The made for DVD movie and the series spin off of Battlestar Galactica called Caprica will premiere this January 22nd at 9 eastern 8 central on SYFY channel. I did get to watch the DVD when it was released last year and I did expect something like Battlestar but I was surprised to see it had a different type of feel to it . Not that it is bad just a little different .

While the episode was still fresh in my mind I decided to write a little a blog piece about it then which I cleaned up a bit and reprinted below.  I totally expect the TV version to be a bit different then the DVD only because certain content that may be key to some areas of the plot will most likely be cut out do to its adult nature.

 Expect the first episode to be a slower pace then BSG. But also take in consideration it is a pilot and introduction to a bigger story and  in these epic type of sci fi programs that means it may take some episodes to get going. No doubt the faithful will tune in and it will run its course and be a huge success. If not it will have the core audience to hold it up until the story is played out so either way the story that fills in all the blanks of the Battlestar universe should be complete from beginning to end.

Last years review I did of Caprica’s DVD.

If you are looking for a SCI FI tale with exploding ships and lots of action I think this series will not be for you. It is more  like those nite time soap dramas with the sci fi twist. Also the DVD is not for kids . Trust me I almost absent mindlessly let my 10 year old watch it without reading the content first on the DVD case.
The opening sequences depicts a virtual world where teens meet and could do anything like sex orgies , human sacrifices to the gods, special fight rooms where they beat the bejeezus out of each other , and anything else that teens would like to do without their parents knowledge whether it be extreme and violentor innocent meetings with friends that parents would not agree with. All of course done in a virtual world  much like our kids are doing when they go on to the net and log into some social network sites and visit various rooms on that site.

 It is here in this virtual arena where a cult is rising and gathering in secret about the one God which in this series is against the law of the establishment. If anyone ever watched BSG you should know that the 12 colonies are polytheists and believe in multiple Gods much like the Greeks and Romans did. It is that hard line that causes an anti establishment movement against the government and their beliefs of the Gods. This sets up the sequence of  a fanatic act of terrorism that starts the plot of the series and the destiny of the Adamas (Joseph Adamawho is the father of future Battlestar commander William Adama) and the Graystones a family that eventually it seems will be the creators of the Cylons (Cybernetic Life form Nodes – clever right).

The story happens 58 years before Galactica which kind of throws off some of the story line in Galactica if you ask me. Especially with the origins of the Cylons.  That may get tied up some how to fit but not perfectly IMO.

A short Plot summary From  both wiki and myself

The Twelve Colonies are at peace, 58 years before the reimagined series, 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 the notion until he comes face to face with its reality .

Now I will add to that. The daughter of  Graystone happen to be a computer genius who figures out how to store her brain patterns in the virtual world. Something that later on will lay a key part of the story (Her father later on in the story discovers what she had done and will try to find away to use that to save her)

Her father is a scientist in his own right and is in charge of creating a cybernetic war machine. You guessed it the Cylons. But can not get it to work.

Zoe now is not only brilliant but she is hooked up with the one God movement who with her friends set off a bomb on a train killing a mass amount of people including herself.

Grieving the father finds Zoes image and inprint of her mind in the virtual world and then out of desperation not to lose her plots to restore her as a cyborg the first attempt is used on a prototype Cylon.

Which at first seem to fail but yielded surprise results in the success of the military contract of the Cylons development. Convinced that Zoe was lost forever he decides to give up. But somehow Zoes life force holds on and reinserts itself in the form of a Cylon. And that’s pretty much how the pilot starts and ends.

Now was it worth watching . Well that depends on the person. This is not one of those I will recommend to everyone especially adventure seekers but the premise is solid and it could be a great medium to explore social issues. I found it entertaining and thought provoking on some levels and boring in other areas. I say wait till the TV series that is unless you like the nude scenes in the beginning and the blood and guts of the virtual sacrifices and fight scenes  then get the DVD.