Showing posts with label Razor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Razor. Show all posts

Friday, March 21, 2008

Hugo Nomination!

Battlestar Galactica: Razor was just nominated for a Hugo Award for Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.

Monday, November 26, 2007

‘Battlestar’ Goes Boldly Into the DVD Universe

From the New York Times:

Forget the robot killers with machine guns built into their arms. The DVDs are taking over.
Fans of the television series “Battlestar Galactica” are familiar with the frightening chrome mechanical monsters known as Cylons, seemingly bent on the destruction of humanity. But the force behind a two-hour episode on the Sci Fi Channel this Saturday night is the DVD, the equally shiny
disc.
The episode, “Razor,” marks yet another step in the complex, fast-changing relationship between DVD sales and cable broadcast. The episode would not exist except for the promise of selling it on DVD just days after it is shown on television.
The move is part of a trend. Already there have been instances of DVD sales reviving canceled television series, like Fox’s “Family Guy,” which sold so well that it was put back on the air. And “24,” also on Fox, began selling DVDs of its four-episode season premiere earlier this year, the day after it concluded.
But such tactics are still rare.

Full Article

'Battlestar Galactica: Razor' and the struggle for redemption

From the LA Times:
Those of us left slack-jawed by the return of presumed-dead Starbuck in the final minutes of the third-season finale of "Battlestar Galactica" -- how could she be alive? Her ship exploded -- will have
to wait until April, when Season 4 begins, for our answers. "Battlestar Galactica: Razor," a two-hour movie designed to keep us happy in the interim, delves into the show's past to find, of course, foreshadowing and peril for the future.

It tells the story of Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobsen), who served on the crew of the Battlestar Pegasus under the command of both the formidable Adm. Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes) and later
first-time commander Lee "Apollo" Adama (Jamie Bamber). Shaw, we learn, joined the crew of the Pegasus mere moments before the Cylon attack that destroyed the 12 colonies. "Razor" goes back in time to explain what happened aboard the Pegasus before it met up with the Galactica in Season 2. (And if none of this means anything to you, the reader, then that might serve as a clue that "Razor"
is not for the uninitiated viewer: Prior knowledge of "Battlestar Galactica" is required here.)

Forbes' Cain, who was featured in that memorable Season 2 story arc, is tough enough before the Cylon (near) genocide of the human race; when she realizes her ship may be all that remains of
humanity, she becomes utterly ruthless in her desire for revenge. Though some of the crew rebel against Cain's extreme measures, Shaw admires her steely resolve, making choices in Cain's shadow that did not seem possible before the Cylon attack.


Full Review

''Battlestar Galactica: Razor'': Close to the Edge

From Entertainment Weekly:

Man, it has been too long since we got together like this, to talk about last night's Battlestar Galactica. And I've missed you. Really. Okay, maybe the last time we spoke, things were a little chilly. It was me, not you.
But here we are, with the only new Galactica we're likely to get for a long,
long while. Good thing it was awesome.
The battlestar Pegasus is a ghost ship, haunted by the mistakes of the past. Her first commander, Admiral Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes), was a stern taskmaster, forced by circumstances to make
decisions as she saw fit, decisions that are judged by the Galactica crew (and, by extension, us) to have been disasters. Then came Commander Fisk (Graham Beckel), her executive officer, who let greed pull the shining battlestar further into the muck. And then Commander Garner (William Heard), an engineer who, seeing the machine but not the men, couldn't right the ship.
Razor follows two stories, both of which revolve around a young Pegasus officer named Kendra Shaw: Admiral Cain's experiences during, and following, the Cylon attack on the colonies, and newly minted commander Lee Adama's first mission at Pegasus' helm. (There's also a mini-detour further back in time to peep at Bill Adama's first mission as a Viper pilot.)

Full Review

'Battlestar Galactica: Razor' gives the saga a sharper edge

Review from the Seattle Post-Inquirer:

Underneath the explosive special effects, "Battlestar Galactica" examines what it means to be human, in all its facets.
Executive producers Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and their co-writers have used the series to explore the sustaining and destructive power of religion, the ways in which crises bring out our best and most deplorable instincts, and how far we'll go to survive.
The will to survive is the story's spine, personified in every episode by the stalwart Admiral William Adama (Edward James Olmos), President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), the headstrong Kara Thrace
(Katee Sackhoff) and Adama's driven son Lee (Jamie Bamber).
But Adama and Roslin wrestle with Galactica's priorities more than the others. Their job is to
ensure the survival of the human race, but each challenge forces a struggle to maintain their humanity in spite of desperation and temptation.
Thus our second season introduction to Admiral Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes), the ruthless leader of Battlestar Pegasus, shocked the system of "Battlestar" watchers. Cain, whose command at last receives a close examination in the two-hour extended episode "Battlestar Galactica: Razor," was everything Adama is not. She cared nothing about being loved, seeing fear as a more effective
leadership tool. She did unspeakable things, without hesitation, to her own
people as well as the Cylons.

Full Review

Razor Reviews

Reviews are starting to come in for Razor, the Galactica Telemovie. Here's one from TV Squad:

Rather than have you sit through what basically would amount to a more detailed version of the
Early Look post I did about Razor last month, I wanted to at least make sure you all had a forum of sorts to discuss the movie. I will, however, mention a few points worth mentioning again ...
  • Obviously the biggest "news" from the episode was the revelation that Starbuck is supposedly the bringer of apocalypse. Should the hybrid really be believed?
  • Several times we saw the message hit home that "this has happened before and it will happen again." Ron D. Moore had also made that theme pretty clear several times in the past, not to mention the webisodes carrying that same message.
  • OK, so it's pretty clear that Cain was into girls. Know what? Big deal. I have no idea why that was such a fuss when that spoiler came up before, as it doesn't seem to mean a whole lot of anything significant.
  • It was surreal to see Cain actually kill the former XO in the exact way it was told to the crew of the Galactica in the series. A extremely tense moment in the movie for sure.
    Any thoughts on the old Cylon "guardians" and what their purpose might be in the fourth season?

More as I find them!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

My review of Razor


So, I got a chance to take a look at Battlestar Galactica: Razor earlier this month, and I'm pleased to say that it's just as good as I had hoped, and that it is probably up there with some of the best Galactica episodes thus far. Razor is the long-awaited tele-event that the SciFi channel has been working on, and brings to light an episode of Galactica history that has only been touched upon lightly - the Battlestar Pegasus. In the three-part episode arc in the middle of Season 2, the Galactica comes across the Battlestar Pegasus, under the command of Admiral Cain. We learn that they had also been able to escape the destruction of the colonies, but that the crew had become extremely dark - willing to rape and torture prisoners, kill civilians and were essentially a crew of suicidal fascists.
Razor follows three seperate storylines - The main one follows the crew of the Pegasus, seen through flashbacks as the newly promoted Lee Adama takes on a mission with the Pegasus, which leads to a third flashback story, one in which we see a very young Admiral Adama in the earlier colonial wars, something that we have seen in the mini-episode that have been airing on the SciFi channel.


The Battlestar Galactica storyline is fairly straight forwards, and serves as the common link between the three storylines. A Raptor team goes missing, and the Pegasus is sent after them. The Pegasus storyline is actually nothing new - we knew everything from the three-episode arc, but it has been absolutely wonderful to see it as it happened. The third storyline brings some light on the first colonial war, and the beginnings of the humanoid Cylons. Hopefully, this will be looked at more in the fourth and final season.
This feels like an extremely long Galactica episode, or a two parter that's been combined into a long episode, but it doesn't drag on or slow at all. The pacing and editing between the three stories is logical and works extremely well, focusing on each storyline when needed. The Pegasus storyline is the one with the fewest surprises, and at times seems to pass a little too quickly.
One of the best things about this is the characters - the new character to be added in was Kendra Shoal, a member of the Pegasus crew. It was a bit of a risk adding in a completely new character to the cast for the episode (and only for this episode). She proves to be one of the more interesting ones, and she is quite possibly one of my favorites in the entire series. She's got some interesting things in her background, as well as her actions in the Pegaus. The best moments were when she and Kara Thrace interacted - they made an interesting pair, and unfortunently, she gives her life at the end of the episode, in which we learn something that will most likely carry into Season 4.
Director-wise, this is up there with the best of the Felix Alcala, who's directed some of the best Galactica episodes to date. The CGI is top-notch from the get-go, with a good look at the fleet yards and other Battlestars and other ships. It was absolutely fantastic to see the Colonial Fleet operate outside of the Galactica perspective that we've seen thus far. I really hope that the new show that's being concocted will show some more into the fleet. The soundtrack that accompanies this is fantastic as well - I'm really hoping that this will be a seperate release, because there are some really good songs here.
Go check this out when it premieres later this month. You won't regret it.

Did anyone make the screenings last night?

If so, how was it?

Monday, November 12, 2007

Reminder: Razor Screening Tonight!


And if it's in your area, go see it.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Razor's Jacobsen Praises Boldness

The latest from the SciFi Wire:

Razor's Jacobsen Praises Boldness
Stephanie Jacobsen—who plays the central character, Kendra Shaw, in the upcoming Battlestar Galactica prequel telefilm Razor—told reporters that it was a gutsy move to introduce a previously unseen, never-mentioned figure into the mix.
"I think that the introduction of Kendra was really, I guess, an act of boldness and an act of ingenuity," the Australian actress said in a conference call last week. She added: "[To] throw someone into the mix who's never been alluded to or otherwise seen ... so many years into an established series is a very, very courageous thing to do."
Razor follows Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber) as he assumes command of the battlestar Pegasus and
also recalls events of nearly a year before, on the eve of the Cylon attack, events involving then-Pegasus commander Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) and her ambitious, conflicted protege, Shaw.
"What I think it did was enable this entirely new, untainted, alternative perspective of situations, people and events ... that had already been told," Jacobsen said. "So I think, in a sense, that sort of risk and that sort of [boldness] was to a large extent the point."
Battlestar Galactica: Razor will premiere on Nov. 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The upcoming fourth and final season of the show is slated to kick off in early 2008. SCI FI, meanwhile, announced that Razor will screen threatrically in special preview screenings in select movie theaters on Nov. 12.

Monday, November 05, 2007

I've seen Razor.



And it's really, really good.


Full review coming...

Friday, November 02, 2007

Jacobsen Is Battlestar Rookie

New article from the SciFi Wire, as we see more from the Razor press:

Jacobsen Is Battlestar Rookie
Stephanie Jacobsen, who plays the new character Kendra Shaw in the upcoming Battlestar Galactica prequel telefilm Razor, told reporters that the show's veteran cast made her feel welcome on the set during production. Razor follows Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber) as he assumes command of the
battlestar Pegasus and also recalls events of nearly a year before, on the eve of the Cylon attack, involving then-Pegasus commander Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) and her ambitious, conflicted protege, Shaw.
"I have to say that I didn't feel like an outsider stepping in at all," Jacobsen said in a Nov. 1
conference call. "Everyone was just wonderful. So I didn't have that to draw from. Everyone was helpful and accomodating, welcoming, very open, very generous with me in every which way. So I didn't have that sort of same solitary experience working on Battlestar as my character did. But ... coming in as
someone who was completely new to the environment and new to everyone who was already established there was akin to the character. So I guess there was that correlation."
Jacobsen said that she shares many scenes in Razor with Michelle Forbes and came away impressed by her co-star. "Oh, she is almost like a force of nature, in a way," Jacobsen said, adding: "Her focus and her intensity, I have to say she made this one of the easiest jobs I've ever done, in a sense, because responding to what she provides on set as a fellow actor is absolutely effortless. It's like she does almost everything; you just have to listen to her and watch her. Yes, she's incredible. I'd recommend working with her to anyone."
Battlestar Galactica: Razor will premiere on Nov. 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The upcoming fourth and final season of the show kicks off in early 2008. SCI FI, meanwhile, announced that Razor will screen threatrically in special preview screenings in select movie theaters on Nov. 12. —Ian Spelling
Still can't wait to see this...

Monday, October 29, 2007

Jamie Bamber on Razor

The SciFi Wire has posted up a couple of articles from Jamie Bamber (Apollo) recently:

Battlestar's Bamber Looks Ahead
Battlestar Galactica star Jamie Bamber told reporters that he'll miss the people, his character and the quality work when the show ends after the upcoming fourth season, but added that he'd much prefer
the show go out on top. SCI FI Channel recently announced that its award-winning original series will end; it is currently in production and will kick off in 2008.
"No, I think it's a good time," Bamber said in a conference call while promoting the upcoming special two-hour prequel movie, Battlestar Galactica: Razor. "We've been saying from the very first season that the most important thing is to be able to finish this story in a way that is up to the people that
create the story and not up to the audience or to the network or up to the financial criteria of what it is to make a TV show. It should be about ending the story, because the story begs an ending. This is the first and foremost thing about having ended."
Bamber has played Lee Adama since the 2003 miniseries that began the series. He said that he is sad about the show's imminent demise but is excited about moving on to the next phase of his career. "There's always nostalgia," Bamber said. "It's been an amazing learning process for me, personally, and this experience is without doubt the most interesting and rich one I've had as a professional working actor. I have learned everything from everyone around me. So it will be very sad to sort of disband the team, and every day that we're up here in Vancouver there is an
element of nostalgia about moments passing and little scenes that will never be revisited and sets maybe that disappear, because, you know, they're gone forever."
Bamber added: "That's all very sad, but personally I also look to the future. We all do. And I'm very keen to do other work and to test myself in other ways. So it's positive nostalgia about all good things that only in their ripening do they become truly tasty and edible. And I think once Battlestar
Galactica is finished and the story is finished, it will be more perfect than it would be had we been cut short. So it's inevitable." Battlestar Galactica's fourth and final season kicks off with Razor at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Nov. 24. The show's additional 20 episodes will return in early 2008. —Ian Spelling
And,

Bamber: Razor Is Sharp
Battlestar Galactica star Jamie Bamber told reporters that the upcoming prequel film, Razor, fulfills the cast's desire to make a feature-length Battlestar adventure.
The telefilm follows Lee Adama (Bamber) as he assumes command of the Battlestar Pegasus and also recalls events of nearly a year before, on the eve of the Cylon attack, involving then-Pegasus commander Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) and her protege, Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobsen).
"The basic concept I was really, really in love with," Bamber said in a conference call. "I thought it was very bold, different. Every one of us in the Galactica family has always nurtured a not-so-secret passion to try and make a movie out of the show, because there are so many things that on a week-in-week-out one-hour drama you have to compromise on, budgetarily and in terms of storylines and how much you can fit into 44 minutes of a narrative. It was great to tell a longer story and to have a bit more money to throw at it and to tell a huge arc."
Bamber added: "[It goes] right back from before the miniseries, before the very first shot we ever picked up on in the show, and goes right the way through to the back end of season two. It was a huge script in its ambition. It tries to introduce a new character [Shaw], which I thought was a great way to ... see it all from a pair of eyes that we haven't actually met before, that we'll have to meet all the main characters all over again. I thought that was a very worthy endeavor and a good way to bring a new audience to Battlestar before a fourth season being aired." Battlestar Galactica: Razor will premiere on Nov. 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The upcoming fourth and final season of the show kicks off in early 2008.
SCI FI, meanwhile, announced that Razor will screen threatrically in special preview screenings in select movie theaters on Nov. 12.


I really can't wait to see Razor on the 24th. I really wish that I could catch it in theaters, that would be awesome to see on the big screen.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Want To See Razor Early?

Want to see Razor early, on November 12th? Go to Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, San Francisco, Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle and, Chicago, where that night, and that night only, there will be a number of free screenings of a slightly shorter version of the special. This will be an 84 minute version of the episode, while the DVD will be 101minutes and will be released on December 4th.The best part? It's free!

Here's the full article: Coming to a Movie Theater Near You: Battlestar Galactica: Razor

Saturday, October 13, 2007

TV Squad Previews Razor

This in from TV Squad:

Battlestar Galactica: Razor -- An early look
Posted Oct 13th 2007 3:24PM by
Keith McDuffee
"You are capable of setting aside your fears, setting aside your hesitation ... and even
your revulsion. Every natural inhibition that, during battle, could mean the
difference between life and death.When you can be this -- or as long as you have
to be -- then you're a razor." -- Admiral Helena Cain, Battlestar Galactica:
RazorYes, I was as shocked as the rest of you that, when I got to the TV Squad
package drop the other day, one of those magical purple binders was waiting for
me, emblazoned with a big white "IF", which could only mean one thing -- SciFi
Channel goodness.Before you continue, I will warn you that some of this is a
little spoilery. I don't think it's much, but I'd rather warn you now than incur
your wrath later.
So let's get right down to the nity-gritty here. You all
want to know how good it is, what's new and if it'll satisfy us until the last
season starts back up. In short: It's frackingI unbelievably good, there's more
new than I thought there'd be and as for it being satisfying -- that's a tough
one. While I completely loved this ... movie? episode? ... I'm now aching for
the next season more than ever. It can't come soon enough!


Full Article

I can't wait to see this...

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Two Razor Previews

Two new preview clips from Razor:

One:


Two:



Thursday, September 27, 2007

New Razor Promo

Looks good!


Sunday, September 23, 2007

Plot of Razor Webisodes

I just got this e-mail from SciFi in my mailbox, containing the plot of the upcoming Razor Webisodes, (which was new to me) .

Coming in October: Follow young William "Husker" Adama on his rookie Viper mission during the First Cylon War, in action-packed weekly minisodes!


Looks interesting, can't wait to see them.

Friday, September 21, 2007

First Look at Razor

Entertainment Weekly has an early look at Razor:


First Look! 'Battlestar Galactica: Razor'
Get a sneak peek at the two-hour
flashback ''Razor,'' plus hints about season 4
By Adam B. Vary


Gotta love those wily scribes at Battlestar Galactica. The fourth and final (sniff!)
season of the acclaimed Sci Fi series doesn't yet have a set air date—a rep says
look for it early next year (more on that in a bit)—so for an appetizer, the
show's cooked up Razor, a two-hour flashback episode airing Nov. 24. (An
extended-cut DVD hits shelves Dec. 4.)
The story is ostensibly about the first mission of the (now-lost) Battlestar Pegasus under the command of Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber), which falls roughly in the latter half of the second season. It's told, though, through the eyes of new character Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobsen). ''Lee promotes [her] to be his [second-in-command],''
explains show-runner Ronald D. Moore, ''and you wonder, who is this woman?''
That question, says Moore, allows the show to explore ''a lot of things that
we've talked about or alluded to but never actually seen. You start flashing all
the way back to before the Cylon attack on the colonies, to who she was, how she
came to the Pegasus, what happened to them, and what was their story before they
met up with Galactica.''

Full Article Here.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Pick the Razor DVD Cover Art

This is cool. SciFi's letting you pick the cover art for the Razor DVD: Here

Personally, I'm a fan of A.