Posts Tagged ‘NBC’
Posted by Dominic in Television & Web Series on June 17th, 2008
The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will be rerun as a Fox marathon starting on Sunday, August 10 at 9 p.m. Then the other episodes air at 9 p.m. on August 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 24. The two-hour second season premiere then airs on September 8 at 8 p.m.
Torchwood fans can expect a season-long story for the show’s third season. However, word from England is that the season will be just five episodes long. How they will refill the ranks after the devastation at the end of season two remains unannounced. Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) will be seen in the final episodes of the current season of Doctor Who, now airing on the Sci-Fi Channel.
Paul Campbell (Battlestar Galactica) has been cast as the head research tech on NBC’s new Knight Rider series.
Posted by Dominic in Movies on June 16th, 2008
Director John Carpenter told Shocktilyoudrop that he withdrew from directing an episode of NBC’s Fear Itself out of loyalty to longtime friend Mick Garris.
“I read the script and liked it a lot, and the two writers [Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan] are good friends of mine, but [the Fear Itself producers] fired Mick Garris! And he was the only reason I wanted to do the TV show…so f**k ‘em!”
The reality is that Garris stepped down as the showrunner because of the Writer’s Strike, which reported on earlier this year.
Posted by Dominic in Television & Web Series on June 15th, 2008
We’re two episodes into NBC’s horror anthology series, Fear Itself, so now might be a good time to assess and see how well it’s working.
The biggest problem with producing a suspenseful network television series is the very nature of broadcast television (and applies to basic cable as well). You have to have breaks for commercials and therefore you’re structuring your story for the act breaks, knowing any sense of suspense is interrupted with bright, colorful and loud advertisements for product that can totally spoil the mood. (more…)
Posted by Dominic in Television & Web Series on June 7th, 2008
Bloody Disgusting is reporting that Chris Carnel, a stuntman, will portray the killer in My Bloody Valentine 3-D. Carnel has been seen doing stunts in Iron Man and The Devil’s Rejects.
Fear Itself debuted on Thursday night to small ratings, with a mere 5.2 million viewers tuning in . That it opened against another first run series, CBS’ Swingtown (which had 8.5 million viewers) , didn’t help. Nor did the lack of serious promotion from NBC despite the stellar line-up before and behind the camera. NBC, though, is reportedly pleased with the performance.
Posted by Dominic in Movies on June 4th, 2008
Transsiberian will be getting released for a limited run starting July 15. The movie, directed by Brad Anderson (Masters of Horror) and starring Sir Ben Kingsley, Woody Harrelson, and Emily Mortimer (Chaos Theory), is about what happens to a couple when they take an ill-fated ride on the legendary train.
The John Landis-directed installment of NBC’s Fear Itself has been scheduled to air June 26. “In Sickness and In Health” was written by Victor Salva, starring Maggie Lawson (Psych), James Roday (Psych), Christie Laing (The 4400), Sonja Bennet (Eureka), and Marshall Bell (Sex and Death 101). The synopsis says this is about a bride, learning on her wedding day, that her husband may be a serial killer.
Posted by Dominic in Books, Reviews on May 25th, 2008
434pp, Tor Books, $24.95, ISBN 978-0765319074.
There had never been anything quite like V the miniseries on NBC. First of all, it may be one of the earliest examples of viral marketing and secondly, the miniseries was suspenseful, surprising and entertaining. In the hands of creator Kenneth Johnson, we were presented with a taut story with some neat twists and turns.
The second miniseries lacked Johnson’s direct involvement took things in another direction. The hour-long series that followed went off the rails when the producers thought science fiction was a license to do anything, logic be damned.
For a few years now, Johnson and NBC have been edging towards letting him tell the sequel the way he wanted, ignoring what followed. It’s become an accepted form of storytelling and audiences seem willing to buy into the conceit. With the project stalled, he took the time to turn his story into a novel, which Tor Books published recently. (more…)
Posted by Dominic in Movies on May 23rd, 2008
We haven’t talked about the new NBC series Crusoe since it’s just a wee bit out of our field, but then this morning we heard about some cool casting. In addition to Philip Winchester’s Crusoe, the cast now features Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), as a former business partner; Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings) as his widower father; and Joss Ackland (Shadowlands) in an unspecified role. The series debuts this fall on Friday nights.
Posted by Dominic in Movies on May 19th, 2008
NBC has launched its website (http://www.nbc.com/Fear_Itself/) for Fear Itself and released the following information about the first three episodes:
June 5: “The Sacrifice”, directed by Breck Eisner, scripted by Mick Garris from a story by Del Howison: Four criminals hole up in an old, snowy fort and encounter a beautiful and deadly trio of sirens. Stars Jeffrey Pierce, Jesse Plemons, Stephen Martines, Rachel Miner and Mircea Monroe.
June 12: “Spooked”, directed by Brad Anderson, scripted by Matt Venne. A private detective stakes out a haunted house and winds up facing personal demons from his past. Stars Eric Roberts, Jack Noseworthy, Cynthia Watros and Larry Gilliard Jr.
June 19: “Family Man”, directed by Ronny Yu, scripted by Daniel Knauf: A near-death experience leads a husband and father to switch bodies with a serial killer, and while imprisoned, he struggles to save his wife, son and daughter from becoming the murderer’s next victims. Stars Colin Ferguson, Clifton Collins Jr., Josie Davis, Gig Morton and Nicole Leduc.
Posted by Dominic in Television & Web Series on May 5th, 2008
NBC has released the air date order for their horror anthology, Fear Itself, launching June 5. Here are the directors and the episode titles:
Stuart Gordon, “Eater”
Brad Anderson, “Spooked”
Mary Haron, “Community”
Breck Eisner, “The Sacrifice”
John Landis, “In Sickness and in Health”
Ronny Yu, “Family Man”
Ernest Dickerson, “Something with Bite”
Darren Bousman, “New Year’s Day”
Larry Fessenden, “Skin & Bones”
John Dahl, “Chance”
Rupert Wainwright, “The Spirit Box”
No director, “Echoes”
Posted by Dominic in Television & Web Series on May 2nd, 2008
As we near the June 5 debut of NBC’s thirteen installment series, Fear Itself, more information has been released. Two more directors have been announced: Rupert Wainwright (Stigmata) and John Dahl (Joy Ride). They join fellow helmers Larry Fessenden, John Landis, Stuart Gordon, Darren Bousman, Mary Harron, Ronny Yu and Breck Eisner.
Dahl’s doppelganger story, “Chance” will be from writer Lem Dobbs (Dark City). Wainwright’s chapter is “The Spirit Box” written by Joe Gangemi. The story is of two high school girls trying to contact a former classmate now in the spirit world.
Jonathan Schaech and Richard Chizmar, who already wrote the premiere installment, Stuart Gordon’s “Eater”, are also writing “The Circle”, based on Lewis Shiner’s short story.
The series is a bit of a gamble for NBC which hasn’t really had anything quite like this since Night Gallery and they’re concerned that the range of horror will be different enough each week that people may not stick around for all thirteen stories. Well, that is, other than us.
Posted by Dominic in Television & Web Series on April 7th, 2008
We’re really not sure what’s scarier, the fact that NBC is ready to announce their fall schedule a month earlier than usual or the fact that they’ve picked up Knight Rider a series after the horrible telefilm last month. The new weekly will star soap vet Justin Bruening (All my Children) and Deanna Russo (Young and the Restless).
In other NBC news, the anthology series Fear Itself will debut on NBC come May 29 then arrive at FEARnet’s website and VOD on September 1st, Labor Day, offering a new episode each week. The cablecast will also contain extra footage including chats with directors and scenes not shown on the NBC series but probably will wind up on the DVD collection.
ABC, meanwhile, has bought a pilot Captain Cook’s Extraordinary Atlas by Tom Wheeler (Empire) and produced by Warner Bros. TV. The fantasy story is about a young girl who discovers a magical atlas that shows an alternative world underneath our world.
The network is expected to announce the new series’ tentative fall timeslot during its early upfront Wednesday.
Posted by Dominic in Television & Web Series on April 7th, 2008
One example of the Writer’s Strike having a long-term effect is the growth of cable channels and the need for the major networks to produce more original programming. NBC unveiled their schedule not only for the fall but all the way through August 2009.
Of note to FM readers are the following shows beyond Fear Itself, debuting May 29:
For Fall 2008, Chuck and Heroes return to Monday nights from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Heroes will return September 15 with a three-hour special that includes a one-hour clip show followed by a two-hour episode. Christian Slater’s new show, My Own Worst Enemy, described as a cross between family drama and The Bourne Identity, will fill out the night.
Knight Rider races into the Wednesday at 8 p.m. slot with reruns on Saturday nights.
Come Winter 2009, Slater gives way to a more traditional series, The Philanthropist. Sunday nights at 9 p.m. we get a series about Merlin and the early days of Arthur Pendragon.
There will also be The Last Templar, a four-hour miniseries starring Mira Sorvino (The Final Cut) as an archaeologist who investigates the mystery of the Knights Templar.
The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will be rerun as a Fox marathon starting on Sunday, August 10 at 9 p.m. Then the other episodes air at 9 p.m. on August 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 24. The two-hour second season premiere then airs on September 8 at 8 p.m.
