Sci-Fi Storm

TNT has given the green light to a series based on The Librarian TV movies that starred Falling Skies‘ Noah Wylie, and Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Jonathan Frakes will return to direct several episodes in the 10-episode order.

In an interview with StarTrek.com, Frakes, who directed the second and third installments of the the TV movies, said, “We’re in Portland shooting a new show based on the movies that I did with Noah Wyle, Bob Newhart, Jane Curtin and Olympia Dukakis. Dean Devlin shot the two-hour pilot and I’ll be directing three of the 10 episodes.”

As for the cast, Noah Wylie will return for the premiere but will not stay. “Noah is in the two-hour pilot and then he’ll be recurring over the season, probably in two other episodes close to the end of the season,” Frakes said. “Noah’s character (Flynn Carsen) has passed the torch to these other librarians, mostly because Noah is still doing Falling Skies for TNT.

“Bob Newhart is back, too, and his scenes will be filmed in L.A. It’s a great group, a lot of the same people that I worked with on Leverage and The Librarian movies. So you know what you’re getting.”

Added to the cast will be Rebecca Romijn (X-Men), Christian Kane (Leverage) and John Larroquette (Night Court).

The CW may have canceled Star-Crossed with all the humans unconscious leaving the survival of humanity in doubt, but fear not – you can find out what was planned for the not-happening Season 2, thanks to an interview by Zap2It with series creator Meredith Averill. So there is some help to closure for the show – most simply are never heard from again with plans unknown, leaving viewers wondering.

Of course, if you were a fan of that show, or any other show canceled before a planned ending, and hope beyond hope that another network would pick it up…it’s very, VERY hard for that to happen. First, remember – it’s been canceled by a network already. That means that the viewership (which the advertisers pay for, which in turn pays for the show) wasn’t sufficient to support the cost of the show. It would be difficult to argue that it would somehow do better on another network, or somehow become cheaper to produce. Now it could be that it was doing OK but canceled because the network wanted the room on the schedule for something that could do better for it – in that case, another network might consider picking it up if it at least would do better than its own programming and don’t have anything in the pipeline as good. But it’s unlikely.

Now, add to that, what about the cast and crew? The show’s been canceled, are they expected to sit around and wait in the hopes of it getting picked up by another network? They aren’t getting paid any more, and as they say, people gotta eat. This includes not only the actors, but the writers, the cameramen, the electrical workers, etc. – all the people who work on the show every day. The show was their full time jobs, essentially, and they’ve been given pink slips. And they’ve often had a bit of notice that it could be coming if the show was on the bubble of being renewed. They’ve been looking for other jobs already.

Star-Crossed writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe actually tweeted an explanation on his timeline. As I can’t link to the specific start of it and it spanned a number of tweets, I’ll reprint them here (I hope he doesn’t mind):

Okay so, cancellations. First remember everyone working on a show is doing it for a living. They have kids, mortgages, etc. So… If a show is on the bubble, everyone working on it goes looking for work once they’re wrapped (finished with work). If they don’t have a long term contract, they get other jobs. That’s all the hardworking camera crew, sound folks editors etc. Gone. If they do have longterm contracts, they get conditional deals. Backup jobs. That’s writers and actors especially. So for example, I went onto #Elementary with the understanding that if #StarCrossed came back, I’d leave to go back to SC.

BUT when a show gets canned, those 2nd position deals become 1st. So now my #Elementary deal now comes 1st. I’m gone no matter what. But not just me. Actors, show creators, directors, etc now have contracts with other shows. They are gone. Also, the sets are recycled. That would cost 100s of thousands to remake. Studio and office space are let go. No more home.

So the #Enlisted actors all did pilots, if those got picked up, they’re gone. When #DresdenFiles got cancelled, Paul & Terry got other gigs. So if Keifer Sutherland’s show Touch were still being made, no 24 mini. We couldn’t get Paul for Dresden again cause of #Arrow. So that’s the deal. It’s not impossible, but it’s really hard. Not from malevolence. But because folks gotta eat.

So there you have it. While everyone hopes that a show could be revived, there are many, many factors against it. And if it did manage to come back, it very likely wouldn’t be quite the same – risking loss of viewers who liked it the way it was. And that’s a risk many networks aren’t willing to take.

The official Doctor Who Twitter account broke the news Whovians have been waiting for…the Doctor will return – new face and all – in August. BBC America later confirmed it for U.S. audiences as well. Exact date yet to be determined.

BREAKING NEWS! The new series of #DoctorWho starts August, 2014! pic.twitter.com/OZN1NxGp4w

— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) May 23, 2014

A triple of Syfy stuff for you tonight!

First, if you need to catch up of Defiance, or just want to watch it again, Syfy is running a marathon of the entire first season starting at 8am ET/7am PT on Monday, May 26th…and be prepared for the second season starting June 19th at 9/8c!

Next, Defiance will be followed new series Dominion, based on the movie Legion – and here is the upfront trailer:

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Lastly, Syfy has announced that it has acquired all 39 episodes of Starz’ series Spartacus – three seasons plus a six episode mini-series, and will follow Defiance and Dominion on it’s new Thursday night lineup.

Spartacus will make its basic cable premiere on Thursday, June 26 at 10PM (ET/PT), rounding out the channel’s potent primetime lineup of original series Defiance at 8PM and Dominion at 9PM.
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On the next Continuum, Kiera’s relationships are put to the test when the identity of her killer is revealed. Stay alert and informed of the Liber8’s activities by checking out the sneak peek below, and also check out the latest “Inside Continuum” as well as a behind the scenes look with the cast.
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In theaters August 1st.

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Syfy’s The Wil Wheaton Project starts in just one week – Tuesday May 27th at 10/9c. What is it you ask? Well, here’s the official description:

The Wil Wheaton Project, a weekly topical comedy show hosted by actor, blogger and champion of geek culture Wil Wheaton, is coming to Syfy on Tuesday, May 27th at 10/9c. The 30-minute show will offer a fast-paced, lighthearted exploration and celebration of all things within the realm of science fiction and genre entertainment. Each week, Wil provides his insider point-of-view, sense of humor and genre expertise as he dissects the week’s most popular and trending topics across science fiction film, television and pop culture, video games, viral videos and news. Wil is on his feet for the rapid-fire half hour, delivering witty commentary on the things he knows and loves in this golden age of sci-pop culture. The result is a fun appreciation and celebration of fandom and all things science fiction.

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On the next episodes of Metal Hurlant Chronicles, firsts a leak forces three astronauts to fight for the remaining oxygen, and then one prisoner will do anything to escape, while a frozen survivor from the distant past is found. Tune on for “Three On A Match” and “Cold Hard Facts/Red Light” Monday night at 10/9c on Syfy!
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Ascension debuts in November, and is produced by Sea To Sky Studios in association with Blumhouse Productions. From written/executive producer Philip Levens; Ivan Fecan, Tim Gamble and Brett Burlock also exec produce.

Dominion premieres on Syfy June 19th, produced by Universal Cable Productions and Bold Films. From executive producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer and writer/executive producer Vaun Wilmott.