Product Description

Largely wiped out by a hundred years of warfare with the Cylon Empire, the few surviving humans search for the mythical thirteenth colony, Earth.
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Media Type: DVD
Artist: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 04
Title: SEASON 1
Street Release Date: 09/20/2005
Domestic
Genre: TELEVISION

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1019 in DVD
• Brand: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 04
• Released on: 2005-09-20
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 5
• Running time: 756 minutes

Amazon.com
Battlestar Galactica's Edward James Olmos wasn't kidding when he said "the series is even better than the miniseries." As developed by sci-fi TV veteran Ronald D. Moore, the "reimagined" BG is exactly what it claims to be: a drama for grown-ups in a science-fiction setting. The mature intelligence of the series is its greatest asset, from the tenuous respect between Galactica's militarily principled commander Adama (Olmos) and politically astute President Roslin (Mary McDonnell) to the barely suppressed passion between ace Viper pilot "Apollo" (a.k.a. Adama's son Lee, played by Jamie Bamber) and the brashly insubordinate Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff), whose multifaceted character is just one of many first-season highlights. Picking up where the miniseries ended (it's included here, sparing the need for separate purchase), season 1 opens with the riveting, Hugo Award-winning episode "33," in which Galactica and the "ragtag fleet" of colonial survivors begin their quest for the legendary 13th colony planet Earth, while being pursued with clockwork regularity by the Cylons, who've now occupied the colonial planet of Caprica. The fleet's hard-fought survival forms (1) the primary side of the series' three-part structure, shared with (2) the apparent psychosis of Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis) whose every thought and move are monitored by various incarnations of Number Six (Tricia Helfer), the seemingly omniscient Cylon ultravixen who follows a master plan somehow connected to (3) the Caprican survival ordeal of crash-landed pilots "Helo" (Tahmoh Penikett) and "Boomer" (Grace Park), whose simultaneous presence on Galactica is further evidence that 12 multicopied models of Cylons, in human form, are gathering their forces.

With remarkably consistent quality, each of these 13 episodes deepens the dynamics of these fascinating characters and suspenseful situations. While BG relies on finely nuanced performances, solid direction, and satisfying personal and political drama to build its strong emotional foundation, the action/adventure elements are equally impressive, especially in "The Hand of God," a pivotal episode in which the show's dazzling visual effects get a particularly impressive showcase. Original BG series star Richard Hatch appears in two politically charged episodes (he's a better actor now, too), and with the threat of civil war among the fleet, season 1 ends with an exceptional cliffhanger that's totally unexpected while connecting the plot threads of all preceding episodes. To the credit of everyone involved, this is frackin' good television.

DVD features
The fifth disc in Battlestar Galactica's season 1 set is highlighted by eight comprehensive featurettes covering all aspects of the series, from its miniseries origins to standard surveys of production design, visual effects, and particulars of plot and character. For hardcore fans and anyone interested in TV production, nine out of 13 episodes, plus the disc 1 miniseries, are accompanied by intelligent and informative commentary originally provided as BG website podcasts, mostly by series developer and writer Ronald D. Moore, who provides tantalizing clues about developments in season 2. The "Series Lowdown" is a cast-and-crew promotional program originally broadcast to attract SciFi Channel viewers who were initially reluctant to embrace a "reimagined" Battlestar Galactica. The strategy worked: First-season ratings left no doubt that the new BG was as good as--and in many ways better than--the original. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Amazing!!!
This is one of the best shows on TV right now, according to many media outlets. "A Breakaway Hit!" -TV Guide and "The Best Show on Television." -Newsday are but two examples of the rave reviews it has received. If you are a sci-fi fan, this is a must-see show. If you aren't a sci-fi fan, you should still consider checking this out. Even though it's in space and has killer robots, it is more human than most other drama shows on TV today. So say we all.

This box set includes the miniseries that re-launched this show and returned it to TV for the first time since the 1970's. It has the 4-hour miniseries and the 13 episodes from the first season. It stars Edward James Olmos as Commander Adama Captain of the Battlestar Galactica, and Mary McDonnell as the newly invested president of the 12 colonies of man. She was formerly the secretary of education.

The Cylon's had not been heard from in years. Then in one day they attack and destroy nearly all human life in attacks on all planets and most military assets. Now with the war against the Cylon robots lost, the Battlestar Galactica crew speed toward the fabled 13th colony on a long lost planet, called Earth. Galactica Commander Adama and President Laura Roslin face waning supplies, crushed morale, ... and the credible threat Cylons aboard the ship. Cylons that look like humans now not just shiny machines.

Humanity's children have come home and they are trying to destroy their creators.

Some of the amazing cast are:
Edward James Olmos as Commander William Adama
Mary McDonnell as Laura Roslin
Katee Sackhoff as Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
Jamie Bamber as Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama
James Callis as Dr. Gaius Baltar Vice President
Tricia Helfer as Number Six
Grace Park as Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii
Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek (The original Apollo)
Tahmoh Penikett as Lt. Karl C. "Helo" Agathon
Michael Hogan as Col. Saul Tigh
Aaron Douglas as CPO Galen "Chief" Tyrol
Alessandro Juliani as Lt. Felix Gaeta
Kandyse McClure as P02 Anastasia Dualla
Paul Campbell as Billy Keikeya

This cast works so well together, that after the miniseries they rewrote parts of the series to give the "Chief" a much larger role.

This series will draw you in and capture your imagination. It is full of religious symbols and images. There are visions, prophecies, and sacred scrolls. It is a drama of the most intense nature. Check it out, you will watch the DVD's over and over again.

The best Sci-fi series since Babylon 5.

So Say We All!

One of the best shows on television regardles of genre...
I posted a very favorable review of the mini-series that launched this new version of Battlestar Galactica. The series has taken all of the things that were so enjoyable and woven them into a great television series.

First and foremost it's a drama about people. If you want trite, craptacular, formula don't look to this show. The writers and the cast of actors and actresses have embodied these characters with more detail and emotion than any other television show I can think of in recent years. Entire episodes go buy without spaceships or planets and we don't mind. We care about the people first, the special effects second. The underpinnings of loyalty, relationships that remain steadfast after 20 years, love and rivalry, purpose and duty, all come to the forefront of this show.

The executive producer of the show, Ron Moore, has been very crafty in his vision. Things so painful about the original series are now far more frightning. The bad guy robots, the Cylons, aren't slow moving toasters anymore. They look like us and have carried out the obliteration of mankind with darwin like overtones and a zeal fueled by a religion that holds man as the creator. Yikes! Add in that they've figured out how to use sex as a weapon...

The hardcore "living in the basement of their parents house" crowd will continue to make savage attacks on this show no matter what. Mercifully the people who live in the real world recognize the product of a tremendous number of talented and gifted people. Ratings have been high for a reason.

If Frasier was a weekly half hour of wonderful broadway farce then the new version of Battlestar Galactica is a taunt hour of psychological insight into the workings of real people in a hellish situation.

I don't own a single live action television series on DVD or videotape but have pre-ordered this one because I want to watch it again to see what I missed the first time I watched it.

This is a show that may ripple through the industry because it proves what Jay Ward knew with Rocky and Bulwinkle: you don't dumb down the material. The kids might not get all the jokes but the adults who do will love it all the more. With Battlestar Galactica you can find episodic sci-fi if that's what you need. If you want something more, human drama that demands emotional investment on a scale rarely seen in the broadcast mediums, it's a meal of plenty.

This is what great sci-fi looks like on TV
How I missed this show until this year, I will never know. But I've made up for lost time. Unoriginal, and with not the greatest of production values or the most epic characters, the new BSG is still an epic surprise.

The new show returns to the basics - human and cylon exist in an uncomfortable peace. With the help of Baltar, the robotic cylons betray mankind and virtually annihilate all but about 45,000 humans. The survivors miss the genocide by being in space at the time. The remaining ships form a ragtag fleet headed to the only conceivable destination - the lost planet of earth.

There it ends. I'll put aside the obvious changes (Boomer and Starbuck are women? Col. Tigh looks to have been changed as well) for the deeper ones. The Cylons ARE smart. The walking toasters of the old show are history (literally - in an early scene, we see s few behind glass in a museum). Instead, we have armies of fast moving (CGI) soldiers, and a higher level of autonomous machines that look, sound and feel human. There are no specifics, but these cylons are manmade - at some point they rebelled and, by the advent of this story, they've evolved. Unaware of the humanoid Cylons, the garden variety are infamous for being able to infect computers. As a result, ships like Galactica are deliberately un-tech. (If you've been to one of those old warships turned into a museum, you know what I mean.) Baltar is still a traitor, but a different kind - the aknowledged master genius of humanity, his treason is unwitting. He's fallen victim to Six, a humanoid Cylon who only resembles a beautiful woman. By the time he's realized his mistake, the Cylons have nuked all human worlds. Brought to the fleet by human beings unaware of Baltar's treachery, Baltar is manipulated by the Cylons who implant Six directly into his brain. The humans have less dimension than the Cylons, but that's the appeal of the show - they aren't weakly drawn characters, but strongly drawn characters of weak people. Most of the appeal of the show is trying to guess how these unheroic human beings will out think the race of cylon super thinkers without destroying each other in the process. Among the human beings, the factions split between the military, led by Col. Adama (Olmos) and the surviving politicians led by Laura Roslin (McDonnel) - constantly at odds, but able to join up against threats from the Cylons and from within. Trying not to get caught by either side, but also trying not to fall for Cylon manipulation, Baltar navigates an uneasy path. the shows are serial - following the crew as they evade massive Cylon attacks and more subtle and insidious strategies. (An example of this would be in ":33" - in which the fleet finds itself beset by a devestating Cylon attack every 33 minutes.

This is a great show. The menace of the Cylons manages to flesh out a tight story of humans under pressure. Set design seems less plausible now then the dirty-old-ship look of 1978, but the camera movements, the forever tense humans who look ill-placed for their roles, and the enigma of the Cylons keep the story rising above sets. Space battles are fantastic - CGI finally done right for a TV show. The dialog sounds natural - people actually speak like people, rather than the clinically inhuman action-figures of the latter Trek shows. The dangers of space travel, the insidious genius of the Cylons, and the inadequacy of the protagonists combine to keep this show on the edge. Forget "Enterprise" - this is what a science-fiction show should look like.