Editor in chief:  Son Of Joxer

Aaron Douglas; Mirroring military life
Mon 14th Nov

An interview with Battlestar Galactica's Aaron Douglas (Chief Galen Tyrol) can be found in Issue #196 of TV Zone Magazine. Here's a few excerpts from the full interview:t him that are a little bit funky and quirky, but that can be said about almost any character, which is what a lot of viewers tell me. Most people say that they like Tyrol because he's sort of a everyman. He's the one who gets dumped on all the time and yet you can always count on and trust him."

"In [Season 2] I've taken a bit more of an active role insofar as talking to [Executive Producers] David Eick and Ron Moore about my character as well as to our show's military technical advisors because I want to get it right. We get so many comments from people in the various armed services that our show does a great job of mirroring military life, despite it being set in the future and outer space. I want to make sure I maintain that sense of realism in my performance."

Read more from Aaron in Issue #196 of TV Zone Magazine, out now.

Battlestar Galactica On Set Preview
HNR visits the studio for the season two finale
November 11th 2005 10:52pm | Posted by: Robert Falconer HNR Senior Editor

November 11th 2005 10:52pm | Posted by: Robert Falconer HNR Senior Editor

Last Wednesday (Nov. 9) we were invited to spend the afternoon on the set of science fiction's hottest new series, Battlestar Galactica, during the filming of the two-hour finale, episodes 19 & 20.

HNR is thus far the only independent news website granted permission to visit the set, and we were pretty jazzed about it, frankly, particularly given the series' rising cache and critical acclaim.

We've got some treats in store for you before month's end; just enough to tide you over the Holidays and whet your appetite for the series' return to television in January.

We toured the various stages, from the CIC to the hangar bay to Commander Adama's quarters - and everything in between - with publicist Carol Marks-George and production designer Richard Hudolin, both of whom were very generous with their time. We also chatted with director Michael Rymer and cinematographer Steve McNutt. We'll give you our impressions and let you in on what we've learned (and what we're allowed to say) over the next couple of weeks.

What we can tell you, is that the second half of season two promises to up the ante in every way imaginable. And for those who thought the rape scene in episode 210 was intense, Edward James Olmos informs us that it ain't nothin' compared to what's in store for the rest of the season.

As you're probably deducing, we'll also have exclusive interviews with senior members of the cast over the Holidays, so look for lots of Galactica coverage on our dedicated Battlestar Galactica page, Flight Deck. It all begins later this month...!

The second half of Battlestar Galactica's second season debuts on SCI FI Channel in the United States on January 6 with the episode, "Resurrection Ship."

In Canada, look for season two's premiere on SPACE, January 14.

Richard Hatch Supanova Podcast
Wed 9th Nov

This is the Saturday panel with Richard Hatch./episodes/S1guide/arrow02Richard talks about:
About Being an Artist
Battlestar Galactica New & Old
Playing Tom Zarek
Becoming an actor and moving onto the big screen
Star Trek
and more…

Supanova Podcast

Galactica To Video-On-Demand
Tue 8th Nov

NBC Universal struck a deal with DirecTV to allow viewers to pay to watch current prime-time broadcast hits just hours after they air for free, including SCI FI Channel's Battlestar Galactica, according to The Hollywood Reporter. putting a twist on the traditional TV business model that will have untold implications for industry sectors ranging from affiliates to advertisers for years to come, the trade paper reported. The news coincides with a similar announcement from CBS and Comcast and follows a widely reported deal between ABC and Apple's iPod.

NBC's commercial-free deal with DirecTV will cover not only NBC shows such as the Law & Order series, but also a few shows on its cable networks, including USA Network. The NBC-DirecTV programming will be available only to subscribers who purchase the new DirecTV Plus Interactive DVR, which will begin rolling out in stores and online during the next few months. NBC Universal owns SCIFI.COM.

The Cylon Weekly World News
Tue 8th Nov

Editor in chief:  Son Of Joxer

A Peak at Season 2.0's Disc Case Art
Mon 7th Nov

A month ago today TV Shows on DVD showed off the box art for Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0 (the new, re-invented series) and told you that the extras on this set would consist of podcasts, deleted scenes, and sneak peaks at the rest of the second season. Now we have more art to show you, from the insides of the box. But first, we have much more detail (taken from those wrap-around covers) about which extras will be found where on the discs:

Disc 1
Scattered
Podcast Commentary with Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore
Deleted Scenes
Valley of Darkness
Podcast Commentary with Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore
Deleted Scenes
Fragged
Deleted Scenes
Resistance
Podcast Commentary with Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore
Deleted Scenes

Disc 2
The Farm
Podcast Commentary with Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore
Deleted Scenes
Home (Part 1)
Podcast Commentary with Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore
Deleted Scenes
Home (Part 2)
Podcast Commentary with Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore
Deleted Scenes
Final Cut
Podcast Commentary with Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore
Deleted Scenes

Disc 3
Flight of the Phoenix
Deleted Scenes
Pegasus
Special Feature:
Battlestar Galactica Sneak Peek

AA Releases New TOS BSG Concept Art Wed 2nd Nov

Art Asylum has released concept art for the 2006 TOS MiniMate Line. Previously it had been announced that both TOS and the New BSG would be represented in the line; however, there was no concept art or prototypes available. Expect New BSG concept art soon. Art Asylum is a leader in the block figure field holding such licenses as, Marvel, D.C., and Lord of the Rings. Look for these in stores mid-2006.

For more information please visit/a>

The Cylon Weekly World News launch
Tue 1st Nov

Editor in chief:  ">Son Of Joxer

My Ultimate Screen Hero
Tue 1st Nov
by Tashi Tagg

I've just spent hour upon hour guzzling up the first season of Battlestar Galactica and I have such a huge girlcrush on Lt Starbuck you have nooo idea.

Part of the crush is also on Katee Sackhoff, the actress who plays her. She's so excellently fab I just don't see how she can't really be Starbuck.

Everything about her is so intensely kickbutt that even her flaws are divine - like the fact that her mistakes include calling out the name of the person she really loves while shagging someone else.

This was my best part of everything that happened with her because the person she does it to is a Doctor called Gaius Baltar (James Callis) who's a genius but also a cowardly, slutty arsehole with a very nasty God complex.

Seeing him used in this way delighted me bigtime especially because the person Starbuck actually loves is the brother of the person she was supposed to marry.

Captain Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber) is the person she loves - but she only realises this over time as she tries to live with the mistakes she's made in the past.

Her situation is that she's the best pilot in the entire universe (how cool is that?), she's a training instructor too and before the galactic war with the Cylons she was in love with Lee's brother, Zak.

Sam was one of her students - he really wanted to fly, she knew he didn't have a feel for flying but she passed him as a pilot because of their relationship ..... and he died flying as a result.

Her guilt about it all is made worse by the fact that she's very close to both Lee and his father, Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos), who sees her as a daughter.

At first neither know anything about what happened with Zak but she eventually tells them the truth, and when she did I was very relieved because I knew they'd hate her less than she hated herself.

This is an aspect of her personality that's very interesting - she thinks she's a total Pig but at the same time she's very confident that she's the best at what she does.

A lot of her inner turmoil comes from this because she can do what she needs to do physically but emotionally she keeps doubting herself.

It's only when she hurts her knee and can't fly that she's forced to confront all this and when she does it makes her strong enough to go on the most important quest of all, which is to find the clue that will help everyone find Earth.

The end of the series is hysterical, because while all the men are involved in making a frak-up of things because they're so busy basing their decisions on the size of their egos, the women are busy saving humanity - which is a very different situation from the original Battlestar Galactica.


Immediately after watching I browsed for info on the original Starbuck and had an excellent chortle because as soon as I saw it I remembered that Starbuck was a man, played by Dirk Benedict ("Face" in the A-Team), who also smoked cigars and appealed to women - including me.

This is what makes Katee Sackhoff's Starbuck my ultimate screen hero, because she's transcended all that. When she gets punched all I want to see is her punching back.

Everything about her physically is gorge too - especially the sense of bulk she has, that's very sexy in the same way Linda Hamilton was in Terminator. She also doesn't wash her clothes regularly yet there's something about the smell of them that I imagine is super too.

She'll fearlessly fly anything she finds that can be flown (including a blood and guts sicko Cylon), she plays cards ruthlessly, only ever wants to win and when she does she loves having a scorny giggle at the losers.

She's also always ready to kill someone if she thinks they deserve it, which is both her strength and her weakness because it means there are times that she's not objective nor fair.

She sees people as either being good or very bad, with nothing in between. She takes responsibility for whether or not they should live or die and then gets into trouble as a result - not only with others but with herself as well.

There's a very intense scene where she tortures a cylon who's hiding on Galactica as an agent of war. He tells her some truths about her life and when she hears them she tortures him more - during which she loathes herself. All of which is exactly what he wanted.

I loved this theme in the story because it's not only there with her but with many of the others too - the idea of the decisions you make and how in the moment you can think they're right and that so often, no matter what you decide, you'll definitely be a Pig.

At one point President Roslin (Mary McDonnell) says: "We're all new at this, it's okay," after someone makes a hectic spacey sort of mistake. Thinking about things from that perspective can be such a liberating thing.

Starbuck doesn't find it easy to see things this way though, partly because she doesn't want to use it as an excuse.

This battle between things-being-okay versus not is also what makes her thrillingly fearless when she's off on a mission, because she doesn't ever think she's too special not to die yet she's not afraid of it happening.

I mean, how brave do you have to be to fly a spacecraft at the fastest speeds you possibly can while being attacked by killer aliens?

I know it's sci-fi and that such a thing would never happen, but if it did - really doing it is such a brave thing and I would sooo love to do it but I just couldn't.


Same thing with having a punch-up with someone who you know definitely isn't human. This happens to her too - she fights the ultimate Number Six Cylon in hand to hand combat and never for a moment believes she's going to lose.

I really just don't understand this. How do you fight and get over the knowledge that the Cylon's completely indestructible? I know I'd just want to give up before I'd even started.

It's definitely her courage and her sense of believing completely in what she's doing in the moment that thrills me most. And the fact that everyone calls her Sir delights me.

Also, her name is perfect because of how she bucks her way through stars so heroically in a way that's far more yummy than Dirk Benedict could ever hope to be.

I've never seen a screen character quite like her and I would sooo love to be her - which makes her my ultimate screen hero.

Who's yours?

What Katee Did
Tue 1st Nov

Katee Sackhoff, aka Starbuck, chats about how fans of the series have gradually come to accept her in the role – and spills the beans on her feud with the original Starbuck… has slowed to a trickle, but there was a time when Katee Sackhoff was the most hated woman in Sci-Fi. When Starbuck was re-imagined as a woman for the new version of Battlestar Galactica the actress soon realized there were a lot of fans who were going to take the sex change very personally.

The angry reaction was already pouring in before she even flew her first Viper, but over the course of the year the hate mail has begun to die out. "I did get it for a while, people were just really mad," Sackhoff comments. "There was a side of me that wanted to get on the Internet and slam back and say ‘Kiss my ass'. But if they remade Indiana Jones with a woman I'd be mad, so I have to put myself in their shoes, and go, ‘I guess I get it'.

"I actually think it would have been worse if they'd cast a guy," she adds, "because at least by casting a woman you can't compare the two characters, there's such a difference. But I can't imagine what a male actor would have gone through in this role, they'd have just got beaten.

"But now people come up to me and say they prefer my Starbuck."

After all the flak Sackhoff has a right to sound triumphant, with the show having proved a huge hit, winning fans outside the usual Sci-Fi audience in the US. In particular, many of the doubters have been won over to the new look Battlestar.

"If you add up the amount of time Dirk Benedict spent playing the character, not the years obviously but the number of episodes, I'm more Starbuck than he is, so put that in your pipe and smoke it."

It's the kind of fighting talk that Starbuck's famous for, and Sackhoff certainly shares her character's feisty tendencies. She's not afraid to say what she thinks, which is something Dirk Benedict should have known before he decided to lay into the new version of his famous character. While Richard Hatch, who played Apollo in the original series, has become a regular in the cast, Benedict has been openly critical of Battlestar's new incarnation, and Sackhoff positively bristles when she talks about her predecessor.

"If Dirk pitched up to work on the show I'd probably quit," she says. "I met him in Los Angeles and I thought we'd really hit it off, he was a great guy, he was very complimentary and very un-Hollywood. Then he turned around a month later and talked complete crap about the show and the actors on it. He wrote an article saying the network sold out and my character was more brash than his character.

"I felt like he'd stabbed me in the back. I know that sounds like me being very sensitive but I felt very befriended by him, then I read that about a month later."

But maybe the actress should have been more suspicious about the old Sci-Fi rogue when they met up to do an interview in a certain LA coffee shop…

Get the full story in
TV Zone Special #66