Whedonesque : Comments on 21352 : (SPOILER) James Marsters joins Caprica.

Epic win for Caprica, on both counts. Wow. I saw Caprica the same night I saw Dollhouse's "Haunted" and I got all freaked out pondering what it means to be dead/alive in a world where people (or aspects of them) can be downloaded and/or copied regardless of what happens to their original body. So, yeah, I got immediately hooked on Caprica. Can't wait.

phlebotinin | August 18, 21:32 CET

Wow, this is good news. I'm looking forward to Caprica's airing--even if it seems an eternity until it does. This only makes it better.

palehorse | August 18, 21:39 CET

Well consider me finally interested in the show.

Simon | August 18, 21:40 CET

I'm also really stoked for Caprica, and these two guys joining up the ante.

SteveP | August 18, 21:42 CET

I was excited about it already! Now it just got better!

maxsummers | August 18, 21:44 CET

Well consider me finally interested in the show.

Slacker ;).

zeitgeist | August 18, 21:45 CET

And we all remember that James extended his cameo/one-shot on Buffy into a permanent role. Fingers-crossed for a repeat...

SteveP | August 18, 21:47 CET

Wow, two great additions to the 'Caprica' cast. I'm certainly giving it a chance cos of JaneE and Ron Moore (and now JamesM) but i'm still not particularly enamoured of the premise. Family dramas just never really did much for me.

Slight aside BTW, saw the trailer for "Big Fan" with Patton Oswalt the other day and man, that looks really good, looks like he turns in an amazing performance (as far as it's possible to tell from the trailer anyway).

Saje | August 18, 21:52 CET

Have you watched the pilot yet, Saje?

zeitgeist | August 18, 21:54 CET

I was already interested in Caprica. Having James on the show would make it that more interesting. I just hope Caprica has some action, not just a "talk talk talk" soap.

Little Green Kid | August 18, 21:54 CET

James Marsters reuniting with Jane Espenson and Drew Greenberg! Go team!

Shapenew | August 18, 21:55 CET

And my circle of lovely fandom just keeps connecting! *grin*

ctofine | August 18, 21:55 CET

SteveP I nearly said "they can't really have a terrorist around for that long" but I suppose they had one on BSG for four years...

Anywho good news. Although that picture is creepy.

Ashley | August 18, 21:55 CET

Have you watched the pilot yet, Saje?

Nah, not yet zeitgeist though I may or may not (*cough* ;) have it on my hard-drive. Might be time.

Saje | August 18, 21:57 CET

Saje, I'm with you; a straight-ahead "family drama" doesn't usually pull me in. But I'll chime in with the others and urge you to watch the pilot. It's far more exciting than the "family drama" characterization would suggest. At least I found it so.

phlebotinin | August 18, 21:59 CET

I was already interested in Caprica. Having James on the show would make it that more interesting. I just hope Caprica has some action, not just a "talk talk talk" soap.

Not enough sh!t blowing up in the Pilot for your taste or have you seen it? :)

zeitgeist | August 18, 22:01 CET

You said it, zeitgeist. I thought there was a lot of violence in the Pilot. Violence and menace and excitement and even some sexytime stuff, virtual though it may have been. Oh, and the human sacrifice. All fairly disturbing and attention-grabbing to moi.

phlebotinin | August 18, 22:04 CET

If they blow up actual shit I am so there. Add sexytime stuff and, well, what else is there (i'm assuming one of the characters has a beer at some point) ?

Think i'll take the recommendation of the fine folks on here and check it out at the weekend.

Saje | August 18, 22:05 CET

Yep, do, Saje - it's not so much "family drama" as in Brothers and Sisters - more like if Dollhouse were set in BSG's world and you had to deal with some of their shared ethical/moral dilemmas and political concerns.

I think someone does have a beer somewhere - well, something fermented or brewed, anyway.

QuoterGal | August 18, 22:08 CET

Very, *very* cool!! Loved the pilot and James can only add to it's brilliance.

Harmalicious | August 18, 22:09 CET

The "family drama" angle is just their attempt to make it more commercially appealing than BSG, as Ron Moore explains in one of the BSG 4.5 commentaries.

The show is very thought provoking, and relevant to our times with the blurring of lines between reality and online virtual / parallel realities. How far are you willing to push technology to address pain in your life, and are you willing to accept the negative consequences of your actions? Heavy stuff -- and a fun watch at the same time!

SteveP | August 18, 22:09 CET

Oh fantastic news! Yay Jimmy! Jane Espenson always did have great taste. *g*

sueworld2003 | August 18, 22:14 CET

Oh yeah, sexy stuff too. And murders. And a mafia, old-style. Extortion.

One of the feelings I got (besides the freakout that phlebotinin mentioned, 'cuz that happened to me as well), is that of extreme decadence, of a modern-day "Rome before the fall." I do gather that it's intentional.

And as Jane E. says, it's got a Buffy connection - angry teenage girl and robots.

MissKittysMom | August 18, 22:16 CET

The stunt-casting for Caprica this past week has been incredible. First Scott Porter from FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, then Patton Oswalt, now this? Too fun.

ProgGrrl | August 18, 22:21 CET

Count me as excited, loved the pilot and James is just going to make it all better, and yes want way more than 3 eps. Do you think they could have found a worse picture? Come on it is not like there are not any pictures of James around, maybe I should send Michael my screen saver.LOL

rehabber | August 18, 22:45 CET

Caprica's pilot was beautiful and thoughtful. I was very interested in all of the characters and I was instantly invested in the world. And to know that the Cylons fought in a war between the colonies, for the colonists before they rebelled let's us know there will surely be action in the show. Plus we know the First Cylon war ended 18 years after the pilot of Caprica so I imagine we will at least see its beginnings over the course of the show.
It was already one of the best ensembles out there and the new additions ony help that.
Without having read anything not even the article linked at the top so this isn't a spoiler just pure speculation but I bet James will be connected to Sister Clarice Willow, its just what me guts are telling me and not because her last name is Willow, as that would be a silly reason to do it.

theMidnighter | August 18, 22:46 CET

I didn't read the article because I don't want to be spoiled at all but I'm so thrilled and excited to hear this!! I just saw the pilot a couple of weeks ago and loved it and can't wait to see more!

Firefly Flanatic | August 18, 22:57 CET

This is so exciting! I am a big fan of BSG and am so looking forward to Caprica in January. But now? I'm going to be marking days on my calendar until we get to see James tackle a role that seems just made for him to play.

Berry | August 18, 23:22 CET

Seems like a match made in heaven - I smell another Spike!

baxter | August 18, 23:30 CET

So that's Jane running the show. Drew Z. Greenberg with her in the writing room. Patton (who I only knew through Ratatouille) and Marsters in the recurring cast.

They're definitely looking for good cards to play to make people more interested. I was watching it anyway, but now I'm actually more excited about the show.

Ausiello can be very annoying a lot of times, but I like how he calls Jane "charter member of the whedonverse" (Now only if we can get that Joss EW cover from that thread).

[ edited by Numfar PTB on 2009-08-18 23:36 ]

Numfar PTB | August 18, 23:35 CET

I really liked the Caprica pilot. James is only gonna
make it that much better!

iwantthefireback64 | August 18, 23:37 CET

I had the same thought, MissKittysMom--it's like how I'd imagine observing Rome before the end and knowing about their impending doom. Also in the sense that the people may look human, but they're certainly not from 20th century Earth; like the aliens on Farscape, the reactions/motivations/preconceptions of the Colonials aren't necessarily what you'd expect.
"Caprica" is to "drama" as "BSG" was to classic "Battlestar Galactica".
Saje, just a warning that the opening sequence may not be appropriate for kids...

quacky | August 18, 23:37 CET

I was on the fence about watching this series. Now I HAVE to watch it!

DAMN!!!

Nebula1400 | August 18, 23:56 CET

Ok, count me in with those who weren't all that much interested in the show..Mainly cause I'm far behind with BSG and not a fan yet.. But Jane of course was an interesting point in favour of watching..
And to express how much James is one more point of interest, I will now perform the Dance of Joy, just in honor of the news..!:-D

JotheCat | August 19, 00:08 CET

Leave it to the great Jane E.! I haven't seen the pilot and don't expect to for quite a while, but this all sounds ohhhhhh so good.

My son and I just started netflixing BSG. We watched the mini-series over the weekend and will probably watch the first epis tonight. Since we had never watched it, once I read all the raving about it here I figured we should just wait until it ended and then watch the whole thing on DVD. We likey the mini-series a lot. Yes we do.

I'm hopeful we will be done with BSG long before Caprica is broadcast and we will be all up to speed.

Yea, for Jane's good taste!

newcj | August 19, 00:09 CET

This is so awesome. I've never watched BSG, but I love Jane so was thinking about checking it out. Now I MUST watch!

Xane | August 19, 03:06 CET

Holy shit.

Just the other day I was ruminating on the fact that James hasn't done anything worthwhile since Angel, and now this. Excellent.

UnpluggedCrazy | August 19, 03:26 CET

@newcj - I'm so jealous of you for getting to experience BSG for the first time!

Harmalicious | August 19, 04:37 CET

I rarely cheer for these kinds of announcements. But Woot!

azzers | August 19, 04:51 CET

In light of the role description spoilers, I really hope this ends up being a Tom Zarek-type role. You know: long-term, nuanced, making you question where he stands. A fascinating, well-rounded character. That would be awesome. And totally worthy of James.

Lirazel | August 19, 06:00 CET

Harm, I know what you mean. I have been living vicariously through my friends who I have been introducing to Buffy and Angel. My latest is beginning S7 of Buffy and S4 of Angel. Firefly & Serenity are next for her, but I have to find a new person to ~~corrupt~~ introduce to the shows.

Meanwhile we watched the first 4 epis of BSG since my last post...and it goes to the next disc in the middle of a 2 part episode. That is so not fair. ;-)

newcj | August 19, 06:33 CET

Thanks so much Jane E. Time to Netflix BSG!

annieb | August 19, 06:36 CET

There is not enough Yay on the planet for this!!! I loved the Caprica pilot - actually, I was blown away, so not what I was expecting.

The expanding convergence of the Whedonverse and Ron Moore Inc., is the best thing since chocolate. BSG is right up there with Joss's shows on my all time favorite TV list.

People who haven't seen BSG ...WTF???. Start now, it's not for nothing that it's Joss's favorite show ever! And how I envy you. ;)

(Haven't used that many exclamation points since Dollhouse was announced.) :)

Shey | August 19, 12:34 CET

newcj, you haven't seen any of the real BSG cliff-hangers yet. At least the next episode is just a Netflix shipment away! When it comes to season-ending cliff-hangers and making us wait many months for resolution, all I can say is, "Ron Moore, you magnificent bastard!"

MissKittysMom | August 19, 12:40 CET

OK y'all have done it now, am getting my season 1 BSG disks from netflix tomorrow. Know what I will be doing this week.lol I have seen the Caprica pilot and was going to watch the series, but with James in it I am really excited. James was so good in Moonshot and had the best part and the shower scene was not bad either. I enjoyed High Plains Invaders and his beautiful eyes.lol

rehabber | August 19, 13:39 CET

When it comes to season-ending cliff-hangers and making us wait many months for resolution, all I can say is, "Ron Moore, you magnificent bastard!"

Hence my decision to wait for the series to end before starting the DVD's when I heard that it was really good and he was going to end the series in a year or something (at the time.) ;-)

newcj | August 19, 13:44 CET

OK y'all have done it now, am getting my season 1 BSG disks from netflix tomorrow

Make sure you watch the mini-series first. That's just made of awesome.

Simon | August 19, 14:07 CET

Yep, the mini-series is a must see. About 20 minutes into it one scene in particular makes it clear that this ain't yer daddy's 'Battlestar Galactica'.

Saje | August 19, 14:52 CET

I wasn't that excited about it, but now I'll definitely check it out.

I just hope I like it more than BSG, which I'm watching right now, and so far pretty much hate.

Walkdogger | August 19, 15:42 CET

Spoiler tag--can't read article or thread but

WOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

WhoIsOmega? | August 19, 15:50 CET

Sage I never watched BSG the first time around either. But I didn't watch it because my impression of the series was not great, so I understand your comment about it not being your father's BSG. (Though in my case I guess it should have been MY BSG...if I had watched it...but I didn't so it wouldn't be MY...hmmm...what was I saying?) However, I'm curious as to what scene you are talking about. It is not that I don't think it is there, I am just trying to remember what scene it might be. Invisotext, perhaps? Short e-mail? Carefully couched hint?

I have no will-power these days. One of my internet fairy godmothers made the Caprica pilot available and although I had every intention of waiting to watch it until after I was done with BSG, I just finished watching it. It really is very promising. It will be interesting to see how a terrorist that is described the way this one is, will fit in.

newcj | August 19, 16:44 CET

Where the cylon that'll later become known as Six reaches into the pram and snaps the baby's neck couldn't be a clearer signal (to me) that this is going to be a much darker series than the original. The "daddy's" thing is just as per the old expression BTW, I watched the original series the first time around and even as a youngster thought it was a bit cheesy (and of "Galactica '80" we will not speak ;).

Saje | August 19, 16:55 CET

Thanks, Sage. Yeah, that works, though I'm still not sure of the motivation for that. It seemed oddly random, though that does seem to be an interesting part of the character.

...and per the "daddy's" thing I know the expression, I was just letting my mind wander a little too freely along the logic trail it led me. ;-)

I remember the ads for the original struck me as soooo cheesy I just did not even bother. I was amazed they were bringing something like that back...then everyone started raving. Who knew? ;-)

newcj | August 19, 17:34 CET

newcj, you'll have to watch Caprica again after BSG. I'd imagine that some scenes (like the last one) would not have the same effect as they had for us that have seen the series (and planning on re-seeing, likely in blu-ray, after "The Plan" comes out).
As far as this not being your daddy's BSG, I was thinking it had more to do with the show not being a let's-visit-this-planet or episodic fugitive-type thing. It's a more realistic and relentless run-for-your-life story (there's a quote from Grace Park, to the effect, "it's like watching a train wreck"). Baltar is certainly different. And Starbuck and Boomer look waaaay different than the original. I think it's the hair.

quacky | August 19, 21:02 CET

I haven't seen the pilot, zeitgeist. But from reading some of the posters who have, it sounds like it does have a lot of action!:)

Little Green Kid | August 19, 21:40 CET

August 18 2009