Thu, 21 Jan '10

Caprica Q&A

Caprica executive producer Jane Espenson has something to say to you

“You don’t need to know anything from Battlestar Galactica in order to watch and love Caprica,” executive producer Jane Espenson tells GeekChicDaily in an exclusive interview. “It’s a very different show and doesn’t require any prior knowledge.”

GCD: As you’ve been cranking out episodes of the show, has there been anything that’s surprised you because it’s turned out to be better than you’d initially expected it would be?
Espenson: We created a game world within the virtual world of our show. We call it New Cap City. I imagined that it would look like our regular Caprica City locations but with some rain-slicked streets and more gunfire, but in fact our amazing production people gave us an entire 1940s visual banquet. It looks like a really good Bogart movie, all shadows and portent. We also started using something we never had on BSG, which is an actual robot that lives on the set instead of in the computers. We thought we’d only be able to use it for a few distant shots, but it’s gorgeous and it ended being something we were able to use a lot.

GCD: You’ve said the show will have some Easter Eggs for BSG fans. Can you let us know about one or two specifics ones to look for?
Espenson: Something I enjoyed doing in a few places was to use language that prefigures iconic speeches that BSG characters will make in the future. I like this because it isn’t just a little treasure hunt, but because it actually makes thematic ties between the two series. We also tried very hard not to contradict anything that was established on BSG, even if it was something that was never said, but is only visible in a screen grab of a page in someone’s service record briefly glimpsed on screen.

GCD: Any chance we’ll ever see cameos from the stars of BSG—actors in white wigs and old-person makeup playing their character’s grandparent, mayhaps?
Espenson: No, not like that, but you might see a familiar face whom could be inferred to be a relative. And in a small scene late in the season you may hear a familiar name that would suggest someone else may be a relative. But in general we tried to stay away from this—our world’s a big place, and we didn’t want to shrink it with any suggestion that you keep running into the same names or faces.