Battlestar Galactica Spoiler: Kara “Starbuck” Thrace Definitely Not Dead
I finally got around to downloading the latest few episodes of Battlestar Galactica from iTunes over this past weekend. After watching the episode Maelstrom, in which BSG’s Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) is thought to have died, I can now report to fans – it just ain’t so.
Late last year, Battlestar Galactica writer-producer Ron Moore announced that a major character would be given the kiss of death toward the end of the third season. The senseless demise of Starbuck in the episode Maelstrom appears to have satisfied Moore’s description, but in light of BSG’s overarching story narrative, the death of Starbuck truly makes no sense at all. Indeed, from a ratings perspective, since the show has already been renewed by the Sci-Fi channel for a forth season, viewers might well question the economic wisdom of axing such a popular and central player in the BSG ensemble.
Back in December, I reported to MND readers that the story arc of Battlestar Galactica (in stark contrast to its campy 1980s predecessor) was written deliberately as a thoughtful and well-planned space opera with aspirations of contemporary political and social commentary. In particular, BSG’s story lines routinely parallel current events like electoral politics, war and terrorism, as well as modern social concerns like religion, faith, the occult, and even transhumanism.
So when I read about Moore’s plan to bump-off a major character, I opined openly that the one-eyed XO, Saul Tigh, was the most likely candidate for the big sleep.
Earlier in the season, Tigh was indirectly condemned by both Admiral Adama and President Roslin for orchestrating a string of horrific suicide bombings on New Caprica. Tigh’s execution of his own wife as a Cylon collaborator, it seemed it me, was the final seal in his moral disfigurement.
Yet, in Maelstrom, the writers would have us believe that Starbuck killed herself like Ophelia in jackboots in the wake of her failed love affair with the married Captain Adama.
Nice touch, Mr. Moore, but, as you can see by these captured stills, there is good evidence to believe that Starbuck lives.
Exhibit 1 (above) is a still taken during Starbuck’s ominous descent into the atmosphere of the planet on which she supposedly died in the episode Maelstrom. My iTunes counter shows the still was taken at about -5:08 minutes. The camera is focusing on Starbuck’s gloved hand reaching for the eject lever of her viper.
Exhibit 2 is a photo taken at -4:02, and clearly shows THREE space craft in the frame. Captain Adama’s ship is in the foreground, and, well in front of him – for a split second – the camera clearly shows TWO space vehicles in the distance. If one of those vehicles is Starbuck’s viper, then the second vehicle must be the Cylon raider she was supposedly tracking.
Exhibit 3 is the script itself, which is littered with hints and directions from beginning to end – including Captain Adama’s quick dismissal of a search and rescue mission, as well as the Cylon’s much heralded interest in Starbuck’s ‘destiny’ as a baby-making machine in the service of the Cylon fatherland.
I don’t know now if the BSG writers intend to bump-off the morally tainted Saul Tigh by season’s end, but reports of the death of Kara Thrace have certainly been exaggerated.
Battlestar Galactica airs Sunday nights on the Sci-Fi channel, and is available commerical-free through iTunes. The season finale will be broadcast on March 25, 2007.
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Stumble It!
March 14th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Original Battlestar was great, the “new” feminised version is totally boring….
Saw one episode and it made me feel ill. Political correctness reigns supreme…
I am normally a SCI-FI fan but I could not handle that crap.
March 14th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
BSG reflects some seriously dysfunctional aspects of our culture. The character of Starbuck is an absolute fantasy cutout of reality – a caricature female “top gun” pilot who can out-fly, out-fight, out-drink and out-cuss the most macho guys on the flight deck. Talk about an inversion of reality.
It’s a good thing I have that whole ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ down to a science.
March 14th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
I agree with you both.
The new feminized version of BSG simply wasn’t worth watching (and most guys that I have discussed the series with seems to agree). I chalk it up to Sci-Fi channel wanting greater female viewership.
Truth be told, I had trouble sitting through just one episode.
Political correctness simply doesn’t make good entertainment for most guys.
And talk about suspension of belief regarding the character of Starbuck….. when female “top gun” pilots have to share the honors with the likes of Navy Captain Lisa Nowak!
March 15th, 2007 at 7:37 am
I don’t care for the current incarnation of Galactica, either. In my younger years I was a big sci-fi and fantasy/sword-and-sorcery fan. Couldn’t get enough of it. Even back then the books were much better that the movies or television shows.
However, sci-fi mixed with contemporary pc politics just doesn’t hack it. A female who can outmatch all males in a competitive arena where the males are not intentionally handicapped to give the female greater advantage, is just too far from reality. Even in a sci-fi show. I didn’t buy it in Star Trek, or Star Wars, or the old BSG either.
Like the others here, I’ve tried to give BSG a chance. I’ve even made it through several shows. I just can’t stay interested in the series. Even fiction needs to be based in believable reality sometimes. Otherwise, it just isn’t interesting.
March 15th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I din’t even tried to watch BSG, not my style. I have heard of Starbuck by friends who watch the show. We can resume the character as “The girl who’s always right”.
If a TV series got such a character, then it’s not worth watching.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Actually, I think most of you are wrong. BSG started season 3 strong, then, the past three or so episodes before Maelstrom were pretty much filler, especially the episode about the fuel processing strike, and the episode before that with the airlock screwup, both were a waste of time. But Maelstrom kicked ass, was intense and powerful, finally the show is back on the road. The Son Also Rises was quite good, and I’m looking forward to whatever comes out on Monday. I watch exclusively on iTunes, (another story: the show, except for Maelstrom has been totally unpredictable as to what hour, or even what day it will appear on iTunes – the show before Maelstrom, was more than 24 hours late. Nobody would tolerate that on TV). On the SciFi channel BSG forum, Maelstrom had a very high rating in the user polls. (especially because many many viewers, male and female, hate Kara Thrace’s character) Not sure what was Politically correct about that show. Even the ultra-pc show the week before was intense and absorbing, but it certainly didn’t have any relevance to the main thrust of the story – Maelstrom did.
March 20th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
[...] Starbuck. She is not dead. Rumors abound that attempt to prove that she is not dead. Current spoiler sites are saying that she will be back in the season finale, claiming to have [...]
March 20th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
My two-cents on Adam Nash’s BSG post:
I read the spoilers at BuddyTV. They sound credible – in fact, it kinda sounds like they got an advanced screening or something…. In any case, the scenarios from Jon Lachonis would make a satisfying end to another great season of BSG.
Personally, I will advance the following possibility for next season: Baltar and Caprica Six are both the original humans who created each other as cylon-immortals. I’m guessing the Caprica Six spotted by then-Secretary Roslin at the “Mall†on Caprica – just before the Cylon attack that destroyed civilization – was the original, and our original Baltar is in fact a Cylon clone created after the real Baltar’s death prior to the first reel.
So, if Anders, Tory, Tigh, and Tyrol are all final-5 cylons, then Baltar would make 5.
BuddyTV was adamant that Baltar would be found not guilty. That would be in line with my developing idea that the Cylons can stand-in for ‘inhuman’ qualities such as cunning and needless brutality, while the true humans represent more benign qualities like passion and dispassion, ambiguity, frustration, and even rage. If Baltar is a cylon – the first human-cylon clone – then his “programming” would have been designed by non-other than the original Caprica Six.
March 20th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
“Actually, I think most of you are wrong. ”
No worries, jbrave. In that case I think that you’re nuts.
“Not sure what was Politically correct about that show.”
Yawn….. when the female characters show more testosterone than the male characters, it’s another “female empowerment” show, designed to make women feel good about themselves. And that’s why I consider that stinker of a show to be “PC”.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Wow. The best show on tv, and all you guys can say is that you’re afraid to watch it because it threatens your masculinity. That’s pretty messed up.
Incidentally, you really think a show featuring all those gorgeous scantily clad females is aimed primarily at a female audience? Heh. More likely it’s aimed at men who aren’t afraid of women.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:05 am
Men aren’t afraid of women. Men are bigger and stronger than women and can beat women up.
March 21st, 2007 at 10:24 am
And *that’s* not a comment expressive of male insecurity. No siree ….
March 21st, 2007 at 10:42 am
“Wow. The best show on tv, and all you guys can say is that you’re afraid to watch it because it threatens your masculinity. That’s pretty messed up.”
LOL…. the only thing “messed up” is your ability to formulate what passes for your “thoughts” coherently, bersekrl.
When raving nutters like yourself use terms such as “male insecurity”, you are trying to reason with your vagina (which admittedly is likely to be more valuable than the space between your ears)………
Watching some chick pretending to have more testosterone on a screen than her male peers requires a suspension of reality that most individuals don’t want to bother with….
As for your assertion that the pile of steaming dung called Battlestar Galactica is “the best show on tv”…… clearly you were dropped once to often on your head as an infant with unfortunate long-term results.
When fruitcakes like yourself start commenting on “men’s insecurity”, you shouldn’t expect to be taken more seriously on MND than any other feminazi should expect to be.
March 21st, 2007 at 7:35 pm
****berserkrl said,
And *that’s* not a comment expressive of male insecurity. No siree ….****
And that’s DEFINITELY a comment expressive of consciousness over how small and weak and stupid women are.
Yesiree!
March 23rd, 2007 at 7:00 am
What a male chauvinist pig or even just a plain pig you are fourth wire. You gave me a good laugh tho. Even if I thought with my nether parts which I don;t I would do better then a loser like you. I pity your wife, gf, bf or mother.
You are so blinded by your biases you wouldn’t know a good show if it hit you on your probably bald, over testosteroned head…
BSG is a great program in part because it has equal parts of men and women. I agree with the poster that says you are threatened by strong women because shrinks will verify that is what is for sure.. Have a wonderful, awe inspiring day of stupidity will ya?
March 26th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
I just think that he was saying that a female character trying to be super macho is annoying. What woman wants to try and prove who has more testosterone? Shit, I’m a guy and I won’t even do that crap. Its annoying to see crap like that because its not realistic. Well, it is if shes a lesbian I guess. I dunno, I found it annoying too. I guess I just don’t like Kara Thrice. I also think the president is boring and to timid.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
If the president outlawing abortion is politically correct, then I need a refresher course. If the heros of the show involving themselves in suicide bombing is politically correct, then I need a refresher course. If endless bigotted commentary is politically correct, then I need a refresher course.
You people have no clue what you are talking about. The show is only one thing–thought provoking. It is not liberal. It is not conservative. It takes some of the most relevant topics in the world today and twists them to show them through the eyes of people running for their lives.
I watched the first BSG too. I loved it as a kid. But this is an adult show. It has smart themes and characters. The same character that has you cheering one week, has you shaking your head the next week.
Starbuck is the most screwed up character I have ever witnessed on TV. (yes, more than George Costanza) She is barely able to hang on. She is a drunk slut that uses sex the same way a bulemic uses her finger. She is a very sad character. Female empowerment my ass.
Next time you decide to comment on something, how bout you do it about something you actually know something about.
Losers.
Battlestar Galactica
March 27th, 2007 at 11:56 am
For the record, I too think BSG is the best show on TV right now. But that doesn’t mean it’s above criticism or deconstruction.
BTW – the reactionary comments above about “male insecurity” allegations of “chauvanism” provide easy proofs for LaSalle’s Law: “As an online discussion on the topic of human sexuality grows longer, the probability that someone will impugn a male opponent’s manhood approaches one.”
(PS – while I do love the new BSG irrespective of the improbable Starbuck, it still doesn’t match the rarified standards set by my favorite show of all time: Babylon 5)
February 19th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Starbuck is not as improbable a character as you all may think. So she can shoot and drink well enough to keep up with most guys. So what? I will admit that the majority of women can’t, but she can. She had a messed up childhood that was used to try to convince her that she had to be the best to stay alive in the world. Add to that a world which is much less sexist than our own. In a very subtle way, the world simply does not distinguish between men and women. Bathrooms and barracks are shared, sir is a term of respect for those of higher rank – men or women. Gender and orientation are simply not issues. So it is not all that improbable. In terms of fighting, how often has she actually had a fight that is completely dependent on strength? She does box in unfinished business, and if you take into account both the fact that she has been competing with guys most of her life, and the fact that she cheats in just about every way possible, the outcome of that fight is perfectly plausible. While I do admit to enjoying female empowerment shows, I disagree completely that BSG is one of those. Female empowerment shows are still sexist, just not in the conventional way; they are shows like Buffy and Xena. BSG is the most non-sexist show I have seen. It just is not an issue in their society.
February 19th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
To be honest -why can’t Starbuck just be Starbuck. Am sure there are people who do the stuff she does – male or female regardless. Just because you haven’t seen a tough girl before doesn’t mean they are extinct.
As for you, rapterxl – that was just three shades of pure dumb.