Battlestar Galactica

If you don’t mind a couple spoilers, check out these preview clips for this week’s Battlestar Galactica episode “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner.” 

Monday night on the ShaunOMac radio show I made a wish for something to happen in this episode, and based on these clips it looks like it will come true … I can’t wait!

This episode will be the seventh of the ten episodes we were promised this year.  Only four more weeks of Battlestar Galactica remain before the long, cold summer months stretch out before us.  

The final ten episodes will not be aired until 2009, which is a harsh punishment for fans.  If we are lucky we will be treated to another set of webisodes between now and then, or perhaps some additional footage on Hulu or a preliminary DVD release.  Dare to dream.

We are going spoiler free here at WatchingBSG, for as long as we can stand it.

I have blogged before about how I let spoilers ruin Razor … I watched every clip I could find, read every bit of news I could locate, blogged about it all, and suffered the consequences.  When I watched the movie it was a huge letdown … hell, I had already seen a good portion of Razor on You Tube before it aired.

I have also blogged about how I stopped watching promos for Season Four after Razor, and tried my best to stay away from anything huge and spoiler related.  As a result, the Season Four premiere was a lot of fun … I loved not having scenes from the promos lurking in the back of my mind, and watching the show was more fun when I really had no idea what was coming up next.

So with your permission, dear readers, I want to continue on that path of avoidance.  Traffic has been better than ever since I stopped posting spoilers, so I am hoping most folks will be amenable to this plan … there are still plenty of places to find spoilers on the Internet, you just won’t find them on WatchingBSG.

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.

Wow, well leave it to Entertainment Weekly to break the biggest Battlestar Galactica spoilers in months. The magazine includes BSG in its winter television preview, and if you do not want to be spoiled then do not flip through its pages or click the link to the jump below.

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I need to watch Razor again, because at the first viewing I found it very disappointing.  This was a mystery to me, because I had high expectations and before I watched it I knew everyone else seemed to have loved it.  But I found it to be unworthy of the hype on first viewing, and it took me a couple days to figure out why:  the spoilers. 

As a blogger I report spoilers, even though my personal preference is to avoid them.  And my viewing of Razor Saturday night is a great example of why spoilers are so appropriately named.  The fun and joy of Razor was not there for me, because I knew most of what was coming. 

I knew about Cain & Six, and I had already seen the horrible scene where Cain gives her torturer-in-chief permission to violate Gina in every way possible.  The scene was still disturbing, but since I had already seen it for the big event somehow I illogically expected more.

I had already seen the webisodes, so I had seen the shocking revelation that Adama saw the original Cylon experiments on humans that led to the creation of the human Cylon models.  Once again the scene was still disturbing, but since I had already seen it for the big event I illogically expected more. 

The list goes on and on, and as a result of seeking out spoilers I found myself disappointed and dissatisfied when the credits began to roll Saturday night.  Which is a shame, because Razor deserved better than that.

There were some great performances, particularly from Tricia Helfer who proved once again that she is more than just a pretty face.  Stephanie Chavez-Jacobson could have been annoying and distracting as Kendra Shaw, but instead her storyline blended well and provided a great device for switching time periods and switching perspectives.  Jamie Bamber was more grounded than ever playing the newly anointed Pegasus commander, and Michelle Forbes was a force of wrath as Admiral Cain.

Razor was not perfect, as the spotlight did not shine has brightly into the dark mind of Helena Cain as we expected.  That was the most common complaint from the group I watched Razor with, that we did not get to see enough of her evolution into madness.  But perhaps that is on the unrated and extended version that appears on the DVD, as there were roles cast for young Helenas and DVD extras have more time flexibility than a two hour movie with commercials.  The DVD will be released next week, on December 4th.

We knew Razor would be tough to watch, but watching this clip from the movie it seems possible that the Battlestar Galactica telemovie may be the darkest entry in the BSG cannon.

Fans who have seen the episodes Pegasus and Resurrection Ship Parts I & II know that Michelle Forbes’ Helena Cain is as harsh in her leadership style as Admiral Adama is pragmatic in his. She was relentless in her hunting of the Cylons after the attack on the Colonies, to the point that she killed members of her crew and authorized torture techniques that would make even the Justice Department uncomfortable.

So it’s not likely there will be many lighthearted moments in a movie determined to spend two hours in the belly of Admiral Cain’s beast, the Pegasus. For spoilers that shed some light on this darkness, click the “more” button below.

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Wow, if you have not seen the Battlestar Galactica season four trailer yet you are missing a treat. It lasts about a minute, and it has some amazing hints about things to come when the show comes back in January.

Also on You Tube is an quiet but revealing scene from the upcoming Battlestar Galactica movie, Razor, in which Michelle Forbes’ Admiral Cain explains what the title means to a silent Kendra Shaw, played by Stephanie Chavez-Jacobsen.

For some season four spoilers and additional musings, click “more” below.

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Tonight is the night fans have been waiting for, when the first official Battlestar Galactica episode to air since the stunning finale last Spring. It will only last about two minutes, but after months of no Battlestar we will take what we can get!

From October 5, 2007 to November 16 the SciFi channel will be releasing mini episodes of about two minutes each, all of which tie into (and lead up to) the Razor telemovie which will air next month.

The mini episodes will allow us to meet a young William “Husker” Adama, played by Nico Cortez, and travel with him on his first Viper mission during the first Cylon war. According to SciFi, these episodes should not be missed because “In addition to fighting for his very survival against relentless Cylon centurions, Adama makes a terrifying discovery that will come back 40 years later to threaten him, the crew of the Pegasus and the survival of the human race.”

The promotional posters for the mini episodes show a Cylon Centurion, and encourage fans to “See the War That Started It All.” The Battlestar Galactica mini episodes will premiere during episodes of Flash Gordon before they become available on SciFi.com.

To whet our appetites for tonight’s mini episode premiere, here are the most recent Razor promo clips. Razor will focus on the crew of the Pegasus, the second battlestar to escape the Cylon attacks on Caprica and a ship whose journey was even darker than the one endured by the crew of the Galactica.

The Pegasus is helmed by the haunted Helena Cain, an admiral who outranks Galactica’s Admiral Adama and prefers a more brutal approach to battling the Cylons than Adama’s more pragmatic style. Based on the clips, it seems the Pegasus is obsessed with destroying whatever secret the young Adama discovers in the mini episodes. I can’t wait!

Adama, Battlestar Galactica, Razor, SciFi, Cylon, Centurion, Flash Gordon, Husker, Nico Cortez, Helen Cain, Caprica

This lovely young man is Nico Cortez, the actor who landed the plum role of young William Adama in Razor and the Battlestar Galactica mini episodes that are scheduled to start this month.

There will be eight mini episodes setting up one of the central plot lines of Razor, with each episode ranging from two to three minutes each in length. The episodes will air on the SciFi channel, but if fans miss the television airings they will be able to catch them on SciFi.com and all eight will be included on the Razor DVD as well.

Nico’s previous scifi experience includes playing Manny on Alien Fury: Countdown to the Invasion. His major television experience includes playing a cop on an episode of CSI, a SWAT team leader on an episode of Alias, and and undercover vice cop on the short lived Manhattan, AZ. Hmm, something tells me he gets typecast as a law enforcement type.

Razor, Battlestar Galactica, Nico Cortez, Adama, DVD, CSI, Alias, cop, Alien Fury, USA

Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen plays Kendra Shaw, the character at the center of events in Razor the Battlestar Galactica telemovie that will be shown on the SciFi Channel this fall. Kendra is a Pegasus crew member whose presence provides the catalyst for flashbacks that provide significant, and potentially sexy, background stories for various events.

Battlestar Galactica fans who like spoilers should click here, Battlestar Galactica fans that want to avoid them should just know that signs indicate that Kendra’s significance for the series will extend into season four.

Stephanie was born in Hong Kong in 1980, and has previous scifi experience playing Nurse Froy in Farscape. She is often listed in credits as Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen, but depending on what you read she may have dropped the Chaves for the Battlestar Galactica credits. Additional television credits include being a celebrity competitor on the Weakest Link and characters on Australian television series such as Headland, Pizza, and Home and Away.

In 2002 Stephanie was nominated for a Logie Award, the Australian version of the Emmys, for Most Popular New Female Talent for her performance as Dr. Charlotte Adams on the Australian soap show Home and Away.

Since she left Far and Away, Stephanie has been doing theater work in Australia. She starred in the Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin play Savage/Love and she also played The Pearl Concubine in Empress of China.

All of that pales for the inevitable media whirlwind that will begin to spin as Razor draws near, however. We can only assume that we will learn much more about the mysterious Miss Stephanie come November.

Battlestar Galactica, Razor, scifi, Kendra Shaw, Stephanie Jacobsen, Sam Shepard, Empress of China, Joseph Chaiken, Savage Love, Charlotte Adams, Logie, Weakest Link, Pizza, Home and Away

Entertainment Weekly has new Razor spoilers, including the identity of the mysterious narrator we have been hearing so much about.

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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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Katee Sackhoff is up for SciFi Siren at the Spike TV Scream Awards this year, and Battlestar Galactica is up for Best TV Show and “The Ultimate Scream.”

Webcomic Hijinks Ensue presents its take on what an episode of Battlestar Galactica directed by Kevin Smith would look like … the panel of President Roslin saying “Snooch to the Nooch” alone makes it worth checking out.

Starbuck as Han Solo? Gaeta as Chewy? Check out this intriguing recast of Star Wars featuring BSG characters in the traditional roles. Six, of course, nabs the Darth Vader part. Katee Sackhoff, Allessendro Juliani, and Tricia Helfer should be so lucky!

Tahmoh Penikett brings a new fan to BSG … something tells me this is not the first time this has happened.

Starbuck, Han Solo, Gaeta, Chewbacca, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Six, Darth Vader, Katee Sackhoff, Allessendro Juliani, Tricia Helfer, Roslin, Kevin Smith, webcomic, Spike TV, Scream Awards, Tahmoh Penikett

DragonCon was last weekend, and in addition to revealing some depressing news about Season Four’s schedule Jamie Bamber and Aaron Douglas revealed a couple character development spoilers as well. Click the link if you are interested in learning more.

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Been wondering why the Battlestar Galactica producers think of Season Four as two seasons? Jamie Bamber (above) confirmed the answer this weekend at DragonCon, and it is not good: the final season will be broken up into two 12 episode seasons, meaning the series finale will not be shown until 2009. Bad news for fans, and based on the stories the actors are not that thrilled about this development either.

WatchingBSG.com speculated about this in June, based on a blog post from Leo Li Chiang. At the time we were hoping that the concept of two seasons would be a good thing, and that was clearly overly optimistic on our part. Instead it turns out part of the final season will be shown in early 2008, and the rest withheld by the SciFi Network until February 2009. In a summer that is filled with bad news for BSG fans, this revelation is one more depressing blow.

Battlestar Galactica, Spoiler, BSG, Jamie Bamber, DragonCon, Leo Li Chiang