The Remote Island : Battlestar Galactica

Tragedy Strikes NBC

Jake Kalish — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:01:00 GMT

Nora O'Brien, 44, an NBC Universal program executive, collapsed and died of a brain aneurysm while playing basketball on the set of Parenthood. Ms. O'Brien came to NBC from the Sci Fi Channel, where she was Vice President Of Original Programming, working on shows like Battlestar Galactica.

Rest In Peace.

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R.I.P. Bea Arthur

NBC: Incompetent Would Be A Step Up [VIDEO]

Sports Announcing: "This Puts Everything In Perspective"

The Winner For Best TV Show In The World Is...

Jake Kalish — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:06:00 GMT

Absolutely, positively, 100% not Rock Of Love.

The BAFTA (British Academy Of Film And Television Arts) Awards were last night - and strangely, the top four contenders for "Top International TV Show" were all American shows - The Wire, Dexter, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, and Mad Men. And the winner?

Well, no complaints here - we love Mad Men. Although it is interesting that The Times Of London's recent list of top 50 American TV shows in recent years only had Mad Men at #14 - 12 spots behind Battlestar Galactica, which is noticeably absent from this list. And The Daily Show, which is one of the top 4 international shows according to BAFTA, didn't even make the Times Of London's top 50.

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Britain, Still Reeling From The Revolutionary War, Ranks American Television Shows

"The Wire": David Simon's Original Pitch To HBO

"Dexter" Season Finale: The Hallmark Holiday Homicide Special?

Is A "Mad Men" Video Game Coming?

We Can't Wait For The "Mad Men" Season 2 DVD

"Battlestar" Lives On Through Final Box Set, "Caprica"

Bryan Christian — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:15:00 GMT

We finally took the BSG finale off our DVR the other day. This bummed us out a little, partly because that last bit in Africa was really really pretty and we're not going to be able to see it in HD again unless we get a Blu-Ray player. But mostly because, darn it, we're a little less satisfied with "Daybreak" now than we were when we first saw it. Can't put our fingers on it exactly, but anyone else feeling the same way? LIke they stil want more?

Well, don't worry, because that's probably intentional. There's a lot more Battlestar on the way -- and the first batch arrives today!

Released on DVD today: Caprica, the pilot to ~~Sci-Fi~~ SyFy's new soapy prequel series, often characterized as "Dallas in Space", that follows the Greystone and Adama families as they create the Cylons and, presumably, squabble over who crashed the Rolls and got the maid pregnant.

Frankly, we're not sure if we're gonna dig this one. We like the cast -- holy crap, that's Trixie from Deadwood! -- and we don't necessarily mind the idea of a soap set in space. Battlestar was basically a realistic military show in space, and that worked pretty well. But we're really concerned that people like us are going to be looking to this show for answers to the many questions left open in the BSG continuity and they're not gonna be there. Also, in our heart of hearts, after seeing the promo pic above, we'd sort of been hoping that Caprica'd be more like "Mad Men in Space" -- a gorgeously made, crackingly written retro drama set, like Battlestar and Mad Men, in a recognizable but exotic world -- but from early reports, it's not clear that it's that well made yet. Alan Sepinwall and Wired say "yes," but Salon's description jibes a little more closely with what we've seen of the previews thus far.

It doesn't have the same sense of scale or tragedy as "Battlestar" and feels considerably more generic, both dramatically and stylistically. The drama builds slowly, and scenes unfold without much, if any, tension. What little tension it has owes to viewers' knowledge of what will happen 58 years later. (salon.com)

Ah well, it's still next in our Netflix queue -- yeah, they got it -- and when we get it, we'll let you know what we think. Maybe they'll hammer some of the kinks out by 2010, when SyFy actually starts producing the show on a regular basis.

In the meantime, word comes today on the Battlestar Season 4.5 DVD set, which has many of the things you'd expect -- character bios, plot summaries, featurettes on the production -- and one thing that we hope will eventually lead to answers to our burning questions: a preview of November's The Plan, the Cylon-centric TV movie that takes place within the existing BSG continuity and, we are told, will finally explain what "And they have a plan" meant week after week.

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Our Caprica Archive

Our Battlestar Galactica Archive

Of Course We Love "Muppetstar Galactica" [VIDEO]

Jake Kalish — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:27:00 GMT

We here at The Remote Island love Battlestar Galactica. And we love the Muppets. So of course we would love a video mash-up of the two. Check out Muppetstar Galactica. It's like chocolate and peanut butter...

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"Battlestar Galactica" Finale Recap: Galactica sails Into The Sun(set)

Why "The Last Frakking Special" Holds The Key To "Battlestar Galactica"

Admiral Adama At The United Nations: "SO SAY WE ALL!"

The Muppets Try To Bring Funny To "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"

"Battlestar Galactica" Finale Recap: Galactica Sails Into The Sun(set)

Chenda Ngak — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 22:14:00 GMT

Did any of the big questions get answered? Were our heroes able to find a home? Was there peace between human and Cylon? Click through for a play-by-play of the epic and -- from our perspective -- deeply satisfying series finale.

The Flashbacks

We begin with a series of flashbacks. Bill Adama and Saul Tigh at a strip club on Caprica. Discussing whether or not Adama should take "the job." Adama is torn over the whole thing and hit rock bottom in a super sad puking scene on the street, staring longingly up into space. Meanwhile, Lee, Zak, and Kara are at the same dinner party we saw in "Daybreak" part one. Sparks fly between Lee and Kara,. and it's clear from how their relationship begins that it was destined for tragedy. Elsewhere, Roslin is on a date with one of her former students (huh, should we alert Scanner about this?) and Gaius is being manipulated by the original Caprica Six. She tells him that he's following God's plan by "taking charge of mankind's remnants and guiding them to their end."

Back on Galactica

The crew on Galactica is planning a major battle: the invasion of the Cylon colony. Ellen, Tory, Caprica Six, Kara, and Galen Tyrol plan on using Sam to control the other hybrid, giving them an opportunity to penetrate the ship. So they decide that they need to move him to the C.I.C. Next, Bill Adama appoints Hoshi as Admiral of the fleet, and Lee Adama appoints Romo Lampkin as the President of the Colonies. Guess that whole gun-wielding incident is really water under the bridge. And after prepping two days worth of drugs for Laura Roslin (who is planning on helping tend to the wounded), Doc Coddle gets the first goodbye of the evening -- a tearful and funny farewell from a grateful Laura. Finally, at the last minute, Gaius decides not to join the last Raptor leaving Galactica for the fleet. Lee tosses him a rifle, and we get a flash of the Centurions marching out onto the hangar of Galactica.

Epic Battle. Epic Win.

"Just so there'll be no misunderstandings later, Galactica's seen a lot of history, gone through a lot of battles. This will be her last. She will not fail us if we do not fail her. If we succeed in our mission, Galactica will bring us home. If we don't, it doesn’t matter anyway." -Bill Adama

From the outside, the Colony looks like a giant, galactic insect. Galactica FTL's right into the middle of all the action, into what looks like the Colony's pincers. The assault on our girl is fierce but Sam takes down the Hybrid, and as the guns stop, the Raiders are on their way. During this small break, Bill Adama takes the opportunity to crash Galactica into the Colony. This allows Assault One (lead by Lee) and Assault Two (lead by Kara) to enter the Colony.

Gunfire breaks out between humans, Cylons, and Centurions. Boomer, true yet again to her perpetual state of self-doubt and self-destruction, makes the decision to save Hera from experiments. This move causes Cavil to start an offensive and they fight back, making a move to get onto Galactica. Meanwhile, Caprica Six and Gaius are guarding an entrance onto Galactica, and during a lull in action, she's tells him that she’s proud of him -- and that pride was the one thing she'd always wanted to feel for him. Just as we realize, a little sadly, that she and Tigh will not be making up, they start a small make-out session -- and then, suddenly, they're interrupted by the "head" selves, the interior versions of each other that have plagued thrm throughout the show -- both of which they are able to see simultaneously!

"All of the pieces are falling into place." Head Caprica Six
"You'll hold the future of Cylons and humans in your hands." Head Gaius
"I will?" Caprica Six and Gaius together
"You see them, too?" Caprica Six and Gaius together

Back on the Colony, Boomer comes face-to-face with Assault Two, which has Kara, Athena, and Helo. She turns Hera over to Athena and asks her tell the old man that she owed him one. Athena pumps her full of bullets, and we are privy to a flashback of Bill Adama giving rookie Boomer another chance at being a pilot after continually failing to land her bird correctly. In a moment that Adama at the time fails to take seriously, but that obviously has meaning now, she tells him that for a second chance, she'll pay him back someday when it really means something, creating a poignant goodbye for this, the most complex and troubled of the Cylons.

Assault One and Assault Two meet up and confirm that they have Hera so they head back for Galactica. They arrive at Caprica Six and Gaius and hurry to get Hera out of the action zone. Outside of sick bay, Roslin shoots up her medication, and starts to see the visions of Hera in the opera house, again, and runs around Galactica looking for her. Helo -- who was carrying Hera -- is shot in the leg and Hera runs off; at Helo's behest, Athena runs after her.

We see flashes of scenes from the opera house and Galactica. We've seen these scenes before, at the end of the first season -- Roslin and Athena running after Hera, seeing each other and running down to a meeting point, where they see Caprica Six and Gaius taking Hera into a room. Caprica Six and Gaius are having similar memories -- Gaius' hair used to be so long! -- and in their reverie, they wind up in the C.I.C. In a jaw-dropping moment, we see the scene of the final five Cylons looking down on them -- both in flashback, with those white hooded figures, and in present, with Tigh, Tyrol, Tori, Ellen, and Anders standing on a platform above the deck.

Somehow in the shuffle, Cavil gets his hands on Hera. Gaius tries to convince Cavil to give up Hera and gives a pivotal speech about how Hera holds the key to Cylon and humanity's future. He talks about God, Gods, and angels -- possibly referring to the "head" versions of he and Six-- saying "God's not on any one side. God's a force of nature." He begs him to break the cycle and take a leap of faith and to live in hope, not fear. Cavil is finally convinced when Saul Tigh offers them the knowledge of resurrection in exchange for Hera and a truce. Cavil pulls back his forces and Adama tells everyone to stand down.

Then, in a super, sci-fi-techie moment, Ellen, Saul, Tory, and Galen dip their hands in Sam's bath water. In this moment, they will be able to know and see everything about each other -- meaning that Galen sees that Tory airlocked Callie and out of rage, strangles her to death, breaking the download and causing the Cylons to think that it was a trap. Everyone starts shooting up the C.I.C., except for Cavil, who -- seeing that there was no way out of there -- shoots himself in the mouth.

Out in the space, the battle accidentally escalates, as a Raptor floating out in space, its nukes armed, gets knocked around by an asteroid, causing the dead pilot to accidentally launch its missiles directly at the Colony. Bill Adama orders Kara to jump the ship away. But she doesn't have the rendezvous coordinates; Adama tells her it doesn't matter, just jump anywhere. But Kara comes up with some coordinates of her own. After a montage of her past, Hera's drawing, her father's musical notes, the numbers that she assigned to his notes, and Leoben telling her that she's an Angel blazing with the light of God, she punches in the coordinates which supposedly correspond with All Along The Watchtower (again, they don't really, but who cares) and they jump! (BTW, here are the coordinates: 1123 6536 5321. Go on; try and register that URL. Too late!)

We move on to more of the flashback between Lee and Kara, where she tells him that she's not afraid of dying, she's afraid of being forgotten. Then in the present, Galactica materializes and Laura asks "Where have you taken us, Kara?"

It's FRAKKIN Earth! Our Earth! [Ed.: Um... more on this later.]

After landing on what appears to be Africa, the humans are faced with the prospect of starting anew. Except Lee wants to really start over and leave behind all their technology. In a philosophical discourse, Lee pleads that our brains have always out raced out hearts, our science charged ahead with our souls lagging behind, and that this is the only way to really start over. The decision is made, and they decide to leave their technology behind and spread the civilians out over the planet to increase the chance for survival. The Admiral announces his no-takebacks plan -- to send the empty fleet ships into the sun -- and the Final Five agree to release the Centurions from their own slavery and give them the base ship to roam around the universe on their own.

A few minutes later, just like he'd meant to in the pilot episode, Bill Adama flies the last Viper out of Galactica's hangar. A flashback shows him walking away from a lie detector test, a pre-req for that post-retirement job, saying, "I'd rather spend my career on a broken down ship then have someone question my word." And this is how he wound up back on Galactica.

The Good-byes

"Perfection. That's what it's about. It's those moments. When you can feel the perfection of creation. The beauty the physics you know the wonder of mathematics. the elations of action and reaction and that is the kind of perfection that I want to be connected to." -- Sam Anders

We pan out, in the present time, to see the fleet, with Anders leading them from the C.I.C. As the main theme from the original Battlestar Galactica swells briefly, we see the ships disappear into the sun.

Back on Earth, Galen Tyrol decides to leave civilization behind and takes off on his own to explore. Saul and Ellen finally get to spend the rest of their lives together in peace. And under a tent, Laura is attempting to spend the last days of her life together with Bill. He declares that they've earned the right to call the new planet Earth, which seems to please her, and as she begins to seriously fade, he decides to carry her English Patient-style to a Raptor, which, after having an emotional -- and final -- goodbye with Kara and Lee, they fly off in together.

"What do you hear, Starbuck?" -Bill Adama
"Nothing but the rain." -Kara Thrace
"Grab your gun and bring in the cat." -Bill Adama

The most bittersweet moment of the finale is when Kara tells Lee that she's done here and that she's completed her journey. We go to a flashback that is emblematic of their tragically complicated relationship. Back at that dinner party, after Zak has passed out on the sofa, Kara and Lee almost hook up on the dining room table. They get in a few kisses before Zak starts taking in his sleep and interrupts them; it's evident from the start that no matter how much chemistry and love the two share, the guilt of their relationship with Zak will always haunt them.

Back on Earth, Starbuck asks Lee what he wants to do now. Lee gets swept up in his response, and just as he's starting to talk of exploring the new planet, he turns around to see Kara has disappeared into thin air, an open field stretching out in every direction. Another flashback then, one we saw in Part One: Lee waking up to see a bird in his living room, only to fly off. Guess The Sopranos isn't the only TV show that can do animal symbolism; Kara is the one who was always free as a bird while Lee was always rooted in obligation and duty. And this was the draw, they saw qualities in each other that they desperately wanted, but could neither have nor cage. Now that there is no duty or Kara, Lee is finally free and Kara has faithfully fulfilled her mission.

"Good-bye Kara. You won't be forgotten." - Lee Adama

After a few minutes of flying around, seeing this lush and verdant new world, Laura Roslin has a peaceful death on the Raptor with Bill. He lands and chooses a beautiful place (possibly on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater) to bury her and build the cabin that she had dreamed of on New Caprica. As a band of remaining humans file past them, Gaius and Caprica Six (their love rekindled) chat once more with their "head" counterparts, before heading off in a different direction to begin a life of farming together. (Question: would Gaius' father issues have been more potently poignant if we'd known about them all this time? We're not sure.) We see Hera, reunited a few minutes earlier with Athena and a limping Helo -- and then a cut to black.

Flash forward 150,000 years later. Imaginary Caprica Six and Gaius roam around New York City and compare our own civilization with the twelve colonies, the first Earth, and Kobol. Suddenly a montage of robots and humanity, set to Jimi Hendrix's version of "All Along The Watchtower," leaving us to wonder whether Imaginary Gaius and Six are really angels, devils, or simply two riders approaching as the wind begins to howl.

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Why "The Last Frakking Special" Holds The Key To "Battlestar Galactica"

Admiral Adama At The United Nations: "SO SAY WE ALL!"

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Why "The Last Frakking Special" Holds The Key To "Battlestar Galactica"

Bryan Christian — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:29:00 GMT

For those of you who didn't catch it on Monday, SyFy (ha ha) is re-running their "Last Frakking Special" about Battlestar Galactica at 7PM EST tonight, just before the series finale -- and if you care at all about this series but yet didn't catch "The Last Frakking Special" the first time around, we highly recommend you watch it tonight. Because even though you have to plow through a lot of the same ol' slightly staged, overly earnest interviews with the cast and crew that featurettes like this always have, there is one genuinely revealing and intriguing moment to be found, one that kind of made us rethink the show entirely. What this moment said to us -- the truth that it revealed -- is that Battlestar Galactica isn't perfect; instead, like Kara Thrace, it's a reckless, confounding, self-destructive, unforgettable mess.

("Frakking Special," btw, isn't online, or on iTunes, and we weren't taping it on Monday -- so bear with our rough quotes here.)

Anyway, speaking of Starbuck, the revelatory moment comes from Katee Sackhoff herself, who notes at one point that in somewhere in this, the final season, she began to actively despise her character. Starbuck's self-absorption and monomania as she tried to find Earth and, hopefully, uncover the truth about her return from the grave was making Sackhoff, as an actress and possibly as a rational human, crazy. "I [bleeping] hated her," she says, or something to that effect, the bleeps added by the producers to mask her apparently using something other than "frak".

Anyway, what's great about this, of course -- not revelatory, but just awesome -- is that this year, we kind of hated Starbuck too. Gods help us, but as much as we love the girl, Starbuck's basically been unbearable this season -- too weirded out by her apparent resurrection to have anything but fleeting, desperate connections to her fellow humans, and too consumed with getting at her "destiny" to have anything to do with Cylons unless they could help her out somehow. She'd always been obsessive; now she wasn't indulging in any of the fun vices that kept those obsessions in check. She'd always been self-destructive; now she was dragging other people down with her -- most notably Felix Gaeta, whose trip on the Demetrius led him to lose a leg and ultimately started him on the road to bloody mutiny, and Anders, her Cylon husband, who was wounded in the ensuing battle.

So where's the revelation? What's so great about knowing that even Sackhoff herself -- who can turn on a big eyed, big laughed impetuousness the way we turn on our lights -- was fed up with her own character? Because, after hearing that, the showrunners apparently said "Great, that's how we want you to play her."

Which to us is an encapsulation of everything that's great about Battlestar Galactica. This is a show so committed to the story of the self-destruction of the human race (who invented the Cylons?) that this self-destructive urge permeates every facet of its being -- even its very production. Fuck Jericho, with its homespun CBS archetypes and plucky heroes; BSG is the real apocalypse, borne in the wake of 9/11, years long and relentless in its cruelties, with only fleeting victories and the smallest dignities for even its most noble characters as their lives go slowly, surely, to hell.

Think of it -- what hasn't fallen apart on this show? The Admiral, for all his strengths, has become a drunk; the President is dying and has lost most of her idealism; their love, long in coming, is almost inexorably doomed. The alliance with the Cylon rebels is in tatters, with the Quorum ready to tear itself (again). Spirituality, such a vital and vibrant component of the first couple seasons, has been left to the delusionial and desperate. The final five Cylons, possibly humanity's final hope, are a jealous, unruly crew. There's not a family unit that hasn't broken down or been torn apart, not even Baltar's weird harem. Pegasus was a plague, and then, for Lee Adama, a kind of prison. Earth was a pile of rubble. And the Galactica could cave in on itself at any moment. There's not a single facet of this show that could count as a lasting victory for anyone. We like to think the world ended in the first episode but this is too simple, too comforting to be true. The fact is we've been watching the end spell itself out this whole time.

And it goes even further than mere character developments. We're reminded here, in a way, of Adaptation, and how screenwriter (and main character) Charlie Kaufman told his audience exactly the sort of simplistic, dullminded Hollywood movie that he hates -- and then devoted the last 20 minutes of the movie to forcing you to hate that movie too, as it slowly consumes everything that came before it. Something similar is in play here. The real insight in Sackhoff's comment is that this is a show that has been so committed to playing out its initial end-is-nigh promise that it dares to be frustrating, messy, asymetrical, obtuse, unfinished, and at times, just plain sloppy. Characters have come and gone without rhyme or reason. Cylons, despite being able to observe countless versions of themselves making the same mistakes over and over, never seem to learn enough to really change their behavior.

And let's be honest for just a moment: how many plot machinations have been reused or abandoned without apology or regard for logic? We'd heard that early episodes were written without regard to an overall plan. We can't imagine that the final season worked entirely in the same manner, but there are enough bewildering things that have happened throughout the show to make you wonder. To wit: Man, that algae planet sure seemed more hospitable than New Caprica. So did Kobol. Hey, it's weird how that baby Cylon blood only worked once on Laura's cancer. Huh, funny how the first time a Resurrection Ship got destroyed it seemed like a big final deal -- and then they had to do it again later. Wow, what was all that about Earth being full of Cylons, and the final five are those Cylons, and what what what?

To be clear: we're not criticizing this series. It's probably our favorite TV show of the last 15 years, assuming that Lost doesn't edge out ahead of it in its own final arcs. And the show was always firmly grounded, in a way, by its emotional truths -- by the flaws and frailties of its characters -- and by its commitment to a gritty, relatively jargon-free depiction of life in space when the plots started to get loopy. All we're saying is: if part of the thrill of BSG has come from the acting, the mise-en-scene, and the spectacle of self-willed sci-fi genocide, part of it also came from never quite knowing what the frakking fuck David Eick and Ronald D. Moore and the show's writers were doing -- and suspecting they might not know themselves. Suspecting that this was a show that could be tearing itself apart right as we watched it.

Which brings us to the end. And we ask: are you really expecting closure from tonight's final episode? We're not. People will die, that's certain, characters that we've grown to care for over these past few years. But frankly, we'll be surprised and a little sad if this story ends neatly: if a boy gets a girl; if everyone makes it out alive; if we finally do know "the truth." If all 12 of the plotlines that io9 wants answered actually are. Some inevitably will wind up getting pushed on to Caprica, the prequel whose pilot will come out in April. But some, we hope, will never be answered. And If we do get some sort of truth, well, personally hoping for a jagged, weird truth, if any, one that sticks in our craw and threatens to destroy our every sense of all that's come before it. It's a tall order, to be sure, but from what we can tell, Eick and Moore are nothing if not consistent. (Except when they're not.)

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Our Battlestar Galactica Archive

Admiral Adama At The United Nations: "SO SAY WE ALL!"

Chenda Ngak — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:33:00 GMT

We reported last week that there would be a panel discussion at the United Nations focusing on social issues that were weaved throughout the storyline of Battlestar Galactica. The panel met yesterday and we heard that they got down to business in a weirdly fantastic manner. And Admiral Adama, a.k.a. Edward James Olmos, did not disappoint.

Anyone who has followed Battlestar Galactica knows that the series, while meant to entertain, has touched on very real and relevant issues that face our society today: torture, stolen elections, wars without end. Heck, if there were another season, we'd almost expect an economic crisis, Gaius Baltar's Ponzi scheme, and Lee Adama's campaign for change that the fleet can believe in.

Well, for one night the real world and the world of Galactica mixed again, as last night the U.N. became a sort of Twelve Colonies, with the audience sectioned off and labeled accordingly. This was brilliant because of the Quorum of Twelve is sort of the sci-fi version of the United Nations, yeah, we know, duh, anyways. (Woah -- Tom Zarek = John Bolton?) The discussion, moderated by Whoopi Goldberg, was broken up into four segments: Human Rights, Children and Armed Conflict, Terrorism, and Reconciliation and Dialog Among Civilizations and Faiths. The first topic of discussion was on Human Rights. From the start, the meeting was an intense and surreal experience that would give any BSG fan a nerdgasm.

Human Rights Deputy Director Craig Mokhiber lamented that even the utopian ideal the United Nations was formed around was considered, by some, science fiction. "We look at it in a different way," Mokhiber explained. "It's true that we are an idealistic organization... but we are focused on international law and diplomacy to settle disputes. We don't see it as utopian, we see it as the only reasonable alternative to what inevitably would be a horrific dystopian society." (io9.com)

EJO took the chance to interject his own pasionate feelings and took the chance to exploit our fear and respect of the Admiral. Wait, this isn't an episode of BSG, right? We're not being intergalactically punked?

When one of the UN's representatives talked about how part of their mandate was to safeguard the human rights of everyone, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and station, Olmos got a little heated. "You never should've invited me here," he said, before blasting the UN for continuing to use race as a term of separation, of division among peoples. His voice rose, steadily, as if years of social activism was coming to a head on this night. Then, directing his attention to the high schoolers: "Adults will never be able to stop using the word 'race' as a cultural determinant....There is only one race: the human race. SO SAY WE ALL!" (ew.com)

Oh holy frakking hell, did he really do that?

(Co-creator David) Eick noted, "You get a brief glimpse into the dynamics of the set when you hear Mary refer to the President as 'Laura,' and Eddie refers to the Admiral as 'I.'" (Alan Sepinwall)

Guess so.

"Battlestar Galactica" Breaks Hearts, Kicks Asses [SPOILERS]

Chenda Ngak — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:32:00 GMT

People always say that breakups are bittersweet. No television breakup is sadder than the one happening right now. Yes, we're talking about the Sci-Fi show Battlestar Galactica dumping us nerds for greener pastures. It's worse than the time that Ross and Rachel broke up. Yeah, it's like that. Part one of the series finale, "Daybreak" was a sweet song of expository flashbacks that leads us down a path toward bitterness.

The very first scene was a full circle moment with Bill Adama in a heated meeting with someone who was probably his boss on Caprica. The line that stuck out was when this gentleman said, "It's one hour of your life. Look, sometimes there are things that you just gotta do, alright?" We assume this is the fateful (and we don't use the word lightly) decision by the Colonial Admiralty to send Adama and the Valkyrie on a surveillance mission across the Armistice Line. This is the mission that broke the treaty with the Cylons, setting off the chain of events that is the foundation of the series.

We move on the key points in the lives of key characters. We see the beginning of Gaius Baltar's relationship with Caprica six. The happy couple, Kara Thrace and Zak Adama host big brother Lee Adama for dinner. It is the first time that Kara and Lee meet. We also see Laura Roslin all smiles with her sisters, only to lose them in a car accident that included her father and both sisters. Roslin goes crazy and jumps in a water fountain.

When we are snapped back into present day, we catch up with President Lee Adama giving orders on Galactica. We presume that they are in the middle of the process of dismantling Galactica. Kara Thrace a.k.a Starbuck is still obsessed with the musical notes that Hera wrote. John Cavil a.k.a. Number One wants to start immediate experiments on Hera. Bill Adama is moping around the hallways of Galactica. Gaius Baltar is asking Lee Adama to give his harem a seat on the council. Starbuck and Bill Adama have one of their quasi-father-daughter moments about her obsession with the musical notes and mystery of her death on Earth. Bill Adama tells her that she's his daughter and to never forget it. They decide to plug in Sam, who is now a hybrid, we guess. They have questions about Hera and the Colony.

Everything comes to a head when Bill Adama draws a line down Galactica's hangar and tells the crew to choose a side. We don't know what Sam said to Bill Adama and Starbuck, but through a series of gossipy conversations we learn that Bill Adama thinks it's worthwhile to send out a rescue mission to the Colony -- they think they've found the location.

The tense moment of climax shows Bill Adama making an announcement to a sea of Galactica crew and residents. With urgency and intensity he begins his speech...

"No one should feel obligated to join this mission in any way. This is a decision I have made for myself. If it turns out that there are not enough personnel to crew Galactica, I will lead a Raptor Assault with anyone who is willing to join me. Let there me no illusions this is likely to be a one way trip, so don't volunteer out of sentiment or emotion."

He asks the people of Galactica to make a choice by standing on either side of the line. In the end, about two-thirds of the people choose to remain with the fleet.

The final scene has the Adamas, the Tights, Starbuck, Tory Foster, and the Galen Tyrol planning their strategy for penetrating the Colony. They realize that there is only one safe jump spot on top of a "singularity" or a black hole. After a few words back and forth, Bill Adama ends the episode in style with just a few words.

"Alright. Let's get to work."

Next week's two-hour series finale looks like it is full of action. The preview promises to reveal all secrets. We know that the writers have no more room to yanky our wanky. This is the moment that has us tuning in every week and enduring the slow buildup that is also known as the past three weeks.

Although, we're excited to see this series explain all of our questions, we are also sad that such a quality show is coming to an end. What are we left with? Dollhouse a.k.a. an excuse to see a scantily clad Eliza Dushku? Seriously, Lost, alone, cannot satiate our appetite for mystery, drama, sexual tension, and action. We won't cry our eyes out until next week, so until then, get the frak out of here.

PREVIOUSLY:

"Battlestar Galactica" Could Influence The United Nations

"Battlestar Galactica": Everybody -- No, Really, EVERYBODY -- Hurts [SPOILERS]

"Battlestar Galactica" Is Driving Us To Drink [SPOILERS]

"Kings": NBC Clearly Wants Us To Pick This Up Where "Battlestar" Leaves Off

Bryan Christian — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:28:00 GMT

The first time we saw an ad for Kings, NBC's slightly sci-fi retelling of the David and Goliath story, it was in the middle of Inauguration Weekend, as Barack Obama made his way to Washington by train. You've probably seen the ad since -- "a kingdom at war needs hope," they've re-run it constantly the last couple weeks -- but on that weekend, we couldn't help but admire NBC for the baldness of their attempt to link a mid-season replacement to the incoming President. And, of course, we wondered: would that strategy work? Could a show get an audience purely through the audacity of, erm, a few well-placed ads?

Well, maybe we give the NBC promo department too much credit, but about halfway through last night's series premiere, we found ourselves wondering again about the timing behind Kings. This time, though, it wasn't that NBC might be trying to capitalize on the beginning of something... No, rather it seemed clear that NBC's hoping that Kings'll be a decent substitute for something that's ending right as it begins, leaving a decently rabid fanbase with nothing new to follow.

So, can Kings be the new Battlestar Galactica? We're not sure yet...

It's certainly got a number of the same pieces in play. Kings is a little higher budget than BSG, but you've still got a wartorn people, a grunt's eye view of battle, characters driven by a sense of spiritual destiny, and a charismatic TV veteran in the center of a cast of unknowns. Both shows present worlds with their own peculiar politics and social structures, which the creators obviously hope the viewers find interesting. And both shows have a serious, mournful tone that distracts from both the soapy aspects of the plot and its decidedly SF trappings.

So is it too much to think that NBC delayed the premiere of one show to coincide with the end of the other? Maybe. The two hour Kings premiere lacked the apocalyptic fever of Battlestar's three-hour opener, so it hasn't grabbed us a surely, but it also seems possible that Kings, with its bigger budgets and Big Three home, won't be quite as -- dare we say it -- sloppy as Battlestar has been over the years. (We know, we know; we'll say more on this soon. In the meantime, all we have to say is: raise your hand if you got tired of thinking that this Resurrection Ship would be the last one!)

The real question for us now is: what happens when Caprica premieres, because honestly, this is sort of what we'd expected/hoped that show, the prequel to Battlestar Galactica, to be. Actually, strike that -- we'd sort of imagined Caprica to be like Kings, but with a dash of Mad Men -- have you seen those deco sets and smart suits?

So what do you guys think? Any Battlestar fans out there gonna keep watching Kings, or are you just SOL until Caprica?

"Battlestar Galactica" Could Influence The United Nations

Chenda Ngak — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:45:00 GMT

Talk about a badass marketing tie-in for the series finale. The United Nations in New York will host a panel discussion on the themes of the Sci Fi show, Battlestar Galactica. The Sci Fi Channel has confirmed that themes like "human rights, children and armed conflict, terrorism and human rights and reconciliation and dialogue among civilizations and faith" will becovered.

The "Battlestar" contingent on the panel will consist of executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, as well as stars Mary McDonnell (who plays president Laura Roslin on the show) and Edward James Olmos (Admiral William Adama).
UN representatives on the panel are Radhika Coomaraswamy, special representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; Craig Mokhiber, deputy director of the New York office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; and Robert Orr, assistant secretary-general for policy planning, executive office of the Secretary-General.
The panel will be moderated by "Battlestar" fan Whoopi Goldberg.
The invitation-only panel will take place at 7 p.m. March 17 in the U.N.'s Economic and Social Council Chamber, three days before the Sci Fi show's series finale. (chicagotribune.com)

Six years of having to explain to your "cool" friends that BSG is a great show is finally being validated. All the rejoicing aside, who knew that Whoopi Goldberg was a BSG fan?

"Battlestar Galactica": Everybody -- No, Really, EVERYBODY -- Hurts [SPOILERS]

Chenda Ngak — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:34:00 GMT

The saying goes that there is always a calm before the storm. If that saying could be applied to the last few episodes of Battlestar Galactica then there better be a damned category-five hurricane on the horizon. With only two episodes to go, there is still very little movement forward in the overarching story of the show. Hang on, does sadness and crying count as "movement"?

We start of with a flash back to Hera back in the opera house. Bill and Lee Adama, Starbuck, Ellen and Saul Tight, and Tory have a strategery session to discuss ideas of how to get Hera back. In this conversation, the Colony is introduced. Ellen calls it "home" -- the location where the centurions went after the first war. This is the assumed location of Cavil (Number One) and where they suspect that Boomer is taking Hera.

The Cylon goop story continues to bore us, but we do get some action when a gash splits Galactica open. Cylons and humans alike get sucked out and the ship loses 61 people.

We catch up with Roslin, who is on her deathbed and seeing visions of Hera at the opera house...again. Later, Roslin and Adama get stoned and she begs him to give up Galactica. Meanwhile, the council is falling apart as Lee Adama breaks the news of Galactica's demise.

Starbuck and Gaius have an amusing scene in the bathroom, where Starbuck teases Gaius about being a scientist who created the old Cylon detector -- which remember was bogus at first. She challenges him to explain what happened to her and gives him the dog tag that she found on her corpse on Earth. Gaius runs tests on the dog tag.

Helo grabs Adama on the way to a service for the casualties of the hull breach, and begs him for a raptor, so that he can look for his daughter; Adama says no. Latert the funeral for the casualties in a montage that suggests a connection and unity between humans and Cylons. After the ceremony Gaius goes on a rant and reveals that the blood of a deceased Starbuck was on the dog tags. He proclaims that she is an angel walking among them.

Sam is hooked up to a bath similar to the hybrids. He starts spewing out words like a hybrid and tells Starbuck that she's the harbinger of death. They realize that Sam has been changing things on the ship and could possibly jump the ship because of the Cylon goop that has been spread all over Galactica. Okay, that tie-in was so not worth two episodes of set up. Is there a deeper connection that will be revealed? We hope so!

In the end we see the Colony for the first time, which is like a big intergalactic beehive. We also see a nod to the original series with a sighting of the old vipers from the 1970s. This is where Boomer turns over Hera to John. Back at Galactica, Adama takes off his pins in a symbolic move, suggesting that he's given up on Galactica. Then he totally loses it in a Jackson Pollack-esque moment with paint in his chamber. In the end, he tells Saul that they're abandoning ship and they give a death toast to Galactica.

A preview of next week's episode, wherein we apparently see some real urgency and action. Yes, finally! It'll be the second to last episode, so we expect everything to finally come to a head, or at least we hope it will, because right now, the only way that we can really tell that things are coming to an end is the checklist of characters who cried this week: Athena, Hera, Helo, Boomer, Gaius, Caprica Six, Starbuck, The Admiral, and possibly Col. Tigh and that Number Eight in the sick bay, but it was sort of hard to tell. Also, even though he wasn't in this week's ep, we'll take it as read that the Chief was off somewhere bawling too. Maybe once everyone drys their eyes, they can get down to business?

PREVIOUSLY:

"Battlestar Galactica" Is Driving Us To Drink [SPOILERS]

Nekkid Jamie Bamber PETA Ad Almost Makes Us Forget About Sea Kittens

"Battlestar Galactica" Kinda Gives Us Blue Balls [SPOILERS]

Breathless "Battlestar Galactica" Gives Us An Expository Orgasm [SPOILERS]

Party of "V"?: Scott Wolf Joins Mice Eating Sci-Fi Reboot

Chenda Ngak — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:12:00 GMT

As you know, V is making a comeback and Scott Wolf will be joining the cast. Following perhaps in the footsteps of his older brother Charlie, the former Bailey Salinger has been working steadily in the past few years, but hasn't had a major hit as of yet -- so maybe it's time to get a little sci-fi?

"V," from WBTV is set in the future, when the human race is ruled by aliens known as the Visitors. Wolf will play a career-obsessed TV newscaster who becomes the aliens' propaganda outlet. (hollywoodreporter.com)

So no rodent munching for young Bailey, eh? Ah well, we sincerely hope that V can stir up enough nostalgia -- and quality writers -- to get picked up for a full season. If the show gets it right, it could pick up those deeply committed fans of Battlestar Galactica who may not have Dollhouse or Terminator to get them their nerd fix.

PREVIOUSLY:

Wake Up And Smile: "V" Reboot

"Battlestar Galactica" Is Driving Us To Drink [SPOILERS]

Chenda Ngak — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:50:00 GMT

Friday's Battlestar Galactica was a moody, disjointed episode and was reminiscent of the hopelessness a common alcoholic feels. And as much as we like self-loathing drunks, they become tiresome. What the frak? With only three episodes left, we don't feel any closer to the answers we seek.

We start with a despondent Starbuck, who finds herself quarreling with a lone piano man at the ship's bar, Joe's. She eventually finds herself drawn to this nameless man and her relationship with him is weaved throughout the episode.

Meanwhile, Galen Tyrol struggles to make peace with the recent arrival of his ex-lover, Sharon Valeri a.k.a. the original Boomer, who is locked up in the brig. She shows Tyrol that she's still in love with him by projecting the image of a fantasy life that she created after her death on Galactica. In that life they have a home, marriage, and daughter together on Picon. Throughout the show, Tyrol finds himself fighting for Boomer's life. The Cylon allies want her put to trial and excecute her and President Roslin is in agreement.

Tyrol is desperate and kidnaps another eight to take Boomer's place in the brig. As soon as Boomer is on the loose, she wreaks havoc on the ship by beating up Athena, hooking up with Helo, and stealing their child, Hera. She was only playing nice to get to the girl.

As Starbuck's story unfolds, she sees flashbacks of herself as a child, playing the piano in dream-like sequences. She spends more time with the piano man and becomes fond of him. His story sounds suspiciously familiar and it becomes apparent that this man is a hallucination of her father, and also that she may very well wind up making out with him. He convinces her to play a song on the piano from her childhood. While she's playing, she realizes that a drawing of stars that Hera gave her is a line of musical notes. When they make the connection, Starbuck and the piano man start to play the notes. The song is supposedly the same one that brought all of the Cylons together -- "All Along the Watchtower" -- except of course it totally isn't, it's just some piano mashing. Guess if it ain't the Cylons, it's ASCAP/BMI!

Saul and Ellen Tigh hear Starbuck playing the song and it's urgent for them to find out how she learned it, even though Ellen wasn't actually around when Saul heard at the end of Season... urgh, whatever. Starbuck reveals that Hera wrote the notes and they are left with the fallout. In the climactic ending, Boomer kidnaps Hera and escapes out of a closing flight deck and jumps away, blowing a hole in the side of the already weakened Galactica, leaving us with a sense of dread for the characters and also for us, wondering whether this show and its many plotlines are gonna really get wrapped up, or if it's just the Galactica herself that will see some sort of definite end.

PREVIOUSLY:

"Battlestar Galactica" Kinda Gives Us Blue Balls [SPOILERS]

Breathless "Battlestar Galactica" Gives Us An Expository Orgasm [SPOILERS]

Nekkid Jamie Bamber PETA Ad Almost Makes Us Forget About Sea Kittens

Nekkid Jamie Bamber PETA Ad Almost Makes Us Forget About Sea Kittens

Chenda Ngak — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:41:00 GMT

Bears may be the number one threat to America, but our friends from Across the Pond are doing their part to protect the lovable critters. PETA has recruited Battlestar Galactica hunk, Jamie Bamber a.k.a. Lee "Apollo" Adama, to join an ad campaign to save the Canadian black bear. As in "bare"...

The decision was a no-brainer for Bamber.

I initially decided to do the PETA ad because a great friend of mine in L.A., Lucy Davis [Dawn from the original The Office], had just done a similar ad, and I love Lucy and it was a cause I didn't know about – I'll be honest. So as soon as Lucy opened my eyes, I was thrilled to join her and do my bit. (peta.org.uk)

Opens our eyes too. The "Bare Skin, Not Bear Skin" makes us want to make cat noises. The ad campaign continues a long history of provocative PETA ads (see below for a few of the more recent ones). Hey PETA, truce: hook us up with Robert Pattinson and we'll forget the whole Sea Kittens thing ever happened, mkay?

PREVIOUSLY:

PETA vs. Eliza Dushku

More PETA: Meat Causes Impotence?

Banned PETA Ad: Too Racy For The Super Bowl

"Battlestar Galactica"'s Jamie Bamber To Bong-Bong The U.K. Into Sexy, Law-Abiding Submission

"Battlestar Galactica" Kinda Gives Us Blue Balls [SPOILERS]

Chenda Ngak — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:45:00 GMT

If you guessed "some things never change," really, you have no idea...

Friday's episode of Battlestar Galactica was like a prom date that flees after third base. Our hope is that this pause in the overall movement of the show's storyline is akin to, say, a pause to use protection in the heat of the moment... but we'll be the first to admit that we're totally whipped by this show anyway, so what's the point in complaining?

With the help of Sharon "Boomer" Valeri, Ellen Tigh lands on Galactica to begin what we assumed would be more lusted-after expository about Earth, the Cylons, and the fate of the fleet. Last week's episode, "No Exit," left us feeling giddy about final five episodes and were looking forward to five action-packed episodes. Instead, we get melodrama from the love triangle between Saul Tigh, Ellen Tigh, Caprica Six. Much of the drama revolves around Caprica Six's pregnancy and Ellen's jealousy that she's unable to get pregnant with her husband.

The Clyons rally around Sam Anders and attempts votes to join the base ship and jump away from the fleet. Saul resistance versus Ellen’s persistence complicates the vote. Ultimately, the Cylons vote to leave the fleet. At the height of the dramatic face-off, Caprica Six has complications with her pregnancy.

Gaius Baltar makes his comeback on Galactica, but his harem has been left alone for too long. Lead groupie Paula has her own opinions on how to lead and protect the group. Meanwhile, Gaius is starting to see visions of Caprica Six again. After conflict over food distribution in Dogville, Gaius is guided by Caprica Six to arm the group. Miraculously, Gaius, makes another deal with the devil and convinces Bill Adama to arm his people. We presume/hope that the divergence in Gaius and Paula's relationship is a set up for a climax in future episodes.

Other plot lines throughout the episode include Bill Adama's inner conflict over using Cylon goop to patch up Galactica and Galen Tyrol's inner emotional conflict over seeing Sharon for the first time since he discovered he was a Cylon. And back in the hospital, Caprica Six loses her baby [Ed.: Weird how this was not even the centerpiece of the episode... a big deal, we'd have thought...] and Sam Anders's brain shows activity for the first time since his surgery.

PREVIOUSLY:

Breathless "Battlestar Galactica" Gives Us An Expository Orgasm [SPOILERS]

Our Crush On "BSG" Star Edward James Olmos

Breathless "Battlestar Galactica" Gives Us An Expository Orgasm [SPOILERS]

Chenda Ngak — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:16:00 GMT

Now that the coup is over, this Friday's Battlestar Galactica finally went back to revealing things about the Cylons, Earth, and other secrets that have had us on our knees like crack addicts.

Let's Talk Details...

Immediately we noticed that the intro changed to included flashes of the old centurions and a refresher on Ellen's story. With 6 episodes to go, it was sort of weird to get a refresher course on everything, particularly since we already knew that Ellen was coming back, but watching her resurrect in a flashback was an awesome way to kick things off. If we had any personal doubts about Ellen as the final Cylon, they were squashed.

Our ears perked up when John Cavil (Number One) mentions that he was modeled after Ellen's father. Is this the connection with the upcoming series, Caprica? We learn that Ellen was the first Cylon and that she created the eight Cylon models. One plus two tells us that Ellen is probably a Zoe from Caprica, or was, and that Cavil is therefore modeled after Cylon inventor Daniel Greystone. More on that later; for now: Dean Stockwell is an old Eric Stoltz??? In what universe?

We see Laura Roslin and Lee Adama sorting out the fallout of the massacre of the Quorum. It was not surprising that Lee would rise to a prominent position--again.

Meanwhile the plot of Bill Adama and Galen Tyrol (made Chief once again) confronting the gash and hairline fractures in the ship are weaved throughout the episode. Tyrol wants to use Cylon technology to patch the ship. Adama resists and eventually gives in.

Another light bulb turned on when and injured Sam Anders started remembering everything about his past and life on Earth. He reveals that the final five were all coworkers at a research facility, Tyrol and Tory Foster were madly in love, Ellen was the one who pushed the technology forward, and there were eight Cylon models. Eek! That's right, a missing Clyon model a.k.a. number seven.

Anders goes on to reveal that number seven is a male named Daniel. We learn from Ellen that Daniel's line was genetically altered by a jealous Cavil. Um...Flashback to Kara Thrace painting the Eye of Jupiter as a child. It's been long thought that she was part of the final five and that was squashed when Ellen was confirmed as the final Cylon, but now the door is open again for rampant speculation.

We also learn that Cavil was the one who boxed and erased the memory of the final five before reintroducing them on Caprica.

In the final scenes we see Boomer helping Ellen escape from Cavil's head surgery and a brain dead Anders -- post-surgery -- putting an end to the juicy revelations that from this memory recall. And finally how could we not mention the genius performance by John Hodgman as the surgeon. Very funny, BSG; who better to botch brain surgery on a robot than a PC?

Next week: Ellen reunites with the rest of the Cylons on Galactica and comes face-to-face with Tigh's new lover and baby mama. The last three episodes, while great, felt like they could've been plucked from any season of the show, so we're glad that the writers have gotten back to the story.

PREVIOUSLY:

Our Crush On "BSG" Star Edward James Olmos

"Battlestar Galactica": The Final Cylon -- And More

Our Crush On "BSG" Star Edward James Olmos

Lindy Parker — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:20:00 GMT

Confession: Our knowledge of Battlestar Galactica can be boiled down to a single encounter in Starbucks...

We're sitting there, drinking coffee, reading a non-sci-fi book, when suddenly a rather portly guy in a red raincoat approaches our table, and stands there in an awkward, but non-scary way with a sort of half-smile on his face...

Red Raincoat: Um, excuse me? Have you ever seen the show, Battlestar Galactica?
Us: No. But our friend is really into it.
Red Raincoat: Oh, well have you seen the show, The Bionic Woman?
Us: No, sorry. (and we really are -- he seems so enthusiastic!)
Red Raincoat: Well, you look a lot like the girl from those shows, Katee Sackhoff.
Us: Oh. Cool.
Red Raincoat: Okay, have a nice day!

All this to say, when it comes to in depth BSG analysis, we defer to Remote Bryan, but we do have this to say on the subject: We LOVE Edward James Olmos! We feel like he could star in all our May-December romance fantasies featuring horseback riding, apple picking, rolls in the hay -- you know, the usual. The voice alone totally does it for us.

Here's a little Olmos fix for the day in which we believe the interviewer fully shares our EJO crush...

Previously:

Battlestar Galactica: The Final Cylon and More

Caught Up on Battlestar? So You Know That Gaeta is [SPOILER] Right?

Anybody Else Watch "Heroes" Last Night?

Bryan Christian — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:25:00 GMT

Is Peter looking into the camera? Does he know we're here? What is he, She-Hulk all of a sudden?

We know -- it's surprising, right? That we'd ever watch Heroes again after our rather dramatic exeunt from recapping the fall season? Well, what do you know, there we were watching the 3D episode of Chuck (sans glasses, which was actually fine -- nice going ) and next thing you know, BOOM, Heroes. Prolly just what NBC was hoping would happen, so, you know, sorry to be a pawn in your game, Ben Silverman!

So, how was the first chapter in the "Fugitives" volume? So far... um... eh? Is that an acceptable answer?

There were some nice moments, to be sure. Most of them had 2008-9's official Everywhere Man Zeljko Ivanek as the creep rounding up all the heroes -- oh, see what they did there? see what they did EVERYWHERE? -- and sending them off to a Super-Gitmo. And the cliffhanger ending -- a plane crash that played like Con Air crossed with Lost -- was pretty good stuff.

But for each of those moments, there were still missteps, things that made you wonder if the show really could come back together. Like Mohinder driving a cab. (What?) And Peter just happening to get in it. (Double what?) In New York city. (SHUT UP!) Or how about Claire doing, um, just about anything. Really, we understand that she's the jailbait that makes this show so yummy to fanboys, but urgh! Are we really supposed to take her seriously?

So, you know, so far, we say it's a draw. But apparently Mark Verheiden, who was responsible for last Friday's EXCELLENT episode of Battlestar, takes over next week, so maybe we give it another week? Maybe. The big question: will we make it all the way to anything Bryan Fuller works on?

PREVIOUSLY:

"Heroes" Producer Mark Verheiden Says They're Trying Their Absolute Best To Make "Heroes" Good. Really.

Some "Heroes" Star Wants Off "Heroes", Says Blind Item On E! Online

"Pushing Daisies" Creator Pretty Much Confirmed As The Guy To Save "Heroes"

"Battlestar Galactica": The Final Cylon -- And More

Bryan Christian — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:23:00 GMT

Still reeling from Battlestar Galactica's grueling, deeply satifying return to the air? We sure are. Who'd have thought that [SPOILER] would [ALSO A SPOILER], or that [ANOTHER SPOILER] would have ever [MASSIVE SPOILER], huh? Not us, that's for sure. Was it hard for the actors involved in all these developments to keep their mouths shut? Click through to find out.

Obviously the big reveals in last Friday's episode were that Dualla, Apollo's ex-wife, couldn't take the disappointment of Earth being a ruin and shot herself, and that Ellen Tigh, the dead wife of Galactica's XO, was the fifth and final Cylon. Anyone see those coming? Well, the actresses who play those roles might have. Says Kandyse McClure, who played Dualla:

How and when did you know what was in store for Dee?
McClure: Ummmm, how do I be politically correct about this? They didn't quite ... I got a first inkling when there were contract renegotiations, and there were only 13 [episodes] on the table. So I got kind of a clue then, because I was sure there'd be more than 13 episodes in the last season.

Also, we'd heard that Kate Vernon, who plays Ellen Tigh, had taken it very heard when she her character was killed by her husband in season three. But we had no idea how hard.

"I wasn't done with the character," Vernon moaned. "They killed me off. I was devastated. Why me? What did I do wrong?"

A small reprieve came when executive producer Ron Moore told her she would return as a dark vision of her husband's tortured mind, but Vernon resigned herself to the fact that her role in "one of the greatest shows ever made" was over. Then, on an especially wrenching afternoon many months ago, she got a phone call.

"I was crawling down Sepulveda and I had just come from a therapy session and I was crying, my eyes were swollen like clam eyes, and I was hanging on my steering wheel wondering what was going on in my life and my career. The phone rang. It was Ron's assistant."

Yeesh. Good to hear that she'll be returning for the end of the show, not just because it's a great role and Vernon has always been great at it, but also because it probably means more screen time for Michael Hogan, who plays Col. Tigh, and who is probably our favorite character. So is Ellen actually coming back? If Starbuck can be in two places at once, what's to stop Ellen from showing up in a second body? Oh we got it -- maybe Ellen can come back in the body of the Six that's struck up a relationship with her husband? 'Cause if you gotta borrow someone's body...

[via LA Times]

Behold, The Grand Prize In This Weekend's "Battlestar" Antiques Nerdshow

Bryan Christian — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:47:00 GMT

It's Lot #742, it's called "The Cylon War," it's from Admiral Adama's quarters on the Galactica, and bidding is currently up to $3,250.

When the dust settles this weekend in Pasadena, we fully expect it to fetch a few K more than the $10 - $12,000 price estimated in the catalog. Anything below $16K is a pittance, we say -- even in this economy.

No, seriously. If we could go back in time and give up something we like to have just to have 20 grand in our hot little hands to buy this, we would. The Sunday New York Post, pizza, soap -- whatever it took. Ah well. Maybe in the next life.

Guess we will console ourselves with the catalog to the auction, which is a handsome collectible of its own -- look ma, no corners -- and probably with a printout of this very post. We could just print this out on the office Canon and get something that would look nice (Sniffle.) over our mantle too, right? (Sniffle.)

PREVIOUSLY:

The "Battlestar Galactica" Prop Auction Catalog Is Awesome And Thoroughly Depressing

It's Business Time: "Battlestar," "Conchords," "L Word," "Secret Diary," "Big Love" Back This Weekend

Bryan Christian — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:36:00 GMT

Our rundown, after the jump.

While we are still heartsick over our total lack of the being-rich-ness required to light our next cigar with an Adama family heirloom, we are nonetheless insanely excited that Battlestar's 4.5th and final season starts tonight. Will we learn the identity of the final Cylon? Will we get confirmation that our intrepid heroes in fact landed in the ruins of Brooklyn Heights? Will we get to see some Number Six skin even though her budding relationship with Saul Tigh is, by Michael Hogan's own account, a relatively chaste one? Most importantly, will one of you lend us 6 grand so that we can buy that lighter we mentioned earlier? We're guessing none of these questions will be answered tonight, but except for the last one, we're fine with that.

But Battlestar's not the only TV show coming back to our DVR's this weekend. Sunday night, Showtime's bringing back The L Word for its swan song, wrapping things up with the whole "Who Killed Jenny" plotline and, presumably, paving the way for a new ladyjail-set spinoff, which, you know, just, wow. And Belle, our favorite British prosty, is back for another quick turn in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, a show that took a while to grow on us, but grow on us it did. This year, Belle is, well, still a working girl and all that, but Billie Piper, the former Who-mate who plays her, got pregnant during filming, meaning, you can expect an even more acute glow -- and deeper cleavage -- from this already appealing actress.

And over on HBO the same night, Bret and Jemaine are back with another season of Flight of the Conchords, which is awesome even though you've probably already seen the season premiere online. IOHO, it's the best premiere of the year, so don't miss it. Also returning: Big Love, a show that has some pretty fervent followers -- and, this year, some excellent promos -- but has always struck us as a little muddled. Will it break wide or break down this year? Fans -- let us know what you think!

PREVIOUSLY:
The "Battlestar Galactica" Prop Auction Catalog Is Awesome And Thoroughly Depressing
Caught Up On "Battlestar"? So, You Know That Gaeta Is [SPOILER], Right?
Watch The "Flight Of The Conchords" Season Two Premiere! Right Here! Right Now!
FOTC News: Conchords Songs Will Be On ITunes The Day After Broadcasts, And Coco's Got An Album Coming Out
The Cowboy From The Village People Will Appear On "Flight Of The Conchords"
"The L Word" Spinoff Will Be Set In A Women's Prison
"The L Word": Who KIlled Jenny? Was It Xena The Warrior Princess?
Jennifer Beals: Hotter Now Than Before?
We Officially Like "Secret Diary Of A Call Girl"
Liked The "Secret Diary Of A Call Girl" Premiere? Double Your Pleasure!

The "Battlestar Galactica" Prop Auction Catalog Is Awesome And Thoroughly Depressing

Bryan Christian — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:28:00 GMT

Disappointment! The Battlestar Galactica prop auction is tomorrow and Sunday, and we are definitely not going to be able to afford the thing we want most -- the Adama family's lucky zippo.

What is the estimated auction price of this one-of-a-kind keepsake from the finest sci-fi show ever to feature a man/ladyrobot/ladyrobot threeway? Find out after the break.

Can you guys read that? "$4,000 to $5,000". Yeah, we know. There's, like, no way we can pull that kind of scratch together by tomorrow.

Will we settle for something else in the catalog? The CIC insignia plaque? The Arrow of Athena? Starbuck's parachute? Maybe the... hey, wait a sec -- we're not telling you!

PREVIOUSLY:

Caught Up On "Battlestar"? So, You Know That Gaeta Is [SPOILER], Right?

"Battlestar Galactica" Actor James Callis Mentions Hitler For No Reason

Caught Up On "Battlestar"? So, You Know That Gaeta Is [SPOILER], Right?

Bryan Christian — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:40:00 GMT

A major development for one of BSG's minor (but well-loved) characters -- and now you can get caught up on it all before BSG comes back to the airwaves this Friday night. Click through for the complete web-only Battlestar Galactica miniseries "The Face of the Enemy" -- after the jump.

If you're anything like us, you like to watch your a web series all in a row, rather than wolfing it down in little chunks. Which is one of the reasons that we haven't mentioned "The Face of the Enemy" until now. The final episode came out today, you see, meaning that we could safely watch it and not expend any of the valuable cliffhanger-enduring energy that's clearly going to wreck us between now and May, when the whole series comes to an end.

So what's up with Gaeta, who was least seen recovering from a very nasty leg amputation? Just start watching. You got a seething interest in all things Battlestar and about half-an-hour to kill, right?

Nostradamus Never Said Nothin' About The Snuggie

Bryan Christian — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:35:00 GMT

OK, so hard as it was, we tore ourselves away from last night's Battlestar Galactica marathon -- OMG OMG OMG! -- and watched History Channel's Nostradamus: 2012, an exploration of the noted Middle Ages seer and his supposed predictions about worldwide catastrophe in four years, which normally we'd have a, maaaaybe, mild-to-medium interest in, but we've got a good friend who's CONVINCED that 2012 is, in fact, gonna be some hardcore shit, even though how hard can it be when this? So we watched.

And? Well, it was mostly a bunch of horseshit. It was sort of as if the History Channel had jammed a bunch of their other documentaries on the environment, astronomy, and (wha?) history, and slapped the number 2012 on it. Imagine An Inconvienent Truth with more historical re-enactments, obnoxious music, and a little rhyming and you sort of get the idea. Not very scary stuff, unless you scared by "experts" with funny facial hair and SNOOOOZE.

But there was one thing that did scare us senseless: The Snuggie! Have you seen this commercial? It's a CULT, we tell you! SOYLENT GREEN IS SNUGGIES!

What's next? "You wanna keep you feet warm but are tired of having to choose your own shoes. Why not leave the thinking to us?"

[Shudder]

"Colbert Report" Named Best Show On TV By Entertainment Weekly

Jake Kalish — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:31:00 GMT

Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly has made his list of the best and worst shows on television in 2008, with the Colbert Report taking the top spot. The best list distinctly avoids anything in the "reality" or documentary genre - everything is, at least in major part, scripted television. Also, no Battlestar, no Office, no animation of any kind. And no Daily Show - the son has surpassed the father, apparently. Here's EW's list - what do you think they left out?

BEST
1. The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
2. The Wire (HBO)
3. 30 Rock (NBC)
4. The Shield (FX)
5. Lost (ABC)
6. Mad Men (AMC) 7. Fringe (Fox)
8. Late Show With David Letterman; The Late  Late Show With Craig Ferguson (CBS)
9. Dexter (Showtime)
10. In Treatment (HBO)

WORST
1. The Moment of Truth (Fox)
2. American Idol (Fox)
3. Private Practice (ABC)
4. Valentine (The CW)
5. Knight Rider (NBC)

PREVIOUSLY: Our Colbert Archive

“Dollhouse:” This Show Might Just Be Amazing!

Olivia Purnell — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Initially, we fell hard for Dollhouse. We have always adored the abstract idea of Joss Whedon’s new baby. A sci-fi vehicle for brainwashing/mind-control and an all-girl can of whoop-ass opened at will? It had us at hello. But, then, reports surfaced, reports of dissention in the ranks, troubs behind the scenes, scrapping the gosh-darn pilot, and the dreaded Friday time-slot. Our faith in the Eliza Dushku/Joss Whedon team has since been tested. Our love for them has been put through the fire. And although our love is strong as ever, our faith was shaken.

Now though, we’ve got reason to hope anew . . .

Jane Espenson, a consulting producer on Dollhouse and alumna of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Battlestar Galactica says we shouldn’t worry:

“I think people are very confident now that everyone is on the same page with what the show is, how amazing it can be, and I think that a lot of this has been overblown . . . I think that people were concerned that the Firefly scenario would play out again. But, you know, I think that we're very confident of what the show is, and yeah, it's moving along so smoothly now.

I think it could very well appeal to not just Whedonites, but a much broader audience. I think it's extremely good, and the concept just blows me away” (io9.com)

Really? No lie? Jane we could kiss you right now! . . . Oh, no girl, that’s just a figure of speech. These lips belong to Joss and Eliza.

Previously:

A Little Eliza Dushku Nudity to Start The Day Off Right
“Dollhouse” Gets the Friday Kiss of Death
“Dollhouse” Stop Playing With Our Emotions

"Battlestar Galactica" Actor James Callis Mentions Hitler For No Reason

Jake Kalish — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:33:00 GMT

So the LA Times was interviewing Battlestar Galactica actor James Callis the other day about the show's final season, and he was building everybody's anticipation:

I don't think anything could prepare you guys for what happens at the end. We weren't prepared.

Cool. It's a great show, we're looking forward to it. And then, out of the fucking blue, James Callis says this:

Honestly you can't be disappointed. I think if Adolf Hitler were back, he'd be crying in his handkerchief.

Dude, why'd you have to bring Hitler into it? Now we can't cry about anything at the end of the show! We ain't doin' nothing Hitler might have done. (Which is why we're not vegetarians.)

Of course, this is not as bad as college football analyst Lou Holtz's comment in October, when co-host Craig James said Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez was "a great leader":

Hitler was a great leader, too.

WTF, people? BSG and football? Can we not ruin everything we love with Hitler? Is that so hard?

Wake Up And Smile: World Officially Upside Down As Fox News Calls Out Racist Ralph Nader

Bryan Christian — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:37:00 GMT

Could it be? Yes, it could, ladies and gents -- Campaign 2008 is truly over and we've got the apeshit to prove it: Ralph Nader going fullblown asshole and Tina Fey retiring her Sarah Palin outfit. What more could you want? Well, how about the latest on who won the ratings battle election night, Jaime Pressley breaking up with her real-life Crabman, ABC breaking up with Alyssa Milano's new show, how Transformers 2 is totally ripping off Battlestar Galactica, CNN's election night holograms being total crap, and yet another former ER cast member is returning to County General.

-- The video of Ralph Nader calling Obama an "Uncle Tom" is up there. Watch it if you don't have anything to be infuriated about in the next ten minutes.

-- Tina Fey has declared she is through playing Sarah Palin now that, well, there's not much need to. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, is working on some great Tina Fey material, and hopes to become a regular on Fox's MadTV if there's an opening.

-- My Name Is Earl's Jaime Pressley has split from her DJ baby daddy. Apparently they were just pals and gave in to temptation for a few years! Wow, isn't it great when famous people make the same mistakes we do?

-- ABC has taken a pass on Alyssa Milano's sitcom owing to creative differences with the show's creator. Guess that's showing them which one is the boss! Oh wait, can we do that one again?

-- In other ABC news, ABC News got the highest ratings on Election Night. This despite being utterly without holograms, Will.i.am, and senseless racism... which we're sure will somehow mean that next time around, we'll get a double helping of all that crap.

-- Speaking of those holograms, um, yeah... about that.

-- Lest you think that Anthony Edwards was gonna have the fun, Eriq La Salle will also return for a spin around ER before they leave the air. One significant difference: La Salle'll be behind the camera. George Clooney will spend the same week counting his millions on a bed of Italian supermodels.

-- The Michael Bay Transformers franchise is getting way more Cylon-y with their "robots hidden in sexy lady costume" plotline. Except for that one sexy lady costume that's got a penis; that's ripping off something else entirely.

Wake Up And Smile: OK, Who Totally Called The Jon Hamm On "30 Rock" Thing?

Bryan Christian — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:39:00 GMT

The beautiful thing about the internet is when you're right about something in advance, you got proof! And we were so right about Jon Hamm getting booked for 30 Rock after his increasingly impressive appearance on the Lorne Michaels mothership last weekend.

And when you're wrong, well, you can always hit "Unpublish." Assuming, of course, that you still work for the same blog, ha ha. Anyways, we got all that and more, plus: the latest show to probably get cancelled, what a couple of Battlestar and The Wire's best actors are up to, Lorelai Gilmore's Broadway plans, and the New York Times trying to steal our thunder. Jerks!

-- According to Entertainment Weekly (where we borrowed that image, thanks guys, we can't stand to look at Photoshop right now!), Jon Hamm is being courted for a multi-episode arc on 30 Rock. It's a match made in heaven, actually, considering how wonderful and ratings-challenged both Mad Men and 30 Rock are. Nothing succeeds like combined on-the-bubble-cult-status!

-- Speaking of predictions, the New York Times seems to think that The West Wing deserves points for predicting the whole Obama-vs.-McCain thing with the whole Santos-vs.-Winick thing in its final year. We say that since the really interesting part of the election cycle this year was the primaries, we fail to be impressed, and also QUIT HOGGING OUR SPOTLIGHT, NEW YORK TIMES!

--'Til Death might not have to wait too much longer. Sorry, Nathan Lane, maybe you can be fake gay on Old Christine!

-- Lauren Graham, "Guys and Dolls", Broadway, must save $110.

-- Mary McDonnell is apparently following up her run on Battlestar Galactica with a stint on Grey's Anatomy, while Robert Wisdom (aka The Wire's Bunny Colvin, the force behind much of Season Three) guested as an angel on Supernatural last night after spending last year on Prison Break. In the words of a great philosopher, you take the good, you take the bad...

Wake Up And Smile: Answer - Today Is The Weirdest Mad Men Promo Yet

Bryan Christian — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:23:00 GMT

Confused? Well, find out the answer WE MEAN QUESTION, HA HA after the jump, that is in case you haven't already figured out the cryptic image clue that we stole from the Jeopardy site. PLUS: the latest news on the ratings for the debate, Will Arnett and Glenn Beck's new gigs, Ashton Kutcher's cancelled one, the legendary Denis Leary/Jenny McCarthy autism debate -- and FINALLY, for Chrissakes, we have a date for the final 10 Battlestar Galactica episodes!!!

-- Actual news first, kids: the best debate got worse ratings than the second one, AKA the worst one. No, we don't have any explanation of that, nor do we care to think about it. No debates for four years, hooray!

-- Mad Men will be a category on today's episode of Jeopardy!

-- After months of pursuit, Fox has lured Will Arnett back to their loving corporate embrace, offering him a development deal that could in no way be described as "arrested". He can choose the writers, producers, directors, content, everything. Will Arnett has a fiefdom! Will Arnett has a fiefdom!

-- Glenn Beck, that loud, right-leaning/libertarian guy that used to be on CNN Headline News all the damn time before he got a botched butt operation of some sort, has also been lured to Fox, where he'll apparently host a show similar to his current one and where (we suspect) he'll be able to take harder hits at, oh, just spitballing here, an almost entirely Democratic government. We sort of doubt that Glenn's deal is anywhere near as sweet as Will's.

-- Ashton Kutcher's new gameshow Opportunity Knocks has been cancelled. Moving on.

-- In weird news, if you didn't already know, Denis Leary's new book says that autistic kids might just need a smack, and at the same time, Jenny McCarthy claims to have cured her child of autism with a wheat-and-dairy-free diet. Two substantive debates this week? We're in heaven!

-- And finally, finally, FINALLY FINALLY, Sci-Fi Channel has announced the schedule for the 10 new/final Battlestar Galactica episodes -- 10 eps sstarting January 16 and ending March 20! Take this moment to imagine us doing that thing where we're so excited that we pull our shirt out in points over our boobs like exaggerated hardened nipples and giggle. 'Cause that's totally what we're doing right now.