Sci-Fi TV Saturday: V, Lost, Fringe, FlashForward, Heroes, SGU + more

During VegasCon weekend, we took a break from our weekly genre news wrap-up articles, but we are back with a whole slew. In genre TV news this week, we have a big update on V, including a debut date, Details on the debut season of FlashFoward, Fringe Season 2, the Lost finale and much more, including the post-Bryan Fuller Heroes fallout. So dive in below.

 

GENRE TV NEWS

ABC Sets November Debut Date for V
ABC has announced that their upcoming reboot of Kenneth Johnson’s 80’s miniseries "V" will premiere Tuesday, November 3rd at 8:00pm.  Meanwhile executive producer Scott Peters confirmed that producers have spoken with Jane Badler, who played the evil alien leader Diana in the original series, about possibly playing a role in the series: "Jane Badler has approached our producers and has been in touch here and there," Peters said.  Peters added that Badler is just one of the original cast members that producers are considering putting into the new show as a homage to the original:

"And I haven’t had a chance to actually sit down or talk to anybody face to face, but I would love to," Peters said. "And as we move forward in the writers’ room, … we’re just getting up on our … feet. We start shooting Monday [Aug. 10], and so once we sort of get that first one under our belts, I think we’ll be able to take a bit of a sigh of relief and really sort of look a little bit more broad stroke, a little bit more big picture. … I don’t want somebody to just walk by in the background and then feature them for a second. … I want to find a really interesting role for somebody."

Executive producer Jeffrey Bell also discussed how the new show will pay homage to the original series with references to the Visitors’ rat-eating diet and how he hopes viewers will be hooked in with a multi-season story arc and a heavy focus on details:

“On Lost or Battlestar or any other awesome shows out there,” Bell said, “people are live-blogging and die-hard fans are freezing frames and TiVo-ing and finding Easter eggs to see what happened. It’s our job to build that into V for those people but to also keep the story simple. It’s a show about spaceships.”

And lastly, head on over to SpoilerTV to check out a casting call for episode two.

Lost Season Premiere Title Revealed: "LA X"
The title for the two-hour sixth season premiere of "Lost" has been revealed to be "LA X". In other news, Elizabeth Mitchell confirmed that her character Juliet will appear in the upcoming season and she also discussed the events of the season five finale:

"It did seem that I kaboomed myself with the bomb," Mitchell said. "I like that word, anyway. I don’t think it’s going to be that way. I am going to be traveling to Hawaii more than once, so we’ll see how that plays out, because my [V] producers have said it’s all right, so that’s good."

"Yes, I will actually be back on Lost," she said. "I can’t say whether I’m dead or not, but as in all things in Lost, it’ll be fairly tricky."

Mitchell estimates she’ll be in about 15-20% of the season and although she knows exactly what’ll happen with her character, she’s sworn to secrecy and can’t reveal anything.  She was willing, however, to tease a bit about her character’s ending, which she believes fans will find satisfying:

Mitchell: "I think that it will be for the most part a good thing to watch, I think it’ll be really fun for people to see. And there will be some…I don’t know you know that thing where you kinda sigh a little bit because there’s a bit of a resolution? We will have that which is good."

Bittersweet resolution?

Mitchell: "I think there might even be something that makes us smile a little bit. But that would be down the road."

Rounding out the week’s "Lost" updates, head on over to SCI FI Wire to read Jorge Garcia’s thoughts on the upcoming end of the show and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Mr. Eko) tells Entertainment Weekly that he would like to return to the island. "Lost" returns to ABC in early 2010.

Producers Talk Fringe Season Two
Spoilers follow.  Last season’s finale of "Fringe" introduced a parallel universe, which the producers say they’ve named "Over There".  That’s the only alternate dimension that the show will explore this season:"We have decided that, though science acknowledges a multiverse [many alternate realities], we are only going to deal with two," executive producer Jeff Pinkner said. The producers say that while the majority of the season will take place in the normal world, what’s happening in "Over There" will impact what’s happening over here:

"Thematically, the other universe exists [as] a foil to what might have been different in this universe," Orci said in the press conference. "In this other place, Kennedy lived. It’s more wish fulfillment and riffing on our world than ‘We have to follow the rules of two universes.’"

Interestingly enough, the parallel universe was actually intended to be held off on until the third season, but they were confident in the fan reaction to push up its reveal by a season:

"We never intended to reveal the parallel universe until season three," Kurtzman said during the press conference. "It became very clear they were open and ready for more, so it felt like, why stall it? Let’s throw down this challenge to ourselves where we have to come up with a way to take the stories even further."

And what about Charlie (Kirk Acevedo)?  Here’s what executive producer J.H. Wyman has to say about the fate of the character:

"That is going to be a continuing storyline throughout the season. It should thrill. Nobody ever really disappears, and they could come back at any time. There is a parallel universe. Maybe [Charlie] will show up [there]. I think a lot of the answers you’re looking for will be clear in [episodes] two and three and four. You’ll really enjoy it."

Rounding out the week’s news, here’s an excerpt from IESB’s interview with writers/producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman:

IESB: "How involved will you guys be this season, and what will J.J. Abrams’ involvement be?"

Orci: "We’re divvying it up, so that we’ll oversee one, J.J. will oversee one and we’re all together, once or twice a month, planning what the next big steps are. Then, we have an amazing staff that divvies up the episodes. We get together on the phone and improve the stories, so we’re all in there. Jeff and Joel are the ones who are physically on site, handling all the horrible things that we’re protected from, in addition to doing what we’re doing. But, we’re all in there creatively."

Head on over to IESB to read the complete interview, which also delves into the duos other projects including "Star Trek 2" and "Cowboys and Aliens" on the film side.  And lastly, check out a casting call for episode six, "Earthling", over at SpoilerTV"Fringe" premieres its second season on September 17th on Fox.

Season two promotional cast images [more at Fringe Bloggers and SpoilerTV]

Set images [more at SpoilerTV]

Season two promo

David Goyer Talks FlashForward
By the end of the first season of "FlashForward" "most of the questions in the pilot will be answered," says executive producer David Goyer.  The most doesn’t apply to the "overarching cause of why the blackout happened" which he says won’t be revealed until the end of the series.  Also noteworthy from the TCA summer press tour panel were some new details on the show’s timeline, especially in relation to the April 29, 2010 date (the date the flash forward is linked to): "The significance of that date is one of the mysteries of the show," says executive producer Marc Guggenheim. "And what’s going to happen after April 29 is another mystery of the show."  Because the show is only loosely based on Sawyer’s novel, it allowed them to use different characters, setting and time frame, and although they did carry over one character from the novel ( Lloyd Simcoe played by Jack Davenport) the book won’t provide many details about the show’s version of Simcoe:

"He’s a version of that character," Goyer said. "The book obviously jumps 21 years in the future and concerns a group of particle physicists at CERN. We thought if we led with that, it’s a group of wacky particle physicists at CERN. We met with Robert Sawyer, who completely grasped that in order to make a TV show, we took the premise, truncated it and provided more points of entry. Robert liked it, and he’s going to write an episode for us the first season."

If the show gets a full season pickup, Goyer says he expects to end up directing about five episodes and write about seven or eight episodes overall.  Gabrielle Union, who plays Demetri’s (John Cho) fiancée, will be seen five or six times in the first 13 episodes in "a pretty interesting story arc," says Goyer.  Gabrielle Union talks about her role in an interview with SCI FI Wire"FlashForward" premieres on September 24th on ABC.  Check out the  promotional press bundle ABC sent out over at SpoilerTV.

Trailer/Promo: "It’s a Mad World" (with behind-the-scenes footage)

Short promo

Interview with David Goyer from Comic-Con

SGU Webisodes In the Works + Updates on the SG-1 and Atlantis Movies
The first season of "SGU: Stargate Universe" will be accompanied by 30 webisodes that will be made available on a weekly basis either on Syfy.com or Stargate.MGM.com.  Co-creator Brad Wright told TheStar that the episodes will tie directly into the series via a flying camera ball called the Kino [via GateWorld]:

"It’s flying around and spying on people," he says. "They are literally just voyeuristic scenes we’re shooting specifically for the web." Wright says he has an entire production unit dedicated to the task. "It’s an extra way to get a window on our program and gives fans a slice of life look at our ship."

Meanwhile star Lou Diamond Phillips reassured fans that the series will be a faithful addition to the "Stargate" franchise — with the Stargate remaining at the center of the show — while at the same time noting that it’ll also be doing some new things:

"I think audiences today are looking for something that’s a little more grounded, so to speak, even when you’re doing sci-fi," Phillips said. "It’s grittier. It’s darker. It’s very much character-driven. It’s about the dynamics between very real people in an extraordinary situation and not so much about heroes and villains, you know? And also not as much about the hardware anymore. I mean, certainly it has created its own world, it has its own mythology, but it’s about how these everyday human beings—be they military, scientific or political—fit into this scenario."

Speaking of the franchise, ‘SGU’ executive producer Robert C. Cooper updated the status of the potential ‘SG-1’ and ‘Atlantis’ movies, revealing that while the scripts are complete, they haven’t gotten the green light from MGM:

"We’re ready to go. We’re just waiting for the right opportunity," he said. "We want to be successful with it. The studio wants to be successful, and we really don’t want to proceed with something in the wrong climate, which I think financially it is right now."

If the movies were to get made, Cooper says that they would not affect ‘SGU’ in any way:

"They would stand alone," Cooper said. "The Atlantis one takes place shortly after the end of season five. The SG-1, I think, takes place sometime in an intermediary period between when the SG-1 movies left off and when Universe began."

Here are some bites to round out the week’s "Stargate" coverage:

  • Check out episode titles for the show’s first 19 episodes of the season. [GateWorld]
  • In addition to making a cameo appearance in the series premiere "Air", Michael Shanks ("Stargate SG-1") will also make an appearance in the episode "Human", which is currently slated to be the 14th episode of the series. [Joseph Mallozzi]
  • Lionsgate is releasing a special 15th anniversary Blu-ray edition of the original "Stargate" movie on October 27th, a day before the anniversary of the 1994 film’s theatrical release.  The Blu-ray includes "four hours of mind-blowing special features including three new featurettes, a never-before-seen gag reel, an interactive trivia track and more". [DVD Active]

  • A casting call for ‘SGU’ is looking for a "strong guest lead" to play Eleanor Perry, a 35-40 year-old character described as "a brilliant scientist who happens to be a quadriplegic"…  [SpoilerTV]
  • …That particular casting call has created a bit of a controversy in regards to Ming Na’s character Camille Wray, causing Syfy and the show’s producers to respond.  Details at AfterElton. [via io9]

Behind-the-scenes interviews with creators and cast

Chuck Could Run Through Summer 2010
About three or four scripts for "Chuck", which begins airing its 13-episode season this March, have already been submitted into NBC and president of prime time entertainment Angela Bromstad revealed that a decision on upping the show to a full season won’t be made until the episodes begin airing. Bromstad also said something that has been mentioned in the past, that the show could run through the summer if it gets picked up for a full season:

"We’ve got three or four scripts in already, so it is something that we can move around, but right now it’s not scheduled to come on until March. It’s only got a 13-episode pickup. We have talked about ‘Is Chuck something that we allow to run over into the summer and be part of our summer programming?’ Those are just discussions that we’re going to continue to have. Right now it’s due to come on midseason."

Meanwhile Yvonne Strahovski teased the upcoming season:

"There’s going to be love and romance, but a little bit of heartbreak, maybe some rejection, some guns and some action," adding: "We’re going to discover how the mechanism works inside Chuck’s head. We’re going to see just how good it is."

Lastly, one character won’t be back next season [highlight to view]: "I got killed. I got shot right in the heart. Dead," says Chevy Chase.  And SpoilerTV has a casting call for episode two, "Chuck versus the Three Words", looking for a "powerful, brick of a man," aged 30-45.

What Does Bryan Fuller’s Second Exit from Heroes Mean?
NBC president of prime time, Angela Bromstad downplayed the exit of former "Heroes" producer Bryan Fuller, although she was quick to credit Fuller for bringing the show back on track creatively:

"It doesn’t mean anything [for the show] one way or the other," Bromstad said. "He’s no longer in the writers’ room, and the show is doing exceptionally well creatively. Bryan came back to be in the writers’ room initially and helped [them] get back on track. He was there from the start and on the original writing staff. So I think he was there in the beginning to get them back on track and [help] everybody sort of decide where they’re going creatively. Our deal with Bryan now is in development. We’re looking forward to his development."

Digging into the upcoming season, new cast addition Robert Knepper (Samuel) — who was recently upped to a series regular — talked about his role in an interview with SCI FI Wire:

"I think he wants to rule the world," Knepper said. "He sort of comes off as a guy who really cares about his own family, but I think we’re going to find something. He seems to be drawing everybody in, all the heroes that we love, kind of a web. One by one he’ll pull these guys in, and I think we’ll find out a little bit more about them, and in the process discover what Samuel’s motives really are."

Knepper says that he’s already worked with Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura), Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli) and Zachary Quinto (Sylar).  Here’s what Knepper had to say about his encounter with Sylar:

"This episode, he’s not in his right mind, so he doesn’t know quite who he is," Knepper said. "So he’s like, ‘Who are you? OK, I’m open to change.’ It’s one of those great things about writing, when the audience knows you to be the villain and then you suddenly have amnesia and you have no idea who you are. It’s one of those little things."

Here are some bites to round out the rest of the week’s coverage:

  • Ernie Hudson is joining the cast next season in a recurring role. Full details are being kept under wraps, but his character, Baltimore detective Captain Lubbock, will be on the hunt for one or more of the other characters on the show. [THR]
  • Two more episode titles have been revealed.  Episode six is called "Tabula Rasa" and episode seven is called "Strange Attractors". [HeroSite]
  • NBC has released their official write-up for the fourth season.  Check it out at HeroSite.
  • Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman) tweeted the following message on his Twitter account: "I just read the craziest s–t in a new script of Heroes EVER! What?! No we di’n’t! WOW!" Michael Ausiello followed up with Grunberg at the TCA summer press tour: “It involves a cockroach,” he elaborated. “And it was incredible.” [EW]
  • Check out a comprehensive rundown of some of the questions that the finale left us with over at E! Online.
  • Hayden Panettiere (Claire) talks about the direction her character takes next season in an interview with SCI FI Wire.

Volume 5: Redemption Primetime Preview

Character profile: "Sylar Deconstructed"

Character profile: "Claire Clarified"

Seth MacFarlane Talks Family Guy Star Wars Spoofs
"Family Guy"
creator Seth MacFarlane talked with SCI FI Wire about the next "Star Wars" spoof "Something Something Something Dark Side", based on ‘The Empire Strikes Back’:

"Certainly the big worm coming out of the asteroid is a big comedy moment for us," MacFarlane said. "The snow battle is kind of a nightmare, but we put enough jokes in there to sustain it. Visually, we have to duplicate so much of what went on in the movie, and [for] 1980, it was still so visually complex, and we had to match that. It was very difficult, to say nothing of trying to insert a joke every 15 seconds or so."

MacFarlane said that the episode "is almost done" and will "be ready for the holidays." MacFarlane will then be following it up with a spoof on ‘Return of the Jedi’ titled "We Have a Bad Feeling About This" and he says he’d be interested in tapping other popular genre classics in the future:

"If we could do some of the Star Trek movies, that would be great," MacFarlane said. "If we could do the Indiana Jones movies, that would be great. There are other things to be done. It’s just a question of whether other companies will be as enlightened as Lucas."

Boldly Going Nowhere Pilot Being Reworked with more Sci-Fi
As we’ve reported on in the past, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day have been developing a sci-fi comedy series for Fox titled "Boldly Going Nowhere" about the day-to-day interactions of a crew on a spaceship.  The show was looking headed for a series pick-up, with a pilot being shot, but the group felt like the show needed some work and have gone back to the scripting stage.  The good news is that they plan to add even more Sci-Fi elements:

"We’re working with Larry Charles right now on a rewrite," Howerton said. "We’re adding more sci-fi elements into it right now, more aliens, just a little bit more sci-fi."

"…because we just realized it was more fun to embrace the sci-fi rather than fight against it," Howerton said. "In some ways, the first time around we were fighting against it, and I think we fought too hard. It ended up being just not as much fun as it could be. I think we realized that in an attempt to not parody sci-fi, we ended up almost cutting out too much of the sci-fi. I think that was a mistake."

Even still, Howerton concedes that the show may never hit TV screens:

"It’s tough to say whether this thing will ever see the light of day," Howerton said. "It’s a pet project of ours. It’s something that we care about and that we’re working on, but I’m not going to lie, it’s tough. It’s a tough nut to crack, so we’ll see. Next time we see each other [at January’s Television Critics Association tour] I’ll have more to report. Actually, we definitely will."

Sci-Fi TV on DVD Sales Update: BSG Debuts in Fourth Place (#1 Among TV Shows)
"Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5"
opened its first week on the US DVD Sales Chart with an estimated 173,579 units sold, generating $5.53 million in total sales revenue.  The show edged out the straight-to-DVD movie "Green Lantern: First Flight" (#5: 158,238/$2.59 million) and was well ahead of Fox’s "Dollhouse – Season One" which only managed to sell 62,226 units for $1.83 million in total sales revenue (#11 overall, #2 in Television).  This compares favorably to Season 4.0 (4.5 sold more units, but generated less revenue), which debuted in its first week with 166,478 units sold and had total sales revenue of $6.18 million:

  • (#4) "Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5" — 173,579 ($5,528,491)
  • (#6) "Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.0" — 166,478 ($6,182,993)

Rounding out the rest of the Sci-Fi TV on DVD sales, "True Blood: The Complete First Season" continues its impressive sales run, placing 21st overall with an additional 44,127 units sold.  Through 11 weeks on the chart, the show has sold 1,220,896 units and generated $42.30 million in total sales revenue. "Torchwood: Children of Earth" debuted in 24th place (#4 in TV) with 41,542 units sold ($601,944) and "Robot Chicken – Star Wars Episode II" added another 34,992 units/$476,941 pushing its two-week total to 116,105 units/$1.54 million.

  1. (#4) "Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5" — 173,579/$5,528,491 ($5,528,491)
  2. (#11) "Dollhouse – Season One" — 62,226/$1,826,333 ($1,826,333)
  3. (#21) "True Blood: The Complete First Season" — 44,127/$1,679,474 (1,220,896/$42,302,985)
  4. (#24) "Torchwood: Children of Earth" — 41,542/$640,089 ($640,089)
  5. (#28) "Robot Chicken – Star Wars Episode II" — 34,992/$476,941 (116,105/$1,541,955)

2009 Hugo Award Winners
The 2009 Hugo Awards took place this past Sunday, with Neil Gaiman’s "The Graveyard Book" winning best novel, Wall-E winning best dramatic presentation, long form and "Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog" winning best dramatic presentation, short form.  The full list of winner’s follows below, courtesy the official site:

  • Best Novel: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
  • Best Novella: “The Erdmann Nexus”, Nancy Kress (Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2008)
  • Best Novelette: “Shoggoths in Bloom”, Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s Mar 2008)
  • Best Short Story: “Exhalation”, Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
  • Best Related Book: Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008, John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)
  • Best Graphic Story: Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones, Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
  • Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)
  • Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon, & Maurissa Tancharoen, writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)
  • Best Editor Short Form: Ellen Datlow
  • Best Editor Long Form: David G. Hartwell
  • Best Professional Artist: Donato Giancola
  • Best Semiprozine: Weird Tales, edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal
  • Best Fan Writer: Cheryl Morgan
  • Best Fanzine: Electric Velocipede edited by John Klima
  • Best Fan Artist: Frank Wu

NEW IMAGES

Alice [SCI FI Wire]

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

DVD and Blu-ray covers [DVD Active]

Caprica

Set images [more at Meetup / 13th Colony]

Defying Gravity

Promotional images for episode 5, "Rubicon" [more at SpoilerTV]

Dollhouse

Set images [more at Flickr via Whedonesque]

Eureka

Promotional images for episode 15, "Shower the People" [more at SpoilerTV]

Justice League

The Complete Series DVD cover [DVD Active]

Mission: Impossible

Season Seven DVD cover [DVD Active]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Season One DVD cover [DVD Active]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Season Seven DVD cover [DVD Active]

The Vampire Diaries

Promotional cast images [more at SpoilerTV]

Warehouse 13

Promotional images from episode eight, "Duped" [more at SpoilerTV]

 

NEW VIDEOS

The Middleman

Table read at Comic-Con of the un-filmed season finale, "Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse"

Watch the rest of the parts at this link

Sanctuary

Season two trailer from Comic-Con

Smallville

Season nine promo

Season Nine: Up to Speed

Supernatural

Season Five: Up to Speed

TV Spot

Syfy

Interviews from the Syfy/Entertainment Weekly Comic-Con party last month

Watch two more videos here and here

The Vampire Diaries

Promo: "Love"

TV Spot

Warehouse 13

Joanne Kelly and Eddie McClintock answer fan questions

Watch the second part at this link

TV BITES

  • Jamie Ray Newman, who plays the recurring character Tess Fontana on Syfy’s "Eureka", also plays one of the witches on ABC’s upcoming series "Eastwick" but the actress anticipates she’ll be able to play both roles: "They start up in March, I think, so hopefully we’ll get to play the whole season [of Eastwick], and on hiatus I’d love to come back [to Eureka]." [SCI FI Wire]
  • Although Syfy’s upcoming limited series "Alice" (December, 2009) will differ dramatically from Lewis Carroll’s "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland", writer/director Nick Willing says that the series will remain consistent in tone: "It’s got to be funny," Willing said. "The original is very funny. It’s still very fresh. It’s got to be full of surprises. It’s got to have a very, very strong visual flair. These are all touchstones that drove me when I was developing the show." [SCI FI Wire]
  • Adam West will portray the voice of Batman’s father, Thomas Wayne, in an upcoming episode of Cartoon Network’s "Batman: Brave and the Bold".  The episode’s story will be about Batman finding out that his father wore teh costume before him.  Catwoman Julie Newmar will also appear in the episode as Martha Wayne. [Collider]
  • The sixth episode of "Defying Gravity" is called "Bacon". Here’s the synopsis: "Some crew members struggle with guilt; a serious accident puts a crew member’s life in danger." The episode airs on August 30th. [SpoilerTV]
  • Paris Hilton will guest star on The CW’s "Supernatural" as "a demonic creature" that takes the form of…wait for it…Paris Hilton.  Here’s how executive producer Sera Gamble details the role: "If you know our style, you know we go pretty funny and irreverent with this stuff, so–expect that. The fact that she wanted to do the episode speaks volumes about her sense of humor. She’s flat-out awesome for playing along. You’ll see." [E! Online and Chicago Tribune]
  • Meanwhile, The CW president Ostroff says she hopes "Supernatural" will stay on the air "for a while" and would like to see "Smallville" continue on past next season as well: “I hope it’s not the last season…I think the producers have come up with some really good storylines this season. I think the show has a lot of life left in it. We have high hopes for it staying on the air for a while”… [EW]
  • …Staying with "Smallville", as teased in the Comic-Con trailer, Lois and Clark will have sex next season: “It’s more than just sex,” says executive producer Brian Peterson. “They’re making love. Clark would never [just have sex]”… [EW]
  • …We have titles for episodes 7-9: "Roulette", 7: "Crossfire" and "Kandor"… [KryptonSite]
  • …And in casting news, many are suspecting that the fifth episode, titled "Idol", will feature the Wonder Twins of "Superfriends" fame.  David Gallagher will play the role Tanner (code for Zan) while Allison Scagliotti will play Twyla (suspected to be Jayna). [KryptonSite]
  • Although it only appears on the DVD/Blu-ray, the un-aired "Dollhouse" episode Epitaph One" will be the driving force behind the upcoming second season… [SCI FI Wire]
  • Speaking of "Dollhouse", Fox executives say that won’t meddle with the development of the upcoming season and allow Joss Whedon to craft the show the way he sees fit. [SCI FI Wire]
  • …In casting news, Michael Hogan ("Battlestar Galactica") will have a guest role on the second episode of the show next season playing a customer of the Dollhouse who has used the services of the dolls in the past.  The episode is called "Belle Chose" and was written by Tim Minear… [Chicago Tribune]
  • …While episode four will be called "Belonging".  Also, check out casting calls for both episodes three and four. [SpoilerTV and SpoilerTV]
  • Rapper Mike Skinner tweeted, and then deleted, a message on his Twitter account that he will be appearing next season in "Doctor Who". [Digital Spy]
  • "Torchwood" star John Barrowman has revealed that he’s in negotiations for a role on ABC’s "Desperate Housewives".  It’s unclear what this means for the future of Barrowman appearing in future episodes of "Torchwood".  [Digital Spy]
  • Syfy is re-teaming with director/producer Bryan Singer for an as-yet-untitled six-hour miniseries involving the 2012 prophecies surrounding the Mayan calendar. [SCI FI Wire]
  • Luciana Carro is signed on for at least five episodes of "Caprica". [battlestar_blog]
  • Kevin Williamson, executive producer of the upcoming CW series "The Vampire Diaries", calls the series "more of a small-town show", adding: "Once you get past the premise of girl and vampire, we start to develop the story of a town. That’s what we loved so much about the books, the mythology of the town, … this evil, this darkness, that lies underneath this town and how this vampire comes to town and stirs it all up."… [SCI FI Wire]
  • …Staying with "The Vampire Diaries", the show’s first three episode titles have been revealed: "Pilot", "Night of the Comet" and "Friday Night Bites"… [SpoilerTV]
  • …Also, check out an interview with star Ian Somerhalder at IESB.
  • While clarifying what type of series "Day One" will be: "It’s an alien invasion. Not just a disaster. It’s an alien invasion," NBC President of Prime Time Entertainment Angela Bromstad says that the network has yet to determine how many episodes they’ll order: "We’re still determining that," Bromstad said. "We’re getting scripts in next week. We have three additional scripts coming in, so we’re still talking to [series creator] Jesse [Alexander] about what our programming needs are and creative needs." [SCI FI Wire]
  • President of CBS Entertainment Nina Tassler told reporters at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that a "Medium"/"Ghost Whisperer" crossover episode is a possibility now that both shows share the same network, and night: "It’s never too soon [to consider]," Tassler said. "Their mythologies are different, and we haven’t talked about a crossover, but it’s possible. I think right now the shows have a different language. They have a different skill set, different rules, etc., but once we get the show launched and comfortable in its time period, we could certainly talk about it."… [SCI FI Wire]
  • …For her part, "Medium" star Patricia Arquette said that she is open to the possibility: "If I read something, and it was done really well, then yeah."  [SCI FI Wire]
  • In an upcoming episode of Syfy’s "Warehouse 13" we’ll meet a group of nine, Supreme Court-like people, who make decisions about the warehouse called the Regents. [E! Online]
  • "Eastwick" executive producer Maggie Friedman concedes that the upcoming ABC series "will have winks to both the book and the movie"… [EW]
  • …And check out a casting call for five characters for episode three, one of which could be a recurring character at SpoilerTV.

SCI FI TV RATINGS

CHART (7/27/2009 to 8/2/2009)

CHART (8/3/2009 to 8/9/2009)

 

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


 

55 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Yay! Sci-fi Saturday is back!

ME like second season trailer for Fringe and the cover for BSG: The Plan :)

I’m somewhat offended to have to watch ads before a promotional spot for “Heroes,” which is also an ad. Get real, NBC!

Otherwise, I think I may give “Fringe” and “Heroes” a whirl this year.

Love seeing those DVD sales numbers. You can’t find that kind of listing anywhere. Great job TrekMovie.com.

Evidently Fringe does not not conform to the latest greatest, most highly tested scientific theory in human history. Should its fans feel cheated? Or should Star Trek fans feel honored?

I don’t know if many Trekmovie readers were around at the time, but back in the late 70s shows like The Love Boat and Fantasy Island used to recruit tons of familiar old TV actors and give them work in short lightweight one-shot stories done two or three in the same episode around bridging segments with a regular cast (Doc, Gopher, Mr. “Khan” Roarke, Tattoo, etc.). I’ve occasionally thought that the same thing might work in a light SF format. I know I’d tune in to see old Trek, Battlestar, Buck Rogers, Buffy, Angel etc. stars as guest passengers in stand alone light or comical stories set upon a resort starcraft or planet. I bet other genre fans would tune in, too (and most of the supporting actors from those shows would probably work for SAG minimum, glad for the opportunity).

The next season of Fringe looks really good; the next Heroes season… I don’t know. Could turn out either really good or not-so-great like season two. Let’s hope it’s the former!

#5, RD :: Ah, what do you mean?

Thanks for the info on Stargate- looks cool.

#5 Give it up RD, you can go on like this forever and 99% of the world (including TOS fans) are STILL going to love JJ’s Star Trek. Even if you didn’t. Sorry!

Those pictures of Warehouse 13 are actually from Eureka!

V: This is quite a turnaround for V from still having script changes and airing in November. Must not be much as far as special effects planned?

Smallville: Perhaps after this season, they could rename it “Metropolis”? If Clark and Lois are getting, erm, busy… what’s next? They’ll be teamed as the co-anchors on WGBS? When it’s getting to be a remake of Lois & Clark, it’s time for them to let it go, no?

#5 Geesh, give it a rest. Obsess much?

Attention, V producers: I’m psyched for the new series and very, very happy you have the great Jane Badler on your minds.

But bring her back as Diana … allow her to play the full-blown villain she was meant to play.

JANE BADLER = DIANA … ’nuff said.

I was really hoping that they would make another season or mini-series with Torchwood after Children of Earth, but if Barrowman is going to be on Desperate Housewives, guess it’s good bye Torchwood. Too bad.

#5

What do you mean?

#10 Those two are guest starring on Warehouse 13.

“Duped”
Pete (Eddie McClintock) and Myka (Joanne Kelly) are dispatched to Las Vegas to retrieve an artifact that seems to grant good fortune to a couple of gamblers. But their simple snag it/bag it/tag it mission gets complicated when Myka accidentally gets trapped in Lewis Carroll’s mirror–unleashing the malevolent entity that was trapped inside.
Guest Stars: Erica Cerra, Niall Matter, CCH Pounder
Air Date: August 25, 2009 @ 9 PM EST

#6: “I don’t know if many Trekmovie readers were around at the time, but back in the late 70s shows like The Love Boat and Fantasy Island used to recruit tons of familiar old TV actors and give them work in short lightweight one-shot stories done two or three in the same episode around bridging segments with a regular cast (Doc, Gopher, Mr. “Khan” Roarke, Tattoo, etc.).”

The 1980s “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” did that too… witness this: That venerable series’ guest stars included genre stars Buster Crabbe (the original Buck Rogers), Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Palance, Mark Lenard, Peter Graves, Michael Ansara, Paul Carr (ST and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea alum) and many others.

That said, I cringe whenever I try to I watch it now (which, thankfully is NOT often)…. it really was hyper-camp, which as most of my friends know (in most cases), I detest camp.

Anyone else think David Goyer kinda looks like Stanley Tucci?

Now, maybe we could get Kurt Russell to play JJ Abrams and Stanley Tucci to play David Goyer in a behind-the-scenes parody of contemporary SciFi film production.

I can’t wait for Fringe to return. It’s really a good show. Fun to watch, good stories, interesting characters…and Walter is just a hoot!

Fringe, Futurama, House….

It’s gonna be a good year!

Adam West and Julie Newmar doing voices on Batman B&B. I think that’s great. The one thing that’s not great is how they haven’t gotten them doing commentary on a release of the original Batman show. What a wasted, wasted, missed opportunity that is. Frank Gorshin’s dead now. Earth Kitt. Nelson Riddle. Almost nobody on the creative or starring level left to talk to for a DVD release. What are those people waiting on!? The 40th anniversary of the show is gone now. What poor, shortsighted execs we’ve got here.

To me that’s on the same level as not having foresight to have recorded Mel Blanc in the booth all those years ago doing Bugs and other characters. Or Warner Brothers so unaware of what they had that they didn’t have the vision to record any of those first couple of Van Halen tours all those years ago when they were just monstrously cooking. Woodstock, Shmoodstock. Now that’s a concert video I would have bought.

Well, at least somebody’s putting them to good use.

16

“The 1980s “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” did that too… witness this: That venerable series’ guest stars included genre stars Buster Crabbe (the original Buck Rogers), Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Palance, Mark Lenard, Peter Graves, Michael Ansara, Paul Carr (ST and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea alum) and many others.”

And speaking of Frank Gorshin he was on there too.

I’m wishing The Middleman was on Blu-ray. The HD broadcast was great.

21. The Mark Lenard one was really weird — he plays an alien old flame of Wilma’s and has a dark secret — he can remove his head when he needs to.

Who needs “boldy going nowhere” when we have futurama coming back?

As much as I pray that JJ and co. doesnt do a Khan movie I’d love to see a Family Guy Wrath of Khan. I love being a Trekkie and watching that show, so many little hidden jokes for us that nobody else gets.

25- agreed on all counts

I would also love Seth to do a spoof on First Contact as well.

Fringe looks good.

Heroes is DOA.

Chuck Rules!

Why doesn’t SyFy team with Bryan Singer to make some Star Trek: TNG movies?

Singer did appear in Star Trek Nemesis, did he not? lol… he definitely is a fan of TNG, and he worked with Patrick Stewart on X-MEN 1 and 2. I don’t think any of the TNG cast would say no to Singer — even if it was a tv movie.

28, not enough interest in TNG anymore. Way too risky.

Sy-Fy would probably KILL to have Next Generation movies made exclusively for their network. Would certainly be bigger in the ratings than any silly 2012 film. But would Paramount really allow this? They certainly would make lots of cash in DVD sales, and they could sell them in expanded movie sets (SETS THAT INCLUDE THE PREVIOUSLY RELEASED MOVIES.)

On the plus side… Star Trek is very popular now. Its probably too soon for a new series to be made…BUT… a few DVD movies of TNG (ala BSG: The Plan) would be great. Have them released on DVD first, and then shown on Sy-Fy exclusively.

YES! YES!! YES!!!

It would be AWESOME if they made TNG films for SyFy. I don’t see any risk in this at all. TNG still does well on DVD. Direct to DVD movies is what that cast should be doing now. Less studio pressure that way, and less cost in terms of marketing. The fans will go out in droves to buy the DVDs. Plus, TNG would be a rating juggarnaut for SyFy. Plus, since TNG takes place in the PRIME universe, it wouldn’t effect the new movies at all in terms of storytelling.

Give me three more TNG films with Data and the gang and I guarantee I will buy them all on DVD. The world needs more TNG!

Bryan Singer is directing a new Battlestar Galactica movie, so I don’t know if he would have time to direct a TNG film (he could still produce though I’m sure). I do recall Singer once saying something about wanting to direct a Star Trek film, so it isn’t that crazy of an idea. I would prefer a film in the theatres, but I would still be cool with a direct to video film series. As long as Stewart is involved…

16: Agreed! I can’t believe how unwatchable that Buck Rogers series has become for me as I’ve gotten older. Did I really tune in faithfully every week when I was 13?

35: I still get a kick out of old Bucky Rogers.

33, 34: Oh man… if only! I would love some Star Trek TNG movies! Its a proven brand; SYFY should look into this. TNG always did better on televison anyways. And yes, these would sell like hotcakes on DVD for years and years.

#23: yeah, and I conveniently left Gary Coleman off the list. LOL

20

And come to think of it all three of these blunders have happened at Warner’s. Hmmm…and they got rid of Sherry Lansing at Paramount. Maybe they cleaned house at the wrong studio.

#7 & #14 – It’s my sardonic way of making fun of Orci’s insistence that Trek adhere to the most popular theory of Quantum Mechanics, despite orphaning some aspects of 40 years of Old Testament Canon. In fact what I find ironic about it is that Fringe is supposed to be a show about cutting edge science, perhaps even more so than Trek. Yet, not only is Orci violating one aspect of Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics that he is holding new Trek stories to – no transit between parallel universes, he has also indicated that they have no intention of “following the rules” of these universes, which again he states he intends to hold Trek to.

The only show I’m looking forward to is Flash Forward. Now that looks good. As far as Barrowman and Torchwood is concerned, well if you watched COE then you will notice there’s a final ending of sorts to the series. However, it’s not like Torchwood is filmed all the time so there’s no reason why Barrowman can’t do Torchwood (if it’s made again) and Desperate Housewives (yuck) at the same time. Can’t believe DH is still on the air – I stopped watching midway through second season.

The Vampire Diaries…I haven’t seen the movie, but why does this show look like a ripoff of Twilight to me? Oh well.

15. SarahJM – August 15, 2009

#10 Those two are guest starring on Warehouse 13.

Thanks for setting me straight Sarah. I didn’t recognize it since the episode hasn’t aired yet!

yes to tv movies of TNG!

Yes!Yes!Yes! Jane Badler on “V” … that would be awesome, but please, please, please … let it be as our favorite bad-ass Diana, nobody can even come close. Perhaps Diana could be behind the scenes with alien leader Anna (Morena Baccarin) acting as a figurehead carrying out Diana’s dastardly deeds? To not take the spotlight away from new characters, maybe there could be a divide between the two at a later time setting up different alien agendas/factions? I’m sure Anna will be great & interesting as a new leader, but Diana’s return would be spectacular and add so much to the series!

Speaking of Star Trek :The Next Generation, DVD movie releases would be great! Speaking of TNG, does anyone out there no anything about Dragon Toys and their upcoming Next Gen 1/6 scale Picard, Data, Worf figures and any news on this line and whether they plan to do all 7 crew members or branch out to other Trek series characters like DS9 Or Voyager or Enterprise?

i presume that the news of Bryan Singer rebooting the reboot of BSG for the big screen less than 6 months after the finale will be in todays movie report?

It must be some sort of record for quickest reboot/ remake ever and in my opinion is completely unnecessary and an absolute joke.

45:

A big screen reboot of the non-Ron Moore old BSG sounds like a huge hornet’s nest. Singer should have stuck with the “Baby X-Men” thing he was considering.

Old BSG was a “Star Wars” knockoff, and it’s only interest in the Sci-Fi Network series that would lead to this project being green-lit. It’ll surely piss off a lot of people.

@46:

I agree completely. From what I read it’s going to be moreso based on the old Galactica and wait till you hear this, the Cylons will be led by a “Borgified” Apollo. Absolutely ridiculous, it sounds like basically best of both worlds and Locutus.

Supposedly Singer’s getting 10 mill for it. Universal, who already produced RDM’s Battlestar bought the movie rights from Larsson in february but it leaked online that Singer’s signed on in the past day or two.

RDM’s Battlestar needed a 3-4 hour mini series just to do the pilot and set up the premise, theres no way in a 2 hour film that they can show the journey from start to finish with any sort of meaning.

They want it to be out summer 2011 which is also when a certain sequel is also due out….

46. AJ wrote: “A big screen reboot of the non-Ron Moore old BSG sounds like a huge hornet’s nest … it’s only interest in the Sci-Fi Network series that would lead to this project being green-lit. It’ll surely piss off a lot of people.”

Isn’t that exactly what they said about Star Trek in 2006? ;-)

As I recall that reboot was designed to attract a brand new audience not mine the core-fanbase yet again. Moore’s BSG drew on the same characters, technologies and situations so as to make them a bit more culturally familiar to current audiences who may not have watched the show. Like Trek, despite what some hard-core fans said about not going to see it, I imagine every single Moore BSG fan will show up to see what Singer did, at least once. With the right stars and action, they could very will hit with a Summer popcorn audience exactly the same way Trek did. BSG is a good story and could certainly be made a lot more fun and exciting than Moore’s did, or even the original.

I am reminded of Lost In Space … the movie version, by taking itself so seriously, sucked all the life out of what was otherwise an incredibly fun franchise. As long as Singer avoids that trap, it could do really well.

So, JFK lived “over there” in Fringe. GR would be happy. Opens up a big canvas to play with. No Nam or Nixon, Elvis didn’t get fat, and no Yoko. What a trip.

Good baby Glock handling by Anna Torv or whoever closeup in the season 2 preview. Just don’t ruin it by adding the sound of a hammer being cocked later.

Re: BSG Movie

Yes, it’s in the Movies version which has just been posted.