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Episode Studies by Clayton Barr
enik1138 at popapostle dot com
Caprica: Ghosts in the Machine "Ghosts in the Machine"
TV episode
Written by Michael Taylor
Directed by Wayne Rose

 

Daniel Graystone engages in a dangerous game to draw out his daughter's avatar.

 

Read the synopsis of this episode at the Battlestar Wiki site

 

Didja Know?

 

The title of this episode is a play on the phrase "ghost in the machine", coined by British philosopher Gilbert Ryle in his 1949 book The Concept of Mind, wherein he criticizes the notion that the mind can be separated from the body, the mental from the physical, the spiritual from the material. Arthur Koestler took the concept further with his 1967 book The Ghost in the Machine, examining what he says is the ability of the primitive portions of the human brain to override the higher ones with destructive impulses such as anger and hate.

 

Didja Notice?

 

At 1:14 on the DVD, a crumpled fast food wrapper on Joseph's coffee table appears to say something like Melty Burger. There is such an establishment in New York City, though not Vancouver where the series is shot, as far as I can tell. This same scene also shows an aluminum beverage can labeled Leonis (the article "Top 5 Off-Beat Vacation Destinations" in The Caprican implies that the beverage is Leonis Red, an energy drink).

 

When Emmanuelle pulls out a gun and hands it to Joseph in New Cap City, he remarks she's a "real life Nicky Casino." Nicky Casino seems to be a television character on the planet Caprica in a show called Nicky Casino, as briefly mentioned in the Caprican article "Top 5 Off-Beat Vacation Destinations".
 
When Emmanuelle tells Joseph she doesn't look like her New Cap City avatar in the real world, he asks, "Then, who are you really?" and she responds, "Someone who's being paid to help you." Her response has a double meaning and is a hint of her true identity, as she is actually Joseph's assistant, Evelyn, in his job as a lawyer.
 
At about 9:42 on the DVD, a few book titles are legible on the bookshelf behind Daniel: HTML 3, Windows Me, Optimizing SQL Server 7, and QuickTax. The titles are all related to real world Earth software and computer-related protocols. Many other books can be seen to have tape or other markings on the binding to partially cover the titles.
 
At 11:24 on the DVD, Daniel is seen to light his cigarette with a Savitari match. I've been unable to find a real world brand name or word meaning of "Savitari".
 
At the Mysteries night club in New Cap City, Cerberus asks Joseph to answer a riddle: "As the gods overthrew the Titans, so has Man overthrown the gods. But when Man visits his sins upon his children, how shall he be repaid?" We get no answer here but, philosophically, the answer is that the children of Man overthrow him; in the context of BSG, it will be humanity's "children" the Cylons who will overthrow them. 

 

The poster hanging behind Joseph at Mysteries at 31:33 on the DVD reads, in part:
 
Erotic Dance By
Penny Ann Hardage

ALSO PERFORMANCES BY
Maya Toews and
Rachel Dudley

Back from a triumphant
CONTINENTAL TOUR

Exclusive to
The Eleusinian Theatre
Throughout the month
Of Maius, Starting at
10pm Every Night

HELD OVER UNTIL
FURTHER NOTICE

Rumba Rhythms

Lance Johnson and Lauren(?)

 
Penny Ann Hardage and Rachel Dudley were production assistants on the series. Maya Toews is known as a production assistant on several films, but I'm not aware of her having been involved with Caprica. Lance Johnson purchased props for the Caprica pilot. "Lauren" (last name not visible on the poster) may be a reference to Laurence Schwarz, an assistant engineer on the series. (The article "The Top 5 Entertainment Options in New Cap City" in The Caprican recommends the entertainment at the Eleusinian Theatre.)
 
Another poster reads, in part:
 
Jazz on the Moon

Swing and Beat by Denise Hutniak

THREE NIGHTS ONLY
STARTING AFTER
THE MAIN SHOW
Quintilis 3rd, 4th, and 5th

 
Hutniak was an art department coordinator on the series.

 

Daniel remarks that the U-87 weighs about a quarter-ton (about 500 pounds).

 

In this episode, we see Serge enter Daniel and Amanda's upstairs bedroom to tell Amanda that Vergis is at the door. How does Serge get up and down the levels of the house? Is he able to maneuver the stairs somehow on his rounded, ball-like locomotor? Is there an elevator in the house that takes him up and down?
 
At 40:30 on the DVD, it's obvious the dog is looking off camera at its handler instead of at Zoe/U-87 as it's supposed to be doing.
 
Notes from The Caprican
 
The article "Top 5 Off-Beat Vacation Destinations" mentions Queenstown, Picon as a favored destination for outsourcing the filming of Caprican movies and TV shows. This is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as the same such destination of Hollywood productions.
 
The article "Suspicious Activity on Graystone Property" is a report of one of the Graystones' neighbors across the bay seeing a fire on the Graystone property and reporting it to the police, as well as a strange gigantic lawn statue there that disappeared later in the day. This is, of course, a distant eyewitness' version of Daniel's attempt to get a reaction out of Zoe inside the U-87 through the use of fire as depicted in this episode.

 

Memorable Dialog

all for the best.wav
I thought Taurons had bigger stones.wav
frakking ampheads.wav
I'll be quick.wav
the game speaks to all of us.wav
Caesar really likes you.wav
one more test.wav
get me out of here.wav

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