ÜberSciFiGeek

A reluctant heroine travels with her wolf through a
collapsing world, outrunning a dangerous religious cult
and piecing together her past.

Steampunk and sci-fi fans are going to love the new series Riese from filmmakers Ryan Copple and Kaleena Kiff. Picking up where Sanctuary failed to follow through, due to its jump to television, the series intends to not only produce fresh, high-quality content for the web but to be interactive with the fanbase through its website, forums, and an alternate reality game that will premiere along with the series. Other applications are being developed that will further integrate Riese into your daily web life.

In a hauntingly familiar dystopian world, Riese, a seemingly random wanderer, flees across the dying lands. Hunted by a terrifying religious group, The Sect, Riese must evade the assassins that have been sent to kill her and discover their true objective.

Her past is shrouded in mystery as even Riese can’t recall the events of the tragic night when her entire family was slaughtered and she was forced to flee. On her journey, she’ll piece together her past and her destiny, in a struggle that will hold the fate of the world in the balance — and the once peaceful kingdom of Eleysia will be the battlefield. Despite the impending doom, Riese emerges as the sole beacon of hope.

The Riese team has put together a lot of behind-the-scenes photos and videos to help submerge you in the world of Eleysia before the series premieres and, at first glance, I was hooked. The wardrobe has that high-quality look you got used to with shows like Firefly and Merlin. There are photos in the online gallery of the cast in costume and they look great. I was wondering how they’d pull off a steampunk feel, something typically reserved for graphic novels and anime, but it looks like they’ve done it. There aren’t any CGI shots to view yet but the concept art reminds me a bit of the mutants in Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards. The series appears to utilize both traditional settings and greenscreen to create the world of Eleysia, and I look forward to seeing the familiar woods outside of Vancouver that we geeks have fallen in love with over the years, largely due to Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.

Speaking of Sanctuary and Stargate, fans may recognize a few familiar faces in the Riese cast. Christine Chatelain (Riese) was introduced in Season 1 of Sanctuary as the invisible girl, Clara Griffin. Sharon Taylor (Amara) not only played Amelia Banks on Stargate Atlantis but appeared in Smallville and Eureka, as well. Ben Cotton (Herrick), who played Dr. Kavanagh on Stargate Atlantis, also appeared in Harper’s Island, jPod, and a handful of other sci-fi favorites. Patrick Gilmore (Trennan) appears in all of the Stargate series (including the upcoming Stargate Universe), as well as Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, and Eureka. I’m sure we’ll see many more familiar faces on Riese as the series progresses.

THE STORY

Imagine a crumbling world, a parallel universe. A world of anachronisms, full of archaic characters and conventions. This world once enjoyed a lasting prosperity, due largely to the influence of the monarchy of Eleysia.

Eleysia — the kingdom of the wolf, governed by Kara and Ulric, was a peaceful nation. This all changed when a mysterious and unexpected coup d’etat, orchestrated from the shadows by a religious cult, brought about a regime change.

Taking the throne was Amara, Kara’s cousin. A power-hungry tyrant, Amara immediately utilized Eleysia’s resources to begin colonizing this world, toppling nation after nation in order to unite the people under one banner.

Even as Amara assaulted the world, an ominous, enigmatic group clearly wielded power over her. Called The Sect, they purported themselves to be the official religion of Eleysia, and began to spread alongside Eleysia’s borders. Horrifying tales of their practices began to circulate, casting an even darker shadow across this war-torn environment.

Since then, this world has begun to change.

The land is dying, resources are dwindling, and compassion is fading. Distrust and anxiety have clouded the people’s minds, causing a regression to primitive ways of thinking. People have grown restless, almost feral. Rituals and mythology have resurged, and the darker side of mankind has begun to reveal itself. Some say the end is coming. Shadows have begun lurking in the hearts of men.

The true horror of the world is not in how it ends, but what will become of mankind as it fractures.

And yet, despite the impending doom, a single beacon of light shines in Riese, a mysterious wanderer. Traveling with her wolf, Fenrir, she journeys across this barren world. Within her lies the strength and resolve to stop the nefarious plans of Empress Amara and the Sect and restore the kingdom of Eleysia to its former prosperity.

This is the world of Riese.

Principal filming for the first batch of episodes just wrapped with more slated to begin in December. We’ll keep you updated as new info is released. In the meantime, be sure to check out these links:

Official Riese Website
“The Sect is Here” Website
Riese on YouTube
Riese on Twitter
Riese on Facebook