CAPRICA 1.2 - "Rebirth"

WRITER: Mark Verheiden
DIRECTOR: Jonas Pate
GUEST CAST: Philip Granger, Avan Jogia, Hiro Kanagawa, Scott Porter, Polly Walker & Dale Wolfe

[SPOILERS] There are many things to enjoy, appreciate and admire about Caprica at this embryonic stage. The acting's strong, the production design's exemplary, the visual effects are fantastic, the characters show promise, Bear McCreary's score's wonderful (I also like the opening titles), and there are some interesting themes and ideas swirling around. But, despite all that, I can't help feeling I've seen one too many stories about people stuck in artificial bodies to be fully engaged with the show just yet -- despite Caprica's twist that the "ghost in the machine" is very literal, if digital...

But, I'm going to persevere with an open mind -- mainly because I can't believe the writers involved would devise a show with such a limited idea at its core. We can't really be in for years of parental grief and existential hand-wringing, can we? "Rebirth" wasn't overly concerned with progressing the storylines started in the "Pilot" that far, as it felt more like a reaction to episode 1's feature-length opener, further entrenching us in this fascinating world; an alien planet dressed up like the retro-futuristic Greece. It's stunning to look at and easy to lose yourself in the idea you're on another world that's both comfortable and deliciously foreign.

The main storyline this week involved Zoe, now inhabiting a Cylon robot body and having to endure various tests by her father's assistants, while secretly keeping in touch with her best friend Lacy (Magda Apanowicz). Speaking of whom, Lacy was invited to have dinner with her schoolteacher Sister Clarice (Polly Walker), who it's revealed is married to multiple wives and husbands (funny, polygamy was never once mentioned in Battlestar Galactica). It feels likely that Clarice is going to manipulate Lacy into doing what she wants, now Zoe's blown herself up for "the cause", and perhaps intends to use her youngest, hunkiest hubbie Nestor (Scott Porter) to keep her student sweet.

Elsewhere, lawyer Joseph Adama (Esai Morales) spent the episode trying to get in touch with Zoe's billionaire father Daniel (Eric Stoltz), to offload his fears about the virtual daughter Daniel created in the Holo-band to "replace" his own dead offspring -- but Daniel was too busy trying to distract himself to take his calls. His wife Amanda (Paula Malcomson) also came to realize that her dead daughter had a private life she was unaware of: learning from a detective that Zoe had a boyfriend – Ben Stark (Avan Jogia), the bomber; before coming to believe Zoe was involved with the monotheistic "Soldiers Of One" religious cult (correctly) and thus responsible for the MAGLEV train bombing (incorrectly). Amanda, unfortunately, makes the latter suspicion into a bold statement of fact during a very public, televised memorial service...

There was also an intriguing bit of business with young William Adama (Sina Najafi), who had a day out with his Uncle Sam (Sasha Roiz) and was immediately taught some tricks of the trade that have come straight from the criminal bedrock of the Adama dynasty. For William, his uncle's a more appealing father figure right now, in that he at least gives him some time and isn't so emotionally detached.

Overall, "Rebirth" was certainly a good episode in many ways. So far Caprica is proving to be a very intriguing sci-fi family drama that's playing in the universe created by Battlestar Galactica. I really can't fault it on many technical levels, or with its storytelling and performances. It's arrived fully-formed and has a definite confidence about it. But, as I said in my introduction, I'm just not that excited by the whole "teenage girl stuck in a robot's body" notion[*], which would appear to be the backbone of the whole series.

And I know Zoe's been written as someone who was very distant from her parents, but wouldn't you tell your father you're trapped in one of his robots? But if she did, then what happens? I suppose it's a good thing that Caprica feels so unpredictable right now, but I can't help worrying that there's not enough of a big incentive to tune in every week -- not helped by the fact Battlestar Galactica has already shown us where the broader Cylon story is destined to lead, and how it will end a half century from now.

29 JANUARY 2010: SYFY, 9/8c

[*] Speaking of which, how do we feel about the visual gimmick of Zoe's robot body sometimes being perceived as Zoe in her human form by us, the viewers? I don't see that they had another option (if only to save money having to animate that CGI Cylon), but the nitpicker in me hates how other actors have to adjust their eyeline because human-Zoe's petite compared to the giant robot-Zoe.