Sin
Jul 2005
Hi Dad
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quote:
From IGN.com, July 21, 2006
A big highlight today at Comic-Con was the panel for SCI FI Channel's series Battlestar Galactica, which has gathered increasingly larger crowds at what has become a traditional Comic-Con appearance each year, as the critically acclaimed series has gained an ever larger and loyal fandom. In attendance were executive producers Ron Moore and David Eick, and several members of the cast, including Lucy Lawless, James Callis, Aaron Douglas and Edward James Olmos, the latter of whom received a standing ovation from the packed audience in the 4500 seat room, as he walked onstage. It was clearly very appreciated by Olmos, who noted this was his first convention appearance of any kind. Olmos told the crowd, "I'm not the kind of guy who's gonna tell you, 'Get a life.' I think people who say stuff like that should get their a**h*les checked."
This is where those fearing spoilers for Battlestar may want to be wary, as the panel started off with a preview of Season 3 which held some tantalizing hints of what's to come; including Colonel Tigh with a bandage over his eye, declaring, "I've got a war to fight!"; Apollo telling Adama that he feels that it's too risky for the two Battlestars to return to New Caprica, and that if they do, "humanity is over"; and Baltar saying to an unseen character, "I beg you to shoot me!"
During the discussion that followed, many other interesting tidbits were revealed, as Callis noted, "I actually end up on the Cylon baseship and try to work out what is the philosophy and the relationships on this kind of ship." Season 1 showed a Cylon ship filled with naked Number 8 models, and Callis also joked, "They like to walk around naked. Baltar discovers this, then tries to mimic it. He's not as good at it."
Explaining where the season would begin, Eick said, "It's four months later after the end of season 2. The occupation is in full swing, and Baltar is still president under an occupation. [There's an] insurgency and Galactica is off plotting. Some have taken sides, some are caught -- One in particular is missing a vital part of their anatomy." Based on the clips shown, it seemed like Tigh would be a pretty good bet for who Eick might have been referring to.
Asked about the decision to leap the series forward a year in the midst of last season's finale, Moore revealed "It's an idea I'd been thinking about for awhile. I thought about it for [Moore's previous series] Carnivale." Moore spoke of how the plotline with Galactica finding another livable planet came about, and the idea that Baltar would use this as a major campaign battle, saying it was a, "Legitimate thing to pin the whole election on." After that, they felt the storyline had to deal with the Cylons finding the humans on this planet, but said that if it was, "They're there a week and the Cylons show up, it feels like a jerk off. It didn't mean a thing." A year sounded better storywise, but wasn't something they'd actually want to portray on the series. "A year without a cylon?" Moore remarked, saying the series ultimately is about the conflict between the humans and the Cylons and, "Not going to be a planet based show."
Olmos was full of praise for the show, which he said he was wary of joining, until he saw the political and topical observations Moore was going for on the series, including the "reality and psychology after 9/11," and that the show dealt with, "truths we could now take a look at, and he [Moore] was willing to go into that." Olmos also declared that the series, which has hardly been lighthearted, would be darker than ever in season 3, saying, "The third season it's incredible. It's the darkest show I've ever been a part of." Olmos hinted at some of the analogies the audience can expect this season; "You'll get the psychology of say, suicide bombers, when you see the humans using that method to move forward and try to fight."
Lawless said that she is very excited about the relationship between Tigh and Starbuck this season, revealing, "They kind of start to hit it off, in a very weird way," and that she especially loved a scene between the two that she found, "so damned delicious." Olmos remarked, "The relationships this year are so deeply rooted in hurting each other. The most stunning part is Lee, my son, going on with Dualla and Starbuck; that really is out of page 6 in New York," referring to the New York Post gossip page. Lawless said that a lot of the season would deal with, "Stockholm syndrome. Relationships start to splinter and reform in very unlikely and very charged ways." As for Callis, he said that the relationship he's most intrigued by on the series currently is, "Sharon and Helo, because it's so extraordinary. She's a Cylon, but she's kind of caught aboard this ship. They've had their baby taken away from them, and they kind of have a tragic, amazing arc. The drastic circumstances they're put under. It's only themselves they vaguely trust."
A question was asked by an audience member about the portrayal of the religious characters from Gemenon last season, who seemed predominantly black, and whether it fed into the stereotype of "the magical negro" in fiction. Moore said it was a "fair question," and that while it was simply a result of unconnected casting choices, they did realize the inadvertent way it might appear while editing some of those episodes. Moore noted that they certainly weren't looking to make all the black human characters appear a uniform way on the series, which he said would be reflected, "When you see what Carl Lumbly does to Eddie in episode 7," revealing the Alias actor would be appearing on Battlestar, and having a confrontation with Olmos.
For his part, Douglas was somewhat of the class clown, cracking funny jokes and rarely answering a question seriously. Asked where this season would find father-to-be Chief Tyrol, Douglas answered, "Changing diapers. Fighting the Cylons, surprisingly... and fixing things. I tell you, it's just good writing!" He then joked that his love interest Cally was also a Cylon, saying, "I make sure that Cally is plugged in at all times."
As the panel ended, Olmos hinted at another dark plotline, in which the humans would release a pandemic upon the Cylons. However, he also revealed that the number of humans left alive on the series has dropped from somewhere around 49,000 people to 38,000, saying, "We're losing fast."
Sounds like S3 will kick ass, roll on october!
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(mostly because Baltar rules)
07-21-2006 05:25 PM
