Tricia Helfer On BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S Enduring Legacy
Image: NBC Universal
Whether we like it or not, it seems like Hollywood is remaking everything these days. I can’t say I’ve been a fan of most of the reboots we’ve been subjected to the last several years. Call me old-fashioned — for me, the original is usally a lot better than the remake. But every once in awhile a reboot manages to outshine the first version, like Battlestar Galactica, which aired on SyFy from 2003 to 2009.
The series was a remake of the critically panned original 1978 series, itself a loosely disguised Star Wars rip-off. The new Battlestar took ideas from the original (a complicated mythology involving 12 tribes, a search for a long-missing Earth, and humanity on the run) and gave them a modern update resulting in one of the best sci-fi television series of all time.
It’s hard for me to believe this (because where does the time go?!!), but Battlestar Galactica’s first episode, “33” aired for the first time on SyFy on January 14, 2005. The episode was lauded by both cast and crew, and went on to win the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. For me, the consistently great writing throughout it’s run is one of the things that makes the show so good. The chemistry of the cast is another, and if you’ve never seen BSG and you like sci fi now’s it’s a great time to check it out while we’re all still staying inside social distancing.
I had a chance to interview one of the stars of the show, Tricia Helfer, a few years ago. You can find the entire interview here. The actress has appeared in several genre series over the years, and played the seductive Cylon, “Caprica 6” in Battlestar Galactica.
Images: NBC Universal
Even if you haven’t seen the show I’ll bet you remember that red dress. We talked about her favorite part of fan conventions, superpowers, and the enduring legacy of Battlestar Galactica.
Fashion and Fandom: You’ve worked in several genre shows at this point. I’m sure you done your fair share of conventions. Do you enjoy going to conventions… doing panels… interacting with fans?
TRICIA HELFER: I do. I think the panels are my favorite part. Just getting good questions and getting to share a little behind-the-scenes and stuff like that. I don’t do a lot of conventions… more so when I’m not filming because it’s easier to plan then. I hate to sign on to something and then have to cancel at the last-minute because the filming schedule changes. But yes…I do enjoy them. The fans are the reason I’m still able to do what I do. And genre fans seem to be really loyal, and will check out other projects that you’ve done. So I love getting out and meeting the fans and getting to interact with them and hear a little about their stories. It’s a pleasure.
I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you about Battlestar Galactica. Why do you think that series has had such an impact on people over the years?
HELFER: It’s a show that still holds up. It’s a show about people. At the time we were shooting there was a lot of unfortunates stuff happening around the world…very much like now. Different, but very much like now in terms of the news. And it’s depressing, quite frankly. And it’s hard. And it’s hard on a lot of people. Yes…it was sci-fi based…but I think it really hit home because you could watch it and it was entertainment…but it had such relevance and it had such human emotion and drama and connection that I think it really hit home to a lot of people.
Talking about conventions… having been able to have gone to conventions and meet fans directly I’ve heard from a lot of them how Battlestar helped them through a tough time in their life. I’ve talked to some people dealing with my character “Gina” on the show. She’s tortured and went through some really tough things in captivity…and I’ve heard people say that it helped them go through therapy and get help with some things that have happened in their lives. So I think it was a show that hit a lot of people to the core.
“Gina”was my favorite incarnation of Number 6. She is such an interesting character, and your portrayal of her was very powerful.
HELFER: Thank you. I hate to say it, but I was very happy to get that character. Up to that point we’d seen Caprica 6 and Head 6 and I was getting a little tired of all the slinky…and the red dress, and I wanted a little more meat. So as an actor I was very happy to see that character brought in.
What superpower do you think would be great to have?
HELFER: I think being able to teleport or get somewhere without having to go to the airport or drive anywhere would save a lot of time. You would have a lot more free time. I could magically appear in Vancouver for filming. Wrap. And then magically appear back home in L.A. [laughs] That would be very convenient.
You can catch Tricia Helfer on Van Helsing ,and on SyFyWire’s Battlestar Galacticast podcast, which she co-hosts with writer, Marc Bernardin. Battlestar Galactica is streaming now on SyFy, Peacock, Amazon, iTunes, GooglePlay, YouTube, and Vudu.