Esai Morales and Eric Stoltz in "Caprica." (Syfy photo)

I finally got a chance this week to watch “Caprica,” the 90-minute pilot of Syfy’s “Battlestar Galactica” prequel. The show was released on DVD and made available to download in April, but the series won’t air until January 2010.

Those watching it to get a familiar “BSG” fix might be in for a disappointment. It’s a clean break from the mothership. The series takes place on the home planet of Caprica, 58 years before the Cylon attacks that launched the “BSG” series. There are no battlestars, no Vipers, no sleeper-agent Cylons. In fact, it’s more of a soapy family drama that just happens to take place in a sci-fi setting.

But for a soapy family drama, it’s not bad. Maybe a little slow at times, but it’s intriguing enough that I want to see more. Pilots are always stuffed with too much exposition, and it’s reasonable to expect the storylines to flow more freely once the series warms up and hits its stride.

Eric Stoltz really shines as Daniel Graystone, a high-tech tycoon who’s more or less the Bill Gates of Caprica. After his daughter Zoe is killed in a terrorist attack (it seems the human resistance on New Caprica weren’t the first to use suicide bombers), he enters Dr. Frankenstein territory, believing he can create a carbon copy of her through a computer program Zoe (a budding computer genius) created before she died. Much musing and arguing about what makes one truly human ensues, shades of the Cylons’ existential dilemma. Daniel goes a little over the top in his obsession to recreate Zoe, but he’s believable enough as a grieving father who has a unique opportunity to see his daughter again.

The rest the cast is fantastic. Paula Malcomson (Trixie from “Deadwood”) plays Daniel’s wife, Amanda, an accomplished doctor who’s strong, intense and just as complex a character as he is. Esai Morales plays Joseph Adama, an morally conflicted attorney with ties to the Tauron mob who lost his wife and daughter in the terrorist bombing. It’s through his son where we see the one human link to the “BSG” world — a young Willie Adama. (Did we ever know Admiral Adama was a Tauron? It’s an interesting side note.) Polly Walker (“Rome,” “State of Play”) gives her usual excellent performance as a creepy high school principal who has a big secret.

There’s a high school plotline that wants to be really interesting, with a religious terrorist organization that’s recruiting students, but the kids are the weak links. Zoe are her friend Lacy are just a bit too bratty and feel like stereotypical privileged kids acting out. Hopefully they can be developed and given a little more depth.

There are a few bones thrown to “Battlestar Galactica” fans:

— Remember the mysterious Daniel, the Cylons’ father figure? Daniel Graystone is the guy who creates the first Cylon. And the first time the Cylon prototype hums “By your command” as its little red eye bounces back and forth will give you goosebumps.

— Daniel and Amanda’s house looks remarkably similar to Gaius Baltar’s in the first episode of “BSG.” Nice view.

— There’s a little more background to the racial tensions between Capricans and Taurons.

— There’s a lot more of the monotheism vs. polytheism debate. And probably an explanation of why Cylons believe in one God. Religion looks like it’ll play a big, big role in this series. Even more than in “BSG.”

— Even with a lot of CGI, Caprica City still looks a lot like Vancouver.

So the verdict? Good, not great, but interesting enough that I’m eager to find out what happens next. Let’s call it a series with potential. Too bad the premiere is six months away, but “BSG” was never much for instant gratification.