Caprica - Ambition Doesn't Pay.

Some shows are just too ambitious. That sounds like a mad statement, especially if you look at the ITV schedules. But the Battlestar Gallactica prequel, Caprica certainly fell into that category. What other show has tried to take on terrorism, religion, rampant technology, organised crime and moral malaise all in eighteen episodes?

If you are a British TV exec churning out stuff like Scott & Bailey, New Tricks and Case Histories, you should sit down and weep at the sheer scope of Caprica. I'm going on like this, but the show was cancelled, so perhaps ambition doesn't pay in the end but what a glorious attempt it was.

I think Caprica will be a richer experience as a box set, following it on Sky was quite tough. The gap between the first half of the season and the second was so long, it probably warranted a reshowing of the earlier episodes.

With all these weighty subjects rattling around, Caprica was quite a poe faced affair, then again, Battlestar Gallactica wasn't exactly a chuckle fest but it fitted the mood. As did the lead Eric Stoltz, who I think is an underrated and under used actor. Also, I don't know if it was sheer luck or planning, but the final scenes acted as a perfect introduction to Battlestar. Although I did read somewhere that these scenes were to set up season two. If so, this has set the benchmark on how to cover your arse if cancellation is looming. Just think of all the shows that left you with cliff hangers never to return.

But it is sad to see Caprica go. Just think where it might have been by season three. What ambitious heights might it have reached by then?

Over