Entries Tagged 'scifi channel' ↓

While Comic Con tends to be kamikaze journalism for those of us foolish enough to throw ourselves into it, some of the hidden gems are the small interview opportunities that pop up throughout the weekend, and this is a perfect example. Best known for his work on Battlestar Galactica, a relaxed Jamie Bamber was tucked away in the Genius Products booth at the back of a manic Saturday morning convention floor doing small press for Pulse: Afterlife, a film he shot during hiatus last season, and arrives on DVD September 30. But as these interviews often go, the conversation strayed into some fascinating areas.

TV Verdict: Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse (Kairo)…

Jamie Bamber: Thank you for mentioning it.

TVV: Of course. The film was a fascinating J-Horror metaphor for our increasing anxiety over technology dependence…

JB: You know, I loved it. I just loved it, from the very first shot of these people in this sort of plant nurturing place which is on a building… like a nursery within an office building… it’s just a patio… and they’re so distant from each other… and it’s just about how disconnected we actually are. We think we’re connected by this technology, and that’s an illusion. And then people get haunted by the illusion, and ghosts come through and it takes over their lives… I thought it was mesmerizing, really mesmerizing. I have to say that’s why… Pulse 2, a sequel to a film I really liked… that’s why I decided to do it. To see if we could do something a bit more faithful to Kurosawa’s piece. I have no idea whether it is or not. It probably wasn’t one of the aims of the producers to be honest… to be faithful… because foreign films that leave the camera rolling on wide shots and don’t cut into it every two seconds are just not particularly en vogue in America right now. But I think we’ll learn and we’ll wake up that that’s actually more dramatic than being slapped around the head with a bat and told you don’t expect this, but you do and here it is.

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Watched what’s going to be the last Doctor Who for a while tonight. In a word: weird. It looks like the end for the Daleks–again (until the writers really, really need a Dalek fix). The episode played up some of the show’s plot quirks: the mortals around him sacrifice their lives and happiness, while the immortal Doctor “never looks back,” and the irony that he’s a loner with so many friends. The latter became my favorite TV irony when it reached its illogical extreme in Burn Notice: If you were dumped in sunny Miami with as many friends as Michael Westen has there (not just Sam, Fiona, and his mom, but a contact for every occasion), wouldn’t you just hit the beach and chill?

Thanks to a disastrous seven hour drive down from Santa Monica (5 South was shut down due to a fiery crash), the day was nearly a total washout.

However, I did get to sit down for an hour with Jeannie Schulz, wife of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, to discuss his career, the legacy of the characters, their new partnership with Warner Bros. to release all of the animated specials, and a special Rock the Vote campaign this fall. We’ll have the full interview for you next week.

I also attended the world premiere of Stargate: Continuum aboard the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Midway. There’s nothing like watching a big movie on a drive-in sized screen, on a flight deck loaded with fighter jets, with the San Diego skyline as your backdrop. Beau Bridges, Richard Dean Anderson, and many past and current Stargate cast and crew were in attendance. And for someone with very little exposure to the Stargate franchise (beyond the feature film), Continuum is a surprisingly accessible and engaging adventure, loaded with humor and in-jokes for the fans. This time travel tale puts a whole new spin on things, as Carter (Amanda Tapping), Jackson (Michael Shanks), and Mitchell (Ben Browder) must survive an alternate timeline while finding a way to restore their own. Sure, there are some plot holes and cheesy special effects, but the film — written by Brad Wright and directed by Martin Wood — is well crafted and well executed. Continuum comes to DVD on Tuesday (Jul 29) and we’ll have a full review for you that day over at DVD Verdict.

Preview for Day Two:
* Interview with William Katt about relaunch of Greatest American Hero franchise
* Preview of new SciFi Channel series Sanctuary
* Bones Season Four cast panel
* MST3K 20th Anniversary reunion and interviews with Joel, Trace, and Jim Mallon

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Holy frak.

Watching Adama just completely lose his shit was perhaps the scariest moment in, like, ever.

Tory: You bitch. That is all.

Lee facing down Tigh. “Where’s the old man?” “Right where you put him.” That was frakking cold, Lee. Well done.

As Lee attempted to convince Adama to lead them to Earth, I adored the utterly familial way Laura just sidled in and took her place at this side.

I had a hunch what they would find when Adama made the fleet-wide announcement before checking things out. But still… that reveal was just brutal.

The thing is, the last three to four episodes have all been about characters moving away from their roles in the fleet–whether it’s Lee becoming acting prez, or Bill and Laura realizing that they can’t be complete without the other.

As always, I have no clue where Eick and Moore are heading, but I’m damn well going to be along for the ride.

Breathe.

This weekend, The Incredible Hulk barges its way into theaters–hopefully better than the mopey Ang Lee version. And while his track record in theaters is a little shaky, it’s not nearly as hit-or-miss as The Hulk’s TV run. The character has had cameos and starred in a number of Marvel animated toons, as well as a successful live action series. Entertainment website IGN has a great feature compiling all of the various Hulk television incarnations.

Having seen much of the Hulk’s TV career, I can say that, aside from the live action series, he’s never been given the treatment he probably deserves. You would think that a character like this, which demands plenty of spectacle and over-the-top destruction, would thrive in an animated series. The producers wouldn’t have to worry about budgeting for explosions or styrofoam bricks, and the Hulk could face all of the crazy foes from the comics. But alas, the majority of his animated appearances are usually cameos that aren’t very fulfilling. Then there was that weird Hulk/She-Hulk series that kinda creeped me out.

Oddly enough, he was a character best portrayed in the Friday evening live action series starring Bill Bixby. I used to watch re-runs of that show all of the time on Sci-Fi and TVLand. Now, the entire run of the show is available on DVD in very respectable box sets. You can check out our DVD Verdict reviews of Season 1, Season 3, and Season 4, as well the Death of the Incredible Hulk.

And if you’re really looking for all the Hulk you can get, check out Judge Bill Gibron’s thorough review of Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk.

TV Guide is reporting that the final 10 episodes of Battlestar Galactica Season Four will not air until early 2009. Executive producer Ron Moore says post-production demands plus SciFi Channel’s decision not to go head-to-head with the network’s new fall schedules will keep fans waiting for that final trip to Earth.

Doctor Who’s latest episode just ended with a Time Lady (Georgia Moffett, daughter of former Doctor Who star Peter Davison) cloned from The Doctor’s DNA running around out in the universe somewhere. Judging from what I’ve seen of the BBC’s cloning techniques (Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures already have sprung from the show’s DNA), this smells like another spinoff just waiting to land.

Now that was more like it!!

After a fairy tale Christmas special, a loopy regular season opener with animated fat creatures, we finally get an episode that is more like regular Doctor Who.

The plot itself was a little thin perhaps, but it has a hell of a payoff. The instant in which the Doctor realized that HE made the choice that doomed Pompeii was effective, but nothing compared to the act of kindness shown by Donna when she helped the Doctor press the button, accepting part of the Doctor’s burden–she may never know how much that must mean to the Doctor–who has so much blood on his hands.

We were teased again about the return of Rose Tyler; how long until we get some kind of payoff?

Wow. Just…wow.

I’m not sure what was more disturbing: Tyrol’s utter, complete meltdown, Baltar’s messianic tendencies, Chip Six’s ability to physically pick Baltar up, or Tigh’s beatdown/makeout session with Six.

One of my old professors likened certain tragic plots as being akin to watching multiple trains on a collision course. We’re starting to see the trains picking up speed and we can tell that it’s gonna be a high body count collision. Continue reading →

Has Doctor Who finally morphed into The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? You might think so with the Titanic-in-space plot (reminiscent of a Douglas Adams video game) last week, and all the comic bits between David Tennant and Catherine Tate in this week’s official season premiere.

Since I’m always a sucker for slapstick, I kinda liked “Partners in Crime,” which introduces Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, the woman with the mile-a-minute mouth (who may eerily remind you of Carol Burnett). Tennant and Tate play off each other well; the scene in which Donna comes up with a solution to the Doctor’s dilemma with an alien computer played a lot better than it should have. Of course, Donna seems to have fallen for the Doctor, despite her protestations; that’s now a Who cliche. Please, this is a sci-fi action show; let’s not get too mushy.

The plot — about a diet pill with which “the fat just walks away,” literally and possibly dangerously — wasn’t much, but the emphasis on the characters kept the episode in working order. Still, there weren’t any bits as perfect as that one in last week’s belated Christmas episode in which the Doctor lands with Titanic sightseers to find that London now evacuates annually on Christmas, just in case there should be an alien invasion with a certain Time Lord involved. Both episodes were fun, but I’d like an exciting cliffhanger one of these days.