Ayo!
Based on an 70's show of the same name, Battlestar Galactica is an Emmy and Peabody-winning science fiction television show chronicling the struggle of the last surviving Humans against their mortal enemies, the Cylons.
Wait, wait, don't go! I know that might be a little too nerdy for you, but I'm just getting to the good stuff!
Battlestar Galactica is an intense, high brow show, but since it airs on basic cable's SciFi Channel, and can subsequently be broadcast on network television, there can be no extreme nudity or naughty language. While it is easy to skirt around certain nudity issues, it is much harder to get away with foul language on television.
So, what did the writers of Battlestar Galactica do, faced with such puritan choices? They created an entirely new word.
Frack.
Frack you. Frack your mom. What's the big fracking deal? Wanna frack? I was so fracked last night! I think you can guess which word it's replacing.
In the original 1970's series, frack was more of a descriptor of a person than a four letter expletive. In the new, re-imagined series, frack has every bit as much power as its counterpart, and has even garnered a real-life following. Well, at least with me and my sister, to say the least.
Now, I often find the word frack has more bite to it than the word it has replaced.
Even in social settings I have been known to squeeze out an occasional frack at the lack of variety at the food crafts table. "Frack this", I might mutter, at the thought of waiting in an extremely long line at the grocery store. This sends some into knowing chuckles while others will raise an eyebrow, having no clue as to the meaning of what I've just said. Ah, Nerdom. Such hidden power.
Frack will never replace the original word, of course, but it has a lifelong fan in me, and is a testament to how even a television show has the power to change language. Well, at least in me, anyway.
Oh, and if you haven't already, check out Battlestar Galactica every Friday at 9pm Eastern on the SciFi Channel, for frack's sake!
ETA
Just to note, in the original series, the word is spelled, "Frack." In the re-imagined series, it's spelled "frak".
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6 comments:
I've never heard that before. FRACK...I like it...
haha. I made up a replacement for the f-word too.
http://twitter.com/BottledLeopard/status/932335596
It sounds like a combination between the actual word and "crap" - I like it!
Oooh, good word. I use "frick" a lot, with a preschool kid around I realized I had to fix my own potty mouth when he used "f$%k mommy" in the correct manner. Perhaps I'll give "frack" a whirl. I used to curse like a trucker before da kid and oh boy did I enjoy it! (Oddly, I have never used a curse word on the blog, I guess I'm keeping it family friendly though lord knows why).
It's actually spelled "frak" - see the graffiti "FRAK EARTH" written on the walls of Galactica in the first episode back.
In the original series, it was spelled "frack". In the re-imagined series, it is spelled "frak".
I will make a note about that! :)
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