Blogs

Here is a cool find on Evil-bay. The Tucana Singers on Carillon. This art is from the Marvel's Battlestar Galactica Super Special #8 comic.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BATTLESTAR-GALACTICA-Painting-Rick-Bryant-/370525229425?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5645065171

http://cgi.ebay.com/MARVEL-COMICS-SUPER-SPECIAL-8-VF-BATTLESTAR-GALACTICA-/300541928914?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f9b1e5d2

Jim

This write up was done by follow Tombs of Kobol member Peter Noble. In June 2011, while looking at eBay listings centered around all-things Galactica, he came across a number of listings for storyboards from a Battlestar project that was neither the classic, original series, the newest one, the Bryan Singer/Tom DeSanto project, Richard Hatch’s “The Second Coming”, or even the Glen A. Larson/Todd Moyer movie proposal. Here is that article.

http://www.tombsofkobol.com/bsg/1978-secret-01.html

Jim

THE Bear Mc Creary Interview

Herb Brunner

Thanks to: Bear Mc Creary, Kevin Porter, Shawn O' Donnell, Cliff Gardner, Chris Loomis,Daniel Allan for his support

Greetings everyone,

I'm in the process of developing a newsletter for us. This newsletter is being called the Colonial News Network (CNN). This newsletter is for everyone and is not exculsive to just the Battlestar Galatica Fan Club, Colonial Defense Force, or to the Quorum of Twelve. It is for the fans written by the fans of Battlestar Galatica.

The software that I'm using to create the Colonial News Network newsletter is an open source software called Scribus maybe you have heard of it and then again maybe not. To me Scribus is an alternate to Mircosoft Publisher and or Adobe Indesign desktop publishing. Yes I do have MS Publisher here on my laptop and would rather much prefer to use it. However, Microsoft is no longer supporting any of it's older versions of MS Publisher and since I've all ready went through a trail period of the newer version of MS Publisher nor do not have the extra cash on hand to upgrade to the full version of MS Publisher, Scribus is the software that I'll use until such time that I can aquire the nesscary resources to purchase the latest version of MS Publisher.

I'm looking for those individuals who are interested in helping me with the development of the Colonial News Network newsletter. I'm looking for a team of Copy Editors, Poof Readers,Cartoonist, and Staff Photographers. If your interested in doing any one of these please by all means let me know at jcecil5@adelphia.net .

Copy Editors - These individuals read over what is sent in by the membership and make spelling and grammical corrections to articles that have been submitted to the Colonial News Network.

Proof Readers - These individuals get to read over the entire Colonial News Network newsletter prior to it being uploaded to the net for membership viewing.

Cartoonist - These individuals work on the creation of Battlestar Galatica related cartoons for the Coloinal News Network newsletter.

Staff Photographers - These individuals provide to the Coloinal News Network photographs of events that the membership have been involved in with their chapters.

Where do you send your article submissions to? Why to jcecil5@adelphia.net for now. I'll be contacting our leadership about getting an e-mail address setup soley for article submissions for the Coloinal News Network here shortly. Just besure to put in your subject line Colonial News Network: Your Article Title. And if you have any photoes that go with the article that your submitting please include them. If you have any questions about this please sedn them to me to the e-mail address I just mentioned here.

James Cecil

Caprica Delegate

Quorum of Twelve

Public Realtions Contact

Today at zero eight thirty five PM the Battlestar Council ended voting on Information Technology Guidelines with a vote of 7 (77.8%) Yes to 2 (22.2%) No. The Information Technology Guidelines is a document which states how members of the BFC, CDF, and Quorum of Twelve should conduct themselves while conducting business on the bettlestarcouncil forums. I'm providing to you all the extact wording of this document below so that you will have a well informed understanding of what the Information Technology Guidelines are.

"Aggression in the form of comments (both pms and public), flaming, trolling, baiting, and any form or socially unaccepted behavior to another member of this group, the fans that comprise this community, or the fan-club as a whole will not be tolerated. This includes responding to the aggression in the same manner in a public forum.

Any type of aggressive outburst or offering comments should be addressed to a moderator or administrator so they can settle the issue in a private manner with the offending parties."

06.24.11 - Katee Goes to Comic-Con in San Diego.
Katee just announced today via Twitter that she is going to be at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego, CA.
She's going to be there 2 days, Friday July 22nd and Saturday July 23rd for two panels she will be a part of; Batman: Year One and a Spiderman video game she is also doing.

Katee will only be on the panels and will not be signing during her time at Comic Con. :-(

Greetings Fellow Colonials,

It brings me great pleasure to welocme James Michael Katsouils as your Virgon delegate to the Quorum of Twelve. Mister Katsouils recieved 8 Yes (100%) to 0 No (0%) votes to confirm his place amongst the other Quorum of Twelve members.

James Cecil

Caprica Delegate

Quorum of Twelve

Public Relations Contact

caprica@battlestarcounicl.com

http://www.geekologie.com/2010/04/eat-my-dust-cylons-guy-makes-s.php

OK, this is a year old now, but I just found it and HAD to share it with everyone!

Some guy went and made a Colonial Viper Starfighter from Battlestar Galactica out of an old Postal Service Jeep, a bunch of other crap, and a small-block Chevy V-8.

Read more and VIEW MORE PICS at http://www.geekologie.com/2010/04/eat-my-dust-cylons-guy-makes-s.php

I know alot of you don't know that I have a play by e-mail game called Battlestar Cruiser Yatleau out there in Yhaoo Groups land. Well I do. Course it has done much in the past year or so and that is mainly due to real life. But is that and issue now you ask? No it isn't however I will say that I can not predict when real life issues won't poke it's nasty head up and force me to have to deal with them it is something we all face.

Battlestar Cruiser Yatleau (http://www,usscommonwealth.org/yatleau) is set right after the cylons have attacked the colonies and is returning from a five year deep space exploration mission. I'd like to revive the Battlestar Cruiser Yatleau with a new crew and restart the story line. If anyone out there is interested give me yell. Oh and if you want to play a cylon even those who don't know they're a cylon that's cool too. Heck I'll even allow Commander Adama and company to be played in the game.

Hello everyone,

It is with great pleasure that we present this little sit down discussion with Rick Worthy...thank you Rick for taking the time to answer the questions I threw at you!

Listen everyone, Rick is a super cool guy and a lot of fun to talk to and on top of that he's a member of this very club...so go say hi!

Anyway without further ado, I present Mr. Rick Worthy...

Shawn: You grew up in Detroit and I also understand your Dad worked in the auto industry...so what turned your mind to acting?

Rick: Yes, I grew up in Detroit, a child of Motown and automobiles.

Almost everyone in my family worked for GM, Ford or Chrysler or in a business that was somehow connected to the Big 3 auto manufactuars.

My Mom and Dad saw the birth of Motown music...The Supremes, The Four Tops, etc...and my Mom once told me, "Honey, there were many,many singing groups from that time that didn't 'make it'."

My Dad knew a couple of the Four Tops.

I knew I didn't want to go into the automobile industry and I knew I couldn't sing either, but I had an itch to be on stage.

My Mom taught me and my brother how to dance and she made brilliant costumes for us and started entering us in school talent shows.

Hey man, we were moonwalking long before Michael Jackson!

It's true!

Ask my Mom!

Anyway, I suppose that's how my career started, as a dancer.

I eventually found my way into the theatre in high school and in college and that's when I really knew that I was an actor.

Shawn:  So you actually started acting in high school then?

Rick: Yes, first in high school, I did a production of "The Wiz" and then I got very involved in theatre and film at the University of Michigan.

During that time I was in a brilliant production of "The Meeting"  by Jeff Stetson.

"The Meeting" is a play about the fictional meeting of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King a week before Malcom X's assassination.

I played Rashad, Malcolm X's bodyguard and my acting professor played Malcolm X.

I learned a grat deal during that time.

It was as great, great experience.

Shawn:  So your first experience was acting on the stage...how did that impact your outlook on the craft?...did it change any pre-conceived notions you might have had about acting in general?

Rick: After "The Meeting" I was asked to be the lead in the play "The Mighty Gents" by Richard Wesley.

"The Mighty Gents" is a great play about gangbangers from New Jersey who are approaching the 30 year old mark...they're not young kids anymore with dreams of a better tomorrow...that tomorrow has arrived and they find that they haven't really grown or gone anywhere better.

I played the leader of the Mighty Gents, "Frankie" and it was one of the best experiences I could have ever had.

A great deal of work was set before me and I happily dove in and soaked up as much as I could of Frankie and his world.

I learned a lot about stage acting, what it takes to carry a play and how to work effectively with a rather large ensemble of actors and crew.

But at this time, I still had a lot to learn about on-camera acting.

I had worked on-camera a couple of  years prior to "The Mighy Gents" and I had no idea what I was doing...I was completely new and had no solid idea of the craft or skills of film acting.

But I was grateful for the opportunity and it defintely got my career started.

Film/TV acting and stage acting are different.

They say that if you can act on stage, you can act on film...I think that's true.

But what is also true is that if you can act on film, that doesn't necessarily mean you can act on stage.

Julia Roberts was in a Broadway play a few years ago and although I didn't see it, I heard her reviews weren't very strong.

Shawn: You left Detroit to pursue your career...where did you go first & what landed you in Los Angeles?

Rick: I went to Chicago...so many actors think that they have to go to New York or L.A., but thank God my brother was living in Chicago at this time of my life and I visited him after spending a couple of weeks in New York and I went to see a couple of plays when I was there.

I quickly realized that there were a lot of actors living and working in Chicago, NOT L.A. or New York.

Chicago seemed more affordable than New York and it seemed less hectic, so I gave it a shot.

It was was one of the best decisions I ever made.

I started working almost immediately after getting to Chicago and I developed a solid working life as an actor and made some great friends.

But at some point the idea of moving to L.A. started bugging me, because I knew that if I wanted a shot at bigger roles on TV and in film, I had to go to L.A.

So after developing a solid theatre resume and a solid on-camera reel, I moved to L.A.

I've been in L.A. for 17 years now.

Shawn: Talk about your first big break on Television..."Star Trek" has played a very big role in your career thus far...

Rick: My first break was a video game called "Kingon Warrior"...I had auditioned for a few different TV shows when I first arrived in L.A., but I didn't book any of them.

My agent told me that there was a video game being produced by the folks at "Star Trek", and that I hsould go audition for it.

I did and I remember walking in to meet Ron Surma, the Casting Director of all the "Star Trek" series and Jonathan Frakes, "Number One", as I'm sure you guys all know :)

Jonathan liked what I was doing and he offered me a job.

I happily took it, even though I had no car at the time.

It was a 2 week shoot and I played a Klingon and I had so much fun and felt like this was a brilliant first job for me to have in L.A.

This job led to a nice role in "Star Trek: Voyager", where I played Automated Personanel Unit 3947, a robot that B'Lanna Torrez finds adrift in space.

She resurrects him and he eventually kidnaps her and forces her to make more copies of his kind.

That experience put me solidly in the Star Trek world, so to speak and I subsequently worked on Star Trek a few more times after that.

Shawn: Speaking of Star Trek...you appeared in "Star Trek: Insurrection"...what was that like?

Rick: Yes, I appeared in "Insurrection"...it was fun, they made me up to look like a half-man/half-salamander...My Grandma called me from Detroit to tell me she had seen "Insurrection" and she saw me in it...I said "Grandma, how'd you know it was me??"

She laughed and said, "I know your eyes"...Awww, Gotta love Grandma's.

Shawn: I have to throw in on this one...you played a Klingon on "Deep Space Nine"...yes, still "Star Trek" related...was that a process to get into character?

Rick: Playing a Klingon was so much freakin' fun...the hair, the face, the Klingon teeth, the way they speak and walk and their wardrobe..I always saw the Klingon's as a combination of Japanese Samurai who haven't had their morning coffee (or tea!) and African Zulu warriors.

Simply put: Bad-Ass Motherfuckers.

Shawn: Ok, I'm going to move into BSG territory here...your character of Simon...how did you construct him?

Rick: Well, for Simon, I wanted to play him with a simpole and direct objective.

Cylon self-determination.

Whether or not you view the Cylon character as evil or good depends on which side your are on.

From Adama's point of view, the Cylon's represent the unltimate evil (ironically created by Man)...From Cavil's and the other 11 models, the humans represent the greatest obstacle to Cylon existance and freedom.

Yes, Simon has a function, being that of a scientist and doctor, but "The Plan" is his super-objective.

But ahhhh...as we discover in "The Plan", the Cylon plan didn't frakking work!

Why?

They fell in love.

Shawn: In "The Plan" you had to create a dichotomy between the Simon on the Galactica & the Simon on Caprica..did

this create a conflict in your acting method?

Rick: Fun and challenging to play two different versions of "the same guy".

I don't think I've had to do that until "The Plan".

I loved the "softer" Simon, having a wife and daughter...maybe it resonated with something deep inside myself, a longing to have that kind of love in my life..I was very touched when I read the script for "The Plan", brilliantly written by my friend, Jane Espensen.

I love you Jane!

Shawn: Talk to me about what you have got going now...what projects are you working on post-Galactica?

Rick: Right now I'm playing the Alpha Vampire on the show "Supernatural", a wonderful character to play and I must say I love the cast and crew of this show.

They are all great and I think they appreciate being on a super-succesful show.

There are no ego-maniacs on "Supernatural", I can't say that that about 95% of the other shows I've worked on.

Shawn: Hey, if the offered you a part in "Blood & Chrome"...silly question, would you go for it?

Rick: Hell Yes I would take it!!!!!!!

Hahahaha!!!!

You're funny Shawn!!!! ;)

Shawn: I always ask this of actors...but really, what advice do you have for those aspiring to be one?

Rick: Get on stage.

Learn your craft.

Go see theatre, go see films, go see international films, especially with sub-titles, see actors acting.

A long time ago when I was studying theatre in college, I was an extra on a commerical in Michigan.

Someone handed me a book: "How To Be A Working Actor" by Marly Lyn Henry and Lynne Rogers.

That book pointed the way for me and a lot of others.

Buy it.

Read it.

It will help you tremendously.

God Bless Everyone and of course, So Say We ALL!!!!

-Rick

Battlestar Fan Club

The Bear Mc Creary Interview

By Herbert Brunner

Cliff Gardner

Shawn O’Donnell

The video that's coming soon

Hello fans, Herb Brunner here. I wanted to share some more about the interview before I get the video out soon.  One thing you’ll notice when we post the video, is that we didn’t do a formal introduction of ourselves at the beginning.  Why?  Well, this is how it went down.

The set up

Cliff and I had arrived early.  It was a casual setting and we began setting up the cameras while waiting for Shawn and Chris. Chris Loomis is the photographer that did Richard Hatch’s photo shoot later that afternoon right before our R. Hatch interview. In the mean time Bear Cliff and I had begun a casual conversation about BSG, the music, and the concert in 2009 at the house of Blues. That night the crowd went wild when the BSG Orchestra performed the track ‘Apocalypse’ that's featured on the stand alone DVD episode called ‘Battlestar Galactica THE – PLAN’. Of course I mentioned Tina Guo - Classical & Electric Cellist. You'll see her do a solo during the 'Apocalypse' performance in the video below. Bear propped his feet up for a moment in response to my joking to Cliff about not getting our socks on film. So bear was  having a little fun too.

If you haven’t finished all season’s one through four of the BSG series on DVD yet, I urge you to not watch THE PLAN until you do.  It will ruin the series, well maybe not ruin it; however there are things that you should not know, and if you do, you won’t have the same fascinating experience of the series. When seen in the it's intended order  - after all seasons have been viewed - THE PLAN is an absolutely incredible addition, the true icing on the cake; yes it’s that good. That’s how important it is to let it rest until the end of season four after the last episode. Trust me don’t do it, or you’ll suffer at the hands - or steel claws rather - of a group of Cylon Centurions.

BEAR'S BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ORCHESTRA AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES SAN DIEGO, CA

BACK TO HERB AND THE BEAR

The interview

The interview with Bear Mc Creary was great. We began filming after a short conversation about the Battlestar Galactica Orchestra performance at House of Blues. Eventually, it suddenly dawned on me - We should be filming! It was off the record but our conversation may as well be part of the interview.  Shawn and Chris were close to the location anyway, I suggested to Cliff that he go ahead and start shooting. This is why the video just cuts into the middle of a conversation. That’s one long explanation Uh? Well I’ve been known to be complicated. Of all the questions I asked Bear, one was about his vividness of BSG scenes and their corresponding scores. Many moons have passed the work has been done, the series is long over, other projects have been on the table and more on the rise.I was curious if even to this day when he performs BSG music if he's has a strong vividness of every detail of a scene while performing it's corresponding score. 

For example, while casually performing a simple piano version of ‘Prelude to War’, but perhaps in the comfort of his own home or studio. Is it only the music or both?

PRELUDE TO WAR

We certainly think you’ll enjoy the video. It will be available soon, and you'll hear first hand Bear's personal experience, and input about it, and he did actually have much  to say about that question; including the musicians that perform his scores and the emotional aspect. Bear Mc Creary graciously went on to answer  and discuss more of my questions. He was very open expressive, and flowed though every detail. I’m sure Shawn, Cliff and Chris would all agree that it was a great experience!

What about you fan club members? When you hear the music by itself, long after having completed an episode or the entire series of BSG; do you remember, visualize specific details vividly?  I know I do.

How ironic that through Bear's music of Battlestar Galactica, I've learned to appreciate a new genre, and that would be classical.  I've always listened to the genre of soundtracks for years. Not all of the music throughout the Battlestar Galactica series is is what I would expect to hear in a typical classical concert setting, it is what it is for a purpose.

Some Battlestar Galactica scores I assume do fit right into the classical genre right? In any case, when it comes to the classical genre, I now see beyond my personal likes or dislikes of a piece of music in itself, I have a greater appreciation for the talent, skills, true art, and passions of the musicians behind the language of the piece of music. 

I'll be attending a classical music concert April 10th 2011. The Concert by Pantoum Trio includes Cecilia Tsan - Cellist, and friend of many years. Cecillia Tsan has recorded several times with Bear Mc Creary throughout this year.

BSG music in the real life of fans

According to Bear, there have been many testimonies from fans that have used the BSG music in their weddings and other personal events. Apparently people have also related to their parent(s)when hearing the Wonder My Friends theme or Adama Family theme. Personally, I can relate to that, it reminds me of my own life interaction with my father as well.

BSG as a SciFi Drama

In the end Battlestar Galactica set a new standard for SciFi and is considered a SciFi Drama and rightly so. I have no doubt that BSG would have made it into the drama category, but without Bears music behind the feel of every moment, that "drama" category would have been more difficult to reach.

Ending

Bear says hello to a couple of friends of mine, and that was really cool for him to do.  We greatly appreciate Bear Mc Creary for giving us the opportunity to for this interview for our fan club.  We appreciate his talents, his art in music, the talented musicians in his BSG Orchestra, and all who record with him on other projects as well.

Thank you Bear Mc Creary for all that you do.

BSG Orchestra HOB Concerts – Highlights

'The Shape of Things to Come'

Links

My Personal Favorites

'Roslyn and Adama'

'Passacaglia'

'The Shape of Things to Come'

'Prelude to War'

'Worthy of Survival'- (music and fan made video)

'Dark Unions'

'Someone to Trust'

'All Along the Watch Tower' - (Music and fan made video)

'Kara's Last Moments' - (Music and fan made video)

'Pegasus'

'A Promise to Return'

'The Line'

'Admiral and Commander'

'Allegro'

'Storming New Caprica' - (Music and fan made video)

'Colonial Anthem' - Bear's remake of Stu Phillips original BSG theme.

Ah Yes.. I am not what most would call a "typical" Syfi fanboy, but after an acquaintance of mine talked me into watching the three hour pilot of BSG i was forever a changed man. I've now watched the entire series 3 full times. (each time inviting a new atypical viewer to watch it with me.) The only negative i have found in this brilliantly put together goldmine of artistic beauty, is that i become so immersed in it, that i find myself deeply depressed with the inadequacy of every day life. I have been blessed with a more than fantastic family. My childhood was completely fulfilling and trauma-free. But in retrospect, i feel i missed a tons of life lessons in said growin' up years. I've seen Battlestar reach a crowd of folks so diverse in nature. Reach them into the core of who they really are. from questions about their god or gods, to how far someone would go for those they love. Battlestar galactica showed me a different way to look at many of lifes journeys, lessons imperative that we face, sooner or later. I am here to show my appreciation to all involved, including you all, my kind of FRAKIN' people!! Thank you making this an actual working flowing avenue for fans all over the world.

So say we all..

Ok family, here's my feedback on the BG-Online beta and it's not a good one, be warned:

I've been playing the BG-online game for a few days now and the more I play it the more I like it (I didn't really liked it at first... not very user friendly at first)... or used to like it is a more true way to explain teh situation. The issues I have is the difficulty of the starting missions in contrast to the level of the player and the ship's maneuverability (or lack of it to be honest). 

As and example of this one mission in particular get's you into the task of defending a raptor on your own with a Mark II viper (ship of choice) and the Viper's armaments are NOTHING in comparison to the Cylon Raider's in terms of targeting. I can shoot 2000 bullets per minute and not leaving the Cylon raider's six for a second and still I miss 80% of the shots AND IN THIS GAME YOU CAN'T TURN YOUR SIX AND SHOOT THEM INTO OBLIVION LIKE IN THE SERIES, as a matter of fact there are NO, silch, nada evasive maneuvers in this game and once some get's on your ass you're done for unless you can shoot out your butt. SO... While i'm trying to concentrate into shooting the Cylon Raider in my front 2 more raiders are locked on my six and the ARE hitting 80% of their shots dropping my hull to 0. Sure I can destroy the first and get to half of the second raider but still I am so full of holes by that time that I just can't finish the damned mission.

I've done that mission 5 times now to no avail and I'm getting frustrated because it's not a thing of ability, I can keep myself glued to that Cylon Raider's Six like there's not tomorrow so it's not ability, it's the way the game is made.
The game is either demanding me to invest time in mining asteroids (the most BORING part of the game) to be able to upgrade AND then have a ship that can fight 3 raiders and win the fight or to PAY REAL CASH (in a free game? C'mon!) to buy for the materials needed to upgrade and then have a ship fit to fight 1 vs 3...
Told you it wasn't an ability thing...  this is just like a Facebook game, you pay the dime you get the best upgrades to smash your opponents. I stopped playing FB games because of that issue, the guys winning are the guys willing to pay REAL money to win.

Games are supposed to be fun... you play to have fun! and when a game becomes a hassle it stops being fun. BG-Online is becoming a hassle in the very first stages of it and that is NOT a good thing. Shame really as I was starting to like it.

What's that? Don't like it then don't play you say?

oh absolutely! I'm just giving my feedback on it, thank you very much!

you have to see it my way: I have a job and a life and very little free time to pursue hours of online gameplay. I've been a World of Warcraft (the mother of all MMOs) gamer for years and never in the most hard quests did I ever felt frustrated to the point of not playing anymore but the lack of realism in the flight simulation feeling, the lack of balance (yes, again I mean the "you pay it, you get it" thing) in it and the absolute lack of maneuverability makes this game a slow and painful experience to beat. I'll keep visiting it to check new changes that will hopefully make this experience a fun one but until then, bye bye online fleet i wish I could say it was fun but it was sadly not.

I'll stick to WoW for the time being.

Hello Everyone,

Just a note. I will be getting the Bear Mc Creary interview out soon. The interview went well. Bear was great, even said hello to a couple of friends for me at the end. I had asked Bear a few questions. One question was about the BSG music scores and visual memories of every moment of a scene that goes along with it. Another was in regards to his decision to compose scores. It's a cool interview, It was nice to meet  and talk to the man behind the music of BSG. I'll type up more about that interesting day soon when I get the video squared away.

Herb

Hello again everyone,

I'm very excited that I'm able to bring this to you...starting with Galacticon in 2003 (held in Los Angeles) & Galacticruise: Galacticon II in 2208 (held aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Paradise)...we continue with Emissaries: Galacticon III slated for the spring of 2013.

We will be gathering together a host of great Battlestar Galactica alumni, feature special Galacticon events and have a great frakkin' party for a couple of days!

As with all things, the details are being worked on...at a furious pace I may add...but luckily we have time to work on and bring you the best possible product & bring you THE ULTIMATE FAN EXPERIENCE!

We at Battlestar Galactica Fan Club are committed to that because we do serve YOU the fans!

We are building towards a greater unity in the Battlestar Galactica universe, one in which the fans & actors & everyone beyond & in between will have ownership of.

You make it happen, your energy becomes synergy and you help to create it.

Please visit http://galacticon3.com/ and bookmark it..as we get information we will present it to you real time and keep you up to date.

I also wanted to provide you with the logo for Emissaries: Galacticon III (which you will see on the site) and hopefully as a nice glossy advertisement at a Convention near you...as well as the poster image from Galacticruise: Galacticon II which will be on the reverse side of said glossy!

I want to thank Marcel Damen at Galactica TV http://www.galactica.tv.com/ for putting together the Emissaries logo & also thank Drew Gaska at http://blamventures.com/ for the use of the poster image.

Again, you can check out upcoming information about the release of the Galacticruise: Galacticon II DVD at http://www.battlestargalactica.com/

Also as a side note we will also be making the original poster from Galacticruise: Galacticon II available through Blam! Ventures.

So say we all!

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share with you some pics that were captured from our recent film interview with Richard Hatch.

For those who don't know (there may be some out there who don't)...in 2008 we organized Galacticruise (which was in fact Galacticon II), the 30th anniversary celebration of Battlestar Galactica.

Galacticruise was held aboard both the Queen Mary (berthed in Long Beach, CA) and aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Paradise (dubbed Battlestar Paradise for the duration!).

We featured Richard Hatch, Sarah Rush, Denny Miller, Terry Carter, Terrence McDonnell, Austin Stoker, George Murdock, Stu Phillips, Michael Swan, Tom DeSanto and of course the late Robert Feero.

We are now in the process of putting together a DVD of the experience for all of you and I think it will be enjoyed not only by those in attendance...but by those who didn't have the opportunity to be with us.

At any rate, we just finished filming some additional footage with Richard Hatch last week and we wanted to release a few production stills (note the green screen!)...

Our own Herb Brunner was in his much deserved role of hosting the talk while Cliff Gardner & I were fussing around with the camera's!

At the same time we were doing a photo shoot with Richard (or rather our own Chris Loomis was)...and hopefully we can very soon provide you a "making of video" of that experience.

For more information about the Galacticruise DVD, please go to http://www.battlestargalactica.com/ just note we are in the process of finishing up work on that page...the actual DVD release is slated for September, but we will be starting pre-sales in July....Keep the Faith!

Note: This was written years ago, but it still applies. Hope you enjoy.

Some time ago, I was asked on a message board what my view of the new Battlestar Galactica was. I said at that time that I haven’t watched it yet because I haven’t bought the DVD’s. I like watching shows on DVD, especially classic TV like Emergency (I get to see Engine 51 everyday because it is the engine for the volunteer fire dept. here in Yosemite) and Battlestar Galactica, and recent shows (some not so recent) like Babylon 5, The West Wing, Northern Exposure, Firefly, Alias, and Absolutely Fabulous. The real reason – I hate commercials, and this comes from someone who was almost in one herself many, many years ago. For a long time (several years), I was never going to watch the new BG. I was one of those fans who didn’t want a new revision but a version with the original actors and characters, and of course their offspring. I wanted to see BG the way I remembered – Starbuck, Apollo, Boxey – er, Troy, and the metal Cylons. I would have protested the new BG if I wasn’t so busy writing. Thank goodness for Richard Hatch’s books and comics because I’d been wondering for years (or yahrens) why no one got off their butts and at least write newstories, like with the Star Wars books and comics. I even remember telling Richard at San Diego Comic-con in 1996 (on Star Wars day – which ended up being Battlestar Galactica day for me) that I’m glad someone is writing BG stories, even if they are comics, and soon books. At least I didn’t have 3-day laryngitis like I did when I met Mark Hamill in 1995. It turned out that I wasn’t the only fan who didn’t want a revised version of BG, including Richard Hatch. So I guess after three years of hearing that the new BG is the best show on TV, and feeling that Richard Hatch was a traitor (for like five minutes) for being on the new BG (he even mentions it in the liner notes of Redemption) and that he embraced the new BG, I finally decided to watch the new series. So I bought the DVD’s, watched them, and even shared them with my mum while visiting her in Ireland. I enjoyed them immensely. My mom enjoyed them, too. This is the same woman who screams “You met Richard Hatch” in a store in Waco, TX in January 1997. She’s an All My Children watcher, and knows every character’s plots since the beginning of the show (yes, that’s why she freaked when I told her I met Richard). She saved my BG stories all these years, too – the ones I wrote in 1978-1980.

I like the new Cylons, especially Six in Baltar’s mind. And I also liked it when Bartar was in hers. It shows the two of them are more alike than they think. Even though one of the reasons why I hadn’t watched the new BG is because Starbuck is a woman, I’ve actually come to like Kara. And I also like Tom Zarek, probably because he says what is on his mind. Is he a terrorist? Is he a freedom fighter? Is he a genius? Is he a manipulator like Emperor Palpatine? Is he laughing boy?

I’ve watched seasons one and two three times, once with the commentaries. The madness of Dirk Benedict cracked me up. I can completely imagine him standing there in the temple with a cigar in his mouth saying, “I’m God.” It would have made a good piece for a gag reel. I was laughing so hard that I had to pause the DVD and run to the bathroom. And then when “Don’t cross the streams” and “Cross the streams” was said during the “Home (pt. 2) episode commentary, I was laughing again because it was “Ghostbusters” lines. I had to watch that movie afterwards and complain about barely hearing the two lines to “I Can Wait Forever” over the mover’s Walkman as I usually do.

I have only two complaints. I hate the name Lee. No, I loathe the name Lee. First name only, and that spelling. I still wish Starbuck was a sexy blond man. Sue me. Dirk Benedict was my first crush. Yeah, I know he’s not a blond, but he was on BG as Starbuck. I think admitting that made me feel my age.

Okay, so I’ve come around full circle about the new BG. I embrace it, but I will tell you this. The classic Battlestar Galactica is still the best for me. I’ve never once stopped being a fan. Not like with Star Wars, where I never thought about it during my teens, or when I stopped reading the books when they changed publishers and Luke married Mara Jade, but that ended, too. I even got people to talk about BG while waiting in line to see “Revenge of the Sith.” I brought Destiny with me to read while in line. With the 30th anniversary approaching, I’m still a Battlestar Galactica fan, and that will never change. Frack! Am I that old?

New Radio Chat up on my CDF Caprica web site. You can find it at http://www.usscommonwealth.org/caprica click on the Play Radio Chat button to hear the new radio chat. And if there is an annoucement you would like for me to put up on my CDF Caprica website just send me what you want me to say along with the date that you want your annoucement to be made and I'll get up on my website there. Until key a watchful eye on the draidus.

James Cecil

Caprica Delegate

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