By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
While all of the characters in Ronald D. Moore’s Battlestar Galactica reboot are great, none made quite as much of an impression as Starbuck, the hotshot pilot whose life is a complete mess except when she’s in a Viper cockpit. While the character is well-written, it’s fair to say that most of why Starbuck is so popular is the charismatic performance of the woman behind the flight stick. Katee Sackhoff gave a career-best performance in this show, but most fans don’t realize she arguably did her best acting behind the scenes by designing a set for the episode “Valley of Darkness.”
How Katee Sackhoff Brought Starbuck To Life Without Acting
In this early Season 2 episode, Starbuck has returned to her home planet of Caprica along with Helo. There, the hotshot pilot goes down memory lane, listening to her father’s old records and reminiscing about their time together. As for Katee Sackhoff, she made the very set into a form of intimate acting by helping to paint much of the artwork that we see onscreen, effectively fleshing out more about her personality and her relationship with both her father and Commander Adama.
Part of what makes the Battlestar Galactica remake so great is the efficient storytelling, complete with scenes that sometimes tell us everything before anyone even speaks. For example, in “Valley of Darkness,” we learn much about Starbuck’s relationship with her father thanks to the conversations she has with Helo. But we arguably learn much more about Starbuck herself through the artwork in the home, and Katee Sackhoff proved she was good at more than just acting by painting on the walls and canvases that are strewn throughout the room.
Of course, you might have missed some of the artwork because your attention was drawn to one oversized painting that looks a bit like a giant portal. We later find out Starbuck has been doodling this particular image ever since she was a child, and it foreshadows (among other things) Starbuck’s later death (spoilers, sweetie!) in “Maelstrom.” Accompanying the poem is a simple, moving love poem the pilot wrote about, presumably, her fiancee, Zak Adama.
If you’re a Starbuck fan, “Valley of Darkness” is a standout episode because it sets up the character’s destiny even while it fleshes out her background and relationships with other characters. Honestly, the fact that Katee Sackhoff personally painted the walls and canvas of her character’s old apartment shows how seriously she took her acting for the show which would later make her a household name.
Additionally, the very first episode of the Battlestar Galactica miniseries makes it clear that Starbuck has a very close relationship with Commander Adama, who treats her more like a daughter than a subordinate. Some of this closeness comes from the fact that the pilot was engaged to Adama’s late son Zak and is also friends (sometimes with flirty benefits) with the surviving son, Lee. But “Valley of Darkness” makes her Daddy issues fairly explicit by driving home how much Starbuck admired the dad who eventually left, later leading to a closer bond with Adama.
Katee Sackhoff’s acting remains one of the best reasons to watch (or rewatch) Battlestar Galactica, and her performance is even more impressive when you consider that she continued developing her character offscreen by decorating Starbuck’s old apartment. Now, let’s hope the actor takes requests. Ms. Sackhoff, could you please, please paint us like one of your space portals?
