Report 7A 17 October 2000
Eastlant Sci-Fi Group - 2000-2001 Season Progress Report 7A.
This is a digest of recent Sci-Fi- and genre-related news as of 17 October 2000.
Shows Premiering in the Next Week:
The Following Shows have already been requested and will be taped:
Law & Order*
Oct 18
Nov 13
Law & Order: SVU*
Oct 20
Nov 13
Ally McBeal Season 4*
Oct 23
Nov 13
Frasier* (Double episode)
Oct 24
4 Eps - Nov 20 - 8 Eps - Dec 18
* - 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:
Sorry We Are Late
About an hour before we were ready to publish yesterday, the construction gang rebuilding the road at the end of our access road pulled the plug on our connection while they installed a new junction box. We were down until this morning, so this is about 15 hours late.
More on Bidpay
This has proved to be highly successful, and we have now had about 15 payments sent by Bidpay, allowing clients to use their own local credit cards to send money. However, we have had a couple of failures, mainly because the details need to be completed precisely and the slightest slip can cause the site to reject the payment.
Sarah Reeson who first brought this to our attention has gone so far as to put up a web page with examples of how to complete the details, so before anyone tries to sue Bidpay, have a look at:
http://www.gubbins.net/eastland/bidpay.htm
If you are unhappy about leaving blank spaces, several of our clients have put our name in the Auction box, with no problems, and one or two have even used either random numbers or even their phone numbers in the auction number box, so the site doesn't really seem to care, as long as they are not left blank.
The Name Game
In the past, we have cared little or nothing for any name that anyone wanted to call us, whether it be a simple typing error, or a full blown "you sons of bitches" from some outraged profiteer who we have just put out of business.
However, as we are now heading into the electronic world and as computers are so unforgiving, we thought it important to mention the spelling of our group's name.
Over the years, we have had every variation - Eastlant, Eastland, Easlant, Eastlan, you name it. We never bothered to make a fuss about any of these variations, as it really didn't matter. Shakespeare himself wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet".
It's no biggie, but it might be important if there is ever a problem with any form of electronic transfer. For example, we received one MO from Bidpay without any form of notification, as the sender misspelled our e-mail address, so please be aware that the name of the group, and it's main e-mail address is "Eastlant", which is a contraction of "The EASTern United States and AtLANTic Seaboard Science Fiction Convention Organizers' Caucus and Tape Trading Group".
New Season Casualties?
First the Scalpel….
As part of a last-minute overhaul of its troubled upcoming sitcom Cursed, NBC will exorcise all of the show's supernatural elements, including the titular hex, according to EW.com. The premiere date for show, starring Steven Weber, has been pushed back to Oct. 26 from Oct. 12, where it was slated to occupy the coveted post-Friends 8:30 p.m. Thursday time slot.
The network, unhappy with early episodes, fired co-creators Mitchel Katlin and Nat Bernstein, scrapped the existing series and brought in Friends executive producer Adam Chase and his colleague Ira Ungerleider to revamp the show. In the process, the network sought to change the series' original premise: that a man finds himself living under a supernatural curse after a bad blind date.
"We're removing the magical elements from the show," Ungerleider told EW.com. "You have to look at the curse more metaphorically. Everyone in life is cursed. It's just that life for him will be a little harder--and hopefully funnier--than it is for the rest of us."
And Then the Ax…
After only two episodes, the ax is hovering over Freakylinks, the confusing and untidy mystery/supernatural series from the creators of the Blair Witch Project.
Despite this week's TV advertising which describes the shows variously as "The new smash hit show…", or 'This season's smash hit…" right up to "the best new show of the season…", the premiere attracted viewing figures 15% lower than the first episode of last season's ill-fated Chris Carter series Harsh Realm. If that were not bad enough, the second episode lost 25% of the initial audience (and having seen the first episode, I'm not surprised - I didn't use the words "confusing and untidy" for nothing).
This show represents all that is bad about American TV. The idea is stupid, the [production team are amateurs and the acting is so wooden that if the show is canceled in the next few weeks, a few cigar store Indians could be out of a job. (I apologize to those who didn't understand that. It used to be traditional for a wooden statue of an American Indian Chief to stand outside a cigar store, much like the three balls signifies a pawnshop).
If I were a betting man, I would wager that this show will be gone by November sweeps, and will probably never return.
TV News:
TBS Orders Protectors Pilot
TBS ordered a two-hour pilot for The Protectors, a supernatural action series, from writers Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, Variety reported. Mel Gibson and Jet Li could executive produce any resulting series, the trade paper reported.
The martial-arts thriller would tell the story of a team of chosen people who battle a band of bad angels who influence human actions.
FCC Blasts Fox Over Angel
FCC chairman William Kennard blasted Fox's decision to air the premiere of Dark Angel in lieu of the first presidential debate, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "To my mind, this disregard for the American democratic process is unacceptable," Kennard said in a speech at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York.
"When we've reached the point where the networks feel they can show baseball and sci-fi flicks in lieu of critical presidential debates, then I believe it's high time that we rethink the terms of broadcasters' compact with the American people," Kennard said.
Fox aired the two-hour premiere of James Cameron's SF drama at 9 p.m. Oct. 3, replacing the debate in much of the country. NBC aired a baseball game. "We reached a new low last week, when two of the four major networks--NBC and Fox--chose to pre-empt the first debate of the most hotly contested presidential election in four decades for sports and entertainment programming," Kennard said.
Editor's Note: Strange that he should take that attitude. I thought this as a democracy, where people had free choice. The damned debate ran on at least 6 other channels, and as it turned out, Dark Angel drew an audience of over 17 million. Maybe if they got some decent candidates, or maybe if the audience didn't expect the same old rhetoric and bullshit, the viewers might be prepared to give up two hours of prime time to hear them speak.
TNT Orders Witchblade Series
Based on the success of its two-hour Witchblade original movie in August, TNT has ordered 11 episodes of a new series based on the Top Cow comic series of the same name, the network announced. Witchblade, starring Yancy Butler, is slated to premiere in the summer of 2001.
The Witchblade movie was the No. 1 original movie among adults 18-49 and 25-54 for the year to date, TNT reported. It was also the top movie for the week of Aug. 21-27, earning a 4.5 rating (3,491,000 households) and was the top movie among adults 18-49 (3,157,000) and among adults 25-54 (3,631,000).
Witchblade tells the story of New York detective Sara Pezzini (Butler), who has acquired a mysterious ancient gauntlet that confers supernatural powers. She uses it to battle the forces of evil. J.D. Zeik wrote the movie.
Witchblade is produced by Top Cow Productions and Halsted Pictures, in association with Warner Bros. Television. Ralph Hemecker (Millennium, The X-Files) will again direct, with Dan Halsted executive producing for Halsted Pictures and Marc Silvestri executive producing for Top Cow Productions.
Definitely No Season 7 For Xena
According to Cinescape, Studios USA has announced that this season, its sixth, will be the last for Xena: Warrior Princess. A Studios USA statement quoted Studios USA Domestic Television President Steve Rosenberg as saying "Xena has been an outstanding performer for us since its September 1995 debut, finishing No. 1 among all first-run syndicated dramas for the past four consecutive seasons, and we want to see it go out on top. The series has been nothing short of groundbreaking in redefining the female action hero on television and has inspired a host of imitators across the television landscape.
Its worldwide success is a testament to the vision and execution of Rob Tapert, his producing partner, Sam Raimi, executive producer R.J. Stewart, all the people at Renaissance and the work of the extraordinary cast led by Lucy Lawless. I can't say enough about Rob, who is one of the most incredibly talented and gifted producers I have had the pleasure to work with, or about Lucy, who is more than just the star of another TV show. She has taken her character to the level of a national cult hero."
Xena Executive Producer Rob Tapert added "Xena has been a labor of love for everyone associated with it and we've been unusually lucky in having had the freedom to explore anything we've ever wanted to try-- from high-action dramas to slapstick comedies to musicals. We're excited about the shows we're currently producing and we hope to deliver some of the best episodes we've ever done. Having said that, all of us on the show feel it will be time to move on to new creative challenges at end of this season.
We have been blessed with tremendously loyal fans all over the world and we look forward to bringing them new and exciting programs in the future."
But Cleo Survives
The syndicated SF television series Cleopatra 2525 will return in January, Studios USA Domestic Television president Steve Rosenberg told The Hollywood Reporter. Cleo, half of the studio's Back2Back Action hour, had been placed on indefinite hiatus.
Rosenberg also confirmed that Jack of All Trades, the other half of the hour, has been canceled.
When it returns, Cleo will expand to a full hour, Rosenberg said. It's unclear whether that means Cleo will enter into new production of hour-long episodes, or whether Studios USA will simply repackage two half-hour reruns of Cleo.
The majority opinion however is that Cleo will eventually be slotted in as a replacement for Xena, thus allowing Raimi and Tappert to keep a foot in the door while they develop other projects. This is vital for their survival in TV terms, as the industry has a very short memory. If they go one season without a show, getting back onto the schedules could be very difficult.
Roswell Ratings Not Good Enough for Full Season?
An article in Entertainment Weekly talks about how the ratings for Roswell may not be enough to convince the WB to give it a full season order. The ratings have been better than they were in the spring after the move to Monday nights, but there is still a significant drop-off from Roswell's lead-in, Seventh Heaven. This is all based on EW reporters and media consultants, however, so the show may be in better shape than they make it out to be.
As we so often say, we shall see!
Sciography Gone?
There's still no sign of the Babylon 5 edition of Sci-Fi's Sciography on their schedule (or any other editions of the show). I'm starting to hear rumors that Sci-Fi may be dropping the series already. Sounds like it may be time for some more letter writing at least so we can see the Babylon 5 edition.
ABC Eyeing Buffy?
ABC may be ready to stake a claim to The WB's hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, EW reported. The report revives previous speculation that the show, which just started its fifth season, may be considering a network jump should ongoing contract renewal talks go south between The WB and Twentieth Century Fox, which produces the series.
Sources told EW that ABC is taking a quiet interest in acquiring Buffy. "Since day one, [ABC Entertainment co-chair] Stu Bloomberg has been a fan of the show," a source close to the drama told EW. "He's been trying to get [Buffy creator] Joss Whedon to create a show for them." Buffy's ratings continue to improve: Viewership is up 12 percent among adults 18 to 34, and the show recently posted its best-ever performance among young women, according to Nielsen.
Fox may seek more money from The WB--$2 million per episode, up from the current $1 million--but that may be too rich for the network. Official talks between Fox and The WB don't begin until January.
Ironically, ABC lost its previous teen supernatural superhero--Sabrina the Teenage Witch--to The WB this season in a dispute over money.
However, in a statement shortly after the publication of the article, ABC denied the story. But then, who believes what a TV Exec tells them? Certainly not me.
WB Considering New Electra Woman
The WB network is considering a remake of the Sid and Marty Krofft series Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, about a pair of magazine reporters who battle crime as superheroes, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The original 1976 series was part of the Krofft Supershow Saturday morning lineup on ABC.
Writers Elisa Bell and Jeff Kline, along with Randy Pope of Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, are developing a new treatment of the show for The WB. The original show starred Deidre Hall and Judy Strangis.
Roswell In Trouble?
The WB's teen alien series Roswell needs to do better in the ratings if it is to survive, according to a report in EW. The show's second season premiere attracted 4.1 million viewers, better than its first-season average audience of 3.5 million, but below the level needed to continue, the magazine reported. Roswell airs at 9 p.m. on Mondays.
Last week's second episode drew 3.9 million viewers, which was a 39 percent decline from its lead-in, 7th Heaven. "The WB will be watching it closely over the next few months to determine its future," John Spiropoulos, associate director of audience research for Initiative Media, told EW. "To survive, it needs a much bigger audience than it's getting."
Roswell producers have been playing up the show's SF elements and playing down the teen romance to bring in more viewers. "We learned that simply having a human in love with an alien was not a potent enough story to build the entire show around," executive producer Jonathan Frakes said. "So the focus this season is more on the aliens."
Movie News:
Dimension Enlists Alien Legion
Dimension Films has bought the feature-film rights to Carl Potts' SF/action comic book series Alien Legion and hired J.D. Zeik (Ronin) to adapt the comic for the big screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series is described as "the French Foreign Legion in outer space" and tells the story of a young man disowned by his wealthy family who joins up with the "Alien Legion" to prove himself.
Potts will co-produce and Zeik will executive produce the film. Alien Legion is being developed as a live-action feature that will use both computer and physical effects, sources told the trade paper.
The comic book series was created by Potts and published between 1984 and 1992 by Epic Comics, the creator-owned arm of Marvel Comics. Potts was executive editor at Marvel Comics and editor-in-chief of the Epic Comics imprint.
Smith Says MIB Gang Is Back
Will Smith told TV Guide that there will be some familiar faces in the upcoming Men in Black 2, the sequel to his 1997 hit Men in Black. "The whole gang is back!" Smith told the magazine, referring to co-stars Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Fiorentino. "Oh and how they bring Tommy's character back! ... I can't let it out, but it's so brilliant." Jones' representative confirmed to TV Guide Online that the actor has signed on for the sequel.
Smith added, "It's great when a sequel can have a better script, because it is so rare that the second film is better than the first one. But this one is ridiculous! ... [Director] Barry Sonnenfeld has the script and is working on it now, but the [threatened actors' union] strike is kind of holding things up."
Smith said things are less certain for a follow-up to his 1996 blockbuster Independence Day. "We've been talking about it," Smith said, referring to ID4 writer Dean Devlin and director/writer Roland Emmerich. But, he added, "when you've got a movie that made that kind of money, rest assured somebody is talking about a sequel."
Black Gets Damned Role
Claudia Black, who plays Aeryn Sun on Farscape told fans that she will play the vampire Pandora in the upcoming Queen of the Damned movie. Black made the announcement on a Farscape bulletin board.
Queen of the Damned is based on Anne Rice's novel of the same name, as well as on The Vampire Lestat, another one of her Vampire Chronicles books. "For those of you who have read Anne Rice's books, be prepared for some filmic license and adaptation, if you know what I mean," Black posted. "While being loosely called the sequel, The Queen of the Damned is not the book which directly follows [Interview With the Vampire] and will not star Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt [who starred in the feature-film version of Interview]."
The movie stars singer Aaliyah as Queen Akasha and Stuart Townshend as the vampire Lestat. Michael Rymer will direct.
Oldman Bows Out Of Apes
Gary Oldman told Access Hollywood that he won't appear in Tim Burton's upcoming remake of Planet of the Apes, according to a report in TV Guide. "Sadly, they'll be making the movie without me," Oldman reportedly told the show.
Oldman added, "They don't want to pay anyone. They're cheap." Mark Wahlberg will star in Burton's remake of the 1968 SF classic movie.
Magic Deal Conjured Up
Italian production company Eagle Pictures has picked up the film rights to screenwriter Scott Steindorf's adaptation of Tom Tryon's best-selling supernatural novel Night Magic, Variety reported. Night Magic tells the story of a New York street magician who strikes a pact with the devil.
Night Magic was originally optioned by Paramount as a vehicle for Tom Cruise; Steindorf picked up the rights when that deal lapsed, Variety reported. The producers hope to attach a director by December and to begin casting the principal roles soon after.
'Tron 2.0'?
Yes, there is a sequel to Disney's Tron in the works.
As previously reported by Corona Coming Attractions, the original film's director, Steven Lisberger, has been rumored to have been working on the sequel called Tron 2.0.
Then, this week in an interview with VFXPro, the director confirmed something was up, saying, "It's been an interesting experience for me, certainly, to go back to that film after 20 years and really study it and see what it was about from this perspective. I learned a lot about my own film. It's going to be interesting on the next Tron to try to create some of the sensuousness that the first film had in terms of the graphics, but to do it in a digital way."
In addition, Corona is now reporting on rumors that Richard Jeffries (Silver Surfer, Neanderthal) is also working on the film's script.
Hitchhikers' Guide Movie Stalled
Director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, Austin Powers) is intent on getting a big screen version of Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on film, even though Disney placed the project in turnaround. While talking to Entertainment Weekly magazine, Roach explained the problems with making the film, saying, "It's quirky and expensive and it's hard-to-sell. It's a risk, but Austin Powers was rejected at every studio before New Line took it."
Roach also revealed that the film's budget would probably have to be in the $85-100M range.
Dern Also Back For Jurassic III
Laura Dern will reprise her Jurassic Park role of Ellie Sattler briefly in the upcoming sequel Jurassic Park III, according to the Popcorn U.K. Web site. Dern will appear in the opening sequence of the movie, which is currently in production in Hawaii and Los Angeles, the site reported. Joe Johnston is directing.
Dern would join her Jurassic Park cast mate Sam Neill, who is reprising the role of Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic III. New cast members include William H. Macy and Téa Leoni. Jeff Goldblum, who played chaotician Ian Malcolm in the previous two Jurassic Park films, won't have a role in the third movie, the site reported. Neither Dern nor Neill appeared in the second film, The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Berlinger May Remake Wicker
Award-winning documentarian Joe Berlinger, who just completed Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, is in talks with Artisan Entertainment to produce a remake of the 1973 cult film The Wicker Man. Speaking during a press briefing for the sequel to 1999's The Blair Witch Project, Berlinger said, "I'm talking to Artisan now about doing a remake of The Wicker Man, which I'm sure will be equally as controversial [as Blair Witch 2]."
The Wicker Man, directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, told the story of a police sergeant who investigates the disappearance of a young girl and discovers an island tribe of neo-pagans who practice disturbing rituals.
Berlinger, who directed the acclaimed documentaries Brother's Keeper and Paradise Lost with partner Bruce Sinofsky, said, "I'm just talking with them about it. You know I'll do something wacky ... to it."
'Scooby' Greenlight
Warner Bros. has finally given the live-action Scooby Doo movie project the greenlight. According to Variety columnist Michael Fleming, the film, which will be directed by Raja Gosnell (Never Been Kissed, Home Alone 3), will start production in February and will shoot in Australia.
The columnist reports that Gosnell finally signed on to the project only last week. There's no word on how that might affect the director's possible involvement with Fox's developing Fantastic Four movie project.
Odds and Ends: Short items not worthy of an article in their own right.
Fans lobbying to resurrect Star Trek character James T. Kirk have posted a fan-made "trailer" to the Bring Back Kirk Campaign Web site. The fans object to the way Kirk died in the film Star Trek: Generations and want Paramount to bring the character back on the big or small screen. If you are interested, go to http://www.bringbackkirk.com/
Fox Broadcasting has ordered a pilot script for Maiden NY, a fantasy television series about a graphic artist who draws a character who comes to life and moves in with him, Variety reported. Andrew Lazar (Space Cowboys) and Rand Ravich (The Astronaut's Wife) are developing the series.
Artists Production Group will develop V-8, a futuristic road movie based on a pitch by screenwriter Dario Scardapane (Quantico), Variety reported. V-8 tells the story of a messenger who must deliver a mysterious package. APG bought V-8 through its newest venture, a $200 million production pact with StudioCanal, Variety reported. Scardapane is a former writer for Vogue magazine.
Eastlant Sci-Fi Group - 2000-2001 Season Progress Report 7A.
This is a digest of recent Sci-Fi- and genre-related news as of 17 October 2000.
Shows Premiering in the Next Week:
The Following Shows have already been requested and will be taped:
Law & Order*
Oct 18
Nov 13
Law & Order: SVU*
Oct 20
Nov 13
Ally McBeal Season 4*
Oct 23
Nov 13
Frasier* (Double episode)
Oct 24
4 Eps - Nov 20 - 8 Eps - Dec 18
* - 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:
Sorry We Are Late
About an hour before we were ready to publish yesterday, the construction gang rebuilding the road at the end of our access road pulled the plug on our connection while they installed a new junction box. We were down until this morning, so this is about 15 hours late.
More on Bidpay
This has proved to be highly successful, and we have now had about 15 payments sent by Bidpay, allowing clients to use their own local credit cards to send money. However, we have had a couple of failures, mainly because the details need to be completed precisely and the slightest slip can cause the site to reject the payment.
Sarah Reeson who first brought this to our attention has gone so far as to put up a web page with examples of how to complete the details, so before anyone tries to sue Bidpay, have a look at:
http://www.gubbins.net/eastland/bidpay.htm
If you are unhappy about leaving blank spaces, several of our clients have put our name in the Auction box, with no problems, and one or two have even used either random numbers or even their phone numbers in the auction number box, so the site doesn't really seem to care, as long as they are not left blank.
The Name Game
In the past, we have cared little or nothing for any name that anyone wanted to call us, whether it be a simple typing error, or a full blown "you sons of bitches" from some outraged profiteer who we have just put out of business.
However, as we are now heading into the electronic world and as computers are so unforgiving, we thought it important to mention the spelling of our group's name.
Over the years, we have had every variation - Eastlant, Eastland, Easlant, Eastlan, you name it. We never bothered to make a fuss about any of these variations, as it really didn't matter. Shakespeare himself wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet".
It's no biggie, but it might be important if there is ever a problem with any form of electronic transfer. For example, we received one MO from Bidpay without any form of notification, as the sender misspelled our e-mail address, so please be aware that the name of the group, and it's main e-mail address is "Eastlant", which is a contraction of "The EASTern United States and AtLANTic Seaboard Science Fiction Convention Organizers' Caucus and Tape Trading Group".
New Season Casualties?
First the Scalpel….
As part of a last-minute overhaul of its troubled upcoming sitcom Cursed, NBC will exorcise all of the show's supernatural elements, including the titular hex, according to EW.com. The premiere date for show, starring Steven Weber, has been pushed back to Oct. 26 from Oct. 12, where it was slated to occupy the coveted post-Friends 8:30 p.m. Thursday time slot.
The network, unhappy with early episodes, fired co-creators Mitchel Katlin and Nat Bernstein, scrapped the existing series and brought in Friends executive producer Adam Chase and his colleague Ira Ungerleider to revamp the show. In the process, the network sought to change the series' original premise: that a man finds himself living under a supernatural curse after a bad blind date.
"We're removing the magical elements from the show," Ungerleider told EW.com. "You have to look at the curse more metaphorically. Everyone in life is cursed. It's just that life for him will be a little harder--and hopefully funnier--than it is for the rest of us."
And Then the Ax…
After only two episodes, the ax is hovering over Freakylinks, the confusing and untidy mystery/supernatural series from the creators of the Blair Witch Project.
Despite this week's TV advertising which describes the shows variously as "The new smash hit show…", or 'This season's smash hit…" right up to "the best new show of the season…", the premiere attracted viewing figures 15% lower than the first episode of last season's ill-fated Chris Carter series Harsh Realm. If that were not bad enough, the second episode lost 25% of the initial audience (and having seen the first episode, I'm not surprised - I didn't use the words "confusing and untidy" for nothing).
This show represents all that is bad about American TV. The idea is stupid, the [production team are amateurs and the acting is so wooden that if the show is canceled in the next few weeks, a few cigar store Indians could be out of a job. (I apologize to those who didn't understand that. It used to be traditional for a wooden statue of an American Indian Chief to stand outside a cigar store, much like the three balls signifies a pawnshop).
If I were a betting man, I would wager that this show will be gone by November sweeps, and will probably never return.
TV News:
TBS Orders Protectors Pilot
TBS ordered a two-hour pilot for The Protectors, a supernatural action series, from writers Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, Variety reported. Mel Gibson and Jet Li could executive produce any resulting series, the trade paper reported.
The martial-arts thriller would tell the story of a team of chosen people who battle a band of bad angels who influence human actions.
FCC Blasts Fox Over Angel
FCC chairman William Kennard blasted Fox's decision to air the premiere of Dark Angel in lieu of the first presidential debate, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "To my mind, this disregard for the American democratic process is unacceptable," Kennard said in a speech at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York.
"When we've reached the point where the networks feel they can show baseball and sci-fi flicks in lieu of critical presidential debates, then I believe it's high time that we rethink the terms of broadcasters' compact with the American people," Kennard said.
Fox aired the two-hour premiere of James Cameron's SF drama at 9 p.m. Oct. 3, replacing the debate in much of the country. NBC aired a baseball game. "We reached a new low last week, when two of the four major networks--NBC and Fox--chose to pre-empt the first debate of the most hotly contested presidential election in four decades for sports and entertainment programming," Kennard said.
Editor's Note: Strange that he should take that attitude. I thought this as a democracy, where people had free choice. The damned debate ran on at least 6 other channels, and as it turned out, Dark Angel drew an audience of over 17 million. Maybe if they got some decent candidates, or maybe if the audience didn't expect the same old rhetoric and bullshit, the viewers might be prepared to give up two hours of prime time to hear them speak.
TNT Orders Witchblade Series
Based on the success of its two-hour Witchblade original movie in August, TNT has ordered 11 episodes of a new series based on the Top Cow comic series of the same name, the network announced. Witchblade, starring Yancy Butler, is slated to premiere in the summer of 2001.
The Witchblade movie was the No. 1 original movie among adults 18-49 and 25-54 for the year to date, TNT reported. It was also the top movie for the week of Aug. 21-27, earning a 4.5 rating (3,491,000 households) and was the top movie among adults 18-49 (3,157,000) and among adults 25-54 (3,631,000).
Witchblade tells the story of New York detective Sara Pezzini (Butler), who has acquired a mysterious ancient gauntlet that confers supernatural powers. She uses it to battle the forces of evil. J.D. Zeik wrote the movie.
Witchblade is produced by Top Cow Productions and Halsted Pictures, in association with Warner Bros. Television. Ralph Hemecker (Millennium, The X-Files) will again direct, with Dan Halsted executive producing for Halsted Pictures and Marc Silvestri executive producing for Top Cow Productions.
Definitely No Season 7 For Xena
According to Cinescape, Studios USA has announced that this season, its sixth, will be the last for Xena: Warrior Princess. A Studios USA statement quoted Studios USA Domestic Television President Steve Rosenberg as saying "Xena has been an outstanding performer for us since its September 1995 debut, finishing No. 1 among all first-run syndicated dramas for the past four consecutive seasons, and we want to see it go out on top. The series has been nothing short of groundbreaking in redefining the female action hero on television and has inspired a host of imitators across the television landscape.
Its worldwide success is a testament to the vision and execution of Rob Tapert, his producing partner, Sam Raimi, executive producer R.J. Stewart, all the people at Renaissance and the work of the extraordinary cast led by Lucy Lawless. I can't say enough about Rob, who is one of the most incredibly talented and gifted producers I have had the pleasure to work with, or about Lucy, who is more than just the star of another TV show. She has taken her character to the level of a national cult hero."
Xena Executive Producer Rob Tapert added "Xena has been a labor of love for everyone associated with it and we've been unusually lucky in having had the freedom to explore anything we've ever wanted to try-- from high-action dramas to slapstick comedies to musicals. We're excited about the shows we're currently producing and we hope to deliver some of the best episodes we've ever done. Having said that, all of us on the show feel it will be time to move on to new creative challenges at end of this season.
We have been blessed with tremendously loyal fans all over the world and we look forward to bringing them new and exciting programs in the future."
But Cleo Survives
The syndicated SF television series Cleopatra 2525 will return in January, Studios USA Domestic Television president Steve Rosenberg told The Hollywood Reporter. Cleo, half of the studio's Back2Back Action hour, had been placed on indefinite hiatus.
Rosenberg also confirmed that Jack of All Trades, the other half of the hour, has been canceled.
When it returns, Cleo will expand to a full hour, Rosenberg said. It's unclear whether that means Cleo will enter into new production of hour-long episodes, or whether Studios USA will simply repackage two half-hour reruns of Cleo.
The majority opinion however is that Cleo will eventually be slotted in as a replacement for Xena, thus allowing Raimi and Tappert to keep a foot in the door while they develop other projects. This is vital for their survival in TV terms, as the industry has a very short memory. If they go one season without a show, getting back onto the schedules could be very difficult.
Roswell Ratings Not Good Enough for Full Season?
An article in Entertainment Weekly talks about how the ratings for Roswell may not be enough to convince the WB to give it a full season order. The ratings have been better than they were in the spring after the move to Monday nights, but there is still a significant drop-off from Roswell's lead-in, Seventh Heaven. This is all based on EW reporters and media consultants, however, so the show may be in better shape than they make it out to be.
As we so often say, we shall see!
Sciography Gone?
There's still no sign of the Babylon 5 edition of Sci-Fi's Sciography on their schedule (or any other editions of the show). I'm starting to hear rumors that Sci-Fi may be dropping the series already. Sounds like it may be time for some more letter writing at least so we can see the Babylon 5 edition.
ABC Eyeing Buffy?
ABC may be ready to stake a claim to The WB's hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, EW reported. The report revives previous speculation that the show, which just started its fifth season, may be considering a network jump should ongoing contract renewal talks go south between The WB and Twentieth Century Fox, which produces the series.
Sources told EW that ABC is taking a quiet interest in acquiring Buffy. "Since day one, [ABC Entertainment co-chair] Stu Bloomberg has been a fan of the show," a source close to the drama told EW. "He's been trying to get [Buffy creator] Joss Whedon to create a show for them." Buffy's ratings continue to improve: Viewership is up 12 percent among adults 18 to 34, and the show recently posted its best-ever performance among young women, according to Nielsen.
Fox may seek more money from The WB--$2 million per episode, up from the current $1 million--but that may be too rich for the network. Official talks between Fox and The WB don't begin until January.
Ironically, ABC lost its previous teen supernatural superhero--Sabrina the Teenage Witch--to The WB this season in a dispute over money.
However, in a statement shortly after the publication of the article, ABC denied the story. But then, who believes what a TV Exec tells them? Certainly not me.
WB Considering New Electra Woman
The WB network is considering a remake of the Sid and Marty Krofft series Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, about a pair of magazine reporters who battle crime as superheroes, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The original 1976 series was part of the Krofft Supershow Saturday morning lineup on ABC.
Writers Elisa Bell and Jeff Kline, along with Randy Pope of Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, are developing a new treatment of the show for The WB. The original show starred Deidre Hall and Judy Strangis.
Roswell In Trouble?
The WB's teen alien series Roswell needs to do better in the ratings if it is to survive, according to a report in EW. The show's second season premiere attracted 4.1 million viewers, better than its first-season average audience of 3.5 million, but below the level needed to continue, the magazine reported. Roswell airs at 9 p.m. on Mondays.
Last week's second episode drew 3.9 million viewers, which was a 39 percent decline from its lead-in, 7th Heaven. "The WB will be watching it closely over the next few months to determine its future," John Spiropoulos, associate director of audience research for Initiative Media, told EW. "To survive, it needs a much bigger audience than it's getting."
Roswell producers have been playing up the show's SF elements and playing down the teen romance to bring in more viewers. "We learned that simply having a human in love with an alien was not a potent enough story to build the entire show around," executive producer Jonathan Frakes said. "So the focus this season is more on the aliens."
Movie News:
Dimension Enlists Alien Legion
Dimension Films has bought the feature-film rights to Carl Potts' SF/action comic book series Alien Legion and hired J.D. Zeik (Ronin) to adapt the comic for the big screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series is described as "the French Foreign Legion in outer space" and tells the story of a young man disowned by his wealthy family who joins up with the "Alien Legion" to prove himself.
Potts will co-produce and Zeik will executive produce the film. Alien Legion is being developed as a live-action feature that will use both computer and physical effects, sources told the trade paper.
The comic book series was created by Potts and published between 1984 and 1992 by Epic Comics, the creator-owned arm of Marvel Comics. Potts was executive editor at Marvel Comics and editor-in-chief of the Epic Comics imprint.
Smith Says MIB Gang Is Back
Will Smith told TV Guide that there will be some familiar faces in the upcoming Men in Black 2, the sequel to his 1997 hit Men in Black. "The whole gang is back!" Smith told the magazine, referring to co-stars Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Fiorentino. "Oh and how they bring Tommy's character back! ... I can't let it out, but it's so brilliant." Jones' representative confirmed to TV Guide Online that the actor has signed on for the sequel.
Smith added, "It's great when a sequel can have a better script, because it is so rare that the second film is better than the first one. But this one is ridiculous! ... [Director] Barry Sonnenfeld has the script and is working on it now, but the [threatened actors' union] strike is kind of holding things up."
Smith said things are less certain for a follow-up to his 1996 blockbuster Independence Day. "We've been talking about it," Smith said, referring to ID4 writer Dean Devlin and director/writer Roland Emmerich. But, he added, "when you've got a movie that made that kind of money, rest assured somebody is talking about a sequel."
Black Gets Damned Role
Claudia Black, who plays Aeryn Sun on Farscape told fans that she will play the vampire Pandora in the upcoming Queen of the Damned movie. Black made the announcement on a Farscape bulletin board.
Queen of the Damned is based on Anne Rice's novel of the same name, as well as on The Vampire Lestat, another one of her Vampire Chronicles books. "For those of you who have read Anne Rice's books, be prepared for some filmic license and adaptation, if you know what I mean," Black posted. "While being loosely called the sequel, The Queen of the Damned is not the book which directly follows [Interview With the Vampire] and will not star Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt [who starred in the feature-film version of Interview]."
The movie stars singer Aaliyah as Queen Akasha and Stuart Townshend as the vampire Lestat. Michael Rymer will direct.
Oldman Bows Out Of Apes
Gary Oldman told Access Hollywood that he won't appear in Tim Burton's upcoming remake of Planet of the Apes, according to a report in TV Guide. "Sadly, they'll be making the movie without me," Oldman reportedly told the show.
Oldman added, "They don't want to pay anyone. They're cheap." Mark Wahlberg will star in Burton's remake of the 1968 SF classic movie.
Magic Deal Conjured Up
Italian production company Eagle Pictures has picked up the film rights to screenwriter Scott Steindorf's adaptation of Tom Tryon's best-selling supernatural novel Night Magic, Variety reported. Night Magic tells the story of a New York street magician who strikes a pact with the devil.
Night Magic was originally optioned by Paramount as a vehicle for Tom Cruise; Steindorf picked up the rights when that deal lapsed, Variety reported. The producers hope to attach a director by December and to begin casting the principal roles soon after.
'Tron 2.0'?
Yes, there is a sequel to Disney's Tron in the works.
As previously reported by Corona Coming Attractions, the original film's director, Steven Lisberger, has been rumored to have been working on the sequel called Tron 2.0.
Then, this week in an interview with VFXPro, the director confirmed something was up, saying, "It's been an interesting experience for me, certainly, to go back to that film after 20 years and really study it and see what it was about from this perspective. I learned a lot about my own film. It's going to be interesting on the next Tron to try to create some of the sensuousness that the first film had in terms of the graphics, but to do it in a digital way."
In addition, Corona is now reporting on rumors that Richard Jeffries (Silver Surfer, Neanderthal) is also working on the film's script.
Hitchhikers' Guide Movie Stalled
Director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, Austin Powers) is intent on getting a big screen version of Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on film, even though Disney placed the project in turnaround. While talking to Entertainment Weekly magazine, Roach explained the problems with making the film, saying, "It's quirky and expensive and it's hard-to-sell. It's a risk, but Austin Powers was rejected at every studio before New Line took it."
Roach also revealed that the film's budget would probably have to be in the $85-100M range.
Dern Also Back For Jurassic III
Laura Dern will reprise her Jurassic Park role of Ellie Sattler briefly in the upcoming sequel Jurassic Park III, according to the Popcorn U.K. Web site. Dern will appear in the opening sequence of the movie, which is currently in production in Hawaii and Los Angeles, the site reported. Joe Johnston is directing.
Dern would join her Jurassic Park cast mate Sam Neill, who is reprising the role of Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic III. New cast members include William H. Macy and Téa Leoni. Jeff Goldblum, who played chaotician Ian Malcolm in the previous two Jurassic Park films, won't have a role in the third movie, the site reported. Neither Dern nor Neill appeared in the second film, The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Berlinger May Remake Wicker
Award-winning documentarian Joe Berlinger, who just completed Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, is in talks with Artisan Entertainment to produce a remake of the 1973 cult film The Wicker Man. Speaking during a press briefing for the sequel to 1999's The Blair Witch Project, Berlinger said, "I'm talking to Artisan now about doing a remake of The Wicker Man, which I'm sure will be equally as controversial [as Blair Witch 2]."
The Wicker Man, directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, told the story of a police sergeant who investigates the disappearance of a young girl and discovers an island tribe of neo-pagans who practice disturbing rituals.
Berlinger, who directed the acclaimed documentaries Brother's Keeper and Paradise Lost with partner Bruce Sinofsky, said, "I'm just talking with them about it. You know I'll do something wacky ... to it."
'Scooby' Greenlight
Warner Bros. has finally given the live-action Scooby Doo movie project the greenlight. According to Variety columnist Michael Fleming, the film, which will be directed by Raja Gosnell (Never Been Kissed, Home Alone 3), will start production in February and will shoot in Australia.
The columnist reports that Gosnell finally signed on to the project only last week. There's no word on how that might affect the director's possible involvement with Fox's developing Fantastic Four movie project.
Odds and Ends: Short items not worthy of an article in their own right.
Fans lobbying to resurrect Star Trek character James T. Kirk have posted a fan-made "trailer" to the Bring Back Kirk Campaign Web site. The fans object to the way Kirk died in the film Star Trek: Generations and want Paramount to bring the character back on the big or small screen. If you are interested, go to http://www.bringbackkirk.com/
Fox Broadcasting has ordered a pilot script for Maiden NY, a fantasy television series about a graphic artist who draws a character who comes to life and moves in with him, Variety reported. Andrew Lazar (Space Cowboys) and Rand Ravich (The Astronaut's Wife) are developing the series.
Artists Production Group will develop V-8, a futuristic road movie based on a pitch by screenwriter Dario Scardapane (Quantico), Variety reported. V-8 tells the story of a messenger who must deliver a mysterious package. APG bought V-8 through its newest venture, a $200 million production pact with StudioCanal, Variety reported. Scardapane is a former writer for Vogue magazine.
posted by Catherine Jemma at 7:53 PM
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