Caprica pilot

Sci-Fi

You know how it is when you love something, it dies and you try and replace it with something as close to the original as possible? Say hello to Caprica, the spin-off prequel to the late Battlestar Galactica. Set on Caprica 58 years before The Fall, it follows the fortunes of two families, the Adamas and the Graystones, after an act of terrorism brings their fates together. Joe Adama (Esai Morales) is a civil rights lawyer from Tauron, that planet of stubborn stick-in-the-muds. Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz) is a computer mogul married to Trixie from Deadwood (Paula Malcomson to her agent, Dr Amanda Graystone to her maker). As we join the Adamas and the Graystones, the colonies are at peace and all is well in the worlds. But there’s a timebomb waiting to explode and on a crowded Maglev over Caprica City,
it detonates and rips their worlds apart.

"As we join the Adamas and the Graystones the colonies are at peace and all is well in the worlds. But there’s a timebomb waiting to explode and on a crowded Maglev over Caprica City
it detonates and rips their worlds apart."

It’s a schoolboy suicide bomber Ben Stark (Avan Jogia) who takes out the train. Ben was a member of The Soldiers of the One – a radical monotheistic sect in the polytheistic world of the 12 colonies. He’s about to find out if the One True God he gave his life for actually does exist having blown his tits off but he wasn’t alone on the journey. Zoe Graystone (Alessandra Toressani), daughter of Daniel and Trixie, was also going along on the pilgrimage to Geminon. She didn’t know about the mass slaughter she was signing up for (often the way on those package holidays – you never know what you’re in for until you arrive). Their friend Lacy Rand (Magda Apanowicz) had chickened out of the pilgrimage to Geminon at the last minute which turned out to be a pretty good move all things considered.

“Zoe didn’t know about the mass slaughter she was signing up for (often the way on those package holidays – you never know what you’re in for until you arrive).”

But Zoe is gone, gone forever. And so are the wife and daughter of Joe Adama: Shannon Adama (Anna Galvin) and Tamara Adama (Genevieve Buechner). The Graystones are distraught, forever heeding the words of Johnny Thunders: You can’t put your arms around a memory.

But supposing you could? What if you’re a Caprican technological genius developing the early Cylon prototypes? What if your daughter uploaded her personality into the holoband universe? Didn’t I mention the holoband craze? Imagine SIMS raised a few thousand notches. Even as the ashes of her human form float down onto the cradle of civilisation Holoband Zoe is running around The V Club, a simulated alternative reality hang out where shootings, orgies and human sacrifice are a nightly occurrence. When Daniel discovers his digital daughter he hatches a diabolical plan: download Zoe’s personality into the corpus of one of his fledgling cylons. You know how it is when you love someone, she dies and you try and replace it with something as close to the original as possible?

"Although does feel cut from the same cloth as Galactica there is enough clear grey water between the two for us to think that it Caprica will grow legs of its own and take the franchise in new and exciting directions."

Caprica hits the ground running with a lot of confidence. It is intended as "television’s first science fiction family saga" (doesn’t The Jetsons count?) and although does feel cut from the same cloth as Galactica there is enough clear grey water between the two for us to think that it Caprica will grow legs of its own and take the franchise in new and exciting directions. It seems likely that Daniel is seventh cylon Daniel and that he will be instrumental in developing the technology that allowed the toasters to look like us. In any event I look forward to more ethical conundrums, existential ponderings and supermodel cyberpie when the series proper starts next year.

The best thing about it: The holoband ‘verse is a pretty cool innovation.

The worst thing about it: Something tells me Little Bill Adama is going to get a bit tedious.

The verdict on Caprica pilot: Can they? Yes, they Caprican.

Marks out of 10: 8

Imagined: 15 April 2009