3/5 A disappointing pleasure
  by Whoop2Do (Gaithersburg, MD USA)
I don't know how else to describe my reaction to this DVD.

I enjoyed watching it, recapturing that same sense of anticipation that I recalled from the early seasons of BSG - enjoying the character moments while trying to figure out, deduce what exactly was the Cylon plan that we were teased with in the show's opening every week.

But at the end of the DVD, I experienced the same let down as the series finale... That was it? I was dragged thru an emotional roller-coaster again only to be told the ride is over at the top of the track.

This DVD encompasses all that was good and bad about BSG.

The characters and the character moments sparkle. The dialogue and the acting is first-rate and evoked my fond memories of the series. The problem is, like the series, that's all this really is... a series of character moments (and most pulled from the old episodes). There is no real story here. Like the series, you get to the end and want to say "Is that it?". Yeah, I know the BSG creators lamely used the excuse that the show was always meant to just be about the characters, but c'mon, that is just a poor excuse for lazy, lazy writing. I had hoped and half-way expected this DVD was the show's runners' way of after-the-fact filling in the plot holes for the series, but instead it's just another opportunity squandered.

Nevertheless, you will probably want to buy this DVD if you were more than a casual fan of the show. Understand that it is in essence a "clip-show" interspersed with a good number of fresh scenes that enhance and expand on the older fare but really add nothing much to any kind of story arc.

Bottom-line: Good, but could have been so much more...

5/5 Not THAT bad - must understand the context.
  by S. Dennon (Detroit, MI)
The Plan goes back to the very beginning of the (mini) series, and explores the circumstances with the human-like Cylons preparing and executing the massive attack on the Twelve colonies, and then continuing with the "mopping up" afterwards in the Rag-tag Fleet and with the Survivors on Caprica. It is almost all done from the perspective of the 12 or so Cylons, as they carry out their duties and discuss their assignments. It carries the "feel" of about 2 hours of "Deleted Scenes", in mostly chronological order. Most of the scenes are very short, but reveal crucial details on who knew and did what and when, and the scenes are full of what would be "spoilers" if they were included in the original series release. One would need to be very well-studied as a BSG aficionado in the entire series to really catch all the subtle points.

Incidentally, there are also some "real" Deleted Scenes at the end, without the "VFX" Video (CGI) Effects, but which do seem to fill in some odd "holes" in the running dialog. The parallel story lines as presented do flip back and forth between settings, and make references to "known" timeline events on Galactica, and on post-apocalypse Caprica, and elsewhere. A Time Stamp (xx days after the attack on the colonies) frequently provides points of reference at the beginning of some scenes. And there are a number of previously unexplored relationships presented between and among the various Cylon models.

Notably absent is the President, D'Anna, and any reference to Razor or Pegasus. One of the surprises is that the Cylons, including the Final Five, always seem to recognize each other in some way in passing, even if they are not always sure why. One disappointment is no added clarifications of Starbuck's status.

Some have argued that The Plan is a simple money-grab, using stock footage (etc.) to trick BSG fans into thinking it is a new "episode" or something. It should rather be thought of and treated as crucial scenes and spoiler segments that were withheld, but are a significant part of the Canon. I would argue that, when taken in context with the rest of the material, it fills in some otherwise unexpected and unexplained gaps in the main BSG storyline. It starts to clarify how the Humans and Cylons started to adapt and come to terms with their respective circumstances. Interestingly it only seemed to cover about the first 2 or so "regular" seasons; one wonders if there is to be a second Plan - Part 2 - that covers Seasons 3 and 4...

1/5 The Plan: Milk fans for cash
  by Uncle Ook
A risible addition to the Battlestar Galactica series. Advertised as the story from the Cylon perspective it is essentially a two hour clip show with some extra footage added to try and weave the Cylon story. The pacing is incomprehensible unless you have watched the entire show, and I guess you have, with scenes lurching from one to another without any seeming logic. Shame on the BSG guys for letting this be released. Avoid.

2/5 I can't believe it was so awful
  by Paul Newton (Liberty, TX - USA)
The Blu-Ray quality was great. The special effects were outstanding. The acting was as good as the series. My main disappointment was with the story. I am a huge fan of Battlestar Galactica so I have watched every episode ever made multiple times. So I was very disappointed when I watched "The Plan" and discovered myself pausing the movie midway through to check how much time was left before it was over. Yes. It was that bad. The story line was generally uninteresting. In my opinion, this movie is the "Galactica 1980" of the re-imagined series. No, there weren't any flying boy scouts in this one ... but there was a snap-zoom on a nude man's private parts. A die-hard fan, such as myself, will still want to add this movie to their collection. All the rest should just wait till it comes on TV or rent it.


3/5 It was OK. Did not feel like BSG.
  by Randall Jones (Millbrae, CA)
I loved the series. I even liked "Razor". I never missed an episode. Half way through "the Plan" I got a phone call and did not finish watching it until the next day (that would have never happened with an episode). It was nice to see some new material, but in the end it did not answer any questions I wanted answered. Seemed more like a clip show at times since the new material was not very exciting or changed how you interpreted the show. It did not seem like much of a "plan" to me. Maybe I am bitter over the way the series ended. And maybe that is the point. We know how it ends. Story over. Maybe that is why I didn't get into "Caprica" either. I really did liked the new take on the opening theme. :)