New Web Series Projects for Scott and Priestly

With more and more entertainment moving to the web, two new online series have recently been announced.

According to SCI FI Wire, Blade Runner director Ridley Scott is working on a web video series called Purefold. The five to 10 minute shorts will be set in a Blade Runner-themed future, with the stories happening prior to the events of that seminal sci-fi movie. Purefold will not use Blade Runner characters, but will deal with similar themes and explore the concept of what it means to be human. Viewer input on the web series will be solicited via the social networking site FriendFeed.

Jason Priestly of 90210 fame is directing a new online series called The Lake for TheWB.com, reports Reuters via Yahoo! News. The series is a coming-of-age drama that focuses on four families who meet up each summer at a lakeside retreat. An initial order of 12 episodes, each running seven to 10 minutes, will be completed with an eye to an August premiere.

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British Sci-Fi TV Alert! Doctor Who companion revealed, Torchwood returns

- The BBC has revealed the next actress joining the Doctor during his travels on Doctor Who. Twenty-one-year-old Karen Gillan will join new Doctor Matt Smith. She's technically already appeared on Doctor Who, playing a soothsayer in the Season 4 episode "The Fires of Pompeii." The actress told the BBC: "The show is such a massive phenomenon that I can't quite believe I am going to be a part of it. Matt Smith is an incredible actor and it is going to be so much fun to act alongside him." [BBC]

- In the meantime, Who spinoff Torchwood is set to return for a third season in July, airing on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US. The season begins with a five-episode arc titled "Torchwood: Children of Earth." Watch the trailer below. [Paste Magazine] [BBC America]

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TV Cancellation News: The Sarah Connor Chronicles gets terminated

Bad news for Terminator fans: It looks like FOX's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has officially been canceled (at least according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello). It seems a bit premature, considering the fact that Terminator: Salvation will be out later this week. But even though I was a fan of the series, I will admit that it had a tendency to be fairly inconsistent -- maybe things would have been different if we'd had more episodes like the last season finale.
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Should FOX executives be crucified for this move? As much as it pains me to say it, I don't think so. I would have loved to see Terminator continue for another season, and some are speculating that it could in the form of DVD movies. However, let's not forget that the show did get another chance after a first season hampered by an industry-wide writers' strike. This was not another situation (a la Firefly) where the show's episodes were consistently aired out of order. Maybe it has been prematurely canceled -- this is something we may never know. But the fact remains: the show got two seasons, which is more than most well-liked, but poorly-rated shows tend to get.

Another thing I've noticed is that many fans are railing against Dollhouse as if that show really had anything to do with Terminator's cancellation. And I don't get it, even though I was a Terminator fan first and didn't even like Dollhouse much until its sixth episode. Though Dollhouse has a polarizing effect on viewers, and though many say its Whedon's weakest show, it does happen to have fans. And it's still a triumph for a poorly-rated science fiction show to be saved for at least one more season.

For all you know, Dollhouse will ultimately yield a poor profit for FOX (I'm sure they'll be watching those DVD sales this summer) and wind up getting canceled as well. So let's not turn this into a war. As a creative person, I'm extremely disappointed to hear about Terminator's cancellation, and I genuinely sympathize with the show's actors and production team. But even though we hate to admit it, TV is ultimately a business. And since this is not a colossally cruel cancellation of Firefly proportions, we can't be surprised (though we can still be disappointed) by this news.

[Entertainment Weekly]

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Confessions of a Star Trek virgin

Warning: spoilers ahead.

The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Star Wars, and (more recently) Doctor Who — these are all the sci-fi TV and movie franchises I've been able to get into over the years. But for some reason, unlike my fellow bloggers here at Pop Wenches, I could never get into Star Trek. For one thing, I didn't know where to begin with all the spin-offs and movies. And frankly, I could never get into the random episodes I caught here and there. I knew enough about Star Trek to understand pop culture references, but I decided to leave it at that.

Then J.J. Abrams, who recently admitted he was never much of a Trekkie, came along and decided to give the series a bit of a reboot with a new movie. And suddenly, I found myself excited about the cast, especially Zachary Quinto, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Eric Bana, and Karl Urban. When I saw the trailer, I figured I didn't really need to know much more than I did about Star Trek, so I decided that I would check out the movie. And I actually wound up seeing it early this past Friday.

Readers, I have a confession to make: I loved every minute of it. Sure there were some plot holes here and there, and sure aspects of it were a little formulaic. But you know what else? It was fun, and not the crappy kind of fun movies like Wolverine and Constantine have been for me. (What? We all have our guilty pleasures). It was a classic space adventure with a lovely blend of wisecracks and serious moments, and a cast that made me wish I were onboard the Enterprise.[bxA]

Here are some of the things I enjoyed:

• The casting, which excited me the most, did not disappoint. I've been tired of seeing Sylar on Heroes, but I really enjoyed seeing Zachary Quinto play Spock. And I especially enjoyed the interaction between different characters, during both serious and slapstick moments. (I couldn't stop laughing at the "Stop it!" exchange between Kirk and McCoy when the latter kept following Kirk around to give him a shot in the neck every couple of minutes). John Cho's Sulu and Anton Yelchin's Chekov were also a ton of fun to watch. It was also a treat to see Simon Pegg as "Scotty" — you could tell he was enjoying playing the part.

• The action sequences were tons of fun, and the visuals were lovely (lens flares and all). These are just the sorts of things you need for a summertime action flick, and I felt all of this was done so much better than it was in last week's Wolverine. The scenery was lovely too — I really enjoyed what we got to see of Vulcan (until its demise).

• I actually did get emotional over certain aspects of the storyline. I found myself tearing up during Kirk's father's death (early in the film), and I also felt sad for Spock when he saw his mother die in front of his eyes. 

• Interestingly enough, the parts that had me feeling the most verklempt were those featuring Leonard Nimoy. Despite not being an actual Star Trek fan, I have to admit that so much of Star Trek has seeped into pop culture over the years, that it's hard to deny how iconic the original actors were. I actually gasped at Nimoy's first proper appearance, and I cheered on the inside when we finally got to see him stand face to face with Quinto's Spock. It was fun to see the metaphorical torch get passed along...

• ... and it was also fun to see Nimoy's Spock poke a little fun at the whole "rip in the space/time continuum" trope that is so rampant in the sci-fi/comics/fantasy genres. 

As previously mentioned, I will admit that there were some gaps in the plot, and Nero was a bit of an idiot at times. And maybe there were some elements that purists were not happy to see (I've seen some people complain about this alternate timeline even though I have gathered that Star Trek is one of those franchises that has always seemed to mess with different timelines). But as someone new to the franchise, I have to say that it was a successful reboot from my point of view. I actually find myself wanting to sit down and watch some of the original series, while checking out some of the spin-offs as well. In fact, after the movie was over, I found myself curious to learn more about Vulcans, Romulans and the Starfleet Academy.

I also had another thought, and I'm not sure if it's something that has occurred to everyone who watched and enjoyed the movie. But even though I was never a Trekker or a Trekkie to begin with, there was something truly comforting about seeing Star Trek on the big screen in today's world. It's no secret that the world is a mess right now. And in times of distress (such as during the Great Depression), people often find comfort in certain forms of entertainment. Star Trek has been around for decades, and seeing it brought back to life — revitalized with some twists added to an old formula featuring an iconic group of characters — was oddly comforting for someone like me. It was nice to sit in that theater, alongside longtime fans, and bond over a world where someone may bid you to "Live long and prosper."

At this point, I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to whatever may be next for Star Trek.

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Movie Review: A Trekkie's Answered Prayer!

Hailing frequencies open!! Incoming message from the Alpha Quadrant. J.J. Abrams (Lost, Mission Impossible 3) has taken an iconic sci fi series and successfully beamed new life into it with his new Star Trek movie! He has created an innovative, high speed and sexy new Trek all the while keeping true to the essence of the classic one. Not an easy task when trying to please both long time fans (like yours truly) and new comers alike.

Abrams' most notable home run decision was to cast actors based on their star quality and not their star power. By doing this, he maintains two important elements in Trek lore: the main characters and their relationship developments. The most important relationship being the one between James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his counterpart Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto). Pine shines in his portrayal of the youthful Kirk with his arrogant, skirt-chasing ways one minute to the subtle signs of vulnerability and even fear the next. But never does he deliver a lame imitation of the commander made famous by William Shatner. Quinto, too, gives an amazing performance as the young Spock as one witnesses his struggle with his Vulcan and human sides all the while trying to maintain his own assuredness and authority.

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It is anything but friendship at first sight when these two men meet for the first time at the renowned Starfleet Academy. But friction aside, they team up on the newly built starship Enterprise against the villainous Romulan Nero (Eric Bana), who has traveled from the future to exact revenge on Starfleet and Mr. Spock for the destruction of his home world.

What is a ship without it's crew? Whether as a collective or in their own scene stealing moments, the remaining cast is nothing if not remarkable. Zoe Saldana, as Communications officer Uhura, is not only sassy and strong as a Starfleet cadet but also in her dealings with Kirk and Spock. Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy and Simon Pegg as engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott infuse just the right amount of comic relief without being campy or trite. Urban and Pegg are spot on with not just the vernacular of their alter egos but their mannerisms as well. Even in Abrams' Trek, such things are sacred. Anton Yelchin as fresh-faced, junior officer Russian Pavel Chekov, proves how he earned his seat on the bridge. And John Cho shows everyone that helmsman Hikaru Sulu is more than just a pilot when he and Kirk have a showdown in a fantastic fight sequence with a couple of Romulan baddies. Above all, special recognition must be bestowed upon Leonard Nimoy who reprises his role as the elder Spock. He demonstrates why he was the perfect choice of the original series cast to play the "bridge" that connects the old with the new.

Star Trek will definitely keep the rapt attention of the geek and non-geek viewer. The components most responsible for that are the mind-blowing special effects. Abrams spared no expense with the top notch FX artistry seen in this film. It can hardly be argued that from the opening sequence to the last face off between the Enterprise and Nero's menacing warship Narada, there is a constant visual feast for the eyes. Even when the movie's plot drags, which happens slightly mid-way, the audience is never visually bored. Want to really heighten your viewing experience? Go see this movie in an IMAX theater if you can!

With the assistance of his screen writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, J.J. Abrams has created a movie that not only earns its place in the history of the Star Trek universe, but also ushers the franchise into a new era. With such a hit on his hands, what could Mr. Abrams possibly do next? A sequel to this fascinating prequel, logically. Hailing frequencies closed!

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