Battlestar Galactica: Season Three

I will be the first to admit I was wrong. Back in 2003 when I heard the Sci-Fi Channel was going to ‘reimagine’ a camp classic television series, ‘Battlestar Galactica’ I had my doubts. Up until then ‘reimagine’ was usually the code word for unoriginal trash. This was on the heels of feature film treatments of movies I loved, ‘Planet of the Apes’ and ‘The Time Machine’ both of which were the barest echoes of the originals. Like so many others I thought the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ of the late seventies was good old fashion fun. Happily the new series is one of the best television series ever. This series not only worked incredibly well as a science fiction story it was a fantastic look at humanity. Many of the themes presented here are allegorically related to events and topics that are on the front page of our daily newspapers. It shows a distant world but it relates to our own lives like few Sci-Fi series have been able to achieve. So many television series fall off after they have two seasons under their belts. This is not the case here. It defies all odds and just keeps getting better. The creative people behind this show constantly find ways to move the characters and story lines forward without sacrificing what drew us to them in the first place. This is the problem that most series have; they have to change things to keep them fresh while still remaining true to the concepts that made the show a hit. Many have failed in this by Roger D Moore and his team has done it in a huge way. the forth season is not set to begin airing until April but for the legion of die hard fans out there we have something to keep ups going until then. Universal will release the entire third season in March. Mr. Moore and his crew know that we are yearning for more original content so they have added a ton of extras to give us all a nice dose of Galactica until the long dormant season pass on our DVRs are reactivated.

The myriad of changes starts off right from the start. After much debate and controversy the people in the civilian fleet have voted replace Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) as President of the Twelve Colonies with her one time second, Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis). The main plank of his election platform was to stop running from the Cylons and settle on a recently discovered planet now named New Caprica. It didn’t take long for the artificial life forms to discover them and now the last humans are under the draconian rule of the Cylons. The Cylons have allowed the humans to retain a provisional government with Baltar as the president but everyone knows he is the lackey of the true masters. The only defense against the Cylons, the battlestars Galactica and Pegasus have jumped out of orbit to a distant location. The ships are commanded by Admiral Bill Adama (Edward James Olmos) on the Galatica and his son Lee (Jamie Bamber) in command of the Pegasus. Both try to formulate a mission to bring the humans on New Caprica back to the fleet. The humans of New Caprica are not willing to submit and go quietly into that dark night and a resistance movement is form lead by former Galactica executive officer Colonel Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan). He is now missing a eye care of the Cylon’s interrogation methods. By the forth episode the humans are back in space thanks to the sacrifice of the Pegasus.

Once back in what has passed for a normal routine the social issues start popping up. A secret tribunal ‘The Circle’ begins to hold courts of judgment sentencing and executing anyone with a history of collaborating with the Cylon occupation. Particularly targeted are members of the New Caprica Police, a human staffed group of storm troupers working for the enemy. The members of ‘The Circle’ include Saul Tigh, Chief Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas), Samuel Anders (Michael Trucco), Ensign Diana Seelix (Jen Halley), Jean Barolay (Alisen Down), and Charlie Connor (Ryan Robbins). Eventually they are disbanded but they demonstrate the hatred in the fleet towards anyone that helped the Cylons. At this point the most hated human, Baltar, is with the Cylons on one of their base ships. He feels he has to demonstrate his worth to them and actively works against the interests of the humans. He also becomes the bed time pet of two of the leaders of the humanoid Cylons a Number Six (Tricia Helfer) and a Number 3 (Lucy Lawless). This Number 3 becomes obsessed with discovering the identities of the almost mythical final five models. These have been hidden for ages and not even the leading Cylons know what the look like.

Eventually Baltar is returned to the humans to stand trial for high treason and other miscellaneous crimes against humanity. The episodes concerning this went to the heart of the justice system, the right for anyone to have counsel and war crimes. In the middle of a space series you get a touch of lawyer drama. There are also a few human interest stories. One focuses on the love triangle where Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) is torn between her husband Sam Anders and Lee Adama. Chief Tyrol has married a crew member Cally (Nicki Clyne) while on the planet and they now have their perspective changed by the addition of a new baby. There is another child to be concerned with, the first Cylon-Human hybrid Hera the daughter of Karl Agathon (Tahmoh Penikett) and his Number 8 model wife Sharon (Grace Park). The Cylons and the humans come to a direct confrontation on a planet with the ancient religious artifact, the Eye of Jupiter. It points the way to the lost colony of Earth, a goal for both sides.

Some fans on the web have stated that this is one of the lesser seasons in the series. Moore (RMD to fans) has stated that the forth season will be the final one. This puts season three in the position to set up the ending. This naturally means many loose ends and some clues as yet unexplained. This season was fantastic and achieved what part it has in the overall story. You have the division of the humans between those that fought on New Caprica and those that aided the Cylons. This is reinforced when Baltar becomes a quasi-religious figure in the fleet. There is also an episode that focused on prejudice some colonies have for others. Not all the twelve colonies are seen as equal. The Gemenese are considered religious traditionalists. The people from Sagittaron practice a religion that prohibits most medical advances and are considered backward. People from Aerelon are considered farmer hicks while those from Caprica are seen as the intellectual elite. As always the society is defined by your placement in the military, your religion and where you are from; not so different from real life. RDM has created a finely detailed microcosm of our own world.

The writers here let their characters grow emotionally. As with real life not all the changes are positive or even instigated by the person. The characters in this series respond to the situations realistically and this is the strength of this series, including this season. Season three is a rebuilding year for the story. Allegiances have changed, the years in space have bared many nerves and religion is about to clash with the military and political government once again. It is only natural for the penultimate part of a grand story to come across as slower than the previous installments. The stage is being set for what promises to be the best ever. The cast here is unimaginably great. Every actor is so well suited to his or her part that you see the characters as living human beings.

Universal knows that this release will be scrutinized by all the fans out there. You just can’t phone in a plain vanilla release here without expecting a ton of mail. The basic specifications are anamorphic 1.78:1 video and Dolby 5.1 audio. Universal delivers here and I doubt anyone will be unhappy. RDM has proven that the fan base for this series is computer literate and they are constantly online. He has read the message boards and made adjustments in the story based on fan response. He also knows that a DVD release of this season needs special extras. Instead of tacking on a few ad hoc featurettes RDM has planned for this release from the start of the season. The extras will include the following.

That is over fifteen hours of extras, more than enough to keep us all busy until the April start of the climatic season four. This is a must have not only for fans but for anyone that appreciates great television.

Posted 02/04/08