Newsletter 8A 24 October 2000

Eastlant Sci-Fi Group - 2000-2001 Season Progress Report 8A.

This is a digest of recent Sci-Fi- and genre-related news as of 24 October 2000.

Shows Premiering in the Next Week:

The Following Shows have already been requested and will be taped:

Freedom
Oct 27
Nov 27

Level 9
Oct 27
Nov 27

The Street*
Nov 1
Nov 27


* - 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:

Yet More on Bidpay

After a week of using this service, we seem to have knocked most of the bugs out of it. In order to make life easier for anyone using it, we have registered as a seller with Bidpay. We would have preferred not to, but it does increase your chances of it working for you.

We would recommend that anyone wanting to use Bidpay look at Sarah Reeson's web page every time they do so, until they are completely familiar with it. Stick to Sarah's format as closely as you can, as all the ones we have had problems with it seem to have made some entry or other that doesn't match Sarah's recommendations. If it doesn't work for you, keep trying, as it costs nothing until they approve the transfer.

We have a failure rate of about 10%, but so far only one client has failed twice, and we are trying to figure out what the problem is there.

http://www.gubbins.net/eastland/bidpay.htm

When it works, this system is very fast, cheaper than an IMO, especially for small amounts, and completely safe. It also has the advantage of allowing us to accept credit card payments without the heavy expense of running a merchant account.

If at first you don't succeed…..blame it on the government.

The Immortal Turns Up at Last

Although it has now become clear that the station listed as showing The Immortal in Central Florida doesn't exist, we have had an offer to supply episodes of the series from fellow tape trader David Cross up in Alabama.

The first few episodes have slipped through the net, but we will be able to pick these up once they go into reruns, for as always with a new show, the first bunch of reruns is basically a complete reshowing of the first few eps. For those of you who have expressed an interest in the show, once we have enough episodes to make up a master, we will need to consult on whether you want them as we get them, or once we have them up-to-date, in the right order.

A Few Words on Recycling

Those clients who have already sent money for non-genre shows can happily ignore this article, as it is not really relevant to your situation. Those who have requested non-genre shows but not yet confirmed your requests, please read this carefully, as it is important.

As you are all no doubt aware, we do not retain episodes of non-genre shows, apart from a couple of favorites of the team, such as The Sopranos. Once we have filled the requests for a non-genre show, we recycle the tapes to be used for the next batch.

Last year, we taped about 15 non-genre series, but this year, by the time they have all premiered, we will be up to about 30. As a result, we are going to be swamped in tapes waiting for recycling, so we will not be able to retain them for as long.

For example - We still have one tape of last season's Ally McBeal episodes, waiting for one client who said that they wanted them, but still hasn't sent the payment. That tape will be recycled TOMORROW, as will episodes of OZ, and Arliss, some of which were requested 3 months ago, but as yet have not been followed up on.

After only 4 weeks of the season, we have 51 tapes of non-genre eps hanging around, some edited, some not. By half way through the season, this is likely to be up around 200. Apart from the expense of tying up so many tapes, we simply do not have the space to store them, so if you want non-genre shows, you simply must keep up with us.

This is especially important where a show has been requested by only one or two people: for example, Drew Carey, Ed, ER, Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, Law & Order and Will & Grace.

This is less important for the more popular series, such as Ally McBeal, CSI, The District (a surprise this one - we have far more requests than we expected, but having seen 3 episodes, we understand why. Wouldn't be surprised to see this one alongside West Wing in next year's Emmy Nominations), Friends, Fugitive, Futurama, Simpsons, West Wing, etc, but even then, we would very much like to recycle these tapes mid season, otherwise, we are going to be drowning in tapes.

Sorry to labor this point, but as you saw above, we are still holding tapes from last season. If you asked for the shows, please do your best keep up with us. However, if you have a problem, then please let us know. What is most difficult to deal with is a lack of information on what you intend to do.

And to those who asked for last season's shows and never sent the payment - tough. Unless we hear from you by tomorrow that not only do you want them, but that the money is in the mail, they are gone.

Additional "Part D" Next Week

We would have called it Part C, but we already used that up.

By next week's newsletter, we will have seen enough of the new shows to give some informed opinions. As with last year, Alexandra will be canvassing about half the members and a few associates as well, for their opinions of the new shows, and she will write a special section to give you some idea of what they are like. This year, we will also be including some idea of what we feel about the new non-genre shows as well.

There will probably be a second Part D in a few weeks once the late starters have come along.

The Writers' And Actors' Strike Is Over

The Screen Actors' Guild has reached a tentative agreement with TV companies that may avert a wider strike by writers and actors. If this agreement is ratified by the SAG board, the current limited strike will be over, and more serious measures planned for mid-season will not take place.

It had feared that these measures could disrupt the making of later episodes of a number of prime-time series.

It has not yet been said what measures will be taken against those SAG members, mostly sports personalities such as Shakiel O'Neal and musicians such as Britney Spears, who worked on advertising projects during the strike, but it is unlikely that they will be expelled. Fines are a more likely penalty.



TV News:

BBC Lost World In Works

Christopher Hall, producer of the BBC's upcoming miniseries based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, told the SFX Network that the series will be faithful to the book. The only major change will be the addition of a female character to provide romance, SFX reported.

"We plan to start shooting some time in the new year and are at present looking at New Zealand as our major location," Hall told the site. Tony Mulholland will write the script for the two-part miniseries, which is slated to air on British television around Christmas 2001.

Editor's Note: Maybe we might get a decent version of it this time. The last two US attempts have been pretty dire, although the TV series currently running isn't half-bad.

Buffy's Boy Riley to Stay?

Marc Blucas, who plays boyfriend Riley Finn on The WB's hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told the Salt Lake City Desert News paper that he's planning on sticking around, despite persistent rumors of his imminent demise. Blucas said his character is a regular "for the season, as far as I know now."

Blucas added, "He certainly lives in the first episodes. He gets to do a little fighting. He gets to do a little rolling around in bed. We're picking up right where we left off last year. So I couldn't ask for more. ... There's a comfort level that comes with it. There's knowing the character after having a season under my belt. Knowing where he's been, because when you start off, you really don't know these things."

Blucas added that he's eager to see where Buffy creator Joss Whedon takes Riley this year, the series' fifth. "I'm looking forward to seeing where he takes my character this season, because Riley is learning the gray areas now. And that's a hard time, but that's an interesting, fun time as well. But I think he'll finally let his hair down a little and relax. But knowing Joss, my shirt'll probably be off a lot, too."

Editor's Note: I know that if Riley Finn were to leave, few tears would be shed here. It is quite clear why the character was necessary to last season's story arc, but none of us can figure why he carried over into this season. In our opinion, it's time Joss returned to the basic premise of the show. Let's face it, Buffy is at its best when the action and drama are edged with a little humor, and Riley Finn is about as amusing as herpes.

Andromeda Finding Stride

Robert Hewitt Wolfe, head writer and co-executive producer of the syndicated TV show Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, said in an interview that the series is on track to be the No. 1 new show in syndication. Andromeda is entering its fourth week, and "overall, the numbers have been great," Wolfe told the site. "We deal within a lot of markets from one week to another, so obviously the people out there who are watching it are digging it, because they're coming back for more."

Wolfe was philosophical about the critical reaction to the show, which is based on notes and ideas of the late creator of Star Trek. "Well, it's been a little bit mixed," Wolfe said. "I think there's been a lot of positive response. I think that there's been some negative response. Mainstream critics have been a little tough, but then, that's not unexpected with a syndicated sci-fi show--a genre show in general. They tend not to get them for a while."

Wolfe added, "I think a lot of people who might have come in expecting something very, very much like Star Trek, for example, or had preconceived notions about what they thought the show should be, have probably been disappointed, because it's definitely a different dish. We get a lot of complaints about our tech being inaccurate, because we don't use things like tractor beams, transporters, phasers and force fields. So that's kind of funny."

Editor's Note: We like this show. It may not be Trek, but it owes a lot of allegiance to Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. If you enjoy good old-fashioned Space Opera, then this one will definitely be right up your street.

'Xena'-philia

Xena's influence will outlive the canceled show. The syndicated action heroine has always been TV's toughest woman, says Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly:

Before ''Xena: Warrior Princess'' debuted in 1995 (as a spin-off of ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys''), television paid a lot of lip service to presenting ''empowered'' female characters -- but there was always a catch that kept these otherwise strong women down. Sure, Angie Dickinson was taking on bad guys as the titular ''Police Woman'' in 1974, but because her character, by the book Sgt. Pepper Anderson, worked on the vice squad, she did most of her job posing as a hooker or a tramp.

Two years later television was teeming with shows about tough women; unfortunately, they were all filtered through a '70s T&A lens. The women in ''Charlie's Angels'' got by on their looks and ''feminine wiles'' rather than their wits or brawn, and their relationship with the unseen Charlie always had a seedy subtext.

Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) may have been able to deflect bullets with her Feminum bracelets, and force confessions with her truth telling lasso, but at the end of the day her alter ego, Diana Prince, still had to work for an often condescending male boss, Major Steve Trevor. Even the Bionic Woman (Lindsay Wagner) didn't represent true girl power, as all of her strength came from spare parts supplied by the government.

Lucy Lawless' Xena, on the other hand, represented the first time a female TV character got to be strong, independent, and accountable to no one. Before she could get her own series, Xena -- who appeared as an evil fighter in ''Hercules'' -- had to renounce her sinister ways and vow to help people with her butt-kicking prowess. Even so, the warrior princess was never forced to give up her anger, and she was always allowed to be mean.

Not ''steal your boyfriend'' or ''dis your outfit'' mean -- which had been the usual lot of the TV tough girl -- but ''mess with me and I'll crush your skull'' mean. Thus, ''Xena'' paved the way for current series about butt kicking babes like ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Dark Angel.'' The leather clad Amazon was even allowed to relapse into her baddie ways every once and awhile -- and darn if she wasn't just as appealing as a villainess.

Though the production company, Studios USA, has announced that the show is going to end next summer, I think it's highly doubtful ''Xena'' will go away for good. Fans have already launched a ''Save Xena'' letter writing campaign -- encouraged, no doubt, by the revival of the once canceled ''La Femme Nikita,'' and Studios USA will likely keep looking for a buyer for the No. 1 rated action hour. Are you listening, Sci Fi Channel? Yi yi yi yi yi!

Craven's UPN TV Pilot

The ailing UPN network has ordered up a TV pilot that will be produced and directed by Wes Craven.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the unnamed pilot will tell the story of a wealthy male entrepreneur who teams with a female artificial intelligence expert to explore the supernatural. Plans are for the pilot and potential series to be an effects-heavy thriller. As it stands, Craven will produce as well as direct the pilot film.

The pilot's script will be written by Karl Schaefer (Eerie, Indiana), who will also get an executive producer credit along with Craven and Marianne Maddalena.

This isn't Craven's first foray into television, but none of his previous projects have had any lasting effect on the medium. In 1992, Craven produced Nightmare Café, which quickly closed its doors. 1998 saw the ill-treated Hollyweird, which was created along with Shaun Cassidy. The pilot was filmed with plans for a series, but post-production problems resulted in the whole project being yanked and tossed into limbo.

Editor's Note: This is another stage in Hollywood's plan to entice movie directors into television. Wes Craven follows in the recent footsteps of Francis Ford Coppola and James Cameron, and no doubt we shall see others over the next few years. In our opinion, this is happening because the new techniques available to TV producers allow them to make TV shows that ever more closely resemble short movies, and the average TV director does not have the "big screen" approach to make best use of the possibilities.

So, can we look forward to a genre series penned and directed by George Lucas? Who knows. We shall see.

Anderson Not Always Happy on 'X-Files'

It seems that Gillian Anderson has been talking about rumors of discord on the set of The X-Files.

While talking to the London Times, Anderson spoke of her occasional frustrations on the program, saying, "There have certainly been times where I have felt incredibly taken advantage of, where I have put my foot down about some things that may look as if I'm being a bitch."

In response to a question about rumors that she and David Duchovny didn't get along, Anderson is quoted as saying, "We were friends during the pilot...in a different way that we were through the rest of the show."

She adds, "There were aspects of him that were very uncomfortable for me. And by the same token, I think that under it all there was a great deal of mutual understanding with the situation that we found ourselves in…And by the grace of God, no matter what, we showed up and there was chemistry."



Movie News:

Crow 3 Flies to Video

Dimension Films will release The Crow: Salvation, the third installment in the supernatural revenge franchise, straight to video on Jan. 23, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The studio opted against a theatrical release after a poor test screening in Spokane, Wash.

Salvation stars Kirsten Dunst and Eric Mabius. The original film The Crow, based on James O'Barr's comic series of the same name, earned more than $50 million at the box office. Fans of the franchise have objected to Dimension's handling of the third Crow movie, saying that the studio intentionally set the movie up to fail in theaters.

No Space Odyssey in 2001?

A hoped-for 2001 re-release of Stanley Kubrick's SF classic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey is on hold, according to a report by syndicated columnist Jeffrey Wells. Warner Brothers told Wells that the theatrical re-release is "up in the air," though it's on the studio's official schedule.

Wells reported that work is being done on the 1968 movie, presumably for a DVD release.

Travolta Plans Battlefield 2

John Travolta told journalists that he still plans a sequel to this year's disastrous Battlefield Earth, the Reuters news wire reported. The $73 million SF epic--based on L. Ron Hubbard's novel of the same name--earned only $21 million in U.S. box office.

But that apparently hasn't deterred Travolta, a devotee of the Church of Scientology, which Hubbard founded. "The bottom line is that I feel really good about it," Travolta reportedly said. "Here I was taking big chances, breaking a new genre. ... I am so thrilled, believe it or not, at the outcome, because I didn't believe I could get it done."

Battlefield Earth starred Travolta as the leader of aliens bent on world dominance. The movie was almost universally blasted by critics. But, Travolta said, "When I felt better about everything was when George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino and a lot of people that I felt knew what they were doing saw it and thought it was a great piece of science fiction."

Travolta previously said that the movie was based on only the first half of the book, and that a sequel has already been planned.

Editor's Note: We know that many of our contacts disagreed with us about this movie. A bunch of us saw it together and we split almost evenly into age groups. The younger contingent didn't like it much but the older more established Sci-Fi fans found it highly entertaining and very interesting. We also found that how much you enjoyed the movie depended to a certain extent on whether or not you had read the book. Those who had were much happier with the way the movie was made, suggesting that they need to pay more attention to explaining what is going on and not assuming prior knowledge. Without reading the book, it's a bit like seeing Return of the Jedi without having seen the first two Star Wars movies.

Herbie Rides Again….Again!

Walt Disney Co. is accelerating development of Herbie the Love Bug, an update of the 1969 fantasy movie The Love Bug, about a sentient Volkswagen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The studio has fast-tracked the new movie's development and is close to hiring a writer.

The studio was hoping to start production on Herbie before the threatened actors' strike against producers (but see Group Notes above), the trade paper reported. Disney has also reportedly not decided whether to use the original Volkswagen beetle car or a new, updated one.

The original movie starred Dean Jones and Michele Lee and was followed by the sequels Herbie Rides Again in 1974, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo in 1977 and Herbie Goes Bananas in 1980.

Mummy 2 Will Outdo First Movie

Brendan Fraser said that the upcoming sequel The Mummy Returns will top the original 1999 The Mummy. Fraser will reprise the role of adventurer Rick O'Connell in the sequel, which is set to hit theaters in May 2001.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say this one is going to be much better," Fraser said. "We're not doing a remake. We're taking what worked in the first one and making that even better." Oddly, Fraser said he never met his co-star, pro wrestler The Rock, a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson, who plays the villainous Scorpion King. "In Morocco, where we filmed, The Rock is a myth, a legend and, in our movie, one scary guy. I never got to meet him, because he left Morocco before I got there, but all the Moroccans were in awe of him. The Rock has been cyber-scanned. It's going to be really fun and chilling for the audience."

'Jason X' Status

The Jason X movie project continues to make slow progress towards actually hitting theaters screens. The "quasi-official" home of the series, Friday the 13th: The Website is reporting the following:

"Jason X was delivered to New Line Cinema today. There should be a screening for the execs in a little over a week. And X has been rated R by the MPAA with minimal cuts - only a few frames had to be trimmed! Rumor has it that someone at the MPAA was actually quite pleased with how the film "reinvented the franchise"(!!)"

Tony Todd Projects

Tony Todd is talking about two of his upcoming projects, though one of them is only in the talking stages.

While talking at last weekend's Cult Movies Convention in LA, Todd revealed that there are indeed talks to launch a fourth Candyman movie. Todd also revealed that the film is likely to come out of New Line rather than Artisan.

The actor also spoke of the Final Destination sequel. Todd says that the film will start pre-production in February and that he will reprise what was his cameo role in the first film. This time, though, the part will be expanded.

Paul Plays Vampire

Adrian Paul (TV's Highlander) is to play a vampire in an coming production called A Breed Apart. AP's official website reports on the coming film, as follows:

"We know a lot of you want to know what Adrian's next project is going to be. Well, here it is… Adrian is doing a feature for Sony Screen Gems in association with MPCA called A Breed Apart. The story is set in the not too distant future when vampires have revealed their existence to the human authorities. However, some of the vampires do not want this to happen. A human cop's partner is killed by a vampire causing havoc and fear. The cop (played by Bokeem Woodbine) is teamed with a vampire named Aaron Gray to stop the madness before the vampires are all wiped out. Aaron Gray (played by Adrian Paul) is a Polish Jew who was turned in 1943 by his mentor, Cross the Head, of the Vampire Colony. The two do not trust each other, therefore making their job difficult, to say the least. A Breed Apart is set to start filming at the beginning of November 2000."

Resident Evil Fans Angry

Fans are upset that the upcoming feature-film version of the Resident Evil video game series will differ significantly from the games themselves, and are mounting an Internet petition to preserve the games' storyline and characters. The fans are reacting to a purported casting call for the film obtained by the VideoGames.net fan Web site, which says that director Paul Anderson's movie will tell the story of a commando team trapped in a laboratory where it must battle a homicidal computer and an army of the living dead.

That story differs completely from the Capcom game series' narrative, in which the nefarious Umbrella Corporation has destroyed Raccoon City and the mysterious t-virus has unleashed an army of zombies. More than 100 fans have posted messages to the petition threatening to boycott the film.



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

It has been reported that Cambodia will allow makers of the upcoming Tomb Raider movie to shoot in the nation's famous Angkor Wat temples. The film, starring Angelina Jolie, is based on the Eidos video game series of the same name.
Michael Chabon will adapt his own novel The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay for the big screen for producer Scott Rudin, Variety reported. The book tells the story of World War II refugees who create a comic-book superhero not unlike the original Superman. Rudin will produce a movie version of the best-selling novel. Chabon's earlier novel The Wonder Boys was made into a film directed by Curtis Hanson.
The Fleetwood Owen online auction house (http://www.fleetwoodowen.com/) is taking bids for props and costumes from Ridley Scott's 1979 SF classic movie Alien. The items include unpublished production stills, an original alien costume, a complete space suit worn by Kane (John Hurt) and a flame thrower used by Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). The auction runs through Nov. 1. Fleetwood Owen is run in part by Fleetwood Mac band member Mick Fleetwood.
Writer Duncan Kennedy (Deep Blue Sea) has struck a deal with the UPN TV network to create a TV pilot called Jen-X. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kennedy will team with Spelling Television to tell the story of a twentysomething woman named Jennifer who was cybernetically enhanced in an experiment conducted by her scientist father when she was a young, disabled child.
Crusader Entertainment has snagged a fantasy-comedy pitch called Rat's Tale to be produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. According to Variety, the project will tell the story of Cinderella from the point of view of the rat that is turned into a coachman for the night who believe she is the focus of the fairy tale. The potential film will be produced by Howard and Karen Baldwin.
Fox's new paranormal drama Freakylinks saw its ratings improve by 12 percent among adults 18-49 on Oct. 20, its third outing, Variety reported. The show won its hour in adults 18-34 and men 18-34. This is nothing to write home about however, as it still leaves the series something like 20% below the viewing figures for last year's early casualty Harsh Realm, which only lasted on air for 3 episodes, even though 9 were already finished. Also, we believe, strange as it seems, that this improvement is as a direct result of the Star Trek link in the episode's title "Edith Keeler Must Die" (City on the Edge of Forever). It will be interesting to see if this slight improvement on the previously abysmal figures continues onto episode 4.




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.

Forwarded Message

From: "Eastlant Sci-Fi Group"
To: "Eastlant Automailer"