battlestar galactica

For those unfamiliar with the brilliance of 'Battlestar Galactica,' "frakking" sounds like just another silly word to look up on Urban Dictionary. However, for fans of sci-fi, it's a very specific reference.

In the alternate universe where 'Battlestar' is set, saying "frak" is the equivalent to dropping the F-bomb. At first, it sounds absurd and just an obvious way to curse without the FCC crawling up the network's "ack." But after watching a few episodes, most viewers accept "frak" and even start to like it.

Break Media just released a music video entitled, 'Tonight, I'm Frakking You.' The dance-worthy R&B song spoofs the sci-fi terminology and fanboy culture as the singer, dressed as a Vulcan, courts ladies at a cosplay club.

The current "Golden Age" of television has been accompanied by some terrific music.

It's impossible to imagine 'Lost' without Michael Giacchino's distinctive score, or '24' without Sean Callery's pulse-pounding music. The best scores not only add emotion and tension to good stories, they are thoughtful, creative endeavors well worth listening to on their own.

Bear McCreary created a percussive, evocative and operatic score for Syfy's late, great 'Battlestar Galactica.' If you watched the show, you no doubt recall its infamous "poundy drums," its poignant themes and its distinctive rendition of 'All Along the Watchtower,' which became a major thematic element in the show's final season.

The iconic commander of the 'Battlestar Galactica' fleet, who was played by Edward James Olmos in the Syfy series of the same name, will be played in the upcoming 'Blood and Chrome' prequel by Luke Pasqualino from the U.K. version of 'Skins,' according to EW.

'Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome,' a backdoor pilot for a possible young Adama series, chronicles the character's entry into the ongoing Cylon War. 'Husker' Adama is itching to get in the fight, but in 'Blood and Chrome,' he'll be paired with Coker, an officer who has served on the front lines and wants nothing more than to be done with fighting. Coker will be played by Ben Cotton, EW reports.

As I reported in this October story about 'Blood and Chrome,' the pilot, which was written by 'BSG' writer Michael Taylor, will go into production this year, but it's not clear if it will air in 2011 or in early 2012.

Casting the role of a young William Adama is no easy task, so let's help Syfy out. The casting notices for the new 'Battlestar Galactica' prequel series, 'Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome' has gone out and there are three main characters in need of actors.

Besides the 20-something, cocky, yet inexperienced Adama, TV Guide reports the series is casting one male and one female lead. It's the 10th year of the Cylon war and Adama's risky behavior leads to conflict with Electronic Countermeasures Officer, Coker Fasjovik.

Coker Fasjovik is in his late 20s/mid-30s and "is weary after a long mission serving on Adama's first ship, a less-than-impressive Raptor called the Weasel."

The female lead, Beka, appears to have a nefarious plan; Coker Fasjovik suspects her, but Adama is on her side.

Due to low ratings, Syfy has cancelled the 'Battlestar Galactica' prequel 'Caprica.'

Syfy is pulling the show from its broadcast rotation immediately, and the remaining five episodes of the show's first season will air some time in the first few months of 2011, according to the network.

A few months ago, the Syfy network commissioned an online series called 'Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome,' a chronicle of the war experiences of young William Adama.

The network liked Michael Taylor's script for the project so much that Syfy will air 'Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome' on the network as the pilot for a possible young Adama TV series.

Mark Stern, Syfy's executive vice president of original programming and the co-head of original content for Universal Cable Productions, said the network hoped to begin production on the pilot in Vancouver in early 2011.

"When we read Michael's script, it was so clearly a full-blown pilot for a series," Stern said in a Thursday interview. "The scope is fantastic and bigger, I think, than anticipated, so we said, 'Let's do it as a 2-hour backdoor pilot.' ... We're trying to get up and running as soon as possible."

Was there a more a disappointing moment in childhood than the Sunday-morning realization that the only thing on TV was televangelists and 'The 700 Club'? You came looking for 'He-Man,' instead you got Pat Robertson. For some reason Ron Moore and the 'Caprica' team seem to want us to relive that moment every Tuesday night as we tune in for new episodes of the 'Battlestar Galactica' spin-off.

As other critics have noted, 'Caprica' has turned away from some of the deliciously-enticing ideas the show started to examine in the first half of the first season -- things like the potential origins of true artificial intelligence or completely virtual worlds -- and now, instead, we're getting a primer on the intricacies of a religion that doesn't even exist.

When we last left 'Caprica' (which seems like ages ago), things were descending into chaos. At the center of the madness – the suicide attempt by Amanda, Zoe's rebellious escape, the U-187 – sits one lynchpin of a character: Lacy Rand. Played by Canadian actor Magda Apanowicz, Lacy has grown from a background character into a crucial game-changer. Nearly every plotline hinges on her actions.

TV Squad caught up with the ever-gregarious Apanowicz right before the finale of season 1, and she is nothing at all like the subservient, malleable Lacy. She spoke with us about the upcoming season 1.5, how in love with 'Battlestar Galactica' she is, and what it's like to hug a Cylon.

Most ambitious cable dramas attempt to craft season-long narrative arcs in addition to telling more contained weekly stories. The unfortunate thing about 'Caprica' (10PM ET Tuesday, Syfy) is that the 'Battlestar Galactica' prequel still isn't demonstrating consistent focus on either of those fronts.

'Caprica's' first two fall episodes are frustrating, despite the obvious attempts to revive the sporadic momentum that the show's spring run had. The thing is, for the dramatic stakes to matter, the audience has to care about the characters, but it's often difficult to invest in their journeys for any number of reasons.

Of all the 'Stargate Universe' characters struggling aboard the Destiny, David Blue's Eli is arguably the person who's changed the most. Over the course of the first season, we watched him grow from introverted computer geek into one of the more vital members of the ship's crew. We left Eli at the end of last season's cliffhanger finale as he and injured shipmate Chloe were stranded in an undiscovered part of the Destiny.

TV Squad caught up with Blue – who's actually a lot taller (and slimmer) than he looks on TV – and chatted about season 2 of 'Stargate Universe,' what's in store for Eli, and what he thinks about the constant comparisons to 'Battlestar Galactica.'

Michelle Forbes is a rare breed of actor; ever the chameleon, she nomadically jumps from show to show, giving us just a taste of her ability. She then moves on to her next role to stun us once again. Most recently, Forbes played a maenad on vampire hit 'True Blood' and the icy Admiral Cain on 'Battlestar Galactica.'

One role that Forbes treasures is one you probably don't know her for, which is as demented psychologist Dr. Penelope Verrity in the second season of Canadian-made-and-produced 'Durham County.' It's a dark, dark role in an avant-garde show, and it mostly went under the radar.

TV Squad sat down with Forbes to discuss why she's done talking about 'Star Trek,' how she stays a TV nomad and why she wishes everyone knew about 'Durham County.'

Well, we were promised answers. And we didn't really get them. This was the two-hour season finale of 'Persons Unknown' (Sat., 9PM ET on NBC). Considering that the show has gotten incredibly low ratings, it seems highly doubtful that it will be back next year. Thus, this is essentially our series finale as well. So, were all the loose ends tied up?

Before Johnny Depp was Edward Scissorhands, Don Juan DeMarco or even Jack Sparrow for that matter -- he was Officer Tom Hanson on '21 Jump Street.'

For anyone who remembers or wants to remember vintage Johnny Depp at his finest, pick up the complete third season of '21 Jump Street' on DVD and in stores today.

Today is a big day for new releases as there is literally something for everyone. For the rest of new titles, including new 'Stargate Universe' and 'Battlestar Galactica' DVD's, find the entire list after the jump.

We've entered the third installment of The TV Squad TV Club's 'Battlestar Galactica' viewing marathon. This week, we talk about Season 1, episodes 9-13, including the shocking season finale.

In a vidcast, I discuss the assignment with AOL TV editor extraordinaire Kelly Woo. And, via the magic of Skype, TV Squad writer Jason Hughes chimes in on the how Col. Tigh is more than just a cantankerous drunk, and Sandie Angulo Chen discusses the finale, and how shocking it is even now.

Below, Jason, Sandie and myself furthered the discussion in an e-mail exchange from earlier in the week.

Stay tuned for what we'll be covering during the next club meeting, which we're hoping to schedule for later in August.

Questions and discussion points can be directed to us on Twitter (@aoltv, use the hashtag #tvsquadtvclub), on our Facebook fan page or by e-mail at tvsquadtvclub AT gmail DOT com.