4/5 intriguing as always; this was a hell of a good drama
  by Kevin (United States)
What is the most intriguing in this extended episode is the developement of Helena Cain's character; we are shown in vivid detail why she never, under any circumstances whatsoever, should have been promoted above the rank of ensign.

There are plot spoilers to follow, folks. If you don't want your good time ruined, stop ready this review right now.

At one point Helena demands the sidearm of her XO, who is taking a moral stand and refusing to obey one of her illegal orders. He (rather foolishly) accepts that order, surrenders his sidearm, and is summarily shot in the head by Cain.

So now she's shot a man in cold blood. But wait, there's so much more!

It is discovered that Helena's love interest, a woman working on Pegasus' computers, is really a Cylon. Since Helena is obviously wounded and angered by this betrayal, she proves to all observers that she is no better than the Cylons who exterminated the vast majority of the colonials.

How does she achieve this? Simple: She orders the Cylon female tortured, so as to extract any and all relevant info the Cylon might have.

This is NEVER an acceptable choice. First, the Cylons would never be so GALACTICALLY STUPID as to send into humanities' midst an infiltrator who had knowledge of vital Cylon intelligence. The Cylons would realize the high risk of capture and torture, and therefore tell the infiltrator only what she absolutely had to know to do her job, and nothing more.

Torturing such an individual is pointless and inhuman ... and it's obviously right up Cain's alley. She feels betrayed by her former lover, and now she wants vicious revenge.

Next, Cain orders that any relevant supplies and technically savvy survivors of a small fleet discovered by Pegasus be brought aboard and utilized for the guerilla war effort initiated by Cain. She feels no responsibilty to "defend and protect" these survivors, and thereby abandon her quest of guerilla warfare (a.k.a mindless, idiotic revenge). Any refusal will be answered with orders to kill the family of the refuser. This is put to the test, and several innocent people are killed to gain the compliance of the survivors.

Cain does not even try to game out a few scenarios here; she just jumps to the conclusion that the only way to gain the needed supplies and expertise is to threaten vicious retaliation if anyone refuses.

Which brings us to another of Helena's many mistakes: Her brainless notion to wage a guerilla war on the Cylons.

After having destroyed the 12 Colonies, the Cylons are obviously in a position of great military superiority over one single Battlestar. What usually happens in such cases is that the greatly superior (in force and firepower) occupying force just picks the guerillas off, one by one. The guerillas attack, again and again, and lose blood and treasure each time. The occupying army, much greater in number and power, simply accepts whatever losses it has to as it continually degrades the force and the efficacy of its adversary. Cain's plan, had it been carried out, would have eventually resulted in the destruction of the Pegasus.

And last, but certainly not least, that brings us to Cain's most spectacular failure: Her abandonment of her little sister during the first Cylon war.

We are shown a flashback sequence in which a very young Helena is shown fleeing the Cylons, her little sister in tow. However, her sister falls and becomes stuck. Helena's sister repeatedly cries out to Helena for help, and it is shown quite clearly that Helena hears her sister's pleas and decides to abandon her to the Cylons.

The lesson Helena takes from this?

"Sometimes we have to leave certain people behind."

The characterization here is fascinating, as Michelle Forbes plays this character as a complex woman, who is highly intelligent and decisive. Yet perhaps Michelle Forbes' greatest accomplishment here is that her portrayal of Helena Cain is a classic example of the vast difference between one who is dominant, and one who is domineering. Cain is clearly the latter, being possessed of a deep, insatiable hunger for power, and yet having not a whit of the character necessary to handle being given authority and command.

If you're a student of Jungian personality analysis (commonly expressed today in the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator), you'll quickly recognize Cain as a very poorly developed ENTJ (Extroverted, iNtuitive, with Thinking and Judging). She is very much possessed of the decisiveness and tough-mindedness quite common to ENTJ's, yet her instincts are terrible, as they are constantly overshadowed by Cain's tormented emotions.

It is clear that Cain is a miserable human being, thinking that gaining power and control (i.e., being an admiral commanding a battlestar) will somehow change the fact that there is no courage in her heart. When her little sister was in her hour of desperate need, Helena willfully abandoned her to the Cylons. Granted, Helena was very little at the time, and that must be taken into account. Still, Helena never expresses any remorse for what she did, but rather rationalizes it into her pathetic "razor" philosophy of doing whatever it takes to survive: Turning fear into anger, focusing that anger to gain control.

"Don't hate your enemies; it clouds your judgment" wrote Mario Puzo. Helena Cain was clearly consumed with hatred for the Cylons, although she used her highly intelligent mind to hide this fact rather well.

Cain was smart, hungry for power, cowardly, domineering, and devoid of any real concern for anything outside of herself. Unlike most ENTJ's, she had no grasp of the "big picture", no insight into her own illogical and irrational impulses to both take on the impossible and rule as judge, jury, and executioner over anyone who dared to take a stand and oppose her.

Michelle Forbes played this role quite well; this is exactly the kind of person you'd never want to see in any position of power whatsoever. Forbes' portrayal is at one time complex and uncompromising (again, classic personality traits of the ENTJ), while at the same time inspiring the audience to contemplate Cain's actions and attitudes in light of their context.

Did Cain have to make the choices she did? Of course not. We see Cain's justifications and rationalizations for her actions, but we see through them, too. Forbes deserves a lot of credit for that, because she plays her part so as to make her character very much understood by the audience, while never trying to persuade the audience to condone or approve of exactly who and what Helena Cain really is. Forbes does an excellent job of protraying someone who deliberately projects an image of strength, while all the while being the farthest thing from indomitable there is.

I strongly recommend this extended version; we get to know Cain better, and it's a fascinating pshchological study of who should never be in charge, and why.

5/5 Taking on the Tough Issues Made This Show Great
  by Michael D. Mallinger (Woodbridge, VA USA)
"Battlestar Gallactica" is Ronald Moore and David Eick's contemporary science fiction series that combines elements of the original 1978 television program with new themes relevant in today's society. In particular, the show addresses the very nature of what it means to be human, exploring whether or not life from another world could exhibit the qualities that make people what they are. By doing this, the program sheds light on how people should treat one another, making it an enlightening and enjoyable watch.

Under this primary focus, portions of the series address key military themes that few other television programs call attention to. "Razor" is one example of this. A full-length film, "Razor" explores events taking place during the show's second season that were not depicted in those episodes. Included in the series' season four box set, the movie is designed to be viewed after watching seasons one, two, and three.

"Razor" addresses an extremely difficult subject matter, and that is the point where an atrocity committed during a war becomes a war crime. According to traditional war crime doctrine, individuals must be morally responsible for their actions in order to commit a war crime, with obedience of orders excused unless those orders are manifestly illegal. As soldiers in warfare are required to commit acts prohibited in any other circumstance, the ability to weigh moral consequences of particular behavior under relevant conditions becomes extremely important.

In psychology, the term normative competence is used to describe the ability to comprehend ethical conduct, obtain information necessary to make an ethical judgment, and render that judgment. In combat, soldiers must maintain such competence in an environment that inhibits their cognitive functioning. Thus, the circumstances of war can undermine an individual's ability to engage in moral behavior.

When someone is placed into circumstances in which it is unfair to hold her responsible for her actions, she is said to be facing an excusing condition. Such a condition can undermine either her ability to assess behavioral options, or her ability to act consistently with her assessment. If such a condition prevented a person of ordinary sense and understanding from determining that a particular order was manifestly illegal, then it would difficult to classify the act of carrying out that order as a war crime.

"Razor" challenges its audience to explore these issues by placing a group of military officers into extraordinary circumstances. With the survival of the entire human species at stake, these officers are tasked with committing an atrocity not against enemy non-combatants, but against allied human civilians in order to obtain resources believed to be necessary to fight the enemy. Failure to do so would clearly result in death at the hands of their commanding officer. In the aftermath, that officer praises the atrocity, saying that setting aside one's fear, hesitation, revulsion, and natural inhibition is necessary to obtain the luxury of simply being human again.

The climax occurs at the film's end, when two of the series' level-headed military leaders debate the issue. William Adama, played by steady Eddie Olmos, takes the conventional view that the circumstances prevented the officers in question from exercising proper judgment. He cites the lack of civilian authority over the commanding officer as a key mitigating factor. Lee Adama, played by James Bamber, is more skeptical, implying that butchering innocent civilians violates a moral absolute even if refusal to do so means certain death.

An exceptional film all around, Moore and Eick needed solid performances by Olmos, Bamber, and guest star Michelle Forbes to pull it off, and they got them. More importantly, they got an extraordinary performance from guest star Stephanie Jacobsen, whose ability to non-verbally convey emotion and inner turmoil turned a merely good film into a great one. Viewers should pay close attention to Jacobsen's eyes, as the stark contrast in their appearance before and after the atrocity sets the tone for delivering the film's powerful message.

That message is that society must closely examine circumstances that limit soldiers' capacities to exercise normative competence and do whatever it can to remove those circumstances from existing in the first place. The film stops short of taking sides on whether or not traditional war crime doctrine is unjust - the two Adamas appear to agree to disagree. But the viewer will be left wondering how the institutions that cause such unfortunate situations to exist can be changed, which is victory in and of itself.

5/5 BSG Razor DVD
  by George C. Reeves (St. Louis, MO)
This is yet another outstanding production of the Battlestar Galactica team. Besides being loaded with drama, action, and superb special effects, this particular episode (movie) fills in some transformational data which was not covered during the regular seasons. It gives information about how the Cylons developed into their present state.

3/5 But I didn't know it came in the Season Four Box!
  by Shannon Davis (Los Alamitos, CA - USA)
Okay, so Razor came when Season Four came...and Season Four had its own DVD Razor inside. So, my purchase ended up going to a friend.

The placing of Razor within the Season Four boxset was odd to me, but I guess it was because of production and it's just sort of where it got placed.

I thought that Razor was interesting, but I wasn't overall thrilled with it. Perhaps, it was because I didn't appreciate it as others may have when they were waiting for more BSG to air.

There were some parts were I really appreciated it, but mostly I just was disgusted with the Pegasus and Cain in general. So, unfortunately I really didn't get a lot out of this purchase. I do think it is necessary for the BSG collection, though maybe that's why it's boxed with Season Four?

5/5 Pegasus and Galactica are Tau Earth Alliance
  by Brad Morgan (Saint Catharines, ON)
Imagine one moment you're staring at your computer screen and the next Sir Im Getting Colonial recognition codes four three zero one one third. The other sentients dont like one third only humans use it. Imagine the Pegasus represents a lead and diamond shielded sip that sends a fertilized egg over 11 light years to Earth. No one knows what to do with the Tau Ceti terra Ambassador who wants to help his fellow humans. The left hemisphere onethird Mao One Third Stalin One third Moshe Dayan due to faster than light genetic code like a phone book sent back through time. Now if we can use this script in Caprica and write in the ar ki patrons so benevolent humans cry. Imagine an ancient library of the universe that never lies similar to the colonial mainframe on caprica. Razor is a solid installment in the Galactica franchise. Michelle Forbes as Admiral Cain is always interesting. It is nice to see Edward James Olmos Bradama on the cover skipper of the Battlestar and Admiral depending on when in the Galactica Series. I m a big Katie Sackhoff fan from Galactica, Halloween, Nip Tuck and now 24 wow thats good.
Caprica would also rock with Keira Knightly, Natalie Portman, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Pretty Brittany Ashton Holmes, Julia Ar Morgan who sang in front of over 8000 people at a London Knights game and has performed solos. Julia likes we Rise again, that would rock on Caprica the Galactica spinoff. Brent Butterworth closely keeps his acting secret he is rumoured to be quite the actor. Now you know whom the Ambassador would like as relatives. Sometimes you have to test the minds dna not a cheek swab to determine close relatives in this age of genetic labs. katie Sackhoffs character Starbuck once said lords of cobalt here my prayer was it ar again katie sackhoff she asks.