Review: Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

I'm about as big of a fan of Battlestar Galactica as you can probably find. Really, I think the Ronald D. Moore's series is not only the best of the decade, but the best TV show ever. To me, every single thing about it is perfection, from the mini-series that starts it all the way to the finale (which is the best two hours of television I've ever seen).

Which is why it is so disappointing to watch the new movie that was released last week and find myself not just being bored by it, but openly disliking it. All the pieces were there: the cast back together again, frequent series writer Jane Espenson writing the script, and star/director Edward James Olmos at the director's chair. There was no reason for me to not be excited, which is perhaps why it was so disappointing.

The biggest problem with The Plan is a very simple one: half of it is old material. Not just old subject matter, but actual old scenes from the show. Not to be overly coarse, but who the hell wants to watch the exact same scenes from other episodes again? I know that it just works to show us where the new scenes fit in, but this is completely absurd. I spent nearly $30 for the Blu Ray of this, and it's effectively a rehash that introduces a new and unnecessary character and focuses primarily Brother Cavil (the ultimate villain of the series but ultimately kind of one note even though the performance by Dean Stockwell is a wonderfully devious one) and the boring Cylon Simon. Sure, we find interesting little bits out (a Simon was married and living in the fleet before he refused his Cylon assignment and committed suicide, the other Cylons though Aaron Doral sucked as much as we did) and there are some hysterical scenes between a somehow even sluttier version of Number Six and Cavil, but really, this is kind of a travesty.

Really, this doesn't shed any additional light on the series. There is very little uncovered that we were looking to uncover. In fact, you could argue that often it creates probelms with the series proper (the elephant statue and Boomer). This feels like a blatant money grab from everyone involved as what they accomplish here feels like it should either be deleted scenes on a DVD or a bonus feature. Not worth my money, and the only thing that saves it from an F is the fact that the actors involved really do give it their all and at least make sure the terribleness on screen is at least represented by good performances.

Ugh.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan: D