DVD Picks & Pans: Sci-Fi on DVD

Military.com - Tom Miller

Mar 24, 2008

As March Madness flows and the contenders ebb—we're down to the Sweet Sixteen—my bracket is beginning to look like something from an alternate universe.  Even Duke—fabled Duke—looked like it had run up against a gang of Cylons instead of fifteen-seed Belmont and barely survived the first round.  I wondered if I was watching ESPN or the Sci-Fi Channel.  But, if March Madness isn't other-worldly enough for you, check out these new DVD releases of Sci-Fi Channel classics.
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"Battlestar Galactica: Season Three," DVD-2008 ($59.98, Universal Studios Home Entertainment)

A favorite of critics and viewers, "Battlestar Galactica" continued its hit run on the Sci-Fi Channel with a solid third season.  A crossover success, "Battlestar" is enjoyed by both serious science fiction fans for its basic premise and format and casual viewers for its human drama and contemporary metaphors.

The basic storyline follows the odyssey of the last surviving humans as they search for a new home and battle the Cylons—the man-made machines turned evil who are out to destroy the human race.

Traveling in a fleet of ships including the powerful warship Battlestar Galactica, the human survivors of a Cylon nuclear attack are searching the galaxy for a fabled colony: Earth.  Led by Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos), former President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), and pilot Number Eight (Grace Park), our heroes spend much of Season Three trying to rescue enslaved humans from a barren planet.  The Cylons—some of whom look human—include the sexy Number Six (Tricia Helfer). 

The series has won Emmy and Peabody awards and spawned a two-hour television movie, "Battlestar Galactica—Razor," which is available on DVD.  The upcoming fourth season will be the last for the series, but a prequel, set fifty years earlier, is planned for this fall. 

Military.com Rating: ***

(DVD extras include over fifteen hours of special features including an extended version of the episode "Unfinished Business," deleted scenes, podcasts, episode commentary, video blogs, and webisodes.)
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"Sliders: The Fourth Season," DVD-2008 ($59.98, Universal Studios Home Entertainment)

This popular sci-fi series ran for five seasons from 1995-2000—the first three years on Fox and the final two on the Sci-Fi Channel.  It was nominated three times for a Saturn (Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films) award as Best Genre series.

The series follows the adventures of a group led by Quinn Mallory (Jerry O'Connell) that travel among alternate universes while trying to return home.  Mallory, a grad student in physics, develops a devise that opens wormholes to alternative universes and decides to try it himself.  The catch is that once ensconced in an alternate universe, the technology malfunctions and the travelers can't return.  So, they continue to "slide" to new universes, trying to find home. 

Mallory's fellow travelers for the fourth season include Maggie Beckett (Kari Wuhrer), best friend Wade Welles (Sabrina Lloyd), professor and mentor Miximilian Arturo (John Rhys Davies), accidental tourist Rembrandt Brown (Cleavant Derricks), and Quinn's brother Colin (Charlie O'Connell). 

The fourth season is dominated by a war between a local resistance group on an alternate world and the evil Kromagg Dynasty.  With the help of the resistance, the "Sliders" escape Kromagg imprisonment and search for Quinn's brother, who they hope holds the key to defeating the Kromagg Dynasty and finding Earth Prime.

Military.com Rating: ***
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"The Invisible Man: Season One," DVD-2008 ($59.98, Universal Studios Home Entertainment)

A quirky but inventive take on the classic H.G. Welles story, "The Invisible Man" aired on the Sci-Fi Channel, but despite receiving two Saturn nominations for Best Cable Series, it was canceled after only two seasons (2000-2001).

The premise centers on an ex-con, Darian Fawkes (Vincent Ventresca), who is recruited by a super-secret spy agency known only as The Agency and given the power of invisibility.  The Agency takes the cases that other agencies "can't, won't, or don't."  Along with his paranoid partner Robert Hobbes (Paul Ben-Victor), Fawkes is usually tasked with finding assassins or trying to unravel rogue government experiments.  

Besides his unique powers of invisibility, Fawkes also finds that his talents as a thief are helpful as an espionage agent.  Since The Agency's cover involves being "absorbed" into other agencies—e.g., Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services—Hobbes and Fawkes are not taken seriously.  That running gag and the banter between the agents add an element of humor to the show. 

Military.com Rating: ** ½

(DVD extras include commentary with creator/writer Matt Greenberg, director Breck Eisner, and star Vincent Ventresca; a conversation with Greenberg; the two-hour series pilot; and a Season Two bonus episode, "Legends.")
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Military.com Picks & Pans Rating Scale

* Pan—Save your money & time
** Borderline Pick—Okay but only as a last resort
*** Pick—Worthwhile & enjoyable
****Enthusiastic Pick—Excellent

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Copyright 2008 by Tom Miller