SciFiAndTvTalk

Don S. Davis (1942 - 2008)

This is just a short post of remembrance for a dear friend, fine actor, talented artist, and all-around nice guy Don S. Davis (August 4th, 1942 - June 29th, 2008), who is best known to his fans the world over as Stargate SG-1's Major General George Hammond and Twin Peaks' Major Garland Briggs. You are still missed, Don.

Alyson Hannigan Joins Cast of Pure (WGN America)

Alyson Hannigan. Photo courtesy/copyright of JB Lacroix/Wireimage/Getty Images

WGN America has announced that Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother, American Pie, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will be joining the cast as a recurring guest star on the second season of the Mennonite crime drama, Pure. She will play “Esther Dunkel,” a lapsed Mennonite who is nobody’s fool and has been helping her lawyer-boyfriend funnel a fortune in cartel cash through a local bank. When the cops start closing in on the ever-resourceful Esther, she has no other option but to engineer her own escape.  

Hannigan is slated to begin shooting on July 27, 2018 alongside returning cast members Ryan Robbins (Arrow, The Killing) as Noah Funk and Alex Paxton-Beesley (The Strain, Cardinal) as Anna Funk. Also joining the cast of Season 2 is Chris Heyerdahl (Hell on Wheels), Zoie Palmer (Ransom) and Victor Gomez (Orphan Black).  WGN America will debut the first season of Pure early 2019.

The series takes us deep inside a closed, secretive subculture through the eyes of a conflicted, good-hearted man trying to protect his family and preserve his faith.  Inspired by true events, “Pure” is the journey of Noah Funk, a newly elected Mennonite pastor, who is determined to rid his community of the scourge of drugs and its nefarious ties to a trans-border smuggling alliance with ruthless Mexican cocaine cartels.  Just when he thinks he's won, Noah and his wife Anna are thrust headlong into a desperate world of violence, greed, and betrayal.

Pure is produced by Two East Productions and Cineflix Studios in association with WGN America, Super Channel, Hulu and the CBC.  The series is created and written by Michael Amo (The Listener) with Ken Girotti (Orphan Black, Vikings) as the series director. Amo and Girotti serve as executive producers for the second season, along with Brett Burlock, Peter Emerson and David MacLeod (Call Me Fitz, Haven). Cineflix Rights has the exclusive worldwide distribution rights to Pure.

Next Time on 12 Monkeys - "Daughters" PLUS Two More Episodes (SYFY)

Cole (Aaron Stanford) and Cassie (Amanda Schull). Photo copyright of SYFY.

On the next all-new episode of 12 Monkeys, Jones (Barbara Sukowa) sends Hannah (Brooke Williams) back in time to 2007 on a personal mission that could be the key to everything. Make sure to tune into Daughters on Friday, June 29th @ 8:00 p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. CT on SYFY (US). Following this episode (@ 9:00 p.m. EST/8:00 p.m. CT) is Demons, in which everything changes when the team finally climbs the steps… and rings the bell in the Middle Ages, and finally in One Minute More (@10:00 p;m. EST/9:00 p.m. CT), it is the beginning of the end as Cole (Aaron Stanford) and Cassie (Amanda Schull) embark on their final mission. Check out the promo clip below for all three episodes!

Next Time on Colony - "The Big Empty" (USA Network)

This week on an all-new episode of Colony, Will (Josh Holloway), Broussard (Tory Kittles), Amy (Peyton List), and Bram (Alex Neustaedter) work together to kidnap a high-ranking IGA officer. Have a look at the clip below for The Big Empty and then make sure to tune in Wednesday, June 27th @ 10:00 p.m. EST/9:00 p.m. CT on the USA Network.

Next Time on The Expanse - "Congregation" and "Abaddon's Gate" (Season Finale - SYFY)

Klaes Ashford (David Strathairn) in "Abaddon's Gate." Photo copyright of SYFY.

In this season's penultimate season three episode of The Expanse, as survivors arrive to the Behemoth, two factions form over how to handle a life-or-death threat, Holden (Steven Strait) grapples with what he’s seen and the choices he must make. Check out the clip below from Congregation and then make sure to tune in Wednesday, June 27th @ 9:00 p.m. EST/8:00 p.m CT on SYFY (US). Coming up directly after (@ 9:45 p.m. EST/8:45 p.m. CT) is the season finale Abadoon's Gate, in which Holden and his allies must stop Ashford (David Strathairn) and his team from destroying the Ring, and perhaps all of humanity.

Next Time on Face Off: Battle Royale - "Haunted Hotel" (SYFY)

Creation by Walter Welsh from last week's "Aztec Aliens." Photo copyright of SYFY.

In this week’s elimination challenge on Face Off: Battle Royale, the artists battle head-to-head as they create the quirky and ghostly staff of a haunted hotel. Check out the clip below from Haunted Hotel and then make sure to tune in Tuesday, June 26th @ 9:00 p.m. EST/8:00 p.m. CT on SYFY (US). 

Office Uprising - Trailer & Key Art Released (Sony Crackle)

Sony Crackle has released the trailer and key art for the network’s new summer comedy-horror movie Office Uprising, launching July 19. In addition, the movie will premiere ahead of the wide release exclusively through PlayStation®3 and PlayStation®4 July 12-15 and on Amazon Fire TV July 16-18 via the Sony Crackle app. The feature stars Brenton Thwaites (Titans, Pirates of the Caribbean), Tony-nominated actor Zachary Levi (Shazam! Chuck), Jane Levy (Don’t Breathe), Karan Soni (Deadpool), Ian Harding (Pretty Little Liars) and Alan Ritchson (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Blue Mountain State).

Office Uprising follows the story of an underachiever working at a major weapons manufacturing firm who finds that his co-workers have been “weaponized” by Zolt, a new energy drink designed for the military.  He must then set off to rescue his one true love from an office building full of psychotic coworkers armed with tomorrow’s deadliest tech. Rounding out the ensemble are: Barry Shabaka Henley (Bosch), Kurt Fuller (The Good Wife), Kenneth Choi (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Gregg Henry (Scandal) and Sam Daly (Murder in the First).

The movie is helmed by Lin Oeding and written by Ian Shorr (Splinter) and Peter Gamble. Giulia Prenna, Sean Lydiard, James Steele, and  Will Clevinger serve as the film’s producers and Christopher J. Conover, Brenton Thwaites, David Boies, Stephanie Pinola, Brian O’Shea, Nat McCormick and Sean E. DeMott as executive producers.

Next Time on 12 Monkeys - "Legacy" PLUS Two More Episodes! (SYFY)

Christopher Lloyd as The Man in Black in "After." Photo copyright of SYFY.

This week on the first of three all-new episodes of 12 Monkeys, Team Splinter goes back in time to the wild, wild frontier in search of a weapon to destroy the Witness. Check out the clip below and then make sure to tune in for Legacy on Friday, June 22nd @ 8:00 p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. CT on SYFY (US).

Next up in After (9:00 p.m. EST/8:00 p.m. CT), A clue to breaking the cycle leads Cole and Cassie to the 1960s. Christopher Lloyd returns as Zalmon Shaw, a devoted follower of the Witness. Then in Die Glocke (10:00 p.m. EST/9:00 p.m. CT), The team infiltrates a Nazi gala to steal an artifact known as ‘Die Glocke’. Their operation comes undone when French Resistance interferes and an unexpected guest arrives.

Sister Act: Interview with Kailey & Sam Spear

(L-R): Sam and Kailey Spear. Photo courtesy/copyright of Liz Rosa.

In the modern world, technology is a part of most peoples’ daily routine. From communicating with one another, to accepting a parcel when you are not home, and even restocking your refrigerator, there is a device, an app or a single tap on a computer keyboard that allows you to pretty much accomplish anything you want. Fortunately, there are some things that still require a human touch, but who knows how long that will last in this never-ending quest to further streamline our lives. Twin sisters and writing/directing dynamic duo Kailey and Sam Spear explore the idea of employing a mechanical device, albeit an exact human replica, to care for a child in their independent short film CC. The siblings’ short was part of Vancouver, British Columbia’s popular annual Crazy8’s Festival, which provides funding and support to emerging filmmakers to help them make a short film in only eight days. It sounds quite daunting, but that did not dissuade the sisters from giving it a try.

“Having seen some of the Crazy8’s films, we were impressed by the wonderful work that comes out of the competition,” says Sam. “It’s a great opportunity for the Vancouver film community to come together not only to create something new and fun, but also support newcomers to the art of filmmaking. When the festival came around this year, we had just finished work on a project and were free, so we figured why not go for it and see if we could cook up something. CC was a concept that Kailey and I had been kind of loosely thinking about as a feature, but we thought it could also make a great short, so we decided to pitch it to Crazy 8’s.”

Continues Kailey, “We’re fascinated by how technology is progressing so quickly, and that people put so much trust in it. Childcare is developing at much the same rate, and that’s kind of where the idea for CC came from. We wanted to look at the level of trust that parents basically put into technology, along with the upsides as well as downsides of that, and the complicated relationship between the two that is being formed.”

CC tells the story of Artificially Intelligent Device (AIDCC28002025), also known as CC (Jewel Staite), which is leased to a single mother, Lena Howard (Sharon Taylor), by Cloverhill Nanny Agency to care for her daughter Adelaide (Audrey Wise Alvarez). After a violent incident occurs between CC and Lena, an investigative team is called in to determine the cause, and who is to blame. With only a finite amount of time in which to complete the project, the Spear sisters had to make sure they had all the pieces of the creative puzzle in place before filming began.

“The Crazy 8’s format is definitely a challenge, but an exciting one,” notes Kailey. “You have eight days to make the film, which when you break it down, gives you  three days of shooting and five days of post-production. So when we were actually pitching the idea and writing the script, we were very conscious about choosing a story that we could tell in the time allotted as well as turn out a quality piece of work.”

Says Sam, “We were fortunate to have the cast and crew that we did, and they really pulled together to help us tell this story. The first castmember we brought onboard was Jewel Staite. She was actually someone who Kailey and I had been thinking about when writing the script. As soon as Crazy8’s told us we were selected to make the film, we immediately reached out to Jewel’s agent and sent her a letter explaining the story, her character and asking if she would like to be a part of it. Needless to say, we were very happy when she said, ‘Yes,’ and came onboard.

Behind-the-scenes on CC with Kailey Spear (left) and Sam Spear (right). Photo courtesy/copyright of DWOR Media Studio.

Kailey adds, “CC is such a specific character and whoever played her needed to have a caring, nurturing quality along with an underlying strength in order to fully realize the character. There aren’t too many people out there who can do that, and Jewel is one of them. So we were just thrilled with her, and she gave an absolutely fantastic performance, which we knew she would.”

Along with writing the script for CC, the Spears joined forces yet again behind the camera and directed the short together. While some might not be suited to collaborating in such a way, the two sisters are totally in-sync with this aspect of the storytelling process. “When it comes to co-directing, we always find that we work fairly smoothly together,” says Kailey. “We don’t really divide and conquer; we do the same thing. One of us will sit behind the monitor, while the other will be closer to the action, and then we’ll trade off as far as giving notes.”

Says Sam, “Our cinematographers are twins as well, the Talbot brothers – Graham and Nelson – and it’s fun because they work in much the same way. So they’ll be a Talbot and a Spear behind the monitor, and a Talbot and a Spear sort of closer to the action, and then we’ll switch off.”

Behind-the-scenes on CC with Kailey Spear (left) and Sam Spear (right). Photo courtesy/copyright of DWOR Media Studio.

Continues Kailey, “One of the biggest directing challenges we had was the fact that our main scene was set at night, and, of course, it had to be dark for that. Given our limited amount of filming time, every minute was precious, so we had to wait until nighttime to shoot that scene because there were so many windows in our location. It was a beautiful location, but it made it very tricky to get this scene shot, and we had a curfew, too, which meant we weren’t able to carry on shooting until the sun rose. So once it was dark, we had to whip through that scene pretty quickly, which was the majority of the film, but thanks to all the awesome people working with us, we got everything we needed, which was just great,” she enthuses.

Following its Crazy8’s Festival screening, CC was chosen as part of Telefilm Canada’s Not Short on Talent at this year’s prestigious Cannes Film Festival. “That was super exciting,” says Sam. “It was wonderful for the film to be recognized by Telefilm Canada, and we felt incredibly honored to take a place among all the other amazing films that had also been selected."

Another of the sisters’ most recent shorts, The Mary Alice Brandon File, was the winner of the New Voices of the Twilight Saga competition hosted by Lionsgate, Facebook, and WIF-KA. The film also won three of Canada’s Leo Awards and was nominated for six (including best direction). Hailing from Bowen Island, British Columbia, the Spears became enamored of the industry at quite a young age, having first begun performing onstage, and when they were 11, the two decided they wanted to become directors.

(L-R): Sam Spear and Kailey Spear.

“That was a result of us watching Lord of the Rings,” says Sam. “It was the tipping point for us, especially watching the behind the scenes portion of the DVD and seeing how [producer/director] Peter Jackson worked. That became a dream of ours to one day pursue.”

Adds Kailey, “Moving forward with genre projects is definitely a passion with the two of us. Anything with new ideas and that allows us to add bits and pieces to the world/and or create an entirely new world is quite exciting to both me and Sam.”

Steve Eramo

Delicious - Series 2 Coming To U.S. DVD in July (Acorn)

Acorn TV features the DVD debut of the addictive, visually appealing British drama Delicious, Series 2 on July 3, 2018. The appetizing drama about food, love and infidelity in Cornwall returns starring Dawn French (The Vicar of Dibley) and Emilia Fox (Silent Witness) with Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Jack Taylor). Joining the cast for Series 2 is Franco Nero (John Wick: Chapter 2, Camelot, Django) as the father of Gina Benelli (Dawn French). The DVD 1-Disc features 4 episodes and bonus behind-the-scenes featurettes ($34.99, Amazon.com).Delicious, Series 2 made its U.S. premiere in March 2018 on Acorn TV and has been renewed for a third series. Called a “glorious streaming service… an essential must-have” (The Hollywood Reporter), Acorn TV is North America’s most popular streaming service focused on British and international television from RLJ Entertainment, Inc.

It’s been almost a year since the sudden death of philandering chef Leo Vincent (Iain Glen), but his presence at the Penrose Hotel is more palpable than ever. His ex-wife, Gina (Dawn French), and widow, Sam (Emilia Fox), have turned the failing hotel he left behind into a profitable enterprise. Gina does the cooking while Sam manages the business, but they continue to have professional and personal disagreements. With an ongoing police investigation into the hotel, an unexpected guest, and a handsome new hire, Gina and Sam’s partnership may be a recipe for disaster. And while Leo ruminates on life from beyond the grave, his secrets come back to haunt his family.

Set against a backdrop of stunning Cornwall landscapes, Delicious offers “a feast for the eyes” (The Sun). This “darkly offbeat” (Express) drama also features Aaron Anthony (Doctors) and Sheila Hancock (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas).

Street Date: July 3, 2018; SRP: $34.99; DVD 1-Disc: 4 episodes – Approx. 187 min., plus bonus – SDH Subtitles – UPC 054961259793

Bonus: Behind-the-scene featurette (10 min.) and photo gallery.