Battlestar Creation Convention Report
BSG Convention, Burbank
November 16-18
We’re back at the Burbank Marriot, which is starting to feel like home. Seriously, the lobby of the hotel even smells familiar-like Mal’s jacket and the inside of a Battlestar. This time, the attendees have gone all out, outfitting themselves in sleek orange flight suits and crisp dress blues, double tanks and long Lorne Greene capes. My Eye of Jupiter tee doesn’t quite cut it, and Megan and I lament our lack of dog tags.
Fifty dollars, I vow as we pull our preferred weekend passes over our heads and eye the contents of the dealer’s room. Megan agrees to this rather ambitious price limitation, and we start shopping. I resist the Dean Winchester poster (willpower, baby) but score a Supernatural calendar. Dammit, I’m not inhuman, people. I also pick up some action shots of Jamie and Tahmoh for signing purposes.
After a nice panel by QMX-I sooo need a Cylon basestar and maybe a viper and, ooh, a model Galactica-we’re jazzed for the first big event: a panel with Tahmoh Penniket. (Is it still called a panel with one panelist? Something for Creation to consider . . .) Tahmoh appears, 6’2’’ and adorable in a black jacket-thing. Now, I’ll admit I’ve done my share of (affectionate) Helo mocking. Friends and I have theorized that Capt. Karl was, in another life, captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and if you followed that fandom-jumping non sequitur, you’re a Big Damn Hero in my book. While large and loveable, Helo never seemed the most, um, cerebral fella. (See internal monologue: Sharon, Sharon, Sharon Sharon. Pinecone.) Every time you make fun of Helo, the Cylon God shoots a puppy. Right, keep reading, I’m gonna stop rambling any second now.
So: Tahmoh. Mr. Penniket, formerly of the Yukon territory, is one of the most charismatic, funny and just plain likeable people I’ve seen in a panel. Let’s see: questions. One unreasonably adorable kid named Jack asked Tahmoh if the undersuits (tanks) were comfortable. Tahmoh immediately inquired as to Jack’s age, commenting that some of Galactica’s female population wears rather revealing under-attire. When Jack answered 12, Tahmoh said something along the lines of, “Okay, that’s about right.” He explained that his own tanks were too short the first season-something that drove his on-screen lover Sharon crazy- and always ended up somewhere above his bellybutton. Jack’s response? “Nice.” Other highlights include someone asking whether Helo and Starbuck were ever more than friends. Tahmoh admitted that, knowing Starbuck, they probably got drunk and frakked once. “Maybe more than once,” he amended to much laughter. Tahmoh also told a story about delaying filming one day (under a guest director) so that he and Grace could have a long conversation about when their characters got married. Grace was, apparently, quite concerned with whom they invited to their wedding. “I don’t know, babe,” Tahmoh told her. Although most people were careful to avoid Razor spoilers, someone asked what Helo, who is absent from Razor, was doing during that time period. According to Tahmoh, Helo was busy doing push-ups and trying to make another baby.
After a hilarious-and too-short-in-my-opinion-panel, Tahmoh sits down to do autographs. We wait around for a little while; we had purchased only the insanely expensive convention passes, and people with frakkin’ insanely expensive passes got their autographs first. When we finally reach Tahmoh’s table, I ask him if his birthday is really May 20-you can’t trust imdb, man-and when he confirms it, I tell him that mine is too, aww. Tahmoh is incredibly friendly and gracious-God, I’m going superlative crazy, and we haven’t even gotten to Katee yet. He raises his hand up and says, I kid you not, “High five my Taurus sister.” A-frakking-dorable. Seriously, he’s my vote for the Quidditch cup. ANYWAY, Tahmoh signs my photo of Helo getting drunk, and it’s Megan’s turn. We had decided-maybe not our best idea ever-to tell Tahmoh about a joke circling the BSG boards that Hera Agathon’s call sign should be Pop Tart. (Pop Tarts, toasters, get it? Yeah, neither did Tahmoh. Still he was all adorable-like, telling us he’d “talk it over with her mother.”)
Autographing over, Megan and I have dinner with our friend Tammy and then go back to her place for some cat-cuddling and original BSG viewing. Now I had never seen the original. (Don’t look at me like that. I was born in 83, okay?) My favorite part was when, 2 days or so after the destruction of the colonies, the greatest scientific minds in the fleet start working on a robotic dagget (sp?) to replace poor Moffat, Boxy 1’s dearly departed pet. Really? This, construction of a robotic dagget for Apollo’s girlfriend’s kid, is the most important objective of Galactica scientists? Fortunately, Megan explained it to me. Getting the fleet’s hotshot viper pilot laid is a top priority.
Day 2: Viper Pilots. After breakfast, Megan and I go to the mall for a better bra and shoes with heels respectively. We’re photo-opping with Jamie and Katee, so these things are suddenly mandatory. Jamie’s photo session is first, and he’s sleepy and adorable in a plaid blazer. He’s shortish, read, not a foot taller than me like Mr. Fillion. He’s very sweet and very British. After the photo op, we take our seats for Jamie’s panel, joined by my friend Amy. Jamie’s gracious and thoughtful in his answers, if not as natural as Nathan or Tahmoh. At one point, he takes off his jacket, and the room sort of swoons. Hopefully those people with the Ariel ambulance are still around because Mr. Bamber’s biceps could cause fainting, or at least blindness due to the flash from a thousand cameras. Sadly, Jamie reveals that the towel has not made an appearance in Season 4. Like Tahmoh, Jamie is also, apparently, out of shape. I must have missed that. I blame the biceps. Highlights from Jamie’s panel include a pretty stellar Eddie Olmos impression-“Sometimes you gotta roll the hard six,” he growls. He says Aaron’s is better, attributing it to the bottle of Jamison he’s constantly sporting. Ask Megan (Tamsibling) for more Jamie moments. My heart belongs to another.
So. Katee. Captain Kara “Starbuck” Thrace. She is . . . yeah. I could drown in a sea of superlatives. Megan and I take a photo with the lovely Ms. Sackhoff, and she’s adorable in loose red cargo pants and a black-and-white striped sweater. Her hair is very blond and very straight, longer than Starbuck usually wears it. When we get to the photo op room, she’s joking about Trucco and Jamie stealing pieces of their flight suits (Jamie was drunk). She’s very sweet and friendly, and I tell her she was great in Razor. She says thanks, and we take the picture, aww. We head back to the auditorium for BSG trivia, soon to be followed by Katee’s panel. I answer a trivia question by luck and process of elimination-there are only like 3 Gods they worship, people-and win a Starbuck and Apollo tee, BSG mug and Frak shot glass, which I’ll send to my Viper-pilot wannabe brother in Boulder. And now it’s on to Katee, whom Creation introduces as the Guest of Honor and star of Battlestar Galactica.
She’s a little nervous at first, unsure how to start. She brought 2 mugs, part of a collection she purchased for the cast after wrapping the mini. They say, “Frak off. Love, Starbuck.” She gives them away to trivia questions. “I come up with the easiest questions. What’s Boomer’s real name?” She asks her first question, asks it wrong. No one cares. She’s Starbuck. Apollo may be a God, but Katee can do no wrong.
She tells stories for a while, talks about the writer’s strike and wrapping the first 13. She wants to give us spoilers but, apparently, Ron and co made her sign a confidentiality agreement. Apparently they came to her trailer first. In my very biased opinion, highlights included Katee and Tahmoh’s Omaha story-they went out for dinner and drank a whole bunch of beer and something called Omaha. As they were leaving the restaurant, Katee spotted the paparazzi and warned Tahmoh not to try anything. He responded by licking her neck and grabbing her ass. (Helo for Head Boy!) Katee also talks about her character’s future-“All signs point to Cylon!” However, she seems resistant to the idea, having been assured at the beginning of Galactica’s run that Starbuck was one hundred percent in no way a Cylon. Katee also discussed her character’s complex relationships with men, saying that each of Starbuck’s lovers addresses a different aspect of her personality. (At this point, Jamie popped out from behind the curtain to remind Katee he was listening.) While Lee is, she believes, her soulmate, Sam reminds Starbuck of herself and Leoben is someone with whom she can explore her darker side. She says Kara feels safe with Leoben.
After some Bionic bashing (“It’s a clusterfrak.” “People ask if I’m Sarah Corvis, and I say, ‘No, but I am Starbuck.’”) it’s time for autographs. I brought a picture of Katee and Nathan from White Noise 2-a gift from Mr. Fillion at the Firefly/Serenity Creation Con. I told Nathan I’d be seeing Katee at the BSG con in a couple weeks-Yes, I totally admitted we were attending not one but two sci fi cons-and he said she was a sweetheart. “She’s kicking ass on Bionic Woman. Tell her I said that.” Whatever you say, Captain.
I give the White Noise picture to Katee’s handler-person, who immediately comments that Nathan is a beautiful man. Can’t argue with that one. Katee smiles as soon as she hears Nathan’s name. I don’t remember the exact phrasing, but she was very complimentary. She learned a great deal from Nathan and was impressed that he knew the names of everyone on the crew. When I told her what he said about her kicking ass on Bionic, she said, “He’s kicking ass on everything.” She especially loved Waitress, aww.
After Katee’s and my Nathan-appreciation discussion, I got Jamie’s autograph on a photo of Lee in flight-suit. I felt a little bad, as I didn’t quite know what to say to him. Admittedly, I was a bit love-struck by Katee. The girl radiates energy and enthusiasm in a way that makes you want to be her best friend and shopping buddy. And maybe make out with her a little.
Eventually we-and the rest of Katee’s legion of fans-manage to tear ourselves away from the autographing room. Overall, the weekend was tons of fun, the event well-organized and the actors incredibly gracious. And I didn’t even break the 50-dollar rule.
Good Hunting,
April
November 16-18
We’re back at the Burbank Marriot, which is starting to feel like home. Seriously, the lobby of the hotel even smells familiar-like Mal’s jacket and the inside of a Battlestar. This time, the attendees have gone all out, outfitting themselves in sleek orange flight suits and crisp dress blues, double tanks and long Lorne Greene capes. My Eye of Jupiter tee doesn’t quite cut it, and Megan and I lament our lack of dog tags.
Fifty dollars, I vow as we pull our preferred weekend passes over our heads and eye the contents of the dealer’s room. Megan agrees to this rather ambitious price limitation, and we start shopping. I resist the Dean Winchester poster (willpower, baby) but score a Supernatural calendar. Dammit, I’m not inhuman, people. I also pick up some action shots of Jamie and Tahmoh for signing purposes.
After a nice panel by QMX-I sooo need a Cylon basestar and maybe a viper and, ooh, a model Galactica-we’re jazzed for the first big event: a panel with Tahmoh Penniket. (Is it still called a panel with one panelist? Something for Creation to consider . . .) Tahmoh appears, 6’2’’ and adorable in a black jacket-thing. Now, I’ll admit I’ve done my share of (affectionate) Helo mocking. Friends and I have theorized that Capt. Karl was, in another life, captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and if you followed that fandom-jumping non sequitur, you’re a Big Damn Hero in my book. While large and loveable, Helo never seemed the most, um, cerebral fella. (See internal monologue: Sharon, Sharon, Sharon Sharon. Pinecone.) Every time you make fun of Helo, the Cylon God shoots a puppy. Right, keep reading, I’m gonna stop rambling any second now.
So: Tahmoh. Mr. Penniket, formerly of the Yukon territory, is one of the most charismatic, funny and just plain likeable people I’ve seen in a panel. Let’s see: questions. One unreasonably adorable kid named Jack asked Tahmoh if the undersuits (tanks) were comfortable. Tahmoh immediately inquired as to Jack’s age, commenting that some of Galactica’s female population wears rather revealing under-attire. When Jack answered 12, Tahmoh said something along the lines of, “Okay, that’s about right.” He explained that his own tanks were too short the first season-something that drove his on-screen lover Sharon crazy- and always ended up somewhere above his bellybutton. Jack’s response? “Nice.” Other highlights include someone asking whether Helo and Starbuck were ever more than friends. Tahmoh admitted that, knowing Starbuck, they probably got drunk and frakked once. “Maybe more than once,” he amended to much laughter. Tahmoh also told a story about delaying filming one day (under a guest director) so that he and Grace could have a long conversation about when their characters got married. Grace was, apparently, quite concerned with whom they invited to their wedding. “I don’t know, babe,” Tahmoh told her. Although most people were careful to avoid Razor spoilers, someone asked what Helo, who is absent from Razor, was doing during that time period. According to Tahmoh, Helo was busy doing push-ups and trying to make another baby.
After a hilarious-and too-short-in-my-opinion-panel, Tahmoh sits down to do autographs. We wait around for a little while; we had purchased only the insanely expensive convention passes, and people with frakkin’ insanely expensive passes got their autographs first. When we finally reach Tahmoh’s table, I ask him if his birthday is really May 20-you can’t trust imdb, man-and when he confirms it, I tell him that mine is too, aww. Tahmoh is incredibly friendly and gracious-God, I’m going superlative crazy, and we haven’t even gotten to Katee yet. He raises his hand up and says, I kid you not, “High five my Taurus sister.” A-frakking-dorable. Seriously, he’s my vote for the Quidditch cup. ANYWAY, Tahmoh signs my photo of Helo getting drunk, and it’s Megan’s turn. We had decided-maybe not our best idea ever-to tell Tahmoh about a joke circling the BSG boards that Hera Agathon’s call sign should be Pop Tart. (Pop Tarts, toasters, get it? Yeah, neither did Tahmoh. Still he was all adorable-like, telling us he’d “talk it over with her mother.”)
Autographing over, Megan and I have dinner with our friend Tammy and then go back to her place for some cat-cuddling and original BSG viewing. Now I had never seen the original. (Don’t look at me like that. I was born in 83, okay?) My favorite part was when, 2 days or so after the destruction of the colonies, the greatest scientific minds in the fleet start working on a robotic dagget (sp?) to replace poor Moffat, Boxy 1’s dearly departed pet. Really? This, construction of a robotic dagget for Apollo’s girlfriend’s kid, is the most important objective of Galactica scientists? Fortunately, Megan explained it to me. Getting the fleet’s hotshot viper pilot laid is a top priority.
Day 2: Viper Pilots. After breakfast, Megan and I go to the mall for a better bra and shoes with heels respectively. We’re photo-opping with Jamie and Katee, so these things are suddenly mandatory. Jamie’s photo session is first, and he’s sleepy and adorable in a plaid blazer. He’s shortish, read, not a foot taller than me like Mr. Fillion. He’s very sweet and very British. After the photo op, we take our seats for Jamie’s panel, joined by my friend Amy. Jamie’s gracious and thoughtful in his answers, if not as natural as Nathan or Tahmoh. At one point, he takes off his jacket, and the room sort of swoons. Hopefully those people with the Ariel ambulance are still around because Mr. Bamber’s biceps could cause fainting, or at least blindness due to the flash from a thousand cameras. Sadly, Jamie reveals that the towel has not made an appearance in Season 4. Like Tahmoh, Jamie is also, apparently, out of shape. I must have missed that. I blame the biceps. Highlights from Jamie’s panel include a pretty stellar Eddie Olmos impression-“Sometimes you gotta roll the hard six,” he growls. He says Aaron’s is better, attributing it to the bottle of Jamison he’s constantly sporting. Ask Megan (Tamsibling) for more Jamie moments. My heart belongs to another.
So. Katee. Captain Kara “Starbuck” Thrace. She is . . . yeah. I could drown in a sea of superlatives. Megan and I take a photo with the lovely Ms. Sackhoff, and she’s adorable in loose red cargo pants and a black-and-white striped sweater. Her hair is very blond and very straight, longer than Starbuck usually wears it. When we get to the photo op room, she’s joking about Trucco and Jamie stealing pieces of their flight suits (Jamie was drunk). She’s very sweet and friendly, and I tell her she was great in Razor. She says thanks, and we take the picture, aww. We head back to the auditorium for BSG trivia, soon to be followed by Katee’s panel. I answer a trivia question by luck and process of elimination-there are only like 3 Gods they worship, people-and win a Starbuck and Apollo tee, BSG mug and Frak shot glass, which I’ll send to my Viper-pilot wannabe brother in Boulder. And now it’s on to Katee, whom Creation introduces as the Guest of Honor and star of Battlestar Galactica.
She’s a little nervous at first, unsure how to start. She brought 2 mugs, part of a collection she purchased for the cast after wrapping the mini. They say, “Frak off. Love, Starbuck.” She gives them away to trivia questions. “I come up with the easiest questions. What’s Boomer’s real name?” She asks her first question, asks it wrong. No one cares. She’s Starbuck. Apollo may be a God, but Katee can do no wrong.
She tells stories for a while, talks about the writer’s strike and wrapping the first 13. She wants to give us spoilers but, apparently, Ron and co made her sign a confidentiality agreement. Apparently they came to her trailer first. In my very biased opinion, highlights included Katee and Tahmoh’s Omaha story-they went out for dinner and drank a whole bunch of beer and something called Omaha. As they were leaving the restaurant, Katee spotted the paparazzi and warned Tahmoh not to try anything. He responded by licking her neck and grabbing her ass. (Helo for Head Boy!) Katee also talks about her character’s future-“All signs point to Cylon!” However, she seems resistant to the idea, having been assured at the beginning of Galactica’s run that Starbuck was one hundred percent in no way a Cylon. Katee also discussed her character’s complex relationships with men, saying that each of Starbuck’s lovers addresses a different aspect of her personality. (At this point, Jamie popped out from behind the curtain to remind Katee he was listening.) While Lee is, she believes, her soulmate, Sam reminds Starbuck of herself and Leoben is someone with whom she can explore her darker side. She says Kara feels safe with Leoben.
After some Bionic bashing (“It’s a clusterfrak.” “People ask if I’m Sarah Corvis, and I say, ‘No, but I am Starbuck.’”) it’s time for autographs. I brought a picture of Katee and Nathan from White Noise 2-a gift from Mr. Fillion at the Firefly/Serenity Creation Con. I told Nathan I’d be seeing Katee at the BSG con in a couple weeks-Yes, I totally admitted we were attending not one but two sci fi cons-and he said she was a sweetheart. “She’s kicking ass on Bionic Woman. Tell her I said that.” Whatever you say, Captain.
I give the White Noise picture to Katee’s handler-person, who immediately comments that Nathan is a beautiful man. Can’t argue with that one. Katee smiles as soon as she hears Nathan’s name. I don’t remember the exact phrasing, but she was very complimentary. She learned a great deal from Nathan and was impressed that he knew the names of everyone on the crew. When I told her what he said about her kicking ass on Bionic, she said, “He’s kicking ass on everything.” She especially loved Waitress, aww.
After Katee’s and my Nathan-appreciation discussion, I got Jamie’s autograph on a photo of Lee in flight-suit. I felt a little bad, as I didn’t quite know what to say to him. Admittedly, I was a bit love-struck by Katee. The girl radiates energy and enthusiasm in a way that makes you want to be her best friend and shopping buddy. And maybe make out with her a little.
Eventually we-and the rest of Katee’s legion of fans-manage to tear ourselves away from the autographing room. Overall, the weekend was tons of fun, the event well-organized and the actors incredibly gracious. And I didn’t even break the 50-dollar rule.
Good Hunting,
April