Virtual Caprica

Didn't I say that one of the best things about Earth 2 was VR?

Well, well, and now the concept of VR is expanded and moved into a more central position in Caprica in the form of V-world, accessed through holobands. (By the way, click the following links to view my reactions to the other shows in this franchise: Battlestar Galactica (1978), Galactica 1980, Battlestar Galactica.)

Let me go ahead and start with the terrible truth: I didn't much like this series and I don't think I'm really the audience for it, anyway (not demographically, just in the types of things I like to watch). At first I wondered how production could have okayed the intro/title sequence: it looks like a Gothic soap opera. Then I realized that the basically is that. There are family troubles, mysterious events, and betrayals. There is also a fair amount of violence--which I wasn't surprised by, but there comes a point when I wonder why I would want to watch people beating each other up and killing each other during my spare time. This is a question that the show itself asks: why do people continue going into V-world to let their worst instincts free? But if that's portrayed as negative, then how is watching the show so innocent?

I know. I know. I may be stretching things. I wouldn't look down on someone who enjoyed this show; that isn't what I'm saying. I'm just bringing up the same issue I found in The Hunger Games, where the message seemed to interfere with the very act of viewing the story.

But the V-world concept is interesting. Besides showing the dangers of relying too much on technology, it can also be a warning about fiction/fantasy in general, a statement on acknowledging the truth of reality and not ignoring your life.

(Just in case: a minor spoiler is coming.)

Initially, I was a bit confused about how this series fit into the Battlestar Galactica universe, besides the whole Caprica 58 years before the fall thing. And I'm still wondering if there are unanswered questions, things we would have learned if the series had gone on for more than one season. If Zoe becomes a Cylon who looks human, how does that fit in with what we learned at the end of the main show? I thought the original five came and gave the technology for that. Am I missing something? (Like the fact that his name is Daniel Graystone, like the Cylon who didn't survive.) Or is this series meant to be separate enough that facts don't need to be continuous between the two?

I suppose I preferred the original reboot series just because it developed into something more layered and more symbolic. Caprica had some of those elements, but in one season they couldn't develop into as much. And although Battlestar Galactica did get too "army" for me at times, Caprica got too soap opera at times.