The Battlestar Galactica convention was fab — and all this will happen again!

Would you like a bit of good news? I would!

This past weekend, Creation Entertainment put on a convention paying tribute to Battlestar Galactica. Many members of the show’s acting troupe and creative team were on hand, and I had the honor of being the MC and also moderating many panels. Meeting other fans, celebrating what this group accomplished, hearing stories I’d never heard, seeing Michael Hogan energize everyone at his first con appearance in four years — so many things were frakkin’ awesome. 

Legends only. Also me!

That’s good news, but that’s not the good news. No, the thing I want to share is that there are many copies. Well, at least one copy. Creation Entertainment is putting on another BSG convention next fall in New Jersey.

This is a fleetwide announcement: That is our rendezvous point one year from now! Spread the word! 

My two cents: If the next shindig is half as fun as this year’s gathering, it’ll be spectacular.

Katee Sackhoff took questions and it was so much fun!

But I suspect next year’s gathering will be just as cool. All the conversations and panels and so forth this year were a blast — a full-on con devoted to this version of BSG was certainly more than justified. There was so much to talk about and dig into on all fronts. It was terrific and funny and informative and a frakkin’ delight, for three solid days. This first con did a great job of starting the process of celebrating what made Battlestar Galactica truly one of the greats – and the good news is, there are so many more fascinating, insightful conversations to be had.

That said, this con was special. A lot of the BSG creative family hadn’t seen each other in a while, and many stories and memories were shared, all while new ones were created. I had never met or interviewed a few of BSG folks, and every single one of them was thoughtful, funny, smart and welcoming. If you were there and thought the love onstage was an act, it wasn’t! It was just as real offstage, from what I could see.

Tahmoh Penikett, Michael Trucco and Grace Park mixed it up and it was glorious.

There was talk during the event that there may be another BSG con next year, and just yesterday, I heard that it’s happening. Of course, no guests have been announced yet, but I’m so excited that all this will happen again. Many lively bonds were on display all over the place — among the cast, the writers, the directors, Ron Moore, the fans, and of course the fantastic Creation team that worked so hard to pull the whole thing off.

What a roster of amazing women. Honored to be in the same area code as these badasses!

Everyone associated with the show looked glad they turned up. And if the comments attendees made to me in the hallways and elsewhere are anything to go by, the fans who came had a good time as well. Which, of course, was a big, important goal! (Thanks to everyone who bought my book or had me sign stuff — I am so touched by all of that and so enjoyed our conversations!)

Why does it look like James & AJ are doing You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ at karaoke?

I gotta say it again — this one was special. I’ve attended a lot of cons and geeky events in my time, but the sense of excitement that sprang from getting the band back together was palpable. I very much hope the artists on those stages felt validated and valued — and I hope even more artists, actors and artisans who worked on the show can come in 2025.

This is Galactica Actual!

This year’s event was very busy — and the weekend included a full cast panel with 15 people on Saturday night that didn’t end until roundabout 10 pm. So it’d be understandable to wonder if, by 5 pm on Sunday, when Jamie Bamber and Edward James Olmos kicked off the last panel (with yours truly moderating), whether there was gas left in the tank.

Of course there was. Bamber and Olmos had a great conversation about the complex dynamics of the Adama family, getting to know each other as actors and people, and many other topics, including what it was like to be directed by Eddie. Bamber said he generally loves being directed by other actors, because they know what helps performers do their best work, and Eddie was a great director in part for that very reason.

The last panel of the con was like so many other panels this past weekend: deep, funny, intriguing and illuminating.

And then, at the end of the panel, Jamie said that just as BSG changed his ideas about the possibilities of his craft, this gathering changed his view of conventions. And in the final moments of the con, Admiral Adama finished the event by leading chants of “So say we all!” Nobody on stage got choked up* at all (*this statement has not been fact-checked).

By the end of the con, this entire surface was covered with signatures (including mine!)

Oh, you think I’m done? I’m not. Because I want to put a lot of photos in this post, I’m going to list just a few of the highlights of the weekend. There were truly too many great moments to mention, so believe me, this is in no way even remotely comprehensive.

Why isn’t there a holiday rom-com starring these two? Hollywood, you have failed me! (Yes, people shouted “Where’s Waldo” the moment Jamie stepped on stage.)

Also, there are TON of photos in the Instagram Reel I posted today. And check out the social media of the fans, actors and creative people who were there — under the hashtags #bsg20 and #battlestargalactica, there’s so much goodness ! As for the photos in this post, many were taken by Mary Anne Butler, a.k.a. @fivefootmab on Insta, and a few I think may have been taken by Bill Watters, both part of the con team. Some others were taken by me or my spouse. I’m sure I’ll post more on my Instagram Reels and Stories soon!

Anyway! A few very random memories:

Ron Moore, Michael Taylor, Michael Rymer and Adam Malin of Creation Entertainment.

• An opening day panel featuring creator/EP Ron Moore, writer/producer Michael Taylor and director Michael Rymer was fantastic, and Rymer was name-checked all weekend as a key architect not just of the show’s visceral style, but as an open, welcoming collaborator who was open to input from the other artists he was working with, in all departments. Look, every creative person is going to have a different style and vision, but you know how I’m always yammering on about how being receptive, collaborative and considerate in creative environments makes for a better final product? I think BSG is pretty solid proof of why that’s a smart approach.
• The Women of Battlestar panel was fantastically moderated by Mary McDonnell, whose energy and insights and general Mary McDonnell-ness were an inspiration all weekend.

If anyone ever says to you, “Are you prepared to watch the World Series at a Dave & Buster’s with the cast of Battlestar Galactica?” – trust me when I tell you, you are not prepared.

Just hanging out watching the game with Adama and Roslin, you know, a normal Friday.

On Saturday, I moderated a talk between Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh) and Michael Hogan (Saul Tigh), and during that deeply emotional, joyous, informative panel, Kate announced that the fan auction held earlier that day to benefit Hogan raised $46,000. BSG fans, you are the actual best. Efforts to help Michael and Susan Hogan are ongoing, and what the fleet has done so far is heartening.

These two! The love was so real.

Again, I’ve moderated a million panels in my day, and there are often fan questions during those panels. And let’s just say that in the past, I’ve heard some fantastic questions and then some that are… maybe not as fantastic. But I have to say, the quality of questions I heard at the BSG con was excellent. Great job, everyone!

Me and Adam Malin of Creation; he and his resourceful, energetic team can’t be thanked enough for pulling this event together! So say we all!

There were many memories shared of Richard Hatch, whom everyone recalled as a kind, gentle man who loved Battlestar in all its forms and was a delight to work with and hang out with at pop-culture events.

The full cast panel on Saturday night was… I’ll admit it, prior to that weekend, I was a little nervous about it. Yes, I’ve moderated several million panel discussions in my day, but one with 15 actors? Was I up to it? Truthfully, I felt more up to it after we all went out for a great Mexican meal and I had one (only one!!) pineapple margarita. The cast had been so great, so kind and so generous all weekend — and at that dinner — that I ended up being not all that nervous when the appointed hour came. And it went well, I think! I mean, as soon as Jamie told a very funny story about farting on set during an early scene with Mary, and everyone nearly fell off their chairs laughing… I realized it was gonna be OK.

The four stages of being on a BSG panel: Acceptance, confused joy, “Oh God what now,” and “I would like one alcohol please.”

On Sunday, I took the stage with Hogan, who talked about being a hippie in the Sixties and how the hippies invented the term “love fest.” And he pointed out that this con had been, for him, a total love fest. He and Susan and his family have been through a lot since 2020, and seeing the fans enjoy Hogan’s lively energy, and seeing Hogan so pumped up — it simply ruled. All hail the XO!

Big! XO! Energy!

I had forgotten about — if I ever knew of it — the hashtag #fleetisfamily over the years. But it came up during the con, and I think it’s a keeper. You know how families are – real families, that is. Not everybody is in a great mood every moment, not in any of the many families and communities I’m part of. And I include myself in that – really and truly, nobody’s perfect.

But a real family looks out for each other, when we’re having a great day, a good day, or a not-great day. A real family cares about each other, works through the knotty stuff, and people go to bat for each other. All of that was on display time and again, when I wrote many, many words about Battlestar Galactica back in the day. Members of the creative team, actors, other critics and other fans – they were so generous to me, so often. And to me anyway, that was the overall vibe this past weekend. As BSG showed us so skillfully, so beautifully, so heartbreakingly – human beings are flawed, messy, great, altruistic, opportunistic, inspired, magical and unpredictable.

You can’t have too many pix of Mary McDonnell being Mary McDonnell, it is known.

The BSG family that gathered outside Chicago this past weekend… during a dark time in our world, they showed me, again, that we show up for each other, we take care of each other, even when we don’t know what’s next. Especially when we don’t know what’s next. (Speaking of endings, if you’re new to my work, here are the interviews I did around the time of the BSG series finale.)

And if we do what we can, when we can, maybe we will all make it to the next stage of the journey. And maybe, just maybe, the next stage is good. Or contains some soul-lifting moments.

And like I said, the next rendezvous is gonna be at Creation Salute to Battlestar Galactica, Sept. 19th-21st, 2025, Hanover Marriott, Whippanny, NJ.

See you on the other side.