Battlestar Galactica: Razor

[KLAXXON]

“You’re born, you live, and you die. There are no do-overs, no second chances to make things right if you frak them up the first time. Not in this life anyway.”

Like most Battlestar Galactica fans, I have been looking forward to this DVD release for a while. Billed as a prequel, designed to fill the incredibly long gap between the Season 3 cliffhanger and the beginning of Season 4; Razor not only reveals what happened to the crew of the Battlestar Pegasus in the time before they caught up with Galactica but also sets some stuff up for Season 4.

Hollywood loves reimaginings…established audiences and return on investments often make reimaginings easier than developing a brand new concept; most reimaginings are absolute garbage but every now and then, Hollywood do get it right. Battlestar Galactica is one of those few exceptions where Hollywood has produced a series that not only revives a franchise but completely transforms it for the better.

Set near the end of the second series, Razor tells the story of the Battlestar Pegasus in a very Tarrantino-esque way, cutting back and forth in time and space from the ‘present’ in Season 2, where Major Lee Adama has just taken command of the troubled Battlestar Pegasus; and back to the weeks and months immediately following the Cylon attack that pretty much wiped out human civilisation. We see how Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) grew colder to survive and took actions that affected those around her.

In the present, Lee is given the job of finding some missing colonists who have been taken by a lost faction of Cylons (CGI’d up versions of the original BSG Cylons) who are doing experiments to create a perfect human / Cylon hybrid. Admiral Adama goes along for the ride when he discovers that these Cylons are the same metal monsters that he encountered on the last day of the first Cylon war, right before the Armistice was signed (cut to a fantastic flashback set on the last day of the first Cylon war).

Linking the two time periods together is Lt. Kendra Shaw. An ambitious graduate who had only just been assigned to the Pegasus when the Cylons attacked but over the months that followed, became a major part of Cain’s crew. In the ‘present’, Shaw becomes Lee’s second in command and through flashbacks, it is revealed how Kendra Shaw changed after the attack, and along the way discover that perhaps Admiral Cain wasn’t as psychotic as we were led to believe.

This is a self contained Battlestar Galactica story offering much for fans and newcomers alike, the movie itself has top rate production values - the same if not better than the average episode of the series. From an DVD extras point of view, there is a filmmaker’s commentary that’s interesting enough but doesn’t offer any additional revelations; a behind the scenes featurette that sets out the reasons why the BSG creators decided to do this prequel and a terrific set of ‘mini-sodes’ which are effectively an extended version of the first Cylon war flashbacks with a young Adama but great all the same.

All in all a terrific instalment of Battlestar Galactica which, if anything, is simply too short; this poses as many questions as it answers and ends far too quickly. It has been a long wait for BSG fans between seasons and this does leave you wanting more. But at least this is something that really does set the series up for its final year. First class entertainment


This full-length Battlestar Galactica movie made especially for TV broadcast is aimed at long-time fans and is not recommended for any newcomers to this popular show on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Narrative-wise the events depicted therein fit in somewhere towards the middle to end of that show’s second season, but it would be safe to watch Razor after finishing the season in question and before getting started on season three. Newbies would be completely lost however and it is recommended that they check out the mini-series first before moving on to season one and the rest of the series in sequential order.

Razor works best as a companion piece to the current Battlestar Galactica series as its plot focus is unfortunately all over the place.

On the one hand it redundantly fills in some of the background info on the Battlestar Pegasus / Admiral Cain storyline, supplying the sort of information in the process that viewers would have guessed at by themselves. Then, on the other hand, it tries to forward the series’ general action in a meaningful way while still trying to tell a standalone story without forming part of an ongoing narrative. The blurb on the back of the DVD box sums up the schizophrenic plot: (a) “Razor tells the untold story of Pegasus” and (b) “provides chilling clues as to the fate of humanity as the final chapters of the Battlestar Galactica story unfold.” Razor feels like two episodes from the show stitched together as the action shifts around awkwardly in the second half of this 1 hour 41 minutes long movie.

The two story strands come together rather uncomfortably in telling the story of Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobsen in a singularly unsympathetic role), an officer onboard the Pegasus, who becomes Admiral Cain’s right-hand woman as it were. This alpha female lead character isn’t particularly likeable and her redemption as sympathetic heroine comes too late in the story for the viewer to warm to her.

Despite its flaws though, Razor is still recommended viewing for Battlestar Galactica fans who will appreciate the back story on offer here. Production values (effects, sets, etc.) are on the same high standard of the TV show. Older fans will also appreciate the few flashback scenes to the previous Cylon wars of forty years ago, which feature robot and spaceship designs from the old 1978 television series.










Edward James Olmos ...  Admiral William Adama
Mary McDonnell ...  President Laura Roslin
Katee Sackhoff ...  Captain Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace
Jamie Bamber ...  Captain Lee 'Apollo' Adama
James Callis ...  Dr. Gaius Baltar
Tricia Helfer ...  Number Six / Gina Inviere
Grace Park ...  Lt. Sharon Valerii
Michael Hogan ...  Colonel Saul Tigh
Aaron Douglas ...  Chief Galen Tyrol (credit only)
Tahmoh Penikett ...  Lt. Karl 'Helo' Agathon (credit only)
Alessandro Juliani ...  Lt. Felix Gaeta (credit only)
Michael Trucco ...  Samuel Anders (credit only)
Kandyse McClure ...  Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla (credit only)
Michelle Forbes ...  Admiral Helena Cain
Graham Beckel ...  Colonel Jack Fisk




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