Kathie's Sci-Fi Drive By

Josh Reims talks Undercovers

2010-10-12T13:33:00.003-05:00

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

2010-10-10T00:59:00.008-05:00

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.

"It's funny. It's tricky to be engaged in a story of the week where there are events unfolding and you have to be in the midst of that and trudging forth," added Dunn. "There are things you have to follow up on, and finding the moments to drop in as much of the mythology [as we can]. You can't take a timeout and go have a scene someplace that doesn't involve things that aren't in the main story."

The first season is one big piece of this puzzle and there's a lot going on, said Ernst. "There are some episodes we only give away a little bit of stuff, that we really focus on the story of the week. By the end of 13 when the credits come up on 13, we know everything that is going to happen, and it accelerates, by the way, towards the end of the season in terms of what we give away and there is just more and more and more. By the 13th episode our real hope is to basically rock everybody's world as much as were going to rock the world of the four or five characters that were focusing on. We're going to just upend everything by the end of season."

I agree they did manage to do that, which is one of the things that really made this series come to life. It was a slow build, but a fantastic one.

Ernst added, "I don't know if we told you last time, but we genuinely do know the very last scene in series. We know exactly where were going and were really excited about it."

I'm really excited about it too. Now how long do we have to wait for more? Yikes, most likely until next summer!

What did you think about Haven?

Okay... not so soon

2010-10-09T13:35:00.001-05:00

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!

2010-07-08T01:45:00.002-05:00

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

2010-06-11T11:53:00.002-05:00

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

2010-06-04T01:15:00.013-05:00

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."

Some of the new shows are looking pretty good. Obviously HBO's True Blood should be fun, and ABC's The Gates has potential.

The Gates: I'll be talking to English actress Rhona Mitra at some point before the show premieres on June 20. She plays the vampire housewife. She also is guest starring on Stargate Universe as the hot Lucian Alliance leader, and a while back she was in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

Futurama - My interview with David X. Cohen got pushed to next week. Producers are busy people and it happens all the time. I talked to David way back when Futurama was a new show and he's quite a chatter. I remember one interview went a hour long and he was just fascinating to talk to. I'm thrilled to see the series get picked up by Comedy Central for 12 more episodes.

Sci Fi Magazine: In other journalism news, the August issue of Sci Fi Magazine is on the big newsstands (like Borders) now.

My articles include a big True Blood section, including interviews with Rutina Wesley, Denis O'Hare, and Alan Ball. I also have articles on The Gates, Doctor Who's Matt Smith, and one on Warehouse 13 with an Eddie McClintock.

Non-Kathie articles cover The Last Airbender, Josh Brolin in Jonah Hex, Twilight, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Next up here... more interview extras with True Blood actors and with James Callis of Battlestar Galactica/FlashForward/Eureka.

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

2010-06-01T21:54:00.014-05:00

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

Friday, June 4:

Flash Point (CBS) "One Wrong Move" 9 p.m. - Season 3 premiere

Stargate Universe (Syfy) "Inception, Part 1" 9 p.m. - Part one of season 1 finale

Merlin (Syfy) 10 p.m. - continues with originals

Saturday, June 5:

Doctor Who (BBC America) 9 p.m. - continues with originals

Princess of Mars (Syfy) 9 p.m. - Syfy original movies

Sunday, June 6:

NBC special: The Making of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (NBC) 7 p.m. - special presentation

Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime) "Would I Lie to You" 9 p.m. - Season 2 premiere

Monday, June 7:

Lie To Me (Fox) "Beat the Devil" 8 p.m. - Returns from hiatus, New day

Persons Unknown (NBC) "Pilot" 10 p.m. - Series premiere

Neighbors from Hell (TBS) "Snorfindesdrillsalgoho" 10 p.m. - Animated series premiere

Friday, June 11:

Stargate Universe (Syfy) "Incursion, Part 2" 9 p.m. - Season 1 finale

Saturday, June 12:

Stonehenge Apocalypse (Syfy) 9 p.m. - Syfy original movie

Sunday, June 13:

Unnatural History (Cartoon Network) 8 p.m. - Series premiere

True Blood (HBO) 9 p.m. - Season 3 premiere

Friday, June 18:

Past Life (Fox) "Regressing Henry" 8 p.m. - Series finale

Sunday, June 20:

The Phantom (Syfy) 7 p.m. - 4-hour miniseries to air on one night

Leverage (TNT) "The Jailhouse Job" 9 p.m. - Season 3 premiere

The Gates (ABC) "Pilot" 10 p.m. - Series premiere

Monday, June 21:

Saving Grace (TNT) "I Need You to Call Earl" & "I'm Gonna Need a Big Night Light" 9 p.m. - 2-hour series finale

Thursday, June 24:

Futurama (Comedy Central) 10 p.m. - Series revival, or season 6 premiere

Saturday, June 26:

Lake Placid 3 (Syfy) 9 p.m. - The crocs are back! Syfy original movie

Tuesday, June 29:

Ashes to Ashes (BBC America) 10 p.m. - Season 2 finale

Friday, July 2:

Merlin (Syfy) 10 p.m. - Season 2 finale

In July, expect the return of Syfy's Eureka and Warehouse 13, BBC America's Being Human, and TNT's The Closer.

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

2010-05-30T21:32:00.013-05:00

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.

I’m used to Six Feet Under, to shooting seven pages a day. But on Six Feet Under, yeah, we had some stunts and some effects every now and then.In this show we have like, oh, okay, now we’re flying, now some heads are exploding, now people are transforming into this animal and that animal, now these animals are running out in front of a train. It is insane. But I have to say it is just a testament to the amazing professionals who work on the show.

I mean I just went to a production meeting this morning, and I consider job number one for me is just to keep the scripts coming and to keep the scripts polished and in the best shape they can be in before they go in front of the cameras. But the other stuff everybody else figures out. The cinematographer, director, department heads sit down and figure out how they are going to shoot something and then I walk in to these production meetings. I walked into a production meeting today for an episode that starts shooting tomorrow and there's a 40-page story board treatment of this big sequence at the end and I was just sort of like, 'Wow!' These people are really, really good at what they do. The way it is mapped out and shot, it’s very efficient in terms of time and number of setups. But at the same time it’s very visually exciting and very clear what’s going on in terms of this big battle between humans and vampires and other creatures. We’ll have to shoot it probably all in two nights, because half of it takes place outside and that’s just what we do.

KATHIE: How many days do you take to shoot an episode?

ALAN: Our starting point is 11 days, maybe 10 days with a split day with another episode. But there are episodes that certainly have taken longer. I got to say HBO has been very supportive. They know we are trying as hard as we can to get everything into the shortest amount of time. But they’re very happy with the show and they’re very happy to give us the extra resources when we need them... well, maybe not very happy, but at least they do it [laughs]. And they are happy in retrospect when they see the episodes.

KATHIE: Is this the show you envisioned when you first started seeing it in your head?

ALAN: Well, no. I don’t think anything is ever what you envision, because certainly when I was reading the books and it was around book four, I thought this is too much for a movie. This should be a TV series because there are so many great characters, so many places you can go. I love this world Charlaine’s created. I sat down and wrote the pilot once the rights were hammered out... But I would say the show definitely has a life of its own and it definitely has evolved over the seasons, and part of my job is to recognize what the show wants to be.

KATHIE: Does it seem impossible to put together such a big show sometimes?

ALAN: No, it’s not impossible. I mean sometimes it’s difficult, but it’s not impossible. You don’t have to spend 200 million dollars for everything. You really don’t.

KATHIE: Are you doing a lot of writing on this show?

ALAN: Well, I write two scripts a year. Each writer gets two scripts a year. We have six writers, five writers and one team of writers, and everybody does two episodes. But we all work together outlining and breaking stories. Like I say, for me that his job number one is to make sure that those stories make sense, they surprise us, are true to the characters, and they keep the momentum going.

KATHIE: What's been your biggest surprise as you’ve developed this series?

ALAN: I never expected to walk on a stage in a room full of 7,000 people [at Comic-Con] and for them to be screaming. That was kind of crazy. That has been, I think, the biggest surprise to me. I mean certainly I feel like the show has been really, really marketed aggressively and well by HBO, and that’s no surprise to me. I don’t think anybody knows how to launch and market a show like HBO. I guess one thing also that surprised me is the fact that so many different demographic groups seem to really enjoy the show. When HBO tested the pilot they came back to me and they said the women love the relationships and the men love the sex and violence, so everybody loved it, which was kind of great. There’s a little something for everybody [laughs].

KATHIE: What do you love most about the series?

ALAN: I love the cast. I think they are really, really amazingly talented, and really the fact they really approach the show straight. Nobody is winking at the camera. Nobody is going, "Hey, look at us. We’re campy. We know it’s funny." I think everybody plays it straight and is really invested in what’s going on for their characters and that’s always a joy to watch. I spend a lot of time in editing and it’s really fun because you just see these really great actors just giving you all this stuff to work with. I love casting. I love actors. So anytime we have a role to cast, that’s a lot of fun for me.

KATHIE: You have a huge cast.

ALAN: I know, it’s huge. We sat down for a table read and this huge conference room is filled. It is a huge show.

KATHIE: In the hands of someone else it would have been quite a different show.

ALAN: Yeah, but I am not the only person who works on the show. I work with five really, really smart, gifted writers, some really smart producers, some smart executives over at HBO. So while I certainly appreciate that, and it is very flattering, I’ve done stuff that wasn’t any good. I did a movie that everybody hated, so it is certainly not all me.

KATHIE: What is your best hope for Sookie and her story?

ALAN: You mean where is she going to end up?

KATHIE: Yes, what is your best hope for her?

ALAN: My hope, and this is probably a little crazy cause I’m speaking about a fictional character as if she’s real... she finds happiness and is able to settle down with a person or non-human person who can really, really value her and that she can have a good life with.

KATHIE: At the very end.

ALAN: Yes at the very end. I mean, in a way, it’s kind of a fairytale... kind of a sadistic, twisted fairytale... but it is a little bit of a romance novel. I would want her and those people that she loves to be in a good place and still alive [laughs].

KATHIE: I like it when writers spend time letting the characters be happy on a series. You've done some of that on True Blood.

ALAN: Yes. I think we have that. We definitely had that in season two and we definitely have that in season three. Maybe not for every single character, but I think [most have] moments of happiness.

KATHIE: Anything else about season 3?

ALAN: I just think I am really excited. I’ve seen the first five episodes. I feel like it’s the strongest season yet. I’m really excited and I’m in the process of breaking the last two episodes in terms of breaking story. I feel like the season really, really works as a whole. I’m really excited. I’m counting the days till the premiere just like everybody else.

Exclusive Interview: Chris Fedak Versus Chuck's Season 3

2010-05-26T00:09:00.012-05:00

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.

Kathie: Well jeez, if you’re going to kill off one of our people... I love them all. I don't want any of them to be killed.

Chris: You know, it’s funny. When Josh and I first started working on the show, our inclination was, well, what if you took The Office, and we had like Jack Bauer rush into The Office. You’d be terrified because you love all the characters on The Office. But if Jack Bauer’s in the room, someone’s going to get tortured or killed. So, in some ways this season we’ve really been able to explore that idea that we love these characters, but they’re in a dangerous place. They’re in a dangerous world.

Kathie: I enjoy seeing Chuck and Sarah as a couple and working as a team.

Chris: We’re really excited too. Of course, when we got to the point in the season where Chuck and Sarah were together at the end of episode thirteen, Josh and I and the rest of the writers were worried. Because it’s like okay, they’re now together and we have to do more episodes so we really hope they’re great together. But you know, Zack and Yvonne are so charming and clever and funny and such good actors, that they make for a wonderful couple, and we were just so excited to tell those stories.

Kathie: Yeah. Chemistry doesn't always work on a TV show when the romantic leads finally get together.

Chris: Many ships have fallen upon those rocks.

Kathie: One of my favorite moments was when Chuck and Sarah see the tiger and argue about who's going to take off its collar.

Chris: Exactly, exactly. Well, you know that Zack and Yvonne are just really funny, and so I love when they can do the banter. When they get those moments where they can banter about and be like a young couple that is maybe having an argument in the midst of a spy mission with a tiger. They’re just great together. And Zack is obviously not just charismatic, but super funny. Yvonne is also very funny and it’s been neat to see that change in her character. The first half of the season, the first thirteen episodes, it was very much about her worrying about Chuck and what Chuck was becoming. And now that they have found each other, it’s a real opportunity for Sarah to shine as the partner in crime.

Kathie: Will we find out why Sarah was told to kill Shaw’s wife?

Chris: We may find that out in the future.

Kathie: Regarding the newest member of Operation Bartowski... It's great to see Morgan become the new Chuck. So no matter how good a spy Chuck becomes, Morgan will be around to keep the nerdiness alive on Chuck.

Chris: It’s like Morgan becomes the eyes and ears of the regular guy, looking at the spy world and realizing how exciting it is and scary. Josh Gomez has just done a wonderful job this year.

Kathie: So, now that you've already been renewed for a fourth season, it looks like people don’t have to eat all those Subway sandwiches.

Chris: Listen, I think that people should still enjoy Subway. But yeah, for us it’s kind of nice to have the pick up and to start working on season four. You know, our writers will be up and running soon.

Kathie: So do you have plans for how you want season four to go? Have you thought about it?

Chris: Oh yeah, absolutely. We pitched the studio and network our take on what we want to do, and they’re all super excited to see the show and now it’s just a matter of getting all the ideas together and then start breaking episodes.

Kathie: In past seasons, you've gotten an order for additional episodes before you even aired. Hopefully that will happen again.

Chris: I would love for that to happen, yeah. We’ll have to see, but it’s always the same story. We will tell the thirteen most exciting stories we can possibly imagine, and then sometimes what’s happened in the past is we get picked up for more episodes. But for us, it’s like we’re going to look at those thirteen episodes as what we have, and each one will be just chock full of big changes and moments and just all of our best ideas.

Lost finale will be simulcast round the world

2010-05-21T21:09:00.004-05:00

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

2010-05-21T16:06:00.007-05:00

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.

One little advance Fedak teaser, Shaw is back for the finale and he has his own Intersect in his head.

And one other thing, while he's thrilled that Chuck's getting a fourth season, he's not going tell you to stop eating Subway sandwiches.

While Fedak wouldn't say you should watch Chuck live instead of Fox's 24, I'll say it. 24 is ending and doesn't need the ratings. Chuck does and it needs them live. Maybe a ratings spike will send a message to NBC that they need to increase Chuck's episode order up from 13 to a full season.

Here's the trailer for Monday's Chuck:

And here's a sneak peek:

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

2010-05-20T21:40:00.007-05:00

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.

Upcoming new show trailers - If you'd like to get a look at this summer's ABC show The Gates or next fall's CW show Nikita or even next midseason's NBC show The Cape, I've got the video clip trailers online. So check out my Wire article See trailers and concept art from 9 new sci-fi TV series.

Futurama - We couldn't include the clip for the not-so-new Futurama, which returns after years off the air. The animated comedy premieres on Comedy Central on Thursday, June 24 at 10 p.m. But how can you not include Futurama, so here it is.

Headlines - I'm not a very good headline writer, and so most of my heads get changed by my editors. Getting people to click into a story is what it's all about for a publication like the Wire. That's how we make our money by being able to prove that a certain number of people clicked through to read an article and the ad was on the page.

But seriously... sometimes it's okay not to put the word "Sex" in a headline... Like when there's nothing to back it up in the story. My article today on Teen Wolf getting picked up as a series by MTV was a simple one. The title ended up being "MTV is making a Teen Wolf TV series. With sex, of course.".

So beware just because it says "With sex, of course" in the title, it doesn't actually mean that the article has anything to do with or even talks about sex.

If you look at some of the heads used around the web, we're not the only ones who stretch things to get a hit. I guess it's all about the packaging. [Kathie shakes her head and chuckles... literally.]

Interview etc. - I talked to Battlestar Galatica's James Callis this week about his new regular role on Eureka. I'll have some of that for you later after I see what I need for the magazine and the Wire.

Upcoming interviews... Chris Fedak, the creator of Chuck, about what we have to look forward to for the finale on Monday night for the Wire. True Blood's Lindsey Pulsipher, a new regular who will play Crystal and who's heavily involved with Jason, for an article in October's issue of Sci Fi Magazine (which hits newsstands at the end of July). Interview extras will be published here (which means any good quotes that don't fit into the Wire or the magazine).

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

2010-05-20T13:53:00.007-05:00

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:

The Vampire Diaries: "Next season, the appearance of the villainous Katherine in Mystic Falls throws a wrench into the love triangle between Stefan, Elena and Damon, and the other residents of Mystic Falls must choose sides as they fall victim to a new breed of danger. New and unexpected friendships will be forged, allies will become enemies, and hearts will be broken. Stefan and Damon will be forced to face a villain more evil and diabolical than they ever believed possible. And they'll take their shirts off. Frequently." (Thank you, Diaries!)

Smallville: "Season ten promises the classic reuniting of the timeless romance between Clark and Lois, and brings Clark face-to-face with his destiny as he overcomes his final trials and forges the iconic identity that will be known for all time." (And as a P.S... Allison Mack is rumored to be leaving the show and will only appear in a few episodes, according to EW.com's Michael Ausiello. That doesn't bode well for that Oliver/Chloe romance.)

Supernatural: "Season six will be a season of mystery and shadow. Heaven and Hell have been left in complete disarray since the apocalyptic events of season five. And now, monsters, angels and demons roam across a lawless and chaotic landscape. And so Dean Winchester, who has retired from hunting and sworn never to return, finds himself being pulled back into his old life - pulled back by none other than Sam Winchester, who has escaped from Hell. The two reunite to beat back the rising tide of creatures and demon-spawn, but they quickly realize that neither are who they used to be, their relationship isn't what it used to be, and that nothing is what it seems."

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

2010-05-19T00:00:00.007-05:00

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

New Shows for fall and midseason 2010-2011:
ABC: No Orindary Family
CBS: None
NBC: Undercovers, The Event, The Cape
Fox: Terra Nova
The CW: Nikita

Renewed Shows for 2010-2011:
ABC: V, Castle
CBS: The Big Bang Theory, Medium
NBC: Chuck
Fox: Fringe, Human Target, Bones
The CW: The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Smallville

2009-2010 Cancellations:
ABC: Lost, FlashForward, Happy Town, Better Off Ted, Eastwick
CBS: Ghost Whisperer
NBC: Heroes
Fox: 24, Dollhouse, Past Life
The CW: None
Syndicated: Legend of the Seeker
TNT: Saving Grace

Once CBS and the CW announce their schedules, I'll take a look at how the shows stack up on the schedule.

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

2010-05-15T11:21:00.009-05:00

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.

KATHIE: Have you read the book series?

DENIS O'HARE: I’ve read a bunch of them. I think I’ve read three of them. Is that a bunch? The thing is I don’t think we shoot very closely to the books.

KATHIE: True Blood seems to be true to the books and Sookie's story, but it also goes off in its own direction?

DENIS: Yes.

KATHIE: I’ve never seen a series be able to do both so well.

DENIS: I agree with you. It feels like it’s true to the spirit of the books and it’s true to the kind of landscape that Charlaine Harris creates. But then it riffs on the characters and takes great liberties with them... My character, Russell Edgington, is not very fleshed out in the books. He’s one of the minor characters, I think, and he’s sprinkled here and there throughout it. But we’ve, I think, jumped off from what is in the books.

KATHIE: What is he like?

DENIS: [Laughs] I actually know a lot about him because Alan Ball kind of gave me free rein to create him. He gave me some very general outlines and then I would go off on my own and do research and come up with ideas. And then I would check back in with him and see if I was on the right path and he would say, "Yeah, that’s great. Except that’s not quite accurate," or "Don’t go down that road." So he was definitely guiding me and I was just taking liberties where I could.

But what we’ve come to, and Alan told me a little while ago, is that Russell is older than Godric. So actually he's the oldest vampire and we hadn’t quite settled on how old he was and I wasn’t quite sure what was in Alan’s mind until I was aiming for one thing at one point. I was aiming for him to been made a vampire about 900AD and then Alan said, "Oh, no, no, no, no. He’s definitely older Godric." I was thinking, oh maybe he’s like 2100 years old or 2200 years old, and then I got a script one day that one like that is, “I am nearly 3,000 years old,” and I was like, "Oh, okay. He’s older than I thought." So it is a push me/pull you kind of thing as the writers discover the character.

KATHIE: Where does he fit in when we meet him in this story?

DENIS: He is in his own world. He’s in Mississippi, for one thing, so he’s in a separate state, separate kingdom. And we haven’t really been in Mississippi. We’ve been in Louisiana the whole time, so now we’re in Mississippi. We kind of get into the vampire structure that each state has their own sheriff, their own dominion, and they’ve got their own king and or queen. The world of Russell is in Jackson, Mississippi and we are centered around his house, which is a mansion where he lives with Talbot, his lover... his real boyfriend of 700 years, [played by] Theo Alexander.

To find out what Denis said about Talbot and working with Alan Ball, check out the August issue of Sci Fi Magazine, which goes on sale on newsstands on June 1. You can check out the opening spread for the Rutina Wesley/Alan Ball interview here.

HBO premieres True Blood's third season on June 13.

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

2010-05-15T10:49:00.003-05:00

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?

There's no denying that Iron Man 2 works because of Downey's charm. Sure Scarlett Johansson was red hot, the suit was rocking, and Samuel L. Jackson was cool, but in the end it's Downey who is the reason we'll be watching Iron Man in the future.

It certainly wasn't a perfect movie. I could have done without Sam Rockwell's smarmy Hammer and Mickey Rourke's character never quite worked for me. But who cares. It had Robert Downey Jr. and the powers that be were smart enough to realize they needed to give him more screen time than Iron Man.

Well, Iron Man 3 is surely on its way.

EXCLUSIVE! Sci Fi Magazine's opening True Blood spread

2010-05-13T16:29:00.012-05:00

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.

2010-05-13T06:20:00.005-05:00

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.

Happy Town - ABC has pulled the low rated series off the air for a couple weeks in an attempt to get some ratings for May sweeps, and the show will return June 2 with the final five episodes. I have to admit this one never took off for me, and with ABC burning the final episodes off during the summer it looks like the few people left watching will have to make due with however the series ends after episode 8, cause you're not going to get any more of this one. No, it hasn't been officially cancelled, but there's no way ABC would pick it up over V or even FlashForward.

Pick Ups - Here's where we stand so far:

ABC - New series No Ordinary Family, about a family of superheros with Michael Chiklis playing the dad; and Castle for a 3rd season. Still waiting to hear about the pilot, The Cape (possible); and V (likely), FlashForward (unlikely), Happy Town (doa), Better Off Ted (dead). Cancelled or ending: Lost and Eastwick. Coming up this summer: The Gates, about a gated community with vampires, werewolves and other creatures.

CBS - Big Bang Theory for a 4th season. Still waiting to hear about Ghost Whisperer (possible), Medium (possible), and The Mentalist (certain). Numb3rs is looking pretty dead.

NBC - New series J.J. Abrams The Undercovers, about a married spy couple featuring (I think) the first black action leads; and The Event, a conspiracy theorist's wet dream. Still waiting to hear about Chuck (likely), Heroes (possible movie over a 5th season). Coming up this summer Persons Unknown (the ultimate big brother, only you don't just get voted out of the house) and the Day One alien invasion movie (hopefully, finally).

Fox - Fringe for a 3rd season, Human Target for a 2nd season of 13 episodes, Lie to Me for a 2nd season. Still waiting to hear about Bones (certain) and House (likely); and the pilot for Steven Spielberg’s dino-drama Terra Nova (looking good). Cancelled or ending: 24, Dollhouse, Past Life.

The CW - The Vampire Diaries for a 2nd season, Supernatural for a 6th season, and Smallville for a 10th season. Still waiting to hear about the pilots Nikita (likely) and Betwixt aka Changelings (likely).

Syfy - This summer: New series Haven, about a FBI agent who runs into humans with supernatural abilities in a small town; Warehouse 13 for a 2nd season and Eureka for a 4th season. This fall: Stargate Universe for a 2nd season and Sanctuary for a 3rd season. Still waiting to hear about Caprica, however it still has half its first season episodes to air; and Merlin for a 3rd season (likely).

Upcoming Interviews, etc. - Kenton Duty's interview re: Lost will go up today. I have a conference call with Joss Wheaton re: his director gig on Glee, which may not make Sci Fi Wire if he doesn't say something sci-fi worthy. And I have a conference call tomorrow with Leonard Nimoy re: Fringe. Yep, even my husband, Chuck, who watches about an hour of TV a month (to humor me) was impressed by that one. Of course, he still thinks Nimoy is Mr. Spock. Okay he is still Spock, but he's also William Bell from Fringe. I'll likely post interview extras here if I've got interesting stuff left on any of these.

And True Blood fans - I've got a request into my editor to send me an image of the cover of the upcoming August issue of Sci Fi Magazine (on newsstands June 1) for me to post. It features Sookie and Bill (I think! If they used the picture I saw). I'll post it if she let's me.

And I've got some fun interview extras from Denis O'Hare, who plays the new regular character Russell Edgington, the Vampire King of Mississippi. I hope to get that up in the next few days. Once and a while you end up interviewing someone you could talk to all day long because they are so charming and interesting. He's one of those guys.

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

2010-05-12T00:08:00.010-05:00

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.

Syfy president Dave Howe stated, "There is bigger opportunity for series such as Stargate Universe, Sanctuary and Caprica to thrive on a night with a significantly larger number of viewers available to watch live.” I guess that means when it isn't spring and American Idol is on the air. The Tuesday wrestling show, WWE NXT will be canceled.

While its easy to get outraged about Syfy's move, bigger things are happening here than Stargate Universe moving to Tuesdays. In fact, Friday is going the way of Saturday and it's only a matter of time before dramas vanish altogether.

While I won't reiterate TVGuideMagazine.com's excellent article by Stephen Battaglio "Who's Killing Friday-night TV?" I agree with Battaglio that money and competition is at the root of the problem. Advertisers want viewers who are 18-49, and every day more and more of them are either out and about, playing video games, or watching TV later on DVR or the Internet.

How bad it is? Last Friday Stargate Universe had 1.391 million viewers and Merlin had 1.440 million viewers. On another network the Friday Night SmackDown averages 3.4 million viewers and is the most watched Friday program for males under 55. Viewers... especially young viewers, add up to money. So can you really blame Syfy for the move?

However, if we look at viewer erosion this year, the numbers are even more startling. Just look at what's happening on CBS...

Ghost Whisperer seasonal average:
Season 1 - 10.20 million viewers - 2.9/10 A18-49
Season 2 - 9.90 million viewers - 3.0/10 A18-49
Season 3 - 8.61 million viewers - 3.0/9 A18-49
Season 4 - 10.62 million viewers - 3.7/10 A18-49

Ghost Whisperer, now in its fifth season, last week:
May 7, 2010 - 6.461 million viewers - 1.6/6 A18-49

What do you say when a show loses four million viewers in one year? And it's not just that Ghost Whisperer's quality has fallen. Ghost Whisperer has been the number one show on Fridays through most of its run, and guess what? It still usually is (although ABC's Primetime has taken that title among adults 18-49 of late).

In fact, according to TV.com's reader ratings (or readers who watched an episode and voted on how much they liked it based on a scale of 1 to 10), readers still rank Ghost Whisperer in the mid-8s, with an overall series score of 8.6. Medium has hovered at the same or near Ghost Whisperer's ratings. The TV.com viewer rankings for Medium are slightly higher with an overall score of 8.8.

Medium last week:
May 7, 2010 - 7.121 million viewers - 1.8/6 A18-49

In fact, none of the networks can seem to get decent ratings these days on Fridays. Even ratings for the CW's Smallville, which has done pretty well on Fridays (considering it's on Fridays), have fallen this spring.

While there's not much you or I can do about this situation (other than watch the shows we love live), at one time we had seven nights of original programming. I'm not looking forward to the day when we have five.

Right now as a sci-fi entertainment journalist, on Friday's I'm covering Ghost Whisperer, Medium, Smallville, Stargate Universe, and Merlin. Come October 1, when wrestling takes over Syfy, if we're lucky and the CBS shows get picked up (and remain on Fridays), I'll be covering 3. However, those are 3 aging shows with ratings trouble. A year or two down the line that number is likely to be 0. And it's possible it will 0 when it comes to all scripted drama on Friday nights.

It reminds me of when the original Star Trek was canceled just before the networks realized that advertisers liked exactly the kind of young audience the sci-fi series could draw. Kind of ironic, isn't it?

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

2010-05-11T06:29:00.007-05:00

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).

And Dean's sharing pizza with Death was inspired, but I'm beginning to think we're not going to meet God this season, which would be a huge let down. Just like God telling the boys to back off. Really what was that about.

So I'm feeling a little mixed on this one. Especially since creator Eric Kripke is leaving the show as the showrunner (not that Sera Gamble isn't very worthy to succeed him).

What I really miss are the good old days of Supernatural. In my first interview with Kripke about Supernatural way back in the summer of 2005, here's what he had to say:

“The guys can go anywhere and kill anything... We have such freedom because these guys are always on the road. We can tell any story we want to tell. We can have them meet anyone we want to meet, any guest cast who we love and think is terrific, we can bring back in again or not. And it gives us nothing but options. It gives us this endless story engine that just as long as the guys stay on the road and remain dedicated to killing as many evil, supernatural sons of bitches as they possibly can. There’s always a story to tell.”

Of course at that time they were searching for their father "and hopefully every so often we’ll uncover a clue about where Dad is and what he’s doing.”

His mandate was that the creatures Sam and Dean ran into had to be "google-worthy." And forget serialization. No, that had become a bad word when it came to TV shows, especially since no one knew ABC's Lost was a sci-fi show yet.

“It’s a return to self-enclosed storytelling," said Kripke once upon a time. "We’re hoping the audience will connect to just committed, good, red-blooded, rollicking storytelling that every week is a satisfying story. We’ll track the mythology, but every week we just want to scare the hell out of you with a different horror movie that has a beginning, a middle and an end."

No, I don't suppose I'd want to give up Cas (or the fantastic Misha Collins) or even the journey we've been on with the brothers for oh so long, but still...

“We have what we think are Luke Skywalker and Hans Solo cruising the country and killing monsters, and what’s not to love about that,” said Kripke.

Ah, the good old days. I miss that Sam and Dean... Don't you?

Anyway, here's the official logline for the fifth season finale, "Swan Song."

The entire season has been leading up to this showdown between good and evil. With the Apocalypse looming, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) realize they are out of options and make heart-breaking decisions that will change their lives forever. A beloved character is killed. Steve Boyum directed the episode with teleplay by Eric Kripke and story by Eric Gewitz.

Good news for Chuck! Bad news for Jack Bauer!

2010-05-11T00:54:00.010-05:00

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."

While Chuck's future looks bright, the same can't be said for 24's Jack Bauer. Showrunner and executive producer Howard Gordon promises that while Bauer won't die, he won't have a happy ending when the series finishes its run this season. Here's a link to my interview with Gordon in the Wire.

In other journalism news, I'm working on seeing if I can set up an interview with Kenton Duty. Who is Kenton Duty you ask? He's the mysterious blonde kid from Lost who keeps appearing to the Man In Black/Flocke/Locke-ness Monster. We'll learn all about the character (could he be Jacob?) in tonight's episode of Lost.

Beyond that I'm hope to put up a short interview soon with Denis O'Hare, who plays the Vampire King of Mississippi in True Blood this summer. He was a delightful interview and I have an article on him coming up in the August issue of Sci Fi Magazine (which has a pretty hot True Blood cover).

Then there's Lost's Questions and Answers and a "V Vs. FlashForward Smackdown: Which should ABC save?" for the Wire.

Oh, and I have a conference call on Thursday with Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, who is directing an episode of Glee. While my Wire editor says he's only interested if Whedon mentions sci-fi in some way or another (because "we don't do Glee"), I may post the interview here if he's not. Neil Patrick Harris is in the episode, who starred in Whedon's Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. If nothing else Whedon is always an entertaining interview.

Glad it's a light week.

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

2010-05-08T16:37:00.009-05:00

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.

KATHIE: Your character has such depth and isn't anything like the Tara in the book series. How do you feel about this role?

RUTINA: I mean it’s all coming together so beautifully, and I feel incredibly lucky and honored, to be a part of this cast and be a part of this show and working for Alan Ball and the rest of the writers and HBO is a dream. It’s like a dream job, and I had no idea it would be such a huge hit. I mean it just like went to the sky. We’re all over the world now. I have people writing to me from Hungary and Germany, and it’s just like… I’m just like amazed.

I get overwhelmed and I cry every now and now ‘cause I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I’m on TV. I can’t believe people are enjoying my work. I mean this is what I went to school for. This is what I wanted, and I’m actually getting to do what I love. And when you get to do your passion, what you want to do, it’s incredible because there are a lot of people who actually don’t get to do what they want to do. So I’m incredibly thankful and grateful and appreciative of this job and of the show. It’s really great.

KATHIE: Your character gets a new romantic interest this season with the vampire Franklin Mott, played by James Frain. How would you describe the character?

RUTINA: Yeah, I say tall, dark and handsome with an emphasis on dark. I’ll say that.

KATHIE: Tara's never been pro-vampire in the past.

RUTINA: No, not at all... You’re gonna see some crazy stuff between the two of them, and sometimes Tara is… it’s like sometimes it’s by choice and sometimes maybe it’s not so much by choice. So she gets wrapped up in him, and it’s gonna be crazy... I mean he’s very interesting kind of crazy psychotic at some times.

I absolutely love working with James Frain. I think he is wonderful. I mean he is so talented. He keeps me on my toes at all times, and he’s just so in the moment and real. It’s just like if it’s not working, it’s not working. We go back until it works, and we just… we have a great connection, and I just really enjoy it.

KATHIE: What's your biggest challenge in playing Tara?

RUTINA: I think the emotional struggle that she has inside of her. Tara is… she’s so emotional. She’s very strong, and yet, at the same time she’s a flower, and it’s really sometimes difficult to go from the big dramatic Tara to the comedic Tara to the telling off somebody, and then to try to come home with that and like take it all off and be the wife. It’s incredibly hard to find the balance, but that’s where all of my training, I would say, comes into play. I mean learning how to delve into a character and then learning how to let it go and be able to come home and breathe and then go back to work the next day... and then she’s back there.

I'll have more True Blood interviews in the weeks ahead.

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

2010-05-08T15:05:00.007-05:00

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.

The storytelling's gotten better and better (Okay, we won't talk about the "musical" episode!), with a perfect ratio of questions to answers. And the cast has embraced their roles... Walter is one of my favorite characters on TV, Astrid is a delight, Peter's grown on me, and intense Olivia is believable although she really could smile more. Okay, I agree that Broyles (played by the wonderful Lance Reddick) is underused.

In the last few episodes we've found out that the entire alternate universe business started because of Peter, who was taken by Walter as a child so he could cure him of a terrible illness after losing his own son. While he did cure Other Peter, he never returned him. Bad Walter! Oh, that explains so much!

In this week's "Northwest Passage" we finally got a look at what that Other Walter looks like today, and I'm thinking his brain is intact (unlike our Walter). And surprise, surprise, Newton was working for Other Walter (who he calls Mr. Secretary), and it really is all about Peter.

While the episode set us up thinking possibly it wasn't a mythology episode (including a great turn by Martha Plimpton), the story flipped around giving us some big time mythology stuff and a perfect set up for the two-part season two finale, "Over There."

While I doubt we'll ever learn the mystery behind why Newton started off as a frozen head or why the shape-shifters have mercury instead of blood, the emotional essence of a parent doing anything to save his son is something we can related to. And forget Peter's challenge of trying to forgive Walter. How are WE going to forgive Walter for stealing another Walter's son? Powerful stuff.

In Part 1 of "Over There," Olivia and Walter try to figure out a way to get to the other side, and at some point during the two parts someone important will die. I really can't wait to see how this all comes to a "head"... maybe even a frozen head.

Here's the promo for "Over There":

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

2010-05-08T14:18:00.007-05:00

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)

In this week's "Isobel," Elena's vamp mommy paid a visit and raised everyone's blood pressure. It was heartbreaking for Elena to realize her mom was such a bitch and for Alaric to realize... well, what Elena realized. Then came the twists at the end. Bonnie only pretended to take the magic off the vampire killing invention, "Uncle" John was actually Elena's baby daddy, and Isobel and John were working not only for Katherine to get the device so they could kill the tomb vamps, but also put Stefan and Damon on the list so they could get vampires out of Elena's life. And it's hard to fault their logic or Bonnie's.

If this were real life, Elena would be better off in the long run if the vampires in her life were history. However, the show is called The Vampire Diaries and it's been renewed for a second season, so we're thinking the vampire killing rampage that John has in mind isn't going to go off quite as planned, and Bonnie and Elena's friendship is going to take a major hit. When the fireworks start expect bad things to happen, like a massive cliffhanger.

Here's a webclip:

Damon's flirty eyes and a hellish moment for Elena:

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

2010-05-07T09:32:00.008-05:00

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...

9th SEASON FINALE

Smallville (The CW) 8:00 p.m. ET - “Salvation”

IT’S CLARK VS. ZOD IN THE SEASON FINALE — Zod (Callum Blue) unleashes his army upon the world, forcing Chloe (Allison Mack) to call in reinforcements from old friends. Zod tells Lois (Erica Durance) he is The Blur and asks her to steal the Book of Rao from Clark (Tom Welling). Torn between Clark and The Blur, Lois asks Clark to come clean with her about everything but he refuses. Chloe (Allison Mack) and Oliver (Justin Hartley) attempt to reconnect Watchtower’s satellite system in order to fight the Kandorians but to Chloe’s horror, Oliver gets caught on site and disappears. Tess attempts to stop Zod but he leaves her clinging to life. Clark and Zod battle for control of Earth. Greg Beeman directed the episode written by Turi Meyer & Al Septien.

True Blood's Alan Ball dishes on Lafayette

2010-05-07T01:27:00.007-05:00

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.

Lafayette is played by the wonderful Nelsan Ellis, and we'll get to meet Lafayette's mother, played by the amazing Alfre Woodard. Lafayette will also get an oh so hot Latino boyfriend, who is a good-natured orderly taking care of Woodard's character.

KATHIE: What was it like working with Alfre Woodard?

ALAN: Well, you look at Lafayette and go what kind of mother would have produced him? And, you know what, she is game to go there. We’re working around her schedule cause she’s on another show as well. We definitely see her several times throughout the season. Lafayette is going to get a love interest this year for the first time.

KATHIE: What can you tell us about the relationship?

ALAN: Kevin Alejandro is playing Jesus, who is the first person who has made a serious pitch for Lafayette’s heart. Which is quite a struggle as you might imagine cause Lafayette’s got a lot of walls around himself. But those two are really good together and, once they got over their initial... I wouldn’t say discomfort, but kind sheepishness about playing guys who kiss each other, their chemistry between them is pretty palatable. They both really bring it.

More to come on this interview later. You can also expect to see some of my interviews with Rutina Wesley, who plays Tara, and Denis O'Hare, who plays the big bad... the Vampire King of Mississippi. True Blood got the cover for the August issue of Sci Fi Magazine and I wrote two articles on the show.

Vampire Diaries - Hot Damon pic + behind the scenes pics

2010-05-06T13:58:00.007-05:00

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.

Just about to say action.

Vampire Mommy Dearest (aka Isobel) and Elena.

Oh, so romantic for Isobel and Damon... surrounded by the crew.

And here they go in for the kiss.

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

2010-05-06T00:11:00.012-05:00

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.
V - Anna continues to be scary and Morena Baccarin subtle acting makes her character one of the most interesting and mysterious on TV. You really do get the idea that even her own people don't know what she's planning. And speaking of that, Anna beating up her own daughter and ordering her guard to break her legs so it will look like she was attacked by the Fifth Column... talk about mommy dearest.
Chuck - This show gets better and better. Sarah and Chuck are almost as great a team as Casey and Morgan. And Ellie and Awesome are coming back! Okay, it was because of the nasty Ring, but they're coming back! Oh, and there was a tiger!
Castle - I'm so glad Michael Trucco, who plays Kate's new boyfriend, is getting a chance to do more on Castle than he got to do on his wasted role on V. The Caste/Kate/Tom Demming triangle is oh, so entertaining.
The Vampire Diaries - David Anders turn as the hated Johnathan Gilbert makes Damon look like a good guy. I'm kind of hoping they don't kill him off at the end of the season since he's a worthy villain for the brothers and Elena.
The Vampire Diaries #2 - And then there's Stefan. I've never been much of a Stefan fan, but he just got a lot more interesting now that we know he killed his father, drank his blood and then forced Damon to turn into a vampire. And you thought he was the good guy.
Supernatural - Thank God there's Mark Sheppard to lighten up the Apocalypse! He's been in just about every sci-fi show and here he returns as the demon Crowley who wants to help the brothers take on Lucifer. He's in tonight's episode too, and since Bobby just sold his soul to Crowley in return for the location of Death, well, let's just say how the deal was sealed is hysterical.
Stargate Universe - Cool alien dinosaur! I would have liked to see more of it. I also enjoyed the fact that Scott, Chloe and Eli are still trapped out there and it's not an easy fix to get them back.

Loathed It:

Fringe - Everyone was excited at the thought of a Fringe musical, but let's just say this was no Buffy. I've been loving the season and where they're headed with the show, so I'll forgive the one detour. However, apparently only Astrid can sing, since the other songs were more talked through than sung and there was just no point to it. Yes, there was some clever dialogue, and the costumers and cinematographers had some fun. I, on the other hand, not so much.
Dancing With the Stars - For taking way ratings from Chuck and House.
Happy Town - So far I'm not at all sold on this one. Weird shit is going on, but who are you supposed to root for.
V - I hate Tyler. Really Erica should just let the Vs have him... Worse yet, how in the world are the Fifth Column at four strong supposed to win? Especially when they have a V in their midst and they don't bother to ask him anything about his species, their weaknesses, where they come from, etc. etc. Seriously folks, why is this raging plot hole not being plugged?
American Idol - The loss of Siobhan Magus... I'm going to miss her. She made this dull year interesting.
FlashForward - So according to Gabriel (James Callis in a very, very different turn from his Battlestar days) tells Olivia that she's the key. Huh?
FlashForward #2 - When the only characters you like are Demetri and Simon, it may be time to check out of this series... just like millions of other viewers did.
Mongolian Death Worm - Okay, no this hasn't aired yet. But Syfy sent me a review copy. I have to admit I love bad movies (especially if they are really bad like Mega Piranha and I can skip through the boring parts). So I both enjoyed and hated Mongolian Death Worm... I enjoyed it because these insatiable worms sucked people in whole and the special effects weren't terrible... and I hated it because if we're going into the world of Mongolian Death Worms then let's see some humor. A good bad movie should be fun.

Fall in love with NBC's Chuck all over again

2010-05-05T00:06:00.006-05:00

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.

What doesn't make me happy is that the ratings are falling and I just don't get it. Dancing with the Stars seems to be eating up all the competition, including Fox's House. I watched it for a season, but I have to admit, I just don't get it. I even checked it out this season, and I still don't the appeal.

Chuck's one of the most delightful shows on TV and fits in with the much better performing (and just as realistic) Bones and Castle. Well, hopefully NBC will be desperate enough for scripted content that they'll renew my favorite spy show.

TV Goodies - What's coming up in May 2010

2010-05-04T23:47:00.008-05:00

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.

Tuesday, May 11:

Ashes to Ashes (BBC America) 10 p.m. - Second season premiere

Thursday, May 13:

The Vampire Dairies (The CW) 8 p.m. - Season one finale

Supernatural (The CW) 9 p.m. - Season five finale

Friday, May 14:

Smallville (The CW) 8 p.m. - Season nine finale

Tuesday, May 18:

V (ABC) 10 p.m. - Season one finale

Thursday, May 20:

Fringe (Fox) 9 p.m. - Season two finale

Friday, May 21:

Ghost Whisperer (CBS) 8 p.m. - Season five finale

Medium (CBS) 9 p.m. - Season six finale

Saturday, May 22:

Legend of the Seeker (Syndicated) - Season two finale

Lost (ABC) - "Pilot" - ABC is airing the $10 million dollar original Lost pilot. I'm sure there will be some goodies that tie up things with the finale in one way or another. And it's a good way to get some ratings on a Saturday night to get back some of that $10 mil.

Witchville (Syfy) 9 p.m. - A Syfy original movie that even I, a lover of bad movies, can't bear to put into my DVD player to watch.

Sunday, May 23:

Lost: The Finale Journey (ABC) 7 p.m. - A special exploring what it took to make the series with interviews and a look at the past six seasons.

Lost (ABC) 9 p.m. - 2-1/2 hour season six series finale

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to 'Lost' (ABC) airs immediately after the finale. It will feature Lost cast members and showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

Monday, May 24:

Chuck (NBC) 8 p.m. - Two-hour season three finale

24 (Fox) 8 p.m. - Two-hour season eight series finale

The Big Bang Theory (CBS) 9:30 p.m. - Season three finale

Thursday, May 27:

FlashForward (ABC) 8 p.m. - Season one finale

Friday, May 28:

Past Life (Fox) 8 p.m. - Returns from hiatus with new episodes. In other words, Fox is burning off the three or four episodes that never aired.

This 'n That

2010-05-01T07:30:00.009-05:00

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).

As far as my interviews with Benedicto and Davis, they were very short 10 minute in and out interviews. I doubt I have a lot much worthwhile to post that didn't make the articles.

However, while there's not a lot more I can squeeze out of my interviews from the Wire this week, as I mentioned before I've been in Hell Week(s) writing 6 articles for the August issue of Sci Fi Magazine, along with my massive column about what's coming up on the summer shows, "TV In Focus." No links to those unfortunately. Since I usually do 15-25 interviews per issue (along with some actor stuff), I'll probably have some stuff to share there, especially regarding HBO's True Blood. True Blood is getting the cover and the issue will be on newsstands from June 1 through July 17.

I interviewed Rutina Wesley (Tara, one of the most interesting characters on TV) and one of the series new big bads, Denis O'Hare (who plays the Vampire King of Mississippi), along with the series creator Alan Ball (Oscar winner, Alan Ball, that is!).

I also got an interview with Eddie McClintock who plays Pete Lattimer on Warehouse 13 and Salli Richardson who plays Allison Blake on Eureka. Since the Eureka article got put on hold (they're going to get the cover for the October issue, we think!), I might have to hold her stuff for a while til I figure out what I'm going to use.

One of the purposes of this blog to run interview bits that never made my articles, so you can at least expect a little something where I talk to the producer of Warehouse 13 regarding how often Eddie McClintock takes off his shirt on the show... along with Eddie's take on that. I should be able to get to that one sooner rather than later.

And more good news! For the next issue of the magazine I'll be talking to James Callis (Gaius Baltar from Battlestar Galatica) who is joining the cast of Eureka. So I should have some info on that for you once the interview goes off in a month or so.

For those who can't wait for some Callis, here's a link to a Digital Spy interview by Catriona Wightman regarding his role on FlashForward or you can check out my interview with FlashForward exec producer Jessika Borsiczky explaining why she cast Callis in the show.

As for this week on the blog...

I'll put together a what's coming up for May with premiere and finale dates (and anything else of interest), along the lines of the one I did for April.

I'll do a Loved It or Loathed It later this weekend for the last couple of weeks after I catch up with some of the goodies I missed this week (like the Fringe musical).

And now since that it's looking like FlashForward or V (or both) will be cancelled by ABC, I'll do a FlashForward vs. V smackdown.

I may also have to chime in on Legend of the Seeker this week or next.

As for what I have coming up on Sci Fi Wire this week beyond my Everything on TV column, expect my Lost Q&A, maybe a bit of Chuck, and sci-fi and fantasy season finales and what to expect.

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

2010-04-26T03:54:00.008-05:00

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...

"Chuck Versus the Honeymooners" picks up a few days after episode 13, which left us with Chuck and Sarah getting romantic and Morgan joining Operation Bartowski. While I will tell you that much of the action (and that includes Chuck and Sarah action) takes place on a train, and the episode involves Casey and Morgan partnering up, a Basque terrorist named Juan Diaz Arnaldo, and handcuffs. That's enough of a tease I think.

What I will tell you is that "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners" is one of my favorite episodes ever. It's very funny, Casey and Morgan are a stitch, and it's great to see Chuck and Sarah working as a team again.

I think bringing Morgan in to join the team was inspired. It gives Chuck the ability to evolve as a spy, without losing the nerdiness factor of the series.

Anyway, more later after the episode has aired.

Yvonne Strahovski Versus the Nose Ring

2010-04-25T06:04:00.008-05:00

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:

KATHIE: What is your biggest challenge in playing Sarah this season?

YVONNE: I think it is the fact that Chuck is becoming more of spy and I think for Sarah she’s becoming more of a human being and learning how to be sort of be somewhat normal and it is kind of baby steps for her cause she’s always been in the spy world. She doesn’t know it but I think she’s sort of unraveling a little bit more this season and we’ll definitely see more of that in episodes to come. You get to see her more raw side.

KATHIE: We found out Sarah's real name was actually Sam this season. But the revelation wasn't to Chuck.

YVONNE: No, it wasn’t to Chuck... It is those little things we keep finding about the characters and the family and how it’s kind of getting dangerously close to the family. Like Chuck’s secret is creeping in on that family life of his. So there is definitely surprises coming up.

KATHIE: How do you feel about more people from Chuck's non-spy world like Captain Awesome and Morgan finding out his secret?

YVONNE: I think it’s just a natural progression of the show and I think we’re all really happy with that. There are certainly more revelations to come as we near the season finale.

KATHIE: Why did you want to take this role in the first place?

YVONNE: Straight up I think she’s a very strong, intelligent woman and being a spy is something not many of us get to do on a daily basis. So jumping into that world and getting to pretend to be a spy everyday is pretty fun, and the physical aspect of the role as well really attracted me. I’ve always been pretty athlete growing up and a bit of tomboy and very much into rock climbing camping and all sorts of sports. To get to do stunts on a weekly basis is really, really fun for me, and I love doing all my stunts and wire work in the fight scenes and all the cool stuff we get to do. Those are kind of my favorite things about the role.

KATHIE: When I talked to Zachary Levi (who plays Chuck), way back when the series was starting up, he complained that he didn't get to carry a gun. That's changed this year. Is it fun for Zach now that he gets to shoot people?

YVONNE: Yeah, he used to always want to be a part of it and now it is. I think he’s loving it. It is fun to see him get involved with all the fight stuff as well.

KATHIE: Is it a challenge for you to lose the accent when you become Sarah or is automatic now?

YVONNE: No, it's automatic. Living here in the U.S., I’m surrounded by the accent everyday. I think it would be a different story if I had to play this character and shoot it in Australia where I was surrounded by a cast and crew that had Australian accents, you know. It is a lot easier when you're living the accents.

KATHIE: No one would guess you were Australian, considering Sarah isn't. You do the American accent very well.

YVONNE: Oh, thank you.

KATHIE: Are you ready to take up the directing reins like Zachary did this year?

YVONNE: I think I might leave that to everybody else [LAUGHS]. For now, I don’t see myself directing a Chuck episode anytime soon.

KATHIE: What is something most people don’t’ know about you?

YVONNE: Most people don’t know that I had a nose ring for five years.

KATHIE: Do you miss it?

YVONNE: You can still see the little hole in my nose. A little bit, I’ve thought about putting back [LAUGHS].

KATHIE: I don’t know if Sarah would wear a nose ring?

YVONNE: No, no I don’t think that would be appropriate [LAUGHS].

For more of my interview with Yvonne, check out my article on Chuck in the June issue of Sci Fi Magazine.

Riverworld: The Series?

2010-04-23T20:17:00.003-05:00

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.

This was Syfy's top Sunday night in HH rating, total viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

During the telecast from 7-11PM (ET/PT), Riverworld averaged 1.03 million Adults 25-54 and 733,000 Adults 18-49 along with a 1.6 household rating.

Riverworld also soared +60% in HH rating, +62% in total viewers, +57% in Adults 25-54 and +50% in Adults 18-49 compared to Syfy's average delivery in the 7-11PM timeslot in the prior four weeks.

What does it mean? Is there a Riverworld series in our future? Well, considering they could trim it down to a limited amount of special effects per episode and it's not like they'd need a lot of big sets, the money might make sense on this one. What it will mostly will depend on is the breakdown of whether viewership increased, decreased or stayed with the mini through the whole 4 hours.

If they do decide to turn it into a series, let's hope they rework the series a bit and enrich the characters and their motivations, and do a little better world building. After 8 years, don't you think someone would have built a town or two down the river? Wouldn't there be some commerce? Wouldn't there be boats on the river? After all they have a riverboat, an airship, guns, swords, etc.

But then again, what do I know?

The sad case of Riverworld

2010-04-20T03:24:00.003-05:00

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.

When it came to the book series, the adventure was fun and the mystery was compelling. Trying to answer that mystery led to disappointment.

So, in case Syfy ever attempts to tackle Riverworld again, or in the very off chance that it becomes a series, folks focus on what made the first two books so great. Focus on the adventure and mystery, but without the incomprehensible aspect of it... including the whole dark tower thing, the hero failing to stop the bad guy, everything getting blow up, 8 years passing before he gets back to find that everyone died but the world started up again, and blue people talking about chess?

And one P.S.: The whole bit where the hero finally finds the girl and discovers she's thrown in with the bad guy... could her character have had any less development? And then when it's all over he still wants to find her instead of going for the hot Samurai chick... not so satisfying.

So sad... Maybe this is one that just won't ever translate on screen.

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

2010-04-18T05:38:00.015-05:00

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.
Lost #2 - Desmond and the Locke Monster trying to kill each other in different universes.
V - Anna laying eggs... lots of them! Okay, she's actually making an army of alien soldiers. If only the rebels were as interesting.
V #2 - Georgie's death. Sad, but well done.
Supernatural - Dean finally making a choice and it involved driving one of those angel killing stakes through Zachariah's skull. That angel was a dick and he really had it coming!
Fringe - Walter getting his White Tulip in the mail, the sign he has to tell Peter he's from an alternate universe. Another great episode. Fringe has gotten so much better this year!
Stargate Universe - every encounter that Dr. Rush and Col. Young have now that Rush has tried to frame Young for murder and Young has tried to strand Rush on a planet to die. Robert Carlyle as Rush and Justin Louis as Young are extraordinary.
Destination Truth - Yes, I'm always worried Josh or one of his crew will get eaten by a tiger while tramping around the jungle. While his trip to check out the Lizard Man in rural American didn't yeild any Lizard Men, you gotta love the Button Man and the old dude who took him flying... priceless.
Vampire Diaries - Finding Vicki's body. Nice twist back to an old storyline that affected a lot of the characters. Also, this week Jeremy reading Elena's diary (since that whole diary thing has kind of gone by the wayside til now), and knowing the truth.
Vampire Diaries #2 - Heroes' David Anders popping in to stir things up as Elena and Jeremy's uncle.

Loathed It:

V - Don't you just want to smack Tyler around every time you see him? It doesn't help that the writers handling his story so clumsily. I mean really, why does he have to find out his dad isn't is real dad just at that exact moment. It can only be because the Vs are writing the script.
V #2 - Seriously! All this build up about John May, and they even got Battlestar Galactica's Michael Trucco to play him. And then he's killed off screen and in a flashback to boot! What a wasted opportunity!
Human Target - Ending the season on a cliffhanger! Hiring Lee Majors to be the first Christopher Chance and then wasting him with a couple minor scenes. Really! And, oh yeah, thanks again for the cliffhanger on a show that may not get renewed! I like the show, but SO LOATHE THAT!
FlashForward - Where to start! So Janis is the FBI mole #2, and the first mole did it because working for the FBI didn't make her feel important enough. WHAT? Like killing 20 million people by helping the people who may have caused the blackout is what? More fulfilling? Yikes!
FlashForward #2 - Don't you hate Mark for choosing his job over his family?
FlashForward #3 - Wtf is going on and why should I care (well, me and the 5 million people still left watching). Again, what a wasted opportunity. This show started off with a great mystery, but has totally lost it's way.
Vampire Diaries - Going back a bit... Overall, good show. But people are dropping right and left and the Founders guys are worried about the vamps "might" be back? What about the guy who got creamed by the truck or the lady who fell down the stairs (by the guy who later got creamed by the truck)? How big is this town that SO many people can get killed off. Which leads us too...
Vampire Diaries #2 - Going back a week... to Elena. So she and Damon and Alaric (hate that name) head off to save Stefan from the tomb vamps. Damon snaps the neck of the homeowner, so he can get in the house. Damon, great character, is a killing machine, so yeah, he'd pop the nice lady's neck so he doesn't have to be invited in. But it was in front of Alaric, who's supposed to be a good guy and should have had more issues about it. And then there's Elena, who got the witch played by Gina Torres killed after saving Damon a while back. Nope, she doesn't even probably know the witch is dead or the nice homeowner lady is dead, but it just seems wrong. Damon killing people is one thing, but involving Alaric and Elena... it's just not right for me and it shouldn't be right for the characters.
Stargate Universe - Yep, a little boring this week, although you have to give cred to the writers for not taking the easy path by taking the perfect planet and doing a Star Trek on it. But still...

I may update this after I check out Riverworld. More next week.

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

2010-04-18T05:15:00.008-05:00

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'.

I also got to talk to RoboCop's Peter Weller, who had a nice guest star stint on Fringe last week. My article in the Wire was, "Peter Weller time-travels on Fringe; Plus RoboCop". Some day I'll blog about why I had sworn to myself I'd never ever talk to Weller again, but that's for another time. Anyway, I was happy with the article.

In the mean time, you might notice that those are Sci Fi Wire articles, which means I'm squeezing in interviews and magazine stuff also. Along with that I finally completed (well almost) a huge project that I thought I'd never see the end of, which is a Remake or Reboot Tracker for the Wire of all the movie remakes that are in the works right now. There are over 130 that I could find.

And while I'd love for this week to be all about the magazine, since I've got 5 articles and my column TV In Focus to write, I've also got a couple column type things for the Wire that I'll have to take care of. So lots of writing coming up and not a lot of blogging in the next few days.

Jounalism boo boos and negative backlash

2010-04-06T14:19:00.007-05:00

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.

Sadly, that one typo took away from the otherwise pretty good interview with Pellegrino (at least I think it was pretty good). Those with comments leaped on it like it was the only significant thing about the article, down to the snarky comment "Gotta love that crack fact checking at work again. You guys are supposed to actually like and watch these shows, right?"

Of course, as the author you just want to say "Lighten up, dudes!" I write 20-30 articles a month and, yes, sometimes there's a brain fart. The error was quickly corrected by my editors, although they used the strike out method, rather than the replace method. Which means it screws it up for Pellegrino's publicist when she wants to print it out. Of course, that's the editor's choice, although it seems to me we unusually use the replace method even if there are comments about a mistake.

It all means I'm in a nasty mood. I hate, hate, hate making mistakes like that. It ruins my day and make me feel like an idiot. It's not the first mistake I've made, and it won't be the last. But it was such a stupid little mistake to make since I do watch Lost and well aware of when things happen on the show. ARG!

Of course, the other annoyance is why those who comment are so often so negative in the first place. Why read a site you apparently hate? Having read other sites with plenty of negative comments lashed on postings, I know it's not just me or Sci Fi Wire. And I realize that people who lash out like this often do it because they simply aren't willing to take the time to come up with a creative or constructive thought.

Anyway, had to get that out of my system. At least I have another article to write about Pellegrino for Supernatural, and you can bet it won't have any dates in it at all.

Tired Kathie chims in about whatzup

2010-04-05T02:16:00.006-05:00

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.

I'm also doing articles on Warehouse 13, Eureka, Merlin and Haven. So I should get some good actor interviews in. The shelf life on the magazine stuff is soooo much longer than the web stuff.

Last week on the Wire I wrote about FlashForward, Fringe, Supernatural, Merlin, Vampire Diaries, V, the MTV Award nominations, and my everything that's coming up in the week column. You can check it out in the Articles by Kathie Huddleston, if you're interested. There was some good interview stuff, especially with the Merlin piece. I actually wrote the Supernatural piece for the blog, but it turned out to work for the Wire, so it went there instead.

Anyway, tomorrow is the EVERYTHING column and my first of two articles on Mark Pellegrino. I'm doing Lost and a Supernatural pieces on him. Fascinating guy, as I think I've already written.

Later in the week, I've got a hot Vampire Diaries piece about the upcoming episode "Let the Right One In," with a Julie Plec interview.

Anyway, plans for the blog... beyond some interview and opinion stuff, I plan to run several Battlestar Galactica interviews. When the show was about to end I got a chance to interview everyone for a magazine piece. We ran a version of it online as well under Battlestar Stars Remember Their Favorite Moments.

I talked to most of the main people, and once these people started talking about the end of the series, the interviews were great. Unfortunately, except for the little bits that the magazine and the Wire used, the rest of it has sat in my computer.

So, when I get a chance, I'll start digging these out and publishing them as classic interviews. Of course, it probably won't happen when I'm doing 11 articles in a week... just saying.

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

2010-04-01T15:04:00.010-05:00

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

2010-03-31T20:43:00.004-05:00

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."

Rosenbaum admits he can't give specifics, "because that will give away why they’re here. I would say to me one of the things about the original V was, there was very much this parallel to Nazi Germany and Aryan race and this perfect race. I don’t want to necessarily go down that road in that way, but I will say this... I think that ultimately what the first series did have a lot about, which is certainly something I think is a big part of this show, is how by maintaining our humanity it is ultimately A) what makes us human, but it will also be why we can ultimately win," he said.

"That to me is the show ultimately. I think it needs to celebrate what is special about us when we’re at our best. The question is if we stick to those principals and we stick to the things that have made us human, I mean obviously we’ve done a lot of horrible things, but at the end of the day we’re different than animals because we can think and we have empathy and we have feelings. And I think ultimately that’s what separates us and if we embrace those things, we can beat the Vs. And hopefully the show will feel, despite the fact there’s going to be a lot of losses and a lot of difficult things for our team, ultimately and hopefully it will feel like at the end of the day an uplifting show about being human," said Rosenbaum.

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

2010-03-31T19:53:00.003-05:00

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

2010-03-30T18:22:00.004-05:00

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

2010-03-30T15:19:00.002-05:00

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!"

2010-03-30T01:59:00.008-05:00

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.

One quibble, Castle should be wrong once and a while and Beckett should be ahead of him more. Let's have a little more equality in their relationship.

You can check out my review of part one here.

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

2010-03-30T01:33:00.008-05:00

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.'

"It has been great. I love all genres, but I’ve always been a big science fiction fan and it was kind of nice to be able do this. There are not a lot of science fiction shows out there anymore, and it was nice to sort of be able to get onto one," said Rosenbaum. "The big thing I wanted to bring to the show was I wanted to make it really character based.

"What some people consider, certainly in my generation, one of the greatest science fiction movies was Star Wars. People always wonder like why was Star Wars so much more effective than some other science fiction movies in terms getting a wider audience, and for me I thought about it a lot and I think the way I would sort of analyze it is that the story was told through very identifiable people, Luke Skywalker, Princess Lea. You, as an audience, were able to see their point of view and see their lives rather than it being, let’s say, through an alien’s point of view. It was through a human’s point of view, and so one of the things that I think is essential and something I really worked on especially in the first episodes is in terms of just setting up story for later because I think a lot of it needed to be there."

More Scott Rosenbaum later with a chat about the difference between the original V and the new V.

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

2010-03-29T13:14:00.002-05:00

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

2010-03-29T12:30:00.003-05:00

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

2010-03-28T09:27:00.011-05:00

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.

Here's a Sneak Peek:

Of course, nothing is quite what it seems on Supernatural, and there weren't any angels or demons to muck up things up in this special episode. But to take zombies, creatures (at least as far as I can remember haven't been on the series) and turn them from out-of-the-grave murderers, to beloved and missed (and pretty good looking) family members, and back into (you know it was coming) HUNGRY murderous zombies... you just got to love it.

Bobby was at center stage on this one, as his dead, cremated, pie-making wife returned from the grave and she really was sweet as pie. So when Sam and Dean showed up, Bobby, the sheriff and everyone else lied... cause let's face it, just because they're zombies doesn't make them bad people. Of course, something else was going on here and the family reunions weren't going to last.

But what a heartbreaking ending! The horror of the sheriff watching as her zombie son eat her husband and then waiting outside the house while Sam went in to destroy him... We didn't have to see anything more than her reaction to the gun shot that went off inside the house.

And poor Bobby having to kill his loving wife for a second time (she was turned into a demon round one), right after she tells him why this all really happened... so tragic, so terrible.

Of course, the series got back to the angels and demons at the end of it all. Apparently Death had a message for Bobby, that he's annoyed Bobby's been interfering and keeping Sam from saying yes to become Lucifer's new suit.

My problem with that is that the bad guys know where Bobby lives. Apparently he really is the town drunk and if they wanted to take him out, would it be that hard? He's even in a wheelchair. Do they need to both sending a gaggle of zombies after him and even bother messing with his mind regarding his dead wife?

Still, minor quibbles.

Here's a Behind the Scenes bit with Jim Beaver (Bobby) about the episode:

Next week in "Dark Side of the Moon," "When Sam and Dean are killed by hunters, they end up in Heaven. They discover they must find Joshua, an angel who speaks directly with God, before Zachariah can find them."

I'm hoping God finally puts in an appearance. I'll put up an exclusive interview with exec producer Ben Edlund when I get a chance later.

Executive producer Julie Plec chats up The Vampire Diaries

2010-03-27T23:17:00.008-05:00

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:

KATHIE: You are huge hit.

JULIE: Kevin [Williamson] and I are really proud of everything that our group has accomplished... We have yet to have that dud episode or that one we say, "Oh, gosh, well we could have done better, but oh well." We feel so proud of each individual episode and that’s actually really hard to do [laughed]. I’ve certainly never worked on anything where every episode I’ve been like yeah that’s the one, you know. We’re so proud of the level of quality. We can pat ourselves on the back for a lot of things, but it’s what the production value, the acting, the chemistry between the actors, the casting, all the production design elements, the directing. We’ve been incredibly blessed with a production team and a cast that is just kind of surprisingly amazing. You wouldn’t believe, you are always looking for that one person that just doesn’t do as well anybody else, or that you’re like, "Oh well." But everybody is great. That’s thrilling.

KATHIE: What has been the biggest challenge with the show?

JULIE: It’s not wanting to settle, and when you don’t want to settle you become a bit of a control freak and a perfectionist. Being a control freak and a perfectionist takes a lot of time and a lot of emotional energy, and wow did we work hard and almost too hard. We worked to the point of near collapse and it is consistent with first season shows and it’s certainly consistent with Kevin and me and the way we work together, that we just want everything to be as good as it can be. We won’t go home until it is and so that means a lot of late nights and a lot sleeping on the couch in the office at six in the morning and a lot of personal struggle.

KATHIE: How do you manage it?

JULIE: We’re both, Kevin and I, are both sort of single, pathetic losers with no children. Kevin has a dog, I don’t even have a dog [laughed]. I make the joke, it’s fun to the have the show be successful and my regret is I haven’t been able to experience the fun that comes along with it.

KATHIE: So in some ways this is your child.

JULIE: Yes, exactly. You get on Twitter, Kevin and I love our Twitter universe and the Twitter fans. We get on Twitter and you get the feedback from the them and the genuine positive or negative critiques from them and to be able to have that kind of access, a direct access to the fan base has been kind of cool, too. Just to see what they love and what they’re hating, who they would kill [laughed].

KATHIE: How many books are out there?

JULIE: I think we’re up to… they published five.

KATHIE: What do you do when you run out of books?

JULIE: Well, a lot of this stuff is stuff we’re embellishing and taking the rote story, the back-story of the book, and then further expanding that to create more story out of it. The good thing about the books is we’ve got all kinds of stuff to choose from, but we’re not handcuffed to them either, so we can take a storyline and for half a season that never even existed in the books, and then return to something that was very present in the books and not mess it up for ourselves. So it’s good.

It is good indeed. Good enough that The Vampire Diaries is a huge hit on The CW nad has already gotten a second season. And good enough that the series is now Number 4 on TV.com's list of Top 100 TV Shows, just below Lost, Grey's Anatomy, and Supernatural.

Looks like it may be a long time before Julie gets that dog.

For more with Julie Plec check out my column "TV In Focus" in Sci Fi Magazine on the newsstands.

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

2010-03-27T22:30:00.009-05:00

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."

For me THE GOOD:

--> The search for Elena's birthmother and the lengths her birthmother, Isobel (now a vampire) obviously was willing to go to keep things a secret.

--> Damon... great role, great actor. Actor Ian Somerhalder has found the role he was meant to play. Damon falling apart, and his cavalier toying and then murdering of Alaric, was fantastic TV.

--> Alaric's anger and murder and my annoyance that they'd kill off the character. I liked Alaric... and then they didn't kill him off after all. Turns out his former wife Isobel loved him enought to give him a magic ring which somehow protected him from a wooden spike to the chest by Damon. Loved that part and I'm glad he's not dead.

--> The tease of the Tomb Vamps and what that means Mystic Falls, which just can not be a good thing.

And THE NOT SO GOOD:

--> Matt and Caroline, Matt and his mom. Well, Matt and anybody. Please make this character more interesting!

--> The bachelor auction, the fact that no one seemed weirded out by Damon's comments about Alaric's wife, and the fact a guy just threw himself in the path of a truck and got creamed and no one in the event seemed to notice. THANK GOD the event was't screwed up. Too odd.

--> Wasting Marguerite MacIntyre, who plays Sheriff Forbes, Damon's new best vamp fighting bud. Seriously, this woman is a GREAT actress and she'll never get her due on The Vampire Diaries. I love the fact that they brought her over from Kyle XY, but she deserves her own show, not to be a bit player here.

ALL THAT SAID, I think the new direction for the final eight episodes looks good. Well, that and I'm glad Alaric isn't dead.

If you check out my next post I'll have a bit more from Julie Plec, about the series in general.

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

2010-03-27T07:35:00.007-05:00

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

2010-03-26T04:30:00.002-05:00

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

2010-03-25T18:37:00.008-05:00

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.

Here's the announcement:

After 24 seasons with us in national syndication, the highly regarded movie review show "At the Movies" (formerly known as "Siskel & Ebert" and "Ebert & Roeper") will air its last original broadcast the weekend of August 14, 2010.
This was a very difficult decision, especially considering the program's rich history and iconic status within the entertainment industry, but from a business perspective it became clear this weekly, half-hour, broadcast syndication series was no longer sustainable. We gratefully acknowledge the outstanding work of the program's current co-hosts A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips and top-notch production staff, and it is with heartfelt appreciation that we extend very special thanks to the two brilliant, visionary and incomparable critics that started it all, Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel.

Ebert tweeted: "RIP At the Movies."

I second that. Not because I'll miss "At the Movies," which I rarely watched these days with it's various co-hosts. But I will always remember and miss those passionate discussions that reminded me why I loved movies so much in the first place.

TV Goodies - What's coming up in April 2010

2010-03-25T06:58:00.015-05:00

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.

Bones (Fox) returns with with new episodes.

Other's of interest: The Vampire Diaries (The CW), FlashForward (ABC), and The Mentalist (CBS)

Friday, April 2:

Smallville (The CW) returns with new episodes.

Stargate Universe (Syfy) is back with the second half of season one, where we get to find out what happened after Rush got stranded on the planet by Young. Can't wait to see what happens when they end up in the same room.

Merlin (Syfy) Thank God, Syfy is picking up this great show. Check out Syfy's Season One marathon on Sunday, March 28. But season two starts the next Friday.

CBS's has a new line up of Ghost Whisperer, Medium and the new Miami Medical.

Starz has a new Spartacus: Blood and Sand and the Cartoon Network has a new Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Saturday, April 3:

Eragon (Syfy) - the 2006 theatrical movie, which I don't remember as being very good

Thursday, April 8:

Bones (Fox) - 100th episode

Saturday, April 10:

Mega Piranha (Syfy) - Because Giant Piranha aren't big enough. Here's another Syfy Saturday night at the movies.

Legend of the Seeker (Syndication) - New episode called "Desecrated." It's looking like there won't be any more reruns till the end of the season.

Tuesday, April 13:

Glee (Fox) - Season one returns. And no, I don't care if there's no sci-fi, action or paranormal. Glee's just fun to watch.

Wednesday, April 14:

Human Target (Fox) - Season one finale. Could it possibly be the end of the this entertaining show's first season already? Unfortunately, yes. Lie to Me replaces it.

Ugly Betty (ABC) - Series finale. Bye Betty! Been nice to know you!

Friday, April 16:

Spartacus: Blood and Sand (Starz) - Season one finale. But don't worry. They've already ordered season two.

Saturday, April 17:

Doctor Who (BBC America) - The Ultimate Guide - catch up with all things Doctor

Doctor Who (BBC America) - Season five premiere with the new Doctor.

Sunday, April 18:

Riverworld (Syfy) - Four hours of the miniseries, Syfy is hoping gets enough ratings to turn it into a series. This is the second Syfy Riverworld, and this one stars Tahmoh Penikett, Laura Vandervoort, and Peter Wingfield as the baddy.

Wednesday, April 21:

Destination Truth (Syfy) - Season three finale.

Saturday, April 24:

Mothman (Syfy) - Jewel Staite stars in this Syfy Saturday night movie about the legendary creature.

Sunday, April 25:

Into the universe with Stephen Hawking: part 1 (Discovery) - series premiere

Tuesday, April 27:

Survivors (BBC America) - Season two finale

Wednesday, April 28:

Happy Town (ABC) - a new mystery series that's looking a little Twin Peakish. Maybe... maybe not.

Is ABC's Lost island a cork?

2010-03-24T18:05:00.007-05:00

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.

At another point the Man in Black talks to Jacob about the fact that he's ready to kill Jacob to get off the island. And Jacob reminds him that if he manages to do that, someone else will take his place.

What this all means to me is that the Man in Black is an evil of sorts that must be contained. Since Lost seems to be about balance, maybe he's the evil in men that tips the balance to the bad side. If that holds then when we take a look at what happened in the Sideverse, where Jack and his crew successfully sunk the island, where is the Man in Black? It's unlikely he died, which means he's out in the world waiting to do his damage, to tip that balance.

So my best guess as to what's really going on... and again stop reading if you want to be surprised and I might just possibility be right... AGAIN STOP READING ... I MEAN IT ... I MIGHT JUST BE RIGHT ... PROBABLY NOT, BUT MAYBE ...

My best guess is that nothing matters in the Sideverse because the Sideverse is about to die in one way or another. The evil that was let loose when Jack and his friends blew the island to hell, got off the island and out into the world. So while Jack has a son in the Sideverse, Claire's still pregnant and innocent, Locke is alive and engaged, etc... the world as they know it is about to come crashing down around them destroyed by the Man in Black and his evil.

I'm sure others have come up with this scenario. And once the Sideverse is gone it will be all Lostverse, with no more flashbacks, forwards or sides. Just good against evil, and a battle where most will die, a couple may leave the island, and at least two will live trapped forever in an endless battle.

Can't you just see that chat on the beach from last season's finale between Jacob and the Man in Black, except now with Jack and Locke. How Locke, the Smokey/Man in Black, hates Jack for keeping him trapped on the island and Jack saying until it's over, it's all progress. In the meanwhile, a ship or a plane buzzes by and we know it's a continuous battle between the forces of good and evil.

That would be a pretty good ending in my book.

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

2010-03-24T10:54:00.010-05:00

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.

"On the spy side of the show, for the past two seasons Casey and Sarah have been essentially in charge of protecting Chuck Bartowski, like a secret service team that goes on spy missions protecting the Intersect," said Fedak. "But now that this season since Chuck decided at the end of last year to upload the new Intersect into his head and then when he realized that he now has these abilities, these new spy skills, new hero skills, he’s decided he wants to be a spy. He’s decided to step up to the plate and to be hero. Of course that’s not going to be very easy and nobody learns that overnight. So now Sarah and Casey are not only protecting him they’re also training him in how to be a great spy. So it’s part protection and part mentors. The other thing, too, is that for Casey and Sarah that and especially Sarah is that for the past two years they’ve been protecting Chuck Bartowski from the world. Now they have to protect the world from Chuck Bartowski. They have this new unstable element."

Well, it's ended up being a little more than that. Suddenly, the Intersect info in his head rarely is important and all anyone cares about is Chuck being a spy. What's that about? When Chuck last wanted out of the spy game, they were going to kill him rather than let a valuable asset leave. Now, if he doesn't pass all the spy tests, he goes back to his old life?

What about the valuable asset that's still in his head that involves information and not just his kung fu skills? Suddenly that's all anyone thinks is important.

I guess the last episode where Chuck was supposed to kill someone "Chuck Versus the Final Exam," which overall I liked as an episode, pushed the "Chuck's a spy" button a little too far. Sure there's an advantage of Chuck being able to work on his own in the spy world, but in what universe would the spy people still not consider him of use just because he couldn't kill anyone? He still has the freaking Intersect in his head.

There's two more episodes in this mini-season, before the final six episodes air. According to Fedak episode 13 was original planned as the season finale, before NBC saw the light and gave Chuck an extra six episodes. He says episode 13, "Chuck Versus the Other Guy," is a "game changer" and that the final six episodes will we a sort of season 3.2.

That sounds cool. But I'm still waiting to see why just Chuck being the Intersect isn't enough for everyone anymore? It seems like Chuck's game has been changed significantly already.

Could this be the end of CBS's Numb3rs?

2010-03-24T00:29:00.004-05:00

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.

At least in the end of the final episode, "Cause and Effect," Charlie and Amita got married and prepared to head to London as visiting professors, David got a promotion in D.C., and Don finally grew up and decided he really did want to stay with the FBI. Oh, yeah, and he also finally popped the question to Robin (who accepted this time). It was a happy ending for all and in the end, it was about family and not about math or crime or cops.

The ending felt very satisfying for this regular viewer. I'll miss Numb3rs if (and most likely when) CBS decides to finally cancel it. And it won't get the respect it deserves for inventive plots, strong characters and belief that the strength of family that makes people's lives worth while.

It wasn't a perfect show by any means. Even in the last episode I kept wondering where Amita's parents were for the wedding. Little things like that would pop up in episodes that would remind us this was indeed just a TV show. But in the end, Numb3rs was more than the sum of it's parts.

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

2010-03-23T16:37:00.002-05:00

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.

“Tick, Tick, Tick…” is certainly one of the better Castle’s this season. The case kicked off with Castle announcing that his new novel, starring Beckett knockoff Nikki Heat, was going to be turned into a movie. Banter ensued, as it always does, and there was even a home based storyline involving Richard’s mom moving in with her boyfriend. Typical fun stuff.

But of course none of that matters when dead bodies start showing up, and when they have the pattern of a serial killer who has a thing for Nikki Heat. It isn’t long before the FBI takes over with Dana Delany running things as Special Agent Jordan Shaw, who turns Castle’s head with her fancy cop equipment and her history of catching bad guys. Apparently she was Kate Beckett in his eyes, before Kate was Kate Beckett.

Of course, the bad guy gets caught too easily, as Castle discovers a few minutes too late and the big boom takes out Beckett‘s place. The preview for next week promises someone “else” will die. Let’s hope it’s not Dana Delany, cause it’s wonderful to see someone throw Beckett off her game so effectively.

All in all, this is turning out to be one of the best episodes of an already good season and one that will impact the series, if for no other reason than Castle and Beckett will no longer be able to pretend their relationship is strictly professional. We’ll have to wait to see if this is really a game changer for the series, but it’s time for the Castle/Beckett relationship to head to the next level… not sexually, but emotionally.

Anthony Head on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

2010-03-02T07:24:00.014-06:00

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.

I was writing an article on Merlin for the August '09 issue of Sci Fi Magazine, cause Merlin was airing on NBC for the summer. Merlin is a wonderful little show that's doing great in Britian, but didn't do so well on NBC. Luckily seasons 2 and 3 are headed to Syfy at the beginning of April. If you want to find out what Head had to say about his character or the show, check out that issue of Sci Fi Magazine.

However, while we were talking I took him off topic and asked him about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Head played Giles, Buffy's teacher and Slayer trainer. I'm a huge Buffy fan and I couldn't help but ask him about his experiences with Buffy.

Here's what Head had to say (with his wonderful English accent) about Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

Anthony Head: What’s remarkable about Buffy is that it hasn’t really gone away. I mean you do get shows that sort of date and gradually wane in people’s imagination, but it’s amazing how many people it affected. And I mean, I get young kids coming up to me now, and I think they’re gonna be fans of Little Britain or Merlin, and they’re actually quite a lot of them… because it comes rather around on digital TV here, and a new generation of Buffy fans grows every couple of years. It’s fascinating. And also, I mean, when I’ve been over in LA to casting, and I walk into a producer’s office. Because Buffy was such a writers’ show, it’s amazing how many producers who’ve come up through the ranks of writing treat me very well when I walk through the door. They have great respect for the show and for those of us that were fortunate enough to be in it. So it has an extraordinary place in TV history really. I mean it basically comes down to Joss Whedon, who is a remarkable, remarkable talent… And I don’t really think he quite gets his just desserts. I think he really deserves to be applauded more.

Kathie: When you look back at the greatest sci-fi and fantasy shows that have ever existed, Buffy is in that group. It stands in the company of Star Trek and X-Files.

Anthony Head: It’s one of the best… it has to be said that it’s one of the best written shows that’s ever been made… I mean not, not all the time. To have that consistency, you’d have to be geniuses, but…

Kathie: Well, no series is perfect every episode. If you look at the X-Files it went on for a few years too long.

Anthony Head: (Laughs). And also, I think Joss made a great decision, a difficult decision to actually pull it after seven years… To give it it’s cycle, let it come back too school…

Kathie: And it had absolutely the perfect ending.

Anthony Head: Yes.

Kathie: I, I was so pleased because so few shows actually end well.

Anthony Head: Right.

Kathie: And it did end on a very satisfying note.

Anthony Head: He had a remarkable hand on the tiller. I think he did get distracted about two-thirds of the way through. He had to run two other shows, and I think that possibly you can see in it, but not that much. Everything had to be passed by him and everything had to be checked by him. But for consistency, for just good story lines, for interesting story lines, which is basically it was allegorical… What was happening in Buffy’s life was a reflection of what happens as we grow through our teens, and it was… he kept it going, and I mean it went through all sorts of fascinating things.

Kathie: I will always remember the musical, and I mean it was just astonishing because I thought, okay, this can’t possibly work. It’s not gonna be good, and yet it was one of the best things I’d ever seen on television. It was like, oh, my God!

Anthony Head: He and I spoke right at the beginning about doing a musical, ‘cause I’ve always loved musicals and so has he. I mean basically, every year I'd go, “Are we going to do one?” And he'd go, “No.” It cannot just come out of the fact that we haven't got any other ideas. It has to spontaneously find its own feet, and it was basically when we were all hanging out singing around his piano that he started to suddenly get, “I’ve got a cast here who can really sing.” And I think that’s when the germ was born. I remember getting a CD with him on the piano banging the tunes out with Connie singing, his wife singing all the female parts, and it’s like, "My God, we’ve got a musical. It’s really good. This is really good." This isn’t just, “I’ll hire in a bunch of writers.” This is him writing the songs, writing all the lyrics, and having a really, really good premise for a musical. The reason why a musical works is that it’s the only way you can hear your thoughts, but what happens if you don’t want people to hear your thoughts, but you can’t help but sing them. Genius.

The return of NBC's Chuck

2010-03-02T00:18:00.006-06:00

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.

Just before the Olympics got in the way of Chuck's season, in the episode "Chuck Versus the Mask," main characters Chuck and Sarah got redirected to other love interests, Smallville's Kristin Kreuk and Superman's Brandon Routh. Apparently for Chuck fans that meant the sky was falling, the world was ending, AND the earth was about to explode, and they were going to stop watching Chuck rather than seeing these two character move on to other lovers. Silly shippers (as in people in favor of Chuck and Sarah's relationship).

If they just fall in love and live happily ever after there won't be a show!

So as soon as I got Chris on the phone I asked him about the fan fallout of breaking up Chuck and Sarah. Once I get the interview transcribed I'll give you a chance to read some of the actual interview regarding this subject (although not the really good spoilers, which you'll have to wait til later on in the season to find out about).

Basically, he said they never planned for the three Kristin Kreuk episodes to be split apart by the Olympics. The plan was always to run them as consecutive episodes, which would have kept the shipper fans from having as much time to obsess about it. Of course, now Sarah is having her way with Brandon's Shaw (who looked mighty good without his shirt on), so now they have that to obsess about.

Chris also said it was a blessing and a curse how involved the fans were with the characters lives. A blessing because they care, and a curse because they jump to conclusions before the story has a chance to play out.

What I can tell you is that the writers have lots of fun stuff planned for Chuck, Sarah and Casey to deal with as Chuck tries to do his spy thing this season. Since Chuck's season was originally 13 episodes long, with 6 additional episodes added later, the first 13 will act as a kind of separate season with its own arc. Then the last six episodes will play out with its own separate arc.

As for the Chuck shippers, I'm sure they're thrilled with the events and revelations (except for the Sarah/Shaw action) of tonight's episode, "Chuck Versus the Fake Name." And we can look forward to more good stuff with many new episodes yet to come. What Chuck fan could ask for more?

Worthy cancellations

2010-02-27T06:25:00.010-06:00

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?

That means Fox decided to make a series out of the pilot. What about the idea was exciting? Here's the official premise... "a new drama series about an unlikely pair of past-life detectives who investigate whether what is happening to you today is the result of who you were before."

Maybe they just liked the term "past-life detectives". Maybe they hoped lightning would strike again with a show involving a believer and a skeptic (can you say X-Files). Maybe they saw other shows like Chuck that had silly premises and thought their show could be as charming and wonderful as that show. Maybe.

Certainly Past Life was worlds better than ABC's Cavemen last year. But still, of all the pilots they could have made a series out of, why Past Life? The show was dependent on someone emotionally remembering their past life and resolving past life issues, which often involved crimes. And to me, there was just no way this was going to work as a series.

But what do I know. Well, I guess I know more than Fox, which ordered 13 episodes and then cut the order to 7. Originally they'd given a prime spot to the show after American Idol. Then suddenly they decided to stick it in Fringe's Thursday night spot while that show was in reruns. And then really suddenly it was canceled after 3 episodes aired.

I mean when a premise doesn't work on paper and the journalists are going "wtf?", why did Fox waste millions of dollars and resources on Past Life. Why did they have to be hit over the head before they realized that the show just was never going to be very good or make sense.

Now mind you, I have no problem with the past life stuff. My mom always believed she'd been accused of being a witch in a past life, and well, why not? Not that she was witchy, but she was a believer who did her own past life regressions. There are many worthy stories there to be told, and I think if this was a movie it would have worked pretty well.

At least you can say Fox realized their mistake fairly early. And actually the ratings weren't as bad as they could have been. 5 million people still watched Past Life and a few of them are probably pissed off that the show was canceled. I'm not one of those people. Some shows earn their cancellations, despite good intentions and talent, who can now move on projects that are more worthy of them.

For me, I'm glad Fringe got it's spot back, even if it is going into reruns for a while. It's done well in a terrible timeslot and given Fox some traction against shows like CSI. It deserves some respect, and hopefully another season. And btw Lost, Fringe did the alternate universe thing before you did. So there.

ABC's FlashForward and other journalistic fodder

2010-02-27T00:34:00.009-06:00

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.

Originally I had four interviews scheduled, but one got postponed til next week. Fridays are good for that. I also wrote an article between interviews on a new BBC movie on Atlantis that's being done with a mix of virtual and real sets like the movie 300. Sounds interesting, but I don't know if we'll get to see it in the U.S.

In my interviews I chatted with executive producers including Saving Grace's Nancy Miller, Smallville's Kelly Souders, and Lost's Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. I've talked to them all, especially Miller and Souders, many times before and they're fun to talk to. I love getting the inside scoop about what's happening on a show before anyone else.

Eventually I'll post some of those conversations here, after Sci Fi Wire and Sci Fi Magazine have had their way with them. What I can say is that TNT's Saving Grace has been canceled and is finishing up it's run with it's final 9 episodes. Nancy's wonderful to talk to. She's got a kind of husky New York voice that's distinctive and I'd know her if she called me out of the blue. She's very excited about the way the series is ending and, I've got to say, no one's been braver in pushing the television envelope than her. It will be interesting to see how the show plays out and where the main character, Grace, will be at the end of it all.

ABC's Lost is another one that's ending and where they're going with this is pretty fascinating. The guys are definitely excited about where their series is going and they admitted they've never had a gig before, and don't expect to have one after, that's allowed them to do as much diversity as they've experienced in writing for Lost.

As for the CW's Smallville, Kelly is a doll and always very giving in her interviews. Smallville seems to be having a lot of fun with its direction this year and that isn't bad for a show in its 9th season. No word on a 10th season yet from Kelly or from the network, but considering the ratings, my money would go on that likelihood.

Monday it's on to the world of NBC's Chuck and the CW's The Vampire Diaries.

ABC's Lost - Is Jacob a jailer?

2010-02-25T11:51:00.009-06:00

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).

Old Smokey, in the form of Locke, has said he's "trapped" and he wants to "go home". To me it's becoming clear that "what's going on here" is that Jacob is Old Smokey's jailer and the island is the jail. So Jacob is not protecting the island, but rather protecting the world from Old Smokey.

It's a theory and I'm not the first on to come up with it, especially as more "answers" from the show seem to support this. It seems to make sense that Jacob started looking for candidates to take over his job when he realized he wasn't going to live forever. The candidates then are Jack, Hurley, etc.

The problem with all this is that we only met the Man in Black and Jacob at the end of last season. Yes, invisible Jacob had been hanging around causing trouble, mainly with Ben. However, you have to wonder if this is going to be a satisfying way for the story to go out. We have 12 or so episodes left before the story ends, and I guess that's as good a way for this to end as any... with a classic battle between good and evil, Jacob being good and Smokey being evil.

However, if this were any other show would they get away with Ghosts, Time Travel, Teleportation, Alternate Universes AND Mystical Shape-Shifting Good and Evil Beings duking it out with the Survivors lives just chess pieces caught in the middle of it all?

I love the show, but I'm beginning to wonder if throwing Jacob and Smokey in as aliens might not be on the plate too!

I'm going to be talking to two of the Lost executive producers tomorrow for my column in Sci Fi Magazine. They won't tell me any real goodies, cause they never do. However, I might ask them about all these fantastic elements coming together to tell this story.

What's your Lost theory? Are you happy with the way the show is going?

Blogging away with a cat on my lap

2010-02-25T09:18:00.010-06:00

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.