She was a good ship

We built her, and then we solemnly watched as she went up in flames.

In the summer of 2010, members of 13th Colony built a 10 foot long Viper Mark IV, mostly out of cardboard, PVC and poster stock.  It came out remarkably close to specs, made a great display model and yet fit in the back of an economy car.  Alas, as every group that builds things has discovered, storage was an issue and one winter in a shed was too much for our creation.  The next summer, we decided to give the old bird a good sendoff.  It wasn’t entirely a solemn occasion.  We had a BBQ, on the beach.  The very same beach where the Nuked Earth scenes were shot in the new BSG, and very close to the exact same firepit they used to build Kara’s funeral pyre on the same planet.  We already blogged about it here but now you can watch for yourself!  Announcing Episode #4 of the 13th Colony Video Files  – A Decommissioning Ceremony.

RIP Viper Mark IV.  She was indeed a good ship.

Fan Expo Vancouver 2013

Fan Expo is returning to Vancouver April 20th and 21st and once again, 13th Colony is thrilled to be playing a part!  Vancouver’s Battlestar Galactica Fan Club will join local chapters of the 501st Legion (Outer Rim Squadron), the Ghostbusters of BC and Can’t Stop the Serenity Vancouver to offer con-goers a glimpse into Vancouver’s fan scene.

And we’ve got another reason to celebrate! After having to cancel late last year, Michael Hogan (new BSG’s Saul Tigh) will make it up to the Vancouver fans by appearing this year.

We’ll have plenty of Battlestar Galactica (classic and reimagined) items and costumes on display. We’re out to meet and greet fellow BSG fans who might not be aware we’re here and we’re awesome!

2013: The Year of the 13th Colony

Is it too early to predict that 2013 will be our year? It’s been a dark time for Battlestar Galactica fans. A very long wait for the release of Blood & Chrome is now followed by more waiting to see if the downloads and DVD sales will lead to anything more. Yet with no new content on the horizon, our ragtag fleet of fans is hanging on.

In Vancouver, 13th Colony is starting the year off with a bang. We’ve got some BSG fans visiting from the USA and plan to show them some West Coast Cylon hospitality. On January 11th we’re hosting a Frak Party at our old hangout, La Fontana, to view Blood & Chrome in its entirety on a big HD screen. February will no doubt see us all truck off to our local DVD retailers to buy the DVD. April brings Fan Expo back to town, and we’ve got our fingers crossed that Michael Hogan will return after having to cancel last year. May will have a bunch of us looking south for the Galacticon III party in Texas.

Honestly, has anyone told the BSG fans there is no more show? Maybe that doesn’t matter. We are the survivors and we keep the dream alive.

Colonial Coffee at Caprica City Hall?

Blood & Chrome has got BSG fans talking all over the internet.  Now, at least a few nuggets are going to get together in person to share the enthusiasm for a new slice of our favourite show, Battlestar Galactica.

If you find yourself in and around downtown Vancouver — or as we like to call it, Caprica City –this Saturday afternoon, November 24th, between 1 and 4pm, drop in at the Blenz just inside the Robson doors of the Central Library.  Keep your eye open for a couple of knuckle draggers.  If they’re out of uniform, listen for words like “frak,” “toaster,” “cylon” or my personal favourite, “felgercarb.”  Pull up a chair and join in.

We’re working on a full-on Frak Party to celebrate the complete story of Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome sometime in January, so stay tuned for more details.

The 13th Colony is Throwing a Party

Feel like your planet has been nuked by technology you created and the entire human race is on its last legs, finding new ways to both argue and get along in the vast black distances between stars?  Bummer.  Want to party anyway?

13^th Colony-Vancouver’s Battlestar Galactica Fan Club, is hosting a room party at VCON, our homegrown sci-fi convention, on the night of Saturday, September 29^th.  VCON 37’s theme this year is Post Apocalypse, and BSG definitely fits in with that category.  The con is taking place at the Sheraton Guildford in Surrey.  The exact location for the party will be posted around the convention on the day of the party.  We will have snacks and drinks in the theme of BSG, and promise only that everything we find will taste better than algae!

13th Colony and Fan Expo Vancouver

We were there.  It was awesome.

13th Colony was lucky enough to be part of the “Fan Zone” at the inaugural Fan Expo Vancouver back in April. We got a great new poster (from @jediyves) and certainly found more than a few BSG fans in the crowd. Now, the dates are out for next year’s Fan Expo: April 20 & 21, 2013.

Looking ahead, I think we’ve reached a critical point for deciding the future of Canada’s largest Battlestar Galactica fan club.

Do we go on?

With disappointing news about “Blood & Chrome” staying as a web series that SyFy Channel does not appear to know what to do with, and no new BSG content on the horizon, has the time come to take a bow? Attendance at 13th Colony events has been decreasing since the show went off the air and we all expected that. Recently, it’s tough to get anyone to show up at all. We have a reasonably active Facebook group, but our Meetup page is largely inactive. Quite frankly, I’ve been hoping the club would have migrated off the meetup site before now.

Is there enough support out there to have 13th Colony involved in Fan Expo Vancouver 2013? If we’re going to do it, I would like to see the BSG fans put on a display at least on par with the BC Ghostbusters (kudos guys, great booth!) To do it right, we need to build…stuff. Costumes, props, Cylons. I have some great ideas, a few skills and contacts that could make it happen. But, I cannot do it alone. Despite my title, I’m no Laura Roslin or Bill Adama, and I cannot continue to lead us into the future without active support from the club members. We’ve had a great run! It’s been an amazing journey and I’ve met some incredible people because of 13th Colony. It’s because we hit such highs that I would rather see 13th Colony die than just gather dust online.

Are we alive?

Valorie Hoye
aka Madam President

Where Did Laura Dream?

Here at the 13th Colony, we’ve got a mission to find locations where the new BSG TV series was shot.  One of the ones we’ve been looking for (and thought more than once that we had already found) is from “Flesh & Bone” from Season One, where Laura dreams of Leoben.  Well, thanks to the lovely ladies behind www.battlestarlocations.com, we’ve got the inside scoop.  The dream sequence was shot in Robert Burnaby Park in Burnaby.

We’re heading out on Saturday, May 12th at 11am to take a look.  Here’s a link to our meetup event.

There were at least two other scenes shot in the park–from the same episode, Six & Doral waited near a swingset for Sharon to report on the status of her seduction of Helo, and later on Kara was shot on Caprica before being captured and taken to “The Farm.”   “Cabin in the Woods” shot there, as did at least one of the Twilight movies.  Currently, there is a large standing set for the sequel to “Percy Jackson.”

We’ve got a good weather forecast for Saturday’s adventure.  We’ve been known to venture off trails to find a matching camera angle, so wear good footwear!  It’s still early enough that we might find some mucky bits.

For more info, check out this link from Battlestar Locations:

http://www.battlestarlocations.com/1/category/burnaby/1.html

Here’s a google map image of where we will meet–the parking lot next to the baseball diamond:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Edmonds+Street,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia&hl=en&ll=49.230497,-122.935295&spn=0.002449,0.006539&sll=49.244584,-122.976322&sspn=0.009792,0.026157&vpsrc=6&hnear=Edmonds+St,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia&t=h&z=18

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!

Merry Frakkin’ Xmas to All!

13th Colony's 2011 Christmas Card

BSG Locations website goes live

Finding shooting locations for the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series in and around Vancouver has been a favourite past time of 13th Colonists for a few years now.  Having inspired a couple of particularly ambitious ladies to take the idea and run with it makes this blogger very proud indeed.  Check out www.battlestarlocations.com  for the most comprehensive centralized source of BSG locations info, with great site pictures and screen shot comparisons.  The designers have done their homework, and put in the hours finding sites.  They’ve had info directly from the source, BSGs Locations Manager Kent Sponagle, but these ladies have put in the hours in the woods trying to find just the right trees!

We tip our hats to them for finally finding one of our most elusive locations – where Laura’s dream sequence from “Flesh & Bone” was shot.  Turns out it’s in Robert Burnaby Park in nearby Burnaby, BC.  We’ve already scheduled a Locations Scouting Mission to head out and confirm their find!

13th Colony will continue to explore new locations and produce new video files (Yes, we know you’re waiting!  We’ve got several more episodes shot and waiting in post-production.) and we’re thrilled to be able to share all that with the new Battlestar Locations website.

Congratulations to Anne & Mo.  Job well done.  So say we all!