We previously announced that James Marsters (Spike on BUFFY) was cast in the 90 minute pilot for SyFy THREE INCHES. Here’s SyFy’s press release (slightly edited).
“SyFy’s THREE INCHES has added an all-star cast to the 90-minute pilot, starring Noah Reid (Strange Days at Blake Holsey High). James Marsters (Smallville, Caprica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Andrea Martin (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, SCTV Network), Stephanie Jacobsen (Melrose Place, Battlestar Galactica: Razor), Antony Del Rio (The Super Hero Squad Show), Naoko Mori (Torchwood), Kyle Schmid (Blood Ties) and Brandon Jay McLaren (TRON: Legacy, Harper’s Island) will join the action-adventure/fantasy as series regulars. Alona Tal (Veronica Mars), Craig Eldridge (Covert Affairs) and Julian Richings (Supernatural) will guest star in the pilot episode. Noah Reid
In THREE INCHES, professional daydreamer and underachiever, Walter Spackman (Reid) is struck by lightning, and develops a unique “super” power — the ability to move any object using just his mind… but only a distance of three inches. He’s soon recruited by a covert team of superheroes each gifted with their own extraordinarily ordinary abilities. Together, the unlikely band of heroes proves that “super” is simply a state of mind.
Jace Alexander (Rescue Me, Prison Break) is directing the pilot, written by Harley Peyton (Twin Peaks), who also serves as executive producer.
Fox Television Studios is producing with Executive Producer Robert Cooper, through his company Landscape Entertainment. J.J. Jamieson heads up television for Landscape Entertainment.
James Marsters will star as Troy Hamilton, a former government agent who takes Walter in to his own team of “super” heroes who fight evil wherever they find it. He is a father figure to Walter.
Andrea Martin will play Belinda Spackman, Walter’s mother, a brutally honest, comically cynical force of nature that loves her son more than words can say and will do anything to protect him. Stephanie Jacobsen
Stephanie Jacobsen plays Watts, a beautiful “super” hero who has the ability to shape the emotions of anyone she meets at close range.
Antony Del Rio will portray The Human Smell, an adventurous, often irritating teenager who is able to emit a pungent gas through his pores that disables anyone nearby.
Kyle Schmid will play Brandon, the “super” hero team leaderwith all the cockiness and strength of a true action hero, minus the superpowers. He is the opposite of Walter and sees most of the team as freaks. Naoko Mori in TORCHWOOD
Naoko Mori plays Annika, a woman who can duplicate and broadcast any sound she hears.
Brandon Jay McLaren plays Macklin Sportello, Walter’s best friend, a big talker with not a lot to back it up. His relationship is tested when Walter begins to change, but he’s the friend that will always be there for him.
Alona Tal will guest star in the pilot as Lily Theroux, the kind, pretty girl next door and Walter’s long time crush who loves him but “not in that way.”
Craig Eldridge will guest as Todd, part of Troy’s team of “super” heroes who can see two minutes into the future at the cost of a massive disabling headache.
Julian Richings will also appear as a guest star playing Ethan, a man with the ability to communicate with and control the insect kingdom.
THREE INCHES, from Fox Television Studios and Landscape Entertainment, will begin production in Toronto, Canada on Monday, August 30.”
Is it just me, or does this have more than a little bit of an MYSTERY MEN vibe? And “J.J. Jamieson heads up television for Landscape Entertainment”? Oh, wait, it’s J. Jonah JAMESON that runs the Daily Bugle, right?
Actor James Marsters (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) revealed on his Twitter Feed that he’s been cast as the leader of a team of less than impressive “superheroes” in the SyFy pilot THREE INCHES.
The three inches refers to the lead character Walter’s ability to to move and object with his mind — provided that it’s three inches or less.
James Marster’s character’s name is Troy, and it’s as yet unknown what his “super powers” might be.
The screenplay for the 90-minute project was written by Harley Peyton (TWIN PEAKS), and will be directed
by Jace Alexander (ROYAL PAINS).
SyFy has announced their fall scedule.
From their Press Release, the following scripted shows are listed:
“STARGATE UNIVERSE — Season 2 Premieres Tuesday, September 28, at 9PM (NEW NIGHT) — Stargate Universe returns with 20 all-new episodes for season two. SGU follows a band of soldiers, scientists and civilians, who must fend for themselves as they are forced through a Stargate when their hidden base comes under attack. The desperate survivors emerge aboard an ancient ship, which is locked on an unknown course and unable to return to Earth. In the new season, the team fights to take back the ship from the Lucian Alliance, who transported themselves on board Destiny with plans to take control. The team also discovers their true mission. It’s not about going home, it’s about going further.
Season two guest stars include Robert Knepper (Heroes, Prison Break) and Julie McNiven (Supernatural, Mad Men) for a multi-episode arc in which they portray members of the Lucian Alliance. Also, series star Robert Carlyle makes his directorial debut in episode 4, Pathogen. Robert Cooper and Brad Wright, of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, serve as executive producers and writers. SGU is produced and distributed by MGM Worldwide Television Distribution. SANCTUARY — Season 3 Premieres Tuesday, September 28 at 10pm (NEW NIGHT) — Syfy’s original series Sanctuary returns this fall with an all-new 20-episode season. Season three picks up from the adrenaline-fueled action of season two, which raised the stakes for the brilliant scientist Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping, pictured) and her team, who use their unique combination of instinct, medicine and cutting-edge science and technology to find and aid a clandestine population of beings that the world refuses to believe exist.
In season three, the team will face a host of new and daunting abnormals, embark on adventures with both new and familiar faces and unravel some of the secrets woven through the Sanctuary’s rich past.
This season will also feature a two-episode arc for guest-star Polly Walker (Caprica, Rome). Sanctuary also stars Robin Dunne as forensic psychiatrist Dr. Will Zimmerman, Agam Darshi as the quick-witted Kate Freelander, Ryan Robbins as tech wiz Henry Foss and Christopher Heyerdahl as the sinister John Druitt.
One of television’s most groundbreaking series, shooting almost entirely on green screen, Sanctuary was the first television series in North America to use the RED camera exclusively. Its stunning visual effects were nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award. Created by Damian Kindler (Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis), Sanctuary is produced in association with Syfy and is distributed by Tricon Films and Television. Season three of the series is executive produced by Damian Kindler, Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood, Keith Beedie and Tricon Films. WAREHOUSE 13/EUREKA HOLIDAY SPECIALS — Premieres in December — For the first time, Syfy’s two most popular original scripted series will debut special stand-alone holiday episodes. On Warehouse 13, Pete (Eddie McClintock) and Myka (Joanne Kelly) are called upon to hunt down a malevolent Santa Claus — who terrorizes guest star Paul Blackthorne — while Artie (Saul Rubinek) and his estranged father, Isadore Weisfelt (guest star Judd Hirsch), reunite after 30 years.
On Eureka, Global Dynamics staffer Dr. Noah Drummer (Chris Parnell/Saturday Night Live) nearly absconds with a volatile experiment. The halls get seriously decked when Dr. Drummer’s unstable hydrogen crystal starts to grow at a frightening rate. Carter (Colin Ferguson) and Henry (Joe Morton) attempt to deal with the potentially explosive crystal, but before long the true scope of the problem is revealed. Former series regular Matt Frewer also returns as Taggert.
Both series are produced and distributed by Universal Cable Productions. Jack Kenny (The Book of Daniel) is executive producer and showrunner of Warehouse 13. Co-creator Jaime Paglia and Bruce Miller are executive producers of Eureka.”
Also listed as a scripted show: WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN — Syfy Series Premiere Friday, October 1, at 8PM — “The ultimate in imagination-based sports entertainment.” Two hours of this — guess I’ll be watching the CW’s SMALLVILLE and SUPERNATURAL.
Well at least, they’re admitting the scripted nature of the events. My father used to watch the wrestlers rehearse at Madison Square Garden when he was assigned there for a time as a NYC police officer. Thankfully, he didn’t reveal this information to us when we were kids, watching Wrestling on UHF television. I might never have discovered the Mexican horror movies that aired afterwards, had I known.
Check out Blastr.com for details on their “reality” shows (some are real enough—others, I suspect somewhat less than fully so) and movie premieres, including Roger Corman’s SHARKTOPUS.
Movies with giant monsters are making a comeback in a big way. But what would a real-life Kraken look like? That’s the basis behind the new SyFy series BEAST LEGENDS, a show that takes a look at the real-world science and implications of such monsters. Check out the official press release below:
SYFY PREMIERES BEAST LEGENDS
NEW SERIES INVESTIGATES LEGENDARY CREATURES FROM KRAKENS TO FIRE DRAGONS
DEBUTS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, AT 10PM
New York, New York – August 17, 2010 – Syfy will premiere Beast Legends, a new six-part series which journeys around the world using scientific data to reconstruct what mythological monsters, from Krakens and Griffins to Fire Dragons, would have looked like.
The debut of Beast Legends on Thursday, September 9, at 10PM (ET/PT) follows the fourth season return of Destination Truth at 9PM (ET/PT).
In each of the hour-long episodes, Beast Legends uncovers historical and eyewitness accounts by zeroing in on archaeological and other physical evidence to assemble the most accurate picture possible of these monsters, from where they might have lived to how they would have behaved.
Beast Legends then moves to the ‘Beast Lab’ to build the creature, first as initial sculpts and wire-frame forms, before finally bringing it to life in stunning 3D CGI.
The investigations are conducted by the “Beast Seekers,” an expert team of specialists:
Stephen Leonard: Adventurer and Veterinary Surgeon based in Bristol, England
Kathryn Denning: Myth expert, anthropologist, archaeologist and professor at Toronto’s York University.
Scott Edwards: Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Ornithology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.
Francis Manapul: Philippine-born, now Toronto-based, renowned comic book artist.
This season, Beast Legends will explore:
The Kraken – Thursday, September 9, at 10PM (ET/PT)
The Beast Seekers investigate the sailor’s legend of the Kraken, a terrifying multi-tentacled sea monster that snatches men from ships’ decks and crushes entire vessels, sending them to the ocean bottom.
Fire Dragon – Thursday, September 16, at 10PM (ET/PT)
The Beast Seekers venture deep into the primeval forests of Poland in search of the truth behind ancient legends of a terrifying, fire-breathing dragon called Smok.
Megajaws – Thursday, September 23, at 10PM (ET/PT)
The Beast Seekers travel to Fiji to learn about Dakuwaqa, an all-seeing, all-knowing Shark God – a huge beast that can change shape at will.
Winged Lion – Thursday, September 30, at 10PM (ET/PT)
The Beast Seekers explore Mongolia’s Altai (Golden) Mountains in search of a massive, legendary creature with the head of an eagle, razor-sharp talons and the body of a gigantic lion – the vicious beast known as the Griffin.
Wildman of Vietnam – Thursday, October 7, at 10PM (ET/PT)
The Beast Seekers explore the remote, unexplored jungles of Vietnam in search of the Wildman, a giant, hairy, bloodthirsty beast similar to North America’s Bigfoot or Sasquatch.
Bird Monster – Thursday, October 14, at 10PM (ET/PT)
In the ancestral Navajo lands of New Mexico, the Beast Seekers investigate the legend of a giant bird predator the size of a small airplane.
Executive Producers of Beast Legends are Pauline Duffy and Elliott Halpern. Series Director is Robin Bicknell. For Canwest: Production Executive Nick Crowe and V-P, Factual Content, Michael Kot. Beast Legends is produced by yap films in association with Canwest, Syfy and BBC Worldwide, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and Rogers Cable Network Fund, and with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit.
Yap films, founded by Elliott Halpern and Pauline Duffy, is a highly respected independent production company with production offices in Toronto, Canada and Leeds, U.K. Along with Beast Legends, the company’s current and upcoming projects include Fire Jammers; Ancients Behaving Badly; Dive Detectives; Storm Planets, and the animated feature March of the Dinosaurs.
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 96 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)
SyFy has renewed their SF “dramedy” EUREKA for a fifth season. Ratings for the fourth season has been high since the premeire on July 9th, averaging over three million viewers — a high number for the cable station.
From their Press Release:
“Eureka seems like any other cozy, Pacific Northwest town, but is actually a secret community of geniuses assembled by the government to conduct top-secret research. What they’ve unwittingly created is a place where anything imaginable can happen… and does.
Eureka stars Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Joe Morton, Erica Cerra, Neil Grayston, Niall Matter, James Callis and features Jordon Hinson. Co-creator Jaime Paglia and Bruce Miller are Executive Producers.”
Also mentioned was an additional, stand-alone holiday special. SyFy has also commisioned a WAREHOUSE 13 Christmas-themed episode. See item at Blastr.com
After SyFy brought Series 2 of BBC’s MERLIN to U.S. audiences this past spring, UPI is reporting that the show will be remaining with SyFy for Series 3. SyFy Vice President of programming and original movies Chris Regina said:
“The enchanting imagination of Merlin proved very popular with our audience and we’re delighted to bring the series back for a third season on Syfy.”
Meanwhile FME North America senior VP of program distribution Lisa Honig said:
“We are extremely excited about the next season of Merlin returning on Syfy, following the success we had with the second series. We look forward to growing the audience and feeding the appetite of the devoteesdevotees who already love the program, the characters and the brand.”
Syfy has announced additional casting for its previously announced series pilot ALPHAS. Azita Ghanizada (GHOST WHISPERER) will play a character named Rachel who has the ability to ” ‘hyper-intensify’ her senses, one at a time—vision, hearing, taste, and smell.”
“Her mother and father—who are conservative parents—thought she was cursed and discouraged this unique and amazing ability. Overly sensitive—literally—Rachel has always felt ashamed and rejected. With Dr. Rosen’s (David Strathairn) help and encouragement, she’s learning to appreciate her skill and grow increasingly confident and adventurous.”
Callum Keith Rennie —Cylon Leoben on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA—will play Don Wilson, “a Washington bureaucrat, and Lee Rosen’s superior and contact inside the Pentagon.”
SyFy’s press release describes the pilot as a “wry action-adventure project”. This kind of qualifier crops up so frequently that I have to wonder if writers and producers have some kind of fear of actually playing super-heroic productions straight. Are they afraid no one will take them seriously if they take their own productions seriously? Or is it a basic distrust and/or disdain for the material?
The 90-minute pilot in currently in production in Toronto, Canada.
“Syfy today announced it has commissioned a scripted pilot from Bryan Fuller, creator of DEAD LIKE ME and PUSHING DAISIES.
The show will be based upon the popular book The Lotus Caves by John Christopher, about colonists who rebel against the rigidity of their lunar colony by exploring beyond its proscribed boundaries and discovering a series of caves ruled by a super-intelligent, alien species. Jim Grey (IN PLAIN SIGHT, PUSHING DAISIES) will co-write the script with Fuller.”
John Christopher is one of the pseudonyms of UK author Samuel Youd.
Under the Christopher name he also published the Tripods books, adapted by the BBC and Austrailia’s Seven Network in 1984-85 as TRIPODS. Like that book series, The Lotus Caves novel also featured teenage protangonists. It was first published in 1969.
What this announcement might mean for the previously announced Walden Media feature film is unknown as yet.
In this week’s EUReKA, Carter and Kevin head off on a camping trip, but end up dealing with a problem that threatens their excursion in Momstrosity.
EUREKA airs Fridays at 9:00 PM ET/PT on SyFy.
Movies with giant monsters are making a comeback in a big way. But what would a real-life Kraken look like? That’s the basis behind the new SyFy series BEAST LEGENDS, a show that takes a look at the real-world science and implications of such monsters. Check out the official press release below:
