Excellent start for what promises to be an explosive conclusion
I would describe the first half of this season as occasionally mind-blowing, always gripping. It wasn't perfect, certainly, but it was pretty close. Each of this season's episodes was consistently good, compared to some of the weaker stand-alone episodes in the second half of seasons 2 and 3. BSG has made a successful and compelling transformation from a black/white, us vs. them SciFi/action series into a morality tale about peaceful coexistence, and every step of the way has been executed brilliantly. I'm eagerly awaiting the finale, though I would have welcomed additional seasons.
Also, I'm going to join the other reviewers asking people to stop posting 1-star reviews based on something completely unrelated to the quality of the show or something about the DVD set itself. Complain about the price, or the fact that it's split in half again (though the latter is due more to the writer's strike than anything), but don't come here to complain about problems downloading...
An Ideal State of Flawed Perfection
Battlestar Galactica has, over the last four years, proven to be a new milestone for the very idea of sci-fi television and, outside of "genre" standards, has still shown itself to be one of the strongest shows on television through consistently powerful acting, writing, and directing. Over the seasons, the show has always pushed the envelope when it came to reaching beyond the limitations placed on it by the network and the high level of quality it continued to place on itself. The third season faltered slightly due to all of this growing pressure, as the network forced the show to turn to a story format that didn't suit the overarching plot at all, conflicting with the show's natural evolution. Fortunately, the network took the blame, and for the first time since the show's conception, the writers had full creative control. And how they embraced it.
In turn, the show's fourth season is the perfect realization of Battlestar's miraculously coherent half-planned,...
A Unique Television Experience
Unlike most shows on television (cable, anyway), Battlestar Galactica is ambitious and unique. While most shows bow to studio demands and demographics, this show has no problem making its audience, at times, disgusted and queasy with the "good guys" and sympathize with the "bad guys". Each story is carefully planned out, with a purpose, and not just squeezed into season "arcs" that will keep eyeballs glued to the screen.
Season 4 was as surprising, entertaining, and thought-provoking as seasons 1-3. I've never met a TV show that I couldn't guess what would happen next before, or a TV show that seems to want to push the boundaries of what you should and should not do on TV (ex: New Caprica. Some of that stuff still freaks me out). My assumptions on how they would end this series have been completely thrown out the window and I honestly do not know what to expect next.
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