Caprica returns tonight: Cast interviews, videos and updates

A final round of updates before the show returns tonight at 10 on Syfy:

Magda Apanowicz will be doing a live chat at Syfy Connect tonight at 8:45 pm EDT. [Update: The chat has been cancelled.]

Caprica's science advisor Malcolm MacIver has an excellent new post at Discover Magazine: Caprica Puzzle: If a Digital You Lives Forever, Are You Immortal?

Eric Stoltz has posted a few more pictures from the set of "Unvanquished" here. His episode of Glee airs next Tuesday at 8 pm on Fox.

Los Angeles Times has a short interview with Polly Walker here. Snippet:

"I'm not a technical person ... I do well to send an e-mail. But it is interesting that I play a character who wants to create a digital heaven."

Walker, who does believe in God but is not a "particularly religious person," didn't do any specific research for the role.

"Like any actor, I just translated what was put in front of me," said the actress.

Walker also tells us that for this second half of the season, "fans are definitely going to see the action quotient go up. Characters are more active, and Clarice graduates beyond the school."

She will also guest star on Sanctuary this fall.

Paula Malcomson, still a regular on Sons of Anarchy, will make an appearance in The Event, episode 1x06, "Loyalty."

Ausiello at EW says that Ron Moore has a new project in the works, a remake of the ’60s classic The Wild Wild West.

Battlestar's Aaron Douglas tweeted that he starts filming an episode of Eureka tomorrow.

Magda Apanowicz will play Ashley Tisdale's rival on Hellcats later this season. She mentioned it in an interview with Homorazzi.com:




Magda also talked to TV Squad in recent days. The interview is here. Snippet:

They have a life-sized Cylon on the 'Caprica' set. They didn't have one for 'BSG.' Apparently they'd talked about it for so long, but supposedly it's really expensive to create, so they couldn't do it. I think it's so crucial – I can't believe they went so long without one. There are so many scenes when Eric [Stoltz], Paula [Malcolmson] and Polly [Walker] and I were all talking to the Cylons, and you need something there.

Like the infamous tennis ball on a stick?
Yep, we have one of those. There are many times when – sorry if I'm ruining anything for your readers – but I've been in a room before where they literally had a whole bunch of poles that are supposed to symbolize Cylons. That's where imagination comes in, but I find it easy to get lost in the 'Caprica' world, so it's not that big a problem for me. So there's the pole Cylon, the real Cylon, and then there's the cut-out Cylon.

Which do you use?
I usually have the pole. We drew straws and I lost. Eric gets the cut-out. (...)

As a viewer, I felt badly for Lacy, but also wanted to give her a shake. She just seems so meek.
Again, I don't want to ruin anything, but in this second half of the season there is some serious growth of character. Lacy goes on a journey, and she's constantly thrown into these absolutely awful situations and decisions. It's really cool where she goes, and I'm really satisfied... the finale is amazing.

Syfy has posted a fan Q&A with Alessandra Torresani and Sasha Roiz:



Wired has a new bonus clip from the Caprica Season 1.0 DVD, "Making Caprica’s Gritty New Cap City" here.

Serge Graystone is tweeting again.

And The Caprican has an article with a major spoiler for tonight's episode here.

More updates on Twitter as they come. If you haven't signed up there yet, this would be a really good time. ;)

First review of Unvanquished, more DVD clips & some new spoilers

The first review of the mid-season premiere comes from York Dispatch and is pretty positive on the whole, with the exception of one particular storyline. Here is a snippet (spoilers):

You'll learn exactly what happened to Amanda, Zoe and Sister Clarice, who narrowly avoided a car-bombing orchestrated by a rival terror cell, and you'll see how Daniel plans to take his company back. As narrative momentum goes, there's just enough red meat here.

The episode is also a visual showcase, proving conclusively that you don't need to set your science-fiction series in outer space to conjure some striking images. The dazzling neons and art-deco skyscrapers of Caprica City (capital of the planet Caprica) are as impressive as they've ever been, but "Unvanquished" also takes us to the planet Gemenon, the spiritual hub of this particular universe. Though its computer-generated cathedrals and moonscapes are glaringly artificial, they're no less pretty for it. (...)

Even with its blemishes, "Caprica" is bold, uncompromising storytelling, and it's the only show of its kind on TV. If you're a devoted fan counting down the hours to Tuesday's premiere, you'll be sated. If you've never seen an episode, don't start here. -- York Dispatch

If you need to catch up, Syfy will air the first nine episodes on Tuesday, starting with the pilot at 10 am. "Unvanquished" airs at 10 pm, after a Stargate Universe block.

Note: Stargate didn't do very well in the ratings this week. It held the 18-49 demo from the season one finale (0.5), but hit a series low in total viewers (1.175 million). To compare the numbers to those pulled in by Warehouse 13 in the same slot last week, go to the Mediaweek forums.

Back to Caprica. Three new clips from the season 1.0 DVD surfaced today. One is an interview with Ron Moore and VFX supervisor Gary Hutzel about the effects that went into the creation of the first Cylon. The clip is at io9.com.

The second clip is at IGN.com. In it, Ron Moore talks about the STO, Zoe's original plan for the avatar, and what we can expect to see in the second half of the season.

The third clip is about the cast and how they landed their roles on the show. You can watch it at TV.com. The clip has interviews with David Eick, Eric Stoltz, Paula Malcomson, Polly Walker, Alessandra Torresani, Sasha Roiz, Esai Morales, Jane Espenson and Ron Moore.

TV Guide has a short synopsis of the next episode:

Clarice visits Gemenon to pitch a terrorist attack to the STO leadership, while Daniel has a meeting with the Ha'La'Tha, where he seeks support for creating a virtual afterlife.

And last but not least, The Caprican has a new article about Graystone that sheds some light on his situation in episode 1x10. Which is now only four days away.

Caprica season 1.5 to air in October after all (preview & spoilers)

Some great news today: Syfy has announced that the second half of season one will start airing in October, as originally planned. Episode 1x10, "Unvanquished," will air on Tuesday, October 5, at 10 PM, right after Stargate Universe. Sanctuary, on the other hand, got shifted back to Fridays, but at least we'll see their resident werewolf Ryan Robbins in four episodes of Caprica (starting with 1x11, "Retribution") when the show returns. In October.

No word yet on whether the show will get picked up for a second season, but Deadline writes that a reduced season 2 order is still a possibility.

Here is the first preview for "Unvanquished," with Deadwalker Zoe kicking some virtual ass:



The episode was directed by Eric Stoltz. David Eick said on one of the podcasts that he calls it the "Taxi Driver" episode (reasons to be determined in about a month). Also, I'm pretty sure that this will be the first episode with Meg Tilly guest starring, but can't for the life of me find the source on that.

Also of note: Earlier today, Nice Girls TV posted a really great report from Comic Con with a bunch of spoilers for the rest of the season, some of them completely new. You can check it out here: Inside the World of Caprica: A Look at What's to Come.

Finally, here is the press release for Caprica season 1.5:

NEW YORK - September 9, 2010 - The highly anticipated return of Syfy's critically-acclaimed series Caprica will come even sooner than anticipated. The second half of season one will now premiere on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 10:00PM ET/PT, the channel announced today. Fans will no longer have to wait until January to watch the series exciting kick-off, as the citizens of Caprica deal with the chaotic aftermath of the mid-season finale's harrowing events.
The second half of season one will transport us from stunningly vivid, twisted Virtual realities to the fascinating outer worlds of the 12 Colonies. Along the way, revolutionary tensions rise, family power shifts and our characters grapple with the physical and emotional consequences of their questionable decisions. As the season races towards its stunning conclusion, each episode lays the groundwork for the inevitable (and brutal) clash between the new Cylon race and its human creators.

"Though we initially announced the January return of Caprica, we still had hopes of finding a way to get the series back on the air sooner," said Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of Original Programming, Syfy and Co-Head of Content for Universal Cable Productions. "We've been able to successfully re-work our schedule, and are thrilled to bring the show back during what is traditionally Syfy's most-watched time of the year. The outcome should also please fans who expressed their wishes for a shorter mid-season hiatus."

Caprica stars Eric Stoltz (Daniel Graystone), Paula Malcomson (Amanda Graystone), Esai Morales (Joseph Adama), Polly Walker (Sister Clarice Willow), Alessandra Torresani (Zoe Graystone), Magda Apanowicz (Lacy) and Sasha Roiz (Sam Adama).

Caprica will immediately follow new episodes of Stargate Universe (Tuesdays @ 9PM).

The third season premiere of Sanctuary will now launch in its former timeslot on Friday, October 15 at 10:00PM ET/PT immediately following Friday Night Smackdown on Syfy at 8:00PM ET/PT.

Produced by Universal Cable Productions, Caprica is a prequel to the award-winning series Battlestar Galactica, and is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick. Jonas Pate serves as co-executive producer and director.

New interview with Scott Porter (Anaheim Comic Con)

IESB.net has posted a recent interview with Scott Porter, who was at the Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con last week. He shared some interesting spoilers about Caprica season 1.5:

IESB: Scott, tell us about some of your upcoming projects.

Scott: There's the second season of Caprica, which is being very mysterious about what is going to be aired. It should be coming up in the fall. For Caprica, a lot of people think it’s been a bit slow, but the second half of the season will be phenomenal.

IESB: Really? Would you elaborate on Caprica?

Scott: We start to see the terrorist cells start to flex their muscles. They will now give a clear vision on what they want to be. They start forming away to get everyone to subscribe to the one god line of thinking. With the Graystones, finding Zoe and trying to retrieve her back, everything comes to end towards the end of the first season and set up nicely for the war to actually start.

IESB: What about your role on Caprica?

Scott: Up until now, it's been an assistant role for Clarice and kind of a computer geek. He's a strong believer and like most villains, he thinks what he is doing is right. You’ll see more of this in the second half of the season. I’m in over half of the episodes for the second season. [IESB.net]

Interviews: Magda Apanowicz, Ron Moore & David Eick

Magda Apanowicz did a couple of interviews this week. First, she did the TV Talk podcast with Shaun O'Mac. You can listen to it here (her segment starts an hour into the podcast and lasts about 40 minutes).

And the second one:

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

And Ron Moore and David Eick talked to The Associated Press about what we can expect to see in the second half of the season.

 

More spoilers for episodes 1x08 & 1x09

A few more details about tonight's ep and the midseason finale that airs next week showed up on SpoilerTV and AICN. Some of the spoilers (especially those for 1x09, "End of Line") are pretty major, so don't scroll past Serge if you don't wanna know.

Episode 1x08, "Ghosts in the Machine," (teaser, clip) airs tonight at 9/8c on SyFy.

SpoilerTV:

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.

AICN:

1x08 Ghosts in the Machine - "Daniel wages psychological warfare to flush out Zoe when he suspects her avatar is hiding in the Cylon; Joseph is guided to a nightclub in New Cap City that may lead him to Tamara; Vergis tries to drive a wedge between Amanda and Daniel."

1x09 End of Line - "Daniel sets a deadline to reset the Cylon, forcing Zoe to find a way to save herself; Barnabas clashes with Clarice, with Lacy caught in the middle; Daniel makes a confession to Amanda."

Paley Center reports: SyFy upfronts, Caprica screening, Q & A panel

Just a note to say that there are several really good reports from the SyFy upfronts on Tuesday and the Caprica panel at the Paley Center yesterday. The last two episodes of the first half of the season (the ones that air tomorrow and next Friday) were screened at both events and the producers (Ron Moore & David Eick) and cast (Alessandra Torresani, Magda Apanowicz, Esai Morales, Sasha Roiz) talked about what's to come when the show comes back after the break. Most articles contain mild spoilers for the rest of the season. Follow the links below for the full reports.

*** UPDATE: There is a short clip from the event, with Ron Moore and Esai Morales, on The Paley Center site and Hollywood the Write Way also has a report and a video interview with Magda Apanowicz here ***

First, here is a new interview with Ron Moore, from Digital Spy:

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."

SCI FI Wire:

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."

TWoP:

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.

Attention Deficit Delirium:

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.

UGO.com

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.

Io9.com:

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.

Galactica Sitrep:

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.

And there are some more details from yesterday's panel on The Paley Center's Twitter account.

New interview with Esai Morales

TV Guide has a new interview with Esai Morales, which contains a few minor spoilers for the rest of the season. You can read the whole article here.

TVGuide.com: How did you get involved with the show?
Esai Morales: My manager told me to take a look at this. "This is a really classy show," she said. "The creators are geniuses. It's on Syfy, but they're doing a whole rebranding thing. This could be a flagship show for them." I wasn't a BSG guy per se. I had kind of grown away from sci-fi in my adult years. I'm really happy to be back in a way that I don't feel like I'm regressing to my childhood! There is nerd appeal, but at the same time, it's something many people can identify with. It's just a smart show and unlike anything I've seen on television.

TVGuide.com: Joseph Adama is sort of mythological since we've never met him until now. How would you describe him?
Morales: In reality, the myth is not as grandiose. We will be deconstructing a bit of the statue of the man and showing the human being. I'm not playing him as some sort of hero. I'm playing him as a man who is just trying to survive, stay on the right side of the law and be a good role model to what's left of his family. He'd like to reconnect with the digital aftereffects of his own daughter. When he hugs and holds her, it's as if [she's real] — except for one little thing: He can't feel her heartbeat, which is that poetic representation. What are these things if they are not people? What do they feel? Where do they go when they're in limbo?

TVGuide.com: Are you still filming? What can we expect coming up?
Morales: We are. [In] one of the episodes, I have to deal with possibly the most devastating drama that the character has faced yet. You would think after all he goes through it wouldn't get worse, but it gets worse. We take a gamble and it doesn't go well and we basically have to make a run. If I suggest too much, it'll be obvious. I was literally in tears when I read it. I went to bed in tears with the thought that of that happening to me. [In the season finale], there might be a time jump. We might see them a few years later.

Caprica 1x02 Rebirth - casting call & casting sides

SpoilerTV has posted the casting sides & a casting call for episode 1x02, Rebirth.

The casting call is for a recurring role, a talk show host named Baxter Sarno:

[BAXTER SARNO]
The star of "Backtalk With Baxter Sarno," he's a very bright talk show host similar to Letterman or Leno, but with the political intelligence of Jon Stewart and a retro feel that could belong to Dick Cavett or Jack Paar. He is seen delivering his nightly monologue on the topical events of the day.sptv050769.. (25) RECURRING ROLE. PLEASE SUBMIT NAMES AND NON-NAME ACTORS. MUST BE ABLE TO AD LIB.

The sides are for characters Natalie Stark, a drug dealer named Waylon, a "man at the mic," a cop, a character named Tanner and his pregnant wife Mar-Beth, Nestor Willow (relation to Clarice is pretty spoilerish so either read the sides or wait for the episode ;)), a concession worker, pyramid commentators Steve Bahara and Abasi Lowe, and two young scientists named Philomon and Drew, who work at Graystone's lab.

To read the sides, go to SpoilerTV.