Stargate Planner: Week of February 21-27

We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week. Also, if you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below.

Calendar

Monday,   February 21
Tuesday, February 22
Wednesday, February 23
Thursday,   February 24
Friday,   February 25
Saturday, February 26 Armageddon Expo in Sydney, Australia, is this weekend. Stargate guests include David Hewlett, Colin Cunningham, Christopher Heyerdahl, and Ryan Robbins. Make sure to visit the website for more details.
Sunday, February 27

News Notes

News Flashes and Brief Follow-Ups

  • The first track of Rachel Luttrell’s album has been posted on YouTube (and is also available for download from iTunes)! Here it is below:

Stargate Universe News

  • Franchise – Still no news on the future of SGU or the franchise in general, but recent posts in his weblog by former executive producer Joe Mallozzi indicate that we’ll be hearing something soon. Mallozzi and writing partner Paul Mullie are preparing to join Robert C. Cooper on a new project in Toronto. Executive producers Brad Wright and Carl Binder remain with the franchise.
  • Robert Carlyle – In an article about writers and prisoners, Carlyle was mentioned as being attached to a new film in Glasgow: Paying for It.

Solutions News Blog Round-Up

Our News Blog posts since the last Stargate Planner (most recent listed first):

Solutions LJ Companion Background Articles

Last week, we posted a few background articles in our LJ Companion that you might be interested in. The articles listed in this section don’t have a companion piece in our News Blog here:

Reminders

For news as it happens, make sure to visit the Stargate Twitter Superfeed for tidbits directly from the Stargate stars and production crew. And don’t forget our new feature Beyond the Event Horizon, which consists of “home pages” with dynamic feeds from our LJ and Blog for the stars of SG-1 and Atlantis.

Our LJ Companion has news bites, polls, and glimpses into the lives of the actors that we don’t necessarily cover here in our more formal news blog. Make sure to visit the LJ’s feed on our front page or visit the site directly to see its mostly fun little tidbits.

For the latest in convention appearances, which are subject to change, make sure to visit Stargate Actor Appearances.

Michael Shanks Guest Stars in Lifetime Pilot "Normal"

Michael ShanksStargate star Michael Shanks has a guest starring role in Lifetime’s pilot Normal, according to his official website.

The information came from the actor himself when he dropped a quick note: “Working on a Lifetime channel pilot this week, as a guest star, Michael Sardo’s Normal starring Carrie Anne Moss.”

According to MSOL, the pilot began shooting in British Columbia on February 6 and will end February 21. Deadline has more information about the pilot’s premise:

The Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss has been tapped as the lead in Lifetime’s untitled Michael Sardo pilot. The project, from writer-executive producer Michael Sardo and Universal Cable Prods., centers on Ann Brown (Moss), New York’s premiere celebrity psychologist. With her life and marriage in shambles, she leaves town to join her sister, the Dean at a teaching hospital, to become the chief of staff of the hospital’s psych ward. There, she rediscovers her love for helping people while reconnecting with her sister, despite their volatile history. Gerard Bocaccio is executive producing the pilot with Sardo, while Timothy Busfield is set to direct.

MSOL promises more information as it becomes available, and Solutions will also keep a watch for further details.

Stargate Planner: Week of February 14-20

We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week. Also, if you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below.

Calendar

Monday,   February 14 Be looking for Rachel Luttrell‘s debut album I Wish You Love to be released “in time for Valentine’s Day.” Visit Luttrell’s Facebook to obtain the link to the tracks that will be available on iTunes soon.

Lou Diamond Phillips will be guest starring tonight on Chuck in the episode “Chuck Vs. the CAT Squad” on NBC at 8/7c. He’s playing villain Augusto Gaez in the story about when “Chuck (Zachary Levi) surprises Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) with her old spy team, The C.A.T. Squad, leading to a mission in Rio. As The C.A.T. Squad works to settle a score with Augusto Gaez (guest star Lou Diamond Phillips), old secrets and grudges come to light. Back at the Buy More, Morgan fends off the advances of Carina, a former flame and frisky member of The C.A.T Squad.”
Tuesday, February 15
Wednesday, February 16
Thursday,   February 17 RDA Fairly LegalRichard Dean Anderson begins his multiple episode arc as David Smith in the Fairly Legal episode “The Two Richards” (ha!) on USA network at 10:01 PM ET (that time is according to TV Guide and is not a typo). Synopsis: “A man who was hit by a truck seeks a settlement with an insurance company. But the man’s wife has her own grievance: she claims her husband was forever changed after the accident.”

Today is Lou Diamond Phillips‘s birthday!
Friday,   February 18 BasauriConThe Basauri Con begins today and runs until February 20. Stargate stars Michael Shanks and Torri Higginson are two of the main guests. The convention has a limited attendance, which the organizers hope will give the event a more casual and friendly atmosphere at the Ibaigane Theatre in Basauri, Spain.
Saturday, February 19
Sunday, February 20 Brothers and SistersTonight at 10 PM ET, Beau Bridges begins his multi-episode arc as Brody in ABC’s Brothers and Sisters in the episode “Brody.” The synopsis: “Though Nora tries her best to keep Brody (guest starring Beau Bridges) at bay, she can’t help but feel the long lost connection between them, and Justin reaches out to a homeless vet reluctant to accept help getting back on his feet.”

Today is Louis Ferreira‘s birthday!

News Notes

Stargate Universe News

  • Our SGU Portal has been updated to include the starting dates for Season 2.5, the last ten episodes of the show, for Syfy and Space, March 7 and 8, respectively. Other dates will be added once they are announced.

Solutions News Blog Round-Up

Our News Blog posts since the last Stargate Planner (most recent listed first):

Solutions LJ Companion Background Articles

Last week, we posted a few background articles in our LJ Companion that you might be interested in. The articles listed in this section don’t have a companion piece in our News Blog here:

Reminders

For news as it happens, make sure to visit the Stargate Twitter Superfeed for tidbits directly from the Stargate stars and production crew. And don’t forget our new feature Beyond the Event Horizon, which consists of “home pages” with dynamic feeds from our LJ and Blog for the stars of SG-1 and Atlantis.

Our LJ Companion has news bites, polls, and glimpses into the lives of the actors that we don’t necessarily cover here in our more formal news blog. Make sure to visit the LJ’s feed on our front page or visit the site directly to see its mostly fun little tidbits.

For the latest in convention appearances, which are subject to change, make sure to visit Stargate Actor Appearances.

New Show for Stargate Writers Revealed?

Transporter 3 movie posterProducer Joe Mallozzi has been blogging over the past few weeks about a potential new writing opportunity for him and fellow Stargate writer-producers Paul Mullie and Robert C. Cooper. Last week the three met up in Toronto to break episodes with the show-runner and producers of the new series, which Joe declined to name but has described as the first season of a TV show based on an established franchise. He’s also said it’s action-oriented, not science fiction and has a male main character.

On his last day in Toronto, Joe revealed the name of the show-runner: German-born producer Alexander M. Ruemelin. An alert blog reader of Joe’s, Randomness, used his google-foo to discover that Alexander Ruemelin is the show-runner of the new series The Transporter, based on the three-movie, French franchise of the same name (The Transporter 1, 2, and 3).

Today Joe made it clear he and Paul at least have made deals to work on the project, and that he’s planning to move to Toronto for the filming season. Robert C. Cooper appears to already be living there and attached to the project.

Below are some internet reports about the new Transporter series. The show will be financed by the French company that produced the movies. It will be filmed in English and has been picked up by a “major” U.S. network. It will tell the story of a man whose job is to transport anything, anywhere, no questions asked.

The timing and Joe’s description of the show seem to match. As well, Joe wouldn’t have approved those blog comments by Randomness if he had wanted it to remain a secret.

So if this is all correct, congrats to Joe, Paul, and Rob — on to Toronto! And may we ask you to consider Stargate actors as you’re casting your new show. 🙂

Stargate Universe Returns to Syfy March 7

SGU StargateMGM Studios has announced via Twitter, “THIS JUST IN: ‘Stargate Universe’ season 2 continues March 7 at 10/9c, only on Syfy! 10 more episodes, starting with ‘Deliverance’!”

March 7 is a Monday: a new night for Stargate!

Syfy’s schedule thus far for the show’s return (10 PM ET, repeating at Midnight ET):

March 7: 2.11 “Deliverance”
March 14: 2.12 “Twin Destinies”
March 21: 2.13 “Alliances”
March 28: 2.14 “Hope”

The schedule doesn’t go any further than that, but if the trend continues, Stargate Atlantis fans should tune in on April 4 to see Dr. Rodney McKay and Richard Woolsey involved in a scientific and diplomatic solution to the energy problem currently plaguing the marooned crew of Destiny in episode 2.15 “Seizure.”

Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi has been updating fans with what’s going on behind the scenes as Brad Wright works with MGM to continue the Stargate franchise. His most recent report: “Still no definite word on the Stargate front. Following a flurry of promising developments, things have gone unbearably quiet. Not a bad sign just… no sign. There’s an anticipation that good news could break any day now – but the longer the wait, the greater the challenge when the time comes. To those holding out hope that this could mean a third season pick-up – alas, this isn’t one of the scenarios in play. Nevertheless, as I said in a previous entry, if and when we finally do get the green light, Brad has some wonderful surprises in store for fans of SGU (as well as fans of the Stargate franchise in general).

“I’ve got my fingers crossed for all involved, even though it’s looking more and more like I won’t be among them.” Mallozzi, writing partner Paul Mullie, and SGU co-creator Robert C. Cooper are apparently going from one established franchise to another as they move to Toronto, leaving Brad Wright and Carl Binder, the team who wrote the script for SG-1’s third movie Stargate: Revolution. Hopefully, the news about the future of the franchise includes updates on the status of Revolution and Stargate: Extinction, the movie that Mallozzi and Mullie penned to continue the Stargate Atlantis story.

For more about SGU’s second and final season, please visit the Season Two index in the Solutions Stargate Wiki.

Corin Nemec Stars in "Sand Sharks"

Stargate star Corin Nemec leads the cast in the new nature-gone-wrong-at-the-festival movie Sand Sharks, currently in production and being directed by Mark Atkins.

Dread Central has the synopsis:

An underwater earthquake cracks open a crater deep beneath the ocean surface unleashing a prehistoric predator. On the sleepy island of White Sands local teens drink and party beside a beach bonfire. One of them, wandering off after a pretty girl, disappears leaving only a severed hand behind. It appears it’s been bitten and ripped off by a vicious animal attack. This looks like a shark bite, but it’s found well above the high tide line, it can’t be a shark… Or can it?

Jimmy Green (Corin Nemec), prodigal party boy and son of the mayor, returns home to White Sands, with a scheme to breathe some life into the dying economy (and clear his debt to a mobster) by throwing a huge spring break party, the Sandman Festival. Jimmy runs into his ex, and now Deputy Sheriff, Brenda Young (Vanessa Lee Evigan). She and her brother the Sheriff want to close the islands beaches in fear of further shark attacks which would ruin Jimmy’s plans. Brenda calls in an expert, shark scientist Dr. Sandy Powers (Brooke Hogan), meanwhile the attacks continue to ensue.

Dr. Powers says it appears to be a sand shark, a beast which moves through the sand as if it was water. By accident, the shark is electrocuted, but it’s soon discovered that that shark, though gigantic, was only a baby. The festival continues, thousands of college kids arrive, just as dozens of sand sharks make their presence known having been attracted by the vibrations of crowd and the PA system. The most menacing beasts to ever rule the waters, now rule the sand; mercilessly feeding on anything that crosses their path. It’s a giant feeding frenzy and it’s up to Brenda, Sandy, the Sherriff, and Jimmy to stop the carnage.

Nemec mentioned this new project last month while attending Creation Entertainment’s Salute to Supernatural convention in San Francisco, but right now, there’s no more information about when or where the new film will be released.

Paul McGillion Gets Part in J.J. Abrams Pilot "Alcatraz"

Stargate star Paul McGillion has landed a role in J.J. Abrams’s pilot Alcatraz, according to Examiner.com. Abrams has a tendency to cast those who have appeared in his previous projects, and McGillion is no exception, having obtained a role in the Star Trek reboot in 2007.

The project began filming today in San Francisco (additional filming locations include Vancouver and Alcatraz itself) and will premiere in the fall on FOX. Like several previous Abrams projects, the show is a drama, possibly with a sci-fi twist, as it “chronicles the efforts of a cop and team of FBI agents tracking down a group of missing Alcatraz prisoners and guards who reappear in the present day,” 30 years after their disappearances, according to Deadline.

The list of cast members is impressive, headed by veteran actor Sam Neill (Merlin, The Triangle, to name but a few sci-fi projects) and Sarah Jones (Sons of Anarchy). The first actor to be cast in a regular role was Jorge Garcia (Lost), and the last, Santiago Cabrera (Heroes). The casting of Greyston Holt as a younger version of Sam Neill’s character suggests we’ll be seeing some flashbacks and/or time travel right off the bat in the pilot.

The script was co-written by Lost executive producer Elizabeth Sarnoff, Steven Lilien, and Bryan Wynbrandt. Sarnoff will be the showrunner and will co-executive produce with Bryan Burk, Abrams, Lilien, and Wynbrandt. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions is producing the pilot with Warner Brothers TV. The pilot is being directed by Danny Cannon, who has not previously worked with Bad Robot before, but recently directed and executive produced The CW/WBTV pilot Nikita.

Stargate Planner: Week of February 7-13

We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week. Also, if you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below.

Calendar

Monday,   February 7 All About A BoyClaudia Black returns as Guru Sona in the 90210 episode “All About a Boy” tonight at 8 PM ET on The CW. TV Guide’s summary: “Teddy discovers who’s blackmailing him; Navid learns the truth about Adrianna and her baby; Emily plans to ruin Annie’s audition for a play; Naomi hosts a party in honor of her spiritual guru; Ivy is anxious about returning to the water.”

Today is David Nykl‘s birthday!
Tuesday, February 8 Starting at 8 AM ET, Syfy will be having an 8-episode marathon of SGU’s Season Two, beginning with “Intervention” and ending with “Malice.” To complete the Stargate experience, SG-1’s “Forever In A Day” will show at 5 PM ET, and SGA’s “Be All My Sins Remember’d,” at 2 AM ET.

Rainbow Sun Francks is part of the regular cast in Season Two of The Listener (as well as SG-1 guest star Peter Stebbings), which premieres tonight at 10 PM ET on Canada’s CTV. The show will be released internationally in March. Visit Francks’s homepage at CTV, which profiles the actor and his character Corporal Dev Clark, a communications expert for IIB. In the Season Two premiere, “Toby Logan is still haunted by guilt over the murder of his friend Detective Charlie Marks and the disappearance of his mother – has resolved to stop fighting against his mysterious gift and use his telepathic abilities to help others. When he revives a woman (Rekha Sharma, V) who nearly drowned, her amnesia gives him the perfect opportunity. But unbeknownst to him, she’s tangled in a case of corporate espionage and murder, and she might not be the victim he presumes. As he sets out to help her remember her past, she’s also being investigated by Sgt. Michelle McCluskey (Lauren Lee Smith) of the IIB, who has taken a special interest in Toby’s connection to the woman and uncovered his more than coincidental history with a number of major criminal cases in the past.”
Wednesday, February 9 Arctic Blast PosterTonight at 8 PM is the Syfy UK premiere of Arctic Blast starring Michael Shanks. There will be repeats on February 10 at 10 PM and on February 13 at 9 PM (Source: MSOL). For more information about this movie, visit IMDb or Imagination LLC.
Thursday,   February 10
Friday,   February 11
Saturday, February 12 Paul McGillion, Kavan Smith, Chris Gauthier, and Nicole de Boer lead the cast in Syfy’s original movie Iron Invader at 9 PM ET. The storyline: “Alien bacteria brings a giant metal monster alive.” This movie was previously titled Metal Monster and Iron Golem.
Sunday, February 13

News Notes

Stargate Universe Press

  • SGU’s VFX team didn’t take home the VES Award on February 1 in the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series category. Instead, the award went to the team at Caprica.

Solutions News Blog Round-Up

Our News Blog posts since the last Stargate Planner (most recent listed first):

Solutions LJ Companion Background Articles

Last week, we posted a few background articles in our LJ Companion that you might be interested in. The articles listed in this section don’t have a companion piece in our News Blog here:

Reminders

For news as it happens, make sure to visit the Stargate Twitter Superfeed for tidbits directly from the Stargate stars and production crew. And don’t forget our new feature Beyond the Event Horizon, which consists of “home pages” with dynamic feeds from our LJ and Blog for the stars of SG-1 and Atlantis.

Our LJ Companion has news bites, polls, and glimpses into the lives of the actors that we don’t necessarily cover here in our more formal news blog. Make sure to visit the LJ’s feed on our front page or visit the site directly to see its mostly fun little tidbits.

For the latest in convention appearances, which are subject to change, make sure to visit Stargate Actor Appearances.

Reminder: Claudia Black on "90210" Tonight

Stargate star Claudia Black makes the first of three episode appearances as yoga guru Sona in the 90210 episode “It’s Getting Hot in Here” tonight at 8 PM ET on The CW.

TV Guide’s summary: “Emily sabotages Annie’s relationship with her friends when the girls go on a weekend getaway; Dixon interrupts Debbie and Ryan’s romantic dinner; Silver and Navid continue their affair; and Adrianna goes to the tabloids with an exclusive story.”

Black is also scheduled to be in next week’s episode, “All About a Boy.”

Amanda Tapping Joins William Shatner for Animated Webseries

Stargate star Amanda Tapping will be joining sci-fi legend William Shatner in a new animated webseries, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Here’s their press release:

William Shatner and Amanda Tapping to Co-Star in Web Drama
2:47 PM 1/31/2011 by Etan Vlessing

Acting duo will voice online animated series for MyOuterspace.com, Shatner’s social website.

TORONTO – What happens at Comic-Con apparently goes online: William Shatner and Amanda Tapping (Sanctuary, Stargate SG-1) are teaming up in The Zenoids, an animated series to launch on Shatner’s social website MyOuterspace.com.

The actors met last summer at the San Diego comic book geekfest for the launch of MyOuterspace.com, with Tapping recalling that she joked at the time they should do a show together.

“Who knew it would come true?” Tapping asked after Shatner recently rang her out of the blue with a co-starring role on four webisodes to start production in late February.

The Zenoids portrays a family of space-faring Amphibinoid musicians who travel the galaxy performing their musical act, with Shatner and Tapping as a husband-and-wife team trying to keep their superstar dreams alive.

The online drama will cloud-source for story-lines by asking Shatner fans to submit scripts through an online submission process, with one winning script to be produced as an animated short webisode of The Zenoids.

Make sure to visit MyOuterspace.com for more information about this new project.

Here’s a YouTube video in which Shatner interviewed Tapping for MyOuterspace.com, emphasizing the web-to-television transition that Sanctuary paved the way for other projects, including this particular new endeavor. He admiringly told her, “You’ve done what we want to do.”