Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Caprica Season 1.0

Yup, SciFi (oops I mean SyFy...) did it again. They're splitting up the seasons of a Ron Moore series simply because they're a cheap network. Although what would else you expect from a channel owned by NBC? Anyway, I've finally been able to re-watch each episode on my handy-dandy DVR and I feel prepared to offer my first half season review of Caprica.

I have to admit, this show has wildly exceeded my expectations. I know that I'm in a definite minority with this opinion, but I can't help it. Caprica may not have the wild actions scenes that Battlestar did, but that doesn't make it any less of a show. The show resembles a sort of "Soprano's in the Colonies" style, with character driven stories and no shortage of tension. Sure, there aren't Cylons running around causing all kinds of problems for the humans, as I've heard so many people complain, but isn't that kind of the point? This show is examining the excesses, hypocrisies, and mistakes which led to the fall of the Colonies.

The best part about this show has to be the characters. I'm especially fond of Sam Adama, but I don't think the show has delved deep enough into his character. There is clearly a lot of conflict in the Ha'la'tha enforcer, but we only glanced off of that. It was especially obvious in the episode where he ::SPOILER ALERT:: was preparing to kill Amanda Graystone. I also would love to see more of the V-World version of Tamara Adama. "There is Another Sky" was probably the second best episode of this season and that was solely because of Tamara. So Mr. Moore, give us more Tammy and more V-World!

The only gripe that I have with this series is that we don't really have anybody to hate. BSG had Cavil for the final 2 and a half seasons, and I really think he made the series better. I think Barnabas might be able to fill that role, and I've heard some people think that Tomas Vergis may be that guy. I don't really see it in Vergis though. He's looking for revenge for a misdeed that was brought upon him by Daniel Graystone. He may be looking for revenge, but he's not a real bastard like Cavil was.

In all, this series looks very very promising. However, with how the ratings look we may not get to see that promise realized. I would suggest that anybody who hasn't seen this show should try to watch it (sadly, most of the episodes are now off of Hulu). If this show only makes it one season, I'll be very disappointed. Caprica has the potential to be as good as BSG.

Season review:

4.25 out of 5.