Today on the Sci Fi forum Ronald D Moore, who is the creator and executive producer of the re-imaged Battlestar Galactica series, answered a few questions from the fans. You can find the actual thread over here. Here is a sum up of the questions and answers:(eternalkerri @ Mar 9 2007, 12:12 AM)I think Baltar is the most human character on the show and I don't think I've ever really thought of him as the villain of the piece. I think he represents the entire human race in many ways -- the dueling impulses and capacity for venality and compassion living side by side in the same heart of a man who loves to smoke, drink and chase women -- and his journey is in many the ways symbolic of a larger journey for us all.
Some have theorised that Baltar is actually a tragic figure and not a villian. I have a theory that he is actually the most important character in the show as far as the questions of human nature are concerned, as he is a "redemption character. So, Ron. Is Baltar meant to be a flawed villian or does he actually represent humanites attempts to really do right in the end?
(Special Circumstances @ Mar 9 2007, 12:12 AM)No way I'm going to tell you what Earth is going to be like. Laura & Adama were partaking of a lovely little weed they found growing naturally in the hills of New Caprica. (The place did have its points...) I think you'll see more Leoben.
There's been alot of speculation on what time period it will be on Earth when/if the Galactica and RTF arrives there. Are you able to let us know if it will be the past, the present, the future, or the far future?
Oh, and what was Adama smoking? On New Caprica. With Roslyn. In Unfinished Business.
And can we have more Leoben? Pretty please.
(hybridexile @ Mar 9 2007, 12:12 AM)Hard to talk in any kind of specifc way about Hera, or the potential of finding other Heras in the show. In fact, I'm probably going to be maddeningly vague about the future storylines until after the season finale, and even then I'll usually be talking about generalities.
Will we encounter other hybrids besides Hera? I keep thinking about Caprica 6's words that the future of the Cylons rest with Hera and those who are going to come after her. Seems to me that she's the destiny of the human race as well.
Also, do you have any special plans for Dualla’s character in the upcoming season?
We do have specific plans for Dualla next year.
(AussieViperPilot @ Mar 9 2007, 12:13 AM)To tell you the absolute truth, I don't know the answer to that. The scene of Kara's mother dying was moved at the last minute from a hospital room to a her bedroom for production reasons. David and Bradley would probably know the answer since they were there on the set during the shoot and probably discussed it with the director & props. I liked it in the cut and my personal take was that it was symbolically there in Kara's mind -- like so much of the scene itself was -- and that it wasn't physically there, however the intention and motivation might have been something entirely different. It's an interesting question.
During Maelstrom we see a doll in a glass box in both the Oracle's room and next to Kara's dying mother. We also see a picture drawn by Kara in her scrapbook of a princess/queen in what looks like a cage or behind bars. I gather these are symbolic of Kara being trapped in her current body/life and that meeting death allowed her to, as Not Leoben put it 'you are free now, to become who you really are'.
My question is, was the doll in a glass box we see next to Kara's dying mother (during one of Kara's visions) meant to actually have physically been there at the time of Kara's mothers death?
(polaris @ Mar 9 2007, 12:13 AM)Definitely.
Are you planning on penning more episodes in season 4?
(redshoes @ Mar 9 2007, 12:13 AM)We actually discussed this at some length in the writers' room. Our feeling was that Dr. Cottle tried had to replicate the treatment on other cancer patients ever since that episode, but had been unable to replicate the results.
Is Hera's blood secretly being used as medicine to treat cancer patients in the fleet? Or are people suffering and dying to protect her secrets?
(bookmarmf @ Mar 9 2007, 12:13 AM)It will unleash deeper and stronger emotions from Bill Adama than we've seen before and it will cause Lee to question, and ultimately change, some of the fundamental aspects of his life.
Can you give us a small glimpse on how Kara's death will impact the Adama family.
Thank you!!
You know, stuff like that.
(richa @ Mar 9 2007, 12:13 AM)I tend to look at the show in roughly 10 episode blocks. The writers and I talk about where we want the show and the individual characters to be at the mid-season break and then where we want to be for the finale. Then we outline a way to get there and begin the process of breaking the individual episodes. However, we make a point of remaining open to make changes on the fly as new ideas come up and old ideas fail to live up to their original promise. Doing it this way seems to provide a steady direction for the overall story while allowing improvisation and inspiration along the way, which provide the spark of life to the entire show.
How far ahead in the show is it actually fully fleshed out?
(Alektra @ Mar 9 2007, 12:13 AM)I began to put into place most of the fundamental cosmology of the BSG universe as far back as the first season. Since then, we've talked it over in the writers' room periodically so as to keep everything within the same parameters. There are still some elements to put into place, but we pretty much have it worked out by now.
Have you guys got all the mythology worked out in terms of how the cycle works (the 4000 yrs one!), and the relations to the greek olympians and the 12 models and 12 colonies etc, how they all fit?
(cherylad @ Mar 9 2007, 12:14 AM)Can't talk about the finale, sorry.
Can you shed some light on what is the main reasons for Lee's breakdown in CR2? Does it also effect his marriage to Dee?
(Sam StarEagle @ Mar 9 2007, 12:14 AM)Bear does his thing with very little input from me. We'll talk if there's a specific cue or a specific theme that I want to have in the show or if he has some questions, but I basically step back and let him do his thing. He does fantastic work for us and we're lucky to have him.
How is your relationship with Bear McCreary creatively?
In other words, how closely do you and he work together to figure out how to fit the music to the story?
(BSGNo1 @ Mar 9 2007, 12:14 AM)Not until next season.
Now that Starbuck is "dead", are we going to see more of Leoben/Callum Keith Rennie in future episodes?
(leoscuro @ Mar 9 2007, 12:14 AM)My basic thinking along these lines is still the same, but it's always under discussion.
You once stated you were thinking to have a 5 year arc for this story to unfold. Does this still hold true, and if does not hold true, what is your new game plan?
(Hand Of Prickly Pete @ Mar 9 2007, 12:14 AM)Not until after we've completed the supermarionation episodes.
When will the shooting in Claymation begin?
(Mo @ Mar 9 2007, 12:14 AM)This was left deliberately vague. What do you think it was?
was it a bullet what penetrated kara's canopy or something else?
(Selfish Rogue @ Mar 9 2007, 12:14 AM)I have never spoken to, nor even met, Glen Larson. He had nothing to do with the pitch whatsoever.
How much input/suggestions did Glen Larson have during the pitch of the series?
(RaymondShaw @ Mar 9 2007, 12:14 AM)This will certainly be a key aspect of the end of the series, but I really can't talk in any specific terms about it.
Can you tell us if the final act of the series will deal with the spiritual/metaphysical aspects of the myth-arc, and if so care to elaborate a little?
(rswhite1989 @ Mar 9 2007, 12:15 AM)He didn't see it.
Did Lee or did Lee not see (or think he saw) the Cylon Radar in Maelstrom?
(GeorgeT @ Mar 9 2007, 12:16 AM)I never thought of that. I'll put in a call to Al's publicist. (He's in the biz now, you know, so I can call him that. My people will call his people and I'll let you know.)
Some fans are worried that with Starbuck's death we'll have the return of the Ship of Lights. Given that the Ship of Lights wasted an enormous amount of optical energy (you could even say it glowed), when Starbuck revives will Al Gore appear and excitedly tell how many gigawatts of power the ship saves since it changed over to compact fluorescent bulbs, bragging that the remainder is offset by hardwood forests on Kobol?
Okay, a real question.
Have you decided whether BSG takes place in our past, our present, or our future? I'm not looking for an answer as to which, just whether that decision has been made, or if it's even required yet.
I have decided the "when" of BSG, but I'm not giving that away yet.
(Bambina Belle @ Mar 9 2007, 12:16 AM)I never said I killed Kara strictly for shock reasons -- I believe I said that the shock value of it made me love it more. Kara's death is not without meaning nor was it intended to screw any of the fans over. It's a story decision and I think a good (if risky) one.
Do you expect fans of Kara to feel satisfied at the way you built up her destiny then killed her for "shock" value destroying one of the best elements on the show and knowing you kinda screwed over fans of kara and lee?
and this is cheating but how do/did the other cast and crew feel now knowing that katee's "gone" and you're all coming back for season 4 -- apparently without her (and she's filming that pilot too so she can't be back if she does that)
The cast and crew were on hiatus when the fourth season pickup was announced, so I don't know how they felt about it.
(Oracle7775 @ Mar 9 2007, 12:22 AM1) I agree with the idea that the Colonial government is outmoded as a practical matter and that sooner or later, they will have to form a system more in keeping with the realities of their current situation. However, I also think that as a political matter, Laura & Adama are struggling to hold together a desperate population living under constant threat of annihilation and that the attempt to make wholescale changes to the government would more likely end up in a chaotic situation in which Adama becomes the arbiter of the body politic by virtue of his military power rather than through any popular mandate. I think that Laura decided to hang on to the forms and structures of the original government as a way of maintaining continuity with the past and to give the people a familiar system to operate within rather than throw the legitimacy of the government itself into question.
I’ve got two. Answer whichever one you wish. The prospect of a trial for treason/war crimes gives us a chance to discuss the civic structure of the old colonial government, and whether and how those institutions did (or even deserve to) survive the destruction of the colonies, and how the civic structure needs to change to meet the needs of the entirely unique situation in which the fleet finds itself:
1) Would you agree with the proposition that the old colonial government is a relic, and that, for the fleet to survive as a free society, it will have to develop a government that more accurately represents the interests of the current populace/conditions, rather than reflect outdated political subdivisions (i.e. the twelve colonies) that, sooner or later, with cease to have any meaning?
2) I would think that for the fleet to continue to survive, some sort of arbitral system for dispute resolution has to have been established, and quickly, as such a system is a hallmark for the peaceful free society that the fleet is trying to continue despite the extenuating circumstances. Others in the forum today have said that the fleet is just a survivors camp, and that grim chaos reigns. Do you see the fleet as having established such a system, even if it’s on an ad hoc basis? If not, how are they keeping from the “Lord of the Flies” downward spiral, killing each other en masse over petty disputes?
While I'm asking the air for answers, I might as well also ask whether there's a right to a jury of one's peers in the fleet, and if so, why won't Baltar be able to take advantage of that right?
2) On this week's podcast I discuss some of the judicial system as I think it's operated in the fleet to date, namely that the ship captains have determined how justice was dispensed on their individual vessels as a practical matter ever since the original Cylon attack. Without a police force, the central government's only methods of enforcing its decisions are either through Adama's marines or through the agreement of the individual ship captains. The Quorum of Twelve would also weigh in on matters of law, but I felt that the day to day management of the fleet and the myriad criminal matters that must come up are dealt with by the commanders themselves. I think that Laura's federal government manages ship to ship relations and overall management of the fleet's resources, backed up by the Galactica's might. Certainly there are overlaps in authority and areas that are not managed at all (like in "Black Market") but that generally speaking the fleet is a functioning society trying to make do in extraordinary circumstances and that people accused of crimes are usually dealt with in a way that reflects the values of a liberal democracy.
3) Baltar's trial will be by tribunal rather than a jury of his peers, which is in keeping with the tribunal system we saw in season one. Whether juries, as such, exist in Galactica's world or whether Baltar's specific case (or Baltar himself) demanded a tribunal rather than a jury is left unanswered.
Thanks it folks! It was fun. We'll do it again. Good-night.
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