New Beginning for "Battlestar"
Do you ever wonder what happened before a certain ragtag fugitive fleet set off on its lonely quest?
Well, Battlestar Galactica fans, does the Sci Fi Channel have a treat for you.
The Viacom-owned cable network has unveiled plans for Caprica, a prequel to the cable network's update of the '70s sci-fi show. The spinoff series will apparently be set about 50 years before Battlestar Galactica and center on the cataclysmic events that formed the current series.
Sci Fi Channel execs announced the Caprica news Wednesday in New York during the net's upfront presentation, when broadcasters traditionally pitch their most buzz-worthy new shows to advertisers and journalists.
Caprica is being developed and executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick. The duo is responsible for reengineering the 1978 Battlestar (masterminded by TV veteran Glen L. Larson) into a smash 2003 miniseries and then into a full-fledged series that's garnered a massive cult following and just won a Peabody Award.
Just as the 1970s Battlestar Galactica took its inspiration from (or, as some would say, "ripped off") George Lucas' first Star Wars, the new series will take a page from the latter-day Jedi tales and focus on the bad guys' rise to power.
Details are still sketchy, but Caprica will presumably detail how robotic Cylon Alliance rose to power and decimated the 12 Colonies of Kobol (Caprica is the name of the largest planet in the system). The wanton destruction forced a group of refugees to launch the interstellar colonial spaceship the Galactica into deep space in search of a mythical planet known as Earth.
Producers have tapped 24 scribe Remi Aubuchon to write the script.
No premiere date has been announced, but given the popularity of the updated Battlestar, starring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and Katee Sackhoff as a female Starbuck, you can bet the suits at Sci Fi will try and get it on air next season.
During Wednesday's upfront announcement, the cable net also showcased a slew of other projects in the pipeline.
Among them is Persons Unknown, a mystery thriller from Usual Suspects screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie; Blink, a paranormal series executive produced by Will & Grace's Eric McCormack, about a group of ghostly gumshoes who intervene in the lives of people about to make a fatal decision; The Bishop, an hourlong drama written and exec produced by Freddie Prinze Jr. and Conrad Jackson, about a Gen-X slacker with a supernatural gift; and Snap, a suspense series centering around an Internet conspiracy from Lost producer Jesse Alexander.
Sci Fi has also given the go-ahead to two miniseries for next year: the six-hour Chariots of the Gods, based on the bestseller by Erich von Daniken; and Motel Man, an eight-hour series about a police detective who discovers seemingly commonplace items imbued wtih supernatural powers.
The cable channel is also working on Destination Truth, a reality series that will try to unlock some of the world's great mysteries.
Finally, Sci Fi is going broadband, offering up Pulse, a new multiplatform initiative that will feature Webisodes of Battlestar Galactica and other prime-time series, as well as serving as a vehicle to test show pilots online.
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