9A 31 October 2000
Eastlant Sci-Fi Group - 2000-2001 Season Progress Report 9A.
This is a digest of recent Sci-Fi- and genre-related news as of 31 October 2000.
Shows Premiering in the Next Week:
The Following Shows have already been requested and will be taped:
* - Non-Genre Shows - These will be retained only as long as we need to fulfill requests for them, and then recycled.
News & Notes
Group News:
A Final Word on Bidpay
Although this now seems to be working smoothly, may we ask that you not be specific about what you are paying for? "Video Tapes" is quite sufficient, yet we have some people listing episodes on the Bidpay site. Not only is there no reason why they should be given such detailed information, but we would prefer that you not do so.
No Definite Word Yet on Writers' Strike Settlement.
In an article in The Hollywood Reporter last week, it was suggested that even though a tentative agreement had been reached, SAG might still order the forthcoming writers' strike to go ahead. This is because the settlement reached with actors does not address the objections of writers to existing contract terms. This means that even though the actors are prepared to return to work, some series may still be hit by a lack of scripts later in the season. More when we have it.
TV News:
Oh! Dear! What a Surprise!!!!!
Well, Freakylinks finally took the big dive. We have it on good authority that the show is to be pulled off the air after the November 3rd episode. At least that means that we will have 4 eps for those who have expressed an interest in the show (Why?). Everyone enjoys a good cringe now and again.
Thank God that this turgid piece of television crap has finally been put to death. The show was ill conceived, badly produced, acted by cigar-store Indians and directed by a lunatic on mescaline.
Of course, the Blair-Witch fans are already claiming that the show failed because its creators were pushed out and replaced by un-Blair-Witchy types, but in my opinion, if it wasn't for those jerks we wouldn't have had this piece of unmitigated garbage in the first place.
Bye Bye! May you rot in hell. However, it may still get a nod in some award show or other, in the "Most Stupid Name for a TV Show Ever" category.
Duchovny Could Be Back For Season 9!
David Duchovny, who dramatically curtailed his presence in the upcoming eighth season of Fox's The X-Files, told TV Guide that he likes his part-time role so much he'd consider coming back next year. The current arrangement "is working exactly the way I wanted it to," Duchovny told the magazine. "I get to do a movie while I'm doing the show. ... If I could work out something like that, I wouldn't rule it out."
Duchovny will play Agent Fox Mulder in the last six episodes of the eighth season. "I've been home at 6 o'clock the last four months in a row," said Duchovny, who lives in Malibu with his wife, actress Téa Leoni, and their 1-year-old daughter, Madelaine West Duchovny. "I was never home at dinnertime before."
In the meantime, Duchovny is currently filming director Ivan Reitman's Evolution, an SF comedy in which he plays a college professor who has to save the world from an alien organism. "It's a really funny script," Duchovny told TV Guide, comparing the movie more to Men in Black than The X-Files.
As for his replacement, Robert Patrick, Duchovny said, "He's really excited to be here, and I think it's good to have someone come in and smack everybody and say, 'Wake up! This is a great job!' I wasn't going to be that guy."
Anderson: 'X-Files' Future
Now that the 8th season of The X-Files is nearly upon us, Gillian Anderson is talking up what happened last year as well as her take on the season (seasons?) ahead.
In an interview with XPose magazine, the actress spoke of comments she made last year before anyone knew an eighth season was actually going to happen. At that time, she suggested that she, like co-star David Duchovny, was done with the program. She explains, "At the time I was absolutely exhausted. It was the seventh year, and no one had ever thought that it was going to go beyond five years. I mean, five years seemed like a huge amount of time...So at that time doing an eighth season just felt impossible. Then, I took my first real hiatus away from any kind of work. Also, I started to talk to Chris about the eighth season and I heard his enthusiasm. He was excited about this new character he had created and that perhaps that could be a good thing, and all of that entered my mind."
Anderson also addresses the seemingly impossible (at least from the point of view of a year ago): a ninth season for the show. Anderson explains, "At the beginning, when Fox started talking about a ninth season, that was even more unheard of than even an eighth. I mean, it was just impossible in my mind. But then push came to shove. It’s a complicated issue, because Chris and the writers wanted to produce the best show possible. Now there’s a formula in making that work, particularly this season with losing David for most of the shows and bringing in a new character...So to suddenly have Scully absent also was a tall order. Consequently, it was a necessity for me to continue."
Anderson also notes that she was very conscious of the difference in her paycheck with that of co-star David Duchovny. The issue was addressed, as Anderson says, "At the end of the fifth year, it became just ridiculous and unacceptable that there was the disparity. So we took steps to remedy that and we were successful..."
Regarding the future of the show minus Duchovny, Anderson sounds upbeat, saying, "I think there’s a new energy. It’s just something has shifted, and there’s just an overall sense like, ‘Okay, we’ve got another year, maybe even two years, to keep going, so how are we going to make this okay and not be resentful that we’re doing the same damn thing for the eighth and ninth year in a row.’ I think everybody has really kind of pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and marched ourselves forward in a very positive light and in an energetic and enthusiastic way.
"So this season feels good, it feels fresh. Robert’s come in and he’s glad to be here. He’s done, like, 55 films and I can imagine that it’s nice to have the security of the show for at least as long it may run. He’s got a very enthusiastic energy and that enthusiasm and the opportunity of creating a new character for the writers I think has given the show new energy. And it gives the actors something new to work with, and that’s also true for the writers...So there’s a kind of a feeling of starting over in a sense. It’s like a new beginning. Keeping in mind where we’ve come from, who we’ve come with and everything, it feels good..."
Biller Now Exec On Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager head writer Ken Biller has been formally promoted to executive producer as part of a new development deal with Paramount Network Television, Variety reported. Biller has been running the show now that former executive producer Brannon Braga is devoting more time to developing the next Trek television series.
Biller's new multiyear pact also calls for him to develop and produce drama series for the studio while remaining on Voyager for its seventh and final season. Biller had been co-executive producer.
Editor's Note: This is a strange occurrence. In a most unusual move, they have appointed someone to a position of authority who has a 3-digit IQ. Pity it comes so late in the show's life span.
Dune Sequel Already Planned
The Sci-Fi Channel has struck a deal with John Harrison, writer and director of Sci-Fi's upcoming original miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune, to write a sequel based on further volumes of Herbert's classic SF series of books.
"I am flattered and thrilled that Sci-Fi is interested in pursuing another installment of Frank Herbert's Dune epic," Harrison said. "I think it is a vote of confidence in the first mini that will air in December and to the creative vision the producers and I have been able to bring to it." The six-hour miniseries stars William Hurt, Giancarlo Giannini and Alec Newman.
Harrison said a sequel would be either four or six hours long. As to whether it will be called Dune Messiah, after Herbert's second novel, Harrison said, "That remains an open question, because we don't know if we will adapt one or two more novels into the next mini. I'm working on a proposal for the adaptation and can relay more details in the near future."
When a possible sequel would go into production depends in part on how easily Harrison can adapt Herbert's books, Harrison added. "Clearly, we would all love to see it go into production soon so that the momentum of the first miniseries won't be dissipated by too much time," he said.
More Spawn Film, TV Due
Spawn creator Todd McFarlane told an online chat that he will continue to push for a sequel to the 1997 feature film based on his comic series, as well as further animated television episodes, according to the Comics Continuum Web site. McFarlane said the sequel will not come from New Line Cinema, which produced the original film.
"Right now the rights revert back to me on Nov. 6, and I've got three studios waiting for me to come in the door and tell them it's legally back in my possession," McFarlane said. "So hopefully something will come out of one of those places."
After three seasons of the animated Spawn series on HBO, meanwhile, McFarlane said he hopes to go back into production soon. "I'm hoping by the beginning of next year, we will begin production on a 90-minute ... movie-length version that will then be sold either back to HBO or some other cable system," McFarlane said.
Fox Orders 'Ball & Chain'
The Fox TV network has ordered up a pilot based on Scott Lobdell's Ball and Chain comic book series. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Todd Holland will direct the pilot from a script by Howard Gordon (X-Files) and Molly Newman (Maximum Bob), who are also executive producers.
The pilot will tell the story of super powers mistakenly granted to a couple who are on the verge of divorce. Aliens are here on Earth to do something nefarious and the only people who can stop them is the newly super-powered and bickering couple, whose powers only work when they are together.
Trek Goes on the Auction Block, But it's Too Big for eBay
Apparently, Paramount is about to sell off Star Trek wholesale. Below is the text of an article in Variety written by John Dempsey. Normally, we do not comment on the writing itself but there are several numerical inaccuracies in this item, especially the number of episodes of DS9, but we do not consider it our place to put someone else's mistakes right. As a result of these screwed-up figures, others may be less than reliable, but we think the money is about right.
Paramount Shopping Trek Around
''Star Trek'' spin-offs beam up record fees by John Dempsey
NEW YORK (Variety) - Talk about boldly going where no one has gone before: Paramount Television has informed cable networks that it's ready to sell the three ``Star Trek'' series from the 1980s and '90s -- ``The Next Generation,'' ``Deep Space Nine'' and ``Voyager'' -- but the winning bidder will have to pay the record license fee of $364 million.
Paramount declined comment, but cable sources say the studio believes that Barry Diller's Sci Fi Channel and Sumner Redstone's TNN are both so eager to latch on to the ``Star Trek'' franchise that $364 million is a realistic marketplace figure.
Time Warner's TNT, Rupert Murdoch's Fox Family and FX, and the Odyssey Channel would also love to get the three ``Trek'' series, but they'd be unlikely to stay in the auction if the prices soar as high as Paramount is demanding.
The way the deal breaks down, the cable network buying the package would have to pony up a minimum of $1 million an episode for the 179 hours of ``Next Generation,'' which would end up as a record for rerun hours, beating the previous mark set by Warner Bros. Cable when it sold ``ER'' to its sister company TNT.
``Next Generation,'' which is now playing in rerun syndication after going out of production as a first run series in 1994, would become available for five-a-week play to cable on Jan. 1, 2002.
Paramount's price tag on ``Deep Space Nine'' is $700,000 an episode for the 124 hours the series racked up during its incarnation as a first run syndicated hour from January 1993 to August 1999. ``Deep Space Nine'' is now playing in most markets throughout the country in reruns as part of long-term deals that don't expire until March 2004. So a cable network would be able to start airing these reruns in April 2004.
Finally, ``Voyager,'' the only one of the three to originate not in syndication but on a broadcast network -- UPN -- is also carrying a license fee of $700,000 an episode for about 142 hours. ``Voyager'' is now wrapping up its seventh and final season on UPN, and TV stations began simultaneously airing the reruns in fall 1999. These syndication contracts run through the third quarter of 2006, at which time the cable network would take title to ``Voyager.''
The Sci Fi Channel is the logical home for the ``Star Trek'' franchise because the network has scored solid numbers with the original ``Trek'' series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, which ran on NBC from 1966 to '69. Sci Fi also harvests big Nielsens every time it runs one of the theatrical-movie spin-offs of the series.
But TNN, the other expected high roller, is a sister company of Paramount; both are part of the Viacom Empire. TNN has never paid anywhere near the prices Paramount is asking for the ``Star Trek'' series, but the network has announced that it wants to transform itself from a country-oriented channel to a general-entertainment network.
TNN also has the best year-round promotional platform on cable, the weekly two-hour ``Raw Is War'' spectacle from the World Wrestling Federation, which right now is going to waste because the network has just begun to seek out scripted action series of appeal to a young-adult audience.
The ``Star Trek'' series ``would be a natural for Sci Fi because the channel has revitalized the original series,'' said Bill Carroll, VP and director of programming for Katz Television, the TV-station consulting firm. ``But the 'Star Trek' franchise would put TNN on the map in a major way.''
Paramount has also told potential cable buyers that it has another ``Next Generation'' theatrical movie starring Patrick Stewart on the drawing boards, which will keep the franchise before the mass audience and help to cross-promote the series.
Editor's Note: The most obvious conclusion to be drawn from this is that Viacom have given up any plans to launch their own Science Fiction cable channel, otherwise why would they give away the one show in their library that would provide such a channel with a guaranteed basic audience and a stable platform from which to launch any new series that they had planned"
This is a shame, as Viacom have the resources to produce some properly funded genre series that might now not be made.
And a short article on Early Ratings for Syndie shows
Viewers plunge into Sorbo's ``Gene'' pool By Melissa Grego
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - While presidential debates and baseball games continue wreaking havoc on some TV schedules, ``Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda'' broke through the clutter, premiering in syndication with a 4.3 national household rating.
The action hour, toplining former ``Hercules'' star Kevin Sorbo, ranked ninth among all syndicated shows and led all other syndicated weeklies for the week that ended Oct. 15. It was one of three syndicated weeklies to debut in the period.
``Andromeda'' is cleared on 203 stations, including WGN's Superstation, representing 97% of the country. The other two weeklies to premiere were ``Maximum Exposure'' and ``Queen of Swords.''
``Maximum,'' an outgrowth of the reality show ``Real TV,'' is cleared on 189 stations, representing 90% coverage. It earned a 1.8 rating. ``Queen,'' about a sword-wielding heroine, is on 196 stations representing 88% coverage. It earned a 1.6. The other new first run syndicated weeklies this season are ``Sheena'' (1.9), ``The Cindy Margolis Show (1.3) and ``The Immortal'' (0.9).
Editor's Note: Here again, it is necessary to break with tradition and comment on the text of an article. Ms Grego's figures are widely off the mark. Almost every rating quoted in this article is wrong, some of them by a big margin. However, the comment that needs the biggest correction is the inference that Andromeda was the 9th best-rated syndicated show of the week. It was in fact #1, and was actually 9th most-watched new season show overall, including new network shows, a remarkable achievement for a syndicated genre show.
In the two weeks since these figures, Andromeda has maintained its audience and is showing very strongly, and overall, has moved up to 6th most watched new show. This is almost unheard of.
You will be able to see what our home-grown TV critic Alexandra thinks of it when she publishes her new season review later this week.
'X-Files' Ep Info - Beware Mild Spoilers
The Fox TV network has issued information on the coming X-Files eighth season opening, finally revealing the episode titles.
In the eighth season premiere episode, "Within," (written by The X-Files creator and executive producer Chris Carter) Agent Dana Scully searches for the truth about her missing partner, while simultaneously forced to contend with a resistant FBI bureaucracy and a skeptical new associate, Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick), who reluctantly joins Scully in the search for Mulder. The search for Mulder takes the investigation to the Arizona desert to seek out a former X-Files subject who may hold the key to Mulder's whereabouts.
The concluding episode, "Without," (also written by Chris Carter) airs Nov. 12. As Scully and Doggett continue the search for Mulder, the skeptical Doggett is forced to acknowledge information that tests his unwillingness to believe in all things paranormal, and proves to him that nobody is who they appear to be.
In addition, Fox provided the details for two further episodes.
In the Nov. 19 episode "Patience" (written and directed by Chris Carter), Scully and Doggett investigate their first official case together - a series of gruesome murders linked to a bat-like creature. Though skeptical of Scully's logic, Doggett finds a begrudging respect for her investigative process.
In the Nov. 26 episode "Roadrunners," Scully, while investigating on her own a murder in the New Mexico desert, discovers a small remote town housing a paranormal cult that keeps a terrible secret. Scully's discovery of the cult's secret puts her life in danger, and she must rely on Doggett to track down her hidden whereabouts and save her life.
Sci-Fi scoops up Verne, more Invisible Man
The Sci Fi Channel has bought 22 hour-long episodes of ``The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne'' and renewed the successful ``Invisible Man'' for a second full season of 22 episodes, solidifying its position as the cable network running the most scripted series each week
When ``Jules Verne'' premieres in January, Sci Fi Channel will have six first run hour-long series on its schedule, spread out over two nights. Although nights and times are not firmed up yet, three others are continuing series: ``Farscape,'' ``Lexx'' and ``First Wave.'' The fourth is another newcomer, ``Black Scorpion,'' about a camp superhero.
They seem to have forgotten about "Matthew Blackheart Monster Smasher", which is also supposed to start airing in January.
Sci Fi says ``Jules Verne'' will appeal to the ``steam-punk'' crowd because it's set in the 19th century and features all sorts of fantasy special effects that involve only materials from the period.
``Verne,'' shot in Montreal on high-definition video cameras, stars Chris Demetral in the title role, and features guest stars ranging from David Warner and John Rhys-Davies to Michael Moriarty and Patrick Duffy.
Editor's Note: Some of you may have noticed that we already have a couple of episodes of this series. We are very pleased to see this appear on the schedule, as the two solitary eps that we have only serve to constantly remind us of our unpleasant experiences with Canadian traders. After 3 attempts to trade north of the border, we have now put a moratorium on any such trades, as so far every attempt has resulted in us sending out tapes to receive little or nothing in return.
In one case, a Canadian actually told us that he was reluctant to trade with Americans, as he was afraid of being ripped off, so we sent him our end of the trade first, and he sent us these two eps of Jules Verne and then disappeared into the woodwork owing us more than a dozen tapes.
My apologies to the few honest Canadians and to the rest of you, put Mayo on it, Nanook!
Mind you, that last guy was right about one thing. Most so-called traders in the US are either thieves, liars, cheats, profiteers are just plain stupid. Thank God for the few decent ones we have managed to build up a relationship with.
Oops! I think I unintentionally slipped into "cynical mode" there. Sorry about that. When the notes become longer than the articles, something is wrong.
Movie News:
Stargate Sequel Planned
MGM plans to make a sequel to its 1994 SF hit movie Stargate, which spawned the Showtime television series Stargate SG-1, according to Variety. The studio has reportedly fast-tracked the sequel for release in 2002. No sooner had this news been announced than SG-1 fans began to lobby MGM to make the movie based on the TV series and not as a direct sequel to the original movie.
MGM is also reportedly also developing movies based on its Outer Limits television series, which will move to The Sci-Fi Channel next year.
Stewart On Board for 'Trek X'
The tenth Star Trek movie project is taking another big step forward with word that Patrick Stewart has signed on board. According to USA Today, Stewart is the first of the Next Generation cast to sign up for the project, for an as yet undisclosed amount.
Previously, it had been suggested by Stewart and Brent Spiner that the two might have had an idea for the next film's story that would involve the demise of Data. No matter what happens, odds are that Star Trek X will be the final appearance of the whole cast of Next Gen. on the big screen together.
Still, in spite of this word of the signing, it may still take some time for the project to reach fruition. USA Today is also reporting that writer John Logan (Gladiator) is not likely to get his script done for the film in time, before the writers' strike hits, if that does happen. With that in mind, it would seem to stop the project dead, with the exception of the technical and design side, until the potential strike is resolved.
'T3' Prod Start?
Arnold Schwarzenegger himself has announced when production will start on Terminator 3. While appearing on MTV's Total Request Live yesterday promoting The 6th Day, Arnold revealed that even though the script is done, the prep on the project will be extensive. He expects the project to start up in summer 2001 with an expected release date in the following summer...which would bring it head to head with Star Wars: Episode II.
'Phantom Toll Booth' Feature Film
In keeping with Hollywood's current passion for adapting children's books, Norton Juster's classic The Phantom Tollbooth is going to be made into a live-action feature film. According to Variety, Storyopolis Prods., based at Warner Bros., has Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little) attached to produce the project.
Currently, a writer is being sought to adapt Juster's book, which tells the story of a boy named Milo who is bored with life. Strangely enough, a tollbooth appears in his bedroom. Having nothing better to do, he jumps into his toy car and proceeds through the booth into a strange world where he eventually takes on a quest to resolve a war between words and numbers.
The book has previously been brought to film in 1969 via an animated version directed by Chuck Jones with Abe Levitow and Dave Monahan. Norton Juster also participated in writing that film's script.
Odds and Ends: Short items not worthy of an article in their own right.
C-2 Pictures struck a deal with Europe's Intermedia to co-finance Terminator 3, the proposed third installment in the SF series, the Hollywood trade papers reported. Intermedia and producers Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna's C-2 Pictures will handle international marketing and distribution of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, but no domestic distributor has been lined up yet, the papers reported. Terminator 3 is set to shoot in late spring with an eye to a summer 2002 release. Tedi Sarafian (Solar Crisis) wrote the script. Japan's Toho Towa and Germany's VCL co-financed development of the sequel and have distribution rights in their own territories.
Fans of the original Star Trek television series will soon be able to bid on the original molds for Mr. Spock's Vulcan ears, the BBC reported. Christie's auction house in Los Angeles is selling the mold and four pairs of the rubber ears as worn by Leonard Nimoy in the original Trek on Nov. 15 as part of an auction of TV memorabilia.
The mold is expected to fetch up to $20,000 and two pairs of ears are expected to garner up to $2,000, the BBC reported. Christie's will also auction off a plaster life mask of William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk, which was used for various makeup effects. The mask, which freezes Shatner's visage as it was during the show, is listed at an estimated sale price of $6,000.
The auction will also include original scripts from the first two Star Trek movies, as well as signed posters and other makeup prosthetics. The Star Trek lots are being offered by the heirs of Fred Phillips, the sole makeup artist on the original series and the first two movies.
Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow) is rumored to be in line for the role of Velma in the upcoming live-action feature film based on the animated television series Scooby-Doo, the IGN Web site reported.
John Cleese has signed to portray the ghost Nearly-Headless Nick in the upcoming feature-film version of J.K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which is currently shooting in the United Kingdom, Variety reported.
Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty, The Patriot, Shakespeare in Love) has joined the cast of Martin Lawrence's time travel comedy, Black Knight. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Wilkinson will take on the role of the film's main heavy, Sir Nolte, who is loyal to an evil king. In the film, Lawrence plays a down on his luck modern day fast food employee who finds himself transported through time to medieval England, where he teams with an ex-knight and a peasant girl to take down the king. Production starts next month.
Part B Follows Shortly
Best wishes,
David Gerhard, Chairman
Bob Jenner, Information Officer
Alexandra Benedict, Entertainment Industry Liaison Officer
Eastlant Sci-Fi Group
Fans Working for Fandom, Not for Profit.
Eastlant Sci-Fi Group - 2000-2001 Season Progress Report 9A.
This is a digest of recent Sci-Fi- and genre-related news as of 31 October 2000.
Shows Premiering in the Next Week:
The Following Shows have already been requested and will be taped:
* - Non-Genre Shows - These will be retained only as long as we need to fulfill requests for them, and then recycled.
News & Notes
Group News:
A Final Word on Bidpay
Although this now seems to be working smoothly, may we ask that you not be specific about what you are paying for? "Video Tapes" is quite sufficient, yet we have some people listing episodes on the Bidpay site. Not only is there no reason why they should be given such detailed information, but we would prefer that you not do so.
No Definite Word Yet on Writers' Strike Settlement.
In an article in The Hollywood Reporter last week, it was suggested that even though a tentative agreement had been reached, SAG might still order the forthcoming writers' strike to go ahead. This is because the settlement reached with actors does not address the objections of writers to existing contract terms. This means that even though the actors are prepared to return to work, some series may still be hit by a lack of scripts later in the season. More when we have it.
TV News:
Oh! Dear! What a Surprise!!!!!
Well, Freakylinks finally took the big dive. We have it on good authority that the show is to be pulled off the air after the November 3rd episode. At least that means that we will have 4 eps for those who have expressed an interest in the show (Why?). Everyone enjoys a good cringe now and again.
Thank God that this turgid piece of television crap has finally been put to death. The show was ill conceived, badly produced, acted by cigar-store Indians and directed by a lunatic on mescaline.
Of course, the Blair-Witch fans are already claiming that the show failed because its creators were pushed out and replaced by un-Blair-Witchy types, but in my opinion, if it wasn't for those jerks we wouldn't have had this piece of unmitigated garbage in the first place.
Bye Bye! May you rot in hell. However, it may still get a nod in some award show or other, in the "Most Stupid Name for a TV Show Ever" category.
Duchovny Could Be Back For Season 9!
David Duchovny, who dramatically curtailed his presence in the upcoming eighth season of Fox's The X-Files, told TV Guide that he likes his part-time role so much he'd consider coming back next year. The current arrangement "is working exactly the way I wanted it to," Duchovny told the magazine. "I get to do a movie while I'm doing the show. ... If I could work out something like that, I wouldn't rule it out."
Duchovny will play Agent Fox Mulder in the last six episodes of the eighth season. "I've been home at 6 o'clock the last four months in a row," said Duchovny, who lives in Malibu with his wife, actress Téa Leoni, and their 1-year-old daughter, Madelaine West Duchovny. "I was never home at dinnertime before."
In the meantime, Duchovny is currently filming director Ivan Reitman's Evolution, an SF comedy in which he plays a college professor who has to save the world from an alien organism. "It's a really funny script," Duchovny told TV Guide, comparing the movie more to Men in Black than The X-Files.
As for his replacement, Robert Patrick, Duchovny said, "He's really excited to be here, and I think it's good to have someone come in and smack everybody and say, 'Wake up! This is a great job!' I wasn't going to be that guy."
Anderson: 'X-Files' Future
Now that the 8th season of The X-Files is nearly upon us, Gillian Anderson is talking up what happened last year as well as her take on the season (seasons?) ahead.
In an interview with XPose magazine, the actress spoke of comments she made last year before anyone knew an eighth season was actually going to happen. At that time, she suggested that she, like co-star David Duchovny, was done with the program. She explains, "At the time I was absolutely exhausted. It was the seventh year, and no one had ever thought that it was going to go beyond five years. I mean, five years seemed like a huge amount of time...So at that time doing an eighth season just felt impossible. Then, I took my first real hiatus away from any kind of work. Also, I started to talk to Chris about the eighth season and I heard his enthusiasm. He was excited about this new character he had created and that perhaps that could be a good thing, and all of that entered my mind."
Anderson also addresses the seemingly impossible (at least from the point of view of a year ago): a ninth season for the show. Anderson explains, "At the beginning, when Fox started talking about a ninth season, that was even more unheard of than even an eighth. I mean, it was just impossible in my mind. But then push came to shove. It’s a complicated issue, because Chris and the writers wanted to produce the best show possible. Now there’s a formula in making that work, particularly this season with losing David for most of the shows and bringing in a new character...So to suddenly have Scully absent also was a tall order. Consequently, it was a necessity for me to continue."
Anderson also notes that she was very conscious of the difference in her paycheck with that of co-star David Duchovny. The issue was addressed, as Anderson says, "At the end of the fifth year, it became just ridiculous and unacceptable that there was the disparity. So we took steps to remedy that and we were successful..."
Regarding the future of the show minus Duchovny, Anderson sounds upbeat, saying, "I think there’s a new energy. It’s just something has shifted, and there’s just an overall sense like, ‘Okay, we’ve got another year, maybe even two years, to keep going, so how are we going to make this okay and not be resentful that we’re doing the same damn thing for the eighth and ninth year in a row.’ I think everybody has really kind of pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and marched ourselves forward in a very positive light and in an energetic and enthusiastic way.
"So this season feels good, it feels fresh. Robert’s come in and he’s glad to be here. He’s done, like, 55 films and I can imagine that it’s nice to have the security of the show for at least as long it may run. He’s got a very enthusiastic energy and that enthusiasm and the opportunity of creating a new character for the writers I think has given the show new energy. And it gives the actors something new to work with, and that’s also true for the writers...So there’s a kind of a feeling of starting over in a sense. It’s like a new beginning. Keeping in mind where we’ve come from, who we’ve come with and everything, it feels good..."
Biller Now Exec On Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager head writer Ken Biller has been formally promoted to executive producer as part of a new development deal with Paramount Network Television, Variety reported. Biller has been running the show now that former executive producer Brannon Braga is devoting more time to developing the next Trek television series.
Biller's new multiyear pact also calls for him to develop and produce drama series for the studio while remaining on Voyager for its seventh and final season. Biller had been co-executive producer.
Editor's Note: This is a strange occurrence. In a most unusual move, they have appointed someone to a position of authority who has a 3-digit IQ. Pity it comes so late in the show's life span.
Dune Sequel Already Planned
The Sci-Fi Channel has struck a deal with John Harrison, writer and director of Sci-Fi's upcoming original miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune, to write a sequel based on further volumes of Herbert's classic SF series of books.
"I am flattered and thrilled that Sci-Fi is interested in pursuing another installment of Frank Herbert's Dune epic," Harrison said. "I think it is a vote of confidence in the first mini that will air in December and to the creative vision the producers and I have been able to bring to it." The six-hour miniseries stars William Hurt, Giancarlo Giannini and Alec Newman.
Harrison said a sequel would be either four or six hours long. As to whether it will be called Dune Messiah, after Herbert's second novel, Harrison said, "That remains an open question, because we don't know if we will adapt one or two more novels into the next mini. I'm working on a proposal for the adaptation and can relay more details in the near future."
When a possible sequel would go into production depends in part on how easily Harrison can adapt Herbert's books, Harrison added. "Clearly, we would all love to see it go into production soon so that the momentum of the first miniseries won't be dissipated by too much time," he said.
More Spawn Film, TV Due
Spawn creator Todd McFarlane told an online chat that he will continue to push for a sequel to the 1997 feature film based on his comic series, as well as further animated television episodes, according to the Comics Continuum Web site. McFarlane said the sequel will not come from New Line Cinema, which produced the original film.
"Right now the rights revert back to me on Nov. 6, and I've got three studios waiting for me to come in the door and tell them it's legally back in my possession," McFarlane said. "So hopefully something will come out of one of those places."
After three seasons of the animated Spawn series on HBO, meanwhile, McFarlane said he hopes to go back into production soon. "I'm hoping by the beginning of next year, we will begin production on a 90-minute ... movie-length version that will then be sold either back to HBO or some other cable system," McFarlane said.
Fox Orders 'Ball & Chain'
The Fox TV network has ordered up a pilot based on Scott Lobdell's Ball and Chain comic book series. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Todd Holland will direct the pilot from a script by Howard Gordon (X-Files) and Molly Newman (Maximum Bob), who are also executive producers.
The pilot will tell the story of super powers mistakenly granted to a couple who are on the verge of divorce. Aliens are here on Earth to do something nefarious and the only people who can stop them is the newly super-powered and bickering couple, whose powers only work when they are together.
Trek Goes on the Auction Block, But it's Too Big for eBay
Apparently, Paramount is about to sell off Star Trek wholesale. Below is the text of an article in Variety written by John Dempsey. Normally, we do not comment on the writing itself but there are several numerical inaccuracies in this item, especially the number of episodes of DS9, but we do not consider it our place to put someone else's mistakes right. As a result of these screwed-up figures, others may be less than reliable, but we think the money is about right.
Paramount Shopping Trek Around
''Star Trek'' spin-offs beam up record fees by John Dempsey
NEW YORK (Variety) - Talk about boldly going where no one has gone before: Paramount Television has informed cable networks that it's ready to sell the three ``Star Trek'' series from the 1980s and '90s -- ``The Next Generation,'' ``Deep Space Nine'' and ``Voyager'' -- but the winning bidder will have to pay the record license fee of $364 million.
Paramount declined comment, but cable sources say the studio believes that Barry Diller's Sci Fi Channel and Sumner Redstone's TNN are both so eager to latch on to the ``Star Trek'' franchise that $364 million is a realistic marketplace figure.
Time Warner's TNT, Rupert Murdoch's Fox Family and FX, and the Odyssey Channel would also love to get the three ``Trek'' series, but they'd be unlikely to stay in the auction if the prices soar as high as Paramount is demanding.
The way the deal breaks down, the cable network buying the package would have to pony up a minimum of $1 million an episode for the 179 hours of ``Next Generation,'' which would end up as a record for rerun hours, beating the previous mark set by Warner Bros. Cable when it sold ``ER'' to its sister company TNT.
``Next Generation,'' which is now playing in rerun syndication after going out of production as a first run series in 1994, would become available for five-a-week play to cable on Jan. 1, 2002.
Paramount's price tag on ``Deep Space Nine'' is $700,000 an episode for the 124 hours the series racked up during its incarnation as a first run syndicated hour from January 1993 to August 1999. ``Deep Space Nine'' is now playing in most markets throughout the country in reruns as part of long-term deals that don't expire until March 2004. So a cable network would be able to start airing these reruns in April 2004.
Finally, ``Voyager,'' the only one of the three to originate not in syndication but on a broadcast network -- UPN -- is also carrying a license fee of $700,000 an episode for about 142 hours. ``Voyager'' is now wrapping up its seventh and final season on UPN, and TV stations began simultaneously airing the reruns in fall 1999. These syndication contracts run through the third quarter of 2006, at which time the cable network would take title to ``Voyager.''
The Sci Fi Channel is the logical home for the ``Star Trek'' franchise because the network has scored solid numbers with the original ``Trek'' series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, which ran on NBC from 1966 to '69. Sci Fi also harvests big Nielsens every time it runs one of the theatrical-movie spin-offs of the series.
But TNN, the other expected high roller, is a sister company of Paramount; both are part of the Viacom Empire. TNN has never paid anywhere near the prices Paramount is asking for the ``Star Trek'' series, but the network has announced that it wants to transform itself from a country-oriented channel to a general-entertainment network.
TNN also has the best year-round promotional platform on cable, the weekly two-hour ``Raw Is War'' spectacle from the World Wrestling Federation, which right now is going to waste because the network has just begun to seek out scripted action series of appeal to a young-adult audience.
The ``Star Trek'' series ``would be a natural for Sci Fi because the channel has revitalized the original series,'' said Bill Carroll, VP and director of programming for Katz Television, the TV-station consulting firm. ``But the 'Star Trek' franchise would put TNN on the map in a major way.''
Paramount has also told potential cable buyers that it has another ``Next Generation'' theatrical movie starring Patrick Stewart on the drawing boards, which will keep the franchise before the mass audience and help to cross-promote the series.
Editor's Note: The most obvious conclusion to be drawn from this is that Viacom have given up any plans to launch their own Science Fiction cable channel, otherwise why would they give away the one show in their library that would provide such a channel with a guaranteed basic audience and a stable platform from which to launch any new series that they had planned"
This is a shame, as Viacom have the resources to produce some properly funded genre series that might now not be made.
And a short article on Early Ratings for Syndie shows
Viewers plunge into Sorbo's ``Gene'' pool By Melissa Grego
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - While presidential debates and baseball games continue wreaking havoc on some TV schedules, ``Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda'' broke through the clutter, premiering in syndication with a 4.3 national household rating.
The action hour, toplining former ``Hercules'' star Kevin Sorbo, ranked ninth among all syndicated shows and led all other syndicated weeklies for the week that ended Oct. 15. It was one of three syndicated weeklies to debut in the period.
``Andromeda'' is cleared on 203 stations, including WGN's Superstation, representing 97% of the country. The other two weeklies to premiere were ``Maximum Exposure'' and ``Queen of Swords.''
``Maximum,'' an outgrowth of the reality show ``Real TV,'' is cleared on 189 stations, representing 90% coverage. It earned a 1.8 rating. ``Queen,'' about a sword-wielding heroine, is on 196 stations representing 88% coverage. It earned a 1.6. The other new first run syndicated weeklies this season are ``Sheena'' (1.9), ``The Cindy Margolis Show (1.3) and ``The Immortal'' (0.9).
Editor's Note: Here again, it is necessary to break with tradition and comment on the text of an article. Ms Grego's figures are widely off the mark. Almost every rating quoted in this article is wrong, some of them by a big margin. However, the comment that needs the biggest correction is the inference that Andromeda was the 9th best-rated syndicated show of the week. It was in fact #1, and was actually 9th most-watched new season show overall, including new network shows, a remarkable achievement for a syndicated genre show.
In the two weeks since these figures, Andromeda has maintained its audience and is showing very strongly, and overall, has moved up to 6th most watched new show. This is almost unheard of.
You will be able to see what our home-grown TV critic Alexandra thinks of it when she publishes her new season review later this week.
'X-Files' Ep Info - Beware Mild Spoilers
The Fox TV network has issued information on the coming X-Files eighth season opening, finally revealing the episode titles.
In the eighth season premiere episode, "Within," (written by The X-Files creator and executive producer Chris Carter) Agent Dana Scully searches for the truth about her missing partner, while simultaneously forced to contend with a resistant FBI bureaucracy and a skeptical new associate, Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick), who reluctantly joins Scully in the search for Mulder. The search for Mulder takes the investigation to the Arizona desert to seek out a former X-Files subject who may hold the key to Mulder's whereabouts.
The concluding episode, "Without," (also written by Chris Carter) airs Nov. 12. As Scully and Doggett continue the search for Mulder, the skeptical Doggett is forced to acknowledge information that tests his unwillingness to believe in all things paranormal, and proves to him that nobody is who they appear to be.
In addition, Fox provided the details for two further episodes.
In the Nov. 19 episode "Patience" (written and directed by Chris Carter), Scully and Doggett investigate their first official case together - a series of gruesome murders linked to a bat-like creature. Though skeptical of Scully's logic, Doggett finds a begrudging respect for her investigative process.
In the Nov. 26 episode "Roadrunners," Scully, while investigating on her own a murder in the New Mexico desert, discovers a small remote town housing a paranormal cult that keeps a terrible secret. Scully's discovery of the cult's secret puts her life in danger, and she must rely on Doggett to track down her hidden whereabouts and save her life.
Sci-Fi scoops up Verne, more Invisible Man
The Sci Fi Channel has bought 22 hour-long episodes of ``The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne'' and renewed the successful ``Invisible Man'' for a second full season of 22 episodes, solidifying its position as the cable network running the most scripted series each week
When ``Jules Verne'' premieres in January, Sci Fi Channel will have six first run hour-long series on its schedule, spread out over two nights. Although nights and times are not firmed up yet, three others are continuing series: ``Farscape,'' ``Lexx'' and ``First Wave.'' The fourth is another newcomer, ``Black Scorpion,'' about a camp superhero.
They seem to have forgotten about "Matthew Blackheart Monster Smasher", which is also supposed to start airing in January.
Sci Fi says ``Jules Verne'' will appeal to the ``steam-punk'' crowd because it's set in the 19th century and features all sorts of fantasy special effects that involve only materials from the period.
``Verne,'' shot in Montreal on high-definition video cameras, stars Chris Demetral in the title role, and features guest stars ranging from David Warner and John Rhys-Davies to Michael Moriarty and Patrick Duffy.
Editor's Note: Some of you may have noticed that we already have a couple of episodes of this series. We are very pleased to see this appear on the schedule, as the two solitary eps that we have only serve to constantly remind us of our unpleasant experiences with Canadian traders. After 3 attempts to trade north of the border, we have now put a moratorium on any such trades, as so far every attempt has resulted in us sending out tapes to receive little or nothing in return.
In one case, a Canadian actually told us that he was reluctant to trade with Americans, as he was afraid of being ripped off, so we sent him our end of the trade first, and he sent us these two eps of Jules Verne and then disappeared into the woodwork owing us more than a dozen tapes.
My apologies to the few honest Canadians and to the rest of you, put Mayo on it, Nanook!
Mind you, that last guy was right about one thing. Most so-called traders in the US are either thieves, liars, cheats, profiteers are just plain stupid. Thank God for the few decent ones we have managed to build up a relationship with.
Oops! I think I unintentionally slipped into "cynical mode" there. Sorry about that. When the notes become longer than the articles, something is wrong.
Movie News:
Stargate Sequel Planned
MGM plans to make a sequel to its 1994 SF hit movie Stargate, which spawned the Showtime television series Stargate SG-1, according to Variety. The studio has reportedly fast-tracked the sequel for release in 2002. No sooner had this news been announced than SG-1 fans began to lobby MGM to make the movie based on the TV series and not as a direct sequel to the original movie.
MGM is also reportedly also developing movies based on its Outer Limits television series, which will move to The Sci-Fi Channel next year.
Stewart On Board for 'Trek X'
The tenth Star Trek movie project is taking another big step forward with word that Patrick Stewart has signed on board. According to USA Today, Stewart is the first of the Next Generation cast to sign up for the project, for an as yet undisclosed amount.
Previously, it had been suggested by Stewart and Brent Spiner that the two might have had an idea for the next film's story that would involve the demise of Data. No matter what happens, odds are that Star Trek X will be the final appearance of the whole cast of Next Gen. on the big screen together.
Still, in spite of this word of the signing, it may still take some time for the project to reach fruition. USA Today is also reporting that writer John Logan (Gladiator) is not likely to get his script done for the film in time, before the writers' strike hits, if that does happen. With that in mind, it would seem to stop the project dead, with the exception of the technical and design side, until the potential strike is resolved.
'T3' Prod Start?
Arnold Schwarzenegger himself has announced when production will start on Terminator 3. While appearing on MTV's Total Request Live yesterday promoting The 6th Day, Arnold revealed that even though the script is done, the prep on the project will be extensive. He expects the project to start up in summer 2001 with an expected release date in the following summer...which would bring it head to head with Star Wars: Episode II.
'Phantom Toll Booth' Feature Film
In keeping with Hollywood's current passion for adapting children's books, Norton Juster's classic The Phantom Tollbooth is going to be made into a live-action feature film. According to Variety, Storyopolis Prods., based at Warner Bros., has Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little) attached to produce the project.
Currently, a writer is being sought to adapt Juster's book, which tells the story of a boy named Milo who is bored with life. Strangely enough, a tollbooth appears in his bedroom. Having nothing better to do, he jumps into his toy car and proceeds through the booth into a strange world where he eventually takes on a quest to resolve a war between words and numbers.
The book has previously been brought to film in 1969 via an animated version directed by Chuck Jones with Abe Levitow and Dave Monahan. Norton Juster also participated in writing that film's script.
Odds and Ends: Short items not worthy of an article in their own right.
C-2 Pictures struck a deal with Europe's Intermedia to co-finance Terminator 3, the proposed third installment in the SF series, the Hollywood trade papers reported. Intermedia and producers Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna's C-2 Pictures will handle international marketing and distribution of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, but no domestic distributor has been lined up yet, the papers reported. Terminator 3 is set to shoot in late spring with an eye to a summer 2002 release. Tedi Sarafian (Solar Crisis) wrote the script. Japan's Toho Towa and Germany's VCL co-financed development of the sequel and have distribution rights in their own territories.
Fans of the original Star Trek television series will soon be able to bid on the original molds for Mr. Spock's Vulcan ears, the BBC reported. Christie's auction house in Los Angeles is selling the mold and four pairs of the rubber ears as worn by Leonard Nimoy in the original Trek on Nov. 15 as part of an auction of TV memorabilia.
The mold is expected to fetch up to $20,000 and two pairs of ears are expected to garner up to $2,000, the BBC reported. Christie's will also auction off a plaster life mask of William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk, which was used for various makeup effects. The mask, which freezes Shatner's visage as it was during the show, is listed at an estimated sale price of $6,000.
The auction will also include original scripts from the first two Star Trek movies, as well as signed posters and other makeup prosthetics. The Star Trek lots are being offered by the heirs of Fred Phillips, the sole makeup artist on the original series and the first two movies.
Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow) is rumored to be in line for the role of Velma in the upcoming live-action feature film based on the animated television series Scooby-Doo, the IGN Web site reported.
John Cleese has signed to portray the ghost Nearly-Headless Nick in the upcoming feature-film version of J.K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which is currently shooting in the United Kingdom, Variety reported.
Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty, The Patriot, Shakespeare in Love) has joined the cast of Martin Lawrence's time travel comedy, Black Knight. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Wilkinson will take on the role of the film's main heavy, Sir Nolte, who is loyal to an evil king. In the film, Lawrence plays a down on his luck modern day fast food employee who finds himself transported through time to medieval England, where he teams with an ex-knight and a peasant girl to take down the king. Production starts next month.
Part B Follows Shortly
Best wishes,
David Gerhard, Chairman
Bob Jenner, Information Officer
Alexandra Benedict, Entertainment Industry Liaison Officer
Eastlant Sci-Fi Group
Fans Working for Fandom, Not for Profit.
posted by Catherine Jemma at 2:15 AM
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