Sci-Fi Storm

Check out what some of your favorite Syfy say their favorite – and weirdest – gifts on the holidays are, what their New Years resolutions are, and what their favorite holiday specials are! Jaleel White (Total Blackout), Julie Benz (Defiance), Saul Rubinek and Allison Scagliotti (Warehouse 13), Kristen Hager (Being Human), and Rachel Nichols (Continuum).
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Happy Birthday, Syfy! On Monday, December 10 at 9PM (ET/PT), the Channel will celebrate two decades of award-winning, imaginative entertainment programming during the star-studded Syfy 20th Anniversary Special.

From iconic series such as Farscape, Battlestar Galactica and Warehouse 13 to Ghost Hunters, Face Off and the upcoming transmedia experience Defiance, the special will look back on Syfy’s launch and evolution, and ahead to the future through the personal, behind-the-scenes insights of the creative talent themselves.

Said Dave Howe, President, Syfy & Chiller: “For 20 years, Syfy has been the leader in visionary and provocative entertainment programming. In this celebratory special, the extraordinary talent at the heart of the powerful Syfy brand will talk exclusively about the lasting impact Syfy has had on the media landscape for the last two decades.”
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Here is the latest Making Of video for Syfy’ upcoming series Defiance, focusing on the cultures, makeup and languages in the show.

And yes, Tony Curran really does have the language down. Frightening, really 🙂

Side note – you get a glance of Doc Ywell, the Indogene doctor – if you’d like to see what the lovely Trenna Keating looks like under that makeup, check out the movie A Dog Named Christmas on the Hallmark Channel. She plays Faye, one of the daughters who visits the family for Christmas. And it’s a great movie which also stars Bruce Greenwood. Trenna also had a recurring role on last year’s short lived Combat Hospital.
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In case you missed it during the live Face Off finale last night (or your cable provider inserted their own commercial, chapping part of it off), here is the full new trailer for Syfy’s Defiance!
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I was fortunate to be invited up to Toronto earlier this week as part of this year’s Syfy Press Tour, and visited the sets of Defiance and Warehouse 13. It was a far different experience compared to the last couple years, where it was held at Universal Orlando. It was quite interesting to see the actual sets that you see on TV! Very surreal – seeing places that you see on TV and that you are familiar with – but to see it in person is a very different experience.

Note: A complete picture album is available on our Facebook page.

For those unaware about Defiance, check out the trailer here. Set in the near future, Defiance introduces an exotically transformed planet Earth, its landscapes permanently altered following the sudden – and tumultuous – arrival of seven unique alien races. In this somewhat unknown and unpredictable landscape, the richly diverse, newly-formed civilization of humans and aliens must learn to co-exist peacefully. Each week, viewers will follow an immersive character drama set in the boom-town of Defiance, which sits atop the ruins of St. Louis, MO, while in the game, players will adventure in the new frontier of the San Francisco Bay area. The dramatic tapestry of the series and the intense action of the game will exist in a single universe where their respective narratives will inform one another and evolve together into one overall story.

Defiance stars Grant Bowler (Ugly Betty, Liz & Dick), Julie Benz (Dexter, No Ordinary Family), Stephanie Leonidas (MirrorMask, Crusade In Jeans), Tony Curran (Gladiator, The Pillars of the Earth), Jaime Murray (Warehouse 13, Hustle), Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves) and Mia Kirshner (The L Word, The Vampire Diaries). The series is executive produced by Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica; Hellcats) & Michael Taylor (Battlestar Galactica). Kevin Murphy serves as showrunner. Scott Stewart (Legion, Priest) directed the pilot; Michael Nankin will serve as director/producer on the series.
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Lots of Defiance news, and I haven’t even talked about they sets!

Brian J. Smith is set to guest star in an episode of Syfy’s groundbreaking series, Defiance, set to premiere April 2013. Smith will portray Gordon McClintock, a NASA hero from the pre-Arkfall days who was presumed dead following a space station catastrophe in 2013. The astronaut is discovered to still be alive when he is revived from an induced sleep, and is overcome with shock and disbelief at the dangerous new world of Defiance.

Originally from Dallas, Texas, Smith is a graduate of the four-year acting program at The Julliard School in New York City. Smith starred in the Syfy original series Stargate Universe and the Syfy original movie Red Faction. He also starred in the 2009 feature film The War Boys, written by award-winning playwright Naomi Wallace and Bruce McLeod, and appeared in the 2009 thriller Redhook. His additional television credits include Poirot : Murder on the Orient Express and a guest star role on NBC’s Law and Order. Smith also appeared on Broadway in Come Back, Little Sheba opposite S. Epatha Merkerson, and, off-Broadway, in Good Boys and True, and Three Changes, opposite Dylan McDermott and Maura Tierney.

An unprecedented collaboration between Syfy and Trion Worlds, Defiance is the first-ever convergence of television and online gaming, featuring an interconnected world and storylines that will co-exist throughout a scripted drama series and a multiplatform online shooter. Produced by Universal Cable Productions, both the series and the game will debut simultaneously in April 2013.
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Apparently while we were having dinner with Syfy executives and talent (I was with Being Human‘s Meaghan Rath and her brother, Defiance‘s Jesse Rath), Syfy released the trailer for Defiance! If you’re following development of the show, you’ve probably seen it, but in case you haven’t, here it is below.

I can tell you, EVERYONE is excited about this show!
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I’m in Toronto for the Syfy Digital Press Tour, and will be visiting the sets of Defiance and Warehouse 13. I’ll be tweeting and taking pictures via Instagram (user scifistorm) as much as possible. And you can also see tweets from myself and other press members below.

Got questions for the cast and crew? Tweet me (@scifistorm) and include the hashtag #syfytour and I will try and ask it during the panel!

Dinner shortly with the Syfy execs and the casts of Haven and Being Human!
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In a switch of recent acquisitions of Canadian productions by Syfy, Canada’s Shaw Media announced today that they have acquired the Syfy/Trion Worlds production Defiance, to air on Showcase.

Defiance is nearing the end of filming of its first season, with it set to air in April on Syfy, with Showcase likely airing it around the same time.

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).

Set on a future Earth, Defiance introduces players and viewers to a world where humans and aliens live together on a planet transformed by decades of conflict. The game combines the intense action of a “AAA” console shooter, with the persistence, scale, and customization of an MMO, while its TV counterpart weaves the rich tapestry of the world into a series with the scope, characters, and drama of a classic sci-fi epic. Because they exist in a single universe, the show and the game will influence each other and evolve together over time, with actions in both mediums driving the overall story of Defiance.

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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