BSG Goodness for Long Weekend

Here in British Columbia, and many other parts of Canada, we are gearing up to celebrate one of the best parts of summer, the long weekend. Three days without work! And thanks to Space Channel, we can get in plenty of hours of Battlestar Galactica to ease us through the holiday.

Four hours of BSG goodness on Saturday night, two hours Sunday night, and at least three hours the following weekend! Check your local listings. It appears there will be plenty of late-night BSG for insomniacs across the country, all summer long!

Another note for Canadian fans– Space Channel has secured the rights to Caprica, whenever the decision is made to air it. Apparently in September, TV execs at NBC Universal (which owns Sci-Fi Channel) will decide if Caprica will air as a two-hour movie in the Fall, or hold it back until the new year and launch it as a series. The initial trailer for Caprica has appeared online, and you can find it here.

Hey Baby…

“Wanna visit my secret lair?”

Can’t you just imagine Tom Zarek using that line?

More fun with mini mates from our most recent scouting mission, this picture was taken from one of the trails below the Cleveland Dam in North Vancouver.

Battlestar Switcheroo

Being sneaky, eh? While a group of 13th Colonists were out this past weekend scouting around for shooting locations in one of the parks on Vancouver’s North Shore mountains, we discovered something interesting. One of the most famous features of the North Shore mountains are “The Lions” named because when they are covered in snow, they look like two reclining lions. Our beautiful Lions Gate Bridge is named after this natural formation, as is our local CFL football team, the BC Lions.

In the world of Battlestar Galactica, it appears on Kobol and is seen as below:

In actual fact, they’ve pulled a switch on us, reversing the shot from how it appears in nature, as seen from this picture we took from the north end of Capilano Park, near the Cleveland Dam.

Ha!  Very clever, but we’re on to you…and as a result of our most recent foray into the woods, we’ve also closed in a couple more shooting locations, so stay tuned and we’ll have more pics for you in the coming weeks.

Cross One Location Off the List

I wish I could say that the title of the blog post means we’ve found another site we’ve been looking for (I’ve been too busy enjoying our late arriving summer to actually BSG location scout!) Sadly, I’m going to recommend that fans do not venture out to one of the locations we spent some effort tracking down.

In “Litmus” from Season One, Helo is on the run from the Cylons on Caprica and unbeknownst to him, he is being watched from above by his pursuers as he climbs down a fire escape and walks down a graffiti-covered alley. The actual shooting location is near the cenotaph on East Hastings Street in Vancouver. Originally, the actors playing Sharon, Six and Doral were standing on the roof of the old Woodwards building, which has been torn down to allow construction of a new building.

The construction project has turned that alley into a dead end, and with no through traffic, it has become a popular spot for drug deals, addicts shooting up and prostitution. And that’s just based on what I saw in the few minutes we were there last week. It was never the nicest place in town by any means, but it has undergone a big change, even from a year ago. There is blood, urine, broken needles and used condoms. It really is worse than the post-apocalyptic scenario you saw on TV.

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside can be exciting, full of history and creativity. But for many it is a place of poverty, misery and violence. I thought I should caution any visiting Battlestar Galactica fans thinking of venturing down there. It is the roughest edge of our beautiful city.

Galactica Fans Far & Wide

by spacepug

Though it shouldn’t surprise me, I find myself very impressed by how far around the world the Battlestar Galactica fan community ranges. In recent days, we’ve had traffic through here from websites, blogs and forums all over the world:

Canada
USA
Brazil
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
United Kingdom

As the cast & crew wrap up production on Battlestar Galactica in the next few days, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for a wonderful show, which truly has touched fans from all over the globe. You’ve given us a reason to connect, debate and share for years to come.

The 13th is a Friendly Tribe

by spacepug

Organizing a fan club has its perks. Occasionally, you get to meet people like Dwight and Nancy. Visitors to Vancouver from the East Coast of the United States, they joined the 13^th Colony earlier this year and introduced themselves via email. Late last week, we got to meet them in person. As is our habit, the evening started with coffee. Since this is Vancouver, naturally we ended up at a sushi restaurant. In between, we took them on a short walking tour of some of the Galactica filming locations in downtown Vancouver, including the Central Library, which was prominently featured in Season One of BSG, when Helo and Sharon walk around deserted Caprica City. Incidentally, the library was also the location of the cast and crew wrap party, held a few days ago. We traded theories about where the show is headed, and bragged more than a little bit about how great it is to live here.

We hope our visitors enjoyed themselves. We certainly enjoyed having them here.

BSG on Location for the Finale

by spacepug

It’s an exciting time to be a member of the 13th Colony, but also, quite frankly, nerve-wracking. I don’t want to know how it ends until I see the last episode as it airs on TV. I know that means I have to be diligent for the next six months (or more) to avoid spoilers. Today, a friend sent pictures from today’s Battlestar Galactica location shoot. With just one more week scheduled for shooting, these pictures represent filming of the series finale.

So, I’m going to pass along a few. Spoilers are minor, but intriguing. And since people are sensitive about such things, they are hidden behind a cut.