tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post1675861548307216452..comments2024-03-28T18:01:28.997-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Caprica, "Ghosts in the Machine": If you don't watch this show, he'll shoot this dogAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2267932277506652562010-04-04T19:30:38.408-04:002010-04-04T19:30:38.408-04:00I'm just catching up on this show on DVR, so p...I'm just catching up on this show on DVR, so perhaps shouting into the void here.<br /><br />I like the Adamas, particularly Sam. But I'm bored with the whole virtual world plot, which seems pointless and pretentious. I like the Adamas in the real world.<br /><br />I like the Torran gangster trying to buy the ballclub. More of him and his gentlemanly threats.<br /><br />Please, please, make Clarice and Amanda lovers and send them to another planet for the next 15 episodes.<br /><br />I haven't watched BSG, and this series so far isn't inspiring me to do so. I like the idea a lot -- the creation of world-killing robots -- which is why I've kept watching to this point. It's like Terminator Zero. But at some point something should happen.W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-44684766109666748662010-03-22T10:17:08.527-04:002010-03-22T10:17:08.527-04:00The Zoe/Cylon story is the only thing compelling a...The Zoe/Cylon story is the only thing compelling about this show. All the rest is slow, tedious, boring and pointless. Not sure if I will come back to this show unless next week's episode delivers some promise.Merrylegshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03768089761416498502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-86306145441903454002010-03-22T09:48:36.036-04:002010-03-22T09:48:36.036-04:00Thanks, Alan.
I guess it makes sense if a series ...Thanks, Alan.<br /><br />I guess it makes sense if a series has more than, say, 10 episodes in a season. And I should have realized this earlier: it may have something to do with DVD sales. Stargate Universe as a set of season 1.0 DVDs on sale now. Season 1.0, that rather odious practice of splitting a season in half and charging the same amount as for a full season.<br />Thanks again, Alan.<br /><br />ScottAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-39297255430237658622010-03-22T09:47:03.466-04:002010-03-22T09:47:03.466-04:00I increasingly feel as if I'm only watching th...I increasingly feel as if I'm only watching this show out of loyalty to the first season of BSG. The scripting is leaden and heavy-handed (shot of spider, pan to Clarice - oo, symbolic!) and the actors are failing to live up to their promise (except for Torresani, who has improved a great deal from the spoilt whiny brat of the pilot and will hopefully evolve further).<br /><br />All the main characters simply seem to be mentally deranged. There's Amanda with her depressive psychosis, there's Daniel with his borderline psycopathy and there's Joseph with his progressive depersonalisation. Unfortunately, there's nothing more to them than their derangement and they're little more than one-dimensional ciphers without anything to elicit sympathy or interest.<br /><br />At least we're starting to get an answer as to why Zoe Graystone spawned a race of evil genocidal robots - both her parents are insane and she's obviously inherited their problems.<br /><br />As an answer to the show's underlying question, that's about as trivial as it could get.Charles Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09657251150380437112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-35184471145274218432010-03-22T09:37:19.615-04:002010-03-22T09:37:19.615-04:00Scott, it's a practice that many basic cable c...Scott, it's a practice that many basic cable channels do, to stretch out their seasons over as much of the calendar year as possible (and to make the gaps between runs of original episodes much shorter than it is for, say, "Mad Men"). USA and TNT are also fond of this. And if it didn't work (in terms of retaining viewers when they return from the breaks), they wouldn't all keep doing it.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-57642988964252187662010-03-22T09:29:39.732-04:002010-03-22T09:29:39.732-04:00Alan:
A question about this mid-season "brea...Alan:<br /><br />A question about this mid-season "break": why is SyFy programming "Caprica" this way (and "Stargate Universe" too)? All of this hype and boom, now we have to wait weeks and weeks for it to return. It doesn't seem to me to be a way to retain viewers...<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />ScottAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-7063166638422952752010-03-21T23:40:42.838-04:002010-03-21T23:40:42.838-04:00When they went to the dog I was finally convinced ...When they went to the dog I was finally convinced that the writers really don't care about the philosophical underpinnings of the polydeist/STO opposition -- it's all about a Bad Teen and her Bad Daddy damning their civilization to hell, because of their gameplaying. Can't wait for the R-rated video game. (And can I say again just how fundamentally stupid it is to have a New Caprica City where with a little work players can steal each other's personae, yet can be monitored so expertly that they can be banished from the game permanently? It. Makes. No. Sense.)<br /><br />Sure, Zoe and Daniel at war is far better motivation and storytelling than we've gotten during most of this run, but it still sucks that the formation of a race as formidable as the Borg hinges on a teen girl's hissy fit... and I'm supposed to feel sorry for what part of the girl is left. Riight.<br /><br />The creepiness and judgment Daniel was openly revealing was crucial in understanding how Zoe would become a terrorist, but for me it's too little, too late. The writers could have opened up Zoe's world to give us a better explanation for her fanaticism than an allergy to Internet porn, and it could have opened up Daniel's world so we see how those who profit from that online decadence actually deal with being the creepy avatars who hit on girls like Zoe. <br /><br />The Chronosian hunger the older characters have for the younger (which I suspect is behind the backpedaling of making Clarice a literal seducer of her students, with possible GLAAD backlash and all) would be a very handy hook to explore a society on the decline, but Caprica doesn't deal with that in any meaningful way, save last week's Zylon/Dad confrontation. <br /><br />As for the dog, the handiest solution would have been for Daniel to drug it asleep, that way we wouldn't hear a peep out of it whether or not it was shot -- but they wanted that pleading pup picture, so really the writers were as dishonest as Daniel in what they wanted. If creating the first and only human/AI symbiosis required Sam to kill Vergis' men, then why the heck not kill a dog, to flush it out of hiding? This way Daniel revealed himself to Zoe not only as cruel, but a coward.<br /><br />I want more, and after the lessons learned through BSG, and the lengthy development period Caprica enjoyed with a near-guaranteed first season on the Syph, I should be getting it by now. I should know why the gods matter in a concretized, present way, and I should know why the STO is an active living force against them. I should care whether a gal worships one god or more, not whether her mom's heading back to the looney bin or experiencing the precursors of BSG's free will-stomping angels. I should know more about a colony than their essentialist-on-the-verge-of-racist stereotypes. I should know about more than *one* colony -- what the hell do Capricans believe in, anyway? Pyramid? It's the series' *home colony*, isn't it? That leaves nine, excluding the perpetual holy rollers on Gemenon (which is so fundamentalist it would burn Zoe and the STO on sight, so why in frak is it considered a haven?). Shouldn't we care, about details? <br /><br />Shouldn't the writers care that they are trying to replicate a form that is near death in the daytime and already replaced by trash reality at night, and that they will run out of time if we're no longer curious? Hell, considering the cooking and SFX makeup design shows the Syph's planning for next season, they should be close to pulling a V/Flash Forward refocus session.cgeyenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-43856789458049119382010-03-21T21:53:55.782-04:002010-03-21T21:53:55.782-04:00I'm glad I wasn't the only person to flash...I'm glad I wasn't the only person to flash on that famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Natlamp73.jpg" rel="nofollow">National Lampoon cover,</a> especially since the Graystone dog somewhat resembled the dog on that cover.<br /><br />It actually took me out of the scene, which is too bad, because it was one of the best scenes of the series so far.<br /><br />But man, I'm lukewarm on this series right now.barefootjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02619403344304134318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-72884369235625801742010-03-21T16:35:52.699-04:002010-03-21T16:35:52.699-04:00I thought I'd add that the title "Ghost/s...I thought I'd add that the title "Ghost/s in the Machine" has been an episode title for many a sci-fi show.<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_machine_%28disambiguation%29Billiamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-23189575502491797492010-03-21T16:34:01.703-04:002010-03-21T16:34:01.703-04:00There are some shows where the B plot isn't wo...There are some shows where the B plot isn't worth any time. Do what I do, if Amanda or Clarice appear on screen, push 30 second skip until you see Joseph, Daniel, the Tauranos or New Cap City.<br /><br />When the writers finally figure out what to do with Camanda you can catch up in 10 seconds by watching the "previously on"SShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04679933673065183141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5416531130005052962010-03-21T14:51:17.322-04:002010-03-21T14:51:17.322-04:00The problem I am having with the Joe Adama storyli...<i>The problem I am having with the Joe Adama storyline is that it doesn't seem to match the Joe Adama I heard about in Battlestar.</i><br /><br />You mean the man who is bitterly estranged from his son, defends ctiminal scum (because that's what hotshot "civil liberties" lawyers do) and sure seems to have passed on one hell of a volatile combination of bad temper, fierce loyalty to his "family" but a total inability to get along with his actual son? Sounds like a pretty tight fit to me...Craig Ranapiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923246310584658857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-43753946259763598742010-03-21T13:23:43.444-04:002010-03-21T13:23:43.444-04:00BSG has nothing to do with it. I just want compell...<i>BSG has nothing to do with it. I just want compelling stories in their own right, and too much of Caprica features bland characters and/or sluggish and repetitive storytelling.</i><br /><br />Alan, I am not as bothered as you are by the non-Daniel/Zoe plots. I find Amanda and Joseph's grief to be realistic in its "stuck, unable to move on" flavors.Boricua in Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10408201125366918838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-40876136445912988552010-03-21T12:21:51.247-04:002010-03-21T12:21:51.247-04:00The problem I am having with the Joe Adama storyli...The problem I am having with the Joe Adama storyline is that it doesn't seem to match the Joe Adama I heard about in Battlestar. I mean this is supposed to be Romo Lapkin's memtor, Lee Adama's hero and Bill Adama's advisory who by the way lead him to be a great military mind. So when I see this alleged great lawyer and he does not have an answer for the riddle I am really confused and frustrated because it just doesn't add up to the image I got from Battlestar. I just wish his character had much much more substance. And what happened to the police investigation storyline. I guess I'd like to see more of the lawyer like when Lee was the lawyer for Baltor. I wanted to hear that type of answer from Joe Adama.somethingaboutmaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13898660128522940032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-63158868768245812262010-03-21T04:57:50.494-04:002010-03-21T04:57:50.494-04:003. Amanda. Why should we care about her seeing her...<i>3. Amanda. Why should we care about her seeing her dead brother? Unless he's one of "God"'s angels, in which case I'm giving up on the show right now. If the show can't tell its story without divine intervention or nonsensical hallucinations, it has serious writing issues.</i><br /><br />Really? I know I'm definitely in the minority here, bur I actually like the way mental illness -- and, yes Jonah, that actually includes psychotic episodes exacerbated by drug and alcohol abuse -- isn't being treated like a plot token that can wished away by hitting the reset button. Way too close to home for me...Craig Ranapiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923246310584658857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-11751792193228766542010-03-21T04:52:56.527-04:002010-03-21T04:52:56.527-04:00(Speaking of the clan Adama, by the way, one of my...<i>(Speaking of the clan Adama, by the way, one of my Twitter followers suggested that the cross-dresser's riddle at the club was taken from a speech Bill Adama gives early in the "BSG" miniseries. This ring a bell with anybody else?)</i><br /><br />My bell more rang with this dialogue on Cylon Occupied Caprica between a Six and a Five in 'Bastille Day':<br /><br />Six: "This all makes me so sad." <br /> <br />Five: "They would have destroyed themselves anyway. They deserve what they got." <br /> <br />Six: "We're the children of humanity. That makes them our parents in a sense." <br /> <br />Five: "True - but parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own."Craig Ranapiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923246310584658857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-55655997506314872282010-03-21T03:53:20.473-04:002010-03-21T03:53:20.473-04:00Oops - spelling error on Paula's last name in ...Oops - spelling error on Paula's last name in my comment above. It's "Malcomson".Oaktown Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00811331454878606058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-10633867521196931412010-03-21T01:56:39.368-04:002010-03-21T01:56:39.368-04:00@Jen: I thought the same thing, although I didn...@Jen: I thought the same thing, although I didn't catch the "counselor" thing. But that assistant definitely had a bit of a crush on Adama, and Emanuelle went out of her way to let him know she doesn't look like that in real life.Chrissyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16543960876991187244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-12756042198542901072010-03-21T01:50:03.572-04:002010-03-21T01:50:03.572-04:00There's a really good show in here, as we saw ...<i>There's a really good show in here, as we saw with Daniel and Zoe, but it's in danger of being dragged down by the rest of it. </i><br /><br />Agreed. The degree to which I'm finding myself increasingly disliking the Joseph Adama character is really sucking the enjoyment out of this show for me.<br /><br />Also, it's a shame about Paula Malcombson's character being poorly used because we know from <i>Deadwood</i> that she certainly has the acting chops. Polly Walker was tons of fun in <i>Rome</i>, but so far her character, which seemed to start out with such promise, has really fizzled. Hopefully you are right about it just being a first season doesn't-have-its-footing-yet thing.Oaktown Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00811331454878606058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-92100573249740319862010-03-21T01:12:03.334-04:002010-03-21T01:12:03.334-04:00Anybody else think Emmanuelle is Adama's lawye...Anybody else think Emmanuelle is Adama's lawyer friend/secretary/whatever? The way she kept calling him 'counselor'...Jennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-68512829530529979382010-03-21T01:04:16.017-04:002010-03-21T01:04:16.017-04:00I looked up the names of the female characters on ...I looked up the names of the female characters on Caprica and found some interesting things. Names have meaning and it seems like these names were specifically chosen for these characters.<br /><br />Zoe: (Greek) Meaning: Life. Zoe is a direct transliteration of the ancient Greek word 'zoe' (written 'zeta-omega-eta'). It is usually listed as meaning 'life', but it can also mean 'a (means of) living', 'subsistence', 'goods' or 'property'. Zoe was the name of several Byzantine empresses.<br /> To Clarice the Zoe avatar is the afterlife she seeks. The Zoe avatar is also 'a (means of) living' for the real Zoe, and in her current state inside the U-87 robot she is the property of Daniel. As the first Cylon she can be called their empress.<br /><br />Tamara: (Hebrew) Meaning: Palm tree (Indian) Meaning: Spice. Tamara de Lempicka was a Polish art deco painter. Tamara or Tammy Faye was an American Christian evangelist.<br /> The palm branch is a symbol of triumph and victory. “Early Christians used the palm branch to symbolize the victory of the faithful over enemies of the soul” “in Judaism, the palm represents peace and plenty” “the palm may also symbolize the Tree of life in Kabbalah” Tamara has won the game in that she cannot die. To see if she gains peace and plenty in V-world we have to see.Tamara is certainly adding spice to V-world. She is putting her art on the walls She may turn out to be leader and evangelist that other V-world people respect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_tree#Symbolism<br /><br />Emmanuelle: (Hebrew & French) Meaning: God is with us. <br />If God is Tamara, or Zoe or ‘the one true god’ of the STO working through them then V-world is key and this character’s name is a hint.<br /><br />Clarice: (Latin) Meaning: Clear; bright; famous<br /> We will have to see if her view of things is the clear and correct one. She wants to gain approval and rise up in the ranks of the STO, to be the one to find Zoe (Life) and that is a kind of fame.<br /><br />Amanda: (Latin) Meaning: She who must be loved. (Sanskrit) Meaning: Active; bright. Amanda is the feminine gerundive of the Latin verb 'amo' (I love) and thus literally means 'she who must be loved'. Amanda's Pennant or Celithemis Amanda is a type of dragonfly. <br /> Amanda’s insanity past and present seems to center around her loved ones, and losing them. If she must have love then loosing a loved one would be a big shock to her. Her mind is active now with all her visions of her brother. She could be like a dragonfly in that she is flighty and quick to change her mind.<br /><br />Shannon: (Hebrew) Meaning: God is gracious. (Gaelic) Meaning: From Seanan meaning Old River. The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland.<br /> We never get to know her but maybe that is something good, something gracious, because the Adamas only have good memories of her and not new stuff from a virtual Shannon to confuse things. She passed from this life across the river and went on.<br />Names info http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5980901566357229462010-03-20T22:23:11.089-04:002010-03-20T22:23:11.089-04:00One of the things I cant understand, and that ruin...One of the things I cant understand, and that ruins the Adama story for me is why cant Tamara be in a more accessible place? She could've just as easily stayed in that nightclub place where Zoe hangs out. Generally seems like a much safer place, her Dad wouldnt have such a hard time finding her, and she wouldnt have to leave flower shaped breadcrumbs behind for him.<br /><br />Is she just bored? Is she playing hide and go seek with Daddy?ravagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15449450971553473389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-64991406848683537562010-03-20T21:54:28.881-04:002010-03-20T21:54:28.881-04:00imo, the tamara & adama storyline is moving qu...imo, the tamara & adama storyline is moving quite slow but I like the adama character so it isn't too painful to watch. Do Not like clarice & the wife which is very boring and I just fast forward. Zoe & father storyline is ho-hum so far but I get it that the writers are showing what a dangerous person the father really is.Diana Frostnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-42525562565630362472010-03-20T20:34:08.668-04:002010-03-20T20:34:08.668-04:00apparently people in Caprica all those many years ...apparently people in Caprica all those many years ago were driving Mercedes Benz cars...Ant$https://www.blogger.com/profile/13187968687256187692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-40893823186092174002010-03-20T20:00:22.961-04:002010-03-20T20:00:22.961-04:00Let's face it, this show just isn't workin...Let's face it, this show just isn't working, it bites. And it's not because of the soap opera format, I like a good soap opera. But this is just bad: pretentious, tedious and smug. Here it is almost at the end of the season, and nothing much has really happened since the first few episodes. It's a mess.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-90245466527039753072010-03-20T15:46:35.453-04:002010-03-20T15:46:35.453-04:00Knock, Knock. Who’s there? Adama. Adama who? A d...Knock, Knock. Who’s there? Adama. Adama who? A domino that ain’t knocking down other dominos ain’t moving the story along. (rim shot)<br /><br />Caprica appears to be afflicted with LOST writing disease. The primary symptom being building an interesting character then abandoning that character for multiple episodes. Where is Tamara? You don’t have a race of Cylons with only one Cylon. The second sentient avatar allows us to compare and contrast the nuances of cyber life and this is where a potentially great story resides. Cyber Zoey is susceptible to emotional manipulation so at least one cyber life form has emotions. But cyber Zoey was created by human Zoey, whereas cyber Tamara is a construct of third person data mining. No need to assume they will behave the same. Every reason to believe they may act like individuals. Assuming the writers remember both are needed for a captivating tale.Mark Bnoreply@blogger.com