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proggrrlHi folks.
So I saw BSG RAZOR this weekend.
Meanwhile, I most definitely encourage all of you to NOT watch a shitty download of this film. Hang on for the final TV or DVD version. As usual for BSG, the effects and the cinematography are fantastic. You will MISS STUFF if you watch this as a low-res digital file!
So I saw BSG RAZOR this weekend.
RAZOR is an excellent double episode and a revisiting of a very dense, important time on the show. There was much more detail to be mined out of the Pegasus arc of BSG, and I was pleased to see them jump back into this. Additionally, RAZOR has added a very key point that ties in neatly with everything we learned about Starbuck's destiny in S3.
The revisiting of Cain's command was certainly fascinating for anyone who watched the entire series to date and has a firm grasp on the timeline. That she and Gina were lovers, allowing Gina immense access to all the battleships secrets, made sense. Shaw's execution of civilians, and the way it haunted her and eventually destroyed her, was very moving and well done.
Especially fascinating was the show's final scene between Adama and Lee. They are writing history; they will be the ones who record, for posterity, the apparent right or wrong that Cain has wrought. Did Cain put into her logs, I wonder, that she executed her XO in the CIC in front of the whole crew? Did anyone ever find out that Shaw was the one who pulled the trigger in the civvy ship? Adama's line, comparing himself to Cain, and flat out stating that without Lee and the rest of his familial unit with him, he might have acted just like her, was brilliant.
This time around, RAZOR paints many of Cain's actions in a new light - quite a change from our perspective on her during S2, where sympathies were placed squarely with Adama/Roslin. Whenever I think about the Cain we knew from S2 and that section of the season, I am reminded of how Roslin and Lee abandoned half the civvy ships they collected in the original miniseries. How similar are these events, in a time of war? Some fans I talk to feel Cain was an evil psychopath, and any sane military organization would have shunned her. But, when you are in the heat of a battle that may annihilate your SPECIES, are those judgements meaningful?
Adama seems to think not.
RAZOR's new characters and new interactions/ships were very engrossing. I really enjoyed seeing Cain with her original XO, Cain as she warmed up to Shaw, everything involving Gina, and Shaw's interactions with Lee and Kara. And, for us K/L shippers: now we know why Kara went back to Galactica, eh. Hard-frakking-core pilots...again.
My favorite scene that didn't involve shit blowing up and TOS cylons getting busy, was most certainly Starbuck catching Shaw about to take a hit in the mess kitchen. As Adama said, "I'd sell tickets to that dance."
I am very curious to see if Moore has decided to bring the BSG:TOS 'Beings of Light' into the picture somehow for the final arcs of his show, especially in regards to Kara's reappearance and Head Six/Head Baltar. RAZOR didn't seem to indicate anything in that direction. Unless of course that dying old hybrid was not what he seemed...
There is one issue I take with this stand alone 2-ep flashback...this "TV movie"... whatever it is. As strong as RAZOR's story may be, and as well-woven into the big-picture canon, I was really disappointed with how little all the other BSG characters had to do here. We don't have enough time to really get to know Shaw, or Gina, in a 1.5 hour show, with all the other plot bits that need time and attention. I wish RAZOR had relied more heavily on the rest of the crew - these are all characters that are previously well-drawn, and would not need as much screen time to make maximum impact.
This ties into one of the reasons I suspected BSG might not make the transition from TV show to movie with great ease. This is a heavily serialized show which is at its best when it is unraveling story slowly over 13/22-episode spans. Complicated plot threads involving over 25 characters weave in and out of each other. Distilling that into a 2-hour movie format boils away too much of the tasty bits that I get from BSG.
That said, seeing RAZOR not as a stand-alone movie, but simply early eps of S4, ties it all together.
Part of me is disturbed that Starbuck, my favorite character, is now being positioned as potentially the "herald of the apocalypse," the "harbinger of death" for the human race. Certainly, as all good BSG fans know, this could also be another cylon trick and/or twisted meaning. But it didn't play that way. I'll stay strong knowing it's a terrific new ripple in the story, despite my worries. Gods know I love a great story.
[I just went back and watched that intense S4 promo spot we got a month ago...Notice how right when you see Kara and Lee hugging, the voiceover is Roslin saying "it's a cylon trick!" *worries* ]
Final decision? RAZOR was fraktastic. I wish I didn't miss this show so much. "Get a life, lady!"
The revisiting of Cain's command was certainly fascinating for anyone who watched the entire series to date and has a firm grasp on the timeline. That she and Gina were lovers, allowing Gina immense access to all the battleships secrets, made sense. Shaw's execution of civilians, and the way it haunted her and eventually destroyed her, was very moving and well done.
Especially fascinating was the show's final scene between Adama and Lee. They are writing history; they will be the ones who record, for posterity, the apparent right or wrong that Cain has wrought. Did Cain put into her logs, I wonder, that she executed her XO in the CIC in front of the whole crew? Did anyone ever find out that Shaw was the one who pulled the trigger in the civvy ship? Adama's line, comparing himself to Cain, and flat out stating that without Lee and the rest of his familial unit with him, he might have acted just like her, was brilliant.
This time around, RAZOR paints many of Cain's actions in a new light - quite a change from our perspective on her during S2, where sympathies were placed squarely with Adama/Roslin. Whenever I think about the Cain we knew from S2 and that section of the season, I am reminded of how Roslin and Lee abandoned half the civvy ships they collected in the original miniseries. How similar are these events, in a time of war? Some fans I talk to feel Cain was an evil psychopath, and any sane military organization would have shunned her. But, when you are in the heat of a battle that may annihilate your SPECIES, are those judgements meaningful?
Adama seems to think not.
RAZOR's new characters and new interactions/ships were very engrossing. I really enjoyed seeing Cain with her original XO, Cain as she warmed up to Shaw, everything involving Gina, and Shaw's interactions with Lee and Kara. And, for us K/L shippers: now we know why Kara went back to Galactica, eh. Hard-frakking-core pilots...again.
My favorite scene that didn't involve shit blowing up and TOS cylons getting busy, was most certainly Starbuck catching Shaw about to take a hit in the mess kitchen. As Adama said, "I'd sell tickets to that dance."
I am very curious to see if Moore has decided to bring the BSG:TOS 'Beings of Light' into the picture somehow for the final arcs of his show, especially in regards to Kara's reappearance and Head Six/Head Baltar. RAZOR didn't seem to indicate anything in that direction. Unless of course that dying old hybrid was not what he seemed...
There is one issue I take with this stand alone 2-ep flashback...this "TV movie"... whatever it is. As strong as RAZOR's story may be, and as well-woven into the big-picture canon, I was really disappointed with how little all the other BSG characters had to do here. We don't have enough time to really get to know Shaw, or Gina, in a 1.5 hour show, with all the other plot bits that need time and attention. I wish RAZOR had relied more heavily on the rest of the crew - these are all characters that are previously well-drawn, and would not need as much screen time to make maximum impact.
This ties into one of the reasons I suspected BSG might not make the transition from TV show to movie with great ease. This is a heavily serialized show which is at its best when it is unraveling story slowly over 13/22-episode spans. Complicated plot threads involving over 25 characters weave in and out of each other. Distilling that into a 2-hour movie format boils away too much of the tasty bits that I get from BSG.
That said, seeing RAZOR not as a stand-alone movie, but simply early eps of S4, ties it all together.
Part of me is disturbed that Starbuck, my favorite character, is now being positioned as potentially the "herald of the apocalypse," the "harbinger of death" for the human race. Certainly, as all good BSG fans know, this could also be another cylon trick and/or twisted meaning. But it didn't play that way. I'll stay strong knowing it's a terrific new ripple in the story, despite my worries. Gods know I love a great story.
[I just went back and watched that intense S4 promo spot we got a month ago...Notice how right when you see Kara and Lee hugging, the voiceover is Roslin saying "it's a cylon trick!" *worries* ]
Final decision? RAZOR was fraktastic. I wish I didn't miss this show so much. "Get a life, lady!"
Meanwhile, I most definitely encourage all of you to NOT watch a shitty download of this film. Hang on for the final TV or DVD version. As usual for BSG, the effects and the cinematography are fantastic. You will MISS STUFF if you watch this as a low-res digital file!
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Date: 2007-11-12 12:55 pm (UTC)I've written a bit of spec about the Hybrid knowing Kara's name, but I have the nasty feeling that BSG is simply going to use "prophecy" as a deux et machina to move everything along...