Battlestar Galactica: Waiting for the Big Goodbye

As you may know, the third season of Sci Fi’s reimagined Battlestar Galactica ended with some startling revelations. We learned that four regular characters were actually Cylons and Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) miraculously returned and claimed to have been to Earth. Soon afterwards, fans were dismayed to learn that the rumors were true. The fourth season would be the show’s last. It was going to be tough to wait until the usual January kick-off of new episodes. It now appears we’ll have to wait even longer.

The first half of Battlestar’s fourth season will now debut 10 months after the finale of season three, sometime in April. Why the delay? Since production on the fourth season began months ago, it seems like it’s simply Sci Fi’s choice of scheduling.

On top of that, fans may have to wait until 2009 to see the second half of the season. Though Sci Fi execs supposedly haven’t made a final decision yet, actor Jamie Bamber (Apollo) reportedly said that a 2009 date is being strongly considered — an idea that executive producer Ronald D. Moore isn’t crazy about. Moore says, “I’d probably prefer to see the entire thing air next year to maintain the momentum, to build excitement as it pushes to the end, not to mention it means less chance of spoilers getting out.”

In the meantime, a two-hour movie entitled Battlestar Galactica: Razor will debut in movie theaters on November 12th in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas and Seattle. Two weeks later, on November 24th, you’ll be able to watch the movie on Sci Fi. An expanded version will be available on DVD soon after that. Razor tells the story of Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) and the Pegasus crew before they joined up with Galactica. That story will be told via flashbacks so the regular Battlestar crew will appear in the film in the current day footage. Though most of the movie’s events take place in the past, they’ll play a significant part in Battlestar’s fourth season. It’s interesting to note that, prior to the current version of Battlestar, Glen A. Larson (the creator of the original series) had proposed a feature film that centered around the Pegasus.

Though we’ll have to wait longer for it all to begin, what’s in store for the final season? Last year, executive producers Moore and David Eick said, “And while we know our fans will be saddened to know the end is coming, they should brace themselves for a wild ride getting there — we’re going out with a bang.”

Around Thanksgiving, Moore will be directing for the first time and a portion of that episode will be set deep in the Cylon world. As for the regular crew, he’d say, “On Galactica, things have really begun to fall apart . . . and the relationship between President Laura Roslin and Admiral William Adama is going to get pretty interesting.”

Lucy Lawless will return to the series as the number three Cylon. When last we saw her, she’d been deactivated and put into cold storage. Lawless’ character will be back for episodes 10 – 13 and will play an important role in the series’ final season.

Viewers will also have to wait awhile to find out the identity of the fifth Cylon but, Moore says, “It’s definitely been decided who that one is. I can’t say when, but we’re certainly not waiting until the last episode to tell you who it is.”

Though nostalgic about the series’ ending, Bamber is glad that Battlestar will have a proper finale. He said, “I think it’s a good time. We’ve been saying from the very first season that the most important thing is to be able to finish this story in a way that is up to the people that create the story. . . the story begs an ending. This is the first and foremost thing.” Stay tuned!