Seriously, people, it’s a crime that Battlestar Galactica doesn’t get the Emmy recognition it deserves. To help remedy that situation, the Los Angeles Times’ awards blog The Envelope hosted a screening on Wednesday of the mid-season finale episode, "Revelations," for Emmy voters, press and fans alike (you’ll be able to catch the episode tonight at 10/9 central on the Sci Fi Channel). Along with a sneak peak at the last episode for this year (according to various people on the red carpet, the show will return January or February of 2009, but a date has yet to be determined), press and fans got a chance to mingle with the show’s executive producer Ronald D. Moore, Tricia Helfer (pictured, Six), Mary McDonnell (Laura Roslin) and Katee Sackhoff (Kara Thrace), all of whom sat down with the audience after the screening to answer questions.
Before screening the episode, Moore asked the audience to raise their right hand and repeat after him a sacred oath:
"I, [state your name], promise to keep all the secrets I see tonight."
And I, dear reader, took that pledge, and will spare you from the burden of secrets I carry with me this dark night, because trust me when I say that you don’t actually want to know. You don’t want to be the only one in your group of friends that knows the truth and has absolutely no one to discuss it with. It physically hurts not being able to call up my brother or boyfriend and go "OH MY GOD CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY…"
But fear not, gentle reader; I will leave you spoiler-free, if only because that’s the best way to experience what was, in my opinion, perhaps the most shocking episode in the entire series. This is one you want to watch with friends so you won’t be alone in the stunned silence that might follow. It will definitely keep fans talking until the suddenly-so-far-away second half of the season.
So while I can’t talk about the episode itself, after the jump I will feed you as many juicy tidbits from the red carpet, panel and after party as I can muster.
Tidbit # 1) Though still over a year away, the series finale was on everyone’sminds, and comprised the bulk of the questions addressed to the panel. ForMoore, writing the series finale was more than a little difficult: “Iwas getting caught up in the wrong plot in my head, and I was gettingannoyed with myself, and with my writers, and life in general, and mychildren, and cats…. Iwas in the shower and just sort of had this epiphany that I wasconcentrating on the wrong thing, it’s really not about the plot, it’sabout the characters. I came back into the writer’s room the next dayand wrote ‘It’s the characters, stupid’ up on the board.”
2) For the cast, reading the last script brought out some strongreactions: Aaron Douglas (Galen Tyrol) and Edward James Olmos (WilliamAdama) both cried; Helfer felt as if "someone had punched me in thestomach."
3) As McDonnell told me on the red carpet, emotions arerunning high: “It feels alternately glorious anddevastating, because people are doing phenomenal work,” but she’s goingto miss everyone when the show is over. One thing Sackhoff said shewill definitely not miss is the flight suits: "It’slike hell on earth…. Let’s give them water but not give them apee-zipper or anything."
4) One of the show’s recurring themes has been theconflict between the Cylon monotheism and humanity’s polytheism. Whenasked if this was planned from the start, Moore said, "When I wrotethe miniseries, the first draft didn’t really have much to do withreligion. There was actually only one line — I just had [Number Six] say’God is love.’ I thought it was an interesting thing for a robot tosay. I didn’t really know what it meant. I didn’t really have a contextfor it. I just thought it was cool." The network’s note for "morereligion," then, came as quite the pleasant surprise to Moore: "That’sa note I don’t get very often, so [I thought] we’ll just seize that andrun with it."
5) When asked if the various Western cultural references that havepeppered the show recently (everything from Bob Dylan to Shakespeare)were significant, rather than responding with a simple yes or no, Mooreonly provided a maddeningly obtuse "All will be revealed” before movingon to the next question.
6) MAJOR GEEK ALERT (but if you got this far, you are so, so notabove this): Moore also revealed that the final five do not have modelnumbers (like Six, Three, etc.), and there is no direct correlationbetween the numbers and the Greek/Roman mythology referenced by thenaming scheme of the 13 colonies.
7) When asked how she felt about Roslin and Adama, McDonnell explainedthat she enjoyed how their relationship has unfolded over the course of the series:"They end up joining hearts despite their stubbornness, despite theirpersonalities or their obstinate natures."
When a fan asked if it was okay for her to pencil in Laura Roslinas her vote for President, McDonnell replied: "Only if I can haveHillary as my VP."
9) I know I said I wouldn’t spoil the mid-season finale for you (and Iwon’t), but I can’t say the same for the series finale. So if you’drather not know anything, just skip straight to the next paragraph.While answering a question about Caprica — a prequel spin-offseries about the origins of the Cylons — McDonnell inadvertentlydropped a very interesting tidbit: "I snuck out of Battlestar the other day in my nightgown and IV and I went over to watch Caprica,and I scared them because they didn’t know this mad woman with no hair,in this nightgown, dragging her I.V." Since the cast just mentionedthat they were filming the last episode of the series, it’s not astretch to assume that Roslin is at least still alive (if not entirelyhealthy). But with this show, who knows…
10) Once the panel was over, I made my way to the after party, whereother fans were more than happy to gab with a complete stranger over[spoiler] and [spoiler] and "Can you believe they [spoilered][spoiler]?!?!" Look, I’m still pretty new to this LA scene, so it wasall a touch surreal to see Seth Green and Ron Moore deep inconversation in one booth, Kevin Smith chilling next to a giganticmetal Cylon statue by the bar, while the flesh-and-blood version, thestunning Tricia Helfer, stood nearby. But the conflux of celebrities,fans, and celebrity fans all coming together to discuss and dissect BSGcertainly warmed this fangirl’s heart (and the free booze certainlydidn’t hurt.)
11) I have to say, however, the sweetest fan moment had to be whenanother blogger just had to get his picture taken not with Six, notwith Roslin, not with Starbuck, but with BSG writer Jane Espenson. With fans like that, who needs Emmys? (Seriously though, an Emmy or two wouldn’t hurt.)
So PopWatchers, I gotta ask: How are you liking BSG thisseason? Is the wait for the second half of this season starting to feelas terrifyingly long for you as it’s beginning to feel for me? Spill!
Comments (1-30) of 95 Add your comment
Jane wrote for Buffy. She has a legion of Whedonite fans.
To Vlada: Yea! She was such a phenomenal writer on Buffy, and I am so glad she’s on BSG.
I hope BSG picks up steam. The first half of the last season EVER has being oddly uneven.
Good: Cylon guilt, Adama and Roslin
So-So: Natalie, Baltar and cult
Bad: Kara (who I love!), Lee in “The Office”, and any episode without Chiefie (aka Tyrol)
After tonight, It will be a long wait for Jan or Feb ‘09. Great Job, Crew of BSG
BSG totally rocks – “Revelations” has to be one of the best episodes yet. Now we need to find out what happened to/on Earth…remember, all this has happened before, and will happen again.
I serious love this show… but in reality this final season just turned into 2 separate short seasons, and I’m just miffed I’m going to have to wait SOOOOO long to see the next episode. This is my favorite show..ever and a shame that its 4 long seasons and not 5 full seasons. But I’m glad the writers got to end it on their terms, makes for a better ending!
Wow…What an ending but I’m sure more is in store. What’s the deal with Caprica?? First time I’m hearing about this and where can I learn more.
What the frak? Great ending. Great show. Have to wait until Jan. or Feb. 09? Great scott! Oh well. Worth the wait!
The mid season finale was a bit of a let down. Seemed a take from Planet of the Apes. Was waiting to see the statue of liberty sticking out of the ground.
After a season that I felt was really bogged down by a story that was too heavy and when it felt like nothing was happening for weeks on end it was nice to see an episode and really a series that can take what it has been aiming for the entire time and just throw it out a launch tube without a moments hesitation. That’s the mark of a good series. It will kill off characters, it will blow up ships, it will do whatever it needs to do for the betterment of the story they are telling. If I had one complaint about Star Trek is that the Enterprise and all the characters were immortal. Everyone knew they were going to survive so there was no risk to the stories but BSG doesn’t give a frak and does what it needs to do. When this show is over I will really really miss it.
who is the fifth cylon
So much left to answer – can’t wait 12 months:
- Will cylons and humans ever coexist?
- It’s not earth. So does earth or any other planet really matter after all? It hasn’t worked out well on the last bunch of them.
- If the proof of being final four is hearing things – why is Starbuck not joining them?
- What about all of the remaining bad cylons?
I, too, couldn’t but help think of Planet of the Apes as more and more of the landscape was revealed. And, of course, we don’t know what era we are in; before the era of man, or after he destroyed everything. Are they our ancestors, or have they come to repopulate Earth? If the spin-off, Caprica, is to be a prequel, once this series finally finishes, can a follow-on or movie be far behind?
At last…interstellar real estate developers. Now we can have big box stores with shaved corners…
I loved this episode, it literally made me kinda jumpy during the last 30 minutes. I hated every commercial break, isn’t that inimical to what they intend? Regardless, I can’t wait to see what’s in store and I’m an even bigger fan of Mrs. Espensons work now then I ever was. That’s saying a lot cause ‘Shindig’ was amazing.
Thank you.
It sucks. The baby boomer’s obsession with self-annihilation is too anachronistic. This kind of story is not where the real “Earth” is at this time.
That is- unless you’re a baby-boomer.
WTF!! Ok at the beginning of the last scene, they were detecting radiation on the dirt, and the last thing looked like a bridge broken.I can only guess a nuclear winter after we have destroyed ourselves.And did you see the teaser for the next season/movie.Ty pulls a gun on Adama ( you can tell its him by the back of his head,hair) and ending with “you are the fifth”.What a frakin oversite by the producers to show this.
I doubt anyone can complain that there won’t be enough to deal with over the course of season 4.5 (wahhhh… I want it nowwwwwww!), given that we still have to deal with:
The identity of the final Cylon
The origin and nature of the entire Final Five
The origin of the rest of the skinjobs
The fate of the 13th colony, and what role (if any) they played in the destruction of Earth
The identity of the person/persons/entities that have been orchestrating all this, and what it means that “All of this has happened before and all of it will happen again”
The opera house vision and the fate of Hera
What exactly happened to Kara when she went into the maelstrom, and what she’s really the harbinger of
Roslin’s health
The true nature of Head Six, Head Baltar, Head Leoben, and all the other “angels”
Tigh and Caprica Six’s baby
The whereabouts of Boomer and whether any of the 1, 4, or 5 models are still out there
Best Show Ever! Emmy??? We don’t need your stinking Emmy!!! The “other” Cylons were curiously left out of the story line so far since they raised Dianna. And the condition of the planet they found??? This ain’t over by damn sight. Can’t wait!!!
This was excellent. Like the others, the first thing I thought at the end was Planet of the Apes. I was waiting for Adama to pound his fist into the sand in despair, stating “You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you all to hell!” Of course, this is after he tell D’Anna to take her “sticking paws of her, you damn dirty [cylon].”
I did like the show a lot. Arguibly the best episode this season. I had been debating with another fan if Earth would be in the future or the past. The fact that Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan music played in past episodes, and quotes from Shakespeare were used by the characters, suggests that the colonists are perhaps decendents of the people of Earth. That we destroyed our civilization and moved on to the stars, only to do the same thing again sometime in are distant future. As they say, history tends to repeat itself.
As a west coaster.. I just finished watching.
Wow. I am totally bummed. Earth looks like poop! And yes, I kept thinking the Statue of Liberty would appear as the camera panned to the right.
But, I was very gratified that this was the series finale… I realized it with the trailer. Thank goodness!
So, now we wait 6 or 7 months! I think it would be cool if the next season spends a weee bit of time exploring the rest of he planet and , egad, find other humans.
Marcus (et al):
I think that Kara is the Harbinger of Death because she brought real death to the cylons. Would love to know the origin of that ship of hers, though.
Also, I think that not enough interest has been payed to little Nicky – the other cylon-human baby.
Speaking of which, now two cylons have apparently mated successfully, and no one’s really explored how that could have happened! I notice Six is out of the brig – did the Cylons request that and I forgot, or is that just a by-product of the new relationship?
Has anyone wondered about #5, and the revelation that this cylon was not with the fleet? Does that mean it’s someone we’ve never met (seems a bit unlikely to introduce a new character now). Or, is it more likely to have been one of the people who was on basestar. Cause you would think that if that were the case, the cylons would have maybe tried to make contact if they had one of the 5 in their midst.
2009?? Not fair!!
i don’t think tigh is pointing a gun at adama. there is no grey in the head of hair. i think it is baltar.
pooks72: i wondered if that was caprica 6 who walked up to saul on earth at close of episode. perhaps the amnesty that lee offered to the four was also offered to caprica 6. i hope so. and what was up with tori trying to latch onto anders on earth? weird.
WTF! I can’t wait until February! I could be dead by then. Look at the last scene! We could all be dead. That is soooooo long from now. This is not fair. Frak!
pooks72: i agree that the fifth was one of those on the basestar with roslyn and gaius. i’m thinking gaius. (even though some have said that the 5th is not supposed to be in the picture a la the last supper) would d’anna really have listened to him if he were not?
Dang it, I’ve got an office pool going as to the identity of the fifth of the final five cylons. Hell of a long wait to resolve it… I don’t like this 10 episode then take a hiatus B.S.
Remember when Adama told Starbuck, “Isn’t it pretty to think so”? (At least that’s what I thought I heard.)
That’s a reference to the final line in Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises.” Adama is The Son, so the reference seemed appropriate. You could say, too, that in this episode Adama rose to the occassion.
I found that amusing and wanted to pass it along to the heavy-duty BSG crowd. (Not that anything slips by you.)
If Emmy voters have anyything in their brains they can begin engraving statues for McDommell, Olmos, and BEst Show NOW. If they don’t, wel… par for the course. A-MAH-ZING episode. My favorite part was not the end but was TORI: “I’ done taking orders from you.” and Adama’s melt-down when his friend of 35 years [spoiler]. Amazing.
I am in Singapore. One of the smaller networks just picked up the show. The main one thought it wasn’t mainstream enough. I was so pissed. Even more so the show is ending without any Emmies. What does the academy have against sci fi. BSG is more drama than sci fi, and up there with CSI if not higher. If the cast and crew read this sorta sites, just know you guys have fan in this part of the world. Dafna’s article mentions a stunned silence watching the mid season finale. I get that after each ep of Season 4. Literally I feel a wave come over me and I sit in silence. BSG’s writing is amazing. I have not seen such craftsmanship in television in so long. Sigh. Long live BSG! And no I am no sci fi geek. I just appreciate great television (read: not into American sit coms about fat fathers with thin wives).
The Earth they found is the Earth in their scriptures. But it isn’t our Earth. Their Earth (the one they found) was a common goal that brought human and cylon together, as it was intended by the 5th cylon, who is yet to be revealed. Now that they are working together, they will find a planet to colonize, and name it Earth, after the decimated Earth they found. That Earth, is our Earth. And they are our ancestors…meaning we are human/cylon hybrids. Notice when they found “Earth” in the finale, they didn’t show any recognizable land masses, no moon, no other planets in our solar system, all of which would have made spectacular special effects shots. This despite last season showing Earth with a clearly present North American continent. They didn’t show those things because the planet found on the finale is the original Earth, and not our Earth.