Battlestar Galactica

Tonight is a new episode of Battlestar Galactica … if you watch the preview above and can’t wait for it to come on the air, then there will be plenty of chances to watch the episode today on the SciFi Channel web site.  I don’t know about you, but I definitely plan on checking Nicki Clyne’s blog this weekend because it looks like she has a major role in this episode.

Hulu has a new clip of various Battlestar cast and crew members talking about the end of the series, which is available below, but I would not watch it if you are actively avoiding spoilers.

There are still a few more hours to leave your questions for Michael Trucco (Anders) and Rekha Sharma (Tory) over on the scifi.com forums.  The chosen questions will be answered via video blog, in a continuation of the series of video blogs that the SciFi Channel has been releasing for Season Four of Battlestar Galactica.

If you did not get to attend the amazing concerts this weekend featuring Bear McCreary’s Battlestar music, there are plenty of recaps to be found around the Internet.  The Hollywood Reporter had high praise for the show, and anointed Bear McCreary’s blog “one of the best in the business.”

The Boston Herald has a new interview with Tricia Helfer, where she talks a bit about the final Cylon and how Head Six was her least favorite version of Six to play in Season Four.

Check out this enjoyable list from Lisa Paitz Spindler of thirteen enjoyable things about Battlestar Galactica.  Meanwhile Gaius Baltar makes this list of Top Ten Screen Traitors, and rightly so. 

And speaking of lists, Mary McDonnell and Michelle Forbes are rightfully included on Maureen Ryan’s list of amazing actresses who look their age and still look beautiful.  There have been several articles written this week about how the Hollywood obsession with plastic surgery is harming the audience’s ability to connect with certain characters and shows.  While it is not easy to make fun of someone’s efforts to improve their appearance, I am glad critics are finally speaking up about the fact that too much plastic surgery can actually harm the audience’s ability to care about a main character … it is hard to worry too much about plastic, after all.

A few of the funny, odd, or strange things that happened around the pop culture universe over the weekend:

Has Mary McDonnell had plastic surgery?  Gedblog reports, you decide.  Special thanks to this blog for the screencap from “Six of One,” I tried to pick one that was not a spoiler for folks who have not seen the episode yet.

Nicki Clyne lets us know she is still around and she is still blogging … she has just been doing Euro Cons.

Lucy Lawless has been sending tons of love to Dancing With the Stars contestant Marisa Jaret Winokur, attending at least one taping of the show and Marisa’s rehearsals.  If you are a Dancing fan, be sure to give all of your Dancing votes to Marissa … it’s interesting that while Lucy is a fan of Marisa, she is not a fan of the way the powers that be run Dancing With the Stars (”Who produces this show? Satan???”)

“What the frak!” made an appearance last week on 30 Rock, which literally rocked.

Looks like John McCain is finally getting some geek cred, as folks are starting to wonder if McCain is a Cylon.  Welcome to the party, John, people have been speculating about whether Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama are Cylons for months!  Although to give the guy credit, he has a better Cylon claim in the sense that he looks like Tigh and has a young blonde wife he likes to insult.

The folks over at Popnography have nicknamed the newest Cylons Pudgy, Pretty, Pouty, and Asshole . . . Anders is the pretty one. 

Apparently George Clooney’s Leatherheads is so slow this reviewer kept him wondering about Cylons instead of what the end of the movie would be .  . . and while I am not enough of a hockey fan to understand this reference, apparently Deadspin thinks the Cylons have invaded the NHL too.

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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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?

Mary McDonnell was in Dublin last week for the Irish Film and Television Awards, looking gorgeous as always in a multicolored gown and copper shawl.  The awards were broadcast on the BBC.

Mary was asked to present at the awards due to her Irish roots, and was given the honor of presenting the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture.  Pat Shortt won the award for Garage.  Shortt’s fellow nominees included Gabriel Byrne for Jindabyne, Colm Meaney in Kings, Hugh Conor in Speed Dating, and Cillian Murphy in Sunshine.

The evening suffered a scandal when the organizers completely forgot to hand out the Best Supporting Actress award during the evening.  Apologies were issued later, but the damage was done.

Other stars at the event included Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Bo Derek, John Corbett, Rene Russo, Mel Gibson, MC Hammer, and Victoria Smurfit.  The event was held at the Gaiety Theatre one week ago tonight.

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.

Mary McDonnell was looking radiant on the red carpet for the second time this week Tuesday night, as she attended Paramount Pictures’ premiere of The Kite Runner.

Other stars at Tuesday’s premiere included Will Farrell, Don Cheadle, Sharon Lawrence, and many producers and studio executives.  The film has already been seen by many critics who have given it high praise or pondered the possibility of the film being among this year’s Best Picture nominations come Academy Awards season.

The Kite Runner has been the focus of international attention due its plot, which follows two young boys from different parts of society who strike up an unlikely friendship due to their love of kites. The film features controversial scenes of cultural conflict, religious corruption and sexual crimes that may stir up tensions in Afghanistan, and as a result there are fears that the premiere may place the children who star in the film in danger. As a result they were moved out of the country over the weekend, thanks to the combined efforts of many different groups including “consultants” hired by executives at Paramount.

“Months of spadework by at least 20 studio executives, relief workers, diplomats and even a former C.I.A. counterterrorism operative culminated last week when the boys, who were in the midst of final exams, obtained visas and boarded a plane for the United Arab Emirates,” the New York Times reported Monday.

The Kite Runner is based on a book by the same name that is believed to be the first novel by an author from Afghanistan that was published in English. Written by Khaled Hosseini, it is a tale of betrayal, guilt, and redemption that has become one of the most talked about books of the decade.

Mary McDonnell was looking lovely Saturday in Los Angeles, as she hit the red carpet for a reading of the classic play Love Letters that was held in honor of World AIDS Day.

The reading of A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters featured Hollywood legends Elizabeth Taylor and James Earl Jones, and was a benefit for AIDS related research and causes. Taylor, who has been extremely supportive of writers throughout her career, refused to cross a picket line to hold the event and instead worked with the Writer’s Guild of America to create that would allow the event to take place in spite of the writer’s strike. In a lovely gesture the striking Hollywood writers agreed to endorse the performance which was technically a violation of the union rules.

“The Writers Guild of America has shown great humanity, empathy and courage by allowing our little evening to move forward,” Taylor said in a statement. “Everyone knows my heart belongs to people with HIV and AIDS. I also share my heart with people who must battle unfairness. Without the gifts of writers, the world would be rather empty. I beseech those in power to treat members of the Writers Guild with fairness and decency.”

According to reports tickets for the event were $2,500 each, and guests got to be a part of Hollywood history as this was the first time Taylor had been on the theater stage in over two decades. Taylor hoped to raise $1,000,000 for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Other celebrities in attendance included Maria Shriver, First Lady of California and wife of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Swoozie Kurtz, Kathy Ireland, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Mimi Rogers.

With rare (and mostly short lived) exceptions, most of the characters on Battlestar Galactica experience more of the unrequited part of the phrase unrequited love. The show has more glimpses with potential than actual passion, and this lack of romantic relationships adds to aura of forlorn weariness that surrounds the characters. There is always hope for some happiness, however, which is why many of the most fervent speculations about season four have centered around which characters will have the opportunity to unite before the series ends.

Writer Ron Moore divulged some interesting information about this recently, so click below if you want some spoilers.

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Dinosaurs? Ancient Romans? Tricia Helfer, Mary McDonnell, and Katee Sackhoff speculate about what they will find on earth on a series of web interviews available on SciFi.com.

The best quote of the bunch is when a smiling Mary McDonnell asks “Wouldn’t it be funny if Laura had a crush on Cesar Augustus?” in a slightly wishful tone.

The ladies also talk about what is in store for their characters next season, what Starbuck could be, and and why Caprica Six has not ratted out the other Cylons aboard Galactica yet.

Mary McDonnell, Tricia Helfer, Katee Sackhoff, dinosaurs, Cesar, earth, Battlestar Galactica, scifi, Six, Caprica, Starbuck

The SciFi Channel website has video of the Battlestar Galactica panel at Comicon featuring Tricia Helfer, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, and Lucy Lawless.

Tricia Helfer will be in Toronto this weekend for the World Series of Video Games.

ScoreNotes.com has an interview with Battlestar Galactica composer Stu Phillips.

And it looks like someone else dislikes the episode “Black Market” at least almost as much as I do … a skewering of Jamie Bamber’s performance that misses the storyline inconsistencies of the episode.

A sassy list of “Smart Girls We Love” includes the fabulous Mary McDonnell, who is accurately described as a “stone cold fox.” Other sexy smarty-pants include Kristen Bell’s Veronica Mars and Jewel Staite’s Kaylee on Firefly.

The first season of Dexter comes out on DVD today, so if you are a fan of Sam Witwer (aka Crashdown) be sure to pick up a copy. He appears in a three-episode arc that was well-reviewed, as was the entire first season of this show about a serial killer who kills other serial killers.

And last but not least, check out this flowchart illustrating the geek hierarchy.

Battlestar Galactica, Jamie Bamber, Black Market, Mary McDonnell, Tricia Helfer, Katee Sackhoff, Lucy Lawless, Veronica Mars, Kristen Bell, Firefly, Jewel Staite, Dexter, Sam Witwer, DVD

She may have been shut out of the Emmys, but as of last week Mary McDonnell still had a chance of winning the category of Best Actress at the SyFy Genre Awards. It was a stressful year for Mary’s character, the tormented Laura Roslin, and Mary somehow managed to make her admirable and terrible at the same time. Few actresses could portray that kind of complexity, and far fewer with the grace and intelligence that Mary gives to the President of the Colonies.

Her chief competition seems to be Amanda Tapping, who plays Samantha Carter on the SciFi Channel’s long-running Stargate universe. Stargate SG-1 ended recently, but Samantha will be joining the cast of Stargate Atlantis next season.

The other three actresses in the category are Evangeline Lilly from Lost, Jacqueline McKenzie from The 4400, and Billie Piper from Dr. Who.

Click here for more information on how to vote for Mary and learn more about the other SyFy Genre Award nominations for BSG.

Mary McDonnell, award, best actress, scifi, Battlestar Galactica, Laura Roslin, BSG, Evangeline Lilly, Lost, Amanda Tapping, Samantha Carter, Stargate, SG-1, Atlantis, Jacqueline McKenzie, 4400, Billie Piper, Dr. Who