M2tv

Stargate Atlantis Season 4: Amanda Tapping in Command

Amanda Tapping, Stargate SG-1’s Colonel Samantha Carter, moves into position as commander of the Stargate Atlantis base this season. Tapping’s fans will tag along, hopefully, enriching SCI FI Channel's Atlantis with viewers from the now cancelled SG-1 who never quite transitioned to the sister series.

The fourth season of Atlantis premieres tonight on SCI FI at 10p E/9p C.

Last July, I caught up with Tapping at the SCI FI Channel Comic-Con bash. We stood near the crowded, rooftop bar of the Hotel Solamar and chatted about her new position on the cast of Atlantis and her on-line virtual experiment - a sci-fi drama called Sanctuary.

Long-time Stargate producer/director and Sanctuary co-creator Martin Wood was nearby, so he joined in the conversation for a minute or two.

CLICK HERE FOR THE INTERVIEW

Joe Mallozzi, Showrunner, on Stargate Atlantis Season Four

Stargate Atlantis season four launches tomorrow night at 10 (9/C) on SCI FI Channel. This year, Colonel Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) takes command of the base and Jewel Staite (Firefly, Serenity) dons scrubs as the new doctor. Behind the scenes, executive producers Joe Mallozzi and Paul Mullie take over the showrunning duties for the first time.

Last July, at Comic-Con, I sat down with Joe Mallozzi to discuss the new season and the trajectory of season four.

CLICK HERE FOR THE TRANSCRIPT of our chat.

Stargate Atlantis/Season 4: Focus on Character

With the flurry of broadcast net launches this week, and the cable summer season winding down, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that cable still has some aces up the sleeve.

Season two of Showtime’s Dexter and Brotherhood takes off next Sunday night. And season four of SCI FI Channel’s Stargate Atlantis, sister series to Stargate SG-1, premieres this Friday at 10p.

This week we turn our attention to Stargate Atlantis. Later in the week I’ll post full transcripts of interviews with showrunner Joe Mallozzi (duties he shares with long-time writing partner Paul Mullie) and Amanda Tapping, Stargate SG-1’s Colonel Samantha Carter, who moves into position on the Atlantis team for the first time.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REVIEW OF THE ATLANTIS SEASON FOUR PREMIERE ON MY MULTICHANNEL BLOG

Bob Garfield Says: Comcast Die, Die, Die

Bob Garfield, host of public radio's On The Media and a columnist for Ad Age, is mad. Fightin' mad. It all started mid-August when he signed up for Comcast's triple play. Or at least tried to sign up.

On September 9, Garfield takes his first pot shot at Comcast and the fireworks begin.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON MY MULTICHANNEL BLOG

WOO-HOO! MAD MEN RENEWED! Kudos to AMC

Mad Men has been renewed for a second season, according to our very own Linda Moss.

It's morning here on the West Coast but I'm pouring the bubbly - maybe an organic Mimosa. Can I just say- woo! hoo! And kudos to AMC for their commitment to this series. The ratings have not been spectacular but AMC says (per Linda's report) the numbers are on the rise - with 31% growth in household ratings.

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY ON MY MULTICHANNEL BLOG

Fox Censors Sally Field

I'm watching the west coast tape delay of the Emmys. At the end of Sally Field's acceptance speech for best actress in a drama series (ABC's Brothers & Sisters), Fox suddenly cut away to a static shot. Surprised and shocked, I just tapped into the Internet.

Apparently Fox censored Field.

"And let's face it, if the mothers ruled the world, there would be no goddamn wars in the first place'' is what the audience would have heard had Fox not behaved badly.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY

Keith Olbermann Overtakes O'Reilly

TV Newser reports that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann's Countdown was the number one cable news show last Friday night, in the 25-54 demo (live+ same day DVR).

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

NO BATTLESTAR FINALE UNTIL 2009?

Chicago Tribune's Maureen ("Mo") Ryan (via Ain't It Cool News) reports that SCI FI Channel may be planning to spool out those final Battlestar Galactica episodes - all the way to 2009.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE!

From Katrina to Crushing Coke Cans: The Dumbing Down of Anderson Cooper

Just two years ago post-Katrina, the New York Times gushed over Anderson Cooper, the "anchor who reports with a heart on his sleeve....he's anything but slick and packaged."

I watched the last, interminable eight minutes of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 (or AC 360) the other night. After the inane banter between Cooper and correspondent Erica Hill which ended in Cooper crushing a coke can in an obviously scripted moment, my husband yelled from his office across the hall, "omg! it's the news equivalent of vaporware!"

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THIS STORY

FANFIC AND THE DAYS OF AWE: Exploring Your Favorite Jewish Characters

Now that Labor Day has subsided, Northern California looks ahead to the quieter days of the grape harvest season which coincides the Jewish High Holy Days or Yamim Noraim, translated as "Days of Awe."

At the same time, with all the breathless hype and pulsating ads, networks and critics are gearing up for the Emmys and the autumn premiere onslaught. But some fanfic writers are taking a different tact altogether.

In honor of the Yamim Noraim, a little livejournal site called "Days of Awesome" aims to celebrate the Jewish High Holidays by inviting fanfic writers to participate in a Jewish character ficathon and to pen stories about their favorite Jewish characters.

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY

Old School moment: Blair Sandburg (Garett Maggart, from UPN's The Sentinel), a much-loved Jewish character explored in the fanfic universe.