SciFi Sunday will not reveal spoilers, but will refer to publicly available information — press releases, news articles, interviews and TV ads for the shows. I also have a tendency to speculate based on nothing more than the twisted workings of my own mind, so consider yourself warned.
Principal cast of Battlestar Galactica revisioned as the Last Supper.
Battlestar Galactica, SciFi Channel
Season 4 Premiere Friday April 4, 10 pm Eastern
Only 19 days to go ’til Battlestar Galactica returns. We’ve been waiting a long time for the 10 episodes that will run through early June and who knows how long we will have to wait for the final 10 episodes, the back half of the final season.
If you are the lone sci fi fan on the planet who hasn’t been watching Battlestar (Hi to my brother Doug), it’s never too late to get started. In fact, the producers make it easy for you to catch up. Last year, they did a recap episode as well as a series of webisodes to flesh out the tale.
This year there will be two 1/2 hour specials on March 28th, the Friday before the season premiere. The first looks to be a recap/preview and the second about the show as a fan phenomenon. You can watch five episodes from last season online, free, including the two-part season finale. SciFi Channel also is becoming Channel Battlestar from March 31st, with most of the programming slots being repeats from the first three seasons.
Of course, if you have a really short attention span, what you need is Battlestar Galactica in Eight Minutes:
What’s going to happen this season? Who knows? And per usual the actors and producers are leaving tantalizing breadcrumbs, but very little tangible information, which of course fuels rampant fan speculation. So far, I’ve managed to resist getting too obsessed with spoilers, but I am certain that will change once the season actually starts. From the TV commercials and tidbits that have leaked so far, including the official promo photos, I am inclined to believe that the season will be less about relationships, and how the various couples manage to frak themselves over, and more about the outside forces, particularly the Cylons, that are impacting the Fleet in the search for Earth.
What to do while you wait for the season to start?
March 18: Battlestar Season 3 will be released on DVD. I’m still debating whether to buy it, as I have all the eps from iTunes. The DVD extras are reportedly pretty good though, including an extended version of a significant episode, Unfinished Business. Maybe my husband will get it for me for Easter. Apropos of the Last Supper theme in the picture above.
March 19: Battlestar actors will count down the Top 10 on Late Night with David Letterman. Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas and Lucy Lawless.
Check out some websites. In my opinion, the best overall Battlestar site is Galactica Sitrep. For news coverage of all science fiction shows and films, I also like SyFyPortal. If you like a little irreverence with your reviews, check out Television Without Pity. And for spoilers, The Patriot Resource does a great job of keeping up with everything.
Pick up one (or more) of the soundtrack albums. Bear McCreary’s music adds so much to the show, but it also stands up pretty well on its own.
Here’s a demo clip of McCreary’s Battlestar music (source Galactica Sitrep):
Speaking of Galactica Sitrep, one of its principal authors, ProgGrrl, will be participating in a panel at the Paley Center in New York on May 19th about the influence of fan sites. I wish I could think of a good reason to go to NYC that day, as the panel looks terrific.
Where will I be when the fourth season starts? In NYC for BlogHer Business. I expect I’ll be calling it a night early and retiring to my hotel room to indulge my favorite obsession. Because I know I won’t be able to wait until the next day when I get home to watch the recording.
Next week: my thoughts on the Stargate SG-1 direct to DVD film Ark of Truth.
[tags] Battlestar Galactica, science fiction, television [/tags]
Doug says
Since you mentioned me by name, I sort of had to chime in. 😉
I did watch a couple of episodes to check out BG, so I am not exactly uninformed.
I won’t go into details, though…
I AM glad the show is doing so well for all of its fans, and will tell all of you (the fans of BG) that you should be happy I am not in your ranks:
Shows I DO like invariably get cancelled or go bad after a season.
David H says
Hopefully the new show will not overlap with the finals of March Madness basketball. I hope the schedulers are basketball fansas well as sci-fi fans.