In case you haven’t noticed, we’re pretty big fans of Battlestar Galactica here at Geekadelphia. That’s why we found ourselves reading Entertainment Weekly’s report that UK actor Luke Pasqualino will play Young William Adama in Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome, the forthcoming prequel series from Syfy, set ten years into the First Cylon War. This is between the events chronicled in Caprica and the series proper, as if you didn’t already know that. While they’re busy preparing the series for its as-of-yet undated two-hour pilot, we can look forward to the now-in-beta MMOG Battlestar Galactica Online.

The game is based on the Unity 3D game development engine and is played in your browser using their proprietary embedding technology. The Massively Multiplayer Online Game is in closed beta until February 8th, when it will be wide open for all. We tried LEGO game Clone Wars: Quest for R2D2 and Avert Fate, also Unity-based 3D browser games, and we were impressed. But German game company Bigpoint said in a recent press release that it “aims to set new technical and artistic benchmarks for 3D browser games” with Battlestar Galactica Online.

That implies that we won’t be able to set our graphics mode to “Fantastic”–an actual setting in some Unity games, lest we drop our frames like they’re hot. The trailer below certainly backs up Bigpoint’s confidence, as long as that quality is seen throughout the game in actual gameplay scenarios.

After all, the trailer was most definitely made on the sort of superpowered computer commonly used for gaming or video production and editing. Actual mileage may vary, and that will be the true test. You can be sure we’ll report back to you once we’ve had the chance to dive into the game itself.

Gasp– So, did you know that three out of nine Geekadelphians have their bachelor degrees in fine art & design?

As I’m sure Tim and Dustin have done in the past, I’ve been painting a few portraits as holiday gifts for my friends and family. With the materials available, I took the opportunity to use a leftover piece of canvas to make my own little homage to my favorite series, Battlestar Galactica.

Above is a screen still of Kara’s Eye of Jupiter from Season 3 (dream sequence with Leoben, anyone?) and below is my interpretation in oil. Happy winter solstice!

It’s no secret that most of the Geekadelphians are diehard BSG fans. Can you blame us? The from the pilot miniseries to the finale, the re-imagined series of Battlestar Galactica has been cited as the crown jewel in a new golden era for SF for our generation. Click the break to read a roundtable review from a few Geekadelphians on Battlestar Galactica: The Plan. Pun intended– Jump!

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Did I ever mention I designed my undergrad thesis on Science Fiction? All of the other kids would make fun of me, but at the end of the day, only one of us ended up with an awesome timeline chart of robots in pop culture since 1940. And that person was me.

My thesis broke down an academic text on the genre and made it accessible to people who normally wouldn’t think twice about sci-fi… like my parents and professors. I compiled a giant list of events in science and history that influenced the literature of the time, and then made a chart of all of the sci-fi publications starting in the 1700s. Pretty nerdy for a girl getting a BFA in Graphic Design… especially when some other people did their thesis on things like… fashion.

Anyway, I found this amazing graph on io9 on how sci-fi television has changed since 1970. For those of you who tripped and landed on this blog by accident, that’s pretty much everything after the original Star Trek series aired in the early 60s. It’s nothing short of chart porn, it’s done so well. Enjoy.

If you were lucky enough to attend the Battlestar Galactica panel this summer at Wizard World, you no doubt heard Edward James Olmos talk about the The Plan. The Plan is the follow up to the series, which is a feature length film that chronicles the Cylon side of things, throughout the show. Basically patching up some of the left over plot holes and tying up so loose ends left by the series.

The Plan, which will premiere exclusively on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download on October 27, will be later to be shown on The Syfy channel in late November. The artwork and specs for the release we recently released and are as follows:

Disc Features:
-DELETED SCENES
-FROM ADMIRAL TO DIRECTOR: EDWARD JAMES OLMOS AND THE PLAN – A day-in-the-life with director and actor Edward James Olmos, as he tackles the most ambitious Battlestar Galactica production to date.
-THE CYLONS OF THE PLAN – Features interviews with the actors who play the film’s key Cylons, including Dean Stockwell, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Trucco, Rick Worthy and Michael Bennett.
-THE CYLON ATTACK – This featurette takes viewers behind the scenes for the planning and execution of one of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan’s major action sequences.
-BEHIND THE PLAN – An in-depth look at some stunning visual effects and the role post-production plays in bringing the world of Battlestar Galactica to life.
-FILMMAKER COMMENTARY

Sadly the only Blu-ray exclusive content is:

-MY SCENES: Bookmark your favorite scenes from the movie.
-BATTLESTAR GALACTICA TRIVIA: All-new trivia game.

The Blu-ray will be presented in 1080p, with English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround Sound. To tell you the truth I can’t wait for this to be released.

via HighDefDigest

I like to take pictures and with Wizard World Philly 2009 it gave me the chance to fire up the SLR and fill up some SD cards. I took a ton of pictures but these are my favorites. I  have been meaning to post these for a while now, but things kept coming up. Here is a link to my flickr stream for Wizard World 2009. I hope you enjoy them. I honestly can’t wait for next year!

The final interview for my 5 quick questions at Wizard World series is none other than Admiral Adama Himself, Edward James Olmos. Olmos was already a legend in sci-fi due his role as Gaff in Blade Runner and because of this and his award winning performance on Miami Vice, he was offered the role of the captain in Star Trek the Next Generation during pre-production and turned down the role.

He then went on to act in the film Stand and Deliver for which he was nominated for an Oscar for best actor. After his nomination he tried his hand at directing with American Me which has come to be a classic in the gangster film genre. Olmos then returned to television first with a reoccurring role on The West Wing then to American Family: Journey of Dreams which he was on from 2002-2004. I also found it interesting that he was noted as making an appearance in in Snoop Dogg’s music video Vato, featuring B-Real from Cypress Hill.

I would have to say the experience of interviewing Edward James Olmos was surreal to say the least and I was a bit nervous as well. Upon sitting down to start the interview and looking across the table I suddenly forgot how to work my H2 recorder, and after a bit of fumbling with it and getting that same look I have seen given to Starbuck on numerous occasions on Battlestar Galactica I quickly regrouped and figured out “the red blinky thing, yeah that’s record”. After passing this obstacle he relaxed and I got to ask “Eddie” a few questions.
Check out the interview after the jump.

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If there was a person I interviewed this weekend that least embodied their Battlestar Galactica Counterpart that would have to be Michael Hogan, who played the drunken curmudgeon Saul Tigh on the show. A Canadian actor as well, Michael had done various television and movies prior to landing his role on Battlestar Galactica. A bit on the quiet side but super friendly in person the first thing you notice about the man is his voice. Full of energy and upbeat, this voice I couldn’t recall hearing on the show and I think that shows how hard he had to work to play the tortured second in command to Adama who eventually found out he was the thing he hated most.

I have to say Saul was one of my favorite characters on the show and one I rooted for even when I found out he was supposed to be the enemy. He brought a certain balance to Adama, because of their friendship it rounded the character of Adama out quite well, that and their fighting like an old married couple was one of my favorite parts of the show. I still long for the day when Michael Bay bored with giant robots, announces his next film will be a epic space buddy cop movie starring Michael Hogan and Edward James Olmos. Hey, it could happen.

Check out the interview after the jump.

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Today’s 5 quick questions will be from Nicki Clyne the Canadian born actress who played Cally Henderson on Battlestar Galactica, whom I was lucky enough to interview Sunday morning at the con. She was definitely in my opinion the surprise fan favorite of the con, stealing the show at the Battlestar Galactica panel with her articulate thoughts on femininity in the Battlestar Galactica universe, her character and the show in general.

The day before the interview Nicki had ran into our very own Bianca, and upon seeing my card when I introduced myself recognized the blog and asked about the girl she had met the day before, and told me to tell her she said “hi”. The fact that she remembered these kinds of details at a con of all places really struck me as thoughtful. Whereas I lost my car Friday night.

After the jump check out her great interview.

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If your a fan of Battlestar Galactica and I am assuming that if your reading this blog you are, you will hopefully recognize this painting.  This is the oil painting seen hanging in Admiral Adama‘s quarters throughout Battlestar Galactica and this is one of those things that on first glimpse doesn’t seem to scream geek and that is what I really have liked about it since I noticed it. At first it appears to be some dark Medieval painting but upon further inspection you can see that it shows humans fighting the old-school toaster Cylons in bloody hand-to-hand combat. The painting is titled “The First Cylon War”. I have been looking for quite sometime for a poster or print of this because of that fact that I could totally get away with hanging this in my house.

The original painting itself is a one-of-a-kind oil painting that through special arrangement with Universal Studios, this site selling it has acquired the only digital image of the painting taken directly from the canvas, after the propmaster aged it, but before it hung on Adama’s wall so these guys were definitely thinking ahead. The print is a plate-printed 17″x22″ lithograph, reproduced on 100-pound, art-quality paper. My only problem with this, is it isn’t full size to scale. But for $14.95 I really can’t complain. Get yours HERE!

More Pics after the jump.

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When a show as awesome as Battlestar Galactica breaks down the sets and closes its doors for good, what happens to all the props?  eBay is definately the destination for most of them, but as it turns out a beautifully crafted full-scale 1:1 Raptor fell short of the reserve price when the highest bid was at a mere $28,100.  This means the vehicle costs more than your average brand new car.

I don’t know how you feel about owning one of these, and becoming the envy of all the geeks in  your town, but I know I want it badly.  Screw driving the Schuykill everyday to work, I’ll fly there. More photos of this vehicle after the break.

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Battlestar Galactica Icons – Perfect for your desktop, probably better than the series finale.

Lego Batmobile – Looks great!

Iron Maiden… Done in Chiptune – Rock the hell out, 8-bit style.

Live Together, Die Alone – Duck Hunt ducks. Survival rate? Not good.

Batman Phone – Admit it, you always wanted that big red phone from commissioner Gorden’s office.

iDaft – Daft Punk sounds, in your browser.