Syfy Asks You To Imagine Greater
July 2, 2009 by Cynthia
With the switch rapidly approaching, the channel formerly known as Syfy has released a charming new promo video that is meant to capture the feel of the new brand.
I’ve always enjoyed SCI FI’s imaginative ads, seeing people and things transform right before your very eyes. This new promo takes it even one step further as some of the network’s stars come out to party in a truly magical castle.
The biggest difference I see between this new promo and the old ones, is the warmth and happy tone. The original ads were cool but always very sterile and simple — truly capturing the feel of modern science fiction. This new ad is full of warm colors and detailed images that are constantly changing and moving. It feels more modern fairy tale and less a trip into space and you gotta love the Escher homage with the cast of Warehouse 13.
It’s all very SteamPunk meets Alice in Wonderland and I can totally get behind that. Click here to watch the House of Imagination video at the new Syfy.com.
I think it’s more fun to spot the stars Waldo style, but if you want a list in order of appearance, it’s under the cut.
Syfy Announces Their Comic Con Schedule
June 30, 2009 by Cynthia
Making the brand change from SCI FI to Syfy, the (insert name here) channel promises a big show at this year’s San Diego Comic Con. In addition to the usual panels, they’ll be taking over the restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel, and re-branding it as Eureka’s “Cafe Diem” for the duration of the convention. This will act as their convention hub and I imagine that will mean lots of goodies and fun for everyone who stops by. (SCI FI Channel Photo: Liane Hentscher)
They have some great guests and lots of sneak peeks at many of their new TV shows.
Also note that the Sanctuary panel is listed as being at the Bayside Hilton — leading me to wonder if more of the events are going to be held off site to reduce crowding. Nice idea, but getting from there to the Warehouse 13 panel that follows is going to be a nightmare.
Here’s the full listing:
Friday, July 24
10:30 AM-11:30 AM Stargate Universe
New Alice Event Features Sci Fi Cast
Somewhere in Vancouver the stars of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Primeval, Battlestar Galactica, Sanctuary and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are slaving away under the hot lights to bring you a crazy new version of the Alice in Wonderland story.
It’s the latest four-hour mini series event from Sci Fi Channel and it’s sporting quite a cast.
Academy Award winner Kathy Bates (Misery) stars as the Queen of Hearts and Caterina Scorsone (1-800-Missing) plays Alice.
Rounding out the stellar cast are Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Dodo, Colm Meaney (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as the King of Hearts, Philip Winchester (Crusoe) as Jack of Hearts, Matt Frewer (Watchmen) as the White Knight, Andrew Lee Potts (Primeval) as Hatter, Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica) as 9 of Clubs, Timothy Webber (Taken) as Carpenter, Alex Diakun (Sanctuary) as Ratcatcher, Zak Santiago (Kingdom Hospital) as 10 of Clubs, and Eugene Lipinski (Animorphs) as Doctors Dee and Dum.
Using the classic Lewis Carroll books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass as a jumping off point, writer/director Nick Willing has created the modern-day story of Alice Hamilton, a fiercely independent twenty-something who suddenly finds herself on the other side of a looking glass. She is a stranger in an outlandish city of twisted towers and casinos built out of playing cards, all under the rule of a deliciously devilish Queen who’s not very happy about Alice’s arrival.
Willing also directed the record-breaking, Emmy-winning miniseries Tin Man for SCI FI in 2007 so you can bet this one will be quite an event! Watch for in on the newly named SyFy Channel this December.
Photo: Tim Curry from Newscom
Stargate Universe Gets Familiar Guest Stars
April 15, 2009 by Cynthia
Anyone familiar with the Stargate franchise knows that its an “all in the family” kind of production company. It’s very common to see, not only actors, but characters repeated across the various incarnations and it’s about to happen again. With Stargate Universe well into production, SCI FI Channel has announced a list of Stargate guest stars along with three new editions to the family.
– Richard Dean Anderson (Stargate SG1, Stargate Continuum, Stargate Atlantis) Anderson reprises his role as General O’Neil. O’Neil is the former leader of the elite military team SG-1.
– Amanda Tapping (Sanctuary, Stargate SG1, Stargate Continuum, Stargate Atlantis) Reprises her role as Samantha Carter, an astrophysicist and United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel.
– Michael Shanks (Stargate SG1, Stargate Continuum, Stargate Atlantis) Reprises his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson, Stargate’s archeologist and linguist.
Sanctuary Begins Production on Season Two
April 6, 2009 by Cynthia
Vancouverites, be on the lookout for even more strange beings wandering loose in the city, each looking for Sanctuary!
The SCI FI Channel series has begun work on its second season and they’ve added a new character. Agam Darshi joins the cast as Kate Freelander; witty and sarcastic with a gift for persuasion, Kate is a swindler, con artist and thief who finds herself in an uneasy alliance with Dr. Magnus (Amanda Tapping) after her business relationship with the Cabal goes sour.
Darshi has had small roles in a number of other Vancouver-based genre series such as Supernatural (Hell House), Stargate Atlantis (Outsiders) and Reaper (Magic, where she played “Bubbly Employee”).
Sanctuary will return to SCI Fi Channel this fall.
(l-r) Amanda Tapping as Dr. Helen Magnus, Ryan Robbins as Henry Foss, Emilie Ullerup as Ashley Magnus, Robin Dunne as Dr.Will Zimmerman — SCI FI Channel Photo: Jeff Weddell
Sci-Fi Faves Top Nielsen DVR List
December 17, 2008 by brian
Nielsen is slowly but surely getting clued in to the significance of DVRs and has released the Top 10 shows that increased in DVR usage in 2008. It probably won’t surprise our readers that several genre shows rank among them.
Variety reports that Heroes picks up an additional 1.83 million viewers off DVR recordings, Lost gains 1.79 million, and Fringe adds 1.60 million. A second list ranked shows by the percentage of viewership increase from DVR. SCI FI Channel did very well in those ratings as Battlestar Galactica topped that list with a 53 percent increase. New show Sanctuary sees a 35 percent increase in its ratings with DVR factored in, while SCI FI Channel mainstay Eureka gains 34 percent.
Now the next step is getting network bigwigs to take notice of these numbers before dropping the axe on shows.
Pictured: Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet–NBC Photo: Adam Taylor
Tonight on Sanctuary: Warriors
December 12, 2008 by Cynthia
Sanctuary: “Warriors”
Air Date: Friday, December 12, 2008 on SCI FI
Will (Robin Dunne) receives a call from the wife of a college friend who needs his help finding her missing husband, Danny (Byron Lawson). Enlisting Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and Ashley (Emilie Ullerup), Will and the team follow a lead to an abandoned factory hoping to find a clue to his whereabouts.
Want more spoilers? You’ll find them after the cut.
Tonight on Sanctuary: Requiem
December 5, 2008 by Cynthia
Sanctuary: “Requiem”
Air Date: December 5, 2008 at 10PM ET/PT on SCI FI CHANNEL
Responding to a distress call from a peaceful abnormal species deep below the Bermuda Triangle, Magnus (AMANDA TAPPING) and Will (ROBIN DUNNE) set out on a short underwater mission to investigate. While sending out specialized sonar signals to elicit a response from anyone who might be within range, they discover a grizzly massacre of the half-human abnormals who once lived in the waters.
Bewildered by who, or what, could cause such devastation upon a peaceful species, Magnus retrieves one of the creatures from the water to take back to the Sanctuary for examination, hoping it will shed some light on what could have occurred.
Magnus and Will begin their ascent. Still a little in awe of Magnus and all she has seen and done, Will seizes the opportunity to learn more about her adventures…and acquaintances…over the years.
Tonight on Sanctuary
November 14, 2008 by Cynthia
Sanctuary: “The Five”
Air Date: Friday, November 14, 2008 @ 10 PM ET/PT on SCI FI
Magnus’s trip to Rome proves more eventful than she anticipated when she encounters Nikola Tesla (JONATHAN YOUNG), an old friend from college with whom she clearly has a long history. Tesla informs her that she is in grave danger with the Cabal quickly moving in. Before any further explanation can be made, Tesla whisks Magnus away under Rome’s city streets into a series of ancient catacombs in an effort to shake the Trackers.
As they ward off their pursuers, Tesla discloses his whereabouts for the past six decades, after his ‘supposed’ death. It is apparent from their discussion that Tesla was one of an elite five who, with Magnus, belonged to an exclusive league of science and medicine. But Magnus is shocked when he reveals what he has been doing with his exceptional aptitude since their last meeting.
SCI FI Channel Photo: Jeff Weddell
Sanctuary Given Second Season
November 13, 2008 by Cynthia
I haven’t been watching but apparently many many people did since SCI FI has greenlit production on a second season of Sanctuary,
An order of 13 new hours was announced today by Mark Stern, Executive Vice President, Original Programming, SCI FI & Co-Head, Original Programming, Universal Cable Productions. Sanctuary is slated to begin production in Vancouver early next year for a 2009 premiere.
“SCI FI will continue to trail blaze the television landscape by further exploring the many worlds of Sanctuary through its unique green screen environments,” said Stern. “Technology and great storytelling makes Sanctuary a fantastic addition to SCI FI’s 2009 lineup.”
More than 3 million viewers tuned in to the premiere of Sanctuary on October 3, 2008 making it the highest rated original series premiere since Eureka debuted in July 2006.
SANCTUARY — Pictured: (l-r) Christopher Heyerhahl as John Druitt, Amanda Tapping as Dr. Helen Magnus, Emilie Ullrep as Ashley Magnus, Robin Dunne as Dr. Will Zimmerman — SCI FI Channel Photo: Jamel Toppin