Fight for Your Right To Party
'Nashville' Might Sound Very Different Next Season ...
'Caprica' - 'Gravedancing' Recap
by Brad Trechak, posted Feb 20th 2010 1:20AM
(S01E04) We've now learned a little bit more about the culture of the planet Caprica before the fall. For one thing, drugs were legal. For another, their version of the Internet was owned by one company. That is, until now.One of the more interesting aspects of the series is its use of anachronisms. The hats that some of the male characters were wearing were something out of a noir film of the 1940's. They also use standard cell phones, yet can transmit data on a piece of digital paper that makes the upcoming Apple iPad look like a stone tablet. The story of the Adamas reads like a high-tech version of 'The Godfather' or 'The Sopranos.' Obviously, Bill would inherit his later strong moral tendencies from his father.
Patton Oswalt should get his own science fiction program; preferably a comedy. His performance on this program, plus his appearances on 'Dollhouse,' really lend credence to that. It's also common knowledge that he's a big sci-fi geek and has even written some comic books. His Baxter Sarno character seemed a strange combination of Jay Leno and Bill O'Reilly. He had both lame jokes and hard-hitting questions.
This show also excels at presenting moral relativism like its predecessor, such as when a single God is described as a "moral dictator." The Taurons seem to represent an amalgam of the classic struggling ethnicities from various shows and stories. Their gangsters seem reminiscent of the Italian Mafia. When it was mentioned that Tauron boys become men at age 13, one could only wonder if a Bar Mitzvah was involved with that.
Then there are the Greystones on the up side of that society, who manage to turn a public confession around by making their virtual world free to the public (and thus slashing Graystone Industries profit by sixty percent). Zoe Graystone (or at least her avatar) seems to be forming a budding romance with that technician. Could a relationship between a boy and a robot really work? Stay tuned.
Lacy seems on course to finding out more about the STO. As a result, she'll likely be the first person to learn exactly who blew up the commuter train. Noting the other explosives in the locker, one can only suspect that the STO plans more terrorist acts in the future. Sister Clarice has also now learned of the existence of the Zoe avatar, and is likely plotting its demise for fear that the avatar knows the same things that the real Zoe did.
Who else noticed the 'Battlestar Galactica' theme among those played for the dancing robot? That hasn't been heard since the series finale of the predecessor show.
'Caprica' remains excellent drama (on par with anything on HBO or Showtime) and exciting to watch. One can only hope that it finds an audience from which it can stay on the air for a little while. Unlike its predecessor, this doesn't seem a series that can be kept to a weekly broadcast by the power of merchandising.
10 Comments