Battlestar Galactica

Some of the fans at Fans4Writers.com have come up with another great idea for supporting the writers … they have hired skywriters to fly over the Rose Bowl parade. There will be several planes bearing different messages, and hopefully at least one will be picked up by the cameras of the many television networks that cover the parade and broadcast it all over the world. As Ron Moore said on his blog, it is a very creative idea and another impressive effort from these amazing fans.

It’s also an expensive idea, perhaps not in the grand scheme of entertainment but certainly for a few individuals who are hoping to make a difference with a self-funded initiative. That is why there is an auction going on over at Fans4Writers, and from now until January 7th you can make a donation to the fund or bid on some great Battlestar Galactica items.

Among the autographed scripts is one for “Maelstrom,” the episode where Starbuck “dies,” which is signed by signed by writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle as well as director Michael Nankin. These three fellows also autographed scripts from the controversial episode “Scar,” and the visually stunning episode “Flight of the Phoenix.” There are also several Ron Moore autographed scripts, including some of the best episodes of the series (in my opinion) as well as a group shot of the cast of Firefly/Serenity and an autographed poster of James Marsters (best known as Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer). So head over there and do some shopping … it is never too early to start gathering gifts for the 2008 holiday season!

If you don’t have the funds to donate to the skywriting event, GalacticaSitRep reports there is a parallel effort going on to allow fans to send personal messages of support to the Battlestar Galactica writers on the picket lines. The address to write to is “battlestar[dot]fan[dot]support[dot]wall[at-symbol]gmail[dot]com” and be sure to read the brief but very reasonable guidelines that are posted on the fan forums before you send your message. According to the posts, all of the messages will eventually go in a three ring binder which will hopefully end up nestled next to the scrapbook that “Mrs. Ron” is creating of memories from the strike.

It’s a Happy New Year for Battlestar Galactica fans, as Universal finally announced a definite release date for the DVDs of Season Three earlier today. The third season of Battlestar Galactica will be out March 25, just in time to create extra publicity for Season Four which will begin airing in April.

It has been a long and winding road for the release date of these Season Three DVDs, which were originally going to be in November 2007. This would have been just in time to create extra publicity for Razor and the original air dates for Season Four, which were supposed to be in January 2008. Then the writer’s strike loomed, and the beginning of Season Four was pushed back to April 2008. The time line became more complicated, as rumors swirled about Universal’s idea to split the fourth and final season of the show into two halves, shelving the end of the series until 2009. Now it seems only half of Season Four was filmed before the strike, so we will have a Season Four and Season Five after all … assuming that the strike does not resolve itself soon, which does not seem likely. Leave it to BSG to create a release schedule that is almost as complicated as the show itself.

But back to the DVD set, which sounds pretty great. There will be twenty-five previously unaired minutes of “Unfinished Business” (also known as the boxing episode) which raises the enticing possibility of more flashbacks to the characters’ time on New Caprica and is potentially some ’shipper’s dream come true. That is in addition to deleted scenes, behind the scenes materials, and other goodies.

Special thanks to Loyal Reader Pam for the head’s up about the news.

Battlestar Galactica was featured in a Jeopardy! question this week, according to Battlestar Blog. The answer was Lorne Greene and Edward James Olmos, and the question was Who is Commander Adama. According to reports, the contestant incorrectly answered Captain Adama. I probably would have answered Admiral Adama, and that would have been wrong too.

Entertainment Weekly starts off its list of memorable moments on television this year with a nod to the death of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace.

Katee Sackhoff in knee breaches? May your fever dreams come true! And by the way, I completely agree … Mary McDonnell should have a Revlon contract.

If you are planning on buying the anniversary DVD of Blade Runner, be sure to check out the special features as Edward James Olmos reportedly makes a quip about Cylons.

Ever wondered what would happen if Giaus Baltar teamed up with Chloe from Smallville? Actually, that is not a bad idea … given Chloe’s superior sleuthing skills, we would know the identity of the fifth Cylon within the hour! But since that is not going to happen, content yourself with viewing this photograph which shows their two faces morphing into this disturbingly stubbled image.

Speaking of James Callis, his period romance Victoria & Albert gets high praise and was recently released as part of a lush box set. If you like corsets, be sure to check it out. If you don’t like corsets but love Callis, his performance as a faded pop star in Bridget Jones’ Diary is still a classic.

And last but not least, Jamie Bamber and his towel is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only is this famous photo helping support the writers’ strike, but I noticed today that I get a lot of visitors who are searching for pictures of Tom Welling (the fellow who plays Clark Kent on Smallville), but get distracted and wander over to watchingbsg.com based on this post from last summer. Thanks Jamie!

As we reported last summer, Edward James Olmos took center stage last week as he read the Christmas Story for the Epcot Christmas spectacular in Orlando, Florida. The event is a huge production featuring dozens of musicians, carolers, actors, and of course a celebrity narrator. As you can see from this picture Edward James Olmos has participated in the past, and as you can imagine his deep intonations are a big hit.

First hand accounts of this year’s performance indicate that Eddie added his own touch of holiday sentiment to the event, apparently picking up some fans from the audience along the way: “Of course the whole thing is scripted, but what Olmos said that the beginning, that he believed that it really was the Greatest Story Ever Told that leads me to believe that he is a Believer (that part was not scripted). (A new reason to watch BSG!)”

The Spotman was kind enough to post one of Edward James Olmos’ 2007 performances, which can be viewed in twelve parts by clicking here.

Check out this great picture from Entertainment Weekly, showing some of the bad boys and girls of television. Right there in the center, ogling Vanessa Williams’ goodies, is Battlestar Galactica’s James Callis channeling his Baltar persona. What a great photo, and many thanks to Christopher at Grid Effect for posting it and to Just Jarad as well.

The photo originally appeared in January 2007, almost a year ago this week, which is very interesting when you think about the fact that at that time in the BSG chronology Baltar was president of the colonies and not the prisoner he would be by the end of the season.

We will start season four with a pardoned Baltar, who will apparently be exploring a new and even more metaphysical path. Although since we are talking about Gaius Baltar, ever the sensualist, the consequences are rumored to be more physical than cerebral. That’s our Baltar!

Mary McDonnell recently gave an interview to two Brown University professors where the three women compared the ongoing writer’s strike to the quest for Earth.

It’s an interesting premise.  Consider that the writers tend to feel that they are fighting for the survival of their way of life now that traditional media is being eroded, just as the humans on Battlestar Galactica are fighting for their survival after the genocide of the Cylons.  The humans invented the Cylons, just as the writers invent the characters and plots of Hollywood projects, but the Cylons later found a way to survive without the humans, just as the television producers have found unguilded writers and reality television. 

To take the analogy further, both the humans and the Cylons feel that it is vitally important for their species to find Earth.  The humans, however, feel that they cannot survive without it while the Cylons are drawn to it by a religious calling and a need to make sure the humans do not find a place called home.  This is similar to the writers’ strike as well, as the writers accurately predict that they cannot survive without the studios granting them access to the profits from online endeavors, while the studios seem to have a religious feeling of righteousness that those are their profits and they have no obligation to share.

Both situations have a common fear of technology, of the unknown, of giving up the familiar mind set of the past even when that mind set may be the very thing that kills your future.  Just as the majority of the Cylons and the humans on Battlestar Galactica seem determined to see one another as enemies throughout the series, the reality is that — like the writers and the producers in Hollywood - both sides could accomplish so much more, and have a much better quality of life, if the could find a way to work together peacefully.

The major difference between the humans on Battlestar Galactica and the writers on strike is that the humans had nothing to go back to, their only choice is to keep pushing forward or to die where they stand.  Returning to Caprica, to their old way of life, is not an option.  While many writers feel that going back to the status quo before the strike is not an option, the reality is that the past is a lovely landscape stretched out behind them while the future they are fighting for is uncertain ground.  If fear is the only constant certainty of human emotion, then the writers strike is truly a test of faith … faith that this fight will be worth it, that the leaders are smart enough to broker a good deal, that a better future is on the horizon, and that there will be work and wonder when the strike finally ends.

Mary McDonnell tried to describe the mood on the set of Battlestar Galactica just before production shut down for the strike, as people in the center of the storm tried to muster resolve for the long haul and keep the strike will help the writers survive the minefield of new media:

"Because, on some level, this is the reformation of the entertainment industry, and how long that may take — or will we go all the way…? Where are we going to go with it? Are we truly going to reform the entire system because it has outgrown the old modality, or are we going to get a little bit of a compromise and then everybody go back to work because the idea of reform at this time in the economy and this time in the state of the world is so frightening to everyone? And will there be a visionary person on either side of the issues that can create the new way for technology and artistry to evolve forward?"

Good questions, Mary, and ones that seem just as potent today as they were when the strike began.  Hopefully the relations between the two sides will evolve, just as the relations between the humans and the Cylons evolved on Battlestar Galactica, and the writers and the studios will decide to work together to find the Earth that is a resolution to this conflict.

The fabulous Mary McDonnell, who plays President Laura Roslin on Battlestar Galactica, recently gave an in depth interview to two professors from Brown University about her role as Laura and the larger sociological contexts of the show.  Mary always gives insightful interviews, but this one is especially interesting because she does not hold back her intellectual side since she is speaking to an academic audience. 

The long conversation touched on everything from what it means to be human, the eternal challenge of conquering our fears, what it means to believe in a God, and what they think "All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again" really means.  It is especially interested to hear Mary articulate how Battlestar is "a very male world in search of its femininity."

Mary also talked about how devastated Laura would be if she discovered she was the fifth Cylon, while also admitting that she would be very interested in trying to navigate that challenge as an actress:

"Totally [from] her point of view, what would be so bad about being a Cylon would be that it would completely shake the foundation of what Laura believes she is even alive for. In other words, she should have died a long time ago, according to the pilot. But, instead, everyone else died, and she became President. And Laura has held a belief in [the] job [she must do], and so the idea of being a Cylon would threaten that so unbelievably that she can’t let it in as an idea, because she doesn’t know how to proceed…or perceives that she wouldn’t know how to proceed."

Thank you to Battlestar Galactica’s Mark Verheiden for blogging about this interview.

First of all, a HUGE congratulations to our friends at Galactica SitRep who are featured in this week’s Entertainment Weekly as the best Battlestar Galactica fan site.  This is a well deserved honor for a great blog, and if you have not visited Galactica SitRep before then you are missing out!

New photos of Jamie Bamber, who plays Lee "Apollo" Adama on Battlestar Galactica, have appeared on the Internet this week courtesy of YouTube videos posted by Factory.  The portrait version is linked above, and be sure to check out the stills of a handgun toting Jamie in a "Wild Bunch" style photo shoot as well.

Calling all Aaron Douglas fans to The Chief’s Deck, where there is a vote going on to finally pick a name for Aaron’s legion of female fans.  "Jamie Bamber fans are known as the Bamber Bunnies. Mark Sheppard fans are the Romo Kitties. Tahmoh Penikett fans are Helo Hunnies. And now we need a name for fans of Aaron Douglas."  The early favorite seems to be Aaron’s Angels, which I personally think is pretty cute.  And whether you are a Bamber Bunny or an Aaron’s Angel, be sure to cast your vote on watchingbsg for your favorite fellow in our ongoing poll.

The ongoing discussion about the feminist credibility of Battlestar Galactica continues on this blog, and if that is one of your passions (or you simply like thinking about the academic side of BSG) then don’t miss the Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference in March.

Tis the season on giving, and in this season of giving Michael Trucco wants you to give to some people who need your help.

The actor plays Starbuck’s husband on Battlestar Galactica, Samuel Anders, and is spending his holiday season recovering from a car accident that broke his neck a few weeks ago.  He is thankfully expected to make a full recovery, and the accident has increased his appreciation for life and all of its gifts.

Michael has been keeping up with his fans through the Internet and he occasionally makes a post on his official forums over on MediaBlvd.  Last week he asked his fans to participate in a charity drive taking place on Yahoo! that has the potential to benefit a charity he works with in Los Angeles called Food on Foot.

Food on Foot helps the poor and homeless of Los Angeles, not simply by providing food but also by providing opportunities to learn skills and and providing them with opportunities to gain employment.

"This is a charity that is very near and dear to my heart and I’ve been involved with for the past two years. If you could click on the link provided, it would mean a great deal to me. Thank you all so much…Love life…live love. Michael."

The charity has also made headlines last year when Neil Patrick Harris of How I Met Your Mother won $50,000 for the charity on celebrity Jeopardy!  Harris also serves on the board of directors of Food on Foot.

Now Food on Foot has made it to the second round of the Yahoo! contest, and you can help.  By donating to Food on Foot, you can "vote" for them and increase their chances to win a $50,000 donation from Yahoo! 

I know I am not alone among fans, writers, producers, agents, actors, and basically anybody who has a television when I say that I am hoping the writers’ strike ends soon. As I have written many times before, I support the writers’ efforts to get a fair deal one hundred percent, but that does not mean I would rather see the “pencils down” period end sooner rather than later.

Santa, if you read this blog, can you wrap that up and put it under my spaceship-themed Christmas tree for me?

The writers’ strike has been going on for almost two months now, and there seems to be no end in sight. Even as the effects of the strike spread to advertisers, studios, and of course the actors, writers, and crew members who depend upon the shows for income … no one seems to be sure when things will return to “normal” on television. Both sides have been surprised by the level of interest and support from the public, and thus as the strike drags on it is harder to sift through the public relations war that is happening in the press.

So what’s a BSG fan to do? Well if you want regular updates on the strike with a Battlestar Galactica spin on them, the best source around is GalacticaSitRep. Logan Gawain is doing an excellent job keeping up with the roller coaster of the strike negotiations, and finding sources that explain the punches that both sides are pushing in the press. He also follows the BSG writers and their blog posts on the strike, the pencil campaign that Ron Moore is helping promote, and which actors have visited the picket lines to offer their support (Mary McDonnell visited a few days ago, by the way, to lend her presidential aura and moral support). So even if Santa does not deliver a strike resolution this year, at least we have Logan to keep us in the know.

Poor Katee Sackhoff, her side project Bionic Woman just does not have good luck with the press. While Battlestar Galactica is something of a media darling, Bionic Woman has been more of a media whipping girl this year. And it does not look like that is going to end anytime soon.

Just two short weeks after many media outlets wrongfully reported that Katee Sackhoff was leaving Bionic Woman, more bloggers are reporting an apparently false rumor that the show has been canceled as true.

My other blog, Watching Bionic Woman, was contacted a couple of days ago by a Bionic Woman insider who has confirmed that NBC has NOT CANCELED the show.

The insider reports that as of this weekend, NBC executives were firm in their reassurances that the show is still alive and a viable programming option for 2008. Nothing has changed since several weeks ago, when it was accurately reported that (unless something drastic changes) the network will wait until after the writers’ strike to decide the fate of the show.

The same source went on to contact TV Guide and many other sources, which helped stave off the “canceled� rumor, and eventually NBC Universal issued a statement as well. Eight episodes of Bionic Woman have aired so far, and the network has ordered thirteen scripts meaning there are (at least) five more potential Bionic Woman episodes out there.

This is good news for Katee and her bionic alter ego, Sarah Corvus, but the persistent rumors are more unneeded problems for a show that has already been through a lot of turmoil in its first few months on the air. Here’s wishing Katee and her bionic coworkers and peaceful and productive 2008.

Michael Trucco recently posted on his section of the Media Boulevard forums about his recent accident and his broken neck. Michael plays Samuel Anders, the husband of Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, on Battlestar Galactica and he was recently cast as the lead in an upcoming situation comedy entitled Man of Your Dreams.

Two weeks ago Michael was leaving an event when the car he was in rolled down an embankment, crushing the roof … and his neck.

“It’s been a crazy week and a half to say the least,” Michael wrote. “The paramedics on the scene that tended to me first said I was lucky to even be alive, let alone be able to pull myself outta the damn thing. The roof completely collapsed on the passenger side. I knew the second we rolled over and crashed down hard on the asphalt that something was seriously wrong with my neck. When everything settled, my hands were laying next to my face on the roof of the car and THEY WOULD NOT MOVE. Needless to say, that scared the s#*t out of me. I took a beat, and remember thinking to myself that I CANNOT be paralyzed. This just can’t happen to me….I won’t let that happen! And suddenly I looked at my right hand and the damn thing reached up and unclipped my seatbelt. Just like that….I had feeling (painful feelings) but feeling nonetheless. Then somehow I managed to crawl out on the driver’s side after my friend got out and get to the side of the highway and lay down. From there I made a couple of calls and waited for the ambulance with my friend and about a dozen or so other motorists who pulled over to help. From there I was taken down the road to a waiting helicopter ready to take me to UCLA Trauma Center. It got progressively more frightening from that point on as the seriousness of what just happened started to set in.”

Michael also confirmed that he is expected to make a full recovery, and that the reports that he has an amazing attitude about the accident and optimism going forward are true:

“I cherish each and every new day with every rising sun. Life is precious, friends and family are priceless. I am sincerely grateful for all that I have. I sign off on all of my posts with the same mantra that means so much to me. But now more than ever the words really ring true. So to one and all: LOVE this life, and LIVE the love everyday.”

If you would like to show your support for Michael you are invited to leave a post on the Media Boulevard forum thread, which he reads and reports is powerful motivation for him during his recovery period. Best wishes to Michael during this difficult time, and thank you for your inspiring reminder of how precious life really is.

Ever wanted to have dinner with Edward James Olmos, the legendary actor who plays Admiral Bill Adama on Battlestar Galactica? Well now is your chance. “Eddie” (as he is known to his friends and colleagues) is a huge supporter of the Latino International Film Institute and has agreed to have dinner with the winner of an auction that is currently taking place on charityfolks.com.

As of this posting the bidding is up to $1,600.00 USD with approximately 47 hours left before the auction ends. The winning bidder may bring a guest, and the meal may be either dinner or lunch in Los Angeles on a mutually agreed upon date and time. The meal will be covered by the LIFI, as will the mandatory background check for both lucky diners.

The dinner is not Olmos’ only contribution to the auction, he is also selling an autographed picture of the cast of Battlestar Galactica, an autographed LIFI poster, an autographed Stand and Deliver script, an autographed Zoot Suit poster, and an autographed DVD of the movie Walk Out. If you are looking for the perfect gift for an Edward James Olmos fan, there is also an autographed poster of original art celebrating his most famous movie and television roles (although the poster seems to be sadly missing Admiral Adama).

By far the coolest of the autographed items is Edward James Olmos’ personal jacket emblazoned with the logo of Miami Vice, which was given to members of the cast and crew of that hit show from the 1980s:

“Edward James Olmos portrayed Lt. Martin Castillo, the officer in charge of the Miami Vice unit. A very taciturn man, he speaks as little as needed, and lives a reclusive life outside of work. He has earned undisputed loyalty from the Vice squad. Little is known about Castillo except that he was in the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. As a DEA agent, he fought against CIA agents endorsing the trafficking of heroin in that region to finance their other operations abroad.”

The LIFI is a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring, developing and supporting Latino filmmakers with independent and diverse visions. Other stars who donated items to the auction include comedian George Lopez, soap star Rafael Amaya, Shrek star Antonio Bandaras, Ugly Betty star America Ferrera, and Scrubs star Judy Reyes.

Katee Sackhoff gives an extremely funny answer to a fan who asked her how Starbuck will feel when she discovers that her husband is a Cylon.  Katee admirably stays PG as she jokes that Cylon males may have hidden talents that come with being part machine  … "and it looks like Trucco?  I think she’s fine with it." 

In related Sackhoff news, AfterEllen.com recently listed Katee as one of the female geeks they love.  Unfortunately the list came out the same week as yet another Katee interview that shows her laughing along with the interviewer’s jokes about her fans.  She even went along with a joke where a crew member asks her to his "World of Warcraft potluck dinner" and she asks for security.  Geeks are easy targets and you can’t fault folks for going for what works, but it would be nice to see Katee defend her scifi fans as she attempts to ride their love to a post-BSG career.

Pretend to be a reporter on Caprica before the Cylon attack and you can win some nifty prizes, including a large banner signed by Katee Sackhoff (Kara "Starbuck" Thrace), Jamie Bamber (Lee "Apollo" Adama), Kate Vernon (the infamous Ellen Tigh), and Tahmoh Penikett (Karl "Helo" Agathorn).  The deadline is the day after Christmas, and you can read the rules here.

Someone fracked up the Razor DVD packaging … as at least one fan has noted, Jamie Bamber’s name got left off the cast list for the DVD packaging.  Perhaps they can make it up to him by trying to win his towel.

It has not hit the major media yet, but apparently a week ago Michael Trucco was coming home from an event last Saturday when the car he was in lost control and he was in a terrible accident.  He is eventually expected to make a full recovery, which is great news. 

Michael plays Starbuck’s husband, Samuel Anders, on Battlestar Galactica, and was recently cast in the lead role of a new sitcom called Man of Your Dreams.  Hopefully he will heal in time to resume production on these shows after the writer’s strike is concluded, as Trucco’s career has definitely been on an upswing in recent months.

Most of the information on the accident comes from the SciFi boards, so take it with a grain of salt.  Michael was apparently a passenger in a Ferrari that was leaving an event last Saturday night when the driver lost control of the car, which spun off the road and tumbled down an embankment.  The driver is reportedly unhurt, but Michael was severely injured and transferred via helicopter to the UCLA medical center.

Michael has reportedly already had surgery and has been released from the hospital, but has a long recovery ahead of him.  His parents and friends have been very supportive, and if you are a Michael fan you can show your support as well by leaving a message on the thread.

Earlier this year another fan favorite also broke her back, but was able to resume her role on a popular television show a few months later.  Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam Beesley on The Office, slipped on some marble stairs and broke her lower back last Spring.  Jenna is now safely and carefully playing Pam on this season of the cult comedy on NBC.