I’m very sad to have to again report on the passing of a beloved Doctor Who actor. Mary Tamm, who brilliantly played the first incarnation of Romana to Tom Baker’s Doctor, has passed away from cancer at the age of 62.
Though Tamm appeared for just one season from 1978-1979, the season-long “Key to Time” story arc, the mark she left on the series was indelible. Romana was the Doctor’s very first Time Lady companion since his granddaughter in the very beginning. Brought in to assist the Doctor in retrieving the Key to Time by the mysterious White Guardian, Romana, short for “Romanadvoratrelundar,” was a glamorous and intelligent young (139) Time Lady fresh out of the Academy on Gallifrey. Initially, she was dismissive of the Doctor’s eccentric ways and considered him her intellectual inferior; however, as the season progressed, they grew to compliment each other and become a team, with Romana’s book smarts pairing nicely with the Doctor’s experience and cunning. Romana is one of my favorite companions, and her interplay and quip-exchanging with Tom Baker makes even some of the “Key to Time”‘s sillier stories delightful to watch.
Detective Catherine Chandler is a smart, no-nonsense homicide detective. When she was a teenager, Catherine witnessed the murder of her mother at the hands of two gunmen. Catherine would have been killed too, but someone – or something – saved her. No one has ever believed her, but she knows it wasn’t an animal that attacked the assassins…it was human. Years have passed, and Catherine is a strong, confident, capable police officer, working alongside her equally talented partner, Tess. While investigating a murder, Catherine discovers a clue that leads her to a handsome doctor named Vincent Keller, who was reportedly killed by enemy fire while serving in Afghanistan in 2002. Catherine learns that Vincent is actually still alive and that it was he who saved her many years before. For mysterious reasons that have forced him to live outside of traditional society, Vincent has been in hiding for the past 10 years to guard his secret – when he is enraged, he becomes a terrifying beast, unable to control his super-strength and heightened senses. Catherine agrees to protect his identity in return for any insight he may have into her mother’s murder. Thus begins a complex relationship between Catherine and Vincent, who are powerfully drawn to each other yet understand that their connection is extremely dangerous for both of them.
The series stars Kristin Kreuk (“Smallville,” “Chuck”) as Catherine, Jay Ryan (“Terra Nova”) as Vincent, Max Brown (“The Tudors,” “MI-5”) as Evan, Nina Lisandrello (“Nurse Jackie”) as Tess, Nicole Gale Anderson (“Make It or Break It”) as Heather, Austin Basis (“Life Unexpected”) as J.T., and Brian White (“The Shield,” “The Cabin in the Woods”) as Joe.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is from CBS Television Studios with executive producers Jennifer Levin (“Without A Trace,” “Felicity”), Sherri Cooper (“Brothers and Sisters”), Bill Haber (“Rizzoli & Isles,” “Thurgood”), Paul J. Witt (“A Better Life”) & Tony Thomas (“A Better Life”), Ron Koslow (“Moonlight”) and Gary Fleder (“Life Unexpected”).
I’ve always loved the classic fairy tale of “Beauty and the Beast.” It has loosely inspired dozens upon dozens of love stories for more than two centuries since the story was first written and I have enjoyed watching it retold in various animated and film incarnations including classics like “La Belle et la Bête” and “The Scarlet Flower” and newer versions like “No Such Thing” and “The Bride”. One of my endearing favorites has always been the 80s tv series version staring Ron Pearlman and Lina Hamilton.
Now, the CW, whom I’ve so far trusted with my favorite characters (props to SMALLVILLE and it’s handing of the DC ‘verse), has decided to take a stab at it. I’m all for a new retelling of the story. I do, however, have one reservation: They aren’t creating a new story, they are ‘rebooting’ the tv series with the same characters of Vincent and Catherine. Maybe it has something to do with being cheaper to recycle old characters, plots, etc than creating a whole new world from scratch, or maybe it’s an attempt to recapture the magic of the 80s series. This one decision, to ‘reboot’ instead of starting fresh, may backfire on them… or maybe it’s just old farts like myself who will have trouble accepting this cataclysmic shakeup of a beloved world.*
One of the most endearing things about the 80s series was that the “Beast” wasn’t enchanted. Instead, he was born with a lion-like disfiguration and a form of Hypertrichosis (Remember Jo Jo the Dog Faced Boy?) but the beastly outside was in direct contrast to the gentle, loving soul within. No kiss would break the magic spell, returning him to his handsome self but Catherine loved the man despite his outward appearance. The magic of that series was the relationship: the friendship, the kindness, the sappy romance of candles and roses and sonnets as the chaste couple poured out their hearts and souls, making the only love they felt they could with thoughtful gestures and softly spoken words… And it worked. While the show only ran 3 seasons over 20 years ago, loyal fans will forever look at Ron Pearlman as one of the sexiest men alive and Linda Hamilton as one of the luckiest ladies to have ever been loved. Sure, we know they were just actors playing roles, but the spiritus of the actors is what brings the characters to life so something of Vincent and Catherine will always linger like a specter about them for fans of the old series.
With the reboot, we have a handsome Vincent who ‘hulks out’ rather than having to constantly live with his appearance. This seems like cheating to me, if they insist on it being Catherine and Vincent. Why not take a chance and create their own story?! Give them different names! There is no reason the beast shouldn’t be able to be a handsome man, after all the original story was of a handsome man transformed into a beast. By using the names of Vincent and Catherine though, they are paying homage to the series rather than the fairy tale and are inviting a comparison to the series thus setting some expectations they may not be able to live up to.
I loved Kristen Kreuk in Smallville and she probably has a fair chance at capturing the “Magic” that was Catherine the same way she turned Lana Lang into her own creation even when standing side by side with Annette O’Toole who was the 80’s incarnation of Lana Lang in the Superman movies. While it may not sound like it from my tone so far, I am actually rooting for her to pull it off. I would like to see this show create it’s own magic and distance itself from the 80s series. That being said, I hope they draw on the relationship from the series rather than the current tween idea of romance we see in so many books, films and tv series. She needs to be more of a Kate Beckett than Bella Swan, regardless of what the target audience age is. If, she is as they say in the show description, “A smart, no-nonsense homicide detective,” she shouldn’t be swooning and fawning at the misunderstood loner and pining away for him ‘just because’. He needs to be someone a strong, independent woman could desire to have in her life, despite the obstacles.
Thus we examine the new Vincent: Jay Ryan. I’ve seen him in Terra Nova and Legend of the Seeker but those were small roles so I don’t have nearly the feel for what characteristics he could bring to the new Vincent other than being a smoldering Kiwi (New Zealand has turned out some of the sexiest, most talented actors of the last two decades). He’s a doctor, for starters, so that means he should be a caring and compassionate man, especially since he enlisted in the military instead of staying Stateside to collect a huge salary while growing more apathetic to mankind’s plights. Other than that, there aren’t any clues to him or why he ‘hulks out’. I’m guessing it must have something to do with military ‘perfect soldier’ experiments he may have discovered and either been a part of or victim of during the fighting in Afghanistan where he supposedly died.
It looks like Catherine’s mother is wearing scrubs as she arrives to rescue her teenage daughter from a dead battery. Suddenly, men pull up in a car and without out a word open fire on the pair, shooting mom first, then chasing after Catherine who runs into the dark woods and is then rescued from certain doom by the strange beastly man in the dark. This suggests that perhaps Catherine’s mother is tied to Vincent’s condition and why Vincent would be so close by at just the right time.
From the brief preview above, it looks like the production quality will be on par with current fantasy shows like The Vampire Diaries and Grimm, both of which are quite well done. That being said, its success will hinge on the connection between the two main characters more than the production quality, writing, plot and talent of the cast. That the action-flick soundtrack dropped to a piano theme when the Beast appeared suggests that maybe the show runners are keeping that in mind.
I’m truly hoping that CW can make its own magic with Vincent and Catherine and I’m looking forward to checking out the new series which is set to premier Thursday this fall, probably as a companion to The Vampire Diaries.
*Okay, Okay. I admit it! I don’t like shake ups much. I spent a week flying around Azeroth after World of Warcraft’s Cataclysm expansion came out, numbed with shock and sometimes teary eyed to think of the loss of some of my favorite places and the memories of years spent dwelling there with friends. It was just painful to watch it all ripped apart, burned and scarred.
It’s a case of bad news/good news forBattlestar Galactica fans who have been flocking to the Web to watch an unauthorized trailer for the long-in-the-works offshoot Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome over the past 36 hours. After lengthy deliberations, Syfy has decided not to go forward with the project, about the young years of William Adama, as a regular TV series. Blood & Chrome, initially envisioned as a Web series, was greenlighted as a two-hour TV pilot in October 2010. Because of intensive post-production, including special effects, the pilot was not delivered to Syfy until last November. As of January, Syfy president original programming Mark Stern was quoted as saying that he the network brass were “trying to figure out the economics right now” and that he hoped those would be figured out. Now, the network has passed on the project as a regular series but is looking to do it as a digital one, while airing the already produced pilot on the network as a movie. “Though the vision for “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome” has evolved over the course of the past year, our enthusiasm for this ambitious project has not waned,” Stern said in a statement today. “We are actively pursuing it as was originally intended: a groundbreaking digital series that will launch to audiences beyond the scope of a television screen. The 90-minute pilot movie will air on Syfy in its entirety at a future date.”
Despite the lengthy production and decision-making, the buzz about Blood & Chrome never died among Battlestar fans. It went into overdrive over the past couple of days following a WonderCom panel over the weekend with Kevin Grazier, the scientific adviser for Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica series, where he screened what was described as a trailer for Blood & Chrome. That trailer, to Trent Reznor and Karen O’s cover of “Immigrant Song” for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, found its way to the Web on Monday night and has gone viral — garnering some 100,000 views in 24 hours. The problem was that this was not an official trailer but a demo reel not intended for public consumption and thus not put through the process of clearing music and other rights. It is still unclear how the video made its way to WonderCon, but NBCUniversal today moved swiftly to take down the multiple copies that had popped up on YouTube. Universal Cable Prods, which produces Blood & Chrome, may still shop the project to other networks. Michael Taylor wrote the teleplay from a story byBattlestar Galactica executive producer David Eick, Taylor and Bradley Thompson & David Weddle.
The Titanic actress is confirmed to be replacing Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) as the assistant toMatt Smith‘s Time Lord in the BBC sci-fi show’s seventh series. Coleman’s debut episode will air at Christmas.
Speaking at BBC’s Broadcasting house this morning, she said that she was a “huge fan of the show”, commenting: “I’m beyond excited, I can’t wait to get cracking; working alongside Matt I know is going to be enormous fun and a huge adventure.
“Matt Smith did my audition with me. It was fun and I felt like we were in it together.”
Coleman also revealed that her personal favorite companions were Billie Piper and Karen Gillan.
Showrunner Steven Moffat said: “It always seems impossible when you start casting these parts, but when we saw Matt and Jenna together, we knew we had our girl. She’s funny and clever and exactly mad enough to step on board the TARDIS.
“It’s not often the Doctor meets someone who can talk even faster than he does, but it’s about to happen. Jenna is going to lead him his merriest dance yet. And that’s all you’re getting for now. Who she’s playing, how the Doctor meets her, and even where he finds her, are all part of one of the biggest mysteries for the Time Lord ever.”
Moffat confirmed that Doctor Who will air six episodes in 2012 and a further eight in 2013 for the show’s 50th anniversary. In total, series seven comprises of 14 big, blockbuster-movie episodes.
The writer also dropped hints about Gillan and Arthur Darvill‘s departures, claiming that it would involve a final encounter with the Weeping Angels and that not everybody would make it out alive. “And I mean it this time,” added Moffat.
Rumors that Coleman, who has also appeared in Emmerdale and Waterloo Road, had been cast in the show first emerged this morning,
It is known that they will leave part way through series seven in a “heartbreaking end”, and Gillan has teased that her exit will have a “strong impact”.
We are pleased to announce our next special guest host, a very gifted actor, the talented and warm hearted Mr. Cliff Simon!
As previously reported, on Sunday March 18, 2012 6 PM Pacific and 9 PM Eastern time, Cliff Simon will chat with his fans about one of his greatest passions, the benefits of Dog Rescue and adoption, his new guest starring role in Days of Our Lives in April, and if we behave ourselves, perhaps some Stargate too!
Join us and learn about Cliff Simon’srecent decision to join Twitter on Friday March 16, 2012 and more including his wonderful efforts with Karma Rescue during our human interest radio program this Sunday evening.
It’s just like FUBU, but for nerds…so FUNBUN. Yeah, FUNBUN.
No one likes doing shameless plugs; that’s how infomercials and US Weeklyare born. Fortunately for us, there’s no shame in telling you that we are a proud part of Nerdist Industries, a fine flock of folks who have you covered on everything from funny to film to fashion and beyond. Without them our newsletter wouldn’t be possible, so we’d like to help repay the favor by urging you to check out the brand spankin’ new Nerdist Channel on YouTube, especially since a zombified Chris Hardwick is here to introduce it to you.
You may be wondering, “what can the Nerdist Channel offer me, a discerning aficionado of anime, manga and Asian pop culture?” Well, the Nerdist Channel has the antidote for your anime ails, the nerdy nostrum for your manga maladies and the pop cultural Japan-icillin for, well, you get the picture. Consider it the first step in otak-u-pational therapy. One of our partners, Yoshimoto Kogyo (the producers behind Epic Meal Time Japan) will be bringing their aptly-titled Weird S#!t from Japan to the channel, a pop cultural smorgasbord of the weirdest, wildest things that Japan has to offer.
There’s plenty of other premium content on the horizon too, all of which should make The Nerdist Channel your one-stop shop for videographic nerdly delights. From a Neil Patrick Harris project with puppets and the Awkward Family Show to a mysterious Rob Zombie project and the lightsaber-filled relay race Course of the Force, these are just hors d’oeuvres in the quest to sate your nerdy appetite. They’ve got our official seal of approval so, go ahead, subscribe to The Nerdist Channel – you know you want to.
We have started to shoot our Spring Offerings and couldn’t be more excited that Felicia Day ( http://feliciaday.com/ ) modeled for us.The actress has an astounding resume that has included Buffy, Eureka, Dr. Horrible, The Guild ( http://www.watchtheguild.com ) and now her new highly anticipated project, Geek and Sundry (http://geekandsundry.com/ ), is just as lovely in steampunk as she is
in armor.
As if that wasn’t enough star- filled fun for our little Clockshoppe,The League of S.T.E.A.M. ( http://leagueofsteam.com/ ) used our store for the villian’s lair in their newest episode, “Prehistoric Peril.” Tune in to see why Djinn, the shoppe cat was all too excited to assist
with filming.
Our crew has also changed a bit and we have recently welcomed a new full-time milliner and customer service gal to our store while our customer service superstar, Sarah, explores other career paths. She’ll
still be here twice a week, though.
It is with sad news that our original milliner, Jill Pfeiffer (http://www.clockworkcouture.com/accessories-1/hats/the-hats-of-jill-pfieffer.html) was lost to us last week. We warmly welcome her student, Shurie (http://www.clockworkcouture.com/accessories-1/hats/lady-bird-s-hatberdashery.html) to our crew to carry on her magnificient french-room work.
We invite you to come visit ( http://www.clockworkcouture.com/visitus) the recently remodeled Clockshoppe and would like to publicly thank the customers who volunteered their day getting paint on themselves to
make that happen. The store is even more beautiful than before. Come in for a spot of tea and to browse our wares, many of which are in-store exclusives.
Don’t forget! ClockworkCouture.com ( http://www.clockworkcouture.com ) now offers free shipping to all of our U.S. customers. Those residing outside the 50 states still enjoy the same $7.95 flat-rate shipping no
matter how heavy your parcel or how many items you buy.
From the captain and crew of the S.S. Clockwork Caravel, I hope you have a splendid week.
As the voice of Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ashley Eckstein lives the fangirl fantasy. Running the online store Her Universe, she hopes to fulfill some of the wishes of others. We caught up with Ashley to talk gender differences, Ahsoka’s arc, Special Editions and even The Brady Bunch.
Nerdist News: Do you ever get guys complaining that they want some of your designs in male sizes?
Ashley Eckstein: We have, actually, and I take that as such a huge compliment! I’ve heard several people say, “Well, what about ‘His Universe’?”, and I say, okay, look on the convention floor. Go to San Diego Comic-Con, and pretty much the entire convention is “His Universe.”
NN: Do you see any major differences between male and female fans?
AE: Sometimes the male fans are really into the action and adventure and the battles, and we female fans become emotionally attached to the characters. You literally envision your relationships with these characters. I don’t even mean in a romantic way; you just view this character as if they’re another family member of yours.
NN: Can you give us any hints about where The Clone Wars is going?
AE: I just beg the fans who gave up on the show after the movie and season one to give it a chance now, because it’s a completely different show. Dave Filoni is a fan: he cares so much about the show and the storyline…Season two was when it really took off, and I think he’s turned it into what the fans wanted it to be all along.
In response to the continuing debate of proposed law changes and aggressive attacks on freedom of speech and information on the internet, my state Senator is revealing information about her proposed changes to fight piracy and copywrite infringement without sensoring the internet. I’d like your feedback. What do you think of her proposals?
Thank you to the thousands of Washingtonians who raised your voices last week to support an open and free Internet. Thanks for your phone calls and emails to our office regarding the PROTECT IP Act.
Like you, I believe that America’s economy thrives on innovation and freedom of speech. The Internet allows entrepreneurs in Washington state and around the world to create ground-breaking companies and fuel economic growth. We cannot afford to rush an Internet policy that could trample on our innovation economy.
That’s why I opposed the PROTECT IP Act in the Senate from the beginning, and have offered an alternative – the OPEN Act. We need to protect creative content on the Internet from piracy by rogue foreign websites, but we must do so in a way that also protects freedom of speech, innovation and security on the Internet. Read more about the OPEN Act here, or read the full bill text here.
As many of you know, ÜberSciFiGeek participated in the recent SOPA/PIPA protest by “Going Dark” for a day. All content was blocked and was replaced with information about why we were protesting and how you could learn more. I also took the time to contact my representative via several of the contact forms available through sites like Google and Wikipedia. Today I received a response from my Senator, Maria Cantwell. I felt I should share this with those of you who are following the issue and would like to know where things currently stand.
Thank you for contacting me about the internet streaming of copyrighted material. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.
On May 12, 2011, Senator Leahy (D-VT) introduced S. 968, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property (PROTECT IP) Act. Under current federal law, U.S. law enforcement officials and holders of copyrights, trademarks, and patents, have limited legal remedies available to combat internet websites that are registered in foreign countries but operate in the United States by selling products, services, and/or content that violates U.S. intellectual property law. If enacted, the proposed legislation would create an expedited process for the Department of Justice and intellectual property rights holders to shut down through a court order these websites by targeting the owners and operators of the Internet site, if known, or the domain name registrant associated with the Internet site.
While I am supportive of the goal of protecting intellectual property, I am deeply concerned that the definitions and the means by which the legislation seeks to accomplish these goals will have unintended consequences and hurt innovation, job creation, and threaten online speech and security. On November 17, 2011, I signed a letter along with Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) objecting to the bill as it is currently written.
On December 17, 2011, Senator Wyden introduced the “Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade” (OPEN) Act (S. 2029), of which I am an original co-sponsor. The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee, where it is currently awaiting further review. The OPEN Act is a more effective approach to stop foreign web sites that are found to be primarily and willfully used to infringe intellectual property rights. The OPEN Act builds on the existing legal framework used by the International Trade Commission (ITC) for addressing unfair acts in the importation of articles into the United States, or in their sale for importation, or sale within the United States after importation.
Our trade laws have yet to catch up to deal with the global digital economy. The OPEN Act recognizes that the Internet has created new opportunities for foreign products to reach the U.S. market and that there is little difference between downloading a pirated movie from a foreign website and importing a counterfeit movie DVD from a foreign company. For those foreign web sites that are determined after an investigation to be primarily and willfully infringing, the International Trade Commission will issue a “Cease and Desist” order. The “Cease and Desist” order may also be served on financial intermediaries that provide services to that foreign web site, compelling financial payment processors and online advertising providers to cease doing business with the foreign site in question. This would cut off financial incentives for this illegal activity and deter these unfair imports from reaching the U.S. market.
The OPEN Act addresses the same challenges as the PROTECT IP Act, while protecting freedom of speech, innovation, and security on the Internet. The challenge of rogue web sites is one that many nations face. The United States has always been seen as a leader on Internet issues. Laws we establish in the United States regarding the Internet are likely to be used as models around the world. And because the Internet is global in nature, it is important that we carefully consider how the laws and policies we adopt in this area may be received and translated by other countries.
The Protect IP Act was scheduled to go to the Senate floor for a procedural vote on January 23, 2011. Due to the effective grassroots advocacy and public outcry against the bill, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has pulled the proposed legislation from the floor calendar.
I appreciate Majority Leader Reid’s decision to postpone a vote on the PROTECT IP Act. America’s economy thrives on innovation and freedom of speech. We can’t afford to rush an Internet policy that could trample on our innovation economy. The American people clearly spoke and their voices were heard. As we move forward, I’ll continue to advocate for a policy that protects both creative content and online freedom of speech.
Thank you again for contacting me to share your thoughts on this matter. You may also be interested in signing up for periodic updates for Washington State residents. If you are interested in subscribing to this update, please visit my website at http://cantwell.senate.gov. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance.
Join the dark side and become Darth Maul using the free Darth Maul Me mobile app from Star Wars: Episode I in 3D. Whether you want to turn your face completely into one of Star Wars’ greatest villains, use the partial Darth Maul tattoos, or only give yourself the Sith eyes, Darth Maul Me has an option for you. Simply take a photo with your camera or use an existing photo to quickly and easily turn yourself into Darth Maul. Share your creation with your friends and encourage them to join you on the dark side.
See Star Wars: Episode I in 3D on the big screen; only in cinemas!
