Sci-Fi TV Saturday: 2013, Doctor Who, Fringe, Lost, Smallville, V + more

In Sci-Fi TV this week, there’s news on a TV series based on the upcoming film 2012, V premiering strong (and a showrunner change and interviews with the cast), Michael Shanks talking about his role as Hawkman on Smallville, Fringe season two scoops, Steven Moffat talking about the future of Doctor Who and more, including the latest television ratings, casting bites, images and videos.

GENRE TV NEWS

V Premieres With Impressive Ratings + Showrunner Change
The series premiere of "V" Tuesday night drew an impressive 14.30 million viewers and a record-high — for a new series this fall — 5.2 A18-49 rating.  The show grew in each 1/4 hour, peaking from 8:45-9:00 p.m. with 15.0 million viewers and a 5.5 A18-49 rating.  Meanwhile, THR has reported that "Chuck" executive producer Scott Rosenbaum has come on board the new series to serve as executive producer/showrunner. Jeff Bell, who joined the show in June and was replaced by Scott Peters in late August after the show went on "creative hiatus" after episodes two and three were shot, is expected to depart.  Peters will remain on board as an executive producer alongside Jace Hall and Steve Pearlman. In other news, here are some excerpts from interviews given by stars Morena Baccarin and Laura Vandervoort.  Baccarin was asked to respond to comparisons that some in the press have been making about how her character Anna is meant to be President Barack Obama:

"I don’t think we’re saying Anna is President Obama. But she is the leader of her people, and she is coming down to Earth and offering healthcare, and offering cures for diseases, and things that sort of clean out and give people hope, and there are definite parallels to be drawn and our intentions are to create a show that people relate to. And I think this is something that’s been on people’s minds, even before Obama… finding hope again, and healthcare, and finding a leader, and someone who can save us from the hole we’ve gotten ourselves into."

And here’s an excerpt of Sci-Fi TV Zone’s interview with Laura Vandervoort discussing her character Lisa:

You say she’s there for peace –

"I was just going to say, the way you can look at it is she’s been given an order to get humans to join the Ambassador Program, and that’s her task and that’s what she’s there for. She’s very focused, and she’s getting the best possible humans she thinks are appropriate for the job."

Do you think she’s going to develop a more sympathetic side?

"I think so, without giving too much away, I think when she experiences a bit of the hate that’s going on with the Visitors being on earth, and protestors, some of the things she sees impact her more than she expects. She feels more for some of the humans, I think, and I think she’s learning more about dealing with conflict and not being wanted. "

Read the complete interviews at io9 and Sci-Fi TV Zone (plus another with Vandervoort at VisitorSite).  "V" airs Tuesday’s at 8:00 p.m. on ABC.

Episode two – "There Is No Normal Anymore" [more at VisitorSite]

Episode three – "It’s Only The Beginning" [more at VisitorSite]

Promotional posters

Promo for episode two – "There Is No More Normal Anymore"

Sneak peek at episode two

Watch more clips at this link

Fringe Season Two Scoop
"Fringe" returned Thursday night after two weeks off the air due to Baseball and SCI FI Wire has the scoop on some of the threads that remain to be answered for the rest of the second season.  Here’s a selection of some of what’s to come:

Do we meet the alternate-universe versions of Walter (John Noble)? Olivia (Anna Torv)?

"I have that question as well," Torv said. "I’m hoping that there is [an alt-Olivia]. But then I don’t know … which I would prefer if she ends up coming. I don’t know if I would prefer her to be just, like, fractionally off. … I would love to see … she’s completely, you know, 180 [degrees different]. … My pitch would be, and I think that’s what a lot of people are saying, too, … with the discovery of the fact that the Peter here is clearly not from here, then it makes sense that maybe the Walter over there is angry with the Walter here, and that’s kind of the whole thing behind [the Pattern]. But I don’t know. They do sometimes surprise. Sometimes they put these clues in and then they flip it on its head and you’ve been wrong all along. But that’s where I’m going."

Will Olivia meet and confront the Observer?

Yes. "There’s an episode coming up that is called ‘August,’ and it sort of deals with the Observer," Torv says. "It’s a really, really beautiful, beautiful episode, actually, so I won’t say anything more, but that’s actually very soon. Yeah."

Will Walter confront his old partner, William Bell (Leonard Nimoy)?

Count on it.

"We’ve introduced William Bell as a major player now, and Leonard’s been back a couple of times," Noble says, revealing: "I did a lovely scene with him the other day. A very interesting scene which I’m not going to tell you about, but it was amazing. What it revealed. The revelation in that was shocking. It was shocking to me when I read it."

Noble adds: "What we’re dealing with is, we’ve been told that there’s a breach, that there will have to be a repercussion for this breach. And so as we build through now, we’re coming towards what they’re calling a war. … [If you] break the laws of nature, you will pay. That’s going to happen. So we’ll build through season two up to that point. In the meantime, we’ll continue to do stories that are interesting, and we’ve done some, I think some of our very, very best scripts. Last, this year, we’ve done some amazing [things]. Just what we’ve been shooting for the last five episodes is extraordinary."

"Fringe" airs Thursday’s at 9:00 p.m. on Fox.

Set images [more at SpoilerTV]

Episode eight – "August" [SpoilerTV]

Promo for episode seven – "Of Human Action"

Featurette: Scenemaker for episode six – "Earthling"

Michael Shanks Talks about his Smallville Gig
Michael Shanks ("Stargate SG-1") will play the DC Comics character Hawkman in an upcoming episode of The CW’s "Smallville", and the actor spoke with Huffington Post about the role, which he’ll play in the upcoming two-part JLA-focused story arc "Society" and "Legends", both penned by comic book writer Geoff Johns:

OK, I have to jump right in to your guest appearance as Hawkman on Smallville because everyone is freaking out about it. I know you can’t tell me a lot, but what can you tell me?

"Well, I think the cat’s out of the proverbial bag, but a few characters from the Justice Society are showing up in Smallville this season, in an episode which has now been turned into a two-parter. "Society" is directed by Glen Winter, and the second part, "Legends" is directed by Tom Welling. And both written by Geoff Johns, who is the famous comic book writer who also gave rebirth in the DC Universe to the character I’m playing, Hawkman. So what can I tell you about the plot line? Hmm."

I know you can’t reveal much…

"Let’s just say that a few of the Justice Society characters have come out of retirement to meet up with an old foe and happen to cross paths with Clark (Tom Welling) and some of the characters from the Justice League. And let’s just say there are some misunderstandings."

I heard that there may be some sort of fight between Chloe (Allison Mack), Green Arrow (Justin Hartley) and Hawkman.

Yeah, there’s going to be some stuff going on. There’s going to be some stuff going on for sure. There’s going to be some conflict. Both with heroes and villains alike. [laughs] I love doing this dance…it’s one of those things where I was told, when I was originally getting the part, one of my publicists wanted to know what was going on, and just even that, they said, ‘No, we can’t. We have to wait until it’s legally cleared. There’s all this stuff and legal wranglings and we kind of don’t want anyone to know.’ They want to control the information and I get that. But literally the next day, some website thing had it up. All the information. More information then even I knew. And I went, oh, OK, there goes that.

Here are some more "Smallville" ‘bites’:

• Although they would love to have him back, there’s no truth to the rumor that Michael Rossenbaum is returning to the show: "We all love him. The crew and the cast love him. We would love to have him back. We’re constantly talking to him trying to figure out if there’s a way. And believe me, we will keep fighting that fight until the final episode. And I know he’d love to come back, too," said executive producer Kelly Souders. [EW]
• Is there any truth to the rumor that the show will segue into a new series called "Metropolis"?  Executive producer Kelly Souders isn’t sure:  "There’s nothing official that I know of, but who knows? It’s hard to say goodbye to this franchise. It’s the show that keeps on going," said Souders… [EW]
• …In a separate interview, Souders also talked about how the current season could end with Clark building a new costume, which would eventually lead to him donning iconic Superman costume. [TV Guide Magazine]
• Serinda Swan will return as Zatanna in an upcoming episode titled "Warrior". [TV Guide Magazine]
• The CW has released the episode synopsis for episodes nine ("Pandora"). [KryptonSite]

Episode eight – "Idol"  [more at KryptonSite]

Promo for episode nine – "Idol"

Roland Emmerich Confirms Plans for 2012 Sequel TV Series
"2012" director Roland Emmerich has confirmed speculation about a TV series — called "2013" — that will take place after the events of the upcoming film:

“The plan is that it is 2013 and it’s about what happens after the disaster,” Emmerich said. “It is about the resettling of Earth. That is very, very fascinating. (2012 writer/producer) Harald Kloser and I came up with the idea and we have the luxury of having a producer on the film who is a big TV producer, Mark Gordon. We said to Mark, ‘Why don’t you do a TV show that picks up where the movie leaves off and call it 2013?’ I think it will focus on a group of people who survived but not on the boats … maybe they were on a piece of land that was spared or one that became an island in the process of the crust moving. There are so many possibilities of what they could do and I’d be excited to watch it.”

Here are some more details courtesy CinemaBlend:

As speculated, the new series will be called 2013 and will focus on the aftermath of the cataclysmic events of the film. With the world in disarray, it’s time to rebuild. Emmerich says it’s "not the bright happy future everyone was imagining" when the film ends. Instead, things look bleak. But this is humanity, so of course we can rise up from this.

Emmerich mentiond both Lost and District 9 as models for the tone of the new show, which means epic casts, complex and involved storytelling and a gritty realism. We think that sounds fantastic. You can never get enough post-apocalyptic shows on television, and those we do get struggle to stick around.

Executive producer Mark Gordon has reportedly already entered into talks with ABC to develop the disaster drama (ABC has declined comment).

Lost Producers Talk Season Six
SPOILERS FOLLOW Although the fate [highlight to view] of Juliet has already been sealed ("The decision to kill Juliet was absolutely brutal," says executive producer Damon Lindelof), the actress has confirmed that she will be active in the upcoming sixth and final season of "Lost".  EW chatted with Mitchell and producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse about the upcoming season.  Here’s part of the interview dealing with what role Juliet will play in season six:

On the decision to off Juliet:

CUSE: “As the story is now nearing its conclusion, some characters just aren’t going to make it all the way to the end. Even beloved characters aren’t going to make it all the way to the end. And sometimes we have to do things that are really painful, like killing Juliet, because that’s what makes the story feel like the stakes are genuine, and people feel invested that characters who are beloved can actually perish on our show. It was an enormously powerful story that concluded the entire season of the show. So she was sacrificed in service of the story, and I think was hugely responsible for the season being viewed as successful because that was how it ended.… But she will always loom as one of our favorite characters, and even more importantly, favorite people that we’ve ever worked with on this show.”

LINDELOF: “What always gives us pause—especially in this instance—is we just love working with Elizabeth. And she always brings it, she always gives more than we expected, and transcends the material. She has always been so gracious and sweet and lovely…. That conversation [in which he and Cuse delivered the bad news] went the same way that the entire relationship did, which is Elizabeth was completely understanding, sweet, and wonderful. And she was bummed, as were we.”

LINDELOF: “Juliet basically birthed season 6 by the actions that she takes in the final seconds of season 5. She is completely responsible for the endgame of the show. So the character is going to be seen in a slightly different light this year. We gave her that action for a reason, and that’s because she’s so important to the fabric of the story.”

Head on over to EW to read the rest of the interview.  ABC is expected to premiere the sixth season of "Lost" next January.

Set images [more at HawaiiWeblog]

Steven Moffat Talks About The Future of Doctor Who
New "Doctor Who" executive producer/showrunner Steven Moffat was present at the Screenwriters Festival in Cheltenham last Thursday night and spoke about what’s in store for the fifth season, and beyond, of the hit BBC series.  Courtesy Den of Geek, here are some highlights from the chat:

• Could the new Tardis interior be influenced by Peter Cushing’s, from the movie version of the show? Steven Moffat revealed that he’s certainly a fan of Cushing’s Tardis, so don’t be surprised if its influence it felt…
• Mr Moffat is penning six (SIX!) episodes of the next series of the show. Add to that the earlier news that Richard Curtis is penning an episode, and that’s six more to work out. It seems that Moffat wasn’t to be drawn on that, though, although he didn’t confirm or seemingly deny rumours of high profile guest writers being involved (although Curtis falls into that camp, to be fair).
• Moffat said that Matt Smith was the third person auditioned for the role, reiterating that he’s very much a young man coming across a lot older.
• The biggest challenge for Steven Moffat about Doctor Who’s new series? According to the man himself, it’s writing the final episode…

In other news, The BBC has released the synopsis for the upcoming "Doctor Who" special "The Waters of Mars".  The special, the second of four set to air this year, premieres on Sunday, November 15th.  Read the full synopsis at Blogtor Who. Less than a week later, on Saturday, November 21st, the new animated series "Dreamland" makes its debut.  You can read individual episode synopses for the six-part series at Blogtor Who.

"The Waters of Mars" [more at Den of Geek and BlogtorWho]

"The Waters of Mars" trailer

Three-minute clip from "The Waters of Mars"

Watch two more clips here and here

First clip from "Doctor Who: Dreamland"

CASTING BITES

• Maggie Grace (Shannon) is the only holdout among the original cast to come back for the sixth and final season of "Lost".  According to her representative, Grace "has been asked, but nothing more than that."… [E! Online]
• …Meanwhile, Zuleikha Robinson (Illana) and Jeff Fahey (Frank) have been upgraded to series regulars… [The ODI]
• …And lastly, check out a casting call for a one-day guest star in episode eight at SpoilerTV.
• A casting call is looking for three characters to appear as guest stars in the upcoming 13th episode of the Fox series "Fringe". [SpoilerTV]
• Diedrich Bader ("The Drew Carey Show") will guest star on the ninth episode of "Chuck".  The episode, titled "Chuck vs. The Beard", also marks the directorial debut of star Zach Levi. [EW]
• Producers of "FlashForward" are looking for two actors to play parts in the upcoming 13th episode of the ABC series, and four others in possibly the same episode… [SpoilerTV and SpoilerTV]
• …And another actress — in her 50s-60s — guest star, and then recur, as a "pragmatic retired school administrator" in episode 14. [SpoilerTV]
• Producers of "Supernatural" are looking for an actor to guest star as a 17-year-old Gary in episode 12 "Swap Meat".  The character is described as being "Puny, gawky, bespectacled, smart and geeky, he’s a naive, amateur Satanist who works at a fast food joint and longs to break free from his wealthy, stifling parents". [SpoilerTV]

Images from episode 10 – "Abandon All Hope" [more at Chicago Tribune and SpoilerTV]

NEW VIDEOS

Caprica

Trailer, featuring first footage of James Marsters as terrorist leader Barnabus Greely

TV spot: "Control and Power"

Watch more TV spots at this link

Chuck

Interview with Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah)

Eastwick

Promo for episode eight – "Pain and Pleasure"

FlashForward

Promo for episode eight – "Rules of the Game"

Ghost Whisperer

Promo for episode eight – "Dead Listing"

Heroes

Promo for episode nine – "Shadowboxing"

Sanctuary

Promo for episode six – "Veritas"

Stargate Universe

Promo for episode eight – "Time"

Supernatural

Promo for episode nine – "The Real Ghostbusters"

The Vampire Diaries

Promo for episode nine – "History Repeating"

Sneak peek from episode nine

Watch another sneak peek clip at this link

TV BITES

• Later this season, a major male character on "The Vampire Diaries" will be revealed to be a werewolf. [TV Guide]
• Episode 11 of "Heroes" will be called "Thanksgiving" and will, unsurprisingly, focus on Thanksgiving: "H.R.G. hosts an unconventional Thanksgiving dinner; the Petrelli family receives a surprise guest; Lydia searches for the truth." [SpoilerTV]
• The CW has released the synopsis for "Abandon All Hope", the upcoming 10th episode of "Supernatural" which features a confrontation between Sam, Dean and the Devil. [SpoilerTV]
• ABC has released the synopsis for "Believe", the ninth episode of "FlashForward"… [SpoilerTV]
• "True Blood" executive producer Alan Ball was joined by writers Raelle Tucker and Alexander Woo at the panel for the show at the Paley Center for Media and discussed what’s in store for the HBO show’s upcoming third season. [SCI FI Wire]
• "Legend of the Seeker" premieres this weekend in syndication (check your local listings).  The promo for the second season premiere ("Marked") is embedded below.

• NBC has released the synopsis for "Brother’s Keeper", the ninth episode of "Heroes". [SpoilerTV]
• We’ll meet Ted’s brother, "a fast-talking, schmucky salesman type" on the upcoming season of ABC’s "Better off Ted" (which premieres December 8th at 9:30 p.m.). [E! Online]
• The seventh episode of "Lost" season six is called "Dr. Linus". [The ODI]
• Nathan Fillion says that Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon, Jed Whedon and his wife Maurissa Tancharoen have already written a few songs for the "Dr. Horrible" sequel… [MTV]
• …Speaking of which, here’s an interview with Zack Whedon, writer of the upcoming prequel comic book series "Dr. Horrible" from Dark Horse Comics.  Also, click the image source below to see more preview images. [MTV]

Seven-page Preview [more at MTV]

SCI FI TV RATINGS [Based on final national numbers]

Monday

"Heroes" drew 5.86 million viewers (+2%) and a 2.5 A18-49 rating (n/c).  I know there has been talk about the show being close to cancellation (I’ve said this as well), but it’s interesting to note that even though the show has fallen drastically from its peak highs, it nearly beat the A18-49 rating of "FlashForward" (2.6) and easily destroyed Fox’s "Fringe" (1.7).

Tuesday

As noted above, "V" drew 14.30 million viewers and a 5.2 A18-49 rating.For a bit of historical perspective — which I admit is probably more interesting than it is meaningful — see my post in the comments.

Wednesday

"Eastwick" drew 4.44 million viewers (-12%) and a 1.5 A18-49 rating (-17%).  Those were both series lows.  Again, it’s hard to see a scenario where ABC orders more episodes.

Thursday

"FlashForward" drew a record low 8.57 million viewers (-4%) and a 2.6 A18-49 rating (-4%).  ABC will no doubt highlight expected growth in DVR/time-shifting data, but the slow decline in A18-49 rating for the show is concerning. ABC needs to find a way to shore about that key audience. Meanwhile over on The CW,   "The Vampire Diaries" drew a healthy 4.09 million viewers (-2%) and a 1.9 A18-49 rating (-5%).  "Supernatural" took a bit of a hit, drawing 2.64 million viewers (-10%) and a 1.2 A18-49 rating (-14%).

On Fox, "Fringe" returned from hiatus and drew a series low 4.86 million viewers (-16%) and a 1.7 A18-49 rating (-23%).  Although the show has done well with DVR/time-shifters, the show is struggled tremendously against stiff competition.  Also, Fox did a fair amount of advertising for the show during the World Series, yet it still fell double-digits from its last original episode.

Friday [Nov. 6th episode numbers are based on preliminary fast affiliate data]

"Ghost Whisperer" 7.93 million viewers (-4%) and a 1.8 A18-49 rating (-10%) and "Medium" 7.58 million viewers (-3%) and a 1.8 A18-49 rating (-5%) continue to have a hold on the Friday night competition, but the two shows were a bit weaker than normal.  Meanwhile, "Smallville" hit another season high with 2.76 million viewers (+14%) and a 1.2 A18-49 rating (+9%).  Yes, "Smallville" managed to out-draw "Supernatural" in viewers (2.76M vs. 2.64M) and tie the show in the key A18-49 demographic.  The show’s year-to-year numbers remain down, but it’s doing better than expected which gives me reason to believe it’s 10th season renewal chances are probably better than 50/50 at this point.  Note: Last week the show was affected by preemptions and its numbers went down with the final adjustments.  At the time the numbers represented season highs — 2.60 million viewers and a 1.2 A18-49 rating — but those numbers dropped to 2.42 million viewers and a 1.1 A18-49 rating.  So until the finals are released, take extra note of the preliminary aspect of these ratings.

In cable ratings news, the October 30th episode of "Stargate Universe" drew 1.97 million viewers (-2%) and a 0.8 A18-49 rating (n/c).  Week-to-week there was very little loss, but the viewer figure is a new series low (it tied a series low in A18-49 rating). Lead-out "Sanctuary" drew 1.61 million viewers (-5%) and a 0.5 A18-49 rating (n/c). Note: Ratings for last night’s episodes (Nov. 5th) of both series will be known next week. Meanwhile, Syfy’s Wednesday night (Nov. 4th) pairing of "Ghost Hunters" (2.46 million viewers (-20%) and a 1.3 A18-49 rating (-7%)) and "Destination Truth" (1.92 million viewers (-10%) and a 0.8 A18-49 rating (-11%)) were below average but still managed to outdraw their respective Friday night counterparts.

CHART (10/26/2009 to 11/1/2009)

Follow Russ on his blog: Your Entertainment Now and on Twitter: Twitter.com/YourEntNow.