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shadowkatJust finished watching Caprica S1.10 premiere. (Still no word out on a S2). My first thought upon watching it was - what's with all the premillenial dispensation or let's bring about the end of the world so we can achieve nirvana or heaven plot-lines? Will give Caprica credit - it's STO group makes a heck of a lot more sense than Angel and that whole Twilight plot arc in the Buffy comics. Also, Caprica much like BSG - has the added bonus of a bunch of screwed up complex characters. There are no clear good guys or bad guys in this show. Good and evil is sort of muddled. It's a dystopian world.
Other thoughts? May I just say that I adore Eric Stolz? He's very good in this role, of tortured genius, brings to mind images of Kenneth Branagh's take on Dr. Frankenstein. Marsters...is looking old and weathered. And Esai Morales lacks some of the strength that imbued Edward James Olmos performance as Bill Adama. But that may be intentional?
Joseph Adama fascinates me, he's not what I expected. And it explains Bill Adama a great deal. Also incredibly ironic that Joseph and Sam Adama are in part responsible for the creation of the cylon race or taking that race in the direction that it goes. I love the irony. Man as the creator of his own dystopic nightmare. They are working to help Graystone get control of his company back and do his Frankenstein virtual reality experiments. Not knowing that both Tamara and Zoe are dead walkers in the virtual world that he created.
Meanwhile the Ladies are attempting to bring about their own nirvana - Clarice Willow, Mrs. Graystone, and Blessed Mother (Meg Tilly - who I haven't seen in a while - and was shocked, at how old she was.) Clarice is basically laying down the religious doctrine that the cylons in BSG later believe in. If we are worthy, we are reborn into a better world and let's make that world happen now - instead of later, because we are impatient little buggers. She wants to kill 300 people and have the worthy ones show up in this new virtual world or heaven (which Grayston created). It's also coincidentally what certain fundamentalist fringe sects of our current Judeo/Christian religions believe in - destroying this world, so they can set up shop in a nicer one or rather be "elevated" to the higher plain. What I've never understood is how you can honestly think anyone would elevate you after you've destroyed the first one? And if they did, how do you know the new world is better? Religion isn't supposed to be logical.
Cut to the girls, who are in actuality the true protagonists of this series, the adults are the antagonists. (Which I also find interesting). Lacy is busy infilterating Barnabas's terrorist sect so that she can find a way of getting Zoe out of Caprica and to Genome. If she only knew what Genome looked like, she might have had second thoughts. (It looks a bit like Siberia on a good day.) Barnabas - I'm not sure what to make of. At the moment, the character is a sort of cliche version of Jim Jones or any number of fundamentalist right wing terrorists. Not much there. He's barely on screen for more than five minutes at a stretch and I have no idea why he's the way he is. The STO storyline isn't that good - it's written a bit too cliche here. That's the problem with a lot of religious storylines in tv shows and comics - people fall back on gross generalizations and cliche. (Supernatural, True Blood, and Glee actually have handled it pretty well.) But, it is only the 10th episode and they may build it better later. I don't know. To be honest - my problem with BSG was all the religious stuff. When they weren't doing it - the show clicked, when they were - it got bogged down and muddled. The Lacy, Clarice Willow, and STO storyline isn't working or hanging together quite as well as the Graystone, Adama, Zoe, Tamara one about virtual reality and robots. Sci-Fi often does tech morality tales better than religious ones, with few exceptions (Octavia Butler, Maria Doria Russell and Sheri Tepper all come to mind.)
Or perhaps I should say that Ron Moore does? Because my difficulty with DS9 was the whole religious storyline as well. It just felt cliche and cobbled together somehow.
That said, the reveal that Zoe was fighting her way through New Cap City hunting the other dead walker, Tamara...I found interesting. Zoe and Tamara are amongst the best bits in this story.
The virtual girls with their fathers, who are well on their way to achieving their worst nightmares in attempting to bring these girls back...and under their control. Complex and not clear.
Just as the reveal that Graystone's wife is living with and involved with Clarice Willow, who was responsible for her daughter's death.
This show is nice and chewy. No deep thoughts on it tonight. Except that I think Moore and Eick in Caprica are doing a far better job of playing with the whole doing evil to attempt to do good and achieve heavenly award or nirvana...than Whedon is in his comic books.( Whedon to be fair is attempting to do a snarky critique of gothic romantic tropes at the same time.) Clarice Willow is far more complex character than Angel is in the comics. She's not loathsome. OR I don't find her to be. She merely is hunting a better way...in what she considers a dystopic world. From her point of view - she is saving, possibly preserving the human race with her actions and evolving it to a higher plane. It's a less black and white or binary depiction than Whedon's depiction of Boyd in Dollhouse and Angel in Buffy currently is. Granted it does fall into cliche at certain points. But, not that often. And I like the twist that the ruler of the STO/Order of the One True God is a woman, a Blessed Mother, who is literally dressed as the Virgin Mary (and played by an actress who portrayed that role once upon a time.)
Caprica's play on established and traditional gender roles is similar to BSG, in that gender roles are often flipped. Or tweaked. As is sexuality. They are the same as they are in our society, but certain notions are oh-so-slightly tweaked. Hard to describe. Sort of like how Starbuck was a woman in BSG. Here, the robot is Zoe. The leader of the order is the Blessed Mother, not Father.
Yet the one true god, remains a he.
Direction was interesting, but not earthshattering. And the music didn't blow me away. But overall, it was a fascinating episode with a lot to chew on.
Hope it gets renewed for a second season, curious to see where they go with it.
Overall rating - B+
Other thoughts? May I just say that I adore Eric Stolz? He's very good in this role, of tortured genius, brings to mind images of Kenneth Branagh's take on Dr. Frankenstein. Marsters...is looking old and weathered. And Esai Morales lacks some of the strength that imbued Edward James Olmos performance as Bill Adama. But that may be intentional?
Joseph Adama fascinates me, he's not what I expected. And it explains Bill Adama a great deal. Also incredibly ironic that Joseph and Sam Adama are in part responsible for the creation of the cylon race or taking that race in the direction that it goes. I love the irony. Man as the creator of his own dystopic nightmare. They are working to help Graystone get control of his company back and do his Frankenstein virtual reality experiments. Not knowing that both Tamara and Zoe are dead walkers in the virtual world that he created.
Meanwhile the Ladies are attempting to bring about their own nirvana - Clarice Willow, Mrs. Graystone, and Blessed Mother (Meg Tilly - who I haven't seen in a while - and was shocked, at how old she was.) Clarice is basically laying down the religious doctrine that the cylons in BSG later believe in. If we are worthy, we are reborn into a better world and let's make that world happen now - instead of later, because we are impatient little buggers. She wants to kill 300 people and have the worthy ones show up in this new virtual world or heaven (which Grayston created). It's also coincidentally what certain fundamentalist fringe sects of our current Judeo/Christian religions believe in - destroying this world, so they can set up shop in a nicer one or rather be "elevated" to the higher plain. What I've never understood is how you can honestly think anyone would elevate you after you've destroyed the first one? And if they did, how do you know the new world is better? Religion isn't supposed to be logical.
Cut to the girls, who are in actuality the true protagonists of this series, the adults are the antagonists. (Which I also find interesting). Lacy is busy infilterating Barnabas's terrorist sect so that she can find a way of getting Zoe out of Caprica and to Genome. If she only knew what Genome looked like, she might have had second thoughts. (It looks a bit like Siberia on a good day.) Barnabas - I'm not sure what to make of. At the moment, the character is a sort of cliche version of Jim Jones or any number of fundamentalist right wing terrorists. Not much there. He's barely on screen for more than five minutes at a stretch and I have no idea why he's the way he is. The STO storyline isn't that good - it's written a bit too cliche here. That's the problem with a lot of religious storylines in tv shows and comics - people fall back on gross generalizations and cliche. (Supernatural, True Blood, and Glee actually have handled it pretty well.) But, it is only the 10th episode and they may build it better later. I don't know. To be honest - my problem with BSG was all the religious stuff. When they weren't doing it - the show clicked, when they were - it got bogged down and muddled. The Lacy, Clarice Willow, and STO storyline isn't working or hanging together quite as well as the Graystone, Adama, Zoe, Tamara one about virtual reality and robots. Sci-Fi often does tech morality tales better than religious ones, with few exceptions (Octavia Butler, Maria Doria Russell and Sheri Tepper all come to mind.)
Or perhaps I should say that Ron Moore does? Because my difficulty with DS9 was the whole religious storyline as well. It just felt cliche and cobbled together somehow.
That said, the reveal that Zoe was fighting her way through New Cap City hunting the other dead walker, Tamara...I found interesting. Zoe and Tamara are amongst the best bits in this story.
The virtual girls with their fathers, who are well on their way to achieving their worst nightmares in attempting to bring these girls back...and under their control. Complex and not clear.
Just as the reveal that Graystone's wife is living with and involved with Clarice Willow, who was responsible for her daughter's death.
This show is nice and chewy. No deep thoughts on it tonight. Except that I think Moore and Eick in Caprica are doing a far better job of playing with the whole doing evil to attempt to do good and achieve heavenly award or nirvana...than Whedon is in his comic books.( Whedon to be fair is attempting to do a snarky critique of gothic romantic tropes at the same time.) Clarice Willow is far more complex character than Angel is in the comics. She's not loathsome. OR I don't find her to be. She merely is hunting a better way...in what she considers a dystopic world. From her point of view - she is saving, possibly preserving the human race with her actions and evolving it to a higher plane. It's a less black and white or binary depiction than Whedon's depiction of Boyd in Dollhouse and Angel in Buffy currently is. Granted it does fall into cliche at certain points. But, not that often. And I like the twist that the ruler of the STO/Order of the One True God is a woman, a Blessed Mother, who is literally dressed as the Virgin Mary (and played by an actress who portrayed that role once upon a time.)
Caprica's play on established and traditional gender roles is similar to BSG, in that gender roles are often flipped. Or tweaked. As is sexuality. They are the same as they are in our society, but certain notions are oh-so-slightly tweaked. Hard to describe. Sort of like how Starbuck was a woman in BSG. Here, the robot is Zoe. The leader of the order is the Blessed Mother, not Father.
Yet the one true god, remains a he.
Direction was interesting, but not earthshattering. And the music didn't blow me away. But overall, it was a fascinating episode with a lot to chew on.
Hope it gets renewed for a second season, curious to see where they go with it.
Overall rating - B+