DVD : Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 [2006] [2004]

Rating: - Brilliant on all levels!
I had never seen the original Battlestar Galactica and watched this mini series because it was cheap and I saw it had reasonable reviews. BSG is now my favorite TV show. The characters are complex and believable, the story is dark yet superbly told and the show combines stellar acting with some fantastic action sequences. As a whole the series manages to be compelling in many ways. The music and CGI are top notch and the wonderful cast add depth to every issue that gets raised and many are. This is no black and white story as it hinted at in the mini series and it is astounding how deep it all gets while never losing sight of the struggles of the amazingly well defined and diverse characters.

The mini series itself was the first thing I have ever watched that brought me to tears just with the sheer emotion it exuded, it has a real quality (possibly helped by the decision to have documentary style camera effects) that means everything impacts the audience much more than is usually the case and enables us to care much more deeply about characters we've only just been introduced to. As an opening to the new series this mini series did a brilliant job of drawing me in and it was well worth it. The stories are A grade, the characters are powerful, cowardly, crazy, moral, heroic, stoic and more and all backed up by a tense atmosphere, a terrifying yet still sympathetic enemy (when the show begins to delve into that), and quality music and SFX while still being a show that feels very real. It is dark, yet not without some hope and rarely stops hitting you hard emotionally. A masterpiece.

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Rating: - A Worthy Re-Imagining of a Classic Sci-Fi Show.
The Only other successful Re-Imagining of a Classic Show other than this is DOCTOR WHO. But BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has done well as a sci-fi drama kicking the original out of the Galaxy.

A True Representation of Television made good.
When I first heard of it i thought "Yet again, They'll screw it up." But the New version grabbed me from the Pre Title on the Miniseries right until the Cliffhanger. starting on the First Season Currently then moving on to seasons 2 & 3 (Already Seen RAZOR - Not a Bad Film).

some of the many things this version has over the original is the fact that the Galactica is a ship that was meant to be put in mothballs. The shocks that are through the whole story. But the thing I love most is the Blake's 7-esque feel to it: that unlike the original the deaths are thivk and fast (By The End of "33", the first episode of Season 1, the Survivour count had reached 47,972, Went Up by 1 when a Child was born on the rising star, and kept dropping throughout Seasons 2-4)

Hands Down the Best GALACTICA So Far.

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Rating: - Favourite TV for years!
If you have not seen any of the recent remaking of BSG, then I wholly recommend you watch this first! The 'mini-series' is basically the introduction to this wonderful remaking. As a kid in the early eighties the original BSG was one of my favourites and a remaking is like a dream come true.

It really is sci-fi of top drawer quality. It does take itself quite seriously, but I like that and can get put off by other sci-fi shows that are quite tongue-in-cheek. The characters are great and the special effects are also awesome. Highly recommended.

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Rating: - You'll watch this because of the first two series but it's nowhere near as good
It seems that the writers may have taken themselves a bit too seriously in this installment, because the pacing is incredibly slow. The religious and political aspect of the show takes on a far greater role, and as a result the balance of the show is greatly interrupted. There is far less action, and this is replaced with long, drawn out and wordy scenes which in my opinion are very pompous indeed. Also, the plot lines are a lot less strong-there are some episodes where you just think "oh please, this is just ridiculous." One very important episode springs to mind-the whole series could come to a close, but the ending is preposterous, and is just glossed over, then things move on to the next episode (trying not to include spoilers here). You'll watch it because you have to in order to keep up with the series, but it really is pretty poor in comparison to the first 2 series.

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Rating: - Intelligent, Compelling Science Fiction
Season Three contains BSG's best and worst moments. Luckily for this viewer, the worst moments are niggly and the best brave and bold.

The writers of BSG had set up an intriguing storyline at the end of season 2 - a huge city on a difficult planet, with the Cylons running a brutal occupation over the citizens of New Caprica. Season Three wastes no time in showing the desperate lengths that the embittered survivors in New Caprica will go to when fighting the Cylon occupation. Suicide bombings, people betraying other people, and double-agents are the de-rigour from the offset. This is challenging science-fiction, showing chilling contemporary relevance and a bold vision.

Characters continue to make tough choices, right up until Admiral William Adama arrives back with the Battlestar Galactica to make one of the most audacious rescues in television history. Without spoiling anything, it is pretty special and well balanced with some intense characterisation.

The challenging storylines continue with the fleet seemingly 'reunited', but nonetheless still 'split', with the survivors of New Caprica bitter and looking for reparations over their own extreme actions and those who allegedly collaborated with the Cylons.

Its at this point though that the season begins to 'sag' a little. There are excellent story arcs here and there, but occasionally the feeling of 'stand-alone' episodes seems to seek in. Opinion seems divided on them. To me the raging-bull-esque 'Unfinished Business' is strong and a brilliant piece of direction, but I felt frustrated by some of the other episodes, as either threads are suddenly buried, or I just didn't feel interested enough in some of the other threads.

Still, BSG's weaknesses put most other Science Fiction (i'm not just talking about television), to shame. The acting remains nuanced and compelling, even if a 'soap-opera' feels does permeate the rivalries that develop over the essentially forbiden love of Lee Adama and Kara Thrice.

As always though, BSG pulls its best punches in the final third. One character seems to vanish, while the trial of disgraced president of New Caprica, Guis Balthar, provdies a good dramatic weight to anchor the final episodes. As always there's one heck of a shift in terms of story at the end (and without spoiling it), which makes the final season seem like it will have plenty of story to get into, without, one hopes, veering to close to some of the weaker aspects of this series.

Certainly when its at its best, BSG is compelling Science Fiction of the highest order. Highly reccomended. (If you're starting from scratch get the mini-series and the 1-3 boxset. It's worth it!)