Welcome to Katee Fan, your 24/7 source for everything Katee Sackhoff. Katee is probably best know from her work in the hit series Battlestar Galactica and movies like 'White Noise: The light' & 'Halloween: Resurrection'. We offer you the latest news, newest images and lots information on Katee. Feel free to browse around & contact us with any questions or comments.
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Bay Windows: Frackin' A!
| by Anthony King | 04/20/2006 |
Chatting with Starbuck and Number 6
Come on. Don’t pretend you’re not a fan of the Sci-Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica. I know you’re caught up in the drama, characters, and well-written storyline as much as I am. If you can’t get over the show’s premise — a group of human survivors are both searching for Earth and fighting a never-ending army of robots the humans created, called Cylons — then you’re missing out. The show just won a prestigious Peabody Award, the first for any Sci-Fi Channel series. Now in its 65th year, the Peabody Awards recognize distinguished achievement in electronic media, and doesn’t affiliate itself with any genre. WGBH-Boston was also a winner this year, and the awards will be presented in a ceremony hosted by two-time winner John Stewart on June 5. If that doesn’t convince you, learning more about two of the show’s stars will. I spoke with actors Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff the week before season three started shooting in Vancouver, British Columbia. Helfer, a relative newcomer to film and television, is “Number 6” on the show: a complex, tough and sexy Cylon. She made a name for herself as a model in New York before making her move to film. On the big screen, Helfer can be seen next in the movie Mem-o-re with Dennis Hopper.
Sackhoff plays a different kind of bad-girl, the kick-ass Kara “Starbuck” Thrace. Starbuck is a tough fighter pilot determined to fight authority as strongly as she fights the Cylons. Friends on and off the show, Helfer and Sackhoff were both great to talk to. They are extremely warm and inviting, fun and were excited to talk about the crossover success of Battlestar Galactica .
Helfer, born and raised in Canada, now lives with her husband in Los Angeles. Sackhoff calls L.A. home as well, although she grew up in the Portland, Oregon area. Last year, they both temporarily lived in Vancouver during the shoot, but are trying something new this season. “This year, I think I’m going to … try and stay down in L.A. more and just fly up for work,” Helfer said. “With a large ensemble cast like we have on Battlestar, there is quite a bit of time where you’re not filming, so I know a lot of the L.A. actors on the show really do commute.”
Sackhoff is trying a different approach. “As soon as we got picked up for the third season, I bought a house,” Sackhoff said. She now lives in Northern Washington State, just miles from the Canadian border. “Even though it’s not home to me, it allows me a place of familiarity to come back to every night. I’ve been more relaxed.”
I jokingly asked if there was any reason the show wasn’t going to picked up for a third season — it is one of Sci-Fi’s highest rated shows — and Sackhoff said, “I’m such a pessimist when it comes to television shows because every show I’ve been on hasn’t made it past the first season. I’m always shocked because I think TV audiences are very fickle in what they like. It changes every year.” Both actors agree that being in a science fiction-based show is a bonus. “The science fiction fans have been remarkable and been very loyal, and kind of given us a chance,” Helfer says, although she did point out that it wasn’t well received at first.
Sci-fi fans are known for their meticulous attention to detail, and many were skeptical that remaking the original 1978 series was a good idea. When creators Ronald D. Moore and David Eick changed the sex of some of the characters, including Sackhoff’s Starbuck, many die-hard fans were up in arms. “We’ve managed to change a lot of them over and [they] are huge supporters of the show now,” Helfer says.
But the show has shown a great increase in crossover fans as well, reaching more of a mainstream audience. “It’s fun to really see the show get out there to the broader audience just because it’s a good show,” Helfer says, continuing, “It should get out to a broader audience. I think this year is really going to be kind of the test for that.”
Sackhoff says they were happy to have the sci-fi audience, too. “We’re extremely lucky to be on a science fiction show that really isn’t science fiction,” she says. “It’s reality based, and they’ve done such a great job talking about issues that are relatable to people with … things that are going on right now and issues that need to be talked about.” Besides having a female president, which is on the tamer side of the current issue spectrum, the show also addresses botched elections, the power of the people over government, war, religion, banned abortions and even perceptions of God and the afterlife. “We’re so lucky that we’re on Sci-Fi because some of the things we talk about — the way that they are approached — wouldn’t necessarily be allowed on a mainstream network,” Sackhoff says.
Helfer agrees. “The show is quite cutting edge in terms of issues that society is facing, and I think we can get away with it more so than a political show [set] on Earth, so to speak. It does have that fantasy element,” she says. Seeing the show as a drama with a gripping storyline is one of the main reasons it has crossed over to a wider audience, including myself.
“I think once you start getting into the funny headed creatures, or whatever, that makes a mainstream audience say ‘Okay, I’m really watching a Science Fiction,’” Helfer explains, saying “it’s still realistic for the future.” Sackhoff gives much of the credit for reaching many different audiences to the creators and writers, saying, “What’s so great about the show is there are always different voices and different sides. We’re not going far right or far left with the issues. We’re not really excluding anyone.”
But some homos would love to see a gay character or two. After all, it is the future. We’d like to think we’re progressing. “I don’t know why we don’t have any gay characters on the show,” Sackhoff said. “But I guess in a sense it’s like they are or they aren’t. Let’s not make an issue out of it.” She jokes, “We’re always trying to figure out who the gay ones are. They think Starbuck’s gay, anyway. When I had my first sex scene with a guy, I was like, ‘they’re going to be so disappointed.”
“At the end of the day, gay or straight, she’s such a role model for women,” Sackhoff says of her character, Starbuck. “I think that’s what’s so great about it. She walks a fine line. She’s not very feminine, she not very masculine. She’s just kind of who she is. She’s a happy medium, I think.”
Can’t wait for season three?
Both Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff had seen two episode scripts when I talked to them, and Helfer said “I think we’re definitely going to hit the audience with some interesting things right in the first few episodes.” Sackhoff was also excited, but didn’t give me any clues into what would happen. Not that I thought she would.
To get caught up, Universal has the original miniseries available on DVD. It is four hours and started it all back in 2003, but you might as well just purchase season one, which is also available. The miniseries is included, as well as the 13 episodes of season one. Extras include commentary by the shows creators, and a slew of featurettes, including the “Series Lowdown” that originally aired to attract skeptics.
For season two, Universal has a “Season 2.0 Volume 1” including the first part of season two. Some watchers say Universal is pulling a fast one by releasing just half of the series now. They have yet to say when or if they will release the second half of season two.
You can also watch reruns of the show on the Sci-Fi Channel every Friday at 5 p.m. and early Saturday morning at 2 a.m. (if you’re still up). Season three is set to air in October, which, you’ll discover, is an incredibly long wait.
