(Kotaku) – The battle for the future of humanity is joined, as MMO developer Bigpoint reveals the launch of the closed beta test for browser-based MMO Battlestar Galactica Online. Get a peek at what fashionable humans and Cylons will be wearing this fall.

Players from across Europe and the U.S. are now flying the unfriendly space lanes of Battlestar Galactica Online. During this early phase of testing, players can create human or Cylon characters and engage in a training mission, after which they are free to roam the galaxy, engaging in battles against AI opponents and other players in between exciting bouts of mining.

Bigpoint will be allowing more players into the closed beta in the coming weeks, leading up to the open beta tentatively scheduled for December. For your chance at a piece of the action, visit the official Battlestar Galactica Online website.

Paula Yoo - Writer/Co-Producer of SyFy's Eureka

Paula Yoo has one of the coolest jobs on the planet – she’s a writer and co-producer for the SyFy Channel’s hit show, Eureka. The show is currently in the offseason, but will return for an Xmas episode in December and Season 4.5 next year. Paula has also written for NBC’s West Wing and Fox’s Tru Calling (yes, she wrote for the Dushku).

BG: How did you get the Eureka gig?
PY: My agents and manager set up meetings for me with various TV network executives and showrunners for potential jobs. This is a very common practice in the industry. So they arranged for some meetings with the Eureka folks, and that’s how I got the job! I feel very lucky to be on such a wonderful show – I love the characters and the sci-fi elements. I also think our actors and production crew are amazing. I am grateful to work with such talented writers – I learn a lot from their veteran writing experience, too.

BG: How do you decide who writes what and does everybody make a contribution to each episode?
PY: Every show works differently. In general, writers sit in a writers’ room and pitch ideas and discuss character arcs for the series. Eventually, writers are assigned certain episodes to write. In the end, it’s a total 100 percent team effort and everyone contributes to the entire process of putting an episode on the air. It’s a really fun job!

BG: How many episodes of Tru Calling did you write? Were you disappointed (like the rest of us) that it ended so abruptly?
PY: I was lucky enough to co-write one episode with Stephanie Williams and Scott Shepherd. (“The Getaway” Story by Scott Shepherd and Teleplay by Stephanie Williams & Paula Yoo). And yes, I was very bummed the show ended because I thought it introduced a lot of really cool areas of mythology to explore near the end of the first season and the start of the second season. Still, it was a fun show to write for – as a Buffy fan, who knew I’d be writing for the awesome Eliza Dushku?

BG: As a sci-fi writer, when is it okay to fudge on the science part?
PY: Whenever I write anything involving science, I try to be as accurate as possible. Ultimately, the story is the most important focus. If I do take any liberties with the science, I try to make sure that the general laws of science still apply. The actual liberties are poetic and fictional licenses where I can make up something. And when I do make up something, I try to keep it within a rational realm where it’s conceivable that this type of technology could possibly happen in the future. I’m always amazed at what our real-life scientists are capable of right now – the advances they’re making in science and technology seem like science fiction but these advances actually exist! It’s an exciting time for science and technology!

BG: Do you have a preferred gaming console? What games are your favorites?
PY: I’m not officially a gamer. I’m usually too busy writing. I know I’m about to date myself, but when the first Tomb Raider and original Metal Gear Solid came out on Playstation 1, I was BLOWN AWAY. I had no idea video games could have such intricate and exciting movie plots. I would play Tomb Raider and MGS for HOURS. Now those games seem so basic compared to the incredible advances they’ve made in gaming since then! But I still love those classic games. I also really loved Tao Feng, this cool fighting game by the guys who did Mortal Kombat. I tend to like fighting games or puzzle/journey games like Zelda and Tomb Raider. I like Halo but it makes me too dizzy so I can’t play it. We have a Wii, Playstation 2, XBox, GameCube, and I am addicted to Solitaire and Tetris on my iPhone.

BG: One last question, Star Trek or Star Wars…or BSG?
PY: Star Trek. I love Star Wars and of course I love BSG. But always, hands down, Star Trek. I love them ALL – original Star Trek and Next Gen AND DS9 AND Voyager AND Enterprise.

Outside of Eureka, Paula is also an author. Her debut novel, Good Enough, isn’t sci-fi, but it is hilarious and inspiring. She also shreds on the violin and has taught her cat, Oreo (who has more followers than I do), how to tweet. Check out Paula online at www.paulayoo.com or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/paulayoo, where she sometimes tweets about hijinks from the writers’ room at Eureka.

Author - Michele Hale

Michele is an indie author and publisher from Austin, Texas. She loves roller derby, tattoos and science fiction. She is the founder of Cowgirlie Publishing and is currently working on a three-book sci-fi series due out in 2011.

website: www.michelejhale.com
twitter: www.twitter.com/michelejhale

Red Faction coming to SyFy

(Gamespot) – In February, publisher THQ and cable channel SyFy announced a deal that would see the latter develop a show based on the former’s hit platformer de Blob. Today, Broadcasting & Cable reports that the science-fiction-focused network is now developing a telefilm based on another THQ property: Red Faction.

According to the trade, the two-hour Red Faction movie will be a potential pilot for a TV series based on the franchise, which was itself partially inspired by the film Total Recall. A similar arrangement saw a 2003 miniseries remake based on the 1970s show Battlestar Galactica turn into a full-fledged, and award-winning, series that ran from 2004 to 2009.

“It is the kind of content that fits our genre,” senior VP of SyFy Ventures Alan Seiffert told B&C. “It is a great fit for a big Syfy Saturday movie, and if it really works, it is a great backdoor pilot.”

The deal will cut both ways, with future Red Faction games being coproduced by the SyFy Games label. According to the latest THQ financial report, Red Faction 4 has been moved up to arrive during the publisher’s current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2011. CEO Brian Farrell said the game’s release had been advanced to capitalize on the popularity of the critically acclaimed Red Faction: Guerrilla and promised “robust online gameplay” and increased environmental destruction.

The network has also struck a deal with THQ to develop a DS, iPhone, and iPad game based on the upcoming reality show Ghost Hunters Academy. The show will be a spin-off of the current SyFy series Ghost Hunters, which follows two paranormal sleuths trying to capture evidence of supernatural activities.

The cast of SyFy's Warehouse 13 (left to right): Eddie McClintock, Saul Rubinek, and Joanne Kelly

I’ve made it pretty clear that in the last year or so, I’ve began to lose faith in the Sci-Fi (now known as “SyFy”, ugh) channel. It’s been pretty clear that the channel is more interested in reality shows, my least favorite of all TV shows, to wrestling, which I barely tolerate, than in actual science fiction shows. They redeemed themselves briefly with the announcement of the Ultimate Gamer (which as far as reality shows go, I can at least get into because of the gaming) but then just as quickly lost me once again with the cancellation of Battle Star Galactica a full year early.

There have been other hiccups along the way; cancelling Stargate Atlantis, running Ghost Hunters marathons more than once a week, running Moonlight now that it is cancelled, the lack of an announcement as to whether Doctor Who will be returning to the Friday night lineup, if at all, and the insult to injury, changing the spelling of their name to SyFy. Were they afraid people were pronouncing the channel’s name wrong? All of these things add up to make me think someone over there has lost their mind.

Fortunately, there have been some recent events that have given me a bit of hope for one of my longtime favorite channels. Eureka has slipped into a Friday spot and is back on the air, Primeval is shaping up to be a very interesting bit of British drama, and Caprica should be hitting the channel in the near future. All of this gives me some faith but I would have to say that most recently, the show Warehouse 13, while catching me completely off-guard, has also given me more than a fair share of hope for the future of the network.

Initially, I felt the advertisements made it look like a more light-hearted X-Files. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but this is Sci-Fi we’re talking about and they’ve been hit or miss on their new shows for the past few years. And while my initial impression was somewhat correct, I’m happy to say that the show may very well become one of my favorite things on TV.

A picture of the Farnsworth, the two way Audio/Video communicator used on Warehouse 13

Warehouse 13 takes two Secret Service agents, throws them out in the middle of nowhere after saving the President of the United States, and puts them in charge of finding and storing strange and bizarre artifacts while taking their orders from a very odd supervisor. It feels a little cliche at first but once you’ve watched the pilot all the way through, you may find yourself as hooked as I am.

Not only is the humor well written and well acted by the capable cast, there is a fair amount of very good chemistry between the actors. I’ve learned it may not always be as peachy between the actors as it is on the screen but there seems to be some honest camraderie among the cast members. Eddie McClintock plays Agent Pete Lattimer, an instinctively gifted Secret Service agent while Joanne Kelly plays his factually driven, keen eye for detail partner, Myka Bering. Rounding out the cast is the gifted Saul Rubinek who plays the slightly “off”, possibly demented in some fashion Artie Nielsen, the Warehouse 13 supervisor.

As Lattimer and Bering manage to track down and eventually “snag, bag, and tag” the artifact they are sent to recover each week, Artie assists them from the Warehouse, providing helpful information, random information, and some actual facts about history, science, and in some cases, “magic”. All three have a strong presence on screen and their combined talents leaves me wanting more each week.

If you’re interested in catching the show, new episodes air on SyFy on Tuesday nights at 9/8 Central with the previous week’s episode airing right before the new episode. You can also learn more about the show, the plot, and the cast by visiting syfy.com.

Now let’s all hope SyFy doesn’t cancel it after one season and actually gives it a chance to get its legs under it and run for awhile.

Gritskrieg – End of Line