Sci-Fi Storm

Rumors surrounded the possibility after the announcement of a new prequel series and the lack of a pickup order when other shows got theirs, but Syfy has now officially canceled Caprica. Remaining episodes are being pulled from the schedule, and will be aired in the first quarter of 2011. It’s too bad, as I think the show was just starting to hit stride.

Mark Stern, the executive VP for original programming, said in a statement, “”We appreciate all the support the 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.”

Out on Twitter, stars Allessandra Torresani and Sasha Ruiz showed their appreciation of fans. Allessandra said, “Its a very sad day….time for mama cylon to go cry a river! Its ok I have you lil cylons to make me smile! I love my fans! You make me smile! XXX,” while Sasha said, “My sincere gratitude to the fans. It was a joy to be a part of this quality show. Thank you for letting us into your home and imagination. It was a wonderful experience that I will always cherish. I’ll miss Sam and the world we created. Thanks again for following and supporting.”

To celebrate the debut of Hollywood Treasure tonight (10pm ET), Syfy is starting up a weekly auction for the next 7 weeks that will include special experiences, props from shows, and more – and to start, the first item is a trip to see Battlestar Galactica: The Exposition in Seattle with exclusive access and a VIP experience not available to the public. Net proceeds go towards KaBOOM! to deliver “Imagination Playgrounds In A Box” So tune in tonight, and then head over to the Hollywood Treasure web site to bid! Read on for the complete details.
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Here is an all new preview for Friday’s Sanctuary episode, “Bank Job”. In the midst of trying to stage a bank heist to capture more than cash, the team looks to trap an abnormal creature. A lock box is opened but what the team finds isn’t money. The abnormal has infiltrated another human and the team is put into a sticky situation. Does the abnormal live in one of them? Will they be able to take their own team member down?
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Update: The first episode is already live!

A reminder: Riese: Kingdom Falling starts today at noon ET on Syfy.com. Riese the award-winning steampunk web series, about a dying kingdom where distrust and anxiety have clouded people’s minds, causing a regression into primitive ways of thinking. Rituals and mythology have resurged, and the darker side of mankind has begun to reveal itself. Riese, a wanderer, travels across the decaying land with her wolf, Fenrir. Marked as a heretic by religious group The Sect and the new Empress, Riese must evade their assassins and discover their true intentions for Eleysia.

Narrated by Amanda Tapping (Sanctuary), the series stars a cavalcade of talent from the world of popular speculative drama including Christine Chatelain (The Bone Collector); Sharon Taylor (Stargate Universe); Ben Cotton (Harper’s Island), Allison Mack (Smallville); Ryan Robbins (Caprica); Patrick Gilmore (Stargate Universe); Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica) and Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary).

New episodes will air on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

With Battlstar Galactica: The Exposition opening today, Syfy announced that they have ordered a new pilot, called Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, which follows Bill Adama during the Cylon War.

No word on a second season for Caprica yet, but a decision should be made by November 15th.

Update: Lots more info here.

To finish off our coverage of the Syfy Digital Press Tour panels, we’ve got a bit more of Syfy’s reality programming.

First up was Destination Truth, with paranormal investigator Josh Gates, which has become a staple in the Syfy lineup and is currently finishing it’s 4th season and production beginning on 6 all new episodes. So, where are they headed in the new episodes?
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So, what’s all of this reality programming doing on Syfy? Well, to be frank, reality programming is popular – extremely so – on all the networks. And Syfy is not immune to the programming. But they ARE handling it with an eye to the fans that helped them get to where they are – focusing on things related to the genres. Well, maybe with a little divergence…
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Syfy Ventures, a relatively new division created during the rebranding of Syfy as part of breaking out of the cable channel constraints and become a true transmedia, tech savvy destination, announced jointly with actress Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars) during the Digital Press Tour on Monday that Syfy Ventures would join forces with Eckstein’s Her Universe brand of female genre merchandise, to produce Syfy branded merchandise under the Syfy Gear label.
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I have had a full preview of the upcoming 10/19 episode of Caprica, “Things We Lock Away”, so I thought I’d throw out some things we’ll be seeing this week, hopefully without spoilers…gladitorial combat in New Caprica; Lacy’s torn emotions; corporate and mob blackmail, backstabbing, and the repercussions; Zoe finds what she is looking for, and they aren’t pleased with her; and the genesis of Avatar Zoe.

And don’t forget this sneak peek clip:

[hana-flv-player video=/extras/Caprica112_preview.flv width=540 height=364 /]

The last of the original scripted series panels (and last panel overall), was for Caprica, with producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, along with the ever-present Mark Stern, Executive VP of Original Programming at Syfy. Caprica had just started the second half of its first season.
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