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BSG Prequel Series Caprica Canceled
Kethinov writes "The sci-fi TV series Caprica, a prequel spinoff from Battlestar Galactica, was just canceled by the Syfy channel. In response to the cancellation and the recent theme of many similar good sci-fi shows getting canceled over the last few years, I've written an editorial arguing that Caprica's cancellation reflects the decreasing sustainability of the cable TV business model. A better, more modern business model could have saved Caprica from cancellation. If this model is adopted in the future, it could save many other similar niche genre shows from the same fate down the road." Another perspective here might be that a boring, ponderous show got yoinked because nobody watched it. Just sayin'.
It could also have to do with HUGE break between the first half of the season and the second... Just sayin'
"You're awefully cute, but unfortunately for you, you're made of meat."
Wish they would stop repeating these mistakes
It all starts at 0
Seriously, most of the stuff the show is crap-and-drivel. Caprica seemed better than average there, which is probably why they canceled it, they only want to show garbage. If they get low enough ratings on their "science fiction", then they can switch it to the Wrestling Channel.
Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
But like the summary says, it turned in to a boring show where they tried character development, but it just fell on its face. It was just about at the level of a plain drama with a little peppering of sci-fi.
Now SyFy shows wrestling on Friday nights. I won't say that's better than Caprica, but it must be paying the bills...
Instead of relaxing like I've done for the last 10+ years - watching SciFi channel on Friday nights (where did GvsE, Lexx, Brimstone, Dresden Files, Farscape, etc go?), I'm now doing other things with my Fridays... I'm not going to watch wrestling. Talk about fiction!
Subby's a moron. His blog starts out: "Suppose for a moment that I had been CEO of NBC Universal at the time Caprica was picked up in 2008. If I had been CEO at that time, then Caprica would not have been canceled during its first season two years later because it would have been one of the many thriving, profitable properties owned by NBC Universal."
You personally would have managed NBC better than NBC itself? According to your blog, you're a web programmer at Paypal. Maybe you need to check that ego and realize that you don't have a clue what you're talking about. Why does Slashdot link to this crap?
My opinion is that spin-off storylines and crappy effects can hurt viewership more than the cable business model. Reality shows and sequel/prequels are no substitute for a good, original story with good writers and actors. (and certainly not wrestling on a sci-fi? channel)
Look at 'The Sopranos' 'Mad Men' or 'Battlestar Galactica' if you need proof that cable shows can be huge if done right.
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
Knowing how Caprica is going to end killed all interest for me.
Seven...
A good SciFi fan needs 7 of them.
Here's hoping for Starfleet Academy daytime Soap Opera, and Star-Trek babies!
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Try Idiocracy...
Oh wait, that's a documentary...
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Caprica wasn't bad. Wasn't the best thing on TV, but wasn't bad. But, much like BSG, SyFY didn't know what to do with it and tried to milk it for all it was worth and killed it in the process.
Stupid, stupid stunts like calling NINE SHOWS a "season" and postponing new shows for almost a YEAR. Who can follow a complicated story arc after that?
And horrible, horrible publicity. In 1978, many people enjoyed the Cylon ride at Universal Studios. Although there were a few billboards and a window painting in Hollywood during BSG 2003's last season, and the Vanity Fair spread was a nice touch, often it seemed that BSG was the bastard child of Universal. Even though BSG was owned by Universal, there was NO promotion of BSG when I went to Universal Studios during season 4! A golden opportunity to promote a show in a venue that people from all over the country visit, and there was NOTHING for BSG except in a privately owned comic store on the Citywalk. Lousy, lousy promotion. Yet disposable crap like the "Mutant Shark of the Week" or whatever is everywhere.
It is obvious that SyFy has no clue whatsoever what to do when it somehow stumbles on decent programming. Even as the critics were raving about BSG being "the best thing on TV" Universal/SciFi did not know how to pitch it, nor did they seem to want to try.
Somehow this has to have something to do with Windows sucking, Steve Jobs being a vampire, or a Linux kernel update.
Yes, it was flawed. I liked it in spite of that, perhaps even for some of those flaws. Yes, it could frustrating, yes, much of the characters were not likeable or identifyable (no "everyman" character). But it was trying to do something, really, it was. The acting and production values were top-notch, and they really did delve into all manner of interesting topics for debate, from morality to philosophy to the nature of humanity. And we just got one payoff this week, a nice action sequence with a cylon followed by an iconic phrase ("by your command") at the end. I guess we can re-edit that scene to be syfy headquarters. I'll miss caprica. It was the last reason I had to tune into the pathetic shell that occupies what was once the Sci-fi channel.
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
That's why I never watch movies set in the Roman Empire. I totally know how it's going to end.
It did have many dark and mature themes. There were many interesting ideas embedded in the story as well. They also had quite a few really well done scenes.
However, I think they lacked good pacing. The story seemed to plod along clumsily. It was almost like watching a television show directed by Stanley Kubrick (whom I love, but who clearly draws certain scenes on way too long).
One part of the story that I found truly absurd and overly drawn out was when Stoltz's character was repeatedly attempting to torment his dead daughter that he believed might be inside the Cylon. It was completely warped, sadistic, hard to believe, and overly drawn out. The multiple experiments to convince himself just seemed to make it feel drawn out, while making him look like a sadistic prick.
I find tech commentators very funny at times. There are quite a few who are writing good, incisive stories, but at the same time there are a large number who have either disconnected from reality, or just aren't giving credit where it is due. I think it's because some people get a sense of superiority by declaring that "X is a dinosaur business model, and I'm smart enough to see it!" The writer of the original article falls under one of the latter categories.
Here's the thing - most of the suggestions he made were implemented in some at least a year ago. From the article:
"All of NBC Universal's properties should immediately begin offering full episodes in high definition on the web. These episodes should be available online at the same time they air on cable TV. Delaying the posting of these episodes to the website will only drive people to piracy."
This one has been happened for at least two years, by my count. It may not be high-definition, but most shows ARE put on the web the day after they air. Geographical boundaries are enforced, but that probably has more to do with broadcast rights than business models (if you've given your broadcast rights in Britain to the BBC, for example, you're not going to undercut them online).
"Episodes offered via this medium should display no interstitial advertising. Ads should only appear just prior to and just after an episode plays. Interstitial advertising will only drive people to piracy, which shows no interstitial ads."
Already the way it's done.
"No DRM should be used to protect against consumer copying or saving of the episodes from the website to their computers. This will only drive people to piracy."
Can't speak to the DRM side (I've never tried to copy a show, I've only just watched it). But I know that the BBC allows downloads of shows, and it wouldn't surprise me if other stations did too.
"The online episodes should be the same high quality aired on cable TV. Reduced quality will only drive people to piracy. Bandwidth costs can be reduced by leveraging bit torrent."
As far as I know most are offered in at least standard definition. I know that the BBC, for example, also offers downloads in HD, and it wouldn't surprise me if others do too.
"A subscription service should be offered which completely eliminates all advertising for the subscriber and offers other benefits, such as discounted merchandise and other additional services above and beyond the basic TV content without ads."
Well, this might help, and to be fair, as far as I know the television stations don't offer this. And, it's not a bad idea. So, point to the author on this one. But, at the same time, it should be pointed out that what the consumer is interested in is the show, and they're already getting that for free - so there wouldn't be much incentive to use this service in the first place.
"Nothing behind the subscription paywall should be something that can be pirated. Services and physical merchandise cannot be pirated."
Okay - this one needs a reality check. It's a television network - what services precisely is it going to offer? Anything audio-visual in nature can be pirated. And, as far as physical merchandise goes, there is an entire market out there of cheap knock-offs - which is a form of piracy.
"But it's not just NBC Universal. It seems like every major TV company is playing with fire by ignoring the internet."
Um...right. Which is why most networks have websites on which you can watch their programming, as well as launching on-demand services.
So, to sum up - the author of this article is ignoring what television networks are actually doing so that he can prop up a straw man and declare them to be following a dinosaur business model. If he was writing back in 2006, he might have had a point. Unfortunately, he's writing in 2010, and the person who is behind the times in this case is him.
Robert B. Marks
Author, Demonsbane in Diablo Archive
What is wrong with drama being the meat of a SciFi TV show? I always thought that the best SciFi is that where the SciFi itself serves only as a backdrop, a support for the story and the characters, a background which would not otherwise be possible in contemporary or historical settings. I dislike shows that focus on the "cool factor" of SciFi. Most often than not they lack depth. SciFi is about making the spectator think.
I remember a scene in "War of the Worlds" which has always stuck with me. It's the one where the hero is hiding in a demolished house while the Martians are combing the area in their great Machines. He likens the feeling to the one a rabbit must get waking up in its burrow one day to find the forrest being utterly wiped out by a construction site. All this destruction, these huge things you cannot understand and all you can do is to hide, tremble and hope they won't turn over a root or a piece of rock and find you.
That scene would have not been possible without SciFi. There's nothing in human history that can replicate the horrible feeling of a human being literally looked down upon like vermin (figuratively, yes; literally, no). It's a very novel and unsettling feeling. The rabbit analogy was great, it was necessary, but it was not enough by itself. And the entire scene (as well as the book) is ultimately about human drama, not about the aliens from outer space.
i ate crayons when i was a kid and now i have two braincells and the blue ones taste nicer
Your post sounds all pompous and faggy to me. Obviously, your shit is all fucked up.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
In theory the idea behind Caprica was the corporate politics and foreign policy machinations behind the creation (and then abuse) of cybernetic life in the form of the Cylons, but there was effectively the first working Cylon by the end of the pilot, and she was created by a semi-supernatural deus ex machina. Also she just happened to be a copy of the personality of a religious fanatic with a pathological and completely unmotivated hatred of her parents. So before the series has even begun we already have the Cylons, and the mystery of why they turned out they way they did is just because they're spoiled, angry, borderline psychotic teenagers. (Actually, the virtual reality fantasy of a spoiled, angry, borderline psychotic teenager) Monotheism wasn't a great competing philosophical system, it was just a creepy cult with no point to it other than a pretext for adding lots of pretty teenage girls to the story.
There was one nice touch with the early 20th century clothing. There was something creepy about seeing fashion your brain is telling you is old juxtaposed with futuristic technology. I found that more convincingly alien than any costume or prosthetic.
Here's hoping for Starfleet Academy daytime Soap Opera, and Star-Trek babies!
I'm ashamed to admit I would probably watch that just because it's Star Trek.
They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
I like SGU's first 5 or so episodes.
Why?
Because they are constantly on the verge of death, such as running out of air or water or shields.
But then after that, they stabilized every on board and ran out of ideas. So the writers turned towards political crap with the Lucian Alliance, and it has been just as boring as the SG1 episodes about politics. Ick. I'd rather be watching Seasons 6 and 7 of Atlantis, because I liked the people better and the premise.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall