Good news for FRINGE fans.  Entertainment Weekly is reporting that the Fox television  sci-fi procedural has been renewed for a third season.  This show had been on the bubble and nobody could say for certain whether or not the show would be back.  Now it appears that those questions have been answered.

Season 3 is a good threshold for a network sci-fi show.  Not many make it this far.  I suppose the next question is for the freelance TV writers:  Is it safe to spec FRINGE now?  Heck, I just might take a shot at it.

So what do you all think about this show?  Love it?  Hate it?

What would you change or like to see more of?  Sound off.

New episodes begin April 1.  In the meantime, enjoy the gag reel after the break. Read more

Angry with NBC and their piss poor Olympics coverage? Come on in and vent.

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Behold the glory of SHARKTOPUS.

Roger Corman has produced nearly 400 films in his 50+ year career including such B-movie classics as ROCK N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL with the Ramones, DEATH RACE 2000 and GRAND THEFT AUTO.

He’s credited with providing the first big career breaks for Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Nicholson, Joe Dante, Sylvester Stallone, Ron Howard, Paul Bartel, Robert DeNiro, Curtis Hanson, John Sayles, Dennis Hopper, James Cameron, Johnathan Demme…  Am I forgetting anyone?  Oh yeah, Martin Scorsese.  That’s right, ol’ Marty once called this guy, SIR.

He has directed over 50 films of his own including LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, VON RICHTHOFEN AND BROWN, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS and the woefully underrated FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND.

And now, Roger Corman is getting set to bring us SHARKTOPUS, courtesy of Syfy. Read more

Jeff Zucker has HEROES hoisted from the ceiling, bound with chains, dangling over a buzzsaw carefully balanced over a pool of hungry piranhas…

“Hahaha!  Fools!  This will be the end of you!  But before I feed you to my pets, let me tell you my nefarious plan, in full detail…  First, I will clone Jay Leno…”

Last night, NBC aired the season finale of HEROES.  There is a lot of talk that this might be the end of the show.  If this is the case, then I would have to say that it went out with somewhat of a whimper.

Sorry, but it’s true.

The once mighty show has seen a sharp drop in viewership since it’s auspicious beginnings.  Their once loyal fans appear to have grown ambivalent over the show’s direction.  It seems many just want the show to go away before it taints their enjoyment of the season one DVD set any further.

Will NBC oblige them and take this show out to the shed?  Or will they make us sit and watch them whine for another year about how they are different and don’t fit in?

Is there a third option?  How about they let this show go out with the dignity of a real ending?

If you haven’t yet seen the episode and would like to, you can watch it here after the jump and get some of my thoughts on the future of the show, if there is one. Read more

How I love hyperbole.

There is a lot of buzz about last Monday’s episode of CHUCK called “Chuck Vs. The Nacho Sampler.”   Now while I’m not sure if it’s the greatest episode ever, I will say that it was some of the best writing I’ve seen for this show; the last 10 minutes being especially good.  In fact, this episode had some good writing lessons to be learned if you are someone who writes spec scripts.

Spec writers are often told that their script samples must be new, fresh, dynamic and offer different takes on an already existing premise.  Then they tell you you’re not allowed to change anything…  Okay.

It’s a paradox yes, but there were some things in this episode of CHUCK that could provide great examples of just how to pull it off.

If you write television spec scripts, especially if you might spec CHUCK, you can do worse than to check it out.   See what the writers of CHUCK just did with their own show.

Watch the whole episode and read my take after the jump.

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As part of their continued effort to rebrand themselves, Syfy (formerly known as The Sci-Fi Channel) has expanded their Saturday night movie lineup to include at least 5 more updated fairy tales in the coming months.

If you have seen the previous productions of TINMAN and ALICE, then you generally know what to expect.

Coming soon will be an update to Hansel and Gretel in which Hansel comes back to the haunted forest for revenge… No, I’m not kidding. It’s on the page. Also planned is an update to Little Red Riding Hood, focusing on her wolf hunting descendants. And are you ready for THE 8TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD?

Syfy is one of the few remaining networks still airing made-for-TV movies on a regular basis. If you’ve seen some of these movies, then you know most of them are delightfully awful. Sometimes consciously so. Sometimes not. Syfy has effectively preserved the “B movie,” and I applaud them for this.

The first of the new updated fairy tales to air will be BEAUTY AND THE BEAST on Feb. 27.

Read James Hibbard’s original THP story here, and don’t forget to set your DVR’s for some of the most hilariously bad, modern-day, grindhouse movies you will ever see.

Thanks Syfy. And please change your name back to Sci-Fi.

As for me, I would love to see an update to Pinocchio where he becomes real boy and has to go out and get a job. He tries acting, has a tough go, then ends up a prostitute on the strip. Or perhaps a hit man. Who knows? How about Rumplestiltskin II: The Lawsuit? Or Twenty MORE Thousand Leagues Under The Sea?

Read Syfy’s press release after the bump.

And while you’re at it, let me know. What kinds of updated fairy tales would you like to see? Read more

Last night Syfy aired the pilot for CAPRICA, launching their new science fiction/drama series and spin-off of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.  Caprica takes place 58 years before the Cylon invasion, and tells the story of how and why they were created in the first place.  Ronald D. Moore and Jane Espenson are executive producers.  Music by the amazing Bear McCreary.  Stars Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales and Alessandra Torresani as redhead Stoltz’ impossibly Italian looking daughter.

This pilot was first released last year and is available on DVD. Starting next week, CAPRICA begins in earnest with the first new episodes of the series.

Having seen it, I can tell you it’s not so much space opera, and much more classic science fiction. The cerebral nature of the storyline and the way it blurs the lines between identity and humanity would make even Phillip K. Dick proud. Can’t wait to see how it develops.

If you have not yet seen the pilot, or if you want to see it again, you can watch it right here after the jump. Just click on “read more” below.

Enjoy.

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Great little tidbit from The Hollywood Reporter.

They have put together a pilot blog that tracks all the developments leading up to television’s “Pilot Season.”  Tracking which pilots are greenlit, which are picked up and which ones might actually go to series.  They’ve been doing this for a couple of years now.  Used to be that you had to read the trades and pick out all this info yourself.  But now it’s all bunched together in a fragrant bouquet of future television goodness.

This is how your favorite (even your not so favorite) TV shows are born, folks.

The producers pitch their show ideas to a network, and a network can order a “pilot,” or first episode of a series as a way to see how it will all play out and whether or not the show works.  Some pilots actually make it on the air where you get to see them.  But that practice is not as common as it once was.  Most pilots are evaluated in house or through linited screenings.  Sadly, some pilots get shot, edited and then dropped by the network to never be seen again.  But pilot season is where these shows see their first life.

If you are a fan of TV shows, this is a chance to take an inside look at how they get on to the air, and just how competitive that process is.

If you work in production and are looking for a job, this blog will give you hints on who to call and where you can send your resume (and if the show gets picked up, you have a shot at some steady work).

If you are a writer, you can get a heads up as to what shows may be coming, and what you may be able to write for.  You can target these shows early, and know what specs to have ready for when any of these shows get picked up for writer’s “staffing season.”

not to be outdone, Variety has a pilot watch section too.

You can find it here. No flash.  Just links to their own articles, indexed for your convenience.

James Hibberd at The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Fox is developing an American version of the BBC’s Dr. Who spinoff, Torchwood.

No pilot has been ordered yet, but according to the story, Russel T. Davies is developing a script with BBC worldwide productions.  There is also speculation that John Barrowman, the actor who plays the lead character Captain Jack Harkness, would reprise his role as Torchwood’s indestructible leader in the U.S. version.  What is not clear is whether the Fox version would be a reboot, or a sequel with Torchwood being transferred to America (In their last BBC story, their Cardiff HQ was destroyed).

There is also a post script to the artcle that suggests Fox is also interested in a U.S. version Dr. Who (becasue those have gone over so well in the past).  And also a tidbit about David Tenant’s new project “Rex is Not Your Lawyer” for NBC.

This is another series I am really looking forward to seeing.

For what is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated TV programs in memory, Hanks, Spielberg, Playtone and Dreamworks (Band of Brothers) have turned their attention to WWII in the Pacific and follow 3 Marines through the entire campaign.  This epic, 10 part mini-series is confirmed by HBO to debut on March 14, 2010.  “Read more,” for the press release and trailery goodness. Read more