Caprica

[next_to_normal]

So, penny_lane_42 asked to be convinced why she should love Caprica. I don't really have an answer for her, but between that and angearia's squee over early BSG, it's been on my mind, so I might as well write up my thoughts on the first season (or first half? Are they dividing up the seasons the way they did with BSG? All I know is that we're on a break right now).

Overall, unfortunately, my reaction is kind of "meh." I wanted to love it, because I love BSG, but it's just lacking something - and I'm not talking about space battles. I find myself not invested in any of the characters, except for the Zobot and the people around her. I'd love it if we got a whole show of just that, but the other plotlines really drag it down. And the sad thing is, some of it seems like it's ripe with untapped potential, but the show doesn't seem interested in exploring it.

Things started off "meh" when I wasn't interested in the pilot (which I watched on DVD when it first came out). I found my attention drifting, and I think it was just too long and too much set-up. Which were problems I had with the BSG miniseries, too, but I made it past that and fell in deep love with the show after the very first regular-length episode, so I was hopeful for the next episode of Caprica. I did like the pilot more the second time I watched it (when it aired on TV), but I've yet to have an episode where I was just blown away the way I was with "33."

I love a show with good world-building. It helped that I had a familiarity with it from BSG, but I'm enjoying the little tidbits we get that expand our knowledge of this alternate universe. I'm tickled by the retro fashion juxtaposed against the futuristic tech. I want to know more about the other colonies - on BSG we got a sense that there were race/class differences, and that's being expanded some here, but both shows are very Caprica-centric. (It seems kind of silly to say, "I want more of other planets!" when the show's called Caprica, but I liked the Little Tauron stuff, and I'm curious about Gemenon the monotheistic haven. There are eleven other colonies out there.)

Also - this is shallow, but I don't like the opening credits.

Zoe Graystone

Easily the most compelling storyline - and she's not even a real person! From a shallow special effects perspective, they've done some really cool things with the visual device of Alessandra Torresani standing in for the robot at times (and I like how it calls back the playing around with perception that was done on BSG with the head characters). In the miniseries, Zoe came off like kind of a bratty teenage girl, but I love the identity conflict inherent in the Zoe avatar - is she real? Is she Zoe? Or just a copy of her memories? (It touches on some of the themes I found most interesting in Dollhouse, in fact, before that became less about identity and more about defeating evil corporations.) And once she's put into the robot, the identity issues are compounded - Alan Sepinwall called it a "misunderstood monster story," and I think that's some of it, but it's also about a girl who's (quite understandably) not comfortable in the body she's in, which adds another dimension to the misunderstood monster.

I love love love her interactions with Daniel, especially the battle of wills when he was testing the robot. That was the most compelling part of the entire series so far, IMO. I also loved her relationship with Philomon. It was slightly creepy, and she was totally using him, but moments like the dancing in the lab totally sold me on it. I was crushed when Zobot accidentally killed him.

I was curious about original Zoe's plans for the avatar on Gemenon, but it seems like that is dragging along at a much slower pace than will keep my interest. At this point, we still don't know anything more about it, except that Sister Clarice wants the avatar, and Lacy was trying to get the robot to Gemenon to fulfill Zoe's plans.

Daniel Graystone

I really only find him interesting in relation to Zoe. In the beginning, he was interesting when interacting with Joe Adama, but they haven't had nearly enough scenes together. I can't really feel sympathy for him that Vergis is trying to take away everything he loves, nor am I invested in the outcome of the stolen MCP chip and the government contract. And any sympathy I had for him losing his daughter went out the window with the cold-blooded tests he put the robot through. On the one hand, I applaud a show with the balls to have a main character who's basically evil, but I'd also appreciate it if they gave me something I could be invested in with his character. Right now, I'm mostly in the position of rooting for him to fail - though, given the way he treats the robot, I'm starting to understand exactly why the Cylons decided to rebel and kill everybody. :)

Amanda Graystone

I am paralyzed with not caring about this character. She's got potential, I suppose - I was intrigued when she didn't immediately throw Sister Clarice out of the house when she found out Clarice is a monotheist, and I thought there might be some religious exploration in her future, trying to understand her daughter by finding out why STO appealed to her. But no, instead we went the route of crazy with a side of dead brother, and I could not care less if she survived the jump off that bridge.

Joseph Adama

Another big heaping mass of wasted potential. Esai Morales is a very good actor, I know he can do more than look confused and/or constipated. I appreciated the tragic irony of him discovering that Tamara was in the V-world just when he'd finally said goodbye to her and his wife, but I didn't realize quite how tragically boring it would be to have to watch him wander through V-world looking for her, high on virtual drugs. I didn't even care about the identity of Emmanuelle, and finding out it was his love-struck assistant didn't help. I really hope he gets a better plotline in the next stretch.

Tamara Adama

I'm sensing a theme here. I thought there was a lot of potential (drink!) for Tamara in the V-world. It's different for Zoe, who understood how and why she was created, but Tamara, coming to grips with the fact that she's dead and only exists in the V-world, is in a whole new realm of trauma. But I feel like they dropped the ball somewhere, and Tamara's development from the frightened girl living a nightmare to the superpowered, rational girl who shot herself and then her father in New Cap City felt rather... abrupt. I did love the idea that she would make that sacrifice - alone and scared in a strange virtual world she can't escape, I'm sure the poor girl wants nothing more than to be with her daddy, but what it's doing to him is unbearable. I just wish we could've delved into her character more.

Sam and Willy Adama

I don't really have much to say about them, since they seem to have been downgraded to zero importance ever since the Tamara chase started. I do see how Sam's influence (and Joseph's neglect) led to Willy growing up to be the Bill Adama we know and love, so that's kind of cool. (It's also quite evident that Lee inherited his woobie indecisiveness from his grandfather.) But that's not enough, and I hope to see more of the Adama family unit interacting (the live ones, that is) in future episodes.

Lacy and the STO

I feel like this is another storyline that's mostly just... yeah, the p-word again. We're moving so incrementally slowly - although we did take a giant leap forward with the last episode, when Lacy officially became a terrorist. Of course, it helps that James Marsters is involved, and he does play evil menace very, very well. (Did anyone else think that when he told Lacy she'd have a chance to "show him her gratitude," there was going to be sex involved? JM does that to my brain - everything is about sex.) Anyway, I am curious, moving forward, how Lacy will cope with being somewhat unwillingly drawn into a terrorist group, all for the sake of a virtual copy of her best friend - who, last we saw, was kinda mean to her.

Sister Clarice

What a waste. Seriously, other than the bit where she kicked Barnabus around, I would not have missed this character at all if she'd disappeared from the show completely. I feel bad saying it, but I was a little bit sorry she wasn't in the car when it blew up. They really missed an opportunity there. (Alan Sepinwall pointed out how amusing it would be if her husband - aka paralyzed quarterback Jason Street on FNL - were to somehow survive the car bombing, lose the use of his legs, and try out for the Caprica City wheelchair Pyramid team. Hee!)

Apparently, she was supposed to be more of a Gaius Baltar character, combining the villain and the comic relief, but that obviously didn't work and now it seems like she's neither. The distinction between the opposing factions of the STO could be interesting, except that Sister Clarice's Big Love group seems to be woefully ineffectual, and other than evil Barnabus, the militant faction just seems to stand around and wait for things to blow up. (However, the parallel with the division of Cylons into the Demand Love movement and the ones who still want to kill everybody is not lost on me.)

Comments

[alexeia-drae.livejournal.com]

My thoughts on Caprica are so muddled, though like you I'm having a hard time getting into a lot of the characters. Actually, I'm really stumped to even name a favorite character. While I find some of the plotlines interesting, the fact that a lot of them are making really stupid choices annoys me somewhat. And while BSG had trouble from time with time with characterization (the big example I have of this is Lee and Dee suddenly falling in love), this show is starting to take the cake. One minute Tamara sends that boy to find her father, and then suddenly she doesn't want to be found by him?

Though regarding Willy Adama, there's some interesting theories going on there, but I won't expound on them because if true they're very spoilery.

Agree that the pilot was not that interesting. And I've been having this thing where I find one episode good and compelling but during the next one I'm watching the clock. Though I disagree about the opening. I love it to pieces:-) I am interested enough in the fallout from the latest episode to tune in again when it starts up, but I don't think that I'm going to like it as much as BSG.

[next_to_normal]

One minute Tamara sends that boy to find her father, and then suddenly she doesn't want to be found by him?

I admit, I was confused whether she was deliberately hiding from him or not. I don't know why she would be, but then why was it so hard for Adama to find her? (I feel like his secretary was manipulating it all somehow, but it wasn't well explained, and honestly, I don't care.) If she wasn't deliberately hiding, and only just found out in the last episode, then I can understand her changing her mind - she wanted to see him, but when she realized what V-world was doing to him, she had to do what was best for him and make sure he could never come back.

Though regarding Willy Adama, there's some interesting theories going on there, but I won't expound on them because if true they're very spoilery.

Oooh, I am intrigued, and not invested enough to mind spoilers. Do you have links?

[alexeia-drae.livejournal.com]

Here's the link: <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/battlestar_blog/1934250.html</a>The Willy Conundrum</a> and <a>Blowing the Hatch</a>

[alexeia-drae.livejournal.com]

Argh, forgot the link on the second one. Sleepy today. Blowing the Hatch (http://www.cliqueclack.com/tv/2010/02/09/frakkin-clack-caprica-has-a-potential-upcoming-blow-the-hatch-moment/)

And I can't code today either. That's it, I'm taking a nap.

[next_to_normal]

Thanks for the links! It's very interesting, but my instinct is to say they're just grasping at straws to fix minor continuity issues. I'm a Joss Whedon fan, so I know from sloppy continuity *g* and I'm guessing this is going to be a lot like the supposed Daniel conspiracy in BSG S4 with people latching onto things that don't mean anything and giving them supreme importance.

Plus, those links say that the "major, head-spinning shocker" will happen "before the end of the first batch of episodes" - well, we just finished the first batch of episodes. I'm guessing the major shocker was supposed to be Tamara shooting herself and Joseph, not anything to do with Willy.

[ayinhara.livejournal.com]

I recorded a few of the episodes and then couldn't bring myself to watch them. I watched the first one where JM appeared as Barnabas. I wasn't inspired to watch the next two episodes. Boring! Very uninteresting characters, etc. just like eowyn_315 said.

[next_to_normal]

I'm sticking with it for the time being - partly out of loyalty to BSG, and partly because I do see a lot of potential, and I'm hoping that eventually the show will do something with it. The Zoe stuff reassures me that they can do awesome things if they want to, so I'm still hopeful.

[2maggie2.livejournal.com]

You're reacting much as I do. I was rooting for Amanda to jump and disappointed when it turned out Clarisse wasn't in the car. It's not good when you are hoping that a good portion of the major cast dies in the first half of the first season!

[next_to_normal]

LOL, no, that's not really a good sign. On the other hand, they did manage to make me feel a loss when Philomon died, so they must be doing something right...

[eilowyn.livejournal.com]

The thing about Caprica is there are no awesome characters. Spike was an awesome character, Buffy was an awesome character. I would watch either character read the phone book and find it compelling. Starbuck was an awesome character, Roslin and Adama were awesome characters. Gaius Baltar was awesome in a completely absurd way. They are characters who categorically the label "awesome" applies to - and they are what make a show compelling. Unfortunately, from the beginning, there are no categorically awesome characters in Caprica.

There are characters I'd watch because I'm familiar with other awesome work the actors have done (hello! Barnabas! and to a lesser extent, hello! Clarisse - Atia in Rome was an awesome character and I never miss an opportunity to quote Hannibal Lecter), but no awesome characters in their own right. I keep hoping someone will turn out awesome, but I'm not seeing it - most awesome characters are awesome right from the beginning (knocking down the Sunnydale sign - how awesome was that?), and they rarely grow into awesomeness (I think Anya was more awesome as the story went along and she gained more self-confidence, but YMMV).

Awesomeness is something necessary in order to get the audience to care. Right now, I don't care about Caprica, because there is a lack of awesomeness. And I really, really feel bad about that, because Jane Espenson? When she's not writing comics, she is the epitome of awesomeness to me.

[next_to_normal]

Hmm, that's a good point. I think Zoe could be an awesome character, but right now she suffers a little bit from Echo Syndrome - she's not real. I do care about her, but up until the last couple episodes, it seemed like there was no real way for her to be awesome if she's mostly stuck observing and trying to manipulate people to do things for her. I am really interested in what happens to her, though.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

I didn't enjoy the pilot, either, and I felt alone in that. It wasn't bad...it just wasn't good, either.

And I would love to see more of the other planets. Maybe like a political-based show? I always found the politics on BSG more interesting than real-life ones.

Also - this is shallow, but I don't like the opening credits.
YES.

I love your thoughts on Zoe, as they are mine, from her being annoying originally to all the interesting things about her position later.

(Did anyone else think that when he told Lacy she'd have a chance to "show him her gratitude," there was going to be sex involved? JM does that to my brain - everything is about sex.) Tis true. Plus, wouldn't she be his type, age-wise? OMG I AM SO BAD.

Anyway, I am curious, moving forward, how Lacy will cope with being somewhat unwillingly drawn into a terrorist group, all for the sake of a virtual copy of her best friend This right here could be genuinely interesting. I'd love to see more of that.

I kind of hate Clarice a whole, whole lot.

Apparently, she was supposed to be more of a Gaius Baltar character, combining the villain and the comic relief, but that obviously didn't work WHAT.

Anyway, I enjoyed your thoughts!

[next_to_normal]

And I would love to see more of the other planets.

Well, we may be in luck. From io9: Think this show is just about Caprica and Tauron? Think again! Ron Moore says Scorpia will be mentioned frequently, and Sagittaron will become a hotbed of terrorist activity. "Gemenon is also a very important planet, probably the most important besides Tauron and Caprica, because it's the homebase for the monotheism movement and is the most religiously-oriented of the colonies and a lot of the conflict in the colonies is coming out of Gemenon."

I remain hopeful...

Plus, wouldn't she be his type, age-wise? OMG I AM SO BAD.

OMG YOU ARE BUT SO TRUE.

[ravenholdt.livejournal.com]

Huh.
Yeah...yeah....uh huh.
There is almost nothing that you wrote, that I didnt agree with.
I am trying to enjoy Caprica, but its feeling very sterile and overly dramatic to me.

[next_to_normal]

Hee! Glad you agree. :)