‘Caprica’ Reviewed by the Unbriefed

I jumped into watching the pilot of Caprica knowing almost nothing about what the show was. I did know it was on Syfy, so it dealt with sci-fi territory. And I’d read something about two feuding families, so ideas of a Romeo & Juliet vibe were running through my head. Well, that was preeeeeetty wrong. But I still found that the experience of watching the show was no less than mesmerizing. Which is kind of a feat, considering 1) I’ve never seen Battlestar Galactica 2) I swear I don’t like sci-fi! (Types the writer who loved Heroes season 1, Dollhouse season 2, and plenty of other things you could fairly easily classify as Sci-Fi…)

While I’ll hold steady to my belief that watching the show without knowing anything is a really interesting way to introduce yourself to the world,  you may want to know some information first. Whether you choose to read this before or after you give the show a try – like so many of life’s choices – that’s up to you.

Caprica (pronounced: CAP-rah-cah, not CapREEYCA) is a prequel to the popular series Battlestar Galactica. Despite it being a prequel, I feel as though I could legitimately be invested in this show without (or at least before) seeing Battlestar. (Hardcore Battlestar fans might argue me on this, and maybe they’re right.  But my TV schedule is so overbooked!)

Even without having seen any Battlestar (and I mean not even a GLIMPSE or a youtube clip!) the show had pervaded popular culture that I already loved – like Veronica Mars and The Big Bang Theory. Phrases used in the episode that I’ve heard before include:

Frak: It’s a swear word.
Cylon: A “cybernetic civilization”. Cylon stands for Cybernetic Lifeform Node.
“So Say We All”: Battlestar’s Wiki says the phrase “So say we all” is a concluding response to prayer in the Colonial faith.

The actress playing Zoe Graystone is Alessandra Torresani. Fans of Arrested Development will know her as the boring ANN! (Zoe is anything but boring.) While no one else may find this relevant, I loved her hair cut and am seriously wishing I could pull off bangs like hers.

While the show deals with a whole gob of things, I think it’s fair to say it really shows the backstory of a tremendous ‘verse, deals greatly with religion, politics, morality, and family. One of the main reasons I decided to give this show a try? One of the executive producers is Jane Espenson. I adore her talent in a way that other people love Miley Cyrus. I certainly can’t let the last words in this piece be that name… (Yes, I’m a bit of a snob about her – she’s…you know.) I hope my observations into the Caprica pilot can prove helpful to someone else. Even if it’s a cylon. (DUN DUN DUN.)