In Sci-Fi TV this week we have news on a number of new shows in development, including a new Incredible Hulk series and a reboot of Wild, Wild West. We also have details on the second season of V, and tons or previews, and a close look at the ratings of of the genre shows.
GENRE TV NEWS
Marvel and ABC developing Incredible Hulk TV series
The Hulk appears headed back to the small screen. Deadline is reporting that Marvel and ABC are in the "very early stages" of development on a new live-action TV series based on "The Incredible Hulk":
There is no writer on board yet with search underway. Marvel, which was acquired by ABC parent Disney last year for $4 billion, started a major push in TV in June with the launch of Marvel Television whose goal was to adapt Marvel characters and stories to the small screen. Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb (Smallville) and his team quickly zeroed in on The Hulk, with rumors of a potential Hulk live-action series first surfacing in mid-summer.
Following on WB and DC Comics’ recent announcement of development on a "Wonder Woman" series (from "Boston Legal" creator David E. Kelley), this marks the second major comic book character to get a primetime treatment for next season.
ABC delays V return: January 4, 2011 + S2 Details
"V" fans are in for a LONG wait between seasons. ABC has just announced that the second season of the sci-fi remake won’t be returning this November as originally expected, but will instead debut on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 9PM. That puts the wait between between the season one finale and the season two premiere at nearly nine months and the gap between the series premiere and the seecond season debut at an extraordinary 14 months. Here’s a excerpt from the ABC press release giving a little tease of the new season:
Season Two will feature more character and lizard reveals, more details about the V’s mythology, while along the way featuring even more action and more plot twists. Viewers can expect a roller coaster ride week to week.
On the more substantive front, executive producer Steve Pearlman spoke to Blastr about what they have planned for the second season:
"We want to make the show louder, bolder and faster," he said. "We want to give the audience some new iconic images that they didn’t get the first season or in the original series."
Pearlman also spoke about the addition of Jane Badler as Diana, Anna’s mother:
"We didn’t set out to bring Jane Badler to the show," he said. "We set out to introduce Anna’s mother. The goal was to cast the best actor for the role. There was always the intrigue of ‘What if it was Jane Badler?’, and I think the fans certainly spoke very loudly and clearly, and we got the message from that. But we had a lot of actresses interested in the role. We had a lot of people come and read for it, and Jayne won the part. It’s not the same character that she played in the original series, but there are opportunities to play tribute to the original, like the fact that she wears a red dress."
"Anna represents aliens, and Erica represents humanity and mankind. The addition of Jayne at this point for the season has played only with Anna. But what that’s allowed us to do is to be able to play mother/daughter. And we’re also playing mother/daughter on various levels, like the one between Erica and Lisa, which we saw the beginnings of last season. Seeing Anna and her mother and playing off how they are similar and different has been a real fun area for us to go to in the storytelling."
Ron Moore developing Wild, Wild, West reboot + talks Caprica ratings
Star Trek (TNG & DS9) and Battlestar vet Ron Moore is working with "CSI" writer/producer Naren Shankar (also a TNG/DS9/VOy writing vet) on a remake of the 1960s classic "The Wild, Wild West". The Ausiello Files | EW reports that they are in the "very early stages" of development" and have not yet pitched it to the networks.
In other Ron Moore news, despite disastrously low ratings, the producer is confident Syfy will renew "Caprica" for a second season, revealing that the network should be making a decision on the second season by November 15. See more on the ratings in the ratings section below. [Zap2It]
Speaking of Caprica, here is a sneak peek at episode 1×13 – "Things We Lock Away" [Syfy]
Watch another clip here
Syfy renews Haven for a 13-episode 2nd season
Syfy has announced that they’ve renewed their new original series "Haven" for a second season of 13 episodes. Ratings weren’t particularly strong for the show — the season averaged 1.85M viewers and a 0.5 A18-49 rating — but it did see an uptick in ratings for the season finale (1.70M viewers [+18% from the episode prior (1.44M)] and a 0.5 A18-49 rating [+25% from the episode prior (0.4)]. Syfy also notes, via their press release, that viewership increased by about 33% when accounting for viewers watching the program over the course of 7 days (Live +7 was 2.6M viewers through episode 10 vs. 1.95M with Live +SD).
PREVIEW Videos & Images
Being Human
Promotional stills for the US version of the BBC series [more at Daemon’s TV]
Interview with star Sam Witwer [via SpoilerTV]
Chuck
Promotional stills for episode "4×05 – "Chuck vs. the Couch Lock" [more at SpoilerTV]
First look at Robert Englund’s guest-spot in episode 4×06 – "Chuck vs. the Aisle of Terror" [SpoilerTV]
First look at Timothy Dalton’s guest-spot in episode 4×07 – "Chuck vs. the First Fight" [The Ausiello Files | EW]
Set image: First look at Summer Glau (who will appear in episode 4×08) [Nathan Fillion | Twitter]
Promo for "Chuck vs. the Couch Look" [YouTube]
Dollhouse
Season two DVD/Blu-ray deleted scene [Dread Central / Daily Motion]
The Event
Promotional stills for episode 1×05 – "Casualties of War" []
Promo for "Casualties of War" [YouTube]
Family Guy
First look at the Star Wars spoof "Family Guy: It’s a Trap" [AceShowbiz]
Fringe
Promotional images for episode 3×05 – "Amber 31422" [more at SpoilerTV]
Promotional images for episode 3×06 – "6955 kHZ" [SpoilerTV]
Promotional images for episode 3×07 – "The Abducted" [more at SpoilerTV]
Sneak peek for "Amber 31422" [YouTube]
Interview with John Noble [YouTube via SpoilerTV]
Interview with Blair Brown [YouTube via SpoilerTV]
No Ordinary Family
Promotional stills for episode 1×04 – "No Ordinary Vigilante" [more at Pizquita]
Promotional stills for episode 1×05 – "No Ordinary Quake" [more at Pizquita]
Promotional stills for episode 1×06 – "No Ordinary Visitors" [more at KSiteTV]
Promo for "No Ordinary Vigilante" [YouTube]
The Sarah Jane Adventures
Promotional stills for episodes 4×03-4×04 – " The Vault of Secrets" [more at Blogtor Who]
Season four intro [Blogtor Who / YouTube]
Smallville
First look at an Isis-possessed Lois Lane (Erica Durance) [TV Guide]
Stargate Universe
Promotional stills for episode 2×04 – "Pathogen" [more at SpoilerTV]
Sneak peek at "Pathogen" [Syfy]
Supernatural
Promotional stills for episode 6×05 – "Live Free or Twi-Hard" [more at SpoilerTV]
The Vampire Diaries
Promo for episodes 2×06 – 2×07 – "Plan B" & "Masquerade" [YouTube]
The Walking Dead
Promotional/production stills and behind the scenes images from the first three episodes [more at FusedFilm]
Featurette: "It’s About Survival" [YouTube]
TV BITES
- The 12 regeneration limit, long a part of "Doctor Who" canon, is going away. Yes, the Doctor is immortal. [The Guardian via Blastr]
- "The Vampire Diaries" show runner Kevin Williamson shared some secrets about what fans can expect for the remainder of the season in an interview with Blastr.
- The award-winning steampunk digital series "Riese: Kingdom Falling" will premiere on Syfy.com on October 26. Amanda Tapping ("Stargate SG-1", "Sanctuary") will narrate the 10-part series. [Syfy]
- If successful, producer Gale Anne Hurd expects AMC to pick up "The Walking Dead" for a second season consisting of 13 episodes. She also revealed that a decision would probably need to come before January 1, "because we’d want to be shooting by late spring [2011]." [Blastr]
- …In related news, creator Robert Kirkman has closed a deal to make "a trilogy set in the zombie-infested world from Kirkman’s New York Times bestselling comic book series as well as the upcoming AMC television show." [Publishers Marketplace via io9]
- CBS is developing a television series based on Charlaine Harris’ ("Sookie Stackhouse") mystery novel series "Grave Sight". [Variety]
- The pilot for Fox’s high-concept prehistoric time-travel series "Terra Nova" hasn’t even shot a frame of film yet, but has already cost $10 million. Costs for filming the pilot could reach as high as $20M, which would be the most-ever for a television pilot (the "LOST" cost an estimated $10-14M and the pilot for "Boardwalk Empire" reportedly cost $18M). [The Wrap]
- "Chuck" episode 4×10 will be called "Chuck vs. the Leftovers". [SpoilerTV]
- Laura Innes, who plays Sophia Maguire on the struggling NBC series "The Event", says creator Nick Wauters has it mapped out for five years. [Boston Herald]
- Various episode synopses/descriptions:
- "Supernatural" – 6×05 – "Live Free or Twi-Hard". [Shock Till You Drop]
- "Supernatural" – 6×06 – "You Can’t Handle the Truth". [Shock Till You Drop]
- "Eureka" – Holiday Special. [Zap2It]
- "Warehouse 13" – Holiday Special. [Zap2It]
- "No Ordinary Family" – 6×06 – "No Ordinary Vistitors". [SpoilerTV]
CASTING BITES
- Ryan McPartlin (Devon ‘Captain Awesome’) confirmed that Morgan Fairchild will be back this season on "Chuck": "Mom does come back,” Ryan said. “It’s funny, because Mom and Ellie have to learn how to deal with their new roles that each one is going to play as a mother and a grandmother. So that creates a bit of fun drama." She’ll guest-star in episode 4×06 – "Chuck vs. the Aisle of Terror" [ChuckTV.net]
- Aaron Douglas revealed on his Twitter feed that he will guest-star on an upcoming episode of "Eureka". [Aaron Douglas | Twitter]
- Mark Sheppard ("Battlestar Galactica", "Supernatural") will appear in the "Doctor Who" season six premiere. [Doctor Who News Page]
- David Tennat offered his praise of "Doctor Who" with the new Time Lord, Matt Smith: "Genuinely, I think it’s been brilliant. I’ve loved every second of it. It’s a thrill for me to be watching as a viewer again. I knew Matt was going to be fantastic and he is. He’s a great choice and he’s knocked it out of the park." [The List via Blastr]
SCI-FI RATINGS (Based on final national numbers unless otherwise noted) [@TravisYanan]
Caprica
Episode 1×12 – "Retribution" hit a series-low last Tuesday, dropping to just 840,000 viewers (-6% from the episode prior) and a 0.3 A18-49 rating (-25%). Both are new series lows. The 11-week average stands at a disappointing 1.14M viewers and a 0.4 A18-49 rating. Caprica has shed nearly half of its series premiere audience (1.60M to 0.84M / -48%).
Stargate Universe
- Episode 2×01 – “Intervention” – 1.18M viewers and a 0.5 A18-49 rating.
- Episode 2×02 – “Aftermath” – 1.07M viewers (-9%) and a 0.5 A18-49 rating (nc).
- Episode 2×03 – “Awakenings” – 1.22M viewers (+14%) and a 0.5 A18-49 rating (nc).
The third Stargate spin-off remains very far off from its year-ago numbers. Season one averaged 2.30M viewers and a 0.9 A18-49 rating through its first three weeks. Comparatively, the first three episodes this season have drawn an average of 1.16M viewers and a 0.5 A18-49 rating. That represents declines of 50 and 44 percent among viewers and A18-49 rating, respectively.
Destination Truth
Episode 4×05 dropped to a season-low 894,000 viewers (-4%) and a 0.3 A18-49 rating (-25%). The season four average is now 1.02M viewers and a 0.4 A18-49 rating.
Ghost Hunters
Episode 6×18 dropped to a season-low 1.68M viewers and a 0.7 A18-49 rating. The season six average, however, is still a healthy 2.12M viewers and a 0.9 A18-49 rating.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Episode 3×03 – “Sphere of Influence” – 1.88M viewers (+11%) and a 0.3 A18-49 rating (-40%).
- Episode 3×04 – “Corruption” – 1.78M viewers (-5%) and a 0.5 A18-49 rating (+67%).
The third season is currently averaging 1.94M viewers and a 0.5 A18-49 rating. In the network’s key demo (K2-11), the show is averaging a 2.3 rating.
The Vampire Diaries
Episode 2×05 – "Kill Or Be Killed" improved to 3.47M viewers (+9%) and a 1.6 A18-49 rating (+7%), bringing the second season average to 3.32M viewers and a 1.5 A18-49 rating.
Nikita
With its improved lead-in, "Nikita" rebounded from its series-low the week prior to 2.90M viewers (+8%) and a 1.1 A18-49 rating (+10%). The season average is now 3.10M viewers and a 1.2 A18-49 rating.
CHART (9/27/2010 to 10/3/2010)
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CHART (10/4/2010 to 10/10/2010)
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Follow Russ on his blog: Your Entertainment Now and on Twitter: Twitter.com/YourEntNow.
A remake of “The Wild, Wild West!” I love the original, but Ron Moore, c’mon man, I expected more from you (no pun intended). Don’t jump on the remake/reboot bandwagon (again). Make something original!
sigh…
Said it before and i’ll say it again. Best Sci-fi on tv right now is smallville.. not much competition
I’ve never really watched Chuck. Is it worth spending the time?
Wild Wild West was too cool. Robert Conrad doing all his own stunts (and some very Kirk Fu moments too -throwing his whole body at attackers) and then all his cool gadgets. And the superb theme and interior music. Great show! Have mixed feelings about this.
Will this new Hulk show have Joe Harnell’s music? Will it also follow the fugitive on the run premise?
I wish Family guy would stop ruining Star Wars with terrible jokes.
Caprica is a great, great show.. I hope it gets a second season… But they have to stop cutting seasons in half and expecting that a nascent show won’t lose steam with the viewership.
Stargate Universe is also holding my attention pretty well right now. It is clearly a lot better than the previous Stargate incarnations… much more edgy and realistic. The end of season 1 may have represented a bit of a misstep, but so far the rest of season 2 has been keeping pace with the suspense of season 1. I cannot imagine that show getting less than 3 seasons, based on its quality, but you never know — it seems the best shows are always the ones that get terminated prematurely (except for Lost).
A Wild Wild West reboot has great potential. Robert Conrad could play Artemis Gordon!
Whatever happened to the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea reboot announced a couple of years ago? David Hedison could still captain the Seaview. Make it so.
Oh geez…I really hope Ron Moore doesn’t do the “Wild Wild West” remake. All it’ll be under his control is fakey, overdone melodramatic unrealistic bull**** in the name of “realism.” If he does WWW, I hope at LEAST the characters act like real people and that it’s watchable (because his version of BSG was not).
#3 @ Harry Ballz I really like Chuck, its not that drama series, but some friendly characters. There are also a lot of sci-fi references and actors from Star Trek.
Furthermore Robert Duncan McNeill is executive producer. So give it a try!
And relating to this Sci-Fi TV Sunday News, Naran Shankar is also a Trek vet!!!! He has writing credits for 12 episodes and was also a science consultant.
I thought the New Voyages team had the rights to WWW, I was looking forward to it
Wow, Timothy Dalton looks different.
Also, I am probably psychic, since just yesterday I looked up the Wiki entry for Ross Martin for no apparent reason. And just now, I find that there is the possiblity for a WWW reboot.
Seriously. These things happen to me. It’s weird.
A reboot of Wild, Wild West?? Now they’re rebooting the shitty movies.
Stargate Universe is still around? I dropped it after episode six when I realized I didn’t care who won the slap fight between the scientist and the military guy. That series disappointed me so much.
@12
It was a fun TV show long before it was a Will Smith movie. That is what they will be rebooting.
14
And a good one at that.
14
And a good one at that.
It’s sad that some people do not know that Wild Wild West was a television show long before that crappy movie. The old series was great!
If Caprica were on Showtime or HBO everyone would be gushing about it.
If you havent watched it yet do so
@ 18
I must agree. I really liked what I saw of Caprica at the beginning. However, I only have so much TV viewing time anymore so haven’t been able to keep up. I do hope to eventually start watching it again on DVD.
I am still surprised to hear Battlestar Galactica (Moore) haters here on this site. It didn’t become known among TV critics as one of the best shows on TV for nothing. Sure, there were some weak episodes but Star Trek had those too.
#5: Ditto.
Any purist knows that The Wild Wild West had NO COMMA!!! Damn you Rosario!!! I grew up with reruns of this classic! I always wondered if James T. Kirk and James T. West were in a fight, who’d win? My quatloos are on West! Robert Conrad was so badass!!
I just bought Caprica 1.0 DVDs…why no BluRay? And there were no BluRay releases for Burn Notice season 3 or 4 (but 2 had one…) nor Lie To Me season 2 (season 1 had one…)???
A Hulk tv series on paper is a grand idea…kneejerk even,…but…so were the Bionic Woman, and Knight Rider reboots as well…both series combined barely lasted 22 episodes.
I anticipate a CGI Hulk…can they afford it week after week? What made the show great back in the late 70s was Bill Bixby’s likeability, and the human factor of the show being about a man searching for redemption. Plus, the Hulk was NOT infallible then either! He was shot several instances, captured by Prometheus group, and often revealed his soft spot for animals, children, and handicapped women!
Other than Star Trek, Wild Wild West was one show I had to watch when I was kid. Giving my age away on that one.
#22 – You’re not alone!
Smallville is the best on Tv right now along with No Ordanary Family. But what ever you do do not talk to Harry Balls about the great actress in Erica Durance. OOPS!. Wild Wild West. Great. Another Reboot. I hope that when Smallville ends that they should make a new Series with Tom Welling as Superman. He has been bread to be Superman for almost 10 years. I loved the last Ep of SmallVille. it realy gave us a peak of Superman.
Does that mean that Cawley’s WWW is done?
Wild Wild West is a good one to reboot if they do it right. We’ll see.
Smallville is clicking again at least for me. Got too 90210ish for a bit.
Why not a reboot of Space 1999. Call it Space 2099 of course.
Glad to see unlimited regenerations for the good Doc. I knew he had more in him.
#22
#23
ditto here
Don’t cancel Caprica! It’s getting good!!!
I swear to god, if Sci-Fy cancel’s Caprica, then i will lead an all-out war against them. They will NOT cancel caprica. Its just too good. They can cancel Stargate Universe… i don’t mind that show. But DO NOT cancel Caprica.
Stargate Universe ratings are really bad and the next episode won’t help. Eli will visit his mum and Wray her lesbian lover on earth via communication stones and there will be a focus on Chloe in that episode. So the worst aspects of SGU are combined in that episode. And the two episodes after that won’t be better, because they use again visions/hallucinations.
SGU use definitely too often stones, visions, hallucinations, religious blah blah, mysticism, earth scenes, flashbacks and musical montages. The “science” aspect is too small, the focus in on melodrama.
So I don’t think SGU’s ratings will get better. They will stay low. The ratings trend is clear:
http://forums.sgusucks.com/showthread.php/133-Ratings
#22: Same here, I NEVER missed Star Trek or Wild Wild West, the opening theme AND animation to WWW was THE BEST!!!!
Caprica is very good but it’s very complex and SyFy’s split season was like tearing a tapestry in half. It takes an extraordinary amount of effort even for fans to tie the threads back to earlier episodes. The ratings are looking like a death spiral and it’s due to SyFy killing the momentum.
Wish every season were as hot as Summer Glau!
The British Being Human rules.
An American version? Anyone care to cringe with me?
WWW? Ok, as long as the lead isn’t Will-frakkin’-Smith!!!
Rober Conrad and Ross Martin. It willl be very hard to catch that lightning in the bottle again. Not to say it can’t be done…but for every Star Trek, we also have a McHale’s Navy…Dukes of Hazzard…Beverly Hillbillies…the list goes on and on.
It can go so very wrong…tread lightly Ron Moore!
WWW would be great to see again if they adhear to the original enough to make it a ggod show. I have all seasons of DVD for WWW and watch them all now & then. I loved the gadets and how he would fight off a mob of 6 thugs. They should keep the same music and the way the show broke at 15 minute intervals with those drawings. The trick is up date it but keep the basics the same, thats what people remember. They really blew it with Will Smith. Putting in a black rap singer in that role did not cut it. Although Kevin Kline did a great job for Artemus. Selma was just palin perfect….but I say that for obvious reason becasue I am a male.
As for V, I hope the network knows what they are doiong by delaying to Jan 2011. Too long of a break for what ever reason will loose viewers. They had that problem when it started last year and lost viewers as they did with Flash Forward. What is the reason to break off the show at the mid point to wait 3 months to start up again??? It would be nice to Jane Badler again, she was one sexy alien back then.
Caprica is a heavy show, so I can understand why people looking for light entertainment wouldn’t be into it. There’s also a contingent of SciFi fans that don’t like religion in their science fiction. Too bad, because it’s one of the best shows on TV right now!
Caprica has potential, but we already know they all die. There’s no point to it really.
I would love to see an updated version of Wild Wild West, but I hope it’s not done in the BSG style.
The first three episodes of SGU have been pretty strong this year and the special effects have been fantastic. I think the move to Tuesday night has not helped due to tougher network competition.
“There’s also a contingent of SciFi fans that don’t like religion in their science fiction.”
Like getting peanut butter in my chocolate? Or is that reversed???
One of our local stations here in L.A. was running reruns of The Wild, Wild West a couple of years back. It was fun, entertaining show; let’s see what Ron Moore wants to do with it.
Syfy has only itself to blame for low Caprica ratings by having such a long mid season break. for a show that doesn’t have the wider appeal that BSG had. As much as I like Caprica, to be candid, the break lost it momentum from viewers who were not necessarily exicited by it in the first place to continue watching it. I hope it goes to a second series because I enjoy it and I do hope that they are able to close the story of how the Cylons rebelled.
3… “Chuck” takes getting used to. The show is unlike anything else on the air, primarily a comedy but with major action and romantic comedy elements. It is about a nerd who becomes a CIA asset and sometime agent after getting a huge, classified intelligence database downloaded into his brain. Meanwhile, Chuck has to continue living his normal life working as a “Nerd Herd” tech at the local “Buy More” store while not raising suspicion from his best friend Morgan, his doctor sister Ellie and her fiance/husband “Captain Awesome”, or Chuck’s co-workers at the Buy More. The co-workers are primarily there for comic relief, but their plots are frequently over-the-top and are the show’s weakest link even if the in-jokes are sometimes hillarious.
The core of the show is Chuck and his government protectors/handlers
Sarah and Casey. Each episode involves an “adventure of the week” usually complicated by Chuck trying to appear to be an ordinary guy and trying not to let on that he’s really in love with Sarah, who is undercover as his girlfriend.
Chuck is the same thing every week. It’s a wonder it’s still on.
Stopped watching SGU, Don’t think there is anything they could do to get me back. I have a feeling SGU and Caprica have already been canceled, they just haven’t made it public yet.
UGGGGHHHHH Reboot Ron at it again?? STOP!
WWW- GREAT TV show! HORRIBLE movie!!
How bout thinking up something new?- I know… a ship that gets lost and the crew tries to get home! WHAT? DONE? Lost in Space? BAH– Oh – Voyager? well, ummmm SG-U —- oh– NEVERMIND.
It’s time for Star Trek: The Next Next Generation
The Enterprise… G? H? All new cast.
But what universe?
44… So in “NCIS”, the highest-rated scripted show on TV.
For all the gritty realism Moore gets tagged with, his Trek scripts were generally fairly humourous. (usually for the teaser/act 1/act 2 then it got all dark and moody by the end). If he does Wild Wild West and has some fun with it, it could actually be decent.
Stargate Universe is probably the best science fiction on TV right now in my opinion. Much more serious and much deeper than the previous incarnations, and the production quality is top notch, not to mention stellar performances from Robert Carlyle etc. The aliens they have in the series are the best ever on TV bar none, incredible that they’ve managed to get this kind of quality CG on a TV show, it would easily fit in a movie. It’s weird that the numbers haven’t been great for SGU to be honest, I’ve found it to probably be the most compelling show since Lost of The Wire. I would urge anyone reading this to give it a try, but be warned, it’s not the light and cheesy type of sci-fi that genre fans might be used to, it’s much more like Lost or BSG in tone, but with all the fantastical elements that makes sci-fi special. Can’t wait to see the rest of season 2 :)