Sci-Fi Saturday: KITT, Indy, Dr. Who, Wolfman, Venom, Terminator, And more

It has been another busy week in the world of SciFi news. We got news on Doctor Who, Venom, Wolfman and more. Plus casting news for the new voice of KITT, Stargate Atlantis, the new Terminator, the Land of the Lost remake, and JJ Abrams Fringe. Plus new photos from Indy 4, and Terry Gilliam’s new film.

Jackson in for sci-fi ‘Fringe’
We’ve got another bit of casting news for JJ Abrams currently filming Fox sci-fi series "Fringe".  Joshua Jackson, who you may remember from the WB drama "Dawson’s Creek", has been tapped to play the male lead in the show opposite Anna Torv.  Jackson will play Peter Bishop; a high-school dropout with an IQ of 190, and a misfit who is scrambling to erase a gambling debt.  Interesting choice.  Shooting on the $10 million two-hour pilot is happening right now in Toronto.  For more head to The Hollywood Reporter.


Joshua Jackson: Abrams latest leading man…in Fringe

‘Indy’ trailer finally on its way, plus new photos
Considering all the hoopla over the  "Star Trek" teaser, it is surprising there still is no teaser for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" which opens in May, however Variety is reporting  that Paramount will debut the trailer next week with The Spider wick Chronicles (opening February 14th). In other Indy news, we’ve also got a new image from the film, courtesy an unknown Italian magazine, and a promotional photo of Ford as Indy that Official was selling (limited to 50, but all sold out-details here.).

 
click to enlarge

Has the Writers Strike Been Settled?
Reports coming out of Hollywood are that a deal has been struck between producers and writers. On Saturday governing bodies for both the East and West branches of the WGA will brief members on the deal. On Sunday they will vote whether or not to lift the strike immediately or to wait and let the membership decide when to end the strike. Regardless the deal would then have to go out to the membership for a final vote, regardless. So as of now the strike could end as early as Sunday, but more likely sometime in the next week. TrekMovie.com will do a report once the strike is called off (or if it fails to reach a vote). More details at Variety.

Could Josh Brolin be the next Terminator?
In an interview with the two-one-three, director McG spoke at length about the upcoming "Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins".  One of the biggest revelations in the interview involved who McG was eying for the role of the Terminator.  Though he mentioned other actors for the role, he made it a point to emphasize Brolin with the following response: "(Smiles) Josh Brolin is a very exciting actor – we’ll see."  For the rest of the interview, check out the two-one-three.


Will Brolin be the next in the T series?

 

SCI FI Channel Picks Up Fourth Season of “Doctor Who”, Also Brings Over New Series ‘Sarah Jane Adventures’
The SCI FI channel is continuing its relationship with the highly popular British Sci-Fi series "Doctor Who", deciding to pick up the show’s fourth season to air in the states.  The network also announced a new pickup, "The Sarah Jane Adventures", which is a spin-off from the flagship series. The third season of "Doctor Who" averaged 1.3 million viewers on SCI FI. (NBC Press Release). Hmm, two spin-offs already from the new edition of "Doctor Who" (don’t forget "Torchwood" which airs on BBC America)?  Perhaps that’s the reason why they’re taking a break between the fourth and fifth seasons of the franchise.

Val Kilmer: New voice for ‘Knight Rider’
If this doesn’t convince you just how silly corporate policy can be, I don’t know what will.  Val Kilmer has signed on to voice K.I.T.T. in the upcoming two-hour NBC movie "Knight Rider".  Now you may be asking yourself: "Wait a second, I thought Will Arnett (who finished all his work) was the voice of the new K.I.T.T?"  Well, prepare for the aforementioned silliness.  You see, Arnett has a long relationship as the voice of GMC Trucks, and K.I.T.T. is a Ford Mustang.  Yeah… “I was very excited at the prospect of playing the part of KITT in the new ‘Knight Rider’ movie,” Arnett said. “However, because of a long relationship with General Motors as the voice of GMC Trucks, I had to respectfully withdraw from the project.”  The movie (which could serve as the launch point for a new episodic series) will still premiere on February 17th, more at Variety.


The new Ford K.I.T.T….not a GM product

‘Final Destination 4 Opening Revealed
The folks over at Bloody-Disgusting have revealed the opening sequence of the upcoming fourth edition of the franchise and a few details.  Producer Craig Perry has confirmed the opening disaster in the HD 3D film will be a high-speed race car crash which sees flying debris kill, or just miss, several audience members (image below).

 

To tell you the truth, I wasn’t even aware they were making a new one.  And honestly, I think I’m more interested in the 3D element of the film.  Apparently they’re using the exact same system as the one James Cameron is using for "Avatar" (starring Star Trek’s Zoe Saldana)  For more on that aspect, head over to Bloody-Disgusting.

Johnston to direct ‘Wolfman’
Fear not Ratner haters, Universal has tapped Joe Johnston ("Jurrassic Park III") to replace Mark Romanek as director of the upcoming remake The Wolfman. If you remember from last week’s Sci-Fi Saturday, Romanek dropped out of the $100 million film over creative differences and the studio had been talking with Brett Ratner to possibly take over directing duties.  For more, head over to Variety.

Jewel Staite a main cast member in Season Five
Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi has confirmed via his blog that actress Jewel Staite has been promoted from recurring to regular cast member for the upcoming fifth season of "Stargate Atlantis".  The actress joins Joe Flanigan, Rachel Luttrell, David Hewlett, Jason Momoa, and newcomer Robert Picardo on the now 6-person main cast. To read some of the actresses thoughts on her character head over toGateWorld.net.


Staite…a reason to watch SGA

Uni finds Ferrell’s ‘Lost’ friend
Anna Friel, of ABC’s delectably enjoyable "Pushing Daisies", has landed the female lead in the film adaptation of the 1970s live-action TV show "Land of the Lost".  The actress will star alongside Will Ferrell.  She’ll play the love interest of Ferrell’s character, a disgraced paleontologist who finds himself in a strange prehistoric world. The film’s expected to hit theaters in 2009.  More at The Hollywood Reporter.


Friel…from "Daisies" to the "Land of the Lost"

No Nightmare on Englund’s Street
Here’s a small update on the just announced new installment in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" horror franchise.  The original Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) will not be in the film.  Shock Till You Drop is reporting that a new actor will be apart of the re-launch, mainly because Michael Bay is looking to begin fresh (i.e. hitting the big ‘ol reset button).  For more, head over to Shock Till You Drop.

Venom Stand Alone Film Moving Forward
IESB.net is reporting that Marvel is moving forward with a new stand alone film featuring the character of Venom.  The site says they’ve confirmed that "the studio" (obviously no confirmation it’ll be Sony, who distributes the "Spider-Man" films) has met recently with several "A list writers" about the film.  For more, head to IESB.net.

Teaser Image for Terry Gilliam’s Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
A new image has been released for "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus".  The photo appears on the main page for the site (doctorparnassus.com).


click to enlarge

MINI REVIEWS (slight spoilers may follow)
Short reviews of some the latest movies and episodes

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – "Heavy Metal" – Monday, February 4
Honestly, how can anyone not love this show?  They just go for it.  Hell, I’m still thinking about that guy they left in the minefield.  Now I have no idea if minefields like that exist right next to a publically traveled road, but whatever.  They freaking stuck him in the middle of a minefield! Brutal.  8/10

Supernatural – "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" – Thursday, February 7
It’s shows like "Supernatural" that give me more appreciation for the smaller nets, in this case The CW.  It’s expense would likely make it too expensive for cable television, while it would rate too lowly on one of the major nets.  Another solid entry for a underappreciated series.  8/10

Lost – "Confirmed Dead" – Thursday, February 7
Just slightly weaker than the season premiere.  This one featured didn’t have any of the flashforwards we have been seeing lately, but it did have a new kind of flashback: flashbacks in the ‘real world’ but after the plane crashed. It wasn’t much of an answer filled episode, but I liked the little background on the so-called rescue workers.  Good thing Locke didn’t kill Ben.  I’m damn curious to see what’s so important about him.  8/10

Stargate Atlantis – "Trio" – Friday, February 8
Geez, last week I was complaining about episodes that serve no meaningful purpose to the overall story, and then we get yet another one of those episodes this week.  A few funny lines of dialogue (I must admit that they got a good chuckle out of me from McKay’s "No, no, no, don’t go towards the light, you want to stay in the land of the living!" line) save this one from seeming like the writers are running out the clock until they get to the season finale.  4/10.

What to watch for this week

  • Weekend: Remastered "The Ultimate Computer"(Syndication)
  • Monday 9PM: New episode "Terminator" (FOX)
  • Monday 7-11PM: Jericho Season 1 reruns premiere on the SCI FI Channel
  • Tuesday 10PM: "Jericho" Season 2 premiere (CBS)
  • Thursday: New episodes "Smallville" (8PM, CW), "Supernatural" (9PM, CW) and "Lost" (9PM, ABC)  
  • Friday: New episode of "Stargate Atlantis" featuring Teal’c (SCI FI)
     

SCI-FI RATINGS

Top 10 SF&F Broadcast Shows   HH Rating/Share
1) Ghost Whisperer   6.2/11 (9.91M viewers)
2) ‘Terminator’   6.2/9 (10.08M viewers)
3) Medium   6.1/10
4) Moonlight   5.1/8
5) Smallville   1.8/3
6) Supernatural   1.6/2
7) Reaper (R)   1.1/2

1/14/2008 to 1/20/2008 – Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top 10 SF&F Syndicated Shows   Rating
1) Stargate SG-1   1.0  
2) Star Trek   1.0  
3) Dead Zone   0.9  
4) Stargate Atlantis   0.6  

1/14/2008 to 1/20/2008 – Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report via SCI FI Wire

Top 10 SCI FI CHANNEL Shows   Rating  
1) Ghost Hunters International   1.5  
2) Resident Evil Apocalypse   1.3  
3) ECW 1.2  
4) Resident Evil   1.1  
5) Painkiller Jane   1.1
6) Ghost Hunters    1.1
7) Stargate Atlantis   1.1
8) Bloodrayne   1.0
9) Wicked Little Things   0.9
10) Queen of the Damned   0.8

1/14/2008 to 1/20/2008 – Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report via SCI FI Wire

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WOW

But… what of Chuck? What…of…Chuck?

Cool round-up. Thanks!

KITT’s new front end looks a little boxy for my taste, but the rear spoiler and over styling seem cool. There was a throw-away reunion movie with the original cast in which KITT’s brain kept getting installed in various model cars. I would rather see him/it remain one vehicle. As for Val Kilmer — um… Does this mean KITT’s going to be making moves on every KIA he/it sees?

Also — I’ll watch Anna Friel in anything and I grew up geekily loving “Land of the Lost.” Would love to see a smart/fun adaptation that appeals to the original fans and their kids. Can we run Will Ferrell over with KITT? That would likely help. Ferrell just doesn’t seem to know how to keep comedy from veering into the cynical and mean-spirited. Yes there are some laughs in his movies, but Anchor Man — COME ON! What a half-hearted, half-finished mess that was. And Talledega Nights — was the audience too dumb to know the French guy was gay? Did we need french kissing? Anyway, maybe “LotL” will put a leash on Ferrell and unleash Grumpy.

Yay! We gets Dr. Who again! That may save us from the painful collapse of SG:A. Good gracious, last night was bad.

ROBERT ENGLUND IS NOT FREDDY! I AM GOING TO KILL MICHALE BAY!

RE: CmdrR you should definitely check out Stranger Than Fiction, it is Will Ferrell’s best movie to date, though i love most of his others. Kinda pissed they couldn’t find a better car than a new Mustang for the new KITT but i suppose i’ll live, its just a re-imagining of a TV show after all. Haven’t watched any of the other shows except for the Terminator series, and it is definitely worth watching (at least until we get new episodes of Heroes)

This week’s LOST was NOT a flashforward. It was the traditional flashback.

Looking forward to Indy. Indy, Batman, and Trek, together in one year for the first time since 1989!

Sorry for the spelling error, but then he doesn’t deserve his name spelled right.

#7 Good call, I was worried I missed something on Lost!

sorry I fixed that in the article. The LOST flashbacks were different, in that they were post-crash, but they werent like the new flashforwards seen in the last few episodes. I am glad they are mixing it up. I am kind of done with the flashbacks to the lives pre-island. They were running out of material there….Hey look, it’s Jack doing his Laundry and Hurley is walking by eating a Slusho…woohoo

Man, how crappy is the Terminator movie going to be? Freakin’ McG?? Eesh. Good thing we’ve got the show to keep the tarnish off the Terminator name. Didn’t they learn from T3?

A Venom movie?! WTF?! ô,0

k the work for the knight rider movie is complete and it is still will arnett

I have to agree with the Mustang opinion. I love the new Mustang, and would love to own one. But I don’t see it as K.I.T.T. –it’s a nostalgia car, harkening back to a simple and sporty little ride. When I think of K.I.T.T., I don’t think simple, or retro. I think something very futuristic and techy.

Anthony I still think doing a daily Scifi news article would be cool. Make this place the one stop place for both Trek and Scifi news. You could still keep it a Trek site and do a daily Scifi news report right? I don’t think I could wait a week for Scifi news.

Walter Koenig in new Sci-Fi channel movie “The Bone Eater” tonight with Bruce Boxleitner. Nine o’clock.

#14
> “When I think of K.I.T.T. …
> I think something very futuristic and techy.”

how about the Mazda Taiki
http://www.autounleashed.com/images/mazda_taiki_concept.jpg
or the Furai
http://revistaautoesporte.globo.com/Globo/photo_Show/0,,12422567,00.jpg

It’s great to see the legendary Indiana Jones back in action played by the one and only Harrison Ford.

Don’t get me wrong I support young actors like Pine + Quinto taking on the iconic roles of Kirk and Spock, but there truly is something to be said for the original actors continuing in the roles that they made classic. It just wouldn’t have been the same with someone else stepping into that role.

Go Indy!!!!

#2 Yes, Chuck is my favorite new show, but does it qualify as Sci-Fi? I don’t think so, even if it does have an occasional Trek reference (remember Chuck and Bryce speaking Klingon to each other – now that was funny.)

Kitt is coming from past..from 10 years ago…

lucky with Val Kilmer…

17. Sir Lurxalot – February 9, 2008

Whoa. Now THAT’S futuristic and techy. :)

Wow, I must be brain damaged cuz I loved this week’s Atlantis and the cannon that Rodney made. And I can’t get into the Terminator….they should have just left well enough alone…I loved all three movies.
And KITT is a FORD? Gross!!!

#16: If you blinked, you missed:

Walter Koenig’s appearance in the Sci Fi Channel’s “The Bone Eater.”

ALSO “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’s” Gil Gerad was in it as well. He looked pretty good (he is on record as having lost 145 lbs. in recent years)….

AND William Katt of “The Greatest American Hero” was in the lick too… and of course, the star of “The Bone Eater” was…

Bruce Boxleitner, co-star of “The Scarecrow and Mrs. King.” oh. and that other little sci fi show he starred in, what was its name? :-D

#23:

Hey!!! I like the new Ford Mustang!!! Personally, I could never stand the old Trans Am they used for K.I.T.T. … and since it is no long produced, the Shelby Mustang seems a perfect choice (says me anyway). ;-) But then I never watched the original program… Glen Larson’ programs all too often were so lame.

#19:

Why shouldn’t “Chuck” qualify as sci fi? After all, Chuck’s mind has served as the download site of a supercomputer’s memory. Granted, it is more or a dramedy, but it still embodies some science fiction elements.

oops.. #24 correction… flick (not lick) …. damn fumble fingers

Anthony- Awesome job on the sci-fi news- you deserve a reward. Go pop a cold one on all of us.

re. Doctor Who

“Perhaps that’s the reason why they’re taking a break between the fourth and fifth seasons of the franchise.”

i heard a while back that david tennant is playing a season of shows with the royal shakespeare company (maybe in stratford upon avon or the globe in london?) which would conflict with filming schedules or something like that.

..or he could be doing the shakespeare stuff because they’re having a break?

Why are they rebooting Knight Rider? The original show was a silly piece of crap that to me no amount of reimagining will make into a good show. I also hate the damned Mustang

#29: Why are they rebooting…

Why are they remaking anything?

Because there are very few creative types left in Hollywood that the bean counters haven’t exiled.

I mean… in the years ahead we are scheduled to see remakes of “The Day The Earth Stood Still,” Land of the Lost, Get Smart,” and “Fantastic Voyage,” (and there are countless other remakes on the books that may or may not see the light of day).

In recent memory there were remakes of “The Manchurian Candidate, Mission: Impossible, The Hulk, Superman Returns, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, War of the Worlds,” etc.

This is not to say that I don’t look forward to such ventures, but…

It seems it is far easier to remake a movie than spend the money for something new and creative (name recognition alone is a “comfortabe” draw to get audiences back in the theaters).

I believe there are very few truly remarkable science fiction movies being made anymore. Why haven’t we seen a filming of likes of Asimov’s “The Foundation” series, or Arthur C. Clarke’s novels? or any other of the great print sci fi novels of the past 30-40 years? Fantasy movies are a different story, but even they–all too often–take the safe route.

Sadly, when a somewhat novel sci fi movie is released it fails to do any serious box office (last year’s “Sunshine,” for example). It was a very good movie yet I would venture very few readers of this site have even heard of the movie.

Doug I am frightened to death when I contemplate what Steven Spielberg is going to do to When Words collide and I shudder at the thought of Keanu Reeves in the role of Klaatu In the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still.

I am still steaming at that Piece of crap remake of War of the Worlds. After 1941 this Spielbergs worst film ever.

The problem is that most directors don’t understand Scifi nor do they want to. and thats why we don’t get alot of really good science fiction movies. Hard scif serious scif seems to be a taboo in Hollywood,

From what I have heard the Foundation series has been optioned again for the movies not that it will ever see production.

Your right of course, its cheaper for Hollywood to feed off the past rather then creat. the only problem is that we all getting cheated and in long run the movie companies will be the big losers. Originality has become taboo in Hollywood as well