Sci-Fi TV Thursday: The Walking Dead, Fringe, Supernatural, Terra Nova, True Blood, Source Code + more

Sci-Fi TV is back with a look at the latest in sci-fi and genre television, including The Walking Dead, Fringe, Terra Nova and Supernatural, plus news on a TV adaptation of the sci-fi thriller Source Code. All that plus much more, including the latest television ratings, and new images and video previews.

GENRE TV NEWS

AMC announces The Walking Dead season two premiere date
But second season will run in two parts…

AMC has announced that "The Walking Dead" will kick off its second season with a 90-minute premiere on Sunday, October 16 at 9PM ET. Unlike the short 6-episode first season, the second season will run a total of 13 episodes (including the 90-minute premiere). Unfortunately those episodes won’t run straight through from start to finish. AMC says six one-hour episodes will air in the weeks following the premiere but then the show will go on break until February 12, 2012. The break shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, however. It’s probably a safe bet to avoid airing against the NFL season and holidays. International audiences take note: The same 90-minute premiere will follow in international markets on all Fox International Channels the week following the U.S. premiere (October 17-23). The premiere episode is titled "Miles Behind Us".

Frank Darabont may have stepped down (or was forced out–the situation still remains murky) as showrunner, but new showrunner Glen Mazzara promises he won’t tinker too much with the formula that has made the series such a huge hit with fans and critics alike. Plus Darabont will remain on board the series as an executive producer:

THR: Are you still in contact with Frank and do you feel any pressure to deliver for him?
Mazzara: Yes. Frank and I have traded emails and he’s wished me luck. We have a producer on the show who still works closely with Frank. There’s a number of people who are very tight with Frank, so there’s a lot of communication going back and forth.

Mazzara also revealed that the second season was mapped out before Darabont was dismissed by AMC, but he has at times deviated from the original plan:

"There was a scene in an episode that was coming up to prep about a week or two after everything went down. I had always wanted to push the emotional scene further. I wrestled with, ‘Do I push the scene further or do I not? I felt comfortable enough with myself as a writer that I was going to push the scene in a way that Frank didn’t want to do."

"…I’m only deviating where I really feel that I’m then in my wheelhouse. If it’s a tie, I’ve been giving the tie to Frank."

In an separate interview with E! Online, Mazzara emphased that despite any changes, the vision set out with Darabont remains the same:

"We did a lot of work plotting this season with Frank," he said. "I think we had such a smooth transition is because it comes from a fully articulated world. There’s no plan to deviate…there’s no different vision of the show."

Click over to the live feed | THR to read their full interview with Mazzara and check out another interview with Mazzara at the AMC TV blog. In other news, comic creator / executive producer Robert Kirkman confirmed to TVLine that what Jenner whisperered to Rick in the season one finale will be revealed this season:

"…I will say that it’s something we don’t carry in into the next season — assuming there is a Season 3…We understand that there are different [questions] that TV shows will tease out for a very long time [and] how that sometimes becomes a little boring and wears out its welcome. We’re definitely not going to do that…"

And lastly, special effects artist Greg Nicotero’s role on the series has expanded. He has been named co-executive producer and he’ll also be directing an  episode during the second season. Nicotero is also the brains (pardon the pun) behind the upcoming six-episode web series based on the series which is set to premiere on October 3:

The web series, penned by John Espositio, tells the origin story of “Bicycle Girl,” the infamous “walker” from Season 1, as she struggles to survive and protect her family as the world begins to fall apart.

Promotional stills [Den of Geek]

Season two teaser trailer [YouTube]

Fox releases Fringe recap videos

"Fringe" premieres its fourth season and just in time for the premiere, Fox has released a series of 10 featurettes recapping the first three seasons. Here’s one of the clips – Fringe – "Past + Present + Future — Echoes Of The Past":

Head on over to the official Fox YouTube Channel to watch the rest. In other news, executive producer Jeff Pinkner confirmed that the series will be going back to the future this season…but it won’t be the same future we saw in the season three finale:

"The future that we saw in 2026 will now not have happened, because by altering the past, inevitably you set in motion a new chain of events that lead to a different future."

Flashbacks will also be employed: "There will definitely be [flashback] episodes, but the past would be different as well because Peter wasn’t a part of it, but he would be in the future." Rounding out the "Fringe" news this week, check out an interview with star Lance Reddick at Inside TV | EW, and the title for episode three will be called "Alone in the World". Lastly, here’s the press release for the season four premiere – "Neither Here Nor There":

THE FRINGE TEAM TAKES NEW SHAPE AS THE IMPACT OF PETER’S HEROIC CHOICE UNFOLDS IN THE FOURTH SEASON PREMIERE OF "FRINGE" FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, ON FOX

Just one week after Peter Bishop saved the day and was then wiped from existence, the truce between the two worlds remains intact and the two sides are forced to work together. Lincoln Lee joins the Fringe team as they investigate a shapeshifter case that is very personal to him in the "Neither Here Nor There" season premiere episode of FRINGE airing Friday, Sept. 23 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (FR-401) (TV-14 L, V)

Cast: Anna Torv as Olivia Dunham; Joshua Jackson as Peter Bishop; John Noble as Walter Bishop; Lance Reddick as Phillip Broyles; Blair Brown as Nina Sharp; Jasika Nicole as Astrid Farnsworth; Seth Gabel as Lincoln Lee

Guest Cast: Joe Flanigan as Robert Danzig; Shauna Johannesen as Julie Danzig; Charlotte Williams as Amy Danzig; Sean Michael Kyer as Jonathan Danzig; Stephen Lobo as Agent Frazier; Colin Lawrence Agent Roach

Season 4 poster [TVLine & TV Guide]

Promo for the season four premiere "Neither Here Nor There" [YouTube]

Watch more promos here and here

Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles talk Supernatural season 7

"Supernatural" stars Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester) and Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) have taken to EW and TV Guide, respectively, to preview the show’s upcoming seventh season on The CW. Here are two excerpts from their respective interviews. First up, Ackles reveals that the seventh season will pick up immediately after the events of season six:

"It’s a direct pick-up from where we left off [in May]. Castiel [Misha Collins] looks at Sam and Dean and tells them that they’re essentially ants in the scheme of things. Now that he’s God, he has no need for them and to stay out of his way… When they track Cas down, they realize that when he took in all those monsters souls from purgatory, there were much older things that got into him as well.

He also revealed that a new enemy will be revealed this season: "There’s a new, basically unknown, enemy in the world. It’s something that the guys have never dealt with." Padalecki, meanwhile, reveals that although the show will maintain its dark tone, it’ll still have its share of laughs:

"We certainly also have a few laughs, too…Here, at the beginning, we’re definitely setting up this new route that we’re taking. And there is no lack of laughs. Dean’s always got this tongue-in-cheek humor, and Sam’s got his reaction to this guy that I call my brother. So we’ll have a good time in the end, but we don’t have a super goofy one yet…It’s great to be part of a fun, crazy sci-fi show that’s dark and deals with mythology and then we do something where we play ourselves. It’s nice for the fans. They appreciate being a part of it and laughing with us."

Much more at Inside TV | EW and TV Guide. In other news, KSiteTV reports that episode 7×07, formerly titled "All In The Family", is now titled "The Mentalists". The site also reports that episode eight is titled "Time For A Wedding" and episode nine is titled "How To Win Friends and Influence People".

And finally, here’s an updated description for the seventh season, courtesy SpoilerTV:

Now, despite Sam and Dean’s efforts to stop him, Castiel has succeeded in his plan. His power is God-like, and Sam and Dean have no idea how to stop him. But even Castiel doesn’t truly understand the magnitude of what’s inside him — or how dangerous he really is.

Season seven finds Dean and Sam reeling from the loss of their friend. Sam’s violent memories of Hell threaten to overtake him, threatening not just his life, but his brother’s as well. Meanwhile, Dean struggles under the weight of a secret that threatens to tear them apart. And even as the brothers traverse the backroads of America, hunting things that go bump in the night, something is coming for them. They are about to face an enemy more canny and adaptable than any they’ve ever fought. As the landscape around them becomes increasingly treacherous, the tools they’ve come to rely upon will be stripped away. Our heroes, like so many outlaws before them, will find themselves utterly outmatched and outgunned, with no one to rely on but each other.

"Supernatural" premieres its seventh season on Friday, September 23 at 9 PM ET on The CW.

Promotional stills for the season seven premiere – "Meet the New Boss" [more at SpoilerTV]

Jason O’Mara talks Terra Nova

"Terra Nova" star Jason O’Mara discussed the upcoming Fox series — executive produced by Steven Spielberg and "Star Trek" vet Brannon Braga — in an interview with Collider. O’Mara says the show’s vision of the future is "scary":

"This is a scary, scary vision of the future. This future is what happens, if we don’t do anything about it now. It’s a worst-case scenario, but it’s not impossible. This show points it out and says that this is a possible future for us, unless we do something now."

O’Mara also revealed that the travelers to Terra Nova will have "naturally occuring products" at their disposal:

"We take quite a lot of modern stuff with us, but everything that we don’t bring, we have to make, so that stuff is primitive. The good news is that we have naturally occurring products again, like leather, wood and cotton, that we don’t have in the future."

O’Mara, however, wouldn’t discuss whether people in the past can communicate with those in the future:

"That’s an intrinsic part of our mythology. You’ll have to see the series. There’s no question we ask that is not dealt with directly in the story, either in an episode or an arc of episodes."

Check out the rest of the interview at Collider. The two-part premiere episode "Genesis" launches September 26 at 8 PM ET on FOX.

Promotional stills for the series premiere – "Genesis" [more at SpoilerTV]

Fox Fall Preview trailer" [YouTube]

Behind the scenes: "Welcome to Terra Nova" [YouTube]

First details on True Blood season five

The fourth season of "True Blood" may have come to a close this past Sunday, but it’s never too late to tease what’s upcoming for the fifth season. On that note, co-executive producer Raelle Tucker reveals that the fifth season will introduce "a very signifcant, strong, mysterious woman" at the center of one of the main stories. Tucker teases that the character "may be someone you’ve heard of before". Fairies will also continue to play a part:

"Season 5 will explore more fairies, new fairies, fairies in a way you haven’t really seen fairies. We will all, as well as Sookie, come to understand fairies more than in previous seasons."

Other elements revealed by Tucker include: we’ll learn the identity of the wolf seen growing at Sam in the finale (no confirmation if it’s Alcide’s father, Jackson, who is featured in book 5 of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels); the King of Mississippi, Russell Edginton is back; and Sookie going solo will continue next year: "While there will always be romance in Sookie’s life, Sookie at the moment is choosing herself over all of them…I think that will continue to play into season 5."

CBS developing TV series based on Duncan Jones’ Source Code

Producer Mark Gordon has sold a TV version of Duncan Jones’ sci-fi thriller "Source Code" to CBS, THR reports:

Like the film on which it is based, the action/procedural follows three former federal agents who are part of a top-secret program. Each week, they’ll use "Source Code" technology to jump into the consciousness of people involved in tragic events.

PREVIEW Videos & Images

Alphas

Promo for episode 1×10 – "The Unusual Suspects" [YouTube]

American Horror Story

Promo: "Creators" [YouTube]

"Take It" [YouTube]

"Tune" [YouTube]

Chuck

Season five character promo & art [Multipleverses]

Promotional stills for season 5 [Inside the Box | Zap2It]

Doctor Who

Deleted scene from episode 6×11 – "The God Complex" [more at BlogtorWho]

Clip from "The God Complex" [via Blogtor Who]

Watch two more clips here

Eureka

Sneak peek at the season four finale – "One Giant Leap" [YouTube]

Once Upon a Time

Cast promotional stills [more at SpoilerTV]

Person of Interest

Promotional stills for the series premiere [more at SpoilerTV]

Promo: "The Names Never Stop Coming" [YouTube]

Sanctuary

Season 4 trailer [YouTube]

The Sarah Jane Adventures

Season five teaser trailer [via Planet Gallifrey]

The Secret Circle

Promotional stills for episode 1×02 – "Bound" [more at SpoilerTV]

Cast promotional stills [more at Multipleverses]

Promo for "Bound" [YouTube]

The Vampire Diaries

Promotional stills for episode 3×02 – "The Hybrid" [more at SpoilerTV]

Promo for "The Hybrid" [YouTube]

Warehouse 13

Promotional stills for episode 3×10 – "Insatiable" [more at SpoilerTV]

Promo for "Insatiable" [YouTube]

Sneak peek at "Insatiable" [YouTube]

TV BITES

• AMC is reportedly considering a "Watch What Happens: Live"-like talk show to air out of some of their signature series, including "The Walking Dead". [Vulture]
• Showtime is partnering with Steven Spielberg and author Stephen King for a TV series based on King’s 2009 novel "Under the Dome". The supernatural thriller is based around a Maine town that is suddenly encased by a force field, cutting off the locals from the rest of the world. [Deadline]
• Pre-production is underway for "Red Dwarf X", with scripts being written and production set to begin this November. [Charles Armitage]
• Episode four of "American Horror Story" will be called "Halloween Part 2". [SpoilerTV]
• Check out an interview with Michael Emerson discussing his role on the J.J. Abrams-produced drama series "Person of Interest", which premieres next Thursday, September 22 at 9PM ET on CBS. [AOL TV]
• The fifth and final season of "Chuck" will feature a new enemy in the form of a former computer hacker who now resides as the head of a cult called The Church of the Eternal Wind. The character is played by Beau Garrett (more details in the Casting Bites section below)… [TV Guide]
• …Check out interviews with Yvonne Strahovski at ChuckTV.net and with guest star Mark Hamill at AOL TV.
• Syfy has renewed "Alphas" for a second season. The 13-episode second season will air in 2012. [Syfy]
• Check out an interview with "Game of Thrones" creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss discussing the second season of the hit HBO drama at The Daily Beast.
• John Barrowman wants to see his "Torchwood" character Captain Jack Harkness back on "Doctor Who" for the series’ 50th anniversary in November 2013, but he asks that fans write to BBC to make it happen: "I don’t think it’s a question of whether I would like to come back as Captain Jack, I’d be very happy to do that any time. I know the fans would really like that. But it’s a decision left up to the BBC and the drama department." [Digital Spy]
• "Doctor Who" star Matt Smith thinks the character River Song’s independence doesn’t make her a good choice for a full time companion to the Doctor: "I think River’s too independent to ever be a full-time companion," Smith says, while adding: "That’s what makes River great as a character."… [The Sun]
• …In related news, the series won Best Family Drama Tuesday night at the 15th Annual TV Choice Awards. The series has won the award for two years running. Actress Karen Gillan also won Best Actress for her role as Amy [TV Choice Awards via Doctor Who News Page]

Descriptions / Synopses

• "Fringe" – 4×01 – "Neither Here Nor There" [Fringe Television]
• "Fringe" – 4×02 – "One Night In October" [Fringe Television]
• "Doctor Who" – 6×11 – "The God Complex" [Blogtor Who]
• "Supernatural" – 7×01 – "Meet The New Boss" [KSiteTV]
• "Supernatural" – 7×02 – "Hello, Cruel World" [SpoilerTV]
• "Supernatural" – 7×03 – "The Girl Next Door" [SpoilerTV]
• "The Secret Circle" – 1×02 – "Bound" [SpoilerTV]
• "The Secret Circle" – 1×03 – "Loner" [SpoilerTV]
• "The Secret Circle" – 1×04 – "Heather" [SpoilerTV]
• "The Vampire Diaries" – 3×01 – "The Birthday" [SpoilerTV]
• "The Vampire Diaries" – 3×02 – "The Hybrid" [SpoilerTV]
• "The Vampire Diaries" – 3×03 – "The End Of The Affair" [SpoilerTV]
• "Person of Interest" – 1×02 – "Ghosts" [SpoilerTV]

CASTING BITES

• Previously on TrekMovie: Zachary Quinto joins American Horror Story.
• Stephen Root and Romy Rosemont, who are married in real life, will play a married couple in the upcoming sixth episode of "Fringe". Further details are being kept under wraps… [TV Line]
• …Fintan McKeown has been cast as the character Amory Lorch. In related news, there are reports that the role of Ser Gregor Clegane, played by Conan Stevens in the show’s first season, may have been recast with Ian Whyte now portraying the role… [Winter-Is-Coming.net]
• …Meanwhile, Arye Gross will guest-star as Malcolm Truss, "a middle-aged scientist", in the show’s fifth episode of the season. [TV Guide]
• British actor Patrick Malahide has joined the season two cast of HBO’s "Game of Thrones". Malahide will play Balon Greyjoy, Theon’s father and rule of the Iron Islands… [Winter-Is-Coming.net]
• …In addition to the casting of Balon, the roles of Roose Bolton, Craster, Gilly, Jaqen, Yara Greyjoy (Asha Greyjoy in the novels), Melisandre, Stannis and Davos have also been filled recently. [Inside TV | EW]
• Kevin McNally has joined the season seven cast of "Supernatural". He’ll play an old friend of Bobby described as a "mad computer genius" in the season’s sixth episode… [Inside the Box | Zap2It]
• …The sixth episode will also interest a new baddie in the form of actor James Patrick Stewart who will be playing a character named Richard Roman. Showrunner Sera Gamble explains the character as "a very canny, charming, well-connected new adversary." [InsideTV | EW]
• …David Koechner ("The Office") will guest star in the fourth episode of "Chuck" season four. He’ll play "Crazy Bob", described as "a jolly Buy More manager with whom Chuck and Sarah encounter at the company’s Employee of the Year Convention."… [TV Line]
• …Fellow actor-comedian Danny Pudi ("Community") will have a cameo role in the fifth episode of the upcoming fifth and final season. No details are known about his role… [AOL TV]
• …Also appearing in the episode will be Beau Garrett. She’ll play the character Valaria , described as "a beautiful and ethereal leader" of the cult The Church of Eternal Wind… [E! Online]
• …Eric Lange ("Lost") will guest star this season as Colin Davis. His character is described as "a former technological terrorist responsible for designing the world’s most lethal supervirus"… [TVLine]
• …And the "Chuck" casting continues with Rebecca Romijn on board for the sixth episode of the upcoming season as elite CIA Special Agent Robin Cunnings. She’s described to be "as cold and calculating as she is sexy, and is known for her barbaric (yet highly effective) interrogation techniques." [Inside TV | EW]
• Rainbow Sun Francks will guest star during the second season of "Lost Girl"… [SpoilerTV]
• …Meanwhile, Zoie Palmer, who plays Lauren on the series, has been promoted to series regular. [SpoilerTV]
• Teddy Sears will play a recurring role on the new FX horror series "American Horror Story". He’ll play the partner of Zachary Quinto’s gay character. The two characters are co-owners of the haunted house which the series revolves around… [Deadline]
• …Sarah Paulson will appear in a four-episode arc as a medium named Billie Dean. The majority of her scenes are set to be opposite Jessica Lange. [E! Online]
• Laura Innes has been cast as Captain Tricia Harper in NBC’s parallel reality series "Awake". [TV Line]

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