Caprica

[dan888]

Has anyone been watching the Battlestar Galactica spin off? They don't carry it on any of the channels I get in the country I'm in, and I have limited bandwidth if you know what I mean. I'd like to hear people's impressions of it so far.

I loved everything about BSG, except maybe the repetitive combat scenes, which this series supposedly has a lot less of. Loved the touch of comedy that James Callis brought as Baltar, hope that Caprica has talented actors like him. And not to mention the sex appeal, who doesn't like hot robot sex in space? But I guess in Caprica that'll be a bit 'hard' to do before they get their biological bodies.

Any BSG fans out there?

[Grimstad]

Big BSG fan. Caprica is nothing like BSG though it's still interesting to watch. Parts of it I don't care for but I'm giving it a chance. I'm having a problem with the motivations of a few of the characters. A little too bent on a new religion without good cause.

[Zsych]

I just watched the first two eps. It seemed kinda promising, although the science was bothering me. Somebody really needs to review the science in Science Fiction shows when they're being made.

[Elfrun]

There's a BSG spin off... *twitches* :wideeyed:

Never heard of it.

[SShack]

The actress who plays Zoe is really, really good, I think. I expect her to have a big future someday.

Zoe is also an INTJ, I think, which makes her predicament interesting. It certainly speaks to how some INTJs feel at time.

I thought based on how William Adama described his dad, Joe would turn out to be of the ENTP lawyer archetype, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Zoe's dad has the trappings of the ENTP celebrity scientist archetype (just like Baltar) but his behavior doesn't actually follow suit. I'd type him as INTP.

I am amused by Bill Adama's gay mafia assassin uncle giving him all the advice that will serve him well when humanity gets all destroyed and everything.

The show is very slow-moving compared to BSG, but it has its charms. The audience doesn't seem to agree though because it's not doing well in the ratings.

[Zsych]

That's because they haven't sold us on anything interesting. The whole Cylon daughter thing is lame. The whole terrorist crap (way overused by countless programs by this point) is lame, and the whole religious angle never really added to BSG to begin with, so this prophecy BS related to the Zoe avatar is super lame.

They're stressing the ordinary and stupid too much, instead of the extraordinary.


The difference in BSG was that ultimately it was about the lives of fairly human heroes, not people who don't really, or at least, shouldn't matter.

Idiot scientist(doesn't even have sense to backup his stuff), dumb gangster(understands almost nothing), unimpressive highschool girl(despite the background story of her being a super genius with computers.. what we actually see is an ordinary girl with no real signs of being exceptional)

[XFire35]

The actress who plays Zoe is really, really good, I think. I expect her to have a big future someday.

Zoe is also an INTJ, I think, which makes her predicament interesting. It certainly speaks to how some INTJs feel at time.

I thought based on how William Adama described his dad, Joe would turn out to be of the ENTP lawyer archetype, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Zoe's dad has the trappings of the ENTP celebrity scientist archetype (just like Baltar) but his behavior doesn't actually follow suit. I'd type him as INTP.

I am amused by Bill Adama's gay mafia assassin uncle giving him all the advice that will serve him well when humanity gets all destroyed and everything.

The show is very slow-moving compared to BSG, but it has its charms. The audience doesn't seem to agree though because it's not doing well in the ratings.

When watching, at first I thought I misheard it. That came as a surprise.

I think it is a good TV show. it a has a great deal of promise.

[Autoptic]

Actually stopped watching BSG very early, but I'm liking Caprica. Alessandra Torresani helps.

Idiot scientist(doesn't even have sense to backup his stuff), dumb gangster(understands almost nothing), unimpressive highschool girl(despite the background story of her being a super genius with computers.. what we actually see is an ordinary girl with no real signs of being exceptional)

Was confused why there wasn't a backup already. Zoe reloaded from one when her avatar derezzed. He's potentially more amusing than Baltar though. I think the gangster's got quite a bit of selective perception. The girl's motives haven't been entirely fleshed out, but what were you expecting exactly?

[SShack]

Well, Zoe actually doesn't even really have motives as yet because she's a virtual simulation and not the real girl. Virtual Zoe apparently has the original Zoe's memories and "personality," but apparently not her same agenda. She doesn't even know what Real Zoe was doing and is trying to piece that together now.

The religion stuff makes me nervous, too, given how BSG ultimately ended. During the series, I felt like the religion was used to help define character motivations, and it worked, up until they screwed it all up in the finale. But knowing how the series ended, I fear for the return of the invisible hand of God yet again.

[El Cas]

So far I agree with what has been said. It is showing promise but they are walking a fine lind between trying to give the backstory to BSG with a "real good spin off" feel and completely ruining a good show in the process. My only hopes is that Caprica does not end up like B5: Crusaders that show promised in the first 2 episodes and then went Tango Uniform after that.

[Merle]

The show is very slow-moving compared to BSG, but it has its charms. The audience doesn't seem to agree though because it's not doing well in the ratings.

Agreed. I kind of like the fact that they're taking their time and not pushing the story too fast... but that's never going to be a tactic that gets you top ratings.


I wasn't sure about it after watching the pilot, and I'm still very very iffy about the whole Sister Willow storyline, but the whole Graystone family has me hooked - I'd find the show vastly more interesting if it was solely about them.

[Thunderstrat13]

I'm trying to give it a chance but I can't seem to gain any enthusiasm for it.

[phej]

The religion stuff makes me nervous, too, given how BSG ultimately ended. During the series, I felt like the religion was used to help define character motivations, and it worked, up until they screwed it all up in the finale. But knowing how the series ended, I fear for the return of the invisible hand of God yet again.

I think that they just needed a way out for BSG. The finale was quite understated, but it wrapped up everything in a nice little bow.

As for Caprica... no backups for computer programs? Are these computers using some magic technology that prohibits backups? Why the need to steal the Meta-Cognitive Processor (other than to bind the Adamas and Greystones together)? Virtual Zoe was already self-aware and could process data. When will Daniel Greystone strip/suppress Zoe out of the Cylon so that he can mass-manufacture them?

[Arminius]

The pilot had a few blips. I find it hard to believe that someone's entire memory and personality can fit into 300mb worth of storage space. You can't fit a decent sized game into that. And after that, there is the apparent lack of backups. I find it hard to believe that Greystone did not compulsively back up Zoe's algorithm before trying to use it, especially since he supposedly is some genius programmer. That is the first thing they teach you in every CS class. Back your shit up.

Aside from those blips, I think the series is quite good. I find the premise of downloading yourself into a robot fascinating, plus the issues of copying and identity that it brings up. It is also interesting to see different social mores taken to their logical extent, but to see it work. Adama's uncle and the school headmistress for example. The series is helped by Alessandra Torresani being hot. All in all, I like the series and find it interesting. I am eagerly waiting for the next episode to come out on hulu.

[DewFuel]

I was going to watch Caprica until the train wreck that was season 4 of BSG aired.

Seriously, fuck that universe. RDM & the writers seriously screwed it up when he threw away 3 seasons worth of rich mythology and character development. I don't know who's to blame for that awful season, the writers or RDM, or both, but it totally turned me off to Caprica.

As far as I am concerned, BSG ended in the 3rd season.

[Synchronicity]

I've only seen the pilot. I enjoyed it, but it lacked the je ne sais quoi of the original BSG. Still shows promise, though. I'm sure I'll look it up in the future, but for now I have more important things to do with my time.

[Mogura]

I'm a big BSG fan as well. Part of me is sad that the series had ended, but another part of me is glad that the series was allowed to end properly (unlike what was done with TTSCC).

I'm giving Caprica a fair chance. I like what I've seen so far. I just hope it doesn't end up "catering to the kiddies" with teenage heartthrobs, etc...

[Rohsiph]

I've seen snippets. I missed all of BSG because I didn't have access to Sci-fi channel in college, and couldn't motivate myself to torrent it. That Sy-Fy seems to hate airing re-runs of their original series, it means I've seen a grand total of 1 episode of BSG.

I've seen about an hour of Caprica since the premiere. I've been turned off by the direction thus far. It feels exceptionally cheap. I was surprised to learn it's a BSG prequel. I tried giving it more benefit-of-doubt after learning that until I watched a scene that just struck me as entirely amateur in writing, editing, and composition.

I hold my entertainment to high standards. Perfect execution of one element can make up for lackings in other areas, but a new show needs either an amazing premise or an excellent execution to draw me in. Caprica hasn't done it for me yet.

[MacGuffin]

The pilot had a few blips. I find it hard to believe that someone's entire memory and personality can fit into 300mb worth of storage space. You can't fit a decent sized game into that.

I think the implication is that there is more than code happening (a soul). Hence she "bonds" to that one specific robot.

[Darth Brooks]

I liked the latest episode with Tamara's Matrix riff.

Nice little way to explore that idea without a direct steal and it explains Cylon projecting. If anyone complains about it being a rip off of The Matrix I point them to TRON and tell them to be quiet.

[Merle]

I liked the latest episode with Tamara's Matrix riff.

Blah... I'm not sure how I feel about the latest episode. On the one hand, it was the most coherent and well-made episode yet and it looked super duper pretty. On the other hand: 40's noir virtual worlds? - SNORE.... what a tired, boring, uninspired design choice. And, what's more - you can't just suspend all your storylines and leave most characters almost completely off screen only 5 episodes into a new series to play around in your snazzy little bugsy malone rip-off! I really don't care about Tamara at this point, I want to know what's going on with Zoe and the Graystones....
This episode was well done, but it felt like a completely different show to the one that's been slooowly building up to something great over the last few weeks...

[Darth Brooks]

She had nice legs. At one point that's really all I cared about, but it was enough to keep watching. :)

[Double Victory]

Blah... I'm not sure how I feel about the latest episode. On the one hand, it was the most coherent and well-made episode yet and it looked super duper pretty. On the other hand: 40's noir virtual worlds? - SNORE.... what a tired, boring, uninspired design choice. And, what's more - you can't just suspend all your storylines and leave most characters almost completely off screen only 5 episodes into a new series to play around in your snazzy little bugsy malone rip-off! I really don't care about Tamara at this point, I want to know what's going on with Zoe and the Graystones....
This episode was well done, but it felt like a completely different show to the one that's been slooowly building up to something great over the last few weeks...

Never watched BSG, and I don't watch Caprica but I saw the latest two episodes at a friend's house the other day.... and I really liked the virtual world. The concept of "winning" it was intriguing, and I like that that girl (Tamara, I guess?) pretty much rules it since she can't be killed (by bullets, at least).

I don't really like any of the characters, though. And I felt really bad for Adama's dad with Adama and his uncle sort of going off on their own. I mean, I'm aware of what Adama becomes, but really, his dad seems nice. Guess that's not the Tauron way, though.

There wasn't enough sci-fi to keep me interested, in any case. And Graystone's wife grates on my nerves.

[Freedom Geek]

I can't watch it. Too luddite. (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)

[Merle]

There wasn't enough sci-fi to keep me interested, in any case. And Graystone's wife grates on my nerves.

I think she's the best character... well, she's the one I'm enjoying the most. Her and Sam the gangster uncle, everyone else seems very cipherish. Daniel is interesting but too closed-off and cold to make much of an impact. Amanda feels very real - she's awkward and difficult and says stupid things, and at the same time her and Daniel have this fabulously warm and loving relationship that stops her from fragmenting. I really think she's the most well thought out and rounded character on the show, both by the scriptwriters and by the actress playing her.

As for the lack of proper Sci-Fi... well, yeah there's no big space battles... but what there is is wonderfully realised world-building. They have really, really thought about how differences in technology etc would fit into and impact people's lives. It is done seamlessly, but it is a very, very SF show. Also, the city-scapes are future-architecture porn.

[Double Victory]

I think she's the best character... well, she's the one I'm enjoying the most. Her and Sam the gangster uncle, everyone else seems very cipherish. Daniel is interesting but too closed-off and cold to make much of an impact. Amanda feels very real - she's awkward and difficult and says stupid things, and at the same time her and Daniel have this fabulously warm and loving relationship that stops her from fragmenting. I really think she's the most well thought out and rounded character on the show, both by the scriptwriters and by the actress playing her.

As for the lack of proper Sci-Fi... well, yeah there's no big space battles... but what there is is wonderfully realised world-building. They have really, really thought about how differences in technology etc would fit into and impact people's lives. It is done seamlessly, but it is a very, very SF show. Also, the city-scapes are future-architecture porn.

I may have to give it another shot at some point and watch it from the beginning, then. But there really aren't any characters that I connect with, and that's typically a big part of keeping me interested in pretty much any type of story.

And what's the harm in throwing in a big space battle or two every now and then? ;)

[Mind Marauder]

The latest episode seemed to drag on without anything truly interesting happening. A "filler" episode, if you will. Although I do like the rest of the season.

[SShack]

The introduction of Vergis was interesting, I thought. He's a powerful bad-ass, and no doubt a player with a sketchy background, but he's actually completely innocent in this context. That makes him intriguing as an adversary. My big concern is that they'll have him do something even worse than what Daniel and the Adamas have done in order to make sure the audience roots against him.

I find myself mostly wondering if any of the characters we're meeting eventually become personality inspirations for the cylon skinjobs. Does Tamara become Six (which her walk at the end of the previous episode seems to foreshadow)? Does Clarice become D'Anna? Does Nestor become Leoben? Or maybe this new Barnabas guy becomes Leoben? It would be somewhat disappointing if the personalities for the skinjobs all came from the folks the Final Five knew on the previous earth.

[Merle]

Yeah, the latest episode was BO-RING.

And those weird bloody, soft focus non-flash-black-flash-backs that Daniel kept having were really annoying.

(Oh, except I did like the lab nerd/ Zoe stuff... there are some strange sexual tensions at work in this show - remember a few weeks back where Robot Zoe was in the room when her parents were having sex? :sick: )

[Mind Marauder]

(Oh, except I did like the lab nerd/ Zoe stuff... there are some strange sexual tensions at work in this show - remember a few weeks back where Robot Zoe was in the room when her parents were having sex? :sick: )

I actually find that part of the show (the Zoe and "nerd" relationship towards one another) to be a promising part of the show. However, I think a potential weak point is the character Tamara Adama. She makes a huge character shift from weak and lost to aggressive and controlling within one episode. Perhaps this can merely be attributed to the fact that she is know realizing that she is indeed just an avatar, but the switch still struck me a forced. As well, perhaps they are forcing her character development along so that they can spend time developing the more critical characters of the show.

[SShack]

I actually find that part of the show (the Zoe and "nerd" relationship towards one another) to be a promising part of the show. However, I think a potential weak point is the character Tamara Adama. She makes a huge character shift from weak and lost to aggressive and controlling within one episode. Perhaps this can merely be attributed to the fact that she is know realizing that she is indeed just an avatar, but the switch still struck me a forced. As well, perhaps they are forcing her character development along so that they can spend time developing the more critical characters of the show.

I think the problem with that episode was that they never really had the chance to establish her personality in the first place before "killing" her off in the pilot. They spent more time on real Zoe than real Tamara. Tamara's few lines in the pilot suggested that actually she was a pretty tough girl, but it was all "telling" instead of "showing." I think the frightened Tamara in the virtual world wasn't supposed to be how she really "was," but they didn't really set it up well.

[Mind Marauder]

I think the frightened Tamara in the virtual world wasn't supposed to be how she really "was," but they didn't really set it up well.

That would make sense. They said that they got the information for the avatars from search engines. Clearly there was enough information to get the physical characteristics correct, but as you suggest, if I am perceiving what you are saying correctly, there may have not been enough information on her personality. Zoe's avatar doesn't run into that problem because it was created personally by Zoe.

[Autoptic]

The redundancy of the MCP is solved? They've been failing to duplicate a working chip since it's not the chip, that we knew, but they can't locate Avatar Zoe's code inside the thing because they can't figure either out?

[phej]

The redundancy of the MCP is solved? They've been failing to duplicate a working chip since it's not the chip, that we knew, but they can't locate Avatar Zoe's code inside the thing because they can't figure either out?

From what I remember, they can't get Zoe's MCP to work in any other robot body and they also can't make another functioning MCP. I don't expect a good explanation for either (and I expect these blockers to be fuzzy when solved.)

[Autoptic]

From what I remember, they can't get Zoe's MCP to work in any other robot body and they also can't make another functioning MCP. I don't expect a good explanation for either (and I expect these blockers to be fuzzy when solved.)


The guy the MCP was stolen from says it doesn't work which was his smugness in assuming Graystone Industries was going under. After Zoe's hint that it was something analog in the chip to Philemon (points for functional geek "non-flirtation") and Philemon passing it on to Daniel, the episode ends with Daniel looking into the robot's eye asking "Zoe?".

[phej]

The guy the MCP was stolen from says it doesn't work which was his smugness in assuming Graystone Industries was going under. After Zoe's hint that it was something analog in the chip to Philemon and Philemon passing it on to Daniel, the episode ends with Daniel looking into the robot's eye asking "Zoe?".


The analog thing was just a guess about the circuitry. It still doesn't explain everything. The generative blah, blah, blah is just that blah. Some games already use generative processes to make landscapes.

[Autoptic]

I was taking to it mean something solely about the code not the chip. They understand neither the chip nor the code. They only identified the code in its original form, but, when put in the chip, it's probably at least reformated for the chip. This would turn it all into gibberish since they don't know the chip either. They dropped an enigma into a blackbox, which doesn't even do what it's supposed to.

[phej]

I'd say that at least Daniel understands the chip. He said something along the lines of it being an elegant design. He may not understand the underlying code that runs the Zoe avatar, but he does understand the platform that the avatar runs on (since he's the inventor of the holo-band and the servers that run the virtual worlds). So presumably, he ported the whole virtual world platform to run on the MCP and hooked up Zoe's I/O to the robot.

This is kind of where the science of Caprica and souls and want not falls apart: how could there be leakage of the platform unto the robot and how does the analog circuitry come into place. Did Zoe the avatar rewrite all of the software by the end of the pilot episode? If she did, that would be a nice tidy way to avoid the need for explaining all of this. Except, that Greystone Industries is presumably successful in mass making Cylon Centurions, so they may be required into delving into it, or they can just ask Zoe the avatar or the STO for a way to bootstrap this conundrum.

(Aside: as a real example, some folks have used the analog properties of an FPGA to produce a music synthesizer: if you placed the firmware on another FPGA, it wouldn't work until you retrained the firmware.)

[HAL 9000]

I detest most of the stuff produced by Syfy, but it is refereshing to see that Eric Stoltz is still doing something. He was brilliant in Kicking and Screaming.