Battlestar Galactica will end its glorious, award-laden four-year run sometime in 2009, and SCI FI Channel will kick off the first half of the show's final season on April 4 with the season opener, "He That Believeth in Me." The entire cast and executive producers David Eick and Ronald D. Moore were on hand on March 18 in New York City for SCI FI Channel's 2008 upfront presentation to advertisers, and SCI FI Weekly was there, too.

The following is the first in a two-part series of interviews, and here Eick, Tricia Helfer, Jamie Bamber and Katee Sackhoff preview season four, discuss what they'd like to see for the show and their respective characters as the show winds down and look to the future, a future without Battlestar Galactica. In the next installment, expect to hear from Moore, Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell.

David Eick, what will we see in season four as we build to the conclusion of the series?

Eick: I think you're going to see one continuous story from beginning to end, unlike other seasons where we'd done a multitude of stand-alone episodes and episodes that would introduce different political movements. This is really going to be about starting from ground zero, where we left off season three, and a sprint all the way to the end. And I think the fans, really, are going to feel like they're getting their due. They're going to feel like they're finally getting the season of Battlestar Galactica that they have always wanted, where we're not worrying about inviting a new audience, necessarily. We're just really committed to finishing the story in a way that feels legitimate and at the level I think fans have come to expect.How OK are you with the show ending? Is now the right time, or did you personally want it to continue?

Eick: It sort of reminds me of the title of that last episode of M*A*S*H, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen." There's a part of me that's melancholy and very sad, but there's a part of you that's relieved, not because the show is over, but because you can finally bring something important to an end on your terms, and without having to scramble because the show's being canceled or having to keep hammering at it because the show keeps getting re-upped. It actually can end the way we want it to end, and that's a rare thing in life.When the show fades to black for the last time, do you think it'll really be for the last time? In other words, what are the chances that we might see a future Battlestar Galactica feature, miniseries or DVD down the road?

Eick: Well, it's hard to say now. I would never say never, just because I think when they wrapped up Star Trek they were convinced there was never going to be Star Trek: The Motion Picture. That was years later, of course. You never know what might happen.You were co-executive producer of Bionic Woman, which is apparently officially canceled. How sorry are you to see that go? What went wrong and right there?

Eick: I just felt that the process was so frustrating, and the conditions under which we were making that show never really came to fruition in such a way that I felt like we could make the show well. The actress [Michelle Ryan] we found was wonderful. Some of the writing was good. But we just didn't ever bring it all together like we did with Battlestar. At a certain point when it becomes that frustrating, I think you're better off to say, "Let's try again another time" and let it go.SCI FI Channel recently green-lit a two-hour backdoor pilot for Caprica. What can you reveal about Caprica?

Eick: Caprica is a story that Ron Moore and I concocted with Remi Aubuchon, and we're casting as we speak. I'm very excited about that. If Battlestar Galactica is Black Hawk Down, I would say that Caprica is American Beauty. Caprica is all about the inner lives of the people on a planet, and how their personal relationships as well as their professional relationships inform what will become the creation of the Cylons.

Tricia Helfer, from your perspective, what can we expect to see in season four?

Helfer: Season four starts out a lot dealing with the big revelation of the four of the five final Cylons and how each of them reacts to it in their own way. From my perspective, I have a new character called Natalie that is sort of a leader of one of the Cylon factions. There's a bit of a rift between the Cylons, and Natalie is a bit of a leader of one side.You have pretty much done it all on Battlestar Galactica, playing variations of the same character that are, in effect, completely different characters. What haven't you done yet that you hope to do before they call "cut" for the last time?

Helfer: I have done a lot of things. I think I'm due for another big fight. I'll say another big stunt fight.How hard do you think it will be once the show ends to find another role as complex, sexy, powerful as what you've had on Battlestar Galactica?

Helfer: I hope there's a lot out there. I have been reading some scripts, and there's definitely some things that I'm working toward and that are possibly going into production. They're all different, and I'm really looking forward to just playing a variety of roles. To go back into something sci-fi, it would have to be on the same level, on the same par as Battlestar.When you finish shooting the show, do you think that will close the book on it, or can you foresee returning at some point in another miniseries or a feature or a DVD movie?

Helfer: You never say never. You don't know. But I think when they yell "cut" it's the end.

Jamie Bamber, how excited are you to get back on set and finish what you started with the original Battlestar Galactica miniseries?

Bamber: I have only read one of the final nine scripts, so I'm just aching to find out what happens in this story. It's like this big book you've been reading for five years and finally we get to the end in the last few pages. So, yeah, it's very exciting.What can you tell us about the direction of season four?

Bamber: Based on what we've already shot, you're going to see these new Cylons who've discovered they're Cylons trying to figure out what the hell they're doing and why they are where they are and what's going on. That's kind of a microcosm for what everyone is doing, basically trying to figure what they hell they're doing alive, breathing, wandering through space. It's pretty riveting space. There's no fluff. There's no stand-alone episodes. It's one big, tight arc. No fat, all muscle. All sinew and great storytelling.And when it comes to Lee Adama, what do you want to know before they fade to black?

Bamber: I don't really have an opinion on that. I'm sort of enjoying living in the moment. There's no wish list. There's no box I want checked. Be honest, do you want him to live or die at the end?

Bamber: I don't ... die, how about that? I want everyone dead.Last question, and it's the one everyone wants the answer to: Who do you think is the final Cylon?

Bamber: I think that the audience is the last Cylon. We're all Cylons.

Katee Sackhoff, how eager are you to get back on set and wrap up the show?

Sackhoff: I'm excited. I'm just excited to see how it's going to end at this point. It's all very exciting. It's nice to be able to have a beginning, a middle and an end, and to be able to have closure.Kara came back at the very end of last season, showing up out of nowhere in her Viper and saying she'd been to Earth. How hard was it for you to keep that secret, and how pleased were you with the way her return played out?

Sackhoff: It was extremely difficult to keep the secret. I felt that after that much time together as a cast we really had formed a bond, and not only the cast, but the crew as well. To have to keep such a pivotal secret from them. ... When it was announced that I was leaving the show, they took it really hard as well. It was only about a week, so the key players found out [that she'd be back].What would you like to see for Kara as the final season goes along?

Sackhoff: I don't want her to have closure. I don't think that she's the type of person that wants closure. She's not very good when she's happy, when things are good. She tends to seek out misery and trouble and misfortune. So I don't think she's the type of person that would walk into the sunset with a big smile on her face. So we'll see.You had a recurring role on Bionic Woman. How much fun did you have kicking ass as Sarah Corvus?

Sackhoff: I loved it. Kicking ass is fun. It's what people want to see me do right now. So I have kind of turned into the go-to tough girl.How likely do you think it is that you'll be back at some point as Kara in a new Battlestar Galactica miniseries, DVD or feature, and how interested would you be in returning?

Sackhoff: I believe that if it's up to the fans, then yes, definitely. I do not think that we'll be back. I think there's something to be said for just ending. But then again, I don't think anyone thought Sex and the City would do a movie, and we're kind of following suit with them in ending how they ended.