The Battlestar Galactica prequel, Caprica, met its end far too soon despite being a very well-made show. For one reason or another, fans of BSG simply decided not to follow the show as religiously, leading to its untimely fate.

As we were waiting to hear the fate of Caprica from the executives at Syfy, they announced the plans for another spinoff series called Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome. The show was to be another prequel, set in between the storylines of BSG and Caprica when William Adama was still a young pilot. We saw a glimpse of this younger Adama in the direct-to-DVD movie (which they should make more of immediately — we miss the real cast), Razor, and fans wondered if the actor that played the youthful future Admiral, Nico Cortez, would be returning for Blood and Chrome. Now we have that answer.

It’s been announced that Cortez will NOT be returning, and that instead an actor by the name of Luke Pasqualino has been cast. In addition to that, it was announced that Ben Cotton has been cast to play the young Adama’s commanding officer. Pasqualino is a 20-year-old actor from England who appeared on the U.K. version of Skins.

Here’s a brief description of the upcoming show:

Pasqualino will star as the young, talented fighter pilot William Adama, a recent Academy graduate who finds himself assigned to the newest Battlestar in the Colonial fleet: the Galactica. Full of ambition and in pursuit of the intense action that the Cylon war promises, Adama quickly finds himself at odds with Coker (Cotton), the battle-weary officer to whom he reports. With 45 days left in his tour of duty, Coker desires an end to battle just as much as Adama craves the start of it. Though they clash at first, the two men forge an unlikely bond when a routine mission turns dangerous and becomes a pivotal one for the desperate fleet.

It’s only natural that after people had trouble warming up to the much less intense and more modern origins presented in Caprica, Syfy would want to bring something that sounds like it will have a great deal of action to the table. Add to that the familiarity of the ship we all know as Galactica, and the network is hoping to score another big hit…though it won’t come easily.

As far as I see it, however, it’s not just about the world. People loved BSG for its wonderful story and intense situations, but perhaps even more for its many characters (and just as importantly, the actors who portrayed them). Some might consider it smart to end the show after only 4 seasons so they don’t overstay their welcome, while others still wish to this day that much, much more came of it. And in either case, without those great faces to look forward to, it’s going to be really hard to sell these spinoff shows.

As a fan I still look forward to seeing Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome, and hope that it’s fantastic. But if Syfy wants to make me really happy, they can find ways to bring back the BSG cast, whether it’s for more straight-to-video movies or something else. That or they can get to work on acquiring and reviving Firefly on their network like everyone bugs them to do. That would work, too.

[Source: Inside TV]