One of the joys and tragedies of conventions is that the guest list is never really final. Someone may be scheduled, announced and promoted but may never make the stage. But the joy of it all is that odds are someone just as good or better will show up.
Such was the case for the Battlestar Galactica panel. Grace Park (Sharon “Athena” Agathon) and Tahmoh Penikett (Karl “Helo” Agathon) were slated for the panel, but instead a cylon trio of Michael Trucco (Samuel Anders), Rehka Sharma (Tory Foster) and Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh) invaded. They were joined by the vice-president of original programming for the Sci-Fi channel, Mark Sterns, likely the most unpopular person at the convention thanks to the genre channel's drive toward horror and tendencies to cancel cult-favorite programs (cough, Farscape, cough).
The full-length audio clip is here.
This was Hogan's first ever convention appearance, which he said was simply because “this is the first time I've been asked.”
When the three learned they were among the final five cylons, their reactions varied.
“I was so excited, I started squealing in my room and told all my friends. Then I tried to behave. ... (It) was an early script. Things could change. But I really wanted to be a cylon.”
Trucco was more concerned with reconciling the development with Anders' backstory.
Hogan was even less thrilled.
“I'd said numerous times, 'I'm glad I'm not playing a cylon.'” Hogan recalled.
On dealing with the reality of being a cylon versus his previous life, Hogan said, “It's as if all of a sudden you develop schizophrenia ... what if you were driving the street and had the impulse to follow a child. ... There's no switch, suddenly 'I'm a cylon.'”
Trucco's perception of Anders' love of Starbuck is as a survival instinct.
“He hooked up with one of the most powerful women left in the fleet,” Trucco said. “(It's) Anders' need to relate, he's looking for a kindred spirit. ... He desperately wants to reveal his secret, but it's pretty clear that she'll kill him if she finds out at this point.”
They're kicking us out of the press room, so check back for more later.
- Mariah
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