|
HostCraze.com - An independent review of the top rated web hosts Free Background Images |
|
| |
| home | news | features | fiction | reviews | tv ratings | mail | ||
 |
||
|
17-23
OCTOBER
|
THIS
WEEK IN SCI-FI This week on Girls Kick Ass: Keria voted sexiest star of all time; Shiri movie trailer now online; SMG in The Grudge; SMG hesitant about Buffy movie; Katherine Heigl in US FHM ABC to move Alias? According to TV Guide, the success of ABC's new drama Desperate Housewives may force ABC to rethink its plan to return Alias to Sunday nights when season four starts next January. When ABC announced its schedule in May, Desperate Housewives was supposed to run through to December, with Alias reclaiming its 9pm Sunday slot in January. ABC's thinking was that since both shows have continuing storylines, both would struggle to draw an audience with repeats. However, Desperate Housewives is the type of hit drama that ABC hasn't seen since the first season of NYPD Blue in 1993. Last week, it ranked no. 2 for the week in the advertiser-favoured 18-49 demographic, just behind CSI. The ratings drop-off from its from monstrous premiere was minimal. Roughly 21 million viewers tuned in for the second consecutive week. A Housewives repeat is likely to do as well in the ratings as an original Alias episode on Sunday. Last season, Alias originals averaged a 3.7 rating in viewers 18-49. A Housewives repeat could top that by getting 40 percent of the 8.6 rating it pulled in on Sunday. Insiders at ABC say the network is already reconsidering the Sunday-night plan. It's safe to say that Alias has been being moved around ABC's magnetic scheduling board ever since Sunday's Housewives' number came in. Despite the network's new-show success this season, there is no shortage of options. One possible fit for Alias is Wednesday at 9pm, the hour after ABC's other new hit, J.J. Abrams' Lost. Preview - Charmed: Once in a Blue Moon The WB has released its description for Sunday's episode of Charmed, entitled Once in a Blue Moon: The Charmed Beasts - The Elders' suspicion of Leo causes them to assign a new Whitelighter (guest star TJ Thyne) to the girls. However, when the new Whitelighter is nearly killed by beasts, the Elders blame the attack on Leo. Trying to prove Leo's innocence, Piper, Phoebe and Paige discover that the beasts are actually The Charmed Ones themselves, transformed by a blue moon. Meanwhile, Agent Brody (guest star Kerr Smith) learns Paige's secret and informs her of a powerful new threat, and Phoebe and Leslie (guest star Nick Lachey) discuss their feelings before saying goodbye. Lachey
jumps from reality to life with the witches on Charmed After two seasons as star - with wife Jessica Simpson - of the MTV reality show Newlyweds, singer Nick Lachey of the band 98 Degrees is trying his hand at acting. Although he's spent a lot of time in front of cameras as himself, it didn't turn out to be much help when it came to playing a role on The WB's Sunday night hit Charmed. "Everything from hitting marks and finding your light to the process of rehearsal," Lachey says, "just that is probably what I've learned the most. I'm used to being on stage, where everything is bigger. "The lesson to learn is that subtlety is pretty important on televison." On this particular day at Paramount Studios, Lachey is at work on Charmed. He plays Leslie St. Claire, who's been hired to take over from newspaper advice columnist (and good witch) Phoebe Halliwell when she decides she needs a break. "I was told it was a Moonlighting type of relationship," Lachey says. "That's one of my favourite shows, so that appealed to me" In the current scene, Leslie arrives at the Halliwell house to meet Phoebe only to have her slam the door in his face, since she and her witch sisters Piper and Paige are having another of their magical crises. Although he has no lines, Lachey's wordlessly befuddled reaction gets funnier over several takes. He attributes a lot of his new acting skills to working with Alyssa Milano, a TV veteran who first found stardom during a long stint in the 1980s sitcom Who's the Boss, starting at age 10. "It's good for me," Lachey says, "especially working with Alyssa, who's such a pro, she does it in her sleep. For guys of my generation, she was it. She was the poster girl. It's a little weird [working with her]." Right at the beginning, in the season premiere, Lachey and Milano wound up in a liplock. "You always hear about that being the most awkward thing," Lachey says. "But you know what, there are certain people you're just cool with, and she and I are cool, at least from my perspective. We get along really well; it's comfortable. "It never really was awkward. We got right into it in the first episode. ... The only weird thing is I'm married, and there's another woman I'm kissing at work, but at time that's what the business calls for. It's a sacrifice we have to make." Tourist
time travellers on their way to Cardiff? Doctor Who could help Cardiff become the centre of the universe for science fiction buffs around the world, following the sale of international TV rights. Shooting for the eagerly-anticipated new series continued in the Welsh capital this week and, according to experts, the city providing the backdrop to Christopher Eccleston's Doctor could soon benefit from a tourist boost. Cardiff is fast becoming a magnet for British fans of the show, drawn by the prospect of a rare glimpse of Doctor Who's TARDIS, as well as his young assistant Rose, played by Billie Piper. And following the sale of the new series' rights to Canada, and with a deal in the US reportedly close to being finalised, that appeal could go global. Matt Hills, an expert in Doctor Who and fan behaviour at Cardiff University said, "A similar thing happened with Vancouver when they were filming The X Files there, with tourists who would be science fiction fans going around locations where it was filmed. "There were two ways it was attractive to fans. "There were online guides to locations used and fans could research it through articles in fan magazines. "But not only could you visit locations, you could actually stumble across the show being filmed. "Assuming Doctor Who takes off on the level of The X Files or Buffy the Vampire Slayer you could expect increased interest in Cardiff from American tourists. "The new series is an event for fans because it's their show coming back; they've been waiting a long time for this and want to see the first glimpses of actors in full alien masks and costumes." The filming of the new series in South Wales continues a long-standing link between Wales and Doctor Who. The show's creator [sic], Terry Nation, hailed from Cardiff. But the possibility of building upon the show's existing cult following abroad could prove a lucrative money-spinner. Earlier this week, the BBC announced the show had been sold to Canadian public broadcaster CBC Television. Acclaimed Swansea dramatist Russell T. Davies, who has written the comeback series, said, "Doctor Who has a remarkable fandom, but equally it's the new audience that I care about. "Someone who has never heard of a TARDIS or a Dalek, whether in Toronto or Swansea, will be able to start with this new series, climb on board with Christopher and Billie, and travel the whole of time and space." Meanwhile, it has been reported that the BBC is on the verge of signing a deal with a US network. Ed Townsend, spokesman for Cardiff Initiative, which aims to boost the city's profile, thought it would be a great chance to sell the capital. "Terry Nation is a Cardiff boy, of course, and we lay a very strong claim to him and the Daleks. "Because of licensing and rights issues, it's not as easyu as putting a Doctor Who museum in the city. But it would be a great opportunity for an entrepreneur. Cardiff's strong links with science fiction include it being the birthplace of Dalek creator Terry Nation, who also penned the much-derided seminal sci-fi series, Blakes 7, which starred Welsh actor Gareth Thomas. Surprisingly, the city also boasts a relatively-unknown Star Wars link with Cardiff-born Richard Marquand directing Return of the Jedi following a spat between the saga's original director George Lucas and the Directors Guild. Swansea can lay claim to being the hometown of Russell T. Davies, writer of [eight episodes of] the new 13-part run of Doctor Who, which is being made by BBC Wales and will hit our screens next year. Portmeirion, of course, served as the backdrop for classic cult series, The Prisoner, as well as episodes of Doctor Who. Over the years, the famous time-travelling series has also been shot in Snowdonia (which doubled as the Himalayas). Doctor Who Confidential According to trade paper Broadcast, BBC3 is to air a 13 x 30-minute "fanzine" immediately after each episode of Doctor Who on BBC1, in a similiar way to the Pure 24 series it broadcast after its premieres of 24 (until Sky One poached the rights for season three). Called Doctor Who Confidential, each episode will be based around a particular theme such as the challenges of creating a new Doctor or finding his assistant. Mark Cossey, who will executive produce the show, said it would be aimed at a mainstream audience and not just Doctor Who "geeks". "It will have a very entertaining glow to it," he said. "It won't be discussions of technology. We are going for a bigger audience than that." Doctor Who Confidential will be series produced by Gillane Seabourne and co-exec produced by Julie Gardner and the main series' lead writer, Russell T. Davies. Tru's fate in doubt Tru Calling's producer Jon Harmon Feldman told Zap2it that he's not hopeful the show will ever return to the airwaves. Although renewed for a second season, Tru Calling was scaled back before its season premiere, its 13 episode count being reduced to just six, and its 4 November start date handed over to North Shore. The series still has no berth in Fox's schedule, though six new episodes are now in post-production. "The network has not said they won't air these six," Feldman said, "but obviously you don't know what will happen. I am not planning a viewing party at this point." The series' first season is set to be released in the US on 30 November. "There has been talk of releasing season two, the six episodes, to DVD as well," Feldman said. "I hope that happens. It won't allow us to complete the arc that we were starting, but perhaps if we do release season two to DVD, at least it will give some of the creative people an opportunity to not only show those six episodes, but also tell the fans what was going to happen. Those are stories worth hearing, worth telling." As for the likelihood of Tru Calling finding another home on TV? "There have been rumours flying about [Tru going to] The WB," Feldman said. "Although at this point, I believe them to be only rumours, nothing more. [Fox] picked us up, as I was told, because they were excited about the direction of the show. They know what a tough timeslot we were in, and they really believed that, based on the growth of the show, where we were heading, what we had planned for next season, that they wanted to see more of us." James Marsters returns to The WB According to TV Guide, James Marsters will be returning to The WB on 3 November when he guest stars as the father of the Penn Badgley character on the network's new series The Mountain. back to the top |
|