58 Years Before the Fall…

About a month ago I ran out of things to watch and in the absence of anything else I turned to that trusty genre, Sci Fi. Now as we all know Science Fiction can be good and when it is, it is often great, but it can also be bad, really bad, Torchwood ringing any bells? Battlestar Galactica was one of those show I had attributed to the bad column, after all what could a remake of a seventies show that didn’t survive past its first season possibly have to offer the modern sci-fi geek? Thus in my ignorance I ignored it, until at last the cupboard was bare and I decided to give the pilot a go, after all, how bad could it be?

That was a month ago, I’m now on the final episode of season 3! I’m hooked! And during my research into what is coming up in September I discovered that BSG is due to have its own spin off series, Caprica. I couldn’t wait to watch it, although at first I struggled, trying to decide if it would ruin how I saw the remainder of BSG, but after much umming and ahhing I plonked myself down and watched the two hour pilot.

What follows is, hopefully, a spoiler free commentary on the quality of the show and if I believe it has a future on our screens. (P.s. If you’re too lazy to read on any further, I do… watch it!)

The episode opens with the line “58 years before the fall.” Already we know when we are and the title of the show tells us where. A lot of what happens in the pilot and by extension the upcoming Tv show, is designed to inform us about life in the Thirteen Colonies, in particular Caprica. Where BSG only touched on this in the attempts to reinstate their civilisation, Caprica is already  living in it. For example the episode opens with some rather graphic depictions of what teenagers do for relaxation on Caprica (Boobs, boobs and more boobs.) and it gives us an insight into the culture in a way that BSG could never do, because that culture no longer exists.

Although, like BSG, Caprica has a large ensemble cast, the story focuses mainly on three people. The first of these is the prodigy Zoe Graystone. Teenager and idealist, she and her two friends are planning to leave Caprica and head to Geminon. Zoe has created a virtual version of herself, capable of infinite impendent thought, of learning and expressing emotion. It is not entirely clear why she has done so, but Zoe clearly has a plan for her cyber-self once they reach Geminon.

The second major character is Joseph Adams.

***pathetically minor spoiler*** One of the final revelations of episode is that Joseph Adams, with his son William, is actually Joseph Adama. However if you have watched at least some of season 3 of BSG you will know Bill Adama’s father was a lawyer  and called Joseph. On top of that Esai Morales who plays Joseph looks like a young Bill Adama, so really we all guessed who he was! ***spoiler over***

Anyway, Joseph Adams is a lawyer on Caprica, with a son called William. The pilot focuses on a disaster and the aftermath that leads to a chance meeting between Joseph and the next key player, Zoe’s father, Daniel Graystone. Through Joseph the show attempts to bring to the fore the issues of race and class, in a way that BSG could not, after all, long running racial storylines only detract from the true focus of BSG, not so with Caprica. In fact the race and class divide will act as a driving force behind many of Joseph Adam’s actions in the series I’m sure.

The final player is Daniel Graystone. He is a genius inventor who created the Holoband, virtual worlds, somewhat akin to a series of mini Matrix’s (1999 film) just less invasive (You don’t have to shove a spike into a plug socket in the back of your head.) However at the start of the episode he is working on the A.I. for a robot that is clearly a Cylon Prototype.

Caprica and BSG both deal with similar issues. For example much of the pilot episode is about dealing with loss and clearly the episode is laying the groundwork for the first Cylon War to take place, something that I think we may see before the end of season 1. However Caprica aims to deal with many other issues too, such as religion and the lack of tolerance for unorthodox religions. It deals with issues that are pertinent today in own world, such as fear of  religious fanatics, of how those that don’t understand religion and race often jump to fear as a natural response. It deals with issues of class and racism and it asks difficult questions about ethics and morals.

Ok, so I’ve said all I can say without giving anything away. Now its time for my opinions. Did I like Caprica’s pilot as much as BSG’s? The simple answer is no. However, truthfully, it is impossible to compare the two. BSG is action packed, things explode, killer robots that look human destroy the known civilised world, its a hair raising three hours. Caprica however is much more subtle, sure, some things blow up, there is even a killer robot but this  show is about something deeper, it asks those moral questions that make us feel uncomfortable, but in a good way. It brings us a richly developed culture and asks us to delve into it and explore its faults and its failings. It challenges us to think about our own world and the injustices that exist.

So then, Caprica is a heavy going, soap opera in an unfamiliar universe? No! It still has that gritty feeling that Battlestar has, the writing acting and casting are all excellent. The CG is mostly superb, although there are some weaker moments. It is rich and vibrant and although I have used the words 

“uncomfortable” “moral” “ethics”

this show is not about preaching or condemning, it is about connecting. Bringing us recognisable situations that allow us as an audience to  sympathise. Because we can recognise the situations the characters find themselves in, despite the alien nature of the world and the society, we find that we understand, maybe even support the morally ambiguous characters and we care for them, even when they do things wrong, even when we know the consequences for their actions will ultimately be the destruction of the human race!

And that is the beauty of Caprica.

So, yes, I will be tuning in come December (So I believe.) But for now I will just have to make do with the final season of Battlestar Galactica.

Anyway, that’s My Two Cents, “So Say We All.”

British Comedy

This is just a mini update, hopefully tomorrow or friday I will bring you a discussion on the pilot episode for Caprica. However until then, good news for Brits who are sick of reruns on Dave… Top Gear is back for its 13th series. It starts on Sunday and you can watch it anytime on BBC iPlayer.

Also, if that is not enough top comedian Michael McIntyre is touring the UK with his “Comedy Roadshow” which always airs on Saturday nights, also available on iPlayer.

Right that’s it, next Caprica!

Heroes: Five Years On?

Apparently I have developed a habit for delivering old news, which means this post on Heroes will fit right in because its about season 1!

Ok, so you may remember that three years ago Hiro and Ando jumped forward five years into the future to a New York devastated by an exploding man, Peter Petrelli. In that future we got glimpses of all the Heroes and what had become of them, of course Hiro and the other Heroes stopped Peter destroying New York so that future became null and void, or did it?

In the first half of season 1 Hiro met a waitress called Charlie, a waitress who would later be killed by Sylar for her ability to learn things by just reading them once. Hiro went back in time to save Charlie, however he couldn’t, she was dying of a brain tumour.  Hiro determined that his power was great but he could not change the past, no matter how hard he tried. Now I would like to suggest, as Linderman and Angela Petrelli suggested, that the future, like the past, is inevitable.

In the episode Five Years Gone there are many clues, with hindsight, about what is to come in future seasons. Lets start by looking at the characters who haven’t survived:

DL – In the bad future DL Hawkings had been killed by Sylar, not the case the way that the series played out but still DL died. Like Charlie his death seems inevitable.

Micah – In the bad future we can assume that Micah was killed in the blast although it is possible that Sylar took his ability too. In the series future Micah is alive and living underground, helping others with abilities escape Nathan Petrelli and Danko. Sylar would later facilitate his escape, but is that because he wants to take Micah’s ability for himself?

Candice – The beautiful Missy Peregrym had been killed by Sylar so that he could take on the appearance of anyone or anything he  chose. At the start of season 2 Sylar would kill Candice but he would fail to take her ability, however that was rectified by the end of season 3.

Ando – In the bad future Ando death drive Hiro to become a soulless hero stopping at nothing to change the past in the hope of saving his friend. However other visions of the future have shown that if Ando survives he will eventually kill Hiro. Will Hiro have to destroy Ando to save the world? I hope not, this partnership is one of the best on TV!

Ted Sprague – No matter which future you look at Ted was always destined to die and pass on his power to Sylar.

Nathan Petrelli – We learn that Nathan was killed by Sylar but not before Nathan turned on his own people. Could this sum up  Nathan’s role in Chapter 4: Fugitives any more succinctly? It seems that Nathan was always destined to betray his own kind and to die at Sylar’s hands and that Sylar was always destined to assume his identity.

And those that survived?

Peter Petrelli – Nathan’s younger brother did explode and kill everyone in the bad future, however in the series future he only severely disfigured his older brother. It does seem that Linderman was right, Peter was destined to explode and he did, but New York was not destroyed but maybe it has to be for the future to unfold how it was supposed to. Can we therefore expect the end of season four to see the city devastated? Also future Peter, whenever he appears, always has the scar, despite his ability to heal. Is that too inevitable? Or is it just a way to tell the two Peters apart?

Nikki Sanders – In the bad future only Nikki seems to be better off. She has learned to control her ability. Shame it took her losing her son and her husband to be able to do so. Of course in the series future Nikki Sanders is dead (Or is she?) however Tracy Strauss and Barbara clearly aren't. Is one of the other triplets destined to end up with Peter instead?

Matt Parkman – Matt has turned into a bounty hunter for Nathan Petrelli, who is really Sylar, rounding up Heroes wherever they are to be found. This is the biggest departure from the series future there is. Matt is the leader of the resistance in the series future, however could losing Daphne lead him to hunt his own kind? We also see a picture of his wife Janice and her son, drawn by baby Matt, who we know will grow up to have a power of his own.

Mohinder Suresh – Is working with the man he believes to be Nathan who is actually Sylar and together they allowed the bomb to go off in NY, for the greater good. This is a trait with Mohinder, always working with the enemy for the greater good, he worked with the company under both Thompson and Bob Bishop before working for the big bad Arthur Petrelli. Can we therefore assume that in the end, the now superpowered, Mohinder will, under the misguided notion of doing right by doing wrong, end up working with the enemy, maybe even causing a catastrophe like the bomb that should have destroyed New York?

Noah Bennet – Not a hero as such but he’s as good as “one of them”… In the bad future Noah pretends to work for Petrelli (Sylar) but secretly he helps those with abilities escape, something he will later do when working for the real Nathan Petrelli. Also we see here that he is in cahoots with Matt Parkman, so maybe Parkman is only helping Petrelli so that he can more effectively help Noah.  

Claire Bennet – Claire is dead, actually she isn't but everyone thinks she is, which is the only thing keeping her safe from Sylar and stopping him ripping off her head and taking her ability. Unfortunately for Claire when she goes to see her father Nathan Petrelli she discovers the horrible truth, that he is Sylar! In the series future however Claire manages to go for another season and a bit without Sylar taking her head off.

Hiro – Hiro, devastated by the loss of Ando turns to “Terrorism” by hunting down those who would hunt people with abilities and killing them. Future Hiro becomes a powerful unstoppable force that walks on the darkside of morality. However series future Hiro is stripped of his power and what little he regains is slowly killing him. Have Hiro’s actions in changing the future and saving Ando and NY enacted a terrible price from Hiro? Or is it just a test, like with Kensei and the dragon, will Hiro die to protect those he loves?

Finally we come to Sylar – In the bad future Sylar seeks out and destroys his own kind in order to take from them the powers they don’t deserve. He has taken on the mantle of Nathan Petrelli and, as his mother predicted, he has risen to the office of the President of the United States. In the series future Sylar is offered the chance to change (in fact in one future he has changed and becomes a force for good.) however his hunger over powers his judgement and he kills his would-be redeemer, Elle. After that he joins up with Danko, seeing an opportunity to get unlimited access to all the powers he could ever want, an all you can eat buffet if you like. This is something he has always sought out, with Mohinder’s father and later with the son. Taking the ability to shape shift from James Martin, Sylar plans to replace Nathan Petrelli with himself so as to get close enough to kill the president and then take office. In a final showdown with Peter and Nathan, Sylar kills Nathan (as he did in the bad future) and then Matt Parkman forces Sylar to believe that he is in  fact Nathan Petrelli.

So I hope it was clear what I was trying to do here…? I’m trying to suggest that maybe Tim Kring has a plan and that he has hinted at it all along and that the glimpses that we get into the future are more than just a device to pull the story along. I sincerely hope that Heroes makes it into its fifth year, just so we can see just how accurate the episode Five Years Gone is, but if what has happened so far is any clue then I think we might have a Lost-esque reveal “You can’t change the FUTURE!”

Anyway, that’s been My Two Cents, until next time… “Live Long and Prosper”