Syfy exec Mark Stern reveals to TV Squad’s Maureen Ryan that “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome,” a TV-movie/backdoor pilot which follows a twentysomething Ensign William “Husker” Adama as he enters the 10-year-old first Cylon War, is expected start shooting in Vancouver early next year.

Stern also said a decision on “Caprica’s” second season would be made no later than Nov. 15.

Written by outer-space TV vet Michael Taylor (“Deep Space Nine,” “Voyager,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Virtuality,” “Caprica”), the “Chrome” pilot began life as a script for a series of online webisodes but was recently upgraded, Stern tells Ryan:

"When we read Michael's script, it was so clearly a full-blown pilot for a series," Stern said in a Thursday interview. "The scope is fantastic and bigger, I think, than anticipated, so we said, 'Let's do it as a 2-hour backdoor pilot.' ... We're trying to get up and running as soon as possible."

The new series will employ virtual sets created from “high-resolution digital scans” of all the BSG sets before they were torn down, according to Ryan’s piece.

It’s not certain that Nico Cortez, who briefly played the young Bill Adama in the BSG “Razor” straight-to-DVD movie, will be back for the pilot or any resulting series.

Stern said a “Chrome” series might be paired with “Caprica” if the latter series lasts long enough.

Find more details in Ryan’s TV Squad exclusive on the matter here.

i think that caprica started well, now its confusing