TVSquad

Good news everyone. It seems that this whole movie thing is working out quite nicely for the folks over at Sci Fi. Executive VP of original programming for Sci Fi, Mark Stern, now also counts himself as co-head of the newly formed Universal Cable Productions. Why should we care? Because at the end of the day that means a little more Battlestar Galactica.

The success of Razor is a big part of this. Stern describes it as doing "phenomenally well in the international and DVD market." It's led to a whole new way of financing and creating entertainment for the network. The new Battlestar project will air after the series completes its run next year. Edward James Olmos is on board to direct, and he'll have a script by Jane Espenson to work with. Both nice choices. Casting is still up in the air at the moment. So far, Michael Trucco (Anders), Aaron Douglas (Tyrol), and Dean Stockwell (Cavil) are confirmed.

The story is prequel-esque. It goes back to just after the Cylon destruction of human home worlds. We'll follow the Cylons as they deal with human survivors, aboard ships as well as on planets. There is also a hint that the movie will focus specifically on two of the Cylon agents.

Now that the show is over (for the time being), Ronald D. Moore got back with releasing podcasts this week. However, he seems to have skipped a couple in the middle.

As I've done in the past, I'll just summarize some of what I thought were the more interesting parts of the podcasts. If you're interested in learning more about Moore's insights and details about each episode, you really should take the time to listen to the podcasts yourself. Now if only someone could sync up these podcasts with the Hulu videos, that would be awesome.

Here are the highlights ...

Every fan of Buffy has his or her own favorite main character (or characters). But what of the merely recurring characters? You've got Halfrek, the Vengeance Demon (sorry ... "Justice Demon"), Amy the witch/rat and Mr. Trick, to name a few. But there's one character who's always fascinated me, a character with a long, dark and mysterious past filled with magic, mayhem and chaos. I speak, of course, about Rupert "Ripper" Giles' mate from the old days, Ethan Rayne.

Get ready for many, many Friday nights of having to find something better to do than sit in front of television to watch Battlestar Galactica. You could always dig into your past-season DVDs to reminisce on what's happened before ("and will happen again?") or simply watch BSG online. There's also the unimaginable: spending time with friends and loved ones, stepping out of the house or, gods forbid, getting some extra sleep.

While we all think of what to do with that extra hour we have every week, let's go over a few things going on since last week's mid-season finale.

(Warning! If you haven't watched the latest episode of BSG yet, thar be spoilers ahead!)

After last Friday's episode, a lot of us had questions about what we saw. Was that Earth? Are humans and cylons really bonded together, after all this time? Who is the final cylon? I finally took the time to throw a slew of questions toward writer and co-executive producer Jane Espenson about this episode, and she had a few things to say (though nothing quite as revealing as I had hoped).

Rather than get into what I had to say, I'll let her letter back to me speak on its own. As you'll quickly see, she's not a woman of few words when it comes to this show. I'm hoping she'll have just as much to spill when I ask her questions for our Buffy Retro Squad week next week.

Early last month I posted a casting call sheet for the upcoming Battlestar Galactica prequel show, Caprica. In that list was a call for Amanda Graystone, a "surgeon with a volatile streak to her" who is "something of a double agent." Well, you can scratch that one off the list of openings, as Paula Malcomson (Trixie of Deadwood and Jerri of John From Cincinnati) has been cast in the role.

My interest in Caprica hinges on how Battlestar Galactica concludes; will I really want to know more about how it all began? I could see them putting us in a place that has us craving for more, though it's likely Caprica is meant to stand on its own and without having to follow too many rules set by the BSG events. Hopefully I'm wrong.

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• NBC is moving Life to Mondays at 10...at least temporarily.
• Jane Espenson on writing comedy and drama for television.
• The script for every single Kitchen Nightmares that will ever be made.
• TV and film execs are worried about these things called "books."
• Nancy Grace is out of the hospital.
• Stephen Colbert is the Comedy Rambo.
• Salon names Mad Men's Jon Hamm the Sexiest Man Alive (not dead).
• Mo Rocca, Kyle MacLachlan, John Gibson, and Leonard Nimoy are Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians.

(S03E16) I have to be honest, I have no experience at all with unions, how they work or what it's like being involved in one. Even so, it wasn't difficult to feel something for workers who'd have to endure what the Tylium crew had to deal with for so long.

Usually an episode like this would leave me well disappointed, as there wasn't anything significantly advancing the story. I realize now, with the help of several commenters, that it's episodes like this that are working to help us get a deeper understanding of what's going on with the humans on these ships and especially with the main players.

Conventional wisdom has become official word. Andy Barker P.I., the half-hour comedy starring Andy Richter and produced by Conan O'Brien, will make its broadcast debut on Thursday, March 15th at 9:30 on NBC. That's 30 Rock's time slot, but they'll be back after a five week run of Andy. In addition to Andy Richter, the show stars Tony Hale - Buster of Arrested Development fame. Writer Jane Espenson, who announced the show's premiere date on her website, also revealed that Amy Sedaris will be stopping by for a guest stint.

I had a chance to sit down and read the Andy Barker pilot script last week, and I'm happy to report that this is charming, Richter-esque comedy. It's stylized, understated and a touch absurdist - the fancy word for goofy. It's firmly in the Lookwell school, the failed P.I. pilot produced by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel in the early 90s. You can check out Lookwell on YouTube while you wait for Andy Barker's March 15th debut.

To me, Jeopardy! is the quintessential game show. At the end of a game, I walk away with a sense of awe that those three people could truly have the brains to retain such an amazing amount of information, then be put in front of millions of people to blurt pieces of it out on demand and faster than two other people -- in the form of a question, to boot. I'd often wonder how one could possibly prepare to be faced with that kind of pressure and what kind of unfathomable studying one would have to do to qualify for that show, never mind actually win. Several times.

Jane Espenson, who as some of you know has been extremely courteous enough to give her insights into her recent writings for Battlestar Galactica, sent me a copy of a book that opened my mind to the world of one very successful contestant on the greatest game show in the world, Bob Harris. That book is Prisoner of Trebekistan.

Had enough of my talking to Jane Espenson yet? Well then you're in luck (and for the rest of you, too bad!) After Friday's episode of Battlestar Galactica, I sent off a few of my own questions Jane's way, and she sent me answers faster than an FTL jump. And speaking of jumping, you can check out my questions and Jane's answers after the jump below. I have a feeling may die-hard BSG fans will be analyzing Jane's answer to my question on new Cylons pretty closely.

(S03E10) I have to ask -- why isn't anyone getting on Apollo for the short rations? It wasn't that long ago that he was a fat tub, and it's not like he was feasting on New Caprican grub. Can you imagine the thrashing he'd be taking if he was still fat? Alright, so it's a nitpicky point to bring up, but I know there are others of you who were a bit bothered that Apollo so easily lost all those stones of weight so quickly.

(By the way, check out writer Jane Espenson's answers to your questions regarding her experience writing this episode. I'll be asking a few more questions myself after tonight.)

I can't begin to thank Jane enough for taking time out to answer some of your questions regarding the Battlestar Galactica episode she wrote for this Friday: 'The Passage'. It's likely I'll have more questions to ask once we've all been able to watch it, and if you've got any of your own then, be sure to ask them in the comments of my episode review Friday night/Saturday morning.

Read on after the jump for your questions and Jane's responses!

Jane Espenson has penned scripts for some of my favorite TV shows of all time. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Angel. Firefly. Not to mention other outstanding shows I don't watch personally, like Gilmore Girls, The O.C. and Tru Calling.

Now Jane's diving right into another one of my all-time favorite shows, having written the next episode of Battlestar Galactica. I've got this great opportunity to pick Jane Espenson's brain about her thoughts on this next episode, and I only thought it fitting to ask my fellow dedicated fans of the show for questions. Got anything you'd like to ask Jane regarding the next episode? Ask away in the comments below and I'll forward the best questions off to her later today. I'll also take questions after the episode airs, since you might have more pressing questions once you've seen it.

Check back on the Battlestar Galactica category here later this week for her answers.

Most of my Thanksgiving memories are informed by television - the Macy's Parade, bowl games, Charlie Brown's popcorn and toast dinner, etc. With that in mind, celebrating television during the holiday season isn't as far-fetched an endeavor as I might be inclined to think. So, here's what I came up with when I counted my TV blessings instead of sheep:

Tim Gunn
Thank you, Tim Gunn, for adding a little decorum to the proceedings that are reality television. Tim Gunn is proof that you can retain your dignity and appear on television simultaneously. Gunn's ability to be critical, but not cruel is a downright anomaly in today's televised competition landscape. He's also given us a mantra that can't be beat in these days of whiny, extended adolescences - "Make it work."