Mania Grade: A
Episode: Battlestar Galactica: Razor
Starring: Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen,Katee Sackhoff, Michelle Forbes, Jamie Bamber, and Edward James Olmos
Created By: Ronald M. Moore and David Eick
Written by: Michael Taylor
Episode: Battlestar Galactica: Razor
Starring: Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen,Katee Sackhoff, Michelle Forbes, Jamie Bamber, and Edward James Olmos
Created By: Ronald M. Moore and David Eick
Written by: Michael Taylor
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: Razor
By: Robert T. TrateDate: Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The theater went dark, yes the theater, cheers and clapping commenced. Then it happened. ‘Battlestar Galactica’ came back and it was bigger than ever before. The Scifi Channel, Zune, Xbox 360, and Mass Effect (a new Xbox 360 game) brought the rag tag fleet to the big screen just short of two weeks before its television premiere (Saturday November 24th). Many long months had passed since season three had ended. Could ‘Battlestar Galactica: Razor’ live up to its hype?
The story begins with a few moments on the Battlestar Pegasus, where Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen) has just been assigned. She is on the way to her rack when the Cylons attack. Kendra is then birthed into a world of violence and darkness with Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) slapping the life into her. Life on the Pegasus is far different than life on the Galactica. ‘Battlestar Galactica: Razor’ tells the complete story of what happened after the Cylons attacked. During the course of the second season we saw what had become of the Pegasus crew. Admiral Cain ruled with a firm hand and her orders were never questioned, but why? ‘Razor’ answers those questions as the story is told through Kendra Shaw. Kendra’s time under Cain’s command and her rise through the ranks parallels her time under Lee Adama’s (Jamie Bamber) command, where she has become the new Executive Officer.
Michael Taylor’s script bounces back and fourth nicely between Cain’s “survival” tactics and Lee’s mission to save a Raptor crew that has gone missing. There is a subplot that is only lightly touched upon in this version (the TV and the advanced screening cut) that deals with the last days of the first Cylon War and William Adama’s (Edward James Olmos) frieghtening and at the time unexplainable discovery (check them out Razor Flashbacks). However, it ties into the story and it is the payoff for ‘Razor’ and tease for the final season. One has to wonder why the full version of ‘Battlestar Galactica: Razor’ will only come out on DVD?
Adding characters in flashbacks or additional side stories has of late been new character genocide. ‘Lost’ last season suffered from fan backlash when Paulo and Nikki were casually introduced. The ‘Heroes’ spin off had some fans screaming that NBC was cashing in on an already bloated show. Where ‘Razor’ differs is that fans are screaming for more ‘Battlestar Galactica’. Ever since the last moments of season three and the final season’s completion looming due to the writers strike, fans will take what they can get. This isn’t filler though. This is every good as the show and a perfect addition to the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ mythos.
Kendra Shaw fits perfectly into the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ family. She is flawed, torn, and totally at odds with herself and the world around her. Upon hearing about ‘Razor’ I immediately thought of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire; figuring that Ronald Moore and David Eick were cashing in on their dark side characters and giving the fans something else to buy. Instead they tie it perfectly to their over all story about Humanity and their children, the Cylons. There are many familiar faces in ‘Razor’ and a few new ones as well. It dives into the psyche of Admiral Cain and reveals that maybe she wasn’t so hard after all and there might have been a time in her life when she loved something more that just surviving. Kendra Shaw will become a character that will be much talked about and gain popularity as season four begins. The prophecy she heard will come to light and finally the tale about mankind’s search for Earth will have closure.





