GALACTICA SITREP

Caprica Poster

2009-11-16T15:20:00.001-08:00

Maureen Ryan of The Chicago Tribune unveiled the new Caprica poster, and reports on the latest Caprica news.

Law and Order SVU

2009-11-16T15:06:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, Saturday night, NBC reran a recent episode of Law and Order SVU, "Users" written by former BSG co-exec producer Michael Angeli (who now is a co-exec producer of Law and Order: Criminal Intent.) In case you missed the compelling episode, here's a two minute recap:

In the episode blogger iJustine portrayed the victim, and she posted several behind the scenes videos during filming on her YouTube channel (and her other one).

ETA, Mark Verheiden, another former co-exec producer of BSG, reports that he's co-written tonight's episode of Hereos.

Katee Sackhoff on Olmos Directing The Plan

2009-11-09T01:08:00.000-08:00

From the set of 24 Katee Sackhoff talked to The TV Addict about Edward James Olmos directing The Plan:

Bear McCreary details the music of The Plan on his blog.

In other very big Bear news, Bear's BSG music is finally showing up on iTunes, along with video content:

Best of all, there is (and will be even more) exclusive iTunes content available. First up, the world premiere music video and single of “Apocalypse (Theme from ‘The Plan’)” performed live by the Battlestar Galactica Orchestra in concert are now on iTunes.

This video captures all the energy and intensity of our live performances this summer. If you missed the shows, this is the next best thing.

Also, Mojo reviews the recent Stu Philips birthday tribute concert, that Bear contributed to. And check out Mojo revealing how to find the secret special BSG easter egg on the The Plan DVD and Blu-ray. Without revealing what the easter egg is, lets just say that if you watched the original BSG, I think you'll dig it.

Oh, and check out this out too, it's hilarious.

CAPRICA TV ads

2009-11-02T10:55:00.001-08:00

Lots of glimpses of new footage in these three TV ads from Syfy...

ETA: Hat tip to Pedda and CapricaTV for finding even more promo videos, including this one below that gives our first glimpse of James Marsters on the show.

The Plan Interviews

2009-10-31T13:53:00.001-07:00

Saturday Music

2009-10-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday in San Pedro, California, at the Warner Grand Theatre the music of Stu Philips will be performed by the Golden State Pops Orchestra, in honor of Stu's 80th birthday. Bear McCreary will be there to world premiere a new BSG composition, that former BSG FX artist Mojo got to experience at the rehearsal the other night:

As Bear mentioned in his blog, he’s written a completely new piece of music that combines elements from both the original series and reimagined version to create an ”ultimate Battlestar theme.” I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this, maybe a mish-mash of stuff we’ve heard before – but what Bear has done is far more than cut and paste – he’s created a BSG masterpiece.

It begins with his moving rendition of the ”Colonial Anthem” as heard in the second season episode “Final Cut,” (which gives me goosebumps every time I hear it), but then morphs into a swirling, mysterious and intense version of “Exploration” ( including the There Are Those Who Believe music). This version retains the familiar middle eastern flavor of the original, but amps it up to the level of Led Zeppelin’s ”Kashmir.” I don’t want to spoil where it goes from there, but suffice it to say that Bear has somehow managed to distill the entire series of Battlestar Galactica into one epic, violent, mysterious, melencholy and bittersweet piece of music.

Yes, I’m serious. All the emotion you felt while watching four years of Galactica are encapsulated in his new composition and the only time it’s every going to be played is this Saturday night by the Golden State Pops Orchestra (with members of Bear’s band) in San Pedro. You really have got to be there.

Buy your tickets here, for this exciting sci-fi music event to celebrate the work of Stu Philips.

Also, check out on Mojo's blog a CGI FX shot of a classic original BSG camera move showing the Galactica's launch pod.

And Bear McCreary reports that he's once again performing at the fourth and final Johnny “Vatos” Tribute to Halloween and Oingo Boingo, Thursday, October 29th at 8:00 PM The Grove of Anaheim.

The Plan: Reviewed

2009-10-22T13:11:00.001-07:00

Following up on the post below, reviews are coming in for Battlestar Galactica: The Plan. Bill Hunt, editor of The Digital Bits gives the film a B+ and highly recommends the Blu-Ray release. Ron Henriques for The Latino Review notes:

We were never actually told the details of the Cylons' ultimate plan to annihilate humanity when the series began. The made a dramatic reappearance after vanishing for forty years and with the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, nearly wiped out the human race. Now with this new film all is revealed. The story opens 281 days after the destruction of the colonies during the season one episode 'Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II' where Brother John Cavil (Dean Stockwell) has just been exposed as a Cylon by another model of himself. This is the story of two Cavil's: Fleet Cavil, who has infiltrated the surviving fleet as a minister, hoping to break it from the inside and Caprica Cavil, who gets involved with a group of resistance fighters led by Sam Anders (Michael Trucco) and begins to question whether the Cylon attack was justified. Flashing back two days before the attack we finally get to see the destruction in full detail (thanks in part to an increased visual effects budget).

Yet Battlestar Galactica is not about visual effects, but rather character and story. Graduating from supporting player to central character, Dean Stockwell puts in some brilliant work playing not one, but two versions of the same model. When revealed to be one of the final five in season four, Ellen Tigh (Kate Vernon) described him as a spoiled child, yet he is something far worse. Cavil yearns for mankind's destruction because they created the Cylons and though they are near perfect machines they are still limited. The final five are their creators as well yet no matter what they do as long as man survives they will love them more. We get to see exactly what each of the five were doing when the bombs dropped and how Cavil infiltrated the fleet and was responsible for many of the dilemmas throughout season one.

...If you are a fan of this series, both the blu-ray and dvd are highly recommended. This film will no doubt be edited down for length (and a surprising amount of sex and nudity) when it is broadcast next year so if you decide to wait, you may find yourself missing out.

Other reviews from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Eric Goldman for IGN, Chris Chiarella for Big Picture Sound, Kenneth Brown for Blu-ray.com, and Scott Chitwood for Coming Soon.net.

Check out stills from The Plan, here and here.

Win a copy of The Plan.

Also, you can win Dinner with the Admiral, just sign up at UGO for a chance to dine with Edward James Olmos.

Last Blast Till Caprica

2009-10-21T05:38:00.000-07:00

I just saw BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE PLAN, and truly enjoyed it.

There will be much more to say after the DVD and BluRay hit stores on October 27, but for now let me leave it at this: Anyone who ever felt intrigued by Cavil, Boomer, all the various *real* Sixes, and the other "minor" cylon models, will find plenty to enjoy in this film. Anders gets a surprising amount of screentime. There is a very enlightening moment with Leoben. As I hoped, we get a few memorable doses of this new Six. The Cavils -- and really, the cylons in general -- get the coda I always thought they deserved. It was big frakkin' fun to see great moments from seasons one and two woven in. Gods I didn't realize how much I missed you, BSG.

The whole film is cleverly reverse-engineered to keep asking that first question from the miniseries: "Are You Alive? Prove it."

ETA: warning - readers are posting spoilers in the comments on this post.

Sponsor Katee and Tricia

2009-10-16T01:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer are participating in AIDS Walk Los Angeles, Sunday October 18th.

Stu

2009-09-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

Former BSG FX dude Mojo reports on an exciting concert event coming to the Los Angeles area:

To help celebrate composer Stu Philips’ upcoming 80th birthday, Southern California’s most lavish movie palace, the Warner Grand, is throwing a party! Great music is a must if you really want to make a party swing, so the theater’s house band will be busting out extended suites from some of Stu’s most popular work, including the scores of Knight Rider, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Battlestar Galactica.

In this case, the “house band” is the Golden State Pops Orchestra, and the band leader will be none other than Mr. Philips himself!

Thats right, ladies and gentlemen – if you just happen to be in beautiful downtown San Pedro (less than an hour from Los Angeles) on Saturday, October 24th at 8pm, you’ll get to hear music from the original Battlestar Galactica performed with a full orchestra conducted by Stu Philips.

And if that’s not enough to make your BSG-loving head put a crack in the ceiling, Stu will be joined by special guest Bear McCreary, on hand to conduct a brand new, extended version of the Galactica theme being written especially for this event (Bear’s keeping mum on what exactly to expect from his new composition, but he did say it will include musical elements of both series).

Buy your tickets here.

Some of Stu's notable scores:

Mojo also notes the recent birthday of the original BSG.

CSI

2009-09-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

Former "Battlestar Galactica" writers David Weddle and Bradley Thompson wrote the "CSI" season premiere, which aired Thursday night on CBS:

Jamie Bamber on Dollhouse

2009-09-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

Jamie Bamber guest starred on the season 2 debut of Dollhouse on Fox joining his BSG co-star Tahmoh Penikett. Maureen Ryan reports that Michael Hogan will guest in the 3rd episode this season.

And Maureen Ryan expertly runs down everything that BSG cast members, writers, and directors are up to these days.

Mr. Monk and the Battlestar

2009-08-20T19:30:00.001-07:00

BSG fans should check out Monk Friday night on USA Network, as "Mr. Monk and The UFO" is written by Michael Angeli the writer of notable BSG eps such as The Son Also Rises, Six Degrees of Separation, Guess What's Coming to Dinner, Blood on The Scales, and the Emmy nominated Six of One.

Monk on USA Network – “Mr. Monk and The UFO” August ...
by USANetwork

In the episode, while driving back from a wedding outside of Reno, Nevada, Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) sees a UFO with his assistant Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard) when her car breaks down in the desert foothills. UFO enthusiasts descend on the small desert town where Monk and his assistant are staying while the car is being repaired. The Ufologists rabidly search for the landing site and in doing so, find the body of a murder victim. Monk is co-opted by the sheriff (Daniel Stern) to help solve the murder. The Ufologists begin to suspect Monk is an alien, and that he came in the UFO -- from Cylonia. There are a few other BSG references in the episode written by former Battlestar Galactica co-exec producer Michael Angeli.

"Mr. Monk and The UFO" Friday, August 21 at 9/8C on USA Network. Be there!

Going off topic for a sec...

2009-08-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I can go back to watching TV again starting tonight now that Mad Men Season 3 is about to debut:

For all kinds of great Mad Men info read the Basket of Kisses blog, the best MM blog around.

And check out Maureen Ryan's interview with series star Jon Hamm.

A great Simpsons parody of the MM opening credits.

Bryan Singer/big-screen BSG confirmed?

2009-08-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

The BBC is reporting that Variety is reporting that Bryan Singer is confirmed to direct a theatrical version of Battlestar Galactica.

Galactica fandom has been buzzing about this for since February, with much anxiety over whether the new film will take place in (a) the universe of The Original Series, (b) the Ron Moore universe, or (c) an all-new reboot universe. When the rumors started in February, all signs pointed to a Glen Larson/old school version; MTV News seems a little more optimistic that the film might not be a total object of contempt for addicts of the RDM version:

"The project is literally at ground zero right now. With Singer on board, now it's time to find a writer, figure out the course such a project might take. Might Ron Moore step in to deliver a script? Anything is possible."

So... what do we think? BSG fans, weigh in! Pretend our Comments field is going to be read by every executive and artist associated with the film. What do you want them to know?

Personally - speaking as BSG addict Sam J. Miller, and not as an objective Sitrep editor - I like Bryan Singer a lot (enough to forgive him for Superman Returns, which might be the most bored I've ever been at a movie). X-Men and X-2, in my opinion, were way smarter than the average big-budget action movie. His sensitivity to the outsider, to people who are considered monsters, seems to be a pretty good fit for the RDM version's commitment to humanizing the cylons and presenting complicated issues in an engaging way - and is in direct opposition to The Original Series' depiction of the cylons as inhuman and pure evil.

The fact that he's openly gay and has pretty blue eyes has nothing to do with it.

Honest. Nothing.

Edward James Olmos holds court

2009-08-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

Video Game - E3 2009 - Videos

EJO on G4 recently.

Also Olmos recently made a special appearance in Cleveland at the Screaming Tiki Convention where he participated in a panel discussion on Saturday. On Sunday he sat down with Jamie Ruby of MediaBlvd for an exclusive interview.

BSG: The Plan Box Art

2009-08-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

UGO provides the box art for the DVD and Blu-ray release of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From Universal Studios Home Entertainment:

Experience the Fight for Humanity's Survival
Through the Eyes of the Cylons for the First Time Ever In

Battlestar Galactica:
The Plan

Premieres Exclusively on Blu-ray Hi-Def,
DVD and Digital Download October 27, 2009

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., July 17 - Television's most thrilling science fiction adventure makes a stunning turnabout when Battlestar Galactica: The Plan debuts on Blu-ray Hi-Def and DVD on October 27, 2009 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. For the first time ever, fans can experience the uncut and uncensored story of humanity's futuristic fight for survival through the eyes of their deadly adversaries, the Cylons. This never-before-seen perspective of the Cylon plan reunites the series' original television cast, including Emmy Award winner Edward James Olmos (Stand and Deliver), Dean Stockwell (JAG), Tricia Helfer (Burn Notice), Grace Park (The Cleaner) and Callum Keith Rennie (Californication). Ronald D. Moore and David Eick return as executive producers.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan's executive producer and writer Jane Espenson added, "Edward James Olmos was our director on the movie, and he did an amazing job. He also shot some great footage that we are not able to show on TV, so I'm thrilled that viewers can experience it uncut as our director envisioned it."

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan includes the uncensored 90-minute feature and revealing bonus features that take viewers onto the set of the most unexpected twist ever in the intergalactic saga's history. Interactive features available exclusively on Blu-ray Hi-Def include the new Battlestar Galactica Trivia Game, as well as Universal's acclaimed U-CONTROL and BD-LIVE experience. With Blu-ray Hi-Def, viewers can enjoy Battlestar Galactica: The Plan's stunning visuals with perfect picture and the purest digital sound available.

During four spellbinding seasons on the SCI FI Channel (now Syfy), Battlestar Galactica's vivid reimagining of the classic television series earned a legion of devoted fans, as well as unfettered critical acclaim, and Emmy Awards for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in 2007 and 2008 and a Peabody Award in 2008. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is priced at $39.98 SRP on Blu-ray Hi-Def and $26.98 SRP on DVD.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE PLAN - BONUS FEATURES
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan on Blu-ray Hi-Def and DVD takes viewers deeper into the acclaimed space drama with exclusive bonus features, including:

* EXCLUSIVE TO Blu-ray Hi-Def:
o BD-LIVE: Access the BD-Live Center through your Internet-connected player to download more exclusive content, the latest trailers and more!
+ MY SCENES: Bookmark your favorite scenes from the movie.
+ BATTLESTAR GALACTICA TRIVIA: All-new trivia game.

* BONUS FEATURES (BLU-RAY HI-DEF and DVD):
o DELETED SCENES
o FROM ADMIRAL TO DIRECTOR: EDWARD JAMES OLMOS AND THE PLAN - A day-in-the-life with director and actor Edward James Olmos, as he tackles the most ambitious Battlestar Galactica production to date.
o THE CYLONS OF THE PLAN - Features interviews with the actors who play the film's key Cylons, including Dean Stockwell, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Trucco, Rick Worthy and Michael Bennett.
o THE CYLON ATTACK - This featurette takes viewers behind the scenes for the planning and execution of one of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan's major action sequences.
o BEHIND THE PLAN - An in-depth look at some stunning visual effects and the role post-production plays in bringing the world of Battlestar Galactica to life.
o FILMMAKER COMMENTARY

SYNOPSIS
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan: The Cylons began as humanity's robot servants. They rebelled, and evolved, and now they look like us. Their plan is simple: destroy the race that enslaved them. But when their devastating attack leaves human survivors, the Cylons have to improvise. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan tells the story of two powerful Cylon leaders, working separately, and their determination to finish the task.

An inspired, visually stunning reimagining of the 1978 series of the same name, Battlestar Galactica captured the imaginations of a new generation of fans with its gritty realism, compelling storylines and commanding performances. The show garnered numerous awards, including two Emmys and the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and was recognized by the American Film Institute (AFI) as one of the most outstanding television programs of the year for two years running. In March 2009, Battlestar Galactica's impassioned explorations of today's hot-button issues, including politics, terrorism, treatment of prisoners and religion, even inspired the United Nations to host a special panel to discuss the questions it has raised. The series is from Universal Cable Productions and is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE PLAN
Blu-ray Hi-Def
Street Date: October 27, 2009
Copyright: 2009 Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Price: $39.98
Running Time: 90 Minutes

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE PLAN
DVD
Street Date: October 27, 2009
Copyright: 2009 Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Price: $26.98
Running Time: 90 Minutes

TCA Awards

2009-08-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Battlestar Galactica for winning Program of the Year award at the Television Critics Association Awards held over the weekend in Pasadena, California.

Since Ron Moore was busy in Vancouver directing an episode of Caprica, so the award was accepted by Jane Espenson, with Michael Hogan, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Katee Sackhoff, and director Michael Rymer also present. Jane tweeted her thanks.

To keep up with the latest goings on at the TCA's read Mo Ryan's continuos reports on her blog and on Twitter. Mo is running all the voodoo down, just as she did at the recent San Diego Comic Con. (More on that later when I complete a round up of BSG/Caprica news that came out of Comic Con.)

Mo also reported that Michael Hogan will be guest appearing early in the second season of Dollhouse.

Harvey Frand

2009-07-30T21:51:00.001-07:00

Reuters and the Hollywood Reporter:

'Galactica' producer Harvey Frand dies at 68
Veteran's career began with Rock Hudson's final series

By Mike Barnes

July 29, 2009, 04:54 PM ET
Harvey Frand, an Emmy-winning producer who was the "man behind the curtain" on the Syfy hit "Battlestar Galactica," died July 23 in Los Angeles after a brief hospitalization for respiratory problems. He was 68.

Frand's series producing career began in 1982 with "The Devlin Connection," Rock Hudson's final series. Other credits include 34 episodes of the 1985-89 version of "The Twilight Zone"; "Beauty and the Beast"; "The Young Riders"; "The Lazarus Man"; "The Pretender"; and "Strange World." He produced more than 20 pilots and movies of the week.

Frand began on "Galactica" in 2003. For his work on the show, he earned a Peabody Award in 2005, an AFI Award in 2006 and an Emmy last year. This month, he was nominated for a second Emmy.

"Harvey was the Wizard of Oz, the man behind the curtain, the train engineer, the orchestra conductor, the school guidance counselor," NBC Universal executive Todd Sharp said. "He was adored by executive producers and production assistants, studio and network, cast and crew."

Added writer-producer Bradley Thompson: "In addition to finding a way to put every dime on the screen, he was an exceptional judge of material. He knew what we needed to tell our stories and never compromised on that. But he would constantly challenge us to find creative ways to make the piece work within the constraints of physical and financial reality.

"And if he felt we needed that something extra ... say a nuclear explosion or two ... to make the story play, he'd go to the mat to make it happen."

A native of Philadelphia, Frand began in television at NBC News. Later, as an executive at Warner Bros., he oversaw production on "Harry O," the 1973 series starring David Janssen. Frand went to San Diego to check in with the company and, because there was no on-sight producer, stayed to work with the cast and crew. After that, he was hooked on the role of producer.

Frand also produced the 1974-75 Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" starring Christopher Walken and Irene Worth, who won a best actress Tony for her performance.

Frand is survived by Bill Bowersock, his domestic partner of 32 years. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles' Alive Music Project.

Comic-Con 2009

2009-07-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

The beautiful madness of The Geek Prom, aka San Diego Comic-Con, began last night.

There is a ton of stuff going on that we BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and CAPRICA fans will enjoy hearing about soon enough...not to mention a ton of other things in film and television both. I'm sure a lot of fans who attend will leave their thoughts, photos, videos and love over at the siffy forums and the livejournal community.

A great frakkin tee shirt spotted at Comic Con Wednesday afternoon by own-the-sky

Our first look at Lucy Lawless rocking a red toga in her new TV series SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND

Digital Bits review of BSG: THE COMPLETE SERIES

2009-07-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Since this box set (and the BSG Season 4.5 box) are coming out Tuesday July 28th, there will be tons of reviews out there.

But I don't think anyone will give us TrueFans a better rundown of the extras and features of BSG: THE COMPLETE SERIES than Bill Hunt at The Digital Bits. This guy is just a big a fan as we are, and he knows exactly which fan extras we have been fed over the years, and which ones did and didn't make the cut for this huge box.

Bill is reviewing the Bluray, not the DVD, but much of what he says also can be applied to the DVD release. According to the press release earlier this summer, the Bluray is 4077 hours of content and the DVD is 4066 hours total.

A few quotes from Bill's review -

All the series' episodes, the Miniseries and the Razor 2-hour film are included on 20 BD-50 discs, along with over 70 hours with of bonus content. Note that virtually all of the extras from the previous DVDs are in standard 480p here, as they were before (generally presented in 16x9 widescreen). A few of the new featurettes (mostly on Season Four) are in full 1080p. It appears that the first disc of each season starts with the same, newly-shot HD video introduction by Ron Moore himself. He welcomes you to the set, and tells you why he thinks high-def is the way to really fully experience the series. In terms of the special features, most (but not quite all) of the previous DVD extras have carried over here, and there's new material as well. I'll note what's missing and what's new for Blu-ray as we go...

...Unfortunately, the 10-part Face of the Enemy webisode series is missing here for some unknown reason (possibly disc space). We've checked with Universal and the studio IS aware that people want it, so we're told that it will be made available on disc at some point in the future. We'll keep you up to date on this. Sadly, also missing is The Making of Battlestar Galactica: Razor featurette that was available exclusively on a Best Buy DVD bonus disc - that's a real shame because it's pretty great. So if you have that bonus disc, don't get rid of it.

A few other items are missing from the box set as a whole, though they were never available on DVD, including additional Sci-Fi.com blogs and some of the exclusive writer's room and "frak party" podcast commentaries. Also not here are most of the "recap" TV specials (Battlestar Galactica: The Story So Far, Battlestar Galactica: Revisited and Battlestar Galactica: The Phenomenon) and the two finale specials (Battlestar Galactica: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know and Battlestar Galactica: The Last Frakkin' Special). That's a bummer - especially The Last Frakkin' Special, which included a lot of great behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew on the end of the series. It would be great if Universal gathered all those specials up (including the two Lowdown specials that launched the series) along with The Face of the Enemy webisodes and released them on bonus disc of some sort (mail-in perhaps, or a BD-Live online reward?) to accompany this box set. Yeah, I know... unlikely. But still a good idea. A featurette on the show's special effects work (and team) would have been cool too, but what are you going to do? I do have to give the studio a LOT of credit for the new bonus content included for Blu-ray - ESPECIALLY the new deleted scenes and extended episodes. Even if you've seen the entire series as broadcast, the three extended episodes from Season Four essentially include more than an hour of new Battlestar that you haven't seen yet. That's a real treat - like rollin' the hard six!

...Among the new featurettes on Season Four, there are few standouts. The Journey Ends: The Arrival is a retrospective look back at the finale and the series as a whole, featuring the interview comments of many of the show's cast and crew. Evolution of a Cue and The Musicians Behind Daybreak cover the work of composer Bear McCreary - the latter is a very nice glimpse at the recording of the finale score with a full orchestra. The 5-part A Look Back covers a number of interesting aspects of the series, including Moore's original show "manifesto" (that convinced Olmos to join the cast), Richard Hatch's perspective on having been involved with BOTH Battlestar series, and the stylistic contributions of director Michael Rymer among other things. And for those of you eagerly awaiting the DVD and Blu-ray release of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, which will complete the series later this year (and will be broadcast on the newly rebranded SyFy in November), the ...And They Have a Plan featurette gives you a nice little taste of it.

...One other packaging note: Accessible via a clear plastic lid inset into the top of the case, is an empty space containing a toaster! Well... a replica Cylon Centurion figure at any rate - a nice touch. The figure itself is very nicely detailed and highly articulated too. Personally, I'm thinking about taking the figure out and setting him on my office shelf, then using the empty space to store other discs - the series' soundtrack CDs (from La La Land Records), those bonus DVDs I need to keep, and even DVD-R recordings of the missing content in paper sleeves. (What, like I wasn't going to record that stuff, knowing that it probably wouldn't be on the DVD/BD?! Yes... I am THAT much of a fan.)

So say we all, Bill!

READ IN FULL OVER AT DIGITAL BITS

Fanvid: Unnatural Selection

2009-07-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

An astounding BATTLESTAR GALACTICA-TERMINATOR mashup with ... Darwin's Origin of Species. By charmax.

May The Toast Be With You, Frakkers

2009-07-07T06:34:00.000-07:00

As we round the corner into the last few weeks before this year's San Diego Comic Con (which I will be covering on Twitter and at FanGrrl Magnet if you are interested), Wired announced something hilarious. Apparently the STAR WARS folks figured out a great new merch item for SDCC this year... and it looks vaguely familiar...

Says Wired:
It’ll be a surprise to precisely no one that Lucasfilm leads the vanguard of Comic-Con must-have gimmicks and gadgets. The marketing machine that put the action in action figures will introduce the Star Wars toaster at this year’s convention. The device turns every piece of toast over to the dark side — burning an image of everyone’s favorite Dark Lord of the Sith onto your Wonder-bread. Where else will you get a chance to smudge jam into Darth Vader’s grill?

Umm...the vanguard? LOL. Well, you know what they say about plagiarism, don't you. ;-)

Meanwhile, ~~SciFi~~ SyFy and NBC have announced that there are six special SDCC 09 swag items going on sale at the NBCU store, including a yet-to-be-announced CAPRICA item, this hilarious OFFICE Schrute Farms watch, a great CHUCK polo shirt...and a new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Frakkin Toaster with LED. See the demo vid below:

Keep an eye on NBCU's store blog and twitter feed for news of the SDCC item sale which begins soon.

EJO on The Plan

2009-07-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Edward James Olmos spoke to Collider at the recent Saturn Awards presentations.

Virtuality on Hulu

2009-06-27T18:39:00.001-07:00

The pilot of Virtuality is now on Hulu and on Fox On Demand.

Watch it! Virtuality was one of the best pilots I've seen in a while, written with deep intelligence and given depth with engaging characters. I found it gripping from the start all through the end. The characters are all interesting and mysterious -- you can see that there is more going on with them behind their eyes, in their inner lives.

Perfectly cast, a brilliant music score, and great direction from Peter Berg, the show was engaging all the way through.

So, check it out.