Category: tv

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Battlestar Galactica cast, crew at the United Nations

Photo by Brian McDermott/SCI FI Channel, via io9

io9’s Meredith Woerner has a fantastic report from the floor of last night’s Battlestar Galactica retrospective at the United Nations. Ronald D. Moore, Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and David Eick were on hand to talk about the human rights and other issues that BSG has addressed over its four seasons. I really hope there’s video, particularly after Woerner wrote this:

At one point the discussion lit a fire under the Admiral, and the talk of human rights turned personal for Edward James Olmos. The “Old Man” launched into a passionate speech about casting off the idea of race as a cultural determinant, and said we were one race, the human race. His voice echoed throughout the chamber growing louder until – I kid you not – he was yelling, “So Say We All,” and the crowd answered right back.

That proved a bit controversial to some of io9’s commentators… But in short, sounds like a rousing night and a real example of how science fiction can address and open up dialogue on real-life issues.

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Counting down for Battlestar Galactica

As the two-hour series finale of Battlestar Galactica approaches this Friday, SciFi Channel brings us “The Last Frakkin’ Special” tonight (10 PM ET/PT and rebroadcast a lot this week). Hollywood.com puts it on the Do It Today notice. Want to find Cylons in your midst? Get the Cylon Detector iPhone / iPod Touch app. It’ll work better than Baltar’s blood screening. and Remember, the final episode of BSG: “Daybreak, Part 2” this Friday night, 9 PM ET/PT.

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The Sci Fi Channel is changing their name

Oh yeah, the fans will just *love* this one!…To SyFy. No, seriously! It’s in The New York Times and everything!

One big advantage of the name change, the executives say, is that Sci Fi is vague — so generic, in fact, that it could not be trademarked. Syfy, with its unusual spelling, can be, which is also why diapers are called Luvs, an online video Web site is called Joost and a toothpaste is called Gleem.

“We couldn’t own Sci Fi; it’s a genre,” said Bonnie Hammer, the former president of Sci Fi who became the president of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment and Universal Cable Productions. “But we can own Syfy.”

Another benefit of the new name is that it is not “throwing the baby away with the bath water,” she added, because it is similar enough to the Sci Fi brand to convey continuity to “the fan-boys and -girls who love the genre.”

Oh honey: No. Just no. This is not the rebooting of Battlestar Galactica: This is taking what’s already perceived as a dumbed-down term for the genre (if only among the kind of people who tend to think that Star Wars Destroyed Science Fiction With Fun) and making it even more stupid. Which, I suppose, is more or less what we’ve come to expect from the people who have found crap like Seabeast and Mansquito viable programming choices.

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Gate Geek – Newsbits

Well, look who’s been a bit lazy!  So what’s been happening around the Gate, lately?

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Indy IV, The Clone Wars up for Saturn Awards

The nominations for the 35th Annual Saturn Awards are out, with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull scoring five nominations, including Best Science Fiction Film and nods for both Harrison Ford and Shia LeBouf. The Clone Wars also picked up two nominations, one for Best Animated Movie and another for Best Syndicated/Cable series.

The Saturns are presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor genre film and tv, so pretty much everything of note has a nod. The Dark Knight leads with 11 total. Expect to hear about the winners in June.

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Gate Geek – All the single ladies….

(via) Finally…we find out about the ladies of Stargate Universe (and another guy, for good measure).  Universe started production last week, so it’s nice to get this clarified.  Michael Ausiello and the Hollywood Reporter got the exclusive announcement rights (even before the MGM website).

And the ladies are:

  • Ming-Na – Formerly of ER fame and now playing Camille Wray, “an HR bigwig and highest ranking survivor.”
  • Elyse Levesque – Best known to genre fans for her work on Smallville and playing, “Chloe Armstrong, the wild and immature daughter of a U.S. Senator.”
  • Alaina Huffman (who has another name on IMDB) – Another Smallville alum who will be playing MSgt. Tamara Johansen, a field medic assigned to treat the seriously wounded.  (Given Stargate’s history, this does not bode well for her ultimate survival, but we can only wish her the best.)

A bit of a surprise announcement (to me, at least) is Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba) who has joined the cast as Col. Telford, “a lifelong military man and the chosen leader of the ill-fated expedition.”  (Confused.  I thought that was Robert Carlyle‘s role?  Is Telford not long for the Universe?  Or am I perpetually confused?)

Either way, I’m liking how this cast is shaping up.  Here’s hoping they pull off a good show!