Review: Gotham

Wow is the fall tv offering loaded up this year!  A virtual cornucopia for anyone's taste.

What am I all excited about?  I just got a chance to watch the first episode of Gotham.

This offering of the "Batman" franchise is really one of the most innovative to date. 

Gotham is set  in the early days of the Batman myth, basically around the time when Bruce Wayne's parents have recently been murdered.  But this is where Bruce Wayne is pushed back to a supporting role,  Gotham and the minions who live within are brought into hard light and sharp focus. 

The truly wonderful thing is all the major players are here and in place but only in their formative stage. Along with Bruce, Gordon, Nigma and so on slowly develop into the extreme character the ultimately become.   They are all worth watching and one in particular is Jada Pinkett Smith's mob boss which has the potential, well worth watching.

There are so many more talking points, but I am afraid I would become a spoiler.  But I can not end this review of sorts without strongly suggesting seeking out episode one of Gotham and enjoy!

Wikipedia listing HERE     Fox tv listing HERE

Fringe Ends Run in January of 2013

According to Mark over at About sci-fi / fantasy, Fringe will end its run in January of 2013.  Fox has set the Fringe series finale: to Friday, Jan. 18, and it'll be a two-hour windup.  

However we know that not everything on Fringe is what it seems and that plays true with the final episode.  The double episode will in truth be the twelfth and thirteenth of the season. It will actually be the last two-thirds of a three-part story arc that starts on Jan. 11.  And as you can guess no new shows during the holiday  season.  

I am sorry, but the rest of the article reads like an obit and that just depresses the crap out of me.  You can read it all HERE

Fringe Picks Up One More Season

Mark Wilson over at About SF/Fantasy blog tells us that despite poor ratings, Fox has ordered 13 new episode for a final season. I am glad that the shows were ordered but as Mark points out that once again, significantly different science fiction programs are continuing to drop like flies. Eureka is running its last few episodes, Chuck burned in a few seasons ago in a confusing mess and I am sure we all have our secret favorites that have driven off into the night over the last seasons....once again we sink towards mediocrity.

Check out Mark's article here

BMU Writer Fox's Story The Singing Dragons of Mars Now Online

Frequent BMU contributor Fox Dunham writes to let us know that his story The Singing Dragons of Mars is now live at Hogglepot, an online fantasy journal.

He adds:

This is an important story - one of beauty, life, loss, truth and renewal.  

Here is a short blurb about the tale:

• An old professor with his faithful student and now assistant Santiago has searched the world for evidence of real dragons, then he discovers them on Mars. In a time of personal grief, he asks the question: Why is death in the world? And he calls upon the dragons to answer.

Here is the link to Hogglepot  

Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles Canceled

IO9 just posted the bad news on their blog:

• Unconfirmed anywhere else as yet, but Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Fox has officially canceled Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Way to go FOX tv Hey, you know what that smell is? Yep that what you smell when your head is that far up your.....

Fox renews Fringe for season 2

Fringe fans! Time to get happy! Michael Hinman at Airlock Alpha reports that Fox has indeed renewed Fringe for a second season. Fringe has continued to pull good numbers since Fox placed it as lead-in to its' Tuesday night lineup.

Word still hasn't officially come down yet for Fox's other genre related series, Sarah Connors Chronicles and Dollhouse.

More info can be had at Airlock Alpha

Fox cutting Dollhouse season short?

I just picked this up on The Live Feed ! It seems that Fox has trimmed the final episode of Dollhouse from the schedule which was to contain 13 episodes. The show will end with episode 12 who's title is: Omega. The closer will air on May 8 and it would seem that the only way one will get to see episode 13, titled Epitaph One, will be on the DVD release. One would suspect that the network not airing the last episode would spell cancellation but it would seem that even that has not been discussed yet.

Dollhouse in fact scored higher than it's lineup partner The Sarah Connors Chronicles. If anything this starts to look pretty grim for another season of T/TSCC.

For an episode description and more on and the fate of Dollhouse, read the complete article

Does Fox Hate Science Fiction?

I have strongly begun suspecting that the Fox network has no clue when it comes to science fiction. Now, don't get me wrong, I can be counted among the fans of the Sarah Connors Chronicles but a recent article by Brad Trechak for TV Squad drove it home that scheduling on Fox as a card shuffle. Because we fans and science fiction in general seems to be viewed as a niche, Fox seems to be compelled to "make room" for more main stream programming. As Brad puts it, The Sarah Connor Chronicles is being given the "Friday Night Death Slot" on Fox. For what? Shows like Glee, which is about a high school Glee Club (Oh I am not kidding here!) and Boldly Going Nowhere, which is a parody of science-fiction, not the real thing. (oh I am sharpening the stick as I type this because getting stuck in the eye with it has to be better that this crap.)

If you doubt my words, jump over to the TV Squad article < - HERE ->

Fox buys a whole season of Fringe

Just about everyone from TV Squad on down is plastering the blogosphere with the news that Fox Tv has made the move and has bought the remaining episodes for the first season if its' hit series Fringe. After just four episodes the show continues to gain an audience share making it the number one new show. For those of you that have not caught the program yet, its about an
BI Special Agent who during an investigation is asked to be part of an inter-agency task force. With the help of an Einstein class genius who just happened to be in a mental hospital for 17 years, his estranged son whom he hasn't talked to for an equal amount of time, a Homeland Security Agent who seems to be part of a much larger secret agency and a multi billion dollar corporate executive that may be aiding but more likely is part of a huge conspiracy. The conspiracy? Think X Files only with weird science, corporate intrigue, time travel? and aliens (well maybe aliens...not sure what is going on yet)

I just couldn't get into XFiles but Fringe yanked me in and held my interest. Maybe it the strange quasi sceince that is uncovered from week to week. Big corporations fighting over scientific resources is nothing new, but a female corporate shark seems to spice things up. I am glad that Fox gave this strange/quirky new show an extention. It's worth the attention.

Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles still on chopping block?

From TV Squad comes the persistent rumor that SCC may still be meeting an untimely end at the hands of Fox tv schedulers. There are reports that the network is going to cancel the Monday night show because of bad ratings worse than FOX expected. The show is down 34% from last year. Even the 18-49 demo loved by networks and advertisers aren't watching the show.

Reviews and fans seemed to have drifted away from the show. I for one look for it. If I miss it on TV then I hit it on the Fox site. Maybe that is where Fox might be dropping the ball. There are no ads on any of the SCC shows, which I find it hard to believe that no one can be found to throw money at the show? Are the watchers of the online version even counted? Besides that, I think Allison from Palmdale was a great show. I was never quite sure who the off camera interrogator was until the very end of the program. There is still some indication that John's "repair" boardered on a reset instead of fix. The head on a pike line was chilling. I hope they don't axe the show too quickly. I'm really getting into it.

The Fringe - first impressions

Fringe starts when an international flight lands at Boston's Logan Airport with no signs of life. Of course the first few scenes show, well, people melting. What looks like bizarre terrorism is in fact the tip of something much stranger and more insidious. FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham comes to this realization while working with a certifiable DR. Bishop an Einstein in his own right but he's been institutionalized for the last 17 years. With the help of his estranged son Peter they make headway as to what happen to the flight, but realize that they are uncovering a world wide conspiracy of epic proportions.

Its even more complicated than that. It's easy enough to say that the show pulls you in with the weird pseudo-science and dark conspiracies, but it's not much of a stretch calling it science fiction. I have heard worse gobbeledegook on any episode of any Star Trek, so there isn't much suspension of belief. The characters are believable and their motivation understandable. The plotline might confuse some for it's twists and turns (espically agent Dunham's love interest) and change-ups, but this is probably what will give the show some legs. I am in for the next episode.

Fox Tuesdays 9pm

Trailer for Joss Whedon's Dollhouse!

Wow, I found a really good trailer for Joss Whedon's new show Dollhouse due to hit the Fox network in January 09.

Here's a revised version of the trailer which explains the show's concept much more clearly and features a lot more ass-whuppin'. Plus, parachuting and assassining. The show's central conceit — that these "Actives" are blank slates who can be programmed to have any skillset or emotion

New Show Ideas on Fox Tv - Virtuality

It seems Fox is taking an interest in Ron Moore's new astronauts-in-virtual-reality-show Virtuality. Virtuality takes place aboard the Phaeton, which just so happens to be Earth's first starship. The Phaeton is on a ten-year journey exploring the outer cosmos. In order to help the crew cope with this long mission a virtual reality is installed. Of course something goes wrong. The two-hour pilot was written by Battlestar Gallactica's Ron Moore and Michael Taylor. As the folks over at IO9 point out, we all hope that Fox sees the error of their ways as far as killing new SF shows. So often we have see really excellent programs (Firefly) canceled in their infancy. Look for this and other programs to start on Fox next spring.

All 'round Good News For Terminator Fans!

Some sites have been reporting some pretty bleak news about the Terminator franchise, however I read some good stuff over on IO9. First off Fox has made it official - Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will have a second season on Fox, though they are playing their cards close to the chest as far as Summer Glau is concerned. Also, rumor has had it for a bit that the movie Terminator 4 was canceled has proved wrong. Moon Bloodgood (the time-traveling x-wife from TV's Journeyman) will co-star in T-4 as a resistance fighter suffering from survivor's guilt because she survived the nuclear holocaust. And the movie starts principal photography May 5.

Certainly has peaked my interest again!

Sarah Connor Bulking Up for Season 2

Good news for Terminator: Sarah Connors Chronicles, TV Guide reports that insiders hint that Fox is green lighting production for the fall season. Even though Fox is officially saying that there has been no official decision, the show is being told to go ahead and hire directors for the first three shows of the fall season.

Thanks to SF Signals for the original story

Graphic FoxTV

New Amsterdam a first impression

NEW AMSTERDAM Fox Monday 9pm eastern, centers on a brilliant and enigmatic New York homicide detective unlike any other. And he has a profound secret - he is immortal. Staring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as John Amsterdam, which you would think is the reason for the title, ah but you would be wrong. The Dutch colony of New Amsterdam which flourished in the 1600s later became what is now known as modern day New York City - Ok, history aside, Amsterdam is for all intents immortal ala The Highlander. There isn't any of the there can be only one BS going on here though. John was "saved" in the 1600s by an Indian priestess who tells him that he will not die or grow old until he finds his one true love. Amsterdam, in the show pilot, has become a homicide detective and while chasing down a murder suspect, suffers a mysterious heart attack. He suspects that this is an sign that someone in the crowd was the woman who will be his soul mate. And so the hunt is on. There seems to be something about this show. I had finally sat down to watch the first episode expecting a Highlander ripoff. Though there are some similarities, it would appear that the writers are trying their hardest to steer away from the comparisons. Though there is the bar tender who knows all, Amsterdam does not try to keep an especially low profile. He constantly has running jokes on how long he has been alive, to how long he has been sober, to the name of his dog. Though there are the obligatory flashbacks, they seem to be done in shorter snippets, which I find far less annoying. The dialogue on first breath seems fresh enough, though I can see where the jokes and flashbacks could become old after a few episodes. But for now, I would suggest giving it a looking at. Its not terrible.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles Pilot Goes Online!

SF Signal has listed an article that says that :

Fox will post the pilot episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles exclusively on Yahoo! for 24 hours beginning Jan. 4 at 12 a.m. ET. The premiere features an introduction by star Lena Headey (Sarah Connor) and will be commercial-free.

The series officially debuts on Fox over two nights: Jan. 13th and 14th.

cool

Fox gives New Amsterdam a time slot!

According to SyFy Portal:

Fox has finally found a home for its "Highlander"-like series, "New Amsterdam." The show, which features an immortal homicide detective, will take over Mondays in a slot that was originally gifted to "When Women Rule the World," which seemingly has been pulled from Fox's schedule.

New Amsterdam will take its' Monday slot starting March 10 however Fox plans 2 "special preview" episodes March 4th and 6th. It would seem there is some confusion as to if the March 10th episode will be an original episode or a rerun of those shown in the previews.

complete SyFy Portal article

Get Terminated!!!!

To promote their only original sci-fi series, Fox has put up a nifty little site based on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - premiering on Sunday, January 13th at 9 p.m.

The site allows you to upload an image that will then be turned into a Terminator robot and inserted in some of the show's action scenes.

Very cool....

here is the site

(hint, make your photo a head shot, no background, no white either, dpi of 72 and 3x5 inches will make integrating the picture much easier. )

I know...its horrible....but I just had to do it! lmfao!

Fall Science Fiction TV show update

Geekend blog just passed on the new sci-fi shows that will premiere this fall. They also now have the days and times that these shows will appear on. Check it out!

Chuck [Monday, Sept. 24, 8:00 PM, NBC] High concept: Hapless tech-support geek accidentally gets reams of uber-secret spy data downloaded into his brain, making him the most coveted walking hard drive on the planet.

Journeyman [Monday, Sept. 24, 10:00 PM, NBC] Preview available here. The concept goes something like this: a San Francisco newspaper reporter gets sent back in time by an unknown power to right wrongs. Sounds familiar, right? The difference is that McKidd is absent from the present for the same amount of time he spends in the past, so if he spends 48 hours in 1987, he misses 48 hours in 2007, which screws up his family life.

New Amsterdam [Tuesday, Sept. 25, 8:00 PM, FOX] Preview available here. John Amsterdam is a NY City homicide detective who just happens to be an immortal from the 17th century who can’t resume aging normally until he finds his one true love.

Reaper [Tuesday, Sept. 25, 9:00 PM, CW] Previews here The basic premise is a teenage Home Depot employee finds out that his parents sold his soul to the Devil for personal gain, and now he’s become a Grim Reaper charged with hunting down souls that have escaped from hell. Think of it as Dogma meets Brimstone, with emphasis on the funny.

Pushing Daisies [Wednesday, Oct. 3, 8:00 PM, ABC] Preview available here. Professional pie-maker Ned has the ability to resurrect the dead, but with some complications. 1) If he ever touches his reanimations a second time, they die again, and can’t be called back.
2) If he keeps his reanimations alive for more that a minute, somebody else nearby has to die to balance the scales.

Bionic Woman [Wednesday, Sept. 26, 9:00 PM, NBC] Preview and commentary here.
this is a flat-out remake of the 1976 series, with Michelle Ryan filling in for Lindsay Wagner.

Flash Gordon [Friday, Aug. 10, 8:00 PM, Sci Fi Channel] Teaser available here. This new Flash won’t bear much resemblance to the old. Flash is now a marathon runner rather than a football star, and Dale Arden is his ex-girlfriend rather than the damsel in distress and a decidedly non-Asian Ming the Merciless.

Moonlight [Friday, Sept. 28, 9:00 PM, CBS] Preview available here. Originally called Twilight but changed when producers though views would expect something "zoneish" So maybe now we might expect "Moonlighingish perhaps?" Moonlight will feature a beneficent vampire who works as a detective to help the innocent. (umm does this sound vaguely familiar to anyone....Forever Knight ring a bell?) CBS has given this show the "dead man walking" slot. I have a feeling this one isn't going to be around long.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles [Sundays, 9:00 PM, FOX no date set yet] Preview available here. Lena Headey (Queen Gorgo from 300) is on board as the title character, and Summer Glau (River from Firefly) is your requisite good-girl protective Terminator, the pair collectively defending John Connor (played by Thomas Dekker, AKA Claire’s friend Zach from Heroes) from wave after wave of deadly cyborgs from the future.

True Blood [Sundays, TBA, HBO] based on the Southern Vampire novel (Dead Until Dark, etc) series by Charlaine Harris and stars Anna Paquin (Rogue from the X-Men movies) as Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress from Louisiana who suffers through a maudlin series of vampire boyfriends in a world where the bloodsuckers have “come out of the coffin” and entered mainstream society (thanks to a medical blood substitute that frees them from nightstalking humans). No preview or time-slot yet available, but Harris’ Web site has a running collection of press releases and set photos, and the buzz is that this will be a mid-season replacement in early 2008.

Click on the show titles, the article title or here for more info