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List Price: $59.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 803
Released: March 18, 2008 |
| Our Price: $31.00 |
| Used Price: $24.95 |
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MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The adventure of one of television's finest dramas continues with the complete third season of the Peabody Award-winning Battlestar Galactica. The Colonies' survivors have found their hopes of eluding their Cylon pursuers dashed by an invasion and occupation of their new home. As the fate of all human life hangs in the balance, friends become enemies, enemies become unexpected allies, and decisions are made that will haunt some people for the rest of their lives. Relive all 20 episodes of the season that challenges everything you thought you knew about the Battlestar Galactica universe. Presented in Dolby 5.1 surround sound, the 6-disc set features over 15 hours of extensive special features, including the DVD exclusive version of the episode "Unfinished Business" containing 25 additional minutes of never-before-seen footage. You won't want to miss a minute of the series considered "one of the best dramas on TV" (Time Magazine).
Description of Battlestar Galactica - Season Three:
The third season of Battlestar Galactica got off to a rip-roaring start on New Caprica, where the settlers had found themselves under Cylon occupation at the end of the previous season. Dr. Baltar (James Callis) had been elected President based on his intention to stop looking for Earth and settle on New Caprica, but is now a puppet of the Cylons, forced to sign execution orders for numerous humans, including former President Roslin (Mary McDonnell). A resistance movement is building, however, led by Col. Tigh (Michael Hogan), and assisted by Chief Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) and Samuel Anders (Michael Trucco). Tigh's desperate tactics--including suicide bombers--raise interesting parallels to the U.S. war in Iraq, and he finds he has to make an even tougher choice. Thanks to Admiral Adama's (Edwards James Olmos) return and the unexpected help of Boomer (Grace Park), the colonists escape, then begin a series of trials in order to convict all of the Cylon collaborators, culminating in the explosive trial of Baltar himself. In a boxing-metaphor episode, Apollo (Jamie Bamber) and Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) resume their mutual attraction with a surprising outcome. After the exciting beginning, Battlestar Galactica sagged a little in the middle of the third season (as it did in the second season) with its ship-bound episodes, but caught speed again at the end. The quest to find Earth, the unexpected loss of a major character, and the revealing of four of the final five Cylons kept viewers coming back to a series that blends action, drama, and universal questions of loyalty, faith, and justice in a way that transcends the science-fiction setting. With Dean Stockwell, Lucy Lawless, and Tricia Helfer as Cylons 1, 3, and 6, Mark Sheppard as defense attorney Romo Lampkin, Alessandro Juliani as Lt. Gaeta, Kandyse McClure as Petty Officer "Dee" Dualla, Nicki Clyne as Crewman Specialist Cally, Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh, and Rekha Sharma as presidential aide Tory Foster.
Every episode on the DVD set has executive producer Ronald Moore's podcast commentaries (occasionally joined by others) and almost every episode has deleted scenes, including a different (and less effective) version of the season's final surprise. Also included are bonus commentaries, the Resistance webisodes (10 episodes, 26 minutes total) that provide more of life on occupied New Caprica, executive producer David Eicks' "video blog" featurettes, and an extended version of "Unfinished Business" (mostly adding non-Starbuck-Apollo material). --David Horiuchi
Battlestar Galactica - Season Three Reviews:
Show really hits its stride this season 
2009-10-15 - I have to admit there was a point during my Galactica voyage where I almost jumped ship. The Pilot and immediate subsequent episodes really drew me in. I was hooked. And then the show started wandering and teetering. I almost bailed. I was particularly annoyed with the character of Gaius Baltar, not the actor, but the show's character choices. I battled through some boring episodes and then bam I was hooked, right about the end of Season 2. And then season three hit and I figured it was going to go bad yet again being away from the ship, on New Caprica, but it was actually better. The show developed this interesting pull. This show really is enjoyable during this season.
Shipped wrong DVD's 
2009-10-12 - The item is great once i got the correct DVD's in it. I purchased them new, but when they arrived they were all banged up and I had disks from season one in the case.... Not a new product.
But a great season to watch!!!
A disappointing season of a great series
2009-10-07 - I held off watching BSG until the series had run to a close, and was greatly impressed by Season 1. Season 2, although it had its low points, was also excellent. By contrast, Season 3 is an assortment of low points punctuated by the occasional great scene or episode.
I have to agree with other reviewers who have noted that the drama throughout Season 3 felt contrived and overwrought. The biggest issue in my opinion is that I couldn't confidently say of the writers, "And they have a plan." Conflicts between characters are drawn out seemingly to fill time; the Cylons transform from frightening to nonsensical; compelling questions from earlier seasons are answered badly while uninteresting - or downright annoying - twists are introduced.
There are some very entertaining high points in BSG Season 3... but they don't begin to make up for all the lows.
Great acting and dialogue buoys an OK script 
2009-09-28 - The 3rd season of Battlestar Galactica begins with the scene on New Caprica. Tight loses his wife, and Starbuck loses her emotional stability at the hands of the Cylon occupiers. The colonists on New Caprica are then rescued by a carefully orchestrated surprise mission by Pegasus and Galactica, and the series goes back to the search for Earth. In between, Starbuck is killed, and then comes back to life; and Balter is imprisoned on a Cylon ship, then imprisoned on Galactica. We also have 4 of the 5 humanoid cyclons revealed, along with President Roslin's re-acquintance with cancer. So overall, a very eventful season. Probably the high points are the dialogue, of which numerous scenes stand out. Some of the best include Apollo's defense of Baltar at the latter's trial, Six's explanation of projection to Baltar while on a baseship, Ellen's defense of herself to Tigh, Starbuck's taunting of numerous other people, and Romo's elaborations of justice and the legal system. The script itself has numerous holes. Probably the biggest holes are in the early episodes on New Caprica. The cylons clearly have the technology to monitor the entire range of electro-magnetic, thermal and acoustic radiation, yet they resort to tent-by-tent search and seizures of colonists. these glaring plot holes continue throughout the season and conclude with the trial of Baltar in the last 2 episodes; Cross-Roads 1 and 2. Neither the prosecution nor the defense calls Baltar to the stand, which is unheard of. And the show does not give any explanation as to why he is not called to testify. But overall, still a good show.
Cylons and Hybrids and Starbuck. Oh my!
2009-08-23 - I'm a newcomer to "Battlestar Galactica" and am only now watching the series on DVD. After a somewhat lackluster Season 2.5, BSG got back on track with an action-packed Season 3. The colonialists have settled on New Caprica, only to be invaded again by the Cylons, although the Cylons have a different intention this time. The season is full of action and intriguing plotlines, as the colonialists mount a resistance movement to escape from New Caprica, which reverberates throughout the entire season.
Season 3 contains some extremely strong plotlines and episodes. I was particularly impressed with "Collaborators" in which the resistance deals with the colonialists who worked with the Cylons in various ways. The episode is powerful and reflects the kind of long-term implications of war; creator Ronald Moore aptly compared this episode to the kinds of things seen in France after WWII, for example. I'm always a sucker for the darker, more politically-tinged episodes of BSG, and this one really did it for me.
The season contains several stand-alone episodes that don't continue the main plotline of the search for Earth. Some of these episodes work well, especially "Dirty Hands," which considers the blue-collar workers who are toiling in the fleet under nearly impossible conditions. Unfortunately, some of the stand-alones are less successful, particularly "Hero" and "A Day in the Life." Overall, I was pleased with the directions in which they take the main characters, although I was disappointed that Duwalla's part continues to shrink and be less satisfying. I also was not fond of the turn taken by Starbuck as she follows her "destiny." I've never been a Starbuck fan, and I found this entire plotline irritating. Hearing Ronald Moore give Katee Sackhoff constant tongue-baths on the dvd podcast commentaries just added to my irritation. The woman does all her acting by curling her lips, clearing her throat, and making weird snorting giggles. Please make her stop! Ok, I feel better now.
Fortunately, the season ends with some very exciting episodes. Foremost among them is the reveal of four of the final five Cylons. As is typical of BSG, the season ends with some great cliffhangers that promise to take the series in intriguing new directions. What I perhaps love most about BSG is its willingness to make changes rather than resting on its laurels. The story is constantly driving forward and taking us to new places, which is sometimes uncomfortable but always thrilling. For me, Season Three was better than Season 2.5 and about in par with Seasons 2.0 and 1.
