BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: RAZOR

All Battlestar Galactica fans know and accept that this stand-alone "film" Battlestar Galactica: Razor was a bone tossed by the show's producers to keep the fans frothing at the mouth during the loooong haitus between Season Three and Season Four. It doesn't help the fans' frenzy knowing that the writers' strike may delay the start of the next season even more. So getting the tidbit that is Razor is certainly better than nothing.

Razor revisits one of the more intriguing characters to have a short story arc in the series, Admiral Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes) a badass and downright scary commander of the thought-to-be-lost Battlestar Pegasus. Viewers are given a very brief recap of the episodes from Season Two that involved the Pegasus, and Razor is meant to provide a bit of a backstory through the eyes of a green officer Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen). Shaw checks into her new ship, and immediately the Cylons attack and basically the world is over. Tough way to start a new job! She proves her mettle to Cain, and becomes a trusted right-hand, or "razor"—a tool that is sharp and ruthless when needed. But doing the Admiral's dirty work may not be the best job if you are trying to hold onto your morals.

Luckily, for fans like myself that are still working through the existing DVDs (Season One and Two), not much is given away (as far as I could tell, at least) when it comes to spoilers. Of course, to watch Razor, you should at the very least be familiar with the Pegasus storyline. Other than Starbuck (woo-hoo!) and Apollo, most of the series regulars are not around, making Razor efficiently what is basically a stand-alone two-part episode. Profiling a merciless leader like Cain is a nice contrast to Adama and Roslin's leadership style. And we also get a peek as to why Cain was so eager to torture Gina/Number Six when those on Pegasus figured out that she was a Cylon.

Razor ends up being a good double-episode... not great, but certainly not bad for between-seasons filler. My one complaint would be that there was not enough Michelle Forbes. Cain IS a scary badass, and the advertising for this episode made it seem to be more about Cain, rather than the new disposable character of Kendra Shaw, who is interesting, but not THAT interesting. Alas. Fans can't always get the dream episodes that they ask for!

DVD NOTES

Talk about spoilers! The DVD edition of Razor offers a sneak peak at Season Four, for those of you who just can't wait (personally, I close my eyes to extras like this). Also, cast members wax poetic about their favorite episodes thus far, there are a few deleted scenes and a featurette about the look of the show, and a commentary to the Unrated Extended Edition (it's not that much extended) by Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore and writer Michael Taylor.