British site Den Of Geek ran a summary of everything we know about Caprica\, and this line caught my eye:

The story arc of the show will take us from the creation of the first Centurion cylons, and is due to end with the very first cylon war.

This was marked as fact, rather than fan speculation, but I can't find any basis for it. The only other place I can see any support for this claim is a speculative comment on Ain't It Cool News from last summer.

My question is, is this even possible? Battlestar Galactica: Razor showed us the last day of the first Cylon war, featuring a grown-up William Adama. Willie Adama is supposed to be nine years old in Caprica, and the first Cylon war supposedly lasted twelve and a half years. So I guess it's barely possible that if the series ends with Willie Adama as a tween or teen, you could see the start of the First Cylon War, if Adama joined the service as a 18-year-old.

In any case, I sort of hope this story is true, since it would actually make Caprica a bit more compelling if it had a defined end point. At the same time, going from the creation of the first Cylon to outright war with the Cylons within just a few years feels a bit speedy. What do you think?

Included in the gallery is the first picture of Luciana Carro as Pryah, who works for Daniel Graystone. But you may remember her by her BSG nickname, Kat.

[Syfy via Battlestar Blog]

Mad Max: Fury Road:

Just how big is the set for this film? Says star Tom Hardy:

It's massive. It's enormous," he continued. "It's like turning a mountain upside down and pouring it through a sieve.

Any clue what that means? It sounds epic, anyway. [MTV]

Avatar:

Not sure if we've already run this clip or not, but if not, then enjoy:

And here's a clip we definitely haven't shown you before. I love Neytiri wearing her sunglasses to ride her dragon. [Cineplex via Slashfilm]

The Lovely Bones:

Weird nitpicks: After Stanley Tucci's creepy pedophile murderer tosses his victim Susie Salmon's charm bracelet in the water, but keeps the "house" charm. But then we see all the charms expand into ice sculptures or clouds or topiaries — but the house charm is still among them. Also, before Susie dies we see her reading Seventeen magazine, but after she dies, she fantasizes she's the cover girl in Groovy Teen magazine. Towards the end of the movie, Susie sort of inhabits the body of a goth girl who looks like Emly the Strange, and makes out with Emily's boyfriend, whom Susie loved before she died. Then Susie goes to heaven permanently, and we see Emily and her boyfriend spooning, with no mention of the weird ghost possession make-out that just happened. [Black Book Mag]

Kick Ass:

A new character poster gives us a better look at the Red Mist. Bigger version at the first link. [AICN via Cinemablend]

Endangered Species:

A few new details about Eli Roth's Transformers-meets-Cloverfield movie. It's set against an urban backdrop. He's tweaking the script at Quentin Tarantino's suggestion. He's going to do some visual-effects tests, the results of which will determine how he shoots the thing. It's very character-driven, and he has some actors he's dying to work with. [MTV]

Eclipse:

A new picture of your favorite couple, Edward and Bella. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Doctor Who:

As you may have heard, the show was filming in Croatia this past week, with the Doctor, Amy and new companion Rory in tow. (And some are claiming that Rory is Amy's boyfriend — is he the new Mickey Smith?) The Croatia filming appears to be for an episode taking place in the past, judging from some of the costumes. But don't believe the British media chatter that it's an episode about vampires — it's almost certainly the Van Gogh episode that Richard Curtis wrote. More pics at the links. [Sky and Hello!]

Here are a bunch of promo pics from "The End Of Time," David Tennant's swansong, one or two of which we may have shown you before. They include your first look at the alien, shapeshifting Vinovicci. [BlogtorWho and BSCReview]

Meanwhile, Britain's Radio Times has another cast list for "End Of Time" part 2, which conflicts with the IMDB version. Notably, no Harriet Jones. Hmmm...

David Tennant - The Doctor
John Simm - The Master
Bernard Gribbins - Wilfred Mott
Timothy Dalton - The Narrator
Catherine Tate - Donna Noble
Jacqueline King - Sylvia Noble
June Whitfield - Minnie Hooper
Claire Bloom - The Woman
David Harewood - Joshua Naismith
TRacy Ifeachor - Abigail Naismith
Lawry Lewin - Rossiter
Sinead Keenan - Addams
Alexandra Moen - Lucy Saxon
Karlo Collins - Shaun Temple
Teresa Banham - Governor
Barry Howard - Oliver Barnes
Allister Bain - Winston Katusi
Sylvia Seymour - Miss Trefusis
Pete Lee-Wilson - Tommo
Dwayne Scantlebury - Ginger
Joe Dixon - The Second
Julie Legrand - The Partisan
Brid Brennan - The Visionary
Krystal Archer - Neys
Lachele Carl - Trinity Wells
Paul Kasey - Ood Sigma
Ruari Mears - Elder Ood
Silas Carson - voice of Ood Sigma
Brian Cox - voice of Elder Ood
Nicholas Briggs - voice of Judoon

[BlogtorWho]

Caprica:

This Battlestar Galactica prequel just cast another actor to play William Adama — no, not the future Admiral, but his grandfather. Aleks Paunovic will play the father of Joseph Adama and grandfather to little Willie in some flashback scenes, and he'll be a recurring character. Paunovic already appeared on BSG, playing Sgt. Fischer. [Aleks Paunovic via Battlestar Blog]

Lost:

A deserted area of Hawaiian rainforest hides a new camp which has been set up for this show's sixth season. It doesn't look like much, though. More pics at the link. [SpoilersLost]

Another new set — a ship of some sort, or rather part of one. It's apparently designed so they can rock the deck back and forth and make it look like the ship is caught up in a huge storm. And considering that some prisoner types were hanging around in baggy brown clothes, it may be the Black Rock. More pics at the link. [SpoilersLost]

Jose Yenque tweeted that he's joining the cast of this show. [Twitter via SpoilersLost]

Also, Fionnula Flanagan told an Irish talk show she'll be back for two episodes as Eloise Hawking, not surprisingly. [SpoilersLost]

Fringe:

The cast reveals the names of the Observers, and discusses their significance. [Fringe Television]

Meanwhile, I'm hard-pressed to tell exactly what's going on in this new set video. I think Anna Torv is being blown across a parking lot by some mysterious force, but hard to say. There are seven more videos from the same person under this YouTube account. I do like one commenter who says the intrepid fan making these recordings should shave his/her head and wear a fedora. [Anon120409 on Youtube]

And here's a sneak peek and "scenemaker" for Thursday's new Walter-and-William episode. [FringeRus]

Supernatural:

The show is casting one of the Four Horsemen for the episode "My Bloody Valentine:

[FAMINE] 50 to 80 years old... He is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He is withered, weak, raspy. This character is a creepy and destructive old man filled with a voracious hunger...GUEST STAR

[CUPID] 30s to 40s, doughy, out of shape, naked, his humorously loving character greets everyone with enormous bear hugs that almost break their ribs. He is overflowing with love and positivity to an almost humorous and narcotic degree (think Will Farrell in "ELF" sptv050769)...GUEST STAR

[SpoilerTV]

Also, Julie McNiven says that when Anna goes back in time and tries to kill baby Sam in episode 13, it's for the best reasons:

Everything Anna does is motivated by wanting to do the right thing, wanting to do what she feels is going to keep this apocalypse from happening. I see Anna as always doing what she thinks is right and she's very strong about that and doesn't want to hear anything otherwise.

And she says there's some great hand-to-hand combat and throwdowns in the episode, and hints that Anna does actually survive to try and kill more babies in the future. [AOL]

The Survivors:

There will be a "high octane" second series of this British remake at some point, but no date yet. And here's what happens:

The series picks up moments after the thrilling cliff-hanger to the first series and the survivors are now struggling not just with the difficulties of day-to-day life amidst the ruins of the post-virus apocalypse but also with the threat of other emerging communities and the machinations of the sinister Lab.

As the series begins, Abby is being held by Whittaker and Fiona at the Lab. There, she learns that the scientists have avoided infection and are looking desperately for a vaccine which they believe her unique immune system alone will generate.

Meanwhile, the family races to save Greg's life as he lies dying from a gunshot wound. Drawn into a burning hospital by their search for the necessary medical equipment, Al and Anya are caught in an avalanche of rubble as the building collapses around them. Tom is faced with the stark challenge of rescuing his friends from a seemingly insurmountable disaster, with only Sarah and Naj to help him.

Characters returning for this high-octane second series are Abby, a devoted mother with a missing son; Greg, a loner, hiding the pain of his past; Anya, a doctor who has seen too much; Al, a playboy who becomes a surrogate father to the young and headstrong Najid; Sarah, a hedonist used to getting her own way; Tom Price, handsome, dangerous and a high-security prisoner before the virus hit; and Samantha Willis, the last surviving member of the British Government.

[Survivors BBC TV]

V:

So just who are the Visitors? Laura Vandervoort explains that they're basically Canadians. Also, she says her character is definitely somewhat evil, but she's not sure how much yet. [Multipleverses]

FlashForward:

Apparently the reason why the show took a week off was simple: Major, huge developments happen in the episodes that were going to be episodes 15 and 16, and the network looked at those scripts and decided they should be episodes 13 and 14 instead (so, less treading water.) And it's not clear whether the original episodes 13 and 14 were scrapped, or just retooled to appear later in the season. Also, the biggest reveals of the season happen in the next two episodes, 11 and 12, says David S. Goyer. [EW]

Chuck:

Episode 3x11 will be "Chuck Vs. The Final Exam." [ChuckTV]

And one more new promo reveals that we'll be seeing a "Whole New Chuck." He's a reluctant spy no longer.

Sanctuary:

In next week's episode, "Penance," Michael Shanks guest stars as an abnormal named Jimmy who has a special David Cronenberg-esque pouch in his stomach, which he can use to smuggle things for the Sanctuary — including, in this case, a dangerous abnormal. Some bad guys get involved, and he's forced to go on the run with Kate, leading to a big secret for the two of them being revealed. And then in the following week's "Sleepers," Will and Magnus are in Mexico looking into some missing teenagers, and they run into vampire Nikoka Tesla, who's up to no good. [Sci Fi Wire]

Additiional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

So here are the most insane SF soaps we could think of — but I bet we missed some good ones. What are your favorites? Pipe up in comments with the lurid details!

Top image by Dennys Ilic. Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Heroes

You can pick any character from this show and get a headache trying to figure out all the story twists he or she has gone through. Take Matt Parkman: He's trying to keep his marriage together — No, wait! Now he's living with Mohinder and co-parenting Molly the mutant-detecting girl! — No, wait! Molly is out of the picture! And now Matt is becoming an African-esque shaman! — No, wait! Now Matt is in love with Daphne the speedster, who's the Love Of His Life! — No, wait! Now Matt is back with his wife, and will never think about Daphne again! — No, wait! Etc. etc. etc. My favorite, though, is probably Peter's girlfriend trapped in an alternate dystopian future — whom we will never mention again! Ha ha ha ha urk. (Matt Loves Daphne wallpaper from Fanpop.)

Alias

This show started off pretty coherent — but around the third brainwashing or the tenth revelation that Sidney's mother's cousin was really the spy behind brainwashing Sidney to think her half-sister was a chicken. I defy anybody to explain to me the tangled backstory of the Bristow family.

The Cat Who Walked Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein:

I made a dreadful mistake: This was the first Heinlein book I ever read — and it may have ruined me for Heinlein forever. In the late Heinlein novels, every character ever shows up, and they mostly have sex together, interspersed with a lot of drama and philosophizing. It's a sequel to The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress as well as Number Of The Beast, and features characters from several other books — including Jubal Harshaw, Lazarus Long and Hazel Stone, and it turns out that all of Heinlein's characters have previously unsuspected connections to each other. As reviewer James W. Harris puts it:

Having all of his "good" guys sound like a convention of smarmy talking wife-swappers is just gross. I hate to sound like a teenage girl, but damn, Heinlein's kissy-kissy talk and innuendo just made me want to puke. And making his classic characters act out in this limp-dick porn flick is just tragic. Having them go on and on about how they were going to kill people for bad manners is just a little psycho to me. Evidently a lot of people and situations annoyed the hell out of Heinlein and he used this book to vent. Some people want to call this satire but I think that's whitewash.

Maybe Heinlein lost his mojo and these multiverse stories were the best he could do. Personally, I thought The Rolling Stones was a perfect novel, and bringing back Hazel Stone was a fictionally fuck-up of an idea, ditto for the cast of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Maybe I am a prude because I just don't want the Hazel Stone, grandmother of Castor and Pollux, joking about being stretched out of shape by giant 25 centimeter cock.

All of Heinlein's personally favorite characters get put into a fictional juicer and blended into weird rabble of sex obsessed mob that chirp a weird innuendo patter and are almost impossible to tell apart. When I read these multiverse stories I can't help but believe that horniness was driving Heinlein crazy. These later stories are preoccupied with sex, killing people, responding to annoying people, the reliability of witnesses, rude people deserving capital punishment, and so on.

Venture Bros.:

At least this show is ridiculous on purpose — the ultra-demented story of the Venture clan has gotten more and more involved, with Sergeant Hatred's struggle against his pedophilic past taking center stage, and deformed clones and weird villain love affairs aplenty. Most of all, there are the labyrinthine family elements crossing over into everything, like the revelation that Dean was also the head of the Guild. The same characters and their families end up being connected in ever more improbable and weird ways, making our heads spin.

Battlestar Galactica:

I have four (or possibly five) words for you: "Hotdog is the father." Whaaa? There's also the great way Baltar went from being a slimy scientist to being a slimy politician to being a slimy cult leader — and what happened to the baby that Baltar and Six were going to have together? Oh and while we're on the subject, what about Saul Tigh being crazy-chicken in love with Caprica Six — until she has a miscarriage, and then he never thinks about her again? It all makes you want to grip your television and scream (in a Krazy Starbuck voice) "You're going the wrong way!"

Sonic The Hedgehog (comics):

According to the always great TVTropes website, this comic-book tie-in to the popular video game went whirling off on crazier tangents than a flying hedgehog on crack. To quote TVTropes:

The Archie Comics Sonic The Hedgehog series twisted Sonic's love life into a Gordian Knot: Originally hooked up with Sally Acorn, she got stuck ruling the country and shoved the relationship to the side to focus on her new duties, prompting Sonic to fall in with Mina Mongoose, starting a rivalry between the two women for Sonic's affection. He then started seeing Fiona Fox on the side, which not only pissed off Mina and Sally, but Tails, as well, who had a crush on her due to falling in love with a robotic duplicate created by Robotnik several years earlier (don't ask). Eventually, Mina got her own boyfriend, Sally got Sonic once again, and Tails got tossed into a brick wall by Fiona, who gave them all the finger to have a relationship with Sonic's evil clone from another universe. And that's not even counting the mini-tangle between Antoine, Sally, Bunnie Rabbot, and Antoine's evil clone from the same universe Fiona's new beau comes from.

Got it? Great.

Gundam Wing:

Okay, let's get this straight... Relena Darlian discovers she's really adopted, and her real name is Relena Peacecraft, one of the last survivors of the pacifistic (duh) Peacecraft tribe. And then it turns out that Zechs Marquise is her long lost older brother. Meanwhile, she gets obsessed with Heero, a young whackjob who keeps announcing he's going to kill her, not unlike the "I'm going to rape you" guy in Welcome To The Dollhouse. And that's just scratching the surface of the most confusing, tangly saga of all time, involving endless backstory and weird family crap.

Angel:

I was going to do Charmed, Angel's fellow WB series which had the whole "my ex-husband is a half-demon" thing, but Angel is so much more ridiculous — mostly because of Cordy, who is in love with Groosalugg, until she's in love with Angel instead, but meanwhile she's turned into a half-demon and then she becomes a Higher Power, until she comes back and has sex with Angel's son — who, as someone points out, is practically her stepson since she helped care for him as a baby — and then becomes pregnant and evil — until she gives birth to an evil god. Nothing on parent show Buffy was as incestuous and ridiculous as Cordy's arc on Angel. Oh, actually, wait — Cordelia was pregnant twice on Angel.

Robotech:

Sure, it was supposedly about the giant mechas, but it was really all about the tragic loves and the tormented Rick-Minmei-Lisa love triangle. To quote Wikipedia,

In early 2013, while sitting at an outdoor cafe, [Lisa] contemplates the love triangle between the three of them when she overhears two men talking about how women were "dealt all the aces" when it comes to relationships, to which Lisa says to herself "that's all you know...here's one woman who would trade every ace in the deck for one Rick Hunter.

Sigh. Twoo Love. Here's a great fanvid featuring the music of White Town. Yay!

X-Men (comics):

This, of course, is the most insane soap opera imaginable. At this point, the X-men have had illegitmate babies from the future, secret love affairs, doomed passions and multiple bad transcriptions of all sorts of accents, from Cajun to Scottish. My favorite ridiculous soap-opera twist might be Madrox's night of passion with two female members of X-Factor: Siryn and Monet, resulting in a pregnancy that isn't quite a normal pregnancy. But then there's also the whole insane Rogue/Gambit thing, the Scott/Jean/Wolverine/Emma love doodaddle, and of course Professor X turning out to be secretly in love with Jean Grey. That's just scratching the surface, really. If you want more info, check out the X-Men relationship map — which is probably already out of date!

We're lucky enough to feature Quantum Mechanix's authentic replica of the Cylon targets used on Battlestar Galactica before any other site — even Quantum Mechanix's own site. They're model-makers who brought you the amazing animated-style BSG figures, the Cylon raider filming minature, the U.S.S. Enterprise model, the detailed map of Firefly's 'Verse, and most of all the perfect replica of the Serenity.

Here's the full description for the Cylon poster, so you can prepare to take aim with your credit card:

Take Out Your Aggression on a Target That Deserves It!

Battlestar Galactica is one of the most ground-breaking television shows of all time. Not just in terms of storytelling and visual effects, but in every detail – set design, soundtrack – even the background props.

In our continuing quest to bring you affordable, screen-accurate replicas of the iconic props from TV's greatest saga, we are proud to present our screen-accurate replica of the Cylon Centurion practice target as seen on Galactica's shooting range.

Reproduced from the same digital files used to print the screen-used props, QMx has painstakingly reproduced this practice target on an 18"x24" poster printed on 60-pound flat-finish paper stock. We've even die cut the poster into the same distinctive trapizoid shape (why do Colonials hate right angles so much?) and we've included the scoring form in lower right corner of the poster.

All for just $9.95 per poster. Perfect way to prepare for the fight against our Cylon oppressors, when that day inevitably comes.

It'll be available soon over at Quantum Mechanix.

White's Deviant Art gallery includes tons of these amazing paintings, some of which are still for sale. They're all acrylic on stretched black velvet, generally around 14 by 18 inches, although some are as big as 18 by 24. And they're like your most vivid dreams about robots, spaceships and aliens, only brought to life in pure velvet.

Says White:

I am a huge scifi geek. I saw this velvet painting on the Star Wars Collector's Archive, and I thought it was so cool in an awesome, yet cheesy way. I figured I could reproduce it pretty quickly. I was wrong. Painting on velvet is a lot harder than I thought. I did a few more, which were a little better, but they were still more like the "oh god that's so bad that it's funny" velvet paintings that seem so prevalent. I stopped trying for a while, and then had the idea, instead of trying to make them "cheesy", that I would try to paint them as realistically as I possibly could. Slowly, the paintings got better, and I started to get the hang of working on velvet. So, the more realistic paintings in my "deviantart" gallery are the more recent ones.

Check out more of his artwork here: [Bruce White on Deviant Art]

Oh, and this one-on-one interview with Olmos contains some spoilers for "The Plan," because we talked specifics with him. So go buy the DVD, watch it and come back to read this, if you're concerned about spoilers.

What's left?

So Olmos has been very vocal about saying that he'd like to make more BSG movies like "The Plan." But what would they be about? He explains:

Simple questions, like what happened to the [final] five during this period of time? Where were they coming from 2,000 years ago? How could they be around for 2,000 years, and yet the understanding of Caprica is that the robotic trend on Caprica was started 57 years ago? How did that work? That question comes into play, and I would love to see how they answered it. That, to me, would be explosively unbelievable. I would love to have that question answered. I would also love to know what is going to happen to the people on the Earth. What is going to happen to Adama and all the different people? What happened to the Raptor that got them to the point of finding their dream space? That, to me, is just two simple ones I can think of off the top of my head.... To me, there's still a lot of beautiful story that's waiting to be unleashed in this world.

Don't download "The Plan!"

Actually, when we asked Olmos about forthcoming DVD movies, he first paused to express his displeasure with everyone who downloaded "The Plan" from the Internet before its release date. Seriously, if you're planning on grabbing this DVD from a file-sharing service, imagine Admiral Adama getting pissed at you — because he is. In a nice way. "People don't understand that if they want to see this universe again, they have to participate by voting, by casting their dollars. If they don't cast their dollars, they won't see any more of these."

So what's the deal with Starbuck?

So speaking of unanswered questions, we had to ask Olmos what was going on with Starbuck at the end of the final episode. He says "I would love to know that," and he would imagine that question being answered along with "the full story of what happened to Lee" after the show ends. Adds Olmos:

I talked with Starbuck about this. She felt that she went with Anders, that she transported herself like an angel, and she went into the sun with Anders on the Galactica. So she went back with Anders. That's her idea.

Love is the key to "The Plan"

Olmos says "The Plan" not only explains what the Cylons' goals were, but also why they weren't very successful in achieving those goals. The reason for the Cylons' failure? It has to do with encountering a human emotion they weren't prepared for: Love. That's why you see the version of Cavil who's living on the surface Caprica finding himself unable to kill Starbuck, when he has a clean shot, towards the end.

Rick Worthy is the catalyst

As we've mentioned, the TV show's most underused Cylon becomes the most memorable character in "The Plan": Cylon Number Four, aka Simon (Rick Worthy), gets a great arc involving one of his model marrying a human and adopting her daughter in the fleet, while another of his model is on Caprica with the resistance. Olmos says Simon's story is "the catalyst" that helps us understand what happened to the Cylons. It illustrates the theme of love, since Simon's love for his wife and child changes him, but it also shows how the Cylons are unexpectedly having huge divergences between different copies of the same model.

Humor is part of "The Plan":

Olmos says he enjoyed bringing out the humor in Jane Espenson's script (which has some incredibly funny moments, especially the ones involving Aron Doral and his teal jacket.) Like much of BSG, the DVD is incredibly dark, but with some moments of strange levity. Olmos says it's important that the humor comes out of the irony and the situation, and that way the comedy doesn't seem forced. Olmos says he was probably chosen to direct this because he had already made humor happen when he directed the episode "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down":

Like when Baltar is making love with Six, and then Starbuck comes walking in and sees him with his pants down and all his privates being exposed, and he's humping away on Six, but you can't see Six. All you can do is just see the doctor there humping. It's hysterical. Because we the viewer understand it, but the situation is one where by now Starbuck thinks the doctor is just out there where the buses don't run.

What you won't see in "The Plan":

Olmos is a huge fan of Dean Stockwell, who plays Cavill, and he says people don't appreciate what a great performer Stockwell is — Olmos has been a fan of Stockwell's since he saw the 1948 anti-war movie The Boy With Green Hair, starring a young Stockwell as a boy with the power to stop war. In "The Plan," Cavill befriends a young quasi-orphan boy, and the boy's costume is an exact replica of Stockwell's costume from Green Hair. Olmos had the costume hand-stitched to match.

But Olmos wanted to go further with the reference: He wanted the boy in "The Plan" to have green hair, and both the studio and writer Jane Espenson refused to let him.

People would have just been in shock, like 'What the hell is that about? And in essence, it would have been a statement that would have reverberated throughout the entire planet for centuries to come. And would have augmented something that needs to be understood, but in turn, the studio and the writer were afraid of it, they just thought "That's crazy." They didn't want it, they thought it was a stupid thing to do. It would be all about, "What? Why did the boy have green hair?" And it would be about the boy with the green hair. It should be about that. It should be that deep and in the context. So may be they'll let me paint CGI green hair and put it on him. From the time he raises his head to the time he dies, he has green hair, and nobody says anything about it. And the audience just has to deal with it. Let them deal with it.

Want to meet Olmos yourself so he can explain more of the ideas behind BSG? Enter the "Dinner With The Admiral" contest over at UGO.

Top image from Gateworld.

There are moments of coolness in this movie for fans, especially those of us who wanted to know more about little-used cylons like the Simon model. We get genuine character development for Simon, as well as a few versions of Cavil and sleeper agent Sharon. Writer Jane Espenson isn't always in her element with Battlestar, but she knows how to write snappy dialogue that Dean Stockwell delivers with pitch-perfect evil prissiness. (There is a great moment where Cavil snarks at a Five model for being too blendy with his fellow models by wearing the same suits, and the Five snaps, "But his jacket was burgundy. This is teal.") We also meet a hooker version of Six who is hilariously awesome.

However, I have to emphasize what I said above: This movie is only going to be cool for fans. Nobody else could possibly understand it - the story jumps around in time throughout the first and second seasons, referencing plot developments that will make no sense to anybody but a die-hard follower of the show. But fans will also quickly become impatient with the story, too. Larded with lots of old footage, "The Plan" often feels like a gussied-up clip show.

A lot of the details that are added in actually make the show even more confusing. For example, a Cavil hanging out with the rebels back on Caprica has a conversation with a Simon model that makes it seem as if both of them know that Anders is one of the final five. Which makes no sense because one of the major issues in the show was that only Cavil knew who the final five were.

We also discover that the Cylons never really had a "plan" at all - basically, Cavil just bamboozled the other models into attacking the colonies for "justice." But what he really wanted was for the final five to be killed in the attacks, and then wake up in their goo buckets having "learned a lesson" that humanity is horrible. Somehow, he thinks that just having lived among humans will have convinced the final five that humans are awful. Then they'll all apologize to him and he'll get a lot of damp hugs from his naked, gooey parents.

Unfortunately, however, the Plan goes awry because none of the final five are killed in the attacks. Plus, they haven't learned anything! They still think humans are cool. Although Ellen is on the verge of death, Cavil decides to keep her alive so that she'll eventually learn her lesson that humans suck.

Could this really have been the whole Plan? Nuke the entire human race so that the final five will resurrect and give out apologetic hugs? I feel like I need another movie just to explain what happened in this one.

However, I don't want you to think that it was all bad, because there were parts of The Plan that reminded me of what made BSG such a great show. One of the Simon models in the Fleet is given a great backstory. He's gone native, married a human, and adopted her child from a previous marriage. His wife, who works with the Chief in engineering, is a strong, interesting character - a woman who once had a job doing aerospace engineering at a top company, who now has to figure out how to make the Galactica's jalopy fighter ships run without any spare parts at all. As Cavil pushes Simon to destroy the ship where he lives, we see the Cylon torn between the family he loves and the Cylons who are his people. It's a great subplot, and could easily have been an episode during the first or second season.

Developments with Cavil's character are also pretty interesting. We see that there are two versions of Cavil who emerge after the colonies are destroyed: one who is the evil Brother we all love, and one who starts to sympathize with the humans.

In fact, the theme of "The Plan," if anything, is that the Cylon's sympathies were always divided. From the beginning, they were torn between love for humanity and rage that they had been enslaved by the creatures who created them. Even Cavil, who is revealed in this movie as pretty much the only reason the Cylons attacked the colonies, is divided in his loyalties. One of the strengths of BSG as a series was that its heroes were dark, and its villains were granted an unexpected goodness. While it doesn't exactly deepen this theme, "The Plan" certainly sticks with it.

I think "The Plan" is destined to be the kind of thing that nobody but BSG completists will want to own. It won't bring new people into the series, and even those who love the series may be disappointed. Though there are standout moments, "The Plan" essentially takes the sensibilities of the final, extremely uneven season of the show and overlays them on the events of seasons 1 and 2. That's something that most of us, especially diehard fans, didn't really want to see.

"The Plan" will be available in stores on Oct. 27.

The Plan debuts on Blu-ray and DVD on October 27th.

Iron Man 2:

The central relationship in this film is still Pepper and Tony, despite all the new stars joining the cast, director Jon Favreau tells MTV. But a lot of new stuff is added to the mix:

We introduce Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and she has a dual identity, so that ends up affecting both the superhero side of things and the personal side of things-as I think all good superhero plotlines do... Then we have Don Cheadle. We've upped Rhodey's significance in the film and now I think the cat's out of the bag about War Machine, so he's in that suit," he said. "How does he become War Machine? What's his relationship to Iron Man?

Video at the link. [MTV via ComicBookResources]

As you might already have known, Stan Lee's cameo in this film will be as Larry King, who approaches Tony Stark and asks when he'll be on the show. Stan wore the suspenders and heavy glasses for the role. [Collider]

Predators:

Derek Mears, who recently played Jason Voorhees, will be in this film, probably as a Predator. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Priest:

Karl Urban describes this film as a "post-apocalyptic scifi vampire Western." [Collider]

The Fourth Kind:

A few new TV spots for this Milla Jovovic spooky-alien-owl thriller. [SciFiScoop]

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan:

Latino Review has a ton of pics and spoilers from this direct-to-DVD movie. The special effects are better than anything in the actual series, and we see the destruction of Caprica in much greater detail than before. There's also a ton of nudity and raunchiness, which will presumably be toned down in the televised version.

We follow two Cavils: the Cavil in the fleet, who is trying to complete the work of destroying th e human race so the Final Five will finally love the Cylons more than the humans, and the Cavil on Caprica, who starts to have second thoughts about whether the genocide against humans was really a good idea. It turns out a lot of the fleet's dilemmas in the first season were caused by Fleet Cavil. There are also multiple Sixes, including one raven-haired "floozy" who shares Cavil's bed.

Meanwhile, there are also two Simons: the Simon in the fleet is a human sympathizer, who's married to an engineer who works with Tyrol, and he tries to forestall the death of the human race. The Simon on Caprica, meanwhile, tries to sabotage Anders' resistance group, even as the Caprica Cavil starts to sympathize with these people. Also, Leoben tries to tell the other Cylons that Starbuck has a great destiny that may affect the Cylons in huge ways.

We also get more insight into Boomer, who actually realizes she's a Cylon sleeper agent earlier than we thought — Cavill gives her a trigger (a wooden elephant, I guess) that activates her programming. But even as she's carrying out Cavill's sabotage instructions, she's also trying to help the humans. And she's only really happy when she's living her human life.

All in all, Cavil starts to wonder if the Cylons' attempts at finishing off the human race are failing because the Cylons subconsciously want them to fail — all except Fleet Cavil, who's steadfast in his vendetta. More pics at the link. Warning: One of those pics is mildly NSFW, due to a very blurry naked woman in the background. [Latino Review via ComicBookMovie]

Doctor Who:

Another set report: Matt Smith, dressed in the tattered remains of David Tennant's costume, filmed a scene where the old TARDIS prop materialized, with tons of smoke pouring out of it, and Smith ran out, shouting that he had to get away. [GallifreyBase]

Lost:

Episode 6x05 will be called "Lighthouse." [Spoilers-Lost]

According to an Egyptologist, the hieroglyphics in the new season-six poster say "Who Is The Leader?" or "Who Is The Guide?" [Popular Mechanics]

Carlton Cuse twittered that they were doing a beautiful crane shot (probably in episode five) and at one point, Matthew Fox does some fine and subtle acting under the tropical night skies. [SpoilersLost]

And a bit more about episode five, which sounds like it's a Jack-centric outing. They were filming a scene at night in front of what looks like a concert hall, and Jack had a big scene — but I can't make out who's in the scene with him. Maybe Ben? Most of the set report is about how the tipsters tried to talk to Matthew Fox and he blew them off. But a familiar vehicle is present. More pics at the link. [Spencer-Stacy via Lyly Ford]

Also, sources claim we'll see Cindy again in the opening episode, as two characters open something of Hurley's. One of them has a connection to the Yellow Submarine. [SpoilersLost]

V:

The second episode will be called "There Is No More Normal Anymore." And here are a couple more TV spots. [VisitorSite]

Fringe:

In the Nov. 5 episode, "Earthling," someone (or something) is turning people to ash. And here are some pics from the episode. [Fox]

In an upcoming episode, we'll learn a lot more about the Observer, says actor Michael Cerveris:

We're going to learn about just how many there are and a lot more about what we're supposed to do and what we're not supposed to do.

[Slice Of SciFi]

Supernatural:

Some more pics of Sam and Dean in their scrubs, from the upcoming channel-surfing episode "Changing Channels." [Ten Gossip]

Episode 11 will be called "Sam, Interrupted," and will introduce two new characters, whom the show is casting:

[MARTIN CREASER] A weathered man in his late 40s-mid 50s, this twitchy, anxious ball of nerves is a former hunter who has ended up in a psych ward, where strange happenings are afoot...ANY ETHNICITY/GUEST STAR

[DR. ERICA FLETCHER] A beautiful, smart, credible psychiatrist in her 30s with a sweetly sympathetic manner who seems to understand Dean's conflict and pains...ANY ETHNICITY - GUEST STAR

[SpoilerTV]

Stargate Universe:

Here are a ton of pics from episode five, "Light." Including some supernova nookie. [SpoilerTV]

True Blood:

Season two's theme was about religion and the things it makes you do. Season three will be about embracing your identity. Sookie will start to discover why she has these strange powers — in the books, she finds out she has fairy blood, but in the TV show, it may be different. In any case, Sookie is part of another race, and if it does turn out to be fairies, they'll be fierce and primal, not like Tinkerbell. Sookie and Eric will get together at some point, but not necessarily in season three. We'll meet some shapeshifters who may be Sam's biological family, and they may be sketchy weirdos. [TV Guide]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

The new press release describes "The Plan" as a 90-minute feature, but we're guessing that's just the length of the shorter televised version. Amazon is listing the DVD release as 112 minutes long, meaning we'll hopefully get to see a lot more tangled Cylon sex and politics. (And given how racy the Caprica DVD was, this could be pretty strong stuff.)

Here's the official synopsis:

The Cylons began as humanity's robot servants. They rebelled and evolved and now they look like us. Their plan is simple: destroy the race that enslaved them. But when their devastating attack leaves human survivors, the Cylons have to improvise. Battlestar Galatica: The Plan tells the story of two powerful Cylon leaders, working separately, and their determination to finish the task.

The DVDs will include:

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE PLAN - BONUS FEATURES

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan on Blu-rayTM Hi-Def and DVD takes viewers deeper into the acclaimed space drama with exclusive bonus features, including:

EXCLUSIVE TO Blu-rayTM Hi-Def:

* BD-LIVETM: Access the BD-LiveTM Center through your Internet-connected player to download more exclusive content, the latest trailers and more!
o MY SCENES: Bookmark your favorite scenes from the movie.
o BATTLESTAR GALACTICA TRIVIA: All-new trivia game.

BONUS FEATURES (BLU-RAY™ HI-DEF and DVD):

· DELETED SCENES

· FROM ADMIRAL TO DIRECTOR: EDWARD JAMES OLMOS AND THE PLAN – A day-in-the-life with director and actor Edward James Olmos, as he tackles the most ambitious Battlestar Galactica production to date.

· THE CYLONS OF THE PLAN – Features interviews with the actors who play the film's key Cylons, including Dean Stockwell, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Trucco, Rick Worthy and Michael Bennett.

· THE CYLON ATTACK – This featurette takes viewers behind the scenes for the planning and execution of one of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan's major action sequences.

· BEHIND THE PLAN - An in-depth look at some stunning visual effects and the role post-production plays in bringing the world of Battlestar Galactica to life.

· FILMMAKER COMMENTARY

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan debuts on Blu-rayTM Hi-Def and DVD on October 27.

And here's a clip!

Richard Livingston season four concept art from ConceptShips. (more at link.)

Richard Livingston season four concept art from ConceptShips. (more at link.)

Richard Livingston season four concept art from ConceptShips. (more at link.)

Colonial One, original design by Richard Livingston. More at Drex Files.

Colonial One, original design by Richard Livingston. More at Drex Files.

BSG: Razor concept art by Richard Livingston. More at GalacticaTV

BSG: Razor concept art by Richard Livingston. More at GalacticaTV

BSG: Razor concept art by Richard Livingston. More at GalacticaTV

BSG: Razor concept art by Richard Livingston. More at GalacticaTV

BSG: Razor concept art by Richard Livingston. More at GalacticaTV

BSG: Razor concept art by Richard Livingston. More at GalacticaTV

Eric Chu's proposed concept art for Bryan Singer's BSG movie. More at CinemaSpy.

Eric Chu's proposed concept art for Bryan Singer's BSG movie. More at CinemaSpy.

Original concept art for Bryan Singer's 2001 BSG reboot series. From CinemaSpy.

Iron Man 2:

Entertainment Weekly posted a new set pic from this superhero sequel, showing Tony Stark in the famous Randy's Donut's scene (with Nick Fury, not pictured.) More set pics from upcoming movies at the link. [EW]

Predators:

More casting news! ComingSoon.net reports that The Shield star Walton Goggins has joined the cast, playing one of those tough guys who get zapped to the Predators' homeworld. [ComingSoon]

Green Hornet:

Some more set pics give us a better look at the Hornet's weird-looking gun — is it a gas gun? A laser? Something else? More pics at the second link. [People And Daily Mail]

New Moon:

Our first look at Tinsel Korey As Emily, who's like a second mother to the wolf pack. A scratched-up second mother, by the look of things. [Dread Central]

Doctor Who:

Heroic set reporter Alun.Vega was Twittering from the filming, just as we were wrapping up this edition of morning spoilers. Apparently Matt Smith was on set, wearing David Tennant's suit — which was much the worse for wear, with lots of rips, as if Tennant had been caught in an explosion. And it appears that Amy, his new companion, is a police officer when he meets her. They filmed in the fake 1990s village of Leadworth, complete with a fake garden set up around a "White House." (But not THE White House.) And Amy says something to the Doctor about "twelve years of therapy." Amy and the Doctor run to an ice cream truck. (Possibly due to weird post-regeneration food cravings?)

Also, there's a fire truck parked near the White House, and lots of extras stand stock still, as if frozen, holding their mobile phones as if they were in the middle of taking a picture of something. More pics at the second link. [Alun_Vega on Twitter and Flickr]

Lost:

This island-castaway show filmed two different scenes involving Locke on Saturday. One seemed to involve the deserted back offices of Hawaii Telecom, and Locke's old box-company nemesis, Randy Nations (Billy Ray Gannon) was reported to be on set. (So in the alternate reality where Oceanic 815 didn't crash, Locke is presumably back at his old job.) But then a second scene took place at a high school, and involved Locke and Ben — plus a ton of extras playing high school students and a girls' basketball team. Since episode four is called "The Substitute," there's some speculation that either Locke or Ben is a substitute teacher — although maybe that name also refers to Locke's doppelganger? And finally, Katey Segal, who played Locke's lost love Helen, is also in Hawaii — so maybe the Locke who landed safely in L.A. had a reunion with Helen. [Hawaii Weblog]

Another set report involved a scene where Sun, Frank, Ilana and Ben are walking along with Locke's dead body — apparently a continuation of the season finale, coming right after the events at the Four-Toed Statue. They walked back by the remains of the castaways' camp, including Mr. Eko's church. And there are set pics, in which you can't really see anything much, at the link. [Lyly Ford]

Also, we've been wondering when we'd see Matthew Fox and company filming some scenes where they're still wearing their Dhama jumpsuits, following on from the events of the previous season finale. And now one eyewitness has spotted a jumpsuited Fox, plus Evangeline Lilly, filming a scene with John Hawkes, who's joined the cast as corporate spokesperson Lennon, plus the long lost flight attendant Cindy, played by Kimberly Joseph. There were also a ton of extras in ragged clothes. They were filming a set at the Temple. Also around later on were Daniel Dae Kim and Jorge Garcia. [Hawaii Weblog]

Producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof say they've found a way, in the final season, to bring back the sense of learning more surprising stuff about these characters all the time that they had in the first season. This new device will lead to some emotionally intense moments of discovery. And don't hold your breath for tons of extra Dharma Initiative stuff this season. They also imply Richard Alpert will be getting a fairly involved flashback sequence. [Sci Fi Now via SpoilersLost]

Caprica:

A new promo includes a few seconds of precious footage of episodes after the pilot... including a slugfest between Graystone and Adama. [Battlestar Blog]

Sarah Jane Adventures:

Here are the official descriptions for parts 1 &2 of the second story, "The Mad Woman In The Attic":

Part 1: Rani investigates strange rumours about a demon living in a funfair at the seaside. What she finds there, however, is far more alarming than that and she makes a decision that affects not only her future, but also the futures of all those she cares about... Far in the future, in 2059, an old Rani remembers the day when her whole life went wrong. As her younger self investigates mysterious disappearances at an abandoned funfair, she sets into motion a chain of events which unleash the terrible powers of the alien Eve.

Part 2: Alien Eve's powers grow out of control, with everyone caught in her sinister and endless games. As the echoes of an ancient war threaten the modern world, the danger extends all the way to the year 2059. If Rani fails to change her own destiny, then everyone is doomed.

And here are some promo pics from the first story, "Prisoner Of The Judoon". [BlogtorWho]

Dollhouse:

Here's a new interview with Enver Gjokaj and Dichen Lachman. [BuddyTV]

In episode 4, "Belonging," we witness how Sierra wound up in the Dollhouse firsthand. And Sierra has some intimate moments with Victor. Also, Boyd is worried about Echo. [Fox]

Supernatural:

Our first pic of Paris Hilton in Thursday's episode looks... like Paris Hilton. With a weird knife. Full version at the link. [Chicago Tribune]

And here are a couple of clips from the episode:

And according to a casting call, we'll be meeting another new demon in episode 10:

[CROWLY] 40's or 50's male Demon - he is bit more urbane and sophisticated than what we've seen up to this point. He wears a suit, drinks fine wines, still pretty cruel and decadent, though. Please submit all ethnicities. RECURRING GUEST STAR

[SpoilerTV]

FlashForward:

Here's a sneak peek from Thursday's new episode.

Someone's flying to Japan in episode nine apparently — at least, we'll meet a bilingual Japanese flight attendant, according to a casting call. [SpoilerTV]

Also, in episode five, Mark finds himself on the defensive in a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, while Olivia receives an anonymous message. And Janis wonders how her vision of the future will affect her relationship. [SpoilerTV]

Heroes:

Claire vamps it up and Sylar gets dissheveled and then joins the circus, in new promo pics from episode 5, "Hysterical Blindness." [SpoilerTV]

Fringe:

Can Olivia handle the truth? We'll find out on Thursday.

Smallville:

Here's the official description for episode 5, "Roulette":

DC COMICS CHARACTER ROULETTE SHOWS OLIVER HER CARDS - Oliver (Justin Hartley) is drugged and kidnapped by a woman named Victoria AKA Roulette (guest star Steph Song), who tells Oliver that he's involved in a dangerous game and must fight for his life. After Victoria shows up dead and Oliver is arrested by the police, he turns to Chloe (Allison Mack) for help. Meanwhile, Lois (Erica Durance) berates Clark (Tom Welling) for not telling her about Oliver's suicide attempt.

[Kryptonsite]

A tipster (who fit into a key demographic that Syfy is looking for) took part in a survey in which he/she was asked about Syfy's programming — and because he/she expressed a lack of interest in paranormal reality shows, the questioning shifted onto Caprica, Syfy's big show premiering in 2010. The survey showed our source these six posters, and tried to suss out which of the posters resonated the most positively.

We asked Syfy about these posters, and a spokesperson said, "We routinely and confidentially research numerous concepts which are not limited to the images you have inquired about."

So you have the two sexy posters featuring Zoe looking mysterous and sultry, not to mention naked... it doesn't scream "cybernetically resurrected girl," but it does seem intriguing at least. And the "one million consequences" thing is curious.

And then there's the "huddled naked figure" poster, which has an adult (I think) in a fetal position — suggesting cloning or something else. For some reason, this poster is the most "science fictional" looking to me.

The other three posters seem much more "soap opera" or "thriller" oriented to me, with the emphasis on "two families." The ones with the heads of Joseph Adama and Daniel Graystone, and all the weird writing going between them, looks more thriller-ish, whereas the others seem more soap-operatic. And then there's that weird floaty apple, symbolizing forbidden knowledge.

All in all, there seems to be a dichotomy between "sexy/mysterious science" and "drama about scowling men."

Ray and Summer:

In today's conference call with reporters, Whedon explained exactly what Wise (the devil from the show Reaper) and Glau would be doing when they appear in the season's sixth episode. Wise is the head of another Dollhouse — sort of a counterpart to Adelle DeWitt, with whom he'll be butting heads. And Glau is the other Dollhouse's programmer — so she's the counterpart to Topher. And Glau's part is "eccentric" and totally different from anything you've seen before. The writers worked extra hard to make her character "pop" because they knew what Glau was capable of, said Whedon. And yes, this new Dollhouse will be much cooler than "our" Dollhouse, thanks to Wise and Glau.

And you can expect the new season to have a slightly more Reaper-ish feel because Reaper co-creators Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters have joined the show as show-runners, replacing the first season's Sarah Craft and Elizabeth Fain. Joss says Fazekas and Butters have a slightly different set of obsessions, but the show will still basically have the same concerns.

So why does Joss always work with the same people?

There's actually a deathmatch between Firefly and Battlestar Galactica as to which show will get more of its castmembers on Dollhouse, Whedon joked. (BSG's Tahmoh Penikett is a regular on the show, and Jamie Bamber is putting in an appearance in the season opener, while Firefly's Alan Tudkyk, plus Glau, have put in appearances.) Whedon added that he tried to avoid working with actors he already knew in season one, so the show could forge its own identity — but going forward, he'll be a lot less worried about that. So you can expect to see lots of familiar faces.

The first episode will still be newbie-friendly.

The show is no longer trying to make every episode stand alone, and the second season will be much more "arc-y" than the first season was. We'll keep delving into the workings of the Dollhouse and how it's affecting these characters. But Whedon added that the first episode contains enough of an explanation of what the Dollhouse is, and what it does, to bring in new viewers. At the same time, he's become convinced that you have to keep moving forward — even if you move slowly enough at first to provide a jumping-on point. And the show's opening credits have been retooled to be more explanatory.

No flash-forwards at first

Previously, Whedon had promised that the season opener would include some more glimpses of the terrible post-apocalyptic future we witnessed in the unaired finale, "Epitaph One." But it turns out his script for the season opener was too full of other stuff, and there just wasn't room for all the future visions as well. Now, it's looking like we won't be revisiting that dystopian ruined world until towards the end of the first block of 13 episodes this fall.

The Dollhouse's technology gets more complex

But that horrific future will continue to inform the episodes set in the present, and we'll start to see all the weird and disturbing uses the Dollhouse's technology can be put to. "We're going to stretch the tech fairly heftily," said Whedon. "A lot of it has to do with the different ways this tech can be manipulated... There's more that can be done (with this brainwashing technology), and the excitement and the danger of that is a big partof this season."

Doctor Horrible Lives Again!

Whedon confirmed that he and his co-conspirators are working on another installment of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, but they haven't yet decided whether it'll stay an indie shoestring project, or get bigger and involve a studio or more people. Either way, though, they know what story they want to tell and they're just waiting until it gels.

Challenges ahead for the Dolls

Echo will be dealing with the fact that she's had all of her personalities downloaded into her brain at once (in the episode "Omega") and she'll be able to access those personalities even when she's in her blanked-out "Doll" state. She'll be using them to reach her objective, which is to get her own original personality back, and to help the other Dolls get their own personalities as well. Victor and Sierra won't be able to keep their hands off each other, which will cause hilarity as well as some consternation. November, aka Mellie, will turn up early in the season — which means there's more pain ahead for her. And although we'll only see Whiskey (aka Dr. Claire Saunders) in three episodes this season, those will be intense, mindblowing issues that deal with her discovery that she's a Doll as well.

More importantly, Echo will be trying to gain allies — and Paul Ballard will be the first person she reaches out to. But she'll also reach out to others, and she'll be trying to create the kind of family that we wished we could have seen in the Dollhouse during the first season. (In other words: Scooby gang?)

Stop wondering who else is a Doll!

Since we're heading for a dystopian future where everyone — Doll or otherwise — can be implanted with a canned personality in a moment, I was wondering if this meant the distinction between Doll and "regular" person would become meaningless soon. But Whedon said that in the present day, the distinction between Doll and non-Doll is very, very important — and the prospect of being erased, losing your selfhood and becoming a non-person will continue to loom as the show's greatest horror for the characters who aren't Dolls.

And Whedon doesn't plan to reveal that a bunch of characters we've already met are Dolls — that kind of revelation should be done sparingly, since otherwise we end up just watching a bunch of Dolls interacting with each other and there's no longer anything at stake. Explained Whedon:

Everybody is not a doll, because it would be very easy for us to pull that trick over and over, and ultimately shoot ourselves in the foot... I'm not saying never, i'm not saying we won't question reality every now and then, [but] we're taking the people we have, and pushing them around. We're keeping them grounded, so that there is something at stake [for these characters]... If we just make people dolls willy nilly, it's the rabbit hole and nothing means anything.

Dollhouse premieres on Friday, Sept. 25 at 9 PM.

CinemaSpy asked whether Caprica was on the brink of cancellation, citing a "100 percent accurate" source:

A trusted industry insider informed CinemaSpy on Saturday that production faces suspension on Caprica due to serious script problems/shortfalls, and that the future of the series may well be in jeopardy. From what we've been told, the producers haven't been altogether happy with the caliber of the stories.

This would make Caprica the second new show this year to face a shutdown allegedly over script concerns. Last week, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello said the production shutdown at V was over script issues, and specifically over concerns about producer Jeff Bell (who'd been showrunner on Angel's final season.) Writes Ausiello:

Officially, Warner Bros. says it is taking "advantage of our November premiere to maximize creative opportunities and deliver the audience the best show possible." Unofficially, I hear the studio wasn't happy with the quality and the timeliness of the scripts show-runner Jeff Bell was delivering, so they bumped him to the No. 2 spot and put exec producer Scott Peters in charge. Too bad. I like Jeff Bell.

But this isn't the case with Caprica, insists showrunner Jane Espenson. She tells AirlockAlpha that any shutdown on the show's production is entirely due to athletes arriving for the 2010 Olympics and causing disruptions, not script problems:

I'm one of the producers and I'm absolutely thrilled with the work my writers have done... The Olympics might require a couple scheduling adjustments," Espenson said. "Those are probably being misunderstood.

Update: Syfy's Craig Engler draws our attention to his Tweet from the other day, in which he responded to a fan's question:

Q) Is Caprica on the verge of cancellation? A) Nope. Expecting ep 2 rough cut this week, premieres 1/22