23 years of this site still chugging along...
Doctor Who: Pond Life, Part 2
by Doc on Aug.28, 2012, under Television
So, you are asleep when the Doctor bursts in and rambles, but then realizes he’s too early in the timeline, and then says everything is perfectly fine, go back to sleep…could you?
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Preview: A&E’s Coma
by Doc on Aug.27, 2012, under Television
There have been a couple of mini-series remakes in the past few years that involve a well-known source material that features a twist at the end – A&E’s Andromeda Strain in 2008, and AMC’s The Prisoner in 2009. When you have source material that is so familiar to fans and the climactic twist is so well known, how do you remake it and still make it interesting? That’s the key…and given the two I mentioned, it can be met with varying degrees of success.
A&E upcoming mini-series remake of Coma, which comes from the team of Ridley Scott and the late Tony Scott and airs next Monday and Tuesday at 9/8c, has that same task…based on the 1977 Robin Cook book that was made into a 1978 movie directed by Michael Crichton and is well known enough that those familiar with it already know what the conclusion is, it has to add not only it’s own spin on the story but on the climax.
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Syfy possibly acquiring Canadian SF series Continuum
by Doc on Aug.27, 2012, under Television
I head various reports from Fax Expo Canada that it was said that the Canadian SF series Continuum, a futuristic police drama starring Rachel Nichols (Criminal Minds) as a police officer from the year 2077 who finds herself in the present day while pursuing convicted terrorists who escape into the past, was picked up by Syfy UK, and that a US outlet had been signed but not announced who. Now it seems that the US outlet is indeed Syfy, picking up the 10-episode series which was also given a second season order recently.
This mirrors their pickup of Lost Girl, another Canadian production that was acquired but they didn’t announce when it would air until the second season of that show was in production, and Syfy is airing both seasons straight through.
We may get an official announcement soon – no later than the October Digital Press Event I’d guess (and hopefully I’m attending again this year).
Doctor Who “Pond Life”, part 1 released – see it here!
by Doc on Aug.27, 2012, under Television
T-5 days until “Asylum of the Daleks” airs…but you don’t have to wait to get back in the groove with Doctor Who! As planned, the BBC is releasing a 5-part mini web series online starting today to help see what life was like for Amy and Rory while the Doctor isn’t around (and a bit about the Doctor when they aren’t around…) Check out part 1 below, and check each day for another episode!
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Upcoming classic Doctor Who DVDs: “Ambassadors of Death”, “The Claws of AXOS” Special Edition
by Doc on Aug.25, 2012, under Video/DVD
Two more classic Doctor Who episodes, bot h featuring Third Doctor Jon Pertwee, will be released on DVD this fall (and now available for pre-order, hint, hint 🙂 ): [sfs=1257]”Ambassadors of Death”[/sfs], recently restored to full color using a color recovery process, will be released on October 9th, and the Special Edition of [sfs=1258]”The Claws of Axos”[/sfs] will be released November 13th.
These join the upcoming September 11th release of [sfs=1239]”Planet of Giants”[/sfs] and the Special Edition release of [sfs=1238]”Vengeance on Varos”[/sfs].
Lord Of The Rings Extended Edition individual movies on Blu-ray this Tuesday
by Doc on Aug.25, 2012, under Movies, Video/DVD
For those of you who have been waiting for the Extended Editions of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy to be released individually on Blu-ray, your wait is over this Tuesday, August 28th. Now you can get [sfs=1254]The Fellowship of the Rings[/sfs], [sfs=1255]The Two Towers[/sfs] and [sfs=1256]The Return of the King[/sfs] each individually.
Each movie comes with 5 discs – 2 Blu-ray discs for the movie and related special features like audio commentaries, etc. and 3 DVDs full of all the extra content.
Pre-order now (or purchase later) via the links above and help us out!
Overbrook, Georgiaville team with JMS for pandemic drama
by Doc on Aug.24, 2012, under Television
Overbrook Entertainment, the entertainment company set up by Will Smith and James Lassiter, and Georgiaville Television, which just made news with their Blake’s remake landing at Syfy, are teaming with Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski on a “pandemic” drama for ABC.
The project doesn’t currently have a title, but is described as a thriller that combines closed-ended procedural and serialized elements.
Lassiter and Jada Pinkett Smith will executive produce for Overbrook, with JMS writing the pilot and executive producing. Georgiaville is financing, and like the Blake’s 7 project, ABC has given this one a script-to-series commitment, which means if ABC likes the script it will be given a 13 episode order immediately.
Star Wars: Detours animated series from creators of Robot Chicken
by Doc on Aug.24, 2012, under Movies, Television
[As usual, instead of attending a big SF event, I get to stay home and do the work of three people, on-call 24×7. I hope to resolve that soon…]
Today at Celebration VI in Orlando, the creators of Robot Chicken, Seth Green and Matt Senreich, showed footage of their upcoming animated show Star Wars: Detours, which is a CGI-animated comedy series that takes place between Episodes III and IV in the Star Wars continuity.
The style shown is deliberate caricatures of the characters themselves – small bodies with big heads, Princess Leia’s hair buns are larger than her head, etc. The Han Solo in this reminds me a bit of the very odd version of him shown in the original animation done for the Star Wars Holiday Special. And the scenes revolve around what goes on when they aren’t trying to blow up planets, smuggle goods or stage a rebellion – when the galaxy is kinda quiet and peaceful.
And a lot of big names are associated with the production – Jane Espenson in addition to the many writers who have contributed to Robot Chicken over the years, Jane Espenson, who has written for many shows our readers should be familiar with including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tru Calling, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Torchwood: Miracle Day, etc. etc. is also contributing. And the voices heard include Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy), Joel McHale (Community), and even Billy Dee Williams reprising the role of Lando Calrissian.
Among the other voices to be heard include Anthony Daniels and Ahmed Best reprising their roles as C-3PO and Jar-Jar Binks, respectively, along with Zachary Levi Chuck, Felicia Day (The Guild), Weird Al Yankovic, Abraham Benrubi (ER), and Star Wars: The Clone Wars alums Dee Bradley Baker, Jennifer Hale, and Catherine Taber.
No release date or network was revealed but expect to see it some time next year.
Read on and watch the trailer and clips!
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Doug Naylor teases about Red Dwarf conclusion – including a dogfight
by Doc on Aug.24, 2012, under Television
Fans of Red Dwarf have been waiting eagerly for another installment in the comedy SF series, since the most recent effort in 2009 of the Back to Earth mini-series which was a rather odd version that left a lot unanswered from the end of Series 8 (BtE pretended that Series 9 and X took place already). And they are finally going to get it, and get some of those loose ends tied.
It’s already known that the production is going back to how the show was originally done, sitcom style with a live audience. Now Doug Naylor has teased that the show will tie up some of what was left from Series 8 – but not until the very last episode, which is expected to give the series an ultimate conclusion – and is suitably titled, “The Beginning” (fans will remember the first first episode was titled “The End”.)
Also, the final episode of the six episode series draws on the abandoned movie plot.
“Most of the ideas are fresh but for the last episode I borrow things from the very early drafts of the film and explain what happened after the conclusion of series eight,” Naylor said. That final episode also features a spectacular dogfight. Well, spectacular for Red Dwarf.”
Am I sensing Starbug is going to do battle?
Red Dwarf X will air on Dave in the UK in October. No news yet on a US outlet.
Brittany Allen gets recurring role in Syfy’s Defiance
by Doc on Aug.23, 2012, under Television
Emmy-winning actress Brittany Allen (All My Children) has been cast in a recurring role in Syfy’s upcoming series Defiance. Allen will play Tirra, a troubled employee of the town madam, Kenya (Mia Kirshner). When she and Kenya are abducted as a result of Tirra’s dangerous inclinations, the two build an unlikely bond as they are launched into a terrifying fight for survival in alien badlands.
A Toronto native, Allen made her feature film debut in a principle role alongside Rainn Wilson and Emma Stone in 20th Century Fox’s The Rocker. Brittany recently shot the feature Dead Before Dawn-3D opposite Devon Bostick, and recently wrapped the indie film Backgammon, a psychological relationship thriller. On the small screen, Brittany is well known for her portrayal as Marissa Chandler on ABC’s All My Children, a role for which she received an Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress in A Drama Series in 2011. Brittany can soon be seen as a supporting lead in the Canadian Miniseries Bomb Girls, which will premiere in the U.S. on Reelz on September 11th. She also recently filmed a guest-starring role on Syfy’s Lost Girl.
Defiance stars Grant Bowler (Nolan), Julie Benz (Amanda Rosewater), Stephanie Leonidas (Irisa), Tony Curran (Datak Tarr), Jaime Murray (Stahma Tarr), Graham Greene (Rafe McCawley), Mia Kirshner (Kenya) and Fionnula Flanagan (Nicky). The series is currently in production in Toronto, ON.
An unprecedented partnership between Syfy and Trion Worlds, Defiance is the first-ever convergence of television and Massive Multiplayer Online gaming, featuring an interconnected world and storylines that will co-exist throughout a scripted drama series and a multiplatform MMO shooter. Both the series and the game will debut simultaneously in April 2013.
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