Battlestar Galactica - Season 2 - DVD Review

I'm back again quickly with a review of Battlestar Galactica Season 2 on DVD. Before reading this review, ensure you have already viewed season one in its entirety as it will be difficult not to mention events from that season in this review.

The story develops further as the survivors continue to avoid the Cylon's, locate Earth, and run into other devastating troubles along the way. I enjoyed season two more than the first: the actors seem to be fitting into their characters better, and the stories seem more serialised, as well as more focused. Some of the political and social allegory that BSG is known for is implemented more comfortably in this season, as opposed to being tacked-on. There are some excellent two-parters, as well as guest stars, such as Michelle Forbes and Lucy Lawless, in very interesting roles. Unfortunately, between the middle and the end of season there is a slump that sticks out very obviously. Black Market, Scar, and Sacrifice are the perpetrators this season. Even creator Ronald D. Moore, expresses his regret and dislike of the episode Black Market in his podcast - which is quite admirable. I think the reason some of these episodes failed were due to the writers looking at ways of exploring the colony - deepening it. Black Market is to do with, you guessed it, the Black Market, and Scar to do with the fighter pilots hunting down an angry Cylon raider. These episodes don't fail because of the change-up, they fail because of the execution. One example of this that succeeded was the Final Cut episode, guest-starring Lucy Lawless. She played a journalist filming a documentary on Galactica. The episode was well-done and intriguing, due to her questionable intentions and the conflict of the Galactica crew.

The characters with a lot of power are explored in more detail this season. Instead of them having little disagreements, they are now at each others necks. We are also drawn to think about the morality of these characters, as they all make questionable decisions a lot of the time - that often are of large consequence. Unfortunately, when the series delves into character-study it always fails. Way too many silly flashbacks, and the inner-conflicts always seem tacked-on. This is very sad as completely character-driven stories are my favourite, but none of these cut it at all. It may be a problem that is due to the show being very action-packed and plot-driven, so that when they try to do something solely to do with character it is jarring and weak. However, it is inexcusable because Buffy the Vampire Slayer held the line between plot and character probably better than anyone. Many of my other favourite shows are pure character-studies, so they are fairly incomparable. Don't get me wrong though, this season was thoroughly entertaining. The grand decisions being wrestled over by conflicted characters and the tough-spots the fleet get themselves in are engaging, especially when done over two-parters.

My last criticism is the abuse of the flash forward teaser. Firefly used it wonderfully a couple of times, but using it as much as BSG has been is just gimmicky. Whenever a story is boring, unengaging, or takes a while to get going, they go back and create a teaser which has a prominent character in mortal danger toward the end of the episode. The device can be used well, but like this, it just becomes a gimmick. They have used it well once, with Starbuck, when the mortal danger has large future consequence as far as plot and character are concerned.

Video

The bad visual quality in this show is usually attributed to a stylistic choice. The same is the case in this release, but the picture did get overly grainy once or twice - not a big deal.

Audio

Dolby Digital 5.1 is utilised again in this release. The mix is just as good as in the first season release and generally makes the most of the 5.1 sound.

Extras

Special Features:

• Slipcase Packaging
• Deleted Scenes
• Producers Commentaries

The audio commentaries aren't as special as would usually be the case, as the creator Ronald D. Moore has created a podcast commentary for every single episode of the series, available for free from The Sci-Fi Channel's website.

The end of season cliffhanger creates even more epic drama. It was a bold move from the producers, and I respect them for that. Greatly improving from the first season I assuredly Recommend this set. The story could really go anywhere from here, and that's the idea! I'll be reviewing the third season soon. Don't be a stranger.