The following column contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the third season finale of "Battlestar Galactica."

When four of the Final Five Cylons were revealed last week in the season finale of "Battlestar Galactica," producers were right: fans did a double-take. But once the shock wore off, the questions started to abound, including how the characters of Tigh, Tory, Anders and Tyrol could be Cylons. And you know, those are very good questions.

I mean, take a look at the overall story. In the first and second season of BSG, the Cylons were focused on procreation. Yet, one of their very own -- Tyrol -- ended up fathering a child. Tory and Anders, they weren't even part of the show until the second season, thanks to Starbuck's rescue and Billy's death (does anyone still remember Billy?)

So what gives with these guys? Are they really Cylons? Ronald D. Moore says yes. And I have to say yes as well, but looks can be deceiving.

Let's take a look at what we know about the Final Five. The Cylons said there were 12 humanoid models, but later revealed that they don't know who five of the 12 are. In fact, they are referred to as the Final Five. Tyrol (coincidence?) finds the Temple of the Five, which the Colonials, at least, believe is built not by the Cylons -- but by the humans on their way to Earth.

Number Three, better known as Lucy Lawless' D'Anna Biers, gets addicted to committing suicide so that she can learn the identities of the Final Five, a quest she undertakes with Gaius Baltar. While at the Temple of the Five, she sees the faces of the Final Five, but is boxed before she can reveal their identities to anyone.

So who the frak are the Final Five then? My thoughts, and you knew this was coming because this IS the SciFriday column, is that they are not exactly Cylons.

From what I understand (and I could be wrong on this, so feel free to write to refute this, the Final Five are mentioned in the religious scriptures of the Twelve Colonies. While President Roslin is working hard to try and understand what the words mean, who is it that has shown time and time again that they seem to know the scriptures better than the humans? The Cylons, of course.

So they read about this Final Five, and believe that they still exist. The Final Five are described as being above-average and maybe even superhumans. Of course, in the Cylons' minds, they are above-average and maybe even superhuman, too, so even though they were not "created" by mankind (that they know of), the Cylons believe that these five beings must also be Cylons, too, since they are in the same category as they.

And why not? The Cylons have a belief in god, a singular god, and while they know that they were originated from man himself, the Cylons could easily believe that five of their brethren were actually created directly from god.

But does that make these guys the bad guys? Is Tigh, Tory, Anders and Tyrol going to wreak havoc on the Galactica? They are certainly in key positions to do so, however, I think there are some things we're just assuming.

Just because they know they are special, they believe they are Cylons, doesn't mean they are part of the overall plan. It doesn't even mean there is anything mechanical about them. They could have been programmed, but genetically programmed. And it might not be that they are ageless machines, either. They could be part of a manipulated DNA sequence that is passed down through the generations, similar to what "Stargate: Atlantis" does with the ancient gene from the lost city that helps power the outpost. That these four (and soon-to-be five, relatively speaking) are actually descendants of who the Colonials when living on Kobol referred to as gods.

Reading and understanding the scripture, how do we know that the early Cylons didn't see that they needed to be more like god, and in knowing and understanding about the existence of the Final Five, decided that they needed to evolve as well, thus why the humanoid models were created.

I probably think way too much, and most likely I'm completely off base. But it is something that has to be considered, right? Of course, I also think that Earth was the source planet of the entire civilization, not Kobol like the show says, and nothing has pointed to that yet, so I'm likely wrong there, too.

But with eight months until we see this particular story pick back up, that gives us plenty of time to speculate, and I'm sure we're going to be seeing just that as time goes on.

SyBits

Although I was spoiled on the season finale of BSG ahead of time (by choice), I still very much enjoyed "Crossroads, Part 2." Michael Ausiello of TV Guide said he didn't like the episodes leading into them, and for the most part, I did like them. Looking back at the season, I could've done without some episodes like "Hero," but overall, I was very pleased with this season, and it certainly rivals the second season.

But I'm with a lot of fans that say we need to see a lot less of the Cylons, as we don't want to yet see the man behind the curtain.

And with that, let's take a look at some letters from the past week, starting with how you should never make a complaint.

Where can I start, Michael? In one short article ("Last Mimzy," Not So Swell For Kids, Bad For Adults) you not only insult my president, but far more importantly, you insult my 10-year-old daughter. It seems pretty obvious you either have no children, have very, very young children, or are just a completely disconnected (and really poor) parent. My daughter "got" the whole thing and we both enjoyed the movie. Your review was insulting on multiple levels. Oh, and yet another liberal in the entertainment world is about as necessary as another idiotic comment from Rosie O'Donnell.

Leave the comments about children to parents and leave the political comments to a political Web site. Neither are appropriate or welcome to this reader of your site. That is unless you're looking to lose a loyal, longtime reader who has your site at the top of his RSS feed on his Yahoo homepage.
-- Tom

Well, thanks for the letter, there, Tom. And if you have been visiting this site as often as you stated, you will know that there's two things about me: I always make fun of politics, no matter who the party (I'm an equal opportunity offender); and my movie reviews are almost always controversial, and against the grain.

In terms of "The Last Mimzy," which I felt could've been 60 minutes long, I saw a press screening that also doubled as a sneak preview. So here I am, in a theater surrounded by hundreds of kids. I keep an ear out for audience reaction, and I judge a film quite a bit by that reaction (one reason why I prefer to see films in theaters, and not home on DVD for the first time).

I said that kids 10 and younger probably wouldn't get a lot of the deep themes that were presented in the movie. However, I also said they would probably enjoy the surface story, even though it was poorly paced. Most of the kids in my earshot (and that was most of them, as they are loud), didn't get it.

I don't know, maybe Tampa isn't as smart as wherever you are. I'm sure there were some kids who got it. But I don't think I need to be a parent (or even an average parent, for that matter) to be able to read audience reaction. I've been doing it for many, many years, and I get a good grip on it.

And read the review again. In my Dick Cheney joke (who, the last time I checked, was vice president, not president), insert some Democrat in there and tell me if it's as funny. I make fun of politicians, period. I don't care what party they are from.

While you're reading there, Tom, look at the proper way to write a complaint:

I've been reading your site for about five years and I find it very entertaining and informative. I'm an old guy (53), but I still really enjoy well-produced science-fiction. I'm old school Isaac Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke and of course Billy Shatner and "Star Trek" TOS. Your site has by far the broadest, most up-to-date coverage of all the sites I read. Your BSG coverage is also top-notch. I find that show to be riveting. Just do me one favor. Put another photo of yourself for your column. As my 86-year-old Jewish mother would say, you look like you just ate a lemon.
-- Steve Zeidman

This had me on the floor laughing, but at the same time, Steve, you're right. That photo I use in my byline is a few years old, and not the best picture in the world. I promise to only be sucking on this lemon for a few more months, and when I think I can take a new picture, I will replace it as soon as possible.

Thanks for the great letter!

The fan-produced "Star Trek: Hidden Frontier" has been dealing the whole gay issue since 2000, and will end its series run this spring after 50 episodes. I applaud "Star Trek: New Voyages" for doing what they are doing, but let's give credit where credit is due.
-- David

Thanks for the e-mail, David, and that mirrors about a dozen I received after last week's SciFriday column, and I first wanted to say that you are right. "Star Trek: Hidden Frontier" has featured gay characters practically all along, and in terms of fan-produced Webisodes of Star Trek, "New Voyages" isn't the first.

Just blame that mental lapse on the fact that I really don't get the time to watch the fan-produced episodes such as "Hidden Frontier" and "New Voyages," but I hear great things about both. And don't forget, the SyFy Genre Awards Nominating Committee is meeting as we speak over the next few weeks to choose the nominees for the SyFy Genre Awards (make sense with the name, eh?). One of the new categories we're debuting is Best Web-Produced Episode, which will allow anything released exclusively for the Web between June 1, 2006 and May 31, 2007 to be considered. If "Hidden Frontiers," "New Voyages" or any other Web-produced feature falls into that category, and you think it should be nominated, please send a link to me directly at mhinman@airlockalpha.com and I will forward it on to the nominating committee.

Oh, and finally, we have our winners for the Last Mimzy prize pack we were giving away. Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry form. We had more than 1,000 entrants, but only three prizes.

Here are our winners: Chris O'Reilly of De Forest, Wis.; Sandy Umber of Springdale, Ariz.; and Cheryl VanBrunt of San Ramon, Calif. Congratulations!

Beginning in just a couple weeks, we'll be giving away four (yes, I said FOUR!) boxed DVD sets for "Highlander: The Series." So keep an eye out for that contest!

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

Michael Hinman, named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2006, is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha, writing out of Tampa, Fla. He can be reached at mhinman@airlockalpha.com.