Battlestar Galactica: Razor

"Battlestar Galactica: Razor", a two-hour mini-movie as an extension of the series, is quite simply, a history lesson. History lessons--although this is a large generalization--are boring. Assuming you know history, history lessons are not exciting, tension-filled, or suspenseful because they contain an outcome already known by the audience.

When the audience watches the attack on the Battlestar Pegasus in the opening scenes of "Razor", they are not fearful or worried about the characters because they know the characters will be "okay" in the end. The characters aren't going to die here, they aren't going to kill "so-and-so" because the audience has a window into the future that tells them who is going to live and who is going to die. This creates a lack of sympathy with the protagonists because the audience can't worry about the characters, they can't put themselves in their shoes. Instead, they are watching them from a distance, through a history book. (This was also the same problem I had with LOST season 4 and its use of flashforwards.)

So what's the point of creating a history lesson, then? In this case it would be to explore the differences in morality and ethics between the crews of the Galactica and the Pegasus. What makes this pointless, however, is that we already know these things from the 3 episode arc in Season 2. All "Razor" does is put a face to the stories we have already heard before.
For example, in Season 2, Colonel Tigh asks the Pegasus colonel about how the Pegasus survived so many months in deep space. The Pegasus colonel, drunk and intoxicated, tells Tigh about how the Pegasus crew killed civilians and stole their supplies.
This was a great bit of exposition. It worked because this short snippet of dialog in itself provided all the information we needed to know that the Pegasus and its crew were ruthless in their survival. By leaving out certain details, the show lets the audience ponder what actually happened and speculate on the true nature of the Pegasus' past.

Now, "Razor" comes along and what does it have to add to this story? Nothing, actually. It just creates a visual record to reinforce exactly what the Pegasus colonel said in season 2. Entire scenes are devoted to restating what we already knew, which makes them pointless. The show is not making any new point, or revealing any details we did not already know. Instead, the show makes us sit through dozens of minutes of exposition in order to arrive at the same conclusion which was reached in a simple line of dialog in season 2. Effective? No, just boring, and redundant.

The other thing that "Razor" suffers from is being a one-dimensional story. The entire film is centered around the idea that Pegasus had to dehumanize themselves in order to save mankind. This is a fine idea, and it was already explored in season 2, but it is not substantial enough to devote an entire two hours of film to it.
One thing that makes the new series of Battlestar Galactica so successful is that it explores every aspect of its concept of the human race on the run. It is not concentrated on just the military element of the escape. Instead, the show also explores the maintenance crew's lives, politics, a traitor scientist, enemy Cylons, personal relationships, and more. Razor only focuses on the military aspect of the show, and because of this is not as "multi-layered" or interesting as the show it attempts to emulate.

If there's one thing you can say about Battlestar Galactica: Razor, I would say that it shows that portraying the entire backstory of a character is unnecessary. You don't need to visually communicate a whole character's history in order to reveal his or her qualities. Simple lines of dialog suffice just as well. Creating entire scenes to just reinforce one point about a character is a waste of the audience's time and attention span when there are much more efficient and quicker ways to relate the same idea to the audience.

Battlestar Galactica (Season 3)

Season 3 Mini! Review¡

Battlestar Galactica is a show about an old man who was in Blade Runner who runs a ship with his son and crew and they have to run away from bad guy robots called Cylons and then at the end of season 2 they decide to settle on a planet instead of finding the long lost colony of Earth but things go haywire because the Cylons find them again and kind of enslave them in occupation but that doesn't make sense because earlier in the season they said they wanted to be peaceful friends with the humans so I don't know what's up with that.

Moving on in a more serious tone, Season 3 starts off with a booming (1 YEAR LATER) subtitle to it. This opens up all the multiple possibilities for character and plot development, new twists, etc. However, I could have done without the not-so-obvious-please-make-it-more-obvious political commentary for the first five or so episodes on New Caprica.

Battlestar Galactica is a character-driven show, as opposed to a more mystery driven-show such as LOST. This means that the character's personalities and motives drive the plot rather than an arbitrary mystery set up on a jungle island. This is all well and good in BSG, except when the character development starts to go in circles. At the beginning of the third season you have this new setup where EVERYTHING has changed from the previous seasons, but then they practically throw most of it away six episodes in and start going in circles with the character relationships so that they are back to season 1 all over again. I was all for the characters developing, changing their relationships, motives, dreams, outlooks on life, etc, but when the characters do it so much that they come full circle into where they were six months ago? I don't know. It seems slightly ridiculous, bordering on absurd.
Also, the characters get even more unbelievable when they forgive a fellow shipmate who stopped the end of the war by not letting the humans kill the Cylons once and for all. It was basically like, the humans were about to launch a nuke into the Cylon death star that would set off a chain-reaction to kill all the baddies in the whole show and end this crusade once and for all, but one little passenger sabotages the torpedo and makes it a dud and the Admiral forgives him and says, who cares we did not want mass genocide anyway, we prefer to fight to the death manly style instead and potentially lose this war because we are humane people.

Despite that, three seasons in, Battlestar Galactica is a show of a much higher quality than LOST and 24. It is consistently better instead of being a roller coaster of good and bad episodes. It actually has real substance and meaning to every episode instead of tantalizing you with the juicy steak of mystery then pulling it away from you until next season. It actually has a story arc instead of recycling the same screenplay every season with the same characters who haven't changed and are still falling susceptible to the same predictable plot twists over and over.

To rank Battlestar Galactica (S3), I wouldn't say it's better than the second season of LOST and it still never reaches the level achieved in the 3-Episode Story Arc "Pegasus" in BSG Season 2. BSG Season 3 doesn't quite top the other contenders in every aspect, all the time, but it is a consistently satisfying and well-made show, and one of the best on television.

BattleStar Galactica :: Season 3: 9.3/10.0

Battle of the TV Shows!

I am going to attempt to rate all the television shows I have seen.

24
Season 1 (9.0/10.0) - 24 is interesting!
Season 2 (9.3/10.0) - 24 gets predictable, but still is good!
Season 3 (6.7/10.0) - 24 is ultra-predictable, has terrible plot twists, and is a terrible show!
Season 4 (7.4/10.0) - 24 starts off good, but ends up in the endless 24 plot cycle!
Season 5 (8.0/10.0) - 24 has some good plot twists, but this show is too predictable!
Season 6 (7.5/10.0) - Probably the best starting of a season, but gets really boring again in the plot cycle!

LOST
Season 1 (n/a) - I didn't watch it!
Season 2 (9.4/10.0) - The pinnacle of mystery and suspense, but ruined by constant filler and unnecessary flashbacks!
Season 3 (9.3/10.0) - Perhaps containing the most awesome season finale ever conceived, also ruined by illogical scenarios which are never explained, and unnecessary flashbacks!

Battlestar Galactica
Season 1 (8.6/10.0) - A pretty good show!
Season 2 (9.2/10.0) - An excellent show!

PRISONBREAK (from watching about 1/3 of the episodes)
Season 1 (8.5/10.0) - An interesting premise!
Season 2 (8.0/10.0) - The show keeps going after they escape! What nonsense is this?!
Season 3 (7.5/10.0) - They're back in another prison with the same characters and have to escape again! I'm sure there's a very formidable reason, but I don't watch the show so it seems ridiculous to me!

So, Battlestar Galactica is the best show, but LOST is more enjoyable due to the mystery element; 24 gets really boring after watching 2 seasons and then falling into predictable cycles; Prisonbreak just manages to keep going after the plot expired and its due date tasted nasty.

p.s. Sorry for using so many exclamation marks. I've been reading too many dinosaur comics.

Battlestar Galactica (SEASON 2)

Battlestar Galactica (Season 2)

Season 2 is definitely an improvement over season 1, taking all that season 1 has established, and pushing each concept to the fullest extent. Every idea that could be milked for potential as 45,000 humans escape from an impending cylon fleet has been exploited to the fullest and best extent. The show continues from the season finale of last year and builds up momentum until the midpoint of the season where a three-episode story arc explodes into some of the best television I have seen in recent memory.

After that the show calms down a little into some episodes that almost seem like filler, but rises up again for the somewhat shocking season finale.

The show also contains tons of commentary, from political, governmental, freedom, military, racism, etc.

After watching 2 seaons of Battlestar Galactica, it seems like LOST has been copying them every step of the way.
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
- An enemy that can infiltrate your ranks and look exactly like you: the Others, Cylons.
- One of those enemies becomes a friendly and gets persecuted coming back to the good side: that one lady on LOST, and that one cylon on BSG.
- Both shows have used flashbacks.
- For a shocking season finale, the whole show flashforwards. (season 2 BSG, season 3 LOST)
- There are more but I can't remember them.

Anyway...

Battlestar Galactica (Season 2): 9.2/10.0

Battlestar Galactica (Season 1) [Part 2/2]

1x07 Six Degrees of Seperation (41 Minutes)
Dr. Gaius continues to go crazy while the cylon's motives in these two sub-plots grow increasingly cryptic.
Score: 8.8/10.0

1x08 Flesh and Bone (41 Minutes)

Dr. Gaius has finally turned completely to the dark side (or so it seems) and interrogation scenes resembling LOST occur! (But I did like the LOST interrogation scenes better) More character progression as humans empathize with cylons, and cylons empathize with humans!

Score: 8.6/10.0

1x09 Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down (41 Minutes)
Dr. Gaius (or should I say Baltar?) continues to be a moron and this drama turns into a comedy! But it's funny, and not like a sitcom. More like an episode of Lucy--which is kind of a sitcom. Also, the cylons are getting feelings and jealous of human imperfections! Whee!
Score: 8.6/10.0

1x10 The Hand of God (41 Minutes)
In an allusion to the "water" episode, the Galactica and its followers are low on fuel and find the fuel in an asteroid, except it's guarded by a Cylon base. What follows is a pretty epic attack plan reminiscent of the Death Star and the trench run by Luke. All in all, a good episode, except Gaius is still a moron.
Score: 8.9/10.0

1x11 Colonial Day (41 Minutes)
Politics, political statements, assassinations--I almost thought I was watching 24. It seems as though the show has finally got into gear as the season finale is coming up next.
Score: 8.7/10.0

1x12 Kobols Last Gleaming - Season Finale (82 Minutes)
Starbuck hunts for an ancient arrow on Caprica, the president is arrested, the Cylon ship is destroyed, and some dudes are shipwrecked on Kobol. I had already seen this episode before (the last 20 minutes at least) so I'm more interested into seeing what happens next, as basically I had an idea of the whole story-arc of season 1 in my head before I watched any of these.
Score: n/a

Overall, Battlestar Galactica season 1 is a high-caliber show, with excellent characters, an interesting premise, good production values, tight writing, and no major flaws. The only negative aspect I can think of is the major story arc did not really play into the first season, but it appears to be kicking by the season finale.

Battlestar Galactica (Season 1) [Part 1/2]

Battlestar Galactica - Think Wing Commander, mixed with Freelancer, mixed with Ender's Game, mixed with LOST.

1x00 - The Pilot (180 minutes)
The introductory episode serves just as that: an introduction. We are introduced to the race of the Cylons, who were created as slaves by the humans, and the long standing silence of no contact between the two races for 40 years. The contact is finally remade in the form of a surprise attack by the Cylons and eventually the only remaining human ship left is the Battlestar Galactica. The story is somewhat predictable, seeing as this is a remake and you know everything that will happen. However, the premise is quite interesting as the Galactica is being retired and the characters interact with each other. BSG also does not fall into the unruly Sci-Fi technique of "explaining things in odd manners for the viewer." It's not a bad start but not too interesting.
Score: 7.4/10.0

1x01 - 33 (41 minutes)
After announcing their goal of escaping to Earth in the first episode, the Galactica sets off on a lightspeed journey, but their progress is hampered by a Cylon fleet tracking them, rejumping to each system the humans jump to in exactly 33 minutes. This creates for a very interesting show premise (exactly like the 108 timer in LOST). The episode is highly interesting and very entertaining. It is a great kick start to showcase humanity's struggle for survival and the efforts of the enemy Cylons to track and deceive the humans.
Score: 8.9/10.0

1x02 - Water (41 minutes)
Continuing through space, the Battlestar Galactica is sabotaged, forcing the ship to look for a new water supply. Meanwhile, the implications of a Cylon on board the ship grow stronger, and the relationship between the maintenance crew, the pilots, the commanders, the civilians, and the scientists is explored more.
Score: 8.0/10.0


1x03 - Bastille Day (41 minutes)
Upon discovering water, the humans still need to undertake the monstrous task of extracting it in the ice of the planet, during 180 degree below zero temperatures. To do this, some of the crew is sent to ask the prisoners on a prison ship if they want to volunteer to take this task. Instead, the prisoners take over the ship in a "revolution" attempt to reorganize the government. The episode is not bad, but not overly exciting. I also sense more political commentary coming from this show.
Score: 8.2/10.0


1x04 - Act of Contrition (41 minutes)

Character development! Flashbacks! Flash forwards! Exciting new story prospects! That's the whole episode. So, it's basically Starbuck has character problems and must develop them while training new pilots for the fleet. A good character-development episode.

Score: 8.4/10.0


1x05 - You Can't Go Home Again (41 minutes)

Continuation of the previous episode - basically the same content except progressed and developed to a further extent. Starbuck is marooned on a planet and gets off while the fleet searches for her. I wish the show would announce a goal, instead of just saying that the Galactica keeps jumping from system to system doing nonsense.

Score 8.5/10.0

1x06 - Litmus (41 minutes)
Following the aftermath of another Cylon boarding the Galactica and sabotaging it, an independent bureau is set up to investigate the possibility of another cylon being on board. The news of the cylons finally being human is revealed to the crew, and witch hunts are started. I sense strong political commentary.
I don't know if this episode was better than the previous few, but I certainly enjoyed it more for some reason. Perhaps it was the propelling contrasts and battles between the characters that fueled the episode.
Score 8.7/10.0

To BE CONTINUED!