Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Arts & Entertainment

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In March 2009, the SciFi network (now referred to as "Syfy") aired the final episode of Battlestar Galactica. The series was a re-imagining of Glen A. Larson's 1978 series of the same name.

It followed the journey of the 50,000 human survivors of a massive attack against the Twelve Colonies of Kobol by the Cylons (a race of sentient robots originally created by humans…sort of), on a journey looking for the home of the fabled thirteenth tribe: Earth. The show's more realistic tone, and focus on character drama as opposed to constant action, helped make Battlestar Galactica one of Syfy's biggest shows.

Rewind to 58 years before the nuclear holocaust that nearly wiped humanity from the face of existence. The Twelve Colonies are at peace. However, a suicide bombing aboard a mag-lev train throws the lives of the people of Caprica into upset. Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz), a scientist trying to earn a government defense project, loses his daughter Zoe (Alessandra Torressani). Joseph Adama (Esai Morales), a lawyer from the planet Tauron loses his wife Shannon and daughter Tamara.

Not long after the bombing, Zoe's best friend Lacy (Magda Apanowicz) discovers that a digital "avatar" Zoe created of herself survived the bombing. Dr. Graystone also discovers the avatar and sets about downloading it into one of the "Cybernetic Life Form Nodes" (the earliest form of the Cylon Centurion) he is developing. Despite an apparent failure, he succeeds in implanting his daughter's "backup" into the robotic body.

Meanwhile, Joseph struggles with his loss while trying to remain positive for his young son, William (yes, the same William Adama that led that led the surviving humans to Earth nearly 60 years later).

The pilot episode for Caprica was originally released on DVD in April of 2009. The show subsequently premiered on Syfy on January 22nd, airing the pilot again, and "new" episodes began on January 29th. Based on what we've seen so far, it looks like Caprica will be mostly character drama set in a "futuristic" world (Battlestar Galactica ended approximately 150,000 years before our present), with perhaps a little action here or there.

Following in Galactica's footsteps, Caprica will have a number of parallel running character arcs. The three primary ones appear to be following Dr. Graystone and his Cylon project, Joseph his son William, and Joseph's criminal brother Sam (Sasha Roiz), and some plot following Lacy and one of the teachers at her school, Sister Clarice (Polly Walker).

However, unlike Galactica, it doesn't seem that there is an overall plot connecting all the characters together: Galactica had the constant threat of the Cylons as well as the journey towards Earth, but here, as of yet, there is nothing (apparent, at least). This is a bit of a double edged sword: on the one end, you can carry on for a long time and not have to worry about accomplishing anything.

On the reverse side, you can carry on for a long time and not accomplish anything. Sure, you can have character development and evolution galore, but if it doesn't feel like the characters are moving towards some eventual goal (like, say, finding a new home) then the time spent developing and exploring the characters is ultimately wasted.

There are 18 more episodes left in the first season for the show to find a good solid path to follow for however long the creators (and more importantly, the network) choose to carry on for.

If it can't find a good path, I really can't see this show lasting very long. Pessimism aside, Caprica looks like it will be an intriguing show. The potential is there. It's time to see if it can be found and properly taken advantage of.

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