Dark Star.

“[I]n keeping with the show’s ominous tone, instead of quick resolutions or merciful diversions, the darkness reaches a palpable extreme during the premiere of the third season…The uninitiated may continue to write off ‘Battlestar Galactica‘ as the remake of a mediocre show, or as the domain of science fiction fans alone, but those who’ve watched the show more than once or twice know better.” Reminder: As noted a week ago, Battlestar Galactica returns tonight. Right now, Season 3 is pulling a 93 over at Metacritic, who call it “the second-best show on television.”

Ten Doctors, Twelve Cylons.

Season 2 of BBC’s Doctor Who revival premieres tonight on Sci-Fi, with — as most of y’all know — David Tennant (a.k.a. Barty Crouch, Jr. of Goblet of Fire) filling in for Christopher Eccleston as the second/tenth Doc. Meanwhile, season 3 of Battlestar Galactica doesn’t begin until October 6, so you still have a week to catch up on the Vichy/Resistance webisodes online.

Starbucking for an Emmy.

“Many of you are already fans. Some of you urged us to watch the show at the very beginning. We know you’ll clutch this golden Buffy to your bosom with pride. But others of you — and we’re addressing you, Emmy voters, directly here — ignore us like the petulant little pills you are.” Salon chooses Battlestar Galactica as the recipient of its third annual Buffy award for the most underappreciated show on television. (And, in case you have any doubts about the selection committee, they also had the sense to pick The Wire the first time around.)

Who Two | BSG Three.

Sci-Fi announces they’ll be airing Season 2 of Doctor Who, with David Tennant (a.k.a. Barty Crouch Jr. of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as the Gallifreyan in question, sooner than expected: it begins Sept. 29. And in related news, the TV teaser for Battlestar Galactica Season 3 is up at YouTube…if you’ve never seen the show, please don’t hold that lame Nickleback-ish song in the background against it.

Comic, Comic, Comic, Comic, Comic, Chameleon.

As most of y’all likely already know, this past weekend was Comic-Con 2006 in San Diego, which means an exceedingly large amount of news in the fanboy department. To wit:

  • Regarding perhaps the most anticipated comic-to-film property nearing post-production, Sam Raimi’s Spiderman 3, the attending panel offered a number of new shots of the main characters, including an iconic poster of Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman and — at right — That 70s Show‘s Topher Grace, a.k.a. Venom, having a painful-looking first run-in with the black suit/symbiote.

  • Also in Marvel’s wheelhouse, Jon Favreau premiered the teaser poster for his take on Iron Man, and confirmed the villain of his film, the Mandarin.

  • In other Marvel news, Louis Leterrier’s Incredible Hulk has picked a villain, too, that being the Abomination.

  • On the DC side, Bryan Singer is looking to revisit Superman in 2009, even though the jury’s still out on Superman Returns.

  • The inimitable Peter Jackson, via remote (and still not making The Hobbit) showed off a scene from his extended DVD version of King Kong (my love of the extended LotR versions notwithstanding, count me among those who thought Kong needed tightening more than anything else.)

  • Not Comic-Con news, per se, but worth mentioning here: Former Jedi Samuel Jackson and Hayden Christensen may reunite for the film version of Steven Gould’s Jumper, a surprisingly solid little take on the hoary old teleportation meme, to be directed by Doug Liman of Swingers and The Bourne Identity.
  • J.J. Abrams of Lost, Alias, and M:I:III brought along a teaser poster for his Trek reboot, which, word has it, puts young Kirk (Matt Damon?) and Spock back at Starfleet Academy.

  • In other sci-fi television news, J. Michael Straczynski announced he’ll be revisiting the world of Babylon 5, albeit in straight-to-video spinoffs.

  • Also regarding sci-fi on the telly, Battlestar Galactica‘s Ron Moore showed up to kick some more k-nowledge about BSG Season 3, due in October (which complement the recent spoilers here.)

  • And lots of other news, including Kurt Russell in Quentin Tarantino’s half of Grindhouse, a look at Zack Snyder’s 300, talk of the Star Wars spinoffs, teaser posters for Michael Bay’s Transformers, and descriptions of clips from Neil Gaiman/Matthew Vaughn’s Stardust. Yep, Comic-Con seems like good fun…perhaps I’ll make it out someday.
  • By their command.

    In keeping with their Stargate marketing strategy, I presume, Sci-Fi announces a new prequel-series to Battlestar: Galactica, Caprica, set 50 years before BSG. “Following the lives of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas (the family of William Adama, who will one day become the commander of the ‘Battlestar Galactica’) ‘Caprica’ weaves corporate intrigue, techno-action and sexual politics into television’s first science fiction family saga.” Um, ok. I think I’d rather just see BSG stay good through Season 3.

    Lay Down Your Burdens / Who’s Next.

    Those of you who care already know this — but still, the second season of Battlestar Galactica ends tonight with a 90-minute episode that includes cylon Dean Stockwell, a one year flash-forward, and a new Vichy-like storyline for Season 3, which begins airing in October. And The Sopranos Season Six isn’t the only big-ticket TV premiere coming up. March 17 is shaping up to be a doozy for the fanboy nation (particularly we anglophiles), as Guy Fawkes will be muscling in on St. Patrick in V for Vendetta and the Doctor will finally be returning to American television with a two-hour premiere on Sci-Fi.