Caprica Season 1.5 Gets A Release

Attention all television viewers:

On October 27, 2010, SyFy announced they were pulling their Battlestar Galactica prequel, Caprica, from its weekly lineup, effective nearly immediately. For its small but staunch population of viewers, this was no doubt a calamity of the utmost proportion. This means that for those who were indeed intrigued by this otherworld drama series, the last five episodes in season 1.5 have been pulled. A tragic story. Now, for the good news.

Attention all Caprica viewers:

On December 21, 2010, Season 1.5 in its entirety will be released on DVD. The pack will feature a video recap of Season 1, alongside both video interviews and podcasts from crew and cast members (including Eric Stoltz, Magda Apanowicz, Esai Morales and Sasha Roiz). For viewers who were into the religious aspect of the series, there will be a section relating to the religious aspects of Caprica and how those concepts were created. There will also be episode commentary with executive producer Kevin Murphy, who was the head writer for Desperate Housewives for a while, and was the showrunner for Caprica. It would have been ideal to put the split season together in one package, but perhaps that’s too much to ask for. Wounded pride means nothing next to lined pockets.

Some things to think about:

The most noticeable problem with BSG was its lack of an outlined character/plot arch. This forced the series to continually have to go back later and give explanations for certain actions and motivations. With BSG this was forgivable because the story, the journey itself, was so compelling, it didn’t matter whether the information was fed to us haphazardly or chronologically. Caprica, however, is not about a compelling journey. It’s about a society on the brink of losing control of the technology they have created.

Set on Caprica, roughly fifty years before the events on BSG, the story is less about action and more about movement through dialogue. BSG and Caprica creator Ronald Moore likens the show to Dallas, but I’m not certain it’s really an astute comparison. If Caprica suffers some of the same story issues that occurred with BSG and none of the space action, its no surprise the series was pulled, may I say it, so haphazardly.

Attention all BSG fans:

The good news is that co-BSG creator Glen A. Larson seems to be on board for the next bout of BSG-love, Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome, which is set to air sometime in 2011. Here’s to hoping the two creators will get their shit together and plot a legitimate character arch this time. C’mon guys, get the details right, you can always change things, later. Just like me. I initially had a “frack” joke in this piece, and I decided I just couldn’t go there. Nothing’s concrete til’ it’s put in print, anyway. Or, you know onscreen.

In the meantime, Caprica on DVD will have to quench your BSG thirst. Make due on December 21st. Here's your first look at the Caprica 1.5 cover art: