Battlestar Galactica

I have been resisting the urge to watch the Battlestar Galactica: Razor flashbacks that are up on SciFi.com until they were completed, but this weekend the siren song sucked me in. And man, am I glad it did. The flashbacks are a lot of fun, and they certainly add even more anticipation to the Razor premiere on November 24.

Nico Cortez does a great job playing Billy “Husker” Adama, giving him a youthful false bravado and sexual neediness but also showing flashes of the pragmatism and cerebral caution of the Admiral we know and love. The action is intense, the production value is amazing, and by the time you get to part four you are in for one hell of a ride.

Five flashbacks are up on the website so far, with two more left to be posted on upcoming Fridays. If you don’t have the time or the connection speed to watch them yourself you are welcome to read my quick summaries after the jump, but the flashbacks are short and finding the time or the connection to watch them yourself is well worth the effort.

Part I Day 4,571 - Rookie pilot William “Husker” Adama prepares for his first combat mission against the toasters during the first Cylon war, receiving helpful advice from a sexy fighter pilot who looks like a combination of Katee Sackhoff’s Starbuck and Tricia Helfer’s Number Six. The opening scene finds them in bed, making inside jokes between kisses, and later moves to the locker room where we learn they are far from the twelve colonies and investigating a potential new Cylon super weapon. It is clear from the conversation that Adama is the more thoughtful of the two, wondering about the Cylon’s motivations even as his companion chides him for pondering the thoughts of these simple machines.

Part II - The Hangar - Warning sirens call out as Adama walks to the hangar, meeting up with a friend and fellow pilot who gives him some news I could not hear before telling him to get out of there. Something bad has happened, people are hurt, and then young Husker sees his lover being unloaded from her Viper. She has been hurt, and badly … the right side of her face is open flesh and her eye seems to have been badly damaged as well. Husker runs over and tries to reassure her, but she knows better and tells him to be careful out there as there must be hundreds of toasters. He wants to stay with her, but he has to go and fight although his mind is clearly on her as her stretcher is toted by his cockpit as he waits to launch. Then his eyes narrow, and for the first time he speaks with the clenched jaw and fierceness of the Adama we know, giving his “ready” for the launch.

Part III - Operation Raptor Talon - Husker is in space, his name emblazoned on his raptor and his voice suddenly low, gravelly, precise, and intense. Perhaps Nico got some serious face time with EJO. Husker confidently blows away a Cylon before being told to head back to the ship, but on the way his group is rerouted to help a battlestar that is in trouble. He successfully downs his assigned target only to turn and watch what is surely the death of thousands as part of the battlestar breaks off in a firy explosion. Two Cylon raiders scream past him, as he collects himself and announces “Husker pursuing.” The voice on coms tells him he does not have time, “Don’t be a hero Adama!” Adama pursues anyway, doing some fancy flying as he takes out one Cylon raider before being rammed by the other. The episode ends with his ship hurtling downwards against a backdrop of white puffy clouds.

Part IV - Free Fall - Oh wow. By far the most visually stunning of the flashbacks, this one finds Adama hurtling towards the ground as he struggles to eject himself before struggling to fend off a Cylon that has its glowing red eye focused on his death. The two engage in hand to hand combat that ends with Adama smashing the Cylons head off after the two reach the ground. The scene shows a furious Husker Adama, blind with rage, slamming a crowbar into the Cylon over and over again … from the Cylon’s perspective. Definitely interesting. The flashback ends with Husker lost in a Cylon controlled area, bleeding, yet pushing on towards whatever fate has in store.

Part V - The Lab - Husker goes down a hallway and opens a door to a blood spattered room that seems to be the lab where the Cylons are experimenting with making their human versions. A gross half flesh, half machine arm hangs in suspension and one corner of the room holds the Cylon resurrection pool that is so familiar to fans of the show. For some reason Adama is drawn to the pool, and puts down his gun to put his hand into the opaque cream and crimson water. He then hears screaming, and sees half-flesh being in agony in cages, before a hand reaches up and grabs him from the pool … but it is not clear if the vision was of the room or one that he saw with the benefit of the pool. Panicked by the hand that grabbed him, Adama punches it, sending it and himself flying in opposite directions. As he lands, panting, a low and slightly mechanical voice slowly states the familiar phrase “All this has happened before, and it will happen again.” Adama collects himself, retrieves his gun, and heads towards the mysterious clanging sound around the corner. A voice inside pleads for help, saying “they left us here,” as a woman is heard whimpering as well. Adama looks around for something to break the lock … as the flashback ends.