MTV UK to stroll through Death Valley in Jan!
Undead Task Force
MTV are rolling into the New Year with the most unlikely police force around – the ‘Undead Task Force’, from brand new scripted horror-comedy Death Valley. With a remit to hunt the vampires, werewolves and zombies that tirelessly roam the streets of San Fernando Valley; you wouldn’t think battling the undead could be so funny. Sexy, gory and packed full of laughs, Death Valley is a non-stop thrill ride featuring extreme chases, hardcore kills and bizarre encounters with the supernatural. Already a smash hit in the States, Death Valley takes viewers to a place they’ve never been before with everything from vampire hookers to werewolf porn stars.
MTV are celebrating the new series by recruiting new Undead Task Force officers, and offering one lucky member the chance to win a trip to Los Angeles (Death Valley).
The ‘Death Valley: Share to Kill’ Facebook app gives MTV fans an inside peak at life as an Undead Task Force officer. Working as a team, fans from all over the world must kill vampires, werewolves, and zombies in order to rid Death Valley of the menacing and hideous creatures.
Zombie Cheerleader
Through exclusive video footage of disgustingly gory Valley pests, users are invited to create and share their own witty caption about the video. If enough comments are made, MTV will reveal the creature being slaughtered in the grotesque yet hilarious ways of the Undead Task Force – think headshots, knuckles and baseball bats. The caption with the most likes also wins exclusive Death Valley merchandise.
However, if all of the Valley’s horrible species are killed before the worldwide Death Valley premier, the user with the most creative caption will win a trip all the way to Death Valley in Los Angeles where zombies may or may not be roaming the streets…
The new, hilarious gore-ridden series will be on our screens for twelve weeks from Monday the 30th of January exclusively on MTV, but if you can’t wait until then to join the Undead Task Force at work, visit: http://on.fb.me/Az9ArH
Being Human is back, with a new Vampire… Meet Hal (Video)!
It's all change in Being Human Series 4
With Mitchell (Aidan Turner) gone, and George (Russell Tovey) about to hang up his furry paws, ghost Annie (Lenora Crichlow) is going to need a couple of new supernatural beings in her life for Being Human, Series 4. The first is Tom (Michael Socha), bumped up from a guest character to series regular, will take over the resident wearwolf role. First appearing in series 3, Tom discovered that McNair, the man he thought was his father, in fact wasn’t… Not only that, he was the one who gave him the werewolf curse in the first place! Since McNair’s death, Tom has stayed in Barry and is welcomed into Honolulu Heights. Putting his nomadic life and his mission to kill all vampires (mostly!) behind him, Tom has to learn to live like a human, love like a human and fight like a human. But will he succeed?
The latest new cast member is Hal (Damien Molony), a 500 year old vampire, and the temptation for blood and carnage still rules his every waking thought. Since meeting best friends Leo (a werewolf) and Pearl (a ghost) in 1955, Hal has managed to stay off the blood by sticking to a rigid structure and keeping away from all people. Coming to Honolulu Heights is a huge disruption for Hal. And he doesn’t cope well with disruption. At first, Hal – the stand-offish, posh vampire – and Tom – the common, feral werewolf – find themselves at loggerheads, but once a mutual respect is gained, we see this odd couple become close.
Still no exact air date for Being Human Season 4, but it’s soon (i’m guessing 22nd of Jan 2012 at 9pm, but that’s not confirmed!)
See more of Hal in the video below!
Dave get some new Suits!
Suits on UKTV's Dave
UKTV’s Dave have recently announced their first major US investment for 2012, with the drama series – Suits.
Meet Michael ‘Mike’ Ross (Patrick J. Adams). A lazy but brilliant college dropout with a photographic memory. On the run from a drug deal gone bad, Mike accidentally slips into a job interview with one of New York City’s best lawyers, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). Tired of cookie-cutter law school grads, suave quick-witted businessman Harvey takes a gamble by hiring Mike on the spot, despite the firm’s policy of hiring only Harvard Law graduates.
Proving to be an irrepressible duo and invaluable to the practice, Mike and Harvey must keep their secret from everyone including managing partner Jessica (Firefly’s Gina Torres) and Harvey’s arch nemesis Louis (Rick Hoffman), who seems intent on making Mike’s life as difficult as possible…
So far, Suits is sound part Franklin & Bash sprinkled with little bit of Chuck, both of which are great shows, so it’s definitely one to watch out for!
Suits will air on UKTV’s Dave 17th of January 2012, or you can get more info at www.facebook.com/suitsondave or www.uktv.co.uk/dave
Showcase Channel go on a Starhyke!
Tired of waiting for the Red Dwarf series X? This might be just the thing to help fill the long wait till Autumn 2012!
Starring Claudia Christian (Babylon 5), Jeremy Bulloch (Star Wars), Starhyke is a sci-fi comedy set in the year 3034, when the human race has suppressed all forms of emotion. So when the Reptids (the only unconquered alien race in our galaxy) threaten to release a weapon to reawaken human emotion, it’s up to Captain Blowhard (Christian) and her increasingly inept crew to travel back in time to stop them from changing the past and altering our future forever. Now plagued by uncontrollable emotions, the crew of the Nemesis find not-so practical ways of coping, whilst Dr Striker (Bulloch) looks for a cure in the most unusual places…
The show is also packed full of familiar sci-fi stars. Claudia Christian, best known as Commander Susan Ivanova in Babylon 5, said “Starhyke was an absolute joy to work on. The combination of a stellar cast, hilarious situations and the ability to play around in a comedy again was a joy for me… I love the combination of sci-fi and comedy and only the Brits can truly pull it off!” Jeremy Bulloch, the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett in the Star Wars trilogy said of his character, “Doctor Striker is a part I really enjoyed playing because he is completely insane! He a loveable rogue and quite daft, a lot like me!”.
Other stars include Suanne Braun (Stargate SG-1) and Rachel Grant (Die Another Day) and Brad Gorton (London’s Burning). The series also features guest appearances from Danny John-Jules (Cat in the aforementioned Red Dwarf), Mike Edmonds (Time Bandits) and even the legendary Sir Patrick Moore like you’ve never seen him before!
Starhyke has been a huge success on DVD for Bristol based Lightworx Media, and has built a steady fanbase through the sci-fi convention circuit, but this is the first time the anarchic mix of sci-fi, drama and humour has come to UK television. “It’s been difficult at times, but we were always spurred on by the reactions from sci-fi fans and the unwavering support they’ve given toward the series” says producer Jonathan G. Brown.
The series will premiere on Showcase TV on Sky 201 and Freesat 403 at 8pm from the 13th December, with repeats on Fridays at 2pm and Sundays at 4pm from the 1st January 2012.
For more info visit www.starhyke.com
Shows to watch out for on UK tv in January 2012!
Sherlock, Series 2
Taking a break from large hairy feet, pointy ears, and dragons, Benedict Cumberbatch (soon to be the voice of Smaug) and Martin Freeman (Hobbiting it up as Bilbo in New Zealand), make a triumphant return as Sherlock & Watson in the 2nd series of Sherlock.
Season 2 consists of 3 90-minute films inspired by 3 of Conan-Doyle’s original works. Steven Moffat takes the writing helm on ‘A Scandal In Belgravia’, Mark Gatiss takes on the gothic ‘The Hounds Of Baskerville’ and Stephen Thompson penned ‘The Reichenbach Fall’.
Sherlock, Series 2 airs on BBC1 – 1st January 2012 at 8.10pm
Treasure Island
If you’ve been watching Sky 1 at any point over the last few weeks, you’ve probably seen at least one advert for their latest big Christmas mini-series. Taking a break from their usual ‘Pratchett’ outing, this year Sky have opted for a new look on the classic tale of Treasure Island.
Eddie Izzard stars as Long John Silver, along with a star-studded cast of international talent including Elijah Wood, Philip Glenister, Rupert Penry-Jones, Keith Allen & Donald Sutherland.
Treasure Island airs on Sky 1 – 1st January 2012 at 7pm
New Girl, Season 1
New Girl stars The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy & (500) Days of Summer actress Zooey Deschanel (also younger sister to Bones’s Emily Deschanel) as Jess Day, a loveable young woman, whose life takes an unexpected slap in the face when she discovers her supposedly ‘perfect’ boyfriend is cheating on her. Needing a new place to stay, she ends up moving in with 3 guys – Nick (Jake Johnson) a bartender who’s also been through a rough breakup; Schmidt (Max Greenfield), a ‘douche bag’ lawyer; And Winston (Lamorne Morris) a basketball player. The pilot originally has Damon Wayans Jr. as a character called Coach, but due to Damon’s other show ‘Happy Endings’ getting picked up his character is switched for Winston.
New Girl has got great reviews in the US, and Fox extended it’s 1st season to a full 24 episodes, so I’m looking forward to seeing it air over here on Channel 4 – 6th January 2012 at 8.30pm
Grimm, Season 1
It’s just typical… You wait for ages for someone to come up with a show about fairy tales set in the modern-day, and then 2 come along at once!.. Well, they do if you’re in the US, not if you’re in the UK. The other fairytale show ‘Once Upon A Time’ has yet to be picked up by a UK channel, despite getting great reviews… Anyway, onwards to Grimm!..
Set in Portland, Oregon, Grimm follows the story of homicide detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli), who discovers that he is the last descendent of a group of hunters (known as ‘Grimms’), that fight to keep the world safe from supernatural, dark and twisted versions of fairytale creatures.
For me, apart from the concept, the most exciting thing about Grimm is that it’s created by Angel co-creator David Greenwalt and Angel writer Jim Kouf, so you have 2 people who know how to create a wonderfully dark, twisted and highly entertaining supernatural tv show. Definitely one to watch out for when it airs on UKTV’s Watch in January (exact date to be confirmed).
Being Human, Season 4
Damien Molony - the new vamp!
Mitchell maybe gone (once again stolen by Peter Jackson, this time to play Kili in The Hobbit), but Being Human marches on. George (Russell Tovey), Annie (Lenora Crichlow) and Nina (Sinead Keenan) are still on Barry Island, and are about to be joined by Damien Molony as Hal, a new vampire character. Molony describes Hal as “Very, very well dressed. Pressed shirts and cufflinks. Very, very posh. Very upper class. A stiff upper-lipped Brit.” It’s safe to say, he’s most definitely not a direct replacement for Mitchell!
We also know that this will be Russell Tovey’s last series as George the werewolf, so it’s looking like, should we get a series 5, it could well be Hal the vampire, Nina the werewolf, and Annie the ghost.
Being Human will be back on BBC in early January (exact date to be confirmed).
Game Of Thrones, Season 2 – Production Diary
HBO have releases this interesting little teaser video from the set(s) of Game Of Thrones, Season 2. With Sean Bean’s ‘unfortunate event’ at the end of season 1, there’s lot’s of changes this season, and a bunch of new cast members. Liam Cunningham (Outcasts, Strike Back: Project Dawn) joins as Ser Davos Seaworth, a former smuggler. Oliver Ford Davies (aka Governor of Naboo Sio Bibble in Star Wars) plays Maester Cressen, and Stephen Dillane joins as Stannis Baratheon – elder brother to the recently dead King Robert, and possible usurper to the brat boy king Joffrey. Natalie Dormer (Tudors, The Fades) also joins the cast as Lady Margaery Tyrell, betrothed of Renly Baratheon.
I’m so looking forward to Game of Thrones coming back, as season 1 was probably the best tv show of this year. Game Of Thrones, Season 2 airs in the US on HBO in April 2012, and should air on Sky Atlantic, around April 2012 as well.
