Unless you’ve been under a rock you know that the reconceived Battelstar Galactica concluded its run this past weekend. I need to rewatch the finale since so many things happened (and if you didn’t watch it and want to stop reading now), but I wanted to say again how well the character of Laura Roslin (played by Mary McDonnell) was handled in the series.
I watched the special leading up to the final episode and impressed that when the creators went to pitch the series to Bonnie Hammer (who then ran the Sci-Fi network and now is the President of NBC Universal cable) they highlighted the fact that the president would be a woman. That got her intrigued and interested. Then when they said they were making Starbuck a woman it sold the show. (See what a difference it makes to have women in decision making positions.)
Another thing I learned was that Mary McDonnell was their first choice for the part and it was actually written for her. The part was so juicy that she couldn’t refuse and her character evolved over the four seasons as much as any, from a reluctant and terrified leader (see earlier post) to a strong and crafty leader. And, she suffered through cancer for the entire series. You could see her decline so intensely through her amazing mane of hair that we actually got to see in the last episodes that featured all of the characters lives before they were stuck in space.
Last week McDonnell and her co-star Edward James Olmos were at the UN (the UN!) talking about the show and screened the finale. How cool.
She addressed the issue of women’s leadership with the LA Times:
The United Nations. A doctor in your stint on “Grey’s Anatomy.” The president of the colonies! All powerful roles in society for women. Do you feel a sense of duty to portray these roles in a certain manner?
I don’t know if it’s a sense of duty, but I do feel a sense of responsibility to try and find out the truth of it all. Culturally, we really still are getting used to women in these positions. Thank God there are millions of them around the world, but in the media we’re still getting used to them and trying to find a way to portray women in power truthfully, from the inside out rather than typically or [using] the ideas that the male culture has held about what they would be like if they finally got there … . The point for me would be to get so many women out there in these roles that we stop noticing.
What an awesome quote!
But the best news is that McDonnell will not be disappearing from our small screens now that Battlestar is gone. EW is reporting that she has just signed on to co-star with Kyra Sedgwick is a multi-episode arc of The Closer.
McDonnell’s alter ego, Capt. Christina Hatcher, runs the department’s Force Investigation Division and is slated to debut early into The Closer’s forthcoming fifth season.
It’s a battle of TV’s feminist icons!
I can’t believe that EW write the word feminist in a story. I am so excited for The Closer now even more than ever.
‘Battlestar Galactica’: Presenting the president, Mary McDonnell (LA Times)
‘The Closer’ exclusive: It’s McDonnell vs. Sedgwick! (EW)
Very nice observations, Melissa! Great read. I am so happy for Mary McDonnell’s success on this show — she has helped to break a glass ceiling, in many ways, not to mention, she is just such an exciting, capable actor. Her work in the film Passion Fish is, I think, one of the most brilliant turns by a woman in the 90s.
I think it should be noted that Mary McDonnell rules the world and we all want to be like her when we grow up. She rocks every role and I’m proud to call her my fave actress!