TV, eh?

From the WGC:

• Finalists Announced: The Writers Guild of Canada congratulates the 2010 Finalists

From a media release:

SPACE Acquires Season 2 of STARGATE UNIVERSE

• Catch Season 1 from the beginning in the STARGATE UNIVERSE Marathon January 3 exclusively on SPACE
• STARGATE UNIVERSE returns with Season 1b in April 2010

SPACE, Canada’s national science fiction, speculation, and fantasy channel, announced today the exclusive Canadian acquisition of the second season of STARGATE UNIVERSE (SGU). Twenty, all-new, hour-long episodes of SGU are scheduled to premiere in Fall 2010. Following its television broadcast, each 60-minute episode of SGU is available on demand at www.spacecast.com.

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From Kat Angus of Dose:

• Interview: Louis Ferreira of Stargate Universe
  “After a brief guest appearance on Star Trek Voyager in 1998, Louis Ferreira swore he would never do another science fiction series ever again. Two days of work playing a holographic tree was enough to convince the actor that sci-fi was not his genre.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• CBC Battles on Without Blades
  “FRIDAY saw 1,575,000 show for the season finale of Flashpoint (with Hugh Dillon and Michael Cram, left), which tried to steal a little Blade glory by training its sights on Maple Leaf Gardens.” Read more.

Lt. Scott and Camille return to Earth via the communication stones to spend time with those they left behind. On the Destiny, the crew explores new sections of the ship, which yields the discovery of a promising Ancient device.

10:00 PM

An away team finds a kino beside a Stargate on a jungle world, which contains video footage of the team that was shot prior to their arrival. Then, an illness cripples the team, forcing them to quarantine themselves on the planet.

From Bill Brioux of TV Feeds My Family:

• Hull of a Weekend for Canadian TV
  “Friday’s Flashpoint picked off 1,816,000 commercial on CTV (all figures BBM Canada overnight estimates). CBC’s Battle of the Blades was right behind Sunday night with 1,810,000 tuning in to see the final three skate off. Then, lookit this–CBC’s pony drama Heartland quietly rode off with 1,282,000 Sunday evening.” Read more.

From Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune:

• A ‘Stargate Universe’ producer takes issue with criticism of the show. Here’s my response
  “If I seem passionate in my disappointment in “Stargate Universe,” that’s only because, in my experience, people are more intensely disappointed by things they had high hopes for. I’m not demanding that “SGU” to be a clone of past “Stargate” shows nor am I secretly expecting it to be another “Battlestar.” I just wanted “SGU’s” characters and stories to emotionally or intellectually engage me. That’s all I ask of any show. That hasn’t happened. You are of course entitled to your opinion of my Stargate Universe review and my comments about the show in the V piece. But people who have seen the show are also entitled to their opinions. I wish I got the sense that those who who have problems with the show were being truly heard by the Stargate writer/producers.” Read more.

The original review:

• Desperate survivors get lost in ‘Stargate Universe’
  “In the print ads for “Stargate Universe” (8 p.m. Central Friday, Syfy; two stars), a clean-cut young man in a military uniform runs toward the camera, away from danger. I’ve now seen five hours of the show and still don’t feel all that invested in the the fate of 1st Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith). Theoretically, I should — he’s one of the show’s lead characters. ” Read more.

10 p.m. ET/PT
A few members of the crew are able to mentally travel back to Earth using an Ancient communications terminal.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Blades, Flash, Blades Top Weekend Draws
  “CTV’s Friday night winner Flashpoint picked off another 1,870,000 according to BBM Canada overnight estimates (“commercial” data). Battle of the Blades landed 1,618,000 Sunday night for CBC. CBC’s Sunday night family drama Heartland, featuring Amber Marshall and Spartan, left, had another near million night, drawing 932,000.” Read more.

10 pm – The ship’s water supply dwindles, prompting Col. Young and Lt. Scott to visit a frozen planet in search of drinkable samples. Meanwhile, the crew attempts to snare an intruder.

From Frazier Moore of the Associated Press:

• Robert Carlyle plays a genius loner on meditative thriller ‘Stargate Universe’
  “As played by Robert Carlyle, Rush is at the core of SGU, a meditative thriller premiering recently on the Syfy network (in Canada it airs on Space), it builds on the mythology of the 1994 film Stargate and follow up series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Flash, Dance and Blades Put CanCon on Top
  “The season finale of So You Think You Can Dance Canada waltzed off with 1,689,000 viewers, with Lethbridge, Alta.’s Tara Jean Popowich crowned as the nation’s latest dance queen. Flashpoint led all Canadian scripted shows with 1,560,000 Friday night viewers on CTV. It was also the most-watched show–American or Canadian–on the night.” Read more.

Stargate Universe – 10:00 PM

With the Destiny on a collision course with a star, the crew considers abandoning the ship. A grim lottery is held to choose 17 passengers to escape in the Destiny’s only working shuttle.

From T.K. DEHN of IF Magazine:

• Exclusive Interview: DAVID BLUE STEPS THROUGH THE ‘STARGATE UNIVERSE’ PORTAL
  “David Blue is only in his twenties, but he’s already on his fourth cult TV series, STARGATE UNIVERSE, after having regular/recurring roles on the vampire drama MOONLIGHT, the comedy UGLY BETTY and the youth-skewing THE SUITE LIFE OF ZACK & CODY. He’s happy to talk about all of them, plus he chats about shows he hasn’t been on (HEROES, CHUCK), but loves anyway.” Read more.

Stargate Universe – 10:00 PM on 16/10/2009
When the Destiny suffers a complete loss of power, they hope a nearby planet is habitable.

From Reg Seeton of the Deadbolt:

• On the SyFy Set of Stargate Universe with SG-U Cast Interviews
  “Here’s a look at specific questions from TheDeadbolt and the full panel interview with the SG-U cast from all press on the set of Stargate Universe, our first stop on the SyFy Digital Press Tour 2009.” Read more.

From CBC:

• Scottish actor embraces a new kind of sci-fi
  “Robert Carlyle was hesitant when he was offered a role in the shot-in-Vancouver TV series Stargate Universe. The Scottish actor, known for his roles in Trainspotting and The Full Monty, said he never thought of himself as a choice for a sci-fi drama.” Read more.

From a media release:

SPACE Soars to New Heights with Record Shattering Premiere of STARGATE UNIVERSE

• STARGATE UNIVERSE claims top spot with highest rating on SPACE to-date

STARGATE UNIVERSE’S (SGU) destiny has been revealed with a record breaking 2+ average minute audience of 565,000, making it SPACE’s highest rated single episode ever.* SGU was the #1 non sports specialty program of the day for 2+ and the key demographics of A25-54 and A18-49.* With two additional airings on Saturday, Oct. 3, SGU rocketed onto SPACE with a total reach of 2.3 million 2+ viewers.** After SGU’s edge-of-your-seat premiere unfolded, nearly 150,000 viewers stayed tuned as SPACE’s new original daily series INNERSPACE blasted onto the scene Friday, Oct. 2 at 11 p.m. ET.

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From Susan Shaw of the Toronto Star:

• Deep space, deeper issues appeal to Scottish actor
  “Scottish actor Robert Carlyle stars in Stargate Universe (SGU), the latest instalment of the successful sci-fi franchise that includes Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.” Read more.