Battlestar Galactica is gone, for now, but the props live on - and this weekend, BSG fans will once again have the opportunity to own a piece of the space opera's history when Propworx unleashes the last BSG auction on eBay.
The items on the block this time include Lee Adama's Viper model, a pair of Admiral Adama's stunt duty blues, a Raptor flight suit, a pair of Karl "Helo" Agathon's dog tags, Colonel Saul Tigh's dog tags and Chief Galen Tyrol's dog tags, Viper cockpit blueprints, a resin FN 5-7 pistol and an architectural schematic of New Caprica. The main difference between this auction and the last is that this truly is the LAST.
Two guys that know all too well the sentimental value of these props are David Weddle and Bradley Thompson, two of BSG's writers who were with the show from the beginning and responsible for such memorable episodes as "The Hand of God," "Flight of the Phoenix," "Maelstrom" and "Someone to Watch Over Me." I asked the duo if there were any props they would have liked to have gotten ahold of.
"Absolutely, there was the top gun mug and Joe Adama's lighter that they tossed away," Thompson told me. "Those were very tough to watch go. I would have loved to have had Kara's mandala, but I'm not even sure they auctioned that off," Weddle added.
You might not associate the props of a show with the writing, but talking to David and Bradley about how props from a heavily visual universe like BSG factor into the writing was illuminating. It turns out there is fair amount of synergy between the writing and design of BSG paraphrenalia. "Many of the props were scripted, of course. Aurora Goddess of the Dawn and Adama's lighter, the mandala, were all important plot and character points that were thought of first in script and then designed by the prop department or the art director." Weddle told me.
"When we were producing the show we'd go up there to Vancouver and the propmaster would show us what they had or what they'd built and ask 'is this what you were looking for?' and we'd be working with the director on that as well, so yeah we got to have input," said Weddle.
On the question of just how rare these items are, Thompson clarified that the final products aren't simply pulled from molds but selected from a unique set. "They make five or six different versions of them, but only one of them is the one that goes in front of the camera and that is the definition."
Weddle puts a sharper point on things, capturing the sense of atrophy that these auctions bring to the 'original' BSG production world. "All of these are basically gone. The sets and everything have been photographed and there are detailed plans on all of the sets so they could be reproduced if somebody so desired, but with the props I don't think that's true because a lot of them were found or created in workshops. Once they are gone, they are gone forever."
The two have since moved on to CSI, but they are still managing to kick out the occasional BSG reference. "There was an episode last season, "Space Oddity" and that is full of BSG references. Ron [Moore] even appears in it." Thompson reveals. "it's an homage to BSG" Weddle adds. Apparently, the CSI gang is composed of more than a few BSG fans.
You can bid on iconic Battlestar Galactica props and collectibles this weekend with the Propworx "33" BSG auctions.
