The Sci Fi Channel brought two highly anticipated new shows to the TCA press tour: the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica and the green-screen heavy Sanctuary.

Additionally, the network gave the official revelation that the final season of Battlestar Galactica will air in January 2009. Sanctuary will premiere in October, and there is currently no set date for Caprica. The executives at Sci Fi are waiting to see the two-hour TV movie to decide whether to air it in the Fall or to save it to air along with the eventual series.

Battlestar Galactica and Caprica Creator Ronald D. Moore believes that knowing humanity is doomed will actually add tension to Caprica and said the opening shot will include a title card reading “Caprica – 51 Years Before the Fall.”

The show will be pre-apocalyptic, but it will not rely on making constant references to Battlestar Galactica. Moore stated that we most likely won't be meeting Gaeta's grandfather, primarily because in this old world, the 12 colonies are not unified under one government.

As for the timeline, Moore and David Eick admit to not be completely solid on it, but when the Battlestar Galactica miniseries began, it was 40 years after the First Cylon War, which lasted for several years. That roughly puts Caprica at several years before the war.

Moore added that when he and Eick first discussed a companion piece to Battlestar Galactica, the prequel was the only viable idea. He revealed a continuation wasn't likely since BSG will have a definitive ending. “We're going to end Battlestar with a period at the end of the sentence.”

Caprica will most likely not include references to the families of characters in BSG beyond the Adamas. Moore said in Caprica the 12 colonies are not united, so there is no president.

As for Sanctuary, the executive producers are very excited about the green screen technology. Similar to films like Sin City and 300, the whole show is filmed with green screens and minimal set pieces so that the only limit of what they can do is their imagination.


Check back with BuddyTV over the next week for more updates and scoops live from the TCA press tour.

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-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of Sci Fi)