Battlestar Galactica: Razor is the title of an upcoming television film of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series airing on the United States’ Sci Fi Channel on Saturday, November 24, 2007, at 9PM/8C. Razor was leaked onto the internet on October 30th 2007.
Sci Fi Channel confirmed on March 21, 2007 that part of the show’s renewal for a fourth season of 22 episodes includes a television film to be released sometime in the fall of 2007. The film will comprise two of the 22 episodes and will be shown on Sci Fi.
The blogosphere and the internet is rife with rumors about the upcoming WGA strike and its effect on television series. Cable networks are less affected by this, but there could still be some problems. There is some confusion about when the fourth and final series of Battlestar Galactica will air. It was supposed to air in February 2008, but statements have mentioned that it will only air in April 2008.
The regular, 20-episode fourth season is rumored to be split into two halves — the first 10 episodes airing beginning in February 2008, and the second 10 installments airing in February 2009. It now appears season 4 will not be airing until as late as April 2008.
Following the renewal announcement, there were rumors the upcoming season would be the final one, inspired in part by statements from series stars Olmos and Sackhoff. Producer David Eick initially denied this, stating that no decision has been made over the show’s future. However, on May 31, 2007, Eick and co-producer Ronald D. Moore issued a press release announcing that the fourth season would conclude the series. Executive producers Ronald Moore and David Eick released a statement, saying, “This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and, finally, an end. Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end, and we’ve decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms. And while we know our fans will be saddened to know the end is coming, they should brace themselves for a wild ride getting there — we’re going out with a bang.”
As always, Battlestar Galactica doesn’t deceive. It goes into much more detail about certain events in the admiralcy of Helena Cain and how the Battlestar Pegasus made her way into the stars. The movie follows the life of Lt Kendra Shaw and her struggle with dealing with what she had to do under the command of Admiral Cain.
I really enjoyed this movie. It weaves an interesting story in the past of the mythology of the show. I can see how events portrayed here will lead into the next season of Battlestar Galactica. Shaw wasn’t able to deliver her warning about Kara Thrace to her commander. The TV movie will air on November 24th on Scifi and I recommend it to all Battlestar Galactica fans. The movie has stellar acting and special effects.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
* * * * *
Razor is about a young pilot who has trouble fitting in with the Pegasus’ new commander, Lee Adama. She was under the command of Admiral Cain. The commander is making a speech. The pilot is in the kitchen. She injects some drug into her neck.
Her name is Lt Kendra Shaw. She is in a meeting with Commander Adama. She was demoted to kitchen hand a few weeks ago. He asks her who she is.
There is a flashback to 10 months ago to the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards. Shaw was making her way there. The knife Shaw was playing with in the kitchen belonged to Admiral Cain. The admiral’s XO wants her to come to visit him for Shaw leave, but the admiral won’t do that. Shaw arrives on the Pegasus. Six is waiting for her. Six is a network administrator. She is posing as Gina Envierre.
Shaw makes her way to CIC. She is the new aide for the admiral. The admiral tears her a new asshole for being late. On the way to her quarters, Shaw gets caught in an explosion. The admiral rouses her with a slap and they make their way back to CIC. The shipyards are being attacked by the Cylons. The admiral orders a blind jump to make an escape.
Back into the present, Shaw is giving her opinion about her old commanders. He wants her to be his XO. He promotes her to major. Father and son Adama talk about the new XO. The Admiral tells his son that he has to form a team with his XO, not just use her as a blunt instrument. The Admiral gives his son his mission orders. It’s a search and rescue mission.
In the past, the admiral is assessing her ship. She lost a quarter of her crew. Shaw figured out how the Cylons penetrated the Pegasus’ defenses. She found some malicious lines of code that were inserted in the new navigation system.
The admiral tells her crew about the attacks on the colony worlds. She tells them that the Cylons nuked the cities and planets. It looks like the admiral was involved with Six.
The admiral tells her commanding officers that she plans on waging a classical guerilla war. Later Shaw gives her codes to Six. Six tells Shaw that she met Cain 6 months ago. She confirms that she is involved with the admiral.
In the present, Starbuck and Showboat get into trouble while trying to find trace of the lost ships. Shaw makes a call to fire the batteries in full autofire. Kara barely makes it out alive. Adama is confident with Shaw’s decision.
In the past, Cain finds out that the Cylons were waiting for them. The admiral decides to attack the staging area. They thought that it was recon station. The admiral’s XO is against the full out attack that the admiral wants. The admiral shoots the XO in the head. The remaining raiders are launched by Kernel Fisk. The Cylons board the Pegasus. On her way to the scene, Shaw crosses paths with Six. She sends her to the CIC. She sees another Six leading the assault. She shoots and kills her. She makes her way back to the CIC knowing that the other Six will no doubt kill the command crew. She is able to unmask her role thanks to some security footage. She knocks the Six out.
Starbuck notices something strange about the Cylon raiders. The Pegasus has one on board. The machine was outdated.
Sharon tells them about the Guardians, they are supposed to guard a hybrid, a step between the machines to the new models. Admiral Adama tells of a mission he was on 41 years ago, during the first Cylon war. He found parts of their experiments with organics. Adama found the remnants of the crew from Gemnon of the Diana. They were being used as guinea pigs. He saw the Cylons get away with something, right before the armistice was signed. The Pegasus will go alone. The Admiral will come along.
He asks his new XO about an incident where 10 civilians were executed. He tells Shaw that she will lead the mission. Captain Thrace will fly the raptor.
In the past during the aftermath of the attack on the relay station, the admiral is weighing her options. She is looking at Six. Lt Thorn is tasked with interrogating Six and he is giving him carte blanche. The Kernel finds a fleet of civilian ships. The admiral plans on getting what she needs from them. She says that there is bound to be resistance, so she is sending armed men to get the supplies. The civilians don’t take the news well.
The admiral looks on at a tortured Six. The admiral has to give orders to shoot anyone who doesn’t comply. They have to shoot a few people to get what they want.
The XO heads to the kitchen to inject form her usual stash. Kara surprises and interrupts her. They don’t like each other, but Shaw doesn’t inject her drug.
In the past, Shaw gets promoted to the rank of captain by the admiral. The admiral plays with her the knife and says that they all have to become razors in order to survive.
In the present, Shaw and Thrace begin their maneuvers. We see the antiquated Centurions reminiscent of the original Battlestar Galactica series. They even use the catch phrase, “By your command”.
The assault team ejected from their raptor and proceeded to get into the station. They find their crew in a similar get up as Adama saw 41 years ago. They manage to get them away from the lab, but the Cylons are there. The Cylons try to salvage some new samples. Shaw kills the soldier. Shaw gets shot.
Commander Adama makes the decision to launch nuclear missiles at the ship. The Admiral belays the order. The Pegasus sends an evac raptor. Shaw pulls a gun on Thrace to make her leave. She gives her the admiral’s knife and takes control of the nuke. The hybrid starts to talk with the major.
The major sees what she has done in the past. She is the one who shot a civilian. The hybrid asks her if she wants to be forgiven. She says yes. He grabs her hand. He tells her that Kara Thrace is the herald of the apocalypse. If the humans follow her, they will all die.
The major tries to warn the Adamas, but they jam her. The hybrid tells Shaw that this has happened before and will happen again. Shaw detonates the nuclear device.
Starbuck asks to get transferred back to Galactica.
Relevant Posts
memoirs on a rainy day 