Caprica

Like most people who will be trying this series out, I am coming to it from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. The latter was one of the most brilliantly original shows in the history of television and as topical as any show in memory, addressing real world issues by focusing on one that is not our own. CAPRICA, set over fifty years before the events of BSG, promises both to be very similar and very, very different from the original. Those who complained about the show devolving into BATTLESOAP GALACTICA will hate this. But those of us who actually preferred the ideas and issues at the heart of BSG will find this pure gold. There is likely to be very little fighting and few or no spaceships. It will, in fact, be pretty clearly be a character driven drama, the only difference from a show like FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS being that it is set on a distant planet. But like BSG, there will be no aliens.Though there are some stark differences from BSG, there will also be a lot of continuities. The pilot has some of BSG's main concerns, such as religion and the idea of what it means to be a person. And just as there was a conflict between differing religious beliefs on BSG with the polytheistic humans and the monotheistic Cylons. There will also be a huge overlap in creative staff. Though the script was co-authored by BSG head guru Ronald D. Moore, it will be run by BSG (and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) writer Jane Espenson. And Bear McCreary, who provided the great, great music for BSG (as well as TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES), is performing the same duties on CAPRICA. And of course, since CAPRICA is very much about the lead up to the events in BSG, including the creation of the Cylons, there is a huge overlap in story.The first scene of the series is shocking, as we see the inside of a virtual nightclub and it serves almost as a mission statement. It was a crazier, more insane world than anything we ever saw in BSG. They also don't mind departing from BSG in other ways. BSG was almost aggressively nontechnological, which is bizarre for a show set on a spaceship. But here on CAPRICA are slick looking robots (that look very much like Eve from WALL*E) and computer interfaces that look wildly futuristic. CAPRICA has paper with the corners cut off like BSG, but it nonetheless has very much its own style.One thing I found interesting is that they departed for the most part from the camera style of BSG. That show had an almost documentary style, working extensively with handheld cameras. I had anticipated a similar look on CAPRICA in part because Jeffrey Reiner was hired to direct. Most of his work of late has been on the great NBC drama FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, which is shot entirely with handheld video cameras. But the change in camera style really works for this show and should give it a very different feel. By the way, there is a really significant overlap between BSG/CAPRICA and FNL. Ron Moore had two pilots under development at the same time, this one and a pilot for FOX entitled VIRTUALITY. The later was directed by Peter Berg, who was the creator of both the FNL movie and TV series.I was really impressed with the cast. Several of the members are familiar, like Eric Stoltz and he looks like he is going to stand out on this series. Esai Morales is also creepy as Joseph Adama. I can't imagine anyone giving you the sensation of being Bill Adama's father than he did in this pilot. Some of the other performers you don't get a strong sense of from the pilot, like Paula Malcomson (perhaps best known from DEADWOOD) as Amanda Graystone and Polly Walker (most recently from ROME) as Sister Clarice Willow. You know that they will be important in the series, but there roles in the pilot were somewhat in the background. I enjoyed seeing Magda Apanowicz (who most will know from KYLE XY, in which she played Josh Trager's girlfriend) in it as Zoe Graystone's friend Lacy Rand. But if there is an outstanding performance in the pilot, it is by Allessandra Toreson as Zoe Graystone. This was one of the most important roles on the show and she pulled it off wonderfully. As Zoe and Zoe's avatar, she is clearly the predecessor of all future "skin job" Cylons.The pilot has left me very, very excited about the series, which is scheduled to start sometime in the winter of 2010. It is definitely going to be very different from BSG, but it is going to resemble it both in terms of quality and boldness.One last note. In the film we often see characters put on virtual glasses. So I was quite surprised when I got my DVD and saw an advertisement for personal video glasses that look not dissimilar to the ones on the show. From BSG we actually know that the events of CAPRICA are not at all in the future (not to be too spoilerish for anyone who hasn't seen BSG), but seeing these glasses, the world suddenly felt much more like the present.

Caprica very entertaining and it is the the prelude of battlestar Gallatica. I liked it a lot.

When I first heard the Sci Fi Channel (or as it's soon to be called: Syfy) was going to make a prequel series to Battlestar Galactica I was somewhat hesitant. Not because I was one of those science fiction snobs who thinks the genre can only be about space battles, aliens, and a certain startship that shall remain nameless. No, I was hesitant because I knew the network's history of meddling. The disaster that was season three of BSG can be squarely placed on the shoulders of the network suits. The idea of bringing the history of the colonies to life has the potential to be interesting and thought provoking television. After viewing the finished product recently released on DVD I have to say they've succeeded in many ways.The story of Caprica takes place "58 years before the fall" of the colonies. At the heart of the story are two families: the Graystones, a wealthy family whose patriarch founded a technology company (a company that inadvertently leads to the downfall of all mankind); and the Adamas, a less-than-wealthy family from the world of Tauron. Joseph Adama, father of the future Admiral Adama (now only an eleven-year-old boy) is attempting to hide his family's ties to Tauron by changing their name to Adams. Both of these families are drawn together by tragedy when Graystone's daughter, Zoe, is killed in a terrorist attack by a monotheistic group along with Joseph Adama's wife and daughter.By accident, Graystone discovers that his daughter created a fully functional avatar in a virtual world where she and her friends, along with the youth of Caprica, go to escape their mundane world. Using his daughter's work and a piece of stolen technology, Graystone downloads Zoe into a robotic form his company is working on for the Defense Ministry. This scene alone is one of the most eerie of the entire episode. As you watch Zoe attempt to get comfortable with her new metal body and see the look on Daniel Graystone's face as he watches, it's like seeing a father witnessing the birth of his child. Very Frankenstein-esque.Caprica is filled with the some intriguing ideas and concepts. Of course, you have the usual BSG-speak. "Frak" is used often, you have the gods, and the twelve colonies named for astrological signs. What will make Caprica stand out is its ability to flesh out many of the concepts that we just took at face value with the parent series. In this pilot alone were learn more about the religion and prejudices of the colonies than we ever did in Battlestar Galactica, but it wasn't appropriate for BSG to tackle those topics. Caprica is designed to do just that.One of the more intriguing concepts I hope Caprica will tackle are the people of Tauron. Like any large society, the people of Caprica have their prejudices and there seems to be a strong prejudice against the people of Tauron, or "dirt eaters" as some call them. From what we can glean from the pilot, the people of Tauron are peasants who toil at hard labor and are looked down upon by the rest of the colonies. Out of this servitude an organized crime group has formed; a group with close ties to the Adama clan. From what we see in this pilot episode, the people of Tauron look similar to South American Indian cultures such as the Mayans or Aztecs in how their presented. It will be interesting to see how this is developed.This pilot has some fun "ah ha!" moments. One of the more interesting "ah ha!" moments comes when we learn just how the Cylons developed their belief in the One True God. That revelation alone makes everything coming in 58 years even more understandable. It's moments like this along with scenes showing the development of the Cybernetic Lifeform Node, or Cylon, that will make Caprica an intriguing series to watch. It's these moments that allow me to forgive the series for starting out a little slow. Hopefully, Caprica can find a fan base that will make it worthwhile for Syfy to keep it on the air for a few years.

An appetising pilot, which makes one (this one anyway) want to see more. It's intriguing that we now find that the relations between the various worlds of the Twelve Colonies was not all sweetness and light (these differences only occasionally surfaced in "Galactica"). Indeed the despised Taurons have resorted to having a home-grown Mafia on Caprica. It's also interesting to see the genesis of the One True God of the Cylons, and of course of the Cylons themselves. And as did "Galactica", it raises interesting questions as to what it actually means to be "human".The cast is good - Bill Adama's father does indeed look as if he could be Bill Adama's father, and the girls play their parts well. However, I wonder, as did another reviewer, whether this series can be a multi-season one. Hopefully Ron Moore has a few tricks up his sleeve to maintain his normal standards.

While this may not live up to the high standard set by BSG yet, it's well on its way and this was a nice taster of things to come. Having seen how BSG grew from its pilot into the powerful drama that it did, I think we can expect great things of Caprica. The cast was good and some of the issues thrown up were good debate fodder. It starts to explain a lot about how we ended up with the situation at the start of BSG but they'll be able to exploit this to great depth and expand on it over the course of Caprica's run. I don't think it will get the same draw as BSG as it's not set in space (yet?!) but in terms of drama, it'll be a winner. All in all, I enjoyed this pilot and it has left me wanting more, pity we'll have to wait til 2010 to get it.

When making a prequel it is important to make it unique, to give it it's own identity. Rubbish.Caprica is part of the Galactica universe, well and truly, and thank heavens for it. It is a stunningly well written and crafted piece with plenty of scope for expansion. In terms of it's presentation and feel though, it is very, very similar to the latest series of Battlestar Galactica yet it does have its own way, it's own focus. It is not a retread, it is a very well crafted story in it's own right.The focus on the initial creation of the Cylons was always a black hole that was needed to be elaborated upon and this does it well. I am cautious to say too much because the story should not be spoilt, but it reduces it to a human level extremely well.This pilot is very well presented, the story has great potential and if you are a galactica fan you must see it.By your command....

If you liked "Battlestar Galactica" you will find Caprica interesting. Good beginning for a new series starting in January 2010.

not that good