Casting scoop: George Clooney, William Fichtner and more
According to Clooney's publicist, "He is on record as saying he is not coming back. It is something he has already done. He is busy making movies." If you're an optimist, though, you can always hope for a surprise Clooney return a la the 2000 ER season finale, in which Georgie showed up at the very end of Julianna Margulies' farewell ep.
On a more positive note, there are plenty of actors who ARE joining popular existing series or are attached to promising upcoming projects. A rundown of these casting coups ensues.
Continue reading Casting scoop: George Clooney, William Fichtner and more
Free HD episodes on iTunes
If you were wondering just what that extra dollar buys you when you upgrade to HD in the iTunes store, you can get a free look. Our pals over at TUAW made note of a number of shows that have free episodes available, in HD. The files are large, with the HD versions clocking in at right around 1.5GB, so it will take a bit to download. Something that isn't helped by the fact that iTunes downloads the SD version as well.
I've been taking a look at them and I grabbed screenshots from Heroes, Life, and Battlestar Galactica to give you an idea of the difference in the picture. It's fairly dramatic. Those captures, and the full list of free episodes, with the iTunes links, are after the jump.
Continue reading Free HD episodes on iTunes
Olmos to direct Battlestar prequel movie
Good news everyone. It seems that this whole movie thing is working out quite nicely for the folks over at Sci Fi. Executive VP of original programming for Sci Fi, Mark Stern, now also counts himself as co-head of the newly formed Universal Cable Productions. Why should we care? Because at the end of the day that means a little more Battlestar Galactica.
The success of Razor is a big part of this. Stern describes it as doing "phenomenally well in the international and DVD market." It's led to a whole new way of financing and creating entertainment for the network. The new Battlestar project will air after the series completes its run next year. Edward James Olmos is on board to direct, and he'll have a script by Jane Espenson to work with. Both nice choices. Casting is still up in the air at the moment. So far, Michael Trucco (Anders), Aaron Douglas (Tyrol), and Dean Stockwell (Cavil) are confirmed.
The story is prequel-esque. It goes back to just after the Cylon destruction of human home worlds. We'll follow the Cylons as they deal with human survivors, aboard ships as well as on planets. There is also a hint that the movie will focus specifically on two of the Cylon agents.
Tricia Helfer: The TV Squad interview - Comic-Con Report
First up: Tricia Helfer. With Battlestar Galactica finished filming, she's been busy in a guest-starring role on Burn Notice. Hell, this woman's on two shows I love and, come on, it's Tricia Helfer. I was the last person in line on the carpet, so I kept it short. She was extremely nice and open to talk to.
Continue reading Tricia Helfer: The TV Squad interview - Comic-Con Report
Caprica trailer gets lukewarm reviews - VIDEO
The official trailer for the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica has been out for a few weeks now. If you haven't seen it yet, it gives a fairly vague outline of what the show will be about. In the trailer you will see snippets of Joseph Adama (Esai Morales), Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz), a radical bomber on a subway, an early version of a Cylon, and some near full-frontal nudity.
So far, the reviews have been mixed on the content of the trailer. While there have many calls of "I can't wait" and "looking forward to it," others think that it will fall far behind the quality of the current BSG. For example, one commenter over at iFilm said the show should stand par with standard network or cable dramas but it could fail in the science fiction area. Another commenter stated that the trailer didn't look high tech enough. A third asked, "No dogfight?" Many others are upset because BSG hasn't even finished yet.
Continue reading Caprica trailer gets lukewarm reviews - VIDEO
Battlestar Galactica - Comic-Con Report
After a log day of being in Hall H and Ballroom 20, things started to come to an end for the busiest day of the 'Con with the Battlestar Galactica panel. Basically, if didn't already have your arse planted in a seat in Ballroom 20 for that panel, you weren't getting to see BSG. I'm either completely dedicated to the coverage for TV Squad or a complete fanboy for the show. I submit that I'm likely both.
I'm not going to post the full, detailed report yet, as Sci Fi has told me we'll have embeddable video to show you soon (here it is on SciFI.com). Seriously, there's no way I can put to justice the funny job that Kevin Smith did as moderator -- you have to see and hear it for yourself. I will, however, submit to you the highlights for now.
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica - Comic-Con Report
Battlestar Galactica 30th anniversary - Comic-Con Report
A panel I almost skipped turned out to be better than I think a lot of people thought was the 20th anniversary Battlestar Galactica panel. I think most people are holding out for the official BSG panel later in the 'Con, but I was glad I was able to sit in for at least most of this panel before I had to run to the next one.
In attendance: Richard Hatch, Tom DeSanto, Bear McCreary and Dr. Kevin Grazier.
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica 30th anniversary - Comic-Con Report
Let the SDCC swag begin! - Comic-Con Report
I haven't even gone to get my badge yet, where I hear from Cinematical that there's lots of goodies to have, and lookee here -- Sci Fi stuff! The fine folks over at Sci Fi Channel were nice enough to drop off a ginormous purple bag full of loot, like the Raider model above; t-shirts, breath mints, temporary tattoos ...
Check the gallery for more, and check out what they're giving to registrants over at Cinematical.
Battlestar vet snags role on new Law & Order
According to Bamber, L&O's UK edition is just like the American version, but will be about "London judiciary and London cops. It's got the same premise as the original American Law & Order, same everything, just with a UK production company and UK actors."
The series is slated to begin production in August and will air on the UK channel ITV. There's no word as to whether or not it will jump the pond and be available to American audiences, but I'd definitely be interested to see how this long-running series translates overseas.
SciFi Channel panels: Caprica and Sanctuary - TCA Report
But I came down in time for the SciFi Channel's press conferences, which had the cast and producers of the series Sanctuary and the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica.
Let's start with Caprica. Right now, it's a two-hour backdoor pilot; the SciFi Channel will decide to pick it up as a series once they see the pilot. I can see why they might be a bit reluctant. From the scenes I saw, it felt more like The Godfather with some science thrown in, rather than the BSG everyone knows.
Continue reading SciFi Channel panels: Caprica and Sanctuary - TCA Report
Comic-Con Countdown: Saturday, July 26th
Saturday -- a time of rest and relaxation. A time to put your feet up, grab a lemonade, open a book, and let the cool, summer breezes gently rock your hammock as a lazy July day passes. Of course, that's if you aren't attending the San Diego Comic-Con. Then, it's out of your bed, quick shower (if any), breakfast-on-the-go, and right back into the queues to see your particular favorites talking about their television shows.
Like Friday, Saturday at Comic-Con will be packed with television goodness. This is the day that many of the big guns come to play. Shows like The Office, Lost, Battlestar Galactica will be making appearances. They will be joined by newcomers Chuck, Dollhouse, and Pushing Daisies. There will even be an appearance by the recently single Sarah Silverman. There's also a good bit of television animation being featured, particularly by Nicktoons and B.E.T. Animation.
In order to make sure you get the most out of the money you paid to get into the convention, we here at TV Squad are providing you with a complete list of television-related panels for that day. If you are interested in seeing what else is going on July 25th you can review the official full schedule at the Comic-Con website. Remember, times and appearances are subject to change and seating in all event rooms is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Continue reading Comic-Con Countdown: Saturday, July 26th
Comic-Con Countdown: You ask Sci Fi the questions, we deliver
- Stargate: Atlantis (Joe Flanigan, Robert Picardo, Brad Wright, Jewel Staite, Chris Sanagustin)
- Sanctuary (Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood, Robin Dunne)
- Battlestar Galactica (Tricia Helfer, James Callis, Katee Sackhoff, Michael Trucco, Ron Moore, David Eick)
- Eureka (Colin Ferguson, Sallie Richardson-Whitfield , Joe Morton, Jamie Paglia, Charlie Craig, Tony Optican)
- Ghost Hunters (Robb Demarest)
Use the comment form below to submit your questions and we'll give the best ones to the moderator to ask. We'll post the answers to those questions and others as soon as we can get to a WiFi hotspot and post away. You've got until this Thursday morning to send in your questions, so ask away!
Comic-Con Countdown: The first day
For those of you attending Comic-Con in San Diego, my hat is off to you. After looking at the schedule for the opening day, Thursday, July 24th, it is a wonder that your eyes don't grow glassy and that vein on the side of your temple doesn't throb with all of the events listed for that day. For those of you not attending, you may be breathing a sigh of relief that you won't have to decide what to attend and what to miss.
Granted, we here at TV Squad are only going to Comic-Con to cover the television-related events. Still, there are quite a few of them going on Thursday, starting when the convention opens and ending as the next day creeps into the night. Panels cover the gamut: public television shows, show revivals, anniversary panels about shows that have been revived, and Robert Smigel. So, if you are going, bring some comfortable shoes, plenty of snacks, and a ton of questions.
If you are not going, but are still interested in seeing what's going on in San Diego, here is a list of TV-related events for the first day of the convention. If you are interested in the complete list of events you can go to Spout blog for Thursday's full Comic-Con schedule.
Continue reading Comic-Con Countdown: The first day
Rumors hit the set of Battlestar Galactica about TV movie
Park's rumor had shooting beginning in August, which seems a tremendous stretch, as most of the new fall shows the actors are appearing in will be filming at that time. It would make more sense to try and film it during breaks. Or maybe it's going to go the route of Razor and feature mostly non-regular actors. Hell, she may have heard about the filming of prequel series Caprica.
Who knows what the hell is going on, but this is the new media. Facts be damned, I love Battlestar Galactica, and if Park had said this shortly before vomiting and passing out drunk off her ass, it'd still be worth a post. Anyone hear anything more?
[via AICN]
BSG podcast recap: Episodes 408, 411 & 412 commentary
As I've done in the past, I'll just summarize some of what I thought were the more interesting parts of the podcasts. If you're interested in learning more about Moore's insights and details about each episode, you really should take the time to listen to the podcasts yourself. Now if only someone could sync up these podcasts with the Hulu videos, that would be awesome.
Here are the highlights ...
Continue reading BSG podcast recap: Episodes 408, 411 & 412 commentary