Watched the pilot of the new sci-fi series Caprica today and was pleasantly surprised. Set 58 years before Battlestar Galactica, the story revolves around 2 families, the Greystones and the Adamas, and the birth of the Cylons. Did see a preview of Caprica last year and thought to myself; naaahh, but after 15 minutes of watching it had my full attention. Normally I'm not into pure drama but combine it with sci-fi and it becomes palatable for me. Although I must say that the same thing in Stargate Universe doesn't work for me, but that's another story.
Caprica is filmed in a different style then BSG. It's in the same 'Universe' but takes on an entirely different direction. The clothing of the characters is more in the style of the 1950s but the futuristic technology is still there. The viewer quickly finds out that the Caprican society has their own version of the Matrix, sorta, and there's even underground virtual reality where people do the most extreme things. It doesn't have the dark, gloomy anticipation of Battlestar Galactica where you always wondered; 'who's gonna die next?' Maybe there's some irony there because 58 years later the whole planet will be nuked out of existence. Oh well, no time like the present. Also liked those elements that give it that much more realism; not letting go of loved ones, crime, discrimination, religious extremism. Although not pure sci-fi oddly enough Caprica works for me.
