Archive for the 'Television' Category
August 10th, 2009, 4:07 pm by Jayson Peters
 Following success with this year’s Doctor Who specials and the Torchwood miniseries “Children of Earth,” BBC America has decided to keep things rolling and pick up the first-run rights to the upcoming fifth season of Who.
BBC America has shown Doctor Who for several years, but a pre-existing deal gave Sci Fi Channel Syfy first airing rights in the U.S. That arrangement recently expired, and BBC America got to host the Stateside premiere of the recent specials that have taken the place of a full season in 2009.
The new episodes will air here shortly after they air across the pond in 2010.
For American fans, it means a quicker turnaround after the episodes premiere in their native U.K. — but it likely also means subscribing to a more expensive higher tier of cable service.
In long-standing Who tradition, Matt Smith (pictured) will take over the role of the ever-changing Time Lord from David Tennant at the end of this year’s Christmas special.
Via Airlock Alpha
Posted in: Doctor Who • Television • BBC • Matt Smith | Post a Comment »
August 5th, 2009, 11:33 pm by Jayson Peters
 Adam West Adam West, who played the Caped Crusader in the campy 1960s television series Batman, is returning to the franchise in the next season of Cartoon Network’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
The 80-year-old actor, who has made a new career for himself in voice-over work such as playing himself as the mayor of Quahog in Family Guy, will reportedly play Thomas Wayne, the father of the Dark Knight’s alter-ego Bruce Wayne. Playing mother Martha will reportedly be former ’60s Catwoman Julie Newmar.
West returned to Gotham in 1992 for an episode of Fox’s Batman: The Animated Series, playing the Gray Ghost, a washed up television hero who helps his biggest fan — Batman — solve a crime.
Welcome back, old chum.
Source: Collider.com
Posted in: Television • Toons • Adam West • Batman • casting • Star Wars | Post a Comment »
August 5th, 2009, 4:50 pm by Jayson Peters
  Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, who play a telepathic waitress and her vampire lover on the HBO series True Blood, are engaged, according to People magazine.
Gag.
Via Wired
Posted in: Television • True Blood | Post a Comment »
August 3rd, 2009, 9:14 am by Jayson Peters
 David Tennant The Associated Press is reporting that outgoing Doctor Who star David Tennant, whose love for the Bard led to a shortened schedule of sci-fi specials instead of a full season this year, can be seen next year on PBS when Great Performances picks up the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2008 production of Hamlet.
Critics loved Tennant in the title role, and the production also included Star Trek: The Next Generation star Patrick Stewart as Claudius. The version PBS will broadcast in 2010 includes Stewart.
As reported previously, Tennant will also host Masterpiece Contemporary for PBS starting in the fall.
Posted in: Doctor Who • Television • David Tennant • PBS • Shakespeare | Post a Comment »
August 2nd, 2009, 6:46 pm by Jayson Peters
Torchwood, the racy Doctor Who spinoff that just completed an epic 5-night miniseries titled “Children of Earth” that comprised its third season, has not yet officially earned a fourth season — and it may be about to lose its leading man.
 John Barrowman John Barrowman, who plays the immortal, bisexual former Time Agent Captain Jack Harkness, is being courted by ABC for a role in its primtime soap opera, Desperate Housewives, according to statements the actor made on the BBC’s Radio One.
Barrowman, an openly gay American citizen who was born in Scotland, also has been rumored to be up for the title role in a Captain America film.
The actor and talent show presenter has a habit of raising eyebrows and exposing himself in interviews. Should things get out of hand on Wisteria Lane, can we count on the TARDIS to pop in and set things right?
Via Gawker/io9
Posted in: Doctor Who • Television • ABC • BBC • casting • Desperate Housewives • John Barrowman • Torchwood | Post a Comment »
July 31st, 2009, 10:06 pm by Jayson Peters
 It looks like our long intergalactic nightmare is over. The Toronto Star is reporting a scoop: that the entire voice cast of Futurama has just signed a new contract with 20th Century Fox Television after weeks of intense salary negotiations.
The Matt Groening animated sci-fi comedy was recently hauled out of the graveyard of beloved programs by Comedy Central, but Fox had been playing hardball with John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Billy West, Tress MacNeille and Katey Sagal, saying “We love the Futurama voice performers and absolutely wanted to use them, but unfortunately, we could not meet their salary demands.”
Fortunately for fandom, we won’t have to put up with bad impersonations or cheesy excuses. Let’s just hope the compromise agreement doesn’t leave too bitter a taste in anyone’s mouth. We want Futurama, and the entire wacky Planet Express crew, to be with us for a good long while, this time around.
Posted in: Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Television • casting • Futurama | Post a Comment »
July 31st, 2009, 3:05 pm by Jayson Peters
 ABC’s got a new series debuting Sunday: Defying Gravity is about four men and four women on a deep-space mission and the hilarity that ensues.
The series involves a crew whose mission is to study the solar system but who soon find out that there’s a mysterious, secondary agenda; strange things start happening onboard. It stars Office Space’s Ron Livingston and was created by the evil, man-hating geniuses behind Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy.
Associated Press story
Posted in: Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Television • ABC • Sex | Post a Comment »
July 31st, 2009, 1:14 pm by Jayson Peters
 There are four words you don’t see together very often.
Syfy, the new identity of the former Sci Fi Channel, is claiming impressive gains both among total viewers and women ages 25-54 since relaunching one month ago.
The network, owned by NBC Universal, scored the best July in its 17-year history with the demographic groups, a feat it attributes to the new series Warehouse 13 and returning hit Eureka.
Read the NBC Universal press release for more details.
See also: Sci Fi Channel more popular with the ladies
The network also announced this week that it has named veteran television executive Andrew Plotkin, who developed hit series such as Without a Trace, Nip/Tuck, Cold Case and Smallville, to the position of senior vice president of original programming.
Posted in: Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Television • Sex • Syfy • Warehouse 13 | Post a Comment »
July 28th, 2009, 11:05 pm by Jayson Peters
It’s no Hogwarts, but it did stand in for the fictional magic academy’s Chamber of Secrets in the movies. And it has that new-hag smell.
The company that runs Wookey Hole Caves in western England recently interviewed applicants for the post of resident witch. A rock formation in the cave system is reputed to be a sorceress turned to stone by holy water, and the tourist attraction employs someone to bring the local legend to life. That responsibility now belongs to former real-estate agent Carla Calamity. If that is her real name.
(Maybe people didn’t fancy buying a home from someone named “Calamity.”)
Her annual contract is worth $82,000 U.S., but you have to know about witchcraft, be comfortable sleeping underground, and like cats. If Ms. Calamity fails to impress, all this could be yours next year.
The cave system was seen on film in the 1975 Doctor Who serial “Revenge of the Cybermen” and the 2002 film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Via CNN
Posted in: Doctor Who • Movies • Television • Doctor Who • Harry Potter • Monsters • supernatural • Weird • witchcraft | Post a Comment »
July 27th, 2009, 9:32 pm by Jayson Peters
News out of this past weekend San Diego Comic-Con failed to bring us the rumored word of a big-screen Doctor Who movie with outgoing TV series star David Tennant, but it did confirm casting speculation for his final episodes, due this Christmas. (Spoilers ahead.) Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Doctor Who • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Television • BBC • Comic-Con • David Tennant • San Diego | Post a Comment »
July 25th, 2009, 11:27 pm by Jayson Peters
We’ve already reported that at least one e-tailer has proved it has both the ability and the guts to snatch back content you thought you wanted (Amazon embraces the Orwellian spirit and UPDATE: Orwell e-books yanked from Kindles were bootlegs, July 17).
Now the U.S. government appears to be on the verge of establishing a squad of truth police if not Thought Police, if Tribune columnist Austin Hill is to be believed (Obama appointee wants control of web speech, July 25).
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Books • Technology • Television • Amazon • Barack Obama • Big Brother • Business • e-books • George Orwell • Hmmmmm..... • Internet • Kindle • Nerd rage • PDF • Piracy • Politics | Post a Comment »
July 22nd, 2009, 10:28 am by Jayson Peters
The director’s cut of the Stargate SG-1 premiere episode “Children of the Gods” is now available on DVD, and to celebrate the removal of gratuitous nudity Fox Home Entertainment has posted clips from the disc’s revealing behind-the-scenes content on YouTube:
Making the Pyramid:
Creating the Puddles:
Entering the Stargate:
Posted in: Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Television • DVDs • Stargate • YouTube | Post a Comment »
July 20th, 2009, 9:25 pm by Jayson Peters
According to the Tampa Tribune (AP story here), a Florida man is being sued by DC Comics for copyright and trademark infringement because he was selling figurines that resemble characters from the 1960s Batman live-action TV show.
 Johnny's Resin Kits John Stacks, who ran johnnysresin.com (”closed” at the time of this posting, though pages are still accessible to Google search), marketed the resin model kits as representations of the actors who played Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward), Catwoman (Julie Newmar), the Joker (Cesar Romerot), Batgirl (Yvonne Craig), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), Egghead (Vincent Price) and King Tut (Victor Buono).
The entrepreneur claims in the articles above to have working relationships with several of the actors represented, but this seems to be a matter of dispute — either that, or these stars of yesteryear are understandably trying to distance themselves from his predicament.
In a marketplace flooded with often sub-par, mass-produced toys and collectibles, it’s fairly common these days to find talented fans making — and sometimes selling — custom action figures and models. It’s pretty well understood, though, that selling such items is risky business at best. When it’s a likeness of an actor, that’s a different matter altogether — especially if one has the backing of said celebrity. But it’s also far less profitable.
Posted in: Comics • Television • Batman • Collecting • DC • lawsuit | Post a Comment »
July 20th, 2009, 10:46 am by Jayson Peters
Gillan and Smith Filming began today on the new season of Doctor Who, with Matt Smith as the latest incarnation of the Time Lord and Karen Gillan as his companion, whose full name is revealed to be “Amy Pond.”
BBC News has released the first image of the duo in costume, and it reveals the Doctor’s new look to include a tweed jacket, bowtie, rolled-up trousers and black boots.
According to the BBC Press Office, upon arriving on set in Cardiff for his first day of filming Smith commented: “I feel very privileged and proud to be part of this iconic show.
“I’m excited about the future and all the brilliant adventures I get to go on as the Doctor.”
Smith has big shoes to fill: David Tennant, who played the Time Lord’s 10th incarnation, announced last year he would give up the role, although he may be returning for a big-screen adventure. Rumors have him announcing such a venture at this week’s San Diego Comic-Con.
Posted in: Doctor Who • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Television • BBC • Comic-Con • Conventions • Doctor Who • Matt Smith • San Diego | Post a Comment »
July 20th, 2009, 10:02 am by Jayson Peters
Syfy has announced the premiere dates for its upcoming slate of new and returning original series, including Stargate Universe, Destination Truth, Sanctuary and Scare Tactics. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Television • Syfy | Post a Comment »
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