indeed, she is dead

I listened to Ronald D. Moore's podcast for the episode "Maelstrom," and yes-- Jason and Stafford have it right: Starbuck is dead. Moore mentions that the conversation with Katee Sackhoff, the actress who plays Starbuck, was "difficult." Normally, in a series, a main character is killed off if the actor playing that character is (a) planning to move on to other projects, or (b) being fired, but in this case, it appears that Moore and his team of writers felt that Starbuck's death made a certain dramatic sense, fitting into the narrative logic of the series.

I'm sad to see Starbuck go, not so much because I'm a fan of the character, but because I think Sackhoff is a talented, expressive actress, and it's a shame to lose her. According to Moore, the cast, which was glum when they received the news of what was in store for Starbuck, seemed pretty much to feel the same way. Edward James Olmos, who plays Admiral Adama on the series, said the show would never be the same. There are, apparently, legions of Starbuck fans who agree.

RIP, Starbuck! May your fans proceed without undue harm through the stages of grief. In the meantime, my respect to the show's writers for making some tough dramatic decisions and for keeping all the main actors on their toes-- BSG is not the series to offer you job security! Have a Plan B, because you never know when your ass might be killed off.


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