The following column contains MODERATE SPOILERS for the "Battlestar Galactica" episode "Rapture."

When I was in high school, my advanced English class got this bright idea that we should put together and sell a literary magazine. I mean, we were teenagers, and had no idea that it would actually take work to put one together, but nonetheless, we decided to go for it.

Our English teacher, John Cox, helped us out by giving us a theme for our first issue: Transitions. The high school I went to was actually a middle school combined with a high school, so there were students walking the halls who just two months before were in elementary school, now rubbing elbows with seniors. The transition wasn't very easy, and I decided that my little short story would focus on a kid transitioning from elementary school to high school. Imaginative, wasn't I?

Well, I had him dealing with a pesky sister (inspired by my own pesky sister), a bully (also inspired by my sister), and a teacher that just wouldn't leave him alone. I get to the end of this 1,200-word tome, and I'm thinking, "This is the sorriest piece of shit that I've ever put my name to." Sorry for the language, but it was really what went through my mind.

I had kind of a dangling end to the story, with the kid walking home. And I'm thinking, "Damn, I have to spice this up with something!" But the class period was almost over, and I had all of 30 seconds to finish it and turn it in to my teacher.

So, I have the kid walking home ... and for kicks, I had him trip. He was so annoying as a character, it gave me a chuckle. But then it struck me: He didn't just trip. He tripped over a body.

That, my friends, was the start of what became a four-part series that ran in this literary magazine, which sold out every issue each week this thing ran. It would be great, because once a month, after reading one of the parts, friends and people I never met came up and asked me what was going to happen next, and I said that it was a secret. But it would have an exciting ending.

The problem, however, was these people wanting to know how it ended were not alone. I, as the writer, also had no idea how it was going to end, or what the next part was going to be. I would write something new once a month, and hoped that it all would tie together some way or another in the end. I got lucky: It did.

Yes, I know that a teenager writing a miniseries without a plan is far different than Ronald D. Moore and crew writing a critically acclaimed television series like "Battlestar Galactica" without a plan, but I honestly no longer think that Ron and Co. are part of my "Writing Blind" club. All of that was thanks to "Rapture."

Just like we saw when that evil Romulan ho Sela showed up in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" thanks to what we thought was an isolated episode called "Yesterday's Enterprise," Ron Moore does it again: A painting on Starbuck's (Katee Sackhoff) wall in her Caprica apartment in the second season rears its ugly head in this episode, midway through the third season, that shows the character really does has a destiny. And since I'm convinced that some early form of Cylon built the Temple of the Five and not the humans, I don't think it's going to be a pretty picture for Starbuck in the near future.

I don't know, I will be sad if she really is the character that will be departing the series. But even if she does go, I really, really, really believe that she will be back.

So, from here on out, I no longer want to hear that Ron Moore and David Eick don't have some kind of plan for the series. They really do, even if it involves nothing more than Starbuck's fingerpaintings.

SyBits
The SciFi Channel has gone through like five different people today to make sure that I tell all of you to keep watching "Battlestar Galactica" after the episode ends Sunday. Apparently there will be some type of bonus scene that better be worth me not turning off the television and getting some sleep.

If it sucks, don't blame me. I'm just the messenger.

I'm listening to the yet-to-be released soundtrack to the new Frank Miller movie "300," and I just have to say I love it! This is definitely something you want to listen to with a lot of base, or a real good subwoofer, when it comes out. I love the mixture of the heavy base drum, and the beautiful vocals of Azam Ali from the music of a horror film composer, Tyler Bates. It's amazing ... and if the movie is even a third as good as this soundtrack, we're going to be in for a real treat next March when "300" opens in a theater near you!

Send us your questions or comments or whatever you want to talk about to me at mhinman@airlockalpha.com, and if you're lucky, you might even have it included in an upcoming SciFriday column. Please include a name we can use, as well as where you're writing from.

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Finally, if you like gag reels, the gag reel for the third season of "Battlestar Galactica" is now available! Laugh your ass off by clicking here.

Have a great week, and don't be a stranger!

Michael Hinman, recently named Time magazine's Person of the Year, is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha, writing out of Tampa, Fla. He can be reached at mhinman@airlockalpha.com.