| Date | Episode | 18-49 Rating | Viewers (millions) |
| 22-Jan-10 | Pilot | 0.4 | 1.602 |
| 29-Jan-10 | Rebirth | 0.5 | 1.411 |
| 5-Feb-10 | Reins of a Waterfall | 0.4 | 1.128 |
| 19-Feb-10 | Gravedancing | 0.4 | 0.976 |
| 26-Feb-10 | There Is Another Sky | 0.4 | 1.127 |
| 5-Mar-10 | Know Thy Enemy | 0.5 | 1.155 |
| 12-Mar-10 | The Imperfections of Memory | 0.4 | 1.071 |
| 19-Mar-10 | Ghosts in the Machine | 0.4 | 1.229 |
| 26-Mar-10 | End of Line | 0.5 | 1.103 |
You've already shot the entire season. What can we expect from the second half?
I can't talk about it to a great capacity, but you'll see that the stories are more intertwined. The storylines and various characters aren't so divided -- they really tie in and connect with one another. There will definitely be a major storyline involving the Adamas and the Greystones. It will be very unique. (...)
Have you experienced any fandom yet?
New York was the first real taste of that, and it was really exciting. It was a whole other level of fandom. They're not just fans of you being on television -- they're fans of the show, so they want to know everything having to do with the show. They are so invested in it. It's just phenomenal. I loved the questions. I loved their investment -- it's really something else.
Was it your choice or the writers' choice to have you shirtless many times throughout the show?
It was definitely not my choice! I think there were some notes coming in from the top saying, "You know, he doesn't look so bad. Why don't we make him shirtless as well?" It was scripted that way, but the tattoos cost a fortune. Less is more -- so you show it a couple times, and then you have to be very selective about when you show it again.
One final question: I feel Sam is one of the best representations of gays on television right now, and I was wondering how you felt to be part of television history to a certain degree.
It is a true pleasure and really an honor to represent a gay demographic. Not only is Sam interesting in and of himself, away from his sexuality, but it's ironic that his relationship is one of the only stable relationships on the show. It's just been so well received, and the gay community has been so incredibly supportive. It's very rare for an actor to play a role where you affect people on a personal level, not just for entertainment. I've had a lot of people tell me that, and it's really touching, and it's a wonderful responsibility to carry. It's been great, a great experience. -- Out.com
The Caprica Times: Was there a romantic connection between Tamara Adama and Heracles?
Richard Harmon: Yes, from my perspective there is a little bit of a romantic connection between Tamara and Heracles, especially from Heracles’ point of view. No one ever believed in him in his actual life but Tamara shows that she actually has confidence in his ability to succeed in the real world - something no one else has done for him. Heracles was just using Tamara in the beginning to get what he thought he wanted but in the end he definitely felt a romantic connection towards her.
The Caprica Times: What did you find most intriguing about the New Cap City game?
Richard Harmon: The most intriguing thing about the game to me would probably be simply it’s realistic qualities - it’s life with no regrets… unless you get shot by fighter jets, you may regret that. (...)
The Caprica Times: What was the most memorable thing that happened while on set?
Richard Harmon: Hmm, most memorable thing to happen on set.. There is just too much stuff to choose from! I definitely enjoyed all the explosions that we got to do between the two episodes. I had never really done anything as physical as caprica before - it was incredible! I could go on forever about how amazing everyone who works on Caprica is. It was absolutely one of the friendliest sets I have ever had the great pleasure of working on! No matter how hectic everything got everyone somehow was able to rally together and keep smiles on their faces which kept a smile on mine. Working with such amazing Directors like Michael Nankin and Wayne Rose made working on this very intimidating show an ease. They always made me feel like I was where I belonged and at the end of the day that made that made my stay on this show incredibly memorable. -- The Caprica Times
iF: And Lacy is a student of the teacher Sister Clarice, played by Polly Walker? Both characters secretly believe in a single god in their culture that believes in many gods, but they seem to have different points of view.
APANOWICZ: Yes. It’s so amazing to work with [Walker]. With Lacy’s character, you start to see that Lacy is kind of reading between the lines with Sister Clarice and is not sure if she’s on the same page, and you slowly start to see if she goes with Clarice or if she takes her own path.
iF: Is it more fun to play the teacher/student relationship or the Zoe/Lacy friendship?
APANOWICZ: I think both are good. I like it that I have both to play with. Also the same thing with Eric [Stoltz, who plays Zoe’s scientist father Daniel Graystone] – he’s the adult and he’s more in control in scenes, and so is Polly’s character, and then with Alessandra, we’re more on the same level and I get a good mix of it. It’s definitely nice to have someone my own age occasionally, just someone to relate to what I’m going through, but I also really, really relate to people that are older.
iF: Who do you go to on the CAPRICA staff when you have questions about your character?
APANOWICZ: Probably Jane Espenson and Kevin Murphy. Those two, and Ron Moore, even David Eick. If I ever have any questions or confusions, all four of those people, if I have any questions, I go to those people and they totally give me what I need. -- iF Magazine
The Vancouver native, who plays Lacy Rand on the lauded sci-fi series, says this Friday's mid-season finale - airing just two months after the show debuted - has arrived far too quickly for her liking.
"It's so crazy, it happened out of nowhere. I'm like, 'What? No! There's got to be, like, three more.' But nope!" says Apanowicz, 24, who will be at Wizard World Toronto Comic Con this weekend.
"It just always feels like it's been only on for like, a month, and you're like, 'There's so much more, you guys need to see, there's so much more."'(...)
Friday's mid-season finale will feature "a bunch of cliffhangers," says Apanowicz.
"We're all pretty stuck in the decisions we make at the end and there's no real going backwards from them but kind of finding a new way to go forward from them."
Apanowicz has strong roots in the genre of sci-fi drama, with previous roles in the series "Kyle XY" and "Bionic Woman," the miniseries "The Andromeda Strain," and the film "The Butterfly Effect," among others. -- TheFreePress.ca
When Daniel (Eric Stoltz) finally sets a deadline for resetting the U-87 Cylon – and unknowingly ending Zoe-A’s (Alessandra Torresani) existence as she knows it – she makes a desperate attempt to save herself. But when her plan backfires, she finds herself out of time and out of options.
Furious with a recent comeuppance, Barnabas (James Marsters) ignites his feud with Clarice (Polly Walker) into an all-out war. Trapped in the middle is Lacy (Magda Apanowicz), who is forced to make a decision she may regret forever.
Daniel makes a confession to an already reeling Amanda (Paula Malcomson) that sends her over the edge.
Syfy's "Caprica" is showing signs of life in the Nielsens. Friday's episode climbed 18% this week to 1.3 million viewers. That's the biggest number for the series since its second week on the air. The show's midseason finale airs on Friday.
GATHERING MOMENTUM TO ITS SEASON FINALE, CAPRICA POSTS SERIES HIGHS IN ADULTS 18-49 AND ADULTS 25-54 DURING FRIDAY, MARCH 5 EPISODE ON SYFY
Gains 13% in Adults 18-49 and 15% in Adults 25-54 Versus Prior Week With Inclusion of DVR Playback
New York, NY -- March 22, 2010 -- Building momentum toward this week's mid-season finale, Syfy's critically acclaimed Caprica scored double-digit increases and delivered series highs in key demos Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 during its Friday, March 5 episode with the inclusion of Live +7 DVR playback data.
The March 5 episode, airing from 9-10pm, averaged 1.04 million Adults 18-49 (+13% versus the Friday, February 26 episode) and 1.21 million Adults 25-54 viewers (+15%).
The program also scored a 1.4 HH Rating (highest rating since the January 22 series premiere) and 1.78 million total viewers (highest since January 29).
The level of viewing from 7-day playback vs. same-day playback also hit series highs, adding:
476,000 additional Adults 25-54
436,000 additional Adults 18-49
627,000 total viewers -- The Futon Critic
JA: How much do you remember about the audition process for Caprica and being cast in your role?
MA: I was very hesitant about doing it because I get really nervous in auditions. I also had to get my wisdom teeth pulled in a couple of days. So I was dreading it but also thinking "I have to do this." So I went in and did the audition, and then a couple days later I had my wisdom teeth pulled. I got an infection and my whole face started to swell- for a month I couldn't talk or eat. They wanted to see me for a callback and I wasn't able to go. They had to trust the tape when they hired me, and I couldn't speak until about four days before we started filming the pilot.
JA: Take us through an average work day on the set of Caprica.
MA: Some days you'll come in and do one scene, other days you'll be there for an entire day. The crew works so hard because they are there every single day, and they work very long hours. I usually get there around 6:00AM, get into my trailer and have breakfast, then go and get my hair and makeup done, then get into wardrobe, get your mic, and do the blocking. To get ready for work, I always go to my trailer and put some kind of music on and dance spastically. It's just one of my morning rituals right before I have to do any kind of acting. It's a really boring process when you try to explain it, but it's fun! I love it.
Can any amount of preaching by papa – or gun barrels targeted at loved ones – make Zoe step forth? ‘Caprica’ star Alessandra Torresani is skeptical.
“At this point her father has done so much, she’s not going to let him have [closure],” says the actress. “They’re the same person – and because of that they butt heads – so the more he tries, the more she’s not going to give in.”
Events are unfolding quickly, though, as ‘Caprica’ speeds toward its cliffhanger-filled midseason finale. As such, “It’s almost too late” for Zoe to make her presence known, Torresani admits. That said, she allows for a possible “change of heart” by her alloy-clad alter ego at some point down the road.
How much of an impact do you think that Battlestar Galactica and Caprica have had on modern sci-fi television?
Ron Moore: That’s really hard to say. I don’t know.
David Eick: We were so busy cribbing from others that it’s been hard to keep track of who we may have begat. Our touchstones were the greats: [Robert] Heinlein, Philip K. Dick and the movies of Ridley Scott, not just the science fiction ones. I think we were fortunate to figure out a way to apply some of that aesthetic to a modern TV show. I haven’t been able to pay attention enough to what else is on out there to see what we may have inspired.
Ron Moore: To me, the biggest and most important impact is that Salma Hayek had a “Frak” T-shirt when she was on 30 Rock. That was a major score because that’s the one they put in the time capsule.
Ron, I saw you speak last year at the New York Television Festival and reminisce about your later years with the Star Trek franchise and how formulaic it got. How hard is it to stay as original as possible with your storytelling on Caprica, especially after four seasons of Battlestar, and to keep the mythology fresh?
Ron Moore: I think you’re always trying to avoid clichés just as a storyteller. I think within the Battlestar universe the smartest thing we did was we developed Caprica while Battlestar was still going, so we were able to make sure that we carved enough blank space for the back story on Galactica to give ourselves a lot of room. So as a consequence there are not huge plot grids that we have to keep tying into. The continuity is not so densely packed that we have to make all this stuff line up. It feels very free, that Caprica can be whatever it wants to be.
"Our finale is unbeliable," Sasha revealed. "It's so powerful that I remember me and Esai calling each other after reading the script. We were both absolutely floored by how it ends."
Esai said the season finale script made him emotional.
"The finale drove me to tears on various occasions," he said. "What happens is so profound and out of the blue. [It was] so unexpected it took my breath away."
This week: Daniel is convinced that Zoe is in the robot body, and puts her through a series of increasingly disturbing tests to try to get her to reveal herself. The second to last test is dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire, but it's the last test that will make you gasp. Also: Tamara's back and we find out who Joseph's guide in V-world is.
Next week: This was a mostly completed cut of the episode; the only things I noticed that were incomplete were an FX shot in a Pyramid stadium and a continuity error involving a secret message and a bicycle chain. It looks like we'll be getting some new cast members when the show comes back from hiatus, because two characters bite the dust in this episode -- one of these deaths is a shocking murder. Robo-Zoe tries to escape the lab. The last scene is extremely brief and devastating.
How long have you had the idea for Caprica in your head?
"A couple of years. It started when Dave, Mike and I discussed a spinoff. We said if we did one, it could maybe be about the creation of the cylons, and then completely separately, another writer approached Universal about doing a TV series having to do with artificial intelligence. Universal suggested we all sit down and talk. We did, and through those discussions, Caprica was born."
How important was it for you to get the cast that you did?
"Really important. Battlestar lived and died by its cast, and this will too. It's a character-based drama, so it was really important to get a strong cast. We didn't have the same sort of wish list that we had for Battlestar. We looked around to see who was interested rather than approaching directly."
Zoe had a turbulent start to the series. Where does her journey take her as the season progresses?
"She struggles to figure out if she can get out of the robot body and leave Caprica. She's the Zoe avatar so shes not the original. What's her place in the universe? What can she do? Where can she go? She certainly feels like a person, so what's the difference? She's gonna face struggles and self-discovery."
Daniel and Amanda have grown apart in recent episodes. Will they ever be able to put the past behind them?
"It's been a difficult time - they've gone through a really traumatic event. We'll see that continue a bit more for them. I don't wanna give it away, but Amanda's dangers are not over."
Is it likely we'll see Daniel and Joseph becoming friends?
"All I'll say is that their storylines will start to intersect quite soon."
Alessandra Torresani: "There's an accident, a car accident, but we don't know what happens. You never know, I might have been bad on set and they were like, 'Get out of here.'"
Esai Morales: "When we come back from the last episodes we just aired, it's the culmination of the first half (of the season). The first half tries to service almost all the characters equally, in a sense. The second half focuses on some, so you can get deeper into the storylines. Some of us will take a backseat and be seen in one or two scenes. And then there are other (episodes)... There's one we unofficially call 'Adama-rama.' It's called 'Dirt Eaters' and it shows the history of my brother (Sasha Roiz) and I on the show, our history when we were little, when he was actually shorter than me."
So what's coming up this season?
Morales: I can tell you this much -- this has been some of the hardest work I've done in my life, as far as emotion. When you have a daughter and you lose her, then she comes back, and you may or may not lose her again, that kind of thing, hooks are put into you. In the first half, first 3/4 of the [second half of the season], they will be ripped out. I don't want to give it away, but I have to say, I was exhausted emotionally at what happens. It's so mind-blowing, I don't want you to anticipate it. (...)
We've seen a little bit of Tauron, but will we see more, as well as more of the other colonies?
Ronald D. Moore: Definitely more of the colonies. You'll be seeing Gemenon, and you'll be seeing more of Tauron as well.
What's your favorite episode so far?
Eick: In the first half of the season, I have to say the best episode is the last, episode 9. It's the one where I feel like we hit our stride, and reached the Battlestar level of intensity and emotion and depth.
At the sendoff for Joseph's wife and daughter, the dirge that they sing is the show's theme song. Is there any significance to that?
Moore: Bear McCreary, who was our composer on Battlestar and remains our composer on Caprica, is always looking for ways to tie things together. You'll see in episode 9, which is the finale of the first half of Season 1, Daniel actually sits down at the piano and gets to play the theme song. So it's just sort of Bear's method of being meta about things. It's always a surprise to us, too, when he comes up with these things. In Battlestar, there's a great moment in the finale where you hear strains of the original old Battlestar Galactica theme song.(...)
So when do we finally see Gemenon?
Magda Apanowicz: We see Gemenon for the first time in episode 114, which is such an incredible episode. I think it's actually one of my favorite episodes of the entire season.
Oh, do you and Zoe make it there?
Apanowicz: I can't tell you! I can tell you that there's a lot of Gemenon, and you're gonna see a lot more of Gemenon and you're gonna see how that world works.
Do you see yourself as the innocent of the show?
Apanowicz: For me, the way that I look at it is that all Lacy wants to do is the right thing, and she keeps not being given these chances. She keeps getting these really hard decisions put in front of her, and none of them are good options, so what she basically has to decide is, "Which one is the lesser of all evils?" So that's where the conflict happens, she keeps making these really bad decisions.
This year’s Upfront took place at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, where the Tim Burton exhibit is currently being held (and which Syfy is a proud sponsor of). It was a great location for this sneak peek into Syfy’s forthcoming year, not only because of the chance to see the Burton artwork but also because of the large space where the party was held afterward. Syfy President Dave Howe, Blake Callaway (SVP, Brand and Integrated Marketing) and Chris Czarkowski (VP, Sales, USA and Syfy) kept the official presentation moving along fast and furious with good wit, and they were quite accessible afterward, as were the stars.
Speaking of Caprica, let's get to the fun part of the night - the party. I intercepted Magda Apanowicz (Caprica's Lacey Rand) talking to Real Worlder turned wrestler, The Miz and freed her from the full nelson he had her in to talk Caprica. Just kidding about the full nelson part.
Turns out Magda is a huge Buffy geek so obviously she was thrilled to work with James Marsters (Barnabus Greely). Which brought up an interesting point, with Caprica being a BSG spin-off. Magda, who was nervous about the BSG fans' response to the series, likened it to fans of the Whedonverse's apprenhension about Angel. I copped to sharing that attitude when BSG itself was originally broughy to the table for a reboot and not only am I huge fan of Ron Moore's reimagining but I'm also hooked on Caprica.
So will we be seeing more of Spike and Lacey? Yes, indeedy. But what does that say about Lacey's involvement with the STO? Is she really an uncompromising religious fanatic, bent on forwarding a montheistic spirtual agenda at any price?
"No," said Magda. Lacey believes in the cause but not in the current means to its end. Obviously, we're heading towards some sort of showdown. According to Magda, things are gonna get frakkin crazy with Lacey in episode twelve. Can't wait.
We don't know when we're going to get picked up, so my choices are limited – I can't go out for pilots, but I don't want to because I really enjoy [Caprica]. I enjoy doing television for people with brains. I'm sorry, I'm not saying that most of it isn't [but] this medium is supposed to be the Great Communicator. The great way that human beings as a species can identify with each other, and it's become, sad to say, The Great Appetizer. If I'm going to advertise, I might as well be open about it. I don't want to do television shows where it's really about silly things that are just there to pump products and commercials. I like that the show makes you think, and it sells ideas. It sells questions. It sells perspectives. Do you believe in one god or many or none? There's no good or bad – there's good or bad deeds. As they say in the Bible, God loves the sinner, not the sin. […] I don't understand how fundamentalists, whether STO or otherwise can want to kill, exterminate people who have not "evolved" to their level of understanding or maybe evolved past. That's what I like. This show makes you think. If you want to scratch the surface, you'll get something more than backdrop.
A couple of highlights gleaned at the panel:
- No one would say exactly when the second half of CAPRICA season one will air (although SyFy has apparently told the press October 2010). And despite the rumors from earlier this month, no one mentioned CAPRICA getting renewed, or any other new BSG spinoff ideas. Keep your fingers crossed.
- Ron Moore confirmed that we will visit two other colonies in the next set of episodes after the hiatus: Gemenon and Tauron.
- When asked if an ending has already been worked out for this series, Moore and Eick say they have not done that yet, it is too soon. They see around six organic endpoints, each is a landmark event within the timeline between the current present on the show through to the events of the BSG miniseries.
SCI FI Wire pulled Moore aside last night at Syfy's upfront session in New York City and asked him what it will take to bring about a Caprica renewal. His reply? It boils down to the same two things to which it always boils down, ratings and money.
"It's an expensive show for Syfy, for a basic cable show, and the ratings are not gangbusters, but the ratings have been ticking up and we're building momentum," he said. "It's been critically well received, so there's a good buzz on the show. It adds a lot of prestige to the network, but the network also has its own business people that have to figure out a cost analysis on it. I feel like we're gonna get it. I always felt like we were gonna get it on Battlestar. We'll just have wait and see."
When must the decision be reached?
"I think ultimately it comes down to when the actors' contracts come due," Moore replied. "That's the real trigger, and I don't think those are due until August. However, I think that the other factor is [the network's] schedule and when they'd want the show to be on the air. So they would probably pull the trigger before that in order to start production in time to get the show on the air for their schedule."
At its upfront event Tuesday, the NBC Universal cabler touted plans for a Thursday night block of reality shows: "Paranormal Investigators," which aims to build on the net's success with "Ghost Hunters," and "Mary Knows Best," revolving around a radio psychic and her family. Both shows will bow July 15.
Syfy prexy Dave Howe tub-thumped the new slate, including oddball superhero show "Three Inches," and he talked up a series of vidgame initiatives such as a dedicated gaming website and a massive multiplayer online game set to launch simultaneously with a weekly series.
Other series pickups include "Ghost Hunters Academy" (a competish show with a supernatural theme), a skein about imaginary creatures called "Beast Legends" and fresh seasons of "Warehouse 13," "Eureka," "Ghost Hunters," "Destination Truth," "Caprica," "Stargate Universe" and "Sanctuary."
MM: (...) For episode 2, “Rebirth,” the show needed some explanation for why the metacognitive processor was only working in one robot. The real reason, as we know, is that only one had Zoe in it; but the roboticists were being pressed by Daniel Graystone as to why it wasn’t working in others. The idea that I gave them, which they used, was that it was because this particular metacognitive processor had distributed its control to peripheral subunits. Because of this, it had become tied to one particular robot. It’s an idea straight out of contemporary neuroscience and efforts to emulate this in robotics.
SPhD: To me, one of the most fascinating directions of the show is the idea that the first Cylon prototype was born of blood, in this case Zoe Graystone, and because of that, carries sentient emotions and thoughts. What is the fine line between a very smart, capable robot and an actual being?
MM: To vastly oversimplify things, you can imagine a gradation in “being” from a rock to a fully sentient self-aware entity. Some of the differentiators between the rock and you include things like the impact of others on how you think about yourself. For example, categorizing a rock as a particular kind of rock has no effect on the constitution of the rock. This isn’t so for self-aware creatures: once a person is labeled a child abuser, it actually affects the constitution of the person so labeled. People treat child abusers differently from non-child abusers. People who are categorized in this way suddenly see themselves differently; and those who were victims do so as well. The philosopher Ian Hacking, who I studied with during my Masters in Philosophy at the University of Toronto, called this the difference between “Human Kinds” and “Natural Kinds.” Another differentiator is that, for what you refer to as an “actual being,” there is a sense of self-interest in continued survival. Because of this, such a being is susceptible to being harmed, and may also therefore have what an ethicist would call “moral worthiness.” Moral worthiness in turn imposes certain obligations in regard to ethical treatment. For example, returning to the rock, we wouldn’t say we harm a rock when we explode it with dynamite, and we wouldn’t accuse the person who did the blowing up of unethical behavior (certain stripes of environmentalism would differ on this point). Unlike a rock, all animals exhibit an interest in self-preservation.
A very smart and capable robot can be imagined which is not affected by how it is categorized by others, and does not have an interest in self-preservation. So, it would fall short of at least those criteria for full-on “being.” But, there’s a lot more that can be said here, of course.
SPhD: What aspect of the Cylon machine and their story, which is now at the heart of Caprica, do you find the most captivating, either as a viewer or a robotics engineer?
MM: The scenario of our inventions eventually becoming so complex that they begin to have an interest in self preservation, and thus can be harmed (and so may start to be candidates for ethical treatment), is one I’ve thought a lot about in the past. It’s a key theme of the show, too. That’s one aspect that fascinates me about the show. The other is the play between the different kinds of being that Zoe has—from avatar-in-a-robot, to avatar-in-virtual reality, to “really real.” It’s a fun fugue on the varieties of being that raises good questions about the nature of existence and mortality, among others.
“Amanda does become more human as this series goes on,” Malcomson said. “I think she becomes more real. She’s been wound tightly for a long time, I think, career-achieving, married to a gazillionaire, becoming a public fi gure, all these things. And then all these things get stripped away, and we get to see the layers of her.
“The plot really thickens each week. It starts to fl y and there’s more, I don’t know... deception, chicanery and betrayal. Amanda and Daniel are in trouble, and we watch them come together and fall apart. It gets crazier and crazier.”
For the moment most of Malcomson’s scenes put her before the camera with Stoltz. The two actors spend much of their time confronting each other, while also trying to allow viewers to glimpse occasional flashes of love and aff ection.
“Eric is a tremendous actor, a great partner in many ways, in terms of trust and commitment and hard work,” Malcomson said. “He’s so sophisticated, and it’s really, really lovely to work with him. And we’re very, very diff erent in our styles of working. The nice part is that we really respect each other’s methods.
“It’s highly complementary, this relationship. I’m a lot wilder in terms of how I approach the work, and he’s much more structured and prepared, but we come to this really nice, happy medium with it, and I think it comes off well.”
Q: So much of this show is very resonant with what’s happening today. For example, the society that’s depicted in the show seems to be obsessed with technology and success. What do you think the parallels are between the show and today? - Erik Meers
A: I think what I’ve always felt about our media and our technology – it outpaces our spirituality, our connectivity. We’re being outpaced. It’s like giving a loaded gun to a child who at five years old, you may or may not know what they have or how permanent the damage they can cause can be. I don’t want to explain too much of it, but I see this as a way to look at ourselves and what makes us human. Why do we get up? Why do we love? I have so many different directions I could go in my head, but to answer your question, I think it’s a perfect mirror of how, if we’re not careful, the ghost could be destroyed by the machine.
Q: There are parallels with today also in terms of terrorism. Obviously, that’s a big strand that goes through the series as well. What do you think about that? - Erik Meers
A: It’s just that things are not as they seem, in the real world and on the show. I don’t think the show can afford to mirror the real world exactly, I think it does it in broad strokes. It gets quite detailed for a weekly television show. It’s quite an undertaking, but if it gets too deep we’ll lose some of the audience. We have to deal with these on an unemotional level because the great shows tell these stories on a gut level and make us identify in these characters and beware in our lives. I don’t even think we have to try. If you watch it and you connect with it, then it resonates. If you stick with the show, it will stick with you.
Q: What can we expect in future episodes? - Erik Meers
A: You have to give it a chance. I do believe that the first act of what we’ve done with the cast and the crew as writers and people who are behind the scenes they were literally finding themselves. And by the second half, it comes togther. The show is finding itself through characters living and eventually making adjustments to those things and that takes the season to happen.
Q: Do you have any experiences that sort of sum up your experiences of working on the show? - Erik Meers
A: Our director, what he does is, he’ll let you bring your best shot to the table and he’ll go, “That stinks,” and it makes you find things that you weren’t aware of and that’s what I think he captures – great performances. You don’t plan for that. The general feeling is that we really love our jobs, and we want to make special moments happen.
Q: Are you almost done with shooting? - Erik Meers
A: I’m done completely. I think the show is wrapped shooting. We’re in the post-production process, just have to do some ADR, which is looping, some additional dialogue. I’ll do that tomorrow and in the remainder of the episodes and hope the audience enjoys this ride as much as we did making it.
Daniel is beginning to suspect that Zoe-Avatar is in the robot, but his pleas for his daughter to reveal herself go ignored. In an effort to flush her out, he launches a campaign of psychological torture, resulting in escalating tests that force Zoe into a choice she cannot take back. -- SpoilerTV
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
6:30 pm ET
New York
In Person
Ronald D. Moore, Cocreator and Executive Producer
David Eick, Executive Producer
Esai Morales, "Joseph Adama"
Alessandra Torresani, "Zoe Graystone"
Magda Apanowicz, "Lacy Rand"
Sasha Roiz, "Sam Adama"
Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of Development, Syfy and Co-Head of Content, Universal Cable Productions
Others to be announced.
Syfy’s new Battlestar Galactica prequel—more futuristic family saga than space opera—is a provocative, superbly crafted drama that, like its predecessor, tackles complex, highly resonant themes, such as religion, race, terrorism, technology, love, and the very nature of humanity. Like all quality drama, Caprica is not just emotionally and intellectually gripping, but also compels viewers to confront their own reality, even as they are swept up in this visually arresting, preapocalyptic world of sentient robots, avatars, and interplanetary travel.
The Paley Center will preview an upcoming episode from Caprica’s first season, followed by a discussion with members of the cast and creative team.
Amanda’s life spirals out of control as she begins to see visions of her brother, who died years earlier. As a result, Clarice sees an opportunity to gain her trust and we learn a dark secret from Amanda’s past that could have major implications for her life with Daniel.
The Caprica Times: Have you seen Battlestar Galactica?
Genevieve Buechner: I have, but not the whole series. I haven’t finished watching it all yet. I have it on DVD. As strange at this might sound coming from someone who works in the film industry, I don’t watch TV. I don’t have any cable – only DVDs – but believe me, I have enough DVDs for a lifetime. Huge collection.
The Caprica Times: You play an important role as William Adama’s sister. Does that factor into how you view Tamara?
Genevieve Buechner: Well they both have very separate stories really. Before Tamara was killed she was probably just a regular big sister – you know, a bit of teasing, a bit of, ”I’m older than you so I can do this, and you cant!,” probably some nice heart to hearts, and she would stand up to anyone who would hurt him, no doubt. But Tamara’s story is about how shes stuck. She’s trying to find a way out. William’s story is more about him learning who he really is – learning that his nameis really Adama, not Adams. He’s connecting with other parts of his family while his father is mourning over Tamara and his wife.
The Caprica Times: How do you relate to your character?
Genevieve Buechner: She is actually very strong-willed. In the pilot you hear her telling her mother about how she stands up for her race. She was being made fun of, being called a dirt-eater, and she didn’t stand for it. When I was little I was bullied in school pretty badly and as I got older I realized that I had the right to stand up for myself, for who I am. We are similar in that way.
How much leverage did they give you to make Barnabas your own?
I feel like I climbed into a playpen with a bunch of energetic children who were just playing. I got down there and the word was I was going to be in a kilt, which I thought was fabulous. I was running around in kilts the first day. We took pictures of that, the pictures went upstairs and they said, “Nah. Not cool enough.” They started throwing other stuff on me to the point where by the time we were filming, it was just like dark jeans, dark T-shirt and just a LOT of dirt. That worked great. And then a really cool jacket on top. (...)
Do you consider him a villain?
Hell no! You can’t. I’ve never thought [that] of any of the characters I’ve played who were making mistakes or hurting people. We’re all villains! It depends on if you’re hurting people or not on that day. -- USA Weekend
iF: Had you wanted to play a terrorist before this?
MARSTERS: [laughs] Yeah. One of my favorite films is V FOR VENDETTA, which is not to say that my personal choice is to take up arms. I myself am in the middle of a nonviolent revolution, but I have to say, the only difference between me and my character on this show is that Barnabus has decided that it’s okay to hurt people for the revolution.
iF Isn’t Barnabus also sort of a religious fanatic?
MARSTERS: Yes. However, and follow me here, because I’m playing the role, I have to understand where he’s coming from. What I love both about BATTLESTAR and about CAPRICA is that there are lots of gray areas. There are people that are fighting for what they believe in, and they’re making mistakes anyway. But Barnabus, my character, is living in a world that’s like ancient Rome, where [in virtual reality] they’re having mass executions and mass orgies and feeding each other to animals, and it’s a society becoming unhinged with decadence. And just like I can understand people being swayed by Christianity in that background, I can understand Barnabus getting swayed, too, to really want there to be one God who has answers and who has rules, like “Don’t hit your sister,” “Don’t pee in the pool,” “Forgive each other,” almost like a parent helping us to stop hurting each other. And that’s very seductive, to not have the answers about how to fix the world but want them to be provided to you by this wise hand. The only difference is that I’m a Jeffersonian Christian, which [means] that you just pay attention to the New Testament, and you don’t care if Jesus walked on water, you just listen to the philosophy, the one that went down through Gandhi and then down to Dr. Martin Luther King. The major part of that is, I believe, you can change the world without hurting people. Barnabus has chosen something different. He is going to change the world by hurting people. That’s where he diverges.
iF: In playing Barnabus, do you as an actor engage in physical fight scenes, or does Barnabus delegate the hurting of people?
MARSTERS: He so far is delegating, but he is definitely a character who could mix it up. As we’re playing him, he’s a very dangerous character physically. But he hasn’t gotten into a fight scene yet. I can’t wait ‘til they let me do that, though – they’re going to be very happy with dailies that day [laughs]. - iF Magazine
Al Norton: How did the role on Caprica come about?
James Marsters: This came about because of Jane (Espensen, executive producer of Caprica and former writer/executive producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer); she really wanted me on the show and she let everyone know that I wouldn't let them down if they let me come on. She really fought for me and I would go anywhere in the world if she called but I'm really glad she called me to come up there.
Al Norton: Had you watched Battlestar Galactica at all during its run?
James Marsters: I've seen some episodes. I didn't see the whole thing but every time I saw it it was amazing. Much more about human interaction and the potential that we all have to hurt each other. It was like, "who's going to be evil this week?"
Al Norton: What Galactica and Buffy have in common is they were both shows where critics and fans tried to convince people, "don't be put off by the genre, it's really just about people."
James Marsters: Yes, exactly. It's nice that the actors are following. These are just good stories. The whole point of good writing and good directing is to get human beings in very intense circumstances. My favorite director is Martin Scorsese because he notches up the tension in his characters so high. That's one thing that fantasy and science fiction can do so well, put people in extraordinary circumstances and then the audience gets to sit back and watch how they deal with it.
Al Norton: Tell me about Barnabas and what drew you to him.
James Marsters: He is a lot like me. He's a revolutionary fighting for a more just world, at least one he believes in. He's at war with the world, like me (laughing). My thing is that my revolution is peaceful whereas he has decided otherwise. He is so thinking that he is right that he is going to battle for it and he's hurting people in the name of philosophy.
Al Norton: And you're on for at least four episodes?
James Marsters: Yes. They've left it open. I've completed one arc and I'm hoping they weren't just being friendly when they told me it was going well and they were thinking about having me back. They didn't promise anything, of course, but they told me they would definitely like to see my face again. We'll see. -- 411mania.com
Since playing Spike, Marsters has played a series of mean, menacing guys, including his character Barnabus Greely, a diehard revolutionary on "Caprica," but he doesn't mind being typecast.
"I mean if I was playing Urkel, then I'd have a problem being typecast," he says. "But when you're typecast as the cool guy or the tough guy, or the potent character or the jerk who mixes things up, I think if you're going to get typecast, that's the one you'd want. I went in to audition for this 'Moonshot' [moon landing TV movie]. I love the Apollo program, I'm a science geek and stuff, so I was just so excited and would have taken any three roles, but the director's like, 'Oh no, I saw you in "Buffy" and I need you for Buzz Aldrin because he's the rock star.' -- Zap2It
We asked Marsters how he felt about playing a religious zealot, after years of playing bad boys, and he said:
I love anybody who has conviction enough to make mistakes, because only people who make mistakes get into enough trouble to be called drama... I feel like I understand why he's doing what he's doing: he's living in a time that is coming apart at the seams. In his world, people are committing mass sacrifice, and mass execution, and mass orgies, and people are shooting each other for fun. In Rome, it was the coliseum. In Caprica, it's the V-club. (...)
And Marsters says Caprica's portrayal of a society on the verge of collapse — whose residents don't know they're doomed to destruction within 50 years — is a clear parallel to our own reality. "Being that Caprica is scifi, you don't have to call it America. You can call it Caprica." You only have to watch Battlestar Galactica to know how screwed these people are. Meanwhile, in the here and now, you only have to listen to climatologists or experts on food supplies and clean water to know how precarious our situation is.
"In scifi and fantasy, we address those issues," Marsters says. "We just change the names."
Marsters says he's filmed five episodes of Caprica so far, culminating in episode nine or ten, and he's not sure whether his character will reappear in the first season. "They've left the door open" to bring his character back. -- Io9.com
- He says his favorite character on Caprica is Barnabas. His favorite actor is Eric Stoltz. James had a hard time not gushing in awe when in Eric's presence.
- Marsters says that Eric Stoltz directed the last episode Barnabas appears in. He says Eric was an awesome director, cracking just the right amount of jokes. He called Eric very brave and of having a 'free mind'.
- Regarding working with Caprica head writer Jane Espenson, James says, "I'm glad Jane worked with me on Buffy, because she fought to bring me on to Caprica". He also says that Jane is on the the top of the list of writers in Hollywood that he follows and enjoys working with.
- James is in five episodes this season. The writers have left the storyline open for Barnabas' return at a later date, although James hasn't heard anything about returning for a possible season two appearance. -- SpoilerTV
James on his character, Barnabus Greely:
James describes Barnabus as a religious warrior, a man who will do anything to change this corrupting world. And in trying to save the world, he is ‘not afraid to make mistakes;’ this James says with a heavy dose of admiration. When asked how he feels about playing such a zealous character, James says that he understands Barnabus’ motivation as he sees his world coming apart. In this fallen world, Barnabus is trying to save humanity and as such, he doesn’t fear going too far to do so. He will hurt and use people in order to make this right.
On Barnabus’ motivation:
Barnabus is driven by the loss of his father to the corruption of the surrounding world. Barnabus’ journey starts out very personal, as a quest to save his father and then expands to become very large in a quest to save the world in whole.
On Caprica and society:
Caprica reflects where we are in current society. James compares the world today to Rome and the rise of decadence. Before declining to get too morose, James admits that he finds the idea depressing.
Favorite episode of Caprica:
The episode the character is introduced in gives more for the actor to work with. James adds that the first episode is very intense for an actor because you don’t know what you’re doing well. -- Poptimal
