Sci-Fi Storm

We’ll probably hear a lot of rumors, but the latest is that Doctor Who could see its first black actor to play the role. Paterson Joseph, who guest starred in the first season episodes “Bad Wolf” and “The Parting of the Ways” as Roderick, and more recently appeared in Jekyll (which, by the way, was created by Steven Moffat – who takes over the production reins of Who in 2010), is the latest rumor to float around. However, he is currently involved in the revival of the mid-1970s BBC series Survivors.

NBC has picked up 9 more episodes of Knight Rider to fill out the season, getting modest ratings so far.

Despite previous reports, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will get a full second season, with Fox exercising the option on the remaining nine episodes.

This is actually old news, but I got curious to find out the latest on what is happening with Red Dwarf since it has been so long. I did find this: although funding for the hoped-for movie as not materialized, they will be producing 4 TV episodes – two “proper” episodes, and two related programs. One will be a behind the scenes special, and the other, according to Robert Llewellyn (Kryten), “…is so exciting I’ve been asked not to say anything about that because other people will steal the idea – and it is a great idea, quite challenging for us as performers.”

Michael Ausiello appears to have broken the news first, but SCI FI Channel has officially confirmed that the final episodes of Battlestar Galactica will air over 10 weeks starting January 16th

[sfs=49]V[/sfs], the 1983 miniseries which acted as a thinly-veiled allegory to Nazi Germany (and spawned a [sfs=203]second mini-series[/sfs] and short lived [sfs=424]TV series[/sfs]), is planned for reimagining by Warner Brothers and ABC. Scott Peters (The 4400) is writing and exec producing the update, which will not use the original allegory concept, but focus on the results when people blindly follow their leaders. Kenneth Johnson, who created the original and has been trying to get a new version off the ground, is not involved in this project.

Stories of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars getting some sort of screen treatment have been around as long as this web site, but they’ve been quiet for a while, last rumored to be a SFC miniseries. Now, AMC is developing a series based on the novel, with Jonathan Hensleigh (Armageddon) as writer/executive producer. No mention on if or how the other novels (Green Mars and Blue Mars) might be incorporated.

Fox has picked up the option for a full season of J.J. Abrams Fringe. The show improved its ratings from its premiere (probably helped by airing alongside House), and is currently the top rated new show among the coveted adult demographic.

SyFy Portal is reporting that a source at Fox says that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles could have the plug pulled within a week due to low ratings. After 4 new episodes, the ratings are off 34% from last season’s average of 5.6/9, and that was way down from the premiere of 11.1/16.

The SCI FI Channel has given the green light to a new investigative series, set to travel around the world in search of legandary and mythical artifacts. Read More for the full press release. It sounds like it is trying to capitalize on the renewed interest in Indiana Jones, and something more likely to be found on Discovery than SFC, but if done well it could be quite interesting, like the old In Search Of…

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