Customer Reviews

Battlestar Galactica Season 2

5 star:		(168)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This new Battlestar Galactica 2.5 DVD boxset release is full of special features and bonus material to attract all viewers. The split season format is great. It airs as half seasons on Sci-Fi and they release it to match its airing schedule and system. There are so many special features, you could spend more time watching them then the actual episodes.

One of the greatest bonuses to the set is the much anticipated and greatly debated extended version of the episode `Pegasus' this special version is over an hour and a half long it was not aired in this format due to time constraints. It views like a feature movie. It has amazing special effects and amazing cinematography.

Other features include deleted scenes, which are broken down by episodes, include the producer's podcasts that aired on the Sci-Fi channel's website during the original airings, and the producer's video Logs and much much more. The deletes scenes are broken down episode by episode.

The bonus material, if not ignored, will help viewers better understand the choices made in preparing the episodes and the season for release.

This half of season 2 has many unique twits and turns in the plots and lives of the characters. We are also introduced to new human cylon models. As to the content itself, in this half of season 2 the central character is Sharon,with her actions developed alongside those of (spoiler alert!) those of a few different Cylon version of her. Byond Sharon's development on Batlestar Galactica and Battlestar Pegasus, which is presented as strongly intertwined with the fate of the whole human race, a great deal of the season deals with relationships - Professional and otherwise - and especially friendships. Striking interactions occur between President Roslyn and Commander Adama; in the complicated relationship between Starbuck and Apollo; with Sharon and, well just about everybody.

In the broader scheme of things, by this point in the series the complexities of guiding a free population while trying to avoid the Cylon army has taken it's toll on both military and civilian leaders of this rag-tag group of humans trying to find a new home on a lost planet called Earth.

The excellent character development in this half of the season can be attributed to very strong scriptwriting. The cliffhanger ending leaves you mouth watering and you desperately awaiting season 3 - which hopefully, after snagging this DVD set, you can finally get caught up in watching. The Sci-Fi channel has to date released 4 of 10 web episodes that have story line development between season's 2 and 3. Season 3 begins airing in the US and Canada on October 7th for the first time the episodes will air in both countries at the same time. We here in Canada will not have to wait days, weeks or months for the US show to finally come to Canada.

BSG is often called the best Sci-fi on television and Newsweek has gone so far as to call it the best drama on TV. With such high praise and the series consistently receiving great reviews - not to mention the special features and additions offered in the 2.5 DVD - how could this DVD box set not be worth every penny?

So Say we all.

(First Pulished in Imprint 2006-10-20 as 'Galactica's secon half sizzles: Recently released DVD set offers rewarding bonus features'.)

For those already familiar to the series: This set of DVDs offers some decent bonuses- you'll find that it includes an expanded version of the midseason cliff-hanger "Resurrection Ship" with some deleted scenes incorporated into the show. I liked this a lot, because watching the deleted scenes seperately from the show/movie usually loses some of the impact of the scenes. This alone makes the two part season purchase worthwhile in my opinion. The other extra material is standard- commentary and making of features.

In the second half of Battlestar Galactica's second season, you will enjoy the resolution to the arrival of the Pegasus in the climax of "Resurrection Ship". The show also brings the resistance movement on Caprica into better focus, and makes the characters there more important to the overall story. One aspect of season two that I am not completely sold on at this point is the expansion of the Cylon's internal structure, as expressed in the Cylon war-hero story. I think I enjoyed the mystery and confusion behind their true motives. It would be a shame for the arch-villains to become predictable and stale.

For those already addicted to this show, 2.5 will satisfy you to a point, but I believe the finale will only be justified by where the show goes in season 3. Right now I am a little skeptical, and will even go so far as saying it approaches the hokey sci-fi clichés (granted, clichés that we all like to watch) that the show has so assiduously avoided so far. One thing the final episode will do is set up a whole new string of story possibilities in the coming season/seasons; it is such a crazy ender that I don't see how they can possibly resolve the issues in the first episode or even entire season 3. Maybe that's what the whole idea ultimately is about: creating more story possibilities. The final cliffhanger is not quite as emotional as the assassination at the end of season 1, but it will leave you wanting more.

If you happen to be a new to this sci-fi phenomenon, I highly recommend you first watch season 1. This series is not the typical sci-fi that is `plug and play' at any point in the series (ala most Trek series). If you jump in midstream, you'll probably find yourself asking "what the ____?" and "why do I care about this character?". This quality is one of the shows strong points, conflicts are not resolved every 50 minutes and tidily packaged so that the next episode will be back at square one. Like real life the problems and troubles often follow the characters through their journey. And I will add this - Battlestar Galactica manages to bridge the gap between `sci-fi' people and people who typically don't watch sci-fi. I can say this with nearly complete certainty. I am a sci-fi person in the military, and I have enjoyed spreading this show around- despite many initial and long term refusals. Right now the tide has turned and most of my fellow officers and many men in the battalion are hooked on the show. So give it a shot, you won't be disappointed.

I love this show! In addition to being a great sci-fi series, it works perfectly well as a gritty drama. In the wake of the attempted genocide of the human race, a fleet of 50,000 survivors have left their homes in an attempt to escape their oppressors, the half human/half machine Cylons, in an attempt to find refuge on a little planet called Earth.
Led by President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), who is dying of cancer, and Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos), the fleet was last seen about to do battle with... fellow humans? Yes, after the discovery that the Battlestar Pegasus has also been on the run in the 7 or so months since the Cylons attacked the 12 Colonies of Kobol, a disagreement about leadership has Adama and Roslin looking down the figurative barrel at Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes), the commanding officer aboard the Pegasus and Adama's superior. The two-parter "Resurrection Ship" shows that the immaculate pair of Adama and Roslin can sink very low if they need to in order to protect the fleet. The two episodes also contain a huge revelation regarding the Cylons that may allow the humans to actually begin to have a chance at combatting their enemies.
As the second half of the second season progresses, the characters that we've grown to love (or in some cases, love to hate), are put through more trials as they deal not only with the Cylon threat, but also each other. Vice President Gaius Baltar (James Callis) has his loyalties divided due to the discovery of a captured Model No. 6 (Tricia Helfer) aboard the Pegasus. Of course, the twist is that they are divided three ways; to his fellow humans, to the corporeal 6 (known, possibly as a joke to a group of people who dislike the show, who call the show GINO, or Galactica In Name Only) as Gina, and finally to the mental 6 that he sees in his head. Capt. Lee "Apollo" Adama, the commander's son, is given more responsibility as his role as pilot and CAG is expanded to do gritty missions, including shutting down a black market ring. Of course, the now Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace acts tough as usual (but then, we wouldn't have it any other way), though her position as best pilot/biggest b**** aboard Galactica is challenged by one of the pilots she trained in season 1. And the love triangle of Sharon "Boomer" Valerii/No. 8 (Grace Park), Chief Tyrol (Aaron Douglas), and Karl "Helo" Agathon (Tahmoh Penniket) is further strained by the arrival of the cylon/human hybrid baby as well as the creation of a kind of "love trapazoid" when Cally (Nikki Clyne) begins to express her feelings for Tyrol. Even another love triangle forms when Lee begins to become the object of affection of Dualla (Kandyse McClure), much to the disappointment of her boyfriend Billy (Paul Campbell).
Unfortunately, these 10 episodes contain some of the weakest of the show's run. Episodes like "Scar" and "Black Market" are only ok by comparison to some of the show's episodes, most of which are amazing. Still, the weakest episode of Galactica is still 10 times better than the best episodes of most of what's on television these days. There are many really good episodes in this set, including "The Captain's Hand", and "Sacrifice". Also, the two-part "Resurrection Ship" is wonderful, as is "Downloaded", which is told from the point of view of the Cylons on the planet Caprica. However, I must say that "Lay Down Your Burdens, Pts. 1 and 2" have ousted "Pegasus" as my new favorite episode(s). While the season finale does share a slight similarity with the season 1 ender (the discovery of a planet), it is handled much differently this time around, and there are numerous other things going on. By the year's end, another Cylon model will be revealed (taking the total to 7 known models and 5 to be discovered), a few characters in the military will be promoted, and, in the second part of the season finale (which is an extended episode), there will be more twists and turns than you can shake a stick at, especially in the last half hour.
The writers continue to impress as the characters are taken in great new and terrifying directions. This show is unpredictable, and it revels in going places many shows fear to tread. Every character is flawed in some way, and the people inhabiting the universe of BSG are some of the most human characters on television. Sadly, we didn't see much of Ellen Tigh (Kate Vernon), the insane wife of Galactica's executive officer Col. Saul Tigh (Paul Hogan). On his own, Tigh is a self-destructive alcoholic, but Ellen serves to take all his worse tendencies and amplify them, as well as planting ideas of ambition in his head (think Lady Macbeth crossed with 24's Sherry Palmer). Ellen is despicable, but she is part of what makes this show great; she forces Tigh to confront his demons in the most twisted ways imaginable.
The stories are also amazing; the show is very much a product of a post-9/11 America, and that is reflected in the grim, survivalist nature of the fleet. The humans once thought that nothing could touch them, but now their entire way of living has been obliterated, and they must scrape by living on crowded ships with meager rations to sustain them. Furthermore, the lines of good and evil aren't drawn clearly; the Cylons view their actions as just and right. Even though they claim not to condone murder, in this case, the ends justified the means. And of course, no human is completely good or evil. Even Baltar, who can't seem to pick a side, can't always be blamed for his actions, as he is certifiably insane. That doesn't make his horrible decisions and actions right, but he isn't doing them because he is "evil". In a clever twist, the writers even reversed the roles of religion on the show; most of the time in film and television, the protagonists are monotheistic (unless they live in a time/place in history where a polytheistic religion is practiced), but here, the "good" humans are the polytheists while the "evil" Cylons worship the "one true God".
Battlestar Galactica is without a doubt one of the best series on television. While many people tend to look down on science fiction series as trivial and childish, this is anything but. The messages that are found layered within the plots of the story accurately reflect the state of the world today. If you don't want to take my word for it, look at the numerous mainstream critics who love the show, such as Time Magazine (which listed it has the best new show of 2005) and Entertainment Weekly, which is trying to get the show nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Drama (which, unfortunately, it probably won't get due to the academy's phobia of sci-fi; but then again, LOST won, so I guess anything's possible). If you have yet to check this show out, buying season 1 should be a top priority for you!

Hopefully both halves of Battlestar Galactica's second season will be issued together in one DVD set soon. But "Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.5" still gets high marks from me for the intense battle of wills between Michelle Forbes's Admiral Cain and Edward James Olmos's Commander Adama, which will determine how the surviving Colonial fleet will protect the humans fleeing from their merciless Cylon foe. This second half of Season Two is important too in playing out the consequences of Boomer's (Grace Park) pregnancy, especially after revelations of her less-than-human origins disclosed during the first season and first half of the second season. President Laura Roslin's (Mary McDonnell) relations with Commander Adama remain important dramatic fare too, though now the emphasis lies more on her incurable illness and the consequences it might have for a potential successor like Gaius Balter (James Callis).

Is "Battlestar Galactica" the best science fiction television drama? No, it is quite simply the best drama airing now on American television. Series creator Ronald D. Moore and his crew of writers and technicians have done a fine job keeping intact the edgy, gritty qualities of Season One which made "Battlestar Galactica" popular with viewers. However, I still regard "Babylon 5" - especially from its second through fourth seasons - as the finest science fiction drama ever to air on television. "Babylon 5" series creator J. Michael Straczynski wove such a fascinating, elaborate web of drama and fascinating back-story, with ample religious connotations from Christianity and Buddhism, and discrete references to such science fiction and fantasy classics as "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Prisoner" television series, which has yet to be equalled by Ronald Moore and his crew. Still, I strongly recommend acquiring "Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.5" to those unfamiliar with this series, as well as loyal fans. You will be well rewarded with ten hours of gripping, intense drama that deserve recognition for being the finest currently airing on American television.

This DVD set of Battlestar Galactica (the new series) encompasses the episodes 11-20 of the second season.

211 Resurrection Ship Pt. 1
212 Resurrection Ship Pt. 2
213 Epiphanies
214 Black Market
215 Scar
216 Sacrifice
217 The Captain's Hand
218 Downloaded
219 Lay Down Your Burdens Pt. 1
220 Lay Down Your Burdens Pt. 2

This DVD set has all my very favorite episodes on it. The two episodes that reveal more about the Cylons (Scar and Downloaded) are both phenomenal. In Scar, we learn more about the Cylon raiders, which are not funny-looking vipers piloted by Cylon pilots (like in the first series) but the ship itself is a space-dwelling AI robot/cyborg that is downloaded and reborn when it is destroyed just like the human-form Cylons. In Downloaded, we get to see occupied Caprica and into Cylon society. It's fascinating and tour de force world-building.

My favorite episodes, though, are Lay Down Your Burdens (1 and 2.) In these two climactic episodes, so much happens that changes the plotline so much. I was astonished. It always amazes me how incredible the writers are in this series that they progress the plot and allow the characters to change so much with every episode that the characters' arcs over the course of these first two seasons are huge. BSG is probably the best show on TV.

TK Kenyon
Author of Rabid: A Novel and Callous: A Novel

End game, and BSG comes out victorious! All the old characters with a lot more detail! They have taken a great deal of effort to dig into character background and history. The casting is superb. I can't name one character or actor that I don't like, or like to hate...
Some people will claim that this show doesn't have a high-tech focus, they are wrong. BSG weaves truth into their science so well that the charcaters don't have to compete with the technology throughout the show. Bar none this is the most realistic space flight and combat of any show I have ever seen. The principals of weightless flight are evident in the fast turns and flips of the fighters. Cartrige style guns and the lack of energy weapons round out a great battle sequence in each battle. Even the lack of wormwholes or stars racing by during an FTL jump seem reasonably realistic.
But you need more than great characters, science & actors to have an outstanding series. You need a great story and you'll find it here. They held true to many of the original ideals of the 1970s Battlestar Galactica, then they broke the barrier of modern era minds and how to entertain us. Intrigue, drama, action, all suround the enhanced storyline to create the best scifi show ever! I'm hooked and everyone I introduce this series to says the same. I only have one complaint, the DVDs can't come fast enough and when you do get them you get no rest until you've watched them all! Needless to say, I highly recomend getting this show on DVD.

Sleepless nights await!

Folks, I don't get all the hubbub over the release of the Season 2 DVDs in two separate packages. Universal released the 2.0 package in the USA before the second half of Season 2 even aired, which was a very cool thing to do. Now you're complaining because they are releasing the other half separately. What would you have Universal do, release only a complete-season package and screw over the people who bought the 2.0 release??? And the price isn't all that bad. They're still charging $45.00 for the Season 1 package, which is only 13 episodes plus the miniseries.

As for the show itself, I am totally addicted to this series. This is the first and only series I have ever bought on DVD, just because it's worth watching again and again. I'm just finishing up Season 2.0 again, and that is some of the best television ever made. Period. I admit, however, that Season 2.5 fell down a bit in quality in between the "Pegasus Pt 2" and "Lay Down Your Burdens" bookends. The other S2.5 shows are still good, but they seem a little more "television-y." Supposedly Season 3 is going to be mind-bogglingly intense, but that's what hype is all about, eh?

You know you are going to buy Season 2.5, so just go ahead and do it already!

When Amazon asks us for customer reviews, they are asking us for reviews not of the show alone, but of this particular offering: this show's presentation on this DVD set. As such, my review is tempered. Were I able to rank this offering solely and merely on its content, five stars would not be sufficient. I strongly believe that this is perhaps one of the finest -- and possibly THE finest -- of all the various shows that have hit the airwaves within the last few years. Ron Moore's writing is taut and gripping, the acting is first-rate, touches of humor abound, and human relationships take center stage, even amongst those inhuman, despite spectacular eye candy (and candy of both the CGI and slinky kind!).

That all having been strongly emphasized first, the mercenary rate at which NBC/Universal Studios has chosen to price its Battlestar Galactica offerings simply cannot be ignored. Season 1 was only 13 episodes, yet it was priced at $60. The two individual half-season offerings are only 10 episodes each, yet they're priced at $50. That works out to $4.61 an episode for season one, $4.99 an episode for seasons "2.0" and "2.5." For comparative purposes, a comparable hit, "Lost", offered its 24-episode second season for $60, which is half that: $2.50 an episode.

This product would easily receive five stars were it only to be priced at a rate designed to be equal to those offered for other television seasons. As it stands, charging full price for half-content is an act extremely insulting for a show that has received such emphatic and enthusiastic support, and NBC/Universal Studios should behave better; the review is thus downgraded accordingly. I would, in fact, downgrade it to a single star, except that I cannot bear to go on record as having given this fine series such a low rating. I would gladly rate this a full five stars were the complete season offered for a $60 list price; as it is, charging a $60 list price for a 13-episode first season, or a combined $100 list price for a 20-episode second season, even one this good, can only be termed massive gluttony and avarice on NBC/Universal's part.

The Good:

* Battlestar Galactica. This series is one of the best, most original offerings that television has produced. It is thought-provoking, briliantly acted, slickly produced and powerfully emotional. Other than gushing on and on (and without wanting to spoil too much), I can only say to the prospective viewer: watch this series. Start with the pilot movie of Season 1, not here, but get here; watch this series.

* Edward James Olmos. The man deserves special recognition for his role in this series. The acting, on a whole, is top-notch, here... but Olmos' Adama? Legendary.

* The Season Arcs. This season starts of really strongly, resolving the split command issue that 2.0 ended on. Then, it gears itself towards a thrilling Season Finale involving the inevitable split between Roslin and Baltar. Incidentally, the Season Finale is one of the bravest, riskiest things I've ever seen a television show do. I'm very interested to see how they pull things off in Season 3. This is a series that knows what drama is, and how to achieve it, and it always makes sure to enter and exit on high notes. And, speaking of Baltar...

* Dr. Gaius Baltar. What a complex character. Battlestar Galactica is a show that delights to play in the grey, rather than the black or white (you'd think, at least, that the race of living machines determined to extinguish the human race would be Evil... right? But even that is more complex in BSG). Baltar exemplifies the grey. He's a man who, for all of his intellect, never quite knows what he's doing. Like many of us, he's moved both by his better and his worser feelings, without really ever knowing where they will wind up taking him. His guilt and paranoia are ever-present, and his sanity is questionable. And yet, at times, he does try to do "what's right." It is heart-breaking when, at the end of this season, he does not stoop to question the morals of his political opponent (despite the fact that he actually has been betrayed).

The Bad:

* The Middle Patch. If I must come up with something "bad," in order to fulfill my gimmick, I'll say that while the show enters and exits on high notes, this half-season looses just a tiniest amount of steam in the middle stretch of episodes. There were a few times when I thought that the show was sort of biding its time, waiting for the larger issues to mature (such as the pregnancy). Also, some of the "filler material" (such as the on-again/off-again "romance" between Starbuck and Apollo) felt a little rehashed and half-hearted. But really, I'm being a little picky, here. Overall, even the weaker episodes of BSG are still quite good compared to the majority of television.

The Ugly:

* 2.0/2.5...? Releasing half a season is an awful idea. I hope that the studio has suffered enough negative feedback (and not made so much money on it) that they go back to form and release a whole season 3.

* Waiting. It's horrible, having to wait so long to resolve the cliffhangers that this series creates. Having to wait so long before spending more time in the company of these wonderful characters.

Overall:

* Five stars, without question. There is nothing either so bad or so ugly about this series that can really take away from its amazing strengths: intelligent writing, wonderful acting, involving storylines, excellent production values, etc., etc., etc. One of the greatest television shows, all time.

I think we all would prefer a Complete Second Season to this 2.0/2.5 system they devised this year. $67 for this show is a bit steep. Consider than you can download the entire second season at decent quality from iTunes for $26. That seems almost like a better deal. Granted it won't look quite as good, nor does it have the extras that the DVDs have, but if one is just trying to share the show with new people... $67 is a bit steep for Season 2.

I know it's nice to have 2.0 out in the mid-season break, but I still feel like this is not a good value, and I don't imagine I'll buy this until they offer a Complete Second Season at a decent price point. (Say maybe $45 or so)