Viewers who'd stuck with Syfy's 'Caprica' during its uneven first season weren't thrilled when Syfy announced earlier this year that the 'Battlestar Galactica' prequel would not return until January 2011.

Today, Syfy announced that it is bringing back 'Caprica' earlier than expected: The second half of the first season will now return Oct. 5.

"Though we initially announced the January return of 'Caprica', we still had hopes of finding a way to get the series back on the air sooner," Mark Stern, Syfy's executive vice president of original programming said in a statement from the network. "We've been able to successfully re-work our schedule, and are thrilled to bring the show back during what is traditionally Syfy's most-watched time of the year. The outcome should also please fans who expressed their wishes for a shorter mid-season hiatus."

Though 'Caprica's' cast is outstanding and there were some good episodes in the first half of the season, the show never consistently achieved its potential in its first batch of episodes. But the second half of the show's first season will have a lot more narrative drive, suspense and action, the show's producers told a Comic-Con audience in July.

The goal in Season 1.5 is to "create situations and dramatic milieu as intense and riveting as what we did on 'Battlestar,'" executive producer David Eick said at Comic-Con.

According to Syfy's Thursday press release, in the new episodes, viewers will see more of the 12 Colonies as well as "power shifts" and "the physical and emotional consequences of their questionable decisions."

Stars Eric Stoltz, Paula Malcolmson, Esai Morales, Polly Walker, Alessandra Torresani, Magda Aponowicz and Sasha Roiz will all be back, and guest stars James Marsters, Scott Porter and John Pyper-Ferguson will return as well.

For more on 'Caprica' (including full audio of the 'Caprica' Comic-Con panel) and information on another possible 'Battlestar Galactica' spinoff, look here.