I could never get into Caprica. And I was a big BSG fan too.
Raise your hand if this comes at all of a surprise...
*crickets*
Didn't think so...
This doesn't surprise me at all really. I have tried watching this second half of the season and it first of all didn't get me to fully pay attention when it is on and then it was jumping all over the place so I was left not knowing exactly what was happening.
I really wanted to like it....really I did...but it just bored the crap out of me and I found I didn't give a damn about any of the characters involved.
Setting the new series during the first Cylon war is a much better idea IMO.
COH/CoV - Virtue
8 Ball - Lev 50 Kin/Energy Defender
The Canadian Fist - Lev 50 Ice/EM Blaster
Omega Ghost - Lev 50 Robo/Dark MM
Ghostfall - Lev 50 Arachnos Crab Soldier
The pilot (first two episodes, really) told me all I needed to know. I watched the next two episodes before coming to that conclusion. I haven't watched it since.
Darn. I found it strangely interesting. I was curious to see how the two current "deathwalkers", Daniel's attempt at the resurrection program and Sister Clarice's need to recover Zoe's original program intersected to create the sentient class of Cylon vs the current "By your command" ones. I would be curious to see the show's bible to see where they were going with it.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Caprica cancelled
I can hardly contain my joy at hearing this.
Too bad, I enjoyed it. It was a bit like 'Wild Palms' with less Belushi and more Stoltz.
Quote:
The characters were a big problem. They just weren't likable. They were all basically bad guys and just kept getting more unsavory. It made me want to cheer for the coming Cylon Apocalypse.
|
Originally Posted by 8_Ball
I really wanted to like it....really I did...but it just bored the crap out of me and I found I didn't give a damn about any of the characters involved.
|
Quote:
a disturbingly appropriate gif... also|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
|
WYLD STALLIONS RULE!!!!
that is all.
My BF is a BSG fan and finally got me to watch something relating to it. We both enjoyed the show, well at least to giggle at but it was still fun. We had a feeling this was coming. I'm kind of sad to see it go.
Quote:
I find SGU to be following the same route. The only redeeming characters there have smaller roles. Everett Young is proving to be the worst Colonel ever portrayed in the SG franchise. Even when Dr. Nicholas Rush saves the day, you still can't help but wish he'd die in the process.|
Originally Posted by Pouncer
The characters were a big problem. They just weren't likable. They were all basically bad guys and just kept getting more unsavory. It made me want to cheer for the coming Cylon Apocalypse.
|
This seems to have been done intentionally in both shows. The term thrown around from the onset was "more character driven" shows. Seems the folks over at SyFy feel "character driven" stories require a collection of ********.
SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!
There are things about the show that I like, especially the art direction. The mix of old school diesel age and hi tech is appealing, but I'll agree with many of the responses here that there are no likable characters...and I mean zero. It's "the Soprano" effect going overboard. Motivations make little to no sense and it seems like the show is one big mustache twirling contest. And it's a shame too, because the cast is very talented. It's sad that the content doesn't live up to them.
@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff
Caprica basically fell into the same trap many Hollywood shows like this fall into: It should have never been designed as an open-ended series to begin with. The story Caprica was trying to tell would have been much better served as a 10 or 12 episode mini-series with a predesigned beginning, middle and ending. It was never going to be an episodic soap opera that could last for multiple seasons.
I blame the Hollywood system which tries to force everything on American TV to last for a long as possible regardless of the story behind it. The quest for money and ratings forces them to grind everything down into the dirt until most shows "jump the shark" and get yanked off the air before they're allowed to create good conclusions to their plotlines. These shows have lost sight of the fact that sometimes "less is more" and that they would be better, tighter productions if they didn't just try to last forever.
I liked Caprica, but sadly it's probably going to end up being "lost in the weeds" because the producers were too motivated to try to keep grinding out increasing disconnected episodes instead of concentrating on a focused story with a solid meaningful conclusion.
Loth 50 Fire/Rad Controller [1392 Badges] [300 non-AE Souvenirs]
Ryver 50 Ele� Blaster [1392 Badges]
Silandra 50 Peacebringer [1138 Badges] [No Redside Badges]
--{=====> Virtue ♀
I loved BSG - watched it religiously... never could get into Caprica though.
Nevermind, theres a new BSG tv series on the way - Its a prequel of sorts and will be concentrating on the rise of the colonies and Adama as a young Viper pilot.
So lots more 'pew-pew-pew' on the way all you frakkin toasters. 
Quote:
This is why I generally don't watch any TV at all.
|
Originally Posted by Lothic
Caprica basically fell into the same trap many Hollywood shows like this fall into: It should have never been designed as an open-ended series to begin with. The story Caprica was trying to tell would have been much better served as a 10 or 12 episode mini-series with a predesigned beginning, middle and ending. It was never going to be an episodic soap opera that could last for multiple seasons.
I blame the Hollywood system which tries to force everything on American TV to last for a long as possible regardless of the story behind it. The quest for money and ratings forces them to grind everything down into the dirt until most shows "jump the shark" and get yanked off the air before they're allowed to create good conclusions to their plotlines. These shows have lost sight of the fact that sometimes "less is more" and that they would be better, tighter productions if they didn't just try to last forever. I liked Caprica, but sadly it's probably going to end up being "lost in the weeds" because the producers were too motivated to try to keep grinding out increasing disconnected episodes instead of concentrating on a focused story with a solid meaningful conclusion. |
Quote:
I agree, at least about typical network-based American TV at any rate.|
Originally Posted by LunarKnight
This is why I generally don't watch any TV at all.
|
I'm old enough to have actually watched the original BSG when it first aired in 1978. I always remembered the exciting scene at the beginning of the pilot episode where the Cylons first attacked Caprica and got the ball rolling.
Of course the new BSG changed things a bit by basing itself on a second Cylon war years after the first Cylon attack. But as soon as I first heard about the Caprica series it made perfect sense to me that its very last scene of its very last episode had already been written: it would pretty much have to be a recreation of that tragic first Cylon attack we first saw in 1978. That's the way Caprica should have been "connected" to the other parts of the story we've already seen.
As a prequel Caprica already had definite boundaries. We all knew where the story would end up. We all knew the net effect of the show was going to be to tell us how the Cylons managed to get started in the first place. This show pretty much had to be a finite mini-series skillfully crafted to get us to the only conclusion that was going to make any sense to the overall continuity.
Sadly that apparently didn't happen.
Loth 50 Fire/Rad Controller [1392 Badges] [300 non-AE Souvenirs]
Ryver 50 Ele� Blaster [1392 Badges]
Silandra 50 Peacebringer [1138 Badges] [No Redside Badges]
--{=====> Virtue ♀
I love the original BSG and the new BSG (mmmm six), but I just couldn't stomach Caprica. So since you can't see it (and beleive me you don't want to) I'm doing the happy dance.
Quote:
See that's the thing, that's what everyone wanted to see. It's the show's hook. Problem is, they took entirely too long getting anywhere with it. It's not like Lost where the hook was that we didn't know what the hook was. They made it clear from the beginning that Caprica was meant to be the story of where the Cylons came from, and then pretty much gave up on trying to deliver that. Or at least delivered on it so slowly that not enough people were satisfied.|
Originally Posted by Father Xmas
Darn. I found it strangely interesting. I was curious to see how the two current "deathwalkers", Daniel's attempt at the resurrection program and Sister Clarice's need to recover Zoe's original program intersected to create the sentient class of Cylon vs the current "By your command" ones. I would be curious to see the show's bible to see where they were going with it.
|
Lothic's post above is spot on. TV sells these big ideas as open ended series, because they think to get people to buy in, they need to gear up a machine that will become the next Star Trek, a syndication monster. Problem is, that turns far too many solid ideas into open ended pieces of drek. I don't get to watch much foreign TV, but from what I hear I'd be much happier in a telenovela environment, where a show is one season long, at most two.
V as a miniseries was epic and event television. V as a series crashed and burned (TWICE even) but the execs still haven't learned.
I think they really would have been more successful with a 2 season long A-Z plot for Caprica that told a definitive story. From there they could easily morph it into the Cylon War series they're talking about now, and again make that a 2 season long A-Z story. Would Siffy get to syndicate either one? No. But they'd make a hell of a lot of money on DVD sets and have endless fodder for weekend marathons that people would actually try to watch because they have clear beginning middle and ends.
"Null is as much an argument "for removing the cottage rule" as the moon being round is for buying tennis shoes." -Memphis Bill
Quote:
Sadly they might have been able create something they could have syndicated if they had just planned a bit better. They could have created a show called something like "Battlestar Galactica Chronicles" organized along the lines of having each season be a standalone story but a "standalone" that could also serve as a chapter in the overall story. Each of these seasons would be around 20 episodes long give or take.|
Originally Posted by Lemur Lad
I think they really would have been more successful with a 2 season long A-Z plot for Caprica that told a definitive story. From there they could easily morph it into the Cylon War series they're talking about now, and again make that a 2 season long A-Z story. Would Siffy get to syndicate either one? No. But they'd make a hell of a lot of money on DVD sets and have endless fodder for weekend marathons that people would actually try to watch because they have clear beginning middle and ends.
|
The first season would have basically been what we got with Caprica. It would have been the definitive story of how the Cylons were created. The very end of that season would highlight the beginning of the First Cylon war. Then the second season could have been set maybe 10 years later and deal with a different group of people fighting the Cylons. We could see how Adama first joined the military and got involved with the fighting as a Viper pilot. Perhaps the end of that season would deal with the Cylons getting the upper hand and being on the verge of winning. Then the third season could have been the story of how Adama was involved in doing something super-cool that managed to save the humans from the Cylons and showing how he eventually gained command of the Galactica. Then a fourth (and this is key) FINAL season they could have made a more Cylon centered show that developed them more and explained why they were willing to retreat back from the fighting and what happened to them for those years prior to their sneak attack we saw in the beginning of the rebooted BSG series.
With this they could have gotten 80+ episodes telling 4 related standalone stories that would have filled in all the gaps. As a single "show" it could have been syndicated and obviously the DVD box sets would have been cool too.
Too bad they didn't ask me how to do it in the first place.
Loth 50 Fire/Rad Controller [1392 Badges] [300 non-AE Souvenirs]
Ryver 50 Ele� Blaster [1392 Badges]
Silandra 50 Peacebringer [1138 Badges] [No Redside Badges]
--{=====> Virtue ♀
Quote:
Honestly, I think Lost itself used up most of the good will people have to being teased about where a series was going to go. By the time people figured out that Lost really wasn't going anywhere the viewers had at least become attached to the characters. But frankly, as much as lots of people loved Lost, I think Lost itself made the statement that if you're watching to find out where this goes, don't trust the writers to ever deliver. Most of the Lost mythology was never resolved by the series, and if Lost wasn't going to do it, why should anyone assume that shows like The Event, say, won't play the same game with the audience.|
Originally Posted by Lemur Lad
See that's the thing, that's what everyone wanted to see. It's the show's hook. Problem is, they took entirely too long getting anywhere with it. It's not like Lost where the hook was that we didn't know what the hook was. They made it clear from the beginning that Caprica was meant to be the story of where the Cylons came from, and then pretty much gave up on trying to deliver that. Or at least delivered on it so slowly that not enough people were satisfied.
|
Caprica very obviously was trying to milk the Cylon storyline to get people hooked on the character drama, and the character drama wasn't strong enough on its own. People rather justifiably in my opinion gave up on Caprica very quickly as a result as being a tease that would never be resolved. The Cylons were always going to be a carrot dangled in front of the audience until maybe the very end of the series if at all, because obviously Caprica wasn't going to transition to the Cylon war.
The great irony is that Battlestar Galactica itself presented itself honestly as a straight up drama with only some actual action for punctuation. Although it got thick at times, I think everyone immediately knew where BSG was going after watching 33. That single episode hooked me onto the show, and the show more or less delivered on 33's promise, at least for the first couple of seasons.
[Guide to Defense] [Scrapper Secondaries Comparison] [Archetype Popularity Analysis]
In one little corner of the universe, there's nothing more irritating than a misfile...
(Please support the best webcomic about a cosmic universal realignment by impaired angelic interference resulting in identity crisis angst. Or I release the pigmy water thieves.)
Quote:
I'm not really sure you can call it a "Hollywood" show since it's filmed in Vancouver (like just about everything on Syfy and USA), but your point is taken.|
Originally Posted by Lothic
Caprica basically fell into the same trap many Hollywood shows like this fall into: It should have never been designed as an open-ended series to begin with.
|
This show has way too many episodes for the amount of story there is to tell. Viewers can only stand so much moping around, and the first two seasons have been about 90% moping.
I don't demand constant explosions, but the pace is absolutely glacial. The events that took place this past episode should have occurred about halfway through the first season, and the Cylon war should have started at the end of the first season.
And the real problem is that there are no sympathetic characters. It's not just that the characters are ambiguous, it's that they're all hapless victims, whining layabouts, murderous scumbags or backstabbing weasels.
You can see vestiges of growth in some of the characters, but it's happening way too slowly for anyone to give a damn about.
There are a lot of things I like about it. But the producers are too hung up with navel gazing to give the show the impetus it needed to survive.
Quote:
33 was a phenomenal return to a situation months old in many viewers memories. it perfectly exposed the one sided fight we already knew, highlighted the man machine gap, and set baltar on the altar of six.|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
The great irony is that Battlestar Galactica itself presented itself honestly as a straight up drama with only some actual action for punctuation. Although it got thick at times, I think everyone immediately knew where BSG was going after watching 33. That single episode hooked me onto the show, and the show more or less delivered on 33's promise, at least for the first couple of seasons.
|
personally, i think bsg would have been good without baltar as we know him now. with him, it was great. caprica's greystone and stargate uni's rush are certainly no gaius baltar.
with just having seen the latest episode the news is mildly disappointing, but expected. too much time lingering on bomb plots and gangsterisms to finally get to a point where crafted souls and mechanical bodies start to come together. the idea of having early models show up in both sides of the tauron conflict, then one upmanship of attaching a crafted soul to the body for better ai is also interesting.
new bsg? hopeful, and cynical, at the same time.
Kittens give Morbo gas.
Quote:
I disagree on the SGU front. (Admittedly I never watched Caprica so I have no idea about that.)|
Originally Posted by Desmodos
I find SGU to be following the same route. The only redeeming characters there have smaller roles. Everett Young is proving to be the worst Colonel ever portrayed in the SG franchise. Even when Dr. Nicholas Rush saves the day, you still can't help but wish he'd die in the process.
This seems to have been done intentionally in both shows. The term thrown around from the onset was "more character driven" shows. Seems the folks over at SyFy feel "character driven" stories require a collection of ********. |
Everett and Rush aren't "Bad guys." They are just very flawed guys. The both have good intentions, both are trying to make the best of bad situations, their both just in over their heads and have a number of vices making them do less than perfect things all the time.
Honestly I think SGU is doing a good job. It' is character driven, the characters just aren't as 2-Dimensional as the characters in SG-1. They aren't all completely good and heroic. But I like that.
Can't comment about Caprica though, never saw it...
"Where does he get those wonderful toys?" - The Joker
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/10/...ncels-caprica/
OH, for any that didn't know, the new BSG series will be called "Blood and Chrome.". Rumors of Caprica's demise sparked up immediately after it was announced.