Sci-Fi Storm

STARZ announced today the upcoming season of the international hit series “Spartacus” will be the conclusion of the saga. With a visual style completely unique to television, the franchise has amassed both critical and popular acclaim to become the most successful on the network and one of the highest rated programs in all of cable television. More than six million weekly viewers watched last season, “Spartacus: Vengeance,” which has amassed more than 2.5 million Facebook fans. Globally, the series airs in 150 countries in more than 15 languages.

“The fans have been tremendously supportive of our show,” says creator and executive producer, Steven S. DeKnight. “We did not come to this decision lightly. It was an extremely difficult and emotional decision for my partners and I. Yet, in the end, the story was best served by rolling all of the remaining action and drama of Spartacus’ journey into one stunningly epic season that will be extremely satisfying for everyone who’s been along for the ride.”
(continue reading…)

Grimm cast and crew returned to Portland to begin filming Season 2 this week! To celebrate, check out this time lapse video of the work done to transform an actor into a creature, and back again…

[Video is no longer available]

In next Monday’s Lost Girl, Bo and Kenzi investigate a strip club where the dancers are all Fae. Tune in to Syfy at 10/9c!
(continue reading…)

The first season of Syfy’s Alphas will be [sfs=1233]released on DVD[/sfs] (no Blu-ray at this time) on July 17th, 2012.

Brought together to form one extraordinary team of “Alphas” – people whose unique brain anomalies imbue them with superhuman mental and physical abilities – five seemingly ordinary citizens must take the law into their own hands while working within the government to investigate a new brand of baffling crime. An action-packed thriller starring an electrifying cast led by Primetime Emmy Award® winner and Academy Award® nominee David Strathairn (The Bourne Ultimatum) and guest starring sci-fi icons Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman), Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation), discover a new breed of superheroes in Alphas.

In next Monday’s Eureka, Fargo is convinced that Holly is still inside the Matrix computer, but the DOD is determined to wipe the hard drive clean-losing Dr. Marten forever. Tune in to Syfy at 9/8c and see what happens!
(continue reading…)

We made a long-awaited update to the Sci-Fi TV Store today…quite a few upcoming releases in July.

On July 10th, [sfs=1231]Season 3[/sfs] of Warehouse 13 is released on DVD only. Also on that day, the next two classic Doctor Who releases come out: [sfs=1218]”The Krotons”[/sfs] featuring Patrick Troughton, and [sfs=1217]”Death to the Daleks”[/sfs], featuring Jon Pertwee.

On July 17th, Syfy’s [sfs=1221]Eureka: Season 5 (DVD only)[/sfs] and [sfs=1226]Sanctuary: Season 4 Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1227]DVD[/sfs] (both their final seasons) will be released.

On July 24th, the first full season of Star Trek: The Next Generation is [sfs=1228]released on Blu-ray[/sfs].

And then on August 14th, two more classic Doctor Who episodes are released: The [sfs=1220]special edition of “Spearhead From Space”[/sfs] featuring the debut of Jon Pertwee, and [sfs=1219]”The Greatest Show in the Galaxy”[/sfs] featuring Sylvester McCoy.

Remember – pre-order any of these or anything else you want from [aml] via these links, and support our site!

While we wait until late in the year to finally travel with the Doctor again, at least we can watch an interesting mini-episode, themed around the upcoming London 2012 Olympics, titled “Good as Gold”. What makes this mini-episode more interesting is that it is the winner of a Script-to-Screen competition, where British primary school students aged 9-11 write and submit their scripts based on the theme. The winning entry was from the students at Ashdene Primary School in Wilmslow.

I wouldn’t call it canon, but it is neat.

[Video is no longer available]

Syfy and Trion Worlds today released an all-new trailer detailing the production of the highly-anticipated transmedia event, Defiance™. Featuring cast from the series (Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Jaime Murray and Tony Curran) as well as members of the visionary creative teams from both the game and show, this making-of video is a first look behind the scenes in developing the most immersive entertainment experience ever produced.

[Video is no longer available]

The series has begun production on the pilot in Toronto, with an eye towards an April 2013 premiere.

With this early morning’s successful launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to make the first private space flight delivery to the International Space Station to demonstrate the Dragon capsule, but there was a second container in the second stage – a Celestis canister which contained the ashes of 308 individuals, including Star Trek actor James Doohan and Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper.

This is the third time the ashes of Doohan and Cooper have been launched towards space. The first time was a suborbital flight in 2007, and then SpaceX attempted in 2008 to reach orbit aboard a Falcon 1, but it failed after launch.

The ashes expect to remain in orbit about a year before being incinerated during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Syfy officially announced today that it will not renew Sanctuary for a fifth season, according to Mark Stern, Syfy President of Original Content.

“We’re honored to have been part of this incredible series. In addition to garnering unmatched devotion by fans worldwide,” Stern said in a release, “Sanctuary was a bona fide trailblazer, setting new standards with its highly innovative production techniques–including pioneering green screen and RED camera technology–and Emmy-nominated visual effects. It’s been an amazing ride and we look forward to our next project with Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood and Damian Kindler.”

I’m still sure that stars Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne will find themselves working on something else together, and Space Milkshake is pending release. And I have a feeling that whatever it is will be produced by Damian Kindler and Martin Wood, who have been working with Tapping since Stargate SG-1. Tapping and Wood already working with Sanctuary supervising producer Gillian Horvath on new series Primeval: New World, with Amanda taking a spin as director.