Sci-Fi TV Monday: LOST, Fringe, V, Star Wars, Being Human, Doctor Who + more

In Sci-Fi TV this week we have big updates with previews for Lost , V, and Fringe. Plus there is news of a new animated Star Wars TV show, a comedy (really!). And there are more details on the US version of Being Human and our regular wrap-up of television ratings, casting bites and all the latest new images and video previews (including a look at new Doctor Who TARDIS and some WW2 era Daleks).

GENRE TV NEWS

LOST alternate endings + other LOST bites
"LOST" executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse will appear on "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost" on the night of the finale. The program will also feature alternate endings and live interviews with cast members:

“JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE: ALOHA TO LOST” is the culmination of a six year-long relationship between “LOST” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Each Tuesday night, Kimmel discusses the show and features “Secrets of ‘LOST’” (comedic “insight” into the mysteries of the island from Evangeline Lilly, Michael Emerson, Jorge Garcia, Daniel Dae Kim, Elizabeth Mitchell, and more). Cast members including Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Michael Emerson, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Terry O’Quinn and former cast members Dominic Monaghan and Elizabeth Mitchell appear regularly on Kimmel’s couch and producers Lindelof, Cuse, and JJ Abrams make regular guest appearances as well.

Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) confirms that Love is a strong theme in the series:

"Yes, you’re absolutely right in a sense that the driving force of Lost is love. Desmond is totally driven by love. What’s interesting is how they see this other world. Charlie and Desmond both had near-death experiences and they recognized their loves. It’s sort of spiritual, the thing they have to get to at the end of this, what Desmond has to do."

Cusick also said that his character is not claimed by the Man in Black, like Sayid and Claire have been:

"No, absolutely not. He’s not claimed at all. It’s the polar opposite. Sayid and Claire have been claimed by the Man in Black. Desmond, on the other hand, has had an epiphany. He’s enlightened. He has no fear of the Man in Black."

Here are a few "LOST" bites:

• Is Desmond the key to the series? "Desmond certainly is a part, but is he the key? There’s not one character that is the key. There are many characters that will have to step up and do things before this is resolved. Desmond has a part to play, a significant part, but there are many others that will step up," says Cusick. [TV Guide]
• Ben (Michael Emerson) will get a love interest: "It comes out of nowhere," says one insider, declining to reveal whether Cupid strikes Ben on the island or in the ‘sideways’ world. "I don’t think anyone will see it coming." [EW]
• Daniel Dae Kim (Jin) suggests that Jin and Sun’s daughter could be the candidate and reveals that we’ll learn more of Sun and Jin’s story in the alternate reality. [TV Guide]
• The season finale will feature two 50 year old "Hippies" called Glen and Hector. [Dark UFO]
• Check out an interview with Mark Pellegrino (Jacob) at SCI FI Wire.

Promotional stills from episode 6×12 – "Everybody Loves Hugo" [more at TVOvermind]

Sneak peek from "Everybody Loves Hugo" [YouTube]

Watch another sneak peek from the episode here

More details on the Fringe musical episode
FOX has announced that the musical-themed episode of "Fringe" will be called "Brown Betty". The episode will air on April 29th. Here’s the official description:

Thursday, April 29 FRINGE (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) – "Brown Betty" While Walter (John Noble) deals with some upsetting news, he tells Olivia’s niece, Ella (guest star Lily Pilblad), a fairy tale that includes musical performances by Olivia (Anna Torv) and Agent Broyles (Lance Reddick).

Here are some casting bites:

• Orla Brady, who played Peter’s mom in the episode "Peter", will be back for the two-part season finale, titled "Over There, Part 1" and "Over There, Part 2" (airing May 13th and May 20th, respectively).
• Seth Gabel ("Dirty Sexy Money") is joining the series to play the lead Fringe investigator in the alternate universe. The character will debut in the two-part season finale and could return on a recurring basis next season. [EW]

Promotional stills from episode 2×18 – "The Man from the Other Side" [more at SpoilerTV]

Promotional stills from episode 2×19 – "Brown Betty" (i.e. the Musical episode) [more at SpoilerTV]

Cast promotional images [more at Fringe Television]

Set images [more via SpoilerTV, (2)]

Promo for episode 2×17 – "White Tulip" [YouTube]

Set video, including a look at Leonard Nimoy [FringeWatch / more via SpoilerTV]

Animated Star Wars comedy in the works
George Lucas is working with "Robot Chicken" creators/executive producers Seth Green and Matthew Senreich and "The Daily Show" writer Brendan Hay to develop a new animated "Star Wars" comedy series:

"There are so many stories taking place in the Star Wars universe, and they don’t all have to focus on the fate of the galaxy," said Grimes. "We’re looking at Star Wars from a new perspective; this will be a glimpse at how the rest of the galaxy is affected by the events of the Saga. There’s a lot of humor to be mined from that."

"The Star Wars universe is so dense and rich; it’s crazy to think that there aren’t normal, mundane everyday problems in a world so well-defined," said Green. "And it’s even crazier to think of what those problems might be, since it’s all set in a galaxy far, far away. What do these characters do when they’re not overthrowing Empires?"

Said Senreich, "We’re going to pull back the curtain of some of those behind-the-scenes shenanigans. It’s going to appeal to all ages, the way Star Wars should — but there’ll be plenty buried under the surface, as well. As Obi-Wan might say, ‘it all depends on your point of view’."

Cast talk V + New episode title revealed
"V" stars Laura Vandervoort (Lisa) and Joel Gretsch (Father Jack) talked about what’s in store for the rest of the season. Here are some highlights from the various interviews:

Laura Vandervoort – Fancast

It now looks like Anna’s plan involves not just Tyler, but that Lisa will play a big role in it as well.

Vandervoort: Yes, she gets to say more than “Yes, mother” in the upcoming weeks. They’re slowly building Lisa’s story, and in the episodes we’ve been shooting lately, her stuff is getting pretty meaty. She is next in line for queen V, so she has a lot on her shoulders. The storyline with Tyler will get very interesting.

Are you going to get a chance to interact with more characters as the season continues?

Vandervoort: That’s what the upcoming scenes are about. Lisa is interacting with people that I didn’t expect her to. They’re intertwining all the characters finally.

Joel Gretsch – io9

Gretsch says Father Jack might be even more complex and tormented [than the character he played on "The 4400"].

Gretsch: He’s well intentioned. He believes in his relationship to God, and wanting to help people. And yet he’s a man, and has a backstory, and that gets revealed throughout the season. Why did Father Jack become a priest, and what motivated him? Given that he’s in the resistance and the Fifth Column, how does that compromise his beliefs? Now that he’s working with this beautiful woman, Erica, talk about an obstacle [to his vow of celibacy].

And Gretsch promises that the Resistance will start getting a lot more effective soon.

Gretsch: "We’re just getting more established, and now with the Hobbes character, we have an actual terrorist." He adds: "We become quite effective. You’ll be quite surprised and yet it’s going to [make sense.] We’re going to become a force to be reckoned with."

Check out another interview with Morena Baccarin at Syfy.co.uk. In other news, The V Files reports that the upcoming ninth episode of the series will be called "Heretic’s Fork". That episode will air on April 27th. "V" airs Tuesday’s at 10:00 p.m. on ABC following "LOST".

Promotional stills from episode 1×07 – "John May" [more at lost-spoiler.over-blog.com via SpoilerTV]

Promotional stills from episode 1×08 – "We Can’t Win" [more at The V Files]

Promo for episode 1×07 – "John May" [YouTube]

Watch another promo here

Sneak peek from "John May" [YouTube]

Behind the scenes with Scott Rosenbaum [YouTube]

Watch more interviews: Logan Huffman | Scott Wolf | Morris Chestnut

Being Human U.S. details
Syfy’s David Howe spoke with iF Magazine about the status of the network’s U.S. adaptation of the hit BBC series "Being Human":

iF MAGAZINE: What’s the status of BEING HUMAN?

DAVID HOWE: I think it’s very difficult to adapt. I think it seems easy, but so much of that show depends on the chemistry and execution and otherwise it could really easily go off the rails. We hired some great writers and they are in them [sic] midst of adapting it and we’re hoping to have it on air in the summer.

iF: What’s the biggest challenge in taking what is essentially a six-episode BBC season and turning it into a 13 or 22-epiosde Syfy series?

HOWE: You have to carry it out. I think the biggest challenge is how much do you take from it that’s there. Where are you getting repetitive and derivative and how do you not retread? We talked a lot about the U.K. OFFICE and the American OFFICE. So we’re about making it our own and yet holding on to what’s great about the original.

With regards to what city the series will be set in, Howe says they are probably going to set it on the East Coast "because there’s something about that New England Boston sensibility that feels right for this," although he’s quick to caution that they haven’t made a final decision yet.

PREVIEW Videos & Images

Ashes to Ashes

Promotional images from episode 3×02 [more at Den of Geek]

Chuck

Episode 3×14 – 3×17 promo – "The Back 6" [YouTube]

Interview with Joshua Gomez [SCI FI Wire]

Watch the second part of the interview here and an interview with Zachary Levi here

Doctor Who

Promotional stills from episode 5×02 – "The Beast Below" [more at Den of Geek]

Promotional stills from episode 5×03 – "Victory of the Daleks" [more at Den of Geek]

More promotional images from the series here and here

A look at the new Tardis [YouTube]

Watch two more featurettes here and here

Promo for episode 5×03 – "Victory of the Daleks" [Blogtor Who]

Watch another promo here

FlashForward

Promotional stills from episode 1×16 – "Let No Man Put Asunder" [more at DH-Central.Net]

Promo for "Let No Man Put Asunder" [YouTube]

Interview with Dominic Monaghan [YouTube]

Happy Town

Watch the first 14 minutes now [ABC via hulu]

Human Target

Promotional stills for the season one finale – "Christopher Chance" [more at Pizquita]

Promo for "Christopher Chance" [YouTube]

The Sarah Jane Adventures

Season four set images [more at The Doctor Who News Page]

Stargate Universe

Promotional stills from episode 1×13 – "Faith" [more at MGM]

Promo for "Faith" [Syfy]

Sneak peek from "Faith" [Syfy]

Interview with Alaina Huffman [SCI FI Wire]

Smallville

Promotional stills from episode 9×18 – "Upgrade" [more at OSCK]

Promo for "Upgrade" [YouTube]

Supernatural

Promotional stills from episode 5×18 – "Point of No Return" (100th episode) [more at SPNsite]

Promo for "Point of No Return" [YouTube]

Clip from "Point of No Return" [SCI FI Wire]

Watch two more clips here

True Blood

Promotional stills from the third season [more at SpoilerTV]

Season three posters [PopWrap & Bloody Disgusting]

Alan Ball introduces IDW True Blood comic [YouTube]

Season 2 Blu-ray character perspective: Hoyt [HBO]

Watch more character perspectives: Karl | Pam | Steve Newlin

The Vampire Diaries

Promotional stills from episode 1×20 – "Blood Brothers" [more at Vampiresite]

Promo for episode 1×18 – "Under Control" [YouTube]

Warehouse 13

Season two preview [Syfy]

TV BITES

• Previously on TrekMovie.com: Wil Wheaton Headed to ‘Eureka’ + Robert Duncan McNeil Directing ‘V’
• Previously on TrekMovie.com: Ron Moore Interested In Creating New Star Trek TV Series
• Steven Spielberg is working with the Discovery Channel to develop a new series called "Future Earth", imagining what life on Earth will be like in 25, 50 and 100 years from now. [Discovery Channel]
• Syfy Digital has picked up the rights to the 10-part web series "Riese", with plans to stream the first and second seasons online with an eye towards development for broadcast. [Syfy]
• Check out an interview with "Chuck" star Yvonne Strahovski at Chicago Tribune.
• ABC has announced the finale dates for the 2009/2010 season, including "V" (Tuesday, May 18 from 10:02-11:00 p.m.), "Lost" (Sunday, May 23 from 9:00-11:00 p.m.) and "FlashForward" (Thursday, May 27 from 8:00-9:00 p.m.). [ABC]
• …Meanwhile, Syfy announced its summer 2010 schedule which includes its first ever Thursday night reality bloc featuring "Mary Knows Best" and "Paranormal Investigators". The network also announced premiere dates for "Warehouse 13" (Tuesday, July 6 at 9:00 p.m.), "Eureka" (Friday, July 9 at 9:00 p.m.) and "Ghost Hunters International" (Wednesday, July 14 at 9:00 p.m.). Full details at the link. [Syfy]
• ABC will premiere a new supernatural series this summer called "The Gates", "about a cop who gives up his job in a major city to be chief of police in a planned suburban community, where he discovers there’s more to the residents than meets the eye." The characters on the show include vampires, werewolves and witches. [SpoilerTV]
• While doing press for the upcoming movie "A Nightmare on Elm Street", Thomas Dekker said the following about a possible continuation of the canceled FOX series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles": "We might be doing a DVD movie, but that’s secret." [io9]
• The first season of "The Vampire Diaries" will be released on both Blu-ray and DVD. [Fancast]
• "True Blood" executive producer Alan Ball says that Lois Smith could return via flashbacks or visions… [EW]
• …Episode of nine of the upcoming third season of "True Blood" will be called "Everything is Broken". [True Blood Online]
• James Callis’ character on "FlashForward" is very important to the entire investigation because he’s had multiple flash-forwards. [TV Guide]
• Filming has begun on the fourth season of "The Sarah Jane Adventures". In releated news, K9 was spotted on location which seems to be the first confirmation that the companion will be back for season four. [The Doctor Who News Page]
• Despite low ratings, the chances are still good for "Heroes" to get renewed. The network is reportedly "strongly considering" a "final-season" order. "Chuck" also looks likely for renewal despite its recent run of weak ratings. [THR Live Feed]
• Mark Pellegrino, who plays Lucifer on "Supernatural", has an interesting opinion of his character and how he has chosen to play him: "I look at Lucifer as a good guy…however inappropriate or bad it may seem to the outside world. So, for me, Lucifer is actually seeking justice. It’s a revenge story and a story of betrayal by those whom he loved and respected the most, and he wants to get back at them." [SCI FI Wire]
• The 18th episode of "FlashForward" will be called "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". [SpoilerTV]
• "Stargate Universe" star David Blue teases the back-half of the season: "I feel like the second half of this first season will really catch people off guard…You’ll definitely see some more outside influences screwing things up for an already terrible life." [LA Times]
• The last five episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" season will build up to the 150th anniversary of the charter of Mystic Falls and the finale will end with a cliffhanger, says executive producer and co-creator Julie Plec: "All cliffhangers, all the time. That’s how we roll…It is infuriating for the fans and exhilarating for the fans. And I don’t think they’d have it any other way." [SCI FI Wire]
• Ronald D. Moore says there are no plans to continue "Battlestar Galactica" or the the TV pilot "Virtuality". [Den of Geek]
• The winners of the 2010 Streamy Awards were announced on Sunday, with the web series "The Guild" winning two awards: one for Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series (Felicia Day) and Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series (Stan Becker). It was Day’s second straight win in the category, and Becker’s first Steamy. [Steamys.org]
• Upcoming episodes of the Cartoon Network animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" promise to fill in the backstory of the young Boba Fett: "I wanted to ask the question: How does he become that guy?" supervising director Dave Filoni said. "Much like George [Lucas] did with Darth Vader, but Boba’s path is already set kind of in a much more direct way than young Anakin, because he saw his father die firsthand at that very early age [in Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones]. How did that affect him? How does that raise questions about the clones that are around him, because they look like his dad? He’s a clone, but does he feel like a clone?" [SCI FI Wire]
• Here are some press releases/synopses from the various shows will cover:
• "Smallville" – 9×20 – "Sacrifice". [SpoilerTV]
• "Supernatural" – 5×19 – "Hammer of the Gods". [SpoilerTV]
• "Supernatural" – 5×20 – "The Devil You Know". [SpoilerTV]
• "Doctor Who" – 5×04 – "The Time of Angels". [Blogtor Who]
• "Chuck" – 3×14 – "Chuck vs. the Honeymooners". [SpoilerTV]
• "Fringe" – 2×18 – "The Man from the Other Side". [The Futon Critic]
• "The Vampire Diaries" – 1×20 – "Blood Brothers". [SpoilerTV]
• "FlashForward" – 1×17 – "The Garden of Forking Paths". [SpoilerTV]
• "Stargate Universe" – 1×13 – "Faith". [SpoilerTV]
• "Human Target" – 1×12 – "Christopher Chance". [SpoilerTV]

CASTING BITES

• Previously on TrekMovie.com: Alexander Siddig Joins Cast Of UK Sci-Fi Show ‘Primeval’
• Justice League and Justice Society members including Black Canary (Alaina Huffman), Cyborg (Lee Thompson Young), Hawkman (Michael Shanks) and Stargirl (Britt Irvin) will appear in the "Smallville" season finale. [EW]
• Andrew Lincoln has been cast as the lead character, Rick Grimes in AMC’s upcoming adpatation of "The Walking Dead". Lincoln’s character is described as a small-town police officer who leads a group of survivors of a zombie apocalypse… [AMC]
• …Brandon Routh (“Superman Returns”, “Chuck”) has also reportedly joined the cast, although his role is unknown. [Bloody Disgusting]
• Syfy has confirmed that Robert Knepper ("Heroes") has been cast in a six-episode guest starring role for the second season of "Stargate Universe". The network also anounced the addition of Julie McNiven ("Supernatural") in a five-episode arc. [Syfy]
• Lauren Bowles has joined the cast of HBO’s "True Blood". She’ll appear in five episodes of the third season with an option to continue as a regular in season 4. Bowles will play Holly Cleary, "a thirtysomething mother of two who applies for a job at Merlotte’s and creeps out Arlene (Carrie Preston) with her oddly prescient observations." [THR]
• Check out a casting call for episode nine ("Everything is Broken") of the HBO series "True Blood" at True Blood Online.

MISC VIDEOS

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

8-bit Dr. Horrible (Act 1) [YouTube]

V

Stephen Colbert’s V countdown clock rant [THR]

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

The mid-season finale of "Caprica" (3/26/2010) drew 1.10 million viewers and a 0.5 A18-49 rating. That was down -10% in viewers, but up +25% (or 1/10 of a point) in A18-49 rating (tied for a series-high) from the episode prior (1.23M / 0.4 rating). The nine-episode half-season drew an average audience of 1.20 million viewers and a 0.4 A18-49 rating. "Caprica" premiered with 1.60 million viewers and a 0.4 A18-49 rating, so the show may have held steady within the key A18-49 demographic, but it has lost about 1/2 million viewers since its premiere.

Syfy also issued a press release highlighting the results of the first season so far (including Live + 7 day data). Not surprisingly, the show performs considerably better when accounting for delayed viewing. Here are the main highlights from the press release:

Culminating a premiere season of ratings growth, the Friday, March 26 season finale of Caprica set a series record by delivering 1.1 million Adults 18-49 (including Live + 7 DVR playback data). The episode, airing from 9-10pm, also scored 1.7 million total viewers, 1.16 million Adults 25-54 and a 1.3 Household rating.

These achievements capped off a successful end to Caprica’s first nine episodes. Compared to the first five episodes, the final four averaged 1.0 million Adults 18-49 (+21%) and 1.15 million Adults 25-54 (+12%). These programs were also Caprica’s top individual telecasts in both Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

For the first season including all DVR playback, Caprica averaged a 1.3 HH Rating and 1.8 million total viewers, including 906,000 Adults 18-49 and 1.1 million Adults 25-54.

The season 1.5 premiere of "Stargate Universe" on April 2nd drew 1.49 million viewers and a 0.6 A18-49 rating. ‘SGU’ was up +11% in viewers and +20% in A18-49 rating (+ 1/10 of a point) from the mid-season finale (1.34M / 0.5 rating). This past Friday’s episode drew 1.60 million viewers and a 0.6 A18-49 rating. Through 11 episodes, ‘SGU’ is averaging 1.88 million viewers and a 0.8 A18-49 rating. Also airing two Friday’s ago was the U.S. debut of the second season premiere of "Merlin". The episode drew 1.29 million viewers and a 0.4 A18-49 rating. Syfy notes that "Merlin" topped the April 2009 debut of "Primeval" — the previous UK scripted series to premiere on the network — by +18% in total viewers and +45% in Adults 18-49 (553,000 / 0.4 rating). Meanwhile, week two of the series drew 1.37 million viewers and a 0.4 A18-49 rating. And finally, last Friday’s episode of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" drew 2.10 million viewers and a 0.5 A18-49 rating on Cartoon Network. [@TravisYanan]

"Ghost Hunters" drew 2.08 million viewers and a 1.0 A18-49 rating this past Wednesday (4/7/2010). That was down -10% in viewers, but even in A18-49 rating from the week prior (2.31M / 1.0 rating). Lead-out "Destination Truth" averaged 1.76 million viewers and a 0.7 A18-49 rating. That was down -15% in viewers and -22% in A18-49 rating from the week prior (2.07M / 0.9 rating). [@TravisYanan]

"Legend of the Seeker" has seen a slight uptick in audience over the last two episodes, drawing 2.27 million viewers and 2.44 million viewers (the most recent episode drew a 0.8 A18-49 rating), respectively. Through 15 episodes, "Legend of the Seeker" has averaged 2.40 million viewers this season. [TV by the Numbers]

The final ratings figure for the season five premiere of "Doctor Who" was 10.08 million viewers (9.59M viewers on BBC One and 494,000 on BBC HD). That was up significantly from the initial overnight figure of 8 million, meaning more than 2 million time-shifted the program. According to preliminary figures, episode two ("The Beast Below") drew a 6.7 million viewers (6.4M on BBC One and 330,000 on BBC HD). [The Doctor Who News Page & The Doctor Who News Page]

CHART (3/22/2010 to 3/28/2010)

CHART (3/29/2010 to 4/4/2010)

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