TVSquad

I'll have a longer post about the Sci Fi / Entertainment Weekly party early next week, but I wanted to post a couple of short interviews I was able to grab at the party first. I actually wasn't intending to interview anyone at this party, but since Rich had his handy recorder with him, I made a few choice picks from the red carpet while I had the chance.

First up: Tricia Helfer. With Battlestar Galactica finished filming, she's been busy in a guest-starring role on Burn Notice. Hell, this woman's on two shows I love and, come on, it's Tricia Helfer. I was the last person in line on the carpet, so I kept it short. She was extremely nice and open to talk to.

After a log day of being in Hall H and Ballroom 20, things started to come to an end for the busiest day of the 'Con with the Battlestar Galactica panel. Basically, if didn't already have your arse planted in a seat in Ballroom 20 for that panel, you weren't getting to see BSG. I'm either completely dedicated to the coverage for TV Squad or a complete fanboy for the show. I submit that I'm likely both.

I'm not going to post the full, detailed report yet, as Sci Fi has told me we'll have embeddable video to show you soon (here it is on SciFI.com). Seriously, there's no way I can put to justice the funny job that Kevin Smith did as moderator -- you have to see and hear it for yourself. I will, however, submit to you the highlights for now.

(S02E02) "Who's the puta now?" Me after Sophia revealed herself to Raul.

As I watch Michael have his meeting with Carla, I can't help but wonder what I would do in his situation. On the one hand, like Michael, I would really be obsessed with finding out who burned me and why. When you've been a spy as long as he has, it's impossible to let that kind of thing go.

On the other hand, Carla seems to be a good number of steps ahead of Michael at all times, so maybe the best thing to do is just follow her instructions and play by her rules until she finally comes across with the information. It's got to be damn frustrating to be outsmarted by her every time.

During the panels for the Sci Fi shows present at Comic-Con this year, we're being given a unique opportunity to have you, our readers, ask questions to the panelists. What shows are we attending and who will be there? Here's the rundown:

• Stargate: Atlantis (Joe Flanigan, Robert Picardo, Brad Wright, Jewel Staite, Chris Sanagustin)
• Sanctuary (Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood, Robin Dunne)
• Battlestar Galactica (Tricia Helfer, James Callis, Katee Sackhoff, Michael Trucco, Ron Moore, David Eick)
• Eureka (Colin Ferguson, Sallie Richardson-Whitfield , Joe Morton, Jamie Paglia, Charlie Craig, Tony Optican)
• Ghost Hunters (Robb Demarest)

Use the comment form below to submit your questions and we'll give the best ones to the moderator to ask. We'll post the answers to those questions and others as soon as we can get to a WiFi hotspot and post away. You've got until this Thursday morning to send in your questions, so ask away!

Remember when FOX signed that holding deal for Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer? Well, now they're using it. The former model, best known as every fanboy's synthetic fantasy via her portrayal of sympathetic Cylon "Number 6" on Sci Fi's reimagined Battlestar Galactica, Tricia Helfer has been cast in FOX's Inseparable. As it turns out she won't be playing a hot figment of anyone's imagination, though that would be a good use for the title.

Instead, she's been cast as a psychiatrist who works for the police department. How that will relate to Lloyd Owen's split personality hero/villain lead hasn't been made clear, but I'm guessing she'll be his psychiatrist. Would she find it weird that all of her male patients would only want to talk about their sexual fantasies with her?

"Here let me show you what I'm talking about, doctor. Why don't you get down on your knees and face me ... What do you mean that wouldn't be professional? I want to know what these yearnings mean. And can you undo that top button."

Tricia Helfer will be in good hands once her run with Battlestar Galactica is over which, as we all know, is coming up very soon. As part of her recently announced talent deal with Fox, Helfer will be appearing on USA's Burn Notice when it returns to the air this July (Fox produces the show). She will be playing Michael's handler for an uknown number of episodes. Hey, the more episodes the better if you ask me.

I just love it when two shows I love come together and involve the same people that make each show great. No, I don't mean a cross-over; with the exception of spin-offs, I usually hate cross-overs. When I see a director or actor I love head over to another show I love (or, in the case of a new show, one that sounds up my alley), it's magic. It's like when you switch jobs and and old co-worker friend comes with you. Except the whole part about hating the first job you left. OK that was a horrible analogy.

Tricia Helfer is hot. Really, really hot. She's also in demand as an actress now that Battlestar Galactica is coming to an end. Helfer just inked a one-year talent deal with Fox. The network will likely place her in a starring role in a drama within the next year.

While she's known to us as Six (or Caprica), it was her work in a pilot last season that got her noticed at Fox. She had a role in the drama pilot Them. Fox execs say that work, and her appearance in an indie flick called Walk All Over Me, won them over.

This is bittersweet news, really. Tricia Helfer is a spectacular actress and, on BSG, she has proven that her beauty is just secondary to her acting abilities. But BSG is such a smart, well-written show that anything else--especially some sort of procedural--seems beneath Helfer. I really hope Fox finds something to showcase her extraordinary talent. Otherwise, it's kind-of like seeing Nathan Fillion on Desperate Housewives. I'm happy that he's working, but sad that there isn't better stuff out there for him.

[via PopCandy]

So, you're sitting in front of your flat-screen, watching your Season Three DVD of Battlestar Galactica, in anticipation of the new season starting April 4th, and you happen to glance over at your 2-Slice stainless steel toaster. As you stare at your reflection in the gleaming metal you think 'Hey, if I put some flashing lights on the face of that toaster it would look like a Cylon's head. But, who in hell would be interested in seeing something like that other than myself?'

Funny you should think that, because someone is interested in seeing your creation. In fact, three someones in the form of Scifi.com, dvice.com, and Make magazine are willing to judge your work, along with others, to see who can mod or make a Cylon from scratch. If they like what you made they'll give you a chance to show your creation on the SCI FI Channel.

And you thought putting blinking lights on your toaster was stupid, didn't you?

(S03E20) First of all I want to thank everyone who attended the chat tonight during the episode. The room's still open for anyone who wants to hop in and discuss what went on (if I'm there, I go by 'TVSKeith'). I'm pretty sure there's plenty to talk about.

As I was watching the show tonight, and having read so many comments on this show here at TV Squad throughout the season, I realized there are going to be two main schools of thought here. One one side we'll have those who felt the trial was the most important piece of the episode, while the other will find it to be the haunting music, those who were driven by it and surprise ending. But of course if you've got any sense about you, you'll realize they're all important pieces to the puzzle.

I wanted to try something a little different tonight during the third season finale of Battlestar Galactica. Rather than do a liveblog, I thought I'd try a live chat during the show.

I'll have tonight's review post up at 10 PM Eastern time, though at first it will only have a link to a chat room where you can discuss the episode as it airs. Later in the night, I'll update the post with my review and possibly a few highlights from the chat (if I can pay attention to both at the same time!)

Hey, if this first chat's a success, we'll consider doing more of them. So make sure you drop on by!

(S03E19) Don't you sort of have a love-hate relationship with the final episodes of your favorite shows? There's the heightened anticipation of what's typically some of the best episodes of the season, while at the same time you get that disappointing feeling in your gut when you realize things are soon coming to an end. Two-part finales are cruel.

No early podcast this week, which is a good thing for purists who want to keep surprised as each episode airs.

(S02E16) The Supernatural team brought us something a little different this week. We got under way in much the same manner as we usually do for a monster of the week episode, but I don't think the episode ended up where most of us thought it was going. High marks for Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) in her heavily promoted guest starring role. Take away the blond wig and the red dress and she's a completely different woman.

(S03E18) Since Ron Moore's podcast came out a few days ago, I'll do a little bit of recap of what he said along with the review.

Something that Battlestar does well that has bothered me with some other shows is how, when we have a primary cast of characters amongst a much larger involved population, I'm not left wondering why more background cast doesn't come forward more often. There's a decent balance here. It makes sense why someone like Kara is so highly mourned and regarded, while some other pilots aren't so much. And when a background character comes forward, it's done at the right time and place where it fits.

(S03E17) There are shows that I watch where I can't stand when they rely too much on flashbacks to keep the story moving. Battlestar did this a bit too much in the previous two seasons, though they seem to be getting much smarter about it. This episode was one small example of that.

Now I'll say a bit of something that's spoilery if you haven't caught this episode. I'm a bit disappointed when the goings on outside the show - like casting and contracts - leads to strong hints to the fate of certain members of the cast. Then again, maybe only we nutcase fans of this show knew this information, while others are blissfully ignorant and surprised. Damn you!

(S03E14) Before I start on this episode, I want to update on something from the previous episode. When Baltar whispers something to Gaeta, Ron Moore says in his podcast that it was part of a sub-plot they had planned but seemingly scrapped, where Baltar was going to pin some killings of Saggitarons on Gaeta. Anyway, that seems to clear up what was going on there, but it still seems confusing if they're not following through with that sub-plot now.

As for the story this week, I have to say it was quite a snoozer. Look, I know not every episode has to advance things along plotwise significantly, but I'm just being honest here. I didn't much care for what was going on, and a big part of that might be that I find Helo to be one of the least interesting characters on the show.

Hey, at least we barely saw Starpollo this week.