Sci-Fi Storm

Star Wars Rebels did gangbusters in its debut on Disney Channel, with the special movie, “Spark of Rebellion” taking in 6.5 million viewers…but that’s not enough, apparently, as the broadcast arm of Disney, ABC, will re-air the special on Sunday, October 26th at 7pm ET (hmm…the traditional time slot of The Wonderful World of Disney?)

But to make it a bit suped-up, ABC is getting a bonus: an added scene not only featuring the franchise’s iconic Bad Guy – Darth Vader – but he will be voiced by none other than the voice of Vader, James Earl Jones!!!

Don’t get too excited, though – this is currently just a cameo appearance and there are currently no plans to make him appear again.

Universal Cable Productions (UCP) continues to gain momentum adding star power to a growing roster of A-list producing talent. The studio has signed a first-look deal with Chris Bender, JC Spink and Jake Weiner’s BenderSpink (The Hangover, We’re The Millers, The Ring). As part of the deal, BenderSpink will develop and produce scripted programming with UCP for NBCUniversal and external networks.

“BenderSpink has not only great comedic taste, but also a keen eye for the kind of genre that audiences crave,” said Dawn Olmstead, Executive Vice President of Development, UCP. “We’re excited to bring their vision to life and have a laugh while rolling up our sleeves.”

BenderSpink will expand UCP’s comedy and science fiction footprint by developing scripted content that leverages Chris Bender, JC Spink and Jake Weiner’s successful feature film hallmark. Among their first collaborations already in development at Syfy is the Kickstarter-funded sensation Five Ghosts by Frank Barbiere and Chris Mooneyham. This stylish, pulpy adventure tells the story of a 1930s-era treasure hunter possessed by five literary ghosts (Merlin, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Musashi, and Dracula) whose unique abilities he can draw on during his adventures. Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsmen), BenderSpink (The Hangover), Jake Wagner, Matt Pizzolo and Brett Gurewitz have signed on to produce.

“We’ve been anxious to build our television business and form the kind of successful partnership we have in features with New Line Cinema,” said Chris Bender, Co-Founder of BenderSpink. “We really clicked with the gang at UCP and their sensibility and are excited to have the opportunity to make great television together.”

BenderSpink joins UCP’s leading producer line-up, including Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment, Doug Liman’s Hypnotic, Jessica Biel’s Iron Ocean Films and Steve Carell’s Carousel Television.

About BenderSpink

BenderSpink was established by partners Chris Bender and J.C. Spink in November of 1998 with American Pie in post-production and 14 writer clients signed to their management company. Jake Weiner joined the company in 2001 as head of production and became a partner in 2006. The film production arm of BenderSpink has had a successful first look deal with New Line Cinema for over 15 years, and they recently signed a first look deal in television with Universal Cable Productions. Jake Wagner, Ryan Revel, and Daniel Vang round out the management arm. BenderSpink has developed or produced projects that have grown into seven franchises in various genres, which include Final Destination, American Pie, The Ring, Cats & Dogs, The Butterfly Effect, The Hangover, and Ride Along. The company most recently produced the comedies The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, We’re The Millers, and Horrible Bosses 2, and are currently in production on Vacation and Criminal.

AMC has held to their pattern of early pickups and ordered a sixth season of its record breaking series The Walking Dead just ahead of the 5th season debut this Sunday.

The Walking Dead has been riding a high, topping the TV charts for adults 18-49 for two straight years and finished off its fourth season with a 15.7 million viewer finale – 3.3 million higher than the previous season finale. It averaged 13.3 million viewers over the whole fourth season.

Metal Hurlant Chronicles, an anthology series that has had two limited runs and was recently aired on Syfy in the U.S., will get a reboot of sorts as they change format to an arc-based serial series, telling a story over the course of a season.

The first two seasons were of independent stories, loosely (and I mean VERY loosely) tied together with an asteroid called the Metal Hurlant that passed by the planet on which they story was taking place, changing the lives of those that it encountered. It based on the Metal Hurlant anthology comic/magazine series.

The idea behind the format switch is to allow time for the audience and characters to connect, “and where we could explore the mythology of the Métal Hurlant,” according to creator/producer Guillaume Lubrano.

In an anthology series, like with The Outer Limits, there is the very limited time to get the audience interested in what they are seeing. It requires strong stories and actors who can engage with the audience quickly. But there is also the regret that if you do make that connection, the audience might regret that they won’t see those characters again (unless there is the rare sequel story, or even rarer spin-off to a series.) In addition, you have a very limited time to tell the story. By switching to the arc format, recently successful with the American Horror Story series, you have more time to develop depth in the characters and weave a more interesting story.

Jamie Mathieson (Being Human, Doctor Who) will write the script, which will be a co-production between Atlantique Productions and the producers of the original series, WE Productions.

Haven is moving to Fridays again! The drawback – it will be airing at 7/6c – earlier than Syfy usually programs first run original content. The NFL has really messed up Thursday night programming for networks (and not to mention my fantasy football teams), so apparently they move is to get out from under the Thursday Night Football shadow. But since WWE Smackdown owns the 8-10pm slot, 7pm was the choice. Presumably it should do at least as well if not better there, although I wonder if some of the viewers may shift further into the Live+3 and Live+7 numbers.

Starting November 24th, Syfy’s Ascension is a six-hour limited series event in the vein of past Syfy mini-series such as Taken, Alice, Tin Man and Battlestar Galactica.

In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, a mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.

Tricia Helfer – known and loved by million as Cylon Number Six in Battlestar Galactica – is part of the cast. She will play Viondra Denniger, a beautiful, manipulative and dangerous power broker on the Ascension.

Brian Van Holt – star of Cougar Town and The Bridge – will play William Denninger, captain of the ship and Viondra’s husband. A natural leader, William quickly rose through the ranks after playing a heroic role in a fire early in the spacecraft’s voyage. While his professional life is solid, William’s marriage to Viondra is anything but.

Andrea Roth, star of Rescue Me, will play Juliet Bryce, head doctor of the Ascension. Her relationship with her daughter, Nora (played by Jacqueline Byers) is difficult and strained. Nora, for her part, is a young woman under intense pressure to follow in the family’s footsteps of being a doctor despite her own dreams.

Rounding out the cast are Brandon P. Bell as First Officer Oren Gault, who was born on the lower decks of the ship to maintenance workers and must investigate the aforementioned murder; Tiffany Lonsdale as Chief Astronomer Emily Vanderhaus, the older sister of the murder victim; and PJ Boudousque (Pretty Little Liars) as one of the ship’s maintenance workers.

Ascension is created and written by Philip Levens (Smallville), who will also serve as Executive Producer and Showrunner.

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Domenic Cooper will return as Howard Stark, Tony Stark/Iron Man’s father, for the ABC series, Marvel’s Agent Carter. Cooper played the role previously in Captain America: The First Avenger, as well as Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter, which helped prompt the creation of the series.

The series stars Haley Atwell as Peggy Carter, the role she also played in Captain America: The First Avenger, and is set back in 1946, after Steve Rogers disappears and Carter joins the secret Strategic Scientific Reserve, a forerunner to S.H.I.E.L.D.

On Thursday’s Haven, Dwight and Nathan argue about what to do with Mara as she continues her rampage through the town. Check out the sneak peek below along with the latest “Inside Haven“, and watch “Much Ado About Mara” Thursday at 8/7c.
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It seems like the great people at Lucasfilm behind Star Wars: The Clone Wars, despite getting ready for the debut of Star Wars: Rebels, aren’t quite ready to let go of their previous saga just yet. With six seasons, a novel, a comic and more, and the “lost episodes” released on Netflix, it seems they still have some stuff left over.

StarWars.com has now release 3 unfinished stories plus another short story reel that have “proxy” animation (one of the intermediate steps before the full animation is rendered) but the voices and story are in place. Check them out here, along with the “Clone Wars Legacy”, about how they story, and the untold stories, fit into the Star Wars Saga.