SyFy Set Tour Preview: Stargate Universe, Caprica, Sanctuary, and Alice by Reg Seeton
On Tuesday, October 6 we had the good fortune
to spend the entire day on the SyFy sets of Stargate
Universe, Caprica, and Sanctuary in Vancouver
while also getting a sneak peek at Alice, the
upcoming December 6 SyFy reimagination of the
classic Alice in Wonderland. Although SyFy has
closed the doors on the previous Stargate series
SG-1 and Atlantis plus the hugely popular Battlestar
Galactica, our day on the third annual SyFy Digital
Press Tour proved that the newly branded SySy
network is, for lack of a better, familiar cliche,
boldly going where SCI FI didn't go before. Having
opened up their creative minds to broader, more
imaginative programming while also working within
elements of what fans love most about the genre
legacy laid by The SCI FI Channel, SyFy executives,
producers, writers, and cast members are looking
into a future of what's possible.
When SCI FI announced the recent brand transformation to SyFy only months ago, the move came with the tagline, "imagine greater." Although some loyal genre fans were put off by the move, it's hard to look upward and stare off into space without imagining greater possibilities. That's what science fiction is all about. However, there's so much more creative territory to be explored beyond the road we've already traveled with SyFy. Based on everything we experienced within the SyFy sets on Tuesday, fans can take comfort that SyFy is taking creative risks while at the same time exploring regions of conflict and drama that perhaps were overlooked for the sake of genre and visual effects.
After
roaming through the sets of Stargate Universe,
Caprica, and Sanctuary with a look at Alice,
and speaking with the principle cast members
of each SyFy show, there's a definite sense
that there's something special going within
SyFy that has no creative limitations. In fact,
there was a certain excitement that could be
felt everywhere we went on the tour and with
everyone we spoke to on the cast. Having attended
the first SyFy Digital Press Tour in 2007, touring
the sets of Galactca, Atlantis, and Eureka,
this time around there was more of an inclusive
SyFy family vibe from set to set and cast panel
to cast panel. It's clear that the Stargate
franchise laid the foundation for SyFy to take
a bolder leap with Galactica, which took SyFy
to new heights alongside mainstream networks.
There's a palpable new movement within SyFy that you not only see but also feel when talking to the actors. Fans only need to look at the acting talent now signed with SyFy to see something special happening with original series and TV movie credits. In imagining greater SyFy possibilities, names such as Robert Carlyle, Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, and Eric Stolz are now in regular series rotation while Oscar winner Kathy Bates steps into the world of Alice on December 6 with Tim Curry for the next big SyFy miniseries. Along with a slew of SyFy newcomers that includes actress Polly Walker and former Ugly Betty actor David Blue, SyFy also has Christopher Heyerdah and Ming-Na in the acting pen with SyFy vets such as Amanda Tapping.
Our
second set tour stop within the lake shores
of Caprica summed it up best when we sat down
for panel interviews with Caprica cast members
Polly Walker, Alessandra Torresani, Magda Apanowicz,
Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson,
and Sasha Roiz. I asked both Esai Morales and
Eric Stolz what motivated them to step into
television at this stage in their careers after
making names for themselves in the film world
years earlier. Interestingly, Eric Stolz took
the reigns on the question, relating his decision
to step into the world of Caprica and television
at large as similar to the Indie film movement
in the early '90s that saw new directors push
creative boundaries and take risks with rich
and complex material. As Stolz related, television
is now entering a new era that gives actors
more to work with in terms of material on par
with high caliber films. In many ways, as Eric
Stolz revealed, it's exciting to be part of
a stimulating new movement that consistently
and creatively challenges an actor in new and
interesting ways.
That very sentiment was echoed earlier in the
morning when we spoke to the cast of Stargate
Universe who agreed that working with not only
stronger, character driven material is exciting
but also actors like Robert Carlyle who demand
quality at that same level as film. As Stargate
Universe actors Lou Diamond Phillips and David
Blue agreed, when you have such respected actors
who raise their game for television, it pushes
everyone to reach for new heights. And, like
David Blue revealed, when you have an actor
like Robert Carlyle who doesn’t back down from
physical challenges, like throwing himself through
Stargates despite the pain of landing hard on
the other side, it forces the entire cast to
take new risks at higher levels.
In the coming days, keep an eye out on TheDeadbolt
for our full coverage of the SyFy Digital Press
Tour in Vancouver, featuring panel interviews
with the casts of Stargate Universe, Caprica,
Sanctuary, and Alice plus set tour coverage
of various locations within each show.
Stargate Universe Panel Interviews:
Robert Carlyle, Louis Ferreira, Brain J. Smith,
Elyse Levesque, David Blue, Alaina Huffman,
Jamil Walker Smith, Ming-Na, Lou Diamond Phillips,
Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper
Sanctuary
Panel Interviews
Amanda Tapping, Robin Dunne, Ryan Robbins, Christopher Heyerdahl, creator Damian Kindler, and director Martin Wood
Caprica Panel Interviews:
Polly Walker, Alessandra Torresani, Magda Apanowicz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson, Sasha Roiz, Eric Stoltz
Alice Interviews
Caterina Scorsone, Matt Frewer, and director Nick Willing
Check back, it was a great day that we can't wait to share.
Buster says,"roof roof aroooooooo! "which means he thought the lack of diverse story lines on BSG were a short coming, BSG was basically about rats in a maze, tring to get out of that maze, how interesting or creative was that! I mean "aroooooooooo! roof roof" Buster also indicated that he was agast at your lack of literary discernablity, and most assuredly not impressed with your science fiction acumen! Hummmph! roof roof arooooooo!
Not too impressed, wish it were better, Wright and Cooper have done much better work! Totally miscast, That British actor just doesn't fit, David Blue horriable, the rest of the cast even worse! Very disappointed! I would'nt let my dog Buster watch this bull! it would hurt his doggie sensibilties. Buster is such a huge Sci-fi fan not Sifi, which is just retarted, yeah Imagine lesser! How about some good quality Science fiction, With all
the ideas out there and the technolgy of CGE, I would think you could come up with something. Buster says he has a lot of good idea's, that would be ten times what this tripe is!
amy – Canada
October 08, 2009 - 21:38
Subject: Caprica
I can't wait for this series even though I was a big BSG fan, and the pilot wasn't what I thought it would be, I thought it was great and please do you have any photos of Eric Stoltz and Esai Morales?
On Tuesday, October 6 we had the good fortune
to spend the entire day on the SyFy sets of Stargate
Universe, Caprica, and Sanctuary in Vancouver
while also getting a sneak peek at Alice, the
upcoming December 6 SyFy reimagination of the
classic Alice in Wonderland. Although SyFy has
closed the doors on the previous Stargate series
SG-1 and Atlantis plus the hugely popular Battlestar
Galactica, our day on the third annual SyFy Digital
Press Tour proved that the newly branded SySy
network is, for lack of a better, familiar cliche,
boldly going where SCI FI didn't go before. Having
opened up their creative minds to broader, more
imaginative programming while also working within
elements of what fans love most about the genre
legacy laid by The SCI FI Channel, SyFy executives,
producers, writers, and cast members are looking
into a future of what's possible.
After
roaming through the sets of Stargate Universe,
Caprica, and Sanctuary with a look at Alice,
and speaking with the principle cast members
of each SyFy show, there's a definite sense
that there's something special going within
SyFy that has no creative limitations. In fact,
there was a certain excitement that could be
felt everywhere we went on the tour and with
everyone we spoke to on the cast. Having attended
the first SyFy Digital Press Tour in 2007, touring
the sets of Galactca, Atlantis, and Eureka,
this time around there was more of an inclusive
SyFy family vibe from set to set and cast panel
to cast panel. It's clear that the Stargate
franchise laid the foundation for SyFy to take
a bolder leap with Galactica, which took SyFy
to new heights alongside mainstream networks.
Our
second set tour stop within the lake shores
of Caprica summed it up best when we sat down
for panel interviews with Caprica cast members
Polly Walker, Alessandra Torresani, Magda Apanowicz,
Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson,
and Sasha Roiz. I asked both Esai Morales and
Eric Stolz what motivated them to step into
television at this stage in their careers after
making names for themselves in the film world
years earlier. Interestingly, Eric Stolz took
the reigns on the question, relating his decision
to step into the world of Caprica and television
at large as similar to the Indie film movement
in the early '90s that saw new directors push
creative boundaries and take risks with rich
and complex material. As Stolz related, television
is now entering a new era that gives actors
more to work with in terms of material on par
with high caliber films. In many ways, as Eric
Stolz revealed, it's exciting to be part of
a stimulating new movement that consistently
and creatively challenges an actor in new and
interesting ways.
Sanctuary
Panel Interviews