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SGU vs Caprica (Spoilers!)

W

Witterquick

Captain
Captain
Have we done this yet? Is it illegal? :rommie:

Characters

Caprica:

Like/interested in: Joe Adama, Daniel Graystone, Zoe Graystone, Sam Adama, Vergis (leaning to like anyway)

Can't stand!: Philomon (nerd love interest) - dead :techman:, Sister Clarice (Story is zzzz), Lacy and Keon definitely. Basically that whole plotline!

SGU:

Like/interested in: Greer (like)

Seriously, I really got stuck. I'm just so meh about all the characters, even the major players like Rush and Young do not interest me.

Can't stand!: None

I don't dislike any of them at all.

Point to Caprica for characters I guess

What about plotlines?

Caprica:

Like: Zoe/Dad, Adama/Tamara, Graystone/Tech stuff

Hate/Dislike: Sister Clarice and gang, included Lacy and gang (hate), Zoe trying to get to what's-that-place

SGU:

No strong like.

It's hard to be unbiased since I prefer the Caprican chararacters. But I guess I don't mind Rush vs Young, Greer's loyalty to Young (not a plotline though).

The fight for survival (gathering supplies, fixing ship) which being so central to the show and thus important doesn't grab me very much.

Dislike: Civilian/military split (Wray vs Young) - tiresome + annoying civilians cast.

I'm more of a fan of the Stargate franchise than BSG so it's surprising to me that I looked forward more to watching Caprica than SGU. I didn't even want to try Caprica at first but stumbled on it on a particularly boring day.

I guess it's better to have viewers love or hate different elements of your show than to have them feel no particular way about everything.
 
Caprica is a rare attempt at something approaching real sci fi on TV (where the sci fi element is the point of the story rather than window dressing for an action/adventure story). That alone makes it better than anything Stargate has ever attempted. Add to that the fact that Caprica has several interesting actors while SG:U has, uh, none that I've noticed (the fat nerd kid is okay I guess), and there's really no contest at all.

Caprica is the most ambitious sci fi show on TV (which sounds like more like damning with faint praise than I intended.) I checked out SG:U and saw no reason to continue with it, not even a shallow reason of the Joe Flanigan sort (just to prove that I'm far from fussy.) :rommie:
 
Caprica is a soap opera, no suprise as NuBSG was mostly a soap opera.

Stargate Universe is Voyager with post-NUBSG sensibilities/cliches.
 
Caprica is a failed attempt to rip-off Mad Men with a little sci-fy thrown in. Its failed in just about everything it does. Its characters are boring and dull. The story is just plain old uninteresting.
Stargate-Universe on the other hand is compelling and exciting. I like how they have slowed down the pace from other StarGate shows and made things more realistic. No more incredible unexplainable rescues for the main cast just because its the end of the episode. When there is a problem like water or lack of an O2 scrubber or whatever they actually have to solve the problem instead of some technobable and Wow, I punched a bunch of buttons and its working...
But the two shows are like apples and oranges. And Caprica is in danger of being cancelled if they dont fix all the things wrong with that boring show...
 
I have no great love for either show, though they are both watchable. I think I find Caprica to be the more compelling series overall, and the slightly-alien society is interesting to watch. SGU is pretty entertaining and tense at times, though I often find Carlisle's character very annoying.
 
Caprica just started to get good before they replaced it with SGU. Stargate still hasn't found it's self.

I'm of the opinion since SG-1 Season 6 (2002-2003) that show has sucked. There were a few good eps in Season 8 and S1 of Atlantis was actually good. Other then that it has just been humming along. Without the quality of it's past.
 
Temis the Vorta said:
Caprica is a rare attempt at something approaching real sci fi on TV (where the sci fi element is the point of the story rather than window dressing for an action/adventure story). That alone makes it better than anything Stargate has ever attempted. Add to that the fact that Caprica has several interesting actors while SG:U has, uh, none that I've noticed (the fat nerd kid is okay I guess), and there's really no contest at all.

Caprica is the most ambitious sci fi show on TV (which sounds like more like damning with faint praise than I intended.) I checked out SG:U and saw no reason to continue with it, not even a shallow reason of the Joe Flanigan sort (just to prove that I'm far from fussy.) :rommie:
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This is correct. Caprica is at the very least attempting something interesting and relatively fresh, at least to anyone with an attention span lasting longer than the length of time between KEWL CGI BRO. While not perfect, this show is an incredibly rare example of risk taking by the producers, writers and the network, and more shows like that need to be green lit. While the network's support for the show thus far has been surprisingly impressive, I don't think even Caprica's biggest fans expect it to run longer than two seasons at best; most people are simply too fucking stupid to appreciate it.

SGU on the other hand is a hamfisted, juvenile attempt to capitalize on what made BSG great, while at the same time completely lacking any depth. Stargate has always been, at best, a corny action adventure show where a bunch of stereotypes hop around the galaxy blowing things up and spouting one liners. Now, there's nothing wrong with that at all, but the result of the about face with SGU into "Serious Business" is nothing but comedy; it's like watching somebody's clueless parents awkwardly trying to act cool by saying things like "That is dope, yo!" at inappropriate junctures in conversation. If different showrunners from the people who have been power-slamming the franchise into the dirt for so many years were in place that might not be the case, but unfortunately these guys haven't the faintest idea how to writer compelling sci-fi.

Sadly, SGU will probably last a long time because it's just simplified enough that even the most dull witted moron can catch onto the show and feel better about themselves for watching such a smart show.
 
Neither show is particularly good. Although I'm still watching SGU, while Caprica lost me with the pilot.
 
Both shows suck but Caprica at least tries to be an adult drama while all SGs are campy crap with cliches galore, weak dialog, stolen Trek ideas/villians transplanted to their shows.

Stopped watching SG1 long ago and never was interested in the last two series. Caprica I gave 10 episodes but I'm done with it--don't care if or when it comes back--it is just far too slow and dull.
Tyson said:
Caprica is at the very least attempting something interesting and relatively fresh
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What is so fresh about it? It pretty much is exploring the same stuff many sci-fi shows have. To me it comes across as a distillation of several other programs and it ends up being pretty hollow.
at least to anyone with an attention span lasting longer than the length of time between KEWL CGI BRO.
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You just have to love when sci-fi internet fans become threatened because other fans don't love the same shows they do. First defensive reaction is immediately accuse them of not being bright enough to appreciate it and therefore are ADHD sufferers who need a lot of pretty lights and action to hold their interest.:guffaw:

Newsflash--my problem with CAPRICA isn't that it lacks KEWL CGI or Viper fight sequences etc etc. It isn't particularly deep either. Just because it is filmed documentary style with a lot of intense facial close-ups and there is ranting and there is smoking and there is cussing and there are scenes with two people talking doesn't make it deep. And even if it was deep it is executed in the most banal way that makes it a chore to penetrate as a tv show.
 
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I can't bother with the premise of Caprica. There's just anime that has done similar things in a more interesting manner. It also doesn't help that S4 of BSG soured me on the whole franchise.
 
I thought about starting a thread like this. We need a poll.

Dorian Thompson said:
Stargate is cheesy as hell. I can't believe anyone watches it.
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They did away with the campiness with SGU, but a lot of fans aren't taking to it, either because they feel that the more serious tone is being done badly or because they feel that Stargate should be lighter and more fun. Personally, I liked SG-1, but I'm also enjoying what they're doing with SGU.
 
sojourner said:
While both shows are terminal, Caprica has commited the mortal sin of being boring as well.
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Yup. (Angst x Infinity) does not a good show make. That's why Burn Notice and Spartacus cleans up in the ratings yet Caprica and its predecessor NuBSG struggles to even be remembered.
 
I didn't want to watch Caprica, but was cautiously looking forward to SGU.

I couldn't make it past SGUs pilot, whilst Caprica has kept me.
 
Is it okay to like both? Because I'm enjoying the hell out of both shows right now. Sure, Caprica's slow paced, but that doesn't equal boring. Stargate Universe has taken it's time trying to find it's feet, but it had some excellent stuff in the first half of the season (Air, Darkness, Light, Time) and the last two episodes have picked things up remarkably.
 
Tried watching Caprica. I almost liked it. But I found it really easy to miss.
SGU is supposed to be episodic. There are shows that continue on from previous ones. YET.... Each episode has to end in that hour. Nothing like a good cliff hanger to keep you on the edge of your seat eh? Syffy is calling this Season two when it is actually part two of Season ONE. I wonder if Syffy will get that right?
I'm wondering why they don't use the stones to send the doctor back to get some crash coarses in Medicine. Nah, that would be smart.
 
I am watching both. Caprica has had some ups and downs, but has been slowly picking up momentum and focusing on what works. Stargate Universe has been a downward spiral since the beginning, with a few moments of wonder that utterly fail to compensate for the unfortunate reality that the characters are behaving irrationally and inconsistently, well beyond the point of believability.
 
Caprica is still on my "to watch pile". I've seen the first 3 episodes but haven't gotten around to watch the rest of season 1.0, or whatever it's called. I've seen the first 9 episodes of SG:U on the Dutch SyFy channel.

I really like Caprica, even though I don't really get yet what the show will be about. But I have every confindence in Moore and his team of writers. Although none of the characters are as likeable or memorable as on BSG, the world of Caprica is an endlessly fascinating one.

The same can't be said about SG:U. I loved SG1 and Atlantis because the were fun adventure shows. With Universe, the creative team has sucked all the fun out of the show and there isn't a likeable character in sight. Most of the time, it's boring as hell. And those communication stones are a cop-out. A stupid way of keeping contact with Earth and a way for the writers to inject some human drama. Thusfar, they've failed miserably.
 
Caprica is much better, at least they are trying.

Despite Caprica being the BSG spin off, it has an identity all of it's own, whereas SGU is a lazy ripoff of BSG's style.
 
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