Comic Con, San Diego - The BSG Panel
I'm back from Comic Con, San Diego... with spoilers.



Attendees from the cast and crew of Battlestar Galactica included (from left to right) Edward James Olmos, Aaron Douglas, James Callis, Lucy Lawless, David Eick, Ronald D Moore, and some SciFi VP [whose name I didn't catch, and frankly I don't care ;)]



Well this panel was definitely NOT for the spoilerphobic. For spoiler addicts, some of this stuff is already being discussed around the fandom - consider this confirmation since it comes straight from informed sources.

After the panelists were introduced, a preview was displayed on the big screens. It was the same preview that SciFi broadcast earlier in the week, so I won't bother detailing it here. Others have already done that elsewhere, and there are multiple copies of it available for viewing at YouTube.com.

Launching right into the spoilers...
* Episode 301 takes place 4 months after the conclusion of LDYB.
* When the colonials leave New Caprica (after episode 3), there will only be about 38,000 of them left. That's approx. a 20% mortality rate for the four months of the Cylon occupation.
* Lucy Lawless will appear in a 10-episode arc (at minimum) this season.
* When the occupation is over, Baltar will leave New Caprica onboard a Cylon baseship, not with the rag-tag fleet.
* The "very central character" who will die is a Cylon. (Ha, I pegged it! See my previous journal entry. Hehe!) This particular copy is among the familiar key Cylons that we all know (ie Caprica-Six, Boomer, or Sharon), and this Cylon will NOT be resurrected. What we will see will be what the Cylons consider death. This Cylon will be "boxed". (This doesn't necessarily mean the actor is leaving the show, since as we all know, there are many copies.)
* James Callis implied that Caprica-Six will be shot in the head... but it was unclear if this is related to her being the one who is boxed.
* Saul Tigh loses an eye. (So, the patch you saw in the preview isn't temporary)
* After escaping New Caprica, the colonials retaliate/defend themselves by resorting to biological weapons and unleash a pandemic on the Cylons.
* Lucy made reference to a close new relationship between Starbuck and Tigh, and spoke of a particular scene that she found very amusing where it sounded like Adama catches the twosome in a compromising situation. There weren't many details provided, as she was trying to not give too much away. (There was absolutely no mention of Anders at all during the session.)
* When EJO was asked what story arc he finds most interesting, that he is not involved in himself, he specified an interesting new dynamic between Lee, Dualla, and Starbuck. No further details were given.
* A new male character does something nasty to Adama and puts him through hell.

My impressions...

Lucy is too damn gorgeous to be real! I kid you not. I've seen many actresses in person, and most of the time they don't look as good in real life as they do on the screen. Lucy is every bit as beautiful in reality as she looks on TV, or even more so. It ain't fair, I tell you. She's also very lively in personality and appeared to feel 100% at home amongst the crew of BSG. She's quick to laugh and smiled more than anyone else on the panel. She really looked like she was enjoying herself.

Aaron Douglas is a convention pro by now, and it shows. He really looks VERY comfortable interacting with the fans and has an easy, quick, sense of humor. He even brought a camera and was taking pictures back at the crowd from the stage. Aaron was a replacement for Mary McDonnell on the panel, but it wasn't specified why there was a change -- probably due to filming commitments. This is a business day, after all. As for Tyrol in season 3, "He fights the Cylons and he fixes things. (deadpan) We aren't telling you much are we?" His love life is a little different these days too, as compared to what it was at the beginning of season 2. After the disastrous romance with a girlfriend whose batteries fell out, Tyrol now makes sure to plug Cally in every night. And yes, he's a daddy in S3... though James Callis did snarkily question the baby's paternity.

EJO has a pretty reserved demeanor, but he also admitted this is his very first convention, so he might have been in a state of culture shock, but he also said that unlike other famous starship commanders, he isn't going to tell the fans to "Get a life." He also didn't hesitate to poke a little fun at himself. In mentioning that this season will be the darkest one yet, he teased the crowd by telling us, "So don't watch it!" (This of course refers back to his infamous statement to TOS fans telling them NOT to watch the BSG mini-series.) He also wanted to know why, on a panel of fellow men who have slept with Cylon women, why Adama hasn't gotten any Cylon yet. (I guess he regrets that Ol' Bill rejected Shelly Godfrey!)

James Callis has a very full beard these days. Apparently Cylons don't have razors on their baseships and Baltar can't shave. James once again proved that he is a very quick wit. And though Baltar appears to the other humans to be a collaborator with the Cylon occupation, Baltar sees himself as part of the resistance.

I didn't take notes, so I'm missing a lot of details, and I have many more pictures still to share once I've sorted through them.

**UPDATED** - the rest of my pictures from the event are now available for viewing. Click here to see.