Campbell Begs For Battlestar Role

Bonnie Hammer, president of USA Network and SCI FI Channel, told reporters that The 4400 star Billy Campbell approached her after the network's upfront advertising presentation in New York last month and begged her for a role in the final season of Battlestar Galactica.

"He literally assaulted me, trying to do whatever he possibly could to bribe me to have me bribe [executive producers] Ron [Moore] and David [Eick] to create a character arc inside Battlestar Galactica," Hammer said in a press conference during SCI FI Channel's digital press tour in Vancouver, Canada, on June 26. "That is the only show he ever wanted to be in. That is the only show he would do for free. Billy Campbell, literally, saying, 'Give me an arc, any kind of arc, in Battlestar Galactica, please.' And it was very hard to get away from."

At the same press conference, SCI FI's executive vice president, original programming, Mark Stern, confirmed that the producers of the show are trying to work Campbell into the show.

"Actually, I think we're trying to figure that out," Stern said. "And the free part was really great. Although I don't know if his agent really liked that. But we were like, 'OK, we can do that.'"

Hammer added: "I had witnesses, too."

SCI FI Boosts Battlestar Order

SCI FI Channel has increased its episode order for the fourth season of Battlestar Galactica to 22 from the original 13, including a special two-hour extended episode that will air during the fourth quarter of this year and be released on DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment thereafter. SCI FI made the announcement at its upfront press event in New York on March 21.

Battlestar Galactica will air its season-three finale on March 25 in its regular Sunday 10 p.m. ET/PT timeslot. Production will begin on the new season in May, with an eye to an early 2008 premiere.

The series is from NBC Universal Television Studio and is executive-produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick.

Source: http://www.scifi.com

Is BSG the best sci-fi series of all time?

Welcome to IGN TV's Idiot Box, a weekly column where IGN editors talk about the week in TV. This week, we're answering the question, "Is Battlestar Galactica the best sci-fi television series of all time?"

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