'Battlestar' Secrets Revealed (to Press)
Despite record attendance and large flashy panels at Comic-Con, with multiple cast members, creators, showrunners and producers, surprisingly little hard news actually emerged from those sessions.
The most significant announcement from the "Lost" and "Battlestar Galactica" panels concerned the return of a cast member -- with the "Lost" news being leaked in advance. The majority of other news took the form of clues or plot points that would be meaningful only to die-hard fans of the show -- which I guess is what Comic-Con is all about.
"Battlestar's" big reveal was the midseason return for two or three episodes of the Cylon D'Anna, played by Lucy Lawless. Executive producer Ron Moore said D'Anna's unboxing would represent a pivotal moment in the series, turning the direction of the season's second half.
"What I like about D'Anna is she was the grit in everybody's eye," Lawless said. She also joked that Dean Stockwell's Cylon character had been keeping all the D'Anna models in his quarters for his own private purposes.
The public "Battlestar" presentation was lively and thoroughly entertaining -- focusing on the women of "Battlestar" -- but it was the press conferences after that yielded the most information and clues for devoted fans. This is perhaps a benefit of having a professional asking the questions as opposed to suffering, say, the "Heroes" audience asking several variations on "What's your favorite part about starring on the show?
"So for all you "Battlestar Galactica" die-hards, here's a rundown of what to look for in the show's fourth and final season.
Showrunner Ron Moore confirmed that the identity of the fifth and final Cylon will be revealed late in the series, perhaps as late as the final episode.
This season will see lots of Adama-Starbuck conflict, especially the first episode. No one will be left saying "Gee, I wish there was more Adama/Kara scenes."
Baltar's arc will be shocking and thrilling to fans of the character. Said Tricia Helfer (Number Six): "Baltar's getting a lot of action this season, and I haven't been involved."
Moore is hoping to bring back lawyer Romo Lampkin from the season-three finale.
Katee Sackhoff eloquently discussed how differently she'll play the character of Starbuck, now that she's seen Earth. Initially the plan was to play Starbuck very serenely, but during shooting it became clear that wouldn't work. So while Starbuck now does have moments of calm and peace, instead Sackhoff is playing Starbuck with heightened emotions. The most significant change to Starbuck's character is that she has now found a purpose and role in life, whereas before she was always frustrated by her failure to find any.
"The decision was to end the show at the top of our game," said Moore. "That choice precludes certain other choices. [Like wrapping up every possible loose end of plot]. We'll always be able to say we could have done more."
With the Chief now revealed to be a Cylon, it means there are two Cylon-human baby hybrids, Hera and Nicholas. Moore said Hera is crucial to the ongoing story and her arc will be concluded, but the ramifications of Nikki's heritage may end up being ignored.
One plot point that may or may not be resolved on camera is, at the end of the miniseries, who left the note for Adama telling him there are 12 Cylons? Don't despair, though, as Moore said he's always considered it to be Baltar who left the note. Moore described it in the context of the adjacent scene in which Six and Baltar are walking down a corridor and Baltar is contemplating his guilt about playing a part in the human genocide. He expresses a desire to do something good, hence the note.
Moore found it difficult to talk too much about the plot of "Razor" -- November's special extended episode intended to bridge the gap between seasons three and four --because it jumps around in the show's chronology so much. He confirmed that in the scenes featuring the first Cylon attack 40 years ago, we would see the original Cylon centurions and raiders from the 1970s TV series.
Moore also clarified the plans for different versions of "Razor." His original cut had to be shortened for broadcast, so various scenes were removed that helped set up the current chronology for the special. Sci Fi Channel will begin airing these six to eight weeks before the episode's on-air debut as a way to stoke interest. Moore seemed unsure if they would be aired on Sci Fi as minisodes or online as webisodes. For "Razor's" DVD release, these will be seamlessly edited back into the episode.
There are no plans to do a series of direct-to-DVD movies after "Battlestar" ends its run. While it can't be ruled out as ever happening, Moore pointed out, "At some point we're going to strike the sets, and it'd be very difficult to rebuild the Galactica on a TV movie budget."
Moore and cast seemed pretty serious when asked about a potential SAG Award nomination for ensemble performance.
"I think our cast absolutely deserves a nod," Moore said. "It's one of the strongest on TV. From guest stars to the regular cast, they're amazing."
"We've been relishing in the ensemble," said actor Mary McDonnell.
Katee Sackhoff is able to star in roles on "Battlestar" and NBC's "Bionic Woman" without conflict thanks to "Battlestar's" atypical production schedule.
"From a production standpoint it works seamlessly," Eick said. "From Katee's standpoint, she just has to do a lot of amphetamines."
David Eick is working on a Fox pilot called "Them." It's in consideration for midseason and Helfer has a role. Pilot has been shot, but reshoots are imminent.
Alex Romanelli
(found it here)
