GeekTown’s Top 5 Cancelled Sci-Fi/Fantasy Shows.
5. Odyssey 5 (2002).
What was it?
Odyssey 5
Odyssey 5 had a great concept. Bunch of astronauts up on a routine spaceflight watch the Earth turn into a fireball and implode! Whilst the 5 surviving crew members of the Odyssey space shuttle contemplate their impending demise, they’re rescued by a mysterious being called the Seeker. It seems Earth isn’t the only planet to have suffered this fate, but this is the first time the Seeker has managed to find survivors. He sends the crew’s consciousnesses back in time 5yrs to give them a chance to prevent the disaster.
Why was Odyssey 5 cancelled?
Actually a pretty good question… Odyssey 5 ran on Showtime, who bizarrely cancelled it after airing only 14 of it’s 20 episodes, despite the show being one the highest rated on the network (they only citing that they ‘wanted to move away from SciFi shows’ as a reason)…
4. Reaper (2007-2009).
What was it?
Reaper
Reaper was a show about dropout/slacker/Work Bench employee Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison), who finds himself being forced to become a bounty hunter for the Devil after his father promised their first born child to the Devil (Ray Wise) in return for curing his sick wife.
Sam’s job as bounty hunter requires him to retrieve souls that have escaped from Hell by capturing them in a ‘vessel’ provided by the Devil each week, usually with help from friends Sock (Tyler Labin), Ben (Rick Gonzalez), and love interest Andi (Missy Peregrym).
Why was Reaper cancelled?
Ratings more than anything although the CW network really didn’t help things by putting the second season up against American Idol. ABC Studios was in talks of keeping Reaper going through first-run syndication, however as time went on, and with an uncertain future, understandably Tyler Labin and then Bret Harrison signed deals on new shows, which pretty much left Reaper reaped.
3. Angel (1999-2004).
What was it?
Angel
Angel (a spin-off from the Joss Whedon’s brilliant Bufy the Vampire Slayer) followed the trials of a vampire private detective trying to make up for his past deeds after gypsies returned his soul. In his mission to ‘help the helpless’ he enlist the help of various associates to help do battle with demons, and evil law firm Wolfram & Heart.
Angel was much darker in tone than it’s sibling show Buffy, but still contained the trademark Whedonesque dialogue, and complex season arcing plots, mixing genres in the genius way only Joss Whedon can.
Why was Angel cancelled?
Although Angel made it to a respectable 5 seasons, it was still cut down very much in it’s prime. In fact, ironically the fact it was doing well in it’s timeslot possibly contributed to it’s demise… Angel was a fairly expensive show to produce, and because of this The WB network usually left it until very late to sign the renewal, just in case something better/cheaper came along (which it never did). The problem with this was that a lot of cast and crew had to turn down potential jobs on the hope that Angel got picked up again. Feeling this was unfair, and on the back of the great reception they’d had for season 5, a confident Joss asked The WB not to keep them waiting, and give them a yay or nay on season 6… The WB, thinking something else would come along (which of course it didn’t) said ‘okay, we’re cancelling you’… Had they waited until the last minute as usual it’s extremely likely they would have got the renewal. The WB have since stated cancelling Angel was a big mistake.
2. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-2009).
Click here to Win Season 2 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Blu-Ray!
What was it?
Click here to enter our great Termintor:TSCC competition and win the whole of Season 2 on Blu-Ray!
In a similar way to what they’ve done with the new Star Trek movie, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles tv series took place in a slightly different timeline to the Terminator movies. The pilot episode starts in 1999 after the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, with Sarah (Lena Headey) and her son John (Thomas Dekker) and his reprogrammed Terminator protector Cameron (Summer Glau), on the run from Terminator Cromartie (Garret Dillahunt). In an attempt to escape, Cameron creates a temporal rift, jumping them forward in time to 2007, unfortunately, a badly damaged, but still functioning Cromartie manages to follow them. As the series continues, we start to see how the future Terminator controlling computer overlord ‘Skynet’ starts to become sentient, and sees the group team up with John’s Uncle, resistance fighter Derek Reese (Brian Austin Green).
One of the great things about Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is that they mostly avoided the easy option of having a ‘monster (or in this case Terminator) of the week’, and chose a more serialized format, keeping Cromartie as the main villain for all of the 1st season (and part of the 2nd), allowing more longer more intricate plot lines to develop. What could have been just another ‘cash in’ to the Terminator franchise became a well written, intelligent, complex and entertaining show.
Why was Terminator: TSCC cancelled?
Once again, ratings, or rather Nielsen ratings (by far the most outdated pointless way of rating a shows popularity) killed it. The useless thing about Nielsen ratings is they don’t take into account Tivo/DVR viewing. For it’s second season Terminator TSCC was moved to the dreaded ‘Friday night death slot’ to team up with Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse. The trouble is, if your running shows aimed a young audience and then airing it on a night when most of your target audience is out, don’t be surprised when the live (Nielsen rated) viewing figures suck. An episode which might only get 3 million live viewers in reality could have 10 million if you add in Sky+/Tivo/DVR figures. It really is time we found a better way to rate shows, otherwise all were going to end up getting commissioned is hours of Americas Next Top Dancing With The Stars Idol…
Click here to Win Season 2 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Blu-Ray!
1. Firefly (2002).
What was it?
Firefly
Created by Joss Whedon, Firefly was set 500 years in the future, in a new solar system after humanity abandons ‘Earth That Was’. The show followed the crew of the Firefly class ship Serenity as they struggle to survive any way they can in the ‘verse. It’s often described as a ‘sci-fi/western’, but ‘sci-fi/post American Civil War’ would actually be more accurate (although not as catchy). Rather than being a Stargate style action series, Firefly ditched the idea of aliens and massive space battles in favour of focusing on the wonderful character interactions of the eclectic crew.
Firefly was one of those moments when all the star aligned and everything in a show just worked. From the pitch perfect casting, to Joss Whedon’s superb scripts, to the iconic character and costume design. I’d go as far to say it was arguably the best scifi show ever made.
Why was Firefly cancelled?
*sigh*… FOX’s incompetence more than anything… Firstly, they switched the episode order, moving the pilot episode to the middle of the season. The show was hardly advertised, and then shifted around the schedules. They pretty much did everything possible to bury the series. Thankfully, there appears to have been a complete turnaround at FOX in recent years, which has led to Joss returning to the network for Dollhouse, and FOX supporting it for a second season. Joss also got the opportunity to tie up some of the loose ends in the movie Serenity. I’d still love to see Firefly take to the big or small screen again though.
Win Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2
Termintor:TSCC on Blu-ray
Another day, another great competition for you! To help launch Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2 on DVD and Blu-Ray, we;ve got 3 x copies of it on Blu-Ray to give away!
The second series of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles will be available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray disc this Autumn – released by Warner Bros Home Video. The popular action-drama box set will be hitting UK shelves on November 16th.
The heart-racing action and technological weaponry is set to wow fans of the blockbuster Terminator franchise. The intense second season sees Sarah and her teenage son, John, relentlessly battling to save themselves and the world time and time again. Fugitives from the law, they must evade pursuers from the future – and the present – in today’s Los Angeles.
Picking up where Season 1 left off, Sarah Connor continues on her mission to bring down the Skynet Artificial Intelligence Network. Her son John is mankind’s only hope in the war against our own creations but at 16, he is rebelling against the reality of his destiny – Sarah must protect him by taking out Terminators and federal officers every step of the way.
No Terminator fan should miss out on the exciting DVD and BD extras available. Insightful audio commentary, ‘terminated’ scenes, a full ‘gag reel’ plus various new featurettes revealing backstage secrets and amazing fight scene rehearsals make this box set essential to complete any collection.
There’s 2 ways you can win…
1. Enter Via Twitter!
All you need to do is follow http://twitter.com/geektown and tweet the following message:
In the UK? Want to win Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2 on Blu-Ray? http://bit.ly/3XMYrW RT and follow @Geektown
OR 2. Answer The Following Question:
Name all 4 actors to have played John Connor.
This competition is now closed. The 4 we were looking for were:
- Edward Furlong
- Nick Stahl
- Thomas Dekker
- Christian Bale
And yes, i now realise their were technically 2 more people:
- Michael Edwards (played old John Connor in T2)
- Dalton Abbott (played infant John Connor in T2)
But, no, you don’t get extra browny points for having them on your answer as well, you just have the warm fuzzy feeling of satifaction of knowing your a fellow geek. 
The competition closes on 16th Nov 2009 and is open to UK residents aged 18 or over. There will be 3 winners picked from twitter and the on site entries (enter via both and double your chances!). By entering this competition, you are agreeing to the rules of this competition. Full rules can be read here. © 2009 WARNER BROS. ENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Exclusive 4 minute clip of V on SciFi!
The cast of 'V'
The SciFi channel, who’ve been doing a great job of picking up interesting shows over that last year, have picked up V, the re imagining of the 1980′s mini series about the worlds first encounter with an alien race.
Simultaneously appearing over every city in the world, the visitors (or Vs) promote a message of peace. Through their generous offer to share a advanced technology, the Vs build a following that may actually hide a more malevolent agenda, one that twists a very deep component of human nature: devotion.
The cast of V is a veritable who’s who of scifi veterans. Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), Joel Gretsch (The 4400), Laura Vandervoort (Smallville), Morena Baccarin (Firefly) and Alan Tudyk (also Firefly), along with a few other familiar faces such as Lourdes Benedicto (Numb3rs/24), and Scott Wolf (Everwood/Party of Five).
Find out more about V and check out the exclusive preview at www.scifi.co.uk
V coming to the UK on the Sci Fi Channel in the New Year.
Chartjackers for Children In Need
Chartjackers - Jimmy, Charlie, Alex and Johnny
As I mentioned in our review of Disney’s A Christmas Carol yesterday, we bumped into 2 girls from Hat Trick at the Premiere, who were helping out the ChartJackers Project. 4 guys (Charlie, Alex, Johnny and Jimmy) who are trying to attempt the impossible: with no budget, and using only their charm and the internet, they are going to get a number one single for Children In Need.
In just ten weeks the guys must get a song written, find the musicians to perform it, blag a studio and persuade some of the biggest names on YouTube to come together, form a super group and sing it. Along the way they’ll be meeting one hit wonders, blagging recording time in a top studio, persuading DJs to play list their song. In short doing EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO GET TO NUMBER ONE!
It used to be you needed to sell truck loads of records to get to number one. Now on average a UK number one needs under 50, 000 units with Elvis getting to number one in 2005 with just over 20, 000 sales. The boys have a combined subscriber base on You tube of 200,000 people. Add on the halo effect of Children In Need, fans of other You tubers they may involve, and the BBC Switch audience, and they just might be in with a chance…
More info at ChartJackers Project.
A Christmas Carol World Premiere Review!
It was a cold dark night in ye olde London town, and thanks to the lovely people at Sky Movies HD, fellow Geektown reviewer Sam and I were about to enter a winter wonderland created for the World Premiere of Disney’s A Christmas Carol.
The Premiere
The set up for this premiere was so much bigger than anything I’d encountered before. The event had taken over the whole of Leicester Square, creating a long red carpet that led people through a winter wonderland (complete with falling snow and christmas trees) around the centre of the square, through to one of the 3 cinemas showing the film. Stages were set at either end filled with groups of carolers in full period costumes.
A couple of records were also broken in the course of the premiere. Not only was this the worlds largest premiere for a 3D movie, they also broke the world record for the largest number of people carol singing at one time. The singing was led by none other than Andrea Bocelli, who also gave a brilliant performance of a song from the movie (‘God Bless Us Everyone’) – see the performance at the end of the post. Don’t think i’ve ever felt so Christmasy in November before!
We spent a bit more time celeb spotting as Jim Carrey, Bob Hoskins, and Colin Firth worked the crowd. We also lent a helping hand (literally) to a couple of lovely people from Hat Trick, by waving some banners for Chartjackers (some great guys who have created a Christmas single from scratch using the internet to raise money for Children in Need). Finally we made our way over to the Odeon (tripping over some of the X-Factor finalists on the way), to watch Disney’s A Christmas Carol.
Disney’s A Christmas Carol Review
Jim Carrey's Scrooge
One thing i would like to point out at the start, the ‘Disney’s‘ part of the movie title is a bit of misnomer. I love Disney movies and Robert Zemeckis movies, but don’t go to this movie expecting to see a cutesy Disneyesque take on A Christmas Carol. This is far more a Robert Zemeckis production of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. I admit, it’s been a while since i’ve read the original novel, but i’m fairly sure most of the dialogue used in the film is the original Dickens.
The film stars Jim Carrey playing not only Ebenezer Scrooge, but Marley’s ghost, and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and yet-to-come. There’s also a rather superb supporting cast of Gary Oldman, Bob Hoskins, Colin Firth and Robin Wright Penn. As with Tom Hanks in Zemeckis’s previous digital animation movie The Polar Express, the main characters are modelled on the actual actors voicing them, creating truly stunning digital caricatures of the person in question.
Jim Carrey turns in a wonderfully pitched performance as Scrooge. I rather got the feel this was ‘actor’ Jim Carrey than the ‘wacky’ Jim Carrey you’d probably expect from him in an animated feature. The whole film feels very much like Zemeckis chose to make it as an animated feature as it was the most appropriate way of displaying his vision of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, not because he wanted to make a animated film.
Marley's Ghost
This does bring me to a word of warning to parents. Sections of the movie, particularly Marley’s ghost and Christmas Past, i suspect would be quite scary for young children. Couple that with the fact most cinemas will be showng it with the added depth of 3D (although i think it would probably work just as well in 2D), and you could have some frightened young offspring to deal with. There were 2 small kids in the rows in front of us who I noticed on a few occasions clinging onto their parents!
Given that A Christmas Carol is a tale that’s been told time and time again, Zemeckis does a stunning job of creating a unique and interesting retelling of the story, without straying to far from the original narrative. Visually stunning, with wonderful performances from both Carrey and the A list supporting cast, the Zemeckis version could very easily become a Christmas favourite.
Update: To see the casts introduction to the movie, hop over to our friends at HeyUGuys!
Disney’s A Christmas Carol opens 6th November 2009
8/10
Sky invites Sky+HD customers to host their own Sky+HD Party
Set up your Sky+HD party and get a complimentary Sky Box Office movie and £10 M&S voucher!
Sky is giving existing Sky+HD customers the opportunity to share the ultimate TV experience with their friends by hosting a Sky+HD Party.
Customers who take part will be given a complimentary Sky Box Office movie and £10 M&S voucher.
If your a Sky+HD customer, all you need to do is pop over to Sky+HD party and register.
To qualify for the offer, party hosts need to set up their Sky+HD party and invite three or more friends who must accept their online invitations by 5pm on 17 November. Friends must be over 18 and cannot be members of the same household.
The Sky+HD party hosts and their guests will get closer to the explosive action of a Hollywood blockbuster with the sharper detail and superb quality sound of high definition.
Sky+HD customers are given a choice of three films to choose from – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Hangover or Angels and Demons – shown exclusively from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th December. Customers will be able to watch their chosen films in the same week as their DVD and Blu-Ray releases.
The Sky+HD party offer is subject to availability and limited to the first 10,000 parties.
Terms and Conditions
Sky+HD Party offer is subject to availability and limited to the first 10,000 parties. You can receive one screening of your chosen film on the day you decide to host your party. The friends you invite must not be members of your household and must be over 18. You need to be an existing Sky+HD customer to participate in the offer and only Sky+HD customers whose HD viewing card went active before 4th November 2009 are eligible for this offer. All friends must accept their invitations online by 5pm on 16th November and the parties will need to take place on one day between Friday 11th and Sunday 13th of December 2009.
Further terms and conditions can be found on www.sky.com/hdparty
