When it rains, it pours: Not only is Keith Carradine returning to Dexter this season as Deb’s Fed ex, he’s just sealed a deal to appear in two episodes of Dollhouse, sources confirm to me exclusively.
In Joss Whedon’s Fox series (returning September 25), the Nashville Oscar winner will play a powerful businessman by the name of Matthew Harding.
And yes, as of now, that’s all I — and, by extension, you — know.
Supernatural:
If the promo images are any indication, we're in for a load of tussling in the Supernatural season premiere, "Sympathy for the Devil:"
The season's sixth episode will center on the show's version of the Tooth Fairy, whom the casting notice suggests may exist as the result of a young boy's powers:
Jesse: An all-American boy age 11 who is wise beyond his years. He was adopted as an infant and remains perplexed by his unusual powers. He possesses a childlike innocence-he believes in the Tooth Fairy (Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!)! He suddenly finds himself faced with a very adult decision. Recurring role.
[EW]
Source: http://io9.com/5340488/jamie-bamber-suits-up-for-dollhouse-and-thor-may-have-its-first-goddess
Episode 5.04: The Douchebag of Oz
Airdate: October 1, 2009
08/16 - Ever wonder what Sam would be like if he was totally evil? You'll find out in episode 4. Source: The Ausiello FilesSupernatural:
Here's a new promo for season five, featuring a few glimpses of the season opener, "Sympathy For The Devil"
Syfy's new show may be about agents who chase down technological and mystical artifacts, but it's the charming characters and Buffy-influenced dialogue that take center stage. If you haven't seen Warehouse 13, it may be time to take a gander.
Most of Warehouse 13's charm comes from two sources: the chemistry between the characters, and the more surprising and goofy artifacts located inside the Warehouse itself. Artifact-hunting agents Peter Lattimer and Myka Bering aren't quite Mulder and Scully or Booth and Bones, but the actors' ability to play off one another — and the dialogue by Buffy and Battlestar Galactica writer Jane Espenson — result in the sort of amiable sniping that's always fun to watch. And Saul Rubinek is a brain-addled force of nature as Artie Nielsen, a senior agent at the Warehouse who seems to have forgotten how to communicate with normal human beings, but his role has been much improved by the addition of Allison Scagliotti to the cast as Claudia, a young tinkering genius who has become both Artie's assistant and his verbal sparring partner.
The previous episodes have also introduced us to some of the gadgets and mystical thingamajiggers that populate the Warehouse, including a kettle that grants wishes (impossible wishes become ferrets; no one knows why), Pandora's Box (empty), and a magic mirror that lets you interact (and play ping pong) with your reflection. Yes, they tend a bit to the goofy side, but they give the series a sense that it doesn't take itself and is interested in having a bit of fun with its ideas.
However, this week's episode, "Burnout" suffers for pulling back on that sense of humor and focusing far too much on the mystery of the week. Warehouse's primary plots, in which Peter and Myka travel to a town being terrorized by an artifact, identify said artifact, and take it back to the Warehouse for safekeeping, has been the weakest part of the show, and "Burnout" is no exception. Peter and Myka discover a device called the Spine of Saracen, a Turkish machine that pulls electricity out of the wearer's body and causes them to electrocute anyone they touch until their body runs out of energy and they eventually die. And it's too predictable when the Spine becomes attached to Peter and Myka, Artie, and Claudia must determine a way to remove it without killing him.
"Burnout" is also a tad darker than previous episodes, pulling way back on the humor that's made the other episodes fun to watch despite their flaws. A running gag in previous episodes has been that Artie often forces Peter and Myka to ask victims of the artifacts a ludicrous series of diagnostic questions ("Do you smell fudge when no fudge is around?" "Do you have the sense that today is yesterday?"), a gag that could get old, but could also be easily built upon. But we get none of that here, nor are we treated to more of the Warehouse's fun and funky artifacts.
But even where "Burnout" falls flat, I have high hopes for this rough-around-the-edges show, provided it can move a bit beyond its artifact of the week format. I just hope that next week's episode brings us back to the land of shiny Warehouse toys and screwball dialogue.
Source: http://io9.com/5336212/shocking-spines-and-screwball-dialogue-burn-through-warehouse-13
We've already told you that Paris Hilton will be guesting on Supernatural this season, but now that we've found out who she'll be playing, we're wondering: Should we cut her some slack after all?
Yes, yes, we get the Hilton hate; she's rich, she's superficial, she looked particularly scary in night vision. But we can't shake the feeling that there's something more to everyone's most favorite hated socialite than we give her credit for. This is, after all, the woman who starred as a surgery-addict in Repo The Genetic Opera - not the most obvious, or glamorous, role you'd imagine for her - as well as agreeing to star in a self-depreciating-but-hilarious McCain-baiting Funny or Die video during last year's election madness. Her Supernatural guest spot continues the trend, according to showrunner Eric Kripke:
If anyone ever wanted to see a bloodthirsty Paris attack and kill somebody, this is your chance[. I'm] quite frankly shocked that Paris agreed to do it. We wrote the role just for her... We're very excited that she said yes. She plays the role of a demonic creature that takes the form of... Paris Hilton. If you know our style, you know we go pretty funny and irreverent with this stuff, so—expect that. The fact that she wanted to do the episode speaks volumes about her sense of humor. She's flat-out awesome for playing along. You'll see.
Is there a hidden, self-aware side to Hilton that allows her to play with her own public identity like this, or is she just so desperate for the spotlight that she'll go along with anything as long as it gets her name out there? We're leaning towards the former, but we'll admit it: we're biased towards anyone who did a cameo on Veronica Mars.
'Supernatural' snags Paris Hilton to play 'demonic creature' [Chicago Tribune]
Source: http://io9.com/5333021/is-supernatural-reason-enough-to-re+assess-paris-hilton
Eric Kripke, the creator and producer of "Supernatural," rapidly back-pedaled on an earlier edict that if "Supernatural" were to continue into a sixth season it would be without him during last month's 
"I never dreamt the show would go beyond five years," Kripke told the crowd. "I only had a five-year plan and now here I am at the fifth season. I was only adamant about saying I would do five seasons because I never thought we'd get this far."
If "Supernatural" does get picked up by The
"We're not going to drag it out," Kripke said. "We're not going to try to stretch it to try to accommodate another season, which would dilute and weaken it. We're going to tell the story with a bang."
After the most season finale where Sam inadvertently released Lucifer by killing Lilith and breaking the last seal, the Winchester boys now have to deal with the consequences of unleashing hell on Earth when "Supernatural" returns this fall on The CW.
The characters, played by Jensen
"It's the apocalypse," Kripke said. "We're not pulling our punches. It's the full on, end of days, out of the Book of Revelation apocalypse."
This includes the introduction of the Four
But there will be a new addition to the "Supernatural" cast this season: God. Although he's been absent in the past, now that Lucifer has been introduced, the good guys have to be a part of the series, too, Kripke said.
"We are going to meet God this year," he said. "Not anytime soon, but God is definitely going to be a character."
And a lot will happen to the brothers, Sam and Dean.
"We spent so much time tearing the brothers apart, now we feel we owe it to the audience to bring them back together," Kripke said. "It's going to be slow. It's going to be painful. We've torn down their relationship and now we're going to rebuilt it."
In facing the consequences of what they have done, Producer Ben Edlund explained that there will be an episode where Dean will have the opportunity to see what the world would be like five years after the apocalypse. Edlund said he was intrigued by the question of whether the future Dean sees will be fixed, or if it will be a fture that will be in flux and thus can be manipulated.
Producer Sera Gamble said that next season will be much lighter than last year.
"The apocalypse has not turned out to be as dark as I thought it would be," she said. "I am finding this apocalypse surprisingly amusing. We are having so much fun with it."
During all this, the fallen angel Castiel will experiment with what it means to be human, portrayer Misha Collins said. Castiel will remain 90 percent angel, but with a bit of human emotions mixed. However, Collins said he is not sure whether that angel-human mix will shift as the season goes on, and suspects it might.
For the beginning of Season 5, Castiel -- having been blown to bits -- will somehow come back, but this time with a bull's eye on his back. The angel will then be rescued from an awful fate that will put him on the run ... and hunted.
This forces Castiel to team up with the Winchester Brothers in order to survive, a process that will help him learn how to fit in and be human.
"Supernatural" remains at Thursdays this fall on The CW, returning for its fifth season Sept. 10.
Despite rumors to the contrary, it looks like Supernatural's next season may not be its last, at least according to CW president Dawn Ostroff, who's also hoping that Smallville's going to stick around, as well.
Ostroff was speaking during a presentation for the CW at the Television Critics Association's Press Tour, and addressed rumors that both Smallville and Supernatural were headed into their final years. About Smallville, Ostroff said,
I hope it's not the last season... I think the producers have come up with some really good storylines this season. I think the show has a lot of life left in it. We have high hopes for it staying on the air for a while.
Supernatural, she added, was another series that she hoped would remain "for a while."
While Smallville showrunners Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders revealed to us at San Diego Comic-Con that they were hopeful for another season beyond the upcoming ninth - and had, in fact, signed up Callum Blue's Zod for two years as part of a long-term arc - Supernatural's fate has been more in question; Creator Eric Kripke has spoken in the past about only wanting to make five seasons of the show -
Despite what the network and studio may or may not want, I don't have more than five seasons of story... I certainly would be willing to make sure there are enough villains and heroes around to continue a new story line, and I would be around to answer a few questions - that's it. I'm outta here. There's no way I'm doing season 6.
- but seems to have changed his mind, telling the audience of the SDCC Supernatural panel that he's open to a season 6 after all. Perhaps divine intervention has interceded... or maybe the CW just made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Although, knowing Kripke, that offer may have involved his eternal soul.
Source: http://io9.com/5329974/smallville-and-supernatural-could-live-longer-than-you-thought
One of the announcements that thrilled Farscape fans most during last week's San Diego Comic-Con was the news that Boom! Studios are turning their Farscape comics into an ongoing monthly series. We spoke to editor Ian Brill about the news.
So, what's the news about Farscape from Boom! Studios?
The big news at this con is that the Farscape is becoming an ongoing series, plotted by Rockne S. O'Bannon, Farscape creator, and scripted by Keith R.A. DeCandido. We've had the the first four issue mini-series, which was a huge success - and when I say "huge success," I mean, it really changed Boom! in a big way. It was the first part of this huge growth that Boom! has seen, and now, along with the Muppet Show books, the Incredibles books, Eureka, all these things have garnered us new attention. Farscape was the first one of that, the first issue came out in December 2008. So we've had a four issue mini-series and then another one, Strange Attractors, which immediately followed up, and saw very little drop in readership. It was pretty much even. We saw fans really stick with this book, which we were happy to see.
Then we just started up Gone and Back, the first issue of the third mini-series, and with the numbers we saw, and the fan response we saw, we thought, Okay. This is doing well enough to support an ongoing series. It'll be called Farscape, it'll be out every month, and fans and retailers can depend on a quality book.
The fan reaction has been really positive?
Yeah, definitely. We had the Farscape comics panel, and Keith made a great point, which was that there's not a lot of spin-off material [from the series]. There were a few novels; Keith wrote one, "House of Cards," there was a video game, Wildstorm put out two comics, and that was about it until the show was cancelled. Now, the Farscape comics being the only ongoing presence of the story, of the characters. We're lucky enough to have it be canonical, have the creator, I mean, Rockne is totally great for these books, he's really doing amazing things continuing the story, saying "This is the show. This can be seen, if you wish, as the fifth season of the show." You couldn't do that with Star Trek, because Next generation was going, then you had the novels... Obviously, with the logistics of making Next Generation, you couldn't do that with all the novels and making it work with all the material, but we're lucky. We're in a place where we can.
How involved is Rockne?
It's a pretty cool process. Rockne sends me a PDF of a plot for four issues, and getting those PDFs is a huge highlight, because he's been in the business a long time, he's smart as a whip, a great storyteller, and each of those plots is a great little short story, with a great beginning, a middle full of adventures, and when it comes to the end, I'm sitting here reading the PDF on my laptop and going, 'This is like watching an awesome movie,' except in this case it's going to be a comic that I get to work on!
So we send that to Henson, and we're very blessed in that our liason at Henson is not a guy who just rubberstamps things, he's willing to get into discussions with Rockne and Keith, and there we get the plot approve, Keith works on the script and then Rockne and Keith go on and on about the script, they work on it and then I get it, and then Rockne, Keith and I work on it, and then Rockne, Keith, the licensor and I work on it, and the process moves much more quickly than it should with all these people working on it. We're very lucky that way.
So will the structure change in the ongoing series? Will there be longer subplots, or will you keep to something you can easily put into trade paperback?
You'll probably still see four-issue plots, because we found out that those are kind of like meaty episodes of the TV show. It's a little bit more than you'd get in a forty-five minute TV show, but it works out roughly that way. Rockne has always put in all these subplots - For example, the first story of the ongoing is called "Tangled Roots," and it answers a lot of questions that were posed since the first issue of the first Farscape mini-series. So it's definitely, there's that thrill of the monthly book, and a company the size of Boom! doesn't get to do that that much, there aren't a lot of small companies that get to do long, ongoing series or long projects that have subplots, multiple characters, that kind of stuff. The kind of thing that I loved as a kid, reading X-Men.
Of course, there's talk about the webisodes. At the Farscape 10th Anniversary Panel, Rockne and Brian Henson gave a lot of discussion to the upcoming webisodes that they're hoping to make happen, and those would obviously continue. So, you know, it's one throughline you can follow. It's the first four seasons, it's the Peacekeeper Wars, it's the Farscape comics. It's one great propulsion of story.
Do you guys get say in the webisodes because Rockne's on board?
The webisodes are Rockne and Henson, and because Rockne is working on both, the comics and webisodes share story threads. That's all I can reveal at this point.
Farscape #1 launches in November from Boom! Studios.
Source: http://io9.com/5322508/farscapes-editor-talks-monthly-thrills-and-webisode-teases
Last season, midwestern monster-slayer show Supernatural left the heroic Winchester brothers in the middle of Armageddon. At Comic-Con, the writers and cast gave us a taste of the road ahead next season. Spoilers ahead!
Season 5 is an all-out apocalypse, according to producer Sera Gamble and showrunner Eric Kripke. "We call it the Walmart apocalypse because of our budget," Kripke joked. A lot of the epic action takes place offscreen, but there will be plenty of creative, unexpected twists on familiar Biblical stories. Gamble said it's their chance to "bring in all the A-list monsters," including Lucifer, "who will be very nice and likable." The writing team has played a lot with the concept of Lucifer, borrowing liberally from the fairly sympathetic depiction of Satan in Paradise Lost. "At one point he says he doesn't fly because he doesn't have to," Gamble said. Lucifer will be played by Lost's Mark Pellegrino.
All the trappings of the apocalypse will be turned on their heads, too. Kripke said the four horsemen of the apocalypse will be introduced in different episodes throughout the season – Gamble is currently working on the first episode featuring one, called War. "He's got great monologues," Kripke said. "At one point he says, 'I was in Germany. And then I went back to Germany. And then I was in Darfur. And then I got paged about coming here.' Also, our horsemen won't ride horses – they have muscle cars."
Producer Ben Edlund summed up season 5 in his usual offbeat way: "We're looking at the most classic horror story of them all - the Bible." He said that they do have an ending for the series planned, and "it will be bittersweet." Will the end of season 5 be the end of the show? Showrunner Kripke said that he's open to doing a season 6, but that they will definitely wrap up the apocalypse arc at the end of season 5. "We'll end with a bang, which isn't to say another story can't begin," he added. Basically he's flattered as hell that anybody would want to renew the show for a 6th season, and remains open to the idea. But there are no concrete plans yet.
We saw a 5-minute clip from season opener "Sympathy for the Devil," and the crowd at Comic-Con simply went wild. It opened with a jokey introduction from the Ghostfacers, and then segued to a scene where the Winchester brothers meet fanfic prophet Chuck again. First of all, brothers Sam and Dean were clearly working together, which is a good sign. But - uh oh - Chuck is picking angel Castiel's teeth out of his hair. The archangels "blew him up like a water balloon full of Chinese soup," he tells the brothers mournfully.
The archangels show up at that point, and once again try to recruit Dean to help them stop Lucifer, whom they "need to strike hard and fast." There is a great scene of angry quippery between Dean and the archangels, in which Dean calls them "asshats" and dicks. And then he pulls a pocket door out of the wall, which has an angel-banishing sign on it, sending the dicks back to heaven.
Gamble and Kripke both called season 5 "ironically the most hopeful season of the show," after "season 4's almost suicidal depression." The arc of the season will bring the brothers back together, after they were torn apart last year. They also said it's going to be one of the most fun seasons of the show.
Castiel will return to Earth as a human, and has to reacquaint himself with human ways. "He's lost and afraid, on the run and shut out of heaven," Kripke said. "But in episode 3, Dean takes him to a whorehouse." He also joins the brothers on some of their monster-of-the-week missions, and becomes an awkward third wheel. Bobby is going to undergo a dramatic transformation in the first couple of episodes, and it's something so surprising that the cast and writers wouldn't tell us anything about it. Jim Beaver, who plays Bobby, told reporters that when he read the scripts he was "incredibly shocked."
Edlund is writing a time-travel episode (episode 4), where the brothers see the world 5 years into the apocalypse. "Sarah Palin is president," Kripke said. Edlund added that the episode asks whether this dark future is fated, or if fate can be changed. He also told a group of journalists that one of the things he loves about Supernatural is that it has the balls to ask where God is. "Just like Star Trek 6, which is the best movie ever!" he enthused weirdly. (I think he meant Star Trek 5.)
Kripke explained what exactly the archangels meant last year when they said "God has left the building." Apparently God has disappeared and nobody knows where God is. (Gamble warned us that we shouldn't necessarily assume God is male.) So the archangels started Armageddon all by themselves. We will meet God later in the season, however.
Other little goodies to look out for: Gamble says old hunters like Rufus are coming out of retirement. We'll see Ellen again, who reluctantly becomes a hunter. We'll also see Sam's girlfriend Jessica again. And demon Meg will be back too, in a new meatsuit. Kripke also promised more meta episodes ala "The Monster At The End of This Book."
Fans in the audience at the Supernatural panel asked great questions (maybe I'm biased, but these fans seemed like a really smart bunch). One asked whether cast and writers have gotten any blowback from church groups for their unusual depiction of angels. Apparently very little, and in fact Kripke said he's heard anecdotally that priests watch the series because it's one of the only shows out there that actually tries to grapple with telling the story of Revelations, and ask about the true meaning of existence. Gamble added that the Supernatural team is mostly agnostic on the question of religion, and that they were raised in a variety of religious faiths (Gamble herself is Jewish, and Misha Collins is a Buddhist). They aren't trying to make a religious point, she emphasized. "We are just trying to make life really hard [for the Winchester brothers]."
Kripke joked that he is planning to turn Supernatural into a religion. "I'm gonna L. Ron Hubbard this shit!" he quipped with a laugh. Misha Collins, who plays Castiel, added, "Way better money than syndication." Just watching the team interacting at their panel, you could see exactly where the goofy humor of the show comes from.
I had a chance to grill Kripke about something I'd been wondering for a while: Why did he choose to set the show in the midwest, which isn't exactly your typical horror/gothic location? He said:
I'm from Ohio and the midwest. I find it deeply beautiful and deeply eerie. There's paint peeling on farmhouses in the distance, and thick woods. It's beautiful and ominous in a way that felt uniquely American. Often people think of the coasts, of creaky castles or Japanese horror. But I wanted to represent for the midwest.
And I asked Collins whether he thinks his character is a good guy. He answered with an emphatic "yes," and then elaborated:
I have a tendency to see all the characters I play as good guys. I played a serial killer once and while I was playing him I thought his actions were justified. It doesn't seem to me that Cas' actions are unjustified. And I think he's on the right side, and he's trying to save the world. So far I think he's a good guy.
As good as a serial killer? Hmmm . . .
I've got to say, as a fan and a critic, it sounds like next season will be as good as the last one. And that's great news. Catch up on thow show before it drops Sept. 10 by picking up the DVDs for season 4 on Sept. 1.
New anniversary DVD set for 'Farscape': Comic-Con has become a perfect launching pad for the former SciFi
The new line, set to debut in November, will include, among other things, the first-ever complete series megaset featuring four seasons of the show.
Some of the key people involved with "Farscape," including stars Ben Browder and Claudia Black, along with executive producer Brian Henson and creator Rockne O'Bannon, will be on hand at Comic-Con this year to talk about the amazing vitality of "Farscape," which ran on the channel now known as Syfy, between 1999 and 2003. The new DVD set is a collaboration between A&E Home Entertainment and the Jim Henson
The panel featuring the "Farscape" greats is scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. in Room 6BCF at the San Diego Convention Center. -- [Airlock Alpha]
And a 'Farscape' book-signing, too: Rockne S. O'Bannon is going to be a busy guy at Comic-Con this year. he will sign collector's "Scorpius Editions" of the "Farscape Vol. 1" hardcover at the Boom! Studios Booth at Comic-Con on Friday at 2 p.m. and Saturday at 3:45 p.m.
Comics writer Keith R.A. DeCandido will join O'Bannon to help sign a limited 500 copies of the book priced at $50.
Both DeCandido and O'Bannon will be a part of the Boom! Studios "Farscape" comics panel July 25 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 10 along with comics editor Ian Brill.
The "Farscape" comic series first four issues debuted last December and has been subject to sellouts and reprints. It has since been followed by "Farscape: Strange Detractors," "Farscape: D'Argo's Lament" and the upcoming "Farscape: D'Argo's Trial."
Speaking of which ... what ever happened to the Webisodes that SciFi Channel/Syfy promised us a few years back? -- [Airlock Alpha]
Both Farscape and Battlestar Galactica are narratives about homelessness, writes a woman who survived life on the streets, in the newest issue of Homeless Tales. But she finds Farscape both grittier and more inspirational.
Battlestar Galactica, writes MetisRebel, is about a group of people who've lost their homes and are cut off from everything:
Battlestar Galactica is about a group of humans who, due to their arrogance of playing God with artificial intelligence technology, find themselves on the wrong side of a genocide rained upon them by their own robotic creations, the Cylons. Humanity's planets are bombed out of existence.
Meanwhile, Farscape is about one particular human who loses his home, and it resonates a great deal with the real experiences of homeless people:
a scientist/astronaut who is accidentally shot through a wormhole alone in his experimental pod then finds himself, through no fault of his own, in another galaxy during a shoot out between escaping prisoners and their lawful captors.
"Homeless" is truly an apt description. John Crichton of Farscape is both physically and metaphorically, lost – light years from all he knows and the civilizations he encounters are far beyond his technological comprehension. It's a violent, dangerous universe. He has no idea where he is, how to get home, or how to improve his situation. He is confounded by who is allied with whom, who is reliable–or not, and the political/social/cultural realities of his new situation.
Early on, Crichton's so out of his depth, he doesn't even know how to open a door. MetisRebel can identify with his feelings of insecurity and tentativeness:
He's just a nice guy, who accidentally bounced through a wormhole into the wrong place, at the wrong time. Others alternately bully and con the new guy. Not much different than popping into the local homeless drop in, the first time... Crichton, who starts out as reasonable, compassionate and sensible is then relentlessly driven by the violence committed against him and the violence he must in turn, commit to survive, over the line of sanity... Crichton just wants what every ‘homeless' person wants. He wants to go home.
But eventually Crichton becomes so adept at surviving in his new circumstances, he can't even relate to Earth when he finally does get home. He's an inspirational figure because he does learn to master his bewildering situation.
In the end, MetisRebel finds Farscape a more helpful narrative than BSG, because Crichton and his friends band together to improve their situation. BSG's "hand of God," meanwhile, feels too much like waiting for governments or large corporations to do something to improve your circumstance, when you're out on the streets.
Source: http://io9.com/5318870/farscape-and-battlestar-galactica-speak-to-the-experiences-of-homelessness
The BBC issued its press packet for Torchwood's third season, the five-part "Children of Earth," and the Doctor Who spin-off is bigger, crazier and more political than ever. It's easy to see why Russell T. Davies is sticking around. Spoilers!
The packet includes a much more detailed plot summary for "Children Of Earth" than we've seen before.
An ordinary day becomes a world of terror, as every single child in the world stops. A message is sent to all the governments of Earth: "We are coming".
But as a trap closes around Captain Jack, sins of the past are returning, as long-forgotten events from 1965 threaten to reveal an awful truth.
Torchwood are forced underground, as the government takes swift and brutal action. With members of the team being hunted down, Britain risks becoming a rogue state, with the mysterious and powerful 456 drawing ever closer.
Captain Jack (John Barrowman), Gwen (Eve Myles) and Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd) are helpless, as events escalate until humankind faces the end of civilisation itself.
Apart from the part about creepy children, it all sounds fantastic. And I think raising the stakes dramatically for Captain Jack and the crew would be a huge plus. As long as Torchwood was just a show about the team capturing escaped monsters, or dealing with Captain Jack's brother and Captain Jack's ex-boyfriend, it always felt a bit trivial — like if Captain Jack just up and left, most of the problems he was fighting against would disappear as well. But now, at last, there's a real threat to the Earth. Contrast that with Davies' Doctor Who, which hasn't really got anyplace else to go after his constant upping of the ante.
Oh, and the political part? Well, there's the idea of Britain becoming a "rogue state" as it crumbles under the weight of whatever those secrets from 1965 are. But there's also this, from Davies:
But underneath the sci-fi and the aliens there's something very relevant to the world, I hope, the way we sit in the West and watch footage of atrocities in different countries and imagine it's all so far away, and so impossible here – which is a nice, comfy lie we tell ourselves. That was the heart of it.
I wanted to tell a story in which civilisation snaps, in which we turn on ourselves, in which nothing is safe. Plenty of people live like that on this planet. In this story, it's Britain's turn!
Davies also talks up the episode's guest stars, including Cush Jumbo as Lois, the innocent secretary who discovers government secrets on her computer, and Peter Capaldi as Frobisher, who's "heartbreaking" at the end. And Susan Brown is a "slow burner" as Bridget Spears. Nicholas Farrell is the most clever and manipulative British prime minister you could imagine. (And I wonder if they'll refer to what happened to the last PM, and the fact that Jack was there.) And then Lucy Cohu plays Alice... Captain Jack's daughter.
Davies also promises that the huge threat of the aliens, the 456, breaks down Torchwood and forces them to rebuild, so we see a new side of them and witness their humanity. And in episode three, we actually get to watch the British government engaging in diplomatic relations with an alien race, and it's just the way you'd imagine.
Most importantly, though, Davies hints that the relationship between Captain Jack and his very private secretary, Ianto, has "developed."
Torchwood's "Children Of Earth" airs July 20 through July 24 on both BBC One in the U.K. and BBC America in the U.S.
Source: http://io9.com/5292111/why-russell-t-davies-is-leaving-doctor-who-but-sticking-with-torchwood
Forget the shopping malls. SciFi Channel is taking a very non-traditional approach to promoting its upcoming new series "Warehouse 13," and is doing it by attracting people who shop at flea markets.
Yep, we said flea markets.
Brown tags will start showing up at various flea markets around New York City and Los Angeles this weekend on different items asking "does this object have hidden powers?" To find out, the curious shopper will have to hop on the Internet and visit the official Web site for "Warehouse 13," its new series that will launch July 7, the same day SciFi Channel becomes Syfy.
"Warehouse 13" stars Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly who play Secret Service agents who, after saving the life of the President, are summoned to South Dakota to help find supernatural objects that need to be stored in a giant warehouse.
It's because South Dakota is known as "America's Attic" that marketers came up with the idea of using flea markets to tag items, according to Multichannel News.
The tags will first appear Sunday at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, Calif., then move to the Fort Greene Flea Market and the Brooklyn Flea Market in New York June 27 and July 5.
Once found, the tag explorers simply visit Scifi.com/Warehouse13 where they will find Saul Rubinek as Artie on a Dick Tracy-like communicator called a Farnsworth.
For those not trolling flea markets in California and New York, "Warehouse 13" is tagging items electronically as well through sites such as eBay and Oodle.
The "Warehouse 13" pilot was written by "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Battlestar Galactica" writer Jane Espenson along with Brent Mote.
Jack Kenny, from "Book of Daniel," is the series showrunner.
Special report by Morag Cuddeford-Jones
FANS of the hit US TV show Supernatural can breathe a sigh of relief after stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles sensationally revealed that they would be returning for a sixth season.
Speculation had been rife that the show's creator, Erik Kripke, was going to stick to his original idea of creating a five-year-only story for the hugely successful ghost-hunting show.
As they hunt their way across America with only a classic car and some serious weaponry for company, this story of two monster-chasing brothers has seen snowballing popularity.
But fans had feared that, with the finale of season four approaching on ITV2, they only had one more series to enjoy before its conclusion in spring 2010.
But, in Birmingham at the weekend for the show's European convention, Asylum 3, I spoke to both Jared and Jensen, who take joint leads in the show as demon-slaying brothers Sam and Dean Winchester. They confirmed that they had signed on the dotted line for season six.
I asked Jensen if he'd made plans for any movies after he wrapped filming on series five. To begin with, he was playing his cards close to his chest: "We find out around January time if the show is going to be picked up again for another season."
But then he let it slip. I asked him if he'd want to go back for a sixth season and he answered: "I have to. I have a six-year contract." Well, that settles that, then.
When Jared was asked what he planned to be doing after Supernatural Five, he simply answered: "Supernatural Six. My best guess is that Supernatural will go beyond season five."
Jared also credited the fans, both in the states and the UK, for getting it this far: "Thanks to all you guys. It's because you've been getting the word out and we really appreciate it."
Jensen added: "Kripke does only have a five-year contract for Supernatural and the studio doesn't have to carry it on for six seasons."
But it seems that the actors, fans and studio hotshots are all keen to see the show go on. Jared told me: "Season four has had the best viewing figures we've ever seen and it just seems to be on an upward curve so the studio's really keen to see more."
Fans at Asylum 3 in Birmingham's Hilton Metropole greeted the news with whoops of joy and a deafening round of applause.
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However, Jared did issue a warning. Ironically, having just starred in a season four episode entitled Jump the Shark - a term used in the TV industry for the point when a show becomes too unbelievable to be watchable - Jared told the audience that if he felt the season six storyline was going to jump the shark for real, he wouldn't go on.
He said: "I was a huge fan of Lost - I'd never seen a drama series that I loved so much. But as I continued to watch it, it started to get complicated for the sake of being complicated. It could have been so complete, it could have just answered the questions that it asked as opposed to saying 'let's blow some stuff up and we'll figure it out later'. I don't want that to happen. If there's still a story to tell and still something for me to bring to the show as Sam Winchester, then absolutely."
The growing chasm between the otherwise tight-knit brothers has had fans biting their nails to the quick as the series progresses and it's not over yet.
The final two episodes will stretch our Winchester boys to the very limit although there's light at the end of the tunnel. Jensen revealed that the split in the brothers' relationship may be set to heal somewhat in season five after some sensational revelations in the upcoming season four finale, due to be shown in the UK on June 14.
And for those who want to see an end to 'demon Sam', Jared has some news: "I like the dark side! Demons are more fun to play."
He added that he didn't think it was possible for Sam to go on being the 'good' brother forever. "Sam has grown, he's changed. He'll be redeemed I'm sure, if something goes wrong, but I love the direction it's going in, I like the dynamic of brother versus brother."
So as the UK gears up to say goodbye to the Winchester boys for the long summer holiday, fans can relax, knowing this September won't be their favourite show's last run.
And seeing as we're in a revealing frame of mind, after John, Sam and Dean all dying at the end of seasons one, two and three, what can we expect from the season four finale?
Source: http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/2009/06/supernatural-stars-sensational.html
