Caprica, Warehouse 13 Are Cast

Source: SciFi Wire

Paula Malcomson (Deadwood) has been cast as the female lead in Caprica, SCI FI Channel's prequel to Battlestar Galactica, while Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly will headline SCI FI's two-hour pilot for Warehouse 13, a comedic SF drama to be directed by Jace Alexander.

Malcomson will play Amanda, a surgeon who works as a double agent, in Caprica, which is set 50 years before the events in Battlestar. Caprica follows the evolution of the Cylon race and the fight between two families.

Warehouse centers on two FBI agents, Myka (Kelly) and Peter (McClintock), who work at the government's Warehouse 13, which houses supernatural objects. They are assigned to retrieve missing objects and investigate reports of new ones.

In a Dark Tomorrow

Boston

WASHINGTON - Now in the midst of its fourth and final season, SciFi's "Battlestar Galactica" - a tale of humans nearly destroyed by a race of machines called Cylons - is as bleak, allegorical, and groundbreaking as ever. And the stakes seem especially high, as four humans turn out to be sleeper Cylons, a pilot named Starbuck returns from the dead, and Admiral Adama, the gruff commander played by Edward James Olmos, tries more desperately than ever to find a mythical place called Earth. We caught up with Olmos on the night he received an award from CINE, an organization that promotes excellence in video and film.


Q. I'm not sure there's ever been a show on TV that's so relentlessly dark. Is it bleak on the set?

A. It is. I mean, we really do take it to heart. It is bleak. And it is getting darker. This last season has gotten to the point where we end up crying a lot. Emotional breakdowns. It's human drama. And when you perform in it, you're inside of it. A lot of people are dead. I'm not going to say who, because why ruin it for people, but a lot of us die.

Q. This season?

A. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. [Laughs.] Not very many of us are going make it to wherever it is that they're taking us. So we just mope along. We open the script just like the viewer. We're all taking the journey. Not only is it difficult because you lose the person inside the story, but you also realize that person is no longer going to be on the set. It's over. Unless they're a Cylon.

Q. That leads me to Starbuck's apparent death . . .

A. Oh, it was so sad. Because they didn't tell us that she was coming back. I was angry.

Q. You were snookered like everybody else?

A. Of course, I was snookered. All we know is just what we're being fed. She died, and then she was gone for awhile, and then she came back. And that was so scary because we have no idea why and how she came back.

Q. So you as an actor don't know?

A. Well, we've filmed something that started to explain it. And it's not an uplifting understanding. [Laughs.] I will say that. It's as dark as everything else. You sit there and you go, "Oh my God, you guys are sick!" They're pushing the envelope. And the network is allowing it.

Q. Has there been anything you know of that the network has not allowed?

A. In the first or second season, the whole idea of suicides was really tough for them to take. I put it in one of my programs that I directed. The idea that people aboard ships were committing suicide. Why wouldn't they? Are you kidding me? Suicide rates would have gone right through the roof.

Q. Right, because what are they living for? And the living conditions aren't pleasant.

A. Terrible. Terrible. We're eating green algae. We've been eating green algae now for almost two years.

Q. And now, it seems that anyone could be a Cylon.

A. We're back to that.

Q. If you know who the final Cylon model is, I'm sure you can't tell me . . .

A. I don't know, either. And no one knew when [the other four were revealed.] You should have seen what happened. There was anger. Real anger. The main one was Michael Hogan [who plays Colonel Tigh.] He just couldn't get past it. He said, "I didn't sign up for this kind of stuff." He was so hurt he was a Cylon.

Q. It does pull the rug out -

A. Right from under him. It changes everything. You see the way [the actors] dealt with it. The confusion, the anger that Colonel Tigh handles it with is true.

Q. Back to "Star Trek" and probably before, science fiction has had diverse, expansive casting. Is that because of the nature of the genre, or the kind of creative people who go into it?

A. I think both. One, the window is open and they allow it. And two, it's the imagination of the people that are developing it. They don't get tied down thinking about who would sell this the best. They say, "This is a reality that I'd like to explore."

So say we all...

Source: Nicki Clyne's Blog


*spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't seen the most up to date episodes. ps. what's wrong with you??*

wow, where to begin. it's been an interesting journey. from the beginning of the series, to the growth and increasing depth of Cally, to finding out she would be killed, to now the whole world finding out! i am of course saddened, but relieved to finally be able to talk about it, and also excited because "when the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window." (you'll have to excuse me, i just watched the Sound of Music on the plane home from Germany.) but yes, the emotional journey i have experienced in the last year has been intense. starting with a phone call.. the producers, david and ron, kindly broke the news to me personally. when their assistant called me to set up the call, my thoughts were: well, they're either calling because they want to congratulate me on becoming one of the leading characters of the upcoming season, or... it was Cally's turn for a dramatic exit into space. my spidey senses hinted at the latter, but still denial is a wonderful thing. for a while after i found out, i tried to play it cool, as if it was no big thing, a great opportunity, blah blah blah.. but after enough people asked me with sad eyes how i felt about it, i started to really think about what it meant to me that this part of my life was coming to an end.

in a very real sense, i did experience a death - of a part of my life that was very special to me. and in some ways i feel fortunate to have experienced it as such a literal transition off the show, opposed to one day simply being finished. the actual shooting of my final episode was very moving for me. i explored parts of myself i hadn't before on film and was able to draw very real parallels between how i was feeling about leaving the show and what Cally was going through in her loss (pill popping and suicide aside, of course.) tribute to michael nankin, the director of 'the ties that bind,' who generously invested so much of his artistic talent and theatrical vision, and worked with me closely in making Cally's swan song a struggle to remember. i feel very proud of the work we did and to have had the privilege of collaborating in a way that is rather unusual in tv land. i think what i found the most moving though, was the support and sensitivity of the people surrounding me. from Eddie and Mary giving me gifts and cards, to the whole crew sharing their condolences, to the professionalism and dedication of everyone to making quality television. i don't know that i had such an appreciation of what we share on Battlestar before that experience, and i am grateful for it.

i would also like to express that it has been HELL trying to keep it a secret for so long! i was starting to feel like a fugitive! the writer's strike was somewhat of a saving grace when people were asking me what i was up to. you see, the trouble with being on such a successful show is even your friends are fans, so i had to be very careful who i spoke to and about what. my most common strategy was just to be vague and pretend like i didn't really know what was going on, but that gets tiresome and a little weird. even still there are some of my friends who haven't caught up and i'm like, "just watch the first 3 episodes already! then we can talk." some casting directors even got a little flustered when i'd tell them i was available for work on other projects. but now that it's all out in the open, i feel like we can all be friends again :-)

anyway, i want to thank all of you for your tremendous support and thoughtful messages. i am the luckiest sci fi star in the universe!

Curse of the Podcast

Source: Ron Moore's Blog



Now we’re dealing with server issues at SciFi.com.


What can I tell you?


The good news is there will be a bunch of podcasts waiting for you when they resolve the tech problems, the bad news is, I have no idea when that will be.


I’ll do this week’s and just keep chugging along and hope you guys can catch up eventually.


Thanks for being patient.

Battlestar's Helfer Gives Notice

Source: Ausiello's Report

Tricia Helfer's post-Cylon career is heating up.

Sources confirm to me exclusively that the Battlestar Galactica babe has landed a multi-episode arc on USA Network's fraktastic Burn Notice, which launches its second season on July 10. Helfer will play Carla, Michael's sleek, sexy and lethal "handler," who often comes across as unaffected and slightly amused by him.

Teases series creator Matt Nix: "To protect the people he loves, Michael is forced to work for Carla — his only link to the people behind his burn notice."

Helfer, who recently inked a talent holding deal with Fox (which produces Burn Notice), will juggle her Burn duties with the final season of BSG — which is easier said than done considering BSG shoots in Vancouver and BN in Miami. But that's what first class cabins were made for, right?

Burn Notice and Tricia Helfer — does it get any better than that? Well, does it?!

Orion sighted behind the Cylon fleet

Click the image to see full size screencap of the Orion Constellation behind the Cylon Fleet. It is remarkably similar to what we see from present day Earth. Any small differences could be down to the viewing position or time period but it can be safely said that Earth is not far away.

Escape Velocity Promo

Galactica Station's Review of Six of One

Gooby Rastor reviews episode 4.04, for your reading enjoyment.

Man. For a while there, this felt like an unrelenting hour of down, didn’t it? Well, that’s Battlestar Galactica for you, but I’m glad that we ended on a nice note. We’ll get there in a minute; let’s take the plot threads from last week and follow them through “Six of One,” shall we?

This week is Tory’s show, and that makes sense. We start off the season’s examination of the Final Four with two characters we’ve come to know and love. In “Six of One,” we focus more on the one character who hasn’t really made much of an impression on many people, before returning (I presume) to well-known territory with the Chief next time. Unfortunately for the writers, while Tory’s been enough of a non-entity so far, to hinder them in writing a story for her, she’s not such a new quantity that they have the ability to go off in an amazing new direction with her. What we get from her is a rather tame story (okay, there’s sex in it, but it’s still pretty tame) about her trying to use her feminine wiles to pump Baltar for information. The surprise twist—that she would respond well to Baltar’s attitude towards the Cylons, and be open to his ideas about the One True God—didn’t really impress me as being all that interesting a development. However, I will hand it to them that they had a tough row to hoe, giving this tertiary character something to run with. For comparison’s sake, ask yourself this: If Billy were still around, and one of the Final Four, how much easier do you think it would have been for the writers to get us to identify with him? Though that would beg the question of how far Billy would go to learn what Gaius knows... Brr. Of passing interest is Tory’s (apparent) habit of crying during sex. She’s missionary in this scene though, so we can’t tell whether or not that’s her only habit.

On to Gaius, whose personality cult really didn’t make a lot of plot-headway this time out. It does seem, thematically, that he’s developed a certain sympathy for the Cylon perspective, but as far as the effects that his new role are having? Well, they’re kind of in the background. In a way, I appreciate this: We’re getting certain characters mentioning the emergence of his new religion, as word of it is spreading, and it’s a good way of moving that story along a bit without having to devote much screen time to it. Would word travel this fast, though? How long after HTBiM is the bulk of “Six of One?” But then again, I don’t have all that much experience with miracles, so let’s get to the flip(ped?) side of the Baltar coin this night.

Virtual Baltar in Baltar’s head: Cheap trick; or exciting new development? Okay, I’m fairly easy when it comes VB (stop snickering, you). No, seriously... this has to go someplace. And if it does (and if Caprica Six starts seeing a Devil in a Red Dress), it’s sure to be a very interesting place. Without some sort of explanation for these hallucinations, it could come off as nothing but a meaningless camera trick, but I have faith that the apparitions are one of those pieces of the puzzle which RDM and crew are absolutely intent on fitting into place this season. If that’s the case then, the scene between the two Baltars (which was as funny as you’d expect), throws the door wide open... what in the world is going on? Judgment reserved, and doesn’t it feel like I’m saying that a lot these days? But really, this is piquing my curiosity in all the best ways; I’m very, very excited to see where they go here.

Now, Starbuck. Here’s where the big wall of depression begins to hit us. She seems like she has really, truly, flipped in this episode. We usually give Baltar a hard time for his egomania, but this right here is monomania. What in God’s name happened out there, to make Starbuck’s vision of Earth become so all-encompassing? Obviously, she is experiencing a deeply emotional response to some sort of (siren?) call to Earth, and it’s incredibly disturbing to watch. Kara was always Kara, of course, but she used to have room in her brain for more than one thing at a time, and she used to have a head for tactics. Now, whatever she saw or whatever happened to her out there, seems to have robbed her of the ability to do anything but lower her head and charge. Kara hands Roslin a gun, and Roslin tries to kill her. The old Starbuck may have gambled, and occasionally lost. This new Starbuck doesn’t seem to even care. Adama believes that she will keep trying until she dies, and so do I, and I don’t think that it’s a good thing.

Adama’s scene with Roslin was also heart-rending, and initially it seems that Starbuck’s viciousness is starting to spread. Both of them are dealing with so much, and it doesn’t help that their reads of each other are so dead on-the-money. There doesn’t seem to be any cruelty to most of what they’re saying, though, apart from the parting shots which they took. And those, while barbed, also bore the marks of two people who know each other, refusing to sugar-coat. But that ending made me feel so badly for the woman. It was excruciating, but one of the best Roslin-Adama scenes yet.

Now to the new business. The episode took a lot of time with Apollo’s drumming out from the service, with his goodbyes to Kara, his father, and the rest of the crew. (He tells Helo “good luck,” does he know about the Demetrius?) Nice but a bit of a let-down was the note of finality to his exchange with Dualla. The Lee-Dee pairing was one which was never allowed to fly on this show; at first because of the Billy situation, then the stuff with Starbuck. I’ll admit that on the basis of a couple of scenes with the two of them in command of the Pegasus, I was sort of hoping that these two kids would be able to work it out, that it wouldn’t be just so much wasted time. But then again, sometimes a show just has to wash its hands and say “this isn’t working.” I get the feeling that this is what happened here. At least it was a pleasant parting between the two. They’ll always have Pegasus.

Overall, I thought that while it felt like the episode was devoting a lot of time to Lee’s farewell, that there wasn’t anything I would have been able to bring myself to cut. Honestly, Lee deserves this kind of send off. Good luck, Captain Apollo. We expect great things from you now.

Holy... I haven’t even mentioned the Cylons yet. Wow. It sure is a good thing that they’re not playing up the “plan” aspect of the Cylons anymore, because... damn. This episode’s Cylon-side story has just way too much going on to review every particular, so I’ll sum up the key: This is shifting the paradigm, folks. The possibility of their own robotic slaves rising up against the Cylon skinjobs? This is now on the table. Boomer? I’m sorry to go all Magic 8-ball on you, but here it is: “Answer unclear. Ask again later.” It’s also nice to finally have numbers for the Cavils, Simons, and Leobens. I am glad that they seem to have a very exciting story for the Cylons this season. Great stuff.

And the final scene, which provides a ray of hope for the proceedings. I’m glad that Helo will be going with Starbuck, as the show hasn’t really known what to do with him since he got back on board Galactica. And hey! Hugs! Adama believes Kara! This hopeful note goes a long part of the way in keeping the story of Starbuck’s return from getting too dark. I’m sure there’s more dark than light ahead, but I hope the show never extinguishes the light completely. Good tone to end on.

Final impression: As a sister piece to “He That Believeth in Me,” this episode doesn’t quite match the quality of that outing: Tory doesn’t carry as much weight as Anders or Tigh; Lee’s farewells took up too much time (though again, I’m not saying I could do better); they were juggling more this week. But it’s still excellent BSG, signaling to all of us that the quality we can expect of the show in coming weeks, will be closer to the consistent first season, rather than the plodding 3.5.

8.9/10

Episode reviewed by “Gooby Rastor”

Galactica Station's Review of He That Believeth in Me

Gooby Rastor collects his thoughts on the long-awaited season 4 premier.

Right, before we begin, I don’t know what to make of the new opening text. I want to say it’s too much of a departure from what they’ve done before; but then again, after how clueless Season three made the Cylons look, maybe it’s for the best that they don’t mention that vaunted plan, eh?

Anyway, away we go! For many, after the year-long break that we’ve had from new Battlestar Galactica (no, I’m not counting “Razor” right now), "He That Believeth in Me" is going to seem way too short. Really, very few questions get answered... not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. The decision to avoid certain storylines allows the show to maintain a needed level of focus. This episode is about Starbuck, the Final Four, and Baltar. Let’s address each in turn.

Kara’s return is the story that offers up the most questions, and what BSG gives us is a deftly-crafted non-answer. Okay, we do find out that she’s not all in Lee’s head. That’s something. But her first words on screen begin to beg more questions. When Lee says he saw her ship blow up, as he and we did, she says “‘fraid not.” Oh dear. The questions just keep piling up from there. What’s most interesting about these scenes are the amount of questioning done by the characters. Starbuck’s resurrection struck me very unfavorably at the end of last season. I’m now a bit less bothered by the whole thing, simply because all of the show’s characters are asking the same questions we are. No one is just accepting any of the weirdness here, which means that we’re not being asked to, either. It’s nice when a show respects you like that. Kara herself begins questioning herself as the episode progresses, but it’s interesting that she doesn’t seem to really notice all of the oddities, such as her brand spanking-new Viper, until others bring it up to her. She obviously believes that she’s been to Earth and seen their destination, but it’s equally obvious that there’s something going on with Starbuck’s noodle. Now that she’s committed her first criminal act since her return, let’s see how far away from the old Starbuck she really is.

Most of the scenes involving the Final Four were fairly solid, but took a back seat to Kara’s A-plot. Really, we only get a real look into the (robotic) psyches of two of their number tonight. For me, looking at Colonel Tigh’s reaction provided the one scene from the episode which I could have done without: Tigh shooting Adama in CIC. Is it a shocker? I guess. Personally, I felt the scene did not communicate a single thing we didn’t already know, and felt so over-blown that it snapped me out of the reality of the show, if just for a moment. We knew that Tigh’s biggest fear would be being forced to betray his friend Bill, especially by pulling a Boomer. I felt the same message could have been portrayed much more subtly. And without dropping the documentary style of the show, which I maintain should be avoided if at all possible. Unless... this is a prelude to Tigh and co. discovering the Cylon ability to “project.” I gotta admit, I kind of wondered if Sam was having a similar “waking dream” when that Raider slowly turned to scan him during the dogfight. Since it wasn’t, I have to wonder if Tigh’s scene was there merely for the shock value, in which case it wasn’t worth it.

But on to Sam. Anders’ response to discovering his nature was one of the episode’s greatest strengths. He seems to be scared, sure, and uncertain as to what this means for him, but he’s coping. And he’s beginning to ask questions which would seem to lead to his accepting what he is. Particularly in his last scene with Kara. Are his words a defense mechanism, designed to protect him should the truth come out? On one level. But we don’t doubt that he’s in some ways changed for the better because of this. He’s being forced to reevaluate not only identity, but love. And when Kara shoots him down (figuratively... for now), we can see the gulf between them, as if we needed yet something else to come between these two. It’s interesting to see how far Kara has come since Kobol, where she accepted Helo and Sharon’s cross-species love, to this point, where her judgment of death is quick and final. It kind of makes sense given what happened on New Caprica, but last we saw, Lee was the one becoming somewhat bloodthirsty towards Cylons. And now he’s the one wondering about all the shades of grey, invoking the memory of the almost-forgotten Zak in a particularly nice scene with Adama.

I’m starting to digress though. Getting back to Anders also brings us to the spectacle of the night, the Battle of the Ionian Nebula, which has been rightly hailed as a triumph for the effects crew. This battle is easily the most riveting seen since the miniseries: Confusing, violent, and oddly beautiful. The shot of Galactica protecting the fleet was especially stunning, with its flak barrage moving around its hull in a gorgeous wave pattern. Also, I think I hardly need mention the most story-laden shot of the night; Anders’ eye. Creepy effect, and if anyone had any doubts about the four being Cylons, the eye ought to put paid to that.

It was also nice to see the seriousness of the situation driven home by the loss of one of the RTF. I mean, not to sound happy about it or anything, but it occurs to me that with all the running which the fleet’s done, we haven’t really seen the effect of the Cylons catching the fleet until now. Had they not gotten the message that the FF are in the Fleet, it’s obvious that the humans would have been annihilated.

The last major plot thread is Baltar’s. I was a little bit disturbed by the casting of Baltar’s new cult—largely pretty, lithe young ladies—it seemed almost like the casting director was... well, Baltar. But ah, good for him I guess. What’s really interesting is to see a new side of Gaius Baltar brought to light throughout the episode, regarding the sick little boy. Gaius’ initial assurances that he is praying for the boy are the empty words we’ve come to expect from the man. But then Gaius actually prays, and prays correctly. There’s a genuine feeling of “thy will be done” throughout it, and his offer of sacrifice is genuine. Before now, throughout all of the many faces of Gaius Baltar, the one constant has been his all-encompassing self interest. This was a truly selfless act, and one that speaks to the possibility of Gaius finally realizing his great failings, and thus to the possibility of redemption. God, I hope this doesn’t mean he’s the Final Cylon, cause that would suck.

All told, this episode took a few minutes to find its feet, the battle not withstanding, but then began to ratchet up the tension for the upcoming season. It’s frustrating, just because there’s so much for this show to get through, and they pick their battles, which necessarily means that other battles like what’s been happening with the Cylons since the Algae Planet, or anything to do with Hera, are left for another day. At the end of “Crossroads pt. 2,” I noted that it was impossible to judge it completely, given how many questions were left unanswered by it. Now with “He That Believeth,” the jury’s still out, and part of me is very encouraged by what seems to be the return to a style of TV-making where the questions linger from episode to episode. This is a very good episode, if not an instant classic, and I’m very excited for the (half) season it ushers in. Good to have the ship back in our lives.

9.1/10
Episode reviewed by "Gooby Rastor"

"Star Wars," "Battlestar" lead cable ratings

Source: Routers

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - It was quite a weekend for sci-fi fans as Spike TV aired three movies in the "Star Wars" saga, and "Battlestar Galactica" returned with a new episode on Sci Fi Channel.

"Galactica," which had its fourth and final season premiere at 10 p.m. Friday, drew 2.1 million viewers, a 19% increase over the series' so-called "Season 3.5" premiere in January 2007, according to Nielsen Media Research.

It also was up in the key demo of adults 18-49 (up 11% to 1.4 million, its best showing since January 2006).

Meanwhile, Spike TV aired the first three "episodes" of the "Star Wars" saga during the weekend. Tops among the trio was "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," which averaged 4.2 million viewers from 8-11 p.m. Sunday. That made it the highest-rated movie in the network's history and the highest-rated movie of the year among ad-supported cable networks in adults 18-49 (2.4 million viewers).

Meanwhile, "Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace" drew 2.8 million viewers from 8-11 p.m. Friday, and "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" averaged 3.3 million from 8-11 p.m. Saturday.

Spike also touted the fact that the three "Star Wars" movies averaged 3.5 million viewers overall, beating head-to-head competition with TNT's airings of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which averaged 2.7 million viewers.

Battlestar Galactica focuses on what it means to be human

Source: Ottawa Citizen

Battlestar Galactica is remarkable in so many ways, and not just because it transcended its fan-boy sci-fi origins to become a genuine mainstream cultural phenomenon.

At times, it's unspeakably sad. And at other times, it can be both spiritually affirming and unsettling, as it was in last week's season opener, He That Believeth in Me. In that episode, Gaius Baltar, the complicated little man with the messiah complex played by James Callis, sought refuge with a group of women who believe he has healing powers.

In tonight's followup episode, Six of One, Battlestar Galactica focuses on the more intimate, personal detail of what it means to be human. In it, Kara Thrace, the spiritual heart and soul of one of TV's most enigmatic dramas, tries desperately to convince the others that they are going the wrong way in their search for home.

As played by Katee Sackhoff, Thrace, is one of the most complex female anti-heroes ever to appear in a fictional TV drama. She's impetuous, headstrong, short-tempered, impatient and unpredictable in her relationships, but also intelligent, physically tough and unswervingly loyal to her friends.

And when those friends begin to doubt her -- as they have ever since she vanished, presumably dead, only to suddenly reappear --it's all too easy to relate to the fear and uncertainty in her every move.

Battlestar Galactica is blessed, too, with an accomplished ensemble of homegrown performers, from Tricia Helfer as the titillating Number Six to Grace Park as ace pilot -- and sleeper agent -- Sharon (Boomer) Valerii. The cast includes such veteran B.C. performers as Callum Keith Rennie, Donnelly Rhodes, so memorable in Da Vinci's Inquest, Tahmoh Penikett and Michael Hogan, in arguably the performance of a lifetime as mercurial, booze-soaked station commander Saul Tigh, a seen-it-all kind of guy who hides a dark secret.

Battlestar Galactica is an amazing, incredible ride, on virtually every level. (10 p.m., Space)

We are at the top of our game…

Source: Dreamwatch

With the fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica finally upon us, executive producers Ron Moore and David Eick, along with cast members Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Tricia Helfer and Lucy Lawless chat to Tara Bennett about the fallout from the Cylon revelations, the return of a nasty character and the heartbreak of eventually saying goodbye.

Will the identity of the fifth and final Cylon be something you reveal early in the fourth season?

Ron Moore It will be late in the season, it won’t be in the first half.

How has it been acting with such a renowned and diverse cast?

Mary McDonnell There is something about the casting that is so extraordinary. You are surrounded constantly by excellence in the other actors...We are relishing the ensemble.

Did you agree with the selection of the four secret Cylons?

Katee Sackhoff Every single Cylon was aligned with a person in power or in a strategic position to be able to bring down the fleet.

You had Anders aligned with Kara and the pilots. Tory [Foster] was aligned with the President. Aaron Douglas’s character [Tyrol] was in charge of the Vipers and Tigh was directly connected with Adama. Each one of those Cylons is right next to a person that can take down the fleet which I thought was a very smart thing to do and something people didn’t expect.

Tricia, did you have a “Welcome to the Cylons” party for them?

Tricia Helfer No, I didn’t. I can say at the beginning of the season they are dealing with their own inner turmoil with what is going on and each of them reacts differently. I find it very interesting to watch the journey. I come from the perspective of knowing what I was all along so it’s interesting as an actor to see them go, “OK, I am on this side!”

Katee Sackhoff Michael Hogan [Tigh] is so in denial. He will not admit that he is a Cylon. It’s really funny actually because as an actor, he’s really pissed off. (Laughs)

How has the news of this being the final season affected the way you are writing stories? Are there any storylines that you have found you've had to get rid of?

Ron Moore We always end up creating more things than we can use. The longer we talk in the writers’ room, the more tangents we can spin off of for a long time. It’s always about paring down to what is the actual show.

The fact that it’s the final season just means that we are really focusing on each episode and we don’t have any room for an episode that doesn’t work. There is a more intense focus and I feel that from the writing staff and the cast, who are very involved in the stories this year. You can just feel that there is a different vibe in Vancouver that this is it and everybody really wants to go out strong.

Are there any stories that you’ve held back that could turn into something else later on?

Ron Moore I don’t think so. I think the show will end and we’ll sit around and talk about stories we could have told or things we didn’t get around to, but the decision is to end the show when we are at the top of our game.

We want to end it strong, on our terms, to a natural conclusion, and that choice precludes other choices. I think if the show was going on for two more seasons, there would be other stories and we would come up with all kinds of other things, but the stories would start to attenuate and wouldn’t be quite as strong as they are now. You always go off stage with them wanting more, and that is the same for us as well.

How did it come about that Lucy’s supposedly dead character, D'Anna Biers, would return for the final season?

Lucy Lawless Well, Ron called me and said, “We’re bringing you back…”

Ron Moore The story has to do with ‘un-boxing’ D'Anna. There are a lot of people that are very interested in un-boxing D’Anna because she knows certain things and there is a long plot that culminates in what she reveals. It’s a pivot point for the upcoming season. Once that happens, things change and drive us to the finale.

Lucy Lawless He told me that it was going to be a jolly, hockey stick reason - she was coming back to participate in somebody’s plan. I just said, ‘Dude, can you keep her vicious?’ What I loved about her is that she’s the grit in everybody’s eye. I just wanted to keep her trouble and he said no worries about that! (Laughs)

After the end of this series is there a chance that there could be new direct-to-DVD releases like other retired series (Stargate, Dead Like Me) are doing?

Ron Moore We’ll see. It’s possible that we could do more after [Razor], but there are no plans in the works for it. There is a practical limitation because at some point we will strike the sets and they will go away, so it will be very difficult to rebuild Galactica just to do a one-off movie in the future.

On that sad final day of shooting, are you going to take any mementos home with you?

Katee Sackhoff Mary and I were discussing earlier how on our show, except for Six, that we don’t have the clothes or jewelry that you would take to another show. So we have little things to take and I would take the Goddess of Aurora. And we have no more metal dog tags of mine left because they are all in my house!

Mary McDonnell I was thinking the other day that the fabric that was hanging in the Galactica would look good on my couch. (Laughs)

Ron Moore The big portrait of Baltar.

Mary McDonnell I think James [Callis] already has that! (Laughs)

What's New In Battlestar Land...

Source: Mark Verheidens Blog

Posting has been light the last few days because I've been spending much of my time on set, helping make sure episode "415" is as chock full of Battlestar goodness as possible. Things are rolling along extremely well and as usual the cast and crew is doing a superlative job turning my scribbles into high drama. It's strange to think this probably won't actually air for months and months, long after I've vacated my palacial NBC/Universal office...

So, what else has been going on? Let's see, I saw Springsteen at Vancouver's "General Motors Place" arena last Monday night, enjoying myself with a sell-out crowd along with Aaron "The Chief" Douglas and the ever ebullient S. McA. from the BSG production office. And the show? It is considerably changed up from the first leg of the tour, lots of new songs, and Springsteen and band debuted a very special request, an outtake from Born In The U.S.A. called "Home of the Brave." I don't think this one even made the "Tracks" compilation, so that was fun.

Oh, and BATTLESTAR IS FINALLY BACK ON THE AIR. It airs at 7:00PM here in lovely Canada (on Space Channel, tip o' the hat to my pal Mark Askwith at Space who does a great job stoking the flames for BSG) so I missed the debut and any parties that may have ensued. Oh well, there's always next seas... oops. At least it was missed for a good cause.

More as it develops...

Yes, we have no Podcast

Source: Ron Moore

I know, I know.

I had all this time and I could’ve had the podcast for the first episodes waaaay before now so they’d be there waiting when the fourth season premiered.

But I didn’t.

Somehow, I thought I’d squeeze in a recording session here in Vancouver while I was directing (and the above photo is a iphone shot from my directing chair looking at one of the video monitors just before I called action) but that proved to be a one of my more foolish notions. So the podcast for Ep 1 of the fourth season will have to wait until I get back to LA, which means ya’ll won’t have it until later in the week.

Sorry.

But I’ll be more on time with the rest of them. I promise.

Unless I’m not.

I’ll also try to pound out a few blogs about the directing experience and update you on all things Galactica and Caprica.

Unless I don’t.

Caprica casting info revealed

Source: TV Squad

by Keith McDuffee
Now that we got the confirmed greenlight for the Battlestar Galactica spin-off series, Caprica, of course we can expect to see more details of the series trickle in. Just today, for example, sources have provided us with casting information for the series. Cool stuff!

Anyone familiar with the details of the show knows that Caprica will center around two families, the Graystones and the Adamas, and the goings on leading up to the Cylons as we see them on the show now. Now we can get a sense of what the characters on the show will look like and perhaps make our own wishlist of who we'd like to see in the roles. I warn you that there are what to some will consider SPOILERS ahead.

(I put my own comments in bold below)

[DANIEL GRAYSTONE] In his early 40s, a spectacularly wealthy computer engineer / designer, Daniel is married to Amanda and the father of Zoe -- but his extensive business interests leave him little time for his child, whom he still sees as a little girl in pink shoes. Busy trying to design an intelligent robot, Daniel is devastated when Zoe is killed in a suicide bombing, and has no idea that his daughter had a complex, very secret life. After learning that his own wizardry with computer technology was exceeded by his own child, who found a way to upload her personality into an online avatar, Daniel realizes that with a little stolen technology, and with a little intellectual elbow grease, he can create a robotic version of his dead daughter -- and in doing so, he creates the first Cylon...SERIES REGULAR - SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES.

As I never followed the original BSG series, I wonder if what Graystone creates is meant to have any resemblance to a human other than being a biped. I can't imagine he'd make his late Zoe look like a Centurion.

[JOSEPH ADAMS] In his 40s, he is a Tauron, an off-worlder who has emigrated to Caprica; his hair is already starting to go iron-grey and his entire demeanor is that of someone who's already put on more miles than most men his age. There's a gravitas to Joseph, an intelligence, and a strong sense of someone you wouldn't want as your enemy. He has risen above the traditional Caprican prejudice against Taurons, and has become a powerful, influential defense attorney, with powerful ties to the Tauron crime underworld. His wife and daughter are killed in the same blast that takes out Zoe, and he bonds with the much-wealthier Daniel in a common grief. A man who has done a few crooked things in his life (largely in order to use his position to protect his fellow Taurons), Joseph reluctantly agrees to assist Daniel in his grief-fueled efforts to create robotic versions of both their children -- but after stealing vital technology from a Tauron computer developer, Joseph is ethically appalled by the robot version of his dead Tamara, and repents his actions. Left with a 9 year old son to care for, Joseph reaches out to young William, revealing to him that his last name is really Adama...SERIES REGULAR - SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES. HOWEVER, PREFER LATINO.

At first I thought the "Adams" was a typo, but it seems this was an alias Joseph used at some point. It's no wonder why the Cylons have such an interest in Bill Adama, seeing as his own father was quite instrumental in assisting with their creation.

[AMANDA GRAYSTONE] In her late 30s, Daniel's wife, she is a successful surgeon with a volatile streak to her, who has married well and dearly loves her daughter. Devastated after the death of her daughter Zoe, Amanda turns for consolation, not to her husband but to an ex-lover, Tomas Vergis, a Tauron who is one of her husband's competitors. Furious with herself for having cheated on her husband, Amanda in fact is something of a double agent, plucking information about Vergis' intellectual property from his blabbing mouth and taking it home to Daniel to use as he sees fit...SERIES REGULAR - SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES.

You'll note that Tomas Vergis isn't a casting choice here. Either he's already cast or he's an extremely minor role.

[SISTER CLARICE WILLOW] In her mid 30s to 50s, dressed in the traditional clerical robes of an Athenian High Priestess, Sister Clarice is the headmistress of the Athena Academy, a private religious school, where Zoe, Lacy and Ben are all enrolled. A gracious, eloquent, thoughtful woman who grew up in a slum and has seen it all, she's elegant and sophisticated -- and utterly duplicitous. In fact, she is a closet monotheist, and has taken the best and brightest of her students and shared her own (illegal, closeted) beliefs with them -- only to see her efforts literally explode in her students' faces...SERIES REGULAR - SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES.

This sounds like a role that's going to require quite a lot of depth. Very interesting with the whole "closeted monotheist" thing, as it shows such beliefs didn't just come from the sentient minds of Cylons alone.

[ZOE GRAYSTONE / ZOE-A / ZOE-R] 16 going on 40 (18 TO PLAY 16), with severe hair and makeup, Zoe is the daughter of Daniel and Amanda Graystone, and she's a girl with many secrets. A computer genius like her father, she has found a way to enliven a holographic avatar of herself, by uploading all her memories and DNA into the hologram, thus creating her online twin, Zoe-A. A closet monotheist in the polytheistic culture of Caprica, and obliged to perform her religion in private, she tries to leave the planet with her boyfriend, Ben, only to be killed when Ben suicide-bombs them both into oblivion. But Zoe-A is left behind, a baffled, grieving digital duplicate of the real, flesh and blood Zoe. With the collaboration of Daniel and Joseph, Zoe-A is downloaded into a robotic brain, thus becoming the first Cylon: Zoe-R...SERIES REGULAR - SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES.

Now this is an awesome twist. I wonder what happened to Zoe-B through Zoe-Q.

[WILLIAM ADAMS] 9 years old, Latino, Joseph's sole surviving child, William is inward and withdrawn in the best of times, and grows more taciturn after the death of his mother and sister. Barely aware of his father, whose work kept him away from the family, William is a stoical Tauron who keeps his deepest thoughts to himself and rarely smiles. Promised a closer relationship by Joseph, he is taken aside, taught the basics of his Tauron heritage, and told that his Tauron name is William Adama...7 / 13 SERIES REGULAR -TO PLAY EDWARD JAMES OLMOS AT 9 YEARS OLD.

Big shoes to fill for a 9 year old.

[BEN STARK / BEN-A] 16 years old (18 TO PLAY 16), with close-cropped hair, Ben has an intensity to him, a sense of a kid who's gone someplace far away and may not be coming back. Zoe's boyfriend, he is a fanatical monotheist; he introduced her and Lacy to his cult, and induced them both to flee Caprica with him. But Ben is a little crazy, and he's fleeing Caprica in a different way than he promised: by blowing up their train with a suicide bomb. He later is revealed to have his own uploaded avatar, an on-line twin named Ben-A, whom only Sister Clarice can contact...7 / 13 SERIES REGULAR - SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES.

Well, there you have it. I also got a look at the sides (portions of scripts for auditioners to read), but I'd be killed for showing any of that. To be honest, no notable actors come to mind to play these roles, but I'm clearly not thinking too thoroughly about it. I'd love to hear any thoughts you have other than "they should all be relative unknowns" (even though I pretty much agree with that statement, since it will keep the show's cost down.)

More Caprica Revealed

Source: Cinema Blend

With the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica set to air this Friday night, it’s likely that many BSG fans haven’t been able to give much thought or speculation to the premise of the big BSG prequel, Caprica, which has been officially greenlit for production. When the news broke, few details were given about Caprica other than that it will center on two rivaling families, the Adamas and the Graystones and that it will take place 50 years before the Battlestar Galactica timeframe.

E! Online’s Kristin Dos Santos got some very interesting (but somewhat spoiler-ish) information about the premise of Caprica. So if you don’t want to know anything about Caprica other than the premiere date (and unfortunately, we don’t have that yet), read no further!

Two houses, both alike in dignity, in fair Caprica, where we lay our scene. Ok, not quite. It doesn’t look like there are any star-crossed lovers in this series (at least, not that we know of). Here’s the breakdown, according to Dos Santos’ report. Apparently, the series includes the Adams (that’s "Adama", minus the second A but we’re dealing with the same family. Dos Santos didn't mention how, when or why the A gets added on) and the Graystones.

Joseph Adam(a) is a big shot civil rights attorney. We knew this already as Grandpa-Adama was referenced numerous times in the third season of BSG. He's a married man with a daughter named Tamara as well as a son (9-year-old Bill “future admiral of Galactica” Adama). Daniel Graystone is the head of the Graystones family and a computer genius. He’s married to Amanda (that's "Adama" backwards minus the n but I don't think that's relevant) and fathers a daughter named Zoe. Unfortunately, Zoe’s boyfriend is a religious fanatic who ends up blowing up a bunch of people, Mrs. Adama, daughter Tamara Adama and Zoe included.

Because Zoe installed “rudimentary elements of her personality and DNA” into a machine, Daniel Graystone is able to use the technology to create Zoe-R, which as you might have guessed, is the first Cylon. He makes a robot replica of Tamara for Joseph but Adama is “ethically appalled by the robot version of his dead [daughter], Tamara, and repents his actions.” Instead of hanging out with his very own robot daughter, Joseph forms a stronger bond with his son, Bill.

The premise is definitely intriguing. For one thing, it’s made me realize how little we know about the Old Man and his family’s background (outside of the military). Tragedy, terrorism and robot replicas? What do you think? Will Caprica be able to match Battlestar Galactica in terms of it’s greatness? Or is this reported premise not really ringing your bells?

Like BSG, it seems like technology, politics and human drama will all play a part in this new series. The only thing that’s missing is the war between man vs. machine and frequent space-battles (I suspect many hardcore scifi fans will miss that quite a bit) but at least it takes place in the same “universe” as BSG. This means we could get to see more of things like actual Pyramid games, not to mention seeing the way the people of Caprica live when their lives aren’t constantly in mortal danger.

Maybe I'm just being overly optimistic but I think Caprica has the potential to be great. What say you?

It should be noted that Dos Santos posted her story on April 1st (the day when many TV and movie rumors turn out to be nothing more than April fools pranks) so this entire premise could turn out to be yet another fake-news story. Then again, nothing about the premise seems crazy enough to be made up (at least not compared to some of the other April Fools jokes we've seen today) . Guess we'll have to wait and see if there are any updates.

Review: He That Believeth In Me

Source: TV Blend

Important note about spoilers: There are none in this review. We want you to enjoy the episode fresh and clean, just like we had the opportunity to do. This is a review, not a recap. Recaps will go up, as they always have, AFTER each episode airs.

Battlestar Galactica returns for its fourth, and final, season much the way it left us a year ago. The battle for what seems to be the immortal soul of all mankind is back in play, as are those questions you may have about who is what and why is that happening. Well, those questions get acknowledged, but never answered. Battlestar Galactica, like other great stories on television such as Buffy or early X-Files is not interested in wrapping things up in slick action sequences. The four revealed Cylons from season 3's finale do not appear here as ass kicking humanoid robots that do ninja battle with marines.

The emotional turmoil the show is currently putting its characters, and damnit the audience, through is mind bending. For some it literally is a mind bender. But don’t let that fool you. BSG has a penchant for making you momentarily forget you’re watching an epic space opera with poignant moments like on in which a father figure quetions whether he should believe his heart or his eyes. At the same time set pieces and battle sequences continue to work in their inspired way. This season four premiere in particular has a battle sequence that may go down as one of the best “holy shit” scenes of the entire year. From Cylon raider blood being splattered across Vipers for the first time I can recall, to an end of the fight… which raises far more questions than those of us who are demanding answers may like, BSG returns exactly as promised, and it appears that the problems of mid-season 3 are all but forgotten.

Season 4 begins a moment after last year’s finale. There’s no time jump, no missing piece of the puzzle which we have to go back in aftermath and uncover. Cocksure Viper jock Kara “Starbuck” Thrace has returned from her two-month sojourn. Her disappearance, and an explanation for it, drives the major plot of this episode. But you know, as a good Galactica fan, there's so much more going on. There’s the dealing with a dead daughter’s return by Admiral Adama, while grappling misgivings about the situation. President Rosalyn still bristles over the verdict of Baltar’s trial, and is in no way interested in veering off course for Earth. Lee Adama must move forward with his choice to leave military life, and thus become a far more interesting part of the show. Chief, Tigh, Anders and Tory sit and wonder what their purpose is, and what’s to come now that they’ve been activated.

And let me just say this: Praise be to Gaius Baltar. The man, the myth, the cunning legend has returned. No longer the sniveling prick we’ve come to loathe (while still loving him, of course), Baltar is back in full arrogant form in the season four premiere. But his journey as a man, and an agent of God (or whatever Head Six is a representation of), continues on. If you’ve ever, even for a moment loved this character, his tale in the premiere will be most welcome. It doesn’t hurt that he has a horny collegiate harem of nymphs ready to bow to his messianic prowess.

Battlestar Galactica is truly back, and it’s back on course. This is a journey of people, not of space ships or blaster battles, and “He That Believeth In Me” is just the beginning of its final story. It is the tale that sets up the journey, and it is a wild ride that will bend your mind. The best show on television reconfirms its place in the pages of TV Legends once again with an episode wrought with the conflicts and battles, big and small, that we’ve come to love and expect.

Lawless’ Lips Are Sealed

Source: Slice Of Sci-fi

On “Late Night with David Letterman” last week, Lucy Lawless said her lips are sealed when it comes to revealing SPOILERS for the upcoming season of “Battlestar Galactica.”

“True ‘Battlestar’ fans don’t want spoilers, and I would never tell anyway,” said Lawless, when some of the Letterman writers tried to finagle the identity of the final Cylon from her.

“People love this show,” Lawless told the Huffington Post. “It’s amazing who are fans of the show. All those writers on Letterman? Amazing. You could tell they were genuine fans. It’s the intelligence of the show that draws people in.”

Lawless said she might know who the final Cylon is based on the scripts she’s seen so far, but her lips are sealed. She did say that executive producers Ron Moore and David Eick know the identity of the final Cylon and that she feels they’ve had this particular character in mind since the beginning.

Fans will start to get answers Friday night when “Galactica” returns to SCI FI.

'Battlestar Galactica,' king of the remakes

Source: nj.com

"Battlestar Galactica" is the best drama currently on television. That doesn't sound right, does it? Sure, some of this is by default - "The Wire" just ended and "Mad Men" and "The Shield" won't be back until later this year - but qualifiers or no, how exactly does a remake of a profoundly cheeseball '70s "Star Wars" rip-off wind up as a contender for the title of best anything on television? Why, even as the critically acclaimed new "Galactica" heads into its fourth and final season, does its genius still seem so improbable?

Maybe it's the name. If you're old enough to remember the original "Galactica," it conjures up memories of Dirk Benedict wearing a cape, robotic dogs, and the same three space battles shown over and over again from slightly different angles. If you're not old enough, then the title still sounds too silly to apply to a series that, in its new form, intelligently deals with religion and politics (better than any show this side of early "West Wing") while finding time for fist-pumping action.

But really, the surprise about the sustained brilliance of the new show shouldn't come from it being a remake of "Battlestar Galactica," but from it being a remake of anything.
Remakes are always popular in Hollywood, as they're an easier pitch to both studio execs and audiences than entirely new ideas. Coming out of the strike, the TV business is in heavy remaking mode, with new versions of shows both popular ("Beverly Hills 90210," "Knight Rider") and not ("Cupid," "The Pitts") strong contenders to be on someone's schedule next season.

But an easy pitch isn't necessarily an easy success. Creating something out of whole cloth is hard, but in some ways recreating a previous work can be even harder. There can be audience expectations, positive or negative, that are impossible to compensate for. There's danger in sticking too close to the original and being called derivative, just as there's danger in changing too much. (There's still a small, resolute group of sci-fi fans who refer to the new show as "GINO," or "Galactica in name only.")

From the jump, the new "Galactica" started out with a leg up over most remakes because of the quality (or lack thereof) of the original. The most common remake mistake is to try to duplicate a beloved classic. There's no upside to that; see the Gus Van Sant "Psycho," or the Harrison Ford "Sabrina."

"Galactica" producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick took the opposite approach. Though the original "Galactica" still has a few vocal supporters (see the "GINO" crowd), it's not remembered fondly enough for people to mind major tinkering. More importantly, while it was a bad show, it had a great idea at the core - humanity is nearly annihilated by an alien race, and the handful of survivors band together to go searching for Earth - that the original producers squandered on stock footage, space battles, robot dogs, etc.

Moore, Eick and company decided to take the premise seriously, and used it as an allegory for the War on Terror. The robotic Cylons, anonymous stormtroopers in the original, are now religious zealots convinced their deity wants humanity destroyed. The non-military members of the ragtag fleet, an afterthought at best in the '70s, are now a key element of the series, with civilian president Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) being granted the same level of screen time (and gravitas) as Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos).

Above all else, the new "Galactica" takes itself and its sometimes fanciful concepts seriously. Where the first show had a lot of actors picking up a paycheck, the new ensemble is deep and dedicated, creating a host of indelible characters: McDonnell's iron fist in velvet glove commander in chief, Katee Sackhoff's self-destructive hotshot pilot Starbuck, Michael Hogan's tragic drunk Colonel Tigh, Jamie Bamber's ambivalent Lee Adama, James Callis' charlatan genius Gaius Baltar, etc.

And yet reviving a silly genre show and treating it seriously the second time around doesn't guarantee a great remake, even with some of the same personnel involved. Earlier this year, Eick was one of the men in charge of NBC's "Bionic Woman" remake, which followed the "Galactica" playbook to the letter - a solemn take on what was essentially a kids' show with slick production values and relevance to current events - but turned out to be the biggest failure of the pre-strike TV season. After a big tune-in on night one, the audience plummeted quickly, there was a revolving door approach to hiring producers, and NBC didn't bother with the pretense that it might continue after the strike.

The fatal flaw of the new "Bionic Woman" - other than the fact that the "ordinary woman becomes cybernetic superhero" premise didn't lend itself as well to an extreme makeover - was the casting of Michelle Ryan in the lead role. An actress from England, Ryan struggled to display any screen presence while working in an accent not her own (not coincidentally, her strongest episode was one where she went undercover as a British exchange student) and was constantly being upstaged by Katee Sackhoff, whom Eick had brought over from "Galactica" as an evil bionic woman prototype.

On paper, "Bionic Woman" should have worked. It didn't. Then again, on paper, a "Kolchak the Night Stalker" remake from a veteran producer of "The X-Files" (which was itself inspired by the '70s "Night Stalker") should have worked, and it was one of the dullest shows of the 2005-06 season, also done in by poor casting of the title role. Lots of ideas - be they new or "reimagined" - seem wonderful on paper but don't translate into the finished product. I'm sure when some executive at USA decided to remake "Kojak," with Ving Rhames in the Telly Savalas role, they thought, "Perfect! They're both big bald guys from the movies!" But the only point of the original was to give Savalas a weekly showcase; without him, it was just another N.Y.C. cop show.

Lucy Lawless On "Battlestar Galactica," Goofing With Adam Sandler, And Always Being The Bad Girl

Source:HuffingtonPost


Battlestar Galactica spoiler seekers, take note: "I would lie before I gave something away," says Lucy Lawless, who will be reprising her role as the humanoid cylon (read: robot) D'Anna Biers in the sci-fi series' fourth and final season. "I'd make something really bogus up." Thanks for the heads up! Currently shooting the Adam Sandler comedy Bedtime Stories in Los Angeles, the 40-year-old Kiwi actress and cult star recently chatted with the Huffington Post about always playing the Big Bad, fooling around with Sandler's posse, and falling in line with the genius of Ron D. Moore.

HuffPo: Thanks for taking the time to do this.
Lucy Lawless: I hope it's worth it for you.

HP: Meaning you can't really talk about what happens this season?
LL: No, more like I can't really remember.

HP: So your arc was completely finished before the writers' strike?
LL: Yes. I finished right before the strike, and the rest of the cast and crew are back in production right now. Personally, I'm doing this movie with Adam Sandler. I'm playing the bad girl... again. I don't understand what it is that makes people want me to play bad; I guess I'm just good at it.

HP: Take it as a complement. How's the set?
LL: It's the most lighthearted set I've been on since Xena. These guys have made their workplace into their social life. Their life doesn't only start once they get away from work.

HP: Give us a one-line summary of the plot?
LL: Um....disinherited janitor tries to win back father's hotel and has to battle the wicked powers that be -- and I'm one of the wicked powers. The set-up is that Adam tells bedtime stories to his nephews and they come true during the day in fun and unexpected ways. Like a fantasy, sometimes you're in outer space, sometimes in a hotel.

HP: So it's the anti-Battlestar in tone, basically.
LL: It's a complete 180 from Battlestar. I'm so lucky that I get to do that - to do very naturalistic acting and take on heavy-duty situations on BSG and go and have crab claws on an Adam Sandler movie.

HP: Did you always know your character -- who was "boxed" in season 2 -- was coming back?
LL: No, I didn't know. I would only come and go as needed and as I was available, so I never counted on anything in particular. But I'm really happy and grateful my character was returned so elegantly. That's Ron Moore as a writer for you. Everything has a great elegance to it.

HP: Ron's actually directing his first episode as we speak.
LL: I know, it's so wonderful; I wish I were there, I have to say. It would be fun to be directed by him because he's so very intimately connected to every character. Ron lives and breathes these characters and relationships. He and [co-executive producer] David [Eick] are Battlestar.

HP: So all of the cast knows who the final cylon is, definitively?
LL: I think we know. I can't remember though. I'm guessing, however, that David and Ron have had this in mind from the beginning.

HP: Maybe I'm watching for it, but the series seems to be getting a ton of extra press this time around.
LL: People love this show. It's amazing who are fans of the show. All those writers on Letterman? Amazing. This almost never happens, but all the writers on Letterman came back to our hotel that night. They were so excited to be in the presence of Grace [Park], [Edward James Olmos'] Adama and Tricia Helfer, of course, that they wanted to hang out all night. You could tell they were genuine fans - It's the intelligence of the show that draws people in.

Battlestar Galactica spoiler seekers, take note: "I would lie before I gave something away," says Lucy Lawless, who will be reprising her role as the humanoid cylon (read: robot) D'Anna Biers in the sci-fi series' fourth and final season. "I'd make something really bogus up." Thanks for the heads up! Currently shooting the Adam Sandler comedy Bedtime Stories in Los Angeles, the 40-year-old Kiwi actress and cult star recently chatted with the Huffington Post about always playing the Big Bad, fooling around with Sandler's posse, and falling in line with the genius of Ron D. Moore.

HuffPo: Thanks for taking the time to do this.
Lucy Lawless: I hope it's worth it for you.

HP: Meaning you can't really talk about what happens this season?
LL: No, more like I can't really remember.

HP: So your arc was completely finished before the writers' strike?
LL: Yes. I finished right before the strike, and the rest of the cast and crew are back in production right now. Personally, I'm doing this movie with Adam Sandler. I'm playing the bad girl... again. I don't understand what it is that makes people want me to play bad; I guess I'm just good at it.

HP: Take it as a complement. How's the set?
LL: It's the most lighthearted set I've been on since Xena. These guys have made their workplace into their social life. Their life doesn't only start once they get away from work.

HP: Give us a one-line summary of the plot?
LL: Um....disinherited janitor tries to win back father's hotel and has to battle the wicked powers that be -- and I'm one of the wicked powers. The set-up is that Adam tells bedtime stories to his nephews and they come true during the day in fun and unexpected ways. Like a fantasy, sometimes you're in outer space, sometimes in a hotel.
HP: So it's the anti-Battlestar in tone, basically.

LL: It's a complete 180 from Battlestar. I'm so lucky that I get to do that - to do very naturalistic acting and take on heavy-duty situations on BSG and go and have crab claws on an Adam Sandler movie.

HP: Did you always know your character -- who was "boxed" in season 2 -- was coming back?
LL: No, I didn't know. I would only come and go as needed and as I was available, so I never counted on anything in particular. But I'm really happy and grateful my character was returned so elegantly. That's Ron Moore as a writer for you. Everything has a great elegance to it.

HP: Ron's actually directing his first episode as we speak.
LL: I know, it's so wonderful; I wish I were there, I have to say. It would be fun to be directed by him because he's so very intimately connected to every character. Ron lives and breathes
these characters and relationships. He and [co-executive producer] David [Eick] are Battlestar.

HP: So all of the cast knows who the final cylon is, definitively?
LL: I think we know. I can't remember though. I'm guessing, however, that David and Ron have had this in mind from the beginning.

HP: Maybe I'm watching for it, but the series seems to be getting a ton of extra press this time around.
LL: People love this show. It's amazing who are fans of the show. All those writers on Letterman? Amazing. This almost never happens, but all the writers on Letterman came back to our hotel that night. They were so excited to be in the presence of Grace [Park], [Edward James Olmos'] Adama and Tricia Helfer, of course, that they wanted to hang out all night. You could tell they were genuine fans - It's the intelligence of the show that draws people in.

HP: What did they want to talk about?
LL: They wanted to know who the Final Five were, but they didn't really. True Battlestar fans don't want spoilers and I would never tell anyway.

HP: Since you've been in so many series with cult followings, what do most fans recognize you from?
LL: These days, Xena and Battlestar might be even.

HP: BSG is a political series - are you a politics junkie yourself?
LL: You know, everyone's drawing political parallels, because the show deals with universal themes about humanity, including its more negative aspects, like xenophobia and ethnic cleansing. I'm sure that's intended by Ron Moore, but I'm not smart enough to see it. I'm not really seeing it as a political statement because I'm an outsider, but certainly, the current war is nourishing Ron's storytelling.

HP: What else are you working on?
LL: Well, I'm on Bedtime Stories for four months. It's all encompassing. Actually, today I got there early and they told me they wouldn't need me until after lunch. So I responded, "Oh, you'll see me," and went and put on this crazy wig and these crazy glasses and this ill-fitting outfit and went to play an extra. I had this cigarette in my hand, and everyone was going, "Who is this crazy, drugged-out woman?" Then security came and arrested me and I dissolved into this shrieking crazy woman. It's all for the B-roll, which should be interesting. There's always ways to keep busy on the set.

Battlestar Galactica begins its fourth and final season on the Sci-Fi Network on Friday, April 4.