Screen Rant » stargate universe

Stargate Movie News: It Has A Working Title

Bruce Simmons — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:08:34 +0000

For most of this year, I’ve been hovering and watching for any news about any Stargate movies. Various articles or snippets around the internet suggested one thing or another.

Back in September, Amanda Tapping mentioned that the Stargate SG-1 movie was approved and could start filming after Stargate Universe is done filming.

Now comes news that the working title for the next Stargate SG-1 movie is called Stargate: Revolution and it includes bringing Jack O’Neill back “in a big way.”

Brad Wright and Carl Binder penned the script and the story in the script takes place in the time between Stargate: Continuum and Stargate: Universe.

The original plans were to shoot the movie this fall but the economy put that off. Now we just need to wait for Universe to stop filming, and if everyone sticks to the rumored schedules, we’ll be having ourselves a new Stargate movie.

I personally can’t wait to see a new movie. I can’t get enough of the old-styled Stargate show. I don’t mind Universe, when I don’t try to compare it to the 15-year track record that Stargate developed. But I need some of what we’ve become accustomed to and it’s great news to hear that they’ve got a working title for the Stargate movie project.

I hope they keep Stargate: Revolution as the title. Catchy title, for whatever that might mean!

Source: GateWorld

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Syfy Has Historic Month Of October Ratings

Bruce Simmons — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:07:32 +0000

Syfy had themselves a record-setting month in October.

The 5th season of Ghost Hunters is averaging 3 million viewers.

The much debated Stargate Universe is averaging 2.85 million viewers, and doing much better than the last season of Stargate Atlantis. SGU is currently bringing in 36% more total viewers than SGA, but then again, it’s early in the season, so I’m not holding my breath on any numbers holding up for the entire season.

Destination Truth’s 3rd season is averaging 2.2 million viewers.

Scare Tactics, though only averaging 1.56 million viewers in the Fall 2009 season, it’s up 42% from the 2008 season.

And finally, the surprise statistic for me is that Sanctuary is pulling in an average of 2.4 million viewers.

All of these numbers have added up to Syfy’s most-watched October prime in the history of the network.

“Syfy jumped to #3 in A25-54 and #4 among A18-49 versus all basic cable entertainment networks – its second best monthly ranking ever in these demos behind December 2002 when Steven Spielberg’s record-setting Taken premiered.”

For All The Nay-Sayers, There Are Just As Many Fans

No matter what we think and what opinions some of us may have of these shows, there are many more who do seem to appreciate and enjoy them. Syfy previously said that their old handle, The Sci Fi Channel, was deterring viewers from tuning in, thinking it was all Star Wars and Star Trek. Maybe they were right and they’re starting to pull more folk in from all over. At least the numbers may be supporting that perspective.

In other words, Syfy is powering on, like they said they would.

Source: Sci Fi Wire

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Stargate Universe 2nd Episode Ratings Improve

Bruce Simmons — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:19:50 +0000

Last Friday’s episode of Stargate Universe, titled “Air,” came into the ratings market pretty strong for the second week in a row. This second episode actually had a 4% increase in viewers over the previous week’s premiere, bringing the total viewers of the new series to around 2.5 million.

This week, these numbers reflected those who watched the show live, and DVR numbers from the same day it aired. If we take these numbers for granted, right now the show is doing well and may very well march right on to a successful premiere season.

But that’s the domestic front…

Internationally, Stargate Universe is plowing along with a strong head of steam… or wormhole power.

Biggest “Stargate” Audience in Almost Five Years – UK
Highest Rated Single Episode Ever – Canada
One of the Highest Rated Shows for the Week on Pay Television – Australia

According to MGM press, “Stargate Universe (SGU) is on the fast track to becoming the most successful installment in Stargate franchise history.”

In the U.S., SGU debuted on Syfy with more than 2.3 million viewers.

In Canada, it premiered on SPACE with a record breaking audience of 565,000. That made it SPACE’s highest rated single episode ever and was the #1 non-sports specialty program of the day for Adults 25-54 and A18-49.

In the UK, Launching on Sky1, SGU brought in 1,042,000 viewers for the first part and 961,000 for the second episode of the 2-part premiere. This gave the network the biggest Stargate audience in almost five years.

In Australia, SGU was the best performing show on the Sci-Fi pay television platform. It posted a 6.4% share which equated to an increase of 411% in the time slot (Fridays 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.) that it aired.

The Hype Pays Off

The hype has created the fanfare that MGM had hoped for. What we need to see now is if it maintains this kind of viewer ratings deep into the season.

I think it will as it pulls in new viewers while upsetting some old-school franchise fans. Like any new show, it has to get past its growing pains and find its feet. If it does that and survives the 1st season acclimation hurdle, I think MGM will have itself another well performing hit on its hands.

Yet, as I always say, time will be the telling factor in all things.

Source: Sci Fi Wire, MGM Press

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Stargate Universe Discussion: ‘Air’ Part 3

Bruce Simmons — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:02:47 +0000

This is a short follow up to the second episode of Stargate Universe (SGU). The 2-hour premiere of SGU was counted as 2 episodes. That’s why last night’s (Friday, October 10th) episode, ‘Air’, is noted as part 3.

Without much character development needed in this episode after what was established in the premiere, the story moved forward and I found the pace of this episode a bit easier and more enjoyable to follow.

If people came back to give the show a second chance, I think they will be pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the episode this week and thought it was much more engaging and worth my while.

There are some form of SPOILERS following the break, so be warned.

Stargate Universe expounded on the use of the communication stones and it was odd trying to wrap your mind around the idea of the character we were seeing actually being in a different body. It looks like we will have ample opportunity to see the operations on Earth, if the creative forces behind the show do indeed employ the stones more often.

Though we know the crew only has 12 hours to go off-ship when the Destiny stops, I felt it was awful early on in the series to see how the teams will be constantly rushing against the clock.

Now tell me, if Dr. Rush had asked you to stick your arm in the event horizon in the hopes of engaging a safety feature of the ship, would you have just told him to do it himself? I’m just saying.

My new hero: Now tell me that Msgt Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) isn’t your new hero, the way he was kicking Dr. Rush around on the planet? LOL. Sure, he might be a little off his logic-rocker, but I’ll give him this one, for now.

I found it fascinating that when the Destiny drops out of FTL flight, it knows what Stargates are safe and not by locking out the dangerous addresses. Though the crew found a work-around and it seems we lost 2 crew members as they disregarded the idea of a dangerous gate address.

We also have a new mystery of sorts to look forward to in Stargate Universe – Anyone notice the blue shuttle / ball / probe thingy launch itself off the ship while the Destiny was in FTL? Any thoughts on what that was? I have an idea but I’ll share later on in the comments!

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Stargate Universe Premiere Overnight Rating Numbers

Bruce Simmons — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:41:27 +0000

We’ve been discussing our experiences about the Stargate Universe premiere in our review and discussion thread on Friday’s episode and I’ve been enjoying the different perspectives and thoughts on the premiere..

Now, we finally have some ratings numbers for the newest chapter in the Stargate franchise and they prove interesting at best.

Stargate Universe overnight numbers drew in just over 2.3 million viewers, helping the newly renamed Syfy network continue its trend of hitting worthy ratings numbers for a … for cable outlets.

From these estimated 2.3 million viewers, 1.1 million viewers were adults 18-49. That’s less than half of the estimated total viewers out there that are between 18-49. That leaves a lot of numbers outside that bracket!

What has been noted is that this premiere was the best performing Stargate franchise season premiere since the 2nd season of Stargate Atlantis in 2005.

I found it interesting that in the Syfy press release, they tossed out there that SGU’s 2.3 million viewer numbers beat out Dollhouse’s 2.1 million viewers for Friday night. As it stands, the 2.3 million mark from Stargate Universe (Starring Robert Carlyle) overshadowed previous premieres of Stargate SG-1’s 10th season & Stargate Atlantis 3rd, 4th & 5th season premieres. Of course, those were continuation premieres of established series’ as opposed to this being a brand new chapter for the franchise.

My presumption is that these premiere numbers for SGU included franchise fans and new, curious fans. Now, we wait and see how the show does in holding those 2 million viewers over the next several weeks.

Source: TV By The Numbers

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Stargate Universe Premiere: Review & Discussion

Bruce Simmons — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:46:05 +0000

Upfront: Stargate Universe premiered to a lot of hype that wasn’t completely fulfilled. The episode was dark, as expected, but lacking in the energy I needed to really get hyped about it. The acting wasn’t stiff, but I think the background music kept things in a very mellow state.

My devotion to the franchise kept me riveted and though I don’t think tonight’s episode was a stellar hit as some would lead you to believe, it delivered an interesting situation that will have me coming back for more… if anything, just to see if things improve or as I get more involved with the characters than I did tonight.

I don’t give everything up, but there are spoilers included below.

A Bit Of A Recap

The Stargate Universe opening scene has viewers watching a ship (the Destiny) drift towards them. The scene has a rather epic looking feel to it and what I didn’t know at the time was that this might have been the best scene of the show.

We go inside the ship and watch it slowly powering up the hallways, eventually finding ourselves looking at a Stargate powering up itself up and the event horizon bursting forth from the ring. People start to come flying through it, piling in on each other in an obvious state of panic.

Meanwhile, Dr Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle) is on a balcony, looking down on the scene, almost looking pleased.

We then experience a series of flashbacks interjected with the developing real-time plot (ala Lost) that help explain some back-story on some of the characters and the developing scenario.

We see boy genius Eli Wallace (David Blue) get recruited because he solved an online game that was designed by Dr. Rush from Stargate Command. After Wallace solves the game, Lt. General Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and Dr Rush show up at his door the next morning. Anyone ever see The Last Starfighter? I’m just saying.

When Wallace gets on board, he’s shown a series of videos to get caught up on the history of the Stargate program. LOL – “Hi, I’m Dr. Jackson (Michael Shanks), and behind me is a Stargate.” I felt like I was watching the DNA video from Jurassic Park.

The rest of the Stargate Universe premiere shows us the attack that forced the impromptu evacuation, focusing on the people on board the Destiny as they try to comprehend their new situation situation – between each other and between them and the ship/environment they now find themselves in.

The Destiny is a ship built by the Ancients. Apparently, the Ancients sent these automated vessels out into the universe to plant Stargates, but then they ascended and kind of forgot about the ships. The Destiny is in mechanical disarray and it reminds me of my 1969 Mercury Cougar, where it will be needing a lot of duct tape.

The creative team behind Stargate Universe, Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, tries to pull the viewer into the dark and desperate atmosphere the survivors are in. Much like the desperate plight humanity found itself in on Battlestar Galactica.

It wasn’t very distracting to me, but if you remember, they were going to use a different filming technique that was inspired by how Joss Whedon filmed Firefly. They used a lot of hand-held camera angles and it complemented the desperate situation the people were in. If they don’t get too carried away with this technique, it should be acceptable for viewers throughout.

Another difference I noticed only took place once in this 2-hour premiere; When we came back from a commercial break, we experienced a flashback, then we jumped into a different scene where there was a seriously steamy interaction between two people. If you were expecting a family friendly show like all the previous incarnations of Stargate, even if it was one scene, it was there. And from what I’ve read in other sources, it won’t be the last time they throw a curve ball at the viewer in the sexuality department.

I don’t like Dr. Rush, and that’s a compliment to Robert Carlyle’s portrayal of the role. The scientific greed that Dr. Rush exhibits makes me dislike or distrust this guy. It’s Rush’s fault they ended up on the Destiny. During the unexplained attack on the base that forced the evacuation, Rush interrupted the emergency dialing of Earth to try a new idea he came up with about the 9th chevron. Guess it worked.

Click to continue reading about the Stargate Universe Premiere…

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Reminder: Stargate Universe Premieres Tomorrow

Anthony Ocasio — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:12:19 +0000

Dust off your portal, dial in the symbols and make sure the seventh chevron is locked (sometimes it sticks) because Friday, October 2nd marks the two-hour premiere of the highly anticipated fourth entry into the Stargate series, Stargate Universe.

If you’re a fan of the Stargate series, then I don’t have to persuade you to tune in. You’re probably already donning your Teal’c costume trying to figure out if the gold paint will come off of your forehead (yes, but you have to rub really hard).

If you’re not a fan then you probably haven’t understood one thing I’ve said so far, but if you’re still reading this you might as well tune it, you’ll have fun. I promise. (I can’t guarantee that last statement. I can’t be held responsible If you’re a Negative Nancy.)

With this month marking 15 years since the release of original Stargate film, it’s amazing to see what all this franchise has accomplished. In the past 15 years, they have made a total of four films (including the original), 5 novels, 12 comic books and 4 television series’ (including Universe) lasting a total of 17 seasons with 342 episodes between them. That’s prettying good for a franchise that started out with Kurt Russell and James Spader. I don’t see any Tango & Cash: Atlantis or Pretty in Pink: PP1.

If you haven’t noticed Screen Rant’s coverage of Stargate Universe then you really haven’t been paying attention. If you’re interested, you can check out a 4-preview of tomorrows premiere, read about the planned webisodes to accompany the series or check out pictures of the cast and set.

Have you fill of Stargate Universe yet? No? Alright… Check below for a video of Robert Carlyle (Dr. Nicholas Rush) answering fan questions about the series:

So, that being said, will you be tuning in tomorrow? I know I will. Expect to see a very nerdy review and discussion of the Stargate Universe premiere shortly after it airs.

You must watch (it’s the law) Stargate Universe, 9PM on SyFy.

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Stargate Universe Sneak Peek Preview

Bruce Simmons — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 05:55:16 +0000

A 4 minute sneak peak from the premiere of Stargate Universe has been released by Syfy.

It’s a moment in the show when the attack that forces an evacuation from the base they’re on is taking place and the group of humans whom we will be coming to know in the series are dealing with the attack and figuring out a gate address to dial.

Pardon the upfront ad in the video. It’s not our doing.

Stargate Universe premieres on Friday, October 2nd on Syfy.

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Stargate Universe Might Be Good (Plus Some SG Comic News)

Bruce Simmons — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:00:33 +0000

Somehow Syfy overlooked me when they sent out their screeners for Stargate Universe, so I have to live vicariously through others. More importantly, I need to convey to you, the selective Screen Rant readers, what I’ve learned about the show.

From what I’m reading from sites I trust, Stargate Universe is not going to disappoint when it lands in our living rooms. That does not surprise me, since Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright have been successfully bringing us 15 years of Stargate. They know what they’re doing.

So, despite our dour first take on the marketing efforts, we might just end up pleasantly surprised.

Syfy has finally put up a website for the show at Stargate Universe (click the link to see the page), which gives us plenty of time to look things over while we wait for Stargate Universe to premiere on Syfy on October 2nd.

Stargate Comic Tidbit:

If you’re also a comic book fan, Dynamite Entertainment will be debuting it’s anthology comic, Stargate #0, in October.

The comic will contain stories from Stargate Universe, SG-1 and Atlantis. The 3 tales will spin-off into their own ongoing titles after that.

The Atlantis title picks up where the series finale left off. The Universe title will be tied into the TV series and SG-1, they claim, will be a glimpse into the near future, and will make us say “What?”

I Have A Question:

I have to wonder – do comics really translate into something you like to follow when it’s associated to a show you like? They don’t really do it for me. When I like a show, I like it for the actors and the story. To see an actor’s likeness in a comic book is OK for me, but doesn’t transcend my barrier of enjoyment enough to get me to pick up an issue. Curiosity will get me to consider an issue or two, but really, is it the same thing?

Let me know what you think about the comics, or the reviews of Stargate Universe.

Sources: io9, Airlock Alpha on Twitter, Digital Spy

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Exciting New Stargate Universe Trailer

Rob Keyes — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:13:45 +0000

For the Stargate fans out there dying to have an ongoing series back on the air to watch, hold on just one more month!

Until then, to help you get your Stargate fix, we have the brand new trailer for the upcoming Stargate Universe series. This one is something you definitely need to see and I think it’ll help bring in fans of old and new to the long-running sci-fi franchise.

Check it out after the jump…

Stargate Universe (SGU) is about a team, who through the new discovery of the purpose of the “ninth cheveron” on the Stargate device, end up travelling across the known universe onto a ship of the Ancients. The ship is named Destiny and she was constructed millions of years prior by the infamous Ancients with the purpose of planting Stargates many different galaxies. Our protagonists are trapped on this ship and unable to take over its controls, and we follow them on their new journey encountering new locations, new species, new cool tech and of course, new bad guys.

Now, watch the trailer and see what you think:

Thanks to this trailer, for the first time, I’m genuinely very excited to see this show. Prior to this point, the stellar cast members had me sold on giving the new series a shot but this trailer has me anticipating the show’s premiere more than ever.

Last year, when we were first hearing the major info on this new series in development, Stargate masterminds Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright emphasized the idea of doing something new and fresh, not re-hashing what had been done for a long time before. David Howe, president of the then-called Sci Fi channel also had this to say:

“This is an opportunity to reinvent this franchise and make it relevant to a new generation… We really don’t want to be more of the same. It’s going to build clearly off the existing franchise but with a cast that gives it a younger vibe.”

Some of the scenes from this trailer looked amazing and the production quality was so much better than from what we saw in the prior SGU trailer from back in April. It looks to me like SGU may be the perfect show to restart the franchise, capture a new audience, and appease the Stargate veterans.

I’m excited to see actor Robert Carlyle on a regular basis along with the rest of the impressive cast. We can also expect some nice cameos from our favorite characters of old.

Do you dig the new trailer? Can this show top SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis?

Stargate Universe airs its premiere October 2, 2009 on the SyFy channel.

Source: Phoenix Rising, SyFy

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New Stargate Movies on Stand By

Paul Young — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:31:23 +0000

Very few TV shows make it to the magical tenth season; especially those of the sci-fi genre. So, when Stargate SG-1 called it quits after their tenth season, I, along with thousands of fans worldwide, were very disappointed. We don’t even have Stargate: Atlantis to whet our wormhole whistle any more – but the spin offs are hardly ever as good as the originals – notable exception is Torchwood from Doctor Who.

That’s why even though Sony Picture Television and MGM decided to cancel the series after 214 episodes, they knew the sci-fi cash cow wasn’t finished delivering some prime time space milk. To continue pleasing fans and to keep the franchise viable, it was announced that three full length movies would be released. Stargate: Continuum and Stargate: The Ark of Truth have already come and gone and both were fantastic extensions of the franchise. But we were suppose to get a third film and even a fourth based on the Atlantis series but alas, that may not happen anytime soon.

The reason Stargate Universe executive producer Robert C. Cooper gives for the delay is the recent downturn I the economy. In an exclusive interview with SCI FI Wire, Cooper had this to say:

“We’re ready to go. We’re just waiting for the right opportunity. We want to be successful with it. The studio wants to be successful, and we really don’t want to proceed with something in the wrong climate, which I think financially it is right now.”

By “ready to go” he means the scripts for both films have been written but it could be some time before we see any movement on them. Cooper blames a recent drop in DVD sales as the major reason behind delaying both films. Cooper explains:

“Since [the release of the first two films], the economics have changed a little bit. DVDs aren’t selling the same way they were when we released those even just a year, and a year and a half ago.”

According to The Numbers website, Stargate: Continuum had sold over 450,000 units as of July 29, 2008 and Stargate: The Ark of Truth did better than that with over 530,000 units sold as of March 11, 2008. Those are fairly respectable numbers for a straight-to-DVD movie from a TV show. I don’t know if I totally agree with Cooper about it being the wrong economic time to produce another DVD movie. I would think fans are more apt to purchase straight to DVD movies because they haven’t been on television and buying or renting it would be the only way to see it.

Either way, I’m saddened to hear we will have to wait a little longer to see SG-1 back in action, but until then, we at least have Stargate Universe to keep us entertained.

Do you agree that now is a bad time to release straight-to-DVD movies and how pumped are you for Stargate Universe?

Stargate Universe’s two-hour premiere is October 2, 2009 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and on Fridays at 9 p.m. after that, all on SyFy.

Source: Cinema Static, Scifi Wire

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TV News & Notes: 2009 Fall Schedule, The Office & More

Kofi Outlaw — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:17:15 +0000

Just a brief update on this Monday: Plan your prime time with the 2009 TV Fall Schedule; Smallville is getting another new guest star; A certain “Foxy” lady might be kicking off SNL this year; Learn how to catch up on all the NBC shows you missed last year (for free!); and speaking of NBC, how about a first-look photo of Jim and Pam getting married on The Office?

And as a bonus (because I love you) I let you know about the government’s “Cash for TV Clunkers” program.

Let’s get to it!

The Office

So we recently let you Office fans know when you can expect Jim and Pam to walk down the aisle – four episodes into the news season. And now we have the first official wedding photo!

The scene was shot at a church in Van Nuys, California on this past weekend and from the photos below you can see that Pam (Jenna Fischer) will be a lovely bride and Jim (John Krasinski) will be every girl’s hometown-sweetheart Prince Charming.

Pam as a beautiful bride.

Krasinski and Fischer shooting the wedding scene.

The Office Season 6 kicks off September 17 at 9/8c on NBC.

Source: TV Guide

Smallville

Actress Steph Song let it be known on her Twitter account yesterday that she will be playing the role of Roulette on the sixth episode of Smallville’s upcoming 9th season. In the DC Universe Roulette is a kick-ass madame of underground fighting tournaments, often using super heroes and/or villains as combatants.

Not sure how the character will be portrayed on Smallville, but I’ll sure tune in to find out!

The show returns on September 25th (that’s Friday now) @ 8/7c on the CW.

Source: Twitter

Saturday Night Live

Life & Style is exclusively reporting that “actress” Megan Fox will be the host kicking SNL’s 35th season on September 26th. Fox would naturally do the gig in order to further promote her upcoming high school comedy/horror flick Jennifer’s Body, and has reportedly been prepping to bring the yuck-yuck by doing a digital short with Andy Samberg.

I’m I the only one who thinks SNL could potentially be off to a bad start this decade year?

Source: Life & Style

NBC TV Rewind

Were there any NBC shows you missed and have been waiting to catch up on? If so, forget about renting the DVDs and just head on over to NBC.com – you can catch up on episodes from many of NBC’s TV lineup for free on the website.

Shows being offered include:

30 Rock
America’s Got Talent
Chuck
Days of Our Lives
Friday Night Lights
Great American Road Trip
Heroes
Kings
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
The Listener
Merlin
The Office
Parks and Recreation
The Philanthropist
Southland
The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
The Wanted

(I know I’ve been waiting to catch up on Days of Our Lives )

Source: NBC

2009 Fall TV Lineup

As Summer winds down many of us will be reluctantly returning to the indoors with only the anticipation of our favorite shows return (plus a few good looking new entries) to brighten up our end-of-summer blues.

But where and when do we find our long-lost TV friends and family in the new TV season? Luckily, we have a list of the shows you want to see, as well as where and when you can catch them.

[Note: Shows are listed alphabetically]

Show (Net), Date time
20/20 (ABC), Sept. 11 at 10 p.m.
30 Rock (NBC), Oct. 15 at 9:30 p.m.
48 Hours Mystery (CBS), Sept. 26 at 10 p.m.
60 Minutes (CBS), Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.
90210 (The CW), Sept. 8 at 8 p.m.
Accidentally On Purpose (CBS), Sept. 21 at 8:30 p.m.
Amazing Race, The (CBS), Sept. 27 at 8 p.m.
America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC), Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.
America’s Most Wanted (Fox), Sept. 12 at 9 p.m.
America’s Next Top Model (The CW), Sept. 9 at 8 p.m.
American Dad (Fox), Sept. 27 at 9:30 p.m.
Beautiful Life, The (The CW), Sept. 16 at 9 p.m.
Big Bang Theory, The (CBS), Sept. 21 at 9:30 p.m.
Biggest Loser, The (NBC), Sept. 15 at 8 p.m.
Bones (Fox), Sept. 17 at 8 p.m.
Brothers (Fox), Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.
Brothers and Sisters (ABC), Sept. 27 at 10 p.m.
Californication (Showtime), Sept. 27 at 10 p.m.
Castle (ABC), Sept. 21 at 10 p.m.
Cleveland Show, The (Fox), Sept. 27at 8:30 p.m.
Cold Case (CBS), Sept. 27 at 10 p.m.
Community [moves to at 8 p.m. on Oct. 8] (NBC), Sept. 17 at 9:30 p.m.
COPS (Fox), Sept. 12 at 8 p.m.
Cougar Town (ABC), Sept. 23 at 9:30 p.m.
Crash Course (ABC), Aug. 26 at 9 p.m.
Crimetime Saturday (CBS), Sept. 26 at 8 p.m.
Criminal Minds (CBS), Sept. 23 at 9 p.m.
CSI (CBS), Sept. 24 at 9 p.m.
CSI: Miami (CBS), Sept. 21 at 10 p.m.
CSI: NY (CBS), Sept. 23 at 10 p.m.
Dancing with the Stars (ABC), Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.
Dateline NBC (NBC), Sept. 26 at 8 p.m.
Defying Gravity (ABC), Already Started! at 10 p.m.
Desperate Housewives (ABC), Sept. 27 at 9 p.m.
Destination Truth (SyFy), Sept. 9 at 9 p.m.
Dexter (Showtime), Sept. 27 at 9 p.m.
Dollhouse (Fox), Sept. 25 at 9 p.m.
Eastwick (ABC), Sept. 23 at 10 p.m.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC), Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.
Family Guy (Fox), Sept. 27at 9 p.m.
FlashForward (ABC), Sept. 24 at 8 p.m.
Football Night in America (NBC), Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Forgotten, The (ABC), Sept. 22 at 10 p.m.
Fringe (Fox), Sept. 17 at 9 p.m.
Gary Unmarried (CBS), Sept. 23 at 8:30 p.m.
Ghost Whisperer (CBS), Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.
Glee (Fox), Sept. 9 at 9 p.m.
Good Wife, The (CBS), Sept. 22 at 10 p.m.
Gossip Girl (The CW), Sept. 14 at 8 p.m.
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), Sept. 24 at 9 p.m.
Greek (ABC Family), Aug. 31 at 9 p.m.
Hell’s Kitchen (Fox), Sept. 29 at 8 p.m.
Heroes (NBC), Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.
House [2-hr] (Fox), Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS), Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX), Sept. 17 at 10 p.m.
Jay Leno Show, The (NBC), Sept. 14 at 10 p.m.
Law and Order (NBC), Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC), Sept. 23 at 9 p.m.
Lie To Me (Fox), Sept. 28 at 8 p.m.
Mad Men (AMC), (In progress) at 10 p.m.
Man Vs Wild (Discovery), (In progress) at 9 p.m.
Medium (CBS), Sept. 25 at 9 p.m.
Melrose Place (The CW), Sept. 8 at 9 p.m.
Mentalist, The (CBS), Sept. 24 at 10 p.m.
Mercy (NBC), Sept. 23 at 8 p.m.
Middle, The (ABC), Sept. 30 at 8:30 p.m.
Modern Family (ABC), Sept. 23 at 9 p.m.
Monk (USA), Already started! at 9 p.m.
NBC Sunday Night Football (NBC), Sept. 13 8:15 p.m.
NCIS (CBS), Sept. 22 at 8 p.m.
NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS), Sept. 22 at 9 p.m.
New Adventures of Old Christine, The (CBS), Sept. 23 at 8 p.m.
Numbers (Numb3rs) (CBS), Sept. 25 at 10 p.m.
Office, The (NBC), Sept. 17 at 9 p.m.
One Tree Hill (The CW), Sept. 14 at 9 p.m.
Parks and Recreation (NBC), Sept. 17 at 8:30 p.m.
Private Practice (ABC), Oct. 1 at 10 p.m.
Project Runway (Lifetime), Aug. at 10 p.m.
Psych (USA), Aug. 7 at 10 p.m.
Sanctuary (SyFy), Oct. 9 at 10 p.m.
Saturday Night Football (ABC), Sept. 5 at 8 p.m.
Saturday Night Live (NBC), Sept. 26 11:30 p.m.
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update (NBC), Sept. 17 at 8 p.m.
Scare Tactics (SyFy), Oct. 6 at 9 p.m.
Shark Tank (ABC), Sept. 29 at 8 p.m.
Simpsons, The (Fox), Sept. 27 at 8 p.m.
Smallville (The CW), Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.
So You Think You Can Dance (Fox), Sept. 9 at 8 p.m.
Sons of Anarchy (FX), Sept. 8 at 10 p.m.
Southland (NBC), Sept. 25 at 9 p.m.
Stargate Universe (SyFy), Oct. 2 at 9 p.m.
Supernanny (ABC), Oct. 16 at 8 p.m.
Supernatural (The CW), Sept. 10 at 9 p.m.
Survivor: Samoa (CBS), Sept. 17 at 8 p.m.
Three Rivers (CBS), Oct. 4 at 9 p.m.
Til Death (Fox), Oct. 2 at 8:30 p.m.
Trauma (NBC), Sept. 28 at 9 p.m.
Two and a Half Men (CBS), Sept. 21 at 9 p.m.
Ugly Betty (ABC), Oct. 9 at 8 p.m.
V (ABC), Nov. 3 at 8 p.m.
Vampire Diaries (The CW), Sept. 10 at 8 p.m.

Source: Cinemastatic

BONUS ITEM: Cash For TV Clunkers

Need a chuckle to get you through this current political/economic turmoil? Head over to TV Tango and have a look at their “Cash For TV Clunkers” program – a listing of the top 10 famous TV cars that could stand to be sent to the scrapyard.

Hilarious!

Source: TV Tango

That’s it for now. Talk to you again during the commercials.

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Stargate Universe: Webisodes & Reassurances

Bruce Simmons — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:30:50 +0000

They weren’t kidding when they said they were looking to make webisodes for Stargate Universe (SGU). Actually, they’re making 30 web episode shorts and they’re all going to be tied into the story line of the show as it develops.

They won’t be deleted scenes, but actual additional footage that adds to what we will be seeing on television. The webisodes will be available on Syfy.com and other sites, being made available as SGU nears its premiere date.

Despite Stargate Universe utilizing a different format than we’re accustomed to, being a ship centric story and having a different premise around the Stargate itself as well as the inability to get home, Lou Diamond Phillips said recently that the show will still focus on the combination of a civilian and military co-existence, focused on exploration, much like its predecessors Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.

They’re looking to create a character driven story based around the dynamics between the people involved in the situation.

About The Show

Stargate Universe follows a band of soldiers, scientists and civilians who find they need to fend for themselves when they are forced through a Stargate to an unknown address because of an attack on their base. The survivors emerge aboard one of the Ancient’s ships, the Destiny, that is locked on an unknown course and they are unable to return to Earth.

Phillips plays a lifelong military man who is the chosen leader of the ill-fated expedition. Phillips has given us a bit of sneak peak into the oddness of his how his character, Col. Telford, will work on the show – His character will be stuck on Earth and will use ancient technology to exchange bodies with people on the ship as he tries to guide the rag tag group of survivors home.

What Do We Think?

This body switching bit is a new twist of sorts. It also leaves a ton of room to have old characters make appearances on the show, though I doubt that will happen too often.

When I first heard of Stargate Universe, I was thinking this should be fine as a stand alone type show that’s headed in a new direction. Survivors stranded in space, trying to figure out how to survive. But for me, if they’re going to now have direct communications with Earth, I have to wonder out-loud, if the showrunners aren’t trying to cover their tracks as they continually try to reassure us that the show will be the same while it’s still different?

As far as a lot of Screen Rant readers are concerned, they should have stuck with Stargate Atlantis for at least another season or more. So from what I see with their new filming techniques, character driven methodologies and such, I feel like they’re saying that they’re moving the mythos on but on a smaller budget of sorts.

I have the faith that Brad Wright and Robert Cooper will deliver. They always have. So I’m giving it the chance I feel it deserves. For now.

Stargate Universe will debut on October 2nd with a 2-hour premiere.

Sources: Gateworld, Sci-Fi Wire

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Stargate Universe: Cast & Set Pictures

Bruce Simmons — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:49:55 +0000

The 16th season of the Stargate franchise is coming soon, in the form Stargate Universe. We’ve been told that one does not have to have watched any other Stargate show to understand this one. The premise behind the Stargates will be reintroduced to bring new viewers up to speed.

Stargate Universe is a spinoff of the Stargate franchise and it follows a group of explorers forced onto a ship called the Destiny, a ship built by the Ancients. The only catch: The ship can’t return to Earth.

We’ve also been told that the aliens we’ll be seeing in SGU will be truly alien as opposed to the typical humanoid aliens we’ve become accustomed to.

We haven’t been let down yet by Brad Wright or Robert Cooper, so I’m looking forward to this new show.

In the meantime, this Screen Rant writer has been lurking about the web, looking for anything new on the show, and I’ve found a few things for the faithful Screen Rant readers.

Here’s one of the latest promotional cast images that has been released:

Below are behind-the-scenes type images of the Gate Room, in various stages of construction.

The back wall of the gate room.

The gate of Stargate Universe

Stargate control consoles

Stargate Universe stars Robert Carlyle playing Dr. Nicholas Rush, Lou Diamond Phillips as Colonel Telford, Justin Louis as Colonel Everett Young, Brian J. Smith as Lt. Matthew Scott and Elyse Levesque as Chloe Armstrong, the daughter and aid of a U.S. Senator. David Blue stars as Eli Wallace and Alaina Huffman plays MSGT. Tamara Johansen, an inexperienced field medic who gets thrust into the middle of it all. Jamil Walker Smith portrays MSGT. Ronald Greer and Ming-Na is Camile Wray, a human resources executive with the international oversight committee that governs the Stargate program.

Things are looking good and these images are revving up my anticipation of the show.

The 2-hour premiere of Stargate Universe will air on Friday, October 2nd. Find your local time and set your DVR’s.

Are you going to at least give the new show a chance for a few episodes? I know I will.

Sources: MGM, Josephmallozzi’s Weblog

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Stargate Universe – 2009 San Diego Comic-Con Panel

Bruce Simmons — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 09:12:12 +0000

The Stargate Universe panel started much like most, with a great preview of the show that showed completely new material that focused on many different aspects of the upcoming season.

Brad Wright and Robert Cooper came out, and they introduced Jamile Walker Smith, Alaina Huffman, David Blue, Robert Carlyle, Ming-Na, Brian J. Smith & Elyse Levesque.

Brad and Robert started by pointing out that this will be the 16th season of a Stargate franchise with Stargate Universe. They pointed out that the show will have a different feel and is shot in a slightly different way.

They said that one does not have to have seen SG-1 or SG-Atlantis to jump into the show. It reintroduces what a Stargate is for those that haven’t seen it. Brad Wright tossed out a question to the audience, asking who hasn’t seen either SG-1 or SG-Atlantis. Unbelievably, I’d guess about 5% of the audience raised their hands. Brad asked them all to leave, lol.

They pointed out to us as a reminder that we saw Ricard Dean Anderson in the preview and they note that RDA will be appearing intermittently throughout the season. Amanda Tapping will also be making an appearance.

At its core, despite being a new, darker and grittier Stargate, SGU will retain the spirit we’ve come to know from Stargate.

Brad and Robert noted that the show had gotten to the point where everyone was a superhero and genius in their own right. In SGU, they looked to make the characters more identifiable show.

Brad Wright pointed out that the cast are “convention virgins.”

They recanted a funny moment for a few of the actors: Jamile Walker Smith and Levesque had hit up the Stargate booth the previous day and the girl working the booth offered them a raffle ticket chance to win walk on roles on the show.

They were asked why they weren’t on NBC, for those who might not have access to Syfy, and Robert Cooper said they’ve been on Syfy for forever and it’s their home.

Robert Carlyle was asked how working on a TV series compares to working on feature films. He said that it’s really about the piece itself, regardless of the medium it’s headed to.

Cooper added that Carlyle plays the character with courage.

Q: What about the Furlings?

We heard a definite “No!” from someone on the panel, but then Cooper said yes, and that they answer the 9th chevron thing.

Q: Someone asked since they’ve had strong intelligent women in the last 2 shows, what do they have in mind for this show? (Obviously, no faith yet in the fresh, young cast!)

Each actress demonstrated that they each have strong, intelligent female characters on the show.

David Blue has seen all of SG-1 and SG-Atlantis shows. Wright joked that it’s great to hire an actor they can use as technical consultant.

They were asked about the premature ending of Atlantis and why it ended so quickly.

Robert Cooper said Brad flipped a coin! Cooper agreed that there were more stories to be told but didn’t feel it was a premature ending. It was a good run with Atlantis and some shows just don’t last that long. He didn’t think “premature” is the right word.

An attendee pointed out that SG-1 and Altantis were more episodic, and rumors say that universe will be more serial.

It’s different when something becomes serialized becuase if you miss a few episodes, you have to wonder what’s up so they’re more about having serialized character stories, the background details that are behind the story itself will be more serialized.

Nugget: They made a note about the evacuation scene that we keep seeing in previews – saying that when they dial the gate, they think they’re headed back to Earth.

Carlyle – what drew him to the role? He said that the role was very left field for him and didn’t know much about Stargate. He said it’s a character driven piece about the show and they weer looking for someone to make unlikeable things likable.

Note: I’ve only seen Carlyle on TV and didn’t not realize just how strong of an accent he has.

It was asked if the audience was going to see more non-Jaffa aliens and such.

They said that this Stargate is about exploring the universe and they wanted the experience to be realistic and they will be encountering aliens you might not find out there in space… ie: humanoid.

There will be “alien aliens” and they won’t say things to us the way the Wraith or others would.

In Universe, characters can be both heroes and villains. In the previous shows the greater evil brought all parties together to face the issue. That isn’t going to be the case in Universe.

A sharp minded attendee asked if SGU will kill off its doctor like the other shows? Robert Cooper said the doctor dies right away, so no worries there.

It was noted that though Brian J. Smith didn’t know much about Stargate, he was a Trekkie.

At the end, Syfy played their newest, long running ad that demonstrates the virtues of their new logo / identity. This advertisement messed with the seat dance that takes place between panels and folks charged for their seats while the lights were still down. The Con lost control of the situation to a small degree. That was a first.

We then also saw an ad for Warehouse 13, and then the lights came on.

Aside from those last few, dark minutes, it was a great panel.

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Syfy Announces Premiere Dates For Stargate Universe & Others

Bruce Simmons — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:27:42 +0000

We’ve all been wondering when some of the newest shows will be starting up on Syfy, and now they’ve us a little bit of info on the following upcoming programming:

Stargate Universe
Sanctuary
Scare Tactics
Destination Truth

Stargate Universe will be debuting with a 2-hour premiere on Friday, October 2nd. The series will air on regularly on Fridays, starting October 9th.

The green screen-based show, Sanctuary, will premiere on Friday, October 9th.

Scare Tactics is a show that I really like the premise of, but doesn’t really hit the mark as well as it can, in my opinion. But if you like the show, Scare Tactics will kick it back in gear on Tuesday, October 6th.

Destination Truth will be premiering for the curious of mind on Wednesday, September 9th.

Shows Already On The Air:

Everyone’s fave, Ghost Hunters will have new episodes in it’s Wednesday night slot through to the fall. They will be having special guest investigators such as Meatloaf. Cool… he can investigate love by the dashboard lights!

Warehouse 13 will keep hitting us with new episodes through September 22nd.

Source: Sci Fi Wire

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Weekly TV Wrap Up – July 16th, 2009

Bruce Simmons — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:24:54 +0000

In this weeks TV Wrap Up, I’ve found casting news about Stargate Universe, Supernatural, Psych, Friday Night Lights, Smallville, Criminal Minds and Stephen King’s book-turned-tv-series, Cell!

As usual, I have a ratings recap at the bottom, but it’s the Summer Lite edition being as how we’re in repeat mode for the Summer (except for the reality drabble that is intertwined throughout the chart).

Let’s “git ‘er done“, shall we?

Stargate Universe

Stargate Universe is looking to cast a “name actress” to play the wife of Robert Carlyle’s character.

These will be flashback scenes since she will be dead by the time we see her.

Supernatural

The CW’s Supernatural is adding a recurring role of a possessed mechanic named Raphael. He’s supposedly going to be possessed by one of the most powerful entities in the universe.

Psych

David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London) has signed up to appear in the Halloween episode of Psych. He’ll be playing a one Dr. Ken Tucker, who is a self-serving sociopath!

Season 4 of Psych will be starting on August 7th.

Source: EW

Friday Night Lights

Casting has begun for season 4 of Friday Night Lights. As high school students graduate, they move on. So too must Adrianne Palicki, Zach Gilford, and Minka Kelly.

The rolls they’re looking to fill are named Vince, Luke, Jess and Becky.

I’ll miss watching Palicki on FNL, but she’s moving onto Supernatural, so I won’t go through any withdrawals.

Source: EW

Smallville

Word on the street is that the upcoming season of Smallville will have a full on Clark and Lois romance going. I know many of you are of mixed opinions on this issue, but we’ll just have to take what they give us and hope we don’t suffer too much from any forced acting or stretched out story lines.

I guess this means Lois comes back from where ever she went last season.

Oops, does that make this a SPOILER? Sorry.

Criminal Minds

If you’re wondering if Hotch survived the season finale – heck, I don’t know! But what I’ve read is that they are casting for the role of an emergency room doctor.

That can’t be bad news. Can it?

Source: EW

Stephen King’s Cell

So how do you get turned into a rampaging killer? Quite possibly by a signal sent through your cell phone, according to Stephen King.

His novel Cell is being taken up by John Harrison (Tales From The Darkside: The Movie) who is putting together a script for a 4-hour mini-series based on the book.

I don’t know about you, but hopefully Harrison will figure out how to liven up the ending. I’ve always found endings to King’s movies lacking something, but could never put a finger on it. But that’s just me.

Source: Fangoria

TV Ratings

On the big networks, CBS took the majority of the top spots, with NCIS once again ranking supreme in the ratings. The Mentalist & CSI: Miami were the other crime dramas filling out the top-10.

Trivia: Did you know that ABC turned down the CSI franchise when it was being shopped around? Oops.

In the oddity department, I’m almost relieved to see that Big Brother premiered in 18th. For me, it shows that at least one more reality cornerstone is slowly losing its grip on the viewers. My exuberance is short lived though, as I realize the other reality competition shows for dancing and singing are still ranking up there.

On Cable, The Closer keeps closing the door on the other shows, Royal Pains is hanging in there, while the Michael Jackson memorial dominated the top 20 in different slots, as each hour of the event was broken down and placed in the rankings.

Nielsen Top Twenty, for the week ending July 12, 2009, all viewers:

Rank, Program, Network, Viewers (Millions)
1. America’s Got Talent, Wed, NBC, 11.9
2. NCIS, CBS, 10.99
3. America’s Got Talent, Tue, NBC, 10.6
4. Two And A Half Men, CBS, 9.4
5. The Mentalist – Tue, CBS, 9.2
6. 60 Minutes, CBS, 8.8
7. CSI: Miami, CBS, 8.8
8. Primetime: Family Secrets, ABC, 8.7
9. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 8.3
10. The Mentalist, CBS, 8.3
11. Wipeout, ABC, 8.2
12. So You Think You Can Dance, Thur, FOX, 7.9
13. The Bachelorette, ABC, 7.7
14. CSI, CBS, 7.7
15. So You Think You Can Dance – Wed, FOX, 7.6
16. CSI: NY, CBS, 7.3
17. Criminal Minds, CBS, 7.1
18. Big Brother 11 Premiere, Thur, CBS, 6.6

Cable

1. The Closer, TNT, 6.1
2. Royal Pains, USA, 5.7
3. Jackson Memorial Service, CNN, Tue, 3:00P-3:48P, 5.7
4. Burn Notice, USA, 5.5
5. WWE Entertainment, USA, 5.4
6. Jackson Memorial Service, CNN, 2:00P-3:00P     5.4
7. iCarly, NICK, 5.2
8. Jackson Memorial Service, CNN, 1:33P-2:00P     5,125
9. M Jackson Memorial Cvg     CNN     Tue     03:48P-04:00P     4,967
10. WWE Entertainment, USA, 4.9
11. Sprint Cup Racing/Chicago, TNT, 4.8
16. Harry Potter/Goblet, FAM, 4.1
17. In Plain Sight, USA, 3.9

Source: TV By The Numbers

That’s it for another fun filled week of tidbits. As always, Screen Rant readers thoughts, ideas or suggestions are always welcomed additions to the article.

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Sci-Fi Channel Panels At San Diego Comic-Con ‘09

Bruce Simmons — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:16:05 +0000

We originally reported on the television panels at San Diego Comic-Con ‘09, we knew about the Sci-Fi panels that were going to be present, we did not have specific times.

Now we do.

As would be expected, We’ll be seeing cast and crew from Stargate Universe, Caprica, Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, Eureka, Sanctuary and Warehouse 13.

Friday, July 24th:

Stargate Universe in Ballroom 20 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Those attending the panel will be Robert Carlyle, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque, David Blue, Alaina Huffman, Jamil Walker Smith and Ming-Na. Co-creators Brad Wright and Robert Cooper will also be present.

Caprica / Battlestar Galactica: The Plan in Ballroom 20, from 11:45 a..m. to 12:45 p.m..

Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and Jane Espenson will be there, along with Esai Morales (Joseph Adama) and Edward James Olmos (Admiral William Adama) as they chat about these two new additions to the Battlestar Galactica mythos.

Eureka in room 6BCF from 3:15 to 4:15 pm.

Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Erica Cerra, Neil Grayston and Jaime Paglia (executive producer/co-creator) will be there to interact with the panel session.

Special Screenings from 8:30 to 10:30 pm:

In room 6DE, the newest episodes of Warehouse 13 and Eureka will be aired and there will also be some clips from Ghost Hunters.

Saturday, July 25th

Sanctuary can be found in the Bayside Hilton Indigo Room from 12:30 to 1:30 pm.

Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne along with executive producers Martin Wood and Damian Kindler will be there for this session.

Warehouse 13 in Room 6A from 2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

Eddie McClintock (Pete Lattimer), Joanne Kelly (Myka Bering), Saul Rubinek (Artie Nielsen) and Allison Scagliotti (Claudia Donovan) will be there, as well as Jack Kenny (executive producer/show runner) and David Simkins (executive producer).

These panels should keep you focused on their products, though I am still super curious about why I’m not seeing any Ghost Hunters panels scheduled for SDCC09? I’ve dropped a line with SyFy in hopes of getting an answer. I’ll let you know what they say.

Bonus Note:

The 5th in a series of DVD series releases for Green Lantern, titled Green Lantern: First Flight will have its world premiere at San Diego Comic-Con in Ballroom 20 at 8 p.m. on July 23rd.

That’s 5 days before it’s released to DVD!

This information will be added to my original article on the myriad of TV panels at Comic-Con.

Now you know!

Sources: Sci Fi Wire, Sci Fi Wire

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New ‘Stargate Universe’ Details Emerge

Bruce Simmons — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:45:30 +0000

With the premiere of Stargate Universe (SGU) headed our way, some are expecting the same-ol’, while others are hoping for something new. Despite the public statements about having a younger cast, they’ve still injected some seasoned veterans in the mix in the form of Robert Carlyle and Lou Diamond Phillips. That makes for a nice mix to draw various viewing hopefuls into the fray of watching the show.

It seems that it just might be possible that the creative forces behind SGU are concerned with the show looking like all the other shows. To try and keep it a fresh experience, they’ve decided to mix up a few things, including the use of different camera techniques to film the series.

Different Things About SGU

The Ancient ship (called “Destiny”) will have technology on board that will allow the crew to relate back to Earth, keeping the planet in the show.

The aliens they encounter at first will be very alien. Non-humanoid that is.

The Gate dialing equipment is said to be very cool and different from what we’ve become accustomed to on Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1.

The biggest change we’re going to be experiencing is the end result of what we see regarding how they film the show.

What SGU’s creator Robert C. Cooper has indicated is that they’re going for the appearance of a documentary-like ambiance while blending a sense of reality that’s being brought together. And with it, possibly a fresh new way to experience the Stargate franchise.

The inspiration for this idea for Cooper came from how Joss Whedon’s Firefly was shot. He said that they used a lot of hand-held angles and cameras mounted in non-traditional locations.

We Can Hope It’s Good

As far as new, I hope they “bring it” and bring it good, because they have a lot to live up to besides just continuing the franchise overall or an existing chapter like Altantis or SG-1. They need to make it very compelling for us to keep watching, or even to start watching for that matter. So far, I’ve only seen a few previews and all they’ve all been of the scene where the staff find themselves under great duress.

This new camera technique they’re talking about worries me and has me pondering…

I’m worried that what we saw In the Stargate Universe preview video we brought to you back in early April might be what we’re going to get throughout the whole series. If so, I am not looking forward to tossing my cookies every Friday on schedule. It’s probably not going to be that bad, but I’ve seen “live, feel like you are there” filming techniques that make me want to spin my cookies.

My big question is about whether this is something that is being thought of to be unique and fresh or if there are budgetary restrictions that might be making this happen?

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. When Supernatural got their budget cut for the present season, it forced them to cut back on special effects and focus more on simple character settings. That has worked very well for them as it’s forced them to create character driven episodes and they’ve got the writing talent creating compelling stories from that restriction. I can only hope this new rendition of our favorite franchise, Stargate Universe, can aspire to be as good or better than its Stargate predecessors.

Source: Gate World

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Weekly TV Wrap Up – April 16th, 2009

Bruce Simmons — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:28:22 +0000

It’s Thursday and I hope that April 15th didn’t treat you too harshly yesterday. Whether it did or not, I’m still here to razz or rant on some stuff that’s happening in and around the tube.

Stargate Universe

As if this is a surprise to Stargate fans, but Stargate Universe will be having a few notable guest stars in the form of a few veterans reprising their Stargate SG-1 roles.

Yep, you read that right.

We’ll be seeing Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks and Gary Jones reprising their roles we’ve come to love over the years. Additonally, we’re going to see Christopher McDonald (U.S. senator Alan Armstrong), Janelle Monáe (plays herself. She and her band will perform) and Carlo Rota (Carl Strom, head of the International Oversight Advisory) will also make an appearance.

If this is anything like the way Stargate Atlantis started, we’ll see them in one quick scene, making it an official Stargate send off. I can’t imagine anything else, unless there’s a holodeck on the Ancient’s ship.

Stargate Universe stars Robert Carlyle, Lou Diamond Phillips and Ming-Na and is set to premiere on SCI FI in October with a special two-hour episode.

Source: SciFi Wire

Southland

Southland is a new crime drama show that takes the place of ER on Thursdays. It came in pretty strong with just under 10 million viewers for it’s premiere episode last week. I think this show may just play well into this time slot. I plan on watching it some more because I found it compelling. Did you?

Not to give much away for the time-shifted viewers but I thought the last episode of 24 brought some emotion to Jack’s life and a real twister of an ending. What a mind blowing twist of scenes.

If anyone saw it and wants to express their thoughts, try not to leave any spoilers please. (It’s hard, I know.)

The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Normally, this is where I might speak about the last episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, since they had their season finale. But we need more space to touch on some issues, so stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming article on the show. I’ll just say this for now: The season finale drew in approximately 3.6 million viewers.

I apologize for the tease.

Harper’s Island

Harper’s Island is a murder mystery drama and that reference isn’t the best draw for some folks. Yet being brought to us by Jerry Turtletaub (Jericho) not only gives it some merit, I believe it’s evident in the show. There’s great character interaction and mystery upon mystery leveled at us like layers of an onion.

With that noted, Harper’s Island premiered 20th on our charts with just over 10 million viewers clocking in to watch it. I found it entertaining enough that the hour flew by for me pretty fast and I was surprised it went so fast.

Did Anyone else catch this show? Have any thoughts?

Damages

Dang. I just got around to watching the last 2 episodes of Damages.

The flash forwards and flash backs throughout the season set me up for some premises I thought I had. Yet they artfully sidestepped everything and took us down a very entertaining path. That last episode moved at a pace that was complimentary to the writing throughout the season. It was one surprise after the other.

Another season, well done for Damages. I am hoping they return for another season.

Smallville

In case you’re wondering where new episodes of Smallville are, well, you’ve come to the right place.

It’s just taking a break and new episodes will be returning on April 23rd.

Leno on NBC in Boston

Remember that NBC Affiliate that said it wasn’t going to air the new Jay Leno primetime show because it was going to be “adverse to their finances?”

After NBC made a statement about pulling their affiliation from the station, they’ve had a change of heart.

WHDH-TV owner Ed Ansin said recently that “upon further consideration,” they will air Jay Leno’s program at 10 pm/ET beginning in September.

Well, that didn’t last long.

Source: THR

Friday Night Lights

Time Shitfted Viewing Light Spoilers.

Friday Night Lights came to season close last week. Man, I think coach got the shaft from the rich brat dad using his influence to get what he wants or that he was getting revenge for getting turned in to child protective services. It’s killing me.

Now, as you can see, Coach is going to have his job cut out for him. What a drastic change of venue. I’m betting this new job only has one football from the looks of that tattered field.

Trust Me

If you were a Trust Me fan, I hope you weren’t too hooked on it.

Despite TNT confusing me and calling it a “creative success,” TNT pulled the plug on the show last Friday.

Trust Me starred Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh as creative executives at the imaginary agency and it just didn’t catch on, averaging only 1.4 million viewers per episode.

I so did not want to tell me wife this news. She’s a big Cavanagh fan.

Source: NY Times

Ratings

Below are network ratings from the week of April 6th to April 12th:

As you can see, American idol dominated. What’s new? NCIS performed consistently with just over 17 million viewers and CSI did well with just over 16 million viewers. The action adventure platform known as 24 pulled in just over 10 million viewers.

The most viewed premiere of the week was Surviving Suburbia with 11+ million viewers, then Harper’s Island with just over 10 million pairs of eyeballs. Southland premiered 3rd amongst premieres with just under 10 million viewers, but I feel like it’s capable of more and will probably do more. We’re still in withdrawal from ER.

NBC’s Parks and Recreation premiered in the middle of the pack as did The Unusuals, both with around 6.8 million viewers.

For me, I tried watching The Unusuals premiere episode. It just didn’t draw me in. In fact I had just watched Southland and I turned of The Unusuals about 20 minutes in. I gave it a 2nd try last night. I didn’t turn it off, but it just felt lacking to me. I might gel with other folks but I just don’t see Amber Tamblyn (Joan Of Arcadia) as a cop. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg on this one, so I’ll be nice and say no more.

Rank – Show (Network) -Viewers In The Millions

1 - American Idol-Wednesday (FOX) – 22.976

2 - American Idol-Tuesday (FOX) – 22.813

3 - Dancing With The Stars (ABC) – 19.883

4 - NCIS (CBS) – 17.807

5 - NCAA Championships (CBS) – 17.649

6 - The Mentalist (CBS) – 16.921

7 - CSI (CBS) – 16.625

8 - Dancing W/Stars Results (ABC) – 14.561

9 - Criminal Minds (CBS) – 13.606

10 – House (FOX) – 13.294

11 – 60 Minutes (CBS) – 12.825

12 – CSI: NY (CBS) – 12.504

13 – Without A Trace (CBS) – 12.154

14 – Prelude To A Championship (CBS) – 12.152

15 – Surviving Suburbia (ABC) – 11.249 PREMIERE

16 – Survivor: Tocantins (CBS) – 11.238

17 – 24 (FOX) – 10.958

18 – Amazing Race 14 (CBS) – 10.572 S

19 – Cold Case (CBS) – 10.559 S

20 – Harper’s Island (CBS) – 10.21 PREMIERE

21 – Ghost Whisperer (CBS) – 10.084

22 – Fringe (FOX) – 9.883

23 – Southland (NBC) – 9.864 PREMIERE

24 – Numb3rs (CBS) – 9.803

25 – Flashpoint (CBS) – 9.768

26 – Extreme Makeover:Home Ed (ABC) – 9.554

27 – Law And Order:SVU (NBC) – 9.264

28 – The Unit (CBS) – 9.054 S

29 – Castle (ABC) – 9.029

30 – Bones (FOX) – 9.007

31 – Lost (ABC) – 8.565

32 – Lie To Me (FOX) – 8.563

33 – Biggest Loser 7 (NBC) – 8.096

34 – Apprentice 8 (NBC) – 8.07

35 – Office (NBC) – 8.018

36 – Hell’s Kitchen (FOX) – 7.538

38 – Gary Unmarried (CBS) – 7.242

39 – Medium (NBC) – 7.173

40 – Old Christine (CBS) – 7.172

41 – The Big Bang Theory (CBS) – 6.94 REPEAT

42 – Parks And Recreation (NBC) – 6.878 PREMIERE

43 – The Unusuals (ABC) – 6.825 PREMIERE

44 – 30 Rock (NBC) – 6.811

46 – Dateline Sun (NBC) – 6.45

48 – Heroes (NBC) – 6.109

49 – Chuck (NBC) – 6.096

50 – 20/20-Fri (ABC) – 5.905

51 – Cupid (ABC) – 5.708

52 – Law & Order-Wed (NBC) – 5.439

53 – Family Guy (FOX) – 5.324

54 – Supernanny (ABC) – 5.281

55 – Law And Order-Sat (NBC) – 5.21 REPEAT

56 – Grey’s Anatomy-Thu (ABC) – 5.124 REPEAT

58 – Cops 2 (FOX) – 4.906

59 – Dateline Fri (NBC) – 4.836

60 – Samantha Who? (ABC) – 4.829

61 – Simpsons (FOX) – 4.748 REPEAT

62 – Law And Order (NBC) – 4.644 REPEAT

63 – Life (NBC) – 4.601

64 – Scrubs-Wed (ABC) – 4.557

65 – In The Motherhood (ABC) – 4.506

66 – American Dad (FOX) – 4.5 REPEAT

67 – Wife Swap (ABC) – 4.416 REPEAT

68 – Desperate Housewives (ABC) – 4.364 REPEAT

69 – Charlie Brown Special (ABC) – 4.358 REPEAT

70 – Private Practice (ABC) – 4.22 REPEAT

71 – King Of Hill (FOX) – 4.212 REPEAT

72 – Cops (FOX) – 4.09 REPEAT

73 – Friday Night Lights (NBC)- 4.08 FINALE

74 – Howie Do It 8P (NBC) – 3.768

75 – Howie Do It 8:30 (NBC) – 3.722

76 – America’s Top Model – 6 (CW) – 3.686

77 – Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX) – 3.587 FINALE

78 – Dollhouse (FOX) – 3.503

80 – Reaper (CW) – 2.112

81 – Supernatural (CW) – 2.054 REPEAT

82 – Smallville (CW) – 1.971 REPEAT

84 – 90210 (CW) – 1.959

86 – CW Sunday Movie-Easter(S) (CW) – 1.405 S

87 – Everybody Hates Chris (CW) – 1.342 REPEAT

88 – The Game (CW) – 1.189 REPEAT

90 – One Tree Hill-Mon (CW) – 1.093 REPEAT

91 – Gossip Girl-Mon (CW) – 1.078 REPEAT

92 – Jericho (CW) – 0.579 REPEAT

Rating Numbers via TV By The Numbers.

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