Thank the Gods for Caprica. So Say We All!

Oh, how I had hoped Caprica, the new Sci-Fi original series – Battlestar Galactica prequel – set to air in 2010, would not suck. When I heard the news that season four would be Battlestar Galactica’s (The Best Show in the History of EVER) last, I was sad. Then I watched 4.0 as it aired and was devastated. How could I not have this show to look forward to for 2-3 months of Fridays every year? During season 4.5 it became my “don’t call here, don’t bug me, and no I’m not cooking tonight” show.

I savored every episode. Some four or five times. When I played Halo 3 online I began to refer to the map displaying bad guys as Dradis. I answered the house phone, “Galactica actual,” and I’d been known to cuss a motherfrakker the frak out. I’ve watched the series finale about 15 times and I refuse to delete season 4.5 from the bedroom TiVo until I have the complete series on Blu-Ray this summer. Yes, I might have to sell an ovary to afford it, but hey, I already have two kids (a girl and a boy) and besides, I have another one. My Rock Band name is Caprica and my band’s name is The Final Five Cylons. (Don’t judge me!)

I cried like Gimpy Gaeta when Anders shot in him in the leg as the show ended and the only thing to keep me from going completely insane with grief was the knowledge that I still had Battlestar Galactica: The Plan to look forward to this fall, and Caprica in 2010.

“Please God, don’t let Caprica suck. Let it be good. And let enough of us diehard BSG fans watch faithfully so that the SciFi Network won’t pull a bonehead move and cancel it after like, three episodes. Please God don’t let me have to go black girl crazy and cut somebody.”

Last night, Donny came home with the DVD pilot of Caprica and I was afraid to watch it. I needed this to be good. I needed it to be great. It did not disappoint. I watched it twice last night and another three times this morning.

Caprica is set 58 years before the fall of the 12 colonies. Daniel Greystone (Eric Stoltz) is like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates rolled into one. He’s perfecting his Cybernetic Life Form Nodes (Cylons) when his teenage daughter Zoe (Alessandra Torenson) dies suddenly. After her death, Daniel discovers that he wasn’t the only brain in the family dabbling in artificial life.

Zoe Greystone

Joseph Adams/Adama (Esai Morales), an attorney, has also lost a daughter and through their mutual grief the two men embark on a journey that questions religion, death, life after death, and playing God (or Gods.)

I think fans of BSG (as the cool kids call it) will be satisfied. It has that same blend of drama and sci-fi that worked so well on Galactica. One of the things that made BSG so appealing was it’s rich history. It’s a sign of a great show that we know how it ends, yet we are still interested in seeing how it began. And once Caprica begins, you stay interested.

Yeah, I was a little disappointed that there were’t more… connections to BSG, but it’s a different show and I know I gotta “let it go.” The only character on Caprica that existed on BSG is young Willie Adams/Adama… and he’s 11! I found myself thinking early on, “Right now, the final five Cylons are on their way to warn humanity. Too bad they won’t arrive for at least another 20 years and we know how that ends up.”

I love that we see the origins of Cylons (at least the 12 colonies’ version) and their belief in the one true God. I love that Caprica looked different than the Caprica we saw in flashbacks during BSG’s run. Things change in six decades. This new vision of Caprica looks old-timey, yet sophisticated. It looks like a culture on the verge of big changes and innovations.

Was I the only one that immediately went to Adama giving Apollo his grandfather's lighter when watching this scene?

I wondered whether it was a coincidence that two of the people most responsible for the attack on the colonies (Greystone and Baltar) lived in damn near identical homes/areas. Unfortunately, though entertaining, the commentary by Ronald Moore, David Eick, and director Jeffrey Reiner didn’t touch on that – but we do learn that the V-Club seen throughout the pilot is the same as the Opera House in BSG.

There’s lots of good stuff here – Adama and Greystone are both tortured and driven to do bad things in order to hold on to pieces of their beloved daughters, the early Centurions, great acting by Alessandra Torenson, and wonderful music by Bear McCreary. Seriously, can he just score every show on TV from now on? I found myself restarting the show to have it play while I did homework, just to hear the fabulous music.

My only complaint? We have to wait for 2010 to find out what happens next.