- For the vulgar term in the Re-imagined Series, see frak.
"Frack" is a Colonial expletive, roughly analagous to "shit" or even the milder "rats" or "darn" of the Original Series. Its subversive value, exploited far more extensively in the Re-imagined Series, is that it sounds like a variant of "fuck", and in the latter series it actually conveys that meaning.
There are two main ways to spell the term, but "frack" is how it appears in the Writer's Guide, dated October, 2, 1978.
With the exception of the Galactica 1980 episode "The Return of Starbuck", it is used solely in the Original Series episodes and publications relating to that series. For the first nine episodes of Galactica 1980, the term "felgercarb" is used in lieu of "frack", likely because of the "Kiddie Hour" timeslot 1980 held at the time.
Usage by episode[edit]
"Frack" appears only seventeen times in the Original Series. Most of the time, the expression is used by Starbuck.
- "Frack!" is used once each in "Saga of a Star World", "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I", "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part II", "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part II", and "Fire in Space". It is used twice in "The Magnificent Warriors".
- "Holy frack!" is used once each in "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I", "The Magnificent Warriors", "War of the Gods, Part I", "Experiment in Terra" and "The Hand of God".
- "Oh, frack!" is used twice in "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I" and once each in "The Long Patrol" and "Baltar's Escape".
- In "Greetings from Earth", Boxey says, "Oh, frack," in a classroom where Athena is teaching a group of children, loudly enough for the entire room to hear, but there is no indication that he was punished or reprimanded.
- Starbuck uses the term "frack" after being hit in the battle that results in Starbuck crashing on planet Starbuck (Galactica 1980: "The Return of Starbuck").