Mary McNamara, the television critic for the Los Angeles Times, was one of the strongest voices among the chorus of critics who hailed "Battlestar Galactica" and now she has high hopes for the spinoff series, "Caprica," which begins tonight. But, she writes, the series is off to a bit of a slow start.
In the midst of all its programming woes, NBC has managed to achieve something close to the impossible -- a prequel series that should not only please all comers but may expand the demographic of science fiction fans everywhere. Debuting on SyFy (though it could just as easily be moved to that barren 10 p.m. slot on NBC), “ Caprica” is set 58 years before the Cylon wars that propel “ Battlestar Galactica” and tells how the Cylons came to be.
The shows may share the same DNA -- that of creator Ronald D. Moore -- but they are different in tone and intent, offering solace to those jonesing for "Galactic" and a whole new world to contemplate for those who aren't.
Using a mythology that both mirrors and mocks American culture, Moore gives us a planet too drunk on technology to notice that the digital revolution has done nothing to solve the cultural divides that can lead to actual revolution. At the center of the storm is Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz), inventor of the holo-band, a system that takes virtual technology to a whole new empty level -- and Graystone has the sprawling lakeside compound to prove it. So it seems only right that his teenage daughter Zoe (Alessandra Torresani) would be a member of the resistance, longing to flee the spiritually dead world of Caprica for another one that believes in the one true God.
The citizens of Caprica are, as they were in "Battlestar," polytheists, worshiping the Greek gods -- to them, monotheists are dangerous extremists who believe in a world of absolutes. Matters are not helped when, in a mind-widening if not mind-blowing moment, a follower of the One God turns suicide bomber, killing Zoe and more than a few others.
Among them is the wife and daughter of Joseph Adams (Esai Morales), leaving him and his young son, William, bereft. That the name Adams is an assimilated version of Adama and William the boy who will become Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) is no spoiler -- it is one of the bones Moore throws "Battlestar" fans throughout.
Graystone and Adams bond, and when Graystone discovers that Zoe, a computer genius, has created a digital avatar of herself that may be able to exist in the real world, it is Adama he tells, thereby setting up the meta-tension that underlies the series: How much science is too much science?
It is the conflict on which most science fiction is based and no less interesting because we know the answer -- the Cylons may eventually help save the world but not before they destroy most of it.
Despite its central tragedy, "Caprica" is far less grim than "Battlestar," with an emphasis on user-friendly relationships -- between parents and children, husbands and wives, school-age friends -- designed to cast a wider net than the typical science fiction fan base. Beautifully shot and marvelously acted, "Caprica" is infused with all manner of intriguing bits of business, including a terrifically complicated teacher (Sister Clarice, played by the wonderful Polly Walker) and Joseph's brother Sam (Sasha Roiz), a happily married gay gangster with excellent tattoos. It's details like this, as much as the rantings against monotheism and the idea of interplanetary travel, that form yet another fascinating vision of the future. Here nostalgia -- many men wear fedoras and retro overcoats -- blends easily with an oddly modern pantheon of gods and endless robotic possibility.
Unfortunately, it's a vision Moore and his writers seem a bit too taken with. After the two-hour pilot, available on DVD last year, early episodes move with an often creaky slowness that seems at odds with its spry and comely cast. One can only hope that as the Cylons get up and running, so will the show, because it would be a shame if "Caprica" fell victim to its own rich imaginings.
PHOTOS: Top, "Caprica" stars Esai Morales and Eric Stolz (Carol Segal/Syfy). Center, a poster for "Caprica" shows Paula Malcomson with Morales and Stolz. Bottom, Magda Apanowicz as Lucy Rand on "Caprica" (Syfy)
Make sure this is on your DRADIS screen: The two-hour "Battlestar Galactica" movie "The Plan" makes its broadcast premiere Sunday night. Here's an extended clip from the Cylon-centric movie directed by the admiral himself, Edward James Olmos and starring Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Dean Stockwell, Michael Trucco, Kate Vernon and Olmos himself.
Tonight is the beginning of the two-night SyFy surreal adventure "Alice," a modern-day reworking of Lewis Carroll's classic tales of curious Alice. The cast includes Kathy Bates, Tim Curry and newcomer Caterina Scorsone as Alice, who is nether a little girl nor blond this time around. Here's a sneak peek:
Also check out some of the trippy Web fun that SyFy has set up for the show, which you can find anchored right here.
A bit of criminal justice news today in Los Angeles that will interest fans of "Stargate Atlantis" and Jason Momoa, who played Ronon Dex on the SyFy series for 78 episodes and reprises the role in the upcoming made-for-TV film "Stargate: Extinction." Our sister blog L.A. Now reports that the man who attacked Momoa at a local bar last year has been sentenced. There's an excerpt below.
A man who struck one of the stars of the TV show "Stargate Atlantis” in the face with a beer glass -- and left the actor needing 140 stitches -- pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to five years in state prison.
In addition, Dominic Bando admitted an allegation of great bodily injury to actor Jason Momoa, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Guillermo Santiso.
UPDATED on Sept. 23 with added comment from Maynard James Keenan.
Forget the paranormal stuff that keeps Eddie McClintock busy on “Warehouse 13,” just take a look at his own Hollywood odyssey – the 42-year-old actor has seen more pilots go missing in action than the Bermuda Triangle.
"I've been on so many shows that just faded," McClintock said with a weary shake of his head. "This is my fifth series and 'Warehouse 13' was my tenth pilot. And I've been on shows I thought for sure were going to stay on the air and they just disappeared. So I'm enjoying every minute of this, but sometimes it doesn't feel real. But this one seems to be working out."
To say the least. Tonight, the whimsical "Warehouse 13" wraps up a magical first season after delivering record numbers for SyFy -- formerly known as the Sci Fi Channel but perhaps worthy of the moniker Sigh Fi since "Warehouse" is pulling in the biggest female viewership numbers in the 17-year history of the cable outlet. The women are coming for the show's paranormal plots but also its flirty fun -- think "Fringe" stirred to a light froth, or maybe "Moonlighting" with magical artifacts -- as well as McClintock's rugged good looks and crooked smile.
The show stars McClintock as Pete Lattimer, an impulsive, rule-bending Secret Service agent who proudly trusts his gut instincts and has a personal life that's a bit of an ummade bed. That's the exact opposite of his new partner, Myka Bering (portrayed by Joanne Kelly), whose approach is cerebral and by-the-book. He's all smirk, she's all squint, and together they have been exiled to a strange new assignment in South Dakota where they guard a classified warehouse loaded up with mystical objects that are too dangerous to let out of the box -- yes, it's a lot like that hushed, anonymous federal archive in the final scene in “Raiders of the Lost Ark."
McClintock was ready to crate up his Hollywood career when "Warehouse" came along. With two children and a decade of only vagabond success, the native of Canton, Ohio, considered walking away from acting altogether. He had a nice four-episode run as a guest star on "Bones" in 2007 and memorable turns in "Friends," "Desperate Housewives" and "Felicity," but there was persistent disappointment when he stepped into the leading-man role.
"I was on a show called 'Stark Raving Mad' [in 1999] with Tony Shalhoub and Neil Patrick Harris," McClintock said. "The reviews were great. We won the People's Choice Award. I bought a Porsche, which is what one does. It was a 911, champagne-color with the Boxter red interior. It was the first year they changed the engine from air-cooled to water-cooled. Then the show got canceled and I lived out of my Porsche for three years."
There were plenty of other disappointments. "Holding the Baby" on Fox had the look of a winner. McClintock said he remembered a limo ride in New York where he found himself wondering, "How will I handle the fame from this?" With a wry wink, he adds: "It didn't turn out to be problem."
There were shows that, just in their titles, seem like reminders of a sparse and feckless career -- such as "B.S." (no, it actually stands for "Boarding School"), "Crumbs" with Jane Curtinand Fred Savage, and "Say Uncle" with Teri Hatcher and Ken Olin. Some others McClintock has a hard time even remembering the names of, but, he notes, "[You] remember the rejection."
McClintock in some ways is an accidental actor. Growing up, film was a major bonding experience between him and his father, but the boy was more interested in sports and his artwork than he was in pursuing stardom. In college, he studied design but, like so many art students, he looked around and realized that he was good, not great, and that a career would be hardscrabble struggle. He ended up in Los Angeles selling insurance for an uncle -- a life chapter which, showing the limitations of nepotism, ended with McClintock getting fired. By his 30s, his wandering had taken him into acting in beer commercials, soap operas and, eventually, prime-time television shows.
McClintock still pursues his art. "Warehouse 13" fans may be surprised to learn that McClintock did the album artwork for "V is for Vagina," the delicately titled Puscifer album. Puscifer is the latest heavy music venture for Maynard James Keenan, one of the more elusive personalities in all of rock and the frontman for the ferocious prog-rock outfit Tool and A Perfect Circle.
McClintock became pals with Keenan about 14 years ago, meeting through a mutual friend, Moon Zappa. The two found they had plenty in common -- both grew up in Ohio, competed as wrestlers and felt like outsider souls in Los Angeles. The artwork for Puscifer took six months and it's clearly a source of pride for McClintock, who enjoys the artistic expression of illustration and the adrenaline clarity of competitive sports but still seems uneasy in Hollywood acting, which is a messy combination of both.
Keenan, interviewed via e-mail, said of his friend: "Heart and passion. Few have it and even fewer stay true to it. Eddie is one of those few. Visual artist, actor, friend, annoyingly loving father, arch nemesis. I've watched him tackle all challenges without pause for over a decade and his time has finally come. Congratulations are due."
McClintock may not enjoy winning so much as he just hates losing. Over an hourlong cheeseburger lunch at the downtown restaurant Pete's, McClintock talked more about his past near-misses than his current hit. He also talked about his intense anxiety about throwing out the opening pitch at recent game of the Tampa Bay Rays, especially after watching President Obama "throw out a pitch and short-hop to the plate -- while wearing mom jeans." McClintock spent weeks preparing and, thankfully, didn't embarrass himself.
"I didn't disgrace my father and really, everything I do is to make him proud," the actor said of his dad, Theodore "Ted" McClintock. "I know that sounds silly...."
Family is important to the actor, who married Lynn Sanchez in 2005. The pair have two young sons. While McClintock can enjoy the leering imagery and hard thrash of music by his buddy James, he also is pleased that his own work is wholesome enough to be considered brainy family fare. The show is like "Torchwood" without the torchy sex, and that's just fine by McClintock; it's OK with SyFy executives, too, who have seen the show top the ratings of signature shows such as critically acclaimed "Battlestar Galactica."
"I love that it's a family show," he said. "We need family right now, with the economy being the way it is and everyone afraid with terrorism and the things going on in the world. So how nice is it to have everyone be able to sit and watch the same show, something scary and funny and thrilling and heartfelt. It's not gratuitously violent or overtly sexual. Kids can watch it and still get a little scared but not leave the show with post-traumatic stress syndrome. For me it's a dream job; I get to be silly and funny but my character is also smart and accomplished."
McClintock laughed and thought back to his youth: He used to watch "Happy Days" with his father, and the boy got so into the show that he got himself a leather jacket. "Maybe one car an hour would drive down my street in rural Ohio but I remember putting on my Fonzie jacket, slicking my hair back and standing out by the street just waiting for somebody to drive by so I could do my Fonzie. Silly, right? I actually got to meet Henry Winkler recently and tell him that story. That was so worth all the kicks to the groin I've gotten in this business for the last 12 years. That was magic."
Top photo: Eddie McClintock in downtown Los Angeles. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times. "Warehouse 13" photo of McClintock and Joanne Kelly from SyFy. Two examples of McClintock's art, courtesy of the artist.
I'm a big fan of lists, so is Jevon Phillips, a star contributor here at Hero Complex. Here's his take on a recent tally of the women of sci-fi....or is that sigh-fi? -- G.B.
As usual, there's a lot to dispute about anyone having a top so-and-so list, but Totalscifionline.com's 25 women who shook up sci-fi isn't too startling. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer,""Battlestar Galactica" and "Star Trek" are the only franchises with multiple entries on the list (and rightfully so). Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley of "Alien" fame was named First Lady of Sci-Fi.
Of course, there were parameters, which the site laid out like so:
We've limited ourselves to TV and film - SF and fantasy literature probably warrants a further list all of its own - and in those instances where multiple actresses have portrayed a character, we’ve written who we believe gave the most definitive performance in brackets. No doubt there are many characters you feel we’ve left off.
Yeah, yeah -- and the site does include a more in-depth examination of each choice. There will be debate over ones who didn't make it. I really like River Tam on "Firefly" -- but it was short-lived -- and the women of "Cleopatra 2525" and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity in "The Matrix" and ... well, let's stop there. And there may be some on the list who deserve to be higher. Wonder Woman and Xena, 22 and 23? Hey, I like Leeloo and Claire bear, but not over those two icons.
Again, it can be debated (Lois Lane! "Bionic Woman!") until we're all breathless, but give the site credit for taking on the task. Here's their final list. Let the comments flow.
The 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi:
1) Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, "Alien" series)
2) Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer")
A post-"Battlestar Galactica" Sci Fi Channel is quickly scrambling to rebrand itself as much more than just a science fiction cable network by changing its name to Syfy, and one of the channel's founders is not happy about it.
Exclusively at Hollywood.com, what looks to be the first of many letters from Sci Fi co-founder Mitch Rubensteinwas posted. Rubenstein launched the channel with Laurie Silvers, and they now own Hollywood.com.
In the letter, Rubenstein has a bit to say about the channel's roots and alludes to more "chapters" coming about how Sci Fi came to be, but he also had some specific comments about the name change, saying: "What would Isaac [Asimov] have said if the name was instead Syfy Channel. He would have said (we believe): That's just plain dumb. Syfy, say it's not so!"
Strong words. And will the Science Fiction Writers of America continue to back the network? By now, it's probably not much of a concern for Syfy, and it has other things to worry about like getting the domain name since there is a well-known Web portal that ... wait a minute. When you go to the onetime Syfy Portal site, you are now redirected to the new Airlock Alpha site. OK, check on that front.
Now if only the debuts of "Caprica" and "Stargate Universe" can go as smooth. The network plans to make the changeover July 7, when it will launch the series “Warehouse 13.”
-- Jevon Phillips
UPDATE: SCI FI Channel president Dave Howe revealed two other ideas the network tested during the naming process: SFC and Beyond. [Sci Fi Wire]
This is a longer version of a story that appeared in Sunday's Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times. It was a part a package of stories on science fiction in Hollywood, past, present and future.
The end is in sight for "Battlestar Galactica," and the beleaguered humans of the 12 Colonies aren’t the only ones fretting about their survival after the credits roll -- there are also the executives at Sci Fi, the cable channel that has ridden "Galactica" as its esteemed flagship, who will now have to carry on without her.
The final 10 episodes of "Battlestar" begins on Jan. 16, and while a prequel series called "Caprica" has been locked in for a pilot movie in 2009 -- and a series to follow in 2010 -- that show begins with a new cast, a new story and no guarantees. Dave Howe, the president of the cable station owned by NBC Universal, said there is anxiety about decommissioning the award-winning drama that gave Sci Fi so much of its contemporary identity.
"Believe me, none of us could ever overestimate the success of ’Battlestar’ in terms of putting us on the map with not just a critical audience but actually with a new audience and an audience that is reevaluating a genre," said Howe (above). “It’s been a honor to be associated with the show for all of us. It’s been an amazing ride, and I think all of us will be depressed when it’s over."
On a recent visit to Los Angeles, Howe was plainly proud of the broader success of Sci Fi (formerly called the Sci Fi Channel), which for a considerable part of its 16-year history was known primarily as a fanboy corner of the cable dial with reruns of "The Incredible Hulk," "Planet of the Apes" and "The Twilight Zone." Now the channel is in a different strata.
"We’re at No. 5 for the year," Howe said, "and within spitting distance of A&E at No. 4, which I think has shocked some people who have assumed that we’re so niche and narrow that we don’t even register on the Richter scale."
The question is how the channel will make the Earth move again. Howe pointed to the series "Sanctuary," which premiered Oct. 3 and saw its pilot finish as the night’s No. 1 prime-time cable entertainment program among adults 25 to 54, as part of the answer. The fantasy show -- it’s about the mysterious 157-year-old researcher Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping), who tends to a refuge for magical beasties -- is also a symbol of Sci Fi’s eagerness to embrace new models for the "next idea" of 21st century television series.
Everyone was disappointed that Russell T. Davies had to drop out of the "Dr. Who" panel down at Comic-Con International and none more than me -- I was moderating the panel and dreaded breaking the news to the audience. I was glad to get the gig, though; I adore the show's wit and wonder and I continue to marvel at this golden age of sci-fi television underway in England.
In the end, the panel was still a great success because of the two "Dr. Who" stalwarts who did attend, show veteran and new head writer Steven Moffat (who is one of the funniest people you will ever meet) and executive producer Julie Gardner (one of the most dynamic people you'll ever meet). They were just amazing. "Russell can't make it because I tied him to his chair," Gardner explained the night before the panel when we met up in the lobby of the bayside Sheraton resort. "He's busy writing and that's the way it needs to be. I hope the fans don't decide to rush the stage and kill us in anger." They didn't; it was a big hit.
There are two must-read pieces on "Dr. Who" in today's Los Angeles Times. One, written by Choire Sicha, is a run-down of the show's future. The other is a marvelous piece by television critic Robert Lloyd, who reveals himself to be an ardent admirer of David Tennant's Time Lord.
Joyous and dark, a kind of Peter Pan from space, he embodies both the wonder and the terror of the universe: Two things he says a lot and which define the parameters and perils of his world are, "That's impossible," when an impossible thing has just happened, and "I'm sorry," when something bad is about to. Lean, sharp-featured and fox-quick, David Tennant catches perfectly the character's mix of exuberance and anger -- it's no surprise that he's spending the summer playing that most famous of complicated heroes, Hamlet, at Stratford-upon-Avon.
I am perhaps not the toughest critic of this show. I am not bothered by its myriad of internal contradictions, accept the less good episodes as a break from the great ones, and am happy to go where it takes me. I like the way the series changes in tone and even visual style from episode to episode to reflect the subject and setting and, like the Doctor himself, swings from light to dark, from nonsense to satire to something like profundity.
It's a wonderful piece. Please do read the rest right here.
-- Geoff Boucher
Photo of David Tennant as Dr. Who, courtesy of BBC/Sci Fi Channel
A 
Sci Fi's future without 'Battlestar Galactica'
