WonderCon 2010: Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica with Video

Hi BSG fans,

Richard Hatch’s Panel was the first WonderCon 2010 panel attended.

WHR sends our many thanks to Comic-Con International who produced WonderCon 2010 in San Francisco for access to bring you video of Richard Hatch during his appearance. All images and the three videos are courtesy of Comic-Con International.

I missed the first few minutes of his panel, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy what he had to say. This was the not the first time I had the opportunity to see Richard. The first and only other time was probably close to 15 years ago, so you could say it was time to see and hear what has been going on with him since.

Richard Hatch’s panel was set up in a small room size that at most fitted 60 people, if that. It was a  nice intimate setting for a convention panel. I was kindly guided by one of WonderCon’s staff to a seat a few rows from the front. Richard refused to be bound to the usual panel table at the front of the room. Since it was a smaller crowd he stood or walked up and down the main aisle. This of course delighted the fans that were in the room.

As I was setting up my equipment Richard was talking about Science Fiction in general.

Richard Hatch: … I’m STARVING for great Science Fiction and again everything we get something it goes off way too soon. So we’re going to all pray to the Lords of Cobal…(inaudible)… We’ll have a little sacrifice, we can do… ok .

Anyway, I want to take some questions here and then I’m going to play some trailers. I got a bunch of trailers to play. Stuff, I don’t know how many people have uh… Anybody seen me before, anywhere?

Cheers and clapping all around from the fans.

RH: Alright was it good?

Audience: (LAUGHTER)

RH: Ok good. I’m going to play some trailers from Battlestar and play the uh, Bear McCreary has some cool stuff. He put together with all the music behind the scenes of Battlestar.

By the way, if anybody was at San Diego’s ComicCon last year, anybody? Did anybody go to the House of Blues? (No one in the audience attended that event.) Really? You missed it! Let me just tell you what you missed. Four days at the House of Blues with just about all the Battlestar actors, a full orchestra and band. And I’m telling you the best musicians in the whole world playing all the Battlestar music and blowing it outta the house. You’ve never seen anything like it and Edward James Olmos was hosting part of it and uh, we you know…

At this point the fans were disappointed they had missed out on such a wonderful event. I know I was not the only one hoping there would be another event like it in the near future.

RH: Grace Park helped host it. You know everyone was taking turns. I hosted actually a couple years before that because every year he was getting up and finding some venue to play the music because he’s got a kickin band. He’s got an amazing group of musicians. This was beyond anything I’ve ever seen.

In fact, in downtown L.A. in an outdoor park the put up a big screen, played to Battlestar episodes and stuff and had this whole orchestra and band play outdoors and blow it out and I MISSED that. I was SO pissed. I was really, really pissed. But thank God I got to go down there and I watched it three nights in a row. I mean every night going back there, just to FEEL THE ENERGY! I mean every one of those musicians could have been a star in their own right. They could have been alone on that stage and they got out there and they were radical! They were just playing it like you wouldn’t believe. The Taiko drums were pounding, you know.

At this point Richard was imitating playing the Taiko drums. He was very enthusiastic about describing the event especially since no one in the audience had attended.

RH: So anyway, he filmed it all. So the question is when is it going to come out and where will it come out? But hopefully it will come out so you’ll get a chance to see it and when you do see it you gotta go buy it because it was extraordinary. And there was a lot of heart felt, ok people talking about the show, talking about Harvey, who uh, one of the producers who died. Uh one of the guys true wonderful guys on Battlestar that basically kind of shepherd the show through and basically died during that time. So everyone got up and everybody gave a great account for Harvey. But it was just a lot of heart, a lot of spirit, a lot of soul, you know coming together as a big family and it was a huge celebration. And again they packed it every single night, so it was absolutely amazing.

Anyway let me take a few questions here. I know the time goes by really, really fast… YES! (Richard points to a fan with her hand up.)

Fan #1: It’s not a question it’s a statement. It’s my first year here and my husband adores you and remembers…

RH: A man crush. (The audience laughs.)

Fan #1: …Remembers you from the Streets of San Francisco.

RH: Wow, you know either you’ve been eating the right food, but I don’t know what, but you look so young, you might, must not have been alive when I was on Streets. We’re talking 35, 30 years ago? Jesus, I go pretty far back, ok, but I’m not going to tell anybody how old I am. All though I’m sure some people in here already know, hehehe. Yeah…(Richard points to another fan.)

Fan #2: Um, back to the ratings issue what do you think the number one thing we, as fans, can do to let SyFy know that we are out there?

RH: That’s a really, really good question. Um, you know I’m not… you ever uh… YOU GOTTA WATCH IT!

Richard talked about when you TiVO a show it does not get counted towards ratings nor does DVD sales. In other words you have to watch it as it airs at the show’s perspective time. Somewhere between his explanation Richard went on to talk about his thoughts about the final year of Battlestar Galactica.

RH: I know everyone had different feelings but I really felt it needed one more year at least maybe one or two more years. Because there’s so many wonderful stories to tell in the Battlestar universe and the final year for me I just hated to see almost like so many epiphanies were being thrown out every second, you know what I mean? Like here… Did you get that one? Here’s another one, you know, and another one, and another one, another one and there’s so much information coming at you.

I just would have liked to have it come out a little slower and I think uh, Ron probably would have done that had SyFy Channel been willing to do at least a two year pick up. …So if you don’t resolve the story then it’s going to lay there and everybody is going to be pissed and angry. How often does a favorite story go off without any resolution? …We’re going to take this year and we’re going to resolve the story lines. I take my hat off that they were willing to do that.

Believe it or not because of the writers’ strike half the contracts were up, so half of those actors were off those shows. So we were flying in, flying out… We were filming three shows at one time. It was a weird feeling to be with everyone coming and going. So many seen from this show, that show, it was really crazy. I particularly don’t like last year’s shows because everybody is looking for that next job, you know what I mean? Trying to find because they gotta pay the bills, everybody’s going some place. My thought was wait come back, you know? We had such a great experience here, it was such a family. But now people were just popping in popping out, so there was that crazy, wild feeling going on, you know? But you know, but I mean but listen they at least got to bring it to some form of resolution for everybody so I take my hat off on that. How many people enjoyed the finale? Everybody enjoyed the finale? Yes?

Audience: Yes and yeah

RH: I’m sure everyone has their own…SciFi are great stories no matter what. We’re not always going to agree on everything, right? And, and very rarely I think does a finale ever satisfy everybody because you know you’re looking for that something. Just out of curiosity what was someone’s favorite thing about the finale? Anyone? Yes? (He points to someone in the audience.)

Fan #3: I like when….(Sorry I couldn’t hear over the noise from the room next door what the fan was saying. No one was a using a mic during the Q&A session.)…in the viper…(inaudible)

At this point Richard was walking up and down the aisle to be close enough to hear each question. At times he was standing up close to the person asking the question.

RH: Which particular point?

Fan #3: When they roll up to the moon getting ready to kill him.

RH: Oh right. Anybody else? Yes.

Fan #4: When the Colonial Anthem was playing as the ships were going into the sun. I tear up every time I hear it.

RH: Oh that’s right, that’s right. Yeah, yes.

Fan #5: I enjoyed the part where like 50,000 years later and everything Battlestar was like our ancestors were going down that direction again.

RH: Right. Anybody else? Yes.

Fan #6: I, one of the things I liked about the show was the way if you watched it and if you had brains you asked questions more in there to ask questions about yourself and humanity in general. They were addressing really kind of issues the…in the mini series the pilot I think was one of the best episodes that really carries all the way over into the finale where almost where Adama, Commander Adama that is, asking you know. It’s in his speech where he goes off his prepared speech and he asks what makes us worthy of survival?

RH: That’s a really good question.

Fan #6: … That’s a very poignant question that in some way, shape or form that every single episode tried to stress. Uh, and the great thing about the show, the thing I like about the finale was the tying in the mitochondrial beef scenario with Herra. And that neither Cylon nor human is worth surviving without the other.

RH: Yeah

Fan #6: … So that in the Battlestar universe all of us today are descendants of Cylons and humans that was pretty interesting to see in the finale by ourselves we are not worth surviving it’s only with other people with the human Cylon connection and it’s only with connects do we find meaning.

RH: First of all that to me was one of the most brilliant aspects…(inaudible)… Wow, maybe it’s my mind.

Richard was referring to the lights as they finally were on completely turned on. The room lights were dimmed for the first half of this Q&A. His reactions to the lights lead to the audience laughter.

RH: I think SciFi always asks all the most powerful questions about life. I think we’re in a time of history where these questions are very, very important because we really are… I don’t know how many people are experiencing this. You know this, this time of change it’s not just an economic down turn. It’s an economic shift, it’s a pyridine shift. The world, the business, the bottom line, the business model, the way we do everything is going through a radical time of shifting. That’s why I keep encouraging people and I teach a lecture all over the country, you know.

It’s a time for rethinking your life and in many cases maybe thinking about what you’ve always wanted to do and most gifted at, going back and getting educated, going back and getting re-educated or up leveling your skills and beginning to move into the market place in a new way, in a more progressive way. So often do we get comfortable doing things to make a paycheck but we’re not necessarily happy and we’re not doing what we really love doing or we’re not doing something we’re not really skilled at, you know?

This is the time, it’s truly a big shake up time I know we keep hoping it’s just going to come back and everything will be fine again. But I think it will ultimately get better. I think things are not going to a worst place, but to a better place. But we are going through a major shifting and shake up time. So it is a time to ask important questions. Often we don’t ask those questions. I think sometimes great shows don’t last that long because people aren’t ready to listen. They’re not ready to question or challenge their life or question, you know who we are and what we’re about?

I cannot recall anyone in the audience was saying or even talking among themselves as we went on. I think everyone was really soaking in what he had just spoken about. Richard was on a roll at this point. He was not taking any breaks or even a seat.

RH: And I think Battlestar truly always has been one step ahead of the curve. It was always been a show that was not only of great entertainment, always about relationship about who we are as human beings, what we got inside of us that struggle we all have. We all struggle with our demons. We all struggle with our dark side. Even the best of us is capable falling and even the worst of us is capable of rising, you know? I think Battlestar really, really epitomizes that, which is why for me people sometimes say, “Richard you know you’ve been with this Battlestar for, forever.” And I said uh well I tell ya, you know, I as a fan fell in love with the story. I love what this story has to say and I still feel there is so much more to say. So I’m truly hoping that or another that this show will progress, that Caprica will stay on that there will be more Battlestar to come, more episodes to come, more side stories. There’s just so much in that universe that has not yet been explored yet.

And you know for me still sad because of those wonderful actors it’s rare…everybody moves on right? But they look back I promise you most of them are gonna go my God why was I in a hurry to leave or you know, I didn’t realize what I had when I had it. So often you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone. I think most of those actors are really going to sit back and remember this was one the greatest experiences they have ever had. And not only because it was a great show, great story, we had an atmosphere, we had a chemistry on the set, they way we filmed, directed, the collaboration between the writer, the producer, the director. We had five hand held cameras. There was such an interplay with the producer, writer always on the set. The actor, the director everybody worked with each other in order to get the best performance out of the material. It was an extraordinary experience for us.

Anybody else have a question here? I’m going to play…yes?

Fan # 7: I wanted to say, you know, that I have… I might be in the minority.  I have friends I have turned to in Caprica, they have never seen an episode of Caprica.

RH: Right.

Fan # 7: So I think a selling point would be that if you jump on now and start up from the beginning and work your way up to Battlestar it could sell the DVD’s and everything!

RH: Yeah.

Fan #7: … So, another thing is that re-running something, you know like a marathon or something, it’s really big. You know like Star Trek didn’t catch on until it was in syndication.

RH: Wasn’t it funny that in SciFi, I mean, how often does it happen it’s always 10-15 years later that the whole audience finds the show. And honestly it’s just one of those things because I think networks number one they don’t stay with these shows for very long. They throw a bunch of things at the wall and if it doesn’t stick they move on to the next train wreck. Every once in a while…

Laughter ensues after his “train wreck comment. I honestly do not think I have ever heard SciFi shows described in that manner before, hahaha.

RH: Well, it’s true. WHOA! They’re coming after me! (More laughter) But, but, you know once in awhile there’ll be a show that comes on that turns out to be a big hit show, that didn’t get good ratings, but the network executives believe in it and so they hold on to that show. And it takes a couple of years for the audience to find that show and for that show to really find its strength. No show in the beginning is the best it can be. It takes a couple of years and usually by the time it finds its strength, especially with SciFi, they take it off.

…But I think the time is coming and again somebody, some how, some way… there’s all kinds of new channels. I’ve been talking to people about doing an online channel because Warner Bros. is doing a Hispanic online channel. Um, I would like to be part of helping put together a SciFi online channel because then we could have some control working with people who actually love science fiction, who understand it, who are fans themselves, helping to work with programming and helping to unleash the creativity out there. YouTube has all these people uploading all kinds of interesting stories, webisodes, what have you and the networks are kind of searching out there trying to find the next big hot show, right? But they’re not really doing that for SciFi so much.

There really needs to be a place where people can actually put together their own show ideas and if they’re good and the audience resonates with it then you build it and you add budget to it. You can test the market place, see what works, tweak it and then build it. But I don’t think there’s a place out there yet for SciFi that’s really focused on SciFi/Fantasy that’s building that kind of a, you know, a financial bottom line. I just think we just need a whole bunch of people to come together, entrepreneurs, and really put something together new. And by the way I don’t put down… There’s a lot of talented people at SyFy channel, there’s a lot of gifted people every where.

…Anyway, lemme take one more question and then I’m gonna… by the way I’m going to say this if you have the courage to ask it I will answer it. So whatever that question is, ok be brave, be daring, be bold, be a Cylon, go ahead. Laughter ensues after his last comment about being a Cylon.

RH: Anybody got more, any more questions? Yes?

Fan #8: How do you get above the um, well as far like independent film goes why don’t we see a lot of SciFi maybe because of the technical… (inaudible)… I know they’ve come down but it’s hard to do a big technical SciFi on a shoe string budget.

RH: Well, it’s one thing to do it for a movie and when you think of Avatar spending four years, but not all four years doing all the digital work, but certainly a good two years or two and a half years. So I mean to do a really, to be at the standards what’s actually happening today, to really do something good it still takes time. When you have a show that’s gotta be on although they’re breaking up these shows up now so, you know, they do nine or ten shows and you gotta to wait a year, so really there’s actually more time to do the post. Uh certainly they were doing that with Battlestar. Um, but I just think that again if they can do a show that’s a little more ground based, less technical part, less CGI, less special effects, it would be less costly for them, less time consuming and in their minds more doable. Because they don’t really care that much about, you know what I’m saying? They would, if they want to do a SciFi thing they’d probably say ok let’s just do something on Earth and put some shiny little hats on and you know.

The audience laughs. I’m pretty sure we could all think of a couple of cheesy shows he just described.

RH: I’m, I’m being funny, but you know what I’m saying? Sometimes they’re looking for a SciFi veneer as opposed to a true SciFi story and we know the difference is. We know what great Science Fiction, visionary Science Fiction, intelligent Science Fiction, you know. And obviously we’re all little kids inside, you know, we like the adventure, we like the action. We want characters we can care about. We want to explore some of the mysteries of the universe. You know we want to get into the depths of things, but at the same time it’s always about the balance of things great SciFi does that.

Were you going to say something? (Man shakes his head, no.) Oh ok. For some reason I thought you nodded your head. Alright I’m gonna play a couple of trailers here and uh… who’s working the uh…is the guy here? You’re going to do the lights? Wait, wait, I gotta come up here to the… is that you? Who’s going to be running the um…

WonderCon Staff Member: I’ll get someone.

RH: I thought someone was in here. Someone had mentioned a guy, when I came in I talked to a guy he was going to run it. I guess I did too much talking as usual.

Audience laughs. With the tech guy not present fans were able to squeeze in a few more questions.

RH: Alright lemme take a couple more questions before uh he comes back. Yes?

Fan #9: Ok I have one. I’ve watched the original Galactica after seeing the new one and there’s one thing in the original series I just couldn’t figure out was how you and all the other actors could handle the triknit outfits? I just could never understand that.

RH: Which one?

Fan #9: The triknit (No idea if that’s spelled right.) outfits.

RH: Oh God. (Smiles and laughter all around)

Fan #9: How did you endure?

RH: Our little spandex, our little uh spandex g-strings you’re talking about.

Fan #9: Yeah

RH: Yeah, first of all I gotta tell ya something actually the game was a real game we evolved it. We played with it. It was half football, half basketball, right? It was actually a real game and it was really, really fun and kind of choreographic it and play with it. We would actually play games, so that part was really, really cool. So it was not just a little fake little something. But, when I look back and I see that and I thought yeah I don’t look too bad back then.

(Lots of laughter from the audience)

Yeah we were in pretty good shape back then. Where did it all go?

(More laughter from the audience)

RH: …But you know we uh, we, we… That show was a lot of fun but we worked 18 hours a day, seven days a week. We were in the back lot of Universal because it took so long to shoot everything. We were shooting very, very slow. This new show we shot very, very quickly because there’s five hand held cameras, it was digital. But the old show was long set ups, you know. We’d be shooting late into the night, a lot of night shootings. Um so we got to be very bonded as kind of a family. Hanging out in the back lot, drinking hot sake, you know air popcorn, hanging out having a little party back there, running out to do our shots, running back into the warm motor home. But believe me the back lot of Universal was FREEZING at night! That is a cold place.

Another question guys? Anyone? Yes, ah huh.

Fan #10: When I was young one of my favorite shots when you were in the Mark One Viper when you would flip all the switches and hit the boost button to launch…

RH: Oh yeah

Fan #10: … And I never saw a sequence like that in the new one and I miss that.

RH: Well, that’s true. Here we go, are you ready? (Richard goes on to mimic the being launched in a Viper from the original series to much laughter and applause.) Ugh. Is there a chiropractor in here? I need a neck adjustment. I gotta tell ya every time you did that you really through your whole neck out though and that was painful. But it was actually kind of fun. We get in these Vipers, unlike what they do today; they have back projection you know in the old Battlestar special effects. The new one of course you got the green screens they can do all kinds of cool stuff. But we would have all the crew guys waving the wings of the ship, turning it left and right.

RH: Honestly the funny part was I wasn’t going to do it because I was a SERIOUS actor. And I was looking for something really challenging and I just thought well Battlestar they’re gonna just probably you know just throw it out there just make it a copy of Star Wars and just run around and shoot them up you know. I said want serious acting you know. And then I got taken out to dinner and supplied with a lot of champagne, French champagne.

And I’m totally bombed uh he starts telling me about ok this show’s going to be a combination of Wagon Train, which was a popular show at the time, and Family, which was one of the top rated dramatic shows. So it would have action and drama, but the thing that sold me I have to admit this when I finally looked at the script he handed me and I saw all the Ralph McCrary (Not sure if I spelled it right) art. And I could see all those cool ships and those cool designs and think of myself flying through the universe, you know. (Audience laughs) It was the little kid that won out you know. In the end it wasn’t about drama or acting. It was I get to be in one of those ships you know! It’s funny what the imaginations we have.

Nevertheless, it was also… I’ve been fortunate both, the old show and the new show, were the two of the greatest casts I’ve ever been with, most friendly, warm human beings, down to earth, intelligent… I mean the new cast everybody was politically involved, cared about the world, wanted to make a difference. It wasn’t a bunch of divas you know sitting there vying for more money, more screen time. I’ve never seen such a group of people that really supported one another. I hate to say it in this business that doesn’t happen very often. Usually this business brings the best and the worst in everybody like war ok. But everybody is fighting and jockeying for position.

Did we get… Are you uh? Oh I got you! Ok here we go! How many people have ever uh… This one uh I’m gonna play this quick video and it’s a celebration really. It’s both shows casts from both shows, all the producers, all the actors talking about what Battlestar meant to them and showing some of the cool scenes from Battlestar. But it’s a real nice testament to the whole Battlestar Galactica universe.

Anybody have a quick question anybody want to ask me before we play the video? Anybody have something they’ve been thinking about? No?

Fan #11: Of your two characters which is your favorite? (At this point the video was ready to be played and it would be answered after the video.)

RH: You know for an actor it’s not even about the character necessarily maybe you like the person. Uh, but as an actor we are always looking for the most challenging character that gives you something with subtext, back story, a character struggling with his demons like so many in Battlestar. And so for me 30 years ago I loved playing the Apollo character but it didn’t really have the kind of writing they have today in terms of developing very complex characters. And I honestly think for me the Tom Zarek character was one of my favorite characters I’ve ever played. I mean I loved playing that person and you know I always get into discussions about this. I genuinely believed in that guy you know. I know killed a whole bunch of people. I know. BIIIGG DEEEALL! (All with smiles as the audience laughs.)

Fan #11: That was a crazy scene.

RH: Well you know I gotta tell you by the way that scene was probably… even though I understood from a philosophical point of view. When you are forced to a coo because you have no democracy that allows you political recourse you can’t build consensus that’s been taken away from you and you realize if you don’t agree you have no other recourse but an extreme one, right? But once you decide on that coo you have to go all the way. Anybody against you has to go. It’s the hardest thing in the whole world. But personally I mean I had to play that scene and I gotta tell you that was the hardest scene emotionally shot in my life. And thank God for the producer, director on there. He came over and talked with me and helped me to find a way to connect to that scene. But literally… oh are we ready to try it?

WonderCon Staff Member: No not yet, still working on it.

RH: I mean people don’t realize that acting is not just saying a bunch of lines. That even though your character may be doing something you necessarily agree with the point of it is that it affects you on a personal level and when your character has to do something and you bond with your character that really goes against everything inside you. And I thought you know this is a character who is morally conflicted, even though they didn’t show that part of it. The thought was even if you had to do something that you believe was right even though it came against everything you believe in it is the hardest thing you could ever do. Imagine being in war where you have to make a life and death decision about who lives and who dies. I mean you’re constantly put under those kinds of situations on Battlestar, which is why every actor on that show will tell you that every actor grew as a human being because of the situations the characters put them in. That’s how good the writing was on Battlestar.

We’re probably not going to have enough time to play it because it’s almost time… 3 more minutes? We’re not going to be able to do it unfortunately. Yes?

Fan #12: Richard, Lorne Greene what would you say about him? What would he think of think of the new series?

RH: Well I think anybody that loved Battlestar I think if you would get out of trying to compare shows and try to say that only one ways, there could only be one way to make a show right. I honestly think Lorne Greene was bigger than that. I think he would have loved the new show. I think he would have enjoyed it. I honestly do because the new show I don’t care what anybody says it still went into the core story of mankind struggling to find redemption. Mankind struggling to find its way after such a cataclysmic you know event. The struggle to get back on course and every man and woman being tested to find out whom there are and what they’re made of.

Every moment is life and death. I honestly think that was always the core of the story and I think the original story had we been on for another two years I think we would have gone darker. Where as the new show started of very, very heavy and actually started to warm up with the characters because remember in the beginning it was kind of hard to get into the characters because there were all deeply flawed, all had you know psychological issues and problems. And slowly as the show progressed we started to fall in love with those characters. Battlestar started out with loving those characters and then slowly they would have revealed the plot they would have gone the opposite direction.

Yes?

Fan #13: I have a question about the new movie that’s being kind of made that I guess is based more on the original. Um, you made a comment earlier that I totally agree with. Whenever you bring something back there is massive potential for fail.

RH: Yeah

Fan #13: Um, so my question is I know you probably can’t tell us that much about the new movie if you know anything about it. But from what you know would you be willing to be part of it? I’m kind of swinging both ways with this movie. I’m really afraid of it, but I’m kind of encouraged at the same time.

RH: Lemme say one thing. I produced the 25^th Anniversary Battlestar convention, ok. I did one convention and I will never do another one. (Audience laughs.) I know how impossible it is to (inaudible) a convention.

Let me just tell you, if I told you what it was like being chased through the halls by the staff of the Universal Sheraton trying to track me down to pay them a huge chunk of money and I’m trying to keep one step ahead of them so they don’t (inaudible as he laughs about it). You have no idea what you go through. Nevertheless um you know producing a show like that you really gain an insight and an understanding of the economics and how it all works. I think for me you know, I with the original show I just, I just… what was your question again? (Audience bursts into laughter) I’m going into another tangent ok.

Fan #13: I’m trying to gauge whether I should be dismayed or encouraged by the new movie. Would you be willing to part of it?

RH: Oh yeah, yeah. I got to see Battlestar the original movie on the IMAX. And I said I couldn’t believe, even with all the bad matte paintings from the original, that Battlestar deserved to be on the big screen would be absolutely extraordinary. So I just think that you know bringing it back I think first of all they’ve covered so much territory right?

They’ve gone back twice and where are they gonna go? Now we have the prequel 50 years before Caprica, so what territory are they going to cover? Now they’re gonna have to find I think original territory. It be one thing if they were bringing it back 20 years from now but to bring it back so soon after the re-imagined version, where are you going to find new territory to cover you know? Where people are going to be open minded to be able to accept it. I think that’s going to be one of the major challenges.

Um, I think with Brian Singer and Tom DeSanto knowing how much he loves the show he will probably find a way to balance the tone of the show between the original mythology and back story and the more edgy, darker version of the re-imagined that we just did. I think he’s going to find a way to balance the two. It’ll be edgier, darker, but he still wants to have some of that energy that the original Battlestar Galactica had. So I think that’s…I think Universal, in fact this was the message I heard. Universal felt the new show although critically acclaimed did not reach a wide enough audience that they feel is out there, so they wanted to go back and mine the original show because they felt that show reached 65 million people?

So I think the key for them is that if we can go back kind of make it uh enjoyable for the whole audience, the whole family, right? The whole family can come. Reach more people, make more money, so I think that’s one of the reasons why they want to go back and try working with the original again. Again the question will be the quality of the script, the quality of the actors; it’ll all come down to how it’ll be put together and I have no clue. I have no idea where they‘re gonna go with it. I honestly don’t. I turned down a character in the new re-imagined version during the time in which I was a little, little upset because I think Universal wasn’t listening to all of its fans that wanted to see a continuation from that point not knowing what the new show would be or where it would go, or how good it would be.

Richard gets the signal he only has time for one more question before his time is up.

Right. They’re telling me to STOP! Anyway so, so it would all come down to the kind role they have for me. If it was something I felt I can play as an actor then yes. If it was a role I couldn’t play, couldn’t believe in, than no. Anyway I want thank all of you for dealing with all this craziness. And uh go out and have a wonderful time. WonderCon is one of the most fun conventions in the whole world. I know Aaron Douglas is here. Just search out all the bars and you’ll find him. Buy him a drink. Alright guys thank you!

I truly enjoyed the Richard Hatch panel. You could tell how much he enjoyed working on both Battlestar shows and the people he worked with. He was not shy about his thoughts and definitely embraced any and all questions that came his way. He also entertained with his enthusiasm to everyone’s delight. His hour long panel felt it breezed by too quickly because we were all having so much fun. I am glad the room was as small as it was. Having a smaller audience made it feel more like just a nice get together with friends. I would love to attend another panel with Richard aga in and hopefully ask him a question the next time around.

SciFiFanGirl616