Keeping the Secret

This in from the LA Times:

'Battlestar Galactica' star
'Galactica' producers teased fans in Season 3, but what they did to the cast/crew was worse.
By Kate Aurthur, Times Staff Writer
April 4, 2007

Over the summer, Katee Sackhoff, who plays Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on "Battlestar Galactica," received a nerve-racking phone call from Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, the show's executive producers.

"David and Ron said, 'We want to start this phone call out by saying that we love you,' " Sackhoff recalled last week.

Sackhoff knew she might not like what came next. And she didn't. "They said, 'You're not really gonna die — but we're gonna blow you up.' "

At the end of the March 4 episode of "Battlestar Galactica," Starbuck, the swaggering, troubled pilot who has been one of the show's leads during its three seasons, did indeed blow up. The series' voracious fans' reactions ranged from mourning to disbelief that the producers would kill off such a popular character.

Those in the latter category turned out to be right: Three episodes later, in the season finale's last moments, Starbuck reappeared, flying alongside her friend Apollo (Jamie Bamber). She said she had been to Earth — the search for Earth is the show's overarching story — and would lead everyone there.

In a spoiler-centric world, where the plots of television series leak throughout the Internet, the so-called death of Starbuck was a big secret to keep in the months-long lag time between shooting "Battlestar Galactica" and its broadcast. Adding on that she wasn't actually dead, along with the surprising circumstances of her return, made it even more difficult. After all, the Sci Fi Channel show isn't so much watched by its moderately sized but fervent audience as it is dissected.

Full Article

IGN Interviews Mark Sheppard

IGN posted up this fun interview with Mark Sheppard, who played Romo, Baltar's lawyer in the last three episodes of this season:

Battlestar Galactica: Defending Baltar
We talk to Firefly and 24 veteran Mark Sheppard about his new role on Galactica as Baltar's lawyer.

March 16, 2007 - When I first began to talk to Mark Sheppard about his new role on Battlestar Galactica, the actor put it to me as simply as he could, saying, "I think I have the best character on the best show on television." Sheppard is a very familiar face to TV fans, including notable roles as Badger on Firefly, as Ivan Earwich (AKA "Yellow Tie Man") on 24, and as the evil Dr. Charles Walker on Medium. He made his debut on Galactica this past week, as the memorably named Romo Lampkin, a defense attorney who takes the case of none other than the infamous Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis). Sheppard will be appearing in the final three Galactica episodes of the season, and the day after his first appearance aired, I spoke to him about his experience working on the acclaimed series.

When I asked how he got the part, Sheppard replied, "I'm a huge fan of the show. Absolutely huge fan," and noted that he is friends with Galactica executive producer Ron Moore and his wife Terry. "I know Ron through [CSI Executive Producer] Naren Shankar and [Medium Executive Producer] Rene Echevarria. They all started at Star Trek together. Ron and I got to be friends and talked and talked and I said, 'When I grow up, I want to be a Cylon.' And he tried to make that happen. It was gonna maybe happen last year, and I wasn't available and it just didn't work out. I was in the middle of doing Medium. I was totally crestfallen, because it's my favorite show, without question. Battlestar is, I think, the best written show on television."

Sheppard then recalled being at a party with Moore and Galactica's other Executive Producer David Eick, "And David said, 'You still want to be a Cylon, right?' I said, 'David, I'll play anything!' He said, 'We may have a trial coming up at the end of the season,' and I said, 'Keep me in mind.' Then I was at Ron's house, and he said, 'I have something for you.' And I said, 'What's that?' 'Three episodes of Battlestar.' I nearly fell over! I read the first script and Michael Angeli's characterization of Romo, which I think is fantastic. There's a lot more stuff then was in the episode. The intro scene [for Romo] was a three page monologue about fear, which was taken out. There wasn't room for it. But it explains the puzzled look on Laura Roslin's face and, 'I'm glad to hear you're not afraid about defending the most hated man in the universe!' Because I'd just given her a massive speech about fear, very weirdly."

Read the Full article Here

More Reactions

Lots of press concerning the final episode, so here's some of the highlights:

Q&A with "Battlestar" Showrunner Ron Moore
On the Return of Starbuck, Falling Ratings and 'Caprica' Prequel
By James Hibberd
Last week Sci Fi Channel announced the pickup of nine more episodes of its Peabody Award-winning series "Battlestar Galactica."

The pickup completes a partial fourth-season order that left the show's fans in suspense over the fate of the show. A third-season storyline drawing parallels to the war in Iraq won critical raves, yet ratings have slipped, leaving some comparing the show to another serialized cult program struggling in its third season, ABC's "Lost."

Developer and executive producer Ron Moore spoke to TelevisionWeek about the show's future, its ratings, the long-planned "Caprica" prequel and the return of fan favorite Starbuck.

TelevisionWeek: You've said the show is going into its third act. How many seasons do you want that act to be, and, if this is a different answer, how many do you anticipate that it will be?
Ron Moore: It's a hard question and something I'm grappling with right now. It's going into the third act and there's a couple chapters left, and they could be 10 episode chapters, 20-episode or 30. We're moving toward the climax of the series and resolution of storylines. We're just in the process of sitting down and mapping out the fourth season. We're excited about having those decisions in-house. So far, the network has very much been saying, "We'll take our cues from you."

TVWeek: "Battlestar" was one of several NBC Universal shows that produced webisodes last year, until the Writers Guild of America ordered members to cease writing short-form content due to a lack of separate compensation for the work. Were you happy with the first round of webisodes?
Mr. Moore: I thought we did a good job with them. It was a big learning curve. We had to piggyback on the existing production. There was no money to build a new set or even go to a different set -- we had to shoot it right on the same sets we were using that same day. That said, the story we came up with ... it was an interesting story.

TVWeek: After "killing" one of the most popular characters on the show, Starbuck, she reappears in the last scene in the March 25 finale. Does that mean she'll be back for season four?
Mr. Moore: Yes, definitely.

TVWeek: Katie Sackhoff [who plays Starbuck] made it sound in media interviews as if she's off the show and getting new jobs. Was that part of the ruse?
Mr. Moore: We were trying to walk a very fine line. She was very careful how she phrased it. We wanted people to feel the loss. We didn't want to put Katie in the position of lying to people. She did look for other work and is getting other work -- just other work that won't interfere with her "Battlestar" commitments.

TVWeek: Sci Fi also announced a two-hour "Galactica" movie to air this fall. Will that pick up where season three leaves off, or will it be something different?
Mr. Moore: It will be completely different. It didn't feel right to try and resolve the cliffhanger with a single airing and DVD release. It didn't make any sense. We told a story that takes place in the past in the "Galactica" universe but relates to events in the fourth season.

Full Article

There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief: "Battlestar Galactica's" (Frakked Up) Season Finale

Ronald D. Moore and David Eick know how to handle pain. "Battlestar's" executive producers are skilled at inflicting it on their characters, and aren't above sharing a little with viewers. Adama, Sam, Starbuck, Apollo, Tigh, Tyrol, Cally and Baltar all went through the emotional wringer this season, transforming from revolutionaries and war heroes to criminals, traitors and psychological wrecks. Personal rifts and betrayals severed ties and created unusual alliances, a few between humans and Cylons.

But I believe a friend of mine spoke for many a "BSG" viewer when she wrote in an e-mail:

"WTF?!?!"

You know what those letters stand for. You probably even said the words out loud, only in your living room, that "F" probably didn't stand for "Frak."

Don't let anyone tell you you're not entitled to a little swearing. Many mourned ace Viper pilot Kara Thrace's shocking demise only to find out that she isn't really dead. Three episodes after her apparent death, Starbuck rose again, appearing to a confused Lee Adama to be very much alive and ready to lead Galactica and its battered fleet to Earth. (Happy Easter, folks! The coincidental messianic symbolism should not be lost on you.) She told Lee she's been there and made it back – in the very same ship he saw storm winds crush to smithereens.

WTF, indeed.

Full Article

BSGwatch: The Road to the Final Five
Posted by James Poniewozik

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't watched Battlestar Galactica yet, stop. I will not talk falsely now; the hour is getting late.

So that was kind of a big one, yes? The makers of BSG had promised that the end of this season would be shocking and would entirely change the direction of the show, which on the one hand is true and on the other hand not at all so. Certainly turning four characters into Cylons and bringing Earth into our sights is a big deal. On the other hand--a change in direction? Most of the season has focused on getting ever closer to Earth and to the revelation of the Final Five, so maybe the bigger shock would have been if none of it had happened. And didn't you start suspecting the Cylon reveal once Tigh, Anders, Tyrol and Foster started picking up those signals from what, apparently, was Bob Dylan's XM show? (Also, seriously: who thought Kara was dead, like totally, never-appearing-on-the-show-again dead? Did you think Grey's Anatomy was going to kill off Meredith, too?)

I have to give the producers credit for going for the bold ending, in a way that courted risibility, and often got it. I mean, I'm sorry, when you have a character look at herself in the mirror and seriously intone "I can't get no relief," that's going to be hilarious even if the destruction of the human race is at stake. But I'll still be eagerly looking forward to season 4, and I'm sure plenty of BSG fans will spend the rest of the year anxiously parsing "All Along the Watchtower"'s lyrics.

Full Article

Ron Moore Clears up some Details

From the Post-Gazette Journal:

Executive producer Ron Moore discusses thrilling 'Galactica' cliffhanger

Fans of Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" are no doubt filled with questions this morning following last night's third season, cliffhanger finale. (If you didn't watch last night's episode: SPOILERS AHEAD)

Four of the last five unidentified Cylons were revealed to be patriotic Colonials, characters viewers thought were human -- Col. Tigh (Michael Hogan), Chief Tyrol (Aaron Douglas), Anders (Michael Trucco) and presidential aid Tori (Rekha Sharma). And in the final moments, Starbuck (Kara Thrace), recently presumed dead when her Viper shattered into a million pieces, appeared to Apollo (Jamie Bamber), and she seemed to be very much alive. Starbuck said she'd been to Earth -- Galactica's much-sought destination -- and will show them the way.

With so many questions raised, it was time to seek answers from the main man in the know: "Battlestar" executive producer Ron Moore. In our chat last week, he also discussed plans for a direct-to-DVD movie and the state of the proposed prequel series, "Caprica."

Rob: Why did music cause these newly-revealed Cylons to discover they were indeed Cylons. Sharon didn't hear music when she figured it out in season one.

Ron Moore: It's more that they arrived at a certain point in space and they were made aware of who they are. The music manifests a dawning awareness. These are four of the final five, which puts them in a separate category from everybody else. There are reasons for that I can't really get into. We'll be playing out those plot lines for quite a while.

R: Now there are two half-human, half-Cylon babies -- Hera and the Chief and Cally's child. Will you be dealing with that?

RM: Oh, yeah.

R: Are there other half-human, half-Cylon children?

RM: You never know.

Read the rest of the Interview here.

Bear McCreary Talks Finale Scoring & Watchtower

I was completely geeking out last night with all of the references to All Along The Watchtower - I only hope that the song will make it onto the season 3 soundtrack. Bear McCreary updated his blog about it last night, so that will tide me over, and he goes into how this came to be:

March 25, 2007

"Crossroads, Pt. II"

"'There must be some way out of here,'
Said the joker to the thief.
'There's too much confusion,
I can't get no relief.'"

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD:

Battlestar Galactica's epic third season cliffhanger is among the most daring episodes I've seen for any television series. Baltar's verdict, Roslin's returning cancer and cryptic Opera House visions, vipers racing towards a battle against staggering odds... all of this would have been more than enough for any typical "cliffhanger." However, Ron Moore and the other writers also incorporated stunning revelations that have cataclysmic implications for the rest of the series. Season 3 answered many of the series' long-standing questions, but this final episode introduces countless more.

The score obviously plays a more important role in this episode than ever before. Beginning with last week's "Crossroads, Part I" we have witnessed Tigh, Tyrol, Tory and Anders hearing a distant piece of music that no one else perceives. It slowly drives them mad, they begin losing sleep. The hints have been there all along, (watch both these episodes a second time and you're bound to catch them) but in the end we learn that the song is... Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower!?

Ok, I need to back up and start at the beginning... at least as far as my involvement with this episode is concerned. I initially learned that we would be using the song back in December, while I was busy scoring "The Eye of Jupiter." I have to admit that my first thought was that Ron might be going crazy. However, as always, his unexpected ideas evolved into an incredible episode.

While the song is among the best Bob Dylan ever wrote, Jimi Hendrix's 1968 version is so famous and iconic that many people simply assume he wrote it. In fact, All Along the Watchtower is among the most frequently covered pop songs in history. So, you can imagine my surprise when I learned that not only would it be included in the season finale, but it was incorporated directly into the script.

I knew I needed to get some more information before I could begin tinkering with this renowned song, and I needed it from the source. I had dozens of questions. What should it sound like? Which version of the song should we reference, if any? Do we want a performer who can sing and play guitar exactly like Dylan? or Hendrix?

Rest of the blog entry here.

Chicago Tribune Review of Crossroads

From Meg at the Chicago Tribune:

'But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate': Another insane 'Battlestar Galactica' season finale

The following post discusses Sunday's season finale of "Battlestar Galactica." DO NOT read this if you have not seen it yet. If you have, then by all means, join the discussion.

How cool was Sunday’s “Battlestar Galactica” finale?

Pretty cool. Actually, I thought it rocked.
So Tigh, Tory, Chief Tyrol and Anders are all Cylons. I don’t know about you, but that revelation blew my mind.
And as others have pointed out, all of them were leaders of the resistance on New Caprica. Coincidence? Maybe not.
Since lurking on the TelevisionWithoutPity.com “Battlestar” spoiler board a while back, I haven’t been able to get one commenter’s idea out of my head -- that maybe there are no humans. Maybe there are just different Cylon factions at war, and the Tigh-Tory-Tyrol-Anders contingent is just one faction within that war.
I think that's a pretty compelling idea: What if there are no humans, and this show’s been about the Cylons’ attempt to reclaim or develop the “humanity” of their human creators -- who are long dead?
Here’s another theory posted on this site earlier this week: Maybe the Cylons created the humans, not the other way around.
That’s even wilder, but as we know, “Battlestar” doesn’t shy away from the wild. I enjoy it when the show upends my expectations in such radical ways -- having earned the right to do so with solid storytelling first. And these last couple episodes of the season are about as solid as it gets on TV (and of course, some of Sunday's developments might have been set up well before this last bunch of episodes -- then again, knowing Ron Moore's affinity for shaking things up along the way, maybe not. Who cares. This finale worked for me).
All of these thoughts are pure speculation, keep in mind. I have not a scintilla of information about what is actually going on and what we’ll see next season. And that’s the way I want it -- now we can actually spend the long months until the show returns in January 2008 trying to figure out what the writers have up their sleeves for season four. Of course we’ll probably be wrong, and I have every hope that they’ll come up with something far better than what we can dream up.
Rest of the article here.

EW Review of Crossroads Part 2

Entertainment Weekly has posted up their review of the season finale:

Crammed Finale
At the end of season 3 of ''Battlestar Galactica,'' Gaius Baltar is a free man, Tigh, Tyrol, Anders, and Tory are toasters, and Lee is seeing Starbuck
By Marc Bernardin

I'm of three minds about the season finale. I'm simultaneously completely satisfied, sorely disappointed, and totally frustrated.

SATISFACTION

The conclusion of the trial of Gaius Baltar gave me everything I wanted from this story line. It ended exactly as it should have: It forced the men and women of Galactica to play by the rules they've made for themselves. The substance of Lee's little tirade was spot-on: Everyone in the fleet has been willing to forgive everyone for everything — except Baltar. Because someone had to take the blame for all the horrible crap that's befallen humanity. (Granted, the leap in jurisprudence that it takes to have a member of the accused's legal team take the stand is equivalent to Evel Kneivel's jump over the Snake River Canyon.) If you're intent on giving Baltar a trial, one that adheres to a legal system roughly based on old episodes of Law & Order, then Baltar absolutely should've gotten off. The prosecution, as Admiral Adama said, just didn't make its case.

And so Baltar walks. But what does he walk off to? A life hidden in the fleet, jockeyed from ship to ship, protected by his cadre of priestesses willing to shelter their exonerated messiah? That shot of him walking through the corridors of Galactica, holding his meager box of possessions, untethered to anyone or anything, was just priceless.

DISAPPOINTMENT

In years past, the Battlestar Galactica cliff-hanger has been an event of monumental story-line importance, a grab-'em-by-the-short-hairs whirlwind of plot threads. Season 1: Adama stages a military coup; Starbuck arrives on Caprica; Boomer fires a couple into the old man's chest. Season 2: Roslin loses the presidency; humanity settles on New Caprica; the Cylons place everyone under a robotic boot.

And now, in season 3, we get the revelation that four of our beloved crew are Cylons. It's not that I hate the idea that Tigh, Tyrol, Anders, and Tory are toasters; it's that I hate how we learned that they are. A song? Really? When Boomer's programming kicked in, I don't recall hearing any classic rock. There had to be a better way for them to all twig to each other than listening to music from within the ship.

Of course, we're led to believe that these four are members of the Final Five. Which, of course, they must be, because they're special. They're different. For instance, unlike other Cylons, they must age; otherwise Bill Adama would've noticed that his friend of 40 years never got any older.

Beyond that, I wanted that revelation to mean something. They're Cylons. So what? They've still got their day jobs. They're clearly different from other Cylons, so it's unlikely they're gonna haul off and start shooting their best friends.

And I wanted this to make sense, in the way that every other cliff-hanger made sense. How is it that they're all humming a techno cover of ''All Along the Watchtower''? Is the nebula acting as some sort of harmonic conductor, allowing signals from Earth to reach Galactica? If so, why can only those four hear it? There were just too many questions left in the air. At the end of a cliff-hanger, one shouldn't be thinking, ''What the hell just happened?'' The only thing on your mind should be ''What the hell happens next?''

FRUSTRATION

Here's my theory about Starbuck's ''resurrection.'' I think she's still dead. It's not clear that anyone else but Lee saw that ''unknown'' vessel on DRADIS. So she's talking to Lee from beyond the grave and will speak through him to help lead the fleet to the promised land. Which is exactly what we needed on this show: more people talking inside others' heads. Why couldn't Starbuck just be dead? Why not have the courage of your convictions? You wanna kill her? Great. You wanna keep her alive? Just as good. But pick one and stick to it. Sometimes you can't have it both ways.

Hey, were there good things in this episode? Absolutely. I loved Gaeta on the stand, willing to perjure himself to get back at Baltar. (And I loved Baltar calling him ''butterfingers'' for botching that murder attempt.) I loved Tigh going to Adama, talking about the music in the ship, feeling trapped, and then saying to no one in particular, ''There must be some kinda way out of here.'' Still loved the crap out of Lampkin. And I loved Lee remembering that, before he's anything else, he's a pilot.

But there was something rushed, maybe even reckless, about this episode. As if the producers weren't sure that they were coming back for another season, and wanted to accelerate the progress toward closure — and in the process left things even more vague.

Now, I know there will be a hue and cry about this TV Watch. Some will think that I've turned on Battlestar Galactica or that, perhaps, I never even loved it to begin with. Those people are wrong. I love this show. I have ever since I cracked the miniseries. And I still feel it's one of the best shows on TV. But that love doesn't mean that I have to ignore its shortcomings, or blind myself to the point where I think it doesn't have any.

So that's season 3. See you guys in January '08 for season 4. In the meantime, post your reactions, criticisms, and predictions below. Gods-speed!

TV Squad's Review of Crossroads 2

TV Squad has posted up their review of Crossroads, Part 2:

Battlestar Galactica: Crossroads, Part 2 (season finale)
Posted Mar 25th 2007 9:55PM by Keith McDuffee
Filed under: Science Fiction, OpEd, Battlestar Galactica, TV Squad Chatcasts, Sci Fi

(S03E20) First of all I want to thank everyone who attended the chat tonight during the episode. The room's still open for anyone who wants to hop in and discuss what went on (if I'm there, I go by 'TVSKeith'). I'm pretty sure there's plenty to talk about.

As I was watching the show tonight, and having read so many comments on this show here at TV Squad throughout the season, I realized there are going to be two main schools of thought here. One one side we'll have those who felt the trial was the most important piece of the episode, while the other will find it to be the haunting music, those who were driven by it and surprise ending. But of course if you've got any sense about you, you'll realize they're all important pieces to the puzzle.

I'll admit that I read the spoilers going into this episode, and sure enough they turned out to be right. I'm rather desensitized to spoilers these days, as it was part of my job here for years. Though I will say that as the spoilers were written, I'm not so sure I agree with the assumptions made in their presentation.

For example, the members of the crew affected by the music immediately assume they are Cylons because what's happening to them cannot be explained. Yet are we really supposed to believe they are Cylons, too? I certainly don't think so, and in fact I'm thinking quite the opposite. In case you didn't know yet (and live under a rock), the music heard is Bob Dylan's 'All Along the Watchtower', though the version we hear is sung by someone I couldn't place. I'm thinking that these crew members are somehow related or connected to Earthlings, and perhaps only they are able to hear it as part of a safety measure for finding Earth.

It's actually reminiscent of a witch hunt, isn't it? Something that can't be explained or seems so completely out of place is automatically assumed to be witchcraft. I'd believe they were Cylons only if it was obvious that Six or Sharon also heard the music, but as far as I know they didn't.

As for the trial, I now wonder what effect Lee's speech will have on how others perceive him as a leader. He outwardly admitted to everyone that he wanted to leave everyone to die on New Caprica with the Cylons. Does that make him a fit leader in their eyes now?

Why did Gaeta lie on the stand like he did besides just not liking Baltar? Was he just looking to make himself seem better off or was he just looking for revenge for what Baltar whispered to him in an earlier episode and missed stabbing him with a pen over it ("butterfingers!")

There are too many ways one could explain how Starbuck came back from what seemed like death from a few episodes ago. One of my favorite theories mentioned in the chat (and one I believe mentioned in comments in a previous post) was that Kara was now in Lee's head much like Six and Baltar are in each other's, and that she is a Cylon, though not necessarily part of their "plan." I'd only say there's no coincidence that Starbuck shows up just as the Cylons show up and just as the music gets clearer for who we're supposed to believe are part of the final five Cylons.

While it's great to know we can look forward to a new full, geenlit season of this show, it's going to feel like a long wait. If rumors of the theme for the gap-bridging two-hour movie this summer are true, we're in for a great treat to help make that wait less painful.

I can't wait to read everyone's theories and thoughts on what went down in this episode. Until next season (or my next show review, if you read them)...

‘Battlestar’ finale may put fans at crossroads

From the Boston Herald:

‘Battlestar’ finale may put fans at crossroads

By Mark A. Perigard
Boston Herald TV Critic

The Cylons are closer than you think.
For much of the season, fans of Sci Fi’s “Battlestar Galactica” have been teased with the notion that one of the five hidden Cylons would be revealed - as a member of the Galactica crew.
The third-season finale (Sunday at 10 p.m.) delivers on that premise and then some.
“Cliffhanger” is such an inadequate word to describe the episode.
Cries of “Holy frak!” will arise from fans all over the country after the final moments air. The “Battlestar” universe will never be the same after the revelations in “Crossroads Part II.”

Some fans will be jazzed for the new season. Others will accuse the show of jumping the shark. But no other TV show on any other network has shown such a willingness to both surprise its viewers and rip apart its own formula in such a challenging, creative way. Ronald D. Moore, executive producer/writer, refuses to take the easy route and let his cast or his viewers get comfortable.
Baltar’s (James Callis) trial takes a shocking twist. President Roslin (Mary McDonnell) has a strange dream that reveals her subconscious is linked to those of Cylons Sharon (Grace Park) and Number Six (Tricia Helfer). Several crew members are haunted by a strange melody that only they can hear.
The fleet is attacked by Cylon ships. At a crucial moment, Lee (Jamie Bamber) becomes separated from the rest of his squad and encounters hope from the most unexpected source.
I’ve already said too much. There are spoilers on other Web sites that give away every detail of this episode. Please avoid them. Give yourself the chance to enjoy “Crossroads Part II” as it was meant to be. Allow yourself the pleasure of being genuinely surprised.
There are far too many shows on the air that are capable of doing that. “Battlestar” is one of the few that delivers and one of the best.
Sci Fi announced yesterday that it has picked up “Battlestar” for a full 22 episodes, to begin airing in January. In addition, an original two-hour “Battlestar” film will air in the fall, to help bridge the wait between seasons. While the entire cast is expected to appear, it is unclear at this time whether it will pick up from Sunday’s finale or tell a stand-alone tale. My bet is it will be some sort of prequel.
When “Battlestar” returns, it will be a new show, with some incredible stories to tell. This is one viewer who cannot wait.
“Battlestar Galactica” Season finale Sunday at 10 p.m. on Sci Fi -- Grade: A

Finale Spoilers Leaked

From the SciFi Wire:

Battlestar Finale Spoilers Leaked

Grace Park, who plays Sharon "Boomer" Valerii on SCI FI Channel's original series Battlestar Galactica, told SCI FI Wire that the show's upcoming third-season finale, "Crossroads, Part 2," will provide closure to some story threads while setting the stage for new intrigue in season four. The finale airs on March 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. SCI FI Channel recently announced that Battlestar Galactica would return for a fourth season, and on March 21 the network revealed it had increased its episode order to 22 from 13, including a special two-hour extended episode.

Full Article Here

Scene from Crossroads Part 2

This in from Youtube, a 1.5 minute clip:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrSPh8OO3sY

Spoilers for The Finale

This in from BuddyTV, major spoilers for Crossroads Part 2:

MAJOR SPOILERS

Battlestar Galactica Spoilers - 3.20 - Crossroads Part 2 - So How Does it End?

March 19, 2007 It's forbidden fruit time. You've watched part one of Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica season three for yourself, get the big final five reveal when it was intended, find out what character makes an unlikely appearance somewhere they shouldn't be, and of course get the answer to Battlestar Galactica's looming question Du Jour, will Baltar get off or not. Or you could click the tempting little link below and find out everything ahead of time. C'mon, you know you want to...

First a few interpersonal items. Seems like Anders is getting comfy with Seelix, right? Wrong! In fact, Anders is going to have a hot and heavy make out session with Roslin's aid Tory! Well, something has to bring them together because this thing with the mysterious music that Anders, Tory, and Tigh are hearing has to come to a head at some point. Oh and speaking of the music, next week you can add Tyrol to the list of people who are hearing its mysterious strains. (Which happen to be, get this, Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower". Yes, I'm frakkin' serious.)

Baltar is found not guilty! Part of this might be Lee's speech on how they are all guilty of making choices that have cost lives, Roslin, Adama, all of the leaders in the fleet have left people behind, and none of them have been held accountable. So, Baltar is a scapegoat. It's a tight vote, 3-2, and Adama Sr. winds up being the swing vote. A fact that doesn't endear him to Roslin.

Tyrol, Anders, Tory, and Tigh meet in a launch tube to discuss the mysterious music. They decide amongst themselves that they are Cylons, and coincidently the Cylons attack. What are the new found Cylons to do? Well they return to their posts for duty, of course. Are they really Cylons? Uh... I'm thinking this has to be like a Cylon implant thing or something. But who knows. The producers did say the reveal would challenge our sense of what makes a Cylon a Cylon.

The ending. My god... the ending. As the Cylon's attack, Baltar is wisked away by the cult that has formed around him. The courtroom empties in a hurry. Lee's first impulse to to head to the hanger for action, three piece suit and all. He picks up an unidentified craft on radar and investigates, When he gets there he sees Starbuck's Viper, but it can't be, can it? Lee approaches and sure enough, in the greatest con job in television history Starbuck is alive (Katee Sackhoff is NOT on the credits for this episode!) She says she has been to Earth and can lead them there. OMG!

Crossroads Podcast Delayed

According to the SciFi site, the podcast commentary for Crossroads Part 1 has been delayed, and will be released later on this week.

EW Review of Crossroads Part 1

From Entertainment Weekly:

Family Court
On ''Battlestar Galactica,'' the Adamas clash during the trial of Gaius Baltar


It's funny, in the back of my head I've always known the Galactica crew was supposed to be like a family, one forged not through love but through necessity. But it never really came to the fore, for me, until this episode. It only happened because now this family is on the verge of disintegration. For this show, for these characters, that's as apocalyptic as a Cylon occupation. And that's truly Baltar's most heinous crime. Because the only thing that's keeping this ragtag fleet together is their allegiance to each other. In the first part of the season finale, Gaius Baltar is the wedge that's driving the family apart. And if the leaders can't keep it together, what hope do the rest of them have?

Because of Baltar, and his right to a fair trial, Lee and Bill Adama are at each other's throats. Duala has left her husband, because she can't abide what he's doing in the name of justice. Laura is snapping at everyone and has been ''outed'' by the closest thing she has to a son. And Saul Tigh, poor Saul, has been reduced to the crazy uncle, drunkenly babbling in the corner. It was sad to see Tigh, such a stalwart warrior, reduced to a quivering mass on the stand. (Michael Hogan, gods damn it, may actually be the best actor on a show full of great actors. Because he never shows off. You never see him doing it. He just shows up and...hurts. Right there in plain sight.)

One of the most delicious parts of the trial — really of the whole Baltar-in-a-colonial-cell story line — is just how weak and ineffectual Baltar himself appears. I loved the astonished, who-me? look on his face when the de-sunglassed Romo Lampkin launched into that opening statement/tirade about how vile a person the accused really is. I think at this point Baltar has realized that it's his lot in life to be carried along by events, that his survival demands he relinquish control to others, that the only thing he can do for himself is try and prepare for the inevitable rocky landing. (But I must say that I don't get the transformation of Baltar from war criminal to popular author to, now, prophet. Is it the messiah hair that makes people think that he's some kind of holy man, fit to bless babies?)

I'm so happy that the Cylons are back. Especially in the manner in which I want to see them. And by that, I mean not at all. They're once again the mysterious, implacable threat that constantly dogs our heroes. That said, I did like to see Caprica Six finding her edge again, no longer sitting around like a kid who lost her puppy. There were, like, six kinds of crazy going on in that prison cell, from the reappearance of Head Baltar — always fun — to Tigh, giving too much away, letting Six get inside his skull before he slugged her in hers.

Speaking of things rattling around in people's skulls, what was the deal with the weirdo synth Muzak that Tigh, Anders, and Tory seemed to hear and no one else did? It's gotta mean something — nothing happens on Galactica by accident — but what?

Every now and again, the faithful devotees of a TV show find themselves rewarded for their constant vigilance. And this episode had a moment that actually took my breath away. It was when Lee, all duded up in his incongruous suit and tie, started questioning President Roslin. He started down the kamala-extract line of questioning, his father's attempt to shut down the whole trial squashed (the admiral...denied!). And just as Lee was about to move in for the kill, Laura, in a voice meant only for Lee, begged him, pleaded with him: ''Please don't do this...please.'' That nearly broke my heart. Because we know what they've been through together. We remember that Lee was the first member of the military with whom she formed any sort of bond. He was her Captain Apollo. He sided with her when his father staged his military coup. And here he was, throwing all of that away, in the pursuit of ''justice.'' That moment is powerful only if you know the show. If you've been with it since the miniseries, it has exponentially more weight than if you tuned in for the first time this week, or even this season.

Moments like that make the whole thing worthwhile.

What did you think? Is Anders moving on from Kara too fast? Is his enrolling in the pilot corps, and his new attachment to Seelix, just a way to fill the Starbuck void with everything Starbuck-related? Was it a mistake to put Helo back in the XO role? And is Baltar gonna get the chair?

Posted Mar 16, 2007

TV Squad Review of Crossroads Part 1

From TV Squad:

Crossroads: Part 1

Posted Mar 18th 2007 11:35PM by Keith McDuffee
Filed under: Science Fiction, OpEd, Battlestar Galactica, Sci Fi

(S03E19) Don't you sort of have a love-hate relationship with the final episodes of your favorite shows? There's the heightened anticipation of what's typically some of the best episodes of the season, while at the same time you get that disappointing feeling in your gut when you realize things are soon coming to an end. Two-part finales are cruel.

No early podcast this week, which is a good thing for purists who want to keep surprised as each episode airs.

Random thought: If there are humans still left on New Caprica, would it be possible then that they'd be alive in some way and able to continue living? Were they reliant on most of the technology upon the ships that were forced to leave them behind, or are they as good as dead? The nuke was never set off, right?

Some of you commenters may be onto something with the whole Balter-as-Jesus thing, that Moore's intention has been for Baltar to appear and almost become a Jesus-like figure in the eyes of some of the residents of the fleet. I certainly wouldn't say that his appearance will have anything at all to do with the relationship later to Earth, though; it's just a metaphor.

Lampkin may have been right in explaining that Baltar's decision to surrender is likely the reason the human population on Galactica is *only* missing 5,197 people. I say "may have been" because I'm not so sure Roslin wouldn't have also surrendered. In their condition at that time, what choice would they have had?

Definitely an odd sight seeing Lee in a pinstripes rather than his military uniform. It seemed that Bill Adama knew why Roslin was again taking kamala extract, which is why he was moving to put a stop to the question. Still, it was infuriating for the Admiral to so vehemently try to stop Lee's questioning in the way he did.

Getting back to Lee handing in his wings, it wasn't all that a surprising move. In fact, it was inevitable that he'd want to completely step out from under his father's shadow, and since he's rather stranded within the fleet, this is probably one of the final gestures he could have made in order to clear his mind and do what he feels is the right thing by the law.

But why would Roslin not choose to go through with the same "cure" once again? Maybe she's a kamala junkie? I guess the opening sequence to this episode may lend a hint, where Sharon and she were chasing Hera. They both want Hera to be alive and safe, though their reasons may not be in sync.

As for the music that Tigh and Anders are hearing, all I can say is that it's definitely an interesting new twist. I have read some of the unavoidable (for me) spoilers out there regarding this particular detail of the finale, and I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. Obviously only select people can hear it, but why?

Definitely a step in a better direction with this episode, and the case of Baltar is much better than I'd thought it could be already. One more episode, everyone!

Current fleet population: 41,399

Two Promos

For the first part of the season finale, Crossroads:

American: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciCtbbNHNCc
Canadian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxRPS5HsUZI

(Not embedded because Blogger is rejecting the embedding - anyone know how to get around that?)

This'll be the last update of the week, as I'm headed out of state for a couple days.

Extended Finale

This in from the SciFi Channel:

March 7, 2007

NEWS FLASH! The Sunday, March 25, season finale of Battlestar Galactica will run five minutes longer than usual. If you plan on recording the episode, set your DVR or VCR to continue for five to 10 minutes after the end of the hour so you don't miss anything!

Upcoming Episode Titles

The Patriot Resource has rounded out the rest of the titles for Season 3. Here's the new ones:

307: Hero
308: Unfinished Business
309: The Passage
310: The Eye of Jupiter
311: The Rapture
312: Taking a Break from All Your Worries (Spring 2007)
313: The Woman King (Spring 2007)
314: A Day In The Life (Spring 2007)
315: Dirty Hands (Spring 2007)
316: Maelstrom (Spring 2007)
317: The Son Also Rises (Spring 2007)
318: The Crossroads, Part 1 (Spring 2007)
319: The Crossroads, Part 2 (Spring 2007)

It's looking like The Passage and Eye of Jupiter are a two parter, and The Son Also Rises (A play on the book title by Hemmingway?) and both Crossroads are a three parter for the season Finale. As previously reported, Season 3 will be only 19 episodes.

Detailed spoilers for these episodes can be found here.