Battlestar: Caprica
The "Skinjobs"
The community of sci fi fans has eagerly awaited the return of prime time sci fi with Caprica, the prequel series of Battlestar Galactica. Battlestar ended March, 2009 to popular acclaim. The thing that was unique about Battlestar was that it appealed to a wider spectrum of viewers. Sci fi generally appeals to young males with strong but slightly less support among males well into their 50′s. Battlestar succeeded in attracting a female and non-geek audience better than any other series of its genre. As mentioned here, even my girlfriend watched it with me, which I dare say is unheard of.
Caprica seeks to continue this cross-spectrum appeal by building on what Battlestar had accomplished. Namely, it deals with everyday social issues that anyone can relate to like terrorism, prejudice, religion, envy, jealousy, infidelity, politics, and vice. Unlike other series like those of the Star Trek franchise, it eschews the clean, sterile, utopian ideal for a more gritty, down-to-earth setting. In other words, the people on the show are just like us. This spares us the nauseam that Star Trek TNG viewers were subjected to time and again when lead character Jean Luc Picard was unable to pass up any opportunity to orate over mans glorious inner virtues. Gone are the speeches on how we are imperfect, “but we can learn.” Gone are the lectures about how we no longer work for money or material wealth, “but simply to better ourselves.” Yea right. I wonder what a recession looks like in the Star Trek universe. Do we all agree to better ourselves a bit less?
Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek forbade any depictions of sexuality of any kind (if you discount Kirk nailing every female he came across). In fact, cast members were banned from the show for off-screen, personal conduct. For example, one cast member’s character was notoriously killed off because she posed nude for Playboy magazine. This will certainly not happen within the Battlestar franchise because sexuality is in no short supply.
The opening sequence of Caprica begins with a raunchy night club scene. The main character in the scene walks through several rooms where some hard partying is taking place. In one of those rooms, an orgy is in full…uh…swing. There is lots of bare skin and hot chicks making out. I think the director is using a common technique whereby he establishes in the first scene the limits (or lack thereof) to which he is willing to go not only to set the mood and pace of the show but also to capture the interest of the audience. This technique also serves the purpose of immediately alienating people to which the show is not targeted; mainly young children or conservative, old-fashioned viewers who are looking for entertainment along a more wholesome vein. A scene like this in the beginning of a show is an invitation to move on if it’s not your thing.
Caprica Train Blast
The show’s storyline demonstrates the reliance that the people of Caprica have on technology. Once again, they avoid alienating the non-sci fi crowd by not relying on gadgetry as a part of the story telling or to wow us. Most of what we see in the city are things we might have today. The people are dressed like us, in typical business suits or casual wear. They drive cars and ride on the subway or inner-city train. When they kill, they use regular guns that look strikingly like the average 9mm. I’m sure we even have Battlestar versions of the gun control movement and pro-gun lobby. Viewers polled during the last Battlestar series said that they related better to the story because there was little or no technology that they found unrealistic like “ray guns” or transporter beams. In fact, many people found it ironic to find a doctor on a spaceship who found it difficult to quit smoking. There was also occasionally problems with the equipment malfunctioning or an engineer that found a way to “MacGyver” a ship by patching it together with some duct tape and bubble wrap. All of this reinforced the ultimate conclusion of Battlestar: They are us. It also contributed to the critical acclaim the series received since by limiting the wow factor of gadgets, it forced writers to focus on story telling and forced actors and directors to think about how to engage the audience through the performance. The result was nothing short of amazing to fans.
Two of the moral dilemmas faced by the characters form the basis of the plot. The first, is a terrorist act where members of a movement that seeks to elevate “the one true god” to prominence, blows up a train. The second, is the ethical dilemma of blurring the line between life and artificial intelligence. It is hard to not see the parallels between these elements of the story and what is going on in our world today. The “one true god” storyline will answer the questions viewers had in Battlestar about why the Cylons, who are machines are so hell bent on elevating “the one true god” among their own population, if you can call it that. The granting of sentience and “feelings” to artificially intelligent beings shows us not only how the Cylons were created and why but also gives us some idea as to whether or not they really are sentient or simply robots that are programmed to act that way convincingly.
From what I have seen thus far, I think this show has the potential to be as good as Battlestar Galactica, even without Tricia Helfer (a serious handicap). It also may be the cement in the recasting of the sci fi genre into something more mainstream. We now have an example of a sci fi show that can provide artistic excellence and captivate an audience without the help of rayguns or ship’s captains that nail everything that moves. I confess, I still miss my weekly dose of Trek. Hopefully with this paradigm shift, we can have our space cake and eat it too.
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