Caprica City

Caprica City, before the Cylon attack.

Caprica City is the capital city of the The Twelve Colonies of Kobol, located on the planet Caprica. The city itself was divided into a number of smaller districts and neighborhoods that are given placeholder names for easier reference.

History

Caprica City after the Fall.

Caprica City is a major metropolitan area and capital of the planet Caprica and the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Situated on the Caprican Bay (CAP: "End of Line"), Caprica City - or "C City" for short (TRS: "The Plan") - was home to the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the Colonial Government (TRS: "Epiphanies") as well as the worlds famous Caprica City Buccaneers (CAP: "Pilot"). Divided into many distinct neighborhoods and sections, Caprica City boasted gleaming skyscrapers and a rich population of some 7 million, including such luminaries of Colonial life as famed industrialist Doctor Daniel Graystone (CAP: "Pilot") and noted scientist Doctor Gaius Baltar (TRS: Miniseries) - all before its near total destruction following the ultimate Cylon attack and Fall of the Twelve Colonies (TRS: Miniseries, Night 1, "The Plan"). After the fall, the city was abandoned by its human inhabitants and replaced by a contingent of Cylon Centurions and humanoid models who worked to rebuild the city for their own habitation (TRS: "Downloaded").

Geography

The planet Gemenon seen from downtown Caprica City.

Before the Fall, Caprica City was a bustling urban center; home to trade, industry, entertainment and Colonial Military installations and spaceports (TRS: "Six Degrees of Separation", "Razor"). Architecturally, Caprica City featured ultramodern skyscrapers integrated with older brownstone buildings and gothic architecture, and was distinguished by neon advertising (CAP: "Pilot", "Rebirth", "The Reins of a Waterfall"). During optimal conditions, Caprica's twin world, Gemenon, can be seen from within the city limits from the naked eye (CAP: "Pilot").

Apollo Park

A beautifully landscaped area within metropolitan Caprica was Apollo Park, a huge recreation area marked by a prominent statue of the God Apollo. 58 years before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, Apollo park hosted the memorial service for the victims of the bombing of Maglev 23 (CAP: "Rebirth").

Apollo Park was shot on location at the Jack Poole Plaza atop the Vancouver Convention Centre [1], the location was augmented by a digital matte painting and set extensions. Photos of the set and filming of scenes for "Rebirth" appeared on the photo sharing website Flickr in July, 2009 [2].

Atlas Arena

Owned by Graystone Industries and located within Caprica City limits was Atlas Arena, home of the Caprica City Buccaneers and the location of the Worlds Pyramid Playoffs (CAP: "Pilot", "Unvanquished"). The grand arena was surrounded by enormous reflecting pools and stood in the shadow of an enormous statue of Atlas (CAP: "Rebirth").

According to BSG and Caprica visual effects supervisor Doug Drexler, Atlas Arena was based upon the architectural designs of Santiago Calatrava, "We decided that it’s architectural inspiration would come from renowned architect Calatrava. This ties nicely to the the Cylon Resurrection Ship from BSG, also Calatrava inspired. Atlas stadium was built by modeling maestro Pierre Drolet." [3]

Atlas Arena in the pilot episode of Caprica was shot at the General Motors Place in downtown Vancouver, home rink of the Vancouver Canucks. These scenes were later reshot on the Caprica sound stages for the aired version of the episode and all other subsequent episodes featuring Atlas Arena.

Graystone Industries Campus

The campus and headquarters of Graystone Industries.

Located near the waterfront of Caprica City was the sprawling campus of Graystone Industries, the Caprica-based technology company owned by industrialist, scientist, and former owner of the Caprica Buccaneers, Daniel Graystone (CAP: "Pilot", "Unvanquished"). Graystone industries housed various labs, offices and testing facilities where the technologies of the company - including simple servant robots, complex Cyber Combat Units and the sophisticated Holoband technology - were pioneered (CAP: "Pilot"). The Graystone Industries complex was surrounded by a perimeter fence and security posts to prevent potential break-ins and boasted a high-tech internal security system. Unfortunately, these safety systems failed when a malfunctioning Cylon prototype managed to escape Graystone Industries by ramming one of the company's vans through a locked gate (CAP: "End of Line"). Some time after the security breach, the complex served as the fabrication site of Graystone Industries' (under new owner Tomas Vergis) 100,000 Cyber Combat Units (CAP: "Unvanquished").

The unaired "extended" version of the Caprica pilot episode featured an entirely different matte painting of Graystone Industries, depicting the installation as a much smaller location apparently some distance from downtown Caprica City. A new, expanded version of the complex was created for the aired version, situating Graystone Industries among the skyscrapers of the city.

Little Tauron

Little Tauron located in Downtown Caprica City.

Among Caprica City's more diverse areas was Little Tauron, an ethnic enclave home to a sizable population of Tauron immigrants. Within the neighborhood, residents often spoke the Tauron language and owned and operated shops catering to Tauron cultural needs. Little Tauron was home to Joseph Adama where he resided with his young son, future Battlestar Galactica commander William Adama. Despite the homes and relative peace of the neighborhood, members of the Ha'la'tha crime syndicate were widely known operate in relative comfort within the confines of Little Tauron (CAP: "Rebirth"). Little Tauron was considered "downtown" Caprica City (CAP: "Pilot").

Little Tauron featured a very prominent visual reference to the real world with the famous Pike Place Market sign from Seattle, Washington appearing in the digital matte painting of the location. [4]

Residential Areas

The luxurious Graystone Estate.

Aside from apartments and townhouses within the main urban center, Caprica City offered residential areas of varying economy from high density suburban housing to luxuries seaside and lakeside homes (TRS: Miniseries, "Daybreak, Part I", CAP: "Pilot", "Rebirth", "The Reins of a Waterfall"). Some of the most lavish homes in Caprica City belonged to the brightest minds of Caprican society, the seaside home of Doctors Daniel and Amanda Graystone being among its most opulent - featuring tennis courts, docks, a robotic butler named Serge, and subterranean labs where Graystone sometimes worked (CAP: "Pilot"). Private schools, including Athena Academy were also located within these residential areas (CAP: "Pilot").

The Riverwalk

One of the most prominent sections of Caprica City before the Fall was the Riverwalk section - a beautiful open-air bazaar distinguished by a landscaped park with large reflecting pools and fountains. Many from within Caprican society converged on the Riverwalk section for its various vendors and amenities, from laborers to businessmen and even the rich and famous Doctor Gaius Baltar, who visited the area with then undercover Cylon agent "Caprica-Six" shortly before the Fall (TRS: "Miniseries", "Epiphanies"). Due to its proximity to Colonial Government offices and her own home, Secretary of Education (and future President of the Colonies) Laura Roslin also visited the area (TRS: "Epiphanies", "Daybreak, Part I"). It was here, however, that final plans were set into motion by "Caprica-Six" and her contact within the Cylon government, a One, that would eventually lead to the destruction of the Twelve Worlds (TRS: "The Plan").

The Riverwalk complex and garden is actually the campus of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

Transportation

The Maglev train speeds through Caprica City.

Crisscrossing the greater Caprica City area was the Metropolitan Levitation Mass Transit system (or MLMT train) providing public transport to destinations all over the city, including Atlas Arena and the Caprican Spaceport (CAP: "Pilot", "Unvanquished"). 58 years before the Fall, MLMT train number 23 was the target of fanatical monotheist terror group Soldiers of the One in a devastating bombing. In the days following the tragic event, a Memorial Walk was created dedicated to those who lost their lives aboard the train and the system was eventually rebuilt (CAP: "Rebirth", "The Imperfections of Memory").

The MLMT train station appearing in the Caprica pilot was in reality the Granville Station, an underground SkyTrain station in Vancouver. [5] For the production, Vancouver signage was changed to represent Caprica and the SkyTrain itself was replaced with a digital model, though an H&M advertisement managed to sneak into the scene. [6]

The Pantheon Bridge provided transit across the Caprican Bay as well as crossing to the Caprica Inter-Colonial Spaceport which provided flights off-world to locations such as Tauron and Gemenon (CAP: "End of Line", "Retribution").

The Pantheon Bridge was in reality the Burrard Bridge in Vancouver. The Caprica Inter-Colonial Spaceport was filmed at Simon Frasier University in Surrey. [7]

Notes

The original look of Caprica City from the Miniseries.

The retconned appearance for "Daybreak, Part II" and Caprica.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada stands in for Caprica City throughout Battlestar Galactica and Caprica, augmented by set dressings and digital matte paintings and set extensions. For its initial appearance in the 2003 Miniseries, Caprica was created as a series of computer-generated establishing shots by Zoic Studios; these establishing shots were later reused throughout the series, most prominently in "Epiphanies" and "Razor". For the series finale, however, a new digital model of Caprica City was unveiled, featuring far more detailed vistas that more closely matched the Vancouver practical locations. This new model, appearing in "Daybreak, Part I" and "Daybreak, Part II" as well as "The Plan" and finally throughout Caprica, serves as a sort of retcon for the previous incarnation of the city.

According to Caprica location scouts Anand Kanna and Scott Firth, "Vancouver is a very modern city - lots of sea-foam glass and steel and high-rises. And that's the scope of what the planet Caprica is. It's a forward-thinking society and very modern... In Vancouver, there's an area called Coal Harbour, which is very modern. That was perfect for establishing Caprica City itself, the steel and glass look of downtown Caprica and its really modern-looking buildings. And then there's another area of town in the series, and it's called Little Tauron, which is a little bit backwards. It's more of the run-down, '40s feel. So we would go to Chinatown for that." [8]