Famed fantasy artist Frank Frazetta contributed work to ABC’s advertising drive for Battlestar Galactica in 1978. One of the images at the second link seems particularly inspired by barbarian fantasy, rather than science fiction. Still, as Christopher Mills writes, “…they capture the epic scale that Glen Larson and his crew were trying so hard to accomplish on their television budget.”

Link and Link -via blastr

Previously: When Frank Frazetta Worked for Disney

College Humor’s parody hits the mark hard and often in this presentation of a 16-bit video game that never was. What combo do I have to hit to perform the Deus ex Machina move?

-via blastr | Previously: 11 Facts You Might Not Know about Battlestar Galactica

Man, I used to love me some Buck Rogers In The 25th Century when I was a kid, and not just because I had a serious crush on co-star Erin Gray! The sci-fi was just far out enough to hold your attention without making you learn an encyclopaedic amount of factoids, and the fashion was dy-no-mite!

All kidding aside, as a kid growing up in the 80s Buck Rogers and Battlestar Galactica fed my geeky addiction to sci-fi like no other show could, and kept me firmly planted in front of the television, my mind racing at the possibilities presented in each episode.

Head to the link to find a bunch of sci-fi elements Buck Rogers predicted would become a part of mankind’s future. They’re hilarious and mostly outdated, although if any of them do come true the future will be a scary place indeed!

Link

In 1978, Glen A. Larson launched his ambitious space saga Battlestar Galactica. It was a grand story of a clash of civilizations and battle for survival. But its ratings could not justify its enormous production expense, and the show folded. A brief return in 1980 offered hope, but that came to nothing. For a generation, Battlestar Galactica fans lobbied for a revival and their efforts finally came to fruition in a re-imagined version of the show in a 2003 miniseries, followed by four seasons of storytelling. Here are eleven facts that you might not know about that latter series.

1. Laura Roslin’s swearing-in ceremony as the President of the Twelve Colonies was modeled after that of Lyndon Johnson onboard Air Force One after the assassination of President Kennedy.

2. Grace Park initially auditioned for role of Dualla. She was turned down, but told by directors to audition for the role of Starbuck. She did so, but was instead offered the role of Boomer.

3. At 22, Katee Sackoff was much younger than what the directors had in mind for Starbuck, but she aced the audition and was given the role. The decision to make Starbuck a woman although the original Starbuck had been a man was deeply controversial among BSG fans. Dirk Benedict, the actor who played Starbuck in the 1978 series, strongly and repeatedly objected to this change. But eventually he and Sackoff came to an understanding that allowed them to work together.

4. Sackoff has a tattoo of the Latin words bona fiscalia, which means “public property.” It’s a reminder to her that she is a role model to people and that this entails a high responsibility.

5. Producers wanted Lucy Lawless to audition for the role of Colonel Tigh’s adulterous wife. She turned them down, but was interested in the role of the Cylon agent D’Anna Biers.

6. Paul Campbell, who played Billy, was killed off in the episode “Sacrifice.” Producers wanted Campbell to take a 5-year contract, but he wouldn’t. Since they couldn’t be sure that his character would be in the story in the long run, they decided to kill him off so that they didn’t have to worry about Campbell leaving the show and disrupting the story arc.

(Video Link)

7. Chief Tyrol’s pro-union speech in “Lay Down Your Burdens” is a partial paraphrase of Mario Savio’s 1964 speech at the Berkeley Free Speech Movement.

8. At the end of “Maelstrom,” Admiral Adama wrecks a model ship in a fit of rage. This was one of the most expensive scenes in the show because that action was ad libbed. The model ship was a high-quality one borrowed from a museum. Olmos didn’t know this and treated it like a cheap prop — a decision that had expensive consequences.

9. Bill Adama’s office features a painting of a battle scene. It depicts the First Cylon War and was composed by Ken Rabehl.

10. The deadly accident scene in the Galactica hangar that takes place in the episode “Act of Contrition” was inspired by the terrible fire that almost sank the USS Forrestal in 1967.

11. One minor detail that sets BSG apart from other shows is that the main characters dress like ordinary people in the Western world of the 21st Century. Deborah Everton, the costume designer, made this decision to help viewers relate to the characters easier.

Sources:
Bassom, David. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion. London: Titan Books, 2005. Print.
Storm, Jo. Frak You!: The Ultimate Unauthorized Guide to Battlestar Galactica. Chicago: ECW, 2007. Print.

Images: Cecil Stoughton, British Sky Broadcasting, NBC Universal, Propworx, US Navy.

The sampler was created by man.
There are no copies.
It does not have a plan.

No one should feel obligated to join this crafting project in any way. This is a design decision I have made for myself. If it turns out that there are not enough personnel to complete a cross stitch, I will make a crocheted cozy with anyone who is willing to join me.

Photo: Steotch

During their wedding reception, Justin and Heather Hartley arranged guests in the poses of a Battlestar Galatica promotional picture. The BSG photo was in imitation of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. That’s kind of a dark tone for a wedding, but let’s work with it.

Link -via blastr

Drew Robarge, a technician at the National Museum of American History in Washington, came upon a unique pair of eyeglasses. They were donated to the museum in 1982, but otherwise, he has learned nothing about them. Well, given the story expressed in the updated BSG, I think that it’s likely that these are at least 150,000 years old and probably belonged to a crew member of the original Galactica.

Link -via blastr | Photo: Smithsonian

So, here we have Dirk Benedict, who played Lt. Starbuck in the classic Battlestar Galactica, with Katee Sackhoff, who played Kara “Starbuck” Thrace in the modern Battlestar Galactica, in a Starbucks coffee shop. The mind reels.

Link | Photo: unknown

Happy Easter, everyone! If you’re looking for a neat and wonderful gallery of Easter eggs, look no further than the one Jill wrote for mental_floss. This one above, the eggscellently geeky Battlestar Galact-egg-a, was made by Geeks Are Sexy a while ago (featured before on Neatorama here).

Link

When Autumn of Geek6 challenged her friend Malaki to create Battlestar Galactica out of chocolate, he rose to the occasion. Color me impressed, here’s Battlestar Choclactica: Link – via Make

This welded steel piece by Etsy seller Supertrone holds toilet paper while flashing the iconic red Cylon lights. At Technabob, you can watch a video of it in use.

Link via Technabob

Did you just download your consciousness into a new skinjob model, … er, just have a baby? Here’s a neat baby snapsuit for the Battlestar Galactica fan: Daddy’s Little Cylon from the NeatoShop. Check it out: Link | More Battlestar
Galactica Infant Snapsuits

YouTube user Frensleven took an old iMac G4 and turned it into a helmet resembling a Cylon head. Presumably the implication is that Steve Jobs wishes to exterminate the human race.

via technabob | Previously: Cylon Birthday Cake with Functional Eye

Forget the 13th colony! All those deep space travel must be really tiring. Why not simply join the winning Cylon team? Plus that scanning eye is pretty darned cool! Here’s the Cylon Baby Snapsuit from the NeatoShop: Link

See also: More Baby Snapsuits

Since Easter is at our doorstep, why not use the occasion to "geek out" and paint your favorite sci-fi characters on egg shells?

I considered Firefly, Star Wars, and potentially even Deadwood. But then I settled on some of the cast of Battlestar Galactica for a few reasons, but mostly because of the show’s themes of death, resurrection, and rebirth. I mean, that’s what Spring is about, right? We can at least agree on that.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geeksaresexy.

Someone has taken scenes from the Battlestar Galactica science fiction series and used these to recreate the music video for the song Sabotage by Beastie Boys.

You can also watch both videos side by side at YouTube Doubler.

Link [YouTube] – via Nerdcore

Image: willito, screenshot by SciFiWire

YouTube user willito has a video of Battlestar Galactica cake that has a shifting, glowing red eye.

YouTube Link via DVICE