The BBC paid $3 million to secure the 10-episode science fiction drama, which charts the lives of three families over 50 years of alien abductions and features the Oscar-winning filmmaker's trademark special effects.
Last year the BBC screened "Band of Brothers," Spielberg's story of the adventures of American soldiers at the D-Day landings.
"I am pleased that the BBC, which has long been a part of my life, has expanded their relationship with its commitment to 'Taken,"' the movie mogul said in a statement.
Scheduled to be shown in January 2003 on BBC 2, the series stars Heather Donahue, who was in the "Blair Witch Project," as well as Joel Gretsch, who was featured in "The Minority Report," and the Oscar-nominated Dakota Fanning, who was in "I Am Sam."
Trace Star Haunted by Seinfeld
Without A Trace leading man Anthony LaPaglia knows a thing or two about
battling NBC's Must-See TV franchise. In 1996, ABC pitted the actor's
critically acclaimed series Murder One against Seinfeld on Thursday nights
-- a move that slowly killed the legal thriller. So, you'd think the Aussie
import would be doing cartwheels over word that his new CBS missing persons
drama is gradually closing in on NBC's venerable -- albeit declining -- ER.
Instead, he seems downright blas�.
"NBC has dominated [Thursday] so much in the last eight years, that this time, there's less pressure," says LaPaglia, who plays senior FBI agent Jack Malone on Trace. "The fact that we've picked up some numbers and are doing a little better is just a bonus. Personally, I don't really get into it all that much. I pay a little bit of attention to it because I can tell the producers are either happy or they're not Friday morning [when] the numbers [come in]."
LaPaglia, an Emmy winner for his guest stint on Frasier last year, is paying closer attention to another, more unlikely Thursday rival: Trace's powerhouse lead-in, CSI. Specifically, he cringes at the suggestion that Trace represents CBS's attempt to mass produce CSI's successful crime format. "I've heard... that it was part of the McDonalds chain of CSI or something," he says. "But, [and] I'm not being defensive about it, I really feel like our show has very few similarities with CSI other than the same producer [Jerry Bruckheimer ]. We don't deal with forensics analysis in the least. We deal with psychological profiles of people who've gone missing... I think that the formula in itself is different."
Sounds like someone ought to warn the 43-year-old about biting the hand that feeds viewers to him! Then again, Trace does have its own inherent appeal for a country newly obsessed with kidnapping stories; though LaPaglia points out that this is purely coincidental. "This show was in development for the last two years," he says. "The pilot had been written well before it became very newsworthy, which has been in the last six months."
Trio Resurrects 'Brilliant, But Cancelled' Shows
Fans of short-lived shows like "Action," "Profit" and "Now and Again" will have a chance to see them again in December.
Provided, that is, that they live in one of the 17 million or so homes that gets the cable network Trio.
The channel, available on digital cable and satellite systems, is devoting much of December to series it deems "brilliant, but cancelled." In addition to the shows listed above, Trio will also feature "The Ernie Kovacs Show," "The Famous Teddy Z," "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," Robert Altman's anthology series "Gun" and "TV Funhouse."
Trio will also try to figure out why some innovative shows tend to die quick deaths and other behind-the-scenes aspects of the TV business with three original shows premiering in December.
"Brilliant, But Cancelled," a 90-minute documentary narrated by Andy Richter -- whose quirky FOX comedy "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" avoided the cancellation ax last season -- will look into the reasons behind the demise of critical and cult favorites. It includes rare footage and interviews with the likes of Aaron Spelling, Larry Gelbart, Garry Marshall and Darren Star.
The other originals are "The Perfect Pitch," in which writers, producers and network executives break down how and how not to sell a series idea; and "Face Time," an interview show featuring TV industry leaders talking with journalist Kurt Andersen.
'CSI' and Crime Shows Lead TV Ratings
On TV, at least, crimes pays. All three of the "Law & Order" shows on NBC made the Top 20 for last week, as did both "CSI" series on CBS, according to Nielsen Media Research.
All told, the Associated Press reports that there were seven crime-based hours of programming in the Top 20, factoring in "Judging Amy" and CBS' new "Without a Trace."
As for the biggest hit, that distinction goes to "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," which pulled in nearly 31 million viewers last week, 5 million more than "Friends" or "ER."
The World Series on Fox, however, drew low ratings for the first game of the sports spectacle, pulling in just 19.4 million viewers. The network says viewership of the first two games between the San Francisco Giants and the Anaheim Angels is down 13 percent from last year.
As for the Top 10 primetime shows for the week of Oct. 14-20, they are:
1. "CSI," CBS, 30.8 million viewers
2. "Friends," NBC, 25.8 million
3. "ER," NBC, 25.7 million
4."Survivor: Thailand," CBS, 22.7 million
5. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 20.7 million
6. "Will & Grace," NBC, 19.5 million
7. World Series Game 2, Fox, 19.4 million
8. "Law & Order," NBC, 19.3 million
9. "CSI: Miami," CBS, 19 million
10. "Scrubs," NBC, 17.8 million
Licence To Kill (Special Edition)
Timothy Dalton, Anthony Starke
Release date: October 22, 2002
Rating: PG
Format: DVD
Amazon's Price: $16.99
DVD Features:
Commentary by director John Glen
Commentary by producer Michael G. Wilson
Production notes
Theatrical trailer(s)
Documentary: Inside License to Kill
Promotional featurette highlighting stunt footage from the film's exhilarating final scene & Theatrical publicity footage
Music Videos: "License to Kill" by Gladys Knight & "If You Asked Me To" by Patti LaBelle
Behind-the-scenes still gallery with more than 100 images
Collectible behind-the-scenes booklet
Widescreen anamorphic format
Hellboy casting rumor
Is it true or false? Hey, that's the niche we've chosen
to be in for the movie game and all we have right now is a rumor to report.
We're in the process of ascertaining if it's legit or not, and when we do
find out we'll be the first to tell you.
Here's the rumor that was handed over to CA: actress Selma Blair has signed on to play Liz Sherman, the BFRD's resident pyrokineticist, opposite Ron Perlman's Hellboy. She will also be his love interest in the film.
The same scooper also told us that aquaman Abe Sapien will also be featured in the film but we don't think that's a revelation. Del Toro's said he's a fan of Abe and would have him in the flick. But hey, this is the first we've heard of Selma supposedly playing Liz.
UPN Announces Full Season Pick-Up for 'The Twilight Zone'
'THE TWILIGHT ZONE' Has Become The Most Compatible Show Ever Paired With A
'Star Trek' Series in the History of UPN
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- UPN has given a full season order to the Wednesday night sci-fi anthology THE TWILIGHT ZONE, it was announced today by Dawn Ostroff, President, Entertainment, UPN.
"The creative strength of THE TWILIGHT ZONE stems from the combination of quality writing and fantastic guest stars, and by pairing it with ENTERPRISE, UPN has created a solid night of out-of-this world programming," said Ostroff. "The ratings demonstrate that THE TWILIGHT ZONE is clearly the best companion series to Star Trek in the history of UPN and we're thrilled to have the show continue to be a part of our schedule."
Since its premiere on September 18, 2002, THE TWILIGHT ZONE has proven itself to be the most compatible series for the "Star Trek" franchise in UPN's history with an average retention of 73% of ENTERPRISE's total viewers and 74% of ENTERPRISE's household ratings.
Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker hosts THE TWILIGHT ZONE, which features two self-contained stories per one-hour episode. THE TWILIGHT ZONE has attracted many of today's most popular and acclaimed motion picture, television and recording artists as guest stars, including Jason Alexander, Elizabeth Berkeley, Rory Culkin, Portia de Rossi, Shannon Elizabeth, Sticky Fingaz, Lukas Haas, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jamie Pressly, James Remar, Nick Turturro, Usher and Patrick Warburton.
Pen Densham, Mark Stern, John Watson and Ira Steven Behr are the executive producers. THE TWILIGHT ZONE is a production of New Line Television in association with Trilogy Entertainment Group.
Saturday afternoon serials are history, and pulp magazines have long-since gone the way of nickel comics. But fans of the genres can still get a dose of escapism thanks to syndicated television shows that could be dubbed "pulp TV."
Pulp TV is strictly escapist fare, programming offered strictly as fun entertainment. The shows may include basic life lessons -- good ultimately triumphs over evil, friends help friends, don't go into a dark cave without a good torch -- but generally the only messages they have are the sponsors' commercials.
Network television has offered its own brand of pulp TV through the years (The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr. on FOX, The A-Team on NBC) but syndicated programming is where it truly reigns. Two of the biggest shows of the genre were Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess. Both have gone out of production, but others have risen to take their places.
Tribune Entertainment -- a subsidiary of Tribune Broadcasting Company -- and Fireworks Entertainment are the primary producers of such shows. Tribune Entertainment is the same company that owns WGN in Chicago and has an interest in The WB Television Network.
Its newest show is Adventure Inc., described as a cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond. Other popular series in the Tribune stable include Mutant X, produced in conjunction with Marvel Entertainment, and Gene Rodenberry's Andromeda, a futuristic adventure starring Kevin Serbo of Hercules fame.
All three air on both WGN and, in the Twin Lakes Area, on KWBM, Channel 31 Springfield/Branson/Harrison, on Saturdays and Sundays.
Adventure Inc.
Adventure Inc. follows the adventures of Judson Cross (Michael Biehn) -- who prefers describing himself as a "professional explorer" rather than treasure hunter -- and his crew: the beautiful Mackenzie "Mac" Previn (Karen Cliche) and Ivy League student Gabe Patterson (Jesse Nisson). Together, they travel the world aboard the Vast Explorer, an expedition yacht equipped with everything the modern adventurer needs.
This is a fast-paced show with the intrepid trio trotting the globe in search of lost temples in Central America, a missing helicopter in Cambodia, shipwrecks, missing artifacts and other assorted booty.
Biehn starred in The Terminator and headed the cast in the CBS series The Magnificent Seven. As Cross, he's the kind of guy who relishes any challenge and has a reputation for getting the job done, whether recovering an ancient treasure or protecting a missing link. While relying on old-fashioned instinct, Cross also employs modern technology in his quests.
Biehn's character was inspired by real-life adventurer Barry Clifford, who has tracked down wrecked pirate ships off New England, Madagascar and Venezuela and explored tombs in Egypt.
THE HEAT IS ON:
With CBS closing the ratings gap with once-dominant
NBC on Thursday night, NBC has yanked this week's scheduled ER repeat
in favor of a rerun of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Variety
speculates that the network made the switch because it wanted to avoid
"the embarrassing possibility" of CBS's Without A Trace -- which airs
an original episode Thursday -- beating ER in the ratings.
Interestingly, CBS is holding a last-minute telephone press conference
today with Trace leading man Anthony LaPaglia to hype Thursday's
episode. Coincidence? We think not.