‘Battlestar Galactica’ producer returns to space with ‘Virtuality’

By Rick Bentley

Ron Moore isn’t resting on the success of “Battlestar Galactica.”

Moore teamed with “Battlestar” buddy Michael Taylor to create “Virtuality,” a two-hour science-fiction movie that airs at 8 tonight on Fox.

“Virtuality” tells the story of the crew of the Phaeton, which is on a 10-year journey through outer space. Crew members maintain their sanity through virtual-reality technology. The journey is being taped for an Earth reality show.

“When we first started talking about the concept, it was about a long-range space mission, which I was intrigued with. I was interested in the idea of what you do with 12 people in a metal tube for that long,” Moore says in a telephone interview. “Somewhere in those discussions, we started talking about when they would be broadcasting pieces back to earth, like astronauts do today, and what if they made a reality show out of that? Then it all kind of started to come together.”

The show takes Moore back to familiar territory: outer space. He’s worked on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Roswell” and his upcoming Sci Fi Channel series “Caprica,” the prequel to “Battlestar Galactica.”

Those shows made him familiar with virtual reality: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” had its holodeck, and “Caprica” is loaded with virtual worlds.

Moore, who is working on “Caprica,” was able to juggle the projects because they film across the street from each other in Vancouver, Canada.

If “Virtuality” becomes a series, it would definitely mean splitting his focus.