SF Tube Talk Special Report - February 1999 by Lee Whiteside From the Magrathea/SFTV Web Page http://www.goodnet.com/~leew The NATPE Convention - New Shows on the way this fall Late January saw the annual NATPE convention (National Association of Television Program Executives) in New Orleans. It is a gathering of television distributors and representatives for local television stations, station groups and cable networks where production companies try to line up outlets for their shows. Most of the mainline press has had something about the new talk shows being offered or new game shows, but little has been said about any genre stuff (usually called "Action Hours" by the TV industry). Most of the actual news coming out of the convention is about how many stations or station groups they have signed up and what percentage of the country it represents. Some shows go into the convention already with enough committments to go ahead or get renewed for another season, but for some shows, the convention may determine if the series actually will get made. In some cases, an cable outlet or foreign market committment has already assured the show will go ahead and they are attempting to line up syndication deals. Several new shows this year will debut on the Action Adventure Network (AAN) on DirectTV and then be made available to local stations via syndication. A lot of these new shows have several production companies participating, which usually means one or two executive producers from each company. Following is a list of shows that have been promoted at the convention. I've listed what info has been announced about the show and quoted from press releases when available. Most of them have not yet gone into production and may not have any cast signed yet unless it features a specific actor or actress as a drawing card. New Shows: Total Recall 2070 (Showtime/Syndication in Jan 2000 - Alliance / Atlantis / Universal / Polygram) Starts airing on Showtime on March 7, 1999. Already airing in Canada. Will be available via syndication in January, 2000. StarS Michael Easton (Two, 413 Hope Street and Ally McBeal). Co-starring Karl Pruner (The Agency), Michael Anthony Rawlins (NYPD Blue), Matthew Bennett (Showtime's Thanks of a Grateful Nation), Cynthia Preston (Miles To Go) and Judith Krant (Private Parts), Relic Hunter (Syndicated - Rysher Entertainment) Stars Tia Carrere as a professor at a northeastern university where she gets called on by museums, government officials, and wealthy philanthropists to recover ancient artifacts. She goes far and wide to recover a mask, a tomb or an ill-gotten painting. Along the way, she has to karate chop a few guys since she is a black belt. Beastmaster: The Legend Continues (Syndicated - Alliance / Atlantis / Tribune) "In a wild and primitive world where barbarism, magic and lusty adventure abound Beastmaster: The Legend Continues chronicles the journeys of the program's hero, Dar the Beastmaster. In his adventures, Dar uses his telepathic powers to communicate with animals to build a bridge between man and nature with the hopes of preventing the two clashing worlds from annihilating one another." Series based on the movies featuring Marc Singer. Follows the adventures of Dar the Beastmaster. No word on who plays the Beastmaster in the series. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World (AAN & Syndication - New Line Television / Freemantle / Telescene) "The Lost World, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s classic tale of dinosaurs, action and adventure has been transformed into a spectacular two-hour movie, and the Fremantle distribution agreement triggers production of at least 20 one hour episodes of original action set at the turn of the century. Shot on location in breathtaking settings, The Lost World tells the story of a mismatched expedition team led by adventurer Professor Edward Challenger, who is determined to prove the existence of an age unknown. Vicious packs of apemen, giant crocodiles, bizarre plant life and flesh-eating dinosaurs - achieved with unparalleled special effects - test the group‘s resolve and threaten their return home. The Lost World is a Village Roadshow Pictures and Telescene Film Group production in association with St. Clare Entertainment, with John Landis, Jeffrey Hayes, Leslie Belzberg, Greg Coote, Robin Spry, Paul Painter and Bruce Moccia all serving as executive producers of the series. " The Two Hour pilot for the series is available from Feb 1st through March 10th on Direct TV channel 104 as an all-day ticket. Weekly episodes will start airing on the Action Adventure network starting in July 1999. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (AAN & Syndication - Telescene/Zoetrope) Executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola, it takes the concept of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and sets it into modern day Hong Kong with plenty of Hong Kong action. Adam Baldwin will be the lead. Check out reports on Ain't It Cool News on the series at: http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=2479 http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=2651 http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=2883 Blackheart (AAN & Syndication - Telescene) Co-creator of Twin Peaks, Robert Engels has created a comical and wild adventure about Matthew Blackheart, an old-fashioned hero brought back to life in a modern world. Blackheart must overcome a constant battle with old foes and a government hit team assigned to kill him. Executive produced by Richard Donner. May be called "Monster Smasher" for overseas markets. Gulliver: The New Voyages (AAN - Telescene * Frankfurter Filmproduktion) Writer Steven E. de Souza (Die Hard) takes Gulliver through a journey of bizarre and unexplainable events and people on a quest to find his way back home to far away Europe, all the while trying to bring his nemesis Van Dyke to justice for murder. The Vikings (AAN - Telescene & Granada) Leif Erikson, Erik the Red, and Princess Thorgunna unite, each week, in their b attle to conquer the new world that became North America, replete with menacing enemies and an ever-threatening wilderness. Witness to Fear (AAN - Telescene) From the creative horror genius of Clive Barker (Weaveworld) comes this new X-Files-like series. Producers of a highly-rated tabloid TV show begin to see eerie links between the unusual stories they cover, and must struggle to deal with the real world as it begins to collide with a frighteningly unreal one. Big Wolf on Campus (Fox Family Channel - Telescene) Only a few days before senior year of high school, Tommy Dawkins has developed a big problem. A freak wolf attack has turned him into a werewolf. To add to th e mayhem, his father is the mayor and his mother is a local TV reporter who, unwittingly, is hot on his werewolf trail for a story. 26 Half Hour episodes. The Hunger (Showtime - Telescene & Showtime Networks) Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Alien) and Tony Scott (Crimson Tide, Top Gun) present Telescene‘s anthology series mingling the erotic and the forbidden. Second series will be hosted by David Bowie, star of the original movie "The Hunger". Half Hour episodes. Black Scorpion (Syndicated - Concorde/New Horizon) Series following on from the Roger Corman TV movies. Joan Severance, who starr ed in the movies will not be in the series. The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne (Syndicated? - Talisman Crest Ltd.) Created by Gavin Scott, it assumes that Jules Verne had adventures like those in his books. It stars Chris Demetral (Sometimes They Come Back) as Jules Verne, Michel Courtemanche as Passepartout, Francesca Hunt as Rebecca Fogg and Michael Praed (Nightflyers) as Phileas Fogg. Returning Shows Conan The Barbarian (Syndicated - Threshold Entertainment) Ralf Moeller returns as Conan, leaving behind all the sidekicks he had in the first series. Now produced by Larry Kasanoff, who also produces Mortal Kombat: Conquest, it will be more action oriented and will feature Red Sonja guest appearances with the hope that they can spin off a Red Sonja series for Fall 2000. They are letting the stations who carried the first season continue to air these episodes at no cost to keep Conan on TV until the new season starts this fall. Syndicated shows renewed (or at least a new season being sold) include: Honey I Shrunk The Kids: The Series Mortal Kombat: Conquest The Crow: Stairway to Heaven Earth Final Conflict (Renewed for two more seasons) Psi Factor Nightman was conspicous in its absence. 3rd Rock From the Sun will be strip syndicated in Fall '99 Info sources utilized for this report include: Andy Mangel's Hollywood Heroes Column (www.mania.com) Broadcasting and Cable (www.broadcastingcable.com) Variety (www.variety.com) The NATPE web site (www.natpe.org) Telescene Web Site (www.telescene.ca) Atlantis & Alliance Web Sites (www.atlantis.ca,www.alliance.ca) Direct TV's Web site (www.directtv.com) Ain't It Cool News Coaxial site (www.aint-it-cool-news.com) Cinescape Online (www.cinescape.com)