Felecia Day Cast in Red

Mark your calendars for 2011 fellow nerds. The Guild‘s Felecia Day has been cast as an updated Red Riding Hood in SyFy’s upcoming movie Red. She’ll be a werewolf hunting badass and I can’t wait.

Full story at io9.com

2009 Fall Preview – Friday

courtesy FOX Network

Friday

ABC – Ugly Betty returns on October 9th, but it certainly doesn’t look like ABC has much faith in it. The show got much better toward the end of last season, but it can’t be a good thing that the network put the show on hiatus when it should have been building toward its finale, then banished it to Friday night ratings hell for the new season. It’s almost like they’re looking for a reason to cancel it.

Ziggy Says There’s a 99% Chance a Quantum Leap Reboot Would Suck

Both io9 and TVSquad have reported about the possibility of a SyFy reboot of classic series Quantum Leap. For a moment, I was really excited about the idea, but once I finished reading the headlines I quickly came back down to Earth.

When I was 9 years old, I was taking my second year of piano lessons, and I made my mother race home each week because I didn’t want to miss a second of my favorite new show, Quantum Leap. As a young geek, the idea of time travel immediately captivated my imagination, perhaps in part because I wasn’t old enough to consider the paradoxical implications of the show’s plot (and plot holes).

My memories of the show’s five seasons aren’t crystal clear, but I distinctly remember the satisfaction and relief that came each week when Sam got things right and made his next leap. I also remember the laughter that immediately followed when that leap put him in another crazy situation. As I look back at the series, I realize that I enjoyed it so much because I didn’t take it too seriously.

Sam & Al’s adventures took place in a world before the Internet and the hyper-critical fanboys that came with it. Donald Bellisario was hot off the eight season run of Magnum, P.I. when he created Quantum Leap in 1989. Despite his previous experience in sci-fi with the original Battlestar Galactica, Bellisario never bothered to give much of an explanation of the science behind Sam Beckett’s journey. If SyFy is going to reboot the show, it would definitely need a stronger base in science if they don’t want it to be immediately eviscerated on the message boards. Unfortunately, I think that would take away a lot of the show’s charm. Come to think of it, maybe Quantum Leap was really more fantasy than sci-fi.

Bellisario created a unique show that was consistently entertaining through its full 96 episode run, but television has changed in the 20 years since Quantum Leap premiered. I’m not saying it would be impossible for a reboot to be great, but not every series can be fortunate enough to get a reincarnation as good as BSG. I certainly wouldn’t want to be the person who leaps in to take the Executive Producer role for this project. Oh boy, indeed.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan – Coming This Fall

You didn’t really think SciFi (or SyFy if you insist) was going to just stop cashing in on BSG did you? It looks like we completists will get our wishes granted this fall when they reveal The Plan, a tv movie that’s going to show us just what the Cylons were thinking before they blew up humanity. Obviously this is just a 82 second trailer, but it was enough to get me excited. I challenge you to listen to that gravelly Edward James Olmos voice-over and not get excited yourself.

Summer TV Preview Part 4: Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Here is part 4 of my Summer TV Preview.  Most of this is focused on Thursday, and I also included Friday and Saturday as well since there isn’t much going on.

 

Thursday

 

NBC – I have zero interest in The Peacock’s sad attempt at reality tv, but I strongly recommend catching up on the repeats of The Office and 30 Rock if you didn’t catch them during the season. There is also one new show I’m going to check out–The Listener is about an EMT who can hear people’s thoughts. The show originally aired in Canada, and stars newcomer Craig Olejnik as main character Toby Logan. It reminds me of several other shows I have enjoyed in the last couple years, with one man using his unique knowledge to try to save people or prevent wrongdoing. Think Eli Stone or Journeyman.

 

Comedy Central – Tosh.0 is a new show featuring comedian Daniel Tosh that takes the internet to task with segments on viral videos, tweeting, blogging, vlogging, poking, and everything else we spend so much time doing. Based on the clips, the show looks like what would happen if The Daily Show got The Soup pregnant. Tosh.0 premieres on June 4th at 10/9c.

 

Lifetime – You’ll have to wait until August 20th, but Project Runway has finally emerged from pissing contest between Bravo & Lifetime. This sixth season will air at 10/9c, and both Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn will be back. No one has to point out to me that I’m hooked on the new flagship show for the “#1 Network for Women”. I enjoy watching these eager young designers create each week, while simultaneously proving I know absolutely nothing about fashion.

 

Showtime – Penn & Teller are back with more Bullshit! on June 25th at 10/9c. As for this season’s topics, I’ve only seen the topic for the first episode–Orgasms. I think it’s safe to say P&T won’t have any trouble working some of their trademark gratuitous nudity into the premiere episode.

 

USA – I haven’t watched it, but I keep hearing about how good Burn Notice is. I don’t think I’ll take the time to catch up, but I am planning to check out the third season premiere on June 4th at 9/8c. On new series front, Royal Pains stars Mark Feuerstein (The West Wing, What Women Want) as shunned New York doctor Hank Lawson and Paulo Costanzo (Road Trip) as his younger brother Evan who convinces him to take a weekend in The Hamptons after Hank gets fired. I find Costanzo hilarious, so I’m looking forward to this one.

 

Fridays

 

SyFy – Eureka returns for a third season on July 10th at 9/8c. I’ve never watched the show, but I know my fellow geeks enjoy it.

 

USA – Your Tony Shaloub and Dule Hill withdrawal will be gone on August 8th as new seasons of the popular Monk and Psych premiere at 9/8c and 10/9c respectively. Cherish the 16 episodes of Monk, because they are the last ones you’re going to get.

 

Saturday

 

ABC – The alphabet network runs out the clock on Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money in the 10/9c timeslot starting May 30th. Don’t look for any of these shows to be tied up with a pretty bow though since these episodes were all in the can before the shows were cancelled. Good news for Daisies fans though, as an upcoming comic book mini-series will give us some closure.

 

Look for the final part of my summer preview to be posted later today.