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Battlestar Galactica & Caprica


John Crichton

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The soundtrack is #1 in soundtracks and #9 in music on amazon. That is impressive. It's an awesome soundtrack as well.

Wow!! Too bad my copy isn't here yet. :lol:

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Picked up the series in BR (too bad I don't have an HDTV). Haven't had a chance to watched the extended episodes in Season 4.

My BSG: Season 4 as well as Caprica scores arrived yesterday. I haven't really dived into Caprica yet. Loving the hell out of Season 4 though.

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I got my Amazon box that included Season 4's CD today. I'm enjoying it, but I must say I'm quite disappointed with the liner notes. I saw this thick booklet and was hoping for a track by track/thematic analysis like Murray Gold does for his Doctor Who releases, only to find page after page of kind words from the Galactica cast about Bear McCreary. That's great if it was his personal scrapbook, but not what I'm looking for with a CD release.

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I saw this thick booklet and was hoping for a track by track/thematic analysis like Murray Gold does for his Doctor Who releases, only to find page after page of kind words from the Galactica cast about Bear McCreary. That's great if it was his personal scrapbook, but not what I'm looking for with a CD release.

Bear has what you're after on his blog:

http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=2539

For more details about Daybreak, he wrote extensively about that score following its airing:

http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=1760

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Nice, thanks. I still don't see why that couldn't be with the CD and all the self-congratulatory stuff on his blog, but that's just me, at least it's out there.

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Wow, they are re-imagining it. Again!

Entertainment Weekly is confirming a story—first reported by HitFix's Drew McWeeny (and passed on by SCI FI Wire yesterday)—that Bryan Singer will produce and direct a new film version of Battlestar Galactica for Universal Pictures.

Here's how the magazine somewhat condescendingly reports the news without giving credit where it's due:

Universal Pictures has confirmed blog speculation that Bryan Singer, director of Valkyrie, will take on directing and producing duties for a BSG movie. Glen Larson, who created original series back in 1978, will produce as well. The film is not expected to be a continuation of current popular television show that's running on the Syfy network but will be a complete re-imagining of the sci-fi lore that was invented by Larson back in the '70s.

Other inaccuracies in the story: Battlestar, as we know, has completed its run on Syfy, though The Plan is still to come, as is Caprica.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Hi everyone.

I just recently started watching this as research for a score I am on (never heard of it before) and now I am hooked. I AM ONLY UP TO SEASON 2'S OPENING SO NO SPOILERS!!! IT would make me sad if anyone did that.

Anyway I am trying to acquire the soundtrack (mostly the drum and duduk tracks, anything percussive) but I am running into trouble finding it. I can't tell what is legit (there is this sight in Russia etc..) it all looks bad.

Can anyone either:

1) Sell me their old copies of CD (real, not copies) USA only

2) Direct me to a safe download location with high quality, encryption free mp3s or mp4s? I am looking for 320 kps +

I have to be able to bring these in pro tools for research

Thanks!

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Oh thanks I forgot to mention that I enforce a boycott of Amazon. I hate them. Any download options? There is no itunes.

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Oh thanks I forgot to mention that I enforce a boycott of Amazon. I hate them. Any download options? There is no itunes.

I could be a dick and say that boycotting one of the best online purchasing bodies is silly. To each their own. I'm rather pleased that they refunded $3 for my pre-order of Fallout 3 GOTY because of a price drop.

However, Barnes and Noble carries both soundtrack albums for $13.29 online, as opposed to the $13.99 each at Amazon; they admit the MSRP is $16.99, and if you were a member, you'd pay $11.96 each. Screenarchives.com wants $15.95 apiece, while MovieMusic.com wants $14.99 apiece, and these are usually the two best options for the limited edition soundtrack albums. In this case, LLR's BSG albums might be unlimited releases, hence available through Amazon and B&N.

As far as download options, if there is no iTunes, I don't know of any "legal" way to buy them, as I don't think LLR and the other specialty soundtrack labels deal in download purchasing. There are always illicit ways to get them -- I checked my one favorite spot and didn't see them -- but I hope you can afford $26.58 (plus S&H) for these two albums.

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Barnes and Nobles it is, had a bad run in with amazon regarding a PS - so I am done with them.

I just like instant gratification of not waiting for shipping. And yes I can afford 26 dollars, especially....

since I am not paying for it :)

Thanks guys!

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I could be a dick and say that boycotting one of the best online purchasing bodies is silly.

Boycotting THE best online purchasing site is silly. The few times I've ever had any problems they've cleared it up instantly with no hassle.

Another option is to buy straight from LaLa's website.

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Well I can see how one bad run-in with a company could leave a sour taste in your mouth when it comes to future dealings with that company, so I can understand. I've never had any problems with Amazon, but that's me.

Though I did receive one of my LOTR: CR in the mail with a torn spine in the cardboard box. Since I bought them from Amazon, B&N, and FYE online, and can't remember which came from which vendor, I don't boycott any of those places. 'It happens.

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Though I did receive one of my LOTR: CR in the mail with a torn spine in the cardboard box. Since I bought them from Amazon, B&N, and FYE online, and can't remember which came from which vendor, I don't boycott any of those places. 'It happens.

Probably due more to the fragile nature of the box. My ROTK box has pretty much disintergrated!

Regarding BSG 1 and 2, I know you boycott Amazon, but if you buy it from my link I'll earn about 20 cents! And that 20 cents will go towards my gym membership.

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Barnes and Nobles it is, had a bad run in with amazon regarding a PS - so I am done with them.

I just like instant gratification of not waiting for shipping.

Low prices and shipping is their strong suit. Free 2 day shipping anyone? I get my stuff on the release day.

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While some of the music for this series is rather effective, and at certain times actually good. So far there are too many moments that the music seems to be spoiling the mood.

Etnic wailing, Ehru's, duduk's, taiko drums all this so-called "eclectic" stuff is soooo old now. It's a cliche of a cliche.

The sad thing is that producers, directors and composers still seem to think they are doing something new, and different.

I jumped from season one, which had a rather dull and drab main title theme, (13 episodes and I can't even recall the melody) to season 2, which has a new one, that is even worse.

Yes the Stu Phillips theme draws heavily on Star Wars, but it at least makes an impression!

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The music gets better and more varied as the show goes on. Season 4 is the only CD I have and the only one I'm interested in. It's good, but I'll take Murray Gold's Doctor Who any day.

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I just watched The Plan

In short, it was extremely disappointing! Nothing new is revealed... at least nothing important or even interesting. All it does it re-show the events of the mini-series and seasons 1-2 of the show (A LARGE portion of this movie is recycled footage), but with new insight into the Cylon sides of things the whole time. Basically Cavil was giving orders to all the non-Final-Five Cylons the whole time behind the scenes. Woop-de-doo. There are also some new characters that seem SO forced into the plot just to have some new characters who were "there all along".

There was also, just like "Caprica", random bits of female nudity for no real reason.

It's also confusing. They keep referring to the Cylons by their numbers... well I'm sorry, other than 6 and 8 I don't remember which Cylon is which. They also repeatedly refer to specific events from the first season... well, I watched Season 1 when it aired 5 years ago, I don't exactly remember every last detail about it.

Unlike "Razor", which at least told a story that somebody who never saw the show could enjoy, this is ONLY for people who have seen the ENTIRE show. There's almost no plot, its just "hey look at this new side of this event!" over and over again. It appears that Edward James Olmos is the only non-Cylon that filmed any new scenes, though every other character ever pretty much appears (in recycled footage). Except a huge let down: No Lucy Lawless! Huh?

Anyway, I thought it was supposed to be about Cavill's ORIGINAL plan, and everything leading UP to the Attack On The Colonies, but it literally is just about the mini-series and Seasons 1 and 2. Oh well.

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I'm entering the final episodes of season 2. Which is even more complex and dark then the first one. (if you can believe that)

So far this has been a stellar series, but occasionally so dark that it becomes difficult to watch.

Season 2, having more episodes then 1 is a bit more diluted by good, but essentially ordinary episodes. (the black market one, the one were the copy Die Hard etc...)

The acting is very good all round, with Edward James Olmos making a strong center as Adama. Interestingly most of the time his acting consists merely of a gravely, whispering monotone. Yet it works brilliantly.

Music ranges widely from very effective (the solo piano for the scenes were Starbuck return to her home on Caprica etc...), to absolutely dreadfull. (the supposedly celebratory music when Galactica finds the Pegasus)

The main title cue is something you'd hear in a wellness salon.

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Seasons 2 and 3 have very similiar structures: stellar first halves with great mideason cliffhangers, then a weak spot the third quarter with some iffy standalones, then great finales. Fortunately season 4 avoided this and is great all the way through.

Olmos is wonderfully understated, isn't he? He does so much with so little.

I'll be interested to see what you think of the second half of the series, Steef. I know a lot of people that loved the first couple of seasons and then thought the show lost direction and went down the drain starting with season 3 (fortunately I'm not one of them).

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Olmos is wonderfully understated, isn't he? He does so much with so little.

Often he does not seem to be doing anything. He doesn't need too.

He also has a great stare, like in the scene Starbuck confessed to him that she passed his dead son for basic flight even though he was not a good pilot.

He just...stares....

It works.

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Music ranges widely from very effective (the solo piano for the scenes were Starbuck return to her home on Caprica etc...), to absolutely dreadfull. (the supposedly celebratory music when Galactica finds the Pegasus)

The main title cue is something you'd hear in a wellness salon.

Tastes differ and that has to be accepted although it's amazing that you call exactly the Music when Galactica finds the Pegasus dreadful. For me these tracks were among the best of season two and

in the episode they worked brilliantly. The Pegasus episode by the way is among my top 5 galactica episodes (Daybreak, The Hub, Faith, Pegasus, Pilot-Miniseries)

Never saw a wellness salon where they played Battlestar Galactica though...

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Watched The Plan last night. I have to disagree with Jason, I enjoyed it very much. Remember that old adage "no battle plan survives the first encounter with the enemy"? Well that's certainly true here. It is about Cavill's original plan, which was simply the total extermination of the human race. But then something went wrong- Galactica (and Pegasus) and a fair number of civilian ships survived. So the rest of the movie deals with Cavill's attempts to complete the plan, up to the "truce" brokered by the War Heroes (Boomer and Caprica 6) at the end of season 2, before the New Caprica fiasco.

There is a lot of recycled footage, but I think it works, and there is wonderful matching of new and old footage. There is a lot of depth and flavor that's added on to what we've already seen, mainly for season 1 and for the scene with the two Cavills in the brig in the season 2 finale, which is the end of the movie. Watching Cavill's machinations of familiar events is very satisfying. This is Dean Stockwell's show and he owns the screen, just as you'd expect.

My only disappointement is I was really hoping we'd see more of the Final Five's history- the original Earth, finding the colonies at the end of Cylon War I and creating the human Cylons, but all we get pre-miniseries is a short scene with the two Cavills the movie follows hatching his plan to exile the Final Five to human lives (and a bit sloppily too, you'd be forgiven if you thought that took place toward the start of the mini when it's mentioned in passing later that it was 30 years before). But that's my only real complaint, the rest is, while hardly ripe with revalations, very satisfying nonetheless.

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I could never really get into the music. It's not bad by any means, but maybe I'm just too nostalgic, as I miss the original theme. The battle drums especially don't interest me, if it weren't for the usually excellent effects photography, the battle scenes could be boring.

I'd like to see The Plan, although my experience with Razor taught me not to expect too much from the DTV movies.

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The battle drums especially don't interest me, if it weren't for the usually excellent effects photography, the battle scenes could be boring.

The cues for the big battle at the end of the mini are just shy of horrendous. There are times that McCreary's scores don't do much for me, especially early in the series, but nothing as bad as that.

The Plan was made on a pretty light budget, hince a lot of old footage I think, bit it's still worth it. There's a montage of all 12 Colonies being destroyed during the initial attack that's just amazing.

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I ended season 2 and started 3.

WOW!

That's pretty radical. The entire nature of the show gets turned around in the last half hour of the season finale.

It makes for riveting viewing, but It does feel to me that they thought of this new angle rather late in the game. Like someone had a last minute brainwave.

Adama has a mustage? his son is married and fat?

What the fuck?

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After you are done with each season listen to Ronald D Moore's commentary (podcast) for each episode, he will always tell you what was planned ahead and what was made up on the fly. It's always fascinating listening. But don't listen until you're many episodes ahead of what you're listening to, as he spoils things sometimes

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I'll never forget watching the season 2 finale when it first aired, seeing "One Year Later", and still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor half an hour after the show was over. Say what you will, the show's got guts.

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It does, but after completing season 3, there are stillsome things that puzzle me.

For some reason Starbuck and Tigh are now buddy, buddy?

Adama has completely switched arpund when it comes to Sharon, he not only seeks her advise, upgraded her living arrangments, but lets her marry Helo and become an officer again. In season 2 he could hardly look at her without trying to break her neck. Actually, the whole fleet seemed to have accepted Sharon???

The Adama's do have a bad father/son relationship, dont they ;)

Laura Rosslin, previously she could barely stand to touch Hera, now she treasures her.

Lee Adama, is actually a bit of a whing little sissy boy!

Laura is seriously hory over Bill Adama in season 3 ;)

The music was again an improvement, with some nice touches and no real annoying stuff, right up untill the very end :)

Apparently Bob Dylan songs can turn you into a Cylon.

Baltar is the most complex, and human character in the series.

Dean Stockwell is very good in this series.

And finally.

This series owes more to Deep Space Nine then to the original Battlestar Galactica.

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For some reason Starbuck and Tigh are now buddy, buddy?

They've both matured a lot.

Adama has completely switched arpund when it comes to Sharon, he not only seeks her advise, upgraded her living arrangments, but lets her marry Helo and become an officer again. In season 2 he could hardly look at her without trying to break her neck. Actually, the whole fleet seemed to have accepted Sharon???

Not the whole fleet. But Adama, yes. I think her actions to save the ship at the end of season 2 did a lot to convince him, he just didn't let it until the missing year.

The Adama's do have a bad father/son relationship, dont they :)

It's a roller coaster. The end of season 3 is the low point, though.

Lee Adama, is actually a bit of a whing little sissy boy!

And always has been. ;) "Waaa, daddy, you killed Zack!" But he's also the most purely heroic of any of the characters.

Laura is seriously hory over Bill Adama in season 3 ;)

Baltar is the most complex, and human character in the series.

Dean Stockwell is very good in this series.

You ain't seen nothing yet!

This series owes more to Deep Space Nine then to the original Battlestar Galactica.

Which is really strange when you consider that whenever Ron Moore talks about his time on Star Trek he only ever talks about TNG and never about his time as one of the main forces behind DS9's prime years.

I still absolutely hate the character of Laura Roslin.

;)

Laura was my favorite character in the show's middle years. It was Baltar in season one, and he is again the final year.

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They've both matured a lot.

Hardly? Starbuck is still a two-timing screw-up, and Tigh kills his wife and drinks. ;)

Not the whole fleet. But Adama, yes. I think her actions to save the ship at the end of season 2 did a lot to convince him, he just didn't let it until the missing year.

She is able to walk though "doggsville" without being attacked. I'd say that constitutes a radical change surrounding the fleets opinion of her.

The Adama's do have a bad father/son relationship, dont they :)

It's a roller coaster. The end of season 3 is the low point, though.

His testimony at the trail of Baltar was great though, so great that even his father could not ignore it.

BTW, I loved the Irish-sounding actor who played Baltar's lawyer.

And always has been. ;) "Waaa, daddy, you killed Zack!" But he's also the most purely heroic of any of the characters.

Yes, I do like the fact that all of the characters make mad descisions, have deep character flaws, etc...

You ain't seen nothing yet!

I hope so, he was missing in a lot of the episodes that dealt with Baltar on the Cylon ship.

Which is really strange when you consider that whenever Ron Moore talks about his time on Star Trek he only ever talks about TNG and never about his time as one of the main forces behind DS9's prime years.

Sad, but understandable. Since TNG is by far the most remembered by the general public.

He did great on DS9, season 6 and 7 were slightly less then 4 and 5. I think that is because he left.

So far I think DS9 has had better villians though. The Cylons are too often either not very interesting, or too puzzling in their intentions.

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Not the whole fleet. But Adama, yes. I think her actions to save the ship at the end of season 2 did a lot to convince him, he just didn't let it until the missing year.

She is able to walk though "doggsville" without being attacked. I'd say that constitutes a radical change surrounding the fleets opinion of her.

I'd say that constitutes the inability of the writers to convincingly develop a character. As much as I love(/hate) BSG, it really gets to me how the characters just change from one episode to the next depending on whatever bright idea or "issue" the show wants to examine this time around. Remember Lee's pregnant girlfriend from 'Black Market'? He didn't, until the writers decided he needed to, and then it promptly got forgotten again. Or Baltar becoming the rebel spokesman for the underclasses? Yeah, that one was well foreshadowed before it was just launched on us. Using the "1 year later" trick to skip over critically important character development between Adama and Athena was criminally lazy.

So far I think DS9 has had better villians though. The Cylons are too often either not very interesting, or too puzzling in their intentions.

That's because "they have a plan" which nobody bothered to tell the writers about in advance. I'd love to read a murder mystery novel written by Ron Moore, I can just picture him not bothering to figure out who the killer is until it's time to write the final chapter.

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Yes, so far I'm not getting a real sense of a "plan".

At first it seemed to be the Cylon/Human hybrid, then that went mostly nowhere. Then they wanted to start over with New Caprica, and now apparently they wanna find earth because they wanna start over.

And then there was all this stuff about the Final Five.

Remember Lee's pregnant girlfriend from 'Black Market'? He didn't, until the writers decided he needed to, and then it promptly got forgotten again.

How about Adama apparently being solely responsible for the Cylon attack on the 12 Colonies, because one of his pilots flew a mission into Cylon space. Another episode that goes nowhere.

Or Baltar becoming the rebel spokesman for the underclasses?

That reminded me of Doctor Bashir suddenly being genetically engineered. :(

And yes, the sudden change in behaviour in some characters between seasons 2 and 3 bothered me.

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Using the "1 year later" trick to skip over critically important character development between Adama and Athena was criminally lazy.

Groundwork had already been laid for the Adama's change of heart. Did you really expect nothing to change during the missing year, that all the characters would be exactly the same as when we left them?

Yes, so far I'm not getting a real sense of a "plan".

At first it seemed to be the Cylon/Human hybrid, then that went mostly nowhere. Then they wanted to start over with New Caprica, and now apparently they wanna find earth because they wanna start over.

And then there was all this stuff about the Final Five.

The plan for all intents and purposes was over at the end of season 2 with the attempted truce. They only stuck with the "And they have a plan" caption in season 3 out of habit and tradition, it's gone in season 4. And as is laid out in The Plan movie, the plan was a failure from the start.

Remember Lee's pregnant girlfriend from 'Black Market'? He didn't, until the writers decided he needed to, and then it promptly got forgotten again.

How about Adama apparently being solely responsible for the Cylon attack on the 12 Colonies, because one of his pilots flew a mission into Cylon space. Another episode that goes nowhere.

Yet more proof that Galactica was at its weakest when trying to do stand alone eps.

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Using the "1 year later" trick to skip over critically important character development between Adama and Athena was criminally lazy.

Groundwork had already been laid for the Adama's change of heart. Did you really expect nothing to change during the missing year, that all the characters would be exactly the same as when we left them?

Nope... But that's kind of the point. One year later and whoosh! Look how everyone's changed! And we didn't even have to lift a finger, development wise! I mean, it was obvious from the moment that Athena set foot on Galactica, she would eventually be accepted, but that leaves us with the journey of getting there, of having her win everyone's trust and see everyone gradually softening to her. Nope, one year later is much easier than actually doing some real work.

Don't get me wrong, I still think there's a lot to like, and even love, about this series. But if a little more forethought had been put into the plan*, a little more work done on believable character development, a little more effort into the making the show truly complex instead of just "edgy" and "gritty"**, it could have been a masterpiece (as I think both season 1 and most of season 2 are) instead of a good but flawed effort.

*I'm rewatching the series now, but every time one of those

bloody opera house scenes comes along, I cringe knowing it will all lead to absolutely nothing. The vision means that Roslin and Athena will chase Baltar, Caprica and Hera through the ship, and all of them will end up in CIC, where... nothing happens. Freaking profound.

**Ever notice how, despite the show's reputation for complexity and guts, when a conflict arises, the sides usually resolve into good vs bad, even if it means completely twisting the characters out of shape and ignoring any good points the 'villains' might actually have?

Am I really the only one who thinks the mutineers kinda had a really good point? Would you really want the people who caused the destruction of your entire civilization (and likely most of the people you've ever known or cared about) moving in next door to you? We aren't allowed to consider that though, since it's made so unambiguously clear that Gaeta, Zarek and every other person who sides with them are monstrous, soulless killers.

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Razor: A Very Special Battlestar Galactica

The Pegasus/Admiral Cain storyline is one of the highlights of season 2.

This film seems to do it's best to soften the impact of those 3 episodes.

I remember powefull scenes of Caine telling how she got Pegasus out of the fighting. Fisk confessing to Tigh about the atrocities commited by the Pegasus crew, and by Cain. Here we see them all acted out...

Since you know what's going to happen, you are just waiting for Cain to blow away her XO, for the Pegasus crew to start killing civilians. It's predicatble, and rather boring.

We are introduced to a new character called Kendra Shaw, who was apparently on the Pegasus all along, we just never saw her. I suppose we are meant to care for her in some way. I know I didn't.

Stephanie Jacobsen is pretty good in the Anjelina Jolie-like role. But...I dunno.

Nice to see the 1970's Cylons, but they were rather poorly rendered. Would it have killed them to put some guys in suits?

In her 3 episodes of season 2, Michelle Forbes made a huge impression as Admiral Helena Cain.

Her almost predatory presence was felt even in scenes were she was not in. From the moment you saw her, you knoew there was gonna be trouble. You knew that Adama had found his match.

We got precious little information about her, about why she did what she did, and about what she felt.

Sadly Razor supplies us with all the answers.

Sadly every one of them is a rather bad cliche.

It was a potent concept that a a cylon women could be tortured and gangraped countless times by the crew of a ship run by a women.

In season two that constituted a total hatred for Cylons, setting them completely apart from humans, despite they way they looked.

In Razor, it's just because Cain is a lover scorned apparently.

Caine also suffered a terrible childhood tragedy, she left her sister to hide from the Cylons, and when she went to look for her, al she could find was her sister's teddy-bear. (why are missing children always represented by the toys they left?)

This TV film also provides Cain with 2 cliches that I thought were pretty much gone from TV.

1-The powerfull, authoritive women at the top is a lesbian.

2-The lesbian is a psychopathic killer.

Added to that were some not so subtle (read, annoying) foreshadowing for season 4, and I have to say that I pretty much regret watching this film.

God I hate prequels!

* 1/2 out of ****

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