Report 27A. This is a digest of recent Sci-Fi- and genre-related news as of 6 March 2001.

News & Notes

Group News:

The Writers’ Strike Article

Apologies for the late appearance of this article.  Once I started to research this in detail, I found it to be far more complex and interesting than I had previously realized.  Also, just as I was finishing a first draft, there was a new development that I am currently working on.  It will appear this week with any luck.

Special Part B

This week’s Part B will contain a special section on the latest proposals for next season, including a list of all the drama pilots that have been ordered.  As always, don’t expect all of these to appear.

TV News:

'Buffy' Dealings

The deadline for a negotiated agreement on the future of Buffy between Fox and WB expires at the weekend. In spite of the field now being open for ABC and UPN to negotiate for the show, the WB is putting on a happy face about the situation...even if the show's creator isn't.

An unnamed rep for the network spoke to TV Guide Online about the dealings and gave the company line, saying, "I think it's 50/50, but I'm optimistic that it will fall our way. We love the show, we want the show back, and we think we made a very fair offer."

The WB is said to have offered $1.6M per episode. Fox is said to be looking for a figure in $2.3-2.5M range.

Meanwhile, Buffy creator Joss Whedon isn't sounding upbeat about the outcome of the dealings, saying, "I'm not optimistic that anybody in any suit will be happy with anything. I think the WB will not reach an amicable arrangement, but I believe they will reach an arrangement... and I believe whatever happens, I will make the show."

When asked if he's concerned that Angel may be left minus Buffy on the WB, Whedon says, "I don't think it would help Angel, but I believe Angel can stand on its own. I'm not particularly worried — I'm never particularly worried. I'm either going to make the show or they're going to tell me to stop. As long as I'm trying hard to make it good, I don't notice anything else."

Paul Promotes Tracker

Adrian Paul--the former Highlander star who will headline the proposed syndicated SF series Tracker--told EW that the show centers on an extraterrestrial. "It's about an alien on Earth--more like Starman is the way I want to go with it," Paul said. "I want it to have a lot of humor. I want it shot differently, and I want it to have some interesting aspects, like set design and really good writers that write non-sequitur dialogue."

Lion's Gate studio is producing the show, which has a pilot script but no production start, Paul said. Paul was pitching the series at the recent National Association of Television Program Executives conference in Las Vegas.

TNT Announces Witchblade Premiere

TNT will air new episodes of its upcoming fantasy series Witchblade starting in June, Variety reported. Witchblade, which is based on the Top Cow comics series of the same name, will most likely air on a weeknight to be determined. TNT has ordered 11 episodes of Witchblade, which stars Yancy Butler as New York detective Sara Pezzini.

Immortal Gets A Partner

Lorenzo Lamas--star of the syndicated fantasy series The Immortal--told TV Guide that he's looking forward to acquiring a new partner in September, when the show returns for a second season. WWF wrestler Sable joins the cast as Rena Mero. "What she does is infuse a brand-new energy into the show," Lamas told TV Guide. "It was physically very tiring for me to carry the whole thing myself."

Lamas plays a 400-year-old demon slayer on the series; Sable will play his female counterpart. "She's easy on the eyes, too, so that's going to bring in a lot of the male audience that the show is geared for," Lamas said. Will there be a romance? "I think it would be a natural conclusion that there would be, if not a consummation, ... certainly the promise of a romance," he said. "But my character has difficulty becoming emotionally attached, because he's always afraid that he's going to outlive everybody."

Editor’s Note: You may have noticed that we are still listing The Immortal in Part B as “Coming Soon”.  We do have a few episodes, but not enough to make a coherent run, and we are missing the first few, so we have no setup for the series.  As the shows has made it to a second season there is now a chance of reruns during the summer, at which point we would hope to acquire the missing episodes.  If anyone is really keen to see these eps that we have, you are welcome, but they will be unedited.

Trek 5 Details Unveiled – If you Can Believe them!!!!

A recent article on the TrekToday fan website gives details of the upcoming 5th incarnation of the Star Trek Franchise.  The article is reproduced here in its entirety, and we restrict our comments on it to the end.

Since before the end of 'Deep Space Nine', Fandom has been speculating about the next Star Trek series, dubbed Series V by many. Over the past year the first rumors began appearing, suggesting the series would be set on a pre-TOS Enterprise, and in the past month Paramount officially announced it had begun pre-production. However, actual details of the next series' back-story were unavailable. That is, until now, as we present you what we believe is the full cast list for the next Star Trek series.

Last week, Paramount sent out a character breakdown for the next show to talent agents, indicating that casting is set to begin soon. We've been able to lay our hands on a copy of this breakdown sheet, thanks to an insider who wishes to remain anonymous. The sheet contains information on the seven series regulars, a recurring character and several characters from the pilot. As a word of caution, while everything indicates that this is in fact the genuine article, the below info of course hasn't been officially confirmed by Paramount yet, and so should still be treated as a rumor.

The breakdown sheet confirms many of the rumors that have appeared on the internet over the past years. Series V will indeed be set on a Starship Enterprise, under the command of human Captain Jackson Archer. The backdrop of the series will be the 22nd Century, at a time when starship travel was a relatively new endeavor, humans and Vulcans still had much to learn about each other, and the universe really was still filled with strange new worlds, new life and new civilizations.

Read on to find out who will be facing the final frontier in the fifth installment of the Star Trek franchise!

Captain Jackson Archer: Early 40s. Physical. Bold personality. Intensely curious. Born and raised an explorer. Unlike the Starfleet captains in centuries to come, he exhibits a sense of wonder and excitement, as well as a little trepidation about the strange things he will encounter. He holds a grudge against the Vulcans, who he blames for impeding humanity's progress. But his science officer is Vulcan, and he's struggling to reconsider those preconceptions. Although he has a strong sense of duty, he's a bit of a renegade - he's not afraid to question orders or even disobey them if he feels in his gut that he's right... .

Sub-Commander T'Pau: Late 20s, early 30s. Vulcan female. Austere yet sensual. She's the Science Officer assigned to oversee humanity's progress on board Enterprise. Although she's cautious and guarded around humans, whom she considers primitive and irrational, she's developed a grudging respect for Captain Archer. She'll become one of his most loyal and trusted crewmembers. .

Commander Charlie 'Spike' Tucker: Chief Engineer. Early 30s. A Southerner who enjoys using his "country" persona to disarm people. He has an offbeat, often sarcastic sense of humor. Spike was handpicked by Captain Archer, who is something of a mentor to him. Although Spike is a brilliant Engineer and an outstanding officer, he has very little first-hand experience with alien cultures, and he's often a "fish out of water" when dealing with new civilizations. .

Doctor Phlox: Exotic alien. Medical officer. Appears to be in his 40s, but we're not certain of his real age. Phlox speaks with a slight alien accent and has an eccentric sense of humor that no one quite understands. He thinks that humanity is fascinating. The Doctor has filled Sickbay with all sorts of bizarre medical instruments, alien plants and spores, and stasis chambers with small, living creatures. He practices a brand of "Intergalactic medicine" the likes of which we've never seen. This makes the most routine visit to Sickbay an unexpected adventure. .

Lieutenant Joe Mayweather: Helmsman. African American. Mid to late 20s. A unique product of 22nd Century life, Mayweather was raised on cargo ships. As a result Joe is more "interstellar" than even the Captain. He's traveled to dozens of planets and met many different alien species. Mayweather has an 'instinct' for space-travel that few humans possess. Joe's closest friend is Spike. Similar in age and spirit these two will spend their off-duty hours finding new ways to enjoy life in space.

Lt. Commander Malcolm Reed: Armory Officer. British. Late 20s - early 30s. In the new age of humanity's enlightenment, Reed is a bit of a throwback. He's a 22nd Century "soldier", all spit and polish and by the book. Reed is filled with contradictions. Despite his near-obsession with munitions, he's soft-spoken, shy and awkward around women. When testing a new weapon, he's liable to put on a pair of space-age earplugs because he doesn't like loud noises.

Ensign Hoshi Sato: Comm. Officer. Japanese. Mid to late 20s. Striking and intelligent, Hoshi has a feisty spirit that often tests the patience of the crew. She's in charge of communications on Enterprise, but she also serves as ship's Translator. An expert in exo-linguistics, she learned to manipulate her vocal chords to emit a range of alien sounds no human has ever produced. She has a natural affinity for picking up languages. Hoshi doesn't like the idea of being trapped in a "tin can" hurtling at impossible speeds. Every time the ship jumps to warp she grips her console and closes her eyes. She's a "white knuckle" space farer.

Silik: Late 30s to early 40s. Alien. Physically agile. One of the leaders of the Suliban, a deadly species obsessed with genetic enhancement. Our villain. [Note: Silik is described as a recurring character.]

Admiral Forrest: Human male. 50s to 60s. A career military man who's the highest ranking officer in Starfleet. He's fond of Captain Archer and has personally selected him to command Enterprise. [Note: Forrest and all further characters are non-recurring, and cast for the pilot episode only.]

Admiral Leonard: Human male. 40s - 50s. A high-ranking officer in Starfleet who serves directly under Admiral Forrest.

Commander Williams: Human male. 50s. A somewhat temperamental Starfleet officer who serves as attaché to Admiral Forrest.

Ambassador Soval: Vulcan male. Late 60s. A wise and arrogant diplomat who has very little patience with Captain Archer.

Tos: Vulcan male. 50s. Ambassador Soval's assistant. Shares Soval's disdain for human culture.

According to the breakdown sheet, shooting for the series is scheduled to begin on the 8th of May in Los Angeles. The project is referred to as 'Untitled New Star Trek Series', and is described as a Sold Series, which would seem to suggest that a decision has already been made on where Series V will eventually air.

Again, as we have always done for all previous Series V news, we have to stress that the above info has not been officially confirmed by Paramount yet, and that until they make an official announcement on the next series any such news should be treated as you would any rumor. Meanwhile, major thanks go out to the person who passed along this info!

As previously stated by Viacom, the show is scheduled to premiere in Fall 2001. As we get closer to the launch date, it will be very interesting to see more details released, and eventually have some faces attached to the above characters. Of course, we will continue to follow all Series V developments closely here at TrekToday, so be sure to check back often!

Finally, lots of good wishes go out to creative team Rick Berman and Brannon Braga - let's hope that by bringing Star Trek into the 22nd Century they will also be able to continue to let it prosper in the 21st Century.

Editor’s Note:  I have discussed this revelation with a number of my colleagues, and with other well-informed fans and groups across the US, and not one person that I spoke to can either confirm or deny any of this.  Further, we tried to call Rick Berman, but were told that he was “not taking any calls at the moment”.  This is exactly the same reaction we got when we were chasing the truth behind the fake Star Trek: Generations script that was dumped on the internet during the making of that movie, and we suspect that this is just the usual smoke and mirrors intended to stir up fan discussion and get the whole issue noticed.

Speaking personally, this proposal seems so cheesy that I can’t believe that Rick Berman would have agreed to it, let alone be involved in the conception.  I suspect that this is a bunch of bull-cookies, but if this does become the next Trek, I will not be the only fan who is gravely disappointed.  Let’s face it, although it has lasted 7 years, their last version of Trek, Voyager, lit very few fires.

As always, time will tell.

Familiar Voyager Faces Return –But Neelix May Leave Early

Bryan Fuller--co-producer of Star Trek: Voyager—has announced that the series' last few episodes will see the return of some familiar faces. "We will see in the last few episodes some of the characters we've seen previously," Fuller said in an interview. "We'll see Lt. [Joseph] Carey [played by Josh Clark] and Lt. Vorik [played by Alexander Enberg] again, who are two recurring characters on the show in previous seasons."

Fuller added, "We're going to see some Talaxians. We're going to see the hierarchy aliens again, from [the sixth-season episode] 'Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy.' (Ed. but late there – they have already appeared in the episode The Void)... We're going to thread through some familiar faces to keep the audience happy. We will see [Dwight Schultz as Reginald] Barclay again, definitely; I'm not sure if we'll see [Marina Sirtis as] Troi in the final two hours."

As for Voyager's ultimate fate--whether it gets to Earth sooner than later--Fuller wouldn't say. "I've got mixed feelings about it," he said. "Voyager's always been an episodic show, as opposed to a serialized one like Deep Space Nine. There are also plot elements threaded through the last few episodes, where we have a sense of getting to the ultimate goal, without being quite so blatant about it. So within the last few episodes, we feel it building to some sort of crescendo, ... [but] there's no serialized arc. ... I'm of the opinion that Voyager has always been about Capt. Janeway's quest to get her crew home. ... If they do get home in the final two hours, that would be the end of that story, as opposed to getting back to Earth and telling several stories after that. It would be anti-climactic. ... The story should end with them getting home or not being able to get home ever."

However, SFX reported a rumor that Star Trek: Voyager character Neelix (Ethan Phillips) will depart the series before the titular starship reaches Earth. With just a handful of stories remaining in the show, the episode currently in production will be Neelix's last, the site reported.

Biller: 'Voyager' Finale

Voyager executive producer Ken Biller is offering some tantalizing details of the upcoming two-hour finale for the long-running Star Trek series.

"I can tell you this, the finale will involve the Borg, which has always been Voyager's arch-nemesis," Biller revealed in an exclusive chat with Cinescape writers Gregory L. Norris and Laura A. Van Vleet. "It's going to be a rip-roaring, slam-bang action adventure full of twists and turns and surprises."

Asked if Voyager's May 23rd sendoff will lead into the new Trek series currently in development, Biller replied with an emphatic "No." Biller should know: He's writing the Voyager finale himself. He's currently working on completing the script and promises that audiences will not be disappointed in the finished product. "It's certainly been a challenge to end this series in a way that is both satisfying and surprising," he said. "Hopefully, we'll give you that."

'Cleopatra 2525' Kaput

At one time canceled, Cleopatra 2525 was later said to be returning to take the place of the departed Xena in a retooled one-hour format...but no more.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, in an official statement the program's production company, Studios USA Domestic Television, explained their reason for yanking the show, saying, "Because of the current environment, with newer broadcast networks expanding into time slots once held by hour shows, Cleopatra 2525 will not be coming back."

The studio also noted that in the future, given how tough it now is to launch one-hour weekly shows in syndication, all their future programs will also have sales to cable as well.

The studio also stated that, in part, that was their reasoning for ending Xena, stating, "We cannot continue to do weekly hours in the form we have always done them and invest the kind of money into them when it comes to producing weekly shows in the future...We want to follow the dual-platform production model we developed for Invisible Man, which airs successfully on both stations and on the Sci-Fi Channel."

Gunmen Hits Ratings Target

Fox's The Lone Gunmen hit its target audience in its March 4 premiere, winning the 9 p.m. time slot in key demographics, Variety reported. But the X-Files spin-off placed second in total viewers to a movie on ABC, according to preliminary ratings figures reported by Nielsen.

Lone Gunmen won its 9 p.m. hour in adults 18-49 (preliminary 6.5/14), adults 18-34 (6.8/16) and all male demographics, while placing second in total viewers (13 million). It dipped slightly in its second half hour, but held up well considering the tough competition, Variety reported. Its 18-49 rating is well below what The X-Files averaged in February, featuring co-star David Duchovny, but about on par with recent X-Files episodes that haven't featured him. Lone Gunmen will air two more weeks on Sunday and premiere in its Friday 9 p.m. slot on March 16.

Movie News: 

Hurt Signs On To Tuck

William Hurt (Frank Herbert's Dune) has signed on for a role and Alexis Bledel is in talks to make her feature-film debut in the lead role of Disney's upcoming fantasy film Tuck Everlasting, to be directed by Jay Russell (My Dog Skip), according to The Hollywood Reporter. The movie is scheduled to begin production in April in Baltimore.

If she signs on, Bledel will play a 10-year-old who discovers that a neighboring family, the Tucks, has a spring whose water prevents aging. Hurt will play the patriarch of the Tuck family. Ben Kingsley has signed to play a stranger who discovers the family's secret, the trade paper reported. The movie is based on Natalie Babbitt's 1975 children's book of the same name.

Hurt will also appear in Warner Brothers' upcoming SF film A.I., which is directed by Steven Spielberg.

Lee Ready For Devil Remake

Christopher Lee told Empire that director Joe Dante will direct a remake of Lee's 1967 Hammer horror classic The Devil Rides Out, in which the actor will reprise his original role of the Duc de Richleau. "If we make it again, I will play [Richleau]; that's one definite thing," Lee said. "At the moment, it's just a question of getting all the rights from the appropriate quarters, which we are in the process of doing."

Lee added, "Joe Dante has agreed to direct. We won't have the same cast, except for me, and I'm just about the right age, [perhaps] a little bit older than Richleau was in the books." The Devil Rides Out was based on a satanic thriller by occult novelist Dennis Wheatley and is one of the few Hammer films in which Lee played the hero, the site reported. Lee previously worked with Dante on Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Lee said he thought remaking The Devil Rides Out would be "very exciting, particularly with today's special effects."

Klein Spills On Rollerball

Chris Klein--star of John McTiernan's remake of 1975's Rollerball--told journalists that he's never seen the original SF film, but was willing to reveal much about the remake. "I play Jonathan Cross, who was the James Caan character in the first Rollerball," Klein said. "In this one, I come from San Francisco, and I come from kind of meager beginnings and don't have much in the way of money or drive to do anything special, or anything at all, except do some crazy sports for money."

Klein added, "My dream is to be a professional hockey player, and that never materializes, until my very best friend in the world, played by L.L. Cool J, comes to me in his Porsche. He tells me he's been in eastern Europe playing this underground sport called Rollerball, and all of a sudden he's got a Porsche, tons of money, jewelry. I bite, and I go over there, and I become one of the premier Rollerball players of the sport."

Klein says the action in the new film is not limited to the arena sport. "We got to do some awesome stuff," he said. "Besides rollerblading on a great ramp with all kinds of opportunities for jumps and stuff, there's motorcycles involved. We escape on a motorcycle. We have a really cool chase with me on a downhill street luge on the streets of San Francisco, getting chased by cops. Then I jump into the Porsche, and we roll off. There's a great chase with airplanes and tanks and things. They're actually doing some re-shoots right now on John McTiernan's ranch in western Wyoming, with helicopters and tanks, so there's some cool things happening in this movie."

Editor’s Note:  I hate to say “I told you so”, but my biggest fears have been realized. The producers of this movie have extracted from the original only those elements meant to titillate and excite, and appear to have abandoned every element of the deeper meaning of the original. If you intend to see this movie, please see the original first.

Cameron/Lightstorm Deal

20th Century Fox and James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment have renewed their production deal for another 5 years. As before, the deal is another first-look, exclusive production agreement.

Cameron issued a statement on the deal, saying, "I've had a 16-year history with Fox, going back to Aliens in '85, and I've always loved having the Fox fanfare at the head of my films, so I was glad when we were able to make a deal for another five years.

"Since 1993 I've worked directly with Peter Chernin, and that relationship has borne fruit, both in the films we have put on the screen together and in our personal friendship. We have learned to trust each other, which was more significant to me in deciding to stay with Fox for another 5 years than the economic and control issues in the new deal."

He adds, "We shared the success of Titanic with both Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, and look forward to working with them to bring to fruition the many exciting new projects we have in development."

As for the projects, here's what's in the works:

Brother Termite

Based on the novel by Patricia Anthony, Brother Termite will tell the story set 50 years in the future when our Earth is controlled by gray-skinned alien beings who operate as a hive-mind and have been there since Eisenhower signed an agreement back in the 1950s. The story operates as a political thriller as the aliens have a secret agenda they don’t want exposed.

Stephen Norrington (Blade) will direct the project with a script by John Sayles.

The Coffin

Based on the Oni Press comic book series created by Phil Hester and Mike Huddleston. It tells the story of a scientist who has found a way, via a body suit, to contain the human soul after death. In a double cross by his corrupt employer, the scientist himself is placed on death's door, forcing him to climb into the suit himself. He then attempts to avenge his own death while setting things right with his estranged daughter.

Guillermo Del Toro (Blade 2, Mimic) is now attached to direct the project.

Other projects include: Damned If You Do, a romantic comedy said to have fantasy elements, which will be helmed by Stan Winston; The Furthest Place, with Rupert Wainwright (Stigmata) directing from a script by Joe Gayton and David Schow; Comeback, an original project with a script by Rick Krause; Ramses the Damned, long rumored and still alive, the film is based on the novel of the same name written by Anne Rice; a project called Real Time; and True Lies 2, which, as previously reported, Jeff Eastin is currently at work writing.

Scooby Begins Shooting

Warner Brothers officially announced that production started Feb. 12 in Queensland, Australia, on Scooby Doo, a live-action movie based on the animated television series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! The film stars real-life paramours Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar as Fred and Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy and Linda Cardellini as Velma, and also features Rowan Atkinson as Mondavarious, the mysterious owner of Spooky Island.

Raja Gosnell (Big Momma's House) directs the comedy from a script by James Gunn (The Specials). The film tells the story of the Mystery Inc. gang as they investigate the whereabouts of Scooby. Scooby Doo will shoot entirely on location in Queensland, the studio announced. The movie is slated for a 2002 release.

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

·        Dark Shadows actor Louis Edmonds died March 3 following a brief illness, the Dark Shadows Journal reported. He was 76 years old. Louis appeared during the entire five-year run of the gothic soap opera in the role of Roger Collins and five other roles on the series. He also reprised Roger Collins in the 1970 spin-off film House of Dark Shadows, the journal reported.

·        The official website of The Lone Gunmen TV series is now active, though parts of it appear to still be under construction. However, the site does feature the titles of all the Gunmen episodes through the end of March. Check it out for yourself at http://www.thelonegunmen.com/. The earlier site, e-con.com, has been revamped to look as it would after being hacked by The Lone Gunmen.

·        Word has it that John Milius has begun working on the script for the third Conan movie... and it now may have a title. While talking to IGN, unnamed sources said to be close to the director-writer revealed that the third film is tentatively called King Conan: Crown of Iron. A King Conan movie has been rumored for quite some time, and should Arnold Schwarzenegger choose to actually play the title role (which Milius is said to want), he's certainly in the right age range. Time will tell, of course.

·         

Part B Follows Shortly.

Best wishes,