Unofficial Battlestar Galactica Blog

Battlestar bullets

Here are some news bullets... Comic-con was this last week... those reports are spoiler land mines... so I just want you to know that coverage is light on purpose!

• IGN covered Comic-con on Thursday and Friday... but be careful... I dare not tread there because of spoilers so click with care!
• Aaron Douglas says that season four is "All but certain"... good news for us fans!
• The BSG Sitrep has a link to five videos of the BSG panel.
• Who can pass up Cylons in Haiku form?
• This quote had me laughing: "A show so good it makes Nickelback sound good"
• If you don't agree with the quote you can try the trailer rescored! I dunno, I think the Nickelback seems to work for some reason.
• Grant Gould was bumping elbows with Olmos! Lucky guy!
• According to Galactica Station (who heard from Gateworld), Scifi might be running BSG season three without a mid-season break. Would that mean an even longer wait for season four?

And last but not least, Ron Moore returns to the world of blogging!

To catch up on things: we're currently filming episodes 10 & 11, our mid-season cliffhanger episodes, after which we're going to take a four week hiatus from shooting, then resume production on the remaining eight. "Eight?" you ask, perceptively recognizing that would only add up to 19 and our much-publicized order was for 20. "Are you in trouble? Are they cutting back your order? Or did you fail math?"

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Lots of great questions answered by Mr. Moore as well as some info about season three's episode count. It is nice to have Ron back!

New titanium line photos

Malnurtured Snay sends in a super secret photo of some unannounced BSG products:

Rebelscum.com has been covering the announcements of forthcoming Star Wars products. Hidden within the X-Wings and Jedi Starfighters and 1/6th scale Jabba the Hutt are as-yet-unannounced news from the Battlestar Galactica Titanium line.

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That Viper would look great sitting next to my Cylon Raider at work!

Season three preview!

I am sure you have seen it by now. I am a little slow to the party this week. In case you haven't, BSG news has a good collection of links:

Battlestar Galactica: Season Three preview

My thoughts?

It is looking pretty good. It seems like they took the formula that worked so well from the first season (splitting the cast into Capirca and Galactica) and doing the same thing having two story lines going in two separate places. I can imagine this will work out just as perfectly giving a variety of situations and textures for us to experience throughout the episodes.

It also seems like there will be a lot of soul searching... a lot of questioning of motivation... just what does it mean to survive? Does it mean to do enough to live or does it mean do enough to remain human? These are classic questions that writers have tackled over the ages and a very strong reoccurring theme throughout the show. It should be exciting to see the results play out against the background of a Cylon occupation.

Rumor has it, the webisodes will be hitting in September sometime, so it will be interesting to see how those prepare us for October! I am definitely excited though. Seeing this preview reminds me just how great this show is.
 

The 411 on Ron Moore's podcast

Dan emailed in a link to podcast411.com which has an interview with Ron Moore about his BSG episode podcasts. It makes for a good listen. Ron throws out some mild spoilers about season three related to casting efforts... nothing really alarming though.

Interview with Ron Moore @ podcast 411

Latest BSG news bits

Here they are... in no particular order... for a second time because my browser crashed and I lost everything!

• Dan emailed in that BSG is coming to HD-DVD. It isn't very specific as to what is actually being released. Is it the mini-series? The TV seasons? the old series? Such a tease! I am sure it will be pretty though! I might have to actually pick up that HD-DVD drive for my Xbox 360.
• Glenn sent a link to Out Magazine where Jamie Bamber is on the cover this month. The article talks about BSG's gender-blind universe and the use of gay characters in television. Near the end it gets a little close to spoilers... but nothing you can't handle!
• Rudy from galacticast.com sent a link to a recent parody they did called "You Might be a Cylon"
• Chris emailed a link to a podcast where BSG is favorably compared to Trek, Babylon 5 and Stargate. I haven't had a chance to listen to it but I was warned about language!
• The season three premier is coming! According to Justine at the Tahmoh Penikett blog, it will clock in a 2 hours.

With all this news it feels like October!

Official Season 2.5 DVD PR

Via PR Newswire, here is the official press release for the BSG Season 2.5 DVDs, released on September 19, 2006... notice the bonus stuff!

"Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.5" includes an array of bonus features that will delight and surprise hardcore fans and new viewers, including:

• Ronald D. Moore's Podcast Commentaries -- Producer Ronald D. Moore provides a behind-the-scenes peek at the making of "Battlestar Galactica," previously available only online.
• David Eick's Video Blog -- Producer David Eick takes viewers onto the set to reveal the inner workings of "Battlestar Galactica," including a personal tour of the new Battleship Pegasus.
• Audio Commentary -- More insider information from Eick and Moore about the expanded midseason cliffhanger "Pegasus."
• RND TV Logos -- A compilation of the animated logos at the end of each show -- depicting the two executive producers -- David Eick and Ronald D. Moore -- killing each other off in creative ways.
• Deleted Scenes -- All new and never aired on TV!

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You can already pre-order at Amazon.com.

Revised opening credits

Check out this modification of the Battlestar Galactica opening credits by Deuteronomy69. If you haven't seen all of season 2, there are spoilers... My friend Kevin sent this one in:

Galactica S3 Intro *Revised*

I like the introduction of Baltar's line at that moment.

Hi-res photos of exclusive chrome

As previously posted, there will be some exclusive BSG products available at the San Diego Comic-con. Robert Yee from Art Asylum sent over these great pictures:

[Art Asylum] is the license holder of classic and new bsg and would like to send you pics for release.  For SDCC we are offering an extremely limited issue of 300 pieces of a chromed Cylon and Chromed Battlestar galactica 2 pack.  The cylon bust is 7.5” and the Battlestar Galactica is 15” in length.  We are doing an exclusive preorder at the Art Asylum booth 3913 at SDCC for $275.

If you are headed to SDCC and you have the cash, those are a mighty too pretty to pass up!

BSG link dump

Here I am, playing a little catch up with all the great stuff out there:

• I came across a new BSG site out there... it is a Galactica2003.net relaunch, now called www.bsgtns.com Check it out. They did a nice job!
• Over at Celeeb.com you can rank celebrities... Katee Sackhoff has an entry... boost her to the top!
• Over at the Positive Liberty blog, Timothy Sandefur posted his reviews of BSG novels. He didn't have very many good things to say.
• Brett J. emailed in a link to some pictures of the BSG Mini mates.
• You can now get a Battlestar Galactica Mastercard... will wonders never cease?
• You can watch the full episode Scar online now.
• Rob emailed in a great link where Richard Hatch claims "This coming season is probably the most powerful, the most provocative … of any show I’ve ever been put on." You will also see at the end that he has edited a BSG book of essays called So Say We All: Collected Thoughts and Opinions on Battlestar Galactica.
• The season three teaser is available on Youtube. Don't watch it if you haven't seen all of season two! Not really that exciting... but still cool. They do reveal the Cylon's intentions... so small spoiler warning.

That's all folks!

Exclusive chrome at Comic-con

Are you going to the San Diego Comic-Con this month? If you are, you have a shot at one of these:

Art Asylum will be offering fans a special San Diego Comic-Con exclusive: a resin 2-pack that will consist of a slick Cylon bust (pictured below; further images in the link) and the famed starship of the show: Galactica.

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BSG Season 3 begins October 6, 2006

The Futon Critic has the call:

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (Sci Fi) - The show's third season is set to kick off on Friday, October 6 at 10:00/9:00c according to advertising sales materials recently released by the network. The series will run for 10 consecutive weeks (through December 8), after which it will return for an additional 10 installments in 2007.

Looks like they are going to hold BSG in the same timeslot. I guess all those rumors of the show going to network are over? I am fine with that. I like SciFi having a flag ship.

Good stuff!

Battlestar Galactica 2.5 DVD released Sept 19th

The second half of Battlestar Galactica, Season Two is released on DVD September 19th, 2006.

Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0, vol 2 (2.5)

Now you tell me... could that title get any more confusing? :)

Remember, this set includes episodes 11-20 of season 2. Also included is the extended version of Pegasus. Some people are complaining about the price, but as of writing this, Amazon is giving you $17 dollars off... which is a pretty solid deal.

Sad day for Battlestar fans

As I am sure many of you have heard, Battlestar Galactica's cast was shut out of the big Emmy nominations.

Galactica's technical staff did pick up three though:

Outstanding Costumes For A Series
Battlestar Galactica • Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2 •
Sci Fi Channel • R&D Television in association with NBC
Universal Television Studios
Glenne Campbell, Costume Designer
Glenna Owen, Assistant Costume Designer
Cali Newcomen, Assistant Costume Designer

Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing For A Series
Battlestar Galactica • Scattered • Sci Fi Channel • R&D
Television in association with NBC Universal Television
Studios
Kenneth Kobett, C.A.S., Supervising Re-Recording Mixer
Michael Olman, C.A.S., Supervising Re-Recording Mixer
Rick Bal, Production Mixer

Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series
Battlestar Galactica • Resurrection Ship (Part 2) • Sci Fi
Channel • R&D Television in association with NBC
Universal Television Studios
Gary Hutzel, Visual Effects Supervisor
Michael Gibson, Senior Visual Effects Coordinator
Doug Drexler, Digital Supervisor
Steve Kullback, Visual Effects Coordinator
Mark Shimer, Lead Visual Effects Animator
Chris Zapara, CGI Supervisor
Lane Jolly, Lead Visual Effects Compositor
Kyle Toucher, Visual Effects Animator
Daniel Osaki, Lead CGI Model Maker

Congrats! To all involved on the nominations!

Although, as I scanned through the list of primary category nominations, it wasn't hard to see that the "new rules" didn't add much to the field of contenders. Maureen Ryan has the commentary:

The annual Emmy nominations are designed to break the hearts of serious television fans, and this year the awardsfest has done its duty again. The disappointments have a little more sting this year, since many observers thought things were going to be different this time around.

For the 2006 voting process, the Emmy bigwigs instituted new rules designed to allow critically acclaimed underdogs and a less predictable roster of actors and programs into the nomination process. Well, so much for that.

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Hopefully season three will simply kick so much booty that you can't escape all of the hype and press! Sure, one could say that about season one and season two but you never know!

Why does mass America fear science fiction and like medical/crime drama so much? Don't get me wrong... I watch Grey's Anatomy with my wife and we both think it is a great show... but the best on TV?! The drama series is a tough crowd... House is pretty good (from the 1/2 ep I saw) and Sopranos is ok (from the 1 ep I saw)... and 24 had it's moments this season... and my wife says that West Wing ended pretty good... but are any of these shows really (still) pushing the envelope and creating award winning television drama more so than BSG? Galactica is off in the corner reinventing TV at practically every turn with things like online distribution, blogging, podcasts, spin offs, web content... even to the point where people are talking about rebooting other franchises "just like BSG did".

Sure, I run the Unofficial Battlestar Galactica Blog, so of course I am a bit of a fan boy... but there is a reason I am running a blog about this show and not others that I truly love. Battlestar Galactica is something quite different... something you don't see that often... it is a real success that seems to smash the expectations of everyone I tell to watch it. You would think at some point that might be recognized.