By Maureen Ryan
January 17,2009
This post contains extensive interviews and information about “Sometimes a Great Notion,” the Jan. 16 episode of Sci Fi's "Battlestar Galactica."
Below, “Battlestar Galactica” executive producer Ronald D. Moore talks in detail about several big developments in the episode. I'd recommend watching the episode before reading the full text of the post.
Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, who wrote the episode, penned essays about how they arrived at “Notion’s” title, the influence of a Ken Kesey novel on the episode, how they came up with its story lines -- including the "swimming fox" story -- and also about the episode’s challenging production process. Just as they were in the middle of preparation for the episode, a storm nearly destroyed all the outdoor sets and the Writers Guild of America strike began.
The episode's director, Michael Nankin, weighed in as well on the filming of this episode. Among other things, he relates a very interesting story about how a particular character's sad story was creatively echoed in the episode's score.
After Nankin's comments, there are a few thoughts from me about this shocking and impressive episode.
