Spoilers: J.J. Abrams' Fringe

An entry on IESB has claimed first dibs on the script of Fringe, a new series under development and written by J.J. Abrams. The series will star Joshua Jackson, as the high school drop-out with an IQ of 190, who will be teaming with a female FBI agent investigating the paranormal.

Here are some excerpts...

We begin – in true Abrams fashion -- on an airplane. Some mysterious fellow injects himself with a drug that causes his skin to melt. His skin melts someone else’s skin and their skin melts someone else’s skin and so on until no one’s got any skin left and the flight is nothing but monsterously deformed corpses.

At that same moment, our female lead Olivia Warren is having secret motel sex with her love, John Scott. Both are FBI agents and are forced to have this secret tryst to prevent their superiors from ripping apart their frowned-upon office romance.

John delivers one of the worst monologues ever committed to paper, confessing his true love and explaining why they must keep it secret at all costs.

For its pilot episode, the show has a spending budget of $10M. It's been described as a cross between Xfiles and Twilight Zone.

Strike Watch: When is 24 Season 7 Airing?

So, is Jack Bauer finally going to get a break from terrorists for at least one year? Ausiello reports this on his blog:

Well, although Fox hasn't confirmed it, I'll go out on a limb and say Jack Bauer isn't returning this season. Even if the strike ends tomorrow, the earliest the show could get back on the air is this summer — and there's no way in hell Fox is dumping 24 onto the summer season. That leaves the network with several options, none of them ideal.

One solution is to just kick off Season 7 next January (2009), but by then Jack will have been in hiding for nearly two years.

Another, and much more controversial, scenario being bandied about involves taking the eight episodes currently in the can and creating a 10- to 14-episode mini-season to air in the fall. That would be followed by another 10- to 14-episode mini-season — featuring a completely different plot — during the second half of the season. Opponents of that idea have argued, and rightly so, that by splitting the season, you're essentially compromising the show's unique, 24-hour conceit. Proponents, however, argue that these are desperate times. And sometimes desperate times require throwing out the rulebook. I can see that point as well.

Jack Bauer, terror-free in 2008.

Heroes Villains Teaser

Apparently, at least five episodes of Volume 3 (which is technically still part of Heroes Season 2) has been done even before the Writers' Strike. These episodes are awaiting NBC's decision on when to air it. Because of the strike, it has obviously been pushed.

Just before Christmas, this video teaser of Villains surfaced on the internet. According to TV Guide, these are scenes from Episode 12 and 13, following the closing of the chapter, Generations:

So before I start with the information about Volume 3, we got a confirmation today that one of the 3 (yes 3)...alternate endings had Nathan dying via the virus. This was rumored as the possible Vol. 2 finale, but was changed at the last moment. However, we were unable to get a confirmation about the other two endings because they still might be used somehow.

Now for Volume 3. I have some interesting news....which could be considered great, but not so great because it all depends on the strike...!?

So a very good source for Heroes just confirmed to me that almost 5 episodes of Heroes Vol. 3 have been filmed and that about 8 episodes were written. This is very interesting news because I have not heard them talk about this any where and I am kind of curious why they would not want to air what they might have.

Well apparently it is all up to NBC who is waiting to see what happens with the strike.

Our source also confirmed that the volume that was called Exodus might actually occur after all and they called it Volume 2.5. For those of you that have no idea what Exodus is, well apparently Volume 3 was initially called Exodus, but was scrapped when the ratings were being hurt and then the writer's strike occurred.

Plus, there seems to be that there is still a possibility that Origins could happen!! The highly anticipated spin-off was indefinitely canceled after the strike began, but there is a back door chance that Origins will still happen.

So depending on how soon this strike can get cleared up there might be an opportunity for us to get some new episodes....!!

Now like I said this is great info, but unless we get some sort of news from the strike I do NOT see NBC airing any episodes unless it seems like there is a natural cliffhanger with the current lot of available scripts and episodes.

So I wish I hand someting more, but for now this is all we have.

Via this myspace blog

[Heroes]

Dead Like Me Movie Trailer

Dead Like Me was a TV series that ran two seasons and inspired the critically acclaimed show Pushing Daisies.

It's a story of a young girl named George who is killed in the pilot episode (via a freak accident) and becomes one of the "grim reapers". In every episode, George has to find people who are about to die (or become dead...like her), take their souls and guide them to the afterlife.

The show is now made into a movie (or direct to DVD?) and here's a first look at the trailer:



[Dead Like Me]

Lost Season 4 Trailer - High Quality

As shown in a New York movie threater:



Whoooweee!

[Lost]

It's official: Journeyman canceled

I just wrote about it earlier, but now it's official. Journeyman's journey has indeed ended.

The journey is coming to an end for NBC's freshman series "Journeyman."

NBC had until Tuesday to give a full-season pickup to the time-travel drama starring KevinMcKidd. The network let that option lapse, practically canceling the 20th Century Fox TV-produced series, which posted its lowest adults 18-49 rating (1.7 rating/8 share) on Monday without a "Heroes" lead-in. The network already tried out "Life" in "Journeyman'"s Monday 10 p.m. slot last week.

Despite the writers strike, "Journeyman" was able to complete its 13-episode order.

The remaining two original segments will air as scheduled, an NBC spokeswoman said.

Via Hollywood Reporter

[Journeyman]

Finally, a LOST Season 4 spoiler!!!

With all the news about the strike, I forgot that there's still something really good to look forward to next year. Lost Season 4 begins in February 4, 2008 (episode title: The Beginning of The End) and E! has a few spoilers for us, Losties:

In the beginning of season four, Sawyer is...on Team Locke! I can tell you that there are two teams and that the other leader won't surprise you...but Kate's allegiance will. Got guesses on the two teams and the second leader? (His name may rhyme with "frak"...) and P.S. As far as I know, Jin and Sun aren't playing for either team. Suspicious? You bet!

All I can say about Sawyer and Kate is this: "If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was." I know it's cheesy, but I'm cheesy, dammit, and I believe that's what's going on with S&K this season...

You know how in that episode of Dexter, when Doakes cornered Dex, Dex head-butted him and informed him he'd always be one step ahead? Well, that's pretty much how Ben is with the rest of us. In season four, it seems like Ben still has everybody's number—including those on an incoming vessel. Boo-yah. I'm also hearing the show is currently casting fluent Franco-Tunisian voice actors for what must be episode seven or eight. Another hatchsicle? Oui ou non?

[Lost], [Lost Season 4 Spoiler],

A Pinay on Women's Murder Club

Watch this short scene from Women's Murder Club, a crime series, and listen to Joy Bisco utter something in Filipino.



This episode aired last November 23 on ABC.

[Women's Murder Club], [Joy Bisco]

Journeyman's journey ends?

Thanks to the strike, I was able to catch up on some of my backlogs and last night finished the remaining episodes I have of Journeyman.

The good news is, the show was able to surpass my expectations. If there's one thing about this season, it's that most new shows this year have fairly good stories to deliver. And in the case of Journeyman, it's not just about episodic time-travel stories. The heart of the show lies in the unraveling of the mystery to his "condition" --- how it affects the people around him and how they are able to heal from the situation, whether they actually recover from it at all.

The bad news is --- this might be it for Journeyman. As much as it is an engaging drama series, it fails to get an audience. Strike or no strike, the series is hanging by a thin rope and might not get a full season order. Episode 10, in fact, was carefully wrapped up, with a conclusion that seems to provide some answers just in case it doesn't get renewed.

If you're loving Journeyman and would like to see it get its fair share, there's an ongoing petition to save the show. It worked for Jericho, so there's no saying it won't work for this one.

[Journeyman]

Heroes S2 E11 - Powerless

Powerless Sylar regains all his abilities at the end of Heroes' Volume 2, the final episode. Know what did it?


He's Popeye the Sailor Man.......
He's Popeye the Sylar Man.......

WTH? I know people have been saying Heroes has been bad this season, but this is utterly hilarious!

[Heroes]

Bones Halloween Episode

I normally catch Bones on cable TV, like I do most crime dramas on air right now, And despite being very tired and sleepy last night, I just had to watch a fresh episode...if only for this:



They made everyone really dress up. Brennan was gorgeous in her Wonder Woman costume. And Booth, dressed as a nerd, was utterly hilarious.

For the full recaps to this episode, visit TV Guide.

24 Season 7 Preview: In Which Jack Bauer does Die Hard

Alright, except for the fact that this awfully feels like a Die Hard movie, I think the preview kicked ass. Hence, my face went like this:








Tony is back from the dead...and appears to be the bad guy. But I highly doubt that's the case. Please, let this season be as good as this trailer shows!

Watch here.

[24 Season 7]

Supernatural

We began viewing the very first season of Supernatural last night. I don't particularly enjoy subjecting myself to a chill-fest and I can't understand the appeal of horror and suspense. The hubby is a big fan of the genre, though. He's a big influence on the variety of TV shows I watch for if not for him, I'd probably be sticking with the mushy chick stuff.

It's a great thing the show has two very likeable characters, at least I have something or someone to root for. Brothers Dean (the reckless one) and Sam (the calculated one), make it their life-mission to explore America's unknown....and eventually find where their father has gone. Save for the creepy storytelling on Supernatural (as in me, covering my eyes, or hiding behind the hubby's back, or looking away from the TV monitor most of the time), I have to say that I'm quite invested on the story now. Its hardcore Hardy Boys freak hunting. But Hardy boys I love. Freak hunting, not so much.

[Supernatural]

Heroes Season 2 Episode 1 - Four Months Later

Let's get something out of the way first...

Yes, Peter is alive. And shirtless. Sluuuurp! LOL!


And that's the only thing I can show you...I gave too much away already. :)

Four months later, the Heroes carry on with their lives.

• Nathan is also alive but not looking very happy. He also needs to get reoriented with a product called Gillette.
  

• The Bennetts are now relocated to California and living a new life under a new name. Horned Rimmed Glasses is still working at a "paper company". And Claire is befriended by a cutie in her new high school. The cutie just happens to know how to fly.
  

• Hiro's father, together with Ando, who is looking quite dapper in a suit, (Was he ever this cute before?) waits for Hiro to reappear at the place where we last saw all of them.
  

• Hiro, as we all know from last season's finale, is transported in the 1600's and meets Kensai, who is not what Hiro was expecting.
  

• Parkman is divorced. He and Mohinder live together and has Molly with them. They will eventually have a spin-off called My Two Dads. Haha! (My Two Dad reference). Molly is haunted in her dreams. They stole a line from LOTR: I seeee yoooooouuuuu.
  

• Dunno where Micah and his parents are. Dunno where Sylar is. (Previews show them appear in the following episode).
  

• But Maya, the first hero introduced this season (among a handful), goes on a killing spree.

I remember reading somewhere that Season 2 will explore their roots and origins, so that means the parents (such as Hiro's dad and Mama Petrelli) will come into play. We see a little bit of that on the first episode.

I'm so apprehensive of that sophomoric slump. But the start shows promise that I could not help applauding in the end.

Wheee!

[Heroes]

Preview: Journeyman

Hail Kevin McKidd (Rome)! He absolutely made Journeyman easy to watch. I mean, digestible enough. Because I have to be very honest, I got very confused with most of it. If the TV screen could only tell me to lay-off the quizzical look on my face, it sure would. But I had half the mind to tell myself to just enjoy McKidd's performance. And once that happened, I was up for good TV.

Journeyman is about Dan Vasser, a news reporter, who finds himself being mysteriously transported back and forth --- from the present day and into the past. Think Quantum Leap, which is what most people say this show is similar to. But unlike QL, in Journeyman, no one mysteriously appears to tell him why it's happening and no one clues him on what the hell he's supposed to do; and also, no one can answer why he keeps coming back to that time when he was still engaged to Livia, an ex-girlfriend who's long been dead (or so he thought).

His frequent "trips" cause a strain in his present relationship with his present-day wife. When Dan "journeys" he's gone for days, missing dates, missing work. When he comes back to the "now", he tells his wife he's been "dreaming" of Livia, the dead ex-girlfriend. Is he cheating on her? Is he high on drugs? The family tries an intervention but no one believes Dan when he says that there's something weird going on.

And as a side-trip, in the midst of figuring out what he's doing in the past and whether that will lead to Dan time-travel cheating on his wife (heh!), Dan finds a man, verging on suicidal and obviously very conflicted about something. Is he supposed to save him? Dan's natural journalistic instinct gives direction to what he thinks he's supposed to do with the guy he is supposed to help. I guess this is the running theme of the show and it will be what viewers will see every week --- Dan trying to save someone in the past to correct the future.

But Dan trying to save himself? He has what is hopefully thirteen episodes (if it doesn't get canned!) to figure everything else out.

There is a touch of cleverness to Journeyman. Writing is top-notch, mixing mystery with drama and romance. There's no spoon-feeding here, you figure out what is happening to the story without any leading dialogues from the characters (which is why it got confusing! My brain is still on extended break!). However, because it is that way, I have doubts whether this can be something the general audience can get into. Viewers will be asked to think and analyze. And the only way it will work is if you treat the actual watching as the journey itself or if you step into Dan's shoes. Thankfully, I think Kevin McKidd did a great job playing Dan. The actor has quite a magnetic presence on screen. And it's the exact ingredient this show needs in order to pull in viewers.

The show will premiere on NBC this September 24th at 10 PM, following Heroes.

[Journeyman], [Kevin McKidd]

The spoilers cometh....

Disclaimer: I am not an official source, just sharing what I read from all over. Also, no in-depth spoilers. I still wanna enjoy my TV viewing without learning waaay to much. :)

Heroes:

• Mohinder: "I'm bring something from my personal life into the fifth episode of season two."
• Greg Grunburg says: "There's this character that is looming out there that's bigger and badder than Sylar, so it's going to be pretty crazy."
• Just Jared has photos of Claire's new boyfriend (Hot!!!).
  

Friday Night Lights:

• Meet Landry's daddy...father and son do look alike, eh? --

• We'll learn more of Landry in Season 2.

Grey's Anatomy:

• Ava is coming back to Seattle Grace.
• Gizzie might be killed-off early in the season. The writers know it won't work with the audience, so their love angle might go kaput.

Ugly Betty:

• Henry's back. Santos is back. But the question is --- for how long and how many episodes...and in whatever shape or form?
• Justin revisits Mode. Wilhelmina and him will have an amusing encounter.
• A possible MUSICAL episode in February 2008, according to this article. With possible guest: David Hyde Pierce. Yahoooooo! Niles Crane! LOL!
  
• Something else from Chicago Tribune
  

As for Santos, don’t worry -- he will be back. Make sure you tune in to the first episode of the season. It will be intense, especially for Hilda (Ana Ortiz).

Other Sources: Korbin and Ausiello
Photo Source: Ugly-is-in.com

[Heroes], [Friday Night Lights], [Grey's Anatomy], [Ugly Betty]

Things to expect from Lost Season 4

... as discussed at the ComicCon this week:

• The return of Michael.
• Jack learning Claire is his half-sister.
• The reappearance of Libby.
• More of who Ben/Henry really is and what his role is on the Island.
• More of Dharma.
  
• A flashback involving Danielle Rousseau (which could also be for Season 5).
  
• The final scene of Season 3 is not the end of the whole series. Lost is not about getting off the island.
• There is a Station 6 somewhere in the Island
  

Here's what was partly shown at the conference:


[Lost]

Preview: Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles

The first five minutes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles pilot episode (based from the movie franchise) is already pumped with action. A school gets blown up, Sarah and her son, John, are both running for their lives and I could not take my eyes off the TV screen. Before I can even try and jog my memory of what little I know of its movie version (not a fan of Terminator really), the story has already began rolling and I had to really sit there, watch and follow it.

My first impression --- this is quite a big-budgetted TV series....very ambitious for TV.

My second impression --- I still can't imagine anyone else playing Sarah Connor but Linda Hamilton, but I am liking the series' actors and their take on the characters, so far. Sarah for the TV version is played by Lena Headey (300) and John is played by Thomas Drekker (Heroes).

Midway through, Summer Glau's (Serenity, Firefly) character, Cameron is introduced. She looks like a harmless 16-17 year old but she is in fact one of the cyborgs of this series, a teenager protecting a teenager (John).

The twist to this TV version? It's starts off in 1999 but by the end of the episode, Sarah, John and Cameron are transported to 2007. And this is where their saga will start.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles won't be premiering on the small screen until mid-season. Why the long wait? I wonder about this myself.

It will be aired on Fox.

TV Promo posted in this previous entry




[Terminator], [Sarah Connor Chronicles], [Lena Headley], [Summer Glau]

Kidnapped

Kidnapped is a series that reminds me a lot of the movie, Ransom. It is very similar in that it follows the movie even down to the ending --- when it was finally revealed who the real bad guy was.

To compensate, Kidnapped did have a very strong cast led by:

• Timothy Hutton (I used to confuse him with Tom Hanks back in the 80's!)
• Dana Delany (love her in this series!)
• Jeremy Sisto (who is more familiar to me as that deranged junkie-brother from Six Feet Under).

In Kidnapped, Sisto is a bad ass who works as a freelance kidnap victim "recoverer" ...or whatever his job description should be. He has the right nose and the best intuition for the job. And for conflict, his character did not like playing by the rules... which makes his scenes very interesting and exciting. Also in the cast is Delroy Lindo, who is (trivia! trivia!) originally part of the movie Ransom and played almost the same role in this series! (Hello, stereotype?) He is the FBI agent Sisto's character has to work hand in hand with for this case.

The kidnapped victim is the son of one of New York's premiere business men (played by Hutton); a business man who got to where he is by virtue of marriage --- Hutton's character is married to a socialite, old money (Delaney).

All in all, I found Kidnapped not to be an entirely compelling series. It's worth watching, alright. But it doesn't have the same intensity as 24, which is somewhat how this show was played out.

Somewhere in the middle, the story felt like an extended episode of Without a Trace or Law and Order. But still, it is a shame a series like this was not given the chance to develop into what it should be. Because after about five episodes (out of 13) the show was already canceled. Perhaps if the show had enough exposure, it could have become, potentially, one of the best series of 2006.

Kidnapped, the full series, is already out on DVD: Kidnapped - The Complete Series

It is currently airing on local cable AXN.

The series originally aired on NBC in September 2006.

[Kidnapped], [Timothy Hutton], [Dana Delaney], [Without A Trace], [Jeremy Sisto]

24 Season 7: The Lady President

Please welcome the President of the United States: President Allison Taylor...

So, they picked Cherry Jones to play Season 7's Lady President. I can't remember where I've seen her. But I am familiar with her face, and it had to be in something terrifying, that is what I recall.

Day 7 of 24 premieres January 2008.

[Cherry Jones], [24 Season 7]