Rent Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

To understand why The Plan was one of the most underwhelming Battlestar Galactica extras, one must understand the time that it was released. The series had just wrapped up after having brewed an enticed fanbase for its 2000s run, making it one of Sci-Fi Channel’s biggest hits. With all eyes on BSG to see where the show would go next, it’s somewhat sad to see that the first thing to come from it was this supplemental material of the Cylon story that doesn’t reveal a whole lot that one couldn’t already fill in the blanks with during the run of the series.

The Plan is staged similar to how there was the release of the Razor movie. The special takes place during the events of BSG and showcases what could be considered extra scenes that didn’t come to life during the series. It is here where we get to see the full scope of the Cylon’s as they mercilessly hunt down the remaining humans of Caprica they plan to wipe from existence. The Cylons were always kept as more of a mystery since they could make human sleeper agents that wouldn’t be fully revealed until season three and even a remaining Cylon for season four. Now that the cat is finally out of the bag, this special has no qualms about revealing all to make sense of the secret Cylons.

In staging this BSG side story, however, it feels a lot more like filling in some unanswered and unasked questions. Namely, it reveals that the Cylons never had a plan to begin with. But did we really need this special for that? It becomes pretty clear as the series goes on with the infighting and instability of their reign that they are not an organized collective of robots but an emotionally bound group of cyborgs that manage to be worse in their management of resources than the Colonial Fleet.

What’s perhaps most saddening about this special right after the BSG finale is that The Plan is mostly comprised of either unused or already seen footage from as far back as the 2003 miniseries. This reliance on the extra footage paints this picture as more of a clip show despite the intent behind it. In truth, it bears a striking resemblance to a YouTube compilation video that would be entitled “BSG But Only The Cylon Council Parts.” And if that’s your bag, fine, but does it feel like something Universal should have really produced to cap off the last of the BSG hype?

Of course, this wasn’t the last we heard of BSG, thankfully. We still got the lackluster prequel, Caprica, and the more mindless prequel, Blood & Chrome. Between those features as well as the Razor movie and even the BSG miniseries, The Plan is by far the most unessential of viewings for those planning a Battlestar deep dive binge. There’s nothing but empty calories here.