"; if(is_file("header.php")) include "header.php"; else include "../header.php"; ?>


The mini-series is better than the DVD

I'll only say one or two brief things about the actual BSG mini-series, since a lot of ground has already been covered in earlier reviews. I completely agree with the filmmakers when they say that this incarnation is more "drama" than "opera," and I think it was dramatically improved by fleshing-out the characters. (Let's be honest, the original Starbuck's entire character description was "sidekick." *Any* change would have made him/her more interesting.) The special effects by Zoic are spectacular. And all you really need to know about the acting is that Edward James Olmos is in it.

But while I'd rate the BSG mini-series itself as 4 stars, this DVD edition rates lower. Because there's nothing except the feature. Nothing worthwhile, anyway. Really. There's no paper insert with disc and chapter information. There are no animated menus. The discs are unfinished (unpainted), and both have menus that imply they're double-sided... which they aren't.

Special features are a thoroughly mediocre "Lowdown" featurette and an unremarkable commentary track.

My impression? It's a DVD thrown together with very little thought or effort. Someone in some marketing department decided that you're all as nerdy as I am and will buy it no matter what.

My advice? Wait until the first season's out on DVD, and I'm sure SciFi will produce a much-enhanced DVD of the pilot mini-series. Buy it then. It's a *fantastic* piece of entertainment, and worth watching... but at this price and without more features and/or better packaging, it's not (yet) worth owning.