Telegraph-Journal

David Shipley

2007

Admiral William Adama stands in the command centre of his battered warship, the Galactica, ready to pummel the world below with nuclear missiles.

His crew looks around nervously as a deadly stand-off with a mechanical race called the Cylons comes to a head.

Meanwhile, his son, Maj. Lee Adama, leads a group trying to find a vital secret, a clue to the location of Earth, in an ancient temple on the Algae Planet.

To prevent the Cylons, who are hot on Lee's trail, from finding this secret, Admiral Adama is ready to sacrifice his own son and everyone else below.

Meanwhile, as his father agonizes above, Maj. Adama must decide if he's willing to risk his wife's life to rescue a downed pilot, Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, his on-again, off-again lover.

Both face men brutal, heart-breaking decisions.

Welcome to the world of Battlestar Galactica, the critically-acclaimed science fiction drama that's breathed new life into a tired genre.

Tackling hot-button subjects, from abortion to terrorism, religion to rigged presidential elections, Galactica explores what it means to be human, to survive in the face of overwhelming adversity and suffering.

"I feel we're going in a different direction than the Star Treks and the Stargates in that we have this tie, this similarity to the lives people have on Earth now," said Grace Park, one of several Canadian stars of the hit show, during a recent phone interview from Vancouver.

"We're not searching for other alien life forces out there. It's more of a battle, and it's a struggle. I think a lot of people experience that every day, " she said.

Park plays Lt. Sharon Valerii, a pilot whose life has been turned upside down by the Cylon sneak attack on the 12 human homeworlds.

"It's a little less of the fantasy and a little more of the momentous struggle that we feel we live every day."

Park credits the show's savvy writing as the driving force behind its success.

"It's absolutely because the writing is so smart. There are a lot of poli-sci majors on the writing staff," she said.

"The writing asks a lot of questions of the audience and the viewers, if you so choose to see those questions," she said.

The show also has a lot to offer for those just looking for pure entertainment, she added.

Joining Park on Battlestar Galactica are fellow Canucks Michael Hogan (Col. Saul Tigh), the stunning Tricia Helfer (Number Six), Tahmoh Penikett (Lt. Karl C. Agathon), Aaron Douglas (Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol), Alessandro Juliani (Lt. Felix Gaeta.) and Kandyse McClure (Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla).

Now in its third season, Battlestar Galactica tells the story of the 40,000 human survivors of a massive nuclear genocide.

Sent into exodus after a Cylon sneak attack, humanity's only protection from extinction is the Battlestar Galactica, a spaceborne cross between a battleship and aircraft carrier.

While the original 1978 cult classic Battlestar Galactica cast humanity as the beleaguered good guys versus the evil Cylons, the new show's storyline is far more complex.

"I do think it's a departure from the past, where the original show definitely had so much more clear-cut, good guys and bad guys, black and white, the (new) show is cast in this grey shadow," said Park.

"It's so much more confusing and requires you to think about your values, your ethics and your purpose and loyalties.

"All these things come into play."

Television critics have showered the new Battlestar Galactica with praise since its launch as a miniseries in 2004.

Rolling Stone has called it "the toughest, smartest, show on television." Time voted it one of the best TV dramas and Newsweek has called it the best show on TV.

The show has also garnered a Peabody Award, the oldest award in electronic media.

The new series is filmed in Vancouver for the U.S.-based Sci-Fi Channel and airs in Canada on SPACE at 11 p.m. AST Sunday nights.

This weekend's episode, Rapture, picks up where the mid-season cliff-hanger left off. While Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos) contemplates how far he's willing to go to protect Earth, Sharon (Park) must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to rescue her infant daughter.

Isme Bennie, the director of programming and acquisitions for SPACE, said the Canadian cable channel has been thrilled the new Battlestar Galactica.

"I would say it's one of our top performers ever," she said,

"It's not just special effects and comic book characters, its gritty (and) intellectual."

Bennie said the channel expects the show will have a fourth season.

Park said she hasn't heard yet whether Battlestar Galactica will be renewed by Sci-Fi.

A decision on the fourth season is expected before the end of February.

While she's heard rumours of a new Battlestar Galactica movie, Park said the project will likely be another miniseries in North America and a movie in other countries.

As for the second half of this season, Park said fans should brace themselves for the death of more main characters.

The second half will feature "more intrigue, more drama, more action, more sex, more Battlestar and more great scripts," she quickly said with a laugh.