Blood and Chrome - final two episodes

Machinima has posted the last two episodes of Blood and Chrome today. You can watch them below or on YouTube. And there are a couple of updates after the clip.

Episode 9
In the aftermath of the deadly Cylon ambush, Coker (Ben Cotton) threatens Becca (Lili Bordan), forcing Adama (Luke Pasqualino) to a heated standoff.

Episode 10
Becca discovers a startling new development that will affect the future of the human race. Meanwhile, Coker’s life hangs in the balance as the team holds out hope for a rescue, and Adama has a disheartening realization about the war effort and his place in it.



If you didn't get around to reading the transcript Bear McCreary's AMA on Reddit from last Friday, here is what you've missed:

Is there any update on what's happening with the Caprica soundtrack? There's so many wonderful tracks from it that I want to listen to properly.
Hey cube1701... this is a great question. First, a little background on how I deal with albums. As you guys probably know, I put a lot of time and energy into them and make sure that they are great listening experiences, not just a collection of cues that were mixed for broadcast. This approach resulted in some great BSG albums, and a great album for the Caprica pilot.

The rest of the series was no exception. I assembled a collection of the best cues into suites, re-recorded, re-mixed and re-mastered a fantastic double disc album. It's done, and it's been done for a while.

However, Caprica's swift demise and slim ratings made it difficult to get this album released. I can't move forward on anything like that without involvement from NBC Universal and for a long time, there was little interest in working on an album for a show that was no longer on the air. (For the BSG records, we always had the promotion of the following season or DVD release to piggy-back on for album promotion).

So, the bad news is that no album has come out yet. But, the good news is that we're beginning to make some real progress now. NBC Universal is showing interest in letting me release this music.

The best thing fans can do is continue to show their support and enthusiasm for the idea. I'm confident we can make it happen, as long as the fans make it clear to the powers-that-be that they want it.

How can we show NBC Universal that we're interested? The scores for Caprica's first season (particularly the second half of the season) are some of my favorite cues you've ever written. It would make my week to see a release. :)
Trust me. You guys are helping right now. People who can help make the Caprica album a reality are watching what's happening right now. Keep it up!

I know a CD release of Caprica is tied up at the moment, but what's the word on a release of Blood & Chrome?
Plans are afoot.

Hey Bear. Is there any indication that Blood and Chrome will have a life beyond the single movie? Just hearing the BSG style of music again gives me pangs for a weekly intake. Also, say hi to Erin, Todd and Nova if you talk to Erin any time soon.
As far as I know, there are no concrete plans right now. But, it also seems that everyone is open to the idea. Fans have a say in this, though. Enough views on Machinima, enough views in February when it airs, and / or enough DVD sales when it comes out in February can all make a difference. Everybody tune in, because we're all ready to make more of these!

Tons more about Bear's work on BSG, The Walking Dead, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Defiance (coming in April), and everything else at Reddit.

Ben Cotton and Mike Dopud were on The Rush last week. They talked about Blood and Chrome, and also about season two of Arctic Air - they will both be appearing in it. Here is the clip:

Blood and Chrome - watch episodes 7 & 8

Episodes 7 and 8 of Blood and Chrome have been posted. You can watch them below or on YouTube. Two more to go.

Bear McCreary is doing a Q&A on Reddit at 6 pm EST. Head over there to ask questions.

The episodes:

Episode 7

Waylaid by a ferocious storm, Adama (Luke Pasqualino), Coker (Ben Cotton) and Becca (Lili Bordan) reluctantly follow their eccentric savior, marine recon sergeant Xander Toth (John Pyper Ferguson), to shelter in an abandoned ski lodge. Adama and Coker finally find some common ground and secrets about Becca’s mysterious mission are revealed.

Episode 8

The tentative safety of the ski lodge is abruptly shattered as Cylons breach Toth’s defenses. With Becca and Toth nowhere to be found, Adama and Coker face off against their deadly robotic pursuers. Becca makes a horrifying discovery about the Cylons’ agenda on Djerba.

Blood and Chrome - watch episodes 5 & 6

Machinima has posted two new episodes today. You can watch them below or on the Machinima Prime channel. The first episode has over 2 million views so far and episodes 2, 3, and 4 around 600,000. To watch all the episodes from start to finish, go here.

Jill Teed and Ty Olsson are back in episode 5 and John Pyper-Ferguson shows up to take the kids for a walk in episode 6. Also, there is the cython.

Watch the episode, and there is more stuff after the jump.

Adama dogfights Raiders while the Battlestar Osiris tries to hold off a Cylon Basestar.



Just a few more tidbits from this week for people who aren't on Facebook and Twitter.

First, there was Patton Oswalt talking to the A.V. Club about his most memorable roles:

Caprica (2010)—“Baxter Sarno”
PO: That was very frustrating, because I got a glimpse of what the second season of Caprica was going to be, and the stuff they had planned for that show was fucking amazing.

Beyond the stuff I was going to be getting to do, what they were going to do with that world, and with its darkness, would have been so thrilling. But I love the fact that even in a show as dark as Caprica—and in a lot of ways, that show was as dark as Battlestar Galactica—[Sarno] was very aware that people want their fucking distractions. Even in a future science-fiction world like Caprica, they’re going to want their Jon Stewarts, they’re going to want their Bill O’Reillys and their Rachel Maddows and their things to get all up in arms about, their Jay Lenos and their Lettermans.

So I was playing that role, and I would talk to [series creator] Ronald D. Moore about what happens to a guy like this who is kind of aggressively shallow in a lot of ways. When he’s engineering that whole fight between Eric Stoltz and Stoltz’s rival, it’s not because [he cares] about technology and where humanity is going; it’s great fucking ratings. So what happens when the shit comes down? It reminds me of that moment in Cabaret when they’re singing “Tomorrow Belongs To Me,” and they cut to the Emcee from the Kit Kat Club just smiling and nodding in his dressing room, you’re like, “What happens to that guy when the Nazis rise to power? Why is he smiling? Why is he nodding?” That stuff is really intriguing to me.

^ You can catch Patton on Burn Notice next week (Thursday, 10/9c, USA).

There is a new interview with Doug Drexler over at Lightwave3d.com. Snippets below, more at the link.

How is the production of Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome unique?
It really is an amazing experience that’s unlike any other. It’s unprecedented for guys that we’ve brought onto the show; they don’t believe me at first when I tell them, ‘This is as close as you can get to get to making a show. You won't be some nameless guy across town in a cubicle.’ We cut our own shots in with the editor. If it doesn’t work, we do a new shot, run down the hall, put it in, and look at it together. If it doesn’t flow, if it doesn’t work... there’s no approval process... we just do it.

That’s how we are able to do so many amazing shots in so little time on Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome. In eight months, we did more than 2,000 shots with nine guys— that’s because we had unprecedented freedom.

How do other production workflows compare?
I was on all the various Star Trek television series for 17 years—including Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise—and there was a really strict approval process. You couldn’t just take a leap by putting together a sequence and saying, ‘This is what we might do here.’

The process on Battlestar Galactica was a stark contrast. We did a show called 'Razor' where the Scorpio Shipyard is attacked by the Cylons. In the script, it read: ‘A dot of light approaches the station and there’s a huge explosion’—and that’s the end of the sentence! [Digital Artist and CGI Sequence Designer] Kyle Toucher and I read that and we said, ‘No Way! This is our chance to do Pearl Harbor!’ So, Kyle laid the whole sequence out—it was awesome—and Gary sold it to Ron Moore.

io9.com has an exclusive VFX featurette that has some BTS footage from next week's ep and interviews with David Eick, Gary Hutzel, and Jonas Pate.

Here are a few things David Eick said on YouTube last week:

For the love of all things Cylon will you get Caprica up and going again?
Alas, Caprica was "one and done" -- although the story bible we drafted for a possible Season 2 was awesome. Really focused the Cylon/Colonial historical struggle in a much more accessible, American Civil War metaphor. I really felt SyFy should've given it another shot. Oh well, one day....

Will we be seeing any of the 'bigger questions' that we saw in BSG in Blood and Chrome, or will this be more combat/CG and less 'why they hate us'?
B&C will definitely deal with the "why they hate us" premise... and will definitely wrestle with larger issues attendant to the BSG theme -- what it means to be human, etc. But probably a bit less esoteric and contemplative than BSG Season 4. Closer in tone to Seasons 1 & 2.

You truly captured the feel of a sub inside the Osiris. Also Galactica's 'CIC' looks a lot different than the recent series. Did you look back to the original series for ship design?
We had the original sets scanned so that we could implement/augment in a digital space. Glad you dug the Osiris -- we were definitely going for the "Das Boot" vibe...

The ship design for the Osiris is so distinct. The antennae at the rear and the reflective shell, there's no doubt it's a stealth ship. For this and other ships where did your dev team look for inspiration?
All R&D, like BSG, rooted in naval and AF tech. Definitely erred on the side of reality wherever/whenever possible.

Hi David! Do you think that there is still a market for multi season space operas like bsg in tv? Can platforms like youtube & itunes provide new possibilites for the genre?
Always a market for great scifi as long as creators and distributors are gutsy enough to allow it to be metaphorical/allegorical. When they get too soft/escapist, they tend to have shorter half-life. Works great in movies but doesn't have the "legs" for TV unless there's real depth.

For us Caprica fans, will any of the loose ends from that show be tied up in this series?
We don't address the world of "Caprica" in B&C except in offhand moments... but if there are future B&C episodes (beyond the first 10), we'll definitely get into William Adama's youth, family and culture.

Hi David. Whats the word on a tv series after the Blood and Chrome movie airs? Are you guys waiting to see how many views this minishow gets before committing?
This was always designed for online, the "digital space." That said, all our futures are tied to current success!

Will any of the human cylons be making an appearance or will it just be toasters and I'm assuming the hybrid if you were to show the end of the war?
B&C will definitely investigate the "evolutionary" nature of Cylon tech... how their process of going from rivets and metal to soft, Tricia Helfer-flesh did not happen overnight... there were several experiments in between...

And another Blood and Chrome featurette from Wired that also has some BTS footage and interviews with Michael Taylor, David Eick, Gary Hutzel, Jonas Pate, Luke Pasqualino, Lili Bordan and Ben Cotton:

Blood and Chrome - watch episodes 3 & 4

Machinima has posted episodes 3 and 4 of Blood and Chrome. You can watch them below or on the Machinima Prime YouTube Channel. Episode 1 has had 1,773,800 views so far and episode 2, only 517,234. Some high-traffic sites didn't embed both episodes last week, so if you haven't seen ep 2, you should probably catch up first.

And a slight correction: Machinima has released the full schedule for the show, and the final two episodes will be posted on December 7, not November 30, which makes more sense since they are being released in pairs.

David Eick will be answering questions about the show on YouTube any minute now, so if you have an account, you can head over there.

Nerdist has a new interview with Eick. Here is a snippet that probably isn't a surprise to the conspiracists among us (the part about those plans for a B&C TV show not being what they were cracked up to be):

N: What challenges were there in cutting the show down to smaller, webisode-sized segments?
DE: I think that question unfortunately comes from a misinformed place. People have developed a belief that we developed this pilot for SyFy Channel and they passed on it, but then said, “Let’s put it online.” It was actually the opposite. We developed this as an online project, but then SyFy read the script and said, “Let’s keep our options open.”

As the production started coming together, we decided to go back to the original plan because there was a real opportunity to blow the wheels off of the level of quality you would expect from a web-based production. So, when people come to me saying that SyFy passed on Blood & Chrome, I’m like, “What the f@$# are you talking about?” They didn’t pass on it; we simply went back to our original plan of action. It was always going to be a ten-part story and a one hundred minute movie that you could divide into ten-minute bite-sized morsels. We embedded natural cliffhangers and segues within the episodes that lend themselves well to serialization. This has been a part of the plan since the get-go.

When we were thinking about how to crack the digital marketplace with the Battlestar franchise, I just thought about Raiders of the Lost Ark and the world where that came from with these movie serials that you would go and see each week, they would end on a cliffhanger, then you would come back and see the next little installment the following week. You might be able to build something like that if you rushed mission design; military missions are made up of many smaller missions.

And Spoiler TV has the transcript of the conference call he did with Luke Pasqualino last week. A lengthy read, but well worth it. Here is an interesting snippet:

There are a number of little Easter-egging nods to the Battlestar faithful that anyone watching the DVDs or seeing this online will be able to recognize. But I think one of the things that will be less resistance to is to think about, do we [get] Esai Morales who played William Adama's father, to reprise his role in some capacity in a future episode? Do we show some of that conflict and strain between father and son and some of the uniquely kind of contradictory impulses that a mob lifestyle and military lifestyle sort of present?

That's all really rich storytelling—top soil for us—to pursue if we get the chance to go forward.

The new old faces making an appearance in the new episodes are Jill Teed (Col. Patel on Caprica, Sgt. Hadrian on BSG) and Ty Olsson (Capt. Kelly on BSG).

The episodes:

Episode 3

Reeling from the discovery of the ruins of Battlestar Archeron, Adama (Luke Pasqualino) and Coker’s (Ben Cotton) small Raptor is nearly outmatched when they engage with three enemy Raiders. More secrets are revealed when the crew makes a shocking discovery deep in Cylon space.

Episode 4

Adama and Coker prepare for a dangerous mission above the Cylon occupied planet Djerba. Coker reunites with an old friend (Sebastian Spence) and reveals startling news.

Blood and Chrome - first two episodes posted

Machinima has posted the first two episodes of Blood and Chrome. You can watch them below. New episodes will be posted every Friday on the Machinima Prime YouTube channel, and the finale will be available on November 30.

CG Society has an interview with Doug Drexler (CG Supervisor) and Gary Hutzel (VFX Supervisor). You can read the full article at the link.

Blood & Chrome was a natural progression for Hutzel and his team, as they moved out of Caprica. In the last half of the season, the artists working on Caprica started to expand the show’s VFX footprint by doing entire virtual sets—something they perfected in Blood & Chrome.

Blood & Chrome is, nonetheless, a departure from previous productions in the franchise. “The show is unusual in the sense that it is cut very, very fast,” Hutzel describes. In fact, most of the shots in the two-hour movie span three seconds or less. “Consequently, we ended up with more than 1,800 shots, either full-CGI shots or shots with virtual backdrops created completely in-house for the scene. Battlestar Galactica never delivered anywhere near that number of shots.”

A staff ranging from 22 to 35 VFX and CG artists also delivered the shots on a short schedule. “We delivered up to 150 shots a week, which was barely getting it done in time,” Hutzel affirms. “When I did the Battlestar Galactica miniseries—which, for the time, was a huge VFX show—we had six months to complete 320 VFX shots in the show. Now, we’ve just completed 1,800 shots that are an order of magnitude more complex in five months.”

The unrated version of Blood and Chrome has a release date now. It will be out on DVD and Blu-ray (you've read that right: Blu-ray) on February 19, 2013. You can pre-order them on Amazon:

Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome DVD

Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome Blu-ray

Here is the DVD trailer:




And back to the episodes. Ben Cotton, Brian Markinson, Carmen Moore, Zak Santiago, and Mike Dopud all make an appearance in the first 20 minutes. (There aren't that many actors with speaking parts who weren't on Caprica.)

Enjoy:

Episode 1

Ensign William Adama (Luke Pasqualino), barely in his 20′s and a recent Academy graduate, finds himself assigned to the newest battlestar in the colonial fleet: The Galactica. He quickly clashes with his co-pilot, Coker Fasjovik (Ben Cotton), a war-weary officer with just 47 days left on his tour of duty. In pursuit of the intense action that the Cylon war promises, Adama can’t wait to enter the fray.




Episode 2

Adama and Coker’s supply mission features a surprise: their cargo is the beautiful and enigmatic scientist Dr Becca Kelly (Lili Bordan). The routine mission quickly becomes deadly as the small crew pilots their Raptor into Cylon territory.

Blood and Chrome premieres online this Friday

Well, holy frak. The sequel has a release date.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Blood and Chrome will be released online on Machinima Prime's YouTube Channel in ten 7-12-minute installments starting this Friday, November 9.

The full two-hour pilot will air on Syfy early next year, and an unrated version will be released on home video some time after that.

Refresher course from EW (because it's been a while):

For those who haven’t followed the B&C saga, the project was originally developed as a series for Syfy following the conclusion of the critically beloved Battlestar Galactica reboot and its movie spin-offs The Plan and Razor. BSG vets David Eick and Michael Taylor are executive producers, with Taylor writing the script from a story by Eick, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle. Jonas Pate (Caprica) directed.

The prequel follows young William Adama (Luke Pasqualino, UK’s Skins) during the first Cylon War. Assigned to the Galactica, the eager Adama finds himself at odds with his co-pilot, the battle-weary officer Coker (Ben Cotton, Alcatraz). (...)

“With its top-notch storytelling, pulse-pounding action, and cutting-edge visual effects, Blood & Chrome is the perfect extension of the Battlestar Galactica universe,” said Mark Stern, Syfy programming president and co-head of original content at UCP. “We are thrilled to see this hotly-anticipated event premiere on Machinima, an online network that is unparalleled in its delivery of high-class digital content to millions of viewers.”

Other than Ben Cotton, Caprica actors appearing in B&C include Brian Markinson, Jill Teed, Mike Dopud, John Pyper-Ferguson, Carmen Moore, and Zak Santiago. Lili Bordán plays Dr. Beka Kelly, an ex-employee of Graystone Industries.

Here is the official trailer (yes, that's Bear McCreary putting the music in the frakking ship):

American Horror House with Alessandra Torresani airs on Syfy tonight

American Horror House starring Morgan Fairchild and Alessandra Torresani premieres tonight at 9/8c on Syfy.

Synopsis:

On Halloween night a sorority house is overrun with ghosts while a vengeful housemother goes on a killing spree. The American Horror House Original Movie is directed by Darin Scott (Dark House) and stars Morgan Fairchild and Alessandra Torresani.

Entertainment Weekly says:

Continuing Syfy's schlock legacy, HORROR pits buxom sorority pledges against an evil housemother (Morgan Fairchild) who's harvesting the souls of unfortunate visitors. The gore, acting, and screenplay are decidedly camp — which I suspect is kind of the point — making for silly, brainless Halloween fun. And to prove it's ultra-contemporary, it's all set to dubstep! No, really.

Dead Souls with Magda Apanowicz premieres on Chiller tonight

Dead Souls, starring Jesse James, Magda Apanowicz and Bill Moseley, airs tonight at 9/8c on Chiller.

Here is the synopsis:

Adapted from the novel by Bram Stoker Award Finalist Michael Laimo, Chiller’s latest original production Dead Souls tells a harrowing tale of family secrets and ancient evils.

On his 18th birthday, Johnny Petrie learns he was adopted when he inherits a farm in Maine, abandoned for the 18 years since his natural family died at the hands of his father, the local preacher. Eager for a new life, he leaves home to start over in his new dwelling. However, as he digs into his past, he soon uncovers the horrifying details of his father’s questionable teachings. In a frightening revelation, he also learns that his return has revived decades-old forces trapped in the home and sets in motion a heart-stopping finale to a ritual that already claimed the lives of his family.

Arrow premieres tonight (8/7c, CW)

Arrow has its series premiere tonight at 8pm on the CW.

Brian Markinson, Hiro Kanagawa and Roger Cross guest star in the pilot, Ty Olsson will make an appearance next week, and Tahmoh Penikett will guest star in at least one episode later in the season. The show is filmed in Vancouver, so there will probably be other familiar faces showing up throughout the season.

Press release for the pilot:

After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island.

While Oliver hides the truth about the man he's become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance. As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow - a vigilante – to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory.

Polly Walker on The Mentalist & Once Upon a Time season premiere

Once Upon a Time and The Mentalist are among the shows returning with new seasons tonight (if anyone needs a reminder about Dexter, Homeland, The Good Wife, The Simpsons and Revenge - they're also back tonight), and there is also a new episode of Hell on Wheels at 9/8c on AMC.

Polly Walker has a recurring role on The Mentalist this season, and will make her first appearance in the premiere tonight at 10/9c on CBS.

Synopsis:

“The Crimson Ticket” — While Jane tries to decipher Lorelei’s connection to Red John, the CBI team is forced to partner with the FBI to solve the murder of a hotel employee, on the fifth season premiere of THE MENTALIST on Sunday, Sept. 30 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Emmanuelle Chriqui (“Entourage”) returns as Lorelei Martins, Polly Walker (“Rome”) guest stars as Senior FBI Agent Alexa Schultz and Ivan Sergei guest stars as FBI Agent Gabe Mancini.

And another bit from EW:

The CBI’s New FBI “Colleagues.” Season 5 will see the CBI squad working — and clashing — with a trio of FBI agents also chasing Red John. Polly Walker from Rome plays the group’s boss; Ivan Sergei (Jack & Jill, Gravity) and Drew Powell (Southland, Straw Dogs) play a “lovely bizarro world version of Rigsby and Cho.”

The season two premiere of Once Upon a Time airs at 8/7c on ABC. Jane Espenson is still on the writing team and her first episode airs next Sunday. Speaking of, watch this puppy if you haven't:

And back to Once, BSG's Keegan Connor Tracy returns as Mother Superior/Blue Fairy in the premiere.

Here is what to expect this season:

In the premiere episode, "Broken," reality and myth begin to merge as the fairytale characters awaken from Evil Queen Regina's broken curse and remember who they were. But to their dismay, they aren't transported back to fairytale land. To make matters worse, Rumplestiltskin - aka Mr. Gold - in an effort to gain the upper hand in his power struggle with Regina, has introduced magic into the town. In fairytales magic has its place, but in our world it can have unfathomable consequences. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land, Prince Phillip awakens his sleeping beauty, Aurora (Sarah Bolger, "The Tudors"), but discovers that he and his traveling companion, Mulan (Jamie Chung, "Sucker Punch," "The Hangover Part II"), will soon have to face a deadly foe, on the Season Premiere of "Once Upon a Time," SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Promo:



And a BTS featurette:

Winston Rekert, R.I.P.

Very sad news today.

Winston Rekert lost his battle with cancer yesterday. He was 63.

He played Obal Ferras in Caprica ("Unvanquished"). Before that, he appeared in a couple of episodes of Battlestar Galactica as the priest who swore in Baltar ("Lay Down Your Burdens, Pt. 2") and Roslin ("Collaborators") as presidents.

He is best known for starring in the Canadian shows Adderly (1986-87) and Neon Rider (1989-94), and for his theatre work in Vancouver.

Earlier this year, he received the Sam Payne Lifetime Achievement Award for his "accumulative outstanding body of work in the industry."

The Vancouver Sun has a great article about his life and work.

And this is from The Province:

Rekert, 63, is best known as the star of the B.C.-filmed Neon Rider TV series in the late 1980s and 1990s, for which he also did some writing, directing and producing. The Vancouver actor won Gemini awards for his roles in Cold Squad (2001) and Blue Murder (2003). Rekert also starred alongside Jane Fonda, Meg Tilly and Anne Bancroft in the 1985 feature Agnes of God.

He and his childhood friend, producer Danny Virtue, created the syndicated series Neon Rider together in 1989.

"He got half the town started in this business," Virtue said. "He was cherished by a lot of people. I’ve known him and loved him since we were kids."

The show, which starred Rekert as a therapist who ran a ranch for troubled teens, ran for 64 episodes and helped launch Vancouver as a film and TV production centre. Details of a celebration of Rekert’s life were being worked out.

Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, colleagues, and fans.

TV tonight: Grimm season two & Major Crimes series premiere

Grimm is back with the season two premiere, "Bad Teeth," tonight at 10 pm on NBC, and Mary McDonnell finally gets her own show at 10 pm on TNT.

Here is the synopsis for the Grimm season premiere:

After their face-off with Kimura (guest star Brian Tee), Nick (David Giuntoli) finds himself trying to come to grips with the return of his mother, Kelly Burkhardt (guest star Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). A trail of brutal murders unveils a foreign conspiracy to hunt down Nick, leading to several revelations about his past. Meanwhile, Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) still lies in her mysteriously-induced coma as Rosalee (Bree Turner) and Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) work tirelessly to bring her out of it safely.

Elsewhere, Hank (Russell Hornsby) struggles with the shocking truths he’s recently seen and Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz) deals with unexpected family issues when his estranged brother (guest star James Frain) comes back into his life. Reggie Lee also stars.

Mike Dopud will make an appearance in next week's episode, and John Pyper-Ferguson guest stars in episode 2x03.

Grimm will air Mondays at 10 until Friday, September 14, when it moves back to its old slot, Fridays at 9. Collider has a pretty good overview of things to look forward to this season. Here is a preview with the cast:

Hell on Wheels is back tonight

Hell on Wheels is back with the season two premiere tonight on AMC at 9 pm.

Christopher Heyerdahl is a regular this season and Ryan Robbins makes his first appearance as Hawkins the train robber in tonight's episode.

Synopsis:

On the run for his crimes, Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) robs trains with a group of ex-Union soldiers, while Lily Bell (Dominique McElligott) and Durant (Colm Meaney) continue the Union Pacific Railroad's westward progress.

On Sun., Aug. 12 at 9/8c, the second season of Hell on Wheels continues its epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount), a former Confederate soldier, and his dramatic journey west as he struggles to leave his past behind.

Executive produced by John Shiban (Breaking Bad, The X-Files), Joe and Tony Gayton (Faster, Uncommon Valor) and Endemol USA’s Jeremy Gold, the show depicts the traveling town known as Hell on Wheels, a dangerous, raucous, lawless melting pot that follows and services the construction of the first transcontinental railroad.

Hell on Wheels also stars Common as Elam Ferguson; Colm Meaney as Thomas “Doc” Durant; Dominique McElligott as Lily Bell; Christopher Heyerdahl as The Swede; Robin McLeavy as Eva; Tom Noonan as Reverend Cole; Ben Esler as Sean McGinnes; Philip Burke as Mickey McGinnes; and Eddie Spears as Joseph Black Moon.

Here is a sneak peek:

Alphas returns tonight (10/9c, Syfy)

Alphas is finally back tonight with the second season premiere, "Wake-Up Call," which airs at 10 pm ET on Syfy.

John Pyper-Ferguson will appear in at least six of the 13 episodes, including the season opener and the finale, and Kandyse McClure will guest star in episode 2x09 as one of the Red Flag Alphas who work for him.

Season one was released on DVD last week. You can get it from Amazon.

Here is the synopsis for tonight's episode:

Eight months after Dr. Rosen's startling announcement to the world about the existence of Alphas, the government has locked him up at Binghamton. His Alphas, which have gone their own ways, must decide whether to reunite and save their friend.

And more info about this season:

The second season of Syfy's hit series Alphas, produced by Universal Cable Productions and BermanBruan Television, returns Monday, July 23 at 10PM ET/PT with a deep roster of guest stars. New this season are Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Rudy), C. Thomas Howell (Southland), Lauren Holly (NCIS), Steve Byers (Immortals, Total Recall), Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica) and Noah Reid (Rookie Blue). Returning guest stars include John Pyper-Ferguson (Caprica, Brothers and Sisters) as Stanton Parish, Kathleen Munroe (Haven, Stargate Universe) as Dani Rosen and Mahershala Ali (Treme, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) as Agent Nathan Cley. Summer Glau (Dollhouse, Firefly) who was a fan favorite last season playing an Alpha, Skylar Adams, will return for three episodes.

What to see at Comic Con 2012

Some panels to check out:

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11

6:00-9:45 Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings — Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television proudly continue their annual Preview Night tradition, with exclusive world premiere screenings of the pilot episodes of five of the most highly anticipated TV series pilots of the 2012-13 television season: 666 Park Avenue, Arrow, The Following, Revolution and Cult.

Arrow - From executive producers Greg Berlanti (Green Lantern), Marc Guggenheim (Green Lantern), Andrew Kreisberg (Fringe), and David Nutter (Smallville), hard-hitting action series Arrow reinvents the DC hero. After being marooned for five years on a remote island, billionaire Oliver Queen returns home with a mysterious agenda and a lethal new set of skills that he uses in a war on crime. The series stars Stephen Amell (Private Practice), Colin Donnell (Pan Am), Katie Cassidy (Supernatural), David Ramsey (Dexter), and Willa Holland (The O.C.), with Susanna Thompson (Dragonfly) and Paul Blackthorne (The River). From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, Arrow will air Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW this fall. Ballroom 20

(Brian Markinson, Hiro Kanagawa and Ben Cotton appear in the pilot.)

THURSDAY, JULY 12

10:30-11:30 Battlestar: So Say We All — Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek, Capt Apollo) hosts a 35th anniversary preview panel and fan discussion of the Battlestar universe, politics, philosophy, and 35 year history. Joining Hatch for this exciting BGcelebration, roundtable, and Q&A session are Jane Espenson (producer/writer, Battlestar and Caprica), Lili Bordan (actress, Blood and Chrome), Michael Taylor (Battlestar, Caprica, Blood and Chrome), Toni Graphia (Battlestar producer/writer), and Dr. Kevin Grazier (science consultant for BSG and Defiance), plus surprise guests. Room 6BCF

Falling Skies premiere, The Killing finale, Christopher Heyerdahl in True Blood, and a few more updates

Falling Skies returns tonight at 9 pm on TNT with a two-hour season premiere, season two of The Killing ends at 9 pm on AMC, Christopher Heyerdahl makes his first appearance in True Blood (HBO, 10 pm), and there are new episodes of Continuum and Longmire.

First stop, Falling Skies. Luciana Carro and Ryan Robbins will be recurring this season, and other than the showrunner, three BSG/Caprica writers -- Mark Verheiden, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle -- worked on season two.

Rémi Aubuchon (showrunner) and the cast have been doing interviews left and right in recent weeks. Jim Halterman talked to him about the new season. You can read the interview at The Futon Critic. Snippets:

Jim Halterman: Having watched the first few episodes of the second season - and not taking anything away from the first season - I felt like things were sharper and tighter.
Remi Aubuchon: Steven [Spielberg, Executive Producer] is very terse and concise in his direction and basically what he said was 'Look, I want you to amp up the second season.' And I think that what a lot of that comes from is us deciding that we've set the backdrop, we've established the foundation of the story now let's just go with it and I think you can feel that energy in the second season.

Hannah's Law with Ryan Kennedy and John Pyper-Ferguson premieres tonight

Hannah's Law, with Ryan Kennedy playing Doc Holliday and John Pyper-Ferguson as Frank McMurphy (the bad guy) premieres on the Hallmark Movie Channel tonight at 8/7c.

Synopsis:

From orphan to bounty hunter, tough-minded Hannah Beaumont doesn’t take lip from anyone. Hannah is driven by a soul-consuming mission to track down and bring to justice the McMurphy gang, who brutally murdered her parents and young brother.

Comfortable as a mercenary, Hannah’s fierce independence keeps the people in her life at a distance: Isom Dart, the father figure who taught Hannah everything he knows about shooting and hunting men, handsome admirer and suitor Wyatt Earp, mysterious Doc Holliday and Hannah’s best friend, Stagecoach Mary.

But when Hannah and her friends prove to the McMurphy gang that getting into Dodge is easy but getting out will be hell, a shocking secret is revealed that will change Hannah’s life forever.

Cast: Sara Canning (Hannah Beaumont), Kimberly Elise (Stagecoach Mary), Greyston Holt (Wyatt Earp), Danny Glover (Isom Dart), Ryan Kennedy (Doc Holliday), John Pyper-Ferguson (Frank McMurphy) and Billy Zane (Lockwood)

A couple of related updates before we get to the clips:

Continuum premieres in Canada tonight

Continuum, the new time travel drama set in Vancouver, premieres tonight at 9 pm ET on Showcase.

Brian Markinson and Richard Harmon have recurring roles on the show, and Mike Dopud and William B. Davis also appear in the pilot.

Here is the premise:

Inspector Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) loses everything she has and finds herself on a new mission when she and eight dangerous terrorists are transported from their time in 2077 back to 2012 during the terrorist’s attempt to escape execution. She takes on a new identity and joins the Vancouver Police Department in order to stop the terrorists’ reign of violence. Along the way, she befriends Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen), the 17 year old who will one day grow up to create the technology her world is built upon.

And a three minute sneak peek:



For more info, visit the official site: ContinuumtheSeries.com.

Meg Tilly, Ryan Robbins and Christopher Heyerdahl win Leo Awards

The Leos were presented in Vancouver last night.

Meg Tilly won the award for Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series for Bomb Girls.

Ryan Robbins won for Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama for Marilyn.

Christopher Heyerdahl won the Leo for Best Performance in a Youth or Children’s Program or Series for The Haunting Hour.

Sisters & Brothers with Kacey Rohl, Michael Eklund and Ben Cotton was the big winner in the film categories. It won six Leos including Best Feature and Best Direction.

Blackstone with Carmen Moore won four awards in the TV categories, including Best Dramatic Series. Sanctuary also nabbed four (production design, VFX, costume design, guest actress).

Big congrats to all!

Susan Gittins has posted several photos of the cast on Flickr. They can't be embedded, but you can see them here: Carmen Moore, Kacey Rohl, Christopher Heyerdahl, Ryan Robbins & Ben Cotton.

You can find the complete list of winners at LeoAwards.com.

Fairly Legal preview, Grimm finale and interview with Sasha Roiz

The Grimm season finale, "The Woman in Black," airs tonight at 9 pm on NBC, and Esai Morales is back on Fairly Legal (9 pm, USA) in episode 2x10, "Shattered."

Episode summaries:

Fairly Legal -- Kate and Ben face off with Justin and DA Davidson during a negligence-complaint case. Elsewhere, Lauren starts the process for a client to buy an airline.

Grimm -- The search for the mysterious gold coins intensifies as the body count rises in Portland, Ore., and the arrival of a woman in black complicates matters for Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) in the Season 1 finale. Guest stars include Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Claire Coffee, Robert Blanche and Bree Turner.

Weekend monster update: previews, cast news, and interviews with Jane Espenson, Magda Apanowicz and Kacey Rohl

Okay, let's start with what's on TV tonight.

Tonight's episode of Once Upon a Time (8 pm, ABC) was written by Jane Espenson. The synopsis and a bunch of clips are posted below.

Nerdist has finally posted the Writers Panel podcast with Jane and Douglas Petrie, recorded in late March. Details:

Jane Espenson (Once Upon a Time; Husbands; Buffy; Caprica) and Douglas Petrie (Charlie’s Angels; Buffy; Pushing Daisies) return to the studio to revisit Jane’s old blog, janeespenson.com, and discuss how, while the business may have changed since she was regularly updating it, writing has not.

You can listen to the podcast on Nerdist.com.

Once Upon a Time: The Complete First Season will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 28. You can pre-order them on Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray. Special features include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, bloopers and the featurettes "Fairy Tales in the Modern World," "Tell Me a Story," "Building Character," and "Noble Creatures."

Patton Oswalt voices the food critic on tonight's Bob's Burgers (8:30 pm, Fox).

When the restaurant receives a bad review from a food critic, the Belchers fear that the negative press will keep customers away. When Bob shows up at the critic’s house for a redo, his plan quickly spirals out of control when the kids and his fellow restaurant owners show up to support him in the all-new “Moody Foodie” episode of BOB’S BURGERS airing Sunday, May 6 (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

A new episode of The Killing airs at 9 pm on AMC.

And one for BSG fans: Tahmoh Penikett guest stars in the season finale of Castle tomorrow (10 pm, ABC). Teaser.

Friday updates: previews, new projects and interviews

The usual Friday round, with more updates coming later this weekend.

Mary McDonnell has joined both Twitter and Facebook this week. Hit the links to follow her.

If IMDB is anything to go by, Hiro Kanagawa makes an appearance in tonight's episode of Fairly Legal, "Ripple of Hope." He will also be appearing in Robert Redford's upcoming thriller The Company You Keep, as "FBI Agent Kanagawa."

Deadline reported this week that Grimm writers are already working on the show's second season, which might be premiering sooner than expected, in August. Here is the synopsis for tonight's episode:

Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) are called to investigate the mysterious death of a wealthy matriarch, after her stepdaughter loses everything in a Ponzi scheme. Meanwhile, Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) does some digging into the mysterious death of Nick’s parents in an effort to help him find closure. Silas Weir Mitchell, Sasha Roiz and Reggie Lee also star.

And a clip, introduced by Sasha:

Leo Award nominations

Big congrats to all the Leo nominees this year!

The nominations were announced earlier today. Sanctuary, Arctic Air, Endgame and Blackstone are up for Best Dramatic Series and all five films nominated for Best Feature Length Drama have familiar faces in them: Daydream Nation (Luke Camilleri, Calum Worthy, Genevieve Buechner), Doppelgänger Paul (Ben Cotton), Marilyn (Ryan Robbins), Sisters & Brothers (Kacey Rohl, Michael Eklund, Ben Cotton), and The Odds (Calum Worthy).

Sisters & Brothers nabbed 12 nominations, Hamlet (with Peter Wingfield) and Marilyn have eight each, Sunflower Hour (with Kacey Rohl and Ben Cotton) has seven, Donovan's Echo (with Hiro Kanagawa) has six, Daydream Nation and Doppelgänger Paul five each, The Odds has four, and Everything and Everyone (with Ryan Robbins) and Hannah's Law (with Ryan Kennedy and John Pyper-Ferguson, to be aired in June) scored two each.

On the TV side, Sanctuary is way ahead of the pack with 18 nominations, followed by Arctic Air with nine and Blackstone with six.

Weekend wrap, part two

Let's start with the GDD folks.

Brian Markinson has joined Twitter. Go follow him. He will be back on The Killing tomorrow (9 pm, AMC), and he says he is done filming Continuum for the season. Spoiler TV has tons of info about the show here. The two-hour pilot airs on Showcase on May 27.

Two new episodes of 10,000 Days with Peter Wingfield have been released. You can watch them on Facebook or at 10kdays.tv.

Duke with Kendall Cross premieres on the Hallmark channel tonight at 8 pm and airs again at 10 pm. Here is the synopsis:

Marine Sergeant Terry Pulaski, a once proud man, is now a broken shell of himself having returned from Iraq with both PTSD and a disabling injury. Terry struggles to be a good father and husband, but his challenges leave him feeling like a burden to his wife and daughter. With his dog, Duke, in tow, he decides to leave his family behind. Years later, a homeless Terry needs help for an aging and ill Duke, so he reaches out for help at a nearby veterinary clinic. Will Duke be able to help Terry reach out again to try and reconcile with his estranged daughter?

Friday updates: cast news, interviews & previews

This is the first part of the weekly round-up. The second one is coming tomorrow.

On the Box reports that Prisoners' Wives with Polly Walker has been picked up for a second season. Congrats to the cast and crew. Four new episodes will air next year.

And big congrats to Winston Rekert, who received the Sam Payne Lifetime Achievement Award today. The award is presented by the Union of B.C. Performers for accumulative outstanding body of work in the industry.

Patton Oswalt has a couple of TV appearances coming up. First, he will guest star in Bob's Burgers, episode "Moody Foodie," which airs on Sunday, May 6, at 8.30 pm on Fox. A week after that, he will be back in Two and a Half Men, in the season finale, titled "Oh Look! Al-Qaeda!" which airs on Monday, May 14 at 9 pm on CBS. Patton was on Conan last week. You can watch the full episode at TeamCoco.com. He will guest on Craig Ferguson tonight (12:35am/11:35c, CBS).

Once Upon a Time previews and interviews with Jane Espenson

Jane Espenson's new episode of Once Upon a Time, "The Return," airs tonight at 8 pm on ABC. Jane did a bunch of interviews this week, both about Once and her other projects, old and new. Here are some snippets:

Buddy TV:

What can you say about the upcoming Once Upon a Time episode, "The Return"?
Jane Espenson: "The Return...' I really love this one. It's another Rumplestiltskin episode and he is my favorite. And yeah, this is an episode in which he is, in Storybrooke he's going to figure out who August is. And in fairytale land, he's going to be dealing with his son, who's not entirely happy about how his father's changing and wants him to change back. So Gold is going to be going through some stuff. Because he's a character who remembers his past. So, unlike a lot of characters, when we do the flashbacks, these are actually things that he remembers. You can imagine that this is going to be a little traumatic.

Sunday wrap: previews and new projects for Alessandra Torresani, Magda Apanowicz and Esai Morales

A few more updates to end the week.

Let's start with Alessandra Torresani. The horror she is filming with Morgan Fairchild won't be called Paranormal Initiation, but American Horror House. She tweeted that they start shooting this week in Louisiana (Baton Rouge).

Mama Cylon has another new credit on the IMDb, for a thriller called The Moment, shot late last year. Here is the description from the official FB page:

The film is a smart and sexy thriller about a war photographer (LEE) who returns to Los Angeles to rehabilitate after narrowly escaping death. While in the hospital she meets JOHN and they develop a friendship that turns romantic. And then John goes missing. As Lee begins to investigate what happened, she begins to suspect that she killed him, and as she investigates further, she begins to suspect that her daughter killed him. The journalist in her wants to discover the truth; the mother in her is afraid to.

Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as Lee and Martin Henderson plays John. The film was directed by Jane Weistock.

Magda Apanowicz is reportedly in talks to join Dead Souls, a horror/thriller that starts shooting this month in Connecticut. Here is the synopsis, from Chiller TV:

On his 18th birthday, Johnny Petrie learns he was adopted when he inherits a farm in Maine, abandoned for the 18 years since his natural family died at the hands of his father, the local preacher. Eager for a new life, he leaves home to start over in his new dwelling. However, as he digs into his past, he soon uncovers the horrifying details of his father’s questionable teachings. In a frightening revelation, he also learns that his return has revived decades-old forces trapped in the home and sets in motion a heart-stopping finale to a ritual that already claimed the lives of his family. Dead Souls is adapted from the novel by Bram Stoker Award Finalist Michael Laimo. The film is written by John Doolan and directed by Colin Theys; Andrew Gernhard and Zach O’Brien will produce for Synthetic Cinema International.

Grimm & Fairly Legal tonight, new film for Alessandra Torresani & interviews with Jane Espenson and Scott Porter

Friday updates:

Alessandra Torresani has a new movie in the works, a horror called Paranormal Initiation. Shock Till You Drop has the first details:

Morgan Fairchild and Alessandra Torresani are starring in Paranormal Initiation. This one follows three sorority sisters find themselves trapped inside their haunted house and must uncover the secrets and escape before it’s too late.

Esai Morales is back on Fairly Legal tonight (USA, 9 pm). Synopsis:

While mediating bankruptcy negotiations, Kate decides to help a client who's unable to pay his mortgage because of a drug-dealer tenant. The case catches Ben's attention when he learns the dealer's lawyer is his rival, Travis.

And here is what happens on Grimm (9 pm, NBC):

Nick (David Giuntoli) and Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) join Hank for dinner, where Nick discovers Hank’s mystery date is none other than Adalind (guest star Claire Coffee), the same Hexenbiest who tried to kill Aunt Marie. Meanwhile, Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz) takes matters into his own hands when a visit from foreign representatives of his royal bloodline threatens his position. Elsewhere, Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) and Rosalee (guest star Bree Turner) are called into action when the lives of Hank and Sgt. Wu (Reggie Lee) hang in the balance.

Previews & cast updates

A few quick mid-week updates.

Eric Stoltz directed tonight's episode of Glee, "Big Brother," which airs at 8 pm on Fox. His next episode will be 3x19, "Prom-A-Saurus," which airs next month.

He also wrote a guest column in this week's Entertainment Weekly. Snippet:

When I first came to the Glee set last season, I could tell they’d been through a great deal - the actors were close-knit and a bit guarded, and rightly so. Who was this redheaded stranger coming into their world, asking questions and taking notes? Before I started directing a show, I try to spend a few weeks hanging around the set, getting to know the crew and talking to the actors about how they like to work. Who is fussy? Who is left-handed? Who wants to go home early, and who is the perfectionist? There is no “right” way to work, and familiarizing myself with everyone’s method is a respectful place to start. And it’s also a lot of fun stealing Jane Lynch’s journal and reading it in the bathroom.

Read the rest here.

Esai Morales will be back on Fairly Legal this Friday. Sneak peek:

The Killing season two and weekly wrap

The Killing is back tonight at 8 pm ET with a two-hour season premiere. Caprica and BSG folks who are definitely returning this season include Richard Harmon, Brian Markinson, Michelle Forbes and Callum Keith Rennie.

Andrew Airlie will also be recurring as "Dr. Madigan," and Kacey Rohl and Tahmoh Penikett might also make an appearance, but I haven't seen anything that would confirm this. TV Equals has a clip and the promotional photos from the premiere.

Also back tonight with a second season, Game of Thrones (9 pm). HBO has announced that the trailer for the new season of True Blood will be shown before the premiere. Let's see if they give us a first look at Christopher Heyerdahl's character.

Seattle Superstorm starring Esai Morales airs tonight (9 pm, Syfy)

Esai Morales stars in Seattle Superstorm, which airs tonight at 9 pm on Syfy. Sci Fi Talk has a Q&A with him and his cast mates:

What’s it like for you these days to step into a movie like this, like a fun movie, as compared to the seriousness of a world like Caprica?
Esai Morales: Yes, well you know I enjoyed my time with the folks at Syfy and I felt I was safe enough there. So yes, it’s a different animal. I mean Caprica was, one episode was probably more than the budget of this whole piece. Again, I don’t know, but it’s just a different scale. So what you have to do is you play with your imagination. You literally have fun. I mean for me the fact that Caprica isn’t there anymore and the fact that I have a young child, I can’t be too snooty and go, “Oh well this isn’t Martin Scorsese directing and producing.” I can’t afford that, I have to have – be realistic and see that there’s an opportunity here to play a guy who wasn’t a stereotype, who wasn’t even Latino, he just was. Ona Grauer and these wonderful young actors that along on the line with us, is was just a chance to play, a chance to learn a little bit about science. It’s actually quite fun when you talk about all these things and you go, “Okay, what the heck does that mean?”So it was antithetical in the sense that it wasn’t as heady. You’re right, it wasn’t some sort of, “What is it to be human,” conundrum. But at the same time it is, “What is it to be a family?” So that – it’s a different dynamic, yet the similar things at stake, the survival of your family.

Blood & Chrome and general updates

Eventful week. To play catch-up:

The big news that every site reported in a slightly different way is that Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome will be a digital series and a TV film, but not a TV show, at least not one produced by Syfy/Universal Cable Prods. You have probably read the Deadline article by now.

With the possibility that Universal may still shop B&C around, it doesn't sound like they have any immediate plans to make more of it beyond the existing pilot/web series/MOW.

No word yet on a release date, but Battlestar Wiki reports that we'll be seeing Blood & Chrome as a web series first and then as a TV movie.

Doug Drexler posted this the other day (full post at the link):

If sets had been built for this show, it would have cost 6 million easily, instead of only the 2 million it did cost, and I guarantee you it never would have had the scope that B&C has. CG got us a new exciting Galactica episode that looks amazing. I know that 54 out of 55 of you will be thrilled.

Blood and Chrome trailer screened, Falling Skies season two premiere date, interview with Remi Aubuchon, and general updates

Just a few updates to end the week.

Blood and Chrome trailer was shown at the BSG panel at WonderCon this weekend. Hero Complex has a report from the panel with Kevin Grazier. Here is a description of the trailer (no, it's not available anywhere yet):

At the end of his talk, Grazier screened a trailer for the upcoming “Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome,” a two-hour television film which is set in the 10th year of the First Cylon War. Edited at rapid-cutting pace to Trent Reznor and Karen O’s cover of “Immigrant Song” for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – which was actually quite fitting with images of ice-covered planets and (space)ships – the trailer ended with title cards flashing the words “It’s time for a SyFy game-changer.”

Still no official word on what Blood and Chrome is (a TV film or a pilot) even though the decision was supposed to be made in February, but hopefully Syfy will announce something at the upfronts (April 24) if not sooner.

Elsewhere, TNT has announced a return date for Falling Skies:

Falling Skies
• Two-Hour Season Premiere: Sunday, June 17, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)
• Season 2: 10 episodes
The wait is nearly over as basic cable's #1 new series of 2011 returns to continue its extraordinary story about life and survival in the wake of a catastrophic alien invasion. Noah Wyle stars as a college professor who becomes an unlikely resistance leader in this gripping series from DreamWorks Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg. Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight and Connor Jessup also star.

In the same press release, TNT has also announced the dates for The Closer (Monday, July 9, at 9 pm ET) and Major Crimes (premiere: Monday, Aug. 13, at 10 pm ET, regular slot: Mondays at 9) with Mary McDonnell, and Perception (Monday, July 9, at 10 pm ET) with Jamie Bamber recurring. Longmire with Katee Sackhoff also got a premiere date in recent weeks: June 3 on A&E.

Esai Morales in Fairly Legal, Husbands & Grimm get second seasons, The Hunger Games premiere, and more updates

It's been a while since the last proper news roundup, so some of the news today won't be all that new. Posting it anyway in case anyone missed it elsewhere.

Fairly Legal is back tonight at 9 pm on USA. Esai Morales guest stars in the season premiere and will be appearing in several more episodes. Other BSG and Caprica folks appearing on the show this season include Michael Hogan, Ben Cotton and Zak Santiago. And yeah, Michael Trucco is still a regular.

The Voice of TV has some recent BTS pics, and Buddy TV talked to Esai (more at the link):

What do we need to know about Esai Morales' character?
Esai Morales: I'm playing Aaron Davidson, thank you. No hablo espanol in this show... I am a politician, District Attorney. I am, I guess, a bit of a quintessential slimeball. Sleazebag is how I've been described, which is kind of interesting. I think [Davidson]'s wonderful. I think he's in the right most of the time, because you got to play people like that. I think he's a realist. You know what I mean? I call him sleazy, because I think either "slimeball" or "sleazy" is what Michael [Trucco]'s character called me yesterday.

So did Poptimal: