Stars of Smallville, Supernatural, Fringe, V and Vampire Diaries at Comic-Con

By David Bentley Coventry Telegraph

THE Warner Bros Television Group is aiming to make the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con (July 22-25) its biggest ever.

Stars and producers of The Big Bang Theory, Chuck, Fringe, Human Target, Nikita, Smallville, Supernatural, V, The Vampire Diaries, Children’s Hospital, Unnatural History, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, MAD and Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated are set to appear at the event later this month.

There will be panels, screenings, signings, video game demos and giveaways.

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Stargate Universe Season 2 Will be Tougher, Darker, More Depressing

By Nix at Sci Fi Cool

As if being forced to sit through a single episode’s worth of storyline stretched out unmercifully into three draaaaaaaaaagging episodes, as well as a season ending cliffhanger wasn’t “tough”, “dark”, and “depressing” enough, the “Stargate: Universe” producers are promising even harder times for our stranded heroes in the show’s upcoming Season 2.

Cooper revealed that Everett Young, played by Louis Ferreira, will “feel some pain” in the new episodes

He explained: “After everything he’s been through – and it gets worse for him initially at the beginning of season two – it’s impossible to imagine that a person wouldn’t go to a very dark place at least for a short period of time.”

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David Anders Enters ‘Warehouse 13′

By Alan Stanley Blair at Airlock Alpha

“Warehouse 13″ has quite a selection of special guest stars for its upcoming sophomore season, including a minor “Firefly” reunion, a crossover with “Eureka” and a few established faces from the science-fiction genre.

Now, the series has another name to be excited about: David Anders.

Fresh off of stints in “The Vampire Diaries” and “24″ this season, Anders has signed on for a guest role on the popular Syfy series. And, just like all his other roles, no one is really sure who he is or what side he is even batting for.

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The 10 most disappointing female characters in sci-fi TV

by Sarah Jayne Brereton at Den of Geek

Surely I can get an ‘amen’ from my geek sisters when I point out that we watch sci-fi too? So, why are there so few good female characters in science fiction television?

Certainly, things have improved slightly in recent years, but for every Kara Thrace there are a slew of disappointing female characters in her wake. At best, most female characters on sci-fi shows are annoyingly stereotypical and, at worst, are introduced as pointless eye candy.

Anastasia “Dee” Dualla – Battlestar Galactica: Dualla had the potential to be such a rich and empowering character. On a show that otherwise boiled over with strong female images, from Starbuck to President Roslin, there would have been more than enough room to bring to the foreground the strong black female character that is so clearly lacking from sci-fi television. It would be refreshing to watch the development of a black female character that could be given more to do on a show than merely repeat out loud what she has heard in earphones.

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LOST Analysis Whatever Happened Vs. Alternate Time Line Debate

by Christina Dagnelli at Suite101

Fans of LOST have been debating the element of time travel most of season five. Are they in an alternate time line or is this what always happened?

Since Jack started yelling “We have to go back” many have wondered why. Why go back, for what reason? There is no definitive answer to that question but there are many possibilities.

Could this be a big loopy circle-and the reason they needed to go back is because they had parts to play in Dharma 1977-because that is what always happened? Or is it, they are just on this crazy ride, they were never in 1977 originally and there is no known answer to why they have to come back.

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Is anyone going to Comic Con this year? What (or who) are you looking forward to seeing the most?

Tantalizing Hints For Doctor Who Season Six, Supernatural Season Six And Fringe Season Three!

By Charlie Jane Anders at io9

Who’s Doctor Who’s time-traveler going to meet next year? How does Supernatural follow that slam-bang conclusion? What shocking choice could await us on Fringe? Plus John Carter Of Mars, Spider-Man, Splice, Jonah Hex, The Gates, Chuck, V and Lost spoilers.

Joanna Page, star of Gavin And Stacey, is going to play a “long-lost relative” of the Doctor in a couple of episodes of season six — and it could turn into a series regular deal, possibly. This is via the Daily Star, one of Britain’s notoriously reliable tabloids, so grain of salt indicated. And yet, I wonder — could the “long lost relative” be Susan Campbell, nee Foreman?

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5 Lessons TV Should Learn After Losing Heroes

By Scott Thill at Wired

NBC finally canceled Heroes, a move early adopters of the ultimately underwhelming superhero show probably saw coming soon after Season 2.

But all is not lost. Heroes‘ meteoric rise and ignominious fall leave behind much residual data for those looking to build faster, stronger, smarter and more resilient programming. Here are five ways upcoming NBC show The Cape — or any other superhero series knocking around television executives’ heads — can avoid an early demise.

1) Let Heroes Be Heroes

Murky moral dilemmas over newfound powers are 20th-century concerns. The new millennium’s heroes love their powers, and they’re not afraid to use them. Last century, comics like Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and the films they spawned like Tim Burton’s Batman psychoanalyzed their characters deeply. Which means this millennium’s savvy viewers have already been there and done that.

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Nikita is back to kick ass on The CW; CBS kills Ghost

By Kathie Huddleston at Sci Fi Wire

The CW jumped on the spy bandwagon for the fall and has green-lighted Nikita as a series, starring uber-hot martial-arts expert Maggie Q (Live Free or Die Hard) in a reboot/follow-up to USA’s beloved spy-fi show La Femme Nikita.

McG (Terminator: Salvation) will executive-produce the remake, along with Peter Johnson from Warner Brothers TV and Wonderland Productions.

In other TV news, CBS is officially canceling its Friday-night staple, Ghost Whisperer, in a surprise move. Meanwhile, its companion series, Medium, was renewed, reported The Hollywood Reporter’s Live Feed. Both shows suffered a serious tumble in the ratings, just like most shows that aired on Fridays this season.

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My mom will be SO disappointed when she hears about Ghost Whisperer. But I’ll check out Nikita, at least the pilot.

What do you think about the critique of Heroes? What do you think is coming up in Doctor Who?

NBC Finally Canceled ‘Heroes’ TV Show

ontheflix.com: NBC finally canceled “Heroes” TV show. According to “Entertainment Weekly,” NBC finally got on the bandwagon, and did what I could see coming for years. That’s right. They’ve canceled their used-to-be mega hit sci-fi show “Heroes.” Entertainment Weekly says that “Heroes” will definitely not be back for a fifth season. It only averaged 6.5 million viewers this past season.

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Smallville Season 10 Premiere Sci-Fi Show Updates

Smallville Season 10 premiere: Smallville Season 10 will also be placed on the Guinness World Record for longest consecutive running US Sci-Fi TV show. This record currently belongs to Stargate SG-1.

CW also announces that Smallville Season 10 will be composed of 22 episodes and will explore a relatively new plot in the storyline of Superman. Smallville Season 10 might or might not be seeing Allison Mack playing as Chloe, however executive producer Brian Peterson is optimistic that she will be back.

(source)

7 New Genre Shows Coming to Network TV This Fall

io9.com:

The Cape, starring Dave Lyons (NBC)

Official synopsis: Lyons [plays] Vince Faraday, an honest cop on a corrupt police force, who finds himself framed for a series of murders and presumed dead. He is forced into hiding, leaving behind his wife, Dana (Jennifer Ferrin, “Life on Mars”) and son, Trip (Ryan Wynott, “Flash Forward”). Fueled by a desire to reunite with his family and to battle the criminal forces that have overtaken Palm City, Faraday becomes “The Cape” his son’s favorite comic book superhero — and takes the law into his own hands.
Additional cast: James Frain (“The Tudors”) plays billionaire Peter Fleming – The Cape’s nemesis – who moonlights as the twisted killer named Chess. Keith David (Death at a Funeral) plays Max Malini, the ringleader of a circus gang of bank robbers who mentors Vince Faraday and trains him to be The Cape; Summer Glau (“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”) plays Orwell, an investigative blogger who wages war on crime and corruption in Palm City; and Dorian Missick (“Six Degrees”) is Marty Voyt, a former police detective and friend to Faraday.
Cheese factor: Well, he turns himself into a superhero from his son’s comic books. So…

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Fringe Is Becoming The Show That Lost Wishes It Could Be

io9.com: J.J. Abrams has unleashed two television shows about faith and science and strange reflections of reality. Fringe will never be as popular as Lost, but it has the potential to be far greater, as it proved last night. Spoilers below…

Thing is, I still love Lost a lot, and I’m still clinging to hope that the whole “two thousand years of sibling rivalry” storyline culminates in something amazing. But I can’t remember the last time Lost made me feel quite as exhilarated as last night’s Fringe. Maybe it was partly because Fringe managed to work so many character beats and emotional moments into an hour, it felt like enough drama for ten Lost episodes. Or maybe it was because of the episode’s loopy twists and turns, which kept knocking me off balance.

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18 awesome Lost props that could be yours!

scifiwire.com: Sure, Hurley said that “The numbers are bad!”—but feel like getting your hands on his winning lottery ticket printed with those bad numbers anyway? Or how about Faraday’s journal, filled with the notes of his time-travel experiments? And what about Jin’s wedding ring, finally slipped on his finger again shortly before … well, you know.

Now that Lost has finished filming, any or all of these could be yours thanks to an upcoming auction—but only if you beat us out on the bidding, that is.

More props here

6 amazing sci-fi TV shows ruined by their freaky finales

scifiwire.com: Like a spreading bowel infection, the end of a sci-fi TV series can fatally infect every previous episode. This happens when a finale retcons the mythos in such a way that every episode in the series is negatively affected. Watching cherished episodes becomes a sickening reminder of the final truth, like looking at your family photos after learning that your grandmother is a seven-headed alien who snatched your parents at birth.

Quantum Leap

The Show:
Dr. Sam Beckett leaps into some unwilling fool’s troubled past to fix their future. Dr. Sam prays to the cruel deity that spun him into this body-snatching roulette wheel, hoping against hope that his next leap will be the leap home.

The Ending:
After the finale ends, the narrator pisses all over our hopes and dreams by telling us that he never gets home.

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V: ABC TV Show Renewed for Season Two

tvseriesfinale.com: The aliens came and, despite some ratings challenges, they are staying — for at least one more season. ABC has renewed the V TV show for a second season.

Like the original, the new V revolves around the arrival of aliens to the planet Earth. While the visitors profess that they’ve come in peace, their ulterior motives slowly become clear. The cast includes Elizabeth Mitchell, Morena Baccarin, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch, Logan Huffman, Lourdes Benedicto, Laura Vandervoort, and Scott Wolf.

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I sure would want Faraday’s journal and Charlie’s DS ring!  What would you like to have from those props? What other prop that isn’t in that list would you like?

Heroes canceled (wow), Smallville back for more (yay). I must admit that I didn’t watch the last season of Heroes, some of my favorite characters got killed and things changed. As for Smallville I’m still loyal to it. I just want Superman and Lois to get together.

What are some of your favorite TV show finales that went wrong?

Are you happy that V has second season? Are you a fan?

What do you think of today’s TV show news?

Leonard Nimoy Talks About Fringe Season Finale – Spoilers

trekweb.com: Sci Fi Wire posted a new interview with Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy in which he talks about the two-part season finale of Fringe which airs on May 13 and 20 (beware of spoilers) Here are excerpts.

In the April 1st episode, which we’ve seen, “Peter,” we see a younger Walter and we also see an alternate-universe Walter. Is there any suggestion of either a younger William Bell or an alternate one?
Nimoy: We will get some information in [the season finale] episode about the William Bell on this side, the younger William Bell on this side. There will be some information given.

And what about the alternate William Bell, or maybe there isn’t an alternate?
Nimoy: Well, that’s what I’m talking about. The alternate William Bell. On the side that William Bell is on now, there was an alternate William Bell. And we’ll find out what his story is all about in this episode. Am I clear about that? (Laughs.) Or am I definitely trying to confuse you? What am I trying to do here? I’m not trying to confuse. I’m doing the best I can. Fringe is a very complicated show, which is one of the things that makes it so successful. It’s intriguing, constantly intriguing. There’s no question you can answer in any definitive way that doesn’t lead to another question. (Laughs.) So that’s where we are. We’re having a good time. …

More of this interview here

‘Vampire Diaries’ 1.21 Clips: Isobel

www.aceshowbiz.com: Fans get a sneak peek of the upcoming episode of “The Vampire Diaries” where Elena’s birth mother Isobel returns to Mystic Falls, demanding Alaric to arrange a meeting of her and Elena. In one of the two clips, Alaric tells Damon that Isobel will go on a killing spree if Elena refuses to meet her in person.

In the other clip, Elena gets ready to meet the vampire who is supposed to be dead. Stefan accompanies her from afar and speaks the word of encouragement when Elena tells him she’s nervous. The official synopsis says, “When mother and daughter finally meet, Isobel refuses to answer most of Elena’s questions, but reveals that she will stop at nothing to find the mysterious invention Johnathan Gilbert has been searching for.”

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May sweeps bring a slew of finales

www.stltoday.com: May sweeps are the beginning of the end for the 2009-10 television season. The ratings period, which began Thursday and runs through May 26, is all about finales — season finales for many shows, series finales for others.

THE CW

— “The Vampire Diaries” and “Supernatural” both end their seasons May 13. The “Smallville” season finale is May 14. “One Tree Hill” and “Gossip Girl” end their seasons May 17; “90210″ wraps up May 18.

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What do you think of today’s TV show news?

When two teenagers are murdered by shapeshifters from the alternate universe, the Fringe team is called in to handle the investigation. At the scene of the crime, the team discovers an unhatched pod that contains the lifeless embryo of a third shapeshifter.

The two live shapeshifters, now assuming the teenagers’ identities, meet with Newton in a camera shop, and inform him that the third member of their party didn’t survive.

In the lab, Walter inspects the shapeshifter embryo, and Olivia attempts to decode a strange radio signal that may have originated from the other side. Olivia pays a visit to Brandon at Massive Dynamic, who confirms her hypothesis and goes on to explain that the two universes’ timelines will be completely in sync within twenty-four hours.

In the typewriter shop, Newton gives the shapeshifters their orders. One of them questions whether their plan will work without a third shapeshifter, and Newton says that if it doesn’t work, his boss (known as “The Secretary”) will be very displeased. They part ways and begin setting the plan into motion.

Back at the lab, Peter has a revelation as to why Walter has been acting so strangely towards him. He finds an old family photo that Walter has been carrying around lately, and tells Olivia that he thinks Walter wants to come clean about the way his mother really died, which was a suicide.

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Review

This is the episode I have been waiting for since I found out Peter was from the alternate universe! Peter finally figured out where he was really from and from here on out we will see him deal with that emotionally. Do you think Peter will go back? And I think when he finds out that Olivia knew and did not tell him, he will probably be heart-broken. Another part of this episode that was pretty awesome was that the shapeshifter who did not survive the transition actually helped out the FBI in giving information on the other shapeshifters whereabouts and their plans to bring over the bridge from the alternate universe. This opens up doors of possibility for the coming war between universes.

via Star Pulse

Leonard Nimoy has announced plans to retire from acting after 60 years in the movie business. The Star Trek icon began his acting career in the early 1950s and rose to international stardom as Mr. Spock in the sci-fi series.

But now the 79 year old, who is currently starring on TV show Fringe, has decided to give up working in front of the camera. He says, “I’ve been doing this professionally for 60 years. I love the idea of going out on a positive note. I’ve had a great, great time.”

And he’s happy to let actor Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in last year’s Star Trek prequel, continue to portray the iconic character in the sci-fi franchise: “He’s a terrific actor, he looks the part, and it’s time to give him some space.

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