Despite low ratings and a mixed reception from genre fans, Syfy isn't ready to cash out its cubits and give up on 'Caprica' just yet.

Mark Stern, Syfy's EVP of original programming, told Airlock Alpha that the cable net is committed to the show "for the long haul."

Stern says Syfy wasn't expecting the 'Battlestar Galactica' prequel series to become a hit right out of the gate, not even with fans of Ron Moore's celebrated sci-fi show.

"It's not 'Battlestar Galactica,' it's its own animal. And we definitely recognize that it's going to find its audience and it's going to grow its audience," he said.

"They want me back in Washington, they can come and get me." - Jack

It's been a year and a half since we last saw Jack Bauer, staring out into the ocean and contemplating who knows what after saying good-bye to a comatose Audrey (Kim Raver). The time has gone by much faster for Jack though. In an attempt to find himself and figure out his true calling, Bauer has been wandering the world for three years. Wayne Palmer never re-gained the presidency following his memory lapse in season six and Noah Daniels (Powers Booth) finished out Palmer's first term only to lose a re-election bid to Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones). 24: Redemption (airs this Sunday, 11/23, on FOX at 8PM ET) finds Bauer in the fictional African country of Sangala on the day of Taylor's inauguration with everything to lose and nothing to gain.

Good news everyone. It seems that this whole movie thing is working out quite nicely for the folks over at Sci Fi. Executive VP of original programming for Sci Fi, Mark Stern, now also counts himself as co-head of the newly formed Universal Cable Productions. Why should we care? Because at the end of the day that means a little more Battlestar Galactica.

The success of Razor is a big part of this. Stern describes it as doing "phenomenally well in the international and DVD market." It's led to a whole new way of financing and creating entertainment for the network. The new Battlestar project will air after the series completes its run next year. Edward James Olmos is on board to direct, and he'll have a script by Jane Espenson to work with. Both nice choices. Casting is still up in the air at the moment. So far, Michael Trucco (Anders), Aaron Douglas (Tyrol), and Dean Stockwell (Cavil) are confirmed.

The story is prequel-esque. It goes back to just after the Cylon destruction of human home worlds. We'll follow the Cylons as they deal with human survivors, aboard ships as well as on planets. There is also a hint that the movie will focus specifically on two of the Cylon agents.

There's been some scuttlebutt stirred up to suggest that next season's two-hour 24 prequel TV movie will be considered part of the 24 hours in Day 7, therefore leading some to think that there'll only be 22 episodes. But how could there only be 22 hours in a day, right? Well, TV being what it is, I'm sure they'd find a way to do two hours in one -- other shows do! -- but that won't be the case. There will be 24 hours, 24 episodes in the 2009 season of 24.

Part of the reason for all this confusion is an interview that actor Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty) gave to Premiere.com. Carlyle, who will be playing someone who'd been a mentor to Jack, said that the 24 TV movie, which is meant to cover what's happened since the end of Day 6 with the new Day 7, would apply to the Fox episode commitment. He told Premiere.com, "This is two hours in real time, and there'll then be 22 episodes."

In early March, FOX announced that a 24 two-hour Season 7 prequel would air this fall. At that time, not much was known about this special event expect that the action would take place after the Season 6 finale and before the Season 7 premiere. Eventually, we got wind that Jack Bauer would be heading to Africa even if the idea was scrapped in September because of production cost.

Today, FOX confirmed that Jack Bauer would battle an international crisis in South Africa in the two-hour prequel set to air on Sunday, November 23 at 8 p.m.

Fans of 24 will have to wait until January 2009 for the seventh season to commence, but in a move that's likely to be met with cheers all around, Fox has announced that the producers of the Keifer Sutherland action drama are creating a 24 two-hour TV movie which will be a prequel to the next new season. The story will cover the two years between the end of season six and the beginning of season seven. The actors are being cast now, presumably the essential members of the team who survived the previous 24-hours of a nuclear disaster, terrorism, lies, betrayals, shootings and tragedies.

Ain't It Cool reports that due to the WGA strike and the resulting lack of new scripts, the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica may be filmed after all. The series is set 50 years before the events of Galactica and tells of the Adama family and the events leading up to the first Cylon war.

If there ever was proof of the statement that "every cloud has a silver lining", this is it. Mind you, without working writers to do necessary polishes to the script during filming, I wonder how good the resulting product would actually be?

Rumors are still abound as to who is playing whom in the upcoming Star Trek prequel from Lost and Alias creator JJ Abrams, but according to the NY Post, at least one man is out: William Shatner. Despite wanting a cameo role in the prequel, Shatner was not offered one. That's kind of a bummer, but what makes it even moreso, if the rumors are true (and it's the Post, so I'm skeptical), is that Leonard "Spock" Nimoy was offered a cameo role, instead.

Ostensibly, it seems unfair to give Nimoy a brief role and shut Shatner out completely, but having no idea the context of Nimoy's supposed cameo, it's tough to have an opinion about it one way or the other. Perhaps the cameo situation is such that it would only work with Nimoy and not Shatner --some kind of clever inside joke-- but I guess we won't know until the movie comes out.

[via Dark Horizons]

A few more details have emerged about the Battlestar Galactica spin-off that's in the works. Don Kaplan of the New York Post writes that first drafts of scripts for the series, called Caprica, have shown up at the SciFi network's offices, and gets a few details from BSG creator Ron More on what the show is going to be about.

According to Moore, Caprica will take place 50 years before BSG and will be about the creation of the Cylons. The show will center around two families: one who owns the Microsoft-esque coporation that develops the Cyclon technology, and the family of Adama's father, a lawyer who starts to oppose the Cylons' creation. "It's a family drama and a political drama about corporations and politics. It's almost [more] like a sci-fi soap than it is an action-adventure series," Moore tells Kaplan.

I love the new Battlestar Galactica series as much as the next fan, but could Sci-Fi be banking too much on the series too soon? Among other shows in development, the cable channel has recently announced a new prequel spin-off series, called Caprica, which will take place 50 years before the events of Battlestar Galactica. The series is said to focus on the development of the first cylon while following the familes of the Adamas and the Graystones. I know I'll definitely be catching it.

Other shows in development for Sci-Fi after the jump.

[via AICN]