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Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion |
Author: David Bassom
Published: 2005-10-01 |
List price: $14.95
Our price: $10.17
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As of: November 19th, 2008 11:05:41 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 BY YOUR COMMAND
THIS BOOK IS ABOUT THE OUTSTANDING TV SERIES ON THE SCIFI CHANNEL. THE BOOK GOES INTO DETAIL ABOUT THE DIRECTING, PRODUCING, SPECIAL EFFECTS AND MUCH MORE. IT GIVES US A BIT OF EVERYTHING INCLUDING INTERVIEWS WITH ALL THE ACTORS AND BACKGROUND ON THEM. THE EPISODES OF SEASON ONE ARE DETAILED ALONG WITH THE MINI SERIES WHICH STARTED IT ALL BACK IN 2003. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FOR ALL BG FANS. SO SAY WE ALL. GOOD HUNTING.
 A fun read on a Sunday afternoon
I was vacationing in Washington DC for a few days and came across this book. I'm usually a bit skeptical about these type of books but this one had some good behind the scenes info and was an enjoyable few hours of reading.
Vermonter dot com approved!
Solid companion, but I wished they had some bios of the actors
Very good companion to the first season of BSG. The episode by episode guide was well done, and I liked the way that the author wrote up the character descriptions. However, it would have been nice to get a biography of each of the main and supporting players in this book. I highly recommend this to BSG fan fiction writers.
 Rather basic, left me wanting more
I'm a major fan of this show. Unfortunately, compared to other companion books for other shows and movies (like Serenity and Firefly), this is a rather disappointing work. It doesn't have the depth it needs, and some of the facts are wrong. I also did not see much here that I have not previously seen in magazines. They're not digging very deep into the production archives.
A great resource for background information on BSG
I've acquired a number of books on my favorite television shows over the years. For the most part I've learned to avoid the "official" guides or companions, because more often than not they tend to be antiseptic, unilluminating, and uncritical. But just as BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is a brilliant exception to what one normally finds on commercial television, so this companion is a delightful exception to the typical "official" publication.
There are several reasons for why this guide far surpasses the usual guide. First, too many guides merely tend to regurgitate the contents of each episode, add a few quotes from the episode to fill out pages, and then perhaps identify the music used on an episode. If you are lucky, you'll learn what previous shows guest stars have appeared on. This book, however, truly is a companion. It actually provides very little in the way of summing up individual episodes. In fact, the average length of space devoted to summing up the events of a show is less than a page. This means that in this 157 page book only 15-18 total pages of text is devoted to summarizing the events of the miniseries and the 13 episodes of Season One. The rest of the book is filled with a wealth of supplemental information, such as explaining the genesis of a script, of major changes it underwent before shooting, of changes made in an episode following shooting, of decisions made in altering the special effects, and so on. There are also many quotes provided by the show's many actors, who were clearly interviewed especially for this book.
There is also an openness in this book that is quite refreshing. For instance, it reveals how specific actors turned down particular roles (e.g., Lucy Lawless turning down the role of Ellen Tigh). There is a great deal of information provided on the casting process and who was responsible for discovering which performer.
The book not only deals with the background to each individual episode but also with how the recreation of the 1978 show developed. Individual chapters explain such things are the special effects work on the show, the music, and the art design. Substantial summations of each major and many supporting characters are provided at the end.
As a result of all these factors, this is easily one of the most helpful and illuminating season guides I own to any television series. I strongly recommend them to any fan of the series. I will only add that a couple of reviews suggested that the book doesn't provide much for a serious fan. I've watched the entire series at least five times, I have read exhaustively on the Internet, I have made hundreds if not thousands of posts about the show on various forums, and have listened to all of the podcasts and commentaries. But I learned a great deal from reading the book. So I think it safe to say that this is for serious fans as much as casual ones.
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