AARON DOUGLAS SPOILER - MISDIRECTION?

The online world is ablaze with discussion of a supposed "massive" spoiler by actor Aaron Douglas about the Final Five Cylons and their origins and outcomes in the new issue of a British Sci-Fi magazine SFX #174 [the supposed spoiler is linked here - you must highlight the hidden text - and don't click and don't read it if you don't want to know, obviously] . Personally, I think it is calculated misdirection to throw off the fans yet keep them energized. It would be hard to believe that Douglas, who gets the starring role in the post-series Cylon-centric telemovie, would be so loose-lipped. I'm sure his non-disclosure agreement carries penalties. If it is true, or mostly true, then clearly the BSG story has been morphed and shaped in service to conforming it with the Caprica story. If so, then Slot A may fit into Tab B, but its functional prose certainly has trumped its former artistic poetry and the tail is now wagging the dog. What had been so compelling about the new Battlestar Galactica was its relentless propulsion forward to destiny - the gnawing mysteries were to be answered and the underlying logic of the universe would be revealed. If the time-loop aspect of the story (you know the refrain: "All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.") is going to be addressed, one hopes they won't muck it up. The brilliant and sometimes campy series Lexx used the repeating cycles of time theme beautifully - so it can be done well.

CYLON PERSPECTIVE EPISODE STARS TYROL?

SyFyPortal is reporting that the post-series telemovie featuring a story as told from the Cylon perspective is going to star Aaron Douglas - "Chief" Tyrol - as the central character [the other two featured characters are Anders and Cavil, yea for the latter]. Hmmm. Was Lucy Lawless's schedule booked with singing dates? Of all the Cylons, hidden Final Five or otherwise, his storyline was about the least compelling. And did we not get a great deal of Tyrol at the beginning of the series with his relationship with sleeper agent Cylon Boomer? Unless the story focuses on his childhood and his parents' ties to the Temple of Five as compelling backstory to flesh out Cylon motivations, it seems a weird choice. We've gone from possibly three post-series telemovies down to one; Caprica is now a single pilot with maybe a pickup to series; and the latter half of season 4 of BSG looks to be a sad, bleak, heartbreaker according to series star Eddie Olmos. Aren't we sick of calculated bleakness? It's been done to death (pun intended). See my earlier post on the subject here.

Summer Speculation - Fif and Final Cylon

In the running for the 5th and Final Cylon are the following, in order of probability: Roslin, Baltar, Zack Adama, Dualla, Gaeta, Lee Adama, Ellen, Kara, Romo, and Bill Adama. It's hard to imagine Ron Moore, et al, picking anyone else not listed. Zack Adama is certainly a stretch since it would be introducing a pivotal character late in the 3rd Act - a cardinal no-no in drama. But comments and spoiler images from San Diego's recent Comic Con [see Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's hilarious take on the overall event here] saw Ron Moore teasing that the Final Cylon is someone we've "seen before," and "not a guest star" and Zack fits both. My other blog BSG Last Supper picks apart the pros and cons. And scanning through YouTube vids came up with these two images an observant person found in an Opera House dream sequence. Athena-Sharon seems to stand next to the Final Cylon as she understands the reason for Hera being taken (her body language is now relaxed and she leans against the wall rather than chasing) and Roslin, on the stage staring down the faces of the Final Five and glaring intently at one (so it must be her face or Bill Adama's to elicit that reaction).

SPOILER EXPLOSION

It's a spoiler explosion over at io9. Their post features part of the wrap video, several stills and yet another behind-the-scenes video. I hope that part of what we were given was designed specifically as diversion to throw off the fans, because otherwise I'm very worried as to where the story is going. In one vid we see Kat (seemingly in character), Callie (there as a visitor to the set looks like), and Ellen - also in character. Many of the still images and clips from the vids give us plenty to chew on as far as speculation. Let's break it down, shall we?

First we must consider that this is officialdom talking. These images have been around and not pulled down, so they must be up with the blessing of Ron Moore, Sci-Fi Channel, et al.

The stills:

Doral has taken a head shot and is shooting back (perhaps at Baltar and Six? Doral did threaten Baltar's life on New Caprica). Roslin is in a casual dress and dancing in the fountain at the outdoor market we saw in the miniseries - she seems elated and the water seeems to represent that she has become cleansed (is it a dream?). Six and Baltar seem quite pleased with themselves and each other and Head Six is prominent (red dress) - in several scenes. Baltar is in various uniforms: casual suit, formal pimp suit, and commando outfit. Six is also seen alone in modern New York - waiting? Adama and Roslin are together in a Raptor, in civilian clothes and seeming very much the couple. Ellen is in a red dress similar to Head Six's looking her best. Helo, Lee and Kara are in commando-style uniforms - perhaps with new insignia for Kara and Helo (denoting some new faction?). And Adama and Tigh are together, in civilian clothes, at a strip club !!??!!

I'm pleased that the end is the beginning, as I'd hoped - for there are several shots of that park/outdoor market area from the miniseries. My guess is it will all be resolved when we find out who Caprica Six was meeting after she sent Baltar on his way and turned (to camera) and said, "It's about time" ... My guess is that the Final Cylon will be the person Caprica Six was meeting ... and Baltar is wearing that other outfit, so he is a prime candidate ... Not long after Six meets the unseen person the attack on the Colonies began. I'm worried, however, with the modern representations of Earth (newsstand, strip club [flashback], Kara at a piano player's [from Patriot Resource spoilers], and the ruined Earth we've seen in Revelations) that time-travel is going to play a part. Time-travel is a cheap gimmick. Or that there will be two Earths. Or that it all have been a dream - (perhaps by them all) and it re-sets at the end of the story to the beginning (Mulholland Drive anyone? Will Cowboy show up and say, "Wake up" ?). Or, will it be one of countless iterations of possibilities similar to what the Architect talked about in the Matrix when Neo finally gets to meet him? The actors have all raved about the ending in the final episode, so fingers crossed.

Over on Mark Verheiden's blog (BSG writer/exec. producer) he teases that the post-series tv movie will deal with the Cylon "plan." He likes to play with words and his blog post title does so.