Battlestar Galactica

Memorial Day Weekend is the official start of summer, and for the second year in a row we are celebrating with the Battlestar Galactica Swimsuit Edition of WatchingBSG.  Last year’s edition was one of my first posts after I took over this blog, and given the amount of traffic I still get from that picture of Jamie Bamber in the towel it is only appropriate that we do it again in Summer 2008.

There were plenty of images to choose from this year, because scifi stars and skin magazines have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship for decades.  Long before Jane Fonda put on her famous bikini for Barbarella, the women of pop culture’s more geeky fascinations have been willing to bring in new fans by plying old poses.  And by old, I mean the “oldest profession” … but that does not mean we don’t like to look anyway.

As with last year’s swimsuit editions, volume one and volume two, not all of these outfits are technically swimwear … but given the skin and the sex appeal involved I am pretty sure you won’t mind too terribly much.  If you are offended, or if you love it, please do not hesitate to post below.

This year’s edition features Battlestar Galactica Cylons Grace Park, Lucy Lawless, Michael Trucco, and Tricia Helfer … and fleet pilots/Cylon speculation favorites Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, and Tahmoh Penikett.  We also have Gaius Baltar follower and religious cult member Keegan Connor Tracy, in all of her bikini glory.

Leah Cairns, aka Margaret “Racetrack” Edmondson on Battlestar Galactica, was partying with Al Pacino last week at the world premiere of 88 Minutes at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Leah posed with Chris Carillo and Kevin Hawryluk above, and costars Alicia Witt and Deborah Kara Unger below.  Other celebrities at the event included Leelee Sobieski, who wore leather with Tricia Helfer in Walk This Way, as well as boxer Joe Calzaghe and actors Benjamin McKenzie and Marguerite Moreau.

88 Minutes has gotten terrible reviews, mostly because of its crazy plot and because people expect more from Al Pacino.  Leah plays a woman who sleeps with Pacino in the movie, and who may or may not have had a part in setting up his character for the murder/suspense portion of the plot.  Reviews of her performance are typically described as “naked” (literally) … for a chance to see why, check out the YouTube clip below.

Reviews have Al Pacino’s new movie 88 Minutes have been savagely negative, but there is one reason for Battlestar Galactica fans to go see it anyway: it features a “naked and limber” Leah Cairns. So if you liked that sports-bra strip poker scene with Racetrack and Anders in “Six of One,” then this may be the movie for you.

TV Addict got a serious scoop this week that includes serious Caprica spoilers, including some an excerpt from the words written for Joseph Adama in the current version of the script.

TVByTheNumbers.com has the ratings for the first three episodes of Season Four of Battlestar Galactica, which are looking pretty good all things considered.

Tricia Helfer (Number Six) and Callum Keith Rennie (Leoban) are both nominated for Leo Awards this year. Callum is nominated for the ensemble drama Normal, while Tricia is nominated for her well-reviewed dominatrix heist movie Walk All Over Me.

Callum will be answering forum questions about his movie Snow Cake in connection to the launch of the First Weekend Club, a DVD club for fans of movies made in Canada.

Brent Spiner, aka Data of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Nicki Clyne had a cute exchange at FedCon last weekend:

Brent Spiner (STTNG): “I just wanted to say how proud I am of the work we do on Battlestar Galactica.” (Note: he’s not in the series and apparently doesn’t even know it)

Nicki Clyne (BSG): “It is so much fun working with Brent Spiner, the show wouldn’t be the same without him.”

Len Neighbors has posted volume three of So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival. Most of the posts focus on last week’s episode, “The Ties That Bind” and include serious spoilers so do not click through if you have not seen the episode yet.

If you have seen the episode, be sure to check out the latest strip from webcomic Frakking Toasters, which accurately displays a lot of fans’ feelings about Cally Tyrol. Thanks to Jatg of Battlestar Blog for the head’s up.

If you have not seen the beach-bunny-in-leather-styled photos of Tricia Helfer, Katee Sackhoff, and Grace Park in this month’s Interview magazine yet, then FashionArtEdit is happy to help you out.

This is an interesting list of twenty moments where Battlestar Galactica characters have contemplated suicide.

On the lighter side, check out this bizarre 2006 clip of Nicki Clyne donning elf/alien ears as part of the web series Tiki Bar TV.

The cool Cylon photo above is courtesy of Mechazilla, the obsessive fan collector’s site. Speaking of courtesy, I sincerely appreciate everyone being patient with me this week while I have been posting sparsely and falling behind, we had a family medical emergency and I have been spending a lot of time with doctors who are (probably) not Cylons.

I have fallen in love with this Racetrack fan video, and not just because I am a fan of Leah Cairns. 

I have yet to see a promo for the fourth season of BSG that does what this video does so brilliantly: capture the steady erosion of hope amongst the people on the Galactica, who cling desperately to their military training and their sense of duty as a way to keep moving forward … even when all seems lost. 

Heading into Season Four it is easy to get excited about the return of the show, our chances to find out more about what is happening and who the fifth Cylon will be, when they will find Earth, and what Earth will look like when they get there. 

But some of the most powerful Battlestar Galactica moments take place far from these grand themes, in the small moments between characters who are desperately trying to psychologically survive the continual onslaught of horrors that seem to have no end.  Many people would fold in the face of such adversity, but the unsung heroes of the Galactica soldier on.  

Calling all Racetrack fans!  The official Leah Cairns web site launched this week over at leahcairns.com, and features great photos like the one above as well as interviews, family photos, and upcoming convention appearances.

Obama is a Cylon?  Maybe, maybe not but Battlestar Galactica fans who are also political junkies will probably get a kick out of this photo of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s heads photoshopped on Apollo and Starbuck’s bodies.

GalacticaSitRep is running a contest to give away two of the Chief Tyrol dolls that were recently issued by Diamond Select Toys.  If you are a fan of the Chief, his alter ego Aaron Douglas, or just like cool toys be sure to check it out.

Speaking of Aaron, Battlestar Blog found this interesting clip of Aaron, Callum Keith Rennie, and Gerard Butler from 300 in the movie Shattered.

In other Battlestar Galactica toy news, apparently fans will have the option to buy a life sized Cylon sometime in the near future.  Perfect for that odd space in the corner where your interior decorator says you need "something tall."

If you like fan fiction, you should check out Admiral Adama’s live journal page which takes the concept to the next level.  This may be the wave of the future for dedicated fan writers, who are not satisfied with the idea of writing a story and want to explore a character even further over time.

Be sure to check out this nice note on Nicki Clyne’s blog, pondering how fans can provide positive connections in this mixed up crazy world.

Note from Margie: 451 Press is still having trouble with its comments, so please be aware that if you leave a comment it will likely be marked as spam.  If you would like to make sure your comment reaches the blog, please e-mail me through the Contact form or by contacting watchingbsg@gmail.com and I will be happy to post it for you.