Sci-Fi Storm

Did you know FXX aired a pilot for a series based on the late Robert Jordan’s hugely-popular Wheel of Time book series? And that it aired in the wee hours Monday morning? Nope, no one else did either.

How could such a momentous occasion pass by so unnoticed by so many? Well, first let’s just say that “momentous” is most certainly not the correct word to use. Second, it was less about producing a true pilot as much as it was to meet a contractual requirement to retain the rights.

As we’ve learned from the Dungeons & Dragons rights suit, as well as Fox reportedly rebooting Fantastic Four just to retain the rights, most rights contracts for adaptations have clauses that say some minimum level of production is required to retain the rights, or they revert back to the owner of the original work. It doesn’t necessarily have to meet quality goals, unfortunately.

In this case, Jordan sold the rights back in 2004 to Red Eagle Entertainment to produce some films (although there were likely other options – reportedly some games were tried as well), with those rights apparently set to expire on February 11th, 2015 – today – if some goal wasn’t met. And getting a pilot on TV is ( or is at least believed to be) a goal.
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On an all new Helix, Kyle is attacked as he tries to quarantine the orchard. Check out the preview below, and check out the music…reminds me of 70s action flicks or something…and tune in for “Oubliette” Friday at 10/9c on Syfy!

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In Friday’s new 12 Monkeys, Cole and Cassandra have finally located the Night Room, but do they have a plan of attack? Catch the “The Night Room”, Friday at 9/8c on Syfy! And check out the recap for last week as well!

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USA Network has ordered 10 episodes of Colony, an alien drama from Lost showrunner Carlton Cuse, Ryan Condal (Hercules).

Colony takes place in a near-future Los Angeles, which exists in a state of occupation by a force of outside intruders. Some people choose to collaborate with the authorities and benefit from the new order, while others rebel and suffer the consequences.

It stars Josh Holloway (Lost) and Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead), and is a co-production between Legendary Television and Universal Cable Productions.

In case you missed it, here is the teaser for the upcoming Heroes Reborn, which was announced almost a year ago. The teaser, dubbed “The Aurora”, doesn’t give us much but we do see that Jack Coleman appears to be returning as Noah Bennet, looking at someone who appears to have the ability to affect auroras, and joining the show is Zachary Levi (Chuck), who appears to be watching Bennet…
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Production has commenced in Toronto, ON for the 13-episode third season of Syfy’s highly-rated Defiance, featuring new cast additions Lee Tergesen (The Americans) as military leader General Rahm Tak, Nichole Galicia (Django Unchained) as Kindzi and Conrad Coates (The Strain) as her father, T’evgin (both part of a new alien race known as the Omec). Produced by Universal Cable Productions, season two of Defiance delivered an average of 1.2 million viewers 18-49 and 2.7 million total viewers (based on Live +7 data).

Following the events of the season two cliffhanger finale, season three of Defiance opens on the eve of an impending military siege upon the town, which has fallen on hard times following the collapse of its lucrative mines. Their fate uncertain, the townspeople face further threat with the surprise arrival of the mysterious and nearly extinct Omec, an alien race of warriors marked by the decades of subjugation they imposed upon the galaxy in the years preceding the Pale Wars.

Lee Tergesen will portray General Rahm Tak, a ruthless, arrogant leader in the Votanis Collective who sees Defiance, now free of Earth Republic oversight, a symbolic target in his unrelenting pursuit of power. A Castithan, Rahm is a well-read, brilliant strategist who imposes his army upon the town with decisive force.

Conrad Coates plays T’evgin, the leader of the Omec who reluctantly carries the burden of his species’ survival on his shoulders.

Nichole Galicia is Kindzi, the fierce, beautiful and tough daughter of the Omec leader T’evgin; she is his second in command and a skilled fighter unafraid of danger.

Grant Bowler returns as Nolan, along with Julie Benz as Amanda Rosewater, Stephanie Leonidas as Irisa Nolan, Tony Curran as Datak Tarr, Jaime Murray as Stahma Tarr, Graham Greene as Rafe McCawley and Jesse Rath as Alak Tarr. The cast also features Trenna Keating as Doc Yewll and Anna Hopkins as Berlin.

Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica) resumes his role as executive producer and showrunner. Smallville’s Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin return as executive producers for season two and Anupam Nigam serves as co-executive producer. Michael Nankin (co-executive producer) is set to direct the season three opener.

Season three of Defiance is set to premiere on Syfy in Summer 2015. The series is an unprecedented partnership between Syfy and Trion Worlds and the first-ever convergence of television and online gaming, featuring an interconnected world and storylines that co-exist on both platforms.

It’s trailer week… 🙂 The official Season 5 trailer for Game of Thrones was posted earlier today on Facebook…
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In Friday’s Helix, Julia is the unwilling guest of honor at a dysfunctional family reunion. Tune in for “Scion”, Friday at 10/9c on Syfy!
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In episode 3 of 12 Monkeys, Cole receives his next mission (to Haiti) while trouble lurks on the surface. Tune in Friday at 9/8c on Syfy!
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Finally answering a long-gestating rumor, Fox is confirming that they are in negotiations to being one of the Marvel franchises it has had success with on the big screen to the small screen.

Fox TV co-chairs Gary Newman and Dana Walden told TV Insider that they are indeed planning on bringing the X-Men to TV, joining ABC and Netflix with Marvel-based shows and the CW with their DC-based franchises. They are currently very early on as they need to negotiate for the rights with Marvel (now part of rival Disney), which could lead to some interesting changes. Fox has the rights to films based on the X-Men, but Marvel has to grant the rights for TV use.

Since this is in the very early stages, nothing else has really been set up yet. It likely would be late 2016 at the earliest that any series could air.