Are there any gaps in the life story of William Adama you're dying to fill? Because Syfy has got your back. In addition to Caprica, they've just greenlit another prequel, focusing on the future Admiral's time as a viper pilot.
TVSquad's Maureen Ryan broke the news that Syfy will air Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome in late 2011 or early 2012. The two-hour TV movie, which could serve as the pilot for another ongoing series, will focus on young William "Husker" Adama as a Viper pilot, who goes through challenging experiences on a mission. Says Syfy's Mark Stern:
This is very much an action-adventure, war series. This is definitely dealing with people who are fighting the fight. ... As you hope 'Battlestar' would do, it kind of comments on that process a little bit... but not in a preachy way, not in an issues-oriented way, not in a hitting-you-over-the-head way.
The script, by Michael Taylor, was originally planned as an online series, but the network liked it so much that they decided to turn it into a possible new series on the network. Blood and Chrome takes place 20 years after Caprica and about 40 years before Battlestar Galactica.
In his comments to Ryan, Stern is adamant that the network isn't looking for something to replace Caprica, and in fact the two shows could be paired together. But the way that Stern emphasises the wartime and action aspects of Blood and Chrome — elements that fans have complained are missing from Caprica — makes it seem pretty obvious that Syfy is trying to grope its way back to the formula that spelled success for BSG. Add in the fact that the latest Caprica episode reaped only 718,000 live viewers — less than 3/4 of a million — and it's not looking great.
I can't help but wonder if Syfy is missing the point, though — maybe people are just tired of BSG? Perhaps a new military SF/space opera show that's not tied to either Stargate or Battlestar would be a good idea? (And before anybody else says it, I do hear tell there's this series called Farscape out there that they might want to try bringing back.)
Tons more details on the new prequel at the link. [TV Squad]