This film may have been released after the third series of Battlestar Galactica but it is set shortly before the end of the second series. Pegasus has lost three commanding officers and Admiral Adama has decided to put his son Lee in charge and he in tern must pick a new Executive Officer. In order to improve the moral aboard his ship he doesn't bring somebody over from Galactica; instead he promotes Lt. Kendra Shaw, an officer whose career was closely associated with Admiral Cain. In flash back we see her join Pegasus and learn just what went on aboard that ship from the time of the Cylon attack to the time they find Galactica. This includes Cain killing her XO, a massacre aboard a civilian vessel and how a Cylon Number Six almost caused the ship to be lost before her capture and subsequent torture. This isn't the only story being told; in the present a raptor has gone missing and the search for it leads to a group of Cylons of a type not seen before in this series; they are older models of a type used during the first war, as Sharon informs then; part of a mythical basestar that fled from the other Cylons with the first hybrid Cylon aboard. Admiral Adama determines that it must be destroyed and Starbuck and newly promoted Major Shaw must lead a dangerous mission to rescue the missing personnel and destroy the basestar.
To enjoy this film I think it is essential to have watched the series at least as far as the point where Apollo is given command of the Pegasus as there are lots of references to events in the series and no time is wasted introducing characters that viewers of the series will already know. We are though introduced to Kendra Shaw who was played by Stephanie Jacobsen; I think she did really well in the role to the point where I wished she could have become a regular character rather than a one off. The real highlight for people who had enjoyed the classic series as a child was seeing the old style Cylons and their ships we even get to hear the classic 'By your command' uttered once! This film has far more action than most episodes including space battles against the old Cylons, the attack on the fleet at the start of the war and some close quarters combat. There was also a bit more blood than we usually see; especially when Cain shoots her XO! Talking of Cain it was good to see the excellent Michelle Forbes back in command of Pegasus for one last time.
To enjoy this film I think it is essential to have watched the series at least as far as the point where Apollo is given command of the Pegasus as there are lots of references to events in the series and no time is wasted introducing characters that viewers of the series will already know. We are though introduced to Kendra Shaw who was played by Stephanie Jacobsen; I think she did really well in the role to the point where I wished she could have become a regular character rather than a one off. The real highlight for people who had enjoyed the classic series as a child was seeing the old style Cylons and their ships we even get to hear the classic 'By your command' uttered once! This film has far more action than most episodes including space battles against the old Cylons, the attack on the fleet at the start of the war and some close quarters combat. There was also a bit more blood than we usually see; especially when Cain shoots her XO! Talking of Cain it was good to see the excellent Michelle Forbes back in command of Pegasus for one last time.