Battlestar Galactica

A lot of bad news has come with the writers’ strike, and even more rumors.  But this is one of the rumors we hope turns out to be true:  with fewer and fewer scripts available for development, Caprica may have an even better chance of coming to life.

Caprica is the prequel series to Battlestar Galactica, an idea designed to look at life on Caprica around the time that the original Cylons were being created.  Back then the Adamas were famous for being lawyers, not Admirals, and the humans had not yet realized the threat the Cylons would pose to their survival. 

It’s an interesting idea, and one that was met with strong enthusiasm from many fans when it was first announced.  But after two plus years with no additional information, and the announcement that Battlestar Galactica would end after only four seasons, many fans have assumed that Caprica is DOA even as Ron Moore insisted the idea was still a possibility for the future.

Now TVSquad and Ain’t It Cool News are reporting that it is an even better possibility than fans had realized.  With the writers’ strike leaving studios and networks with a lack of new ideas, they are looking around for the best of the ideas that are languishing in the stable.  Caprica is an obvious choice, with its built in fan base and potentially grand pedigree.

No word of how the premise of Caprica would work with the increasingly complex Cylon mythology that is being revealed in Battlestar Galactica’s final chapters.  The reimagined version of the show does not simply contemplated robots that turned on their creators, but a complex spiritual mythology in which that version of events is much too simple.  Presumably Caprica would need to take this spiritual mythology into account.

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We have had several weeks of fans cheering actors and producers who are supporting the writers’ strike, but it was only a matter of time before fans started to look around and notice who is not on the picket lines in support of their favorite shows.

Thus this video from YouTube, which pokes fun at BSG producer David Eick for his absence and seeming lack of support for the writers during the strike. 

The young fellow in the shower captures the baby-faced slickness of Eick while also building on the popularity of the darling Bamber Bunnies clip that took YouTube by a storm a few weeks ago.

BSG head writer Ron Moore has been on the forefront of the strike efforts and helped forge a bridge between fans and writers through his blog, by helping raise the profile of fans4writers.com, and working on the famous pencil campaign.

His partner and producer Eick, however, has been noticeably silent, and it’s not much of a stretch to see him cheering the AMPTP.  As the strike drags on we will probably see more of these videos about various silent show runners, as frustrations mount and the strike drags on longer than anyone had hoped.  As always, for strike coverage with a BSG focus be sure to check out GalacticaSitRep.com.

Origin of a Joke

Scifi fans are funny folks, thriving on a digital culture that has a lust for new information.  As they anxiously await the conclusion of the writers’ strike and the start of season four, it’s easy for the Battlestar Galactica fans on various forums and blogs to develop layers of jokes even more quickly than usual.  Jokes and references develop layers that seem hysterical to the fans but whiz over the heads of the average viewer.   

Take this t-shirt for example, which is a parody of a t-shirt that was inspired by a web comic that was inspired by a prequel to a scifi movie.

There is an old saying that if you have to explain a joke it is not funny, but that saying never met a blogger … or a scifi fan.  For us, explaining the origin of a joke is part of the fun.  It’s not enough to get it, we want to know the details.  So if anyone has the specific blog or forum thread that inspired the YouTube clip above, please contact me because I would love to know!

Some of the fans at Fans4Writers.com have come up with another great idea for supporting the writers … they have hired skywriters to fly over the Rose Bowl parade. There will be several planes bearing different messages, and hopefully at least one will be picked up by the cameras of the many television networks that cover the parade and broadcast it all over the world. As Ron Moore said on his blog, it is a very creative idea and another impressive effort from these amazing fans.

It’s also an expensive idea, perhaps not in the grand scheme of entertainment but certainly for a few individuals who are hoping to make a difference with a self-funded initiative. That is why there is an auction going on over at Fans4Writers, and from now until January 7th you can make a donation to the fund or bid on some great Battlestar Galactica items.

Among the autographed scripts is one for “Maelstrom,” the episode where Starbuck “dies,” which is signed by signed by writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle as well as director Michael Nankin. These three fellows also autographed scripts from the controversial episode “Scar,” and the visually stunning episode “Flight of the Phoenix.” There are also several Ron Moore autographed scripts, including some of the best episodes of the series (in my opinion) as well as a group shot of the cast of Firefly/Serenity and an autographed poster of James Marsters (best known as Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer). So head over there and do some shopping … it is never too early to start gathering gifts for the 2008 holiday season!

If you don’t have the funds to donate to the skywriting event, GalacticaSitRep reports there is a parallel effort going on to allow fans to send personal messages of support to the Battlestar Galactica writers on the picket lines. The address to write to is “battlestar[dot]fan[dot]support[dot]wall[at-symbol]gmail[dot]com” and be sure to read the brief but very reasonable guidelines that are posted on the fan forums before you send your message. According to the posts, all of the messages will eventually go in a three ring binder which will hopefully end up nestled next to the scrapbook that “Mrs. Ron” is creating of memories from the strike.

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.

I know I am not alone among fans, writers, producers, agents, actors, and basically anybody who has a television when I say that I am hoping the writers’ strike ends soon. As I have written many times before, I support the writers’ efforts to get a fair deal one hundred percent, but that does not mean I would rather see the “pencils down” period end sooner rather than later.

Santa, if you read this blog, can you wrap that up and put it under my spaceship-themed Christmas tree for me?

The writers’ strike has been going on for almost two months now, and there seems to be no end in sight. Even as the effects of the strike spread to advertisers, studios, and of course the actors, writers, and crew members who depend upon the shows for income … no one seems to be sure when things will return to “normal” on television. Both sides have been surprised by the level of interest and support from the public, and thus as the strike drags on it is harder to sift through the public relations war that is happening in the press.

So what’s a BSG fan to do? Well if you want regular updates on the strike with a Battlestar Galactica spin on them, the best source around is GalacticaSitRep. Logan Gawain is doing an excellent job keeping up with the roller coaster of the strike negotiations, and finding sources that explain the punches that both sides are pushing in the press. He also follows the BSG writers and their blog posts on the strike, the pencil campaign that Ron Moore is helping promote, and which actors have visited the picket lines to offer their support (Mary McDonnell visited a few days ago, by the way, to lend her presidential aura and moral support). So even if Santa does not deliver a strike resolution this year, at least we have Logan to keep us in the know.

Jamie Bamber’s female fans often refer to themselves as the Bamber Bunnies, and they are putting their passion to good use by publicizing efforts to raise money to send the studios pencils as a gesture of support for the writers who are currently on strike. Jamie is supporting their efforts by giving a worn towel to the two fans who buy the most pencils in his name, a genius idea inspired by Jamie’s famous Battlestar Galactica towel scene. Jamie will sign each towel as well, and a third towel will be raffled off to a fan who supports the pencil purchasing effort. Kudos to Jamie and to the BSG cast for this creative and way to seduce fans into participating in the pencil efforts.

Fans who want to add their pencils to the pile can visit pencils2mediamoguls.com to make a donation and see daily updates on the campaign. Fans are encouraged to donate to the site rather than send pencils themselves, as Hollywood learned from ShaunoMac’s Save Jericho Campaign that items are more effective when they arrive in bulk. By buying pencils, fans show their support and they will also be entered into a raffle to receive prizes such as phone call from a BSG star or from other celebrities such as Michael Rosenbaum who plays Lex Luthor on Smallville. BSG cast members Tricia Helfer, Michael Hogan, Mary McDonnell, Michael Trucco, and Jamie Bamber have all agreed to make phone calls to raffle winners as well.

Ron Moore decided to trump that by offering the chance to attend a hockey game with Aaron Douglas, who plays Battlestar Galactica’s beloved Chief Tyrol (and who is reported to be hysterically funny in person). The winning fan will get to go to a Canadian hockey game with the Chief and an unnamed friend, who may or may not be another BSG cast or crew member. Great job, BSG folks, on finding creative ways to get fans involved in the process and inspired to support this cause!

Edward James Olmos was in Los Angeles last weekend to promote the New LATC and diversity in general.  He has also been invited to the 30th anniversary of WPFW Radio in Washington, D.C. on the 15th of December.

Before he went on strike with the Writer’s Guild of America, Battlestar Galactica executive producer Ron Moore was kind enough to stop by the SciFi.com message boards and answer some questions from fans.  Among the gems are spoilers for Season Four and a scene that could have been included in the episode "Unfinished Business" to explain why Starbuck would sleep with Lee Adama one night and then marry Anders the next morning.

Coyote Squirrel articulates the guilt that a lot of Battlestar Galactica fans are feeling this week, now that we know the network did not want to pay the Battlestar Galactica cast and crew for the webisodes.  We want to know what happens to poor young Adama, but in the current climate we feel a little dirty about that.

Lucy Lawless recently sold her L.A. home for $4.8 million, making a nice profit over what she had originally purchased the house for in 1998.

Aaron Douglas will be MC’ing an event on November 24 in Vancouver, so be sure to stop by if you are in the area.

Nicki Clyne makes a cute confession in her most recent blog post, that she was recently embarrassed by a fan who asked her if Aaron Douglas’ (Chief Tyrol) spine glows.

Variety posted an early review of Razor that was mostly positive, while Watch with Kristin reveals some essential things to know before watching the show.   Among Kristin’s tips?  Have patience with the first fifteen minutes, because it definitely gets better, and be prepared that you will only see a few of the regular Battlestar cast members.  But it is worth it, she swears … but unless you are lucky enough to attend one of the theatrical screenings this Monday night, you will just have to wait and find out with the rest of us on November 24th.

Even fans that are passionate about writers rights to be paid for their work worry about the fates of their favorite shows.  This is especially true for fans of Battlestar Galactica, who have already waited so long to find out the fate of the Galactica crew and their quest to find peace on earth.

BSG executive producer Ron Moore spoke about the fate of the show from the picket lines last week, and GalacticaSitRep was kind enough to post his assurances that the story will end, eventually, no matter what happens with the strike.  The cast and crew are committed to the concept and contracts are in place, so fans can support the strike without worrying that it means they will be left stranded and never learn the identity of the fifth Cylon.

"I know that the entire cast and crew and writing staff are eager to finish and it’s very, very important to us to finish, so whenever it’s resolved, we’ll all be ready to go back in and finish the show," Moore says. "We know what the stories are. We haven’t written the scripts, but we know what the stories are, leading up to the finale. "

Moore says that ten episodes will be filmed before the show shuts down production due to the strike, and coincidentally filming will end right after the mid-season cliffhanger.  Since the SciFi network was thinking of splitting the show in half anyway, holding the second half of the fourth season to 2009 to increase the network’s revenues from the show, this could actually be good news for Battlestar Galactica fans who like to avoid spoilers.  One of the concerns about having great shows on the shelf for that long was that the studio would leak some (or all) of the show information to keep interest high, spoiling the show for the fans before it airs.

Battlestar Galactica writer Mark Verheiden has posted an invitation to Battlestar Galactica fans to join him and the shows other writers on the picket lines this Friday, November 15, 2007.  The BSG writers have been fortunate to enjoy a lot of support from scifi fans, who delivered pizza to their picket area on the first day of the strike among other morale-boosting efforts.

Jane Espensen has also been blogging about the strike and including thank yous to friends and supporters who come out and march or bring food or simple good wishes.  She reports that Friday is officially "Battlestar Day" on the line, to coincide with the big Battlestar Galactica convention in L.A. this weekend.  So if you are heading out for the convention be sure to alter your travel plans so you can stop by and show some support.  No word if cast members will be on site that day, but Jamie Bamber, Katee Sackhoff, Tahmoh Penikett, Bear McCreary, and Jason Palmer have all been confirmed for the convention and it is possible they will hit the picket lines to show their support as well.

Even if you can’t make it to L.A. then there are plenty of ways to support the writers and the idea that work for profit is work that should be compensated.  The web site United Hollywood gives several ideas for plans of action, and there are other pro-writer blogs out there providing inside scoops and up-to-date reports and requests for assistance.  At this point much of the issue seems to be awareness, as a lot of people know there is a strike but they don’t know what the issues are … so talk it up, educate folks, raise awareness, etc.  The "frakking pencils down" icons are one way to get a dialogue going … special thanks to Justine at Tahmoh Penikett’s blog for highlighting the originals.

Yesterday’s post explained why fans of good television should support the writers’ strike, and amazingly Battlestar Galactica provides one of the best illustrations of why fans should back the writer’s in their efforts. 

By now most BSG fans have seen the highly entertaining Razor flashbacks which show Admiral Adama as a young man on his eventful first flight and resulting encounter with the Cylons.  Many of you have also seen the Battlestar Galactica webisodes that were released last year in anticipation of Season Three, and which are still available for viewing on SciFi.com.  What most of us did not know is that the network originally did not want to pay the actors, writers, and producers for those webisodes claiming they were promos. 

"I had a situation last year on Battlestar Galactica where we were asked by Universal to do webisodes [Note: Moore is referring to The Resistance webisodes which ran before Season 3 premiered], which at that point were very new and ‘Oooh, webisodes! What does that mean?’ It was all very new stuff. And it was very eye opening, because the studio’s position was ‘Oh, we’re not going to pay anybody to do this. You have to do this, because you work on the show. And we’re not going to pay you to write it. We’re not going to pay the director, and we’re not going to pay the actors.’ At which point we said ‘No thanks, we won’t do it.’"

"We got in this long, protracted thing and eventually they agreed to pay everybody involved. But then, as we got deeper into it, they said ‘But we’re not going to put any credits on it. You’re not going to be credited for this work. And we can use it later, in any fashion that we want.’ At which point I said ‘Well, then we’re done and I’m not going to deliver the webisodes to you.’ And they came and they took them out of the editing room anyway — which they have every right to do. They own the material — But it was that experience that really showed me that that’s what this is all about. If there’s not an agreement with the studios about the internet, that specifically says ‘This is covered material, you have to pay us a formula - whatever that formula turns out to be - for use of the material and how it’s all done,’ the studios will simply rape and pillage."

Ron Moore explained this shocking story from the picket lines, and it’s a great example of what the fight is about in the writers’ strike.  Everybody knows that the future of entertainment lies on the Internet, and the days of "appointment television" will soon be a thing of the past.  Viewers want to watch their shows when they can, on computer-like devices such as TiVo or on computers themselves.  Studios and networks are already selling ads for these episodes, ads that are more valuable because they can’t be skipped but they can be customized to coincide with whatever demographic information the network has about you, the individual computer user.  It’s amazing stuff, it is the future of entertainment, and it is going to be worth billions of dollars.  But it can’t work without content … and yet the networks and studios want the writers, and everybody else on these shows, to provide that content without getting paid.

Please do not buy in to the misrepresentations of those who would have you believe that these writers are selfish elitists, marching for rich paydays at the expense of hardworking Americans who just want to come home after a long day of work and watch Lost.

In fact, the opposite is true. These are folks are simply trying to get paid for the work that they do. Period. And the studios are expecting them to work for free. It’s that simple.

Right now the writers are caught in a bizarre contractual loophole that states that everything that ends up on the internet is a mere “promo.” This means Writers Guild of America members are currently not being paid for anything that ends up on the Internet … even while ads are sold around those episodes (an advertisement in the middle of a “promo” - how strange), even while studios are building business models around the recognition that more and more people are watching television on the internet, even while everyone recognizes that it will be the portable internet and not the heavy and unportable television that delivers our entertainment in the decades to come.

As one writer put it, they are not marching for more rights … they are really just trying to maintain the status quo and the basic concept that an honest day’s work leads to an honest day’s pay. Don’t believe the hype that this is about greed, folks. We are talking about simple compensation for work well done, and companies trying to profit off of that work without paying for it.

To understand a bit more about the issues, take four minutes and watch the very well done You Tube video “Why We Fight” which explains the issues much better than I can. Or watch the very funny clip of the writers from The Office below, which explains the bizarre conundrum of studios labeling an entire episode of a show “a promo.”