Cool News For U.K. Fans: Doctor Who Returns November 15

Several media outlets are now reporting that Doctor Who "The Waters of Mars" special will be premiering in the United Kingdom on Sunday, the 15th of November.

Sadly, no news yet on an American transmission date.

"The Waters of Mars" stars David Tennant as The Doctor.

Talk about Doctor Who on the KryptonSite Forums!

Advance Review: Community "Introduction To Statistics"

NBC, hoping to get people to remember that their sitcom Community has now moved to Thursdays at 8PM, sent out screeners of this week's Halloween-themed episode. The sitcom, starring Joel McHale in the lead role, is described like this, for those of you who haven't seen it:

From Emmy Award-winning directors Joe and Anthony Russo ("Arrested Development") comes "Community," a smart comedy series about higher education -- and lower expectations. The student body at Greendale Community College is made up of high-school losers, newly divorced housewives, and old people who want to keep their minds active. Within these not-so-hallowed halls, "Community" focuses on a band of misfits, at the center of which is a fast-talkin' lawyer whose degree has been revoked (Joel McHale, "The Soup"), who form a study group and end up learning a lot more about themselves than they do about their course work. In addition to McHale, the series also stars: Gillian Jacobs ("The Book of Daniel"); Yvette Nicole Brown ("Rules of Engagement"); Danny Pudi ("Greek"); Alison Brie ("Mad Men"); and comedy legend Chevy Chase ("Saturday Night Live"). "Community" is a Krasnoff Foster Entertainment, Harmonious Claptrap and Russo Brothers production in association with Sony Pictures Television and Universal Media Studios. Russ Krasnoff ("The Soloist"), Dan Harmon ("The Sarah Silverman Program"), Joe Russo ("Arrested Development"), Anthony Russo ("Arrested Development") and Gary Foster ("The Soloist") serve as executive producers. Joe and Anthony Russo directed the pilot that was written by Dan Harmon.

Okay, first, the fact that the show's directors share names with Blossom's older brothers is funnier than the actual show. Yes, I'm 12. Anyhow, here's how NBC describes tonight's episode:

JEFF MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN GETTING A DATE OR HONORING A PROMISE TO ANNIE -Jeff (Joel McHale) has the hots for his statistics professor and is determined to take her out on a date. He finds the perfect opportunity to pursue her but it happens to interfere with a Day of the Dead party Annie (Alison Brie) is throwing for their Spanish class. Meanwhile, Pierce (Chevy Chase) comes to terms with being old. Ken Jeong, Gillian Jacobs, Yvette Nicole Brown, Danny Pudi and Donald Glover also star.

This was my first time seeing Community, so I don't know if earlier episodes might give more of a feel for the characters, but based upon this first episode alone, I felt more character depth from Saved by the Bell. I don't think it was due to the cast (I know Joel McHale can and has been funny), and there WERE a few shining moments in the writing (a reference to Urkel made me laugh out loud), but it is nowhere near the kind of solid show that I see in something like How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, or 30 Rock. I will give them one benefit of the doubt - I see some Arrested Development alums among the crew and that was a series that I didn't "get" the first time around that I grew to love later.

As things stand, though, Chevy Chase's Pierce character was the only one I really grabbed onto, and I did get some laughs out of Abed dressed as Batman. I also liked the references to Beastmaster. But the situations of the episode, where Jeff skips out on his friends to hang out with the "big kids" (or in this case, to try and woo a professor), seem right out of the bad teen sitcom playbook. Except without the teens. I think these characters are supposed to be funny and wacky, but when it's adults acting like this it's more on the level of sad. It was more fun when this behavior came from Screech.

(There's a that moment I do admit that I did like later on with the Batman costume guy. Though as other series like Only Fools And Horses have shown to TV history, you can rarely go wrong with that.)

Although I run a series of websites based mostly upon the sci-fi genre (with a few exceptions), I've always been a big TV geek. I remember the powerful Thursday nights of "Must See TV" back when it was Cosby, A Different World, Cheers, and Night Court. And I also remember the 90's when it was usually Friends, Frasier, Will & Grace, and filler sitcoms in between. While Community has a few moments, it's just not the kind of concept or show that is as good as any of those predecessors. But for now, when it comes to Thursday nights at 8, I'll be sticking with The Vampire Diaries, with Flashforward on the DVR. I'm not saying Community is must-not-see TV - I'd probably turn it on if nothing else in the same timeslot interested me, or if a promo caught my attention - but my first impression wasn't the greatest. Hopefully the show can and will improve before it's too late.

Community airs tonight (October 29) at 8PM on NBC.

New Destinations In The KryptonSite Network (+ The Return Of An Old One)

A few new destinations have now been added to the KryptonSite Network - although, whether or not they become full-on sites is up to readers and interest.

First, although GLEE doesn't really match the comic-booky, sci-fi-genre type stuff you usually find here in the Network, the GLEE sub-forum at KryptonSite is going really well. So, even if it doesn't become a full site, Gleeksite now exists as a GLEE portal. At the very least you'll probably find episode descriptions at the new domain, and if there's demand or interest for a full site, then you'll surely find more. I know I'd use any excuse I can find to write about GLEE.

The blog posting about Syfy's The Phantom seemed to draw interest in seeing a site devoted to it. Right now there's just an informational page with a cast list and description. If and when more news comes out you'll very likely find news there. That new domain is Phantomsite.net.

And then finally, more than six years after domain squatters took the name, KnightsPast.com is now back in the KryptonSite Network. I've always loved that name - which was originally used for a site about a Jack Knight Starman TV series that was proposed for ABC in 2003. I'm thinking I might use the URL to share some information about the Justice Society characters who are coming to Smallville. Either way, I love the name and I'm determined to do something with it.

GLEE - November 2009 Promotional Trailer

GLEE is taking two weeks off from new episodes because of baseball, but the show returns with new episodes starting November 11, 2009 on FOX.

This promo first aired on October 21 following "Mash-Up."

Here's the promotional trailer courtesy of SycloneFX.



Talk about GLEE on its own special sub-forum at KryptonSite.

Kirkman's The Walking Dead Comes To AMC

One comics-to-TV project that's in development right now is The Walking Dead, based on the Image Comics series by Robert Kirkman. It's slated to become a TV series with Frank Darabont tapped as writer, director, and executive producer.

Creator Kirkman has spoken with the CBR website about the latest progress in the project, which you can find here. Since many of you who follow the KryptonSite network of sites are also comic book fans, this may be of interest.

Check out the interview and talk about The Walking Dead on the KryptonSite Forum!

Syfy Welcomes Visitors By Airing The Original V

The Syfy Channel in the United States will be preparing for the second coming of the Visitors by airing the original V in the days leading up to the ABC series premiere.

Here is the current schedule, subject to change. All times listed are ET.

Sunday, November 1
1PM-5PM V: The Original Miniseries
5PM-11PM V: The Final Battle
11PM-3AM V: The Original Miniseries

Monday, November 2
8AM-7PM Syfy will be showing V all day. We're assuming this will be comprised of episodes of the original series.

Tuesday, November 3
8AM-4PM
Again, Syfy is doing a marathon that we assume is made up of episodes of the original weekly series.
4PM-8PM V: The Original Miniseries - Then catch the premiere of V on ABC on November 3 at 8:00!

Swing by VisitorSite.net for more on V!

GLEE Inspires A Twitter Trend

Saturday boredom was taken care of for many yesterday thanks to a trend started by Chris Colfer, one of the actors from FOX's GLEE.

The trend got "Sue Sylvester" up to be the second-most-posted-about subject on Twitter on October 17, behind only "#beatcancer." The Sue Sylvester wave seems to be continuing through to the next day.

Sample "Sue Sylvester" posts included the following less-than-140-character masterpieces:

"There is no 'ctrl' button on Sue Sylvester's computer. Sue Sylvester is always in control."

"Yo, Sue Sylvester, imma let you finish but...you know what, you go right ahead and finish." -- Kanye

My own personal entry:

"Sue Sylvester only wants you to #BeatCancer if 'Cancer' is code for 'Will Scheuster.'"

I think now is a good of a time as any to use this post to promote the GLEE sub-forum at the KryptonSite Forums. Plus, I just wanted the excuse to write about Sue Sylvester, I admit it.

You can also leave your best Sue Sylvester-isms in the comments here.

Smallville Season 10 - Do You Want It?

Just curious for those reading out there...

Would you like to see Smallville go on for a tenth and final season, or would you like things to wrap up this year with Season 9?

(I'll probably be reposting this poll on KryptonSite itself in a little bit - although I am a little concerned that posting on the actual site would skew the results as it's pretty certain if someone's visiting KryptonSite they probably like Smallville)



Be honest with your answers - they'll all be anonymous.

Powers TV Update

Since many of you may not have been to PowersTV yet, some updates are finally available about the upcoming television series - including news of a showrunner and a director for the pilot.

So if you haven't - check out PowersTV already and spread the word!

TV GLEE

Every once in a while a TV show will come along that just plain makes its viewers happy. This year, the show that brings me the most, well, glee is FOX's GLEE.

Created by Ryan Murphy, who also brought us Popular and Nip-Tuck, every episode seems to have a few good musical pieces. Some characters are very exaggerated in their traits, but in the case of characters like Sue Sylvester, that's a very good thing.

We've added a GLEE sub-forum to the KryptonSite Forums even though it's clearly not of the sci-fi type genre you find throughout the rest of the forum. With new episodes still airing it's a good chance to join the fun.

Also - TVShowsOnDVD.com has revealed that the first thirteen episodes of GLEE will be on DVD December 29. You can pre-order a copy here.

Gleeks Unite!

The BBC Reveals The New Logo For Doctor Who

The BBC has revealed their new logo for Doctor Who (as seen above.)

The logo will presumably begin with the start of Steven Moffatt's run as producer of the series.

What do you think?

Talk about it on our forum!

KryptonSite: What's In A Name?

Here's a question for all of you out there....

KryptonSite started as (and still is) a fan site for The CW's Smallville. Over the years, it's expanded into a network of sites and the KryptonSite Forums now host discussion for not just Smallville. There are dedicated forums for shows like Heroes, The Vampire Diaries, Glee, Supernatural, Doctor Who and more.

Here's a question for those of you out there, regarding the other series (and the site network as a whole) - would you prefer a different name for the site network and for the forum to be housed elsewhere? Or should it stay as is while Smallville is still on the air?

Personally speaking, I sometimes wonder - even though there are a lot of people posting on the forums - if more people would post in the other forums if it wasn't "at that Smallville site." And "KryptonSite Network," while it does say "associated with KryptonSite," does kind of make you think of little green rocks.

KryptonSite as a name and a brand has worked so people know what kind of a site to expect (hopefully)... but would something more general work better for the network? (The Smallville site would, of course, stay as is.)

I will have to say, though, that finding the right alternative name could or would be an even bigger challenge.

Thoughts?

First Look: RHI's Phantom Promotional Poster

It's a bit small, but here's your first look at RHI Entertainment's promotional poster for the upcoming Syfy miniseries based on comic classic The Phantom.

Even though the poster image more resembles the Blue Beetle - guess it's only fair, as the original Beetle was himself somewhat of a Phantom stand-in.

The miniseries will be premiering in 2010, and stars Ryan Carnes as Chris Walker/The Phantom, Sandrine Holt as Guran, Jean Marchand as Wandermaark, Cameron Goodman as Renny Davidson, Isabella Rossellini as Dr. Bella Lithia, Ron Lea as Detective Sgt. Sean Davidson, Cas Anvar as Raatib Singh, and Ivan Smith as Dr. Deepak Baboor.

Jesse Alexander Talks About Day One Change

Executive producer/writer Jesse Alexander talks about the change in schedule for Day One on his blog today.

Check it out!

NBC Trims Their Order On Day One

One of the upcoming TV projects I've been very excited to see is Heroes producer Jesse Alexander's new series, Day One which premieres on NBC next year.

He's recruited some talented people for it such as Jeph Loeb, and since Heroes is wrapping for the season before the Olympics, it meant there'd still be a genre show on the network. (I still need to get into Chuck, obviously.)

NBC has announced they are cutting down their order to make Day One a miniseries, which could lead into an ongoing series later on. I sure hope this strategy works. I'm a little nervous already about V's four episode run in November, and don't want another show-that-looks-good to be cut prematurely.

Here's what the Hollywood Reporter had to say:

The order for NBC's midseason drama series "Day One" has been reduced to the two-hour pilot plus two episodes.

The show, chronicling life on earth after a global catastrophe, will now air as a four-hour miniseries following NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics.

NBC's scripted chief Angela Bromstad has repeatedly said that the network brass was envisioning "Day One" as "a big event."

After examining the promo budget associated with launching a 13-episode midseason series, NBC executives opted to run the drama as a miniseries, with creator Jesse Alexander said to be on board with the decision.

The network is still leaving the door open for "Day One" to continue as a series after the four-hour spring run, citing the success of "Battlestar Galactica" on sibling cable channel SyFy, which also originated as a miniseries.

"Day One," produced by UMS, stars Julie Gonzalo, David Lyons, Carly Pope, Adam Campbell, Thekla Reuten, Derek Mio, Addison Timlin and Catherine Dent.

The series was originally slated to air Mondays at 9 p.m.

Talk about this news on our forum!

Adding More Subforums To The KryptonSite Forum: Yea Or Nay?

We're considering adding more TV show subforums to the KryptonSite Forum, but thought it would be best to ask around first to see if there would be interest. The two shows specifically considered to add would be Flashforward and GLEE.

What do you think? Weigh in on the poll below. If you have other suggestions, select "Other."