Katee Sackhoff Refuses To Watch The Original Battlestar Galactica For A Harsh Reason

It's a well-known phenomenon that many actors can't stand to watch themselves on screen. While the usual reasons for this involve their own personal harsh criticisms of themselves and their work, there's another equally valid reason for not wishing to watch things they've been in. Simply put, their memories of doing the work, being on set, and inhabiting their character are strong enough that the end product feels a little redundant to them. 

Then again, it's always possible for such an actor to change their minds, especially when a good chunk of time has passed by, and they have enough distance from their past selves. That seems to be the exact case with "Battlestar Galactica" and actress Katee Sackhoff, who played Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the series. As of last month, she and her husband began watching the show, which will be her first time seeing it through.

One might assume that Sackhoff will be comparing the 2003-09 version of the series she was in to the original 1978-79 "Battlestar Galactica." After all, it's generally thought of as standard practice these days for actors appearing in a remake/reboot/reimagining to take a look at what's come before. The '00s were a different era, however, as evidenced by a 2007 interview Sackhoff gave Esquire, in which she admitted she couldn't stand watching the original '70s show. According to her comments, the reason for this had little to do with the bulk of the series itself and a lot to do with one particular element. Namely, Sackhoff found the cutesy sidekick named Muffit (a dog-like creature called a Daggit) too ridiculous to bear.

Even those of us who count ourselves as fans of the original 1978 "Battlestar Galactica" admit that the show contains a good deal of camp. Sure, it was generally more serious-minded and spiritual than another Glen A. Larson production of the time, "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" (the first season of which is like if Studio 54 were a sci-fi series), but it could get very silly in certain episodes. While the camp quotient was certainly a factor in Katee Sackhoff turning off the series, her criticism seemed to center primarily on the Daggit named Muffit. As she told Esquire in 2007:

"['The Bionic Woman'] wasn't as campy as 'Battlestar Galactica.' I can't even watch an old episode of 'Battlestar Galactica' without cracking up because that stupid dog shows up. It's right up there with 'Alf.' I mean, how do you take that seriously? I loved it when I was 12, but come on."

It's true that Muffit the Daggit was part of "Battlestar" to appeal to children in the audience, as well as to fulfill a "comedic sidekick" role that Larson considered part of the secret recipe that made "Star Wars" such a success. It's also true that Muffit's performance in the show is extra odd, considering it was performed not by a human actor but by a chimpanzee named Evolution, who was wearing an animatronic suit. All told, Muffit is a pretty distracting character. Yet to say it brought the show down to an "Alf" level is to ignore all the elements which make "Battlestar" hold up, things which caused Ronald D. Moore and company to remake it with Sackhoff in a leading role. Who knows? Maybe one day Sackhoff will get over her distaste for Daggits.