Sanctuary - Show Patrol: Amanda Tapping Video Interview

Courtesy of Chicago Now's Show Patrol (Chicago, IL):

SDCC 2010 exclusive: Amanda Tapping previews 'Sanctuary' Season 3

by Curt Wagner on 07.27.10

Helen Magnus, Will Zimmerman, Henry Foss, Kate Freelander and the Big Guy will go on an "epic journey" in Season 3 of "Sanctuary."

Epic is really the only way the Syfy series can go after the extraordinary cliffhanger that ended Season 2: Big Bertha set off a series of giant tidal waves that could flood the world.

"It's quite mysterious actually what happens," producer-star and sometimes director Amanda Tapping told me at San Diego Comic Con, saying they will take some time to figure out the situation, "because we don't actually understand what happened."

The resolution of the Big Bertha fallout is only one of a few major story arcs this season, which consists of 20 episodes instead of just 13 like the first two seasons. It's an epic season indeed for the groundbreaking series.

Tapping and I sat down for a chat after the "Sanctuary" panel where a funny Season 2 recap/Season 3 preview was presented, and it was also announced that Polly Walker from "Caprica" will guest star on "Sanctuary."

Enjoy the two-part interview with Tapping and the preview, and watch for my exclusive interviews with Robin Dunne and Ryan Robbins.

Stargate Universe - Show Patrol: MingNa Comic Con Video Interview

At Chicago Now's Show Patrol (Chicago, IL):

(Please follow the link for the complete text article and Show Patrol's live tweets during the comic con panel.)

SDCC 2010 exclusive: Ming-Na on 'Stargate Universe

by Curt Wagner on 07.29.10

Ming-Na cracked up "Stargate Universe" fans during the Syfy series' panel at San Diego Comic Con over the weekend, talking about her "iPrecious" and "getting stoned."

Of course that's a joke; she means when her "SGU" character, Camille Wray, uses the communication stones to go back to Earth. I was able to chat with her a little more about what's in store for Camille in Season 2 right after the panel--which included Robert Carlyle, Alaina Huffman, David Blue and exec producer and panel moderator Robert Cooper.

 

Sanctuary - Show Patrol: Video: Ryan Robbins bares it all for 'Sanctuary'

At Chicago Now's Show Patrol (Chicago, IL):

(Please follow the link for the complete text article and more videos from the San Diego Comic Con 2010 Sanctuary panel.)

SDCC exclusive: Ryan Robbins bares it all for 'Sanctuary'

by Curt Wagner on 08.01.10

"Sanctuary" fans, get ready to see more of Henry Foss--a lot more of Ryan Robbins.

"I don't have magic denim shorts that appear when I transform back from being a werewolf," Robbins joked at San Diego Comic Con, telling me that Henry, both as a werewolf and as the man, will have a lot to do in Season 3 of "Sanctuary..."

... Robbins talks more about making Robin Dunne uncomfortable, Henry and [at the link above] you can watch the entire SDCC "Sanctuary" panel with Robbins, Amanda Tapping, Robin Dunne, Damian Kindler and moderator Josh Gates from "Destination Truth."


 

Stargate Universe - Show Patrol: Brian J. Smith of 'SGU' 'gates to 'Orient Express'

At Chicago Now's Show Patrol (Chicago, IL):

(Please follow the link for the complete interview.)

Brian J. Smith of 'SGU' 'gates to 'Orient Express'

by Curt Wagner on 07.09.10

Brian J. Smith planned to relax in New York City after he finished filming the first season of "Stargate Universe" last winter.

Before he knew it, he had booked passage on the Orient Express. Well, actually he landed a part in the latest adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express," which premieres at 8 p.m. Sunday on PBS (WTTW in Chicago).

"It came completely out of the blue," Smith told me this week during a break in shooting S2 of "SGU" in Vancouver. "I think I was in New York for like five days when my agent called ... I was really intrigued by the character."

Smith plays Hector MacQueen, the multi-lingual assistant to hateful American businessman. They board the Orient Express and cross paths with the famed detective Hercule Poirot--and with murder. (Of course I'm not going to tell you any more about it!)



Brian J. Smith as Hector McQueen

Stargate Universe - Show Patrol: Lou Diamond Phillips Interview

At Chicago Now's Show Patrol (Chicago, IL):

(Please follow the link for the complete interview.)

Happy to be breathing, Lou Diamond Phillips talks 'SGU' & other things

by Curt Wagner on 06.09.10



When Lt. David Telford fought for his every breath during last week's riveting "Stargate Universe," Lou Diamond Phillips knew exactly how to play the scene.

A mishap while filming the shark movie "Red Water" a few years ago left Phillips sucking in water and trying to signal the stunt coordinators that he couldn't breathe.

"They basically strapped me onto a shark rocket because this shark was supposed to grab me and take off with me," he told me during a phone call last week. "Somebody had forgotten to turn on [the regulator] ... so I found myself frantically trying to get air and getting nothing ...

"Finally they got the thing turned on and everything was fine, but I was able to use that very, very vivid memory of not being able to draw a breath for the scene in 'SGU.'"

It was just another day on set for the veteran actor, who does a lot of his own stunts on "SGU" as well, including parts of the fight scenes in "Incursion Parts 1 and 2," the season finale that concludes at 8 p.m. Friday on Syfy.

As "Part 1" ended, Col. Young (Louis Ferreira) had pulled Telford out of the brainwashed state by basically suffocating, then reviving him. Telford is now working undercover with the Lucian Alliance, trying to help Young regain control of the Destiny.

Phillips called the episodes "pretty intense," and although he wasn't going to give any clues as to what ends up happening, he said they were a ball to film--especially those scenes in which he died.

"A lot of the physical stuff, whether it's accidents or a physical state of being, is always fun for me and a challenge," he said. "And something that I like to be very specific about and try to give the audience something they hadn't seen."

Phillips and I talked more about his adventures on "SGU," Twitter, "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" and told me what he would have served Sen. Armstrong in "Air."


A brief excerpt:

One thing I really like on "SGU" are the heated scenes between you and Louie.

Absolutely. There's a very interesting history there, and one that I think that we're just now starting to investigate through the end of the first season. And as you can tell from what's going on with the end of the season, I mean, things are just going to get more interesting and more dynamic between those two characters.

Robert and Louie have all these really intense scenes and you and Louie do, too. Are you hoping that you somehow get stuck on the Destiny so all three of you can go at it?

I'll tell you something, it's art imitates life every once in a while; its been Telford's mission to get on the Destiny since the beginning. In many ways it's mine as well, because I would like nothing better than to be there on a more consistent basis.

Stargate Universe - Show Patrol: Louis Ferreira Interview

At Chicago Now's Show Patrol (Chicago, IL):

(Please follow the link for the complete article.)

Louis Ferreira faces old, new foes in 'Stargate Universe'

by Curt Wagner on 04.02.10



When "Stargate Universe" returns Friday, things won't be going well for Col. Everett Young.

The leader of a rag-tag band of survivors aboard the starship Destiny, played by Louis Ferreira, is second-guessing his shocking decision to abandon his chief antagonist, Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle), on a dusty planet.

"I think it weighs heavy on him," Ferreira told me during a recent phone interview. "He's a kind of a fatherly figure. It's that old-school, '50's dad that people say, 'My father, man, he's just [bleeping] tough and would never let me get away with that.' But he has a heart of gold, you know?"...

A brief excerpt:

Rush and Camille Wray (Ming-Na) are sort of the troublemakers, the pains in the butt. But Young seems to be the one having issues with them. It makes me wonder if he's actually the problem? As he says of Rush, "He's a lot of work." Is Young really a lot of work?

Yeah. Well, he's not the greatest. I think that [the writers will] be very happy when [viewers] are all over the place: "We like Rush! No, we don't! it's Young, now it's Rush, now it's Young. And no, no, it's Scott!" You know what I mean?

I think that's the show that they intended to create. I think in the last episode, "Justice," Young makes a very harsh, rash decision that some could easily question. I understand the questionability of it ... But Young's intention is to get people home, and he has a guy whose clear intention is to explore this ship [instead]. I think people on the fan side are going, "Well, no, we want to stay on the ship, that's what we want to see, we want to see the ship." Right? So they can easily side that way [with Rush].

But the reality for me is that if you are standing in the way of getting us home and [Young] makes the decision that Eli ... may be my ticket [home]. He may be my Rush without the evil, if you will. And that's enough for [Young] to sort of make the decision that he does.

Stargate Universe - Show Patrol: Brad Wright: Action-packed destiny for 'SGU 1.5'

At Chicago Now's Show Patrol (Chicago, IL):

(Please follow the link to read the complete Show Patrol interview.)

Brad Wright: Action-packed destiny for 'SGU 1.5'

by Curt Wagner on 03.26.10



Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper

Brad Wright admits to mistakes in early episodes of "Stargate Universe," but he believes "SGU 1.5" will convince disillusioned fans to stick with the latest edition of the long-running franchise.

"I think the second half of Season 1 is strong, or stronger, and certainly answers some of the criticisms that have been thrown toward the show," Wright told me during a conversation around the time the "SGU 1.0" DVD set dropped.

I'm thinking critcs will change their minds about the show, which returns at 8 p.m. April 2 on Syfy. After viewing the first two episodes of "SGU 1.5," I have even more admiration for producers Wright, Robert C. Cooper and their entire crew in Vancouver. The episodes--"Space" and "Divided"--are action-packed yet keep the sinister, is-my-shipmate-my-enemy tone that the team established solidly in the first half of the season.

The new episodes expand the "Universe," which, as Wright explained, is only possible after the dramatic foundation that was built earlier in the season.

"Robert and I strongly felt that for us to say we're doing a character drama--at the very beginning especially--we have to engage with the characters and have them interact in a big, big way," Wright said. "And then once we know them very intimately--as we do now I think--we can put them in an action-adventure, jeopardy situation. When you know them as intimately as we do now, it's easier for you to care about the stakes, or the ramifications of what's going to happen."

Wright and I talked more about where the Destiny has gone and where it's going, but I also wanted to address the criticisms launched at the show. He was honest and candid in his answers, admitting that the female characters at the beginning "weren't as present," but said he never dismissed the concerns of fans...

Also at Show Patrol:

(Please follow the link for the complete article.)

Spoiler alert: Brad Wright talks 'Stargate Universe 1.5'

We've already seen plenty of aliens in the first part of "Stargate Universe" Season 1. Remember the sperm-looking thingies on the planet in "Time" and the swarm from "Air" and "Water"?

Brad Wright and crew have even more surprises in store when the show comes back at 8 p.m. April 2 on Syfy. If you haven't seen the MGM trailer above, or read anything on the Internet: Stop reading! Otherwise, enjoy this portion of my chat with Wright ...