44A 3 July 2001 inclu The Big Apple and cancellations and Screen Actors Guild
Eastlant Sci-Fi Group - 2000-2001 Season Progress Report 44A.
This is a digest of recent Sci-Fi- and genre-related news as of 3rd July 2001.
News & Notes
Editorial – The Season From Hell is Over!
It has been a strange season, both from the viewpoint of the TV shows themselves, and with regard to getting the tapes out, but with a few minor hiccups we survived again.
The Networks must be scratching their heads now, as they try to figure out what went right last year. I have never known so few cancellations, which also means that so many mid-season replacements never made it to the screen. Those that did fared very badly, principally because of Network stupidity.
Take “The Big Apple” for example. This Police/FBI drama set in New York was very well made, tinged with some acid humor and well acted. The writing was as tight as any current show and it had a lot of promise. So why didn’t it succeed? For one reason only. Some whiz kid at the network decided to premier the show just as the season finale run up began, so any potential audience was far more focused on what was happening at the West Wing, or on NYPD Blue, and as a result, highly unlikely to take on a new series.
Had they saved it for the summer, when there are few if any new episodes airing on the main networks, it would almost certainly have been a hit.
But then, when the system is run by idiots, why should this year be any different?
The second knock-on effect of the high success rate is that there will be considerably fewer slots available for new shows next season. This will have little effect on genre shows, as the main networks tend to shy away from these anyway, but this year the vast majority of the new drama shows will either never get to the screen, or will be pulled very quickly if they don’t immediately grab good ratings.
As always we shall see.
From my viewpoint, this has been a traumatic year. Apart from the usual strikes, disputes and go-slows that have hit the post office and the airlines, we have had equipment failures in spades this year. However, that is by no means the biggest issue as the year comes to an end.
At the start of the season, I had three editing teams, and a couple people helping on the admin side, and we were easily able to keep up with everything that was thrown at us. By the beginning of May, I was on my own, and the last few weeks of the season were a nightmare. It is still not quite over, as I have a pile of tapes to mail out, but another week or so should see it all done and shipped, so if you are waiting for tapes, you shouldn’t have to wait for much longer.
Be under no misapprehension however; I am not prepared to do an entire season like the last 6 weeks. There will have to be some changes.
I am considering the following methods of making the load manageable, and I would value any opinions on how these would be received by your good selves:
1. Not taking on any more new clients until the number drops below a new, lower maximum, probably 200. I might temper this by applying this to non-genre shows only, as I am reluctant to turn a genre fan away. I currently have about 40 clients who only take non-genre shows out of the 310 or so that I am currently sending tapes to;
2. Not editing non-genre shows and only offering these raw, unedited. This would save me about 30 hours of editing a week, but would mean fewer episodes per tape for the non-genre fans. I could maybe mitigate against that by offering to do LP tapes more frequently, so as to get maybe 5 or 6 episodes onto a tape, depending on how many ran in a particular block of episodes. This would also allow me to concentrate non-genre stuff during the genre reruns periods. It would mean you might have to wait a couple weeks longer to see your show, and take them on fewer tapes, but that also means a cost saving for you. This would not need to apply to all non-genre shows, as I watch some myself and tape them as they air – West Wing, CSI, The District, JAG, etc. Thoughts please;
3. No mix and match or archive stuff during the season – new episodes only and no offset tapes – you take them as they come – node by node – For example, I had a lot of requests this year from X-Files fans for only the Mulder episodes – sorry I just can’t cope with this sort of odd request now I am on my own. Anything like that will have to wait for the summer;
4. No fillers on finale tapes. After the last few weeks, this will almost certainly become policy. I have even been setting an alarm for the middle of the night so I could change converters in an attempt to keep up, and it’s no fun.
US Fans Please Note: This only applies to tape conversions going overseas. The numerous fans in the US that I supply with WB and UPN shows on a week-by-week or short-run basis need not worry. There will be no changes to that, as I have enough NTSC machines to open a store.
Now, none of this is set in stone, and nothing I do will be allowed to increase costs, so don’t worry about that either. I hope to be able to maintain the service to everyone that wants it, with little or no discernible effect from your viewpoint.
If you have any views on this, let me know. Any ideas would be welcome. Please note however that I may not be able to respond to all e-mails on this subject due to expected volume, so please restrict comments in these e-mails to this subject only.
Finally, I apologize for the need to make such changes, but it’s either that, or the rubber room.
Group News:
Get ‘em in Now
The Monthly newsletter will be out towards the end of this week, and Boy! There are some strong views to publish. If you want to get into this issue, let me have your submissions as soon as possible.
Still no convention reports, unfortunately. Odd that. The first thing I always wanted to do after running an event was to tell the world how good it had been so they would book for the next one. This is free advertising going to the dogs.
Actors, Studios Resume Labor Contract Talks
Here is an article from Reuters on the talks between the actors unions and producers. The consequence of an actors strike is the effect it could have on new shows this coming fall, although many series are already half way through the filming schedule for the next season.
Hopefully, after the writers were able to reach an amicable agreement with producers, the actors will do the same.
By Reuters/Variety
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Labor contract negotiations between major film and TV studios and two unions representing 135,000 actors resumed on Sunday morning after talks were extended past the current pact's expiration at midnight on Saturday.
``We'll take them an hour at a time,'' Greg Krizman, spokesman for the Screen Actors Guild, or SAG, said referring to today's resumed negotiations.
The two sides, meeting in Encino, Calif., at the industry's Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers headquarters, decided Saturday night to temporarily extend talks and are reportedly close to an agreement on a new three-year contract.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday that negotiators were close to an agreement on a way to pay actors when their work is shown on cable TV so that their health care and pension contributions are not deducted from off the top of paychecks.
The newspaper also said actors are expected to get other concessions including increased minimum payments for TV performers and a special bump for guest stars in shows, as well as added payments in some cases when shows air on foreign stations.
Krizman would not comment on the reports.
The talks between SAG and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the studios have been running late into the night on daily basis since June 23.
Both sides have declined to characterize progress in the talks since the negotiations began on May 15.
The unions are reportedly seeking to boost their minimum pay scale by 9 percent over the term of a new contract.
Like the Hollywood writers, who clinched their own contract with the studios on May 4, the actors are also seeking higher residual payments when TV programs and movies are aired in reruns and in foreign markets.
The union says those residual payments are crucial to sustaining the bulk of its membership, most of whom are out of work or between parts at any given time.
While Hollywood's biggest stars like Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford have commanded salaries of $20 million or more per film, 70 percent of SAG members earn less than $7,500 a year.
Only an elite 2 percent of performers earn more than $100,000 annually, according to SAG.
The union has downplayed the risk of a strike, which would take a month or more for unions to authorize in the event that talks break down.
Studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, have been hesitant to start production of new films until the actors' contract is settled.
A work stoppage by the actors could be damaging for California's economy, which is already staggering from the slowdown in the technology sector and an electricity crisis that threatens repeated blackouts this summer.
A study by the Milken Institute commissioned by outgoing Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan estimated that if the actors were to walk off sets for one month it would cost the region 21,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in lost income.
TV News:
Anderson To Quit 'X-Files'
In an interview with a British newspaper, Gillian Anderson, star of Fox’s "The X-Files" says that the upcoming season will be her last. She says she made her decision so that she can hit the London stage and spend more time with her six-year-old daughter, Piper.
"For the first seven seasons it was very difficult," Anderson, in England introducing a series of concerts by a youth orchestra, tells the Sunday Times. "[My daughter] spent a lot of time on set. She had a really hard time."
Like Hollywood actresses Kathleen Turner and Nicole Kidman, Anderson plans on doing a play in London's West End. She expects to hit the boards next summer, but declined to say what role she will be sinking her teeth into.
"Sometimes I am struck dumb by the narrow thinking with casting directors. Some actors won't audition, but I have to. Having been Scully for such a long time, I have to prove myself in other roles."
"The stuff I am going to do is as far from Scully as humanly possible," says Anderson, who last year appeared in the period movie "The House of Mirth" based on the Edith Wharton novel.
But Duchovny May Be Back After All
Maybe that movie career isn't looking as rosy as he thought it would.
David Duchovny (ex-Fox Mulder) recently retracted statements that he was done with the television version of The X-Files.
"If they wrote a good X-Files script, I would look at it the way I look at any script -- which is, I would really want it to be good," he recently told TV Guide.
While promoting his new movie, "Evolution," a few weeks ago -- a movie that has since bombed at the box office -- Duchovny said he would never return to the series. But in the TV Guide interview, he said that the Season 8 finale didn't resolve the Mulder character. He also said he was upset with the fact that no one told him he would be sharing a kiss with co-star Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully) until just hours before the scene was shot.
Witchblade Is A Maxi Mini
The cast of TNT's Witchblade told Comics Continuum that creators envision the show as a long miniseries. "The reason they're calling it a miniseries is they want everybody to know that there is a definite beginning, middle and end," Anthony Cistaro (Kenneth Irons) said. "You're watching an 11-hour movie. You've got that two-hour pilot and 11 hours of new material, 13 hours all together. It stands from beginning to middle to end."
But that doesn't mean TNT won't order more episodes if ratings hold up. "That's up to the viewers," said Yancy Butler (Sara Pezzini). "Hopefully, our numbers will be that good. I hope it will be picked up. I plan on it." Added Cistaro, "Let's be practical. If it gets the ratings, they're not going to end it."
Crosby Up For More X-Files
Denise Crosby may very well turn up again as Dr. Mary Speake when The X-Files returns for its ninth season this fall. During an interview, Crosby--who's best known for her stint as Tasha Yar/Cmdr. Sela on Star Trek: The Next Generation--said she would be thrilled, as she's eager to learn more about the character that's been seen so far in the episodes "Empedocles" and "Essence."
"Chris Carter doesn't reveal very much," said the actress, who was directed in "Essence" by veteran X-Files producer and director Kim Manners. (Manners put her through her paces more than a decade ago in the Next Generation episode "When the Bough Breaks.") "When I was coming onto the show, I don't think they'd even quite had it worked out who the baby was, what it was, how it was going to be born," Crosby said. "Chris was writing it in secret and wasn't very available. I just know that I was Scully's [Gillian Anderson] doctor, and I was taking care of her. Speake is an obstetrician."
Crosby--who's also contemplating a sequel to the documentary Trekkies, which she co-produced and hosted--considers Dr. Speake a character with tremendous potential. "She could align herself with Scully and protect the baby," Crosby said. "But for all I know, she could be an alien who tries to bring in the second coming. So I don't know what will happen. The show is so out there. But I'm sure Chris will think of something."
Night Visions Finally Ready to Roll
Dan Angel and Billy Brown--producers of Fox's upcoming genre anthology series Night Visions--said in a recent Fox press conference for the show that they were influenced by previous series and movies. "Being fans of The Twilight Zone and kind of classic horror films--a la Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, Repulsion--we've always loved the kind of metaphysical horror film, psychological horror, and also the kinds of twists and turns that a show like Twilight Zone used to have," Brown said in an interview. "We really felt like there hadn't been anything like that on TV in a long time."
Night Visions will be a 13-episode, one-hour series comprising two half-hour stories each week, the producers said. Angel and Brown--previously known for Showtime's John Carpenter Presents: Body Bags and Fox's Goosebumps series--enlisted top-notch talent for the various episodes, including actors Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Thora Birch, Randy Quaid and Jack Palance and directors Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist) and Joe Dante (Small Soldiers). "They were very excited about doing anthology," Angel said. "They were very excited about the scripts and the stories. And there were even times when they didn't initially say yes until they read the script, then they changed their minds."
The initial stories focus on an air crash investigator (Aidan Quinn) who has mysterious visions, a radio shock jock (Lou Diamond Phillips) terrorized by an unknown caller and a medical student who autopsies a voodoo priest. Subsequent episodes will mix supernatural horror, science fiction and psychological suspense, the producers said. "Even though the content ranges from metaphysical to psychological to shows that are horror to ones that are more fantasy, they were always character-based, even if there was a supernatural element," Brown said. "It was either a metaphor or sprang from the inner needs of the character, and that was really something that we very much like and tried to do and feel that it makes for more compelling viewing. It gives the actor a really good role."
Angel added, "The myth out there in the television world and the network world is that anthology doesn't work. And to be honest with you, we've loved anthology. We were very successful with Goosebumps for kids. All the anthologies we grew up on and loved, from Night Gallery to Twilight Zone to the syndicated anthologies, like Tales from the Darkside and The Hitchhiker, for the most part, they've been very successful. ... So when you're dealing with a genre anthology, I think the good news is we were able to convince Fox that this could work. I think the audience is ready for this." Night Visions premieres with a special two-hour episode on July 12 and will air Thursdays at 9 p.m.
Fans To Write New Voyager
A group of Star Trek: Voyager fans--unwilling to accept the end of their favorite show--has come together on the Internet to shepherd fan fiction carrying on the story of the errant starship and its crew. Voyager: Virtual Season Eight will feature 26 new weekly stories based on the show's characters, starting June 20.
The team of fans is led by Holly "Thinkey" Simon, Coral Leane and Anne Rose. The "episodes" will feature book covers and Flash-driven video and will also be translated into German for international fans.
Interested? The site is at:
http://www.creativelogs.com/
Bakula Discusses Enterprise
Scott Bakula revealed details of his upcoming UPN Star Trek series, Enterprise, to fans at an Orlando convention earlier this month. "It's basically these people are getting on a ship and going out to explore for the first time," Bakula said in taped remarks delivered at the Orlando Leap convention**.
Bakula added, "It's very much like The Right Stuff or any of those kind of movies, where it's much more humanly based in terms of emotion and seeing this universe for this first time, which I think is really exciting."
Bakula also confirmed that the series takes place in the not-too-distant future. "It's only 150 years from now, in 2151," he said. "That's just around the corner." As for his character, Capt. Jonathan Archer, he said, "It's a really great part. I was really excited when I got the script, because it's the first starship, and I'm the first captain, and it's right from the beginning. Even if you don't know Star Trek, and you haven't followed the other series, this is basically the first one, so you don't need to come to it with lots of lore in terms of what Star Trek is or was."
Editor’s Note: ** No, I didn’t attend, even though it was only just up the road. I’m not a QL fan.
Here are a few more “Enterprise” related snippets form various sources:
The new ship is said to be smaller and flatter, with warp nacelles and a saucer section beneath the connective midsection (usually where engineering is located on Starfleet ships).
One group of fans claims to have gotten a hold of the “Broken Bow” (the pilot) script and give it a positive review. In the first episode summary, Captain Archer's crew rapidly assembles for a rescue mission to Qo'nos after a Klingon crashes on Earth. But Silik, a member of the chameleon-like shape-shifting Suliban race who takes orders from a shadowy figure from the future, abducts the Klingon. The S.S. Enterprise (built in part by Archer's father) pursues the Suliban to learn why the Klingon is so important to him. Vulcan first officer T'Pol has more space experience than the humans do, but she is reluctant to reveal too much information until she has to.
James Cromwell will reprise his Zefram Cochrane role from FIRST CONTACT in the series premiere – the character will give a dramatic speech that sends the enterprising explorers on their way. In a different twist to the actor’s participation, Cochrane may appear as a hologram, since previous Trek history suggests that the human inventor of the warp drive would be presumed dead by the era of ENTERPRISE.
Buffy Sings and May Even Appear as a Puppet
Buffy The Vampire Slayer co-executive producer Marti Noxon confirmed last week that Joss Whedon is working on a musical episode.
"Almost all the cast sings," she said. "Joss himself is writing the music."
The episode will be the sixth of next season, though there's still no word on how the title character will return from her fate at the end of this season.
Experimenting with different genres is nothing new for the series, and Noxon goes so far as to joke about doing an episode of Buffy as a puppet show: "I'm dying to do an episode where you just turn it on, and for no explained reason, they're all just puppets."
Showtime To Make Odyssey
Christopher Gorham and Peter Weller will star in a Showtime original SF television movie Odyssey 5, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Executive producer Manny Coto wrote the film, about a space shuttle crew that witnesses the end of the world from Earth orbit.
The crew then discovers a way to go back in time five years and tries to save the world. The film, produced for Showtime by Columbia TriStar Television Distribution, is being directed by David Carson, who directed an installment of the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, the trade paper reported. Sebastian Roch, Tamara Craig Thomas and Leslie Silva also star.
Xena Creator Defends End
Rob Tapert--co-creator and executive producer of Xena: Warrior Princess--defended to a journalist for E! the series' finale last week. Fans have criticized the finale, but I am not going to give details, as they are too heavy on the spoiler front.
Tapert told E! that the reaction was "exactly what we thought it would be." He added, "We certainly have taken the heat. I have a friend who sends me e-mails, and I've gotten some faxes from people and letters. And people have had a very mixed reaction. But the finale was really based on where the series started, and it seemed to complete her journey looking for redemption."
Tapert, who wrote the finale with co-executive producer R.J. Stewart, added, "I thought it worked for me. People would say it was too ignominious, but I think it was what fueled Gabrielle to take the steps to be motivated. I really thought the end was appropriate. You don't really want to upset people, but we knew it would be emotional for the right reasons."
As for the future of the Xena franchise after six years of syndicated television, Tapert said, "This is about the fifth time that we have faced this sort of issue in the series, so I'm not worried about the franchise ending."
Firestarter: Rekindled Wraps
Principal photography has wrapped in Salt Lake City on The Sci-Fi Channel's upcoming original miniseries Firestarter: Rekindled, the network announced. Firestarter: Rekindled--based on Stephen King's original novel--is slated to air in December as a four-hour miniseries.
Firestarter: Rekindled picks up the story of Charlene "Charlie" McGee 20 years after the events in the 1984 feature film Firestarter, which starred Drew Barrymore. Charlie, now played by Marguerite Moreau (Queen of the Damned), is tired of running from the government that created her. But as she searches for answers to her psychic firestarting ability, she runs afoul of Rainbird (Malcolm McDowell), a sociopathic government agent who wants to control Charlie's powers.
Danny Nucci and Dennis Hopper also star. Philip Eisner (Event Horizon) wrote the miniseries, which is directed by Robert Iscove.
Fox Orders Galactica Telefilm
Fox has ordered a two-hour Battlestar Galactica movie from Studios USA, based on the 1970s series, which will stand as a pilot for a proposed Galactica series for the 2002-03 season that will run jointly on Fox and The Sci-Fi Channel, Sarah Timberman, president of Studios USA Programming, announced. As previously reported, X-Men director Bryan Singer will direct and will also executive produce with Tom DeSanto, Dan Angel and Billy Brown. "We're tremendously excited to be bringing the originality and immense talent of Bryan Singer, Tom DeSanto, Dan Angel and Billy Brown to bear on reinventing what was clearly such a pop culture phenomenon," Timberman said in a statement.
The next-generation Galactica will be set after the seventh-millennium time frame of the original series, which ran on ABC from 1978-80. "Our goal is to take the Galactica franchise and move it forward in both style and character, while bringing the scope and sensibility of epic science-fiction filmmaking to the small screen," Singer said in a statement.
Producers Dan Angel and Billy Brown said that the proposed series will feature some characters from the classic 1970s Galactica TV series. "Some of the characters will be revived," Brown said in an interview, but declined to say which ones. Added Angel, "All that is in discussion stage right now, but absolutely, the intention is to keep in the spirit of what was there before and to preserve--as Billy said--what was there."
"Hopefully, what we're trying to aim for is, there will be new characters, there will be some of the old characters," Brown said. "But since it's not totally written and totally signed off on--and also because there's such a huge fan base--we don't want to get out false rumors and have people, like, go crazy. But I think one thing we can say is that we're very much aware of the old fans. ... We want to honor the old show. We don't want to violate anything. It's like, if you watch the show, you're not going to go, 'Oh, well, they totally contradicted what was in the old show.' There won't be any contradictions, but there will be a taking it further and taking it forward in time."
Brown added that he and Angel were working on the script for a two-hour pilot for the series, which will advance the original storyline. "It does take place in a not-so-distant future from the end of the old show," Brown said. "It's going to be a sprawling, family saga that is set amongst the travails and adventures of the human colony."
Stargate Begins Landmark Season
Brad Wright, executive producer of Showtime's Stargate SG-1, said that the fifth season, which starts June 29, marks several milestones for the SF series. Among other things, the 12th episode of the season is the series' 100th episode, Wright said in an interview.
"We were very excited about that," Wright said. "It's the second series I've helped take to 100 episodes. I did Outer Limits as well. And it's amazing how quickly that time goes by." The 100th episode, "Wormhole Extreme," airing in September, is a departure for the series. "Rather than do a heavy, expensive big episode like we normally would do, we did a show that was in fact something of a parody of ourselves, kind of a Galaxy Quest version of Stargate SG-1," he said. The episode continues a story from last season, "allowing one of the characters that we've already introduced ... to end up doing a parody television series of Stargate called Wormhole Extreme. ... It's very funny. It is a balls-out comedy, as opposed to many of the episodes that we do."
The fifth season will also continue Earth's battle with the villainous Goa'uld. In January, the series will air a two-part episode--"Summit" and "Last Stand"--that will be the first time all the System Lords come together, Wright said. "It's a really large action story," he said.
The season premiere, "Enemies," will resolve the cliffhanger from last season, "Exodus." "I think it's one of our best episodes ever," Wright said. "At the end of last season, we found ourselves on a ship in another galaxy 120 years away from home, even at top speed, and with our archenemy Apophis. Another one of our enemies, who has almost wiped us out in the past, ends up inadvertently coming to our aid, and of course, they almost wipe us out too, but we manage to escape them."
Stargate SG-1 is about to begin production in Vancouver on its 14th episode out of 22 for the fifth season, Wright said. He added that he's awaiting word on a possible sixth season.
Editor’s Note: Get your checkbooks out Showtime – Season 6 is when they start asking for bigger paychecks.
“Spike” is Flavor of the Month
Here is a badly written (in my opinion) extract from the Scoops column of TV Now magazine:
James Marsters is Heating Up ... Sometime in November, in a TV land far away from the constrictive dictates of the WB, the only person worthy of Buffy's love, James Marsters, will appear as Charlemagne Bolivar on Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. Bolivar is the archduke of a royal family of Nietzscheans -- genetically engineered superhumans -- and will be either a deadly enemy to Captain Hunt or one hell of an ally. You have to figure that the role will help draw fans of the syndicated series over to the UPN to check out Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Call it free press for the show and the network. Marsters might be the best thing going for the vampire series now that Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy is either *************or getting married to Freddie Prinze, Jr. -- an act that will decrease her sex appeal to some of the male and female fans. People Magazine found out how popular the California-born actor really is when Marsters won their 2001 Most Beautiful People Poll with an amazing 497,328 votes. Just think, all of the good things happening to this talented thespian could have benefited the WB if somebody on the executive board hadn't spiked the punch with idiot pills.
Editor’s Note: The ******** is spoiler avoidance for those who haven’t seen the finale yet.
And here’s their thoughts on Prue – Too!!
Shannen's Brew is Strong ... We know that the burning question on your mind over the last couple of weeks is why charming actress Shannen Doherty bolted from her successful WB series. According to an article coming up in Movieline Magazine, the wicked witch claims that there were times when she did superb acting on the show and felt that her efforts were too good to be in a childish TV series -- sort of like wasting way too much quality on such simple minds. Considering some of the blockbuster films under Doherty's belt, including Striking Poses and Mallrats, we would be nuts to argue with her. After the Movieline July issue hits the stores, don't be surprised if you see Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs chasing their former sister down the street with brooms cocked and ready to be deployed.
2nd Editor’s Note: Well, get you sweetheart. We now know who is the head of her fan club don’t we? What a stuck up bitch. I always thought Charmed was an ensemble show, not one starring her and co-starring the others.
EFC Fans Hit the “Blue Glitter” Campaign Trail
Over the last four seasons, Earth: Final Conflict has gone through more changes than caterpillar caught in a never-ending time loop. And now some adamant fans are saying enough is enough.
The mailroom at the main offices of Tribune Entertainment in Chicago has been getting an extra dose of envelopes filled with blue glitter and protest letters from fans that say their show is going down hill as it readies to air its fifth season this fall.
"Most of EFC's present fans were quite happy with various arcs developing in Season 4 because it finally appeared that we were about to get some serious Human/Taelon communication of a fairly sinister nature, and we were shocked at the abrupt and wasteful conclusion of the many intriguing storylines and major characters in one rather over-the-top episode that had been only vaguely foreshadowed," said Aestrae, one of the fan organizers of the protest. The "Blue Glitter" campaign was the idea of a fan known as "Seven," Aestrae said, however having fans attach blue ribbons and sending letters in blue envelopes was added to the campaign.
"(We wanted) to get the maximum visual impact to the fact that we do not want something totally different for Season 5," Aestrae said.
The idea for the campaign was inspired in part by the campaign last year by fans of the then WB network series "Roswell," who sent bottles of Tabasco sauce to network execs, the favored food of the alien hybrids on the show. While that campaign ultimately did not save the show on The WB, it did play at least a small role in UPN's interest in the show, and picking it up for its third season.
While the Blue Glitter campaign was originally designed for EFC, Aestrae said that the campaign also is trying to get another message across -- that not only has EFC seem to scrape the bottom of entertainment, but other science fiction shows are doing it as well.
"This is not just a protest about the course of one show, but rather a cry that those of us on the net unite in search of getting the point across that we wish quality sci-fi geared for a mature audience who do not appreciate flashy action-oriented shows without a strong underpinning of real substance, something EFC often had in the Taelon/Human myth-arc that Season 1 planted in our minds," Aestrae said. "I see this protest as a method of slowly educating the media that if they give us what we want, they will make a hell of a lot more money than if they just randomly give us what they think that we want. We want a complex universe that we explore on the show ... and is not afraid to look at deeper issues in a post-modern era of first contact gone very wrong, in a world where conflict does not just employ guns."
In the past four years, the show has changed from an X-Files type adventure with a double agent character named William Boone searching for the killer of his wife, while trying to help uncover the hidden agenda of the Taelons. However, the second season took a strong turn to something totally different, killing of Boone and bringing in Robert Leeshock as a more hip alien hybrid named Liam Kincaid. Now, the characters brought in since the second season, with the exception of Jayne Heitmeyer's Renee Palmer, have been bumped from the show, indicating yet another major change in the series.
"If EFC had been a total failure, I would understand the need to change, to try some other schemes," Aestrae said. "Yes, I know about the fans' complaints regarding Seasons 2 and 3, but it seems someone has no intention to repair the damages."
Pieces of Voyager up for sale
In an effort to raise money for several charities, Tim Russ (Tuvok, Voyager) is selling a piece of the fourth Star Trek series.
Russ' official fan club is sponsoring a Summer Charity Auction that began June 30 and will run until the end of summer. According to the official Star Trek site, there will be new items on the auction block each week, in many different price ranges.
Items on the block include autographed photos and items from the Voyager cast, partial and completely autographed cast photos, autographed call sheets from the series finale, autographed original scripts, action figures, Activision games, books, T-shirts ... and Tuvok's ears -- autographed by Russ.
The net proceeds will be donated to charities like Zenith Youth Homes, Wildlife Waystation, El Modena Family Shelter and Holy Family Services.
Visit the site at www.timrusswebpage.com
Movie News: In short supply this week.
Yeoh Confirms Tiger 2 In Works
Michelle Yeoh confirmed that a prequel to the Oscar-winning martial arts/fantasy film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is in the works. Director "Ang Lee is off to work on The Incredible Hulk, and I have started my own production company, and we're in the blitz of pre-production on a movie called The Touch," the actress said in an interview. "At the moment, everybody seems to be over their heads with work, but I've heard that Ang has found a couple of writers, and they're working on another Crouching Tiger film. Until he actually comes out and tells us, though, we're sort of in the dark."
In Tiger, Yeoh played Yu Shu Lien, the soft-spoken, wall-climbing, high-flying, sword-wielding unrequited love of Chow Yun-Fat's character, Li Mu Bai. What would Yeoh like to see in the next saga? "The character was so serious and contained, and the prequel would be about the younger couple, about the younger version of Chow and myself," said Yeoh, one of Asia's biggest stars. "So I'd like to see my character with a sense of humor and love and lightheartedness."
Editor’s Note: No sequel then? Sorry – couldn’t resist that one. Anyone who hasn’t seen the movie wouldn’t understand. If you don’t – go see it. Interesting movie.
''Rollerball'' remake to roll later
Variety reports that just seven weeks before the film's scheduled release, MGM has pushed John McTiernan's “Rollerball'' to the first quarter of 2002 in order to give the studio more time to capitalize on the remake's potential.
“I want the time to set this up right. In marketing terms, I want to do things with the film that are different than what has been done to date,” said Bob Levin, MGM's newly arrived president of theatrical marketing and distribution.
For now, that would include getting a trailer into theaters. Although Rollerball was slated to roll out on Aug. 17, MGM was still scrambling to complete a trailer. So far, theater audiences have only seen a teaser.
Levin added that he also wants to give the film “strong support” by playing the trailer in front of holiday releases, as well as through promotional activities and the possibility of MTV tie-ins.
“Rollerball,” a remake of director Norman Jewison's 1975 futuristic thriller, stars Chris Klein, LL Cool J and Jean Reno.
In the meantime, Levin will have his hands full with the release of “Legally Blonde,” starring Reese Witherspoon, on July 13; “Original Sin,” starring Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas, on Aug. 3 (pushed forward from Feb. 23); and the arthouse platform release of “Ghost World,” starring Thora Birch, on July 20.
Also upcoming are American Zoetrope's “Jeepers Creepers,” the Billy Bob Thornton/Bruce Willis starrer “Bandits” and John Woo's “Windtalkers,” starring Nicolas Cage. Levin joined MGM on June 22, combining the marketing and distribution roles previously held by two executives.
Editor’s Note: That is a direct quote from the Variety article, but my comment is “BULL COOKIES”. Here is a segment of a report from one of the fans in the invited audience for the recent test screening of the movie:
“It seems that the people behind ROLLERBALL are going to take the time to clean up the mess they created. Father Geek certainly hopes so anyway. As one of a very small group that have witnessed the original "Final Cut" in NYC a few weeks ago I really do sincerely hope that this is simply a "cover" story they are using while they take the time to reshoot and re-edit the hodgepodge that was offered up to that NYC audience. They now have the time to make the needed corrections, lets hope they DO it”
I seem to remember expressing some doubts about what they would do with this movie, and it seems that my fears may al have come home to roost.
Part B Follows Shortly.
Best wishes,
David Gerhard
Eastlant Sci-Fi Group
Fans Working for Fandom, Not for Profit.
Eastlant Sci-Fi Group - 2000-2001 Season Progress Report 44A.
This is a digest of recent Sci-Fi- and genre-related news as of 3rd July 2001.
News & Notes
Editorial – The Season From Hell is Over!
It has been a strange season, both from the viewpoint of the TV shows themselves, and with regard to getting the tapes out, but with a few minor hiccups we survived again.
The Networks must be scratching their heads now, as they try to figure out what went right last year. I have never known so few cancellations, which also means that so many mid-season replacements never made it to the screen. Those that did fared very badly, principally because of Network stupidity.
Take “The Big Apple” for example. This Police/FBI drama set in New York was very well made, tinged with some acid humor and well acted. The writing was as tight as any current show and it had a lot of promise. So why didn’t it succeed? For one reason only. Some whiz kid at the network decided to premier the show just as the season finale run up began, so any potential audience was far more focused on what was happening at the West Wing, or on NYPD Blue, and as a result, highly unlikely to take on a new series.
Had they saved it for the summer, when there are few if any new episodes airing on the main networks, it would almost certainly have been a hit.
But then, when the system is run by idiots, why should this year be any different?
The second knock-on effect of the high success rate is that there will be considerably fewer slots available for new shows next season. This will have little effect on genre shows, as the main networks tend to shy away from these anyway, but this year the vast majority of the new drama shows will either never get to the screen, or will be pulled very quickly if they don’t immediately grab good ratings.
As always we shall see.
From my viewpoint, this has been a traumatic year. Apart from the usual strikes, disputes and go-slows that have hit the post office and the airlines, we have had equipment failures in spades this year. However, that is by no means the biggest issue as the year comes to an end.
At the start of the season, I had three editing teams, and a couple people helping on the admin side, and we were easily able to keep up with everything that was thrown at us. By the beginning of May, I was on my own, and the last few weeks of the season were a nightmare. It is still not quite over, as I have a pile of tapes to mail out, but another week or so should see it all done and shipped, so if you are waiting for tapes, you shouldn’t have to wait for much longer.
Be under no misapprehension however; I am not prepared to do an entire season like the last 6 weeks. There will have to be some changes.
I am considering the following methods of making the load manageable, and I would value any opinions on how these would be received by your good selves:
1. Not taking on any more new clients until the number drops below a new, lower maximum, probably 200. I might temper this by applying this to non-genre shows only, as I am reluctant to turn a genre fan away. I currently have about 40 clients who only take non-genre shows out of the 310 or so that I am currently sending tapes to;
2. Not editing non-genre shows and only offering these raw, unedited. This would save me about 30 hours of editing a week, but would mean fewer episodes per tape for the non-genre fans. I could maybe mitigate against that by offering to do LP tapes more frequently, so as to get maybe 5 or 6 episodes onto a tape, depending on how many ran in a particular block of episodes. This would also allow me to concentrate non-genre stuff during the genre reruns periods. It would mean you might have to wait a couple weeks longer to see your show, and take them on fewer tapes, but that also means a cost saving for you. This would not need to apply to all non-genre shows, as I watch some myself and tape them as they air – West Wing, CSI, The District, JAG, etc. Thoughts please;
3. No mix and match or archive stuff during the season – new episodes only and no offset tapes – you take them as they come – node by node – For example, I had a lot of requests this year from X-Files fans for only the Mulder episodes – sorry I just can’t cope with this sort of odd request now I am on my own. Anything like that will have to wait for the summer;
4. No fillers on finale tapes. After the last few weeks, this will almost certainly become policy. I have even been setting an alarm for the middle of the night so I could change converters in an attempt to keep up, and it’s no fun.
US Fans Please Note: This only applies to tape conversions going overseas. The numerous fans in the US that I supply with WB and UPN shows on a week-by-week or short-run basis need not worry. There will be no changes to that, as I have enough NTSC machines to open a store.
Now, none of this is set in stone, and nothing I do will be allowed to increase costs, so don’t worry about that either. I hope to be able to maintain the service to everyone that wants it, with little or no discernible effect from your viewpoint.
If you have any views on this, let me know. Any ideas would be welcome. Please note however that I may not be able to respond to all e-mails on this subject due to expected volume, so please restrict comments in these e-mails to this subject only.
Finally, I apologize for the need to make such changes, but it’s either that, or the rubber room.
Group News:
Get ‘em in Now
The Monthly newsletter will be out towards the end of this week, and Boy! There are some strong views to publish. If you want to get into this issue, let me have your submissions as soon as possible.
Still no convention reports, unfortunately. Odd that. The first thing I always wanted to do after running an event was to tell the world how good it had been so they would book for the next one. This is free advertising going to the dogs.
Actors, Studios Resume Labor Contract Talks
Here is an article from Reuters on the talks between the actors unions and producers. The consequence of an actors strike is the effect it could have on new shows this coming fall, although many series are already half way through the filming schedule for the next season.
Hopefully, after the writers were able to reach an amicable agreement with producers, the actors will do the same.
By Reuters/Variety
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Labor contract negotiations between major film and TV studios and two unions representing 135,000 actors resumed on Sunday morning after talks were extended past the current pact's expiration at midnight on Saturday.
``We'll take them an hour at a time,'' Greg Krizman, spokesman for the Screen Actors Guild, or SAG, said referring to today's resumed negotiations.
The two sides, meeting in Encino, Calif., at the industry's Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers headquarters, decided Saturday night to temporarily extend talks and are reportedly close to an agreement on a new three-year contract.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday that negotiators were close to an agreement on a way to pay actors when their work is shown on cable TV so that their health care and pension contributions are not deducted from off the top of paychecks.
The newspaper also said actors are expected to get other concessions including increased minimum payments for TV performers and a special bump for guest stars in shows, as well as added payments in some cases when shows air on foreign stations.
Krizman would not comment on the reports.
The talks between SAG and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the studios have been running late into the night on daily basis since June 23.
Both sides have declined to characterize progress in the talks since the negotiations began on May 15.
The unions are reportedly seeking to boost their minimum pay scale by 9 percent over the term of a new contract.
Like the Hollywood writers, who clinched their own contract with the studios on May 4, the actors are also seeking higher residual payments when TV programs and movies are aired in reruns and in foreign markets.
The union says those residual payments are crucial to sustaining the bulk of its membership, most of whom are out of work or between parts at any given time.
While Hollywood's biggest stars like Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford have commanded salaries of $20 million or more per film, 70 percent of SAG members earn less than $7,500 a year.
Only an elite 2 percent of performers earn more than $100,000 annually, according to SAG.
The union has downplayed the risk of a strike, which would take a month or more for unions to authorize in the event that talks break down.
Studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, have been hesitant to start production of new films until the actors' contract is settled.
A work stoppage by the actors could be damaging for California's economy, which is already staggering from the slowdown in the technology sector and an electricity crisis that threatens repeated blackouts this summer.
A study by the Milken Institute commissioned by outgoing Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan estimated that if the actors were to walk off sets for one month it would cost the region 21,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in lost income.
TV News:
Anderson To Quit 'X-Files'
In an interview with a British newspaper, Gillian Anderson, star of Fox’s "The X-Files" says that the upcoming season will be her last. She says she made her decision so that she can hit the London stage and spend more time with her six-year-old daughter, Piper.
"For the first seven seasons it was very difficult," Anderson, in England introducing a series of concerts by a youth orchestra, tells the Sunday Times. "[My daughter] spent a lot of time on set. She had a really hard time."
Like Hollywood actresses Kathleen Turner and Nicole Kidman, Anderson plans on doing a play in London's West End. She expects to hit the boards next summer, but declined to say what role she will be sinking her teeth into.
"Sometimes I am struck dumb by the narrow thinking with casting directors. Some actors won't audition, but I have to. Having been Scully for such a long time, I have to prove myself in other roles."
"The stuff I am going to do is as far from Scully as humanly possible," says Anderson, who last year appeared in the period movie "The House of Mirth" based on the Edith Wharton novel.
But Duchovny May Be Back After All
Maybe that movie career isn't looking as rosy as he thought it would.
David Duchovny (ex-Fox Mulder) recently retracted statements that he was done with the television version of The X-Files.
"If they wrote a good X-Files script, I would look at it the way I look at any script -- which is, I would really want it to be good," he recently told TV Guide.
While promoting his new movie, "Evolution," a few weeks ago -- a movie that has since bombed at the box office -- Duchovny said he would never return to the series. But in the TV Guide interview, he said that the Season 8 finale didn't resolve the Mulder character. He also said he was upset with the fact that no one told him he would be sharing a kiss with co-star Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully) until just hours before the scene was shot.
Witchblade Is A Maxi Mini
The cast of TNT's Witchblade told Comics Continuum that creators envision the show as a long miniseries. "The reason they're calling it a miniseries is they want everybody to know that there is a definite beginning, middle and end," Anthony Cistaro (Kenneth Irons) said. "You're watching an 11-hour movie. You've got that two-hour pilot and 11 hours of new material, 13 hours all together. It stands from beginning to middle to end."
But that doesn't mean TNT won't order more episodes if ratings hold up. "That's up to the viewers," said Yancy Butler (Sara Pezzini). "Hopefully, our numbers will be that good. I hope it will be picked up. I plan on it." Added Cistaro, "Let's be practical. If it gets the ratings, they're not going to end it."
Crosby Up For More X-Files
Denise Crosby may very well turn up again as Dr. Mary Speake when The X-Files returns for its ninth season this fall. During an interview, Crosby--who's best known for her stint as Tasha Yar/Cmdr. Sela on Star Trek: The Next Generation--said she would be thrilled, as she's eager to learn more about the character that's been seen so far in the episodes "Empedocles" and "Essence."
"Chris Carter doesn't reveal very much," said the actress, who was directed in "Essence" by veteran X-Files producer and director Kim Manners. (Manners put her through her paces more than a decade ago in the Next Generation episode "When the Bough Breaks.") "When I was coming onto the show, I don't think they'd even quite had it worked out who the baby was, what it was, how it was going to be born," Crosby said. "Chris was writing it in secret and wasn't very available. I just know that I was Scully's [Gillian Anderson] doctor, and I was taking care of her. Speake is an obstetrician."
Crosby--who's also contemplating a sequel to the documentary Trekkies, which she co-produced and hosted--considers Dr. Speake a character with tremendous potential. "She could align herself with Scully and protect the baby," Crosby said. "But for all I know, she could be an alien who tries to bring in the second coming. So I don't know what will happen. The show is so out there. But I'm sure Chris will think of something."
Night Visions Finally Ready to Roll
Dan Angel and Billy Brown--producers of Fox's upcoming genre anthology series Night Visions--said in a recent Fox press conference for the show that they were influenced by previous series and movies. "Being fans of The Twilight Zone and kind of classic horror films--a la Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, Repulsion--we've always loved the kind of metaphysical horror film, psychological horror, and also the kinds of twists and turns that a show like Twilight Zone used to have," Brown said in an interview. "We really felt like there hadn't been anything like that on TV in a long time."
Night Visions will be a 13-episode, one-hour series comprising two half-hour stories each week, the producers said. Angel and Brown--previously known for Showtime's John Carpenter Presents: Body Bags and Fox's Goosebumps series--enlisted top-notch talent for the various episodes, including actors Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Thora Birch, Randy Quaid and Jack Palance and directors Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist) and Joe Dante (Small Soldiers). "They were very excited about doing anthology," Angel said. "They were very excited about the scripts and the stories. And there were even times when they didn't initially say yes until they read the script, then they changed their minds."
The initial stories focus on an air crash investigator (Aidan Quinn) who has mysterious visions, a radio shock jock (Lou Diamond Phillips) terrorized by an unknown caller and a medical student who autopsies a voodoo priest. Subsequent episodes will mix supernatural horror, science fiction and psychological suspense, the producers said. "Even though the content ranges from metaphysical to psychological to shows that are horror to ones that are more fantasy, they were always character-based, even if there was a supernatural element," Brown said. "It was either a metaphor or sprang from the inner needs of the character, and that was really something that we very much like and tried to do and feel that it makes for more compelling viewing. It gives the actor a really good role."
Angel added, "The myth out there in the television world and the network world is that anthology doesn't work. And to be honest with you, we've loved anthology. We were very successful with Goosebumps for kids. All the anthologies we grew up on and loved, from Night Gallery to Twilight Zone to the syndicated anthologies, like Tales from the Darkside and The Hitchhiker, for the most part, they've been very successful. ... So when you're dealing with a genre anthology, I think the good news is we were able to convince Fox that this could work. I think the audience is ready for this." Night Visions premieres with a special two-hour episode on July 12 and will air Thursdays at 9 p.m.
Fans To Write New Voyager
A group of Star Trek: Voyager fans--unwilling to accept the end of their favorite show--has come together on the Internet to shepherd fan fiction carrying on the story of the errant starship and its crew. Voyager: Virtual Season Eight will feature 26 new weekly stories based on the show's characters, starting June 20.
The team of fans is led by Holly "Thinkey" Simon, Coral Leane and Anne Rose. The "episodes" will feature book covers and Flash-driven video and will also be translated into German for international fans.
Interested? The site is at:
http://www.creativelogs.com/
Bakula Discusses Enterprise
Scott Bakula revealed details of his upcoming UPN Star Trek series, Enterprise, to fans at an Orlando convention earlier this month. "It's basically these people are getting on a ship and going out to explore for the first time," Bakula said in taped remarks delivered at the Orlando Leap convention**.
Bakula added, "It's very much like The Right Stuff or any of those kind of movies, where it's much more humanly based in terms of emotion and seeing this universe for this first time, which I think is really exciting."
Bakula also confirmed that the series takes place in the not-too-distant future. "It's only 150 years from now, in 2151," he said. "That's just around the corner." As for his character, Capt. Jonathan Archer, he said, "It's a really great part. I was really excited when I got the script, because it's the first starship, and I'm the first captain, and it's right from the beginning. Even if you don't know Star Trek, and you haven't followed the other series, this is basically the first one, so you don't need to come to it with lots of lore in terms of what Star Trek is or was."
Editor’s Note: ** No, I didn’t attend, even though it was only just up the road. I’m not a QL fan.
Here are a few more “Enterprise” related snippets form various sources:
The new ship is said to be smaller and flatter, with warp nacelles and a saucer section beneath the connective midsection (usually where engineering is located on Starfleet ships).
One group of fans claims to have gotten a hold of the “Broken Bow” (the pilot) script and give it a positive review. In the first episode summary, Captain Archer's crew rapidly assembles for a rescue mission to Qo'nos after a Klingon crashes on Earth. But Silik, a member of the chameleon-like shape-shifting Suliban race who takes orders from a shadowy figure from the future, abducts the Klingon. The S.S. Enterprise (built in part by Archer's father) pursues the Suliban to learn why the Klingon is so important to him. Vulcan first officer T'Pol has more space experience than the humans do, but she is reluctant to reveal too much information until she has to.
James Cromwell will reprise his Zefram Cochrane role from FIRST CONTACT in the series premiere – the character will give a dramatic speech that sends the enterprising explorers on their way. In a different twist to the actor’s participation, Cochrane may appear as a hologram, since previous Trek history suggests that the human inventor of the warp drive would be presumed dead by the era of ENTERPRISE.
Buffy Sings and May Even Appear as a Puppet
Buffy The Vampire Slayer co-executive producer Marti Noxon confirmed last week that Joss Whedon is working on a musical episode.
"Almost all the cast sings," she said. "Joss himself is writing the music."
The episode will be the sixth of next season, though there's still no word on how the title character will return from her fate at the end of this season.
Experimenting with different genres is nothing new for the series, and Noxon goes so far as to joke about doing an episode of Buffy as a puppet show: "I'm dying to do an episode where you just turn it on, and for no explained reason, they're all just puppets."
Showtime To Make Odyssey
Christopher Gorham and Peter Weller will star in a Showtime original SF television movie Odyssey 5, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Executive producer Manny Coto wrote the film, about a space shuttle crew that witnesses the end of the world from Earth orbit.
The crew then discovers a way to go back in time five years and tries to save the world. The film, produced for Showtime by Columbia TriStar Television Distribution, is being directed by David Carson, who directed an installment of the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, the trade paper reported. Sebastian Roch, Tamara Craig Thomas and Leslie Silva also star.
Xena Creator Defends End
Rob Tapert--co-creator and executive producer of Xena: Warrior Princess--defended to a journalist for E! the series' finale last week. Fans have criticized the finale, but I am not going to give details, as they are too heavy on the spoiler front.
Tapert told E! that the reaction was "exactly what we thought it would be." He added, "We certainly have taken the heat. I have a friend who sends me e-mails, and I've gotten some faxes from people and letters. And people have had a very mixed reaction. But the finale was really based on where the series started, and it seemed to complete her journey looking for redemption."
Tapert, who wrote the finale with co-executive producer R.J. Stewart, added, "I thought it worked for me. People would say it was too ignominious, but I think it was what fueled Gabrielle to take the steps to be motivated. I really thought the end was appropriate. You don't really want to upset people, but we knew it would be emotional for the right reasons."
As for the future of the Xena franchise after six years of syndicated television, Tapert said, "This is about the fifth time that we have faced this sort of issue in the series, so I'm not worried about the franchise ending."
Firestarter: Rekindled Wraps
Principal photography has wrapped in Salt Lake City on The Sci-Fi Channel's upcoming original miniseries Firestarter: Rekindled, the network announced. Firestarter: Rekindled--based on Stephen King's original novel--is slated to air in December as a four-hour miniseries.
Firestarter: Rekindled picks up the story of Charlene "Charlie" McGee 20 years after the events in the 1984 feature film Firestarter, which starred Drew Barrymore. Charlie, now played by Marguerite Moreau (Queen of the Damned), is tired of running from the government that created her. But as she searches for answers to her psychic firestarting ability, she runs afoul of Rainbird (Malcolm McDowell), a sociopathic government agent who wants to control Charlie's powers.
Danny Nucci and Dennis Hopper also star. Philip Eisner (Event Horizon) wrote the miniseries, which is directed by Robert Iscove.
Fox Orders Galactica Telefilm
Fox has ordered a two-hour Battlestar Galactica movie from Studios USA, based on the 1970s series, which will stand as a pilot for a proposed Galactica series for the 2002-03 season that will run jointly on Fox and The Sci-Fi Channel, Sarah Timberman, president of Studios USA Programming, announced. As previously reported, X-Men director Bryan Singer will direct and will also executive produce with Tom DeSanto, Dan Angel and Billy Brown. "We're tremendously excited to be bringing the originality and immense talent of Bryan Singer, Tom DeSanto, Dan Angel and Billy Brown to bear on reinventing what was clearly such a pop culture phenomenon," Timberman said in a statement.
The next-generation Galactica will be set after the seventh-millennium time frame of the original series, which ran on ABC from 1978-80. "Our goal is to take the Galactica franchise and move it forward in both style and character, while bringing the scope and sensibility of epic science-fiction filmmaking to the small screen," Singer said in a statement.
Producers Dan Angel and Billy Brown said that the proposed series will feature some characters from the classic 1970s Galactica TV series. "Some of the characters will be revived," Brown said in an interview, but declined to say which ones. Added Angel, "All that is in discussion stage right now, but absolutely, the intention is to keep in the spirit of what was there before and to preserve--as Billy said--what was there."
"Hopefully, what we're trying to aim for is, there will be new characters, there will be some of the old characters," Brown said. "But since it's not totally written and totally signed off on--and also because there's such a huge fan base--we don't want to get out false rumors and have people, like, go crazy. But I think one thing we can say is that we're very much aware of the old fans. ... We want to honor the old show. We don't want to violate anything. It's like, if you watch the show, you're not going to go, 'Oh, well, they totally contradicted what was in the old show.' There won't be any contradictions, but there will be a taking it further and taking it forward in time."
Brown added that he and Angel were working on the script for a two-hour pilot for the series, which will advance the original storyline. "It does take place in a not-so-distant future from the end of the old show," Brown said. "It's going to be a sprawling, family saga that is set amongst the travails and adventures of the human colony."
Stargate Begins Landmark Season
Brad Wright, executive producer of Showtime's Stargate SG-1, said that the fifth season, which starts June 29, marks several milestones for the SF series. Among other things, the 12th episode of the season is the series' 100th episode, Wright said in an interview.
"We were very excited about that," Wright said. "It's the second series I've helped take to 100 episodes. I did Outer Limits as well. And it's amazing how quickly that time goes by." The 100th episode, "Wormhole Extreme," airing in September, is a departure for the series. "Rather than do a heavy, expensive big episode like we normally would do, we did a show that was in fact something of a parody of ourselves, kind of a Galaxy Quest version of Stargate SG-1," he said. The episode continues a story from last season, "allowing one of the characters that we've already introduced ... to end up doing a parody television series of Stargate called Wormhole Extreme. ... It's very funny. It is a balls-out comedy, as opposed to many of the episodes that we do."
The fifth season will also continue Earth's battle with the villainous Goa'uld. In January, the series will air a two-part episode--"Summit" and "Last Stand"--that will be the first time all the System Lords come together, Wright said. "It's a really large action story," he said.
The season premiere, "Enemies," will resolve the cliffhanger from last season, "Exodus." "I think it's one of our best episodes ever," Wright said. "At the end of last season, we found ourselves on a ship in another galaxy 120 years away from home, even at top speed, and with our archenemy Apophis. Another one of our enemies, who has almost wiped us out in the past, ends up inadvertently coming to our aid, and of course, they almost wipe us out too, but we manage to escape them."
Stargate SG-1 is about to begin production in Vancouver on its 14th episode out of 22 for the fifth season, Wright said. He added that he's awaiting word on a possible sixth season.
Editor’s Note: Get your checkbooks out Showtime – Season 6 is when they start asking for bigger paychecks.
“Spike” is Flavor of the Month
Here is a badly written (in my opinion) extract from the Scoops column of TV Now magazine:
James Marsters is Heating Up ... Sometime in November, in a TV land far away from the constrictive dictates of the WB, the only person worthy of Buffy's love, James Marsters, will appear as Charlemagne Bolivar on Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. Bolivar is the archduke of a royal family of Nietzscheans -- genetically engineered superhumans -- and will be either a deadly enemy to Captain Hunt or one hell of an ally. You have to figure that the role will help draw fans of the syndicated series over to the UPN to check out Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Call it free press for the show and the network. Marsters might be the best thing going for the vampire series now that Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy is either *************or getting married to Freddie Prinze, Jr. -- an act that will decrease her sex appeal to some of the male and female fans. People Magazine found out how popular the California-born actor really is when Marsters won their 2001 Most Beautiful People Poll with an amazing 497,328 votes. Just think, all of the good things happening to this talented thespian could have benefited the WB if somebody on the executive board hadn't spiked the punch with idiot pills.
Editor’s Note: The ******** is spoiler avoidance for those who haven’t seen the finale yet.
And here’s their thoughts on Prue – Too!!
Shannen's Brew is Strong ... We know that the burning question on your mind over the last couple of weeks is why charming actress Shannen Doherty bolted from her successful WB series. According to an article coming up in Movieline Magazine, the wicked witch claims that there were times when she did superb acting on the show and felt that her efforts were too good to be in a childish TV series -- sort of like wasting way too much quality on such simple minds. Considering some of the blockbuster films under Doherty's belt, including Striking Poses and Mallrats, we would be nuts to argue with her. After the Movieline July issue hits the stores, don't be surprised if you see Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs chasing their former sister down the street with brooms cocked and ready to be deployed.
2nd Editor’s Note: Well, get you sweetheart. We now know who is the head of her fan club don’t we? What a stuck up bitch. I always thought Charmed was an ensemble show, not one starring her and co-starring the others.
EFC Fans Hit the “Blue Glitter” Campaign Trail
Over the last four seasons, Earth: Final Conflict has gone through more changes than caterpillar caught in a never-ending time loop. And now some adamant fans are saying enough is enough.
The mailroom at the main offices of Tribune Entertainment in Chicago has been getting an extra dose of envelopes filled with blue glitter and protest letters from fans that say their show is going down hill as it readies to air its fifth season this fall.
"Most of EFC's present fans were quite happy with various arcs developing in Season 4 because it finally appeared that we were about to get some serious Human/Taelon communication of a fairly sinister nature, and we were shocked at the abrupt and wasteful conclusion of the many intriguing storylines and major characters in one rather over-the-top episode that had been only vaguely foreshadowed," said Aestrae, one of the fan organizers of the protest. The "Blue Glitter" campaign was the idea of a fan known as "Seven," Aestrae said, however having fans attach blue ribbons and sending letters in blue envelopes was added to the campaign.
"(We wanted) to get the maximum visual impact to the fact that we do not want something totally different for Season 5," Aestrae said.
The idea for the campaign was inspired in part by the campaign last year by fans of the then WB network series "Roswell," who sent bottles of Tabasco sauce to network execs, the favored food of the alien hybrids on the show. While that campaign ultimately did not save the show on The WB, it did play at least a small role in UPN's interest in the show, and picking it up for its third season.
While the Blue Glitter campaign was originally designed for EFC, Aestrae said that the campaign also is trying to get another message across -- that not only has EFC seem to scrape the bottom of entertainment, but other science fiction shows are doing it as well.
"This is not just a protest about the course of one show, but rather a cry that those of us on the net unite in search of getting the point across that we wish quality sci-fi geared for a mature audience who do not appreciate flashy action-oriented shows without a strong underpinning of real substance, something EFC often had in the Taelon/Human myth-arc that Season 1 planted in our minds," Aestrae said. "I see this protest as a method of slowly educating the media that if they give us what we want, they will make a hell of a lot more money than if they just randomly give us what they think that we want. We want a complex universe that we explore on the show ... and is not afraid to look at deeper issues in a post-modern era of first contact gone very wrong, in a world where conflict does not just employ guns."
In the past four years, the show has changed from an X-Files type adventure with a double agent character named William Boone searching for the killer of his wife, while trying to help uncover the hidden agenda of the Taelons. However, the second season took a strong turn to something totally different, killing of Boone and bringing in Robert Leeshock as a more hip alien hybrid named Liam Kincaid. Now, the characters brought in since the second season, with the exception of Jayne Heitmeyer's Renee Palmer, have been bumped from the show, indicating yet another major change in the series.
"If EFC had been a total failure, I would understand the need to change, to try some other schemes," Aestrae said. "Yes, I know about the fans' complaints regarding Seasons 2 and 3, but it seems someone has no intention to repair the damages."
Pieces of Voyager up for sale
In an effort to raise money for several charities, Tim Russ (Tuvok, Voyager) is selling a piece of the fourth Star Trek series.
Russ' official fan club is sponsoring a Summer Charity Auction that began June 30 and will run until the end of summer. According to the official Star Trek site, there will be new items on the auction block each week, in many different price ranges.
Items on the block include autographed photos and items from the Voyager cast, partial and completely autographed cast photos, autographed call sheets from the series finale, autographed original scripts, action figures, Activision games, books, T-shirts ... and Tuvok's ears -- autographed by Russ.
The net proceeds will be donated to charities like Zenith Youth Homes, Wildlife Waystation, El Modena Family Shelter and Holy Family Services.
Visit the site at www.timrusswebpage.com
Movie News: In short supply this week.
Yeoh Confirms Tiger 2 In Works
Michelle Yeoh confirmed that a prequel to the Oscar-winning martial arts/fantasy film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is in the works. Director "Ang Lee is off to work on The Incredible Hulk, and I have started my own production company, and we're in the blitz of pre-production on a movie called The Touch," the actress said in an interview. "At the moment, everybody seems to be over their heads with work, but I've heard that Ang has found a couple of writers, and they're working on another Crouching Tiger film. Until he actually comes out and tells us, though, we're sort of in the dark."
In Tiger, Yeoh played Yu Shu Lien, the soft-spoken, wall-climbing, high-flying, sword-wielding unrequited love of Chow Yun-Fat's character, Li Mu Bai. What would Yeoh like to see in the next saga? "The character was so serious and contained, and the prequel would be about the younger couple, about the younger version of Chow and myself," said Yeoh, one of Asia's biggest stars. "So I'd like to see my character with a sense of humor and love and lightheartedness."
Editor’s Note: No sequel then? Sorry – couldn’t resist that one. Anyone who hasn’t seen the movie wouldn’t understand. If you don’t – go see it. Interesting movie.
''Rollerball'' remake to roll later
Variety reports that just seven weeks before the film's scheduled release, MGM has pushed John McTiernan's “Rollerball'' to the first quarter of 2002 in order to give the studio more time to capitalize on the remake's potential.
“I want the time to set this up right. In marketing terms, I want to do things with the film that are different than what has been done to date,” said Bob Levin, MGM's newly arrived president of theatrical marketing and distribution.
For now, that would include getting a trailer into theaters. Although Rollerball was slated to roll out on Aug. 17, MGM was still scrambling to complete a trailer. So far, theater audiences have only seen a teaser.
Levin added that he also wants to give the film “strong support” by playing the trailer in front of holiday releases, as well as through promotional activities and the possibility of MTV tie-ins.
“Rollerball,” a remake of director Norman Jewison's 1975 futuristic thriller, stars Chris Klein, LL Cool J and Jean Reno.
In the meantime, Levin will have his hands full with the release of “Legally Blonde,” starring Reese Witherspoon, on July 13; “Original Sin,” starring Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas, on Aug. 3 (pushed forward from Feb. 23); and the arthouse platform release of “Ghost World,” starring Thora Birch, on July 20.
Also upcoming are American Zoetrope's “Jeepers Creepers,” the Billy Bob Thornton/Bruce Willis starrer “Bandits” and John Woo's “Windtalkers,” starring Nicolas Cage. Levin joined MGM on June 22, combining the marketing and distribution roles previously held by two executives.
Editor’s Note: That is a direct quote from the Variety article, but my comment is “BULL COOKIES”. Here is a segment of a report from one of the fans in the invited audience for the recent test screening of the movie:
“It seems that the people behind ROLLERBALL are going to take the time to clean up the mess they created. Father Geek certainly hopes so anyway. As one of a very small group that have witnessed the original "Final Cut" in NYC a few weeks ago I really do sincerely hope that this is simply a "cover" story they are using while they take the time to reshoot and re-edit the hodgepodge that was offered up to that NYC audience. They now have the time to make the needed corrections, lets hope they DO it”
I seem to remember expressing some doubts about what they would do with this movie, and it seems that my fears may al have come home to roost.
Part B Follows Shortly.
Best wishes,
David Gerhard
Eastlant Sci-Fi Group
Fans Working for Fandom, Not for Profit.
posted by Catherine Jemma at 9:01 PM
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