'Battlestar Galactica' brings 'The Plan' to the Scream Awards

SCREAM AWARDS, airing 10 p.m., TUESDAY, OCT. 27 on SPIKE TV

"Battlestar Galactica" will be back from the dead on Tuesday.

The best-written sci-fi show in the history of television ended its 75-episode run last March, but it won't feel like it Tuesday, not with a special tribute to the show airing during the 2009 Scream Awards broadcast and a new "Battlestar" film, "The Plan," hitting store shelves that day as a DVD and Blu-ray release. That's the trailer for "The Plan" above.

At the Scream Awards taping last week at the Greek Theatre, amid plumes of pyro and a vigorous ovation, the stars of "The Big Bang Theory" introduced a good-sized contingent of "Battlestar" cast members and, somehow, it already felt like it had been too long since we'd seen them together. Backstage, I got to catch up with some of the show's familiar faces, among them Edward James Olmos, Kate Vernon, Tahmoh Penikett and executive producer David Eick.

"What a night!" Olmos said with a big smile. He was excited about the upcoming release of "The Plan," which he directed, and didn't seem phased by SyFy's decision to postpone the movie's television airing to next year. In a way, I'm sure he prefers that fans seek it out on home video so they can see the director's cut; the broadcast edition may well be shorter. I asked him how much he expected would be trimmed from  "The Plan" when it eventually did air.

"A lot. I have mixed feelings about that, of course," Olmos said. "I'm glad to have the DVD and Blu-ray version but hate seeing it chopped for television. But that was done to the show the whole time. We would make our cut of the show, and it would be excellent and come in at 44 or 45 minutes and they would look at it and say, 'Okay, that's great, it plays fantastic, it's beautiful. But you need to cut it down to 41 minutes. It really hurts."

Sure, but I asked Olmos if those wounds really last -- after all, the extended-version episodes now available on home video are the fossil record of the show's achievement and will be watched for years and years, perhaps by far more people than the audiences reached by the broadcasts.

"That's right, that's what's going to hold. They are more complete. And, like 'Blade Runner,' I think this show will be more poignant and more appreciated in 30 years than it is today. I lot of people don't get it right now. Most people didn't get 'Blade Runner,' either."

Olmos leaned forward and gave me a funny look. I could tell he wanted to try out one of his new theories on me. Olmos always has new theories, which is why it's always a treat to run into him.

"If you want to try something, go do this: Watch the entire run of 'Battlestar' from beginning to end and at the end, in those last moments when Six says to Baltar, 'It's all going to happen again' and Baltar says, 'No I think maybe this time humanity has learned,' after that, as they go walking off into Times Square, put in 'Blade Runner' and watch it. 'Battlestar' finishes in 2008 and 'Blade Runner' starts in 2019. There's a lineage there. Gaff becomes the direct descendant of Adama, and the lineage is so pure they resemble each other."

Just then Eick joined the conversation. "And by the way, don't think that was a mistake. Don't think that was an accident. Look, we cast Eddie because of 'Blade Runner.' I grew up loving that film, and we were clearly thinking of it as an influence and a standard to seek. The funny thing is, when you're putting together a show, you say, 'Oh and we'll get an Edward James Olmos type for this role,' you know, just as you're filling in the blanks in your mind, and we did that. Never for a moment did we actually think we would get him."

Olmos looked at Eick for a long moment and then nodded. "I'm glad you did."

-- Geoff Boucher

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Documentary reminds fans to 'Dig Comics,' not just superhero movies

SATURDAY: FREE SCREENING OF "DIG COMICS" AT MELTDOWN

It seems comic book heroes are bigger than ever.

In 2007, "Spider-Man 3" topped the charts with a $891 million in worldwide box office. The following year "The Dark Knight" grossed more than $1 billion while "Iron Man" rang up $585 million.

But while heroes are flying high in theaters, comic book publishing is on the verge of being a mere footnote to the cinematic franchises it spawned.

That is deeply alarming to Miguel Cima, who wants to preserve the lore of the truly American pop-culture phenomena -- and he has the help of someone who knows about endangered species, namely actor Edward James Olmos, who led the ragtag fleet of human survivors in the critically acclaimed series "Battlestar Galatica" and, back in 1982, was a key cast member in "Blade Runner," regarded by some as simply the best sci-fi film ever.

Cima's documentary “Dig Comics” will screen this Saturday at the Los Angeles landmark store Meltdown Comics [7522 Sunset Boulevard, 323-851-7223] and it cautions that comic book lore and legacy is in jeopardy.  Through various interviews with comic industry vets -- such as Jeph Loeb, Scott Shaw and Dame Darcy -- personal pleas and assorted examples of the comic as art, Cima challenges viewers to see the importance of comics.

“It’s the most vibrant art form that exists in America today and yet nobody engages in it,” said Cima, who took a closer look at the state of the industry after trying to publish his own comic. “At the same time, there’s monetization of properties like X-Men and Batman; they’re making millions of dollars. But no one is going back to the source. People only know comics from the movies. It’s sad.“

The film won best documentary at the Comic-Con International: Independent Film Festival and has been selected for screenings at the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Tucson Film and Music Festival and the Royal Flush Film Festival in New York City. It recently screened at the Downtown Film Festival: Los Angeles.

And it’s garnered the attention of Olmos’ company, Olmos Productions, which has agreed to produce a full-length version of the documentary.

“I had no idea the comic industry had been so badly beaten up until I saw the documentary,” said Olmos, who will also appear in the upcoming masked-man film "The Green Hornet." “It’s a crucial art form that goes beyond comic books. We use it in the film industry all the time with storyboarding. It’s a fantastic art form and a great way to increase literacy among kids.”

Olmos will make a special appearance for the Saturday screening. He’ll take part in a post-screening Q&A with Cima, along with members of the cast and crew. 

-- Yvonne Villarreal

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'Battlestar Galactica' and 'True Blood' finally get trophy love

Tom O'Neil, the entertainment awards maven at The Envelope, has this heartening report from the TCA Awards, where two favorites of the Hero Complex finally get some trophy recognition...

Wow! Members of the Television Critics Association actually put their awards where their big mouths are! Finally, the TCA Awards recognized "Battlestar Galactica" after voters beat the beans out of the Emmys for failing to give the show any major awards in the past.

Can this mean a break from the TCA Awards' hypocrisy? In years past, voters whined, fumed and harrumphed about the Emmys failing to recognize "The Wire" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," then they snubbed them too. TCA members never gave those shows real prizes — just handed them that bogus "Heritage Award" after they went off the air and failed to win best drama series or program of the year.

"Battlestar Galactica" didn't win a significant TCA Award in the past and now finally reaped one after sailing off the airwaves, but at least it's fared better than other great TV series cruelly snubbed by TCA and the television academy. And while TCA voters skunked vampires back in Buffy's heyday, they did just hail HBO's walking dead by giving "True Blood" their prize as best new program...

THERE'S MORE, READ THE REST

-- Tom O'Neil

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Edward James Olmos: 'The Plan' is not the end for 'Battlestar Galactica'

A grateful and hopeful Edward James Olmos told an enthusiastic crowd that because of their support, he knew this wasn't the end for "Battlestar Galactica."

"When it comes out, it's going to be huge," Olmos said. "They'll have to do another."

He uttered the phrase at the panel that both introduced the Comic-Con crowd to the "BSG" prequel "Caprica," and showed them a glimpse of "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan," the TV movie replaying the entire"BSG" saga from the Cylons' point of view. The panel also gave out the date for the premiere of "Caprica" -- Jan. 22, 2010.

Esai Morales, who plays Joseph Adama in "Caprica," was on the panel alongside Olmos, head writer-showrunner Jane Espenson, producer David Eick, and show creator Ron Moore (who had more to say over at The Watcher). Grace Park came out later as a surprise guest.

Morales spoke of the bond he and Olmos have, and that despite the fact that he wasn't up on all of the "BSG" lore, he connected with the character's nobility and his stranger-in-a-strange-land qualities.

"When he got to Caprica, he had never seen a flower," Morales said. "At the beginning of "Caprica, "well, you won't have the same character that you'll have at the end."

Morales says that there were three other actors he thought could fill the role, but that he had the spirit, and now when filming a scene, he has been told that "he was channeling Eddie, and that's a good sign."

Eick, the quick-witted producer that he is, stepped in. "I think we really made the right choice not going with Jack Black," Eick said. Morales countered by saying he was glad about that "because 'Nacho Libre' had just come out."

Questions from the audience included one about "Battlestar's" notoriously tight-lipped set, and if everyone involved had to sign some kind of legal document.

"No, there was really nothing legal to sign," Moore said. "There were no real penalties for divulging information."

"It's just [you would keep quiet] if you ever wanted to work in show business again. That's all," Eick said.

Jane Espenson, head writer and showrunner for "Caprica" -- who also made remarks paralleling the teen girl at the center of the show to a certain vampire-slaying teen girl -- also brushed aside comments about her being one of the only female showrunners in the business.

"A good writer is a good writer and should be able to tell any story that he or she is passionate about," she said.

Other panel points:

-- "It is a [grave] crime that the cast of 'Battlestar Galactica' was not recognized in the entire three-year run," Moore said. "It is criminal."

-- Grace Park on Olmos directing her in "BSG: The Plan": "Eddie was awesome. He always wanted to take the series further. I'm surprised that there wasn't more nudity, but it was probably the father-daughter type of relationship they have [that prevented it]."

-- The first three people who came to the microphone to ask questions received a branded "Caprica" PSP.

-- A question was asked about the linguistics involved in making "Caprica," a show that will involve many other planets and languages. It was revealed that other races will be brought in, and that they already have "an entire episode planned that takes place on Scorpia," Espenson said. More from her here:

-- Jevon Phillips

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'Battlestar Galactica' marathon tonight at the Aero

This has all happened before and it will happen again...

Ah, memories. Long before Ron Moore, David Eick and their reengineering team got their hands on the Colonial fleet, there was the original "Battlestar Galactica" with Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict, John Dykstra's special effects and that kooky orange robot dog.

The old-school "Battlestar" will be celebrated tonight at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica (1328 Montana Ave. at 14th Street) with three features yielded by Glen Larson's space saga: "Battlestar Galactica (The Movie)" from 1978, "Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack" (with Lloyd Bridges in his memorable turn as Cain) from 1979 and "Conquest of the Earth" from 1980.

The marathon starts at 7:30 p.m. I would love a few reader reviews if any of you make it over.

-- Geoff Boucher

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EXCLUSIVE: New trailer for 'Battlestar Galactica: The Plan'

At the recent "Battlestar Galactica" panel hosted by Hero Complex in Hollywood, we were able to screen the trailer for "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan," the upcoming television movie that serves as a prequel to the late, great space saga that began its run in 2003 and came to a close in March.

Today we have the trailer for all our readers too. And you won't find it anywhere else.

"The Plan," directed by Edward James Olmos, will air in November. First impressions? 

-- Geoff Boucher

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VIDEO: 'Battlestar Galactica' panel in L.A.

 

There are some days when I think I have a dream job. Then there are other days when I know it. On June 4, I had the honor of moderating a panel devoted to the late, great "Battlestar Galactica," and it ended up as such a sparkling affair that I'm still feeling the glow from it a week later.

One big reason was that the event aspired to be more than a promotional event for a television show or its Emmy fortunes (although the "Battlestar" cast and creators do dearly hope for major Emmy acknowledgment of their show, which is long overdue). This panel, at Hollywood & Highland, was a follow-up to the "Battlestar" event at the United Nations in New York and, like that March gathering, the goal was to delve into the human rights themes and subplots that were so essential to the show's run, which began with a 2003 mini-series and culminated with the compelling series finale that aired March 10.

There were six guests on the panel: two visitors from the U.N., the two key creators behind the show and the two most celebrated cast members. In the picture below, that's me you see on the far left, then (going in order, to the right) it's Craig Mokhiber, deputy director of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights; Steven M. Siqueira, political affairs director of the Office of the U.N. Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs; Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, the executive producers and creators of the show; two-time Oscar-nominated actress Mary McDonnell, who portrayed Laura Roslin on "Battlestar"; and Edward James Olmos, also an Oscar-nominated actor and, as William Adama, the craggy patriarch of "Battlestar's" tattered military family.      

 

There's quite a bit of of video below. The clips speak for themselves and I hope you enjoy watching them. One last thing: At the event we also screened an amazing new trailer for "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan" and I can't post it here on Hero Complex just yet, but check back and we'll have it here for you real soon.

-- Geoff Boucher

Photos: Zach Lipp

No. 1 sci-fi woman of all time? Ripley, believe it or not

I'm a big fan of lists, so is Jevon Phillips, a star contributor here at Hero Complex. Here's his take on a recent tally of the women of sci-fi....or is that sigh-fi? -- G.B.

As usual, there's a lot to dispute about anyone having a top so-and-so list, but Totalscifionline.com's 25 women who shook up sci-fi isn't too startling. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Battlestar Galactica" and "Star Trek" are the only franchises with multiple entries on the list (and rightfully so). Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley of "Alien" fame was named First Lady of Sci-Fi.

Of course, there were parameters, which the site laid out like so:

We've limited ourselves to TV and film - SF and fantasy literature probably warrants a further list all of its own - and in those instances where multiple actresses have portrayed a character, we’ve written who we believe gave the most definitive performance in brackets. No doubt there are many characters you feel we’ve left off.

Yeah, yeah -- and the site does include a more in-depth examination of each choice. There will be debate over ones who didn't make it. I really like River Tam on "Firefly" -- but it was short-lived -- and the women of "Cleopatra 2525" and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity in "The Matrix" and ... well, let's stop there.  And there may be some on the list who deserve to be higher. Wonder Woman and Xena, 22 and 23? Hey, I like Leeloo and Claire bear, but not over those two icons.

Again, it can be debated (Lois Lane! "Bionic Woman!") until we're all breathless, but give the site credit for taking on the task. Here's their final list. Let the comments flow.

The 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi:

1) Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, "Alien" series)

2) Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer")

3) Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff, "Battlestar Galactica")

4) Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson, "The X-Files")

5) Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton, "Terminator," "T2")

6) Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher, "Star Wars" series)

7) Rose Tyler (Billie Piper, "Doctor Who")

8) Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping, "Stargate SG-1")

9) Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols, "Star Trek")

10) Leeloo (Milla Jovovich, "The Fifth Element")

11) Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere, "Heroes")

12) Storm (Halle Berry, "X-Men")

13) Pris (Daryl Hannah, "Blade Runner")

14) Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer, "Batman Returns")

15) Barbarella (Jane Fonda, "Barbarella")

16) Sarah-Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen, "The Sarah-Jane Adventures" / "Doctor Who")

17) Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox, "Transformers")

18) Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian, "Babylon 5")

19) Number Six (Tricia Helfer, "Battlestar Galactica")

20) Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew, "Star Trek: Voyager")

21) Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer")

22) Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter, "Wonder Woman")

23) Xena (Lucy Lawless, Xena: "Warrior Princess")

24) Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner, "Alias")

25) Marina (Stingray)

-- Jevon Phillips

Photo credits: "Aliens" - 20th Century Fox. "Star Wars" - Lucasfilm Ltd. "X-Men" - 20th Century Fox.  "Xena Warrior Princess" - Reuters.

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Meet the stars: 'Battlestar Galactica' free event this Thursday in Hollywood

A reminder that this Thursday night I will be moderating a very special "Battlestar Galactica" panel with Mary McDonnell, Edward James Olmos, Ron Moore and David Eick along with some representatives of the United Nations. That may sound like an odd mix, but anyone familiar with the late, great television series knows that it delved into some harrowing human rights issues and was laced with heavy social and ethical themes.

This will be the second panel of this kind -- there was a New York edition moderated by Whoopi Goldberg that set a starting point for this West Coast conversation. Here's a video that will give you a sense of that first event...

We'll be doing the panel in a 500-seat venue at Mann Chinese 6 Theatres (6801 Hollywood Blvd.) and you can find out about the ticketing process and other details at the Envelope Screening Series website.

I'd love to say hello (and thank you!) to you regular Hero Complex readers so if you do make it by, please be sure to stop me and introduce yourself...

-- Geoff Boucher

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'Battlestar Galactica' event on June 4 in Hollywood

"Battlestar Galactica" may be gone, but it's not forgotten. On June 4, "Galactica" stars Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell will join key creators Ron Moore and David Eick on a panel that revisits the darker story lines of the show and address real-world human rights issues. I'm moderating the panel at Hollywood and Highland and hope to see a lot of you Hero Complex readers in the audience.

The event is part of the Envelope Screening Series, which brings in Los Angeles Times writers to moderate panels featuring the elite talents behind top television shows. ("The Shield," "Californication" and "Rescue Me" are among the other panels this time around.)

The "Battlestar" discussion will be different than the others, with an emphasis on taking the show's themes and re-framing them as a human rights commentary -- and a call to action. This panel will be a follow-up event to the April cast visit to the United Nations, which left many of the participants energized. I spoke a few weeks ago to McDonnell and she was intent on turning talk into action. I expect this panel will be the start of that. For those of you who can't make it, the panel will be streamed live at TheEnvelope.com and video clips will be posted there and here at the mighty Hero Complex.

Again, for details on the June 4 panel, go to the website for Envelope Screening Series, where you can also find video of my panel last year with Moore, McDonnell, Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff.

 -- Geoff Boucher

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Goodbye (and good buy) for 'Battlestar Galactica'

Some say the best things in life are free, but fans of “Battlestar Galactica” would beg to differ when a final live auction for the retired space opera gets underway this weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center.

There's a sad symmetry to the event's scheduling: On Friday (May 8), the shiny, happy space-future of the USS Enterprise will be warping into movie theaters even as the dark, depressing space-past of "Battlestar Galactica" disappears a little more from the DRADIS screen of pop culture. Talk about rolling a hard six...

The three-day "Battlestar" auction will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Monday. NBC-Universal will put over 900 items on the auction block for fans willing to drop serious dough. Highlights include the giant Blackbird stealth ship (estimated bid range is $20,000 to $30,000);  Lee Adama’s bomber jacket from the series-closing "Daybreak" episodes ($2,000); and one of the famous, slinky red dresses worn by Number Six or a flight suit belonging to Starbuck (each looking like $8,000 to $10,000, but don't be surprised if the bidding goes higher). You can also bid on Col. Tigh's blue boxers (we're not joking) but if you do, well, keep it to yourself, OK?

You can download the 380-page catalog at Battlestarprops.com. A public preview is scheduled for Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the convention center. The auction will stream live at www.auctionnetwork.com.

The first “Battlestar” auction, back in January, drew more than 2,000 on-line bidders from around the world and the original Number Six red dress went for $13,000.

“We intend to make the second and final auction even bigger and better, with more of the show’s stars, more fun activities at the auction preview day, and an even more impressive display of the items up for auction,” said Alec Peters, CEO of Propworx, a prop, set and costume auction house. 

If dropping a couple of thousand dollars amid the current economic calamity isn't really an option, well, there are production designs and sketches that start at $200. These include artwork of the Mark Viper II ship, Cylon interior and Baltar’s Lab from the first season.

Costumes are more expensive, such as William  Adama’s blue uniform with insignia ($6,000) and Starbuck’s gray uniform ($3,000). That’s nothing compared with the life-sized ships: A Viper Mark II Hero cockpit, including fuselage and canopy, is likely to fetch $10,000 to $20,000.

Want a souvenir without the risk of getting caught up in a bid-fever? The catalog is $35. It’s filled with color photos and descriptions of each item, in addition to background explanations for some of the more expensive pieces. It’s a great way to learn about the characters and the show, and also brush up on “Battlestar” lore. If you can't buy, might as well browse.

--Alicia Lozano

Photo: NBC-Universal

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'Battlestar Galactica's' UN visit goes online

We've heard a lot about the "Battlestar Galactica" crew -- specifically Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Ronald D. Moore and David Eick -- being invited to the United Nations to discuss real world issues, but unless you were one of the privileged few, you didn't get to see it.  Now you can.

The UN and SciFi will post video (in 5 parts) and the entire transcript of the event at http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/home.html.  The panel, moderated by avowed "BSG" fan and "The View" host Whoopi Goldberg, touched on issues involving human rights, children and war, terrorism, and "reconciliation and dialogue among civilizations and faiths."

Along with the Caprica delegation, real political figures took part in the talks, including Radhika Coomaraswamy (special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict), Craig Mokhiber (deputy director, New York Office, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights), Robert Orr (assistant secretary-general for policy planning, Executive Office of the Secretary) and Famatta Rose Osode (minister and deputy permanent representative, Permanent Mission of Liberia to the United Nations).

The importance of the series was apparently not lost on the world at large, and if you missed the finale, you can watch it here.

For those of you needing a fix until "Caprica" arrives, here's a promo for "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan."

-- Jevon Phillips

Photo: Peter Foley / EPA

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'CSI: Caprica'? Not quite, but 'Battlestar' fans should tune in

The world seems as drab and bleak as a New Caprica prison cell these last few weeks because, well, there's no more "Battlestar Galactica." I'm trying to carry on, but it's not easy ...

At least it turns out now that on Thursday we'll get a light-hearted postscript to the best frakin' show ever with a quirky new episode of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Ronald D. Moore, the lead architect of the "BSG" universe and a key creator on the late, great "Star Trek: The Next Generation," pops up in a cameo in an episode of the crime-and-science show entitled "A Space Oddity," which has some familiar themes to his career: The plot is about the murder of a television creator who has revived a classic old space-faring series with new layers of sophistication. Kate Vernon, who portrayed Ellen Tigh, the Fifth Cylon, is in the episode and Michael Nankin, a veteran of "BSG" as well, is the director. The finished product may be more like "Galaxy Quest" than anything else, but us "BSG" mourners will take our colonial-fleet thrills where we can find them. Here's the preview ...

-- Geoff Boucher

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<<< "Battlestar" propaganda posters, wining hearts and minds

"Trek," "Battlestar" and "Star Wars" franchises look for their future

'Battlestar' cast gathers to watch the final episode

UPDATED

The stars of "Battlestar Galactica" traveled for hours from London, New York and Canada or, even worse, Malibu, to attend a very special screening Friday night at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; the final episode of their late, great series was an occasion that felt at times like an Irish wake but was for most of the night more like a retirement party for an old friend who was leaving at the top of the game.

There was a lot emotion (and wine) in the lobby before the screening, and it was great to catch up with so many people that I had met on the set in Vancouver and interviewed through the years. I was surprised to see Jamie Bamber (Lee "Apollo" Adama) there since he's been working overseas and he seemed a bit surprised himself. "I just flew in from London. I was working but I finished up, we wrapped yesterday, and I thought to myself, 'Why not go?' So we flew in. I can't wait to see it. I haven't seen it yet. I think it's going to be pretty emotional for us."

Katee Sackhoff, who walks through a room like a gunslinger in a miniskirt, was rarely sentimental in her role as Starbuck and scoffed when I asked if she might get misty during the final act of the bleak broadcast epic that stretches back to December 2003. "Cry? Nah. I got other stuff, I'm working on the next thing. Well, all right, maybe I will get a little emotional at certain parts."

The old admiral, Edward James Olmos, strode through the crowded room like a proud father at his daughter's wedding, shaking hands, slapping backs and kissing cheeks; I caught up to him by the food table and he shook his head. "Can you believe it? These young actors, I'm not sure they really know yet how special this show was. I do." I told him that he now can say he was in the best science fiction film ever made, "Blade Runner," and the best science fiction television show with "Battlestar," and he winked at me. "That's a pretty good batting average, isn't it?"

The crew of 'Battlestar' -- what's frakkin' next?

It's all over tonight! "Battlestar Galactica," perhaps the best-written (and certainly the darkest) sci-fi show in the history of television, comes to an end. What's next for the cast and the creators? Check out this photo gallery that goes through one-by-one and updates you on the career plans of your favorite Cylons and space refugees. I'm headed over to a screening of the final episode with the cast members, check back here tomorrow morning for a sitrep from the event.

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'Battlestar,' the end is here

There's a somewhat odd event today at the United Nations, where Whoopi Goldberg will moderate a panel discussion on the social and political issues that lace throughout the grim television epic "Battlestar Galactica." The series concludes  Friday night with a two-hour special finale.

Cast members Mary McDonnell and Edward James Olmos will join series executive producers Ronald D. Moore (who, presumably, is pals with Goldberg from their "Star Trek: The Next Generation" days) and David Eick. Heavy stuff -- I don't recall NASA hosting a Gil Gerard discussion of space-shuttle hazards when "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" gave up the ghost ... but, well, "BSG" is a show that delved into sanctioned torture, religious cults, abortion bans, political assassination, labor disputes and, uh, water management during its startling run, which began back on the Sci Fi Network in 2003 with killer robots and a baby murder. (Sam Grobart of the New York Times has an advance story on the panel, you can find it here)

There also was a screening on Monday of the final episode, and Choire Sicha sent in this report. (No fear: There are no spoilers here.) It was posted on our sister blog Show Tracker...

A very small audience in New York — about a hundred people — saw the final cut of the two-hour season finale of "Battlestar Galactica" on Monday evening. The episode had been flown on the red eye from Los Angeles the previous evening. Mark Stern, the executive VP in charge of original programming for the network that we now apparently are supposed to call "Syfy," said he had not even seen it; this would probably be the only screening before the show aired, he said.

An NDA and an oral pledge by the audience prevents these attendees — nearly all of them media, many from trade publications — from describing the episode in any way. The pledge was conducted by creator Ron Moore, who made each attendee at the New York Times' Times Center raise his right hand and repeat: "I swear not to reveal any of the spoilers I see tonight."

Why the red eye, Mr. Moore — why so last minute, when shooting was concluded last summer? "A lot of last-minute visual effects getting dropped in, we need that ... shot, where's that shot, no, go back and do this again, a lot of sound effects — it was just a mad scramble," he said. "I think the lion's share in the last week was done by our visual effects guys and girls who were just sitting in a dark room staring into monitors for like literally 24 hours. They just never took a day off for the last four weeks or something. ... We just beat the ... out of them. They really gave it their all."

Gosh, that sounds expensive! "Oh, yeah. We sort of raped the treasury of Universal for the last one," he said. "Universal stepped up. The network was, 'Fine, make it three hours! But somebody has to pay for it and it ain't going to be us.' "

READ THE REST

--Geoff Boucher

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Top photo: Jamie Bamber, Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonell, portrait by Gennaro Molina\Los Angeles Times. Bottom: Katee Sackhoff on the set of "BSG," courtest of Michael Nankin.

Starbuck speaks! Katee Sackhoff on the final days of 'Battlestar Galactica'

EXCLUSIVE

The three-hour series finale of "Battlestar Galactica" starts March 13th and concludes on the 20th, and don't think wild-child pilot Starbuck isn't already locked and loaded. Actress Katee Sackhoff talks to Hero Complex contributor Michelle Castillo about sleeping on machine guns and the rumors that Starbuck might still be a Cylon: "There’s always someone out there that thinks that she is."

When the directors held an open casting call for the role of Lt. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace for the re-imagined "Battlestar Galactica" series, they were looking for a mid-30s actress with a tough military demeanor to portray the role. However, it was 21-year-old Sackhoff, with her high-heels and persistence, who won the coveted part.

"Everyone scoffed at the idea of Starbuck in high heels," Sackhoff said, looking back on the role that won her a 2006 Saturn Award. “That’s was who she was in my mind. That’s me: No one is going to tell me to take my high heels off, and I carried that throughout her attitude. Maybe not the high heels, per se, but Starbuck’s attitude was there from the very beginning with me.”

Five years later, with the final episode of the critically acclaimed series mere weeks away, Sackhoff has become one of the show's most popular characters. And with new wrinkles and revelations every week, the saga of besieged humanity and its struggles with a race of sentient machine-people called Cylons has given Sackhoff and other cast members the daily duty of deflecting fan questions. 

“After five years, it’s got easy to pretend I don’t hear them, but I’ve even got my doctor calling me pretending he has to talk to me,” said Sackhoff, who turns 29 in April. “Instead, he’s going, ‘So about last night’s episode... .’”

Don’t expect Sackhoff to spoil the final episode; she’s remained firmly mum on the ending. Similar to Starbuck, the actress has her own tough, go-getter attitude, nurtured through her upbringing in Portland, Ore., where she spent her youth playing hard in the mud with her brother. She moved to Los Angeles right after high school graduation, and all those old days of playful combat in the sludge prepared her for an intense shoot for the final episode, which she likened to “Apocalypse Now.”

“There’s a picture of me at 3:30 in the morning, asleep on set, with a machine gun under my head, and that is how the end of the series went,” Sackhoff said. “Everyone was exhausted, and there’s probably a lot of safety issues that should have been brought up. But, hey, it’s alright when you’re firing a machine gun at 3 o’clock in the morning, I mean that’s not dangerous at all.”

Help defend the human race with IPhone's Cylon detector

Jevon Phillips has a fun tidbit for all of you "Battlestar Galactica" fans...

First there was an allegation (made by me) that Facebook was a Cylon-made phenomenon. Now we have to take a look at the IPhone.

No, there isn't a ringtone yet that says "Frak you and answer the com!" or "By Your Command" (though they should get working on those!), but there is now an application to download to your device that will not let those skinjobs walk around freely in your vicinity:  A Cylon detector.

Yep, for only $1.99 you can make sure that the people that you're dealing with are not machines with daddy complexes out to suppress or destroy your way of life (though I guess most bosses are like that).  Not sure about the technology behind said application, but it apparently takes a photo of an individual, and through whatever scanning parameters are in its programming, can tell whether someone is human or not.

Cool tool.  There seem to be apps for everything (as the commercials attest), so why not this?  So say we all.

Get the app here.

-- Jevon Phillips

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'Battlestar,' for sale

There may only be nine weeks left of the Sci Fi channel’s fading light, "Battlestar Galactica," but the memories will never really disappear. One reason: Thanks to EBay, thousands of props, costumes and other bits of galactic memorabilia from the show will be sold online to fans throughout the world starting today.

Collectors can log on to Ebay every Friday for the remainder of the season and bid for props featured in that week’s episode. Looking for an original Book of Pythia or a Viper flight manual? Look no further. Items such as these will go to the highest bidder every week until "Battlestar" disappears forever.

Last weekend the show’s creators kicked off the season with a live auction at the Pasadena Convention Center. The two-day event featured more than 3,000 souvenirs, including Admiral William Adama’s (Edward James Olmos) uniform and Starbuck’s (Katee Sackhoff) flight suit. The bonanza hosted "a tremendous amount of people" that included a large international presence, said a spokeswoman for the show.

Cast members were largely responsible for picking the items and donated proceeds to various charities of their choosing. Tricia Helfer (the sultry Number Six) picked her character’s iconic red dress, which sold for the shockingly high price of $13,000. Michael Hogan (Col. Saul Tigh) chose his infamous liquor bottles for auction (one sold for $1,900, while the other went for $1,100).

Other memorabilia is equally impressive. A life-size centurion costume; Apollo’s (Jamie Bamber) suit; several Vipers, Raptors and Cylon Raiders; and pieces of the Combat Information Center were all included in the auction. One BSG forum estimated that buying and shipping a giant Raptor to the East Coast would cost roughly $5,000, though that number is unconfirmed.

"Battlestar Galactica is an incredible series that has drawn critical praise as well as tremendous fan support," says Stacey Ward, director of product development at NBC Universal, which owns the Sci Fi channel. "We are really proud to be able to give fans a chance to bid on their favorite costume, prop or a piece of the set in this unique auction setting."

"This is an amazing opportunity for the passionate and loyal fans of "Battlestar Galactica" to own a piece of their favorite show," Alec Peters, chief executive officer of Propworx, which manages set design, said. "If you saw it on the show, we will most likely be selling it."

-- Alicia Lozano

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UPDATED: The original Starbuck tells the new show to frak off

UPDATE: Wow, I just found out that this essay that was presented as new content yesterday on Breitbart's Big Hollywood blog is in fact from a 2004 posting on Dirk Benedict's own website. I guess the people at Breitbart are big advocates of recycling and misrepresentation. Sorry to pass this on as something new, which it appeared to be. 

You remember "Battlestar Galactica," the original television show? It was dismissed by many as a "Star Wars" knockoff and it had a creepy orange robot dog called a Daggit but it was a lot of fun and nobody got hurt. The stars were the late Lorne Greene and Richard Hatch (who has been great as a competely different character in the new, re-imagined series) and, of course, my fave at the time, Dirk Benedict, whose Starbuck was a sort of Han Solo rascal who gave the show a lot of comic relief (he would go on to portray the con-man commando Face in the "The A-Team").

Well, it turns out that Benedict has watched the revival of the show, which has been hailed far and wide as a dark and sophisticated masterpiece, and silently seethed. Why? Well, let him tell you in a grouchy rant from the Big Hollywood blog:

There was a time, I know I was there, when men were men, women were women and sometimes a cigar was just a good smoke. But 40 years of feminism have taken their toll. The war against masculinity has been won. Everything has turned into its opposite, so that what was once flirting and smoking is now sexual harassment and criminal. And everyone is more lonely and miserable as a result.

Witness the "re-imagined" "Battlestar Galactica," bleak, miserable, despairing, angry and confused. Which is to say, it reflects in microcosm the complete change in the politics and morality of today’s world, as opposed to the world of yesterday. The world of Lorne Greene (Adama), Fred Astaire (Starbuck’s Poppa) and Dirk Benedict (Starbuck). I would guess Lorne is glad he’s in that Big Bonanza in the sky and well out of it. Starbuck, alas, has not been so lucky. He’s not been left to pass quietly into that trivial world of cancelled TV characters.

'Re-imagining,' they call it. 'Un-imagining' is more accurate. To take what once was and twist it into what never was intended. So that a television show based on hope, spiritual faith and family is un-imagined and regurgitated as a show of despair, sexual violence and family dysfunction. To better reflect the times of ambiguous morality in which we live, one would assume. A show in which the aliens (Cylons) are justified in their desire to destroy human civilization, one would assume. Indeed, let us not say who the good guys are and who the bad are. That is being 'judgmental,' taking sides, and that kind of (simplistic) thinking went out with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and Kathryn Hepburn and John Wayne and, well, the original 'Battlestar Galactica.'

Wow. Really? The show with the orange robot dog is a prized symbol of lost American integrity? Didn't see that coming. But wait, there's more ...