Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 [2006] [DVD] [2004]

Battlestar Galactica is in my opinion the finest science-fiction television series that presently exists, being a hardcore fan of the genre it takes a lot to be able to come out with such a comment, since I have been watching sci-fi television series for as long as I can remember. In the space of a year, from when I first saw the pilot episode Battlestar Galactica has become my absolute favourite television programme, bar none.

Series three picks up the torch from the end of series two and continues to take the show in brilliant new directions. For the first time since the very beginning the show begins to feature story lines that show a great deal of relevance towards the modern day, featuring stories about suicide bombings as well as "terrorism" from a perspective that is quite alien to a western audience. Character development continues to get better and better, finally managing to look at the relationship of Apollo and Starbuck without teasing the audience in the way that the previous series have.

All I can say is that I am not sure how patient I can be to await the release of series four, especially since I watched the entirety of series three in the space of a week. I seriously cannot recommend Battlestar Galactica strongly enough.

Season 3 is where Battlestar Galactica came of age. Alone among contemporary dramas of ANY genre, this season tackles pressing issues of our times. Suicide bombing, torture, psychological abuse, identity and reality are all given a thoughtful, non-patronising treatment and the drama wrapped around them is utterly compelling.

The end of season cliffhanger episode is perhaps the most memorable TV event of this year.

There is a lot that could be said about this third season of the very clever, and very powerful series, though I'll try to keep it succinct. It scores a lot of hits, but also a couple of misses. As you will no doubt have come to expect, the story arc is enthralling, edge-of-your-seat stuff. It's intelligent and expects you as a viewer to be too. If you are you can sometimes spot what's coming up, but it keeps you second guessing a lot of the time even if something pans out as expected.

The season starts with a brilliant resolution to season two's almost unbelievable cliff-hanger. The first four episodes are pure gold. The last few episodes are not quite as good as the first, but still some of the most compelling, gripping, dramatic, and emotional sci-fi you're ever likely to watch. Plus, the end music for the last episode is so stunningly brilliant it actually grabbed my attention away from the story (but that's because I recognised it as a rocked out Jimi Hendrix track with a lovely eastern flavour all over it - I may actually buy the soundtrack CD just for that, and I never buy soundtrack CDs).

Even the filler episodes were pretty good (let's face it, every show and every season always has them - including Battlestar) - with one exception. There was an entire episode devoted to the exploits of Kat - someone I've always seen as a minor character, and an obnoxious un-interesting character at that. I frankly didn't want or need to see that episode at all, and would have been far happier if that time had been spent on one of the Number 6 characters, considering how neglected that character became.

The other point that is starting to concern me is that the religious element is getting a bit overpowering. What I liked about season 1 and 2 is that it was all kept open to interpretation - everything _might_ have been divinely controlled, but just as easily there could be rational explanation behind it all too. Season three finds the balance shifting to a level I do not like - too many characters seem to know too much that they should not without 'divine intervention', and there are too many 'co-incidences' that are crucial. And I say that even accounting for the retro-active possibilities reviled by the ending. But, I have faith (haha!) in the producers, and wouldn't be too surprised if season four offers more credible stuff. I certainly hope so.

So, as a story, as a piece of drama, as sheer entertainment - five out of five. Some of the best sci-fi ever written and filmed. It has flaws if you look for them, but what doesn't?

As a DVD box set - well. What a disappointment. Quite what the compilers of this set were thinking I do not know. When creating a 'bonus disc' on a third season box set, I think it's safe to assume the person buying it will own, or at the very least have seen, season one and two. So, the bonus disc shouldn't consist of nothing more that a poorly voiced-over re-hash of season one and two, and certainly not one using nothing but old footage. Rather, a bonus disc should tell you something new and interesting, offer insights, give possible explanations, tell you about the writing process, offer a couple of interviews. You know - give us 'extras'. The bonus disc does nothing of the sort, and I can only imagine that to 99% of the people buying the DVD set its one and only possible use would be as a coaster. Utter utter garbage, and really not good enough. It's not going to entice anyone to buy a box set, because it is in no way a 'value add'. It's truly pointless. Other than that the DVDs themselves are as expected, reasonable packaging and nothing much to say.