Caprica To Air "Final Five" Episodes On Jan. 4th

It's time for another look into The Geek Closet. After our eventful playtest of the Dexter board game two weeks ago, my friends and I started looking up other TV show-inspired games. (Anyone realize that there was an Alf board game?) That led us to Margaret Weis Productions' 2007 Battlestar Galactica RPG.

Personally, I couldn't wait to dig into this one. I've been a longtime RPG player since the days of second-edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and I'm just starting to get into Battlestar Galactica (thanks to being a fan of Jamie Bamber's work on Law & Order: UK). A Battlestar RPG sounded like my idea of a good time. Yet as we sat down to play Thursday night, I found out quickly that I was the expert on the topic - no one else in my social circle is a fan of the show. Or is really even familiar with it. Oops.

Thankfully, you don't have to be a BSG fan to be able to play the roleplaying game. The introductory section provides plenty of background information, and if you give the corebook a fair read-through you'll pick up other things along the way. In that sense, as long as you and your fellow players have a decent attention span, you'll be able to fit right in. Die-hard fans of the show have pointed out that since this book was released in 2007, it doesn't cover content from the entire series; don't expect an expansion. My sources at MWP have told me that they discontinued this property awhile back.

With a roleplaying game, a good amount of time is taken up simply by creating your characters, which in some systems can be an arduous process of rolling dice, looking for traits, and figuring out what the heck you're trying to do. Simply because of time constraints, we used the sheets for canon characters provided in the corebook. (Of course, I had to play Lee Adama, which resulted in a horrible impression for which I owe Jamie Bamber a profuse apology.) I did go back and peruse the guidelines for character creation, and anyone who's played a game of AD&D should have no problem pulling together a character in this game. There is a fair amount of math, of course, but if you're averse to doing math, then you probably don't play a lot of RPGs to begin with.

Continued on next page...

The Geek Closet Uncovers "Battlestar Galactica: The Roleplaying Game"

It's that time of year again. The ghouls and goblins are roaming the streets again, and porches are littered with pumpkins carved into the horrific visages of--

Dwight Shrute? The Doctor?

Not every pumpkin you carve for Halloween has to have triangular eyes and jagged teeth. People have been carving their pumpkins into totems of pop culture for years; with the advent of the Internet, talented carvers have begun to show off their gourdish creativity. For those who aren't as good with freehand, they've even offered up stencils of their fantastic carvings, which have delved into the realm of television. Ever wondered what Greg House would look like carved into a pumpkin? Hurley Reyes? Dexter Morgan? How about that lead trio from The Vampire Diaries?

The gallery below has twenty terrific pumpkins for you to ooh and ahh over, and cringe with jealousy. Some of the images below are actual pumpkins, while others are just patters for you to try out yourself.

Are you feeling the Halloween spirit? Well, keep your television sensibilities alive with the wonderful selections below.

Special thanks to Mark O. Estes, who contributed to this article, as well as to PinkRayGun.com, who created many of these fantastic designs.

Dexter Morgan

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This creepy serial killer from Showtime's 'Dexter' is perfect pumpkin material, and will scare off your neighbors.

20 Pumpkin Carvings for the TV Fanatic

When Battlestar Galactica ended its five-year run last year, it was both the best and worst thing to happen to television. It was the best because it meant that the series could (arguably) end on a creative high note, leaving it in our memories as one of the smartest sci-fi shows to air on television ever. The bad? It meant no more Battlestar Galactica.

Thankfully, there was a solution to that quandary, thanks to Caprica, the prequel to Battlestar. Of course, it's not the same beast that Battlestar was, but it's at least a dose from the same universe. While Battlestar was incredibly dark and gritty, Caprica is bright and cheerful, despite dealing with some pretty heavy themes (one of the main characters is killed in a terrorist attack in the first episode).

So it's no surprise that the series was a pretty big hit for SyFy. We'll be getting more of the show's first season when it resumes tomorrow night (after a six month break), but tomorrow also means that you'll be able to check the first half of the season on DVD.

SyFy seems to have a thing for putting out half-seasons on DVD, and Caprica is no exception. Season 1.0 hits shelves on Tuesday, October 5, and features the first nine episodes of the season on four discs. It's not available on Blu-ray, strangely enough, but the $31.99 set is definitely a must-have for any fan -- and anyone simply looking to catch up on the series before it resumes tomorrow night.

You can order Caprica Season 1.0 through Amazon.

Caprica 1.0 to Hit DVD on Tuesday

If you've been watching TV the last decade, chances are you've heard Bear McCreary's music. He was the composer behind Battlestar Galactica, Trauma, and now Caprica and The Walking Dead. Surprisingly, he's only been nominated for one Emmy - for the outstanding main theme for FOX's Human Target, which is still stuck in my head at random intervals. He was gracious enough to speak with me on Thursday, shedding some light on his expansive career and the reasons behind his unfortunate departure from Human Target.

How do you get involved with scoring a television series like Human Target? The role of the composer seems to be getting more and more important, yet it's still a job a lot of people don't know anything about.

Human Target was interesting because I had an early meeting with Jon Steinberg. He was looking at composers before they shot the pilot. He was showing an extraordinary interest in the music. It caught my attention right away. I knew I was dealing with a guy who took music very seriously. Most of the time, they'll shoot the pilot and score it with tracks from other soundtracks, a "temp score." But Human Target, Steinberg in particular, the music was so important to him. He knew even as a pilot that having an original theme and orchestral score was one of the selling points of the whole show. He had the vision to pull all that together. Jon really liked what I did and we had a meeting. About five minutes into the meeting, we realized we were just nerding out about soundtracks the whole time, and realizing that we were exactly on the same page about the kind of film music that we liked.

At the same time, there's sort of an emerging cult following for TV composers. Some have become quite popular, like you, Sean Callery (La Femme Nikita, 24) and Michael Giacchino (Alias, Fringe). What has that kind of attention been like for you?

It's not something I ever thought about. It's certainly a nice affirmation that you're doing something that people are responding to. The music on Battlestar has crossed over into fandom in ways that almost no other TV score has ever done. I'm continually amazed, when we book the concerts, how many people come out to hear this stuff. It's not like we're playing just the greatest hits - we're playing cues from within the dramatic narrative and people are really responding to it as a musical experience. When I see this stuff happening, it's definitely something that makes me smile.

When you get involved with a series, how do you create and settle on the sound for it? What do you draw from?

Some of that is just the magic of being a musician. I don't know. I watch the pilot, I think about the characters, and you just kind of start sharing things.

I have to ask you about that distinctive title theme for Human Target. Mark Valley has it as the ringtone on his iPhone, and of course you were nominated for an Emmy. How did you compose that?

Mark was telling me that he wished he could have that playing any time he walked into a room. I had long conversations with Jon Steinberg. The first thing I wrote was the Christopher Chance theme, which would become the main theme, because I knew I had to get this right. There was a first draft that I wrote that we didn't end up using, and it will be included on the forthcoming soundtrack CD. It's a little dark, it's a little more ambiguous emotionally. My second version was exactly what you hear on the air. But it was a real challenge at first, because there's a playfulness and an epic scope that need to be combined. If it doesn't feel like it's fun, you're missing a part of Chance's personality, but if it's too fun, and you're not capturing the action and adventure, then you're failing to fully represent the character in that theme. I was really happy with what we ended up with.

What were your inspirations for the show? I always got a kind of classic high adventure, sort of throwback action movie kind of feel from the score.

Our philosophy - Jon Steinberg and I - we had this idea that we wanted it to feel like a classic adventure score. This was something that we wrestled with. We wanted it to feel like a modern score, but in that style. I think we found that balance. There's a lot of contemporary electronic sound. The philosophy was in the late 80's, certainly up until the 80's, there was always a strong orchestral presence in film music. Transitioning up to now, the emphasis in feature film scores started to drift away from orchestral writing. That style kind of became passe. So we had this idea of, "What if that had never happened? What if that never went out of style and it continued to evolve, what would that sound like now?"

You also created some pretty great themes for the main characters as well. Is there a major difference between composing those themes and standard score, or is it just that they're recurring cues?

The episodic score is what I'm dealing with every day. My first and foremost job is to provide the underscore. You have to navigate these waters very carefully. I wanted to do all these big picture things, but I also had to make sure of all these other things at the same time. Having all those themes makes that job immensely easier. You kind of know automatically, when a character is in a scene, that you have a starting point. Once that work is done, I could start coming up with variations of it. The Winston theme is very playful and it's kind of the classic sidekick theme, but then Winston got his own chances to be involved in fights and save the day in a few cases, and the theme actually changed.

I would have to write the themes in advance. In "Sanctuary," there was a reference in there to Katherine Walters, who in that episode is nothing more than a name in a file. But Steinberg was telling me there were a lot of things in play that you don't necessarily know about yet. These were things I hinted at in "Sanctuary" without knowing what these things were. You've heard [Chance's] old boss theme twenty-five times before you've ever seen the guy's face. To do that in TV requires a lot of cooperation from your producers. But it made it so much more rewarding for me, in the last episode, to play Katherine's theme and have it feel familiar.

I know you've stated you had a close relationship with series creator Jon Steinberg. Can you talk about that, and the collaboration between the two of you to create that great finished product?

I worked with several of the writers and a couple of the producers, but Steinberg really was my point man on this. He was the one who had the clearest vision of what the music wanted to be. Once he and I got on the same page, we were really in sync. I was able to predict what he wanted to hear and how he envisioned these characters, and he began to trust that I knew what was best for the show. In the second half of the season, we actually didn't even meet anymore. He had faith that I would do what he would want to have done. It's a great thing when you're in an artistic relationship with someone that you can have that kind of trust. I've never met a producer who's more in tune with music.

I've seen the first episode of the second season of Human Target, and your score is sorely missed. Can you shed some light on your departure from the show?

Honestly, I have no idea. I just know that I wasn't invited back. I could only speculate, but I wouldn't be any more informed than you. The reality is that songs are very expensive, and orchestral score is not. I would be very, very surprised if it was a purely budgetary reason. But I'm very happy with the work that Steinberg and I did over the course of the first season.

But fans are lucky in that we'll be seeing a CD release of your score. How did that come to be? What can fans expect from it?

It comes out in a shortened version on iTunes on October 5, and a 3-disc, four-hour version on October 19. You can expect almost everything. I'll be stunned if there's a cue that isn't on the album. Especially because I knew that I wasn't coming back, there was no reason to save anything for later, so I asked if they'd be willing to put out a 3-disc album. Major points go to those guys because they knew Human Target fans wanted to hear this stuff.

You're going to hear a couple of different versions of the main title, an extended version of the main title. There's an even longer version of it there. It's got all the best action scenes from every episode. It's got the big finale from "Christopher Chance." It's honestly the most incredible soundtrack album I've ever put out. When I put on one of my CD's, this is the one I put on.

It seems a lot of series are moving away from main title themes. Do you have any thoughts on that?

It's happening. It's happening to a point where the television academy, they voted this year on whether or not to even have a category for Best Main Title Composition at the Emmys. For what it's worth, I'm doing my part, with Trauma and Caprica and The Walking Dead.  I'm fortunate to work on shows where people recognize that a main title sequence is important. I certainly hope that trend reverses itself, and I think that it will.

What do you listen to? Are there any composers whose work you particularly enjoy?

I grew up listening to almost nothing but film scores. So I grew up on Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Alan Silvestri, Danny Elfman, John Williams. These are people that were and are my musical heroes. They continue to inspire me to this day. I had the great fortune of working with Elmer Bernstein. That's a generation of Hollywood that I have a tremendous respect for. The nicest thing that I hope someone thinks about my work on Human Target, I would love to think that there's some 13-year-old kid not realizing how great some of this music is, and watches Human Target and goes back to discover all these people. Another one is Shirley Walker, who worked on the Batman animated series. That's the holy grail of TV scores that everything falls short of, including Human Target. It's really a thrill to give back to that.

Thank you to Bear McCreary for a great interview. You can stop by and say hello to Bear yourself on his blog. Much of his television work is available commercially on Amazon. The Human Target score is currently slated for an October release through La-La Land Records.

Exclusive Interview - Bear McCreary (Human Target)

In Ballroom 20 (the main TV panel venue), the Friday edition of Comic-Con began with panels on SyFy Network's Stargate Universe and Caprica.

First up: Stargate Universe.  Robert Carlyle, Alaina Huffman, David Blue, and Ming Na were introduced by producer Robert Cooper.  A trailer for the new season (starting this September on SyFy) was then shown, much to the delight of those gathered.  Cooper then began a Q&A with the actors.  Carlyle said that his character, Rush, is one of his favorites that he has ever played.  He continued, saying that the temptation as an actor is to "play the end" of the show, but not having that information is beneficial to his portrayal.  Ming Na said that finding a woman who is in a position of power, yet with a great vulnerability was a bit surprising for her as an actress.

Blue talked about how his character Eli will find himself in a relationship in the second season, stating that "Nerds need love, too!"  Huffman was asked how such a happy, bubbly person in real life, plays a character who is so serious.  She responded that she has learned a lot from her character, TJ, in being strong when need be, but asking for help when she has to, as well.  Huffman also said that there is a great mood on set, led by Robert Carlyle, where they are free to create to the best of their ability and imagination.

Carlyle approached the producers with a desire to direct, and since directing takes so much preparation, he had to direct his episode first; however, the episode, "Pathogen," will air fourth this season.  The episode is a very emotional one, with a couple characters returning home to deal with some family issues.  It was also revealed that *SPOILER ALERT* Rush discovers the Bridge of the Destiny, but keeps that discovery to himself. *SPOILER OVER* Also, look for some time travel, and the return of Robert Picardo and David Hewlett during the second season.

One other piece of Stargate news is that Robert Knepper, formerly of Prison Break and Heroes, will be appearing in the upcoming season.

Next up was Caprica.  James Marsters, Sasha Roiz, Alessandra Torresani, David Eick, and Ronald D. Moore came onto the stage.  After a trailer for the show, James Marsters was asked what it is like to be playing a religious terrorist.  He said that Barnabas can be considered Timothy McVeigh or Osama bin Laden, take your pick, but what they all have in common is that they all think they know what God wants, which can lead to trouble for those around them.  Roiz explains that his character has been trying to find his position within the family, and what his purpose is.  Torresani has the pleasure of playing a multitude of characters (although they are Zoey Greystone).  Further, she says that she uses Twitter a lot because she wants to make sure the fans are as much a part of the show as possible.  Ron Moore spoke about Caprica is like Dallas in that it is a great family drama.

Moore and Eick said that they are in the last stages of speaking with the network about continuing the show into a second season.  Further, the second half of the first season will air in January on SyFy.  Moore also spoke about the retro look of the series, noting that although it takes place in the future form our current time, it is actually a period piece when compared to the events of Battlestar Gallactica.  During this comment, Magda Apanowicz, who plays Lacy Rand, ran onto the stage!  She said that she feels very lucky to be able to be a part of such great material, and that her character has changed so much over the course of the first season.  Torresani spoke about how the cast really is a family as they film the show up in Vancoucer, British Columbia, away from their homes and all of the distractions of Hollywood.

James Marsters said that he will be appearing on the 200th episode of Smallville later this year.  Moore spoke about how he has always liked putting women into non-traditional, military roles, because of the dramatic tension such writing and casting creates.  Further, he said that while Battlestar Gallactica dealt with a post-9/11 world, Caprica concerns itself with the kind of world that exists today, touching on such issues of corporatism, immigration and security.

We have a few photos below from the Stargate Universe and Caprica panels.

SGU - Robert Carlyle

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Comic-Con - Stargate Universe and Caprica Panels

It's around this time that TV DVD releases really start to get amped up. After all, it's the build-up to the fall season, and that means that studios are pushing out their shows on DVD to not only attract new viewers, but to remind old viewers that their show still exists after a long hiatus. It's an effective marketing strategy, though the sudden dump of DVDs might make it hard on fans' wallets.

July is really only the beginning; the major releases won't really start hitting until August. Right now, we're just seeing a smattering of odds and ends hitting the shelves. Here's a look at what shows will be released on DVD come July 6.

Project Runway, Season 7 - I know several people who watch this show, and on occasion, I've given it a view. Its seventh season was not well-received by critics, but the series managed to maintain a solid enough fanbase to secure an eighth year. Do I enjoy the show? Sure. Would I be caught dead with the DVD on my shelf? Not a chance. Some of you might feel differently, though. Order: DVD

Battlestar Galactica, Seasons 4.0 & 4.5 - These have both already been released on DVD, but here's a new chance to get both parts of season four together or one low price. Or are they two separate seasons? SyFy numbering always confuses me. Order: DVD

E.R., Season 13 - If you've been collecting these box sets, you must be near broke, because there are still two more to go! Order: DVD

Life on Mars (UK), The Complete Collection - It was remade as a short-lived American television series, but the better will always be the original, Harvey Keitel or not (if it's a familiar face you're after, the show stars John Simm, or The Master from Doctor Who). The eight-disc set is available for the first time on region one, and like a lot of British television, it's really good. Order: DVD

Doc Martin, Series 4 - This series looks like a slightly more comedic version of House, and it looks somewhat funny. Official product description:

After his wedding day disaster, Dr. Martin Ellingham (Martin Clunes, Men Behaving Badly) is even grumpier and ruder than before. His former fiancée, Louisa (Caroline Catz, Murder in Suburbia), has left the village to avoid embarrassment. The doctor himself plans to return to London as a surgeon--if he can conquer his fear of blood. But it’s hard to leave a place as charming and full of eccentric characters as Portwenn.Matters quickly become complicated when Louisa moves back with startling news. Meanwhile, Martin’s old flame, Edith Montgomery (Lia Williams), takes a job at the local hospital and sets her sights on the doc. Sparks and rumors fly as patients crowd his office: a shouting oil rigger, the inept local constable, a woman who sees her dead husband’s ghost, and a man who eats his own hair. Facing all this, will Doc Martin leave Portwenn after all? Order: DVD

Dragnet 1968, Season 2 - "The stories you are about to see are true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." It's one of America's classic cop shows, and it's no Andy Griffith. Order: DVD

Squidbillies, Volume 3 - I don't watch this show, and don't particularly care to, but I believe it has a bit of a cult following. The product description:

Dang, ya'll. Squidbillies season 4 is here! You better believe me, the 'billies get into more trouble than you can shake a stick at. Look out for Rusty gettin' into the steroids, fussin' with the oldest living confederate widow, Early fleecing money off his family, and the toxic effects of letting yourself get caught up in a liberal news media human interest typhoon. Order: DVD

The Game, The Final Season - Like squidbillies, this show doesn't look like it would be much of my thing, though I know several people who thoroughly enjoy it. Official product description: 

Being the wife or girlfriend of a pro-football player might sound like a glamorous and stress-free existence, but Melanie Barnett (Tia Mowry) is about to discover the truth. Melanie’s boyfriend, Derwin, is the new third-string wide receiver for the San Diego Sabers. While Derwin worries about the plays on the field, Melanie learns about the power plays that NFL wives use to get their men the best agents, managers, endorsements, merchandising deals and even the “in” charity. As she deals with egos, groupies and image consultants, Melanie is finding out how “the game” is played among the women behind the athletes. Order: DVD

Rhoda, Season 3 - This is a show that I've never heard of, but I feel like I should have; it's a spin-off of the classic Mary Tyler Moore Show. Ah, well. Here's the official product description:

With her marriage to Joe coming to an end, Rhoda Morgenstern once again finds herself single and her life filled with hilarious dating adventures reminiscent of her days in Minneapolis. Complete with spontaneous trips around the world, dates with vibrant lounge singers and mistaken arrests, this 24-episode third season is a brilliant reminder of why Rhoda remains one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time. Order: DVD

TV on DVD: July 6, 2010

The title of the midseason finale of Caprica could stand for not only the characters' fates, but the patience of a viewing audience as well.

Don't get me wrong. I am not in the crowd I mentioned above, but if someone wanted to bow out now, I would understand their reasoning for doing so. "End of Line" lost me during the 'previously on...' segment when we see a scene with Clarice and Olaf fussing over a flyer for a missing bike that ties into Barnabas' terrorist cell. I can't recall that scene, but if anyone else can, please give me the episode in which it was featured.

Some of the story lines came to a head on collision (pun intended), while others just fizzled into the ether. While most of the aforementioned story arcs meshed or crisscrossed each other, it was like some strings ran short and left a messy crochet project in the process. So instead of just wondering what is going to happen next, I can't help but wonder how will they build upon this shaky base, despite the intriguing preview for the fall episodes. Let's do a quick recap.

Journey's End

Joseph Adama is a mess. Sam is pissed, but Evelyn tells him to let Joseph be. Meanwhile in the V-World, Tamara is approached by Emmanuelle, who tells Tamara that Joseph is practically killing himself looking for his daughter. She asks Tamara for her help. When Joseph finally does find Tamara, she begs her father to let her go, because it is not healthy for him. He refuses, which forces Tamara to shoot herself. Before Joseph can react well, Tamara turns the gun on him and shoots his avatar out of the game. Joseph awakes in the real world crying when he realized what just happened. In the V-World, Emmanuelle watches the entire incident in a corner. After Tamara leaves the room, Emmanuelle removes her holoband to wake up in the real world as... Evelyn! She consoles a distraught Joseph and I am left wondering who the hell sent Evelyn to guide Joseph in the first place? Tad?

That's What Friends Are For

Clarice and Nestor, with other men, approach Barnabas and Keon about the bicycle poster that I had no clue existed. They have some words and guns are drawn. Obviously this is a struggle for power within the S.T.O.

Later at a S.T.O. meeting, the group says a prayer and ends it with "So say we all...". Lacy somehow has gotten on Barnabas's good side, because not only has she been invited to pray with them, but Barnabas has a box big enough to ship the U-87 droid to Gemenon. Again, what did I miss? But Barnabas's generosity comes with a price. He wants Lacy to plant a tracking device on Clarice by switching her car alarm remote to prove her loyalty to his S.T.O. faction. She accepts cause not only is she trying to do everything in her power to help Zoe 2.o, but because she is Lacy, the Naive Princess of Caprica. Lacy manages to complete the switch, but Zoe 2.0 puts the pressure on her after hearing that her identity might be wiped. When Lacy tells her friend to hold on for a week, Zoe 2.o flips and calls Lacy a coward. Then Zoe 2.0 pleads for Lacy to do something before de-resing back to the U-87 bot. Hmmm....

The Walls Are Closing In

Daniel has finally met his greatest fear: he has to sell the Caprican Buccs to save his company and help with production of the Cylons to maintain the military contract, whose due date is approaching rapidly. And it doesn't help that the trades are reporting this move is a solution after word has leaked about Daniel 'possibly' stealing the MCP and killing to get it. Later, Daniel talks with a Colonel, who doesn't waste time undermining Daniel's 'achievements and throwing the theft of the MCP in his face. She then moves up the deadline for the 100,000 machines to 7 days from that exact moment, because if Daniel is telling the truth then it shouldn't be a problem to produce such a big order in that time. Daniel balks. I roll my eyes at the logic.

Daniel then orders for Philomon to erase the MCP chip and to copy it so they can start production. Of course, Zoe 2.0 is tripping at this suggestion.

Meanwhile, Amanda is in turmoil over Vergis's revelation and is beating herself up over it by drinking, chain smoking, and taking meds, all not in that exact order mind you. After being unintentionally blown off by Clarice, Amanda only has her illusions of her time in the hospital after her brother's death as company. Said illusions feature suicide attempts and I know this is not going to end well for our once strong minded Amanda Graystone.

While Daniel makes dinner, Amanda comes out and asks him about Vergis's claim and asks if it's true. Daniel says not really and that it's complicated. He might as well had stabbed Amanda in the chest with that answer. She leaves while he still preps dinner, but not as 'chipper' as before.

Meanwhile, The Colonel and Vergis are finishing up a dinner date where it seems as if it is a surefire deal that Vergis's promise to Daniel is rapidly coming true.

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

Philomon discusses 'Rachel' to the asshole who got his finger chopped off by Zoe 2.0 early this season. He mentions how he told 'Rachel' that he would like her no matter what she looked like and I nearly vomit at this blatant lie. Anyway, Zoe 2.0 and Philomon has another date where they ooh and aah over each other, but the real drama starts when Philomon begins to carry out his orders of erasing the MCP. Zoe 2.0 decides to reveal herself to Philomon and plead her case for why she did what she did and that he needs to help her escape. The techie freaks and tries to run, but is blocked by the U-87 and Zoe 2.0 tries again at winning over the techie's allegiance. Philomon says that he did say that he would love 'Rachel' no matter what, but he uses this ruse to hit the security button. Zoe 2.0/U-87, in a fit of rage, throws Philomon across the room where he hits a pillar and dies on impact. After seeing what she has done, Zoe 2.0 makes a run for it.

Daniel and Cyrus look at the scene of the crime and know good and well that the proverbial crap is about to hit the fan.

The Cliffhangers

- Lacy tries to get Barnabas to get the droid out tonight, but to her horror she finds out that she has been duped into planting a bomb detonator on Clarice, who is on her way to a transport to Gemenon with Nestor to talk to some S.T.O. officials about Barnabas's plans of domination and impending destruction of the S.T.O. Lacy doesn't want any part of it, but Barnabas proposes that either she presses the detonator or both she AND Keon will die. Lacy choses the button and presses it, but she doesn't kill Clarice. She had stepped out the car to see who is about to jump from a bridge they were about to pass under. The person on the ledge? Amanda Graystone. The woman places her wedding ring on the ledge before she makes her supposed leap. Poor Nestor, by the way looks like a goner when the car explodes.

- As Zoe 2.0 drives through the city and into the country, she has visions of pretty much all of Zoe's memories and cries profusely. The police are all on the van Zoe 2.o is driving with orders to not ruin the prototype. The cops build up a road block to stop the van and when Zoe 2.0 reaches the barricade, she stops, but only to have a few moments of images flash through her head. Then she floors it head on, smashing into the barricade and crashing the truck, which explodes.

- Back at the Graystones, the phone rings and Daniel answers it. We don't know which news he got, but it wasn't one suitable of a happy ending.

The Caprican

The cliffhangers felt rushed, especially the Barnabas and Adama ones. With the former one, the Barnabas incident came out of left field, because of that scene that was left out of previous episodes and tacked onto the previouslies as if we forgot about it. The latter cliffhanger was sort of a let down given that Joseph has spent three to four episodes in New Cap City only to get a rushed solution. It was still effective, but after last week's epic revelation of Tamara's influence in the game, it felt like it was finished in some sense, because who else can enter New Cap City with connections to Tamara?

As for Zoe 2.0, I wonder how she will survive the crash? I felt as if she was either having second thoughts about everything as she drove, given the flashbacks and all. I also wonder if the machine was destroyed will Zoe 2.0 remain in the V-World afterward?

But the bottom line is that for a mid season cliffhanger, "End of the Line" was subpar. Maybe one more episode could have set up some of the story lines better, I don't know. What I do know is that I will be here when it returns and I hope you will be as well.

Caprica 1.09 "End of Line" Recap/Review

Ghosts were in the machine in last night's phenomenal episode of Caprica. The bar has been raised and the stage set for next week's season finale. Yep. Season finale. I am just as shocked as you are! But let's get into this apparently penultimate episode of science gone amok.

The Set Up

Joseph Adama still is traipsing through New Cap City with Emmanuelle still as his tour guide and gets a shock when Emmanuelle adds drug dealer to the list. She gives him a drug that will enhance his speed and agility in the real life version of a GTA game. When Joseph takes it (its like taking eyedrops), his reaction in the real world mirrors that of someone who just had their first hit of heroin or whatever. Too bad alcohol doesn't do that cause that is as far as I go when it comes to getting wasted. Oh, crap! Moving on!

Meanwhile, Daniel Graystone has a father-daughter/robot talk with Zoe 2.0/u-87 ad he has finally realized where Zoe's avatar went. He also realizes that Zoe 2.0 still has the characteristics of the real Zoe, i.e, she can't stand him. After trying to talk to the avatar in a fatherly manner, Daniel figures out that Zoe has to respond to him when he orders U-87 to do his bidding. He promises to bring Zoe back to them and that despite all the hell she is has/about to go through, it will all be for the best. Did anyone else get a chill from that?

Joseph's Adventure In Wonderland Continues...

Joseph gets more rules and regulations on staying alive in New Cap City. He also finds out that the drug he was just given, Amp, is addictive as well. After the huge predatory zeppelin flies over them, Emmanuelle hands Joseph a gun and reveals that she in real life she doesn't look like her avatar and that someone is paying her to protect Joseph. Who in hell could that be? Tamara?

The duo make to the game's version of the Adamas apartment. Joseph is shocked to find the place locked and not taking his code. He knocks, hoping that Tamara is behind the door, but he gets a scruffy looking low life who tries to shoo them off, but fails miserably. After Emmanuelle and Joseph barge in, they get the guy to answer some questions about Tamara's whereabouts. The scruffy guy refers to Tamara as "The Dead Girl", since no one can kill her for the account that she is already dead. Before the guy can drop a location, a group of men wielding shotguns show up demanding to know what Joseph wants with Tamara. When Joseph explains that Tamara is his daughter, the main guy disbelieves him because everyone thinks that Tamara is a part of the game. Emmanuelle feigns ignorance of the whole ordeal only to get in place to take out the men who are prepared to 'kill' the both of them. Emmanuelle is grazed in the process, but manages to take out most of the men because Joseph froze when it came time to shoot. She then tells Joseph to leave the game and get his act straight before he gets them both banned from the game for good.

Back in the real world, Joseph looks over an old card that Tamara made with her special personal insignia when Sam stops by. Joseph asks his brother what goes through his head when he kills someone in cold blood. Sam is appalled at such a question, which befuddles me because I am sure William, Sam's husband even, has asked Sam this question in some capacity. Sam avoids the question until he relents, telling Joseph that he tells himself that the people he shoot at aren't real and are just targets like in a game. Wow.

Back in the game, Joseph meets up with Emmanuelle and they enter the club the junkie told them about. Emmanuelle warns Joseph of the club host who pulls people onstage to answer a riddle and if they fail, then he orders the club to 'kill' them. And what does he do? Walks right into the Host's trap. The Host, who is a drag queen that RuPaul would be ashamed of and nowhere near the late Andy Hallet's character on Angel, puts the spotlight on Joseph by asking the question, "As the Gods overthrew the Titans, So has Man overthrown the Gods, but when Men visits His Sins upon His Children, How Shall He Be Repaid?" Joseph doesn't answer the question and screams for Tamara's name, but the Host has him carried off the stage.

After they are tossed out the main club, Joseph and Emmanuelle pick up their guns from the gun cage when Joseph notices Tamara's personalized insignia written on a wall in the entryway. After showing Emmanuelle the insignia, Joseph shoots up on Amp and picks up his gun and shoots his way back into the club, forcing those he didn't pop to pull out the game. Everyone except the Host, who sings a tune, "Time after time, it's the ole same story..." Joseph demands answers and the Host gives them when the gun points to his head. Turns out that Tamara was there and she drew a huge crowd, especially after she "transcended life and death" on the stage. She had asked plenty of questions on the after life and, as the Host put it, she came seeking for answers, but maybe she IS the answer. Wow. The Host also says that the game means a lot to people who play it, because it shows them things they didn't know about themselves and like I said about Tad the Gamer: why not apply what you learned in game out of the game? Anyway. I digress.

Joseph and Emmanuelle leave through the back entrance and they discover that Tamara's insignia is drawn all over the back of the building. Emmanuelle suggests that Joseph returns home, because Tamara has sure as hell found her own.

Back in the real world, Joseph removes his holoband with a look of disappointment and pain on his face.

Amanda's Past Imperfect

Amanda Graystone visits the site of the tragic accident that took her brother Darius and sent her to the nut house. As she recollects the incident, a car drives by that looks like the one that was in the wreck last week and Amanda sees the driver. It is Darius, clearly a hallucination and a sign to up that dosage of Caprican Abilify ASAP.

But instead she calls Clarice for advice, but Clarice uses this convo for intel purposes and starts her objective with saying that the visions are because of Zoe. She then asks Amanda if she asked Daniel about the Zoe 2.0 avatar, which Amanda says that Daniel doesn't think the code works properly. Amanda adds that she doesn't want to think about seeing more dead people, which prompts Clarice to says she is sorry before proposing company with Amanda. When Amanda declines, Claric hangs up when she spots Olaf.

Daniel Makes Up For Lost Father-Daughter Time

Daniel works with Zoe 2.o/U-87 by having the machine build and unbuild a gun. While the droid does this, Daniel recounts the night their old house burned to the ground and how Zoe hated fire every since. As he tells the story, he has the droid to repeat the process again and again and Zoe get more upset and angry with each command. Meanwhile, Daniel tries to light a cigarette with a match and ends up burning himself, which unnerves Zoe who abruptly stops when Daniel yelps. Zoe 2.0's cover is soooo blown now that Daniel knows that the droid has emotions. Hmmm...

Zoe 2.0 talks about this with Lacy and she figures out that Daniel did all that to get the reaction out of her and he succeeded. Lacy thinks that is shouldn't be bad for her to "come out" to her dad, but Zoe 2.0 feels that if she does then Daniel would only use her to secure the military contract. She then suggests to keep Daniel from finding out for sure that she is in the machine that she will have to go emotionless and let the droid 'lead' in operation. But Lacy asks if that is even possible now and this leaves Zoe 2.0 with out an answer.

Daniel grows more agitated when Zoe 2.0 doesn't respond and goes into a huge monologue of how he knows what Zoe 2.o is up to in trying to hold feelings. He talks about how Zoe is nothing but a scared little girl who would rather blow up a train than face life head on and accept its pros and cons and move on. He says despite all that, he still loves her no matter what and that she is all that he has of his real daughter. When Zoe carries on the cold bitch act, Daniel ups the ante: he pours gas around the droid in a circle and orders it to stay, but tells Zoe 2.o that if she is in there to make four steps out the circle of fire. DAMN, REALLY?!?!?!? He lights the gas and sets the fire and watches for any movement, but Zoe 2.0 remains headstrong, despite a little hand movement. The fire settles and Daniel walks away.

But he doesn't stop there folks. Daniel has one more test up his sleeve and it involves a gun and the family dog. Oh. CRAP!!!!

Meanwhile, Amanda looks at pictures of her and Darius when Serge the robot announces that Tomas Vergis has arrived and wants to speak with her personally. When she meet with him, Vergis snitches on Daniel about the murders and theft. Amanda is appalled that Vergis would suggest such a thing, especially with their house, and if Vergis knew Daniel then he wouldn't fix his mouth to say such things. Vergis counters by asking Amanda if she knew her own husband and Amanda only says that Daniel is her husband. Then she tells Vergis to kick rocks.

But downstairs, Daniel talks to Zoe 2.0/U-87 and says that he loves his daughter more than he does the dog and if need be he will do anything to find the littlest morsel of the avatar in the machine. He hands the droid the gun and orders it to shoot the dog in at the count of five. The droid shoots the dog at the count of five. WOOOOWWWWWWW!!!!! But the bullets were blanks, Daniel is defeated and my mind has just been frakked.

Later, Daniel goes into the living room and watches videos of Zoe, while Amanda sits outside crying.

In the virtual world, Zoe 2.0 talks with Lacy on how the droid knew the gun was filled with blanks due to the weight of it being off by a fraction. She adds that if the gun had of been filled with real bullets that she might would've shot Daniel instead. She then asks Lacy to get her out of there before she does something drastic.

Just... Wow.

The Caprican

- The title of the episode, "Ghost in the Machine", served as the overall theme in each story arc that was presented tonight in an assortment of ways. 1) Tamara is the ghost in the machine that is New Cap City and her presence is being felt heavily amongst the gamers as she has become a mythical figure that haunts the landscape and the way people see themselves in the game. 2) The most literal application of the title is, of course, with the Zoe 2.0 avatar inhabiting the U-87 droid, which is like a house whose rooms/appendages are being controlled by the will power of the supernatural force that's enmeshed within the walls of its shell. This too can be applied to the framework and mentality of New Cap City. 3) Darius's ghost haunts Amanda by the 'history repeats itself (on a microscopic level)' motif, because machines technically repeat their daily functions without hiccups God(s) willing. This example can be seen when Zoe 2.0/U-87 does the repeat exercise of building the gun and unbuilding the gun. But what happens when the ghost leaves the machine or when we encounter said ghost? Does chaos soon follow? Inquiring minds want to know...

- Symbolisms tonight included 1) the spider in its web, which could be a direct symbolic connection with Clarice and what she is trying to do with Amanda. She is needs to get Amanda ensnared in her web to bleed her dry, which could end up happening sooner than we think. 2) The Host singing the phrase of "Time after time, it's the same ole story", which is a variation of the Cycle of Time/"All this has happened before and it will happen again" motif in the BSG universe and ultimately life itself.

- Still not caring much for Sam, which is bad because I was really liking this guy in the pilot. I guess the whole Willie thing is going to forever sit sour with me, but I digress. Despite my dislike of him, Sam gave some decent advice for dopey ass Joseph, who waited till the end to show his Tauran "balls" as Emmanuelle so eloquently put it.

- Speaking of which, who wants a spin-off with Emmanuelle? Or how about a spin-off featuring all of New Cap City? I would watch it. Just saying...

- Vergis showing up and snitching to Amanda? Stupid and unnecessary in my opinion. I know the move was just to put a crack in the glass that could lead to breaking the glass house that surrounds Daniel, but I mean really? It was tasteless and I wonder what would happen when Vergis realizes that blackmail might not be looked at nicely, especially when it's a Tauron trying to take down a Caprican. Anywho...

Well kiddies, I am fresh out ideas at the moment. If you saw something that you want to elaborate on that I missed, then please feel free to comment below. I will see you next week for the finale!

Caprica 1.08 "Ghost In The Machine" Recap

Is Amanda losing her mind? Will Joseph find Tamara? Will Daniel buckle under the pressure? What about Clarice and her quest for Zoe's Holy Grail? And can Lacy give us something to care about tonight? These are some of the questions presented to us to last night on Caprica, and while all of them weren't necessarily answered they did push character motivations forward a little, which was great.

The Set Up

Amanda dreams that she is running after a man. After she wakes up, she reaches for a book that contains an envelope that is from the Delphi Convalescent Institute. She clutches and lays back down. Meanwhile, Clarice is woken by Olaf, who explains to her that even though they found the avatar program, Zoe's avatar was no longer in Daniel's CPU. We, the audience, knows that this is because the avatar is now in the U-87 MCP, which in Clarice's mind means resurrection is possible. She then decides to become even more buddy buddy with Amanda in order to find the avatar.

A little bit later, Amanda shows up at the MEGLEV Bombing memorial site, where workers are moving the contents to another location. As onlookers pile up, Amanda appears and causes a scene that forces the workers to leave. Clarice shows up as well and helps in the protest. But Amanda spies the guy in her dream in the crowd and proceeds to take pictures of him until Clarice drags her to her car. In the car, Amanda reveals to Clarice that the guy she thinks she saw was her brother Darius, who is dead. Whaaaa???

Zoe 2.0 meets Lacy in the V-Club and tells her about Clarice's snooping in the lab. She then senses that something is up with the plan with Barnabas that Lacy isn't telling her. It seems that Zoe is working on Philomon to package the U-87 droid, while she needs Lacy to help deliver it. Lacy swears her allegiance, but I don't think Zoe buys it.

Tad, aka Gamer from New Cap City, is found by Joseph who demands that Tad takes him to Tamara. Tad doesn't want to do it and talks about how dead people shouldn't have avatars, which prompts Joseph to correct Tad in saying that Tamara isn't dead. Cuckoo, anyone? Tad relents and takes Joseph into the game of New Cap City.

Boys on the Side

Amanda has another vision of chasing her brother through a hospital. We then flash to Amanda looking at the blurred photos that she took. She has nothing to go by.

Later, Amanda witnesses a car accident on the street and sees her brother in the crowd. He runs when she spots him and she takes off behind him. She follows him into a dead end, but there is no Darius. She does find a Caprica City Museum flyer with the painting of a bridge on there. The bridge reminds her of an actual place. Amanda sadly takes the flyer with her. She takes a pill and wraps up the flyer, clearly disturbed.

At the House of Willow, Olaf chastises Clarice for wrapping a bottle of expensive Scorpian wine for Amanda, while she claims that since Amanda sees people that aren't there, that there might be a connection and that the Graystone women are agents of God. Okay then...

Clarice brings Amanda the wine and Amanda reveals the mystery of her brother.  Darius died in a car crash (she saw him at a car crash) and the picture of the bridge is the same place that Darius died at. Amanda says she knows, because she was in the car as well. She mentions that therapy and all that didn't help, but the drugs did. She starts to feel vulnerable and Clarice promises not to tell, which prompts Amanda to ask is it because they are friends. Clarice, smiling cryptically, doesn't answer. Wow. What the frak is going on with Amanda?!

Daniel returns home and after discussing his day with Amanda, notices the bottle of wine. Amanda says that it's from a friend and when Daniel asks if he should be jealous, Amanda says she's not sure. Huh? After Daniel leaves, Amanda takes a pill and calls Clarice for a girls' night out. Clarice is at the opium bar. This doesn't seem like it will end well.

The two women light up and are high as two clouds on a clear summer day. After saying the BSGverse phrase of "This has happened before and it will happen again," Amanda claims that she is bracing herself for a return to the Delphi Convalescent Institute, because that's where she stayed for two and half years to cope with reality. When Clarice stares on, Amanda continues saying that she lost her mind chasing after her brother in all types of places and that by not saying how she felt when she had the time, he was taken from her. And that it's her punishment to be left behind with things unsaid. In other words, this happened before with Darius and it might happen again with Zoe. Clarice then tries to convert Amanda into the monotheistic belief of the one true God, but by the look on her face and Amanda's question of "Which god do I trust?", she failed miserably.

Joseph and The Technicolor Nightmare

Tad gives Joseph the story of New Cap City and the rules, especially the dying part. Once they get in, the place is rocked by bombings on the streets.

The city looks like it's in ruins, people are running all over the place, and bombs are blasting just about everywhere. After having his emotions ridiculed for wanting to fly in the game, Joseph learns more about NCC from Tad. Even though it's set in the real world, morals don't exist here, but a Caprican version of Viagra does. I don't know if that was necessary info, but...

As they continue to walk, a dirigible starts firing at them. The thing eventually shoots Tad and he 'dies' in the game and de-rezzes out. In the real world, Tad is beyond pissed and curses Joseph for his 'death', telling the disillusioned father that he is on his own now.

Joseph returns back into the game alone, but someone is stalking him and it's a female. The woman eventually catches up with him and introduces herself as Emmanuelle, his new guide. But for her services there is a price... Joseph worries about getting killed and Emmanuelle tells him simply don't get killed. They then start their journey into the almost war torn Caprica City.

Lacy and Keon

Lacy whines about not getting Barnabas to help her, which Keon says would be easy if she would become S.T.O. and Barnabas would have no problem helping her then. But I thought Lacy was already... never mind. So Lacy says she will become S.T.O., as if it is easy peasy. She can see the look of worry in her eyes, but she says that she will be fine as long as Keon is beside her.

Zoe's Plan

Philomon engages in a date with 'Rachel' in the V-World. The setting is them flying Vipers, which 'Rachel'/Zoe 2.o (and I) think is completely dorkish. After Philomon tells 'Rachel' to take off auto pilot, the Viper loses control and starts to go down. Boring...

After the 'crash', the two sit on the side of a cliff and Zoe goes in for the kill. She starts talking about how V-World is a waste of good technology and that it should be used for good, not for demoralized fantasies. She suggests that they extend life in the V-world instead of faking it. She goes on to say that living systems use generative algorithms and with those they can create actual trees. Philomon responds on how he works with top secret military bots, which Zoe says is sexy before she kisses him.

She then starts sprouting techno-babble about robots and modulatory stuff that prompts Philomon to solve realize something about the U-87 droid. Zoe's plan of getting Philomon to release the U-87 into the world backfires as he grasps the concept of the problem with the MCP. As he kisses Zoe, he is actually kissing air in the real world and Daniel wakes him up. Philomon gives his theory on the robot, saying that they have been treating the robot as if it was digital, which would allow them to copy it. But if the MCP is analog, then a generative process like a human system is key to making more. Except each machine would have its own personality of sorts. If I got this wrong, PLEASE correct me. Daniel asks if Philomon seen anything to make his theory true, which the young scientist says he hasn't. Daniel is on to something and by the look on Zoe 2.0's face, it can't be good... for her.

The Ball Is In Daniel's Court

During a pyramid game, Vergis makes an impromptu appearance in Daniel's skybox, which infuriates the Graystone CEO. After some initial bickering, Vergis releases a bombshell that the MCP Daniel stole from him never worked to begin with so all the talk that Daniel only has one MCP working is a 'lie'. Wow... Vergis then demands that Daniel sell the team, because his options are limited. Cyrus doesn't get why Vergis would say that since the MCP is, in fact, working. In other words, Daniel has the upper hand and Vergis just revealed his hand of cards, which contains nothing.

Cyrus, as usual, doesn't get it. He still thinks that Vergis's money will help them buy time on the military contract that can be revoked if they don't meet the scheduled demos. Daniel, on the other hand, feels that he has ammunition now and will go down fighting if need be and the selling of the Caprican City Bucks is out of the question.

After dismissing Philomon home after he revealed the digital vs. analog theory, Daniel ponders over the newfound knowledge, while his dog wants to play catch. Daniel absentmindedly throws the ball and the dog then takes it to the U-87 machine, expecting it to throw the ball. Zoe 2.0 tries to shoo the dog away, but it's too late. The dog starts to bark and whimper at the machine, which gets Daniel's attention. When he stares into the machine he only says one thing:

"Zoe?"

Loved it.

The Caprican

- I wonder if Daniel really think Zoe is in the machine or if it's 'wishful' thinking? This would be great to speed up the process on things, because I really thought it would be a season ender before someone realized Zoe 2.0 was in the U-87.

- Lacy's part tonight was pointless, but OK, I guess.

- "This Has Happened Before And Will Happen Again" reappeared last night and I had to remind myself that it was part of the sacred scrolls, specifically the Cycle of Time scroll, but could it also be like a proverb of some sorts?

- Amanda's past added extra layers to an already complicated character, which makes her even more intricate and fascinating. For the writers to introduce Darius and the implications of his death to that of Zoe's and the proverb of history repeating itself makes me think that 1) Amanda might become a Soldier of the One and 2) that the history repeating phenomenon is not just on a cosmic scale, but a microscopic one as well. Amanda is also a repeat victim who managed to come out on top. Maybe when she comes back on top again (because it will happen again), she will be a powerful soldier in the S.T.O., probably more powerful than Sister Clarice.

- Thank God the only Adama we got tonight was Joseph. I found it ironic that he said that Tamara was a smart girl, because she is an Adama. I couldn't help but laugh at that little joke. Oh, it wasn't one? My bad. :(

- I think Vergis is gettin way too cocky. He thought he had a trump card in is reveal, but I mean the entire entrance was too much. He will soon turn out to look like a mad man if he keeps this up. But on the flip token, I have the strangest feeling that Cyrus is going to fold and jump ship from Graystone Industries and join Vergis's company. If Cyrus does that then that would be a major blow to Daniel's defense, which will make me want his head on a stick afterwards.

- Kinda felt bad for Tad the Gamer, but then again, I don't. The whole thing I didn't get about his story was why get wrapped up in a game that resembled reality in almost every aspect if you hate your own reality so much? In other words, it's the same thing. If you were a badass in the game, why not in real life? I don't get it and I hope he takes Tamara's advice and "Be Something" like yesterday.

I don't have anymore thoughts right now. Kinda sick and out of it so please excuse me if The Caprican section was not up to par. See you next week!

Follow Me On Twitter: @theanticritic or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/moestes

Caprica 1.07 "The Imperfections Of Memories" Recap

The Science Fiction fandom has been abuzz since ABC announced that James Callis had been cast in a pivotal role on FlashForward.  Callis’s performance as Gaius Baltar on Battlestar Galactica was legendary, Baltar was multi-faceted - playboy, scoundrel, traitor, religious leader, and surprisingly, hero – and much to Callis’s credit, every angle of Gaius was believable as individual shades of one morally complex individual.  Following up a character like Balater wouldn’t be easy, but from what I learned today Callis may have found a part on FlashForward that makes for a suitable encore.

While speaking with FlashForward cast members Jack Davenport, Sonya Walger, Joseph Fiennes, and Dominic Monaghan today, I got a few unexpected bits of info about that nature of Callis’s character – who I have since confirmed is named Gabriel McDow -  that turned out to be intriguing to say the least.  The first bit came when I asked Walger about how the ‘Many Worlds’ concept might mate with the knowledge in the FlashForward universe that the visions are not destiny.

“Olivia meets this strange character who seems to know an enormous amount about her future, and is very definitive about what he knows – he’s played by James Callis, who was in Battlestar Galactica amongst other things – and the reason he knows so much about Olivia’s future is that it turns out he has had multiple flash-forwards.   So he becomes integral to her believing and subscribing  to the idea that there is an alternative, that there was another path that she might have gone on. He also becomes of huge importance to the FBI investigation.” Walger told me.

After I managed to get my brain back in my skull, I probed for more details – but Davenport shut me down cold.  “There’s other stuff we’re not telling you, believe me.”

The idea of the psychic damage that Callis’s character may endure from multiple flash-forwards and how that might connect with the fates of the characters we know and love is at once fascinating, and a little puzzling – in the best possible way.  FlashForward has already made the struggles that come with knowing your own future into dramatic canon, Gabriel McDow ups that ante considerably.

Joseph Fiennes and Dominc Monaghan proved even more tight lipped about the mysterious McDow.  Fiennes told me that while he had not worked with Callis yet, “I have had a chance to do an impersonation of his character.”  When I asked if I could hear it, it seems some element of that turned out to be too revealing.  “I’d be giving too much away, that would be a definite spoiler.”

Keep watching for more exciting FlashForward reveals, including the full video of our interviews with Jack Davenport, Sonya Walger, Joseph Fiennes, and Dominic Monaghan, as FlashForward’s return, March 18th at 8:00pm EST on ABC, fast approaches.

FlashForward - James Callis's Character Named and Revealed

As the previouslies played before Caprica Friday night, I was scared that the episode would be a fondue of confusion and bad "WTF" moments, but the dish turned out to be delicious even with the non-chewable bits that I had to spit out to continue enjoying my meal. We got some answers, but in place of that we got more questions. We have a new villain in Tomas Vergis and we FINALLY got to see James Marsters in action as the allusive Barnabas, who might rank as one of the creepiest villains on a TV Guide countdown in the future.

Graystone Vs. Vergis Round One: It Is SOOOOOO On!

A Month Ago...

Tomas Vergis (John Pyper0-Ferguson) returns to his company to find that not only was his lab broken into, but that his Meta-Cognitive Processor (MCP) chip stolen and two of his men were killed to get. And that makes him a saaaaaaaaaad and vengeful panda...

While Daniel and Amanda celebrate their newfound acceptance back into society and Daniel's job being locked (for now), the mood is shattered as Daniel discovers that Vergis has crashed his party. The two share words, mostly Vergis 'accusing' Daniel of stealing his tech and killing his men in the process. Daniel feigns innocence, but Vergis knows better and wonders what would happen if the board found out about how Daniel made his latest great save. Vergis is going to be a problem.

Daniel talks with Cyrus later about the situation and how he thinks Vergis wants to blackmail him and reveals the method he used to get the MCP, which was using the Ha'la'tha' Crime Syndicate to get the merchandise. Cyrus freaks out, because he's a bitch, and Daniel tells him that there is no bitchassness' at Graystone Industries. But it seems that it's a bad thing for a Tauron to off another Tauron, which is where my first non-chewable piece of meat comes from. I will explain later.

Cyrus, after calming down, advises that Daniel meet with Vergis to see exactly what he wants. Daniel then leaves to go take care of some business. The whole entire time this conversation is had, Zoe watches/listens and is perturbed by her father's actions.

Meanwhile, Joseph Adama tries out his newly purchased Holoband (which comes in a cheap ass plastic case) and is confronted with an avatar of Daniel who greets him to the V-World. While the avatar can't comprehend his pleas to help find Tamara, Joseph is yanked out of the V-world by Daniel himself who wants answers into what went wrong with the MCP theft, because Vergis knows and that's a problem. Joseph claims that if Vergis really does know then he would be dead right now and the Guatrau would look for revenge for the mishap. This is the third non-chewable bit that I had to spit out (the second one was Ruth apparently letting Daniel into the apartment, which would totally go against her claims of hatred for the Graystones). Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the Guatrau already know about the theft since he OK'd it in exchange for Joseph to deliver that message to the racist Minister Chambers in the pilot? If that's the case then why would he (the Guatrau) be pissed? Either way, Daniel thinks that Joseph set him up and warns him to watch his back.

Daniel starts to have thoughts about the men who were killed to get the MCP. The thoughts consist of the men being chopped up and blood flying everywhere.

The next day, Daniel and Vergis have a steak lunch in the Graystone boardroom. Instead of cutting through steak, Daniel wants to cut to the chase and find out what Vergis has up his sleeve. Vergis shocks Daniel (and myself) by saying that he has moved pass the MCP situation and wants to buy the Caprica City Buccaneers from Daniel for 300 million cubics. Daniel chuckles it off, but Vergis says that for Daniel to get the MCP working correctly then he needs "cold hard cash". Hmmm...

Daniel and Cyrus discuss the offer and Cyrus is all for the money, but Daniel knows something is up, because Vergis isn't a pyramid person and him wanting Daniel's team doesn't make sense. Daniel wants to see what other cards Vergis has up his sleeve, not matter if Vergis is technically the only person who can help with the MCP.

Vergis appears on Backtalk With Baxter Sarno and Daniel gets his answer to the puzzle after hearing Vergis reveal that he's going to get citizenship to live on Caprica. But later that night, Daniel's thoughts/nightmares about the two men who died reveal that he technically has innocent blood on his hands, which no amount of counseling can wash off.

The next morning at the Graystones', Vergis and Daniel have a drink. Daniel tells his competitor that he is not selling his team and that he knows his plan, which is trying to gain a Caprican persona so that he can steal the military contract from Graystone Industries. Vergis says that while Daniel is warm in his theory, he is wrong. Vergis wants to basically destroy everything that Daniel loves, or as he so eloquently stated: "My dream is to tear up your dream..."

Damn!

But Vergis doesn't stop there. He further shoves the dagger into Daniel's guilty conscious by showing his tattoos of every kid in his life, two of which belonged to the two men whose blood is on Daniel's hands. He then concludes by saying first that he is Tauron and that they believe in blood for blood and second that he will destroy every tier of Daniel's happiness until the debt is paid in full.

WHOO WEE!!!!!

Joseph's Quest

After being called out by Daniel, Joseph talks with Sam on how the Guatrau will be pissed if he finds out that they stole from another Tauron and wants to know if there is anything that could link back to him. Sam declares that he did his part and that Joseph needs to do his. Color me lost and pissed at Sam now.

But Joseph doesn't do that, he has bigger fish to fry on finding Gamer. He turns to Evelyn (Teryl Rothery), his assistant in helping him find Gamer, who she eventually does locate. Turns out that A) Gamer's name is Tom Thorean and B) Evelyn might has a thing for her boss given her new interest in Joseph's freshly tatted up chest.

Zoe 2.0/U-87 and Philomon Sitting in a Tree...

Creepy Philomon is pissed that not one girl in all the twelve worlds has responded to him in V-Match, an online service. But the crazy thing is that he starts to hit on the U-87 robot and gets caught by Daniel, who reprimands the creep. Later while no one is looking, Zoe 2.0/U-87 sends Philomon a message on the V-Match site. Philomon receives the message and logs in to the meeting spot in a V-club where he finds 'Rachel', who is Zoe in complete 180 dork 'disguise'. Philomon remarks how 'Rachel' looks like Zoe Graystone and she lies that she did it to turn off pervs. HA! But Philomon remarks that despite what people said about Zoe, at least she had some "merits". Hmmm.... Has Zoe 2.0 found another ally?

Meet Barnabas

Keon talks to Barnabas about seeing Lacy, who Barnabas is leery of. Despite that fact, he still agrees to see her. Oh and did I mention that he is cutting himself by wrapping some barbed wire around his arm? Tres creepy...

When Keon brings Lacy to Barnabas, she states her case, which is spotty to Barnabas since Lacy won't reveal what the cargo is and what hell it might unleash when it hits Gemenon. Lacy's reasoning is that she doesn't want to tie Barnabas to the criminal implications that would come afterwards. Barnabas has heard enough and tells Lacy to kick rocks. He then reprimands Keon for not thinking clearly when it came to Lacy, which Barnabas first contributes to Keon's member and then on the fact that it was Keon who made the bomb that blew up the MEGLAV! Keon says that Lacy doesn't know that, which Barnabas counters with God not liking secrets and that until he knows what the cargo is, he will not help Lacy.

Speaking of secrets...

Sister Clarice and The Mission: Impossible

After hearing news of more V-Cafe bombings, Sister Clarice is furious because Barnabas could be responsible for them, which is putting the S.T.O. in a bad light. But Nestor AND Olaf (I KNEW IT!) have a way for them to swipe the technology that was used to create Zoe's avatar. The thing is that Clarice, Nestor, and Olaf want to use the V-World as the means for an afterlife since the avatar can be seen as a continuation of the soul in their eyes. WOW! The two men give Sister Clarice her mission, which is to infiltrate the Graystones household and get the tech by using a device called a 'swipe drive' that wirelessly copy and compress data from a computer. Her method of getting in? Play on Amanda Graystone's emotions...

Clarice calls Amanda and praises her appearance on Backtalk with Baxter Sarno, which warms Amanda's heart. Clarice asks if she could stop by and view Zoe's room in a means to say goodbye, but Amanda reveals that the GDD stripped Zoe's room clean. But Clarice doesn't let that stop her as she comes up with a lie that she has books that belonged to Zoe and wants to return them. Ding! Ding! Ding! And Open Sesame!

But before she goes to the Graystones, Clarice enters the virtual world to talk with Alvo again about "apotheosis" and how the Conclave doesn't understand it. Alvo tells her that Barnabas is like an idol to the S.T.O. and that Clarice is only hating on his game. Clarice believes that Barnabas is only dirty player and isn't the answer from God. She has a way and if they will just give her time, she will give them great results.

Clarice makes it to The Graystones and she and Amanda hit it off quickly by bonding over the loss of Zoe, some strong liquor called Scorpian Ambrosia, and their hate over Agent Duram. Amanda shows Zoe's room to Clarice and laments over how the GDD came in and took everything. Then Amanda lets slip that GDD didn't get to snag the pictures Zoe made that are still in Daniel's lab, which the GDD couldn't touch due to the military project. Amanda, feeling either bold or lonely, offers to show the pictures to Clarice and like that Clarice is in the lab like Flint. Blame it on the Goose.

Once in there Clarice quickly notices the U-87 robot, which opens up the window Clarice needs. While Amanda gloats about how Zoe hated Daniel's work, Clarice has planted the swipe drive on Daniel's computer and sucks up all the intel. Amanda feeling very good thanks Clarice for coming over before giving her a hug. Clarice, having finished swiping the intel, says she's "glad to give". Zoe 2.0 gawks at this display of affection.

Later after an opium binge, Clarice passes out in her bed. Nestor and Olaf are ecstatic that Clarice, who is in her own drug induced world, pulled off the mission. And hell is about to break loose soon.

The Caprican

- So we finally found out that either some or all of Clarice's husbands and wives are involved with the S.T.O. We also found out their reasoning for wanting Zoe's tech, which also could be Zoe's plan after all: to use the V-World as an 'afterlife'. While it makes total sense, what happens if the V-World catches a virus or something? Just asking, because while the heart and idea is there, they might want to do thorough research on this idea, which could be disastrous if it fails.

- Wonder what Zoe is plotting with Philomon? She is going to skewer him three days from Sunday and I will laugh the entire way.

- Amanda's gullible attitude tonight can be attributed to the fact that she basically doesn't have any friends now and would welcome anyone no matter who they are. It's a bit sad really, especially since Clarice practically played her last night, which means it will be easy the next time someone does it. I pray that Amanda doesn't remain meek and without a backbone, because I bet deep down inside her is a fighter waiting to catch someone by the throat.

- Daniel is another character I fear for, because he's getting hit on all sides and is going to gain whiplash from trying to watch his back every five minutes. I think knowing that two men died for his latest achievement is going to haunt him more than the death of Zoe a little, because that was not what he signed up for. But something tells me that Sam didn't kill those men and that there is something fishy about the whole scenario. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a third party involved with the slayings and if they are Tauron then the Guatrau either knows about it or someone is trying to set up the Adamas.

- Now let's talk about the non-chewable bits. #1 Ruth letting Daniel Graystone in the house?!?! Since when??!?! #2 How in the hell could the Guatrau possibly be upset about the Vergis theft if he supposedly OK'd it in the pilot episode? Am I missing something here? Please correct me in a response below. #3 The conflicting nature of the Tauron's way of life: is it an eye for an eye or let things go? It's one or the other or do they do both? Either way, the Adamas and the Taurons that I have seen so far are working my nerves.

- Speaking of which... Why does Vergis get special treatment and other Taurons don't? Will they call him racial slurs after he get his citizenship? While I have no love for the man's arrogance, I still understand his anger at Daniel. It's plausible. What man wouldn't want to go after someone for pulling the crap Daniel did? But I hope that he doesn't use too much of Tauron influence to get his revenge. But then again I don't want him to get his revenge, because that would be the end of Daniel Graystone and that would make me a saaaaaaaaaad Panda.

- James Marsters as Barnabas had me jumping out of my seat especially when he yelled for Lacy to go. I can't wait to see ore from him, because last night was nothing but a big ole tease! The man is going to rock and I can't wait for him to take names while he kicks ass all over the Twelve Colonies. I wonder how many factions of the S.T.O. are within the organization, which is ridiculous to have because how can you be unified under one true God if there is dissension among the ranks? Wait. That's our culture...

See you peeps next week!

Caprica 1.06 "Know Thy Enemy" Recap

The latest episode of Caprica was a mixed bag in the sense that it started out being somewhat of a filler episode, but quickly evolved into either a 'game-changer' or just another huge piece to the ever growing puzzle that is becoming the Caprica universe. Either way, I am so ready and strapped for the rest of the ride.

Do NOT Frak With Daniel Graystone...

After announcing to the worlds that Graystone Industries will not be gaining profit from their Holobands, Daniel faces opposition from the board of directors of his company. I stress "his" company. The group of assholes want to vote Daniel from being the CEO of his own company and he gets a heads up on the shenanigans from Cyrus. When asked if he has the votes to maintain his position, Cyrus simply looks worried and walks off.

Daniel, feeling like his world is slipping through his fingers no matter what he does or say, gets a motivational boost from Amanda who reminds Daniel that he is one of the most oratorically, astutely business men that she has ever known who doesn't let small things cloud his overall vision and beliefs. In short, she pretty much says that Daniel is basically Bill Gates, but the next scene suggests that maybe he is a hybrid of Gates and Steve Jobs.

As Cyrus and Pryah try to fight off the members of the board, Daniel walks into the boardroom with U-87/Zoe 2.0. He explains to his board members that the Holoband is a hollow sinking ship and that they need to let it go and focus on the future. And what does the future entail?

The Cylon.

As the scene cuts between U-87 and Zoe 2.0,  who mocks the board members, Daniel explains that while U-87 is aware of things like a human would be, it can serve man without any questions or hookups (rights, pay grade, employment, etc...). When Daniel commands for the machine to rip it's arm off to prove his point, Zoe 2.0/U-87 both look as if Daniel lost his damn mind, but does it anyway. Daniel, meanwhile, reminds the board members that they were about to have a vote on whether he is competent enough to run his own company.

Daniel gets his votes, but Cyrus warns him that he better be right. Oh, man how 'right' Daniel will be...

Tamara in Wonderland

Tamara has been wandering throughout the V-World and making a name for herself as "the girl who can't get out", which is like pathetic to most V-avatars. But Tamara got a tip that someone named Vesta (Camille Mitchell), who can help her "wake up".

After witnessing a warped version of Russian roulette, Tamara wants a try at the game when she finds out that the losers of the game de-res and wake up in the real world. But when Vesta shoots Tamara, she doesn't wake up, she just simply lies there in pain. This freaks everyone in attendance out, but Vesta's mind starts calculating up a scheme. Uh-oh.

Vesta thinks that Tamara is a mythical legend in the V-World called a "Sleeper", someone who either fell asleep with their Holoband on and can't wake up. Vesta barters with Tamara that if the girl plays a game for her then she will help Tamara get home. She pairs Tamara with one of her followers/co-players, whose name wasn't given so we will call him "Gamer", who fills Tamara in on the deal at hand. The game is called New Cap City, a virtual-version of Caprica that is a mix of Grand Theft Auto, The Godfather, and Blade Runner all in one. The game is a noir mystery with the elements of 1940s Earth as the backdrop. The object of the game? Finding out the object of the game. I'm as confused about that bit as the next person, but the jist is that Vesta wants to use Tamara as a ruse to steal the virtual cubics from THE best player in the game, Cairon. The only downside of the game is that if you die in the game you can NEVER return to it, which sucks even for me and I am not playing the game. In the midst of this we find out that not only has Tamara been lost in the V-world for a month, but that she has NO clue at all that she is dead.

So tragic.

The heist goes as planned and Tamara and Gamer manages to cop Cairon's avatar, which is more valuable alive than dead, because Gamer can manipulate the code to his liking and mask himself as Cairon to use in the heist. Gamer tells Tamara that this game means a lot to him, because it gives him a purpose and a chance to be something. Tamara remarks that maybe if he didn't spend so much time in the V-World then he could probably "be something" in the real world and she quickly becomes my favorite Adama family member.

The heist goes as planned with Gamer disguised as Cairon to gain access to the cubics. But some guards spot them and start shooting and this is when things get really interesting... Tamara, who can be shot and heal herself, shields Gamer and takes the barrage of bullets. But instead of falling down and crying, she eradicates the guards' avatars! As if she was the New Cap City version of Stephen King's 'Carrie'.

The duo makes their way back to the club that Cairon ruled and where Vesta has taken up shop. She asks for the money, but Tamara demands to go home in exchange of the cash. Vesta then drops the bombshell of Tamara being dead and that she can't go home. Gamer feels bad Tamara, but she snaps and shoots away all the guards Trinity-style before telling Gamer to find her dad and tell him that she is still in there. Gamer doesn't want to leave the game, but Tamara tells him to be somebody on the outside and that he can return whenever. Gamer signs out and Tamara makes her way to Vesta who is cowering on the floor. Vesta asks Tamara, "What are you?" And Tamara, a new favorite character on Caprica, simply responds:

"I'm awake."

Then she shoots Vesta, whose game is soooooo over.

Nature vs. Nurture vs. The Tauron Way

If only the Adamas would take a lesson from their dearly departed daughter, then I would maybe be able to look at them with disdain and eye-rolling.

Sam shows up at Joseph's to find him passed out on the couch and Willie playing computer games when he is supposed to be in school. Sam berates Willie for not being in school and gets even more in Joseph's ass for not being a good father, which I think is a crock of crap coming from Sam, even though his statement is true. Later Joseph gets a call from the school about Willie's "sick days" and he goes straight to the bar where Sam has Willie working. When Joseph demands for Willie to leave with him, Willie defies him until Sam gives him the OK. Sam comments that Willie is lost and that on Tauron, when someone loses something in the desert and someone else finds it, then it belongs to the new owner. So Sam, Willie is an object now that you own now? What the hell?

While working on his books, Joseph comes across a photo that he, Shannon, Willie, and Tamara took while on a fishing trip. He gets an idea. He takes an extremely reluctant Willie to the same place to play father, but Willie isn't having it, especially since people are taunting them from afar for being Tauron. When one of the other kids gets bold and starts screaming racial slurs at them, Willie takes a rock and knocks the hell out the kid before beating the crap out of him.

Later, Willie is being a little brat and Joseph doesn't know what to do. Sam stops by with his husband and they both tell Joseph that Willie needs closure and so does Joseph. The only way they can achieve this is if they conduct a Tauron ritual that let's recently deceased Tauron's cross over in peace. But Ruth said last week that a life for a life is the only way a Tauron can pass on to the other side in peace. See where I stand on my issue with The Adamas?

The ritual is had and there are a lot of tears and what not. Willie seems to be happy that he is learning about his culture and it seems as if all is OK in the kingdom of Adama of Tauron, especially after both Joseph and Willie let go of their loved ones.

Then there is a knock on the door. Joseph answers and there stands Gamer with the message from Tamara. Tauron ritual be damned! Joseph wants to be taken to see Tamara, but Gamer, who is freaked out that Tamara actually is dead, runs away with Joseph close on his heels. But Joseph collapses and all of that hard work was for naught. Tamara is still in the V-World and he  can't get to her.

Meanwhile, a new badass Tamara walks the streets of New Cap City, gun in hand and a new attitude to boot. She has truly been 'awakened'.

The Caprican

- Three best scenes from this episode: Daniel's brilliant board meeting smackdown, Willie knocking the hell out of that racist snot, and Tamara's take down of the club guards/followers and Vesta. Eric Stoltz's Daniel Graystone kicks ass, hands down. Even though he is kinda the man responsible for the fall of man, there is an exuberance when he speaks that I have no choice but to turn up my TV and listen intently. Two weeks in a row and Stoltz/Graystone has delivered the goods and I really can't wait to see how he would hold up to his past transgressions with Vergis.

- Tamara started off as whiny and so irritable in the first couple of minutes, but quickly won my ass over when she started spitting knowledge on the idiots of V-World. Then she literally started kicking ass later and I hope to see more of bad ass, truth spewing Tamara soon. And keep it coming please.

- But while Tamara excelled in excellence this week, her family took a nosedive in tomfoolery. I can understand that Willie is suffering through two devastating losses, but is it just me or does it seem like he's either been keeping it to himself this long or that it just came out of nowhere? I can recall him and Joseph conversing about the deaths, but I didn't know that he was that troubled about them. I mean, yea, the kid was devastated, but it always seemed to me that he had put it past him and was moving forward while the adults were the ones torn up to pieces. My theory? Sam and Ruth are planting anger and revenge in the young man's mind, which in my opinion is not a good way to deal with your grief, let alone teach it to a kid. Sure, Joseph's self-wallowing is not helping Williw, but neither is taking him out of school, away from friends and activities to show him the underbelly of organized crime. In short, Sam is NOT an ideal candidate as stand-in father for a troubled kid so when he told Joseph that he was being a bad father, I was like kettle meet black. Sam claimed that Willie would be a man on Tauron, but he (and Ruth) need to realize that they are NOT on Tauron anymore. Plus, again, I would love to see one Tauron that is NOT involved in organized crime or shady under dealings. I am sure that one of those who attended the ritual held at the Adama residence was one of those people, but I hope that we see one prominently soon, because this is ridiculous.

- Continuing on the last subject, watching BSG and seeing that everyone put their different races, religions, and other contrasts to the side to maintain survival goes to show that most of what Sam and Ruth are planting in Willie's head doesn't really matter. You can celebrate your heritage, your religion and so on as much as you like, but in the end we are all the same. We are human and that's all that matters.

-One last bit: I thought this episode showed that the Holoband for the mysterious character Gamer is the equivalent of the proverbial 'rose-colored glasses' idiom that is rampant in our culture. He finds solace, hope, and a meaning in the game and that's kind of the problem with a lot of people in our society. We find meaning in the wrong things and it hurts us dearly. Tamara's words of wisdom should be on a ticker at the bottom of the TV screens across the worlds. But if that was the case then we wouldn't have BSG, so...

I will see you guys next week!

Caprica 1.05 "There Is Another Sky" Recap

The Cylons must be laughing their asses off...

Caprica, the prequel series to the phenomenal Battlestar Galactica, bowed to an "unimpressive" 1.6 million viewers this past Friday night. A lot of analysts cite that the fact of the pilot being available online and on DVD for almost a year now could be a reason for the disheartening numbers, especially since that rating falls below averaging numbers for both Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Universe. The same analysts feel that the second episode, which is titled "Rebirth", will tell the story in terms of viewers and ratings since it is the "true" Caprica premiere. An estimated 2 million  had already seen the Caprica pilot prior to last Friday's broadcast premiere.

While ratings are not my thing (if you let my previous articles on the subject tell you), I have to agree with the analysts on this one. The second episode should be the one to watch for, not just in terms of ratings, but if the show is really worth your time. Don't let low ratings, or ratings mongers, scare you from something you might potentially like. And that's my public service announcement for the month.

So what do you think? Is it a sign of the times for Caprica or is it too early to sound the cloister bell (Doctor Who reference...)?

Read my recap of the pilot episode here, and also check out Jon Lachonis' review of the series here.

1.6 Million Journeyed To 'Caprica'

Syfy Photo: Joe Pugliese

If you own the DVD of the pilot episode of Caprica, then you know the story. If you don't and this week is the first time you ever took a glance at the world before it was demolished in Battlestar Galactica, then hang on to your seatbelts... or go to the raves and nightclubs of your cities. It's slightly the same experience. Slightly...

Part One: The Set Up

Caprica: 58 Years Before The Fall...

Welcome to Hell... Or someone's sick idea of fun.

We have sex rooms, fight club type rings, people being shot to death in cold blood while a crowd watches and cheers. Everything is possible in this place. In the center of it all stands Zoe Graystone (Alessandra Torresani), a teen girl who is either disgusted or just plain bored with the circus in front of her. She spots out someone standing in front of the stage in the center of the room. That someone? Herself! Freaky...

As a demented freak show that would make Marilyn Manson blush commences on stage, two other kids, Lacy (Magda Apanowicz) and Ben (Avan Jogia), pop out the crowd beside Zoe to watch the spectacle below. Ben wants to know if "she" (fake Zoe) is ready and comments that it's not the fault of those around them. He then says it will all change and Zoe pipes in that her "avatar" will help change things.  A screaming young girl is brought on the stage and is slaughtered in front of Zoe 2.0, who wigs out and vanishes. The trio is dismayed and Zoe explains she must had reverted to the last copy. Then Ben, who is creepy as hell, tells her that the avatar isn't ready to live up to Zoe's name. They then kiss and Zoe is awakened out of her virtual Hell and is caught in a bathroom stall by a hall monitor of some sorts.

After school Zoe meets up with Lacy and Ben in the real world. They talk of Zoe getting her Holoband confiscated and them running off to Gemenon. Ben starts to protest Zoe accessing her avatar at home, but she stops him and says that there are no "buts" and that "there is only one true God" and finishes their little meeting with the phrase "so say we all!"

Hmmm... I'm creeped out already, how about you?

Later, Zoe gets the third degree about her actions from her parents, Daniel (Eric Stoltz) and Amanda Graystone (Paula Malcolmson). Daniel is Caprica's answer to Bill Gates and also the creator of the Holoband. Amanda has had it with Zoe's rebellious attitude and grounds her for a month, including no teen amenities like cell phones, Holobands, and the such. Zoe comments on her Dad's dirty science and the like, which sends Amanda into a fury as she yells at Zoe about not knowing what it means to build something and work hard. Zoe's snide rebuttal? "I guess I should just marry into money then." So Amanda rightfully slaps the taste out of Zoe's mouth, which causes Zoe to warn Amanda that she will feel very sorry she did that. After Zoe leaves, Amanda does feel bad for what happened...

Zoe runs to her room and enters into Club Hell again through her Holoband. She enters a room that has the Infinity symbol on the door. The room houses Zoe's avatar, who apologizes for bailing. The avatar wonders why the people in the virtual world are so violent and when Zoe tells her that its all not real, the avatar declares that it was and that the people grew strength from their violent actions. Zoe promises the avatar that all that will change and that the avatar will help bring the change... as long as it doesn't "de-res" on Zoe again and do the task that was handed to her.

The ride to school is an icy one between Zoe and Amanda as neither person speaks. After being dropped off, Zoe meets up with Ben and Lacy and the trio run off the school grounds to the train station. While the trio make their way to the train, Shannon Adams and  her daughter, Tamara, talk to her husband, Joseph Adams (Esai Morales), via cell phone about their son, William's, birthday party. Shannon abruptly hangs up while Joseph was in mid sentence about something he wanted to tell her.

The trio make their way to the train, but Lacy bails out at the last minute despite Zoe's promises of acceptance and a new family on Gemenon. Also Shannon and Tamara Adams board the same train. Meanwhile, Zoe is upset that Lacy didn't come, but notices that Ben is acting stranger than ever. Zoe sends a message to Amanda (on a slip of paper that was also a computer...) that reads "Don't live in regret, Mom. I forgive you." A few steps from Ben and Zoe, Tamara tells Shannon how someone said a racial epithet about their race, which is Tauron.

Zoe's realizes that Ben is not himself, but it is too late. He tells her that he is sorry and that it is God's will. Then he reveals a vest/belt of explosives ready to go off and yells that the one true God will eradicate the rest before blowing up the train.

Whoa...

Part Two: The Aftermath

Two Weeks Later

The tone has went from bright to somber at the Graystones. Daniel and Amanda are both wrecks.

Meanwhile, there is a press conference on the investigation of the terrorist attack and the law enforcement has narrowed down the suspects as being a part of the Soldiers of the One. Joseph is at this press conference, but leaves in the middle of it. He goes outside for a smoke and is offered a light by Daniel Graystone. The two mean reveal to each other over a smoke about their losses. They then decide to go to a cafe.

CAPRICA -- Pictured: Polly Walker as Sister Clarice Willow -- Syfy Photo: Joe Pugliese

At school (which is called Athena Academy), Sister Clarice Willow (Polly Walker), a teacher at the school, talks to Lacy about the loss of Zoe and how the grieving, scriptures and the such won't bring her back. She also remarks how the things we use to comfort us in a time of grief wouldn't help anyway. Um, not someone I would want to counsel my kids. Just saying... Lacy thinks its all wrong and is pissed at whoever did this. She then declares that she should be dead and with Zoe, but Sister Clarice thinks otherwise and that the Gods have other plans for Lacy. When the troubled teen mentions how "gifted" Zoe was with computers, Sister Clarice advises that Lacy connect with Zoe through her work on the computer. Does Sister Clarice know anything we don't?

Meanwhile after a somber and mostly quiet smoke and coffee, Daniel and Joseph leave the diner, but not before Daniel invites Joseph and William to a pyramid game.

While mourning in Zoe's room, Amanda is startled out of her reverie by the announcement of a visitor: Lacy. When Lacy asks if she can sit in Zoe's room for awhile, Amanda doesn't hesitate in giving the OK to the peculiar request. After Lacy enters Zoe's room, she takes a clean sheet of paper which looks like the same thing Zoe had before she died. Lacy dials some symbols on it, puts on the Holoband and enters the Virtual Club.

Once there, Lacy enters the Infinity room and finds a bloody  Zoe, who remembers everything about Zoe's death and before due to Zoe's work on a bio-feed that let Zoe's avatar experience Zoe's feelings in real time. Lacy is freaked out when Zoe 2.0 starts talking about the past as if they lived it together, but Zoe 2.0 says that while she didn't do any of those things physically, she still remembers as if she did. Bottom line: she's all that is left of Zoe. Lacy and Zoe 2.0 hug as Lacy promises to help Zoe 2.0 understand it all. In the process, the blood on Zoe 2.0's body disappears.

Daniel Graystone enters Zoe's room and finds Lacy with the Holoband and demands to know what's going on. Lacy runs without explaining anything, but leaves the Holoband pad with the Infinity symbol on it. Daniel looks over it.

After getting a gangster from the Ha'La'Tha' (a Tauron Gang Syndicate) off for a serious crime, Joseph receives payment and a vow from the head of the organization via Sam (Sasha Roiz), his brother. Joseph doesn't want anyone to do anything illegal in taking down Shannon and Tamara's killers. Sam vows that if Joseph doesn't do anything then he will. Meanwhile at Graystone Industries, Daniel watches as his early model robot (a U-87) fails to shoot the target in an acceptable speed and accuracy. He is warned by his assistant, Cyrus Xander (Hiro Kanagawa), that their U-87 contract is on verge of being revoked by the Caprican government, who is not happy with the results the machines are producing. Daniel's rival, Vergis Corp, are in line to pick up where, and if, he fails.

Joseph walks William (Sina Najafi) home from school, asking his son if he wouldn't mind going to a pyramid game. After he accepts, William asks his father if his sister and his mother still hurt, even though they are dead. We don't hear if an answer was even given. At the Graystones, Daniel decrypts the code on Zoe's Holoband pad and enters the Virtual Club world. He seems shocked at how his daughter's spent her past time, but is pulled out of the world via a phone call. It is Cyrus with news that not only will Vergis visit the Caprican Defense Minister that day, but that Vergis has tech that Graystone Industries has been trying to crack for years as well: a meta-cognitive processor, which is basically an artificial brain. Graystone doesn't buy Vergis's bluff, but tells Cyrus to keep him posted. He then reenters the Virtual World and explores a little until he comes across Zoe 2.0, who runs away quicker than a rabbit from a poacher. Zoe runs into the Infinity room and when Daniel tries to gain access, he is jolted back to reality. Whoa...

At the Adams home, Joseph is irked by his mother-in-law, Ruth, who thinks that the only way for William to get over the shock of his sister and mother's death is a trip to Tauron, the Adams' homeworld. As if that would help... When William announces that he wants Ruth to take him to school, Joseph counters that request. Is it me or do the Adams sound more interesting than the Graystones so far? Just a tad bit?

That previous thought is trumped when Global Defense Dept. Agent Jordan Duram (Brian Markison) visits Amanda at her job (she's a doctor) and reveals to her that they have evidence that Zoe was involved in the train bombing. Amanda doesn't believe it. Agent Duram then presents Amanda with the last message that Zoe sent to her, which Agent Duram sums up as a final goodbye from someone who was about to die. Amanda tearfully tells Agent Duram to exit the premises.

At the Graystone house, Lacy shows up and enters. She proceeds to Zoe's room, but is met with Daniel, who demands to see Zoe and that Lacy has to help him. Inside the V-Club, Lacy shows Daniel the sights and he is marveled, and appalled, at what his technology has created. Lacy says that it was Ben who showed her and Zoe that the V-Club was trash and that there was only one true God and I am so sick of hearing about that little lunatic Ben. Anyway, Lacy lets Daniel into the Infinity room where Zoe 2.0 sits. Daniel wants some answers, but doesn't think that there is any sliver of his daughter in the program. Then Zoe 2.0 schools Daniel on his arrogance/ignorance and finally wins him over. Daniel embraces Zoe 2.0 in the virtual world, but in reality he takes a jump drive and connects it to something. In the virtual world, Zoe 2.0 starts to buckle and shimmer and disappear to Lacy's horror. In reality, Lacy asks Daniel what did he do. After explaining that he captured Zoe's avatar, he tells Lacy to leave and revokes her privileges from the Graystone house.

Elsewhere Joseph has a meeting with the Guatrau, the leader of the Ha'la'tha', about talking to Defense Minister Chambers about some matters that are dear to him. Of course, by talking, they mean in a "civilized, stern manner". Joseph says he will see what he can do.

Caprica 1.01 "Pilot" Recap

If you're wanting to start the decade off with a little TV on DVD, then January 5th is the date for you. Three great new seasons of great shows are hitting shelves on Tuesday, and they're worth a look.

First up is season one of Battlestar Galactica. Yes, it's already out on DVD, but this release is Blu-Ray. It's marketing on Amazon for $62.99, and it should be worth every penny for fans of Starbuck and Adama. After all, who wouldn't want to see the ships and aliens of Battlestar in brilliant high-definition? The set carries four Blu-Ray discs, and can hopefully complete your Blu-Ray Battlestar collection, since The Plan and Season 4.5 are already available on Blu-Ray.

Next up is Chuck's second season, available in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats. The DVD is selling on Amazon for $38.99, but the Blu-Ray is only selling for $47.99, only nine dollars higher. The six-disc set contains all twenty-two episodes of the second season. The set is available only five days before the third season's premiere, "Chuck Versus the Pink Slip," so if you've missed a few episodes, the set is the perfect way to catch up.

And finally, expand the number of wives DVDs in your collection with the third season of Big Love. The ten episodes (which aired from January to March of 2009) are held on four discs. The set is not going to be available on Blu-Ray for this release, but then again, what difference does it make? Big Love isn't a show that would benefit that much from a high-def release. The DVD set is selling on Amazon for $38.99.

With Big Love, Chuck, and Battlestar Galactica all being released only five days into the decade, it's a proper way to start the aughts off.

Sam's Pick: Chuck, Season 2. Unquestionably NBC's best show, Chuck came close to meeting its end with the second season, and only narrowly got a third, with the help of an impassioned campaign by the fans. Making Chuck the #1 DVD of the week would send a clear message to NBC that we're not ready to give up Chuck, and would greatly heighten the prospects for a fourth season.

TV on DVD: January 5, 2010

Battlestar Galactica's tele-movie, The Plan is set to hit Blu-Ray Hi-Def and DVD at the end of October and fans are in for a real treat.  The DVD will boast some nice extras that include a BSG Trivia game, the 90 minute, uncut tele-movie, The Plan, as well as the U-Control and BD-Live freatures that come from Universal.  U-Control is Universal’s exclusive signature feature that puts the viewer just one click away from going deeper into the making of the film without ever leaving the movie.  The BD-Live is a control center that gives your Internet-connected player access to get even more content about the movie and the making of it, and more!  Below is the full press release from NBC Universal about Battlestar Galactica: The Plan.

EXPERIENCE THE FIGHT FOR HUMANITY'S SURVIVAL THROUGH THE EYES OF THE CYLONS FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER

Premieres Exclusively on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def, DVD and Digital Download October 27, 2009

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - September 4, 2009 - Television's most thrilling science fiction adventure makes a stunning turnabout when Battlestar Galactica: The Plan debuts on Blu-rayTM Hi-Def and DVD on October 27, 2009 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. For the first time ever, fans can experience the uncut and uncensored story of humanity's futuristic fight for survival through the eyes of their deadly adversaries, the Cylons. This never-before-seen perspective of the Cylon plan reunites the series' original television cast, including Emmy® Award winner Edward James Olmos (Stand and Deliver), Dean Stockwell (JAG), Tricia Helfer (Burn Notice), Grace Park (The Cleaner) and Callum Keith Rennie (Californication). Ronald D. Moore and David Eick return as executive producers.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan's executive producer and writer Jane Espenson added, " Edward James Olmos was our director on the movie, and he did an amazing job. He also shot some great footage that we are not able to show on TV, so I'm thrilled that viewers can experience it uncut as our director envisioned it."

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan includes the uncensored 90-minute feature and revealing bonus features that take viewers onto the set of the most unexpected twist ever in the intergalactic saga's history. Interactive features available exclusively on Blu-rayTM Hi-Def include the new Battlestar Galactica Trivia Game, as well as Universal's acclaimed U-CONTROLTM and BD-LiveTM experience. With Blu-rayTM Hi-Def, viewers can enjoy Battlestar Galactica: The Plan's stunning visuals with perfect picture and the purest digital sound available.

During four spellbinding seasons on the SCI FI Channel (now Syfy), Battlestar Galactica's vivid reimagining of the classic television series earned a legion of devoted fans, as well as unfettered critical acclaim, and Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in 2007 and 2008 and a Peabody Award in 2008. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is priced at $39.98 SRP on Blu-rayTM Hi-Def and $26.98 SRP on DVD. Preorder close is Sept. 8, 2009.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE PLAN - BONUS FEATURES
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan on Blu-rayTM Hi-Def and DVD takes viewers deeper into the acclaimed space drama with exclusive bonus features, including:
EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAYTM HI-DEF:
• BD-LIVETM: Access the BD-LiveTM Center through your Internet-connected player to download more exclusive content, the latest trailers and more!
o MY SCENES: Bookmark your favorite scenes from the movie.
o BATTLESTAR GALACTICA TRIVIA: All-new trivia game.
BONUS FEATURES (BLU-RAY™ HI-DEF and DVD):

• DELETED SCENES
• FROM ADMIRAL TO DIRECTOR: EDWARD JAMES OLMOS AND THE PLAN – A day-in-the-life with director and actor Edward James Olmos, as he tackles the most ambitious Battlestar Galactica production to date.
• THE CYLONS OF THE PLAN – Features interviews with the actors who play the film's key Cylons, including Dean Stockwell, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Trucco, Rick Worthy and Michael Bennett.
• THE CYLON ATTACK – This featurette takes viewers behind the scenes for the planning and execution of one of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan's major action sequences.
• BEHIND THE PLAN - An in-depth look at some stunning visual effects and the role post-production plays in bringing the world of Battlestar Galactica to life.
• FILMMAKER COMMENTARY

SYNOPSIS
Battlestar Galatica: The Plan.. The Cylons began as humanity's robot servants. They rebelled and evolved and now they look like us. Their plan is simple: destroy the race that enslaved them. But when their devastating attack leaves human survivors, the Cylons have to improvise. Battlestar Galatica: The Plan tells the story of two powerful Cylon leaders, working separately, and their determination to finish the task.

An inspired, visually stunning reimagining of the 1978 series of the same name, Battlestar Galactica captured the imaginations of a new generation of fans with its gritty realism, compelling storylines and commanding performances. The show garnered numerous awards, including two Emmys® and the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and was recognized by the American Film Institute (AFI) as one of the most outstanding television programs of the year for two years running. In March 2009, Battlestar Galactica's impassioned explorations of today's hot-button issues, including politics, terrorism, treatment of prisoners and religion, even inspired the United Nations to host a special panel to discuss the questions it has raised. The series is from Universal Cable Productions and is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE PLAN
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Blu-rayTM Hi-Def
Street Date: October 27, 2009
Copyright: 2009 Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Selection Number: 61110464
Price: $39.98
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Rating: Not Rated

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE PLAN
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
DVD
Street Date: October 27, 2009
Copyright: 2009 Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Selection Number: 61107967
Price: $26.98
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Rating: Not Rated

Source: NBC

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan Set to Launch on Blu-ray October 27

Syfy's upcoming Battlestar Galactica prequel series, Caprica, has a new recurring character in comedian Patton Oswalt.  Oswalt is best remembered as one of the friends to Doug Heffernan(Kevin James) on the sitcom The King of Queens, and has most recently been seen in episodes of Showtime's series The United States of Tara as a friend and co-worker of Max's and a on time lover to Tara's sister, Charmaine.

On Caprica Oswalt will play the character Baxter Sarno, a comedian and popular talk show host that Daniel (Eric Stoltz) and Amanda (Paula Malcomson) Greystone appear on.

Fans of Oswalt's are used to seeing him in these types of roles, which he excels at, however he'll also be starring soon in Big Fan, the directorial debut of Robert Siegel (writter of The Wrestler), where he'll play his first serious role.

Caprica is currently in production in Vancouver and premiere's in January 2010 on Syfy.

Source: THR

Comedian Patton Oswalt to Recur On "Caprica"

Over the summer we've learned of several BSG Alumni who will be appearing on shows this coming year, including Katee Sackhoff on 24 and just last week it was announced that Jamie Bamber would make an appearance on Dollhouse this season.  Today, we've learned that our favorite foul mouthed, wife murdering, drunk assed frakin skin job Saul Tigh (actor Michael Hogan) will also appear on an episode of Dollhouse this season.

Hogan will play a repeat customer of the Dollhouse, which we assume to mean he'll be some creepy old man who likes women more than half his age.  Based on Hogan's unbelievable performance (he was SO robbed in the Emmy Noms) in the final season of Battlestar Galactic I, for one, can't wait to see what he can do with this character, and I hope the character will show up more than once.  If you're not a Dollhouse fan you can also catch Michael Hogan on an episode of Syfy's new Warehouse 13 later this year, where he'll be playing Myky's father.  Although Warehouse 13 is more supernatural than sci-fi (in my humble opinion) it shows that Hogan is staying pretty close to the genre.

No air date has been provided for his part in Dollhouse or Warehouse 13.

Source: TVFanatic.com

"Dollhouse" Adds Michael Hogan to Season 2 Guest List

The final season of SyFy’s Battlestar Galactica was triumphant at the Television Critics Awards on Saturday. Critically-acclaimed but oft-snubbed at the major awards ceremonies, Battlestar defeated ABC’s Lost to the Program of the Year prize. Battlestar ended its final season with a thought-provoking finale, with the revelation that the show was set in our past rather than our future – a rarity amongst science-fiction. Upon receipt of the award, Mark Stern, executive VP of programming at SyFy, had this to say to Daily Variety: “It certainly feels appropriate that we received the acknowledgement from the people who were champions of this show from its outset.”

This year’s TCAs were a triumph for the less-recognised.  One such example is CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, which gained a single Emmy nom for Jim Parsons (Lead Actor in a Comedy Series), but was inexplicably snubbed for the Outstanding Comedy Series category in spite of the increased buzz garnered by its successful second season, which received an average rating of 10.14 million viewers. Not only did Parsons win Individual Achievement in Comedy at the TCAs, but the show itself was voted as the top comedy.

HBO fared best on the evening, earning three awards, including Outstanding New Program for its vampire drama True Blood. The drama, which stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, was also largely ignored in the major categories at this year’s Emmys but defeated JJ Abrams’ Fringe to land this award.

The sophomore season of AMC’s Mad Men took the gong for Individual Achievement in Drama for a second year running, ensuring yet another award to follow the Golden Globes, Emmys and BAFTAs garnered by its opening season. Matthew Wiener’s office drama set in an advertising agency represents yet another victory for cable programming, which goes from strength-to-strength as it continues to outmuscle its network counterparts.

AMC were also triumphant in the Individual Achievement in Drama category, awarded to Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad for his portrayal of Walter White, a cancer-ridden high school chemistry teacher who turns to a life of crime following the diagnosis of his disease.

The lack of network winners in all but a couple of the major categories says a lot of the way the tide is currently turning. The awards seem to prefer rewarding shows that have critical acclaim but not necessarily higher ratings. Is this a fair representation of quality? Possibly not. But if it helps the networks raise their game, then that has to be a good thing.

Full list of winners:

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR: Battlestar Galactica (Syfy)

OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM: True Blood (HBO)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: Mad Men (AMC)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION: The Alzheimer’s Project (HBO)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING: Yo Gabba Gabba (Nickelodeon)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES, MINI-SERIES & SPECIALS: Grey Gardens (HBO)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)

HERITAGE AWARD: ER (NBC)

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: Betty White

Sources:

TVCritics, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety

"Battlestar" Triumphs at TCA Awards

Syfy has released more great footage from Comic Con 2009 and we wanted to make sure all of our readers who didn't have a chance to hit The Con this year got a chance to see the glory and wonder that it was.  Below you will find the full panels for Eureka, Caprica - Battlestar Galactic: The Plan, Stargate: Universe, and Warehouse 13.  Enjoy and please share this link with your friends who may have also missed Comic Con 2009.

Comic Con: Full Syfy Series Panels (video)

Although the full details are sketchy, news broke yesterday that Battlestar Galactica alum Jamie Bamber (Lee "Apollo" Adama) will guest star in the season two premiere of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.  According to Michael Ausiello Bamber will be involved in an engagement with Echo (Eliza Dushku) and handler Paul (Tahmoh Penikett).  This will be the first time since the end of Battlestar Galactica that the two stars, Tahmoh Penikett and Jamie Bamber, have shared the small screen.  Bamber has most recently been seen on Law and Order: UK, in a role that he may return to for a second season.

If you're wondering where you can find other Battlestar Galactica stars on television these days, don't forget that Katee Sackhoff has joined the cast of 24 for their upcoming eighth season.  Katee Sackhoff will play Dana Walsh, a highly respected and down-to-earth data analyst at the new and improved New York branch of CTU. Her character will be in a  relationship with fellow agent Davis Cole (played by Freddie Prinze. Jr.), and she apparently has a skeleton in her closet she’s trying desperately to keep hidden.

Dollhouse premieres its second season on Fox on September 25, and 24 returns in January 17, 2010.

Source: UGO

Jamie Bamber to Guest Star on Dollhouse

Warehouse 13 was a huge success with last weeks supernaturally entertaining two-hour pilot, clobbering veterans Saving Grace and Rescue Me while humbling fellow new-comer Hawthorne.  The fun is just beginning for the channel's loyalists as this weeks episode, "Resonance," kicks of a string of guest stars hailing from the newly minted SyFy's bedrock, beginning with super-sexy Cylon Tricia Helfer.

Pete (Eddie McClintock) and Myka (Joanne Kelly) must stop a team of bank robbers who have an unusual weapon – a LP record of an unreleased pop song written by a music genius – that causes instant bliss in those who hear it, allowing the thieves to take what they want.  Back at the Warehouse, Artie (Saul Rubinek) pinpoints the breach and heads to Washington.

No word on whether Helfer will be playing one of the thieves or a different character, but odds are she'll be yummy in whatever she does for Warehouse 13. As for the "breach," in case you haven't heard a new character is being added to Warehouse 13.  Someone who will apparently be doing a lot of work at the Warehouse itself, so I'm smelling a foil for Artie, but we'll have to wait another week to get any info on that.   In the meantime, here are a few promo pics for "Resonance" for you to check out - sorry guys, no 'red dress' pics.

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Preview - Galactica's Tricia Helfer in the (Ware)house (13)

Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff has found herself a new steady gig, on FOX's 24!  The woman who regnederized Starbuck will be cast as a regular on the next season of 24, which is centered around a reconstituted CTU branch in New York city.  Details ahead.

According to EW's Michael Ausiello, Katee will be playing the role of Dana Walsh, girlfriend to Freddie Prinze Jr.'s character of Davis Cole.  Dana will be working at CTU as a data analyst, which means we'll be seeing some interactions with Chloe, hopefully.

On the more intriguing side of things, Sackhoff' character apparently has a dark side she is trying to keep hidden.  So, let's see... how do these things usually turn out?  Yeah, so who knows if Sackhoff is being prepped for a multi-season presence, or being primped for the turncoat position that CTU always seems to be hiring for.  Their human resources director should really be canned.

I'll say this, Sackhoff's intensity is absolutely scary - she could single handily refuel the 24 franchise.  I mean, she was the most watchable aspect of Bionic Woman.  Well, there were others, but I don't want to branded a sexist so I won't go there.  (Or maybe I just did?)

Source: EW Michael Ausiello

Starbuck Vs. Jack Bauer? It can, may, and probably will Happen

Universal has announced the release of Battlestar Galactica season 4.5 as well as a feature saturated Blu Ray entry of Battlestar Galactica The Complete series.  Both Blu Ray editions will also be available on standard DVD.  Read on for more tech specs and details.

Says Universal:

The epic story of survival that redefined science-fiction television for a new generation comes to a breathtaking finish when Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 arrives on Blu-rayTM Hi-Def and DVD on July 28, 2009 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The must-own home entertainment release of the year, Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 features over 13 hours of explosive extras, including three extended episodes of the series finale that never aired on television, never-before-seen deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and commentary and podcast interviews with Executive Producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick.  The Blu-ray™ Hi-Def edition also includes Universal’s acclaimed U-Control and BD-Live features, providing the ultimate way to enjoy this thrilling, contemporary classic television series.

As far as the goodies are concerned:

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON 4.5 BONUS FEATURES
EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAYTM HI-DEF:

• U-CONTROL:  Universal’s exclusive signature feature puts viewers one click away from going deeper into the making of the film without ever leaving the movie.
• THE ORACLE: An interactive guide including ships and characters.
• BATTLESTAR ACTUAL: A glossary of all the unique Battlestar Galactica terms.
• WHAT THE FRAK HAPPENED TO YOU?  Explore the history and connections of your favorite characters through video clips and relevant facts.
• BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers, and more!
• BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ULTIMATE BATTLE: Players can battle their friends as Colonials or Cylons using strategy and luck to achieve victory.
• MY SCENES:  Pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage.
• THE MUSICIANS BEHIND DAYBREAK: Composer Bear McCreary interviews and explains how many unique musicians have contributed the show and specifically the series finale, Daybreak.
• BONUS FEATURES (BLU-RAY™ HI-DEF and DVD):
• EXTRAS
• EVOLUTION OF A CUE: Composer, Bear McCreary takes us step by step through his process of creating the music of Battlestar Galactica.
• WHAT THE FRAK IS GOING ON WITH BATTLESTAR GALACTICA?: A recap of Battlestar Galactica’s first three thrilling seasons – in only eight minutes!
• …AND THEY HAVE A PLAN: What do they mean every episode when the opening sequence on the Cylons states “And They Have A Plan?”  All will be revealed in the upcoming movie The Plan.
• THE JOURNEY ENDS:  THE ARRIVAL: Battlestar Galactica has traveled full circle.  The journey has concluded never to be revisited.  But how did we arrive at the end?
• A LOOK BACK
• SO SAY WE ALL: Executive Producer Ron Moore and the cast and crew reveal their personal insights on Battlestar Galactica.
• MANIFESTO DESTINY: It all began with this manifesto.  Why was it written and what was the response?
• BATTLE-STYLE GALACTICA: Those behind the camera delve into their approach to visual style of Battlestar Galactica.
• MARTYR TO A CAUSE: As the only actor to appear in both the original and reimagined series, Richard Hatch offers his unique perspective on Battlestar Galactica.
• THE SINS OF THE FORGIVEN: Insights on the curious religious aspects of Battlestar Galactica.
• BATTLESTAR REVELATIONS: Firsthand accounts from those on the Battlestar for the past five years.
• AUDIO COMMENTARIES BY RONALD D. MOORE, DAVID EICK, AND EDWARD JAMES OLMOS
• RONALD D. MOORE’S PODCAST COMMENTARIES
• DAVID EICK’S VIDEO BLOGS
• DELETED SCENES

and

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON 4.5
TECHNICAL INFORMATION

• Blu-ray Hi-Def
• Street Date:  July 28, 2009
• Copyright:  2009 Universal Studios Home Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.
• Pre-Order Close: June 6, 2009
• Selection Number: 61108246
• Price:  $69.98 SRP
• Layers:  BD-50
• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 2.35:1
• Rating:  Not rated.
• Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
• Sound:  DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
DVD

• Street Date:  July 28, 2009
• Copyright:  2009 Universal Studios Home Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.
• Pre-Order Close: June 6, 2009
• Selection Number: 61105927
• Price: $49.98 SRP
• Layers:  Dual Layer
• Aspect Ratio:  AW 1.78:1
• Rating: Not rated
• Languages/Subtitles:  English SDH, Spanish
• Sound:  Dolby Digital 5.1

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE COMPLETE SERIES
TECHNICAL INFORMATION

• Blu-ray Hi-Def
• Street Date: July 28, 2009
• Copyright:  2009 Universal Studios Home Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.
• Pre-Order Close: June 9, 2009
• Price:  $349.98
• Selection Number:  61107923
• Layers:  BD-50
• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 2.35:1
• Rating: Not rated
• Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
• Sound:  DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
DVD

• Street Date: July 28, 2009
• Pre-Order Close: June 9, 2009
• Copyright:  2009 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
• Price:  $279.98
• Selection Number:  61106532
• Layers:  Dual Layer
• Aspect Ratio: AW 1.78:1
• Rating:  Not rated.
• Languages/Subtitles:  English SDH, Spanish
• Sound:  Dolby Digital 5.1

Universal Announces Battlestar Galactica Blu-Ray Titles

Tonight marked the end of one of the greatest science fiction shows to ever grace the small screen, hell let’s be honest, one of the greatest shows of any genre to grace the small screen, as Battlestar Galactica came to a final end.  The episode had so many highs and so many lows for me, that its almost difficult to spill them all out on paper (okay, on screen), but I’ll do so anyway.  Fans of the show, both hardcore and more casual viewers seem split on the series finale, many quite disappointed in the unfolding events while others are more than satisfied.  I’ll give you my thoughts, opinions, and notes the show.

Overall, I really enjoyed this two hour finale, and find myself mostly satisfied with the way the show was wrapped up.  There were several small plotlines that I wish had gone differently, and the overall ending of the show, with them finding Earth 150,000 years ago was so predictable that it was actually surprising, if that makes any sense.  I mean, who dreamed they would end the show so similar to the way the original Battlestar Galactica ended?  I feel confident that if someone had told me how it ended, without me seeing it played out on screen, I would have been hugely disappointed.  But the way it was written worked for me.

The Flashbacks

Okay, I’m a huge LOST fan, so I totally get the purpose and need of using a flashback.  I get tying in the events of the past, especially events that lead a person to where they are today, are important.  But the way they did these flashbacks, I didn’t feel very satisfied.  I really have no idea why we needed to see Adama fighting off retirement, puking all over himself in an ally, and Saul and Ellen hanging out in a strip club.  And although I get the deep scars that Laura Roslyn had to endure and get past with the death of her entire family, I’m not certain why it was appropriate to show us that in the final 2 episodes.  The only flashback that I found remotely entertaining and relevant was Lee Adama and Kara Thrace.

The Battle of the Colony

The battle of the colony was nothing short of EPIC.  When Adama ordered “ramming speed” my mouth hit the floor and with every round that Galactica took I expected it to be its last.  Going into tonight’s episode, I was convinced that Admiral Adama was going to go down with his ship, and I thought surely that Galactica would never make it out of that battle.  Those feelings kept my heart beating fast and my skin crawling the entire time.  When Anders finally shut down the initial assault, I let out a fist pump, and seeing the Toasters fighting Toasters almost made me pee myself a little.

Boomer’s Restitution

When Boomer snaped the Four’s neck I just smiled.  It wasn’t a leap, considering her actions in the past few episodes, for her character to take this course of action, but it was enjoyable to me despite the predictability.  Oh, and I lied earlier, because the short flashback they show after Athena shoots her (more on that in a moment), is the most relevant and best done flashback of the finale.  I felt that it was a nice touch and perfectly ended her character.  As for her dying, well come on, she really had to die.  And it seems completely fitting that Athena was the one to pull the trigger.

The Opera House – Galactica CIC

So who knew, the Opera House we’ve seen and heard so much about was nothing more than the CIC of Galactica herself.  It’s fitting and appropriate in so many ways, and makes total sense, but I didn’t care for it much at all.  I just sort of felt that it was a bit unsatisfying, with so much time and energy being spent on figuring out what the ‘vision’ or whatever it was, meant, only to have it be a weird prophecy of things to come.

Baltar’s Single Selfless Act

Once again, it was the most predictable conclusion for the so very flawed Baltar.  Last week, when the red tape split the deck of Galactica, and he didn’t cross over, I said out loud to no one in particular, ‘he’ll be going on that mission without a doubt,” as I’m sure just about every single other fan out there was thinking.  Still, it did carry quite a bit of significance, especially after last week when Lee so blatantly spelled out to us that Baltar had never, ever done one single selfless act.  Every single thing in his life had been done to further HIS agendas in some way.  I found it even more significant that Baltar was the one, with so many eloquent words, to initiate the truce between Cavil and the Colonials.  However short lived that truce might have been, Baltar was successful at something even Ellen and the other final five couldn’t achieve, despite being Cavil’s creators.  Baltar got Cavil to have some faith.  What’s more human than that?

The Chief Killing Tory

So by a raising of hands, who out there didn’t already suspect that there was going to be retribution for Cally’s murder by Tory?  I found it amusing that Tory expected Chief to keep a promise, like that, which he made only 30 seconds earlier.  I have little to say about this other than good for Chief.  I really didn’t like Cally’s character, but I hated Tory more.

The New Earth

So this is the part that I alluded to earlier when I said that it was so obvious of an end that it was actually surprising.  I think for many, this might have been disappointing because it basically ended the series the same way that the original series ended, with them finding Earth.  Yeah, yeah, it’s the “new” Earth, but it’s still OUR Earth.  We’ve been so used to the surprise and shock that Ronald D. Moore and team have given us over the years, that suddenly and ending like this doesn’t seem up to par with the rest of the series.  My feelings on that front are, do we really want surprise just for the sake of surprise?  What I mean is, do we want the writers to give us something totally shocking and so off-the-wall that we never could have guessed it in a million years, or do we want to see the progression of the story, in an intelligent way that makes sense and gives us some closure?  I know, I know, many of you still don’t agree with me, but I’m satisfied with New Earth.

Bill and Laura

What more can be said about how well this was done.  When Bill carried Laura to the ship, I thought he was going to die with her, initially.  I’ll just go ahead and turn in my man card right now, but when Bill took off his ring and placed it on Laura’s hand just after she died, tears fell down my face.  Without sounding too lame (too late) I couldn’t think of a more beautiful way to conclude the story of these two characters.

Kara Thrace is Kara Thrace

This is probably the most upsetting and unresolved aspect of the entire series, and the one that has the most fans talking, and complaining about the finale.  We never, truly learn who or what Kara Thrace was since her Viper blew up in front of Lee.  One moment, she is there, saying goodbye to Lee, and the next moment, he turns around and she has completely vanished.  I am in no way satisfied with the wrapping up of this mystery, however it was a fact that there was going to be some elements of the series that we would be left to ponder on ourselves.  I’m the type of person who would much prefer the writers spell everything out to me, but if I must come up with a conclusion for myself, I’m capable of doing just that.  I think that God, or whatever devine force was intervening this entire time, sent her back as a vessel to help them on their journey.  Whether she was always a mass hallucination, an angel, or something else entirely, I’m perfectly satisfied with what Bill and Lee said…Kara Thrace is Kara Thrace.

Angels Amongst Us

I found the final scene of the series somewhat perplexing at first.  It confused me and had me trying to determine exactly what or who Head-Baltar and Head-Caprica6 were.  I rewatched the scene several times, and once again the full interpretation is left up to us.  Baltar called them the Angels that were amongst us, and I don’t have a better explanation than that.  When Head-Caprica6 used the word God Head-Baltar only said, ‘you know that he hates being called that name.’  Although I feel that I am a spiritual person, I am certainly not a religious person.  However, the genre of science fiction television (and movies) has always been devoid of religion for the most part, or only using it as a plot device for the crazies of the story.  Therefore, I found it quite refreshing that Ronald D. Moore would include such a blatant and thorough amount of Devine Intervention into his brilliant series final moments.

Battlestar Galactica was a one of a kind television series.  A reinvented remake of an old series that was actually so much better, in almost every possible way, than the original.  The show was successful because it showed humans at their best and at their worst.  It gave us flawed characters and commentary on the very world we are living in today, without blantantly saying, ‘this is the very world we’re living in today.’  From the writing, to the cinematography, to the special effects, to the acting, this show was more than anyone, especially the Sci-Fi Channel, could have ever hoped for.  And so another great series comes to an end.  But as is often said, all that has happened before, will happen again.  So until the next piece of small screen brilliance comes along, all we can do is wait.

Battlestar Galactica Ends: Commentary and Notes