Upcoming Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series and Pilots, you need to know about!
The reimergance of Sci-Fi/Fantasy programming has been a blessing.
Sci-Fi
The SCI-FI Channel has had it's SCI FI Channel had its second-strongest fourth quarter ever among adults 18 to 49. SCI FI ranked a strong number six in cable prime time for the last quarter of 2006 among adults 25 to 54, edging out the Discovery Channel.
Dresden Files - An adaption of Jim Butcher novels, 12-episode season. ased on Jim Butcher's best-selling novels, The Dresden Files tells the story of Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne), a regular-guy private detective with extraordinary abilities. While most people see assaults, kidnappings or murders as the work of people with a depraved indifference for human pain, Harry is as likely as not to see the work of supernatural villains. That's because he's a wizard. The real thing (and the only one listed in the Chicago phone directory). Whether consulting for the police on seemingly inexplicable crimes or following his own cases, he battles dark forces with a wry sense of humor.
Tin Man - Six-hour original miniseries, which is a SF fantasy reimaging of The Wizard of OZ. SCI FI described Tin Man as "a sometimes psychedelic, often twisted and always outrageous take" on L. Frank Baum's classic fantasy tale. In it, a young woman is plucked from her humdrum life and thrust into the Outer Zone, or 0.Z., a fantastical realm filled with wonder and oppressed by dark magic. Her perilous journey begins on the fabled Old Road that leads to a wizard known as the Mystic Man. Along the way, she is joined by Glitch, (Alan Cummings) an odd man missing half his brain; Raw, a quiet and powerful wolverine-like creature longing for inner courage; and Cain, a heroic former police officer (known in the O.Z. as a tin man) seeking vengeance for his scarred heart.
Painkiller Jane - Based on the comic book created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada, Painkiller Jane is the story of Jane Vasko (Løken), a DEA agent who is recruited by a covert government organization tasked with capturing "Neuros" — genetically enhanced individuals who possess superhuman powers of the mind. During the course of her first investigation with the team, Jane inexplicably discovers that she, too, possesses extraordinary abilities, which render her impervious to injury … but not pain. She develops miraculous regenerative powers, heals from every injury and finds herself stronger than she had been before. As she continues to work with the government to hunt Neuros, Jane tries to uncover the cause of her own transformation and what, if any, connection she shares with the very people she is pursuing.
Nine Lives - A 12-hour supernatural miniseries from executive producer Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Les Bohem, the team behind SCI FI's Emmy-winning 2003 miniseries Taken. Bohem, who wrote the entire 20 hours of Taken, will write all of Nine Lives, which focuses on several characters who discover a way to reunite with dead loved ones in the afterlife through near-death experiences. Each journey to the other side brings an unknown evil closer, SCI FI said.
Destination Truth - a one-hour world-traveling reality series in which viewers follow one man's search for the truth behind unexplained phenomena. He will visit a different destination each week, investigating notorious, supernatural and mysterious local stories, such as the fire worm of Mongolia and the Chilean Chupacabra. Gates will seek evidence that will either prove or debunk the stories.
The Bridge,The Bridge is a dramedy in the vein of Defending Your Life and Wings of Desire in which a group of cynical, flawed souls are trapped in purgatory and must affect positive changes on the living in order to earn their way out.
The Butterfly Effect - This pilot is based on the SF movie The Butterfly Effect, centering on a man who discovers he has the ability to go back in time and affect the future.
Witch School - Harry Potter has nothing on this real-life Witch School! While resembling your typical classroom experience note passing, over-achievers, students who forget their homework, field trips and the dreaded pop-quiz some elements of this education are less traditional. Perhaps last night's homework involved communicating with a deceased relative, a field trip could involve spending the night in a "haunted" forest and that pop-quiz might involve a literal plague of frogs.
Warehouse 13, After bungling a government case, a federal forensic accountant and an assistant U.S. attorney are banished to Warehouse 13, a storage facility in nowhere North Dakota, where they must spend their days cataloguing thousands of artifacts, relics and other odd detritus collected by our government over the centuries. They quickly discover that each strange item has a story...and often the stories involve the supernatural, the extra-terrestrial, the fantastic and/or the downright bizarre.
Diamond Age - Based on Neal Stephenson's best-selling novel "The Diamond Age: Or a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer," this six-hour miniseries is executive produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov of Smokehouse Productions. A prominent member of a conservative futuristic society grows concerned that the culture stifles creativity, and commissions a controversial interactive book for his daughter, which serves as her guide through a surreal alternate world. When the primer's provocative technology, which adapts to the reader's responses, falls into the hands of a young innocent, the girl's life is accidentally reprogrammed with dangerous results. Neal Stephenson will adapt his own novel for this project, the first time the Hugo and Nebula winning author has written for the small screen.
Avery House - When her husband is offered a job as Dean of a small college, Lee Avery and her family relocate to the quaint New England town of Brighton. Lovely and bucolic as a Norman Rockwell painting, the Avery's new home seems picture perfect. But before long, Lee discovers that their house may not be as vacant as they had believed. In alternatively enlightening, humorous and often frightening fashion, both guests and family members are confronted by their innermost thoughts, fears and desires, which miraculously come to life in Avery House. But unbeknownst to Lee, the rejuvenation of the old house has sent shockwaves through the town, re-opening old wounds, unearthing long-buried secrets and slowly unraveling the very fabric of the seemingly idyllic hamlet.
Untitled Darren Star/ Mike Werb Project - In a world where techno-crime is a greater threat than terrorism, four unlikely convicts are given new identities - and technologically enhanced bodies. Now working for a covert wing of the U.S. Government, their mission is to take on the FBI's other Top Ten list - emerging threats from science run amok.
Revolution - Alone in an outpost in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, the heroic pioneers of a U.S. space colony find themselves under siege, victims of ever mounting hostilities from their own homeland, Earth. Without being able to clearly distinguish friend from foe, these extraordinary citizens face daring challenges and must rely on their values of service and community to persevere.
Middletown - A unique small town in Middle America, filled with eccentric characters, becomes the last battlefield for planet Earth in this sly action adventure. When a nefarious if humorless race of aliens decide to make Middletown their Ellis Island, a group of homespun, unexpected heroes-in-the-making must band together to stop them.
Johnny Midnight - When an aimless, shiftless and uninspired slacker discovers he possesses unique powers, which can keep the world safe from malevolent forces, our reluctant hero must make a hard choice to embrace or abandon his remarkable craft. Guess which way he's leaning?
Starcrossed - In the tradition of "The Larry Sanders Show," "Starcrossed," a high touch, high-tech comedy, obliterates the fourth wall with its behind-the-scenes antics. Throwing in a bitter dose of Galaxy Quest cynicism for good measure, David Hewlett ("Stargate Atlantis") will draw on his own experiences to pen this quirky half-hour about life behind the camera at a long-running sci-fi space soap.
NBC
Pen and the Sword - "Pen" reportedly revolves around a young man at a temp agency who comes to realize the building he works in is a portal to a sort of medieval alternate reality. Said project would then follow the man as he slides between worlds, trying to unravel the connection between the two (verbal spats between colleagues in one dimension are sword fights in the other) as well as how his late father relates to the office.
ABC
Pushing Dasies - Normally I'd say, blah again, but this one-hour pilot from Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Heroes (now those titles get me Giddy) creator Bryan Fuller and Oscar-winning producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks. (Wowsa!) It is described as an unconventional detective show/romance/fairy tail centered on a guy who can touch the dead and bring them back to life, but then has to deal with the consequences. I'm pretty sure there was a book that used this same idea. Now what was it called? Oh, right, the New Testament. Damn, if only Jesus stuck around for the TV age he could be rolling in dough right now. I mean that literally: he would have so much money he could buy lots of cookie dough and roll around in it. You may think that's sacrilegious, but my God is a party animal. (Also as a side note, Fuller and Jinks/Cohen are also developing Alice, an interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. I'll need to get more info on this.
FOX
The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The show will revolve around the life of Sarah Conner and John Connor, during the time between T2 and T3.
New Amsterdam - The series will center around a man cursed with immortality who works as a homicide detective in New York.
Sci-Fi
The SCI-FI Channel has had it's SCI FI Channel had its second-strongest fourth quarter ever among adults 18 to 49. SCI FI ranked a strong number six in cable prime time for the last quarter of 2006 among adults 25 to 54, edging out the Discovery Channel.
Dresden Files - An adaption of Jim Butcher novels, 12-episode season. ased on Jim Butcher's best-selling novels, The Dresden Files tells the story of Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne), a regular-guy private detective with extraordinary abilities. While most people see assaults, kidnappings or murders as the work of people with a depraved indifference for human pain, Harry is as likely as not to see the work of supernatural villains. That's because he's a wizard. The real thing (and the only one listed in the Chicago phone directory). Whether consulting for the police on seemingly inexplicable crimes or following his own cases, he battles dark forces with a wry sense of humor.
Tin Man - Six-hour original miniseries, which is a SF fantasy reimaging of The Wizard of OZ. SCI FI described Tin Man as "a sometimes psychedelic, often twisted and always outrageous take" on L. Frank Baum's classic fantasy tale. In it, a young woman is plucked from her humdrum life and thrust into the Outer Zone, or 0.Z., a fantastical realm filled with wonder and oppressed by dark magic. Her perilous journey begins on the fabled Old Road that leads to a wizard known as the Mystic Man. Along the way, she is joined by Glitch, (Alan Cummings) an odd man missing half his brain; Raw, a quiet and powerful wolverine-like creature longing for inner courage; and Cain, a heroic former police officer (known in the O.Z. as a tin man) seeking vengeance for his scarred heart.
Painkiller Jane - Based on the comic book created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada, Painkiller Jane is the story of Jane Vasko (Løken), a DEA agent who is recruited by a covert government organization tasked with capturing "Neuros" — genetically enhanced individuals who possess superhuman powers of the mind. During the course of her first investigation with the team, Jane inexplicably discovers that she, too, possesses extraordinary abilities, which render her impervious to injury … but not pain. She develops miraculous regenerative powers, heals from every injury and finds herself stronger than she had been before. As she continues to work with the government to hunt Neuros, Jane tries to uncover the cause of her own transformation and what, if any, connection she shares with the very people she is pursuing.
Nine Lives - A 12-hour supernatural miniseries from executive producer Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Les Bohem, the team behind SCI FI's Emmy-winning 2003 miniseries Taken. Bohem, who wrote the entire 20 hours of Taken, will write all of Nine Lives, which focuses on several characters who discover a way to reunite with dead loved ones in the afterlife through near-death experiences. Each journey to the other side brings an unknown evil closer, SCI FI said.
Destination Truth - a one-hour world-traveling reality series in which viewers follow one man's search for the truth behind unexplained phenomena. He will visit a different destination each week, investigating notorious, supernatural and mysterious local stories, such as the fire worm of Mongolia and the Chilean Chupacabra. Gates will seek evidence that will either prove or debunk the stories.
The Bridge,The Bridge is a dramedy in the vein of Defending Your Life and Wings of Desire in which a group of cynical, flawed souls are trapped in purgatory and must affect positive changes on the living in order to earn their way out.
The Butterfly Effect - This pilot is based on the SF movie The Butterfly Effect, centering on a man who discovers he has the ability to go back in time and affect the future.
Witch School - Harry Potter has nothing on this real-life Witch School! While resembling your typical classroom experience note passing, over-achievers, students who forget their homework, field trips and the dreaded pop-quiz some elements of this education are less traditional. Perhaps last night's homework involved communicating with a deceased relative, a field trip could involve spending the night in a "haunted" forest and that pop-quiz might involve a literal plague of frogs.
Warehouse 13, After bungling a government case, a federal forensic accountant and an assistant U.S. attorney are banished to Warehouse 13, a storage facility in nowhere North Dakota, where they must spend their days cataloguing thousands of artifacts, relics and other odd detritus collected by our government over the centuries. They quickly discover that each strange item has a story...and often the stories involve the supernatural, the extra-terrestrial, the fantastic and/or the downright bizarre.
Diamond Age - Based on Neal Stephenson's best-selling novel "The Diamond Age: Or a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer," this six-hour miniseries is executive produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov of Smokehouse Productions. A prominent member of a conservative futuristic society grows concerned that the culture stifles creativity, and commissions a controversial interactive book for his daughter, which serves as her guide through a surreal alternate world. When the primer's provocative technology, which adapts to the reader's responses, falls into the hands of a young innocent, the girl's life is accidentally reprogrammed with dangerous results. Neal Stephenson will adapt his own novel for this project, the first time the Hugo and Nebula winning author has written for the small screen.
Avery House - When her husband is offered a job as Dean of a small college, Lee Avery and her family relocate to the quaint New England town of Brighton. Lovely and bucolic as a Norman Rockwell painting, the Avery's new home seems picture perfect. But before long, Lee discovers that their house may not be as vacant as they had believed. In alternatively enlightening, humorous and often frightening fashion, both guests and family members are confronted by their innermost thoughts, fears and desires, which miraculously come to life in Avery House. But unbeknownst to Lee, the rejuvenation of the old house has sent shockwaves through the town, re-opening old wounds, unearthing long-buried secrets and slowly unraveling the very fabric of the seemingly idyllic hamlet.
Untitled Darren Star/ Mike Werb Project - In a world where techno-crime is a greater threat than terrorism, four unlikely convicts are given new identities - and technologically enhanced bodies. Now working for a covert wing of the U.S. Government, their mission is to take on the FBI's other Top Ten list - emerging threats from science run amok.
Revolution - Alone in an outpost in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, the heroic pioneers of a U.S. space colony find themselves under siege, victims of ever mounting hostilities from their own homeland, Earth. Without being able to clearly distinguish friend from foe, these extraordinary citizens face daring challenges and must rely on their values of service and community to persevere.
Middletown - A unique small town in Middle America, filled with eccentric characters, becomes the last battlefield for planet Earth in this sly action adventure. When a nefarious if humorless race of aliens decide to make Middletown their Ellis Island, a group of homespun, unexpected heroes-in-the-making must band together to stop them.
Johnny Midnight - When an aimless, shiftless and uninspired slacker discovers he possesses unique powers, which can keep the world safe from malevolent forces, our reluctant hero must make a hard choice to embrace or abandon his remarkable craft. Guess which way he's leaning?
Starcrossed - In the tradition of "The Larry Sanders Show," "Starcrossed," a high touch, high-tech comedy, obliterates the fourth wall with its behind-the-scenes antics. Throwing in a bitter dose of Galaxy Quest cynicism for good measure, David Hewlett ("Stargate Atlantis") will draw on his own experiences to pen this quirky half-hour about life behind the camera at a long-running sci-fi space soap.
NBC
Pen and the Sword - "Pen" reportedly revolves around a young man at a temp agency who comes to realize the building he works in is a portal to a sort of medieval alternate reality. Said project would then follow the man as he slides between worlds, trying to unravel the connection between the two (verbal spats between colleagues in one dimension are sword fights in the other) as well as how his late father relates to the office.
ABC
Pushing Dasies - Normally I'd say, blah again, but this one-hour pilot from Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Heroes (now those titles get me Giddy) creator Bryan Fuller and Oscar-winning producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks. (Wowsa!) It is described as an unconventional detective show/romance/fairy tail centered on a guy who can touch the dead and bring them back to life, but then has to deal with the consequences. I'm pretty sure there was a book that used this same idea. Now what was it called? Oh, right, the New Testament. Damn, if only Jesus stuck around for the TV age he could be rolling in dough right now. I mean that literally: he would have so much money he could buy lots of cookie dough and roll around in it. You may think that's sacrilegious, but my God is a party animal. (Also as a side note, Fuller and Jinks/Cohen are also developing Alice, an interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. I'll need to get more info on this.
FOX
The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The show will revolve around the life of Sarah Conner and John Connor, during the time between T2 and T3.
New Amsterdam - The series will center around a man cursed with immortality who works as a homicide detective in New York.
Labels: ButterflyEffect, DresdenFiles, NineLives, PainkillerJane, PushingDasies, SarahConnorChronicles, TinMan, TV, Warehouse13
