Caprica (TV series)

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Caprica
Caprica pilot DVD cover
Genre	Science fiction, Serial drama, Family saga
Created by	Remi Aubuchon Ronald D. Moore David Eick
Directed by	Jeffrey Reiner
Starring	Eric Stoltz Esai Morales Paula Malcomson Polly Walker Alessandra Torresani Magda Apanowicz Avan Jogia Sasha Roiz
Composer(s)	Bear McCreary
Country of origin	USA
Language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	Ronald D. Moore David Eick Jane Espenson Kevin Murphy(showrunner)
Producer(s)	Clara George
Location(s)	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Running time	approx. 42 min.
Broadcast
Original channel	Syfy
Original airing	January 22, 2010
Chronology
Preceded by	Battlestar Galactica

Caprica is a television series set in the fictional Battlestar Galactica universe. Beginning 58 years before the events seen in Battlestar Galactica, Caprica tells the story of how Colonial humanity first created the robotic Cylons, who would later plot to destroy human civilization in retaliation for their enslavement.

An extended version of the pilot premiered exclusively on DVD and digital download on April 21, 2009.^[1] The first season, composed of the two-hour pilot and 19 more one-hour episodes, is expected to begin airing on Syfy in the United States on January 22, 2010.^[2][3][4]

[edit] Plot

Caprica differs significantly from its parent series, due to creative and commercial demands.^[5] Ronald D. Moore had strong feelings on the matter, "You don't try to repeat the formula... Everything about Caprica was designed specifically to not repeat what we had done in Galactica."^[6] Though a critical success, Galactica had a predominantly male audience, and both Moore and the network felt the war in space backdrop was a major deterrent to female viewers.^[7] With these considerations and Caprica's storyline already focused on events taking place before the two Cylon Wars, the series has a different identity, with its own tone, content and style.

[edit] Outline

Whereas the dark, post-apocalyptic reimagined series revolved around a final bid for survival, Caprica is preoccupied with a world intoxicated by success. "It's about a society that's running out of control with a wild-eyed glint in its eye," states Ronald D. Moore.^[7] The Twelve Colonies are at their peak, self-involved, oblivious and mesmerized by the seemingly unlimited promise of technology. Framed by the conflict between the Adamas and the Graystones over the resurrection of loved-ones lost in an act of terror, the series will explore ethical implications of advances in artificial intelligence and robotics.^[3]

Set against the backdrop of a society with technology a few decades ahead of our own, Caprica is grounded in urban locales rather than in space, and focuses on corporate, political, familial and personal intrigue. With the troubled relationship between two families at its center, Moore himself has likened Caprica to the 1980s prime time soap opera Dallas, and it has been referred to as "television's first science fiction family saga."^[8]

Though Caprica is a prequel, and as such will explore the backstory of the reimagined series, notably the emergence of artificial life and its progeny the Cylons, it will do so in a manner that requires no prior knowledge.^[6]

[edit] Details

• Joseph Adama is the father of future Battlestar commander William Adama (who is a child at the time of Caprica's events.) In the act of terrorism that sets the story in motion, he loses his wife and daughter.^[9]
• Ethnicity is a recurring theme in Caprica.^[10] The series takes place before the Twelve Colonies are unified under one government. Relations between the diverse worlds are contentious and discrimination is pervasive.^[11] After Joseph's sense of propriety is energized in the pilot's third act, he confesses to his son he changed his last name to hide his background. Introduced as Adams, Joseph then reclaims his surname, Adama. He is also referred to as "Yosef" by fellow Taurons in private conversations. Joseph is clearly a "Caprican-ized" rendition of his true Tauron name, similar to Joseph being a Anglicized version of the Hebrew Yosef or Arabic Yusuf.
• Like Battlestar Galactica, Caprica will have a story arc-heavy format, according to Ronald D. Moore.^[12]
• The production design references 1950s America to reinforce the sense of viewing the past,^[9] but also to illustrate a sense of wonder and oblivion.
• The script for the two-hour pilot concluded with Daniel Graystone coining the term "Cylon," saying, "A cybernetic life-form node, a Cylon."^[13]
• Caprica's tagline is "The battle for humanity has a beginning."^[14] Originally, it was reported as: "The end of humanity has a beginning."^[9]
• Esai Morales on William Adama: "Young Adama is going to have quite the evolution. He gets involved in some very tricky things for a young man his age. It’s going to be interesting how he gets out of it."^[15]
• The series' tone will not be as dark as in the pilot. Series producer Jane Espenson states: "The pilot centered on a very dark moment, this terrorist attack. When we rejoin the show, everyone will still be reeling from [the tragedy], but they'll be beginning, almost subconsciously, to slip back into the patterns of life in which you might catch yourself laughing, making a dark joke at your own behalf, or noticing the absurdities of life again. Caprica is set in an interesting world with technological wonders that are going to be amazing to watch, too. So expect some fun, some funny, and some dazzle."^[11]

[edit] Pilot

The Twelve Colonies are at peace, 58 years before the reimagined series,^[16][17] when an act of religious fanaticism brings together Joseph Adama, a lawyer with ties to the underworld, and wealthy technologist Daniel Graystone, both of whom lose family members. Grief-stricken by the loss of his daughter and fueled by obsession, Daniel sets out to bring her back, using his considerable wealth and sprawling technology corporation. Offered the chance of his own daughter being restored, Joseph wrestles with the notion until he comes face to face with its reality.^[9]

On April 21, 2009, an uncut and unrated extended version of the pilot was released as a download from online digital media stores and as a complete DVD with commentary, deleted scenes and video blogs.

[edit] Production

[edit] Genesis

Ideas about a prequel series to Battlestar Galactica originated during production of its second season. Series developer Ronald D. Moore and production partner David Eick speculated about a phase of the Battlestar Galactica universe prior to the Cylons, naïve and self-absorbed, leading to the fall. Unable to dedicate serious time to the notion, it remained in the concept stage of development. Then, in early 2006, screenwriter Remi Aubuchon, unaware of the ideas about a Battlestar Galactica prequel, proposed a film about artificial intelligence to Universal Pictures.^[18] Though Universal Pictures turned down the project as a movie, Universal Television executives felt Moore and Eick might be interested in Aubuchon's take on the subject and arranged a meeting. Merging the existing thoughts for a Battlestar Galactica prequel with those Aubuchon brought to the table, a general outline for a series and production set-up emerged. While SciFi management was enthusiastic, it was engaged in a plotting struggle with Moore about Battlestar Galactica. The show that had brought SciFi acclaim and increased its public standing, was not pulling in the Nielsen ratings that the network wanted. Though widely lauded by critics, SciFi was convinced its long storylines kept new viewers from joining and pressured Moore into retooling the second-half of the third season to consist mostly of standalone episodes. The measure backfired, garnering negative criticism from fans and press alike, and Moore revealed in the Season 3 finale podcast that the network grudgingly admitted that standalone episodes simply do not work with a story arc format.^[19] Still, with the proposed prequel series to have a story-arc-heavy format like its predecessor, the network was reluctant to greenlight the project and as a result, Caprica got stuck in "development hell".

With Eick and Moore's announcement Battlestar Galactica was going to end with its fourth season, and after a drawn-out pre-development cycle, on March 18, 2008, the SciFi Channel announced that Caprica had been picked up as a two-hour backdoor pilot event, indicating a possible commitment to a series, contingent on ratings.^[20][21] On July 20, of the same year, SciFi announced it was considering picking up Caprica as a series directly, and make the pilot an extended season premiere.^[17] Finally, on December 2, SciFi gave the go-ahead to expand the project into a full series. Production was expected to resume in July 2009^[22] for an anticipated series premiere in early 2010.^[3]

[edit] Company and crew

NBC Universal Television Studio developed the show, in conjunction with Aubuchon and the executive producers of Battlestar Galactica, Moore and Eick. Aubuchon co-created the show and worked on the pilot, then left to become executive producer of Persons Unknown. The pilot was directed by Friday Night Lights veteran Jeffrey Reiner.^[23] Battlestar Galactica's Jane Espenson, Michael Taylor, and Ryan Mottesheard,^[22] Pushing Daisies' Kath Lingenfelter, and Friday Night Lights Patrick Massett and John Zinman have joined the writing staff.^[11] Moore ran the writers room initially,^[22] but handed off to Espenson, who expanded into executive-production and was Caprica's showrunner^[11] until November 15th, 2009 when it was announced that Kevin Murphy, who had joined as co-executive producer in October, would assume the role.^[24]

[edit] Location

The show is shot in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. In the pilot, most of the buildings seen in the background are the real constructs from the city, although several shots are augmented using CG imagery. Many of the external scenes were filmed in the Yaletown area of the city, including one distinctive shot of the old railway turntable next to the Roundhouse at Davie and Pacific. The city's library also features in one shot (when Daniel and Joseph meet for the first time), just as it did in season one of Battlestar Galactica when Helo and Boomer were exploring the deserted Caprica City.

Vancouver's Skytrain and one of its stations feature in the sequence prior to the terrorist explosion. The production chose to keep the same font and sign style used by the real Skytrain, but with rebadged signs featuring the name "Caprica City".

When Daniel takes Joseph and William to the Pyramid sports match, the colours of Caprica's team (the Buccaneers) are identical with those of Vancouver's real life hockey team, the Canucks. Navy and green stripes adorn the walls outside the team dressing room, suggesting that the scenes were filmed at GM Place.

[edit] Music

Bear McCreary has been tasked to compose for the new series.^[22] McCreary's work on Caprica is almost entirely orchestral. As on Battlestar Galactica, character themes are used extensively; however, world ethnic influences play a much smaller role.^[25] The full ethnic percussion ensemble, including taikos, frame drums, dumbeks, chang changs, tsuzumis and other instruments, was brought in, although used much more sparingly than on Battlestar. The "Tauron Theme" draws inspiration from Russian folk music.^[25]

In addition, Todd Fancey, best known as a long-time member of the popular indie band New Pornographers, composed "V-Club," a rhythm-intensive track that serves as the theme music for club scenes in the series. This theme was featured prominently in the first preview clip for the new series.

The Caprica soundtrack has been released on June 16, 2009, by La-La Land Records. It contains 18 tracks.^[25]

[edit] Casting

Grace Park, Eric Stoltz and Esai Morales (April 2009)

Eric Stoltz received the script while filming a movie and he left it in his hotel room for a few days without reading it. When it was stolen by a maid who had been paid off by a Battlestar fan, he realized how passionate the fandom was and knew he had to read it.^[26] Paula Malcomson originally preferred the role of Sister Clarice, however, Jeffrey Reiner felt she would make a great Amanda Graystone and managed to persuade Malcomson despite her initial reluctance.^[26] On April 28, 2009, Sasha Roiz' role was expanded to series regular.^[27]

Main cast:

• Eric Stoltz as Daniel Graystone
• Esai Morales as Joseph Adama
• Paula Malcomson as Amanda Graystone
• Polly Walker as Sister Clarice Willow
• Alessandra Torresani as Zoe Graystone
• Magda Apanowicz as Lacy Rand
• Avan Jogia as Ben Stark
• Sasha Roiz as Sam Adama

Guest stars and other cast:

• Brian Markinson as Jordan Duram
• William B. Davis as Minister of Defense Val Chambers
• Sina Najafi as William Adama
• Jorge Montesi as The Guatrau
• Hiro Kanagawa as Cyrus Xander
• Genevieve Buechner as Tamara Adama
• Anna Galvin as Shannon Adama
• Katie Keating as Caston
• Veena Sood as Secretary of Defense Joan Leyte
• Patton Oswalt as Baxter Sarno ^[28]
• James Marsters as Barnabus Greele ^[29]

[edit] Reception

Home Media Magazine's John Latchem states that Caprica has "all the same dark overtones and richness of character that fans have come to expect from Galactica." He notes that Caprica "[evokes] a feeling similar to Gattaca in its depiction of a potential near-future, while infusing elements of the Matrix and Terminator movies to set up a bridge to the events viewers know will unfold."^[30]

The Futon Critic's Brian Ford Sullivan found the first 15 minutes: "A weird mix of teen angst, hedonism and virtual reality ... once established, the world of Caprica has the potential to be just as compelling, interesting and multi-faceted as its "sequel" - minus of course the cool stuff blowing up in space. In just 92 minutes, Caprica manages to dish out a surprisingly dense, but not too overwhelming, array of plot threads.^[31]

Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gives the pilot 4 out of 4 stars, stating: "Caprica gives a more forceful, potential-filled first impression than the Battlestar Galactica pilot/miniseries."^[32] The Star-Ledger's Alan Sepinwall finds the story intriguing, and Stoltz' and Morales' performances excellent, while director Jeffrey Reiner "creates an absolutely gorgeous-looking pilot episode."^[33]

Joanna Weiss of The Boston Globe states that "if this episode is any indication, Caprica will be sinister [and] compelling" and "while the technology is inventive, human emotion still drives the plot."^[34] Mark A. Perigard of Boston Herald gave it a B+, stating that the pilot feels more like an intellectual puzzle and lacks the life-or-death intensity of Battlestar Galactica.^[35] Lewis Wallace of Wired rates the pilot an 8/10, saying that Caprica has inherited from Battlestar "the lean writing, the strong acting, the exceptional soundtrack by Bear McCreary" and "the characters are richly drawn and ripe for further exploration."^[36]

Maureen Ryan of Chicago Tribune gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, with particular praise for the casting of Stoltz, Morales, Malcomson, and Walker.^[37] The A.V. Club's Noel Murray said of the show, "Some BSG stalwarts may have some difficulty with the muted science-fiction/action elements, but it’s a lovely piece of work on its own merits, imbued with real visual poetry by director Jeffrey Reiner."^[38]

[edit] Other networks

The rights to broadcast the series have also been picked up by Sky1 in the UK and Ireland,^[39] and Space in Canada.^[40]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Syfy Caprica website
• Caprica at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview - Executive Producer David Eick Talks Galactica Year Three – and Caprica - Now Playing magazine
• Battlestar Wiki: Caprica (series)
• Caprica series fan site