Galactica season 4 a go?

According to TV Guide, Battlestar Galactica has gotten a 13-episode order for season 4:

No official confirmation from Sci Fi, but the Los Angeles Times says a formal announcement is expected later today. The Times also is confirming that a major character will be unmasked as a Cylon before the end of the season. And if my BSG mole is to be believed, it's not Starbuck.

I have somewhat mixed feelings on this. While I'm happy a quality show like this is getting a life extension, it still chafes that Farscape had a significantly smaller ratings dropoff when SciFi canceled its order for season 5. And it goes without saying that even an abbreviated season 4 will be for naught if Ron Moore and his crew don't do a major course correction and get Galactica out of this morose soap opera rut they've fallen into.

As for the Cylon mole, this runor has been floating around for a while now. Apparently, Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) is leaving the series (at least temporarily) around the season finale, so folks are saying she'll be revealed as a Cylon. Which really doesn't make a whole lot of logical sense. Sure, there's a "hint" she's Cylon back in season 1, when she flies that damaged raider back to the fleet. But that was more of a remake of the Starbuck episode from Galactica 1980 than anything else. If she were really a Cylon, then why would she be imprisoned and forced to "fall in love" with another Cylon on New Caprica? Sure, you could explain it away by saying the Cylons didn't know she was one of them, but that's simply stupid storytelling. This whole idea of Cylons not knowing all the models seems to have taken root late in season 2, if not early in season 3. That making it up as they go along is leaving room for some significant continuity gaffes.

Baltar's not a Cylon. Making him a Cylon would destroy the beauty and complexity of his character. Admiral Adama's not a Cylon. If he were, the series should've ended five minutes into the miniseries. And he's had children--Zac and Apollo. Likewise, Apollo can't be a Cylon, because Cylons aren't milquetoast crybabies. I can't fathom Tigh being a Cylon, simply because, like Adama, were he a Cylon the series should've ended with the miniseries, or even when Adama was shot and Tigh put in command. It can't be Chief or Callie, since they've had a baby--a big issue with Cylons, you'll remember. Starbuck's guerrilla husband? Maybe, but he doesn't strike me as a major enough character for this to be a great shock (although eliminating him and Starbuck at the same time would have a nifty kind of symmetry). And it can't be Helo, again, because of the whole Cylon/human baby issue. President Roslyn? I thought Cylons didn't get cancer? Strike her from the list.

So that leaves one likely choice, as far as I'm concerned: Dee, Apollo's wife and Galactica bridge officer. She's cute, quiet and somewhat timid for an officer, but has shown she's made of sterner stuff underneath. She's been a regular since the start of the series, so revealing her as a Cylon would reverberate as a major betrayal. And since she's a series regular, it constitutes a status quo shakeup without a simultaneous cast shakeup. At least, that's my thinking. Too bad they've never shown a tawdry love scene between her and Apollo--a glowing spine would pretty much settle the question once and for all, wouldn't it?

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