WormholeRiders

Welcome Caprica Fans.

I hope you enjoyed Friday’s episode of Caprica as much as I did. Starting off things with a bang, another bombing occurs which Agent Durham believes is another message from the Soldiers of The One (STO). Agent Durham was able to secure a search warrant for the Athenian Academy, with media in tow, and another for the Graystone’s home.

Back at Sister Clarice’s home, we get a further peek into what a bisexual group marriage looks like. At least on this particular evening, four in the group are waking up together: Clarice and Desiree have a good morning exchange while Nestor and Olaf are greeting each other for the day. Then Desiree moves over as Nestor takes her place, sharing a good morning exchange with each other in the process, and ending with Clarice greeting Nestor and Olaf snuggling with Desiree. Clarice receives an urgent call and rushes from the bed.

Dressed and walking about Caprica City, Clarice bumps into a messenger who tells her on her computer sheet that the school is about to be raided. She dumps the computer sheet in the trash. The students at Athenian Academy who are part of the STO are also notified via computer sheet. Keon, who was Ben Stark’s friend (the suicide bomber in the pilot), is removing dynamite and fuses from his locker.

As Daniel Graystone’s colleagues prepare him for his show appearance on Baxter Sarno’s show. Amanda Graystone is not pleased. She says to Daniel, “I can’t believe you are going out there to dance on her grave like this.” Daniel explains to her that he has to do this because of the actions she took. Amanda says, “We’re not company spokespeople; we’re parents.” Daniel replies, “Actually, no, we’re not.”

Poor Serge! He just wants to help and is treated just like the machine that he is.

Witnessing the scene at the Graystone’s is Sam Adama who watches from his car, a Tauron bull on his dashboard. He waits for his opportunity to kill Amanda Graystone while questioning Joseph’s commitment to this request.

After the raid, Sister Clarice looks like she is about to cry, but as she shrinks into the floor, an unexpected burst of anger appears. Have I said lately what a phenomenal actress Polly Walker is? I loved her in the HBO series “Rome.” How lucky we are to have such talent on a show such as this.

U-87/Avatar Zoe hacks back into the V-club, but is interrupted by Philomon, the kind technician from the episode “Rebirth.” I think Avatar Zoe has a crush on him.

At the Adama residence, Willie Adama and his aunt have a discussion about what he would like to do right now in his life. Willie wants to work at Mr. Graystone’s pyramid team in the locker room, but he did not think his father, Joseph, would approve. My favorite line from the grandmother is: “You think you only get things from friends? You get the BEST things from enemies because they’re scared of you.”

Sam Adama continues to observe the Graystone residence. Joseph is growing impatient. Sam tells Joseph the GDD is doing a search of the house.

Agent Durham assures Amanda that they will not hurt anything; they just need to search. Amanda asks him, “What is this to you? Did you lose someone on the train?” Agent Durham replies, “I lost everyone on that train.”

Lacy Rand meets with Keon. She reminds him that he promised to help her get “something” to Gemenon.

Agent Durham tells his boss, Gara Singh, that the parents had cleaned out the home already and the lockers of the kids at school were much too clean. He wants a higher level of clearance to monitor communications because he knows something is there.

Back at the lab, Philomon puts on some music during a diagnostic being run on U-87/Avatar Zoe. As he is scanning through the stations, one can hear the music for the original Battlestar Galactica. Nice touch! He finally settles on something appropriate and he tries to teach U-87/Avatar Zoe how to dance. Interesting to see Avatar Zoe dancing in a floating, flirty and sexy way with Philomon and they would cut the camera angle to just U-87 dancing which was quite clumsy. At the end of the song, he walks away. U-87/Avatar Zoe’s red eye follows him. Yes, it is definitely looks like a mutual crush is developing here. Our little girl is growing up.

Joseph and Grandma talk. She tells Joseph that Tauron children play jacks with the finger bones of the Tauron children who loose the jacks. Joseph is horrified. But grandma lets out an evil laugh and says, “That was a joke. They were from chicken feet.” The grandmother reminds Joseph that Taurons believe the dead do not really die until their deaths are avenged. She is happy that Joseph is going to “take care of it.” But Joseph looks like he may be having doubts. I have to be honest; the grandmother would be fun to have around on Halloween.

Daniel goes on Sarno’s show and it spirals downward. Amanda arrives at the studio to inform Daniel and his colleagues about the GDD raid. However, when she sees Daniel stumbling with his words out on the stage, she goes out there in a moment that reminds me of the movie “Touch” with Skeet Ulrich. She winds up saving the interview. Daniel announces that all holoband licensing will be free from now on and all profits made from holoband sales will be donated to a foundation they will set up to help teens find the right experience and the right values. Cyrus, his colleagues mentions to Pryah, the holobands are 60% of the net of the company. Sam shows up also at the studio and meets a fellow Tauron, an usher. He sees her tattoo and in the language of Tauron, asks for a pass into the studio, which she freely gives him.

At home, Joseph and Grandma are watching the Sarno show. She notes that she could kill Amanda with her own hands and sleep well every night. Creepy. She says to Joseph, “Couldn’t you?”

After the show is over, Sam introduces himself to Amanda as “Baxter Sarno’s driver” and that he could take her home. She freely goes with him.

Lacy asks Keon if he had something in his locker and did he get a warning. He tells her he can’t say. Lacy has to go to Gemenon and take Zoe’s package with her. Keon tells Lacy he could set up a meeting with Barabus. He would decide whether she would get the STO’s help. Lacy thanks him and they have a touching moment. I think love might be blossoming for these two.

Amanda admires Sam’s tattoos. She mentions that she is a plastic surgeon (note–they must have changed this at some point because during the pilot and the commentary, they said she was a neurosurgeon). He shares they are cultural, Tauron. Amanda knows the have meanings. They carry on a discussion about them. I always find it fascinating that assassins share so much of themselves to the one they are about to kill. She mentions that they are not going the correct way and Sam says something about traffic. Joseph has been texting Sam and calling others to get in touch with Sam to cancel the hit on Amanda. Sam escalates in scaring Amanda, telling her he lost a sister-in-law and a niece in the bombing.

Sam comes home and starts cleaning up. He gives Joseph the details about how he killed Amanda. When Joseph finishes hearing the story, you could see the conflict in his eyes. Sam tells him, however, not to jack him around like that anymore. He noted the 60 text messages that he received from Joseph. Sam did not kill her; he just scared her a bit.

Back at the Willow’s, Clarice keeps replaying Sarno’s show, intent on the part where Daniel says he created Zoe’s avatar. You can see the wheels churning in her brain.

Daniel and Amanda talk about their appearance on Sarno and Daniel’s public confession that he creator an avatar of Zoe. Daniel downplays it, but does not share that it was Real Zoe’s avatar and that he stole the program to put into a robot. Amanda, however, says, “Yeah, I know how an avatar works, and so do you.”

Next week’s episode looks very exciting as we get to know more about Tamara Adama and her journey to get free of the V-club, not realizing she is just an avatar and not a human being anymore. Hope to see you all there!

PBMom

Hey Battlestar and Caprica Fans!

On January 22, 2010, the Syfy Channel will launch Caprica, its new drama set in a science-fiction world.  Taking place 58 years before the fall of Caprica and the other colonies to the Cylons, one does not need to have watched any of Battlestar Galactica (BSG) to love this show.

Fans of BSG, however, will be rewarded in knowing the genesis of creative elements from that show.   Writers Ronald D. Moore and Remi Aubuchon (Persons Unknown, Summerland, 24) do not shy away from the same social-commenting topics that earned Battlestar Galactica The George Foster Peabody Award for excellence.

The story focuses mainly on the Graystone family and the Adama family (known to us at first as Adams).  The technology engineering genius, Daniel Graystone, is played meticulously by Eric Stoltz (Grey’s Anatomy, Medium, The Triangle).  Esai Morales, of Jericho, Vanished, NYPD Blue fame, brings to us the complicated character of Joseph Adama. The SyFy video embed below also includes Zoe Graystone and other Caprica mini-clips.

Directed by Jeffery Reiner of Friday Nights Light, the pilot brought a new style and feel to Caprica to define it as its own series, apart from Battlestar Galactica.  Released previously on DVD and digital download April 21, 2009, it will be this particular story that airs on January 22, 2010 to start the entire new series on SyFy (check local listings for times).

On-board as executive producers are Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, Jane Espenson and the main showrunner, Kevin Murphy.  Bear McCready continues to provide the cutting-edge music that we have come to love on Battlestar Galactica.

Rounding out the main cast are Paula Malcomson (Deadwood, ER, Lost, Star Trek Enterprise), who plays Amanda Graystone, wife of Daniel; the fabulous Polly Walker (Cane, Rome) playing Sister Clarice of the Athena Academy; and Sasha Roiz (Lie to Me, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), as Sam Adama, brother of Joseph.  Actor Sina Najafi plays William Adama, the son, the future Admiral of BSG, in the pilot episode.  Science fiction fans will love spotting their favorite guest stars from other science fiction shows, like Brian Markinson who plays Jordan Duram, the investigator, who has been on Stargate SG-1, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek Voyager; Hiro Kanagawa, who plays Cyrus Xander (Sanctuary, Stargate SG-1); Panou as Olaf Willow (Sanctuary, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1); Terence Kelly, who played the mayor (Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, Eureka among many others).

The DVD pilot opens in the Virtual Club where we are introduced to Zoe Graystone (Alessandra Torresani of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and CSI), her friend, Lacy Rand (Magda Apanowicz of Kyle XY), and boyfriend, Ben Stark (a relative newcomer, Avan Jogia).  Much of the V-Club, I imagine may be edited from the broadcast pilot episode because of the graphic sex and violence.  It is an important story element to note, however, that this virtual club is a place into where teenagers hack in order to do anything they want without limits or consequences.  It reminded me a great deal of the movie Minority Report as did the holographic bands.

Circumstances bring Adama’s wife, Shannon (Anna Galvin, Stargate Universe, Stargate Atlantis) and daughter Tamara (Genevieve Buechner, Supernatural, 4400) together with Zoe Graystone where their lives are cut short by an extreme act of terrorism.  Joseph and Daniel bond over their respective losses.

In just the pilot episode alone, we are introduced to themes of organized crime, monotheism, polytheism, prejudice, moral dilemmas of artificial intelligence, religious zealots and acts of terrorism.

Stylistically, Caprica City looks like any modern city of today.  It is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia where most of our beloved science-fiction shows now call home.  I enjoyed the duplicity of having computers that were as thin as a sheet of paper, yet people were still driving in cars.

Having experienced the agonizing event of the death of a child, it is an intriguing thought that is voiced by the dialogue, “What would you do if you had the chance to be with your child again?”  The pain is something I can only described as having the air being sucked out of your lungs while your heart is being sliced open by a sharp knife while some part of you dies with them; it is a piece of yourself you never recover.  It is something you never “get over”; you just learn how to live life differently.  I could see myself in both Daniel and Joseph, wanting to do anything I could for even just one last time to say things unsaid, but ultimately realizing, like Joseph, that it was an “abomination” of the circle of life.  People go through great lengths to keep that attachment to their loved ones.  Some individuals are cloning their beloved pets.  Many seek the guidance of mediums to contact their loved ones on other planes of existence. In Caprica City it is no different.

As with the Catholic faith doctrine, belief in evolution of mankind’s body, but believes the soul is eternal, the thing given to us by God in our evolved bodies.  The pilot produces a question for me:  Can you reproduce or clone the soul?  The people cloning their pets would have you believe that it is indeed possible; they will swear their pet is exactly the same.  One hundred years ago, however, the technology was just not there to make it happen.  Will our technology some day catch up to the point where we can download our consciousness into new bodies?

Another theme I took away from this pilot was the recurrence presence of love and devotion.  It is extreme love and devotion of one’s religion that drives a character to their act of terrorism; that same love and devotion to religion leads another to create rather than destroy.  It is extreme love and devotion that drives Daniel Graystone to finish what his daughter started, not only for love of daughter but for love of his company.  It is love of heritage that makes Joseph Adams want to be Joseph Adama once again.  It was the love and devotion of a friend who heals the virtual body of a virtual character with a simple hug.  As with Battlestar Galactica, it leaves the viewer to decide for themselves what is right and wrong and in between those polar dichotomies.

The pilot episode ends with a tantalizing cliffhanger that lives up to the jaw-dropping disbelief for which Ronald D. Moore has become famous.  The DVD viewers have had to wait 9 long months for this story to evolve.  Those watching on January 22 will only have to wait until January 29 for the next episode.  It’s going to be a wild ride.

PBMom