Cylon Model U87 from Syfy's Caprica
In a recent article Michael Hinman of Airlock Alpha stated that his sources at the Syfy Channel told him that they would not likely announce whether “Caprica” would get a season two at Comic-Con in San Diego this week but instead use the venue of the Television Critics Association summer Press Tour.
I respect Michael and I believe he is telling us what he knows. When he questioned them on whether Syfy was withholding announcing cancellation until after Comic-Con, they told him that they were not rushing the decision. I don’t know about Michael but my baloney meter went way off the scale on that one.
My experience with Syfy is that they deal with unpopular decisions by ignoring them as long as possible. No news from Syfy is probably bad news. I believe that the so-called leak or rumor given to Michael Hinam is to put the fans off until after Comic-Con. The same source said the TCA press tour was a week after Comic-Con. A quick search of the internet gave the dates for the 2010 TCA Summer Press Tour held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills as August 6 through August 8. My calendar says that is two weeks away not one.
I believe that Syfy has already made the decision. The scripts for the new episodes have to have already been written and approved. The actors for the main characters have been retained and will have to be released soon if they are not going to be used. Last year they began shooting on July 15, 2009 and finished on February 1, 2010. That was for seventeen episodes, the first of which, Rebirth, aired January 29th. I did not count the two-hour premiere on January 22nd because it was simply a re-airing of the pilot episode of Caprica, which was released nine months earlier. There are nine episodes left which will air this fall.
If they are going to start a new season in January 2011, then they will need to begin filming soon to have some of the first episodes ready for air. There is still time but it will be cutting it too close for the decision not to have already been made.
I hope that Syfy will not pull a stunt like ABC did with “Happy Town” and we will be able to watch the remaining nine episodes. The word has been that “Stargate Universe”, “Sanctuary”, and “Caprica” will begin airing on Tuesday, September 28th. I do not remember Syfy putting three new scripted shows back to back. There is going to be a lot of heavy competition on Tuesday night this fall. How that will play out is speculation for a whole other article.
I hope that I am wrong and that good news will be forthcoming soon. Perhaps I will be back in a week to say I was. I loved the show and was disappointed that it did not get the ratings I felt it deserved. The dilemma that humanity will face in the next steps of its evolution is a rich source for fantasy and speculative fiction. “Caprica” is a very good attempt to examine those concerns and our ability to remain a spiritual animal. It would be a shame to lose “Caprica” because it may be a while before someone can put together another powerhouse cast and group of writers again to tackle the concept. Network executives do not like going down a path where someone has failed before.
