BSG News, Articles, Reviews Misc. tidbits

[dec55]

Interesting spoiler about Sharon....

[Mr. Seven]

It starts in May with a #0 issue at the special price of a 25 cents. It takes place in the new series timeline between The Return from Kobol and Pegasus showing up.

Here are some articles courtesy of Newsarma

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/show...threadid=60462

DYNAMITE LAUNCHES BATTLESTAR GALACTICA IN MAY
Announced last year, and updated with news that Greg Pak will be writing the series, Dynamite Entertainment has solidified is plans for a May launch of Battlestar Galactica with a .25¢ #0 issue. The publisher launched Red Sonja last year in the same fashion.

The issue will be drawn by Nigel Raynor, and will ship with two covers – an illustrated cover by Steve McNiven, and a photo cover. Orders will be split between the two covers, 50/50.

From Dynamite:

The wait is over, the new adventures of the crew of the Battlestar Galactica begin here with DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT, writer GREG PAK, and artist NIGEL RAYNOR!

Dynamite Entertainment proudly presents their all-new Galactica series with a special #0 issue featuring an original story with a “dynamite cliffhanger” ending that leads into the ongoing series!

PAK is an exclusive writer for Marvel Comics, but has carved out this series for DYNAMITE and he’s turning out a comic that fans both new and old are going to love. And we’re so sure they’re going to love it, that this introductory issue is available for just one thin quarter! And what would this issue be without a RED-HOT Photo cover featuring the beautiful Cylon – Number Six!

PLUS: A Special preview of Brett Matthews and John Cassaday's Lone Range comic book series from Dynamite will also be included!

Future covers by Billy Tan, Michael Turner and more to be announced!

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/show...threadid=62040

GREG PAK ON BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Jockeying for room these days in writer Greg Pak’s brain, along with Marvel’s Hulk, and a dozen or so other projects, are a vast cast of characters with names like Apollo, Starbuck, Adama, and their home, the Battlestar Galactica.

Staring with a #0 in May, Pak will settle in as the series writer for Dynamite Entertainment’s new Battlestar Galactica series, based on the new series currently running on SciFi. We spoke with the writer for more on his plans for the series.

Newsarama Note: art from the series, along with the Steve McNiven cover, will be shown next week.

Newsarama: The new Battlestar Galactica is itself a re-imagining of the old television show. With the comic, you'll basically be doing a re-imagining of the re-imagining. What's that like?

Greg Pak: The great thing is that it’s actually not really a reimagining of the reimagining -- it’s a deeper exploration of the reimagining, if that’s not too confusing. The bottom line is that we’re working fully within the continuity of the new show.

NRAMA: Given your description, it’s a safe bet that you’re familiar with the show?

GP: Oh, I was very familiar with the show -- I’d been a fan of the original series as a kid and got totally hooked on the new show from the first episode of the first miniseries. I think it’s the best thing on television, so I was enormously excited to come on board with the comic book series.

NRAMA: Gene Roddenberry originally billed Star Trek as “Wagon Train in Space;” how would you describe Dynamite's Battlestar Galactic comic to someone who's never seen an episode of the series?

GP: It’s the story of a ragtag starfleet containing the last remnants of the human race who are fleeing their robot Cylon persecutors and seeking a legendary lost human colony known as Earth. Our stories follow Commander William Adama and his crew as their struggle to survive tests their physical, emotional, and moral limits -- and forces them to stare deep into the hearts of their robot enemies.

In our first issue -- an introductory “0” issue, priced at just a quarter -- the Galactica discovers a group of human survivors in a small Medivac ship under attack by Cylons. Adama suspects a Cylon plot. But Roslin points to the Sacred Scrolls, which contain an ancient prophecy: “The dead shall return in an ark of fire.” Who are the “Returners”? Will they unite or divide the fleet -- and heal or break the heart of Commander Adama?
During the course of the series, we’ll discover more about the origins of the Cylons, learn about an underground group of human saboteurs trying to prevent the Galactica from reaching Earth, and follow our flawed heroes as they struggle with their harrowing responsibility to make life-and-death decisions in times of terrible crisis.

NRAMA: Tell us a little bit about the format of the book. What time period will you be covering, that is, where will it fall in the Galactica continuity: first season, second season, in-between seasons?

GP: Our stories fall in the middle of the second season -- right after the return from Kobol and before the arrival of the Battlestar Pegasus.

NRAMA: Given that it's a licensed property, how much latitude do you have with the stories? What's the process of writing a licensed book like? Do you have to submit your stories to the TV producer for approval? Do you have a “Show Bible” from which you have to work? Can you pitch them on ideas? Like, say you wanted to do something on the Cylon annihilation that sent Galactica into space - can you just call them up and say, “Hey, I've got an idea...”

GP: I’ll tackle all these questions at once. I was already familiar with the show, but did my homework by studying the DVDs and the series bible. Then I wrote an outline for a thirteen issue storyline which would break new ground while fitting into the existing continuity. I had no idea if Universal considered certain stories or themes off-limits. So I ran wild, creating a story that I thought would get to the heart of the most emotionally compelling relationships, ideas, and conflicts set up in the first season. Dynamite sent the outline to Universal and then we waited. Nervously. Universal called back with a few questions, which we addressed, and I got the amazing opportunity to talk a bit with Ron Moore, the brilliant creator of the new series. And then, amazingly, everything got approved. I still cannot believe they’re letting us do some of the things we’re doing -- it’s going to be a heck of a ride, and the giant twist at the end of Issue #0 is just the beginning.

NRAMA: Speaking of Cylons, describe them for the readers. Where do they fall on the fandom scale of villains - are they The Empire (from Star Wars), the Borg (Star Trek), the flesh-eating, face-wearing lizards of V?

GP: They’re distinct from all of the above, largely because their true motives remain tantalizingly ambiguous. They’re machines, former slaves of humanity, who now seem implacably devoted to the destruction of the human race. Yet they’ve created human-like bodies and memories for themselves and have undertaken an interbreeding program with humans. Even more intriguingly, they have their own religion and sense of destiny. These aren’t mere human tyrants or alien monsters; these are the artificial children of humanity. Exactly what they want and need from the human race remains to be seen.

NRAMA: Early on, the show made mention of a conflict with the Cylons some decades before the series began. Will you be dealing with that?

GP: I can’t comment for fear of spoilers. I’ll just say that readers interested in learning more about the past will not be disappointed.

NRAMA: The TV Galactica is a very character-driven show; will you be delving further into the character's pasts? Which characters are you most looking forward to working on? Why?

GP: Adama, Starbuck, and Apollo are the emotional focus of the first arc, with Gaeta and Dualla grabbing some great panel time. Watch for Sharon to play a huge role as the series progresses.

NRAMA: Let's play a little game of word association with the characters: what comes to your mind when you hear:

Commander Adama?

GP: Heart and soul.

NRAMA: Apollo?

GP: Straight arrow.

NRAMA: Boomer?

GP: Believer.

NRAMA: Baltar?

GP: Judas with jokes.

NRAMA: Number Six?

GP: In your dreams.

NRAMA: Starbuck?

GP: She’s the best at what she does.

NRAMA: In the pages of Galactica, you get to play with spaceships and an evil alien race and cool mythology (the quest for Earth) and tense relationships and characters with names like Apollo and Starbuck-what about your work on the new book excites you most?

GP: Man, all of the above. But if I had to pick one thing, I’d have to say that nothing beats working on a science fiction property that takes the emotional lives of its characters so seriously. This is end of the world stuff, which always allows for great drama and plot twists. But the genius of Battlestar Galactica comes from putting the real emphasis on its characters. Our heroes are all grappling with the greatest crises of their lives, and because the show’s so committed to taking that experience seriously, we never know if any individual is going to succeed or fail on the most fundamental human level. That makes for real tension and drama -- and provides the chance to tell stories that are as emotionally thrilling as they are viscerally mind-blowing.

[Bobthespirit]

I don't know. I just kinda feel ripped off.

Other non-Trek scifi-series cost $50 for a single season, and BSG is going to charge me $82?!

[ShippyChick]

I can across this link. Thought folks here would enjoy it also.

http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=1442

[Chricton]

Try being a Farscape fan.

[Sauron18]

Season 2.5 will be released around April 25 on dvd.


The full joined set *which is the same, just in one box* will probably come out at the same time the season 1 did, or in the middle of the summer.

[the fifth man]

Try being a Farscape fan.

Man, I so know what you mean. What I don't have on DVD, I have on tape though.

[the fifth man]

Season 2.5 will be released around April 25 on dvd.


The full joined set *which is the same, just in one box* will probably come out at the same time the season 1 did, or in the middle of the summer.

I sure hope they release it in one set.

[TheXym]

I'm hoping they release it in one full season set as well. If they do it as only 2.0 and 2.5 it's gonna be a horrid money-grab. Still, they might say the same if they do both the half-sets and the whole set. Season 1 (full) was $49.99 at the Circuit City where I moonlight ($42 after my discount). Season 2.0 is retailing for $39.99 - I'm hoping that a full season 2 is again going to be around $49.99 retail (or less, but that's doubtful) I'd rather not pay 70ish for all of season 2 by getting a 2.0 and a 2.5 set.

[Chricton]

I can see why most of you don't want to pay for this, half the time I forget that I only payed $17 for my 2.0 set, so I'm not too worried about 2.5.

I still think however that a full set is another 6 months away at LEAST, if ever.

[CKO]

i already own 2.0, now im just waitin' on 2.5

[Lady Snow]

They'll certainly have enough time to get out a full season now... grumblegrumblefrackingoctobergrumble

[chaotic_uk]

i just hope they release season 2 in uk soon

[Vip3r]

i just hope they release season 2 in uk soon

And I hope its the full season, none of this crappy 2.0 and 2.5 stuff that our American brothers and sisters have had to put up with.

[techjunkie]

Sometimes these types of programming decisions are out of our hands. Alot has been suggested in the past 48 hours. Here is what I know as truth.

RUMOUR #1 - it's True, but not happening.

Affiliates in Los Angeles and New York were recently briefed on a possible fall-lineup which WAS to have included BSG. Due in part to the merging of the WB and UPN, and the exceptionally strong critical acclaim the series has gotten - discussions were/are underway to mover BSG to mainstream network TV.

It is just that. A discussion only. This is not news - this is very old news.

BSG is far too gritty and real for mainstream television. They (the writers) get away with content that would not pass traditional standards and practices filter.

The benefits might have been bigger budgets, but it would potentially alter the chemistry and uniqueness of the series.

But the bottom line is money and advertisers. On a major network, the exposure for the series could very likely create a new revenue stream. But this arguement is dangerous. No sense is damaging a winning combination.

See rumour #3 for the reasons why and what they are doing about it.

RUMOUR #2 - False.

BSG has been cancelled. Several of the actors are not returning for season 3. Seriously, this is false. Everyone is returning for the April shoot, stages have been 'paid for' (contracts are signed).

My employement - not related to BSG, but is concurrent - has been confirmed. I AM NOT CLOSE TO, OR WORK WITH ANYONE IN THE PRODUCTION. Leave it at that.

RUMOUR #3 - TRUE

The start date is a marketing gimmick, and a ploy to build viewership by synchronising airdates around the world.

The literally millions (yes millions) of total downloads has affected viewership in 2 ways - by loweriing advertisers expectations, while delivering higher numbers. Nielsons still have wieght.

The simultaneous viewings will reduce downloads (although in my opinion, not by much), and create more momentum for the 'paying advertisers' to see higher numbers.

This is a marketing strategy, pure and simple.

Hope this helps.


Waiting until the fall will still suck. Guess all that BitTorrenting I did here in Canada played a role. sorry!