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?

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Falling Skies - Do First Impressions Count?

Tomorrow is the UK premier of Falling Skies on FX. Now I’ve put it on my planner but I can’t say I’m excited about watching it. If anything I’m nervous. I’ve seen the adverts whilst watching Dexter (which by the way is amazing) and from what I can tell it seems a little, dare I say it, cheap?

I mean I’m sure it’s not. Apparently Stephen Spielberg is involved and obviously it stars Noah Wyle from ER (always a good thing) so it’s not like we are dealing with a B list crew and cast. But from what I’ve seen from the previews (and I know it’s only previews) the CGI looks fairly poor and somehow I just can’t imagine the show being any different. Falling Skies is coming across as a poor mans Walking Dead but with aliens and everyone knows zombies are far more frightening then aliens.

Nevertheless I am going to watch it. One of my favorite shows is Medium and you can’t exactly call that high budget cutting edge stuff. Plus how bad can it be bad if Wyle and Spielberg are on board? Actually don’t answer that, let me find out on my own.

To be honest I don’t know what I’m complaining about. I sat through 3 extremely poor seasons of Heroes and was still involved. Yes I even watched the season with the carnival. If I can get into that, I can definitely get into this.

Geordie Shore Has Great Sci Fi Potential.

Has anyone else been following that excellent new Sci Fi show? You know, the one where a group of people are mysteriously put in, what appears to be a terrace house and doomed to repeat their actions endlessly. It's a dark, distorted view of life in the not too distant future, it is called Geordie Shore.

A nasty twist on Groundhog Day, the eight characters wake up, moan and argue, then go out of an evening to get drunk, fight, copulate, then go to sleep only to do exactly the same thing the next day. Frightening and soul destroying, in equal measures, Geordie Shore is excellently acted by the largely unknown cast. Although, if I have to gripe, the female characters look too similar. None of the actors names are given at the end of the show, adding to the gloomy realism. But I think we must spare a thought for the poor actor who plays Jay, it must take hours in make up applying that bulky body prosthetic. The only solid contact our heroes have with the real world is through a red telephone box. I feel here we have echoes of the classic 60's show The Prisoner. The mysterious boss gives them meaningless tasks, which they reluctantly do. What are the reasons for these tasks, do they have meaning and will they all loop in and tie the show together? Also it is not clear why the characters seem so reluctant to leave the titular Geordie Shore. Although Holly did briefly depart only to reappear more or less unnoticed. My theory is she died and is now a ghost.

Season one has set the scene nicely, now season two must take the show on, telling us why the male characters need to be so pumped up and the females are so needy and in search of family. Also the tasks and the dark Groundhog Day thing need to be explained. Geordie Shore has great Sci Fi potential but let's hope it doesn't fall into the traps Lost did. Do we really need Charlotte and Vicky to find a mysterious hatch, or Greg to move the terrace house back and forth through time, I think not. But, watch out Torchwood, Geordie Shore is coming to get you!

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