Caprica

This is a new show that is supposed to be a prequel of Battlestar Galactica.  The two main characters are the inventor of the Cylons and the grandfather of Commander Adama. Their daughters are both killed in a terrorist attack and they are grieving; what they do in response to that grief is part of the story.  Esai Morales is Joseph Adama and Eric Stolz is Dr. Graystone. 

I loved this last incarnation of Battlestar Galactica.  When I first watched it, I was prepared for the cornpone of the previous rendition, minus Lorne Greene.  I was pleasantly surprised to be intrigued by the storyline, which is much darker and more rich than the original story.  Lots of miniplots spinning together the fabric of an epic tale.  Parts of that tale included the story from the point of view of the Cylons, who are monotheistic.  (vs. the humans, who are polytheistic).  My favorite character in BSG is Gaius Baltar, who has tremendous growth over the arc of the show, and who is such a multilayered character that you don't know whether you want to hug him or shoot him in the face. 

Caprica is much the same.  You have several different major plots interwoven with minor threads which should tie in together at some point.  The themes of the show are pretty complex, and I find myself pondering them after each episode.   What makes us human, and if what makes us human can be placed into digital form, is that digital form living?  I already sort of worry about characters I create in the online games I play--I can't let my animals on Farmville go one day without checking on them!--so exploring the virtual world in Caprica is fascinating to me. 

Anyway, if you've never seen this show, you're about five episodes behind, so check it out on SyFy.  I think that you can still download the first episodes, and the pilot is out on dvd.