More than 20 years later, Katee Sackhoff is recounting the less-than-warm reception she got during Battlestar Galactica‘s debut season.
The actress recently opened up about being “booed” by San Diego Comic-Con audiences when she made her first appearance at the fan convention with the Sci Fi Channel series reboot back in 2003.
“They had us in Hall H, and I was booed,” she recalled on The Joe Rogan Experience. “I was booed!”
Sackhoff noted, “The internet did not exist yet, mind you. It was brand new. You had to go down to the internet café and buy 30 minutes … So I went down to an internet café because someone was like, ‘I guess they’re talking about the show on these message boards.’ And I was like, ‘What’s the internet?’ So I went on down. I logged on, and I saw this thread – and just the hate that I was getting in this thread!
“And then, you know, we went to Comic-Con, and I was booed,” she continued. “I think it upset me a little bit. I would be lying if I said it didn’t upset me. But luckily there were enough people championing the show that I really didn’t pay any mind to it.”
Edward James Olmos, Tricia Helfer, James Callis, Tahmoh Penikett, Kate Sackhoff, Mary McDonnell, Grace Park, Jamie Bamber, Michael Hogan and Aaron Douglas in ‘Battlestar Galactica’ (Art Streiber/Sci Fi/Courtesy Everett Collection)
As Sackhoff was 23 at the time, she had the “blissful ignorance of youth,” but admitted the reaction “would probably break me” if it happened now.
“I didn’t think the show would last anyway, so it was like, whatever, not a big deal — just a blip on the radar. I’m in Hall H, you know?” she admitted.
“It slowly started winning people over,” added Sackhoff. “I would go to cons after that, and the line would be longer and the people would be more supportive. People would say, ‘I didn’t want to like it, and I love it.’”
Following the original Battlestar Galactica‘s run from 1978 to 1980 on ABC, Sci Fi refreshed the franchise with a 2-episode limited series in 2003, which spawned four more seasons from 2004 to 2009, as well as the 2010 spin-off Caprica.
Although Sam Esmail was developing another rebooted series for Peacock since 2019, Deadline reported in July 2024 that it was no longer happening with the streamer and was being shopped around.
