Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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83 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Only For Those Who Don't Own These DVDs, October 30, 2008
I'm just gonna break this down into some simple questions:
*****Is this show any good?*****
This new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA series is phenomenal. I really enjoyed the original series that was released in the late '70s, but the new Sci-Fi show is some of the finest TV around. The action sequences are gritty and exciting. The cast & performances are excellent, with few actors taking a while to find their niche. The strongest & weakest aspect is the writing. There are episodes of dramatic brilliance, which propel this show to greatness. There are a few small patches where the series meanders a bit, but even when BSG isn't at the top of its game, it's playing for keeps. In the end, the show constantly evolves its characters and story.
*****Amazon advertises a "Season 3.0"; Where is 3.5?*****
There is no such thing as Season 3.5. Basically, Amazon screwed up. This exclusive offer will include the complete third season. Seasons Two and Four are split into two separate box sets. The bottom line is this: you will get every BATTLESTAR GALACTICA DVD released to date - No More, No Less.
*****What's the deal with RAZOR?*****
This 2-hour made-for-TV feature first aired, and was released on DVD, in November 2007. It takes place between Seasons Two and Three. Oddly enough, RAZOR will be included with the Season 4.0 DVD in January 2009. Either way, you'll get the original version that aired on TV, as well as the longer Unrated Cut.
*****Is this a good price?*****
As of this writing, Amazon is listing this exclusive packaging for $147. If the price doesn't change, then this will save you about 30 dollars. Because RAZOR will be included in the Season 4.0 DVD in January, collectors will only save about $15. In the end, this is a good price as long as it doesn't change.
*****So, should I buy it?*****
Only if you don't own any of the DVDs included in this exclusive offer. There is no additional bonus content. And again, RAZOR will come for free in a few months. However, to Amazon's defense, these DVDs are very sturdy packages. The discs are held in slim cases, which means buyers will have a decent chance of getting a non-damaged DVD in the mail.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is a great series. It belongs on the shelf of any DVD collector. It's more of a war drama than a science fiction, allowing for both genres to explore new depths. Fans who love TV series with continuity and evolving characters & plot will get into this. In fact, I'd encourage those who don't watch TV or science fiction to check this out. You have no idea what you're in for. This show will end by the summer of 2009. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is so addicting, you'll be finished by the Season 4.5 premiere.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An incredible bargain on one of TV's masterpieces, December 16, 2008
I can't grasp how anyone could give this less than five stars. A substantial portion of one of television's all time greatest series at an incredibly great price. For comparison, I paid $164 for what will now cost newcomers $99 (the price seems to fluctuate from day to day). That is quite a deal. All you would then need to do is buy Season 4.0 and you are completely caught up.
And there is no faulting the quality of the series. A few middle-aged individuals passionately devoted to the original BSG that appeared in 1978 with Lorne Greene in the lead role -- and widely considered by TV critics to be one of the absolutely worst series in the history of TV (as well as by serious Sci-fi fans -- here is a passage from the most widely respected one-volume encyclopedia of Sci-fi, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION, edited by John Clute and Peter Nichols: "Perhaps the least likable of al tv sf in its ineptness, its sentimentality and its contempt for an ignorance of science" -- the original series has also been lambasted by such Sci-fi icons as Harlan Ellison and Orson Scott Card, both of whom are passionate fans of the new series). So, right away you know that the "reimagined" BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is unusual. What other TV masterpiece has been created on the corpse of an aesthetic horror story? The new series is only tacitly related to the old series. It takes a few of the characters' names, the design of a few of the ships, and the initial premise, and substituted for everything else one of the most riveting, moving, and imaginative stories ever seen on television.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was the first series to appear on TV that purported to tell a single story. The miniseries first appeared in 2003 and Season One began in 2004. LOST, another series that when complete will tell a single story, debuted in the fall of 2004. These two series follow the series that made television safe for long narrative television, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Though with BUFFY, Joss Whedon never felt sufficiently confident that his series was going to last for multiple seasons, so he mainly restricted his major arcs to a single season (BABYLON 5 did contain long arcs, but it was lightly watched and seems to have had little or no impact on subsequent television series). BSG and LOST are the two series that strive to take long narrative to its logical conclusion. And there is absolutely no question that while long narrative television makes for the best possible television, it is an incredibly risky undertaking. For instance, the absolutely brilliant PUSHING DAISIES was cancelled halfway through its second season. Though creator Bryan Fuller has pledged to continue the story either in comic form (he has talked with DC Comics about continuing the series there, emulating Joss Whedon, who has continued BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER in comic form) or in TV movie, the tale ended well before it was complete. Thankfully, both BSG and LOST will be able to tell their story complete.
And what a story it is! The original BSG had a great premise, but it almost instantly violated it by undercutting the tragic seriousness of the first few moment. Nearly all of humanity is destroyed in a surprise attack by the Cylons, a robotic race that in TOS (The Original Series) was created by a lizard race but in the reimagined series is a creation of the humans themselves. In TOS the humans go immediately to The Casino Planet where they comically party as if nothing had happened to the rest of the human race. In GINO (GALACTICA-in-name-only, a tag that the small number of fans of TOS tried to brand Ron Moore's series, but which has as the critical accolades have poured in has become a badge of honor) the humans experience almost unbearable horror in the great episode "33," in which the Cylons attack the humans every 33 minutes. The new series never violates the horror implicit in the great tragedy that begins the story. We are never able to forget that this is the remnants of humanity and that they are striving with all their might to find the mythical 13th colony, known as Earth.
Almost everything in this series is brilliant. Creator Ron Moore (technically Universal hired David Eick to restart the series and his absolutely brilliant first move was to hire STAR TREK veteran Ronald D. Moore to write the script for the mini-series) aimed in BSG to recreate the TV Sci-fi series. He immediately aimed for low tech and promised never to bring aliens onto the show or to resort to Science as Magic solutions to problems. The result is a show set on space ships but bearing very little or no relations to any other Sci-fi series ever done. And there is no question that any future TV series dealing with space ships is going to have to contend with the changes that BSG has wrought on the genre.
The excellence of the series extends to the writing, which is the equal of any series on TV; to the acting, with an astonishingly deep and talented cast that just might be the largest in TV history; to the photography, as the series became one of the first to employ high def, hand held video throughout the entire run of the series. One evidence of the depth and superiority of the series is that it has become perhaps the most academically analyzed series on TV since BUFFY. There are currently four academic anthologies on the show, with more certain to arise.
Although Edward James Olmos has had a long and distinguished career, with Emmys and an Oscar nomination to his credit, his portrayal of Commander (later Admiral) Bill Adama is clearly the apex of his career. Similarly, two-time Oscar nominee (Best Supporting Actress for DANCES WITH WOLVES and Best Actress for the great John Sayles's film PASSION FISH) Mary McDonnell has never had a role better than that of Laura Roslin, the former Secretary of Education who suddenly finds herself elevated to President of the Twelve Colonies. Very tall (6'1) Tricia Helfer went from super model (she was long one of the featured models for Victoria's Secrets) to celebrated actress due to her amazing job portraying Cylon model Six. The most popular character in TOS was Dirk Benedict's Starbuck. In the reimagined series Starbuck became a woman, played outstandingly by Katee Sackhoff, one of the very best actors on television. In her performance Starbuck was just as tough as in the original, but vastly more complex and many-sided. She has emerged as one of the most popular characters on television. Michael Hogan plays alcoholic first officer Colonel Tigh; if there wasn't such an ingrained prejudice among voters against genres series, he would have won more than a couple of Emmys. Jamie Bamber as Apollo, James Callis as the mercurial Gaius Baltar, Grace Park as Boomer and Sharon Agathon, Tahmoh Penikett as Karl "Helo" Agathon, and Aaron Douglas as Chief Tyrol round out an amazingly stellar cast.
On top of all this excellence is writing that is not surpassed on television. Most TV series repeat themselves endlessly (e.g., on STARGATE SG-1, just how many times did they do alternative reality episodes, or have multiple versions of the same character?). BSG never, ever repeats itself. If Ron Moore reaches into his bag of tricks even once, he'll never pull that rabbit out of his hat again. The result is some of the most shocking plot twists in the history of TV. Each season ends on an almost unthinkable plot twist. Some episodes will cause your jaw to drop so frequently that you'll need an orthopedic surgeon afterwards. The Season Three finale, for instance, will shock you, then shock you further, then shock you yet again, only to shock you in the last minute to the point of incredulity.
In short, I recommend this series as highly as any ever made. Watch it NOW! Before the last ten episodes of Season Four (the final season) are shown. Be a part of something the likes of which television may never see again. There has never, ever been a TV Sci-fi series this good before (though FIREFLY had the potential -- and in fairness to that show, it anticipated much of BSG's aesthetic, from the no-aliens rule, to hand held cameras, to the use of zoom both on regular and CGI cameras, to the general gritty feel that predominates). There might possibly never been again, or at least not for a very long time. Heck, there might not even be more than a handful of series of any genre this good for a long, long time.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Cost vs the Costs, December 10, 2008
The Cost vs the Costs
I am not the type of person who normally does reviews. However, I saw the one star review and decided to post about it. First, if you have never seen Battlestar Galatica and scared of tin can and hokey one liners - forget what ever you think. THIS IS THE BEST DRAMA SHOW of all time. If you are a DIE HARD fan who refuses to look at the show because Starbuck is a woman or Baltar is some hip intelligent character; trust me, its better!
LET US TALK PRICES
Season 1
Buy new: $45.99 | Used & new from $29.24
Season 2.0
Buy new: $37.99 | Used & new from $15.00
Season 2.5
Buy New: $37.99 | Used & new from $23.33
Season 3
Buy new: $38.99 | Used & new from $33.02
Razor
Buy new: $14.98 | Used & new from $5.55
Total:
New: $175.94 | Used : $106.14
(Prices based on Dec 10, 2008 and Dec 11, 2008 Amazon pricing.)
If you are missing this in your DVD collection, it is well worth it. And if not for me, then think of the 6s and 4s who you would be missing out on. Trust me, you will want to see the Pegasus and her episodes.
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