Sci-Fi TV Sunday: LOST, Fringe, Stargate Universe, Smallville, Doctor Who + more

In Sci-Fi TV this week we have all the news (and previews) for Lost, FlashForward, Stargate UniverseV and (the musical) Fringe, and more.  Plus some hints at the Smallville finale (and next season), schedule changes for SyFy, and more including the latest television ratings, casting bites and new images and video previews.

 

GENRE TV NEWS

News and bites from LOST cast
Is Desmond on the side of Jacob or the Smoke Monster / not-Locke? Which ever side is right, says Henry Cusick:

"I think Desmond has always been on the side of doing what’s right, whatever that would be, trying to always do the right thing. So far I’ve never seen him do anything for his own personal satisfaction. He’s never come across as a selfish character. He’s come across I think even more now, a self-less character, so I think that’s the side he’s on."

Check out another interview with Cusick at The ODI.  Meanwhile, Yunjin Kim (Sun) seems to imply that the sideways timeline occurs after the events on the island, and not concurrently:

"Obviously Jin was infertile on the island, but in the flash-sideways he’s perfectly healthy," she says. "I don’t know if that’s because we spent time on the island, even though it’s a different lifeline, and the island cured his infertility, therefore in the flash-sideways he’s completely healthy. That’s what I assumed when I read the script."

Next week’s episode of "LOST" is called "The Last Recruit" and features a showdown between Locke and Jack as the camps merge and "alliances are forged and broken", Tuesday, April 20 from 9:00-10:02 p.m. ET. Here are some bites to round out the week’s "LOST" coverage:

  • There have been a ton of cast returnees this season, but Julie Bown (who played Jack’s ex-wife Sarah) won’t be one of them. [Fancast]
  • One of the upcoming deaths is considered a "game-changer"… [E! Online]
  • …But it looks like [highlight to view] Hurley, Jack, Frank and Sun are safe, because of what the Man in Black said earlier in the season, according to Jorge Garcia: "[he] did give them their word that he wasn’t going to do anything. It’s been established that he has to keep his word," says Garcia. "So if he gives his word, then he’s bound to it." [TV Guide]
  • …Garcia also guest-blogged about last week’s episode, the final Hurley-centric episode of the season, over at TV Watch.
  • Check out an interview with Harold Perrineau — who in last week’s episode reprised his role as Michael — at TV Guide.
  • Download this week’s official "LOST" audio podcast here.
  • And a final note, contrary to what ABC put out in last week’s press release detailing the post-LOST finale "Jimmy Kimmel Live" episode, executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse will not appear on the show to talk about the finale. As they originally said they’re going directly into radio silence after the finale airs.

Promotional stills from episode 6×13 – "The Last Recruit" [more at TV Overmind]

Promo for "The Last Recruit" [YouTube]

Sneak peek from "The Last Recruit" [YouTube]

Watch two more sneak peeks: 1 | 2

Executive producer Brian Peterson talks Smallville season finale
"Smallville" executive producer Brian Peterson spoke with TV Guide and E! Online about the remainder of the season as we head into the show’s ninth season finale.  Here are some excerpts:

What does it mean that the hero has been wearing black all season?
Peterson:
This season has been about Clark exploring an identity as Clark Kent and a very separate identity as this cold, saving Kryptonian. That will propel us into the next season, where he has evolved out of that. He’s been in his Kryptonian cocoon, and he will evolve out of that into the hero we all recognize. For everybody who goes out to be a hero for good, you have to struggle with the darkness before you really can come out the other side of it.

What can you say about the Red Queen? Some fans seem to think that it’s Martha Kent (Annette O’Toole).
Peterson: Obviously I don’t want to tip it one way or another because we have a lot of players on the board that could be the Red Queen. But the Red Queen will continue to play a role all the way through the rest of the season. We’ll find out that the Red Queen trumps almost everybody we thought was actually in control and becomes a really big power player in the show. It’s a really fun direction for the end of the season.

Clark and Lois’ relationship has been great so far. Will she finally learn his secret?
Peterson: What I can say is that this year we’ve really explored the tough duality of Lois having one relationship with this hero, the soldier of duty relationship, and one romantic love relationship with Clark, and so that just drives all the way through episodes 19, 21 and the finale. Everything that’s been going on with that love triangle converges.

Promo for episode 9×19 – "Charade" [YouTube]

More details from the Fringe musical episode, "Brown Betty"
"Fringe" executive producer Jeff Pinkner told EW that they "didn’t set out to do a musical", but the story they set out to do lent itself well to the format:

"We set out to do an episode that explored Walter’s state of mind — he’s dealing with some very upsetting news. When we realized that the way Walter would deal with such news would be to try to anesthetize himself with copious amounts of marijuana, well, singing and dancing became a natural outcome."

Pinkner also teased that Olivia (Anna Torv) plays a central role in Walter’s drug-induced fairy tale: "It’ll be interesting to see how Walter really perceives her." Here are some rumored titles for the final three episodes of the season [via SpoilerTV]: "Northwest Passage" (May 6), "Over There: Part 1" (May 13), Over There: Part 2" (May 20). Speaking of the finale, fellow executive producer J.H. Wyman promises the alt universe will be "different from our own world in ways that are both delightful and disturbing."

Promotional stills from episode 2×20 – "Brown Betty" (aka the musical episode) [more at BSC Review]

Promo for episode 2×18 – "The Man From the Other Side" [YouTube]

Watch some new featurettes at the official website

Stargate Universe: Watch a new Kino webisode

In scheduling news, Syfy has released its broadcast schedule for May which include dates for three episodes of "Stargate Universe":

May 7 – “Sabotage”

May 14 – “Pain”

May 21 – “Subversion”

The show will be off the air on May 28th due to the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Additionally, the first season finale will air on Friday, June 11. Also, executive producer Joseph Mallozzi revealed on his blog the title for episode 13 of season two. The episode, written by new staff writer Linda McGibney, is titled "Alliances". Meanwhile, David Blue, who plays Eli, told Newsarama that we’ll start to see a different dynamic between his character and Rush (Robert Carlyle): "I think Eli and Rush are going head to head…you’re going to see more of Eli not just doing what Rush says…Eli is coming into his own and that frustrates the heck out of Rush."

Promotional stills from episode 1×14 – "Human" [more at MGM]

Promo for "Human" [YouTube]

Q&A with Elyse Levesque [SCI FI Wire]


April 29th FlashForward (mostly) shown May 6th

Originally the April 29th episode of "FlashForward" (titled, "Goodby Yellow Brick Road") was going to correspond to the date of ‘flash forward’ shown in the pilot episode, but due to schedule changes that is no longer the case. However, E! Online is reporting that the April 29th episode will show "the beginning" of the event, with the rest coming on the April 6th episode ("Course Correction"). E! also reports, despite continued declining ratings, there’s "definitely a chance" that "FlashForward" will be renewed, mostly due to do strong performance overseas, with a source saying: "This is a rare case where a low domestic performer could get a surprise pickup."

Promotional images from episode 1×17 – "The Garden of Forking Paths" [more at Pizquita]

Promotional images from episode 1×18 – "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" [more at Pizquita]

Promo for "The Garden of Forking Paths" [YouTube]

Watch another promo here

 

Syfy moving SGU, Caprica and Sanctuary to Tuesdays next season
Syfy will reportedly move its Friday night TV lineup, which includes "Stargate Universe", "Caprica" and "Sanctuary" to Tuesday nights beginning this fall. According to USA Today, the move is both to capture higher ratings and in relation to the network picking up the WWE series "Friday Night SmackDown" (which is exiting MyNetworkTV) and dropping WWE’s new "NXT".

PREVIEW Videos & Images

Ashes to Ashes

Promotional stills from episode 3×03 [more at Den of Geek]

Doctor Who

Promotional stills from the video game "Doctor Who: The Adventure Games" [more at Blogtor Who]

Promotional stills from episode 5×04 – "Victory of the Daleks" [Blogtor Who]

Promotional still for season five [Blogtor Who]

Introducing the Daleks (with introduction by Matt Smith and Karen Gillan) [Blogtor Who]

Watch more clips here

Footage from the first installment of "Doctor Who: The Adventure Games" [Blogtor Who]

Interview with Steven Moffat on the future of "Doctor Who" [Film School Rejects]

Supernatural

Promotional stills from episode 5×19 – "Hammer of the Gods" [more at SPNsite]

Promo for "Hammer of the Gods" [YouTube]

Clip from "Hammer of the Gods" [YouTube]

True Blood

Season three poster #4 [Shock Till You Drop]

Season three promo [YouTube via SpoilerTV]

V

Promotional stills from episode 1×09 – "Heretic’s Fork" [more at The V Files]

Promo for episode 1×08 – "We Can’t Win" [YouTube]

Clip from "We Can’t Win" [YouTube]

Watch another clip here

The Vampire Diaries

Promotional stills from episode 1×21 – "Isabel" [more at Vampiresite]

Interview with the cast [via SpoilerTV]

video

Promo for episode 1×19 – "Miss Mystic Falls" [YouTube]

Clip from "Miss Mystic Falls" [YouTube]

Watch another clip here

TV BITES

  • The Syfy original movie event “Riverworld”, written by ‘The Next Generation’ / ‘Deep Space Nine’ writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe airs tonight on Syfy from 7:00-11:00 p.m. ET.

  • Internal BBC memos reveal that Doctor Who‘s regenerations — which started in 1966 — were modeled on bad LSD trips, meant to convey the "hell and dank horror" of the drug. [BBC]

  • The season finale of "Chuck" will feature the return of someone from Chuck’s past that will "do him great harm". [EW]

  • Rachel Miner, who played Meg on "Supernatural", will not be returning before the end of the season. [EW]

  • "The Vampire Diaries" fans/spoiler hounds, be sure to head on over to SpoilerTV for an update on what’s to come for the remainder of the season.

  • You can now put in your pre-orders for DVD sets of the ninth season of "Smallville", the third season of "Chuck", the first season of "V" and the first season DVD and Blu-ray set of "The Vampire Diaries" on Amazon.com.

  • The 10th episode of "V" is called "Hearts and Minds"… [SpoilerTV]

  • …And you can check out an interview with star Joel Gretsch (Father Jack) at The Flickcast.

  • Here are some press releases/synopses from the various shows we cover:

  • "Smallville" – 9×21 – "Hostage". [SpoilerTV]

  • "Supernatural" – 5×21 – "Two Minutes to Midnight". [SpoilerTV]

  • "Doctor Who" – 5×05 – "Flesh & Stone". [Blogtor Who]

  • "Chuck" – 3×15 – "Chuck vs. the Role Models". [ChuckTV.net]

  • "The Vampire Diaries" – 1×21 – "Isobel". [SpoilerTV]

  • "FlashForward" – 1×17-1×18 – "The Garden of the Forking Paths" & "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road".

  • [Facebook/FlashForward]

  • "V" – 1×09 – "Heretics Fork". [MultipleVerses]

CASTING BITES

  • A rumor surfaced last week that Brandon Routh would be starring in AMC’s "The Walking Dead", but it wasn’t true. The official site for the actor has debunked the rumor. [@BrandonRouthcom]

  • Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder) has confirmed that he is no longer on "Heroes". [BBC]

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

"Ghost Hunters" drew 2.15 million viewers and a 1.0 A18-49 rating last Wednesday, up +3% in viewers and even in A18-49 rating from the week prior (2.08M / 1.0 rating). Lead-out "Destination Truth" drew 1.93 million viewers and a 0.9 A18-49 rating. That was up +10% in viewers and +29% in A18-49 rating from the week prior (1.76M / 0.7 rating). [@TravisYanan]

"Legend of the Seeker" ran a repeat in the most recent week’s ratings, although it may be important to note that the repeat drew the series’ lowest audience yet (1.74M viewers). "Legend of the Seeker" has averaged 2.40 million viewers through 15 original episodes so far this season. [TV by the Numbers]

"Doctor Who" set a new record for most downloads in a week from BBC’s online iPlayer. The fifth season premiere, "The Eleventh Hour", garnered 1.27 million requests to view seven days after it aired on BBC. The record for most views in 2009 was an episode of "Top Gear". It’s possible "Doctor Who" will exceed that figure when final figures are calculated.. [The Doctor Who News Page]

CHART (4/5/2010 to 4/11/2010)


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

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Are all the clips blocked outside the US or am I just behind on software? It’s been going on for awhile…

I do enjoy this article every week though, amongst the others, so thanks.

first. good stuff

I’ve watched LOST since episode 1; but this season has hardly felt like a ‘final season’ as far as the reveals and question-answering…I am NOT disappointed in it, but come on…or are they just gonna do a ‘No Exit’ episode like Battlestar Galactica in which EVERY question gets answered in one episode??? I thoroughly enjoyed the Desmond-centric ep last week! I will miss this show, just for the quality it puts out so consistently, but every time I think I am keeping things straight, I watch some scene that totally fraks my mind!!!!!!!

Saving my Capricas on DVR for after LOST and 24 are done. No time!

Loved Human Target, but its not the comic-based story I admired (check out the graphic novel collections from Peter Milligan!!!!! Outstanding!) But that kind of storytelling wouldn’t work on prime time network tv. This works well though. Just not really Human Target…they just borrowed the title and name…

I will check out V when the Blu Ray comes out. Has anyone liked it????

All looks wonderful! Especialy Lost @ Fringe the musical. That will be a hoot!. I do hope that V will make room next year for Jane Badler. An idea: perhaps as an old teacher and mentor from Anna’s academy days or high school . However Sy Fy needs to dump the wrestling! Now on tues. They are running that crap 2 times cutting short Star Trek TNG! Or let ESPN run Trek! Diss the wrestling please!

@ 5

Let´s hope V is returning for a new season. I´m afraid with the steadily decreasing ratings it´s gonna be cannceled.

On fri. Why not run the new Dr. Who episodes along with the newest Sara Jane adventures my grandkids love them. So do I. Its science fiction! Not wrestling!

Good god, SyFy moving those shows to Tuesday… Why does every network like putting there best shows on Tuesdays? I already have 3-4 shows I watch just on Tuesdays alone. 3 of which are at 10pm. DVR can only record so many channels at once. Garsh.

Is it just me or have the words “Game-Changer” come to mean “nothing to see here” lately?

the Victory of the Daleks was really good. It’s really spine-tingling, the cracks, Amy forgeting the Daleks, what does it all mean? I’m really loving this new season/direction and it;s weeping angels next week!

Wanna see the worst actress on T.V.? Just tune in to……aw, what’s the use!

Need a dose of ‘Vampire Diaries’ movies. I guarantee its a must seen new hit show!

V, and Human Target premiered in UK on Syfy this week and I was very impressed with both.
The special effects in V are impressive for a TV show, and Human Target is a great adrenaline ride for an hour.
The added bonus of seeing ALPHA again from Dollhouse as the reptilian V just topped it all. What a fantastic actor he is!
Lets hope both shows and Flashforward which is very popular here in the UK get renewed next year.

The last three episodes of SGU were quite enjoyable, hope they can continue to keep the focus on story development rather than focussing on the seedy characters flaws of the ships inhabitants.

Fringe the musical ?!? Note to Fringe writers: stop asking George Lucas for story ideas.

Victory of the Daleks was great, felt like an old 1st Doctor episode at times.

Also the Doctor Who game looks very cool, wanted one of those for ages. The graphics look dated but its free so im not going to complain at all.

Doctor Who needs another multi-Doctor episode – get Tennant and Eccelston in there, maybe McCann aswell!!

I loved Victory of the Daleks as well

I am loving this new season of Doctor WHo.

Not 100% sure on the new look Daleks but I did love the new colour schemes.

Yeah… if one would overlook the dalek power rangers…

Man.. it seems that moffat is really turning it into something which would be rather suited into the (childish) sarah jane episodes, but not into doctor who!

Steven Moffat, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan are doing a great job with Doctor Who.
Check out the NEW Daleks, they are truly menacing ..eek

I think Scify is not being very smart about moving to Tiesdays. I mean you have N.C.I.S on and L.A on Cbs and you have Lost and thosse are power house shows with very High ratings. I think Wed would be a better day or perhaps Thursday’s. I am a big WWE fan but I think Scify is not the right channel for that. U.S.A Network would be a better fit for WWE. To be Scify should have Scify Shows and Not Wrestling. Im sure there are tones of Shows they can have. Im sure in a cople of years they will have even more with Lost and V and Flash Forward reruns and other programs.

Scify could have a Retro night once a week. They can play shows like the Jack Web SeriesProject U.F.O and the Greatest American Hero and Classic Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and any number of Shows. Just not Wrestling. Which I am a big fan of.

@19 – “I mean you have N.C.I.S on and L.A on Cbs and you have Lost and thosse are power house shows with very High ratings”

Actually, you won’t. Remember, LOST goes away in just a few weeks – long before the planned moves for next season. I strongly suspect that SyFy channel is hoping to pick up the sci-fi viewers left in a vacuum by the departure of LOST.

I’ve liked this season of Dr. Who so far, but I have to say that Victory of the Daleks was the first one where I questioned Matt Smith. It was almost a little TOO over the top for me. But I do think the plot line and the other actors did well. But I also fear that Moffat may be aiming this new season more at the kids than adults – which, to my understanding was always thought to be the primary audience in the UK. But, being a relatively new fan of Dr. Who, I really thought the last 4 seasons of the “new” Dr. Who were really awesome and appealed to both kids and adults with some really great sci-fi. I’m hoping this season doesn’t go too kiddish…

As for LOST, I realize they aren’t going to answer all the questions. They obviously don’t have enough time. But did you really think they would answer them all? I think there is a certain level of mystery that has to be left behind when it’s all said and done. I think just answering everything and closing the door would not be true to the spirt of LOST. Not saying that I wouldn’t like all the answers, but that’s part of what makes LOST, well, LOST!

Syfy needs to do more HIGH QUALITY sci-fi shows if they want LOST fans to watch the channel, get rid of the made for Syfy $12.95 B movies for starters.

Also toss Bonnie “I Hate Sci-Fi” Hunter to the curb, why she’s running the channel with her hate of all things Sci-Fi is a mystery to me.

Syfy should not turn into USA2, which seems to be the goal.

As for what’s going to happen on LOST ?

“And in THE END, The love you take, Is equal to the love you make”

SyFy moving those shows to Tuesday is horrendous.

The target audience contains people whose Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are ideal for new, high quality science fiction.

Those of us who work aren’t going to be watching so much on Tuesdays. Plus, the advantage of Friday is the re-airings a couple hours later. If I do miss Caprica at the first airing, I can pick it up later towards midnight.

The way SGU is airing last week’s episode just before the new episode has been excellent. That they did the same with Caprica was good… they just need to advertise better. Considering they own NBC and USA….

But of course General Electric is in such dire straits, that they paid absolutely no federal corporate income tax this past year.

Last I checked, they still have a lot of revenue. Although my eyes are burning from wasting time with yet another Syfyllis attempt at doing Riverworld. Burton as the bad guy? A character akin to Princess Buttercup? What the frell!?!?

#21 I agree. But they seem to be turning into Usaa # 2 as post #23 said. Im sure WWE will help in there ratings but they can do that with great quality shows like they did with SG1 and Atlantis. But don’t turn great ideas into stupid shows like they did with Flash Gorden. Great Idea but very Stupid show. If they were smart they would do a big time Lost Marathon from the 1st season and get newer fans of the show caught up. Also if they could get shows like Smallville with it’s 9 seasons worth of shows so far. There’s tons of Scifi Fantesey Shows they could be showing but there not.

Gog I’m loving Fringe! This musical episode looks fun, and I’m not a “Glee” fan at all.

In UK and Australia and other EU counties we get all 5 treks. Babylon 5 and yes Buck Rogers and all the SYFY clasiic favorites along with their new shows we can do the same here and keep wrestling on sports channels orusa keep sy fi as Scfi

I tried to have a look at the new series of V last week, however I felt disappointed with the whole thing. It felt corny, cheesy and the acting wasn’t great in places. I don’t think I’ll be returning to that series anytime soon and I am sure it’ll be cancelled before long because, well, the series isn’t very good.

LOST is getting a better after a couple of slightly disappointing episodes. I’m not sure what to say about the 6th Season, although the 5th was more consistant in terms of entertainment.
At times I have become a little withdrawn from the drama, which is unusual for LOST and myself because on the whole I love the series. As I said the season is getting better now and I think the Black Man vs Jacob storyline is becoming interesting, plenty of twists to come I think!

Hopefully the final few episodes will bookend this series with a bang! I’m looking forward!

Wow, Victory of the Daleks!
I used to like Mark Gatiss as a writer and performer, but………….. Spitfires in space?………………… ‘Broadsword calling Danny Boy’?…………………. and Moffat like a kid caried away with more power than sense in this instant; we’ve got a new doctor, a new tardis what else can we change, oh…..the daleks, great, now they look plastic and the original design ruined (in my and all colleagues oppinions a similar fate to that of the USS Enterpise in the new film). I thought the premise of the story was good, but just over the top, I guess without Russel T Davies keeping an eye on things its going to degenerate and cardboard sets will return in the form of weak storylines (maybe a new war cry for the new Daleks? The doctor wil be destroyed ….DEGENERATE!!!)

Victory Of the Daleks was somewhat awkward. Smith seemed out of place as the Doctor in this one. The first two episodes were outstanding however. I’m gonna keep watching. Been a fan since the Tom Baker era. Gotta have my Who. I am curious though to see what others think might be up with Amy Pond. Is she from another reality? Does she have amnesia for some reason? Why doesn’t she remember the Daleks in her time? Does anyone from that time? Has future history been changed? So many questions. Will have to be patient.

“I am curious though to see what others think might be up with Amy Pond. Is she from another reality? Does she have amnesia for some reason? Why doesn’t she remember the Daleks in her time? Does anyone from that time? Has future history been changed? So many questions. Will have to be patient.”

I think it is too do with that silly tear from the pilot ep and was seen in the second on USS Britton or whatever that ship was called. A Tear through time is bleeding the memory of key events, which will overthrow the doctor in the last two episodes… thats just my though from what I have seen anyway. PS I think that ep 1 was good, 2 was kiddy and 3 (dalek ep) was very poor

I’m with you trekman dave on the crack in time theory. I think it’s allowing alternate realities to blend into each other. I just hope they don’t tie it in with the void and drag Rose back into future story lines. I also don’t like the new daleks very much. It seems they took a classic car and refitted it with plastic bumpers and a lot of fiberglass. I say if it aint broke don’t fix it.

While I don’t have strong feelings on the new Daleks, I hope they tone down the camp element of them.

After seeing the preview in the (bland and undramatic) Starship Brittain episode, I couldn’t wait for the space battle in the following episode.

I was bitterly dissapointed – the effects were stunning, but the concept was nonsensical and rushed.

– A suicidal one-handed scottish android outfitted 3 spitfires with atmospheric shields and laser cannons in under 5 minutes?

Ooookay… I guess I can buy that…

– 3 pre-rocket age brittish pilots become the first known (to them) humans in space and react as if they’re just mowing the grass or something?

Hmmm…

– Said Spitfires are controllable in space and handle exactly as they would in an atmosphere?

Come on. I call bullshit on the whole thing. I know Doctor Who is all about not taking it’s sci-fi seriously and dabbling in the unlikely and contrived, but that was plainly absurd. The battle needed more set up.

After the frankly amazing season premiere, I had much higher expectations than these two episodes have met. Here’s hoping the standard improves.

The current format for SGU is killing the show. The producers keep saying keep watching…just one more show..it’ll get better. Reminds me of my sisters ex-husband asking one more chance,one more chance, and one more chance to make their relationship work. It never did. How many chances does this conflicted series want to make a good impression? Decisions at least some of them should be made through the eyes of the viewers. Admit you’ve made mistakes learn from them and allow the show to get better. Standing still with an idea that isn’t working is falling behind…. maybe too far to ever catch up.

I’m erally digging SGU, I hope they keep up the good work!

SGU is terrible. Weak writing which results in unlikeable characters, uninteresting stories, and a loss of the feeling that made the previous two SG series worth watching. I predict cancellation.

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