Battlestar Galactica: Razor

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Battlestar Galactica: Razor
File:RazorCoverFinal.jpg
Developed byRonald D. Moore[1]
Written byMichael Taylor[2]
Directed byFélix Enríquez Alcalá
Starringsee below
ComposerBear McCreary
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time88 minutes
Original release
NetworkSci Fi Channel
Release24 November 2007

Battlestar Galactica: Razor is the title of a television film of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series. It premiered in the United States on Sci Fi Channel,[3] in Canada on the Space channel[4] and in the United Kingdom on Sky One HD.

Production

Sci Fi Channel confirmed on March 21, 2007 that part of the show's renewal for a fourth season of 22 episodes included a television film to be released sometime in the fall of 2007. The film comprises two of the 22 episodes. Leaked copies of the movie began appearing on torrent sites at the end of October 2007.[5]

While Razor is set in the past, relative to the conclusion of season three, Ronald D. Moore has stated that "the events set up in that story will then pay off in Season 4."[6] He explained his rationale for involving the Pegasus, saying that "one of the story lines everyone had really liked was the Pegasus story and the character of Admiral Cain, so we decided to go with that."[6] Moore has also said, "We'll try to reassemble most of the Pegasus cast."[7]

The episode includes flashbacks to the original Cylon War, complete with original series Cylons, Raiders and Basestars. References include a golden Centurion commander, and another Cylon saying "By Your Command."

Steve Bacic guest stars as Colonel Jurgen Belzen; Pegasus's original Executive Officer,[8].

Cain's hatred towards the Cylon prisoner Gina is revealed as the fallout of an affair between them and Cain's feelings of betrayal.[9]

Plot synopsis (extended version)

Razor takes place during Apollo's first days as commander of Battlestar Pegasus and uses flashbacks to show Admiral Cain's orders during and shortly after the Cylon holocaust, as well as events occurring on the final day of the first Cylon War. Cain's actions in the wake of the Cylon holocaust are connected to the present by Kendra Shaw, self-described as Cain's legacy; events of the final day of the first Cylon war are relayed by Admiral Adama, who discovered a lab containing the early Cylon experiments on humans as well as the first Cylon hybrid, and by Admiral Cain, who witnessed the death of her parents and sister at the hands of Cylons invading Tauron.

Lee Adama's first priority as Pegasus commander is to restore trust and integrity to the troubled command he has taken while preserving some continuity in the leadership that had evolved under Admiral Cain. He picks Major Kendra Shaw as his executive officer despite the stark contrast between Cain's fulsome praise and subsequent Pegasus commanders' complaints about her performance. First coming aboard Pegasus less than an hour before the Cylon attack on the colonies, Shaw followed Admiral Cain's order to make a risky "blind jump" that saved the ship from destruction at Scorpion Fleet Shipyards.

After Pegasus receives reconnaissance information that all their colonies have been destroyed, Cain gives a rallying speech inciting the crew to war for the purpose of revenge. The crew responds by chanting "So say we all" throughout the ship, and the Number six agent Gina Inviere is seen awkwardly joining along.

Commander Lee Adama's rookie mission as Pegasus commander is a search and rescue mission to retrieve a lost science team. Cylon fighters enter the area and make a run against Pegasus. Simmering bitterness between Starbuck and Shaw is exacerbated when Shaw makes a defensive maneuver to protect Pegasus despite endangering Starbuck and her wingman. Both pilots land safely and an archaic Cylon Raider crashes into Pegasus.

Later, during an exchange of words, Shaw reminds Starbuck that defying authority is a risky proposition aboard Pegasus, recalling how Cain shot her executive officer, Colonel Jurgen Belzen, for refusing an order to attack a Cylon staging area filled with raiders. It was also during this mission that Gina Invierre helped Cylon centurions board the Pegasus and Kendra Shaw discovered Gina's true identity.

Viewing the wreckage of the raider, Sharon Agathon notes that Cylon lore tells of a group of original centurions tasked to guard the first hybrid built by the Cylons as a result of their human experiments. Admiral Adama then recalls his rookie mission as a Viper pilot, when he encountered that hybrid and the early Cylon experiments on humans. Admiral Adama concludes that the Cylons must still be pursuing the experiments, with the captured science team as new test subjects.

Commander Lee Adama approves a plan to use Pegasus to find the base star, draw the Cylon raiders away from it, and then launch a rescue team, including Starbuck and Kendra Shaw, and outfitted with a nuclear warhead, in a Raptor. Admiral William Adama transfers his flag to Pegasus to counsel his son on his first command. The diversion succeeds in getting the rescue team aboard the base star, but not without the loss of their Raptor.

As the rescue team searches the base star, the Cylon hybrid can be heard speaking in more coherent phrases than its counterparts on modern base stars. It repeatedly utters the words "All this has happened before, and will happen again." The hybrid also makes a far more elaborate pronouncement:

Soon there will be four, glorious in awakening, struggling with the knowledge of their true selves, the pain of that revelation, bringing true clarity. And amidst confusion, you will find her... Enemies brought together by the apostle, enemies now joined as one. The way forward, once impenetrable, yet inevitable. And the fifth, though still in the shadow yet clawing for the light, hungry for redemption, that will only come in the howl of terrible suffering. I can see them all, the seven, now six self-described machines who believe themselves without sin. But in time, it is sin that will consume them. They will know enmity, bitterness, the wrenching, the agony of the one splintering into many. And then they will join in the promised land, gathered on the wings of an angel. Not an end, but a beginning.

The science team is found and partly recovered, but the rescue team comes under fire from Cylon centurions. While the team manages to evacuate the base star in a second Raptor, the nuclear warhead is damaged and must be detonated manually. Wounded, Shaw remains behind to detonate the warhead, and comes face to face with the Cylon hybrid.

The hybrid offers absolution to Kendra, who is then revealed to be haunted by the fact that it was she who fired the first shot in the massacre aboard the Scylla as part of an operation to conscript civilians into the crew of the Pegasus. The hybrid then tells her that Kara Thrace is "the herald of the apocalypse, the harbinger of death" and that "they must not follow her." Shaw tries to relay this information to Lee Adama, but is stopped when the Cylons jam communications. Her final act is to detonate the nuclear warhead manually, destroying the basestar.

On Galactica, Admiral Adama reflects on Cain's legacy and proposes a posthumous commendation to Kendra Shaw, over his son's protests that she and other members of Admiral Cain's crew butchered innocent civilians. They close their arguments, however, noting that their logs will lay the foundation for all of history to come, and Lee agrees to consider bestowing the commendation.

DVD release

Since original series creator Glen A. Larson still held all film rights regarding the show, "Razor" aired first on television. Nevertheless, it was quickly released to Region 1 DVD on December 4 2007, 10 days after airing,[10], while the Region 2 DVD was released on December 26 2007.[11] The DVD versions feature an extended cut and include extras such as the cast members discussing their favorite episodes. SciFi.com also allowed fans to choose the cover art for the DVD release. The winning cover was announced on September 14 2007.[12]

Cast

Notes

  • In the original design of the DVD cover the Battlestar Pegasus is shown to be part of Battlestar group 75 (BSG-75), which is actually Galactica's group. Pegasus's group is BSG-62. This has since been corrected.[13]
  • In a previous attempt to relaunch Battlestar Galactica, before the current reimagining, a movie was proposed to feature the Battlestar Pegasus, by Glen A. Larson.[14]

References

  1. ^ Ronald D. Moore at IMDB
  2. ^ Michael Taylor at IMDB
  3. ^ http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/razor/
  4. ^ http://www.spacecast.ca
  5. ^ http://www.digitalalchemy.tv/2007/11/galactica-razor-leaked-on-bittorrent-22.html
  6. ^ a b The man behind "Battlestar Galactica"
  7. ^ Details About the Battlestar TV Movie Revealed
  8. ^ http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Jurgen_Belzen
  9. ^ Adm. Cain's Secrets From The Grave
  10. ^ http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/razor/
  11. ^ "Battlestar Galactica: Razor DVD". Amazon.co.uk.
  12. ^ http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/razor/
  13. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Battlestar-Galactica-Razor-Final-Box-Art-Correct-62/8107
  14. ^ Glen Oliver (March 16 1999). "GALACTICA Reborn ((Todd Moyer talks to Glen about the new movie, Richard Hatch press release, etc. !!!))". aintitcoolnews.com. Retrieved 2006-06-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  15. ^ http://www.battlestarevent.com/

External links

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