Sci-Fi Storm

Figured I’d address the swirling rumors that have picked up again about David Tennant being cast in The Hobbit – although rumored for months, David Tennant has not yet been confirmed to appear in The Hobbit despite all the recent casting announcements, but more recently the rumors have been more specific – with Tennant taking the role of the king of the Silvan Elves, Thranduil. Tennant may have scheduling issues due to the recent announcement that he and his Doctor Who companion Catherine Tate would star together on stage in London in Much Ado About Nothing, plus his wedding plus rumors of being an expectant father…if you believe The Sun (I’ll wait for another source…)

Also still to be confirmed is Orlando Bloom, rumored to be reprising his role as Legolas. While not specifically appearing by name in the book, there is some logic to his appearance as Legolas was the son of Thranduil and lived among the Silvan elves of Mirkwood, who Bilbo encounters on his journey.

In the same vein as the great Battlestar Galactica recap videos and Re-Caprica, there is now a video that sums up Syfy’s upcoming Being Human in just two minutes, with a twist of humor…
(continue reading…)

Congrats to our friend (and dinner company) Mark Stern, who was promoted to President of Original Programming for Syfy. Mark was already the Executive Vice President, and is also the co-head of original programming for Universal Cable. He will now also oversee Syfy Films. Mark is a great guy and I think we’ll see some cool stuff soon.

In other Syfy news, writers Jane Espenson (Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Warehouse 13, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and more plus the upcoming Torchwood: Miracle Day) and Drew Z. Greenberg (Caprica, Warehouse 13, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Wars: The Clone Wars) will write a pilot for Syfy based on the British show Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), which had two previous versions in 1969 (as My Partner The Ghost and 2000. The show centers around the private investigators partners Randall and Hopkirk – except Hopkirk is dead and appears as a ghost only seen by his former partner, and helps him to solve crimes.

Ian McKellan updated his blog about what kept him from committing to The Hobbit. “All I had to decide was what to do with the time that is given me.” After setting his schedule to be in the area, delays just kept cropping up. Plus, “I kept wondering was Gandalf what I most wanted to do, more than a new play for instance or indeed a new part? Sequels aren’t necessarily as rewarding to act in as their originals. Could I let Gandalf go? Would anyone else care if I did? Elsewhere, does anyone care that Michael Gambon was not the first to play Dumbledore?” In the end, it wasn’t the money that was the deciding point, but dates. “Gandalf is needed on set over the next 18 months but with sizeable breaks when I can work on other projects. My worry that I could not easily escape from Middle Earth was lifted. I am happy to say I start filming in Wellington on February 21 2011.”

I have a couple more clips of the upcoming Syfy version of Being Human. The first is the official preview for the premiere episode, “There Goes The Neighborhood, Part 1”, where Aidan and Josh have just moved into their apartment, and discover that there may already be a tenant…

The second one showcases various aspects of the feel of the show – drama, action, comedy, and horror, all in one, with the cast describing the setting.

Being Human begins Monday, January 17th, at 9PM ET.

(continue reading…)

There weren’t a whole lot of details, but at a BBC press conference for a line of stamps based on Gerry Anderson’s various “Supermarionation” shows like Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons, and others, Anderson said: “I am going to make a new series of Thunderbirds. And that’s official.” Now that the bird is out of the bag, hopefully more details will follow…

I still want to see what can be done with Space: 1999…

Well, that didn’t take long…now THR is reporting that Ian McKellan has signed on to return as Gandalf in The Hobbit films. Although long expected, no word had been received until just now, which left some scratching their heads…at this point, any other signings will be just bonus cameos…

I’ve got two brand new clips from the upcoming US version of Being Human…first up is a look at the story and characters, as presented by the actors. Then find out which you would choose to be – a vampire, a werewolf, or a ghost…

(continue reading…)

It looks like another of the long-rumored Lord Of The Rings actors has closed the deal on reprising their role in The Hobbit. Deadline reports that Andy Serkis (Gollum) has closed his deal to appear in the films, although confirmation is still pending. I will point out, however that despite rampant reports, Ian McKellan has NOT been confirmed yet (Update: yes he has, finally), nor has Christopher Lee or Ian Holm – although all three are expected. There were recent rumblings of Orlando Bloom returning to play Legolas, but I haven’t heard more on that front.

Speaking of returning characters, TheOneRing.net reports that Frodo will be seen in the opening scenes, likely as part of a narrative where Frodo is reading Bilbo’s “There And Back Again” story, which is pretty much what most expected.

Merlin goes to check on Morgana but knows he must get back to Arthur as he is in the midst of battle. Cenred and Morgause look on the war from afar in delight of the chaos. In Merlin’s search for Arthur, he is nearly consumed by a flying fire ball until he has to make some heat of his own.

“The Tears of Uther Pendragon Part 2″ airs Friday night at 10pm ET on Syfy