MorenaBaccarin-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 Nov 11th 2009 12:46PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, V
(S01E02) See, now things are starting to make more sense. The important thing, as a fan of the old
V, is to remember that this is a whole new kind of war. The Visitors aren't coming down in bright red suits with funny voices. Instead they've been infiltrating our society for years, possibly decades.
The question of why Erica wouldn't just go straight to her bosses at the FBI with what she knows is self-explanatory when you consider that her partner of seven years was a Visitor. They look and act like us, and they could be any one of us. So who do you trust takes on a whole new meaning.
I think it's a smart move to establish more of a guerrilla war against the Visitors. And now that the one resistance cell Erica and Jack found has been scattered to the wind, it's a matter of starting over. But, as seen with the developments this week, it may be a race to uncover the truth before it's too late.
Continue reading Review: V - There Is No Normal Anymore
Posted Nov 4th 2009 1:30AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, V
(S01E01) We were promised a modern re-imagining of the classic '80s
V mini-series, and that's exactly what we got. Gone were the allusions to World War II Nazism and the treatment of Jews in Europe. Instead, we're offered allusions to the war we've been fighting for eight years now.
I wasn't sure how they could modify the storylines from the series I remembered to accurately find parallels to our war on terrorism, and the terrorist movements themselves, but they did. And they did it all while staying true to the struggles and fears that's kept the original series fresh in our minds for 26 years now.
Even better, I watched this with my 10-year old son who's never seen the original, and he was absolutely riveted. Everything I loved about
V back then is here, and there's so much more to get excited about. I always thought
V should be an ongoing series, and even though we eventually got one, I think this time they've finally got it right.
Continue reading Review: V - Pilot (series premiere)
Posted Sep 30th 2009 1:29PM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: Ask TV Squad, Celebrities, Reality-Free
The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column. To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them at asktvsquad@gmail.com.
This week, I answer questions about Flash Forward, Eureka, NCIS, The Philanthropist, and V.
Continue reading Ask TV Squad
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 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 21st 2009 12:03PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Upfronts, Reality-Free
In the yearly scramble to pick up pilots, renew old shows, and dispose of last season's weaker offerings, ABC is shorting 80s sci-fi favorite
V.
The original 1983 miniseries featured a race of stealthy, guinea pig swallowing lizards from the stars taking over the world with fascist strategies reminiscent of the rise of Nazi Germany. The following year's TV series dumbed it down a bit and became a weekly battle between freedom fighters and creepy aliens.
You can catch the upfront
trailer for V here. It looks a bit like ABC is being invaded by
Independence Day -- though
Independence Day looked like it was being invaded by the original
V. Fortunately, these new invaders bring
Firefly's Morena Baccarin (right) along for the trip as their spin doctor.
Continue reading Various versions of V's fate arrive with motherships
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 Mar 9th 2009 12:02PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
It looks like the remake of the television min-series
V has cast its new evil alien leader, apparently named Anna. Former space-hooker Morena Baccarin (okay, she only played a space-hooker on the TV series
Firefly)
will be playing that particular role. She even bares a passing resemblance to Jane Badler, who originally played a similar role (when the character name was Diana) back in the 1980's.
Baccarin was great on
Firefly. I loved the interplay between her and Nathan Fillion as Captain Reynolds. This just gives her something else to talk about when she goes around the sci fi convention circuit.
The Hollywood Reporter article also mentions a some other casting in the coming season, including Tony Hale (formerly of
Arrested Development) in a new series called
Cop House and Eliza Coupe an ABC remake of the British series
No Heroics. So, of the three, Tony Hale is the only one not appearing in a remake. Good for him!
Posted Jul 10th 2007 12:19PM by Brett Love
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews
(
S01E04) This week we finally got the big clash between Nathaniel and Jonas that has been coming since Jonas left Stanford to return to St. Jude. Unfortunately, it is still such a one-sided relationship that there wasn't a lot to the clash. It came down to Nathaniel jerking Jonas around while Jonas had no recourse other than to beg and plead.
The decision that Nathaniel was struggling with regarding the fetal uterine transplant was interesting. Certainly the dangers and risks of experimental surgery are nothing new to him, as evidenced by the Neubacher heart for baby Maya. It's a tricky bit of business though when the guy who blew up his marriage by cheating on his wife, and then cheats on his new girlfriend with the ex-wife, starts pulling out the morality card.
Continue reading Heartland: Mother & Child Reunion
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 4:00PM by Brett Love
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews
(
S01E03) The folks over at St. Jude's aren't doing a lot to assuage my concerns about the show becoming too repetitive. Three episodes is still too early to say this is how it is going to be, but I'm starting to worry. The stories and conflicts that were put in play from the first episode seem to be getting little play as we focus on the cases of the week. These aren't bad stories, but I'm far more interested in the main characters that we see each week.
While that is something to keep an eye on, we did get two interesting cases to look at this week. First, heart transplant patient Andrew Wyles (K'sun Ray). As they talked about how Andrew's treatment wasn't working whenever he left the hospital I thought it could go one of two ways. Either he was making himself sick, or it was Munchausen by proxy and his grandmother was doing it. I was leaning toward the grandmother until we actually met her. She didn't come across as the type to be behind it, which made it clear that Andrew was a very troubled boy.
Continue reading Heartland: Picking Up Little Things
Posted Jun 19th 2007 10:42AM by Brett Love
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews
(
S01E01) I was curious to get a look at this show as soon as I heard about it. If you were even the most casual fan of
Everwood, the premise had to sound some bells. Treat Williams as a brilliant surgeon who struggles to juggle all of the balls in his personal life. That's a thumbnail sketch, but it's one that fits both Nathaniel Grant and Andy Brown very well.
Continue reading Heartland: Pilot (series premiere)
Posted Dec 13th 2006 12:41PM by Brett Love
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, TNT, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals
While
Saved garnered quite a few good reviews, and some respectable ratings, it's no
The Closer. And apparently the press and numbers weren't enough to convince TNT that there should be a second season of the Tom Everett Scott drama. Instead, the network is looking to bring
two different pilots to series.
Holly Hunter stars in
Grace as an Oklahoma City police detective who is visited by an angel and given a chance to redeem her life. It also stars Tom Irwin (
Related), and Laura San Giacomo (
Just Shoot Me). I'll watch anything with Holly Hunter, or Laura San Giacomo, in it at least once, so I plan to tune in when this show takes off. But based just on the tag line, my expectations are low.
Also on the schedule is
Heartland. This one stars Treat Williams as the brilliant surgeon, Nathaniel Grant. His dedication to his work causes problems with his health and his relationships. Now, if you are thinking, "Hey, that sounds a whole lot like
Everwood." then you and I are on the same page. The show even stars Gage Golightly as his daughter Thea, who doesn't seem so far removed from Delia. Still, Treat Williams is always worth a look. And it has the bonus of Morena Baccarin (Firefly) as well. The show is currently planned to follow
The Closer.
Posted Dec 11th 2006 1:31PM by Brett Love
Filed under: Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel
I
posted on Friday about the craziness that was the Flanvention. After it was canceled at the last minute, fans sprung into action and organized their own
little shindig. And based on reports about what happened, it sounds like it was a pretty amazing substitute for the originally planned affair.
It turns out that not only did most of the scheduled guests turn up for the impromptu gathering, but they managed to get even more people from the whedonverse in the mix as well. Fans made their way to Claire Kramer's restaurant, La Cantina, where the guest list included Nathan Fillion, Ron Glass, Morena Baccarin (pictured), Michael Fairman, Mark Sheppard, Jonathan Woodward, Yan Feldman, Christina Hendricks, Claire Kramer, James Leary, Camden Toy, Michael Muhney, and Greg Edmonson. That's an impressive list.
Of course, while a good time was had, it's not the end of the story. The strange dealings of event planer Booster Entertainment continue. The website that mysteriously disappeared with the announcement of the cancellation has
popped up again. Kind of, they are getting hammered by people looking for answers, so it's very slow when it does load. At this point the big questions everyone is asking are: Where did the money go? And where are the refunds? It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Next Page >
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
