Sci-Fi Storm

The second part of the day for the 2012 Syfy Digital Press Tour, after visiting the set of Defiance and a quick lunch, we traveled across town to the Cinespace studios to visit the set of Warehouse 13, and meet up with the cast and our friend from last year’s tour, Eddie McClintock (Agent Pete Lattimer).

This was such an interesting experience since it was a place I was intensely familiar with, if only from watching every episode. I didn’t know what to expect in particular, but I was expecting more green-screen setups with smallish sets. Much to my surprise, this was not the case.

We arrived in the lobby, and were offered hot coffee/tea/cider and cookies as soon as we walked in the door. I grabbed a hot cider and a cookie – I did not realize that chocolate cookies with bacon are some sort of thing in Canada…love both, but jury is still out on the combination! But as soon as I got mine, we were split into two groups to visit their latest set build in Studio B, led by show runner Jack Kenny and joined by production designer Franco de Cotiis. The new set is for an upcoming episode that it set in a facility located under the Niagara Power Station. We didn’t get much more detail than that, but it was clear that someone had been living there some time in the past – and the corpse on the bed seems to indicate they died quite a while ago…Franco said it took them about 5 days to build – which is amazing given the amount of detail that went into it! I realized having a hot drink on a set was probably a bad idea (especially since I wanted to take pictures too) so I chugged it, and probably burned my tongue 🙂
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On the next Revolution the choice is tough. Without medicine Nora will die… but every cure has its cost. Sneak a peek at the next episode as the fate of Nora and Charlie lies in Miles’ hands. What will he do? Check out this sneak peek of next Monday’s all-new Revolution at 10/9c on NBC!
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I was fortunate to be invited up to Toronto earlier this week as part of this year’s Syfy Press Tour, and visited the sets of Defiance and Warehouse 13. It was a far different experience compared to the last couple years, where it was held at Universal Orlando. It was quite interesting to see the actual sets that you see on TV! Very surreal – seeing places that you see on TV and that you are familiar with – but to see it in person is a very different experience.

Note: A complete picture album is available on our Facebook page.

For those unaware about Defiance, check out the trailer here. Set in the near future, Defiance introduces an exotically transformed planet Earth, its landscapes permanently altered following the sudden – and tumultuous – arrival of seven unique alien races. In this somewhat unknown and unpredictable landscape, the richly diverse, newly-formed civilization of humans and aliens must learn to co-exist peacefully. Each week, viewers will follow an immersive character drama set in the boom-town of Defiance, which sits atop the ruins of St. Louis, MO, while in the game, players will adventure in the new frontier of the San Francisco Bay area. The dramatic tapestry of the series and the intense action of the game will exist in a single universe where their respective narratives will inform one another and evolve together into one overall story.

Defiance stars Grant Bowler (Ugly Betty, Liz & Dick), Julie Benz (Dexter, No Ordinary Family), Stephanie Leonidas (MirrorMask, Crusade In Jeans), Tony Curran (Gladiator, The Pillars of the Earth), Jaime Murray (Warehouse 13, Hustle), Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves) and Mia Kirshner (The L Word, The Vampire Diaries). The series is executive produced by Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica; Hellcats) & Michael Taylor (Battlestar Galactica). Kevin Murphy serves as showrunner. Scott Stewart (Legion, Priest) directed the pilot; Michael Nankin will serve as director/producer on the series.
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A hauntingly beautiful woman shows criminals her version of cruel and unusual punishment. Watch Haven tonight at 10/9c on Syfy!
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The NBC Munsters reboot Mockingbird Lane may not be made into a series (or at least has very very small odds of it), but we’ll still get to see the pilot as a one-off special for Halloween, airing on NBC on Friday, October 26th at 8/7c. Catch the preview below, and also check out the official Tumblr page!
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Syfy’s popular series Haven joins the frightful holiday spirit with a ghoulish Halloween program on Friday, October 26 at 10PM (ET/PT), directed by Jason Priestley (Call Me Fitz, Beverly Hills 90210). In the episode, Audrey (Emily Rose), Nathan (Lucas Bryant) and Duke (Eric Balfour) are trapped in Haven’s most infamous haunted house while investigating a mysterious murder. Secrets are revealed when their captor begins pitting them against each other.

Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey) also guest stars as Roland Holloway, a troubled man bent on vengeance against one of Haven’s own.

Haven, based on the novella The Colorado Kid from renowned author Stephen King, follows former FBI agent Audrey Parker, who becomes a cop in the small town of Haven, Maine, and soon discovers the town’s many secrets, which also hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of her lost past.

Polly Walker (Clarice on Caprica, John Carter) will guest star on Syfy’s hit series Warehouse 13 as Charlotte Dupres, a nemesis of the Warehouse Team who compounds mystery with intrigue and whose innumerable layers and secrets will unfold over the course of Season 4.5. Walker’s story arc will encompass five episodes.

Warehouse 13 returns in April 2013 with 10 all-new episodes.

Warehouse 13 follows a team of government agents who work at a massive, top-secret storage facility in windswept South Dakota, which houses every strange artifact, mysterious relic, fantastical object and preternatural souvenir ever collected by the U.S. government. The Warehouse’s caretaker Artie Nielsen (Saul Rubinek) charges Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock), Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly), Claudia Donovan (Allison Scagliotti) and Steve Jinks (Aaron Ashmore) with chasing down reports of supernatural and paranormal activity in search of new objects to cache at the Warehouse, as well as helping him control the Warehouse itself.

Warehouse 13 is produced for Syfy by Universal Cable Productions. Jack Kenny (The Book of Daniel) is executive producer and showrunner.

Lots of Defiance news, and I haven’t even talked about they sets!

Brian J. Smith is set to guest star in an episode of Syfy’s groundbreaking series, Defiance, set to premiere April 2013. Smith will portray Gordon McClintock, a NASA hero from the pre-Arkfall days who was presumed dead following a space station catastrophe in 2013. The astronaut is discovered to still be alive when he is revived from an induced sleep, and is overcome with shock and disbelief at the dangerous new world of Defiance.

Originally from Dallas, Texas, Smith is a graduate of the four-year acting program at The Julliard School in New York City. Smith starred in the Syfy original series Stargate Universe and the Syfy original movie Red Faction. He also starred in the 2009 feature film The War Boys, written by award-winning playwright Naomi Wallace and Bruce McLeod, and appeared in the 2009 thriller Redhook. His additional television credits include Poirot : Murder on the Orient Express and a guest star role on NBC’s Law and Order. Smith also appeared on Broadway in Come Back, Little Sheba opposite S. Epatha Merkerson, and, off-Broadway, in Good Boys and True, and Three Changes, opposite Dylan McDermott and Maura Tierney.

An unprecedented collaboration between Syfy and Trion Worlds, Defiance is the first-ever convergence of television and online gaming, featuring an interconnected world and storylines that will co-exist throughout a scripted drama series and a multiplatform online shooter. Produced by Universal Cable Productions, both the series and the game will debut simultaneously in April 2013.
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Apparently while we were having dinner with Syfy executives and talent (I was with Being Human‘s Meaghan Rath and her brother, Defiance‘s Jesse Rath), Syfy released the trailer for Defiance! If you’re following development of the show, you’ve probably seen it, but in case you haven’t, here it is below.

I can tell you, EVERYONE is excited about this show!
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Syfy announced yesterday that Being Human will return on Monday, January 14th, taking the 9/8c time slot, and that Kristen Hager, who plays Nora and I had the great fortune to meet Sunday, will return as a series regular, joining Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath, and Sam Huntington for 13 episodes.

Season 2 ended with Aidan (Sam Witwer) buried alive as punishment from vampire leader Mother, Sally (Meaghan Rath) lost in a state of limbo, and Josh’s (Sam Huntington) plot to kill his Maker Ray, endangering Nora instead.

The new season also features a stellar lineup of new and returning guest stars including: Mark Pellegrino (Lost, Revolution) as Aidan’s vampire mentor Bishop; Amy Aquino (Harry’s Law, ER) as Donna, a witch whose supernatural spells are sought out to help find Sally; Xander Berkeley (Nikita) as Liam, father of purebred werewolf twins who is intent on locating his missing children; Bobby Campo (Final Destination) as Max, a young mortician who develops a connection with Sally; and Kyle Schmid (Copper/The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) returning as Aidan’s vampire protégé/”son” Henry.

Season 2 of Syfy’s Being Human delighted both fans and new viewers seeing its audience increase over its first season. This year the show averaged 2.115 million viewers per week (10% over Season 1) and also increased double digits in key demos: 1.27 million Adults 18-49 (+19%) and 1.28 million Adults 25-54 (+23%).

Being Human is a Muse Entertainment production in association with ZODIAK USA and is based on the acclaimed series created by Toby Whithouse and produced by Touchpaper. Executive producers are Michael Prupas (The Kennedys, Pillars of the Earth), Anna Fricke (Men in Trees, Everwood) who is both writer and showrunner, and Rob Pursey and Toby Whithouse. Irene Litinsky (Human Trafficking, The Phantom) is series producer.