Jane Espenson Discusses ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Webisodes
With today’s debut of the Battlestar Galactica webisodes, writer Jane Espenson talked with SyFy Portal about the ten-episode focus on Felix Gaeta including the revelation that he is gay.
"Give Gaeta a boyfriend and everything kind of gets richer and more interesting,” she said. “And we don’t have that sense that we are taking away a character that people embraced.
"I knew that fans has seized on that dynamic and were sort of already identifying Gaeta as a gay character. I mentioned to [showrunner Ronald D. Moore] the possibility of addressing the issue head on, and he told me to check with the actor. Alessandro [Juliani ]was fine with it, and I wrote it in. It works very, very well, and I’m really glad that we did it."
The revelation was not a last minute decision but an expression of something the writers had decided on some time in the past. "It had never been consciously written in by the writers, but Battlestar is an extremely collaborative show," Espenson said. "I didn’t feel that I was adding something to that character," she said. "I feel that I was making something explicit that the character already had."
The webisodes do not focus on this revelation but is just one small element of the overall arc that also spotlights Grace Park (No. 8 Cylon).
Meantime, Sci Fi also released a new poster to promote the final episodes which we happily share with you.