So here you have it folks, proof of the fact that one sci-fi TV series can be just too good (via Twitter, October 27 2010 – the date of an announce demise).
I'll pass along Mark Stern's note about #Caprica:
We appreciate all the support that fans have shown for #Caprica and are very proud of the producers, cast, writers and ...
...the rest of the amazing team that has been committed to this fine series.
Unfortunately, despite its obvious quality, #Caprica has not been able to build the audience necessary to justify a second season.
The remaining first run episodes of #Caprica will be removed from the schedule as of next Tuesday, November 2.
The final 5 eps will be re-scheduled to air at a to be announced time in the first quarter of 2011, & will conclude the run of the series.
Thanks again to all the awesome fans who watched and supported the show, and to the AMAZING cast and crew.
Of course, the fans had questions which were dodged by Syfy in the manners like did you really try to make the show a success? Answer: yes we did, but there were not enough viewers.
The questionable manner in which Syfy treated Caprica from the start should be put down in the textbook of How to Kill a TV Show:
- a feature-length pilot released on DVD before its TV premiere (clear proof they prepared for failure, not to mention that fans who get the DVD have to reason to watch it on TV anymore)
- they only prepared 10 episodes after that (another calculated preparation for failure – also required a long hiatus after which no wonder many people didn’t return thinking of cancellation as fansites clearly show).
- Caprica is a drama, thus requiring continuity. After Battlestar Galactica raised the standards for sci-fi, Caprica did have a hard time coping and long breaks may very well kill the story for its viewers. In my humble opinion, Syfy wanted nothing more that to force a lowering of expectations in the field as a vast number of its series can easily be categorized as C- (pure trash).
- it’s time slot was changed from Friday to Tuesday, as Syfy put it to introduce it to a new audience. For a continuity-avid story-based drama, that sounds like a death sentence to me. Introduce it to a new audience in mid-show? How retarded must one be to really believe that’s possible? Pick up such a story in the middle? Sure Battlestar Galactica had some checkpoints which kindof deftly allowed some viewers to jump in later on and learn the story skipping the sideplots but still the fanbase was built and kept through consistent scheduling.
Among initial fears that Caprica didn’t stand a chance, a legend was born out of the Battlestar Galactica fanbase. Caprica held the promise of showing the background story of the Colonies interweaved with that of the emergence of the Cylons. In truth, this potential (which was met on the writers’ side) holds much more water to me than what Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome would have to offer. But all in all, can we still trust Syfy with the task of managing the legend they’ve created? Can we hope that Blood & Chrome won’t be turned into a cheap bloody cheese, thus tarnishing forever the Battlestar Galactica brand … or that if the standard is kept, we won’t be abruptly cut-off like in Caprica‘s case ? Anyway, The Final Five episodes of Caprica will be aired next year.
A question lingers on: will Stargate Universe follow Caprica down Syfy’s garbage chute?
Read more here:
