The Sci Fi Channel has announced the development of Caprica, a spin-off prequel of the popular new Battlestar Galactica TV series.  NBC Universal is producing the new series in conjunction with BSG executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick.  Remi Aubuchon, a writer on the Fox series 24, is scripting the new series, which is set more than fifty years prior to the events chronicled in the current BSG series.  In Caprica, the people of the Twelve Colonies are at peace and living in a high tech consumer society, which is about to be changed forever by a major breakthrough in robotics -- the creation of the first living robot, a Cylon.  The plot of the new series will follow the fortunes of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas, weaving together corporate intrigue, techno-action and sexual politics to create TV's first science fiction family saga.

Battlestar Galactica's successful return to television has generated a considerable array of merchandise including a collectible card game from WizKids (due out next month), comic books from Dynamite Entertainment, trading cards from Rittenhouse Archive, and action figures from Joyride Entertainment (the original BSG) and Majestic Studios (the current BSG).