An Evening With Caprica

Those of us who made it to the CAPRICA panel event at the New York Paley Center tonight got an unexpected treat: advance screenings of both this week's new episode and next week's mid-season finale! Unfortunately for me, I was late and only got to see the latter (written by BSG alum Michael Taylor btw). It was... astoundingly action-packed, with cliffhangers galore! Also, you get the unique joy of seeing James Marsters say the words: SO SAY WE ALL. Frak yeah.

The Q&A panel after the screening with Ron Moore, David Eick, Syfy's Mark Stern, and castmembers Esai Morales, Sasha Roiz, Alessandra Torressani and Magda Apanowicz was a lot of fun and quite informative. Those Adama brothers are a hoot...

A couple of highlights gleaned at the panel:
- No one would say exactly when the second half of CAPRICA season one will air (although SyFy has apparently told the press October 2010). And despite the rumors from earlier this month, no one mentioned CAPRICA getting renewed, or any other new BSG spinoff ideas. Keep your fingers crossed.
- Ron Moore confirmed that we will visit two other colonies in the next set of episodes after the hiatus: Gemenon and Tauron.
- When asked if an ending has already been worked out for this series, Moore and Eick say they have not done that yet, it is too soon. They see around six organic endpoints, each is a landmark event within the timeline between the current present on the show through to the events of the BSG miniseries.
- Esai Morales says that big changes are afoot for Joseph Adama in the back half of the season, following some crucial developments we saw tonight in the mid-season finale.
- Sasha Roiz got his role as Sam Adama after auditioning for the role of Tomas Vergis (Graystone's business rival). James Marsters was being considered originally for the role of Vergis as well... but his unique talents seemed much more suited to Barnabus.
- To answer a question I got this evening: NO, Michelle Forbes does not have a cameo in CAPRICA 109. That's just someone who looks like her a bit.

OK I'm tired. Goodnight for now -- meanwhile, for the rest of you who attended tonight, please leave your (NON SPOILERY) thoughts in the comments. Did you enjoy this week's new episode? Did anyone post panel video on youtube yet? Etc.

ETA Thursday AM:

The Paley Center did a great livetweet of the event last night.

At the Syfy upfronts this week, Esai Morales elaborated further to io9 about "the wringer" Joe Adama will go through in 1.5, and says that CAPRICA's renewal is still up in the air:

We don't know when we're going to get picked up, so my choices are limited – I can't go out for pilots, but I don't want to because I really enjoy [Caprica]. I enjoy doing television for people with brains. ...I like that the show makes you think, and it sells ideas. It sells questions. It sells perspectives. Do you believe in one god or many or none? There's no good or bad – there's good or bad deeds. As they say in the Bible, God loves the sinner, not the sin. ...This show makes you think. If you want to scratch the surface, you'll get something more than backdrop.

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.

Off The Wireless

Artist/designer Roy Wasson Valle has a thing for cylon-ified tchotckes: unicorns... Easter bunnies… cats... even Cylon Raider Christmas lights. You can have some of it for yourself, with this tee design pictured above. Order shirts here; but according to the designer’s flickr entry, the red version will soon be discontinued. (Via Onion AV Club)

Congrats to Edward James Olmos for winning the ALMA Award this weekend for Outstanding Actor in a Drama TV Series. You can see him accept his award when the taped show is broadcast on ABC, Friday September 12th. Meanwhile, dryope has posted some nice photos of him at the ceremony. Cross your fingers for Esai Morales, who is nominated for an Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actor on a TV Series. The Imagen winners will be announced on August 21st.

Variety has pieces on Emmy-nominated Drama Series writers this week, including Michael Angeli for BSG's "Six Of One." The article discussing background research includes this quote:

With its outer-space setting, "Battlestar Galactica" is also ripe for research finds, but writer Michael Angeli notes that while science advisers ensure writers adhere to the laws of physics, his research usually involves classical literature, Westerns and history.

"Those have struggles of obsession, survival and possession, which we feel is what the show is really about," Angeli says.

"If we go to the Bible, a Western or the transcripts of the trial for Saddam Hussein -- which we did at the end of season three -- we can look for cultural differences, questions of race, gender, class, conspicuous consumption and sex," he adds. "We like to touch on the idea of what it means to be human."

* ears perk up at mention of Hussein trial transcripts *

Sci Fi Wire has a second piece from John Sullivan on the set of the VIRTUALITY pilot, focusing on the characters and plot details. The article is more spoiler-filled than the previous one; if you prefer to come to a new show without too much advance information, as a way of enjoying being surprised, you might want to skip it. Although this part is important:

The show's world is deliberately very small, very claustrophobic. The point of the show is not space adventure or gadgets or cool alien ships: It's more about straight character drama in an SF setting. Virtuality is an ensemble show that's mainly about getting to know the characters aboard Phaeton and seeing how they deal with very intense pressures and unpredictable challenges.

SciFi Wire posted the above shot of The Phaeton, which I have seen on other sci-fi sites a with a "(c) Fox TV" underneath. But I am really not sure this is an actual concept art piece from the show, or some sort of fanart...and SciFi Wire doesn't seem to be sure either. Can anyone out there confirm?

Lucy Lawless is giving a concert to benefit the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation, in San Francisco on September 27. More info here at Flawless Diva.

Folks at this month’s GenCon got to preview the new BSG board game from Fantasy Flight Games; this blogger shot some video of gameplay, and this Board Game Geek forum member wrote up both short and long form reviews.

Canada's first Olympic athlete to win a gold medal this summer, wrestler Carol Huynh, is a BSG fan. And so, apparently, is world-reknowned artist Takashi Murakami.

This curious livejournalist fan poked around Amazon UK and found a photo of the UK box art for BSG season 4.0 DVD, slated to hit the street October 8th. She also found that a season 1-4 box set is scheduled for release, and there is already a box art image on Amazon's site. One would assume that would not be released till some time in the second half of 2009. As previously posted, the latest on the US version of season 4.0 is (A RUMOR) that it will debut December 30th. As with all prior DVD releases, the US version is always worth the wait as it will be packed with extras (unlike the bare-bones international DVD versions).

Thanks to fans who post on the battlestar blog, we also learned that Canadian channel SPACE is re-broadcasting all of Seasons 1 through 4, every Monday through Thursday at 2pm and 6pm PT, starting September 8th.

Also, don't forget that the Universal HD Channel here in the states will be running season 4.0 in HD beginning August 30th.