Question: As a fellow Invasion fan, what did you think of the series finale? I thought it was pretty close to perfect — it would have been perfect if we had a second season to look forward to. So much action, so many questions answered and so left unanswered. The possibility that Larkin would start the second season as a hybrid — along with the subtext I read into Russell and Mariel's relationship — promised more emotion along with the sci-fi for a second year. Now that CW has passed on picking up the series, do you think Shaun Cassidy and company might pull a Joss Whedon and release a feature movie to tie up the loose ends and continue the story?
Answer: For my analysis of Invasion's first-rate finale, check out my Dispatch from the morning after. As to Invasion's future, it's an awfully long shot. The show would have to do well in the afterlife: in repeat viewings on Sci Fi or wherever, and in DVD sales for sure, which is what helped Joss Whedon make his dream of a movie version of
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Question: Come on, Ausiello, gimme the scoop on Stargate SG-1! I'll send you a lifetime supply of Snapple and Smurfs!
Answer: You sure? I plan on living a long time. OK, remember me telling you how producers were looking for a "name" actress to play the recurring role of Adria, the rapidly aging daughter of Vala (Claudia Black)? Well, the name they found was Morena Baccarin, whom Firefly/Serenity fans know as prostitute, er, companion Inara.
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Question: In a reply in Ask Matt, you mentioned how a two-hour 24 movie would condense the events of a single day. Why assume that? I'd be horrified if they decided to go that route. Just like the Firefly movie was called Serenity, the 24 movie may be called something entirely different and utilize the characters and background of the show in a completely different kind of story, maybe even one that could span — gasp — days.
Answer: And what, pray tell, would be the point of such a movie? Which is my argument for not doing it. But Daren wrote in with a similar notion: "I think they could do the opposite with 24 as a feature film. Play the story out over several months or years like most movies do, allowing for an ebb and flow of intensities. I think that would be a great contrast to the format everyone is accustomed to, i.e., red-lined adrenaline for 24 hours straight, where everything is very linear and tightly connected. What do you think?" I think it sounds dreadful. 24 is as much
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Steve Carell, John Krasinski and Rainn Wilson, The Office
The big news is that I will be appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight! OK, maybe that's just big news to me and my parents. But we are flipping out! Last year my family came to visit me in Los Angeles and I got us tickets to see a taping of The Tonight Show. Hilary Duff was the guest, and my mom leaned over to me and said, "One day, you'll be up there on the couch being interviewed by Jay Leno!" I rolled my eyes and grunted or something. Even at my age, I seem to regress into acting like a teenager around my parents. But secretly I was hoping that I would be up there one day. And now I am! I'm excited but I also have knots in my stomach. I borrowed a dress. I'm getting my hair done. I got good pointers from Steve [Carell], Rainn [Wilson] and John [Krasinski], who have all been on before
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Veronica Mars Ah yes, the infamous rat-taped-under-the-bus-seat reveal — a delicious stinger for an otherwise solid episode. This one's chock-full of blasts from the past, isn't it? Aaron Echolls, Abel Koontz, Clarence Weidman... sort of like a Season 1 reunion tour. And then there's the one-two cameo punch of Kim from Top Model and Buffy mastermind Joss Whedon. Aww, Joss, good to see you, buddy! Now stop goofing off and make me a Serenity sequel, would you? All those November sweeps stunts aside, the stuff that really tickles me pink got even better upon viewing them for a second time:
1) Cliff McCormack is officially my favorite lawyer on television. (Don't cry, Denny Crane.) Hearing our trusty ambulance-chaser/public
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Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, cocreator of Angel
Many people have asked me, "Joss, what is the future of television? What will we watch? And how will we watch it? Surely you must know, for you are wise, and slender." I usually smile and say nothing, because I wasn't actually listening to the question. But it's a good one, and I think it's time I let you in on a few highlights of Television-to-Be.
The networks will all be creating exciting, innovative new spin-offs of today's shows. Approximately 67 percent of all television will be CSI-based, including CSI: Des Moines, CSI: New York but a Different Part than Gary Sinise Is In and NCSI: SVU WKRP, which covers every possible gruesome crime with a groovin' '70s beat. (Jerry Bruckheimer will also have conquered Broadway with t
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Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, cocreator of Angel
Many people have asked me, "Joss, what is the future of television? What will we watch? And how will we watch it? Surely you must know, for you are wise, and slender." I usually smile and say nothing, because I wasn't actually listening to the question. But it's a good one, and I think it's time I let you in on a few highlights of Television-to-Be.
The networks will all be creating exciting, innovative new spin-offs of today's shows. Approximately 67 percent of all television will be CSI-based, including CSI: Des Moines, CSI: New York but a Different Part than Gary Sinise Is In and NCSI: SVU WKRP, which covers every possible gruesome crime with a groovin' '70s beat. (Jerry Bruckheimer will also have conquered Broadway with t
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Set a course for home!: Nathan Fillion
Question: Is there any special reason Serenity is available on DVD so quickly? Not that I'm complaining, but it seems as though it was just in theaters.
Answer: Serenity did come to DVD especially quickly for a major studio release: Roughly eleven weeks separate the Sept. 30, 2005, theatrical opening and the Dec. 20 DVD release date. But to put that turnaround in context, the window between theatrical and DVD/video has been shrinking steadily for several years. While I'm not going to go into all the ins and outs of how various parties make money from movies, certain factors have a direct bearing on why studio producers and distributors are putting movies out on DVD (and, to a lesser degree, video) faster than ever before.
When movies play in a theater, the theater owner and the distributor (which is often also the same company that produced the movie, in whole or in part, or paid
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Question: Hey Matt! Your online column is just about as addictive as the shows I love! Back in the Buffy heyday, I could not get a certain friend to watch the show. Her resistance to love the denizens of Sunnydale only further fueled my desire for her to accept it into her life. After several heated debates, I wanted to duplicate that scene in A Clockwork Orange and strap her in front of a TV! Why do you think viewers get so impassioned about "just TV shows"? Do you ever get annoyed at readers who try to convince you to like a show you've written off (Surface, Criminal Minds, etc.)? "You'd adore it if you'd only watch one more episode...!"
Answer: Hey, thanks. And good question. My feeling always has been that people get possessive, obsessive and sometimes downright deranged over their favorite shows because it's such an intimate process to invite these series and characters into one's home on a regular basis. There's nothing quite like getting wrapped up in a well-told story or
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Question: Loved the Whedon treat in last week's AA. Did you see Serenity? And hey, wanna be my peep?
Answer: I liked — not loved — Serenity. Since I missed most of Firefly's run (go ahead, excommunicate me now), a lot of stuff went over my head. That said, it doesn't take a Browncoat to figure out that Nathan Fillion is the next Harrison Ford. Why he's not already a member of Hollywood's A-list is beyond me. And sure, I'll be your peep, Martin! Want to come to CarnyCon with me this spring?
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