And it’s been well worth the wait. Director Ridley Scott’s decision to head back to the edit suite and cut together one last version of his flat-out classic film has been heavily rewarded, with a genuinely definitive version of an iconic, visually stunning and downright intelligent piece of cinema. Make no mistake: this is by distance the best version of Blade Runner. And it’s never looked better, either.

The core of Blade Runner, of course, remains the same, with Harrison Ford’s Deckard (the Blade Runner of the title) on the trail of four ‘replicants’, cloned humans that are now illegal. And he does so across an amazing cityscape that’s proven to be well ahead of its time, with astounding visuals that defied the supposed limits of special effects back in 1982.

Backed up with a staggering extra fe...
what an absolute bargain, 2010-02-17
i saw this advertised for such i silly amount of money that any film loving person would be a fool to miss out on.i was considering buying the edition that came in a limited edition plastic suitcase,the only difference is that you dont get the unicorn plastic toy"cheap plastic"and a pointless plastic toy representing the futuristic vehicles in the film"again cheap plastic.so to round up this set is by a country mile better than its supposed big brother edition as its sold for pennies whereas you would pay near £50 for thwe suitcase set and that extra £40 pays for the 2 cheap plastic toys that could be bought in any rubbish toy shop id guess.the films themselves are outstanding and you couldnt ask for a more complete box set.the metal tin it all comes in is sturdy and has a nice ridged effect that suits the films dark theme quite nicely.its so cheap i was even thinking of buying 2 copies so that i could keep one sealed for collection,in fact im going to:).honestly buy this set before they run out of stock or the price goes back up.

Thus begins the epic battle and eventual retreat of a "ragtag fleet" of humans, searching for the mythical planet Earth under the military command of Adama (Edward James ...
humanities children are coming home, 2010-02-18
It is more than 40 years since the first Cylon war ended with an armistice and the Cylons left to find their own world.

The last of the great Battlestars from those wars, the Galactica, is about to be taken out of service and turned into a floating museum and tourist attraction, and its commanding officer about to retire.

Every year, on a given date, on a designated satellite station, representatives from both species were to meet; except the Cylon's never turned up - until now. This date coincides with the ceremony for the mothballing of the Galactica.

Now, humanities children are returning home.

I avoided this programme as remakes, particularly of well loved programmes, do have a tendency not to live up to the memory of their predecessors. This one, however, was different in more ways than one.

It does not try to remake the original series (something which I wasn't a fan of) though it does contain characters with similar names. We still have Commander Adama - except now he is William Adama (Edward James Olmos), and he no longer has the glowing father-son relationship of the first series with his son Apollo (now Lee Adama - Jamie Bamber). In fact relationship between father and son is strained.

There is still "Starbuck", except now he is female Lieutenant Kara Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) - this appears to have caused a great deal of debate amongst fans. However, this is not the only character which has suffered a gender alteration - Boomer is now Lieutenant Sharon Valerii (Grace Park) - but this change seems to have caused less controversy.

Returning with this series is Baltar, now scientist Gaius Baltar (James Callis). Gone is the robotic dog (which is no loss from the little I can remember of it).

New characters include President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), number six (Tracia Helfer) and Leoben Conoy (Callum Keith Rennie); as well as the return of some lesser remembered characters.

Unlike the previous series this version sticks too familiar military (mainly naval aircraft carrier) terminology, and the characters contained within are flawed rather than the perfect members of the human race as in the 1970s/80s versions.

I enjoyed watching the inserted acknowledgements of the older programme - for example, at the beginning of this pilot film one character is looking at the sketches of the old Cylon models as featured in the old TV show, the type that is referred to as a metallic toaster.

There are extras on the disc:

"The Lowdown"- which is a 20 minute featurette - this appears to be a number of interviews with the main characters justifying the changes that the makers have made, especially with the character of Starbuck. Interviews included were on London Bridge, in busy traffic (Jamie Bamber), in a park (Edward James Olmos) and while driving a car in traffic (Katee Sackhoff) - my question is why interview the stars of the show in such difficult places, did someone in production not realise that at times it is very difficult to hear what is being said.

English subtitles are also available on this disc.

Overall, and to my surprise, I found this escapism thoroughly enjoyable.

Inevitably, this final season wraps up many of the mysteries and narrative questions of Battlestar Galactica, none of which we intend to spoil here. The fate of humanity, the hunt for the fabled earth and the further revelations about the Cylons are packed in, and the standard throughout this final season remains sky high.

The actual ending itself, as it happens, proved quite divisive, but arguably that’s part of the strength of Battlestar Galactica. Because this is a show that, right to the end, doesn’t take the easy road, and delivers some of the most intelligent, dark drama of recent years. It’s a staggering achievement, and this final season, along with the entirety of the show itself, is set to still be talked abou...
A fitting end to a great series - no spoilers, 2010-03-11
For tbe first 2 seasons of BSG I couldn't really see the fuss. I watched the whole thing on DVD and the first two seasons took me 2 years. I only occasionally watched an episode and rarely felt compelled to watch another straight away. There were high points, particularly the stand-off with Pegasus. But I didn't feel particular intrigued or interested in the characters.

But the slog was worth it because the character development in those first two seasons were essential for the immense satisfaction from Season 3 onwards. The complex multi-layered plots, fascinating characters, mystery. It has everything. I watched the final 3 seasons in about a month.

No spoilers here. Just to say for those in doubt, the final revelations are worth the wait. Most of the questions are resolved in a satisfying finale but it still remains fairly enigmatic.

Sadly, the fact that it’s a science fiction show on the exterior is likely to put some off Battlestar Galactica. It really shouldn’t. The writers superbly weave in politics, religion, action, and excellent character work, bringing together an outstanding company of actors. Edwards James Olmos and Mary McDonnell are the stand-outs, but there are so many performances of note, it’s hard to highlight too many more. It goes without saying, of course, that the majority of science fiction enthusiasts will be blown away by many of the collected episodes here.

And, bluntly, it’s a real treat to watch them in high definition. While perhaps the earlier episodes of Battlestar Galactica don’t look quite as striking as the later instalments, this is still a show with high production values that gleam in high definition. Cinematica...
Best Valentine's present ever!!!, 2010-03-12
I got this for a Valentine's day present for my boyfriend and he loved it!!! He had been going on about getting it for some time but was waiting until Christmas to put it on his list but I said for something different on Valentine's, I would get him this and he loved it!!! It comes in a very stylish collector's tin and will be a collector's item for him to pass on to whoever whenever.
Very happy with my recent purchase from Amazon :)

What’s more, plenty of people must be busy eating their words, too. Back when it was announced that Battlestar Galactica was being revived, feelings were mixed, not helped by the divided reaction to the mini-series that kickstarted this iteration of the show. Yet over the past couple of years, it’s cleverly proven to be a tense, gripping mix of action and drama, with a tightly-woven plot.

This third season? It’s arguably the best so far. A delicious soup of mystery, relevations, actions, striking characters and winding narrative, Battlestar Galactica is also served superbly well by a quality cast, some quality special effects, and a real focus on what matters from behind the camera.

As usual, there are no spoilers in this review, although it’s not giving much away to say that the deadly cylons have to share the screen time with some intriguing and revealing character develo...
This is where it gets really good!, 2010-02-08
I was a slightly skeptical viewer of the first 2 seasons of Battlestar Galactica. At times the show was wonderful, thrilling, fascinating and intriguing. Then you'd get a few dull episodes with nothing but space battles and too much testosterone.

But the slow developnent of plots and characters really pays off in Season 3. The drama is so interesting that after watching an episode you cannot wait to see the next one.

They have created a concept so compelling that I don't want the show to end. Thank gods we have Caprica.