Battlestar Galactica - Razor (Unrated Extended Edition)

It's hard to believe that over a year has gone by since I've caught up with the continuing saga of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, Ronald D. Moore's hard-hitting revision of the campy 1970's series. Since the time between the second and third seasons many fans had heard rumors of a spinoff TV project set either before or during the events of the series. And during that spectacular second season, with the return of the Battlestar Pegasus, many fans asked, "What happened to the Pegasus during the Cylons' attack at the start of the series?" With RAZOR, the Sci-Fi Channel has presented an epic lost chapter of the saga that answers many of the fans' questions and more.

Divided between present-day events and flashbacks, RAZOR tells the story of one Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobson), a young officer newly transferred to the Pegasus under the command of Admiral Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes). During her tenure she learns of Cain's ways of command while discovering her own edge and fearlessness in dealing with enemies both external and internal. Shaw soon exposes the secretive plots by Gina Inviere (Tricia Helfer) to lure the Cylons into attacking the Pegasus, eventually leading to her rise in command and to adopting Cain's ruthless nature as her own.

Meanwhile, Commander Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber), newly assigned as commander of the Pegasus in present-day times, orders an assault raid on a secret Cylon regeneration factory, one which brings back haunting memories of his father Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos) during the first Cylon war.

RAZOR effectively converges the two storylines into a strong cohesive whole, making for one extremely intense chapter of the BSG saga. Of course, it's been no surprise that during the film we get to see the old-school Cylons and their Raiders during the first Cylon war - hearing that classic "By your command!" brings back smiles and laughs from 30 years before! - which definitely more than pleases classic BSG fans. On the other hand, RAZOR offers some tantalizing hints of what we can expect in the upcoming fourth and final season of the series, with a possible plot hint that we may see developed by the series' end.

Universal Home Video has released RAZOR on DVD with not just one version presented but two - both the original 87-minute broadcast version and an unrated extended version with an additional 16 minutes of footage not seen in the U.S. While the disc package only advertises the unrated extended cut, it's quite a pleasant surprise that both versions are presented on this disc! You are given this option when you press Play, so it's quite the surprise indeed! I checked out the original broadcast version first, followed by the extended cut, and I've got to admit I prefer the extended cut more because of some of its additional substance that permeates RAZOR. Granted, the extended cut contains a bit more graphic violence and language not present in the broadcast version, so it plays more like a theatrical release. Both versions of RAZOR are presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format and in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with optional English subtitles.

The visuals are tightly packed with substance, though during the presentation I did notice some digital artifacting present. This is because of the disc's contents with both versions of RAZOR as well as its varied extras. Thankfully, the artifacting is minor overall, at least what I noticed, and the colors and blacks are rich and balanced. The sound mix is another tour de force for your 5.1 set-up, with explosions and dialog nicely balanced all around. How they continually manage to accomplish this with each successive BSG installment, I have no idea, because it keeps looking and sounding better and better!

The DVD release of RAZOR also contains a wonderful array of supplements. First off is a newly recorded audio commentary with series creators Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, as they discuss the origins of the telefilm and the intentions to present multiple storylines that bounce between present and past. As with their past commentaries, Moore and Eick are an enjoyable listen, and they continue to be extremely knowledgeable about their production and cast selections. The only caveat here is that the audio commentary is accessible only with the extended cut and not the broadcast version.

In "The Look of Battlestar Galactica", director of photography Stephen McNutt discusses how the series achieves its gritty, in-your-face look with each installment. Through a combination of handheld cameras, tightly developed set constructions, strong storylines, and realistic visual effects, we see how each episode looks more like a realistic drama than something clean and neat. We also get to see some on-set production footage from RAZOR as well. Running time: 10:00.

In "My Favorite Episode So Far", cast and crew members discuss, well, their favorite episodes to date. Moore, Eick, Olmos, Bamber, Helfer, Katee Sackhoff, Mary McDonnell, Grace Park, and others select some of the episodes that they found extremely memorable over the past three seasons, ranging from the first season premiere "33" to the second season finale to the third-season two-parter. Olmos' comments are most interesting, because he notes that perhaps the series' best episode may not be until the series' finale. For those of you who have not seen the third season at all (like me), beware that there are spoilers abound in this one! Running time: 7:00.

We also have two deleted scenes cut from RAZOR, running all of three and a half minutes in length, both presented in anamorphic widescreen format and Dolby 2.0 sound. Here, we witness Lee Adama preparing to depart for Galactica at the same time as Kendra Shaw's departure for Pegasus, while in the other scene we have Lee and Kara sitting in the conference room drinking and reviewing old mission tapes (from earlier in the series).

In addition we have a fourth season sneak peek (4:30) and preview trailer (45 seconds) which give us more tantalizing glimpses into what we can expect in the upcoming final season. Once again, for those of you who have not seen the third season, look out for big spoilers! (Of course, by the time you read this review, you'll already know what some of those big spoilers are, thanks to TV Guide.)

Finally, we have a series of wasted preview trailers, promoting upcoming Universal movies and DVDs, at the head of the disc that you can easily skip past in order to get to RAZOR.

Once again Universal has delivered another solid BATTLESTAR GALACTICA DVD release with their unrated extended cut of RAZOR, making for another excellent complement to the entire series. It's got me looking forward to the final two seasons of the series! Originally I had intended to have this review ready back in December, but when life changes affect you, sometimes DVD reviews become less important in the overall scheme of things. Oh well, better later than never!