Sci-Fi Storm

Now that production has started on the 50th Anniversary special special episode of Doctor Who, we are getting more and more details…and the latest is that the Big Bad for the episode marks the return of the classic monsters the Zygons. And unlike some of the previous returnees, the Zygons look to have remained relatively untouched from their original appearance.

Another thing…Gavin & Stacey‘s Joanna Page was at the table reading…no idea who she is playing. But I wonder if her co-star James Corden, who played Craig in “The Lodger” and “Closing Time” and is one of my favorite guest stars, might also make an appearance…

Here is the latest “Making of Defiance” video – get to learn about the two rival families that control the town of Defiance: The Tarrs and the McCawleys. And then find out about Defiance’s young deputy lawmaker, Tommy.
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Did you notice the book featured in the recent Doctor Who episode, “The Bells of St. John”, called “Summer Falls”? The one that Clara asked Artie about?

Clara: What chapter you on?

Artie: Ten.

Clara: Eleven’s the best. You’ll cry your eyes out… The good kind of crying…

“When summer falls, the Lord of Winter will arise…”

Sharp-eyed viewers will have noted the author’s name: Amelia Williams. We didn’t hear that name much, but it was in fact Amy Pond’s proper married name. And I’m sure the references to Ten and Eleven were wry references to current (and eleventh) Doctor Matt Smith and his predecessor. But what’s more interesting is that this book exists – or rather, will exist, starting tomorrow when BBC Books releases “Summer Falls” worldwide as an e-book.

Here is a description of the story: “In the seaside village of Watchcombe, young Kate is determined to make the most of her last week of summer holiday. But when she discovers a mysterious painting entitled ‘The Lord of Winter’ in a charity shop, it leads her on an adventure she never could have planned. Kate soon realises the old seacape, painted long ago by an eccentric local artist, is actually a puzzle. And with the help of some bizarre new acquaintances – including a museum curator’s magical cat, a miserable neighbour, and a lonely boy – she plans on solving it.

“And then, one morning Kate wakes up to a world changed forever. For the Lord of Winter is coming – and Kate has a very important decision to make.”

This isn’t the first time a fictional fiction book jumped from Doctor Who episode to reality. “[asin=B009KJ6DTO]The Angel’s Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery[/asin]” was released after “The Angels Take Manhattan”, in which it was an important plot device.

Update 4/2: The e-book is [asin=B00BGC6GG8]available for pre-order on Amazon[/asin] now, but due to some confusion it won’t release until Thursday.

In tonight’s new Lost Girl, Bo and Kenzi go undercover for a suburban shakedown…tune in at 10/9c on Syfy for “Adventures in Fae-bysitting”!
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I didn’t get my usual email from Aidan this week, but it looks like he’s a bit troubled with the situation with Kenny after his encounter last week, while Sally is dreading her own fate and Josh thinks about his wedding to Nora and the loss of his last tie to who he used to be…
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Finally! Next week’s issue of Doctor Who Magazine confirms that David Tennant and Billie Piper will return for the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who, along with veteran British actor John Hurt, who fans would most recently recognize as the announcer and voice of the Dragon on Merlin among lots and lots of other roles, such as Ollivander from Harry Potter, Professor Oxley in Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, and he literally exploded in is role in Alien 😉

Surprisingly the episode is only expected to run around 60 minutes, but it appears that it will see a limited release in 3D cinemas!

Now, can we end the rest of the secrecy?

Who says syndication is dead…Tricon Films & Television and PPI Releasing announced that the Syfy series Sanctuary will be available in broadcast syndication, with 78% of U.S. markets already sold, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and stations from the ABC Owned Belo, Cox, Hearst, Fox, LIN, Meredith, Hubbard, Journal, Pappas, Post-Newsweek, Titan and Wiegel groups. The episodes are expected to start airing later this year.

The show, which had four seasons on Syfy after starting as a web series, was officially canceled by Syfy last May.

Before I get any questions – this appears to be strictly a deal for the existing four seasons of shows, not new content. However who knows what could happen…

We finally have an air date for Primeval: New World and the new British import, Sinbad: June 8th! From the press release:

SYFY’S NEWEST ORIGINAL SERIES SINBAD AND PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD WILL PREMIERE SATURDAY, JUNE 8

NEW YORK – March 28, 2013 – Building on the success of acquired original series such as Lost Girl and Continuum, Syfy today announced that Sinbad and Primeval: New World will join the prime time schedule beginning Saturday, June 8.
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The team behind the re-imagined magical world of Merlin plan to do it again – this time around the mythical city of Atlantis.

Merlin creators Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy and writer Howard Overman are developing the new program for BBC One, set in the city and retelling the stories of the Greek myths.

The cast was announced today as well: Mark Addy (Game Of Thrones), Juliet Stevenson (Bend It Like Beckham), Sarah Parish (Mistresses, Pillars of the Earth), Robert Emms (War Horse), Jemima Rooper (As If), Jack Donnelly (House of Anubis) and Aiysha Hart.

The show is expected to debut this fall in Merlin‘s old time slot.

Sense8, the sci-fi drama which marks the first foray into the television format from Andy and Lana Wachowski, has been picked up for 10 episodes by Netflix. Georgiaville TV and Reliance Entertainment are producing in association with Studio JMS (the studio set up by J. Michael Straczynski last year.)

Details of the show are scarce, other than it being describes as “A gripping global tale of minds linked and souls hunted.” The Wachowskis said, “We’re excited to work with Netflix and Georgeville Television on this project, and we’ve wanted to work with Joe Straczynski for years, chiefly due to the fact his name is harder to pronounce than ours, but also because we share a love of genre and all things nerdy.”

Sense8 is expected to be released in late 2014, with all 10 episodes released simultaneously.