Friday, April 4, 2008. That's the date that we'll be blessed by Season 4 premiere of Battlestar Galactica. It's been a long road: the series launched with it's pilot miniseries in 2003, and it's been an awesome road ever since.

For me, the road has been substantially (and mercifully) less long. You may recall that I only got hooked o BSG a year ago, but I am a 100% devotee. BSG renewed my faith in sci-fi television with solid writing, directing, and even that most elusive of sci-fi qualities, good acting.

But the question on all our minds has been burning ever since the big reveal at the end of season 3: who is the final Cylon? For that, I'll go to the extended entry to avoid spoiling those of you presently unindoctrinated, and those who wish to remain blissfully unaware...

Safe then? Excellent. So executive producer and head writer Ronald D. Moore has provided us with a tremendous and tasteful hint on the Entertainment Weekly website. It's a cast photo loosely in the form of The Last Supper. You can scroll back and forth and click the numbers for extra tidbits. But the real clincher? According to Moore, the final Cylon is NOT in the photo.

I'm tingling right now.

There are humans and Cylons in the photo. So who is ruled out?

- Commander William Adama
- President Laura Roslin
- Lee Adama
- Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
- Dr. Gaius Baltar
- Captain Karl "Helo" Agathon

Uh... WOW. That's quite the hint, isn't it? I mean, let's face it: if you had a theory (or theories) about who you THOUGHT the final Cylon was, it's just been completely blown out of the frakking water, hasn't it? Okay, so who's left?

Specialist Cally Tyrol: This one is a no right off the bat. We know that Cylons can't reproduce with eachother. Cally and Galen's kid is the second Cylon-Human hybrid. That means Cally has to be human.

Lieutenant Anastasia "Dee" Dualla: There's absolutely nothing that could exonerate Dee from suspicion of Cylonhood. But to be honest, it really just doesn't feel like there's anything here. It would be quite a twist if Dee was the final Cylon, but I doubt it.

Ellen Tigh: Yes, I know she's dead. But did that ever stop a Cylon before? Ellen spent the entire period between the attacks and her death undermining things in some way or another. She passed a Cylon-detector test, but only after Dr. Baltar had rigged it to pass everyone. Also, we can presume that her and Colonel Tigh have been together for quite some time, yet they've never had a child. Coincidence? Perhaps.

Vice President Tom Zarek: Here's an intriguing one. A fellow who is a convicted terrorist who spent years undermining the colonies. He may have strong principles now, but that's never ruled anyone out as a Cylon before. And man, having the one holdover actor from the original series be the final Cylon in the new one? That WOULD be something. After all, "All this has happened before, and all this will happen again."

Lieutenant Felix Gaeta: Oh, Gaeta. The accidental career officer whose personal life we know nearly nothing about. Felix Gaeta is a long loose end. For example, in the episode "Taking a Break from All Your Worries", we learn that Gaius Baltar knows a secret about Gaeta. Baltar whispers it to Gaeta in order to provoke him. Gaeta responds curtly by stabbing Baltar in the neck with a frakking pen and threatening to kill him. Furthermore, Gaeta perjured himself at Baltar's trial, claiming that then President Baltar offered no resistance when ordered to sign the infamous deathlist. A trial in which a guilty verdict would likely have cost Baltar his life. What does Baltar know about Gaeta?

So there it is. For the discriminating detective, your money is likely on Zarek, Gaeta, or a character so minor it's going to hit us completely out of left field (a parent of one of the main characters, perhaps). Given the way every season has ended so far, my money's on option three.