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BBC America's High-Octane Torchwood: Car Chases! Shoot-outs! Brawls! & The Big Snog

It’s late. The streets of Cardiff, Wales are empty, and shiny from a recent rain. One elderly woman totters to an intersection as a spicy red convertible pulls up. The driver – an alien with a spiny head – peers over the door.

The walk sign shifts from red to green. “Ehhhhhh,” hisses the creature. It motions the woman safely across, then rips away.

Seconds later, a black SUV approaches. “Excuse me,” asks the passenger ever-so graciously, “have you seen a blowfish driving a sportscar?”

The elderly pedestrian silently points up the street and the SUV charges off into the night.

“Bloody Torchwood!” grumbles the woman.

It’s the opening scene in BBC America's season two Torchwood which premieres Saturday, January 26, 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

The launch is an action-packed, blazing hour of non-stop television fun. A car chase, a shootout, and a bar brawl ensue – and that’s just the first fifteen minutes or so!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OF THE TORCHWOOD REVIEW

MGM Resurrects Dead Like Me

MGM Studios just finished wrapping a Dead Like Me direct to DVD movie, revealed MGM's Senior Executive Vice President Finance and Corporate Development Charlie Cohen during a chat at the SCI FI Channel/Entertainment Weekly Comic-Con party.

Cohen, who oversees the studio’s new Home Entertainment Productions division along with the studio’s Stargate franchise, said the movie would be released in "about a year." He also discussed cast changes and said the studio is "open" to producing more movies and even bringing the series back for another television run.

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HDNet to Air Torchwood

HDNet just announced that they have acquired the HD rights to the first twenty-six episodes of Torchwood, the darker cousin spin-off of BBC's Dr. Who series starring John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness.

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ComicCon:Chris Judge Readies for Rage of Angels

Walking down the street you might not recognize Stargate SG-1 co-star Chris Judge (Teal'c). Judge has refashioned himself. His new look was on display at the SCI FI Channel/Entertainment Weekly bash last night. Judge's transformation is striking. Handsomely outfitted in an understated checked sportcoat and black shirt strategically unbuttoned by three or four, it was obvious that he's slimmed down. For years Judge shaved his head and bulked up for his role as Teal'c. But now his hair is long and gelled.

What can I say. It's a fabulous look for him.

UPDATE: oh, my gosh - it looks like I can finally access my Multichannel blog again! yessssssss! so click here to read the rest of this post. And to access the link to photos.

P.S. I'm closing comments here. But y'all can comment on Multichannel if you're inspired. Hopefully some of the thorny problems w/ the comment function have been ironed out.

ComicCon:Lucy Lawless Returns to Battlestar

Lucy Lawless made an appearance at today's Battlestar panel. She returns for the fourth and final season of the acclaimed series. Lawless reprises her role as the Anna, the disruptive Cylon. Her model was deemed defective and "boxed" last season after she sowed dissent among the Cylon ranks. Lawless will appear in a minimum of two episodes.

ComicCon: Stargate Panels

MGM and SCI FI Channel kicked off their ComicCon presentations this afternoon. MGM was promoting their straight to DVD Stargate SG-1 movie Continuum. SCI FI was there to support the SG-1 spin-off, Stargate Atlantis, soon to enter its fourth season on the network.

The back-to-back panels were held in one of the largest convention center rooms available - at least 5,000 seats. The hall was filled to capacity for Stargate SG-1 but there were a few empty seats in the back during the Atlantis panel (but not many).

[Sunday, July 29. Correction: I double-checked w/ the ComicCon folks today. The official capacity of Ballroom 20, where the Stargate panels were held, is 4,500.]

That said, ComicCon itself doesn't feel quite as manic as last year. Crowd control is better. I was told that a decision was made to sell fewer tickets, although this is unconfirmed. (ComicCon 2006 was chaotic.)

Some of this afternoon's Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis panels might have been rehearsed or even choreographed. (It's hard to say just how much.) But who fraking cares. Everyone had a rockin' good time anyway.

How can you not with Pied Pipers Chris Judge (Teal'C) and Gary Jones, SG-1's loveable, ever-present GateGuy, Walter Harriman.

UPDATE: my Multichannel blog is up and running again, so everything - the audio files etc. and the rest of this post - have been migrated. Click here to go directly to my Multichannel post about the Stargate panel. Apologies for the hassle. Technology is hell sometimes.

P.S. Comments are now closed here. But thanks for all the nice feedback. Much appreciated!

ComicCon/Henry Rollins, Sid Haig Say - Embrace Your Weirdness; Take Back Your Power

The Spike TV ComicCon panel, keyed to their upcoming 2007 Scream Awards, took a lively turn this morning as panelists talked openly about Hollywood politics, groused about the MPAA, and encouraged viewers to "take back their power."

Not that any of this is surprising. ComicCon is the convention of the unconventionals and the ungovernables, and smacking around TPTB a little is du rigeur.

(photo: Rollins)

IFC talk show host, singer, poet and culture critic, Henry Rollins, moderated a panel that included Linda Blair (from the original Exorcist), Sid Haig (the venerable cult actor who took home the 2006 Scream "Most Vile Villain" Award for his portrayal of Captain Spaulding in The Devil's Rejects), and Saw producer Mark Burg.

First, Rollins asked panelists to riff on why the horror genre gets no respect.

Linda Blair reminisced about her first Oscar award ceremony at age 15. "I sat in the audience trying to figure out why we were not winning," said the actress, now a stunning adult. "A certain famous director in Hollywood felt this film should not be part of Hollywood system. There was all this politics going on behind the scenes. John Houston said there was no movie that qualified for special effects that year. Do they honestly think I can levitate and spin my head around!? That's when I learned about the politics and the Hollywood system."

Haig observed that Silence of the Lambs "wasn't rated horror because it wouldn't win awards."

(photo: Haig)

Addressing the horror genre stigma, Rollins later asked Haig if the studios "make exceptions for high brow films such as Silence of the Lambs."

"Yes," confirmed Haig, "when House of 1,000 Corpses was rejected by Universal, who paid to make it, they were interviewed by the LA Times. They asked 'why does Hannibal get a thumbs up and House of 1,000 Corpses get a thumbs down?' They replied: 'because we know that Anthony Hopkins is not like that.'"

The controversial film was eventually distributed by Lionsgate. Haig said the theatrical was banned in Tracy, California, but that "kids just caravanned to the next town" to see it

An audience member asked about the impact of the MPAA.

Mark Burg reported that just yesterday the MPAA slapped Saw IV with a NC17 rating. But he's exacting a modicum of revenge anyway. "At the Saw panel later this afternoon," snerked Berg, "we're showing what the MPAA didn't let us show. So I'm going to pretend I didn't get their email....but there's nothing we can do about it. Theaters won't play unrated movies, newspapers won't advertise, WalMart won't stock NC17. It's all trickle down."

Another audience member asked about the commercialization of horror and music. "Horror is getting legitimized. Hard [rock] is getting legitimized," the young man lamented, addressing Rollins.

Rollins told the audience to hunt down the alternatives. "On my show, there is wonderful music, offensive, innovative music that will clear the room and have your parents swearing they never birthed you," Rollins said. "You have to look at the edge, the periphery. My show streams on-line Tuesdays from 8-10. You can stream it for free. I play stuff that's completely insane."

Rollins wasn't the only one telling audiences to storm the citadels of big media. Haig had his own advice. "If I had the power to do anything it would be to empower you to take control. Get on the Internet," he exhorted the crowd, unprompted, "tell 'em what you want to see. You've got the money that they want. Take the power; it's yours."

Rollins wrapped up the panel by urging the converted to keep experimenting and to embrace their weirdness. "When you stop supporting this kind of thing, when you stop thinking differently - as you do - culture in this country dies," he pleaded, "and when it does, it's not gonna be the country you want to wake up in. So never back off of your convictions, the stuff that you're into. No matter who says 'that's weird, you're weird' - just say say 'thank goodness I'm weird' because weird is good if it looks like this. Lets have a really great time at Comic Con!!!"

Later, outside the panel, I stopped to chat w/ Haig briefly as fans crowded 'round to have their pictures taken with him. He said that fans of genre films "just have to realize they have a voice. The main objective for any studio is to extract as much money from your pocket as they possibly can. And the smart ones will listen to what you have to say. So my message to fans is: get on the Internet and tell them what you want!"

When asked to name studios and executives who have reputation for listening, Haig listed the "people at Lionsgate and the Weinsteins." And, he added, "in the old days, Roger Corman. I love that guy. I've done ten pictures with him. Still, today, he has his finger on the pulse.

TNT's Saving Grace: Strong Southern Women Rule

CLICK HERE TO READ PART ONE OF THIS STORY

Part II

Miller returned to her faith after working on a show that was clearly agony for her. "It took me back on my knees," she said ruefully, "I can't tell you what it was but it was a horrible experience." A small cluster of press pestered her for an answer but she graciously fended them off. "I'm not going to tell you where it was," she kept repeating.

Saving Grace is a character-driven cop show. It's the anti-CSI. "It's not about a maggots eating a face off," asserted Miller, "it's not about that crap. It's about this woman. We're gonna go deep."

(Thank you, Lord!! I'm fed-up with that crap, too.)

The pilot slows down a little due to the exposition. Miller had a lot to accomplish in forty-five minutes or so. The episode is essential viewing because so much of the series is established in this one hour. By the end, we find out why Grace wallows in her self-destructive behaviors. What will be especially interesting going forward is Grace's linkage to a death row prisoner. It's a plot twist that gives the series additional depth and complexity.

Another stroke of genius is the setting - Oklahoma City. Few Americans have ever visited. It just doesn't bubble up to the top of the list as a favorite vacation spot. (TNT's attention may change all that.) This is the viewers' chance to visit occasionally by remote. One scene, filmed at the memorial dedicated to the victims of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, is beautifully shot in golden Autumn (or winter) light. It's a quiet tribute to those who died.

Watching that scene, I realized suddenly that the Vietnam Memorial is fixed in our consciousness but I can hardly recall seeing film images of the Oklahoma memorial. Surprisingly, neither could my news-hound husband, nor my neighbors.

For Miller, the bombing is personal, very personal, and immediate. "I knew people in that building...a good friend of mine was out of the office that day. She lost 35 people she worked with," said Miller during the TCA panel.

The tragedy is not forgotten in Saving Grace. At a shooting range, Grace and her nephew imagine that Timothy McVeigh is their target and they nail him square in the forehead.

"I'm sick of that part of the country being called the fly-over states, " added Miller, "There are a lot of great stories to tell from that part of the country."

Unfortunately, few scenes were actually shot on location in Oklahoma City - only the memorial and stadium scenes. Some were shot in Calgary, Canada. Miller said to me personally that she hopes to film more on location in Oklahoma next year, "if there is a next year" because of the rich setting and the interesting characters that could be tapped.

Still, for all its appeal, I wasn't 100% hooked on Saving Grace when the closing credits rolled on the pilot. I was fence sitting, unsure if the series could hold my attention for the long term. It's during the second episode that the series begins to pick up steam. I highly recommend that viewers invest in the pilot plus one.

Hopefully, Saving Grace will eventually be shot on location. And I do think there will be second season. I'll be very surprised if this series isn't renewed. It's a show that transcends the blue state/red state divide, and that's probably a metaphor for Nancy Miller, too. What the series lacks is the authenticity that can only be a fully realized by location immersion. Nevertheless, even without the extra oomph of cool location shots, Amazing Grace is still good and decent television.

Saving Grace premieres Monday, July 23, at 10 p.m. Pacific/Eastern and at 9 p.m. Central

Will Mad Men Catapult AMC into the Buzzsphere?

It's not that AMC hasn't enjoyed success lately with their originals. Last year's Broken Trail mini starring Robert Duvall was cable's second most-watched movie since 1995 and the network's ratings leader with a 7.7 household mark and total viewership of 9.7 million.

The fourth season of Hustle, a BBC co-production featuring the iconic Robert Vaughn, got underway last April.

In spite of the impressive successes, the network so far lacks a breakout original series (a la Nip/Tuck) that anchors its identity in the minds of viewers and critics. (According to Multichannel's Mike Reynolds, the network is in the midst of a rebranding initiative.)

The sizzle of AMC's initiative will be evident on Thursday, July 19 at 10p when AMC's new original series, Mad Men, is set to launch. This is a show that could catapult the network into the buzzsphere.

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Couch Potato-ing Fourth of July: Flintstones, Monk, Army Wives

Fourth of July program offerings are meager but the determined couch potato can still happily veg out. Cable channels are hosting a variety of marathons. Here's a list of ten and there's something for everyone to watch.

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