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Filming locations

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For information on the Filming locations in Galactica 1980, see Filming locations (1980).

All of the Battlestar Galactica series, from the Original Series through Galactica 1980 to the Miniseries and beyond, have made use of location shooting to provide some of the background and scope for the storyline.

The classic Galactica bridge set and others were built at Universal Studios, and the Universal backlot was also used throughout the shooting of the series. The programs filmed from 1978 through 1980 conducted location shoots around Southern California, for the most part not far from Universal Studios in Studio City, California.

Original Series Filming Locations[edit]

Caprica[edit]

Serina in a Caprica plaza for her newscast to discuss the forthcoming peace with the Cylons (TOS: "Saga of a Star World").
The sequence from "Saga of a Star World," set on the surface of Caprica, where Serina is caught up in the Cylon bombing was filmed in Long Beach, California at the City Hall and Library complex. Matte paintings were added to provide the city scape [1], while plywood was laid in walkways to emulate a checkered pattern.

Kobol[edit]

For "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part II," some shots of the pyramids at Kobol were actually filmed at the site of the Great Temple at Karnak and the Pyramids of Giza, in Egypt [2]. A small crew was sent to film the sequence and doubles were used to pose as Adama, Serina, Apollo and Boomer.

Gamoray base[edit]

Outside shots of the Gamoray base, shown in "The Living Legend, Part II," were filmed at night at the campus of the University of California at Northridge in Northridge, California, USA [3].

Paradeen[edit]

The destroyed city on Paradeen seen in "Greetings From Earth" was filmed in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. The prefabricated buildings left over from Expo '67 fell apart in the harsh Canadian winters. The remains of the site were this sequence was filmed in 1979 made believable futuristic ruins.

Terra[edit]

The landing site of Starbuck's Viper on Terra was filmed at the Vasquez Rocks in California.

References[edit]


For information on the Filming locations in the Original Series, see Filming locations (TOS).

All of the Battlestar Galactica series, from the Original Series through Galactica 1980 to the Miniseries and beyond, have made use of location shooting to provide some of the background and scope for their storylines.

The programs filmed from 1978 through 1980 CE conducted location shoots around Southern California, for the most part not far from Universal Studios in Studio City, California.

The classic Galactica bridge set and others were built at Universal Studios, but many of those sets had been struck by December 1979 when Galactica 1980 began filming. As a result, stock footage was used even more than in the original program, especially when the bridge was shown. To compensate for this, the Universal backlot was also used throughout the shooting of the series, notably in "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part II," for the sequences that took place in Germany. The programs filmed from 1978 through 1980 conducted location shoots around Southern California, for the most part not far from Universal Studios in Studio City, California. Galactica 1980 made even more use of this, since it was set in a contemporary setting.

Galactica 1980 Filming Locations[edit]

JCPenney[edit]

The store that Troy happens upon in Paradise Valley, when in search of supplies for the Super Scouts during Dillon's "bank robbery," was a JCPenney located on 18341 Sherman Way, Reseda, California, U.S.A.

This is visible in two distinct shots (a long shot and a close-up shot) when Troy first enters near the revolving door (1980: "The Super Scouts, Part I").

This particular JCPenney closed down in 1985, having been on the site since 1953, and was rebuilt as a two-floor retail and office complex.[1] As of 2024, the site is known as the Majestic Plaza.[2]

Phone Booth[edit]

In "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I," Troy and Dillon first meet Jamie near what is now a French restaurant in Los Angeles County's Soledad Canyon. The phone booth that is featured in the scene was still there as of June 2006.


Planet Starbuck[edit]

The scenes of the planet Starbuck names after himself in "The Return of Starbuck" were filmed entirely on location at Red Rock Canyon State Park near Cantil, California, U.S.A.[3]

Alonzo Ranch[edit]

Much of the episode "Space Croppers" was filmed at the Disney movie ranch in rural Los Angeles county, a favorite location for Galactica 1980. The recognizable covered bridge that is in the center of the ranch property is on prominent display in one scene.

References[edit]

  1. Akst, Daniel, "Old J.C. Penney Store in Reseda Is Reborn as Retail-Office Complex", Los Angeles Times, 5 November 1985. Retrieved on 11 November 2024.
  2. Majestic Plaza - 18341 Sherman Way, Reseda, CA 91335 (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). Retrieved on 11 November 2024.
  3. Planet Starbuck photos by Mark Weller and Janet McNeill Weller (backup available on Archive.org) (in ). (October 7, 2006).

All of the Battlestar Galactica series, from the original through Galactica 1980 to the Miniseries and beyond, have made use of location shooting to provide some of the background and scope for the storyline. The Re-imagined Series is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and most of the location shoots have been done within the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

Miniseries Filming Locations[edit]

  • Baltar's House
Baltar's house on Caprica was filmed at a home on the Sea to Sky Highway, north of Horseshoe Bay, British Columbia, Canada. [1] [2] Ronald Moore comments about filming at this location, and the noise of nearby construction in the podcast for "Resurrection Ship, Part I".
  • Laura Roslin's Doctor's Office
Laura Roslin's doctor's office, where she receives bad news, was filmed at 1540 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, a home which has been featured in Architectural Digest.
Judging from the staircases, Lee Adama's flashbacks in "Black Market" were also filmed there.
This was shot at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia[3] and can also be seen in "Epiphanies".
The interior of the sublight Botanical Cruiser, that was left behind, was filmed at the Bloedel Conservatory, at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, BC. The east entrance to the park is from 33rd Avenue where it intersects with Ontario Street [4]. (The shape of the Blodel Conservatory looks remarkably similar to the domes of the USS Valley Forge spaceship from Silent Running, images of which were used as the Agro Ship in the original series, which is the model upon which the Botanical Cruiser was later based. There are other examples of these kind of dome shaped greenhouses from the early 1970's, which may have inspired the original model design).
The interior is an abandoned potash silo within the British Columbia railyards. It appears as a large Colonial ordnance storage depot. The location is also where Leoben Conoy is first encountered and where Aaron Doral is eventually stranded (TRS: "Miniseries, Night 2").

Regular Series Filming Locations[edit]

Ships[edit]

  • Cloud 9 interior
    • The garden scenes on Cloud 9 in "Colonial Day" were shot in the rose garden of the University of British Columbia.
    • The Quorum of Twelve meeting site was filmed at the Chan Centre, 6265 Crescent Road, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This building also features prominently in the television series The 4400.

Planets[edit]

  • Kobol
    • Most of the outdoor and forest scenes in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II" through "Fragged" and the "Home" two-parter were shot at Widgeon Slough near Port Coquitlam, BC. Widgeon Slough is located within Pinecone Burke Provincial Park [6].
    • The opera house from Baltar's vision is Vancouver's Orpheum Theatre. It is located at the corner of Smithe at Seymour in the city's downtown [7].
  • The Temple of Five
    • The same location used in the filming of Ragnar Anchorage in the miniseries was reused, redressed partially through visual effects to form the spires and lighting effects of the temple.[12]

Standing sets[edit]

The show's sets include Adama's quarters, an airlock, CIC, several multipurpose rooms, many hallways, Colonial One and the hangar deck. The Miniseries was shot in a larger studio, in which all sets were interconnected. That made it possible to follow Kara Thrace from the hallways to the hangar deck in the shot. With the beginning to the regular series, the production moved to another studio, which made it necessary to split some of the sets apart.

Images[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Baltar's House on Flickr (backup available on Archive.org) (in ). (April 21, 2006).
  2. Frank Boosman's Blog - Baltar's House (backup available on Archive.org) (in ). (May 1, 2006).
  3. Bassom, David (2005). Adam "Adama" Newell Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion. Titan Books. ISBN 1-84576-097-2, p. 30.
  4. Map of Queen Elizabeth Park (backup available on Archive.org) (in ).
  5. See: Sources:Bastille Day
  6. Pinecone Burke Provincial Park Information site (backup available on Archive.org) (in ).
  7. Vancouver's Orpheum Theatre information site (backup available on Archive.org) (in ).
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Bassom, David (2007). Cath Trechman Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season Three. Titan Books. ISBN 1-84576-478-1, p. 35.
  9. Bassom, David (2005). Adam "Adama" Newell Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion. Titan Books. ISBN 1-84576-097-2, p. 47.
  10. Video Blog entry (backup available on Archive.org) (in ).
  11. bsgtns.com Forum post (backup available on Archive.org) (in ).
  12. Podcast:The Eye of Jupiter

External Links[edit]


  • See also
    • Filming locations (TOS)|Original Series filming locations
    • Filming locations (1980)|"1980" filming locations
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