DVD Reviews

Caprica

I’ll admit, though I enjoyed BSG, I was never a fanatic who had to watch it every week and would talk at length about it with friends or anybody else that would listen.  There were just too many things about it I simply didn’t like.  So when Caprica was announced I wasn’t quite sure if I would jump on board or not.  If this was going to be anything like BSG (minus the fighting), I’m not sure it would have caught my fancy.  Luckily, the DVD came to me for review and has managed to make a believer out of me. I just wonder if there’s going to be as much nudity in the regular series as was in this pilot.

An astonishing breakthrough is taking shape on the planet Caprica. The rapidly evolving spheres of human and mechanical engineering have collided, along with the fates of two families. Joined by tragedy in an explosive instant of terror, two rival clans led by powerful patriarchs, Joseph Adama and Denaniel Graystone duel in an era of questionable ethics, corporate machinations and unbridled personal ambition as the final war for humanity looms.

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and while Caprica is very dialogue heavy when compared to BSG and its fight scenes, Caprica does have a few moments where the 5.1 gets to shine.  The dialogue is never overpowered and is clean and clear which is very important.  During the v club scenes and the train explosion, the LFE channels really kick in giving a good amount of bass and volume.  The surrounds are also used nicely when expected.  They give a good sense of the city, club, people and when needed, battle.

The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen much like the BSG DVDs and is on par with them in quality as well.  There is good detail throughout with colours that are muted but accurate.  Contrast is good with black levels nice and dark yet still maintaining a good amount of detail.  There is a lot of digital compression visible which makes the CG stand out at times. Though the quality of the picture is on par with BSG this looks nothing like it.  It is much cleaner, polished and stable when compared to the grittier BSG, giving it a very distinct look.

Extras are extremely disappointing.  The makers of this new show must be counting on fans of Battlestar to automatically latch on to this new show and pick up this DVD as they didn’t include any extras that fans can sink their teeth into.  The DVD opens with trailers for the BSG complete series box set, the Scifi original program Warehouse 13, a Blu-ray ad, the trailer for Caprica and a smoking is bad public health anouncement.  None of these are available from the disc’s menus. The biggest waste of digital space on this release however is an entire episode of Ghost Hunters.  Though I think it’s probably the best show of its kind (and a great episode to boot), this is obviously just a case of blatant promotion from Syfy. Next up are some deleted scenes. 

There’s about 7 to 8 minutes of footage and while some of it is covered in the finished pilot, there is a very revealing aspect of the plot which I have a feeling may be dealt with more during the season.  Next up are some “vlogs” which range from pointless to somewhat interesting.  There’s “what the frak is caprica?” which is mostly comprised of interview footage and gives a basic run down of what the show is about. “the director’s process” is more about the style and feel of the show compared to BSG and how the director is approaching it.  It has interview footage mixed in with some behind-the-scenes and show footage,  “the v club” takes a look at the virtual “chatroom” club and what it is.  Again there are some interviews, behind-the-scenes and even a tour of the set. This is something that could have had a much more in depth look at considering the moral/ethical impact that’s only touched upon slightly. 

Finally there’s “the birth of a cylon” which looks at the FX/idea behind the construction of the first cylon.  Lacking from these vlogs is interview footage with Eric Stoltz though he is shown in “the v club” briefly.  The final and only extra worth talking about is the full length commentary with Director Jeffrey Reiner, Executive Producer/Writer Ronald Moore and Executive Producer David Eick as they go into depth about the show and the series.  There are a few pauses where they all seem to watch the movie instead of comment on it but they are few and far between.   The guys really seem to get along with each other as they are often found laughing and joking with each other.  

Don’t go in to Caprica with the same mindset as you had coming out of BSG, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Caprica is nothing like BSG but it does have enough references to it that fans will get those “oh so that’s where it came from” moments. I’m looking forward to more of those moments throughout the series.  My one caution is that this show might end up being a little “teen drama”ish as some of the main characters are much younger than we had in BSG.  Unfortunately, though the audio and video quality of this DVD are up to par, the extras included don’t make it much to talk about.  I’ll chock this one up to a recommended rental but I’m sure fans will probably pick this one up regardless of what I say.  I wouldn’t be surprised if a special edition of some sort gets released in the future.

Review By Rob Harding