News from syfyportal

18 articles

11 October 2008 4:07 PM, PDT

The following contains Major Spoilers for the "Fata Morgana" episode of the SciFi Channel series, "Sanctuary." It is a dark and stormy night, and Dr. Helen Magnus, Dr. Will Zimmerman and Ashley Magnus find themselves in a small cemetery on a Scottish isle. Soon, all heck breaks loose as dinosaur-skull-headed .keepers of the dead. attack. The two Magnuses provide cover as Zimmerman enters a crypt to find three stone coffins aligned in a .Y.. Stepping into the center he sets off a system that drains, what we discover later, is a cryogenic liquid from the coffins and we discover that three, normal looking women -- very much alive -- are inside the coffins. .This might be my first crypt,. says Zimmerman, .but, aren.t they supposed to hold dead people?. This begins this week.s mystery. ...

11 October 2008 3:58 PM, PDT

The following contains Major Spoilers for "The Lost Tribe," the latest episode of the SciFi Channel's "Stargate: Atlantis." This felt so much like a "Stargate Sg-1" episode that I almost expected Jack O'Neill to jump out of one of those battle suits. And that's a good thing. Of course, this episode is the second part of the story begun in "First Contact" two weeks ago. As you may remember, Dr. Daniel Jackson had come to Atlantis to locate a hidden lab for Ancient genius Janus. He and Dr. Rodney McKay found the lab. In doing so, they were whisked away from a group wearing mysterious armor to a world where they were forced to activate an anti-Wraith device that would blow up any of their hyperdrives that were activated. There were, of course, nasty side effects to the machine being ...

10 October 2008 1:36 AM, PDT

"V" is finally coming back to television, but it just will have little to do with the hit 1980s miniseries that helped redefined science-fiction on television. ABC has ordered a new adaptation of the lizard-populated show with Scott Peters, a co-creator of USA Network's "The 4400," despite the fact that "V" creator Kenneth Johnson continues to work on a continuation of the 1980s outing. The new project, which has not been identified as a series or a miniseries, will be produced by Warner Bros. Television, and will have both Peters as well as Jace Hall from HDFilms leading the way. While Peters will concentrate on the television aspect, Hall will be in charge of alternative media, including a gaming platform for the project. With the new "V" will come a lot of changes, including the ...

10 October 2008 1:30 AM, PDT

Forget the excuses on why Star Trek was devoid of gay characters throughout its 45-year run. It just was never much of a must-do for writers. "We've just failed at it," said Ronald D. Moore, a former executive producer in the Star Trek universe who really made his name as the developer of SciFi Channel's signature series "Battlestar Galactica." "At Star Trek, we used to have all these stock answers for why we didn't do it. The truth is that it was not really a priority for any of us on the staff, so it wasn't really something that was strong on anybody's radar," Moore told AfterElton. "And then I think there's a certain inertia that you're not used to writing those characters into these dramas and then you just don't. Science-fiction has been behind the curve in including gay ...

9 October 2008 7:29 AM, PDT

Following the cast cull at the end of the second season which left "Torchwood" down by two, fans have been wondering how the significantly reduced alien-catching team will manage in the upcoming third season. Well, according to the official Torchwood Magazine from Titan Publications, they will have some help. Casting has been confirmed for "Children Of Earth," the six part third season of the "Doctor Who" spinoff and leading the charge is Lucy Cohu, who has appeared in several U.K. dramas including the long-running emergency service shows "Casuality" and "The Bill.. Cohu will play Alice, a character who is described as someone with a mysterious past and more than a few secrets to keep. Bridget Spears is another character that will quickly be introduced into the adult-themed series. ...

9 October 2008 1:09 AM, PDT

What's so funny about a warehouse that the government stores its top secrets? Viewers will apparently find out as the SciFi Channel's new executive producer Jack Kenny is named showrunner for "Warehouse 13" as it begins production of its first season. Kenny, a producer on such series such as "Caroline in the City," "Titus" and "Wanda At Large," will take on his second project with David Simkins, who also joined as an executive producer. The two last worked on "Book of Daniel," the highly controversial and short-lived NBC series that aired in 2006 that Kenny created. The series, which begins production next February in Toronto, was created by "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Battlestar Galactica" writer Jane Espenson, "Farscape" creator Rockne O'Bannon, and writer D. Brent ...

8 October 2008 10:24 PM, PDT

This review contains Minor Spoilers for "Circus Circus," the second episode from season two of ABC's "Pushing Daisies." "Circus Circus" walks the same path between bizarre comedy on the verge of being outlandish and tongue-crampingly fast dialogue that will leave you dizzy if you fail to follow for just a single moment as all other episodes, only the second season is grabbing hold of all the story elements from the first year and building more character-centric stories. Guest role casting again proves to be a hit for "Pushing Daisies," with so much hanging on the peculiar eccentricities of some of the characters. Lee Arenberg as the ring leader is one of the key characters of the episode, but it is the core crowd of the show that makes the episode such a joy. Forget for a moment the ...

8 October 2008 10:23 PM, PDT

Viewers definitely wanted to check out a little "Sanctuary" on SciFi Channel last week. The debut of the Web series-turned-television series starring "Stargate Sg-1" alum Amanda Tapping attracted 2.7 million viewers Friday night, marking the best rating for an original SciFi Channel series since the series premiere of "Eureka" in 2006. SciFi was able to pull in a lot of viewers in a key advertising demographic of adults 18 to 49 with 1.08 million viewers, finishing fourth among cable primetime shows that night, according to Multichannel News. When that demographic is shifted to adults 25 to 54, the number of viewers increase to 1.4 million. At the same time, NBC Universal is keeping better track of who is viewing shows online, and found that those looking for "Sanctuary" on the official ...

8 October 2008 10:22 PM, PDT

The following contains Major Spoilers for the "Knight Of The Iguana" episode of NBC's "Knight Rider." It's not that this show is bad, really. It's that it is so ... standard ... pedestrian ... predictable ... uninteresting that makes it hard to watch. Don't get me wrong. I like the actors, the characters, the cars, the explosions, the skin ... lots and lots of skin. It is what they do with all this that bores me. Here's a good example. The episode opens with a dark headquarters, with Michael looking for "the enemy," as Kitt calls him. Michael pussyfoots around, looking for someone to shoot. Is it a double agent? Is it a bad guy with a nuclear warhead trying to destroy Kitt? Is it an alien from outer space? No, it turns out to be Billy with a Super Soaker. The worst thing that happens ...

8 October 2008 2:21 PM, PDT

It's hard for fans of the original "Life On Mars" to see anyone in the role of Sam Tyler than the great John Simm, but the ABC run of the show that premieres Thursday night will only spend a single episode on the same track as the original. After that, the American version of the show will take a life of its own. "I think once you see the episodes roll out, the pilot is definitely the one episode that we had to stick close to the story of the BBC version because it sets up the story," said Jason O'Mara, the new Sam Tyler in the ABC series. "But once episodes 2, 3 and 4 come along, even though there are elements there form the original, it starts to go in a different direction." "Life on Mars" focuses on Sam Tyler, a cop from 2008 who suddenly finds himself stuck in 1973. He can't

8 October 2008 1:58 PM, PDT

Every once in a while, SyFy Portal and its sister sites like Rabid Doll and TV Plexus open its doors and tries to seek out new writers to join the SyFy Portal staff. All of our positions are volunteer, but writers have a chance to write about the genre they love, talk to some of their favorite stars, and maybe even make a difference in how their favorite programs are portrayed on TV! A typical writer for the SyFy Portal family of sites writes about two stories a week, and is up for occasional interviews with actors, producers and writers. We're from all over the world, however, we do have a special preference for someone who is in the Los Angeles area who might be interested in attending various events held by the networks and studios, and having their finger on the pulse of gossip and what ...

8 October 2008 1:49 PM, PDT

I want to thank whomever from the SciFi Channel reads my column. Back in August, I said: "SciFi Channel ... could you please go ahead and run 'Haunted' in the same way as 'Charlie Jade'?" For those who don't know, "Haunted" was a short-lived Upn program that starred Matthew Fox of "Lost" fame. The network has twice aired the first two episodes, but pulled it from their schedule once they aired. Replace "Charlie Jade" with "Haunted" at 3 a.m., and I'll be happy. Well, SciFi did me one better, and will run most of the episodes from the show in a daytime block on Oct. 9, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. My recorder is ready, so thank you, SciFi Channel! Since the new 2008-09 season is significantly underway, I thought I was give my first impressions of the genre shows that have returned or ...

7 October 2008 11:52 PM, PDT

Whether it's about directors, guest actors, villains, storylines -- if it involves the third Batman movie, don't believe it. David Goyer, who was involved with the story on both "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight," told MTV News that absolutely nothing has been written in stone about the proposed sequel, including whether or not Christopher Nolan will be back to helm it. "Chris and I haven't even talked about it," Goyer said. "He quite understandably is taking a long, long vacation and wants to purge himself." On top of that, Nolan only likes to concentrate on one film at a time, he said. And while both Goyer and Nolan have tossed around ideas, no one has actually sat down and put them on paper. "I wish I could tell you more," Goyer said. "There really isn't anything to tell." ...

7 October 2008 12:36 PM, PDT

Things aren't looking good for Monday night science-fiction television. "Heroes," a signature show of NBC since it premiered three years ago, is clocking in by far its lowest ratings ever. It scored a 5.0 rating/7 share Monday night, a drop of more than 12 percent from last week, and down 18 percent from its already anemic season premiere just a few weeks ago. Those numbers are from Fast National ratings from Nielsen Media Research, which also measured a 3.5/5 for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" on Fox, slightly larger than the audience from the previous week. "Heroes" was beat by everything that aired in the 8 p.m. hour, beating "Prison Break" on Fox and reruns on The CW. It was easily beaten by "Dancing With the Stars" and comedies on CBS. "Sarah Connor" was only able ...

6 October 2008 11:54 PM, PDT

The following contains Major Spoilers for the "I Am Become Death" episode of the NBC series "Heroes." Four years in the future, Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) believes, and tells his past self, that with Sylar.s abilities, he won.t make the same mistakes he has in playing a role in a horrific future. Then Claire (Hayden Panettiere), with the help of the Haitian (Jimmy Jean-Louis), kills Future Peter. Peter is a murderer in the eyes of Dark Claire, who appears to be part of the Evil League of Super-Evil. Claire kills scarred Future Peter, claiming he.s a murderer. Past/Present Peter is with Future Peter when he is killed, and escapes as she attempts to kill him as well. One gets the feeling Future Peter sent Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) to Africa to meet future painter Usutu (Ntare ...

6 October 2008 11:54 PM, PDT

Director Steven Spielberg sort of deformalized his relationship with Paramount Pictures Monday, breaking away from his co-created DreamWorks and embarking on a new studio venture that will include a business partnership with Paramount. Spielberg will join with Reliance Ada Group of India to start a new production company that will take the lead on about 15 to 20 DreamWorks projects, offering Paramount the opportunity to co-finance and co-distribute, Reuters reported. At the same time, Paramount itself will take on 15 to 20 other projects under development at DreamWorks, which Spielberg's new company will have a similar option to co-finance and co-distribute. However, Spielberg is seeking out a new distribution partner, which could end up being the motion picture department of NBC Universal. ...

6 October 2008 11:27 PM, PDT

The following contains Major Spoilers for the "Goodbye To All That" episode of Fox's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles." The show is still on the air! They even promoed the episode coming in two weeks! Woo-hoo! This week's episode shows how tough life is for anyone in the L.A. area named "Martin Bedell." Yet another Terminator from the future appears and begins going through the phone book, killing everyone with that name. The first is a man cooking out in his backyard, always a dangerous thing on this show. The T Team learns about his execution on the television. Derek realizes what's going on right away, and John checks the listings for that name. There are two more "Martin Bedells" left, so they split up, the guys going to find the student in the nearby military academy, ...

6 October 2008 4:41 AM, PDT

Like many other shows, the first season of ABC.s "Pushing Daises" was cut short due to the Writers Guild of America strike. According to series creator Bryan Fuller, though, that turned out to be something of a benefit for the show and the second season will continue to add more intrigue, character and ambition into the series. "In a lot of respects it was a benefit and we were able to tell the stories in the first season," Fuller told iF Magazine. "Now we have a lot more game changing events than we did in the first season as the show is established and now we can take it to another level. And the second season is about jerking the wheel and taking a different road." And one such example of changing the comedic formula is a new song currently being recorded by Kristin Chenoweth. The ...

18 articles