Battlestar Fodder

News About 'Galactica' TV Movie, Guest Star, Scheduling

As we inch ever closer to Earth Battlestar Galactica's 2008 return, a few juicy tidbits from around the Ron Moore-iverse (hey, it's his world, we're just living in it).

First off, an update on the two-hour "Razor" special, airing on Nov. 24 (and coming to DVD two weeks later). The TV movie takes us back to Lee Adama's first mission as commander of the Battlestar Pegasus, when he was faithfully assisted by his trusty number one, Kendra Shaw.

What? Don't remember our old friend Kendra?

Never fear--she's a new creation for the TV movie, played by Stephanie Chaves-Jacobson. Shaw's a Pegasus holdover, and as her flashbacks shape the story, we'll see how Admiral Cain and crew fared before meeting up with Adama and the Galactica. So look for more of Michelle Forbes, more of Tricia Helfer as Pegasus's Cylon infiltrator "Gina," and more of that lovable Commander Fisk.

Apparently, Shaw won't be the only character flashbacking--or she's a lot older than she looks--because Razor also promises scenes from the first Cylon War, with a young Will "Husker" Adama flying his old-school Viper into combat. Hat-tip to Entertainment Weekly for offering a first-look of Razor, with images and more background on the special. (Although, if you want to be totally surprised by the movie, be warned that EW's plastered a spoilery picture at the start of the article).

Michelle Forbes isn't the only Star Trek alum to cross universes; Nana Visitor, who played Kira on Deep Space Nine, has a key role in "Faith," the next season's sixth episode. Turns out that she's a cancer patient who bonds with President Roslin as they both undergo treatment, and per Mo Ryan at the Watcher, "explore the nature of mortality and questions of life after death." Cancer, chemo, and the afterlife...oh, BSG, will you ever stop being such a yuk-fest?

Next, rumors continue that BSG's finale will be pushed off...til 2009. This is less than cool news and I shudder to report on it. But there's a chance that the Sci-Fi Channel, which is planning on splitting the season in half anyway, may begin one ten-episode cluster in February 2008 and save the remaining ten episodes until February 2009, in some attempt to get as much mileage out of their premier property.

Fandom, it's tough to know what to make of this development. On the one hand, Sci-Fi's decision won't affect BSG production; Ron Moore says the plan is to shoot season four straight through, regardless of when the episodes are shown. On the other, how patient are fans expected to be? The longer the show is away, the more it will shed viewers who move on to the next thing (note: I say this without any knowledge of how 'The Sopranos' has fared using a similar strategy. In fact, the more I think about it, the better this strategy seems to have done by creating "event" telecasting at a time when it's ever-more difficult to do so. So perhaps nix that last point). Not to mention, in this era of digital video, a gazillion spoiler websites, and a very proactive fanbase, how can Sci-Fi expect the remaining episodes to sit idly in the can for a year? Some plot details will leak, and fans will freak.

Finally, say what you will about BSG producer David Eick's new "Bionic Woman," but as it's filmed on the same Vancouver soundstage as BSG, the NBC show is providing ample employment for a number of familiar faces. It's been well-reported that Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) plays rival bionic woman Sarah Corvus, but did you know that Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol) plays "prison guard" and Mark Sheppard (shady lawyer guest star Romo Lampkin) gets the meatiest role as the scientist who cooked up the Bionic Woman experiment? No word if Jake the dog has a cameo lined up yet.

---

Posted by DD on September 26, 2007 10:55 PM
Permalink | Email to a Friend | Add to del.icio.us | Digg This

Got something to say? Post a comment:

Subscribe to this post's comments feed   (What's this?)

Name:

Email Address:

URL:


Remember personal info?

Comments:

More Recent Stories:
• Battlestar Galactica: Key Points from "Daybreak" (Parts 1 - 3)
• Battlestar Galactica: Key Points from "Islanded in a Stream of Stars"
• Battlestar Galactica: Key Points from "Someone to Watch Over Me"
• Battlestar Galactica: Key Points from "Deadlock"
• Battlestar Galactica: Key Points from "No Exit"
• Battlestar Galactica: Key Points from "Blood on the Scales"
• Battlestar Galactica: Key Points from "The Oath"
• Battlestar Galactica: Key Points from "A Disquiet Follows My Soul"
• Battlestar Galactica: Key Points from "Sometimes a Great Notion"
• Battlestar Galactica: Key Points from "The Face of the Enemy" Webisodes