2008 will bring the critically acclaimed Battlestar Galactica to a close with its fourth and final season. We take a look at where the rag-tag fleet’s journey could be ending. Words: Owen Van Spall

At the time of writing it seems a little disingenuous to talk with certainty about an end to the fourth season. With the WGA writers' strike in full swing, cast and crew are on leave following the wrap of episode 13 on November 16, and there are no scripts written beyond that. Ronald D. Moore, Battlestar’s executive producer, recently wrote in his personal blog: “I refuse to believe … that we won't be back to film our final stories, but I know and accept there is that possibility.”

Even now the network is cagey about the premiere’s actual airdate (although the LA Times claims April), or on whether the 20-episode series will be split into two 10-episode mini-seasons as has been rumoured. The double episode Razor, which was aired on November 24, technically launched season 4. But chronologically this was a second season-era prequel that offered only a few tantalising hints about what lay beyond in the form of a prophetic warning about Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace.

Whatever shape or form the fourth season takes, it should be no surprise by now that Starbuck will be very much back from the dead, and according to actress Katee Sackhoff she is no illusion like the virtual Number Six. An official teaser trailer has already shown Starbuck, who re-appeared in the third season’s final seconds, seemingly in the Galactica brig, suggesting that no one believes her claim that she can lead the fleet to Earth. And as for Earth itself, Moore has stated that the fleet will finally discover it, but details are being kept tightly under wraps - the planet has appeared only in the final shot of the third season so far.

Season three ended shockingly with four of the main human characters aboard Galactica realising they were Cylons. Their attempt to deal with – or hide – this astonishing revelation will be a major story arc. Moore confirmed in an interview with Crave Online: “You're going to see an extension of that initial moment… That's essentially where their storylines are going to pick up.”

The human and Cylon cast list announced so far reveals faces new and familiar. Lucy Lawless will return as the Number Three 'D’Anna' Cylon, for at least three episodes. Another familiar face is Mark Sheppard as fan-favourite manipulative lawyer Romo Lampkin. Actress Nana Visitor, better known as Kira Nerys from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, will also guest star in one episode.

Further details were leaked at Battlestar’s Burbank Convention in November. Lee Adama looks set to continue his own path as a civilian, having resigned from the military in the third season’s two-part finale. Kate Vernon, who plays Ellen Tigh, will also be weaved back into the show, returning in flashbacks as Colonel Saul Tigh struggles to deal with his self-revelation as a Cylon.

Battlestar co-executive producer Michael Taylor, in a November online Q&A with the Chicago Tribune, also revealed that another major character is set to “depart” early on in the season, although the manner of their leaving should come as a surprise, and that the Cylon Number Eight, Boomer, will also be back in a big way.

Moore has categorically stated that he aims to wrap up the show definitively this time around, with no loose ends. But for that to happen there will be one more revelation, the most anticipated: the identity of the last “Final Five” Cylon. “It's definitely been decided who that one is," Moore cagily told the LA Times recently, “but it won't be revealed early. I can't say when, but we're certainly not waiting until the last episode to tell you who it is."

Battlestar Galactica Season 4 will air in 2008. Click here for an interview with Jamie Bamber.