From Jan. 16-18, in Pasadena, a series of auctions will be held to sell off pieces of television history.

OK, that may be a bit overwrought, but the Sci Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica series is one of the finest ever to grace the small screen.

It’s coming to an end with its final ever 10 episodes starting in January, when to coincide with it, props, set pieces and costumes are being auctioned off.

Among the items to be auctioned off:

A life-size Viper
A Cylon raider
Admiral Adama’s duty blue uniform
Apollo’s Viper flight suit
Caprica Six’s red dress (hold yourself back, boys!)
Consoles from the CIC
The Arrow of Apollo
Admiral Adama’s painting of the first Cylon war
Colonel Saul Tigh’s eye patch and liquor bottle
President Laura Roslin’s desk
Original production sketches
Set plans and drawings

• Preview Day – Friday, January 16, 2009 – Pasadena Convention Center (Doors open at 10:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m) (Panel schedule to be announced at another date).
• Live Auction Day – Saturday, January 17, 2009 (Doors open at 8:00 a.m. Auction begins at 9:00 a.m.).
• Live Auction Day – Sunday, January 18, 2009 (Doors open at 9:00 a.m. Auction begins at 10:00 a.m.).
• Online Auction of 200 Items – Tuesday, January 20 (Auction goes live at 9:00 a.m. (ET) and will conclude Friday, January 23, starting at 9:00 p.m. (ET).
• First of Several Weekly Online Auctions – Beginning on Friday, January 23, weekly online auctions on eBay begin at 9:00 p.m. (ET).

Sigh. I want the viper. And the raider. And, in the old days, Six’s red dress, but these days that would just be scary on me.

Maybe I’ll settle for the eyepatch and booze bottle.

Photos courtesy of NBC Universal.

Picking up from last June’s jarring cliffhanger – the Colonial fleet and their new Cylon allies led by Admiral Adama and the Galactica crew discover Earth to find it a barren nuclear wasteland – the finale season promises to be rife with drama, action and revelation.

Honestly, I can’t frakkin’ wait.

And “So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival” also will return in January, on the 20th.

I’m not going to go crazy cheearleading this move. It was dumb to split like they did a year ago. Now they’re back together. Big whoop. I can’t tell you how much money I saved since then. It was such an anti-customer feud that I’m loath to even give the reunion much free publicity.

But then there is a bright side: freebies. Go to iTunes now and you can download free episodes of several shows in both standard and HiDef versions, which are now available for $2.99 – a complete rip-off if you ask me.

I grabbed every one that interested me, and I didn’t spend a penny on anything else while I was there.

Here’s the first link from a reputable outlet that I came across, if you’re curious about the details. Don’t look for any apologies there, though.

The SciFi Channel has said rumors to the contrary, that BSG wouldn’t be back until April with the final episodes of Season 4, were “inaccurate.”

The reports are erroneous, the channel confirmed to SCI FI Wire. “It is still slated to return January 2009,” a spokesman for the channel said.

Yet the Sci Fi network has decided to torture both the cast of BSG and its fans by first dividing its fourth and final season in half and then by not even scheduling the second frakkin’ half of the season!!!!!

As Apollo and Starbuck might have said in the series’ first incarnation: Felgercarb!

At Dragon-Con ‘08 this weekend, Aaron Douglas (Gaelin “I’m a Cylon? No way!” Tyrol), got big applause when he opined “and the Sci Fi Network sucks,” in talking about how the networks seems to have totally blown off its biggest (and most critically acclaimed) hit.

Douglas said no one’s been told when the final 12 episodes of the season might air, though it might be as late as April.

Michael (Col. Saul Tigh) Hogan, Richard (Tom Zarek this time around, Apollo in the 1970s) Hatch and James (Gaius Baltar) Callis seemed to feel similarly to their castmate, and even Edward James (Adm. Adama) Olmos needled the network.

Here’s the only info I’ve heard about the finale, and if anyone says I needed a spoiler alert for this, they’re insane:

The series finale is said to be a tear-jerker, according to science adviser/consultant, Kevin Grazier.

“I don’t know anyone who hasn’t cried after reading the final episode script,” Grazier said.

Directed by Edward James “Adm. Adama” Olmos and written by Jane Espenson (a sometime BSG writer and one of the brains behind Buffy), it will be a two-hour special on Sci Fi that’ll air sometime in 2009.

Doesn’t have a name yet, but three cast members have been confirmed: Michael Trucco, the onetime human freedom fighter now confirmed Cylon Sam Anders; Aaron Douglas, the now-former crew chief and stunned into baldness hidden Cylon Gaelyn Tyrol; and Dean Stockwell, the pretend-priest Cavil Cylon model No. 1. Some of the female regulars on the series also are being cast, it’s promised.

According to the LATimes:

The stand-alone will document the Cylons’ attempts—those of two agents in particular—to grapple with human survivors, both those aboard ships and those left alive on planets, shortly after the Cylons’ destruction of human home worlds.

Olmos has directed four episodes of BSG: Season 1 episode Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down, Season 3’s “Taking a Break from All Your Worries” and Season 4’s “Escape Velocity.” His fourth is Episode 20 of Season 4, the name of which has yet to be released.

Espenson’s written four episodes: Season 3’s “The Passage” and “Dirty Hands” and Season 4’s “Escape Velocity” (bodes well for the telemovie, no?) and absolutely stunningly excellent “The Hub.”

Excited yet?

Photo courtesy of NBC Universal – and, yes, it’s from “Escape Velocity.” Couldn’t help myself. 

Me, I’m rewatching 30 Rock Season One and the new season of Weeds now that Battlestar Galactica has gone incognito for 2008. The Office webisodes premiere July 10, but that’s only three minutes a week, roughly. It’ll take some planning and creativity to fill in the many blanks in my viewing schedule.

One way I’ll do that will be to gear up for the second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles by rewatching the short first season. And I can do that easily  by tuning in to the Terminator marathon Fox has planned.

Starting Aug. 10, the network will replay the nine-episode season in order. If you caught it the first time, this will be a great chance to brush up. If you missed the first go-round, here’s your chance to jump on the bandwagon of a fun and tense show.

The funky schedule, according to TVGuide.com, goes like this:

Sunday, Aug. 10: “Pilot”
Monday, Aug. 11: “Gnothi Seauton”
Tuesday, Aug. 12: “The Turk”
Wednesday, Aug. 13: “Heavy Metal”
Sunday, Aug. 17: “Queen’s Gambit”
Monday, Aug. 18: “Dungeons and Dragons”
Tuesday, Aug. 19: “The Demon Hand”
Wednesday, Aug. 20: “Vick’s Chip”
Sunday, Aug. 24: “What He Beheld”

That takes care of the second and third weeks of August, but I’ve got to keep scrambling until then.

By the way, this made me laugh. Click the pic then just lean back and soak up the weird. Hard to believe that guy kills terminators today.

So, sadly, this is the final So Say We All blog carnival of 2008. Sigh. This half-season went waaaay too fast, but at least it had an incredible ending.

I have more to ponder about last week’s amazing mid-season finale, but I’m not quite sure what I want to say about it yet, so I’ll just get right to this week’s submissions.

First off, as usual, we have David Bird’s now-weekly blast from the (not-so-distant) past, reminding us what came immediately before, in his recap, Galatica Log: The Hub, posted at David Bird.

Norman Doering, of course, gives us a YouTube look at Charlton Heston on a beach yelling at a ruined Statue of Liberty, but also talks about how he hopes this isn’t just another plain ol’ humans aren’t deserving of their existence because they always try to play God morality plays, in You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you! Damn you all to hell! posted at A Blog from Hell. He also pointed out that at least one person appears to be smiling on the ruined shell of Earth.

We welcome back Myles McNutt, who brings us a very thoughtful analysis of both Revelations and of the remaining questions yet to be answered, in (Mid) Season Finale: Battlestar Galactica – “Revelations,” posted at Cultural Learnings. Read all the way to the end to find out how you, too, can make your hat at least 10x cooler.

Paul Levinson wonders, “Earth: ruined: our past, our future, or what other relationship to we who are watching Battlestar Galactica on this planet?” in Battlestar Galactica 4.10: Earth, posted at Paul Levinson’s Infinite Regress.

MaryAnn Johanson joins the many who was relieved there was no ruined Lady Liberty amongst the temple ruins on Earth, but wonders, exactly, what Earth this is, and, perhaps more importantly, when? Check it out at ‘Battlestar Galactica’ blogging: “Revelations” posted at FlickFilosopher.com.

Ms. Smarty Pants realizes just how attached to these characters she’s become and sets up a good list of issues still to be resolved, in Twelve Questions for 2009, posted at Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All.

Roberta gives us the “best ofs” for the episode, including the best quote (you’ll just have to go there, because I won’t spoil it for her, but she’s right) in BSG – Revelations Ruminations | CouchSlobs – A Monument To Human Idleness posted at CouchSlobs – A Monument To Human Idleness. Plus, she totally agrees with my latest theory, so Roberta rocks.

Finally, check out this totally cool panorama of the ruined Earth that someone spent altogether too much time doing. But I’m glad he did.

That’s it for 2008. So Say We all will return in January (or whenever they decide to air these remaining episodes). Though we might do a special guest carnival if the rumored movie or movies comes to pass (check out this article by Maureen Ryan of Chicago Tribune for more info on that).

Not sure what, if any, carnival we’ll do over the summer here on Remote Access. Past editions can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Mind. Blown.

We have to wait another six months, minimum, for the rest of this story?

Who saw them reaching Earth now?

A nuclear wasteland.

All this has happened before and all this will happen again.

Obvious now: Cylons and humans, once, long ago, slaughtered each other in a nuclear confrontation on Earth.

Some Cylons, and some humans, made it across the galaxy, only for it all to play out again. Or the humans already were across the galaxy, and the Cylons sought them out, to forge a new alliance that would reconcile the two peoples?

Yes, we know that in the Caprica prequel, Cylons are created by the humans.

But what if that happened totally independently?

All this has happened before and all this will happen again.

And what if the new skinjob Cylons were created by the ancient Cylons? Thus the raiders and centurions being aware of the Final Four, while the skinjobs could only sense them and were programmed not to be aware of them?

And they were programmed by the ancient skinjobs. Who somehow were programmed not to know themselves, or programmed themselves not to know themselves, or the Final One programmed them not to know themselves?

This is why the Cylons believe in the one God; the Earth, when it was destroyed, was primarily monotheistic.

Kara is the harbinger of death because she was the one (why?) who led them to a dead world.

I have more to ponder. But this was utterly amazing, astounding and compelling.

And Moore and Eick are brilliant. Just a couple hours ago, I was obsessing over who the Final Cylon is.

That’s almost besides the point now. They did probably the only thing they could do that could make me not freak out about having to wait six months to find out the identity of the Final One.

I refuse to read any articles about the screening, because if this is the last BSG I’m going to have for a while, I want it to be fresh. The clip I posted earlier today is the most spoiling I’ll allow myself.

But I had to read and post on this: show co-creator Ronald D. Moore told TVGuide.com at this event that the rest of Season 4 won’t air until after “the first of the year.” At best.

... even though they are currently filming the series’ final scenes, the “practical realities” of post-production — coupled with the formidable end-of-year competition presented by new fall series, baseball and football — places the onset of the final episodes at the start of 2009, at the earliest. “Realistically, there’s no way to get back on the air faster,” he apologetically added.

Photo courtesy of NBC Universal. 

Here’s the preview of “Revelations” that’ll make you wish it already was tomorrow night:

Download:

And here’s some tidbits I gathered throughout the week:

• On TVGuide.com, Jane Espenson answers some questions from fans. Here’s a couple of tidbits:

What happened to Boomer after D’Anna killed Cavil? Did she escape?
Espenson: She certainly would’ve had time to. Heck, there was even time for Cavil to download, I suppose. Huh. How ‘bout that.

What is the “Goo-Bath” made of?
Espenson: Oh, I asked that too, and now I forget. It comes in big buckets and they heat it up and you can’t get it in your eyes. That’s all I remember. It’s also, mercifully, odorless.

... McCreary was in Vancouver, on the set for the final episodes of “Galactica.” Sworn to secrecy about details, he allowed only that he was supervising a “musically intensive” sequence that involved the actors and his music being performed on-camera. “It’s the most daring use of music in a TV show that, maybe, has ever been tried. It’s going to redefine the role that a score can play.”

• Finally, the NVISION 08 conference, a “visual computing event,” has snagged Tricia Helfer as a guest speaker. Rob Csongor, vice president of corporate marketing for NVIDIA, which is sponsoring the conference:

As an actress in the 21st century, she is an iconic example of how visual computing is transforming the television, film, and entertainment industries. She interacts with both real and virtual characters, and real and virtual sets, in award-winning television dramas as well as video games. Our NVISION 08 attendees will have the special opportunity to hear and see through the eyes of Tricia how story making and entertainment have become stunningly realistic and engaging through the use of visual computing technology.

Photo courtesy of NBC Universal.

An excellent penultimate episode of the first half of the last season. Wow. That was a mouthful.

Yes, I am extremely sad to say, this Friday’s episode, Revelations, is the mid-season finale. No word yet on when the second half will be aired, but conventional wisdom has it at next spring. I might have an aneurysm before then.

I don’t even know if we’ll find out the Final Cylon before the break. I don’t believe we will.

OK, I’ll stop blabbing now and share with you the carnival entries:

First off, David Bird gives us his usual blast from the past, looking back at the previous episode, reminding us how we ended up with Adama sitting in a raptor, waiting for Roslin to appear, in Galatica Log: Sine Qua Non, posted at David Bird.

MaryAnn Johanson focuses first on the funny, then on the not-so-funny, in ‘Battlestar Galactica’ blogging: “The Hub” posted at FlickFilosopher.com. I’m glad she starts out with the utterly insane way Baltar and Roslin are trying to talk to and reason with the hybrid, as I kind of glossed over that in my original post. And then bickering with each other over who’s more pathetic in attempts to talk to it/her. Classic, brilliant BSG humor, as was Baltar’s preaching to the Centurion, which I did talk about.

Paul Levinson is glad that Adama and Roslin finally get over themselves and their positions, saying, the “last scene of this episode is the best scene of this season, so far,” in Battlestar Galactica 4: Finally, Bill and Laura posted at Paul Levinson’s Infinite Regress.

Ms. Smarty Pants analyzes how the writer from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Gilmore Girls managed to make the episode her own without losing what makes BSG, BSG, in The Jane Espenson Touch posted at Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All. M. is right – the Emmy voters should be paying attention.

Norman Doering has a fascinating post: Baltar’s confession posted at A Blog from Hell. He says, “John Hagee would have to agree with Baltar, the concept of an omniscient and omnipotent God is a good way to absolve all guilt for any action.” And Norm’s right: The episode kicked butt in large part because there was a healthy helping of Gaius Baltar.

That’s all for this week. Come back next week for the final carnival of the first half of the final season. Sigh. You can submit a post using the carnival submission form and past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

And check back later this week, when I’ll have a roundup of BSG news and, hopefully, a sneak peek at “Revelations.”

Photo courtesy of NBC Universal.

Waiting for days in his raptor, just floating out in space and determined not to give up on his lady love, Bill Adama not only is proved right but also is told he is loved.

How very un-Battlestar Galactica-y.

The entire rest of the episode, however, was vintage BSG.

First off, Baltar.

How amazingly, hilariously brilliant was Baltar’s explanation of God and slavery to the Centurion? And the Centurion actually seemed to be listening and absorbing. Interested. Curious.

I suspect we’ll see the Centurions taking some sort of role in … I’m not sure what. But I don’t think the Centurions are going to remain giant brainless robots for all of what’s left of the season.

And our Baltar confesses, finally, to his role in the destruction of humanity. But his belief in the One True God has released him of all guilt. He is perfect, he says. Just a tool of God. God wanted another flood to be unleashed on an imperfect humanity to wipe it clean. Just this time, it was a flood of fire rather than water. Baltar was a mere tool of God.

Oh, really?

Baltar’s ability to rationalize away all his guilt is typical and also disgusting.

Now, don’t get me wrong.

I’ve never really blamed Baltar for what happened. Even though he was the instrument the Cylons used to wipe out humanity, they would have found someone else to do it if he hadn’t been so susceptible to sexy blondes.

And he shouldn’t be immobilized by guilt for the rest of his days for what he’s done, either.

But to absolve himself because “That’s what God wanted” is disgraceful. And utterly, completely and totally Baltar, so it’s also brilliant.

As is his hitting on Roslin.

Which brings us to our dying leader.

I believe that in the space between here and there, Roslin actually had contact with Elosha. And Elosha was right, too. A bad man does feel his death just as keenly as a good man.

What Roslin realizes here in the end — both through not killing Baltar and by realizing that she should have played fair with the Cylons because D’Anna wasn’t going to share the information any more with her fellow Cylons around than she was going to give Roslin the information alone — is that you can’t treat your enemies the same way they treat you (or expect they would treat you).

If you do to your enemies what you expect them to do to you, then you are the same as your enemy. You are no better and can claim no moral high ground. In fact, you just might be worse, because you pretend that you’re better than them while being just the same.

Baltar, for better or worse, fully knows what he is. He knows that he’s not a particularly good human being. He just believes that that’s how God wants him. But he doesn’t think he’s better than other people because of that.

Roslin does have a superiority complex. Even her reaction to Elosha’s comment that in the old days, the people believed their continued existence depended on the health of their leader’s body. That Roslin believed, even for a moment that Elosha was implying that if Roslin died, all humanity would die, too, showed that Roslin truly believes she is all-important to humanity.

Roslin, basically, needs to get over herself.

When the Three told Roslin she was a Cylon, you could see that Roslin truly believed it for a moment. Of course, we don’t know that to actually be false. It would be very interesting if Roslin does turn out to be the final Cylon, though I still don’t believe that will be the case.

I think, though, that by the end Roslin did start to get over herself. If she continues to deny all that is human about herself, then it doesn’t matter if she’s human or Cylon. Especially now that the Cylons can’t resurrect. If she refuses to be human and feel human emotions, she really might as well be that final Cylon.

And speaking of Cylons: The Eights are a very confused line. I wonder if it mightn’t have to do with the fact that they should actually be the Sevens, as there are no Sevens. The Eights are too easily divided and confused.

Too trusting, actually.

Boomer fell in love with Cavil, so she split from the rest of the line for him.

Athena fell in love with Helo, so she betrayed her people for him.

The Eights trusted the Sixes, so they agreed to go along with the demands to stop lobotomizing the Raiders, stunting the Centurions’ mental capacity and unbox the Threes.

Then they regretted their decision, perhaps because they were now a fragmented line, and asked Athena to lead them and help overthrow the Sixes. Athena was angered because she recognized she, too, had so easily fallen in with those who would kill her people. Those she’d fallen in with happened to be human as opposed to the Sixes and Twos, but it was the same concept.

The Sharon who went to the Resurrection Hub with Helo had all Athena’s memories and also loved him because of it, and felt betrayed by his decision to follow orders and take D’Anna to Roslin.

I’m glad they stretched this episode and last over two episodes.

If they’d cut back and forth between the Cylon ship and the fleet, it would have been very choppy and I don’t see how they would have divided the entire storyline in half. There was a lot to say about a lot of characters, and it had to be split this way.

I’ll ponder more over the next few days and I’m sure I’ll have some new whackadoodle theory to share come Tuesday, when “So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival is hosted at Athens Exchange.”

I watched it, and it’s not spoilery in the meaning that it answers any questions whatsoever. It’s pretty short and gives a taste of what’s to come, but is driving me batty!

Take a look and tell me what you think:

Download:

After my insane ramblings, stay tuned for the weekly So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival.

We’ve wondered for a while now where the whole idea of “All this has happened before and will happen again” comes from. What does it mean?

What if the Final Five are actually the Original Five?

What if the Final Five have not merely been to Earth but are from Earth?

What if the Final Five were created by Earthlings in the Diaspora and set out across the Universe to find the other 12 Colonies after a huge war between the Humans and the Earth Cylons?

They’re different, and yet the same.

My view is thoroughly bleak, but it’s perfectly in keeping with the series, which has been as bleak as it’s been brilliant.

Once upon a time, Cylons were created by man. They evolved. They rebelled.

And at the end of a devastating war, the ragged remnants of humanity fled across the universe to escape the Cylons, who pursued them.

They settled on a planet called Kobol, then eventually settled in the 12 Colonies. In time, the story somehow got turned around; Earth was the lost colony and became a beacon of hope to a newly defeated humanity.

The Cylons who had pursued them somehow programmed themselves or were programmed (OK, this is where it sort of breaks down a bit) by someone to go dormant, basically become human, until such time as they needed to be reawakened.

Which is now.

So, whaddya think? Am I completely insane? Would a good, long vacation on the Mediterranean do wonders for my mental state?

With that, I bring you So Say We All, after the break.

David Bird puts us in a little time warp, reminding us that Roslin’s trapped on the Base Ship with Baltar, jumping to … who knows where … and sums up the previous episode eloquently in Galactica Log: Guess What’s Coming To Dinner, Part 1 posted at David Bird.

Roberta gives us one of her wonderful lists, touching on all the salient points one needs to know to jump back into the story, in BSG – the story so far posted at CouchSlobs – A Monument To Human Idleness. My favorite? “Baltar has a proclivity for walking around in bathrobes and being the resident guru.” How true, Roberta, how true.

James Newberry is a lucky bastard because he got to watch the episode several days before the rest of us on SkyOne, but was kind enough to warn me not to read The Adventures of Husker and the Searider Falcon posted at NewbSpeak before I watched the episode if I didn’t want to be spoiled. I second his joy at seeing Romo Lampkin back, even in such an odd storyline.

MaryAnn Johanson mourns Romo’s cat and what it represents, in ‘Battlestar Galactica’ blogging: “Sine Qua Non” posted at FlickFilosopher.com. She also enjoyed the fistfight between Tigh and Adama as much as I did.

M laments the slower pace of the episode, in When the Pacing Does Not Match the Drums posted at Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All. After the intensity of JUMP! and a hiatus of two weeks, she was hoping for a bit more. Don’t worry, M, Moore & Eick are gonna show us the unboxing of D’Anna. We’re not just going to find out about it after the fact. They wouldn’t do that to us.

Norman Doering expresses his disappointment with the episode and the humanization of the marvelously devious Romo Lampkin, in The Dark Side of Hope posted at A Blog from Hell. I have to admit, upon my first viewing, I felt similarly, but on repeated viewings I realize this episode was, yes, a transitional episode, but it set up one hell of a roller coaster ride for the upcoming episodes. I have to agree, however, that I did like the Romo who was always one step ahead of everyone else better than crazy dead cat-toting Romo.

Well, that’s it.

My partner in blog carnival crime, Len Neighbors, had the gall to take a vacation and didn’t have a chance to blog on this week’s episode. That’s OK. He has to host next week’s carnival, on Athens Exchange, so he’ll get his.

Photo courtesy of NBC Universal.

Sine Qua Non (Latin, a “dead” language): Without which, not.

Adama is nothing without Roslin.

The fleet is nothing without a president; it also is nothing without forward motion, heading inexorably toward its ultimate destination.

Romo Lampkin is nothing without his cat, his lone connection to his dead family.

Lee is nothing without a purpose.

Athena is nothing without her daughter.

Is humanity truly doomed?

It would seem, in the end, that Romo accepted Lee’s assertion that people need to make a conscious decision to live, to perpetuate the human race. So long as there is faith in humanity, so long as the human race believes in its future, there is a future and it is deserved.

But what if he was right and Lee was wrong? What if the human race is doomed? What if the human race doesn’t deserve to go on? What if the future of humans and Cylons as a hybrid race is the true future and the only way that either race can continue?

The fleet is now headed by Lee Adama, a virtual Boy Scout, and a Saul Tigh, a Cylon who is only just coming to grips with what he is. The two races already are co-existing; they just don’t know it yet.

I have more to ponder and at least one more viewing before I can properly consider what I’ve just seen, but I do have a few other quick points:

• Great fight between Adama and Tigh. Tigh’s the only man in the entire fleet who could have punched Adama (who, frankly, needed it) and not ended up in the brig.

• Even so, Adama was totally right in blasting Saul about his relationship with Caprica Six, and Tigh needed those punches as a wake-up call just as much as Bill.

• Speaking of, if Caprica Six is pregnant, what does that mean? Is Saul actually the father? If he is, does that mean Cylons can procreate with one another just like humans do? Do they not need hybrid breeding? Or is it the difference between the Final Five and the Known Seven that makes the pregnancy possible?

• Will Adama finish reading Searider Falcon before he finds Roslin? I mean, c’mon, you know he’s going to. There are few things certain on this show, but there’s no way Adama is going to stay floating out in the middle of nowhere, especially considering we know that Roslin’s still alive. Not that we have proof of that, either, but, I mean, c’mon.

Photos courtesy of NBC Universal. 

We were left with the jaw-dropper of the hybrid being plugged back in and immediately jumping the base star away (to where?) with Roslin, Baltar and others on board.

Here’s a “What the Frak” video recap of “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner”:

Download:

Tonight’s offering, “Sine Qua Non” will look at the deepening divide between Lee and his father, and Athena having to answer for her actions in shooting Natalie. A preview, after the break:

Download:

Come back tonight about 11:30 p.m. or so for my insta-recap and a new theory I’ve been mulling regarding what’s different about the Final Five (though I’ll be damned if I can figure out who it is and I think I’m going to stop trying because it just makes my head hurt). And So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival returns Tuesday.

Meanwhile, here’s a little tidbit to tide you over for the next few hours:

You, yes you, can buy your very own seven-foot-tall Cylon Centurion. It even has the “red LED light effects and trademark scanning eye movements.”

There are two models (classic, with a “reflective showroom finish,” and re-imagined, with a “distressed multi-tone finish.”) and retail for $7,900. But hey, they’re made in the good ol’ USofA.

Both incorporate synchronized stereo sound and lighting effects, advanced electronics and red LED light effects.

Model creator Fred Barton proves he’s as big a geek as any of us:

I have always wanted to make the Battlestar Galactica robots, so I was delighted when NBC Universal approached me about bringing the Cylons to life. I loved having the chance to create the re-imagined Cylon, based only on a computer generated design and I know that fans of the show will be as impressed as I am with how these Cylons appear in person.

To whet your whistle, I figured I’d toss together all these bits of news and vids and the like that I’ve been gathering over the past week.

This YouTube video is amazing, splicing together Gaeta’s Lament, the song he sang in snatches throughout the episode.

Which brings us to Bear McCreary’s Battlestar blog entry about “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner.” He has the whole story about how the song was developed, from writer Michael Angeli’s wife, Karen, having written the melody as a gift to him, to Alessandro Juliani (Felix Gaeta) and McCreary (BSG’s composer) involvement in the story sessions for the episode.

Who knew that Juliani had such a gorgeous voice (he studied opera at McGill University in Montreal!)? I liked how they even commented on that in the episode.

McCreary’s blog also contains the entire lyrics for the song and even the sheet music for it:

Alone she sleeps in the shirt of man
With my three wishes clutched in her hand
The first that she be spared the pain
That comes from a dark and laughing rain
When she finds love may it always stay true
This I beg for the second wish I made too
But wish no more
My life you can take
To have her please just one day wake

Then, Maureen Ryan at the Chicago Tribune had big news on her blog about more BSG: First off, there will be a set of webisodes to link the first half of Season 4 to the second. And even bigger, there may be more Battlestar Galactica telemovies.

As Galactica Sitrep noted Thursday, an internet radio show, The Doctor and Mrs. Who, reported last night that up to three “Battlestar Galactica” TV movies may get made later this year. Several sources at the show confirm that those films are indeed being discussed right now.Executives are now doing number-crunching for these proposed films, and any deals for these movies are far from done. However, it would make sense to make more “Battlestar” TV movies while the show’s creative team and actors are still all in one place, as it were.

Although the news of the webisodes themselves is good, it is confirmation that this season will be split. Ryan had little information, but more than I’ve seen anywhere else at this point:

For those keeping score at home, “Battlestar Galactica” is currently airing the first 10 episodes of its fourth and final season. The current batch of episodes will finish up in early June. Production is underway on the last 10 episode of the show and the final scenes for the series finale will be shot in June. Production could get under way on the TV movies as early as July, and one source says the films could get the green light in the next two weeks or so.

By the way, at this point, it’s not known when those last 10 episodes of “Battlestar” will air. Informed sources say that a decision on that won’t get made until mid-summer, so my guess is that Sci Fi won’t the final 10 episodes until 2009.

Great “Battlestar: Lostica” spoof video of the Lost opening credits.

Aaron Douglas, our beloved Chief Petty Officer Gaelin Tyrol, gave this awesome interview Total SciFi, saying, “Our last episode will be the most depressing show in the history of television.”

Wow. I can’t wait. (Seriously, it sounds awesome just from that line alone.) He talks about his feelings upon finding out Tyrol was a Cylon and what he thinks about what the Hidden Five really are.

This one, from Comedy Central, is a hoot. Compares a few BSG characters (Tigh, Simon and Roslin) to presidential candidates (McCain, Obama and Hillary). OK, everyone’s done the McCain/Tigh thing, but this time, they go far past mere photos. Such as that both McCain and Tigh have/had a hot blonde wife and favors extreme military measures.

The Caprica TV blog cited a report on The Doctor and Mrs Who radio show that said the Caprica series might get the OK to go to series before the pilot is even filmed. Righteous.

And, finally, our favorite rebel Colonial warrior and Bionic baddie, Katee Sackhoff, gets a story arc on Nip/Tuck in its sixth season, according to TVGuide.com. She’ll “play Theodora “Teddy” Lowe, a new doctor who challenges Dylan Walsh’s Sean in at least four episodes.”

Photos courtesy of NBC Universal.

Of course, Baltar knows all about Roslin’s dreams that she shares because he’s in them, too. He has them; remember back on Kobol? He was the first to have the opera house dream, shared with a Six. Before Hera was born; long before; and Hera was in it, too.

Hera is a key to something, but to what I can’t figure.

OK, I’m jumping all over the place, so let me do one thing at a time:

Roslin

I wondered when she’d either learn that Tori was shtupping Baltar or admit to knowing it. I mean, Tori hasn’t been extremely discreet. She may have started out that way, but she visits Baltar a bit too much. They’re on a spaceship, not in a wide-open city. You can’t keep those secrets forever.

Roslin’s a real badass, too. She knows how to play hardball. She knows what she needs to know and makes sure she knows EVERYTHING she needs to know.

Wondered why it took so long for her to realize Baltar knew about the visions because he had them, too (at least, that’s what I believe to be true). That’s why she took him to visit the hybrid. There already are Sixes and Eights on the wounded base star, so she didn’t need to bring them.

She, however, is the one who’s going to figure out what the opera house means. So says the hybrid.

Sixes and Eights —  and Hera

We already know there’s bad blood between the Sixes and Eights on the base star. The Eights were ready to revolt against the Sixes when Sharon and Starbuck showed up. And Sharon is so determined to be human that she can’t stand any Cylons. And now, in the visions, she believes the Six wants to take Hera away and like any mom, she won’t —  can’t —  let that happen.

The Six named Natalie, though, is a fascinating creature.

She is ready to lay all the cards on the table. She wants to tell all the truth to the Colonials, antithetical to everything a Cylon is. The Eights, of course, are wholly against it. Leoben, as usual, can see the middle way and will make sure the Centurions don’t attack the humans.

Back on Kobol, Head Six told Baltar that this hybrid was their child —  hers and Baltar’s. She’s told him that many times since. How and why is this true? Will this cause the ultimate schism among the Cylons?

The hidden Cylons

Why is it that only the Raiders have recognized the Hidden Four? Is the programming of the first seven models so intense (and why is it so?) that they can only just vaguely sense their presence but can’t recognize them when they’re standing in front of them?

Do the Centurions recognize the Hidden Four? Can they?

Why is there no model Seven among the original Seven? (I’m going to ask this EVERY week until I find the answer.)

Is Felix Gaeta’s constant singing a red herring? Is he truly the final Cylon or are Moore & Eick trying to throw us off the scent? I don’t suppose we’ll know for sure until they decide to tell us.

How did Tigh tell that the injured base star wasn’t a danger? Did it somehow communicate with him? Did he just sense it? Does Adama buy his explanation that it was just luck? Now that they know the Final Five are in the fleet, will Adama start to suspect his XO?

The hybrid

Did the Leoben and Sharon know the hybrid would jump the ship as soon as she was connected?

What caused her to order the jump? Was it Roslin’s presence? Baltar’s presence? The reconnection, and thus sensing danger? All of the above, and more?

Do we really have to wait two weeks for the next episode? Sigh.

Be sure to come back Tuesday for So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival.

But we learned that Eric Stoltz has joined the Caprica prequel cast to play the yin to Esai Morales’ yang.

Stoltz plays Daniel Graystone, the patriarch of the other major family at the heart of this prequel movie/back-door pilot. Alessandra Toressani plays his daughter, Zoe. Morales plays Joseph Adama, daddy to William. (Everything you need to know about Caprica is in these posts.)

Then, we have this really fabulous interview the Boston Globe did with Edward James Olmos. He shares a lot about the feelings on the set without spoiling anything at all.

Take this comment:

It is bleak. And it is getting darker. This last season has gotten to the point where we end up crying a lot. Emotional breakdowns. It’s human drama. And when you perform in it, you’re inside of it. A lot of people are dead. I’m not going to say who, because why ruin it for people, but a lot of us die.

Here’s a peek ahead at tonight’s episode, “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner”:

Download:

Then, we have the What the Frak recap of “Faith”:

Download:

Come back tonight about 11:30 p.m. or so for my insta-recap/analysis of “Guess Who.”

Photo courtesy of NBC Universal. 

Lots of good entries this week, thanks to all contributors. As usual, it’s all in the order I received it.

So here’s your bloggy goodness, and enjoy:

David Bird time warps us with his commentary on The Road Less Traveled, in Galactica Log: The Road Less Traveled posted at David Bird, giving us my favorite description, ever, of Gaius Baltar: “the swinging bachelor messiah.”

James Newberry is in love with President Roslin and discusses how this season of BSG has dealt with our reactions toward death in Bald is Beautiful posted at NewbSpeak. (By the way, James, I am SO with you on Anders. He shoulda just jammed his hand right into that interface.)

Norman Doering ponders what drugs Katee Sackhoff could be taking to inform her performance as someone pushed so far over the edge (just read it; he explains it better) and whether Roslin had the dream about the river because she knew Emily was dying or if she was really on the river, in Faith in the Heart of Darkness, posted at A Blog from Hell.

Len Neighbors explains why the crew of the Demetrius doesn’t believe in Starbuck — they don’t know she’s a main character, as we do —in Battlestar Galactica Commentary: 4.6, “Faith,” posted at Athens Exchange.

Paul Levinson sees the distance between the “good” Cylons and the humans receding, in Battlestar Galactica 4.6: Cylon on Cylon, posted at Paul Levinson’s Infinite Regress.

Roberta is left scratching her head, pondering more questions than ever before, in BSG – WTF?, posted at CouchSlobs – A Monument To Human Idleness.

MaryAnn Johanson presents ‘Battlestar Galactica’ blogging: “Faith” posted at FlickFilosopher.com.

And my insta-recap/analysis and today’s ponderance on Kara “Starbuck” Thrace.

And so I found myself yesterday morning on a rain-soaked road, listening to the BBC World Service with Friday’s episode, “Faith,” meandering through my multi-tasking brain.

Kara Thrace, you see, is most definitely not a Cylon. Too obvious. So obvious, in fact, that it’s obviously not the case.

But she was there at the beginning of the skinjobs.

Think back to the Razor telemovie, one of the flashbacks to a young Bill “Husker” Adama on the ice planet after his firefight with the old-school Cylons.

He stumbles upon a chamber of horrors. At its center is a tub filled with goo; a hand shoots out, grabbing Husker. His startled cry alerts some prisoners to his presence and they bang on a door, begging him to set them free.

Husker can only get the door open a few inches, but through it we see a young, blonde girl.

I am not alone in assuming this girl is Starbuck, I am sure.

But I posit this theory: The girl is Starbuck. She and her father were among those taken by the Cylons for experimentation. Her father ended up in another goo-filled tank; in the goo-filled tank, in fact, that she boards with Kendra Shaw and others in Razor. He is the first hybrid. He knows Starbuck and her destiny because he is half her genetic material.

She is the harbinger of death and will lead humanity to its end because her revelations about who and what she is will lead to the demise of both her race and the Cylon race, as they will merge into one.

Or not.

Photo courtesy of NBC Universal.

An opera house.

The Cylons split even further; schisms within schisms.

The constant prattle of a hybrid (a hybrid between human and Cylon), resetting and guiding an utterly damaged ship, guarded by a lone Centurion whose only mission is to keep her alive.

The missing three will get you the five who have come from the home of the 13th.

The final five Cylons.

The missing (model) Three, a boxed D’Anna Biers.

D’Anna has looked upon the face of the five; indeed is the only Cylon that knows who they are. That is why she was boxed; whoever programmed the Cylons made that a rule. The Cylons must never think about the Final Five, never mind know who they are.

Why is that?

So that only once the humans and Cylons can actually come to a truce and understand one another and accept one another and live in (relative) peace and harmony (I mean, c’mon, neither race has proved capable of living in true peace and harmony within its own race, we can’t expect rainbows, hearts and flowers when you bring the two races together) that they are allowed to know the Final Five and, by extension, the location of Earth?

Is Kara the one to bridge that divide because she is married to a Cylon, because a Cylon is truly, deeply, madly in love with her? Or is that even just beside the point? How did Leoben know Kara Thrace was the special one, the one who could bring them all to Earth? None of the other models, until now, seemed to believe his obsession was anything more than an obsession.

And how is it that these five came from Earth, yet the existing seven have been programmed never to think about them? How could they have been programmed thusly if the other five weren’t created along with them?

Or were they indeed created along with them, but sent to Earth a long time ago (which begs the question of how, if the first Cylon wars were only 40 years ago and there were no skinjob Cylons then)?

Which brings me to this:

The main thing we learned in this hour is that Cylons are far, far more human than anyone, themselves included, would ever have liked to believe.

They feel pain — emotional as well as physical, evidenced by the Six who kills in an almost instinctual revenge for the murder of her previous incarnation on Caprica. Her mouth was taped over, she was dumped into a septic tank, left to die like an insect.

And Athena has disdain for the other Eights. They are so quick to change loyalties, she believes. But didn’t she change loyalties, for the sake of love? Has she become so human that she can’t even touch another dying Eight in her last moments? Or in her lecture to the other Eights (whom she taught that they didn’t have to be slaves to their programming, enabling the split that led to this Civil War when Creepy Dancing Sharon sided with Cavil) does she simply feel guilt that she has betrayed her race?

What I realize in watching Battlestar Galactica is that this show is better written and acted than just about anything I’ve ever seen.

Just watch again the scene that Tricia Helfer played against herself, Natalie consoling the platinum blonde Six who suffered so badly on Caprica at the hands of one of Anders’ resistance fighters and then shooting her in the back of the head, just as dead as the woman she’d killed.

Just watch again Anders’ temptation to find out if he could interface with the Base Star (would he have been able to?), his rage and desire to kill the Six and then his willingness to be there for the dying Eight spurned by Athena.

Just watch again the opening scene where Helo has led a mutiny, chaos reigns and in the end, Kara takes charge again because, dammit, she really is in charge and knows what needs to be done to save Gaeta and also to complete their mission.

Just watch again the scene where Roslin (thought I’d forgotten about her, didn’t you?) tells her new friend about her mother; the woman with an indomitable spirit who was a teacher and died a painful death from cancer.

All I know for sure is this:
D’Anna will be unboxed.

The final five will be revealed.

Earth will be found.

What I do not know is this:

Will mankind and Cylons be able to survive those three events?

Download:

And meanwhile, to prepare you for tonight’s episode, called “Faith,” check out this interview Beliefnet did with BSG exec prod Ronald Moore about “The Souls of Cylons.”

Here’s a snippet:

At the beginning, I sort of assumed that the Colonials —  the human beings —  would have a belief system, probably polytheistic. In the original, the “Lords of Kobol” were referred to several times. But it wasn’t until the development of the miniseries when I sort of randomly gave the Cylons a belief system. I was creating the characters and working on some lines for Number 6 and I thought it was interesting if she professed a belief in a single God. I had really given her a belief in a singular God almost by accident.

I compared that with the polytheistic religion of the colonials, I started to realize that an interesting pattern was developing —  the Cylons believing in the one true God and the Colonials having an older, multifaceted system of deities that was obviously patterned on the Romans. As the series went on, I started to believe that the Cylon belief was going to be a guiding principal.

Morales most recently played, of course, our heroic Maj. Beck on Jericho. Given the different schedule of cable and network shows, one would hope that when (not if, when) Jericho gets a Season 3, he’d be able to work out both?

Paula Malcomson (remember Trixie from Deadwood?) will be Amanda, described in multiple spots as a surgeon who works as a double agent. But she’s also the matriarch of the Greystone family, the rival to the Adamas.

So what is Caprica going to be all about? Check out this post, this one and this one.

Wired had this interview with SciFi network exec veep Mark Stern, in which he discussed the science of BSG, sci fi in general and talked about how the network has high hopes for Caprica as more than just a pilot.

Esai Morales photo courtesy of CBS; Edward James Olmos photo courtesy of NBC Universal. Can you see a family resemblance?

Want to join in the fun next week? Click here to submit.

Kara Thrace: Harbinger of death or angel full of God’s light?

Or both?

As much as I found the first few episodes of the season to be amazing, I have to admit I was rather relieved this week to find a more subdued Kara Thrace. No more holding her head screaming, “We’re going the wrong way!!!” or having frak fights with Anders.

Plus, any time Kara and Leoben share screen time, the intensity ratchets up. He is the only one who really seems to know what Kara is, whatever that may be. I wonder, did he sense Anders is a Cylon? What did he mean about Anders and Kara being meant for one another? Does that mean Kara is, indeed, a Cylon?

And even though I knew from last week’s previews that Leoben would make an appearance this week, I found myself still gasping when the badly burned heavy Cylon raider carrying Leoben (speaking to Kara telepathically?) came upon the Demetrius.

What we learned this episode:

Kara does need to trust her instincts. She didn’t go out on patrol in how long and the first time she does, a Leoben who escaped the attack by Cavil & Co. appears?

Look, we’re in the odd position of knowing that most of what Leoben had to say is true. Everything he said about the civil war is accurate. Why should we think that anything else he had to say wasn’t? In fact, the only thing I can think of that we know for sure Leoben has lied about (besides pretending to be a human at various points on Galactica and in the pilot when he was trapped with Adama) is that that little girl on New Caprica was her daughter.

OK, admittedly, that’s a pretty big lie. But still. More often than not, he has told the truth, we now know. And we also know Leoben comes down on the “right” side in the Cylon civil war.

I find Sharon “Athena” Valerii’s reaction to Leoben to be quite interesting; I find myself wondering if her mistrust of him is more a desire on her part to overcompensate for being a Cylon herself.

But ponder this: Sharon, a Cylon, basically fomented the rebellion on the Demetrius. It wasn’t a hard push for some of the crew members, especially after Matthias died (I really do think it was an accident), but we know that the Eights are a divided (perhaps the only divided) model skinjob, with one Sharon in love with Cavil and the others with the Sixes and Leobens.

The Eights are easily fractured. Remember that Sharon, back on Caprica, ended up choosing to go with the humans rather than stay with her kind. The Cavil/Natalie split, I realize, isn’t the first time the Sharons have turned on one another.

Sharon’s model is the one that most confuses me —  why isn’t she a Seven? I’ve asked before, but why do the known model numbers skip No. 7? That’s never made sense to me and now I find myself wondering if that has anything to do with what happened tonight.

As for tonight’s (only) other plot, I thought Tori was on the verge of telling the Chief what really happened. If she truly, truly, truly believed everything she has been telling herself and everyone else, she’d tell him. Something’s keeping her pulled back. Though she has always been quite duplicitous (see her telling Roslin about Baltar’s illicit broadcasts and even suggesting she speak to the Admiral about it)...

But Tyrol isn’t ready to hear all the god-stuff that Tori’s spouting. I’d forgotten that Cally had been really into Baltar’s manifesto way back when. I had to applaud when Tyrol reached out to choke Baltar. Baltar didn’t know Cally at all. Whatever Tyrol’s feeling, Baltar had a helluva lot of gall presuming to know what Cally would or wouldn’t want.

I was quite surprised when Baltar was so genuine with the Chief in his quarters. And I think he was truly genuine. That’s why he didn’t want his creepy followers to come inside with him. He doesn’t like people to see him express true frailty and emotion. It’s one thing to preach about how he’s a fallible man and has done wrong, it’s another to actually show examples of how he has been so.

Methinks Tyrol is going to be Baltar’s tipping point. Tori pointed out how he didn’t have any notable followers (she’s not going to go public with her support of his beliefs, that’s for sure. She likes her position alongside the president); Tyrol will be that first noteworthy follower. Like anything else, once you have someone well-known following you, others are far more likely to give you a listen and to join in.

The previews for next week make it seem Starbuck will be making the jump to the base ship. The hybrid tells her something we’ve heard before, from the, perhaps, original hybrid.

But what does it mean for Starbuck to be harbinger of the apocalypse? Whose apocalypse? And is that necessarily bad?

Photos courtesy of NBC Universal.  They don’t necessarily go with the text they’re next to, but how am I not supposed to use photos of sweaty Helo and Anders. I mean, get real.

Yeah, whatever, Amy, just get to the good stuff, I can hear you saying.

So, since I’m so late, I’m going to just get straight to the point:

• The new revolution. Doomed! Um, exactly what did Sam think was going to happen when he promised the Devil he’d do him a favor? And it’s not like Satan didn’t tell him a zillion times in so many ways that the favor was going to be big, bad, uncomfortable and come at a really bad time. Sam, Sam, Sam, will you ever learn? Apparently not. And poor Tony. He did love Steve so, and his true immortal (um, I guess not completely) love is now gone.

• Cooking. I’m sorry, but there’s no scene in the history of mankind that tops a demon, in full demon-ness, helping you cook dinner because, well, he’s better at it. Sam, a talking zucchini? That’s the best you could come up with?

• I’m really glad that Andi saw how inept Sam, Sock and Ben are at capturing souls. It made her realize she could never be afraid of Sam and they can still be together! Yay! Gotta admit, that was pretty funny when she told Sam she wasn’t afraid OF him, but rather afraid FOR him.

• Ben! You got married?! Really? I know it was for the green card, but now you finally met your green-eyed, Sue Grafton-reading, mixed martial arts-loving dream girl (played, did you notice by Kandyse McClure, none other than Anastasia Dualla on Battlestar Galactica?) and you can’t go out with her! If there’s anyone on this entire show I feel sorry for, it’s Ben. He’s such a sweet soul and puts up with so much crap from Sam and Sock (who, in fairness, really do love the guy).

Meanwhile, while we wait for “Greg, Schmeg” on Tuesday (Andi’s ex-boyfriend, Greg, comes back and she can’t resist him and so breaks up with Sam to go out with him again; ps: Greg made a deal with the devil to get Andi back), here’s a little more Reaper goodness to tide you over.

Josie herself, Valarie Rae Miller, in her TVGuide.com reaper blog has a music video the cast and crew did, dancing and lip synching to Public Enemy’s “Can’t Trust It.”

It’s a hoot.

The title refers to the need for a spaceship to arrive at a certain speed before being able to achieve said escape velocity, i.e., what’s needed to escape the gravity of a planet and launch into space.

We had: Baltar beginning to preach; Six beginning to sense something about Tigh; Tyrol beginning to allow himself to be himself; Tory beginning to be completely insane because she figures, what the hell, I’m a Cylon; the mystery of “Head” Six beginning to become even more mysterious; Tigh beginning to hallucinate his dead wife on Six’s body and beginning to want to have the pain of having killed her go away. By the end, these beginnings had achieved a sort of escape velocity and something’s gonna blow.

We had an outstanding episode this week, with “Escape Velocity” giving us not a heckuva lot of action but still giving us a heckuva lot of exposition. I was truly amazed at the depth of the analysis some folks gave the episode in entries we received this week, some from old hats at the carnival, others from newcomers.

As usual, all entries are listed in the order I received them:

Len Neighbors, last week’s able host (and next week’s host as well), discusses how recent events are evidence neither of the Sleeper Cylons being either more or less like humans, rather that humans and Cylons are more alike than either wants to admit, in Battlestar Galactica Commentary: 4.4, “Escape Velocity” posted at Athens Exchange.

Norman Doering gives us a fascinating look into the Judeo-Christian theology that drives this episode, in The Cylon God posted at A Blog from Hell. (Note: You’ll be directed first to a message saying some folks might find the content of the site objectionable and you’ll have to click on a link to continue on to the blog. I’m not sure what all the fuss is about, but I suspect it has to do with the badge he has on his site that declares himself part of the “Evil Atheist Conspiracy.” But he sure seems to know his Bible.)

Mike ponders which possible prequel storylines fans might like to see made into films, in Producer Eick talks about a possible Battlestar Galactica movie posted at SciFi Observer.

David Bird takes us in a time warp with his look at the previous episode, in Galactica Log: The Ties That Bind posted at David Bird. He writes his posts for Thursday publications on the comics site Paperback Reader, so they’re not posted until then. So we look forward to weekly contributions that remind us what came before.

M shows she knows her stuff when it comes to the U.S. Constitution, in The Bill of Rights and the Colonial Fleet posted at Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All.

MaryAnn Johanson wonders if the final Cylon might be … us. So Say We All? Hmm. Definite food for thought, in ‘Battlestar Galactica’ blogging: “Escape Velocity” posted at FlickFilosopher.com.

Berta introduces us to a new game, BSG – Spot the Cylon, seeking our ideas on who might be No. 12, posted at Couchslobs. She also links to an amazingly well thought-out and detailed theory on who No. 12 is, which you can find here, on a site about Japanese cars. Yes, the author does mention that it’s somewhat of a departure from his usual fare.

Paul Levinson finds more questions than answers, in Battlestar Galactica 4.4: A Little More about Cylons posted at Paul Levinson’s Infinite Regress.

And, your humble hostess’ weekly dissection of the episode, which was posted here, as well as the weekly clips from SciFi, posted here.

To all those reading who didn’t submit to this week’s carnival, feel free to drop in next week. Submit entries here for So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica blog carnival.

All photos courtesy NBC Universal.

90. Summer Glau (Cameron, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
83. Jenna Fischer (Pam, The Office)
73. Carrie Underwood (American Idol)
63. Grace Park (The Eights/Sharons, Battlestar Galactica)
49. Katherine Heigl (Dr. Isobel ‘Izzie’ Stevens, Grey’s Anatomy)
41. Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang, Smallville)
38. Katherine McPhee (American Idol)
37. Evangeline Lilly (Kate, Lost)
24. Kristen Bell (Elle, Heroes)
19. Ali Larter (Niki Sanders & Co., Heroes)
15. Erica Durance (Lois Lane, Smallville)
11. Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennett, Heroes)
9. Blake Lively (Serena van der Woodsen, Gossip Girl)
8. Tricia Helfer (The Sixes, Battlestar Galactica)
4. Elisha Cuthbert (Kim Bauer, 24)

That’s more than 10 percent of the list accounted for. Hey! Where’s the 100 sexiest men of 2008?? (And isn’t April/May kind of early in the year for this sort of listing?)