Jul 26, 2008 06:00 PM
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Today's Battlestar Galactica panel left us with some lingering questions about the show, including how its ending ties in with prequel series Caprica. Luckily, we had a chance to sit down with producer David Eick and some of the stars of BSG and ask a few questions. Click through for Gaius Baltar's leadership secrets, plus a gallery of cool new BSG political posters from Laurent-LX.
I asked Eick whether BSG's ending would tie in with the prequel series. Did the development of Caprica spell any changes for how BSG ends? No, said Eick. The two shows have been totally separate since Caprica first went into development a couple of years ago. "They were on two separate tracks," and BSG's ending has been planned out "in broad strokes" for a long time.
So does that mean we won't see any Caprica characters in the tail end of BSG — such as Daniel Graystone or his daughter Zoe? Eick confirmed that nobody from Caprica would be turning up on BSG. "It's a prequel, so we don't have to deal with that kind of cross-pollination, since it takes place 51 years before the BSG miniseries."
The BSG TV movie:
It's not a done deal yet, says Eick. If it happens, it'll be like Razor in that it'll "involve a unique perspective on a story you thought you knew." He won't reveal when in the show's past it takes place, but it delves into "territory that the fans would be familiar with, and offers new perspective."
Lee Adama actor Jamie Bamber says it's "highly unlikely" that he would be in the TV movie, now that he's starring in Law And Order: UK. "I don't think the story is intended to be a Lee story anyway, from what i know." He wouldn't mind going back and reprising the role of Lee, but he feels like the show has ended well and he won't lose any sleep if he never plays Apollo again.
On subverting expectations:
Eick says having the title Battlestar Galactica helped the show. "I don't want to say it lowered expectations, but it created a climate of expectations that it was going to be a certain type of show that it didn't turn out to be." People expected something goofy, funny, escapist or silly from a show with that title — and maybe BSG would have been more popular if it had been more escapist — but that wasn't the show Eick and Ronald D. Moore were making. And the show, as it was, took people by surprise.
On being a secret cylon:
I asked Michael Trucco (Sam Anders) how he tried to convey Sam's unease within his own skin after Sam found out he was a Cylon. Trucco said that sense of unease was "exactly what i was hoping would come across." He wanted Anders to have a sense of not just confusion about being a cylon, but "actually loss of identity." Everything Anders felt was true was wrong. The sky is red instead of blue, and it's always been red in spite of what you might think. Everything Sam thought he stood for was upended, and he was a "man without a country," not knowing what he was. And of course, Anders was paranoid about Starbuck finding out, after she said she would put a bullet in his head if he was a Cylon.
Trucco's only regret about playing Anders was the show didn't explore his feelings when he thought Starbuck was dead at the end of season three more.
The Gaius Baltar leadership method:
When I realized I was about to be sitting next to James Callis — who comes across exactly like Gaius Baltar in person, but much nicer — I had a question I was burning to ask. As Baltar, he's been a political leader and a religious leader. How are those two different ways of wielding power different?
His answer was very Baltar-esque: "Political power on some level is leading from the front, and it's a very ego-driven... Lots of smiling and glad handing. And being the religious guru is about searching for something internally. The third eye doesn't look outwards, it looks inwards." (When he said that last part, he got that Baltar mock-serious look on his face.) He also said he was very relieved he would never have to be "this guy" any more.
Send an email to Charlie Jane Anders, the author of this post, at charliejane@io9.com.
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