<i>Battlestar Galactica</i> lands on XBL early

Earlier this month, multimedia giant NBC Universal announced that it would distribute an episode of Battlestar Galactica via Xbox Live Marketplace free of charge in "mid-September."

The news was notable because it marked the first time that a full-length television program would be made available by the service, and because it stirred up interest among gamers everywhere, since many are fans of the Peabody Award-winning Sci Fi Channel series.

As it turns out, the Sci Fi channel's statement was only half true. Today, the episode went online early, and is already available for free to all Xbox Live Gold subscribers. The special, which summarizes the first two seasons of the show to help hype the third season's September premiere, weighs it at a hefty 492.20MB. It is also currently only available in standard definition, dashing some gamers' hopes of high-definition Cylon action.