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Title:
Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.0
Region:
One
Genre:
Science Fiction Drama
Episodes:
Disc One: “Scattered”, “Valley Of Darkness”, “Fragged”,
“Resistance”
Episodes
Disc Two: “The Farm”, “Home (Part 1)”, “Home (Part 2)”, “Final
Cut”
Episodes Disc Three: “Flight Of The Phoenix”, “Pegasus”
Stars:
Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber,
Katee Sackhoff, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Aaron
Douglas, Tahmoh Penikett, Alessandro Juliani, Kandyse McClure, and Paul Campbell
Guest
Stars: Richard Hatch, James Remar, Lucy Lawless, and Michelle Forbes
Executive
Producers: Ronald D. Moore and David Eick
Feature
length: 7 hours and 18 minutes
Extras:
Podcasts, Deleted Scenes, and A Second Half Of Season Two Sneak Peek
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing And Spanish Language
Subtitles
Packaging:
Three Slim Keep Cases Within A Glossy Cardboard Slipcase
Chapter
Stops: 4 Per Episode
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of DVD Release: 2005
Home
Video Distributor: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
With
the winter premiere of Battlestar Galactica entitled “Resurrection Ship ( Part
1)” debuting on SCI FI on Friday, January 6, 2006, at 10pm (ET/PT) along with
the continuations of “Stargate: SG-1” and “Stargate: Atlantis” as a part
of the network’s stellar SCI FI Friday, there is no better way to catch up on
Galactica than on DVD with Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s
“Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.0” DVD Box Set. Like many basic cable and
satellite networks, SCI FI airs the first half of it’s hit original
programming during the summer and then when the non cable/satellite broadcast
networks begin their fall season premieres, SCI FI puts it’s programming on
mid season hiatus until the beginning of January of the following year and then
airs the concluding episodes of the season usually through March and then the
cycle starts over again in June or July. As a result fans can tune in for their
favorite network shows and get hooked on their favorite cable and satellite
programs with little to no interference. This practice has actually changed the
way television in general airs new programming. Instead of all of the new shows
beginning in September, now there are four premiere seasons giving viewers more
options than ever.
The
first half of “Battlestar Galactica” in my opinion appears to be about the
nature of morality and how one’s point of view can greatly alter one’s
actions and choices regardless if you are a human or a cylon. The basic story
arcs revolve around President Roslin’s (Mary
McDonnell) role as both President and spiritual leader to the believers aboard
the Galactica and the fracturing of the fleet under the weight of Colonel
Tigh’s (Michael Hogan) military martial law declaration that nearly has the
opposite effect as planned while the Commander (Edward James Olmos) remains
critical after several direct bullet blasts to his chest at the hands of the
humanoid cylon Boomer (Grace Park). The other intertwining stories revolving
around the planets of Kobal and cylon occupied Caprica shed additional light on
the nature of the cylons, what they want, and why they seem to still need
humanity to get it. While the actions of the cylons are deceitful to say the
least, at times the actions of the human characters are no better whether it is
toward each other or the cylons. The culmination of the events on both worlds
lead the fleet to a rendezvous with the Battlestar Pegasus and a clash
between Commander Adama and Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) in showdown that
could place the entire remnants of humanity’s future on the line.
In addition to Michelle Forbes guest starring role in the mid season cliffhanger “Pegasus,” Richard Hatch returns as Tom Zarek in several season two episodes along with James Remar. Lucy Lawless also appears in the inspired episode “Final Cut.” The storyline has President Roslin and Captain Adama offering Fleet News Service reporter D’Anna Biers (Lawless) the opportunity to board the Galactica with a cameraman for unlimited access so long as the security of the ship and any information that could place the fleet in any form of jeopardy is not recorded and broadcast. D’Anna Biers agrees because the exclusive will give her the opportunity to confront Col. Tigh about the incident where several civilians were shot aboard the Gideon during Tigh’s declaration of martial law. The President and the Captain are eager to repair the public relations damages that have occurred recently by allowing Biers to paint a human face upon the crew of the Galactica.
Unfortunately Biers stumbles upon the cylon Sharon, who has been rushed into emergency due to complications related to her pregnancy. If the truth about this should get out, the fleet will surely disband. Meanwhile Tigh and his Wife are the targets of threats and attempted murder for the actions that occurred during his command of the fleet. Things are complicated even further when the cylons ambush the fleet. This is essentially one of those episodes where all of the action takes place indoors or in this case, in space and aboard starships, but the writing is good enough so that despite the confines of the sets, the viewer can easily forget the near complete lack of any exterior action. Lawless blends into the show quite well, but one has to hand it to James Callis and Tricia Helfer, who play the roles of Vice President Baltar and Number Six respectively. The chemistry between them as well as their own performances individually just steals nearly any scene they appear in.
The classic comedy that eventually became the classic drama that was “M*A*S*H” had episodes that used a breaking of the fourth wall to create a fictional news report that brought a greater degree of pathos to the show. In the 1990s the sci-fi novel for television “Babylon 5” used the same concept to forward the storylines in interesting ways and in the end it opened up the tapestry of the entire universe J. Michael Straczynski created. “Final Cut” follows a similar focus, but wisely only uses the video footage to forward the plot points so the viewer is always going from the Fleet News Service camera point of view to the narrative point of view the episodes are usually presented in instead of a block of one or the other. Overall this is a solid episode of “Battlestar Galactica” that even stands alone well in some respects.
As with the Season One DVD box set, All ten episodes contained within “Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.0” are presented beautifully in an anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) aspect ratio with clear and well mixed English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack. English Subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired as well as Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded onto all three discs as options. Once again Executive Producer Ron Moore provides insightful podcast audio commentary for the episodes “Scattered”, “Valley Of Darkness”, “Resistance”, “The Farm”, “Home (Part 1)”, “Home (Part 2)”, and “Final Cut.” Reels of letterboxed deleted scenes are also included on each disc for the episodes “Scattered” (16:43), “Valley Of Darkness” (10:26), “Fragged” (1:10), “The Farm” (11:49), “Home (Part 1)” (11:49), “Home (Part 2)” (10:23), “Final Cut” (2:54), and “Flight Of The Phoenix” (11:57).
The episodes can be viewed individually complete with a short onscreen text synopsis for each episode that also details the original airdate or through a “Play All” feature on each disc. The main menu is animated with the humanoid cylons Number 6 and Sharon’s eye beaming red behind Commander Adama while all of the subsequent interactive menus are standard still frames that are easy to navigate. The teaser (3:28) for the second half of season two features behind-the-scenes and cast interview clips as well as scenes from the two-part winter premiere episode “Resurrection Ship,” which I had already reviewed before the holiday break for SCI FI and you can read about it now by clicking here. A reel of previews (2:11) featuring “Battlestar Galactica,” “Seaquest: DSV: Season One,” “Serenity,” and “The Island” wrap up the bonus materials in this DVD set. “Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.0” 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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