'Battlestar' secrets

Oh, frak. Starbuck doesn't have the best luck, but in the upcoming season of "Battlestar Galactica," it's about to get much worse.

Actress Katee Sackhoff sat down with reporters on the Vancouver set of her latest film "White Noise 2" and revealed what's in store for her "BSG" character, Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace.

"Yeah, I can definitely tell you some stuff," says the upbeat blonde. "I just lost a huge battle with the producers as far as my hair length, what it should and should not be. So it's gonna be gone, like shorter than it was in the miniseries."

By shorter, does she mean Natalie Portman-"V for Vendetta"-buzzed head short?

"Uh, kind of like that. Yeah," confirms Sackhoff. "She goes through a lot of turmoil in the first four episodes, more than we've ever seen her (go through). But the depths of despair she finds herself in are pretty deep at the end of Episode Four and she kind of reestablishes her commitment to the military in Episode Five, which is the haircut."

Starbuck arguably is the Galactica's best Viper pilot and has a tough attitude to match. She hasn't always had the proper respect for authority.

Starbuck's private life isn't any prettier either, a sore spot for the actress, judging by her rant on her character's fickleness.

"And then Starbuck finds another man," says Sackhoff. "Like, what is that? I called (the show) a soap opera in an interview. They're mad at me. It is a soap opera; she's sleeping with every . . . guy on the show. Is that not a soap opera? I'm sorry. And she loves every one of them. I mean, like, obviously it's a soap opera.

"So there is another man that comes into her life, and it is a very unlikely man, and that everyone is going to be so livid over," she continues, and then adds with a laugh, "OK, fine, you broke me. It's Adama."

While Sackhoff keeps the identity of this new love interest (could it be a Cylon this time?) a mystery, we're wondering what happened to Samuel T. Anders (Michael Trucco), whom Starbuck was married to in the show's second season finale.

The last time we saw Anders, he was suffering from a nasty case of pneumonia, which isn't really grounds for divorce. He could die, which would explain Starbuck's depression, but it wouldn't be from his illness, since spoilers online claim that he'll survive long enough to take part in resisting the Cylon occupation of New Caprica.

Like Starbuck, Sackhoff has learned to weather criticism, especially from fans of the original "Battlestar Galactica" series in which Lt. Starbuck was male.

"There are definitely still people out there who are purists, and they don't want anything to do with Starbuck being a female, and that's fine," she says. "They may have the same name and the same habits, but for the most part it's not even the same character. So, they still talk crap about me and that's fine. I'm developing a very thick skin."

The actress is grateful for how well the show is doing on the Sci Fi channel, where it regularly draws 3 million or more viewers.

"The network is so great as far as the topics that we discuss. We've pushed the envelope many times," she says. "I think that were we on NBC, we wouldn't get away with things like that. There was talk at one point of putting us on NBC. I think everybody on the cast was like, 'No. We'd be canceled after a week. There's no way.' We wouldn't get the ratings, and we all know that. So we're happy being on Sci Fi right now."

And so are the critics. "Battlestar Galactica," along with four other prime-time entertainment series, was recently named a Peabody Award winner for its "parallax considerations of politics, religion, sex, even what it means to be 'human.' "

"It's such an amazing honor. You know, we're right in there with 'South Park,' " says Sackhoff. "Everybody's really excited . . . I was shocked but I wasn't, you know? Pleasantly surprised that 'Battlestar's' finally getting the recognition it deserves."

Production on the "BSG's" third season began on April 10, overlapping with Sackhoff's "White Noise 2" shooting schedule, and will continue through December. "Occupation," the season premiere, will air in October.