Slingers News: Jose Molina Joins The Writing Team!
Slingers - now with added Jose Molina!
I woke this morning to some really exciting news! Jose Molina, one of the writers for the brilliant Firefly, Dark Angel, Haven, Castle and the upcoming Terra Nova, is joining Sizemore (aka Mike Atherton) to write a full pilot for Sizemore’s excellent Slingers. If your a regular reader of GeekTown, you’ll be aware we’ve been praying for Slingers to get made, and this is looking more and more positive with each drop of news that creeps out. For those of you who aren’t regular readers (where have you been!), here’s a brief plot synopsis:
Slingers is set set in 2263 A.D. An interplanetary war has left a section of humanity cut off from Earth by an impassible barrier. Some people are prepared to do as the military tell them, and make the best of a bad situation. Some have other plans… People such as Dominic ‘DM’ Monroe and his merry band of brothers decide to *ahem* borrow… the military’s experimental spaceship, which has the capability to ‘sling’ itself to any point in the universe. That means in theory, it is the only craft that side of the barrier has the capability of reaching Earth…
Really happy for Sizemore, Jose, and the guys at Sleepy Dog, and look forward to seeing more news soon!
You can follow Slingers progress in our new ‘Slingers’ section and on their Facebook page here!
Top 4 SciFi Shows We Want To See!
Over a chat with some fellow GeekTowners recently, we were mourning the loss (or long hiatus) of the Stargate franchise after the cruel cancellation of the actually rather good SGU, and it got us thinking… What scifi shows would we like to see – with the exception of the obligatory ‘bring back Firefly‘ obviously…
4. Star Wars – Live Action TV Show
We're waiting George!
Apart from from needing a decent title, and seemingly not having moved forward much since it was first announced a few years back, the Star Wars Live Action TV Show has been slowly bubbling along behind the scenes. Lucas says he has 50 hours written out of an initial run of 100. However, in a recent interview the big man himself has said it’s basically on hold until the technology manages to catch up with his vision of what he wants the show to be – i.e. we want it to be epic and we can’t afford to do it on a tv budget…
Really George?.. What the heck are you planning that you, the man that’s amassed a fortune selling everything from Star Wars lunchboxes to C3PO tape dispensers (yes, really), think it’s not cost effective to produce a Star Wars TV show?! Are you planning on blowing up an actual planet each episode? Genetically engineer real Ewoks maybe? I’m struggling to see how a Star Wars branded ‘anything‘ at this point won’t make you your money back, despite whatever fortune you spend on it! *Sigh* so while Lucas waits (presumably for someone to construct an actual Death Star so they can shoot it somewhere with that authentic ‘Death Stary feel’), we will get Robot Chicken’s Star Wars Sitcom which Lucas greenlit earlier this year. At least that’s something new (and I do expect it to be awesome!), but I’d still love to see the live action show move forward!
3. Mass Effect the TV Series
Mass Effect TV Show
BioWare have made a number of truly great computer games, but one of the strongest universes they’ve created was the one that Mass Effect resides in. There is a Mass Effect movie in development, but that’s no reason to not consider a TV series after that. Look at the success Stargate had (even though the the original writer seemingly hated the tv show!).
Mass Effect provides a vivid and interesting environment that could easily expand in TV. With so many varied races and characters to explore, I can’t help but think a tv show set in the Mass Effect universe would allow the story to expand far more than a film would every allow.
2. Fray the TV Series
Fray TV Show
Yes, I know we’re fanboys when it comes to Joss, but after he’s done sorting out Marvel’s men in tights, I’d really love to see him have something back on the small screen, and it’d be nice if it was something Slayer related. So how about a Fray tv series?
For those of you that don’t know about Fray, it was a series of comic book written by Joss about a new Slayer set in a hi tech future. In this timeline demons had though to have been banished from Earth, and the Watchers are a crazed cult. But when vampires (now know as lurks) start to re-appear in New York’s slums, a new Slayer is called in the form of thief Melaka Fray to battle the increasing threat… Vamps and Slayers in a futuristic scifi setting?.. What more could you want!
1. Slingers TV Show
Ever since the ‘sizzle reel‘ for Slingers popped up in 2009, we’ve been backing the show to get made! For those of you that have yet to catch the video – see above! Slingers is set set in 2263 A.D. An interplanetary war has left a section of humanity cut off from Earth by an impassible barrier. Some people are prepared to do as the military tell them, and make the best of a bad situation. Some have other plans… People such as Dominic ‘DM’ Monroe and his merry band of brothers decide to *ahem* borrow… the military’s experimental spaceship, which has the capability to ‘sling’ itself to any point in the universe. That means in theory, it is the only craft that side of the barrier has the capability of reaching Earth…
In terms of tone, it’s been described as “the action of Bullitt, the sophistication of Ocean’s 11 and the humour of M*A*S*H all wrapped in a futuristic package.” That description alone makes me want to see Slingers go into production! Things have been a bit quiet in terms of actual news on Slingers recently, other than the odd tweet from creator Mike Sizemore about “meetings in LA going well”, there’s not been much news recently. Looking at the stunning work the guys did on the the sizzle reel, I’m surprised it hasn’t been snapped up yet. Still, you know what they say… Good things come to those who wait… 
A Few More Shows To Watch Out For This Season!
We recently posted our ‘Top 7 New TV Shows We’re looking forward to!’, but I also wanted to flag up a few more that were missing from that list.
The Walking Dead
Based on a comic book by Robert Kirkman (published by Image Comics), The Walking Dead follows a group of people trying to survive in a post zombie apocalypse world. The story centres around Rick Grimes, played by UK’s Andrew Lincoln (This Life, Teachers, Love Actually, Strike Back). He’s a small town Kentucky cop, who wakes up in hospital after getting shot, only to find himself alone and everywhere deserted. Rick sets out to try and find his wife Lori, played by Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break’s Sara Tancredi) and daughter, and get to a safe place to start a new life away from the zombie hordes.
The show is being masterminded by The Shawshank Redemption’s Frank Darabont in conjunction with Kirkman, and has already been picked up for a second season. A Zombie TV show, with a decent brit actor in the lead, and a hollywood director as showrunner… That’s got to be worth a look! The six episode first season will premiere in the UK on FXUK in November.
Outcasts
BBC - Outcasts
Outcasts
Unlike a lot of the shows in these sort of lists, this one is homegrown in the UK. Outcasts follows a group of brave pioneers who have been given the opportunity for a second chance at life on another planet. As they settle into their new home, the town of Forthaven on the planet Carpathia, they start to realise this is no ordinary world…
The group is led by President Richard Tate, played by Liam Cunningham (Clash of the Titans, Harry Brown, Murphy’s Law), with a team consisting of the Head of Protection and Security, Stella Isen (Spook’s Hermione Norris), Officer Fleur Morgan (played by Amy Manson – Torchwood, Casualty), and the unpredictable Officer Cass Cromwell (Ashes to Ashes’s Daniel Mays).
They’re joined by Head of the Expeditionaries, Mitchell Hoban (Battlestar’s Jamie Bamber), Mitch’s ‘armed and dangerous’ 2nd in command Jack (ex-rapper turned actor – Ashley Walters), Julius Berger – VP of Earth’s Evacuation Programme (Ungly Betty’s Eric Mabius), and rebel youth Tipper Malone (Michael Legge – Shameless).
The BBC seems to be pulling out all the stops for Outcasts. As you can probably tell by some of the casting, it’s a Kudos production, which is no bad thing as it’s rare they put a foot wrong (that’s the people that brought you Spooks, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, and Hustle). It’s been a while since the a UK production has heading this far into the realm of serious adult scifi, so this is really one to watch out for. Outcasts is written by Spooks screenwriter Ben Richards and was shot on location in South Africa. The 8 episode first series is due to air this Autumn on the BBC.
I’m also rather hoping this does well, as the more out-and-out UK scifi we get doing well on screen, the more chance there is of Slingers getting made.
The Cape
None of your clever Heroes-esque ordinary people with extraordinary powers here. The Cape has a far more straight up comic book style origin. Cop Vince Faraday (ER’s David Lyons) is a good cop trying to clean up a bad city. The bad guys frame him for murder and leave him for dead. Leaving behind a wife and kid, he goes into hiding… And ends up at a circus (as you do…), where the circus folk train to take on the guise of his son’s favorite comic book hero – ‘The Cape’.
I was in 2 minds whether to add this as I’m really unsure about it. The plot set up sounds very ropey. However, with the right level of tounge in cheekness, it could be a nice little fun bit of escapism. The Cape co-stars the beautiful Summer Glau (Firefly, Terminator:SCC, Dollhouse) as ‘investigative blogger’ Orwell, and James Frain (Cromwell in The Tudors) as The Cape’s arch enemy Chess. It’s also got Vinnie Jones in it playing Scales (basically Vinnie with a skin condition and a temper).
There’s no UK air date for The Cape as yet, so we’ll just have to wait and see if it survives long enough to make it across the pond.
See the rest of our Top 7 New TV Shows We’re looking forward to here!
Warhammer 40k The Movie – Ultramarines
Ultramarines - Warhammer 40k movie!
Hot on the heels of the announcement that this years E3 could have some Warhammer 40k space marine action in the form of a W40k MMO, I get tweeted about Ultramarines, a Warhammer 40k CGI animated movie! (The tweet appeared to come straight from Sean Pertwee, but his account is not verified, so I won’t post a link to it, just in case it’s not him… if it is though – Hi Sean! 
)
Ultramarines is being written by best-selling author Dan Abnett. Although Dan is probably best know for his million+ selling Warhammer fantasy and 40k novels, he was also responsible for relaunching Legion of Super-Heroes for DC, created Sinister Dexter for 2000AD, and a bunch of work for Marvel, and has written his own original fiction.
Ultramarines Movie
The movie also has an impressive cast list, including Terence Stamp, John Hurt, and the aforementioned Sean Pertwee (who’s also starring in the awesome looking Slingers project.)
Other key roles are being played by Donald Sumpter (most recently seen as Being Human’s nasty priest Kemp), Steven Waddington (Duke of Buckingham – The Tudors, Sleepy Hollow), Johnny Harris (Dorian Gray, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus), Ben Bishop, Christopher Finney, and Gary Martin.
Vanessa Chapman, managing director of the production company, Codex Pictures, is delighted to have attracted such a prestigious cast to Ultramarines. “Our goal has been to give the characters distinctive and authoritative voices, fitting to these superhuman men of war,” she says. “Coupled with the authentic and engaging facial capture provided by Image Metrics, these outstanding actors are going to do so much to bring the Warhammer 40,000 universe powerfully to life on screen.”
For more info, have a look at ultramarinesthemovie.com
Sean Pertwee talks about Slingers
We first posted about Slingers a few months back when the ‘Slingers Sizzle’ promo video started floating around the internets. Here, Slingers writer Mike Sizemore talks to Sean Pertwee about his thoughts on the project, and UK Sci-fi in general.
I’m really excited by the prospect of Slingers making it into a full tv show, so good luck to Mike and all the guys at Sleepydog, I really want to see this get made.
I’ll be posting more info we get as we get it.
New UK Sci-fi Show ‘Slingers’ Promo
Dominic ‘DM’ Monroe (Adrian Bower) and Frank (Tom Mison)
I’ve seen links to this promo for Slingers pop up around the twitterverse over the last few days, partly due to writer Warren Ellis tweeting it as his ‘favourite new tv show’, despite the fact it’s still only in production at the moment, and doesn’t yet even have a pilot.
Slingers is set in 2263 A.D, following mankind’s first interplanetary war. Although Humanity won the war with an aggressive alien enemy, there was a cost… The way back to Earth is now cut off by an impassable barrier – a side effect of the blast that finally pushed the enemy back, leaving humanity clustered into a finite (but still vast) section of the universe known as Enclosed Space.
Not everyone is happy with their new home in the galaxy though, and rather than just ‘stay where they are and make the best of it’ as the military command would like, a small group led by Dominic ‘DM’ Monroe (Adrian Bower), a special ops war veteran decide to ‘borrow’ Colonel Hall’s (Sean Pertwee) experimental spacecraft that is capable of ‘Slinging’ itself to any point in space and therefore, theoretically, being the only known craft that could reach Earth.
Haruka Abe
Although it has the backdrop of a sci-fi show, it actually has more in common with a heist movie. They describe it as the action of Bullitt, the sophistication of Ocean’s 11 and the humour of M*A*S*H all wrapped in a futuristic package. From what i’ve seen of the promo, i’d say think Hustle crossed with Firefly, which in my book is no bad thing!
The show is written by Mike Sizemore and stars Sean Pertwee, Tom Mison, Adrian Bower, Margo Stilley and Haruka Abe. With the obvious exception of Doctor Who, it’s rare for the UK to come out with something quite so sci-fi, and it’s the first UK produced sci-fi show that’s really got me excited to see it in a long long time. Slingers is currently in production, and they’re hoping to shoot a full pilot in 2010. Really really hope the guys over at Sleepy Dog get this show off the ground, as I think it has the potential to be some of the best sci-fi to come out of the UK in years.
