Battlestar Galactica

Frakkin’ toasters are everywhere, and you can’t trust anyone anymore. If you have ever wondered if your friends, coworkers, lovers, or enemies are Cylons then a new application for the iphone may be able to help you out.

To help promote the final season of Battlestar Galactica, the SciFi Channel has partnered with Apple to offer an iphone application called “Cylon Detector.” According to the website, the application uses photographs of your chosen subject to scan them and see if they are one of us, or one of them (us and them being a rather relative classification at this point in the series, of course).

The cost of the app is $1.99 and it apparently scans differently depending on if the subject is male or female. Click here for a more visual illustration of how the process works and what the results will look like.

Edward James Olmos hits the theaters this week in the feature film Beverly Hills Chihuahua, which title alone indicates is a far cry from the thoughtful darkness and questioning of Battlestar Galactica. EJO gives voice to a doberman pincher in the Walt Disney feature, which stars Drew Barrymore as the title pooch.

Although the plot is predictably panned, the voice actors are getting early raves from publications like The Hollywood Reporter.

The plot of the movie surrounds a pampered pooch who is inadvertently left behind in Mexico. In her efforts to get home she encounters crazy characters and character-building adventures in classic Walt Disney form. Olmos’ character is reportedly involved in the more dangerous side of being a dog, those canines that are bred for fighting at the pleasure and profit of professional gamblers. Hopefully EJO can help make it clear to the audience who the real villains are in that scenario. I understand there is an amazing German Shepherd voiced by Andy Garcia as well, so there is definitely hope that it is the humans (and not the dogs) who will be shown as the instigators of dog-fighting for profit.

There have already been concerns about the film’s ethnic stereotypes, but people familiar with EJO’s career see that as the least of the concerns … the veteran actor and latino activist is not likely to sign on to a film that is insensitive to the point of being offensive. Of larger concern is the long history of canine theft and tragedy that tends to follow popular dog films aimed at children. To lessen the fears of dog-lovers, Disney partnered with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to warn people about purchasing dogs from unproven breeders or adopting pets without a plan for their care.

Post Fail LOLCat

Or perhaps the fail is the lack of posts, as in this case. Nothing like announcing new content is incoming on watchingbsg.com only to be able to face the technical inability to follow-up and make new posts! Once I got my system issues worked out with 451 Press, other issues cropped up with my home computers, blah blah blah.

I will save you all the technical details, it’s the least I can do. My apologies to the readers, but things should change in the next few days assuming the technical gods comply … So Say We All.

In the interim I will get up some pictures of this week’s disastrous Emmy celebration, which thankfully featured some gorgeous appearances by the Battlestar Galactica cast. Gorgeous photos of Grace Park, Tricia Helfer, Katee Sackhoff, and others should follow very soon. Hopefully more posts will be up soon as well, technical (Cylon?) gods willing.

My sincere apologies for being MIA this summer, and thanks to everyone who has checked in and asked about my father. He is doing much better, and I am almost healed from the trauma of the finale of Battlestar Galactica.

Yes, I am among those who are discontent with the latest season of BSG and am apprehensive about the last few episodes. I have written before about my concern that Ron Moore was confusing the ability to piss off an audience with good writing, and as I watched that concern become reality it was like the last hope I had for BSG was extinguished as well.

My complaints about the last set of episodes have probably been listed elsewhere (to be honest I am not sure because I stopped reading the blogs and message boards this summer as well), but they center around the erratic pacing and story lines. So the past few months BSG, which was once so shiny and interesting to me, became a thing I could not think about without feeling disappointed and sad. And the blog has of course suffered as a result.

But then I caught an earlier episode on television last week, and it reminded me why I love this show and why I am still interested in following the escapades of the cast and crew after it is over. So I am revving back up the blog a bit, and hope to catch up on the BSG news. With so many interesting projects in the works, there is a lot to write about!

More Soon,
Margie

Are you really Watching BSG this season?  I ask because I recently discovered that every single one of the friends that got me into this show have not been watching Season Four so far. 

Every one.  They have them recorded, but they have not been watching … how is this possible?

There are excuses that make sense, of course.  Busy schedules, lack of time, or a desire to watch them all in May in one marathon day when there will be fewer frustrating cliff-hangers to foil the blood pressure.

But I wonder how many more fans out there are like that, and if there is not something larger at work?  Perhaps, like Admiral Adama, my friends want to prolong the end.  Perhaps they are not alone.  So I ask the readers of this blog - are you watching Season Four?

These are the words Admiral Adama used to explain why he has never finished his favorite book, and they are a beautiful peek into the pain of a man who has had too much loss in his life. 

They are also words that describe many fans’ secret feelings about their favorite pop culture obsessions.  For a long time I thought I was the only freak who could not bring herself to watch the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.  

But I recently discovered there are millions of people out there, just like me and Bill Adama, who just can’t say goodbye to their favorite characters.

When you really love something, it is hard to watch the series finale or read the final installment because you know that after that … there is no more.  It’s like how anticipation is half the fun of a vacation or a holiday, or looking forward to a party is almost as much fun as the party itself.

But because it is an ending, there is a bittersweet element as well.  A sharp pain, like the death of someone who you admired from afar or loved from a distance.  And since life can deliver enough death and pain on its own, it is understandable that some fans do not want to face the natural ending of their favorite characters.

Sometimes it is easier to avoid the end then it is to get creative closure, especially when the characters are ones that you have grown attached to over time.  I understand why Adama would not want to read the end of his favorite book, and admire him for the sacrifice he is making by reading it nonetheless.

A good friend of ours walked into our house the other night and announced, "DAMN YOU for giving me a series that does not go anywhere!"

He was not speaking of Battlestar Galactica but of Firefly, another household favorite.  The first (and only) season of Firefly was on sale at Target for $20.00 in December and we promptly bought multiple copies as holiday gifts for our friends, in a selfish attempt to get them to stop looking at my husband strangely when he quotes Captain Malcolm Reynolds at dinner parties.

Firefly is the legendarily short lived Joss Whedon "space western," a series that gained most of its fans after it was off the air and whose characters and stories continue to ignite the imaginations of fans three years later.  It was cut off just as it was warming up, leaving fans wondering why Shepherd Book knows more about weapons than a preacher ever should, and how River Tam’s frakked up brain will help or hurt the rag tag group of rebels.

While our friend loved the gift, and the show, he was understandably frustrated at the way the series cuts off in the middle.

So why mention this in connection with Battlestar Galactica? 

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Depressed that you are not in San Diego, partying like a Geek Star at Comicon this weekend? Drown your sorrows with this very, very simple drinking game.

Bodie Olmos, Battlestar Galactica, Comicon, drink

The Emmys are a long shot for Battlestar Galactica. We all know this, fans and actors and crew members, everyone knows the chances of Battlestar Galactica getting an Emmy nomination are very small. We know the history, we have read the commentary, we know that Emmy voters don’t like to honor new shows, new genres, new or old scifi.

And yet, the hope survives.

Emmy nominations will be announced next week, and even though leaks indicate Battlestar Galactica will not be in the best show category I remain hopeful that Mary McDonnell’s portrayal of the strong, sexy, sophisticated, and seething President Roslin may be honored in the Best Actress category. I remain hopeful even though her promo chat at GoldDerby.com got crashed by Battlestar Galactica fans. Even though she has not been mentioned nearly as much since the ballots were submitted a month ago, which is not a good sign. In spite of the fact that no one knows where Earth is … oh, sorry, wrong hope.

A week from today we find out if something, anything, from Battlestar Galactica will get an Emmy nomination. Yes, we know chances are not good. But would Admiral Adama give up without a fight? So until we are proven wrong, we continue to hope.

Emmy, Adama, Battlestar Galactica, Mary McDonnell, Emmy, SciFi, Gold Derby

Last week I posted about Esquire magazine’s interview with Katee Sackhoff, and ranted about their lead question. The magazine asked her if playing bad ass Sarah Corvis in Bionic Woman was a release after playing that “goody-goody” Starbuck for the past few years. Yes, it was a stupid question and hardly worthy of a rant, but it hit a nerve with me because journalists who don’t do their research are a long-time pet peeve.

This strip from Scott Kurtz’ PvP comic strip speaks to the other half of the rant, a more recent pet peeve that has become more apparent now that I am blogging about Battlestar Galactica: xenophobic fans. Fans like the guy in the comic strip above, fans who think they own their pop culture obsession of choice, fans who actually harm their pop culture passion by shooing off new fans.

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Kandyse McClure’s official site is promoting a Battlestar Galactica contest, with the first prize being a $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. To enter submit an essay or original electronic art item by midnight July 31, 2007. Click here for official rules, or you can visit the original thread on SF-Fandom.com.

contest, writing, art, Battlestar Galactica, scifi, Kandyse McClure, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

… and there are definitely more than twelve models. Google alerts are funny things, popping up all sorts of interesting information. I have one for Battlestar Galactica and for BSG, and the latter is always educational. For example, did you now that BSG is the abbreviation used by the Baraminology Study Group, an organization of biologists that works with fundamentalists for the acceptance of creation theories in the classroom. The Cylons would approve.

BSG is also the name of:
The Brotherhood of St. Gregory,
a development company in Miami,
the way folks in Newfoundland like to refer to Bay St. George,
a high-end tech services group,
The British Society of Gastroenterlogy,
a company that handles international transactions and risk management,
a bingo product manufacturing company in Australia, and
the Balkan Society of Geometers.

There are plenty more where that came from if you are interested … it has been said before, but you can learn so much about the world from watching BSG.

Brotherhood of St. Gregory, BSG, Battlestar Galactica, Miami, bingo, Australia, balkan, cylons, Bay St. George, Newfoundland

Last Thursday’s announcement from producers David Eick and Ron Moore has inspired hundreds of news articles and blog posts, all discussing their confirmation that Season Four will be the last season of Battlestar Galactica. Some just gave the basics of the original announcement, some focused on the conference call on Friday and any clues it gave for season four, but only a few folks talked about how the announcement changes the expectations of the fans.

Sure, there were some good spoilers:

Lucy Lawless may be back as Number Three,

We will see Earth,

Bob Dylan is significant,

and hope remains for the BSG prequel Caprica to eventually see light of day.

But what about us?

A viewer’s relationship with a show changes when we know a season is the last. If we love a show, we just can’t watch it die. Personally, I could not even watch the last season of Buffy, and while my investment in BSG is much lower there is a natural need for viewers to distance ourselves from a show and its characters once we know the end is near.

Since I know that the end is coming no matter what, it makes my relationship with the show complicated and detached. It kind of feels like when you live with a girlfriend and you decide to break-up, but there’s still 6 weeks left on your lease, so you try to stick it out till then. Inevitably, you wind up having alcohol (or Flintstone vitamin) fueled sex and wake up the next morning feeling weirded out about the whole thing. At the same time you’re trying not to get too excited about it, you’re trying to enjoy it because you know that it’s going to go away soon.

That quote actually came from a review of Studio 60, but the sentiment definitely applies. Like Starbuck, our instinct is self-protection. How that instinct plays out with Season Four will be … interesting.

Battlestar Galactica, Studio 60, Lucy Lawless

Last year a few BSG folks went out on the town for the MTV Movie Awards, so in the hopes of seeing them again we are postponing our “SciFi Red Carpet” feature to Monday. Keep your fingers crossed!

Here are some speedlinks to keep you occupied until then:

As you can imagine, today’s talk is all about the final, official, word that Season Four will be the last. You can read more, well, everywhere, but as of this morning all of the articles pretty much say the same thing. Except for Michael over at SyFy Portal, the first person to call it, who gets to say “I told you so.”

Blogzarro’s interview with Lucy Lawless, including the real quote that spawned the various “she’s coming back to BSG!” misquotes.

Variety.com discusses the growth of the Alma Awards: “People used to make fun of us because every year it would be Edward James Olmos and Rita Moreno.”

Click here to get more information on Sam Witwer’s role in the upcoming Star Wars game.

Jamie Bamber had a guest star spot on the Ghost Whisperer this year, click here find out more about what to expect if you Netflix those discs.

It’s that time of year again, when Battlestar Galactica fans start to get their hopes up that their beloved show will be honored by the Emmys. BSG was confined to the technical categories last year, in spite of being widely regarded as one of the best shows on television. Will all that critic love will translate into gold glory, and 2007 be the year BSG’s Emmy luck will change?

Between June 4 and June 22 votes for Emmy nominations will be flooding in, and theoretically academy members base those votes off of particular episodes. So what will Emmy voters be watching when they are considering BSG, and more importantly will they have a clue about what they are seeing?

According to the forums over at TheEnvelope.com, Emmy voters will be watching both parts of the amazing season finale “Crossroads” when considering whether to nominate for Mary McDonnell in this year’s Lead Actress category. When mulling over the Lead Actor prowess of Edward James Olmos, voters will be watching “A Day in the Life.” The episode submitted for consideration of BSG overall was “Collaborators.”

The BSG folks are splitting their votes in the Supporting Actress category by submitting Tricia Helfer with “The Son Also Rises,” Grace Park with “Rapture” and Katee Sackhoff with “Maelstrom.” In the Supporting Actor category they submitted Jamie Bamber for “Crossroads, Part 2,” James Callis for “A Measure of Salvation,” and Michael Hogan for “Exodus, Part 2.” The only Guest Actor submission went to Mark Sheppard in “Crossroads, Part 2.” Traditionally, performers choose which episode is submitted on their behalf which is interesting when you look at the list above.

I have mixed feelings looking at this list, but perhaps that is the hope talking. What do you think? The nominations will be announced June 19.