cylon-related stories
Posted Oct 14th 2009 11:31AM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Reality Shows, Battlestar Galactica, Ask TV Squad, Reality-Free
The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column or in
TV Squad's APB Podcast. To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them at
asktvsquad@gmail.com.
This week, I answer questions about Battlestar Galactica, 30 Days, Trauma and how to find titles of songs that played in episodes.
Continue reading Ask TV Squad: Battlestar Galactica, 30 Days and more!
Posted Aug 15th 2009 9:04AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, OpEd, Battlestar Galactica, Reality-Free
There have already
been rumors, but we all know how studios have this annoying tendency to milk franchises until they're dead, and then milk them some more before the corpse gets too cold. Well, Universal seems to think that now that Ron Moore's operatic space war version of the show is done, now would be a great time for Bryan Singer to direct
yet another reboot of the
Battlestar Galactica franchise.
Singer is said to be a big fan of the original 70's series, but the supposedly $10 million dollar paycheck for Singer probably also has an effect on his directorial willingness. Despite the talent behind it, this reboot is a bad idea. Singer did
X-Men, but he also did
Superman Returns. Plus, too many reboots in too short a time would only be confusing to people.
Of course, this time creator Glen Larson is on board to produce. While it didn't turn out so bad last time Larson wasn't involved, not having him would be like remaking
Buffy without Joss Whedon.
Oh, wait.
Posted Jul 19th 2009 11:04AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV on DVD, OpEd, Battlestar Galactica, Reality-Free
One of the best parts of this job is the advance copies we get of television DVD sets. In short: Holy frak! The
final set of Battlestar Galactica episodes is awesome.
Minor spoilers follow...
There are those who liked the ending and those that didn't. I didn't like the lack of explanation of Kara's return from the dead and found the finale generally anti-climactic. But the series set a high standard and, overall, it's a minor complaint. In most ways, the series is perfect and far better than most of us deserve.
I'll give them this: the people who make the show know their audience ... that audience being nerds. Nerds like information. Hence, the DVD set is full of extras and special features. These include deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and extended versions of episodes, including the three-part finale, "Daybreak." And every episode (let me repeat that::
every episode) has podcast commentary by Ronald Moore.
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 - DVD review
Posted Jun 27th 2009 11:46AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Battlestar Galactica, Reality-Free
If you are, then you could potentially work for Bear McCreary, who wrote the theme to the new(er)
Battlestar Galactica and its spin-off
Caprica.
He's looking for a web designer to design a site for The Battlestar Galactica Orchestra.
I gotta hand it to the man for his cleverness. There are likely web designer rabid fans out there who would happily clean Bear McCreary's car with their tongue for a chance to have their name attached with any aspect of the franchise (hopefully they have some talent). I'm sure there will be a cyberspace line to help Mr. McCreary design his site and he doesn't have to pay a dime.
On the other hand, the winner of the contest gets some pretty cool one-of-a-kind
Battlestar Galactica merchandise (including the baton from the
BSG concert McCreary be conducting), so maybe everybody wins. If you want to create that clever idea of an entire orchestra of Cylon Centurions, now's your chance.
[via
Ain't It Cool]
Posted Jun 18th 2009 5:02PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Industry, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Casting, Reality-Free
You know what? I'm down with all the cast, er, cross-pollination that's going on in sci-fi TV these days. Especially if it means good actors can keep working after their previous shows were given the axe. Earlier today, we reported that Brian Austin Green, formerly of
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, is
joining Smallville for a two-episode arc. Now it looks like
Battlestar Galactica's Rick Worthy is in talks to join NBC's
Heroes.
On
BSG, Worthy played Simon, the Cylon famous for conducting icky experiments on Kara Thrace. He'll play telepath Matt Parkman's new partner, an experienced L.A. cop, on
Heroes when the show returns this fall. It's still unclear if Worthy's character will develop superpowers on the show, but something tells me he'll be more than just a normal cop before long. This is
Heroes were talking about, the show where
everyone gets superpowers.
Worthy is a sci-fi vet. He's appeared in everything from
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to
Dark Angel and
Stargate: SG-1. He'll be joining new
Heroes season four recruits Robert Knepper and Madelina Zima.
Posted Mar 21st 2009 12:19AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E20) "Frakkity, frak. Don't talk back." (Apologies to Lieber and Stoller)
After four years of some of the best and most adult sci-fi in the history of television,
Battlestar Galactica draws to a close with a bang and then a whimper, with an overall satisfying ending that was as morally complex as any episode in the series.
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak, Part 2 (series finale)
Posted Mar 14th 2009 12:45AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E19) You can tell that this show is approaching the end. Tonight's episode had the credits and chanting immediately after the "previously" montage and didn't even show scenes from tonight's episode during the final part of the opening. Plus, it was written by the same guy who wrote the original mini-series way back when. That's a telling sign.
Caprica City looks like a high-tech New York City. That was probably intentional.
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak, Part 1
Posted Mar 6th 2009 11:54PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E18) I know it's a little late in the game to make this sort of observation, what with the show having only two episodes left, but if I were to compare characters in this show to characters in
Gilligan's Island, I would say that Six is Ginger, Eight is Mary Ann and President Roslin is Mrs. Howell. Adama would naturally be the Skipper and Tigh would be Gilligan. I'm still working on Mr. Howell and the Professor.
In the beginning of the episode, either in someone's fantasy or projection or reality, Hera is moving the Galactica in a position next to the enemy Cylon fleet. Foreshadowing?
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica: Islanded in a Stream of Stars
Posted Feb 28th 2009 4:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E17) Before I go all spoilery on tonight's episode, what was the tattoo on Starbuck's back? It looked like a temple of some sort. Was it the Temple of Five?
Tonight's episode had its share of "what the frak" moments. It had some revelations, but it created more mystery than it solved. I was a little annoyed at the tease of learning the secret behind Starbuck's resurrection that ultimately didn't happen.
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica: Someone to Watch Over Me
Posted Feb 21st 2009 1:14PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, TV on the Bigscreen, Battlestar Galactica, Reality-Free
Before you get excited about the title, I should add that Universal is not talking to Ron Moore or David Eick or anybody behind the current incarnation of the series (or its prequel,
Caprica). Instead, the studio is
quietly approaching original creator Glen A. Larson about a complete, modern revamp of the series for the movie screens.
I'm left scratching my head on this one. Do we need another series revamp so soon after this series? Wouldn't that confuse casual viewers, particularly those that may start watching
Caprica? Also, while I appreciate involving the creator in the concept, Larson hasn't been a big influence in television since the 80's.
I'm wondering if the studio went to Moore and company for a big-screen adaption and they said "no", so they went to Larson. The original pilot of
Battlestar Galactica was first released as a movie. That could have been a factor in that choice.
Of course, this is all just rumor for now.
Posted Feb 21st 2009 3:03AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E16) We've reached "The Final Five" on a few levels. Ellen Tigh is back, and it's good to know that despite being part of a species with a potentially infinite lifespan, she still gets jealous when her husband has a baby with someone else.
The minute Ellen came back, I knew the baby would miscarry. I believe it was Tigh, as one of the Cylon progenitors, that was keeping the unborn Liam alive (if the Cylons do in fact need love to survive). Once Ellen came back, it caused conflicting feelings and the baby was done for. I wonder if Caprica Six will try to exact revenge as a result and we'll see a Cylon catfight.
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock
Posted Feb 14th 2009 1:46AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E05) Like so many TV shows before it (such as
24),
Battlestar Galactica is built on those "what the frak" moments in which the revelations continue to astound us. Between those WTF moments, there has to be some sort of explanation as to why the moment happened and the events leading to those moments. They're not as much fun, and rabid fanboys have a tendency to nitpick the frak out of them, but they're necessary to the narrative. Tonight's episode was heavy on exposition and light on WTF.
Obviously, we learned that Ellen Tigh resurrected (no surprise there) and she was apparently in charge of the project from 2000 years ago which created the human-style Cylon race. I didn't even catch all of the explanation. The following is what I did understand:
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica: No Exit
Posted Feb 7th 2009 12:52AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E14) It is impossible to have a bad episode of
Battlestar Galactica. Even a bad episode is better than most of the other crap on TV. Fortunately, this was the opposite of a bad episode.
Obviously, there was no question about how this entire coup was going to end. Our heroes have way too much spunk to let little worms like Gaeta and Zarek control their ship for long. This is actually a rare case on the show of a neat wrap-up of a plot-line (and since we only have six episodes left, we'll probably see more wrap-ups, some of which might be neat).
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica: Blood on the Scales
Posted Jan 31st 2009 3:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E13) Galactica, Frak yeah!
Coming again to save the mother-frakkin' day, yeah!
Galactica, Frak yeah!
Frakkin' is 'bout all we say, yeah!*
*With apologies to Trey Parker and Matt Stone
This was an excellent episode. While the whole "coup d'état" storyline has been done before (if memory serves, the last one was lead by Bill Adama himself), this was done in with more grace and subtlety. The experience was very much like an Alfred Hitchcock movie. The audience knew exactly what was happening while the characters didn't. I was practically yelling at the screen "Gaeta is committing treason! Why haven't you figured it out?"
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica: The Oath
Posted Jan 17th 2009 3:16AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E11) Note: technically the
Razor television movie counts as the first two episodes of the season, so this is actually episode 13. And what an episode it was! It answered the biggest question from the viewers and in the process created a few more.
FYI, the episode title is taken from the folk song
"Goodnight, Irene", which pretty much fits the theme of the episode.
I really liked Mary McDonnell's acting in this episode. I felt heartbroken at her breakdown upon discovering the remains of Earth and her inability to share the information with the fleet. Whenever things get bad, at least we're not on the run from homicidal machines with our last great hope for sanctuary a radioactive wasteland.
On to the spoilery bits!
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica: Sometimes a Great Notion
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