BSG @ SFM

Science Fiction Museum! Battlestar Galactica exhibit! Days later, I'm still nerding out.

If you're in the Seattle area and looking for fun things to do while it pours for the next six months, I highly recommend this. It's like Mecca for sci-fi geeks: first editions, props, costumes, screenplays, scale models, historical context... it's all there. The real danger is not finding your favorites in SFM's wealth of memorabilia (Dune, anyone?).

While I hardly need additional incentive to spend a rainy day in Nerdland, the newest exhibit showcases Battlestar Galactica, a '70s reboot that ran between 2003 and 2009. This exhibit is a treat for BSG enthusiasts, but a bit tepid for casual fans (frak!). The realism of the newer BSG universe, one of the show's greatest strengths, makes for a shallow exhibit. No hallmark, futuristic weaponry; no intricate prosthetics; and no furry, animatronic sidekicks here! The real gems are the life-size fighters (BSG is at its best when re-imagining exactly what we have now just a century into the future). The few contributions from the '70s series seem downright childish in comparison.

So, by all means, go to EMP|SFM—just don't go there to see only this exhibit. So say we all!