13th Colony heads to FanExpo

There’s a new convention coming to Vancouver, there will be Battlestar Galactica guests, so 13th Colonists will be there!

You may have heard of FanExpo, the biggest sci-fi/fantasy/comic convention in Toronto each summer, which last year drew 75,000 fans. This year, FanExpo is coming to Vancouver for the weekend of April 21/22. They are bringing in a variety of media guests, but the ones BSG fans care about are Aaron Douglas and Michael Hogan -   two Vancouver actors who made huge contributions to our favourite show.

Other guests include Adam West & Burt Ward (Classic Batman & Robin), Lou Ferrigno (Classic Incredible Hulk) as well as Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn and John DeLancie (Troi, Worf and Q from ST:TNG).   Check out the guest page here, and the incredibly low ticket prices here.

13th Colony is one of several local fan clubs participating in Fan Tables at the convention.  Look for us in the main Hall, at the B.I.F.F. table.  We guarantee some highly visible viper mechanics manning the table for at least a portion of the weekend.  Come out and show your support for 13th Colony, and other local sci-fi fan groups.

Let’s help FanExpo Vancouver make a big splash on the west coast!

So Say We All! in San Deigo

For you frakkers who are lucky enough to be going to San Diego Comic Con (No, not jealous, not one bit….grrr) there are a couple of special BSG things to watch out for.

The makers of some really cool replica BSG costume items like the double tanks, ANOVOS, are getting together on Friday afternoon from 1 – 1:30 at Booth 2913 to take a really cool picture of all the BSG fans in their costume gear.  (Interesting tidbit: Mythbusters very own Grant Imahara tweeted recently how thrilled he was to get his ANOVOS BSG Duty Blues in the mail!)  And if you don’t have ANOVOS gear, you can still show up and take part.  When the photographer says “On three…1, 2, 3″ you just know you all have to say “So Say We All!” as loud as you can.  And if, like me, you won’t be able to make it to SDCC this year, you can watch the event on Ustream here.

Also on the apparel front, female BSG fans should keep an eye out for the Her Universe booth, where they will be unveiling some new BSG items specifically aimed at female fans.  They will have just 300 of their new Cylon toaster necklace.  Since the creator of Her Universe is Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, you can find her merchandise at the Lucasfilm Booth 2913-F.

There will be a “Battlestar: So Say We All” panel on Thursday morning, hosted by Richard Hatch,  featuring BSG Science Advisor Kevin Grazier and writer Michael Taylor.

For those of us who can’t be there…have a great time at SDCC!

We Always Knew Cylons Were Crafty

Well, it seems that Battlestar Galactica fans are also a crafty bunch and the holiday season brings out the best in them.

If your Christmas decorations don’t have the sci-fi feel you were going for, try @pixelstech’s delightful Cylon Snowflake or Cylon Paper Dolls.  Since I never could choose a side in the Cylon-Colonial war, I riffed on her pattern and came up with the version on the right.

If your craftiness tends more in the wooly direction, or if your metal head gets a little chilly in the winter weather, why not try out Evilrabbit’s Cylon knit hat.

If you’re looking for a place to join up with your fellow crafty geeks, check out the Creative Geeks Society on Meetup.  They have weekly meetups in the Vancouver area, and an active message board for sharing ideas.

However Battlestar Galactica has inspired you, keep it up!

So Say We All.

Does Caprica Need Uniforms?

by spacepug

Is it really so simple?

A recent article over at popular sci-fi blog io9 theorized that the secret key to the enduring popularity of any science fiction franchise is uniforms. Writer Marc Bernardin makes two really interesting points. The first is that uniforms make it easier for fans to dress up as though they belong as part of that world. The second is that a recognizable uniform helps one member of a particular fandom spot like-minded fans.

I must admit that I can buy into that theory. My only experiment with costuming has been to build a Battlestar Galactica Viper Mechanic costume for Dragon*Con last year. Besides being bright orange, the jumpsuit served as a magnet for other Battlestar fans. I wore it with pride and definitely felt like I was part of a larger community. I compare that to previous BSG events where I had “dressed up” as President Laura Roslin, since there is a certain physical resemblance between us, and for the most part people thought I was simply showing up straight from work in a skirt and jacket. Even within the same fandom, the response to the two costumes was very different. Therefore, the uniform gets a thumbs up from me.

But I think you could also make a very good case for the occasional character who is just so riveting with a style so iconic that the costume is instantly recognizable even if it isn’t a uniform. Princess Leia’s slave bikini is probably the most notably instance in fandom, but I would say that Caprica Six’s red dress comes close behind.

Caprica doesn’t have the military storylines that BSG had, and I don’t see much of that coming in future episodes. Rather than uniforms, it evokes a certain style. If you ran into a woman at a sci-fi convention wearing a 1940s-style gangster’s moll outfit, would you assume she was a Caprica fan? Or could she be dressed as Lois Lane from the original TV series, or someone from the Watchmen universe? Would it matter?

Just another one of those questions to ponder as we wait for Caprica to come back.

Caprica back on Location

by spacepug

I cannot tell you how pleased I was to see this empty chair in the midst of a crowd of extras and film crew today.  Caprica is back in Vancouver and was shooting today at the Central Library in Downtown Vancouver.   Polly Walker is the main reason I’m wishing January 22, 2010 would get here faster.  Not only is she an extremely talented actress (watch Rome if you are unfamiliar with her work), but she did so much with so little screen time in the Caprica pilot.  She made the character of Clarice seem sinister yet sympathetic, and absolutely fascinating.

Here’s a link to a few pictures I took of today’s shoot.  Nothing spoilery except for some costume items that give a sense of atmosphere.  Oh yeah, and some random guy in the crowd who I didn’t even notice was there until I got home and checked the pics…leave it to spacepug to miss the handsome leading man!

Since Caprica will be shooting in Vancouver for several more months, I want to make a couple of  things clear.  I will not publish shooting locations in advance.  I will not publish any photos that I believe are spoilers.  In general, I think true fans are much more careful of not spoiling something for their fellow fans since they themselves want to enjoy the show completely when it finally airs….many months from now.   What I will do is pass along whatever snippets I think will help keep fans excited and interested in what is coming.  Clear? Maybe not.  We will see…

We Are Coming, We Are Coming…

…to Atlanta!  Several members of the 13th Colony will be on hand for this year’s Dragon*Con in Atlanta.  We’re not just coming from Vancouver, but places across the globe, including bloggers spacepug and gem, as well as our excellent reviewer millari.

If you’re a reader of this blog and plan to attend, let us know in the comments below.  We’ll be pretty easy to spot thanks to the spiffy new stickers Frik and Frak are showing off below!  If you see us around the con, come up and say  “hello.”  The best part of these last couple of years running this blog has been meeting fellow BSG fans from all over the world, both virtually and in person, and this is just another great occasion to do so.

And what a great year for BSG fans to gather at Dragon*Con.  Guests this year include:  Alessandro Juliani (Gaeta), Dirk Benedict (Starbuck, for the original fans), Edward James Olmos (Adama), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Kate Vernon (Ellen), Luciana Carro (Kat), Mary McDonnell (Roslin), Michael Trucco (Anders) and Richard Hatch (Zarek, Apollo).  Also attending (just not “officially”) will be Aaron Douglas (Tyrol).

Hope to see you there!

True North Strong and Geek

July 1^st is Canada Day, and 2009 marked our 142nd anniversary as a country.  We do much the same as everyone else around the world on their national holidays, we celebrate with parades and fireworks.  This year though, the sci-fi fans of Vancouver did something a bit different.  We banded together as a nation of geeks and marched under one banner.

North Vancouver’s Canada Day parade featured a contingent of science fiction fans dressed as characters from a wide range of genre favourites: Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, BSG, Firefly, Harry Potter, Men in Black and Watchmen.  A special acknowledgement has to go to the Greater Vancouver Stargate Meetup Group, whose members built a Stargate on top of  a van, making it appear as though the van was a makeshift puddle-jumper stuck mid-transit.  They did an awesome job.   So Say We All!

Space Channel streams the “Frakkin’ End”

It’s almost old news by now, but I thought I would post this one anyway…

As part of their coverage of the finale of Battlestar Galactica, Space Channel (Canada’s science fiction channel) did a one hour Fandom Forum, a live broadcast featuring an in-studio audience of Toronto BSG fans, and some “live hits” out to Vancouver for the 13^th Colony’s Finale Party.  The complete one hour program is now streaming online, broken into seven segments.

In my admittedly biased opinion, here are what I think are the best bits:

Part 1: 2:08 to 3:13 (intro to the Vancouver party)

Part 2: 4:30 to 6:11 (Ahem…Spacepug, aka Madame President, and the Hybrid)

(Parts 3, 4 and 5: Alas, no us.)

Part 6: 3:10 to 3:55 (RDM, MM & EJO thank the Canadian fans)

Part 6: 3:56 to 5:36 (Natasha interviews our Six, Baltar, Starbuck and Tyrol, plus the Hybrid)

Part 7: 3:45 to 4:41 (Wrap up from Vancouver)

Congratulations to everyone who participated, on both ends of the country.  Space was thrilled with the ratings for the show, and with their first ever fully live broadcast.  We’ve extended the invitation for them to come back to Vancouver for another special in conjunction with “The Plan” in November or “Caprica” next year, so keep your fingers crossed.

“Perfection Achieved. End of Line”

by spacepug

It was an amazing experience. 110 enthusiastic Battlestar Galactica fans jammed into LaFontana Caffe in Burnaby, chanting “So Say We All” for the benefit of a live television viewing audience across Canada.  I’m proud to say we gave our favourite show the frakkin’ good send-off it deserved.

Space Channel did their first ever fully live, coast to coast event called the “Fandom Forum” after the airing of the final episode of Battlestar Galactica.  The discussion was based in their studio in Toronto, but Vancouver provided a number of live interludes, and most of the entertainment value.   The 13^th Colonists in Vancouver really stepped up.  With a little less than two weeks to prepare, we had many people in costume, lots of BSG decorations, and our very own hybrid.  Seth had them in stitches in Toronto when he delivered his opinion of the last episode, “Perfection achieved.  End of line.”   Of course, that may have had something to do with fans wondering just where Natasha Eloi had put her hand when it went into the tub of “goo.”

Natasha impressed all of the 13^th Colonists with her wit and enthusiasm.  Many of the people who got to meet her seemed as “wowed” as they might have been had one of the actors from the show been present.  The night was all about the fans, and none of us will ever forget the experience.  Space was thrilled with the Vancouver contribution to their show, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see further collaborations between Space and the 13^th Colony in the future.

And yes, the topper had to be when Ron Moore came on and thanked the Canadian fans, including the 13^th Colony, for their support of Battlestar Galactica.  You are very welcome, Mr. Moore.  You and the rest of the cast & crew have given us so many hours of amazing quality television in return.  We’ll be talking about this show for a long time, and we’ll keep the friends we’ve made through BSG fandom for even longer than that.

We can rightfully say that the 13^th Colony is the biggest BSG fan club in Canada.  The last episode may have aired, but we’re not going anywhere.  Caprica, The Plan…we’ve got plenty to do.

“So Say We All!”

We slayed 'em in TO

Space Visits the 13th Colony

We’ve been planning our Battlestar Galactica Finale party for months, and now Space Channel‘s getting in on it.

Space is sending Natasha Eloi out to join us for The Frakkin’ End on Friday March 20th, and she will be reporting live from our location during the one-hour Fandom Forum after the show airs.  If you’re not one of the lucky people who gets to participate at the CTV studios in Toronto, or our Vancouver event, the forum will also be streaming live at spacecast.com The forum broadcast starts at 8pm PDT, 11pm EDT, following the two-hour finale of Battlestar Galactica.

We’ll be packed in tight at LaFontana thanks to the enthusiastic response from Vancouver’s sci-fi community, and it promises to be a once in a lifetime opportunity.  To our knowledge, Space has never recognized a fan club in this way, and we are truly honoured they’ve chosen us.

We’ll have a special BSG menu including ambrosia, lots of people in BSG costumes, the largest collection of BSG mini-mates ever assembled in one place, and a special guest…our very own hybrid.

Tune in, geek out!  So say we all…