Caprica - S01E09 - End of Line

Although "Caprica" has had it's fair share of problems, I'm proud to announce that this episode along with the previous episode "Ghosts in the Machine", are in my opinion, two of the strongest episodes yet. That's not to say the show has completely found it's groove yet.

Spoilers ahead.

The flash forward teaser device used in "End of Line" was problematic for me. Firstly, Battlestar absolutely butchered it by featuring it in like... seventy-three of their teasers, usually just for adding an element of suspense and mystery to episodes that apparently didn't have enough. I just felt there was so much going on in this episode, that the convergence of a few of the plots into a huge cliffhanger would have been better without the Robot Zoe escaping flash forward. It just felt a little redundant. That's one of my only criticisms in a great episode.

The show seems to be finding itself by raising stakes and upping the emotional content of the show. The scattered plot-threads seem to be going somewhere now instead of just floating around. I had a much larger tolerance to this than a lot of other viewers. I can see what the show is trying to pull off, and I admire the writers for creating a highly ambitious show with a huge cast and an attempt at a filmic visual style. Some of the editing and visuals are shaky, like Zoe's life flashing before her eyes just before she pummels into a police road block. The memory flashes before that were emotional, but it just got silly at the end. Perhaps it was a good idea, but it just didn't look or feel right. Anyway, I feel like their vision is finally coming to fruition, and I love the idea that a sci-fi television show doesn't have to be formulaic or action-driven. I love that it can be a huge prime-time soap opera reminiscent of those from the 80's such as Dallas as well as a having deeply flawed characters and exploring larger themes. There is no pressure on the writers to have characters that are genuinely good and don't do bad things. Sister Clarice is an unlikeable character who does bad things and who seems to be featured a great deal in the series. Which says a lot, considering the massive cast. However, I still don't see her as a villain - nor any other of the characters. It's just a massive shade of grey.

Joseph Adama's quest actually seemed to be heading in the right direction this episode. However, the whole story was wasted by the absurd reveal of his secretary/assistant playing his guide in New Cap City. I didn't even mind the slow and paper-thin execution of the plot, but this mid-way 'twist' really pissed me off. Just when I thought the story was picking up steam... In a futuristic society a father loses his daughter and then tries to find her avatar in a highly immersive and technologically advanced MMORPG. Does this story really sounds like it needs an obsessed secretary in it? I wonder if the rest of this story will play out in V-World or the real world? Is this it for Joseph and Tamara? I really hope they sweep the secretary under the rug and fix this story about a father looking for his daughter. What would suck is if Tamara began to have scenes by herself in V-World. Part of what held my interest was the fact that we didn't see her very often. It helped us feel Joseph's confusion and loss and kept her true situation a mystery.

The writers sped up the pacing on the Amanda's erratic behaviour which has been evident since the pilot. This was presumably to to ramp up the stakes and drama for the mid-season finale. I just wish her arc leading up to this was planned out with more care. I appreciate that the story connected with Daniel's morally bankrupt business decision but I can't help but feel it may have hit harder if the plot progressed with the series, as opposed to the last two episodes. Amanda finding out about Daniel's involvement in theft and murder was only the thing that pushed her over the edge - understandably so, as her only friend, who is a religious, fundamentalist terrorist is just using her to access Daniel's technology, just happens to be going out of town when Amanda actually needs her. That, along with completely losing the emotional safety she believed she had with Daniel was the catalyst for her attempted suicide. Aside from losing her daughter she feels she barely knew, she has hallucinations of her deceased brother. Amanda was in the car with her brother when they were in a car crash, and that after he died, Amanda was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Her hallucinations consist of her brother appearing and then beckoning to her, before walking off. She tries to catch up to him but never does. This is a classic dream trope, however the scenes obviously aren't dreams, so I hope there isn't a supernatural explanation. I have a feeling it will be explained through some pseudo-scientific theory relating to Daniel's technology. That seems like a strong possibility at this point - unless Amanda is really insane. And it's an idea that could possibly tie-in to the rest of the show, so, we'll see... But I firmly believe Amanda isn't dead and that she will probably be admitted again and we'll see her at a very low-point as she comes to grips with her past and present.

One of the more shocking events in the episode was Robot Zoey killing Philomon while escaping from the lab. If I ever had reservations about the show being truly dark for sci-fi television, they are now gone. Philomon is a good character who genuinely feels out of place among the rest of the scumbag cast. This was purposeful so as to make his death seem that much more tragic. It's hammered home when Daniel's reaction to his close colleague's death in his own lab, caused by his own technology, is a mere "Poor kid". I love how "Caprica" doesn't attend to the television convention that all lead characters have to care about each other as much as they do about themselves.

Barnabas Greeley played by James Marsters (Spike from "Buffy" and "Angel") is the closest thing "Caprica" has to a real villain so far. He's a manipulative terrorist who plans to blow up Sister Clarice and tricks Lacy into helping him. Hopefully now she realises her naivety, even though, she's done the deed and is now well under Barnabas' thumb. Of course, his plan fails as fate would have it, when Clarice exits her car during a traffic jam because she can see Amanda standing on the edge of a huge bridge. The bomb goes off, and I suppose we assume Nestor is dead. I'm not sure why the character was killed off, as he didn't yet get a chance to do anything on the show. Which is a shame because Scott Porter turned an outstanding performance on "Friday Night Lights". Here's hoping Nestor makes it out alive but paralyzed, and in a wheel chair.

I like how the traffic jam was probably caused by Robot Zoe's escape and that Sister Clarice was saved due to Amanda's attempted suicide. The attempt to link these for a big operatic cliffhanger was somewhat effective. The fact that the show still doesn't really have a rhythm is problematic, but it's also part of it's charm. To have a huge cast with plenty of stories running parallel like an old school soap-opera is awesome, and then to attempt to converge them is even cooler. But I'm not quite sure it works yet, and I really hope it does because I know there's a very good show in "Caprica".

What did you guys think? Thoughts? Predictions?

Caprica - S01E01 - Pilot

Caprica is a spin-off prequel to the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica that ran on the The Sci-Fi (SyFy) Channel for a miniseries, four seasons, and two TV movies. However, this is a different show - one that, in my view, will completely polarize the fan base.

So, the prequel takes place 58 years before the devastating beginning of Battlestar Galactica. The show centers around two families, the Graystone's and the Adama's. The patriarchs of the families come together after they share a family tragedy. Eric Stoltz (Once and Again) plays Daniel Graystone, the man responsible for developing the Cylons. He is working on an early model when family tragedy strikes and he then dives headfirst into developing his machine and exploring it's capabilities. Paula Malcomson (Deadwood, John from Cincinnati) plays his wife Amanda Greystone, incredibly well and gives huge depth and credibility to her character and the show. With weaker actors playing the parts of this couple, the show would be much less genuine. They're daughter Zoe is played well by Alessandra Torresani who will likely be a very prominent and key character in the series. On the other side of the tracks is Joseph Adama played by Esai Morales (NYPD Blue). The Adama's are the more lower-class of the two families and that dynamic always has a lot of potential - it creates a large scope. He and his son, William Adama, who we all know from Battlestar, also suffer great loss and it's with this that the two fathers find common ground. However, it seems that they're friendship is not long for this world... They have opposing views on the work that Graystone does, and also the setup is in motion to make them rivals, as is typically the case in big prime time soaps like Dallas, etc. Adama's brother is an enforcer for the mob which gives the series another aspect to explore. It will also bring some moral complexity to this family as the Graystone's have their technological advancements. Joseph Adama will probably be tasked with making very big decisions for his family. There is all sorts of potential for him to get in trouble with the mob or in too deep with them.

My initial thoughts on the pilot were very positive. I mean, this felt like a very mature show, or at least, has the potential to be. I know a lot of people will disagree with the sentiment, but please, look below the surface. Execution makes a show adult or mature, not subject matter or premise or setting. I just feel the show to be extremely character-driven and the driving force of the show so far has been a couple of families dealing with personal tragedy. I know Battlestar also had characters dealing with that off the bat too, however, there were immediate external problems that 'grounded' the character stuff. It's hard to make a large claim on the execution of a show after just a pilot, as the show hasn't yet settled into any rhythm or formula. But if I had to make an educated guess I would say it will run in the same way a prime time soap would - and trust me, that's not a bad thing.

If you're a fan of great drama and science-fiction then I advise that you check this one out. However, if you like your sci-fi nerdy and with a lot of special effects, then this is absolutely, definitely not for you.