Since the poor Reins of a Waterfall when it comes to Caprica I'm on guard. Of course Gravedancing was better but there was still some disappointing elements, like the intrusive soapy drama and questionable young adults acting. This fifth installment was a mix of both.
First I can't stand the Dallas-like recaps. Nostalgy should be used to unleash creativity, not to asphyxiate it. However I definitely think it's interesting to picture the collision between two families.
Second the three arcs were awfully disjointed. Either the storyboard guy was drunk or the editor is a sleep walker. One minute you see Joseph Adama fishing with his young son in bright daylight, the next Tamara Adama trapped into the dark virtual world. Moreover she's portrayed by Genevieve Buechner and I found her performance not convincing at all.
Third the virtual arc didn't feature Zoe nor Lacy when the last is played by Magda Apanowicz, the best young actress of the three in my opinion. In fact I don't think Buechner lacks talent but the situations she's involved in are inappropriate for her age and nearly absurd. I mean if you want to pull a Trinity you get Carrie-Anne Moss ; a beautiful, talented and charismatic actress. And if you want to go all Neo on some guys you get Keanu Reeves, or the gravure model next door. As for its story I thought mixing science-fiction and film noir was original but I found the execution lacked authenticity. It's like if they gathered as many ideas as possible, specially from The Matrix, throw them into a jar and prayed for their invocation to succeed. It wasn't a complete failure but only decent entertainment and I have higher expectations.
Fourth the Adama arc was demonstrative but the stories developing in parallel made it less intense. I think they should have focused on it like in Gravedancing instead of trying to cover too many topics at the same time, or leave it for the next episode. When you hunt too many preys the risk is not to catch any. However its ending was intriguing even if I found it rushed. If they don't want to lose more viewers they really have to properly connect the arcs. Lost is a role model when it comes to the process and in its sixth season dual stories are developed and edited in a very creativity manner. Such mastery should definitely inspire its peers in the future.
Fifth and last the Graystone arc was interesting but far too short. I only remember two scenes. One involved Daniel's wife and even if her motivation speech was inspiring their scene was just misplaced between the two other arcs. In fact he had to deal with what he said on the talk show about his first major invention, the Holoband. The Cylon was also featured and it actually reminded me of the RoboCop film series. Daniel's speech was engrossing but nothing Isaac Asimov didn't write decades ago. However if you're new to topics like artificial intelligence and morality then you should be fascinated by his scene. Still I didn't like how it ended because I think what happened just ruined it.
To sum things up there were some pros and cons so it was watchable but not memorable. Considering it's already the fifth episode I worry that the whole season will receive the same treatment. It's a pity because Caprica has potential and some of the topics covered fascinate me but there're still far too many disappointing elements. However I'm not ready to give up on it because despite its flaws there're plenty of things to appeal the audience. If I was a teenager I would probably not be so picky but for the moment I believe the show is not mature and smart enough.
First I can't stand the Dallas-like recaps. Nostalgy should be used to unleash creativity, not to asphyxiate it. However I definitely think it's interesting to picture the collision between two families.
Second the three arcs were awfully disjointed. Either the storyboard guy was drunk or the editor is a sleep walker. One minute you see Joseph Adama fishing with his young son in bright daylight, the next Tamara Adama trapped into the dark virtual world. Moreover she's portrayed by Genevieve Buechner and I found her performance not convincing at all.
Third the virtual arc didn't feature Zoe nor Lacy when the last is played by Magda Apanowicz, the best young actress of the three in my opinion. In fact I don't think Buechner lacks talent but the situations she's involved in are inappropriate for her age and nearly absurd. I mean if you want to pull a Trinity you get Carrie-Anne Moss ; a beautiful, talented and charismatic actress. And if you want to go all Neo on some guys you get Keanu Reeves, or the gravure model next door. As for its story I thought mixing science-fiction and film noir was original but I found the execution lacked authenticity. It's like if they gathered as many ideas as possible, specially from The Matrix, throw them into a jar and prayed for their invocation to succeed. It wasn't a complete failure but only decent entertainment and I have higher expectations.
Fourth the Adama arc was demonstrative but the stories developing in parallel made it less intense. I think they should have focused on it like in Gravedancing instead of trying to cover too many topics at the same time, or leave it for the next episode. When you hunt too many preys the risk is not to catch any. However its ending was intriguing even if I found it rushed. If they don't want to lose more viewers they really have to properly connect the arcs. Lost is a role model when it comes to the process and in its sixth season dual stories are developed and edited in a very creativity manner. Such mastery should definitely inspire its peers in the future.
Fifth and last the Graystone arc was interesting but far too short. I only remember two scenes. One involved Daniel's wife and even if her motivation speech was inspiring their scene was just misplaced between the two other arcs. In fact he had to deal with what he said on the talk show about his first major invention, the Holoband. The Cylon was also featured and it actually reminded me of the RoboCop film series. Daniel's speech was engrossing but nothing Isaac Asimov didn't write decades ago. However if you're new to topics like artificial intelligence and morality then you should be fascinated by his scene. Still I didn't like how it ended because I think what happened just ruined it.
To sum things up there were some pros and cons so it was watchable but not memorable. Considering it's already the fifth episode I worry that the whole season will receive the same treatment. It's a pity because Caprica has potential and some of the topics covered fascinate me but there're still far too many disappointing elements. However I'm not ready to give up on it because despite its flaws there're plenty of things to appeal the audience. If I was a teenager I would probably not be so picky but for the moment I believe the show is not mature and smart enough.
