We finally took the BSG finale off our DVR the other day. This bummed us out a little, partly because that last bit in Africa was really really pretty and we're not going to be able to see it in HD again unless we get a Blu-Ray player. But mostly because, darn it, we're a little less satisfied with "Daybreak" now than we were when we first saw it. Can't put our fingers on it exactly, but anyone else feeling the same way? LIke they stil want more?
Well, don't worry, because that's probably intentional. There's a lot more Battlestar on the way -- and the first batch arrives today!
Released on DVD today: Caprica, the pilot to Sci-Fi SyFy's new soapy prequel series, often characterized as "Dallas in Space", that follows the Greystone and Adama families as they create the Cylons and, presumably, squabble over who crashed the Rolls and got the maid pregnant.
Frankly, we're not sure if we're gonna dig this one. We like the cast -- holy crap, that's Trixie from Deadwood! -- and we don't necessarily mind the idea of a soap set in space. Battlestar was basically a realistic military show in space, and that worked pretty well. But we're really concerned that people like us are going to be looking to this show for answers to the many questions left open in the BSG continuity and they're not gonna be there. Also, in our heart of hearts, after seeing the promo pic above, we'd sort of been hoping that Caprica'd be more like "Mad Men in Space" -- a gorgeously made, crackingly written retro drama set, like Battlestar and Mad Men, in a recognizable but exotic world -- but from early reports, it's not clear that it's that well made yet. Alan Sepinwall and Wired say "yes," but Salon's description jibes a little more closely with what we've seen of the previews thus far.
It doesn't have the same sense of scale or tragedy as "Battlestar" and
feels considerably more generic, both dramatically and stylistically.
The drama builds slowly, and scenes unfold without much, if any,
tension. What little tension it has owes to viewers' knowledge of what
will happen 58 years later. (salon.com)
Ah well, it's still next in our Netflix queue -- yeah, they got it -- and when we get it, we'll let you know what we think. Maybe they'll hammer some of the kinks out by 2010, when SyFy actually starts producing the show on a regular basis.
In the meantime, word comes today on the Battlestar Season 4.5 DVD set, which has many of the things you'd expect -- character bios, plot summaries, featurettes on the production -- and one thing that we hope will eventually lead to answers to our burning questions: a preview of November's The Plan, the Cylon-centric TV movie that takes place within the existing BSG continuity and, we are told, will finally explain what "And they have a plan" meant week after week.
PREVIOUSLY:
Our Caprica Archive
Our Battlestar Galactica Archive
