Caprica, Smallville and Other Things

Jericho's loss is Caprica's gain as I see it.

Fresh off of Jericho, an actor I really enjoyed on NYPD Blue, Esai Morales will be joining the cast of Caprica as Joseph Adama, the father of William Adama and I can't imagine a more suited actor to play the father to Edward James Olmos. If you've ever watched Deadwood, then you might be familiar with Paula Malcomson who's been cast as the female lead of Amanda, A surgeon who turns out to be a double agent in the film

In case you've lived in a cave and not accessed this or other sites chatting about the movie, Caprica is a prequel to Battlestar Galactica (BSG) and is set 50 years before the events that take place in BSG.

New Knight Rider Series Won't Be Based On the Pilot

After the movie pilot for Knight Rider came and went, Vic gave it a "Not Awesome" rating, which actually meant it didn't completely suck. Some saw it as a great extension of the original show, while others thought it reminded them more of an older show that tried its hand at the super car genre, called Viper. (I really like Vipers, BTW)

I liked seeing the K.I.T.T. with new technology in a new car, even if we never heard what happened to the old one, but it just felt empty to me. Fun to watch, but I wasn't compelled by any character.

The pilot had sufficient ratings to be granted a shot at a series slot on NBC, and eerily, in an earlier post, Vic said "One can only hope they get some new writers once this thing goes weekly." It freaks me out and I put on my tin foil helmet to protect my mind from probing brain waves because it seems that NBC listened or Vic sensed something...

Rosenbaum Leaves Smallville, Will The Show Get Even Worse?

Subtitle: And I see the light about The CW.

It's officially been reported that Michael Rosenbaum, who portrays Clark Kent's nemesis Lex Luthor on CW's Smallville, has left the show. The character is going to be replaced by two new baddies. But more on that a little bit later.

He posted the following on his website:

"It is time for me to start the next chapter of my life and career," Rosenbaum said. "I hope that I gave you some enjoyment over the years and that you found my portrayal of Lex Luthor to be satisfying."

In that same post, he stated that the executive production team from Smallville hinted at the idea that Lex may show up in season eight.

They go into a little detail on the replacement characters that will fill the evil void that Lex Luthor is leaving behind. One is a dangerously sinister female villain "whose attraction with Clark may prove to be as deadly as kryptonite for him." They don't specify anything else about her, but the second nemesis they announced is... Doomsday.

Who Is 'The Last Cylon' On Battlestar Galactica?

With the fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica upon us, I have many questions swirling around in my head. Not to mention I either hate or thank Ron Moore for this. Thanks Ron!!!

Before I start, I have to warn you that as of April 4th of this year, it was reported over on EW that the first 10 of the last 20 episodes are scheduled to air - which seems to confirm what they were saying over on SyFy Portal about the season being split up, so be ready for a break in the midst of it all if the writers strike didn't mess up their plans. (BTW, the EW link has some good background info for those who need to play catch-up.)

So who the frak is the final Cylon? Let me torment you with some logic and observations first.

Battlestar Galactica Season 4 Premiere Ratings: Good Or Bad?

As Vic put it here on Screen Rant the other day, the premiere of Season 4 of Battlestar Galactica was fracking awesome and it did not disappoint this viewer either.

Not only did I like it, but according to overall ratings numbers, somewhere in the vicinity of over 2 million other viewers also enjoyed the episode with me.

I'm not sure I want to get into the mystical numbers that Nielsen reports - I tried to make sense of it all, but it seems like Greek metric math meets Gumby. So let me just spell out that which I do understand: 2 million viewers, watching the show as it was telecast are great numbers and got the Sci-Fi Channel some of the best ratings it's seen in key advertising demographics in the last two years.

Jericho Rescued by Comcast? - But at What Cost...

Not only does Comcast bring you all your favorite television programming over the cable-ways, they also make deals that could possibly save some of your favorite programming for additional life on the airways.

Much like the DirecTV / NBC deal that's resurrecting Friday Night Lights (FNL) for a third season, Comcast and CBS are in talks to bring Jericho back to viewers. This particular tidbit is provided by anonymous "insiders" and it makes for an interesting tidbit, but I'm not sure we can hold our breath on this one yet. It's too early to tell if these new business models are really going to pay off.

As an example of "these new business models", let me touch on the Friday Night Lights scenario. Apparently NBC got enough mini-footballs in the mail from FNL fans to consider a resurrection of sorts, and probably helped illuminate the way for the DirecTV - NBC deal being brokered.

The Stargate Universe Expands - Maybe

When Stargate SG-1 ended after 10 years, I was surprised to find myself feeling abandoned to some degree. I became comfortable following the familiar characters and the evolving conflicts between humanity and its off-world relationships - kind of like going to work every day. Sure, we have Stargate: Atlantis, but it just isn't quite the same as Stargate SG-1. Atlantis is like a new job. Same 'ol, same 'ol, but a new place to do it in.

But if anyone out there wants to see a new twist on Stargate, there may be some hope for you.

A third live-action series is being conceived by Stargate: Atlantis co-creators Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper called Stargate: Universe and they are looking to make it an independent storyline of the already established Stargate realm.

Knight Rider To Benefit From Bionic Errors

When the remake of The Bionic Woman bailed on ratings, it supposedly left some lessons in it's wake that NBC hopes to apply to the upcoming remake of the 1980's series: Knight Rider.

Rushing The Bionic Woman into production after the pilot aired hurt NBC creatively, and obviously the quality level of the show also took a hit. What is it my mom used to say? Haste makes waste? After the first episode, the ratings plummeted like swirling water in a tub. No, faster. Tub water swirls, slowing the decrease of water in the tub.

Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, said that this time around with Knight Rider, they are taking their time in putting the new, weekly series on the air.

Win $1,000 In Prizes By Testing Your Pop Culture Knowledge

I know that here at Screen Rant we haven't been the biggest fans of the Neilsen company, but apparently that hasn't fazed the folks over at their online division. We were contacted regarding a pop culture quiz that they wanted to run, so I contributed a few questions to it. :-)

Their online division is called Hey! Nielsen and can be found here.

Anyway, they're sponsoring a trivia challenge where you have the chance to win $1,000 in prizes - read on if you're interested.

Battlestar Galactica Season 4 Premiere = Fracking Awesome

After a full year, Battlestar Galactica is back - and man was it worth the wait.

I had Tivo'd the season 3 finale just so I could re-watch it right before the season 4 premiere, so there it sat on the hard drive for a full 12 months. I planned on making tonight a BSG event. :-)

It was almost like seeing the finale for the first time all over again, and I feel for folks who hadn't recorded it. I'd forgotten about the emotionally packed episode's highlights, which included the verdict on Baltar's trial and the sharp falling out between Lee Adama and his father. Of course the BIG deal about the finale was the reveal of second in command Saul Tigh, Master Chief Galen Tyrol, resistance fighter Sam Anders and presidential chief of staff Tory Fostervas being Cylons.

This final season premiere episode picks up right where that one left off. Spoilers galore below, FYI.

Wow... Smallville Creators Not Sticking Around For Season 8

Let the rampant speculation begin: Smallville creators and executive producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have announced they're leaving at the end of season 7.

I'm hopeful that as time goes by details of why they're leaving the show will surface, but for now they wrote a very polite open letter announcing their decision.

Here are a few short quotes from the letter (for the full thing you can check out the source link at the end of this post.):

"As the creators of 'Smallville' we look back at 7 amazing years. We look back at 152 episodes. We look back knowing that the show will continue into Season 8 without us. After much heartache and debate we have decided it is time for us to move on."

Knight Rider Series Greenlit Based On Curiosity Factor

According to Variety, NBC has decided to go ahead and approve Knight Rider as an ongoing TV series for next Fall.

It seems that the pilot had decent enough ratings to convince the powers that be to go ahead and approve the concept for a weekly series. While I didn't exactly skewer the recent Knight Rider pilot, I didn't exactly give it a glowing review, either. As a matter of fact, most commenters on my review said I went too easy on the two hour pilot.