Firefly

(June 27 2006) - In less than a week, "Battlestar Galactica" could be up for a coveted Emmy award. But in the meantime, it’s getting plenty of recognition in the virtual online world after the SciFi Channel show picked up 12 nominations to lead the seventh SyFy Genre Awards.

The question remains, however: Will "Battlestar Galactica" pick up a few wins this year, or will it be shut out like it was last year when it led nominations?

We’ll find out when voting begins (tentatively) on July 10. Visitors to the site will be allowed to vote once per day for 30 days from the nominees, which also includes nods for "Firefly," "Lost" and British series "Doctor Who."

This already, by far, has been the most unusual awards year for SyFy since the Genre Awards started in 1999. To allow full seasons of most television shows to be considered, the awards were moved back two months to end its eligibility period on May 31 instead of Feb. 28 as it’s been in previous years. On top of that, now-cancelled shows like "Firefly" and "Wonderfalls" became eligible for key categories because never-before-aired episodes of both shows were broadcast on SciFi Channel and the Logo network respectively. Only the episodes aired are eligible for specific awards, but the actors and the shows themselves are up for main awards, including BEST SERIES/Television, which both "Firefly" and "Wonderfalls" received nominations for.

And in what has simply continued the curse of the Genre Awards, which has never started on time in the seven years they’ve been conducted, SyFy Portal was attacked a few weeks ago, shutting down the staff’s ability to update news. Because the site’s single-person programming crew had to concentrate on getting the site back online, which has forced the delay of the genre awards voting, originally scheduled to begin on June 25. Leigh Christian Ashton, SyFy Portal’s lead programmer, says he expects to have the ballots ready to go July 10, which will then become the official start of the voting period.

"Battlestar Galactica" has received nominations in every single television category, including Edward James Olmos for BEST ACTOR/Television and Mary McDonnell for BEST ACTRESS/Television. The two play Adm. William Adama and former president Laura Roslin in the series.

Also getting nods from the show were both Jamie Bamber (Apollo) and James Callis (Baltar) for BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR/Television, and the "women of Galactica," Tricia Helfer (Number Six), Grace Park (Boomer) and Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) for BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS/Television.

Michelle Forbes, who played Adm. Cain in three episodes of the show’s second season, was nominated for her work in "Pegasus." Also, besides BEST SERIES/Television, the show was nominated for three episodes in the BEST EPISODE/Television category: "Downloaded," "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2" and "Scar."

A new feature of this year’s awards is Best Web Site. Up for consideration are Bloody Disgusting, GateWorld, Kryptonsite, SciFi Wire and Whedonesque.

The nominees were chosen by an international nominating committee consisting of both readers and SyFy Portal staff for programs and movies that originally aired or premiered in the United States between March 1, 2005 and May 31, 2006. For more information on the Genre Awards, read our Wikipedia listing here.

BEST ACTOR/Television
Ben Browder, "Stargate SG-1"
Christopher Eccleston, "Doctor Who"
Nathan Fillion, "Firefly"
Matthew Fox, "Lost"
Edward James Olmos, "Battlestar Galactica"

BEST ACTRESS/Television
Caroline Dhavernas, "Wonderfalls"
Jennifer Love Hewitt, "Ghost Whisperer"
Evangeline Lilly, "Lost"
Mary McDonnell, "Battlestar Galactica"
Billie Piper, "Doctor Who"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR/Television
Adam Baldwin, "Firefly"
Jamie Bamber, "Battlestar Galactica"
James Callis, "Battlestar Galactica"
Terry O’Quinn, "Lost"
Michael Shanks, "Stargate SG-1"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS/Television
Amy Acker, "Alias"
Tricia Helfer, "Battlestar Galactica"
Rachel Luttrell, "Stargate: Atlantis"
Grace Park, "Battlestar Galactica"
Katee Sackhoff, "Battlestar Galactica"

BEST ACTOR/Movie
Christian Bale, "Batman Begins"
Nathan Fillion, "Serenity"
Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
Mickey Rourke, "Sin City"
Hugo Weaving, "V for Vendetta"

BEST ACTRESS/Movie
Zooey Deschanel, "Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy"
Summer Glau, "Serenity"
Natalie Portman, "V for Vendetta"
Gina Torres, "Serenity"
Emma Watson, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"

BEST YOUNG ACTOR
Dakota Fanning, "War of the Worlds"
Carter Jenkins, "Surface"
Malcolm David Kelly, "Lost"
Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
Emma Watson, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"

BEST WEB SITE
Bloody Disgusting
GateWorld
Kryptonsite
SciFi Wire
Whedonesque

BEST SPECIAL GUEST/Television
Claudia Black, "Avalon, Part 1," Stargate SG-1
Michelle Forbes, "Pegasus," Battlestar Galactica
Kelsey Grammer, "Death Takes a Holiday," Medium
Christina Hendricks, "Trash," Firefly
Connor Trinneer, "Michael," Stargate: Atlantis

BEST EPISODE/Television
"Dalek," Doctor Who
"Downloaded," Battlestar Galactica
"Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2" Battlestar Galactica
"Scar," Battlestar Galactica
"Trash," Firefly

BEST SERIES/Television
Battlestar Galactica
Doctor Who
Firefly
Lost
Wonderfalls

BEST MOVIE
Batman Begins
Chronicles of Narnia
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Serenity
V for Vendetta

GENE RODDENBERRY
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
J.J. Abrams, producer/writer
Gene Coon, producer
Dan Curtis, producer
Stan Lee, comic book creator
Ronald D. Moore, producer/writer
William Shatner, actor - Article by Michael Hinman