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!

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!

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!

BSG Exhibit AND Jane Espenson? Frak Yeah!

A very special event is coming to a city very near to us….in conjunction with Geek Girl Con in Seattle the weekend of October 8th and 9th, BSG and Caprica writer Jane Espenson will be appearing at the Science Fiction Museum  for a 90 minute talk.  What better time to arrange a trip down to the Museum to see that BSG Exhibit we’ve been talking about for so long!  And, to top it off, the folks at the Sci-Fi Museum have given the 13th Colony our very own portal to buy discounted tickets:

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!!

Guided Tour of Kobol

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.

Walking on Kobol

Episode #3 of the 13th Colony Video Files is up on Youtube.

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!

13th Colony Video File – Cylon Earth

The second episode of the 13th Colony Video Files is now up on Youtube.

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.

Announcing the 13th Colony Video Files

The 13th Colony is venturing into a new frontier…Youtube!  Today marks the launch of our Youtube channel and the premiere of the first episode of the 13th Colony Video Files.

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!