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Caprica: Reviews

Variety seems to like the prequel to Battlestar Galactica, but another review is scathing.

The prequel to Battlestar Galactica makes its debut in the US this week. The series starring Eric Stoltz is set 58 years before the events seen in Battlestar. The plot 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.’

While the Pilot was released online last April, there are now reviews emerging of the series.

Variety liked what it saw, saying:
“At first blush, the idea of a “Battlestar Galactica” prequel provoked skepticism of the “Why not leave well enough alone?” variety. Yet through its first four hours (including a two-hour premiere), “Caprica” exhibits more than enough promise to justify the mission, tracing the birth of the Cylons a half-century before the events of the earlier series while again weaving in powerful and resonant themes — including religious intolerance and what truly makes us human. Although uneven in places, a quality cast and cliff-hanging episodic twists establish “Caprica” as an heir that shouldn’t disappoint “BG” geeks.

But the California Chronicle was scathing:
“Caprica,” the highly anticipated drama series premiering this week on Syfy, is the silliest, clunkiest, most tin-eared TV show in years that may be impossible to ignore. A technofiction set in a parallel universe in the approximate present day, this car crash of teen-angst drama, avatar fantasy and agnostic parable comes to us from the creators of “Battlestar Galactica.” And that, of course, is why it cannot be ignored. It is rare to find a television project so omnivorous as the 2003 reimagining of “Battlestar.” It clicked with viewers as an action show, as a free-floating exercise in social commentary (episodes mirrored everything from the Abu Ghraib scandal to the rise of the religious right) and as human drama, with some striking individual performances (all the more so since the phrases “nuanced acting” and “science fiction” rarely mingle).

So far no Australian network has yet announced it is picking up the show. Keep you posted….

6 Responses

  1. I tried to like the pilot, but i couldn’t get past the whole angst-teen thing. It just didn’t have the “oomph” of the galactica pilot.

    Unless the series fast-tracks the main story into the rapid development & deployment of the centurions in the war(s) between the colonies & eventual uprising – this’ll be dead in no time – especially if it keeps up the “caprica 90210” aspect.

    A novel idea would be to have a 4 year show, leading up to the first cylon war, set 40 years before the Galactica series. But seeing as it most likely wont have the full-on social commentry of galactica, this show will be a lightweight until it finishes its run – or gets canned.

    I still think this show was unneccessary.

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