Caprica marathon & some general updates

A quick round of updates before the year ends, in random order.

The last five episodes of Caprica will air on Tuesday, January 4, from 6 pm to 11 pm on Syfy. If you're not tuning in live, check your DVRs because several people have tweeted that they're listed as re-reruns.

Doug Drexler posted a cool clip (demo reel from "Unvanquished") over at Drex Files the other day:



Geek Life has included "Ghosts in the Machine" among the best episodes of the year.

The Comic Book Nerd has posted the press release for The Official Caprica Prop and Costume Auction, which starts on January 2.

Bear McCreary tweets that the Battlestar Galactica piano book will be released in late January or early February.

Patton Oswalt wrote an essay that's been causing some controversy in the collective geekdom this week. You can read it on Wired.com: Wake Up, Geek Culture. Time to Die

Alessandra Torresani hosted Attack of the Show again this week. She posted a couple of clips at The Bambola Factory.

Brian Markinson has a supporting role in Frankie and Alice, Halle Berry's MPD movie, out in a limited release on February 4. IMDB has the trailer.

Peter Wingfield is on CSI: Miami, episode "Match Made in Hell," this Sunday at 8 pm on CBS. You can see the teaser at SpoilerTV.

A quick glimpse of Sasha Roiz choking Amber Tamblyn in the new teaser for House (back on Monday, January 17):



The teaser for Blackstone, with Carmen Moore, which premieres on January 25 in Canada:



Daemon's TV has the teaser and a behind-the-scenes clip for HBO's Game of Thrones. (Jane Espenson is on the writing team.)

Hellcats is definitely back on Tuesday, January 25. TV Fanatic has an extended promo.

TV Overmind has the trailer and promotional pics for Falling Skies, Mark Verheiden's new show that kicks off next summer on TNT.

And that's it for the week (and year). Hope everyone has a good New Year's Eve and see you in 2011!

Campaign update, Caprica DVD, and new cast projects

There is an update on the apple campaign at the Save Caprica blog.

Associated Content has a lengthy review of the Caprica 1.5 DVD. Here are a few more details about the bonus features if you don't have it yet.

They include Deleted Scenes; Re-Caprica: Viewers can catch-up on the recap of "Caprica" Season 1.0; 7 Video Blogs that include Global Defense: Join Agent Duram (Brian Markinson) as he lifts the lid on the GDD, Next Generation: The cast and crew discuss the emerging talent and technology on the show, One True God?: Viewers take a journey into the religious aspects of the show as the cast and crews discuss the creation of the STO and how it shapes the world of "Caprica", Caprican Evolution: Executive producers David Eick and Jane Espenson take fans on a journey back to where it all began at the creation of "Caprica", Sounds of Caprica: Go behind the scenes with executive producer David Eick and music editor Michael Baber to hear how the unique sounds of "Caprica" are created, The Music of Caprica: Composer Bear McCreary discusses the sounds of "Caprica" and the music that forms the show, and Visual Effects: A discussion with executive producer David Eick and visual effects supervisor Gary Hutzel on the techniques involved with creating the world of "Caprica"; Podcasts with executive producer David Eick, director and series stars, Eric Stoltz, Magda Apanowicz, Esai Morales and Sasha Roiz; and Feature Episode Commentary with executive producer Kevin Murphy for "Unvanquished" and "Apotheosis."

Ryan Robbins did an interview for this week's Innerspace podcast. It starts about 10 minutes in and he mostly talks about his experience working on Caprica and Battlestar.

Alessandra Torresani wraps filming the pilot for Circling the Drain today. She tweeted a pic from the set here.

Showcase has an article about Blackstone, Carmen Moore's new show that premieres on January 25 in Canada. The official site is up at www.blackstonetheseries.com.

Chris Heyerdahl, John Pyper-Ferguson and Michael Eklund (who made a brief appearance at The Dive in "Rebirth") start shooting a new film, Gravity's Pull, in January. The Vancouver Sun has the details and an interesting story on how the film came about. Several people (other than JPF) who worked on A Night for Dying Tigers are also involved in this one (Gil Bellows, Kathleen Robertson, Tygh Runyan, Terry Miles). No word yet on a release date for Tigers.

TV Fanatic has the teaser for Private Practice 4x11.

TheRealSOCOM.com has a new interview with Bear McCreary, mostly about his score for SOCOM 4.

And here is the video that Magda Apanowicz did with Team Unicorn, A Very Zombie Holiday: How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse During the Holidays, which made its way to BoingBoing.

Caprica 1.5 DVD is out tomorrow

The Caprica Season 1.5 DVD finally gets released tomorrow. Another review showed up at HamptonRoads.com. Here are a couple of snippets:

Despite the intended niche audience of sci-fi fans, the heady show was perhaps a bit too brainy for mass consumption. Because of that, it was admittedly slow getting out of the starting blocks. Then again, so was Fox’s "Fringe." Yet even that show, helmed by name brand J.J. Abrams ("Star Trek"), still managed to make it to a third season. If a science fiction cable network can't cater to its audience, what a series doing there in the first place? Perhaps SyFy needs to change its marketing slogan from "Imagine Greater" to "Expect Less." (...)

The extras include a treasure trove of commentaries ‒ some recorded prior to the DVD as podcasts, others recorded for the DVD collection. There are about a dozen mini-featurettes (called “video blogs”) created for the website. Executive producer Jane Espenson joins other writers and cast members in covering topics such as music, effects and the show’s mythology and religion. Finally, there’s "Re-Caprica," a snarky and fun five-minute catch-up on previous episodes.

Another great article appeared at Flimgeeks.com, check it out: End of Line: A Farewell to Caprica (and soon enough, most other smart science fiction.)

And Boston Herald is giving away a free Caprica DVD. The contest ends today at 5 pm.

Elsewhere, Spoiler TV has the press release for Private Practice 4x11, "If You Don't Know Me by Now," directed by Eric Stoltz, which definitely airs on Thursday, January 6 at 10 pm on ABC.

Caprica DVD review, interview with Ryan Robbins & The Killing preview

The first Caprica Season 1.5 DVD review showed up at IGN on Friday. Here are a couple of snippets:

The final episodes ramp up the Caprica story in a big way. The show, criticized early on for being too slow-paced and ponderous, ups the tension considerably, as Daniel (Eric Stoltz), Amanda (Paula Malcomson), Joseph (Esai Morales) and Sam (Sasha Roiz) all find their lives in danger – I especially loved a Panic Room type scenario that has two characters locked inside a room, with a group of people with murderous intent trying to get in - which is even more frightening because those in danger are in the VR world, and don't realize what is going on with their physical bodies. (..)

There are a few deleted scenes and video blogs exploring different aspects of the show. More interesting are the podcasts, which include different participants, including Magda Apanowicz, whose enthusiasm and love of the show are wonderful to hear. There also are some very candid comments from executive producer David Eick, as these were recorded while the first few episodes of "Season 1.5" were airing and the show was clearly in danger.

Best though are the commentaries from Kevin Murphy, particularly on the finale. -- Read the rest at IGN

Dorkshelf has a really great interview with Ryan Robbins, who wraps filming his new crime thriller, Cold Blooded, today. He mostly talks about Sanctuary and Riese (going international in January), but also (at 3:45) about Caprica, Battlestar, Ron Moore & David Eick, and where season two might have gone. There is another new video interview with him, just as fun, at Cast TV.



Chicago Now has an interview with Chris Heyerdahl, who is still filming Twilight: Breaking Dawn. It's mostly about Twilight and Sanctuary, but he briefly mentions Caprica too.

Final reminder: Alessandra Torresani is hosting Attack of the Show again tomorrow.

If you are in Vancouver, you can still catch Hiro Kanagawa's The Patron Saint of Stanley Park (trailer) this week.

Still time to vote for Caprica in the SpoilerTV Awards if you haven't: Best Lead Actor in a Drama, Best Guest Star, Best Show Cancelled in 2010, and Best Episode of 2010.

And here is a behind-the-scenes clip from AMC's The Killing, which kicks off in March, with a few glimpses of Michelle Forbes, Richard Harmon and Kacey Rohl:

Caprica Season 1.5 DVD & cast updates

The Caprica Season 1.5 DVD is out this Tuesday (Dec. 21) and you can still pre-order it on Amazon. NBC has sent out copies for review and the first interesting bits about the commentary tracks come from IGN's Eric Goldman; one about plans to have James Callis and Tricia Helfer appear in the second half of season one, and another about one of the Final Five appearing in season two (if the show hadn't been pulled).

If you haven't seen the last five episodes, the general consensus is that they're the best part of the season. For better or worse, the show got a lot more prequelized and the hour that was cut last year can be felt, especially in the last two episodes, but the storylines, characters, dialogue and everything else stayed as frakking inspired as it always has been. Be warned, though. The finale wraps up the most prominent storylines of the second half of the season, but it leaves an even bigger continuity hole with Battlestar than the one it started with in more ways than one and may leave you with a sense of a beginning rather than ending. Which sucks, with the cancellation and all.

That said, on a more subjective note, with all the continuity issues between Caprica and Battlestar (and the way they 'fixed' one in particular toward the end of the season), I can't help but feel that Mark Stern et co. are being a little disingenuous about the possibility of Blood and Chrome ever going to series. With less ground to cover than Caprica, even more shackles in the story department, not to even mention character, and general insistence on more ties to the mother ship from the network (and hardcore BSG fans - most of them anyway), I am not really convinced that Syfy's plans to keep milking the franchise will extend beyond the movie. If anything, the news of Stargate's cancellation doesn't exactly spell faith in established franchises, or established fan bases for that matter.

Either way, you can catch the unaired episodes of Caprica on Syfy on January 4 or get them on DVD in a few days. I know there's been some resistance to buying the DVD, with people still not getting any less pissed off about the cancellation, but this isn't exactly a show that will get discovered by the masses as it should and, with Syfy keeping mum on all fronts, that's not gonna change any time soon. Not for anyone to profit from the show in any meaningful way anyway. Beyond that, unlike marketing and scheduling, the DVDs are the one thing they (NBC Universal, that is) actually do right. And besides, there are other ways to kick Syfy where it hurts.

UGO.com has an exclusive clip from the DVD, cleverly subtitled “Never before seen anywhere.” It includes a couple of scenes from "Blowback;" one with Magda Apanowicz and Ryan Kennedy travelling to Gemenon, and Chris Heyerdahl going batshit on the STO recruits, and the other with Brian Markinson and Tom McBeath in the GDD archives. The clip is embedded at the end of the post.

Alessandra Torresani is on TWoP's list of TV's Most Valuable Performers. And she'll be hosting Attack of the Show again this Monday.

You can vote (only once and until Monday) for Caprica in the SpoilerTV Awards polls in several categories: Best Lead Actor in a Drama (Eric Stoltz), Best Guest Star (John Pyper-Ferguson), Best Show Cancelled in 2010, and Best Episode of 2010 ("Ghosts in the Machine").

Elsewhere:

Yes, Stargate Universe has been cancelled halfway into its second season. The news came yesterday via Deadline and, in another good stroke of good judgement, Syfy had forgotten to inform the cast beforehand and took the opportunity to use the news as a springboard to promote its upcoming shows. Other than the Tuesday death slot, SGU shared writer/producer Remi Aubuchon and the occasional cast member (Mike Dopud, Anna Galvin, Zak Santiago, Ryan Kennedy) with Caprica. The remaining episodes of season two will air in the spring. More details at GateWorld.net.

Things are looking brighter for Sanctuary, which is still in negotiations for season four. Spacecast has a new video interview with Ryan Robbins and Chicago Now recently talked to Chris Heyerdahl. Polly Walker guest stars in the mid-season finale tonight (Friday) at 10 pm.

Sundance.org has posted the screening schedules for all the films premiering at the festival in January, including Gun Hill Road with Esai Morales and Vampire with Ryan Robbins. You can find them here: Gun Hill Road, Vampire.

The Battle of the Bulbs, with Teryl Rothery, premieres tomorrow (Saturday) at 8 pm on the Hallmark Channel. You can find several behind-the-scenes clips on YouTube: clip 1, clip 2, clip 3, clip 4.

Luciana Carro has landed a leading role in The Icarus II Project, an independent web series which will premiere at the San Diego Comic Con next summer. They start shooting in February. Michael Taylor is credited as script consultant on the official site. You can find more details about the project at LucianaCarroFans.com.

CSI: Miami 9x10, "Match Made in Hell," with Peter Wingfield guest starring, has been pushed back to Sunday, January 2.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, with Alex Arsenault (Philo) and Philip Granger (Tanner Willow), still has no release date for the U.S. but it has been released in Russia earlier this month. For updates on release dates elsewhere in the world, go to the movie’s Facebook page.

Patton Oswalt's book, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, is out on January 4. AICN has a review.

The Chicago Sun-Times has a short interview with Malcolm MacIver, who worked as a science consultant on TRON: Legacy, which opens this weekend.

Spoiler TV has posted the returning dates for all network shows. Here is a round-up:

• V returns on Tuesday, January 4. Alison Araya guest stars in the season two premiere, "Red Rain."
• Private Practice is back on Thursday, January 6. The first new episode should be the one directed by Eric Stoltz.
• The Cape, scored by Bear McCreary, kicks off on Sunday, January 9 on NBC.
• Lie to Me returns on Monday, January 10. Paula Malcomson is probably appearing on the show that day.
• The Good Wife, with Scott Porter, is back on Tuesday, January 11. Spoiler TV has the synopsis for the next episode and a 2011 promo.
• House is back on Monday, January 17. Still no word in which episode Sasha Roiz guest stars, but keep an eye on his new official Facebook page for updates.
• Fairly Legal, starring Sarah Shahi and BSG’s Michael Trucco, kicks off on Thursday, January 20 on USA. Philip Granger and Ryan Kennedy will both appear on the show at some point.
• Hellcats returns on Tuesday, January 25, or possibly sooner. Heather Hemmens (Hellcat Alice) tweeted that the show will be back on January 4.

Last not least, check out How the Nerd Stole Christmas on Bear McCreary's blog.

The clip from the DVD:

Weekend wrap

10 days left until the Caprica Season 1.5 DVD is out.

A quick round of cast updates:

Alessandra Torresani starts shooting a new pilot this week, called Circling the Drain. It's a single-camera comedy about a reporter who gets demoted from the style section to the obits desk at a newspaper. You can read a message from Alessandra about the project on her blog.

Deadline writes, "The Circling the Drain presentation will be completed by Jan.1, giving the project a jump start on the broadcast pilot season where production usually starts in February. While the project was originally envisioned as a cable show, the producers are now looking to cast a wider net for it."

Esai Morales has wrapped filming the webseries Los Americans. The first photos from his new movie, Gun Hill Road, which premieres at Sundance in January, showed up this week at Daemon's Movies. There is also an interesting article about the film at Eclectique 916.

Polly Walker will make her first appearance on Sanctuary next Friday in episode 3x10, "The Hollow Men." Spoiler TV has the teaser (with Polly) and a sneak peek with Ryan Robbins and Christopher Heyerdahl.

Magda Apanowicz tweeted that she is filming a new Team Unicorn FTW project.

Scott Porter is back on Friday Night Lights next Wednesday at 9 pm in episode 5x07, "Perfect Record." Spoiler TV has the teaser. Patrick Massett and John Zinman have been nominated for a Writer's Guild Award for their work on the show, which is now entering its final run of episodes on DirecTV. 

Both Scott Porter and Sasha Roiz are on Buddy TV's list of TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2010.

Tomorrow's episode of CSI: Miami, with Peter Wingfield guest starring, might get delayed because of football. David Caruso has swooped down on YouTube to say he'll make sure you know when the episode airs in time.

Leah Gibson did an interview for Twilight: Eclipse recently. You can watch it here. You can also see the teaser for The Fence, a short film she did with Matt Hamilton that will be out next year, on YouTube.

Also, her fans tweet (and IMDb confirms) that Rise of the Apes, the prequel to the Planet of the Apes series, with James Franco, Brian Cox, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Tom Felton and Andy Serkis, will be released on June 24, 2011. Caprica's James Pizzinato is also in it.

Three Inches, the pilot James Marsters shot with Stephanie Jacobsen and Naoko Mori (Toshi from Torchwood, you'll see her in Private Practice 4x11) for Syfy a few months ago, didn't get a series order, but - hold onto your sanity - Mark Stern says it still might. Deadline has the gory details about the show possibly getting retooled and the actors' contracts getting extended. In the meantime, you can see James on Hawaii Five-0 this Monday at 10 pm on CBS. Spoiler TV has a new promo.

Carmen Moore (that's Fidelia if you've seen the last few episodes) has recently wrapped a film called Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. You can see some stills on her Facebook page. She will also be a regular on Blackstone, a new show that kicks off early next year in Canada. (Hiro Kanagawa is credited as story editor.) For details and updates, hit Facebook.

Mike Dopud tweeted that he, too, is working on This Means War. Panou and Aleks Paunovic will also be in it. And Elisabeth Rosen, grandpa's foe from "The Dirteaters," will have a supporting role in his new movie, In the Name of the Father 2.

More updates as they come on Twitter, as usual.

Apples, letter campaign & cast updates

A lengthy round of updates today.

The campaigns to bring Caprica back for another season are still very much alive and kicking. The second round of apples will be shipped to Mark Stern this Thursday, and the letter campaign just got easier. If you want to send a letter to Syfy and NBC, head over to Caprica Times or the Battlestar Cafe for the addresses and info on the fastest way to do it.

Bear McCreary tweeted some great (unofficial) news about another Caprica CD, so keep an eye on him on Twitter for updates. These days, he is writing the score for Summer Glau's new show, The Cape, which kicks off on Sunday, January 9 at 9 pm on NBC. On other fronts, The Walking Dead season finale aired yesterday and Eureka is back with a holiday episode tomorrow night.

Caprica starts airing in Asia this week. The show will premiere on December 9 at 10 pm on AXN Beyond.

Cast updates:

Gun Hill Road, with Esai Morales, will premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival (January 20 – 30). Here is the synopsis, from Sundance.org:

Gun Hill Road (Director and screenwriter: Rashaad Ernesto Green) — After three years in prison, Enrique is back in his beloved Bronx, back in the arms of an estranged wife and back in the life of his teenage son, who is stumbling towards a transformation that will put the bonds of their embattled family to the test. Cast: Esai Morales, Judy Reyes, Harmony Santana, Vanessa Aspillaga.

Esai also attended the Artivist Film Festival Awards at the Egyptian Theater this weekend. You can see some photos on his Facebook page.

From ABC’s December schedule, it looks like Private Practice 4x11, directed by Eric Stoltz, won’t air until January. Until then, ABC will be showing specials and re-runs on Thursdays.

The same thing goes for Lie to Me. No new episodes until Monday, January 10, when the show returns with two episodes airing back-to-back. "Funhouse," with Paula Malcomson, should be one of them. (Fox has been known to shuffle episodes, so this is still unconfirmed.)

Teryl Rothery has a new TV movie, Battle of the Bulbs, which airs Saturday, December 18 at 8 pm on Hallmark. You can watch the teaser on Hallmark's site.

AMC has started production on The Killing this week. Richard Harmon will have a recurring role and Kacey Rohl will also make an appearance on the show. Michelle Forbes is one of the leads.

Riese, with Ryan Robbins, Leah Gibson, Alessandro Juliani, Ben Cotton, and Richard Harmon will have its Canadian premiere early next year. You can find the details at Spacecast.com.

Starz has set a tentative premiere date for Torchwood: The New World, with Jane Espenson on board this season. Movieweb reports that season four will start airing in July 2011.

And there are a few cast members you can catch on TV this week.

On Tuesday, Alessandra Torresani will host Attack of the Show again.

Jorge Montesi guest stars on Human Target on Wednesday in episode 2x04, "The Return of Baptiste." The show airs at 8 pm on Fox.

On Thursday, Genevieve Buechner will be on Fringe in episode 3x09, "Marionette." That's 9 pm on Fox. Spoiler TV has a teaser.

Alison Araya is in the next episode of Supernatural, "Appointment in Samarra," which airs on Friday at 9 pm on the CW. She will also appear in the the season two premiere of the V series, "Red Rain," which airs on Tuesday, January 4 at 9 on ABC.

Ryan Robbins and Christopher Heyerdahl are still on Sanctuary (Fridays at 10). Spoiler TV has the teaser and a sneak peek from the next episode. A side note here, since Syfy isn't releasing guest star info in advance: Polly Walker should appear on the show around the mid-season point, so if you've been waiting for that, episode 3x09 is as good a place as any to tune in. James Pizzinato (Drew, the lab guy) is yet another Caprica actor who will make an appearance on the show, but that won't happen until episode 3x13.

Peter Wingfield will appear on CSI: Miami in episode 9x10, "Match Made in Hell," which airs on Sunday at 10 on CBS. He also showed up on Sanctuary last Friday and mentioned he would guest star on the Canadian show Endgame.

James Marsters is back on Hawaii Five-0 in episode "Hana 'a'a Makehewa" (Desperate Measures), which airs next Monday at 10 pm.

More updates hopefully coming later this week.