Please excuse the following rant, but did anyone else NOT know that the made for television movie Battlestar Galactica: The Plan was set to premiere this Sunday, January 9th, on Syfy!?! I know this “movie” was released on DVD months ago, but The Blot, like most BSG fans, chose to wait to watch it until the 2 hour special debuted on TV. Now that the series is over, The Blot isn’t really following Battlestar Galactica news or watching Syfy, but shouldn’t more fans have known The Plan was going to air THIS Sunday!? Seems like poor marketing by Syfy, doesn’t it?


Not only is it bad marketing, but it also seems like horrible scheduling to The Blot. The channel formerly known as Sci-Fi could have aired this BSG special anytime in the last three weeks without any competition while most shows were on hiatus, but they chose to air it the same night as the season premieres of Chuck and Big Love (not to mention new episodes from Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters). I know most of you are thinking so what, the show’s already ended and has a totally different audience than most of the aforementioned shows. But in reality this movie should be acting as a springboard to Syfy’s new show, Caprica.


Now I have to figure what show I’m actually going to watch live on Sunday, Chuck, Big Love or The Plan. Thankfully, the Chicago Tribune’s Maureen Ryan has made my decision a little easier by describing The Plan as feeling “like a two-hour ‘previously on Battlestar Galactica.’” (link) Ryan is as big of a BSG fan as they come, and if she’s underwhelmed by The Plan then I’ve got a feeling I will be too. It’s really too bad, because I had high hopes for a BSG project written by Jane Espenson and directed by Edward James Olmos (who also plays Admiral William Adama in the movie).

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan’s world television premiere is scheduled for Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 9/8c on Syfy.

This is it, the day I’ve been dreading for almost two years now…the day the two hour Battlestar Galactica Series Finale airs on the Sci Fi Network. I don’t know what to expect from tonight’s BSG episode, but I have a hunch it’s not going to end well for the show’s central characters. If there is one thing I’ve learned from watching Battlestar Galactica these past 6 years it’s that no one is safe.


Who will survive tonight’s final episode? Will Adama be able to save Hera? I really have no frakking idea, but I hope “Daybreak, Part 2” lives up to the expectations of the BSG faithful. While series finales often garner huge ratings for shows, they also typically end up being let downs to long time fans hoping for real resolution. I’ve read that not everyone’s stories are tied up in neat little bows, but I pray we at least get some closure to the story of the human race’s fight for survival. In the end, I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that humanity and its rebel Cylons allies survive their final battle with Cavil and his army of evil Cylons. I guess all will be revealed in just a few hours…and nothing will ever be the same again.

The two hour Battlestar Galactica Series Finale “Daybreak, Part 2” airs tonight, Friday, March 20, 2009, at 9/8c on the Sci Fi Channel.

Well we’re finally here, just one day away from the beginning of the end. The final 10 episodes of Battlestar Galactica begin airing on Friday, January 16, 2009 and The Blot doesn’t know how to react. Should I be happy or sad that the fourth and final season of BSG will be coming to its scheduled end in just a few short weeks?


On the one hand I’m excited. Not only because after a ridiculously long hiatus we get to finally watch all new episodes of one of the best TV shows ever, but also because we’ll hopefully be getting a ton of answers to questions that have been building for four long seasons. Questions like “who is the fifth and final Cylon?” and “what exactly happened to the planet Earth?” But on the other hand I’m bummed because after a measly 10 more episodes it’ll all be over…no more Starbuck, no more Cylons, no more political intrigue wrapped in religious allegories and no more Edward James Olmos giving one of the best, underappreciated performances in television history.


I have no idea what’s in store for the last remaining survivors of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol but I’m sure it’ll be exciting and not everyone will make it through to the end alive. Any guesses on which main characters bite the dust first? And guessing one of the numbered Cylon skin-jobs doesn't count since they can just be reborn if a resurrection ship is nearby.

If it’s any consolation, this won’t be the last we of our favorite Battlestar Galactica characters on television as a prequel made for television movie is already in the works. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan will be directed by Edward James Olmos and air in 2009 following the conclusion of the series. The two hour movie will take place before the events of the miniseries and focuses “on familiar characters including Cylon Number One, known as Cavil, Resistance Leader Sam T. Anders and Chief Galen Tyrol.” (link) BSG: The Plan reveals that even though “the Cylons had a plan, it didn't account for one thing: survivors. During the chaotic aftermath of the destruction, two powerful Cylon agents struggle with plots and priorities on the human ships that got away, and among the resistance fighters who were left behind.” (link)

Battlestar Galactica Season 4, Part II (also known as BSG Season 4.5) will air Fridays on the Sci-Fi Channel at 10/9c.

When a show has been on the air off and on since 1963 you have to expect a lot of turnover in key roles. Therefore it should come as no surprise that Doctor Who, one of the BBC’s most popular television shows, is already on its third Doctor since the show was restarted in 2005. It’s been rumored for a while now that David Tennant, the current and arguably one of the most popular Doctors to date, would be leaving the show after his third season as the tenth Doctor. When news finally hit that Tennant would film four final Doctor Who specials (instead of an official fifth season) to air throughout 2009 and part of 2010, the internet went crazy speculating who would fill the role of the Tartis flying Doctor.

And now we know…British Actor Matt Smith was officially announced as the eleventh incarnation of the popular space and time traveling Doctor last week. At age 26 he will be the youngest actor to ever play the Doctor and his casting in the role has led a full spectrum of emotions from rabid fans of the Doctor Who franchise. Since I prefer Christopher Eccleston’s ninth Doctor to Tennant’s tenth, Tennant’s departure is not as impactful to me as it has been to many fans. Therefore, I am reserving all opinions on Smith’s casting until I see him on TV with a sonic screwdriver in his hand.


In the U.S. you can watch new episodes of Doctor Who on the Sci-Fi Channel and repeats on BBC America.

If you’re like The Blot then you can’t wait for the premiere of Battlestar Galactica Season 4 Part II on January 16th. Thankfully your wait is over because last Friday, December 12th, the Sci-Fi Channel launched an all new 10 part webisode series, Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy. The first two webisodes have already been posted and another two will be added each week leading up to the start of BSG’s final episodes. Each webisode will be 3-4 minutes long and “will complement the stories played out in on air episodes and give viewers more insight into characters and events from the fourth season” (link)


According to a Sci-Fi press release, Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy “follows the gripping action and suspense inside a stranded Raptor carrying a group of passengers including Lieutenant Felix Gaeta (Alessandro Juliani) and a Number 8 Cylon (Grace Park). When passengers suddenly start dying one by one in alarming ways, fear, panic and chaos erupt within the confines of the small ship, as they come to realize there is a killer among them. Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh) and Brad Dryborough (Lieutenant Hoshi) also star."

Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? You can watch the first two webisodes right now here, and catch new episodes at 12 noon/11 am central on the dates listed below.

Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy
Release Schedule
December 12 - Chapter 1
December 15 - Chapter 2
December 17 - Chapter 3
December 22 - Chapter 4
December 24 - Chapter 5
December 29 - Chapter 6
December 31 - Chapter 7
January 05 - Chapter 8
January 07 - Chapter 9
January 12 - Chapter 10

All new episodes of Battlestar Galactica’s fourth and final season begin airing on the Sci-Fi Channel on January 16, 2009 at 10/9c. Until the show’s final batch of episodes air, we can only debate who will be revealed as the final Cylon and where this crazy journey will ultimately take the last remaining humans of the 12 Colonies. This week the Sci-Fi Channel released an all new BSG promo, The Epic Journey, to give fans a sneak peek of the conclusion of this amazing show and its fraking awesome.


Check out the newest Battlestar Galactica video promo clip The Epic Journey below:

Thankfully, we won’t have to wait as long for the completion of Battlestar Galactica Season 4 as I had first thought. The Sci Fi Channel announced this week that the second part BSG’s final season would begin airing in January 2009. (link) While The Blot dreaded having to wait until 2009 to watch the Battlestar's final 10 episodes, at least they are debuting Season 4, Part II in January and not making us wait until the summer of 2009.

The second interesting bit of Battlestar news is that BSG’s own Jamie Bamber (Apollo) has been chosen to star in the newest Law & Order spinoff, Law & Order: UK, as one of the show’s two central police officers. This is the first Law & Order series to be created specifically for another country, but have no fear, the show will have the “same premise as the original American Law & Order, same everything, just with a U.K. production company and U.K. actors.” (link)

Considering all three of the original Law & Orders were just renewed for another season, it seems like nothing can slow down the Law & Order franchise, even lower ratings. No word yet if Law & Order: UK will be replayed in the United States. My guess is that it will air in the U.S. one day, either on BBC America or on one of the networks of NBC Universal, possibly the USA Network.


And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for…the Sci Fi Channel has posted on their website the very first Caprica trailer for their upcoming Battlestar Galactica prequel television movie/series. Caprica takes place “a generation before Battlestar” and features the legendary Adama family struggling with the creation of the first Cylons. (link) You can catch this exclusive trailer here.

Tonight is the mid-season finale of Battlestar Galactica on the Sci-Fi Channel and I think it's complete bs. At the end of BSG Season 3 there was a decision to renew the show for one final season in order to wrap up the ongoing saga between the human race and the Cylons. 20 episodes were ordered and yet here we are, 10 episodes in and Sci-Fi has not only decided to split the season into two mini-seasons, but is also planning on waiting up to a year before airing the second block of episodes.

This is eerily similar to what FX has been doing to The Shield, which has all but killed all of the momentum that series had built up over its past two seasons. The mid-season break seems like an even worse idea when you take into consideration how BSG’s ratings have been steadily improving over the course of the show’s fourth season. (link) I am pretty annoyed by Sci-Fi’s scheduling decision because if they felt like Battlestar Galactica was so important ad revenue wise then why didn’t they just go ahead and order a fifth season. As it is now, the show has been dragging this seasons story wise and now that things have finally picked up we’re given a mid-season finale and are being forced to wait months, if not a year, to see the series conclude. Now you’re probably asking yourself why did I title today’s post Battlestar Galactica vs. Lost?

The answer is simple really. Both shows are unique in that an ending to both were pre-determined before the start of the shows' final seasons. While Battlestar’s ending point was determined at the end of the show’s second to last season, Lost’s was decided upon three years before its final season. The impact of those decisions seem to have drastically different effects on the two shows. In the case of BSG, most fans seem to think it has hurt the show and slowed down storylines as the creators slowly guide the cast and crew to the show’s Season 4 series finale. On the other hand, many believe Lost’s decision to end after Season 6 has really helped the show and actually sped up the story telling process. In fact, Lost Season 4 has been one of the show’s best while giving viewers more answers than ever before.

So, why the difference and does this bode poorly for Lost’s final season? My guess is that one final season of 20 episodes for BSG was probably more episodes than its creators needed to properly conclude the series, but not enough to start completely new storylines and introduce new characters. While I undertsand that you don’t want to introduce new characters and storylines during a show's final season, it seems to have confined where the storylines can go(except in the case of killing off characters, which BSG seems content to be doing every single week. I worry that there will be no one left by the time we reach the season finale).

I am concerned that Lost will get stuck in a similar rut as it moves into its final season. On the plus side, Lost only has 16 (now 17) episodes during its final season versus Battlestar Galactica’s 20. I also think Lost has more minor storylines and mysteries to address as it prepares for its final two seasons than Galactica ever had. This should help to fuel more episodes and give fans more action as the show progresses. Regardless, I do fear that what has happened to Battlestar Galactica this season could easily happen to Lost in its final season. Hopefully the creators of Lost will see the things that have hurt BSG this year and try to shy away from that type of stagnation.

After a year hiatus, one of the best shows of the past 5 years returns to television this Friday. Battlestar Galactica Season 4 premiers tomorrow, Friday, April 4th at 10/9C on the Sci-Fi Channel. I’m pretty pumped, not only for the new season but also because I just picked up a copy of the show’s television movie Battlestar Galactica: Razor, which I haven't seen yet. Hopefully I’ll have time to watch it tonight or tomorrow before the start of Season 4.


With the question of who is the final Cyclon on the tip of every BSG fan’s tongue, Battlestar Galactica’s fourth and final season should be a great one. Plus, after months of speculation and hypothesis as to the meaning of the Battlestar Galactica Last Supper promotional photo below, we should be finally getting some answers as to its real meaning coming our way soon. I also can’t wait to see what’s in store for the crew of the Battlestar Galactica if and when the Colonial fleet ever makes it to Earth.


If you need a quick refresher course in everything that’s happened on Battlestar Galactica to date, head over to Salon.com for “a complete primer on the smartest sci-fi TV show…maybe ever.” (link)

Sorry I’ve been missing all day, but The Blot’s Monday has been really busy following a crazy weekend. The first thing I can report is that I am officially caught up on Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica just in time to start watching Season 4 this Friday. The only think left for me to do is watch the made for TV movie Battlestar Galactica: Razor which debuted last November on the Sci-Fi Network. The movie is set in the past and explores what took place on the Battlestar Pegasus btween the initial Cylon attack in the 2003 Battlestar Galactica mini-series and when the Pegasus rejoined Galactica and the colonial fleet in Season 2. Evidently some events from this movie help to set up the storylines to come in Season 4, so I’d like to watch it before Friday’s season premiere.

I was waiting to watch Razor until I caught up on Season 3, since it came out after Season 3 ended and I was worried it might spoil something in the season for me. Now that Texas was knocked out of the NCAA Basketball Tournament by the Memphis Tigers in the Elite Eight, I should have plenty of time to catch up on Razor and watch Season 4, Episode 1 this week/weekend.

What a disappointing game I attended on Sunday. Texas was thoroughly outmatched and outplayed by Memphis. I figured we at least had a chance to beat Memphis considering Texas beat Kansas at home late in the year (and Kansas is arguably as big and talented as Memphis), and Texas beat Tennessee by 18 on a neutral court early in the year (Tennessee is the only team to have beaten Memphis this year and the game was at Memphis). As it turns out, all of my rationalizing was moot once the game started as Memphis dominated Texas from tip-off and completely took the primarily pro-Texas crowd out of the game.


While I was pretty dejected during the game, in retrospect I am very pleased with our season and in the fact that Head Coach Rick Barnes and the team made it to the Elite Eight. The season went better than anyone could have imagined after losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year and then losing the NCAA Player of the Year, Kevin Durant, to the NBA. The team really came together this year and ended up being even better than last year by being ranked in the Top 10 most of the year, breaking the school's record for wins in a season, and beating 3 top 5 teams, including two Final Four teams, in UCLA, Kansas and Tennessee.


With that being said, Texas couldn’t have asked for a better route to a return trip to the Final Four with their Tournament games being scheduled in Little Rock, Arkansas, Houston, Texas and then in San Antonio if they had reached the Final Four for the second time in the Rick Barnes era. I guess there’s always next year. Hopefully our All American point guard D.J. Augustin will see the benefit of staying in college for another year so the team will have an even better chance to return to the NCAA Tournament next year.

The Blot has been waiting months for this day, the release of Battlestar Galactica Season 3 on DVD. I was admittedly behind on the whole Battlestar Galactica craze and jumped on the bandwagon last summer after being persuaded by a friend to finally give it a second try. You see I loved watching repeats of the campy original Battlestar as a kid, but after watching half an hour of the show’s original mini-series I had to turn it off. I just couldn’t watch a show that would desecrate the greatness that was Lt. Starbuck by turning him into a woman. How could you do that to the A-Team’s Faceman (a.k.a. Dirk Benedict)!?!?


After a second viewing of the mini-series I realized the error of my way and the greatness that is Katee Sackhoff’s Starbuck. There is so much more to this show than the hot, evil Cylon robots or the starship battles in space, the show has actually great storylines. While many people are probably turned off by the science fiction aspect of BSG, the show really is as much about politics, political intrigue and the same types of issues facing America as another one of The Blot’s favorite shows, The West Wing. Yes I know it’s hard to compare a show about the Oval Office to a show about a spaceship, but it really does work.

Once I finished the initial Battlestar Galactica mini-series I rushed out to purchase the Season 1 box set and haven’t looked back yet. What sucked was the fact that Season 3 was going on as I was still watching Season 2 & 2.5 on DVD. So I waited, and waited, and waited for almost an entire year for NBC/Universal and the Sci-Fi Channel to get their act together and finally release Season 3 on DVD. Now that I’ve purchased the third box set I’ve got to figure out how I’m going to find the time to watch the entire season before BSG’s fourth and final season debuts Friday, April 4th at 10/9 central on the Sci-Fi Channel. Damn you March Madness!

As the final season’s debut approaches the show is doing all it can to promote its fourth season. The first stop of their never ending PR tour for the show is The Late Show with David Letterman where The Daytona Beach News-Journal is reporting that tonight several of Battlestar Galactica’s stars will be presenting the daily Top Ten list. (link) The actors rumored to appear “include Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer and Lucy Lawless.” (link) While the article doesn’t say what the topic of the Top Ten list will be, I’m sure it’ll be pretty funny with the cast sure to be making fun of the science fiction/unrealistic aspects of the show.

Another bit of exciting news for fans of BSG came out yesterday in that the Sci-fi Channel finally announced at their upfront presentation Tuesday that “it has greenlighted a two-hour back-door pilot” Caprica, “which had been in development for two years.” (link) Finally! The much talked Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica seemed to have been in limbo forever, but the show seems set to finally see the light of day. Caprica, “which is set 50 years before the events in the departing Battlestar,” sounds to be following in the footsteps of primetime soap operas of the past. (link)

The television movie and subsequent series is set to “revolve around two families: the Adamas and the Graystones. Joseph Adama, father of future Battlestar commander William Adama, is a renowned civil liberties lawyer who becomes an opponent of the artificial intelligence/Cylon experiments wrought by the Graystones, owners of a large computer corporation that builds the first Cylons.” (link) While the story sounds interesting, I don’t know how it will translate to fans of the current Battlestar Galactica since there is something to a story in which the human race is all but extinct and fighting for its existence. Nevertheless I’m sure I’ll give Caprica a shot when it debuts next year.

You can purchase the two Battlestar Galactica propaganda posters seen here and other cool BSG merchandise (including official Battlestar Galactica dog tags and additional posters) at Quantum Mechanix. (link)