UPDATE: 'Caprica': What you have to look forward to in 2010

We know. We miss “Battlestar Galactica” too. So much so that the idea of “Caprica,” a prequel set 58 years before Cylons (nearly) wiped out their human makers, was initially unappealing. We could see it all: No vipers or raptors, no sneaky-but-sexy Cylons, no drunken CAG with an identity-destiny crisis, no Gaius Baltar…

But now that show is really gone, we’re happy to have the "Caprica" pilot DVD out today. We're in a world off the ship. Specifically, we're in Caprica and now following the stories of two men who, more or less, become responsible for the “BSG” showdown between man and machine. Daniel Greystone (Eric Stoltz) is a powerful businessman-scientist who creates the “holo-band,” an accessory that creates virtual realities for the user; Joseph Adams is a lawyer from the colony of Tauron. They cross paths when Daniel’s daughter Zoe and Joseph’s wife and daughter are killed by a terrorist attack.

How Daniel copes is where the drama begins: In his attempt to recreate his daughter using the holo-band and one very large robot -- a mission which Joseph objects to -- he will create the race of Cylons that will eventually overthrow humans. Joseph’s son will grow up to be Admiral Bill Adama.

It's different than “Battlestar," to be sure. But we loved it. The worst part is that the rest won’t be airing on Syfy (formerly Sci Fi Channel, sigh) until sometime in 2010.

We break it down below. Obviously, spoilers ahead:

'Battlestar Galactica': 'Caprica's' coming in 2010

"Caprica," Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" prequel, has finally been cleared for takeoff -- the cable station greenlighted 20 hours for its first season, with production to begin in the summer of 2009 in Vancouver. Sci Fi will aim for a 2010 debut for the show.

A two-hour pilot of "Caprica" has already been filmed, so its main cast --  Esai Morales, Eric Stoltz and Polly Walker -- had been announced previously.

Here's Sci Fi's quick summary of the show, which is set 50 years in the past of the current "Battlestar Galactica" storyline.

Joseph Adama (Esai Morales) -- father of future Galactica commander William Adama (Sina Najafi) -- is a renowned civil liberties lawyer and becomes an opponent of the experiments undertaken by the Graystones, led by a patriarch played by Eric Stoltz, who are owners of a large computer corporation that is spearheading the development of the Cylons.

If you haven't seen the trailer for "Caprica," it's not exactly what you've come to expect from "Battlestar" -- except for good drama, good acting and a few well-placed, familiar characters. Will the show, which seems to have more to do with corporate politics than corporal punishment (of the Cylons!), resonate?  Well, the producers are getting their chance to find out. Here's the trailer:

-- Jevon Phillips