There’s still more Toronto Comic Con footage to share, including an interview with Caprica’s Magda Apanowicz, and Luciana Carro of both BSG and Caprica!

Photo courtesy of Syfy

Today marked The Televixen’s return to The TCON Promotional Society’s Polaris for its 23rd edition.  The highlight of my day?  The Q and A session and press conference with the XO Colonel Saul Tigh – Battlestar Galactica’s Michael Hogan.  He had some fantastic stories to share from his time on BSG, and I’ll have some video and photos for all of you over the next few days.  In the meantime, here’s a pic of Mr. Hogan from this morning’s fan Q and A:

What’s on the agenda for tomorrow? Spending a little time with the incomparable Michelle Forbes!

Warehouse 13 (SciFi/SyFy, July 7th)

Nurse Jackie (Showtime and TMN, June 8th)

Tomorrow, I’ll have clips from two of my fave shows EVER that return this summer!

Adam Brody as The OC's Seth Cohen

Everywhere you look on TV, even big network television, you’re sure to find a geek. Whether it’s the geek-centric comedy of The Big Bang Theory to crime procedurals setting episodes at sci-fi/fantasy cons, there’s been an increased geek presence in coveted prime time slots.

This got the hamster wheel in my head going, and has led to my first blog series – Has Geek Become Chic?

In Part One, I’ve decided to explore just how geeks invaded prime time TV, and chatted with FancyFembot herself, Cat of Sci Fi Party Line, and Steve “Snowball” Saylor of This Week in Geek. Topic of conversation? What they would consider the defining moment in geek making its mark on prime time.

Cat and I seem to be on the same page that Lost has been an important step in the emergence of science fiction and “geek” culture on prime time television. That was the defining moment for me; Lost is the show that really sparked my interest in sci-fi, and I think it was what introduced the genre to those who were previously unreceptive.

Cat shared:

I think “geeks” made (their mark) prime time with Lost. Before Lost aired, I remember a big write up for it in SciFi Magazine. They heavily promoted it to the “geeks” when it first aired. After a season, the writers or whoever was talking to the media started back tracking and telling people not to put Lost in the science fiction genre. With this latest season, with time travel, time shifts, disappearing islands, etc, no one can deny that this show is science fiction. Lost is one of the hottest shows and sort of tricked everyone into watching quantum mechanics every week. I think it’s awesome!”

Steve actually places the injection of geek into prime time TV a bit earlier than Lost, and you might be surprised by his choice:

As far as specifics, for me personally when I started to see the change was on The O.C. It was a prime time hit and one of the main characters, Seth Cohen, was a geek who turned out to be a character everyone loved. Even my brother and sister who are far from being geeks themselves love The O.C. and love the character of Seth Cohen because he was funny, quirky, and also a geek.

He also observed:

The ones who grew up being geeks like us are now in control of prime time and are now able to tell the stories they wanted to tell, and it just took a lot of people in the right places for that.

What would you say was the moment or show that saw geek make a serious mark on prime time TV? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Next, I’ll be looking at the presence of Cons on prime time TV, particularly on crime procedurals like Bones and NUMB3RS, including a more detailed look at last week’s episode of CSI. Be sure to visit soon for Part 2 of Has Geek Become Chic?

The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror films announced the nominees for the 35th Annual Saturn Awards. I am thrilled that many of my fave TV shows are among the nominees, including BSG, Lost, and Dexter.

Here are the TV nominees:

Best Network Television Series
Fringe (Fox)
Heroes (NBC)
Life on Mars (ABC)
Lost (ABC)
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox)
Supernatural (CW)

Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
Battlestar Galactica (SCI FI)
The Closer (TNT)
Dexter (Showtime)
Leverage (TNT)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network)
True Blood (HBO)

Best Presentation on Television
24: Redemption (Fox)
The Andromeda Strain (A&E)
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Jericho (CBS)
The Last Templar (NBC)
The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice (TNT)

Best Actor in Television
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, AMC)
Matthew Fox (Lost, ABC)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Showtime)
Timothy Hutton (Leverage, TNT)
Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica, SCI FI)
Noah Wiley (The Librarian: The Curse of The Judas Chalice, TNT)

Best Actress in Television
Lena Headey (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fox)
Jennifer Love Hewitt (The Ghost Whisperer, CBS)
Evangeline Lilly (Lost, ABC)
Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica, SCI FI)
Anna Paquin (True Blood, HBO)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer, TNT)
Anna Torv (Fringe, ABC)

Best Supporting Actor in Television
Henry Ian Cusick (Lost, ABC)
Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fox)
Michael Emerson (Lost, ABC)
Josh Holloway (Lost, ABC)
Adrian Pasdar (Heroes, NBC)
Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes, NBC)

Best Supporting Actress in Television
Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter, Showtime)
Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fox)
Yunjin Kim (Lost, ABC)
Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost, ABC)
Hayden Panettiere (Heroes, NBC)
Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, SCI FI)

Best Guest Starring Role in a Television Series
Kristen Bell (Heroes, NBC)
Alan Dale (Lost, ABC)
Kevin Durand (Lost, ABC)
Robert Forster (Heroes, NBC)
Jimmy Smits (Dexter, Showtime)
Sonya Walger (Lost, ABC)

Best Television Series Release on DVD
Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series (BBC Warner)
Heroes: Season 2 (Universal)
Lost: The Complete Fourth Season (Walt Disney)
Moonlight: The Complete Series (Warner)
Reaper: Season One (Lionsgate)
Torchwood: Season 2 (BBC Warner)
The Tudors: The Complete Second Season(Paramount/Showtime)

Best Retro Television Series Release on DVD
Columbo: Mystery Movie Collection 1990 (Universal)
Early Edition: Season One (Paramount)
The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series (Universal)
The Invaders: The First & Second Seasons (Paramount)
Mission Impossible: The Fourth & Fifth Seasons (Paramount)
Spaced: The Complete Series (BBC Warner)

The Saturn Awards will be presented on June 25th.

I spent part of my evening watching the first episode and its deleted scenes – oh, and admiring my Starbuck dog tags! As if this day wasn’t BSG-tacular enough, this morning SciFi Wire posted a clip from an upcoming episode. And that’s where the happiness comes screeching to a halt.

What can I say? It’s bleak. After an epic journey, they’ve finally found Earth, and it’s not what they expected. They’ve scoured the planet in search of life, but no souls remain. The only glimmer of hope is Laura Roslin’s silent discovery of a flower. Last summer at FanExpo in Toronto, Edward James Olmos mentioned that these remaining episodes were hard to film, and will be hard for fans to watch. I’ve braced myself for the impending gloom of the final episodes. Watching this scene left me both excited for BSG’s return, and dismayed by the inevitable course the series is on toward its end.

Have you watched this clip yet? What are your thoughts? And have you picked up the S4 DVDs as of yet?

BSG returns on Friday, January 16 at 10 pm on SciFi in the US, and Space in Canada.

Now the world of BSG won’t be gone for long – the prequel series Caprica will start filming this summer for a 2010 debut. I’ve been intrigued by this since the two-hour pilot received a green light, and the revelation that Esai Morales and Eric Stoltz had been cast as the patriarchs of rival families, the Adamas and the Graystones. Earlier today, a new clip was posted on SciFi Wire, which I’ve watched and re-watched.

So, what are my thoughts on this new footage? I like the gutsiness of the very dark, twisted tone of this scene, which takes place in a “Cyber Club” created by Stoltz’s character Daniel Graystone. It’s complete with drugs, death, group sex and virgin sacrifice, all high on the shock-value scale. But what really caught my attention was how it ended: with the mention of the “One True God”, a major tenet of the Cylon’s beliefs versus those of the polytheist humans. This has always been an aspect of the BSG mythos that has fascinated me, so the clip has sparked further anticipation for this prequel series, in addition to my initial excitement at witnessing the birth of the Cylons.

If you’ve watched the clip, what do you think? Are you looking forward to Caprica’s debut, or do you think the world of BSG should end this spring when the final Cylon is revealed? I say bring on Caprica in 2010!

#6:  Bill Compton – True Blood.  One of my newest faves from HBO’s sizzling new series based on the Southern Vampire novels by Charlaine Harris.  Nothing like a vampire that’s also a Southern gentleman.

#5:  Mick St. John – Moonlight.  What is it about a vampire PI living in LA that’s so attractive?  In this case, it was Mick’s undying devotion to Beth.

#4:  Eric – True Blood.  The stunning head vamp that sits on his throne at Fangtasia, Shreveport’s vampire bar, and glamours people to do his bidding.

#3:  Josef Kostan – Moonlight.  Brilliant businessman, best friend to Mick, and womanizing vampire.  What more could you want?

#2:  Angel – Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel.  The vampire with a soul.  Once a merciless killer, now a defender against dark forces.  His and Buffy’s love rival that of Romeo & Juliet, Heloise and Abelard, Tristan & Isolde.

#1:  Spike – Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel.  He was evil.  He was ruthless.  He ended up lovesick.  He and Buffy had the lust that made buildings crumble around them.  Sexy, sarcastic, and ultimately self-sacrificing, That’s what makes Spike my favourite TV vampire of all time!

Now it’s time for you to share.  Let me know who your favourite undead hotties are/were by commenting below!

In a second piece for The TV Addict, I reported on the Battlestar Galactica Q&A (my personal highlight of the weekend), which featured Edward James Olmos and Aaron Douglas. It’s a must read for BSG fans, including a glimpse of what’s in store for the final episodes, info about the upcoming film, and speculation on the identity of the final Cylon. If you haven’t read it yet, check it out right now.

This Televixen also made another appearance on the web this week. I was a guest on Russel Hale’s podcast, Ramble with Russel, chatting about my experience at FanExpo.

There’s more from FanExpo on its way, including photos, video, and details on the Arrested Development movie, according to Henry Winkler.

I will give a full recap of my weekend tomorrow (including major BSG info), but in the meantime, here is a link to an article I wrote for The TV Addict as special correspondent! Also, I’ve included a photo of Edward James Olmos that I took during the Q&A yesterday.

Did anyone else attend FanExpo? What were your thoughts on the weekend?