Caprica: Is it science fiction?

Last night, the Caprica pilot episode finally aired. Syfy hopes to use this new drama to help achieve its goal of broadening its demographic appeal. Caprica is being called “television’s first science fiction family saga.” And executive producer Remi Aubuchon said the show “…owes itself more to Dallas in some ways than to Star Trek.”

So the question must be asked: Is Caprica science fiction?

The answer to this question may seem not worthy of debate. After all, the story is a prequel to Battlestar Galactica, and no one would question that BSG is science fiction. Caprica is set in the same universe, but what kind of world is it?

Despite being one of the Twelve Colonies, Caprica is a world not unlike our own. Caprican society has corporations, sporting events, and schools. It also has problems not so different from our own, including terrorism, racism, intolerance, and greed.

Even the technology on this world isn’t too far advanced from our own. Sure, they have the holoband (a device that allows users to tap into a virtual reality), developed by Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz). They also have electronic paper, and they are closer to artificial intelligence than we are. The robotics in Caprica are also something we only dream about in films and television. But for the most part, their technology is pretty familiar to us – cars, elevated trains, televisions, and cell phones.

The different cultures of the Twelve Colonies are likely to be explored in more detail in future episodes, but we have already seen that Taurons are more traditional, more linked to their past, than Capricans. It’s not a stretch to liken the Taurons to the early Italian immigrants in the United States. Joseph (Esai Morales) is trying to become a successful Caprican (to the extent that he even changed his name from Adama to Adams). But he still has ties to the Tauron Ha’la’tha organized crime syndicate, making it difficult to leave the old ways behind.

The society, technology and culture in the series Caprica are not so far removed from our own. So, is Caprica science fiction? That depends on your definition of science fiction.

It does tell a story that is within the realm of what is physically possible. More importantly, it is using science to tell a story that couldn’t be told any other way. Because the core story involves a character becoming a cybernetic lifeform node (Cylon, to the uninitiated), the science becomes integral to the story.

At its heart, though, Caprica is about the characters that inhabit the story rather than the science fiction setting. It does have the feeling of a family drama, although I think comparing it to Dallas is going a bit too far. This is a science fiction drama, something new and — hopefully — inspiring. ∞