It got a rough start, but in the world of television ratings, it's how it ends that really matters.

That will hopefully be the case for the "Battlestar Galactica" spinoff "Caprica" when Syfy executives sit down soon to decide the fate of the show. And they will have some strong numbers to consider.

Syfy boasts that the mid-season finale March 26 finished with 1.7 million total viewers, including a series record 1.1 million adults 18 to 49. The numbers include not just live data, but also timeshifted viewing of up to seven days.

For Syfy, that is a success. Sure, it's not the kind of numbers "Warehouse 13" or "Eureka" is getting, but new shows typically start strong and then regress in audience numbers. "Caprica" has been doing virtually the opposite, spiking on the second episode, dropping in the third, and then slowly building back up.

Syfy is not counting the premiere episode in those numbers (not surprising, since the pilot had already been released months before, and thus had skewed overall numbers).

The end of the first half of the season was strong compared to the beginning. The last four episodes had 1 million adults 18 to 49 -- up 21 percent from the first five episodes -- as well as 1.15 million adults 25 to 54, a 12 percent increase, Syfy said.

"Caprica" finished the first half of the season with a 1.3 household rating, representing 1.8 million viewers on average, and just over 900,000 adults 18 to 49 and 1.1 million adults 25 to 54.

Syfy has still made no decision on the fate of "Caprica" yet, but it should be encouraging that the "Battlestar" prequel is pulling in similar numbers as "Stargate: Universe," which has already received a second season order from the cable channel.

"Caprica" is a little different because Syfy has the potential to see more revenue in a post-run syndication package and DVD sales, something it doesn't get from SGU since it's produced by MGM.

"Caprica" is expected to return in October or late fall on Syfy.