TV Squad are reporting that Syfy are turning their planned Battlestar Galactica prequel web series into a fully-fledged TV series. The online series,
Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, will tell the story of a young William Adama's escapades as a pilot during the first Cylon War, but
Michael Taylor's script for part 1 was so strong Syfy decided to turn the idea into a "backdoor pilot" (a broadcast "special episode" that could herald a TV series if audience response is favourable). Mark Stern, Syfy's Executive VP of Original Programming:
"When we read Michael 's script, it was so clearly a full-blown pilot for a series. The scope is fantastic and bigger, I think, than anticipated, so we said, 'Let's do it as a two-hour backdoor pilot.' We're trying to get up and running as soon as possible."
It's not known if BSG showrunner
Ronald D. Moore will have a role to play in Blood & Chrome's creation (particularly as he's busy developing a remake of The Wild Wild West TV series), but BSG producers David Eick, Michael Taylor, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle are all involved. Of course, this development calls the future of existing BSG prequel series
Caprica into question. That show has struggled in the ratings since it began earlier this year, and now appears to have exasperated audiences and critics alike since it came back from hiatus. Syfy will apparently make a decision about Caprica's future by
15 November, but my gut tells me they'll axe Caprica and Blood & Chrome will inherit its budget, with the hope being that a more action-orientated prequel will appeal more to BSG's old audience.