Getting ready for CAPRICA

Syfy has posted the entire pilot episode ("Extended Cut") of CAPRICA on their player and on Hulu.



A new videoblog is out previewing the first season, interviewing Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Alessandra Torresani, and many other cast and crew.



ScriptPhD is taking fan questions for an interview with CAPRICA's head writer Jane Espenson until tomorrow.

Vice Magazine and Motherboard are cosponsoring a public screening of the pilot in New York on January 21st, with free booze. Always a good thing. The Tighs would be pleased.

Caprica Reviewed

Reviews of the pilot ep of Caprica, available now on DVD:

Mo Ryan, Chicago Tribune:

“Caprica,” even more than “Battlestar,” is an examination of how greed, selfishness, heedlessness and pain prompt people to use technology to avoid difficult situations.

Technology isn’t really the problem; the trouble comes from our belief that we can always control it and use it to keep life from hurting too much or being too hard. Yet anyone who has ever tried to set up a balky new device or felt oppressed by the constant presence of a BlackBerry knows that things that are supposed to make our lives better don’t always do so.

....One reason Sci Fi is making "Caprica" -- and starting a promotional campaign early by releasing the DVD months before the show arrives -- is because the network wants to catch the attention of viewers who may not be regular viewers of sci-fi fare. There are no space ships and no outer-space battles in this new show, which is set 58 years before the events of "Battlestar"; the world of Caprica looks much like our own.

With any luck, "Caprica" won't have to battle the perception problems that "Battlestar Galactica" faced; it took a couple of seasons for the latter show to get people to realize that it was a taut, bold and thought-provoking study of the heights and depths of human nature, not a superficial remake of a '70s show about robots and the swashbuckling heroes who fought them.

Still, hard-core "Battlestar" fans should be aware that these are different shows. Ronald D. Moore, an executive producer and co-creator of the new show, has been upfront about calling "Caprica" a prime-time "soap opera" (for a few more of Moore's "Caprica" comments look here). It's not about life during wartime; it's about the sacrifices, mistakes and fateful decisions made by individuals, corporations and families.

“Battlestar” has “come to an end, and it’s a beautiful end and [fans] should mourn that show,” Malcolmson said in a March interview. “You can’t just come along with another show that’s going to replicate it. That’s not what we want to do, we want to give them something else.”

The good news for "Battlestar" fans is that show's outstanding composer, Bear McCreary, and special-effects wizard, Gary Hutzel, are part of the new venture. And several of that show's writers will be on "Caprica's" creative staff as well.

Jane Espenson, a co-executive producer who is set to become "Caprica's" day-to-day showrunner, said in January that the new show "will certainly be different, but it's like a different garment made from the same fabric. The beating heart of it will be the same -- complex moral situations, high stakes, compelling characters. Robots."

Thomas Rogers for Salon says, "Frak This Prequel":

In an unconventional launch strategy, SyFy has just released the one-and-a-half-hour pilot episode of the show on DVD and digital download (the actual series won't premiere on television until 2010). Described by blogs as "'Dallas' in space," "Caprica" is, indeed, a very different beast from its mother series. Planet-bound, slow-paced and with hardly any action scenes, the series is primarily a melodrama about two families on the planet Caprica (one of the 12 home planets of the human race in the "Battlestar" universe) as they overcome a personal tragedy. It also, of more interest to science fiction fans, tells the story of the birth of the Cylons, the race of robots who, as we learned in "Battlestar," eventually become hell-bent on destroying all human life.

The drama builds slowly, and scenes unfold without much, if any, tension. What little tension it has owes to viewers' knowledge of what will happen 58 years later. There are no hostage crises or food shortages to resolve, since the show's main concern is the emotional state of its two families. In fact, robot subplot and holographic excursions aside, there really isn't much that’s science fiction-y about "Caprica."

...Unfortunately, "Caprica" doesn't make for tremendously engaging melodrama either, largely because it doesn't have any characters as immediately riveting as Katee Sackhoff's Starbuck or Mary McDonnell's President Roslin. Eric Stoltz brings quiet soulfulness to his grieving father, but Esai Morales feels wooden and stilted as Adama, and the rest of the ensemble (especially, it has to be said, the child actors) aren't a particularly inspiring bunch. As for the show's visuals -- unlike "Battlestar," "Caprica" is filmed largely with fixed shots (no hand-held cameras), which robs it of much of its flair and immediacy. Its clean urban setting feels antiseptic and cold and a bit dull. Judging by the pilot, the planet Caprica is Vancouver with a fancier train system.

In the spirit of "Battlestar," "Caprica" also references a number of real-world topical issues: Adama is a member of a disliked immigrant group called the Tauron, and during their investigation of the bombing, the authorities become suspicious of a certain religious minority. But while "Battlestar's" space-bound setting was strange and destabilizing enough to make its political allusions seem fresh -- one of the joys of the series was seeing it fragment and rearrange issues like abortion and terrorism to make provocative arguments -- in "Caprica," they merely feel awkward. It's obvious that Tauron is a stand-in for Mexico (there's even a subplot about Tauronese gangs) and monotheism a replacement for Islam -- but there's nothing new to be learned here by renaming things.

When the show premieres on television next year it could take off in some interesting and unexpected directions. The show’s writing is fairly strong (one of the debut episode's co-writers, Jane Espenson, was responsible for many of "Battlestar's" best shows), and SyFy clearly has a lot of faith in creator Ronald Moore. But given the high expectations that "Battlestar" fans have for the series, and the tepidness of this initial offering, I wonder how many will come back to find out what happens in 2010.

Alan Sepinwall Star Ledger:

TV series finales don't get much more polarizing than the end of "Battlestar Galactica." (Spoilers flying at you in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...) For every fan who found the finale a moving and appropriate capper to a great series, there was at least one who felt betrayed that producer Ronald D. Moore chose to ascribe many key developments in the series to divine intervention, or that he had the surviving colonists decide to throw away all their technology upon arriving on a primitive Earth.

As one commenter on my blog put it, "Ron ruined the last five years of my life ...god, why?"

Today's DVD release of "Caprica," the two-hour pilot episode for a "Galactica" prequel series, might be just as polarizing, even among the people who liked the end of "Galactica."

...It's an attempt to open up the franchise to viewers who would never watch a show with the title "Battlestar Galactica," or one where all the characters live on spaceships. But like Sci Fi Channel's larger attempts to attract new viewers -- starting with the pending name change to the much sillier SyFy (if you're going to change the name, change the name) -- it feels like something that may wind up seeming too foreign for both potential new fans and old ones.

"Caprica" is intriguing, don't get me wrong. The most frustrating part of watching the DVD was knowing that Sci Fi (or SyFy) won't be airing the series until 2010, when this is a show that begs for a second episode to evaluate. But while it's good, it's (deliberately) not "Galactica."

"Caprica" grapples with many of the contemporary dilemmas that "Galactica" handled -- religious strife, terrorism, overreliance on technology -- but, in placing them in a world that looks like the one outside our window, it can be blunter about it. The holo-band nightclub where Zoe and her friends meet in secret -- an online Sodom and Gomorrah, filled with (virtual) sex, drugs and even human sacrifice -- is like every parent's worst nightmare about what his kids are up to on Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the web. And by casting all of the prominent Tauran characters immigrants with Latin actors (and the Capricans with whites), it emphasizes the race and class distinctions in a way that "Galactica" couldn't with its use of Cylons as stand-ins for Muslim extremists.

The performances by Stoltz and Morales - two actors who tend to come across as bland in certain roles - are extremely strong. And the direction by "Friday Night Lights" veteran Jeffrey Reiner, coupled with work by the familiar "Galactica" production team, creates an absolutely gorgeous-looking pilot episode.

Moore initially pitched "Caprica" as "a sci-fi version of 'Dallas,'" and while the show has moved well beyond that initial template -- among other things, it adds an organized crime component -- there's enough soap opera sheen left, coupled with the planet-bound setting, that I wonder how many "Galactica" fans will stick with it.

Science fiction used to be a catch-all term for any kind of story featuring technology or worlds not quite our own, but in recent years, the definition has narrowed until its only meaning for some fans is "outer space action." It's that kind of thinking that led Sci Fi execs to want to change their channel's name, but I fear too many fanboys won't want any part of a show that trades the interplanetary combat of "Galactica" for healthy doses of teen rebellion and legal intrigue. And I also have no idea if people who refused to watch "Galactica" would ever watch a spin-off, even one that looks more soap than space opera.

And because of the huge lag between DVD release and TV premiere, we have a long time to find out how many people might come back for a second episode.

Christopher Schwartz:

Taut, introspective, and very, very adult; much more mature than its predecessor series, which is saying a lot — Caprica is brimming with potential. Where Battlestar Galactica, quite controversially, seemed to return to its Mormon theological roots, Caprica, although set 58 years prior to the events of the original show, seems to be reaching forward toward the Techological Singularity prophecied by futurists since the 1950s. Questions about morality and belief, the value (and undermining) of family and multicultural democracy, and the nature of humanity and transhumanity, abound in a dense hour and thirty minutes.

Lewis Wallace, Wired:

In the “uncut and unrated” Caprica pilot, there are no nuclear explosions, no grimy spaceships, no sexy or deadly encounters with robotic Cylons.

Aside from a bloody assassination and some gratuitous topless shots, the show almost completely lacks the action and hard-edged sci-fi eye candy that helped give Galactica its gritty appeal.

Instead, Caprica delivers a broad, deliberately paced introduction to the themes that will presumably drive the show: the tension between science and religion, the dangers of religious zealotry, the racism that can simmer in a societal melting pot, the nature of humanity in a world filled with sentient machines.

...Set 58 years before the Cylons’ sneak attack on humanity, the Caprica pilot does not deliver the kind of explosive action that turned Galactica into a nail-biting sensation. Instead, it is a little like the “begat”-riddled genealogical sequence that opens the New Testament: It draws much of its tension from the knowledge of what lies ahead.

The characters are richly drawn and ripe for further exploration. And the show’s willingness to tackle religion, immigration, corporate espionage and racism right out of the gate indicates that Moore is framing up another thoughtful sci-fi series.

Caprica could become another sacred text for sci-fi fans yearning for brainy television.

Other reviews and observations from: The Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly, NBC LA, Winnipeg Sun, Monsters and Critics, Complex Blog, Deseret News, Airlock Alpha, Philadelphia Daily News, The Jackson Sun, IGN, io9, Jimmy Akin, Motion Pictures Comics.Com, the Vancouver Sun, The Boston Herald, TrulyObscure, TrekWeb, and The House Next Door.

Televisionary talked to Caprica showrunner Jane Espenson. Ron Moore talked to The Insider. The Futon Critic reports on the Caprica Paley Fest event. Sci-Fi Wire has cast arrivals at that event. Actress Magda Apanowicz of Caprica spoke with The Ampersand and Hello Magazine.

Reuters examines killer robots.

Caprica Paley Video

The Paley Center has video from their Caprica event.











Much more from daphnesadventures's YouTube Channel.

See also a preview from PlayStation Pulse.

Caprica Reviewed

Yes, that's CSM with Joseph Adama.



Spoiler Alert: Watch a fan video showing a Cylon Centurion prototype in action from Caprica:


Lucas Siegel for Newsrama reviews Caprica:

The Caprica pilot episode hits DVD on Tuesday, and it is one hell of a tease. It’s a tease in the best possible way; that sweet first kiss that you just know in your heart will lead to more. It’s familiar, but new. Most of all, it’s an hour and a half of great entertainment, and something to keep Battlestar Galactica fans smiling after the show’s recent completion.

This new show is very clearly a product of the final season of BSG. Religious themes, which were littered across the entire series but became the true central theme of BSG are front and center here from the very beginning. The show takes place 58 years “before the fall” in a world that could be hours +10-20 years. Technology is just further enough along to place it firmly in the realms of science fiction, but the rest of everyday life is familiar enough to make it all very believable. This story is about the modern birth of the Cylons (Yes, that’s an acronym, and yes, you’ll hear the longform of it) and the families who created them. Like BSG before it, the SciFi elements are really background; they are necessary storytelling devices, but they clearly are there in support of the relationships.

This is of course the opening to something larger, as all pilots are. The presentation on DVD first was clearly to support the original vision. This is bloodier, more graphic in both violence and sex (including some nudity), and deals more directly with adult themes than the version that will eventually make it to TV in 2010.

...It’s hard to view this from the point of view of someone who never watched or worse didn’t enjoy BSG. For fans of the show, this will make an ample replacement/supplement, and should simply make those people very happy that they get to continue to explore this era of the universe. For those who never watched/didn’t like BSG, this certainly offers a more down-to-earth look at the world, but still centers around themes of religion, life and how it’s defined, morality, ethics, racism, and how people interact with one another, especially in the face of great tragedy. The presentation is similar enough that it will likely turn off anyone who didn’t enjoy the first show; after all, that’s what a spin-off is for. Seeing how this all fits into the larger tapestry of the universe that was established in 4 seasons of a beloved show is sure to intrigue fans, and this was a hell of a way to start things off.

The Wall St. Journal has an article on the use of robots by the military.

CAPRICA clip on SciFi Wire

Well whaddya know...the newly relaunched Sci Fi Wire blog has an exclusive clip from the CAPRICA pilot, of Lacy Rand introducing Daniel Graystone to the V-Club.

From the blog post: "Production on the series is slated to begin in the summer of 2009 in Vancouver, Canada, for a 2010 premiere."

Eric Stoltz talks to io9

io9 interviewed Eric Stoltz this week about CAPRICA and BLANK SLATE, his two projects at the Sci Fi Channel this season. Looks like Mr. Graystone gives good interview...he'll fit in here quite nicely methinks.

io9: I know you guys run into a bit of a conflict when you recreate your past loved ones mechanically, how does your character's reaction differ from Esai's?

ES: I'm not sure I should talk about this, as it involves spoilers.

io9: How would you describe Caprica to our readers (since they are very anxious to see it)?

ES: It's a show that takes place in the not-so-distant future, on a not-so-distant planet, that deals with a family struggling to stay together, class warfare, religion, and our never ending search for meaning in a world that over-values stimulation, consumerism, and facts.

Some Caprica Cast Spoke to TV Guide

Polly Walker, Eric Stoltz, and Paula Malcomson talked to TV Guide about Caprica.

More from the TCAs...part deux

From a Sci Fi interview with Ron Moore:

Ronald D. Moore, who co-created Fox's two-hour SF backdoor pilot film VIRTUALITY, told SCI FI Wire that the film is gearing up to shoot at the end of this month..."Virtuality is in preproduction," Moore said in an interview at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., on July 20. "We start shooting the end of the month. We've got a cast. Peter Berg's directing. It's for Fox. It's a completely different kind of show."

Virtuality will air as a movie of the week, Moore added.

That's an interesting tidbit at the end...combining this with Moore's other statements last night, and what Fox exec Peter Liguori was saying earlier in the week about VIRTUALITY, it sounds like the pilot/movie will be truly unusual television -- and everyone involved needs to see a finished product before there is any news about this going to series.

So cross yer fingers.



From The Live Feed:

Sci Fi had a panel for "Caprica" during the network's TCA session, where showrunner Ron Moore and cast members took the stage to answer questions from critics. The project has long been called a two-hour backdoor pilot, and is supposed to air sometime this fall. An upgrade to a series order would likely push its air date until sometime next year, a Sci Fi spokesperson says. Certainly the very act of paneling a mere pilot at the critics tour suggests network enthusiasm for the project.

Moore says that it won’t matter that people already know how the prequel story ends. In fact, he's counting on that to add suspense.

..." 'Caprica' is a different animal [from the current series]," he says. “It’s about a vibrant society that is at the height of its power and the height of its decadence. It’s going to come apart. It’s sort of like a roller coaster.”

The action will be firmly grounded on the planet of Caprica rather than lots of space-based jumping around between different locations. Executive producer David Eick said technological emphasis in the new show will be on artificial intelligence instead of space travel.

“That’s what’s new on this show, rather than space travel, which we take as an existing technology," Eick says.

From TV Week on CAPRICA:

"The tension comes from the fact that you know where it's going," said executive producer Ronald D. Moore.

"The idea is to say, 'All that you see here is doomed.' There's an ominous (tone)," he said.

Moore compared the situation to producers of war movies.

"You know how World War II is going to turn out. You know the Nazis are going to lose," he said. "That doesn't mean you can't tell compelling stories."

From a Sci Fi interview with CAPRICA cast member Eric Stolz:

Stoltz told SCI FI Wire that he will play Daniel Graystone, a wealthy computer whiz who bears a resemblance to a mogul in our universe.

"A lot like Bill Gates, only richer," Stoltz said in an interview.

..."I would say there are two poles that fuel the drama, but I'd be hard pressed one is a good guy and one is a bad guy," Stoltz said. "What it has similar with Battlestar is that there's a gray area. No character is all good or all bad. We all have our gray areas that we live within. But it's interesting that way: You're not quite sure who you should or shouldn't be rooting for."

Unlike Battlestar, Caprica takes place in a world not unlike our own, Stoltz added. "I think Caprica taking place 51 years before Battlestar happens, it's very similar to our society now," he said. "There are no flying cars. There are no spaceships. We're on an Earth-like planet. We wear the same clothes. We have similar problems. Ideally, people will be able to watch Caprica and think, 'This is similar to what we're [doing], to what's happening in the States right now.'"

From The TV Addict on CAPRICA:

The clip reel they showed during Sunday’s Television Press Tour Panel had a real detective / film noir look to it. Men wear suits, fedoras, and live in a world where people smoke and drink. Plus, they also apparently go to strip clubs, as there was a pretty clear shot of some side boobage. CAPRICA looks to be trying to up the “hot” factor with this spinoff. According to Remi Aubuchon, writer and executive producer, they weren’t specifically trying to emulate the look of MAD MEN, but he said that that show and CAPRICA do a “good job of making the viewer realize immediatelty that you’re looking at a different era.”

...Esai Morales, plays the father of Edward James Olmos’ William Adama character, and a young boy plays a version of Olmos’ character. Moore quipped, “Eddie wantd to do it. He came in doing one of those things where he’s on his knees with the shoes. He’s really upset that we didn’t use him.” When asked why we haven’t seen other Adama characters played by Hispanics, Moore said “Well, within the world of Battlestar Galactica, the Adama’s aren’t Hispanic. He’s an immigrant from a colony called Tauron, and he changes his name to Joseph Adama to try and assimilate himself.”

And, for fun, BSG writer/producer Mark Verheiden (who is currently working on an an additional CAPRICA script) adds his non-spoilery half a cent:

Nothing much I can add, except having read the pilot script, I'll just say Caprica is as fascinating, daring and intriguing as Battlestar, though in a completely different way. I know what you're thinking, what does THAT mean? Is it shot in Smell-o-vision? Do the characters speak backwards? Is it powerful, thought-provoking drama? If you picked "C", you win...

The Hollywood Reporter mentions that Sci Fi is expanding their brand:

Sci Fi has expanded and reorganized its wide-ranging businesses under a new umbrella, Sci Fi Ventures, it said Sunday at the TCA press tour...

In addition to the cable channel, Sci Fi Ventures is to include Sci Fi Media (SciFi.com, Dvice and Fidgit and a new theatrical film banner, Sci Fi Films); Sci Fi Games (a partnership with Trion Worldwide and an equity stake in BigPoint Games); Sci Fi Gear (licensed product lines); Sci Fi Publishing (Sci Fi/Virgin Comics); and Sci Fi Kids (fantasy and imaginative products for youngsters).

And...OT but fun: LA FEMME NIKITA fans out there take note, they mention working on an original movie featuring Peta Wilson.