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The following column contains MINOR SPOILERS for the upcoming "Battlestar Galactica" telemovie "Razor."

After touching on issues like abortion, stem cell research, suicide bombers and various aspects of morale ambiguity, it appears that "Battlestar Galactica" has finally found a subject that some say will chase off its remaining viewers for good.

Is it immigration? The Iraq war? The answer to what happened to Tony Soprano?

No. Ronald D. Moore had the audacity to use the telemovie NBC Universal and SciFi Channel will release in November to out a popular (and very dead) character of "Battlestar Galactica."

The nerve!

That's right, my friends. Lt. Gaeta is still nice and cozy in his plush closet, but that cold-hearted bitch of a commander named Adm. Helena Cain is ... gasp! ... a lesbian.

I hope you covered your child's ears, because just the thought of having a character attracted to members of the same-sex is either the most shameful move the producers for "Battlestar Galactica" has ever taken, or it's just a dumb ploy to get ratings.

It should be no surprise to you, however, that I am not a member of either camp. In fact, I think it's absolutely terrific that Adm. Cain is not yet another heterosexual character. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but sheesh, it was starting to get a little monotonous.

I am kidding, a little. I have been pushing for a good gay character on the show since the beginning, but I didn't want that character's sexuality to dominate the story. And while Cain's homosexuality plays a key role in her characterization and motivations, it doesn't take over "Razor." But in reading some of the reactions to the story outing Cain -- which you read on Airlock Alpha first -- you would think that the entire two hours is going to be focused solely on the fact that our favorite admiral has a taste for blondes like the Gina version of the Caprica Six model.

"I'm not sure what could be profitably gleaned from a film about their relationship beforehand, given the series already covers betrayal, moral relativism, our perception of consciousness and the dehumanizing effect of warfare quite well," said Tryper, who posted a comment on the popular lesbian-centric Web site After Ellen. "There is a distinct risk that the film could drive very easily into a number of hackneyed, negative stereotypes, coupled with the kind of rough 'narrative justice' that would be typical in the very worst exploitation films."

As eloquent as those words are, I just have a hard time being worried that Cain is going to set a bad example for lesbians. Tryper doesn't say this in her comments, but there is a lot of sentiment on message boards and other fan areas discussing our story that says it's wrong to make a gay character evil. To make a gay character so hard-nosed, and so cruel.

I just have to ask why? It is wrong for a gay character to be human like everyone else? To be a bitch? To be cruel? To be on the verge of evil? If it is, then it seems we are no closer to recognizing members of the gay and lesbian community as equals than we ever were before, and I'm talking about this on the perspective of the gay community itself.

I don't want to see ultra-negative stereotypes of gay people being portrayed in television or films, but I'm talking about the way gays were portrayed in movies from the 1950s and 1960s (if you've never seen it, check out the documentary "The Celluloid Closet" sometime), where gays were flamboyantly effeminate, and then suffered a very cruel death for no reason except for the fact that they were "annoying."

That's not what Cain is depicting here. She fell in love with a woman who ended up being involved with a group she despised the most. It's not just a lesbian betrayal ... it's a betrayal between two people who love each other, resulting in one side seeking some of the cruelest revenge.

If Cain were a man, would his actions of reacting to this betrayal by Gina by allowing the worst things imaginable happen to her be a horrible reflection of heterosexuality?

As much as some people want to make it seem this way, we as people are not completely identified by our sexuality alone. While your sexuality might contribute to who you partner with, you are still a human being who is identified by your actions, not by who you love.

When the men cruelly rape Gina (thank goodness this is all off camera), these men are not being defined by their gender or their heterosexuality. They are being judged by their actions. It doesn't matter what their sexuality is, or who they are. The same goes for Cain. She does have to be judged harshly by the audience, but not as a lesbian ... but as a human being.

It was a bold move for the writers to reveal Cain's sexuality, although it's really not a tremendous surprise. They didn't do it to be sensational. They did it because love always makes a story stronger, and betrayal is an emotion that makes for excellent drama.

Stop thinking "Razor" is all about sexuality, and don't judge this movie until you've actually sat down and watched it. We say it all the time to people we try to introduce to BSG ... now it's advice that we can really take ourselves.

SyBits

Just so you know, we will be providing daily updates and goodies from next weeks NBC Universal digital press tour in Vancouver, B.C., beginning Tuesday here at Airlock Alpha. I will be representing the site at this awesome event that will feature "Battlestar Galactica," "Stargate: Atlantis," "Flash Gordon" and more.

Besides all the great coverage you will find here, I also will be feeding stories to our good friends at GateWorld, the best damn Stargate site in existence.

I am going to be constantly on the move for three days, and not sure how much access I will get to the Internet. But I will do my best to keep a running blog going in the SyFy Lounge area of the Airlock Alpha , so be sure to keep reading! And there also will be a lot of pictures!

So make sure that you're reading Airlock Alpha and GateWorld this coming week -- and all summer long -- to get your first-hand look at what SciFi Channel has to offer!

Hey Michael, I like your column a lot. I also really like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and I am afraid of being terribly bored when I finish it soon. Do you know of any shows like it you could recommend? I've already seen 'Battlestar Galactica.') Keep up the good work.
-- Spencer Gordon

Great question, and wow, I miss "Buffy." The easy answer is to take up "Angel" next. It's not as light as "Buffy" (if you can even call "Buffy" light).

Of course, if you want to see some genius Joss Whedon, then I have to recommend "Firefly." That, my friend, is amazing.

Other than that, if you're looking for something both fun and serious, the new "Doctor Who" really fits that bill, as well as SciFi Channel's "Eureka."

Hope it helps! And I'm sure our readers will have some ideas as well.

If Ron Moore and David Eick want to do a big screen version of the new "Battlestar Galactica," then Glen Larson should just stand aside and let them do it. Why? Because who would want to see a big screen continuation of the original television series, which was not very good to begin with. With the success of the new series, I rather doubt that Glen Larson will ever get his movie made, and I don't think that there is enough nostalgia or hardcore fans to support his project.
-- Steven Poisson

Steven, I swear you are just trying to get me in trouble with fans of the original series. So I have to choose my words carefully.

I do think that Larson will allow NBCU to go to the big screen with its remake of his show, if the price is right. That's not to say that Larson is only in it for the money, but this is his creation, after all, and he should be compensated for letting NBCU go to the big screen with a property that he has the movie rights to.

I'm not going to slam the original series, because it was a product of its time. And if it wasn't for the original series, we wouldn't have "Battlestar Galactica" today. Just remember, there is going to be a big piece of Larson's "Battlestar Galactica" when we see the telemovie being released this November. I'll tell you what, I can't wait to see it!

If you want to send me a letter, just drop me an e-mail at mhinman@airlockalpha.com and you might find your words right in this very spot

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Michael Hinman, named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2006, is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha, writing out of Tampa, Fla. He can be reached at mhinman@airlockalpha.com.