My husband discovered this podcast by accident, as he read through the Emerald City Comic Con guest appearances. Host Tricia Helfer, better known as Six, and Mary McDonnel, who plays Secretary of Education Laura Roslin, were telling co-host Marc Bernardin how the story development of Battlestar Galactica (2003) hadn’t given them the opportunity to perform together until the later seasons. They quickly realized that a lot of the leading women in the show didn’t interact as much with each other script wise, and even so, this didn’t hinder the female cast to form longstanding friendships and mentorships that would become as epic as the sci-fi drama.
So say we all!
Providing insights beyond the narrative is what makes the podcast a true gem, especially for the neophyte fans who didn’t live through – or were born after – the immediate post 9/11 environment of the original air dates. Accompanied at times by show regulars, front runners and fans, libations in hand, with an occasional interruption by the resident cats, the duo and guests discuss their experiences on set and the inspiration behind the action packed drama and character development. The anecdotes and information shared by the group are both hilarious and heartfelt, hitting you right in the feels and ensuring your next trivia win. Their comments validate how well the show has aged, and how graciously it defeated the social norms of the day to remain socially relevant to this day and hopefully in many years to come.
The ironic beauty of this nerdy fan-service project is that, just like the TV phenomenon, the podcast took a long time to develop and air, with at least a year gap in between the first episode and the recurring installments. You can tell it was originally a true labor of love, one that eventually paid off as it got picked up by SYFY Wire, and is gaining momentum. I greatly appreciate Tricias’s and Marc’s determination to launch the project and correlate current events and politics with the messages of the Cylon war and search for Earth depicted on screen. For me, Tricia’s mention of Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Maria crisis and treatment of its people by the USA government during the Water episode was brilliant!
At the time of this post, the production team had completed Season 2. Keep an eye out for future live recordings at Comic Cons and, subscribe via your favorite streaming platform.
Watch Battlestar Galactica through SYFY’s website or Prime Video, if you can’t find a nerd with a DVD set you can borrow. 😉 The podcast is not spoiler prove so, proceed with caution.
Mrs. Enginerd - Nerd Whisperer 