Battlestar Galactica:Razor

Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Michelle Forbes, Grace Park, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer, Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen, Fulvio Cecere, Nico Cortez, Steve Bacic and Campbell Lane

Battlestar Galactica, it's fair to say, has had a tough year. The New Caprica storyline bored as many fans as it entertained, the political metaphors the show had previously done so well seeming clunky and heavy-handed. To make matters worse, the last minute abandonment of a season-long sub plot and the introduction of stand-alone 'spotlight' episodes served to frustrate fans desperate for answers and create the impression, for the first time, that the series was running in place. To make matters worse, there was uncertainty about whether the fourth season would be the last, how long it would be and when it would be seen. At time of writing, a season initially planned for launch in early 2008 is now scheduled for April and that's even before the ongoing effects of the writer's strike are taken into account. Throw in the on again/off again nature of the prequel series Caprica, the immense controversy over the revelation of the identities of four of the Final Five cylons, the division between fans of the shows' various relationships and those who prefer the arc plot and the fact that even castmember Katee Sackohoff expressed frustration at the show's growing soap element, and it's easy to see why Galactica fans are far from the happiest kids on the block at the moment. It's therefore my tremendous pleasure to report that for the first time since, arguably, the end of the second season, the series had delivered something for pretty much everyone. Razor is colossally ambitious, epic in scope and redefines the series for what promises to be a fascinating final season.

The film returns to the immensely popular Pegasus story-arc of the second season, using one character to tell two inter-weaving stories. Kendra Shaw (Chaves-Jacobsen) transfers to the Pegasus at the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards where the Battlestar is in for a refit. Shaw barely has time to arrive before the Cylons attack and circumstances place her at the centre not only of these historic events but of Admiral Cain (Forbes) and her increasingly troubled command. These early, desperate days are contrasted with Lee Adama's time as the ship's CO and the first mission he is sent to conduct. A Raptor has been dispatched from Galactica on a scientific mission and is over due. But when Lee sends his newly promoted CAG, Kara Thrace and one of her pilots to investigate, they discover something impossible. Something that has it's roots in the first Cylon War, over forty years ago. Something his father has seen before...

Razor feels, for want of a better word, sharper and more focussed than almost anything in the previous season, the two-hour format giving the characters and action room to breathe and expand. The action, it should be noted, is amongst the series' best with a blistering engagement between Kara, her wingwoman, the Pegsasus and the Cylons ranking amongst the series' finest moments. Likewise, the much-vaunted return of the old 'Centurion'-type Cylons works phenomenally well, still recognisably the classic design but more fluid and exponentially more dangerous than their hulking predecessors. The attack on the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards doesn't disappoint either, with the Pegasus' escape a convincing mix of desperation and inspiration, Forbes' Admiral Cain the quiet eye of a storm of terror and destruction.

But it's the moments of silence that will stay with you and some of them hit like a jackhammer. There are two, deliberately twinned, shots of Gina, the 'Six' placed aboard Pegasus that show exactly how far Cain has fallen, another moment which is nothing but Shaw looking at her sidearm which is revisited over and over and a third, which sees Bill Adama staring his past in the face that are effortlessly and silently powerful. This is a story about the quiet moments where all we have are our memories, and that's rarely, if ever, a good thing. It's a story about sacrificing individuality for the greater good, about tough choices and how there are no right decisions in the heat of battle. Most of all, it's a story which serves to emphasise exactly how lucky everyone associated with the Galactica and her fleet got. In one of the finest moments in the film, Bill Adama freely admits that the same actions Cain took occurred to him and the only reasons he didn't take them were Roslin, Tigh and his son. It's a beautiful moment played with typical grace and solemnity by Olmos and it once again drives home how Bill Adama is a man caught between his two better angels, duty and family. Olmos has always been the heart of the show and here he's on top form, tempering the familiar, stern figurehead of the fleet with moments of stark, open honesty. The fact that Cain has acted how she has is clearly not what bothers Adama, rather he's haunted by the fact that the self-same actions occurred to him. This story, more than any other, shows that Bill Adama is a good man despite himself, someone who chooses to turn away from his darker impulses and who, for all his failings, relies on his family to guide and define him.

Olmos, however, is merely the vanguard of an array of impressive turns from the regular cast. Jamie Bamber does particularly good work here, his Apollo an almost energetic, boyish figure who is desperate to do the right thing and terrified that he'll break under the strain of command. There's a very telling moment in the closing scenes where he makes a command decision that his father instantly countermands that not only ties into their later conflicts but also shows both men as being in the right, and at the same time, both being in the wrong. By exploring his command of the Pegasus, Razor shines new light on both the Adama men, and the pressures they are constantly under. Sackhoff also turns in good work here and it's a welcome change to see the psychopathically confident, fearless Starbuck make a return. However, as in so many other places with this story, God is in the details, and Kara's final scene could be read one of two ways, one of which has incredibly sinister implications for the last humans.

However, deservedly, this is a story that belongs to the crew of the Pegasus. Forbes as Admiral Cain turns in a stunning performance. An over-achiever who doesn't know how to do anything but push herself, she's an incredibly strong leader but lacks the human touch that keeps Bill Adama honest. Every one of the horror stories about Cain recounted in series two is shown here and each one is just as ruthless, just as brutal as it first appeared. But in each case, Forbes is behind the decision, showing us the woman on the spot, a gifted officer horrifically out of her depth, betrayed on every level and forced to remove her humanity in order to survive. It's not an easy course to steer but she manages to give Cain not only depth but moments of genuine poignancy. She's a good woman, a great leader, but ultimately, she's alone and that's what dooms her and her crew. There's a recurrent motif throughout the story of a combat knife. We first see it in the hands of Kendra Shaw (Chaves-Jacobsen) and find out, in short order, that it belonged to Cain. Forbes uses it as a prop, in much the same way as Vincent D'onofrio uses a leather folder in Law and Order:Criminal Intent and the effect is the same. Both props are a means of establishing control, of showing authority but whilst Detective Bob Goren uses the folder to tell suspects that he knows everything about them, Cain's use of the knife is more explicit, more threatening. She's a weapon wielding a weapon, serving notice that no one should let their guard down, no one should think they're safe around her. It's a fascinating motif and one which passes through other sets of hands in the story, boding well for none of them.

Despite these hugely impressive performances however, it's Chaves-Jacobsen who steals the show as Kendra Shaw. Her transition from ambitious young officer to dead-eyed, sullen weapon is both fascinating and horrifying to watch and she commits utterly to the role. From the moment we first see her, looking at her new posting with open enthusiasm to her final moments, Shaw is a woman who doesn't know how to back down, who only knows to push forward, to keep fighting. She's sharpened and honed by Cain as much as the combat knife and whether or not that's a good thing is one of the central thrusts of the piece. It's an almost impossible task, fitting seamlessly into a cast this good, but Chaves-Jacobsen manages it admirably, standing toe-to-toe with Forbes, Bamber and Sackhoff and more than holding her ground. She's fiercely intelligent, savagely competent and utterly, utterly broken, a woman completely adrift in a sea of moral ambiguity with only the training that put her there to rely on. The ice cold, buttoned down polar opposite to Starbuck's grinning, hyperactive agent of chaos, she gives the best performance of the entire cast and, when surrounded by people like this, that's high praise indeed.

Fans of the overall plot will also find plenty to enjoy here. The concept of the Guardians is both fascinating and fits perfectly with established continuity, even providing an interesting social context for the hybrids that run the Basestars. The flashback sequence is also worthy of note, both for some stunning special effects and Nico Cortez's magnificent performance as a young Bill Adama. He's got Olmos' mannerisms absolutely down, from the heavy delivery to the growl in the voice and the end result is utterly convincing, complementing the older actor's performance rather than taking away from it.

Ultimately, Razor is a story about how you choose to live your life, whether you let past choices define you or treat every new choice as a chance to get it right. It focusses in with absolutely clarity on the horrors of command in the last human fleet, shows us how some people are broken it, some are made and most importantly, how the difference between the two really is a razor thin line. It's an effortlessly intelligent piece, arguably the smartest episode has ever produced and puts the series in a fascinating new position for its final season. nuanced, bleak and character-driven, this is a fine piece of work and all involved should feel justifiably proud. It seems, based on this, that Galactica is back on course.

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