So how's that direct-to-DVD market working out, SyFy? SyFy has just given a big middle finger to those that purchased the DVD of the Caprica pilot by offering the entire episode online via Hulu for free.

It's possible that I'm overreacting. After all, the episode will eventually be shown on SyFy (January 2010, in fact). I haven't had a chance to watch the online version but I'm assuming that the brief nudity from the DVD version has been edited out. It is the extended cut, so I could be mistaken about that.

In retrospect, this is a smart marketing move on the part of SyFy. Most of the Battlestar Galactica fans are pretty technically savvy and have likely watched the pilot already in one way or another. Offering it for free online is the best way of getting potential new fans involved in the Battlestar Galactica franchise, particularly since SyFy is pretty much ignoring the connection in its marketing.

Even better, the whole pilot is embeddable. It appears after the jump if you want to stick around and watch it at TV Squad for a couple of hours.