CTV Toronto

Fuzzy on frakkin' BSG storylines? So is the cast!

4-2-2008

The title of the video clip on the "Battlestar Galactica" website says it all: "What the frak is going on?"

For those out of the loop, "frak" is an exclamation used by the characters on the Vancouver-shot sci-fi series that has dense, interweaving storylines and characters, making recap clips like the one on the website vital to keeping up with the developments.

As the dark, critically acclaimed show heads into its fourth and final season this Friday on Space in Canada and SciFi Channel in the U.S., Vancouver-raised actress Grace Park, who plays comely pilot Sharon Valerii (a.k.a. Boomer and Athena), even has trouble recalling everything that's happened on the series so far.

"Where did we end off with those two? Hmm, um, well," Park said during a recent interview, her voice trailing off as she tried to remember the subplot involving her character's baby.

Collecting her thoughts, the five-foot-nine former model adored by many a sci-fi geek quickly rhymed off most of the storyline before losing her train of thought again.

"I forget what else happens," she said with a laugh. "So much happens on this show, damn it!"

The Peabody Award-winning series, about a war between humans and the Cylon robots they created, stems from a franchise of novels, comic books, films and video games that started with the original cult-favourite TV series in 1978.

Religion, politics, love, terrorism and race relations are some of the themes explored as humans search the universe for fabled Earth and discover that some people are actually Cylons who have taken on human form and have duplicated. Not all of the humanoid robots know they're Cylons until later in their lives (Park's character is one of them).

As we head into the last 20 episodes that make up Season 4, one humanoid Cylon remains a secret, but Park isn't revealing his or her identity.

"We still have nine more episodes to (shoot) so I really don't know how it's going to end," Park said with a laugh.

"And I really don't know the final fifth Cylon so don't ask me! I'll just make it up!"

Before shooting began for the 2003 miniseries that spawned the current Emmy-winning TV show from producer-writer Ronald D. Moore, Park and some of the cast were put through a "Battlestar Galactica" "boot camp" to absorb the rich history and terminology.

Park still didn't know everything when cameras starting rolling, though.

"Did not feel comfortable, didn't know exactly what it meant to be a Cylon, how human are they, how robotic are they?" she said.

So just how do actors in the large ensemble cast - which also includes the venerable Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Jamie Bamber and Katee Sackhoff - follow the labyrinthine story when they're not in every scene? Do they read the script in its entirety?

Not necessarily, said Park.

"Some people, they don't necessarily know what's going on ... we always love to tease each other. It's like, `You do know there's like a full story going on, right? Like, you have read the episode that you're not in, right?' ... it is so intricate so if you just read your bits you are not going to know the full story and then you can't really milk the storyline."

Diehard viewers who spent countless hours online or at sci-fi conventions analyzing the show would likely jump at the opportunity to fill in an uninformed cast member. Then again, maybe not, said Park.

"I find that most people actually hold back," she said when asked how "BSG" followers react to her face-to-face.

"I don't know if it's because they're Canadian - actually no, it even happened in L.A. There's a lot of apologizing ... I find that the fans, they're not rabid ... they hide the fact that they are even fans of the show. It's like I don't even know that they watch. I'll go and buy flowers and everyone is just so normal and I leave and someone's like, `Oh, do you know everyone in that store loves your show?' and I'll go, `No, no, no, in that store, no, I couldn't tell."'

With the show's demise on the horizon, fans may be upset but Park said she isn't too emotional about it yet.

"We did know that Season 4 was going to be the final one when we started," said Park, who has been cast alongside Benjamin Bratt in an upcoming A&E TV series called "Cleaner."

"I think it was received well because on some level we knew that the show was going to end and some people did want to move on but it felt like a really good time. It hadn't lingered on too long, it wasn't necessarily too abrupt."

The final season of 'Battlestar Galactica' airs Friday at 10 p.m. ET on Space.