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.

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.

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...
BATTLESTAR BOX SET, 2010-03-08
This is a great item, mainly of course because of the quality of the series itself. However, the tin box with Centurion embossed lid and the internal stowage for the 4 sets of discs (series 4/5 are in one set)are really impressive. The internal stowage method is very effective and lookslike what you might use to transport hi tech nuclear devices! You need to treat the tin box with kid gloves to avoid scratches. Enjoy.

The story of Battlestar Galactica: Razor actually focuses quite a lot on a different Battlestar, the Pegasus. Throughout the movie, we see it under the command of the love-to-hate Admiral Helena Cain, while we also follow Lieutenant Kendra Shaw under her tutelage, and Lee Adama’s first mission in charge of the Pegasus.

Naturally too, Battlestar Galactica: Razor isn’t shy of Cylons, as we see them in the infancy of their attack on humankind. And all of these ingredients make for some interesting back story to the main show, and a great one-off piece of entertainment too. It doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to the action sequences, and there’s some worthwhile character work in there too.

While clearly intended as an appetite-whetter for the fourth season of Battlestar Gala...
Battlestar Galactica: Razor (DVD) 2007, 2010-01-09
On my opinion Razor is a good quality film based on casting and main actors taken from one of my favorite sci fi tv series: Battlestar Galactica. You must see it!