'Caprica': The Graystones appear on Baxter Sarno's show
On the fourth episode of "Caprica," Daniel Graystone makes his anticipated appearance on Baxter Sarno's (guest star Patton Oswalt) "Backtalk," but his finely-tuned script goes off-course and risks the future of Graystone Industries.
Damage Control: Daniel gets a script from his new PR rep Pryah. All he has to say was that Zoe was troubled and that he had seen the signs well before he developed the holoband technology. Of course Daniel doesn't want to say anything remotely similar to the talking points, and matters are made worse when his intentions of going on "Backtalk with Baxter Sarno" alienate his wife Amanda. She does her best to try and get Daniel to say something more sympathetic when he goes on the talk show, but Daniel essentially says any emotional ploy "doesn't play" well on TV, which angers Amanda even more.
On the Baxter Sarno show, Daniel tries to ease the crowd into it and cracks a joke, but literally bombs. Sarno asks about his wife's public revelation, and Daniel follows the handy script. Sarno, on the other hand, takes a stab and offers the possibility that Zoe was growing up in a technologically-advanced world where holobands existed and where there were no consequences. Amanda, off in the wings with Daniel's new PR girl and his assistant, is appalled by the argument Daniel's team has concocted. They assured him it would work, but they're proven otherwise as Sarno continues to take jabs. Amanda storms onto the stage, which only leads to trouble.
When Sarno's show returns from commercials, Amanda defends Zoe's honor, saying she was angry, defiant, rude and frustrating. But what kind of 15-year-old teenager isn't that way?, she probes. Sarno offers his opinion, that Zoe was also "morally blank" and because of this, Daniel says, that was exactly how the STO got to her. Daniel tells Sarno that he talked to Zoe about this -- to Amanda's shock -- because at this point, she didn't know her husband was off connecting with Zoe #2 in the virtual world. When Daniel explains to Amanda his act of cloning Zoe in avatar form, Sarno and the studio audience begins buzzing. What?! Sarno, with the perspective of the cynic, says everything we're thinking. Thoughts like Why would you create a ghost of your dead daughter? That's creepy! run through your mind as Daniel tries to explain his stance to Sarno, his wife and the rest of Caprica.
Daniel makes an astonishing promise to Caprica and the rest of the colonies: Graystone Industries will no longer profit from the sale of holobands and virtual world licensing. Instead the money will go to a charity organization that will help young people find their core values. It's good PR, sure, but those sales make for 60% of the companies' net, which won't make a lot of stockholders or the board very happy.
Target Acquired: Another explosion takes place in Caprica and Agent Durham has an idea to the culprit behind it: the STO. He uses Amanda's public speech at the memorial two episodes ago to his advantage, furthering his investigation by utilizing her reveal of the infinity pin as a way in to search Zoe's locker at the private school. That same morning, Clarice receives an urgent phone call and covertly sends the following warning to Ben's best friend, who cleans out Zoe's locker: GDD RAID COMING. When Agent Durham search the lockers moments later, they find absolutely nothing.
Later that day, Lacy and Ben's best bud meet at a car repair shop. She tries to get him to help her with the Gemenon plan, but he's not having it. Lacy ends up staying anyway; turns out, she knows a thing or two about cars (and most likely has a thing for the guy too). At GDD headquarters, Agent Durham asks his superior for permission to find out who has official access to the students, and duh, all roads lead to Clarice.
The Terminator: Joseph Adama has second thoughts on his plan for his brother Sam to kill Amanda in order to keep the balance, so to speak. During Daniel and Amanda's appearance on the Baxter Sarno show, Sam sneaks backstage so he can fulfill his brother's wish. Sam poses as Baxter's personal driver and offers to drive Amanda home. In the car, Amanda notices they're not going the right way. Meanwhile, Joseph is doubting his decision to terminate Amanda after watching the Graystones' appearance on "Backtalk with Baxter Sarno," but can't reach Sam. Sam tells Amanda that he lost his sister-in-law Shannon and niece Tamara on the train bombing, but things get hairy for Amanda when she realizes he's not who he says he was.
Joseph wakes up to hear Sam running his hands under the kitchen faucet. Joseph's emotionally and physically distraught, worried over the fact that he might have unwillingly ended someone's life. Sam goes through his schpiel about how he killed Amanda, or so we think, but it turns out, Sam was just jerking Joseph around. So Joseph bluntly asks, "Did you kill her?!" Sam says he didn't, because in addition to Joseph's texts, he knew Joseph's order was an empty one.
Highlights & Observations:
- Another word for polytheists? Orgy.
- Daniel pays the makeup artist 1,000 cubits so he can smoke a cigarette while she's prepping him for the show. If that's not power, I don't know what is.
- Motto: "You get the best things from enemies .. because they're scared of you." -- Grandma Adama
- Amanda: "Did you lose someone on that train?"
Agent Durham: "I lost everyone on that train." - A lab assistant and Zoe #2 have a nice little dance session at Graystone Industries. What are our thoughts on a potential love connection between a machine and a human?
- Amanda Graystone is a plastic surgeon.
- Tattoos on a Tauron do not necessarily signify gang relation as many may assume, but are symbolic of a life.
- "Frakkin' Caprican in a Tauron body." -- Sam to Joseph Adama
What did you think of the Graystones' TV appearance on "Backtalk with Baxter Sarno"? What are your thoughts on Joseph's backtracking, and are we really surprised by it?
The interview with Sarno was utterly fascinating and the writing was nothing short of brilliant, but the resolution seemed far too pat. The Graystones go from pariahs to heroes in one episode, and they are back to being on top. The stories with Zoe and Lacy seem to be going nowhere, so I’m hoping more time is spent on those stories in the next few episodes.
Review of the episode on my blog:
http://th3tvobsessed.blogspot.com/2010/02/review-caprica-season-1-episode-4.html
Sam remains my favorite character, they made a good decision promoting him to series regular. The whole talk show aspect worked better than I expected. Zoe/Philomon were cute, there's potential for a sort of impossible romance there.
As for the potential love connection between Zoe-A and her Geek Tech, hey, it worked for Helo and Athena.
I think the broader theme that the writers are trying to illustrate is that overreliance on technology can be dangerous. If the show is going to take that route, then I think the writers should stay focused on the Zavatar story—minus any additional Cylon dance routines—and explore the implications of developing artificial intelligence in greater detail. With so much emphasis on religion in this series, I think that this would make for a perfect juxtaposition with the idea of playing God.
If anyone is interested, you can find more if my thoughts, including what potential the show has for taking Daniel to a much darker place, on my blog. Click my username or follow the url below for the link:
http://wordbribery.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/need-backstage-access-try-tattoos-over-plastic-bracelets/
I think you meant "polygamists" rather than "polytheists" (since the people in question were monotheistic).
I wasn't sure if I was going to like this show but this episode cemented it for me. Very well-written, well acted. I'm liking Sam the best and then Amanda and Lacey. I feel Zoe & Joseph Adama are a bit on the verge of being unlikable, which worries me, but otherwise it's great. The grandma was amazing in this episode too. I look forward to more of her viciousness. Excellent! Bravo to Jane E. and Ron M!
I'm loving it. Liked last night's storyline a lot..especially the part about Sam Adama talking over the kidnapping with his brother...and the dancing robot.
Now this is more like it. By far, this was the best episode of “Caprica†since the pilot (perhaps even better than the pilot).
Too much of the last few eps were focused on the kids: Zoe, Lacy, William, the school/academy, etc.
Turning the bulk of the episode over to the adults yields incredibly rewarding results that are interesting, compelling and overall, entertaining.
This show is really intelligently written and thought provoking. I loved bloodthirsty Grandma! However I'm glad Sam didn't kill Amanda as she's becoming a favourite of mine.
No idea how the Soldiers of the One story is going to play out - and the unpredictablity of this show is what I enjoy most. Quality stuff.
Another great episode! Like Battlestar Galactica, it makes you question your assumptions. One correction: I think Keon was cleaning out his own locker, indicating he was responsible for the cafe bombing. Surely Clarice cleaned out Zoe's locker long ago, looking for information about her computer program, if not just as a matter of form. And I think, although Sarno's audience applauded the gesture, the Graystones have a long way to go before the public, overall, stops hating them.