I, for one, will be among the many, many happy viewers if the network manages to get it right this time. The fact that acclaimed actor Robert Duvall is onboard as an executive producer seems like a good preliminary sign, too.

Before Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane became famous worldwide playing Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, he was arguably best known as the star of Granada’s original U.K. hit Cracker. Coltrane portrayed the title character, a nickname for Manchester-based criminal psychologist Dr. Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald, who was both brilliant and thoroughly unlikeable to all but the few who “got” him, and even some of the latter didn’t care for his abrasive attitude either.

Granada America executive Julie Meldal-Johnsen is correct when she tells The Hollywood Reporter that “American cable, edgier and more open, would be a better venue for [a Cracker adaptation] than broadcast [television].” The complex personality of the lead character is going to make the role a difficult one to cast, however, which means one of the showrunners’ first and most painstaking tasks is to find the perfect actor. I can’t wait to learn who they pick.

Tags: Cracker, Robbie Coltrane, Robert Duvall, television, TNT, tv

Caprica is the fictional BSG planet the Cylons first destroy and then claim during the cataclysmic Cylon War. The series Caprica will take place a half century before that pivotal event, which occurs at the beginning of Battlestar Galactica. Two families, the Adamas and the Greystones, are both enemies and the central focus of the new show, as the genesis of the Cylons from emerging technology unfolds at the same time.

Battlestar executive producers David Eick and Ronald D. Moore return to helm the project, with Friday Night Lights‘ Jeff Reiner directing the script co-written by Moore and co-creator Remi Aubuchon.

Caprica sounds decidedly more dramatic and less action-oriented than its predecessor thus far — after all, the Cylons viewers currently know and loathe don’t even exist yet. Still, considering that the faithful have been waiting for the oft-discussed series to get underway for years now, it’s safe to assume everyone is greatly looking forward to the finished product. I’m also betting considerable money that the two-hour movie will definitely lead to a series for soon-to-be BSG-starved fans.

Tags: Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, David Eick, Jeff Reiner, Remi Aubuchon, Ronald D. Moore, Sci Fi Channel, television, tv

The proposed series revolves around a suburban family man (Slater) who discovers he has another, less good-natured side employed as a spy. Of course, Slater’s no stranger to small-screen espionage. Alias fans like me have very fond memories of the actor’s last brush with spy TV, a two-episode, 2003 guest appearance on J.J. Abram’s still-missed whirlwind, Jennifer Garner drama.

Oddly enough, a few weeks ago, I checked out a truly bizarre movie starring Slater, the 2007 flick He Was a Quiet Man. It features Slater in the title office drone/aspiring serial killer role, looking as unappealing as I imagine he can get. To his credit, however, Slater delivers a disturbing performance as paraplegic Elisha Cuthbert’s (24) supremely nerdy and twisted admirer, even if the overall movie leaves an unsatisfying aftertaste.

Then just this past Saturday afternoon, Spike TV aired an unscheduled film in my area that I only caught by chance while channel surfing. I had never seen or even heard of the 2004 thriller Mindhunters, despite a B-grade, star-studded cast that includes Slater, hip-hop actor LL Cool J, Eli Stone‘s Jonny Lee Miller, Cold Case‘s Kathryn Morris, The Mummy‘s Patricia Velasquez, Thief‘s Clifton Collins Jr., ER‘s Eion Bailey, and the last Hollywood Saint himself, Val Kilmer.

I admit I’ve never understood why or how Slater became such a sought-after actor and sex symbol back in the day; he always seemed mediocre and forgettable, at best, to me. But, I do have to give him proper acknowledgment for continuing to branch out in his career.

Neither of the movies I saw him in recently are the type of high-profile projects he was known for in his younger days. Still, he performed better than decent in both, unlike some actors who sleepwalk through roles after the public stops doting on them. That’s one reason why I definitely look forward to seeing what Slater brings to the tube if Smilovic’s series gets a go.

Tags: Christian Slater, Jason Smilovic, NBC, television, tv

The two met for lunch in September to discuss Dushku’s new talent deal with Fox network and 20th TV (both part of 20th Century Fox TV). Whedon experienced a near instantaneous brain flash, and thus was born the sci-fi drama Dollhouse. Although it’s generally agreed that Fox has a most sucky record when it comes to providing proper support to new series—including Whedon’s own Firefly, which was canceled after just twelve episodes, and Dushku’s Tru Calling, which was rudely yanked five episodes into its second season—Whedon agreed to collaborate with the network again after visiting the offices and noticing a (hopefully genuine) change in the old guard. He will serve as creator, writer, executive producer, and showrunner of the new series.

Dollhouse, which Dushku will produce and star in, has a most alluring description, too. Dushku plays Echo, one of a group of secret agents who are imprinted with different personalities, skills, and memories for each mission they are assigned. When the agents’ work is done, they return to a heavily surveilled facility called the Dollhouse, where their minds are promptly wiped of all of the information previously imprinted and acquired in the field, forcing them to basically exist without any consciousness of who they really are, who they used to be, and what they’ve done in the past during their missions. Echo gradually begins to gain self-awareness, however, which leads her to become curious about her previous actions and to resist having her memories constantly erased. The knowledge and determination she gains then endangers her both on and off assignments.

I get goosebumps just thinking about the premise and can’t wait to see it on the small screen, which won’t happen to some time in the fall of 2008, or maybe as early as February 2008 if the writers’ strike is miraculously avoided. The series has totally bypassed a mere pilot, with Fox instead giving it a confident and confidence-inspiring seven-episode initial order. Better yet, frequent Whedon collaborator Tim Minear—who also has a depressing history with Fox due to its shoddy treatment and swift cancellation of his shows Drive, The Inside, and Wonderfalls—is set to lend a hand on the series, as well.

Now close your eyes, click your heels three times in a row, and repeat after me:

There’s no show like Dollhouse.
There’s no show like Dollhouse.
There’s no show like Dollhouse.

Again!

Closed eyes, three clicks, and…

There’s no show like Dollhouse.…

Tags: 20th Century Fox, Dollhouse, Eliza Dushku, Fox, Joss Whedon, television, Tim Minear, tv