Justin does Battlestar Galactica: Razor

“By your command.”

The Scoop: 2007 NR, directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá and starring Michelle Forbes, Stephanie Jacobsen and Jamie Bamber

Summary Capsule: Seasons 1-2.5 of Battlestar Galactica from the Pegasus’ point of view.

Justin’s Rating: Do Cylons dance “The Robot” or “The Human”?

Justin’s Review: The most cool – and unexpected – facet of this “side tale” of Battlestar Galactica wasn’t seeing Cruella DeCain’s actions on the Pegasus or the introspective glimpse into her corrupted protégée Kendra Shaw’s rise to bloody glory, but in seeing three old fashioned 1979-era Cylons sitting in an antique Raider saying “By your command”.

“By your command.” Words that every boy who grew up in the 80’s knew by heart. I’m not here to wax nostalgic about the old Battlestar Galactica series, which was a crossbreed between Star Wars, World War II and Buck Rogers. Yet there’s something cheesy and quaint about the show that pulls me back to childhood, the same as how the newly reimagined Battlestar Galactica makes me proud to live in this day and age of glorious dark scifi.

In the long dark wait between the cliffhanger ending of BG’s third season and the opening of the fourth, the makers of the show decided to produce and air a TV movie (or, shall we say, “special extended episode”) of a side story in the Battlestar Galactica universe. It wasn’t quite what fans were expecting, I’m sure, but there’s enough coolness and battle scenes contained herein to keep them at bay.

The timeline of this movie is odd, however. Follow me here: although the movie aired between the third and fourth seasons, it takes place somewhere at the tail end of season TWO, and contains flashbacks streaming all the way back to the beginning of the series and even previous. Season two of BG contained one of the show’s most gripping subplots: the appearance of a second Battlestar, the Pegasus, and the hard-ass Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) with it. At first the human race rejoiced, as the Pegasus represented another five thousand souls keeping humanity alive, as well as some serious additional firepower.

Yet all was not good, and we quickly found out that Cain’s “ends justify the means” approach to commanding in the wake of the Cylon attack had resulted in torture, executions and outright abandonment of other human survivors (for the greater good). As we’re only introduced to the Pegasus and Cain at the tail end of this saga of space horror, BG’s writers decided to take us back along her journey to see what made her this way and why.

And most importantly, if there’s a sympathetic side to Cain after all.

The flashbacks – and connections to the “present” BG story – are told through the eyes of Kendra Shaw, a wet-behind-the-ears Lieutenant who shows up for duty on the Pegasus on the morning of the massive Cylon attack. As things quickly go to hell, she clings to the ironclad leadership of Cain, who makes the tough decisions and possesses the strength of will to see the ship to victory. Shaw becomes her trusted right hand, the instrument of a power-crazy commander, and finds that morals are easy to sacrifice when the wrong thing seems to make sense.

As the main Battlestar Galactica series delivers an excellent examination of leadership – the stoic, almost emotionless Commander Adama; the shrewd political center of President Roslin; the moral center of Lee; the corrupt insanity of Baltar. Here, we’re given another expose on leadership with Cain, which answers the chilling question of, “Would you follow a strong leader in a troubled time, even if that leader was eviler than Hitler?”

You can see why people flocked to her, supported her, stood by her even after its apparent she’s not making the best decisions for the survival of humanity. She isn’t a feel-good mother who likes to sit everyone down for a cup of tea to discuss her plans; this is a battle-hardened officer who leads through force and demands everyone follow. They do, because she gets results, and because no one else seems strong enough to do the same job. It’s only later that the though sinks in to some: we’re following a madman. We should take a stand. But is it too late?

Another bunch of almost unrelated flashbacks feature William Adama back in the end of the First Cylon War, when everything looked as it did back in the 1970 Battlestar Galactica series. They’re definitely cool, as I’ve said, but the connection to the main story is so tenuous to be laughable. “Padding” is what some people call it.

Overall, while there have been better episodes of the series than this telemovie, and while I question whether delving into Cain’s backstory actually diminishes her season two arc, it’s still a romping good trip through the stars.

Want a second opinion? Check out Lissa’s review here!

'To genocide! Cheers!'