TVSquad

Now if you ask me, I'd say that former Defense Secretary Heller's quip on 24 this week -- "You're cursed Jack. Everything you touch, one way or another, ends up dead." -- was a throw-away line, not an overarching statement about Jack Bauer's entire existence.

But folks have been chattering throughout the blogosphere and wondering whether Heller has a point: Is Jack Bauer cursed?

Before the return of the Cylons, human civilization spanned twelve colonies (or thirteen, if you're superstitious and believe in Earth), but the Battlestar Galactica webisodes (reviewed for TVS by Jen Creer every Tuesday and Thursday) are strictly limited to viewing only by users with a United States ISP (or, internet address). Nope, not in the U.K. or elsewhere -- not even in Canada. That's the Tyranny of Digital Distance as Tama at Blogcritics.org calls it, who also charged the decision is "tantamount to a slap in the face to the very loyal fans in other countries."

What gives? The webisodes are meant to build anticipation for season three, and apparently for that reason, they're being shown only in the immediate run-up to the premiere date. And season three will begin later in other countries than in the United States.

Still, this will only drive non-U.S. fans to YouTube, where webisodes appear, then get taken down -- the usual YouTube hide-and-go-seek copyrighted-content cycle, in other words. Or it will drive fans to other methods to get them. All this over something that is free and meant to just promote the series and make fans happy and get them talking in the first place.