A few months ago, the
Syfy network commissioned an online series called '
Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome,' a chronicle of the war experiences of young William Adama.
The network liked Michael Taylor's script for the project so much that Syfy will air 'Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome' on the network as the pilot for a possible young Adama TV series.
Mark Stern, Syfy's executive vice president of original programming and the co-head of original content for Universal Cable Productions, said the network hoped to begin production on the pilot in Vancouver in early 2011.
"When we read Michael's script, it was so clearly a full-blown pilot for a series," Stern said in a Thursday interview. "The scope is fantastic and bigger, I think, than anticipated, so we said, 'Let's do it as a 2-hour backdoor pilot.' ... We're trying to get up and running as soon as possible."
'Blood & Chrome' won't air until the fourth quarter of 2011 at the earliest, Stern said, but an early 2012 debut sounds more likely, especially if the network decides to go forward with a full series. Given the project's origins as an online project, expect lots of Web extras as well.
Fans missing the Battlestar Galactica itself -- the valiant old ship that housed Adama, Starbuck, Apollo and the rest -- will get to see it once again, or a version of it, in the new show. High-resolution digital scans were made of all the 'Battlestar Galactica' sets before they were torn down, and those scans will be used in the new project, which, like Syfy's 'Sanctuary,' will employ cutting-edge computer effects to supply virtual sets.
"It's an opportunity to 'see them before they were famous,'" Stern said of 'Blood & Chrome,' which takes place roughly 20 years after the events of 'Caprica' and about 40 years before the events of 'BSG.' "Here's the Battlestar Galactica as a brand-new, shiny ship -- well, not shiny, but as a new ship that had just been commissioned. What was that like?"
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Ronald D. Moore, 'BSG's' executive producer, was "in the room" when the 'Blood & Chrome' story was conceived; Stern called him the "godfather" of the project. However at this time, Moore, who has a deal with Sony and is developing projects like 'The Wild, Wild West' there, has no official role on 'Blood & Chrome.'
Given that a full-blown series, if one is ordered, might not go into production for a year, Stern said the hope is that Moore might be able to come on board if 'Blood & Chrome' goes forward beyond the pilot. David Eick and Taylor are executive producers and Bradley Thompson and David Weddle are producers on 'Blood & Chrome'; all are veterans of 'BSG.'
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Asked if 'BSG' composer Bear McCreary would do the music for 'Blood & Chrome,' Stern said no deal had been struck be he "couldn't imagine" the project without a McCreary score.
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