The Razor Podcast

Source: RDM

Instead of the customary podcast commentary for next week’s showing of “Razor,” there will be a recording I made of the original break session where the writers first pitched me the story. The podcast was recorded at my house with the entire writing staff, minus Mrs. Ron, who opted not to know anything about the story until it was completed. A separate commentary track will be available on the DVD version that Michael Taylor and I recorded in the studio. (Don’t worry, I brought along the obligatory bottle of scotch.)

So far, the response to “Razor” has been very positive from both the critics and from the few screenings that we’ve had, so I’m hopeful that it’ll be well received by one and all

Ron Moore writes his own blog

Source: Ronald D. Moore's Personal Blog

I wanted to start blogging during the strike, but it seemed inappropriate to use the SciFi.com site for that purpose, so I’ve spent the better part of the afternoon learning how to use the handy-dandy iWeb tool on my computer. Nothing too fancy yet, just some basic stuff to make sure this is actually working and that I actually know what the frak I’m doing.

A quick update on the strike: the BSG writing staff has been on the picket lines for two weeks now and morale is pretty high. We’re at the Barham gate to Universal Studios on the morning shift M-F this week (6:00 am to 10:00 am) and we’re getting a lot of response from passing cars -- lotta honking, sorry those of you living at Oakwood apts.

There’s a BSG convention this weekend in Burbank, and there’s been a lot of rumors out there about people from the con coming down to the picket lines. Just a few things on this subject for now: First of all, the rumored “3,000 fans” appearing on the line are a complete fabrication. I doubt the entire convention attendance will be that high. Second, the convention organizer is in no way coordinating this with WGA or anyone else. Third, the pickets are only in force M-F and this Friday will be ending at 1:00pm. Fourth, if anyone wants to come and show their support for the writers and our cause, they are more than welcome.

For more details on how you can support the show and the strike, as well as picketing this Friday, go to: fans4writers.com

Mrs. Ron & MexiChick (the handles for my wife Terry and the significant other of writer Bradley Thompson) will be coordinating things from there.

I’ll have more to say on these subjects later. Now I have to retreat back to my study of the arcane facts of webhosting.

Review: Razor Slices Smartly Into Battlestar's Past

Source: Wired

Among fans of Sci Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica, a question persists about the series' 49,000 Earth-seeking survivors of Cylon armageddon: Does their adventure ultimately provide some sort of back story to the present-day human race?

The show's fourth and final season, slated to begin in April, should settle this issue once and for all. But in the meantime, the Battlestar universe has its own back stories in need of revisiting.

Enter the 87-minute-long "extended episode" called Battlestar Galactica: Razor, to be screened like a regular feature film in select cities Monday and aired Nov. 24 on Sci Fi. A prequel to Sci Fi's Battlestar -- which remains an indisputable contender for best show on television despite a wobbly third season -- Razor delivers the sharp writing, sci-fi eye candy and solid acting that made the show a surprise hit for the cable channel.

Those not already familiar with the series may face a challenge with Razor as their introduction, jump-cutting as it does between three time periods in the series' rich history. On the other hand, Razor is also the quickest way a newbie can sample Battlestar's rich plot lines and cram for the show's highly anticipated final season. Like the series' best episodes, Razor delivers pulse-pounding battle scenes as well as the human drama of real characters struggling through trying and sometimes inhumane circumstances.

The movie picks up a story thread first introduced in the show's second season, when a second battlestar, Pegasus, emerged out of nowhere to join Galactica and its tag-along civilian fleet.

Razor fills as many holes in this midseason story arc as a two-episode-long movie can. It packs the kind of stunning visual effect sequences (including old-school Cylon Raiders) that Battlestar fans have come to expect, and the new battlestar's bullwhip commander, Adm. Helena Cain (played by Michelle Forbes), gets her moment in the spotlight. Ultimately, though, Cain's story is the least satisfying aspect of an otherwise stellar production.

As in season two's Pegasus episodes, Forbes steeps her portrayal of the stone-hearted Cain in militaristic clichés.

One would hope that Razor's exploration of the second battlestar's origins might shed light on Cain's unflinching character. And Razor's script certainly provides further examples of Cain's jack-booted command -- the kind of military melodrama of torture and massacres that capably lends itself to comparisons to post-Sept. 11 America and its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Forbes so relishes the role of a space-faring Patton that she misfires during Cain's moments of emotional truth. She understandably tears up over nameless fallen soldiers at the show's outset, then inexplicably shuts tighter than an airlock at a key sequence of scenes, when betrayal turns Cain ever more tyrannical, marching determinedly toward her own downfall.

The breakout performance in Razor is turned in by Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen, as officer Kendra Shaw, who gives this feature-length story its grounding despite her character's innate rootlessness.

Shaw is the sharp instrument of the movie's title, and her haunted actions and harrowed eyes speak to a hellish life in a military machine that leads a civilization forever on the run from a deadly menace of its own creation. Through Shaw we witness what are undoubtedly crucial plot points for Battlestar's last season (which begins in April, if the Writers Guild of America strike doesn't interfere).

With a story expertly brought to life by Chaves-Jacobsen -- as well as series stalwarts such as Edward James Olmos (as Adm. William Adama) and Tricia Helfer (Number Six) -- blood drawn by this Razor is as real as sci-fi gets.

WIRED: Olmos commands the screen even when not commanding ship.

TIRED: Plot points zip by so fast you'll wish you'd read spoilers.

Air date/network: Nov. 24, Sci Fi Channel

Rating: 7/10

BSG Set Damaged in Windstorm

Source: The 13th Colony

Vancouver’s first major winter storm of the season came through town yesterday, and the high winds took out an outdoor set for Battlestar Galactica. What the news called “ancient ruins” were in fact in ruins as the picture here shows. A spokesperson for GEP Productions, Geoff White, spoke to the news crew after surveying the damage, saying he hoped they would be able to do repairs and still shoot at the location in the coming week.

The set is on Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen, south of Vancouver. For more info, the news story is streaming live here at the Global TV BC website, under the link for Vancouver Wind. The timecode for the BSG set is roughly 1:43 to 2:11 in to the story.

Battlestar Galactica: Razor Review

Source: Cinema Blend

Battlestar Galactica is already the most cinematic show on television, so it makes an awesome kind of sense for the Sci-Fi channel to port their most talked about series over to theaters. Unfortunately, they’re not doing it by having their parent company Universal turn BSG into a feature film, but rather by simply projecting an extended length episode of the television show in cinemas.

Tonight I was there for the theatrical debut of Battlestar Galactica: Razor; a summer, tide audiences over until the new season, made for TV movie set in the BSG universe. It debuts on television November 24th, but tonight on November 12th, for one night only, it played in movie theaters around the country for free. It was free because it was sponsored by Microsoft, as anyone who was there can attest, since the film was interrupted right in the middle for a series of rather annoying, Xbox advertisements. Though it was nice of Microsoft to make the event possible by sponsoring it, they probably weren’t doing themselves any favors by interrupting Razor, since no one could hear the mid-feature commercials over all the booing. Really MS, the ten minutes of Xbox commercials before and after the movie were more than enough. We put up with it on television, but sitting in a movie theater it felt all wrong.

Commercial interruptions aside, for all the time we BSG fans spend talking about how theatrical the show is at home on our plasma televisions, it lost a little something projected up on that big screen. All the fast zoom outs and handheld cameras, which do so much to make the show seem bigger on our TVs, don’t exactly work in a movie theater. Weirdly, BSG seemed more cinematic sitting at home in my living room.

That’s not to say watching it in a movie theater wasn’t a worthwhile experience. Razor is a solid entry into the BSG world (if not exactly an accessible one), and seeing it with a big, in to it group like that is the best way to watch just about anything. Sure, maybe Razor would never work as a stand alone movie. It’s designed primarily to cater to the already in Battlestar faithful, and that’s the way it should be. This isn’t really a film, more a long television episode masquerading as one to let us BSG nerds live out our fantasy that some day maybe we’ll get a proper BSG feature. And so we put on our “Frack Me” t-shirts, printed out our free online tickets, lined up, and filed in.

Though the show lost something visually in being thrown up on an oversized screen, it held on to all the usual dramatic tension any average Battlestar episode brings to bear. And that’s really what Razor is, a longer than normal BSG episode focused on ancillary characters. It’s a story told in two parts. Part one is set some time in Season 2 and follows Lee Adama as he takes command of the Pegasus and hires a new XO named Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen), a former favorite Lieutenant of the ship’s deceased commander, Admiral Helena Cain. Part two is a flashback to ten months earlier, and it lets us see a day we’ve always wondered about, by following around Kendra Shaw during Cylon’s first attack Earth, through the Pegasus’s escape, and on to their fight for survival as Admiral Cain must make hard decisions about who lives and who dies. If you’ve been following along with the show, then you already know she makes a lot of pretty bad calls.

In the thick of everything is Kendra Shaw, a new character to the BSG universe, created specifically for Razor. She’s a tortured hero in the mold of Kara Thrace, haunted by the memory of what she did under Admiral Cain while still utterly convinced that Cain’s barbaric choices were essential to their survival. In the past Kendra watches things fall apart on the Pegasus, in the present she works with Lee Adama to lead the crew of the Pegasus on a rescue mission. Surprisingly, newcomer Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen holds her own against the show’s seasoned cast members rather well, sliding right into their universe of tortured BSG characters as if she’s an old familiar. I’d rather be watching more of James Callis’s Baltar, but if we have to put up with a replacement character then they could have done a lot worse than Kendra.

Razor isn’t essential to the overall Battlestar Galactica storyline, but it does an admirable job of filling in minor gaps. It’s stocked with geeky little revelations of the kind any true BSG fan will appreciate. Unfortunately, true BSG fans have been spoiled by a show with pretty high standards, and will no doubt recognize that Razor is maybe a notch below some of Battlestar’s best regular season work. Perhaps it’s because it’s focused on an ancillary character instead of one of the show’s regulars, but I think it suffers simply because parts of it feel tacked on. Razor comes off like something that was written not because they had a great story to tell, but because they had a lot of those geeky little filler details they wanted to convey while using as few members of the regular BSG cast as possible.

Whatever minor flaws there may be in the feature or in its theatrical presentation, I don’t think Battlestar fans will be unhappy. Razor is worth watching simply because it has Battlestar Galactica stuck in front of it, and we’ve got a long wait until the show returns with new episodes. Razor is filler, but good filler. If you’re fan, you’ll leave full to the brim on situational tension and engrossing character drama. If you’re not, then there’s absolutely zero chance you’re reading this review. Go watch American Idol. Frack you.

Katee Sackhoff Dishes on 'Battlestar' and 'Bionic'

Source: TV Tattler

November 8 -- 'Battlestar Galactica' fans who are patiently waiting for the April 2008 premiere of the show's fourth -- and final -- season, get a bit of a treat this month with the two-hour 'Galactica' movie 'Razor,' which, according to star Katee Sackhoff, offers a little glimpse into how the whole show will end.

Sackhoff tells AOL TV's Kimberly Potts about her hopes for how Starbuck will go out, her other strong female role on NBC's 'Bionic Woman,' possibly meeting her biggest fan (Dwight Schrute, of course) and how she took a stand for her hair in the show's last season.

Hey Katee. Are you still at work today, or is the writers' strike giving you some downtime?
I haven't been affected at all, yet. I'm working regularly.

That's cool. Especially since you're on two shows, the odds were pretty good that you might be off for a while, right?
Yeah, exactly. I think both ('Bionic Woman' and 'Battlestar Galactica') will probably go on a little hiatus for awhile, but it's all right. A little early Christmas vacation

Are you working on both shows right now?
No, I'm only working on 'Battlestar' at the moment, and just waitin' for 'Bionic Woman' to write me in again.

Cool. So, about 'Battlestar' ... Starbuck's alive!
(Laughing). Well, maybe. Don't worry though, she's definitely on the show. We don't really know what she is.

Do you know? Or is the storyline still a mystery to you, too?
I don't even know. We're shooting episode 13 right now. It seems like it's her, but that's about as much as I know.

What's happening with Starbuck in 'Razor,' the 'Galactica' movie?
Basically, not that much. 'Razor' is all about the Pegasus, and Starbuck gets sent out on a mission that some of the crew from the Pegasus are on, as well. She definitely goes out on a mission, but it's just (as) support for the Pegasus crew.

So is the movie more of a standalone episode, or does it figure into the rest of the season?
There's definitely some information at the very end. People will get a little insight into the end of the series, if they watch it all the way through to the end, for sure.

You're shooting the final season now ... are you ready for it to be over?
Yeah, I'm definitely ready for it to be over. I think that it's such a smart decision that they made. It allows an audience to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. And it's nice to be able to do it on our terms and not have had the rug pulled out from underneath us. To go out on a high note when the show is still getting the ratings that it was getting in the beginning is such a smart thing to do, as well. But yeah, I'm ready to go back to Los Angeles and be home for a while.

Is there anything you really want to have happen for Starbuck in the final season or the final episode?
Basically what I said to them from the very beginning of this season was, just please don't have Starbuck end up happy. I don't want them to wrap this series up, and you know, put it in that pretty little box with the bow on it. I just don't think it's realistic. I don't want a warm, fuzzy feeling for Starbuck at the end.

On to your other kick-butt character this season, has it been fun playing more of a bad girl on 'Bionic Woman'?
Yeah, you know, I keep saying that. It was a welcome change, because I'm so used to playing the whiny, sniveling, reluctant hero. (Starbuck) may be tough, but she cries the entire time. So I was definitely ready to go play a character who isn't as emotional.

There have also been rumors for more than a year now that you would guest star on 'The Office,' because we know that Starbuck is Dwight Schrute's fantasy girl. Any truth to those rumors?
I believe there was truth to that rumor for a while there. I haven't heard anything about it for about a year, so I have no idea what is happening with it now.

And speaking of Starbuck fans, what's it like to attend a 'Battlestar Galactica' convention?
It's intense. I do like going to conventions. I like to sit and listen to what the fans have to say about the shows. It's just, you know, as soon as I leave, I can't be around people for like six hours. I think after the last one, my boyfriend and I went out to dinner, and we're sitting on the patio where there were people in the tables next to me and we had to get up and leave. I just can't be around people right (afterwards), because I feel like I've had all my energy sucked out of me and I'm just done. I need to go back to the room and drink some champagne and watch a movie on pay-per-view. So, yeah, it's intense, but I continue to do 'em, which means I obviously get something out of it I like.

You also have a thriller with Nathan Fillion coming up on DVD in January, 'White Noise 2.' What kind of character do you play?
I play a character named Sherry, who is a nurse, and she has her life saved by Nathan Fillion's character. That was, I think, the most fun I've ever had on a job. It was an extremely fun experience working with Nathan, who's really, really funny. And it's a really good movie. Plus, I met my boyfriend on the job, so that's good.

Nice!
Yeah, so I got that out of the deal.

Is he an actor in the movie also?
No, he wasn't. He was involved in the production of it.

I know there's no way you can spill anything major about season four of 'Battlestar,' but how would you describe the overall vibe of the final season? Is it as dark as season three?
Season four will be, I think, even more intense than season three. I think that there is a definite sadness surrounding this season, and it's playing out on screen. There's a lot of wrapping up to be done, and a lot of interesting things happening ... to actually find out if we will find Earth, and if we do find Earth, who's actually going to live to see it? Not everybody's going to make it.

One more thing: Now that the show's ending, are you going to grow your back out?
My hair is really long now. It's past my shoulders. Very long.

Cool, so longer for the new season.
Yes, Starbuck's on a different path.

Ah, is that a hint about the character at all? Does that figure into the storyline?
No, not at all. That's just me wanting to not cut my hair. (Laughing). I think they were gonna have to strap me down -- like duct tape meet to a chair -- to get me to cut my hair again, 'cause it wasn't going to happen.


thanks to Superhero Complex for the heads up

Razor Flashback 6

Battlestar Galactica Producer Talks Strike

Source: IGN

Ron Moore on why he's striking and how Battlestar's final season is affected.
In the midst of the Writers Guild strike, Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ron Moore walked the picket line outside the Walt Disney Studios today, alongside a large assemblage of showrunners from other series. I spoke to him for several minutes for a candid conversation about the issues surrounding the strike and how the situation is affecting Galactica, which is currently filming its fourth and final season.

For Moore, "Fundamentally this is about the internet, and this is about whether writers get paid for material that is made for the internet or if they're paid for material that is broadcast on the internet that was developed for TV or movies." Moore shared a story to illustrate the scenario, saying "I had a situation last year on Battlestar Galactica where we were asked by Universal to do webisodes [Note: Moore is referring to The Resistance webisodes which ran before Season 3 premiered], which at that point were very new and 'Oooh, webisodes! What does that mean?' It was all very new stuff. And it was very eye opening, because the studio's position was 'Oh, we're not going to pay anybody to do this. You have to do this, because you work on the show. And we're not going to pay you to write it. We're not going to pay the director, and we're not going to pay the actors.' At which point we said 'No thanks, we won't do it.'"

"We got in this long, protracted thing and eventually they agreed to pay everybody involved. But then, as we got deeper into it, they said 'But we're not going to put any credits on it. You're not going to be credited for this work. And we can use it later, in any fashion that we want.' At which point I said 'Well, then we're done and I'm not going to deliver the webisodes to you.' And they came and they took them out of the editing room anyway -- which they have every right to do. They own the material -- But it was that experience that really showed me that that's what this is all about. If there's not an agreement with the studios about the internet, that specifically says 'This is covered material, you have to pay us a formula - whatever that formula turns out to be - for use of the material and how it's all done,' the studios will simply rape and pillage."

Continue reading at IGN

The cast of Battlestar Galactica test drive Xbox 360 game

Source: Gamepro

Sierra Entertainment brought a playable build of the new Xbox 360 Battlestar Galactica game to the set of The Sci-Fi Channel TV series, which is currently taping the fourth and final season of the show.

Amidst elaborate new sets for this month's (November's) two-part TV movie, a pair of pilots from the Galactica, Grace Park (Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii) and Tahmoh Penikett (Lt. Karl C. "Helo'"Agathon) took the new downloadable high definition game for a test flight.

"Like any videogame, I think you need some time to get to know it," said Penikett, the resident gamer in the show's cast. "I was embarrassed at how bad I was in the beginning, but after 10 minutes I was really into it. For a downloadable game, it's impressive."

The new Xbox Live Arcade game, which was developed in Australia by Auron Games, offers single-player missions based on episodes of the first three seasons of the show.

"I thought that was a fresh new take on it as a way to bring the show into the videogame," said Park. "Playing past episodes allows fans to be interactive with their favorite shows."

While walking through the huge soundstages that are home to the Galactica is an amazing experience, it also takes away some of the magic from the show. Every single button in Galactica's Command Information Center (CIC) is operational on set. The two full-sized Vipers and one Raptor on set don't actually fly, but they do in the new videogame.

"Compared to how the Raptor controls in my make-believe world on the show, the game's Raptor controls fine," said Penikett.

A big part of the game's longevity will be in the multiplayer modes. The Xbox 360 game will offer eight player online combat in Firefight, Skirmish and Domination modes. PC gamers will be able to engage in dogfights with up to 16 players.

"I think it will be a great way to get your friends into the game and even engage in battle with people that you don't know," said Park. "Seeing who's going to go on which side and even switching sides."

Battlestar Galactica is available now as a download on Xbox Live Arcade.

Thanks to All about Tahmoh Penikett for the heads up

Razor Flashback 5

Battlestar Galactica: Razor - Stephanie Jacobsen Interview

Source: UGO.com

"Katee Sackhoff is possibly the easiest person I've ever worked with." We're just a few short weeks away from the long awaited debut of the Battlestar Galactica feature-length television movie Razor, which focuses on events aboard the Battlestar Pegasus during both the initial Cylon attack and Lee Adama's ascension to command. Finally, after months of waiting, we'll get to see the latest adventures of Major Kendra Shaw.

We know what you're thinking: who the heck is Kendra Shaw? No worries, mate, we've got all the info you'll need to be brought up to speed. Shaw, in case you haven't read the promo material, is the Executive Officer of the Pegasus and the focal point of Razor. She's played by Aussie actress Stephanie Jacobesen, who was kind enough to spend some time with us chatting about life as a member of the Battlestar Galactica crew, her interactions with big boss Admiral Cain and what it's like working with Katee Sackhoff.

Stephanie Jacobsen on the merits of her character, Kendra Shaw:

Fundamentally, I would just say her complexity. I mean, what she was for me was I guess just almost sterile. And I think as an actor, when parts of your journey are always actor things... revealing human emotion - to sort of go against all of those instincts, pull them right back and cover them up was an enormous challenge for me and it was actually very, very fulfilling.

Stephanie Jacobsen on joining an established ensemble cast as a new character:

I have to say that I didn't feel like an outsider stepping in at all. Everyone was just wonderful. So I didn't have that to draw from. I mean, everyone was helpful, accommodating, welcoming, very open, very generous with me in every (which) way. So I didn't have that sort of solitary experience working on Battlestar as my character did.

But it was I guess coming in as someone who was completely new to the environment and new to everyone who was already established there was akin to the character. So I guess that there was that correlation.

I think that the introduction of Kendra was - it was really I guess an act of boldness and an act of ingenuity, because obviously to kind of throw someone into the mix who's never even been alluded to, let alone seen, you know, so many years into an established series is a very, very courageous thing to do.

But what I think it did was enabled this entirely new untainted alternative perspective of situations, people and events that were - that had already been told of. So I think that in a sense that sort of risk and that sort of oddness to it...

Stephanie Jacobsen on the experience of working closely with Michelle Forbes:
She's almost like a force of nature in a way. She's really - if she was just - just her focus and her intensity I have to say that working with her was one of the - she made this one of the easiest jobs I've ever done in a sense.

Because responding to what she provides on set as a fellow actor is absolutely effortless. It's like she does almost everything. You just have to listen to her and watch her. Yes, she's incredible. I recommended working with her to anyone.

Stephanie Jacobsen on playing dark scenes:

I think that you just approach them without comment. I mean, I think that it's more just about doing what is done in the scene and then maybe reflecting on or analyzing it later.
That's what I do anyways because otherwise I guess you do sort of risk falling into that trap of fretting over how people are going to perceive you vicariously through your character or what your character is doing. So I think that you just have to add - as an actor you just have to commit to whatever it is and get it done and then sort of worry about it afterwards.
And I mean I think that - you know, I don't - I think that all of - I think that every scene that kind of happens in Razor amounts to a very clear and I guess quiet a profound philosophy in a sense. So, you know, I don't have any qualms about it.

I had some problems after flying for 21 hours and rolling off a plane onto a set and then standing for 14 hours in those military boots. I had some problems with my joints but apart from that I was fine.

Stephanie Jacobsen on her character's relationship with Cain and Starbuck:
Okay, now for me and this was just - this was just my take and this was just something that I induced Kendra with. Cain replaced her mother.

So, yes that was that - I think that her - see - okay, her relationships with Cain and Kara from my perspective were very similar in the sense that she didn't necessarily like either of them but she respected them both for some similar and some different reasons.

And I think that given Kendra's nature or her lack of one maybe, I think that in her world or in her being respect was the closest thing to affection that she was capable of.

Katee Sackhoff is incredible. I think - I mean she - I'm - it's going sound - okay, I said similar things about Michelle Forbes but they're not similar at all, they're completely different. Completely different actresses to work with but Katee Sackhoff is possibly the easiest person I've ever worked with. She's completely no maintenance, complete undermining, nothing's a problem. I think I threw like a needle in her eye in one scene and she didn't even blink. Yes, she's fantastic. She's great.

"NEW BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON ZERO" #6 AVAILABLE IN DECEMBER!

Posted: November 1, 2007 — Official Press Release

Runnemede, NJ - DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT today released images and information announcing the next issue of their all-new SCI-FI series BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON ZERO #6.

Dynamite's hit new Battlestar series made its debut in May with issue #0 as part of the Dynamite's Free Comic Book Day Flip Book, which featured a new story and art of the very first missions of the Battlestar Galactica and her crew, including Commander Adama, Starbuck, Apollo, and more. The success and overwhelming popularity of Battlestar Galactica: Origins launch has extended the series from a six issue series to a full twelve issues, giving Battlestar fans a full year of intense BSG excitement!

Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero is written by Brandon (BSG: Zarek) Jerwa with art by new series artist Jackson Herbert. Issue #6 is scheduled for a December release and will be available with covers by Stjepan Sejic, Adriano Batista and Jackson Herbert, as well as another awesome Battlestar photo cover! Also, Battlestar fans should ask their retailer about the special "Cylon Silver Foil" edition of Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero #6.

Season Zero will serve as a prequel to the hit SCI FI television show with a story that takes place two years prior to the television mini-series (2003) that re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. In these early days of the Galactica under Adama's command, a mystery is unfolding across the Galaxy that has deadly implications for the human race!

In Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero #5, Adama is face to face with a terrorist Army as he deploys himself, Kara, Hadrian, Cottle, Helo and a team of Marines to take on the terrorist headquarters. But when push comes to shove, can Adama pull the trigger on his former Commander?

In Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero #6: in the aftermath of the battle, Adama is called to PICON, placed before the Colonial Admiral's and expected to be discharged... but the higher-up's have different plans for Adama and the Galactica!

NEW BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON ZERO #6 (OCT073411) Writer: Brandon Jerwa; Penciller: Jackson Herbert. Covers: Stjepan Sejic, Adriano Batista, Jackson Herbert, and Photo Cover

NEW BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON ZERO #5 (SEP073528) Writer: Brandon Jerwa; Penciller: Jackson Herbert. Covers: Stjepan Sejic, Adriano Batista, Jackson Herbert, and Photo Cover

Also Available: NEW BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON ZERO #6 - FOIL EDITION (OCT073411)

Music Review: Battlestar Galactica Season 3

Soundtrack/Music Composed by Bear McCreary

Written by Chris Beaumont

Published October 31, 2007

When the Sci-Fi Channel announced a new, reimagined Battlestar Galactica back in 2003, I was skeptical.

I was a fan of the original series, as dated as it seems now, from watching it in my youth. When I read about many of the elements that were being changed, I was even more skeptical. Then Edward James Olmos said if you were a fan of the original that you shouldn't watch this new take. Well, I watched it and enjoyed it, even though it left me underwhelmed.
Then the series was announced, I started watching it and was I instantly hooked. The look, the writing, the acting, the effects, everything came together in such a perfect way that it fast became one of my favorites, and easily one of the best series currently in production.
There was, however, one more element that helped make it feel so fresh, original, and exciting. That element was, and is the music of Bear McCreary. This is the third collection of his music from the series, and my first exposure to it away from the show. Based on what I've heard here, I now know I must get the others.

I have watched every episode of the series, and still feel that I have barely scratched the surface of what it offers. That said, I could not point you to any particular episode where the music stands out, or where specific pieces first appeared. But that in no way diminishes their value. If anything, this helps me enjoy the music apart from the show. As I listen, I am reminded of the show and its greatness, but I do not have episodes or scenes running through my head distracting me from the music at hand.

Bear's work for Battlestar Galactica is far and away some of, if not the best soundtrack work done for any television series. It is at the top of my list for sure. There are few television series whose music makes a big impact on me outside of the show. The only ones that come to mind are Farscape, The X-Files, Firefly, and perhaps Stargate SG-1. While those, and probably a few others I missed are definitely good or even great, one listen to the music of Battlestar Galactica should convince anyone of just how special this creation is.

The music on this collection is simply spectacular. Bear has a unique style that brings so much flavor and texture to the series, that I cannot picture anyone else being able to replicate his work. His music is filled with drama, thrills, energy, excitement, sadness, joy, and hope. It runs the gamut from soft and quiet ambience, to huge arena bombast and all stops in between.
Bear McCreary's creation brings together several different instruments from traditional brass and strings, to guitars and drums, to vocal and synth elements. He combines all of these with a variety of styles and influences coming from a number of different cultures and countries around the world. Just as the series explores the borders of sci-fi and pushes the boundaries of dramatic television, the music likewise explores all facets of music. The end result is a unique and diverse melting pot that exhibits all of these elements, yet somehow feels brand new.

Among the standout tracks on this disk are "A Distant Sadness," "Precipice," "Storming New Caprica," "Violence and Variations," "The Dance," "Fight Night," "Dirty Hands," and "Mandala in the Clouds." If that seems like a lot, it's only because there is so much great music here to choose from — there really are no bad tracks to be found on this disc.

As if that wasn't enough, the final track is Bear McCreary's take on the classic "All Along the Watchtower," which was used to such great effect at the end of the Season 3 finale. I had hoped that this would be included. The song is instantly recognizable, yet fits distinctly into the musical style created for Battlestar Galactica.

Bottomline. There is no way you can go wrong with this disk. If you are a fan of the series, this is a must. For those who are unfamiliar with the series but are interested in unique music and/or like scores even without knowing where it is used, give this a shot. You will not be disappointed. This is a beautiful and phenomenal collection of music.

Highly Recommended.

Source

Bamber: Razor Is Sharp

Source: SciFi Wire

Battlestar Galactica star Jamie Bamber told reporters that the upcoming prequel film, Razor, fulfills the cast's desire to make a feature-length Battlestar adventure.

The telefilm follows Lee Adama (Bamber) as he assumes command of the Battlestar Pegasus and also recalls events of nearly a year before, on the eve of the Cylon attack, involving then-Pegasus commander Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) and her protege, Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobsen).

"The basic concept I was really, really in love with," Bamber said in a conference call. "I thought it was very bold, different. Every one of us in the Galactica family has always nurtured a not-so-secret passion to try and make a movie out of the show, because there are so many things that on a week-in-week-out one-hour drama you have to compromise on, budgetarily and in terms of storylines and how much you can fit into 44 minutes of a narrative. It was great to tell a longer story and to have a bit more money to throw at it and to tell a huge arc."

Bamber added: "[It goes] right back from before the miniseries, before the very first shot we ever picked up on in the show, and goes right the way through to the back end of season two. It was a huge script in its ambition. It tries to introduce a new character [Shaw], which I thought was a great way to ... see it all from a pair of eyes that we haven't actually met before, that we'll have to meet all the main characters all over again. I thought that was a very worthy endeavor and a good way to bring a new audience to Battlestar before a fourth season being aired." Battlestar Galactica: Razor will premiere on Nov. 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The upcoming fourth and final season of the show kicks off in early 2008.

SCI FI, meanwhile, announced that Razor will screen threatrically in special preview screenings in select movie theaters on Nov. 12.

Gary Hutzel GALACTICA.TV interview

Source: Galactica TV

Noah Kadner had the chance to talk to Gary Hutzel, special effects supervisor on the Battlestar Galactica 2003 series. He talks about the digitalization of original Cylons, Raiders and Vipers for the webisodes and the upcoming Battlestar Galactica movie "Razor" and he granted us the very first exclusive images of his work to illustrate the interview. His credits as supervisor also include Spy Kids, Red Planet, Star Trek: DS9 and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

What lead to the decision to feature Cylon Raiders and Centurion designs from the 1970s version of Battlestar Galactica?

We're going back 40 years to the original Cylon war. We wanted to create a Centurion that would be like the original but be completely robotic. There was never a discussion about putting guys in suits. Pierre Drolet, our in house modeler designed that. Richard Livingston did illustrations for us and did a great job.


Click the Galactica TV link to continue.

Razor Flashback 4

The show's 4th Season will premiere in early April

Source: LA Times

Ronald D. Moore, the executive producer who runs "Battlestar Galactica," is gearing up for the long goodbye by taking on a new task. He will step into the director’s chair for the first time next season as his dramatic reinvention of the hokey 1970s’ space opera treks toward the end. The final 20-episode run will kick off in — you read it here first — early April.

Moore’s work on the show as a writer-producer landed "Battlestar" its first Emmy nomination in the drama writing category, where he faced off against the writers of "The Sopranos" and "Lost." A veteran of the "Star Trek" series "The Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager," Moore is also juggling writing duties for the upcoming feature films "The Thing" and the sequel to "I, Robot."

About his directing debut, Moore said, "It’s the perfect opportunity to try and do it here with my family — the cast and crew of the show — who have been working together for years now.

"For all I know, I’ll hate directing, but right now I’m hungry for it."

seLast season ended with a stunning revelation: Four of the characters aboard Galactica that have been helping lead the resistance discovered themselves to be Cylons, the robotic race apparently set on destroying humans. Moore said he’s directing an episode set deep in the Cylon world, as well as aboard Galactica. “On Galactica, things have really begun to fall apart ... and the relationship between President Laura Roslin [Mary McDonnell] and Adm. William Adama [Edward James Olmos] is going to get pretty interesting.”

Moore’s episode, however, won’t air until after the show takes a midseason break and will kick off the remaining episodes in “Battlestar’s” four-season run. Sci Fi Channel executives have not yet determined whether the final season will all air next year or be spread over 2008 and 2009.

“I’d probably prefer to see the entire thing air next year to maintain the momentum, to build excitement as it pushes to the end,” Moore said, “not to mention it means less chance of spoilers getting out.”

Lucy Lawless will be plugged back in as D’Anna, the rogue Cylon that was deactivated last season. She’ll be back early on for three episodes, which Moore said will serve as a catalyst for the rest of the season.

And as for that fifth “chosen” Cylon? “It’s definitely been decided who that one is,” Moore said, but it won’t be revealed early. “I can’t say when, but we’re certainly not waiting until the last episode to tell you who it is.”

In the meantime, the series’ fans can get their fix from “Razor,” an original two-hour episode that serves as something of a prequel to the existing “Battlestar” mythology. It premieres Nov. 24 on Sci Fi.

-- Denise Martin

Battlestar Galactica: Origins

Source: Newsarama

Following up on Battlestar Galactica: Zarek, which told of Tom Zarek’s early days, Dynamite will delve into the history of Gaius Baltar in November in the opening arc of Battlestar Galactica: Origins.

The series is something new for the publisher – an ongoing which will feature arcs centered on the early days of the Galactica’s crew and those who threaten her.

“We’ve had writers and creators working on Galactica stories for the last year, originally as a collection of mini-series,” said Joe Rybandt, Dynamite Editorial. “As they came together, we had a thought internally about creating a new series – Origins – and placing them within - all to serve as a companion to our current ongoing, Season Zero by Brandon Jerwa and Jackson Herbert.”

Given that Battlestar Galactica is a licensed property, and these stories being told haven’t been shown in the television series, where do these stories and their component elements come from?
“These stories have been developed over the last couple of years, while the show itself was developing its own backstory, so we combine what we know from the show and work in advance with the producers to fill in areas that they’re not exploring,” Rybandt said, adding who the targets of the series will be from the start. “We could tell stories for years on each and every cast member as there are so many rich characters, but to start, we’re focusing on the heavy hitters: Baltar and Six, Adama and Starbuck. We also have an event from the origins of the Galactica universe we’re focusing on, and that’s the first Cylon War, that may be folded into the Origins series, or may be an origins mini-series, that’s being decided now. As for the first arc, Baltar’s story is the key to the Galactica we know today. It was him that set the stage for the Cylon Apocalypse and he’s a truly fascinating character. Throw in his relationship with the Cylon model Six and you’ve got a no-brainer to start.”

Click Newsarama to see the rest

Battlestar Galactica Razor TV Review

Source: TV Blend

A note about spoilers. While we love that we’ve seen “Razor” and want nothing more than to share our elation with you, we also respect the story that is being told here. There are some spoilers out on the tubes that we feel are a detriment to your experience in watching “Razor,” and as such we have chosen to not include them in this review. Of course, being a review there are minor spoilers in the text that follows. Read on with the knowledge you are safe from having the episode ruined, but with the warning that some things may be revealed you had no idea of. Like Admiral Adama actually being a failed ventriloquist.

A warrior in battle has to put aside fear, doubt, and any human emotion that could lead to monumental loss on the field. Only when the warrior is able to do this will they become the ultimate wartime weapon, a Razor. And only through the actions of a Razor can there be hope to return to a life as human. The edge of a Razor cuts not only the enemy, but can slash through the warrior’s soul. “Razor,” the telemovie set to bring us into the fourth season of Battlestar Galactica, is the story of one warrior’s transformation into a Razor, and ultimately her redemption.

As a fellow fan of the show, dear reader, you are most assuredly aware that beyond the central spoilery plot points of this movie there is a wealth of story behind the actions of each person aboard Pegasus. So it is here that I inform you we will not be taking an in-depth look at every moment as we normally would in a BSG review. Instead let’s just bask in the glow that is a new story in the best universe currently on television.

After the death of Admiral Helena Cain, Lee Adama takes on the task of commanding Pegasus. A role that many of the ship’s crew believes was a gift from daddy. Among that crew is a young Lieutenant who has proven herself reckless and insubordinate under the previous two commanders who failed where Cain so often succeeded. Kendra Shaw is the living legacy of Admiral Cain, a young woman who came to Pegasus 10 months prior just as the second Cylon war began. Under Cain’s careful tutelage Kendra became the epitome of a Razor.

Let’s talk of the Admiral for a moment, because there are some humanizing events in “Razor” that shine a light on the woman rather than the military leader. Our first glimpse of Helena and Kendra together has the Admiral doing the unthinkable, pulling a bit of a prank as she berates the new recruit. Of course, the underlying message of not being late is still an important one. But it’s nice to know that Admiral Cain was at one time capable of a minor practical joke. It’s following this meeting the Cylons begin their attack.

“Razor” has much in common with the mini-series that started this whole show off a few years ago, and there’s an element of seeing the same thing from a whole new perspective during the flashback scenes. The destruction of the Colonies hits the crew of Pegasus hard, and as Adama did many FTL jumps away, Admiral Cain rallies her people with the passion only a seasoned leader can conjure up. So say we all.

What we see as the war begins is the final transformation of Admiral Cain into the Razor that is always waiting for battle to begin again. While there is a wonderful subplot involving Gina/Pegasix, which reveals why the atrocities visited upon the Cylon model were allowed, those actions were preceded by an absolute need for anyone under Cain’s command to obey orders. This is shown with the termination of her first XO, and Col. Fisk’s immediate compliance with orders when he assumes the responsibilities. As Kendra would tell Kara 10 months later, “You don’t disobey orders on this ship.”

It can certainly be argued that Admiral Cain was doing what had to be done. Even Bill Adama tells Lee later that he can’t fault Cain for any tactical maneuvers made by Pegasus under her command. But when emotions get the better of any warrior, the Razor can be turned on those it intended to protect. If you remember way back when, Col Fisk sat with Col Tigh to have a drink and confess about a slaughter of civilians he was a part of. It was during this atrocity that Cain lost control and cleaved out her own soul, and Kendra was forged as the legacy of the Admiral who relinquished control of her own power. The murder of the civilians impressed Cain, because it showed that Kendra was able to make the hard decisions so that later a normal life could become possible.

Ultimately that is what “Razor” is about, but there’s another plot that involves a young William Adama and the results of what he found out 40 years ago in the first Cylon war. Sadly, this whole plot is slightly integral to the overarching plot of BSG and I will not detail it here. I could write the words, quote the revelatory lines in the last 10 minutes of “Razor,” and spoil things for you. Perhaps you would forgive me for that, but if you’re a fan of the series then you’ll be grateful to watch this story unfold without the knowledge of what’s to come. And yes, the revelation at the end is a mega-ton. Imagine the finale of season 3, but tone down the “HOLY SHIT” just a little bit. That’s what happens at the end of “Razor.”

I am, however, comfortable talking about some of the random cool bits in this storyline. You will soon be seeing in the minisodes that air on Friday’s on Sci-Fi a glimpse of the original Centurian Cylon models, which look like a refined version of those used in the classic 70’s series of BSG. In fact, those minisodes are a wonderful look at the last battle of William Adama during the first Cylon war. What he finds on the planet comes back in “Razor” as the central mission that Kendra and Kara must complete. A mission that ends with Kendra’s redemption as she makes one last attempt to atone for her wrongs aboard the civilian ship where so many needlessly lost their lives.

As cool as the Cylon Raiders are, the old school Cylon ships are perhaps a little more badass. For one thing, they are actually piloted by Centurians as the organic processing of the Cylon race had only just begun. These last remnants of the old Cylon order were left out in space to protect an artifact that is important to their species. An artifact that has information that is vital to the survival of mankind.

“Razor” begins slowly, but soon builds up and pounds you with nearly non-stop action and excitement for a solid hour. Aside from last season’s premiere, this is the largest cavalcade of battles we’ve seen in BSG for a long while. It’s a welcome change for those who felt the mid-end of season 3 plodded along just a bit too much. Have no fear, there is a lot of action in “Razor,” and it will hold you until the very end. Ronald Moore and the crew working on the show have not lost their touch with brilliant storytelling weaved into a battle heavy showpiece. In fact, you could say that the writer and director of “Razor” found the magic that still leaves season one as the best in the shows history.

Premieres: Saturday, November 24th at 9pm on Sci-Fi

BSG Making Move to NBC?

Source: Slice of SciFi

It seems the rumors that NBC is thinking of picking up and running “Battlestar Galactica” have been around since the show’s second season. So, it’s not surprising to hear this rumor come up again.

What is surprising is how much closer to reality it is than it has been in the past.

The difference?

The looming writers strike.

With the strike looking more and more like a reality with each passing day, the networks could soon face a dilemma–no new shows or content to fill the airwaves. They could offer us all multiple repeats of shows, but it looks like NBC/Universal is looking to take a different route.

NBC is looking to draw upon the original series produced by NBC/Universal for its various cable holdings and networks.

This means that NBC could pick up and run such cable hits as “Battlestar Galactica” or “The 4400″ should the writers strike become a reality. SyFy Portal reports that NBC is considering picking up and running “Batttlestar” should the writers strike happen. No word yet on if NBC will start at the beginning and run the entire series or may pick and choose episodes to show its audience. In my opinion picking and choosing episodes would be the worst move that they could make for BSG.

Of course, the dark side to this news is that should the writers strike happen, it will cause delays in the production of the fourth season of “Battlestar Galactica” and lead to the inevitable wait until 2009 or even as late as 2010 for the final ten episodes.

So, it’s good news and bad news for “Galactica” fans.

Coming to a movie theater near you: 'Battlestar Galactica: Razor'

Source: The Watcher

If you're on pins and needles waiting for the Nov. 24 debut of the Sci Fi Channel movie "Battlestar Galactica: Razor," help is at hand. You may only have to wait until Nov. 12.

There will be free screenings of the film in movie theaters in eight cities on Nov. 12: Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, San Francisco, Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle and, yes, Chicago. The screenings will take place at multiple locations in each city, but all of the screenings will be on the evening of Nov. 12.

The Chicago-area screenings are at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, the Century 16 Deer Park in Deer Park and the Century Evanston 18 in Evanston.

Admission is free, but those who want to see “Razor” at a movie theater must first register at the site battlestarevent.com. The site will not go live until Friday. Repeat: The site will not go live until Friday. Seat registrations will be given away first-come, first-serve.

“Razor” delves into Lee Adama’s (Jamie Bamber) command of the Battlestar Pegasus and also depicts events that took place on that ship just after the Cylon attack 10 months earlier, while it was under the command of Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes). Cain and the Pegasus, “Battlestar” fans will recall, were first glimpsed in Season 2 of “Battlestar Galactica.”

What will be shown at the Nov. 12 event will be the TV version of “Razor,” which is around 84 minutes long. A 101-minute version of the film, which will be released on DVD on Dec. 4. “Battlestar Galactica” co-executive producer Michael Taylor, who wrote “Razor,” shared some details on what will be on the DVD version. (Extremely mild spoilers ahead. What is below does not give away any plot points about "Razor.")

* Scenes involving “Young Helena Cain,” “Little Lucy Cain” and “Helena’s Father” were trimmed from the TV version. I noticed those names in the credits of the version of “Razor” that Sci Fi sent out and wondered if I had blinked and missed those characters. I didn’t – they’re only in the extended cut.
* On the DVD, there will also be a scene of Cain’s aide, Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobsen) on Caprica.
* A couple of other scenes didn’t make into either version of “Razor.” Taylor said that “the earliest drafts of the script actually showed scenes of a couple of our regular characters on Caprica, but one got cut in the writing, and the other we left on the editing room floor.”

As for general thoughts on “Razor,” I don’t want to ruin a single thing about the movie for you, but overall, I thought it was good.

I thought the first half was especially strong (and the FX crew outdid really outdid themselves this time). Michelle Forbes, who plays Helena Cain, is of course terrific (and if the main impetus behind the film was to bring her back, that's reason enough), and Jacobsen also acquits herself well in her role.

But these are purely preliminary thoughts, and I feel the need to watch the movie again before I write a more complete review, which will run the week before “Razor” debuts.

Executive Producer Sheds Light on Laura Roslin

Source: Buddy TV

Fans of the cult sci-fi classic, Battlestar Galactica, have probably been climbing walls being without their favorite show for so long. Cyberspace is abuzz anew with the coming release of the special two-hour Battlestar Galactica: Razor movie on November 24.

While we all continue to await word on the exact premiere of the franchise's fourth and final season next year, we have some important tidbits and clarifications about the fate of one of its lead characters.

According to SyFy Portal, Terry Moore, wife of Battlestar Galactica executive producer, Ronald D. Moore, has denied rumors that Mary McDonnell's character, terminally ill former president Laura Roslin, will exit the series halfway through the coming last season. Terry Moore is a regular poster over at the SciFi Channel message boards and she promptly clarified the issue after speculations came out regarding McDonnell's premature demise on the program.

McDonnell had reportedly confided to a group of students who had spent time with her at a Massachusetts university last weekend that her Battlestar Galactica alter ego may be gone from the show as early as the middle of the much-anticipated fourth and final season.

"Mary told us that she only has three episodes left to film for BSG and is sad to say good-bye to Laura," a student who attended the gathering told SyFy Portal earlier this week.

For her part, Ronald D. Moore's wife immediately relayed the news to her husband.

"I just told Ron what this spoiler was, and he said the Laura spoiler is 'not true,'" Terry Moore assured. "He also said that he hasn't even told the studio what the end of the show is."

Still according to Terry Moore, her husband has just finished the 13th episode of Battlestar Galactica's concluding season. This leaves him with six more episodes to pen before the writers' strike gets underway as scheduled on November 1st.

Razor Flashback 3

Razor 10 Tidbits - To whet one's appetite

Source: Eonline

Battlestar Galactica: Razor, a two-hour TV movie premiering Nov. 24 on Sci Fi, is meant to tide us over until Battlestar Galactica the series returns in February 2008, and it absolutely delivers the BSG glories we've come to expect, with a little streak of Alien and Terminator 2 thrown in for good measure.

Preview copies were distributed to the press last week, and while we're not at liberty to disclose the entire story, I did feel it was my duty as a fellow fan to check it out and share what I could.

So, for your previewing pleasure, I've distilled Razor down to a list of the top 10 things you need to know. Enjoy!

1. Setting: Razor switches back and forth in time between Lee Adama's leadership of the Battlestar Pegasus and Admiral Helena Cain's (Michelle Forbes) leadership of the Pegasus immediately following the original Cylon attack.
2. Winks at the Audience: Gina's (Pegasus Six) last name is Inviere. Inviere is Old Gemenese for resurrection. Oh, those wacky Cylons and their name games.
3. Characters: Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen—who plays the heroine of our story, Kendra Shaw—is a star of tomorrow. Casting directors, have your phones at the ready.
4. Mythology: DNA is sooo cool. Just like on Heroes these days, everything is about missing links, evolutionary dead ends and hybrids. Also, maybe a few zombies.
5. Cast: Razor features lots of Lee, Kara, Adama and Gina/Pegasus Six; a smattering of Roslin; Tigh and Sharon in passing; and no Baltar, Tyrol or Helo.
6. Pacing: The first 15 minutes are unforgivably slow.
7. Quote to Remember: "All this has happened before and will happen again."
8. Foreshadowing: Kara Thrace gets another prophecy. Girl's the most heralded thing since Buffy, I'll swear.
9. Themes: Cain, for all her robust leadership, is best understood as a "Don't."
10. Effects: Here's to the creation of the 12 humanoid Cylons for the reimagined series. It was an inspired choice, because as Razor reminds us, the original-recipe toasters really are kind of clunky and dumb.

Update for Season 3 BSG DVDs for US

In a story from The Digital Bits, it appears that Battlestar Galactica: Season Three will most likely be coming out in April 2008 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Apparently, Battlestar Galactica: Season Three "is already out in parts of Europe and it comes out on 11/21 in Australia." It seems that avid viewers of the show "use the DVDs to catch up on what's happened before the start of the new season."

Well, Battlestar Galactica Season Four returns to the airwaves in January. Thus fans might be doing some catching up while they are getting new information from this new season.

BSG on Xbox Live and PC

Source: WorthPlaying.com

Set in a distant part of the universe called the Twelve Colonies, players sign up to either defend the Galactica, or play as the ruthless Cylons as they seek to remove the human race from existence. Battlestar Galactica allows players to take part in enormous multi-player space battles – up to 16 players on PC or 8 on Xbox Live Arcade. Gamers can also play through the intense single-player campaign based on memorable episodes and storylines from the TV series including the riveting first episode of the continuing series, “33,” which finds the fleet in need of protection as it prepares to jump every thirty-three minutes; “Scar,” the season 2 standout that pit the Galactica pilots against a particularly vindictive Cylon Raider; the pivotal “Resurrection Ship,” in which a major asset of the Cylons is discovered and attacked; and the 2007 Emmy Award-winning episode, “Exodus.”

Features:

• Single-Player Campaign – Pilot various ships and complete memorable missions from the TV series.
• Multiplayer Game Mode – Play online with 8 players in this relentless space-based action shooter in Firefight, Skirmish and Domination modes.
• Legendary Spaceships – Fly 4 Human and 4 Cylon ships from the Viper II to the Cylon Raider, each with unique weapon capabilities.
• Special Weapons – Coordinate attacks with a gallery of destructive weapons including the missiles, guns and more.
• Realistic Effects – Full 3D graphics to show off the detailed ships and cosmic environment.
• Defensive Maneuvers – Avoid annihilation with the barrel roll, quick turnabouts and other aerial moves.

Battlestar Galactica, Everyone 10+ , is scheduled to be released on Xbox Live Arcade and PC (download & retail) , fall 2007.

BSG Trailer

Razor Flashback 2

Battling for Hearts And Minds in Space

source:The New York Sun

Whether or not one consumes movies and television shows vocationally, there's always a backlog to catch up on, and, as the end of any given year approaches, a modest sense of urgency can take hold. One Saturday night in December 2005, while in the throes of one of those year-end efforts, I rented two DVDs that, though much discussed, had eluded my Netflix queue. On the surface, the two films in question occupied polar extremes at either end of mainstream entertainment. Even before I pressed play on the first, I was sure it would demolish the second in the storytelling prizefight that choosing the two films in question had provoked.

The first contestant was Alexander Payne's "Sideways," a film that, it seemed, everyone had spent some portion of 2005 praising. The second was the three-hour pilot telefilm for the Sci-Fi Channel's "re-imagining" of "Battlestar Galactica," broadcast amid much hype and ludicrous-looking subway ads in December 2003.

It was no contest — and a surprise upset. When both discs were over, I realized that despite considerable skills and efforts put forth by Mr. Payne, his co-writer, Jim Taylor, and star Paul Giamatti, the latter's character, an obsessive, middle-aged, straight white male semi-alcoholic writer and critic — nearly my demographic twin — had failed to engage my empathy with anywhere near the intensity that I experienced watching a Nordic-featured infant euthanizing a genocidal religious zealot sex robot named Number Six, played by actress Tricia Helfer. Mr. Giamatti's desperation, loneliness, and anger I saw and I understood. Six's peculiar mixture of ardor, evangelism, and anxiety, I felt, and felt deeply.

It's always a slippery rhetorical slope to define something by what it is not. But "Battlestar Galactica" has two antecedents that are simply too relevant to ignore. The first is the original "Battlestar Galactica," a 1978 attempt by television producer Glen Larson to cash in on the big-screen popularity of "Star Wars" with a small-screen aesthetic copy of George Lucas's box-office sensation. The show starred Lorne Greene as Admiral Adama, commander of the titular starship who is charged with leading the remnants of a human civilization that has been all but wiped out by robot aliens called Cylons to a safe haven. They were now beginning on a planet that legend said had spawned Adama's people: Earth. Mr. Larson was the creative force behind "Knight Rider," "The Fall Guy," and several other highly successful and less-than-challenging network programs. Outside of a nod to Mr. Larson's Mormon heritage, "Battlestar Galactica" did not represent a departure from his prior orthodoxy. The show's pastiche of cardboard characters, cute robots, and idiotic "alien" slang were the laughingstock of my schoolyard the morning after its ballyhooed Sunday night debut. As the series ground on into two full seasons, the show's lack of originality (Lucas Film and 20th Century Fox unsuccessfully sued for copyright infringement) and shameless recycling of special effects footage only added to its infamy.

The new "Battlestar Galactica," the brainchild of writers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, takes the bare bones of the original series premise and uses it to compellingly and meticulously explore how a society under siege preserves itself, and the corrosive pressure that preservation puts on individual beliefs and relationships. Messrs. Moore and Eick have remade the Cylons, which were portrayed as anonymous metal men on the original series, into a multiethnic race of clones who are both sensualists and religious zealots. As in the original, the Cylons' sneak attack sends Admiral Adama (played by the ageless, pockmarked, and gravelly voiced Edward James Olmos) and his fleet in search of Earth. But this time it also lands Adama on a personal and professional collision course with Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), a cabinet level education secretary promoted to president and commander in chief by the Cylon extermination of everyone above her in the political chain of command.

During the course of one 13-episode season and two more full 20-episode seasons, the new "Battlestar Galactica" has remained acutely of the moment. By dealing with civil liberties issues, the war on terror, presidential privilege, abortion, fear-mongering mass media, and religious hatred in a dramatic and sympathetically contextualized way, the show has presented cable audiences with a more honest and emotional accounting of the human needs and choices behind these grave issues than either CNN or FOX.

While the characters on the show see themselves as freedom fighters, martyrs, heroes, villains, and saviors of humanity, their realistically self-destructive actions always argue otherwise. Everyone on "Galactica," including the robots, is a deeply flawed human accumulating new layers and new scars in each episode.

The other show the new "Battlestar Galactica" favorably does not resemble is "Star Trek: The Next Generation," the '80s "Star Trek" spin-off on which Mr. Moore began his writing and producing career. "New Generation" offered a sleek, soft-toned Enterprise that shepherded jump-suited purveyors of enlightenment and tolerance all over time and space. "Battlestar Galactica" imprisons a motley assortment of soldiers, refugees, quislings, and bureaucrats in an outdated interstellar aircraft carrier that escaped destruction simply because it was obsolescent. The only thing that the Galactica's dark, cramped passageways have room for, besides makeshift photo shrines to the dead, is a mammoth payload of emotional baggage shared by everyone on board.

The character tapestry that "Battlestar Galactica" wove during its first two seasons proved so richly textured that the Sci-Fi Channel aired "Webisodes" devoted to an otherwise unaccounted for story arc between seasons two and three. Beginning this Saturday night, the network will air what it describes as new "Battlestar" "minisodes" during prime time. At two-to-three minutes apiece, they might better be described as nanosodes, and, as they encompass backstory details for "Razor," a standalone two-hour "Galactica" dramatic digression to air in November, truth in advertising suggests that the word "trailer" or "preview" might be more representative. The minisodes will re-air on Sci Fi's Web site, and when the "Razor" telefilm comes to DVD, they will be part of the package.

For those of us who are irrevocably hooked on "Battlestar Galactica," the new minisodes won't just be an adventure in viral marketing, they'll be sweet relief. The series, which is expensive to produce and not the ratings bonanza that its producers hoped, is currently slated to conclude at the end of its fourth season next year. In the mean time, mini, Web, or otherwise, I'll take any kind of episode the "Battlestar Galactica" brain trust is willing to show me.

Razor Preview 2

Razor Preview

Razor Flashback 1

Universal Says No to 'Battlestar Galactica: Razor' on HD DVD

Source: Hi Def Digest
Despite persistent rumors to the contrary, Universal reiterated yesterday that it will not be bringing the 'Battlestar Galactica' telefilm 'Razor' to HD DVD this year.

As was previously reported, Universal delighted 'Galactica' fans when it announced back in August that it was bringing 'Battlestar Galactica: Season One' to HD DVD December 4, in an extensive box set overflowing with bonus features.

Since then, there have been persistent rumors that the Season One box set would be accompanied by an HD DVD release for the telefilm 'Battlestar Galactica: Razor.' Although the studio has denied these reports before, several retail listings have popped in recent weeks -- most notably at Amazon.com -- that fanned the flames yet again.

Hoping against hope that perhaps the studio had indeed changed its mind, we contacted Universal regarding the recent retail listings. Alas, the studio says that the retail listings are incorrect and that there is no currently-planned HD DVD release for 'Razor.'

On the bright side, the studio isn't ruling out a future HD DVD release for 'Razor,' either as a stand-alone title or as part of a future 'Season Four' box set. Needless to say, we'll keep you posted...

In the meantime, you'll find complete disc details for the HD DVD release of 'Battlestar Galactica: Season One' linked from our HD DVD Release Schedule, where it is indexed under December 4.

'Battlestar Galactica' Minisodes Debut Tonight

Source: Buddy TV

Hungry Battlestar Galactica fans will have a chance to satiate their thirst a little this evening when Sci Fi Channel premieres the Battlestar Galactica: Razor flashback minisodes during episodes of Flash Gordon. Yes, this is no doubt a move to try to bolster the ailing Gordon franchise, but if you can’t stomach Flash even for a kibble of Battlestar Galactica action – and no one would blame you if you couldn’t – you will be able to watch the two-minute minisodes online after they air.

The minisodes tell the tale of a young William Adama during the first Cylon war. The minisodes are around two minutes each and feature young Adama duking it out with hordes of centurions, and eventually making a discovery that will come back to haunt him and the Pegasus.

The suggestion is that there may be a bit of information in the minisodes vital to the story of Battlestar Galactica: Razor. If that is the case, fans may not be thrilled with the maneuver. Particularly ones that have to wade through an hour of Flash Gordon’s cathode vomit to get the gist.

Of course if the idea of watching a story two minutes at a time doesn’t appeal to you – as it might to say, someone with severe ADD – you can always wait and buy the Razor DVD that will be released within days of the movies airing. The DVD will contain all of the minisodes stitched together in one linear piece of story.

The movie itself will balance two time lines, that of Admiral Cain in the wake of the Cylon attack on Caprica, and Lee Adam’s first mission as commander of the Pegasus. The title, Razor, is a Colonial Veteran term that refers to a certain type of soldier, one who strips away their sense of humanity, doubt, and shame, until all that remains is a devastating human implement, a ‘Razor’ capable of rending enemies without remorse, and what happens when the blade cuts inward, into the soul of the human being that once was. Heavy.

Battlestar Galactica: Filling the Void with Comics

Source: Buddy TV

It's going to be a long wait for Battlestar Galactica fans before the final season of the prolific sci-fi series starts to air in 2008. Meanwhile Dynamite Entertainment will soon be releasing something that would hopefully ease the wait. Coming out this month is Battlestar Galactica: Pegasus, a one-shot issue featuring the adventures of the crew and commander of the Battlestar Pegasus.

After releasing Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero, Seattle-based comic writer Brandon Jerwa decided to come up with a 40-page one-shot featuring the unseen story of the Battlestar Pegasus and Commander Cain. In an interview with comicbookresources.com, he shares his gratitude towards Battlestar Galactica supporters and mentions his much awaited comics.

“Let me start by saying a big thank you to all the Battlestar Galactica fans that support the Dynamite comics. I know I speak for everyone involved when I tell you that we all work really, really hard on these books - double-and-triple checking the facts, sharing ideas, making changes based on feedback from our liaisons at the television show and just making sure we're churning out the very best that have to offer…my Battlestar Pegasus one-shot is dropping in October, and that one's definitely a companion piece to this series. The show might not be coming back full-time until 2008, but we're doing our best to fill the empty void in your life until then,” Jerwa, whose credits include G.I. Joe and Highlander, told comicbookresources.com.

Battlestar Galactica: Pegasus, which will be available with a cover from Greg Tocchini and with a Battlestar photo cover, chronicles the events leading up to the Cylon attack on the human colonies as seen in the "re-imagining" of Battlestar Galactica on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Surfing with Katee