The Sci Fi Buzz

Just days before the June 18th first season finale of the new Doctor Who TV series, the BBC announced that the show has picked up for a third season (with a possible fourth season already being discussed). This comes as a surprise for many, despite the huge success the revival has been. When Doctor Who returned to the BBC back in March, it brought in some of the highest ratings in that time slot ever, knocking out a popular variety series that dominated the early Saturday evening schedule. Three days later, the BBC said they were picking up the show for a second season. The show has retained its #1 slot since then and despite series star Christopher Eccleston decision to leave after only one season (with David Tennant taking over), the network seems very confident that show will continue to be the hit it is. Russell T. Davies (Queer as Folk) will remain the showrunner (and write 6 of the planned 14 stories) for the second season, along with Billie Piper as companion Rose who has now been confirmed will stay through the next 14 episodes of season two. Expect Russell to resurrect the Cybermen next season, also, and maybe a possible guest appearance of Elizabeth Sladen as everyone’s favorite Sarah Jane Smith, along with K-9. Production on the new season begins in July, with the first episode airing at Christmas (which will resolve why the ninth Doctor regenerates into the 10th). The other 13 will begin airing in March 2006. There are still no American distributor the series, but despite that, the BBC is planning to release the show on region 1 DVD -and people with region free DVD players can now get the first three episodes from Amazon.co.uk. The boxed set of the season will be released in the UK this November, so it should see a release here in the States sometime after that.

If not already noticed, but with NBC/Universal now owning the Sci Fi Channel, it has found an outlet for most of its genre shows. Thus, in a little corporate synergy, the cable net will begin airing Joss Whedon’s cancelled FOX series Firefly, to begin on Friday, July 22 at 6pm, followed by new episodes of Stargate: SG1, Stargate: Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica. Sci Fi will air all 14 episodes produced (including three that were never broadcast) and in the order that they were supposed to air. As most know, when FOX aired the show, it began with episode 3 and then they showed the rest out of order, with the 2-hour pilot actually broadcast as the last episode. Of course, all of this re-airing will lead into Universal’s release of the big screen sequel, Serenity, which hits theaters on September 30.

In a huge move that could net over a 109 million viewers, Universal and its nine networks (that include NBC, SCI FI, USA Network, Bravo, Telemundo, CNBC, and MSNBC) will preview the 2 minute 30 second teaser trailer for King Kong, Peter Jackson’s follow up to his Oscar winning Lord of the Rings trilogy. It will air on Monday, June 27 from 7:59 to 8:02pm. King Kong, which tells the classic tale of the gigantic ape captured on a remote island and brought to 1930s Manhattan where he meets his tragic fate, stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, Andy Serkis, Jamie Bell and Adrien Brody and will open in theaters worldwide on December 14, 2005

Quick Notes:

Lucy Lawless has signed on for a multi-episode run on Battlestar Galactica playing a journalist...Scot Armstrong (Old School, Starsky & Hutch) has been signed on by New Line Cinema to pen Elf 2. While Will Ferrell has yet to signed, expect the studio not go forward until they do...James Cameron, who has kept busy despite not helming a film since 1997's Titanic, may delay production on his long gestating Battle Angel to film Project 880 first...Terminator 3 director Jonathan Mostow will helm the umpteenth reworking of the Disney film The Swiss Family Robinson...Critics be damned, despite earlier claims that Disney would not produce a sequel unless it had a impressive concept, the Mouse House and Jerry Bruckheimer have hired writers to begin work on National Treasure 2...Laurence Fishburn, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Keri Russell have all joined the cast of Mission: Impossible 3...Alan Cummings has confirmed he’ll not be Nightcrawler in X-Men 3, as Fox has decided not to pick up his option. While he had a contentious relationship with former director Bryan Singer on X2, he was also very verbal about the laborious make-up process. The current script does have Nightcrawler in it, so expect the role to be recast...While not the strongest actress, she did hold her own in Batman Returns, but don’t expect Katie Holmes to return for the sequel, TV Guide reports...Sarah Michelle Geller has signed on to do a big screen adaptation of the video game American McGee’s Alice...Disney has announced that summer 2007 will see the release of Toy Story 3, which will not be done by Pixar.

Legacy:

Veteran character actor Lane Smith, who genre fans will remember as Perry White in Lois & Clark: the New Adventures of Superman, died June 13 at his Los Angeles home after losing a battle with the neuromuscular disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, reported the Associated Press. He was 69. During the 1970's and 80's, the actor guest starred on many TV shows and appeared in such classic films as Rooster Cogburn, Network and My Cousin Vinny. He also had other genre appearances on V, the 1986 versions of both Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone, Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy and King of the Hill.

DVD News:

20th Century Fox has announced a direct-to-DVD Family Guy movie, set to debut on September 27. Called Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, its an 83 minute tale that follows Stewie’s search for his real father. Expect the usual behind the scenes stuff, including deleted scenes, still galleries, animatics and a commentary by creator Seth MacFarlane.