The Big Picture

• Caprica failed due to a lack of consistency in writing style and questionable casting decisions.
• The show struggled to capture Ronald D. Moore's distinctive writing style in his absence.
• Despite Caprica's failure, plans are in place to revive Battlestar Galactica through a new movie and TV series.

Fifteen years ago, Ronald D. Moore and David Eick changed the science fiction TV landscape with their reboot of Battlestar Galactica. A far cry from the campy but fondly-remembered 1970s TV series from which it sprang, Galactica was a huge hit with both audiences and critics. However, once the show ended, its spin-off, Caprica, aired one poorly-received season on SyFy and sank without a trace. In a new oral history of Galactica for SlashFilm.com, Eick explains why:

"Ron's involvement vacillated, so there was less consistency and less reliability and, as we shored up his absence, I don't think the people we had in place to do that were the right people, to be totally frank. And I think there were maybe some questionable casting decisions with that one."

Eick goes on to explain that in the absence of Moore, who had handed off control of the series to embark on a number of other projects, the team struggled to capture his distinctive writing style. "I think there were people trying to emulate when Ron would get really hippie-dippy metaphysical with Battlestar, and then sometimes it'd get a little wobbly," he explained.

"When you don't have his high-wire-act ability — which is, let's say, successful more often than it isn't — and you're trying to emulate it, it can become mush really quick. Just like, 'What are you talking about here?' So we ran into that buzzsaw." During Caprica's production, Moore was involved with several projects that never came to fruition, although he has been considerably more successful in recent years with Outlander and For All Mankind.

What Is 'Caprica' About?

Set 58 years before Battlestar Galactica, Caprica was set on the planet of the same name, the capital planet of the Twelve Colonies from which Battlestar's crew hailed. The series kicks off when a terrorist attack shatters the peace on Caprica; a couple, the Graystones (Eric Stoltz and Paula Malcolmson) inadvertently spell the Twelve Colonies' eventual doom when they attempt to resurrect their daughter, Zoe (Alessandra Torresani) using her virtual avatar and a prototype robot body called a "Cylon."

They do so with the help of crime-connected lawyer Joseph Adama (Esai Morales), the father of Galactica's main character William Adama (Edward James Olmos). Meanwhile, Zoe may have been more connected to the monotheistic terrorist cult than anyone realizes, thanks to the headmistress of her school, Sister Clarice Willow (Polly Walker). Closer to the interconnected plotlines of a primetime soap than the tense intrigue of Galactica, Caprica suffered from low ratings and critical indifference when it first aired in 2010. The series was canceled after airing fourteen episodes; its remaining five episodes were burned off in a marathon the following year.

Despite the failure of Caprica and another Battlestar prequel project, Blood and Chrome, there are plans to revive Battlestar Galactica in some form. Simon Kinberg has a Galactica movie in development, and Sam Esmail is slated to produce a TV series; the two projects are set to dovetail into a shared cinematic universe.

Stay tuned to Collider for future updates. Caprica is available to rent or buy on Prime Video, as is Battlestar Galactica.

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