 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEASON THREE  Studio: Universal Original Airing: 2006-2007 Length: 15 hours 55 mins Genre: Science Fiction Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Color/B&W: Color Audio: |
Release Date: March 18, 2007 Rating: 3 ½  ½ / :Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Jamie Bamber, Aaron Douglas, Michael Hogan, Grace Park, Tahmoh Penikett, with appearances by Mark Sheppard, Lucy Lawless and Dean Stockwell Executive Producers: Ronald D. Moore and David Eick Written by: Various Directed by: Various Battlestar Galactica: Season Three is a six disc DVD set compiling all of the episodes of the Ronald D. Moore/David Eick series’ third season, along with a battery of extras and special features. By this point in the series, the storylines have been fairly well developed and have progressed far past the point of introduction, so it may be difficult for new viewers to pick up the story here. (I would recommend watching the seasons in order, as many episodes in the third season refer back to past events from the first two years.) For viewers ready for the ride, this season is possibly the richest one yet. The story is constructed in five movements: the first completes the New Caprica storyline and gets everyone back to space, the second deals with the fallout from New Caprica and includes one standalone piece, the third brings the human and Cylon fleets to a distant algae planet that may hold a crucial clue for their search, the fourth provides the usual fleet and individual stories that tend to pop up in the second half of the season, and the final movement finds Baltar on trial and throws a lot of balls up in the air before the inevitable twist ending and cliffhanger. Not every episode succeeds, but the ones that do (the “Exodus” two parter, “The Passage”, “Maelstrom”) are not only good science fiction but also moving stories of humanity and its failings. By the end of the season, the groundwork has been laid for the coming fourth and final year, which will wrap up the multiple stories that have continued to run on the series for the past four years. The DVD set includes all of the episodes in anamorphic format and 5.1 sound, along with Ron Moore’s podcast commentaries from the Sci-Fi Channel website and a few minutes of deleted scenes for almost every episode. Some episodes receive additional commentaries as well. The set also includes all of David Eick’s video blogs from the Sci-Fi website, with the exception of “Peabody Madness”, and adds several more that haven’t been seen before. In addition, the set also includes the complete “Resistance” webisode series shown at the Sci-Fi website in the weeks before the Season Three premiere in the fall of 2006. As a special bonus, the set also includes a much longer cut of the episode "Unfinished Business", with 25 minutes of deleted scenes that didn't make it to the aired version, along with a new commentary by Ron Moore and the editor to explain what was going on.  VIDEO QUALITY: 3/5 Battlestar Galactica: Season three is presented in an anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer that matches the harsh docudrama look of the series. The episodes present multiple visual environments, from the harsh and gritty exteriors of New Caprica to the clean, dark lines of the Base Star interior to the warmer looks of the Cylon “projections” and various characters’ dreams. Some episodes have moments of extreme graininess (particularly the early shows on New Caprica) but this is an intentional effect by Director of Photography Steve McNutt, as seen in his segment of the David Eick video blogs. AUDIO QUALITY: 3 ½/5 ½ Battlestar Galactica: Season Three is presented in an English Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that mostly uses the front channels. There is a little atmospheric and directional use of the rear channels, particularly for gunfights or loudspeaker effects. But the rear speakers are primarily used for music. There’s a little subwoofer work here, during the bigger moments, but the smaller scale of the series limits this. DISC BY DISC: Rather than do a simple rating for Special Features, I think it will work better here to account for what can be found on each disc, in order. Every episode features the original Ronald D. Moore podcast as provided on the Sci-Fi website. (The Writers’ Roundtable and the bonus podcasts from the website are not included here) DISC ONE: Episodes- Occupation, with deleted scenes (2:11, Non-anamorphic) and podcast commentary Precipice, with deleted scenes (1.23, Non-anamorphic) and podcast commentary Exodus, Pt 1, with podcast commentary Exodus, Pt 2, with deleted scenes (5:21, Non-anamorphic) and podcast commentary The disc also contains a SNEAK PEEKS section, containing non-anamorphic previews for the DVD releases of the TV shows Knight Rider, The A Team, Magnum PI, The Incredible Hulk, The Rockford Files, Miami Vice, Saturday Night Live, Quantum Leap, Monk and House. When the disc is first put into the player, the viewer can see non-anamorphic trailers including a brief promo for Battlestar Galactica: Season Four, The Incredible Hulk: Seasons 3 and 4, Heroes: Season One on both DVD and HD-DVD, and the original HD-DVD promo from over a year ago. DISC TWO: Episodes- Collaborators, with deleted scenes (3:14, Non-anamorphic) and podcast commentary Torn, with deleted scenes (1:26, Non-anamoprhic) and podcast commentary A Measure of Salvation, with deleted scenes (10:36, Non-anamorphic) and podcast commentary The disc also contains:
|
[PG]119237601[/PG]
). I plan to pick up seasons 2.5 and 3 this weekend...assuming I don't get through 2.0 before then. 
) in prep for Season 4. I love this show. 
