Caprica – Pilot movie – review

Please note this is a review of the pilot as it aired, not of the DVD version.

Caprica revolves around two family dynasties and the ramifications of their actions on the future generation.  You have the Graystones–Daniel, Amanda and their only daughter Zoe–the creators of the holo-band and V-World.  The reason the Cylons each view the world in a different way may have something to do with this technology, a simple band around the eyes that connects the user directly into the fully interactive virtual environment.

Then you have the Adamas, known as “Adams” at first (to fit in better and sound less Tauron).  Josef (Joseph), Sam (Joseph’s brother), Shannon, Tamara, and a young William Adama make up the family. They’re part of the immigrant Tauron population barely tolerated on Caprica.  Where Caprica and Capricans are sleek, modern, and rooted in technology and power, Taurons care more about family history and honoring traditions.

The Maglev train bombing that takes the lives of Shannon, Tamara, and Zoe unites these two families not only in tragedy, but also in a dangerous secret.  A secret that sparks the beginning of what will become known as Cylons.

For the average Battlestar Galactica fan, this show will be an entirely different experience.  Whereas Battlestar Galactica focused on  humanity’s survival, Caprica is focused more on the everyday decisions men make and the consequences of those decisions. I imagine the thought of humanity almost being exterminated is as foreign a concept to them as World War I was at the turn of the 20th century.

Whereas we, the audience, know the end results of their decisions, the characters don’t.  Daniel Graystone doesn’t see his deceased daughter’s clever invention as anything more than a way to communicate with her and possibly help boost his own blocked creative juices.  And that makes for fascinating thinking.  We the audience are the characters’ hindsight thinking.  We know that the monotheistic cult, Soldiers of the One, is the stepping stone to the Cylons finding religion for themselves.  Or when Daniel asks Joseph Adama to just run one simple errand against his major competitor Vergis, where that can lead.

One of my main concerns was how Admiral William Adama would be portrayed as a child of 11 years.  Obviously a lot happens between Caprica and the beginning of the Battlestar Galactica mini-series (a small part of which is recounted in the Razor flashbacks).   Adama’s personality and experiences would shape a lot of who he is from the TV series, but there are some things that are learned young.  I was highly interested in what shaped young “Willie’s” perceptions of the world.  Sina Najafi does a wonderful job portraying a boy who is caught between his father’s need to fit into Caprican society and his own wish to explore his Tauron roots.

The pilot does move at a slow pace, laboring to get to the point or over-explaining things to the point of almost patronizing the audience.  The Zoe Avatar, Zoe-A (Alessandra Torresani) is at first very stiff and reactionary instead of her own being.  She is very stuck on what Zoe wanted her to do, even though she isn’t certain what exactly Zoe’s plan was.  Zoe’s best friend and fellow STO member, Lacey’s reactions to Zoe-A and to the problem in general, are too theatrical, though the actress, Magda Apanowicz, doesn’t let the emotions show on her face.

Eric Stoltz and Esai Morales, Daniel Graystone and Joseph Adama respectively, both play the opposite ends of the grieving spectrum with emotional power.  Daniel, who wasn’t close to his daughter and realizes how little he knew about her once he finds her self-realized avatar, throws himself into his work, desperately trying to find the answer to his own imminent problem–the defense contract.  Joseph, meanwhile, is lost emotionally.  It’s clear that he cared about Tamara, his daughter, differently then he cares about Willie.  I couldn’t tell if it was because he felt more protective of Tamara, or the fact he lost her made her more important to him, but his gradual distancing from Willie in his grief-stricken daze was heart-breaking.

When Caprica was initially announced, it was merely a direct-to-DVD prequel movie, which if this had remained the case, would have been very unfortunate for fans.  The ending, in particular, would have nagged at fans, which I’m sure Syfy counted on, for what it meant in the future.  As a pilot movie, however–it’s perfect.  The taste of the various Colonial cultures–really only hinted at in Battlestar Galactica due to the nature of show and the survivors being unable to truly segregate–is fascinating and involving.  While it resolves very little content-wise, it opens the door to a whole different ball game with the words, “It’s me.  Zoe.  I’m here, and I think I’m gonna need your help.”

About Lexie C

It is said in the annals of time that once Lexie had never, ever picked up a book. Obviously time lies because her parents swear she was born reading. You can read more of her obsessive reading habits at her personal blog Poisoned Rationality.