Battlestar Galactica prequel shuns space, spaceships Battlestar Galactica, the hit sci-fi thriller about humans searching the galaxy for a planet to call home, will be spun off into a prequel that is set 50 years before androids rebelled against their makers and destroyed civilization as it was known. Caprica, which is scheduled to air in early 2010, will focus on the events …
"I think, because (Galactica's) backdrop was space and spaceships, there was a barrier to entry for some viewers. Caprica has none of that."
What? I don't remember that being a "barrier" to Star Trek. Or Star Wars. What were these guys smoking??? I'm pretty sure most "common" people thought LOTR fans were geeks or freaks before the movies came out; but that didn't seem to be a barrier for those movies at all!
Mine's the one with the Federation communicator.
Ok I get it. I'm in a weird dream were someone is making a Battlestar Galactica spinoff inspired by Battlestar Galactica '80, the family friendly second season of original Battlstar Galactica that was set on Earth and was notable only for it's unspeakable, unimaginable, unrivalled lameness.
Afterall, this could never happen outside of a dream, so everything's quite alright thank you. Sorry, what? Oh my ...
In short they make the human form cylons to replace dead relatives, and from what you can see ; grandaddy Adama lost his daughter (Bill's sister) - but no sight of Little bill in the trailer.
This gives a possible reason behind the "final five" with them being made as human as possible (and old one-eye's age)
It also points towards a strong possibility that adama is the 5th cylon.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sQlhlHwXjj0
Based on the clip, it seems to cover some of the same speculative ground as "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K Dick, and from the shots / clothing, looks a bit like "Mad Men" mixed with a contemporary looking club scene, which is a bit funny. Weirdly enough, it may be closer to actual "science fiction" than "sci fi", so it seems strange that the station is showing it. They don't do a lot of actual science / speculative fiction.
In terms of not showing spaceships, etc. Well, it is called "Caprica", so having it set on the planet makes sense. And if they cover some ground about the nature of life / death, what counts as "human", etc. in a compressed storyline that gets some crossover viewers, that may end up being good science fiction. Won't be "Galatica", but that may not be the worst thing, given how that series seems to be crushing itself under its own weight.
Seems that way. Battlestar was insanely popular when it was all about blowing shit up, nuking this and that, and trying not to get nuked, and a little frak here and there. But start tossing around the exploration of social issues surrounding a fleet of disparate humans numbering around 30,000, and suddenly it becomes a "soap opera." Star Trek made ruminations into the social aspect of a future society and cultures. Of course, TNG did this a little too much and suffered a mid-series flu from which it barely recovered.
Personally, IMNSHO, BSG has done well at balancing the action, drama, and social commentary while exploring the what-ifs of artificial versus non-artificial intelligence. At least enough to keep me and my friends thinking.
Although, the last Cylon bit *is* turning into one of those Survivor-type things. Regardless, the series had to end -- the series was to chronicle the journey of the survivors of the 12 Colonies Holocaust to Earth, and once they are there, the deed is done.
Paris, doing the deed once they are all there. Brava!
Well, if stripping the "science" out of "science fiction" makes this "fiction" more palatable, maybe they should strip the "fiction" part out too? How about two feuding families in a remote location? We can call then, I don't know, the "Hatcoys" and the "MacFields" perhaps? As one commenter above put it, they could call it "Caprica: Dynasty".
Ick. I want my science fiction damnit. SPACE opera, not another damn soap opera.
"...you get to see Galactica pour megatons of ordinance into a Cylon Basestar."
You mean they were flinging huge quantities of paper at it? Or did you mean ordnance?
http://www.google.fi/search?q=define%3Aordnance vs.
http://www.google.fi/search?q=define%3Aordinance
</grammar troll>
So I'm the only person who's looking forward to this then? Because y'know....it doesn't need space ships zooming around to be sci-fi you narrow minded bunch of 40 year old virgins.
Finaly...some sci-fi that does away with the Star Trek fan base and it's requirement for non-sensical jargon for its success. Can't wait.
BSG's strength has always been it's gritty story telling, not it's special effects. You could dump that cast anywhere and still have a well told story. You can bet they'll be taking that winning formula with the new cast, who cares that there isn't a space ship in sight? How many shows on BSG do we have when there isn't a single space battle? Loads! But they're still good. This is Deep Space Nine mentality all over again - "it''s on a space station so it can't move, it will be boring" - turned out to be the best Trek TV series. Get over yourselves. If you like BSG, you'll like this. If you don't think you will, don't watch it and lose out on what will be a very revealing pre-story to the events you liked watching.
Also, this is oooooold news... slow day, reg?
Mathew White - I agree with you... I figured from that trailer the same. I'll be anoyed if we are right!
Incomplete plot lines. Massive loose ends (What nuclear device?) More fantasy than sci-fi. Visions. Religious nutters in control. I managed the first season. Can't believe anyone kept watching it. The only thing interesting about it was how much it reflected America at the time. Hopefully they end together.
To somebody up there claiming the "sheeple" didn't understand it: get over yourself, intellectually, it was aimed at 10 year olds.
Nor is it 'killing battlestar'.
Caprica - the name of the new series (see it's new, it's not Battlestar Galactica, it's not hard kids) is a spin off show set before the war - it will plot the build up to the first cylon war in fact - I can't think of anything better to follow the new Battlestar with than this - it sounds fantastic and I'll be down for as many releases as they want to push on me :)
Caprica was announced about 2 years ago now, with the same facts and figures in this press release, as I say - it's not news ;)
Ha, ha - lookit the knees jerk!
Fiction is fiction. Good stories are good stories. Bad writing is bad writing. Genres are defined by marketing and shelving needs.
If you think BSG is all about the spaceships then you're same sort of person who thinks Westerns are all about the horses.
And if you review your speculations and assumptions around the idea before you've seen the implementation, you're a close-minded bigot who's making it all up.
Just how friendly?
Haven't they seen the propaganda film about dating robots featuring Billy Everyteen? Or "Electro-Gonnorhea, the noisy killer"?
Anyway, this sounds like it could either work or utterly bomb. Hopefully the first series will end with them being utterly bombed at the start of the First Cylon War.
The 2-hour movie adaptation of BSG is really going to suck, though. You can't possibly fit even just the main story into 2 hours.
If it's anything like the recent Max Payne movie they'll take some character names, rewrite the whole script and backstory to make it suck badly then finally install wooden dowels on the seats to make sure you feel even more shafted.
Now a trio of 3-hour movies, LOTR-style, would probably let them cover a lot of the main points and some side-stories without having to resort to utterly rewriting the script. A trio of 3-hour movies with a Stereoscopic option would be absolutely fantastic. Though if it's made in Hollywood they'd probably still end up being welcomed by the USAF, with a single F-22 wiping out fleets of Heavy Raiders.
But weren't the Cylons put together as a slave race of big toasters, hence all the suprise when human form cylons appeared?
Anyway looks like a turd, smells like a turd, so most likely is a turd.
Agreeing with the earlier commentator who pointed out that when battlestar was about cool battles, space ships, and robots, it was awsome, however once it became a bland "war on terror" commentary mixed with blah legal fail, it became gay. If I wanted that I'd watch the west wing or some other such thing.
get where your coming from but remember ds9 only got good around way of the warrior then the battles started
as for caprica i could be good but only if the humanesque cylons are agovernment secert which is why no one knows about them. anyway the first serie should finish with the first cylon act of revolt the second should build to the war and 3rd be the war 4th aftermath adn rebuilding (possible human civil war, secertly started by the human cylons before there run off then its are cover up be the families mafia style.
if that's the plot i'll take 100'000 pound per series please.
I seem to remember Tom Zarick (sp?), or as he was known at the time, Apollo, tell Boxy, all about the cylons.It might even have been in the movie/pilot episodes. Went something like this...
"The cylons were created thousands of years ago, by a lizard race, called Cylons, to be slaves. However, their slaves rose up and killed them all, but we still call the robots Cylons." (It's been about 10 years since I last saw the original episodes) I think it was while explaining why the colonies didn't go in much for robots, and why they just started with the robo-dagget Moffett.
I watched the new series, stopped around the 3rd or 4th episode of season3. The series was, to borrow a term, 'religulous'. If I want to watch religous claptrap, I'll turn on the 700 club, or Fox News.
I. I agree with the suspicion that it will be Battlestar: Dynasty.. I personally turned off when I saw in a preview "So, mr. Adams.." "My name is Adama!" WTF! Galactica has never been anglocentric. The names are all supposed to be mediterranean. Some "repressed hispanic" plotline brewing? blech.
II. Baystars and Battlestars exchanging missiles is something I live to see, I won't argue. The strange quiet as the sky fills with vipers, raptors, raiders, and missiles leading inexorably to conflagration is exciting as all get-out.
However, they have props in my heart for one of the coolest sci-fi scenes ever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdkCpnGMyGw&NR=1 (not to be confused with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRPhwEtBcPc )
III. I'll still watch it, just to be sure. I love me some galactica. Not just for ships blowing up, but for the grit and drama. I don't know that they'll be able to maintain the nervous tension that makes galactica (early season esp) so engaging-- the constant threat of the cylons. Later, things got easier for them. They knew how to take on the baddies.. They had to play a deeper game. And also not be complete retards, which was tough for most of the central characters.
IV. If they want the "wider audience" that this appears to be going for, shouldn't it be on during the day on a network? Isn't a wider audience just more shallow? Less passionate?
So it's going to be like a few of the episodes from the original series, where an episode could be someone like cutting some wood and going back to the cabin with it? Then cooking dinner? Sounds exciting.
If they do it right it could be OK. The whole talk about "wider audiences" and so on implies to me it's not though. Taking a theme, then watering it down to try to appeal to more people... well.. does that work for anything? Careful guys -- a much wider audience will not watch scifi no matter how watered down it is, and a sci-fi audience will not stick with watered down scifi. Also, replacing "space ships" with "robots" (well, proto-Cylons) will change the audience a bit but not necessarily widen it.
I do hope the show is good though.
Why would they care about how passionate the crowd is, if they all come and leave their money at the box-office?! Films are a one-time affair, they are only in the cinemas for a few weeks and all the filmmakers need is that everyone comes to see them once. That is especially so if the film already belongs to a strong franchise and thus doesn't need to establish one that would sell collectibles and whatnot.
And as you've confirmed yourself, the fans will come, they can't resist it, so no attention needs to be payed to them, the focus is to draw as broad a crowd as possible, which means making the contents of the film as generic as possible. Sure, in the end, it'll be something we have all already seen a hundred times and it won't really impress anyone, especially in the long run, but that also means that everyone will be able to watch it, and that means profit. That's how the films are made these days.
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