

BY MATT ZOLLER SEITZ
Tue, Dec. 27, 2005

There's no such thing as a TV show that hits a home run each week, or even a triple. In fact, most of TV slides along the spectrum of excellent to competent to awful more freely than critics care to admit. This is surely a byproduct of having to crank out 12 to 24 episodes a season. Under such circumstances, getting it perfect takes a backseat to getting it done.

With that in mind, here's my list of the year's best individual episodes. It comprises installments of sitcoms or dramas that brushed against perfection in every aesthetic department (writing, direction, acting, photography, editing) while simultaneously reminding us of what makes the series tick.

"Battlestar Galactica: Pegasus." (Sci-Fi)

The midpoint of the show's second season saw the ragtag, fugitive fleet learning that a second battlestar, the Pegasus, survived the Cylon genocide, only to develop a darker facsimile of civilization than the Galactica's. Because the Pegasus had no civilian fleet to protect, its values were built on the hardest aspects of warrior culture. Discipline and loyalty were bound up with intimidation and paranoia; order was maintained through shockingly casual "interrogations" of suspected enemies that were basically legalized beat-downs and gang rapes. Alternately chilling and inspirational, this episode recontextualized the Galactica fleet's existence and gave its civilian and military members a reason to put aside their differences and reaffirm the values that bind them.

Newshound Sci-fi

Posted By CylonGod

Catch up with 'Battlestar Galactica'             Sun 25th Dec 2005

From Pioneer Press:

Click link for full article.

Catch up with 'Battlestar Galactica' via downloads (iTunes)
 

BY JULIO OJEDA-ZAPATA
Fri, Dec. 23, 2005

If you've somehow missed the best drama on television - no, we don't mean "The Sopranos" - catching up just got absurdly easy.

Sci Fi Channel on Thursday released "Sci Fi Inside: Battlestar Galactica" as a free download on Apple Computer's online iTunes Music Store.

This documentary recaps the "Battlestar" saga, beginning with the popular sci-fi miniseries and the subsequent series' first season, through the first 10 episodes of its second season - ending in a wild cliffhanger last September.

"Battlestar" is the vastly improved reinterpretation of the cheesy 1970s series involving humans' desperate flight from ruthless robotic Cylons. As the series went on hiatus, the battlestar Galactica was on the verge of civil war with a sister craft, the Pegasus.

This is gotta-watch TV, folks. So, as a holiday homework assignment, here's how to get caught up.

Step one: Download Apple Computer's iTunes software (www.apple.com/itunes), then click "TV shows" to find the documentary. Watch, either on your PC or your video iPod, and weep at what you've missed.

If you don't want to download the half-hour showing, it airs on Sci Fi Channel Jan. 2.

Step two: Download the "Pegasus" episode. All "Battlestar" episodes that have already aired are available on the iTunes Music Store, at $2 a pop. We also suggest "Scattered," which kicked off the second season with Adama, commander of the battlestar Galactica, taking several bullets to the chest and nearly dying.

Step three: Consider buying the miniseries, which will give you a better understanding of the "Battlestar" story. This will run you $16 on the iTunes Music Store. You can also get the mini-series, and all subsequent shows, on DVD.

Step four: Mark your calendars for Jan. 6, when the second season of "Battlestar" resumes.

We've watched but won't give anything away. Suffice it to say that humanity will be tested as never before - and not just by those creepy Cylons, lurking en masse near the Galactica and the Pegasus as the two ships prepare to destroy each other.

Newshound Sci-fi

Posted By CylonGod

Honor Roll                                                        Sun 25th Dec 2005

 From:  
 

by Matt Zoller Seitz
Sunday, December 25, 2005

Click on the link to read the entire article.

Honor Roll

The best show of the year? What the #!@* ! do you think?

My Top 10 list this year should probably carry an asterisk. While there were at least 10 programs, or groups of programs, worth watching every week -- and many more worth checking in on (see my "Honorable Mentions") -- my No. 1 selection, David Milch's HBO western "Deadwood," towered so far above the rest that I was tempted to put every other program in a tie for 10th place. That's not a knock against "Battlestar Galactica," "American Experience" and other formidable titles, just a frank admission that "Deadwood" is not just another program; it's a work of art, the next evolutionary step in series television, and the first drama since "Hill Street Blues" that I feel privileged to have been alive to see. For more evangelizing, read on.

3. "Battlestar Galactica" (Sci-Fi): Everytime a new sci-fi series comes on the air, the producers trot out the same tired boilerplate about how theirs isn't a really sci-fi series, but a serious drama that just happens to include sci-fi elements. "Battlestar," now in its second season, is arguably the first high-profile sci-fi show since "Farscape" and the syndicated "Star Trek" series that earns the right to make such lofty claims. In fact -- brace yourself for heresy, kids -- this hard-edged, heavily allegorical series one-ups all preceding sci-fi series by refusing to coddle any of its protagonists in order to make them "relatable." Like 1970s movie heroes, the "Battlestar" crew can be stubborn, deluded, manipulative, childish and dishonest, but the show never cares if you approve; it only asks that you find their behavior believable and interesting, and find cultural, political and theological insight in the series' broad-brushstroke action plots.

Newshound Sci-fi

Posted By CylonGod

Provocative Twists on the traditional in 05  Sun 25th Dec 2005

From: 


by Alan Sepinwall
Sunday, December 25, 2005

Click on the link to read the rest of the article.

2005 saw some provocative twists on the traditional

Idiot box? Nah. Vast wasteland? Forget about it. The best television of 2005 managed to entertain at the same time it was stirring up debate about pressing social issues, including a space adventure that's really a 9/11 allegory, a foul-mouthed Western that looks at the roots of law and order in America and a high school drama about a cute blonde private eye whose cases always seem to revolve around the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. Here are my picks, in descending order.

1. "Battlestar Galactica" (Sci-Fi): Our nation suffers a brutal attack by a group of religious zealots who believe they're God's chosen people. The military, civilian government and media spar over the proper way to wage war on the terrorists. The president starts invoking God at every turn to drum up voter support. Opinions are split when it's revealed that soldiers have been torturing prisoners of war.

The latest installment of "Frontline"? Try the remake of a cheezy '70s space opera. Producer Ronald Moore and a heavyweight cast led by Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell have reclaimed science fiction from the people who only saw it as an excuse for special effects and technobabble; they're using the spaceships and robots to comment on modern life in the way that sci-fi masters like Philip K. Dick and Rod Serling used to.
 

Newshound Sci-fi

Posted By CylonGod

Battlestar Galactica
(Sci Fi)


With all of the networks rushing to make programming available for iPod viewing, Sci Fi Channel is breaking some iTunes barrier or other with the premiere of "Sci Fi Inside: Battlestar Galactica."

The half-hour special will premiere on iTunes on Thursday, Dec. 22, well ahead of its Jan. 2 first cable airing. The telecast serves as a lead-in for the winter premiere of "Galactica" on Jan. 6.

"We are thrilled to be the first network to premiere our own original programming on the iTunes Music Store," says Dave Howe, Sci Fi's executive vice president and general manager. "This is an important step to position SCI FI Channel as not only the consumer's destination for groundbreaking programming, but also as a digital pioneer seeking out new ways to enhance the viewing experience for our audience."

"Galactica," one of Sci Fi's highest rated shows and certainly its best reviewed, has regularly broken iPod content barriers. Back in March, the show's executive producer Ronald D. Moore began providing supplementary audio commentaries for every episode, available as podcasts.

The networks are quickly beginning to realize the potential of the iPod video technology. On Tuesday, ABC announced that freshman hit "Commander In Chief" would join "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" on iTunes. The network's parent, Disney, also offers three Disney Channel shows.

Sci Fi's corporate parent NBC Universal has placed several of its current shows, clips from "The Tonight Show" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and past shows like "Knight Rider" on the service.
 

From Zap2It:

Galactica Special to Premiere on iTunes

Newshound: Sci-Fi

posted By Phantom Dennis

Time Magazine's Best of 2005: Television

Thurs 22nd Dec

Battlestar Galactica
(Sci Fi)

Most of you probably think this entry has got to be a joke. The rest of you have actually watched the show. Adapted from a cheesy '70s Star Wars clone of the same name, Galactica (returning in January) is a ripping sci-fi allegory of the war on terror, complete with religious fundamentalists (here, genocidal robots called Cylons), sleeper cells, civil-liberties crackdowns and even a prisoner-torture scandal. The basic-cable budget sometimes shows in the production, but the writing and performances are first-class, especially Edward James Olmos as the noble but authoritarian commander in charge of saving the last remnants of humanity. Laugh if you want, but this story of enemies within is dead serious, and seriously good.

Click on the link to view the rest of the list.

Time Magazine's Best of 2005: Television

By James Poniewozik

Newshound: Sci-Fi

posted By Phantom Dennis

Katee Sackhoff on sex, violence and the unrepentent life of Lt Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace
Wed 21st Dec

In Battlestar Galactica's first season finale Kobol's Last Gleaming, Lt Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace returns to the Cylon-occupied planet of Caprica at the request of President Laura Roslin to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo. The president believes that this ancient artefact will help show them the way to Earth. While on Caprica, Starbuck is reunited with Lt Helo, who has been missing, as well as Lt Sharon 'Boomer' Valerii, who turns out to be a Cylon and is now pregnant with Helo's child. Starbuck ends up stranded with Helo on Caprica when, in the year two opener Scattered, Boomer steals her ship. The lieutenant's temporary exile on Caprica leads to some new adventures and a brush with the past.

"One of the most challenging scenes for me so far this season was in episode two [Valley of Darkness], where she and Helo [Tahmoh Penikett] just sat there in her old apartment," recalls Katee Sackhoff, who plays the tough yet emotionally vulnerable Starbuck. "My character is constantly moving. Starbuck doesn't feel comfortable sitting still or allowing her brain to pause because then she has time to think, especially about the past, and she doesn't like to do that because that's where her pain is.

"So she'd always rather be physically and/or mentally challenged and looking ahead. However, in this scene we see her stop and not have anything to do. Starbuck sinks into that moment and takes advantage of it. As a result, we see a very different side of her. Her line at the end of the scene is quite telling and it's one I made up on the day of filming. She says, 'Everyone I know is fighting to get back what they had, and I'm fighting because it's all I know how to do'. It's kind of handing the scene to audiences on a silver platter, which is something I don't like to do with dialogue. However, this was such a painful moment for my character that I actually wanted her to say that out loud."

Using drugs to stave off radiation sickness, Starbuck and Helo do their best to steer clear of Cylon patrols while trying to find a way off Caprica. Much to their surprise, in the episode Resistance, they meet up with a group of allies, led by Anders (Michael Trucco) and Sue-Shaun (Tamara Lashley), all members of a professional pyramid team who were training in the mountains when Caprica was attacked by the Cylons. Coincidentally, Starbuck loves to play pyramid � and ends up going one-on-one with Anders � and not only on the game court.

"Anders is everything that Starbuck has ever wanted in a man and she falls in love with him in a single day," says Sackhoff. "That just doesn't happen with her. Usually she has sex with a guy and then throws him away, but this is someone who doesn't allow her to get away with much. Anders challenges her; he doesn't put up with her crap and meets her eye-to-eye. He has strength and dignity as well as a duty to fight the Cylons that attracts my character to him. Of course, she then has to leave him behind. Once again, Starbuck loses someone she loves. There are so many emotional places that she goes while on Caprica, and it helps explain a lot to the viewers about not only why she's screwed up but also why Starbuck continues to be screwed up."

Source: Cult Times

posted By Blade Runner

DigitalBits Reviews BSG Season 2.0
Wed 21st Dec

Program Rating: A

Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras): B+/B/B-

[Editor's Note: This review contains some spoilers for Season One and the first half of Season Two]

When we last left the crew of the Battlestar Galactica and her ragtag fleet of Human refugees, Commander Adama had just been shot by Boomer (who was revealed to be a Cylon sleeper agent back in the pilot mini-series, but whose secret programming has only now kicked in). Adama's son Apollo has betrayed his father by siding with the dying President Roslin in a dispute over the fleet's next move, an act which has landed both of them in the brig. Meanwhile, Starbuck has retrieved the artifact Roslin tasked her to find back on Caprica, which may help them to find the lost thirteenth colony of Humanity... Earth. Starbuck's found the stranded Helo on Caprica as well, but now she too is stranded with no way to return to the Galactica. And down on Kobol, the mythical birthplace of the Human race, Tyrol, Baltar and the crew of their crashed Raptor are fighting to evade a Cylon search party. Things are looking desperate indeed.

Season 2.0 picks up literally moments after the end of the first season's cliff-hanger ending, and manages to keep you on the edge of your seat for most of its ten episodes, skillfully weaving the series' complex story threads and character developments into genuinely gripping drama, all while managing to introduce new story elements and conflicts along the way. In the ten episodes included on this DVD release (which represent the first half of the show's sophomore season), you'll learn whether Adama survived or not. You'll watch as Colonel Tigh, in Adama's absence, makes just about every bad decision he could possibly make, throwing the fleet into chaos. Apollo, Roslin and Starbuck will each face more difficult personal choices, further testing their loyalties and faith in the things they've come to believe in. Helo and Tyrol will have to deal with the fact that they each love Boomer, who they now know is an enemy agent. You'll learn more about the Cylons' nefarious plans for Humanity, and the identities of at least two more of their agents. Surprising truths will be revealed about Baltar and the nature of his visions of (and relationship with) Number Six as well. And the crew of the Galactica will be stunned by the arrival of unexpected reinforcements against the Cylons, which may herald the fleet's salvation... or its destruction.

One of the things I most love about this new Battlestar Galactica, is the way it's reinvented the genre of TV science fiction. You'll notice that nowhere in the previous two paragraphs have I mentioned time travel or dilithium crystals or warp drives. Not to knock on other sci-fi franchises, because I've thoroughly enjoyed them in the past, but this is not a show about futuristic technology and convoluted, high-concept plot twists. This Battlestar is, first and foremost, driven by its characters. They are all flawed people in their way, but they're very human and they're exceptionally well written and acted. Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell continue to set a high standard in terms of the acting quality, but virtually the entire supporting cast has raised their performances as well. What's interesting to me here is the way that the personal conflicts tend to fuel or play into the show's larger conflicts. For example, we often see the crew of the Galactica, and the rest of the citizens of its fleet, fighting with one another and doubting each other and back-biting and second-guessing and even killing one another... and it's exactly these things that the Cylons (including Six) use to justify trying to wipe Humans out. Later, when the actions of Adama and his people are questioned by a superior military officer, you realize that she's absolutely right in which she's saying. While the things that the Galactica's crew have done were necessary (and seemed right) at the time, were these people still members of a larger military service, a lot of them would probably face charges of dereliction of duty or even treason.

I also really like the way that series creator Ron Moore and his writers raise real and difficult issues - something great science fiction has always managed to do - usually without you realizing that they're even doing it. A given episode is never about a single issue, but in the course of 42 minutes, the characters have often had to struggle with problems that are greatly troubling and all too real. For example, as a military officer, how do you respond when you've been ordered to do something you know to be wrong or morally questionable? How far do you (or can you) go in the name of trying to save your people, before you become as bad as your enemy? As a member of a free society, where do your responsibilities lie? When is it okay to break the law or disobey authority? Is it ever okay to torture? It's interesting that of all the shows on television today, Battlestar is the one that's most unafraid to consider these issues, given the current and very real problems we face in the world today. This series dares to consider religious issues too. While the Humans on this series worship multiple gods, the Cylons feel justified in their actions because they believe they've been divinely ordained by the one TRUE god. We see the strength and resolve and solace people find in religious faith, but also see how they can be manipulated with their faith, and see the kinds of terrible deeds some with extreme beliefs are able to justify in the name of that faith. Thankfully, Battlestar is never preachy. It rightly treats these issues as complex, and seldom shows bias or takes a stand on any of these issues. It simply raises interesting questions and dilemmas, and makes you think about them as the characters themselves struggle with them.

To be fair, there are a couple of weaker episodes in this set - episodes that just don't stand up to the quality and dramatic tension of the rest of the season thus far. Many of the series' various on-going story elements come to a boil in the season's seventh episode, Home (Part 2), and so the two episodes that follow it (Final Cut and Flight of the Phoenix) feel somewhat narratively disconnected from the rest of the season (although both episodes still contain a number of great character moments). But this batch of episodes ends very well indeed, with a surprisingly strong mid-season cliff-hanger (Pegasus), than manages to both serve as an homage to the original Battlestar TV series, and also to super-charge the show's dramatic energy and direction for the upcoming remainder of the season (which is set to begin airing on The SciFi Channel in January). For those of you interested in what's going to happen in the final ten episodes of the season, and who just can't wait until January to find out, you can read summaries of all ten remaining episodes here (although we warn you, these are MAJOR spoilers). You'll be happy to learn that SciFi has recently picked up Battlestar Galactica for a third season as well, so the adventure continues.

[Those wishing to remain spoiler free can resume reading here.]

As with the first season, the video quality of these episodes on DVD set is quite good. They're all presented in anamorphic widescreen, which is appropriate given that the series itself is shot on HD video. Colors are accurate and contrast is good overall. As with Season One, you'll notice light to moderate film grain in the video, which was obviously added electronically in-camera or in post to give the footage the look of having been shot on film. In any case, artifacting is rarely noticeable. It's a very good picture and the bigger your screen, the more cinematic the experience becomes. The sound is again available in Dolby Digital 5.1, with a solid mix that's admittedly more atmospheric than actively dynamic. You'll hear the rear channels used for ambient effects and music, but there's not a great deal of front-to-back panning. However, the front soundstage is again big and wide, and there's good bass in the mix. There's really nothing to complain about here.

Unfortunately, this 3-disc set is a little light on extras. I would have liked more behind-the-scenes material - maybe producer David Eick's video blog entries (from SciFi.com), etc. None of that is here, so hopefully we'll see it on Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.5 early next year. What you DO get includes some 43 deleted and extended scenes from the season's first 9 episodes, all in letterboxed widescreen (non-anamorphic). There's substantial material here - I'd guess over an hour of it - including a number of great scenes, interesting character moments and a whole flashback subplot that reveals how Adama and Tigh first met. Most of it was likely deleted simply because the episodes were running long (although there are a couple of scenes with Six and Baltar in the forest on Kobol that I'm guessing were cut because it was cold and actress Tricia Helfer's dress was a bit... well, you'll see). You also get all of Ron Moore's 'podcast' audio commentaries (also from SciFi.com), with a couple of exceptions. There's no podcast for the episode Fragged, but one was never recorded for download anyway. However, the podcast that WAS recorded for Flight of the Phoenix strangely hasn't been included. I've no idea why that is. Also, Moore's podcast for Pegasus hasn't been included either. There is, however, a reason for that. In the podcast for Pegasus, Moore alluded to the fact that the eventual DVD release would include an extended version of the episode with some 15 minutes of additional footage. We've learned that this extended version could not be completed in time for the release of Season 2.0 on disc, so it will be the first episode included on the Season 2.5 release early next year (presumably with commentary). That's understandable, and I'm okay with it. The missing Flight of the Phoenix commentary, however, is inexcusable (thankfully, you can still download it online here). I should note that this set also offers a brief "sneak peek" at what's ahead in the second half of the season.

Given that there are only 10 episodes here, and fewer extras included on this DVD release, the fact that Universal is still charging $50 for it is a bit much. Season 2.0 is, after all, only half a season. Still, Battlestar Galactica is well worth your time, and DVD is definitely the best way to experience it. The American Film Institute recently listed Battlestar among the best TV series of 2005 (click here), and all of that quality is in evidence on these three discs. This is easily the best science fiction series in years... and one of the best hours of drama on television today. No kidding, if you're missing Battlestar, you're missing out on something special indeed.

Newshound: Sci-Fi

Posted By Blade Runner

Battlestar Galactica: "Pegasus" Best of 2005
Wed 21st Dec 2005

From Now Playing Magazine:
Cindy White


Click on the link to read the entire article.

Best of 2005: TV - Battlestar Galactica: "Pegasus"

Who could have predicted that a science-fiction series based on a short-lived Star Wars knockoff from the late '70s would become one of the best dramas on television? Yet this Galactica's deft combination of complex characters, thrilling action and thought-provoking storylines has launched the show to the top, in quality if not in ratings. And no episode has more skillfully showcased all of these elements than the mid-second-season finale.

With the introduction of the Battlestar Pegasus (a remnant from the original series) and its iron-fisted commander, Admiral Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes), the writers have raised the stakes physically, psychologically and spiritually. After this episode, nothing will be the same for any of the characters.

Fortunately, Galactica will be back in January to pick up where "Pegasus" left off. But in the meantime, fans are left to ponder lofty concepts like morality, justice, human (and Cylon) rights and the existence of the soul. It would be ambitious territory for any television series, let alone one set in outer space. (Sci Fi Channel)

Newshound Sci-fi

Posted By CylonGod

Digital bits reviews BSG Season 2.0             Wed 21st Dec 2005

Battlestar Galactica
Season 2.0 - 2005 (2005) - The SciFi Channel (Universal)

Program Rating: A

Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras): B+/B/B-

DVD review by Bill Hunt, editor of The Digital Bits
12/20/05

Lengthly review, but worth the read. Click on the link to read the review.

DigitalBits Reviews BSG Season 2.0

Some excerpts:

Season 2.0 picks up literally moments after the end of the first season's cliff-hanger ending, and manages to keep you on the edge of your seat for most of its ten episodes, skillfully weaving the series' complex story threads and character developments into genuinely gripping drama, all while managing to introduce new story elements and conflicts along the way. In the ten episodes included on this DVD release (which represent the first half of the show's sophomore season), you'll learn whether Adama survived or not. You'll watch as Colonel Tigh, in Adama's absence, makes just about every bad decision he could possibly make, throwing the fleet into chaos. Apollo, Roslin and Starbuck will each face more difficult personal choices, further testing their loyalties and faith in the things they've come to believe in. Helo and Tyrol will have to deal with the fact that they each love Boomer, who they now know is an enemy agent. You'll learn more about the Cylons' nefarious plans for Humanity, and the identities of at least two more of their agents. Surprising truths will be revealed about Baltar and the nature of his visions of (and relationship with) Number Six as well. And the crew of the Galactica will be stunned by the arrival of unexpected reinforcements against the Cylons, which may herald the fleet's salvation... or its destruction.

One of the things I most love about this new Battlestar Galactica, is the way it's reinvented the genre of TV science fiction. You'll notice that nowhere in the previous two paragraphs have I mentioned time travel or dilithium crystals or warp drives. Not to knock on other sci-fi franchises, because I've thoroughly enjoyed them in the past, but this is not a show about futuristic technology and convoluted, high-concept plot twists. This Battlestar is, first and foremost, driven by its characters. They are all flawed people in their way, but they're very human and they're exceptionally well written and acted. Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell continue to set a high standard in terms of the acting quality, but virtually the entire supporting cast has raised their performances as well. What's interesting to me here is the way that the personal conflicts tend to fuel or play into the show's larger conflicts. For example, we often see the crew of the Galactica, and the rest of the citizens of its fleet, fighting with one another and doubting each other and back-biting and second-guessing and even killing one another... and it's exactly these things that the Cylons (including Six) use to justify trying to wipe Humans out. Later, when the actions of Adama and his people are questioned by a superior military officer, you realize that she's absolutely right in which she's saying. While the things that the Galactica's crew have done were necessary (and seemed right) at the time, were these people still members of a larger military service, a lot of them would probably face charges of dereliction of duty or even treason.

I also really like the way that series creator Ron Moore and his writers raise real and difficult issues - something great science fiction has always managed to do - usually without you realizing that they're even doing it. A given episode is never about a single issue, but in the course of 42 minutes, the characters have often had to struggle with problems that are greatly troubling and all too real. For example, as a military officer, how do you respond when you've been ordered to do something you know to be wrong or morally questionable? How far do you (or can you) go in the name of trying to save your people, before you become as bad as your enemy? As a member of a free society, where do your responsibilities lie? When is it okay to break the law or disobey authority? Is it ever okay to torture? It's interesting that of all the shows on television today, Battlestar is the one that's most unafraid to consider these issues, given the current and very real problems we face in the world today. This series dares to consider religious issues too. While the Humans on this series worship multiple gods, the Cylons feel justified in their actions because they believe they've been divinely ordained by the one TRUE god. We see the strength and resolve and solace people find in religious faith, but also see how they can be manipulated with their faith, and see the kinds of terrible deeds some with extreme beliefs are able to justify in the name of that faith. Thankfully, Battlestar is never preachy. It rightly treats these issues as complex, and seldom shows bias or takes a stand on any of these issues. It simply raises interesting questions and dilemmas, and makes you think about them as the characters themselves struggle with them.

To be fair, there are a couple of weaker episodes in this set - episodes that just don't stand up to the quality and dramatic tension of the rest of the season thus far. Many of the series' various on-going story elements come to a boil in the season's seventh episode, Home (Part 2), and so the two episodes that follow it (Final Cut and Flight of the Phoenix) feel somewhat narratively disconnected from the rest of the season (although both episodes still contain a number of great character moments). But this batch of episodes ends very well indeed, with a surprisingly strong mid-season cliff-hanger (Pegasus), than manages to both serve as an homage to the original Battlestar TV series, and also to super-charge the show's dramatic energy and direction for the upcoming remainder of the season (which is set to begin airing on The SciFi Channel in January). You'll be happy to learn that SciFi has recently picked up Battlestar Galactica for a third season as well, so the adventure continues.

Newshound Sci-fi

Posted By CylonGod

Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0 Review
Tue 20th Dec

"Mankind's true nature will always assert itself." - Number Six

INTRODUCTION:

A quarter century after it originally premiered on ABC, Battlestar Galactica was still one of the most talked about concepts in TV Land. The short-lived network series about a rag-tag fleet of human survivors in search of the mythical planet Earth had captured the imaginations of many, and it seemed that every year produced a new set of rumors about a return to the Galactica universe. In late 2003, amid quite a bit of fan controversy, the rumors finally became reality and took form in a 3-hour miniseries from the mind of Star Trek alumnus Ronald D. Moore. Not just a simple update, Moore's vision exhibited many significant changes to the story, and while the miniseries was flawed and met with mixed reviews, it showed more than enough promise to green light a 13-episode season to air nearly a year later. With a stellar premiere episode ("33"), the new series hit the ground running, left its skeptics in the dust, and became a bona fide hit in a television landscape almost completely devoid of quality science fiction stories. Quickly capitalizing on this success, an extended 20-episode second season was commissioned, beginning just 6 months after the initial one, and was split into 2 10-episode halves. Universal now presents the first of those halves in "Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0".

N.B. This review discusses major plot points from the first season of Battlestar Galactica. Proceed with caution.

 The second season of Battlestar Galactica begins right where the first one left off. Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) is in critical condition after taking two shots to the chest from Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (Grace Park). The crew of the Raptor One -- including Chief Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) and Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis) -- are stranded on Kobol. Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) has returned to Caprica to find the Arrow of Apollo and meet up with "Helo" (Tahmoh Penikett) and the other Sharon. And President Roslin (Mary McDonnell) is locked away in the brig after undermining Adama's military mission and sending "Starbuck" on a religious quest. To say that the leadership of the fleet is in disarray is an understatement, and as the season begins, Colonel Tighe (Michael Hogan) reluctantly assumes control of the situation.

continue at DVD Talk

Newshound: Sci-Fi

Posted By Blade Runner

Aaron Douglas interview
Mon 19th Dec

Battlestar Galactica's Aaron Douglas was born in a suburb of Vancouver called New Westminster and growed up there until he was 10. Then he moved to a town in the interior of the province of British Columbia where he played in high school and community theatre. At age 26, he left his current job and came back to Vancouver to learn the craft of acting at William B. Davis Center for Actors Study (The X-Files "Cigarette smoking man").
Aaron Douglas has on his filmography movies such as Catwoman, The Chronicles of Riddick, I Robot, X-Men 2 and TV shows such Andromeda, Stargate. But he is most known for his role of Chief Tyrol in the new Battlestar Galactica series.

GN: Can you firstly talk about yourself?
AD: I was born in a suburb of Vancouver called New Westminster and I lived in Vancouver until I was 10 years of age when my parents moved us to a town in the interior of the province of British Columbia. I was involved in high school plays and community theater until I moved back to Vancouver at age 26. I had been out of acting for many years when I decided to quit my job and go to theater school (William Davis Center for Actors Study in Vancouver) to learn the craft of acting. I had done everything from floor laying and construction to marketing and sales repping. I spent many years discovering what it is that I do NOT want to do in life. The rest as they say is history.

GN: What was the most difficult scene you had to do in Galactica?
AD: The scenes where someone dies in the Chiefs arms are difficult to do because they take a really long time to shoot and you are constantly in a state of loss and sadness. They are very draining.

GN: How would you like that chief Tyrol evolve in the future, especially his relations with Sharon#2?
AD: I would like the Chief to be done with Sharon. It is time to move on. I would like to see Tyrol begin to believe in himself a little more and be given more tasks requiring strength and leadership.

GN: You appear in all episodes of Galactica, except maybe 1 or 2, your character is as important as the main cast so, to your opinion, why don't you have the same status?
AD: There are so many people in this cast that the network cannot focus on everyone and so marketing is split between the bigger names and the handsome ones. The Chief was a really small character in the beginning and there was no intention of focussing on him at all so anything that comes my way now is a bonus.

GN: What is your best memory from Galactica?
AD: There are so many great memories from what we have done till now. One is goofing off with Paul Campbell and Mary and we were laughing so hard we almost ruined take after take after take. If you ever see them ask them about Paul and Aarons made up names for the racehorses she took her husband to see.

GN: If you were in the same situation than chief Tyrol, how would you have react when you learned that your girlfriend, Sharon was a cylon? And what would be your behavior with her?
AD: Not really sure what I would do but I think I would march her down to Adama's office straight away. Tyrol didn't figure it out till she shot Adama so there wasn't much he could do.

GN: On the set, who's the guy always trying to break up a scene, to make everyone laughs?
AD: Paul is really funny and Eddie goofs around a lot. I am silly between takes, especially with Nicki. We laugh alot.

GN: Which Shakespearean character would you like to do? And why?
AD: I have played several Shakespeare characters and if I had to do it again I would like to play Mercutio or Theseus and Oberon in the same performance.

GN: What was the scene you enjoyed the most to play in Galactica and why?
AD: Episode 3 of season 2. Running and shooting Cylons in the forest. How fun is that?!?!!

GN: I read some critics about the "rape" scene shown in the last episode aired, as you played in this scene, what's your opinion on it?
AD: BSG is a reflection of real life and these types of events go on everyday. Many people were upset by it but to me they need to realize that this is the world we live in. Does that mean they have or want to watch? Absolutely not but do not discount it as sensationalism. What we shot was so much more graphic than what was aired and I understand why they did not use it. In what aired the rape had not totally begun. It was suggestive. I thought it was a good scene and on point with the story and not added to draw in viewers. That suggestion is absurd. I know Ron Moore very well and he is not the kind of person or writer to add scenes purely for sensationalistic or ratings purposes. They have to be on point, truthfully reflect the situation and todays world and be relevant to the story or they are not there. It also amazes me that people have no problem with beatings, shootings, bombings, stabbings etc. but show a breast, a bottom, or a grope and they fly off the wall to condemn it.
This happens in all areas of film, television and theatre and it is ridiculous.

GN: What decided you to become an actor?
AD: It is the one thing that I am really good at. It is the easiest thing for me to do and it is what I love to do the most.

GN: What are your expectations for season 3? Do you already know something about your involvement on it?
AD: I have no idea what is happening in season 3.

Interview by Gilles Nuytens for

The Scifi World

Posted By Blade Runner

Moore Sci-Fi at NBC Universal
Galactica producer inks 2-year deal
Mon 19th Dec

By DENISE MARTIN at Variety

HOLLYWOOD -- "Battlestar Galactica" exec producer Ronald D. Moore has inked a rich overall pact with NBC Universal Television Studio, reupping for another two years.

Deal calls for Moore, who exec produced the first season of HBO's "Carnivale" before joining "Battlestar," to create and develop series, with an emphasis on sci-fi-themed projects.

He's already set up the NBC fantasy skein "Pen and the Sword" and "Warehouse 13," a quirky one-hour for Sci Fi Channel. Moore also will continue to steer "Battlestar," which kicks off the second half of season two Jan. 6.

Producer-scribe said he's never considered himself a sci-fi writer, but having penned numerous episodes for three series in the "Star Trek" franchise, he's come to embrace the genre.

"It's something I've become known for, but the stories I tell are character-driven narratives," Moore said. "I'm especially happy to see that 'Battlestar' has gotten recognition from critics. I've always believed in the show."

NUTS prexy Angela Bromstad said it was imperative to keep Moore inhouse. His "prolific work is recognized throughout the industry for its wit and creativity."

"Pen and the Sword" revolves around a young man at a temp agency who comes to realize the building he works in is a portal to a sort of medieval alternate reality. Show will follow the man as he slides between worlds, trying to unravel the connection between the two -- i.e., verbal spats between colleagues in one dimension are sword fights in the other.

"It's definitely something different for a broadcast network," Moore said. "At its heart, 'Pen and the Sword' is really the story of this guy and his late father, who was somehow involved in the office."

For Sci Fi, Moore will oversee "Warehouse 13" from writer Brent Mote. Project concerns a pair of government officials banished to a storage facility in North Dakota where they spend their days cataloguing artifacts and other odds and ends collected by the government over the years. Unbeknownst to them, every item has a backstory, pulling them into fantastic and supernatural quests each week.

"It's 'Northern Exposure'-esque and more comedic than anything else I've seen on Sci Fi," Moore said. "What interested me was that it was a fun concept anchored by real characters."

Moore is best known for his work on "Star Trek" skeins "Deep Space Nine," "The Next Generation" and "Voyager." He wrote and exec produced the "Battlestar Galactica" miniseries that spun off the weekly skein and also worked on "Good vs. Evil" and USA's "Touching Evil."

Moore is credited with the story for "Mission: Impossible II" and the screenplay for "Star Trek: First Contact."

Newshound Sci-Fi

Posted By Blade Runner

Nielsen to Start Using DVRs in Ratings
Mon 19th Dec

By DAVID BAUDER
NEW YORK (AP) - Starting next week, the company that measures what people watch on television will also follow what they record on DVRs to watch later.

The move by Nielsen Media Research is a reflection of how the traditional notion of watching TV is changing. And if Nielsen's numbers show that new technology is also changing what people are watching, it has the potential to profoundly disrupt a multibillion-dollar business.

An estimated 7 percent of the nation's 110 million homes with televisions now have digital video recorders, and that's expected to rise to one quarter of the TV population by sometime in 2007, Nielsen said.

Until now, Nielsen has bypassed these DVR homes when it signs up the estimated 9,000 families that make up its national sample of homes. These so-called Nielsen families provide the basis for its ratings, which make a show a hit or flop.

DVR homes will be included starting Dec. 26, said Karen Gyimesi, company spokeswoman.

It has taken this long partly because the Nielsen "people meters" that record what families are watching weren't equipped to handle DVRs, she said.

The company's new "active/passive meters" can, however. And with the help of a code embedded in a program by the television networks, they can tell when something that has been recorded is actually watched. They even know when people fast-forward through commercials.

"The most significant impact that it will have is that it will show the top-rated television shows will have a higher audience with a significant amount of playback," said David Poltrack, top researcher for CBS and UPN.

Testing over the past year has revealed what seems to be common sense: popular shows like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Desperate Housewives" are the most likely to be taped and watched later, Nielsen said.

But since people with DVRs tend to watch more television than people without them, the data also may help smaller, cult favorites. Tests revealed that the WB's "Smallville," for example, was watched at double the rate in DVR homes than in homes without the device.

Nielsen each week has given its clients - mostly TV networks, advertisers and ad agencies - a list of how many people watch each program live each week. Now, Nielsen will offer three lists: the number of people who watch a show live; the number who watch it live or within 24 hours; and the number of people who watch it live or within a week. An estimated 90 percent of people who record programs play them back within a week, Nielsen said.

The immediate effect will likely be minor, since only about 100 DVR homes will be included in the first week's survey. But Nielsen plans to gradually add families and by summer it expects to have DVR homes in its survey that mirror the percentage of such homes in the nation as a whole, Gyimesi said.

It's not clear what Nielsen is going to do with its most explosive information - how many people zip through the ads.

Surveys have found nine of 10 people claim to do that, but TV networks believe this is exaggerated. If they're wrong, it could cost them: advertisers may look for lower prices if they have solid evidence of how many commercials are skipped.

An indication of how worried industry leaders are came last month when all of the broadcast network research executives took the unusual step of appearing together at a news conference. They claimed Nielsen's new numbers will show more television viewing, and that even if people zip through a commercial most of the time the message gets through.

"There is nothing in that mix that will devalue the value of network television," Poltrack said. "In fact, I think it will be exactly the opposite."

Meanwhile, technology marches on. Poltrack had to cut short an interview to meet with Nielsen about plans to measure how many people watch programming through video on demand.

That's not taken into account now by Nielsen. But Gyimesi said the technology to measure this is similar to that for DVRs, and Nielsen expects to begin including VOD numbers by the middle of next year.

Newshound Sci-Fi

Posted By Blade Runner

The Cylon Weekly World News
Mon 19th Dec

2nd season really half a season (DVD Review)
Only 10 episodes on 'Galactica' disc
18th Dec 05

Battlestar Galactica 2.0

The series (*** 1/2): With the first season effectively setting up its mythos, Battlestar Galactica (no rating, Universal, $49.99 on DVD only), felt free to delve deeper into intriguing stories involving politics, religion and war and making them relevant to today's goings-on.

It's a bit of a bummer that this box set contains only 10 episodes of the landmark series' second season -- the captains at the Sci-Fi Channel decided to split the 20-episode second season in two, with the next set of chapters beginning to air next month.

Still that doesn't diminish what series revisionist Ronald Moore (who can't be called its creator because the show is based on the '70s TV series) does here, creating a story that asks questions and stirs debate. The Galactica leads a 'ragtag fugitive fleet' of refugees, heading for Earth after a holocaust caused by the machines that humans created.

In this season, Moore and his co-writers skillfully deal with wartime issues such as torture and whether moral duty should outweigh orders from a commanding officer. The episodes are usually thought provoking and gripping, well crafted and intelligent.

Moore also did something wise by using a plot twist from the original series -- the return of another Battlestar ship, the Pegasus, to the fleet. But the plot takes some entirely new turns, including possible imminent civil war between the two ships. Compelling stuff indeed.

The discs (** 1/2): There is no earth-shattering stuff here. Moore was one of the first in television to understand the benefits of podcasting -- releasing commentary in a computer audio file form on the Internet. In that format, he often talked about episodes just after their airings. Those files, along with assorted deleted scenes, are included.

source: George M. Thomas, Akron beacon Journal

Newshound Sci-fi

Posted by Blade Runner

Info about the extended "Pegasus" episode
Sat 17th Dec

Fans of Battlestar Galactica were excited when Ron Moore talked about an extended episode of "Pegasus," the half-season finale, during his PodCast for the show. Moore said that the extended episode would be released on DVD, and it was assumed that it would be on the 2.0 set. Reviewers, and some fans, have already obtained the 2.0 set (which streets on Tuesday, 12/20), but the extended episode wasn't included. Message boards are filled with fuming fans, but we have good news that should extinguish the flames.

I spoke with a contact at Universal yesterday and asked about the extended episode. I was told that they couldn't ready the episode in time for the set, but it would be the first episode in the next set (the second half of season 2). This sounds like a great idea since fans will own both versions of the episode, unlike the SG-1 extended episode issue. MGM released the shorter cut of "Threads" in the season 8 set, and fans wishing to obtain the longer version must send in their current disc, or a proof of purchase for the set. It's more complicated than Universal's solution.

Source: TV Shows on DVD

Newshound: Sci-Fi

Posted By Blade Runner

Serenity DVD shares BSG SE2 launch date
Thu 15th Dec

Serenity will be out on DVD on December 20  - just a few days from now!  In celebration of the big event there are a lot of shiny new developments on The Browncoats.

First, we have a deleted scene from Serenity, with an introduction from Joss exclusively for Browncoats. The only place this clip is available is in The Browncoats A/V room - so log on and check it out!

Also, in anticipation of Serenity's DVD release we are giving away several props from the production of the film.  The first one to be given away is a complete Alliance guard uniform.  Visit http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com for details on how to enter to win - and don't worry, if you don't win it there will be more giveaways between now and December 20th.

There is also a challenge for Browncoats to create gift cards to be used when giving Serenity as a gift this holiday season.  The winning entry will be made into a downloadable PDF that can be used by all Browncoats.

So come and join us as we count down the final days to the release of Serenity on DVD at The Browncoats

Posted by Blade Runner

Jeffrey Carver's new book "Battlestar Galactica"
Thu 15th Dec

By Helene Newberg/ Correspondent

Although the miniseries on which Jeffrey Carver's new book "Battlestar Galactica" is based came out in 2003, Carver said he'd never written a book so fast in his life.

While finishing the first draft of "Sunborn," the long-awaited fourth volume in his series "The Chaos Chronicles," Carver received a call last March from his editor.

"I figured he wanted to know how the book was coming - and I was pleased to be able to tell him, 'I just finished the first draft. Today, in fact,'" he recalled.

Instead, Carver was asked if he could write a novel, based on a DVD of the miniseries, by mid-June.

"At that point, I coughed because I'm a notoriously slow writer. But this was different, because it was someone else's story, and I would be turning it into a novel, not creating something out of whole cloth," he said.

Even having both the plot lines and dialog from the final video project, Carver was left with plenty of holes to fill in. The process of translating a teleplay into a final product often results in lots of footage, and background information, left on the cutting room floor. The script "is constantly being changed at the studio while the thing is being filmed. The script for this miniseries and the final product onscreen were very, very different from each other. A lot was cut, a lot was moved around with the cutting from location to location. It was hard just to find where I was in the script as I was watching each scene," he said.

As an example of the attention to detail Carver paid, he cited a bit of trivia while answering questions on a fan message board. One of the characters "is never given a name in the show or in the script. I finally made up a name for him - and then had to change it, when I discovered his name quite by accident. I was playing the attack scene on my computer, checking the dialogue, when I happened to freeze on a close shot on his cockpit, viewed from the outside. There was I think just one frame in which the stenciled name on the side of his cockpit came into focus enough to read his name. But there it was: Jackson Spencer," Carver wrote on the fan board.

"What surprised me more was the amount of ... how shall I put it? ... re-imagining needed to tell on the page a story that's already been told on the screen. Things happen fast onscreen, and as a viewer, you don't always have time to think about what you've just seen, and whether or not it makes sense. I'm not talking about large plot elements, so much as details and pieces of dialogue and motivation," Carver commented.

"The challenge, then, is to tell the story without changing it (much), reproduce the dialogue without changing it (much), and tweak it or bolster it in just the right ways to make it work on the page as well as it worked onscreen (or better, if possible). It's not always easy. But it's generally pretty interesting," he added.

Besides giving Carver, who has a lapsed private pilot's license, a refreshing break from his ongoing projects, it gave him a chance to write about flying.

"Battlestar Galactica" is fast-moving and suspenseful. The miniseries spawned a series now in its second year, which Carver, who doesn't subscribe to the SciFi Channel, hasn't seen. Also, the publisher has lined up writers for future titles in the series. Notably, Craig Shaw Gardner, another Arlington writer, has been tapped for the second book in the series.

"I've read and loved science fiction all my life. It's a literature of tremendous imagination, and it helps us, as readers, to prepare mentally for changes we all face in the future. It's also a wonderful way to explore the nature of what it is to be human - by exposing us to the alien, and by putting human characters into new and unexpected situations. When I began writing, I never seriously considered writing anything else," said Carver.

Carver will be appearing at Boskone, an annual Boston-area convention sponsored by the New England Science Fiction Association, in February. His Web site is starrigger.net.

Newshound Sci-fi

Posted By Blade Runner

James Callis; Pegasus thoughts; Season 2 spoilers
Mon 12th Dec