Over breakfast I could still see the sorrow in his eyes. It was clear that UNH student Pat Kelly had lost the love of his life. And maybe even his will to live.

For most students, spring break was filled with friends, sun, and maybe a few beers. For Pat Kelly, spring break contained the day he wished would never come: Mar. 20, 2009. The air date of the Battlestar Galacatica series finale.

When he returned to school the next Monday, Pat had obviously lost that spring in his step. Allowing him to say goodbye the right way, I sat down with Pat for an interview dedicated to his favorite show. We met over breakfast in the Echlin Dining Hall in Bartels and the mere thought of Battlestar brought his beaming smile back into existence.

CELINA: Tell us a little bit about the premise of the show.

PAT: Basically, the twelve colonies of man have been totally decimated by a surprise nuclear attack perpetrated by the cylons. The Battlestar Galactica warship assembles a refugee fleet and begins a search for the home of the lost thirteenth colony of man: Earth.

C: When did the series begin?

P: It originally aired as a miniseries in December 2003 and then the series started in 2004.

C: Did you watch it from the beginning?

P: Oh yeah. I used to be obsessed with Stargate and they had the commercial for Battlestar during it. I was like “that looks fun.”

C: It was also a series in the 1970s, is that correct?

P: Yes. God what crappy sci-fi.

C: Where and when did it air?

P: Fridays at 10 p.m. on the Sci-Fi channel.

C: So you stayed in and watched Battlestar on Friday nights?

P: It made many a Friday night better.

C: Who is your favorite character?

P: Lee Adama.

C: Why is that?

P: All of the characters go through huge transformations but the whole story about him and his father just really caught my interest. He goes through one of the most significant changes through the show and I think it’s very moving.

C: How did you feel about the final episode?

P: I was very excited to see it. The tension they series has built up over the past four seasons was so immense that you just had to see it. So much was answered in the last 15 minutes that it was hard to believe, but it was so rewarding and you were happy to see where the characters ended up.

C: Did you cry?

P: A little bit, yeah. For Laura Roslin the President of the Twelve Colonies.

C: How about the series ending as a whole?

P: It ended on the show’s own terms, which is more that you can say of Stargate or X-Files. Those shows just lost power. The creator of Battlestar had a goal created a goal for the show and that goal was fulfilled. At least no one can ever say that it was dragged out past its expiration date.

C: What about the show made you hooked?

P: It addressed so many issues that matter to us today that it made us easy for us to empathize with [its characters]. It touched upon fundamental human issues that have pervaded societies all over the world throughout history in a really interesting way.
C: Do you think it will leave a legacy?

P: No question. I think it’s changed what people consider sci-fi can do. It’s a sea change like Star Trek was in the sixties. It put an end to that era of sci-fi and made it a genre instead of just a sub-genre.

C: What do you have to say to people who haven’t seen it?

P: If the name turns you off, get over it. It’s a show worth your time. It was a really compelling story told in a really compelling manner.