Blu-Ray Review: ‘Battlestar Galactica: Season Four’ Finally Closes HD Chapter

CHICAGO – The high-def releases for “Battlestar Galactica” have been somewhat baffling. The problem for Universal was that A.) They had started releasing the series on standard-def when Blu-ray took off and B.) They needed a way to milk one of their most impressive cash cows for a bit longer. Consequently, the chance to individually buy all of one of the best science fiction programs of all time didn’t come until 2011. But that day has finally arrived with the release of the impressive “Battlestar Galactica: Season Four.”

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

Stick with me here. It’s going to get complicated. Technically, the entire run of “Battlestar Galactica” was available in July of 2009 but only in an expensive complete series set (currently running over $200). If you had a few seasons on standard that you were fine merely upconverting, you still had to open the wallet for the full series.

Battlestar Galactica: Season Four was released on Blu-Ray on January 4th, 2011.
Photo credit: Universal Home Video

At the same time as “Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series,” Universal released “Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5,” but they spread out the remaining releases over the next year and a half with season one in January of 2010, season two in April, and season three in July. They released “The Plan” in October of 2009 and “Razor” just hit standalone last week, December 28th, 2010. With the release of the complete season 4 (which contains 4, 4.5, and “Razor”), you can now pick and choose which seasons to buy or complete your collection without having to buy the complete series set. Whew.

To be fair, the release of “Battlestar Galactica: Season Four” is spectacular. It doesn’t just include the first half of the season (as 4.5 was already available). It includes the whole thing, including “Razor.” And all of these “BSG” releases have spectacular HD video and audio along with amazing special features. All six of the Blu-ray discs include hours of special features with U-Control and BD-Live functionality. Not only have all the previously-available features been wonderfully organized but two new Blu-ray exclusives are included — “The Musicians Behind Daybreak” and exclusive deleted scenes. It’s an amazing release. Finally.

Special Features — “Battlestar Galactica: Season Four”
o The Journey Ends: The Arrival
o A Look Back: Six-Part Retrospective
o …And They Have a Plan
o Unrated Extended Version of “Razor” Commentary
o Unrated Extended Episodes With Commentaries
o Deleted Scenes
o Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
o Minisodes
o What the Frak is Going On With Battlestar Galactica?
o Ronald D. Moore Podcast Commentaries
o David Eick’s Video Blogs
o BD-Live - Battlestar Galactica Trivia Challenge
o BD-Live - Battlestar Galactica - Ultimate Battle Card Game
o U-Control - The Oracle: An Interactive Guide Including Ships and Characters
o U-Control - Battlestar Actual: A Glossary of all the Unique Battlestar Galactica Terms.
o U-Control - What the Frak Happened to You?

Special Features — “Battlestar Galactica: Razor”
o Deleted Scenes
o Minisodes
o Unrated Extended Edition Commentary
o The Look of Battlestar Galactica
o My Favorite Episodes So Far
o BD-Live - Battlestar Galactica Trivia Challenge
o BD-Live - Battlestar Galactica - Ultimate Battle Card Game
o U-Control - The Oracle: An Interactive Guide Including Ships and Characters
o U-Control - Battlestar Actual: A Glossary of all the Unique Battlestar Galactica Terms.

[18]	By BRIAN TALLERICO [19] Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com [18]