Caprica...My Latest Addiction

[Dave2112]

OK, am I the only one completely addicted to this show already? The pilot and one episode into this, and I'm already seeing Battlestar Galactica in a new light. I've stated many times that, in my opinion, BSG was the best original series on television in decades. I really think Caprica's gonna take a close second. I'll be honest...I didn't expect this much from it, thinking maybe it was SyFy "cashing in" on BSG's success. But, with Ronald Moore and David Eick spearheading this one as well, I'm already floored.


*****WARNING!!!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!*****










****NO, SERIOUSLY!!!! BIG-ASS SPOILERS!!!!*****











*****I'M NOT FUCKIN' AROUND, I MEAN IT!!!!*****











Ok, the writing itself is brilliant. Only two shows into this and the whole story and several of the characters of BSG are fleshed out in ways you wouldn't expect. For instance, we knew from BSG that William Adama's father was a trial defense lawyer. We didn't know it was for the mob. Or that ol' Bill himself learned a lot of his tactical savvy by hanging out with hitmen.

But, what's really blowing me away is the true origin of the Cylons. In BSG, one of the Sixes states that the "fleshjobs" inherited their belief in a single God from the Centurions. Ok. Why robots, even advanced ones, would have a religious belief system flew a little under the radar. Now, knowing that the very first Cylon was the downloaded cyberspace "avatar" of its creator's own dead daughter...who was part of a "One God" cult...placed into a robotic body out of desperation...

...makes you completely revisit the Cylons from BSG.

And, I totally dug the "trinity" angle. The fact that this first Cylon was a little bit of the original girl fused with the avatar AND the body itself. Completely adds to the whole religious mythology origins.

Creative cinematography here as well. Using the actress who plays Zoe counterpart to using the Cylon in the same scenes is brilliant. The viewer is taken inside the confusion of identity the "trinity" suffers. It also gives major insights into future Cylon motivations. We can venture a pretty good guess here why the Centurions were obsessed with creating human-ish bodies for their consciousnesses.

I have really high hopes for this show. I don't usually take time out on a weekly basis to watch a show. Hell, even with BSG, I got the DVD sets after each season and watched them as a whole. I think the last show I made time for weekly was the first three seasons of 24. So, any other fans so far? If you HAVE stayed away from it because you think it'll suffer from "Prequel Syndrome", do yourself a favor and catch the first two on SyFy's Rewind. It's as addictive as the first time out.

 

[Dave2112]

There's, like...no one here who digs this show?

Wow.

Huh.

 

[the_jimmy_james]

I hated Moore's ruining of Battlestar Galactica, so there's perhaps maybe less than a snowball's chance in all of the nine levels of Hell that I'd watch the "there's no more space in sci-fi" spin-off.

It just goes along with my distaste for the bulk of what's passed off as sci-fi on TV these days. I like to call it "NBC Sci-Fi." It's people in grimdark worlds yelling at each other while "drama" happens against the backdrop of bland, generic dystopian futures.

Bleh. Count me out.

 

[Dave2112]

Ahhh...seee, you're missing the point. BSG isn't sci-fi. It's drama. I always found it intriguing because there is nothing in it that couldn't be in our own near future. And with Caprica...we're fast approaching the time when artificial life is going to alter our own realities and change our perception of existence.

I think both of these shows go WAY beyond science fiction.

 

[the_jimmy_james]

I guess that's the thing. I musta been fooled by the robots with their space cruisers and all that stuff... maybe it being on The Sci-Fi Channel was unfair, too.

But any way it goes, I thought it was a bland and disinteresting show. The only two things they ever did that I liked were when they played the music from the old show in that news report, and when Pirate Tigh said he didn't care about being a Cylon.

Oh, and when they dropped that spaceship like a brick through that planet's atmosphere. That was pretty bitchin' 😀

But the rest of the show grated on my nerves. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" got old, too, and it was Ron Moore as well. He has really one schtick: Make shows where people whine a lot.

It's just not for me. >shrug<

Also: Lorne Greene > Olmos

 

[PurpleStyle]

Pirate Tigh? He looked more like Sagat from Street Fighter to me. Robots can shoot orange fireballs out of their hands right? Ah well.

 

[the_jimmy_james]

You know what? I can so totally see that now that you mention it!

 

[Dave2112]

Yeah, I guess it's not for everyone. Just depends on what one enjoys in Sci-Fi. There are the "robots, spaceships and lasers" types and then there are the "social science fiction" fans. I myself enjoy both, but prefer the latter given the same level of quality in both.

Take Dune, for example. Back in the latter '60's and into the '70's, Frank Herbert was often credited for doing for science fiction what Tolkien did for fantasy. The Dune universe is a sci-fi gem. And very, very little of it actually takes place in space. Not to mention that it's decidedly low-tech for a humanity 18,000 years in our own future. And why it's a relatively low-tech civilization is the point of it...the social and political structures and how they've evolved over the millenia.

You're right though...slamming the Galactica into an atmosphere, launching the fighters, then jumping out about 1,000 yards from the ground was pretty frakkin' awesome. 😉

I was just never one of the ones who thought the original BSG was "ruined". It was a different show, of a different time. I liked it, don't get me wrong, and was a big fan when it was on TV (of course, I was 11) and even own the whole she-bang on DVD. But even Glen Larson and Richard Hatch spent a long time telling anyone who'd listen that the 1978 BSG series was not what they had in mind and the show went way off track from original plans for it. (Hell, originally, it was supposed to be just the mini-series and that was that.) About five episodes into it, it started becoming the A-Team in Space.

 

[Violetta]

I will chime in. I am what you might call a casual fan of sci-fi. I was raised on Star Wars, and its like is still my bread and butter. But over time I have grown to be a fan of things such as Dollhouse or Firefly or even Dune. There is a reason I can enjoy Dune. It has a vivid environment, the story and characters were compelling, and it had heroes and villains. It was quite brilliant.

The new Galactica, though, I was not impressed by. It seems "social commentary" is a matter of showing characters screaming at each other and sabotaging progress for petty revenge. Perhaps that is life now, and perhaps I am naive. I'd hoped there was good left in people, but if these shows (Galactica, Caprica, Heroes, etc.) are accurate, then I am disappointed.

Then again, there is a chance I have little idea of quality. After all, I do enjoy watching Barbarella and Flash Gordon.

 

[leenotler]

My interests have broadened in recent years, but I was a sci-fi fanatic. In high school, I used to read four or five sci-fi novels every week. I watched every sci-fi TV show. In college I took a course called "Science Fiction in Literature" where we studied the great classic Dune.

For me, the old BSG was OK, but not my favorite. I did not expect to like the new BSG, and I watched it half heartedly at first, but it grew on me, to finally become an all time favorite. Yes, it was often grindingly dark and gritty, but that seemed fresh to me, compared to the typical "space opera" I had seen so often. I had known so many stories of pure good vs pure evil. The new BSG did dwell on human failings, but for me it was cathartic and even ennobling to see humanity persevere and succeed despite those failings, even learning from those failings. It almost seems more moral. The pure good vs pure evil paradigm risks teaching "find evil and kill it to be good". Those stories are satisfying, but I wonder if they promote acceptance of war. The new BSG, Heroes, and maybe Caprica seem more nuanced. Some of the drama I could have done without. It's harder to watch all that suffering and betrayal, but it can make the successes seem all the more sweeter.

I don't know if I want to see more of Caprica, but it might surprise me like the new BSG did. Or, I might recognize a repeated formula and long for another space opera.

I do enjoy the quality cult classic Barbarella. (OK, I admit I smile approvingly when the plot requires yet another gratuitous Barbarella costume change.)

Lee

 

[PurpleStyle]

Yeah, I guess it's not for everyone. Just depends on what one enjoys in Sci-Fi. There are the "robots, spaceships and lasers" types and then there are the "social science fiction" fans. I myself enjoy both, but prefer the latter given the same level of quality in both.

Take Dune, for example. Back in the latter '60's and into the '70's, Frank Herbert was often credited for doing for science fiction was Tolkien did for fantasy. The Dune universe is a sci-fi gem. And very, very little of it actually takes place in space. Not to mention that it's decidedly low-tech for a humanity 18,000 years in our own future. And why it's a relatively low-tech civilization is the point of it...the social and political structures and how they've evolved over the millenia.

You're right though...slamming the Galactica into an atmosphere, launching the fighters, then jumping out about 1,000 yards from the ground was pretty frakkin' awesome. 😉

I was just never one of the ones who thought the original BSG was "ruined". It was a different show, of a different time. I liked it, don't get me wrong, and was a big fan when it was on TV (of course, I was 11) and even own the whole she-bang on DVD. But even Glen Larson and Richard Hatch spent a long time telling anyone who'd listen that the 1978 BSG series was not what they had in mind and the show went way off track from original plans for it. (Hell, originally, it was supposed to be just the mini-series and that was that.) About five episodes into it, it started becoming the A-Team in Space.

Inescapable logic that I can't argue with. You've got a point my friend. I am a fan of Dune. I love everything about it! Now, if BSG had a human-sandworm hybrid that was Godking of the known universe for 3,500 years....

Kidding aside, I realize it's just my personal bias against BSG that didn't really allow me to watch it. It's the little things like that, that I need to work on myself. I'll admit, I liked DS9. I had no idea the guy responsible for that also made the new BSG.

 

[Dave2112]

I liked DS9 myself. In fact, it was the one post-original series that I really liked...and it was because of the elements that went beyond space opera. The religious and prophetic elements. It was a more "human" series.

I like both BSG series' for different reasons. The original was wonderful. Especially the mini-series itself. But the Moore version adressed things that, even at the age of 11, I was wondering and postulating about.

Take the fleet itself. In the original, it was only briefly touched upon in the mini-series that the remaining human beings in existence were mostly crammed aboard the ships they could escape in or were stuck in at the time. How do you manage that? Who's in charge? What do you do for food, fuel...repairs? All of that. Once the series got going, we rarely ever even saw those other ships, or the people on them. It became backdrop for the "good vs. evil" laser battles. It was like the slate was wiped clean and everyone was happy and just siting back and cheering for the Galactica.

And speaking of the actual sci-fi "action"...

The new Galactica kicked SO much more ass. Ever notice how the fighters always had to protect the capital warships from harm in the original...from other fighters? The Galactica itself was always either running or launching fighters. Yeah, a couple little laser cannons but no real punch for something that's supposed to be a warship. The new one? She often took on a couple baseships at a time, not to mention holding off fighters like annoying little bugs. 🙂

 

[Tom Tickle]

I loved seasons 1-4, and things started falling apart towards the end. The religious nonsense took over and little was actually explained. What are we supposed to make of Starbuck? I did like the end episode. but the last few epsiodes, with the ravaged, original earth did seem a little clumsy. Moore fell back on the 'God did it' device in DS9 as well, with the wormhole aliens using magic to erase the Dominion fleet, and Gul Dukat getting superpowers.

And what are Gaius and Six doing in modern New York at the end of Galactica? Were they ghosts, or angels? I just didn't buy it.