As previously reported, today’s the day that the Sci Fi Channel changes its name to Syfy.  And science fiction fans feel like their girlfriend is dumping them because she got a makeover and wants to hang out with cooler kids now.  Ha ha, just kidding — science fiction fans don’t have girlfriends.  But they ARE pissed about the name change, so Syfy digital exec (or “head Syfylist”) Craig Engler has taken to answering questions on Syfy’s Twitter feed.  Via The Live Feed:

Q) Does SyFy’s new branding mean less science fiction/fantasy programming?
A) No, we are not changing our programming mix

Q) How do you pronounce SyFy? When I see it I want to pronounce it so it rhymes with ‘jiffy’
A) Just like “sci-fi”

Q) Help me understand. Name one new project you can do as Syfy that wouldn’t have felt right as Sci Fi.
A) Syfy is about catching up to where our programming mix is, not about changing it.

Q) Your programming mix has poor spelling and grammar? That isn’t catching up Craig, that’s dumbing down.
A) Syfy is a made-up name, not a word, so it’s spelled correctly as is. Like Wii. Or Twitter ;)

Nice point, Craig.  Except “twitter” is an ACTUAL WORD.  And the Wii has always been the Wii — it didn’t start as “We” and then change the spelling when it wanted to get away from the lonely fat lady demographic.  But I digress.  I’m actually fine with the name change; it’s four characters instead of six, which cuts my time typing the channel’s name by 33%.  Why, over the course of a week, that might save me a full two or three seconds of work.  I can pick my nose with that free time!

Here’s the new trailer for the TV movie “Battlestar Galactica: The Plan,” which chronicles the same story as the TV show from the viewpoint of the Cylons.  Before watching the clip, I was pretty skeptical; I don’t see how you can cram the other side of a story that lasted five seasons into a two-hour episode.  But I have to admit: this looks good.  Of course, I say that every time someone says, “Let’s get this genocide started!”  That line would have really improved Hotel Rwanda.

Sci Fi/SyFy will bilk the cash cow of “Battlestar Galactica” with the prequel series “Caprica,” about life on the doomed titular planet 50 years before the cylons blow everybody up.  Even though the series debuts in 2010, the feature-length pilot will be available on DVD April 21st, because nerds don’t have anything better to spend money on.

In order to gain some word-of-mouth momentum, Sci Fi has released seven brief clips of the pilot.  That’s right, you can whet your appetite for this series by watching Eric Stoltz play future-tennis and engage in gripping dialog like this (video after the jump):

Her: Out!
Him: What!?
Her: It was as out as can be!
Him: [laughs dismissively]
Her: Do we need to turn on the line sensors?
Him: That’s exactly what we’re going to do, cheater girl!
Her: Don’t go all immature on me just ’cause you know I’m better than you.
Him: What’s that, cheater?  I can’t hear you, cheater.

I give this four dismissive wanks (out of five) and two bonus eye-rolls.

NERDY UPDATE: A couple different poindexters have pointed out that Caprica and the Cylons and stuff all happen in the PAST, not the future. That’s my bad. I wrongly figured that the cliched sci-fi twist of needlessly placing the events in the past was played out enough in Star Wars.

EW’s Michael Ausiello revealed the first photo of the cast of the Sci Fi’s new “Stargate: Universe.”  As you can see, it will star Robert Carlyle, Lou Diamond Phillips, the Asian chick from Street Fighter: The Movie, and… uhh… the guy… who was in that one thing, you know?  And Whatshisface — always wears a shirt?

Here are those names now (again, in no particular order): Robert Carlyle, Lou Diamond Phillips, Justin Louis, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque, David Blue, Alaina Huffman, Jamil Walker Smith, and Ming-Na…

SG:U, which is being billed as the edgier cousin to Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1, debuts this fall.

Ooooh!!! Edgier than “Stargate SG-1″???  But that one had MacGyver!   Well, I guess Richard Dean Anderson is busy with something else now.  Probably some ultimate spin-off.  “Law & Order: SGU.”  It’s like Timecop, but without Van Damme!