Sci-Fi TV Sunday: LOST, V, Smallville, Fringe, Legend of the Seeker, SGU, Futurama + more

This week’s Sci-Fi TV brings you up to date on all the latest renewals and new show news (Fringe, Smallville, Legend of the Seeker, Game of Thrones, Futurama), plus we have a big updates on LOST V, SGU and Warehouse 13. All that and more including the latest television ratings, casting bites and new images and video previews.

GENRE TV NEWS

Big Lost Update: cast return + Spoilers + interviews + more
Another former cast member is returning to "LOST". [SPOILERS]  Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Michelle Rodriguez will reprise her role as the late Ana-Lucia "in at least one" of this season’s episodes.

There’s no word where or exactly when Ana-Lucia will resurface this time around, but, come on, this has “flash-sideways cameo!” written all over it!

In other casting news, E! Online reports that Rebecca Mader’s return role as Charlotte will happen very soon and there are rumors that she [SPOILERS–highlight to view] could be the mom of Jack’s son David in the flash-sideways:

I’m told Rebecca Mader’s character will return very soon "in a big way," and she will be "very close to a male lead." Hmmm…Could Jack’s son David have ivory skin and blue eyes for a reason? Could Charlotte be the mom? That’s the new theory I’m floating after we axed Julie Bowen’s Sara as a contender.

Important Facts about the Smoke Monster/Man in Black/Fake Locke [via E! Online—watch interviews with Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson here and here]:

1. He is "evil incarnate." That is an accurate description. And important.
2. He "appears as someone you know who has died."
3. He cannot kill a candidate.
4. He is a compulsive liar. Notice how he doesn’t make statements, but rather starts each promise with "What if I told you…?"
5. He cannot hurt children.

We covered some of last weekend’s "LOST" panel at PaleyFest in an update to last week’s Sci-Fi TV, but here are a few more highlights from the panel [via EW]:

• The writers are in the process of breaking the series finale (to be written by Damon Lindelof and Calrton Cuse and directed by Jack Bender) and production has wrapped on episode 14, with filming currently taking place on episode 15.
• The answer is "yes" to the following questions: Will Richard and Ilana exchange some words soon? Will we see another painting by Bender? Do some of the characters’ last names have significance, particularly Jack’s? Is Jack married to someone we’ve met before? Was Jacob telling the truth when he said someone was coming to the island? Will we learn more about Hurley and Libby’s connection? Will we see Vincent and Charlie again? Will we learn if Desmond was really on the plane?
• But the answer is "no" to the following: Will we get a conclusion to the story of Ben’s love, Annie? Do the purple circles in Bender’s mural mean anything? Did Juliet’s ex-husband get killed by a smoke bus? Will there be a DVD release of the show in chronological order?
• Much like David Chase went silent after the finale for "The Sopranos" aired, Cuse says that they do not plan on commenting on the show’s series finale after it airs.
• Final spoiler from Lindelof: "Water"

Interview: "Search for Clues With ‘Lost’ Cast at PaleyFest" [YouTube]

Watch an interview with Emilie de Ravin (Claire) here

The next episode of "LOST"  is called "Dr. Linus" and airs this Tuesday, March 9th (check out a press release for the episode here and another interview with Michael Emerson here).  A couple bites follow below.

• The "LOST" love triangle (Jack, Sawyer and Kate) will take a back seat: "We’re moving into the endgame of the show [and] the stakes have moved beyond, ‘Who’s Kate going to pick?’ and into, ‘Is anyone going to be left alive?,’ says executive producer Damon Lindelof. "I hope [viewers are] going to be satisfied with what we’re doing, but we’re not writing a romance novel here." [EW]
• The four-letter word that describes what the island is has an "O" in it. [E! Online]
• We’ll learn about why Richard Albert (Nestor Carbonell) ages in the March 23rd episode: "the ‘A’ story focuses on the origins of this character. There’s a little bit of stuff on the island, but not much. It [mostly] deals with the past," Carbonell says. [EW]

Interview with Nestor Carbonell [YouTube]

• We’ll soon learn whether or not Desmond was on the plane in the season premiere. [TV Guide]
• Check out leaked call sheet spoilers for episodes 6×08, 6×09 and 6×10 over at Dark UFO.
• No series regulars will appear in episode 6×15 – "Across the Sea". [E! Online]
• ABC has partnered with Kia to launch a contest for fans to create a 35-second "LOST" finale promo.  You could win a trip to a LOST party and have your finale promo shown on television during the final season. [ABC]

Promotional stills for episode 6×07 – "Dr. Linus" [more at DarkUFO]

Promo for "Dr. Linus" [YouTube]

"Dr. Linus": Sneak peek [YouTube]

Watch another sneak peek here

The CW renews Smallville for 10th season + previews
The CW has confirmed that they’ve renewed "Smallville" for a 10th season.  Although ratings are down from season nine, "Smallville" has performed very well on Friday’s, "dramatically" improving the network’s ratings performance in its Friday at 8:00-9:00 p.m. time period:

+67% among adults 18-34, 200% in men 18-34, +75% in adults 18-49, +183% in men 18-49 and +74% in total viewers.

TV Guide reports that Tom Welling, Erica Durance, Justin Hartley (who also has a writing credit on episode 9×20 – "Sacrifice") and Cassidy Freeman have contracts in place for at least the 10th season.  There is no official word on Allison Mack or Callum Blue. Entertainment Weekly was the first to report the news and adds that it’s unclear if season 10 will be its final season.  The bigger question?  Will Clark finally put on the suit and become Superman?  Only time will tell. In other news, KryptonSite has learned the titles for episode 9×21 ("Hostage") and episode 9×22, the season finale ("Salvation").  KryptonSite also reports that Greg Beeman, who departed the show after Season 5, will be returning to direct the season nine finale. "Smallville" returns to The CW with new episodes on April 2nd.

Promo for episode "9×15 – "Escape" [YouTube]

Trailer: "Small Talk" [YouTube]

SGU S2 filming next week + more episode titles + syndication details
"Stargate Universe" executive producer Joseph Mallozzi posted on his weblog that filming for the second season of the show will begin next Wednesday, March 10th.  Production on the season will begin with the fourth episode "Pathogen", written by Carl Binder and to be directed by a "special guest director".  In related news, Mallozzi has revealed that two new writer-producers have come on board the show for the second season:

Hey, meet the new Stargate writer-producers –
Remi Aubuchon (Caprica, 24, Persons Unknown, Summerland, The Lyon’s Den) and Linda McGibney (Homicide: Life on the Streets, Family Law, Chicago Hope).

…Mallozzi has also revealed the titles for the first five episodes of the second season on his Weblog [via SpoilerTV]:

•2.01 “Intervention” (written by Paul Mullie, to be directed by Andy Mikita)
•2.02 “Aftermath” (written by Robert C. Cooper)
•2.03 “Awakenings” (written by Joseph Mallozzi)
•2.04 "Pathogen" (written by Carl Binder)
•2.05 "Cloverdale" (written by Brad Wright)

On the scheduling front, Syfy has revealed the schedule for the first five episodes of season 1.5 (which will run 10 episodes) [via GateWorld]: 1.11 – "Space" — April 2; 1.12 – "Divided" — April 9; 1.13 – "Faith" — April 16; 1.14 – "Human" — April 23 and 1.15 – "Sabotage" — April 30. Anyone wanting to catch up can do so in one day-long marathon of all 10 episodes of the first half of the season beginning at 11:00 a.m. on April 2nd on Syfy.  The marathon will lead into the season 1.5 premiere. And lastly, "Stargate Universe" has been cleared to run in 65% of the country in weekly broadcast syndication.  ‘SGU’ will run on Tribune’s WPIX New York, KCAL Los Angeles, Weigel’s WCIU Chicago and other stations (65% is lower than the norm, but more stations will likely pick it up before the season begins this fall).

Promotional stills for episode 1×11 – "Space" [more at Gateworld]

Promotional stills for episode 1×12 – "Divided" [more at Gateworld]

Season 1.5 promo [YouTube]

More spaceship and lizard skin to be revealed on V
Andrew Orloff is the executive creative director/visual-effects supervisor for Zoic Studios, the team behind the special effects of ABC’s new "V" and in an interview with SCI FI Wire Orloff revealed that fans will be getting more glimpses into the V’s spaceships and aliens:

"It’s just more…If you’re a fan of the show, you see the engine room of the ship in the last episode. We’ll keep continuing to open up and explore different rooms and parts of the ship that’ll be, I think, interesting for the viewers. It’ll drive the story forward."

And what about seeing more of the true identity of the V’s?  That’s definitely on tap to be revealed before the end of the season:

"[We’re] definitely getting more into the Vs and what’s underneath the skin, what’s kind of hinted at in the first four episodes," Orloff continued. "We’re going to be covering that a little bit more. It always has been a combination between prosthetic makeup and CG. So it’s a prosthetic makeup effect that’s enhanced by computer-generated pieces of bits of goopy, gory stuff. You’re going to see more."

"V" returns to ABC on Tuesday, March 30th.

First promotional still from episode 1×05 [thevfiles.info]

Cast promo shoot stills [more at thevifiles.info]

HBO orders Game of Thrones to series + First image

HBO has green lit a first season for the highly anticipated series "Game of Thrones", based on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novels.  HBO picked up a total of 10 episodes (9 + the pilot) and production begins in Belfast this June, for a premiere sometime next spring.  The tag line reads:

Based on the series of books by George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones is an epic struggle for power set in a vast and violent fantasy kingdom.

HBO also released the first image from the series which you can click on above to see in full.  The cast includes Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Peter Dinklage (Cersei’s brother Tyrion) and Sean Bean (aristocrat Ned Stark).

Futurama returns on Comedy Central this June
Can you believe it’s been more than 6 years since the last original half-hour episode of "Futurama" aired?  Well, the wait is almost over. As previously reported, Comedy Central announced last year that they ordered 26 new episodes of the show and now the network has set a premiere date.  HitFix is reporting that the show will premiere on Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 10:00 p.m.  It’s unclear at the moment whether all 26 episodes will serve as a season (which would be its sixth) or be spread across two seasons.  The highest episode order the show ever received came in season two (20 episodes)

Legend of the Seeker NOT canceled, but Tribune
On Thursday news broke that the syndicated sci-fi drama "Legend of the Seeker" was in trouble. KSiteTV reported that Tribune Company (owner of several television stations) felt that "ratings did not merit renewing" the show. However, that isn’t the end of the story. Executive producer and writer Mike Sussman (formerly of "Star Trek: Enterprise") was quick to get to Twitter to quell fan fears of the show’s reported cancellation:

"Everyone, please, chillax. #LegendoftheSeeker has *not* been cancelled. Plans are ongoing for season three. Spread the word.”

So what’s going on here?  It appears as if Tribune owned stations will NOT be renewing the show, but other stations in markets where Tribune operates could instead pick the show up.  It’s also, I suppose, a possibility that "Legend of the Seeker" could be moving to cable, but I stress we’ve heard nothing about that. I’m sure we’ll learn more in the coming days and weeks.

FOX Renews "Fringe" For 3rd Season
Wrapping up, as reported here on TrekMovie yesterday, FOX has renewed "Fringe" for a third season.  Click the headline above to see our story on the renewal, which includes the latest promo and some thoughts from series co-creator J.J. Abrams.  "Fringe" returns on April 1st with the episode "Peter".

PREVIEW Video & Images

Caprica

Esai Morales answers fan questions [SCI FI Wire]

Chuck

Promotional stills for episode 3×09 – "Chuck vs. the Beard" [more at Pizquita]

Promo for "Chuck vs. the Beard" [YouTube]

Sneak peek of "Chuck vs. the Beard" [YouTube via SpoilerTV]

Watch three more sneak peek’s: 1 | 2 | 3

Behind the scenes of "Chuck vs. the Beard" [via SpoilerTV]

More behind the scenes clips and interviews here

Doctor Who

Set images [more at Alun Vega via Blogtor Who / Blogtor Who / Blogtor Who]

FlashForward

Promotional stills for episodes 1×11 & 1×12 – "Revelation Zero, Parts 1 & 2" [more at dh-central.net via SpoilerTV]

Set images [more at Accidental Sexiness]

Sneak peek at episode 1×11 – "Revelation Zero, Part 1"  [YouTube]

Watch another sneak peek here

Fringe

Featurette: The Secrets of Fringe: "Perception" [Fox via YouTube]

Human Target

Episode 1×08 – "Babtiste" [more at Pizquita]

The Vampire Diaries

Promotional stills for episode 1×15 – "A Few Good Men" [more at SpoilerTV]

TV BITES

• Disney has confirmed that they’re developing a "Tron" animated series to follow-up this December’s release of "Tron Legacy". Disney is also planning a 10-part micro-series that will premiere in the fall of 2011 on Disney XD. [THR]
• Episode 5×20 of "Supernatural" will be called The Devil You Know".  The episode airs on Thursday, April 29th… [SpoilerTV]
• …The CW has released an episode description for 5×15 – "Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid"… [SPNSite]
• …And here’s the synopsis for episode 1×15 of "The Vampire Diaries" called "A Few Good Men". [SpoilerTV]
• The second season of HBO’s "True Blood" will hit DVD and Blu-ray on May 25th. [Amazon]
• Fox has released a press release for episode 1×08 of "Human Target" entitled "Baptiste".  The episode airs Wednesday, March 17th. [SpoilerTV]
• Here’s how Matt Smith, the new "Doctor Who", describes his character: "He’s an intergalactic genius, a superhero-ish, mad, fumbling, bumbling science geek. He’s everything you can pluck from any universe and put into him."… [Telegraph.co.uk]
• …Three more episode titles (although they could change) for "Doctor Who" have been revealed: Episode 4 – "The Time of Angels", Episode 5 – "Flesh & Stone" and Episode 6 – "Vampires in Venice"…
• …And the BBC has renewed spin-off "The Sarah Jane Adventures" for two additional seasons. Season five will air in 2011. [Blogtor Who]
• Production has begun on the 13-episode second season of Syfy’s "Warehouse 13".  Season two will premiere on Syfy on July 13th. [Syfy]
• …Meanwhile, check out an editorial by Bob Goodman, one of the show’s writers, over at io9.
• The two "FlashForward" episodes "Buddha in the Ruins" and "Kairos" have been merged together into a two-part episode now called "Revelation Zero".  The two episodes will air on Thursday, March 18th back-to-back, with Part 1 airing at 8:00 p.m. and Part 2 at 9:00 p.m… [ABC–click here to read the press release]
• …Two days earlier on Tuesday, March 16th ABC will air the previously announced recap special "What Did You See? at 10:00 p.m.  Check out a press release for the recap special at SpoilerTV…
• …In effort to change his future, Demetri’s (John Cho) fiancé Zoey (Gabrielle Union) will get a job at the FBI: "She’s trying to get more active and thus, puts a strain on my relationships with my co-workers, in particular Mark Benford," Cho says. [TV Guide]
• In the March 15th episode of "Chuck", we’ll learn more about Casey and then the next week, Chuck and Sarah go out on a stakeout/date (check out the synopsis for the episode here)… [EW]
• …In upcoming episodes, four characters will contemplate leaving Burbank and two of them will go through with their plans, although that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re leaving the show. [TV Guide]
• Here are a few articles covering last night’s PaleyFest panel on "The Vampire Diaries": EW | HitFix | reporter.blogs.com

CASTING BITES

• Samantha Smith will reprise her role as Mary Winchester in the April 1st episode of "Supernatural"… [Fancast]
• …Matt Frewer ("Eureka") has been cast as the third of the Four Horseman of the apocalypse, Pestilence, on The CW’s "Supernatural". [TV Guide]
• Jewel Staite ("Firefly") announced that she will guest star in an upcoming episode of "Warehouse 13". [@JewelStaite]
• Shane West will star opposite Maggie Q in The CW’s drama pilot "Nikita". [THR]

SCI-FI RATINGS (Based on final national numbers unless otherwise noted) [@TravisYanan]

After hitting a series low (976,000 viewers and a 0.4 A18-49 rating), Syfy’s "Caprica" bounced up a bit for its fifth episode.  "There Is Another Sky" drew 1.127M viewers last Friday. Adults 18-49 stayed flat at a 0.4 rating.  The season average for "Caprica" — five episodes — is a weak 1.25M viewers and a 0.4 A8-49 rating. [@TravisYanan]

Syfy’s "Ghost Hunters" drew 2.41M viewers and a 1.0 A18-49 rating for its Live season six premiere. [@TravisYanan]

"Legend of the Seeker" dropped to a season low 2.11M viewers for its February 20th episode.  It was a surprising decline since the week prior the show hit its 2nd-highest viewer average for the season (2.62M). Perhaps it had something to do with Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics coverage? Season two is holding steady at an average audience of 2.42M viewers through 12 episodes. [TV by the Numbers]

CHART (2/22/2010 to 2/28/2010)

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