The
fourth and final-ever season of
Battlestar Galactica premiered on M-Net Action last night (16 April at 20h00) and I thought you might want an explanation as to why it didn't pick up from where
Season 3 left off but rather shifted to the Pegasus.
The episode we saw last night was entitled
Razor and it's not a fourth season episode - yet it is at the same time. Spacey!
The way the season's structured is that there are 22 episodes in total. The first two are made up of Razor - a made-for-TV movie that was filmed before filming for the fourth season began.
The movie was released and broadcast in the US and UK late last year to bridge the time-gap between Season 3 and 4. It was also released on DVD. I imagine it's been released as episodes 1 and 2 to countries who haven't seen it yet - it's also been classified as episode 401 and 402 in the show's official listings.
When Season 4 premiered in the US two weeks ago - on 4 April - it actually began with episode 403 entitled He That Believath In Me - which picks up from where Season 3 left off, with Starbuck's return to the crew.
Razor's essentially a preview to the season that goes back in time to show the action we haven't seen on the Pegasus so that when the two ships get back together we have a better understanding of both the ship and Admiral Cain's legacy.
What's so cool about it is how the story's seen through the eyes of Major Kendra Shaw - someone we've never met before who has a new and different perspective on things.
Next week her Razorized story continues and reaches full circle - there's a conclusion to it that brings the two ships and characters together.
Once it's complete, episode 3 picks up the action from last season and we'll get to see up to episode 12 guarenteed.
The writers strike shut down production on the show so it's looking like the remaining 10 episodes will only be released next year some time. On one hand it sucks but on another it means the final bombly countdown to the end gets extended for longer.
Here are some fast Razor facts I've gathered from around the web (including the
Season 4 wiki) that I thought you'd enjoy knowing for next week:
The time-line for Razor is that it's set at the same time as events that happened in
Season 2.
In October last year seven webisodes were released entitled Razor Flashbacks. They follow Captain Adama in his youth - as we saw him in the scene in Razor - and focus on his training to be a fighter pilot and his discovery of the Cylon lab. They're included on the Razor DVD.
SciFi.com asked fans to choose the cover for the Razor DVD.
Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen who plays Kendra is a Hong-Kong born Aussie actress who got her break on the soapie Home and Away. This year she's billed to appear in the US remake of the UK sci-fi detective series Life On Mars, which hasn't been released yet.
We'll get to see why Razor's called Razor next week.
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