Introduction

Caprica is an American science fiction drama television series.

A spin-off prequel of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica taking place 58 years before the cataclysmic destruction of the twelve colonies of Kobol, Caprica shows how humanity first created the Cylon androids who would later turn against their human masters.

Among Caprica’s main characters are the father and uncle of William Adama, the man who becomes the senior surviving military leader of the fleet which represents the remnants of the Twelve Colonies in Battlestar Galactica.

An extended version of the pilot premiered exclusively on DVD and digital download on 21 April 2009. The first season debuted on 22 January 2010, on Syfy in the US, Space in Canada, and Sky1 in the UK, running nine episodes, including the two-hour pilot, before going on a mid-season hiatus. The second half of the first season (Season 1.5) began airing on 05 October 2010, on Syfy and Space.

On 27 October 2010, Syfy cancelled the show, citing low ratings, and pulled the remaining five episodes of the series from its broadcast schedule.

The series continued to air as scheduled on Space, finishing with the series finale on 30 November 2010. The remaining episodes were released on DVD in the US on 21 December, 2010 and aired on Syfy in a burn off marathon on 04 January, 2011.

Outline (General)

The Twelve Colonies are at peace, 58 years before the rebooted series, when an act of religious fanaticism brings together Joseph Adama, a lawyer with ties to the criminal underworld, and wealthy technologist Daniel Graystone, both of whom lost family members.

Grief-stricken by the loss of his daughter and fuelled by obsession, Daniel sets out to bring her back, using his considerable wealth and sprawling technology corporation.

Offered the chance of his own daughter being restored, Joseph wrestles with the notion until he comes face to face with its reality.

Outline of Series 01, Episode 01

It is 58 years before the Fall, and the planet Caprica is one of the Twelve Colonies of Humanity. Zoe Graystone, rebellious teenage daughter of wealthy Caprican computer engineer Daniel Graystone and Doctor Amanda Graystone, plans to leave her home world to go to the neighbouring planet of Gemenon. She is accompanied by her boyfriend, Ben Stark, and her best friend, Lacy Rand, and (unbeknownst to Zoe’s parents) all three are connected to the cult “Soldiers of the One” (STO), a radical religious organisation that dismisses the Colonies’ polytheism (namely the Lords of Kobol) in favuor of monotheism.

However, Lacy has second thoughts just as Zoe and Ben board an elevated mag-lev train. On board, Ben reveals a suicide-bomber jacket, which he detonates in the name of the one true god, killing himself, Zoe, and many other passengers.

Struggling to come to terms with the loss of their child, Daniel discovers that Zoe had created a sentient digital avatar of herself that exists in a teenage virtual reality nightclub, accessed via a Holoband. Meanwhile, Amanda is approached by Agent Jordan Duram, a Global Defence Department officer investigating the case, but she initially rejects his assertion that Zoe was involved with the terrorists. Daniel also reaches out to another bereaved parent, Joseph Adama, an influential lawyer with family ties to the Tauron Ha’la’tha crime syndicate.

He offers to create a clone of Joseph’s daughter Tamara, and wife too, in exchange for the theft of a processor from one of Graystone’s competitors, Tomas Vergis. Joseph agrees and the stolen MCP chip allows Daniel to complete a robot prototype called a Cylon, a machine of considerable strength and agility. Daniel then attempts to resurrect his daughter Zoe by downloading her into the Cylon’s artificial body, but the experiment seems to result in the loss of the avatar data.

Later, after a demonstration of the modified Zoe-Cylon’s combat skills, Daniel’s company is given a major contract by the Caprican government to mass produce Cylons for military use. Although the prototype Cylon is not designed to be sentient, it now possesses a unique AI, and no-one is aware that Zoe’s avatar survives, except for Lacy, who Zoe calls from the lab.

Battlestar Galactica TV Series, Films & Webisodes

You can find a full index of Battlestar Galactica TV series, films, and webisodes here.

Trivia

You can read interesting trivia and background details about the BSG franchise here.

Production & Filming Details

• Creators: Remi Aubuchon and Ronald D. Moore.
• Director: Jeffery Reiner.
• Producers: Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, Jane Espenson, Kevin Murphy, and Clara George.
• Writers: Remi Aubuchon and Ronald D. Moore.
• Music: Bear McCreary.
• Production: Universal Cable Productions.
• Distributor: NBC Universal Television Distribution.
• Release Date: 22 January 2010.
• Running Time: 42 minutes.
• Language: English.

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