Billy Dee Williams - Wizard World Austin

For those of you not in the know, Austin Texas was invaded this weekend by the largest assortment of nerds, cos-players, science fiction enthusiasts, and comic geeks at this year’s Wizard World Austin Comic Con. The convention was held at Austin’s Convention Center downtown and spanned over 3 days with plenty of ‘nerd-dom’ to spread around, and then some.

Wizard World Austin consisted of tv/film celebrities appearances such as Lee Majors, Ernie Hudson, Adam West, Burt Ward, Lindsey Wagner, Ray Park, Billy Dee Williams, Lou Ferrigno, Gil Gerard, Walter Koenig, WWE’s Kevin Nash and Torrie Wilson, not to mention comic artists James O’Barr, Arthur Suydam and Matthew Sturges – and I reiterate this is only a few from those three categories. It was a lot to take in over the weekend for us fanboys and fangirls (see a complete list here).

Being a major fanboy myself, I find these events mind boggling with so much going on that I literally have to make a written list of things I want to see, attend, ogle over, and of course spend money on. As our weekend team took some time to split up and see the con and wander at our own place, my first observation was that the Austin Con Center was very adequate for this event. With all the attendance, I didn’t have to wade through people to get to see who I wanted to see. The celebrity lines went fast, and were not too long of a wait at all. Most strikingly was the reception of the fans by the guests. Every celeb I spoke to were very easily approachable which can be nerve racking at times. You never want your favorite stars reputation to be blemished by rude behavior toward its audience, who are ultimately the ones who are paying for it (yeah that would be you). The range of prices for personalized autographed photos were $20-$40, not including any photos that you wanted to take.

Back off man, I'm a scientist!

My highlight of the weekend was getting to speak informally with Luciana Carro aka ‘Kat’ from SyFy’s Battlestar Galactica series. After totally geeking out with her about the TV series and obtaining my autographed photo I proceeded to try and ‘over nerd’ myself and remove from my backpack a copy of the new paperback The Science of Battlestar Galactica by Kevin Grazer / Patrick Di Justo (a technical manual written about the series by one of its NASA consultants). Amazingly since the book is very new, she had not received her copy and was delighted to peruse it there with me. Yes with me! When you get to sit and talk sci fi technology with a member of the cast, one on one, in real time, and hear their experiences on the set, stuff that you would only read about – that’s the reason enthusiasts like us storm these cons, (well me anyhow). Luciana was super polite, signed my book, I went on my way with another con experience up there on my list, as again knowing affirmatively, ‘why we do what we do, and why we love doing it’.

We closed out the evening with a Q&A panel lead by Ghostbuster’s Ernie Hudson, followed by a quiet intimate showing of the Ghostbusters movie where we sat alongside several of the members of Texas’ Ghostbuster cosplay fan clubs as they quoted lines along with the film – ‘Aim for the flattop!’.

Overall, Austin provided a great welcoming for the Wizard World show, and we were happy to be able to attend. And magnificent props to those of you who were able to get some photos with our Gamettes Taffeta Darling and Deathwish Dena (pictured above), they did a fantastic job representing with us, and of course it just is never the same doing cons without them! So until the nerds gather in the masses again…

Crutchboy – Out.

Photos by Dave Martindale / www.emptyallegory.com, click below to see more pics of Wizard World Austin!

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(Kotaku) – The battle for the future of humanity is joined, as MMO developer Bigpoint reveals the launch of the closed beta test for browser-based MMO Battlestar Galactica Online. Get a peek at what fashionable humans and Cylons will be wearing this fall.

Players from across Europe and the U.S. are now flying the unfriendly space lanes of Battlestar Galactica Online. During this early phase of testing, players can create human or Cylon characters and engage in a training mission, after which they are free to roam the galaxy, engaging in battles against AI opponents and other players in between exciting bouts of mining.

Bigpoint will be allowing more players into the closed beta in the coming weeks, leading up to the open beta tentatively scheduled for December. For your chance at a piece of the action, visit the official Battlestar Galactica Online website.

Cindy Morgan of Tron appearing April 24-25

Hey, guys and gals, come check out the BG Crew out this weekend in Dallas!

Sci-Fi Expo (SFX) returns THIS WEEKEND April 24-25 at the Richardson Civic Center at 411 W Arapaho Rd in Richardson, TX just north of Dallas on US75.

Attending Media Guests Include:
Adam Baldwin (TV Chuck, Firefly)
Bruce Boxleitner (Tron, Babylon 5)
Cindy Morgan (Tron, Caddyshack)
Jaime King (My Bloody Valentine, Fanboys, Sin City)
Mira Furlan (Lost, Babylon 5)
Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica)
Kate Vernon (Battlestar Galactica)
Deep Roy (Star Wars, Charlie/Choc Factory)
Daniel Logan (Clone Wars Boba Fett)
Dick Beer (Star Wars Boba Fett Stunts and more)
Mike Quinn (Star Wars Puppeteer)
And More!

Check out the Official Sci Fi Expo Website here for more details!

Attending Comic Artists Include:
BusyGamer Illustrator Terry Parr, Halo, Brian Denham, James O’Barr, Keith Wilson, Ben Dunn, Chad Townsend, Andrew Mangum, and more!

General admission: $15. Kids 10 and under free! Free parking. Hours: Saturday 11am-6pm, Sunday 12noon-4pm.

Caprica on DVD & digital download 04.21.09

(Press Release) – Caprica, the highly anticipated prequel to Battlestar Galactica, will enjoy its world premiere exclusively on DVD on April 21, 2009 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. In a groundbreaking move sure to delight fans of the long-running television phenomenon, the feature-length prequel will be available on DVD as a limited-edition uncut and unrated version before the series’ broadcast premiere on the SCI FI Channel in 2010. Caprica is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) and Remi Aubuchon (24). Exclusive bonus features that take viewers behind the scenes of the creation of Caprica make this DVD a landmark event for any fan of Battlestar Galactica. The film will also be available at selected online destinations for digital download transactions.

As Battlestar Galactica wraps its gripping final season on SCI FI on March 20, 2009, Caprica begins a brand new epic saga that continues the franchise’s commitment to thought-provoking storytelling and extraordinary characters. Set over 50 years before the events of Battlestar Galactica, Caprica is a world at the peak of its power, grappling with new science and technologies and the issues they create. The series will star Golden Globe nominee Eric Stoltz (Mask, Pulp Fiction), Esai Morales (Jericho, NYPD Blue), Paula Malcomson (Deadwood, ER) and Golden Globe® nominee Polly Walker (Cane, Rome) in a story laced with passion, intrigue and family conflict.

“We are thrilled to take the groundbreaking step of offering the world-premiere of the Caprica feature-length extended pilot episode on DVD prior to the new series’ television debut,??? said Hilary Hoffman, Senior Vice President, Brand and Digital Marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment. “This innovative distribution model will serve to satisfy Battlestar Galactica fans’ appetites for a new content while building excitement for the franchise’s next great adventure.”
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No skin jobs in this movie? But we love them so...

Ign.com was informed that the film will be based on the original BSG series from 1978-79 rather than the recent reboot from Sci Fi Channel. The story followed a band of humans who were the only survivors of a devastating attack on their colonial homeworld by the vicious cybernetic race known as the Cylons. The survivors, led by Commander Adama, embark on a journey through space aboard the military vessel Battlestar Galactica to find refuge on a distant planet called Earth.

Battlestar Galactica has been in cinemas before. Re-edited versions of television episodes were released theatrically: Battlestar Galactica (1978), Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack (1978), and Conquest of the Earth (1980).

IGN.com also quotes:

“A Universal spokesperson refused to comment on rumored projects before ultimately denying it; we were later able to confirm our scoop independently. (This studio denial was reminiscent of Sony’s dismissive response to our scoop about Jaden Smith starring in a Karate Kid remake, which we broke a YEAR before the project was officially announced.) ”

Although we understand that nothing is final yet on the BSG film front, fans should likely expect an official announcement on the project in the coming weeks.

"I can has tv series?" No, Mr. Cylon, no you can't.

I’ve noticed a seriously disturbing trend on the Sci-Fi channel over the past few years…

We have shows like Farscape, The Invisible Man, Stargate Atlantis, and the most recent casualty, Battlestar Galactica. These were all great shows with some serious fanbases behind them, each with its own potential. Granted, the creators of BSG have always said there was an ending to the series in the mix but if the last half season was an indication, they’re having to rush it now with Sci-Fi breathing down their necks to close out the series.

And there’s more reality shows on the way on Sci-Fi, the only one of which I’m interested in is Ultimate Gamer. Partly because Starslay3r, a recent addition to our Gamettes, is in it, partly because it looks like they’re going to make geeks exercise. That’s always worth a watch. But the rest… Chase? You’re going to put some webcams on the “bad guys” heads and have them chase people who are essentially jogging for dollars? Are you at least going to give the bad guys some baseball bats or is this like a high tech game of freeze tag? And the other one, Estate of Panic? I think I saw this one a long time ago. It was called Fear Factor.

And lest we forget the money they spend on bad Sci-Fi movies.  Movies so bad, they need a new alphabet to score them because they’re too far down to be “B” movies.  Where do they come up with the crap for those movies? Solar flares and killer mosquitoes. Sounds like a fun Saturday lineup. I dare you to find one science fiction fan who will admit to watching more than one of these things.

Now don’t get me wrong. There’s still some good stuff on Sci-Fi but it seems lately like more of the good stuff is getting cancelled in favor of the bad stuff. And a large portion of the recent good stuff comes from other channels. Or other countries. I’m looking at you, Doctor.

Honestly, too many more wrestling and reality shows and we’ll have to have a Sci-Fi Too channel just for the bad Saturday movies.

Gritskrieg – End of Line

Who you calling a toaster?

During our excurison to the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle (PAX 2008), I ran across this game at the Fantasy Flight Gaming tables which I attempted to purchase during day 2 of the expo. To my dismay, the company had sold out of BSG on day 1 and politely told me I could currently bid on one at Ebay starting at $140.00. Well, I decided to wait untill last week to pick one up after its release. After several trips to my local nerd store, I acquired one for $50, a very welcomed birthday gift from my editor Gritskrieg, thanks again! Ok, enough babble, let’s talk some frackin’ board game dorkyness.

First, I’d like to say the game has an excellent presentation. The game board features a map of the Galactica and its important areas such as The Admiral’s Quarters, The Brig, The Hangar, Research Lab, etc., all of which allow you to activate a certain ability in the game. They range from drawing extra skill cards, launching Vipers, or fire the ship’s weapons at oncoming cylon raiders. There are plenty of cards (I’d say about 4 types of decks you will be drawing from), some awesome 3D ships (Vipers, Raiders and Raptors) for dogfights, 10 nice portrait standups of the main characters, one of whom you will be representing , and one 8 sided die. There are a lot of rules and phases for the game which will escalate the learning curve here (discouraging some players) but once you absorb it all, there are some really intriguing elements to the game play including some role-playing. Yeah, geeks!

See that Brig over there, that's where your real parents live.

Each player chooses their character, selecting from Adama, Apollo, Roslin, Baltar, Boomer, Tigh, Chief, Starbuck, Zarek and Helo. Each wields 2 strenghs and 1 weakness, which will in turn provide some interesting gaming combinations. For example, Tigh has the ‘alcoholic’ penalty making him throw cards away, while Baltar has the ‘delusional intuition’ perk allowing him to draw extra cards. For those that follow the series, the abilities will make perfect sense but I can see for others, they will just be one more rule they have to remember. 

The object of the game is for the humans to travel 8 units of distance home (to Kobol) by making the Galactica jump through space by use of the FTL drive (Faster Than Light, damn I’m a dork). Simple enough, huh? Well, during each player’s turn, a crisis card is drawn which will present an obstacle that the team must combine abilities to overcome. Each character posesses certain areas of expertise. For example Baltar’s are Politics, Leadership and Engineering, while Boomer (a pilot) has Tactics, Piloting and Engineering. Sometimes this event will be a Cylon attack with Raiders  - so the pilots will have to activate vipers and physically chase and destroy them – while other events call for the team to donate skill cards to overcome a downfall like food shortage or a civillian revolt. These skill checks require all of the players to place skill cards in a pile (face down) dictated by the crisis after which the result is calculated (pass/fail). One event may require politics or tactics while another may call for engineering or leadership. The players may or may not control characters that have those skills, hence a well rounded party and assortment of abilities is always encouraged for survival.
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