Sunday, November 18, 2007

Stargate Atlantis / Sanctuary - Amanda Tapping: The Cassutt Files

From Michael Cassutt's column, The Cassutt Files, at SciFi Channel's SciFi Weekly (Michael Cassutt wrote SG1's "Tangent"):

http://www.scifi.com/sfw/column/sfw17406.html

(Please follow the link for the complete column. Photo from Sanctuary at the site.)

November 19, 2007

The Cassutt Files

The Sound of Silence

By Michael Cassutt

Imagine there's no Heroes
It's easy if you try
No Battlestar to steer by
Above us only sky


Well, this is what happens when you give a writer too much free time. He starts penning pathetic parody lyrics to classic songs. But this, alas, is where I find myself as the Writers Guild strike reaches its third week. Between commitments to picketing, teaching and obsessing about the future, I compose silly ditties.

It's a reaction to looming silence. And silence—especially silence in the form of no new television—has always been a personal phobia. I live where airplanes start taking off at 7 a.m. If I am home alone, the television is on. I won't be watching, and I don't require this background noise to be loud, mind you. But I need it to be present. ...

**snippage**

The dispute between the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has already resulted in the shutdown of producing on Bionic Woman and Heroes. Soon, all too soon, viewers and phobic writers will be faced with either "reality" programming or blank screens.

The sound of silence.

**snippage**

But there are so many hours in the day to fill. If there's no sci-fi on television, where do I find it?

Where there's a Web, there's a way

Since the main area of contention between the WGA and the AMPTP is the future of Internet-based programming and digital delivery, and since I've been awaiting the arrival of this new form of sci-fi for about 15 years, let's look at what's available on the interwebs.

**snippage**



First to loom into view is Sanctuary (http://www.sanctuaryforall.com), a Web-based series about the potential horrors of stem cells, gene therapy, transplants, cloning ... leading, in some combination, to the creation of monsters that are unleashed on our world. Sanctuary was created by Damian Kindler (Stargates SG-1 and Atlantis) and is produced by N. John Smith (Outer Limits), Marc Aubanel (Marvel Nemesis and other games) and Amanda Tapping (from the cast of Stargate SG-1). Tapping stars as Dr. Helen Magnus, who gathers a small team to search out and deal with these creatures.

This is an ambitious project, produced in high-definition video and offering eight webisodes. (A subscription is required.) It is reportedly the highest-budgeted web series produced so far—and from the clips, it shows. So I'm bookmarking this one.

**snippage**

Stargate Atlantis - Joe Flangian: From Burbank Con: Joe to guest on Women's Murder Club

From dajaje's homeworld live journal, a report on Joe Flanigans appearance at the Creation Con this weekend in Burbank, CA:



http://dajaje.livejournal.com/7202.html

Some very nice annecdotes, and an announcement that Joe will be appearing on the new tv series, "Women's Murder Club."

A brief excerpt:

"When asked about his infamous hair, he treated us to another long story about how he plays an FBI agent on the Women’s Murder Club series and they worked at keeping his hair down, but that it would always start springing up within an hour (boing, boing, boing) of being styled."

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"Women's Murder Club" airs on Fridays on ABC at 9/8C.

Stargate SG-1 - Season 6 Marathon Nov. 20

The SciFi Channel (US) has scheduled a Stargate SG-1 season six marathon for November 20 from 8am to 4pm. The episodes are:



08:00A Nightwalkers
09:00A Frozen
10:00A Shadow Play
11:00A The Other Guys
12:00P Allegiance
1:00P The Cure
2:00P Prometheus
3:00P Unnatural Selection

There are also Stargate SG-1 marathons scheduled for: December 25 (season 9 ALL day) and January 18 '08.

Stargate Atlantis - Marathon Nov. 19 on SciFi Channel (US)

The SciFi Channel (US) has scheduled a marathon of Stargate Atlantis season one episodes for Monday, November 19 from 8am to 4pm. The episodes are:



08:00A The Eye
09:00A The Defiant One
10:00A Hot Zone
11:00A Sanctuary
12:00P The Brotherhood
1:00P Letters from Pegasus
2:00P The Siege - Part 1
3:00P The Siege - Part 2 (season one finale)

Also, there are SGA marathons scheduled for: December 19 (season one), an ALL day marathon for December 24 (seasons 1 AND 4) -- and beginning January 2, 2008, Stargate Atlantis joins the daily rotation at 5pm! The schedule doesn't reflect the episode titles for January as yet, but the daily rotation should include seasons one and two.