Sci-Fi Storm

If you know me, Blake’s 7 is one of the shows at the top of my reboot list, probably right below Space: 1999…well, it seems like someone is working on it – Georgeville Television, a new independent TV studio, is working with producer Marc Rosen to develop a reboot of the British cult SF TV series! They are teaming up with director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Green Lantern), who will direct the reboot pilot, and Joe Polaski (CSI, Heroes) will write the script. Of course, we heard of plans back in 2008 that were later scrapped, but let’s hope this gets more traction.

Blake’s 7 followed a group of escaped criminals, led by Roj Blake, a political dissenter who was convicted on false charges. They manage to take control of an extremely advanced alien spaceship, dubbed “The Liberator”, and they fight against the oppressive Federation while also dealing with their own internal struggles. The BBC production ran for 4 series from 1978 to 1981, despite losing their star and title character (played by Gareth Thomas) at the end of the second series along with several cast changes.

I had a chance to take part in a con-call with Warehouse 13 stars Eddie McClintock (Pete Lattimer) and Saul Rubinek (Artie Nielsen), answering questions about the upcoming fourth season that starts tomorrow night on Syfy at 9/8c. And it’s always fun to talk with them…they truly enjoy what they do and they have fun doing it.

With the producers being very spoiler-conscious, it was difficult for them to talk about anything specific about the upcoming season, although I did ask my typical [and, alas, only as there were many on the call] question – were there any episodes in the upcoming season as being important to themselves or their characters?
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Are you ready for the return of Warehouse 13? Think that the artifact Artie was holding on to was a big “reset button” and everything will be OK? Think again…check out this preview, and then tune in to Syfy next Monday at 9pm and see how it pans out!
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As is typical, genre shows were largely ignored unless they have a HUGE following. Game of Thrones netted 11 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (for Peter Dinklage). American Horror Story received a whopping 17 nominations, tying Mad Men for overall noms. Sherlock received 13 for “A Scandal In Belgravia”, including Outstanding Miniseries or Movie, Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie (Benedict Cumberbatch), and Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie (Martin Freeman).

But perhaps the most surprising is what wasn’t nominated – The Walking Dead, which received no major nominations, getting just Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Miniseries, Movie Or A Special, Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series and Outstanding Special Visual Effects.

Following yesterday’s announcement that the Silent Hill franchise would feature at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights in both Hollywood and Florida, an even bigger announcement – the hugely successful The Walking Dead franchise will also be part of HHN this year!

From the press release:

AMC’S “THE WALKING DEAD” BECOMES FIRST TELEVISION SERIES FEATURED AT
BOTH UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT AND UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD’S
HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS EXPERIENCES

Guests Experience The Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Horror
of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” At Nation’s Best Halloween Events

ORLANDO, Fla., UNIVERSAL CITY, Ca. (July 18, 2012) — Caught in the middle of a high-intensity struggle for survival, you fight off hordes of flesh-hungry, growling “walkers,” or zombies. No place is safe as you make your way through a post-apocalyptic wasteland with horror at every turn. Will you survive?

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I want to remind all the Lost Girl fans that the show moves to Friday nights starting THIS FRIDAY (7/20) at 10pm with another new episode, “Midnight Lamp”. Check out the preview below and tune in to Syfy Friday!
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One of the most eagerly awaited castings (at least according to my The Hunger Games loving tween daughter) is who will play the role of 24 year old heartthrob Tribute Finnick Odair – and it appears that they may have found their man in Sam Claflin, probably best known for his roles as William in Snow White and the Hunstman, and Philip in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It’s not confirmed yet, but it appears that it is awaiting his acceptance.

If true, he will beat some better known names, such as Tron: Legacy star Garrett Hedlund and Mirror Mirror‘s Armie Hammer.

It seems that Steven Moffat wants to reveal one of the biggest secrets in all of science fiction television – what the Doctor’s real name is.

He’s teased us before – in the Series 6 finale, The Doctor whispered something to River Song, and said it was his real name. And we know that Moffat has been thinking about the Doctor’s name for a long time – taking part in a UseNet discussion in 1995 where he proposed that the meaning of “Doctor” could have been influenced by the Doctor’s use of that name while visiting various cultures throughout the ages (which became part of the plot in “A Good Man Goes To War”). But is he finally ready for the big reveal? It appears so.

At Comic-Con he said of the Doctor, “He never gives his name. Other Time Lords do, but he doesn’t. Clearly the question is tremendously important… And only I know why! We actually find out the truth.” When pressed on whether he really knew the Doctor’s name, he said, “Yes… You’ll see.”

The question is – did someone actually have a name for the Doctor but kept it secret all this time? Or is this the creation of Moffat? He’s in charge of the franchise, so he could introduce it into the canon – but is it a good idea?

Actress Amanda Plummer, who has appeared on stage and screen in a wide range of projects including Pulp Fiction, So I Married an Axe Murderer and L.A. Law, will play the eccentric tribute Wiress from District 3 in the sequel to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire. Wiress, nicknamed “Nuts”, is a survivor of a previous Games, but became mentally unstable – she however retains a highly analytical mind.

We already know The Hobbit was being split up into two films, with subtitles “An Unexpected Journey” and “There and Back Again”. But producer/director Peter Jackson sparked rumors that it could in fact become three movies!

While speaking at Comic-Con during which he showed footage of the films, he said that he’d like to film some more footage. “We’ve been certainly talking to the studio about some of the material we can’t film,” he said. “And we’ve been asking them if we can do a bit more filming next year. Which I don’t know what would come of that, whether that would be extended additions or not. But those discussions are ongoing. I’d like to shoot a bunch more material that we can’t shoot. There’s so much good stuff in the appendices that we haven’t been able to squeeze into these movies. That’s a discussion that we’re having.”

It appears that the stuff they “can’t” film is stuff from the appendices, but that they DO have rights to film material from notes that Tolkien made about The Hobbit, and was included in the end of Return of the King.

But with the first movie making it’s debut this December, is it too late to be thinking about reorganizing the films to add footage?

Update: I missed this, but the studio (Warner Bros) told Variety there are “no planned or surprise announcements” involving a third film. “The plan was always for two.”