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NOTE: There are no real spoilers in the following preview, but I do discuss the movie in general terms and include information that has been widely disclosed to promote the show.

In other words, if you want to know absolutely nothing going in, and you’ve been shutting your eyes, covering your ears, and making strange noises whenever a commercial for “Razor” comes on, or your friend starts discussing something he saw in Entertainment Weekly, you may not want to read this. Otherwise, you’re safe.

According to Sci-Fi Channel, this is a movie/episode filling in the gap of what happened when Lee Adama took command of Pegasus, as well as a prequel showing the events that occurred with Admiral Cain and her crew just after the Cylons annihilated the colonies.

“Razor” is really the story of Kendra Shaw, a character we haven’t been introduced to before. As she adjusts to having Lee Adama as her new commander, we see what happened to the crew of Pegasus in the weeks after the Cylon attack in flashbacks.

And it’s not pretty. In a good way.

There were moments when I literally said, “Holy $#!+” out loud, as well as some jaw-dropping revelations. It’s dark and filled with conflict, just like most of the episodes, and if you’ve seen the show, you know how good these people are at doing that. The fact that we haven’t met the main character before doesn’t dampen the plot at all. It doesn’t take long to get to know her. She’s a fascinating person, and the story is a hell of a ride. It’s difficult to say much more without giving anything away, so I won’t.

Make no mistake: As good as it is, this is a “filler” episode. Don’t expect any continuation of the cliffhanger or forwarding of the Season 3 storyline, or any new secrets that will greatly affect the new season. It’s also missing most of the regular characters from the series, although enough of the big dogs are present that it doesn’t feel completely foreign.

The movie isn’t perfect by any means. I thought the beginning was a bit slow, and a couple of things felt forced. But all my complaints are minor.

Since it’s already been determined that this is the final season of Battlestar Galactica, it’s nice to see that they can effectively go back and give us some great stuff out of chronological order. That means we can hope that there will be life for BSG after the regular series ends, in the form of more of these types of movies - which is great news for those of us think it’s the best show on television. I throw that into my reviews as much as possible, not just because I think it’s true, but because I’d like to be included on one of those lists of media who say that.

Since I watched it on DVD and not in the theater, I can’t say for sure how it will look on the big screen, but with some of the coolest battle scenes I’ve ever seen on TV, I’m guessing it’ll be a real treat if you’re one of the lucky ones who gets to watch it for free in one of the few theaters that will be showing it nationwide.

Even though it’s billed as a special two-hour movie, be warned if you see it in the theater or record it and fast forward through the commercials and promos, it’s really only a ninety minute show, some of which has already been shown as “mini-sodes” during Flash Gordon and online at the Sci-Fi Channel’s website.

And that ninety minutes might just have to hold us over for a while…maybe a LONG while, depending on how long the writers’ strike lasts and how it effects BSG‘s upcoming season.

Battlestar Galactica: Razor airs Saturday, November 24 on Sci-Fi Channel, as well as in select theaters.

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