Hollywood played host to the cast and crew of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Wednesday night. The Cinerama Dome was full but not overflowing with fans and media types awaiting the arrival of co-creators David Eick, Ron Moore, and actors Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, and Katee Sackhoff. Planting myself in the first row, in front of the AICN boys, I knew I was out of my element. While the gathered mass wasn't all decked out in BSG attire ala a Trek convention, most if not all of the assembled were huge fans of the show. Until that morning, I hadn't seen a single episode. Yes, I admit I'm late to the party of this one, but I had seen the broadcast run of the original series and owned the full line of action figures and ships, so I wasn't completely in the dark. And yet I couldn't help but feel like I slept through most of the semester. Playing catchup I downloaded several episodes off iTunes including "The Story So Far" and the two-part Season Three finale, both of which were enough to give me a baseline knowledge and whet my appetite for more. Combined with Judge Eric Profancik's reviews of the mini-series and the first two seasons, I was ready for anything.

With trusty journalistic digital recorder in hand, the festivities opened with a montage of the first four years on the big screen (quite impressive) and the introduction of host Lucy Lawless (Number Three). At this point, they put the kibosh on any recording devices and the vigilant eyes of the dome's security team made sure people complied. So I covered the event old school with writers cramp and seven pages of barely discernible notes. Lucky for you I can read my own half-baked writing.

The first question to Ron and David was the recent announcement that the show would be ending with Season Four -- a thought that was on the minds of everyone in the room. David admitted this plan started taking shape during Season Two and was cemented with the discovery of The Temple of Five in Season Three's "The Eye of Jupiter." At this point Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama), referred to the rest of the evening as Eddie, jumped in to say when he was originally approached about the project back in 2001, Ron and David said this would be a finite run. What cemented that plan were several issues including the flawed Neilsen ratings system (which does not calibrate for minorities) and that most of the fans download the show rather than watch it broadcast on SciFi Channel. Lucy then went around the group and asked for their thought's on the series final season...

Jamie Bamber (Apollo) jokingly said he could care less about the show ending, as he was "tired of being David and Ron's bitch."

Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin) commented "it's hard to contemplate giving it up," but each scene they film from here on out takes on a much greater emotional significance.

Eddie made the point of saying "the powers-that-be won't understand what the show means until 20 years from now," and that he's blessed to have been part of a series whose mirror of modern society has been so profound. "You will never see another program like this in your lifetime."

Moving on to favorite moments, Lucy -- who is just as big a geek about the show as anyone in the room -- said hers was seeing how Jamie's penis can hold up a towel all on its own. Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) had two: the day she learned of Kara's death and one of her favorite nude scenes when she took off the pasties only to have paint slathered on her breasts to hide the nipples. Hey, I didn't say this was going to be a family friendly report.

The conversation then turned to Ron and David regarding the origins and development of the series, rebooting Glen Larson's original vision. David reiterated the strong support of the network in "wanting it different from all other space shows." Interestingly enough, Battlestar is the only '70s adventure series David has not seen. Ron underscored the point by saying "it's still the same franchise." In fact, he went back to the three-hour pilot of the original series for inspiration, making it about the truth of the today's world while not turning it into a political soapbox. They were simply "fearless" in their approach to the storytelling and the fans picked up on it. Now, with "two chapters left to go," they are headed to Earth -- "whatever that may be." For this final season, it's about "having a plan, but making it flexible." David and Ron are providing "the big picture" and letting the writing team run with the ball to fill in the blanks. There may be more stories to tell in the Galactica universe (Ron has written the pilot for a Caprica series), but this story -- the one that started in the mini-series -- is coming to it's natural close.

Other interesting responses to Lucy's questioning of the team...

* Eddie gave copies of Deva Premal's "Gayatri Mantra" to the entire cast and crew during the mini-series and Mary believes it gave the series its soul.

* David said musical plays an integral part in the series, getting to the "primal guts for the birth of a civilization."

* Eddie and Mary are seen the role models for everyone involved in the show, each "owning" the worlds they inhabit.

* Eddie was originally drawn to the project by Ron's three-page prologue (aka The Bible) which was nothing more than a sales document to cut against potential knee-jerk reactions of the title of the pilot script.

With four standing mics in the audience (two on the main floor and two in the upper level), Lucy opened the floor to questions...

Q: Is there anything you'd like to see happen before the show ends?
A: Mary - "I'd like to stay alive."
A: Jamie - "I don't care. I've surrendered the character and whatever happens can't help but be riveting."

Q: What was the significance of using Bob Dylan's "Along the Watch Tower" to underscore the big reveal in Season Three?
A: Ron - "Jason Katims gave me the Dylan disease on Roswell." He'd been trying to work the tune into the series since the mini-series but it had never found an appropriate home until now.

Q: What's the deal with Jamie's weight?
A: Jamie - "Lots of binging and purging."

Q: I'd like to congratulate Mr. Olmos on his ALMA award.
A: Jamie - "What did you win?"
A: Mary - "What's an ALMA?"

Q: Is there a reason we didn't see much in the way of Baltar/Head Six mind games in Season Three?
A: Ron - "David wound up cutting most of it out because the writers weren't doing anything new with it. You'll see new riffs in Season Four."

Q: Were there any tough acting moments you encountered?
A: Mary - "Taking a stand for genocide. I didn't want to put that into the world, even if it was fictional."

Q: Did you base your characters on people in real life?
A: Katee - "Starbuck is my brother, through and through."
A: Jamie - "I just got a chance to fly with the Blue Angels. Wish I could have done that before the series started."

Q: Can you talk a little about the unique production design of the show?
A: David - "The asethic is a combination of cinema verite and documentary. The human drama comes first and the SciFi second. We actually drew on three films as inspiration -- Alien, BlackHawk Down, and Blade Runner -- which is why I feel I should write Ridley Scott a check every time the show airs. Also credit Michael Rymer, who established the 'you are there' visceral look and feel in the mini-series."

Q: Will you resolve all the loose ends, like "Where are Boxey and Bulldog?"
A: Ron - "The technical term in the writers room is 'mistakes.' Some things just don't fly."

Q: What are your literary influences?
A: Ron - "David and I are both poli-sci majors. In fact, all of the writers are history buffs."

Q: Will Adama ever get laid?
A: Eddie - "Ask Laura."
A: Mary - "Who says he didn't?" (pot smoking incident)
A: Katee - "Doesn't that just make you want Taco Bell?"
A: Mary - "It never made me want Taco Bell!"

Q: Will you introduce any queer sexuality before the series ends?
A: David - "There's a bit in 'Razor.'"
A: Ron - "That's right! But it's a general failure of the series."

Q: Can you tell us about 'Razor'?
A: Ron - "It takes place during the events of Season Two, working backwards in time. Most of the regular series cast is involved, even if they make only brief appearances. It's one of the bonus episodes that will premiere in the fall and on DVD about the same time."

Q: Do you believe in happy endings?
A: Ron - "It's all about the yearning. It's the lack of satisfaction in these characters that keeps you invested."

Q: Was it a difficult decision to end the series now?
A: David - "It really sucks to end something. You don't want to say goodbye, but you have to."

Q: How much production time remains?
A: David - "We just started filming three weeks ago. We'll be shooting until March."
A: Ron - "This is like Senior Year."
A: Katee - "I never showed up Senior Year."

Q: What will you miss?
A: Mary - "I never had a fan experience like this. I will miss it a lot. It's been very rewarding."
A: Jamie - "I've learned so much from the fan's insights. It's been an utter revelation to me. You complete the creative process."
A: Katee - "I got hate mail in the beginning and then it shifted. The fans follow you to other projects and support you even if it sucks. I've never had this before. Thank you for accepting me without a package (penis)."

Q: What is the legacy of Battlestar?
A: Ron - "Leaving behind a body of work that means something. I'm proud of the people, the memories, and the show."
A: David - "“I just know that Season Four is going to kick some almighty ass."

And with that, the gang said their thank you's to the audience, requested applause for the writers and production folks seated in the audience -- including director Bob Young -- said their goodbyes, and we all saw a quick preview of "Razor" which features the Pegasus and one of its commanding officers played by Michelle Forbes who many will remember as Ensign Ro from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Unfortunately, I missed out on pre-event showing of the Season Three finale and the VIP reception that followed, only because our contacts at NBC/Universal didn't tell me they would be taking place. However, I am heading up to Vancouver at the end of June for SciFi Channel's press tour and will bring you even more Galactica info direct from the set.