true blood

SXF, the Brit Sci Fi Fantasy mag, has announced their awards. And why should you care? Because it's a very interesting list. The magazine announced the awards at their annual convention earlier this month. Curious as to what they think about science fiction on the other side of the pond? Not surprisingly, it's brit heavy, but it's still interesting. Here are the sci-fi highlights:

Best Film Director: JJ Abrams (Star Trek)
Best TV Episode: Torchwood "Children Of Earth" Episode Five
Best Actress: Eve Myles (Torchwood)
Best Actor: David Tennant (Doctor Who)
Best Novel: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
Best Comic: Batman: Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader? Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert
Best Game: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady)
Best Collectible: The Journal of Impossible Things (Doctor Who)

Hope for the Future: Steven Moffat (succeeding Russell T. Davies on Dr. Who)
Lifetime Award: Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds, UFO, Space 1999, Terrahawks and much more)
Cult Hero: Ianto Jones (Actor Gareth David Lloyd on Torchwood)
Sci-Fi Phenomenon: True Blood (they've only seen season 1)

Unfortunately, some of the most interesting categories are not available online, such as the Best Death Scene, Biggest Disappointment, and Best Dialogue. But my favorite award up there is easily Gerry Anderson. Not only did his work influence the SFX team as children, it made me very nostalgic.

A couple weeks ago, we had news of Marshall Allman (Prison Break) and Denis O'Hare (Milk, Garden State) joining the cast of HBO's True Blood, the sex and blood thirsty polar opposite of all things Twilight on the vampire spectrum of entertainment. Now it looks like we've got another name to add to the fold -- Lindsay Pulsipher of A&E's short-lived crime drama The Beast will be playing Crystal Norris.

For those who would rather be kept in the dark about Norris's involvement in the larger scope of things, we'll keep things vague. She shows up in the fourth installment (Dead to the World) of Charlaine Harris's The Southern Vampire Mysteries, the source material for the show. If you haven't read the books and really want to remain completely spoiler free, I would recommend keeping away from The Hollywood Reporter's casting reports for True Blood.

However likely certain upcoming additions to the show may be (i.e. POSSIBLE SPOILER: werewolves this season...END POSSIBLE SPOILER), some people prefer not to know, and THR gives away these sorts of things in their headlines. Just a heads up.

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

The 67th Golden Globe nominations have been announced, with 11 science fiction related nominations in the 25 film and television categories. Avatar leads with four nominations:

• Best Picture: Avatar (Lightstorm Entertainment; Twentieth Century Fox)
• Best Director - Motion Picture: James Cameron (Avatar)
• Best Original Score - Motion Picture: James Horner (Avatar)
• Best Original Song - Motion Picture: "I See You" – James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell (Avatar)
• Best Screenplay - Motion Picture Written by Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell (District 9)
• Best Animated Feature Film: Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation; Sony Pictures Releasing)
• Best Animated Feature Film: Up (Walt Disney Pictures/PIXAR Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
• Best Original Score - Motion Picture: Michael Giacchino (Up)
• Best Television Series - Drama: True Blood (Your Face Goes Here Productions in association with HBO Entertainment)
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Michael Emerson – Lost (ABC)
• Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama: Anna Paquin – True Blood (HBO)

Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell both responded to their nominations. Blompkamp says, "we never expected this... I'm humbled and flattered. And I want to thank Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh -- they believed in us from the start and they're the reason we're here today."

Tatchell adds, "Everything about District 9 has been like a dream, and I really didn't think it could get any better! Talk about the icing on the icing! "

The True Blood cast is growing, with Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) learning he has a long lost brother. Marshall Allman (Prison Break) will play Tommy Mickens in the third season of the HBO Hit. Apparently Sam's brother has been working at a Tire Depot in Arkansas. Who knew?

Denis O'Hare (Milk, Garden State) also joins the cast as the vampire king of Mississippi. Within the True Blood world, vampires have divided up the country with regional sheriffs who serve under a king or a queen. In season two, the queen of Louisiana was revealed to be Sophie-Anne Leclerq, played by Rachel Evan Wood.

True Blood centers on the Sookie Stackhouse and other inhabitants of Bon Temps, Louisiana after a scientific breakthrough in synthetic blood allows vampires to publicy declare their presence. The series was inspired by the southern vampire books by Charlaine Harris and stars Anna Paquin and an ensemble cast. Production on the summer series begins this week in Los Angeles.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

- Cylon babes Tricia Helfer and Grace Park are steaming up the cover of the latest issue of Maxim, just in time for next week's release of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan on DVD. Both ladies posed for a sexy photo shoot guaranteed to make nerds -- and most dudes with a working pair of eyes -- very, very happy.

Helfer told Maxim that The Plan DVD features "explicit action," and she promised that her character, Six, will show "a little bit of skin" in the BSG prequel flick. Helfer also said a new character will take part in some very intense sex scenes. Way to sell it, Six!

Head after the jump for a video from the photo shoot and more TV headlines.

We've only got a few more weeks until some of our favorite summer series go into hibernation to make room for fall's slate of new shows, including Stargate Universe, V, Flash Forward and Human Target. We'll be covering those shows and more here on TV Geek Week this fall. We'll also be geeking out over returning shows like Dollhouse, Fringe and Lost. But summer isn't over yet, so check out this week's picks below.

True Blood, "Beyond Here Lies Nothin" - OK, I'll be honest here. We really don't know any more about Sunday's True Blood season finale than we did last week, but we still can't wait to watch. The HBO series has really kicked it up to eleven this season with great drama, horror, humor and mystery. Lots and lots of mystery. Will we find out more about Sookie's supernatural side? Will Jason and Andy help save the day? Will Erik steal Bill's hero moment and make Sookie's steamy V-induced dreams come true? And will someone finally please kill Maryann? I love Michelle Forbes, but isn't it time for her to start filming a guest spot on Stargate Universe or something? Check out the trailer after the jump and this gallery of pics from the season finale. (Sunday, 9 p.m. on HBO.)

More TV picks and previews after the jump.

With True Blood continuing to gain steam throughout season two (ok, a few folks weren't that crazy about this week's "Frenzy," but I continue to love the show), it's only natural that fans would take over the characters and create their own reality. And because everything happens on Twitter these days, that's where True Blood TwitterFic Theater is taking place.

Find out how Eric really feels about Sookie, what goes on in Sam's head, and how Tara is coping with Maryann's spells. Not only that; TwitterFic Theater goes beyond mere characters. Some fans are even happy to be inanimate objects in the show, like Hoyt's cell phone and Bill's robe.

My colleague Alison over at b5media (I blog at FilmGecko.com) put together a really nice package about TwitterFic Theater, complete with interviews with the characters. Check it out on Screamstress.com.

Read the rest over at TV Squad

You'll have to wait two more weeks to watch the sure-to-be freaky season finale of HBO's True Blood. Last Sunday's ep, "Frenzy," was one of the series' best yet. We were introduced to Sophie-Anne, the strange, hilarious and decadent Vampire Queen of Louisiana. But everything went to hell in Bon Temps while the Queen kept Bill waiting in her "day room." Lots of new questions were brought up (what's the deal with the egg?), and now it looks like Sookie Stackhouse's darkest night is about to fall.

On the lighter side, Syfy is treating us to a 24-hour Eureka marathon on Friday, and the always-awesome Joe Morton visits Warehouse 13 on Tuesday.

Head after the jump for more TV picks and previews.

- Fox has confirmed that Summer Glau is heading back to work for her old boss, Firefly creator Joss Whedon, with a recurring role on Dollhouse.

- A batch of mostly gruesome new photos from the upcoming Fringe episode "A New Day in the Old Town" have hit the Web. The show returns to Fox Sept. 17.

- Clark and Lois "shippers" are going to love the final seconds of the premiere episode of Smallville, says executive producer Kelly Souders. In an interview with E!, Souders talks about upcoming developments on the show, including Lois' mysterious amnesia and Ollie's news sidekick.

More after the jump.

This week, two of our favorite Eureka residents, Erica Cerra and Niall Matter, visit Warehouse 13 to complicate Pete and Myka's Vegas vacation. And Evan Rachel Wood's Vampire Queen makes her bow -- and gives Bill hell -- in the next awesome and absurd episode of True Blood.

Warehouse 13, "Duped" - The show finally (sort of) broke away from the stale artifact-of-the-week formula last Tuesday by offering a glimpse of Artie's dark past. Things are bound to get weird this week when Myka steps through Lewis Carroll's magical looking glass and is replaced by her slutty, Tesla trigger-happy clone. In case you haven't heard, Eureka's Niall Matter and Erica Cerra are guest starring. I'll let them explain their roles to you in the second video posted below. (Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET on Syfy.)

Head after the jump for more TV picks and previews.