23 years of this site still chugging along...
The Guild is back for Season 5!
by Doc on Jul.28, 2011, under Online Video
I haven’t covered The Guild before – mainly because it’s not really science fiction. But it does relate to similar genres like fantasy role playing – and of course it features Felicia Day (always a good thing), who also the creator and writer. I also only began watching it recently myself, but I’m hooked. And it’s laugh-out-loud funny! It’s a good thing I’m often alone on my side of the office building on Fridays…
It revolves around Cyb Sherman (Day), who plays as the priestess Codex in the guild. In real life she’s pretty shy, and is trying to cut down on her game time. Also in the guild is Zaboo (Sandeep Parikh), who has an obsession for Codex; Vork (Jeff Lewis), who attempts to live a lifestyle that involves spending absolutely as little as possible, including stealing his neighbor’s wifi to play, and has a very Spock-like quality; Bladezz (Vincent Caso), a rude teenager who basically plays whenever he’s not it school; Clara (Robin Thorsen), a stay-at-home mother who’d would rather play online or party than be with her family; and Tinkerballa (Amy Okuda), a pre-med student with a gaming addiction who tries to hide her real life from the guild.
The first episode of Season 5 went online on Xbox Live and Zune Tuesday, and is now available on MSN starting today – so if you’ve been watching, it’s time to start watching again! And if you are new, it’s time to get caught up!!!
How we almost got another Babylon 5
by Doc on Jul.28, 2011, under Television
Found this buried in a discussion on Facebook from JMS himself:
Re: B5…the studio offered a full season of a new and rebooted B5 as part of a new distribution venue they were creating (us and several other shows from the same studio were part of the same deal). We’d have a full season, a big budget, and total creative control. The negotiations (not between us but between the participants of the venue) dragged on for over a year, we were told repeatedly this is going to happen, but finally, the participants couldn’t make the math work. So we and the other three shows that they were hoping to put out there got set aside.
At this point, I’ve told the studio that if this isn’t going to move ahead, there’s something else they need to consider and there’s a very informal negotiation going on now in that regard. We’ll see where it goes from there.
But again, B5 was never created to be a Deep Space Franchise, we wanted to do our 5 years and get out clean. That was my intent going into this, and if that’s where this ends up, I’m happy to stick with that. There are other film and TV projects I’m doing, including a deal we just concluded to write a pilot for Will Smith’s company on a show that’s been pretty much pre-sold for a full season overseas (two bidders want it badly for Europe, and now they’re just looking for a US partner).
So it sounds like we were VERY close to a “new and rebooted B5” (not sure what that meant exactly) via a new distribution venue (also not sure…web-based? iTunes?), but it isn’t happening – but something else could still happen.
More Syfy Comic-Con sizzle reels: Alphas, Being Human and Sanctuary
by Doc on Jul.27, 2011, under Television
Here are three more sizzle reels from Comic-Con, for Alphas, Being Human and Sanctuary.
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Warehouse 13 preview: “Queen for a Day”; Jeri Ryan guest stars
by Doc on Jul.27, 2011, under Television
Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager, Body of Proof) will guest star as a would-be bride on Syfy’s hit series Warehouse 13 Monday, August 1, at 9PM (ET/PT).
In Monday’s episode “Queen for a Day,” Ryan portrays Amanda, whose planned fairy tale wedding is derailed when exposure to an artifact threatens her life and the lives of everyone around her.
And according to a tweet from star Eddie McClintock, “If any of U watched the preview 4 next weeks #WAREHOUSE13, U now know Pete was married 2 @JeriLRyan! #STUDCREDTHROUGHTHEROOF” So apparently Amanda is Pete’s ex-wife!
The preview below is for the other story in the episode: New agent Steve Jinks and Claudia are caught in a civil war as Claudia comes to his rescue with a mini-tesla. Jinks thinks the quick move to save him reminds him of his big sister growing up. Claudia wants details to his past but finds out his sister is actually dead.
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Eureka Comic-Con sizzle reel
by Doc on Jul.27, 2011, under Television
Here is that Eureka Comic-Con sizzle reel I had meant to post previously…see an extended preview for the current season, including MORE Felicia “I can manage 8 inches no problem…” Day (watch the video) and Wil Wheaton, plus Dave Foley and the great Stan Lee!
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Darabont out as Walking Dead showrunner; Mazzara takes over
by Doc on Jul.27, 2011, under Television
Frank Darabont’s time in charge of Walking Dead is over – he’s stepping down as showrunner at least, and #2 Glen Mazzara is taking over the day-to-day tasks as showrunner. It’s very strange to see this, as he had just appeared this past weekend at the show’s Comic-Con panel and everything appeared normal. The reasons for his departure are still unclear, as is what if any relationship he will still have with the show.
Final nail in the helmet? UK Supreme Court rules against Lucasfilm for Stormtroopers
by Doc on Jul.27, 2011, under Television
It’s been going on for five years and two continents, and we last reported on it two years ago, but the long-running legal battle between Lucasfilm and prop designer Andrew Ainsworth appears to have reached an end. The U.K. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Ainsworth, saying that the Stormtrooper design was not protected as art and therefore the rights on it expired.
Ainsworth began selling replicas after he sold a helmet and other pieces he still had at auction for £60,000 in 2002. In 2004, Lucasfilm sued him for $20 million – and won in the U.S., but couldn’t collect since Ainsworth was in the U.K., so the lawsuit began over there. Although there was no formal contract signed between Lucasfilm and Ainsworth, it was ruled that there was an implied contract – but the court had to decide if the design was a “work of art” or simply industrial props – with the judgement being the latter.
Jewel Staite, Aaron Douglas join Syfy’s August Saturday Orginal Movies
by Doc on Jul.26, 2011, under Television
Jewel Staite (Firefly) and A.J. Buckley (Supernatural) confront a devastating global catastrophe, while Battlestar Galactica alums Aaron Douglas and Paul Campbell take on a savage and legendary monster in the August Syfy Saturday Original Movies.
In Doomsday Prophecy, premiering Saturday, August 13, at 9PM (ET/PT), a book editor (Buckley) and an archeologist (Staite) hunt down a mysterious author of prophetic novels. When the writer is found dead, the editor obtains a device enabling him to see the future – an impending geological nightmare that will tear apart the planet. Doomsday Prophecy is a production of Cinetel Films.
In Killer Mountain – inspired by an ancient Himalayan legend – premiering Saturday, August 27, at 9PM (ET/PT), a team of climbers (Douglas, Campbell) is sent to a forbidden mountain to rescue a missing expedition. There, they discover that the mountain is the secret location of Shangri La — protected by a bloodthirsty alien creature, the Druk. Killer Mountain is a production of ARO Entertainment.
Star Trek 2 won’t shoot until January at the earliest
by Doc on Jul.26, 2011, under Movies
The long-awaited Star Trek reboot sequel will wait a while longer – Co-writer/producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman reported at SDCC that they hope to start shooting in January 2012 – while Paramount still has it penciled in for a June 29th, 2012 release. Fellow co-writer/producer Damon Lindelof also said, “Right now my days and nights are consumed by Star Trek 2. We were supposed to dive in on that as soon as I finished Lost, but JJ [Abrams] was so busy on Super 8, Alex [Kurtzman] and Bob [Orci] had their own sort of empire to manage. Now finally the four creative minds that made the first movie what it was are all back in a room together and that was the only way we wanted to do it.”
I don’t know…should we start a pool on what the first day of principal photography will actually be?
BBC commissions fifth series of Merlin
by Doc on Jul.25, 2011, under Television
Per the Morton Report, FremantleMedia Enterprises announced at the Merlin panel at Comic-Con (attended by stars Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Anthony Head, and Katie McGrath) that the BBC has commissioned a fifth series. The fourth series is currently filming and will air in the fall on BBC One and in early 2012 on Syfy.