All of This has Happened Before… But Not Quite in the Same Way!

Last week I talked about Caprica, the new spin off from Battlestar Galactica. However, now, I have finally watched the last episode of the parent series and I wanted to write something, to express my love for the show. I’ve been pondering though, how to start, because as I said last week, I came to this show with a sceptical view on the merits of a reboot of a show I had never had any interest in and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

The truth is that Science Fiction, as a genre, generates a preconceived response from a significant portion of the population. “I don't like Sci Fi.” Throw in the fans of the old series who doubt the credibility of a new series that dares to change even the most minute detail and you have a dwindling fan base. So how did it survive four years on air? By being frakkin’ awesome, that’s how.

So, what I thought I would do, rather than take the plot of four years and write it all out, I would instead do a tribute to the creators Ronald D More and David Eick and all the cast and crew of Galactica, while hopefully tempting those amongst my readership with the affore mentioned preconceptions to overlook them and dip their big toe in the ever shifting waters of Sci Fi.

This post, I promise, is spoiler free, it focuses purely on the nature of the show rather than specific plot details. However before we start, just a quick lowdown for those who don’t know the premise of the show.

About 50 years ago: Man created the Cylon, a robot that would effectively be a slave to mankind. However man was too clever for his own good and the Cylons rebelled. After a bloody war they vanished without a trace.

Present Day: The Cylons returned in human form and destroyed the 12 homeworlds of humanity, only a handful of the original population escaped aboard a starship known as Galactica. Hoping to evade the Cylons they begin their quest, searching for a new home, called Earth…

If you look at Battlestar from a distance the show may seem strange. It looks directionless, a floppy floundering behemoth of a series with both dedicated fans and outraged cynics. BSG will start storylines only to apparently abandoned them, offer explanations which seem to contradict all that we know to have gone before and the creators appear to be just as lost as the characters in the show.

However, when you look at this show from a distance, with an objective eye, you miss out on what makes this show so special, the people! There is a reason why BSG will run with a storyline only to dash it to pieces after weeks of alluding to its relevance, they do it because that is real life. We can’t know what will happen in our own lives and yet we see meaning in the patterns that surround us. Imagine then, that you were one of the last survivors of a holocaust that wiped out humanity, would you not believe that you had been spared for a reason, that you had a special destiny?

And yes, sometimes BSG feels like it is just humming along, but directionless, without a conductor to lead it. It does seem that it doesn’t know where it is going, but that is what the show is all about! Humanity has been annihilated and is floating through the universe in search of a mythical home, Earth, the characters in the show certainly don’t know where they are going, they don’t know who to trust or which of their friends might turn out to be a cylon. Then the fact that the writers and creators themselves don’t know these things works massively in their favour. They can play about, throw all manner of foreshadowing and allusion at us but in the end when they know something, we know something and that is a very different format for a show indeed.

Is BSG an original idea? Certainly not, for a start it is a reboot of an old series. The idea that man creates machine, machine destroys man has been around since the very first day we turned on a light bulb. The concept that our enemies are living amongst us could not be more pervasive in modern culture than it is right now with the “War on Terror” at is peak. Even the approach BSG takes is not original. For example Firefly showed the world that science fiction could exist without monsters and that it could be clever and witty, while Farscape showed us how dark and mind-bendingly twisted the genre can go without losing a fanbase.

So, it’s confusing, unoriginal, the creators have no direction and yet somehow I think you should watch it? Why? Because none of that matters. It doesn't matter that a show called Battlestar Galactica existed back in the seventies and just because Farscape opened the door to the darkside doesn’t mean we shouldn’t walk through that door again. So, here goes then, ten reasons to watch BSG:

1. The Cast: This show is cast brilliantly. Beautiful ladies, hunky men (if you’re into that kinda thing ;) ) and brilliant acting.
2. The Writing: The writers on this show have amazing talent, they have the ability to make you care about the characters, even the enemy!
3. The Effects: The special effects on BSG are brilliant and unlike most Sci Fi shows they don't just reuse the same shots over and over.
4. A Dedication to Style: The thing about BSG that really leaves an impression on you is just how dedicated Moore and Eick are to retaining the style of the show. Many shows start out with an idea “Lets shoot it this way…” and over time it either gets dropped or it becomes so in your face that you don't want to watch it anymore. BSG however remains true to its style throughout it’s run. The freestyle camera work with snap zooms bring to life this gritty, almost documentary style show, helping to ground it firmly in reality, despite how distant it is from any reality we know. And this dedication extends right across the show, everything from the way the characters are portrayed, to the effects, to changing the title sequence every single episode.
5. The People: Above everything else BSG is about people, it is about social interaction, professional interaction. It places people in impossible situations and asks them to choose the right path and the best bit? The people are far from infallible, they make a lot of wrong moves. Even if you don’t like science fiction, if you like good drama then BSG is for you!
6. Consequences: One thing I have always disliked about old sci fi shows, like for example Next Generation, is the one shot nature of it. There is a problem, they solve it, end of story. With shows like Farscape we moved beyond this method of storytelling, we began to crave series-long arcs for our characters, for each decision they make in the show to have far reaching consequences and that is what we get with Battlestar.
7. Mystery and Mythology: Battlestar has a very rich mythology for both the humans and cylons and that is something that really shines in the show. In fact the exploration of the cultural past of the two factions often takes a front seat and drives the narrative forward. Mystery too is there in reams, for a start the bad guys look human, they could be anyone, even the writers didn’t know who was a cylon when they started. All good drama revolves around mystery, just look at Lost, and BSG delivers it in spades.
8. It’s dark: It's nice to sit down and watch a light hearted comedy that demands nothing of you as a viewer, but it is not as engaging as a show that isn’t afraid to go to dark places, to make hard decision come to life and feel real right before your eyes. BSG is full of those moments where you have to ask yourself “They didn’t just do that?” only to reply, “Yes they frakkin’ did!”
9. But it’s fun: And right alongside those dark moments you have those jovial moments, those moments of extreme camaraderie, those righteous moments where people stand up for their beliefs, those moments where you are rewarded for surviving through the hard times.
10. It’s Real: Yes they are on a space ship and they use octagonal paper but BSG is one of the most down to earth, real sci fi shows around. While Farscape thrived on amazing creatures and cultures and Firefly was wonderful escapism BSG is real life, real situations. The characters are all flawed, some are so flawed that they cannot be redeemed (and yet…), no one is invincible, they can all die. The ship is a relic, a museum, retired from active service, not the pride of the frontline, every day is a struggle just to survive. And yet, instead of this realism bringing the down the show and making it a hard slog, it remains full of life, fully engaging with your emotions, taking you on a hair raising ride through a series of events that seem neither convoluted nor orchestrated, in other words, it’s life, but not as we know it.

So there you have it, just ten of a thousand reasons to watch this show, this show that is no longer on the air… but is available on DVD at Amazon or through My Store (exactly the same but I get 5% instead of Amazon :P) I hope, even if I have not endeared you to buy this series, that at least I have opened your mind to science fiction, the ever changing genre… This has been My Two Cents…

Coming next week a blast from the past (2006) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip…

***A Quick Note: The Seasons 1-4 Boxset curently available through Amazon is not the complete series, I will make a post when that boxset is available, which will probably be after the Tv Movie and final special, The Plan airs in Novemeber***

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.”