Posted in: SYFY, TV | Tagged: battlestar galactica

Katee Sackhoff on Battlestar Galactica Backlash, Getting Booed at SDCC

Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff on an early encounter with fan trolling when she was booed during SDCC for being cast as Starbuck.

As cynical as some can get about remakes, legacy reboots, sequels, and reimagings, fans can be awfully shortsighted about how some of the greatest films and TV shows fall within that category, many could argue surpass the original, just ask Star Trek, Star Wars, and Battlestar Galactica. Just as a significant portion of Star Trek: The Original Series fans were initially up in arms about The Next Generation when it premiered in 1987, fandom eventually came around before a mega franchise was born with additional series and films. In the case of the Glen A. Larson-created series in 1978, TNG veteran writer Ronald D. Moore was primarily behind the 2004 reimaging reboot of SYFY's Battlestar Galactica, initially with a two-episode 2003 miniseries with co-writer David Eick, before the full TV series that lasted for four seasons (with Eick remaining as EP). As part of that reimaging, a new cast including a genderbent version of Starbuck, originally played by Dirk Benedict in the Larson series, but in the Moore version played by Katee Sackhoff as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. The actress recalled her initial experience and fan backlash upon news of her casting.

Battlestar Galactica Star Katee Sackhoff on Weathering Initial Fan Backlash

Sackhoff, who was 23 at the casting, spoke to Joe Rogan about the San Diego Comic Con following the Battlestar Galactica casting announcement, "They had us in Hall H, and I was booed," she said. "I was booed!" While the experience was more than 20 years ago, it was a crash course in fame for the actress on her way up in Hollywood when she landed her breakout role. "The internet did not exist yet, mind you. It was brand new. You had to go down to the internet café and buy 30 minutes … So I went down to an internet café because someone was like, 'I guess they're talking about the show on these message boards.' And I was like, 'What's the internet?' So I went on down. I logged on, and I saw this thread – and just the hate that I was getting in this thread!"

Then reality set in, "And then, you know, we went to Comic Con, and I was booed," Sackhoff continued. "I think it upset me a little bit. I would be lying if I said it didn't upset me. But luckily, there were enough people championing the show that I really didn't pay any mind to it. I didn't think the show would last anyway, so it was like, whatever, not a big deal — just a blip on the radar. I'm in Hall H, you know?" As things started turning a corner, "It slowly started winning people over. I would go to cons after that, and the line would be longer and the people would be more supportive. People would say, 'I didn't want to like it, and I love it.'"

Battlestar Galactica initially started as a TV film pilot before being ordered to series for ABC, sadly lasting only one season with 24 episodes. ABC attempted to revive the series in a separate spinoff called Galactica 1980, lasting fewer episodes with 10. As the SYFY series was the most successful from 2003-2009, an attempt at a prequel series was made with Caprica that would explain the origins of the Cylons before it was cancelled after its only season in 2010. There were two TV films with 2007's Razor and 2009's The Plan, and four web series. There was a failed attempt by director Bryan Singer in 2000 to revive the series before Fox scrapped it. There was a more recent Peacock series set in the timeline of the SYFY series before the streamer dropped the project in July 2024, but the proposed series is being shopped. For more, you can check out the entire interview.

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