Battlestar Galactica: The Plan Review

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(More customer reviews)I started watching The Plan really skeptical; I read all the reviews here, and thought it was going to be mediocre at best, as all the negative reviews seem to be saying that in unison.
However, I was really pleasantly surprised. I can understand how some people might be disappointed with The Plan, it doesn't, after all, answer some of the questions left hanging in the air after the series finale. It doesn't have the space battles or insane intensity of some of BSG's better episodes. It doesn't include some of the most important characters (Laura Roslin, Apollo, Starbuck).
But The Plan was never planned or written, I think, as a nostalgia film that is supposed to exploit our feelings for these characters to milk us for some cash. Instead, it has decided to do something bold: to tell an entirely new story that connects with what we already know, happening at the same time as what we've seen during the first two seasons of BSG.
It's the story of how the Cylons, each in different situations and living amongst different humans were in fact influenced by those humans. We see them developing genuine empathy, and utter hate. We see some renouncing their Cylon identity because of what they've done. We see them questioning their actions. We see them at their most brilliant, but also at their most incompetent. We see them for what they truly are: the imperfect creations of imperfect creations. In the end, the moral is simple: it's easy to kill someone from space with a nuke. It's hard to kill someone looking them in the eye.
If your going to watch The Plan expecting some grand revelations about the loose ends in the series finale, then you will come out disappointed. But if you watch The Plan looking for a really well written movie, with some terrific performances, some new insights into Cylon thinking, or just for a little nostalgia, you wont be disappointed.
So, if you choose to buy this DVD, judge it on it's own merits.

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The Cylons began as humanity's robot servants.They rebelled and evolved and now they look like us.Their plan is simple: destroy the race that enslaved them.But when their devastating attack leaves human survivors, the Cylons have to improvise.Battlestar Galactica: The Plan tells the story of two powerful Cylon leaders, working separately, and their determination to finish the task.

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Eureka: Season 3.0 Review

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(More customer reviews)There's some not-so-pleasant changes in store for the little town of Eureka.
"Eureka Season 3.0" (meaning the first half of the third season a la "Battlestar Galactica") provides plenty of those, which adds some new tension to geniustown (including some rather shocking cast changes and a new "love-to-hate" person). It's kind of disconcerting to only have eight episodes, but they have the signature mixture of warm comedy and intriguing sci-fi mystery.
Among the changes in store: Alison (Salli Richardson-Whitfield) and Nathan (Ed Quinn) contemplate remarriage, and Henry is in jail. And the DOD sends in a corporate "fixer" named Eva Thorne (Frances Fisher) arrives to cut the deadwood from Global Dynamics. But then an anti-missile VIPER drone goes AWOL during a flight test and starts threatening Eureka, while Thorne decides to embed herself in Global Dynamics as one of the new bosses.
And while Eva ruthlessly makes GD "profitable," the usual sci-fi disasters crop up. Carter has to deal with bizarre transformations in a sealed biosphere, a wedding-day timeloop, exploding biomemetic dogs, an impossible volcano brewing under Eureka (and which sprays gross fluids on people), an inept spandex-wearing "Captain Eureka," a mayoral election heated up by an artificial supernova, and a swarm of ancient Egyptian insects.
In the meantime, Thorne is snooping around Eureka in search of something. Her quest leads to the discovery of a vast military base, and some bodies dead since 1939 -- and a bizarre substance that threatens Zoe's life after she slips and falls in it.
Apparently the once all-important Artifact is yesterday's business, because the dark subplot of "Eureka Season 3.0" is the mystery prewar bunker and whatever Thorne wants destroyed. It adds a nice undercurrent of conspiracy and tension to this season, though the focus is always first and foremost on our Everyman Sheriff, and how he tries to deal with the Horrific World-Ending Scientific Crisis of the day.
That's a nice balance, because the rest of the season flows in a river of gentle humor and extreme scientific problems. Plenty of weird inventions (cloud sculpting, flying rabbits and robot pooches), fun tongue-in-cheek dialogue ("They killed the infected and burned the city to the ground." "Let's call that Plan B"), and hilarious comedic moments. And Carter's always in the middle of it, trying to unravel a way to fix things.
But it's worth noting that while the Disasters Du Jour and the bunker plots are dealt with by the eighth episode, the half season ends with a cliffhanger for one character. Just sayin'.
Ferguson does a brilliant job as Carter, the down-to-earth Everycop who just wants to do his job ("It's all fun and games until someone gets cursed"). But Carter has some new problems in this season -- his new-agey, pregnant sister moves in with him, and Zoe continues to spread her wings with a job and boyfriend. Erica Cerra's Jo experiences some relationship woes, while Richardson-Whitfield's Alison is put in the position of being pretty powerless. Sadly, a longtime cast member also exits the scene early on.
This season also sees the return of Henry, whose skills turn out to be too invaluable for him to rot in prison -- and he even gets a new job on top of his old one. And Fisher turns out to be a great addition: she initially makes a great steely-eyed corporate dictator, but the facade cracks as time goes on, and we get to see that she's haunted by something terrible in the past.
"Eureka Season 3.0" is way too short (new episodes coming in July), but it still has the fresh mix of out-there sci-fi and small-town comedy. Definitely still worth the seeing.

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Make a return trip to the seemingly ordinary small town where extraordinary things happen with Eureka 3.0 in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. Reunite with the town\'s hard-working sheriff, Carter (Colin Ferguson), as he tries to deal with his adopted hometown\'s unique geniuses, volatile experiments and earth-shaking secrets \' all while trying to raise his feisty teenage daughter on his own. Witty, surprising and full of intriguing mysteries, it\'s the innovative SciFi Channel series that explores the fascinating intersections where human dilemmas and super-science collide.

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Warehouse 13: Season One (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Combine "The X-Files" with Indiana Jones and add a dash of "Sanctuary," and voila -- you have "Warehouse 13."
Yeah, Sci-fi/SyFy's latest series isn't exactly the most original or unique show out there, but it is strangely endearing. After a round of rather generic standalone episodes, this series bounces off once it introduces a main villain and a plot arc -- and while there's little romantic chemistry, the lead characters are a likable bunch with some nicely handled character development.
After a weird incident involving an assassin and an Aztec bloodstone, Secret Service agents Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) and Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) are summoned to a run-down warehouse in the South Dakota badlands. An eccentric agent called Artie (Saul Rubinek) informs them that this is Warehouse 13, which holds dangerous and bizarre "artifacts" -- and their new assignment is to collect and neutralize new artifacts.
Among the problems they encounter: a young man possessed by a strange Italian power, bank robberies using music, a teleportation experiment gone wrong, a device that channels enough energy to fry people to a crisp, a katana that can slice through light, a mirror that switches Myka with a malevolent creature, and a prison whose occupants are driven to madness by the ghosts of their pasts. But the most dangerous problem is a former agent of the Warehouse, who is now determined to grab the artifacts for his own purposes -- and destroy Artie and the others as well.
Despite being pretty derivative of "The X-Files" at times (skeptical strict female agent paired with quirky wild card), "Warehouse 13" has a pretty brilliant concept -- basically it's about a place that seals away any dangerous historical artifacts. Among the artifacts: Poe's pen, Lewis Carroll's mirror, a Studio 54 disco ball (which plays "I Will Survive" when disturbed) the Tesla gun, a giant steampunky computer and a wishing kettle that produces ferrets.
The stories are a solid blend of action, grimy sci-fi (the warehouse is a pretty bleak-looking place), and a bit of comedy on the side (one of the Important Artifact-Seeking Questions is, "Do you smell fudge?"). While the first few episodes are rather generic one-offs, the plots become tighter and more intense about halfway through -- and the addition of the sociopathic MacPherson and the Regents adds a new level of potential to the arc storyline.
Downsides? The dialogue can be painfully cool-kiddish at times, especially when Claudia is being annoyingly self-referential ("Couldn't any genius whiz-kid?"). And the romantic chemistry between Kelly and McClintock is almost nil.
But Kelly and McClintock make a solid supernatural-detective duo -- he's a quirky pop-culture-loving weirdo (although I just can't see him as a Secret Service agent) with a weakness for cookies, while her almost-fanatical devotion to rules/plans is explained by a tragic personal loss. Allison Scagliotti does a good job as the erratic "whiz-kid," although her character can be annoying. But Saul Rubinek is the ruling force in this series -- a quirky, gruff, antisocial man who is haunted by the many agents lost in pursuit of artifacts. He's absolutely brilliant.
"Warehouse 13 Season 1" is pretty derivative at times, but it's also strangely endearing and quite fun. The best part is, it seems to be getting better with time.

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After saving the life of the President, two top Secret Service agents find themselves abruptly transferred to Warehouse 13 — a massive, top-secret storage facility in the badlands of South Dakota that houses every strange artifact, mysterious relic, fantastical object and supernatural souvenir ever collected by the U.S. government. Now the pair — off-the-cuff Agent Pete Lattimer and by-the-book Agent Myka Bering — must chase down reports of supernatural and paranormal activity in search of new objects for their eccentric new boss, Artie Nielsen, to safeguard at the Warehouse. It\'s a wildly entertaining adventure full of inventive gadgetry and thrilling action, and with all twelve Warehouse 13: Season One episodes cataloged and archived in this collectible three-disc set, now\'s your chance to snag it, bag it and tag it!

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Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Not everyone watches the show when it airs, and if you're one of those people or if you'd just like to know what's on the discs, then this review is for you.
First, let me just say that I absolutely loved the finale. I also believe that the final half of season four was perhaps the strongest of the series (definitely the bleakest). This show had always been a drama with a scifi setting, and while some folks didn't like the fact that it became much more dialogue driven and less focused on action, I loved it. There are ten episodes (finale being a three-parter, but aired as two episodes, so you could say 11 episodes) spread across 3 discs. Here's a breakdown of the EXTRAS on each disc with my opinion of what's useful and what could have been airlocked.
Disc One:
"The Journey Ends: The Arrival" is a look back at the series with the cast and crew. Worth watching.
"What the Frak is Going On With Battlestar Galactica" is a quick 8-minute summary of the show through the first 3 seasons. It's concise and hilarious.
"A Disquiet Follows My Soul Unaired Extended Episode." Better than the broadcast version, and definitely the version I'd recommend.
"Evolution of a Cue" is a behind-the-scenes look at composer Bear McCreary's creation of music for a specific scene (with Roslin). It's incredibly detailed and if you're a fan of the music on BSG, I couldn't recommend this one enough. Actually, even if you're not a fan of the music it's still very interesting.
Disc Two:
"David Eick's Video Blogs" is a collection of 11 3-5 minute video diaries with the cast and crew covering a range of topics. Some are funny and some are just fun to watch. Definitely worth watching.
"Islanded in a Stream of Stars Unaired Extended Episode." Much better than the broadcast version. I wasn't a huge fan of this episode when it originally aired, but this extended version definitely fleshes out the story a lot better and also fills in a few gaps.
Disc Three:
"A Look Back" is another collection of videos(6) with the cast and crew. Not repetitive in the least, this is also well worth watching.
"...And They Have A Plan" is a quick 4-5 minute sneak peek at what the upcoming movie, "The Plan" is all about.
"The Musicians Behind Daybreak." Bear McCreary is again on-hand to discuss what went into creating the epic score for the finale. Even better, we're introduced to the various musicians (and their instruments) who have worked on the score from the very beginning. And once again, this one comes HIGHLY recommended.
"Daybreak Unaired Extended Episode." The finale the way it was meant to be seen. This contains all three parts, and along with extra scenes, it was also re-edited a bit. I highly recommend watching this and forgoing the broadcast version.
Across all discs you'll find deleted scenes (some are very interesting while some are just filler that should have been deleted, and they are presented in SD), audio and podcast commentaries (they're all worth a listen), along with U-Control. U-Control is an interactive feature that offers little facts about the show/characters which you can access as you watch an episode. Frankly, I found it completely useless. I haven't tried the BD-Live content as yet.
It should be noted that you should watch the entire series before watching any of the extras because they do contain massive spoilers.
There is, however, one glaring omission from this box-set: "The Face Of The Enemy" webisodes. While they are available elsewhere online, they should have been included in this set. They answer a question or two (from season 3) and greatly flesh out a certain character's motivations in these final episodes. I'd recommend finding and watching them before watching the episode, "The Oath." While this exclusion is noteworthy, the strength of the rest of the content in this set more than makes up for it. And perhaps we could see them available through BD-Live one day?
Visually, BSG looks gorgeous on Blu. You do notice the intentional grain a bit more at times, but colors pop and lines are well defined (CGI looks better as well). On the audio side, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is simply fantastic. Technically, this set is remarkable.
If you've come along for the ride this far, there's absolutely no reason to not pick up this final half-season to see how this story ends. However, as to be expected, the finale won't please everyone. Whether or not you like it, at least we were given a proper conclusion, which is a rarity in today's television landscape. They told the story they wanted to tell, and left it up to their audience to decide...and that's exactly what I did.
A wonderful conclusion to the best show to ever grace our television screens.

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All will be revealed as the thrilling final episodes of Battlestar Galactica 4.5 land on Blu-ray\' Hi-Def. From their initial action-packed battles against the Cylons to their desperate attempts to find the fabled 13th colony, Earth, a determined band of human survivors has captivated audiences everywhere with their desperate quest to find a new home for their dwindling numbers. Join them now as the fleet journeys into the furthest reaches of unexplored space and faces a crucial decision that will change all of their lives irrevocably. This epic 3 disc set contains over 10 hours of intense, groundbreaking bonus features, including extended episodes that never aired — a must own addition to every fan\'s collection. Relive the anticipation, the action and the excitement of this groundbreaking series that is destined to live on as \'one of the best dramas on TV." (Time Magazine)

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Virtuality (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)This was actually supposed to be the pilot episode of a TV show produced for FOX. The show wasn't picked up as a series, but FOX still aired it as a TV movie.
As a TV show, this would have been spectacular. The quality of production, the exceptional performances, the character development, and the many layers of theme and story make merely watching this lone episode a telling experience about the nature of television and creativity today. If nothing else, it makes for a good case study on the problem of TV today, especially in the sci-fi arena, and a telling demonstration of what TV could be like, if TV executives were to risk making their show choices based on quality, rather than on the safety of lowest-common-denominator marketability. By the end of this movie/episode, whether you're generally a sci-fi fan or not, you'll wonder how in the hell a show like "V" got on the air, while this was passed on.
This is a quality, imaginative, original production that really sucks you in. As a stand-alone, the only problem is the untidy ending (as it was written in anticipation of more installments to come). There has been talk among fans and the actors that sufficient interest could still get the series picked up, if not by FOX then perhaps by SyFy, and a web page was even set up by the spouse of one actor to organize a letter-writing campaign to that end. I pray that it's not too late for this to happen. The wasted potential here is criminal.

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Nothing is what it seems in this daring, futuristic movie event from legendary Director Peter Berg (Hancock) and Executive Producers Michael Taylor and Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica). Twelve extremely talented men and women have been chosen to be part of the Phaeton mission, a 10-year trek to explore a distant planetary system. In order to endure the stress of being confined to their high-tech vessel, the crew passes the time using advanced virtual realitymodules that allow them to take on various identities. But as the ship approaches a critical phase of their journey, a deadly flaw is discovered in the virtual system, forcing them to question if someone onboard might be akiller. Starring Clea DuVall (Carnivále), Joy Bryant (Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins), Sienna Guillory (Eragon), Ritchie Coster (The Dark Knight) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Firewall), it\'s a dazzling trip to unexplored reaches of outer space and the inner imagination that Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune calls a \'complex and intriguing film."

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Caprica (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was extremely skeptical when I heard about the proposed prequel to the greatest television science fiction saga of this generation. Attempting to cash in on the success of Battlestar Galactica so soon after the series ended seemed like a losing proposition doomed to mar an amazing franchise. Well, consider those fears alleviated. The first taste of "Caprica" is absolutely amazing. With no space battles and the themes of humanity's destruction and survival at the hands of their own creation already done to death, I feared for a lack of compelling material to further immerse me in the pre-genocide human society of the twelve worlds. All politics and no spaceships makes science fiction a dull genre. But what BSG did for the space opera, "Caprica" is set to do for cyberpunk. If BSG was Star Trek and Babylon 5, "Caprica" is Ghost in the Shell and The Matrix. I am beyond impressed.
The story unfolds as a terrorist attack by a youth seeking to draw attention to his monotheistic cause (most worship the old Greek gods). The result tears two families apart and in half a century's time will lead to the destruction of human society. But before that there is one hell of a story to be told. The themes on the social commentary buffet so far includes a much more bold dialogue on religion then even BSG gave us, a different angle on the definition of human as we know it, a frank look at a racist society, and an exploration of the logical extremes of future virtual existence. This is to say that once the internet and virtual reality become compatible, one hell of a can of worms will be opened.
Since this series premiere comes to us in movie form, the gods have shined upon us. As far as it's predecessor pushed the sexual envelope for a tv show, "Caprica" has easily bested it here. I don't know how they are going to cut this for television. There is abundant nudity, group sex, and some serious girl-girl going on in this film. Virtual human sacrifice in underground virtual hacker clubs speaks volumes about the social issues to be confronted and is damned disturbing. There is one violent death featuring a but of arterial spray as well. Still think science fiction is for kids? The idea of creating a virtual copy of yourself by hacking the information in your own brain and uploading it to a digital avatar, thereby achieving a brand of immortality is brilliant and the Frankenstein complex that leads a father who lost his daughter to cross lines that should never be crossed is stroke of absolute genius.
Familiarity with it's parent show will certainly deepen your appreciation of "Caprica", but it is not at all necessary. This is great science fiction, period. Now's your chance to get on board with what promises to be the best series in coming years. Don't miss it. Battlestar maniacs will get to see one of that show's enduring heroes in his formative years and witness the birth of the first Cylon in a heart-rending accident. But at it's heart this show -like Galactica- is about two things: massive universal concepts of humanity, and intimate relationships with the characters who inhabit this work of fiction. One cannot improve on that formula. There is no television show, no movie, nothing in entertainment that I am currently looking forward to more then this. If you are a fan of adult science fiction in any way, then this is what you need to be watching. And that goes double for BSG fans.

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An astonishing breakthrough is taking shape on the planet Caprica. The rapidly evolving spheres of human and mechanical engineering have collided, along with the fates of two families. Joined by tragedy in an explosive instant of terror, two rival clans led by powerful patriarchs, Joseph Adama (Esai Morales, Jericho) and Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz, The Butterfly Effect) duel in an era of questionable ethics, corporate machinations and unbridled personal ambition as the final war for humanity looms.The latest phenomenon from the executive producers of Battlestar Galactica (Ronald D. Moore and David Eick), set in a time over 50 years earlier, Caprica is entirely its own world - provocative, thrilling and startling relevant to our own.

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Lexx: Season One Review

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(More customer reviews)This is not a TV season, but the 4 movies before it became a TV series. Season 2 is the first TV show season.
For fans of the show, this is a must get. It goes over the origin of the Lexx and all it's crew. These 4 movies were not available in the US on DVD until now. They were on VHS here, and Canada has had them on DVD and it is region 1 so you could have found a way to get them.
Lexx is my favorite sci-fi series as it does not follow the formula of sci-fi shows before it (or since for that matter). You can easily get invested in these characters and their adventures.
The Four episodes/movies:
1. I Worship His Shadow Lexx Series One "1.0: I Worship His Shadow" - Things get started and you get a good idea of the characters and how things don't go the way you as a viewer expect them to go.
2. Supernova Lexx Series One (Episode 2.0 - "Super Nova") - They find a planet inhabited by Tim Curry, oddness ensues.
3. Eating Pattern Lexx Series One - Episode Three of Four - 3.0 : Eating Pattern - Did I mention this was an odd series? Rutger Hauer is in this installment where the Lexx has to land because it, the ship, is hungry.
4. Giga Shadow Lexx Series One - 4.0 : Giga Shadow - Malcolm McDowell is in this final movie/episode of season 1 where the fate of the two galaxies is in danger.
Again, this is a must for fans. If you want a different sort of sci-fi, then this series is worth giving an honest chance. The production and pace gets better in the TV seasons, but this is a good start for newbies so that they can get the background on these characters, even if it is not the best example of the series.

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Hailed as "the most imaginative Sci-Fi since The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (New York Daily News), Lexx follows the nomadic existence of four misfit characters who have inadvertently stolen the most powerful weapon of destruction ever made: a Manhattan-sized, genetically-modified insect-ship. In its debut season, the Lexx's quirky crew--former security guard, Captain Stanley Tweedle; the luscious love slave Zev; the dead-but-deadly assassin Kai; and the robot head 790--comes together in four, full-length features: I Worship His Shadow, Super Nova, Eating Pattern, and Giga Shadow.

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