Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
According to Chris Snellgrove
| Published
While the uniforms were elegant, Ronald D. Moore Battlestar Galactica the reboot is not a show that is largely remembered for its sci-fi fashion. However, there was one big exception: the skin-tight red dress worn by the sultry Cylon known only as Six. She was perfectly played by Tricia Helfer, who recently donned a red dress to celebrate the ultimate fan project: a full-scale replica of Barry Armstrong’s Viper starfighter, piloted on the show by pilots like Starbuck.
Armstrong used his Baz Builds Facebook page to provide ongoing updates on his Viper project. This is more than just a static replica, though that alone would still be insanely impressive. But his Viper has lights, sounds, and moving parts, and through a series of funny coincidences (or maybe it’s the will of the Kobold lords?) he ended up getting a video shout-out from Tricia Helfer, complete with a red dress that burned into the mind Battlestar Galactica fans around the world.
Understandably, Barry Armstrong has amassed quite a following on his Facebook page… at the time of writing, about 10,400 people follow it, allowing them to keep up-to-date on the project and engage in deeply silly discussions. Armstrong is an Australian military veteran, and on December 21 his site received a post from Mitchell Bell, a Marine who had a “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”-style connection to Galacticathe hottest star. He wrote of how his “good sea brother Freddie Joe Farnsworth cooperated Tricia Helfer” and this fellow veteran was able to connect Bell with Helfer.
To hear Bell tell it, the actor “was blown away by your passion for detail” on this amazing project, and that was enough for him to shoot his shot. He “humbly asked for a shoutout” for Baz, and that led to the video she posted Instagram. Tricia Helfer called out “Merry Christmas to your friend’s friend,” referencing his Viper project, before entering the shot in her iconic red dress.
If you only know the actor from her serious and intimidating villain role Battlestar Galacticayou might be surprised at how adorably silly this video is. When she first enters the frame, she makes a cat-like meow like her own science fiction sound effect. Then, affecting a higher-pitched voice, he narrates exactly what he’s doing on screen: “The number six in front of the Christmas tree!”
After getting all nice and silly in her iconic red dress, Tricia Helfer sheepishly declared that she was “trying to have fun” and then named Baz. She specifically stated that she hoped “Baz enjoyed his merry Christmas shout-out from Mitch”. As for the rest of the fandom, they enjoyed the video for other reasons, with fans on and off Instagram mostly commenting on how amazing Helfer still looks and how well she still pulls off that racy little dress.
At first glance, it’s easy to see all of this as nothing more than eye candy. After all, seeing both a full-size Viper replica and Tricia Helfer in a red dress is a very sweet Christmas treat for all of us. However, this whole series of events is very instructive for several other reasons, including that it confirms how robust it is Battlestar Galactica the fandom is still there. Peacock’s planned reboot may be a deader Starbuck, but it’s amazing to know there’s still so much passion for the 2003 show that helped make Tricia Helfer famous.
Speaking of the actor, it’s impossible to see all of this without realizing how graceful and classy the actress really is. Tricia Helfer didn’t have to react at all, let alone make our heads explode with the dusting of her red dress. More than two decades after Ronald D. Moore Battlestar Galactica Helfer, who premiered, proved that she still has an amazing amount of respect for the passionate fans who helped put the show on the map.
The only downside to all of this is that Barry Armstrong makes us question our lazy vacations. It seems like we’ve done nothing but stuff our faces and catch up on the DVR, and this man is building life-size replicas that would put most Hollywood props to shame. But now we may have the greatest incentive of all to do something meaningful with our lives: the knowledge that if it’s cool enough, Tricia Helfer might record sexy video just for us.
That’s what we all say. Or, in the spirit of the season, we all say ho, ho, ho.
