13th Colony's 2011 Christmas Card

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!

For tickets to the Sci-Fi Museum (and Experience Music Project), follow this link for tickets at $15 rather than the regular $18 at the door:

https://estore.empsfm.org/store/index.asp?code=13th%20Colony%20BSG

For tickets to the Jane Espenson event called “Oral History Live! with Jane Espenson” follow this link:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/192821

**Note, if you are a Geek Girl Con pass holder, use the code MEMBERS ROCK in the discount section to get a half price ticket for Jane’s talk – $5 rather than $10.

**Note, the Jane Espenson talk is extra, not included with your EMP/SFM admission ticket

Jane Espenson, and a bunch of other cool guests, are appearing on a Whedonistas panel later in the day as part of Geek Girl Con.  If you are interested in the convention, check it out here:  http://www.geekgirlcon.com/   My husband and I will be attending the convention, so I hope to see you there!

PS>..and yes, GEEK GUYS are also very welcome!!

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!

When the Colonials visited Kobol in Galactica’s second season, it was pouring rain, the Cylons were close on their heels and the future of humanity was at stake. In our world, summer is finally here and it’s time for some outdoor events. How about a relaxing but geeky day in the park?

We’ll admire the Gates of Hera on Kobol, we’ll find where Caprica’s Jordan Durham took a tumble, and we’ll go into the trees in search of Laura’s dream sequence. Bring your cameras, wear good walking shoes, and bring a snack. Depending on the weather, it can be cool in the trees. We’ll have to walk a couple of kilometres, including some uphill. Believe me, it’s worth it. It’s a beautiful spot to sit and ponder the future of humanity.

On Saturday, July 23rd, we’ll meet at 1pm in the parking lot at the north end of the park, next to the Cleveland Dam. Here’s a map.

If you want some background on the BSG and Caprica locations within the park, check out Episode 3 of the 13th Colony Video Files.

This event is also set up on our Meetup page.

Members of The 13th Colony built a 10 foot long viper last summer and christened it the Mark XIII.  It was originally designed to be part of our Canada Day parade entry, but the weather ruined our plans.  Cardboard and spray paint would not have stood up to what the clouds were dishing out that day.  Instead, our viper made its debut at the annual club barbeque later in the summer and appeared again for our Halloween party.

We tried to put her out of service in January when we headed out to Centennial Beach to shoot one of our 13th Colony Video Files, but again the weather foiled our plans.  In the end, we finally accomplished the deed on June 27, 2011, turning our Mark XIII Viper to ashes.

Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen was the place we choose for the ritual, since that was where Starbuck’s viper crashed, and where she burned her own remains on a spectacular funeral pyre.  Alas, it is also one of the only places in the Greater Vancouver area where you can have an open fire. In the summer, the spot is almost unrecognizable as the same place where “Sometimes a Great Notion” was shot.  Just look at the pictures below of the tree where Kara found her crashed viper.  We had fourteen members of the 13th Colony in attendance, and though we were missing a few key members of the build team, we’re satisfied we gave her a good sendoff on their behalf. We’ve got more pictures up at our Meetup site.

We’re going to do more location scouting.  It’s a fun way to wander around and visit some parts of our city we might not otherwise visit.  Included in this, of course, are more 13th Colony Video Files.  Episode #4 is in editing right now, and #5 is part way through production.  We’ll let you know once they are up on Youtube.

We’ve got board games to play!  The 13th Colony will continue to hold regular BSG board game meetups, and I’ve heard we’ve actually finally got into the expansion sets, so lots of fun to be had there.

We have a Viper Burning to get done.  Last year’s viper is still waiting to go up in flames and with it’s current guardians moving soon, we’ll put that one on the schedule sooner rather than later.  We’re probably going to go back out to Centennial Beach to get the deed done, but since the park closes at dusk, we’ll schedule an event for the daytime.

We’re also considering ‘Commentary Parties’ wherein we re-watch certain episodes with the commentary track on, giving us some new insights; ‘Costuming Workshops’ for those planning ahead for Halloween or convention appearances; and may even challenge the other local clubs to a bowling challenge!

Of course, any conversation about the future of 13th Colony has to cover the prospect that the club will wrap up.  If “Blood & Chrome” doesn’t air, doesn’t get good enough ratings to continue as a series, or just doesn’t work, all of those members I’ve talked to are just fine with wrapping up 13th Colony.  We would much rather give it an end date than leave it to linger, wither and die eventually.  It’s an option, but it’s a long way off yet.

Episode 3

Capilano River Regional Park in North Vancouver was a popular location with the producers of Battlestar Galactica.  They went back several times for Battlestar Galactica, The Plan and Caprica.

We’ve done something different with this episode, trying to give you an impression of how close together some of the various locations (and different planets!) really are.  From the parking lot off Capilano Road, you can get a clear view of The Lions, which were seen in Caprica‘s “The Heavens Will Rise” and in Battlestar Galactica‘s Season Two episode, “Home Pt 2.”  A short walk to the south where there are some picnic tables and a wooden fence is where Jordan Durham was shot later on in “The Heavens Will Rise.”  If you walk over the Cleveland Dam, turn left and walk up the hill, you will see a trailhead on the left that heads off into the trees.

You are on Kobol!  The first 500 metres of the Upper Shinglebolt Trail is where several sequences for Season Two of  Battlestar Galactica were shot.  We know The Plan was in there filming scenes at the camp of the Caprica resistance, and we suspect this is where Sam Adama and the Graystones went into V-World on horseback, looking for Zoe.

We’re going to take a couple of weeks off before we do the next episode.  It is winter in Vancouver, so it’s raining almost constantly.  Wonderful atmosphere for Cylon Earth, but much harder to shoot in.  I’m holding out for some sunshine! So Say We All!

Episode 2

We visit “Cylon Earth” seen in Season Four of Battlestar Galactica episodes “Revelations” and “Sometimes a Great Notion.”  The joint human and cylon fleet hoped they had found a new home, but instead they found a dead, radioactive shell.

The actual location is Boundary Bay Provincial Park, south of Vancouver in Tsawwassen.  The day we shot was particularly cold and rainy, and perfectly captured the desolate mood we were going for.  Too bad we had to get so cold and wet in the process!

Hope you enjoy Episode 2 of the 13th Colony Video Files.  Here’s a link to Episode 1, if you haven’t already seen it.

Episode 1

The idea behind the video files is to show Battlestar Galactica and Caprica fans who aren’t lucky enough to live in Vancouver, what some of the really cool filming locations featured on those shows really look like.

Episode 1 is a bit of an introduction, and a glimpse at a downtown Vancouver location used in the Caprica episode “Rebirth”

Future video episodes are planned for locations on Caprica, New Cap City, Little Tauron, Kobol, Cloud Nine and more than one version of Earth.  We hope you will stay tuned.

So say we all!