The Cylons were created by man. They evolved. They rebelled. There are many copies. And they have a plan.

Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction
Episode(s): Season 1-Season 4 + miniseries, 66/73 + 2/2 episodes
Role: Cylon Number Six (series regular)
Status: Series + miniseries aired December 8 2003 – March 20 2009 (U.S.)
Series Creator(s): Glen A. Larson (original); Ronald D. Moore (reimagined series)
Other Cast: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, James Callis, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas, Tahmoh Penikett, Rekha Sharma, Alessandro Juliani, Kandyse McClure, Michael Trucco, Callum Keith Rennie, Lucy Lawless, Richard Hatch, Dean Stockwell, Matthew Bennett, Kate Vernon, Rick Worthy, Michelle Forbes, Mark Sheppard
Network: Syfy (formerly The Sci-Fi Channel)

• Overview
• Memorable Number Six Quotations
• Said of Battlestar Galactica
• Battlestar Galactica Series Trivia
• Reception: Awards & Personal Thoughts
• Battlestar Galactica Online

More BSG images of Tricia in our Battlestar Galactica Photo Gallery!

Series overview by Tricia Helfer Fan:

Battlestar Galactica is Syfy’s groundbreaking, thought-provoking and critically acclaimed epic miniseries and four-season series about the survival of some 40,000 people, exiled in space after a devastating attack on their home planet destroys nearly all mankind. Drifting in space, the few thousand survivors of the attack fight for their survival against diminishing resources and provisions as well as their assailants, the robotic Cylons, as they race to find what they hope will be their new home, a planet called “Earth”.

At the beginning of the miniseries, it’s been 40 years since anyone has last seen the Cylons, a kind of metallic “working robot” originally built and developed by the humans for their own use, but which soon developed self-awareness and rebelled against its creators, resulting in the First Cylon War. An armistice was signed after more than 12 years of bitter fighting, after which the Cylons disappeared, not to return until more than 40 years later to wage another war, however this time with one decisive advantage. In the 40 years that they were gone, the Cylons were able to develop 12 humanoid Cylon models physically indiscernible from man, of which there are also multiple identical copies. With the aid of these infiltrators, the Cylons unexpectedly break the armistice and launch a massive blitz-attack on the human homeworld Caprica, resulting in the genocide of nearly all humanity, and some 40,000 people exiled in space are soon all that’s left of an entire civilization.

Trapped in space, the homeless humans are faced with a multitude of bitter challenges, including the pursuing Cylons, dwindling supplies, indescribable losses and sacrifices, personal demons and declining morale, and even the more mundane societal, political and military issues that arise in every society. With only a couple of humanoid Cylon models identified, the humans also have to face with the possibility of there being Cylon infiltrators within the Fleet (lead by the battlestar Galactica), some of which it turns out may not even know they are Cylons. While the humans desperately fight for their survival, even the Cylons, “sleeper agents” and regular operators alike, must both individually and as a community face the inhumanity of their actions and their consequences as the Cylons’ environmental- and self-awareness as well as emotional capacity evolve with an increased human contact. As the two peoples race each other to find Earth, defining questions arise regarding the past and future of both races, and while some are united with their deadly enemies in the most unexpected ways, others are unable to come to terms with their bitter memories.

* * * *

Tricia Helfer portrays Cylon Number Six, the 6th humanoid model of the Cylons, the copies of which are generally easily distinguished by their platinum blonde hair. Throughout the series, a number of particularly distinctive and highly individual copies of Number Six are introduced and followed.

* * * *

List of Episodes

Tricia appears in the following episodes of Battlestar Galactica:

Miniseries (Dec 8 – 9 2003)
Episodes 1 and 2 (2/2)

Tricia also appears as Number Six in the series’ two TV movies, Battlestar Galactica: Razor (2007) and Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009).

Below is a brief introduction to the series’ most central Sixes: Messenger Six / “Head Six”, Caprica Six, Gina Inviere, Natalie Faust, Shelly Godfrey and Other Notable Copies.

* * * *

Messenger Six / “Head Six”

… is one of the most dominant copies of Six in the series, making frequent appearances throughout, particularly in the miniseries and Seasons 1 and 2. Although physically identical in appearance to all other platinum-blonde Sixes, Messenger Six is always easily distinguished by her seductiveness and sexy outfits, particularly a sleek red dress debuted in the miniseries which would become her trademark look in the series.

Unlike all the other Sixes in the series, Messenger Six is not “real” in the sense that she only ever appears to Dr. Gaius Baltar (Callis); although she appears onscreen several times with other characters as well, even touching and reacting to them, only Baltar is able to hear her and feel her presence. Throughout the series, it is unclear who or what Messenger Six really is; she herself, however, would often declare herself an angel of “God”, and was ultimately revealed in the series finale as being a messenger of the Cylon deity.

To Baltar, Messenger Six’s existence is very real, in fact as if she was actually there in the flesh, which often puts him in awkward situations as Messenger Six comes and goes as she chooses and is unpredictable in her actions which, although not accessible to others, often have a visible effect on Baltar’s behavior. At will, Messenger Six can even shove Baltar around, but as always, only Baltar’s consequent movements can be seen by others. He begins to experience his “visions” of Messenger Six after being saved in an explosion by Caprica Six (see Caprica Six, below), and the persistence of these visions throughout Baltar’s experiences on and off the Galactica ultimately shapes both his person and future. Unbeknownst to Baltar, beginning from her resurrection back on Caprica, his rescuer Caprica Six has “messenger” visions of her own of a Messenger Baltar / “Head Baltar”.

As a character, Messenger Six is highly sensuous and religiously devout, the latter of course owing to her true nature revealed in the end of the series. She often uses both the mental and sexual power she has on Baltar to get him to carry out her will, but the true motives behind her actions are usually less than clear, as are her ultimate goals until the very end of the show, when it is revealed that she and Messenger Baltar have been guiding Caprica Six and Baltar to protect Hera, the only human-Cylon child to have been born to date, as the future of both races. At the end of the show, it is implied that the messengers leave Caprica Six and Baltar on Earth, all having accomplished their respective missions.

* * * *

Caprica Six

… another platinum-blonde Six, is the first significant copy of Number Six introduced in the series, and like Messenger Six, is a key Six throughout, particularly the miniseries and Seasons 3 and 4. Through sexual relations with Dr. Gaius Baltar, Caprica Six is prior to the attack allowed high-level access to the Caprican security mainframe. Her fingering of the mainframe is instrumental in setting up the crushing defeat of the humans in the Cylon attack on the Colonies, earning her much respect and the title “Caprica Six” among her fellow Cylons, but also brings about in her an internal moral conflict which ultimately drives her to become a powerful spokesperson for peace with the humans among the Cylons.

On the eve of the Cylon attack, Caprica Six reveals everything — her true nature, her involvement, having been an infiltrator, and the impending attack — to Dr. Baltar, whom she then saves from an oncoming blast by sacrificing herself, or at least her present body, to the explosion, thus cementing their unique bond. It is not until a long break in their story, however, that the series returns to Caprica Six, resurrected and hailed as a hero among the Cylons of the occupied Caprica. While on Caprica, she befriends a resurrected copy of Number Eight, Sharon “Boomer” Valerii (Park), a former Cylon sleeper agent who has been unable to come to terms with her Cylon self after years of life among humans. Together with Boomer, Caprica Six, now haunted (like Dr. Baltar on the Galactica) by visions of her own “head character” Messenger Baltar (see Messenger Six, above), reconsiders the Cylon attack, and both she and Boomer become convinced that the attack was a mistake. The two then begin to use their respective influential positions among the Cylons to advocate and advance a peaceful resolution between Cylon and Man, but unlike the aggrieved Boomer, only Caprica Six is able to hold on to this conviction until the very end.

On New Caprica, a barren and barely habitable planet the humans accidentally discover and whereto the Cylons eventually trace them, Caprica Six and Baltar are reunited for the first time since the attack on the Colonies. Although her love for Baltar has remained all this time, the conflicting demands of the Cylons and her love eventually force Caprica Six to let go of him, especially when it finally begins to dawn on her that the feelings she has for him are not entirely mutual after all, Baltar being always primarily concerned with only his own survival and well-being.

When another copy of Eight, Sharon “Athena” Agathon, is unexpectedly resurrected on a Cylon basestar in a desperate attempt from her to retrieve her daughter Hera from the Cylons, Caprica Six, inexplicably convinced she is meant to protect the child as the only successful human-Cylon hybrid in existence, helps Athena escape the basestar back to Galactica, where Caprica Six is imprisoned as an enemy Cylon. On the Galactica, she then begins to have strange visions of Hera in an Opera House, as also seen by President Laura Roslin (McDonnell) and Athena, reinforcing Caprica Six’s belief that she is meant to protect the child. She would also soon enter in a brief but emotionally loaded relationship with Colonel Saul Tigh (Hogan), one of the Final Five Cylons. The two make big waves on the Galactica when it turns out Caprica Six is pregnant with Tigh’s child, the first apparently successful Cylon-Cylon pairing, but their relationship soon falls apart when Six miscarries and Tigh is reunited with his wife Ellen (Vernon), the last of the 12 Cylon models to be revealed.

Devastated by her miscarriage, the completely transformed Caprica Six no longer wants anything to do with Baltar, not knowing that he too has experienced a personal reawakening. But the two are finally united when the lovestruck Baltar risks his own life by unexpectedly partaking in a large and definitive human/Rebel-Cylon attack on the enemy Cylons. After unwittingly fulfilling the Opera House prophecy by protecting Hera in the course of the assault, the two passionately rekindle their relationship and it is implied at the end of the series that the two go on to live together on Earth.

* * * *

Gina Inviere

… makes her first appearance in episode 2.10 “Pegasus”. Gina is a Cylon infiltrator who has been exposed and caught by the crew of the battlestar Pegasus, another (and presumably the only other) battlestar to have successfully escaped the Cylon attack on Caprica. When she first appears, Gina is battered and badly bruised, lying chained to the floor of a prison cell to which Dr. Baltar is conducted by the Pegasus Admiral Helena Cain. During Dr. Baltar’s questioning of her, Gina reveals that, unlike e.g. Sharon “Boomer” Valerii, she was never a sleeper agent, but fully aware of herself and her mission on the Pegasus. Among Baltar’s photographs, she then identifies and describes the Resurrection Ship for him, but not so much to betray the Cylons as to be able to die permanently with the Resurrection Ship destroyed. When the Ship is destroyed, Gina then compels Baltar to shoot her dead, as her faith forbids her from committing suicide on her own, but a deeply shaken and heartbroken Baltar refuses and instead offers to let her escape. After a moment’s hesitation, Gina seizes the unexpected new opportunity and makes her escape. Gina wastes no time and surprises Admiral Cain in her quarters, where she shoots her dead at point-blank range as revenge for everything she’s put her through, after which she disappears off the Pegasus.

Shortly after, Baltar is mysteriously summoned to Cloud Nine, where he’s surprised to find Gina, wearing glasses and with her two-tone hair pulled back as disguise, heading Demand Peace, an organized human peace movement, and it is clear her followers don’t know Gina is a Cylon. A lovestruck Baltar tries to come on to Gina, but abhorrent of any intimate contact due to the sexual abuse she experienced while imprisoned on the Pegasus, she instinctively bites him and Baltar backs off. Blinded by his love for Gina and provoked by his angry visions of Messenger Six (see Messenger Six, above), Baltar then donates Gina a nuclear warhead originally earmarked for Baltar’s developmental research for a Cylon detector. The Fleet eventually discovering and arriving at the future New Caprica, Gina soon decides what to do with the unexpected gift, and then shares an intimate moment with Baltar, perhaps as a farewell to both him and life. Not fully understanding why Gina refuses to join him on New Caprica, Baltar leaves her on Cloud Nine after their interlude, and with Baltar safely off the ship, Gina detonates the nuclear warhead, taking out both Cloud Nine and several ships in the immediate vicinity. Although the radiation signature of the explosion would ultimately lead the Cylons to New Caprica, it is implied, if not confirmed, in the series that there are no Resurrection Ships in range of the fleet at the time of the explosion, and that Gina’s death is therefore final.

Although Gina is never again seen in the actual series, her backstory is covered in the 2007 TV movie Battlestar Galactica: Razor, in which is recounted the events that lead to Gina’s discovery as a Cylon infiltrator on the battlestar Pegasus. Please check out our page on Razor for a description of these events.

In the series’ Season 2, Gina appears to be another platinum blonde Six, only with brown highlights. However, in Battlestar Galactica: Razor, Gina’s hair is altogether light brown and also a little longer than those of her platinum blonde sisters. It is therefore unclear which is Gina’s “real” haircolor and -style, as she does not once appear on the show with the traditional platinum blonde hair of the Sixes.

* * * *

Natalie Faust

… is the fifth and, excepting a brown-haired “Tough Six” in Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, the last significant copy of Six introduced in the series, debuting in episode 4.02 “Six of One”. She is easily distinguished from her fellow Sixes by her dark blue/black business-like wardrobe and light brown, shoulder-length hair.

Natalie becomes the head of the “Rebel Faction” of the Cylons when she and her fellow Sixes team up with the Eights (i.e. the “Sharons”) and the Twos (the “Leobens”; Rennie) to advocate the unboxing of the Threes (“D’Annas”; Lawless) and an end to the lobotomization of the Raiders inhibiting their freedom of choice, both of which they believe imperative to the greater unity of the Cylons. When the Ones (“Cavils”; Stockwell), Fours (“Simons”; Worthy) and Fives (“Dorals”; Bennett) bluntly refuse to comply and the swing vote of Sharon “Boomer” Valerii unexpectedly turns the vote in favor of Cavil & co., Natalie, convinced of the urgency of her mission, takes matters into her own hands and forcibly ends the lobotomization surgeries with the help of insurgent Cylon Centurions, resulting in a standoff between Natalie and Cavil’s respective factions of Cylons and Cylon basestars.

Appearing to come to a compromise, Cavil tells Natalie his model has been outvoted by the others and that she and her supporters can proceed with unboxing the Threes, but the agreement turns out to be but a ploy, and the Rebel basestars are blitz-attacked by Cavil’s basestars at a previously agreed rendezvous point. Natalie’s basestar is the only to escape the ensuing conflict, the first battle in what was to become the Cylon Civil War.

Having only barely escaped Cavil’s forces, Natalie’s basestar is now all but incapacitated from heavy battle damage when the rebels cross paths with Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Sackhoff) and her ship the Demetrius, on a search mission for Earth. All too aware of their present situation, Natalie sees no other option but to seek help from the humans, and forms a shaky alliance with Thrace, who promises to help the Rebel Cylons and lead them to the safety of the Galactica and the Fleet in exchange for Natalie allowing Kara to see the Hybrid. The fragile alliance is nearly shattered, however, when an emotionally traumatized blonde copy of Six unexpectedly attacks and kills Jean Barolay as the person who drowned her on New Caprica. Unable to come to terms with the trauma of dying and redownloading and upset at Jean’s indifference regarding the incident, Six attacks her in front of everyone, thus provoking a difficult standoff between the wary new allies. The situation is not relieved until Natalie steps forward and, after a couple of last words with the troubled Six, pulls the trigger on the gun Samuel T. Anders (Trucco) is holding against the back of her head, at the same time both relieving the Six of her pains and sacrificing her for Natalie’s cause. With the Resurrection Ship still out of range, the blonde Six dies.

Arriving at last on the Galactica, Natalie proves herself even further bold and dedicated to her cause when she willingly gives away crucial details regarding the all-imporant Cylon Resurrection Hub in exchange for only Admiral Adama’s word that after D’Anna is unboxed and the Hub destroyed, the Rebel Cylons will be allowed to leave with her and the Final Five. Adama agrees, and the initially doubtful and wary Natalie begins to find a new and unexpected trust in the humans. However, before she is allowed to see her mission fulfilled, Natalie is gunned down on the Galactica by an anguished and distraught Sharon “Athena” Agathon, convinced by her shared “Opera House” visions with Caprica Six (see Caprica Six, above) and President Laura Roslin that Natalie plans to steal her daughter. With the Resurrection Ship out of range, Natalie dies on the operating table (episode 4.08 “Sine Qua Non”).

* * * *

Shelly Godfrey

… is the third distinctive Number Six introduced in the series, appearing prominently in episode 1.07 “Six Degrees of Separation”. Unlike Natalie, Gina, Messenger Six and Caprica Six, however, Shelly is not a particularly important or central part of the show, and does not make a reappearance after 1.07 until the post-series 2009 TV movie Battlestar Galactica: The Plan. Although another platinum-blonde, Shelly is easily recognizable as she appears on the show in one outfit only, a buttoned-up army-green dress and glasses, giving her a rather rigid appearance.

Shelly appears on the Galactica when Dr. Baltar makes what Messenger Six (see Messenger Six, above) considers blasphemous comments on the Cylon God. Angry at Baltar’s disbelief and disrespect, Messenger Six disappears from Baltar, shortly after which a very real copy of Six, calling herself (rather fittingly) Shelly Godfrey, surfaces out of nowhere on the battlestar, only to accuse Baltar of being a traitor.

Quickly recovering from the initial shock, Baltar does everything in his power to discredit Shelly without revealing how he knows that she’s a Cylon, but with little success, and in his pressed and agitated state he ultimately turns to the Cylon God the Messenger Six so ardently believes in, and begs for salvation. At the same time, the manipulative Shelly (evidently not a sleeper agent) tries to get closer to Commander Adama (Olmos), even attempting intimacy with him, but only manages to put Adama on his guard. Shelly is eventually exposed as a Cylon agent, and Baltar is freed of all suspicion of involvement in the Cylon attack on Caprica, but before Shelly is apprehended she mysteriously disappears off the Galactica.

Although it is implied that it is the result of Baltar’s faith that Shelly is discovered as a Cylon, who Shelly was and how she was able to appear and disappear without a trace is not disclosed until the post-series TV movie Battlestar Galactica: The Plan. In The Plan, it is revealed that Shelly was consensually airlocked as a precautionary measure by Number One John Cavil. She presumably resurrected among the Cylons as a result, but was never seen since in the course of the chronological Battlestar Galactica storyline.

* * * *

Other Notable Copies

Other less significant but momentarily singled out copies of Six have been introduced throughout the series for various purposes. These include overseer copies, troop leaders, rebel copies, copies on New Caprica, pilot copies, “rebirth nurse” copies and others. Please visit www.battlestarwiki.org for comprehensive descriptions of these various copies of Six.

Some memorable “one-off” copies:

• “Lida” — a honey blonde copy of Number Six who comforts and seduces Dr. Baltar in episode 4.14 “Blood on the Scales”. Lida has a distinctive and uncharacteristic childlike innocence about her compared to her sister Sixes.

• “Sonja” — a platinum blonde copy of Six who is elected the representative of the Rebel Cylons for the new Fleet Quorum. Sonja appears on the show towards the last episodes of Season 4.

• “Tough Six” — a brown-haired copy of Six with blonde highlights who typically wears a chains-and-leather outfit. Tough Six is never referred to by name, and only appears in Battlestar Galactica: The Plan..

• Infected Basestar Copy — in episode 3.07 “A Measure of Salvation”, an ill black-haired Six is seen among the many dying blonde Sixes and other Cylons on the mysterious infected basestar. The unnamed Six dies when a frantic Baltar investigating the basestar panicks at the Six’s accusations of Baltar being a traitor, and strangles her while the Resurrection Ship is out of range.

• Miniseries Armistice Station Copy — a platinum blonde Six who only appears in the opening minutes of the miniseries, setting off the chain of events that would lead up to the genocide on Caprica. She appears at the Armistice Station clad all in red, where she passionately kisses a Colonial official only moments before the station is blown up by the Cylons. Identical-looking Cylons also appear in the miniseries’ very last scene, however it is not revealed whether or not the Armistice Station Copy, having likely redownloaded by then, is among them.

• Traumatized Rebel Basestar Copy — see Natalie Faust, above.

For more information and full descriptions of all the copies of Number Six appearing on the show, please visit www.battlestarwiki.org.

From the miniseries:

“Are you alive?”
[Officer: "Yes"]
“Prove it.”

[looks at a sleeping baby] “How small they are.”
[Woman: "I know, but they grow up so fast."]
“May I?”
[Woman: "Sure."]
[Six lifts up the baby]
“So light!.. So fragile. Schhhhhh… There, there. It’s okay. You’re not gonna have to cry much longer.”
[Woman: "We... really should be going."]
“Of course. [pauses] It’s amazing how the neck can support that much weight.”

“You believe me because deep down you’ve always known there’s something different about me. Something that didn’t quite add up in the usual way. And you believe me because it flatters your ego to believe that alone, among all the billions of people of the Twelve Colonies, you were chosen for my mission.”

[Baltar: "I had nothing to do with this. You know I had nothing to do with this."]
“You have an amazing capacity for self-deception. How do you do that?”
[Baltar: "How many people know? About me, specifically, that I'm involved?"]
“Even now as the fate of your entire world hangs in the balance, all you can think about is how this affects you.”

“What are you doing?”
[Baltar: "Phoning my attorney."]
“That won’t be necessary.”
[Baltar: "He'll know what to do. He'll sort this out. He's the best in the business."]
“It won’t be necessary, because in a few hours no one will be left to charge you with anything.”

“Humanity’s children are returning home. Today.”

“There are twelve models. I’m Number Six.”

“So I’m only in your head?”
[Baltar: "Exactly."]
“Hm. Have you considered the possibility that I can very well exist only in your head, without being a hallucination? Maybe you see and hear me because while you were sleeping I implanted a chip in your brain that transmits my image right into your conscious mind.”

“I remember you telling me once that guilt was something small people feel when they run out of excuses for their behavior.”

[Baltar: "If there are Cylons aboard this ship, we'll find them."]
“‘We?’ You’re not on their side, Gaius.”

Select quotations regarding the show from Tricia Helfer and her co-workers:

On how she landed the role of Number Six:
“Yes, in January of ’03. It was the same casting directors that had done CSI. So they took me straight to producers. Being brand-new and green, I didn’t really know anything. But I auditioned for it, and I thought it went pretty well. But I didn’t hear anything for about two months. And then I got called back to test for it. And we had a work session. I had to ask what a “work session” was. It went extremely well, with the director Michael Rymer. And then tested the next morning. It was just a terrifying experience. It’s five hours long. No food. You don’t eat before you go in, because you’re nervous. They went through all the girls, and then all the guys, and then started pairing everybody up. I was the last group, and I ended up with James Callis, who played Baltar on Battlestar. And I’m about 5 inches taller than him. By this time I was exhausted, as he was. We heard it was the sexy role, so the other girls are all in cute little outfits with high heels, and I’m in flats and trying to be short. I just went, ‘Well, I’m not getting that role.’ But James heard somebody say, when we were in the room, ‘That’s it.’ That was the next five years of my life.”
- Back Stage interview, August 18 2010

On her character Number Six:
“I think what I like the most about Six is her diversity in a way. I know Six gets noticed a lot for her sensuality and things like that, but what attracted me to Six in the first place in the script in the miniseries was her intelligence, her strength and her vulnerability, and everything all mixed into one which I find is indicative of what women are and what women can be. It was interesting to me to have a robot character which embodied so many of these things that many women try to hide.”
– Battlestar Galactica convention, 2005

On her character Gina and how she prepared for the role:
“Because I’m fairly new at [acting], I’m kind of like a sponge. I watch everybody else, and really research quite a bit, in particular for Gina, that clone that was quite beaten and tortured, so to speak; a lot of research on post-traumatic stress syndrome and also watching prisoner movies that people would tell me about. But it’s a fun departure for me, from having the Number Six character that’s usually the seductress to then go and be beaten on the floor and have a very vulnerable character.”
– Square Off interview, May 12 2006

On the show coming to a close:
“I was actually filming Human Target in Vancouver at the time, so I couldn’t go, but Universal had a private screening, which my husband actually went to with my parents. I would have liked to have been at that, because that was a big kind of love-fest. We had a great cast on the show and I really loved them. So in that respect, it’s hard to see the show go and when you look back on that, you realize wow, we had really amazing writing, really amazing directing, and amazing actors to work with. We had it really good! It kind of makes you think, ‘Am I going to get that again?’ It makes you really respect what you had and look back fondly on it. [...] When you’re in the middle of filming, quite often you’re stressed, you’re running back and forth and a lot of times you take for granted a little bit how good the opportunity it that you’re actually working on. Not to say that we took it for granted totally, but you take a little bit for granted, because you’re busy and you’re working. So looking back, I think that’s the biggest thing. You go, ‘Wow… what an opportunity!’ I’m just so happy that I got to have that opportunity and hope that it happens again. Getting on a show that has that kind of integrity…”
- IGN interview, July 7 2009

On the series finale:
“Caprica Six really did have a full circle. She ended up back with Baltar and with the true love for both of them. We knew going into the finale that not everybody was going to be happy with it. You just can’t try and make everybody happy. It’s impossible. But on a whole, the cast was really happy with it. I really liked how it ended. It was epic, but at the same time, the show was dark and depressing most of the time, so I’m happy the finale wasn’t, ‘Oh, everything’s wrapped in a bow and everything’s perfectly happy.’ They were facing a lot of hardships. Wow, you’re getting rid of technology… But that was uplifting in itself. So it didn’t end on a really dark note. It didn’t end on a really super, cheesy happy note. It ended with a new beginning.”
- IGN interview, July 7 2009

On a scene in the miniseries in which Six snaps the neck of an infant:
“Well, I think of that baby killing as a mercy killing. I discussed it with the director, Michael Rymer. We didn’t want her to be a cold killing machine. We tried to give her a few vulnerabilities to make it different from the stereotypical hot robot chick. In essence I think that makes her scarier because at times it makes you feel for her and other times she does something completely off the deep end. I think that’s more threatening. One of my first acting teachers told me when you play someone that’s evil, you can’t look at it that way, so I don’t view her as evil. You have to look at it from the perspective you are playing. [...] Originally it was written as plain old snap the baby’s neck but we chose to make her fascinated by the baby and she didn’t want the baby to suffer from the bombs so it was a mercy killing. As I walked away there was a sense that I didn’t like doing what I did.”
- UGO interview, 2004

Co-star James Callis (“Dr. Gaius Baltar”) on working with Tricia:
“[It was] more fun [working] with than without her actually. [...] I think [we had a great chemistry on the show], but I think Tricia would have an amazing chemistry with almost anybody. [...] Gaius Baltar wouldn’t have nearly been so interesting without Number Six at all. She was his muse and she was everything. I think she was a rather brilliant creation of the series and rather incredible casting with Tricia in that role. Everybody benefitted of having her there in that way.”
- Galactica.tv interview, February 12 2010

Producer David Eick on casting Tricia:
“She was great from the first time she auditioned, and I’m glad to say that I managed to convince everyone she was perfect for the part.”
- Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion, 2005

• Battlestar Galactica‘s first season was consistently Syfy’s (formerly The Sci-Fi Channel) top-rated program, pulling in more than 3 million viewers every week.

• The series’ first season was aired in the United Kingdom on SkyOne already months before it aired in North America. This resulted in an increase in North Americans downloading episodes on the internet that were made freely available by British viewers of the show. Fearing that this widespread “previewing” of the series would diminish the show’s ratings once it aired in North America, executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick made a written plea to fans to stop downloading episodes and wait for them to air in the United States and Canada.

• Number Six was named after Patrick McGoohan’s character in the television series The Prisoner (1967).

• The series opening theme song is a famous Hindu mantra, the Gayatri Mantra, taken from the Rig Veda.

• All paper sheets in the series have the four corners cut off. It is said that the miniseris director Michael Rymer did this for the filming as a reference to how he had to “cut corners” financially to make the miniseries work on a limited budget.

• The phrase “so say we all”, which is used as a ceremonial affirmation in the series, was ad-libbed by Edward James Olmos in a speech given by his character Commander Adama in the miniseries.

• The term “skinjob”, used to describe any of the humanoid Cylona, is a reference to the movie Blade Runner (1982), in which Edward James Olmos (Commander Adama) also stars and in which the Nexus 6 models are described by the same moniker. Blade Runner is also the film which Eddie suggested Tricia Helfer watch to prepare for her role as Cylon Number Six, the first humanoid Cylon revealed in the series.

• To prepare for her role as the battered Gina, Tricia watched the film La Ciociara (1960) to give her a better understanding of a rape victim. She also researched on post-traumatic stress syndrome and lost weight for the part.

• Richard Hatch, who plays Tom Zarek in the reimagined series, also appears in the original Battlestar Galactica series (1978-79), as Captain Apollo. In the reimagined series, Apollo is portrayed by Jamie Bamber.

• The platinum blonde hair of Number Six is in fact, as of mid-season 2, a wig.

• In an interview, Tricia once recalled how co-star Katee Sackhoff (Kara “Starbuck” Thrace) came only inches away from slicing her with the Arrow of Apollo during the museum fight scene between Starbuck and Six in episode 1.12 “Kobol’s Last Gleaming: Part 2″. Tricia’s reaction to the “close call” was caught on tape and is actually featured in the episode.

• Due to Tricia’s lack of acting experience at the time of the BSG auditions, executive producer David Eick had to fight hard to convince the network she was his choice for the part. According to Eick, Tricia “was great from the first time she auditioned, and I’m glad to say that I managed to convince everyone she was perfect for the part.”

• According to Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion, only Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell were hand-picked for their roles. Among the actresses in the running for the role of Number Six was The O.C.‘s Melinda Clarke, however thanks to a brilliant audition performance, the role ultimately went to Tricia.

• Since Battlestar Galactica, Katee Sackhoff and Tricia have become best friends, sharing among other things a passion for motorcycles. They have since launched a charity organization together called The Acting Outlaws.

• For the role of Number Six, Tricia actually dyed her hair platinum blonde, and continued doing so until mid-Season 2. However, as Season 2 progressed, Tricia’s hair got shorter and weaker by the episode from the frequent dyeing and eventually began falling off in chunks, and the producers had to grant her a wig.

Since the December 2003 miniseries premiere, the Battlestar Galactica series has received virtually universal critical acclaim and is to this day often referred to in the press as “the best show on television”. Throughout its TV span, the show was consistently commended both for its exceptional ensemble cast and its intelligent and thought-provoking handling of current topics, even if the later seasons 3 and 4 also provoked discussion not entirely uncritical. The show currently holds an impressive 9.0/10 user rating at the Internet Movie Database (miniseries IMDb rating 8.3/10).

Extracts from professional series reviews:

“And why should you watch the Peabody Award-winning Galactica? Despite its name and pedigree, this is not some kiddie sci-fi show full of humanoid aliens created by gluing prosthetics to actors’ faces. And it’s not a lighthearted romp through the galaxy, a la Stargate. Rather, Battlestar Galactica is one of the most politically relevant and necessarily bleak series on television today.”
- Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Now, since we gorged on Battlestar Galactica and, in the spirit of getting the word out — not because Sci-Fi put on a full media blitz, which it did, but because the show really is that good — you are hereby notified that the sci-fi geeks are not kidding this time. Battlestar Galactica not only lives up to its sci-fi gold-standard reputation but also should be considered straight up as one of television’s most appealing dramas, no matter the genre.”
- Tim Goodman, San Fransisco Chronicle

“There are benefits to getting it. Battlestar isn’t just another Sci Fi Channel trifle. Heavy-duty acting and harsh social and political commentary over the first two seasons cemented its reputation as serious drama. In our so-called golden age of drama, filled with ambitious series people aren’t avidly watching, Battlestar is a show people plan their Friday nights around.”
- Melanie McFarland, Seattle PI

The Battlestar Galactica series and miniseries have received a total of 24 + 2 awards and 45 + 6 award nominations.

Miniseries Awards:
• Saturn Award (2004) – Best Television Presentation
• Visual Effects Society Award (2004) – Outstanding Visual Effects in a Television Miniseries, Movie or a Special

Miniseries Nominations:
• Emmy Award (2004) – Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
• Emmy Award (2004) – Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
• Emmy Award (2004) – Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
• Saturn Award (2004) – Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series (Katee Sackhoff)
• Visual Effects Society Award (2004) – Outstanding Compositing in a Televised Program, Music Video or Commercial
• Visual Effects Society Award (2004) – Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Televised Program, Music Video or Commercial

Series Awards:
• ALMA Award (2007) – Outstanding Actor in a Television Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie (Edward James Olmos)
• ALMA Award (2008) – Outstanding Actor in a Drama Television Series (Edward James Olmos)
• Emmy Award (2007) – Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series
• Emmy Award (2008) – Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series
• Emmy Award (2009) – Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series
• Golden Reel Award (2009) – Best Sound Editing, Short Form Sound Effects and Foley in Television
• Golden Reel Award (2010) – Best Sound Editing, Long Form Dialogue and ADR in Television
• Golden Reel Award (2010) – Best Sound Editing, Long Form Sound Effects and Foley in Television
• Hugo Award (2005) – Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
• Leo Award (2006) – Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series (Tricia Helfer)
• Peabody Award (2006)
• Saturn Award (2006) – Best Supporting Actor on Television (James Callis)
• Saturn Award (2006) – Best Supporting Actress on Television (Katee Sackhoff)
• Saturn Award (2006) – Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
• Saturn Award (2007) – Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
• Saturn Award (2009) – Best Actor in Television (Edward James Olmos)
• Saturn Award (2009) – Best Actress in Television (Mary McDonnell)
• Saturn Award (2009) – Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
• Television Critics Association Award (2009) – Program of the Year
• Visual Effects Society Award (2006) – Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program, Commercial, or Music Video
• Visual Effects Society Award (2007) – Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Broadcast Program
• Visual Effects Society Award (2007) – Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series
• Visual Effects Society Award (2009) – Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series
• Visual Effects Society Award (2010) – Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series

Series Nominations:
• ALMA Award (2006) – Outstanding Actor in a Television Series (Edward James Olmos)
• Canadian Society of Cinematographers Award (2007) – Best Cinematography in a TV Series
• Cinema Audio Society Award (2010) – Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series
• Emmy Award (2005) – Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series
• Emmy Award (2005) – Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series
• Emmy Award (2006) – Outstanding Costumes for a Series
• Emmy Award (2006) – Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Series
• Emmy Award (2006) – Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series
• Emmy Award (2007) – Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
• Emmy Award (2007) – Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series
• Emmy Award (2007) – Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
• Emmy Award (2008) – Outstanding Cinematography for a One-Hour Series
• Emmy Award (2008) – Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
• Emmy Award (2008) – Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation
• Emmy Award (2008) – Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
• Emmy Award (2009) – Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
• Emmy Award (2009) – Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
• Emmy Award (2009) – Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)
• Emmy Award (2009) – Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series
• Golden Reel Award (2006) – Best Sound Editing in Television Short Form, Music
• Golden Reel Award (2007) – Best Sound Editing in Sound Effects and Foley for Television, Long Form
• Golden Reel Award (2007) – Best Sound Editing in Sound Effects and Foley for Television, Short Form
• Golden Reel Award (2008) – Best Sound Editing, Sound Effects and Foley for Long Form Television
• Golden Reel Award (2010) – Best Sound Editing, Short Form Sound Effects and Foley in Television
• Hugo Award (2006) – Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
• Hugo Award (2007) – Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
• Hugo Award (2009) – Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
• Image Award (2010) – Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series
• Imagen Award (2006) – Best Actor, Television (Edward James Olmos)
• People’s Choice Award (2008) – Favorite Sci-Fi Show
• Saturn Award (2006) – Best Supporting Actor on Television (Jamie Bamber)
• Saturn Award (2006) – Best Television Release on DVD
• Saturn Award (2007) – Best Actor in a Television Program (Edward James Olmos)
• Saturn Award (2007) – Best Actress in a Television Program (Katee Sackhoff)
• Saturn Award (2007) – Best Supporting Actor in a Television Program (James Callis)
• Saturn Award (2008) – Best Actor on Television (Edward James Olmos)
• Saturn Award (2008) – Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
• Saturn Award (2009) – Best Supporting Actress in Television (Katee Sackhoff)
• Saturn Award (2010) – Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
• Visual Effects Society Award (2005) – Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Act on Broadcast Program
• Visual Effects Society Award (2006) – Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program, Commercial, or Music Video
• Visual Effects Society Award (2007) – Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program, Commercial or Music Video
• Visual Effects Society Award (2007) – Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program, Commercial or Music Video
• Visual Effects Society Award (2008) – Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series
• Writers Guild of America Award (2007) – Episodic Drama

Personal Thoughts

Sandra: I was able to catch the miniseries when it first aired in my country, and was therefore fortunate enough to be on the bandwagon from the start. When the TV spots for the miniseries started rolling here, I really only expected something along the lines of Star Trek or Stargate SG-1 — neither of which there is anything particularly wrong with (quite the contrary, I’m a complete sucker for conventional sci-fi TV), it’s just that I expected seeing something that had already been done before. And yet Battlestar Galactica really turned out unlike anything I’d ever expected or seen. Intelligent. Challenging. Brilliant. It was, and is, the most refreshingly ambitious and serious-minded sci-fi drama to date in the history of television. Even though I disagreed with the direction the series took in Season 3, the show never lost its core matter, and what was to me a somewhat uneven fourth season ultimately concluded with the most amazing series finale I have seen in my life. Never before or since has a show felt as if it was a privilege to watch.

As for Tricia Helfer’s Six and her many incarnations, I need not say she is my alltime favorite of Tricia’s onscreen performances and characters so far. She really made an impression on from the very beginning, making what could’ve been just an uncomplicated bombshell-type role into something much more fascinating, even when most of her first 20 episodes only revolved around the sexy and mysterious “Head Six”. That she should’ve been able to slip into this role so “easily” with so little prior acting experience is just amazing, and the more I read about her dedication to the show, the more is added to my respect for her as an actress.

Favorite Episode(s): Miniseries, episodes 1.01 “33″, 2.07 “Home: Part 2″, 2.10 “Pegasus”, 2.12 “Resurrection Ship: Part 2″, 2.18 “Downloaded”, 4.02 “Six of One”, 4.06 “Faith”, 4.20 “Daybreak: Part 2″.

Below are some Battlestar Galactica related links that may be of interest to you.

• Battlestar Galactica official site
• Battlestar Galactica miniseries TFL-approved fanlisting
• Battlestar Galactica Season 1 TFL-approved fanlisting
• Battlestar Galactica Season 2 TFL-approved fanlisting
• Battlestar Galactica Season 3 TFL-approved fanlisting
• Battlestar Galactica Season 4 TFL-approved fanlisting
• Battlestar Galactica series TFL-approved fanlisting
• Battlestar Galactica TFL-approved Caprica Six character fanlisting
• Battlestar Galactica TFL-approved Number Six character fanlisting
• Battlestar Galactica miniseries on IMDb.com
• Battlestar Galactica series on IMDb.com
• Battlestar Galactica miniseries on MetaCritic.com
• Battlestar Galactica series on MetaCritic.com
• Battlestar Galactica miniseries on Wikipedia.org
• Battlestar Galactica series on Wikipedia.org

• Battlestar Galactica on Battlestar Wiki
• Battlestar Galactica on Galactica Sitrep

• Aaron Douglas on Aaron Douglas Fans
• Edward James Olmos on EdwardJamesOlmos.com
• Grace Park on Grace Park Fan
• Grace Park on Grace Park Online
• James Callis on The James Callis Website
• Jamie Bamber on Jamie Bamber Web
• Katee Sackhoff on KateeSackhoff.com
• Katee Sackhoff on Katee Fan
• Lucy Lawless on Juicy Flawless
• Kandyse McClure on Illuminate: Kandyse McClure
• Michael Trucco on MichaelTrucco.com
• Michelle Forbes on MichelleForbes.net
• Nicki Clyne on NickiClyne.com
• Richard Hatch on RichardHatch.com
• Tahmoh Penikett on All About Tahmoh Penikett