Caprica Season One, Episode Five: Know Thy Enemy (Review)

I know what you did last month, Graystone

[Many spoilers]

 

Since the episode title quotes from The Art of War, I expected Know Thy Enemy to be a precursor to battle. It is (sort of). The episode jumps one month ahead from the Vergis Corporation robbery of the Meta Cognitive Processor (MCP) device. Two research lab employees, close to Tomas Vergis, were killed during the break-in. Vergis confronts Daniel Graystone at a museum fundraiser. They speak in front of the beautiful Bill Reid sculpture The Raven and the First Men. The sculpture is inspired by a human creation myth where the raven coaxes people out of a clamshell. I find it appropriate that the Vergis/Graystone chat would have Raven as background since they argue about a device that aids artificial intelligence in leaving the virtual world.

On a different battlefront, Soldiers of the One serial bomber Barnabas, a much-anticipated new character, is introduced. I’m not too impressed with the character yet- using razor wire as an arm bracelet was overkill. I suppose the writers want to make him seem crazy. Or they like torture porn. Keon takes Lacy to see Barnabas in a bid to help transport the Zoebot to Gemenon. Unfortunately Lacy is being tight-lipped about what she wants to transport so Barnabas says nyet.  Barnabas is played by James Marsters so he better not be wasted! Or else the Whedon people will revolt.

The Graystone household gets two visitors, both with decidedly unfriendly intentions, making you wonder if they have any friends at all. Clarice Willow visits Amanda, gets her drunk, and manages to get invited to the lab in her search for the Zoe avatar. I used to make excuses for Amanda, but wow, this was really stupid of her. Separately, Daniel gets a third visit from Tomas Vergis. Vergis wants Graystone to know that his MCP robbery hurt him and he has the tattoos to prove it. The lab assistants that got murdered were close to Vergis; he was nonós (godfather) to their children. As a viewer, I can’t sympathize with Vergis yet because we haven’t seen much of him, even though he promises to be an interesting character. Vergis lets Daniel know that he wants to buy his precious Caprican Buccaneers just because Daniel loves them so much. Graystone Industries needs the cash to fulfill their military contract on time. The Vergis character could be as hard-ass as Sam Adama. Here’s hoping.

Speaking of Sam Adama, I wonder why he was so nonchalant about the MCP lab murders. After all, it the Guatrau learns of a Tauron-on-Tauron hit, he will be most displeased. Food for thought.

 

This holoband better work because I threw away the receipt

 

As for our Latino actors, Esaí Morales’ Joseph Adama buys a holoband to find Tamara’s avatar. His newbie status is humorously and painfully on display when he tries to interact with the obnoxious Daniel avatar. Adama is interrupted by the real Daniel who is shitting his pants about the MCP murders and needs someone else to blame.

Adama’s assistant Dr. Fraiser Evelyn is totally smitten with her boss. Who wouldn’t be? She used the old “let me see your new tattoo” trick to get close. Adama of course ran away. They would make a cute couple.

Our friend Panou’s character got a tiny bit more developed. Olaf seems to be the techie in the Willow family.  He gets his wife Clarice a swipe drive to copy Zoe avatar data in the Graystone lab. Clarice thinks the Zoe avatar is the key to eternal life of the soul. Speaking of Panou, I recently caught up with all the Sanctuary episodes and loved his character there. Would have loved to see more of him. As for Caprica, Panou sightings are few and far between, and it’s hard to see how he could become anything more than another Willow husband. Prove me wrong, Caprica!

Some random tidbits only the obsessed fans would notice:

• Daniel Graystone suffers from back issues. I totally sympathize.
• Joesph Adama got his holoband at Emptor Electronics. Emptor means ‘buyer’ in Latin.
• The Vergis Corporation is in Tauron City. I get the feeling that each planet has a main metropolis with “City” attached to its name. Would be nice to show a bit more originality here. You know there’s a Vergisville somewhere on Tauron!
• Tauron is known for its steak preparation, brandy and cigars.
• If you’re interested in online dating, check out V-Match. “V” is the “i” of tech marketing on the Colonies.
• The Willows have a beautiful matrioshka doll in their bedroom, presumably to enhance their fertility. Or maybe they just like Russian nesting dolls.
• Joe Adama smokes Forge cigarettes.
• Slang for getting a Tauron tattoo is “I got some Tauron on me.”
• Scorpion Ambrosia is green. Heads up for the Caprica party planners: make sure it’s too strong and smells like sulphur for realistic effect.

Caprica Season 1, Episode 4: There Is Another Sky (Review)

It hurts more on the inside

[Minor plot points, no major spoilers]

This episode is about holding on to what you still have after you’ve lost something that means a great deal. We have Joseph Adama losing his son, Graystone losing his company, and Tamara (Joseph’s daughter) losing her innocence. In There is Another Sky, all three of them find ways to change their perspective, either with the support of a loved one or via virtual ruffians.

It seems like Joseph’s grief over his family’s deaths and the guilt over ordering Amanda Graystone’s murder have finally caught up with him. He is moping about the house, obsessing over family pictures, and basically ignoring his kid. He gets two wake-up calls: one from his brother Sam and another quite literally over the phone. He realizes he needs to pay more attention to his son. On Tauron Willie would be a man, but on Caprica he’s still a child.  We see Joseph trying to connect with Will and failing. This was the emotional storyline of the episode and it really packs a punch.

Daniel Graystone brings us the plotline with the glimpse into the future, a future that will eventually doom most of humanity. Because of his public stance on the holobands being “over,” the board of directors wants his head on a platter. Daniel does what he does best: he finds an unlikely way to impress the board, and reminded this Battlestar Galactica fan of at least two BSG series grand entrances.

Tamara Adama seeks Vesta, another avatar that seems to know a lot about V-world and might help her find a way home. As we all know, Tamara is dead, so this can’t end well. Still, Vesta promises escape in exchange for help winning a virtual game called New Cap City. Nobody knows what the goal of the game is; Vesta and company are focused on getting as much virtual money as possible. This storyline provided the best visuals- an interesting mix of deco, steampunk, and gritty forties.

Some episode trivia:

• If you want to open a vault in New Cap City, the code is Picon-Caprica-Gemenon-Picon-Tauron
• Joseph, Will, and Tsattie live at 615 Olympic St. #3 Caprica City
• Taurons use ritualistic clapping at funerals
• When a fat cat wants you to leave in New Cap City he says “Take a powder” or “Blow”
• The actress that plays Zoe (Alessandra Torresani) was born in 1987; the Cylon unit she’s in is U-87. Coincidence? I think not.
• There was more shirtless Sam in this episode. And I approve.

Caprica Season 1, Episode 3: Gravedancing (Review)

Sam Adama and stakeout buddy Bob the Bull

[Minor plot points in this review]

Gravedancing starts off with a bang, so to speak, and a frantic press-covered search for terrorist evidence. Graystone goes on the Backtalk TV show to fix the PR nightmare about his family and holoband technology- after being extensively coached on what to say.  The episode title refers to Daniel Graystone and his PR team trying to enhance the Graystone Corporation image by tarnishing that of deceased Zoe.

This episode of Caprica was more about character development than moving the plot forward. We learned more details like: Amanda Graystone’s specialty is plastic surgery (who else thinks that’s a useful skill to have for when Cylons get humanoid skin?); Zoe played the cello; Avatar Zoe finally gets a new dress!; robot lab geeks can’t dance; and the Global Defense Department investigators hold personal grudges against the Soldiers of the One. The show stealers however, were Sam’s stakeout partner and Will Adama’s grandmother; interestingly enough, both are deep-rooted symbols of being Tauron.

In this episode, Joseph discovers that his mother-in-law is the Tauron mafia boss. Not really- but she could be.

As for our Latino watch, we see Joseph (I’ve started pronouncing it “Yoseef” in my head) Adama’s inner turmoil after asking his brother Sam to kill Amanda Graystone. He kinda wants to, but he kinda doesn’t. By the time he makes up his mind it might be too late for Mrs./Dr. Graystone.  Esaí Morales does a great job showing increasing desperation, and I loved how Sam Adama’s character played off his brother’s anxiety. Olaf Willow (Panou) finally shows up in the Willow super-huge bed in a brief but memorable family moment.

Panou (Olaf Willow, lower right) gets some interesting face time

One final note: Did you catch the old school Battlestar Galactica music homage? It was frakkin awesome!

Caprica Season 1, Episode 2 “Reins of a Waterfall” (Review)

Next time, pick up the phone big shot

[Some episode spoilers]

Reins of a Waterfall is an episode about the Graystone fallout from Amanda’s previous public revelation of Zoe being a terrorist. As could be expected, the public cried foul, Amanda had to resign from Caprica General Hospital, Graystone stocks plunged and the late night comedians (specifically Baxter Sarno, played by funnyman Patton Oswalt) are having a field day with the material.  Graystone’s assistant Cyrus implores him to get P.R. help, but Daniel refuses to deal with the issue. Meanwhile, Avatar Zoe plays around with her programming and Sister Clarice meets with a shady Soldiers of the One disembodied voice. We get to meet more Global Defense Department detectives of Caprica City, some of them inept and corrupt. Yet these are the “better” Capricans, not Taurons.

Speaking of Taurons, I find it amusing how they are every ethnic stereotype rolled into one. In this episode for example we learn that Taurons are bad drivers. Stereotypes aside, we see more of the tough guys of the Tauron mafia hanging out at a place called Goldie’s, eating burritos, and teasing school-skipping Will Adama.

Will’s father, Joseph Adama, has been hit hard by the news that Zoe could have been the Maglev 23 terrorist. He gets sloppy with his quasi legal work and becomes increasingly violent.  Esai Morales as usual was great, but in Reins of a Waterfall he got to expand his performance. His final words in this episode came as quite a shocker!

I really enjoy the Adama brothers’ interactions- the actors have great chemistry. Oh and in this episode we see the softer side of Sam Adama, as the man in love with his husband. So nice to see a gay relationship in science fiction seen as something normal.

Again, and I can’t say this enough, loving the details! Fun ones were a financial TV show called “Cubits and Pieces” or “Dollars and Cents” in Earth English. Also, the Monotheists call their prophesized culmination Apotheosis (deification) and there are several interpretations of what that might mean. And futuristic Roomba Serge can detect if you’re hurt!

No new episode next week. The next installment will be on February 19^th.

SciFi Wire Interview with Esaí Morales on Caprica (Video)

Here’s a fun two-part interview with Esaí Morales talking about his feelings for the show, his costars, and Tauron ethnicity.

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