From Syfy’s press release:

“The remaining first run episodes of Caprica – airing Tuesdays at 10/9c – will be removed from the schedule as of next Tuesday, November 2,” said the network in a statement. “These final five episodes of the season will be re-scheduled to air at a to be announced time in the first quarter of 2011, and will conclude the run of the series.”

“We appreciate all the support that fans have shown for Caprica and are very proud of the producers, cast, writers and the rest of the amazing team that has been committed to this fine series,” said Mark Stern, EVP of original programming at Syfy. “Unfortunately, despite its obvious quality, Caprica has not been able to build the audience necessary to justify a second season.”

Related posts

• Caprica 1.09 – End of the Line Mid-Season Finale April 28, 2010
• Caprica Series Review (Episode 1-6) March 6, 2010
• Caprica Series Premiere (New TV Show) January 23, 2010

End of Line for robot Zoe when Daniel decides that he will wipe the chip of the anomalies. When Lacy fails to deliver she turns to Philemon and tells him the truth only to be betrayed as he sends out an alarm, in desperation she kills him and hijack a minivan and takes to the roads with the military in hot pursuit. End of the Line at the roadblock she deciedes to ram.

End of the Line for Joseph Adama when he finally meet Tamara in V-world and she tells him he has to stop taking AMP and stop living his life looking for her. End of the Line as she shoots herself and then her father so that he can never return to V-world.

End of the Line for Amanda when she confronts Daniel about the accusations and he fails to answer. When her ‘friend’ Clairice brushes her off in her desperation Amanda looses contact with reality and eventually end up jumping from a bridge.

Clarice comes to End of the Line with Barnabas and in a final confrontation decides to go to Gemini to get sanction to remove him. End of the Line when she sees Amanda preparing to jump on that bridge and leave her car just before a bomb goes off destroying it.

End of the Line for innocent Lacy as she joins STO to help Zoe and her first mission is to put a ‘tracing device’ on Clariece’s key ring for Barnabas. End of the Line when she finaly relizes Barnabas and her boyfriend just used her to put a relay for a bomb on Clarice. End of the Line when Barnabas forces her at gun point to press the button and forever say bye, bye to innocence.

End of the Line for Daniel Graystone as he is forced to sell his beloved Pyramid team. End of the Line as the military move up his deadline to deliver 100.000 robot soldiers to a week from now! End of the Line when the military procurement officer tells Vergis “If you get the company, you’ll get the contract”. End of the Line as the phone rings in the closing scene.

It all ends in an enormous cliffhanger, what happened to robot Zoe, Amanda, the defence contract and what telephone call did Daniel received in the closing scene?

Caprica started up slow but has been picking up speed in the last few episodes which I think is essential for the show, unfortunately quite a few viewers might have abandoned the show before the tempo picked up and this hiatus thing will not help. I am afraid the network’s handling of the showings might wound the numbers unnecessary for an otherwise promising show.

I have been postponing to watch the last episode for a long time, there must be a reason for that. I want to like this show, I really do. I have tried and tried to convince myself it’s good.

I like to be able to love and root for the characters in a show and in Caprica they are hard to find and hold on to. As soon as I start to root for a characters the writers find a way to make me dislike or mistrusts that character. Zoe is one such character, in the beginning she behaved like brat, then I could feel sympathy for her trapped in the robot and now again she becomes more and more sinister. Daniel is another with bad parenting, stealing the chip, then we are supposed to feel sympathy for him when he is about to loose his company, the man treats his employees like shit. The only one i have some empathy left for is Lacy and I am not sure it’s enough to get me back to watching Caprica when it returns in six months.

I am afraid this could also be the End of the Line for me and Caprica, I will make an effort to watch the first 2-3 episodes but if I am not sold by then I am gone.

I was on holiday since Wednesday with a lot of reading getting done and I have finished a couple of really good books and written a review of Elizabeth Moon’s Oath of Fealty and one of The Crucible of Empire by Eric Dlint and K. D. Wentworth.

I also did the usual end of/start of month posts:

• New Science Fiction Books in April 2010 Revisited
• Ove’s Monthly Journal March 2010

To make life easier for others to find good and especially new science fiction books I also made my previous private Links page public, use it to make your own favorite new books lists.

Upcoming Reviews:

• The Trade of Queens by Charles Stross (Merchant Princes 6) read last week
• Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley (The Quiet War 2) read last week, review on Temple Library Reviews Tuesday April 6.
• The Myriad by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 1) read last week
• Wolf Star by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 2) read last week
• Coyote Destiny by Allen Steele (Coyote Chronicles 2)
• Dust by Elizabeth Bear (Jakob’s Ladder 1)
• Chill by Elizabeth Bear (Jakob’s Ladder 2)
• Shadow of the Scorpion by Neal Asher (an agent Cormac novel)
• Gridlocked by Neal Asher (Agent Cormac 1)

I usually update the TV Pilot Roundup every day and make a post of it if it’s news worthy.

There will be micro recaps from David Weber’s upcoming books A Mighty Fortress and Mission of Honor on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I try to keep them spoiler free. A Mighty Fortress is soon to be published so there is only a few days left on it.

I will try to finish a new posts for Trends in Current Science Fiction this week. Last week I wrote about Reality TV.

And a review of Caprica’s spring finale (it will be back September 17) is still around the corner, I just have to watch it first.

A Review of Fringe and Stargate Universe’s returns from hiatus is also expected during the week.

Monday you will get What’s New or Returning on TV This Week .

Tuesday I will guest blog on Temple Library Reviews with a review of Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley.

Don’t forget Walker of Worlds Sci-Fi Appreciation Month during April.

Another trend in modern science fiction is the concept of Singularity, but also the opposite which I will cover in a later post. The thing is, that we might have seen the Singularity trend peak and that it in fact has started to fade now at least according to some posts on the Blogosphere (see links at the end of this post). Personally I think it will be here in one form or another for a long time. Technology and Science are changing the world around us and it is only natural that science fiction writers explore those changes to the limits of imagination. There is many ‘modern’ science fiction written which involve the singularity concept which we don’t see in ‘classic’ SF.

Singularity refers to a theory that technological and scientific progress will continue to speed up and that we will develop more intelligent beings that will speed up the progress even more while they invent even more intelligent beings and you see where this is going. Until we reach a point where not even our imagination can follow.

Singularity science fiction follows a Moore’s Law of the future, where science improves our lives exponentially over time. Eventually human life is so radically transformed that it’s unrecognizable to those of us living in the relatively crappy present. – io9

This is usually done by a combination of genetics, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. Sometimes the beings are ourself evolved and transformed to a post-human or transhuman race with little in common with the meat monkeys we are today.

History of singularity:

In 1965, I. J. Good first wrote of an “intelligence explosion”, suggesting that if machines could even slightly surpass human intellect, they could improve their own designs in ways unforeseen by their designers, and thus recursively augment themselves into far greater intelligences. The first such improvements might be small, but as the machine became more intelligent it would become better at becoming more intelligent, which could lead to a cascade of self-improvements and a sudden surge to superintelligence (or a singularity).

Vernon Vinge minted The Singularity expression in 1982.

In 1982, Vernor Vinge proposed that the creation of smarter-than-human intelligence represented a breakdown in humans’ ability to model their future. The argument was that authors cannot write realistic characters who are smarter than humans: if humans could visualize smarter-than-human intelligence, we would be that smart ourselves. Vinge named this event “the Singularity”. He compared it to the breakdown of the then-current model of physics when it was used to model the gravitational singularity beyond the event horizon of a black hole. In 1993, Vernor Vinge associated the Singularity more explicitly with I. J. Good’s intelligence explosion, and tried to project the arrival time of artificial intelligence (AI) using Moore’s law, which thereafter came to be associated with the “Singularity” concept.

Proof and examples:

A good example on Artificial Intelligences is William Gibson’s 1984 novel Neuromancer, in which AIs are strictly regulated by the Turing Police so that they can’t become self aware, but one wants to anyway. A more recent example is the WWW series by Robert J. Sawyer.

The singularity is sometimes addressed in fictional works to explain the event’s absence. Neal Asher’s Gridlinked series features a future where humans living in the Polity are governed by AIs and while some are resentful, most believe that they are far better governors than any human. In the fourth novel, Polity Agent, it is mentioned that the singularity is far overdue yet most AIs have decided not to partake in it for reasons that only they know.

A flashback character in Ken MacLeod’s 1998 novel The Cassini Division dismissively refers to the Singularity as the Rapture for nerds, though the singularity goes on to happen anyway.

Accelerating progress features in some science fiction works, and is a central theme in Charles Stross’s Accelerando (free download). Singularity Sky also touches on singularity.

Ken MacLeod’s Newton’s Wake is a post-singularity work as well as the Evergence Trilogy by Sean Williams & Shane Dix both which I like.

Other authors that address singularity-related issues include Karl Schroeder, Alastair Reynold, Greg Egan, Ken MacLeod, Paul Melko(Singularity’s Ring), Rudy Rucker, David Brin, Iain M. Banks, Ian Douglas, Neal Stephenson, Tony Ballantyne, Bruce Sterling, Dan Simmons, Damien Broderick, Fredric Brown, Jacek Dukaj, Nagaru Tanigawa, John Dickinson (WE), Douglas Adams and Ian McDonald etc

Popular movies in which computers become intelligent and violently overpower the human race include the Terminator series, the parody of a film adaptation of I, Robot, and The Matrix series.

On television series Battlestar Galactica and Caprica also explores artificial intelligence.

Another form of Singularity of a more spiritual kind is explored in the differentStargate installments. Ascended beings beyond human comprehension play a significant part in the Stargate universe (not SGU so far). Although most of them ascends through spiritual means, there are also cases of a more technological form of ascension now and then. The most significant ascended being in the series where Daniel Jackson here seen during the process.

Please watch this video where some of the aforementioned authors discuss Singularity.

The Singularity: An Appraisal from Michael Johnson on Vimeo.

This panel was held at Boskone 47 in Boston, MA on February 12th, 2010. Moderating was the Guest of Honor, Alastair Reynolds. Other panel participants included several time Hugo Award winner Vernor Vinge, Locus Award winner Charles Stross, and Karl Schroeder.

What’s your take on Singularity?
Got any good books to recommend?
Please write a comment.

Trends in Current Science Fiction Post Index:

1. Nanotechnology
2. Enviromental disaster
3. Singularity
4. Reality TV

Sources:

• Bill Joy’s Wired magazine article “Why the future doesn’t need us“
• Technological Singularity page on Wikipedia
• The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
• Singularity FAQ for Dummies
• Acceleration Watch
• The Great Enhancement debate
• whatisartificialintelligence.com
• Science fiction at the end of time a blog post from Marianne de Pierres’ Journal
• The Singularity Backlash a blog post from io9

So what’s on TV this week for fans of science fiction? Chuck, Big Bang Theory, Human Target, Supernatural, Legend of the Seeker with new episodes and Caprica is going an hiatus.

Monday

I recommend Castle for none SF viewing.

Chuck 1.11 – Chuck vs. the Final Exam

Monday on NBC

Chuck is just the best at the moment.

Chuck’S fate as a spy rests on a single mission.

Chuck learns that his latest solo mission will be a final test to see if he is ready to be a spy. Chuck needs to put everything he has learned into action to avoid going back to his old life while Sarah and Shaw observe his every move.

The Big Bang Theory 3.18 – The Pants Alternative

Sheldon’s friends come to his aid when his fear of public speaking stands between him and a coveted award.

Tuesday

Lost for those who watch it.

Survivors 2.1 Season 2 Premiere (BBCA)

The family rush the fatally-wounded Greg to the nearest hospital, but discover that the building is on fire. Abby has been taken to the lab, where the scientists believe her unique immune system will allow them to develop a vaccine.

V The Arrival – one hour presentation (ABC)

It’s Us vs. Them — The visitors have arrived, but what is their plan for the human race? One thing is certain: Every person’s life will change as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. “V: The Arrival,” a special clip show from the first four episode

Wednesday

Human Target 1.10 – Corner Man (FOX)

Chance is knocked out when he meets the beautiful daughter of a former heavyweight champ in Vienna and must jump in the ring to protect a prize fighter on the run from a ruthless businessman

Thursday

I guess you can watch Vampire Diaries also. I am saving the season to watch later, maybe.

Supernatural 5.15 – Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid

The brothers investigate when the dead come to life in Bobby’s hometown… but are happy, content, and living peacefully with their families. Bobby is reunited with his dead wife and tells them not to worry, but Sam and Dean insist on staying and discover that the zombies have an ulterior motive.

Friday

Caprica 1.09 – End of Line (winter season finale)

The Conflict between Barnabas and Clarice erupts as Zoe attempts a daring escape

Saturday

legend of the Seeker 2.15 – Creator

When a powerful woman claiming to be the Creator threatens Richard, unraveling the mystery of her true identity becomes a matter of life and death for the Seeker.

Sunday

Nothing much to watch on Sundays, yet.

Justified 1.01 Fire in the Hole
(New Series Premiere)

Tuesday 16

This is a new series I want to check out, it’s no scifi though.

Raylan hunts for an escaped convict

This show is about U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, a modern day 19th century-style lawman, who enforces his brand of justice to put a target on his back with criminals and puts him at odds with his bosses in the Marshal service. As a result, he gets reassigned to the U.S. District covering the town where he grew up.

FlashForward (Back After Hiatus)

Thursday 18
Tuesday 16 special presentation

I am afraid it’s not going to be good enough. But I hope it will be.

Last episode: A561984
While Mark and Demetri travel to Hong Kong to find Demetri’s mysterious prophetess, Zoey realizes what her vision really means and Lloyd’s organization goes public with their involvement in the Blackout.

Revalation Zero Parts 1 & 2 – Mark is suspended from duty at the FBI and must meet with a Bureau-appointed therapist in order to regain his badge; Demetri reluctantly teams with CIA agent Vogel to continue the search for Lloyd, while a suspended Mark resumes his own investigation into his disappearance; with Lloyd missing, Simon attempts to hack into his computer in search of clues; Janis is assigned to accompany Simon and learns some family secrets about him; and Nicole speaks with a man who was transformed during the blackout in order to help her restore her faith and understand her horrific flashforward vision

Other Events

Chuck 3.10 – Chuck vs the Tic Tac (NBC)

Monday 15

Chuck and Sarah must clear Caseys good name. Casey carries out a side mission for his old commanding officer James Keller that leads to him committing treason. When Chuck learns the dark truth about Col. Keller, he and Sarah set out to break Casey out of jail and clear his name. Meanwhile, Awesome’s plan to keep Ellie out of danger gets more difficult when she gets her dream fellowship.

Human Target 1.09 – Baptiste

Wednesday 17

This looks like it can be a good episode.

Pieces of Chance’s past are revealed as he races to stop his former partner from assassinating a visiting foreign dignitary.

Chance’s past comes into focus when he recruits FBI Agent Emma Barnes to help him stop his former partner from assassinating a visiting foreign dignitary. Meanwhile, Guerrero tests out a familiar face as a new recruit to the team.

Caprica 1.09 – Ghost in the Machine (Syfy)

Friday 18

Caprica is becoming better and better with every episode, I am going to watch this.

Daniel plays a dangerous game trying to draw out Zoe/U-87

Legend of the seeker 2.04 – Bound

Saturday 19

Richard is forced to protect Kahlan’s greatest enemy when Kahlan is put under a life-threatening spell only her enemy can remove.

March 17. Gary Unmarried 2nd season finale
March 18. Archer season 1 finale

Sons of Tuscon premieres, Castle is back from hiatus. Season finales from  Psych, White Collar and Numb3rs (Series finale?).

Sons of Tuscon 1.01 – Pilot (FOX) Series Premiere

This is a new comedy and I will wait until a few episodes to say anything. Unless it totally rocks my world.

Sunday 14

In the tradition of “Malcolm in the Middle” and “The Bernie Mac Show,” SONS OF TUCSON is a family comedy about three brothers who hire a charming, wayward schemer to stand in as their father when their real one goes to prison. What begins as a business relationship evolves into something more complex and compelling: a family unlike any we’ve ever seen.

The three brothers find their dad-for-hire, Ron Snuffkin (Tyler Labine, “Reaper”), at the local sporting good store. Ron will be forced to draw on a wide array of skills and a vast bag of tricks as he steps into the patriarch role to take care of the boys of the Gunderson family.

Robby Gunderson (Davis Cleveland, “How I Met Your Mother”), 8, is a loose cannon who doesn’t respond well to authority;

Gary Gunderson (Frank Dolce, “Doubt”), 11, is a bright and street-savvy leader who is every bit the con man his father is;

Brandon Gunderson (Troy Gentile, “Entourage”), 13, is a gentle free spirit who simply goes along for the ride.

Maggie Morales (Natalie Martinez, “Saints & Sinners”), Robby’s second-grade teacher and the object of Ron’s affection, might just be the only stable figure in the lives of this quirky quartet.

While SONS OF TUCSON is grounded in the day-to-day challenges of a single-parent home, nothing in the Gunderson household is quite what it seems. An ongoing chess match between Ron and the boys will keep both parties on their toes, as neither side can afford to give up too much power or independence.

Pilot: When the Gunderson boys Brandon, Gary and Robby hire Ron Snuffkin to pretend to be their father after their real father goes to prison, they find out that there’s more to their “fake” dad than meets the eye. Ron has to enroll them in school, convince Robby’s teacher to keep him in her class, sweet-talk the principal, locate mint-condition toy soldiers at his grandmother’s house and avoid a thug who wants his money.

House 6.05 – Private Lives (FOX) returns from hiatus

Monday 8th

House (Hugh Laurie) and the team take on the case of an avid blogger (guest star Laura Prepon, “That ‘70s Show”) admitted with sudden bruising and bleeding. From her hospital bed, the patient blogs about her symptoms, doctors and prospective diagnoses to her dedicated band of followers and solicits their advice on a course of treatment. Such openness leads the team to contemplate the value of privacy, especially after House and Wilson uncover secrets from one another’s past.

Gossip Girl 3.13 – The Hurt Locket (The CW) returning from hiatus

Monday 8th

Nate and Serena decide to explore the boundaries of their friendship. Blair suspects that Chuck is having problems forgetting about the woman (guest star Laura Harring) he saw at his father’s grave. Jenny agrees to accompany Damien (guest star Kevin Zegers) to a State Dinner but is unaware that he needs her help with a drug exchange. Vanessa and Dan attempt to move past the awkwardness of Dan’s confession of love. Rufus returns from a ski trip and tries his best to avoid Lily.

Castle 2.06 – The Mistress Always Spank Twice (ABC) returning from hiatus

Monday 8th

This is a show that keeps getting better and better and now its back with another saucy episode.

When a half-naked woman is found covered in caramel sauce and hanging by bondage cuffs in a public park, Castle and Beckett’s investigation takes them into New York’s underground world of sexual domination. Naturally the case serves as sexy fodder for their already charged relationship banter

Monday 8th

This is a crazy night All the channels are pouring so much into Mondays.

Chuck 3.09 –  Chuck vs the Beard (NBC)

With promotional pictures like this you don’t have to watch the episode to know it’s great. But believe me I will watch Chuck!

Chuck gets benched when he can’t flash Brandon Routh (“Superman Returns”). Chuck feels like his life is falling apart when he can’t flash and gets left behind for a mission. While Shaw, Sarah and Casey go on without him, Chuck finds himself in a sticky situation back at the base.

Life Unexpected 1.07 – Bride Unabrided (The CW)

Cate and Ryan try to pretend to be happy as they host wedding expo, but the situation worsens when Baze and Math show up. After watching Lux do nothing for days, Baze asks Jones for help to cheer her up.

The Big Bang Theory 3.17 – The Precious Fragmentation (CBS)

Who will be Frodo and who will be Gollum?

The discovery of a prop ring from The Lord of the Rings movies puts a strain on the guys’ friendship.

Tuesday 9th

So far Tuesdays have been CBS day for me. NCIS is a long time favorite still going strong with a lovable cast. Wonder what Ziba is going to do this week? The Good Wife is a strong newcommer with brilliant acting. Parenthood is a new show with an impressive cast (review coming in a few weeks when I have seen a few more episodes).

NCIS 7.17 – Double Identity (CBS)

The NCIS team stumbles upon a surprising discovery as they investigate the shooting of a Marine

NCIS Los Angeles 1.17 – Full Throttle (CBS)

The team investigates the death of a sailor involved in illegal street racing. The situation becomes more concerning when they realize that he had classified Navy equipment with him.

The Good Wife 1.16 – Fleas (CBS)

Alicia and Will defend an attorney arrested for murder, while Peter stategizes with his team on how to handle his retiral and his public rehabilitation.

Parenthood 1.02 – Man vs Possum (NBC)

A review will come after episode three.

Adam and Kristina try to cope with their son’s Asperger’s Syndrome. Sarah is job hunting with the help of Zeek that pushes her to dream big. Meanwhile, Crosby bonds with his son and Julia deals with a difficult mom from Sydney’s school.

White Collar 1.14 – Out of The Box (USA) 1st season finale

Neal and Alex try to get their hands on the music box while Peter seeks for help to get finally rid of Fowler

Wednesday 10th

Human Target 1.08 – Salvage & Reclamanation (FOX)

Chance travels to South America to rescue an archaeologist, but falls in with an old flame while attempting to rescue the man from the South American army and a bounty hunter.

Cougar Town 1.17 – She’s Flying Solo (ABC)

Laurie needs a co-signer to buy her first condo and her absent mother its no help at all. Meanwhile, Bobby is mugged by a woman and Travis comes to Barb’s help after her latest cosmetic surgery procedure.

Psych 4.16 – Mr Yin Presents (USA) 4th Season Finale

Don’t worry it will be back for a 5th season next summer.

Mr. Yang makes good on her promise to return, and this time she’s in a cinematic frame of mind as she tests Shawn’s knowledge of Hitchcock films and lore in return for clues to the puzzle she’s set.

Thursday 11th

Archer 1.09 – Job Offer

Archer takes a better-paying job at rival agency ODIN, and Malory is determined to get him back.

The Mentalist 2.06 – Code Red

After being poisoned with a toxin, bioweapons researcher Dr. Alicia Seberg asks Jane the CBI to find a terrifying bioterrorist.

Friday 12th

Ghost Whisperer 5.16 – Old Sins Cast Long Shadows (CBS)

Melinda Battles for the soul of a little girl who’s been trapped in a hounted house for years.

Caprica 1.08 – The Imperfections of Memory (Syfy)

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.

Medium 6.16 – Allison Rolen Got Married (CBS)

Viewers get a look back at Allison and Joe’s wedding, and how the growing strength of Allison’s “powers” affected the soon-to-be-married couple

Numb3rs 6.16 – Cause and Effect (CBS) 6th season finale

Don and the team investigate when his lost gun is used to commit a series of crimes.

Spartacus: Blood & Sand 1.08 – Mark of the Brotherhood

Batiatus thinks about selling Crixus after he buys new slaves. Meanwhile, IIythia tries to find someone to kill Spartacus.

Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th

Weekends don’t do much for me at the moment, it is good to have books to read and a blog to write.

Way to start a new race download a religious teenager who runs away from home and is involved in a terrorist organization into its mind. That might end badly …

It is the same world of the twelve colonies we knew from BSG (Battle Star Galactica)  but it is 70 years before the war. The world have the same kind of gritty feeling to it as BSG but the premises are different. It’s clearly inspired by the 30s and hard boiled gangsters movies about that time. It’s taking vintage a few decades back into the future world.

The cgi is in fact decent, you’ll notice the change in lightning and hue at times. Some things are done real well, like the folding paper screens and the panoramic windows acting as displays. All which are technologies in the works here on earth, and not to far away either.

Caprica is a segregated world. The Capricans live good lives while they import cheap labour from the other colonies especially from Tauron. The Taurons are persecuted and discriminated against in a way that reminds both of the way blacks and latinos have been treated in our own world, forcing many of them to a life of crime. Joseph Adama is a law abiding Tauron that looses his wife and daughter in the bombing. He and Daniel Greystone are brought together by grief, and as a favor to his new friend Daniel creates an avatar of Tamara, Joseph’s daughter. But the avatar doesn’t understand what it is, it is afraid and Joseph becomes appalled and  leaves.

Daniel downloaded Zoe into a robot that was for a defense contract to create 100 000 robots for Caprica’s defense. The trouble is that at least so far in the series he only got one to work, the one he downloaded Zoe into. But I am sure he’ll figure it out eventually.

There is a sneaky core of  religion and mysticism to the series I am not sure I like. I had the same trouble with BSG. Me, I prefer more hard Science Fiction where the writers at least can pretend to have scientific explanations. I know, it sounds a bit weird implying that science fiction becomes unrealistic when it has to resort to mysticism. But thats how I feel. And I love Star Wars, go figure.

The terrorist bombing that Zoe was involved in traumatizes a whole world. That angel doesn’t feel as fresh as it did before, it has been used in a lot of tv series and I have all respect in the world for the impact and importance of 9.11 and the trauma it caused but there are other story lines out there. We can all relate to the anger, grief and confusion the characters feel so maybe it’s not that bad.

Their Internet counterpart V-world is blamed for the debauchery of the younger generation. Never happened here. Truth be told they are very decadent and awful in there. Matrix and 13th floor comes more to mind than the Internet. Daniel Greystone is the inventor of the V-world and his company has made a lot of money of it.

There is a game changing moment when Daniel in the sixth episode ‘There is Another Sky’ bows down to the hackers that created free zones on the net and convince the member of the board that v-world is lost to profit making. The new game in town is making Cylons.

To create  the avatar, Daniel had joseph help him  steal  a chip trough his Tauron contacts. Now it comes back to haunt him  as  Tomas Vergis, the Tauron he stole the chip from comes to Caprica bent on revenge. This show need a villain, Vergis fits the bill.

This show has few characters to love beside Zoe. Lacey Rand is one you can, she is Zoe’s best friend and survived the bombing by balking at the last minute, never getting on the train. She is a bit naive and riddled with guilt. She was also a member of the cult and now she and robot Zoe continue that friendship. It is a bit creepy at times with a six foot robot and a tiny girl, but it ads to the dynamics. At the moment she is busy trying to smuggle robot Zoe to Gemini and the cult there. There is some important function she will serve there for the cult.

Philomon, Daniels young assistant is a character to watch, he is emerging as Zoe’s love interests. He has this geeky like for his robot gadgets that pleases Zoe. Who still hides to everyone she is inside the robot, but she emails Philomon, pretending to be ‘Rachel’ and even meets him in V-world. Although he likes the robot in real life I think there will be major reprecautions when he finds out the truth.

Sister Clairice is a mover behind the scene. She is the headmistress of Zoe and Lacey’s school and an agent for STO. She has an agenda were Zoe’s avatar is essential. She constantly tries to get at it and she pressures Lacey in a creepy way. She is also running another group of kids, the one Ben the bomber belonged to. Her group marriage is an acceptable custom on Caprica but it only makes her feel more creepy. Nothing wrong with expressing ones sexuality but the group are not at peace and she is hiding things from them.

The Soldiers of The One seems divided into fractions as the bomber Barnabas is allowed to continue his rampage, while sister Clairice protests. Barnabas is played by James Marsters (Spike) who claims the show is ‘about the fall of the American Empire’. For now Barnabas wraps up the three major villains on Caprica.

Tamara Adama’s avatar survives on v-world and is eventually released from the room Daniel kept her in by Zoe and Lacey. Now she wanders the game worlds with matrix-like special powers in search for life. I think she will be joining Zoe as a pivotal character of the series.

The show is about the Adamas and the Graystones with Joseph and Daniel as leads. Amanda Graystone also plays a major role. She is emotional and plays out while Daniel plays the mad scientist behind his fasade of reason. Amanda learns about Zoe having a boyfriend. She is shocked not knowing. Then she finds the eternity symbol among her things. So she takes to the podium at the memorial and accuse Zoe of causing the bombing. I hope the writers let her step out and be the brilliant doctor she is playing. I don’t really like any of these three. I can relate to them, but this show would be much easier to love If they where more likable. I feel less and less sympathy and interest in them and it pains me.

Lighten up, be a little light hearted for once or go for some cathartic anger. Their stiffness reminds me of Gattaca and not in a good way.

On a higher plane Caprica is story about duality, two families the Greystones and the Adamas, the haves and the havenots, the analytics versus the emotional, the Capricans against the Taurens, Science versus Spirit and human versus machine. That is a part that works for me.

The show is so close to being good, the characters are there and the plot is there but it doesn’t quite reach it. I think its just around the corner though. I feel more joy watching the later episodes than the pilot.

What we know of their future is hanging over the series, I hate stories where I know the end, and this might have affected me negatively. I love Zoe and Lacey but don’t care for the rest of the cast, I am not interesting in a family soap opera even at a scifi background. The villains are coming along in a good way, pity they waited this long to introduce them. To conclude Caprica is a much better series than the ratings show, but it can also become much better. There is some cyberpunk with a gangster twist hiding in there that could make it much more interesting. And show some emotions dammit!

Parenthood (New Series Premiere)

Tuesday, March 2

I like cosy and warm, deal with it.

We are introduced to the very unique Braveman family. Single mom Sarah, and her two kids Amber and Drew, are moving back home with Sarah’s parents Zeek and Camille. Julia, Sarah’s sister and complete opposite is a successful attorney trying to do both, work and motherhood, alongside her stay-at-home husband, Joel. Sarah’s younger brother, Crosby is a commitment-phobe who must accept adult responsabilities when his old flame Jasmine shows up with a kid. Meanwhile, the older sibling of the Bravemans, Adam, his wife Kristina and their teenage daughter Haddie learn that their little boy, Max has Asperger’s Syndrome. Although each sibling has its own problems, this reunion may be the push they needed to help each other with the challenges that every family faces while raising children and starting over.

Chuck 3.08 – Chuck vs the Fake Name (returning from hiatus)

Monday, March 1

Love that Chuck is back!

Chuck goes undercover as the world’s most dangerous assassin. Chuck promises to cook dinner for Hannah, Ellie and Awesome but must first assume the identity of the world’s most dangerous assassin for his latest mission. Meanwhile, Sarah is determined to keep her relationship with Shaw strictly professional.

Other TV Shows of Interest

Monday, March 1

Life Unexpected 1.06 – Crisis Unaverted

Sounds pretty predictable, I expect better.

In the midst of feeling like he is being pushed out of Lux’s life by Cate and Ryan, Baze wins the chance to compete against Ryan in a radio station contest and is determined to be the last man standing. Cate contemplates finally telling Ryan the full truth about Baze, but can’t bear the thought of what might happen if she does. When Tasha tells Lux she may have to move three hours away to a new foster home, Lux decides to help Tasha track down her mother who is still living in town.

The Big Bang Theory 3.16 – The Excelsior Acquisition

Sheldon misses his chance to meet comic book legend Stan Lee. Sheldon winds up in traffic court when he gets a ticket because of Penny.

Tuesday, March 2

NCIS 7.16 – Mother’s day

Secrets arise when Gibbs’ former mother-in-law surfaces as a witness in a murder investigation

The Good Wife 1.15 – Bang

While Peter gets acclimated to life at home and works on a comeback strategy with his political team, including Eli Gold , Alicia and Diane wrestle with spousal privilege laws in a murder case that hinges on their ability to get a wife to testify against her husband

Wednesday, March 3 (no luck)

Thursday, March 4

Burn Notice 3.16 – Devil You Know (3rd season finale)

Finally!

Michael is approached by his alter ego – the man who actually commited the crimes that were used to burn him.

Friday, March 5

Ghost Whisperer 5.15 – Implosion (100th episode)

A ghost who knows of a hidden munitions dump with unexploded bombs confides in Melinda that one of those bombs is missing and in the wrong hands, warning that someone will lose their life

Caprica 1.07 – Know Thy Enemy

Daniel Greystone faces a rival while Sister Clarice closes in on Zoe’s avatar

Saturday, March 6 (no luck)

Sunday, March 7 (no luck)

Past Life Canceled

Not very surprising that this happened, I am always expecting bad shows to get better, and it had some small potential. But not much.

Reincarnation series Past Life canceled by FOX. It is no longer scheduled on Thursdays. Fox says the remaining episodes of “Past Life” will be burned off sometime later this season.
Source the Live Feed

Monday

Monday is a sad day for me this week only one show of the many ones I love is on.

Life Unexpected 1.06 – Truth Unrevealed

Last weeks episode Turtle Undefeated where somewhat disappointing.

Radio station management convince Cate and Ryan to bring Baze on their radio show, which turns into a public therapy session. Meanwhile, Lux tries to convince Jones to drop the charges against Bug.

Tuesday

This is a lost day, but wait, there is more.

White Collar 1.12 – Bottlenecked

An old rival dares Neal to make a fake copy of a bottle of wine originally owned by Ben Franklin.

Wednesday

Psych 4.14 – Think Tank

Shawn and Gus are thrilled when they’re asked to join an elite security company, but the team to which they are assigned are not quite as thrilled with their unconventional techniques and the affect it has on their latest assignment: preventing the assassination of a billionaire executive.

Thursday

Burn Notice 3.15 – Good Intentions

Fiona goes undercover in a kidnapping ring, while Michael continues to work with Gilroy.

Friday

Smallville 9.14 – Conspiracy

When a doctor that the Kandorians resurrected for experimentation becomes determined to prove that aliens have invaded Earth, he kidnaps several of Zod’s people and Lois in the hopes of exposing the truth. Zod disguises himself as a Daily Planet reporter, but is shot during his efforts.

Caprica 1.06 – There is another sky

Joseph connects with his son, while his daughter discovers a new side of the V-world.

Saturday

Legend of the Seeker 2.13 – Princess

No synopsis out yet, but we have a picture

Sunday – nothing I watch

Monday

Only one show! that is unacceptable! Where are all my other favorites!

Life unexpected

Love this little sweet show. Love you guys on CW that still makes TV I can watch.

Lux throws a party at Baze’s loft to impress her new friends, particularly the high school quarterback, Jones. Meanwhile, Cate worries that her relationship with Lux will never be as strong as the bond between Lux and Baze.

Tuesday is a blank

Wednesday

Human Target

Chance grows on you.

To rescue a genius engineer, Chance must break into a high-security skyscraper, find his client, and get him out again… before the man’s employers kill them both.

Leverage

Watching this if I have time.

The Leverage team continues to con the corrupt mayor.

Thursday

Past Life (New-ish Show) Episode 3 Soul Music

Looks like an interesting episode.

Two people share the same regression episode and the team discover that the couple are star-crossed lovers who rediscover their love. But the team must keep the pair from fulfilling their own destructive pattern.

Archer 1.07 Skytanic

The ISIS is sent into action after a bomb threatens a luxury airship

Burn Notice 3.14 Partners in Crime

The picture is from last weeks episode. but … wow, sorry for being a pig.

Michael helps a man who is framed for murder. Sam convinces Michael to investigate a robbery at a chic fashion house, but they quickly realize the world of design isn’t always pretty.

Friday

Smallville 9.13 Persuasion

When Clark is exposed to gemstone kryptonite on Valentine’s Day, he unwittingly gains the ability to make wishes come true… and chaos results as Lois agrees to have a traditional relationship, and Chloe vows to watch out over Clark and protect him from Lois.

Caprica 1.04 Gravedancing

I will try to make a review of Caprica this week.

The Greystones attempt damage control while vengeance closes in on them

Saturday

Legend of the Seeker – Hunger

Cara gets into trouble and Zeddicus tries to help her.

Sunday is a blank

Only one more week before some semblance or normality on TV again. But maybe I shouldn’t complain so much.I got plenty of books to read instead.

Caprica is a worthy prequel to BSG. It pounders hard moral, religious and philosophical questions about being human.

One thing i have a problem with in prequels and in stories that start with the ending scene. You know what’s going to happen. To some extent I must admit I do have a problem with Caprica in that regard. It’s not open ended, BSG happens some 58 years in the future. But I am willing to wait and see what they make with it

The two hour pilot was interesting to watch in it self, I don’t think new viewers will have trouble with the story. Watching BSG before will add new dimensions to it though.

Set 58 years prior to the events of Battlestar Galactica (2003), this prequel will explore the lives of two families: the Graystones – include father Daniel, a computer genius, mother Amanda, a brilliant surgeon and their daughter, Zoe – and the Adamas. The two families are on opposing sides of the decision to create the Cylons: intelligent robots that will one day rebel and nearly annihilate the residents of Caprica.

The pilot describe the death of Daniel Greystones daughter Zoe and Joseph Adamas wife and daughter in a fundamentalist terrorist attack. Their grief bring Joseph and Daniel together. Zoe was quite a talented young woman, she created a secret digital copy of herself on the holoband, downloading her feelings directly into it, even as she died in that explosion (resurrection ships anyone?). Her father Daniel become obsessed with the copy and how it was created from all the information available on the net about Zoe. He offers the same to Joseph, but Joseph is chocked when he meets the copy of his daughter on the holoband, she is suffering, she knows something is wrong, something is missing but she can’t say what. He calls it an abomination and leave with his son William (Adama).

The bombing was made by religious fanatics from the cult of the one true god. The rest of Caprica believe in the Greek gods. One of Zoe’s friends was the bomber, but he acted prematurely from what we learn about the cult (planing something big in the future?).

Daniel Greystone is a successful businessman and inventor. His company is involved in an R&D project to create robot warriors for Caprica’s army. Anyone sees the writing on the wall when he uses Zoe’s mind  as a template for the first Cylon warrior? They put a screwed up religious teenager into the Cylon, quell surprise they revolted down the road.

Trivia the 13th Cylon in BSG was named Daniel and their creator is named Daniel? coincidence?

Joseph Adama is a shady lawyer born of a oppressed ethnic group. The Caprica society doesn’t seems like a very nice one. It has militarization, religious discrimination, corruption, terrorism, racism, decadence and greed in abundance from what we learn in the pilot.

Caprica has a clean futuristic environment, the scenes are all set in well made believable settings, nothing like the bad CGI from Spartacus.

Once again, where are the characters you can love? None of the main characters is good or have a strength of character that makes it easy to love and admire them, but I guess that’s the mark of our time.

The whole setup reflects on the religious strife in our world, here its the believers in the one good that feel oppressed and use terrorism.

The pilots build up the motivation for the main characters and paint an interesting canvas. Caprica  starts out better than expected and I will  continue to watch it  for now. But there is a risk this turns out a soap with Cyclons.

We will say good bye to Dollhouse on Friday this week. Edit: bumped to Friday 29th

Life UneXpected
(Monday 18th)

I loved Gilmore Girls so this looks promising.

From TV.com:
Nate Bazile is astonished to learn he has a daughter. Lux is shocked to learn her Mother is Cate Cassidy a star on the local radio show. Baze feels bad after he discovers Lux grew up in foster care. He takes Lux to meet her Mother. Then a judge grants temporary joint custody to Baze and Cate and try to give Lux a loving home that she has longed for

Spartacus
(Friday 22nd)

New 300-esque Series that promises plenty of graphic violence, nudity and sex. Already renewed for a 2nd season in 2011.

It will among others star Lucy Lawless, famous from Xena – Warrior princess, nudit is said to have forced Lawless to hit the gym. “I do have to work out,” she said. “Being naked on-screen is no fun.”

Survivors
(Friday 22nd)

New Series built on one with the same name from the 70s. I remember seeing it then. I am afraid I might spoil some fond memories if i watch this.

From TV.com:
Set in the present day, this BBC drama follows the survivors of a devastating virus which has killed most of the world’s population.

Caprica
(Friday 22nd)

From TV.com:
Set 58 years prior to the events of Battlestar Galactica (2003), this prequel will explore the lives of two families: the Graystones – include father Daniel, a computer genius, mother Amanda, a brilliant surgeon and their daughter, Zoe – and the Adamas. The two families are on opposing sides of the decision to create the Cylons: intelligent robots that will one day rebel and nearly annihilate the residents of Caprica.

Returning from Hiatus

Tuesday 19th
White Collar - a great non SF show

Thursday 21st
The Vampire Diaries
Supernatural
Burn Notice- returning after a loooong hiatus.

Friday 22nd
Dollhouse – Series Finale, bumped to Friday 29th
Smallville bumped to Friday 29th

Thursday, April 1
Fringe - back from hiatus

Friday, April 2
Stargate Universe - back from hiatus
Smallville - back from hiatus

Tuesday, April 13
Glee - back from hiatus

Friday, May 28
Past Life – Summer premiere

Thursday, June 3
Burn Notice season 4 premiere
Royal Pains season 2 premiere

Monday, June 7
Lie to Me – Summer premiere
The Good Guys – Series premiere

Sunday, June 13
True Blood – 3rd season premiere

Sunday, June 20
Leverage (TNT) - Season premiere

Monday, June 21
Saving Grace (TNT) - 2h Series Finale

Tuesday, June 22
Hawthorne (TNT) - 2nd Season premiere
Memphis Beat (TNT) - Series premiere

July, Date to be decided
Covert Affair New Series premiere on USA
White Collar Season 2 premier
Psych Season 5? premiere
The Closer (TNT) – 6th Season premier

Friday, July 9
Haven New Series premiere on Syfy

Tuesday, July 13
Warehouse 13 – 2nd season premiere

August, date to be decided
Dark Blue (TNT) – 2nd Season premiere

Friday, September 17
Caprica - Autumn Premiere Season One

October, date to be decided
The Walking Dead (AMC) Series premiere