Battlestar Galactica: Season One Review Score: 8/10 | Date Posted: September 30th 2005 In: DVD Reviews Created by: Ronald D. Moore and David Eick (based upon original material created by Glen A. Larson) Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, Katie Sackhoff, Grace Park, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Aaron Douglas, Tamoh Penikett Directed by: Various Studio: Universal Studios DVD Release Date: September 20, 2005 DVD Features: Available subtitles: Spanish; Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX); Feature Commentary with Director Michael Rymer and Executive Producers David Eick and Ron Moore; Pilot Commentary with Director Michael Rymer and Executive Producers David Eick and Ronald D. Moore; Episode Commentaries; Featurettes - “From Miniseries to Series”; “Change is Good, Now They're Babes”; “The Cyclon Centurion”; “The Doctor Is Out (Of His Mind)”; “Future/Past Technology”; “Production Visual Effects”; “Epilogue”; Deleted Scenes; “Battlestar Galactica Series Lowdown Featurette”; Sketches and Art Number of discs: 5 discs Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Box set Battlestar Galactica: Season One Review by Robert Falconer | HNR Senior Editor We spend so much time here at HNR covering the new Battlestar Galactica series (it shoots in Vancouver, in case you hadn’t already heard that for the umpteenth time) that we’re running out of ways to talk about it. The adjectives are many, the superlatives overused. So rather than get into too much esoteric detail or gushing praise – yes the series certainly deserves it – instead we’ll just cover the broad strokes. For those wanting specific info on each episode, along with detailed reviews, we invite you to visit HNR’s Flight Deck (pictured at right), our dedicated Galactica page devoted to the new show.   By now, you’ve probably been told that Galactica has reinvented space opera through its utilization of naturalistic drama; you likely know that it employs gritty situations and topical stories; you possibly are aware that the producers have embraced the use of cinema vérité (read: documentary) camerawork; and if you’re really up on things you’ve doubtless heard that season two has stirred up controversy by including a prisoner rape scene in its tenth episode. Yessiree, science fiction has grown up. And while the grousing wags – who have coined the new series ‘GINO’ (Galactica In Name Only) – continue their vitriolic bulletin-board campaigns against the show, Time magazine voted it one of the top six dramas on television, while Newsday called it, “The Best Show On Television”—a quote proudly trumpeted on the back of the DVD slip cover. Battlestar Galactica’s first season picks up where the miniseries left off, as the rag tag fleet of holocaust survivors head out into deep space to flee the Cylons, their cybernetic pursuers who have taken human form for reasons not yet entirely made clear. Eschewing the popular conventions of the genre – histrionic acting, putty-headed aliens who just happen to speak English, and magical technology – the series’ antithetical take on science fiction shares more in common with the war feature Black Hawk Down than it does with Star Trek or Star Wars, the traditional space opera heavyweights. (Galactica’s closest antecedent of recent memory was the short-lived series Space: Above and Beyond.) The approach seems to have worked. Season one of Galactica proved an enormous triumph for SCI FI Channel, who had – perhaps understandably – held reservations about the show’s success given the dismal performance of dull space opera retreads such as Star Trek: Enterprise and Peacekeeper Wars. But is the series honestly deserving of all the bespoke praise? With a fumerello in one hand and a schooner of Bombay Sapphire in the other, I sat down to watch a random handful of the episodes for a second time, endeavoring to determine if I would be as impressed with subsequent viewings as I was during first-run. Battlestar Galactica may lack some of the polish & gloss of the major network offerings such as ABC’s Lost or CBS' Threshold, but this seems more a function of design than budgetary necessity. The bleached-out visuals in the hangar deck, the soiled viscosity of the Galactica’s interior, all lend themselves to the series' new take on science fiction: a realistic metaphor for the world around us. Its maturity and intelligent scripting are its principle assets, from the mutual but fragile esteem between Galactica's Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) and Colonial President Roslin (Mary McDonnell), to the unrequited and coiled passion between Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama (Jamie Bamber) – the ship’s CAG officer – and the brazenly defiant Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff). The first installment, the Hugo Award-winning episode "33," kicks things into high gear from the get, as the Cylons locate the fleet with clockwork precision every 33 minutes, forcing the weary and irritable Colonials to, in turn, jump every 33 minutes to avoid annihilation. This single episode sets the stage for an entire season of complex situations and difficult consequences within the season’s main three-part arc, which consists of: 1) the fleet’s survival in the face of continued Cylon attack – both physical and psychological; 2) Dr. Gaius Baltar’s (James Callis) apparent psychosis as the Cylon uber-vixen, Number Six (Tricia Helfer) continues to torment him, allegedly via an implanted chip in his head and by using sex as a primary vehicle of manipulation; 3) Lt. Carl "Helo" Agathon’s story of survival on Caprica as he connects with what he believes to be Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (Grace Park)—whom he eventually impregnates, and who also appears to have a twin aboard the Galactica (who is likely a Cylon). Some of the other standout episodes include "Bastille Day" (with the first appearance of original series actor Richard Hatch as the enigmatic, Nelson Mandella-like political dissident, Tom Zarek); "Act of Contrition," in which the accidental deaths of several Viper pilots force Starbuck to train new recruits and consequently confront her part in the death of Apollo’s brother many years earlier; "The Hand of God," in which the Colonials finally go on the offensive to obtain much-needed Tylium fuel from an asteroid controlled by the Cylons; and "Kobol’s Last Gleaming" Parts I & II, two installments that begin to tie together the three main aforementioned story arcs. "Kobol’s Last Gleaming" Parts I & II in particular work so well on so many levels, that taken together, they rank as two of the best hours of television this reviewer has ever seen. Each episode is crafted with consistent quality, and the series appears to make use of every penny of its relatively modest – by network standards – budget. While there are occasional lapses in the CGI’s quality – a result of continuity failures while the studio simultaneously used both Zoic and Enigma VFX houses for a short period – one really has to look for them. By and large, the visual effects are state-of-the-art, with sequences benefiting from the documentary style camerawork for which the producers eventually found a proper rhythm (early episodes tended to overuse the technique at times). If Jamie Bamber, Katie Sackhoff, Grace Park and the rest of the series' young leads lend the show contemporary vitality, Edward Olmos and Mary McDonnell, both Oscar-nominated actors, surely anchor it. The two are veterans of stage and screen, with that keen sense of delivery that sometimes takes no more than a furtive glance, quiet expression or subtle gesture. It’s a pleasure to watch them onscreen together, trading energy and playing off a chemistry that’s palpable. Adama’s weathered, practical nobility and Roslin’s intellectual idealism frequently clash, yet are often complementary, too, further deepening the well of complexity that the show drilled during the miniseries. The chemistry between Gaius Baltar and Number Six is equally entertaining to watch. Seemingly never more than one manifestation away from a psychotic break, Baltar finds himself engaged in a perpetual game of psychological cat and mouse with the enigmatic Number Six. James Callis has a terrifically modulated sense of timing and humor, and watching him spar with a character that is only in his head, particularly when crewmembers are watching, lends the show some natural levity. So is the show deserving of all the praise recently lavished up on it? In a word, yes. Like any other television series in its first season, there are teething pains, but they are far outweighed by the quality of the writing, acting and relevance of the material. It’s not a show for everyone, and those merely seeking escapist faire would probably do well to look elsewhere. But if you enjoy shows like Deadwood, Nip Tuck or The Shield; if you’re looking for a show with teeth that isn’t afraid to tackle the tough stuff—then you’ll want to give Battlestar Galactica a sitting.

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