DVD review: Battlestar Galactica Season 4.0

The first half of the fourth and final season of “Battlestar Galactica” comes to DVD. Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagining of the concept has been more successful than could have been predicted, and now the show will get the opportunity to end on its own terms.

In “Battlestar Galactica,” the 50,000 human survivors of an attempted genocide continue to search space for their mythical home planet, Earth. They are pursued by the Cylons, the mechanical life forms who attempted to wipe out humanity.

In the season 3 cliffhanger, Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) returns, despite apparently dying earlier in season 3. As season 4 begins, she claims she’s received information that can guide the lost fleet to Earth. There are questions about her resurrection, but Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) nevertheless gives Starbuck a ship to try to scout a route to Earth.

The Cylons, meanwhile, are in the midst of a civil war, and a splinter group of Cylons offer to work with the humans to help them find Earth.

This DVD set includes a “director’s cut” of the “Battlestar Galactica: Razor” special, which flashed back to events on the Battlestar Pegasus. Extras include behind-the-scenes videos, featurettes and snippets from Comic-Con International 2008.

- Matthew Price