‘Caprica’: ‘There is Another Sky’ and Tamara the terminator

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

‘Caprica’ really is a soap opera, and the ‘There is Another Sky’ episode displays that genre’s multiple-plot format really well. Just as viewers started to believe that the plight of Zoe Graystone and Lacy Rand was probably the central and most interesting storyline, in steps a few more pretty good side plots that include Tamara Adama (portrayed ably by Genevieve Buechner) -- the indestructible avatar -- and her adventures through the looking glass of V World.

Tamara the Terminator is sent on a mission to New Cap City, another section of V World, by Vesta, a not-on-the-right-side-of-the-tracks game player, to take out another powerful game player. If she completes this favor, Vesta says she will help Tamara be restored outside of V World. The intrigue, suspense and action of this plot is interrupted by ...

Joseph and Willie Adama. A father trying to reconnect to a son that has been distant since, and probably before, his mother and sister were killed. Uncle Sam is kind of the nexus for both father and son: a connection to a father figure and family for Willie, and a connection to the past, family and tradition for Joseph. There’s anger, resentment and a deep-seated need from both father and son to get back to their cultural Tauron roots. Family drama, and just as the kid lashes out ...

Daniel Graystone. Last episode, he basically ripped the heart -- well, the profit-making heart -- out of his own company by essentially shelving the earning potential of holobands. This episode, the company is not so OK with that and is meeting to oust the founder and face of the company. He’s got to come up with something. He’s got to ... Back to Tamara. She and a new friend beat the New Cap City game. Tamara exhibits a control over the players in V World so powerful and newfound and Neo-like that Ron Moore should be paying the Wachowski Brothers royalties. But Tamara doesn’t want to play, and she finally realizes that there may be no way out of the virtual space, since she’s actually dead.

Back to the Adamas. Joseph and Willie have problems, and to help bring them closer, they partake in a Tauron ceremony that helps them let go of the mother/wife and sister/daughter that they lost in the train bombing. Despite whatever deities they worship, it was an emotional and easily understood ceremony that brought them all together. And all was going fine until Tamara’s buddy from V World comes knocking, telling Joseph that he’s seen Tamara. The kid runs away once it’s confirmed Tamara is dead.

Back to Daniel Graystone. Busting up the company board meeting, he makes a dramatic presentation of the cylon, and pitches the board on the fact that these sentient lifeforms could become a new workforce. Stop there. And no one thought that this super-smart artificial intelligence would ever question this existence? I’ve always wondered, do they not have movies on these sorts of things in different universes? Anyway, it was convincing enough, and Graystone is back on top.

Tamara walks alone in V World. She’ll be the most powerful ... next to Zoe Graystone. Now that she’s self-aware, that’ll be a fun meeting.

Curiouser and curiouser ... The strands between ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and ‘Caprica’ draw a bit tighter. Not to worry, though, there’s still a whole lot of story that needs telling. The way things are progressing, though, we may all want to be among those at the Paley Center event in New York City, just to give them a hand clap.

-- Jevon Phillips