Katee Sackhoff has broken her silence about what really happened to Starbuck on this past season of Battlestar Galactica. Apparently, executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick first told Sackhoff about Starbuck’s temporary demise way back last summer, but then swore her to secrecy. They then concocted a vast conspiracy to attempt to keep everyone else in the dark – including the BSG crew and Sackhoff’s dad. “My dad has a big mouth, and I knew he would get on his e-mail list and tell everyone,” she told the Los Angeles Times.
Then the producers released three true but unrelated semi-spoilers that were quickly consumed and reinterpreted by curious fans desperate for any shred of hope that Starbuck would not die for real: (1) Starbuck would have a “big episode” in March; (2) an actor would be gone from the opening credits after said episode; (3) a major character would be revealed to be a Cylon. Fans, of course, jumped to the conclusion that Starbuck was going to die and possibly return as a Cylon.
But au contraire, says Eick: “My goal was to mislead the audience into thinking Kara Thrace was a Cylon.” So I’m thinking this means Starbuck is not a Cylon, and because she is confirmed to return in Season 4, she is not dead, either. Excellent!
One of the unfortunate side effects of this conspiracy of silence, however, was the (false) rumor that Sackhoff was leaving the show because she was “difficult.” She told the LA Times: “That was the most frustrating part. People like working with me! But you can’t defend yourself, because a guilty person defends themselves.”
Katee, if it helps, I never thought you were “difficult.” Starbuck, on the other hand, is a different matter. Then again, I love it when she’s difficult.
