Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Battlestar Galactica / Dollhouse - Hot Cuppa TV: Tahmoh Penikett Interview

At Zap2It's Kate O'Hare's blog, Hot Cuppa TV:

(Please follow the link for the complete interview.)



Tamoh Penikett bids farewell to 'Battlestar Galactica' and Grace Park

Tamoh Penikett has come a long way for a boy from Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon Territory.
"Not bad at all for a little boy from the Yukon," Penikett says. "Where my mother was born is the coldest recorded temperature in North America, so I know about cold."

This Friday, March 20, his character on Fox's "Dollhouse," FBI Agent Paul Ballard, has a big episode -- coming face to face with "doll" Echo (Eliza Dushku) for the first time -- but Penikett is also competing with himself, as Sci Fi Channel airs the final two hours of the critically acclaimed "Battlestar Galactica."

In the series' conclusion, "Daybreak, Part II" (Part 1 aired last week and repeats at 8 p.m. EST, right before the finale), members of the Galactica crew embark on a mission to rescue Hera, the half-human/half-Cylon daughter of human pilot Karl "Helo" Agathon and Cylon Sharon "Athena" Agathon (Grace Park), who has been kidnapped and taken to the Cylon colony, which perches on the edge of a black hole ...

Stargate - GateWorld Podcast # 34: Are Replicators Alive?

At GateWorld:



GateWorld Podcast: Are Replicators Alive?

Tuesday - March 17, 2009

by Darren Sumner

"Unnatural Selection"

Visit the GateWorld Podcast page for more about the show!

This week’s podcast is the first in a new series of “Stargate Metaphysics!” Darren and David talk about the age-old topic of whether an artificial life form can be considered “alive.” For the Stargate franchise, the question is about Replicators — particularly the Asurans and other human-form Replicators, some of which are portrayed as very sympathetic characters. Are they alive? Are they sentient? And do they have rights?

But first we’ll run down the latest Stargate news, and give you a preview of our upcoming interview with Stargate composer Neal Acree.

You can tune in to the GateWorld Podcast every week using iTunes or your favorite podcast catcher. Look for us at Podcast Alley PodBean.com, Mediafly, Podcast.com, or just plug in the RSS feed below wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen right here on the site while you browse!

Battlestar Galactica - Video: Battlestar Best Surprise Moment: Starbuck's Return

US geo-coded.

Courtesy of SciFi Channel and HULU:

Battlestar Best Surprise Moment: Starbuck's Return

Web Exclusive (s.3 : ep.20)|02:09|

Even after dying, Starbuck has a hard time following the rules.



Stargate: Universe - GateWorld: New details on SGU’s ‘Earth’

At GateWorld:

(Please follow the link for the complete GateWorld.)



New details on SGU’s ‘Earth’

Tuesday, March 17 (EPISODES)

New info has surfaced on the sixth episode of Stargate Universe!

A brief excerpt:

Brand new details have surfaced on “Earth,” the sixth episode of Stargate Universe’s premiere season! It turns out that that title is not just an element (like “Air,” “Fire” and “Water”) — it’s also the name of a planet.

Earth” brings some members of the new crew of the Destiny back home — or at least their consciences. As previously reported, an Ancient communications terminal discovered on board allows people on the ship to communicate with Earth from another galaxy, by swapping bodies with someone on Earth.

Guest characters in this episode include Dale Storm, Williams, and O’Neill. It is not known — but certainly possible — if this last character is a guest appearance by General Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson).

Battlestar Galactica - Video: Documenting BSG

Courtesy of SciFi Channel and HULU:

Battlestar Galactica - Documenting BSG

Web Exclusive|04:45|

The men behind the lens talk about what makes Battlestar's shooting style unique.

Battlestar / Fringe / Star Trek - Death Ray Magazine Issue #18

At Blackfish Publishing:



DEATH RAY MAGAZINE ISSUE 18

Table of Contents

1. Great men!

J.J. Abrams puzzles us in an exclusive interview about queer science procedural Fringe (elsewhere, we meet the stars of Lost – do they have any clues?). Ron Moore and David Eick talk Galactica. And in the hotseat that is the 'Death Ray Interview' sits the pre-eminent colossus of 'New Space Opera', Peter F. Hamilton, whose novels are almost as long as Death Ray itself!

2. Great women!

Time Lord progeny Georgia Moffett talks Who and Marple, while Hollywood producer extraordinaire Lauren Shuler Donner takes on Wolverine a.k.a. Weapon X, a.k.a Logan. And never to let an opportunity to wax lyrical pass us by, Death Ray explores the life and fashions of the chap with the adamantium claws.

3. Exclusive fiction!

Bitten to Death author Jennifer Rardin writes a new Jaz Parks tale especially for us, and the great and kindly Michael Moorcock donates a brief and splendid vignette named 'Ironface', which we publish in the UK for the first time…

4. Time travel!

Not content to merely opine about our favourite periods in the history of SF, we spent hours perfecting a doughnut-powered chronowotsit and used it to travel backwards in time. Our report on 1938 is duly included. It's the dawn of the Golden Age, courtesy of John W. Campbell Jr.'s Astounding Science Fiction, and what's that in the sky? A bird? A plane? No, it's the the first flight of Superman! We have the full story.

5. Copious reviewage!

It's our longest reviews section yet (the longest in science fiction…?). We play Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game, read Drood, tune in to Dollhouse, and catch an early screening of Let the Right One In. Plus: our verdict on Watchmen, and a hundred other things besides…

6. Nerdcore!

We take deep pride in our dorky credentials. Where else but Death Ray can you find a treatise on the USS Enterprise, a screed against the adaptation of video games into movies, and an interview with our lord and master Bruce Campbell? Admit it: you and I, we're the same.

7. Lights, magic, silicone!

Crafting zombies with Robert Hall, building killer cars with Paul W.S. Anderson and modelling werewolves with Neill Gorton. Because we hate to break it to you, but none of this science fiction malarkey is real. Death Ray watches the experts go to work…

8. Art/poetry!

Yes, we are neither middlebrow nor lowbrow nor highbrow. We are… multibrow! This time around, in the land of creative expression, we explore the murky, undefined world of science fiction poetry, and interview one of Britain's great young comics artists, Mr Henry Flint. Check out pages 90-95 as soon as you can. They are lovely.

9. The unexpected!

As ever, Death Ray is full of strange corners, containing always interesting stuff. Want to know about the future of e-publishing? Angry Robot editor Marc Gascoigne is at the coalface! Want to discuss the illimitable wonder of the spy girl? Paul Marland shares your passion!

10. Interviews!

More interviews than you can shake a six foot, four-winged Menoptra at! This issue, featuring (deep breath) Doug Naylor (creator of Red Dwarf), Ridley Scott (you know), Howard McCain (director of Outlander), Andy Fickman (Race to Witch Mountain), Rhona Mitra (she of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans), James Marsters (Spike! Brainiac! Lord Piccolo!), Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell (The Edge Chronicles), Frank Henenlotter (of Basket Case fame), Paul Hupfield & Stewart Williams (scribes behind Lesbian Vampire Killers) and John Cho (the new Hikaru Sulu)…

Death Ray #18 is available now from the best magazine stockists, priced £4.99.

Battlestar Galactica - SFX Magazine - Mark Sheppard Interview Part 2

At SFX Magazine:

(Please follow the link for the complete interview.)



Tuesday March 17, 2009

Interview with Mark Sheppard Part 2

The ever-cool Mark Sheppard wrote a foreword for the latest SFX Collection, dedicated to Battlestar Galactica, and we also interviewed him at length about playing the popular character of lawyer Romo Lampkin. He chatted with us about his many roles in other cult shows too, and there just wasn't enough space to do justice to everything he said, so last week and below we've printed some extra material from our conversation.

A brief excerpt:

SFX: You've worked with Katee Sackhoff on both Battlestar and Bionic Woman. Did you both enjoy Bionic Woman as much? How disappointed were you that it didn't continue?
Sheppard: "Nobody set out to make a show that was half-arsed. I feel bad for the show; I feel bad for David Eick and everybody else. It just became this awful political wrangle, kept adjusting and squeezing. It turned into Knight Rider, basically. But we started out with something so dark and interesting. We were dead by the writers' strike. We got killed at that point."

"You know, we did some stuff on Bionic Woman together that will never be seen. There's an episode where she's all messed up in a motel… and I'm there, which doesn't make any sense whatsoever! Because two-thirds of it (the darkest, scariest parts of it; Battlestar-grade material) weren't used. It had some depth and some weight."

"There's something magical about watching Katee Sackhoff. She has a thing about her. It's effortless when she acts. She's one of the most compelling things to watch. And you see it in the Bionic Woman pilot - that fight, the Blade Runner-ish fight? You're like, 'Oooh!' Two hot women on a roof in the rain, beating the shit out of each other! [Laughs] She's truly fantastic. So it was just unfortunate. I feel really bad for Michelle Ryan too - one of the nicest girls in the world. She's very good, and hopefully she'll not have bad taste in her mouth about America. That girl's picture was on every bus stop, every building in America at one point!"

Hugh Laurie - House - Video: 'The Social Contract'

US geo-coded.

Courtesy of FOX and HULU, House's 'The Social Contract,' starring Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard, Jennifer Morrison, Jesse Spencer, Peter Jacobson, Kal Penn and Olivia Wilde. Guest stars include Carlos Arellano, Darcy Rose Byrnes, Susan Egan, Jodi Harris, Jay Karnes, Devon Michaels and Roger Narayan.

House and the team treat a patient who uncontrollably speaks his mind.

Stargate: Universe - Robert Carlyle - TV Guide Online: Sci Fi Upfronts

At TV Guide Online:

(Please follow the link for the complete article.)



At the Sci Fi Upfronts: Battlestar Finale, New Shows and a New Name

Mar 17, 2009

by Erin Fox

Sci Fi chose their upfront event to screen the much-anticipated finale of their hit series Battlestar Galactica, introduce new shows and formally reveal their new name, SyFy.

Here are some of the highlights of the evening:

... Stargate Universe

Robert Carlyle told TVGuide.com that the network's third installment of the Stargate franchise was much darker than its predecessors, but assured us the show will have the audience hooked immediately. "There are three deaths and a suicide within the first few hours." When we asked if he thought the show's tone was influenced by the success of Battlestar Galactica, he said, "I would hope so. It's such a magnificent piece of work. ... I think [Universe] is very, very well written. ... It's certainly about survival. I think this is the point where (executive producer) Robert Cooper has said, 'We've done a lot of alien stuff, so let's concentrate on people.'"

Sanctuary - SciFi Wire: Amanda Tapping teases Sanctuary season two

At SciFi Wire:

(Please follow the link for the complete interview.)



Amanda Tapping teases Sanctuary season two—and a bit of Stargate!

By Ian Spelling
ON 03/17/09

Amanda Tapping, star and executive producer of the SCI FI Channel original series Sanctuary, told SCI FI Wire that viewers may get a glimpse into the events that helped shape her character, Dr. Helen Magnus—the 158-year-old scientist who leads the effort to protect/contain creatures of all kinds—when season two commences.

Tapping also talked briefly about her involvement in upcoming Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1 DVD movies that are in the works.

SCI FI Wire spoke with Tapping, dressed head to toe in black and sporting raven hair, at SCI FI Channel's upfront presentation for advertisers and the media last night in New York. Following are edited excerpts from our exclusive interview.

A brief excerpt from the edited excerpts:

As you head into season two, what would you like to see for Helen and for the show in general?
Tapping: For Helen, I'd love to see a bit more into her backstory, maybe go back in time a little bit with her and see what shaped her. We're definitely going to be doing more interaction between the characters. We bringing some characters forward a bit more. There's a lot of stuff happening in season two ...

Stargate: Universe - iO9: Robert Carlyle Interview

At iO9:

(Please follow the link for the complete interview.)



Carlyle Reveals Why This Is The Darkest Stargate

By Meredith Woerner,

on Tue Mar 17 2009

Stargate Universe's scientist, the talented Robert Carlyle, explains how some deadly decisions help to make SGU the darkest Stargate of them all. Plus, find out who'll be filling our crucial Gate-banter void. Spoilers ahead!

We were excited to catch up with Robert Carlyle, the eldest castmember of the new Stargate Universe clan, at the Sci Fi Channel Upfronts. Thankfully, this seasoned actor spared a few moments to set us straight about SGU — turns out it's full of death and darkness and a very funny David Blue.

We know so little about your character. What else can you tell us?
I play Dr. Nicholas Rush. He's a scientist. He's a little bit in his mind, but he has his reasons, which will remain secret for the moment. I guess what makes this Stargate different from the previous shows in the franchise is, it's a lot darker than the other ones. This has less to do with interaction with an alien race and more about survival on the ship itself.

Rush takes these people through the Stargate onto what they think is another world, and in fact it's actually a ship. It's a massive ship called called Destiny. It was a ship that was launched hundreds of thousands of years ago by the Ancients themselves, and is now floating through space. No one was ever meant to be there. The team that is there is ill-equipped to be there. So the first six or seven episodes are actually all called "Air," "Fire," "Water" and "Earth" because it's about surviving amongst that, it's more drama-based and more character-driven ...

Battlestar Galactica - The Circuit: More Phoners - James Callis / Alessandro Juliani

From Canada's Space Channel's current events series, The Circuit, some additional audio interviews, or phoners, that were just uploaded at the site.



Battlestar Galactica : Phoners With Alessandro Juliani : A Chat With Alessandro Juliani (Gaeta) on Season 4.5 BSG

Part 3

Alessandro Juliani talks about Felix as the tragic character.

~~**~~**

Battlestar Galactica : Phoners With James Callis : A Chat With James Callis (Gaius Baltar) on Season 4.5 BSG

Part 2

James Callis describes Baltar's new relationship with Paula and the ladies.