Battlestar Galactica

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.

TVShowsonDVD.com has info on the rumors about an HD-DVD version of BSG Season One coming out in the fall.

Michael over at the SciFi Fandom Forums is running a Battlestar Galactica essay & art contest with cash prizes.

Callie at CounterBalance writes about how she was converted into a Battlestar Galactica fan over the long weekend, while Dommah made a list of all of the things he loves about Season Two.

Michael at SyFi portal talks about the SciFi channel’s hopes to recapture the BSG lightning with “Flash Gordon.”

Battlestar Galactica

This weekend is Memorial Day in the States, and Memorial Day traditionally marks the opening of swimming pools around the country. Swimming pools mean swimsuits, so in honor of the three day weekend on the horizon we are doing a BSG Swimsuit Edition!

A few drool-worthy photos to help you pass the time on this anticipatory Friday … while, admittedly, some of these garments are not designed for swimming and would not really hold up in a pool we are confident you won’t mind.

Courtesy of ScificScoundrels.com, who have some more links if you are interested:

Courtesy of KateeSackhoff.net:

To give the men some credit, you may remember that BSG’s Lee Adama, otherwise known as Jamie Baber, was an Internet honoree for People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2006.

Before Eric Dane did his famous towel scene, Jamie did it better and you can watch it here.

And Shelley over at Retrospectable.com reminds us that you can also view some half-nekkid shots of President Rosalyn if you go out and buy Dances With Wolves.

Thoughts on who’s hot & who’s not? Let me know, or if you just like a little T&A on a Friday let me know that as well and I will see what I can dig up for next week.

bsg, battlestar galactica, starbuck, katee sackhoff, boomer, grace park, lee adama, jamie bamber, tricia helfer, number six, luciana carro

Fan fiction seems especially popular among fans of science fiction television shows, and while I am not much of a fan fiction kinda gal myself I admire anyone who takes on the struggle of getting something readable to travel from your mind to the blank computer screen. If you are a fanfic writer, or you are thinking about wading in to the fanfic ocean, head over to fictionscribe.com for posts about the importance of paragraphs or reminders that details make a good story even better, but redundant details are just silly.

If you are more of a reader than a writer then head over to galacticafanfic.com for some reading options, or fanfiction.net also has a ton of fanfic that includes over 150 entries on BSG.

Also, there is a dated but interesting post about Ron Moore’s take on fanfic over on the now-defunct Unofficial Battlestar Galactica Blog.

The buttons above are from the blog The Shape of Days, which shows a nifty t-shirt as well.

Battlestar Galactica, BSG, fan fiction

To celebrate being the new blogger at watchingbsg.com I went back and watched the pilot last night. Everyone was asleep and a dark quiet house, a glass of red wine, and a few cylons seemed just the way to relax and end the week.

The first spoken words of the pilot are “Are you alive?” and “Prove it.” These two short sentences foreshadow many of the dynamics and plots of the series, as many of BSG’s struggles center around characters quests for proof of identity, proof of loyalty, proof of themselves.

Those two sentences also capture the challenge facing any blogger. Bloggers must prove themselves and face the challenge of making their site worthy of visiting on a regular basis. Is your blog “alive,” is it adding something worth reading to the endless flow of information that saturates our culture and our minds every day? Can you “prove it,” can you make your site a place folks check on and enjoy? This is especially daunting over here at watchingbsg.com, as the show will not be back on the air for six months. But the world of BSG is a rich one, and hopefully I can write some things that prove worthy of reading, thinking about, or commenting on.

Early Morning Thoughts,
Margie