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OTHER SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY/CULT TV NEWS
First the bad news...
On December 22, FOREVER KNIGHT producer James Parriott reported that
the show has essentially been cancelled with only 10 episodes aired and
16 filmed. Instigator of the cancellation has been revealed as Kay
Klopovitz, CEO and President of USA Network. Ironically, Klopovitz was
recently profiled in both "Forbes" and "Broadcasting and Cable"
magazines, which emphasized her "gutsy" and "risk-taking" business
acumen. As President of USA she is the highest-ranking woman in cable
TV and, ironically, was praised for her decision to spend $250 million
to finance 24 original movies and other television programming over the
next two years, including offbeat series like FOREVER KNIGHT. (For more
on USA Network, see "Cable and TV News".) Ratings for FOREVER KNIGHT
have been very poor on both syndicated stations and USA Network, where
the show airs Mondays at 10 PM opposite CHICAGO HOPE. It has averaged
70th out of 98 syndicated shows for which ratings are determined.
"Forever Knight will not be back for a fourth season," said Parriott,
and added, "USA has elected not to pick us up for the remainder of this
season. Don't bother to write - it's a done deal. This effectively
kills all chances for renewal and places the remaining 6 episodes of
this season in serious jeopardy, as Tri-Star would be stuck with a huge
deficit, and the syndicated market for the show is weak and shows little
promise for airing this as a first run. No one is at fault here. In
show business, these things happen. Rod Perth, at USA, has been
extremely supportive (he was the guy who originally started it on Late
Night CBS). But the numbers just didn't come up to their needs...and
that's the end of the story. ...Thank you for all you have done.
You're the best fans in the world. Cross your fingers for the rest of
the season..."
Fans immediately began gearing up for a "Save Forever Knight"
campaign to convince USA and TriStar to complete the season, but were
discouraged by Parriott. "If you manage to convince the syndicated
stations to insist that Tri-Star complete the contracted 22 episode
order, the shows will have massively reduced budgets. Instead of
shooting them in 6 or 7 days, we'll have to do them in 3 or 4. Down and
dirty will be the operative words. This might happen anyway... and I,
personally, dread it. We'll be producing cheap shows that we don't want
to make and you don't want to watch. That's an ugly way to go out."
Though the cancellation was confirmed by USA publicist Brian Schoenfeld,
ironically USA has actually added a third airing of FOREVER KNIGHT on
Tuesday at 9 PM starting with the season premiere and increased
promotion of the show. Local station representatives appear to still be
unaware of USA's decision; they said the distributor has scheduled six
new episodes (the remaining filmed ones) to start airing the week of
January 13. They are "Strings", "Fever", "Dead of Night", "Games
Vampires Play", "The Human Factor", and "Avenging Angel", followed by
repeats. TriStar has not committed whether or not to continue
production on the last 6 episodes, and the plug could be pulled at any
time, though at this point it is likely the new episodes will be aired.
Fans are still urged to write your local station in support of the show,
and write TriStar asking that they syndicate the remaining episodes:
Mr. John Feltheimer, TriStar/Columbia Pictures TV, 10202 Washington
Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230. Also send a copy of your letter to
producer James Parriot, Forever Knight, 4063 Redford Avenue, Studio
City, CA 91604.
More details on two episodes: "Games Vampires Play" (#315) guest
stars Catherine Bruhier (DUE SOUTH) as a vampire named Rita. The last
episode filmed (#316) was "Human Factor", in which Deborah Duchene
returns as Janette in a guest role. Director Geraint Wyn Davies was
able to get her brought back for one episode, which he will be
directing, mostly due to all the letters which the fans have sent in
wanting her back. Duchene was very touched by all the letters sent in.
This will be a major episode for her, and "have a shocking event", which
fans have speculated could be her demise. <> Toronto station CTV
reported that a flying stunt off the end of the Toronto Gardner
expressway for the 3rd season FOREVER KNIGHT episode "Sons of Belial"
worked a little too well. It was intended that a car driven by a woman
possessed by demons crash through the guard rail and smash on the
concrete below, but the car overshot its intended target before bursting
into flames and scattering the film crew. <> One bit of good news:
Mark Banning of GNP Crescendo Records reports that a cassette and CD of
music from FOREVER KNIGHT will be released in February. It will feature
tracks from composer Fred Mollin as well as vocals by Lori Yates as
heard in "The Raven", Geraint Wyn Davies at the piano, and extracts of
Nigel Bennett as "The Nightcrawler". <> Season 1 of FOREVER KNIGHT
just finished in Australia. Season 2 has been picked up by Network 10;
no info on season 3. <> The series also debuted on the UK's Sky One on
4 November.
After airing only half the 3rd season episodes ordered, NBC finally
pulled the plug on SEAQUEST 2032. Three additional episodes aired in
December, two of which guest-starred Roy Scheider, leaving 3 episodes
unaired. Many NBC affiliates pre-empted the show more than once with
sports or syndicated Christmas specials. An NBC exec said that the
unaired episodes may air later in the season. <> Just before the
cancellation, it was revealed that Jonathan Brandis has signed an
exclusive agreement with Universal (producer of SEAQUEST) for future
series. <> UPN's DEADLY GAMES has also been cancelled due to low
ratings and will be replaced by two sitcoms in early January. The
series finished consistently in the bottom 5 shows. Despite inventive
writing and casting (including STAR TREK veterans), light approach, and
chemistry between the leads, Critics had predicted it would not last
given its restrictive and predictable formula involving the defeat of a
video game villain with a known flaw. All other UPN shows were picked
up for the entire season.
Comedy Central has decided not to renew MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER
3000, but the show's producer said December 6 he is confident that the
TV cult favorite will reappear in some format. Declining ratings
prompted the cable network not to renew the Twin Cities-produced series
for an 8th season, Comedy Central spokesman Tony Fox said. The final
episode was taped Dec. 22. "We're all sad to see it go, but it's not
cutting the mustard from a ratings standpoint," Fox said. MYSTERY
SCIENCE THEATER 3000 or "MST3K" to fans, debuted on a Twin Cities UHF
station in 1988 and later found a national audience on cable. The
Peabody Award-winning show features a lost-in-space human and his robot
sidekicks watching bad movies and making sarcastic comments. Comedy
Central will rerun MST3K in 1996 and plans to show five new episodes on
Saturday afternoons starting Feb. 3. Best Brains Inc. of Eden Prairie,
which owns the copyright on the series, will be free to negotiate for
new episodes with a different network starting in January 1997, producer
Jim Mallon said. This spring Gramercy Pictures plans to release MYSTERY
SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE, and Bantam Books will publish a guide
to the series. Comedy Central got a "Jeer" from TV Guide for the
cancellation.
NOWHERE MAN producer Larry Hertzog reports that UPN executives have
ordered significant changes to the show for the last half of the season.
"We have taken some serious pounding from 'Them' over the last four or
five weeks. This is the rule in episodic television, not the exception.
What is the exception was that I was 'cut loose' as much as I was at the
outset of the series." He went on to say that he was given the
ultimatum to make these changes or the show would be cancelled.
"Beginning in January [NOWHERE MAN] will have a slightly different spin
on it. For what it's worth -- I put the spin on it. I did so under
threats and dire pressure, but it's still my spin... I feel (felt) that
my job was to keep NwM hopping, interesting, creepy, provocative and
"cool," while addressing 'Them's thoughts, threats and entreaties. My
interpretation is this: We'll be moving away from some of the more
'Prisoneresque' attributes and more into 'The Conspiracy'. The episodes
will probably have a more 'Alpha Spike' feel to them than a 'Something
About Her' feel. A little less cerebral, perhaps, but maybe not fatal
to the series. So you'll see a slightly more "active" Tom [Veil] in the
future (not an action show, though) and you'll get more insights into
various activities [of the conspirators]. They haven't forgotten the
negatives, but Tom will have some opportunities to 'make inroads.'"
...We're not out the woods yet and it wouldn't surprise me to find the
guys who did 'My Mother the Car' running 'Nowhere Man' before the
season's out. At the moment, however, I'm still at the helm, the
attacks have quieted and -- que sera sera."
The next new episode of NOWHERE MAN, "Contact" by Larry Hertzog,
will air Jan. 15. A dissenter from the Organization surreptitously
contacts Veil and supplies him with documentation that one of its
highest ranking members, Richard Grace, is the one primarily responsible
for the decision to erase his identity. This mysterious man also turns
over photos of Veil's deceitful wife, Alyson, in compromising poses with
Grace and then offers to furnish Veil with valuable information from the
group's dossier on him if he reciprocates by killing Grace. Before
long, Veil finds himself in a risky alliance with someone inside the
enemy's camp. <> John Carman, critic for the San Francisco Chronicle,
surveyed the season's new shows. About NOWHERE MAN, he commented, "You
can't say a show with a 3.9 rating is a hit. But "Nowhere Man" has
attracted a tight little cult and is a good candidate to last beyond its
full-season commitment. He also lists the show as his "Critic's
Choice." <> Star Bruce Greenwood appeared in three movies aired
recently. USA aired BITTER VENGEANCE, in which he plays the villain, on
Dec. 30. Also on USA January 3 was THE COMPANION; in this one Greenwood
plays an android purchased by a romance writer who programs him to be
her perfect man with disastrous results. He also plays a homocide
detective in DREAM MAN currently airing on Cinemax.
Now the good news...
Fox has committed to keeping SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND on the air at
least through this season. The initial commitment of 12 episodes was
increased to 22. "In fact, we are very much behind this show," said Fox
Director of Current Programs Jeff Eckerle, "We're doing our very best to
make this show something special." The show has received only lukewarm
Nielsen ratings, but has done better than any other series Fox has put
in the Sunday 7 PM timeslot, and better than either VR.5 or SLIDERS. SF
fan support on the Internet helped give the show a boost in ratings in
November. <> Upcoming episodes: "Who Monitors the Birds?" - In a 44
minute show, 3 minutes of dialogue. "Level of Necessity" - The
mysterious Damphousse. "Never No More" - Shane in love and Chiggie Von
Richtofen. "The Angriest Angel" - No information available. <> Galoob
Toys Inc. has signed an agreement with 20th Century Fox Licensing and
Merchandising that gives Galoob exclusive worldwide rights to license
toys based on all new Fox theatrical and television properties,
excluding the Fox Children's Network, through the year 2000 and beyond.
SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND is the first property that Galoob will develop
into a toy line, including a set of action figures. <> Italy's channel
ITALIA1 has purchased SEAQUEST, MANTIS, and SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND.
The airdate for ALIEN NATION: "Millennium", the third TV-movie
spawned by the Fox series, was brought forward from February sweeps to
January 2. The first film, "Dark Horizon" surprised Fox by receiving a
6.9 rating, the highest rating for a Fox Tuesday night movie to that
point, and "Body and Soul" ranked 66 of 99 shows, had a rating of
6.7 rating/10 share. Many of the estimated 10 million viewers of "Body
and Soul" were first-time ALIEN NATION viewers, which Fox felt was a
better show to hook new viewers than "Dark Horizon" was. Gary Graham
reports that Fox has ordered three new scripts, with a firm commitment
to film two of those. "The Enemy Within", formerly called "Time Bombs",
is scheduled to commence filming in March. It deals with "a sub-group
of aliens on the planet that no one likes to talk about. 'They're an
untouchable group among the alien Newcomers,' says Johnson, 'the lowest
of the low, so it becomes a very scary thing. They live in the sewers
of LA and it's a whole different kind of alien society that has been
developing from their people.' <> The other committed episode "The
Udara Legacy", which Johnson hints is about 'control'. It's hard to
talk about this one without giving it away, but it's about people who
were programmed internally to accomplish a lot of things of great merit
to help set the Newcomers free when they were slaves, and now the same
people are being used to commit some really scary crimes." Though he
prefers the one-hour format, Johnson is satisfied making 2-hour movies
for Fox. "Since they're doing 20 movies a year, by commissioning two
of them from us, they've already taken care of ten percent of their
schedule with something they *know* is going to deliver for them." <>
Gary Graham (Matt Sikes) guest starred as an Ocampa in a recent episode
of STAR TREK: VOYAGER, "Cold Fire". He also just finished another TV
project, a rescue drama entitled ANGEL FLIGHT DOWN. <> CBS is
resurrecting a TV-movie pilot Ken Johnson created called SHERLOCK HOLMES
RETURNS which it is considering as a TV series. NBC is planning to
produce a miniseries he wrote three years ago entitled THE DOMINANTS.
According to exec producer Robert Weiss, a date for the premiere of
SLIDERS, previously scheduled for mid-January, has still not been set.
"To the best of my knowledge the return of SLIDERS has been pushed back
until at least March. Fox has been having relative success with a lot of
its shows so there haven't been the cancellations that would open the
way for our return. The decision is entirely based on ratings. Keep
your eye on Friday nights at 8:00 PM." However, Fox has stated its
commitment to the show. Thirteen episodes are planned for the second
season, seven of which have been filmed at presstime. The Executive
Producers for the second season of SLIDERS are Tracy Torme, Jacob
Epstein and Alan Barnette. Fox is thinking of ordering twelve *more*
episodes, bringing the second season total to a full 25 episodes. There
is conflicting information about the second season. The first season
cliffhanger had added two new Sliders to the group and left Quinn
bleeding and unconscious. Ryan (Nicholas Lea) will not become a regular
member of the cast; he will only appear in the first episode, and stay
on that Earth. No word on Henry the dog. However, Fox has asked to see
the first three episodes produced, and will lead off with the strongest
one, possibly requiring extensive re-editing to resolve the cliffhanger.
Other info about 2nd season episodes from Ed Hall's Sliders FAQ:
"Time Again and World" [sic] by Jacob Epstein - The Sliders visit a
world where J. Edgar Hoover was President and San Francisco is now more
or less crime free. Reading the (now suspended) Constitution of the
United States is an offence punishable by death. "El Sid" by Jon Povill
- They visit a world where crime is so rampant that *huge* super-prisons
are created. In fact, they are transported into the middle of "San
Francisco Federal Prison". "Into the Mystic" by Tracy Torme - The
Sliders visit a world where medicine is considered witchcraft, witches
are celebrated, and nothing is as it seems. A sorcerer will help the
Sliders return to Earth Prime...maybe. By all accounts, a very strange
episode and perfect for Halloween; originally this was going to be the
lead off episode for the second season, but it was decided that this was
just too weird an episode to open with. When "Into the Mystic" was
changed from episode one to three, it underwent a revision by Tracy
Torme, which likely involved moving the resolution of the cliffhanger
and the Ryan thread from "Into the Mystic" to "Time Again and World."
Other episodes include "Love Gods" by Tony Black and Paul Jackson, "The
Good, the Bad, an the Wealthy" (formerly called "Business as Usual" and
"A Fist Full of Stock Options") by Scott Miller, "As Times Go By",
"Beauty World" by Jeannine Renshaw, "Obsession", "A World Beyond", and
"Gangster World" by Sean Clark. Back in July, when asked whether we
would see what has been happening back on Earth Prime, executive
producer Robert Weiss revealed, "Not only is the government paying the
electric bill, they are vigorously investigating the whole affair." <>
To coincide with the second season premiere, Acclaim/Armada Comics will
publish two issues of a SLIDERS comic using characters and concepts from
the series. <> SLIDERS won an Environmental Media Award (see X-Files
News for details).
STRANGE LUCK has held steady in the ratings after actually gaining
two points over the pilot. Fox has ordered an additional 4 episodes and
seven scripts beyond the 13 episodes initially filmed. However, the
show is still considered marginal, and fans are urged to write in
support of the show to: John Matoian, President, Fox Entertainment
Group, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035. <> KINDRED: THE
EMBRACED, the hour-long Fox drama produced by Aaron Spelling (MELROSE
PLACE), is still scheduled as a midseason replacement. A San Francisco
cop (C. Thomas Howell) tries to chase down a supposed Mob boss (Mark
Frankel), not knowing that the guy is really the head of the Kindred -
several clans of vampires who are vying for power over the city. <>
Trying to emulate X-FILES' success, UPN has ordered a two-hour pilot,
THEM, written by X-FILES' former supervising producer Charlie Craig.
THEM (not to be confused with the 1954 film classic THEM! or Hertzog's
nickname of UPN execs as "Them") features a scientist who discovers a
race of aliens out to steal human DNA.
CBS appeared to be sending conflicting signals when it first renewed
AMERICAN GOTHIC for 9 episodes to total 22, then the next week put the
show on hiatus for an indefinite period. However, execs later announced
that it would return January 3 in a Wednesday 10 PM slot. Word is that
CBS has made no changes to the series, but told the producers that "it
wouldn't hurt" to make it scarier and bring in more "equals" to Trinity
to bring the best of Lucas Buck out. With this, the opening titles have
been re-edited and scored with more shocking scenes. <> Producer Shaun
Cassidy says that there are new characters that will be introduced later
in the season. He also said, "Merlyn, the dead sister of Caleb, returns
to life. Plague hits the town of Trinity. One of our main characters
is going to die. And there will be a two-part episode where we learn
about Lucas's father and how his death profoundly affected Lucas and
ultimately Caleb." Brenda Bakke (Merlyn) confirmed the character who
will die is male, but people don't necessarily stay dead in Trinity...
Cassidy told USA Today that the 2-parter will answer the question of how
Trinity "got so weird". "I didn't want to tell all at the beginning,"
he said. <> CBS' strategy of slotting AMERICAN GOTHIC at Friday 10 PM
after THE X-FILES did pay off; the show picked up at least two ratings
points over its lead-in, PICKET FENCES, and at 9.4 rating/17 share, the
pilot episode topped every PICKET FENCES rating since February 3.
However, PICKET FENCES has alienated viewers this season by changing the
show from cutting edge drama dealing with meaty issues and court drama
to a more "soap" feel, dwelling on the personal (and sex) lives of the
characters. This was after producer David E. Kelley left the show to
pursue other projects. <> A VERY BRADY SEQUEL is said to start filming
in January (during a hiatus in filming GOTHIC) with Gary Cole reprising
his role as Mike Brady. <> Britain's Channel 4 has bought AMERICAN
GOTHIC for airing this spring.
Some information on upcoming episodes of HIGHLANDER: "Timeless" -
World famous pianist Claudia Jardine has a secret that even she doesn't
know - she's destined to become Immortal. Immortal impresario Walter
Graham, who has guided the careers of mortal greats like Shakespeare,
sees his chance to shepherd Claudia's genius forever and kills her,
triggering her latent immortality, against MacLeod's better judgment.
Meanwhile, Methos has fallen for Alexa, a waitress at Joe's who has a
secret of her own. "The Blitz" - An accident traps a very pregnant Anne
Lindsey in a collapsed subway station. MacLeod searches for her,
desperate to avoid repeating a World War II tragedy. "Something Wicked"
- Jim Coltec is a Hayoka, an Indian holy man who helped MacLeod long
ago. Now something has changed him and MacLeod faces a new kind of
battle. "Leap of Faith" - MacLeod returns to France a changed man,
forced to battle his greatest enemy ever. "Promises" - Long ago,
MacLeod promised Kassim a favor. Now Kassim has claimed it; he demands
that MacLeod commit murder for him.
Other bits of information: Amanda tries to kill Methos. Xavier and
Fitz will be back. There will be a story shot entirely in flashback.
MacLeod's barge is back (for some episodes anyway). The penthouse they
had planned on using in Paris was too close to a middle eastern embassy,
which objected to the use of a lot of gunfire and explosions, which made
them too nervous. This penthouse overlooked a beautiful area of Paris
including the Eiffel tower. In one episode, Duncan goes bad, the fire
burns black, and he wears a black tee shirt, there will be no question
its happened. When the watchers find out about Joe, again, there will
be no questions. Season 5 is still not firmed up. The last two
episodes (this summer) will either setup for season 5 or bring closure
to the series. Dreamwatch reports that the producers are concerned
about a 30% drop in ratings. It might be a good idea to contact your
local station by phone or letter to let them know you are watching it.
There is still a good chance that VR.5 will be revived, as a Fox 2-
hour movie, report representatives of VR Storm, the on-line fan group.
After the cancellation of the series was announced last summer, fans
showed their support of the show with letters, E-mail, and a petition to
Fox, to no avail. During the summer, a source working for a Fox
affiliate reported that the production company, Rysher Entertainment,
was putting together a syndication deal financed from foreign sources,
specifically Canada. Merchandising of VR.5 products was held up while
negotiations with Rysher were ongoing. However, this deal fell through.
Many of the producers, actors, and crew of VR.5 moved on to other
projects, but many expressed their interest in returning if the show
continues. Then, in early October, a rumor appeared on the computer
nets that Fox had plans for a VR.5 movie. The story later proved to be
false, but meanwhile a petition signed by 175 fans (as of Oct. 15)
organized on the computer nets to produce a TV-movie with the original
cast and other fan efforts were registered by Fox, which has made
network execs take the suggestion seriously. Sources say Fox has set
aside money for the project.
VR.5 started its run in the UK on 21 October with fairly good
ratings and good response, and Fox admitted it made a mistake cancelling
the show prematurely. European backers are pushing for a 2 hour movie
and have the money in place for Rysher Entertainment to go ahead with
it. Fox greenlighted the project and creator John Sacret Young at
Samoset and a few of the other writer/producers wrote a storyline for a
2-hour TV-movie for Fox's Tuesday night slot. It was thought the
project would be rubberstamped in December, but wasn't. Apparently, Fox
VP of Programming, Bob Greenblatt, convinced John Matoian not to go
ahead with it. However, Rysher and Samoset plan to keep pushing Fox
because the $1 million or more license fee is need to make the project
profitable. After that, books and comics are likely to follow. The
story would start where the season finale left off, with Sydney Bloom
lost in VR.7 and her father found to be alive and tied into the
conspiracy. "We've been waiting for the chance, and now we get to
reveal what happens in VR.7," said former VR.5 writer Jeannine Renshaw,
now working on SLIDERS. More information as we receive it. To support
the TV-movie, write to: John Matoian, President, Fox Entertainment
Group, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035. <> Two versions of
the VR.5 pilot exist, a 90-minute version and an hourlong one (with
adverts). Some reports suggested that the longer pilot would be sold to
the UK, but the 60-minute version was shown by Sky One and the BBC.
Fans will only be able to see the 90-minute version in a possible video
release.
7 responses total.
You seem to have missed the biggest news, though. I'll post that in a seperate item.
Yet another 50-screen-in-the-item post?
I've now got several more messages like this one. You want them in a public file so all that goes in the conference is a pointer?
That would probably be better, for something this size.
OK, I got the scifi new stuff in mail, so I guess the easiest thing would be to leave them in mail. Tell your mail program to look into the mailbox /u/kaplan/sfnews and let me know if you find this stuff interesting. Also let me know if you have trouble reading it this way or if you have an idea for a better way.
I think it would be good to post them here, but give each topic it's own response. that would make it easy to skip forward an article at a time after seeing only a page of the previous one.
Personally, I don't mind at all seeing big posts like that. If I don't want to read it, I just hit 'q' at the "More" prompt.
Response not possible - You must register and login before posting.
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- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss