(S01E04) We've now learned a little bit more about the culture of the planet Caprica before the fall. For one thing, drugs were legal. For another, their version of the Internet was owned by one company. That is, until now.

One of the more interesting aspects of the series is its use of anachronisms. The hats that some of the male characters were wearing were something out of a noir film of the 1940's. They also use standard cell phones, yet can transmit data on a piece of digital paper that makes the upcoming Apple iPad look like a stone tablet. The story of the Adamas reads like a high-tech version of 'The Godfather' or 'The Sopranos.' Obviously, Bill would inherit his later strong moral tendencies from his father.

(S01E03) Now begins the reign of mistrust. With the characters generally established, as well as their relationships to one another, it's time for the show to start sowing the seeds of conflict, and they get right down to it. The first thing they do is establish the Adams Adamas as even more brutish than I anticipated. The hats, coats and the whole 1950s gangster look should have been a tip-off, it appears.

Add to that the difficulties the Graystone's are dealing with now that Amanda has blurted out to all the twelve colonies that their daughter Zoe was a terrorist, and responsible for the train bombing that killed her, her boyfriend Ben and Joseph Adama's wife and daughter, among many other people. The unfair thing to Zoe is that while we know better, how can anything different be proven?

Long-time actor Esai Morales has appeared in so much science-fiction, it must be old-hat by now. He's been in 'The Twilight Zone', 'The Outer Limits', 'Jericho', 'The Hunger', and 'Doomsday Man', just to name a few. Now he adds the cerebral 'Caprica' to the list, a show that takes on the daunting task of following the incredible nerd-success of 'Battlestar Galactica'. Filmed in Vancouver, 'Caprica' is technically the prequel to 'BSG', and it establishes the history of many beloved (and some not-so-beloved) characters.

Morales plays Joseph Adama, father to William Adama (who was played by Edward James Olmos in 'BSG'). In the first season, Joseph must deal with several unsettling issues – the death of his daughter in a 'terrorist' subway train bombing, raising his son properly throughout the aftermath, the resurrection of his daughter via Cylon technology – while attempting to maintain a semblance of normalcy.

AOL TV caught up with Morales to talk about how he approached playing such a legendary character, and why some naysayer 'BSG' fans should shut up and give 'Caprica' a chance.

(S01E01) In the first few minutes of Caprica, SyFy's new Battlestar Galactica prequel, you might think the Cylons were perfectly justified to try to annihilate Caprica and the rest of the human race. The show opens on a hedonistic party where people are murdered for fun to throbbing dance music and onstage human sacrifice is cheered by a sweaty crowd.

But, as Battlestar Galactica fans might suspect, Caprica is more complicated than that. (See the full episode here).

What happened on this week's 'Caprica' season 1 episode 1, 'Pilot' -- in 100 words or less.

Ah, so this is where it all begins -- with virtual nightclubs, train terrorists, avatars, group sex, virgin sacrifices, and daddy issues on the peaceful planet of Caprica.

Set some 50 years before 'Battlestar Galactica,' the Graystones and the Adamas are brought together by tragedy. Before young Zoe Graystone dies at the hand of a terrorist bomber, she perfected a virtual reality where kids could hang out. When Joseph Adama's wife and daughter die in the same attack, he and Daniel Graystone are brought together.

Yesterday, the cast and producers of the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica took to the Langham Huntington stage for their panel discussion. If it feels like Caprica has been around forever, it sort of has; the pilot has been available for viewing since at least the early fall. But the series is finally premiering on Syfy on January 22,. and I'm sure everyone's charged up to see it.

The most interesting part of the panel, at least as far as I wad concerned, was when executive producer David Eick explained how they were going to establish that the character of Zoey, played by Alessandra Torresani, is a Cylon whose body is inhabited by the dead girl's essence or soul or whatever you want to call it.

Apparently, some of her scenes will be shot twice, usually when she enters them. First you'll see her in robotic form. Then, when they come back to her, she'll look like Torresani. The former scenes will involve CGI and actors talking to tennis balls, yadda yadda, but Eick felt it was the way to go in order to keep that connection intact with the viewers.

The modern poster-child for a show that's "gone too soon" is Jericho. The impassioned fans buried CBS under a ton of nuts, which got the show renewed for a shortened second season. Your mileage of the quality of that season may vary, but the fact remains that the fans did something none of these internet campaigns today will be able to.

What people don't realize is that when Jericho came back for the second run, the ratings weren't any better than when the first season ended. So when they cancel your favorite show and you start mailing in bizarre objects and setting up your web petitions because "it worked for Jericho," remember that the networks remember Jericho as well. They remember that it failed to find a sizable audience twice.

Here's more proof that Sci Fi Channel loves nerds – and their money. A limited edition "uncut and unrated" version of the Caprica pilot will be released on DVD April 21. That means fans can get an early look at the Battlestar Galactica prequel series starring Eric Stoltz and Esai Morales, which is slated to premiere on Sci Fi in 2010. The DVD list price is $26.98, according to Sci Fi. Great news, right? It gets better.

Because of the early DVD release, fans might get a chance to influence the development of the series. In a release, Mark Stern, Executive VP of Original Programming for Sci Fi, says the DVD release "affords the creative team an unprecedented chance to get viewers feedback before production on the Caprica series begins this summer."

I know we've been hearing about Caprica for the last nineteen years or so (exaggeration, save your comments), but it's been one of those TBD projects, where network execs would say, "Someday we'll get to it depending on how the ratings go for Battlestar Galactica's final season, and if we need to make more room for wrestling or gimmicky game shows like Estate of Panic and Cha$e. See, those shows cost us about twenty-six bucks apiece to make and this show could be costly."

It makes sense to be cautious. Despite high critical praise, the parent series has slipping ratings and continues to be snubbed by major awards. But it looks like the powers that be at Sci Fi have finally decided to greenlight the Caprica series. Considering BSG isn't on the air at all right now, I'm not sure what helped them commit to this decision today. Maybe they looked and they just realized that their latest two major projects were Cha$e and Estate of Panic and it put them in ... well ... a state of panic. "This is Sci Fi," they may have declared. "How about we try that kind of programming?"

The official trailer for the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica has been out for a few weeks now. If you haven't seen it yet, it gives a fairly vague outline of what the show will be about. In the trailer you will see snippets of Joseph Adama (Esai Morales), Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz), a radical bomber on a subway, an early version of a Cylon, and some near full-frontal nudity.

So far, the reviews have been mixed on the content of the trailer. While there have many calls of "I can't wait" and "looking forward to it," others think that it will fall far behind the quality of the current BSG. For example, one commenter over at iFilm said the show should stand par with standard network or cable dramas but it could fail in the science fiction area. Another commenter stated that the trailer didn't look high tech enough. A third asked, "No dogfight?" Many others are upset because BSG hasn't even finished yet.

As I said earlier, most of Sunday was taken up by panels for NBCU's cable channels. I heard, for instance, that the Oxygen panel for Coolio's Rules was a bit of a trainwreck, with Coolio actually getting up and singing. I wouldn't know, since I skipped most of the afternoon panels to check in at home and do some writing for you fine folks.

But I came down in time for the SciFi Channel's press conferences, which had the cast and producers of the series Sanctuary and the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica.

Let's start with Caprica. Right now, it's a two-hour backdoor pilot; the SciFi Channel will decide to pick it up as a series once they see the pilot. I can see why they might be a bit reluctant. From the scenes I saw, it felt more like The Godfather with some science thrown in, rather than the BSG everyone knows.

Just yesterday I posted about the casting announcement for Amanda Graystone in the Battlestar Galactica prequel, Caprica. Now comes word that one of the most anticipated characters of the series has been cast.

Esai Morales, who you may know best as Lt. Rodriquez on NYPD Blue, or as Major Beck from ill-fated Jericho, has landed the role of Joseph Adama, father to William, grandfather to Lee. Joseph is described as "a man who has done a few crooked things in his life" and is one to be feared. Remember, he knows a thing or two about the law as well.

In looking back at photos of young Bill Adama from the Razor vignettes, Nico Cortez -- who plays Bill -- could easily pass as Morales's son. I wonder if we'll be treated at all to some scenes from the future of the Cylon war, where Cortez can reprise his role.

(S02E07) "Yeah, I know." - A Texan diplomat after being shown the bomb.

Since Mayor Douchebag has been gone for so long, I was finally able to be glad to see him. I have been curious what's been going on in the "capital." and seeing those buildings told me more than I wanted to know.

I can't believe the Rangers were still in hiding. I understand that they all have targets on their backs but it should be clear to anyone that their only choice is to fight back. If the military is going to make a big push to take over the town, I don't see how they have an option.

(S02E03) "Thanks for your help, Sheriff." - Goetz

The prodigal weirdo returns! I know that, like me, many of you were hoping that Dale wouldn't return this season. However, it's clear that the actor and the character have grown quite a bit, so maybe he won't be so annoying this season. Quite frankly as long as his irritating girlfriend doesn't show up, I'm happy.

I don't know about you but I'm getting a little tired of seeing Dale get kicked around. he seems to be the only merchant in town and yet every time he makes a bold decision he ends up getting slapped down by someone. I don't think that he or the rest of Jericho are going to accept that Jennings & Rall get to make the rules but don't have to play by them.

(S02E02) "I'm not a conspiracy nut." - Jake Green

Condor? Really? The most creative code name they could come up with is Condor? How about something meaningful like Savior or something cryptic like Shadow or even something funny like That One Guy Who We All Recognize But Can't Remember What From.

It's nice to see some things never change. Mayor Douchebag is still more concerned with how he looks than with the evil corporation that is clearly infiltrating his town. You just know that meeting the President has always been a dream of his. I guess any old President will do.