Despite only having aired a total of nine episodes, at this point, Battlestar Galactica spin-off Caprica has had one of the strangest journeys of any sci-fi TV show in recent memory. After spending years in the conceptual stages – the show was first mooted in early 2006, then fell victim to the writer’s strike – it was finally debuted via a flawed launch strategy, which saw the pilot released on DVD well before the show arrived on screens. Caprica then aired the first half of its opening season to pretty poor ratings, far below Syfy stablemates Warehouse 13 and Eureka, as well as Battlestar.
Now, it’s MIA until January. According to a news story on Fancast, the actors’ contracts have been extended until November while talks of a second season go on. Seriously, what happened to this show? Shouldn’t the spin-off to one of the most acclaimed and successful sci-fi series of recent years have an easier road than this?
It seems that Caprica has been cursed with bad luck – whether it was the writer’s strike, Syfy’s decision to split the series by almost a year or the ratings (which don’t reflect the show’s quality), I can’t help but think the show deserves a break. It’s not a conventional drama. At the moment, it’s still finding its feet. I believe a second season is necessary before the decision of cancellation even comes into it. Right now, it hasn’t had the platform to prove itself.
If a second season of the show doesn’t happen, it’ll be a huge – and extremely unfair – loss for genre TV. Personally, I believe Syfy should take a leap of faith with the second season. Practically, for the network, it might not be the right approach, but to replicate the unexpected success of BSG, it’s a step that absolutely must be taken.
