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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1099 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-12-26
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 103 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The revival of Battlestar Galactica has proven not just to be a roaring success with viewers, but one of the most critically-acclaimed science-fiction series too. Battlestar Galactica: Razor’s place is as an introduction to the events that take place in the fourth season of the show. Yet it’s also a terrific feature-length TV movie in its own right.

The story of Battlestar Galactica: Razor actually focuses quite a lot on a different Battlestar, the Pegasus. Throughout the movie, we see it under the command of the love-to-hate Admiral Helena Cain, while we also follow Lieutenant Kendra Shaw under her tutelage, and Lee Adama’s first mission in charge of the Pegasus.

Naturally too, Battlestar Galactica: Razor isn’t shy of Cylons, as we see them in the infancy of their attack on humankind. And all of these ingredients make for some interesting back story to the main show, and a great one-off piece of entertainment too. It doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to the action sequences, and there’s some worthwhile character work in there too.

While clearly intended as an appetite-whetter for the fourth season of Battlestar Galactica, Razor nonetheless has enough in the tank to more than hold its own. It proves to be yet another example as to why Battlestar is the show that’s been topping science fiction fans’ favourites lists for some time. --Jon Foster

DVD Description
Battlestar Galactica: Razor is a special 2-hour movie event made for TV broadcast. The DVD will contain an extended version of the broadcast that includes all-new characters and more action and visual effects than any previous episode in the popular series, as well as behind-the-scenes interviews with the series creators. An indispensable backdrop to the events that will take place in the Fourth Season of BSG, Razor is a must-own for fans of the series.

Battlestar Galactica: Razor takes you on an edge-of-your-seat adventure with an epic untold story of Lieutenant Kendra Shaw and the other Battlestar, Pegasus. Battlestar Galactica: Razor tells the story of Lee Adama’s first mission as commander of the Battlestar Pegasus and reveals the story of how Admiral Cain served her ship during the original Cylon attack on the Colonies.

Synopsis
Those craving an extra dose of the gritty and smart sci-fi of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA will be pleased by this TV movie addition to the show's canon. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - RAZOR prepares the audience for the fourth series of the show, featuring Lee Adama's (Jamie Bamber) first experiences leading the battlestar Pegasus. But RAZOR also takes viewers back to the Pegasus commanded by Admiral Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes, STAR TREK - THE NEXT GENERATION). In her three-episode stint, Cain quickly became one of the Peabody-award-winning show's most hated villains--and best characters--thanks to her brutal brand of leadership. Here Cain takes Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Chaves-Jacobson) under her wing just as the Cylons are beginning their genocidal attack against humanity. Later as Lee Adama's XO, Shaw must step up to her new role as she faces the demons of her past. RAZOR also reveals more about the mystery of the Cylon-human hybrid.

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Customer Reviews

Good for existing fans, not necessarily essential
This review is for the UK region 2 version.

First off the Razor episode itself. If you are an established viewer of the series the main character will be new to you, her name is Kendra Shaw; a rookie officer who starts to serve aboard the Battlestar Pegasus only moments before the devastating attack against the human race by the Cylons. A few of the other characters will be familiar to anybody who has watched season two, especially Admiral Helena Cain played by Michelle Forbes, her X.O Fisk and an enigmatic I.T. lady who we've seen many times before. Most of the time we are seeing things from Kendra's point of view, like most BSG characters (and real people) she has her flaws but is also quite likeable. A few of the events that occur under Cain's command aren't as shocking as they might have been as we've already heard about them from a not entirely reliable source, although actually seeing what DID happen is as dramatic as it needs to be.

Running alongside this plot thread is a 'present' story (although all of this episode is set before the end of season two) of Lee Adama's first mission as commander of the Pegasus, again involving Kendra, now more battle hardened after serving under Cain. This involves a few of the regular Galactica characters and includes back-story that we haven't previously heard about and the appearance of the old school Cylons from the original series. There are also flashbacks to the first war mostly centered around a certain young Viper pilot.

The episode runs to just under 1 Hour 40 minutes, I assume all this 2 Hour talk included overly frequent commercial breaks. Effects work is great as ever and if you're a fan I'd be very surprised if you didn't enjoy Razor, I certainly did. The reason I say this may not be essential is because there doesn't seem to be much that is vital to the actual series apart from one comment made towards the end, from what I understand Razor was meant to be a stand alone but I'm not sure I could recommend it to newcomers.

Extras:
A couple of deleted scenes (about 3 mins).
A sneak peek at season 4, the main cast and excutive producers give soundbites without really revealing much (about 2.5 mins).
Season 4 Trailer, ooooh (about 30secs)
7 'Minisodes', flashbacks to the first war, most of which are in the feature anyway (just under 20 mins)
Not listed on the back of the DVD box but ON the disc: Informative and interesting audio commentary with Co head-honcho: Ronald D. Moore and the writer of Razor: Michael Taylor. Made specially for the DVD and not a podcast.

I am such a geek.

great but don't buy it if your getting the series box sets
This is a really good special of Battlestar Galactica, but don't buy it if you get the series box sets, as its included in the Series 4 box set as disk 1. Bit annoying as I own both now

Really excellent, but make sure the R2 has the R1 features
According to Amazon it seems the UK will be getting the extended version of Razor after all. The language and the gore in the extended version is a bit stronger than the standard TV episodes, but the real bonus (at least on the R1 version) is the inclusion of 7 mini episodes totalling nearly 20 minutes of extra footage. These aren't actually listed as extras on the R1 DVD, so I was very pleased to find them included. Not sure whether the R2 release will get them or not. Definitely worth buying with the release of the full Season 4 boxset almost a year away. If these 2 episodes are a taster of whats to come, then the final season of Galactica is going to be a cracker! So, make sure the R2 DVD has the same extras before buying, if not order the R1.