Newsletter 38A 22 May 2001

Eastlant Sci-Fi Group - 2000-2001 Season Progress Report 38A. This is a digest of recent Sci-Fi- and genre-related news as of 22nd May 2001.

News & Notes

Group News:

Rounding Up PayPal

I hate to bring this up again, but could everyone using PayPal please remember to add that 2% to the cost? It may seem like a trivial amount, but with over 50% of all our clients now using this service, it adds up to a substantial amount. Most have it right, but last week alone we received about 10 payments without the addition of that supplement.

We know that it’s easy to forget, so please forgive the need to remind everyone, and if you did send a flat payment without the addition, don’t worry about it this time.

Anything for the June Open Newsletter?

If you have anything for the June Open Newsletter, bring it on. I will start compiling it towards the end of this week for publication next week.

No excuses now – I know several of our UK contacts are attending the Xena convention this coming weekend, so I would expect at least one convention report from there.

Missing Farscape Episode Finally Turns Up

If anyone was confused by the opening of Season 2 of Farscape, then you were not alone. The reason for the apparent disregard for the Season 1 cliffhanger was that the original Season 2 premier “Re:Union” was never aired, and the season started with episode 2.

Although no specific reason for skipping this episode were ever given, elements of Re:Union were recycled as part of the later episode “Dream a Little Dream”, but now, The Sci-Fi Channel is to air Re:Union in its original cut.

For the sake of our sanity, we do not intend to attempt to fit this in where it belongs, as our Season 2 masters are already made up. We will rather add it to the extra tape with the special that aired at the beginning of Season 3 – Farscape Undressed.

These two items will be available as fillers on any end –of-season tape, but please don’t ask us to interrupt the Farscape Season 3 nodes to insert these two items. This early in the season, we is ply can’t afford the time to do an offset node 2, as this would lead to offset tapes for the rest of the year.

Last Call for Fillers

We will be starting to ruin off X-Files 8:6 tomorrow, and as they come off, we will probably mail out tapes 5 and 6 together, apart from those who have had tape 5 already. If you don’t let us know what fillers you want on tape 6, you are going to be paying $12.00 for one episode.

Bearing in mind that 4 series have completed already this last weekend, that Buffy and Angel air their finales tonight, and that there are 11 more season finales to come before the weekend, we can’t hang onto endless piles of tapes waiting to hear what you want on the end. Other fans are waiting for their taps, and although X-Files might get a certain amount of priority, as a result of the sheer volume of copies that we are producing (over 100), once we have run off the copies, I don’t want to have to go back to them and interrupt the next set of finale tapes, so get your preferences in as soon as possible please.

TV News:

UPN Unveils Enterprise

In the first official confirmation of the fifth Star Trek series, UPN unveiled Enterprise on May 17 and offered a brief glimpse of the series, which is described as a "prequel" that bridges today with the time of the original Trek series. Starring Scott Bakula as Capt. Jonathan Archer and Jolene Blalock as the female Vulcan Sub Commander T'Pol, Enterprise was part of UPN's fall-schedule presentation to advertisers in New York. It carries the tag line ""... back to where it all began."

In a video preview, UPN said Enterprise will take place in the 22nd century, about 150 years before the events in the original series and about 100 years from now. The show will focus "on the history of the galactic upheaval that leads to the formation of the Federation," UPN announced.

Enterprise will introduce viewers to the pioneering days of space exploration, when interstellar travel is in its infancy. The titular starship will be more hands-on for the crew, with tactile controls; the preview included no clips of the show, but featured views of the show's still-under-construction tan-colored sets, which include mechanical switches and toggles.

The crew--John Billingsley (NBC's The Others) as the alien Dr. Phlox, Dominic Keating as Lt. Cmdr. Malcolm Reed, Anthony Montgomery as Lt. Joe Mayweather and Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi Sato--represents humanity's first venture into interstellar space. Vulcans are the principal source of information to humans about other space-faring societies. Warp drive has been around for a while, but not very long, and transporter technology is fairly new and proven, but not everyone trusts it.

"Star Trek has been sort of embedded in people's minds," executive producer Rick Berman said in the video preview. "It's been around for 35 years now. There's nobody out there who hasn't heard of a photon torpedo or a Klingon or 'Beam me up Scotty' or warp speed. It's part of our culture. And I think the familiarity of it is something that is very comfortable to people."

Some crew members on the upcoming fifth Star Trek series, Enterprise, will wear blue jumpsuit uniforms emblazoned with a starship shoulder patch, sources told SCI FI Wire. The Voyager-like jumpsuits are solid navy-colored with contrasting yoke and shoulder piping in colors designating status or ship's functions, and are completed with a black mock turtleneck, the sources said.

The left shoulder patches will feature a white-on-blue image of the titular starship, which resembles the original Enterprise, the sources said.

On May 14, construction crews were busy building sets on the Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles. The show was scheduled to begin shooting that day. The sources said some elements from the old Star Trek: Voyager sets may be incorporated in the new sets, but will likely be unrecognizable.

The first episode of Enterprise will be entitled "Broken Bow." The episode--which will shoot on the Paramount lot until June 19--will be directed by longtime Star Trek director James L. Conway. The story concerns the crew's first encounter with Klingons.

Witchblade Shoots No. 8

TNT's upcoming Witchblade television series is filming "Thanatopsis," the eighth of 11 original episodes, and is close to wrapping the premiere show, which will air June 12, Comics Continuum reported. The show shoots in Toronto.

Star Yancy Butler said, "It's been a very ambitious show in terms of schedule and content, but the shows are just looking wonderful, so I couldn't be happier. Things are going great. We're having a blast. But it's been grueling. Again, with it being so intellectually dense, I find myself either being completely physically exhausted and/or just mentally completely exhausted. But it's so fulfilling. The great thing is that I've worked as hard on other shows that I didn't back as much. I couldn't be prouder of this thing. It's so weird, and it's so great. The fact that it's still so based in reality made the fantastic situations that much more odd and poignant and powerful. It's really cool."

The 11 episodes make up "one big arc," said Butler, who plays NYPD Detective Sara Pezzini. "We have different ... episodic crimes, but all of them tend to be pretty much related to the others, which is pretty cool. 'Everything is connected,' as Danny Woo says, and it seems to turn out that way for [Pezzini]."

MechWarrior In Development

Longtime Star Trek writer D.C. Fontana is helping to develop a television series based on the MechWarrior game franchise. Foundation Imaging, in conjunction with Tribune Entertainment, Microsoft and Fasa Corp., announced a deal to develop and produce the one-hour action-adventure series, also known as Battletech.

The MechWarrior universe has been adapted in video games, board games, books and other entertainment, the companies said. The MechWarrior series will chronicle the lives of two intergalactic princes as they are forced to work together to repel banished marauders at the edge of the galaxy.

Foundation, a computer visual-effects house, is best known for its Emmy-winning work for Babylon 5 and Star Trek: Voyager.

UPN Passes 'Dead Zone'?

It seemed all but certain that the UPN TV network was going to pick up the Stephen King's The Dead Zone TV series, possibly as a midseason replacement, but now word comes that the deal fell through.

UPN has chosen to pass on picking up the show allegedly due to the network have no available slot that the show could fit in the near future. The pilot episode tested more successfully than any other show in the network's history. The site also notes that even strong lobbying by network executives failed to make a deal for the series.

This may well have nipped the potential series in the bud given that all the other TV network schedules look to be filled as well. Still, if something gets the kind of positive response that this pilot did from test audiences, isn't there any network out there willing to give it a chance? Time will tell.

New V In Works?

Kenneth Johnson, creator of the campy alien invasion TV series V, told SFX magazine that he's talking with about reviving the show. "It's come up over and over again, and I'm talking to a couple of guys at Warners," Johnson reportedly said. "I have a notion of a way to do the second generation."

Johnson added, "I think the way the story would have to play out is that, at the end of the original miniseries, we send a signal for help out to another alien race that is supposedly the Visitors' enemies. This story would pick up from there. The sea levels have dropped 50 feet, and Faye Grant and Marc Singer are the matriarch and patriarch of the resistance. There's a whole generation of young people who have grown up not knowing anything except occupation. Suddenly there is a new group of people who are saying, 'Hey, we got your message and we're here to help.' But are they here to help? That's the question: are we trading Hitler for Mussolini or vice versa?"

Editor’s Note: For reasons too complex to go into here, I suspect that Warner Brothers, who own the franchise, would not be too keen to re-invent V at this stage. However, we shall see.

Whedon Exults About UPN

Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon exulted over UPN's pickup of his series during UPN's fall schedule presentation to advertisers in New York May 17. "Next year, we are going to explode," Whedon said while pacing the stage at Madison Square Garden. "I'm so excited! I'm so excited, and I hope you are too." Whedon was joined by cast members Anthony Stewart Head, James Marsters, Emma Caulfield and Michelle Trachtenberg.

In an earlier forum with a group of journalists from various SF publications, Whedon said things are different as the show faces its sixth season. "It's a little bit harder and a little bit easier, but mostly it's easier," Whedon said of maintaining Buffy quality year after year. The creator of Buffy and its WB spin-off, Angel, said it's easier, because people who get it--who get him and understand what he's after--now surround him. "I've got a whole staff that can actually write the show," he said. "That took me five years. I have a production crew that knows what it's doing. I have actors who have a general sense, who can be left alone sometimes and still nail it. I like to feel I'm still necessary, though. For the most part, it's easier. Of course, I had to go and add that other show."

Though Whedon usually knows well in advance what he wants to do on Buffy and Angel, he's also quick to react--to change things when something either crashes and burns or when something succeeds beyond expectation. The Initiative storyline would be an example of the former, while the addition of Tara (Amber Benson) is indicative of the latter. "You have to be able to turn on a dime," Whedon said. "You have to be able to say, 'This worked' or 'This guy sucked' or 'He wants to leave, and we have to do something.' It's part of the process and, quite frankly, it keeps us on our toes. It almost always makes the show better if we're suddenly blindsided. It keeps it fresh. When Seth Green suddenly left, we had to make him suddenly leave, and it was very emotional. And it brought us Tara, which worked out wonderfully. So you roll with it. Without the rocks, there are no rapids."

Editor’s Note: UPN intends to premiere Buffy with a special two-hour episode sometime in August, in advance of the regular fall season.

Duchovny Departs

Confirming what was previously assumed, it was officially announced on Thursday that David Duchovny has, indeed, parted from The X-Files, and won't be back for season 9.

According to Reuters, while revealing the Fox fall 2001 TV schedule, Fox Television Entertainment Group big shot Sandy Grushow spoke of the actor's departure, saying, "I guess he thinks it's time to get on with his life."

Grushow also cleared the air regarding Gillian Anderson's participation in the show. Contrary to recent online rumors, Anderson is contracted for a full season of the show, meaning she'll be in every episode.

Lawless: 'Xena' Finale

In all the hubbub about The X-Files possibly returning and Voyager ending, Xena: Warrior Princess was also quietly packing up its bags and departing. Now, Lucy Lawless is talking about what we can expect from the final episode.

While talking to Ian Spelling's syndicated Inside Trek and Sci-Fi column, the actress carefully avoided giving specifics about the last episode of the series, instead saying, "Xena comes full circle. She was somebody who was afraid to love and trust another single human soul, and now she is somebody who's comfortable in her own skin, who has a family."**

She adds, "I always thought the day Xena achieved redemption would be the end of the show, and make of that what you will. The finale is enormously ambitious - it's our most expensive episode. I'd also say it's the most defiant episode we've done."

Lawless also talks about departing the role that the whole world sat up and noticed, saying, "The first two weeks after the show finished filming, I was learning to live as Lucy, trying to figure out who Lucy would be without Xena, without the schedule, without being in New Zealand and without the responsibility of turning up to work every day. Eventually, I stopped struggling to be just Lucy without Xena, because it has become so much a part of the fabric that makes up me that it was a relief to realize I didn't have to disassociate from it."

She adds, "I don't have the pathological need to cut off all my hair and dye what's left blond, but on the inside I was looking to reidentify myself as somebody without Xena. And I just don't think that's possible...Why should I? It was a wonderful time in my life."

Editor’s Note: Rant of the day – My pet hate – misuse of the language:

I’m sorry but this doesn’t make sense. If she had come “full circle”, she would be back where she started. The character is actually a diametric opposite of what we started with. I apologize for being pedantic. A couple of years teaching and I never got over marking other people’s grammar and syntax.

These celebrities have such influence over the susceptible element of their audience that now many Xena fans probably think that “full circle” means a complete change, instead of its traditional meaning. If these people don’t know what they are talking about, perhaps it’s better that they say nothing.

The Tick Finally Makes it to the Screen

Fox officially announced their schedule for next season towards the end of last week.

This confirms the rumors, including the renewal of X-Files for a 9th Season, Dark Angel season 2, despite the rumors that the series was failing, and finally, a schedule slot for The Tick, which will air Thursday nights at 8.30pm.

This could be good news for the series as Thursday night is not exactly overflowing with genre shows, the only other one being Charmed at 9.00.

Sadly, this announcement makes it official that The Lone Gunmen didn’t make it. Morons.

Enterprise Re-Invents Trek

Rick Berman, co-creator of UPN's upcoming Star Trek series, Enterprise, told the Los Angeles Times that the show will depict the genesis of the Trek universe. Enterprise, the fifth Trek series, will be set in the 22nd century, just after the invention of the warp drive and a century before the time of Capt. Kirk and the original series.

"You'll see the first guys who go out into space, the Chuck Yeagers of space exploration," Berman told the newspaper. "Fans will see all the things they recognize from Star Trek, but in the developmental phase."

Berman's partner and Enterprise co-creator Brannon Braga added that the show will allow writers to move beyond the Trek formula. "The formula must evolve," Braga told the Times. "Part of what's appealing about Star Trek is that people are better. ... But there have been some attempts to alter that with Deep Space Nine and Voyager, arguably darker shows. Was that a mistake? Might have been. Do we want to just go back to the Next Generation formula? No way. We need a show that gives us everything."

Berman added, "The next season will bring a bending of the rules, without losing [Trek creator Gene] Roddenberry's vision of a hopeful, uplifting future. The Roddenberry perfection of humanity is in the process of happening, but will be not completed when the series begins. That will enable us to do a show within the general umbrella of Star Trek, but eliminate some of the stumbling blocks." Braga concurred. "Deep Space Nine and Voyager, while both excellent shows, lost a little bit of that original Star Trek spirit," Braga said. "It's time to get back to the fundamentals of Star Trek."

SFX magazine, meanwhile, reported that crews are building new sets for the series "They're definitely building up for a long run," a source told the magazine. "They need heavy-duty sets that are really big, and they're spending a lot of money on it. ... The Voyager sets were 'dead-stuck'. They just chopped them down and threw the pieces in the trash. [Enterprise] is being built from the ground up. The new engine room core set is on Stage 18. It used to be on Stage 9. It had been on Stage 9 since 1977, when they made [Star Trek: The Motion Picture]. It had been used from Next Generation through all the other shows. Until now." A different source suggested that portions of the Voyager sets were being cut up and recycled in part of the Enterprise sets; a recent visit to the Paramount lot confirmed some of the re-use.

Editor’s Note: There is one element of this new Trek series that bothers me. From what I have read, the deciding factor in finally persuading Scott Bakula to take on the role of Captain was that he has been given a considerable amount of creative control over story lines and the general feel of the show.

Without meaning to offend Scott Bakula at all, as I consider him to be a very competent actor, with great screen presence, I know for a fact that he is not fond of technology, and he especially dislikes “techno-babble” – the use of some thought-up technical device or principle to explain a plot point – and let’s face it, even in its most basic form, Trek has always been a techno-show.

Without the chance to explore technology and its uses, without the surprise element of some new alien device that upsets the status quo, without some new technological advancement for the fans to chew over in newsgroups for endless days, all we are left with is really just Horatio Hornblower on a starship.

Done properly, that wouldn’t be so bad, but remember, this show is being written and produced by Brannon Braga – the man who wrote most of Voyager. ‘Nuff said.

Takei To Guest On Chronicle

Star Trek alumnus George Takei will guest star on The Sci-Fi Channel's upcoming original series The Chronicle, which will air on Saturdays at 9 p.m., starting July 14. Takei will play Mr. Shen, the father of a young Chinese woman, in the episode "Here There Be Dragons," which will air July 28.

The Chronicle tells the story of a tabloid newspaper that investigates reports of paranormal phenomena. It stars Chad Willett, Rena Sofer and Reno Wilson.**

On his official Web site, Takei talked about his experience shooting the episode. "My guest-starring role in the episode titled 'Here There Be Dragons,' scheduled to air this summer on The Sci-Fi Channel, was that of a Chinese immigrant father whose daughter, it is suspected, might be involved with a dragon inhabiting the sewers of Chinatown. The drama is played with straight-faced seriousness. I thought it might be fun." Takei added that San Diego, where the series is in production, doubled for New York, where the episode is set.

Editor’s Note: ** Anyone for “Kolchak: The Rehash”?

'Buffy' the Musical?

Joss Whedon is considering a musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in its new upcoming season at the UPN TV network.

While talking to the LA Times, Joss Whedon spoke of the episode, saying, "I don't say, 'How can I shock people?' 'How can I be unconventional?' I think about doing something I haven't done before. In this case, it'll be like a classic old musical where the songs help tell the story. And people will sing things that they wouldn't say."

When asked for UPN's response to the unusual take on the series, network big shot Dean Valentine said, "I couldn't have been more psyched when I heard about this episode. I love any kind of fun twist on normal TV. Also, Joss is one of the few people who could do this and get away with it, and Buffy is one of the few shows that could attempt this and have the audience go along with it."

Editor’s Note: Fans of Buffy need not immediately start to worry. This isn’t an entirely new idea, and can be done very well if they can pull it off. The important thing of course is the music. This has been done on more than one occasions recently in Xena, where the episode “Bitter Suite”, most of which is sung, is one of the shows most popular and enduring episodes. On the other hand, it has also been done badly – the episode “Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire”, which was more of a variety shows than a musical, was dreadful.

And I know I shouldn’t have said that. My inbox is going to absolutely smoke with e-mails from outraged Xena fans that loved the episode. In fact, all three of them might write me.

Whedon on the 'Buffy' Cartoon

Once again, Joss Whedon is talking about his coming Buffy the Vampire Slayer animated TV series for Fox Kids.

In an interview with E!, Whedon spoke of how he's approaching the material, saying, "It's a kids' show, but it's a kids' show I want to watch. It's the mandate we always have, which is to write for yourself. We're starting with year one, except that--and we're not positive, but we're pretty sure--we're going to do year one as though Dawn has always been there. 'Cause we thought it'd be fun to give Buffy a 10-year-old sister. But that's just an idea we're throwing around at this point. A lot of it depends on what happens at the end of this year."

He adds, "Basically, we want to go back to that sort of innocent, 16-year-old place, where Willow loves Xander, Xander loves Buffy, and Buffy knows this good vampire named Angel. We don't want to get into the extremely adult, complex and bizarrely sexual regions we've come to."

Sci-Fi Preps Earthsea Mini

The Sci-Fi Channel has signed a deal with producers Lawrence Bender and Kevin Brown (Roswell) to develop a miniseries based on the first three novels of the epic Earthsea saga by Ursula Le Guin, Sci-Fi confirmed. Sci-Fi president Bonnie Hammer told Variety that the Earthsea books are "pure fantasy novels that set up a phenomenal, magical world similar to the Rings trilogy of J.R.R. Tolkien and the Harry Potter novels."

Sci-Fi is seeking a writer to adapt the first three Le Guin novels: The Wizard of Earthsea, Tales of Earthsea and Tombs of Atuan. The sixth novel in the series, The Other Wind, comes out this fall, the trade paper reported.

Movie News:

Writer Adapting Barker's Game

Writer John Heffernan has signed on to adapt Clive Barker's supernatural novel Damnation Game for Phoenix Pictures, Variety reported. Game tells the story of a jailed gambler and thief who gains early release at the behest of a wealthy industrialist.

In exchange, the felon agrees to serve as bodyguard and security specialist to the capitalist--a task that proves perilous and morally ambiguous when he discovers that the devil is coming to collect the soul of his employer, the trade paper reported.

Earthfall Set On Mars

Wing Commander director and video-game creator Chris Roberts has opened his own production company, Point of No Return, in Los Angeles, and will develop Earthfall, an SF movie set on Mars, Variety reported. Point of No Return aims to produce 12 films over five years, as well as TV series and interactive projects, the trade paper reported.

Earthfall is a thriller set on a Mars colony in the year 2812 and will be budgeted at $40 million-$60 million, Variety reported.

Ellis Dismisses 'American Psycho 2'

American Psycho author Brett Easton Ellis is already giving the thumbs down for the developing American Psycho 2 movie from Artisan.

While talking to the New York Post, the author spoke of the project, which will be a black comedy focusing on a female college student (Mila Kunis) who becomes a killer due to the shock and trauma of almost being killed by the first film's Patrick Bateman. Ellis declares, "Serial killers are driven by testosterone, or maybe it is our culture that turns men into Killers. I don't see how American Psycho II can star a woman and still be plausible."

Potter Film Is Faithful

Steve Kloves, the writer who adapted J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the big screen, told the San Jose Mercury News that the film will adhere to the best-selling children's novel. "We're being faithful to the book," Kloves told the newspaper. "It doesn't look like a kiddie film, I can tell you that."

The filmmakers, including director Chris Columbus, are aiming at a PG rating, Kloves said. "What appeals to a certain level of kids who read these books is that they don't feel written as children's books, because there's real darkness, real edge," he said. Potter, which is currently in production, premieres Nov. 16.

Jurassic Series Not Extinct?

New York Daily News columnist Mitchell Fink reported a rumor that Steven Spielberg, director of Jurassic Park, is ordering ideas for a fourth installment in the dinosaur franchise. Jurassic Park III, the third film, is due in theaters July 20.

Spielberg directed the first two films and produced the third, which is directed by Joe Johnston. Asked about the prospects for Jurassic Park IV, Spielberg's spokesman, Marvin Levy, told Fink, "I've heard rumblings to that effect. From what I understand, Steven is very happy with what he has seen of Joe Johnston's work in III. If there is a IV, Steven would again produce it. But Steven is definitely not going to direct any more Jurassics."

Diesel Up For T3 Role?

Vin Diesel, rumored to be under consideration for a part in the upcoming Terminator 3 movie, said he'd be eager to strike a deal if offered a role, according to a report in USA Today. But Diesel would not confirm or deny that he's actually up for a role.

"Do I look like a cyborg?" Diesel asked. But he said he is a fan of the franchise. "I don't think people generally like heroes that are too polished," the Pitch Black star said. "I think antiheroes of any sort are usually more interesting."

USA Today reported that Terminator 3 is moving forward now that a strike by Hollywood writers has been averted. Star Arnold Schwarzenegger will reportedly contend with two bad terminators, a male and a female. Director Jonathan Mostow and writer Tedi Sarafian are said to be still working on the script.

Allen May Headline StarChild

Tim Allen (Galaxy Quest) is in talks to play the lead in StarChild, an SF film from Paramount, the Hollywood trade papers reported. Allen would play a CIA agent assigned to return the Roswell alien back home before interplanetary war erupts, Variety reported.

Peter Segal (Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps) will direct; Dan O'Dowd is writing the script. No start date has been scheduled for the movie. Allen's Boxing Cat Productions is producing the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Odds and Ends: Short items not worthy of an article in their own right.

· Last week, the Angel TV series did something it has never done before. According to the NY Daily News, the program actually had more total viewers and key young-adult viewers this last Tuesday night than the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on prior to Angel. Bet that's making the WB happy they kept the show.

· Rumor has it that Jerry Ryan, Voyager’s 7of9, will join the cast of Boston Public for Season 2 beginning in the fall. Although this was reported by two reliable sources, neither said where the news came from, so we probably won’t be able to confirm this until later in the year – probably when filming starts in late June/July.



Part B Follows Shortly.

Best wishes,

David Gerhard, Chairman