Starbuck’s Secrets
There’sbeenspeculation in the comments about Katee Sackhoff leaving BSG, and I would just go insane if they got rid of Starbuck.I’ve been musing on past episodes where we’ve gotten clues about why she is “special” – mostly involving Leoben and torture – but I’m always left wondering how it adds up. We never really got full closure on her mysterious “Farm” scars, what kind of abusive past she had, or why she continues to sabotage her relationships with other people. I’m still not sure if there’s a special religious significance to her retrieving the Arrow of Apollo.
Maybe this is completely out there, but in trying to guesshow theBSG writers will go with the next season, I’ve come up with a few bizarre hypotheses: What if Kara Thrace is Hera/Isis? This would have to involve some sort of circular time or time travel, but it would definitely make her “special.” Even if she wasn’t the exact same person, if Kara was a Hylon, it might explain why the Cylons seem to know things about her childhood (unless Leoben really is a seer).
Further speculation: we’ve guessed before that Starbuck may have had an abusive mother. If Starbuck had mixed parents – say, a human mother and a Cylon father, perhaps the mother rejected her as the Hylon baby and hence Starbuck’s mother issues…
Either way, I hope Katee Sackhoff sticks around because, even as a messed-up version of herself, Starbuck still kicks ASS.
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Agreed.
I may have a love-hate relationship with the *character*, but I love the *actor*.
Difficult to image the show without her, I doubt very much her character would get killed off. They may do an end of the year cliffhanger with her missing an thought dead or captured by Cylons. Anyway, I’ve enjoyed the twists and turns the writers have taken so far and I’m giving them the benefit to the doubt.
Cheers all
i hope she dies in a cold wet corner in Leobans arms DIE STABUCK DIE
May I suggest that the only reason you can’t picture the show without Starbuck, Audra, is that Starbuck was central in the original series? I think if Starbuck kicked the bucket (bought the farm, tore down the curtain and joined the choir invisible, became an EX-Starbuck), it would be a hell of a gutsy move on the part of RDM and his writing staff.
I doubt, however, that it will happen.
I bet it turns out that Starbuck finds earth somehow and ends up lost, trying to find her way back, for the end of the season. Perhaps, as you suggest, even presumed dead.
As cool as your theory of Starbuck as a “Hylon” (I like that!) is, though, I really hope they don’t throw in a time-travel angle. If they are, then I bet it’s Adama who kicks the bucket (which would be a HELL of a move!) because, well, it’s basically as bad as having the forehead prosthesis alien of the week which Edward James Olmos said he would quit if it was ever introduced, as a concept, in the show.
AAAAAAHHHH!!!
There must never be talk of Kara or Bill being killed off the show…EVER!!
but seriously, interesting theory Audra. The last issue of Scifi magazine i looked at did have an article in it saying that there will be more reveals about Starbuck’s past and specifically why she is messed up the way she is (i’m paraphrasing) so perhaps we will get an answer of some sort.
Well we do know that Philip Glass is her father.
So the -great- thing about Kara being killed off is it means that -any- character is fair game. Right now, I see starbuck, lee, adama as immortal as any cylon on the show. Takes away some of the fear of consequence that the show courts so much.
Anyhow, I bet Calleigh (sp?) or Anders gets snuffed. Not that I don’t like them both….
Oh, they can’t kill off Callie. That would KILL the show. Chief would go insane and beat the snot out of someone.
Again, I think Starbuck is a Cylon. Why does SHE have that special destiny? Why didn’t they just put her into The Farm like they did the other women on Old Caprica? How is it that she’s able to outthink the Cylons time and again? And did she really “accidentally” shoot Lee during the Billy’s Dead episode (shades of Old “Gun Down Adama” Boomer)?
Now, Starbuck finding out she’s a Cylon, that would be cool. Especially if it’s Leoben who tells her and proves it to her.
LOL, 13th cylon. so true! i wish that music had been on the soundtrack.
Browncoat, i think that at least one of the reasons starbuck wasn’t immediately hooked up to one of those baby-makers was because she had been shot so perhaps her injuries had to heal before they could hook her up. just speculating.
as for the destiny thing, i really hope its something bigger than she is a cylon – if she is a cylon then she has to be one of the special 5 so perhaps if they had a really cool purpose or reason for splitting from the other 7 cylons, then it would be ok. since racetrack already has the finding earth job, i wonder what else they could give starbuck.
“Well we do know that Philip Glass is her father. ”
Heh-heh! Good one, 13th!
I’ve always liked Kara. She was the first character we saw at the opening of the mini-series jogging thru the halls of Galactica. I know people have been talking about how she’s so messed up and in a continuous downward spiral, but I actually think she’s one of the more realistic characters on the show. I think a lot of “real” people are that fracked up. Like Starbuck, they choose the things that seem like the worst choice over and over again. Anyone whose spent anytime on a shrink’s couch can attest to how people follow patterns in life that are usually established in formative childhood years. I often watch BSG hoping that Starbuck and Apollo will just sort it all out and get/keep in going on. The end of the “BSG Fight Club” episode was so moving when they expressed how much they missed oneanother with their bloody embrace. I just LOVED that moment. Such great character development and emotion. (I also really liked when they unveiled the stealth ship back in season 2 and they had named it Laura….that moment really got me right in the old choke up zone….)
Kara being a Cylon or killing off Kara would be a terrible choice for the show in my opinion. She’s the heart of the BSG universe as far as I’m concerned. I think her behavior on the show is probably the most realistic in terms of how one would react after a nuclear holocaust. I mean really… think about the world these people are really living in. Also, we saw how she really does care deeply about others when she was the one who painfully recited the names of all the dead pilots she could remember from the Galactica squadron. The ONLY viable way for Starbuck to leave the show would be for her to somehow find Earth and be stranded there unable to contact the fleet.
Just my two cents. I LOVE Starbuck and all her fracked up behavior. She just seems more “real” to me somehow. Long LIVE Starbuck. Katee Sackhoff won me over in the mini-series.
Happy New Year to all at the GWatercooler. Thanks for all your great podcasts. Its a lot of fun.
Starbuck is my hands down favorite, but its been my experience that my favorite characters are generally doomed. Serenity/Firefly definitely taught me that. So here are a few theories I came up with.
What if Starbuck is one of the Final 5. I envision Starbuck waking up in a resurrection ship gooey hot tub surrounded by Leobens. No words, just one of those terrifying doomed screams. What if the Cylons were split in violent conflict between themselves and the F5 some time ago? Starbuck could become a Cylon7 ‘prisoner’ only to be boxed or wearing a terrible bathrobe while sleeping in a four-poster with Cylon Red sheets. This keeps Kara around, but in a more insubstantial way (unless boxing is permanent? anyone know the answer to that one? I can’t remember.). Thereby causing huge loss, pain, suffering, etc for Galactica’s crew. Her destiny could be trotted back out at will. It also moves the Cylons into a little different direction.
Or she just dies altogether. Do I really want Starbuck around? Frak yes. Would it profoundly change the show? Obviously. Would the show be better without her? Maybe. Should Starbuck die, I would keep watching for a time to see if it worked. If not, I don’t know as I’d watch anymore. BUT. RDM/Co. could use it to further the growth of Lee as I think he’s been getting character shafted for quite some time (Black Market anyone?). Not to mention Adama would have lost another ‘child’, the fleet would have lost a great pilot when they are way short already, the pressure would be on for someone to fill the void of fabulous story/conflict. I nominate Tigh. We’ve seen him coming up for some time now and this would be the moment to make him an even stronger figure. Lee will either get it together and grab some attention or he will disappear in favor of Tight. RDM/Co. would not have Starbuck to fall back on in terms of conflict or character exploration. They would have to use someone else. The other possibility would be Hera. But I find it less likely due to her young age. So she cries. Big deal. She can’t throw a fabulous left hook. Starbuck can.
Lee says its ban “luck” is the reason starbuck had to fly the raptor to be on the planet
Hmmm… Good point, Tanu. I didn’t consider the fact that Starbuck got shot and that would be the reason why she wasn’t hooked up to the Baby-Matrix machine.
I know I’d be hurting if Starbuck is a Cylon. Next to Kat (RIP) she’s my favorite because she’s such an iconoclast. But, wouldn’t it be some serious karma if she did turn out to be a Cylon? Can you see Lee reacting (whining) about that, especially after he was “Mean Lee” during “A Measure of Salvation”?
BTW, for all his faults, Lee has been the one character who has gone through some serious transformations….
(1) Bratty Lee in BSG Miniseries
(2) Follow Order/Brooding Lee in “33”
(3) Stick Stuck Up Ass Lee in “Bastille Day”
(4) Boy Toy Lee in “Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down”
(5) We Don’t Leave a Man Behind Lee in “You Can’t Go Home Again”
(6) Hey, I’m Getting My Ass Kicked Lee in “Colonial Day” and “Kobol’s Last Gleaming, Part 1”
(7) Luke Skywalker Lee in “Hand of God”
(8) Delta Force Lee in “Valley of Darkness”
(9) Suicide Lee in “Resurrection Ship, Part II”
(10) Punk Bee-otch Lee in “Scar”
(11) Bulls-Eye Lee in “Sacrifice”
(12) Large and In Charge Lee in “Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2”
(13) Notorious BIG Lee in “Occupation/Precipice” and “Exodus, Parts 1 and 2”
(14) Keep Jumping Lee in “Collaborators”
(15) Psychotic Lee in “A Measure of Salvation”
(16) Whiny Bee-otch Lee in “Unfinished Business”
(17) Bad Ass Lee in “The Passage”
(18) Whiny but Gun Totin’ Lee in “Eye of Jupiter”
I see what you’re saying about Lee, Browncoat, but most of the change seems to be from whiny, to bitchy and back again. He pulls through in a pinch, but is a bit of a whiny brat about it. And I think it would be refreshing to see him have to grow without Kara, but maybe without Dee. Somehow, I’m growing more attached to the idea of Kara dying. I can’t believe I’m talking myself into this. Somebody stop me quick! Frak!
Sorry. I meant ‘and also without Dee’. I’m not dealing in complete thoughts today.
Secret, secret, she’s got a secret
She is the modern girl!
Secret, secret, she’s got a secret
Kar-a, Kar-a!
Yes, I totally butchered that, if anyone was able to recognize the song I ripped it off from.
i really do hope that bsg goes nowhere near timetravel.. that would be awful. it would shatter the veriscimilitude, and undermine the serious tone of the show.
Manicorn 7, i completely agree with everything (including the stealth ship naming scene)
ShinyFab, interesting ideas…also *bitch-slap* snap out of it!!! No dying for Kara!
Browncoat, ROFL!!!
13th, no idea.
Oli, i’m glad you said it! i’m glad they dont’ have shields, transporters, replicators, warp speed and all those trekkie things. i like the mysticism of the show and for me time travel would kill it. then again, there are several things that the show does with such “care” as Chuck put it, that they dont’ really ruin it whereas in other shows, such things would mean ratings death.
Nice Lee Chronology, BB.
Oh, and you’ve got competition on the Kat front. Check this out:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3yyvvPM0LaU
Well the song was that Mr. Roboto one.
kakaka Kara pet. grow out her hair long she loves anders, shorter, Lee, even shorter, she has one night stands with Baltar, Lee, Anders, Cally, Cheif, Adama, Laura, head 6, 8, 3, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, and Dr. Who. Cut her hair with a knife, she bets the crap out of HotDog, shave it all, she looses her ovaries, and gets cancer, o wait thats kat
huh, time travel? starbuck dead? starbuck a cylon? starbuck a hylon? me thinks someone got high and posted on their website. good stuff I take it.
hey does anyone know if starbuck’s tattoo is real?
I think the one on her back may be Katee’s but the one on her arm that matches Anders is definitely just prop makeup.
Boxy, LMAO.
Audra, you’ve got to give us a “Ka-Ka-Ka-Kara Pet”
e-m, the tat on her inner arm and shoulderblade are real (the shoulder one is a crucifix, which doesn’t really work in the BSG ‘verse, so it’s usually covered by a bandage or somesuch.
I think the ‘ring and wing’ one is makeup, but I’ve seen it in enough not-on-set stuff that I’m not entirely sure.
She has a cross one that they have to conceal on the show since that wouldn’t make much sense with J.C. being on the 13th Colony and all.
Speaking of hair: Kara with miniseries hair is bad stuff. That was probably the worst part of the miniseries. And then her husband goes and has the most insanely good hair of anyone on the show. And then we have Baltar’s. Not much needs to be said about that thing.
ah yes Baltar’s Jesus rag, must be really itchy for him, and the cheif. Cally or The Cheif are gonna die because there stable BSG+Stable=boring
Has anybody noticed the metaphorical simalartity between the Cylons and Starbuck? Starbuck is the child of an abusive (possibly both physically and psycologically) parent , and is all messed up as a result. The Cylons are the children of man, and from the Cylon perspective were enslaved and abused by their creators. (Hense the rebellion) Maybe Starbuck is just a microcosm of the Cylon condition? (Maybe making her a Cylon, or maybe the show is really all about the parent child relationship) This does seem to all go back to Adama’s speach in the pilot…
maby starbuck dies please die please it would be like Chaunkah all over again
amen to that Boxy.
Starbuck is now likely suspect on the list of candidates for the chosen one. See the latest episode (eye of jupiter, part 2) at the very end.
Oh yes, I almost forgot: Starbuck die soon plz kthxbai.
if you saw eye of jupiter part 2….
the last thing starbuck said to helo about the painting of the temple artifact from years ago in her apartment on Caprica was “something a human told me once”. do you refer to your friends as “humans”?
She said “something LEOBEN told me once”, as in Leoben the cylon stalker who has an obsession with Starbuck. You just need to clean out your ears. 😉
does anyone know where i can find a full pic of the ring & wing tattoo on either starbuck or anders?
That’s as close as I’ve seen…
http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Sci-Fi-To-Run-A-Battlestar-Galactica-Marathon-in-May-3695.html