Customer Reviews

Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Just an FYI that in this box both THE PLAN and RAZOR are included. While RAZOR has its own packaging, THE PLAN is weirdly just in the case for Season Four Disc One, though there is no indication of this on the sleeve at all. So, rest assured, it's all here folks. Just very strangely presented.

I recently upgraded my DVD BSG collection to Blu-Ray with the purchase of this product. This review is more about the Blu-Ray version than the series itself (which I consider to be top-notch.) As expected, the picture and sound quality is excellent. This is the series as it was meant to be seen. My quibbles are more with the packaging of the Blu-Ray material as there are small annoyances which detract from the whole. Like many others, I would prefer to have an paper episode list. Also an annoyance is the storage of the disks themselves. The packaging makes it difficult to get at the individual disks. I find myself turning the whole season package upside down and shaking to get one out. I would have preferred something similar to the DVD seasons where each disk is in its own plastic space. The cardboad slot method in the Blu-Ray is clumsy, and to me, a scratched disk waiting to happen. For the price, I would have expected a bit more in the quality of packaging and presentation.

Anyone that is a fan will love the Blu-ray quality and features. I only have 2 small complaints. First, there is no guide to what is on each disc, unless this was just missing from mine. Unless you have a table of contents from your DVDs you will have to have a good memory if you want to track down a specific episode. 2nd, I personally don't like having to slide the discs out of the awkward sleeves in this special boxed set - the potential for scratching is too great. I'm tempted to stick the Blu-rays in my DVD cases.

Fifty years ago, humanity's robotic servant Cylons suddenly turned on their masters. After a nasty war, the Cylons retreated into far space and a tense truce was maintained.

But of course the story doesn't stop -- and it turned out to be a rare case of a remake becoming spectacularly better than the source material. "Battlestar Galactica - The Complete Series" is a grimy, dark, violent and ultimately hopeful sci-fi adventure saga that isn't afraid to dip into philosophical and theological matters. And while it has its ups and downs like any series, it's a brilliant and powerful piece of work.

Forty years after the war's end, the Cylons unexpectedly return to the Twelve Colonies and start wiping out ships and cities. The Battlestar Galactica (an aging warship about to be turned into a museum) is forced to flee the world of Caprica with a collection of refugee-crammed ships, under the command of Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos) and Secretary of Education-turned-President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell).

Now the people of the Twelve Colonies must find a new home -- and their new goal is Earth, a legendary planet with other humans on it. Unfortunately, they have been infiltrated by the treacherous scientist Gaius Baltar (James Callis), and a group of Cylons who are almost indistinguishable from human beings -- they even have emotions and can interbreed with humans.

But the journey is the real test: sabotage, assassination attempts, betrayals, shortages of water, food and fuel, the introduction of cruel martial law, religious conflict, the discovery of another surviving Battlestar called the Pegasus, and the overhanging fear of infiltration by the humanoid Cylons. And though they find a habitable (but miserable) planet, soon the ragtag fleet is forced to flee again -- and eventually discover that their goal is not what they hoped...

Anyone expecting "Battlestar Galactica" to be a copy of its predecessor is going to be horribly disappointed. This is sci-fi at its most compelling and transcendent -- a gritty, bleak, dark story of war and desperate escapes, and there are plenty of moral dilemmas (Roslin ordering the death of a baby Cylon/human hybrid). And it explores the truly compelling questions about what it is to be human and alive -- and to deserve to be.

And the writers brilliantly wrap together hard SF with threads of mystical science fiction, and undertones of religion and philosophy. The writing is solid and snappy ("Old gods die hard") and even manages to pull off dramatic and powerful dialogue without being cheesy ("She chose me. Chose me over all men. Chosen to be seduced. Taken by the hand. Guided between the Light and the Dark").

And each character is given an intricate and complex journey to follow, filled with pain, death, sorrow and slowly moving beyond their own personal problems. Friendships are pulled apart, alliances are formed, and lots of horrible and morally questionable choices are made. Some of these people are redeemed, some are destroyed, and some discover that they are not even human.

Olmos and McDonnell are the powerful leaders in this story, and both actors do a brilliant job -- especially Mcdonnell with Roslin's breast cancer, and Olmos with his tragic past. Other standouts: Callis as the ever-changing Baltar, Michael Hogan as the unlikeable Saul Tigh, and Grace Park as a humanoid Cylon whose love changes her goals.

But the true standouts here are Katee Sackhoff as Kara Thrace (aka "Starbuck") and Tricia Helfer as the ethereal humanoid-Cylon Number Six. Both women's fates are intertwined with the search for Earth, and it's fascinating to see how they shape the show. Sackhoff's character in particular comes across as annoyingly more-macho-than-thou at first, but the slow evolution into "harbinger of death" and destiny makes her the most compelling of all.

The complete box set is going to apparently include relatively few extras -- it obviously has all the seasons included along with assorted extended episodes, promotional stuff for the prequel spinoff "Caprica," deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes stuff, interviews, and so on and so forth. It also includes the "Razor" spinoff and webisodes, and obviously the original miniseries. Basically don't bother if you already own the seasons -- and until the price drops, it isn't terribly economical.

"Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series" is a stunning and powerful story that transcends the sci-fi label, and deserves to be praised to the skies. Definitely a must-see.

To watch Battlestar Galactica in Blu-ray is truly an amazing experience. It is so crystal clear. Blu-ray is the way to go.
So nice to watch commercial free. Thanx Amazon!!!!!!

I bought the series not really having seen many episodes on TV. My wife and I watched the entire series in a month. She normally hates sci-fi anything but really enjoyed this series. I'm excited to hear they are looking to make a pre BSG where Adama is a teenager!
Over all I must say this was the best tv series I've ever had the chance to watch. Thumbs way up!

This set made me waste many hours in front of the tv. It has great extras that give it great replay value

I ordered Battlestar Gallactica for my husband. He absolutely loves it and watches epsisodes whenever he gets a chance. I thought at first, the boxed set seemed a bit pricey but once we received it, I realized it is quite a large set. I would have eventually gotten all the seasons for my husband anyway, so it seems much more affordable to purchase the series this way. I have never been a fan of Battlestar Gallactica, but find myself watching and asking questions if the t.v. happens to catch my eye. The old version from years ago seems like a bore to me but the new series seems interesting and intriguing. Even our our older kids are sitting down and watching with my husband. The whole family is getting addicted. I am happy with this purchase and dealing with amazon.ca was easy and fast. I accidentally ordered the 70's version for my husband at first, but easily retuned it and got on ordering the new series right away...my husband is content now.

I am enjoying this series for the most part. My only real gripe is the fact that I purchased this so I could just watch the shows. Problem is at the beginning of every episode they still have the recap video that may have been helpful if I was watching a weekly series. I am not I am watching a Blue-ray compilation of all the episodes, so having to watch what I have just seen over and over again is really annoying. This is nothing new as I noticed the same thing with Caprica and now with Game of Thrones although with Game of Thrones you can just skip the first chapter and you are good to go with Galactica they mix some of the new episode in with the recap.

I just recieved this item in the mail (oh happy day!) and I just wanted to clear up some confusion re: what's in it. It has the mini series, complete seasons 1-4, The Plan and Razor, both extended. The packaging is very traditional: each season in a set, then all 4 sets + the plan in a large cover. Very functional. Each season package lists what is on each disk, but the disks themselves do not. Lots of blu-ray only features that I'm only starting to understand. Very exciting stuff.