Premiere Alert – Supernatural and Vampire Diaries Bow Tonight
September 10, 2009 at 6:31 am | In News and Updates, Paul S. White, Schedule | Leave a CommentTags: Eureka, Supernatural, Vampire Diaries
The wait is finally over! After four months we finally get to see Sam and Dean deal with their somewhat apocalyptic gaff that allowed Lucifer to escape from Hell. The Fall 2009 season of Science Fiction and Fantasy shows kicks off tonight with the premiere of Supernatural Season 5 and there will be plenty of fire and brimstone for the brothers to contend with in the upcoming weeks.
And just before Supernatural returns at 9 PM CST on the CW, freshman entry Vampire Diaries gets its premiere on the same network at 8 PM CST. This adaptation of L.J. Smith’s novel series looks like it will give us Twilight for the small screen and appears to be an ideal fit for the CW’s target demographic if young females.
Next week brings more Fall premieres and you can read about all of the shows that will bow during the first half of the season at our Fall 2009 Science Fiction and Fantasy Preview page.
And one more bit of news for Eureka fans. Matt Frewer’s character, Taggert, makes a return to the show tomorrow night after being absent all of Season 3. In the episode “Have an Ice Day”, the animal-expert Aussie returns to the fold and appears to bring the next Ice Age with him.
Also, check out our full Preview of all the Fall 2009 Science Fiction and Fantasy Show.
Fall 2009 Science Fiction and Fantasy Television Schedule
May 23, 2009 at 8:22 am | In John J. Joex, Schedule | 6 CommentsTags: Chuck, Day One, Eastwick, Flash Forward, Fringe, Heroes, Science Fiction Television, Supernatural, V
By John J. Joex
ABC's reboot of V debuts at mid-season.
The broadcast networks have all announced their schedules, and now with the current season just about wrapped up, it’s time to sit back and wait for three and a half months for the new season to begin. Next season’s Fall Science Fiction and Fantasy lineup from the networks is a bit slimmer, than last year. There are ten shows in the genre vs. the twelve that bowed in Fall last year (that’s excluding The Mentalist which I am no longer counting as a Science Fiction and Fantasy show and never should have in the first place). An additional six are on the schedule for mid-year bows, bringing the total to sixteen, still pretty respectable when you consider this does not include the off-network entries. Of next season’s shows, nine are returning and seven are new.
Among the returning shows, Dollhouse was the biggest surprise with its miracle renewal. I’ve heard others say it across the internet and I will say it as well, count this as the first time that DVR viewing and Internet downloads helped keep a network show alive. This could represent a turning point in the way network executives think, but we will see how things shake out next season. You could also consider the renewals of Heroes and Chuck a surprise based on the poor rating performance for both, but that was mostly a factor of NBC being in fourth place among the networks. Had either of these shows been on one of the stronger performing networks, they would have been history. And before Chuck fans come after me with torches and pitchforks, know I think that show deserved its renewal, I’m just noting how this bucks the trends of previous network executive decisions.
In the Fall, DVRs will be busy on Thursday and Friday nights as eight of the ten shows air across those two nights. FOX’s decision to move Fringe to Thursdays at 9 PM will pit it against some pretty strong competition with CBS’s CSI and ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. But then it did held its own this season against CBS’s freshman hit The Mentalist. The Thursday 8 PM slot seems a bit strange for ABC’s new serialized drama Flash Forward, so it may struggle a bit there. And I really would have liked to see FOX move Dollhouse into a better slot than the Friday 9 PM hour where it struggled this season. But maybe that will mean that expectations will remain low for its ratings next year.
NBC is breaking up Chuck and Heroes next season with their new strategy of “timeslot sharing”. Heroes will take the Monday 8 PM hour the first half of the season, then Chuck will return to that slot after the winter hiatus. This keeps costs and episode orders down, but I’m not sure if it will do much to help the ratings for either.
Check out the full schedule for the networks’ Science Fiction and Fantasy offerings for next season at this link: axiomsedge-scifi.com/wordpress/fall-2009-sci-fi-tv/
We will augment this with the off-network shows when we receive the information on that scheduling and will run a full preview of next season later in the Summer. You can check the final status of all the 2008-09 season Science Fiction and Fantasy shows at our Cancellation Watch page. Also, over the next two weeks I will issue my network report cards and final wrap-up of the 2008-09 season and give you the chance to cast your vote on this past year’s shows as well.
Also, don’t fret about the end of the season. The Summer shows are just around the corner with quite a number of decent offerings on the way. We will post a full Summer 2009 preview later this week.
Also, check out Sci Fi Wire’s take on the upcoming season: scifiwire.com/2009/05/fall-tv-which-sci-fifanta.php
Update from the Infronts: CBS Cancels 11th Hour but may Pickup Medium; CW Picks Up Vampire Diaries
May 19, 2009 at 3:51 pm | In News and Updates, Paul S. White, Schedule | Leave a CommentTags: Eleventh Hour, Kings, Knight Rider, Medium, Vampire Diaries
Despite the fact that the Eleventh Hour ranked in the top 25 or higher in the ratings this season, CBS has decided to cut ties with the show. They announced the cancellation today as they prepare for their infronts tomorrow (fans have set up a campaign in response trying to convince other networks to pick up the show). Also, the eye network has indicated that they may pick up Medium which NBC today announced they were cancelling. CBS may decide to slot the supernatural drama on Fridays at 9 PM as a companion series to the similar Ghost Whisperer.
The CW has announced that they will pickup the new series Vampire Diaries which will appeal to the same crowd currently devouring the Twilight books and movies. No word yet on Reaper, but the CW’s schedule has certainly become more crowded with their recent pickups and decision to discontinue Sunday programming.
Also, NBC announced its schedule today for Fall which unsurprisingly did not include Kings or Knight Rider. No official word has come on either series, but we can consider them cancelled.
Following is TV.com wrap up from the infronts thus far with all of the schedules announced to this point: www.tv.com/story/14810.html
Later this week we will put together a consolidated schedule of the Science Fiction and Fantasy shows for next season.
Previous Update:
May 18th – Chuck and Dollhouse get Thumbs Up, Sarah Connor gets Thumbs Down; New Series Announcements; And Will Supernatural End After Five?
Weekly Update – Jericho to Continue; Casting Begins on Live-Action Star Wars Series; MacGuyver to the Big Screen
March 16, 2009 at 8:00 am | In News and Updates, Paul S. White, Schedule | Leave a CommentTags: Jericho, Reaper, Star Wars
Jericho Lives: The story of Jericho will continue, but not necessarily in the same medium that spawned it. Devil’s Due Publishing has closed a deal with CBS to create a Jericho comic book that will pick up where the television series left off at the end of Season 2. The show’s original producers, including Dan Shotz, Jon Turteltaub, Carol Barbee, will be directly involved in developing the comic book series. There is currently no word on the release date for the series or whether this indicates that the previously announced big screen adaptation will not go forward [Update 3/19 - Jericho Movie Still Possible]. Series star Skeet Ulrich recently received a casting in a pilot for CBS which could hamper his involvement in such a movie.
Star Wars Series Now Casting: Things seem to be progressing with the much rumored Star Wars live action series as a casting call has recently gone out for the project according to www.slashfilm.com. The series is supposed to take place between the events of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope. Apparently the show originally had a target date of 2009 to hit the airways, but that has pushed back to either 2010 or 2011. Previous rumors had George Lucus fronting the money for the production costs of the initial episodes.
MacGyver’s Next Trick: In the continuing trend of Hollywood bringing the small screen to the big screen, New Line has announced that it will pick up the MacGyver franchise. The project is currently in its nascent stages with no director, writer, or script currently attached (who needs those things in Hollywood?). It is currently unclear whether the film series would act as a continuation of the original with Richard Dean Anderson attached (unlikely) or a complete reboot of the franchise targeted at a young audience (much more likely). Dino De Laurentiis and his daughter Raffaella De Laurentiis are currently attached as executive producer and producer.
Tyler Labine Gets Pilot: Reaper’s Sock could be moving on to his own series. He has received a casting in a pilot for FOX called Sons of Tucson where he acts as a father figure for boys whose fathers are in prison. If the pilot gets picked up, this would almost certainly mean that Labine would not continue on for a third season of Reaper should the CW choose to renew that show.
Mark Your Calendars: The networks have set the dates for when they will announce the plans for their Fall 2009 schedules. Like last year, NBC will get the jump on the announcements, presenting its schedule plans on May 4-5. The other networks will follow two weeks later: FOX – May 18, ABC – May 19, CBS – May 20, and the CW -May 21. The networks will announce new shows for the upcoming season and the fate of all the currently running shows.
Ratings Results for the Week of March 8th: Heroes Continues to sink, and the Nielsen’s have no love for Reaper, Dollhouse, and The Sarah Connor Chronicles. (Read the Full Story)
Previous Columns:
Mar 4th – NBC Exec Promises Fourth Season of Heroes
What’s on DVD: Check Out Our DVD Select Picks
Schedule Update: Kings Debuts on Sunday; NBC Announces Merlin, The Listener and 2 Minis for the Summer
March 13, 2009 at 8:49 am | In News and Updates, Paul S. White, Schedule | Leave a CommentTags: Kings, Merlin, The Listener
Kings Premiere: One of the last of the 2008-09 season’s Science Fiction and Fantasy entries, Kings, bows on NBC this Sunday at 8 PM EST with a two hour premiere. Coming from Heroes veteran Michael Green, the show gives us a modern-day reworking of the biblical David and Goliath story. Set in the fictional kingdom of Shiloh (envisioned as a parallel to New York City), it follows David (Christopher Egan) who defeats a “Goliath” tank and comes to favor with the king (Ian McShane) and a hero to all in the kingdom. Creator Green claims that the show is not serialized as heavily as other continuing dramas like Heroes and that it will consist mostly of self-contained episodes. The premise sounds interesting but it will have its work cut out for it competing with Sunday night powerhouses like ABC’s Desperate Housewives and CBS’s Cold Case so be sure to tune in.
NBC Announces Summer Schedule: The peacock network has released information on its summer schedule of original programming which includes two Science Fiction and Fantasy oriented series, Merlin and The Listener, and two mini-series in the genre as well, Meteor and The Storm.
The fantasy series Merlin will debut on Sunday June 21st with a two-hour premiere and follows the famous wizard (played by Colin Morgan) in his youthful days as he discovers his destiny to ensure that a young Arthur one day assumes the crown (sounds sort of like Smallville meets King Arthur). Buffy veteran Anthony Stewart Head also stars in the series as Uther Pendragon. NBC originally had this one slated for a Spring 2009 bow, but decided to push it into Summer. The show was originally produced by the BBC where its thirteen episode first season aired last Fall. Production has already begun on a second season.
Another import, The Listener, comes from Canada and follows a paramedic (played by Toby Logan) who has telepathic abilities. The series will focus on his attempts to use his abilities to help others and to discover the secret of his past. NBC originally announced its plans to air The Listener this summer way back in April of 2008. It will debut on Thursday June 4th in the 10 PM EST timeslot and will run for thirteen episodes. The show already bowed internationally at the beginning of this month.
The two mini-series that NBC plans to air in summer are both in the disaster vein and we can only hope they will be less of a disaster than The Last Templar mini-series that the network aired in January of this year. In Meteor, a giant meteor is hurtling toward the earth threatening to destroy it (been there, done that). In The Storm, a man creates a weather machine and, after something goes awry, (you guessed it) a massive storm ravages the planet. Earth just can’t get a break.
Following are the specific airdates and times for each of the shows.
Merlin: Debuts Sunday June 21st at 8 PM EST with a two-hour premiere, followed on Sunday June 28th by another two-hour episode. On Sunday July 5th the series takes up its regular 8-9 PM timeslot.
The Listener: Debuts Thursday June 4th in its regular timeslot at 10 PM EST.
Meteor: Part 1 (2 Hours) – Sunday June 7th 9 PM EST, Part 2 (2 Hours) – Sunday June 14th 9 PM EST
The Storm: Part 1 (2 Hours) – Sunday July 19th 9 PM EST, Part 2 (2 Hours) – Sunday July 26th 9 PM EST
What’s on DVD: Check Out Our DVD Select Picks
Heroes Returns – Cast Your Vote on if it will be any Good
January 29, 2009 at 8:31 am | In John J. Joex, Previews, Schedule | 1 CommentTags: Chuck, Heroes
Much reviled since the downward spiral in quality which began with its second season (the show is even in the finals for Worst Scripted Television in the Hulu Awards), Heroes hopes to kick off with a fresh start when it returns on Monday with Volume 4 – Fugitives. This volume, which will span across twelve episodes, has the main characters on the run as Nathan Petrelli has set up a task force to hunt down and capture all people with abilities. Also, evil-to-good-to-evil Sylar will be searching for his true biological parents (apparently Angela Petrelli’s deceptions stirred up his nostalgia for his family tree).
Bryan Fuller, fresh off the recently cancelled Pushing Daisies (curse you ABC), returns to the series he worked closely with during its first and best season. And series creator Tim Kring has claimed that the current volume will act as a bit of a reboot for Heroes and that new viewers will not have to be familiar with the show’s mythology to jump on board.
I’m looking forward to the new episodes and hope to see the show get back on track. I am not as down on the show as many others are, but I do admit it started to get on my nerves during the first half of the current season. The constant zipping around in time and killing off characters only to see them return in short term dragged down the quality of the episodes (and did I miss it or did they not resolve the Harvey-Linderman storyline?). Still, I have fond memories of this show’s stellar first season and hope that it can return to form. And while Heroes is most likely safe for a fourth season (NBC’s head of Prime Time has said it is secure), if its ratings continue to dwindle, its status may become a bit more tenuous.
Leading off the night is the return of Chuck for the second half of its sophomore season. As a tie in with the Super Bowl which airs on NBC the night before, Monday’s episode will be in 3-D. NBC has a list of locations where you can get your 3-D glasses here: www.nbc.com/Chuck/about/news/
Also, if you are jonesing for Heroes in the meantime, you can check out The Recruit webseries: www.nbc.com/Heroes/video/categories/the-recruit/873822/
-JJJ
Spring 2009 Science Fiction and Fantasy Television Preview
December 25, 2008 at 7:58 am | In Paul S. White, Schedule | Leave a CommentTags: Battlestar Galactica, Dollhouse, Kings, Lost, Reaper, Science Fiction Television
Below is the list of series that will premiere in 2009. Click on the series link to read our full preview entry for each show. Also below, is the schedule for next year as it currently stands. Go to our 2008-09 Season site for more information on the schedule and for updates on all of the shows from the current season. And come back next week for Johnny Jay’s Mid-Season wrap up and thoughts on the upcoming Spring 2009 shows.
Spring 2009 New Series (click on link for preview entry):
Dollhouse
Cupid
Kings
Spring 2009 Returning Series (click on link for preview entry):
Battlestar Galactica
Kyle XY
Lost
Medium
Reaper
Spring 2009 Mini-Series / Pilots (click on link for preview entry):
The Last Templar
Virtuality
Spring 2009 Schedule:
Sundays
7:00 PM
CW – Jericho (Repeats)
Mondays
8:00 PM
NBC – Chuck (Returns February 2nd)
ABC Family – Kyle XY (Returns January 12th)
9:00 PM
NBC – Heroes (Returns February 2nd)
10:00 PM
NBC – Medium (Returns February 2nd)
Tuesdays
9:00 PM
CBS – The Mentalist
CW – Reaper (Returns March 17th)
FOX – Fringe (Returns January)
Sci Fi – Eureka (Return tbd)
10:00 PM
ABC – Cupid (Premieres March 24th)
Wednesdays
8:00 PM
NBC – Knight Rider (Returns February)
9:00 PM
ABC – Lost (Returns January 21st)
10:00 PM
ABC – Life on Mars (Returns January 28th)
Thursdays
8:00 PM
CW – Smallville (Returns January 15th)
9:00 PM – Supernatural (Returns January 15th)
10:00 PM
CBS – The Eleventh Hour (Returns February)
NBC – Kings (Premieres March 19th)
Fridays
8:00 PM
CBS – The Ghost Whisperer
FOX – The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Returns February)
Cartoon – Batman: The Brave and the Bold
9:00 PM
FOX – Dollhouse (Premieres February 13th)
Cartoon – Star Wars: The Clone Wars
10:00 PM
Sci Fi – Battlestar Galactica (Premieres January 16th)
Cancelled:
Eli Stone (ABC)
My Own Worst Enemy (NBC)
Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Valentine (CW)
In Limbo:
Merlin (NBC)
99 Stories (AMC)
Axiom’s Edge Blog- Ratings Results for the Week of Nov 15th: Could V be in Trouble Already? November 22, 2009
- Comic Book Review: Superboy Prime enters the Blackest Night in Adventure Comics #4 November 21, 2009
- DVD Review: Twilight November 20, 2009
- Interview with Jim Caviezel about AMC’s Remake of The Prisoner November 20, 2009
- Television Review: The Prisoner (2009) November 19, 2009
- Movie Review: Paranormal Activity November 19, 2009
- Comic Book Review: Batman/Doc Savage Special November 18, 2009
- New in Comics this Week: Learn Dr. Horrible’s Origin November 18, 2009
- DVD Review: Star Trek November 17, 2009
- Comic Book Review: Star Trek: Countdown November 17, 2009
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