Toni Graphia

Toni Graphia
Role:	Co-Executive Producer Writer
BSG Universe:	Re-imagined Series
Date of Birth:
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month! ,
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IMDb profile

Toni Graphia was a co-executive producer and writer on the Re-imagined Series.

Biographical Notes

Toni Graphia has previously written multiple episodes of the hit series Carnivale, Roswell, and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, as well as single episodes for such shows as Chicago Hope, Melrose Place, Cop Rock, Life Goes On, Quantum Leap and China Beach. She worked as a consulting producer alongside executive producer Ronald D. Moore on both Roswell and Carnivale and was brought on board as a co-executive producer for the first season of the Re-imagined Series. She continued to work as a writer and co-executive producer on the second season.

According to Sarah Warn, editor of the AfterEllen.com website, in March 2006 Graphia appeared on a Writers Guild panel of gay and lesbian TV writers even though she reportedly said: "I'm not out, so when they asked me [to be on the panel], my first response was, how did you get my name? My friends said, 'This is the year to be gay with Brokeback Mountain and all. If you were ever going to do it, now is the time.' If you invite me back next year, I'll be able to tell you if I was discriminated against."

During the panel, Graphia said that sometimes resistance to gay and lesbian characters comes not just from the networks or advertisers, but other writers, Warn reports. When Graphia suggested a lesbian story line for Carnivale (HBO), which chronicled the lives of a group of traveling carnival performers during the Depression, she said she was met with "some homophobia in my own writers room."

"It was like this big wall of resistance," Graphia reportedly said. "This actually got said to me: 'Back in the '30s, they didn't have lesbians.' "

Toni Graphia left the series by the end of Season 2, and next worked as a co-executive producer on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Contributions to Battlestar Galactica

Role in the Creative Team

As co-executive producer and one of the original writers hired for the first season, Graphia played a key role in shaping the series' narrative and characters. Having previously worked with Ronald D. Moore on Roswell and Carnivale, she was an integral part of the creative team that established the show's distinctive voice and approach to science fiction storytelling.

Writing Philosophy and Approach

Graphia expressed particular admiration for the show's rich ensemble of characters:

"One of the things I love about Battlestar Galactica is that the show features a rich range of supporting characters. From a chain-smoking doctor to a moody priestess who's known to curse, the characters are always surprising and fresh."

This philosophy of character development extended throughout her work on the series, particularly in her approach to creating complex, morally ambiguous figures who defied simple categorization as heroes or villains.

Major Episodes and Character Development

"Bastille Day"

Graphia was tasked with writing "Bastille Day", the first episode of the series not written by Moore, which carried significant weight:

"Coming in as the first person to write an episode apart from Ron Moore, I did feel a lot of pressure. Ron is so brilliant and created such an epic piece. Coming in after him, I really wanted to match his voice and do justice to the material."

Her main duty on the episode was to introduce the character of Tom Zarek, whom she approached not as a simple villain but as a complex figure with legitimate grievances. Graphia explained her character conception:

"We saw Tom Zarek as someone who had created a lot of trouble for the 'right reasons.' He had committed terrorist acts in the name of preventing his colony and his people from being exploited. Zarek is not a moustache-twirling villain. He's a something of a rogue hero, and he's supposed to be very likeable."

Graphia also chose the episode's title, drawing inspiration from the French Revolution:

"Graphia dubbed the episode 'Bastille Day' as its plotline reminded her of the historic march on the Bastille which triggered the French Revolution in 1789."

Working with fellow writer Carla Robinson, Graphia was also responsible for naming the Tom Zarek character.

"We knew we probably wanted something starting with a 'Z' for his surname, because a 'Z' sounds strong and futuristic. And we wanted him to have a religious-sounding name for his first name, so we looked at a number of Saints' names. His original name was Peter Zarek, but that didn't clear with our legal department. So we changed it to Tom."

Additionally, Graphia made the crucial decision to save Cally Henderson's character from death in the original script:

"In the first draft of the script, Cally was killed. But several people, including Ron, felt that they didn't want the show to portray any of our female characters as victims, because our women are very strong. So we changed it to Cally fighting back, and I was actually very happy about that."

"Flesh and Bone"

For her second major episode, "Flesh and Bone", Graphia tackled one of the series' most controversial and challenging subjects.

"The concept I originally pitched for 'Flesh and Bone' was a death penalty episode. We talked about doing an episode in which a guy commits a murder on one of the ships, and wanted to look at how he would be punished for his crime. But then we thought, 'Why don't we make it the ultimate criminal — a Cylon? The Cylons didn't just murder one human being, they murdered our entire civilization!' And it really evolved from there."

The episode ultimately explored deeper philosophical themes about the nature of humanity and warfare.

"The episode ultimately explored how people dehumanize their enemy. That has happened in every war since the beginning of time. If people see the Cylons as just machines, they can do anything to them. But we also wanted to explore the Cylons' claim that they do have souls. We wanted to create some doubts in Kara's mind about this guy's nature."

For the episode's psychological dimensions, Graphia drew inspiration from acclaimed films:

"While writing 'Flesh and Bone', Graphia drew inspiration from the movies Silence of the Lambs and Dead Man Walking as she decided how to depict Kara's relationship with her Cylon prisoner and capture Kara's feelings during his final moments of life."

Graphia was also conscious of the episode's contemporary political relevance, particularly regarding prisoner treatment and torture. She explained the balancing act required in the writing:

"In some of the early drafts, we went a little further with the torture scenes, but we toned that down for various reasons. In one draft Leoben had electrodes hooked up to him like they do in so many other TV torture shows, but Ron decided we weren't going to do any fancy torture techniques, because the show doesn't do a lot of high-tech stuff. And the heart of the episode wasn't really about the method of torture, it was about one of the show's most tough-ass characters developing a little empathy towards the enemy. Through that, we could kind of say something about how you shouldn't dehumanize the enemy if you don't know them."

Season Two

Continuing her work into the second season, Graphia remained enthusiastic about the series' direction and potential. She expressed confidence in the show's continued success:

"We've got some really great stuff planned for season two. We're very proud of what we accomplished in season one, and season two is going to be a great continuation of that. I think people are going to love it."

Her only writing credit for the second season was "Resistance."

Writer credits for "Battlestar Galactica"

• Season 1:
  • Bastille Day
  • Flesh and Bone
• Season 2:
  • Resistance

See also: Episodes written by Toni Graphia

Notes

• Graphia's work on "Bastille Day" marked a significant milestone as the first non-Moore scripted episode of the series, establishing a template for other writers to contribute to the show's distinctive voice.
• Her approach to character development, particularly with Tom Zarek, demonstrated the series' commitment to moral complexity and political nuance that would become hallmarks of the show.
• The decision to save Cally's character in "Bastille Day" had long-term implications for the series, as Nicki Clyne's character became increasingly important in subsequent seasons.
• "Flesh and Bone" remains one of the series' most controversial episodes, exemplifying Graphia's willingness to tackle difficult contemporary issues through the lens of science fiction.

References