Sci-Fi Storm

New Zealand born writer/director Richard Curtis, best known for writing the movies Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones Diary, Notting Hill, War Horse and Love Actually (the latter of which he also directed), will get back in the director’s chair for About Time, a time travel movie from Working Title Productions. No details about the plot are available yet.

Curtis is also no stranger to television, as Doctor Who fans will remember the emotional episode called “Vincent and the Doctor”, featuring troubled artist Vincent Van Gogh, which he wrote. He also wrote many TV episodes of popular British comedies such as the Blackadder series, Mr. Bean, and The Vicar of Dibley.

One wonders with his history of frequently working with both Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Grant, which of the two “honorary” Doctors (both appeared as the Doctor in the spoof, “The Curse of the Fatal Death”) will appear in this movie?

If you remember last year’s Super Bowl ads, it featured this one from Volkswagen, called “The Force”. Well, Volkswagen will return this year with another Star Wars-themed commercial – but first, they are sending out a teaser for the commercial! This isn’t part of the commercial itself, but may be setting us up for it…

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Following up on last week’s news that the CW was developing Green Arrow, tonight Deadline reports that the CW has given it the green light to go to pilot. Also given a green light is a reboot of the 1980’s cult favorite series Beauty and the Beast from Jennifer Levin (Without A Trace) and Sherri Cooper (Brothers And Sisters).

In its first pilot order since 2010, Syfy has ordered a two-hour pilot called Rewind, and action-thriller from Justin Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo), BermanBraun and Universal Cable Productions.

BermanBraun also produces Alphas, which was one of the pilot orders from 2010, along with Three Inches, which was described in Syfy’s Spring 2011 development slate, but did not get to series.

Update: From the press release:
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You’ve probably noticed that many sites, from major ones like Wikipedia, to our friends at genre-related sites like Airlock Alpha, have “gone dark” today in protest of the SOPA/PIPA acts now before the U.S. Congress.

Sci-Fi Storm has not gone dark, for two reasons – it’s a lot of work to do it without messing up search engines, etc., and it would also mean lost income (and we barely get any as it is…) But it is not because we don’t oppose these bills. In fact, we are vehemently against them.

Note, we are NOT opposed to copyright laws, or the rights of copyright holders. What we oppose is the lack of due process reflected in the bills that can allow a site to be shut down, cut off, blacklisted off search engines, etc. without much recourse for the site owner. And there are questions as to whether the mere accusations of such infringements is enough for the actions to be taken without proper verification or challenge.

If these bills pass, you will probably see a lot less sites on the Internet with interesting content. Not because they infringe on copyrights, but because site owners don’t want to bother having to deal with it. Open forums and comments sites would likely cease to exist, as they’d have to police each and every post made and somehow verify that it doesn’t infringe on someone’s copyright. That tag line quote you attach to all your posts? Probably infringes on a copyright. That lolcatz picture you shared? Probably infringes on a copyright. Even though some of those types of infringements may be protected forms of speech (parody, etc.), you wouldn’t be given the opportunity to make that case.

We urge you NOT to support SOPA/PIPA as they are currently written, and to notify your Congress critters that you do not.

Here are some recommended links for reading more about SOPA/PIPA:

A technical examination of SOPA and PROTECT IP

End Piracy, Not Liberty – Google

Why SOPA Is Dangerous

Syfy’s upcoming Defiance, a combination TV show and massive-multiplayer open world game being developed between Universal Cable Productions and Trion Worlds, has its first TV star with Grant Bowler, the New Zealander who previously appeared on True Blood, Lost, and Ugly Betty. Syfy’s president of original content Mark Stern said, “Grant’s charismatic charm and his depth as an actor make him the perfect anchor as we build the ensemble for this sweeping adventure series.”

Bowler will play Jeb Nolan, a “boomtown lawkeeper” on an Earth ravaged by war where now humans and aliens coexist, in a sort of western/sci-fi mix.

The TV pilot is being written by SF TV veteran Rockne S. O’Bannon. The game will be available on multiple platforms. No release dates have been set, but a trailer for the game is available at the official web site.

Update: From the press release:
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On Next Monday’s Being Human, we see Josh and Nora at a social event and another couple asks both how long they’ve been dating for. With Nora under the influence, she begins denying their intimate relationship and begins to open up a bit about their recent events such as waking up in a pile of leaves, unknown to how she got there. The scene gets rather intense as she discloses a shocking secret that even Josh wasn’t aware of. Tune in to an all new episode of Being Human next Monday at 9/8c to see how Nora copes with the fact that she is now a werewolf.
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In this week’s Merlin, it’s Prince Arthur’s birthday and the town is celebrating with dancers, jugglers and acrobats to entertain the Arthur but he’s not easily impressed. Back in the staging area, we see two circus jugglers discuss their recent delivery of knives which suggests that it might be used for more than just entertainment. Tune in this Friday at 10/9c on Syfy to see if an assassin’s attack on Arthur’s birthday casts the kingdom into chaos.
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Just a programming reminder: Being Human returns to Powerful Mondays on Syfy tonight with the second season premiere at 9/8c, followed by the U.S. premiere of Lost Girl at 10/9c. For more information about Lost Girl, see our preview article from October.

Over on Fox, the two-hour premiere of Alcatraz, from J.J. Abrams and about an investigator who finds evidence at a crime scene that leads to a suspect, who supposedly died in Alcatraz prison 30 years previously, and uncovers an even deeper mystery, airs at 8/7c. Alcatraz stars Sarah Jones (Sons of Anarchy), Sam Neill (Jurrasic Park) and Jorge Garcia (Lost).

Steven Moffat LOVES to tease. Especially on Twitter. He recently tweeted:

Right EVERYBODY who follows me, go and follow @SophiaMyles – spin that fireplace. NOW. I’ll explain later. Or not.

Of course @SophiaMyles = Madame De Pompadour from Who, and IS Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds.

He didn’t elaborate. But this has led to wild speculation on the ‘net. And although I do believe we could be seeing Madame De Pompadour in the upcoming season, a lot of it is focusing on the possibility that Sophie Myles could be the next companion for Matt Smith. Myles played Madame de Pompadour in the second season episode “The Girl In The Fireplace”, which Moffat wrote, although it was during David Tennant’s tenure as the Doctor and Russell T. Davies was in charge. But We know he is going to need a new companion, and M. de Pompadour appears to have been a popular character.