Television
Game of Thrones Maisie Williams to guest on Doctor Who
by Doc on Mar.30, 2015, under Television
Maisie Williams, who plays the diminutive but fiery Arya Stark on Game of Thrones, will guest star on the upcoming season of Doctor Who. The award-winning actress went straight from a U.S. tour to the TARDIS to film her guest role.
“I’m so excited to be working on Doctor Who as it’s such a big and important part of British Culture,” Williams said. “I can’t wait to meet the cast and crew and start filming, especially as we’ll be shooting not too far from my home town.”
“We’re thrilled to have Maisie Williams joining us on Doctor Who,” Producer Steven Moffat added. “It’s not possible to say too much about who or what she’s playing, but she is going to challenge the Doctor in very unexpected ways. This time he might just be out of his depth, and we know Maisie is going to give him exactly the right sort of hell.”
Hmm…I’m not really sure the Doctor is up to dealing with a teenager…especially one who carries Needle…
Dominion adds new characters, CSI: NY composer
by Doc on Mar.30, 2015, under Television
Syfy’s sophomore series Dominion is adding new characters, and a new composer as well.
Production is underway in Cape Town, South Africa for the 13-episode second season. Joining the series’ stellar cast are recurring guest stars Nic Bishop (Covert Affairs), Simon Merrells (Spartacus: War of the Damned), Christina Chong (24: Live Another Day), Olivia Mace (Doctors) and Luke Tyler (Chronicle).
In addition, Bill Brown, who scored all nine seasons of CSI: NY and countless video games (including Marvel’s Captain America: Super Soldier, for which he was nominated for Best Original Music for the orchestral/electronic hybrid at the Canadian Video Game Awards), and has been known to beta test cutting edge technology, will score the second season of Dominion, and he’ll soon be exploring the capabilities the new reissue of Moog Music’s classic synthesizers from the golden age of electronic music.
Season 2 of Dominion is set to premiere on Syfy in Summer 2015.
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Could Star Trek be headed back to TV?
by Doc on Mar.27, 2015, under Television
Update 3/28: io9 reports that this is false…
There is a warm rumor being reported by The Nerdist that CBS is prepping a return of Star Trek to television, roughly 10 years after it left our TVs and eventually into a movie series reboot.
According to the article, CBS may be dusting off one of the two competing ideas presented after Enterprise was canceled. One, presented by J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) and Bryce Zabel (Dark Skies), would have rebooted the original series, but that job has now been done in the J.J. Abrams films.
The other, from along with Bryan Singer (X-Men) and novelist Geoffrey Thorne, wouldn’t have affected any of the past series, instead being set further into the future. Star Trek: Federation would have been set in a time where the Federation had grown bloated and complacent; the races have evolved, and the spirit of adventure seems to have been lost, when an attack from a new enemy snaps them out of it.
Now it seems that Bryan Singer may be attached at some level to a development plan for Star Trek, which could see the return of Star Trek: Federation, while at the same time other big names like Rob Burnett and Ralph McQuarrie may be involved as well.
We probably won’t hear anything certain until the next movie is out, but CBS sounds eager…
AMC dubs companion series Fear The Walking Dead
by Doc on Mar.27, 2015, under Television
We learned from our friends over at Fanbolt that the name of the companion series to AMC’s The Walking Dead has been named: Fear The Walking Dead.
The news came from creator and producer Robert Kirkman himself via Twitter:
IT'S OFFICIAL! The walking dead companion show on AMC is called FEAR THE WALKING DEAD! Expect more news very soon! #FearTheWalkingDead
— Robert Kirkman (@RobertKirkman) March 27, 2015
The companion show will be set in Los Angeles and have all new characters. It stars Cliff Curtis, Kim Dickens, Frank Dillane and Alycia Debnam Carey. Co-creator/co-writer (with Robert Kirkman) Dave Erickson will executive produce and act as showrunner. The Walking Dead production gang of Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Nicotero and David Alpert will also executive produce.
Helix preview: “Plan B”
by Doc on Mar.25, 2015, under Television
In this preview for the next episode of Helix, Winger and Alan uncover the Navy’s plan to stop the virus once and for all. Tune in for “Plan B” Friday night at 10/9c on Syfy!
12 Monkeys preview: “Shonin”
by Doc on Mar.25, 2015, under Television
In 1987, Leland Goines comes across the preserved corpse responsible for millions of deaths. Check out the preview below, and tune in for “Shonin” Friday at 9/8c on Syfy! And don’t forget the recap of last week’s episode…
Helix preview: “Mother”
by Doc on Mar.19, 2015, under Television
In tomorrow night’s new Helix, Winger’s search team makes contact with a terrifying group (I thought the cannibals were bad…) Check out the preview below and tune in at 10/9c on Friday night on Syfy for “Mother”!
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Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! debuts Wednesday, July 22
by Doc on Mar.19, 2015, under Television
Syfy and The Asylum today announced that the official title of the latest installment in the global pop culture sensation is Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! The two-hour original movie will devour the planet on Wednesday, July 22 at 9/8c.
In addition, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! will wreak havoc on all Syfy channels around the world – 86 countries in all, including the UK, Australia and across Europe, Asia and Latin America – when it premieres in international primetime within 24 hours of the United States debut.
Said Chris Regina, Senior Vice President, Program Strategy, Syfy: “We wanted this third title to boldly go where no shark movie has gone before. Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! embraces the larger-than-life irreverence that has made these movies so popular and entertaining.”
Said David Michael Latt, Producer, The Asylum: “The sharks and tornadoes get all the glory, but we would like to thank our long-time marketing guru Mike DiGrazia who first suggested ‘Oh hell no!’ A dedicated fan of the genre, Mike created the tag lines for 1 and 2 – ‘Enough Said!’ and ‘Shark Happens’ – as well as the Sharknado posters, including the original, which was a viral sensation on its own.”
Sharknado 3 will cause mass destruction in Washington, D.C. before roaring down the Eastern Seaboard and into Florida, and stars Ian Ziering as Fin, Tara Reid as April and Cassie Scerbo as Nova. Joining them will be David Hasselhoff as Fin’s father, Gil; Bo Derek will play April’s mother, May; Ryan Newman will play April and Fin’s daughter, Claudia Shepard, and Jack Griffo will portray Claudia’s friend, Billy.
Additional cameo roles include Mark Cuban as the President of the United States; Ann Coulter as the Vice President; Michele Bachmann as herself; Jerry Springer as Mr. White, a manic tourist; Washington Redskins tackle Tom Compton as a reporter; *NSYNC singer Chris Kirkpatrick as a pool lifeguard, and Chris Jericho, who will portray Bruce the roller coaster ride operator.
Anthony C. Ferrante will once again direct, based on an original screenplay by Thunder Levin. Sharknado 3 is a production of The Asylum.
When it aired last July 30, Sharknado 2: The Second One became Syfy’s most-watched original movie ever.
12 Monkeys preview: “Divine Move”
by Doc on Mar.19, 2015, under Television
On tomorrow night’s new episode of 12 Monkeys, Ramse does what it takes to protect his newfound family, leaving Cole to deal with the aftermath. Check out the sneak peek below, along with a recap of last week, and tune in for “Divine Move” at 9/8c!
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Con Man from Firefly stars break Indiegogo record for funding
by Doc on Mar.16, 2015, under Television
Take two stars of a short lived but beloved science fiction show, an idea to spoof their own situations, a little twitter marketing, and some perks, and you may have the recipe for new way to create a series.
Firefly stars Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion are working to produce Con Man, a series following the life of two of the stars of the fictional short-lived SF series “Spectrum” – Wray Nerely (Tudyk), a down-on-his-luck actor trying to make a living on the convention circuit, and his co-star Jack Moore (Fillion), whose career soared. This spoofs what happened after Firefly was prematurely canceled by Fox – Fillion stars in Castle, now finishing it’s seventh season, but Tudyk isn’t exactly forgotten in a convention booth. While not quite as visible as Fillion on small screens, he’s had numerous guest appearances and recurring roles but has also become a successful voice actor, providing voices in a variety of shows and some successful animated movies, like King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph and Alistair Krei in 2014’s number one animated movie, Big Hero 6.
The duo took to Indiegogo on March 10th to raise a modest $475,000 to produce three episodes.
In just six days, their Indiegogo project is closing on $2 million – and there are still 25 days left in the fundraising cycle. This means more episodes (at least 12 are now expected based on their “stretch” goals), more guest stars…and more goodies. Familiar friends are expected to show up, including Sean Maher, Gina Torres, Felicia Day and Amy Acker among others.
Tudyk will write and direct, while Fillion will produce with PJ Haarsma with a planned summer release on Vimeo. And you can be a producer too, if you’re willing to fund it. See the Indiegogo page for funding levels and perks.