Sci-Fi Bulletin

This year didn’t see the strongest showing by genre shows at the BAFTAs, but in addition to the special award given to Steven Moffat by the stars of his two shows, Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch, BBC Three’s underestimated series The Fades won Best Drama. Unfortunately cancelled by the BBC after only one series, the apocalyptic … Continue reading »

A prediction in the 2006 Doctor Who story Fear Her has come true – in a roundabout way. In Matthew Graham’s episode, swathes of people disappear from London and it’s down to the tenth incarnation of the Doctor to light the Olympic Flame at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. On May 26, Matt Smith, … Continue reading »

Multi-award winning author China Miéville kicked off the promotional activity for his latest novel Railsea in London on May 23rd, and Sci-Fi Bulletin’s Alice Wybrew was there: Appearing at Forbidden Planet’s flagship store on Shaftesbury Avenue, China gave a short reading from his new book followed by a Q&A and signing. As expected, the event … Continue reading »

Those listeners who have caught Radio4Extra’s recent broadcast of the Doctor Who Klein trilogy, featuring Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor re-encountering Tracy Childs’ Elizabeth Klein, may be wondering if they’re missing something. Big Finish are giving you a chance to find out. The three stories that form the trilogy – Andy Lane’s A Thousand Tiny Wings, … Continue reading »

Syfy has confirmed that they will not be picking up a fifth season of the sci-fi fantasy series Sanctuary. The show, which starred former Stargate lead Amanda Tapping, aired its final episode last December in the States. Vice-President Craig Engler posted on the Syfy twitter account: “Just landed and I see we have a sad … Continue reading »

“Some men are coming to kill us – we’re going to kill them first!” The first proper look at the new James Bond film Skyfall has finally arrived – and you can watch it below. Starting with a word association test for Bond, it develops into the all-action movie that audiences have been waiting for … Continue reading »

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine star Chase Masterson is accompanying Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy in the new audio The Shadow Heart, coming out this November. Speaking exclusively to Sci-Fi Bulletin, Chase explained, “My friend Frazer Hines, the fabulous actor who played Jamie McCrimmon on Doctor Who, referred me to the Big Finish team. When I … Continue reading »

Doctor Who and Sherlock showrunner Steven Moffat is to receive a special award at this year’s BAFTAs. “Steven has had an outstanding year with Doctor Who and Sherlock, not to mention the feature film The Adventures of Tintin, and we are delighted to honour his contribution to television and the arts,” BAFTA chairman Tim Corrie … Continue reading »

Hampton Fancher, the co-writer of the original 1982 Blade Runner movie, is in discussions to return 30 years later to work on Ridley Scott’s sequel to the iconic movie. The new Blade Runner will apparently follow on from the first film, but not focus on Harrison Ford’s character Rick Deckard. The original movie was based … Continue reading »

As part of their upfront presentations revealing their line up for the new season, the CW has released clips from their new shows. In the segment from the pilot of Beauty And The Beast, Kirstin Kreuk’s character is attacked along with her mother – but is saved by the timely intervention of… something. A more … Continue reading »

Now that they’ve given a series order for Arrow, the CW has released the backstory for the latest version of Oliver Queen’s history: “After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to … Continue reading »

Alcatraz is no more – long live the Revolution! NBC has released a short teaser trailer for the new series coming from J.J. Abrams and Supernatural creator Eric Kripke. “After 15 years of darkness, an unlikely group sets out to save the world,” reads the tagline, suggesting we’re in for more of the post-apocalyptic fun … Continue reading »

The CW is putting its faith in genre-related offerings this season, with Rockne S. O’Bannon’s Cult, the DC-based Arrow and the revamp of Beauty and the Beast all receiving series orders. Cult has had a long journey to the screen, originally pitched for the 2005-6 season, before being revamped for 2009-10, and then reworked for … Continue reading »

Star Trek‘s Captain Kirk is to face off against regulars Ian Hislop and Paul Merton and guests Andy Hamilton and Charlie Brooker as the guest host on BBC 2′s news quiz show Have I Got News For You on Friday 25 May. At 81, William Shatner hopes his unique sense of humour will see him … Continue reading »

Both fairy-tale based ongoing series will be chasing the ratings next season, following ABC’s decision to renew Once Upon a Time – Grimm was picked up some time ago. Creator Adam Horowitz broke the news on his Twitter account: “It’s official — #OnceUponATime has been picked up for season 2. Thank you all so much … Continue reading »

J.J. Abrams’ latest TV series has become another one-season wonder, with Alcatraz failing to get a pick-up for a second year. The time-travelling series (broadcast on Fox in the US and Watch in the UK) failed to spark with audiences despite a strong cast and echoes of Lost‘s multiple-reality scenarios. Deadline points out that its … Continue reading »

The season opener for Doctor Who‘s seventh year will receive its premiere at the Edinburgh International TV Festival, being held in the Scottish capital between August 23rd and 25th. Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat will be present during the Festival, and is running a masterclass on Sherlock alongside its co-creator Mark Gatiss and producer Sue … Continue reading »

Dubbed the “Author of Splendid Nightmares” by the New York Times, American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak has died, aged 83. Best known for the book Where The Wild Things Are (made into a movie in 2009 by Spike Jonze), he was the author of over two dozen works ranging from children’s pop-up books to adaptations … Continue reading »

The steampunk adventurers featured in the bestselling Space:1889 and Beyond ebook series from Untreed Reads are heading back home in the series one finale out shortly – appropriately enough, given the series title, via the moon. Dark Side of Luna is written by Space:1889 creator Frank Chadwick together with JT Wilson, author of Cemetery Drive, and … Continue reading »

Fans waiting for the resolution to the cliffhanger ending of MTV’s Teen Wolf reboot have less than a month to wait, with new episodes beginning on June 3rd in the States following the 2012 MTV Music Awards. A full-length trailer has now been released which can be seen below, promising more blood, gore, relationship angst … Continue reading »

Marvel’s movie strategy has paid off, with the film of The Avengers raking in huge box office receipts around the world. According to official estimates, The Avengers will smash the previous single weekend box office take of $169m held by the Harry Potter finale, on course for over $200m. International gross is over $450m – … Continue reading »

Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica FX maestro Doug Drexler has teamed up with award-winning writer Marc Scott Zicree and director Neil Johnson to work on Space Command, a new series of SF films bringing back the spirit of the great exploration films and TV series of the 1950s – and they need your help. Rather than … Continue reading »

The CW has given an early pick-up to two of its success stories: Supernatural, which will go into an eighth season of monster-hunting adventures for the Winchester brothers, and The Vampire Diaries, entering its fourth year. The official press release simply calls Supernatural a “fan favourite,” and hails The Vampire Diaries as “bloody good drama” … Continue reading »

In a conference call following the show’s renewal for a fifth and final season, Fringe executive producers Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman dropped various hints about the show’s direction for its concluding year. Asked whether Leonard Nimoy would return to play William Bell, Pinkner said, “We basically erected a sign outside of Leonard’s house that … Continue reading »

Nearly 18 months after the cliffhanger ending to the fourth series of ITV’s dinosaur series Primeval, the fifth (and probably final) year of the show will begin its first terrestrial transmission on June 16th on ITV. The episodes have been aired on co-finance partner Watch already, and have been available on DVD since last summer, … Continue reading »

Remakes of The Mummy and Van Helsing are top of the agenda for Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman as part of their new deal at Universal Studios. The writer/producers have signed a two-year first-look production deal with the studio. “Kurtzman and Orci’s K/O Paper Products will develop and produce a modern reimagining of Universal library … Continue reading »

TV and movie composer Joel Goldsmith has died, aged 54. Goldsmith followed in his father Jerry’s footsteps into the music business, composing music for various television series, including Stargate SG-1 and its spin-off Stargate Atlantis. He was nominated for three Emmys in his career: in 1998 for the SG-1 episode “The Nox,” in 2005 for … Continue reading »

Chuck Wendig’s novel Blackbirds hits shops in the U.K. this week, and to mark the release of the book we described as “a gripping story” that went straight into our Top 10 of 2012, we’ve teamed up with Angry Robot to provide a free copy for three lucky winners. All you’ve got to do to … Continue reading »

With only a month to go until the release of Ridley Scott’s hotly anticipated new sci-fi movie Prometheus, appetites are being whetted with yet more teasing scenes in the latest international trailer, which has just been uploaded to the internet. With even more shots linking the film to Scott’s classic SF movie Alien, this is … Continue reading »

Be afraid – be very afraid. The Martians are heading back to Earth… in fact, they never went away, as we learned in the 1988 TV version of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, which follows on from the 1953 movie. Read our review here, and then to win one of our three competition … Continue reading »

Fringe, which has consistently been Fox’s great survival story, will be back next season for a final batch of 13 episodes. After considerable negotiation between Fox and the production team, agreement was reached on April 26. “We are thrilled and beyond grateful that Fox – and our fans – have made the impossible possible: Fringe … Continue reading »

The long wait between James Bond movies seems to be a thing of the past once more, with Sony confirming that the 24th film in the series based on the novels by Ian Fleming will be released in 2014. Speaking at CinemaCon, Sony’s President of Worldwide Distribution Rory Bruer said that the “follow-up to Skyfall” … Continue reading »

Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have been brought on board the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man. The Star Trek writers will rework a draft by James Vanderbilt for the new movie, starring Andrew Garfield as the superhero, which already has a set opening date of May 2, 2014. “Alex and Bob have a unique ability … Continue reading »

After many attempts over the years to bring it to the screen, Stephen King’s novel The Eyes of the Dragon is finally getting a live-action adaptation, courtesy of Syfy. Michael Taylor and Jeff Vintar are writing the screenplay in which a kingdom is in turmoil as the old king dies and his successor must battle for … Continue reading »

In their presentation at the American History Museum on April 24, Syfy revealed major new drama plans – including a new series based on True Blood author Charlaine Harris “Grave” sequence of stories. According to president Dave Howe, “Syfy’s Upfront celebrates the power of Igniters, our influential audience who has the highly coveted ability to … Continue reading »

Celebrating both Star Wars day (May the Fourth) and the birthday of George Lucas on May 14, Generation Gallery in Manchester city centre, will be hosting an exhibition between May 4 and May 25 featuring the Star Wars official fine art collection. Each piece of art is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Lucasfilm, original artwork as … Continue reading »

Although there is still no word on a fifth season for Fringe (Joel Wyman tweeted on April 23: “Nothing official, but Fox loves Fringe. That I can tell you. Their support is and always has been vast.”), details have now been released on the final three episodes of the fourth season – which may prove … Continue reading »

As well as co-creating Alphas and writing the story for the upcoming Avengers movie, superhero film screenwriter Zak Penn has decided to branch out in comic book writing. His series Hero Worship will launch in July. The six issues will be co-written with Star Wars: The Clone Wars screenwriter Scott Murphy with artwork by Michael DiPascale. … Continue reading »

Speaking at the Los Angeles Festival of Books over the weekend of 21/22 April, DC’s Dan DiDio and Jim Lee presented a panel entitled “DC Entertainment Presents: Watchmen – It’s Not the End, It’s the Beginning,” at which various details of the new series were revealed. Spoilers follow: “Since we’re doing a prequel we have … Continue reading »

If you’re a recent convert to the Big Finish range of Doctor Who audios, then you may be daunted by the sheer size of the back catalogue – this month’s release in the main range is number 159, after all. But help is at hand this week: each day a set of 10 double-CD releases … Continue reading »

Rockne S. O’Bannon’s new Syfy series Defiance has added two new castmembers, as production gears up for filming in Toronto. According to the Deadline report, Mia Kirshner (The Vampire Diaries, The L Word) and Fionnula Flanagan (Lost) have joined the cast. Kirshner will play the madam, Kenya, a self-assured, dauntless woman who is devoted to … Continue reading »

Following requests from many people, Sci-Fi Bulletin has now joined the ranks of the Twitterati! You can find us @scifibulletin with loads of goodies on top of the news, reviews and interviews that you’ve got used to from Sci-Fi Bulletin over the past months. Follow us now – and recommend us to your friends!

Jonathan Frid, who played the vampire Barnabas Collins on Dark Shadows, has died, aged 87. The actor, who makes a brief cameo appearance in Tim Burton’s new version of the gothic soap opera due out shortly, last reprised the role of Barnabas in the Big Finish audio drama The Night Whispers. An actor since his … Continue reading »

Nintendo Bandai’s much-hyped new Star Trek game is heading our way in early 2013, and a teaser trailer has now been released. Like the 2009 movie, this is very much in the action/adventure mould, rather than featuring the moral debates and ethical dilemmas for which the TV show was justly renowned, with Kirk and Spock skydiving … Continue reading »

Disney has released a trailer for its new animated series Tron: Uprising, which will premiere on its Disney XD channel in the US from June. Set between the two live-action movies, the ten-part Tron: Uprising is voiced by Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reubens and Tron himself Bruce Boxleitner. According to the original press … Continue reading »

The long-gestating sequel to Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s Sin City is in production at long last, according to a press release from Dimension Films. “Filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, along with producer Alexander Rodnyansky, have announced that production will commence on the highly anticipated sequel to 2005’s Sin City, entitled Sin City: A … Continue reading »

With no decision yet announced regarding the fate of Fringe, despite Joel Wyman’s prediction earlier this week, John Noble has confirmed that plans are in place for either contingency. “We’ve shot two [endings],” John Noble told TVLine on April 12 pointing out, “I hear warm and fuzzy things — but I’ve been hearing them all the … Continue reading »

Following the announcement of a new Sabrina the Teenage Witch animated series last year, Deadline is reporting that Sony Pictures are working on a new cinematic adventure for the Archie Comics character. The script by Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari will apparently be an origin story, with Sabrina’s black cat, Salem, becoming “a transformed prince creating … Continue reading »

Fans of the multi-universe spanning Fringe will find out this week whether Fox has decided to order a final 13-episode season, according to showrunner Joel Wyman. While categorically stating that there are “no plans for a movie,” Wyman said that they “should know something this week. Feeling good. All of your support and positive thoughts … Continue reading »

Despite the incredible box office success worldwide of the first film in The Hunger Games trilogy, director Gary Ross has decided not to helm the follow-up, Catching Fire. “Despite recent speculation in the media, and after difficult but sincere consideration, I have decided not to direct Catching Fire,” Ross said in a statement released late … Continue reading »

HBO has officially announced a third season of their adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s epic series Game of Thrones. “Series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss raised our expectations for the second season – and then surpassed them,” Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming said in a statement. “We are thrilled by all the viewer and … Continue reading »

Steven Moffat – who previously won the Hugo Award on four occasions for his scripts for Doctor Who – is in contention with two of his colleagues for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form in this year’s Hugo Awards. Moffat’s script for A Good Man Goes to War goes up against Neil Gaiman’s The Doctor’s Wife … Continue reading »

After wandering away from the franchise’s roots with the third film in the most recent series, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Universal has decided to go back to basics with a fresh take on the Mummy series. According to a report in Variety, Prometheus co-scriptwriter Jon Spaihts is working on a new version. “I see … Continue reading »

Jeremy Carver, currently co-showrunner on Syfy’s adaptation of Being Human, is stepping back across to the CW’s Supernatural next season, if the show gets picked up, according to a report at Deadline. He will be replacing Sera Gamble, who is leaving Supernatural after being involved with the show since its inception. Carver was a co-producer on … Continue reading »

Although mystery series Castle isn’t normally Sci-Fi Bulletin’s territory, a recent interview with executive producer and creator Andrew Marlowe suggests that things are straying in our direction. Starring Firefly/Serenity’s Nathan Fillion as novelist Rick Castle, the show has featured many nods and winks to the genre audience, with Fillion’s Firefly co-star Adam Baldwin appearing towards … Continue reading »

The Woman in Black: Angels of Death will be coming to cinemas next year, courtesy of Hammer, who have given the go-ahead for a sequel to their highly successful horror movie. Set forty years after the events of the first film, which stars Daniel Radcliffe, Angels of Death will be written by Jon Crocker, based … Continue reading »

Footage from the long-gestating third film in Barry Sonnenfeld’s Men in Black series is finally being released, with the first TV spot for the movie appearing this weekend. Showing Will Smith’s Agent J in action both in the present day and back in 1969, it suggests that the series has maintained its outlandish visuals for … Continue reading »

Although initially dismissed as an April Fool gag (like our own Game of Thrones story, the British Museum’s Unicorn Cookbook, and George Takei’s U.S.S. Excelsior series), it does seem as if all variants of Daleks since the show began in 1963 will be facing the Doctor, Rory and Amy in the seventh series of Doctor … Continue reading »

Star Trek fans’ hopes of seeing a version of Norman Spinrad’s lost Star Trek script, He Walked Among Us, have been dashed, following intervention by CBS. The story, written to feature a guest starring role by Milton Berle on the original series, was rediscovered late last year, and fan film group Phase II announced they … Continue reading »

It looks as if Terra Nova is well and truly buried 85 million years in the past, as news comes that negotiations between 20th Century Fox and Netflix have failed to achieve a deal. Deadline notes that Fox has not yet released the actors, despite Jason O’Mara and others signing up for other pilot duties, … Continue reading »

Haven producers Entertainment One (eOne) are working with NYPD Blue co-creator Steven Bochco on a new sci-fi drama series, set three million years in the future. Evolution is created and written by Bochco and Bryan Law, and sees the discovery of a Box by a future tribe of man that offers the whole of human knowledge.  ”I … Continue reading »

The first trailer for this Autumn’s seventh series of the BBC’s Doctor Who has been released following a preview at the Official Doctor Who Convention in Cardiff this past weekend (above). Much of the footage comes from the recent shoot in Spain with the bonus appearance of a Dalek eye stalk, seemingly in the snow. … Continue reading »

According to Doctor Who producer Caroline Skinner, the fifth episode of the seventh series will be filmed in New York City. The story, which will feature the departure of Rory and Amy as well as the return of the Weeping Angels, has been written by executive producer Steven Moffat, who promised that not everyone will … Continue reading »

A new version of George Orwell’s acclaimed dystopia novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is to be produced by Image Entertainment and LBI Entertainment, with the hunt underway for a screenwriter. When Ron Howard and Brian Grazer of Imagine sought out the rights to re-adapt the book, they discovered LBI Entertainment had the same idea. In an unusual … Continue reading »

Whether or not Fox renews the series for a fifth year, the producers of Fringe are set on making a fifth season of the show regardless; it just might not be on TV. Producer Jeff Pinkner has said that the writing team are attempting to wrap up as many story elements as possible before the … Continue reading »

Within a few hours of the release of a trailer for the CGI heavy Battlestar Galactica prequel Blood and Chrome, starring Luke Pasqualino as William Adama, it has been confirmed that the show will not be proceeding forwards as a TV series. The pilot movie will get an airing though, Syfy President Mark Stern has confirmed. “Though … Continue reading »

A trailer for the Syfy continuation of the Battlestar Galactica saga has been released, and can be watched by clicking here. Apparently following William Adama’s progress through the Cylon Wars, this was originally intended to be a TV movie, but the last news indicated that Syfy were relegating it to a web-only series, following the … Continue reading »

The BBC has announced officially that Jenna-Louise Coleman will be playing the new companion accompanying Matt Smith during the seventh series of Doctor Who, which began shooting a few weeks ago. The actress has appeared in Emmerdale and the Captain America movie, and is set to star in Julian Fellowes’ new Titanic series which launches … Continue reading »

Entertainment Weekly has published the first image of actor Stephen Amell (Private Practice) as the title character in The CW’s new comic book-inspired superhero show Arrow. Designed by Oscar-winner Colleen Atwood, the Green Arrow character (previously seen in a different version in Smallville) will debut in a “darker and harder edged” show, according to pilot … Continue reading »

Filming on the next series of Doctor Who recently wrapped in Spain, with cast and crew returning to Cardiff to continue production on the much-anticipated seventh season of the revived BBC hit. Filming took place in the Almeria region of Spain, including at the famous Fort Bravo Studios, used for a number of classic Western … Continue reading »

The barn-storming (literally) finale of the second season of post-apocalyptic zombie drama The Walking Dead set a ratings record for basic cable with over nine million viewers. ‘Beside the Dying Fire’ was a suitably gorey climax to a series some have criticised as being too slow, treading water and lacking in dramatic developments. The final … Continue reading »

The battle between the descendants of the storytelling Grimm clan and the various creatures in and around Portland, Oregon is set to continue into a second year, with NBC giving an early renewal to fantasy series Grimm. The news was broken by writer Akela Cooper, who tweeted, “Walk into the office this morning & our … Continue reading »

20th Century Fox has released the full international trailer for Ridley Scott’s new movie, Prometheus, out in cinemas worldwide this June. Along with a statement of the basic arc of the film, it also contains numerous design and thematic links to the Alien saga, it also confirms the film’s place as the most-expected movie of 2012, … Continue reading »

Fans of the original Dark Shadows may not be best pleased by the tone of the Tim Burton remake, as revealed in the first official trailer which has just been released. Although there are many highly dramatic scenes, there is also a high camp element, with Johnny Depp’s Barnabbas Collins struggling to come to terms … Continue reading »

As we revealed a few weeks ago, Darth Maul is returning to the Star Wars universe in The Clone Wars animated series. We won’t give away exactly how that happens, but Entertainment Weekly now has a clip from the lightsaber battle that ensues between Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Click here for the clip. The episode … Continue reading »

The Vampire Diaries co-star Matt Davis has been cast as the male lead in Rockne S. O’Bannon’s new CW pilot, Cult, which will be shooting shortly. Davis, seen as the vampire hunting history teacher Alaric on the CW show, will play journalist blogger Jeff, whose brother is one of the missing people who Jessica Lucas’s Skye is investigating, … Continue reading »

Jacqueline Pearce’s slinky and sensual villain is returning to the Blake’s 7 universe in the second box set of adventures from Big Finish Audio, released in August. Servalan will make her first appearance in Wolf by Nigel Fairs on Volume 2 of The Liberator Chronicles. The story finds Cally on a mission to discover what … Continue reading »

French comics artist Moebius has died aged 73. Jean Henri Gaston Giraud passed away in Paris after a long illness. Well-known in his native France for his many contributions to the comic book world – a subject treated with seriousness much earlier there than in the English-speaking world – he also worked on many films, including … Continue reading »

Speaking exclusively to Sci-Fi Bulletin, Defiance writer/executive producer Rockne S. O’Bannon revealed that he is delighted with the casting of Buffy and Dexter star Julie Benz as the female lead for the show. Benz will play Amanda Rosewater, the idealistic newly appointed mayor of the mining boomtown who is determined to maintain peace in the community. … Continue reading »

Speaking exclusively to Sci-Fi Bulletin, Primeval co-creator Adrian Hodges revealed that he was very pleased that production has begun this week on New World, the new iteration of the show being made by Omni Productions in Vancouver. “Obviously I’m very pleased the series has started and I do think it’s fair to see it as … Continue reading »

More news is coming in regarding Primeval: New World, the spin-off from ITV’s hit series Primeval. In addition to the casting information, according to the official press release from Space, “Sci-fi queen Amanda Tapping (Sanctuary), Andy Mikita (Stargate Universe), Martin Wood (Sanctuary) and Mike Rohl (Smallville) are all set to direct. The creative team is … Continue reading »

Impossible Pictures has announced the official start of production on the Primeval spin-off New World with Andrew-Lee Potts reprising his role as Connor. According to the company, the cast features a bevy of established genre heavyweights such as Niall Matter (Eureka, 90210) as the enterprising inventor and visionary hero Evan Cross, and Sara Canning (Supernatural, … Continue reading »

Stargate and Farscape star Ben Browder is the latest addition to the Doctor Who cast, according to the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine. In addition to the previously-announced Rupert Graves, Mark Williams and David Bradley (all of whom, it is now confirmed, will appear in Chris Chibnall’s episode 2), Browder will be appearing alongside … Continue reading »

Suranne Jones, currently starring in ITV cop drama Scott and Bailey, has been cast as Eve opposite The Fades’ Tom Ellis in Joe Ahearne’s adaptation of James Herbert’s horror story The Secret of Crickley Hall. Jones played Idris, who turned out to be the personification of the TARDIS, in last season’s Doctor Who story The … Continue reading »

Fox has decided not to renew its prehistoric drama series Terra Nova, after weeks of discussing various ways of tweaking the second series. According to Deadline, the producers at 20th Century Fox TV will now start shopping the series around to other networks in the hope of keeping the project alive. The website also notes … Continue reading »

Welsh actor Philip Madoc, who played multiple roles on Doctor Who in his long career, died March 5, aged 77. Madoc’s first appearance was in the second Doctor Who big screen feature, Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD, and featured in two Patrick Troughton serials, The Krotons and The War Games, as well as two Tom Baker … Continue reading »

Ralph McQuarrie, best known for his work on George Lucas’ Star Wars saga, died on March 3, aged 82. His work on the films was hailed today by Lucas: “Ralph McQuarrie was the first person I hired to help me envision Star Wars. His genial contribution, in the form of unequalled production paintings, propelled and inspired all … Continue reading »

Australian actor Jay Ryan is going to step into Ron Perlman’s claws for the CW’s update of the classic 1980s series Beauty and the Beast, starring opposite Kristin Kreuk. Ryan spent three years on the Australian soap Neighbours, and appeared on the first season of Terra Nova as Tim Curran, adopting an American accent for … Continue reading »

As well as featuring Jessica Lange as a new character, the second season of American Horror Story will see a large role for Star Trek star Zachary Quinto. He will be joined by fellow season one cast members Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe, with “everyone… playing the opposite of what they played before,” … Continue reading »

Following the warm reception given to the first box set of The Liberator Chronicles, Big Finish has announced that there will be even more Blake’s 7 adventures in 2013 than originally planned. Four box sets (each containing three stories) are planned for 2013, to be released in February, May, August and November. The productions will … Continue reading »

As part of the build-up to the release of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, a viral video is now going the rounds showing Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland, addressing the TED conference in eleven years’ time. The video was prepared by Scott and Damon Lindelof to show at the currently-running TED conference in Long Beach, for the … Continue reading »

BBC America is continuing to expand its original drama slate, teaming up with Misfits production company Clerkenwell Films for two new sci-fi shows, both of which will be distributed by BBC Worldwide. Wired is written by Afterlife‘s Steven Volk and takes place in a world that looks exactly like today, except for one thing: this … Continue reading »

HBO has confirmed that True Blood showrunner Alan Ball will be moving to a consultative role if series moves into a sixth season and beyond. When Ball renewed his contract with HBO in July 2011, “we always intended that if we proceeded to True Blood’s sixth season that Alan would take a supervisory role on … Continue reading »

Richard Carpenter, the creator of Catweazle and Robin of Sherwood, among many other writing credits, has died. Born in 1933, Carpenter was responsible for many well-loved children’s series of the 1970s and 1980s, beginning with Catweazle, starring Geoffrey Bayldon as a wizard transported through time to the 20th century. He also created The Ghosts of … Continue reading »

British actor David Morrissey has been cast as The Governor, the sadistic leader of a group of survivors, in the third season of AMC’s The Walking Dead. The character has become a fan favourite in the original comicbook series on which the series is based, and is the focus of a sequence of prequel novels … Continue reading »

Martin Scorsese has put Steampunk firmly on the mainstream map with his latest film Hugo, which won five Academy Awards at the Oscar ceremony on February 26th, the same number as the highly-acclaimed hit The Artist. Former Star Trek: The Next Generation visual effects maestro Rob Legato and his team were honoured for Best Visual … Continue reading »

Following the unofficial release of photos from the filming of the second Star Trek movie, star Zoe Saldana revealed J.J. Abrams’s reaction to MTV News. “J.J. was very upset,” she said at the Independent Spirit Awards. “I have to say that. It’s not going to stop people from intruding, but they are, and it’s such … Continue reading »

Thanks to Eric Ford of On Location News, the first images from the new StaThanks to Eric Ford of On Location News, the first images from the new Star Trek movie have appeared, much earlier than anyone seriously expected.r Trek movie Thanks to Eric Ford of On Location News, the first images from the new … Continue reading »

This could either be the recipe for a terrific film, or a total disaster, as Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs the World director Edgar Wright has signed up to direct Johnny Depp’s reworking of the classic 1970s series, Kolchak the Night Stalker. The original TV movies and subsequent 20-part series starred Darren … Continue reading »

The hype for Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary in November 2013 has begun. The press release noting the start of filming on Doctor Who promises “fourteen big blockbuster-movie episodes – each a brand new epic adventure featuring new monsters and some familiar foes as you’ve never seen them before” for the seventh series. It also confirms … Continue reading »

Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah’s Eternal Law is officially no more. Star Sam West sent a message on Twitter on the morning of February 21st: “Alas there will be no more Eternal Law. Not enough people watched it. A thousand thanks to those of you who did, and said such kind things… I’ll miss Zak … Continue reading »

In addition to their well-received Liberator Chronicles, Big Finish has secured the rights for new novels based in the Blake’s 7 universe, with Mark Scott and Cavan Wright’s The Forgotten coming out in May, followed by Scott Harrison’s Archangel in November. The Forgotten is set between the TV episodes Mission to Destiny and Duel, and … Continue reading »

Lana Lang is going to the big city, as Smallville star Kristin Kreuk steps into the role of Catherine in the CW’s update of the classic 1980s TV series Beauty and the Beast. More details of the project have now emerged. Kreuk will play a tough-minded NYPD homicide detective haunted by witnessing her mother’s murder … Continue reading »

Terry O’Quinn is continuing his association with the supernatural in his latest role as the owner of the mysterious 666 Park Avenue in the new ABC series. According to Deadline, O’Quinn’s character Gavin will be one of the leads in the pilot, which is based on the book series by Gabriella Pierce. In David Wilcock’s script, a young … Continue reading »

Susanna Thompson, who played the Borg Queen on Star Trek: Voyager, has been cast in Arrow, the CW’s reworking of DC’s Green Arrow. Thompson appeared as the Queen in Unimatrix Zero and Dark Frontier, replacing Alice Krige, who originated the role in Star Trek: First Contact, and would return for Voyager‘s finale, Endgame. In Arrow, she … Continue reading »

Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura isn’t particularly popular at Paramount, after he gave away details of the new Transformers movie in an impromptu interview with MTV at the New York Toy Fair. According to Deadline,  ”Lorenzo was at a toy fair and someone sticks a camera in his face. So Lorenzo goes on this 60-second tirade … Continue reading »

IDW has now confirmed the story that broke late last week with details of the official crossover between Star Trek: The Next Generation and Doctor Who: Assimilation2 Launching in May, the eight issue series will feature the Borg and the Cybermen as they create an unholy alliance resulting in potential disaster for all humanity. Captain Jean-Luc … Continue reading »

If you’ve not seen the sneak peek accompanying Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3-D, then Entertainment Weekly has provided a chance to see the new form of Darth Maul, the evil Sith apparently killed during that first Star Wars film. Maul returns to screens in the States this March in new episodes of The … Continue reading »

According to a report at Bleeding Cool, fans of both Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation are in for a treat courtesy of IDW Comics. This May will see the first official crossover between the two series, with the 11th Doctor, Amy and Rory joining forces with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the rest … Continue reading »

Fans disappointed by the end of the CW’s Smallville may be pleased by the announcement of its continuation in comic book form, effectively a Superman Year 1. DC are producing Smallville Season 11, written by former Smallville scripter Bryan Q. Miller, with art by Pere Perez. The issues will come out weekly in a digital … Continue reading »

The moon is going to blast out of Earth’s orbit again as Gerry Anderson’s Space:1999 heads back to TV screens, suitably updated for the 21st Century. The new series, retitled Space:2099, is being developed by ITV Studios America and HDFilms. “This is a rare and exciting creative opportunity for anyone involved in storytelling and one that … Continue reading »

Although chances are that not all of these will go to series, the CW has an impressive list of genre shows at the pilot stage, ready for the 2012/13 season. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the CW’s development head Thom Sherman promised that “the overall quality is as high or higher than we’ve ever had.” Shows … Continue reading »

Scottish comedian and broadcaster Billy Connolly has been cast as Dain Ironfoot in Peter Jackson’s two-movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, currently shooting in New Zealand. Known as The Big Yin, Connolly will be best known to genre fans for his role as Father Joseph in the second X-Files movie, I Want To Believe. … Continue reading »

Only four episodes into transmission of the second season of their version of Being Human, Syfy has announced that it has ordered a third 13-episode season. “With the success of season two, Being Human has become a premier destination for Syfy viewers,” Syfy’s President of Original Content Mark Stern announced. “[Showrunners] Jeremy Carver and Anna … Continue reading »

According to the show’s creator Ryan Murphy, award-winning actress Jessica Lange will be “making an appearance” during the second season of American Horror Story. Although each season of the show is designed to be a self-contained unit, Murphy has previously said that some cast members may turn up in later years, although probably playing different … Continue reading »

The amazing work that went into creating Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes was rewarded by the Visual Effects Society in their Annual Awards, presented at the Beverley Hilton on February 7. The team won both Best Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture and Best Animated Character in a … Continue reading »

After the sneak peeks at various summer projects unveiled at Sunday’s Superbowl, Sony has kept the best for last – this full length trailer for this summer’s reboot of the Spider-Man legend. Selected audiences at cities around the world were treated to a preview of this at midday Pacific time yesterday, and now, at midnight PT, … Continue reading »

The last few days have seen multiple reports that original Blade Runner star Harrison Ford is in negotiations to appear or star in Ridley Scott’s return to that universe, currently in pre-production. Alcon Entertainment have now rigorously denied that this is the case. “It is absolutely patently false that there has been any discussion about … Continue reading »

Samuel Youd, who wrote the Tripods quadrilogy under the pen name John Christopher, has died, aged 89. The prolific author wrote numerous science fiction and fantasy novels under the Christopher pen name, with the original Tripods trilogy appearing in 1967/8, followed belatedly by a prequel in 1988. The first two novels were adapted by the … Continue reading »

News of various changes in Bryan Fuller’s reboot of the 1960s comedy The Munsters is enough to make many fans wonder whether they’ll even bother linking it to the original, now that the hour long dramatic series is going by the title Mockingbird Lane, the street in which the Munsters reside. Not only that, according … Continue reading »

The Superbowl is always a time for the studios to display their upcoming movies for the summer, and this year’s genre outings were well represented. Marvel has uploaded an extended version of their Avengers spot: and Disney have done the same with their John Carter trailer: and you can catch up with Hasbro’s Battleship here: … Continue reading »

Speaking exclusively to Sci-Fi Bulletin, Primeval co-creator Adrian Hodges has confirmed information that has been spreading around the internet in the last couple of days regarding the future of the British incarnation of Primeval. “There are no plans for a series 6 as things stand,” Hodges said today. ”The only way I can see that changing … Continue reading »

The adventures of Marty McFly may not be over yet, with news that the time-travelling DeLorean may become the centrepiece of a new Broadway spectacular based on the 1985 Robert Zemeckis movie, Back to the Future. According to Deadline, Zemeckis, co-writer Bob Gale and original composer Alan Silvestri are in early discussions about a stage … Continue reading »

After seeing a rewrite on the script , NBC has given the go-ahead for a pilot on J.J. Abrams’ team-up with Supernatural‘s Eric Kripke, Revolution. Set in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist, Revolution is described as ”a high-octane action drama following a group of characters struggling to survive and reunite … Continue reading »

Twenty five years after Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen was released, DC has decided to produce Before Watchmen, a set of linked prequels to the classic 12-part series, prompting annoyance from Moore. “It’s our responsibility as publishers to find new ways to keep all of our characters relevant,” DC Entertainment Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim … Continue reading »

Even as the fourth season gets set for UK broadcast on FX, HBO is ramping up for the start of the fifth year of True Blood, with a teaser trailer that promises that hints at dark things to come. “In Bon Temps, nothing stays buried forever,” runs the slogan, which would indicate that there are some … Continue reading »

Jessica Lange’s role in American Horror Story has brought her yet more honours, as the Screen Actors Guild awarded her the Outstanding Female Role in a Dramatic Series at the ceremony on January 29. “Once I threw my lot in with this project, the ride was actually quite great,” she told Deadline back stage. ”You couldn’t … Continue reading »

Doctor Who stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan were both successful in the National Television Awards, voted for by the general public, which were presented on January 25th. Smith won Best Male Dramatic Performance, with Gillan awarded the female equivalent, each beating their counterparts on Torchwood, John Barrowman and Eve Myles. Doctor Who failed to … Continue reading »

It could get confusing next season, with two rival versions of Beauty and the Beast both now ordered to pilot. CBS recently gave the green light to an updated version of the much loved 1980s TV series, which starred Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman. ABC has now followed suit, and has commisioned a pilot of their … Continue reading »

Former Eureka executive producer Matt Hastings has joined the team working on the second season of Syfy’s Alphas. Hastings will bw executive producer alongside new showrunner Bruce Miller, who stepped in to replace Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Ira Steven Behr who oversaw the first year of the show. Hastings and Miller previously worked together … Continue reading »

Speaking to The L.A. Times’ Hero Complex blog, Judge Dredd creator John Wagner has given a provisional thumbs up to the new movie Dredd featuring Star Trek‘s Karl Urban as the lawgiver. Describing the character at his creation as “a heartless hero for Thatcher’s heartless, new Britain”, Wagner explains that the new film works for him … Continue reading »

According to a report at Bleeding Cool, Russell T Davies’ new children’s show, Aliens vs Wizards will be put together by the team that had been working on the fifth series of The Sarah Jane Adventures before it was brought to a premature end by the sad death of Elisabeth Sladen last April. The site … Continue reading »

Hammer Studios has announced that it is overseeing a global restoration of its film library, with Dracula Prince of Darkness the first title to benefit. According to their press release, Hammer is teaming up with STUDIOCANAL, Anolis Entertainment (Germany), Pinewood, illuminate Hollywood fka HTV and others to update the films into HD and 3-D. Some … Continue reading »

The CW has added a further three pilots to their slate for 2012, in addition to Farscape creator Rockne S. O’Bannon’s Cult. As expected, the new version of DC’s Green Arrow, simply entitled Arrow, has been picked up, as has the new version of the 1980s series Beauty and the Beast. Described as “loosely based” … Continue reading »

During promotional work for the Lucasfilm production Red Tails, 67-year-old Star Wars creator George Lucas has announced his retirement from filmmaking and withdrawal from Lucasfilm, the company he created. “I’m retiring,” He told The New York Times. “I’m moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff.” Lucas has been … Continue reading »

True Blood, Lost and Ugly Betty star Grant Bowler has been cast as the lead in the new Syfy series Defiance, written and executive produced by Farscape creator Rockne S. O’Bannon. Set in the near future, Defiance introduces a world where humans and aliens must learn to live together on an exotic new Earth that … Continue reading »

With broadcast of the second half of The Walking Dead‘s second season due to begin on February 12 in the States (and expected on Friday 17 in the UK), AMC has started to release promos for what fans are hoping will be a more eventful and less static show. The 44″ trailer for Nebraska, the … Continue reading »

Genre films and television shows didn’t do particularly well at this year’s Golden Globes, hosted by Ricky Gervais on January 15, but actors in current cult hits American Horror Story and Game of Thrones walked away with honours. Veteran actress Jessica Lange beat off stiff competition to win the TV Best Supporting Actress award for her … Continue reading »

According to a report at Deadline, Syfy is close to finalizing a deal to expand the fourth season of Warehouse 13 to 20 episodes. The last two seasons of the show have each contained 12 episodes plus a standalone Christmas special, but the report suggests that Syfy’s highest performing series could now run either in two … Continue reading »

In their search for a superhero show to replace the recently finished Smallville, the CW are close to giving a pilot order to Arrow, an adaptation of the DC comics character Green Arrow. Written and executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg, Arrow places the familiar character of Oliver Queen in a … Continue reading »

The final film in the Harry Potter saga, and CW’s long-running Supernatural were the biggest genre winners at the People’s Choice Awards held on January 11 in Los Angeles. Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows Part 2 was Favourite Movie, Favourite Action Movie, and had the Favourite Ensemble Movie Cast as well as the Favourite … Continue reading »

As part of this year’s grand celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond movie, Dr No, MGM has announced that all the 22 official movies to date will be released on Blu-ray in a box set, unsurprisingly entitled Bond 50. “With all 22 feature films available on Blu-ray in one collection for the … Continue reading »

Speaking at the Television Critics Association tour on January 8, Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly was not optimistic about the prospects for a renewal for J.J. Abrams’s multiverse spanning drama Fringe. “We lose a lot of money on the show,” he explained, after first thanking the fans who had followed the show to its new … Continue reading »

Six years after initially receiving a pilot order from the WB for his mystery drama Cult, Farscape and Defiance writer/producer Rockne S. O’Bannon is finally pressing ahead with production on the series after the CW gave the okay. According to Deadline, the new version of Cult  ”centres on an inquisitive, young female production assistant on a wildly … Continue reading »

Noel Clarke, best known to genre fans for his stint playing Mickey Smith on the revived series of Doctor Who, has joined the cast of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel, according to a report at Variety. Clarke will play a family man with a wife and young daughter in the new movie, which is expected … Continue reading »

James Murray, who played Stephen Hart during the first two seasons of Primeval, has been cast alongside Patrick Heusinger in NBC’s new drama pilot, Beautiful People. According to the report at Deadline.com, Murray will play a handsome and very successful attorney who’s lived a rich and privileged life but makes a name for himself by publicly … Continue reading »

Former EastEnders actress Lacey Turner is continuing her association with the fantasy genre, joining the second season of Sky Living’s ghostly drama Bedlam. Turner, who was seen as Lia in season three of Being Human, will play Ellie, a newcomer who gets caught up in the danger and mystery surrounding the old mental asylum at … Continue reading »

Warner Bros. has released the official trailer for next year’s completion of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. Dealing with the problems of Bruce Wayne’s dual identity, The Dark Knight Rises sees Christian Bale reprise his role as Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine return as Alfred with Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman. It opens on … Continue reading »

Spoiler alert: this news story contains information about Misfits’ third series finale Although there were multiple cast changes in the third series finale, Misfits will be returning for a fourth run next year, it has been confirmed. A report in Broadcast before the weekend suggested that a new season would be commissioned and star Antonia … Continue reading »

According to executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat, there will be a change in personnel in the TARDIS during the upcoming seventh series of Doctor Who. “The final days of the Ponds are coming during the next series,” Moffat announced at the press launch for the Christmas Special, The Doctor, The Widow and The … Continue reading »

Two long-missing Doctor Who episodes were aired on December 11 for the first time in nearly 50 years at the Missing, Believed Wiped convention at the British Film Institute in London. The third episode of the William Hartnell story Galaxy 4, and the second part of the Patrick Troughton adventure The Underwater Menace are the … Continue reading »

Canadian fantasy series Lost Girl has been picked up for a third run by the Showcase channel. The series, which stars Anna Silk as succubus and private detective Bo, will pick up again in the spring, presumably for an autumn transmission, following the pattern of the first two years. Series 1 recently completed airing on … Continue reading »

According to an interview in Time Out, the last Bond film, Quantum of Solace, was not meant to be a direct continuation of Daniel Craig’s debut outing as 007, Casino Royale. “It was never meant to be as much of a sequel as it was, but it ended up being a sequel, starting where the … Continue reading »

A short video has been released on YouTube showing two of the cast of Red Dwarf returning to their roles, and going through various make up tests. Danny-John Jules, currently starring in the BBC detective series Death in Paradise, and Robert Llewyllen, returning to the role of Kryten, are seen being prepared and, in one … Continue reading »

Over thirty years after the release of the original double album, Jeff Wayne is completely revising his version of HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds for the new live stage tour beginning next year, with Liam Neeson replacing Richard Burton as the Journalist. Announcing the news on November 18, Wayne said, “After long consideration, … Continue reading »

Warning: This news story contains adult language. Universal President Ron Meyer has slammed some of his own studio’s recent movies, explaining that while “we set out to make good [movies]“, it doesn’t always work out that way, with both The Wolfman and Cowboys & Aliens coming under direct fire. Speaking at the Savannah Film Festival, … Continue reading »

At the launch for the new James Bond film, director Sam Mendes confirmed that the title of the 23rd official movie will be Skyfall. Promising “lots of surprises” in the film, Mendes was joined by Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomi Harris and French actress Bérénice Marlohe, as well as producers Michael G. Wilson … Continue reading »

The weekend of 29/30 October saw the ExCel Centre in London play host to the biggest and most diverse of London’s conventions. Whether you’re a gamer, a comic reader, a fan of wrestling or a collector of genre memorabilia, the MCM Expo was the place to be this weekend. Sci-Fi Bulletin dropped by to soak … Continue reading »

The production team behind the BBC Three hit Being Human are working on another supernatural drama, this time to do with witches. Appropriately announced just before Halloween, Switch follows four twenty-something young women who move to the big city, and use magic to help them juggle their relationships and careers. Being Human‘s Rob Pursey and Phil … Continue reading »

Following Brian Grazer’s suggestion that a revised budget might make a Dark Tower movie feasible, he’s now been speaking to MTV, and strongly hinted that he and production partners Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsman found a home for the television sections of the story. “We’re going to do [The Dark Tower] with HBO,” Grazer told MTV. … Continue reading »

According to an exclusive report at Deadline, Band of Brothers and Anonymous writer John Orloff is close to signing a deal to pen the new movie adaptation of Glen A. Larson’s 1978 TV series Battlestar Galactica. “I have wanted to write this movie since I was 12 years old, and built a Galactica model from … Continue reading »

Dr. Sleep, Stephen King’s long-awaited sequel to his classic horror novel The Shining, is a reality at last. The prolific author premiered a passage from the story during a George Mason University Awards ceremony, which has been posted to YouTube. Speaking before reading the passage, King explained that he always wondered what happened to Danny … Continue reading »

Speaking exclusively to Sci-Fi Bulletin, Primeval‘s co-creator Adrian Hodges has confirmed that the new series going into production for Omni and Space in Canada will not be the total reboot that the original press release seemed to indicate. Emphasising that he couldn’t go into much detail, “because Omni and Space are very sensitive about any … Continue reading »

Broadcast is reporting that a post-watershed all-new version of Primeval has been ordered by Canadian broadcaster Space for transmission next year. The new series, with a “younger sexier cast”, will focus on a group of North American scientists and animal experts who investigate the arrival of prehistoric and futuristic creatures in the modern-day world – … Continue reading »

The latest Battlestar Galactica prequel, Blood and Chrome, may not get a television airing after all, according to a report at AOL TV. The pilot, which follows William Adama as he leaves the Academy and goes into battle against the Cylons, was written by Michael Taylor, and was originally designed to be an internet project. … Continue reading »

Producer Steven Moffat has made it clear that plans for Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary in 2013 extend far beyond a single celebratory story. Speaking to TV Line, Moffat said that “I’ve got various plans, but all I can say emphatically is it will be huge.” Explaining that at present “it’s only a set of notions,” … Continue reading »

Speaking exclusively to Sci-Fi Bulletin, Alien Nation and Farscape creator Rockne S. O’Bannon has discussed the challenges involved with scripting the television incarnation of Defiance, the very first interconnected video game and TV programme, developed over the past three years by Trion Worlds and Syfy. Defiance is set on a future Earth, and introduces players and … Continue reading »