Caprica Season 2 finale, Sanctuary previews, and new interviews with Meg Tilly and Christopher Heyerdahl

All right, one final update for the year.

The two-part finale of Caprica Season 2, written by Bernard Keyer, has been posted on Beginning of Line. You can read it here: Enuma Elis, Part 1 and Part 2. If you're only now discovering BoL, you can find the entire season in the Story Archive.

And if you're interested in contributing stories or fan art for Season 3, you still have a day left to email Teresa and let her know. Details on the So Say We All blog.

Also on the Caprica front, Bear McCreary tweets that the soundtrack will be released in early 2012. Hopefully.

And this is always great to see: Caprica got an honor roll mention in Huffington Post's TV section, in their Year in Television 2011 review.

Three Inches with James Marsters and Stephanie Jacobsen airs tonight (9 pm, Syfy)

Three Inches, the Syfy pilot with James Marsters and Stephanie Jacobsen that didn't get ordered to series, airs tonight at 9 pm ET on Syfy.

To recap, the network ordered the 90-minute pilot back in the spring of 2010. It was filmed in September in Toronto and, in December, Syfy decided to pick up Alphas instead, and to tweak Three Inches into a half-hour because the two were conceptually similar.

Six months went by with no news, and then in July word came from James' FB page that Syfy would not be giving Three Inches a full season, but that the pilot would air eventually. Well, that's tonight.

Here is the synopsis, from ScienceFiction.com:

In Three Inches, professional daydreamer and underachiever, Walter Spackman (Noah Reid) is struck by lightning, and develops a unique “super” power — the ability to move any object using just his mind… but only a distance of three inches. He’s soon recruited by a covert team of superheroes each gifted with their own extraordinarily ordinary abilities. Together, the unlikely band of heroes proves that “super” is simply a state of mind.

17th Precinct pilot, Sanctuary finale (part 1) and some general updates

Just checking in to wish everyone happy holidays and safe travels!

Here are a few updates to wrap things up for the week:

Someone has posted an early Christmas present for us on Vimeo - the full pilot for Ron Moore's 17th Precinct. Huge props to Caprica City (Twitter) for the find!

Apparently it's been up there for a couple of months now, but some of us were too busy whining about no air date to notice.

The pilot was directed by BSG's Michael Rymer and has what's probably the best ensemble cast since Caprica went off the air: Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Stockard Channing, Esai Morales, Eamonn Walker, Tricia Helfer and Matt Long. You can watch it on Vimeo or keep scrolling, it's embedded below.

The first part of the Sanctuary season four finale, "Sanctuary for None," airs tonight at 10 pm on Syfy. Here is a new synopsis, from Red Eye Chicago:

Written by James Thorpe and directed by Damian Kindler, the first part has Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) teaming with Hollow Earth rebel leader Caleb (guest star Gil Bellows) to build a new homeland for displaced abnormals in the Fifth Ward. Magnus wants to broker a peace deal between the insurgents, SCIU and the other government agencies, but SCIU director Greg Addison (Brian Markinson) has other ideas.

A lot goes down in that first episode involving Addison, Will (Robin Dunne), Bigfoot (Christopher Heyerdahl) and Tesla (Jonathon Young), leading Magnus to take desperate action.

Tuesday round-up: Blood & Chrome, Sanctuary, cast news, interviews with Jane Espenson, William B. Davis and Patton Oswalt

Okay, some updates.

It's Tuesday, so keep an eye on Beginning of Line. A new episode of Caprica season 2 goes up today.

There are a couple of things to check out on TV tonight. Patton Oswalt is on Conan at 11 pm on TBS, and on Chelsea Lately, also at 11 on E!

Deck the Halls with Luciana Carro and Hiro Kanagawa premieres at 9 pm on TNT. From the press release:

Holiday cheer turns to holiday fear when a private investigator’s father is kidnapped in TNT’s all-new original movie Deck the Halls, starring Kathy Najimy, Scottie Thompson, Jane Alexander, Larry Miller and David Selby. Based on the book by Mary Higgins Clark and daughter Carol Higgins Clark and the first in their series of holiday mystery novels.

A crackling good mystery with a warm holiday heart, Deck the Halls brings together two of the Higgins Clarks’ most popular characters: cleaning-woman-turned-amateur sleuth Alvirah Meehan, played by Kathy Najimy (Sister Act, Franklin & Bash) and private eye Regan Reilly, played by Scottie Thompson (Star Trek, Skyline). The women investigate the kidnapping of Regan’s father, Luke Reilly (David Selby – The Social Network, Dark Shadows), and a young female driver just before the holidays. The race is on to rescue the pair and get them home in time for Christmas.

TNT has released a sneak peek with Luciana Carro. You can watch it here.

Blood and Chrome update, Grimm & Sanctuary previews, first look at Arctic Air & The Firm

First stop today, Beginning of Line. Episode 16 of Caprica season two has been posted. You can read it here: Assassin Nation.

Second, Young Adult opens wide today. Patton Oswalt was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor earlier this week. He also got nods as Runner-up from the Los Angeles Film Critics and Toronto Film Critics Association. Big congrats! (He's done a bunch of interviews this week too, but I won't be posting them until tomorrow.)

Also, congrats to Jane Espenson -- Game of Thrones was named one of the TV Programs of the Year by the American Film Institute last week.

Antipodal has an audio interview with Sasha Roiz. You can download it here.

Grimm 1x07, "Let Your Hair Down," airs tonight at 9. Synopsis:

A mysterious homicide deep in the woods leads to Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) reopening a long-aborted missing persons case. When Nick suspects this abducted person might be a feral creature, he asks Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) to help remind this wild child of her human nature. Bitsie Tulloch, Sasha Roiz and Reggie Lee also star.

Snowmageddon, interviews with Jane Espenson, Scott Porter and Calum Worthy, and more updates

Okay, the last round of updates for the week.

Snowmageddon, Syfy's Christmas movie with Magda Apanowicz and Michael Hogan saving the world, premieres tonight at 9 pm ET.

You can also catch Magda on Robot Chicken tomorrow at 11:30 pm on Adult Swim. She will be voicing Gladys/Mother/Herman's Wife according to the IMDB. And, speaking of Michael Hogan, he will be playing a "lethal werewolf hunter" in the second season of Teen Wolf. TV Guide reported the news earlier this month.

Press release, teaser and sneak peeks from Snowmageddon:

To usher in the holiday season, Syfy will present a snow globe with the power to destroy the world in the Saturday Original Movie Snowmageddon, airing Saturday, December 10 at 9PM (ET/PT) during the channel’s second annual Countdown to Christmas Week.

Starring Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica), David Cubitt (Medium) and Magda Apanowicz (Caprica), the Christmas-themed Snowmageddon is about a mystical snow globe that makes very bad things happen in the real world when it is shaken.

The movie is a production of Cinetel.

Young Adult opens this weekend - new interviews with Patton Oswalt

Young Adult opens in a limited release this weekend and Patton Oswalt has given a gazillion interviews in the last couple of weeks.

On the news front, last week Patton was nominated for a Grammy for Best Comedy Album for "Finest Hour" - big congrats! - and, this week, Deadline included him among the frontrunners for an Oscar in the best supporting actor category, along with - brace for a holy frak - Ben Kingsley, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Spacey, Max von Sydow and Christopher Plummer. From the article:

PATTON OSWALT, YOUNG ADULT
Perhaps best known as a stand-up comedian and the voice of the lead rat in Pixar’s Ratatouille, Oswalt is quickly establishing his credentials as a serious actor, first in the critically acclaimed indie film The Big Fan and now on a larger scale as a lonely man whose life was defined by an unfortunate incident in high school. His scenes opposite Charlize Theron are awkward, funny, poignant and memorable.

Hollywood Reporter has a round-up of critics' reactions to the film and the photos from the New York premiere. Below are some of the many interviews Patton did in recent days.

Friday round-up: previews, cast interviews and new projects

This is the first part of the weekend monster update, with more news & stuff coming in the next couple of days.

I got my Grimms confused in yesterday's post as it turns out. Tonight's episode won't be "Let Your Hair Down," but "The Three Bad Wolves." Rapunzel doesn't show up until next week.

Nick (David Giuntoli) is called to a suspected arson case, which exposes a longstanding family feud that brings Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) face-to-face with characters from his troubled past. While Monroe wrestles with restraining his wild side, it’s up to Nick to keep everything from going up in flames. Russell Hornsby, Bitsie Tulloch, Sasha Roiz and Reggie Lee also star.

There are a few sneak peeks at THR and Dread Central. Spoiler TV has the promotional stills. Here is the teaser:

Sasha Roiz on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, new interview, and new Grimm tonight at 10

Okay, just a couple of reminders today.

Episode 15 of Caprica season 2 went up at Beginning of Line on Tuesday. You can check it out here: Fallen Angel

On the off chance that I don't get around to posting a full update on time, many familiar faces will be making appearances on TV in the next few days: Brian Markinson will be back on Sanctuary tomorrow (Syfy, 10 pm), Genevieve Buechner and Richard Harmon will appear in The Haunting Hour on Saturday (The Hub, 5 pm ET), Snowmageddon with Magda Apanowicz and Michael Hogan also premieres on Saturday (Syfy, 9 pm), and Magda will also be on Robot Chicken on Sunday (Adult Swim, 11:30 pm).

Sasha Roiz guest stars on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia in episode "High School Reunion" tonight at 10 pm on FX. It's the first of his two episodes on the show.

Patton Oswalt on Raising Hope, Young Adult Q&A, new Sanctuary tonight, and interviews with Hiro Kanagawa, Jane Espenson and Christopher Heyerdahl

If you missed it on Twitter: Beginning of Line is back and the new episode of Caprica season two, "Children Through the Cracks," written by Vikki Bingham, has been posted. Check it out at the link.

Several notable TV appearances tonight.

Tahmoh Penikett is in Scott Turow's Innocent, a TV film that premieres on TNT as part of the network's mystery movie night at 9 pm. Spoiler TV has the press release and a behind-the-scenes video.

Aaron Douglas' episode of Flashpoint that aired in Canada a couple of weeks ago airs in the U.S. tonight at 10 pm on AON.

Patton Oswalt guest stars on Raising Hope in episode "Bro-gurt," which airs at 9:30 pm on Fox. Synopsis:

When the National Invention Convention Extravaganza comes to town, Virginia encourages the family to submit their own inventions that could bring home a large cash prize. Burt teams with the family’s neighbor Andrew (guest star Ethan Suplee) and invents unusually flavored yogurts, while Jimmy partners with Sabrina to develop a new baby mop. When convention day arrives the competition between each team escalates as they pitch their inventions to Andrew Dice Clay (guest-starring as himself). During the competition, the family ends up realizing family and friends are what matter the most.

And here is a sneak peek with Patton, Martha Plimpton, Garret Dillahunt and Ethan Suplee:

Weekly roundup: cast updates, interviews, previews and new projects

A bunch of stuff has happened since the last update. Let's start with Caprica.

Caprica season two will resume on Beginning of Line with episode 14 (of 18) this Tuesday. Teresa Jusino posted this earlier:

There are 18 episodes total in Caprica Season 2 here at Beginning of Line. Episodes will now be posting every Tuesday between November 29th and December 27th. Just in time for your Solstice celebrations. :)

Anyone interested in writing an episode of season three (coming in 2012) or submitting fan art, hit the link.

Luciana Carro (Caprica's Priyah Magnus, Battlestar's Kat) has joined Twitter. You can follow her here: @LucianaCarro. These days, she is working on season two of Falling Skies, along with Ryan Robbins and a bunch of Caprica and BSG writers -- Remi Aubuchon, Mark Verheiden, David Weddle and Bradley Thompson. From their recent tweets, Luciana is playing a character called Crazy Lee and they recently wrapped filming episode four. Season two will most likely start airing in June.

On TV tonight:

New interviews with Sasha Roiz and Christopher Heyerdahl

Just a few updates today.

Christopher Heyerdahl is back in Hell on Wheels tonight at 10 pm on AMC, in episode 1x03, "A New Birth of Freedom." Pizquita has the promotional photos and Warming Glow has a region-locked preview. Hop over to watch it if you can. Here is what they say about tonight's episode:

Hell on Wheels (AMC, Sunday) — I’m sticking with “Hell on Wheels” right now mostly for the scenery-chewing performances by Colm Meaney and Christopher Heyerdahl, who plays The Swede. His monologue about Andersonville (embedded below) is probably the highlight of the show through two episodes, but in terms of calculated menace, The Swede is still several steps behind Michael Shannon’s Agent Van Alden on “Boardwalk Empire.”

Entertainment Heartbeat has a new interview with Sasha Roiz, mostly about Grimm. Snippets below, read the rest at the link.

So, how does an actor prepare to be likable while working as the top bad guy on a show crowded with genuine monsters and their supernatural power?

New Grimm & Sanctuary tonight, interviews with Sasha Roiz and Bear McCreary, VFX Minds panel & general updates

Let's start with Friday night TV.

Grimm 1x04, "Lonelyhearts," airs at 9 pm on NBC. Synopsis:

After investigating a strange cluster of female deaths and disappearances, Nick (David Giuntoli) sends Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) undercover to get a whiff of a hypnotic suspect.

In the meantime, a stranger shows up looking to avenge the death of his friend at the hands of a Grimm, but he’ll have to get past Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz). Russell Hornsby, Bitsie Tulloch and Reggie Lee also star.

Patrick Fischler (Mad Men, Southland, Lost) guest stars. Blastr has a first look at the creatures from tonight's episode, and you can see a few sneak peeks on NBC.com.

Sasha Roiz did a round of radio interviews this morning. You can listen to them on Blog Talk Radio, MrMedia.com and KeyW.com.

Sanctuary 3x07, "Icebreaker," airs at 10 pm on Syfy. Synopsis:

Henry, Declan and a team from the UK Sanctuary go to the Bering Sea to investigate a mystery on a shipwrecked icebreaker, where the crew has killed the Abnormals on board and each other.

New projects for Eric Stoltz, Polly Walker and Ben Cotton, and new interviews with Sasha Roiz and Christopher Heyerdahl

A bunch of updates today, most of which were supposed to go up over the weekend:

There is a new BSG site in town: Battlestar Galactica Filming Locations. It's a pretty thorough guide to all the places seen in the show's four seasons and two films, and very handy for anyone planning a trip to Vancouver, along with Visit Caprica. Check it out at BattlestarLocations.com.

On TV tonight: Richard Harmon tweets that his episode of Clue airs tonight. That's 8 pm ET on the Hub TV Network. You can watch the series trailer on YouTube.

Yesterday's episode of Glee, "Mash Off," was directed by Eric Stoltz. Fox has released a couple of new behind-the-scenes clips today (embedded & linked below).

Hell on Wheels preview, new interview with Christopher Heyerdahl & new project for David Eick

Christopher Heyerdahl makes his first appearance as the Swede in Hell on Wheels 1x02, "Immoral Mathematics," which airs tonight at 10 pm on AMC. He's been getting great reviews for the show (see here), so see the episode if you get a chance. Here is another one, from The Boston Globe:

Indeed, once a character known as the Swede (Christopher Heyerdahl) shows up in episode 2, with his silent-picture expressiveness and the kind of threatening presence usually found in Coen Brothers movies, I was fully invested in the show and looking forward to seeing the rest of the 10-episode season. The Swede is just the kind of twisted psycho creep you want to watch closely, the showiest bad guy in the “Hell on Wheels’’ stampede of antiheroes led by financier, swindler, and railroad builder Thomas Durant (Colm Meaney).

And here is what the A.V. Club says:

Tonight’s episode introduces our new favorite character ever, The Swede, played by Christopher Heyerdahl. Trust us, kids. You’re going to want to start working on your Scandanavian accent for your Swede Halloween costume next year. Phil Nugent’s got a head start.

We Have Your Husband, starring Esai Morales, premieres tonight (8 pm, Lifetime)

Just a reminder that Esai Morales gets kidnapped in the Lifetime film We Have Your Husband tonight at 8 pm.

If you're in the right region, you can see the trailer on Lifetime's site.

Esai was on KTLA News the other day to talk about the film and some of the issues it raises. You can watch the interview here. It includes a couple of clips from the film.

Grimm & Sanctuary previews, and new interviews with Sasha Roiz and Patton Oswalt

Just a few updates, starting with what's on TV tonight.

Geek Charming, a TV film with Kacey Rohl and Andrew Airlie, airs at 8 pm on the Disney Channel. Synopsis and trailer at Daemon's TV.

A new episode of Grimm, called "Beeware," airs at 9/8 c on NBC. Synopsis:

The station is abuzz as Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) are called to a case where an innocent flash mob results in a gruesome homicide. As Nick delves further into the investigation, he learns more about his unique family history, and finds himself at odds when he and Hank are assigned to protect a dark character from his recent past. Bitsie Tulloch, Silas Weir Mitchell, Sasha Roiz and Reggie Lee also star.

Here is a new interview with Sasha Roiz, from KGW:

Teryl Rothery's Brisbane Supanova Expo Q&A

Teryl Rothery was at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo in Brisbane earlier this week and some clips from her Q&A showed up on YouTube today.

The questions she was asked were mostly about Stargate SG-1, but she also talked about a bunch of her other projects, including Caprica. She also explained why she hasn't made an appearance on Sanctuary yet. (Sanctuary's Amanda Tapping was also one of the regulars on SG-1 and they both have a huge following from that show.)

Among the new projects that aren't listed on the IMDB, she mentions The Killing Game (the same Lifetime film with Brian Markinson that premiered last week, as it turns out) and says she also recently worked on Flicka 3 (Kacey Rohl is in that one, too).

Cast updates and new interviews with Jane Espenson, Carmen Moore and Scott Porter

A few updates to start the week.

Jamie Bamber guest stars on House tonight (9 pm, Fox, teaser below) and a new episode of Hart of Dixie with Scott Porter also airs at 9 pm, on the CW.

The Boston Herald has a new interview with Scott. He talks about Hart of Dixie, Friday Night Lights and the possibility of returning to The Good Wife. Snippet:

“Blake was the trickiest character I ever played,” he said.

Any chance Blake could return to stir up trouble?

“The (producers) and I have talked about it,” he said. “If Blake does come back, he’s going to come back in a much different capacity. This time, maybe, he’s the one who needs the help. It’s going to be great to see if he can repair those bridges that he burned. Not just burned, but dropped bombs on.”

Elsewhere:

Spoiler TV has the promotional photos from Grimm 1x04, "Lonelyhearts." Here are the ones with Sasha Roiz:

The Heart, She Holler series premiere and new interviews with Patton Oswalt

Patton Oswalt's new show, The Heart, She Holler, premieres tonight at 12:30 am on Adult Swim. As good an opportunity as any to catch up on at least some of the things he's been doing lately.

These days, he has one movie out in theatres (A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas), another one getting released next month (Young Adult), and Stars Entertainment reports that he will make an appearance in the Christmas episode of Raising Hope.

On the media front, he was on the Kevin & Bean podcast with Rob Delaney and Joshua Jackson the other day. You can listen to it here.

Popbytes has a recording of the panel for The Heart, She Holler at the New York Comic Con.

Christopher Heyerdahl in Hell on Wheels: What the critics are saying

AMC's new western drama Hell on Wheels premieres tonight at 10 pm, after The Walking Dead.

From all accounts, Christopher Heyerdahl doesn't make an appearance until next week's episode, but critics have been mentioning him a lot in the early reviews. Just for context, most of them are not quite as enthusiastic about the show as they are about his character. (He plays a Norwegian badass called The Swede who works for the show's resident villain, railroad boss Thomas 'Doc' Durant, played by Star Trek's Colm Meaney.)

Here are a few snippets from some of the reviews flooding my inbox this week (careful, there are spoilers):

Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter:

In fact, the best character appears in the second episode but isn’t mentioned in the voluminous press materials or episode synopsis (!). It’s Christopher Heyerdahl, playing a character named The Swede. How is it that in one hour -- Episode 2 -- the Swede seems fully formed and the lead, Bohannon, seems to be an intentionally murky mix of good and bad that is more theoretical than evident?

New interview with Sasha Roiz and the weekend monster update

Let's start the weekly round-up with Grimm.

Grimm's ratings dropped a little this week, but the show still won the 18-49 demo in its timeslot, finishing ahead of CSI: NY, Fringe and Supernatural, and rising by a full frakking ratings point (1.8) after Chuck (0.8). Wake up, Chuck.

Hitfix visited the set in Portland recently and posted a lengthy report. Here is a snippet:

Sasha Roiz on how his character will develop later in the series: "I’m not a Grimm descendent, but I'm a descendent of a long line that dates back just as Grimm does and we have a bit of a history and a past, so my line is a royal line and that will slowly unfold throughout the series."

Collider has a longer interview with Sasha and Reggie Lee (more at the link):

It’s nice to see your character – like the main character – has the duality.
ROIZ: My character’s more seasoned in the fantastical world, a bit of a player, and he’s aware of the Grimm, but no one seems aware of who I am, except the people I want to be aware. It’s fun, and as we continue, there are always new things that are being developed. We don’t know where they’re going. We have a sense of the character, he comes from royal descent, his family has had ties for centuries and so on, and with every episode a little bit more is added to that story.

It feels like there’s a greater universe that will be fun to explore, but the show’s also a procedural.
LEE: It is that more than anything else, and you’ll see as we go on it remains a procedural, so the mythological elements are backburnered. I think they’ll come out eventually.

ROIZ: From what we’ve been told if there’s a back nine, that’s something we’ll explore but for now it’s more self-contained episodes.

The teaser for next week's episode, "BeeWare" (Friday, 9 pm, NBC), is embedded below. Nana Visitor (Deep Space Nine, BSG, Torchwood) guest stars.

New Grimm & Sanctuary tonight, and some general updates

Just a few quick updates today.

Grimm 1x02, "Bears Will Be Bears," airs tonight at 9 pm on NBC. Here is the synopsis:

A case of breaking and entering introduces Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) to a mysterious family whose cultural background blurs the line of right and wrong. Meanwhile, Nick tasks Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) with safeguarding Aunt Marie (guest star Kate Burton). Bitsie Tulloch, Sasha Roiz and Reggie Lee also star.

Spoiler TV has four sneak peeks from the episode.

Alessandra Torresani on American Horror Story tonight, new interviews with James Marsters, Scott Porter & Christopher Heyerdahl

Okay, for real this time:

Alessandra Torresani guest stars on American Horror Story tonight at 10 pm on FX. Here is the synopsis for both Halloween episodes, from THR:

In Part 1, Vivien (Connie Britton) and Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott) met the house's previous tenants, a gay couple (played by Zachary Quinto and Teddy Sears) obsessed with decorating the home just right for Halloween so the Harmons can unload the property.

In addition, Tate (Evan Peters) and Violet (Taissa Farmiga) inch closer when the couple takes advantage of the old Halloween loophole that all the ghosts come out to walk the streets for the night as they hit the beach for their first official date.

Alessandra plays Steph, one of the unwelcome visitors on that date. For previews, go to Sci Fi Mafia.

Ryan Robbins tweets that one of his recent films, Marilyn, will premiere at the Whistler Film Festival, which runs from November 30 to December 4.

For production stills and more details about the film, visit the official site at MarilyntheMovie.net. Here is some info from the press release (PDF link):

Halloween updates: Grimm, American Horror Story, Chillerama, Crazy Dracula, The Monster Frankenstein & The Divide

Happy Halloween!

In today's round of updates, Alessandra Torresani is a zombie, Aleks Paunovic is Frankenstein, Ryan Robbins turns invisible, and Michael Hogan fights Frankenstein.

None of the videos are safe for work.

Not sure what kind of creature Sasha Roiz plays in Grimm, but NBC will re-air the pilot again on Saturday, November 5. If you're in the US, you can watch the episode on NBC.com/Grimm. You can also catch it tomorrow at 7 pm on Syfy. NBC has posted a bunch of behind-the-scenes photos here (no Sasha). Episode 1x02, "Bears Will Be Bears," airs on Friday at 9 pm.

Bear McCreary has posted the official album artwork for his Chillerama: Zom-B-Movie soundtrack, which gets released in a couple of weeks. You can see it on Bear's site. Here is a snippet from the press release that goes with it:

Grimm update, James Marsters' Wizard World Q&A and a new interview with Jane Espenson

Just a few updates today, but they're fun.

Grimm premiered to surprisingly strong ratings last night (6.5 million viewers, 2.1 million in the 18-49 demo), or as NBC puts it in the press release, the "largest non-sports 18-49 audience on the night by any network since last year's "New Year's Rockin' Eve" on ABC (2.8 rating)."

What makes this news particularly great is that the show aired opposite the most watched baseball game in the last seven years, and after one of the lowest rated episodes of Chuck ever (the show hit a series low in the key demo, according to TV by the Numbers).

NBC is re-airing the Grimm pilot tonight at 9 pm and the episode will also be shown on Syfy this Tuesday at 7 pm.

Here is the synopsis for next Friday's episode, "Bears Will Be Bears:"

A barbaric family history is revealed when Nick and Hank investigate a case of breaking and entering. Meanwhile, Nick assigns Eddy to look after Aunt Marie.

And a new teaser for the upcoming episodes, with Sasha Roiz:

Grimm premiere tonight (9/8c, NBC), new interviews with Sasha Roiz & Friday roundup

Grimm finally premieres tonight at 9 pm on NBC and a bunch of new articles and interviews have showed up since yesterday.

Teresa Jusino has an excellent new interview with Sasha Roiz at Tor.com, mostly about Grimm, but some of this other recent projects get mentioned too, including Caprica.

Knowing that Roiz has expressed a preference for fantasy over sci-fi, I asked him whether this being an urban fantasy (created by Angel exec producers, David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf no less!) had something to do with his accepting the role.

“Personally, as an actor, it matters very little me what genre (if any) I’m engaged in.” he says. “It’s all make-believe and requires the same process and imagination. I respond to good writing and good people. I’ve been very fortunate over the years to get both. I think the term ‘genre’ has become very gray in recent years, and we continue to see a crossover as more and more viewers are tuning into to shows that stimulate and indulge their imagination. With Grimm, it’s a lot of fun for me to be able to play within the familiar world of fairy tales. As for satisfying my inner fantasy geek, anything that would have me wielding a sword or shooting a bow would be a dream.”

Richard Harmon in The Secret Circle, new interview with Scott Porter, and the frakking anniversary

Let's start with the frakking anniversary:

Frak October 27.

Caprica was cancelled and pulled from Syfy's schedule exactly a year ago today, and The Caprica Times has the sitrep on the show and the fandom a year later. Check it out: Caprica: One Year Later

Alessandra Torresani didn't make that appearance on American Horror Story yesterday despite IMDB saying she would, but she will definitely show up on next week's episode. Sorry for the confusion.

Richard Harmon guest stars in The Secret Circle 1x07, "Masked," which airs tonight at 9 pm on the CW.

IMDB says that he plays "Pig Face/Ian," so that may or may not be him in the screenshot to the left.

Richard posted a photo from the set of The Pregnancy Project earlier today. You can see it here.

And Judas Kiss is among the hottest new/upcoming releases in the UK, too.

The Grimm premiere is only a day away (Friday, 9 pm, NBC).

No new interviews with Sasha Roiz, but the Portland Tribune has an interesting article that includes interviews with showrunner David Greenwalt and some of the cast members. Here is some new info:

The crew has shot about nine episodes of “Grimm,” with four to go. Audiences will determine how long the show lasts; if it’s picked up for the entire season, the crew and talent will return in January to film the second half of the season.

Alessandra Torresani in American Horror Story, more interviews with Sasha Roiz, new projects for Richard Harmon and Kevin Murphy

Final reminder: Alessandra Torresani makes her first appearance on American Horror Story tonight at 10 pm on FX. Here is the synopsis:

"Halloween: Part 1": The spirits of the Murder House become ever stronger, blurring the line between life and death. Meanwhile, the house's former residents offer some tips on decorating for Halloween to the Harmons.

The teaser is embedded below. No Alessandra in any of the AHS previews, but you can check out the first photo of her and George Finn in A Green Story at the The Bambola Factory. She posted it last week.

Richard Harmon, who will show up on The Secret Circle tomorrow (9 pm, CW), tweets that he is working on a new film, a Lifetime original called The Pregnancy Project. Here is how Deadline described it in the original announcement:

Caprica French Blu-ray, Judas Kiss DVD & new interviews with Sasha Roiz (Grimm premiere week)

Caprica gets released on DVD and Blu-ray in France today.

The DVD is a region 2 release, and Amazon France still has the Blu-ray listed as region-free. You can get it here: Caprica - L'intégrale de la série [Blu-ray]

Another notable release today:

Judas Kiss with Richard Harmon and Genevieve Buechner is finally out on DVD in the U.S. It's available on Amazon.com. The UK DVD will be out in a couple of weeks, on November 7. The film's Facebook page reports that it's currently one of the best-selling DVDs in its category.

Among films still doing festival rounds, Fort McCoy with Eric Stoltz has a new screening date (or two): November 12 and 13 at the St. Louis International Film Festival. Details and tickets on the festival's site. Still no word on which his next episode of Glee is.

Alessandra Torresani makes her first appearance on American Horror Story tomorrow (Wednesday, 10 pm, FX) in episode 1x04, "Halloween: Part 1." According to the IMDB, she will also be in episode 1x06, "Piggy Piggy."

Once Upon a Time premieres tonight

Just a reminder that Jane Espenson's new show, Once Upon a Time, premieres tonight at 8 pm on ABC.

Blogcritics talked to Jane about the show last week. Here are a few snippets from the interview:

So this is the year of the fairytale on primetime TV with Once Upon a Time, and then Grimm is also premiering shortly thereafter. Why did that happen, do you think? Does it have to do with the whole True Blood and vampire and mythology thing, do you think?
Yeah, the vampires. The era of the vampire lasted for longer than I though it would. And I’ve been sort of waiting to see what would be the next thing. Because aliens, robots, and monsters, including vampires, all play the same role in fantasy drama. I've heard it expressed, and I think this is pretty smart, that in sort of Depression-era times, there’s something about fairytales that start to have resonance again, like the original [Disney] Snow White, the animated Snow White in 1937. There may be something there that makes a familiar tales of childhood resonate in dark economic times, and it may simply be that in these times, we need that next thing. There are only so many basic fantasy genres. And one of the genres is fairytales. And one is monster stories. And one is alien stories. And we happen to be in an era in which it’s just time for fairytales to cycle back around again. So it’s a really long-winded answer… (...)

People's Choice nominations & new projects for Paula Malcomson, Alessandra Torresani and Ryan Robbins

The polls for the 2012 People's Choice Awards are open for nominations and Caprica is on the list for the Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show.

You can nominate the show here. There are also several other categories with some write-in potential: Favorite Cable Drama, Best TV Drama Actor & Actress, and Favorite TV Guest Star.

Not sure how long the polls will stay open, so go nominate.

Cast updates:

Paula Malcomson has a new credit on the IMDB, for the TV pilot Outlaw Country, a new FX drama about organized crime in Nashville, starring Mary Steenburgen. Paula's Deadwood BFF John Hawkes is also in it. More details in this Deadline article.

Alessandra Torresani starts shooting a new movie, The Green Story, with Ed O'Ross, Shannon Elizabeth, Annabella Sciorra and George Finn in early November. Movieweb has some details:

New interviews with Jane Espenson, William B. Davis, Scott Porter and Patton Oswalt

The first part of the weekly round-up includes several new interviews.

The A.V. Club has an interview with William B. Davis, whose autobiography, Where There’s Smoke...: Musings Of A Cigarette Smoking Man, was published last week. He talks about his work in The X-Files and some of the movies that he has appeared in over the years. Here is a snippet about the latest one, called The Tall Man:

The Tall Man (forthcoming)—Sheriff Chestnut
WD: That’s still in post-production. I just did the [additional dialogue recording] for it just last week. I think they’re trying to get it ready for Sundance, so maybe it will première there.
AVC: And you play a sheriff in this film? What’s the role exactly?
WD: It’s an interesting plot. There are children disappearing in this small town. And everybody assumes that they’ve been murdered. Without giving a spoiler—well, I am giving a spoiler—but it turns out that they’re actually being kidnapped from poor families and sent to rich families, where they can get a better childhood. It’s someone’s perverse idea of how to make a better a world.
AVC: That’s interesting. Pascal Laugier’s previous film, Martyrs, has a similar plot. But Martyrs seems much grislier than this.
WD: Does it? I haven’t seen that. Maybe I will. The Tall Man is beautifully shot, though. It looks great.

Comic Book Resources has an interview with Patton Oswalt from the New York Comic Con. He mostly talks about his new show, The Heart, She Holler.

On TV tonight: James Marsters in Supernatural, Brian Markinson in Sanctuary, Scott Porter in X-Men Anime

Reminder:

Three Caprica actors are on TV tonight.

James Marsters guest stars in Supernatural in episode "Shut up, Dr. Phil," at 9 pm on the CW. Brian Markinson makes his first appearance on Sanctuary this season at 10 pm on Syfy, and the X-Men Anime series with Scott Porter premieres at 11 pm on G4.

A longer round of updates is coming tomorrow, but before I get to the previews for tonight's shows, just a heads-up:

You can now watch the complete Husbands web series at HusbandstheSeries.com. The last episode was posted on Thursday.

The Once Upon a Time pilot is available online on IMDB.com. The episode airs this Sunday at 8 pm on ABC.

NBC has released a 20-minute preview of the Grimm pilot, which was also originally supposed to air tonight, but got pushed back to next Friday. If you are in the US, you can watch the whole episode by following @NBCGrimm on Twitter and claiming the screening code.

^ Both pilots are frakkin' gorgeous.

Moving on to tonight's shows.

Patton Oswalt in Bored to Death, new interviews with Scott Porter and Jane Espenson & general updates

Patton Oswalt guest stars in Bored to Death again tonight at 9 pm on HBO. Also at 9, there is a new episode of Hart of Dixie with Scott Porter on the CW.

If you are in Los Angeles, Patton Oswalt will take part in a live reading of The Breakfast Club this Thursday at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to raise funds for Film Independent (the group behind the Spirit Awards).

The Walking Dead, still scored by Bear McCreary, returned yesterday and broke the cable ratings record with its season premiere.

Elsewhere in Undead, remember Bryan Singer's Battlestar Galactica movie (TOS reboot, not really related to our BSG & Caprica) that was supposed to happen at one point but didn't? Looks like it zombied its way back to life. Here is what Singer told SFX the other day, when asked about his Excalibur remake not going ahead:

“Yeah, unfortunately it is no longer going to happen,” he says. “I was really enthused to do it. I’m a fan of John Boorman’s movie and it was my intention to get it going after Jack The Giant Killer was completed. The project was with Warner Bros and what happened is that another King Arthur project was brought to them during that time. Basically, it was just more ready to go into production than ours was. That is why our version of Excalibur ended up being negated. But, when that happened, it allowed me to go straight into developing Battlestar Galactica – which I think will be really exciting.”

A couple of updates to the TV Appearances page:

Grimm pilot screening tour & early preview for Twitter followers

NBC is offering an early preview of the Grimm pilot to everyone following @NBCGrimm on Twitter, starting today. The pilot will also be screened in ten cities across the U.S. before its TV premiere (Friday, October 28 at 9 pm).

Here is the full press release:

NBC OFFERS TWITTER FOLLOWERS UNPRECEDENTED ACCESS WITH EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK AT NEW SERIES "GRIMM"

Followers of "Grimm" Show Handle Will Receive Full Pilot Episode Preview Beginning October 14 Prior To Broadcast Premiere on October 28

Multi-faceted Outreach also Includes 10-city Cross-country Screening Tour From Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. as well as 20 Minute Preview on NBC.com, Hulu, VOD, iTunes, PlayStation(R)Network, Sony Entertainment Network(R), VUDU , Xbox and participating NBC owned and affiliate station websites

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. October 14, 2011 - NBC is kicking off its edgy new drama "Grimm" with multi-faceted previews that include an unprecedented industry first allowing Twitter followers of the show handle to preview the entire series premiere beginning today, October 14, two weeks prior to the broadcast premiere on Friday, October 28 (9-10 p.m. ET).

The innovative initiative will also be accompanied by a 10-city, cross-country screening tour featuring a screening of the same "Grimm" premiere episode -- along with selected cast members and executive producers in key cities -- starting Tuesday, October 18 in Los Angeles. The tour will continue in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Denver, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Seattle and as well Portland where "Grimm" is based and filmed.

Grimm previews, interviews with Sasha Roiz and Esai Morales, new project for Brian Markinson, and general updates

A frakload of updates today, in very random order.

Husbands episode 10, "Return of the Zebra," has been posted on HusbandstheSeries.com. Only one episode left to go.

If you're in New York tomorrow, you can catch Jane Espenson and Alessandra Torresani at the Husbands panel at the New York Comic-Con. Hit the link for more info.

A bunch of new Grimm promos have showed up in the last few days.

Spoiler TV has four featurettes and a set of cast photos. Here are the ones with Sasha Roiz:

Polly Walker on Psych, Mike Dopud in Blue Mountain State, interviews with Scott Porter, Philip Granger and Kacey Rohl

It's the Willow clan update today, for the most part. More updates coming tomorrow.

Polly Walker guest stars in the Psych season opener, "Shawn Rescues Darth Vader," tonight at 10 pm on USA. Synopsis:

While on a mission to retrieve a stolen Darth Vader collector’s item from the British Ambassador’s son at the British Consulate Residence in Santa Barbara, Shawn finds a dead body left in one of the rooms. In order to get SBPD on the case to find her killer, Shawn tells Lassiter and Juliet that the image of a dead body at the British Consulate Residence came to him in a psychic vision. However, Shawn’s credibility as a “psychic” could be placed in jeopardy if SBPD finds out he actually witnessed the dead body in person and didn’t “divine” the image of her murder.

And at 11 pm, you can catch Mike Dopud in Blue Mountain State 3x05, "Training Day," on Spike. He tweeted yesterday that he makes an appearance in tonight's episode. Synopsis:

Thad offers to instruct Alex on how to be a local celebrity; Mary Jo tries to impress the coach’s wife.

Monday updates: cast news, previews and new interview with Esai Morales

A round of cast updates to start the week...

Ben Cotton made an appearance in The Secret Circle 1x04, "Heathers." The episode aired last week and is available at CWTV.com.

Daemon's TV has the preview of tonight's episode of Hart of Dixie, with Scott Porter (9 pm, CW).

Daemon's TV also has a bunch of behind-the-scenes pics from various Fox shows here, including one with Eric Stoltz on the set of Glee and one with John Pyper-Ferguson on the set of Fringe.

Some film news:

Alessandra Torresani's new horror film Playback has found a U.S. distributor and finally has a more approximate release date. From Hollywood Reporter:

Magnet Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to the horror film Playback. The indie distributor plans a launch for the movie on Ultra VOD in February followed by a theatrical release in March.

According to the IMDB, Alessandra will appear in American Horror Story 1x04, the first of the two Halloween episodes, which airs on Wednesday, October 26 at 10 pm on FX.

Sanctuary season premiere, new interviews with Christopher Heyerdahl, Jane Espenson and Scott Porter, and general updates

Sanctuary is back tonight at 10 pm with the season four opener, "Tempus." Ryan Robbins and Christopher Heyerdahl are still series regulars and Peter Wingfield is back as Dr. Watson. Here is the synopsis:

Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) pursues Adam Worth (Ian Tracey) back to 1898 London as he attempts to save his daughter. If successful, Magnus knows he will destroy the natural order of history and must stop him from irreparably altering the world’s future at whatever cost.

Space has a couple of behind-the-scenes videos that include interviews with the cast here and here, and Pop Culture Zoo has an early review, a preview and some cast photos.

Eric Stoltz is back on the set of Glee. Jenna Ushkowitz posted this photo of him yesterday. If you're in the Seattle area, you can catch Fort McCoy at the Tacoma Film Festival tomorrow (Saturday) at 2 pm.

Husbands episode eight, "This Together Thing," has been posted on HusbandstheSeries.com.