BSG’s Final Location

Don’t worry, the 13th Colony hasn’t given up on Battlestar Galactica location scouting. In fact, we’ve been very busy over the summer and will be bringing you our findings over the next several weeks. First up is the last one. Our most recent mission was to the very last location seen in the series, the downtown modern-day New York locale where the “angels” Six and Baltar watched Ron Moore read a National Geographic magazine article about Hera. As it turns out, it’ was shot in a plaza near the corner of Hastings and Hornby in downtown Vancouver.

Over delicious hot chocolate at Mink, a chocolate cafe, we discussed what we thought of the final scene. More pictures here.

Meetup with 13th Colony @ Dragon*Con

There will be a gaggle (a horde?) of 13th Colonists attending Dragon*Con this year, from Canada, the US and overseas.  So, we’re going to schedule our very first non-Vancouver Meetup:

Friday, September4th at 7pm at the Consuite (Room 226 Hyatt) is where we will gather, and then possibly move to an alternate location for food and/or drinks.  We ought to be easy to spot…look for some shiny 13 stickers prominently displayed and we guarantee a lively conversation about Battlestar Galactica.  For the steely eyed amongst you….Frik and Frak, our mini-mate mascots, will also be in attendance.

We’re really looking forward to meeting 13th Colonists, our blog readers, and just BSG fans, from all over!  Look forward to meeting you…So Say We All!

Spacepug

Unity, a BSG novel

Unity is not a very good title for Steven Harper’s Battlestar Galactica novel.  Sure, it is the name of a radical religious group that plays a role in the story, but that one word doesn’t really capture the essence.  The image on the cover does a better selling job, for what is  a pretty exciting tale of the race to cure a highly infectious disease.

After an overly quick end to a Cylon attack and the recovery of another Colonial survivor, many of our favourite characters start falling victim to the “plague of tongues,” which makes them shake and speak nonsense before they collapse and die.  The plague spreads rapidly and the carrier finds himself caught up in a mix of pop hysteria and religious fervor.  As always, the Cylons are hot on their heels, waiting to attack at any moment and the resulting tension ratchets up with each chapter.  There’s plenty of action, and an exciting race against time to find the cure.

Despite the medical focus, this is definitely a Starbuck story, though Baltar gets some nice development as well.  I thought the author pushed the “giggly teen crush” angle for Starbuck a bit far, but he provided compelling reasons for his choices in some interesting, if incorrect, background.  Once again, I found myself wishing I had read this 2007 book before I saw the last season of the show.

A fun read.  4 out of 5

Next up: “The Cylons’ Secret” by Craig Shaw Gardner

Caprica off to a good start

by spacepug

The creative team behind Caprica, the new prequel series, has explained one of the reasons behind the early release of the Caprica pilot onto DVD is a desire to gauge fan reaction for the forthcoming series.  They needn’t have worried.  I believe most Battlestar Galactica fans will watch the new series, and it may stand a better chance of garnering a mainstream audience.  Why?  Because it’s good drama.   Compelling characters caught up in interesting conflicts, even if there are no spaceships in sight.

Behind the cut are my thoughts on the pilot episode.  It’s a detailed review and therefore contains spoilers.

“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

Never Trust an Eight

What betrayal looks like

A review of “Someone to Watch Over Me” by Gem

I may be in the minority here, but I really wasn’t feeling this week’s episode. It had some great moments, but overall I felt like it dragged on. I was expecting more with only four episodes left. It didn’t need to be action-packed or anything, however the plot could’ve progressed a bit further in my opinion.

(Spoilers Behind the Cut)

Cylons are Yummy

by spacepug

Would you like a Cylon Raider with a side of Algae?  How about a Mandala Burger?

As a special treat for our big “Helo’s Dollhouse” event last Friday, the folks at the LaFontana Café made up a very special menu for the 13^th Colony.   All of it was delicious and made the Battlestar fans feel a bit superior to all those Browncoats who showed up, but it was a friendly rivalry since many of us count ourselves in both camps.  They may not have made it in time for Darth Mojo’s culinary challenge, but I think everyone who got a taste will agree, it was an amazing gesture!  Thanks John!

We had 52 people out for the event, our biggest so far.  Can’t wait to see what the final five…episodes…bring us!

For more pictures, check here.

Who you callin’ shiny?

What happens when Cylons and Browncoats get together? We’re going to find out!

The 13th Colony is joining forces with the BC Browncoats for a very special event this Friday night, called Helo’s Dollhouse.   As part of our “13 Weeks of BSG” the Battlestar Galactica fans will be meeting at LaFontana Caffe in Burnaby to watch the new episode “No Exit” at our usual time.  Not sure if Helo will have much of a story arc this week, but if we don’t see enough of Tahmoh Penikett at 7pm, we’re going to get another dose of the tall, handsome guy at 9pm, with the premiere of Joss Whedon’s long awaited new TV project, Dollhouse.

Penikett plays FBI agent Paul Ballard, a man obsessed with finding out about the Dollhouse.  Besides the obvious appeal to Browncoats of new Whedon work, the series also features former Buffy star Eliza Dushku  and former Angel star Amy Acker.

If those hardy Whedonites get out of hand, we’ll show them the real meaning of shiny….

Humanity Wins, Barely

A review of the new Battlestar Galactica Board Game by Gem

Recently, five 13^th Colonists got together for our inagural Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game experience. When I originally wrote this review it got a little novel-esque, so I’ve done my best to chop it down a bit. Hopefully, you’ll still understand the gist of the game without begging the Gods to spare you.

The objective of the game depends on whether or not you’re a human or a cylon (a fact that can change mid-way through the game). At the beginning of the game, each player is secretly assigned a team, so unlike many board games, you win as a team, not individually.  As a human, there is one way to win: travel eight units of distance and jump to Kobol. As a cylon, the goal is to prevent the humans from reaching their objective. This can be achieved by running the fleet out of essential resources  (fuel, morale, population, food), or invading the Galactica with centurion boarding parties, and last but not least, by destroying the Galactica altogether.

Seasons Greetings BSG Fans!