April 29th, 2008
Andromeda Strain on A&E
It’s a bad day to be human. . .
But it’s a great day to be a classic scifi fan. This Memorial Day (May 26), A&E will unleash The Andromeda Strain. This two-day, four hour miniseries comes to you from Ridley and Tony Scott so you know it’s going to be action packed.
This new adaptation of the Michael Crichton novel stars Benjamin Bratt, Eric McCormack, Ricky Schroder, Andre Braugher, Christa Miller, Daniel Dae Kim and Viola Davis.
In the story, a U.S. military satellite crashes in a small town and unleashes a deadly plague killing all but two survivors. As the military quarantines the area, a team of highly specialized scientists is assembled to find a cure to the pathogen, code-named “Andromeda,” and a reporter investigates a government conspiracy only to discover that what he is chasing wants him silenced.
PLOT
Synopsis for Night One (May 26, 2008)
A U.S. satellite falls to Earth in Piedmont, a small town in Utah. When civilians decide to open up the satellite a mysterious plague is unleashed that kills virtually everyone who comes into contact with it, often driving them into acts of mad violence before they die. As the army quarantines the area, a team of medical specialists is assembled to stop the spread of the pathogen, code-named “Andromeda.”
Three of the scientists gear up in biohazard suits and inspect the town. They discover two survivors – an unhealthy old man and a colicky infant – and take them, the satellite and samples of Andromeda to “Wildfire,” a secret underground lab designed for a crisis of this nature.
As the scientists race to decode and find what kills Andromeda, it continues to spread and mutate. A reporter sees a government conspiracy is afoot and investigates, only to discover that murderous forces want him silenced.
Synopsis for Night Two (May 27, 2008)
The Wildfire team theorizes that Andromeda may have been intentionally sent as part of an alien invasion force. They discover that a specific, rare bacterium can destroy Andromeda and rush to manufacture enough to stop the outbreak. Meanwhile, the reporter flees both the spreading plague and government assassins, and rescues a young woman in the process.
Just before the outbreak can become uncontainable, the bacteria is dropped into the infected zone and kills Andromeda, but a military attempt to save a sample leads to an outbreak within the underground lab. The team must race to stop a nuclear countdown designed as a last defense against a lab breach – a blast that could feed Andromeda and reignite the outbreak.
CAST BIOS
BENJAMIN BRATT — “Dr. Jeremy Stone”
An epidemiologist who heads up the team of scientists assembled to stop Andromeda from spreading and the chief designer of the “Wildfire” lab project.
Benjamin Bratt is currently in production on the A&E scripted drama series “Cleaner,” set to debut in summer 2008. Bratt stars as a reformed addict turned extreme interventionist who, along with an unconventional team, is dedicated to helping people get clean by any means necessary. He will next be seen starring opposite Benicio del Toro in The Argentine and Guerilla, a pair of films from Director Steven Soderbergh about Cuban revolutionary leader Ernesto Che Guevara. He also stars opposite Michelle Monaghan in the independent feature Trucker. All three films are scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2008.
Additional screen credits include: Stephen Soderbergh’s Traffic (which won the Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast); Love in the Time of Cholera; Piñero; Thumbsucker; The Woodsman; Abandon; Miss Congeniality; The Great Raid; Red Planet; The Next Best Thing; Catwoman; Follow Me Home; The River Wild; Clear and Present Danger; and Blood In, Blood Out.
On television, Bratt established himself on Dick Wolf’s critically acclaimed drama “Law & Order.” A series regular for four seasons, he received an Emmy® Award and Screen Actors Guild award nominations for his portrayal of Detective Reynaldo Curtis. Additional television credits include “E-Ring,” “Woman Undone,” “Texas” and “After the Storm.”
An alumnus of the MFA program at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, Bratt currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Talisa Soto, and children, daughter Sophia and son Mateo.
ERIC MCCORMACK — “Jack Nash”
An investigative reporter for NNT who struggles to control his addictive personality.
Eric McCormack hails from Toronto, Canada, where he got his start as an actor over 20 years ago.
After five seasons with the Stratford Shakespearean Festival and stints in theatres across Canada, he ventured into the United States, and television. McCormack has appeared in dozens of television series and movies, including two seasons as Colonel Clay Mosby on “Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years.” In 1998, he began the role that would earn him five Golden Globe nominations and the Emmy® for Leading Actor in a Comedy: Will Truman in NBC’s hit series “Will & Grace.” He made his Broadway debut starring in the title role in “The Music Man” in 2001 and returned to the New York stage in 2006 for Neil LaBute’s “Some Girl(s).”
McCormack recently starred in the independent film Alien Trespass and in “Truth in Advertising,” a pilot for TNT.
He lives with his wife Janet and their five-year-old son Finnigan. The family splits their time between Los Angeles and their home away from home, Vancouver.
RICKY SCHRODER — “Major Bill Keene, MD”
A virologist from the Army’s Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease.
Ricky Schroder made his Hollywood debut at nine years of age as the emotionally tortured son of a washed-up boxer in the 1979 remake of the drama The Champ. The performance earned him a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year and launched the beginning of an extremely successful career.
Constantly delivering memorable performances, Schroder became a teen-icon with the premiere of the NBC comedy “Silver Spoons.” His portrayal of Ricky Stratton put him in the heart of every teenage girl across America. After the successful run of the series, he segued into the role of coming-of-age Newt Dobbs in the award-winning 1989 mini-series “Lonesome Dove” as well as the well-received sequel “Return to Lonesome Dove” opposite Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones.
Schroder again captured audience attention when he received critical praise for his portrayal of Detective Danny Sorenson in ABC’s long-running cop drama “NYPD Blue.” Additional notable television credits include the Lifetime series “Strong Medicine,” “The Lost Battalion,” “Innocent Victims” and “Too Close to Home.” Feature-film credits include Pool Hall Junkies opposite Chazz Palminteri, and Crimson Tide opposite Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman.
Schroder was recently seen in the highly acclaimed FOX drama “24,” starring opposite Keifer Sutherland.
He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and children.
ANDRE BRAUGHER — “General George Mancheck”
A US Army Biochemical Research officer who assembles the “Wildfire” team.
Andre Braugher is best known for his riveting Emmy® Award-winning portrayal of Detective Frank Pembleton on the NBC long-running hit series “Homicide: Life on the Street.” He recently starred in features The Mist and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. In 2006, Braugher won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe nomination for “Thief.” In 2001, he received an Emmy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award nomination for “Gideon’s Crossing.” He made his directorial debut in the 1999 trilogy “Love Songs,” in which he also acted. In 1998, he received an Emmy Award for his work on “Homicide: Life on the Street” and two Emmy Award nominations in 1996 for “Homicide: Life on the Street” and the Peabody Award-winning production “The Tuskeegee Airmen.”
Television credits include “Homicide: The Movie,” “Hack,” “Salem’s Lot,” “Passing Glory,” “The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson,” “Murder in Mississippi” and “10,000 Black Men Named George,” for which he received an NAACP Award nomination. Braugher’s feature-film roles include Poseidon, Duets, A Better Way to Die, Frequency, Thick as Thieves, All the Rage, City of Angels, Primal Fear, Get on the Bus and Glory, the Oscar-winning story of America’s first unit of black soldiers during the civil war.
Braugher was born and raised in Chicago, earned a B.A. from Stanford University.
CHRISTA MILLER — “Dr. Angela Noyce”
A surgeon, exobiologist and specialist in tropical and exotic diseases.
Christa Miller was introduced to the entertainment industry at the early age of three, appearing in the famed Ivory Snow advertisements photographed by Francesco Scavullo. Miller went on to grace the covers of women’s magazines across the country and today continues to capture audiences’ attention in a range of comedic and dramatic roles.
She is widely recognized for her role as Kate O’Brien, the female best friend on ABC’s “The Drew Carey Show,” and as Jordan Sullivan, the acid-tongued ex-wife/wife of Dr. Cox in the long-running hit NBC sitcom “Scrubs.” Miller made her mark in feature films delivering a gritty and stellar performance in Goat on Fire and Smiling Fish, portraying a smart, young mother who moves to Los Angeles from Wyoming to support her 10-year-old daughter’s acting ambitions.
Spending most of her childhood and teenage years in New York, Miller pursued a modeling career and worked runways in Europe and Japan. At 16, she landed her first commercial for Polaroid and soon after began landing television roles on “Kate and Allie” and “Northern Exposure.” Her television credits include “Seinfeld,” “Party of Five,” “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and a moving role in the acclaimed made-for-television movie, “A Friend to Kill For.”
Miller’s formal training includes the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, The Groundlings and the Neighborhood Playhouse in her native New York City. Miller is an avid photographer and advocate for boat and water safety and currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and children.
DANIEL DAE KIM — “Dr. Tsi Chou”
A microbiologist who once served as the premiere biological weapons designer for the Chinese government and now is a U.S.-based bio-terrorism consultant.
Daniel Dae Kim is best known for his role as native Korean Jin Kwon on the hit ABC series “Lost,” for which he received a 2006 Screen Actors Guild award for his ensemble work. The Korean-American actor’s universal appeal was recognized by People magazine in 2005 when he was named one of the “Sexiest Men Alive.”
Born in Pusan, Korea and raised in New York and Pennsylvania, Kim graduated with a B.A. from Haverford College and an M.F.A. from New York University’s Graduate Acting program.
His television credits include “Law & Order,” “NYPD Blue,” “Seinfeld,” “The Practice,” “Ally McBeal,” “Star Trek: Voyager,” “CSI,” “Without a Trace” and “The Shield.” He also created several notable recurring characters on “Angel,” “ER,” and, for two seasons, as Agent Tom Baker on “24.” Kim lent his voice talents to videogames, including “Scarface: The World Is Yours,” “Saints Row,” “Tenchu” and “24,” as well as the animated series “Justice League Unlimited” and “Avatar.” His feature-film credits include The Jackal, For Love of the Game, The Hulk, Spider Man 2, The Cave, and the Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Crash.
Kim has been individually honored with an AZN Asian Excellence Award, a Multicultural Prism Award, and a Vanguard Award from the Korean American Coalition, all for Outstanding Performance by an Actor.
He splits his time between Honolulu, Los Angeles and New York.
VIOLA DAVIS — “Dr. Charlene Barton”
A pathologist formerly of the Centers for Disease Control now at the San Francisco health department.
Viola Davis will next be seen in the feature film State of Play, opposite Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, and Nights in Rodanthe, opposite Diane Lane and Richard Gere. Davis’ feature-film credits include Disturbia, The Architect, Get Rich or Die Trying, Syriana, Far From Heaven, Out of Sight, Solaris, Traffic and Antwone Fisher, for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination. In 2001, Davis won the Tony award for “King Headly.”
In 2004, she garnered the Drama Desk, the Drama League, the Obie and the Audelco awards for her role in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of “Intimate Apparel.” She reprised the same role at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and received the Ovation, Los Angeles Drama Critics and Garland awards. Additional credits for which she received awards and nominations include “Seven Guitars,” “Everybody’s Ruby,” “Pericles,” “As You Like It” and “God’s Heart.”
Television credits include “Traveler,” “Century City,” “Lefty,” “City of Angels,” “Laws of Chance” and a recurring role on “Law & Order: SVU.” She co-starred in the mini-series franchise “Stone Cold” opposite Tom Selleck, appeared in Oprah Winfrey’s “Amy and Isabelle,” Hallmark Hall of Fame’s “Grace and Glorie,” “The Pentagon Wars” and as Diane Barrino in the Lifetime movie “Life is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story.”
A graduate of The Julliard School, Davis holds an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from her alma mater, Rhode Island College. She is happily married to actor Julius Tennon and resides in Los Angeles.
Photo credits: Diyah Pera / A&E
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