Screencaps of Helo in "Collaborators"

Thanks to BSG Caps for these pictures of Helo in Friday's episode.

Tahmoh interviewed in online BSG bonus content

They briefly interviewed Tahmoh (and Jamie Bamber, Mary McDonnell, & Michael Hogan) on the set about "Collaborators" and what is to come.

(For those who are wondering what I'm talking about, Sci-fi posts bonus video content to scifi.com after some Galactica episodes air. You have to enter a code that's shared during the episode's broadcast to see the material. Last night's code was RIFT, but Sci-fi takes the video down each night at 2AM EST.)

BSG "Collaborators" airs tonight

Don't forget to watch Galactica's new episode tonight at 9pm EST on Sci-fi.

Chief Tyrol's sense of right and wrong is put to the test when he takes part in a secret tribunal that tries and convicts in absentia humans who collaborated with the Cylons on New Caprica — and then secretly executes them for treason. Only Tyrol has the courage to ask the questions everyone fears: What if the tribunal makes a mistake? What if they put an innocent human being to death?

Read AICN's spoilery FAQ for the episode here.

Read IGN's advance review of Collaborators here.

The show will repeat tonight at 11pm & midnight. It will also re-air on Monday, October 30th at 11pm.

Download Ron Moore's podcast on the episode here.

"In Galactica, It’s Politics as Usual. Or Is It?"

The admittedly initially skeptical New York Times critic Virgina Heffernan today wrote a new positive review of the show, praising its complexity and transcendence of allegory:

"That’s what makes “Battlestar,” week after week, riveting. The truth is, allegories don’t really exist. Characters who initially seem to “stand for” figures in myth or current events eventually take on their own dimensions and — with any luck — subvert the symbolic system that was supposed to confine them.

That has happened in extraordinary ways with “Battlestar Galactica”; the exchange between Gaius and Laura is only the most remarkable recent example. The other characters — the morally bewildered leaders, lovers and warriors — have also outgrown their simple roles as Terrorist or Hawk or Diplomat, and their every action now has its own strange, engrossing logic."

Read the full article.

Tahmoh in the latest videoblog: "Who dies?"

In the most recent season 3 videoblog the cast speculates as to who in the "top 7" will die this season. Tahmoh appears twice (his comment that someone will get "offed" is repeated). He also expresses relief that it's the top 7 and not the top 10 as he'd thought as he's number 10.

Watch the videoblog.

New interview with Tahmoh online

Battlestar_blog scored an exclusive interview with Tahmoh. He talks about how the cast gets along, how the show has affected him, who he'd like to share scenes with and what's to come in Season 3. Here's one question to pique your interest:

Tell us a little about yourself -- How you got into acting, how you got the role on Battlestar, favorite movies, music, etc. :)

I've always had an appreciation of a good story. I've always been captivated by talented and truthful storytellers, whether on screen or stage since i was very young. The fascination with this art form of course led me to first trying my hand at it in High school. I've been hooked ever since.

I got the role on BSG, like most actors do, getting the call from my agent for the audition.. then having a great audition with the principle Director of the show Michael Rymer.

I love a dark drama or suspense thriller. To be honest with you I appreciate all genre of film as long as it's good. By good I mean, great plot, intriguing story, truthful performances where the actors aren't afraid to take the plunge!

Some of my favorite movies are 'Blade Runner', 'Goodfellahs', 'Alien' and 'Raging Bull'. I love Electronica, have been a fan of many different types of it. A few of my friends are creating some incredible new sounds in Techno. I'm fascinated at the progression of the music, how it has adapted, evolved and grown over the years. I love all types of music though, anything as long as it's good!!

Read the full interview.
ETA: Full text of the interview.

---

Has the show's growing popularity changed your day-to-day life? Have you been getting recognized and approached by fans more often?

It hasn't changed my day to day life so much but there is definitely a lot more people out there who recognize me from the show. All in all it's been great because people are polite, respect my space but when i do engage them in conversation they are truly passionate fans with really interesting things to say about the show.

Have you formed strong friendships with any fellow castmates? Is there a lot of hanging out off-set, or do you try to keep your work life and social life separate whenever possible?

a) Definitely formed some amazing relationships, I think everyone on this cast will be bonded for life. We all get along well and all of these friendships I've formed with my cast mates I cherish.

b) We all get together outside of work when we can. In the last couple of years a few of the cast have had children so that takes up a lot of their time.

In what ways would you say you're similar to or different from Helo? Are there decisions the character's made that you probably would've made differently?

I'd like to think that Helo and I share some of the same qualities like loyalty, optimism and diligence.

I think the majority of the decisions that Helo's made I respect and understand the reason he may have made them. I probably would have made the same decisions if I was in his boots, which I guess I have been?!!

David Eick's video blogs show that some actors (Grace Park and James Callis, for example) occasionally offer the writers and directors some input as to how they think their character might act or speak. Have you ever approached the creative staff with ideas like these, and if so, can you give us examples of how a scene or line of dialogue was changed based on your suggestion?

In the second season there was a point early on where I felt there was a too quick transition with Helo in terms of his trust for Sharon. I expressed these concerns to David and he was open to them and some adjustments were made. Really I felt at that point the most interesting thing about Helo was the conflict of being in love with a cylon, how that affected his loyalties and whether he could trust her.

All of us in the cast take the responsibility of our characters in the show and if something that's written feels really wrong no one hesitates to mention it. The team is usually open to hearing out concerns.

Looking back on seasons one and two, is there a particular episode that stands out in your mind as being a favorite, or one that you're especially proud of?

There's been so many, but I have to say being able to do a scene with Eddie was a tremendous opportunity and experience for me. The first real scene that we had was where he's informing me that the President had decided to terminate Sharon's pregnancy. Very emotional scene.

When episodes of Battlestar air for the first time on television, do you usually watch them? Do cast and crew members get together and have viewing parties, or is that something that rarely - if ever - happens?

Some of us have the opportunity to watch them before they come on the television. I generally watch them with my family and friends. I'm not aware of the cast watching together unless it's on set.

You've spent a lot of time on-set with Grace Park and Katee Sackhoff, two of the most beautiful and talented actresses out there. Can you tell us what it's like working with them?

They are both incredibly unique and talented actresses. Katee and I if anything have a little too much fun on set, usually goofing around in between takes. She's an angel, so talented and incredibly funny.

Grace and I do the same sometimes but the majority of our scenes are usually intense, emotional scenes that require a lot of focus. We trained at the same school, have similar techniques and know each other's work so well that we really try and pull the best work out of each other. I always look forward to working with her. She's an amazing friend and extremely gifted actress.

Since you worked mainly with Grace and Katee in season one, how did it then feel to join the rest of the cast in season 2? Did it feel like there was an adjustment period of "fitting in" with a group that had been working together for so long?

In some ways yeah. I was really just eager to work with the rest of the cast. But truthfully there was a bit of the outsider feeling in the beginning which I used because it was so truthful to Helo's situation coming back to the ship.

Are there other actors on the show that you don't get much screen time with, but would love the chance to work with more?

I'd love to work with James Callis, he and I are great friends and I'm a huge fan of his work!

What is your opinion of the Helo/Sharon relationship? We hope she loves him as much as he loves her, but does she? Can we expect to see events unfold in season three that will "show" her true feelings and allegiances?

I think with the sacrifices that Sharon's made it's safe to say that she truly loves this man. In season three you can expect at the least to see her allegiances toward the human race waver, and how she reacts to that you'll have to wait to see!!!

What are you most excited about in season three? How does it compare to the previous seasons?

I'm a huge fan of the show, so like everyone else I can't wait to see what's in store for the end of the season. I'm so proud of the show, such incredibly talented and passionate individuals all coming together to make this series. To be honest it's much better in some ways than the previous seasons. This show is true to its form by still examining the world that we live in today, especially the political and religious situations which are defining this era. I'm honored to be part of Art that asks questions and is brave enough to consider these touchy subjects.

Tahmoh, thanks again for making time for us and for doing such an amazing job on the show. We wish you all the best, and we excitedly look forward to season three! :)

Thanks for everything, guys!! You're going to love season three!!!

"Exodus, Part 2" screen caps, reviews and art

Thanks to Logan Gawain from the Battlestar Galactica Sitrep for these "Exodus, Part 2" review links:

• Marc Bernadin, Entertainment Weekly
• Angel Cohn, TV Guide
• Sean Elliot, If Magazine

syliasyliasylia created 18 fantastic "Exodus" icons, here are two of them:

Thanks to BSG Caps for these pictures of Helo in Friday's episode.

Tahmoh in the new Battlestar videoblog

Tahmoh is interviewed briefly in the new BSG videoblog available over at sci-fi.com. Titled "Characters," it delves into executive producer David Eick's childhood--it even features his mom--and the cast's reaction to Season 3.

Tahmoh appears about a minute in talking about what he knows about Season 3... and he either says: "People are definitely going to get off this year" or "People are definitely going to get offed this year". You decide!

Watch Battlestar Videoblog: Characters.

"Exodus, Part 2" airs tonight @ 9pm EST

Don't forget to watch the conclusion to last week's episode of Galactica, "Exodus," tonight on Sci-fi at 9/8c.

The crew of the Galactica and the insurgents on New Caprica coordinate their attacks in a daring attempt to liberate the stranded humans from their Cylon oppressors. But as the Cylons begin to lose control of the situation, they start to consider a drastic and brutal final solution to the crisis.

Download Ron Moore's podcast for the episode here.

Sagittarius is Bleeding BSG novel

The prolific and respected sci-fi writer Peter David has written a new BSG novel that focuses on Laura Roslin and is the first BSG novel to be set during the current series.

Reviews seem to be somewhat mixed, but I haven't read the book myself.

Using Amazon's nifty "search inside this book" feature, I found that Helo appears in a couple scenes in the book, the longest being a scene with Kara and (of all people) Boxey. Here's a brief excerpt:

The book is available from Amazon here.

Tahmoh cancels appearance at Utopia Con

Tahmoh has had to cancel his appearance at Utopia Con in the Netherlands this weekend due to work commitments.

It's too bad he has had to cancel his appearance, but I don't think anyone will be complaining about Tahmoh having a larger role on Galactica!

You can read the full announcement here.

"Exodus, Part 1" Screen captures & review

Slate writer Troy Patterson just started watching Battlestar and posted a brief review; here's a excerpt:

Battlestar Galactica, now entering its third season, is not science fiction—or "speculative fiction" or "SF," or whatever you're supposed to call it these days. Ignore the fact that the series is a remake of a late-'70s Star Wars knockoff. Forget that its action variously unfolds on starships and on a colonized planet called New Caprica. And never mind its stunning special effects, which outclass the endearingly schlocky stuff found elsewhere on its network. Sullen, complex, and eager to obsess over grand conspiracies and intimate betrayals alike, it is TV noir.

Thanks to tahmoh_daily for these screen caps from Friday's episode.

"Exodus, Part 1" airs tonight plus a new poll!

Don't forget there's a new episode of Battlestar tonight at 9pm EST!

The Cylons have begun a brutal crackdown on New Caprica's nascent human Resistance movement. With time running out for the colonists, Admiral Adama must launch his rescue attempt earlier than he'd expected. But though he expected a fight from the Cylons, he is unprepared for the one he gets from his son, Lee, who refuses to let the battlestar Pegasus join the Galactica's suicidal attack.

Two weeks ago I asked how people felt about these two promo photos (one airbrushed, one not):

The results are in and the vote was basically split. People tended to prefer one over the other, but not consistently.

On a similar note (and as tonight's episode hasn't aired yet), Helo's new hairstyle in Season 3 has certainly has provoked alot of fan comment. So... which hair do you prefer?

1. Shorter, cropped military look.
2. Slightly longer, Caesar cut.

New spoilery interview with Tahmoh at Dragon*Con

Grendy from Ain't it Cool News sat down with Tahmoh and Aaron Douglas for a long interview while they were guests at Dragon*Con. They spoke about season 3, spoilers, politics, muy-thai and encounters with fans. It's a long, interesting interview, but not for the spoiler wary.

The interview follows Herc's review of tonight's episode, so scroll down to the gray box to see it. Here's a brief excerpt about getting the job on BSG:

G- Do you like that Helo became such a fan favorite (his fans in the miniseries made it known that they liked him, so Moore et all brought him back for the series despite his being left to face nuclear holocaust, thus changing the whole storyline of the show) I mean, did you have to leave a job in order to start season 1?

T- I knew when I was in the miniseries that I would be dying. I'd accepted that. I die, you know? I didn't get to do too many scenes with the other actors. When I read the script I said wow… when I read the script, and I got to the part where I tell Sharon to leave me on the planet…

G- The big sacrifice

T- Yeah, the big sacrifice. I said wow, I gotta have this. It's mine. But the door was closed for me. (after that, as he'd been left on-planet) I got a lot of nice compliments in the end. "I really liked your work." etc… But the thing about this business is you don't put any weight on that until you have your contract. And even then, a couple of days in, then you can start celebrating the fact that you're there. The reality of it.

I had gone on after the miniseries and gotten a regular supporting lead on Cold Squad. It was huge, and I was really excited about it. So it finished, and I was in LA for pilot season. Funny story: I was in LA for pilot season. I had a terrible audition. One of the worst of my life, and the casting director was a complete dick. And I was going: I can't believe I've been getting away with this for so long, because I can't act. I've been pulling a fast one over everyone, it's horrible. And I get home and get a call from the executive director of Cold Squad and it's like "Sorry buddy, we're done." as the show had been cancelled. The only thing that made me happy when I had that bad audition was 'well, at least I have Cold Squad' and it was a week later that Ron Moore called me up and said he's got an idea for the storyline. So I am a very lucky guy.

Aaron pipes up with "Cold Squad is the original show that Cold Case ripped off. Just wanted to point that out. (insert tone of Canadian pride here)

First reviews of Trapped Ashes

Tahmoh stars as Stanley in Monte Hellman's segment of the anthology horror film, Trapped Ashes. The movie has a MySpace page here.

Darclight films, the film's production company, is currently using a photo of Tahmoh and reviews of "Stanley's Girlfriend" prominently in its promotional material. They include the following quotes from Patrick McGavin, ScreenDaily.com:

"...Monte Hellman's superlative, evocative and genuinely moving Stanley's Girlfriend is the standout contribution of TRAPPED ASHES, the horror anthology of four macabre vignettes also directed by Ken Russell, Sean Cunningham and John Gaeta..."

"...Hellman's Stanley's Girlfriend is not only the strongest piece, it is the most atypical, graced by memory and guilt, involving a man (Saxon) recalling a charged episode as a young screenwriter from 1957 and his developing friendship with Stanley Kubrick and the beautiful, intoxicating woman (Cooke) that passed between them. Hellman debuted his work in a separate collection of shorts at Cannes, and the layered, fascinating portrait of male friendship and sexual competition is poetic and vibrant deepened by the authenticity of the period details, the intuitive use of jazz and a revelation that brings surprise and wonder..."

"...The Hellman is too much of a good thing, a tantalizing work that deserves a deeper and fuller investigation. It also points out the limitations of the complementary works. To its credit it lifts TRAPPED ASHES into a higher realm..."

Jonathan Doyle from Bloody-Disgusting.com interviewed "Stanley's Girlfriend" director, Monte Hellman:

MH: I had four days and my segment was originally 28 minutes. In Cannes it played for almost 30 minutes because of titles and everything, but they cut about 5 minutes out of everybody's to bring it down to an hour and three quarters. A 28-minute piece is almost a third of a movie.

BD: So will there be longer versions on the DVD?

MH: That, I don't know. There is talk of the Stanley segment having a separate, full, longer version as an extra.

Variety had this to say about Hellman's segment:

"Next, irascible veteran B-pic director Leo (John Saxon) flashes back to his earliest professional days, when (now played by Tahmoh Penikett) he befriended eccentric aspiring helmer Stanley (Tygh Runyan), who ceases contact when he gets involved with vamp Nina (Amelia Cooke). When Stanley wisely flees the country, Leo winds up experiencing her succubus-like power over men...."

Ironically, Variety objects to the Stanley Kubrick references in the segment as Hellman tells Doyle in the interview above that "Stanley's Girlfriend" is actually based on a true story involving Kubrick.

The Hollywood Reporter deemed "Stanley's Girlfriend": "by far the most stylized of the bunch, but lacking sufficient creepiness."

All that said, you don't have to look far to find less than enthused Toronto Film Festival viewers. So the verdict on the anthology seems rather mixed, though Tahmoh's segment gets generally good reviews.

Screen caps and icons from the BSG S3 premiere

Episodes 301-02 "The Occupation" and "Precipice" aired on Friday. Sci-fi will reair them on Tuesday (10/10) at 4pm and Friday (10/13) at 1pm if you missed them.

dayofdefiance has created some great icons from the two episodes that you should be sure to check out. Here are a couple Helo ones:

Thanks to bsg-caps.com for these screen caps of the premiere!

BSG Season 3 premiere tonight at 9pm EST!

Season 3 of Galactica kicks off tonight at a NEW time, 9/8c, for TWO hours on the Sci-fi Channel. Be sure to watch!

As is to be expected, there is a flurry of press activity around the premiere. Here are a selection of some of the most interesting interviews/articles. They're all spoilery to a certain extent:

• Sci-fi Weekly: Interviews with Olmos, McDonnel, Sackhoff, Bamber, Helfer, & Park
• Mercury News: 'Battlestar Galactica' transcends sci-fi genre
• Sci-fi Weekly: Interview with Executive producer Ronald D. Moore
• Chicago Tribune: Ron Moore talks Season 3 of 'Battlestar Galactica'
• CHUD.com: Interview with writers Brad Thompson & David Weddle

You can find a more exhaustive list of press coverage over at Galactica News thanks to greycoupon.

First shots of Tahmoh in Need for Speed: Carbon

EA has posted a video interview with the female star (Emmanuelle Vaugier) of their upcoming game, Need for Speed: Carbon. Tahmoh plays Darius in the game and appears in game and shooting footage included in the interview. You see Tahmoh shooting in green screen as well as several scenes from the game.
Click on the Emmanuelle Vaugier video interview (30.9 mb - 9/14/06), to see Tahmoh.

Look for the game on November 1st.

Michael Trucco on filming "The Farm " with Tahmoh

In the Starburst #77 Galactica Special, Michael Trucco talks about working with Tahmoh:

In the next episode, The Farm, Starbuck is injured during a fight with with a group of Cylon Centurions and wakes up in a hospital on Caprica. It is, in fact, a Cylon facility where they are conducting experiments on Human females. Luckily for Starbuck, she manages to get away, with a little help. "Tahmoh and I will never forget the day we had to run across a field and pick up Katee, who as Starbuck had just escaped from the Cylon hospital," notes Trucco.

"The episode's director, Rod Hardy, must have shot that at least eight times if not more, and it wasn't one of these scenes where you grab someone, run out of frame with them, and the director yells, 'Cut!' OK, let's do it again.' Rod had a camera way up on a hill taking in the whole thing, and Tahmoh and I had to pick up Katee and drag her across what was equal to the length of a football field. Katee was supposed to be unconscious, which meant that she couldn't help us out at all. you can't show onscreen how tired you are, but Tahmoh and I were sucking some serious wind there for a few takes," chuckles the actor.

"Rod would say, 'Action,' and Tahmoh and I would run into frame, fall to our knees, fire our guns a few times, then pop up, grab Katee and run like hell. You could see after each take that we were getting slower. However, because of the way Rod was filming things, we had to be 'on' all the time. That's when I realized there's no such thing as 'cheating' on Galactica. If you're going to be an action hero, you can't stand there bent over with your hands on your knees saying, 'I'll be with you in a minute. I just need to rest."

Thanks to Michelle from Aaron Douglas Fans for passing the anecdote along.

Scans of Tahmoh's interview in the special are here.

New Tahmoh interview in Starburst Special

Starburst Special Issue #77 on newstands now focuses on Galactica and includes a new interview with Tahmoh. (You can also order the magazine here.) Thanks to Michelle from Aaron Douglas Fans for scanning it for us!

Tahmoh talks about his hopes for Season 3, directions they didn't pursue in Season 2, his start in acting and his love for fans.

Final con anecdotes & upcoming con reminder

August and September were busy months with Tahmoh making multiple appearances at sci-fi conventions. Here are a couple anecdotes he shared with fans:

rihansu remembered this from Dragon Con:

Tahmoh Penikett (Helo) was very, very cute. He also didn't get asked many questions. He did say that he grew up watching the original Star Trek as a kid because where he lived there weren't many TV stations, and it was often the only thing on.

Read the rest of her report (with photos)!

jessicaj703 shared this story:

Tahmoh Penikett [told] "the story of what it was like to shoot the Maxim style spread. Trica and Grace apparently had no difficulties, having both worked as models, but Tahmoh, James, Aaron, and Jamie didn't know what to do, so they started off with their arms crossed in front. The photographer was Japanese and didn't speak much English, so all he'd say was, "Different pose," so they switched to hands-on-hips. It was a really funny story the way he told it - sounded a lot like the photo shoot in "Lost in Translation."

Read the rest of her report here.

Tahmoh's scheduled to appear at Utopia Con in the Netherlands at the end of the month, so hopefully we'll get some more photos and stories then.