AlanTudyk-related stories
Posted Nov 25th 2009 8:46AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, V
(S01E04) Well, that's it until March 2010. The most important thing that
V could do this week was to leave us hanging on the edge of our seats as to what's coming next. If the idea was to give us a sense of sheer hopelessness in the face of the power of the Visitors, then that's what we did.
More importantly, we got to see the genesis of the Resistance movement led by Jack, Ryan and Erica. It makes an even more powerful figure when you consider that at this point there are exactly four people -- at least that we're following -- taking on 29 Visitor ships with technology and power almost beyond our imagining.
Everyone loves a scrappy underdog, and you couldn't ask for much more than that. But it was great seeing them take some of their first strikes against the Visitors as a unit. This is the struggle, against near impossible odds, that will keep us glued to our seats.
Continue reading Review: V - It's Only the Beginning
Posted Nov 18th 2009 10:29AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, V
(S01E03) When you're mounting a resistance against an alien presence that way outclasses you in technology, and even outclasses you in propaganda and being good-looking, you're going to need help, and preferably of the "inside" variety. With
V scheduled to go on a long hiatus after next week's episode, it's important that the resistance come together by then.
While we made good progress this episode, and learned some more good information, I fear they won't get us to a compelling hook before they go into hibernation for the winter. People will forget about this show if we don't get hooked in good next week. Unless ABC wants to promote its relaunch like another new series, they need to grab us by the jowls and sink their teeth in ... or at least unhinge our jaws and cram a guinea pig of awesome down our gullets.
Continue reading Review: V - A Bright New Day
Posted Sep 14th 2009 11:02AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, Desperate Housewives, Stargate, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Chuck, Reality-Free, Dollhouse, Gone Too Soon, Joss Whedon, V
When I first started exploring this project, there were a few shows that I knew were going to be important to hit. This is the first of those.
Firefly was
Joss Whedon's sci-fi western series. The show mustered disappointing ratings in its short eleven-episode run on FOX.
Since then it's gone on to near mythic cult status. There was such an outcry of support from its loyalists, the Browncoats, over its cancellation that the producers made a feature film sequel. That movie,
Serenity, answered a lot of questions about the future fate of the cast. Unfortunately, like the television series, it couldn't find quite enough people to show up and tune in to warrant a sequel. Nevertheless, the few morsels of
Firefly we did get are enough to prove that this is one of the most innovative and enjoyable series ever to hit the airwaves.
Continue reading Gone Too Soon: Firefly
Posted Aug 13th 2009 10:28AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Celebrities, Reality-Free
I don't know how many of you caught the
G.I. Joe movie this past weekend that is based on the cartoon and toy franchise of the 80's. I didn't, but even without seeing it, I think this sketch from
Funny or Die called
The Ballad of G.I.Joe is far better. Even the costumes are more accurate (if a little, but not much, cheesier).
Of course, there are quite a few television and movie celebrities making up the cast: Tony Hale, Olivia Wilde (pictured as the Baroness), Alan Tudyk and Julianne Moore, to name a few. And whatever you do, stick around for the end of the song to see a special guest star that SHOULD have been in the movie.
I remember watching the cartoon while I was a young lad, and it seems obvious that the creators of this cute sketch knew the show, possibly even more than the people who made the movie. Video is after the jump.
Continue reading G.I.Joe as it should have been
Posted May 24th 2009 7:10PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, TV on DVD, OpEd, Short-Lived Shows, Reality-Free, Jane After Dark
I'm almost to the end of
Firefly, my
Jane After Dark readers' choice for this week. I really love this series, from the quirky characters to the general theme of a band of renegades burgling their way through the universe.
But even though it's set 500 years in the future,
Firefly isn't your typical sci-fi space series that includes all manner of aliens and weird creatures. They're on a spaceship, and yet they rob trains. How cool is that?! It's like
Alias Smith and Jones meets
Babylon 5.
As with the other Whedon shows I've watched –
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
Angel – the stories are fun and deep and fanciful (yes, I said fanciful), but it's the characters and their interactions that make the shows.
Continue reading Jane After Dark: Firefly
Posted May 5th 2009 6:00PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Reality-Free
A lot, surprisingly. Unfortunately, ABC's
V remake won't take place in a universe packed with space cowboys who curse in Chinese, but it will star two
Firefly alums, Alan Tudyk (Wash) and Morena Baccarin (Inara). Plus, the
V pilot
will feature digital effects by Zoic, the effects house that worked on
Firefly.
Like most Whedon fans, I think the best things about
Firefly were the characters, the dialogue, and the inventive stories. But the digital effects were just as amazing, especially for TV. They might not have been blockbuster movie good, but the ships and space chases always looked elegant and really specific to the show's quirky style and themes. That's what good visual effects are all about. Lets hope Zoic can create the same kind of magic for
V, which is awaiting pickup by ABC.
Continue reading What does the V remake have in common with Firefly?
Posted May 1st 2009 11:36PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Dollhouse
(S01E11) So apparently, Echo/Caroline is Briar Rose. The big twist is that Ballard didn't end up being the Prince. Alpha did.
So now we know Alpha's face (and with that knowledge, my Ballard-as-Alpha theory gets blown to Hell in a handbasket), but we're still missing a lot. We don't know his motivation or his connection with Alpha. We do know that while masquerading as Stephen Kepler, he acts a lot like Topher (whom he may have used as inspiration for his facade) and when he reverts to character he acts a lot like Heath Ledger's Joker (Alan Tudyk is a brilliant actor).
Many law firms take on pro bono work to help those that can't afford legal help. I can only conclude that the Dollhouse has a similar service (or perhaps Topher does a little on the side), which is why a care center for abused children can afford a Doll that has been programmed to act like a grown-up, therapist version of their most abused patient.
That ability to actually create fictional personas based on postulations on how people will emotionally mature would be an interesting concept to explore if the show gets future seasons.
Continue reading Dollhouse: Briar Rose
Posted Mar 19th 2009 10:32AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Casting, Reality-Free, Dollhouse
Joss himself has promised that Friday's episode of
Dollhouse is a game-changer. It's a pity that the episode is competing with the series finale of
Battlestar Galactica. What follows is a major spoiler for Friday that I'm leaving until after the jump.
Those of you who do not fear spoilers, click away...
Continue reading Major Dollhouse spoiler ahoy!
Posted Apr 17th 2008 6:07PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Firefly, Casting
Let me start this out with a big WAHOO! Alan Tudyk, who played the endearing character of 'Wash' on
Firefly, may be returning to television as early as this fall.
He has been cast in a starring role for an ABC comedy that, as of yet, does not have a title. The show is being created by Max Mutchick and David Kohan, the creative team behind long-running sitcom
Will & Grace. Their new show (
which we've mentioned in the past) is about two writers, one gay and one straight, who are in business together. Tudyk will play the gay writer, named Charlie (according to his
IMDB profile).
Continue reading Firefly's Alan Tudyk coming back to TV
Posted Feb 26th 2006 1:03PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, CBS, Talent
I may have just died and gone to heaven. I'm only
speculating here, because
The Hollywood Reporter didn't exactly say for sure, but it's a pretty good bet that
Alan Tudyk and Joshua Jackson have been cast in the same drama that's being created for CBS. Earlier this month,
I reported on Jackson landing the
lead in a Carol Mendelsohn law drama about a young lawyer whose career takes a turn when he takes a death row case.
The Hollywood
Reporter is now saying that Alan Tudyk (aka 'Wash' in
Firefly) has been cast "in CBS' untitled
Carol Mendelsohn drama". It describes the show as being about brilliant legal minds and that Tudyk will play
"a competitive and arrogant Ivy League graduate." That sounds like the same show to me. Now, if only David
Duchovny would join the cast.
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