Sci Fi TV Top 5: Covering the top sci fi and fantasy TV stories of interest from the past week. You can keep up with the sci fi and fantasy TV news headlines throughout the week at r/SciFiTV on Twitter and on Reddit.
1. Marvel Television Comes to and End
The handwriting was already on the wall and now it has become official that Marvel is closing the Marvel Television division–which delivered Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, Daredevil, and more–and merging that in with Marvel Studios. The announcement came this week with the additional news that most of the staff will be moved or let go. This follows the cancellation of Cloak and Dagger, Runaways, and the planned Ghost Rider series. Plus, Marvel TV’s long-running Agents of SHIELD wraps up with its upcoming seventh season. The planned live-action Helstrom series is supposed to still be going forward along with the adult-animated shows which include Howard the Duck, M.O.D.O.K., and Hit Monkey. Part of that group was Trigra & Dazzler, but that one has run into troubles and could get put on the back-burner. The Marvel mini-series that will run on the Disney+ streaming services which will focus on characters like Loki, Hawkeye, Vision, and Scarlet Witch will be produced by Marvel Studios and will be more closely tied to the movie universe.
2. Fans Make a Call to Action for Stargate
It has been over eight years since Stargate Universe–the last ongoing TV series in the Stargate franchise–was cancelled and the web mini-series Stargate: Origins did little to satisfy the demand for more from that universe. And so this past week fans made their voices heard as they got the hashtag #WeWantStargate trending worldwide. The initiative was started by Joseph Mallozi who was showrunner for all three Stargate series and who also co-created Dark Matter. The goal was to prove to MGM that there is still interest in another entry in the franchise or a continuation from prior shows. Stargate alums Michael Shanks and Jewel Staite offered their support for the campaign and the hashtag received plenty of attention across the social networks on Friday. There has been no comment from MGM that I am aware of at this point, but perhaps this could generate some momentum towards a revival of the franchise.
3. The Illuminatus! Trilogy to Be Adapted for Television
There have been talks for a while about adapting The Illuminatus! Trilogy, which was written by Robert Anton Wilson & Robert Shea, either on the big screen or on television, and now it looks like the latter is moving forward. Hivemind, which produces The Expanse for Amazon and The Witcher for Netflix, is moving forward with the production with Brian Taylor (Happy!) attached. Following is the official synopsis that has been provided for the project:
When the offices of a Manhattan news publisher are bombed, anti-authority reporter George Dorn begins to suspect that the disturbing conspiracy his editor has spent months investigating is not only real, it might be the key to unlocking all of history’s greatest unanswered mysteries. As George sets out to find his mentor and uncover the truth about an all-seeing secret society that seems to unify every insane, inane, and outlandish conspiracy theory ever told – from the JFK assassination, celebrity cabals and lost continents to UFOs, ancient gods and the truth about the New World Order – he finds himself drawn deeper into a war between two shadowy groups. On one side stand the Discordians, a clandestine band of chaos-loving guerrilla fighters led by the enigmatic modern-day pirate Hagbard Celine; and on the other, the Illuminati – elite authoritarians who secretly manipulate world events, ever expanding their wealth, influence, and physical power in a plot to escape the limitations of human existence.
No network is officially attached at this point, but Hivemind has a first-look deal with Amazon and the streamer would be a strong candidate to pick the show up.
4. RIP Rene Auberjonois, Odo from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Time is catching up on veterans of the Star Trek franchise as another famous person associated with the shows passed away this week. Rene Auberjonois, who played the shape-shifting alien Odo throughout the seven-season run of Star Trek: DS9 has died at the age of 79 from lung cancer. Auberjonois is also known for having played Father Mulcahy in the 1970 M*A*S*H movie, for his long stint on the sitcom Benson, and for teaming with fellow Trek alum William Shatner in the legal drama Boston Legal. Also passing away was Robert Walker who portrayed the character Charlie Evans in the classic Trek episode “Charlie X”. He was also 79. Last week, we reported on the death of renowned Star Trek writer and story editor D.C. Fontana who wrote that episode.
5. Stephen Amell’s Code 8 Gets a Sequel Series at Quibi
The independent film Code 8 gets its worldwide release today and it will be followed up by a sequel series on the shortform video platform Quibi. Code 8 is a crowdfunded film that comes from Stephen and Robbie Amell. It is set in a world where 4% of the population have special abilities, but they are feared and their activities are highly regulated. Following is the description given by Deadline Hollywood for the planned sequel series:
The series will take place years after the events of the movie, centering around an ex-con (Robbie Amell) and telekinetic drug dealer (Stephen Amell) who are forced to work together to bring down a dangerous trafficking ring run by corrupt cops and the city’s elite.
Quibi series run ten minutes per episode or less and are designed to be watched on mobil devices. A release date for the Code 8 series has not been set yet.
THE SCHED: The Witcher Has Its Debut on Netflix
The Fall 2019 season is not quite over yet, and one more show has its debut this coming week. Netflix takes another stab at attracting the fans of epic fantasy (the streamer already has The Dragon Prince and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) with its new series The Witcher, based on the fantasy books by Andrzej Sapkowski. That series has its debut on Friday with all eight episodes available for streaming that day. Apart from that, most of the Fall shows will be on Winter break or have already wrapped up, so now is the time to get caught up before Mid-Season begins. You can see the full schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows at this link and you can keep up with the weekly listings at this link.
More from CancelledSciFi.com
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