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Title:
Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.5
Region:
One
Genre:
Sci-Fi Drama Adult Space Opera Television Series
Disc One Episodes: “Pegasus: Extended Episode”, “Resurrection Ship: Part 1”, “Resurrection Ship: Part 2”, “Epiphanies”
Disc
Two Episodes: “Black Market”, “Scar”, “Sacrifice”, “The
Captain’s Hand”
Disc
Three Episodes: “Downloaded”, “Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 1”, “Lay
Down Your Burdens, Part 2”
Stars: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, Katee Sackhoff, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas, Paul Campbell, and Tahmoh Penikett
Guest
Stars: Michelle Forbes, Lucy Lawless, Matthew Bennett, Michael Trucco, Dana
Delany, Bill Duke, John Heard, Richard Hatch, and Dean Stockwell
Based
On Battlestar Galactica Created By: Glen A. Larson
Executive
Producers: Ronald D. Moore and David Eick
Feature
length: 8 hours and 41 minutes
Extras:
Exclusive Extended Version Of The Midseason Finale Episode Pegasus,
Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary and Podcasts, Producers Video Blogs, Universal
Studios Home Entertainment Trailers
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hearing Impaired and Spanish Language
Subtitles
Packaging:
Three Slim Keep Cases Within A Glossy Cardboard Slipcase
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Season
Years of Television Broadcast: 2005-2006/DVD Release: 2006
Home
Video Distributor: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Next
week, two of the best sci-fi dramas/soap operas are making their third season
debut on basic cable/satellite and broadcast television. It’s not hard to
guess that the two I am referring too are the reimagined Battlestar Galactica
on the SCI FI Channel and LOST on ABC. Just in time for their respective
season premieres, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Buena Vista Home
Entertainment timed the DVD release of the shows’ previous seasons in order
for new and returning viewers alike to catch up or reacquaint themselves with
the programs’ characters and situations. I’ll be publishing my DVD set
review of LOST presently, but in the case of Battlestar Galactica,
Universal Studios Home Entertainment had released the
first half of the second season on DVD earlier this year to coincide with
the midseason premiere of the second half of season 2 of Battlestar Galactica.
While the first season,
including the miniseries pilot were released collectively in the season one box
set or in the case of the miniseries,
a separate DVD release much like the theatrical version of the classic Battlestar
Galactica pilot was released on DVD day and date with the complete epic
series box set on DVD from Universal years ago.
While
some might assume that the second season was released in two halves as an
attempt to cash in on the franchise, the reality is that the show took a four to
five week break mid season so there was no way to issue on compete second season
DVD set because not all of the episodes were finished yet. So when faced with
the option of holding back until all twenty second season episodes were produced
or to release the season in two halves the compliment the series return with
brand new episodes on SCI FI, I believe Universal Studios Home Entertainment
made a wise choice as well as a good business decision that benefited both
Universal Studios Home Entertainment and SCI FI Channel, which are all a part of
the NBC Universal corporate family anyway. As it is, episodes of the new Battlestar
Galactica have aired with encore presentations on NBC, USA, and Universal HD
respectively so there have been lots of chances to catch up on the show,
including SCI FI Channel rebroadcasts and specials designed to get viewers up to
speed.
I
have a certain advantage when watching these DVDs, because in addition to
covering home video, I also review television and I have already reviewed the
first four season three episodes of Battlestar Galactica, which begins on
Friday, October 6, 2006 at 9pm (ET/PT) following the American second season
premiere episodes of the new Doctor Who, which is also one of the great
instances of a franchise being given new life by talented executive producers,
writers, and smart casting. You
can read my review of the first four season three Battlestar Galactica
episodes by clicking here.
The
second half of season two on DVD begins with an exclusive extended edition of
the midseason finale Pegasus (58:47). As Executive Producers Michael
Moore and David Eick state in their extended audio commentary, the couldn’t
air the episode in a 90 minute format with advertisements added because of the
lengthier storylines that would ultimately require the extended scenes in order
to tell a richer story and make it comprehendible for viewers. This is why the
two-part Resurrection Ship episodes that form a kind of trilogy within
the season, including Pegasus exists as is and this is also why the
second season finale Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 1 and Part 2
exist as they do too, however on DVD they can deliver their preferred cut and it
is a richer episode overall because of it. It is not just spare character
baggage or effects shots, but instead legitimate scenes that deepen the
storytelling as a whole and even reveal more graphic aspect about the Pegasus
and the Admiral’s (played by Michelle Forbes) obsession with the Cylon
resurrection ship. Moore even goes into some detail comparing the episode to the
original series counterpart. The rest of the episodes on the three DVDs contain
Ronald Moore’s podcasts that sometimes feature guest comments from other
members of the creative staff. I found it at times surprising to hear what
episodes Mr. Moore liked and which one’s he was not entirely happy with.
Personally I liked Black Market, which features a standout villainous
performance by actor, writer, director Bill Duke more than the episode Scar,
which features the reemergence of the Cylon Raider Starbuck lost on Caprica,
as a kind of “Red Barron” picking off the new fighter pilots or
“nuggets” as they are referred too with great predatory skill. The one
interesting bit of information we learn is like the humanoid Cylons, Raiders,
which are biomechanical, also resurrect into new fighters.
Besides
Bill Duke, guest stars in the second half of season two include Dana Delany,
John Heard, Dean Stockwell, and Lucy Lawless, who will now be a part of the
regular cast for season three. Another interesting aspect about these shows is
that since I have already seen the first four season three episodes that will
begin airing on SCI FI in October, I can tell you without revealing any major
spoilers that by the end of the fourth season three episode, three recurring
characters will die and as morbid as this will sound, for whatever the reason
may be, these surprises are what add a degree of realism to the new Battlestar
Galactica as well as adds to the feeling that anything can happen on this
show.
All
11 season two episodes are presented in their 16 by 9 enhanced (1.78:1)
broadcast aspect ratio with English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and English
Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired as well as Spanish Language
Subtitles encoded onto all three discs as options. The show has evolved a lot
from the documentary like style of the first season to a more internal or
cerebral program. So some scenes look clearer than others since there is some
obvious grain in certain shots that I attribute to the artistic choice of the
producers and not as a defect in the process of mastering a standard definition
DVD. If you have caught a high
definition broadcast of Battlestar Galactica on Universal HD then you
pretty much know what to expect from the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix,
which is a vast improvement over the stereo surround soundtrack used on the SCI
FI Channel cable broadcasts.
Reels
of letterboxed deleted scenes are included for the episodes Resurrection
Ship, Part 2 (2:12), Black Market (10:04), Scar (7:34), Sacrifice
(: 58), The Captain’s Hand (6:58), Downloaded (4:59) and Lay
Down Your Burdens, Parts 1 & 2 (9:43). The third disc contains Video
Blogs with Executive Producer David Eick that are presented in 16 by 9 enhanced
widescreen and give viewers a behind the scenes look at sets, script
readthroughs and more. They are delineated under the headings “Episode 206 –
Day 2” (4:02), “Episode 207 – Day 4” (3:57), “On The Set Of The
‘New’ Pegasus” (4:33), “ The “Magic” Of Battlestar
Galactica” (3:15), “Never Let The Inmates Run The Asylum” (3:37),
“Scenes From the Video Blog Floor” (2:37), and the somewhat humorous “Sex,
Lies And A Video Blog” (5:40). The RND Logos for both seasons one and two that
feature-animated versions of Ronald D. Moore and David Eick doing terribly
violent things to each other wrap up the bonus features directly related to the
series on DVD set (2:27). Within the set is an advertisement for Battlestar
Galactica related products and two Wizards Battlestar Galactica Collectible
Card Game cards. The interactive menus are standard still frames with music from
the show playing in the background and are easy to navigate.
On
disc one is a reel of trailers that precede the main menu and include Universal
Studios Home Entertainment’s DVD and upcoming DVD releases of Surface: The
Complete Series, Las Vegas: Season 3, The Office: Season 1 & 2,
and the theatrical release Slither (3:04). In addition there are trailers
that can be viewed individually or through a “Play All” feature (5:49) for The
Incredible Hulk, Amazing Stories, Magnum P.I., The A Team, Knight Rider, Fear
Factor, SNL: The Best Of Cheri Oteri & The Best Of Commercial Parodies,
Coach and a season three spot for Battlestar Galactica. Battlestar
Galactica: Season 2.5 is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and
offline courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2006 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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