In Sci-Fi TV this week, we have producers talking about a darker Stargate Universe, more details on the LOST epilogue, a renewal for True Blood, and more Comic Con details. Plus the latest television ratings, casting bites and new images and video previews, including Doctor Who, Haven and Primeval.
GENRE TV NEWS
Producers: Season two of Stargate Universe will be darker
"Stargate Universe" executive producers Brad Wright and Rob Cooper have revealed that the second season will be darker than the first with the show’s characters be put "through the winger" [via Digital Spy]:
According to SFX, Cooper revealed that Everett Young, played by Louis Ferreira, will "feel some pain" in the new episodes.
He explained: "After everything he’s been through – and it gets worse for him initially at the beginning of season two – it’s impossible to imagine that a person wouldn’t go to a very dark place at least for a short period of time.”
Fellow producer Wright continued: "When you try to adopt a more realistic tone, where frankly we don’t win every time, then there have to be real world repercussions like death and injury and loss. You can dig deeper into characters and the deeper you dig the repercussions can get bigger.
"We are going to some places with these characters, and already have really, that we would never go with the heroes of our other series.”
The second season, Cooper says, will also place a greater emphasis on the younger characters
“As the conflicts between Rush and Young escalate in season two it’s forcing our younger characters to mature and emerge as stronger individuals taking their rightful place in making decisions,” he said.
In related news, SCI FI TV.au reports that "the Destiny has a destination of cosmic importance" in season two, according to Wright:
"…so important that it overshadows the desire for the crew to get home, and that by fulfilling this new mission, it may in fact allow them to get home."
Season two of "Stargate Universe" premieres Tuesday, September 28 on Syfy.
LOST epilogue titled "The New Man in Charge" + new inteviews
The 11-minute "LOST" epilogue will be titled "The New Man in Charge". Various media sites have actually watched a one-minute sneak which is said to feature Ben. We’ll reportedly learn the "When" and "Where" of the series, according to The ODI. Unfortunately, it’s unclear whether the epilogue will be available on the Season Six DVD/Blu-ray or if it’s only available to those who purchase the Complete Collection set. Both will be released on August 24, 2010.
Elizabeth Mitchell MTV Greece interview [YouTube via The ODI]
Jorge Garcia Monte Carlo interview [YouTube via The ODI]
Parody: How Lost Should Have Ended [How It Should Have Ended / YouTube]
True Blood renewed for a fourth season + previews
HBO has renewed the hit drama "True Blood" for a 12-episode fourth season:
“The new season of TRUE BLOOD is off to a terrific start, as enthusiasm for this unique show continues to build among both subscribers and critics,” noted Lombardo. “We’re looking forward to more chills from Alan Ball and his gifted team next year.”
“I am beyond thrilled to be able to continue working with this amazing cast and crew,” says Ball. “This is the most fun I have ever had.”
Set images [more at JustJared]
Sam Trammell introduces new castmember Marshall Allman [YouTube]
Episode 3×02 – "Beautifully Broken" post mortem [YouTube]
Promo for episode 3×04 – "9 Crimes" [YouTube]
Watch another promo here
Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and BBC announce Comic-Con linup
Warner Brothers has announced the show’s its bringing to the San Diego Comic-Con this year. They include "The Big Bang Theory", "Chuck", "Fringe", "Human Target", "Nikita", "Smallville", "Supernatural", "V", "The Vampire Diaries" and "Batman: The Brave and the Bold". Click here for schedule. 20th Century Fox has also announced their slate of shows. They include "Futurama", "Family Guy" (including clips from the third "Star Wars" parody) and a sneak peek at the new prehistoric time-travel series "Terra Nova":
Executive Producers Brannon Braga (24, Star Trek: Enterprise), David Fury (24, Lost) and Director Alex Graves will reveal a glimpse into the most highly anticipated epic family adventure 85 million years in the making. This new event drama slated for midseason on FOX comes from the brilliant minds of Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, The Pacific) and former News Corporation President and C.O.O. Peter Chernin and follows an ordinary family on an extraordinary journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a part of a massive expedition to save the human race. This exclusive look behind the scenes takes place in Room 6A.
Complete schedule/details for 20th Century Fox can be found here. And lastly, BBC Worldwide America has also announced their plans for Comic-Con but the network will only be bringing "Being Human". "Doctor Who" won’t be returning to the convention this year:
"While the [Doctor Who] team is currently filming and unable to attend Comic-Con, that doesn’t mean the Doctor’s presence won’t be felt in San Diego," writes the production entity in an official statement. "BBC America will host an exclusive U.S. premiere fan screening of this season’s two-part finale, along with the all-new season opener of Being Human."
Solid start for Futurama on Comedy Central; Best Thursday night ever
Premiering last Thursday with its first new episodes in seven years, "Futurama" brought Comedy Central its highest-rated Thursday night in the history of the network. The back-to-back episodes averaged 2.85 million viewers and a 1.6 A18-49 rating (2.92M / 1.6 at 10:00 p.m. and 2.78M / 1.5 at 10:30 p.m.):
It was tied for the highest-rated show in adults 18-49 in all TV on Thursday’s primetime, and was the highest-rated show among men 18-24 and men 18-34. Comedy Central said it helped the network to its highest-rated night in 2010 and its highest-rated Thursday primetime in the history of the network.
LOST wins three Saturns; Fringe takes two (including one for Leonard Nimoy)
"LOST" won Best Television Series at the "2010 Saturn Awards" with the series also picking up awards for Best Actor on Television (Josh Halloway) and Best DVD Television Release (Lost: The Complete Fifth Season). "Fringe", meanwhile, picked up two awards: Best Actress on Television (Anna Torv) and Best Guest Starring Role on Television (Leonard Nimoy). "Torchwood: Children of Earth" also won an award for Best Presentation on Television. Click here to see the complete list of winners and check out our article on the awards show here.
PREVIEW Videos & Images
Doctor Who
Promotional stills for episode 5×13 – "The Big Bang" [more at SpoilerTV]
Clip from "The Big Bang" [YouTube]
Season six teaser [YouTube]
Steven Moffat interviewed by his son [YouTube via Blogtor Who]
Orbital, accompanied by Matt Smith, perform the Doctor Who theme song [YouTube]
The Event
Promo: "Exciting Adventures" [NBC]
Watch two more promos here and here
Fringe
Featurette: "The Many Dimensions of Dr. Walter Bishop" [FringeTelevision / YouTube]
The Gates
Promotional stills from episode 1×03 – "Breach" [more at SpoilerTV]
Promotional stills from episode 1×04 – "The Monster Within" [more at SpoilerTV]
Haven
Promotional poster [SpoilerTV]
Promo [YouTube]
Featurette: "What’s Haven to You? [YouTube]
Primeval
Season five cast image [Digital Spy]
Supernatural
Season six promo [YouTube]
The Walking Dead
Promotional stills [AMCTV]
Warehouse 13
Character profile: Myka [YouTube]
Watch more character profiles: Pete | Claudia | Eddie
TV BITES
- At the moment, Olivia’s mother will only be seen in the "over there" universe on "Fringe" and "her ties to the Bishop family will be surprising". [TV Guide]
- Check out an interview with "Fringe" star Anna Torv (Olivia) over at FEARnet.
- Think you can make a better B-movie than Syfy? Well here’s your chance. Syfy is launching a production site, B Movie Mogul, and giving fans the opportunity to vote "and pitch ideas for the film, from title, creatures, wardrobe, dialogue and character deaths to promotional taglines." The resulting script will then be shot as a two-hour Syfy original movie to be released next year. [THR]
- Episode titles for the fourth season of "The Sarah Jane Adventures" have been confirmed: 4×01/4×02 – "The Nightmare Man"; 4×03/4×04 – "The Vault of Secrets"; 4×05/4×06 – "Death of the Doctor"; 4×07/4×08 – "The Empty Planet"; 4×09/4×10 – "Lost in Time" and 4×11/4×12 – "Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith". [Planet Gallifrey]
- Syfy, meanwhile, has announced the episode titles/synopses for the first four episodes of "Eureka" season four: "Founder’s Day"; "A New World"; "All the Rage" and "The Story of O2"… [TV Overmind]
- …Along with the first four episodes of "Warehouse 13" season two: "Time Will Tell"; "Mild-Mannered"; "Beyond Our Control" and "Age Before Beauty"… [TV Overmind]
- …And the first four episodes of new series "Haven": "Welcome to Haven"; "Consumed"; "Butterfly" and "Ball and Chain". [TV Overmind]
- Check out an interview with Robert Kirkman, creator of "The Walking Dead" comic and executive producer of the upcoming AMC series, over at AMCTV and an interview with Special Effects Make-Up designer Greg Nicotero at AMCTV.
- …Check out a report from the set of filming over at Fangoria.
- The second "Doctor Who: The Adventure Game" episode, titled "Blood of the Cybermen", is now available for download from the BBC Doctor Who site… [via Doctor Who News Page]
- …Neil Gaiman is confirmed as a writer for one of the sixth season episodes of "Doctor Who". [BBC]
- Marvel Entertainment has announced that Jeph Loeb ("LOST", "Heroes") has been appointed Executive Vice President, Head of Television, a newly created division within Marvel. [Comic Book Resources]
- The second season premiere of "Warehouse 13" will see the team go after time-traveler H.G. Wells: "She…has been released from the Warehouse by Artie’s (Saul Rubinek) nemesis, MacPherson (Roger Rees). Will they ever defeat this guy? Yes. Soon. The beautiful Wells, however, will probably be back to torment the agents." [E! Online]
- The sixth season premiere of "Supernatural" will be called "Exile on Main Street". [SpoilerTV]
- The monsters for the upcoming "Doctor Who Live" stage show have been revealed: Judoon; Winders; Clockwork Droids; Silurians; Weeping Angels; Ood; Cybermen; Saturnynes; Daleks; Scarecrows and Smilers. [Doctor Who News Page]
- Summer Glau, star of the upcoming NBC series "The Cape", says that growing up here favorite show was "Star Trek: The Next Generation": "The show I really grew up on was Star Trek: The Next Generation…That was a show that I watched with my parents, that I talked them into letting me stay up to watch it. I got to meet Marina Sirtis last year, which was a really special moment for me. I grew up idolizing her." The actress also says that the one person she’d most like to meet would be William Shatner. [SCI FI TTV.au via SCI FI Wire]
CASTING BITES
- Robson Green will be appearing on the third season of the UK series "Being Human" as a werewolf. [SFX.co.uk]
- …Also, Lacey Turner ("Eastenders") will guest star in the first episode of the new season. [SFX.co.uk]
- …Meanwhile, Sam Witwer (Doomsday on "Smallville") has officially signed on to play vampire Aiden in the Syfy U.S. remake of the show. Other roles will be going to Meaghan Rath (playing ghost Molly) and Sam Huntington (up for the role of werewolf Josh). [EW]
- IronE Singleton, Keith Allen Hayes and Emma Bell have all joined the cast of AMC’s "The Walking Dead". Hayes will play an undisclosed role (rumored to be Tyrese), while rumor has it Bell will play the character Andrea’s younger sister Amy. Singleton will play a new character named T-Dog… [Comic Book Movie]
- …Two other additions to the cast are Linds Edwards (who will play Leon Basset) and Jim Coleman (who will play a new character called Lambert "Lam" Kendel). [Walking Dead Podcast via Bloody Disgusting]
- "The Vampire Diaries" executive producer Julie Plec has revealed a new character for season two: "Our big new addition is Mason Lockwood, the mayor’s much younger and cooler brother, who has been estranged from the family…His return introduces a lot of questions about what is so special about that creepy Lockwood family." My guess: they were unicorns with wooden vampire-killing horns."… [TV Guide]
- …In other casting news, David Anders has revealed he’ll be back for the season two premiere but it’s "up in the air" whether or not he’ll be back for any more episodes next season. [EW]
- Oscar-nominated actor David Strathairn is in negotiations to play the lead in Syfy’s 90-minute pilot "Alphas", helmed by "LOST" director Jack Bender. Ryan Cartwright is set to co-star in the pilot, which if it does well enough, could be picked up to series. [Deadline]
- Mitch Pileggi has been confirmed as returning to "Supernatural" as Sam and Dean’s presumed-dead grandpa. Pileggi will appear in multiple episodes during season six. [EW]
- Producers are searching for a new female series regular for "Human Target" described as "a worthy adversary to Christopher Chance. Isla, a sexy, no-nonsense widow, will overcome her hesitations about Chance to become the Charlie to his team’s angels." [TV Guide]
- There’s a rumor that singer Justin Beiber may be appearing in a small role on The CW’s "The Vampire Diaries" next season. [Examiner]
SCI-FI RATINGS (Based on final national numbers unless otherwise noted) [@TravisYanan]
The third season premiere of "True Blood" drew an impressive 5.1 million viewers and a 2.9 A18-49 rating last Sunday. That was a jump of nearly 40% from the second season premiere (3.7M)
Episode 5×10 of "Doctor Who", "The Lodger", drew 6.44 million viewers in the final ratings (5.98M on BBC One and 0.46M on BBC HD). That was a slight decrease from episode 10 (6.76M total viewers / 6.29M on BBC One and 0.47M on BBC HD). In preliminary numbers, the season five finale of "Doctor Who", "The Big Bang", drew 5.1 million viewers (4.6M on BBC One and 0.5M on BBC HD). [The Doctor Who News Page, (2)]
CHART (6/14/2010 to 6/20/2010)
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Follow Russ on his blog: Your Entertainment Now and on Twitter: Twitter.com/YourEntNow.
Gosh, I sure am glad that Smallville is coming back for a 10th season! Those actors are so talented I could watch them do anything!! :>)
Fringe!
RE: Doctor Who
While I still think that Matt Smith has some more growing to do into the role of the Doctor (I still miss David Tennant and would have loved to have seen him in this series), the two-part finale was quite moving. I was especially touched by the relationship between Amy and Rory. In fact, it’s the character of Amy that’s kept me tuned in this year. That, and the redesigned TARDIS interior, which is gorgeous.
My guess about River Song? She’s the Rani. They’ve already brought back all the significant villains into the new series, along with the Master, and it would be a fun twist to her character and the series.
Chris
Doctor Who theme….Too… much… awesome… Cannot compute….
*mind = blown* ;)
#3
I agree about River being the Rani – and cant wait till we find out more about her over the next two series :-)
Doctor Who has been excellent this series, David who?
#1 – I love Smallville, seasons 8 and 9 took the series to a place it needs to be, and season 10 I feel, will wrap things up nicely.
And Stargate: Universe has been an incredible show, sure, it had a slow start but the producers and writers were big enough to realise that and they changed the feel of the show and made it… well, not as crap as episodes 1 through 10. I see the show only going 2 to 3 seasons tops… lord knows we dont need another sci-fi show like Voyager or BSG – not that they’re the same, its just the premise is strikingly similar
if SGU wanted to take a darker theme it would love the corny fanboy wet-dream phone home devices, terrible star gate lore and as such it will remain medioke at best.
SG:U has been the only deeply interesting show I’ve see in awhile. Didn’t think it could get darker but I’m looking forward to the return.
I’m starting to enjoy SGU for what it is, but I’ll never forgive them for cancelling SG Atlantis which was a more entertaining program by far.
Dark & focus on the youth — isn’t that what they said at the beginning of the first season?
BTW, Alf, its not like if there wasn’t SG:U there’d still be SGA. Atlantis was cancelled, dead, not coming back. If the Stargate people had held out for more Atlantis, Syfy would’ve just waved them goodbye completely. Though I’d love to see McKay show up. Given his knowledge of ancient devices, it would seem quite an obvious choice.
#9 – yeah, what you say is true, but I’ll still never forgive them. I’d love to see McKay turn up in SGU too, but his personality is much too interesting to fit in with that dark and brooding bunch of whingers and moaners :)
@ 3. Marvin the Martian
maybe, but the Rani already knows how to fly a Tardis were as RS was taught by the doctor.
SGU’s ratings were horrible in season 1.5. They were worse than the average of SGA’s last season!
And if they make the show “darker” than it already is, no one will be able to see anything. A few more light bulbs on the Destiny would have been better.
9.
SGA’s ratings weren’t bad in its last season. Everyone thought it would get at least another season, so that it gets a proper ending.
But TPTB got bored of SGA. They said so in countless interviews. And Syfy was getting greedy. They thought if they would turn SGU into a BSG copy, they would capture the BSG audience. And in the case of Stargate fans, TPTB spoke of an “inbuilt audience”. They thought all Stargate fans would watch everything, which the Stargate name. Obviously it didn’t work out this way. Even the ratings of the season final were horrible. The 19. episode got 1.178 and the 20th episode 1.469 million viewers live + same day.
Live + SD
SGA: episode 4×19 -> 1.7 million viewers
SGA: episode 5×19 -> 1.7 million viewers
SGU: episode 1×19 -> 1.2 million viewers
SGA: episode 4×20 -> 2.1 million viewers
SGA: episode 5×20 -> 2.0 million viewers
SGU: episode 1×20 -> 1.5 million viewers
Doctor Who has been sensational this season and I am actually a little low that it has finished until Christmas now! Can’t wait for next season. IT has been fantastic, so much better then anything RTD did!!
Ms. Glau… same here, same here… :D
Ah… kids of the 80ies. ;)
Still miss Tennant, but Matt Smith has definitely brought something special to the character which I look forward to seeing develop further. It will also be interesting to see the Doctor with two regular companions again. Since Eccleston, the extra males never seem to last long…
#13 – interesting info – thanks. Like I said, I’m not hating SGU anymore, but I like my sci-fi to be a bit of a fun ride, which is why I enjoy Trek and SGA. If I wanted to see more hand-wringing, scowling angst filled sad sack characters in my sci-fi then I would just watch The Bold and the Beautiful instead and pretend it was taking place on Caprica.
I got to admit even SGA started to jump the shark a bit when they casually killed off Carson Beckett and Elizabeth Weir – it was never quite the same without those characters playing regular roles.
The only ratings available got SGU are either from MGM or SyFy, and they make no sense at all. What demographic is this show aimed at? I work in a lab with over 35 people and not one individual watches this show. About half tried the show and quit watching. With SG-1 and SGA it was about two-thirds of the people here watched the shows. After about 10 episodes in I gave up. There is not one character in this show I can identify with, on any level. This show is a conflicted mess. The writing is poor at best and the show is lacking the humor the previous series had. If I want dark I’ll turn on the evening news to watch the slide of mankind into oblivion. If TPTB want darkness they can have it. No one will be watching and the show will not fare well in syndication , the format for the show is far too disjointed. Not one producer tries to see this series from the viewers point a view. It was a bad idea to begin with and to continue with something that isn’t working is stagnation…and creativity is lost. Why anyone would waste the resources and the potential that this series had is beyound me. For those who like this pool of darkness…enjoy.
SGU needs to have its characters put through the ringer. They’ve mostly been so arrogant, a REAL reality check is in order.
Matt Smith rocks. Daresay I’m liking him better than Tennant in the role!
Re: SGU Season 2… I think that’s supposed to read characters “put through the wringer”.
LOVED the Doctor Who finale, very snappy, funny and heart-rending at the same time, and
I
WANT
THE
FEZ
BACK
!!!!
Matt Smith had definitely developed into the role, he started off trying to BE David Tennant, running around shouting “Nooooooo” far too much, and now he’s become a softly spoken scatter-brained fruitloop, and it works really well. Especially with a mop and a fez.
More fez please.
SGU seems very “dark” already. I only saw a few episodes, though.
Apparently Harry Ballz has been involved in a transporter accident and has been split into two separate beings. One is kind and gentle. The other is an Erica Durance-hating, Smallville-trashing, sarcasm-dripping misanthrope.
Which one is here today?
:D
Gosh whiz, whatever do you mean? I LOVE Erica Durance! I think she’s better than Meryl Streep, for goodness sakes! That gal could read the phone book out loud and I’d be captivated!
Oh, wait, I think I see somebody who looks like me coming down the hall…
“I’M HARRY BALLZ!! I’M HARRY BALLZ!!”
Holy smokes! I’m out o’ here!
No! Embrace him Harry! You can’t survive without him. We’ll put you back together. Then you’ll be Erica Durance-kind, Smallville -gentle….um…sacrasm-dripping…antelope?
Just to clarify, I never criticized the show Smallville. I’ve watched it since day one. I LIKE the show Smallville.
It’s only………no, must be strong…….don’t go there!
There’s no doubt that Doctor Who had some great moments this season, and I am without a doubt a Matt Smith fan. Especially after “Lodgers”, he had me sold! But, I still think there were weak spots, and to me, one of those is Amy Pond. I think she is a character that could have some depth, but I think the writers played her off a little too stupid at times. Hopefully, they’ll let her character shine a bit more next season. However, I am quite pleased at the way they brought Rory back in the picture. Nice to have him be the hero and not just a blabbering fool like he started out being. I think that he and Amy should make for interesting companions next season.
All that said, I feel like there’s a few things RTD did better, especially when it came to the depth of stories. This season felt a little shallow, weak, and more kiddish – especially in the beginning. They did seem to make up some ground with the Van Gogh episode and the finale, but I hope to see a little more depth and character development BEYOND the Doctor next season.
Ohhhhhh….I thought it was a global Smallville dislike…not just Eric….no won’t go there either.
I’m hoping next year introduces Darkseid! One of Jack Kirby’s greatest creations brought to life! Sweet! On a TV budget….not-so-sweet.
hah i always thought kirby shoulda sued george lucas-darth vader blatant blend of doctor doom and darkseid–even his name d darth get it? i dont think i would wanna see a low budget darkseidlook what the movies did to galactus-turned him into eco the eating hurricane planet-Im very stoked that new futurama gave comedy central its biggest ratings ever but surprised that its not even 4 million—jeez in the old days when a show only had 4 million viewers it got canceled–the new dr who is good but they havent done much with amy–none of the partners have been as good as the 1st one-she was very special–
I love your writing style truly loving this internet site.