Sci-Fi Storm

We didn’t know a lot about the upcoming Netflix series Sense8, from Andy and Lana Wachowski with J. Michael Straczynski, but now we know who will be in it, and a bit more on what it is about.

According to Deadline, the international cast includes U.S. actors Daryl Hannah (Splash, Kill Bill Vols. I and II), Brian J. Smith (Stargate Universe) and Terrence Mann (The Dresden Files); British actors Naveen Andrews (Lost, Sinbad, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland), Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who, Torchwood), Tuppence Middleton (Sinbad, Trance), and Aml Ameen (Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Harry’s Law); Mexican actors Alfonso Herrera and Erendira Ibarra; Indian actress Tena Desae (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel); South Korean actress Doona Bae (Cloud Atlas); and German actor Max Riemelt (The Wave), along with Jamie Clayton and Miguel Silvestri.

“The series follows eight characters around the world who, in the aftermath of a tragic death, find themselves linked to each other mentally and emotionally,” co-showrunner J. Michael Straczynski told Deadline. “They can not only see and talk to each other as though they were in the same place, they have access to each other’s deepest secrets. Not only must they figure out what happened and why and what it means for the future of humanity, they must do so netflix-logowhile being hunted by an organization out to capture, kill or vivisect them.”

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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Gateworld reports several new castings for roles in the Canadian Primeval spinoff, Primeval: New World, which will air on SPACE in Canada but has no reported U.S. outlet yet. Chief among them is Eureka‘s Colin Ferguson (Sheriff Jack Carter), who will re-unite with his Eureka co-star Niall Matter in and unspecified role, along with a number of Stargate franchise alums.

Lexa Doig, who appeared as Dr. Carolyn Lam in several episodes of Stargate SG-1 but is perhaps best remembered as Andromeda/Rommie in Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda (and in real life is married to Stargate SG-1‘s Michael Shanks), will reportedly appear as a doctor in the two-part finale. She has most recently been playing Sonya Valentine in the Canadian SF series Continuum.

Stargate Universe‘s Louis Ferriera (Colonel Everett Young) will appear in the last three episodes as Colonel Henderson Hall, who will come into conflict with Evan Cross (Matter).

And fellow SGU alum Patrick Gilmore (Dale Volker) will also appear as a local entrepreneur named Blake in Episode 4.

Gateworld is reporting that composer Joel Goldsmith, oldest son of the late legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith, passed away yesterday at the age of 54.

Goldsmith composed the music for all three Stargate series (for which he was nominated three times for an Emmy) as well as many other series and episodes as well as TV movies and films. He also collaborated with his father (well known for his work on the Star Trek franchise since Star Trek: The Motion Picture) on Star Trek: First Contact.

The 2011 Primetime Emmy nominations were announced today, and it looks like cable TV is the big winner this year. Read on for a list of the genre shows and their nominations.
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