Galactica.com - 'Galactica' fills in some of the details

By RICK BENTLEY, on 25-11-2007

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'Galactica' fills in some of the details

Saturday, November 24, 2007

By RICK BENTLEY
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: RAZOR

9 tonight, Sci Fi Channel

Any true science fiction fan worth his or her weight in womp rats is not completely satisfied until every detail of a story has been revealed. Fans of the Sci Fi Channel series "Battlestar Galactica" have had to deal with some huge missing details.

One of the ships in the ragtag fleet looking for Earth and trying to step a few galaxies ahead of the Cylons is the Battlestar Pegasus. It is under the guidance of Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber). Some of the mysteries of the Pegasus will be revealed when the two-hour "Battlestar Galactica" episode "Razor" debuts tonight. "Razor" looks at events of nearly a year before, on the eve of the Cylon attack. Along with a peek at Adama's past, the events include then-Pegasus commander Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) and her ambitious protege, Shaw (Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen).

The special episode is a way to feed the fans of "Battlestar Galactica" until the fourth and final season of the show kicks off in late March.

"Just on a nostalgic personal level it's interesting to reminisce," says Bamber. "One of the sort of pivotal moments in playing Lee was that moment where he sort of puts on his father's work clothes and takes the helm of the Pegasus in a crisis, which is the episode 'Captain's Hand,' which we made back in Season 2.

"So it was nice to take a bit of time to sort of really look at how Pegasus was different and what that meant for Lee and trying to sort of get the crew onboard."

This cable series is Bamber's first real brush with the sci-fi world. The Hammersmith, England, native is a classically trained actor who has appeared in such works as "Horatio Hornblower" and "Band of Brothers."

Bamber had reservations about leaping into a sci-fi role. He had dismissed science fiction on television as being goofy. Then he read the script for "Battlestar Galactica."

"I was enthralled by the ambition. And then as I read the story, it wasn't about special effects. It could have been a U.S. Marine aircraft carrier in any conflict of the 20th century. And it just gripped me, the idea of this ship lost at sea and all hope of landfall is gone and the people onboard desperately trying to make sense of the bigger picture," Bamber says. "So as soon as I read that, I kind of latched onto that element of truth in the story."

Bamber's still not completely comfortable with the special effects side of making the show. But he knows those elements are necessary to bring in the core sci-fi audience.

"They're very inquisitive. They've got tremendously interested in our show, and their opinions and arguments are fascinating and educative. And, you know, they're quite a bunch to sort of be involved in a dialogue with."

And the flashback episode is designed to keep that dialogue going.

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