Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell clearly provide the veteran starpower on the SciFi Channel's new "Battlestar Galactica." Fortunately, however, series creator Ronald D. Moore knows he's got one fine ensemble on his hands, and the two heavyweights never overshadow the other cast members.

Each of the cast members have made their own unique contributions over the course of the show's first season. But, without a doubt, it is Grace Park who has simply become the series' standout talent.

The fact that Park and her character are so central to "Battlestar" is, on one level, surprising only that she seems like such a new actor -- she is listed last in the show's main title credits.

However, while she is certainly hasn't been around as long as Olmos or McDonnell have, Park isn't exactly new to observant science-fiction fans. She's guested on episodes of "Dark Angel," "Stargate SG-1," "The Outer Limits," and other shows. In fact, she appeared as a recurring character, Fran, in the short-lived UPN series "Jake 2.0."

(Then, of course, there's the confusion between Grace Park and actress Linda Park who plays Hoshi Sato on "Star Trek: Enterprise." So much so that at least one sci-fi fan site mistakes Grace Park for Linda Park. For the record, in an interview, Grace Park says the two actresses are not related.)

It's odd, really, that so much ire has been cast at Moore's decision to make Starbuck a woman because he kept Starbuck as essentially the same swaggering, cigar-smoking rascal that appeared in the original series -- with, simply, a change of personal plumbing.

It's all of the other characters, including Col. Tigh and Commander Adama, that Moore has made look and act very different from their earlier versions.

That's no more true than the character of Boomer. Played ably in the original as a burly, dark-skinned man (and second-tier character) by Herb Jefferson, Boomer today is a lithe, attractive woman played by Park -- and very much at the center of the story. So much so that Boomer is (at least) two separate characters.

There's the Boomer who's the sleeper-agent Cylon aboard Galactica who struggled all through the first season with her awakening sense of her true self, going so far as to put a gun in her mouth and attempt suicide.

Then there's the Boomer on Caprica whose mission has been to accompany and get close to Helo. This Boomer knows she's a Cylon, but seems to harbor misgivings about her mission. Number Six has referred to the Boomer model as weak.

(We've seen a third copy of Boomer, too, but that was just a glimpse -- enough to tip off Helo that something was wrong with the Boomer version he was with.)

Taking on either version of Boomer alone would prove to be a substantial acting job for Park. Together, it's an Emmy-worthy challenge.

Unlike a lot of dual roles which actors take on, the versions of Boomer that Park plays are neither exact clones of each other nor Jekyll/Hyde opposites. Such easy same/different distinction would seem to make the acting easier. But the Boomer characters are much more nuanced. There is a lot which is similar between them, but there are also significant differences.

Watching the episodes, sometimes I wonder how Park keeps track of which Boomer she's playing in any given scene. But the fact is that she does, and by doing so, we viewers also easily are able to tell our Boomers apart. In turn, Park has made Boomer one of the most compelling characters of the series.

We all know the Emmys are notoriously sci-fi-averse. That's a shame. If Park were playing on a mainstream series, her work would win a statue -- with ease.

The season finale of "Battlestar Galactica" airs Friday at 10 p.m. ET on SciFi Channel. The second season of 20 episodes will begin in July.

A former entertainment journalist, Scott Nance is a member of the USS Chesapeake, an independent science-fiction and Star Trek club in the Washington, D.C., area. He is a columnist for Airlock Alpha, and can be reached at scottnance@airlockalpha.com.