Battlestar Galactica panel at Big Apple Comic-Con

October 18, 7:19 PMLong Island Television ExaminerJennifer Wagner

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Michael Hogan, Rekha Sharma, Luciana Carro, Aaron Douglas

Although the Battlestar Galactica series that ran from 2004-2009 is no longer on the air, fan appreciation for this extremely intelligent, critically acclaimed television show will never die. I had the pleasure of attending a Q & A panel with four cast members from BSG at the Big Apple Comic-Con that took place this weekend in NYC.

The BSG cast members on the panel were Michael Hogan (Col. Saul Tigh), Aaron Douglas (Chief Galen Tyrol), Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster) and Luciana Carro (Cat). They were all extremely friendly and forthcoming with information.

The first question was one that none of the actors could answer. An audience member asked how it was possible for the final 5 cylons (3 of which were present on the panel) lived regular lives in which they aged from children to adults, since Cylons were built as is. Whether that will ever be answered is hard to say, but Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, a TV movie, being released on DVD on October 27th in which we see the Cylon's perspective of events that occurred.

When asked if any of the actors learned anything from their characters, Aaron Douglas said he learned to not judge a book by its cover. Humans weren't necessarily good just as Cylons weren't necessarily bad. It was not black and white. Aaron also said that his real-life wife died between seasons one and two and it was difficult for him to come back and deal with characters dying in the first few season two episodes. 

Aaron Douglas also spoke about Tyrol killing Tory in the finale. He said that it was his idea. He originally proposed the idea back when he read the script for the episode when Tory kills his wife but they didn't want to do it at the time. He also suggested he do it by snapping her neck.

Michael Hogan was very surprised when he learned that he was a cylon. Rekha Sharma's had to play a completely different type of character when Tory went from being the President's assistant to being a deadly Cylon. She said she enjoyed the challenge.

When asked if they were anything like their characters, they all said that their characters were not fully formed when the show began. The writers weren't sure where to go with them so they wound up writing to what they saw in the actors. 

Luciana (Cat) said that she was not told that she was being killed off in advance. She found out in the script. She was devastated when she learned of her character's death. The producers must have learned their lesson because Rekha was told in advance that Tory was going to be killed.

They all discussed how Battlestar Galactica was so much more than a science fiction show and that anybody that didn't watch it because they don't like sci-fi, really missed out. It didn't help that the SyFy channel did not do a very good job of promoting the show, which the cast was fully aware of.

Coming up, Aaron Douglas will be starring in a new CBS television series, The Bridge, a police drama set to premiere sometime in 2010. Battlestar Galactica: The plan will air on the SyFy channel in January, after already coming out on DVD. Caprica, the new television series beginning in January 2010 is a prequel that takes place 58 years before Battlestar Galactica.

See also: Battlestar Galactica fans should start watching Dollhouse