TV movie review
US airdate 24 November 2007 (NBC)
UK airdate 18 December 2007 (Sky One)
Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Starring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park

A special double episode that centres on both the initial Cylon attack on the Pegasus and a present day search and rescue mission by Galactica and Pegasus for crew captured by a mysterious Cylon basestar…

Razor occupies a strange place in the show’s chronology. Located just before the second season finale, when Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber) took command of the Battlestar Pegasus, Razor’s arc actually stretches back to the unseen journey of the ship beforehand, and even further back to Admiral Adama’s (Edward James Olmos) exploits during the first Cylon War. Commissioned as part of the 22-episode fourth season, Razor is neither a standalone movie nor a regular episode and shouldn’t be watched before the three previous seasons.

The details of the Pegasus crew's struggle to survive under the command of Admiral Cain (the superb Michelle Forbes) are revealed for the first time, as is Cain's real and surprising relationship with the Number Six infiltrator Gina (Tricia Helfer). Major Kendra Shaw is the new face, played with a sombre air by Stephanie Jacobsen. The story of Pegasus is largely told in flashback through her, as she earns the attention and trust of the increasingly authoritarian Cain. She becomes Lee Adama’s first executive officer, and teams up with Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) on a high-risk mission to take on a guardian basestar - a weapon that Admiral William Adama has encountered before.

Razor returns us to the familiar feel of the more action-packed second season. There are classic series Cylon Centurions, space battles and effects-heavy set pieces galore, such as the destruction of the Scorpion fleet shipyards – events so far only mentioned in throwaway dialogue.

The cast slip back easily into their roles (although not all the regulars appear), and while Kendra Shaw has been introduced a little too late in the show to create much of an impact, her relationship with the uncompromising Admiral Cain acts as an interesting moral counterpoint to Adama and his son. If there are any other flaws, it is that the show drives home the pathos rather too heavily at times, and the constant time jumps interrupt the flow of the story somewhat. And the decision to show Pegasus’s bloody past also robs the back-story of some its mystery.

While it doesn’t act as an opener for season four, fans should pay close attention to Razor’s final minutes for a tantalising suggestion about what is to come. Owen Van Spall

VERDICT: 7/10