The man behind "Battlestar Galactica"

Source: Salon

In an intereview with Laura Miller in Salon, Ron Moore talks about season 4 and confirms that the fall 2007 BSG 2 hour telefilm for Sci-Fi Channel and DVD will be about the Battlestar Pegasus:

So you couldn't say now whether you think of Season 4 as the last of the series?

I'm considering that right now, to be honest. It's in the air. I don't know. It hasn't been formally decided and I haven't made my own decision. It's a possibility.

The worst thing that could happen to us is if we overstayed our welcome and got to a place where we had not finished the story and then we got canceled. I'd rather go out on my own terms creatively and go out strong.

We won't be seeing Season 4 until January 2008, but I understand there's going to be some kind of miniseries or movie coming before then?

There is something that they're calling "extra episodes" or "extended episodes" -- they keep shifting the nomenclature. Essentially, we are shooting two hours of "Galactica" that will be broadcast on SciFi Channel sometime in the fall. Let's say they broadcast it on a Friday; then, on the following Monday, it will be available on DVD.

That story will not pick up our cliffhanger at the end of Season 3. That didn't seem right. The story will be set on the Battleship Pegasus and will take place in the past, relative to where we are in Season 3. But the events set up in that story will then pay off in Season 4.

What was the reasoning behind doing that?

They came to us. It gives Home Video something to sell in the stores. Since we won't be back until January, which is a long time to be off the air, it gives the fans something to see and keeps the show alive. So it serves multiple masters. There was no way we could pick up the cliffhanger in that format, and then ask people to wait to really start the season later. One of the story lines everyone had really liked was the Pegasus story and the character of Admiral Cain, so we decided to go with that.

Are you already at work on Season 4 of "Battlestar Galactica"?

Yep, we've broken the first eight episodes. We're pretty happy. There are a lot of things coming; a lot of things change in the season finale of this season and propel us into the story lines of next season.

Read the full interview with Ron at Salon.