BATTLESTAR GALACTICA | Razor | Get Frakked

ohhhhh. the same here. my 2 versions of Razor are totally different than the broadcast version you watch, i guess i will watch it alone this time. see ya

Kris Nimitz

The Youtube version can be watched on Youtube if you use a VPN saying you are in, of all places..Luxembourg. I had just finished the full watch here and decided to play w the vpn. Worked fine.

Zee Doctere

I think for me, Razor is another side of the question Adama asked in the miniseries "Are we, as a people, worth saving?" IMO Razor shows a people that, before they joined Galactica and the civilian fleet, were not. Adama and the fleet are still doing things wrong sometimes, they're not perfect, but they are at least endeavoring to be a people worth saving. I think it also goes to show how the balance of humanity can depend on so few people at the top leading the rest astray. Having someone like Cain (and her backstory is in the extended version more, it started as a kid for her) is a big delta to having Adama. The people, the situation, and the response of those around them is a good juxtaposition.

Azure_Sentry

In Canada actually

Derek Orr

In the US. If you have a VPN you can watch it from the UK or NZ still.

Firefly24601

Sadly, like many i can't get ahold of a copy of the broadcast version that i can watch. Ironically, i have the blu ray set, which has it, and the original DVD single release, but i no longer have any kind of physical media player (haven't had one in a PC for forever, and tossed my blu-ray player a couple years ago). All my old physical media is packed in boxes in the back of a closet somewhere. Generally speaking, the extended versions are preferable for any BSG content. Just FYI there is, iirc, one episode in S4 that is extended, and of course the finale. The finale is available as a single extended episode instead of 3 parts, and i think the universe would die a little inside if you didn't watch the extended single episode version.

LogicSequence

Ugh I started watching the YouTube edit version this morning…came back few hours later to finish it and it’s now blocked on YouTube for copyright BS

Derek Orr

The child hood scenes don’t overly add to it or result in a different Cain

Derek Orr

SPOILER ALERT!!! /s 😂😂😂😂

Troy Convers

Ehh, it takes place duging S2, when the show was incredibly flashback heavy. So it fits.

Nolan

If I recall correctly from the commentary track, this was originally scripted and shot to be a linear story, but decided in editing that all the pre-Galactica-meetup events would be flashbacks. Curiously, one of the additional elements in the extended cut was flashbacks of Cain as a child during the first Cylon war... so the editing change resulted in flashbacks inside flashbacks.

Ken Quick

The DVD contains the broadcast and extended cuts.

Ken Quick

For those looking for the Broadcast version of “Razor,” it’s included in the Blu-ray DVD set, but probably nowhere else any more. I believe there was once an independent DVD version of the broadcast movie sold separately. And it might have been included in the non-Blu-ray DVD set. In a similar way, the later “movie” of Battlestar Galactica : The Plan is hard to find (it’s sold on Amazon), but worth watching mainly because it fills in and answers a lot of plot gaps from multiple episodes and seasons. Ideally, “The Plan” should be watched BEFORE the final season 4 episodes, preferable right after season 4 Episode 15 or 16.

David T

Hot take: They weren't trying to make Cain sympathetic. She was straight up a villain. That was the point - humanity has all the things that justify the Cylons attacking.

John

This time around, the extended version had some pretty cool stuff and not much that was yucky… it had more cgi scenes of the young Adama flying his viper, shooting down the old versions of the cylon raiders, ejecting and then parachuting down to the surface of the cylon world where he discovered the experiments. It also had a sub-plot that gave more detail to Cain’s background—when she was a little girl during the first cylon war, and her entire family was killed. It also had a few more scenes that defined Kendra Shaw better. Worth a watch. ALso, as someone old enough to have watched the original Battlestar Galactica in the 1970’s (immediately after the first Star Wars movie was first released, and using some of Star Wars’ special effects techniques and personnel), I loved the depictions of the original cylons and old raiders, which were straight out of the 1970’s series.

David T

Sadly, the broadcast version cuts out all the nuance and intrigue. It even ejects the origin of the damn knife the movie is named after. And a huge chunk of the hybrid's dialogue. Sadly, you guys had no way of knowing this was an inferior cut. What I'll say is - personally, I don't care about how available a cut is, if it's the better cut, I'd rather that be what you experience, rather than what is most readily available. And if that means I can't do the full-length watch along, tough bones, I can still watch the youtube highlights and know you saw the best version of the show/movie. That is always an option. (Also, if you need to pause the recording for a bathroom break and edit in a jump cut during the full-length, that's okay too. Don't feel tied into your chairs) Anyways, sucky hiccup of disappointment for some of us and you guys, sorry the film was no fun for you at all, but onwards to S4... it's a ride...

Nolan

Oof. I'm sure you made the best decision you could. In my case I have the DVDs so luckily had no issue watching it! Nolan have you tried gently wiping the dvd from center to edge with a very soft cloth / shirt? Alternately another thing I've been able to do is use DVD decrypter to rip problematic DVDs and then just watch the ripped file in VLC or some other media player. Definitely worth a try. And for others - looks like razor DVDs are available for like $4 or 5 shipped?

Locoturbo

Troy you desperately need to learn some tact and courtesy.

Locoturbo

Fun fact: Razor was meant to be a treat while the show took the best part of a year between season 3 and 4. Was annoyed at the long wait after the cliff-hanger, but little did I know what TV would become.

Funny That

To be fair I never knew of any extended version for Razor. (Why "more" of what was not much fun)? Though it is informative, and I'll now be grabbing a copy after all these years.

Funny That

Because I do have the DVD, I do have both versions... but the terrible irony is that my DVD musta got scratched, so the sync footage playback is choppy as heck. I think my extended got less of the damage, but either way, just another wry twist of fate. 🙃

Nolan

Hey everyone! Looks like we made a somewhat mistake on which version to watch. We really thought that the broadcast was the one most accessible. We apologize for the inconvenience on this one. It was a genuine mistake and not intended to make things more complicated for people. - Kat

Time Lord

Well this is a review about the full version of Razor, which paints a different version of events about Helena Cain and her childhood and puts more meat on the Bone of Kendra Shaw, easily one of the great 'what ifs' of BSG04 and easily my favourite character of the whole run. She's essentially used as a narrative character to tell the story of the rationale of Cain's actions in 'Pegasus'. Shaw initially reads like a Starbuck template at first until you discover her backstory; a hotshot officer who has to come to terms with circumstances, with ton of guilt about her role in the civilian murders that just won't wash away. Even Cain still had a fairly healthy relationship with reality until the Cylons attack and the fury of a lover scorned took her into the deep end of her psyche. But there's more to Razor than just Cain and Shaw. Fan service done right in the guise of 'By Your Command' OG Centurions (squee) given new teeth in the 04 era and 'Husker', all piercing blue eyes and pockmarks. Big ticks all round for Michelle Forbes raising her Cain portrayal to new levels. And Stephanie Jacobsen (swoon), a brilliant actress who was considered for the Number Eight role. Check her out in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles where she basically is a rotter.

Troy Convers

Lauren M

Never not going to mark out for the BYC Chromebois, and I like they have been retconned as being pretty ferocious soldiers.

Troy Convers

Yep.

Troy Convers

You should have watched the full version. The broadcast version is just plain unwatchable and paints a completely different picture of Cain than the full version does.

Troy Convers

Watching this once again, trying to put myself in Cain's mindset. Not to justify her actions, but just to explore the narrative. It's clear she was an extremely "hard" individual. Behind the scenes, she had allowed herself to be vulnerable with Gina... the ONE PERSON she opened up to. Then to find out Gina was actually a cylon infiltrator that took advantage of her humanity and trust, leading to the deaths of even more people, and nearly the loss of the ship. All of this on Cain's conscience... the shame and humiliation, betrayal and utter rage she felt, pushing her right over the edge into psychosis and murderous vengeance, burying the last remnants of her humanity as she pursued her "tactical imperative" at any cost. This polished, hard-line officer who despite how "hard" she was, and how much that defined her own identity, was still unlucky enough to be betrayed by her own humanity, because of Gina / 6. It's easy to write off Cain as just a villain. But I think it's more complex than that, and I enjoyed the narrative.

Locoturbo

Aw, broadcast version... was only done so they could sales pitch the extended version on home media. And I can understand your hesitancy around the extended because of the last extended episode involving the pegasus, but Razor's unrated extended cut does not include anything horrible like that episode did... just a lot more cool action scenes and character beats.

Nolan

Razor pt1. "By Your Command"

Colin 3of5

Yeah, this is a tricky one. On the one hand, the storyline is horrible and uncomfortable, but on the other hand, like you discuss at the end (and like they explore a bit in the extended versions of the pegasus-arc episodes), it's an interesting kind of “there but for the grace of god goes I” character study in what actually separates the two ships and their crews, and how they evolve after the attack. The cuts in the broadcast version of the episodes changes makes it very much a question of good ship vs. bad ship; the extended versions softens that up a fair bit and sort of says “yes, but…”. Razor, finally, kind of moves the balance back the other way so it's *even more* good ship vs bad ship, but explores the many different ways in which that difference expresses itself and how they become that way.

Tippis