More of a Cameo Than I Require

[If you haven't watched Battlestar Galactica Episode 4.17, "No Exit" and you care about spoilers, you should stop reading now.]

Fosco was surprised to find that last week's new episode of BSG contained a cameo appearance by John Hodgman. You know Hodgman from his guest appearances on "The Daily Show" and for his role as "PC" in those ubiquitous Mac v. PC commercials. Or you may, like Fosco, enjoy his books.

But even though Fosco likes John Hodgman (with a few reservations), he certainly did not appreciate his BSG cameo. These are the last few episodes of BSG and the revelations (and bodies) are piling up. This is a very serious time in what is a very serious television show. BSG, unlike many other cult hits, is not particularly interested in sharing "knowing winks" with its audience. But that's exactly what John Hodgman's cameo was--an "in joke" for geeks. Unfortunately, this kind of joke prevented me from taking Hodgman's scenes seriously--I was too distracted by the strangeness of John Hodgman suddenly appearing in deep space.

I can't imagine who will be make a guest appearance in next week's show. Bruce Campbell as a ridiculously overconfident Viper pilot? Patrick Stewart as a coldly imperious starship captain? Kevin Smith as a slacker mechanic? Neil Gaiman as some sort of space-goth?

N.B.: while researching this post, Fosco stumbled across John Hodgman's blog. The design is absolutely brilliant.