Battlestar Galactica: Razor
Saw the screening of Battlestar Galactica: Razor on monday. Got in line a couple hours early - I thought that the geeks liked lining up early, but the joke was on me as I was maybe the 20th person in line, but hey, me and Howard got really good seats. Really good.
I don’t want to go into a whole review here, but the short answer is that I completely enjoyed it. Apparently the internets don’t really think it was that awesome - my tastes seem at odds with it, as I was also one of the few who really loved season 3. I think it was well done, it was slightly confusing at first with the time jumps because I was expecting something fully set in the past but I got over that really quickly. It was good and intriguing, my only beef? Young Admiral Adama is pretty lame and his call sign is “Husker”? That’s the best they could come up with? That better some old news from the canon of the original series because if they just made that up for Razor, Hulk’s going to get mad. Husker aside, Razor makes me want to see the fourth season quite badly now. Check out this interview with Jamie Bamber about Razor and Season 4.
What disappointed me, though, was that they didn’t show the extended DVD version with all sorts of additional scenes. Lame. I mean, here’s a group of people braving the elements to see this bad boy on the big screen, the least you could do for all the free I paid was put up the full length thing! And strangely the theater was only maybe 2/3 full. Apparently they didn’t overbook the screening despite the fact that they said the reservation did not guarantee a seat. That was a little odd.
This bad boy is airing on Sci-Fi on the 24th - you really ought to catch it. I mean, not to spoil anything, but it’s got the old school cylons and their old ships (which are cooler than the new raiders). The crowd and I were overly excited for the return of “By your command!” It lacked only a Baltar in his regal cape and my life would have been complete.
The other thing about the screening was that Microsoft was advertising heavily before it and in the middle, pushing some new game Mass Effect. I have no idea whatsoever about this game, but they may want to think again before letting Seth Green do their advertising for them. Highlight from his awkward interview has him wow’ed at how interactive the game is - in his words it is so interactive it is “like a choose-your-own-adventure!” Crazy! And you know who’ll really like this game? People who “like to stay home all night doing something endlessly entertaining.” I can’t make this stuff up. The audience was laughin’ hard and booing at most of the Microsoft screen time. Microsoft what happened to you? You used to be a marketing powerhouse!
November 14th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
There’s a decent amount of gamers out there chompin’ at the bit for Mass Effect. As far as I can tell it seems to be a mashup between a very open-ended RPG and a FPS. Done by Bioware, the creator of the Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic RPG series so it should be pretty sweet.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Yeah, I figured it was probably a big one, given how much effort they were putting into promoting it, but it was the awfulness of that marketing that startled me. Really, it was that bad. It was a room full of folks who had stood in line for a couple hours to see a tv show… not a hostile audience for such a thing.. but they were laughing and booing. It was funny.
November 14th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Thanks for satisfying my geek cravings with your preview! I am beyond thrilled about Razor’s premier next Saturday (on The Space network in Canada). When I hear “at your command uttered” by a sliver and gleaming Cylon I will have reached the high heights of my happy place.
Also, I am with you on liking BSG season 3 - I think a lot of people thought there was too much focus on the drama within the surving colonies, and not enough Cylon conflict. Although I would have liked a bit more of this, I thought the dramatic tension was fantastic and I like where the story is going. I find it fascinating how the human colonies have had to evolve and adapt in the aftermath of their genocide, and we get great examples of how cataclysms like these bring out both the extreme best and worst in people.
November 14th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Oh man, it’s a thrilling moment because you feel it coming. You know it’s coming and then, boom. By your command. I got shivers. :)
Nice! I’m glad I’m not alone - I loved seeing the drama, I think for me that’s what set it apart from a lot of shows. It was about the relationships these people had with each other that happened to be set in this crazy future environment - as opposed to another shoot the bad guys as much as you can show. Not to take away from such a show, I likes the action, but this was just really well done I thought. Sigh. We’ll see what Season 4 brings - I’m really psyched.
November 14th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
‘By your command’–the best! Of course, I’m only just starting Season 2, but I grew up watching the original, and can’t wait for that line… =)
November 14th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
I dont have much to add to what Felix said about it as im pretty much in agreement. I very much dug Razor as well as season 3. My scifi hatin’ ladyfriend even liked it. They are not calling season 4 “season 4.” They are advertising it as “The Final Season.”
Also, the advertising for mass effect (and the zune as well) seemed shockingly blunt and unimaginative. It couldnt have gone over much worse.
Anyway, i hope BSG’s final season incorporates the plot elements introduced in Razor. Much pontential.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:31 am
D, lucky you! You have many more to watch for the first time. I know the beginning few eps of season 3, blew my mind. Let me know what you think when you get to them!
Howard, don’t remind that it’s the final season. *weeps*