Sunday, July 11, 2010

Final Comic-Con Schedule Is Out

Here is a full list of all the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and CAPRICA related events announced for San Diego Comic Con from the official event schedule. Still no sign of Ms. Sackhoff; those of you that need to know should keep an eye out. If you are going to San Diego this year, check out the terrific personal scheduling app available for SDCC for the first time. It works on smartphones, you can sign in using Twitter, FaceBook or LinkedIn, and share your panel-going plans on social networks.

ETA: now there is a rumor that James Marsters will attend the CAPRICA panel. No confirmation yet...


THURSDAY

12:00-1:00 Caprica, Battlestar, and Beyond— Hosted by actor/author Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek, Capt. Apollo, So Say We All), this panel features composer Bear McCreary (Battlestar, Eureka, Caprica), producer/writer Michael Taylor (Battlestar, Caprica, Star Trek), science consultant Kevin Grazier (Battlestar, Eureka), and special guests. Richard and the panelists will proide reviews, discussion, and Q&A of Caprica, Battlestar Galactica, and the upcoming BSG movie, including trailers. Room 6A


FRIDAY

10:15-11:15 Hawaii Five-O: Aloha, Earth! — Lost castaway found! Battlestar Cylon becomes human! Star Trek writers return from space! A supernatural force has drawn some of sci-fi's giants back to Earth­ -- and they're all gathering on a beautiful and mysterious island in the Pacific. It's Hawaii Five-0, a modern-day reimagining of one of television's most beloved and iconic classics. The epic series, one of the most anticipated new shows of the season, will explore the origins of the Five-0 team and build on an already rich mythology. Executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Star Trek) and Peter M. Lenkov (24), director Len Wiseman (Underworld), and stars Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) and Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica) present an exclusive sneak peek at the series and an in depth discussion on how they plan to marry their genre sensibilities with a classic police procedural. Room 6BCF

11:30-12:30 Caprica Syfy presents an exclusive glimpse into the future of humanity. Featuring Alessandra Torresani (Zoe Graystone), Sasha Roiz (Sam Adama), James Marsters, Ronald D. Moore (co-creator/executive producer), and David Eick (executive producer) and moderated by Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times. Ballroom 20

2:15-3:15 The Cape: Sneak Peek and Panel Discussion— One man can make a difference...When Vince Faraday, an honest cop on a corrupt police force, is framed for murder and presumed killed, he assumes the identity of his son's favorite comic book superhero -- The Cape -- to reclaim his name, family, and his city from the ruthless ARK Corporation and the masked villain known as Chess. Join the cast and creators including David Lyons (ER), Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles), Dorian Missick (Six Degrees), James Frain (True Blood), Keith David (Gamer), Vinnie Jones (X-Men: Last Stand), Martin Klebba (Pirates of the Caribbean), composer Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica), creator/executive producer Thomas Wheeler (Empire), and showrunner/executive producer John Wirth (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) for this sneak peek at the pilot episode and panel discussion. A limited collector edition of The Cape comic book, with a cover by superstar artist John Cassady (Astonishing X-Men), will be given away at the panel. Room 6A

3:15-4:15 Spartacus: Blood and Sand Andy Whitfield (McLeod's Daughters) makes his Comic-Con debut, along with Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess), John Hannah (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor), and Viva Bianca (Bad Bush). Executive producer Stephen S. DeKnight (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) joins the cast to discuss the upcoming prequel, titled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, expected to air on Starz in January 2011, and the exclusive content found on the first season Blu-ray discs, available September 21. Room 6BCF

4:45-5:45 Falling Skies They're coming. Get the very first look at Steven Spielberg's new series that envisions a world where aliens have invaded and the fate of humanity lies in the hands of a few survivors. Noah Wyle (ER, TNT's The Librarian movies) and Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) join co-executive producer and writer Mark Verheiden (Heroes, Battlestar Galactica) for a Q&A on the new series. Falling Skies premieres on TNT next summer. Room 6A


SATURDAY

3:30-5:00 Warehouse 13 and Eureka Don't miss two of Syfy's biggest hit series in one exclusive event. Catch back-to-back Warehouse 13 and Eureka panels, featuring Warehouse 13's Eddie McClintock (Pete Lattimer), Joanne Kelly (Myka Bering), Saul Rubinek (Artie Nielsen), Allison Scagliotti (Claudia Donovan), and Jack Kenny (showrunner/executive producer) and Eureka's Colin Ferguson (Jack Carter), Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Allison Blake), Neil Grayston (Douglas Fargo), James Callis (Grant), Jaime Paglia (co-creator/executive producer/writer), and Bruce Miller (executive producer/writer). Room 6BCF

6:30-7:30 Her Universe: Shining The Spotlight on Female Fans— Ashley Eckstein (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) brings together some of today's leading women who are movers and shakers in the various fields of sci-fi and fantasy. Looking at science fiction through female eyes, the panel will discuss what kinds of entertainment female sci-fi fans want to see more of, what strides have been made, what has been missing up to now, what kinds of merchandise female fans want to see, and what female fans can do to encourage more of all of this. Panelists include Jane Espenson (producer/writer, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Melinda Snodgrass (author, The Edge series; story editor Star Trek: The Next Generation), Erika Kennair (director of development and current programming, Syfy Channel), Cat Staggs (artist, Star Wars sketch cards, Marvel card sets), Bonnie Burton (content developer, Lucas Online, official SW Blog), Katie Cook (artist, Star Wars, comics, webcomic Gronk), and Mary Franklin (senior events lead, Lucasfilm Ltd.). Q&A with audience members, too! Room 24ABC

ETA: Information on signings and some new CAPRICA merch!

Alessandra Torresani, Jane Espenson, and Bob Harris from CAPRICA are all doing signings at the Entertainment Earth booth over the weekend (schedule here). Mark Sheppard and Richard Hatch are doing signings elsewhere at SDCC booths. And...

NBC Universal will debut "Beyond Caprica - A Visitor's Pocket Guide to the Twelve Colonies" ($10) and an all-new Caprica T-shirt ($20), available for purchase at Entertainment Earth's booth. Here's your chance to own a piece of the hit Syfy channel drama set in the Battlestar Galactica universe.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, man! I've love to meet not only the obvious ones like Ronald D. Moore (including to ask when he's going to take up head writing on Caprica and why he left), Michael Taylor, James Callis, David Eick, and Richard Hatch.

I'd also love to meet or hear Melinda Snodgrass. She wrote some of the best TNG episodes in that 3rd season. Her episode on terrorism, "The High Ground", was the most powerful statement the show made on the subject; it was even banned in the UK for several years because it struck a cord. I really wish the DVD bonus features had explored her thoughts on the issue and her writing of that episode. Just checked tv.com and found out she also wrote Season 2's best ep, "The Measure of a Man". This woman is amazing. I wonder why she stopped doing TV?

Logan Gawain said...

I think Melinda Snograss did some interviews about her experiences on Star Trek: TNG. (Not entirely positive experiences.) I'm not sure but it might have been in Cinefantasique magazine. I'd have to check boxes in my garage to see if I still have a copy. (Ah, the pre-internet days.) But, maybe if you check her website you can find the information.

I don't know what Ron's present level of involvement with Caprica is, but I imagine it's been substantial to get the show going. But, since I've not really watched Caprica, I don't really know.

Anonymous said...

That's kinda sad Snodgrass had bad experience. She has a website? Cool. I'll check that out, Logan.

Found it: http://www.melindasnodgrass.com/ I guess because she's older than many writers, I just assumed she wouldn't have one.

Regarding Caprica, the pilot, "The Is Another Sky", and "Ghosts in the Machine" feel close to BSG quality; the rest doesn't at all and completely lacks Ron Moore's quality control or even the quality and texture of Virtuality. David Eick mentions some of the plot changes they had to make, including the nonsensical notion that Amanda's visions of her brother aren't hallucinations but her actually seeing a guy Virgis hired who just happens to look exactly like her dead brother. What? Stuff like that meant Amanda was doomed to go through a crappy arc -- as did all the female characters after the pilot.

Still can't wait for it to return -- hopefully in October.

I'm guessing you share my excitement at the return of "Mad Men", eh?

One of the things that makes that show so good is that Matthew Weiner rewrites every episode and even goes so far as to give himself a writing credit, ensuring he probably gets more residuals. I'm wondering, even though it might seem greedy, perhaps Syfy should be willing to pay Ron Moore to rewrite as an incentive to ensure the quality of BSG's first season.

Logan Gawain said...

Yeah, looking forward to Mad Men. Very excited.

A lot of time a writer, who's also a producer on a show, doesn't take credit for rewrites, since rewriting could be viewed as part of their producing job. Plus, and most importantly, all writing credits are determined by the WGA. They have a process for awarding credit.

I could do further research into that question and find a more complete answer perhaps.

Anonymous said...

I know exactly what you mean. That's what's so surprising about Matthew Weiner putting his name on nearly every single episode. In contrast, our man Moore rewrote a lot of eps; Ira Steven Behr rewrote every 4400 episode along with his partner Craig Sweeney; I'd go so far as to argue that Ira Behr deserves "created by" credit on the show, considering Scott Peters couldn't write a damn.

Chris Carter rewrote a ton; I'm not sure precisely which eps, but my sense is that he rewrote all Millennium Season 1 eps, (I don't know if you've seen that show's first season, but it's incredible) compared to later seasons when he didn't have the time and the show really nose-dived. I know for a fact that he wrote or rewrote 20 of 24 episodes in The X-Files' iconic 3rd season.

Still, if it makes head writers do the rewriting instead of just giving notes and supervising, maybe it's worth letting head writers like Matthew Weiner put their name on the script to ensure such high quality.

I think Syfy should offer Ron Moore the same deal -- pay him more, while still giving the official writer the same pay if it was just their name on the script.