Battlestar Galactica
I can't believe I managed to pull it off, but I just got back from the high point of this trip: sitting in during filming of BSG.

It was a long shot, considering my previous experiences with the Vancouver Film Studios, but I showed up today with a drink I bought at the Costco across the street, and just stood in front of the gate by Studio G. There were extras in Galactica uniforms having a smoke break, and dinner was being served. Chief Tyrol showed up with a book. About 5 minutes in, a lady came to ask me who I was, and if I needed in. She termed me "a fan" and continued about her business. Then a security guard came. I thought he was going to kick me out, but he just asked what was being filmed, out of his own curiosity. After that, my drink finished so I went to get a refill at Costco, and came back. Another 15 minutes in, the actors and crew were all looking at me wondering who I was. Eventually, an extra pointed me out more directly, and the same lady came up to have a chat with me. I told her I'm crazy about the show, and that there's zero chance of me getting an official way in, so I was just standing around until someone like her came around. She asked me if I was certifiably crazy, in that if she were to let me in, if I would start screaming during a take or something. She seemed surprised that I managed to find that they were filming there. Then, whether I was armed. I just gave her my Swiss Army knife and my backpack, and she let me in! She told me to tell anyone who asks that I'm a friend of hers. I was astonished this worked out!

I walked into Studio G next to the fighter cockpit and turned left. My friend got me the day's Call Sheet, which happened to have all of the script they were filming today. The episode is Flight of the Phoenix. As I was there, they filmed two scenes on the Hangar set, one of which was simply a fly-by of reactions of the crew to a speech, which, I believe (from the script), was given by the President. It was actually read out by a film crew member (probably the line producer). The stage was filled with a light fog. During the filming of this, I was in a chair right beside to Colonel Tigh, as he wasn't in the scene. He looked fatigued, so I didn't bug him. According to the call sheet, he had been there 10 hours already. Directly in front of me were two monitors, showing what each of the two cameras was filming. They use two cameras to save time. This is the same thing Enterprise did in the last season.

On the way in and out, I walked by the full-scale build-up of the Phoenix itself, and it is quite imposing. It also has a nice name written on it, but there will be no spoilers here!

An interesting observervation was the number of laptops. There were far more than I expected, probably to pass the time between takes. All Apple.

All in all, this was just an over-the-top experience.