Sci-Fi Storm

The season finales of both Merlin and Being Human scored big in the ratings for Syfy. Merlin, just concluding its third season, and scored it’s highest household rating (1.3) and total viewers (1.87 million) since premiering on Syfy in April 2010, and a whopping 31% higher than the previous week. With that and its WWE Smackdown lead in that also saw an increase in viewers, it propelled Syfy to the #1 cable network in 8-11PM primetime for both Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 viewers on Friday night.

Monday’s Being Human finale also scored big, becoming the channel’s most successful new winter scripted series since Battlestar Galactica in 2005, entrancing 1.66 million total viewers, 1.0 million Adults 25-54 and 944,000 Adults 18-49. This was the best performance in all three measures for Being Human, which has been renewed for a second season, since the January 24 episode. Compared to last week’s telecast, Being Human rose 17% in Adults18-49, 29% in Adults 25-54 and 16% among total viewers. Being Human is Syfy’s youngest skewing scripted series since Battlestar Galactica in winter 2007, as well as Syfy’s most female-skewing original scripted series ever, comprising 53 percent women viewers through its 13-episode season. Led by Being Human’s strength in this demo, Syfy rose seven percent in Women 18-34 during First Quarter ’11. I wonder if it has anything to do with the Sams (Huntington and Witwer)? 🙂

Maybe Syfy will give us the fourth season of Merlin faster this time – there was a delay of several months over the original BBC airings.

Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, which was previously made into a TV mini-series by NBC in 1980, has been optioned by Paramount for a feature film. The option was previously held by Universal starting in 1997, with various people attached over the years including Steven Spielberg, but they never got the project going. Note that this doesn’t mean it is any closer to production – just that a new studio is holding on to the rights.

The Martian Chronicles is a complex story – can it be done in a feature film’s time limits?

If you’ve been to Disneyland or Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in the past few years, you may have seen the Jedi Training Academy – your younglings may have even taken part in it (both of mine have – alas, no adults are allowed), where they get to dress up and be trained by a Jedi Master, and ultimately have a quick fight with Darth Vader while a couple of Stormtroopers look on. It’s a lot of fun for the kids, especially if the love Star Wars, and it can be fun to watch too.

Well, in Disneyland a youngling by the name of Sariah Gallego managed to surprise the Jedi Master, Darth Vader, and the Stormtroopers, as she pledged allegiance to Vader and joined the Sith…

I’m sure her parents had something to do with it…the Jedi Master did recover pretty quickly though…

Sanctuary returns this Friday at 9pm ET, and we’ve got a preview for you below, along with some images. In this clip Magnus discusses the current state of maintaining peace between humans and the abnormals, but she suspects Ranna is hiding something. Magnus and Ranna pull weapons on each other when they are threatened by a quake, but Magnus knows that Ranna needs her help. Watch the clip and tune in to find out if Magnus is able to make peace with Ranna or if other measures need to be taken…

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