'Grimm'—Extended Teaser

Via NBC, here’s an advance look at their new fantasy/horror series GRIMM. 

“Remember the fairy tales your parents used to tell you before bedtime? Well, those weren’t stories, they were warnings. Coming this Fall to NBC. Fridays 9/8c.”

GRIMM stars David  Giuntoli as police detective Nick Burckhardt, who discovers he’s the among the last of the “Grimms” who  can see the true nature of otherwise human-appearing beings, and are charged with the duty to protect people against them.
Created by David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf (BUFFY, ANGEL),  GRIMM is from Universal Media Studios.

NBC Picks Up 'Grimm' & 'Awake'

David Giuntoli
David Giuntoli

According to Deadline.com, NBC has picked up the fantasy/fairytale-touched police drama GRIMM for the fall season.  Created by David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf (ANGEL), it’s from Universal Media Studios.
GRIMM stars David  Giuntoli as police detective Nick Burckhardt, who discovers he can see the fantastical nature of otherwise human-appearing beings, and a “legacy” of having to protect people against them.  
Also green-lit was producer Kyle Killen’s (LONE STAR) AKAKE (formerly R.E.M.), about police detective for who the dream world and reality intermingle following a car crash.  Wilmer Valderrama (THAT 70’s SHOW) and Cherry Jones co-star in the 20th Century Fox Television production.
By all indications, it seems the network has decided to pass on David E. Kelley’s (ALLY  McBEAL) and Warner Brother’s Televisions’s re-imaging of  DC Comics WONDER WOMAN.

'Galactica: Blood & Chrome' — Art

BloodandChrome_1
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Via Blastr.com come these promising looking pre-production concept art shots for BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: BLOOD AND CHROME.
According to SyFy, the Universal Media Studios  two-hour pilot movie will focus on “the adventures of a young William Adama during the 10th year of the first Cylon war.”

“Ensign William Adama, barely in his 20’s and a recent Academy graduate, finds himself assigned to the newest battlestar in the Colonial fleet … the Galactica. The talented but hot-headed risk-taker soon finds himself leading a dangerous top secret mission that, if successful, will turn the tide of the decade long war in favor of the desperate fleet.”

Click to Enlarge
Click to Enlarge

See two more pictures at the link above.

SyFy and Universal Form Production Co.

From their Press Release:

“Syfy Ventures and Universal Pictures are joining forces toSyfy_LOGO create Syfy Films, a new film company that will develop and produce Syfy branded theatrical motion pictures to be distributed by Universal. The new entity will leverage Syfy’s genre expertise to produce human and relatable theatrical releases from the worlds of science fiction, fantasy, Supernatural and horror.
Beginning in 2012, Syfy Films will distribute one to two films a year through Universal Pictures.universal_studios_logo
The announcement was made today by Dave Howe, President Syfy and Chiller, Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of Original Programming, Syfy and Co-Head of Content for Universal Cable Productions, Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman Donna Langley.
“We know there is an incredible consumer appetite for genre content as proven by the top grossing box office films,” said Howe and Stern. “Partnering our brand with the theatrical talent of Universal Pictures, a premier motion picture company, will allow us to exploit our combined expertise and resources to create commercially successful quality films that have the potential to become great franchises for the whole company.”
“Syfy has been incredibly successful in finding ways to produce compelling entertainment for a specific audience,” said Fogelson and Langley. “Joining together to find moderately budgeted projects that we can develop using their expertise and their brand is a great opportunity for both of our companies.”
Mark Stern and Donna Langley will jointly oversee the operation. Universal and Syfy are currently looking for a production executive to run Syfy Films, which will be based on the Universal Lot.”

Universal and SyFy are already connected at the corporate level, with a number of the cable net’s series coming from Universal Media Studios and affiliated production companies.
The cable entity does offer “SyFy Original” features, but their role is usually limited to providing funding and sometimes general premise ideas to independent producers, such as with Roger Corman’s SHARKTOPUS.  It will be interesting to see if their features films aim a little higher.

Warehouse 13 Holiday Special — Clip

WAREHOUSE 13’s holiday episode is ‘Secret Santa’.

“Pete and Myka are called upon to hunt down a malevolent Santa Claus. Meanwhile, in time for Hanukkah, Artie and his estranged father, Isadore Weisfelt (guest star Judd Hirsch), reunite after 30 years.
Paul Blackthorne also guest stars.”

Apparently a stand-alone episode not referencing the season finale, WAREHOUSE 13’s ‘Secret Santa’ airs Tuesday, December 7th at 10:00 PM ET/PT.

Eureka Christmas Special

SyFy brings Christmas early in this week’s “Countdown to Christmas”. EUREKA airs O’ Little Town as its holiday offering.
Here’s a preview clip.

“Chris Parnell guest-stars as Dr. Noah Drummer, a scientist who decides to steal a dangerous experiment during the Global Dynamics holiday party, which puts the town in danger. Meanwhile, Allison is full of holiday cheer.”

Former regular Matt Frewer guests.
 EUREKA’s O’ Little Town airs Tuesday, December 7th at 9:00 PM ET/PT.

SyFy to Burn-off 'Caprica" in Jan.

caprica_cylon_StoltzCraig Engler, SyFy’s Digital’s General Manager and Senior Vice President announced via his Twitter  page that the cable network will burn off the last five episodes of BATLLESTAR GALACTIC spin-off prequel CAPRICA on Tuesday, January 4th, 2011.
SyFynetwork will broadcast the episodes in a marathon from 6:00 Pm to 11:00 PM ET/PT.
Seems like relatively shabby treatment of the ambitious but under-performing show,  but at least fans will get some kind of closure.  
Another prequel series BLOOD & CHROME, featuring the future Commander Adama during the first Cylon War will begin production by Universal Media Studios next year.
via Gateworld.net

'Caprica' Canceled, Pulled From Schedule

caprica_cylon_StoltzCAPRICA, SyFy’s spin-off sequel to BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, will not be renewed for a second season, and in a surprising move, has also been removed from the schedule, with five more completed episodes yet to be broadcast.
From SyFy’s Release:

Please note the following change to Syfy’s broadcast schedule:
The remaining first run episodes of Caprica – airing Tuesdays at 10/9c – will be removed from the schedule as of next Tuesday, November 2. These final five episodes of the season will be re-scheduled to air at a to be announced time in the first quarter of 2011, and will conclude the run of the series.

“We appreciate all the support that fans have shown for ‘Caprica’ and are very proud of the producers, cast, writers and the rest of the amazing team that has been committed to this fine series,” said Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of Original Programming, Syfy and Co-Head of Content for Universal Cable Productions. “Unfortunately, despite its obvious quality, ‘Caprica’ has not been able to build the audience.”

Sadly, I’m not surprised at the BSG’s spin-off’s cancellation. It’s a good-looking, well-acted show, but it failed the number one requirement of a TV series: to create characters that the audience want to return to see episode to episode.  Even if a show goes into dark and grim territory, viewers need to have some one to like or identify with,  a reason to remain faithful through rough patches.

CAPRICA gave us complicated, intense characters that were very difficult to warm up to, and the often over-arcing sense of tragedy and despair tended to drain any excitement from the episodes. However, I must note that the production was enormously successful in creating a realistic and convincing science fiction milieu. The planet Caprica  seemed like a real place, an alternate “Earth” turned just slightly askew, with the more Sci-Fi-ish elements like space-travel seeming perfectly mundane, no more exotic than say airplane travel in the 1960’s — though fraught with all the  danger and security-based annoyances of the present.
A TV show about corporate criminals, mobsters, religious fanatics and terrorism is a hard sell to begin with, being stuck with out any clear heroes to root for is a near impossible situation.  
 

Caprica: 'Retribution' – Teaser

In CAPRICA’s  “Retribution”:

“Things get tough for Lacy (Magda Apanowicz) when she doesn’t follow through on a bombing planned by Barnabas (James Marsters), and the Adama brothers (Esai Morales, Sasha Roiz) go after Daniel’s (Eric Stoltz) former colleagues.
Meanwhile, Amanda (Paula Malcomson) struggles to deal with all she’s lost.”

CAPRICA airs Tuesdays at 10:00 PM ET/PT on SyFy.

CAPRICA: Unvanquished – Mini-Review

CAPRICA returned from it’s “mid-season” break last night on SyFy.
caprica_cylon_StoltzThough it’s been months for the fans of the series, only three weeks have passed for the characters. I’d like to say it was worth waiting for, even though I’ve been at best a casual and inconsistent viewer. (I’d actually forgotten I’d ever watched any of it, until I started looking at material for a recent interview.) In any case, this premiere left me cold.
Cold is the operative word. Cold, bleak, depressing. As I was watching it, I realized the blunt fact about this program that I’d managed to forget: I don’t like any of the characters. I don’t really care what happens to them,they generate in me only a mild curiosity toward their actions and fates.
Make no mistake, this is a well-acted, handsomely mounted program from NBC-Universal and the producers of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. But it possesses little if any of that show’s charm and energy.
The direction, by series star Eric Stoltz, was often visually striking, not always something you see from actor/directors. There is an extended scene in which a terrorist attack by fanatical mono-theists is carried out, and that was really quite well done, the absolute high point of the slow, talky episode.
Characters seemed well drawn, even in scenes in which some rather silly “religious” costumes were worn.  It was interesting to see that Meg Tilly guest as the soft-spoken “Reverend Mother” of the One God religionists/terrorists.
It seemed bit cynical and heavy-handed to see how intimately the “Soldiers of the One” and the hierarchy of the Church are connected. Save for the single semi-appealing and relatively rational guest star—who was killed off, in an entirely predictable moment— they all seemed half-mad and morally depraved.
This cynicism and amoral outlook seemed to be a theme in the episode, in which formerly nominal “good guy” Joseph Adama (Esai Morales) appeared to have crossed over completely from the side of the law to the Tauron Ha’la’tha underworld. He presents Daniel Greystone with a truly grotesque choice that’s supposed to prove his sincerity about working with the Ha’la’tha, something that no sane man would do—nor would, I suggest,  any member of that supposedly family-oriented mob.
Graystone refuses, and this is supposed to be a sign that he’s not worthy to work with them to regain control of his business, something the ‘Godfather’ figure appeared very much to want, leaving me utterly confused at the purpose of the charade, unless it’s simply a writer device to make us feel how intense the scene is supposed to be, rather than actually writing something that made more sense.

Alessandra Torresani
Alessandra Torresani

Towards the end of the episode, it showed some more energy, in a scene in which the Zoe Graystone cyber-construct (Alessandra Torresani), now a ‘Dead Walker’,  faces off against some bowler-hatted thugs (apparently inspired by A CLOCKWORK ORANGE) in the VR New Cap City world. A bit too little, too late, I thought.
Not that I’m pushing for an action-heavy, slam-bang show. But I do want to care about what’s going on onscreen.
Your mileage may vary, faithful fans of the show might have found it a great deal more satisfying than I did. They should enjoy it while it lasts, because based on last night’s show, I have doubts it’s going to attract enough viewers to be renewed for another season.
CAPRICA: Unvanquished
Directed by Eric Stoltz, screenplay by Ryan Mottesheard.
CAPRICA airs Tuesdays at 10:00 PM ET/PT on SyFy.