The Prequel that Shouldn’t Have

What is your review of the Battlestar Galactica spinoff, Caprica?

There was so much potential with this series – in theory.

To tell the story of how the Cylons came to the forefront… to discuss the origins of William Adama… to capture the same solid story-telling that BSG was so good for…

…Aaand it failed. Miserably.

In my opinion, it would have been far better for the series to be a stand-alone story with no ties to BSG. As convoluted and disjointed as it was, it may have been better in that form.

It was no fault of the characters, really. For their quirks, they fared well:

Eric Stoltz (as Daniel Graystone) was sorta wooden in his portrayal of a conflicted and tortured scientist who was desperate to bring his martyred/murdered daughter back to life in whatever form possible and at any cost. I kept waiting for him to get into a debate about giving her a shot.

Esai Morales (as Joseph Adama) couldn’t decide if he was going to be incredibly naïve or incredibly vengeful. For a Tauron (I kept thinking of them as Sicilian in our world), he was weaksauce… but to be fair, he was trying to put his past behind him/hold onto solid traditions… whatever.

Paula Malcomson (as Amanda Graystone) was ranked pretty high on the hierarchy of “batshit crazy,” but losing her daughter and, in theory, her husband, gives her a good reason.

Polly Walker (as Clarice Willow) played one of the solid roles in the short-lived series. As the head of a faith-based academy, she eventually turned into an evil, manipulative, and vengeful swinger which brought to mind David Koresh and Jim Jones… just a bit more top-heavy.

Magda Apanowicz (as Lacy Rand)… all I have to say about her character is: “Just. Shut. UP!”

Which leads me to Alessandra Torresani (as Zoe Graystone)… spoiled, entitled, whiny, and devious. If the writers were looking to create a female version of Anakin Skywalker, they succeeded. Don’t get me wrong, she was (at times) very cute and likable, but for the most part hers was a role of tragic karma for being such an annoyance. If Daniel Graystone was working on a cyborg Pomeranian, then it would have fit oh so well when Zoe digitally took up residence in the yap-dog’s electronic brain.

I really wanted to like the series. There were times (and quotes) which stood out:

We are everywhere… and we endure. Governments are ephemeral – they rise, fall, and return to the soil. The way we endure is by staying out of politics.

The Guatrau in “False Labor.”

Though our lives may be hard, it’s when we struggle to accept sadness that is one part our lot; so too do we embrace the joy; for every ending brings a new beginning, as surely as spring follows winter. And thus, in the face of adversity, we are heartened to renew our spirit – reclaim our cause.

Clarise Willow in… some episode.

Overall, I probably will get around to re-watching the series eventually… mostly to see if there was something that I missed the first time around which gave me such a “meh” feeling about it. It wasn’t “Blood and Chrome” and it definitely wasn’t the same quality of story as BSG… but it was okay.