Hints and clues about Season 4

Source: Chicago Tribune

Spoiler alert: What follows in this post is only for folks who want to know not just the titles of the next 10 "Battlestar Galactica" episodes, but who also want some clues about what's coming up in Season 4 of the Sci Fi drama, which arrives April 4.

I'll post the episode titles first, then post yet another spoiler warning, so you can see the titles and then exit at that point if you wish.

NOT TOO SPOILERY:

Here’s what we know about “Battlestar Galactica’s” fourth and final season: There will be 10 episodes that air starting April 4. There will be 10 more episodes that will finish off the series, but it’s not known when those episodes will air. The “Battlestar” writers only recently went back to work, and production is expected to resume in March on the final set of episodes for the series.

Here are the episode titles and writers for the first 10 episodes of Season 4:

1. 1. “He That Believeth in Me” by David Weddle and Bradley Thompson
2. 2. "Six of One" by Michael Angeli
3. 3. “The Ties That Bind” by Michael Taylor
4. 4. "Escape Velocity" by Jane Espenson
5. 5. "The Road Less Travelled " by Mark Verheiden
6. 6. “Faith” by Seamus Kevin Fahey
7. 7. "Guess What's Coming to Dinner" by Michael Angeli
8. 8. "Sine Qua Non" by Michael Taylor
9. 9. "The Hub" by Jane Espenson
10. 10. "Revelations” by Bradley Thompson and David Weddle

THIS IS THE SPOILERY PART. Exit now if you want to remain unspoiled for Season 4.

Here's bit more on a few of those upcoming episodes listed above:

* Michael Taylor said in an interview last fall that in “The Ties That Bind,” “we say goodbye to another longtime character, though who that is and the manner of his or her departure should come as a surprise.”
* Regarding “Sine Qua Non,” Taylor said the episode “features the return of another favorite character, who’s undergone something of a crisis since we last touched base with him… or her.”
* As for “Faith,” here’s what Ron Moore told me about the episode a few months back. In Season 4, Laura Roslin’s cancer returns. Nana Visitor (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”) plays “another cancer patient named Emily who's being treated in sick bay,” Moore said. “She gets Laura’s attention because she insists on listening to Baltar's wireless broadcasts every day, much to Laura's annoyance. The two women connect and bond over their treatment regimens, and explore the nature of mortality and questions of life after death.”

A few general notes about the season:

* Taylor also said that Sharon “Boomer” Valerii is back in a big way this season.
* Romo Lampkin (the charismatic lawyer played by Mark Sheppard) will return some time in Season 4, though the timing of that reappearance is not known at this point.
* In addition to the character that will pass away in "The Ties That Bind," at least one other "Battlestar" character will die during Season 4. “It’s interesting, there have been a couple cast members where we’ve had to say, ‘Your character isn’t going to make it,’” Moore said in an interview last summer. “But because it’s this year, as opposed to last year, it’s different. They kind of went, [in an upbeat tone], ‘Oh, I kind of wish I was going to make it to the end – but I’m in the last [season]!’”

# In a conference call with reporters last year, Moore and fellow executive producer David Eick talked about the search for Earth and how that will factor into Season 4: " At the end of Season 3, we showed you a glimpse of Earth," Moore said. "You actually saw it and I think you will see more of it. We will get to a place that we’re going to call Earth, by the end of the series. You’ll get to see it."
# Season 4 will also deal with the challenges faced by the four characters who've found out that they're Cylons. "Essentially you’re going to see an extension of that initial moment [in the Season 3 finale], where they try to figure out, what does this mean to them," Moore said. "If they’re Cylons, when did that begin and what are their true backstories? What are they meant to do? Are they dangerous to each other, are they dangerous to the ship, can they trust any of the people around them, should they keep this secret only among themselves?"
# Lucy Lawless said last summer that her character would be back for two of three episodes around the middle of the season. Her character, D'Anna, will be unboxed by those who are interested in what she may know “It’s a pivot point for the season,” Ron Moore said at a Comic-Con press event last summer.

# Sci Fi has confirmed that Leela Savasta has a recurring role as Tracey Anne, one of Baltar’s followers. The Web site Imdb.com says that actor Ryan McDonell will appear as Lt. Eamonn “Gonzo” Pike in several episodes, and that Marilyn Norry will appear as a character called Reza Hebrides, but that has not been confirmed by the network.
# A couple more tidbits that surfaced at Comic-Con: The revelation that the final Cylon would be revealed late in Season 4, and the idea that Hera, Sharon "Athena" Valerii and Helo's child, would have a special fate.
# Finally Mark Verheiden offered this on his blog: “Season four … is a roller coaster/gut-punch from start to finish, with some of the rawest emotional moments yet, from characters you may not expect. Plus space battles!” Yesssss.