Review of "Caprica" pilot
Non-spoiler quick review:
Perhaps it was because I came into this with hideously low expectations (following the trainwreck of Battlestar Galactica's series finale), but I didn't think Caprica was half bad.
I mean, it can't compare to the pilot of BSG (perhaps it's unfair to expect it to), but it was just fine as a standalone prequel piece. It added texture and backstory to the BSG universe, and although it certainly wasn't perfect, it wasn't boring. It probably could've even been drawn out an extra 30-90 minutes (to resolve open plot lines) and I would've been OK with that.
However, I really think it would be a mistake to go any further with it. There really is no place left for it to go as a series. Well, no place good, anyway. Yet Sci-Fi channel and RDM have Season 1 already in production...
Lightly spoiled detailed review:
So initially I was warned off Caprica for two reasons - the "teen scene" factor and the use of religion.
I can't argue with the teen scream complaint too much - and I have a gut feeling that when the series comes to fruition, we'll see even more of that. But the pilot did keep it in check, to a degree. Although I'm not sure I buyKelly Osbourne Zoe Greystone as a cybernetics genius who surpassed her father in brilliance.
On the religion topic, it actually seemed like a more appropriate use than it had been in BSG - when it's mentioned, there's no implication about prophecy being filled or whatnot. It was presented more in a sociological light - as in, the crazy things people do/think for their unsubstantiated irrational beliefs. And, I might add, if there is a "main character" to this series, it is Joseph Adama (née Adams née Adama), who declares his atheism very early in the show. Like father, like son (and likely, grandson).
BSG-universe backstory fill-in, in case you missed it:
- The Joseph Adama legal career referenced in BSG started with Joseph being basically a mob lawyer. Also, the Adamas are transplants from Tauron living on Caprica. Joseph's family was killed in an uprising on that world.
- The term "Cylon" was coined by Daniel Greystone as a very clumsy acronym ("cybernetic life-form node") that smacks of rear-view-mirroring.
- The reason monotheism is the religion of the centurions is that Zoe Greystone (the first cylon) happened to belong to that cult.
Nitpick:
This Caprica setting (58 years before the fall, 18-ish before the 1st Cylon war) is a hell of a lot more advanced, technologically, than Battlestar was. Computers on pieces of paper? Floating robot butlers? Holodecks (in effect)? And the Battlestar world has white boards and tractor-feed printers?
Oh, I know what some might say - much of the technology was lost in the fall, and humans were wary of technololgy after the first cylon war. But I don't buy it - I'm sure someone on one of those luxury liners would've had one of those paper-sheet computers on them, and I doubt the military would pass up the chance to hoard technology for future conflicts. But then again, the population of the BSG universe are a very stupid lot indeed - recall how they sent their ships into the sun and went completely "native" on New Earth, despite what history tells us about survival rates & expected lifespan in such an environment.
So in summary, I enjoyed learning how certain arcs were set in motion, but I don't think a whole series is in order, or even advisable. I didn't find the characters in Caprica as strong as Battlestar's cast, and it seems to me that forcing this pilot into a series would spend more time in teen angst and social commentary than sci-fi.
Perhaps it was because I came into this with hideously low expectations (following the trainwreck of Battlestar Galactica's series finale), but I didn't think Caprica was half bad.
I mean, it can't compare to the pilot of BSG (perhaps it's unfair to expect it to), but it was just fine as a standalone prequel piece. It added texture and backstory to the BSG universe, and although it certainly wasn't perfect, it wasn't boring. It probably could've even been drawn out an extra 30-90 minutes (to resolve open plot lines) and I would've been OK with that.
However, I really think it would be a mistake to go any further with it. There really is no place left for it to go as a series. Well, no place good, anyway. Yet Sci-Fi channel and RDM have Season 1 already in production...
Lightly spoiled detailed review:
So initially I was warned off Caprica for two reasons - the "teen scene" factor and the use of religion.
I can't argue with the teen scream complaint too much - and I have a gut feeling that when the series comes to fruition, we'll see even more of that. But the pilot did keep it in check, to a degree. Although I'm not sure I buy
On the religion topic, it actually seemed like a more appropriate use than it had been in BSG - when it's mentioned, there's no implication about prophecy being filled or whatnot. It was presented more in a sociological light - as in, the crazy things people do/think for their unsubstantiated irrational beliefs. And, I might add, if there is a "main character" to this series, it is Joseph Adama (née Adams née Adama), who declares his atheism very early in the show. Like father, like son (and likely, grandson).
BSG-universe backstory fill-in, in case you missed it:
- The Joseph Adama legal career referenced in BSG started with Joseph being basically a mob lawyer. Also, the Adamas are transplants from Tauron living on Caprica. Joseph's family was killed in an uprising on that world.
- The term "Cylon" was coined by Daniel Greystone as a very clumsy acronym ("cybernetic life-form node") that smacks of rear-view-mirroring.
- The reason monotheism is the religion of the centurions is that Zoe Greystone (the first cylon) happened to belong to that cult.
Nitpick:
This Caprica setting (58 years before the fall, 18-ish before the 1st Cylon war) is a hell of a lot more advanced, technologically, than Battlestar was. Computers on pieces of paper? Floating robot butlers? Holodecks (in effect)? And the Battlestar world has white boards and tractor-feed printers?
Oh, I know what some might say - much of the technology was lost in the fall, and humans were wary of technololgy after the first cylon war. But I don't buy it - I'm sure someone on one of those luxury liners would've had one of those paper-sheet computers on them, and I doubt the military would pass up the chance to hoard technology for future conflicts. But then again, the population of the BSG universe are a very stupid lot indeed - recall how they sent their ships into the sun and went completely "native" on New Earth, despite what history tells us about survival rates & expected lifespan in such an environment.
So in summary, I enjoyed learning how certain arcs were set in motion, but I don't think a whole series is in order, or even advisable. I didn't find the characters in Caprica as strong as Battlestar's cast, and it seems to me that forcing this pilot into a series would spend more time in teen angst and social commentary than sci-fi.
Tags: sci-fi
Mood: 
okay
Labels: battlestar galactica, caprica
posted by Skunque at
10:48 AM
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