As new series go, NBC’s The Event seems to have some promise. Sure, you could make the case that the show seems like a cross between other shows like Lost and 24 but hey, those are two pretty cool shows so if this one compares to them, that might not be a bad thing, right?

The show, according to our friends at the network, is a “high-octane conspiracy thriller” which follows Sean Walker (Parenthood‘s Jason Ritter) who is investigating the mysterious disappearance of his fiance, Leila (Sarah Roemer). During the course of his investigation he “unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in U.S. history.” Isn’t that always the way it works these days?

But wait, there’s more. “Sean’s quest will send ripples through the lives of an eclectic band of strangers, including: newly elected U.S. President Martinez (Blair Underwood); Sophia (Laura Innes), who is the leader of a mysterious group of detainees; and Sean’s shadowy father-in-law (Gilmore Girls‘ Scott Patterson). Their futures are on a collision course in a global conspiracy that could ultimately change the fate of mankind.”

Got that, the fate of all mankind. Dammit, those are high stakes. Sounds cool. To help you get ready for the show, we’ve got a few previews and such from it to share with you today. Kindly enjoy these after the jump.

The Event premieres this Fall on NBC.

Continue Reading →

This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt are joined once again by recurring guest host Elisbeth Rappe. This time around the trio takes on a handful of new and returning topics including the Lost series finale, finales of other TV shows like 24, what it takes to produce a weekly television program, news on various upcoming feature film projects and a whole lot more.

The trio also makes some great picks this week including Elisabeth’s pick of Captain Ron, another film featuring Kurt Russell with an eye patch, Matt’s pick of the Michael Cera starrer Youth in Revolt and Chris’ pick of the 1960 Stanley Kubrick classic Spartacus.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt are back at it again with a lot of new things to talk about. On this week’s show they go pretty much all TV all the time and discuss, debate and otherwise dissect all the new programs coming to your favorite networks this Fall.

What shows are coming back, what shows got canceled and what are the networks going to replace them with? Find out in this week’s episode.

Chris and Matt also made more picks this week including Matt’s pick of the Paul Verhoven sci-fi classic Robocop and Chris’ pick of the soon to be released on Blu-ray film The Crazies, featuring Timothy Olyphant.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

This week On the Radar we’re talking about how Michael Bay simply isn’t impressed with 3D conversions, Harold and Kumar are set to return for a Christmas movie, Big Bang Theory‘s resident babe takes on a big screen role and will Two and a Half Men lose its star actor?

Kenneth Branagh talks Thor

With all the news of Iron Man and Captain America sweeping the Internet we haven’t heard a lot about Thor lately.  Well, director Kenneth Branagh has offered up some information about the production this week:

“Inspired by the comic book world both pictorially and compositionally at once, we’ve tried to find a way to make a virtue and a celebration of the distinction between the worlds that exist in the film but absolutely make them live in the same world,” Branagh said. “It’s about finding the framing style, the color palette, finding the texture and the amount of camera movement that helps celebrate and express the differences and the distinctions in those worlds. If it succeeds, it will mark this film as different…. The combination of the primitive and the sophisticated, the ancient and the modern, I think that potentially is the exciting fusion, the exciting tension in the film.”

Holy cow!  That update reads as though it was being delivered as a Shakespearean monologue.  Here’s hoping Branagh still remembers we’re comic book fans at heart and want to see some series action as well as crafty dialogue. Bring the thunder, Branagh, not the theater.

Big Bang Theory’s Cuoco heads to the big screen

While not Kaley Cuoco’s first film role it is her first big debut project since the explosion of popularity around The Big Bang Theory.  Cuoco is set to star in I Hop, a film by Alvin and the Chipmunksdirector Tim Hall:

“[Cuoco] will be playing the sister of James Marsden’s slacker loser Fred, taking him in after their parents kick him out and finding herself also saddled with Brand’s Easter Bunny Jnr, following his accidental injury by Fred.”

With James Marsden and Russell Brand already signed on it’s hard to decide just what this film will be like.  Mind you, is anyone going to say “no” to more Kaley?  I’m definitely not.

Continue Reading →

This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt are back after last’s week’s break with an all new episode talking about a slew of new topics. Some of these topics include Chris’ SXSW report on great new films like Monsters, Helena From the Wedding, Winters’ Bone and Kick-Ass, discussions on Captain America casting, Scream 4 news and how to save Fox’s 24.

The boys also made picks this week including Matt’s pick of the great CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory and Chris’ pick of the new FX series Justified starring Timothy Olyphant.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

When I first heard Hawaii Five-O was getting the remake treatment I wasn’t that interested. I only vaguely remembered the original series and it was one step closer to rebooting Magnum P.I. (how sacrilegious would will that be?) in my opinion. However, I’ve begun to shift in the other direction regarding this series as more casting news comes out.

The most recent addition is James Marsters. Probably best known as Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Marsters also played Brianic on Smallville and Barnabas on Caprica.  As exciting as it may be to have him on the new Hawaii Five-O it doesn’t sound like he’ll have a continuing role, at least not yet. Marsters will be in the pilot and appear, “as the nemesis of lead character Jack McGarrett.”

At this point it seems producers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Transformers, Fringe) are trying to capture the geek community for the new show.  Marsters joins a cast that encapsulates geek programming; Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica), Daniel Dae Kim (Lost), Jean Smart (24), and Alex O’Loughlin (Moonlight) are already on deck.  With Scott Caan on board as well suddenly Hawaii Five-O is a show I can start to get behind.

It’s a grab bag of items on the radar this week. Wolverine and Sabretooth have dinner together, Bruno himself could be the next Man in Black, and in honor of The Flickcast crew attending SXSW some Predators love (of which they may get a taste).

Predators get dark and scary…finally!

Robert Rodriquez‘s Predator reboot, Predators, is starting to get some buzz.  While the first film of the series was a great sci-fi/action hybrid subsequent films have been less than stellar.  Predators star, Alice Braga talked a little about the new film and what we can expect:

“The new Predators are dark. They are really, really scary. So I think the fans are really going to be happy with it. I hope so. The director Nimród Antal, he’s a fan of the Predator films. So it’s like a fan directing this, [it was] like a kid on set, and having that energy was very special. I wish I could tell you more.”

Here’s hoping “dark” and “scary” means an R-rated film and not a watered down PG-13 movie.

Conan will square off against Avatar villain

As an update to our last ‘On The Radar’ article, it has now been confirmed that actor Stephen Lang will indeed play Conan’s villain, Khalar Singh.  Speaking with MTV, Lang stated:

“I have no idea how I’m going to do it,” Lang laughed. “First I’m going to find out how I’m going to sound. I’m going to get back on a Mongolian pony and ride like the wind. I’m going to flash my scimitar. I’m going to cut the nuts off Conan and his father.”

That last threat may seem really out there, but after seeing Lang’s bad ass side in Avatar I have no doubt he can make good on it.

Continue Reading →

As we previously reported, NBC has given new season order for 30 Rock, The Office and Community while, according to a recent interview with NBC network president Angela Bromstad, a fifth season of the beleaguered Heroes is still undetermined. In addition, the CW has ordered a 10th season for Smallville.

Now, Fox has officially renewed the J.J. Abrams sci-fi procedural Fringe for a third season. The show had perfoemed reasonably well but was not a ratings powerhouse. Still, it’s hard to believe it wouldn’t get renewed, especially given its J.J. Abrams connection and the fact that Lost is ending this season.

Two big reasons for Fox to keep it around for another year. Plus, any show with the great John Noble, the hot Anna Torv and the cool Leonard Nimoy should be on the air as long as it wants to be.

The fate of Jack Bauer and the CTU team of 24 is still up in the air due to falling ratings and the show’s considerable expense to produce. Fox president Kevin Reilly recently told The Live Feed:

“It’s a very tough call. It’s a huge part of our legacy, and there’s not a lot of shows that could do a 9 share against the Olympics. Tremendous sales asset for us still; a show we’re so very proud of creatively. So it’s not an easy call.”

Well, if our own Shannon Hood has anything to say about it, that call should be an easy one.

Dear 24:

When we first met in 2001, you were perfect for me. You were exciting, and dangerous, and knew how to show a lady a good time. But lately, the relationship has lost its luster. I know that this is the natural progression of any relationship, you can’t possibly keep up that same level of intrigue for all these years. After the seven year itch, I settled into a comfort with your familiarity.  I looked forward to spending time with you every Monday night.

But you just had to go and ruin things with all these other women. Rene and Dana ring a bell? Heck, I’ve even got a bone to pick with Chloe this season. I can’t deal with all these other women, and here is why I quit you, mid-episode last Monday, for good. Spoilers abound, so proceed with caution.

Sad/Bad/Mad Rene.  Actually I really like Rene, and I adore Annie Wersching in the role, but there are so many inconsistencies with her character this season, and her spunk has been  replaced with this misguided  self–loathing. Quite frankly, making Rene’s character into such a drag has really been a drag on the show.

I also can’t quite figure out the chronology of Rene’s storyline, which is really not helping the credibility of her story arc. Readers, perhaps you can enlighten me here. Weren’t we told that six years ago Rene went undercover with the Russian gang?  Wouldn’t that make it pre-season 7, in which she was still in uptight prissy mode?  Since President Allison Taylor is still in office, I am assuming this season did not skip forward 10 years because of Presidential term limits.

Continue Reading →

With the internet community and a few studio execs hinting that this current season of 24 may be the last, big news is now coming out of Twentieth Century Fox’s camp, as they have just announced a film adaptation of the series.

The studio was allegedly blown away by a pitch from screenwriter Billy Ray (State of Play, Flightplan), in which Jack Bauer goes to Europe, and they have already hired him to finish the script for production. From Variety:

Script is said to have come through “24″ star Kiefer Sutherland, who’s also an exec producer on the series — and is said to be eager to turn the long-running TV skein into a feature franchise.

Feature would be produced by the TV show’s key exec producers, including Sutherland. Series was created by Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow, while exec producer Howard Gordon runs the show through his Real Time Prods. banner.

Continue Reading →

Last week, Fox aired a special 2-night, four hour premiere of the eighth season of 24 to record ratings, and a groundbreaking plot that will keep us enthralled for most of this season. Now it seems things are heating up even more for for Jack Bauer and the CTU team.

Tonight will be hours 8PM to 9PM, which is already the fifth episode of the season. Now that Jack and CTU are based in New York City, things are already getting intense for the East coast. From Fox:

Four explosive hours after being unwillingly drawn back into action, Jack Bauer reteams with a risky Renee Walker to track some very dangerous leads. Meanwhile, back at CTU, a desperate Dana Walsh faces tense and untimely circumstances, and emotions escalate when President Taylor learns of a larger looming threat that jeopardizes the peace accord with President Hassan.

Check out four brand new clips from tonight’s episode, and be sure to catch the episode “8:00pm-9:00pm” of 24, tonight on Fox.

Continue Reading →

We’re all pretty excited about the upcoming 8th season of Fox’s 24 next Sunday. We broke the very first trailer back in October, took you behind the scenes earlier this week, and now we’ve got some more goodies to get you excited for Jack Bauer and his upcoming adventures.

A few new clips have recently become available, showing off mostly Keifer Sutherland as Bauer, transporting an informant that may have details on an upcoming assassination attempt. Fans of FX’s The Shield may recognize Jack’s informant, as well.

There aren’t many details about how this season’s “day” will unfold, but we do know that Jack has retired; Kim has a daughter;They both live in New York City, and CTU has been completely revamped, with the addition of Freddie Prinze Jr. and Katee Sackhoff to the team.

Check out the clips after the jump, and catch the action as the eighth season of 24 kicks off on January 17, only on FOX.

Continue Reading →