Today is the big day, ladies and gentlemen! Battlestar Galactica: The Plan hits the shelves on DVD and Blu-ray, and with it so ends the final chapter of the new BSG. I’m just as sad to see the show come to and end as the rest of you, but don’t get too misty-eyed on me, your old uncle Mojo has a little ‘going away’ present in store! Of course, each and every one of you should pick up “The Plan” simply because it’s an intriguing film and features a juicy performance by the best bad guy in years, Dean “Cavil” Stockwell – but just in case you were looking for further motivation to add this DVD to your collection, it’s also hiding a very special easter egg…
Over a year ago, when production on the series was coming to a close, I was suddenly inspired with an idea on how to create the ultimate homage to the original Battlestar Galactica. It took a while to finally wrangle it all together, but, thank the gods, all the pieces fell into place and I put the finishing touches on it only a few months ago – just in time for the good folks at Universal Home Video to sneak it into “The Plan.” I’m keeping my lips sealed on exactly what the clip is all about, but suffice it to say that every fan of the original series is going to go apeshit over it.
There’s no mention of this little treat on the disc itself (it’s a secret), but here’s what you need to do to access it:
– Go to the extras menu
– Highlight the Admiral to Director featurette
– Now navigate to the right with your remote
– You should see the BSG Seal appear – hit enter and enjoy!
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All I ask – for at least a few weeks – is that fellow blogs and web sites not spoil the fun and keep the exact nature of the clip a secret until fans have a chance to see it for themselves. Deal?
In a few weeks I’ll do another post about the making of the clip. Until then, try to keep your comments spoiler-free. So say we all!
[Special thanks to Admiral William Hunt over at The Digital Bits for confirmation on the Blu-Ray]
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Darth Mojo 
I want a region 2 release =/
Faldor: you mean you’re not buying Region 1 releases anyway? For whatever organizational reason, they are vastly superior at least to UK Region 2 releases (I don’t know about others or the new UK Blu-ray releases). I’ve been buying both so far, since the UK releases generally show up on DVD earlier and are easier to work with in my (primarily) Region 2 environment whenever I’m only interested in watching the show.
(For those not in the know, the UK nBSG releases usually don’t feature Ron Moore podcasts/commentaries, extended versions of episodes or many of the featurettes, except when they do in some cases, miraculously, and even then only some podcasts and some featurettes.)
Ha. When you first mentioned an Easter egg, I thought you’d be talking about buildings from the Romulan capital city from Star Trek: Nemesis showed up in the city on Virgon. ;)
Boris: I got s1-3 on R2 for quite a cheap price, but I did get s4 on r1 but have trouble with TV’s and NSTC aspect ratios.
@Faldor US Blu-ray is codefree, Axelmusic sent it out already.
haha just checked it out, very nice. Was it difficult to convince the other parties involved to do it?
Gep: I’m not sure what you mean – Virgon was never shown in nBSG.
Very cool.
I know costuming isn’t your arena, but I must say I found it interesting to see the C-Bucs’ training outfits … somehow familiar and appropriate.
LOVE the easter egg!!!!!!!!!! Why weren’t you in the feature on the visual effects team?
Well played Mojo, well played. And I can’t believe you guys use synth eyes too…. (I watched the extras)
@Boris:
It’s not 100% conclusive that it is Virgon, but we see a city in “The Plan” right after a Basestar Hybrid mentions an attack on Virgon, so I assume it’s supposed to represent that planet. That city has the central Romulan capitol building and several staircases from Nemesis visible, pretty much unchanged, in the lower left of frame.
Why wasn’t I in the documentary? I need to maintain my reputation as a dark, shadowy figure. Honestly, I just wasn’t in the office that day (or that week. Or month, etc).
In any case, I have my blog, I get more than enough credit for the work i’ve done – the rest of the team deserved a moment in the sun.
In addition, the easter egg I made turns out to be the very last thing produced for the entire series – so, I had the last word. I’m quite satisfied with that!
Yeah, That was pretty cool! Thanks for all your work and keeping us as much in the loop as we can be without signing a confidentiality agreement!
I tried to convince my wife to let us rent The Plan last night, but she didn’t want to. I need to remember to view the Easter Egg before I return it, once I get it.
I remember watching the special features for TMP:DE and was excited to see DarrenDoc on there, then I realized that, holy crap, there’s Mojo, even being credited as “Mojo”!
To change the subject, how is the lightsaber contest going? Getting many entries? Will you be picking the winner or is it a vote? I’m excited!
So, if I buy this on iTunes will I have access to the Easter egg? I’m guessing not, but want to be sure.
Just got in from the local Fry’s with my copy. I’ll be watching it in a bit, after a brief intermission!!!!
Will you be putting the clip up online as well so that we people in other parts of the world can get to see it?
JD: As per usual, it’s highly unlikely iTunes downloads will contain any of the special features found on a DVD/Blu-Ray
ANDY: No, I will not be posting the clip from a brand new, copyrighted DVD.
Brilliant work! Checked out the egg last night, and was floored.
Bought the DVD and watched it yesterday. LOVED the Easter Egg!! Thank you so much for adding that, it really made my day. Wish I knew how to turn it into a ringtone. LOL! Great job, thanks again! :)
Ok, just wondered as you have put other clips on your site previously, and didn’t know if you were getting permission to do so for this one.
Well, tomorrow’s payday. Looks like I’ll be swinging by Best Buy and picking up a copy. Looks like my Friday night is going to consist of a 6 pack of Mexican beer and The Plan.
I am intrigued. Now I must now what the Easter Egg is.
Just finished watchiing the movie. Positively brilliant.
AAwesome Easter Egg too might I add.
@Boris
Don’t think that is Virgon… no forests and it reminds me more of what we’d expect from Gemenon.
I’d love to know for sure though.
Ginny: I hadn’t actually seen the movie when I commented that we never saw Virgon in the series. I didn’t consider the possibility that Gep was thinking of the “The Plan”, since the production timeline didn’t seem to fit with his question on whether Mojo inserted an easter egg into the movie proper. (I did see “The Plan” in the meantime and saw Mojo’s name in the credits, but I’m not sure whether he actually worked on new VFX for the movie or whether he was credited for one of the shots from the series.) Having seen the movie, I’d agree with Gep’s interpretation, although it’s still not perfectly clear that we’re looking at Virgon.
I must absolutely compliment the VFX artists for the opening shots of baseship arms rotating into place and the nukes slowly falling and breaking up into more and more missiles, as well as whoever came up with that idea in the first place (if it was the writers). _Those_ shots should’ve been in the miniseries, since they portray the psychology of what was done to the Colonies much better than distant mushroom clouds. The movie itself filled some of the gaps nicely, but I knew where it was going and which events were likely to be covered, so the suspense wasn’t really there. Also, it wasn’t the kind of movie I was looking for, though I’m pretty sure that the nBSG movie I’d like to see will never be made.
(Hint: it could start with the Cylon baseship returning to prehistoric Earth, finding only a few survivors, who realize that deliberately abandoning their technology wasn’t exactly a bright idea, and then everybody leaves Earth in search of whatever force was steering events in nBSG. Our history isn’t affected, because according to scientific evidence, it didn’t really start “out there”. The Colonials would have to be related to our Earth in a more unique fashion…)
Mojo,
Bravo!!! The egg was beautifully done! I do have a question though…was the “Celestra” ever in the fleet in the new series? I don’t recall ever seeing it, but it’s in place in your homage. Just curious.
R/S
Fritz