Sci-Fi TV Sunday: LOST, Fringe, Caprica, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Chuck, Futurama + more

In Sci-Fi TV this week we have big updates for Lost, Caprica and Doctor Who, including spoilers and previews. There is also another Star Wars animated show coming and a new super hero show for Syfy. Plus we have tons of new preview images and videos including stuff from the Chuck finale. All that plus the latest television ratings keeping track of those shows still on the bubble. Oh, and Fringe: The Musical!

[ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS]

GENRE TV NEWS

LOST: Character return confirmed + more spoilers
Actress Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet) has confirmed that she’ll appear on LOST again. She couldn’t confirm what she’ll be doing, but did say she would likely return for the series finale:

"I can’t say doing what, because I get the script in a couple days. … It might be for the finale. It will be towards the end, yeah."

In other news, EW reports that the upcoming 15th episode will be a "big mythology episode" and unlike previously mentioned, it won’t be devoid of series regulars, just light on them.

• Fake Locke will tell Jin how he plans to get off the island. [E! Online]
• The four-letter word used to describe the island — which Kristin of E! Online has been teasing for the past few weeks — is "CORK" (and we’ve known about it for months). [SpoilerTV]
• Is Locke really dead?:  "We’ve said dead is dead and we’re not really going to go back on the rules, [but] I will say that there are surprises in store at the end of the series," says executive producer Carlton Cuse. [E! Online]
• Dark UFO has polls up asking "Who built the Frozen Donkey Wheel?" and "Who are Adam and Eve?". The site adds that we’ll learn the answer to the first question by the series finale and they’ll cross off three names from the second after this week’s episode airs. [Dark UFO]
• François Chau (Dr. Pierre Chang.) will appear in the parallel universe in episode 10. [HoboTrashcan via Dark UFO]

Next week’s episode of "LOST" is called "Ab Aeterno". It airs Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.

Promotional stills from episode 6×09 – "Ab Aeterno" [more at DarkUFO]

Promo for "Ab Aeterno" [YouTube]

Sneak peek at "Ab Aeterno" [YouTube]

Nestor Carbonell soundbites [YouTube]

Watch three more "Soundbites": 1 | 2 | 3

Harold Perrineau confirming return [YouTube]

Cast and crew talk Caprica finale + BSG spinoff news
Ratings for "Caprica" have been significantly lower than hoped for, however co-creator Ronald D. Moore says that he remains hopeful for a second season renewal:

"It’s an expensive show for Syfy, for a basic cable show, and the ratings are not gangbusters, but the ratings have been ticking up and we’re building momentum," he said. "It’s been critically well received, so there’s a good buzz on the show. It adds a lot of prestige to the network, but the network also has its own business people that have to figure out a cost analysis on it. I feel like we’re gonna get it. I always felt like we were gonna get it on Battlestar. We’ll just have wait and see."

Quickly with regards to the ratings, last Friday’s episode drew 1.07 million viewers and a 0.4 A18-49 rating. Although the show had been on a two-episode ratings increase, last Friday’s episode was down 7% in viewers and 20% in A18-49 rating from the week prior. The seven-episode average remains at a subpar 1.21 million viewers and a 0.4 A18-49 rating. Based solely on ratings it’s hard to argue for a renewal. However, as Moore noted, the network will weigh other factors when coming to a conclusion. So when will a decision for a second season occur? No later than this August:

"I think ultimately it comes down to when the actors’ contracts come due," Moore replied. "That’s the real trigger, and I don’t think those are due until August. However, I think that the other factor is [the network’s] schedule and when they’d want the show to be on the air. So they would probably pull the trigger before that in order to start production in time to get the show on the air for their schedule."

In a separate interview with Digital Spy, Moore said that if the show doesn’t get renewed the season one finale would not serve as an effective series finale:

"No! No – it would not be a satisfying way to end the show, I’ll put it that way. It’s fifty years before Battlestar, so we can’t end it at any time we want. It depends how far ahead we want to jump in the story."

The cast and crew were at PaleyFest 2010 and took part in a panel discussion and Q&A following the screening of two new episodes. Moore was asked about whether or not they’ve mapped out the end of "Caprica":

"We don’t know right now exactly where the endpoint of "Caprica" is going to be. You can pick out about a half dozen pretty significant landmarks [between where we are now and the beginning of the ‘Battlestar’ mini-series], that are potential ends to the show," he explained. "But I think what we will probably decide somewhere along the line [is] what is the organic place for this part of the story to end rather than trying to get it to some historical marker up ahead."

Here are some other highlights courtesy Access Hollywood:

"Our finale is unbelievable," Sasha Roiz (Sam Adama) revealed. "It’s so powerful that I remember me and Esai calling each other after reading the script. We were both absolutely floored by how it ends."

"The finale drove me to tears on various occasions," Esai Morales said. "What happens is so profound and out of the blue. [It was] so unexpected it took my breath away."

Check out more interviews with stars Alessandra Torresani and Esai Morales at SCI FI Wire, an individual interview with Morales at Uinterview and one with Paula Malcomson at NY Times. In other news, Mark Stern Executive Vice President of Development of Syfy talked about recent rumors about another BSG spinoff (and ):

"It’s such a rich world. I think if ‘Caprica’ is kind of the prequel to ‘Battlestar,’ where it is how you led up to the Cylon War, and ‘Battlestar’ is the post-Cylon War, there is a whole section in between the two." he said. "There’s about 50 years in between the two worlds to explore. That’s as far as I can go."

The potential "Battlestar Galactica" spinoff was also discussed previously here on TrekMovie.com, which you can read here. "Caprica" airs Friday night’s at 10:00 p.m. on Syfy.

Esai Morales Q&A, Part 2 [SCI FI Wire]

Doctor Who season six confirmed + Torchwood US update
"Doctor Who" showrunner Steven Moffat confirmed that the season five premiere "The Eleventh Hour" will air on BBC One April 3rd, while Digital Spy reports that a Christmas special and sixth season of the show (to air in 2011) have been given go-aheads. As expected, Matt Smith will return as The Doctor. Shooting on the special and the 13-episode sixth season will begin early July in Cardiff. Steven Moffat also talked about the return of the Weeping Angels (which were seen in the recent trailer) and mentioned another enemy The Doctor will be confronting:

"Those scary statues, I should warn you – and your children – are on their way back and they’re way way worse this time."

 "Soon you’ll see him grappling with Silurians, an enemy from Jon Pertwee’s time as The Doctor, who have a particular reason for wanting to take over the earth – and brand new monsters too."

In other news, "Torchwood" star John Barrowman tells EW that there isn’t much news to report on Fox’s U.S. version of the series, but he did make it clear that he would be against any change in his character’s sexuality:

"I hope wherever [the franchise] goes that the show stays the same," says the openly gay Scottish thesp. "The last thing I would want would be for Jack to become this heterosexual, straight hero. He’s an omnisexual guy. He likes men, women, aliens, whatever. I think we should continue going down that route."

Barrowman also confirmed that if the show gets a pilot and then series order, he’ll definitely be playing Capt. Jack:

"[Producer Julie Gardner] has said, as has [creator Russell T. Davies], that there will be no Torchwood without John Barrowman as Capt. Jack," he says. "If I am asked to do Torchwood again, I will do it at the drop of a hat — whether it’s in America or back in Britain or if it’s for a film. I absolutely love Capt. Jack."

Season five promotional images [more at SpoilerTV]

Season five trailer #3 [YouTube]

BBC America season five promo [YouTube]

Watch another BBC America promo here

Clip from season five premiere – "Eleventh Hour" [YouTube]

Interview with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan [Blogtor Who]

Watch more interviews, including with Steven Moffat, here and here

Fringe: The Musical
The upcoming April 29th episode of "Fringe", called "Overture", will be a musical episode. Lance Reddick (Phillip Broyles) says the episode revolves around "Walter telling a bedtime story to Olivia’s niece", which allows for "extreme versions of [the cast]."  More from TV Guide Magazine:

Among the highlights we can reportedly expect from the nourish fantasia are Reddick’s Broyles tickling the ivories and taking on a Traffic tune, Jasika Nicole’s Astrid performing a ditty from “A Chorus Line,” and Anna Torv’s usually stoic Agent Olivia Dunham vamping it up as a private eye…as well as being serenaded by the last person you’d imagine. "I sing a song to Olivia, which is certainly confusing," laughs Blair Brown (Nina Sharp).

Jasika Nicole (Astrid) explains the premise behind the episode more completely [SCI FI Wire]:

It’s essentially Walter kind of manifesting his idea. He’s trying to get his mind off of, you know, what’s going on because he’s just waiting to see what’s going to go on with Peter. And essentially he’s kind of created this little world in his head. And so everything is super-symbolic so all the characters embody the qualities that he notices about them the most, which is really neat. And it happens in the 1940s. Everybody’s in 1940s dress, but they still have cell phones and stuff. So it’s just his brain, because he’s telling a story to someone. Sort of like a bedtime story to help ease his anxiety. So we get to sing in it."

In other news, FringeWatch relayed news that filming on this season is set to wrap tomorrow, Monday, March 22nd. "Fringe" returns with new episodes Thursday, April 1st at 9:00 p.m. on Fox. Here’s some of what to expect in the episode [TV Guide]:

The first post-hiatus episode, April 1’s "Peter," is an ’80s flashback blockbuster in which Walter finally tells Olivia the truth about his son. It fills in almost all the gaps in Peter’s mysterious backstory: why Olivia sees him glimmer, how he was cured and why he owes the Observer his life. Plus: We’ll meet Peter’s mother for the first time and get a pretty good idea how Nina Sharp lost her arm to "cancer."

Episode 2×15 – "Peter": Sneak peek #3 [YouTube]

Watch two more sneak peeks: 1 | 2

Syfy greenlights new superhero pilot called Three Inches
Syfy has greenlit a 90-minute pilot called "Three Inches" from writer Haley Peyton ("Twin Peaks"):

In Three Inches, professional daydreamer and underachiever, Walter, is struck by lightning, and develops a unique "super" power—the ability to move any object using just his mind … but only a distance of three inches. He’s soon recruited by a covert team of superheroes each gifted with their own extraordinarily ordinary abilities. Together, the unlikely band of heroes proves that "super" is simply a state of mind.

Lucas prepping Star Wars animated TV series for younglings
George Lucas is reportedly in pre-planning on another "Star Wars" animated series geared towards the Pre-School and Kindergarten demographic. IESB.net reports that the new series will be based on the popular line of toys "Star Wars: Galactic Heroes". A director has reportedly already been hired for the project. This would make the second currently running animated series (the other being "Star Wars: The Clone Wars") and of course a live-action series is still in the works (despite little news on the project).

PREVIEW Videos & Images

Chuck

Promotional stills from episode 3×11 – "Chuck vs. the Final Exam" [ChuckTV.net]

Images from Jeffster music video to be featured in finale [EW & EW]

Promo for "Chuck vs. the Final Exam" [SCI FI Wire]

Watch another promo here

FlashForward

Promotional images for episode 1×15 – "Queen Sacrifice" [more at DH-Central.Net]

Promo for episode 1×13 – "Blowback" [YouTube]

Watch another promo here

PaleyFest 2010 [YouTube]

Interview with Dominic Monaghan [TV Guide / YouTube]

Watch some PaleyFest 2010 interviews with [via SpoilerTV]:

Jessica Borsicky | Sonya Walger | Dominic Monaghan | Gabrielle Union
Zachary Knighton | Jack Davenport | Peyton List | Joseph Fiennes

Futurama

Teaser trailer [YouTube]

Human Target

Promo for episode 1×09 – "Corner Man" [YouTube]

Legend of the Seeker

Promo for episode 2×15 – "Creator" [YouTube]

Smallville

Promotional stills for episode 9×17 – "Checkmate" [more at KryptonSite and OSCK]

Stargate Universe

Brian J. Smith interview, Part 1 [SCI FI Wire]

Supernatural

Promotional images for episode 5×16 – "Dark Side of the Moon" [more at SPNSite]

Sneak peek at episode 5×15 – "Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid" [YouTube]

Watch two more sneak peeks: 1 | 2

True Blood

Season three promo [YouTube]

V

Promotional stills for episode 1×05 – "Pound of Flesh" [more at DH-Central.Net]

The Vampire Diaries

Promo for episode 1×15 – "A Few Good Men" [The CW / YouTube]

Web clip from "A Few Good Men" [The CW / YouTube]

Watch another clip here

TV BITES

• Previously on TrekMovie.com: Brannon Braga Inks New Deal At Fox
• 11-year anniversary of the launch of "Farscape". [SCI FI Wire]
• Production has begun on the third season of Syfy original series "Sanctuary". [SCI FI Wire]
• Syfy has renewed its hit reality series "Destination Truth" for a fourth season. Season four will premiere this fall…     [Syfy]
• …Meanwhile, Syfy has announced a new Thursday night reality bloc of programming with three new series: "Paranormal Investigators"; "Mary Knows Best" and "Beast Legends". [Syfy]
• Episode 14 of ABC’s "FlashForward" will be called "Better Angels".  Check out a press release at SpoilerTV. [ABC]
• Here are some of the latest press releases for the various shows we cover:
• "Chuck" 2×13 – "Chuck vs. the Other Guy". [SpoilerTV]
• "Human Target" 1×11 – "Victoria". [SpoilerTV]
• "Smallville" 9×17 – "Checkmate". [OSCK]
• "The Vampire Diaries" 1×17 – "Let The Right One In". [SpoilerTV]
• "Supernatural" – 5×16 – "Dark Side of the Moon". [Shock Till You Drop]
• "Fringe" – 2×16 – "Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver". [SpoilerTV]
• HBO has announced that the third season of "True Blood" will premiere Sunday, June 13th at 9:00 p.m. [HBO]
• "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star Nicholas Brendon was tased twice, subdued and taken to a hospital after cops were called in after a drunk man (Brendon was causing a commotion in Venice, California. [TMZ]
• "True Blood" creator Alan Ball says he has thought about including the character Bubba, but hasn’t figured out a way to introduce the character "without it being cheesy, adding, "I don’t know how to do it without either using an Elvis impersonator…or having somebody and never seeing their face, just hearing their voice…" [EW]
• "Stargate Universe" producer Joseph Mallozzi has revealed two more episode titles on his web blog: 2×07 – "The Greater Good" & 2×08 – "Malice"…[Joseph Mallozzi Weblog]
• …Meanwhile, David Blue says that the upcoming season will see some character deaths: "You’re going to be saying good-bye to some people". [io9]
• There will be a character death in the upcoming 100th episode of "Supernatural", but he/she won’t be anyone major. [EW]
• The "Chuck" season finale will feature at least one significant death… [EW]
• …In related news, filming on season two concluded this past Friday. [Josh Schwartz]
• "The Phantom" co-writers Daniel Knauf and his son Charles confirmed that the upcoming two-part mini-series that airs this June on Syfy will also serve as a pilot for a possible TV series, depending of course on ratings: "…we’re hoping it could become an ongoing series for the network." [Newsarama]

CASTING BITES

• Tracy Morgan back as host of Syfy’s "Scare Tactics". [Syfy]
• James Callis ("Battlestar Galactica") has joined the cast of Syfy’s "Eureka". He’ll play "a former resident of the town whose unexpected return is cause for serious alarm and—considering his romantic interest in Allison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield)—significant friction with Sherriff Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson)" [Syfy]
• Robert Knepper ("Heroes") will appear in 6-7 episodes of the second season of "Stargate Universe". Knepper will play Simeon, who was previously announced to be a Lucian Alliance soldier. [Robert Knepper Fans via SpoilerTV]
• Annabeth Gish ("The X-Files") has joined the cast of ABC’s "FlashForward". [Zap2It]
• Mariana Klaveno is returning for roughly six episodes this season on "True Blood". [EW]
• Jamie Ray Newman (who played Dr. Tess Fontana) will be back "for a couple of episodes" this season on "Eureka", confirmed star Salli Richardson-Whitfield. [Fancast]
• There’s a trailer on the set of "Fringe" for "Charlie", and actor Kirk Acevedo is also in town. [@canadagraphs via @FringeWatch]
• The casting rumor that had Kristin Kreuk joining the cast of "Fringe" has been debunked. [Fancast]

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

Ratings Scorecard update: Chuck falling; FlashForward in serious danger; Human Target solid
Last month we did a rundown of the current Sci-Fi/Genre shows.  Here’s a quick update on the shows still on the bubble for renewal:

• This Monday’s episode drew 5.85M viewers and a 1.9 A18-49 rating. That’s not only a season-low, but it’s a series low. It’s a drop of 21% in viewers and 34% in A18-49 rating from the season premiere (7.45M / 2.9 A18-49 rating). The low ratings led series creator Josh Schwartz to tweet: "Chuck fans it’s time to get organized…"
• Thursday’s two-hour return of "FlashForward" drew just 6.5M viewers and a 1.9 A18-49 (both series lows). That was a decline of 14% in viewers and 10% in A18-49 rating (7.70M / 2.1 A18-49 rating). The show really needed to gain some viewers, or at least hold steady, for it to help its season renewal chances.
• It wasn’t all bad news, however as "Human Target" won its timeslot last Wednesday (8.01M viewers and a 2.3 A18-49 rating).  It was down only a tenth from the week prior in A18-49 rating and managed growth of 2% in viewers (7.83M / 2.4 rating).

In cable, episode three of the new season of Syfy’s "Ghost Hunters" drew 2.11M viewers and a 0.9 A18-49 rating. That was down 5% in viewers and 10% in A18-49 rating from the week prior.  Thus far, the current season is averaging a solid 2.24 million viewers and a 1.0 A18-49 rating. Meanwhile, "Destination Truth" returned after its extended hiatus and drew 2.24 million viewers and a 1.0 A18-49 rating for its season 3.5 premiere. That’s the show’s best season premiere performance ever. [@TravisYanan & Syfy]

CHART (3/8/2010 to 3/14/2010)

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