SCI FI planning 'Battlestar' prequel

NEW YORK, March 19 (UPI) -- "Caprica," a two-hour "Battlestar Galactica" backdoor pilot prequel, is to begin production in Vancouver this spring, the SCI FI Channel has announced.

The award-winning original series "Battlestar Galactica" is heading into its fourth and final season.

"We couldn't be more excited to see this long-anticipated project get off the ground. It's an amazing script, and, though clearly inspired by the Battlestar mythology, it is not just a pale spinoff. This is a smart, thought-provoking, emotional and compelling character drama in its own right," SCI FI Channel's Mark Stern said in a statement.

Set 50 years before "Battlestar Galactica," "Caprica" follows "two rival families -- the Greystones and the Adamas -- as they grow, compete and thrive in the vibrant world of the 12 Colonies," the network said.

"I'm thrilled with the chance to expand on the Galactica world and get deeper into the origins of the story we've been telling," Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore said in a statement. "It's also great to have a chance at doing a completely different kind of science-fiction series, one that's even more character-oriented and doesn't rely on pyrotechnics to carry the story."