Aleks Paunovic on Arctic Air, Bomb Girls picked up, Falling Skies update, interviews with Scott Porter & William B. Davis

Aleks Paunovic is back in Arctic Air tonight. It's not the first time that he has appeared on the show, but he will have a more central part in tonight's episode, which airs at 9 pm on CBC in Canada. Other familiar faces will probably show up, too. CBC has a new interview with Aleks. Snippets:

You play Jim McAlister on Arctic Air, what is that guy all about?
Jim is a fun-loving best buddy with a big heart. He's stoked to have Bobby (Adam Beach) back in town. He's a prospector and trusts Bobby to the fullest. He'll do anything to protect his friends, family and the North.

What is it like working on a all Canadian production as opposed to a U.S. production that is being filmed in Canada?
I love home grown projects. Most of the U.S. projects are about situations, not about where they are shooting.

Knowing that we are making a show about our land, and showing it to the people of the land, gives us a warm feeling knowing we are connecting with people that know our culture and country. Plus the cast and crew are amazing! So I love coming into work.

Read the rest at CBC.ca.

Michael Eklund in Alcatraz, Hart of Dixie returns, new interview with Scott Porter, and new Arctic Air webisode

Hart of Dixie returns tonight at 9 pm on the CW. Zap2it has a new interview with Scott Porter. He talks about football and wanting Tim Tebow to play his brother on the show. Snippet:

On Friday, Jan. 20, between takes at the exterior set for the Rammer Jammer Restaurant on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., Porter laughs when he's asked if it's a cruel irony that his character's girl has her eye on a football player -- mirroring the situation on his earlier show, "Friday Night Lights," in which the fiancee of his character, paralyzed former top high-school quarterback Jason Street, cheated on him with his best friend and former Dillon Panthers teammate, Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch).

Blood and Chrome update, cast news and interviews with Michael Nankin, Meg Tilly and Scott Porter

The weekly round-up (with a few additional bits coming tomorrow):

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talked to Syfy's Mark Stern at the Winter TCA Press Tour and they have an update on Blood and Chrome. Kind of, anyway. Here is what he says (more at the link):

Is the project dead? Read more after the jump. ...

"No not at all," said Syfy original programming president Mark Stern. "We're trying to figure out the economics right now. I love it but we're trying to put various things together to see how we're going to get it made. My hope is we get it figured out." (...)

Stern said the pilot was a good test to prove the technology could be used in series, although he acknowledged it will likely take a year to get the show on air after it's ordered due to the amount of post-production work that will be required on every episode.

Stern wasn't sure how much longer he has the actors under contract but he thinks it's a few months.

"Now that we're back from the holidays I'm just waiting to get some foreign [financial] numbers in because we're both the studio and network on this," he said. "I'm hoping to make a decision [about whether to order it to series] in the next month or so."

On other fronts:

Esai Morales will be back as D.A. Aaron Davidson in the second season of Fairly Legal. The show returns on March 16. USA announced the date last week.

If you missed the 17th Precinct pilot on Vimeo last month, it is now available on YouTube, starting here.

Cast updates and new interviews with Jane Espenson, Carmen Moore and Scott Porter

A few updates to start the week.

Jamie Bamber guest stars on House tonight (9 pm, Fox, teaser below) and a new episode of Hart of Dixie with Scott Porter also airs at 9 pm, on the CW.

The Boston Herald has a new interview with Scott. He talks about Hart of Dixie, Friday Night Lights and the possibility of returning to The Good Wife. Snippet:

“Blake was the trickiest character I ever played,” he said.

Any chance Blake could return to stir up trouble?

“The (producers) and I have talked about it,” he said. “If Blake does come back, he’s going to come back in a much different capacity. This time, maybe, he’s the one who needs the help. It’s going to be great to see if he can repair those bridges that he burned. Not just burned, but dropped bombs on.”

Elsewhere:

Spoiler TV has the promotional photos from Grimm 1x04, "Lonelyhearts." Here are the ones with Sasha Roiz:

Alessandra Torresani on American Horror Story tonight, new interviews with James Marsters, Scott Porter & Christopher Heyerdahl

Okay, for real this time:

Alessandra Torresani guest stars on American Horror Story tonight at 10 pm on FX. Here is the synopsis for both Halloween episodes, from THR:

In Part 1, Vivien (Connie Britton) and Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott) met the house's previous tenants, a gay couple (played by Zachary Quinto and Teddy Sears) obsessed with decorating the home just right for Halloween so the Harmons can unload the property.

In addition, Tate (Evan Peters) and Violet (Taissa Farmiga) inch closer when the couple takes advantage of the old Halloween loophole that all the ghosts come out to walk the streets for the night as they hit the beach for their first official date.

Alessandra plays Steph, one of the unwelcome visitors on that date. For previews, go to Sci Fi Mafia.

Ryan Robbins tweets that one of his recent films, Marilyn, will premiere at the Whistler Film Festival, which runs from November 30 to December 4.

For production stills and more details about the film, visit the official site at MarilyntheMovie.net. Here is some info from the press release (PDF link):

Richard Harmon in The Secret Circle, new interview with Scott Porter, and the frakking anniversary

Let's start with the frakking anniversary:

Frak October 27.

Caprica was cancelled and pulled from Syfy's schedule exactly a year ago today, and The Caprica Times has the sitrep on the show and the fandom a year later. Check it out: Caprica: One Year Later

Alessandra Torresani didn't make that appearance on American Horror Story yesterday despite IMDB saying she would, but she will definitely show up on next week's episode. Sorry for the confusion.

Richard Harmon guest stars in The Secret Circle 1x07, "Masked," which airs tonight at 9 pm on the CW.

IMDB says that he plays "Pig Face/Ian," so that may or may not be him in the screenshot to the left.

Richard posted a photo from the set of The Pregnancy Project earlier today. You can see it here.

And Judas Kiss is among the hottest new/upcoming releases in the UK, too.

The Grimm premiere is only a day away (Friday, 9 pm, NBC).

No new interviews with Sasha Roiz, but the Portland Tribune has an interesting article that includes interviews with showrunner David Greenwalt and some of the cast members. Here is some new info:

The crew has shot about nine episodes of “Grimm,” with four to go. Audiences will determine how long the show lasts; if it’s picked up for the entire season, the crew and talent will return in January to film the second half of the season.

New interviews with Jane Espenson, William B. Davis, Scott Porter and Patton Oswalt

The first part of the weekly round-up includes several new interviews.

The A.V. Club has an interview with William B. Davis, whose autobiography, Where There’s Smoke...: Musings Of A Cigarette Smoking Man, was published last week. He talks about his work in The X-Files and some of the movies that he has appeared in over the years. Here is a snippet about the latest one, called The Tall Man:

The Tall Man (forthcoming)—Sheriff Chestnut
WD: That’s still in post-production. I just did the [additional dialogue recording] for it just last week. I think they’re trying to get it ready for Sundance, so maybe it will première there.
AVC: And you play a sheriff in this film? What’s the role exactly?
WD: It’s an interesting plot. There are children disappearing in this small town. And everybody assumes that they’ve been murdered. Without giving a spoiler—well, I am giving a spoiler—but it turns out that they’re actually being kidnapped from poor families and sent to rich families, where they can get a better childhood. It’s someone’s perverse idea of how to make a better a world.
AVC: That’s interesting. Pascal Laugier’s previous film, Martyrs, has a similar plot. But Martyrs seems much grislier than this.
WD: Does it? I haven’t seen that. Maybe I will. The Tall Man is beautifully shot, though. It looks great.

Comic Book Resources has an interview with Patton Oswalt from the New York Comic Con. He mostly talks about his new show, The Heart, She Holler.

On TV tonight: James Marsters in Supernatural, Brian Markinson in Sanctuary, Scott Porter in X-Men Anime

Reminder:

Three Caprica actors are on TV tonight.

James Marsters guest stars in Supernatural in episode "Shut up, Dr. Phil," at 9 pm on the CW. Brian Markinson makes his first appearance on Sanctuary this season at 10 pm on Syfy, and the X-Men Anime series with Scott Porter premieres at 11 pm on G4.

A longer round of updates is coming tomorrow, but before I get to the previews for tonight's shows, just a heads-up:

You can now watch the complete Husbands web series at HusbandstheSeries.com. The last episode was posted on Thursday.

The Once Upon a Time pilot is available online on IMDB.com. The episode airs this Sunday at 8 pm on ABC.

NBC has released a 20-minute preview of the Grimm pilot, which was also originally supposed to air tonight, but got pushed back to next Friday. If you are in the US, you can watch the whole episode by following @NBCGrimm on Twitter and claiming the screening code.

^ Both pilots are frakkin' gorgeous.

Moving on to tonight's shows.

Patton Oswalt in Bored to Death, new interviews with Scott Porter and Jane Espenson & general updates

Patton Oswalt guest stars in Bored to Death again tonight at 9 pm on HBO. Also at 9, there is a new episode of Hart of Dixie with Scott Porter on the CW.

If you are in Los Angeles, Patton Oswalt will take part in a live reading of The Breakfast Club this Thursday at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to raise funds for Film Independent (the group behind the Spirit Awards).

The Walking Dead, still scored by Bear McCreary, returned yesterday and broke the cable ratings record with its season premiere.

Elsewhere in Undead, remember Bryan Singer's Battlestar Galactica movie (TOS reboot, not really related to our BSG & Caprica) that was supposed to happen at one point but didn't? Looks like it zombied its way back to life. Here is what Singer told SFX the other day, when asked about his Excalibur remake not going ahead:

“Yeah, unfortunately it is no longer going to happen,” he says. “I was really enthused to do it. I’m a fan of John Boorman’s movie and it was my intention to get it going after Jack The Giant Killer was completed. The project was with Warner Bros and what happened is that another King Arthur project was brought to them during that time. Basically, it was just more ready to go into production than ours was. That is why our version of Excalibur ended up being negated. But, when that happened, it allowed me to go straight into developing Battlestar Galactica – which I think will be really exciting.”

A couple of updates to the TV Appearances page:

Polly Walker on Psych, Mike Dopud in Blue Mountain State, interviews with Scott Porter, Philip Granger and Kacey Rohl

It's the Willow clan update today, for the most part. More updates coming tomorrow.

Polly Walker guest stars in the Psych season opener, "Shawn Rescues Darth Vader," tonight at 10 pm on USA. Synopsis:

While on a mission to retrieve a stolen Darth Vader collector’s item from the British Ambassador’s son at the British Consulate Residence in Santa Barbara, Shawn finds a dead body left in one of the rooms. In order to get SBPD on the case to find her killer, Shawn tells Lassiter and Juliet that the image of a dead body at the British Consulate Residence came to him in a psychic vision. However, Shawn’s credibility as a “psychic” could be placed in jeopardy if SBPD finds out he actually witnessed the dead body in person and didn’t “divine” the image of her murder.

And at 11 pm, you can catch Mike Dopud in Blue Mountain State 3x05, "Training Day," on Spike. He tweeted yesterday that he makes an appearance in tonight's episode. Synopsis:

Thad offers to instruct Alex on how to be a local celebrity; Mary Jo tries to impress the coach’s wife.

Sanctuary season premiere, new interviews with Christopher Heyerdahl, Jane Espenson and Scott Porter, and general updates

Sanctuary is back tonight at 10 pm with the season four opener, "Tempus." Ryan Robbins and Christopher Heyerdahl are still series regulars and Peter Wingfield is back as Dr. Watson. Here is the synopsis:

Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) pursues Adam Worth (Ian Tracey) back to 1898 London as he attempts to save his daughter. If successful, Magnus knows he will destroy the natural order of history and must stop him from irreparably altering the world’s future at whatever cost.

Space has a couple of behind-the-scenes videos that include interviews with the cast here and here, and Pop Culture Zoo has an early review, a preview and some cast photos.

Eric Stoltz is back on the set of Glee. Jenna Ushkowitz posted this photo of him yesterday. If you're in the Seattle area, you can catch Fort McCoy at the Tacoma Film Festival tomorrow (Saturday) at 2 pm.

Husbands episode eight, "This Together Thing," has been posted on HusbandstheSeries.com.

Previews for Grimm & Psych, and new interviews with Luciana Carro, Jane Espenson, Sasha Roiz, Ryan Robbins, Scott Porter and Patton Oswalt

Since yesterday:

Spoiler TV has the promotional pics from the next episode of Hart of Dixie and Comic Book Resources has a new interview with Scott Porter. He mainly talks about the X-Men animated series, which premieres on October 21. Snippet:

This version of the X-Men story is a very modern one that Warren Ellis initially wrote with a lot of influence from his "Astonishing X-Men" run, but the one twist that brings in the classic thread for Cyclops is that the series starts just after the death of Jean Grey at the end of "The Dark Phoenix Saga." What was it like to pick up the character after the worst tragedy in his life?
That made it completely interesting for me. To allude to why I have such respect for Cyclops, it's because he's been through hell. He's lost Jean how many times now? He has to control this odd band of misfits who are under constant duress by the universe. He is ultimately powerful and has to always rein this power in or he could level cities with it. Seeing the control that Cyclops has to have and then seeing him in a very vulnerable position at the start of this cartoon where he just doesn't care anymore and is more careless with his powers. He wants to hang it up and quit. That's a very emotional place for the character, and then he falls back into his natural role where he's always been the leader because the X-Men need him. You really see all that here.

On TV tonight: Genevieve Buechner in Girl Fight, Sasha Roiz in Warehouse 13 finale, Scott Porter in Hart of Dixie

Three TV appearances tonight, all airing at 9 pm.

Sasha Roiz guest stars in the two-hour season finale of Warehouse 13, "Emily Lake"/"Stand," which airs tonight at 9 pm on Syfy. The teaser is embedded below. Here is the synopsis:

Pete and Myka investigate the theft of a top-secret file from the warehouse, which brings them to a high school in Wyoming, where H.G. Wells is working as a teacher named Emily Lake.

Guest stars include Kate Mulgrew, Jaime Murray, Sasha Roiz, Aaron Ashmore and Anthony Michael Hall.

Also at 9 pm, there is a new episode of Hart of Dixie on the CW. Seat 42f has the promo and Zap2it has a new interview with Scott Porter. Snippet:

John Pyper-Ferguson on Fringe, new Sanctuary trailer, Grimm premiere pushed back, and more updates

John Pyper-Ferguson guest stars in Fringe 4x02, "One Night in October," tonight at 9 pm (Fox). Here is a new synopsis, from TV Line:

John Pyper-Ferguson (Brothers & Sisters) plays an expert on serial killers who is recruited by the Olivias to track down his alt-self, who on the Other Side has been on quite the rampage. Peter, meanwhile, finds a new way to tap on Walter’s shoulder — for better or for worse.

And a short review from Matt Roush at TV Guide:

Tonight's Top Pick: When worlds collide, Fox's cult gem Fringe (9/8c) is at the top of its game. You've never seen a murder-mystery manhunt like tonight's chilling and provocative episode, in which the Fringe team from the "other" world enlists "our" Olivia to cross over to track down a serial killer in the alt-universe — by bringing along the madman's doppelganger from our world, who happens to be a professor specializing in forensic pathology and profiling. The "what-if" vibes are fascinating as the professor — and by extension everyone in the dual-universe loop — considers the vagaries of fate and environment when confronted with "the path not taken." The story is suspenseful, poignant and wonderfully original.

And yeah, Alphas looks like a recurring gig. The show will be back in 2012.

Also on TV tonight: Tahmoh Penikett guest stars in the season finale of Haven (10 pm, Syfy). Photos and teaser here.

Paula Malcomson in Prime Suspect tomorrow, general updates & new interviews with Leah Gibson, Jane Espenson, Scott Porter and Eric Stoltz

A bunch of updates and previews today. Let's start with the last minute catch.

Paula Malcomson will make an appearance in Prime Suspect, episode 1x02, "Carnivorous Sheep," which airs tomorrow (Thursday) at 10 pm on NBC. She will play a character called Noelle Tanner. The teaser is embedded below.

Here is the synopsis:

Jane plays second banana when Duffy leads the case of a murdered mother and her missing daughter.

We Have Your Husband, the Lifetime film with Esai Morales, has been licensed to several European broadcasters. From the Virtual Press Office:

New TV appearances for Polly Walker and Brian Markinson & more interviews with Scott Porter

Final reminder: Hart of Dixie with Scott Porter premieres at 9 pm on the CW and the Alphas season finale with John Pyper-Ferguson is on at 10 pm on Syfy.

That said, just a few quick updates today.

Polly Walker will guest star in the season premiere of Psych, "Shawn Rescues Darth Vader." The episode airs on Wednesday, October 12 at 10 pm on USA. Here is the synopsis, from USA's site:

While on a mission to retrieve a stolen Darth Vader collector's item from the British Ambassador's son at the British Consulate Residence in Santa Barbara, Shawn finds a dead body left in one of the rooms.

In order to get SBPD on the case to find her killer, Shawn tells Lassiter and Juliet that the image of a dead body at the British Consulate Residence came to him in a psychic vision. However, Shawn's credibility as a "psychic" could be placed in jeopardy if SBPD finds out he actually witnessed the dead body in person and didn't "divine" the image of her murder.

Polly will play British Vice Consul Randa Tabet. Malcolm McDowell will also make an appearance, as Ambassador Fanshawe. (Possibly there is a crazy Paul Auster fan on the Psych writing team.) You can find the casting sides for Polly's character here.

Brian Markinson will make an appearance in episode 1x03 of The Firm, according to the IMDB. No details yet, except that his character is called Calvin Parker. The Firm will premiere early next year on NBC. Callum Rennie will be a regular on the show and Tricia Helfer will have a recurring role, so this probably won't be the last time you hear about it here. For more info about the show, see this article at Screenrant.com. Better yet, hear about it from John Grisham.

John Pyper-Ferguson in Alphas finale, Alphas marathon and new Fringe preview

John Pyper-Ferguson guest stars in the season finale of Alphas, "Original Sin," which airs tomorrow (Monday) at 10 pm on Syfy. If you are recording the episode, note that it runs slightly over an hour (10 - 11:03 pm).

Here is a new synopsis, from Syfy's press release:

The diabolical intrigue involving the Alphas team and a secretive group of Red Flag operatives escalates and the team must decide whom to trust on the explosive season finale of Syfy’s super-powered original drama series Alphas, on Monday, September 26, 10PM (ET/PT).

The finale will be preceded by a full-season marathon featuring back-to-back episodes beginning with the pilot episode at 11:30AM (ET/PT).

Scott Porter talks Hart of Dixie (Monday, 9/8c, CW)

Scott Porter did a bunch of interviews for Hart of Dixie in recent days. The show premieres tomorrow (Monday) at 9 pm on the CW, after Gossip Girl.

You can listen to the first interview on the Hot Clicks podcast on CNN's Sports Illustrated site. (Warmly recommended to Friday Night Lights fans.)

Here is a snippet from an interview with TV Fanatic:

With a background in musical comedy, Porter also said he was looking for a "lighter" script.

"I wanted to show Hollywood I can do something in that realm," he said. "You tend to get defined by your latest project, so this offered that chance, along with the chance to show I can be a leading man."

So Porter met with producers Josh Schwartz and Leila Gerstein and they "just sold me on this town, this wonderful town. I looked at the great cast and saw a show that knows what it is."

Cast interviews, previews, behind-the-scenes clips and new projects

A bunch of new interviews with the cast and Jane Espenson showed up in recent days. In random order:

KTLA has a new video interview with Scott Porter, mostly about Hart of Dixie, which premieres on Monday, September 26. The clip can't be embedded, so go here to see it. Hollywood Reporter also has a short interview with Scott and his co-stars that has a bunch of new information about the show's characters. Spoiler TV has posted the stills from episode 1x02, "Parades and Pariahs." Here is one with Scott:

Blood and Chrome to premiere in 2012, Eureka cancelled, and some general cast updates

A quick round of updates.

Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome won't premiere until 2012. It's not really news, but this is the first time it's coming from a network source, Syfy President Dave Howe.

THR: Publisher Bigpoint has over 2 million registered players for Battlestar Galactica Online even without the TV show airing. What are your thoughts about the opportunities the online gaming space opens up for Battlestar and other TV shows current or past?
Howe: I think when you have a property like Battlestar Galactica, it’s timeless. Yet it’s great to have a TV series on air simultaneously, but it’s not necessary. Battlestar is a franchise that’s existed since the ‘80s. We took a run at it. Universal Pictures I think has a big development and potentially another movie. It’s a known franchise that will always work if you are true to its spirit and you really find the right vehicle to create properties and games that can live in isolation. We had great success with the TV series. We’ve seen great success with the video game. We’re developing a potential pilot for another spin-off series, Blood and Chrome, which will launch next year. We have an amazing franchise that we want to continue to exploit irrespective of whether the TV series is on air.
THR: Does the success of the Battlestar game open up other opportunities for the Battlestar franchise?
Howe: Yes, it has. It really has. It confirms what we expected, that the franchise is bigger than a TV series that we happen to be running. I think it says to us that it’s an amazing property that we can continue to develop and grow. We can continue to figure out new ways to tell the story and to spin off the story. You can look forward to more Battlestar Galactica spin-offs in the future.