I hate to say it, but I was late to the Battlestar Galactica party. I watched part of the mini series when it aired, but for some reason, didn’t pick it up when the series started.
I just recently watched the series in it’s entirety. Then I went back and watched it again from beginning to end on Blu Ray. And now, I’m watching it for a third time. It takes a lot for me to proclaim that a show is my favorite of all time. The only other show I’ve really done that with was the X-Files. I ended up having to retract that title after the fifth season.
But in all honesty, I can say that BSG is by far, my favorite show. On one hand I’m sad it’s ended but on the other I’m glad it did. They didn’t drag it on too long (I’m talking to you Chris Carter) and they wrapped things up in the end. Perhaps not the way some would have liked, but it came to a final conclusion. The characters had depth and were above all else, human. Meaning they all had faults and we as the audience got to experience both their good and bad sides. It’s not a secret that the shows issues were an allegory for the issues that we as a society have dealt with. It made you think and that aspect is just one more thing that made this show great.
If you don’t already know about BSG, let me bring you up to speed. The latest and indeed, truly greatest is a re imagining of the original TV series that aired in 1978. The series follows a rag tag fleet of survivors led by the battlestar Galactica. Commander Adama, Starbuck, Apollo and crew fight against the Cylons for humanity’s survival while trying to find a new planet to call home.
Having watched the show on regular DVD first, then watching it on Blu-Ray right after, I can say that the show transferred beautifully. The atmosphere of a gritty documentary is present where it should be, and the smooth textures are where they need to be as well. Some of the CGI could be a bit better, but that’s just me nit picking. The best features of the Blu-Ray however have to be the sound and the extras.
The quality of the sound is incredibly clear and it’s best demonstrated in the battle scenes. The sounds of the ships, cannons, explosions, dialogue between pilots are all very easy to make out. If you have any type of surround sound system, and watch this, turn it up to 11. It’ll make you feel like you are part of the battle.
For anyone who, like me, loves the behind-the-scenes treats, this set is full of them. The first season doesn’t have a whole lot of extras with the exception of the podcasts with the producers etc, but the rest of the set gives great insight into what goes into the filming of the show.
If you go to the official BSG page on the SyFy website, you can see clips of videos from producer David Eick’s videoblog. The Blu-Ray box set has these videoblogs as well as behind the scenes featurettes with members of the production crew, extras, writers, directors and even members of the cast. There is also a series of webisodes that are included. There are actually two different web series on the website, but I only saw one of them in the set. The one included fills in some blanks from part of the third season.
One of the greatest attributes of the show, was the music. The extras contain a couple of in depth pieces with the show’s composer Bear McCreary. Once you watch this, you’ll appreciate the time and effort that goes into scoring a TV show. This guy and his orchestra truly speak another language and are masters at their craft.
The packaging of the box set is bulky and not really necessary. Each season is packaged in it’s own flip top box and all 4 season boxes are contained in a rather large un-storable 4 sided box. But, it also comes with a handy dandy Cylon action figure! I got rid of the large box, because I just don’t have the space to store it, but the Cylon has his place and sits right above my TV.
The box set is priced anywhere from $200 – $250 (US) depending on where you go. It’s steep, but I would say totally worth it if you’re a fan of the show. You can also get the seasons individually, but then you won’t get the cool little Cylon guy. I know this is a series that I will revisit time and again and you should definitely check it out.
