A Young Giles Is The Focus Of New Buffyverse Comic
Joss Whedon will be returning to the franchise that got him started as he will team with writer Erika Alexander and artist Jon Lam on comic Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Giles. This four-issue mini-series from Dark Horse will focus on a resurrected, younger Giles as he investigates the disappearance of teachers in an inner-city high school. Whedon commented on the series:
Giles has never really dealt with the public school system as it exists for most kids. He’s never been to the city. Giles has always had the advantage of being a part of the system that educated him. He was taught to be a watcher in a family of watchers. His education was, in the grand British public school tradition, both expansive and parochial. In-depth views of tiny portions of the world. Of course, he walked over the awkward hormonal coals of adolescence—but now he knows more, and expects better of himself. His once-more 15-year-old body, however, is oblivious to his wisdom/cynicism/impatience.
There is no word at this point on whether other Buffy characters will be part of the series. It will arrive on comic stands on February 28th.
The Fall Season Of #StarTrekDiscoveryWill Get One More Episode
Star Trek: Discovery debuted on CBS on September 24th and new episodes have been released on the CBS All Access streaming service each week on Sundays at 8:30 PM EST since then. The original plan was to split the first season after the eighth episode was released with the remaining six starting up in January, partially because it has been running behind on its production schedule. But one of those second half episodes has now been shifted up, with nine total scheduled for Fall and the remaining six streaming in January. The show has been received warmly by fans and critics, despite pre-premiere grumbling, and perhaps CBS wants to get more episodes out in 2017 to keep fans happy and also to reduce the mid-season break.
Netflix Releases Trailer For German Series ‘Dark’
Netflix originals keep coming with little notice and the latest one of interest to genre fans is the German-made series Dark. This series was produced entirely in Germany and I assume it will have English subtitles for its U.S. run like the Brazilian-made 3%. You can see the trailer above, and following is the logline for the series:
A missing child sets four families on a frantic hunt for answers. Their search for a culprit unearths a small town’s sins and secrets.
It will debut on our side of the Atlantic on December 1st.
Unlikely Superhero Series ‘Raising Dion’ Headed To Netflix
And yet another Netflix original on the way, this one based on the indie comic Raising Dion that was created and written by Dennis Liu and illustrated by Jason Piperberg. In this series, a mother raises her son, who has amazing superpowers, while also evading government agents that have nefarious plans for the boy. This show definitely looks like an interesting twist on the superhero genre, and Liu has said about the series
More than ever, we need more stories told from different points of view and my hope with Raising Dion is to create a cinematic experience for all families that will lift your spirits and make you laugh and cry.
Ten episodes have been ordered for the first season and they should join Netflix’s lineup at some point in 2018. You can read more about the comic here.
Philip K. Dick’s ‘Second Variety’ Is Headed To TV
More TV development is in the works and it involves yet another property based on a Philip K. Dick story. Reel One Entertainment is adapting PKD’s novella Second Varietywith David Titcher attached to pen the script. Variety give the following description for the project:
‘Second Variety’ follows events after the U.S. develops a military weapon with artificial intelligence to defeat its adversaries but finds that the lethal killing machines eventually take on a life of their own and threaten to wipe out humanity.
The story was previously adapted to the big screen as Screamers in 1995 with Peter Weller as the star. There is currently no television network attached to the series, but it should draw plenty of interest seeing as Phillip K. Dick remains a hot property.
Sci-Fi TV Status Report: The Orville’s Ratings Slip
On Thursday, FOX’s The Orville slipped to a 0.9 rating based on the 18-49 demographic with 3.4 million total viewers (according to the preliminary numbers). That has the show in iffy territory, but FOX had to expect this considering the stiff competition on Thursday nights. Now comes the point that we see if the network is committed to the show if it is pulling only mediocre overnight ratings. In the preceding hour, Gotham held at a 0.9 rating with 2.8 million total viewers. Whether it survives for a fifth season will depend on if Warner Bros. offers a good enough deal for FOX to keep the show around.
On NBC on Thursday, The Good Place slipped to a 1.2 rating with 4.1 million total viewers, but those are still acceptable numbers for that show and were even with its lead-in from Superstore. On Tuesday, ABC’s new series Kevin (Probably) Saves the World had its debut and pulled a 1.0 rating based on the demo with 4.1 million total viewers. Those are better numbers than what Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was seeing in that hour last year, but we will have to see how it tracks in the coming weeks.
The CW Superheroes, ‘Mr. Robot’, ‘The Shannara Chronicles’ And More Are Back Next Week
The onslaught of Fall premieres continues as eight shows will be returning to the schedule next week. All four of The CW’s superhero shows kick off their new seasons —Supergirl (Monday), The Flash (Tuesday), Legends of Tomorrow (Tuesday) and Arrow(Thursday)–and Supernatural is back for its record-busting thirteenth year on Thursday (for those interested, Riverdale has its second season premiere on Wednesday). Also, on Wednesday USA’s Mr. Robot has its third season debut and The Shannara Chroniclesmoves over to Spike (soon to be the Paramount Network) for its second season. And on Saturday, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency returns to BBC America for its second season. Also, on Sunday Fear the Walking Dead and The Last Ship will have their season finales. You can keep up with the weekly listings of sci fi and fantasy shows here and you can see the full Fall schedule here.
News Bites: #SuperMansion Halloween Episode And More
Crackle’s superhero parody series SuperMansion (with Bryan Cranston voicing the lead character Titanium Rex) has released a Halloween Special episode that is currently available for streaming. You can see the trailer above
The Westworld creators have teased the appearance of Roman World and Medieval World in the upcoming season.
Danny Glover has been cast as Joe Ridgeway and Jack Mulhern is set as Tyler Locke in Hulu’s Locke & Key pilot.
Syfy’s new supernatural series Superstition was originally scheduled to debut October 6th, but that has been shifted to October 20th.
Im sure there’s interest in the comics of Buffy, but Im not I would rather see Joss do an actual TV show instead.