Battlestar Galactica

Grace Park and Tahmoh Penikett appeared on Today yesterday morning to promote Battlestar Galactica in an interview that was much too short to be effective. 

The fault was not with Grace and Tahmoh, who looked great and were charming and pleasant under the circumstances.  Instead, the fault was with Meredith Viera, who was not properly prepared for the interview and seemed confused about whether she should talk about the actors, the show, or the fans, and as a result they did none of the above very well.

It opens with the amazing scene where Helo has to kill his wife so that she can rescue their child, the first Cylon-human hybrid.  It’s a great scene and could have been the perfect springboard for Grace, Tahmoh, and Meredith to talk about how this show is so much more than “sci-fi” and is better viewed as a honest and tragic look at human beings and families, a show that could easily recruit new viewers if they would just give it a chance.

Just in case you have not seen it yet, here is a clip of the Top Ten List from last week’s Late Show With David Letterman entitled “Top Ten Reasons to Watch The New Season of Battlestar Galactica.”

Each number on the list was recited by a member of the BSG cast, appearing in their character’s costume, which added to the fun.  The actors and actresses on the list were, in order of appearance, Aaron Douglas, Lucy Lawless, James Callis, Grace Park, Tricia Helfer, Michael Hogan, Jamie Bamber, Katee Sackhoff, Mary McDonnell, and Edward James Olmos.

If you don’t have the time or the technology to watch the clip, a text version of the List is below … it was a lot of fun, even if the audience did not seem to truly “get it.”

Number Ten, Chief Tyrol:  “In the dramatic season opening episode, we save fifteen percent by switching our insurance to Geico.”

Number Nine, D’Anna Biers:  “You’ll find out who’s in the hatch, and who gets off the island - crap, wrong show.”  In my opinion Lucy did a pretty good job with this one, which was awkward to read … and she did not even blink when Dave mispronounced her name “Diana.”

Number Eight, Dr. Baltar:  “My character creates his own line of Honey Roasted Space Nuts.”

Number Seven, Lt. Sharon Valleri:  “What else are you going to do, read a book?”

Number Six, Number Six:  “There’s a good chance you get to see me naked.”

Number Five, Col. Saul Tigh:  “There’s a good chance you’ll see me naked.”  Be sure to watch Tricia crack up behind him during the deadpan delivery.

Number Four, Captain Lee Adama:  “New FTL drives will allow the colonial fleet to better adjust to gravitational variations and achieve maximum superluminal travel to outrun the pursuing Cylon basestar - I don’t know what the hell I am talking about.”

Number Three, Starbuck:  “We engaged in a life and death battle against evil robots … you know, same $&#@ as last year.”

Number Two, President Laura Roslin:  “I take on the most challenging task of my political career - doing a lame top ten list on a third rate talk show.”

Number One, Admiral William Adama:  “Watch me lead us into war against the Cylons, without an exit strategy.”

As promised, here are some more photos of various Battlestar Galactica stars at the SciFi Channel Upfront party that was held last week in New York.

Edward James Olmos, Jamie Bamber, Katee Sackhoff, Tricia Helfer, James Callis, Grace Park, David Eick, Aaron Douglas, Michael Hogan and many others were on site for the festivities, which were held at the MorganLibrary on March 18, 2008.

Jamie Bamber wore yet another dashing suit, and Mary McDonnell once again proved she looks gorgeous in gold.  Aaron Douglas channeled his inner hipster with a striped on striped ensemble, and Grace Park looked great in a sapphire dress.

While both Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff wore the traditional little black dress, both actresses stood out with their choices of accessories.  Katee has a known preference for solid colors, but she broke out of the mold a bit by wearing gold shoes below her black skirt. Tricia was typically statuesque, wearing accessories that emphasized her body rather than her clothes.

Other SciFi Channel stars in attendance included Stargate’s Amanda Tapping, Eureka’s Salli Richardson, Jordan Hinson, and Erica Cerra (who is also known for her multi-episode role as Maya on BSG), and many others.  Network president Bonnie Hamer was also at the event.

The big news from last week’s upfront was the announcement that Ms. Hamer had finally agreed to Caprica, the prequel series that is described as “Dallas in Space.”  Watch this blog for more information on that new show in the weeks and months to come.

The luck of the Irish spilled over a couple of days, as we are lucky enough to get to see these fun photos outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York where the cast of Battlestar Galactica taped a Top Ten list for the Late Show With David Letterman. 

Today we bring you a few more pictures of the cast in New York, both before and after their appearances on the show.  The picture at the left shows BSG stars Grace Park, Katee Sackhoff, and Tricia Helfer after their appearance on the show. 

Tricia had initially arrived in full Six gear, wearing the white wig and red dress, and Grace entered the building in her fleet uniform.  Katee appears to have arrived in civilian clothing, much like Jamie Bamber who wore a dashing suit.

While you can’t see it in the photo to the left, Katee has a giant animal print bag on her arm that is even larger than Tricia’s chic black bag in this photo.  If anyone knows who makes the bag please let me know, as I have already had a couple people ask.

Also if anyone was at the taping, I would love to know the story behind the photo of Nicki Clyne, who plays Cally Tyrol.  It looks like she is doing a curtsy, but perhaps this is some sort of sobriety test parody?  Either way, the photo begs for some context!

There are more photos of the various Battlestar Galactica stars in before and after garb below, and of course be sure to check out yesterday’s post for more images.

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After taping their appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman yesterday, Battlestar Galactica sirens Katee Sackhoff, Tricia Helfer, and Grace Park got all dressed up to party with the SciFi Network at the official upfronts party in New York.

The big news from today’s upfronts is that the rumors about Caprica being greenlit have turned out to be true!  As always, the folks over at GalacticaSitRep.com have the scoop. 

Apparently the show will launch with a two hour movie this fall, Battlestar Galactica style, with the option to become a longer series.  The plan to delve into life on Caprica fifty years ago and explore the origins of the Cylons is still in place.

Photos from tonight’s party are still being posted on our wire company’s web site, as the party was tonight at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York. 

Be sure to check back soon for more photos of the ladies from the event, and of Edward James Olmos.  Hopefully some of the other cast members who were on Letterman will be featured in the photos as well.

Check out these adorable pictures of the cast of Battlestar Galactica as they enter the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York to tape the Top Ten List for tomorrow night’s Late Show with David Letterman tribute. The list will be BSG-themed, with each cast member reading one of the lists’ famous one-line jokes.

The photo above shows BSG stars Michael Hogan (Col. Saul Tigh), Jamie Bamber (Lee “Apollo” Adama), Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin), James Callis (Dr. Gaius Baltar), and Aaron Douglas (The Chief) outside the famed theater. We also see a grinning Grace Park (Sharon “Athena” Agathorn) entering the theater in her BSG uniform, while Jamie Bamber is wearing a suit - a contrast that is consistent with the fourth season promotional photos (as well as some of the early spoilers).

Some of the pictures showed Aaron Douglas and Michael Hogan in uniform as well, while Edward James Olmos (Admiral Bill Adama) wore a Battlestar Galactica pullover and many of the other stars wore street clothes. Whether those photos were taken before or after the show was filmed, however, is not always clear.

Below is a collection of photos from outside the theater, including a great photo of Edward James Olmos & Michael Hogan, and a shot of Katee Sackhoff (Kara “Starbuck” Thrace) carrying a ginormous zebra striped bag over her shoulder while signing autographs for fans. Tricia Helfer arrived in full Six regalia, including her famous white wig and killer red dress.

There is also a cuddly photo of Aaron Douglas with Nicki Cline, who plays his wife Cally. Nicki was not among the cast members listed by the SciFi Channel as appearing on the Late Show, so it is not clear if she was there to cheer on the cast or if she is making a surprise appearance.

In an interesting coincidence, Rainn Wilson from The Office was also on the scene at the same time as the BSG cast. Could the list contain a “Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica” reference?

Edward James Olmos will be featured in a documentary on Discovery en Espanol on Sunday night, where he will discuss the real issues behind gang violence in a documentary called Voces de Cambio. This is a cause close to Olmos’ heart and one he has spoken about in the past, and he makes another passionate plea for action in the broadcast:

“We are all responsible for our future. This is a simple truth an honest truth. The role that ex-gang members have on society is intrinsic. An ex-gang member can turn around the lives of thousands upon thousands of people as they turn negative energy into positive - it’s enough to make one cry.”

BSG writer Mark Verheiden recently blogged about the bittersweet joy of ending his Battlestar Galactica experience, and about the cast and crew’s belief that “no spoilers” makes the show a more enjoyable experience. 

Speaking of spoilers, a clip from the extended version of “Unfinished Business” (also known as “the New Caprica shipper episode”) has been leaked on the Internet.  Or you can wait and watch the clip in context when the Season Three DVD comes out later this month.

On a related note, I recently confessed on the ShaunOMac show that I have been taking great pains to avoid watching any of the Season Four promos for the show or the cast and crew interviews, which is why you have not seen any on the blog.  The always-reliable folks at Galactica SitRep have them all, however, so if are looking for a good collection head over there.  If you really think we need to have them over here at WatchingBSG.com too then feel free to drop me a note and let me know.  Now back to the news!

Even if you are spoiler-phobic like me, you can still enjoy the new clip up on SciFi.com where the channel condenses the first three seasons of BSG into one eight-minute clip.

Some lucky fans snagged a radio interview with Mark Sheppard, who plays Baltar’s mysterious lawyer Romo, at last weekend’s MegaCon:

“When I asked Mark Sheppard to do the on-air interview he asked me, ‘What do they want to talk about?,’ and I said, ‘You!’ He replied, ‘Great! I know all about that subject.’”

Lucy Lawless’ new movie, the animated Justice League: A New Frontier, has been getting strong reviews.  Lucy’s controversial Wonder Woman joins a cast that includes Bionic Woman’s Miguel Ferrer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s David Boreanaz, and many others.

Grace Park’s film West 32nd will be featured at the San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival later this month, but the early word is that Grace herself will not be able to join her costar John Cho at the screening.

The always-entertaining Leah Cairns recently did an audio interview with the folks over at Battlestar Blog, which you can listen to here.

Big news for Battlestar Galactica fans:  new and sexy photos of Tricia Helfer, Katee Sackhoff, and Grace Park will be in the April 2008 issue of GQ. 

Tricia fans will also want to pick up a copy of the April 2008 issue of Paw Prints magazine, as the animal loving actress appears with her cats in its pages … or if you prefer a less wholesome look, Tricia will be on the cover of the U.K. version of FHM that month as well.

Tickets are on sale for Bear McCreary’s potentially legendary concert at Los Angeles’ Roxy Theatre.  The one-night-only event will feature the vocalist from the show’s version of “All Along the Watchtower” that was featured in the show’s Season Three finale.  Members of the cast and crew will also be present, although no names have been released yet.  It’s no secret that the music is one of the reasons that Battlestar Galactica is so haunting, so don’t miss your chance to hear it live and conducted by Bear himself.

The folks behind The CKR Files have been busy accumulating every bit of press by or about Callum Keith Rennie, including an entertaining interview from 2001 where he says “Sex” in response to “What’s your idea of a perfect Sunday.” 

On a more human note, they also posted a cool excerpt from an interview where Hugh Dillon credited Callum with giving him some courage - and his car - when the actor was trying to decide whether to go to the Sundance Film Festival for what would turn out to be an award-winning performance in Down to the Bone.

Since Valentine’s Day is on the horizon, this is a good opportunity to start thinking about what you are going to do to surprise your beloved.  For inspiration, we offer this fun and flirty YouTube video from the photo shoot Grace Park did for the February 2007 cover of Thirteen Minutes magazine.

Grace looks amazing as always, even allowing her black locks to be teased into a huge mane of curly hair.  But the sexiest part of this video is the way Grace is such a good sport, particularly at the end when the interviewer keeps messing up the words Battlestar Galactica.

Thirteen Minutes is a bicultural Asian American magazine, and the magazine hit newsstands about three months before Grace hosted the 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards with Daniel Dae Kim from Lost. Grace has consistently been a strong supporter of the Asian American community’s efforts to promote the works of Asian Americans in the entertainment industry.

Lucy Lawless is mentioned over on People.com as one of the celebrities in the audience for Melora Hardin’s caberet show at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club this week. Melora plays Jan, the self-destructive executive of Steve Carrell’s Michael on The Office.

Keep it up Grace Park fans! Grace now has well over 1,000,000 votes in TV.com’s viewer contest to determine the Hottest Actress of 2007, and a nice lead on Heroes’ hottie Hayden Panettiere.

If you are a graphic artist and a Tahmoh Penikett fan, you can get on Tahmoh’s radar by submitting a banner design for Justine’s All About Tahmoh blog. Helo himself will be picking the winner.

More details on Sam Witwer’s new project, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, were revealed at CES recently. Sam played “Crashdown” on Battlestar Galactica and will play the main character in this new and highly-anticipated video game.

Alessandro Juliani, aka Lt. Felix Gaeta, is also an accomplished opera singer. Click here to listen to an audio clip of him singing at a BSG con last August.

It’s not too late to add your vote for Grace Park, who plays various Cylon roles on Battlestar Galactica, in TV.com’s poll for the Hottest Actress of 2007. Right now Grace has 628,075 votes in a count that is steadily rising, placing her second only to It Girl and Heroes star Hayden Panettiere.

Other ladies in the running include Mary Louis Parker from Weeds and Smallville’s new Supergirl Laura Vandervoort, as well as Sarah Shahi from Life who is in third place.

The polls will be open until tonight, and voting is unlimited, so if you are a Grace fan click quickly. This is the same poll that has her on screen husband, Tahmoh Penikett, in the running for Hottest Actor and where Katee Sackhoff’s “other show” Bionic Woman is actually leading the pack for Best New Fall Show.

It’s been a good week for Grace, who was also named one of the Sexiest Women on TV - Ever, in a list that came out earlier this week.

AOL TV recently published its list of TV’s 50 Sexiest Women — Ever, and honored Battlestar Galactica’s Grace Park, Lucy Lawless and Tricia Helfer by including them among small screen legends like Lynda Carter of Wonder Woman and the ladies of Charlie’s Angel’s.  And from these Maxim photos, it is easy to see why.

Grace holds the number forty-seven slot on the list, while Tricia appears in space number thirty-one.  The list had high praise for both ladies, noting their sexiness is increased by the various incarnations they play of their Cylon characters.  Grace and Tricia can play deadly or seductive, malicious or maternal, and that type of versatility and unpredictability adds to their mystique and the sexiness of their characters.

Their sister Cylon Lucy Lawless was also honored among the Sexiest Women on TV - Ever, for her performance on BSG and of course for her legendary role as Xena: Warrior Princess.  Lucy appears at number thirty-seven on the countdown.

Other small screen sirens on the list included Sarah Michelle Geller’s Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Carmen Electra’s Lani McKenzie from Baywatch, Jennifer Garner’s Sydney Bristow from Alias, Victoria Principal’s Pam Ewing from Dallas, Peta Wilson’s assassin from La Femme Nakita, Sherilyn Fenn from Twin Peaks, Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager, Alyssa Milano’s Phoebe Halliwell from Charmed, Nichelle Nichols from the original Star Trek, Julie Newmar from Batman, Jessica Alba from Dark Angel, Cartherine Bach’s Daisy Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard, Donna Douglas’ Elly May Clampett from The Beverly Hillbillies, Barbara Eden’s Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie, and Charisma Carpenter and Heather Locklear from everything they have ever been in on TV. 

The number one spot on the list went to Pamela Anderson’s character from Baywatch and the way she filled out her swimsuit.  What, no mention of V.I.P. or Stripperella?

It’s been awhile since we covered the lovely and talented Grace Park, also known as Sharon “Athena” Agathorn on Battlestar Galactica. Grace traveled to South Korea last month for the Pusan International Film Festival, where she once again teamed up with Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim … this time to help launch the Asia Pacific Actors Network (APAN).

While in Pusan Grace participated in a panel discussion on APAN and attended the red carpet gala. During the panel, Grace advised Asian actors to focus on specific goals for their career instead of focusing on stereotypical Asian roles: “I had to really hold out to do this” (the article did not give a context to the quote, so I am not sure what “this” is but I am assuming she was speaking of her developing career).

Grace also promoted her first film, West 32nd, while she was in Pusan. A slick thriller set in New York’s Korea Town, the film follows a second generation Korean American lawyer who takes on the case of a young boy accused of murder pro bono. Grace plays the boy’s brother, Lila, who is also a childhood friend of an ambitious Korean gang member. The two men bond and the movie becomes as much about exploring cultural identity and personal history as murder.

West 32nd has been well received at several festivals this year, including the Sundance Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival. To see a cute interview with Grace in New York, click here, or to see a trailer for the movie click below.

Battlestar Galactica stars Nicki Clyne, who plays Cally Tyrol, and Mark Sheppard, who played Baltar’s eclectic attorney Romo Lampkin, have autographed Avon Breast Cancer Awareness teddy bears which are currently up for auction on E-bay. Any bids you place on these collectible bears will help support breast cancer research and the “Save the Boobs!” campaign.

The bear sale is coordinated by Lisa Spodak of LisaWalks.com, who has over fifty autographed items up for auction on Ebay right now. When I checked this morning the bear signed by Joe Flanigan from Stargate: Atlantis was (by far) the most popular, inspiring over thirty bids and going for more than $200.

The bear from T.R. Knight, who plays George on Grey’s Anatomy, was in second place in terms of asking price, followed closely by bears signed by Oliver Phelps, who plays one of the Weasley Twins in the Harry Potter movies, knighted actor Sir Ian McKellen, Heroes‘ hottie cheerleader Hayden Panttierre, and Anthony Stewart Head who played Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Other items for sale are autographed by Morena Baccarin and Alan Tudyk from Firefly and Serenity, Michael C. Hall from Dexter and Six Feet Under, and Sean Astin from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Previous bear auctions by Lisa have included items autographed by Battlestar Galactica stars Nicki Clyne (Cally Tyrol), James Callis (Dr. Giaus Baltar), Jamie Bamber (Lee “Apollo” Adama), Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin), Grace Park (Boomer/Sharon/Athena), Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama), Tricia Helfer (Number Six/Gina), Michael Hogan (Col. Tigh), Kandyse McClure (Anastasia “Dee” Dualla), Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol), and Tahmoh Penikett (Karl “Helo” Agathon).

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so for more information about efforts to help combat breast cancer check out DiscussingBreastCancer.com or there will be plenty of posts about pink-themed products all month at LimitedEditionFoods.com.

Battlestar Galactica, breast cancer, Nicki Clyne, T.R. Knight, Grey’s Anatomy, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Firefly, Serenity, Stargate, Atlantis, Joe Flanigan, Oliver Phelps, Harry Potter, Ian McKellen, Hayden Panttierre, Heroes, Anthony Stewart Head, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mark Sheppard, Bionic Woman, Michael C. Hall, Dexter, Six Feet Under, Sean Astin, Lord of the Rings, Nikki Clyne, James Callis, Jamie Bamber, Mary McDonnell, Grace Park, Edward James Olmos, Tricia Helfer, Michael Hogan, Kandyse McClure, Aaron Douglas, Tahmoh Penikett, Tyrol, Baltar, Six, Adama, Roslin, Dualla, Helo, Boomer, Athena, Apollo

This cute picture of Battlestar Galactica’s Nicki Clyne with an Avon breast cancer awareness bear comes courtesy of New Yorker Lisa Spodak. Lisa asks celebrities to pose with the bears and then auctions them off along with other autographed awareness items to raise money for Avon’s Walk for Breast Cancer.

Based on photos on Lisa’s site she is quite the scifi fan and has been lucky enough to get bears from a number of scifi celebrities such as Firefly, Lord of the Rings, and Stargate cast members, Neil Gaiman, Joss Whedon, and most of the cast of Battlestar Galactica. Previous BSG bear auctions have included Jamie Bamber, Grace Park, James Callis, Mary McDonnell, Edward James Olmos, Tricia Helfer, Michael Hogan, Kandyse McClure, Aaron Douglas, and Tahmoh Penikett; many of these folks were also kind enough to sign a pair of pink Everlast boxing gloves which Lisa auctioned off to support the cause. If you are interested in bidding on Nicki’s bear sign up for Lisa’s mailing list as the auction will be going live soon.

If bears are not your thing but you still want to help “Save the Boobs,” then check out Karen Lynch’s Discussing Breast Cancer blog. Karen is a two-time breast cancer survivor who gives a detailed account of her life after her double mastectomy to raise awareness for breast cancer prevention efforts.

Battlestar Galactica, Nicki Clyne, breast cancer, Avon, celebrity, walk, autograph, Firefly, Stargate, Neil Gaimon, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Grace Park, Mary McDonnell, Edward James Olmos, Tricia Helfer, Allessendro Juliani, Michael Hogan, Kandyse McClure, Tahmoh Penikett, Aaron Douglas, mastectomy