Bullz-Eye had a chance to ask a few questions to members of the cast and crew of “Battlestar Galactica” on the eve of the premiere of the new season, but we figured we’d wait until just after the season premiere before posting it…

Bullz-Eye: Mary, at the end of last season, your character left office and went back to teaching. What can we expect from the new season after the occupation?

Mary McDonnell (“Laura Roslin”): She’s still teaching. But I think One thing you can trust about Laura Roslin is her passion for the fleet and her commitment to getting them to Earth doesn’t really go away, so whatever hat she’s wearing, I think the agenda remains the same.

BE: And, David, it was pretty bold to close out the season with the start of the occupation instead of ending it with the blast or just after. What went into the decision to end the season a year later, when the Cylons arrived?

David Eick (Executive Producer): I think that it was very clear to us that, in order to advance the story to that critical point, you needed a believable amount of time to go by. And that period of time, in order for all of the colonial society’s guard to be adequately down, they needed to exist through that period in such a way that they believed themselves to be safe. As a practical matter, doing several episodes in which everyone thinks they’re safe and fine and nothing happens didn’t seem like a wise thing to do! So we advanced the story to that point, that sort of event horizon, in which the safety that they believed themselves to be fortunate enough to have found, is suddenly yanked out from under them, and it was really for no other practical reason than that. I know some people…I mean, there seems to be some division. People had their minds blown by it, people thought it was a trick, people thought it was a dream, people thought it was a gimmick. For the most part, people seemed to really respond to it in a very favorable way. But the truth is, the motivation for it…it wasn’t a gimmick at all; it was really just a practical way to tell that story.

BE: And James, what do you think drives Baltar more: power, fame, or the love of a good Cylon?

James Callis (“Dr. Gaius Baltar”): (Laughs) Um…

Mary: (Laughs)

James: It’s, uh…I don’t think he’s particularly interested in power. I think that’s why he’s not so good at presidential stuff. So I would say it’s probably the love of a good Cylon.

Mary: (Laughs)

BE: Do you think he’ll seek redemption for his past actions?

James: He’s constantly seeking redemption, every day. And in some way, the axis of his redemption is built…there’s a fulcrum, and on the other side is everybody else, and he kind of has to, uh, meet everybody else to get his redemption, if you know what I mean.

Mary: Can I say something?

BE: Sure!

Mary: It’s one of the things that I love about the character of Baltar…as a viewer. I’m not speaking as Roslin right now…but even as Roslin, there’s something going on in him that she can’t put her finger on, and I think that what James said has something to do with that. There’s something in him that you understand is seeking something good. Otherwise, there’s no reason why, knowing my character, she wouldn’t have tossed him out an airlock by now if she could!