Sci-Fi Storm

This past weekend we were saddened to learn that actor Ron Glass, most well known for his role as Detective Ron Harris on the 70s ABC sitcom Barney Miller, but also as Shepherd Book on Firefly, passed away at the age of 71. His last appearances were in 2014 in episodes of CSI and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

To me, in his roles he always emanated a relaxed, laid back, calming persona. His friends and colleagues remembered him on social media. Firefly creator Joss Whedon said, “He was, among so many other things, my Shepherd. Raise, appropriately, a glass. Rest, Ron.”

“He was the kind of person that remembered the details, that asked about your family’s well-being,” remembered fellow Firefly castmate Jewel Staite. “He hugged hard and often. He would laugh till he cried at a sick joke and top it with a worse one. He loved a Grey Goose crantini and spilled one on my white jeans in the heat of telling a story, and then just said, “Girl, those were ugly pants anyway.” I adored him. Everybody did. I love you, Ron.”

We raise our glasses as well to you, Ron.

After breaking the Indiegogo crowdfunding record, web series Con Man is getting closer to release…Firefly stars Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion introduced the new trailer last night, which shows how they are spoofing their original roles together for the fictitious show “Spectrum”, and the two very different paths each take after the series is canceled in 2004 “foolishly” by an unnamed TV network…Wray Nerely (Tudyk), a down-on-his-luck actor trying to make a living on the convention circuit, and his co-star Jack Moore (Fillion), whose career soared.

Just the trailer is chock full with cameo and larger appearances by many well known genre actors and more – just a spot check shows Felicia Day, Sean Astin, Milo Ventimiglia, Seth Green, Henry Rollins, Tricia Helfer, Wil Wheaton, Michael Dorn, Amy Acker, and even Joss Whedon!

Watch the trailer!

Take two stars of a short lived but beloved science fiction show, an idea to spoof their own situations, a little twitter marketing, and some perks, and you may have the recipe for new way to create a series.

Firefly stars Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion are working to produce Con Man, a series following the life of two of the stars of the fictional short-lived SF series “Spectrum” – Wray Nerely (Tudyk), a down-on-his-luck actor trying to make a living on the convention circuit, and his co-star Jack Moore (Fillion), whose career soared. This spoofs what happened after Firefly was prematurely canceled by Fox – Fillion stars in Castle, now finishing it’s seventh season, but Tudyk isn’t exactly forgotten in a convention booth. While not quite as visible as Fillion on small screens, he’s had numerous guest appearances and recurring roles but has also become a successful voice actor, providing voices in a variety of shows and some successful animated movies, like King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph and Alistair Krei in 2014’s number one animated movie, Big Hero 6.

The duo took to Indiegogo on March 10th to raise a modest $475,000 to produce three episodes.

In just six days, their Indiegogo project is closing on $2 million – and there are still 25 days left in the fundraising cycle. This means more episodes (at least 12 are now expected based on their “stretch” goals), more guest stars…and more goodies. Familiar friends are expected to show up, including Sean Maher, Gina Torres, Felicia Day and Amy Acker among others.

Tudyk will write and direct, while Fillion will produce with PJ Haarsma with a planned summer release on Vimeo. And you can be a producer too, if you’re willing to fund it. See the Indiegogo page for funding levels and perks.

Looks like Summer Glau is never far from our TV screens…according to Deadline she will now have a recurring role in CW’s Arrow…which will further cement my feeling of how similar it is to The Cape – which Summer also starred in…

Summer has also had recurring roles in Dollhouse, The Unit, The 4400 and Alphas, following starring roles in Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and is a bit of a genre favorite, even playing herself in an episode of The Big Bang Theory.

Time to add another holiday movie to our SF actor holiday movie list – this Sunday at 8/7c on Hallmark is Help For The Holidays, which stars everyone’s favorite best-looking Terminator (Sorry, Guv…) and Serenity inhabitant Summer Glau. From the description:

Although she loves Christmas, Santa’s elf Christine (Summer Glau) wonders if there could be more to life than making toys in the North Pole. When Santa receives an emergency wish from a little boy in Los Angeles, he puts Christine on a special assignment, sending her to L.A. to give the VanCamp family—mom Sara (Eva La Rue), dad Scott (Dan Gauthier), and their two kids Ally (Izabela Vidovic) and Will (Mason Cook)—a holiday wake-up call. Will Christine fail her assignment and be sent back to the North Pole for good, or will the VanCamps come to their senses about the meaning of Christmas?

TV|Line has been giving some quick summaries of some Comic-Con panels, and one of the big ones was the Firefly reunion panel, which brought together Joss Whedon and most of the cast (Gina Torres, Jewel Staite and Morena Baccarin could not attend)…and resulted in a few tears among the panelists.

What seemed to make this cast so special began with Nathan Fillion, who was determined to make the cast and crew a family. According to Alan Tudyk, “Right at the beginning, when we first started shooting the series, Nathan came up to all the actors and said, ‘We’re learning all the names [of the cast and crew].’ It became a game [that] brought everybody together as a family.”
(continue reading…)

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.

What would you do with a girlfriend who played video games, role playing, etc. but didn’t like Firefly? It might be like this video:

Firefly will make another return – in reruns, alas – but this time on the Science Channel. It will start Sunday night, March 6th, at 8PM ET with the original two hour pilot, followed by the first episode at 10PM. Then each Sunday will have an encore of the previous episode at 9PM, and the next one at 10PM.

As a special treat for “Firefly” fans, star of Science Channel’s “Sci-Fi Science,” and the cofounder of string field theory, Dr. Michio Kaku, will be commentating on the science behind “Firefly” for each episode. From terraforming, to anti-matter, Kaku will be explaining why the science fiction featured in the show really isn’t that far from science fact.

When “Firefly” first aired in 2002, Whedon’s sci-fi western quickly became a cult favorite. Set 500 years in the future, in the aftermath of a universal civil war, the story centers on the renegade crew of a small transport spaceship led by “Castle’s” Nathan Fillion, who directs the ragtag team through adventures into unknown parts of the galaxy, as they try to evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them.

Multi-platform network Ovation will air the entire series of Firefly on its cable network starting January 3rd for a limited run, with three episodes shown a night starting at 8pm ET/5pm PT, and then a marathon on Saturday, January 8th. Read below for the full press release – note that it says 15 episodes, but there are 14 full episodes, one of which is two hours. Ovation is available on DirecTV and Dish networks, and at least most if not all Verizon FiOS systems – check the Ovation web site to see if it is on your cable system.

(continue reading…)