Hero Complex

Meet the stars: 'Battlestar Galactica' free event this Thursday in Hollywood

June 1, 2009 | 12:04 pm

Edward James Olmos and Marry McDonnell in Battlestar Galactica

A reminder that this Thursday night I will be moderating a very special "Battlestar Galactica" panel with Mary McDonnell, Edward James Olmos, Ron Moore and David Eick along with some representatives of the United Nations. That may sound like an odd mix, but anyone familiar with the late, great television series knows that it delved into some harrowing human rights issues and was laced with heavy social and ethical themes.

This will be the second panel of this kind -- there was a New York edition moderated by Whoopi Goldberg that set a starting point for this West Coast conversation. Here's a video that will give you a sense of that first event...

We'll be doing the panel in a 500-seat venue at Mann Chinese 6 Theatres (6801 Hollywood Blvd.) and you can find out about the ticketing process and other details at the Envelope Screening Series website.

I'd love to say hello (and thank you!) to you regular Hero Complex readers so if you do make it by, please be sure to stop me and introduce yourself...

-- Geoff Boucher

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'Battlestar Galactica' event on June 4 in Hollywood

May 27, 2009 | 11:08 am

"Battlestar Galactica" may be gone, but it's not forgotten. On June 4, "Galactica" stars Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell will join key creators Ron Moore and David Eick on a panel that revisits the darker story lines of the show and address real-world human rights issues. I'm moderating the panel at Hollywood and Highland and hope to see a lot of you Hero Complex readers in the audience.

The event is part of the Envelope Screening Series, which brings in Los Angeles Times writers to moderate panels featuring the elite talents behind top television shows. ("The Shield," "Californication" and "Rescue Me" are among the other panels this time around.)

The "Battlestar" discussion will be different than the others, with an emphasis on taking the show's themes and re-framing them as a human rights commentary -- and a call to action. This panel will be a follow-up event to the April cast visit to the United Nations, which left many of the participants energized. I spoke a few weeks ago to McDonnell and she was intent on turning talk into action. I expect this panel will be the start of that. For those of you who can't make it, the panel will be streamed live at TheEnvelope.com and video clips will be posted there and here at the mighty Hero Complex.

Again, for details on the June 4 panel, go to the website for Envelope Screening Series, where you can also find video of my panel last year with Moore, McDonnell, Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff.