Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Galactica's Podcasting Hits the News

Three new articles on the new feature that SciFi.com has been running for the new Battlestar Galactica series:



'Galactica' Breaks Podcast Barrier
(Wednesday, March 09 08:28 AM)
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) If you don't know what "podcasting" is, you're probably not the only one. On the other hand, if you don't know what podcasting is, you may not be a regular Sci Fi Channel viewer or a fan the cable network's hit new drama "Battlestar Galactica." Sci Fi is hoping that there's plenty of audience overlap when it partners with "Galactica" executive producer Ronald D. Moore on the first original podcasting content ever offered by a major television network.
Moore has provided DVD-style audio commentaries to accompany the season's final five episodes of "Galactica." Currently available in MP3 format on Sci Fi's website, the audiocasts are meant to be watched in tandem with the episodes leading up to the already-renewed drama's Friday, April 1 season finale.
Podcasting merges the basic principals of a radio broadcast with Apple's iPod, the market's most recognizable digital audio player. Users can download broadcasts in the MP3 format, transfer them to their MP3 players and then listen at their own convenience.
The "Galactica" podcast and Moore's heavily visited Sci Fi blog are just a few of the ways that networks have are attempting to integrate the Internet and technological evolution into their regular programming plans. This Monday (March 7), for example, Showtime offered the premiere of the Kirstie Alley comedy "Fat Actress" as a free download, a strategy somewhat similar to The WB's use of AOL to stream the "Jack & Bobby" premiere this fall.
Already Sci Fi's most popular series, the second season of "Battlestar Galactica" will premiere in July.
Full Article

Secondly, TrekWeb.com has reported that the commentaries will be for the last five episodes, leading up to the final episode of Season 1. No word on whether the previous episodes will be covered or not:

Sci-Fi Channel Debuts Ronald D. Moore "Podcast" Commentaries for Final Five BSG Episodes
By
Steve Krutzler / 08:24, 9 March 2005 / General Genre/SciFi

The Sci-Fi Channel today announced the premiere of a new online feature meant to accompany the last five new episodes of Ronald D. Moore's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. Termed "podcasting" for the popular IPod portable music platform, the broadcasts are available in MP3 format and can play on your computer or a multitude of other portable devices.
"This DVD-style audio commentary from Battlestar executive producer and writer Ronald D. Moore utilizes the much buzzed-about podcasting technology, and is now available for weekly download at SCIFI.COM," according to a press release from the network.
Each podcast is a full-length commentary on the episode of BSG by Moore, and can be downloaded in segments for each act or all at once. Beeps on the track indicate when to pause for commercials and you can listen right along with the episode.
The podcasts will debut each Friday, with the commentary for "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" now available. The event will lead up to the April 1st season one finale of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. Season two will begin in July.
Get the low down on the BSG podcasts
here and the "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" podcast here. Deleted scenes for the episode are also available in Quicktime format.
Source

A third article has hit the web, this time from the Futon Critic:
SCI FI OFFERS EXCLUSIVE 'PODCAST'
Released by Sci Fi
Ronald D. Moore, Executive Producer of Channel's Hit New Series 'Battlestar Galactica,' Feeds Fans the Inside Scoop with Exclusive 'Podcast'
March 9, 2005--New York, NY--SCIFI.COM, the official site of SCI FI Channel, is offering fans of its new hit series Battlestar Galactica an unprecedented "podcast." This DVD-style audio commentary from 'Battlestar' executive producer and writer Ronald D. Moore utilizes the much buzzed-about podcasting technology, and is now available for weekly download at SCIFI.COM.
The exclusive five-week event feeds fans some extraordinary scoops straight from the hit series creator Moore – and gives viewers an insider-only look into the final five episodes leading up the season's dramatic conclusion on April 1. 'Battlestar Galactica,' currently the highest-rated series on SCI FI Channel, has attracted unprecedented critical acclaim since its debut in January. Moore has already become a popular presence on the SCIFI.COM site for his weekly "blog" musings.
In other SCIFI.COM/'Battlestar' news, streaming of the series' first episode, "33," complete with deleted scenes, has been accessed 95,000 times in only five days--making it the most successful streaming event in SCIFI.COM history.
For the uninitiated, "podcasting" is an evolution of technology popularly associated with Apple's portable digital audio player, the iPod, and traditional broadcasting. It offers downloadable audio content (i.e. "radio" programs), which listeners can play on ANY MP3 player at their leisure. The event is part of SCI FI's commitment to exploring imagination in its programming as well as in viewer-based offerings. Building on this tradition, SCI FI is the very first known television network to create an original podcast based on a dramatic series.
Moore's downloadable audiocast is available now on SCIFI.COM and is meant to be experienced while simultaneously watching season one's final five episodes--a must for any 'Battlestar' fan. The season finale of 'Battlestar Galactica' will air on April 1, 2005 @ 10pm. Season 2 of the series will premiere on SCI FI in July.
Executive Producer and chief writer of the series, Ronald D. Moore was formerly an executive producer and writer for the HBO series 'Carnivale.' Moore's career also includes an award-winning stretch as a writer/producer on 'Star Trek' franchise shows 'The Next Generation' and 'Deep Space Nine.' SCIFI.COM has already had remarkable success with the launch of Moore's must-read blog, gaining over 450,000 page views and quite a following among series viewers.
The most-watched cable miniseries of 2003 is now one of 2005's most acclaimed new shows. 'Battlestar Galactica' airs Fridays @ 10pm as part of 'SCI FI Friday' ('Stargate SG-1' @ 8pm, 'Stargate Atlantis' @ 9pm), the biggest night of sci-fi on television. 'Battlestar Galactica' stars Edward James Olmos (Commander Adama), Mary McDonnell (President Roslin), Katee Sackhoff (Kara "Starbuck" Thrace), Jamie Bamber (Lee "Apollo" Adama), James Callis (Dr. Gaius Baltar), Tricia Helfer (Number Six) and Grace Park (Sharon "Boomer" Valerii).
Listen to Moore's podcast on your computer; no portable MP3 player is necessary, by clicking onto:
here

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