It was all sci-fi as TV Guide previewed some of the most anticipated shows of the upcoming season. The stars and artists were on hand at the TV Guide panel to introduce the new fall season to and audience of over 5000. Returning favorites, Chuck and Big Bang Theory were joined by new shows Flash Forward, Eastwick, V, and The Vampire Diaries, all showed clips or answered questions for fans.
Flash Forward (ABC)- series star John Cho (Star Trek, Harold And Kumar) and show producer Mark Guggenheim were on hand to show a sneak preview of their new show. Also starring Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare In Love) and Courtney B. Vance (Law And Order), the show is about a global blackout that everyone experiences for 2 minutes and seventeen seconds. Each person gets a vision into his or her future 6 months ahead. This proves disturbing to Cho’s character who, like a few other people, got no flash back at all during the universal blackout, leading them to suspect that they are dead in 6 months. The show takes us on a journey into each character’s lives as they try to piece together what their memories mean and how and if they would change any of it if they could.
Also produced by David Gorey (Batman Returns) and Brannon Brega (Star Trek) and also starring, Dominic Monaghan (Lost), Flash Forward premieres September 24 on ABC.
V (ABC)- series star Scott Wolf (Party of Five, The Nine) and producer Scott Peters (4400) were on hand to introduce V, a re-imagining of the original 80s mini series. The series, which has been updated to 2009, also stars Morris Chestnut (The Cave), Morena Baccarin (Firefly, Serenity) Also produced by Jeffrey Bell (Alias), Steve Pearlman (Related), and Jace Hall (Chadam).
Eastwick (ABC)- series star Rebecca Romijn ( X-Men, Ugly Betty) was on hand to introduce her series a remake on the original movie starring Jack Nicholson and Cher. The series, also starring Lindsey Price (Beverly Hills 90210, Lipstick Jungle) and Jamie Ray Newman, as the three “witches”. With the help of a mysterious stranger who comes to town, they discover and craft their witchcraft. They each react to the changes in their live in very different ways.
Allison Dubois, the real “medium” on which the Patricia Arquette series is based, came to introduce her own show. A cross between, Medium and Bones, the show will be a real life series in which Dubois and an investigative team will solve actual crimes, taking the audience thorough the entire process from discovery, to investigation to closed case. Medium will enter into it’s 6th season on CBS.
Vampire Diaries (WB)- Fresh off the heels of the wildly successful Twilight films and the popular HBO cult favorite True Blood, network television is selling and Vampires as well. Kevin Williamson (Dawson’s Creek and Scream) adapts the acclaimed novels into The Vampire Diaries. Williamson stressed that “the only difference between this new series and its popular predecessors is that they are vampires. From there, the similarities end”. The shows premise is two estranged brothers, both vampires fall in love with the same girl, one of them for all of the right reasons and the other in an effort to recapture the past, with the girl filling the void left by a lost love. The brothers might each other in an old fashioned case of good vs. evil as they battle for her soul.
A bearded Zachary Levi as on hand to discuss his alter-ego Chuck and how he’s evolved into his secret agent position. He had plenty of fan support from Chuck fans from around the world, most noticeably Birmingham England to whom he credits for Chuck’s reprieve. The third season of Chuck will air as a mid-season replacement for NBC.
Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons were on hand also as homage to the convention goers. Although,
technically not a sci-fi show, their characters are the types who would actually attend one of these conventions. They celebrate the sci-fi genre every week in some form. The CBS sitcom also stars Kelly Couco and centers around a group of geniuses and their bombshell neighbor as they learn to adjust to each other’s lives.
Each panelist was asked about their appreciation for the genre and each showed and appreciation for being in the business in general.
“The great thing about television playing the same characters week after week is” said Jim Parsons of his Emmy nominated role on Big Bang Theory. “…you get to a place where you [the audience] can count on them to have a certain reaction or to act a certain way.”
“ I loved The Six Million Man…and The Bionic Woman”, said V’s Scott Wolf when asked about his favorite sci-fi genre show growing up. I think I had three different arms and loved the sound made for her ear.”
Teaser trailers were shown of Eastwick, Flash Forward, Vampire Diaries and Chuck ‘The Upgrade”.
The new fall television season kicks off in September. Check TV Guide for more premiere dates and schedules: Returning Shows New Shows
