Caprica: "Pilot" (Unrated Version) - Part II

The amoral aspects of Colonial society are not confined to the teenagers, of course. The adults are just as bad, if not worse. Greystone himself ignores any number of warnings that his plan to "resurrect" Zoe is a Very Bad Idea, but that's just the beginning. He convinces Joseph Adama to help him use an organized crime syndicate to steal a component for the experiment, for example.

Adama's connection to organized crime seems like a bit of a cliche at first. However, upon closer inspection, it feels more like history transplanted into the future. The discrimination against the Taurons is similar to the prejudice shown against the Sagittarons, which always felt like any of several historical examples of anti-immigrant prejudice in American history. The parallels aren't hard to recognize, so it makes sense that the usual solution of organized crime would result. And the practice of changing names to blend into a new society continues today. All of these elements provide a hook for dealing with social prejudice issues.

What makes it all interesting is how it's all presented. It looks very much like the world that was always shown in those short flashbacks to the Colonies in "Battlestar Galactica". More importantly, there are tons of little visual reminders that this is the same universe. That said, the only blatant connection is the proto-Cylon technology. Everything else is just a slightly more modern world than our own.

The pilot itself could have been re-edited to be a stand-alone film if necessary. It's so self-contained in so many ways that I'm still not sure how this is going to evolve into a series. I have some faith in the writing staff, of course, but it's going to be a long wait until the series hits the air in 2010.

While the acting is top-notch, even in terms of the teenage characters, the pacing, especially at the beginning, is sometimes distressingly slow and ponderous. The same was true for the "Battlestar Galactica" mini-series, however, so it's not necessarily a sign of bad things to come. And it is definitely the kind of material that gains on reflection. Small things that initially escape notice creep back into awareness after the fact. I can only imagine that repeated viewings will draw out more tidbits to ponder.