Frak

"Frak" is a potent profanity in the language of the Twelve Colonies. It is a bowdlerized version of the real-life expletive "fuck", and can seemingly be used in the same ways:

• The term can describe sexual relations:
  • "You know what? I don't care who or what he fraks. He saved my ass down there, all right?" - Starbuck (Flight of the Phoenix)
• The term, as a perjorative, can be used to curse someone you vilify or find disgusting:
  • "Frakkin' rats" - Helo (Bastille Day)
  • "Frak you" - Helena Cain (Resurrection Ship, Part II)
• The term can be used in several variations and compound words:
  • "Talk to me, you motherfrakker!" - Cally Henderson (Valley of Darkness)
  • "Command frak-up" - Pvt. Scott Kelso (Final Cut)
  • "frakwit" - Chiefs Galen Tyrol and Laird (Pegasus (Extended Version))
  • "frakkoids" - Chief Tyrol (The Woman King)
  • "I guaran-frakkin-tee you, I will put you down this time for good." - Starbuck (Scar)
• The term also is used as an adjective to describe an action or object that is subjectively considered outrageous, extreme, or ill-advised.
  • "Does anybody else think that this plan is frakking nuts?" - Gaius Baltar (Fragged)
• The term can be used as a means of conveying shock or surprise:
  • "Oh, frak me! Radiological alarm!" - Crashdown (33)
• The term can also be used to express agreement:
  • "Frakkin' A!" - Sue-Shaun (Resistance)
• It can be used in acronyms:
  • "RFN" is an acronym for "Right Frakking Now" - Lee Adama (Valley of Darkness).
  • "Fubar" is an acronym for "Frakked Up Beyond All Recognition" - Galen Tyrol (A Day in the Life).

Notes

• "Frak" is derived from the Original Series expletive, "frack," a term used in character dialogue far less often (or "colorfully") than its counterpart in the Re-imagined Series. The Re-imagined Series's production team said they felt that "frack" should be a four-letter word, hence "frak".

• This profanity's real-world derivation can be found in this article on Wikipedia. The terms "frak" and "frack" were obviously used in dialogue in the Original Series to comply with FCC and other broadcast decency standards because the FCC has jurisdiction over the content of broadcast TV. "Frak" carries over this standard to the Re-imagined Series despite the point that the FCC does not currently have jurisdiction to impose decency standards over paid services such as cable TV (where the Re-imagined Series airs in America). However, the use of a profanity substitute rather than the "real" word is convenient should episodes be broadcast on broadcast TV (i.e., NBC and its affiliates) because editing for verbal content would not be required. Further, language still qualifies for changes to the TV viewer rating for the show (Battlestar normally gets a TV-14 rating, but has had times where a TV-M rating might have been used for adult content).

See Also

• List of terms in the Re-imagined Series