The Series
Due to creative and
commercial considerations, Caprica differs significantly
from its parent series. Creatively, Ronald D. Moore and David
Eick wanted to examine another side of the narative universe,
separate from Battlestar Galactica. Said Moore,
"Everything about Caprica was designed specifically to not
repeat what we had done in Galactica." Commercially, while
it fared well in the press, Battlestar never really did
as well with the public. In part this was blamed on the series'
long storylines but also on the war in space backdrop. It
was believed it prevented a female audience from tuning in to a
drama whose stories they would connect with.[6]
With these creative and practical demands and Caprica's
storyline focused on events taking place before the two
Cylon Wars,
the series has a distinct identity, with its own tone, content
and style.
Though Caprica is
a prequel, it is self-contained and viewers can join without
having seen
Battlestar Galactica.
While it will explore elements of the backstory of the
reimagined series, notably the emergence of artificial life and
its progeny the Cylons, it will do so in a manner which requires
no prior knowledge.
Outline
Whereas the dark,
post-apocalyptic reimagined series revolves around a final bid
for survival, Caprica is preoccupied with a world
intoxicated by success: The
Twelve Colonies
are at their peak, mesmerized by the seemingly unlimited promise
of technology, self-involved and oblivious. Through the
entanglements of the Adamas and the Graystones, the series will
examine ethical dilemmas that emerge from advances in
Artificial Intelligence
and
robotics.
Set against the backdrop
of a society with technology a few decades ahead of our own,
Caprica is more of a traditional drama than a space opera.
Instead of violent conflict and a plot driven by action,
Caprica unfolds in stories which focus on corporate,
political, personal and familial intrigue. With the troubled
relationship between the Adamas and the Graystones at its
center, the series has even been likened to dynastic soaps such
as Dallas and Dynasty, with accolades such as "television's
first
science fiction
family saga."
Details
- The Graystones
include father Daniel, a computer genius; mother Amanda, a
brilliant surgeon and unfaithful wife; and their daughter Zoe,
who is martyred to her boyfriend's religious fanaticism – but
not before she installs the rudimentary elements of her
personality and DNA into a machine, creating a digital twin of
herself, Zoe-A. After the human Zoe's death, Daniel uses these
raw materials, some stolen technology and his own grief to
cobble together "a robotic version of his dead daughter." This
robot version, known as Zoe-R, is a Cylonic Eve, the first of
her kind.
-
Joseph Adama
is the father of future
Battlestar
commander
William Adama.
In the act of terrorism which sets the story in motion, he
loses not only his daughter, but also his wife.
- The production design
references 1950s America, not only to reinforce the sense of
viewing the past, but to illustrate a sense of wonder and
oblivion.
- The
script
for the two-hour pilot concluded with Daniel Graystone coining
the term "Cylon," saying, "A cybernetic life-form node, a
Cylon."
- Caprica's
tagline is "The battle for humanity has a beginning."
- Originally, it was
reported as: "The end of humanity has a beginning."
-
Esai Morales
on William Adama: "Young Adama is going to have quite the
evolution. He gets involved in some very tricky things for a
young man his age. It’s going to be interesting how he gets
out of it."
- Series producer Jane
Espenson states: "When we rejoin the show, everyone will still
be reeling from [the tragedy], but they'll be beginning,
almost subconsciously, to slip back into the patterns of life
in which you might catch yourself laughing, making a dark joke
at your own behalf, or noticing the absurdities of life again.
Caprica is set in an interesting world with technological
wonders that are going to be amazing to watch, too. So expect
some fun, some funny, and some dazzle."
The Pilot
The
Twelve Colonies
are at peace, 58 years before the
reimagined series,[19][20]
when an act of religious fanaticism brings together
Joseph Adama,
a lawyer with ties to the underworld, and wealthy technologist
Daniel Graystone, both of whom lose family members.
Grief-stricken by the loss of his daughter and fueled by
obsession, Daniel sets out to bring her back, using his
considerable wealth and sprawling technology corporation.
Offered the chance of his own daughter being restored, Joseph
wrestles with this notion until he comes face to face with its
reality.
On April 21, 2009, an uncut
and unrated extended version of the pilot was released as a
download from online digital media stores and as a complete DVD
with commentary, deleted scenes and video blogs.
Production
Genesis
Ideas about a prequel
series to
Battlestar Galactica
originated during production of its second season. Series
creator
Ronald D. Moore
and production partner
David Eick
speculated about a phase of the Battlestar Galactica
universe prior to the
Cylons,
naive and self-absorbed, leading to the fall. Unable to dedicate
serious time to the notion, it remained in the concept stage of
development. Then, in early 2006, screenwriter
Remi Aubuchon,
unaware of the ideas about a Battlestar Galactica
prequel, proposed a film about artificial intelligence to
Universal Pictures. Though Universal Pictures
turned down the project as a movie, Universal Television
executives felt Moore and Eick might be interested in Aubuchon's
take on the subject and arranged a meeting. Merging the existing
thoughts for a Battlestar Galactica prequel with those
Aubuchon brought to the table, a general outline for a series
and production set-up emerged. While SciFi management was
enthusiastic, it was engaged in a plodding struggle with Moore
about Battlestar Galactica. The show that had brought
SciFi acclaim and increased it public standing, was not pulling
in the
Nielsen ratings
that the network wanted. Though widely lauded by critics, SciFi
was convinced its long storylines kept new viewers from joining
and pressured Moore into retooling the third season to consist
largely out of standalone episodes. The measure backfired,
garnering negative criticism from fans and press alike, and
Moore revealed in the Season 3 finale podcast that the network
finally grudgingly admitted that standalone episodes simply do
not work with a story arc format.[24]
Still, with the proposed prequel series to have a
story-arc-heavy format like its predecessor, the network was
reluctant to greenlight the project and as a result, Caprica
got stuck in "development
hell".
With Eick and Moore's
announcement Battlestar Galactica was going to end with
its fourth season, and after a drawn-out pre-development cycle,
on March 18, 2008, the SciFi Channel announced that Caprica
had been picked up as a two-hour
backdoor pilot
event, indicating a possible commitment to a series, contingent
on ratings. On July 20, of the same year, SciFi announced it was
considering picking up Caprica as a series directly, and
make the pilot an extended season premiere.[20]
Finally, on December 2, SciFi gave the go-ahead to expand the
project into a full series. Production was expected to resume in
July 2009 for an anticipated series premiere in early 2010.
Company and
crew
NBC Universal Television Studio
developed the show, in conjunction with Aubuchon and the
executive producers of Battlestar Galactica, Moore and
Eick. Aubuchon co-created the show and worked on the pilot, then
left to become executive producer of Persons Unknown. The
pilot was directed by
Friday Night Lights
veteran Jeffrey Reiner. Battlestar Galactica's Jane
Espenson, Michael Taylor, and Ryan Mottesheard,
Pushing Daisies'
Kath Lingenfelter, and
Friday Night Lights'
Patrick Massett and John Zinman have joined the writing staff.
Moore will run the writers room initially, but hand off to
Espenson. She will become executive producer midway through the
first season, and then in due course take on the mantle of
showrunner. Battlestar's
Bear McCreary
will compose for the new series.
No
it is not the "X-File" TV show, but it is based on the fact that for
decades newspapers, radio, magazines, television and even motion picture
producers have made a commotion as to any discussion
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acceleration, supersonic flight at low altitude without sonic booms, and
violent, very high-g maneuvers. Are these manufactured, high-tech
vehicles Ours or... It has led to long-term arguments that have yet to
reach any generally agreed upon conclusion. What do you think.
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