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.

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. 

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?

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?

As was originally planned, it will focus on two families: The Adamas and the Graystones. But Kristin snagged some cool details:

The Graystones include father Daniel, a computer genius; mother Amanda, a brilliant surgeon and unfaithful wife; and their daughter, Zoe, who is martyred to her boyfriend’s religious fanaticism—but not before she installs the rudimentary elements of her personality and DNA into a machine, creating a digital twin of herself, Zoe-A.

After the human Zoe’s death, Daniel uses these raw materials, some stolen technology and his own grief to cobble together “a robotic version of his dead daughter.” This robot version, known as Zoe-R, is a Cylonic Eve, the first of her kind. ...

... As Adm. Bill Adama once told us, his father, Joseph, was a great attorney of his day, fighting for the civil rights of the Twelve Colonies’ downtrodden and marginalized. But that’s not his whole story: Joseph Adama’s wife and daughter were also killed in that same suicide bombing that took Zoe Graystone’s life.

The two fathers, Daniel Graystone and Joseph Adama, work together on replicating their children in cyborg form, but “Joseph is ethically appalled by the robot version of his dead [daughter], Tamara, and repents his actions.” ...

Still, the one happy result of the Adama family tragedy is that Joseph and his young son, the 9-year-old Bill, grow closer to each other, and Joseph begins to explain their family’s story to his sad, somber child. But will their bond prepare them for the havoc soon to be wreaked by the rise of the Cylon nation?

Stay tuned.

Well, I hadn’t thought about it, to be honest, but Battlestar Galactica’s coming up fast — the fourth (and final, sniff!) season premiere is April 4. And Jericho’s quickly coming to an end (hopefully just for the season, but I sure wish CBS would just hurry up and just tell us one way or the other already!), giving me a little time to work on another carnival.

Thus, I have created So Say We All, The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival.

Yeah, just because I’m that much of a geek.

Anyhow, stay tuned; the first one will post April 8, four days after the premiere. Use the link in the graphic above to submit an article or just click here.

Meanwhile, here’s some more Battlestar goodness to come out of the upfronts today.

Don’t expect to see any Battlestar Galactica on the big screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

BSG exec producer Ronald Moore explained it thusly:

I think the series works best as an ensemble TV drama. If it translated into a feature it would be a different animal.

And besides, what would the movies focus on? As much as I’d love for BSG to continue, I’ll have to content myself with Caprica.

In addition, the final season premiere, the Reporter said, will be viewable online nine hours before it airs on SciFi.

Photo courtesy of NBC Universal.

The Sci Fi Channel has given the go-ahead to the Battlestar Galactica prequel, Caprica.

Production will begin in the spring in Vancouver. Said Mark Stern, Sci Fi’s Executive Vice President of Original Programming:

We couldn’t be more excited to see this long-anticipated project get off the ground. It’s an amazing script, and, though clearly inspired by the Battlestar mythology, it is not just a pale spin-off. This is a smart, thought-provoking, emotional, and compelling character drama in its own right.

It “follows two rival families – the Greystones and the Adamas – as they grow, compete, and thrive in the vibrant world of the 12 Colonies.”

Enmeshed in the burgeoning technology of artificial intelligence and robotics that will eventually lead to the creation of the Cylons, the two houses go toe-to-toe. Caprica will deliver all of the passion, intrigue, political backbiting, family conflict and hardcore action that always leaves Galactica fans begging for more.

It’s a “backdoor pilot,” meaning it’s a two-hour telemovie and if it gets good enough ratings, it’ll turn into a series. Moore had this to say:

I’m thrilled with the chance to expand on the Galactica world and get deeper into the origins of the story we’ve been telling. It’s also great to have a chance at doing a completely different kind of science fiction series, one that’s even more character-oriented and doesn’t rely on pyrotechnics to carry the story.

This is really great news. With Battlestar coming to an end, I’m glad we’ll have a chance to explore more of the story and mythology that has been so brilliantly laid out over the past several years. I’m really interested to see how Moore & Eick create the 12 colonies.

• The premiere of quarterlife has been pushed back. It will first air at 10 p.m. Feb. 26 (a Tuesday), before settling into its regular air time/date of 8 p.m. Sundays, beginning March 2. It originally was supposed to premiere Monday, Feb. 18, but now it’s going to take advantage of the Tuesday lead-in, The Biggest Loser. This also knocks the premiere of Monk and Psych on broadcast television back from 9-11 p.m. March 2 to 8-10 April 6 (still a Sunday). Confused? I’m sure NBC will continue to change air dates just for the fun of it.

• Lance Reddick’s getting plenty of work even with the demise of The Wire, when it finishes its fifth and final season in a few weeks. He was cast in J.J. Abrams’ Fox pilot, Fringe (besides being in the soon-to-start season of Lost). TVGuide.com reports that he’ll be “the special agent who heads the division of Homeland Security that specializes in X-Files-type events.”

• Buddy TV reports that SciFi is going to air two specials in advance of the Battlestar Galactica Season 4 premiere in April. They’re a half-hour apiece and will air at 10 p.m. Friday, March 28, BSG’s old time slot (before the Sunday night switch last season). They’re entitled Battlestar Galactica: Revisited and Battlestar Galactica: The Phenomenon. The former’s a recap (thus, “Revisited”) and the latter is the fan and critical reaction. This is good for folks who are just catching up with BSG, seeing as the Season 3 DVD set only comes out three days earlier, on March 25.

• More BSG: Apparently, reports of Caprica’s resurrection may have been greatly exaggerated. Ain’t It Cool News is reporting that even though a SciFi veep the other week told TV Guide that NBC/Universal wanted the network to take another look at the pilot, no one’s said anything to Ron Moore yet. [Shaking fist in air.] Curse ye gods of fickle TV-dom! Bring back (can you bring something back when it hasn’t ever been there yet?) Caprica! Oh, and why’s Ron Moore important? Hmm. Because he and David Eick created the Caprica pilot as a prequel of sorts to their magnificent Battlestar Galactica. That’s why.
• And, finally, the Screen Actors Guild TV award winners (for all winners, go here):

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries — Kevin Kline as Jacques – As You Like It (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries — Queen Latifah as Ana – Life Support (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series — James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano – The Sopranos (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series — Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano – The Sopranos (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series — Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy – 30 Rock (NBC)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series — Tina Fey as Liz Lemon – 30 Rock (NBC)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series — The Sopranos (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series — 30 Rock (NBC)
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series — 24 (FOX)

Lance Reddick photo courtesy of HBO. //30 Rock cast photo courtesy of NBC Universal.

But I’ve realized lately that there are some up sides to the strike. Certain shows that might not have had a chance for a pickup in the past (Moonlight and Reaper, for example, with pretty low ratings at the start) got the chance to hit their stride and develop loyal followings and decent ratings (OK, Reaper didn’t achieve the latter, but Moonlight sure has, but given that it’s on The CW, it still has a chance).

Others, such as Journeyman, may not have been picked up (it really should have; it became an excellent show!) but at least got the chance to play out their stories and come to some sort of resolution. Remember last year when Smith got the ax after what, three or four episodes? This year, we might have gotten to learn more about the characters’ mysterious pasts.

Then, there’s Jericho. With so few scripted series on TV by February, the mini-season we’re getting just might hit enough viewers for us to get a Season 3. One might, in fact, argue that the writer’s strike is the best thing to happen to Jericho. Well, the best thing after the fans. And Skeet. And Ashley. And Lennie. And Mimi. Oh, you get the idea.

Today, I learned another reason to perhaps, just maybe, be grateful for the strike: Caprica. Back in September, I reported on talk that Caprica might just not be dead yet. Sci-Fi had pulled it off the development shelf, but with a strike imminent, execs were considering shooting a pilot for Caprica that, at the worst, could be turned into a DVD movie, a la Razor.

The rumor mill is in operation again, with Ain’t It Cool News reporting that “the new ‘Sci-Fi Preview’ edition of TV Guide reports (on page 28) that the desperately script-starved SciFi Channel may put into production the fully-scripted pilot for” Caprica.

‘I just got a call from NBC Universal,’ SciFi VP Mark Stern tells the magazine. ‘They want us to take another look at the project.’

The prequel series/movie/whatever is set about 50 years before the BSG miniseries and focuses on the Adama family and the human inventor of the Cylons. (Though, as AICN points out, is that really accurate? Don’t recent BSG events imply the Cylons have been around far longer? Perhaps the “inventor” was a Cylon himself and “invented” them to have a centurion slave class?)

Hmmm.

SyFy Portal is reporting that, fearing the loss of Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ronald Moore at the end of BSG’s run (they’re filming the fourth and final season right now), SciFi Channel execs may be ready to greenlight at least a pilot of Caprica.

Here’s how it’ll go, according to James Hibberd at TV Week:

... executives say “Caprica” has the potential to retain and expand the passionate “Battlestar” audience. The tone is lighter and more of a character-driven drama than an action series. The network is considering ordering a two-hour pilot that could serve as a stand-alone event – just like the miniseries that launched Moore’s “Battlestar” remake. The movie would be accompanied by a consecutive DVD release.

Especially if the similarly conceived stand-alone “Razor” performs strongly, the thinking seems to be that a two-hour “Caprica” pilot could justify its expense. Worst-case scenario: The pilot is aired and sold as a DVD, recouping some costs. If the pilot is strong, then the network has a new series.

Anyhow, here’s a rundown of the conference call Battlestar Galactica exec prods David Eick and Ronald Moore gave to members of the media on Friday.

I’ve grouped the comments by subject, rather than chronologically, as the questions ad answers jumped around quite a bit.

The series ending

Eick said the decision wasn’t reached lightly and was only made after he and Moore made sure they had determined they could tell the story they had set out to tell.

Moore said he and Eick felt the show had reached its “third act” and was nearing its conclusion. SciFi asked them to think about it for a while, but “didn’t really fight” them when they came back and said they were ready to end it.

The plan is to end the show. The plan is to bring us to a definitive conclusion. There’s no plans or even thoughts, really, of doing a follow on feature or miniseries or anything like that.

Still, he said, “Never say never because who knows how we’ll actually feel.”

Plus he said he didn’t know that every single minute thing on the series would be resolved to the fans’ satisfaction. They might “leave some things open to the imagination,” he said.

Moore said most of the cast and crew were surprised by the decision, but it depended on the individual. Some “were ready for its third act,” he said. Others believed the show had more life in it yet. No matter the case, everyone’s been looking at this season in a new light. “Instead of being a step on a journey, it’s the concluding step.”

Filming is up in Vancouver, B.C., in Canada, and Eick visited the recently. ” It felt like the beginning of senior year up there.”
Usually, a 22-episode season for BSG would have seemed a huge amount of time to fill. This time, it hardly seemed enough.

This time it was almost like, OK, let’s make sure we have enough time to get where we need to go.

As for Earth, we’ll see more of it this season, Moore promised. “We will get to a place that we will call Earth before the end of the series.”

As for whether we’ll get to see what that Earth is like, “I think there’s a good chance,” he said. But, he noted, “We haven’t written that show yet.”

A possible “Caprica” series

Readers of this blog (and of anything else BSG-related) know that SciFi had been looking at a new series, “Caprica.”

It would take us back to before the first Cylon war — to the days when the technology that led to the current Cylons were first created.

It would basically take the stories we come to discover in Battlestar Galactica and go all the way back to their embryo. The discovery of the technology that will lead to the Cylons, specifically.

Right now, however, it’s “not on the front burner,” Eick said. They’d still like to do it, though, and suggested those interested call or e-mail SciFi to let the network know of their desires.

The miniseries/”bonus episodes”

Moore, asked about the two-hour episode/movie, Razor, to be show in the fall, explained that he and Eick had been approached by the home video folks in between filming the seasons about releasing a couple of episodes on DVD as a standalone movie that still fit in with the storyline.

The episodes, he explained, would have to come from the timeline before the cliffhanger ending. They didn’t want to go back before the series began, but rather to go back a season or two, telling a story that would fill in the time and also connect somehow to Season 4.

Eick said they decided to tie the episodes to the story of the Pegasus. Some of the bonus episodes/movie will involve Pegasus’ backstory — i.e., how it escaped the destruction of the colonies and the rest of the fleet. Other parts will take place after Cain dies.

He admitted he sort of regretted having gotten rid of the Pegasus.

The “final four” Cylons and other tidbits

Moore said he and Eick quickly gravitated to the four they eventually decided would be the “final four” (no word on who the final fifth is)

Tigh, he said, was “kind of the sexiest,” as he was a drunk, had spent his entire adult life fighting the Cylons and even killed his wife because of her collaboration with the toasters.

Anders, he said, had participated in two resistance movements (on Caprica after the nuclear attack and then again on New Caprica) “and was drawn to Kara Thrace for reasons unknown.”

Tyrol was one of the “most human characters.” They regarded him as the one viewers would be most surprised that he turned out to be a Cylon. But the religious connection in his background and being drawn to the temple on the algae planet helped set the stage. He was drawn there for a reason. He’s also dreamed about being a Cylon and even fell in love with a Cylon (Boomer, when neither knew she was a Cylon).

Tori, the president’s aide, he said, was “a wild card.” We (and Moore and Eick) knew the least about her. That made it more fun, he said, because they wouldn’t be locked into as many specific choices in exploring her Cylon backstory.

And their “true” backstories will be delved into, he said. “They’re all the same people. They didn’t switch over and become robots suddenly.”

The four are going to try to figure out what being a Cylon means to who and what they are and they wonder if they are dangers to each other, the ship or others, and if they should keep the secret among themselves.

Eick used Tricia Helfer (Number Six) in another piolot for another series he was working on, Them, about an extraterrestrial sleeper cell. He also used Katee Sackhoff in the “Bionic Woman” pilot and she probably will crop up in future episodes.

“Bionic Woman” has been picked up and “Them,” he said, is “being flirted with as a mid-season replacement.”

As for the question on many people’s minds, Eick and Moore had been trying to figure out a way to get “All Along the Watchtower” in long before last season’s finale.

Eick said they’d thought of opening the miniseries with the Simon & Garfunkle’s “America.” And in the first season, when Sharon and Helo are in a diner on the now-radioactive Caprica, they toyed with the idea of having The Beatles’ “Yesterday” in a jukebox.

Some quick highlights from the conference call this afternoon:

• The show’s end will have a definite conclusion. While Moore and Eick wouldn’t absolutely say no to future miniseries or movies, they did say they had no plans for it and the plan was for a definite end to the quest.
• “Caprica,” a prequel series, is not currently in development, but also is not completely out of the question. “Call the network” Moore & Eick quipped.
• The November “bonus episodes” Razor will focus on the Pegasus during the Cylon attack on Caprica, as well as after it met up with Galactica and after Admiral Cain was killed.
• Tigh, Anders and Tyrol were no-brainers for Cylons; Tori was the wild card.
• We find out the final five Cylons’ true backstories in Season 4.

I’ll go more in-depth with fun links and the like over the weekend.

Enjoy and lemme know what you think!

• The DVD movie is definitely on tap. SciFi is calling it a “bonus episode.� It will be released between the end of Season 3 and beginning of Season 4; it will take place during and after the Cylon attack on the 12 Colonies that happened in the miniseries.

• Season 4 will be, in part, dedicated to the question,

• Now that Season 4’s been greenlighted (is that a word?), chances are better that the Caprica series will be, too.

• My supposition that Starbuck doesn’t die also is given a concrete backing in this interview, with Eick saying, in referring to Starbuck and Apollo’s relationship, “the events of Episodes 16 and 19 will greatly impact the nature of their romance.� If she died in Ep 16, 19 wouldn’t affect their romance. And it’s said she doesn’t appear in any episodes after 16 (Maelstrom) this season. There is a major reveal of a Cylon, though, so the rumor mill is fast and furious that the Cylon is Starbuck. I still don’t buy that, though.

• Eps 17 and 18 will focus on Baltar’s trial.

• SciFi hasn’t decided yet whether Season 4 will be 13 or 22 episodes, or somewhere in between.

So, the rest of the season promises to be rather excellent. I’m looking forward to it, as the last couple of episodes have left me wanting.

Sci-Fi is looking to start a new series called “Caprica.” It will show how the Cylons were first created. Here’s what the channel’s media Web site says about it:

“From executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick (‘Battlestar Galactica’), writer Remi Aubuchon (‘24’) and NBC Universal Television Studio, this new series is set over a half a century before the events that play out in ‘Battlestar Galactica.’ The people of the Twelve Colonies are at peace and living in a society not unlike our own, but where high-technology has changed the lives of virtually everyone for the better. But a startling breakthrough in robotics is about to occur, one that will bring to life the age-old dream of marrying artificial intelligence with a mechanical body to create the first living robot—a Cylon. Following the lives of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas (the family of William Adama, who will one day become the commander of the ‘Battlestar Galactica’) ‘Caprica’ weaves corporate intrigue, techno-action and sexual politics into television’s first science fiction family saga.”

Holy Frack!

Here’s another article, on Zap2it.com about the proposed series.

I’m guessing the Cylons in “Caprica” will look more like this:

than like this:

Unfortunately, no info on when the series might start, who might star or anything else, but sign me up to watch.

With a writer from “24” on board, the only other thing I have to say about this is, if Jack Bauer lived in Caprica, the Cylons would still be slave robots and would be happy about it!

Classic Centurion photo via Wikipedia; current Centurion photo courtesy of NBC Universal.