The Space Room
Everything Sci-Fi & a Little Astronomy
Battlestar Galactica’s The Plan and Caprica
A Beginning and an End
by Anna Sanclement
Most Battlestar Galactica (BSG) fans were left saddened last year as the show came to an end, a not very stellar one. However, a little glimmer shone for many as word came of one more BSG movie titled “The Plan”. Additional hope arrived in the form of a new series that was set to begin early this year with the name of “Caprica”, the beloved city that was ceremoniously bombed out of existence at the beginning of the BSG series.
Caprica promised to deliver many answers regarding the beginning of the end of the 12 Colonies and humanity, which was portrayed on the BSG series. On the other hand, The Plan was to give another angle as to how things went down as seen from the side of the Cylons (the man-like machines that humans built, whom they entered a war with when they destroyed most of human civilization).
So, this month, we will dissect both of these and I will give my two cents on both.
The Plan – What it Delivered
This last BSG movie was highly anticipated by fans and promised to divulge some aspects of the mysteries that the series had raised throughout its run. However, to my personal belief, I didn’t feel The Plan was a strong movie at all.
It felt like it was half made up from regurgitated material and another half from a bunch of new Cylon footage that did not really have much of an effect. It did not possess the shocking new truths that it should’ve delivered.
It was nice to see the beloved characters once more, but even they seemed washed out as their scenes were repetitions of what had already been seen. The Plan seemed to center mostly on the Cylons–granted that was the premise of the movie. But the ‘plan’ was not much of a surprise at all. It was not what should have been expected from the creators of a great series such as BSG.
Caprica – What Will it Bring?
This new BSG spin-off goes back to where it all began for the Cylons, about 50 years before “the fall” of the 12 colonies. The series will unfold how it all started regarding the Cylon’s belief in one God and their need to be treated as individuals.
The pilot episode, which was released on DVD last May, was quite good and very promising. The actors were proficient and it was nice to see the tie-ins to BSG in the form of Caprica City, and more personally, with William Adama as an eleven-year-old boy.
The first episode did more than enough to leave us intrigued with what will come next. It was full of suspense and teasers of what the Cylons are. Many story arcs were started that show potential for becoming interesting; the two main families have quite a lot of additional issues on top of the main ones regarding their killed daughters. Caprica is set to be a good show and one that should be on any sci-fi fan’s watch list for sure.
So, in conclusion, the ending of BSG with the Plan was less than stellar and quite a shame. Meanwhile, the “beginning” of the BSG realm looks like it has a lot of good in the making. Caprica should a good new show that hopefully will end in a better direction than its BSG predecessor did.
Sky events this month, February of 2010:
The Last Quarter Moon happens on Friday the 5th, and then the New Moon occurs on Saturday the 13th. The Last Quarter Moon will be on Sunday the 21st with the Full Moon occurring on Sunday the 28th.
February brings a great opportunity to spot the asteroid Vesta. It should be visible to the naked eye from dark locations and with binoculars it will be easy to see from the suburbs and more lighted areas.
The asteroid reaches opposition on Thursday the18th when it will be at magnitude 6.1. Vesta can be found by looking towards the constellation Leo the Lion, which can be found looking towards the northern sky. Leo is also about 6 degrees east-northeast of the bright star Regulus.
Orion, Sirius and the Pleiades, are now seen high in the sky at around 9:00 pm in most locations of the northern hemisphere. Opportunities to spy Orion’s nebula continue to be available nightly, with just a small telescope or even binoculars. Just one viewing of this great sight is worth it if you can manage it.
Mars is now quite apparent in its bright reddish –1.2 magnitude. Look for it in the eastern horizon as it rises at twilight. It is high in the eastern sky at around 8:00 – 9:00 pm. Mars reached opposition on January the 29th, so it still appears quite large in the sky and will continue to do so for some time.
Saturn rises at around 10:00 pm and is at its highest in the sky at about 3:00 to 4:00 am. With a telescope you should be able to see its rings tilted at 5 degrees from edge-on to Earth. Jupiter is now low in the southwestern sky at twilight and sets at around 7:00 pm.
Look on up and smile!
For more sky events log on to: www.astronomy.com and http://space.about.com/od/computerresources/tp/2009MaySkyGuide.htm
You can read other articles and tips by Anna on these websites:
http://www.helium.com/users/484623
http://www.examiner.com/x-6503-Ft-Lauderdale-Science-News-Examiner
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/354312/anna_sanclement.html
http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/annasanclement
Anna Sanclement writes from home and has recently started to write articles for various Internet sites. She has also finished a novel and has written many stories and a movie script, just for fun.