#Battlestar Galactica Reboot

[tuttle-did-it]

Murder She Wrote guest stars Kate Vernon (BSG reboot, The Morning Show, NCIS, Bones, Voyager, Outer Limits, etc), , Dinah Shore (The Dinah Shore Show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In), E.G. Marshall (character actor from Chicago Hope, The Cosby Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Superman II, Lazarus Syndrome, etc), and Jason Beghe (Character actor from Chicago P.D., Californication, X-Files, Castle, etc)

Alma Murder, season 6, episode 15, aired Mar 12, 1989

Kate Vernon

Dinah Shore (this was her last role, by the way)

E.G. Marshall

Jason Beghe

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

The Battlestar Galactica (2003) Movie is the Perfect Reboot

Rebooting a property is extremely difficult. It's a balancing act between bringing back old iconography and creating new ideas and characters, and in no two instances is it the same.

Battlestar Galactica is the perfect reboot for a number of reasons. First, the characters.

There is not a single weak performance on the cast (in the movie). From legacy characters like Adama, Apollo, Starbuck and Tigh to new characters like the President and her aid and the flight deck crew to the fucking background characters, everyone is on their A-game for the entire three-hour movie, and their A-game is amazing. Relationships form and develop in believable ways between believable characters (we'll get to that). But no one outshines Gaius Baltar.

Of the changes to the series, Baltar is the most drastic. The original version of the character was cartoonishly evil - he sold out the Twelve Colonies of Kobol to the Cylons because he was told he'd rule his homeworld, Caprica (I think). The new version is a guy who was in an emotionally manipulative relationship with a Cylon (he didn't know it at the time) and got played. He feels awful for what he did, and the knowledge that all of this is his fault weighs on him heavily, not helped by the fact that is abuser has implanted herself in her brain and spends the back half of the movie tormenting him.

Second, the character dynamics.

There are a bunch of really interesting dynamics that form between characters, both pre-existing (i.e., they exist before the world starts ending) and that form as a result of the plot. Apollo and Adama's strained relationship over the death of Apollo's brother (Adama's son), Zak, which is on the mend by the end of the movie, Tigh and Starbuck fucking despising each other, the romance between Tyrol and Boomer - these do a great job of implying history between characters, while relationships like Apollo and the President becoming friends Billy and Dualla's spark (which is paid off brilliantly) act as story threads to follow.

Third, the story.

The Cylon attacks on the Twelve Colonies is played as the end of the human race, and there's a tension over the three-hour runtime around this fact (which is the next point on this review). It's the worst-case scenario, and it keeps devolving as characters react to the Cylon's genocide of the human race. The characters are all attempting to react as best they can to the unthinkable, and every time they've managed to adapt, it gets worse and they have to adapt again - first, the Cylons attack, then they find out that the Colonies have been obliterated and humanity all but destroyed, then the government is gone, then Galactica is the only Battlestar left, and it becomes clear that central focus of the story isn't how badass the Colonial Military is, but the indomitable nature of the human soul, as characters like Adama and the President refuse to stop doing what they can to save what's left of mankind.

Finally, the tension.

From the moment the ambassador is killed by Cylons at the end of the movie to the final conversation between Adama and the President, the movie is cloaked in tension. At first, it's the dramatic irony of the destruction of the colonies, then the situation deteriorating, then a number of heart-rending decisions made by characters where they have to make the survival of the human race a numbers game, then the human forces being trapped inside an ion storm which is surrounded by a Cylon fleet, then the final battle between the Galactica and the Cylon forces to buy time for the rest of mankind to escape, then the aforementioned confrontation between Adama and the President, where she reveals that, in this universe, Earth is a myth and Adama has given everyone false hope.

Sure, there are moments of relief from that tension, most notably when the remaining humans have regrouped in the ion storm, the movie's one joke (Adama looking over Billy and Dualla and echoing a sentiment expressed by the President that the priority of the human race is repopulation, causing an incredulous Apollo to ask if "that's an order", which got a real laugh out of me) and Adama's "So say we all" speech.

So yeah, it was a combination of the characters and the relationships between them and the plot and sense of tension that made Battlestar Galactica (2003) the Perfect Reboot.

So say we all.

[apolloviper]

a few wip baltar sketches - he is so consistently visibly stressed out of his mind lmfao

[katherynefromphilly]

I honestly love that in many fandoms, there’s often That One Performer who just takes the role to heart for the rest of their life. I’m sure That One Performer gets crap from colleagues, or judged for hanging on to past roles, or whateverthefuck but I honestly don’t care.

I love that Misha Collins is That One Performer for Supernatural. It’s good fun to watch for whatever shit he may do or say next, but honestly, what he’s doing will someday have a positive effect. I’m sure of it.

Why, you ask?

Well.

In 1977 a series called Battlestar Galactica was on TV, for one season (13 episodes!!!). Richard Hatch became That One Performer for that show. He saw the fandom’s enthusiasm, and need for more Galactica, and when he couldn’t get the studio interested, he gathered his own-ass money and made HIS OWN FAN TRAILERS for a comeback of the series, which he showed at Cons across the country. He knocked on doors with trailer and his scripts, with fandom’s support, and generally kept the idea of Galactica alive. His efforts are absolutely why Battlestar Galactica got a reboot. It wasn’t his vision (his story picked up where canon left off with original actors), but it was a great series, well written enough that Richard Hatch joined the cast as another character.

So you go, Misha Collins. Be That One Performer. Great things may lay ahead for the fandom.

[silveragelovechild]

Cylon (reboot version)

[erving-goffman]

why the fuck did i never buy a twin peaks box set that's so weird

[capsulas]

Galactira 80s (vía Original Battlestar Galactica Deserves The Love The Reboot Gets | GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT)

[vertigoartgore]

The 2003 Battlestar Galactica 2 part miniseries turns 20 this week.

Feel old yet ?

[tuttle-did-it]

I know more people who identify as women who love

Battlestar Galactica

Stargate SG1 (and the spin-offs)

Farscape

Legacy Star Trek (DS9, TNG, VOY, ENT, TOS)

Firefly

X Files

M*A*S*H (original run, and now)

Dexter

Angel

Futurama

The Killjoys

Warehouse 13

The Man in the High Castle

The Prisoner (original 60s)

Quantum Leap (original, don't know a single person who watches the new one)

Magnum P.I. (original, don't know a single person who watches the new one)

Doctor Who (original and continuation)

I've talked to men who enjoy these shows, but I've only known women who call themselves fans of the shows to be women. But every one of these shows were definitely written to attract men.

[tuttle-did-it]

'The Prodigal Father' in Murder, She Wrote. Guest stars for this episode:

Donnelly Rhodes (Battlestar Galactica reboot, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Da Vinci's Inquest, Supernatural, Smallville, The L Word, Psych, The Collector, Danger Bay, etc)

Claudia Christian (Babylon 5, The Rookie, NCIS, Castle, lots of video game voices, Columbo, Matlock, etc)

Abe Vigoda (The Godfather, Mad About You, Wings, Law & Order, Diagnosis Murder, Batman: Mask of the Phantom MacGyver, Fantasy Island, Eight is Enough, The Love Boat, The Rockford Files, etc)

Episode aired Mar 10, 1991

[maaruin]

If they reboot Battlestar Galactica again, I hope that this time they sort of go in the other direction with the Cylons: Make the crew treat them as human-like early on, overlooking that their thinking is actually very different from humans.

Would be very on-point with current discussions around A.I.

[transpidergwen]

The sexual tension between Starbuck and Kendra when Kara gets in her face about almost blowing her up with an entire Pegasus broadside.....

[can-they-assemble-ikea-furniture]

Assume they have access to ikea furniture

[brian-in-finance]

Instagram

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WHAT THE STARS ARE SAYING

Check out why so many famed actors use Backstage

Trusted since 1960

Founded in 1960, Backstage has a storied history of serving the entertainment industry. For over 60 years Backstage has served as a casting resource and news source for actors, performers, directors, producers, agents, and casting directors.

Over that time, Backstage Magazine has also appeared on numerous TV shows, such as “Mad Men,” “Entourage,” “Glee,” “Oprah,” NBC's “Today” show, Comedy Central's “@Midnight”, NY1's “On Stage,” and “Saturday Night Live,” as well as multiple mentions on shows like “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” “Girls,” and appearances in films such as “13 Going on 30,” the Farrelly brothers' “Stuck on You” and Spike Lee's “Girl 6,” and even a mention in Woody Allen's short-story collection “Mere Anarchy” and Augusten Burroughs' novel “Sellevision” – and Backstage has received accolades from multiple Academy Award-, Emmy-, and Tony-winning actors and directors. (Plus, the hit musical “The Last Five Years” even includes Backstage in its lyrics: “Here's a headshot guy and a new Backstage / Where you're right for something on every page.”)

CAITRÍONA BALFE

ACTRESS

"I still get Backstage emails 'cause I still subscribe to Backstage. [Backstage is) kind of the Bible in the beginning, which is amazing. Samuel French and Backstage go hand in hand, you know? You go there for your plays when you're in classes, and then you get your Backstage."

Backstage 1

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Brian’s Note: The following story originally appeared in April 2015. Most recent update is December 2020.

The Gorgeous Determination of Caitríona Balfe

Caitríona Balfe is on the move. That's been true most of her adult life— especially the 10 years she was modeling for Victoria's Secret, Dolce & Gabbana, and others—but as she sits on the rooftop patio of a West Hollywood hotel in mid-March, she mentions that she's pulling up stakes from Los Angeles.

"It just feels silly to have an empty place for 10 months until I figure out what I'm doing with my life," the Irish-born actor says. "I've rented the same place for the last four years and now I have to give it up." Her apartment is being razed to put in condos, but her departure from L.A. is extra poignant considering this is the city where Balfe journeyed when she decided to put aside that successful modeling career and focus on the vocation she'd always wanted: acting.

Photo: Luc-Richard Elie

"I've moved so much since I was 18," she says. "I mean, l've lived so many places. New York, I lived in for almost eight years [while modeling], and that's been the longest of anywhere since I left Ireland. But L.A. is where I came and said, 'OK, this is what I wanna do with my life.' "

She refuses to think of her move as a permanent one, though. "I'll be back," she declares, "but it feels really sad. My little apartment, it's got so many memories."

Balfe's sadness is no doubt mitigated by the fact that part of her need to move is due to the precipitous rise in her fortunes. She'll soon be flying to Scotland to shoot the second season of "Outlander," which returns to Starz April 4 to conclude Season 1.

When last we saw Balfe's Claire, the resourceful British nurse who comes home after World War |I only to be inexplicably teleported into the 18th-century Highlands, she was half-naked with a knife to her breast. Don't worry: Claire will get out of that scrape, but more perils await-to say nothing of the emerging multi-era romantic triangle developing between her, the Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), and her 20th-century husband, Frank Randall (Tobias Menzies), who wonders where she's gone.

Based on the much-beloved Diana Gabaldon novels and developed for television by "Battlestar Galactica" rebooter Ronald D. Moore, "Outlander" is an ostensibly lush period-piece-within-a-period-piece drama that's consistently richer and thornier than its romance-novel trappings suggest. And much of the credit goes to Balfe, who had managed small parts in films such as “Super 8” and “Now You See Me” before landing the central role in this adaptation.

In person, Balfe is far less imposing than the steely Claire, who has to weather the dangers of being a woman in sexist, violent Scotland in the 1740s. Cast late in the preproduction of “Outlander”—Moore has mentioned in interviews how hard it was to find the right Claire—she didn’t have time to consider what the role would do to her life. “I’m so bad on social media," she confesses on this warm afternoon, nestled underneath a cabana. "I had set up an account on Twitter maybe a year or so before I got this job and had, I thought, a lot of followers — 250 or something, and most of them are my friends. Within about a month or two, it was thousands of people — and my phone, I didn't know how to turn off the alerts, so it was just going all the time. That was the beginning of the awareness."

Growing up in the small Irish community of Monaghan, Balfe had considered acting from an early age. ("I was devastated that I wasn't a child actor," she says, smiling. But after traveling to Dublin to study theater, she changed course once she received an offer to model. It wasn't a secret passion of hers, but who turns down a trip to Paris? "My parents felt that I should finish college," Balfe recalls, "but l'm slightly headstrong, so l took their advice and I completely ignored it."

Over the next decade, she lived in France, Italy, Germany, and Japan, her modeling inexperience hardly a detriment. "You'd be amazed how little information or training goes into it," she says. "When I first arrived in Paris, I was told to take a bus to the office. I left my suitcase — I barely spoke any French — and someone took me across the street, helped me buy a Carte Orange. They printed out five addresses that I had to go to that day, and then they sent me off." She still remembers at 18 riding the subway alongside 16-year-old aspiring Russian models, who knew no French or English, homesick and sobbing their eyes out. "That was just the way it was," says Balfe. "You become pretty tough. When I went to Japan, it was similar: They would drive you to their castings, but the minute you got a job, it would be like, 'Here's an address, here's a map. Good luck.' They don't have signposts in English in Japan, so the map and the address are not always very helpful."

Hear Balfe recount her early misadventures in modeling and you can't help but think of Claire, who's equally thrown to the wolves once she arrives in the 18th century amid people wary of the English in general and assertive women in particular. "Honestly, l've been in so many situations in my life where you just are completely displaced," Balfe says. “You have to adapt very quickly and figure it out. I definitely think that informs Claire a lot. It helped me understand her."

Did moving to Paris at such a young age teach Balfe that she can cope in any circumstance? "I think I didn't really realize that until many years later," she replies. "I have a great knack of not thinking about things and just going for it. You learn the hard way sometimes that you're able to get through, but sometimes it's quite tough when you're in a situation where you don't know anyone and you're trying to find your way around cities. But if an opportunity presents itself and it seems like a good idea, l'm just like, 'OK, let's do it, then I'll figure it out.'”

The decision to reconnect with her acting ambitions was conducted just as boldly. Ready to quit modeling, she moved to Los Angeles because a writer she was dating lived there. He was the only person she knew, but she had read a Vanity Fair interview with Amy Adams in which she said she trained with Warner Loughlin. "I could walk to that place from my ex-boyfriend's house," she says, "so l was like, 'Well, I'm gonna go there because I can't really drive. I started from scratch. I didn't have any managers, I didn't know any agents, I hadn't acted in almost a decade." But she just kept taking classes, moving from Loughlin to the studios of Sanford Meisner and Judith Weston. "I think when I first got here, I had a nice little air of delusion: 'It's gonna work out,'" she says with a laugh. “You just don't know how."

And then came "Outlander." By email, Moore admits that he didn't know Balfe's work until her audition tape came unsolicited to his office from her agent. Once she was chosen for Claire, he made it clear how demanding the job would be. “I told her in our first meeting that this was going to be an even bigger responsibility and workload than the normal TV lead," he writes. "Because the story was being told from Claire's point of view, Cait was going to be in every scene, every day for months, which is an extraordinary amount of work, far beyond what most actors are ever asked to do."

Moore's warning didn't faze Balfe. Writes Moore, "After she met with the president of Starz... and it was clear that she was going to land the role, I walked her to the elevator and just before the doors closed on her, I said 'Your life is about to change forever,' and she gave me a grin that was both thrilled and slightly nervous. I never saw her hesitate after that."

She's never hesitated before. As Balfe prepares to say goodbye to L.A. (for now, she thinks back to her early days in the city, trying to convince casting directors that she was more than just a model. "I went on many, many, many, many auditions that were Hot Girl No. 2 — you wanna shoot yourself," she says, laughing. "But, you know, I'm very lucky that l was even getting those auditions in the beginning. And it toughens you up. At least for me, to have that fuel to prove people wrong—it definitely spurs me on and makes me wanna work harder." Then she smiles conspiratorially. "And shove it to them."

Backstage 2

Remember… I told her in our first meeting that this was going to be an even bigger responsibility and workload than the normal TV lead. — Ronald D Moore

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

I really, really wish older sci-fi was more discussed in online spaces. It feels like (with rare, notable exceptions) sci-fi discussion focuses on Star Wars, (New) Star Trek and Marvel. Like, yeah, those have their moments, but where are the discussions of the post-9/11 paranoia of the Battlestar Galactica reboot, Farscape's use of Aeryn Sun to explore the idea of letting go of your past sins to find happiness in your present, of Slider's masterful use of its premise, of Babylon 5's laserfocus on serialized storytelling?

When I'm not shitposting about Farscape or liveblogging reading The Wheel of Time, I try to use this blog to do that, but I wish there was more of that kind of discussion.

If y'all know of any blogs that do that kind of stuff, or places on here I can go to get that kind of analysis and discussion, let me know.