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Syfy Channel Continues to Veer Away from, Well, Sci-Fi Programming

by on January 10, 2012

in Entertainment, television

Syfy channel LogoThe Comcast/NBC owned network, the Syfy channel, looks like it’s going to continue veering away from its roots of classic science fiction TV and continue to take the dive into the realm of reality TV.  Or at least that’s my take on the matter.

Syfy channel was up 11% in viewers last year, making 2011 its most watched year ever.  And if they’re taking this new data and extrapolating out, then they can attribute this rise in viewers to the addition of all the reality TV programming they’ve added to the net.  (And yes, the so un-sci-fi like programming of wrestling.)

Driving home this premise of mine that they’re continuing down this reality TV programming path is the TV news that they’ve hired several key folks for alternative programming and a few key folks were added to the unscripted department.

Sigh.

Then they cement my fears with the following statement:

“On the heels of Syfy’s most watched year in history, we will be launching a record number of unscripted series in 2012.”

Saying that they will be focused on the continued growth of the Syfy brand.   Syfy Brand.

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News Bites: Doctor Who Christmas Special, The Munsters, Kevin Smith…

by on November 29, 2011

in Entertainment, television

Brusimm Cinema Static TV News

This chunk of news bites include TV news about the Doctor Who Christmas Special, a reboot of a classic, The Munsters; and an incidental piece about Kevin Smith’s Red State.

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First up…

Doctor Who Christmas Special Preview

Matt Smith in 'Doctor Who' season 6

For the Doctor Who fan, if you were wondering about the Christmas special coming up, we have a little bit of news for you…

The Doctor Who special is called “The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe” and will air on Christmas Day at 9 p.m. on BBC America.

It takes place in World War II here on Earth and it follows one Madge Arwell and her two kids.  During the war they are evacuated to an old house located in Dorset.  The curious bit abou tthis old house is its caretaker…  a mysterious young man who wears a bow tie.  With this strange young man is a big blue parcel is waiting for them under the tree. They are about to enter a magical new world and learn that the Time Lord (Matt Smith) never forgets his debts.”

But wait, that’s not all of it.  BBC America isn’t just having a sole Doctor Who Christmas special.

Beginning on December 23rd, BBC America will start their Doctor Who telecasts by showing past Christmas specials.  On Christmas Eve, they’ll air the special, Doctor Who: Best of The Christmas Specials.

Doctor Who: Best of The Christmas Specials will be an inside look at past specials, with fans of all kinds chiming in and discussing their favorite moments.

It should be pretty cool!

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Thanksgiving 2011 TV Marathons

by on November 22, 2011

in Entertainment, television

Brusimm Cinema Static TV NewsThis upcoming 2011 Thanksgiving holiday weekend, we have a few things going on around the house, much like I suspect you do.  If you’re going to be taking it easy and just hanging out around your home, whether it’s quietly stashed away, or with loved ones, your TV is going to be staring at you… calling your name, saying ‘watch me,’ I have all kinds of TV series marathons or movie marathons going on.

I see The Walking Dead, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Battlestar Galactica, NCIS, & a Firefly* marathon…  (*If you get Science Channel)

So if you pick up that remote and fire it off at your TV, here are a few things coming up for the Thanksgiving weekend… a TV marathon or two, so to speak.

And folks…  to anyone coming by, whether you’re popping in once or a repeat offender (visitor) checking out this post, I want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who comes by and visits my tiny little corner of the web.

Happy Thanksgiving and bless all of you and yours…

Now, back to my regularly scheduled snark and stuff…

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Russell Tovey To Leave BBC’s Being Human

by on November 13, 2011

in Entertainment, television

Being Human on BBC America

Yep, you read right.  I caught a piece over on Blastr reporting that Russell Tovey has announced that he’s exiting the BBC version of Being Human.  That’s the original Being Human that Syfy’s version is based on.

Tovey said he’s finished with the show and made note that part of his decision was based on the fact that Aidan Turner had exited the show.

SPOILER:

Click to Show Spoiler »

In the BBC version, Mitchell (the vampire) was dusted by George, the werewolf.  (At Mitchell’s request.)

I called the above bit a spoiler because the Syfy version, so far, has mirrored the BBC’s version rather closely.

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‘Comic Con:’ A Look at Ballroom 20 and Hall H Schedules [Favreau, del Toro]

by on July 11, 2011

in Entertainment, movies, television

"Comic Con" News

The upcoming 2011 San Diego Comic Con, which takes place starting July 20th and running through July 24th is a bit of a game changer this year.  For one, a few movie studios said they weren’t’ showing up this year.  I want to emphasize that they “said” they  weren’t.  I keep hearing rumors to the contrary but I’m not saying anything until I see the actual news or press releases concerning surprise appearances!  To some extent, I get it though.  Studios can dump a huge amount of money into marketing the Comic Con event and then the movies crash and burn, comparatively speaking.

Or maybe the wrong movies were viral marketed.  Who knows.  But for now, what the absence of some studios means is that Hall H is now open for other venues of entertainment, such as television productions.  Now TV studios can get a hand-hold on that huge 5,000 seat auditorium and pack in the TV crowd, or, maybe there might be just a little bit more room to sit than Ballroom 20 used to afford.

With that said, looking over the 4-day schedule of Comic Con‘s two most infamous rooms, I see some sneak peek pilot airings, I see popular TV series, some movies from Sony, 20th Century Fox, DC Entertainment, Paramount Entertainment, Relativity Media and much more.

Director/Execituve Producer Jon Favreau arrives at the world wide premiere of "Iron Man 2" Premiere held at the El Capitan Theatre

Director/Execituve Producer Jon Favreau arrives at the world wide premiere of "Iron Man 2" Premiere held at the El Capitan Theatre

 

For personalities, there are a few scheduled for the big rooms:  Jon Favreau, Guillermo del Toro, Francis Ford Coppola, Dan Deacon and the ever verbally colorful Kevin Smith!  I would always recommend catching Jon Favreau when he speaks.  I have never walked away from any event with him in it and not learned some incredible inside perspective on the industry when he talks.  He’s like ‘the people’s director’ and fills us in!  He talks to the crowds and entertains.  It’s great and I look forward to catching what he has to say!

And most panel Q&A’s will have major talent attending.

So check out the Comic Con sched below for these two huge rooms and tell me what you think you’d like to catch!  Me, I need to clone myself because I have no ‘Agents of Cinema Static‘ (that are going) and there are good things in both rooms on all days.  Also for more details, see the site itself for more, much, much more on details.

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‘Comic Con’ Schedule for Sunday [Nathan Fillion, 'Supernatural,' 'Doctor Who']

by on July 10, 2011

in Entertainment

"Comic Con" News logo

The last schedule released by Comic Con for the 2011 San Diego Comic Con came out, focusing on Sunday, July 24th.

Looking over the schedule, there’s a Browncoats panel, a focus panel with Nathan Fillion, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Sons of Anarchy, and Merlin are on the schedule for Sunday, the 24th of July.

But what I’m wondering about is Ballroom 20?  What’s up with that?

Below, I break down Hall H and then other selected events that are taking place on Sunday at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con event.  These events are picked from the entire schedule that was put out.  There will probably be changes and such so you need to head on over to the website to see all the details or updates!

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Ballroom 20

Ballroom 20 is oddly not on the schedule for Sunday.  I find it interesting, considering there are some big-name projects not on the schedule and Ballroom 20 is absent from Sunday.  Hmm

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Hall H

  • 10:00-11:00 Glee
  • 11:15-12:15 Supernatural Screening and Q&A
  • 12:30-1:30 BBC America’s Doctor Who
  • 1:45-2:45 The Cleveland Show
  • 2:45-3:30 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
  • 3:30-4:00 Sons of Anarchy
  • 4:00-5:00 Buffy the Musical

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‘Comic Con’ Friday (7/22) Schedule Released ['Amazing Spider-Man,' 'Fright Night']

by on July 8, 2011

in Entertainment, movies, television

"Comic Con" News logo

Comic Con released their 2011 schedule for Friday, July 22.  If you’re headed to the event, you can also hit up the Comic Con website for all the information you could use.

Below I’ve added the “cliff Notes”-like version of some of the more popular events taking place at the 2011 Comic Con event taking place in San Diego this year.  Friday is definitely looking up and you can see at a glance, what’s taking place in Hall H and Ballroom 20, with select other events noted later.

Movies showing up on Friday include The Adventures of Tin-Tin, Raven, Haywire, Underworld 4, Fright Night, Ghost Rider – Spirit of Vengeance, Total Recall, The Amazing Spider-Man, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Pacific Rim, and a few more.

TV Shows being represented in panels and previews include Torchwood: Miracle Day, The Walking Dead, The Big Bang Theory, Bones, Eureka, Warehouse 13, True Blood, Thundercats, Locke & Key, The Nine Lives of Chloe King, The River, Falling Skies (which got renewed for a 2nd season recently), Spartacus: Vengeance, and Alphas.

And stay focuse RiffTrax fans…  there will be a 1 hour RiffTrax Live of a short film!  They’re still at the top of their game, so don’t miss out!

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This is not the complete listing, just what I thought my readers are interested in and the list is broken up into 2 sections!  The big rooms first, and then a slightly more comprehensive but not complete listing of events for Friday.  (You might notice that Legendary Pictures will not be in either huge room.  They’re in the second listing section.)

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Ballroom 20 Listings for July 22nd (Good Luck Picking!!!):

  • 10:00-11:00 Torchwood: Miracle Day — Ballroom 20
  • 11:15-12:15 AMC’s The Walking Dead – Ballroom 20
  • 12:30-1:30 The Big Bang Theory Screening and Q&A – Ballroom 20
  • 1:45-2:45 Bones — Ballroom 20
  • 3:00-4:00 Eureka — Ballroom 20
  • 4:15-5:15 Warehouse 13 — Ballroom 20
  • 5:30-6:30 True Blood Panel and Q&A session — Ballroom 20
  • 8:00-10:00 World Premiere: Batman: Year One — Warner Home Video, Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. – Ballroom 20
  • 10:15-12:00 Encore Screening: Batman: Year One — Ballroom 20

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Hall H, for July 22:

  • 11:00-12:00 Paramount: The Adventures of Tin-Tin
  • 12:15-1:15 Relativity Media:
  • Raven
  • Haywire
  • 1:30-2:30 Screen Gems: Underworld 4
  • 2:45-3:45 DreamWorks: Fright Night
  • 4:00-5:30 Sony—
    • Ghost Rider-Spirit of Vengeance
    • 30 Minutes or Less
    • Total Recall
    • The Amazing Spider-Man
  • 6:00-7:00 At the Drive-In— offbeat genre films; Grave Encounters; Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

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    ‘Fringe’ Finale & ‘Doctor Who’ Episode Observations and Reviews

    by on May 8, 2011

    in Entertainment, television

    Cinema Static Mini recaps and opinions on the Fringe season finale and the last episode of Doctor Who!

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    Fringe Season Finale

    In the season Finale of Fringe from 20th Century Fox Television, titled “The Day We Died,” I was a bit disappointed in the story. There was so much build up in the previous few episodes that when Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) disappeared from the machine and showed up ten years in the future, that there was a lot that could have taken place.

    Now being ten years out in the future, the Fringe showrunners decided to explore the characters in that time frame. Sure, it was nice to see where everyone ended up, but I felt like the actual story, the events we needed to see, didn’t really develop that much beyond what we saw in the previous episodes.

    Granted, it was a whopper of a season finale to

    Click to Show Spoiler »

    watch Peter “tune” out, as if he had never existed

    . That was big. But I felt like very little was moved forward in the story.

    On the flip side, seeing John Noble’s character portrayal of the wild-eyed Dr. Walter Bishop, and the lean, focused Walter (Walternate) Bishop is truly a treat to behold. And yes, I did like seeing where eveyone ended up… but I was looking for more story than there really was.

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    ‘Doctor Who’ Recap & Review of “Day of the Moon”

    by on May 1, 2011

    in Entertainment, television, tv review

    DOCTOR WHO season 6

    You have to love how they start these Doctor Who episodes on BBC America. After last week’s episode of Doctor Who, I wasn’t sure if any other episode will start as confounding or as exciting as that one. Man, was I wrong.

    This new episode of Doctor Who, titled “Day of the Moon” started out rather powerfully, moved quickly through a few events that were all incredibly key to the entire story and in the end, ‘The Doctor’ does what he does best, and that’s maneuver our newest and most frightening enemy into such a situation that he ends up kicking their asses in a grand and smart fashion.

    Kudos Steven Moffat, kudos and thank you!

    The following, after the break will present SPOILERS for those of you who have DVR’d the BBC America episode

    DOCTOR WHO SERIES 11.2, Karen Gillan plays Amy Pond

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    Matt Smith on ‘The Graham Norton Show’

    by on April 27, 2011

    in Entertainment, television

    Matt Smith on The Graham Norton ShowThe other night I was watching the replay of the Doctor Who episode, “The Impossible Astronaut” on BBC America (BBCA).  After the episode, there was a 15-minute bit from The Graham Norton Show.  I almost changed channels when I noticed it was a clip from the show.  He already had other guests sitting on the couch and out came Matt Smith.  This episode had aired sometime back in December, but this is the first time I saw it.

    In the fifteen minute clip, they touched on that when Matt Smith landed the role, he couldn’t tell anyone for three months.  They touched on when Smith went for the audition, he had never seen an episode of Doctor Who.

    Norton then pulled out a special briefcase and opening it, presented prototype figures of Matt Smith as The Doctor and his companion, Amy Pond.  Both pieces were incredibly well detailed and good looking.

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