Syfy have axed Battlestar Galactica prequel
Caprica, removing the low-rated series from their schedule after next Tuesday's episode airs. The remaining 5 episodes will supposedly be shown early next year. News of Caprica's demise comes barely a week after Syfy revealed they've ordered a prequel pilot called
Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, which will replace Caprica next season if it gets picked up. Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of Syfy Original Programming:
"We appreciate all the support that fans have shown for Caprica and are very proud of the producers, cast, writers and the rest of the amazing team that has been committed to this fine series. Unfortunately, despite its obvious quality, Caprica has not been able to build the audience necessary to justify a second season."
The cancellation of Caprica is no surprise, seeing as it struggled in the ratings from the very beginning. Some people pinpoint its failure on the pilot being made available in summer 2009, resulting in a six-month wait for more episodes if you bought it (which killed any word-of-mouth momentum); others say the desire to attract a broader audience was wholly misguided, because Caprica's "family drama" bored BSG's core audience (who wanted more action, robots, war, and political allegory); there's also the belief Caprica's sci-fi trappings had less appeal to non-genre fans than Syfy expected; and many people simply think the characters were too unlikeable, and the pace too sluggish. Whatever the reason for its failure to find a sizeable audience, Caprica's been consigned to the history books of failed TV prequels/spin-offs. Will you mourn its passing?