Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

It was with great reluctance that I approached the re-imagined series Battlestar Galactica.  I was a fan of the original show growing up.  I was open to a revival of the series until I heard the words “Starbuck is a woman”.  I was urged to give it a chance, and I did for about five minutes of the first airing.  I swore it off at that time.  Even later, as I began to hear from people I respected that this was a damn good series, I resisted it.  After all, Starbuck was a woman, and it would never be the same as the series I grew up with.  No John Colicos as the evil Baltar?  Cylons that looked and acted human?

Finally, though, I began t hear from voices I knew and respected that the series was that good and I should give it a fair shot.  With that in mind, I began to watch it on DVD.  You know something?  It was good.  Much better than I expected.  I still have issues with the series.  Overall, I wish it had been called something else or at least used characters named differently.  However, the series as a much darker and more realistic feel to it than once crafter for the 7PM Sunday evening slot.

The basic story is that there are humans across the universe and in this case, in an area known as the Twelve Colonies.  These humans created robotic creatures named Cylons.  They became sentient and evolved, waging war on their human creators.  After a while, there was a sort of detente between the two races.  What the humans didn't know that it was just so the Cylons could build up for the final sweeping strike against the humans.  That happened at the very beginning of the first season.  Since then, the humans have traveled in ships through space searching for the mythical planet Earth as their possible salvation.

Long before the fourth season began, it was announced that this would be the final one for the show.  The season was divided into two halves, each boxed in their own DVD set.  The boxed set for the first half begins with the DVD which contains the Razor stand-alone story which gives a bit more background on the crew of the Pegasus and her captain, along with some backstory for Commander Adama.  What’s on the first disc of season 4.0 is the same as the single DVD of Razor, so if you are planning on purchasing the boxed sets, you can save your money and not purchase the DVD for Razor.  For my review of that see: Razor

Otherwise, beginning on the second disc in the set, the season starts pretty much at the exact moment where the third season ended.  Four of the final five Cylons are revealed to the audience and themselves.  Starbuck is back - is she the final Cylon?  There would seem to be indications that this is so although she brings possible evidence that she has been to Earth.  She also claims to have only been gone a few hours, when, in fact, she's been gone two months.

Gaius Baltar having been exonerated by the tribunal finds sanctuary in a group of religious zealots who believe him to be much more than a mere mortal.  The Cylons are having their own corner of the universe turned upside down as they seem to be descending into civil war amongst themselves rather than continuing to wage war against the human population.  The Cylons are much more complex characters than just the evil robots I knew from the earlier series.  This adds a dimension to the show that wasn’t there before.  It’s no longer just the good humans versus the bad robots.  Now they take on a life and a morality all of their own, with some traits at times that make them all too human.  I am talking about the bad ones such as jealousy, betrayal, and power-grabs.

More than before, the episodes this portion of the season are serialized, and I suspect that will be the case for the final half of the season as well.  Many of the storylines brought up before and forgotten are brought up here again.  Episodes are linked together to form an ongoing storyline or to finish off storylines began all the way back in the first season sometimes.  If anyone hasn’t watched the season up until now, this definitely isn’t the place to begin.

A few spoilers I am going to discuss in regard to the story:  One point that comes up that I don't understand is Lee Adama leaving military service to go into more government work.  The point was made earlier in the series about people having to do work they don't want to do.  Why would they let a good pilot with all of this military experience that is still very necessary leave the service like this when others are being forced into labor in other capacities?

There are some good points of contention that develop between Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh when Tigh becomes involved with the Cylon prisoner.  Moments like this really show the shades of gray that have developed in this world as much as in our own.

The acting is almost uniformly stellar across the board.  Edward James Olmos as Commander Adama carries much of the show at times on his very capable shoulders.  The moment when he breaks down having learned the truth about his long-time friend was Emmy-worthy and I honestly have to admit that I could not see Lorne Greene pulling off that performance.  That was the moment when he really brought Adama out of the shadow of what he once was for me.

Mary McDonnell is his counterpart as the President Laura Roslin, and at times his love interest.  I can say that part of it was something I saw coming a long time ago.  However, there are no real love scenes between them.  Instead their bond is shown in other ways and it’s really a sight to behold as the two develop something quite strong without ever showing any real physical development to the audience.  It’s really a tremendous bit of acting between the two actors.

I have a love/hate relationship with Katee Sackoff, and not just because she’s playing my beloved Starbuck as a woman.  I don’t think all the fault of the character growing on me is just that.  I think part of it has to do with the writing as well as the way she plays it.  The character was someone I tried to like; I wanted to like, but I could just never bring myself to get there.  Nothing changes here as Starbuck ascends to a mystical level.  Where was she for two months?  Why did she go?  No one really seems to know that for sure, but Adama and others hand her a ship and a crew to find Earth for them.  Sackoff did nothing to make me believe the character was worthy of their faith, and I’m not entirely sure who’s fault that was.

Likewise, I wasn't completely comfortable with the religious aspects of the development of Baltar's character.  It took on a cult-like feel and although James Callis is particularly fun to watch, there were many moments in the writing of his character that I felt were a direct attack on certain beliefs in our own culture.

With an ensemble cast, it’s easy to kill off people, so no one is safe.  There are deaths this season, some you might expect and some you might not.  The developments are interesting and still manage to keep the darkness of the human condition at the forefront.  Are we humans just destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over again no matter what the setting?  Much of what’s here seems to indicate that is the case.

The special effects are stellar, especially for a television show.  They easily eclipse the effects I’ve seen in some low-budget films.

The packaging is great as there are plenty of extras to make this worth buying.  Each episode has at least one commentary or podcast to accompany it.  This can be helpful for some of the more confusing storylines as well as bringing up events from past seasons that some viewers might have forgotten about.  There are also plenty of featurettes with the cast and crew about making the series that run the gamut from their feelings about the show to funny moments and full-out documentaries on how some of the great features and memorable moments were accomplished.

The series overall is definitely worth checking out, even to this die-hard fan of the original series.  If you’re going to invest in purchasing the series, this continues the fine production of the DVDs with plenty of extra material as well as high-quality episodes to make it worth the investment.  There’s only half a season to go after this, and this final season overall spends most of its time building on what was there before now rather than developing a lot that’s new.  It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you haven’t watched the series before now, don’t try to start here.


Disc One

Razor - Original Broadcast Version
Razor - unrated version

Special Features:

• Commentary to the unrated extended version of Razor with Ronald Moore and Michael Taylor
• Deleted Scenes
• The Look of Battlestar Galactica
• My Favorite Episode So Far
• Season 4 Sneak Peek
• Season 4 Trailer
• Minisodes

Disc Two

He That Believeth In Me
Six of One
The Ties That Bind
Escape Velocity

• Podcast Commentaries on He That Believeth In Me by Ronald D. Moore
• Podcast Commentaries on Six of One by Ronald D. Moore
• Podcast Commentaries on The Ties That Bind by Ronald D. Moore
• Podcast Commentaries on Escape Velocity by Ronald D. Moore

Disc Three

The Road Less Traveled
Faith
Guess What's Coming To Dinner?

• Podcast Commentaries on The Road Less Traveled by Ronald D. Moore
• Audio Commentary on Faith with Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore and Supervising Producers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle
• Audio Commentary on Guess What's Coming to Dinner with Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore and Writer Michael Angeli
• Deleted Scenes
• David Eick's Video Podcasts

Disc Four

Sine Qua Non
The Hub
Revelations

Special Features

• Audio Commentary on Sine Qua Non with Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore and Writer Michael Taylor
• Podcast Commentary on The Hub with Ronald D. Moore, co-Executive Producer Jane Espenson, Editor Michael O'Halloran, and Supervising Editor Andrew Seklir
• Podcast Commentary on Revelations with Ronad D. Moore, Writers David Weddle and Bradley Thompson and Editor Julius Ramsay
• Deleted Scenes
• The Journey
• Cylons: The Twelve
• Season 4.5: The Untold Story - Untold
• The Music of Battlestar Galactica
• Caprica Sneak Peaks


Related reviews:

Battlestar Galactica - The Mini-Series ~ Battlestar Galactica - Season 1 ~ Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0 ~ Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.5 ~ Battlestar Galactica - Season 3 ~ Battlestar Galactica: Razor ~ Battlestar Galactica: Caprica ~ Battlestar Galactica - Season 4.5 ~ Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

The complete one and only season of the original Battlestar Galactica on DVD: The Complete Epic Series on DVD

Two novels written by Richard Hatch: Battlestar Galactica: Armegeddon and Battlestar Galactica: Warhawk
 

© 2009 Patti Aliventi

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD