Facebook Cover Photo Contest Entries

If you follow us on Facebook, you know that, after considering the entries and suggestions for a Facebook cover photo, Tahmoh chose to go with the pic we're currently using.  He thanks everyone who entered or suggested a picture of him. The "hat picture," as I like to call it, received a number of suggestions and isn't tied to any specific roles Tahmoh has played in the past.

With their permission, I'm sharing the pieces of fanart that we received.  I am only using "screen names" to protect their privacy.  Thank you all for your fanart submissions, to everyone who offered suggestions, and to all the Facebook followers who have been patient with me during a really busy time at work - hence the long delay in this announcement.

Posting in the order I received them...

From Fanci:

From Hanna:

From Calli:

Contest: Facebook Timeline Cover Photo

Time for some fun and games to shake things up around here!

As many of you know, Facebook is moving to the "Timeline" format for all accounts, including fanpages such as Tahmoh's. I've gone ahead and published the page in Timeline format using one of my favorite pictures of Tahmoh as the cover photo. But, Tahmoh, Bertha (my co-admin here), and I thought it would be fun to have fans chose the permanent Timeline cover photo. You will email us your favorite photo of Tahmoh or even your own fan art creation celebrating Tahmoh and his work. Tahmoh, Bertha, and myself will choose a few finalists, and then we'll let the fans vote for the final photo.

Like all contests, we have some ground rules:

1. You can submit photos or fanart; note that landscape works best for the cover photo. Click here for examples of fanart banners we used in a previous context.
2. If you are creating fanart from a copyrighted picture, make sure you have permission from the owner to use the picture.
3. If you are suggesting a picture that is copyrighted, make sure to include the name of the copyright owner in case we need to get permission to use it.
4. Pictures and fanart that promote Tahmoh's breadth of work or Tahmoh himself as opposed to individual roles he has played will be given priority in our selection of which photos to include in the contest.
5. We will only consider photos or fanart that are emailed to AATP (see link to the right). Items posted in comments at AATP or facebook will not be considered and will be deleted so as not to clog up the pages.

It is possible that the winning entry may also be appropriate to serve as an updated banner to this website. No promises on this one, but if you are creating fan art, you might want to keep the color scheme and layout of AATP in mind ... just in case.

Helo Artwork by Grant Gould

Artist Grant Gould created this beautiful print of Helo exclusively for the upcoming C2E2 convention in Chicago, March 18-20. As Grant explains at LiveJournal's Battlestar Blog, he will have a table in the Artist Alley.

Since Tahmoh's going to be a guest at the show, I thought it'd be fun to make an exclusive print. :) So I'll have 20 copies of this print, 11"x17" in size, signed & numbered, $20 each. Swing on by and grab one, and then head over to Tahmoh's table and have him sign it too!

If you repost this image, please respect the fact that the image is Grant's creation and his property. Give him proper credit. Thanks!

See more of Grant's work at his DeviantArt page here.

Later this week - more of our recent Q&A with Tahmoh and personal pics from Dollhouse!

Dollhouse: Behind-the-scenes look (plus buzz & fan art)

The positive buzz for Joss Whedon's Fox series Dollhouse continues, with this breathless entry from Entertainment Weekly's blog, Pop Watch:

Dollhouse will touch on all of the things that enrich the soul of the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. Drop-dead-gorgeous female hero? Check. Her search for identity and purpose while carrying out a specific mission (or, in this case, the specific mission-of-the-week)? Done. Disparate people banding together to forge a family out of isolation? In there. Skillfully twisted dialogue that's both catchy and revealing? Boom. Lots of the kicking of ass? Youbetcha.

Is watching Eliza Dushku's Echo have a different persona implanted on her each week, while searching for the truths of who she really is and how she got stuck in "the Dollhouse," something you're up for? (And does the prospect of Battlestar Galactica's Tahmoh Penikett — as a federal agent on her trail — taking his shirt off sweeten the deal?) I've already got my TiVo primed...how about you?

As for the promised behind-the-scenes look, if you're curious about Dollhouse, you simply must go check out the 20 photos of the main set for the show that have been posted to Dollverse.com.

Very warm, earth tones with a Zen quality--simply stunning and huge! As the outsider FBI agent in the story, Tahmoh's character Paul Smith presumably won't be spending a lot of time on set, but Tahmoh should be used to that from the first season of Battlestar.

With the emergence of the trailer, sneak peek scene and promo photos for the series, a lot of fan art for the show is now appearing. Here are a few Paul icons by visualthinker11 and two banners by the talented Katee from the Sci-fi forum "Tahmoh Penikett Appreciation Thread."

Hints and reviews of Dollhouse, now filming

Kristin from E!Online has some scoop about Dollhouse filming in LA. I've included what she had to say about the show with the spoilery speculation blacked out.

Peter in Cardiff, Wales: What's this scoop about a Dollhouse location shoot that you buried in the Lost Redux?
Oh, what? That? You guys don't care about Dollhouse, do you? Hee. Late last week, there was a two-day-long shoot at a Spanish Mission Revival-style duplex in L.A.'s Miracle Mile area—mostly night shots, I believe—and if I had to bet money, I'd say it was serving as [highlight to read speculation/spoilers]:

Paul's (Tahmoh Penikett) apartment, where Echo and Paul have their meet-cute/meet-complicated and their very first fight scene. Awww...

Red Right Hand has gotten a hold of the pilot script and has posted a non-spoilery review:

And there's some thought provoking stuff that's not even part of the plot (at least not yet) and some that is, like the pro-bono works of the "actives." There's a pervasion of the creepy lurking throughout this pilot. Different kinds too. There's a sci-fi creepy in it and there's a stain-on-your-soul kind in there too.

Now here's the awesomest bit. Echo. The girl who is all kinds of different people. She's only just starting to retain memories from "engagement" to "engagement" so every time we meet here, she's basically somebody else, but in the script you really get a sense of continuity between the personas (and to me, some of those engagements are where the truly creepy bits sneak in).

They also include this note about Tahmoh's casting:

And knowing who's been cast already, I can easily see Tahmoh Penikett as Paul, the FBI dude who's maybe on to something.

Fan art is again thanks to crystalsc at Dollhouse_Art.

Dollhouse now filming; an interview with 2 writers

Dollhouse began filming yesterday in downtown LA, as the official "Future on Fox" blog reports:

Joss started directing Dollhouse this morning. While the cool-ass sets are housed on the Fox lot, today they are shooting in downtown Los Angeles.

dollhousetvforum.com recently posted an exclusive interview with two of the Dollhouse staff writers Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain. The spoiler-free interview is an excellent behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming series.

Is the plan to lean towards "adventure of the week" or with a more "arc" approach?

The show will be episodic and serialized-- meaning every week we'll be telling a story with a beginning, middle, and end, but every week we'll also be weaving in the serialized elements of the Big Story. Sometimes that'll be in smaller, subtle ways, other times those elements will be front and center.

It's interesting you bring up the whole 7 episode thing. We're all so into the show that we're not thinking about 7 as a possible stopping point (although it is gonna be a pretty damn cool ep, as only those Minear episodes can be). We're just rolling right along. Jed and Maurissa are breaking episode 8 as we write these words. We're not stopping, dammit! We're going for 100! More!

When will we start seeing things like promo shoots, an official website, TV/Web advertisements e.t.c?

Joss starts shooting the pilot on April 23rd, and there's a promo shoot coming up a few days later, so there should be stuff to see in the not-too-distant future. We're all working with 20th and Fox on the web presence of the show now. Exactly what that's going to look like we can't say-- because we don't yet know-- but summer is probably a safe bet. Everyone's trying to get things rolling sooner rather than later.

Read the full interview.

The fan art above created by crystalsc is thanks to the new LiveJournal community dollhouse_art, which already has some Tahmoh icons for the series.

Welcome Today Show viewers!

If you're curious to know more about Tahmoh, I've assembled a few links where you can learn more. He was recently cast as Paul Smith, an FBI agent, in Joss Whedon's upcoming Fox series Dollhouse, co-starring Eliza Dushku. He currently stars as Karl "Helo" Agathon on Sci-fi's Battlestar Galactica, which airs Fridays at 10pm.

To find out more, here are some helpful links:

• A short bio on his family, background and training
• A full list of all the TV, short films and movies he's appeared in or visit his IMDB profile
  
• Convention and public event photos
• Interviews with Tahmoh
• Forums: Kindreds and Sci-fi Tahmoh thread
• More photos: All.about.tahmoh Flickr and Northern Lights
  

Or to see the latest news, photos and interviews with Tahmoh just scroll down. For more, click "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page or use the Archive drop-down menu in the left sidebar.

You can also explore topics that interest you via the related post tags, like Cold Squad [2004], in which Tahmoh starred as Constable Ray Chase. All the tags used on the site appear in the left sidebar or at the bottom of related posts. If you're looking for something specific, try using the search bar at the top of the page.

(Thanks to katee from the Sci-fi.com Tahmoh Penikett thread for the art!)

Galactica resumes filming; Helo as a Simpson

According to Galactica scribe Mark Verheiden, filming resumes today for Battlestar's fourth and final season:

[W]e start shooting episode #12 of the twenty episodes left for season four and the series. Mr. Ron Moore himself writes and directs this opus, and... that's all I'm going to say about the episode itself. Except it will probably run the usual 42-ish minutes and I can almost guarantee it will be shot in beautiful color.

In celebration, thanks to the talents of fans like quirkybird, here is Helo as a character from the Simpsons (along with various Sharons, Hera and D'Anna). GalactiSimpsons of the whole cast below.

5 Finalists in new site banner contest!

After a week of extremely active voting, 5 clear favorites have emerged in the new site banner contest. While every banner received at least one vote, the five below all received more than 20 (and up to twice that).

I will submit these five to Tahmoh for his final decision.

Congratulations to the 5 finalists and thanks to everyone
who submitted a banner and who voted!

To see full-size versions of these banners and what they'd look like at the top of the site, click here.

Banner 2 - by Ellia (heliotitans)

Banner 11 - by Ellashy

Banner 14 - by Ellashy

Banner 15 - by starpollo

Banner 18 - by JD

Vote for the new All about Tahmoh banner now!

Thanks to everyone who submitted a banner for the AATP Banner Design Contest. Now it's time to vote!

Vote for the top three (3) banners
you think would be *best for the site*.

To help you decide which banners would work the best, I've mocked up what each one would look like in the site's template. Below all the banners, you'll see a view of the banner in context.

Or if you prefer, you can see all the banners as thumbnails and all the template mockups at once over at Flickr.

I will send the 5-6 banners that win the most votes on to Tahmoh to pick the ultimate winner.

Anyone can vote--even if you don't have a LiveJournal, you can vote anonymously--but I'm logging IP addresses, so no ballot-stuffing please!

High-bandwidth: See banners and vote here.
Low-bandwidth: See banners at Flickr and vote here.

Voting will remain open until Thursday, March 6th.

2 Week Reminder: Design a new banner for the site!

Just a quick reminder, there are only 2 weeks remaining for all you graphically inclined fans out there to enter the new site banner contest.

To quote from the original announcement:

A few requirements... the banner should:

• Be at least 950 pixels wide; no more than 300 pixels tall.
• Work with the site's current color scheme.
• Include the site's name "All about Tahmoh Penikett".
• Include at least one picture of Tahmoh.
• Be a reasonable file size to keep dialup fans happy (under 500k).
• Not be tagged. You'll be credited on the site's front page, please leave tags out of the banner.

Submit your banner(s) via email to all.about.tahmoh@gmail.com.

For more on the contest and photo sources for the banner, click here.

The deadline for the contest will be Wednesday, February 27th.

PS: I've bumped the deadline back two days as I was late posting this reminder.

The first Whistler fan art: Tahmoh as Elias Noth

If all this talk of strikes has got you down, here is some new Tahmoh fan art by Rebelliousrose to cheer you. New icons and a banner from Tahmoh's guest-starring role as Elias Noth on the Canadian series Whistler. If you're in Canada, don't miss Saturday's episode, "Out of Bounds," at 9pm on CTV.

If anyone else has Whistler fan art to share, please let me know.

Strike Update: Ron Moore Talks about Strike & BSG

Battlestar writer/producer Ron Moore spoke out about the strike and how it specifically will affect Galactica in an in-depth interview with IGN.

Moore confirmed that production with shut down after the filming of episode 12 wraps (or ep. 10 of Season 4 if you don't count Razor):

Moore told me the episode filming now "happens to be our mid-season cliffhanger, so it's just one of the quirks of the schedule that boom, we will finish our first ten and the network had planned to show just the first ten anyway. The airdate for the back ten was up in the air. Now it's even more up in the air."

Moore also reassured fans that the show will eventually come back:

In the event of a prolonged strike, I asked Moore how difficult it might be to reassemble the cast and crew, who had thought they would be finishing work on the series forever this spring. "We can certainly do it," Moore said, in regards to getting everyone back. "I know that the entire cast and crew and writing staff are eager to finish and it's very, very important to us to finish, so whenever it's resolved, we'll all be ready to go back in and finish the show."

He stressed that the issues the WGA is fighting for also affect actors:

Moore said he'd spoken to the Battlestar Galactica cast about the possibility of a strike "in general terms", adding "The cast was generally very supportive, because they have the same concerns for SAG (Screen Actors Guild)."

Read the full interview.

More strike icons, these from lostonbroadway:

Your regularly scheduled Tahmoh programming will return soon... to this blog at least.

Ron Moore & Battlestar writers striking

Ron Moore and the rest of the Battlestar writing staff (members of the WGA) are currently on strike. According to The Watcher, Moore is striking not only as a writer, but as a producer--performing no duties whatsoever for the show. On Sunday, Moore posted this note on the Sci-Fi BSG message board:

"Some tense times as we head into the strike tomorrow. Just wanted to take a moment and express my thanks to those of you who've made clear your support of the writers and of our staff in particular. There will still be a Galactica to finish when this is all over, and I'll be back to talk to you more then. Thanks again and I'll see you on the other side of the Jump."

-Ron
WGA Member since 1989

Two Battlestar scribes are blogging about the strike:

• Mark Verheiden
• Jane Espenson

Check their blogs and the excellent Galactica Sitrep for the latest Battlestar-specific updates.

If you're wondering how this will affect Battlestar, production has already been completed on Razor (airing November 24) and the 10 Season 4 episodes due to begin airing next April. So for the viewer, the reality is that it probably won't, but that's not true of the cast and the crew. Latest word from the set is that they're filming episode 12 now, but will likely shut down production soon. This will leave cast and crew out of work.

If you're wondering why the writers are striking, the clearest explanation I've seen is over at the WGA group blog, United Hollywood.

What's the biggest issue?

Internet and New Media.

What are we asking for in Internet and New Media?

Two things:

1. Residuals for reuse of content (like replaying tv shows) on the internet.

We're asking for residuals of 2.5% of revenue -- that means for every dollar they get paid, we'd get 2 and a half cents. It's a flat percentage, so if they're right and they're never ever going to make a penny, well then, we won't either. No harm, no foul.

Since 2.5% is our starting point, in any normal negotiation we'd end up somewhere between what they want to pay (.3%) and what we're asking for (2.5%). I'd guess 1 to 1.5 %.

2. Coverage and protections for original content (new stuff we create for the internet.)

We're asking for basic protections so that when we write original stuff for the internet, we have rights -- health and pension, minimum amounts, credits and separated rights (so if we make some amazing character or show, we get the right to share in its success.)

We're just asking for the same protections we already have for writing in tv or film. Nothing new or weird. Just the basics.

Talks between the writers and producers broke down on Sunday, when the writers made the huge concession of not asking for increased DVD residuals (they currently only make .04 cents per DVD) and the producers responded by... walking out.

For general strike news, see these sites:

• Deadline Hollywood Daily
• United Hollywood
• LA Times Strike Zone

I won't blog more about the strike unless there's a big Battlestar-related happening or Tahmoh says something about it. For the latest, be sure to check out the linked sites above!

ETA: Ron Moore talks. Read IGN's exclusive interview.

The "Battlestar Fans support the writers" icon is by lexigeek. The other two are by crazyvictoria. Please let them know if you snag them!

Helo action figure and minibust to appear soon

Thanks to Michelle from Aaron Douglas Fans for the heads up that an interview in ToyFare Magazine (issue #118) recently revealed that a Helo action figure is in the works...

TOYFARE: Tell us a bit about the first series of figures-which characters will be represented, and how will fans be able to get them?

CHUCK TERCEIRA: Jean and his team are working literally around the clock to get this ready for approval and production. We'd love to launch the line at Wizard World Chicago [August 9-12]. Apollo and Red Dress Six are the regular case for the first assortment, with Hot Dog being the short-packed figure. Six in a black dress is the Previews Exclusive, Chief is a DST exclusive, Helo is an Action Figure Xpress exclusive, and Anders is a Suncoast/FYE exclusive.

In addition, the official blog of Action Figure Xpress has announced an upcoming exclusive minibust of Helo for the spring/summer.

We are pleased to continue the series of mini busts by giving you a preview of our upcoming Sharon (Boomer) and Helo Two-Pack, due out 2nd Quarter of 2007 - enjoy!

Read the full announcement.

That said, the website hasn't been updated since December, so maybe the busts are a bust?

Dozens of Helo icons from "The Woman, King"

Dragonlady981 has made 100+ icons from the Galactica Season 3 Helo-centric episode, "The Woman, King." Here are three, but you can find dozens more at her LiveJournal:

See the rest!

Helo on Caprica fan drawing

Thanks to Jason for sharing this drawing of Helo by Jason Palmer that he bought at a BSG convention last weekend in Burbank (Tahmoh wasn't a guest).

You can see another version on the artist's website. To create the image, he apparently used a combination of traditional drawing, digital rendering, and acrylic for the highlights.

It's similar to the image on the Season 1 trading card.

Helo Season 3 wallpaper & icons

Canada's Space Channel seems all about the Helo love (Warning: Space's BSG homepage launches a loud S3 finale promo). They include two Helo wallpapers and a Helo IM icon based on the Season 3 promo shots on their site.

• Helo/Sharon wallpaper (800x600) (1024x768)
• Helo wallpaper (800x600) (1024x768)

See all of Space's art downloads.

Speaking of Helo art/icons, iconzicons posted more than a dozen Helo icons from "The Woman, King," which you might also enjoy:

See the rest!

New Helo/Sharon fansite & forum

While waiting for Sunday's episode, you should be sure to check out Kindreds, a new Helo/Sharon fansite. It's been built for and by Helo/Sharon fans and includes an archive of fan music vids, Helo/Sharon moments, and fan fiction. Forums allow discussion of episodes, fanfic and anything Helo/Sharon related!

Kindreds is a community devoted to the relationship between Sharon "Athena" Agathon and Karl "Helo" Agathon. If you support this ship and want to see it thrive and galvanize into something more positive and continue to be an integral part of the Battlestar Galactica series, then Kindreds is the place for you.

Visit now! (warning: a video with sound will autoplay when clicked)
Visit Kindreds with autoplay off.

Helo in BSG Comic #5

Thanks to Ed for the heads up that Helo appears in the fifth issue of the Battlestar Galactica comic published by Dynamite Entertainment. Here's the issue description and the Helo panels (thanks to Comic Book Resources):

Issue #5 begins the second storyarc from writer Greg (Planet Hulk) Pak and Nigel Raynor - all heading towards issue #12 and the conclusion of our first year of all-new stories from the all-new Battlestar Galactica! This month, the crew faces an unexpected new challenge in the form of a group of scavenging pirates, adrift in space and an eye on Galactica as their latest prize! Plus: Old School Cylons!

Space pirates? Okay...

Here are the Helo panels: