Blu-ray Review: Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome on Blogcritics.

Now on Blu-ray and DVD, and downloadable, is Universal's Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome. Set 10 years into the First Cylon War, after the events of Caprica, and several decades before the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, Blood & Chrome follows young William Adama (Luke Pasqualino, The Borgias, Skins) on his very first mission, which goes horribly wrong.

For those BG fans who complain that Caprica isn't action-packed enough (I am definitely not one of them), Blood & Chrome swings to the opposite extreme, a high-octane thrill ride with simulated battles filling in the gaps where "not enough" is happening in the real world. It's a dark, at times scary, war story, taken to the front line and behind enemy lines.

Unfortunately, that means there isn't a lot of time for character development. BG works because of the actors, and the nuance with which they play their dealings with one another. It is as much about politics and religion as interpersonal relationships, and the fights with the Cylons come as secondary. Blood & Chrome moves the latter to center stage, making it fun when you're watching, but a bit hollow in retrospect. This works well for a web series, which one can tell Blood & Chrome is, edited together now into a not-quite-seamless television movie.

I'll be honest, I'm torn on Pasqualino as Adama. He is the fourth actor to tackle the role in the official franchise, and I see a bit of the Caprica take in some of his dialogue and mannerisms, when he isn't being way too cocky. I don't, however, see the grown up Adama at all. Perhaps that is intended to come later, in the unlikely event this project is pushed forward as a series, but it's missing here.

Blood & Chrome is sold to us as a potential pilot, but it's not clear what the series would feel like from this first episode. Rather than setting up the full cast or what the characters will be doing, it follows only three people for a large part of the movie: Adama, his co-pilot Coker (Ben Cotton, Hellcats), who is near the end of his tour of duty, and just wants a calm last few weeks, having lost the fighting spirit, and Dr. Becca Kelly (Lili Bordan, Cherry.), who has a secret mission for them, and claims she can turn the tide of the war. One of those three, I won't reveal which, wouldn't even get to continue if the story went on.

For the most part, I enjoy the hour and a half, even if it doesn't make me miss Battlestar Galactica less. But there are enough hokey missteps, like Adama hooking up with Becca, the creepy half-machine cave worms, and yet another new Cylon soldier, as well as a glimpse at an early attempt of a human-model Cylon (interestingly voiced by Six herself, Tricia Helfer), that prevent this from being quality entertainment. Adama is close enough to events in Caprica to understand what the Cylons actually are. Why doesn't that play a role here?

What really kills Blood & Chrome for me is the reuse of BG and Caprica alum as new characters. Cotton only has a bit part in BG: Razor, so that's not too bad, but most of the rest of the cast, including Adrian Holes, Leo Li Chiang, Mike Dopud, Carmen Moore, Allison Warnyca, Sebastian Spence, Zak Santiago, Colin Corrigan, Jill Teed, Ty Olsson, Brian Markinson, and John Pyper-Ferguson are already present in other stories as different characters, and still recognizable from their previous roles. This really destroys any believability, and is definitely the absolute worst thing about Blood & Chrome.

On the positive side of the chart, for those keeping score, are the special effects. One would swear previous BG sets have just been upgraded, but pretty much this entire movie is green screen, so they've actually been digitally re-created. It's OK that the hanger bay and control room are busier and fuller than in the previous series, because this is Galactica at the height of her service, fully manned and equipped. It all looks so real, if they hadn't included an intriguing twenty-two minute featurette as an extra, showing how they created the sets, I wouldn't believe it. I can't think of another series that has done effects this good.

Which means that Blood & Chrome looks and sounds spectacular in high definition. Much care goes into every detail of the design, and with all the computer work, they are able to make everything super sharp. The colors are mostly of a dark palate, but there is such a broad spectrum represented that one could easily forget that, seeing how rich it looks. The soundtrack is not as sweeping as its predecessors, but again, is flawless.

Blood & Chrome is made by design and programming nerds, and it shows. Story takes a back seat to effects, and the visuals are mind-blowing. It's an example of what a new BG could look like, and is definitely an argument to bring some incarnation of the show back. Just not this one, because we need the story part of it, too.

Besides the aforementioned featurette, there are about ten or so deleted scenes. That's it on the extras, sadly.

Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome is available as a Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy / Ultraviolet combo pack now.

TVLine Launches!

     What were you doing Tuesday night? Personally, I was watching the final five episodes of Caprica on SyFy. My family and friends would have berated me for that, as they were all tuned into the Ohio State Buckeyes playing in the Sugar Bowl. But Michael Ausiello and his friends were getting ready to launch a very important web site. It what may be the highest-profile TV-only websites out there, TVLine launched last night at midnight.

     As a fan of Ausiello for awhile, I missed his work dearly these past few weeks since he left Entertainment Weekly and began his new project. Now that wait it over, and he's back with a few friends. Fellow EW alum and reality-TV expert Michael Slezak is on board as a senior editor, as well as TV Guide's Matt Mitovich and E! Online's Megan Masters. With a team carrying that much gravitas, how could it not be good?

     As far as design, I was worried there would be too many things pulling in different directions, but I was wrong. The look is sleek and user-friendly. Abstracts of all of the site's articles are featured in a nice, easy one column, and you can click to read more. Subheadings, such as "Glee" and "Casting Scoops" break things down a little more. You can also search for exactly what you're looking for. There is already a facebook account and a mobile version of the site for your smart phone.

     Content-wise, it's rich. Old content for the editors' previous sites is included, so you don't have to start fresh today. In the first few hours of the site, plenty of new stuff was posted, too. Ask Ausiello, a fan favorite, is back, and there is scoop on Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, The Good Wife, Fringe, and more! For anyone interested in TV, this could easily be your be-all, end-all stop.

     Well, except for reading my columns, of course! Please continue reading my columns. As much as I love Ausiello and crew, I hope they won't put me out of business.



For frequent mini-reviews and occasional TV news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

Article first published as TVLine Launches! on Blogcritics.

Caprica Ends Run Brilliantly

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional tv news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

***SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the end of Caprica, including the series finale.***

     When SyFy's critically beloved Battlestar Galactica went off the air after only four seasons, I was depressed. It was one of the best TV shows ever made, in my opinion, combining religion and politics with morality and space battles. When a prequel series was announced, called Caprica, I was elated. Set fifty-eight years prior, it also took a lot of those same elements (except space battles), and leaned heavily on family and terrorism. It was brilliant, a worthy addition to the Galactia universe, but also it's own thing entirely. Then came news of its cancellation, and depression has set in again.

     Why was it canceled? The popular opinion is that it was too cerebral. People missed the space battles. AMC, you want to pick this one up? I promise you, I will watch, and so will many other people. I can't guarantee you any solid numbers, but the show would probably fit better with AMC's lineup than SyFy's.

     Last night marked the premiere on SyFy of the final five (Ha! Final Five!) episodes of Caprica. They were already released on DVD. Expecting unanswered cliffhangers and incomplete arcs, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case at all. Every single one of the plots began in the two hour pilot last year concluded naturally, and while I would have liked to see more development on some fronts, it was a full story. A look at future scenes capped the final episode, providing some idea of where the show would have gone, but more importantly, some events that came out of this year's plots. Despite only one season, Caprica joins my list of Best Shows Ever, made even better by no cliffhangers.

     I will miss the Graystones the most: Daniel (Eric Stoltz), Amanda (Paula Malcomson), and Zoe (Alessandra Torresani). They were the heart of Caprica, and often the characters with the most screen time. They were not in Galactica, and likely will not be in any other incarnation of the universe, as their story was concluded. Two grieving parents fought for the life of their daughter, who lived on in a virtual world. Their struggle was what birthed the greatest threat to humanity ever seen, and how the Cylons came to be what they were. It was the ultimate prequel, a fantastic and unexpected set up to what the original series featured. The rising of the 'skinjob' Zoe out of the bath in the future scenes was the ending of their journey, but the effects they had on the rest of the world will live on for far longer.

     I loved the Graystones, but they also provided the only inconsistency with Galactica. We learned in the previous show that the Cylons had been created before this era and will be again. The 'skinjobs' had only twelve models, and none of them were Zoe. Given more time, I'm sure this could have been addressed. In the next show, though the Graystones aren't expected to be featured, I hope it is dealt with in some way. While I think the family was given enough, there is still that one unanswered question left in the universe. However, surely practically no one but the Graystones ever found out about Zoe's new body, so if they are not part of the new story, it makes it hard to foresee the answer I seek.

     Lacy (Magda Apanowicz) was the most cheated by the finale. We saw her defeat the leaders at the STO camp and take control of their Cylon army in the previous episode, but she did not appear in the finale until the future scenes, when it was shown that she became the new Mother to the STO. Sure, that was perfect, fitting plot, but I would have expected, if the show hadn't taken time for the future stuff, a scene where Lacy and the Cylons take down Mother and her minions. Oh, well. Perhaps on the DVD.

     I like that Sister Clarice (Polly Walker) lost her organization, but lives to fight another day. In future spin-offs, I would really like to see what happened to Clarice, after she became preacher-to-the-toasters. Clarice was truly the Big Bad of the series, though that label was not apparent at first. Her fanatical beliefs were outdone by her oversize ego. She should have perished with her followers, but she didn't, because her will to survive is too strong. There are few characters on television played with such a mix of warring, and often hidden, agendas, and Walker was one of the best elements in an amazing show.

     The Tauron story concluded nicely, with the assassination of the Guatrau (Jorge Montesi) by Joseph (Esai Morales) and Sam (Sasha Roiz) Adama. It was almost a plot written into a corner, where the Adams faced certain death, or at least, having to flee the planet Caprica, which we know to be the homeworld of young Bill Adama, Joseph's son. Joseph had been anything but heroic yet in the series, and given Bill's later disagreements with the man, as told in Galactica, it wasn't surprising. What this plot twist sets up is a Joseph far more involved in the gang wars of his homeworld, though hopefully with a less villainous syndicate boss. Joseph always walked a fine line between noble and patsy; this development makes that balance even more complicated.

     Many people were surely shocked at the death of young William Adama (Sina Najafi) in the penultimate episode, widely believed to be the younger version of Commander William Adama, played by Edward James Olmos in Battlestar Galactica. Considering the young Bill introduced in the future scenes is at least ten years younger than Willie, this should have been something fans had already suspected, but I don't think it was.

     In October 2011, a new two hour TV movie called Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome will air on SyFy, with the possibility of a series pickup. Nico Cortez will reprise his version of Bill Adama from the Razor flashbacks. It will feature a new cast of characters, and is set ten years into the first Cylon war, with Adama in his twenties, so at least twenty-some years after Caprica. Ensign Adama is newly assigned to Galactica. A press release proclaims: "The talented but hot-headed risk-taker soon finds himself leading a dangerous top secret mission that, if successful, will turn the tide of the decade long war in favor of the desperate fleet." Exciting, no?

     While I am excited about this newest prequel, which will attempt to add more action, something some people (not myself, especially after the finale) thought Caprica was lacking, Ideally, I want to see Lacy Rand return, and possibly Sister Clarice. I also want Esai Morales to reprise his role, obviously with aging makeup, as well as other members of his family. I love the actress who played Lacy, but she's probably too young, even with a makeup job. None of this will happen in the pilot, but if the series is picked up, I surely hope it will pay homage to Caprica, as well as being its own thing.

     Until then, so say we all.

Article first published as TV Review: Caprica Ends Run Brilliantly on Blogcritics.

Top Shows to Buy for Christmas

     While television is flooded with terrible offerings, such as Jersey Shore, $#*! My Dad Says, Two and a Half Men and The Mentalist, there are plenty of great things out there that not enough people are watching. By not enough, in some cases, almost everyone would be enough, because they are truly awesome shows.  Though not a complete list, here are a few recent triumphs to add to your Christmas lists for any loved ones that love TV:

24 The Complete Series ~ Here's something to tide you over until Jack Bauer makes the leap to big screen. Even more fun, watch each season in one day. You can probably do it in about 18 hours without the commercials.

Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series ~ If you saw the old version of this show from 30 years ago, you may have been disappointed by the cheese. This newer series has none of that, and it amazing with the questions it raises. Check it out.

Caprica: Season One (1st half on sale now, 2nd half December 21st) ~ Sadly this Battlestar Galactica is already canceled. In fact, a lot of the 2nd half hasn't even aired. But it is a mixture of terrorism, religion, and beliefs in general that deserves attention. A new Galactica prequel has already been ordered.

Cougar Town Season One ~ Yeah, yeah, yeah. The worst titled show on TV. But after a rocky start, the series ditched the old woman dating younger man concept and became something more in the vein of friends, a group of close people who love each other and drink far too much.  Give it another chance.

Glee Season One ~ Although season two has been much sharper, this first season really had us going with the musical numbers and teen drama.

 Lost: The Complete Series ~ Did you tune out after several years of not knowing what was going on? That's ok. Now the complete series is available in one collection, and you can watch it straight through. It will make it easier to understand, and no less exciting.

Parks and Recreation Season Two ~ After a wildly unstable first season, the series settled into consistent funny in season two. It is one of the smartest written shows on TV, and will have you rolling.  Too bad NBC kept it off the air this fall, though season three will begin in January.


     Some shows are just so good, that even though they currently aren't available on DVD, pre-order them a put an IOU note in a giftbox. You will still be loved for it:

Justified Season One (releases January 18th) ~ This fascinating surprise about a Kentucky marshall, which is not a crime-of-the-week show, but instead, a wonderfully detailed and nuanced character study deserves any attention it gets.

Nurse Jackie Season Two (releases February 22nd) ~ Season two had Jackie's secrets threatening to burst at the seams, and though she tried to break off the affair with Eddie, he struck up a friendship with her husband.  Great stuff.

The Walking Dead Season One (releases March 8th) ~ If you missed AMC's zombie show, you are really missing out. It was about so much more than monsters. It was about people surviving. And morality. And sacrifice. And yes, zombies that ate you alive.

Caprica is risen again

One may not expect SyFy's Caprica to be the most religious show on television. It's set in the very distant past in another part of space, fifty-eight years before another recent SyFy show, Battlestar Galactica. According to Galactica's finale, our ancestors came from Caprica and the other eleven worlds, which we remember through the signs of the zodiac. Caprica was sold to Galactica's audience as the origin of the robots known as Cylons. By the end of Galactica, we knew that it had to be about more, but it's exceeded my expectations.

Caprica is world at the brink of civil war, torn between monotheistic and polytheistic beliefs. The tone is one of Ancient Greece, or perhaps Rome, not long before it's fall. Fans of the previous series know how it will end, but this show is so different that it is easy to forget what's coming. The monos, represented most prominently in the series by terrorist organization STO, seek to discredit and destroy the polys, whom they blame for the corruption of their world.

The world in question is in sorry shape, indeed. Teenagers escape to virtual reality, where they populate clubs bent on human sacrifice and orgies. A mob from nearby planet Tauron thrives. Suicide bombers blow up crowded trains. Which is, in fact, how Zoe Graystone (Alessandra Torresani) perished in the pilot, though her foray into virtual worlds, and mixing avatars with reality, has allowed her to still be a main character. Whether the existing Zoe, who lives only in computers, is real is a questions to be debated among the various religions.

Sister Clarice Willow (Polly Walker) seeks to be the voice to lead the Capricans into the next golden era. Last night's season premiere began with Clarice overseeing a group of people, some of them children, as they smuggled explosives into a crowded sports arena. The stadium and everyone in it spectacularly were leveled. But it wasn't real. Clarice has developed a recruiting technique for her organization. She wants to promise believers reality post-death, in a virtual world, like the one where she showed the destruction. Her group's leaders are wary, and order her assassination. But her support is strong, and her friends kill the messenger. Seeing little choice, the leader of them all, known as Mother (Meg Tilly, The Big Chill), asks Clarice what she needs to fulfill her plan.

I have to admit, I wasn't thrilled with Clarice's character when the show began. Somehow, though, in just ten hours, I've decided that she is my favorite character. She certainly had the strongest held belief-system, her morals are unique, and she has dangerous layers that have yet to be peeled back. She's more powerful than I think we as an audience realize, and she's highly intelligent. I don't know how much of her success is due to actress Polly Walker, but I am certainly a fan.

Back on Caprica, Clarice's one-time student, Lacy Rand (Magda Apanowicz) has stayed with terrorist leader Barnabas Greeley (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's James Marsters). Barnaby made Lacy blow up Clarice's car in last spring's mid-season finale in exchange for helping her get Cylon Zoe off the planet. Both missions failed, but Lacy seems drawn to Barnabas. She's still an impressionable teen, rocked by recent tragedy. She's perfect prey for a leader such as Greeley.

Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz) is grieving, too. For most of this week's episode, Daniel had us assuming that both daughter Zoe and his wife, Amanda (Paula Malcomson), last seen jumping from a bridge, perished. More on them in a moment. Daniel is sleeping on his couch and getting drunk at all hours. But he has a plan to get back on top, and it centers on taking back his company, which he recently lost to a rival. To do that, he approaches Tauron mobsters Sam (Sasha Roiz) and Joseph (Esai Morales) Adama. Joseph wants no part in Daniel's immoral science, but their boss orders them to help Daniel. What Daniel's exact plan is, and how the Taurons expect to use him, is still a mystery.

Zoe spent the first nine episodes of the series in the body of the first metallic Cylon that the current population of the Twelve Worlds has seen (in Galactica we learned that there were Cylons before, as "all of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again"). The Cylon was severely damaged when Zoe tried to drive it in a van through a roadblock. Daniel, who figured out that his late daughter was in his metal creation, believes her lost. But late in the first hour, we discover Zoe's consciousness (spirit?) alive and well in the virtual world. Although Zoe's appearance was brief, we do now know that she is trying to track down the other dead-girl-avatar in existence, Joseph's daughter, Tamara Adama (Genevieve Buechner). What she wants with her is anyone's guess.

The biggest surprise was to find Amanda Graystone alive and well, now sharing a cabin with Sister Clarice. I don't think they exactly appeared romantic, though Clarice comes across as bi-sexual. Instead, Amanda may have sought Clarice's spiritual guidance after the tragic death of her daughter and her own attempted suicide. What is clear is that Amanda has left Daniel, at least for now.

Somehow, Caprica manages to pack more plot into each episode than most shows, and yet delves into greater depths. I'm relieved none of the main characters (except Zoe, of course) is dead... yet. The second half of season one, airing six months after the first half, has much to get through. But the first nine episodes did a fine job painting a vivid world. It's like nothing else on television, and so worth the watch. It will challenge your mind and your beliefs, and quite a bit of action gets through, too. I can't possibly fairly compare it to Galactica, as the two are so very different, but that means you don't have to have seen the first series to understand what's going on in this one. If you haven't been watching Caprica, I highly recommend you catch up on what you missed (the first half of the season was recently released on DVD) and join the party.

Caprica airs Tuesdays at 10pm on SyFy.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional tv news, follow Jerome on Twitter.



Article first published as TV Review: Caprica Is Risen Again on Blogcritics.

On the Fringe

    Last night, Fringe returned to Fox with a very special episode called "Peter".  Almost all of it was set in 1985, where we saw a young Walter Bishop (John Noble) lose his son, Peter (usually played by Joshua Jackson), and how he dealt with it.  It was a very emotional story of a father's loss, and his fight to stop himself from loosing even more.  It showed how Walter's intentions were good, and that he never intended to kidnap the alternate Peter, only heal him and return him to his own world.  On that level, it fully succeeded.

     Bigger than that was what the episode established in the Fringe mythology.  Not only was Nina Sharp's (Blair Brown) injury explained, but also what cause the cracking between the universes in the first place.  Everything that happens now, all of the bad, mysterious deaths and frequent attacks from the other side are Walter's fault.  It is why he is such a tortured man, why he had to be put away in an institution.  It even got the Observers involved in a more active way, and revealed fully the special connection between Walter and one of the bald man in particular, now established to be named September (Michael Cerveris).  Further, it set Peter up for something great, as he "has to live".  But why?  It revealed so much that it felt like a spectacular season, or even series, finale.  Yet, it wasn't.  It was just the kickoff for the third of the season still left to air.

    Besides how important the episode was, there was also much fun and whimsy included by the writers.  The theme song was completely redone, to show that fringe science in 1985 included things like in vitro fertilization, stealth technology. and laser surgery.  The music and graphics were also redone to fit the time period.  Plus, a knowledge of things that were supposed to be, but didn't come about were in evidence.  For example, Eric Stoltz (Caprica) was originally going to star in Back to the Future, and he did, in the other reality.  It makes me wish we would launch some zepplins again and let them dock at the Empire State Building, as intended.

     John Noble, who had proved his acting chops previously, did a fantastic job letting the subtextual elements of the story unfold without being over the top.  His reverse aging makeup was fully believable, and he truly has created a memorable character.  Blair Brown didn't do as well, but perhaps she was just given nothing to work with.  Introduced was Peter's mother, Walter's wife, Elizabeth (Orla Brady, Shark).  The real shame in the whole thing was, despite ample opportunity, William Bell (Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek) never showed up, and he should have been there in several key spots, in my opinion.  Instead he was 'in Europe'.  Is there another story there?  I certainly hope so.

     Fringe airs on Fox Thursday nights at 9pm.

Caprica ends mid-season finale with much up in the air

     ...literally.  Amanda Graystone (Paula Malcomson) was still in the air the last we saw her, as she jumped from the bridge in an attempted suicide.  How ever knew how crazy that woman was?  The Zoe Graystone Cylon (Alessandra Torresani) was also careening through the air as the van she had stolen slammed into the police barricade and was tossed up.  Also, pieces of Sister Clarice's (Polly Walker) car were in the air, as Lacy (Magda Apanowicz) detonated the bomb.  Is that enough for you?

     After a long, long wait, SyFy chose to only give us nine episodes, counting the pilot that was put out on DVD nearly a year ago, before taking six months off.  There are eight more scheduled to air beginning September 17th.  SyFy is notorious for making fans of the franchise wait way too long for new installments.  Remember the nine month wait for the second half of the finale season of Battlestar Galactica?  It just proves that the network has no idea how to handle a good thing.

    And another good thing is what they have with this series.  Despite a few fun references from time to time, the show has certainly set itself apart from the series it is technically a prequel to.  Everything we thought we know from watching Galactica has been turned on it's head, and the political and personal drama is even deeper than expected.  Aside from one or two episodes in the middle, the show has really delivered.
     Besides the Graystone saga, which has also included the slow slip of Daniel Graystone's (Eric Stoltz) morality and sanity, the Adama story isn't quite as intriguing.  Perhaps in an effort to not exclusively tie themselves into a family already established in the universe, though they are main characters, the balance has been a little heavy on the Graystones.  However, things heated up in the past few weeks as Joseph (Esai Morales) battled a V-world addiction while searching for his daughter's avatar (Genevieve Buechner).

    When Caprica returns this fall, I do expect to see the Adamas and Graystones get further intertwined, and the fallout from all the bad things the main characters did.  I also want better closure on the Tamara plot.  But assuming James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) sticks around, I'm sure it will deliver.

     Caprica airs on SyFy channel Friday nights at 9pm.

Some series already renewed for next season, others will be left hanging: cable edition

Cable is a different beast than broadcast networks because their seasons run at all different times, rather than the traditional September through May.  Still, many fans will be glad to know that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Greek, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Rescue Me, Big Love, Bored to Death, Hung, True Blood, Drop Dead Diva, Dexter, Nurse Jackie, United States of Tara, Weeds, The Tudors, Party Down, Eureka, My Boys, The Closer, Leverage, Men of a Certain Age, Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar, and Royal Pains, among many others, have been picked up for another season.  Some of those seasons begin soon, others will air next year.  Below are some shows whose fate is still unknown, though.  Again, I use Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly as reference for my list.

Archer ~ I love this half hour comedy on FX, but apparently, it's considered a long shot to be picked back up.  Teeming with great voice talent, it is a good addition to the network's other shows.   UPDATE 02/23: ARCHER HAS BEEN RENEWED FOR A SECOND SEASON.
Damages ~ This show was picked up for two more seasons at the conclusion of the first, but now that they are currently airing the third, FX is unsure if it would like more or not.  This one could go either way.  I, for one, would love to see it continue.  It has won and been nominated for several Emmys, and deserved them all.
Curb Your Enthusiasm ~ This show from Larry David, co-creator of Seinfeld, has run for seven years so far, and is quite funny.  It's a similar type of humor to his earlier effort, and last season featured the reunion of the Seinfeld cast.  It would be nice if HBO asks for another season, but even though it is already done airing the last season filmed, it's fate is still up in the air.
Caprica ~ Although billed as a spin-off of Battlestar Galactica, this prequel set nearly sixty years prior is definitely it's own beast.  So far it has been intriguing and exciting, and I hope it runs for several years.
Southland ~ "Wasn't that show already canceled?" you may ask.  And yes, it was.  However, TNT has been running the episodes that originally aired, plus new ones, and reserves the right to order more if it desires.  Considering that the cast and crew was let go last fall, it seems doubtful, but Ausiello lists this as a 'could go either way', so we'll see.
Crash ~ I've never seen it, and apparently most of you haven't either.  Based on the movie of the same name, Starz has tried and failed to market this show.  It probably won't be renewed, but you never know.

Caprica different from Galactica, in a good way

     For fans of Battlestar Galactica, it was a sad, though very satisfying, day when the series when dark for good last spring.  Four years, a wonderful story, and a heck of a conclusion.  It wasn't about space.  It was about the characters.  Now, we have a replacement, in the same world, but with a totally different concept.  Well, not totally different.  It's still about the characters.  It is important to note that viewers should be able to start watching this show with no prior knowledge of Galactica, as it takes place many years before, and is clearly it's own thing.  But for fans, we get to see a barely-heard-about chapter unfurl in full life, a real treat.

     While Caprica premieres tonight on SyFy, the pilot has been available on DVD since last April.  The show already has fans, before it even launches.  I can report that it is an intriguing, exciting, and dark pilot, scratching the surface of grief that will surely be delved into.  I won't spoil any major twists, in case you still haven't seen the episode, but I can tell you that one of the main characters, (yes, one of the ones mentioned below) dies early in the episode, and it launches what will be a hell of an adventure.  This person's death has far reaching repercussions, and after the twist at the end of the two hours, fans of Galactica will be surprised, hopefully in a good way, about a connection between the character and the previous series.  Viewers will see the 'invention' of the Cylons, though we know that Cylons have been around much longer than the humans in this show will think they have.

     Set fifty eight years before the events of Battlestar Galactica, it doesn't feature humans running for their lives.  Instead, two families are brought together by the deaths of their loved ones, from a suicide bomber.  There are heavy religious tones to this series, even more so than Galactica.  It is a world on the brink of sin, with teenagers escaping into virtual clubs that feature group sex and human sacrifice.  Technology is god, and Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz), a genius, is at the forefront.  He works so hard that he practically ignores his equally inventive daughter, Zoe (Alessandra Torresani).  He does, however, seem to spend time with his wife, Amanda (Paula Malcomson, Deadwood).  Zoe doesn't get along with her mother, either.

     The other family is immediately recognizable.  We have heard about Joseph Adama (Esai Morales, NYPD Blue) and his eleven year old son, William, (Sina Najafi) who was of course the commander of Galactica, portrayed by Edward James Olmos.  While not obvious in the pilot, the other important Adama in this series is Joseph's brother, Sam (Sasha Roiz).  The Adamas are from Tauron, and are only working on Caprica.  They are looked down on for that, although Joseph, a.k.a. Yosef, seems to often reject his heritage to fit in on the world, even publicly using the last name Adams instead of Adama.  At this point, the Twelve Colonies do not have one united government.

     The show also stars Polly Walker (Rome) and my personal favorite, Magda Apanowicz (Kyle XY).  Nineteen episodes, not including the pilot, have been made.  It airs on SyFy Friday nights at 9pm.