Ever wonder how twelve habitable planets could exist in the same solar system? So did Jane Espenson, showrunner for Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica prequel series. So she and science advisor Kevin Grazier went to work on a star map where it would all fit. In the end, they settled on a double-double-binary star system, giving each planet a home with a few other local planets to keep them company while still falling under the “solar system” category. Also on the map (above, click to embiggen): lore tidbits for each planet, some information on the spacefaring history of the Kobol colonists, even what colonies support universal health care. No, really. Check it out.

Michael Sacco is a freelance editor and writer, currently working as senior editor at WoW Insider.

Following on the heels of the dubiously successful Caprica, SyFy has greenlit another Battlestar Galactica prequel, this one titled Blood and Chrome. The series is set to explore the career of William Adama as a Viper pilot in the first Cylon War. While we’re pretty excited for more BSG, or at least more kind-of-BSG, experts have indicated that we may be running out of Adama family background to mine in television shows.

Michael Sacco is a freelance editor and writer, currently working as senior editor at WoW Insider.

Yes I know that everyone thinks the new Galactica (which isn’t so new at this point!) is so much cooler than the old series. But you see what I liked about the original series was that it wasn’t cool — the point of the show that it was deeper (in a bad mystical sort of way) and more geeky than Star Wars. A good example of this were the Cylons — unlike Stormtroopers who were idiots in armor, the Cylons were sort of kinder more gentle version of the Daleks if you think about it. And the above Battlestar Galactica Little Frakkin’ Toasters Classic Cylon sort of sums up that spirit nicely.

I think what I like about the design of the new Galactica is that the exterior reminds me much more of Blade Runner than Star Wars. This Battlestar Galactica Model Kit won’t be out until September, but given the nice detailing on it I think it’d be worth the wait as it features moveable hanger bays and is huge (over 14 inches long).

The late 70s wasn’t the best of time for the comic book biz so Marvel took a look at Dynamite magazine and Starlog magazine and created their own youth culture magazine called Pizzazz. The magazine was an amazing mirror of pop culture during the disco era of 1977 until 1979 and lasted a total of 16 issues. The inside of the publication featured articles on popular films, a Star Wars comic and even a one pager by Harvey Kurtzman.

Issue #2: Spider-man on a skateboard! What got my attention about this cover is that The Man from Atlantis was a cool sci fi show from that era that only lasted for one season.

Issue #3: Santa has a Shaun Cassidy poster for you! I guess Marvel wanted the ladies to read Pizzazz…

Issue #4: We’ve got Spider-man partying with the Fonz AND the cast of Charlie’s Angels! And yes that’s Kristy McNichol standing in front of Thor…

Issue #5: Linda Ronstadt’s band features Dr. Strangelove, Captain America and 3CPO on drums!

Issue #6: A Fonzie poster and a short story by Isaac Asimov — what else could you ask for? Meow!

Issue #7: This cover art featuring Spock hanging out with a Close Encounters alien and Darth Vader is a tad sad looking…

Issue #8: Maybe Spider-man should have included Shaun Cassidy in that Hollywood flick?

Issue #9: I think the Hulk likes really likes Shaun Cassidy a tad much…

Issue #10: At least Marvel had the good taste to knock the Bee Gees for their Sgt. Pepper film.

Issue #11: When was the last time that you found Jimmy Carter and Woody Allen sharing a cover with Peter Frampton? And yes that’s Reggie Jackson in the corner too…

Issue #12: Grease is the word!

Issue #13: The Hulk television show from this era was quite good thanks to the acting skills of Bill Bixby who sadly passed away in 1993.

Issue #14: I would do anything for Meat Loaf! Note the George Washing vs. Elvis side story…

Issue #15: It’s the original Battlestar Galactica — maybe we can tape it on betamax?

Issue #16: Marvel ironically honors Superman — little did they know that this was the start of DC owning the box office for years to come.

This was an ad for Pizzazz that ran in comic books of the era.

Found via rebelscum.com.

We’ll probably never have the opportunity to travel back in time to visit the sets of our favorite Sci-Fi movies and TV shows. However, thanks  fanboys like Industrial Light and Magic’s Bill George — who, by the way, has a number of major film credits that including six Star Trek and two Star Wars films – many of the ships and models from those classic series have finally found a home of sorts. George has spent the last several years building a website, the Sci-Fi Airshow, which  preserves many of the vehicles and ships designed over the years using a combination of digital photography and  photoshop. In addition to some fantastic images, he provides semi-fictional accounts of the whereabouts of each ship since their Hollywood debut.  Some of the ships to have been featured include Battlestar Galactica’s Viper and transport shuttle, and 2001: A Space Odyssey’s Orion space plane. Check out the his site for more information, and if you’d like, you can follow his group on Facebook. 

Tim is a pro-blogger and freelance writer out of San Diego, California. In addition to Fanboy.com, he contributes to the ModernMethod Network of sites as the Features and Reviews Editor for the Japanese culture and entertainment blog, Japanator. He’s also an Assocaite Editor for the collectible toy culture blog, Tomopop. For more information, follow him on twitter, or check out TimSheehy.com

I’m actually surprised how attractive this Cylon Centurion Replica Target Poster looks, it almost makes you feel bad for the cybernetic warriors. My bet is that most fanboys won’t use actual ammo to harm a collectable, however a within an office environment a nerf gun might be the ideal weapon for training purposes.

Galactica to me was always a Diet Coke to a Star Wars chocolate shake. Not only was it a bad rip off, but it wasn’t even in the same category. But like a chubby kid with a sweet tooth for sci fi I drank it by the gallon back in the day and watched every damn episode. But even with a sweet tooth you hit a limit and for me that was the travesty called Galactica: 1980. Now those fancy producers who reimagined Galactica knew this; so they beat every bit of cheese out of the show they could find. Suddenly Galactica seemed to have more in common with Blade Runner. But like a dork trying to act cool, sooner or later the inner lame will manifest — and I’m proud to announce that with issue #2 of the Galactica: 1980 the franchise has jumped the shark for good:

First we start off with this somewhat almost cool cover by Lucio Parillo — it’s not drawn badly, but what the hell is going on here? We got two snotty crew members striking a pose, but the crew member on the left seems to be reaching for something. The only thing can think of is that we wants to grab that Dynamite logo and crunch it up.

The comic book wastes no time to deliver a cliche as soon as you open the first page! For some reason Harrison Ford’s long lost brother has become President and he’s got alpha dog tango Soviet targets to deal with…

And like any bad episode of the Love Boat we’ve got special guest star Paul Williams — or is that the little brother of John Denver? I can’t tell.

For some unknown reason the Geico Caveman has been stationed at an observatory in Puerto Rico: Alarmed at the lack of good auto insurance deals he needs to make a phone call while playing with his state-of-the-art Apple II.

Here’s an actual mistake in the comic book: The entire Galactica schtick is that humans are a long lost tribe that colonized Earth eons ago. However that’s a bit of bad science fiction as it ignores the fact that language evolved over time (and the first spoken languages are lost to time). But we’ll ignore that plot hole as the caveman has to call Hector to borrow a his plane…

And like any bad James Bond film that features Roger Moore we’ve got to bring the Soviets in our our plot. Except for one odd thing! The leader of the Soviet Union seems to have the deepest tan that I’ve ever seen, it’s as if George Hamilton has infiltrated the Kremlin with his secret installation of tanning beds. And of course like any train wreck you know you should look away, but you keep looking any way!

I can’t honestly understand why Dynamite Entertainment did this title — or who is buying it. The older demographic who grew up with the show would pretty much want to forget that it existed, and the new generation who enjoys the cool new Galactica wouldn’t like what they’re seeing here. The only thing I can figure out is that a small group of comic book collectors who buy the books as collectors don’t bother to crack open the cover in fear of ruining the value. Perhaps there’s a wisdom to that?

The design for these rings date back to the good old days when Cylons looked like real Cylons! The coolest thing about the old school Cylons was that single glowing eye that darted back and forth and these Centurion rings pick up on that in a nice way (although i wish there was some sort of way that they could have animated it.

Temple7e has made my fanboy heart happy again with these wonderful Battlestar Galactica Kokeshi dolls! For those not in the know Kokeshi are traditional Japanese wooden dolls, however in this case artist Craig Galentine has updated the themes of the dolls with a sci fi touch:

My one main objection to the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series was that it always seemed to take itself a bit too seriously: Well these two ever so cute Galactica figures solve that little problem. Shown above is Little Frakkin Colonials Starbuck and what I love about her cartoony design is that she looks like she might be at home in an anime series! Shown below is Little Frakkin Toasters Cylon Centurion which looks almost like a designer urban toy:

I almost hate to say it, but Quantum Mechanix has done such a good job here it’s almost as good as the equivalent of a Nendoroid figurine!

I for one didn’t mind the original Battlestar Galactica series, there was s little sci fi on television (and so few choices in retrospect) that a fanboy had to be grateful for what he got. In fact looking back at it there was a high level of craftsmanship given that Galactica was a TV show and not a film. The Cylons are a good example of this: They’re clearly lifted from the Star Wars stormtroopers, but there’s been enough added to make it different. Even the red light swaying back and forth is a nice little touch, they could have just have easily skipped that given the budget.

Many look back at the original Galactica and compare it to the gritty modern remake, but I think that’s a bit unfair as even late night TV in the 70s had to be very family friendly on the whole. It’s also important to keep in mind that films like Alien and Blade Runner hadn’t been made yet. In fact I would say that it was the family friendly nature of the show that helped to make it popular which is reflected in the above Cylon toy.

By the way my favorite thing about the packaging for this toy isn’t the front, but the back of the box which is actually illustrated. If you look at the full sized image just take a look at the detail in the painting of the Ovion or the highlights on everyone’s boots:

Images found via Gordleysenvensen of Flickr!

Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy is a ten part online webisode series that has gone live today. Episode #1 The Face of the Enemy is currently playing, and new episode will appear every few days until January 10th.

If you’re a hardcore Galactica fanboy with $40k burning a hole in your pocket then here is your chance to bid a bit of the show:

Item # 348 – The Cylon Raider: “The Cylon Raider is a very large craft with a large wing span. The ship itself is made of metal, foam and wood. The ship breaks down into five pieces for easy transport. Measures 29′ long by 18′6″ wide by 4′8″ tall. Serious bidders should contact Propworx for more details or an inspection of the craft.”

The full auction is set for January, and you can check out the full website at battlestarprops.com.

I know this is just a fan made video — but if this was a videogame I would so be there! Sadly my bet is that we’ll never be able to find that out…

The SciFi Channel just started airing a new promo for the second half of the final season of Battlestar Galactica. The beginning of the end of the series will go on the air January 16th next year.

I got a real kick out of this Lego Battlestar Galactica fan art by Nannan Zhang.

It’s amazing when you think that the original Battlestar Galactica was just a made-for-TV-movie yet to be fair they put a ton of work into the production making sure that the mecha had that Star Wars feeling yet was unique enough. The Viper was one of the best designs of the show and now you can go old school with this model kit:

Battlestar Galactica Viper Model Kit

“Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the original Battlestar Galactica, this model kit has been updated for a new generation of fans. Newly tooled details, clear parts (if you’re cool enough to cram in our own lighting circuits), and an expanded decal sheet are just some of the bonuses Revell has packed into this kit. Time to relive the good old days – when your roommates went out on “dates” and you stayed home working on a model kit. They never knew how much fun they were missing.”

On a related note here’s a vintage commercial which shows you how to properly play with your Galactica toys (hint: using the garage as a space station is a great idea):

At heart I’m still an old school Galactica fanboy — and to be honest I only watched the show back in the day because there wasn’t much of anything else on except for Star Trek re-runs from the 60s. But you lucky new school fanboys get to have all the fun:

New Caprica Cylon Action Figure

“Cylon Centurions are just about the meanest thing in the galaxy. They cheat at cards, they frequently punch puppies, and they never, NEVER wash their hands after going to the toilet. Oh, and they have armor-piercing projectile weapons built into each arm; that’s pretty mean, too. And these New Caprica Cylons are even meaner – you can tell by their darker color scheme. The darker color separates them from their less meaner (but still pretty ornery) cousins. It also makes this one awesome ThinkGeek exclusive action figure if you’re trying to “collect them all”.”

I’ll be honest: I’m not a big fan when it comes to the new Galactica, but I did get a kick out of the old show (well until it jumped the shark with Galactica: 1980). So I got a kick out of seeing this worn looking viper from the old show:

Battlestar Galactica: Mark II Viper Statue

“This eight-inch statue features the classic Mark II Viper design complete with display base and removable cockpit shield! Based on the original digital effects files taken right from the hit series, each interstellar ship is limited to 2,007 pieces and features a hand-numbered base with matching box and Certificate of Authenticity.”

Old School Fanboy Rant: Having grown up in the 70s the original Battlestar Galactica was like treasured junk food, so while you craved a high quality meal like Star Wars you were pretty darn happy to find a weekly TV show that spaceships buzzing around and things blowing up. The new series tries to make up for that “original sin” but misses the key selling point which is that Galactica was never trying to be the coolest kid on the block — what made it charming was the cheese! But if you’re a new school Galactica fanboy (or fangurl) then you’ll have to adorn your hacienda with this poster:

How To Spot a Cylon Poster

“The tin toasters are easy! Those damn Cylons are tricky bastards. I’m not talking about those big walking toasters with the oscillating eye, the big flying models full of gore and guns, or even the so-called “hybrids.” I’m talking about the humanoids. The religious zealots who are out to subjugate humanity in any way possible. I hate those guys.”

…by the way if you want to further help get the word out about the Cylon tyranny check out these Battlestar Galactica Propaganda Posters:

Shown above is the Cylon Life-Size Figure which is available for wealthy Battlestar Galactica fans for $7900:

Cylon Life-Size Figure

“The Life-size Cylon figure, as seen in the reimagined Sci-Fi series ‘Battlestar Galactica’, is manufactured exclusively by Fred Barton Productions, Inc. of Los Angeles, California, and licensed through Universal Studios. Each Cylon is hand-made using only the finest materials and overseen by the ‘Robot Man’ himself, Fred Barton.”

Next it’s Tyrol:

Then it’s Athena:

And the last one is Starbuck/Anders (slightly cut off at the front):

Found via galacticasitrep.blogspot.com.

If the new Galactica is to gritty for your tastes these cutie-pie Minimates might change your mind about the show. You can pre-order them here:

BigBadToyStore.com

Found via Toy News International.

Why just settle for watching Battlestar Galactica when you can star in your own episode? Taking a page from the Star Wars Kid the Battlestar Galactica Videomaker Toolkit allows you to create your own four minute sci fi epic. And a lucky few fanboys (or perhaps fangurls) will have their video broadbast on an upcoming episode of Galactica:

scifi.com/battlestar/videomaker