Source Code to be the new Quantum Leap?
Source Code - TV Series
Moving a project from the cinema to the small screen (or vice versa) can be a tricky thing… However, Buffy, Stargate, Terminator (despite it’s short run), and M*A*S*H all made decent transitions, and Mark Gordon, the producer of Duncan Jones’ brilliant movie Source Code, is hoping to he can make it too, after securing a pilot commitment from CBS to turn the film’s premise into a weekly tv series.
Source Code stars Jake Gyllenhaal as pilot Colter Stevens, who wakes to find himself on a train headed for Chicago, with no memory of how he got there, or why he appears to be in someone else’s body… He doesn’t have long to muse on this predicament though, as 8 minutes later the train explodes, and he awakes again, but this time in some sort of military training simulator. Dazed and very confused, Captain Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) appears on a monitor to explain that he is taking part in an experimental ‘source code’ project which allows him to re-live the last 8 minutes of someone’s life, albeit in an alternative reality. The reason he is on that train is to try and identify the bomber before he can set of a much larger explosion in central Chicago.
For the TV series, the plan is to have 3 federal agents using the ‘source code’ technology to jump into people’s bodies to prevent or solve tragic past events. It’ll be interesting to see how they approach moving the mythology to the small screen, as the film leaves it quite open to shoot off in a number of different directions. It’s fair to say this is likely to make some key changes from the film, which very much centered around Stevens, his confusion to the situation, and his mental state. In the same way Stargate saw the TV iron out the process of gating to a planet compared to the movie, i’d rather expect the TV show to focus more on the ‘event’ than the bumps of using the system.
The pilot is being penned by Steven Maeda, writer/executive producer on the superb (and tragically cancelled) ‘Lie to Me’, and ‘Lost’, so he’s no stranger to a good mystery story, and a bit of sci-fi weirdness! Although the basic premise is very ‘Quatumn Leap’, there’s enough other material set up in the movie to make this a much more edgy concept. Will be very interesting one to watch develop.
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Immortals – Final Trailer!
It maybe a while before we get to see Henry Cavill don the famous red/blue spandex of the superist of all the DC superheroes in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (due 2013), but before then he gets to play ‘Theseus’, a hero of the greek sort, in Tarsem Singh’s Immortals.
Theseus (Henry Cavill) has been chosen by Zeus (Luke Evans – Aramis in The Three Musketeers) to to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain the legendary Epirus Bow, a weapon of unimaginable power forged in the heavens by Ares.
It is said that the one who possesses the bow can unleash those pesky Titans the gods went to a lot of trouble imprisoning the walls of Mount Tartaros. In the king’s hands, the bow would ‘rain destruction upon mankind and annihilate the Gods’. But annoyingly, ancient law dictates the Gods must not intervene in man’s conflict, so Zeus taps up a peasant named Theseus comes forth as their only hope… Could have gone with a general… you know… someone with military experience maybe?.. but no… a peasant…
Anyone else think Zeus spends rather too much time at the Mount Olympus bar than thinking up an effective strategy for dealing with people that are ‘annihilate’ you? “Zeus, Zeus! A pesky mortal is trying to destroy us!!”… “Really?… Oh, okay… Erm.. Send that guy to stop him. No, not the guard, the one next to him plowing. Yes really! And it’s my 12th goblet of wine this morning, why do you ask?”
On 11/11/11, witness the 3-D epic battle as mere men become Immortals.
Review: Fringe Season 3 on DVD & Blu-ray
Walter & Peter
Two worlds will collide, and one woman’s fate will write our future in FRINGE Season 3 out on Blu-ray and DVD on 26 September, courtesy of Warner Home Video.
Picking up from Akiva Goldsman stunning season 2 conclusion, Fringe season 3 starts with FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) stuck ‘over there’ in the parallel universe, whilst Fauxlivia (also Anna Torv) takes her place in our reality. During this season we get to see a lot more of ‘over there’ than in earlier seasons. For the first half of the run, the episodes alternate between ‘there’ and ‘here’ with the familiar blue intro sequence turning to a rather more threatening red to distinguish which universe we’re in. Although the 2nd half of the season sees the action settles mainly in the ‘prime’ universe, they do use the title season tactic later on, by re-introducing the 80′s sequence last seen in season 2′s ‘Peter’ to signify an episode set in the past. They also introduce a grey title sequence for the season finale to signify… well… you’ll have to wait and see… ;)
Olivia & Fauxlivia (Anna Torv)
One of the most interesting things to come out of this season is the ‘love triangle’ that develops between Peter, Olivia and Fauxlivia. Having finally plucked up the courage to tell ‘Olivia’ how he feels, Peter’s world is shattered when he comes to realize it’s actually Olivia’s ‘other universe’ counterpart he’s in a relationship with. And when ‘Olivia prime’ finally returns, how will she react when she discovers Peter’s been sleeping with her evil twin?.. Anna Torv does a superb job in both roles, managing to show a whole range of sides to the character… or characters, depending how you look at it! It’s a great testament to Anna Torv’s acting ability, as Season 3 not only has her playing both Olivia and Fauxlivia, but Fauxlivia pretending to be Olivia, and Olivia thinking she is Fauxlivia! Oh… and then on top of all that, the producers ask her to pull off a (disturbingly convincing) version of Leonard Nimoy! It’s fair to say Anna worked hard for her pay check this season!
Of course, Torv isn’t the only one on multiple role duties. John Noble’s Walter and counterpart Walternate are both back, as are both versions of Jasika Nicole’s Astrid. We also meet the ‘prime’ version of Seth Gabel’s agent Lincoln Lee for the first time, who goes on to take a far more prominent role in the upcoming season 4. In fact the only cast member that really must get a lot of extra time to kick back in his trailer is Joshua Jackson, as there’s only one Peter… A fact that’s becomes more and more important as season 3 plays out…
Fringe Season 3 on Blu-ray & DVD
Notable guest appearances to watch out for this season are Aaron Ashmore (Smallville’s James ‘Jimmy’ Olsen and new Warehouse 13 agent Steve Jinks), who manages to free his twin (real life twin Shawn Ashmore – X-Men’s Iceman) from the parallel universe’s dreaded ‘amber’. Ferris Bueller’s Alan Ruck as a slightly unhinged aerospace engineer, and Back to the Future legend Christopher Lloyd as aging keyboardist of Walter’s favorite band ‘Violet Sedan Chair’.
Once again J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have produced one of the most interesting & entertaining sci-fi shows on TV today, and after the incredible climax to season 3, I can’t wait to see where they take Fringe with Season 4!
Discover the mysteries surrounding a parallel universe with FRINGE Season 3 with its rapidly spreading phenomenons and shocking moments which will keep you gripped to your seat; don’t miss this year’s most thrilling television box-set coming to Blu-ray and DVD plus Seasons 1-3 box set out on Blu-ray and DVD on 26 September.
9/10 – The best sci-fi show on TV right now!
STAR WARS: The Old Republic gets a launch date!
It’s been a long (long time…) in coming, but Bioware have finally given us a release date for STAR WARS: The Old Republic… And it’s the 22nd of December 2011 for Europe (20th of December if your over in North America)! Merry Christmas everyone! 
SWTOR is a game we’ve been desperate to play ever since it was announced back in 2008. Originally planned for early 2011, not unsurprisingly give Bioware’s usual ‘we’ll release it when it’s ready and not before’ attitude, it slipped, and we were beginning to wonder if we’d ever get to see SWTOR this side of the 2011 holiday season. Thankfully the lil Bioware Ewoks have been hard at work, and from all the footage and previews i’ve see, SWTOR is not only ready, it should be one of the most engrossing and detailed MMORPG game worlds ever created.
Like previous Bioware games, SWTOR has a heavy focus on story, way more so than any other MMORPG gone before. Bioware plan to firmly re-attached the RPG part of the acronym – something that has been sorely missing in many more recent MMO releases.
After your initial 30 days, the subscription costs are pretty much in line with the genre’s other major player ‘World of Warcraft’, with 1 month subs at £8.99, 3 months at £25.17, and 6 months at £46.14. No news on how early the ‘Early Game Access’ will be yet.
So there your are, you now know what to ask Santa to get you for Christmas… STAR WARS: The Old Republic – 22nd of December 2011.
WIN Tucker & Dale vs Evil on Blu-ray!
Tucker & Dale vs Evil on Blu-ray!
Don’t misunderstand us when we say ‘yoh got ah chainse tah ween’ as we’ve got our hands on a few copies of the hilarious gross-out comedy Tucker & Dale vs Evil to give-away to three lucky GeekTowners!
This sure-to-be cult horror, sees gentle hillbillies Tucker (Alan Tudyk – ‘Wash’ in the best sci-fi TV show ever made, Firefly), and Dale (Tyler Labine – ‘Sock’ in the funny but short lived ‘Reaper’) mistaken for murderous backwoods rednecks by a group of obnoxious, preppy college kids when the pair head up to their dilapidated mountain cabin where the kids are camping. It’s not long before a chain of ridiculous misunderstandings and preconceived stereotypes leads to a rapidly rising body count and more than a splattering of blood and gore.
Tyler Labine (Reaper, Dark Angel), Alan Tudyk (Transformers 3, Dodgeball, Serenity) Katrina Bowden (30 Rock) and Jesse Moss (Final Destination 3) star in this gut-bustingly funny horror comedy, Tucker & Dale vs Evil, which is released on DVD and Blu-ray on 26 September.
For your chance to get a copy of the movie on Blu-ray, all you have to do is nosey around the Tucker & Dale vs Evil Facebook page, then Like it to find the hidden ‘TRIVIA’ question in with the photos, then pop back here and select your answer:
Win Tucker & Dale vs Evil on DVD
Tucker & Dale vs Evil
Competition now closed
The competition closes on September 30th 2011 and is open to UK residents aged 18 or over. There will be 3 winners picked from entries on geektown.co.uk. By entering this competition, you are agreeing to the rules of this competition. Full rules can be read here.
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The Canadians Order Primeval Spin Off – Primeval: New World
Primeval: New World
Well this is an interesting twist to what’s happening next with the Primeval franchise… Canadian sci-fi channel Space has placed an order for 13 one hour episode of a more adult spin-off from the UK franchise, called Primeval: New World.
There have been some reports of this show being a ‘reboot/reimaging’ of the UK series, but that actually doesn’t seem to be the case. Corrie Coe, VP of Bell Media (Space’s parent company) says it’ll be ‘a parallel, yet independent series’, set in the same universe as the UK show. It will star a Canadian cast playing a new Canadian team taking on past and future creatures as they appear through anomalies, much like the UK show. One of the main differences though will be in the tone, with New World being an ‘older, darker and scarier’ vison of the Primeval mythology – think Torchwood compared to the more family friendly Doctor Who. Jonathan Drake, the head of Primeval’s production company ‘Impossible Pictures’ says “We won’t be replacing the UK show in the international market but complementing it. It will provide a positive glow for our catalogue of existing Primeval shows. And if something were to happen to the UK version, the brand still survives.”
So what does this mean for Primeval UK?.. Well, the press release does say there are plans for ‘story and character development will move between the two series, uniting different plotlines’, however that could still be more of a ‘wish’ rather than solid evidence that Primeval will get a 6th series.
Primeval: New World will start shooting this winter in Vancouver, and be a joint production between Omni Film Productions (who previously produced the entertaining but short lived ‘Defying Gravity’) and Impossible Pictures (the people behind the original UK Primeval series). No news as to who will be broadcasting it in the UK yet, but I suspect both Watch and ITV will have an interest.
