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

With FlashForward and V not doing as well in the ratings as ABC had hyped / hoped for, some were worried about their futures.

Rest assured that ABC is committed to the new shows…  just not fully committed.

As the shows line up to return from their breaks, each show is now less one episode than the original tally of episodes slated to be filmed.   This means that when they return from their mid-season breaks, V will only have 8 new episodes and FlashForward will have 14 episodes.

It’s nice to see that for the moment, ABC is backing their shows.  I can only hope they stick to this plan as March approaches.

What Is Up With Mid-Season Breaks?

It seems to be the in-fashion thing these days to yank shows and install mid-season breaks.  What’s up with that?  Are we going to start getting hit with DVD sales for 2 parts of a season now (a la Battlestar Galactica)?  I’m not sure what I’d do if that were the case.

I feel like I’m getting jerked around by a network that has jumped on this “mid-season finale” bandwagon.

If anything, they’re just annoying me and there’s a great possibility I just might find another show to watch in the meantime.  Or catch repeats of other shows I didn’t have time to watch. All of this can be done before the shows on hiatus come back.

But that’s just me.  How do you folks feel about the episode cuts and the mid-season breaks?  Are they just as annoying to you as myself?

Return Dates for FlashForward and V

FlashForward, March 4th. V will be returning to ABC on March 30th.

Source:  Futon Critic

Citizens of Earth, as the resistance against the Visitors grows, mankind just may have a fighting chance against the alien beings. Unfortunately, I don’t believe our favorite alphabet network (ABC) is so gung-ho about this particular extraterrestrial opposition, as resistance means that ratings for their new science-fiction series V have dropped significantly from last week’s debut.

The premiere episode of ABC’s re-imagining of the 1983 sci-fi mini-series raked in 14.30 million viewers, while this week’s episode saw its audience drop 27% to 10.7 million viewers. While all new shows expect to see a slight drop in ratings after their premiere episode, the drop that V saw was the largest since this season started in September.

Still, 10.7 million viewers is nothing to complain about. If V continues to received ratings in that range, fans of the series need not worry about its fate (sorry Dollhouse). Also, looking at Tuesday’s ratings shows you just much of a powerhouse CBS’s NCIS is, as this week’s episode brought in an astonishing 21 million viewers. (Now we all know how NCIS continues to be the number one rated show: it’s awesome!)

The question remains; why so much of the drop off? Have viewers become numb with revisiting past memories with a new paint job? Is the new V just not holding up to what everyone had hoped it would be?

I, myself, never saw the original mini-series, but have become quite interested in this new version. While I’ve fallen back around four episodes in FlashForward, I continue to look forward to the next episode of V. Although, I do have a problem that they’ve turned a mini-series into a regular episodic television series as this means they’re going to have to artificially lengthen a story that has been previously told. I continue to fight the urge to return to the original just so that I know the entire story.

…I can’t be the only one.

Catch V Tuesday nights at 8PM on ABC

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The original V series that aired back in the 80s was basically about the threat of Communism and Soviet Russia, so I anticipated that ABC’s remake would have some sort of political undertone as well. What suprised me in the pilot was the apparent target of the show’s political undertone: President Barack Obama.

The episode opens with the standard TV pilot mechanism of briefly showing us a a minute or so of each of the characters we’ll come to know over the course of the series. We have the handsome newscaster who is not taken seriously and wants to get ahead, the single mom FBI agent, a priest and a man with an obviously shadowy background trying to make a fresh start in life.

Soon enough huge spaceships appear over major cities in a scene reminiscent of Independence Day (the writers are quite aware of this, actually pointing it out on the show itself). The ships turn into mega big screen TVs in order to deliver a soothing message by series star Morena Baccarin, who plays alien visitor Anna. She says they are overjoyed to find life on another world – and that they never expected they would find any (then why build a massive video/PA system in to the exterior of your starship?).

They come promoting goodness, peace and light – they’re here to help us with their technology, including setting up healing centers where they can easily cure over 60 incurable diseases. The world is “hurting” according to one of the characters, so it seems the vast majority of the population accepts them on their word without much questioning at all. There are small protests breaking out everywhere, but those folks are looked at as rabble rousers who need to get with the program.

The aliens are all good looking and about hope and change (their words, not mine) and interestingly when reporters begin to ask hard questions upon Anna’s arrival, the newscaster mentioned above accuses them of being rude(!). Later Anna decides that she wants him to be their PR conduit and he is taken aback when prior to their first interview (which could skyrocket his career and fame) she instructs him that he is not to ask any questions that could show the Visitors in a bad light. He balks, but acquieses – and she rubs his nose in it by saying (when the cameras are rolling) that he should feel free to ask anything he likes, they are an open book.

During the interview the phrase “universal health care” is actually used in describing what they are offering and why they should be accepted.

There’s an underground group that knows what the Visitors are up to, but they are looked upon as nutjobs and terrorists even though they are in the right and know what the Visitors are really up to.

Interestingly there is a priest on the show who is skeptical of the Vistors’ intentions despite the Vatican quickly coming to the assessment that the Visitors are good – and he worries about happiness about the Visitors’ arrival turning into devotion and worship.

I’m sure that those who don’t like what the current administration is doing will see a clear connection and those who agree with what Obama is trying to accomplish will either laugh off any such connection as ridiculous or will read more nuanced meaning into the show to demonstrate it actually supports this administration.

What do YOU think?

Um, remember when ABC announced an ambitious plan for airplanes to be decorating the skies above major landmarks with giant red “V”s to market the upcoming mini-series V?

In case you haven’t figured it out, and way after the fact, it’s being reported that it just isn’t happening.

“Why not?”, I hear you asking.

It seems this promotional effort would pollute the air and since Disney, who owns ABC, declared that they would cut fuel emissions by 2012, this marketing plan didn’t gel with that environmental ideology.

This clever idea was dissed publicly by Lisa de Moraes of the Washington Post, who estimated that the campaign to scribble red letters in the air with airplanes would use 400 gallons of fuel that contains 800 grams of lead and produce approximately 3 tons of CO2 and other pollutants.

All in all, this campaign was found to be hypocritical of Disney’s carbon neutral stance.

So if you’re wondering why you aren’t seeing big red “V“s in the sky, that’s why.

Sorry gang.

Sources:  THR, Washington Post

ABC has made available the first 9 1/2 minutes of V and we have it for you here at Screen Rant.

In the video they try to tie into the emotions one might have felt when JFK was shot or on September 11th.  They ask you where were you when these events happened – and where were you this morning.  Meaning, the morning that the visitors arrive.

If you live in California, you might have an issue or two as the ground shakes with the arrival of the ship.  The first of 29 ships that arrive on Earth.

Check it out after the break and let us know what you think!

ABC released this quip alongside the video:

An image of Anna, the leader of the V’s, is projected worldwide as she talks about people joining together.

V premieres on Tuesday, November 7th.

Source: ABC

In a couple of weeks ABC Television will air its remake of the 80s sci-fi hit V. Audiences are all crossing their fingers and hoping that this remake is much better than the past couple of attempts by television studios (Knight Rider, Bionic Woman). Right now, all hopes of success are resting on the shoulders of one vaguely known actress: Morena Baccarin. If you look at all of the marketing leading up to the November 3^rd premiere one face sticks out looking down on the city on the bottom of a huge inter-galactic spaceship and it’s Anna (Baccarin).

For an actress that only has a handful of TV shows under her belt (Firefly, Stargate:SG-1) and two movies (Serenity, Stolen Lives), she sure does have a lot to live up to. She seems to be up to the challenge though and is handling all the press in stride. Recently, Christopher John Farley at Speakeasy, a new blog extension of the Wall Street Journal, had the opportunity to sit down with Morena Baccarin and talk to her about her upcoming role as Anna in V.

Baccarin was a fan of the original 1983 series when it was first on, even though she was a mere four years old, and Farley asks her about that and why the V story worth re-telling:

“I was in Brazil so we got it a few years after the U.S. got it. I remember being with my brother on the couch and watching it and being petrified. Like when one of the Vs peels off her skin. When I got the part [of Anna] I went back and YouTubed the show and watched some scenes and it was as creepy as I remembered. [Why is the story worth re-telling?] Because we’re all interested in life outside of Earth. We all have a fascination with what’s out there because we don’t really know. The storyline lends itself to explore a lot of things-like fear, and blind devotion and terrorism. ”

OK, so she was at least seven or so when the V first came out in Brazil; that makes more sense. My four year old runs out of the room when Oscar the Grouch comes on the screen; I can’t see him sitting through a woman ripping off her flesh to reveal the leathery green lizard skin beneath. She does bring up an interesting point about “blind devotion and terrorism.”

Watch this new clip from the show below and see if you recognize the blind devotion she refers to:

Right now, terrorism is a hot topic and relevant to current world political trends but how does V incorporate that into the show?

“In the pilot, there’s a sleeper cell of aliens. There’s this idea that friends and neighbors may not be who they say they are – that there are evil people living in the community.”

Sounds a lot like what is actually happening in America now; so at least the writers are trying to remain relevant. Time will tell if that is a plot device that actually works or if audiences are wanting to tune out from the world around them, not be reminded of it in a sci-fi show.

Farley continues on and asks the question most people are curious about: “Which animal are you going to eat?” He is of course referencing the scene where Diana (Jane Balder) swallows a whole live guinea pig.

“I haven’t had to eat anything like that in any episode we’ve shot so far. But I’ve been told to brace myself. I was asked by the producer if I have any issues with rodents.”

A rodent is a very vague reference; for all she knows the producers are planning to have her chow down on a capybara (the world’s largest rodent). I for one would tune in to watch that. Morena sort of suffers from the same curse fellow Firefly star Nathan Fillion does – all her shows end after a handful of episodes. We all know what happened to Firefly and she managed to get onto Stargate:SG-1 during its final season.

Morena Baccarin may have to wait for another chance for a long running show if ABC doesn’t get its act together with V. Back in August production shut down on the sci-fi show and last month the studio announced it would be splitting the show into two mini-seasons – four episodes now and the rest after the holiday break. Oh well, it’s a shame really, because she is a talented and beautiful actress and deserves to have a show run for a couple of seasons or longer.

To read the entire interview click here.

Do you plan on watching the V remake next month? And what rodent do you think Morena Baccarin should eat?

V debuts on ABC November 3rd, 2009 at 8pm EST/7pm CST.

Source: Speakeasy

[Update: View a list of where and when you can catch the V skywriting campaign]

ABC is headed for the skies to market their newest sci-fi offering, V, a remake of the popular 80s television series.

Starting this Friday, ABC will be having skywriters create the letter V over 26 undisclosed landmarks.

This will happen a few times a day over the landmarks until the series premiere on November 3rd.  I am presuming it won’t happen over each one a few times a day, but heck, I’ve been surprised before.

It seems like a lot of work going into this alien-based science fiction show.  Considering the conjecture of whether V, is in trouble or not ever since it was announced they were taking breaks from production and then seemingly testing the waters by breaking it down into a 4-episode mini-series premiere, I’m a bit confused.

Here’s a listing of where and when you can spot the V skywriting:

Date/Time            Location

October 23 — 9:00 a.m.          Boston, MA
October 23 — 9:00 a.m.        Minneapolis, MN
October 24 — 9:00 a.m.        San Francisco, CA
October 24 — 9:00 a.m.        Seattle, WA
October 24 — 9:00 a.m.        Orlando, FL
October 25 — 9:00 a.m.        Chicago, IL
October 25 — 12:00 p.m.        Hollywood, CA
October 25 — 9:30 a.m.          New York, NY
October 25 — 2:15 p.m.        Philadelphia, PA
October 26 — 12:00 p.m.        Tempe, AZ
October 26 — 9:00 a.m.        Atlanta, GA
October 27 — 12:00 p.m.        Dallas, TX
October 28 — 4:15 p.m.        Austin, TX
October 28 — 9:00 a.m.        Las Vegas, NV
October 31 — 12:00 p.m.        Hollywood, CA
October 31 — 12:10 p.m.        Hollywood, CA
October 31 — 12:20 p.m.        Los Angeles, CA
October 31 — 12:00 p.m.        Santa Monica, CA
October 31 — 9:00 a.m.        New York, NY
October 31 — 9:15 a.m.        New York, NY
October 31 — 9:30 a.m.        New York, NY
October 31                           New York, NY (throughout the morning)
November 3 — 12:00p.m.    Hollywood, CA
November 3 — 12:10 p.m.    Hollywood, CA
November 3 — 12:20 p.m.    Los Angeles, CA
November 3 — 12:00 p.m.    Santa Monica, CA

If any Screen Rant readers out there encounter these Earthly V’s, let us know!

Source:  THR

ABC’s ‘V‘ is slated for a November 3rd premiere and for curious fans of the original series, it can’t be soon enough to see what ABC has done to it in this latest incarnation.

Yet you may wish to temper your complete enthusiasm for the first season of ‘V‘ because ABC is (as they put it) splitting up the season.

Yes, you read that right.  ABC is splitting up the season.  They’re going to run the first 4 episodes in November, leaving the 4th episode as a sort of cliffhanger. This will then set the stage for a mid-season return.

Maybe.

It’s all rather confounding.  Apparently there’s been a flurry of speculation that the series is having problems of one fashion or another.

The production shut down of ‘V’ that took place in late August is helping fuel lots of rumors.  The rumors are ranging from the series is dead to what has been filmed will be aired as a mini-series.

Yet ABC and Warner Bros. TV says episode 4 is getting ready to be filmed (mid-October) and then they will go on a holiday hiatus.

Huh?  Did they just say, “No, it’s not in trouble, but we’re going to take a holiday break months ahead of schedule.”?

Any good corporate entity has to put on the smiley face.  And I find it odd that this comes on the tail end of a WGA mediation that ruled that ‘V‘ is a remake, and as such, has to credit the original series creator, Kenneth Johnson.

If I were a conspiracy fan, I’d think someone high up in the production of this new series has issues with Johnson getting any credit, judging from the timing.  But there is absolutely nothing indicating that.  I’m just saying.  It’s like earthquakes and super early morning quakes.  It’s all just coincidental.

So hang tight gang and be patient.  That’s all we can do until they resolve their issues with ‘V‘.

Your thoughts?

Source:  THR

Those tuning in to see the series premiere of ABC’s Flashforward will be able to view, for the first time, an amazing new promo for V.

Or, you could watch it below. It’s your choice. (Watch it now!)

V is a remake of the cult mini-series from the 80’s in which aliens known as “The Visitors” (”V”) try to gain control of earth. It is produced by The 4400 creator Scott Peters and it stars Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), Morris Chestnut (Ladder 49) and Joel Gretsch (The 4400)