FALLING SKIES - SKY ENTERTAINMENT: Noah Wyle Video Interview Part 2
In the second part of our interview with Falling Skies star Noah Wyle, the actor tells us about gruelling winter-time night shoots, and the joys of being an action star.
In the US, Falling Skies airs Sundays at 10/9C on TNT.
Alphas - The Morton Report [follow link for the complete interview]
ALPHAS - THE MORTON REPORT: Alphas Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr Promises More Than Cookie Cutter Crime Fighting
By Steve Eramo, Contributor
July 1, 2011
Twenty years ago Ira Steven Behr went where he had never gone before when he was hired as a writer/producer on Star Trek: The Next Generation. From there, he spent seven seasons executive producing as well as writing for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, followed by similar work on other series including Dark Angel, The Twilight Zone and The 4400.
Currently, Behr is serving as executive producer on Alphas, (premiering Monday, July 11 @ 10:00 p.m. EST/PST) a new Syfy series that follows a group of average people with enhanced abilities (a.k.a. Alphas) who investigate cases that are linked to rogue Alphas.
Earlier this week, Behr spoke with the press about Alphas and what audiences can look forward to. Here are a few highlights from that Q & A. Enjoy!
... Q: Where is this first season of Alphas going to take us?
ISB: "Oddly enough, in about three-and-a-half hours I will be meeting with the network and pitching the final episodes of the season and telling them where the series is going.
So I’m going to be very interested to see if they agree with us. One of the things that really appeals to me about the show - in line with some of the other work I’ve done - is that, again, it’s always evolving and isn’t a cookie cutter kind of series where every episode is exactly the same and plays out basically as the one the week before and the following week’s episode.
What’s going to happen without giving anything away is that this is a group of people who aren’t really your first choice to be part of an investigative unit or to be going out into the field and getting shot at. They’re kind of working for the government, but the government doesn’t totally know whether or not to trust them and vice versa. The team is also working against this organization of Alphas called Red Flag, and Red Flag keeps telling our people that they’re on the wrong side.
It’s a very precarious position to be in, and as we like to say in the writers’ office, the center cannot hold. Eventually things will start to crack, and I think by the end of the first season there will be cracks appearing all over the surface..."
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - BBC AMERICA: Marathon Saturday, July 2, 2011
Cast includes Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Outcasts' Jamie Bamber, Eureka's James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Callum Keith Rennie, Hawaii Five-0's Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Paul Campbell, Aaron Douglas, Kandyse McClure, Alessandro Juliani, Tahmoh Penikett and Sanctuary's Ryan Robbins.
7:00 AM Miniseries - Part 1
After a devastating nuclear war is waged on their home planet, a ragtag fleet of humans are forced to flee under the protection of their one remaining warship, the outdated Battlestar Galactica, in search of a new home - a planet called Earth.
9:00 AM Miniseries - Part 2
As Adama and President Roslin debate military and civilian priorities, amoral scientist Gaius Baltar (James Callis) is bedeviled by a seductive Cylon (Tricia Helfer) who makes her presence felt through a chip in his brain.
11:00 AM 33
Galactica is on the run and the crew is put to the test as sleep deprivation mixes with the already gloomy reality of dealing with a Cylon-apocalypse. The ship has 33 minutes to make a Jump, elude the Cylons and survive another day.
Guest stars include Being Human's Sam Witwer, Alonso Oyarzun and Nicki Clyne.
12:00 PM Water
A main water reserve ruptures aboard the Galactica and millions of gallons of fresh water are lost. Upon further inspection however, it appears as if the ship was sabotaged… perhaps from a Cylon agent from within.
Guest stars include Being Human's Sam Witwer and Nicki Clyne.
1:00 PM Miniseries - Part 1
3:00 PM Miniseries - Part 2
5:00 PM 33
6:00 PM Water
7:00 PM Bastille Day
Lee Adama goes to the Astral Queen, a prison ship, to try and persuade the prisoners to help pump water onto Galactica. However, while aboard, the prisoners take control of the ship, and Lee and his crew are taken hostage by a notorious prisoner.
Guest stars include Connor Widdows, Richard Hatch, Alonso Oyarzun, Nicki Clyne, Adrien Dorval, Ron Selmour, Matthew Bennett and Brent Stait.
8:00 PM Act of Contrition
A crisis forces Commander Adama, Lee Adama, and Kara Thrace to finally face a ghost from their past - Zak Adama. Their inability to come to grips with Zak’s death has tragic consequences for them all.
Guest stars include Being Human's Sam Witwer, Lorena Gale, Donnelly Rhodes, Jill Teed, Tobias Mehler, Colby Johannson, Bodie Olmos and Combat Hospital's Terry Chen.
EUREKA - POPTIMAL: Q&A with Colin Ferguson and Salli Richardson-Whitfield
July 1, 2011
by Keshaunta Moton
It’s time for the return of SyFy Network’s longest scripted drama, and as season 4.5 of Eureka is gearing up I had the chance to attend a Q&A conference call with stars Colin Ferguson and Salli Richardson-Whitfield. Over the course of the call the two discuss, among other things, what’s in store for fans in the upcoming season, their past experiences at Comic-Con, as well as the relationship between Zane and Jo.
.. When asked how she compares to her character Allison Blake on the TV series, Richardson-Whitfield says that, to her, their similarities seem to grow over the seasons. “I’m not as hard or as tough as I may seem,” and this is something that the characters of Eureka are now finding out about Allison, whose main vulnerabilities include being a mother and having to juggle work around family life. This is a plight that Richardson-Whitfield can relate to intimately as the show films in Vancouver and causes her to be away from her children while they are filming....
... It took four long years, but at the end of Eureka 4.0 Allison and Jack were a couple. (Oh yeah.) But as anyone knows, getting together is worlds easier than staying together and making it work. And for Jack and Allison, they’re in the work it out phase. And Richardson-Whitfield reveals that for these two trying to work out a relationship while also working together is their biggest challenge, “It’s like working with your husband or wife, how do you balance those two things?” Ferguson reveals that for Jack the challenge is learning to give Allison her space in order to maintain their relationship. And it’s a challenge that Jack’s more than willing to face, but what happens when Jack gets a curveball thrown his way? “There are still bucks and problems to come...”
Eureka premieres on a NEW night, Monday, July 11, 2011 at 8/7C on Syfy.
Source: Bella Online [follow link for complete interview]
ALPHAS - BELLA ONLINE: Ira Steven Behr Interview - Part One
by Helen Angela Lee
Syfy is trying its luck with a new scifi show, “Alphas,” which begins airing Monday, July 11 at 10 p.m. ET. In this new series, you’ll meet a team of superheroes—kinda. Actually, an alpha is a person who has special mind capabilities, which are not all that far out of the bounds of reality. Dr. Rosen [David Strathairn] is in charge of harnessing these special skills so that the alphas can solve crimes of all kinds. But these are normal people, dealing with the downsides to their powers—social, emotional and mental--as well as their neurological nuances.
The following is from a question and answer session actors Ryan Cartwright and Azita Ghanizada and writer Ira Steven Behr conducted with the media last week. We’ll post the second part next week.
... Q. Can we discuss the themes of the show? It seems like some of the gifts are not problems, but perceived that way, and some are run-of-the-mill, everyday capabilities but enhanced to the 10th power. So is there a “work hard and be an alpha” message being given out here?
Ira Steven Behr: "We certainly use neuroscience as a basis ... for the tales that we tell. If you go on YouTube you’ll see the most amazing things that people can do. Growing up, it was always, “He’s a savant.” Now instead of being a savant you’re an alpha. And maybe the skills are pushed up a little bit beyond the savant scale. Have you seen the gentleman whom they take up in a helicopter and fly him over a major city like Rome for 45 minutes in a helicopter? And when they land they put him in a room, which is filled with white drawing paper covering every wall, and they leave him in the for five days. Obviously they feed him and let him sleep, and he draws the entire city, every window to scale, every pillar, every post. It’s an amazing thing to watch, you know? And if that isn’t an alpha ability, I don’t know what is. So, yes. I think the thing that, dramatically, we like, is that every ability comes with a downside, and how true is that? Gary is a perfect example. He’s this incredible transducer who can pick signals out of the air. But obviously, his down side is very apparent, with his autism. Or you have someone like Hicks, who is hyperkinetic and has the most amazing ability and control over his body—and yet at the same time, he has certain psychological problems that have put him in AA. He’s divorced. So all these abilities come with a downside and I think that’s an interesting thing.
But if you’re talking about themes, we could talk until the sun goes down and the stars come out. There are a lot of themes and obviously we’re only in the first season so we’re getting close, at least in the writing, towards finishing the first season. And you know, a lot of the ideas and themes are only going to get deeper and richer as the show continues on its 14-year stay at Syfy..."
Source: Show Patrol [follow link for complete interview]
FALLING SKIES - SHOW PATROL: Colin Cunningham having a blast playing 'Falling Skies' baddie
By Curt Wagner
July 1, 2011
If you look at Colin Cunningham's resume, you will see the American actor has been in just about every TV show that filmed in Canada.
He's done guest spots or recurring roles on "Flashpoint," "Sanctuary," "Psych," "The 4400," "Eureka," "Smallville" and "The X-Files," among others. Some fans might know him as Major Paul Davis in "Stargate SG-1," or as Det. Brian Curtis in "The Da Vinci Inquest."
But soon viewers will know him for his latest role as John Pope, an opportunistic survivor of an alien invasion in TNT's hit drama "Falling Skies." The brash, unpredictable and quip-happy Pope, who in the series premiere took Noah Wyle's Tom Mason hostage, is quickly becoming the breakout character of the show.
In "Grace," airing at 8 p.m. July 3 on TNT, Pope continues to run afoul of the Mason and the 2nd Mass resistance group. He just can’t stay out of trouble, but Cunningham thinks that he’s more than just a bad guy.
“There is a real intellectual behind all the leather,” he said, “and I think that’s where he and Tom Mason … understand each other in a way. So that’s why I found him fascinating and a little bit different than your cookie-cutter bad guy.
"I had an absolute blast playing him."
Cunningham, who had to park on the side of a California highway to get cell reception to do this interview, talked more about his character, the series and how he didn’t even know the specifics of the part when he auditioned for “Falling Skies,” or that Steven Spielberg was one of the producers...
TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY - THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Eve Myles Has a Message for the Show's Angry UK Fans
"If it was up to me and John [Barrowman], we'd have it to them straight away," says star.
6/30/2011
by Jethro Nededog
After the BBC confirmed earlier this week that Torchwood: Miracle Day would premiere on July 14 in the UK – six days after the U.S. premiere on Starz – many fans expressed their anger about having to wait for a show that they made popular to begin with.
There has been talk among UK fans of downloading the U.S. version, which may have an affect ratings for the show in that country. Needless to say, it has become an issue whether some believe it’s a negligible amount of time to wait while others feel it’s an insult to the show's original fan base.
The Hollywood Reporter had a chance to speak with Eve Myles, who plays Gwen Cooper, one of the few original cast members (along with John Barrowman and Kai Owen) to return for Torchwood: Miracle Day and she tells us she has a message for the show’s UK Fans and we decided to deliver it in its entirety below...
... THR: We’re sure you’ve heard the rancor out of the UK about BBC’s delayed premiere of the show. What would you like to say to those fans?
Myles: "We never, ever, ever wanted to take this show away from the original fans. What we always wanted to do with the show was give them a gift every year, something wonderful, a big, big present. And if that present isn’t good enough, we aren’t going to give it to you. We’ve made you the best, best series yet. And it works out that it will be a week after the U.S. showing. And obviously we have nothing to do with that -- me nor John [Barrowman] or [showrunners Russel T. Davies and Julie Gardner]. But, just hold on tight. I’d just like to remind them that they’re our fans. We want them to sit back and enjoy it, be proud of it like we are, and to stick with us. If it was up to me and John, we’d have it to them straight away. But, it’s not..."
Torchwood: Miracle Day premieres in the US On Starz Friday, July 8, 2011 at 10/9C.
Source: Toronto Star [follow link for complete interview]
FALLING SKIES - TORONTO STAR: Bruce Gray knows the benefit of a few good lines
Sat Jul 02 2011
by Debra Yeo
Canadian actor Bruce Gray has certainly paid his dues.
He starred in the award-winning series Traders, played the uptight father of the groom in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, has done guest spots on countless TV shows and had recurring roles on Queer as Folk and Medium.
It’s not like he has to take any old job that comes along. But he’s awfully glad he interrupted his cottage vacation a couple of summers ago to audition for what looked to be a tiny part in a new TV series.
The show turned out to be Falling Skies, the Steven Spielberg-produced drama about the aftermath of an alien invasion that debuts on Super Channel on Wednesday [in Canada].
“I think there were two lines (at the audition). Now I have these wonderful scenes that I get to play,” said Gray, 74, who was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Canadian parents and began his career here while he was getting his master’s in psychology at the University of Toronto.
In Falling Skies, he plays Uncle Scott, whom Gray describes as “an 83-year-old garage mechanic” with an MIT education...
TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY - ACCESS HOLLYWOOD VIDEO: Access Hollywood Live: Mekhi Phifer Plays Shoot ‘Em Up In ‘Torchwood: Miracle Day’ & ‘Flypaper’
Mekhi Phifer reveals details about his highly anticipated show, “Torchwood: Miracle Day,” which premieres July 8 at 10 PM on Starz. Plus, he co-stars with Patrick Dempsey in the new heist film, “Flypaper,” so what bonded the two stars on the set? Also, why is Mekhi going to Miami for July 4th?
THE TWILIGHT ZONE - BLASTR: The 5 twist endings every Twilight Zone episode seems to share
By Evan Hoovler
Jul 1, 2011
Writing for The Twilight Zone couldn't have been easy. Take a moment to think of your favorite twist endings of all time. Now realize that the TZ writers were expected to come up with one of those endings every dang week. So it's no wonder they recycled their plots every so often.
We've found that 25% of all original Twilight Zone episodes have one of five twist endings. As you watch Monday's July 4th marathon on Syfy (starting at 8 a.m./7 Central), see how many you can count.
[NOTE: Syfy's July 3 Twilight Zone marathon schedule available here
Syfy's July 4 Twilight Zone marathon schedule available here]
... 5. The "It Was/Wasn't Earth All Along" Ending
Episodes Which Use This Twist: "I Shot an Arrow into the Air," "Third from the Sun," "The Invaders," "Probe 7, Over and Out"
Years before coming up with the landmark twist for Planet of the Apes, Serling toyed around with the twist on The Twilight Zone. In "I Shot an Arrow into the Air," astronauts think they've landed on an asteroid, when really they just landed on Earth. What is really interesting about this episode's twist was that they already did the exact opposite in the previous episode! In that program, "Third from the Sun," a family escaping a war-torn planet that we assume is Earth heads for the real Earth. Which really doesn't make sense: if aliens with spaceships colonized and became humankind, then where are our freakin' spaceships?
Astronauts believe they are stranded on a desolate world and fight to the death. Then, the remaining killer astronaut realizes he is in a much worse place: Reno. Rumor has it the original end to Planet of the Apes had Charlton Heston stumbling upon a fully intact Reno and screaming "You maniacs! You didn't blow it up!"
It's a testament to the genius of the minds behind The Twilight Zone that they could make these twist ending repeats come across as fresh. That's one of the many reasons that the show has remained a hit for 52 years.
The critics have eyes, too, and many of them didn't find much worth seeing in this 2006 remake of director Wes Craven's horror cult classic -- even though Craven produced it. En route to California, a family makes the ultimately unfortunate decision to travel through a desert region that was used for nuclear testing years ago. The offspring of miners who never left the area have grown into dangerous mutants. Unless your main reason for watching a horror movie is over-the-top gore, you're better off with the 1977 original.
For the July 2, 2011 Syfy movie schedule click here.
Felicia Day guest stars in the upcoming season of Eureka. Season premiere Monday July 11 at 8/7c.
From IMDB, this episode may be 'This One Time at Space Camp...,' episode 18, guest stars include Felicia Day, Nico Cortez, Aaron Douglas, Nicholas Elia, Jessica Gonzales, Tembi Locke, Quinn Lord, Nico McEown, Kevin Mundy, Wil Wheaton and Michelle Creber.
