Let's get this out of the way so it isn't looming overhead for the duration. Yes, when the Sci-Fi Channel executives decided to re-brand their adequately named network as Syfy it was stupid, unnecessary and more than a little confusing. That said, there's no reason to believe that this awful marketing decision will impact the quality of the network's new shows. Though I can't say I agree with their choice of branding, I understand why, ahem, Syfy wanted to refresh their image. For a long time, Sci-Fi Channel was the network of substandard movies like Boa vs. Python and iffy original series with noticeably limited budgets. Then Battlestar Galactica came around and the network found that it could capture a much more consistent, vocal audience with top-quality programming. To that end, Syfy seems to be pumping up the gloss on their new shows.

Caprica

Case in point, the flag-bearer for the recently departed BSG, a prequel called Caprica. Set a couple generations before the Cylons wiped out the human colonies at the beginning of Galactica, this show follows some new faces with familiar names as they struggle with the politics and emotional baggage we came to love about BSG. Eric Stoltz and Esai Morales star as Daniel Graystone and Joseph Adama, respectively. The drama will flesh out the ethnic and economic strife frequently referenced Galactica while treating views to what looks like a very stimulating urban setting. If this were any other show, I'd have misgivings about the ability to maintain dramatic tension knowing exactly how things turn out, but if BSG has taught me anything, it's that endings aren't everything.

Stargate Universe

Likely thanks to the aforementioned influence of Battlestar Galactica, the last season or two of Stargate SG-1 saw a huge spike in quality, both in the writing and in the overall look. Having genre veterans like Ben Browder and Claudia Black certainly pushed it along as well. I think SG-1 ended at a good time, but I'll admit that I still miss having a reliable not-too-heavy, not-too-light sci-fi program on Friday nights. The latest spin-off in the line is Stargate Universe, which looks to be a bit darker and a whole lot shinier than previous installments, which isn't really a bad thing. The cast looks amazing. Robert Carlyle headlines as Nicholas Rush and filling the requisite Stargate "Oh, hey, that actor!" slot is Lou Diamond Phillips as Col. David Telford. The rest of the cast is composed of young faces who seem more than capable of holding their own.

SGU basically combines the premises of SG-1 and Atlantis while kicking up the desperation. A colonization team consisting of military, science and civilian personnel gets trapped on an alien space ship with its own Stargate. A survival drama ensues. If it's as good as it looks, I won't be embarrassed to write "Syfy" anymore.

Miscellaneous

Syfy doesn't have too much fresh material on the docket for Fall 2009, but it has plenty of returning favorites. The new-ish Warehouse 13 has done well enough to continue and Eureka it getting a fourth season. The network will also run a 4-hour original movie, Alice, based on Alice in Wonderland this winter. I don't imagine it'll quite manage to trump Tim Burton's own Alice movie due out in March.