Today marks the day when the nominations for the 36th Annual Saturn Awards are given out. In case you’re not familiar with them, they are given out by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (they also include TV shows and stage productions) so as a reader of Screen Rant I believe they’re right up your alley .

The awards will be given out on June 24th, so we have over four months to speculate and choose the nominees we’d give the award to. The categories range from the usual Best Film (separated into Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction etc) to Best DVD release and Best DVD Special Edition.

Keeping in line with all of the rest of the major awards, films like Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds have snagged a high amount of noms, with a couple of fan-favorites like District 9 and Star Trek also being included.

We have the full list of nominations for the Saturn Awards so what are you waiting for? Scroll down and find out what they are!

Best Science Fiction Film

The Book of Eli (Warner Bros)

Knowing (Summit Entertainment)

Moon (Sony Pictures Classics)

Star Trek (Paramount)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Paramount)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (20th Century Fox)

Best Fantasy Film

Avatar (20th Century Fox)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros)

The Lovely Bones (Paramount)

The Time Traveler’s Wife (Warner Bros.)

Watchmen (Warner Bros.)

Where the Wild Things Are (Warner Bros.)

Best Horror Film

The Box (Warner Bros.)

Drag Me to Hell (Universal)

Frozen (Anchor Bay Films)

The Last House on the Left (Rogue / Universal)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Summit Entertainment)

Zombieland (Sony)

Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film

2012 (Sony)

Brothers (Lionsgate)

The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)

Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Co.)

Law Abiding Citizen (Overture)

The Messenger (Oscilloscope Pictures)

Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.)

Best Actor

Robert Downey, Jr. (Sherlock Holmes) (Warner Bros.)

Tobey Maguire (Brothers) (Lionsgate)

Viggo Mortensen (The Road) (The Weinstein Co.)

Sam Rockwell (Moon) (Sony Pictures Classics)

Denzel Washington (The Book of Eli) (Warner Bros.)

Sam Worthington (Avatar) (20th Century Fox)

Best Actress

Catherine Keener (Where the Wild Things Are) (Warner Bros.)

Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) (The Weinstein Co.)

Alison Lohman (Drag Me to Hell) (Universal)

Natalie Portman (Brothers) (Lionsgate)

Zoe Saldana (Avatar) (20th Century Fox)

Charlize Theron (The Burning Plain) (Magnolia)

Best Supporting Actor

Woody Harrelson (Zombieland) (Sony)

Stephen Lang (Avatar) (20th Century Fox)

Frank Langella (The Box) (Warner Bros.)

Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) (Warner Bros.)

Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones) (Paramount)

Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) (The Weinstein Co.)

Best Supporting Actress

Malin Akerman (Watchmen) (Warner Bros.)

Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) (The Weinstein Co.)

Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes) (Warner Bros.)

Lorna Raver (Drag Me to Hell) (Universal)

Susan Sarandon (The Lovely Bones) (Paramount)

Sigourney Weaver (Avatar) (20th Century Fox)

Best Performance by a Younger Actor

Taylor Lautner (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) (Summit Entertainment)

Bailee Madison (Brothers) (Lionsgate)

Brooklynn Proulx (The Time Traveler’s Wife) (Warner Bros.)

Max Records (Where the Wild Things Are) (Warner Bros.)

Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones) (Paramount)

Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) (The Weinstein Co.)

Best Director

J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) (Paramount)

Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) (Summit Entertainment)

Neill Blomkamp (District 9) (Sony)

James Cameron (Avatar) (20th Century Fox)

Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes) (Warner Bros.)

Zack Snyder (Watchmen) (Warner Bros.)

Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) (The Weinstein Co.)

Best Writing

Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell (District 9) (Sony)

James Cameron (Avatar) (20th Century Fox)

Spike Jonze, Dave Eggers (Where the Wild Things Are) (Warner Bros.)

Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci (Star Trek) (Paramount)

Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) (The Weinstein Co.)

Alex Tse, David Hayter (Watchmen) (Warner Bros.)

Best Music

Brian Eno (The Lovely Bones) (Paramount)

Michael Giacchino (Up) (Walt Disney/Pixar)

James Horner (Avatar) (20th Century Fox)

Taro Iwashiro (Red Cliff) (Magnolia)

Christopher Young (Drag Me To Hell) (Universal)

Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes) (Warner Bros.)

Best Costume

Colleen Atwood (Nine) (The Weinstein Co.)

Jenny Beavan (Sherlock Holmes) (Warner Bros.)

Anna Sheppard (Inglourious Basterds) (The Weinstein Co.)

Jany Temime (Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince) (Warner Bros.)

Michael Wilkinson (Watchmen) (Warner Bros.)

Tim Yip (Red Cliff) (Magnolia)

Best Make-Up

Barney Burman, Minday Hall,

Joel Harlow (Star Trek) (Paramount)

Joe Dunckley, Sarah Rubano,

Frances Richardson (District 9) (Sony)

Sarah Monzani (The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus) (Sony Pictures Classics)

Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger (The Book of Eli) (Warner Bros.)

Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger (Drag Me to Hell) (Universal)

Mike Smithson, John Rosengrant (Terminator: Salvation) (Warner Bros.)

Best Production Design

Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg (Avatar) (20th Century Fox)

Scott Chambliss (Star Trek) (Paramount)

Stuart Craig (Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince) (Warner Bros.)

Sarah Greenwood (Sherlock Holmes) (Warner Bros.)

Philip Ivey (District 9) (Sony)

Alex McDowell (Watchmen) (Warner Bros.)

Best Special Effects

Tim Burke, John Richardson, Nicholas Aithadi, Tim Alexander – (Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince) (Warner Bros.)

John DesJardin, Peter G. Travers, Joel Whist, Jessica Norman – (Watchmen) (Warner Bros.)

Volker Engel, Marc Weingert, Mike Vezina – (2012) (Sony)

Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton – (Star Trek) (Paramount)

Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken – (District 9) (Sony)

Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones – (Avatar) (20th Century Fox)

Best International Film

District 9 (Sony)

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics)

Lorna’s Silence (Sony Pictures Classics)

Red Cliff (Magnolia)

Taken (20th Century Fox)

Thirst (Focus Features)

Best Animated Film

Disney’s A Christmas Carol (Walt Disney Studios)

Fantastic Mr. Fox (20th Century Fox)

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (20th Century Fox)

Monsters Vs. Aliens (Paramount/DreamWorks)

The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney Studios)

Up (Walt Disney Studios/Pixar)

Best Network TV Series

Chuck (NBC)

Fringe (Fox)

The Ghost Whisperer (CBS)

Heroes (NBC)

Lost (ABC)

The Vampire Diaries (CW)

Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series

Breaking Bad (AMC)

Battlestar Galactica (SyFy)

The Closer (TNT)

Dexter (Showtime)

Leverage (TNT)

True Blood (HBO)

Best Television Presentation

Doctor Who: The End of Time (BBC America)

Alice (SyFy)

The Prisoner (AMC)

Torchwood: Children of Earth (BBC America)

The Tudors (Showtime)

V (ABC)

Best Actor in Television

Josh Holloway (Lost) (ABC)

Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) (AMC)

Matthew Fox (Lost) (ABC)

Michael C. Hall (Dexter) (Showtime)

Zachary Levi (Chuck) (NBC)

Stephen Moyer (True Blood) (HBO)

David Tennant (Doctor Who: The End of Time) (BBC America)

Best Actress on Television

Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) (AMC)

Jennifer Love Hewitt (The Ghost Whisperer) (CBS)

Evangeline Lily (Lost) (ABC)

Anna Paquin (True Blood) (HBO)

Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) (TNT)

Anna Torv (Fringe) (Fox)

Best Supporting Actor on Television

Jeremy Davies (Lost) (ABC)

Michael Emerson (Lost) (ABC)

Aldis Hodge (Leverage) (TNT)

Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) (AMC)

John Noble (Fringe) (Fox)

Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) (HBO)

Best Supporting Actress in Television

Morena Baccarin (V) (ABC)

Gina Bellman (Leverage) (TNT)

Julie Benz (Dexter) (Showtime)

Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter) (Showtime)

Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost) (ABC)

Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) (NBC)

Best Guest Starring Role in Television

Bernard Cribbins (Doctor Who: The End of Time) (BBC America)

Raymond Cruz (Breaking Bad) (AMC)

Michelle Forbes (True Blood) (HBO)

John Lithgow (Dexter) (Showtime)

Leonard Nimoy (Fringe) (ABC)

Mark Pellegrino (Lost) (ABC)

Best DVD Release

House of the Devil (Dark Sky/Magnet)

Laid to Rest (Anchor Bay)

Not Forgotten (Anchor Bay)

Nothing But the Truth (Sony)

Pontypool (MPI)

Super Capers (Lionsgate)

Surveillance (Magnolia)

Best DVD Television Release

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (BBC America)

Torchwood: Children of Earth (BBC America)

Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season (Warner)

Primeval, Volume 2 (BBC America)

Lost: The Complete Fifth Season (Buena Vista)

Life on Mars: The Complete Series (Buena Vista)

Best DVD Special Edition

Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut (Warner)

300 Complete Experience (Warner)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Blu-Ray) (Walt Disney)

District 9 (Two-Disc Edition) (Sony)

Terminator 2: Judgement Day: Skynet Edition (Lionsgate)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Two Disc Special Edition) (Fox)

Best Collection

Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Volume 1 (Sony)

The Hannibal Lector Anthology (MGM)

Hellraiser Boxed Set (Anchor Bay)

Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection (Sony)

Star Trek Original Motion Picture Collection (Paramount)

The William Castle Collection (Sony)

Similar to the Scream Awards, I really dig the Saturn Awards because of the types of films they celebrate. Often with awards like the Oscars and the Golden Globes, purely fun films that have every bit of merit as the serious ones get left out.

Here’s just some of my quick thoughts on who and what’s been nominated: I’m glad to see so many nominations for my favorite show Lost, racking up nine in total (nice to see Josh Holloway finally get recognition for his acting). I’m delighted to see Sam Rockwell get recognition for his fantastic performance in Moon (I was really annoyed that he didn’t get nominated for an Oscar).

I’m a little (no, A LOT) suspect of The Book of Eli, Transformers 2 and Wolverine getting nominated for Best Fantasy Film (and District 9 didn’t?!) and New Moon and The Box getting nominated in the Horror category (were either of those even horror movies?).

Which Saturn nominations do you agree and disagree with? Which nominees are you hoping snag wins come this June?

The Saturn Awards will be presented on June 24th, 2010.

Source: Collider

While we’re nowhere near the new fall season and most pilots have yet to be filmed, the networks are already looking at their current lineup to see where they can trim the fat. While most decisions have to be finalized, people talk, news is announced and assumptions can be made.

Some shows are no-brainers to renew (House), while others have already been canceled… and then there are the shows that sit on the fence; ones that are referred to in the industry as “being on the bubble.” Today we have an update on the status of some of those “bubble” shows.

With such a long list of shows, let’s stop with all the small-talk and get right to it. What’s the fate of your favorite show?

ABC

FlashForward
Chance of returning: 40%

• With more than 12 million viewers tuning it for the series premiere, one would have thought that it was a shoe-in for a second season. After a massive ratings loss, an extended hiatus, the loss of numerous showrunners and a convoluted plot I’m sure you can guess what’s going to happen to this series. While there’s a chance that ABC could bring this freshman drama back next season, don’t get your hopes up.

V
Chance of returning: 60%

• Even though there was a huge ratings drop after the first episode, V still remains a viable option for the network and one that they are interested in pursuing. Unless they receive a slew of amazing pilots this summer, expect The Visitors to return for at least one more season.

___________________

CBS

Numb3rs
Chance of returning: 20%

• Oh, my favorite mathematical crime drama. Even though CBS triumphs on Friday nights viewership is down, which makes it harder to continue footing the bill for long-running series. Calculate in the fact that the episode order for Numb3rs was reduced by six and that star David Krumholtz has signed on for a new pilot and sadly this equation doesn’t look good.

___________________

The CW

Smallville
Chance of returning: 85%

• After nine years, The CW tried to dump this superhero show into a Friday timeslot to die. Too bad that nobody told the fans. With this season bringing in the ratings and a two-hour television movie event, not even Kryptonite can bring Smallville down.

Supernatural
Chance of returning: 85%

• The only thing that’s going to stop the Winchester brothers from coming back will be creator Eric Kripke. With season 5 marking the end of the planned storyline, the future of the show remains uncertain. Still, I’d be willing to bet that they’ll be back for at least a couple more seasons. Especially if The CW has anything to say about it.

___________________

NBC

Chuck
Chance of returning: 75%

• C’mon… you knew that Chuck just had to be on this list. Last year seems so long ago. All that subway and “Save Chuck.” Well, fans of the show can rest easy as your favorite spy series has recently become one of NBC’s highest-rated shows on Monday nights. See you next fall, Mr. Bartowski.

Community
Chance of returning: 90%

• Hot in the ratings this show is not. Still, NBC loves their Thursday night comedy block and has already picked up Parks & Recreation for another season and that show gets lower ratings than Community.

Friday Night Lights
Chance of returning: 5%

• The producers have already announced the end. Luckily, the show has been renewed for one final season.

Heroes
Chance of returning: 60%

• Even though the superhero drama performs well overseas, on DVD and on the web, NBC can’t have such an expensive primetime series pulling in 4.4 million viewers for its season finale, as first-run broadcasts are where they make most of their money. With ratings declining rapidly and fans becoming fed up, one could understand if the show didn’t come back next year. Still, don’t be surprised if NBC picks up the series for a final 12 episodes. Enough time to wrap everything up nicely – hopefully.

Mercy
Chance of returning: 25%

• Do I really need to write something? The only reason why this show continues to be on the air is because NBC canceled so many of their series that there wasn’t anything to replace it with. Oh, and then there was that whole Jay/Conan mess to deal with.

Trauma
Chance of returning: 15%

• This show has had almost as many chances as Heroes to perform, but has yet to prove itself. It’ll get another chance next month when it returns with Chuck as its lead-in, but unless everyone in the world tunes in to watch it, this show is a goner.

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FOX

24
Chance of returning: 40%

• Even in its eighth season 24 continues to bring in an audience. Still, the production budget for this show is too high and with few networks looking to pick it up in syndication, Fox is trying to find another option — hence the news of a 24 movie. There’s also the option of moving the series to another network, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Fringe
Chance of returning: 90%

• Even though this series has had a rough second season, the combination of Fringe and Bones have made Fox a contender in one of the most competitive nights of television. Expect to see more of Peter, Olivia and Walter this fall.

Human Target
Chance of returning: 55%

• Even though this comic book-based drama had trouble finding an audience, things picked up this past week. While it’s nothing groundbreaking, it’s enough to give the series a second chance (a la Dollhouse). Things look even better if 24 doesn’t return.

If you’re still wondering what’s going to happen to your favorite show because it wasn’t on the list, chances are its fate has been decided and it’s not “on the bubble” like the shows listed here.  Although, if you want a hint, The Deep End will not be sticking around ABC that much longer.

So, does it look like your favorite show is going to make it? Did I miss any show that you’re curious about?

Talk, debate, fight… that’s what the comments are for.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Writer/Producers Kurtzman and Orci have signed a three year development deal with 20th Century Fox TV. According to Variety, the deal specifies that team will create their own projects, recruit writers to work under their wing, as well as bring new show ideas into Fox TV.

Kurtzman and Orci were already a hot commodity coming off the success of the Transformers franchise, the Star Trek reboot, as well as their work on the critically acclaimed Fringe.

Orci spoke on the appeal of returning to their television roots:

“One of the things that drew us back to TV was the idea that we could do the kind of stories that we’re not known for in features. From sci-fi to procedurals to medical genres, those are all the kind of shows that we love.”

Most of us would likely agree there are enough medical dramas and procedurals on the market. That said, the team does have a history of writing and producing innovative dramas – with so much recent big-screen success, it’s easy to forget the duo has worked on a number of successful television series including Alias and Xena: Warrior Princess.

Kurtzman and Orci will definitely be busy. The two already have a lot on their plate: hard at work on the unnamed Star Trek sequel and a film adaptation of Scott Mitchell Rosenberg’s Cowboys and Aliens graphic novels. They’re also overseeing a television remake of Hawaii Five-O as well as a new animated Transformers series.

Studios are cognizant of the current market for ambitious television dramas – especially with LOST entering its final season and a number of long-running dramas beginning to see dwindling viewership. Hopefully, Kurtzman and Orci can show the same care they had for the Star Trek reboot and inject it into the prime-time drama market – as well as resist the temptation to develop more medical dramas and procedurals.

What kind of shows would you like to see Kurtzman and Orci bring to Fox TV?

Source: Variety

The showdown that Fringe fans have been looking forward to for the past two seasons is finally coming to fruition as Leonard Nimoy is set to return for the second season finale as the illusive William Bell, to throw-down with his one-time partner, Walther Bishop (John Noble).

Consulting producer Akiva Goldsman (who will be directing the two-part finale) says,

“William and Walter will finally face off in the finale. These [characters] have so much that they’re bringing to bear. And Leonard and John are two fantastic actors.”

“We’re trying to do the last two episodes as a singular event, a little bit more movie-like. It’s really one big story. We’re approaching it like a mini-feature. It’ll have a singular narrative drive.”

Zing! Boom! Color me excited. After we reported that Leonard Nimoy had finished his filming for Fringe I was extremely disappointed that there was no interaction with Walter, but now I’m glad to see that they’re saving it for the finale.

And it gets better: the William/Walter confrontation won’t be the only payoff for viewers as producers intend to follow through with Peter’s storyline and origin from the alternative dimension.

“We’re going to be looking very closely into Peter’s [Joshua Jackson] identity, Walter’s choices in the past, and Walter’s choices in the future. And by the end of the season, we’re all going over to the other side.”

Following Walter’s slip-up revelation to Astrid, I can’t imagine what’s going to happen with this, but if it leads to everyone “going over to the other side” then sign me up!

Although, what happens if Fringe doesn’t get picked up for a third season before they can set set an end date that? The ratings have been decent, but nothing amazing. If this is it for the sophomore series are fans going to be left hanging with all these unanswered questions?

“Good stories typically have sufficient closure, but also have the promise of continuing — even if you’re not watching them continue. So, short of killing somebody — which we’re not doing — we’re just treating it like the end of a movement, not the end of a symphony.”

Check and check. Count me in, Fringe. Even though I have no idea what’s going on, you have me hooked.

What do you think? Is there any way this William/Walter confrontation could be a good as we hope it will be? What do you think is going to happen with the Peter storyline? Are we finally going to figure out what’s going on?

Someone please tell me because all these questions are making my head sad.

Make sure to catch Fringe Thursday @9PM on Fox as the show will be taking a two month break following the February 4 episode.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Cinema Blend pointed us to an interesting article in Slice of Sci Fi in which J.J. Abrams discusses setting an end date for his sci-fi/mystery show Fringe. These end dates are becoming more and more popular amongst serialized mystery or drama shows, as it gives the showrunners a clearly defined frame in which to tell their story.

The tactic worked in getting Lost back on track when the show began to lose focus in season 3. With many viewers now feeling somewhat “ho-hum” about the sophomore season of Fringe, no doubt Abrams and Co. are trying reign in the show before it fades into obscurity.

Here’s some of what Abrams had to say to Slice of Sci Fi:

“Just as with ‘Lost’, we didn’t get to a place until the third season where we were saying, ‘OK, we need to know where halfway is,’” Abrams said. “And I feel like that’s something that, … if we’re lucky enough to continue going, I do think that at a certain point it would be a really smart thing to start to say, ‘OK, let’s figure out … what the actual date is so we sort of know … how far we should push things.’”

For more details on what stories Abrams feels there are left to tell, go HERE.

The strange thing about this so-called news is that I’ve heard it before! Last year, while covering the 2009 New York Comic Con Fringe panel, show producer Jeff Pinkner addressed this very question of the ‘Lost conundrum’ up front, saying that the writers of Fringe started with the ending to the show and then worked their way back to the beginning, meaning that the mythos and overall narrative arc were already in place. The idea was that by conceiving the show end-first, the showrunners would be able to steer each season purposefully and clearly.

Hearing that claim from Pinkner, I naturally assumed that the minds behind Fringe had some sort of end date already in mind – but I guess not. I know the show isn’t necessarily doing as well as Fox once hoped it would; Abrams indicated to Slice of Sci Fi that a six season run (a la Lost) would be a good stretch, but I don’t really season Fringe lasting that long. Right now, I’d give it three to four seasons TOPS. But that’s just me.

Abrams with Fringe writers/co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci

Still, there is plenty of opportunity for the show to abandon its standalone episode procedural format and get into some serious serialized inter-dimensional warring. In fact, if the show does come back next season, I have a sneaking suspicion that’s exactly the sort of ramped-up storytelling we’ll start to see.

Fringe airs Thursdays @ 9pm on Fox.

Sources: Slice of Sci Fi via Cinema Blend

Before 2010 arrived, many of us were sweating one last problem of 2009: the news that Fox and Time Warner Cable had hit a wall in contract negotiations, meaning that Time Warner would drop all Fox stations from its cable programming lineup.

Well, as the ball dropped over Times Square, ringing in “twenty-ten,” I know that I was desperately clicking my remote back to Fox every ten minutes to make sure it was still there. I needn’t have worried though; the situation is has been resolved and (obviously) Time Warner is still broadcasting Fox stations.

The percentage of you who responded to this impending threat by saying “It’ll never happen,” were right on the money. According to Hitflix, a combination of American Idol, college football bowl games and the NFL playoffs provided much of the incentive for the two warring media companies to stop mucking around and work things out – before they both suffered.

I was personally sharpening my tomahawk as New Years approached, ready to cut heads if anybody (or anything) forced me to miss the NFL playoffs. Anyway, here’s what Time Warner Cable Inc. Chief Executive Glenn Britt had to say about the issue: “We’re happy to have reached a reasonable deal with no disruption in programming for our customers…”

The problem started when Fox (surprise, surprise), demanded that Time Warner pay them $1 per cable subscriber each month for the Fox broadcast signal. The move was designed to help Fox capitalize on the kind of revenue streams that subscriber-based cable stations earn in addition to their advertising dollars. Time Warner was trying to hold the line and not raise monthly rates; both parties launched websites promoting their side of the issue; tough-talk ensued… yadda, yadda, yadda… it’s over now.

“Once again, I have come to your rescue…”

No details have yet been released on the nature of the deal that was struck – Time Warner customers, let’s keep a careful eye on our bills in the coming months…

The digital age is still trying to shape itself in many ways, and big media corporations are still trying to figure out how best to make a dollar. Expect more bumps along this winding road before it all gets worked out. For now, though: crisis adverted.

Time Warner customers, are you happy that you still have Fox?

Source: Hitflix

[Update: How did this all turn out? Go HERE for details]

I saw this flash across my TV yesterday while watching my Philadelphia Eagles stomp the San Francisco 49ers , but didn’t believe my eyes until now:

There is a possibility that, come January 1st, Time Warner Cable will no longer carry any Fox Stations. We’re talking Fox, Fox News, Fox Sports Net, and FX… all gone. The problem? What else: money, money, money…

The contracts between Fox and Time Warner expire this year, and currently negotiations between the two companies are said to be at a standstill. That doesn’t leave much time for things to be worked out (especially not during the upcoming holidays), making for a very nerve-wracking situation for those who subscribe to Time Warner cable service (namely, yours truly!).

I tried and tried to sign up with Verizon FiOS, but was told the service was not yet available for my building in midtown Manhattan . I’ve also been a loyal viewer of both trashy and classy Fox programming since I was a child. If I have to watch the new season of 24 on my computer because of this, I will be PISSED.

Of course, the chances of that happening are slim; Time Warner would be stupid to think that subscribers would put up with this crap when there are other cable services competing for their dollar. I bet Verizon FiOS will be installed in my building REAL QUICK if this travesty is allowed to happen. Especially around NFL playoff time.

If you hear this and actually care, Fox (for once the lesser of two evils?) has started a website petition for you to protest on. It’s called  Keep Fox On and if you click that title you’ll jump right on over to the site, where you can petition and complain at your leisure.

All I know is, this better be resolved before American Idol starts up. Losing Paula Abdul was bad enough…

Source: Keep Fox On

Header Image: Collider

As we all know holidays can be hectic and the last thing you want to worry about is when your favorite TV show is coming back on the air. So, to make sure you’re not left in the dark (like with Fringe and the World Series), we’ve broke it down – geek style – and put together a handy list of Winter premiere and return dates.

The list is organized by network, so all you have to know is where you’ve seen your favorite shows before and you should be able to find them again pretty easily (we made it nice and alphabetical for ya!)

ABC
Better Off Ted (ABC), 9:30 p.m. – Tuesday, Dec. 8
Grey’s Anatomy returns (ABC), 9 p.m. – Thursday, Jan. 14
Lost (ABC), 9 p.m. – Tuesday, Feb. 2
Private Practice returns (ABC), 10 p.m. – Thursday, Jan. 14
Scrubs (ABC), 9 p.m. – Tuesday, Dec. 1

CBS
Accidentally on Purpose returns (CBS), 8:30 p.m. – Monday, Jan. 11
The Big Bang Theory returns (CBS), 9:30 p.m. – Monday, Jan. 11
Criminal Minds returns (CBS), 9 p.m. – Wednesday, Jan. 13
CSI returns (CBS), 9 p.m. – Thursday, Jan. 14
CSI: Miami returns (CBS), 10 p.m. – Monday, Jan. 11
CSI: NY returns (CBS), 10 p.m. – Wednesday, Jan. 13
Gary Unmarried returns (CBS), 8:30 p.m. – Wednesday, Jan. 13
Ghost Whisperer returns (CBS), 8 p.m. – Friday, Jan. 8
The Good Wife (CBS), 10 p.m. – Tuesday, Jan. 5
How I Met Your Mother returns (CBS), 8 p.m. – Monday, Jan. 11
Medium returns (CBS), 9 p.m. – Friday, Jan. 8
The Mentalist returns (CBS), 10 p.m. – Thursday, Jan. 14
NCIS (CBS), 8 p.m. – Tuesday, Jan. 5
NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS), 9 p.m. – Tuesday, Jan. 5
The New Adventures of Old Christine returns (CBS), 8 p.m. – Wednesday, Jan. 13
Numb3rs returns (CBS), 10 p.m. – Friday, Jan. 8
Two and a Half Men returns (CBS), 9 p.m. – Monday, Jan. 11

The CW
Life UneXpected (CW), 9 p.m. – Monday, Jan. 18
Gossip Girl returns (CW), 9 p.m. – Monday, March 8
One Tree Hill returns (CW), 8 p.m. – Monday, Jan. 18
Smallville returns (CW), 8 p.m. – Friday, Jan. 22
Supernatural returns (CW), 9 p.m. – Thursday, Jan. 21
The Vampire Diaries returns (CW), 8 p.m. – Thursday, Jan. 14

NBC
Chuck (NBC), 9 p.m. – Sunday, Jan. 10
Heroes returns (NBC), 9 p.m. – Monday, Jan. 11
The Office returns (NBC), 9 p.m. – Thursday, Feb. 4
Parks and Recreation returns (NBC), 8:30 p.m. – Thursday, Jan. 14

FOX
24 (Fox), 9 p.m. – Sunday, Jan. 17
American Dad returns (Fox), 9:30 p.m. – Sunday, Jan. 31
Bones returns (Fox), 8 p.m. – Thursday, Jan. 14
The Cleveland Show returns (Fox), 8:30 p.m. – Sunday, Jan. 31
Family Guy returns (Fox), 9 p.m. – Sunday, Jan. 31
Fringe returns (Fox), 9 p.m. (for four weeks, then off until April) – Thursday, Jan. 14
Glee returns (Fox), 9 p.m. – Tuesday, April 13
Human Target (Fox), 8 p.m. – Sunday, Jan. 17
The Simpsons returns (Fox), 8 p.m. – Sunday, Jan. 31
Sons of Tucson (Fox), 8:30 p.m. – Sunday, March 14
Past Life (Fox), 8 p.m. – Thursday, Feb. 11

FX
Archer (FX), 10 p.m. – Thursday, Jan. 14

HBO
Big Love (HBO), 10 p.m. – Sunday, Jan. 10
Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO), 9 p.m. – Friday, Feb. 19

SHOWTIME
La La Land (Showtime), 11 p.m. – Monday, Jan. 25
Nurse Jackie (Showtime), 10 p.m. – Monday, March 22
The Tudors (Showtime), 9 p.m. – Sunday, April 11
Secret Diary of a Call Girl (Showtime), 10 p.m. – Monday, Jan. 25
United States of Tara (Showtime), 10:30 p.m. – Monday, March 22

STARZ
Spartacus (Starz), 10 p.m. – Friday, Jan. 22

SYFY
Alice (Syfy), 9 p.m. – Sunday, Dec. 6
Caprica (Syfy), 9 p.m. – Friday, Jan. 22

Don’t forget Southland is now on TNT…

TNT
The Closer returns (TNT), 9 p.m. – Monday, Dec. 7
Leverage returns (TNT), 10 p.m. – Wednesday, Jan. 13
Men of a Certain Age (TNT), 10 p.m. – Monday, Dec. 7
Southland (TNT), 10 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12

USA
Burn Notice returns (USA), 10 p.m. – Thursday, Jan. 21
Psych returns (USA), 10 p.m. – Wednesday, Jan. 27
White Collar returns (USA), 10 p.m. – Tuesday, Jan. 19

I can’t believe I have to wait over another month before I get my fix of Burn Notice and Supernatural. Although, I have a feeling that it’ll be worth it.

What about you? Any shows that you’re looking forward to? Am I missing any?

Source: E! Online

Fox released their midseason schedule for their 2009-2010 season.  The list includes shows continuing on and premieres of shows slated for their midseason premiere dates.  Below is the complete schedule, but of note are some of our favorite shows.

24

24 starts its 2-Night / 4-Hour Season Premiere on Sunday January 17th and concludes on Monday the 18th.  24’s regular air day will be Monday’s.

Human Target

The show I’m most looking forward to is Human Target, when it has a series preview on Sunday Jan 17th just before 24.  It will premiere on Wednesday, January 20th where it will air regularly.

Glee

Glee kicks it in gear in its time period premiere on Tuesday, April 13th.

Fringe

Fringe’s winter finale is on Feb 4th and will premiere again on April 1st.

Dollhouse

January 8th we’ll get all new episodes of Dollhouse and it will have its series finale on January 29th.

You might notice Lie To Me isn’t in the list below… don’t worry.  It returns in the late spring.

Below is the press release schedule:

MONDAY

Monday, Jan. 4:

7:30 PM-CC ET TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL (LIVE)

Monday, Jan. 18:

8:00-10:00 PM 24 (2-Night / 4-Hour Season Premiere, Part 2)

Mondays, beginning Jan. 25:

8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE

9:00-10:00 PM 24 (Time Period Premiere)

****************************

TUESDAY

Tuesday, Jan. 5:

7:30 PM-CC ET FEDEX ORANGE BOWL (LIVE)

Tuesday, Jan. 12:

8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part 1)

Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 19:

8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Time Period Premiere)

9:00-10:00 PM OUR LITTLE GENIUS (Time Period Premiere)

Tuesdays, beginning April 13:

8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL

9:00-10:00 PM GLEE (Time Period Premiere)

***************************

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, Jan. 13:

8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part 2)

9:00-10:00 PM OUR LITTLE GENIUS (Series Premiere)

Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 20:

8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL

9:00-10:00 PM HUMAN TARGET (Series Premiere)

***************************

THURSDAY

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 14 (no change to lineup):

8:00-9:00 PM BONES (All-New Episodes)

9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE (All-New Episodes)

Thursday, Feb. 4:

8:00-9:00 PM BONES

9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE (Winter Finale)

Thursday, Feb. 11:

8:00-10:00 PM PAST LIFE (Two-Hour Series Premiere)

Thursdays, beginning Feb. 18:

8:00-9:00 PM BONES

9:00-10:00 PM PAST LIFE (Time Period Premiere)

Thursdays, beginning April 1:

8:00-9:00 PM BONES

9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE (Time Period Premiere)

***************************

FRIDAY

Friday, Jan. 1:

8:00 PM-CC ET ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL (LIVE)

Fridays, beginning Jan. 8:

8:00-9:00 PM BONES (Encore Episodes)

9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE (All-New Episodes)

Friday, Jan. 22:

8:00-9:00 PM BONES (Encore Episode)

9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE (Series Finale)

Fridays, beginning Jan. 29:

8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE (Encore Episodes)

9:00-10:00 PM KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (Season Premiere)

**************************

SATURDAY

Saturdays (no change to lineup):

8:00-8:30 PM COPS

8:30-9:00 PM COPS

9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED

11:00 PM-Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW

Midnight-12:30 AM SIT DOWN, SHUT UP

***************************

SUNDAY

Sunday, Jan. 10:

8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (450th Milestone Episode)

8:30-9:30 PM THE SIMPSONS 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: IN 3-D! ON ICE!

9:30-10:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW

Sunday, Jan. 17:

4:00 PM-CC ET NFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF (LIVE)

8:00-9:00 PM HUMAN TARGET (Series Preview)

9:00-11:00 PM 24 (2-Night / 4-Hour Season Premiere, Part 1)

Sunday, Jan. 24:

6:00 PM-CC ET NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (LIVE)

Sundays, beginning Jan. 31 (no change to lineup):

8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (All-New Episodes)

8:30-9:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW (All-New Episodes)

9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY (All-New Episodes)

9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD (All-New Episodes)

Sunday, March 14:

8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS

8:30-9:00 PM SONS OF TUCSON (Series Premiere)

9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY

9:30-10:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW (Time Period Premiere)

***************************

Source: Fox

Since it’s Thursday, let’s double up on the Fringe news. While we recently brought you news of everyone’s favorite baldy weirdo popping up all over the place, we’ve got bigger fish to fry. In this case, the proverbial fish is the elusive William Bell (played by your friendly neighborhood Vulcan, Leonard Nimoy) and whether or not the story of William Bell is over before it even had a chance to get started.

If you’re in the camp to believe anything this Nimoy fellow has to say, there might be some credit to this rumor. At the DVD launch party for J.J. Abrahams Star Trek, Nimoy took the time to wax poetic about all things Fringe.

“I agreed to do three episodes; and we’ve filmed all three. Two have aired, so I will be on the air in one more. And that’s the extent of my commitment.”

Well, maybe not so poetic, but definitely absolute. And because of that, this is some news that just doesn’t make me happiest of campers.

The first time we saw William Bell it was during Fringe’s first season finale and that was for about 3 minutes. The second time was a more recent episode and that appearance was a total of 5 minutes, all in flashback. So, the two out of three moments that we’ve see William Bell equal out to less than 10 minutes of screen time and now he’s going to be gone? What’s the deal, FOX?

Bell’s finale episode is set to air on December 10th with the title of “Grey Matter.” While no description has been released as of yet, just one look at Wikipedia holds all the answers that one would need.

Wikipedia says:

Grey matter is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and both unmyelinated axons and myelinated axons), glial cells (astroglia and oligodendrocytes) and capillaries.

Pshh, yeah, of course. That’s exactly what I thought it was. Obviously from that definition we can tell that William Bell’s last episode will be about… something that I can’t understand, even when written down. So, pretty much like any other episode of Fringe.

Still, neuopil jokes aside (like that callback?), I’m pretty perturbed about this news. I enjoy Fringe, I always watch it the night that it’s on (unlike some shows), but my problem has been that I really don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know who the bad guy is, what the point of the show is and why all of this is happening.

I’m not a fan of illusive dramas and the fact that questions keep building up while watching this show has me a little frustrated. Now, with the announcement that the William Bell storyline is effectively gone, I have a feeling that some of my answers will go with him.

The only way that I’ll stay quiet about William Bell leaving is if his final episode is EPIC. He better be on for longer than 10min and there better be some face to face time between William Bell and Walter Bishop.

… and there better be a reference to the cow. That’s all I’m saying.

Enough of me. How do you feel about William Bell’s story being over? Do you feel like he’s played his part enough? Have all your questions been answered? Am I watching this show wrong?

Let’s hear it!

Fringe airs on Thursday night at 9pm on FOX

Source: TV Guide

Of all the viral marketing campaigns I’ve seen over the last few years, I’ve really been digging how Fringe is carrying-over one of the running mysteries of the show into the real world: namely, the appearance of “The Observer,” a creepy-looking bald man in a black suit and fedora, who has shown up (on camera, of course) at real-world events ranging from NASCAR races to NFL Football games.

With this week’s episode of Fringe, entitled “August” we learn more about the The Observer -- namely [SEMI-SPOILER] that “The Observer” is actually “The Observer(s),” with a hint as to what the purpose and/or agenda of these mysterious beings means for the world(s) of Fringe. To help promote the episode, Fox has been sending “Observers” out into the real-world, to be spotted by those keeping a careful eye on everything related to the show.

As of recently there have been Observer sightings in and around NYC, LA, Chicago, Boston and Atlanta. The dedicated folks over at The Observer Trackers on Facebook have been keeping a nationwide thread open and updated, announcing and then logging the places where fans can run to be a part of this amusing game of hide-and-go-observe.

Here are some recent photos taken  of Observers making their way through “our world”:

.

Atlanta

Los Angeles

For those of you who fancy yourselves historical experts, The Observers have been here longer than you might think…

(Hint: Left side)

Finally, here is a televised Observer sighting, captured during this week’s episodes of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O57RMZNUYmA

For a more extensive gallery of Observer pics, head over to The Observer Trackers on Facebook.

Viral Marketing can be really (really, really) annoying, but little “games” like this are pretty harmless and are, in general, a real thrill for fans. The lengths to which Fox has gone with this Observer campaign have been unprecedented -- I remember during the Fringe panel at the 2009 New York Comic Con when the show’s  producer, Jeff Pinkner, told us how Fox had even lobbied (hard) to have an Observer on the platform standing next to President Obama on Inauguration Day. Needless to say they were unsuccessful (or were they?).

Gotta wonder if this latest mass Observer invasion is in any way an attempt to boost the show’s recent ratings slump…

Fringe airs on Fox Thursdays @ 9pm.

Sources: The Observer Trackers on Facebook via Sci-Fi Wire

]]> http://screenrant.com/fringe-observers-invade-real-world-viral-marketing-campaign-episode-208-august-kofi-34866/feed/ 5 http://screenrant.com/tvratings-community-parks-and-recreation-up-fringe-down-aco-33832/ http://screenrant.com/tvratings-community-parks-and-recreation-up-fringe-down-aco-33832/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:14:41 +0000 Anthony Ocasio http://screenrant.com/?p=33832

It appears that the newest additions to NBC’s Thursday night comedy line-up may have found their primetime audience as last week’s episodes of Community and Park & Recreation both received some their highest ratings. Conversly, while the peacock was rejoicing, things weren’t so positive on the other side of the proverbial road as FOX’s sophomore science fiction series Fringe hit an all time low, but is Fringe really to blame or did the World Series have something to do with it?

For some time now NBC has been trying to position its Thursday primetime line-up as the place to go for comedy, but it didn’t appear to be working as last year’s addition of Park & Recreations wasn’t exactly met with rave reviews and their newest Joel McHale driven comedy, Community, received mixed reviews and had to contend with switching timeslots from 9:30PM to 8PM.

It looks as if everything has settled nicely for NBC as last weeks episode of Community pulled in 5.6 million viewers, the highest number since moving to 8PM, while Parks & Recreation achieved its highest ratings since last April with 4.9 million viewers.

While the ratings were looking good for the first part of NBC’s Thursday night line-up, the second half wasn’t as positive as both The Office and 30 Rock dropped around 6% in the ratings. 30 Rock has always had a tough time in the ratings, despite all the Emmy wins, but The Office is supposed to be NBC’s golden goose.

The only thing I can attribute the decline to is how poorly this season of The Office has been (with the notable exception of the wedding special). They’re cannibalizing the entire show and its characters; Stanley cheating on his wife just out of the blue, Jim becoming Co-manager with them building him his own office (cause you know that’s how companies do things – especially in a recession), Pam’s mom all of a sudden not only changing actresses, but also her opinion of Jim (She really liked him in the earlier seasons), the horrible receptionist, Erin (how hilarious is she? Not at all). There are more gripes, but I think you get what I’m saying. They need to keep it simple.

Now, back to FOX. With the World Series over, last Thursday brought about the end of the two-week hiatus of fan-favorite series Bones and Fringe, but I don’t think anyone told the fans, as both series saw a dramatic decline in ratings. The return of Bones was viewed by 8.5 million viewers (down 11%) while Fringe saw the largest decline in viewers since the disaster that was The Chevy Chase Show by only pulling in 5 million viewers (down a staggering 23%).

Still, can Fringe really to blame? When the World Series flows into November sweeps, things always get messed up. I, myself, missed both Fringe and Bones because everything that I had looked at had told me that it was pre-empted. My DVR didn’t pick it up because it wasn’t listed on the schedule. The only way you would have know that the shows were back last week is if you caught the commercials that said if the World Series was over before Thursday, the shows would return as normal. You would think they would do a little more for two of the network’s top shows.

Although, to be fair, can the World Series really be blamed? Bones was in the same position as Fringe and they only saw a minimal drop in the ratings. So, I’ll leave it up to you, the readers… was it the World Series or has Fringe been going down hill? Are you still watching?

I’ll admit that I’m getting a little bored with Peter always having a “friend” that can do whatever normal technology can’t. It’s just as bad as CSI zooming in on images that come from security cameras, but I still tune in, despite the flaws.

I’m just wondering what their end game is… What’s going on? What are Fringe force fighting against? Why is there a half of an apple on on my television screen before they go to commercial?

Community and Parks & Recreation air on Thursdays starting at 8PM on NBC

Fringe airs on Thursdays at 9PM on FOX

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Oh Internet, say it ain’t so!

Hulu – my utopia of free TV online – may soon become another run-of-the-buck paid subscription site (see header image)! (Sigh) It was only a matter of time, really…

Broadcasting & Cable brings us this chilling news, which supposedly originated from the mouth of News Corp. Deputy Chairman Chase Carey, who said during the Onscreen Media Summit that:

“It’s time to start getting paid for broadcast content online…I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value. Hulu concurs with that, it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business.”

Aw heck, we all knew this day was coming when we’d hear those words spoken about our beloved Hulu – doesn’t it always happen that way with our favorite sites?

However… In my vast Internet experience our favorite sites stop being “our favorite sites” pretty soon after they start asking for membership fees. I know that more than a few of you out there have woken up one day to find your favorite online pop-in spot suddenly requiring you provide them a credit card number, sending you back to the search engine nexus typing in the words “free, streaming…”

…Aaaand I suspect that tradition won’t be changing for the small pool of TV shows and movies that  Hulu currently offers. Despite all those clever commercials with celebrities posing as aliens using Hulu to mush our brains, there’s still enough solid cerbral material left in this guy’s skull to determine that Hulu would need to expand its range of content much, much, wider for me to consider buying into the service. I’m talking:

• More popular cable series (even some premium channel shows for “platinum” members who pay extra).
• Every network primetime show of the current season.
• More GOOD movies (Better picks of old films; same-day and direct-to-video releases (at discounted cost); premium channel releases for platinum members).
• Same-day airings of primetime TV shows (with ads, if necessary).
• Bigger TV show archives (for when I go on an Arrested Development or It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia binge).
• Exclusive “first looks” for movie trailers and making of featurettes.
• Music videos and Popular news clips added to the lineup.
• Make all content accessible to any digital mobile device or game system (ipods, smart phones, Xbox Live).
• Embed and sharing capabilities on all shows/movies (at least clips).
• Everything in HD.

Now THAT – combined with Hulu’s great interface – would be a service I would pay for.

While I agree with Carey in the sense that it’s time for companies to have a fair shot at pursuing profits in the online market, I do think said companies are still floating  archaic ideas about how to convert their “digital dimes” into digi-dollars.

The Internet has always been based on one fundamental principle: Accomplish a lot with little effort. So, if I can have access to a bunch of movies and shows I watch; get sneak peeks on the hottest music videos or movie trailers; keep up with reports on the latest news clips everyone is talking about; spend my rainy weekends marathoning through old favorites; see everything in crisp HD and share it all with my friends… Why not fork out a reasonable fee to accomplish all that?

Try selling me Hulu as it stands now, and I’m going to tell you the names of all the TV network sites where you can watch the same shows for free (hint: just throw a “.com” behind the name of your favorite network) – or maybe the names of sites that will stream old movie favorites, legally, for free. Basically, I’m going to tell you that I really don’t need Hulu all that much after all…

What about you – is Hulu something you’d pay to keep? Or does the notion of shelling out for it make you say “Thanks  but no thanks!”

Source: Broadcasting & Cable

Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman have got to be two of the most popular writers in Hollywood right now. Like, love or hate their work, as script writers they have turned into a very hot commodity and are quickly becoming the “go-to” guys for sci-fi scripts. With projects like Star Trek 2, Cowboys & Aliens, View-Master and multiple Fringe episodes on their plate, they have no shortage of work (which in this economy is a good thing).

Recently the great guys and gals at Collider were able to talk to Orci and Kurtzman and they managed wrangle some really good information from them in what turned out to be a lengthy interview. We’ve already discussed the parts about Star Trek 2 and their decision NOT to be involved with Transformers 3, which they confirmed during this same interview. You check out the entire interview here, but I’ll go through some of the highlights as they talk about  Cowboys & Aliens, and a once popular toy, View-Master.

For those that may not know, Cowboys & Aliens first started as a graphic novel (does anyone call them comic books anymore?) by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg that was published by Platinum Studios and Harper Collins in 2006. Written by the talented team of Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley, the story revolves around beings from another world landing in Arizona during the mid-1800s with the goal of enslaving the human race.  That crap may have worked in France but over here in the U.S. of A. we had Cowboys and Indians to fight back against alien scum! Sorry I got carried away; it happens because I’m southern.

Cowboys & Aliens is being helmed by Iron Man’s Jon Favreau and will most likely star Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr. That’s great news because both have proved themselves to be fans of comics and have already helped to elevate lesser known comic book lore to pop culture heights. So how do Orci and Kurtzman feel about working with Favreau and where are they drawing their inspiration from for Cowboys & Aliens?

Alex: It’s the greatest.

Bob: We just started and we’re getting along really well. We’ve sent ourselves back to school and we’re watching Westerns together and analyzing them. We’re just getting into it.  We just watched The Searchers last.

Alex: We had a lot of these Westerns in our head, but Jon is an incredible fountain of Western knowledge.

Bob: And, Star Trek was originally pitched as a space Western, anyway, so it was a nice lead up to this, for us.

Alex: I think Jon also comes from a very similar emotional place and, because he’s an actor, he knows what plays and what doesn’t play very quickly. We’re having an unbelievably good time working with him.

I think that’s great that they are pulling from some older westerns for inspiration and I had no idea that Favreau was a big western buff. I wonder if he dresses up and goes to Old West Conventions walking with his best John Wayne swagger, dressed in chaps, a dusty vest, a bandana wrapped around his neck, and a six shooter strapped to his leg, tipping his hat to the ladies and saying “Howdy”. HEH, I just made myself chuckle.

Continue reading for Orci/Kurtzman updates on View-Master

FOX has released some pictures of Leonard Nimoy’s return as William Bell in this week’s episode of Fringe.

We previously debunked the rumor that, according to an “in-depth” episodic description analysis, Nimoy would make an appearance as Bell in last week’s episode. While you could hear and somewhat see Nimoy is a couple frames of that episode, I wouldn’t really consider that “making an appearance” and I’m sure the amount of his subsequent paycheck would confirm and reflect that as well.

That being said, FOX removes all speculation regarding Nimoy’s role in this week’s episode by clearly announcing Bell’s triumphant return.

WILLIAM BELL RETURNS AND OLIVIA’S MURKY PAST MATERIALIZES ON “FRINGE” THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, ON FOX

Leonard Nimoy Guest-Stars

See… told ya. Although, it does appear that Bell’s appearance will be more flashback oriented, focused on filling-in Olivia’s memory regarding what occurred during her and Bell’s meeting last season than touching upon the current events the Fringe team are facing.

Check out the description and a preview of this week’s episode, “Momentum Deferred,” below.

Recuperating from the traumatic and alarming meeting with Massive Dynamic founder William Bell (guest star Nimoy), Agent Dunham consumes a powerful “fringe” concoction that Dr. Bishop prescribes to stimulate her memory. Meanwhile, the Fringe Division investigates a series of robbery cases that are tied to shape-shifting. As clues are tracked and memories are jogged, another woman experimented on by Dr. Bishop is introduced and a flashback reveals more about Olivia’s visit to the alternate reality.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbKfWyU9-BE

While I’m looking forward to seeing what happened during Olivia and Bell’s meeting (which was so important as to justify killing off Charlie (Kirk Acevedo, and I’m still not happy about that), I’m anxiously awaiting the moment when Walter Bishop (John Noble) and William Bell come face to face.

You can catch Nimoy’s return to Fringe this Thursday at 9PM on FOX

Source: Sci Fi Wire

Ever since last season’s finale of Fringe, fans have been wondering when we’ll next get a glimpse of Leonard Nimoy as William Bell. Well, if you believe the guys over at AICN and read between the lines, it might happen sooner than you think -- as in, tonight!

If you read through the episode descriptions that FOX released for the upcoming episodes of Fringe, it holds some juicy tidbits about who may (or may not) be appearing in this week’s episode. While tonight’s episode description doesn’t mention anything regarding Massive Dynamics, William Bell, Leonard Nimoy or even a meeting with someone important, next week’s episode makes it seem like something substantial may yet occur tonight.

This Week’s Episode:

“Fracture” - October 01, 2009

Peter, Walter, Olivia and Broyles pursue a strange and deadly occurrence in Philadelphia where a bomb blew up inside a train station but left no trace of any explosive device. The perplexing and unexplained set of circumstances returns Walter to the lab to closely examine the human remains where he uncovers an unlikely energy source that triggered the explosion. With the explosive threat of more bombs and links to a classified military project, the intense investigation leads Olivia and Peter to Iraq.

Next Week’s Episode:

“Momentum Deferred” -- October 08, 2009

Recuperating from the traumatic and alarming meeting with Massive Dynamic founder William Bell (guest star Nimoy), Agent Dunham consumes a powerful “fringe” concoction that Dr. Bishop prescribes to stimulate her memory. Meanwhile, the Fringe Division investigates a series of robbery cases that are tied to shape-shifting. As clues are tracked and memories are jogged, another woman experimented on by Dr. Bishop is introduced and a flashback reveals more about Olivia’s visit to the alternate reality.

When I first heard this Nimoy rumor, I thought the descriptions would make some direct mention of William Bell, but as I read through it more, I think I understand how the rumor got started:

One could read through both descriptions and, because of the way next week’s description is worded, make the assumption that there will be a traumatic meeting between William Bell and Olivia this week, which Olivia will have to recover from in next week’s episode.

The problem is that Olivia already had a traumatic meeting with William Bell in last season’s finale, and I believe that’s what the description is referring to. And since Fox had no qualm mentioning Nimoy’s character in the description for next week’s episode,  I think the tale of the mysterious descriptions have been solved.

I’d like to thank the television show Psych and the 1988 Goldblum/Lauper film Vibes for my deductive reasoning skills.

Either way, I’ll be watching Fringe tonight.

Check out a preview of tonight’s episode. Do you see something I missed alluding to Nimoy’s return?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei_HIZrHdcE

Has the mystery been solved or am I reading it wrong?

Catch Fringe Thursdays @ 9PM on FOX

Source: Ain’t It Cool News

So Fringe made it to season 2, surviving the knife that ended The Sarah Connor Chronicles and almost took down Dollhouse. It premiered tonight, bringing up our favorite cast: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson and the ever quirky John Noble.

Call me a cynic, but the first thing I noticed is that Fox TV has done away with the experimental abbreviated commercial breaks. No more will you see (apparantly) “Fringe will return in 30 (or 60) seconds.” Nope, standard commercial breaks just like every other show out there now.

BTW, there will be spoilers mentioned below and in the comments left by visitors.

Beyond that nitpick (I watch it DVR’d anyway and skip commercials) Fringe wasted no time coming back with a bang. After the weak Warehouse 13 substitute to tide us over, it was great to have some actual intense and exciting semi-sci-fi drama to watch once again.

The episode opened right after a car accident in New York City, giving us the sense of being thrust into something mid-stream. A nefarious fellow leaves the scene of the accident and within minutes we are re-introduced to why I can’t watch this show with my 13 year old daughter – guy sticks a device with what looks like three finishing nails in a victim’s mouth, breaks the bones in his own face and then connects HIS mouth to the other end of the device and his skull reshapes to duplicate the victim’s face.

Not pretty.

Agent Dunham seems to have vanished from the scene of the accident but moments later she materializes out of thin air, rocketing through the windshield of the SUV she was driving. Apparent terminal brain damage, but she soon wakes up severly shaken and not remembering what happened to her nor where she’s been.

Meanwhile that pesky U.S. government is in the process of shutting down the organization due to tons of spent money and no results that they can discern.

We also have a new junior agent on the scene – it remains to be seen whether she will become a regular on the show or not. She just jumps right into the groove of things (a bit too easily, it seemed to me) and starts helping out our group, who is now (at least temporarily) cut off from FBI resources.

We see the mysterious shape changing agent communicate with someone on the “other side,” presumably in that alternate universe we saw briefly at the very end of the season one finale. He’s failed in his mission to kill Dunham as instructed. He finds her (well, by the time he finds her he’s not really a “he” any more) and discovers she has no memory of something crucial that is hidden somewhere. He fails AGAIN in his attempt to kill her and is apparently killed himself. Ah, but at the very end of the episode it’s revealed that he has duplicated himself as agent Charlie Francis (played by Kirk Acevedo, who reportedly will be leaving the series this season).

Overall I enjoyed this season premiere and am looking forward to upcoming episodes. One nitpick I did have was that it didn’t seem like at the end the agent had enough time to turn into Charlie, and with the closing scene where the doppleganger disposes of the real Charlie’s body, where the heck did he stash it in the very brief amount of time he had. It seemed like less than a minute passed between the time that shots were fired and Peter Bishop showed up.

If I’m missing something here, feel free to point it out below – but overall, I’m happy Fringe is back!

Fringe is back for a 2nd season, don’t forget!

Last season Olivia (Anna Torv) met William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) in the alternate reality, Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) has a secretive past only hinted at, Walter Bishop (John Noble) has what looks like a serious ethical nightmare to deal with and the FBI is just confused in general about what their Fringe department does. I think we have lots of material ripe for discussion!

Fringe is moving to Thursdays, starting this Thursday, September 17th.

Tune in.fr

This Thursday (9/3/09) night, episode 19 of season 1 of Fringe will be aired.  Yes, it’s a repeat.  But there’s a new twist to this episode.

We’ll be seeing live commentary, behind the scenes bits and viewers questions answered via Twitter from cast and crew scrolling across the bottom of the screen.

Fox is calling it their “Tweet-Peat.”

Those that will be twittering will be Jeff Pinkner & J.H. Wyman who are the executive producers of Fringe and stars Joshua Jackson (who plays Peter Bishop) and John Noble ( who plays Walter Bishop).

The only down side is that the actors will only be tweeting during the Eastern timezone airing while the exec. producers will be tweeting throughout both.

The Fringe Twitter accounts you would look for to participate with are:

• Jeff Pinkner: @jpfringe
• J.H. Wyman: @jwfringe
• Josh Jackson: @peterbishop2
• John Noble: @labdad1

This sounds pretty interesting.  I have to wonder just how many people are going to hop on board and how hard it might be to get an question answered!?

Despite some of the obvious programming flaws we tend to note about Fox, this seems like an innovative idea.  Has anyone seen any other scripted drama TV series do this?  I haven’t.

PS:  We have some images from the upcoming season of Fringe if interested.

Source: Fringe Television

The nominees have been announced for the fourth annual Scream Awards, held every year by Spike TV. The decisively more “fan-friendly” award ceremony (compared to the Oscars) honors films from the sci-fi, fantasy, horror and comic-book genres of movies, TV shows and comic books. The awards are described as, “the first and only global event of its kind,” to honor those genres.

The Scream 2009 nominees were chosen by the Advisory Board of Hollywood and Genre Leaders, a list which this year includes the likes of Wes Craven, Roland Emmerich, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Eli Roth and Zack Snyder, plus many more. The event will be taped on Saturday, October 17th this year at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, and will air on Spike TV ten days later on Tuesday, October 27th (check for local times).

Along with the awards, the show will also be airing some exclusive, world premiere of footage of some of the most anticipated movies of 2010! Presenters and musicians for the event are to be announced shortly.

Below is the list of a selection of the 32 categories from this year’s Scream nominations. For those of you (all of you?) who want to have YOUR say on which film should win, you’re in luck!  Public voting for the awards has opened already and will run right up to October 17th. But before you head off to vote, here are some of the nominees:

BEST FANTASY MOVIE

“Coraline”

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

“Twilight”

“Up”

“Watchmen”

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

BEST HORROR MOVIE

“Dead Snow”

“Drag Me to Hell”

“Friday the 13th”

“Let the Right One In”

“My Bloody Valentine 3D”

“Splinter”

BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE

“Dragonball Evolution”

“Punisher: War Zone”

“The Spirit”

“Watchmen”

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

BEST VILLAIN

Eric Bana as Nero; “Star Trek”

Cam Gigandet as James; “Twilight”

Lorna Raver as Mrs. Ganush; rag Me to Hell”

Liev Schrieber as Victor Creed/Sabretooth; “X-Men”

Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman; “True Blood”

BEST DIRECTOR

J.J. Abrams; “Star Trek”

Tomas Alfredson; “Let the Right One In”

Michael Bay; “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

Pete Doctor & Bob Peterson; “Up”

Duncan Jones; “Moon”

Sam Raimi; “Drag Me to Hell”

BEST TV SHOW

Battlestar Galactica

Dexter

Fringe

Lost

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

True Blood

BEST ACTOR IN A FANTASY MOVIE OR TV SHOW

Ed Asner, “Up”

Hugh Jackman, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

Robert Pattinson, “Twilight”

Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Daniel Radcliffe, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

Michael Sheen, “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”

BEST ACTRESS IN A FANTASY MOVIE OR TV SHOW

Scarlett Johansson, “The Spirit”

Jamie King, “The Spirit”

Rhona Mitra, “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”

Kristen Stewart, “Twilight”

Emma Watson, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

For the rest of the nominees you can head over to Spike.com, where you can also cast your votes.

Although some of the awards are truly suspect (how the hell The Spirit got nominated for ANYTHING is beyond me), I still like the overall celebration of the type of sci-fi, fantasy, comic book and horror films we here at Screen Rant revel in Although I won’t go into a specific rundown of who I think should win, I’d like to throw my opinion in the ring for a few of them:

Lost should win Best TV Show (I love Dexter, but it’s no Lost); Best Horror Movie should go to Let The Right One In (I would say Drag Me To Hell, but since that’s a comedy too, Let The Right One takes it for me); Best Actor in a Fantasy Movie Or TV Show should go to Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; and Best Comic Book Movie should (EASILY) go to Watchmen.

But enough from me, what and who will YOU vote for? As stated, you can cast your votes over at Spike.com, and you can see if the winners match your picks when the Scream Awards 2009 air on October 27th this year on Spike TV.