Friday, March 9

Battlestar' heats up

Source : MetroMix (Chigago Tribune)


Given what happened in Sunday's episode of "Battlestar Galactica," you may have questions about whether Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) is dead or alive.

I have questions, too, but they're different ones: How do the creators of this show keep coming up with such gripping season finales? And if fans are in a tizzy now, what will they think of the mind-bending season finale on March 25? I can't even imagine.

Sci Fi Channel sent some media the last few episodes of "Battlestar Galactica's" third season. And it's my fervent hope that nobody, including me, spoils the major details of the end of the season for "Battlestar" fans.

Having said that, we can now talk about the March 4 episode, and I think it is safe for even those who like to avoid spoilers to check out a January interview executive producers Ron Moore and David Eick did with the Tribune (go to chicagtribune.com/watcher, hit the "archives" button and click on the "January" link). They said then that Starbuck would be involved in a "major event" with "lasting reverberations," and they certainly were right about that. But close watchers of the show have noted that the pilot's hand was on the eject button just before her ship exploded. Talk about things that make you go "hmmm."

Regardless of whether Starbuck is dead, it must be said that if there were any justice in the TV award-giving world, the March 4 episode of the show would win Sackhoff an Emmy nomination. The episode, which involved flashbacks to her life with her mother, allowed her to show her full range and not just do that rebellion thing that she does so well, but to play the rage and heartbreak of an abused child who still deeply loves her parent.

Sackhoff gave her most moving performance to date. The fact that "Battlestar" fans are in such a tizzy about Starbuck's alleged demise is a testament to what a great character she and the show's writers created over three seasons.

As far as the remaining three episodes of the season go, I can say without spoiling anything that they are, like Sunday's Starbuck episode, a rousing return to form after some uneven standalone episodes."The Son Also Rises" (9 p.m. Sunday, Sci Fi) sets the stage for Baltar's (James Callis) trial for treason, and we meet Baltar's lawyer, Romo Lampkin, who turns out to be a pretty fascinating guy.

The last two outings of the season, which concern the trial, are among the best work "Battlestar" has ever done. There are absolutely transfixing moments in those episodes, and in the season finale, Jamie Bamber (who plays Lee "Apollo" Adama) and Michael Hogan (who plays Saul Tigh) do some particularly fine work.

By the way, Sci Fi has come up with a cool online contest for "Battlestar Galactica" fans.

The channel has made dozens of clips and special effects from the show available at www.scifi.com/battlestar; fans can use this "videomaker toolkit" to create their own short films paying tribute to the show.

Executive producer Eick will select his favorite fan-made clip and it will be broadcast later in the season, which ends (with a wallop, trust me) on March 25.

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