Ronald D Moore

THE critically lauded "Battlestar Galactica," Sci Fi Channel's remake of the fluffy 1978 television series, was politically minded from the outset. The 2003 miniseries began with the genocide of billions of people in a Sept. 11-like attack by the Cylons, a mysterious race of robots. The show, now in its third season, has mostly been set in space, as the survivors on the Battlestar fleet have tried to evade the Cylons.

In the midst of all its programming woes, NBC has managed to achieve something close to the impossible -- a prequel series that should not only please all comers but may expand the demographic of science fiction fans everywhere. Debuting on SyFy (though it could just as easily be moved to that barren 10 p.m. slot on NBC), " Caprica" is set 58 years before the Cylon wars that propel " Battlestar Galactica" and tells how the Cylons came to be. The shows may share the same DNA -- that of creator Ronald D. Moore -- but they are different in tone and intent, offering solace to those jonesing for "Galactic" and a whole new world to contemplate for those who aren't.

In the midst of all its programming woes, NBC has managed to achieve something close to the impossible -- a prequel series that should not only please all comers but may expand the demographic of science fiction fans everywhere. Debuting on SyFy (though it could just as easily be moved to that barren 10 p.m. slot on NBC), " Caprica" is set 58 years before the Cylon wars that propel " Battlestar Galactica" and tells how the Cylons came to be. The shows may share the same DNA -- that of creator Ronald D. Moore -- but they are different in tone and intent, offering solace to those jonesing for "Galactic" and a whole new world to contemplate for those who aren't.

Ronald D. Moore, the executive producer who runs "Battlestar Galactica," is gearing up for the long goodbye by taking on a new task. He will take the director's chair for the first time next season as his dramatic reinvention of the hokey 1970s' space opera treks toward the end. The final 20-episode run will kick off in -- you read it here first -- early April.

Ronald D. Moore, the executive producer who runs "Battlestar Galactica," is gearing up for the long goodbye by taking on a new task. He will take the director's chair for the first time next season as his dramatic reinvention of the hokey 1970s' space opera treks toward the end. The final 20-episode run will kick off in -- you read it here first -- early April.

The Burbank Airport Hilton and Convention Center will host a "Star Trek" convention Oct. 30. The event's highlights include appearances by Jonathan Frakes of the coming feature film, "Star Trek: Generations," and Siddig El Fadil of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Ronald D. Moore and Brandon Braga, Emmy-nominated producers of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and writers of "Generations," will also appear. Information: (213) 480-3232.

Over the summer, Katee Sackhoff, who plays Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on "Battlestar Galactica," received a nerve-racking phone call from Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, the show's executive producers. "David and Ron said, 'We want to start this phone call out by saying that we love you,' " Sackhoff recalled last week. Sackhoff knew she might not like what came next. And she didn't. "They said, 'You're not really gonna die -- but we're gonna blow you up.'

Notwithstanding the title attached to my byline, I am the last person to ask why things do or do not happen in the TV business. But I can say with some assurance that decisions are not always based on quality of work. If they were, "Virtuality," a "failed" pilot from Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor of "Battlestar Galactica," would be the first episode of a series and not merely the stand-alone "movie" Fox will present it as tonight.

Going boldly where no one has gone before is not what it used to be. Contentedly settled into a prosperous middle age, the "Star Trek" series now seems more comfortable retracing its own footsteps, carefully offering its horde of fans interludes that aspire to do no more than fit snugly into the patterns of the past.

This is a test. This is only a test. Can anyone outside the hard-core faithful tell the "Star Trek" movies apart? One featured whales, but was it "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" or "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier"? And at this late date who remembers just what it was that made Khan so angry in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"? That blurring is not likely to happen with "Star Trek: First Contact," the eighth movie in a series that may yet see more episodes than Andy Hardy.

THE critically lauded "Battlestar Galactica," Sci Fi Channel's remake of the fluffy 1978 television series, was politically minded from the outset. The 2003 miniseries began with the genocide of billions of people in a Sept. 11-like attack by the Cylons, a mysterious race of robots. The show, now in its third season, has mostly been set in space, as the survivors on the Battlestar fleet have tried to evade the Cylons.

From "MASH" to "St. Elsewhere" to "The Sopranos" to "Seinfeld," all long-running television shows become myths at some point or another, reflecting, within the confines of their own universes, the disparate nature of human experience. Yes, they're entertaining, but to keep an audience committed year after year, a show must offer enlightenment, even if it's just the recognition that the corruptible nature of power extends to the Soup Nazi.

Fast & Furious Universal, $29.98/$34.98; Blu-ray, $39.98 Though the 2001 chase flick "The Fast and the Furious" was a lot of fun, very little about its milieu of rule-bending cops and heroic car thieves screamed "franchise." Nevertheless, it's kind of nice to see stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster together again, racing around in exotic climes in the fourth film in the series, the curtly titled "Fast & Furious."