Sci-Fi Storm

Verizon’s go90 service has added several Warner Bros. shows that had a strong fanbase, hoping to draw them to their service.

The new shows include Veronica Mars, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Babylon 5, Fringe, Almost Human, Believe, and Stalker. All will start streaming tomorrow, April 4th, except for Veronica Mars which will start sometime in May.

According to Chip Canter, the general manager for Verizon Digital Entertainment, “To be able to bring these seven titles to our users is a great opportunity to continue to double down on a genre that’s performed well for go90 and attract users who have been demanding these series or may be discovering them for the first time. This order represents our commitment to a data-driven programming strategy that marries popular traditional series with our originals and organizes them into 4-5 key audience-specific networks as a way to super serve our audiences; these series are a great fit for our go90 Saga network.”

Verizon’s go90 streaming service provides free streaming service built around a mobile-oriented social platform, marrying traditional series and original programming. Verizon Wireless customers can stream the shows data-free.

The nominees for the 2013 Hugo Awards were announced yesterday…here they are (with links when available if you want to check them out). The 2013 Hugos will be presented at LoneStarCon 3 in San Antonio, Texas, August 29-September 2, 2013 – the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention.

Best Novel:

[asin=0316098124]2312[/asin], Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
[asin=0316081078]Blackout[/asin], Mira Grant (Orbit)
[asin=1451638450]Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance[/asin], Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)
[asin=0765334798]Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas[/asin], John Scalzi (Tor)
[asin=B00B9ZEMN6]Throne of the Crescent Moon[/asin], Saladin Ahmed (DAW)

Best Novella:

[asin=1616960655]After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall[/asin], Nancy Kress (Tachyon Publications)
[asin=1616960922]The Emperor’s Soul[/asin], Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon Publications)
[asin=0956392458]On a Red Station, Drifting[/asin], Aliette de Bodard (Immersion Press)
[asin=B0089EHIA4]San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats[/asin], Mira Grant (Orbit)
“The Stars Do Not Lie”, Jay Lake (Asimov’s, Oct-Nov 2012)
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Here are some of the big and our favorite stories we covered in 2012…

In January, rapidly rising British actor Benedict Cumberbatch joined Star Trek: Into Darkness, while CW’s Arrow dropped “Green” from the name and named Stephen Amell the lead actor.

We lost actor Ian Abercrombie and the voice of the Robot from Lost In Space Dick Tufeld.
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Fox will air the final two episodes of Fringe back-to-back on Friday, January 18th, starting at 8/7c. The J.J. Abrams series survived being on the bubble for several seasons, but in renewing it for a 13-episode fifth season Fox specified that it would be it’s last, with the final episode being the series’ 100th.

The production on Fringe, which just started shooting this week for it’s final season, has abruptly halted so that its star John Noble, who plays Walter Bishop, can receive treatment for a sleeping disorder he has had for a while, but really came to a head with his hectic schedule lately. He had traveled from Australia to Comic-Con, and then to the production.

Production is expected to resume in two weeks, and is not expected to delay the debut on September 28th.

Fringe fans can finally breathe again. It will be back for one final season of 13 episodes.

Fox Broadcasting’s President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly announced today, “Fringe is a remarkably creative series that has set the bar as one of television’s most imaginative dramas. Bringing it back for a final 13 allows us to provide the climactic conclusion that its passionate and loyal fans deserve. The amazing work the producers, writers and the incredibly talented cast and crew have delivered the last four seasons has literally been out of this world. Although the end is bittersweet, it’s going to be a very exciting final chapter.”

J.J. Abrams, who is the executive producer and co-creator, said: “We are thrilled and beyond grateful that Fox – and our fans – have made the impossible possible: Fringe will continue into a fifth season that will allow the series to conclude in a wild and thrilling way. All of us at Bad Robot are forever indebted to our viewers and the amazingly supportive Fox network for allowing the adventures of Fringe Division to not only continue, but to resolve in a way that perfectly fits the show.”

There has still been no word from Fox about renewing Fringe, so producers have apparently planned in advance for both scenarios – and filmed two endings, with the appropriate one aired when it’s time.

During interviews at the Paley Center for the Warner Bros. Television Out of the Box Exhibit, star Lance Reddick mentioned the alternate ending while discussing the show. Just in case Fox gives the order for a fifth (and likely final) season, a cliffhanger was filmed. “Something happens at the very, very end of the season finale,” Reddick said. “It may or may not stay; I don’t know. It could open up an entire new season.”

Now, if that doesn’t whet the fans’ appetite for more…

According to Michael Ausiello in his “Ask Ausiello” column, nothing has been decided yet on the stuck-on-the-bubble Fringe coming back for a fifth season, but there are several scenarios still in play – and one possibility is that it does come back, but for a 15-episode final season. This would give it 102 episodes – over the magic “100” number that the syndicated world likes to see, and should also provide plenty of time to answer questions and wrap things up. So there is still hope, Fringe fans!

Fox still hasn’t announced its intentions regarding Fringe, although a lot of people are expecting the network to cancel the show after entertainment president Kevin Reilly’s statement that “We lose a lot of money on the show.” But Joshua Jackson, who plays Peter Bishop on the show, thinks it could live on after cancelation. “They’ve talked about maybe going off network with it, too,” he said of the possibilities. “The TV landscape is a different place than it used to be, so it might not be death.”

The TV landscape is VERY different. Gone are the days where a big budget show might survive in first-run syndication, and cable networks don’t seem to be quite up to the same level for production costs, although they are closing in. But if your loyal fan base is strong enough, there still seems to be alternative media outlets, including the Buffy route: tell the rest of the story in comics.

Fox’s entertainment president Kevin Reilly spoke at the Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour, and he mentioned Terra Nova and Fringe specifically. No decisions have been made on either for renewal, but should come soon, but it is looking pretty bleak for Fringe.

First, on Terra Nova – Reilly admits they made money. “We made money on it, the studio made money on it, and it seems to have resonated with the family audience.” So why haven’t they renewed it already? “If we had more holes in our network, we’d be thrilled to lock that right in.” So it appears there isn’t much room and they might be looking at a bigger margin with something else. But also he said the show was hunting for an identity, trying to be too many things at once, and they are working on it.

Of Fringe, the news was far from hopeful. Although he shares the fan’s passion for the show, Reilly said, “We lose a lot of money on the show. At that rating on [Friday] night it’s almost impossible for us to make money.” Of course that won’t resonate with fans at all, who originally criticized the move to the Friday slot as an attempt to kill the show. “We are not in the business of losing money, so we’re trying to figure out if there a number at which we can continue with the series. We haven’t even sat down with the producers yet.” Another bad sign there…