Right now, it’s only 5 episodes and they’ll run on Tuesday nights starting on December 8.

Here’s what Syfy has to say about the series:

Series creator and executive producer, Russell Barrett took a complete do-it-yourself / hands-on approach to the creation of the show by developing, executing and editing the series right in his very home. He also enlisted childhood and hometown friends as series stars including, Adam Clinton (Commander Dick Amos), Stephanie Clinton (Lieutenant Sunny Hunkle), Jay Wendorff (voice of Kyle 14) and Dana Kirk (Operations Officer Donna Kennedy).

”Syfy fans have never seen animation quite like this before! The graphics may be basic and simple, but combining them with live-action elements has never been done in a series before. To say that it was a grassroots endeavor is an understatement. Russell literally produced this in his basement for more than a year, and that allowed him to create a unique series with a sharp, sly sense of humor.” said Mark Stern, EVP Original Content Syfy & Co-Head Universal Cable Productions.

Outer Space Astronauts is a futuristic comedy series about eight vaguely courageous, highly distractable military personnel who journey to the far reaches of the galaxy, seeking knowledge, adventure and whatever else they can come up with. On board the O.S.S. Oklahoma, this legion of misfits are led by a lackluster captain who would rather be planning the next “margarita Monday” than leading a mission against evil, much to exasperation of his by-the-book second-in-command. Regardless of being a comedy of errors, this team will surprise even themselves as they navigate their way around the solar system.

“Russell Barrett is a very dry, very funny guy who created his own part animated, part live-action space ship world in a series of episodes using his own style and vision of animation,” said David O. Russell, Executive Producer. “What more needs to be said about outer space astronauts who are in outer space working as astronauts, in outer space?”

Outer Space Astronauts was created by Russell Barrett, and is executive produced by Barrett, Scott Puckett and David O. Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees).

Meet the series characters:

Captain Bruce Ripley (Russell Barrett) is the worst captain in the fleet with the best reputation. He’s uninterested, bored and sloppy, yet manages to always get the job done.

Commander Dick Amos (Adam Clinton) should be the leader of the ship since he holds the most credentials than anyone, but even with his top performance record, Dick is always stuck behind the eight ball.

Lieutenant Sunny Hunkle (Stephanie Clinton) With a name that equally matches her ‘sunny’ disposition, the sweetest girl in the galaxy gets along with everyone. She doesn’t mind that her ‘secret relationship’ with Dick should remain a secret, she’s cool, calm and easy going.

Intern Jimmy Peck (Peter Burns) has been Captain Ripley’s right-hand man since their college days. A bit simple-minded, or just eternally naïve, Jimmy has a way of coming through just when you thought he was completely useless.

Pilot Johnny Boothe (Benjamin Nurick) shouldn’t be flying or driving anything as he holds the most citations for reckless piloting out of anyone (a record he states proudly!). Boothe’s disregard for safety and his addiction to speed however has saved many a day on board the O.S.S. Oklahoma.

Kyle 14 (voice: Jay Wendorff) is one of the first artificial humans to be given a post on an OSA ship. He’s the most state-of-the-art android in existence and “waaaay better than the Kyle 13 model.”

Chief Weapons Officer Andy Matheson (Laura Valdivia) has saved the life of every crewman on the ship more times than they can count. His enormous stature and history of big time whuppin’ sometimes intimidates his fellow crewman except for Brimley.

Weapons Officer Chad Brimley (Tony Bravo) likes to find other’s weak spots and poke at it with a stick. He has excellent skills, and is highly intelligent in weapons development and ammunition science, but his motivation for work isn’t always top notch.

Operations Officer Donna Kennedy (Dana Kirk) and technology don’t mix. She tries in vain to hide her ‘fear of all things that plug in and beep’ from the crew, but on a ship which functions solely from the latest technology, her technophobia gets the best of her.

Chief Mechanic Pinto (Steve Millunzi) is a human monkey wrench. If something is broken, Pinto can fix it – which is great, because things tend to break quite frequently!

Ka’ak (Jacey Margolis) is from another planet and skilled in all areas of space travel. Despite her super-model looks, her mangled use of English is a good tip-off to her alien roots; not to mention her blood-red skin!

Logo courtesy of Syfy

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I met up with Carol at a recent press screening of her new show and here’s what she had to say about casting everyone’s favorite vampire as a top transplant surgeon.

“Alex had a holding deal for CBS and I was under contract to CBS. He met with lots of people, we met with lots of people. He want to do [Three Rivers] and we wanted to have him. I wasn’t at all nervous [about casting him]. I felt very lucky that they steered him our way and second of all that he wanted to do it.  He’s a really fine actor and he’s so dedicated and he’s a really nice guy and . . . okay. . .he’s cute,” she admits. “He’s a great lead. I feel very luck, usually there’s a nightmare quotient to a person like that and it’s just not there with him.”

As far as their recent ties to the scifi community go, Carol Barbee had to laugh. “Alex and I said that because of his fan base and the Jericho fan base, Three Rivers is the first medical drama that should premiere at Comic Con!”

Maybe next year, Carol, if Three Rivers gets picked up for a second season. Three Rivers premieres on October 4 on CBS.

Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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According to Variety, Spotnitz is working on a series called Humanitas which is a futuristic medical thriller.  Spotnitz wants to take a look at the moral and ethical issues that arise out of our ever increasing ability to manipulate genetics.

He is also working on a TV adaptation of Robert Silverberg’s novel The World Inside which deals with overpopulation.

The ever busy Spotnitz is also penning a cover ops pilot for FX. You can learn more about all of his projects from his website BigLight.com.

Photo Credit: Michael Jade/AdMedia / Newscom.com

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Today, Alyson Hannigan made a ripple in the pond with this tweet about husband Alexis Denisoff.

Alexis is shooting his first day of Dollhouse right now!

Sounds like a match made in Joss-heaven!

Here are a few other tidbits from the Twitter world.

–@TVGuideMagazine: Ostroff on #Supernatural: “we hope it will go on…Kripke has done a wonderful job.”

— @heybuzzsugar Don’t expect more than one season of Day One, though if it does well it could return. More of an event, says Bromstad. #TCA

— @Syfy  We announced our new superhero show Alphas – http://bit.ly/zZhk7

Photo: Newscom

Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisoff arrives at the American Idol Finale at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. September 4, 2002. Photo: Tsuni/iPhoto.ca

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This was only one area where the budget had to be slashed, Variety reports that there will also be cuts made to the writing staff and the turn-around time for each episode.

It’s a great leap forward, but don’t start checking your TV listings just yet. It will likely be more than a year before any of the new episodes hit the airwaves.

Read about Futurama’s disapointing Comic Con panel at Hitfix.com.

Photo: Futurama Figures at Comic Con by C Boris

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The series boasts a large international cast of faces you’ve seen before but probably can’t name including Blood Ties’ Christina Cox, Andrew Airlie from Reaper, Zahf Paroo of Battlestar Galactica and Malik Yoba from New York Undercover.

Like many summer shows, this one only runs thirteen episodes, though from the sound of the early reviews, it will be lucky to last more than five.

Defying Gravity premieres on Sunday, August 2 at 9:00 then moves to its regular slot at 10:00 on August 9 on ABC.

Photo: ABC/SERGEI BACHLAKOV

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Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty), Lou Diamond Phillips (Numb3rs), Ming-Na (ER, Vanished), Alaina Huffman (Smallville), and David Blue (Moonlight) star in this series about a group of soldiers, scientists and civilians, who are forced through a Stargate when their hidden base comes under attack. Instead of coming through on another planet, they find themselves on the starship Destiny which is locked on an unknown course. Hopelessly lost in space (I couldn’t resist) they must find a way to meet their basic needs such as food and water, all the while battling weekly dangers.

And, despite the fact that they’re trapped on a ship in space, they will still run into guest stars such as Grammy nominated recording artist, Janelle Monáe, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, and Carlo Rota. Sounds rather Gilligan’s Island, doesn’t it?

And speaking of Amanda Tapping, Sanctuary returns for a second season beginning on October 9 at 10:00. Here’s the blurb:

Sanctuary follows the adventures of the always surprising Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping), a brilliant scientist who holds the secrets of a clandestine population — a group of strange and sometimes terrifying beings that hide among humans.

Joining the cast in season 2 is Agam Darshi as Kate Freelander, a con artist and thief who finds herself in an uneasy alliance with Dr. Magnus. Sanctuary also stars Ryan Robbins as tech wiz Henry and Christopher Heyerdahl as the sinister John Druitt.

Special guest stars this season include Christopher Gauthier (Eureka) and Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1).

Scare Tactics and Destination Truth will also return this fall along with more new episodes of  Warehouse 13 on Tuesday nights and Ghost Hunters on Wednesday nights. In October, music superstar and longtime Ghost Hunters fan Meatloaf will join the team as a guest investigator in a special episode featuring a home in Thousand Islands, NY, one of last year’s finalist locales in the Great American Ghost Hunt contest.

Photos: Syfy

Pictured: Eddie McClintock; Joanne Kelly and Mark Stern, Executive Vice President, Original Programming, Syfy; Co-Head, Original Content, Universal Cable Productions at the imagination celebration and opening of the Syfy Imagination Park at Rockefeller Center in New York City on July 7, 2009 — Syfy Photo: Heidi Gutman

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If they can’t get all of the originals back, should they even bother to make new episodes or is it more about the show than the actors?

Variety is also reporting that Warner Brothers and Leo DiCaprio’s production company are in development on a new Twlight Zone movie. Rand Ravich is set to pen the script.

Finally, Brian Lowry has an interesting piece on the power struggle between Comic Con and the TCA’s (Television Critics Association tour) as print reporters battle to remain relevant in an online world.

Photo: Katey Sagal /Newscom

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Alien Nation

Though the show was canceled after only one season, it spawned a popular series of TV movies and novels so it’s not surprising that Syfy is looking to the series as its next big reboot.

The original Alien Nation was ahead of its time with its scifi take on the problems of discrimination, immigration and segregation.  Smarter than most people remember, the series revolved around the concept of a non-invasive alien invasion. These aliens were all slaves, who end up on Earth when their mothership crashes in the desert outside of Los Angeles.

What happens next is human nature — some thrive, some go hungry, some turn to crime, some learn a trade. Some stick with their own kind but many assimilate casting off the old ways in favor of the typical suburban lifestyle. But no matter how much they try to act human, they are still aliens and that means they’re often subjected to name calling, discrimination and violence.

The Syfy reboot is being helmed by Angel’s Tim Minear. He told Variety that he was excited about the series because of the mix of styles that comes with the franchise.

“It’s genre mixed with procedural mixed with funny and mixed with big, giant scary,” Minear said. “I love serialized stuff, but this is also a cop franchise. That ‘Starsky and Hutch’/'Lethal Weapon’ buddy cop comedy is absent from TV right now.”

According to Variety, the new series would take place years after the original. The alien population has grown and they’ve been forced to live a segregated, ghetto existence.

Says Syfy VP Mark Stern, “The challenge is how do you do it in a way that will reinvent it without it feeling like a derivative rehash.”

They seem to have found the answer in Tim Minear.

Can Alien Nation be the next Battlestar Galactica? My 8-Ball says, All Signs Point to Yes.

Photo: Amazon

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– New casting spoiler from TVGuide Magazine about yet another returning character in a shiny new package.

– Ausiello has the scoop on the actor who is making the jump from one mysterious TV show into the role of Lucifer on Supernatural.

– Christian Kane fans who showed up for the Leverage star’s gig in Portland got a huge surprise when Jensen Ackles hopped on stage to sing along.

Jensen was on his way up to Vancouver to begin shooting the new season but wanted to stop and say happy birthday to his old friend. Jensen, Steve Carlson and Aldis Hodge (Jake from Superantural, Hardison on Leverage) spurred the crowd on to a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday to You.”  And he also sang back-up to Christian’s fast-paced version of “Luchenbach, Texas.”

I had the pleasure of previewing Christian’s new CD and it’s a great mix of classics, ballads and that Southern Rock style that he does so well. They were shooting for a summer release to coincide with the new season of Leverage.

Here’s a vid posted by a fan:

How about this great old Supernatural photo. If you haven’t rewatched the pilot in awhile, do it. It’s fun to see how the boys began.

Supernatural Picture (l-r): Jared Padelecki as Sam, Jensen Ackles as Dean Photo Credit: ©The WB/ Justin Lubin

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