Caprica Gets DVD, Digital Premiere

UNIVERSAL CITY: The pilot for Caprica, the highly anticipated SCI FI Channel prequel to Battlestar Galactica, will be made available on DVD and via digital download this April, well ahead of its TV premiere in 2010.

The limited-edition DVD will hit retail on April 21 courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment with an uncut and unrated version of the pilot, along with bonus features. The pilot for Caprica will also be available at selected online destinations for digital download. Production on the series begins in the summer in Vancouver for a 2010 launch on the SCI FI Channel.

Caprica is executive produced by Battlestar Galactica‘s Ronald D. Moore and David Eick and 24‘s Remi Aubuchon. The story line is set 50 years before the events of Battlestar Galactica, which wraps its final season March 20. The cast includes Eric Stoltz (Mask, Pulp Fiction), Esai Morales (Jericho, NYPD Blue), Paula Malcomson (Deadwood, ER) and Polly Walker (Cane, Rome).

"We are thrilled to take the groundbreaking step of offering the world-premiere of the Caprica feature-length extended pilot episode on DVD prior to the new series’ television debut," said Hilary Hoffman, the senior VP for brand and digital marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment. "This innovative distribution model will serve to satisfy Battlestar Galactica fans’ appetites for a new content while building excitement for the franchise’s next great adventure."

Mark Stern, the executive VP of original programming for SCI FI and co-head of original content at Universal Cable Productions, added: "Ever since fans first caught wind of the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica, they have been eagerly following its development. We wanted to give them a chance to see the pilot in its original form and experience the prequel to the BSG story while that series’ finale was still ringing in their ears. It also affords the creative team an unprecedented chance to get viewers feedback before production on the Caprica series begins this summer."

Moore, executive producer and writer of the series, said Caprica would "challenge the conventions of science fiction storytelling as a whole." Fellow exec-producer Eick called it "part sweeping soap, part meditation on the dangerous moral ramifications of artificial intelligence."