Josh Reims talks Undercovers

I just spoke with Undercovers co-creator Josh Reims about his NBC show and he admits that he's disappointed by the ratings, but he's happy with the direction the series is taking. He says he's told his writers that all they have control over is making the show the best they can.

On another note, how does he come up with all the locations to jet his characters around the world? He's got a huge map in his office and he picks his locations that way.

One bit of news, actor Harry Lennix, who stared in Dollhouse as Echo's handler and eventual bad guy Boyd Langton, will be playing Steven's brother later in the season. He's a spy too and he and Steven go on a mission together.

More on all this later once I get this transcribed...

Digging Haven and chatting with the creators

Haven just finished it's first season on Syfy and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised with the way it turned out. I loved the finale because it really tied up the season nicely and then hit us with a cliffhanger that gave the series a new direction to go in next season.

Emily Rose as F.B.I. Agent Audrey Parker was fantastic in the lead, and the other characters, especially Lucas Bryant's Nathan Wuornos grew on me.

It was great that Syfy renewed Haven for a second season of 13 episodes. I talked to creators and executive producers Jim Dunn and Sam Ernst this summer while they were still working on the season.

According to Ernst, "unfolding the mythology is really a lot of fun, because we know where we are going. We know exactly where we are going and we have very long and deep histories for elements of this. If we are fortunate enough to have a second season and then a third season, we know the big story elements that we want to unfold. For us it is fascinating to watch them slowly unfold and see how powerful they are, the small pieces as they come into each episode. And sometimes we wonder are we telling the audience enough or are we telling the audience to much. And the answer basically is in our opinion you can't tell the audience too much," he said with a laugh.

Okay... not so soon

My knee replacement knocked me out more than I had planned. Anyway, I'm working on a new issue of Sci Fi Magazine, which means I'm interviewing lots of sci-fi types including Jane Badler of the original and new V, along with many TV producers about their shows.

Stay tuned!

Back in the saddle... soon!

Hey all,

Sorry for the absence. I had a knee replacement and haven't been able to sit at my desk. I should be back at regular posting within the next couple of weeks.

-- Best,
Kathie

True Blood interviews on Sci Fi Wire

I'll have some more True Blood interview extras coming your way this weekend, but in the mean time check out my article on Sci Fi Wire, "True Blood stars talk about sex, nude scenes and the new season".

I have interviews with Rutina Wesley (Tara), Denis O'Hare (Russell Edgington), and Lindsay Pulsipher (Crystal).

Note that my editors had to get the words "sex" and "nude" in the headline. As if that wasn't a given when it comes to the series.

Journalistic Rumblings - Futurama, The Gates, and summer TV

Rumble, rumble, rumble... I have to say, I'm glad summer is here. Things have slowed down a tad.

However, even with most of the fall and midseason shows coming to the end of their seasons, it still took me a couple days to put together a Summer TV Preview for Sci Fi Wire, and there's 40 TV shows, movies, specials and minis headed our way. Check it out... "Here's our Summer TV Mega Preview of 40 sci-fi shows and movies."

June 2010 TV Schedule - True Blood & The Gates premiere!

While I'm still going through finale withdrawal of shows like Chuck, Lost, and Supernatural, the month has actually shaped up pretty well with the premiere of HBO's True Blood and ABC's The Gates. The vamps are back big time. But we've also got the magnificent return of Futurama (expect interview extras with exec producer David X Cohen later in the month).

For my complete summer guide, check out Sci Fi Wire tomorrow afternoon.

Here's what you have to look forward to this month:

Wednesday, June 2:

Ghost Hunters Academy (Syfy) "The New Class" 8 p.m. - Season 2 premiere

Thursday, June 3:

Burn Notice (USA) "Friends and Enemies" 9 p.m. - Season 4 premiere

Exclusive Interview: Alan Ball dishes about True Blood and his hopes for Sookie

With the True Blood premiere quickly approaching it's time for some more Alan Ball. Below are exclusive interview extas from my recent interview with the show's creator about True Blood's upcoming third season, the challenges he faces, and what his long term hopes for Sookie are.

If you're looking for some serious spoilers, check out my article in Sci Fi Wire, "9 sizzling True Blood spoilers from creator Alan Ball." However, until you read that, perhaps this less spoilery and more behind the scenes interview will whet your True Blood thirst.

KATHIE: What's been your biggest challenge this season?

ALAN: I think the biggest challenge is keeping each episode exciting and still remaining true and organic to the characters' emotions, 'cause that’s where everything’s got to come from. We’re not a movie. We don’t have a week to shoot one special effect or one stunt, and I think that’s what keeps people coming back is even with all the craziness on the show I think you actually end up caring about these characters and being invested in them. I think it’s walking that line between keeping things exciting and keeping things grounded. Because these episodes are like little movies and so getting everything that we have to get in terms of footage, special effects, prosthetic effects, visuals effects... getting it all done in the amount of time we have allotted for each episode, that is definitely the biggest challenge.

Exclusive Interview: Chris Fedak Versus Chuck's Season 3

I got a chance to talk to executive producer and co-creator Chris Fedak about Chuck's big season finale before it aired. Here's some interview extras with Chris chatting about his and his co-creator Josh Schwartz's initial take on the series, the Chuck and Sarah of it all, and what Fedak's secret plan is when it comes to creating an awesome fourth season.

If you'd like more about Monday's finale, you can check out my interview with Chris which ran in Sci Fi Wire, "10 reasons you MUST watch tonight's Chuck season finale". I got nearly 400 digs on the article, so I'm happy.

In that article, Chris gave us an early spoiler regarding next season, which he would only say, "I'll say this, season four is about family." And since we a glimpse of Chuck's mother's back, I'm guessing that he might be talking about Mama Bartowski.

Here's our conversation after Chris admitted that someone we knew and liked was going to die (which turned out to be Chuck's dad, played by Scott Bakula):

Kathie: Oh, you’re evil.

Chris: Thank you very much. You know, it’s funny. It’s not an interview these days unless someone is actually telling me that I’m evil.

Lost finale will be simulcast round the world

For the first time ever, at least as far as I can remember, an American television show will be simulcast around the world. The 2-1/2 hour Lost finale, "The End," will be shown at the same time in the U.K., Canada, Portugal, Israel, Italy, Spain, and Turkey.

Check out my article in Sci Fi Wire, "ABC's plan to avoid Lost spoilers: Show finale EVERYWHERE". I've got some sneak peeks of the finale there as well.

Chris Fedak Versus the Big Chuck Finale

Just got off the phone with Chris Fedak, one of the creators of NBC's Chuck. He gave me some great stuff, which will be posted on Sci Fi Wire on Monday. Chuck's two-episode season finale airs on Monday at 8 p.m. ET and he promises we haven't seen anything like it.

The previews make it look like the Buy More is going to be blown up, but he wouldn't confirm. More to look forward to on this once I get the interview transcribed and write up the Wire article. Interview extras of interest will be published here.

Jouralistic Rumblings - Leonard Nimoy, new show video clips, Futurama, and sex

It's been one of those weeks. I have five articles up alone today on Sci Fi Wire, and 14 this week with all the network fall presentation news and end of the season stuff. Add to that setting up interviews and such for Sci Fi Magazine... Let's just say my husband's requesting I cut my hours down to 12 a day. I've got one more article to write tonight and then I'm taking tomorrow off! Here's a couple of bits of interest regarding my Sci Fi Wire articles...

Leonard Nimoy retires - In my interview with Leonard Nimoy from a conference call, he talks about his retirement from the business, and at 79-years-old I think he means it this time. He goes into his work on tonight's Fringe finale and why his role as Walter Bishop will be his last.

CW spoils new seasons of Vampire Diaries, Smallville, and Supernatural

The CW announced their schedule for next fall, adding Nikita to Thursdays and bumping Supernatural to Fridays. But the big news is the spoilers. In a surprising move, they announced the direction that The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, and Supernatural are going to go next fall.

To find out more about Nikita and the CW's new schedule click here to read my article on Sci Fi Wire.

Here's the goodies, with quotes from the CW press release, about the new seasons of my three favorite CW shows:

Journalistic Rumblings - Summer shows, pickups, renewals, cancellations...

It's been one busy week with the network news flying fast and furious, including big pick ups and shocking cancellations...

Upcoming Newish Summer Shows:
NBC: Persons Unknown
ABC: The Gates
Syfy: Haven
Comedy Central: Futurama

True Blood's Denis O'Hare is the King... the Vampire King of Mississippi that is

To get you all whipped up into a frenzy over the August Sci Fi Magazine and my articles with Rutina Wesley, Alan Ball and Denis O'Hare of True Blood, here's a little treat.

I promised you an interview teaser with True Blood's big bad this season, Denis O'Hare, who is playing Russell Edgington, the Vampire King of Mississippi. He's a truly charming guy, and I could have talked to him all day long.

Most of the following quotes are not in the magazine. Nope, there's a whole bunch of different quotes for the article...

KATHIE: I understand you are going to be a regular on the show.

DENIS: I am. I don’t know what that means in terms how long I’ll be around [laughs]. But you know what, I’m around this year. I’m a regular this year.

Iron Man 2 - Why Robert Downey Jr. should be in all movies

It's just a thought, but wouldn't all movies be better if Robert Downey Jr. was in them? Think about it. Take Robin Hood, if Downey replaced Russell Crowe, he would have made a great Robin Hood. Since the 1938 version, Errol Flynn has never been equaled in the role. But perhaps Robert Downey Jr. could have come close.

And if Downey popped up to do a part in Harry Potter or Twilight, wouldn't it make those movies better. Can't you see Downey as one of Harry Potter's teachers?

EXCLUSIVE! Sci Fi Magazine's opening True Blood spread

Sigh... True Blood did not make Sci Fi Magazine's front cover of the August issue. At the last minute they decided to go with The Last Airbender. For the Powers That Be its all about what one image will sell the most magazines. It's a fair quest, especially these days when magazines are an endangered species. It is a gamble for them and they're hoping for the kind of sales they got with Avatar.

So TB no cover. But what I do have for you is an exclusive look at the True Blood opening spread (click for a larger view):


Here's a close-up of the first paragraph that's more readable:


The magazine contains two True Blood articles, one with Rutina and one with Denis O'Hare. I also have articles on the upcoming ABC series The Gates (which has vampires, werewolves and other), Matt Smith as Doctor Who, and Warehouse 13. The August issue goes on sale June 1.

Journalistic rumblings - Lost, Happy Town, pickups, etc.

This week in sci-fi entertainment journalism...

Lost - Yep, the series is about to end. Yesterday I interviewed Kenton Duty, who plays the mysterious blonde boy who's given the Locke-ness Monster a warning or two. Well, we found out all about who he is in this week's episode, which I won't spoil if you haven't seen it. Let's just say he plays an important character in his teen years.

Kenton was delightful to talk to, something you don't always get when you're interviewing a young actor. He was very excited by the role and it was his 15th birthday. He talked about having to keep his character's identity secret even from his grandmother, who is a huge Lost fan. Guess what? She found out with the rest of us and only talked to him about 20 minutes before I did. You'll find the interview up later today on Sci Fi Wire, and I'll post interview extras here in a few days.

Why Friday night dramas will soon be a thing of the past

The announcement came and went without a lot of fanfare. In mid-April Syfy announced that it had entered into a multi-year agreement to bring the World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) Friday Night SmackDown to the network. Syfy's been airing wrestling on Tuesdays for years now with ratings success, so I really shouldn't be surprised.

What that means for Syfy, a network which built itself around its Friday night original dramas, is that it's giving up on original scripted programming for Fridays. Friday night dramas like Stargate: Universe will move to Tuesdays, where Warehouse 13 and Eureka have had success during the summer months.

Pre-finale fun - Supernatural's bad plan and 2 guys I miss

More leading-up-to-finale fun, with spoilers! It's time for an apocalyptic look at Supernatural...

Supernatural - Does anyone else think Sam's plan to say yes to Lucifer and then jump into a fiery pit of hell to be forever trapped is a good one? Yikes! Now even Dean is saying, "Whatever you want, Sammy." Seriously? What's Sam's exit strategy?

While I agree one life (along with a soul) vs. the entire human race... well, even I can do that math. There's no doubt this season is coming to a head in probably the only way it really could have. There have been some great surprises along the way and I love the addition of the demon Crowley (really somebody needs to give Mark Sheppard, who has done wonderful guest spots on just about every genre series, his own show).

Good news for Chuck! Bad news for Jack Bauer!

If you enjoy NBC's Chuck, you may get to celebrate soon. Several reports have come out that it is likely Chuck will be picked up for a fourth season. You can check out my article in Sci Fi Wire, "'Multiple sources' say Chuck to keep on spying."

True Blood's Rutina Wesley stakes out Tara, Franklin Mott, and season three

That Alan Ball... lucky for us he knows how to write great characters, and even luckier for us young Rutina Wesley knows how to play a great character when it comes to Tara, the sassy African American BFF of Sookie Stackhouse. I chatted with Rutina about her character and the third season of True Blood for one of two articles on the series in the August issue of Sci Fi Magazine, which will be on the newsstands on June 1 or so. The other article is with Denis O'Hare, and you can check out my interview with him here.

Here's a small bit of my exclusive interview with Rutina, most of which did NOT make the magazine...

KATHIE: Why do you think Tara has managed to get herself into so much trouble in the past?

RUTINA: That darn vulnerability. She’s so vulnerable and naive at times, but I think that’s just ‘cause all she knows is Bon Temps. It's a small town. Even though she’s well read and self-educated, there’s still a lot of things about life experience that Tara just doesn't know. So she’s really getting some life experience (laughs). And she’s gonna go through a lot of different emotions. They’re giving me another incredible journey, and I just can’t wait.

Pre-finale fun - Fringe-tastic Walters and non-musical esctasy

More leading-up-to-finale fun, with spoilers! Let's take a glance at Fringe...

Fringe - I have to admit I found season one of Fringe unfocused and confusing... until the finale. However, this season has been great (Okay, we won't talk about the "musical" episode!), as the storytelling narrowed in on mercury-filled shape-shifting soldiers, a formerly frozen head guy named Newton, and Leonard Nimoy as William Bell.

Fringe has become the true heir to The X-Files legacy, with a vibrant mythology and the Fringe murders expanding past the alternate universe mythology.

Pre-finale fun of The Vampire Diaries - What sucks and what doesn't?

With many shows set to finish their seasons in the next couple of weeks, here's some thoughts on how well some of them are setting up their finales. Let's start with The Vampire Diaries. And seriously folks, if you haven't seen this week's shows there are spoilers ahead...

The Vampire Diaries - With the big finale next week, overall the series has come together pretty well for a first season and embraced its strengths and toned down its weaknesses. (Strengths - vampires; Weaknesses - high school and non-vamp related stories, like anything to do with Matt)

Smallville finale pics - Zod vs. Clark, Oliver vanishes, Tess near death

Smallville fans, want some goodies about the oh, so BIG ninth season finale, which airs on Friday, May 14? Well, here's the CW's official description of the episode, "Salvation," along with some pics...

True Blood's Alan Ball dishes on Lafayette

Here's a teaser with some of my recent interview with True Blood creator and executive producer, Alan Ball, and what he had to say about the new people we'll meet in Lafayette's life in the show's upcoming third season, which premieres on HBO on June 13.

Vampire Diaries - Hot Damon pic + behind the scenes pics

UPDATE: Here's a in front of the camera pic of Damon showing off his chest...

Here's some pics from tonight's Vampire Diaries... but behind the scenes.

Note Damon and Alaric laughing, something the characters don't do much of with each other on the show.

Kat's Loved It or Loathed It - Death, a Tiger, and an Alien Dino

Time to catch up on some of the best and worst of television for the last couple of weeks:

Loved It:

• Lost - The death of Sayid was expected and he redeemed himself. However, the deaths of Sun and Jin were were not and after the long wait to see them reunited, it's was beautifully done. But the best was when Hurley, Kate and Jack balled their eyes out over the loss of their friends. For a show that embraces the fantastic, the moment felt... real.
  

Fall in love with NBC's Chuck all over again

I've been loving the reboot of NBC's Chuck with Chuck and Sarah finally getting it on and working as a team. My article in Sci Fi Wire delving into "8 reasons to fall in love with Chuck all over again" has gotten lots of diggs, which always makes me happy.

TV Goodies - What's coming up in May 2010

I'm running a little late on this one. Mostly May's offering finales, but there's a couple Syfy movies, a second season for BBC America's Ashes to Ashes, and Fox is airing the final episodes of it's cancelled reincarnation series, Past Life.

For more on the season finales, check out my article in Sci Fi Wire, "Your complete guide to Sci-Fi TV season finales".

Here's what you have to look forward to this month:

Wednesday, May 5:

Ghost Hunters (Syfy) 8 p.m. - Season six mid-season final

Saturday, May 8:

Mongolian Death Worm (Syfy) 9 p.m. - Okay, this Syfy original flick is not the classic that Mega Piranha was, but you can't have everything.

This 'n That

Been away, so it's time to catch up. My articles last week on Sci Fi Wire included a look at NBC's Chuck and the rest of its season via an interview with exec producer Chris Fedak, an interview with actress Lourdes Benedicto who plays Valerie on ABC's V, and an interview with Matt Davis who plays high school teacher Alaric on The Vampire Diaries.

I also covered the cancellation of the syndicated Legend of the Seeker and did my regular column "Everything you need to know about this week's sci-fi TV" (or my sci fi-ish TV guide with video clips on what's coming up for the week).

All that and Vegas too! And no, I didn't win anything (or lose anything for that matter).

Yes folks, "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners" is great!

UPDATE: My editor only ended up running one article with the interview with Chris Fedak. He got the interview up on Monday instead of Friday, so he felt he already had a Chuck story for the day. So I'm reworking things for post-mortem instead of a review for Monday.

Hey Chuck fans, I got a copy of "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners" for review and it's just great. I've got two articles going up on Sci Fi Wire tomorrow (Monday a.m.) on Chuck. I'll post the direct links once they go up.

One is an interview with co-creator Chris Fedak on what to look forward to when it comes to the last six episodes of the season and the other is a review of the episode.

However, here's a mini-review for you with minimal spoilers...

Yvonne Strahovski Versus the Nose Ring

Update: Check out my exclusive interview with Chuck executive producer and creator Chris Fedak with his thoughts about the season and how he's going to approach season four.

I teased a while back that I'd give you a couple tidbits about Australian actress Yvonne Strahovski, who plays Sarah on NBC's Chuck.

Coming up tomorrow (Monday, April 26), Chuck comes back after a couple weeks off with "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners," and it's GREAT! Forget the whole "Chuck's a spy" or "Chuck's not a spy" business. Chuck's back and so is Sarah, but in a completely different way.

Here's part of an interview with Yvonne that was conducted BEFORE the enormous "game changing" episode, "Chuck Versus the Other Guy," where Chuck and Sarah finally got together big time. While we didn't talk about all the new developments on Chuck (like Chuck and Sarah hitting the sheets), here's some general goodies about Sarah, her American accent, and why she misses her nose ring:

Riverworld: The Series?

And yet another reason why I'm not a network programmer. Here's some of the press release regarding Riverworld's ratings, which were good enough... well, to put out a press release...

RIVERWORLD POWERS SYFY TO MOST WATCHED SUNDAY PRIME OF 2010 WITH 2.1 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS

New York, NY – April 20, 2010 – The four-hour Syfy Original Movie Riverworld grabbed 2.1 million total viewers during its premiere on April 18, powering Syfy to its most watched Sunday prime of 2010.

The sad case of Riverworld

I've read the Philip Jose Farmer Riverworld book series, seen the 2003 Sci Fi Channel movie (before it was Syfy), and just saw yesterday's new 2010 version with Tahmoh Penikett. Whenever Syfy doesn't do a lot of publicity with a project, especially a miniseries... well, it's often a sign there's a problem.

The problem with Riverworld in this case is that in the end it just didn't make a lot of sense. Unfortunately, they didn't focus on what made the first two books great and instead got caught up in what didn't work when it came to Farmers later books.

Kat's Loved It or Loathed It - for the week of April 12

Here's a new feature. Just think sort of a sci-fi Cheers and Jeers or "TV.com's Swell-o-vision vs. Smell-o-Vision". Yes, I might occasionally pop over into American Idol or Castle, but you'll just have to live with it.

Loved It:

• Doctor Who - Yep, Matt Smith as the new Doctor (not to mention his new companion Amy) is great. In one episode he totally makes the Doctor his own. Go Matt! Can't wait to see more.
  
  
• Lost - Hurley getting the girl, as he and Libby finally got their date. Yes, it was in the Sideways alternate universe (which I call the Sideverse), but they got their moment.
  

Busy girl, but in a very cool (if crazy) way

Sorry I haven't posted lately. I'm in what I affectionately call Hell Week. Hell Week actually lasts two weeks or longer when I'm working on a new issue of Sci Fi Magazine. I'm actually working on the August issue (magazine issue dates are goofy and far in advance).

Let's just say my husband, Chuck, sees a lot of my back as I pound away at the keyboard when I'm in my Hell Weeks and, since he doesn't watch TV, we end up in a weird place where I'm a genius about what's coming up on TV and he's gracious enough to listen to me babble about something he could care less about. He's a good husband. He even does the dishes and drags me outside once and awhile.

The good news is I get to talk to some very cool TV type people... like the new Doctor Who, Matt Smith. Check out my article on Sci Fi Wire, Who's Matt Smith: Why the new Doctor is a 'bit bonkers'.

Jounalism boo boos and negative backlash

My interview with Mark Pellegrino for Lost went up today on Sci Fi Wire, with exclusive splashed all over it and it made the top stories section. All good, except there was a typo in it that was significant enough to basically screw up the story.

Lost was set in 1977 and 2007 last season and while I was editing the article and wanting to make it clearer, I mistakenly typed 1977 as the date something significant happened. Since I've been covering Lost all season I was well aware about the dates, so it was just a typo... or let's call it was it really was... a brain fart.

Tired Kathie chims in about whatzup

Well, it was a busy week with 11 articles on Sci Fi Wire and queries out to publicists for articles for Sci Fi Magazine as well. Believe it or not we're working on the August issue of Sci Fi Magazine, which comes out in the beginning of June.

We're doing a 6 page spread on True Blood, so hopefully I'll get a chance to talk to Alan Ball, the creator and exec producer, again. Ball won an Oscar for his movie American Beauty, and he's a terrific interview. He loves the stuff they're doing on True Blood and he's having a blast with it from what he's told me in the past.

Co-creator Julie Plec promises more sexy action on The Vampire Diaries

If you'd like to see what Vampire Diaries co-creator and executive producer Julie Plec had to say about tonight's episode, "Welcome to the Neighborhood," as well about the series getting picked up for a second season, check out my article in Sci Fi Wire.

And here's another webclip from the episode...



And here's a quote from Julie about spoilers: "For me the thing you know being protective about spoilers isn’t about trying to control the flow of information. It’s literally about wanting each element or story to be a surprise to the audience, because that’s part of the fun. Like, oh God, where is it going to go now and to give up too much sort of feels like you’re taking away part of that experience."

More on Diaries next week...

Exec Producer Scott Rosenbaum: The original V vs. the new V

Here's another V interview bite from executive producer and showrunner Scott Rosenbaum. My question was what similarities and differences he saw between the 1980's V and the new V...

"I watched the original series and I took note of what it was about, and for me it needed to change a bit because it is 30 years later," said Rosenbaum. "At the same time I thought there were some core ideas that were part of what the ultimate originally was that I did find to be worth keeping and worth integrating."

Forget impending doom on V! How about some big ass teeth!

ABC's V started back up last night and there was some fun to be had. Check out my review on Sci Fi Wire, "What you loved, what you hated in the new V".

One bit of news that didn't make the review was that it looked a whole lot like X-Files actor Nicholas Lea popped up in Tyler's memories as his father in the V Memory Chamber. Interesting, considering it was already announced that Lea had been cast in the show.

V certainly has an enormous genre cast already.

Chatting with Lucifer and Jacob... or Mark Pellegrino

I love talking to character actors. I had the good fortune to talk to Lost/Smallville's Mark Pellegrino today. A look at his Internet Movie Database tells it all... he's had 99 roles with ones that started out with him playing characters called Punk and Dude.

And now he's playing the mysterious Jacob on Lost and Lucifer on Supernatural. It's an impressive career and he's a fascinating fellow.

You'll see some of my interview with him here after it's made it to the Sci Fi Wire.

Producer Scott Rosenbaum promises: New V is full of OMFG! moments

Want to know what's coming up on ABC's V tonight? Check out my article on Sci Fi Wire, "Producer promises: New V is full of OMFG! moments".

I've also got some more Scott Rosenbaum fun quotes, but I'll save those for later.

Here's a video promo...

ABC's Castle goes "Boom!"

I hate it when I'm psychic! Nope, Beckett didn't get killed. She jumped into a bathtub and survived the explosion, which is lucky since word has it she's getting Battlestar Galactica's Michael Trucco as a boyfriend later this season.

However, it was a damn good two-parter and Dana Delany was great in it. I'm glad she didn't get killed either. However, anyone want to make a bet that the bad guy breaks out of prison at some point and they get to do it all over again. He was a fairly worthy opponent and I liked it taking Castle and Beckett to solve the crime.

ABC's V is back, interview spillage with showrunner Scott Rosenbaum

You can check out my article Tuesday on Sci Fi Wire about what's coming up on ABC's V over the next few weeks. But here was a fun bit about how executive producer Scott Rosenbaum ended up running the show and how Star Wars helped him develop characters...

"What happened was I was brought in to take over the show after the third episode. I was an executive producer on The Shield and then I was an executive producer on Chuck. And so they approached me to come take over this show, and I wasn’t expecting it. I was on Chuck and doing that and it was such a cool show and a wonderful opportunity, but I just said, 'Of course.'

What's worthwhile on TV this week sci-fi and other wise?

Want to know what's coming up on TV this week that focuses on sci-fi, action and paranormal TV? Check out my regular Monday column on Sci Fi Wire "Everything you need to know about every sci-fi TV show this week".

I have videos of upcoming promos and there's a lot of restarts this week that are worth checking out, like ABC's V and Syfy's Stargate Universe. And then, of course, there's Syfy's Merlin, which begins it's second season. I interviewed star Colin Morgan last week and I'll have an interview up on Sci Fi later this week. Great, fun guy with a wonderful Irish accent.

NBC's Chuck interviews with Sarah's Yvonne Strahovski and co-creator Chris Fedak

If you want to find out what's coming up on NBC's Chuck, check out my article on Sci Fi Wire today.

I'll have more from both Yvonne Strahovski, who plays Sarah, and co-creator and executive producer Chris Fedak here, when I get a chance to go through and see what good bits got left out. But here's a teaser: Something you may not know about Strahovski... she used to wear a nose ring.

Why "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" but they do eat people on Supernatural

It's great to see The CW's Supernatural back in action with new episodes and with a fantastic episode called "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." No show quite manages the same level of humor vs. horror (although Fox's Fringe manages to come pretty close IN THE SAME TIME PERIOD!), and anyone who isn't watching Supernatural is missing one of the best shows on TV.

Not bad for a series which really just started as a show about two hot monster hunting guys in a hot car who traveled around the country. (SPOILERS AHEAD!)

"Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" is the perfect example of what makes Supernatural so good. From the humor of Sam and Dean getting slapping in cuffs for threatening a tax paying zombie by the sheriff to Dean's love of Bobby's dead wife's pies, it was funny.

Executive producer Julie Plec chats up The Vampire Diaries

I've been chatting with The Vampire Diaries' co-creator and executive producer Julie Plec since she worked on ABC Family's Kyle XY. She's a terrific interview and amazing writer who takes her characters into the most challenging places.

Before it was announced that The Vampire Diaries had been picked up for a second season, we talked in general about the show and here's some of our conversation, with more than a little info on what emotional toll it takes to put a TV show together:

The CW's The Vampire Diaries returns with "A Few Good Men"

The CW's Vampire Diaries returned on Thursday with new directions for most the the characters in the episode "A Few Good Men." There was some good and not-so-good in this one for me, so I can't say it was my favorite of the season. However, overall I think Diaries is doing pretty well for a first season show and I liked the general direction the series is going.

According to executive producer Julie Plec, she said "A Few Good Men" "is the calm before the storm in a way, because our heroes are not aware yet that the tomb has been opened, so life in Mystic Falls is getting a little bit back to normal has they host a bachelor raffle fundraiser in celebration of the upcoming Founder’s Day. Both Alaric and Damon agree to participate in this event where, ironically for Damon, 'a bunch of women clamoring to win a date with me sounds delicious.' So that is the fun of the episode and in the mean time Elena gets a lead on the identity of her birth mother which takes her closer to the truth of her birth mother’s connection to Alaric. And we see that story and how that all played out and finally understand what the connect is between Isobel and Elena’s Isobel."

Interviews with BBC's Merlin, Colin Morgan, and Lost/Supernatural's Mark Pellegrino

I got a chance to talk to Colin Morgan yesterday, who plays Merlin on the BBC/Syfy show. The Irish actor is a delight to talk to. I chatted with him and Anthony Head last year as well, for an article I did for Sci Fi Magazine.

Anyway, he promises lots of good stuff coming up for Merlin's second season, which premieres on April 2. They've actually started production on season three, as well, and are four episodes into that one. And if you missed the first season, Syfy is offering up a marathon this Sunday.

I'll be posting an article on Sci Fi Wire with the interview next week, and adding spillage here later.

Next week I'll be interviewing Mark Pellegrino, who manages to play Lucifer on Supernatural and Jacob/God? on Lost. It should be a fun interview. That interview should appear later in the week on Sci Fi Wire.

I Spy's Robert Culp dies at 79

Check out my appreciation write up of writer, director, and actor Robert Culp (I Spy, Greatest American Hero) on Sci Fi Wire. I added some cool video of him commenting on the creation of I Spy, working with Bill Cosby, and about his character on The Greatest American Hero.

After 24 years, At The Movies is canceled

In 1975, PBS put together a movie review TV show which would eventually land on the name "Sneak Previews," that starred two respected newspaper Chicago critics, the Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert and the Chicago Tribune's Gene Siskel.

Siskel and Ebert trademark passionate discussions about movies eventually made them famous enough to leave PBS and move on to "Siskel & Ebert," which later was called "At The Movies" once it's famous reviewers left. Despite various names and reviewers since Siskel's passing in 1999 and Ebert's battle with thyroid cancer that sidelined him in 2006, "At The Movies," lived on although a shadow of it's former self. Let's face it, Gene and Roger made the show fun and interesting and we cared what they thought about the movies they argued about.

In a statement from Disney-ABC Domestic TV, it was announced that "At The Movies," has been canceled and will air it's final episode this summer.

TV Goodies - What's coming up in April 2010

Every month I'll try to put together a list of what original TV shows to look forward to. I'll update it as I get more information. And if you want details about what's coming up each week, check out my column on Sci Fi Wire each Monday by going to the Columns section.

Here's the start of April 2010:

APRIL TV GOODIES:

Monday, March 29: - staring early in honor of Saving Grace and V

Saving Grace (TNT) - Season 4 returns for three episodes. The final six episodes of the series will beginning airing in late May.

Tuesday, March 30:

V (ABC) - returns with "Welcome to the War," the first of the last eight episodes of season one.

Thursday, April 1:

Fringe (Fox) - Returns with new episodes (finally!) The episode is called "Peter" and will have Walter reveal Peter's history to Olivia. It's a big one.

Supernatural (The CW) - Sam and Dean get killed and go to heaven... I'm not kidding. Maybe they'll get to ask God whatzup finally.

Is ABC's Lost island a cork?

If you check out my February 25 post, "ABC's Lost - Is Jacob a jailer?" it seems to fit in with the events of last night's "Ab Aeterno." (Spoiler guesses ahead!)

In the Richard Alpert-centric episode we went back in time to learn his story. He did indeed, as many had guessed, come to the island on the Black Rock ship as a slave in chains. His story began in 1867, which makes Richard and Jacob REALLY OLD GUYS. If you want to read my entire recap, check it out Sci Fi Wire.

At one point Richard (who is Richardo then) sits on the beach while Jacob describes the bottle if wine he's holding as if it were filled with evil, with the cork being the actual island. My guess, that the island was a jail and Jacob was Smokey's jailer, seem to apply quite nicely.

NBC's Chuck is a spy and why I'm not sure I like it

Not long ago I talked to executive producer, co-creator Chris Fedak about what we had to look forward to for NBC's Chuck third season. "It’s really fun to tell the Chuck stories, the writers and actors and producers, we love these characters. We love taking them to new directions and that is what season three has allowed to do. It’s also allowed us to essentially create a new show. With these new abilities we’re kind of launching a new show. It’s still very much the Chuck show with the same kind of sense of humor combined with action, but now with Chuck having these abilities it’s like the concept we’ve kind of twisted it up a bit."

After seeing the first 11 episodes, I have to admit I'm a little confused and disappointed (and it doesn't have anything at all to do with the Sarah/Chuck romance quadrangle). Mind you, I still love Chuck, Sarah, Casey and all the characters. I still love the fun spy plots, the 80s throwback's Fedak and his co-creator Josh Schwartz love to sneak in, or the fantastic dialogue. Mind you, I'd never actually stop watching Chuck, unless NBC decided to cancel it (in which case... bastards!).

No, my problem is with the season so far is the whole "Chuck's a spy" business.

Could this be the end of CBS's Numb3rs?

On Friday, CBS aired the season six finale of Numb3rs, and it sure felt like the series finale. Despite decent ratings, CBS had reduced the number of episodes from 22 to 16, and that's a big signal the show's number may just be up for this inspired math/cop show. There's no official word, but CBS is trying out a new medical drama called Miami Medical.

Whether Miami Medical succeeds or not, CBS is in a great position with plenty of well performing shows to replace Numb3rs. It's good for CBS to have lots of material to choose from, but not so good for us Numb3rs lovers. Few cop shows bother to involve family in their formula, and that's something Numb3rs did well.

It’s an explosive Castle on “Tick, Tick, Tick…”

Could this be the end of Nikki Heat aka Kate Beckett? In a cliffhanging nail bitter, a nearly naked, just out of the shower Beckett was apparently blown up just in time for Richard Castle to watch her apartment explode at the end of Monday’s “Tick, Tick, Tick…”

(spoiler alert, in case you haven’t figured it out)

Of course, this is only the 17 out of 22 episodes for the season, so chances are certain Beckett will somehow survive. The second part of the two-parter, “Boom!” should prove interesting because the show is good enough to make sure Castle and the other characters suffer before they learn Beckett’s ultimate fate.

Anthony Head on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

One of the reasons I wanted to do this blog was to have a place to print parts of my interviews that never managed to find a home. Either my editor wasn't interested or there were space considerations or the subject matter came out of left field and didn't fit with the rest of the article.

Some of this will be classic stuff, which is just another way to say it happened a long time ago, but I still remember it. So I hunted it down, edited it and here it is. Other times I'll get it up quickly for you based on a recent interview.

First up is an interview I did Anthony Head, who I originally talked to about a year ago for his new BBC series Merlin.

The return of NBC's Chuck

I love Chuck, both my husband Chuck and the NBC television show, Chuck. Not that they have anything in common. The TV show Chuck just returned from its Olympic break, and it was a terrific episode filled with spy stuff, half naked guest hotties, mobsters, and Sarah's real name.

It just so happens I talked to Chuck's co-creator, Chris Fedak, today for my Sci Fi Magazine column, TV In Focus. Chris is one of those spitfire talkers, who can barely stop to take a breath. Nice guy. He's happy to see the show getting some attention these days.

Worthy cancellations

I have to admit I have trouble keeping up with all the shows I cover, which is every sci-fi and fantasy show on TV. Some shows get watched before others, and sometimes I'd rather watch American Idol or Castle than that sci-fi show who's producer I'm going to talk to the next day. And sometimes there's a show that I just can't bring myself to watch on a regular basis.

I'll admit I only watched one episode of Fox's Past Life. I did Tivo the other two episodes that aired before the show got canceled and then I happily scrapped them after the cancellation. I have nothing against the Past Life people. From what I can tell the exec producer was earnest in a desire to bring forth a quality show and Richard Schiff, who I adored on West Wing, was one of the stars.

But seriously, why did Past Life get greenlighted?

ABC's FlashForward and other journalistic fodder

Busy day today. When I've got more than one interview in a day it seems like I spend all my time in email going back and forth to set things up, rearrange things, or to check and see if anyone wrote me to schedule another interview. That's what happens during magazine time when I have 15-20 interviews scheduled in 2 or 3 weeks time.

In the "good" journalism column, I wrote an article after my interview yesterday with new FlashForward showrunner Jessika Borsiczky that got picked up by TVGuide.com today, and which earned me an "Awesome" from my editors at SciFiWire.com. It was an exclusive about Battlestar's James Callis, who played Gaius Baltar, getting cast in a mysterious new role on FlashForward.

ABC's Lost - Is Jacob a jailer?

Each week on Sci Fi Wire I've been keeping a list of Lost's questions and answers. Because my editor wants this to be a weekly column, I've had to watch the ABC show closer than I would normally and it's gotten me thinking.

The producers have promised to answer questions during this final season, and I think they are for the most part. A couple of key things have happened, mainly regarding the Man In Black/Smoke Monster/Locke-ness Monster/Old Smokey character. The character is now played by either Terry O'Quinn (who is a wonderful actor) or black smoke (which doesn't emote quite enough for me, but is fairly kick-ass).

Blogging away with a cat on my lap

I've been thinking of blogging for awhile now and it seems like a good time. I'm an entertainment journalist for Sci Fi Wire and Sci Fi Magazine, both Syfy Channel publications.

It's a fun gig, cause I get to talk to television actors, writers and producers. However, I don't always get to give my opinion and some of my interviewing goes to waste because it doesn't fit into whatever we're doing at the time. So yes, you may get some quotes from the occasional well known sci fi television star or producer here at Kathie's Sci-Fi Drive By.

I'll be blogging here about whatever interests me and that includes television and movies, with a heavy emphasis on the sci fi of it all. My spelling may get creative and you'll just have to live with it.

I may go into other things of interest, such as the animal shelter I volunteer at (PAWS of Tinley Park). I'll make sure to title non-entertainment posts clearly so you can avoid them if you wish.

So you can expect 50% rambling, 25% opinionated bitch, and 25% quality spoilers and interviews. At least that's the plan for now. It may change since this is my blog and with no editor to make happy I'm likely to do whatever I damn well please.