Rating: 
Summary: Positive Shield...Now!
Review: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, after all these many years, has finally been presented to us in a beautifully packaged 6 disc DVD boxed set containing all 24 hours of the short-lived 1978-79 series, including the rarely seen three hour version of the pilot episode. This set does not, however, include any entries from the horrendous follow-up series GALACTICA 1980, so you will have to look elsewhere for the highly sought after episode "The Return Of Starbuck". I have included a list of each episode included in this set, as well as having rated each installment: Saga Of A Star World (4 ½ Stars)
Lost Planet Of The Gods, Parts 1 and 2 (4 Stars)
The Lost Warrior (2 Stars)
The Long Patrol (2 ½ Stars)
The Gun On Ice Planet Zero, Parts 1 and 2 (4 Stars)
The Magnificent Warriors (½ Star)
The Young Lords (1 ½ Stars)
The Living Legend, Parts 1 and 2 (5 Stars)
Fire In Space (1 Star)
War Of The Gods, Parts 1 and 2 (5 Stars)
The Man With Nine Lives (3 ½ Stars)
Murder On The Rising Star (2 ½ Stars)
Greetings From Earth, special two hour presentation (2 ½ Stars)
Baltar's Escape (4 Stars)
Experiment In Terra (½ Star)
Take The Celestra (2 ½ Stars)
The Hand Of God (4 ½ Stars) Though starting off very strongly, the series quickly settled into an annoying habit of focusing all of its real effort on the two part episodes. While this tactic provided the absolute highlights of the series (including such memorable episodes as "The Living Legend" and "War of The Gods"), it left many of the hour long installments lacking in a major way. Nearly all of the regular hour length episodes suffer from poorly written, uninteresting scripts that are only kept alive by the character moments sprinkled throughout. Hampering the efforts further was a noticeable drop in the production quality on these episodes. The only two regular length episodes that really rise to the occasion are "Baltar's Escape" and the series finale "The Hand Of God". These two episodes are prime examples of what could have been done in future seasons had the show continued. In addition to series regulars Lorne Greene and John Colicos, the series guest starred many other well known actors and film legends. Within, you will find the likes of Jane Seymour, Dan O'Herlihy, Roy Thinnes, Lloyd Bridges, Patrick MacNee, Fred Astaire, and Brock Peters. I am very impressed with this boxed set as presented by Universal Studios. They have been kind enough to provide each episode with deleted, alternate, and behind the scenes footage. The only two episodes that do not sport any extras what-so-ever are "The Magnificent Warriors" and "Take The Celestra", more than likely because none now exists. There are several short documentaries to be found here as well, including an interview with series creator Glen A. Larson which I found to be very interesting and informative. He discusses his inspirations for the show, as well as the many problems encountered while making it. There is also an interview with the series' composer Stu Phillips. Other goodies are spinkled throughout the set, including a retrospective look at the work that went into developing the Cylons for the film and subsequent series, as well as how they created the 'mechanical Daggit' Muffit! There is also a very nifty photo gallery showcasing Ralph McQuarrie's beautiful pre-visualization art work for the first film that is not to be missed. Lots of rare footage abounds in this DVD set, be sure to keep your eyes open for several differing shots of the never-shown-up-close face of the Cylon Imperious Leader! The pilot movie contains a three person commentary track provided by stars Richard Hatch (Apollo), Dirk Benedict (Starbuck), and Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Boomer). It is a very engaging discussion between the three as they joke and recall stories from the set. They are still good friends in real life and that comes through on the commentary track very nicely. This was one of the more entertaining commentaries that I have heard on DVD in some time, as well as providing lots of insight into what went on behind the scenes of the movie and series. Also not to be missed at the conclusion of the set on Disc 6 is a 45 minute long featurette called "Remembering Battlestar Galactica". It is a very interesting look back at the show in the form of brand new interviews from surviving cast members. The episodes are very nice looking on disc now that they have been digitally remastered, looking much better than they have ever appeared before. Unfortunately, the time was not taken to try and clean up the picture of all the small scrapes and scratches. Also, the super clarity of the DVD format has managed to upstage many of the special effects created by John Dykstra. The poles that hold the models up are now rather visible in many of the spaceship shots. Oh well, that is a small price to pay to finally own this series on DVD. The sound has finally been remixed in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound, being available now for the first time ever in something other than mono. It is wonderful to finally hear this series as it was meant to be heard! Also included in this set is a 18 page booklet featuring episode synopsis and cast information, as well as lots of cool pictures and graphics. It is a rather nice addition, but doesn't really contain too much relevant information all the same. The Cylon helmet shaped box that this set comes in is kind of neat, but takes up way too much room. This set is now being released in a normal version like other DVD box sets, so it will fit right on the counter with the rest of your collections. Overall, this series as a whole gets 4 stars and the DVD box set put together by Universal Studios gets 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Great - But Maybe A Little too Great
Review: I've loved BG since it's 3 hour pilot way back in 1978. To at last have the series on DVD - and all in one great box - is fantastic. However, there is one drawback one can't help but notice - the DVD transfers are at times TOO good. During the outer space shots the 'junk mattes' around the ships stand out on the digital transfer so much that it is actually distracting. Granted, the sound and picture quality are lightyears ahead of the old MCA videos, but one wishes someone at Universal could have taken the time and money to 'fix' the space shots a bit - just tweaking the contrast on the original film stock probably would have done it. That said, I still HIGHLY RECOMMEND this set...the deleted scenes alone are worth the price! Long live Battlestar Galactica (and hopefully a quick death the the insipid 'remake')!
Rating: 
Summary: For hardcore fans only
Review: First of all I feel the price of this set is ridiculous. Even with the special box, this series is just not worth it. It was a decent enough show for the 70's, but thirty years later it may not hold the appeal it did when we were kids. I might consider buying this after the price has fallen a bit.
Rating:
Summary: The Finest Weekly Outer Space Sci-Fi Show Ever!
Review: I Love, Love, LOVE this show. These DVD's are essiantial. True you see a lot of the same special effects over and over, but in some ways (definitly not all) this show surpasses even Star Wars. For instance, let me state my reasons ... 1) Beautiful women!!!! Anne Lockheart enough said!!! Carrie Fisher and Natlie Portman never really did anything for me. 2) The charcters in Battlestar Galectica seem more fleshed out and "Human" than the charcters in Star Wars. 3) The Cylons are more meancing in appearance than Storm Troopers and what cool robotic voices they have!!! Here is My Episode Report Card "A" being the best and "F" being the worst. Saga Of A Star World "A"
Lost Planet Of The Gods, Parts 1 and 2 "B"
The Lost Warrior "C"
The Long Patrol "C"
The Gun On Ice Planet Zero, Parts 1 and 2 "A"
The Magnificent Warriors "D"
The Young Lords "A"
The Living Legend, Parts 1 and 2 "A"
Fire In Space "D"
War Of The Gods, Parts 1 and 2 "A" (My Favorite Episode)
The Man With Nine Lives "B"
Murder On The Rising Star "A"
Greetings From Earth "B"
Baltar's Escape "A"
Experiment In Terra "F"
Take The Celestra "C"
The Hand Of God "A" (Great last episode too bad there wasn't a second season.)
Rating:
Summary: Good assortment of extras and tons of deleted scenes!
Review: I grew up watching Battlestar Galactica on TV and in later syndication. Definitely a landmark show in terms of the sheer scale of the production, large and extraordinarily well-cast acting ensemble and movie-quality special effects. True, Battlestar did reuse its effects. True, some of the early episodes did borrow from popular movies of the time. But who can argue with any show that drove home an original idea like a search for Earth, and did so with such a compelling background story, being driven by a seemingly unstoppable enemy?
I would say, pound for pound, Battlestar had some of the best science fiction stories ever produced for television in "Living Legend", "War of the Gods" and "Lost Planet of the Gods". Any fan of the show will be thrilled with the nearly three hours of deleted scenes, organized per episode. In addition to full-length commentary of the pilot episode by Dirk Benedict, Richard Hatch and creator-producer Glen Larson, this DVD set has a number of first-seen extras. A 45 minute documentary on the making of the series with interviews from most of the cast remembering the event 25 years later. Documentaries on the Cylons, working with the Daggit, making the music for Battlestar Galactica and a particularly compelling piece by Glen Larson on the creation of Battlestar Galactica. The accompanying book on all the individual episodes and extras does not have enough written content, but great pictures. Overall, still a lot of fun to watch, with good 16:9 widescreen presentation (although the picture has not been touched up from the TV masters), and excellent Dolby 5.1 sound. Good for for the nine-year-old aspiring carrier pilot in you, and great for any fan of television science fiction! I can't believe this show didn't run for another five years.
Rating:
Summary: By Your Command ...
Review: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA -- from its inception -- had the potential to become far much more than it ever amounted to on television. That isn't to say that the show -- one of the highest rated premieres in the history of the medium -- doesn't have a record worth mention; it's just to say that had the series continued into a second or third season or had the series launched a series of theatrical films (an opinion I've long held), the phenomenon of GALACTICA would probably be as pronounced as STAR TREK or STAR WARS is today. The series has been given top-shelf treatment here in this fully remastered DVD collection, and I can't imagine a missing piece to the puzzle. The DVDs contain all of the episodes -- cut into seamless productions -- along with a handful of new production featurettes ('looking back,' 'special effects,' etc.) that are very good but could have packed more punch. The commentary on the pilot episode/movie plays wonderfully, with the principal actors contributing terrific anecdotes and memories of their experiences in making the premiere. Additional, EVERY EPISODE boasts deleted scenes, alternate takes, or outtakes (some hilarious ones!), and, arguably, some of these alone make this collection 'epic' in a single definition of the word. While some episodes clearly are clunkers strung together on a thin plot under the strict constraints of network television, one fact remains clear: the creative forces behind the show worked very, very hard at maintaining the kind of continuity other science fiction shows strive for today. They realized -- back then -- that serious fans were interested in stories that grew -- in situations that led to repercussions unanticiated -- in choices that were not always easy because they seemed 'right' so much as they were 'just.' Relive GALACTICA, or discover it for the first time in the awesome collection.
Rating:
Summary: By Your Command:Cylons Rule This Great DVD Set!!
Review: This DVD collection is a great edition to any fan of this super sci-fi series.They are presented here shown in their entirety episode by episode and the sound quality is excellent!!and the digital remastering is outstanding.I loved this show every since it aired back in the seventies on ABC and what a great cast.Lorne Greene as Adama,Richard Hatch as Apollo,Dirk Benedict as Starbuck,sexy Maren Jensen as Athena,Laurette Spang as Cassiopeia,Herb Jefferson Jr as Boomer,Jane Seymour as Serena,Noah Hathaway as Boxey,Terry Carter as Colonel Tigh,and last and certainly not least,John Colicos as the human traitor Baltar.The Cylons was outstanding and were great as the villians.It's interesting to note that once they were reptillian beings at first,but was destroyed by their own technology and from this came a race of super machines.The Cylon Base Star was a cool ship and the Cylon Imperious Leader was Spooky.Patrick Macnee's voice as the Imperious Leader was great as well as Johnathan Harris(Dr.Zachary Smith from the Classic show Lost In Space)is super!! I fully recommend this DVD set.There are great episodes but my favorites are:
The Pilot episode
Gun On Ice PLanet Zero
The Living Legend
Lost Planet Of The Gods
Baltar's Escape.
Rating:
Summary: Battlestar Galactica limited edition
Review: This box set brings back alot of great memories, a must have for all fans. With so many deleted scenes, lots of extra parts. With the high price, I was lucky to get a gift card during the holidays. Some episodes needed to be cleaned up better. (One thing I did notice during a deleted scene as Starbuck was running through the viper hanger during the bloodtrail from the "BADGUYS" he hit the deck in front of the viper that "his dad" was sitting in, anyway my dvd was silent- no sound from this out take. I wonder if this is a dvd defeat on my dvd or just the way it was surpose to be). If anyone knows after watching the deleted extra scene themselves, email me at kimmycostan@yahoo.com thanks
Rating:
Summary: love this set
Review: All the classic episodes are here! There are great interviews with the cast and creators, plenty of deleted scenes, a booklet is in there too, and the packaging is awesome. What's not to love about this set?
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC SET!!
Review: I wasn't a Glactica fan until a buddy showed me this set. The interview with Glen Larsen really opened my eyes to the mythic aspects of the show. What a great program! I also fell in love with the cast. What great people! Now I have this set and love it!
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