Brikar

"Battlestar Galactica" Season 1
Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff
Rated: N/A
Developed by Ronald D. Moore

The Show
Beginning with a TV mini-series in 2003, the new version of "Battlestar Galactica" trumps the original in every way possible. Gone is all the cheese, the laughable plots and insipid-to-lukewarm dialogue and corny acting. In its place is a dark, well-realized allegory for the War on Terrorism that has manifested into one of the best shows on television.

But who are we kidding? The Emmys will never give it the recognition it deserves for one simple reason: killer robots in space. But the show continues to trudge on, throwing storylines about civil rights, torture, genocide, suicide bombings, religious fanaticism, alcoholism, power struggles in the government... everything else you could easily find on the evening news, wrapped up in a gloriously well-produced sci-fi package that entertains just as much as it preaches.

For the most part, the characters are well-written, with quirks and foibles as well as strengths. There are times when realism is stretched in order to facilitate good drama (Starbuck: "I'm the best shot you've got, in or out of the cockpit.") but these are minor quibbles in the face of such an excellent show.

If anything, a major complaint about Season 1 is that it is simply too short - with the storylines introduced here coming to a close SEVEN EPISODES into Season 2, it makes one clamor for a 20-episode set instead of a 13-episode set... right frakkin' now.

The DVDs
The Video:
We're all very pleased, here. The images are sharp and detailed, with great contrast and color. The mini-series, shot on film, suffers a bit more than the actual episodes, which were shot on HD video. The mini-series is grainier, and doesn't hav quite the strength of colors as the season episodes. Still, an A+ presentation for this set!

The Audio:
Mmm, 5.1 Surround Sound... Though not excessively immersive, this mix features some impressive bass. Action sequences are vibrant, while dialogue, music and sound effects are all crystal clear. Watch "Hand of God" in 5.1, with the sub turned up nice and high and just smile.

The Extras:
While the R1 US set has far more material than the UK set, there are, nonetheless, a few things missing: The 20 minutes of deleted scenes and 45-minute "Lowdown" documentary from the original DVD release of the mini-series, as well as 4 featurettes from the SciFi.com website.

However, there's still a plethora of material here: Commentary on the mini-series and 9 of the 13 episodes, 8 featurettes totalling just over an hour, a 20-minute "Lowdown" special, and an animated storyboards/artwork sequence set to some of the show's music, as well as over 40 minutes of deleted scenes.

Most of the featurettes are fairly fluffy, though you get to hear from the actors what they think of their characters and storylines. We see what it took to go from the mini-series to the series in terms of production design (changing from film to HD video meant sets had to be even MORE detailed) and more. But the real meat of information comes from the commentaries, which are incredibly detailed as Executive Producer Ron Moore (sometimes with others) gives us all the nitty-gritty inside scoop on the show. These are great tracks, and it's clear Moore is more intelligent than some Star Trek BBS trolls would have you believe.

Overall
Show: A
A/V: A+
Extras:B

__________________
"A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown."

http://olympusmans.blogspot.com
http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

Brikar

I should add that this set can get extra props for being the only Universal TV DVD of 2005 set that doesn't blow ass. It's not on those shitty dual-sided discs, the video and audio quality is excellent, and (gasp) there are actually special features. The only thing that isn't up to snuff is the shitty menus... but they're menus, so fuck 'em.

__________________
"A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown."

http://olympusmans.blogspot.com
http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

Cymro

My set doesn't have the miniseries on it or any extras other than the deleted scenes which was quite crappy. It comes in a good box though.

I bought the mini beforehand, and that was all on one disc, with the mini played as a film with no breaks. It also included "The Lowdown" and some deleted scenes. Still rather lacking though.

__________________
"Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working.

"But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty klingon."

Brikar

Yeah, they actually released that set here in the States, too, as an exclusive at certain retailers. It came out two months before the set I got - it lacked the miniseries and all the other special features, and it cost several dollars more. I was quite, quite glad I'd heard far enough ahead of time that there would be this bizarre dual release.

__________________
"A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown."

http://olympusmans.blogspot.com
http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

Cymro

The combo only cost me £25, which isn't bad.

__________________
"Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working.

"But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty klingon."

Brikar

What's that, like $45 bucks?

__________________
"A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown."

http://olympusmans.blogspot.com
http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

Cymro

Probably.

__________________
"Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working.

"But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty klingon."

Brikar

I think your British pound is about $1.75 or so... Yeah, $45 is a pretty good deal. It's only three or four dollars more than the Region 1 set.

__________________
"A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown."

http://olympusmans.blogspot.com
http://benforrealz.blogspot.com