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SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 104
Our Interview With Actress Laurie Holden
From The Walking Dead and The X-files.
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The SciFi Diner Podcast
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Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles
Welcome to the Diner.
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The song at the end of the podcast is from Star Blazers.
The Menu:
- Our interview with Laurie Holden from Walking Dead and the X-files
- Our Walking Dead Give-away
- Summer genre shows
- Felicia Day is perfect
- The five best/worst movie to TV adaptations
- The Green Lateran: Emerald Nights DVD review
- Star Wars Robot Chicken Episode Three
- This Week in Star Trek:
– The New Star Trek PADD app for iPad
– Mirror, Mirror play in the park - The SciFi Five in Five: Miles and Scott’s Top Five Moments of Shore Leave 33
Trivia:
New Trivia Question: What does the new show Falling Skies have in common with SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis?
Winner: Jason
Promos
Top Themes Countdown – Kevin Bachelder Tuning Into Scifi TV
Our Interview with Laurie Holden:
Heather Laurie Holden (born December 17, 1972) is an American-Canadian actress and human rights activist. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Marita Covarrubias in The X-Files, Adele Stanton on The Majestic, Cybil Bennett in Silent Hill, Amanda Dumfries in The Mist, Olivia Murray in The Shield, and Andrea in The Walking Dead.
Early life and education
Holden was born in Los Angeles, California, and has dual citizenship in both the U.S and Canada (daughter of actors Glen Corbett (son of actress Gloria Holden) and Adrienne Ellis and sister of actor/assistant director Christopher Holden). Her parents divorced in 1977 when she was five years old. Laurie began her career as a child. The stepdaughter of veteran film director Michael Anderson, Holden traveled the world with her family on various locations growing up and got her first break as Rock Hudson‘s daughter in Ray Bradbury‘s The Martian Chronicles (1980). The young actress who was cast to play Mr. Hudson’s daughter suddenly fell through, and at the tender age of six Laurie was thrown in to take over. Holden was raised in Canada, spent her freshman year at McGill University, then transferred to UCLA to do a BA in Theatre Arts. She is a member of the National Honor Society and was the recipient of the prestigious Natalie Wood Acting Award. She is currently enrolled at Columbia University where she is acquiring her Master of Human Rights degree.
[edit] Television and film career
Holden has starred in numerous television and film projects and has received worldwide critical acclaim and honorable recognition for her diverse and eclectic choice of roles. she appeared in Anderson’s comedy Separate Vacations (1986), which starred David Naughton and Jennifer Dale. Laurie went on to appear in such projects as the Burt Reynolds vehicle Physical Evidence (1989) (directed by Michael Crichton) , and the Canadian TV series Scales of Justice. The actress works to series TV with regular roles in the Canadian shows Family Passions and Destiny Ridge (1993).
Early her career, Holden made a name for herself by costarring opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the TNT miniseries Young Catherine and William Shatner in TekWar: TekLab. She next played Mabel Dunham in the TV film remake of The Pathfinder (1996). Following guest spots in TV series like Highlander: The Series (1995), Murder, She Wrote and Poltergeist: The Legacy (both 1996), she also found some success on the small screen, playing a memorable recurring role on the seminal sci-fi series The X-Files, that of Marita Covarrubias, a mysterious government worker who becomes an informant to Special Agent Fox Mulder starting in the fourth season of that show through the final one (1996–2002). She also had a supporting role, as Mary Travis, opposite Michael Biehn and Ron Perlman in the remake of the MGM classic The Magnificent Seven (1998–2000) for CBS.
Holden’s most notable roles include starring opposite Jim Carrey in Frank Darabont‘s film The Majestic (2001). As Carrey’s long lost love, she received praise for her performance. She also starred with Dean Cain, Jennifer Tilly and Tim Curry in the Canadian comedy Bailey’s Billion$. Her memorable roles in such hits as Fantastic Four (2005) (where she played Michael Chiklis‘ love interest), playing cult hero Cybil Bennett in Christophe Gans’ artistic-horror video game adaptation of Silent Hill (2006),[1] and co-starring as Amanda Dumfries opposite Marcia Gay Harden and Thomas Jane in Stephen King’s The Mist (2007). Holden recently starred as Olivia Murray in FX’s critically acclaimed series The Shield and is also been seen in AMC’s The Walking Dead (she plays Andrea), based on the graphic novel.[2] Laurie Holden is actively producing film, theatre and television projects in addition to her acting pursuits
TV News:
TV THIS WEEK: Syfy’s big week pops with Alphas, Eureka and more!
Futurama (Comedy Central) 10 p.m. – “The Silence of the Clamps”
When Bender testifies against the Robot Mafia he has to enter witness protection to keep from being whacked.
Torchwood: Miracle Day (Starz) 10 p.m. – “Rendition”
With Torchwood back together again, Captain Jack realizes he may be the only person on Earth who can die. Elsewhere, Oswald Danes gets an offer he may not be able to refuse.
Haven (Syfy) 10 p.m. – “A Tale of Two Audreys”
Season two premiere! Audrey Parker and Nathan must deal with events that appear to be Biblical plagues, as well as a second Audrey Parker who also claims to be an FBI agent.
True Blood (HBO) 9 p.m. – “I’m Alive and on Fire”
Alcide helps Sookie search for Eric, and Bill discovers he has something in common with the Bellefleurs. Meanwhile, Marnie tries to break a spell, and Jason’s still all tied up when it comes to getting out of his troubles in Hotshot.
Falling Skies (TNT) 10 p.m. – “Sanctuary, Part 1”
Part one of two! When a member of the resistance shows up at the camp and warns that the aliens are about to attack, Tom and Captain Weaver must decide if the children should be sent off ahead of the rest of the group for their safety.
‘Quirky’ Felicia Day explains why she’s perfect for Eureka
Felicia Day—who’s joining Eureka as Dr. Holly Marten for season 4.5 of the Syfy series—admits that her character is “not the most functional or social person”—but as a behind-the-scenes interview reveals, she can still be a heck of a lot of fun!
Says Day, “I’m kind of a quirky person, so I think my quirk definitely fits perfectly into the Eureka universe.”
5 awesome and 5 awful movie-inspired sci-fi TV shows
What’s the best way to milk a movie without making countless sequels? Why, you turn it into a TV show, of course! It’s a tricky method that can either help or hurt the original, but it’s a risk a lot of studios are willing to take to build a franchise.
We’ve found five awesome and five completely awful movie-inspired TV shows that made us hate and love the properties all over again.
Drumroll, please …
The Best
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a box-office bomb that was panned by critics. When you’re that low on the totem pole, there’s nowhere else to go but up. Creator Joss Whedon went to The WB and got a new cast, added a vampire love interest (Angel), got rid of Buffy’s valley-girl persona, and turned her into a real heroine.
Stargate SG-1 (1997)
Stargate kick-started not one but several TV shows (Stargate Atlantis, SGU Stargate Universe) and even a few made-for-TV movies. Our favorite of the bunch was Stargate SG-1, which was led by MacGyver, aka Richard Dean Anderson (later on, Beau Bridges got in on the action). The series lasted for 10 seasons, and we have to admit, it was more awesome than the original movie!
The Dead Zone (2002)
Who knew Anthony Michael Hall could take over a role previously played to perfection by Christopher Walken? Nobody does creepy like Walken, but Hall’s acting in The Dead Zone was a pleasant surprise. The show was an adaptation of the 1983 film that was based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. We stayed glued to the screen for six spooky seasons before Hall and his deadly visions were finally laid to rest.
Highlander: The Series (1992)
There can be only one. Really? We liked Highlander the movie, but we loved the TV series. Move over, Connor MacLeod, we’ll take your TV counterpart Duncan any day. Highlander stood out because Duncan (Adrian Paul) wasn’t a spitting image of Connor (Christopher Lambert). He was a different character, and he had his own thing going. He wasn’t a cheap knockoff. And if he wasn’t a big enough draw, the show had the best opening theme ever!
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008)
We might catch some flack for this one, but Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles wasn’t that bad! The show only lasted two seasons and got canceled when it was really getting into its groove. John Connor was turning less emo, and it looked as if his and Cameron’s relationship was going somewhere. We know it’s creepy because she’s a machine, but there was real chemistry there. You all saw it!
The Worst
Timecop (1997)
The only good thing about the film Timecop was Jean-Claude Van Damme—and that’s not saying much. But the geniuses over at ABC thought it would be a great idea to adapt it for TV. They hired a new lead (Ted King) and sent him on zany adventures across the space-time continuum. The end result: one of the most boring and random sci-fi shows we’ve ever seen! Timecop just wasn’t the same with Van Damme and his signature split kick.
RoboCop: The Series (1994)
There was a time in history when Robocop was everywhere. He had his own cereal and coloring book and a live-action TV series that aired in both the U.S. and Canada. It somehow lasted 22 episodes, even though it shouldn’t have made it past the pilot. It took everything we loved about the original film and watered it down. There was cartoonish violence, bad acting, and did we mention bad acting?
The Crow: Stairway to Heaven (1998)
Mark Dacascos has made some questionable career choices (see Double Dragon), and this was one of them. The Crow: Stairway to Heaven never worked for us because it didn’t stick with the original tone of the film. It seemed too … happy. The cheap special effects and bad action sequences didn’t help either. The poor show never stood a chance.
Logan’s Run (1977)
This is a classic example of when bad TV happens to good movies. Logan’s Run was an amazing sci-fi film, but the TV show was over-the-top and cheesy. We get that it was the ’70s and they had to market it to a wider audience, but did they really have to make it so disco-esque? Was it Logan’s Run or was it Charlie’s Angels? You tell us! It’s no wonder it only lasted one season.
Planet of the Apes (1974)
How many different ways can you show us a world dominated by apes? By the time this show hit the air there had already been five Planet of the Apes movies. Not two or three, but five that harped on the same premise! This show, along with the animated series that was released the following year, really beat a dead horse. (Or should we say ape?) They beat it, skinned it and burned it alive before they finally let it go. (Oh wait a minute, we forgot Rise of the Planet of the Apes is heading to a theater near you! Sigh.)
So which made-for-TV adaptation did you love or loathe?
DVD News:
Green Lantern: Emerald Nights
I found Emerald Knights enjoyable, but I wished the battle at the end had more content. I found Emerald Knights was a device to give the viewer the back story of other Green Lanterns. The animation we beautiful. The voice talents were quite good. I give it a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Robot Chicken – Star Wars III: BD Review
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Warner / 45 Minutes / 2010 / Unrated / Street Date: July 12, 2011
If you can stomach Family Guy and you at one point owned a Star Wars lunchbox, I’ll bet you’ll get your money’s worth out of Robot Chicken: Star Wars III. With a revolving door of pop culture references, recognizable voice talents, and – of course – a plethora of Star Wars trivia both big and small, for a short forty-five minutes, this special just might crack your ass up. I guess I should reveal my status as a Family Guy hater, first and foremost, and while I recognize that Robot Chicken and that now-iconic animated show are two separate entities (though Seth MacFarlane does some work here), they both cover the same kinds of territory – and they both have LucasFilm-endorsed Star Wars spoofs on the market. And even though I’ll give anything Star Wars twice as much credit as it probably deserves – I’ve watched that Holiday Special an ungodly number of times – this disc was way too Family Guy-esque for my tastes.
But who gives a shit? This kind of comedy is exceptionally popular right now, so the musings of a Star Wars nerd who ‘doesn’t get it’ is pointless to elaborate upon. The question then becomes: Is it worth it? Yeah, the list price of this high-definition disc is lower than usual, but even with a handful of bonus goodies, it’s still pretty darned thin. That being said, however, while I don’t share the draw to it, I acknowledge the stoner appeal of things like Family Guy and Robot Chicken, and if they’re your cup of tea (I can’t imagine anyone loving one of them and hating the other), then this Blu-ray Disc will probably get some heavy rotation in your player. For its built-in fan base, it’s worth $20. |
TWIST:
CBS Interactive Launches Official Star Trek LCARS iPad App
CBS interactive just launched a brand new app for the iPad that emulates the familiar LCARS. interface form TNG to Voyager. We’re huge LCARS fans here at Subspace Communique and if we had an iPad, it would be on there yesterday. The app not only emulates LCARS, but gives the user what looks like an immersive experience with a full Trek database that catalogs aliens, ships, places, and technology from the franchise. Called the Star Trek PADD, it includes authentic LCARS sounds, plus the computer voice prompts voiced by the first lady of Star Trek, the late Majel Barrett. All of you iPad fanatics out there can get you’re Picard-on and party like it’s 2379. Check the description and link below.
App Description:
The Official Star TrekTM PADD (Personal Access Display Device) immerses fans in a rich interactive database of Star TrekTM information and images with an authentic reproduction of the LCARS style interface introduced in the Star Trek: The Next GenerationTM series.
Trek In The Park Returns To Portland With The Star Trek Classic “Mirror, Mirror”
For the last 3 years, Portland area residents have been enjoying live action TOS episodes being performed in an outdoor setting. Trek in the Park returns this year to offer up the classic episode “Mirror, Mirror”. As a Trek fan you’ve got to be familiar with this episode, it’s one of our favorites. Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Uhura experience problems with the transporter and are sent to an alternate universe. Ya know, the universe were Spock rocks a goatee and awesomeness ensues. If you haven’t seen it, turn in your Trek fan card, stop what you’re doing and jump on Netflix. We’ll give the card back when you finish the episode. Trek in the Park is presented by Atomic Arts and is set to run in Woodland Park from July 9th through the 31st on Saturdays and Sundays at 5pm.
Show Details:
Trek in the Park RETURNS! For our 3rd summer show, we present the classic tale of an alternate reality Starfleet in MIRROR, MIRROR!
A bizzare transporter malfunction sends Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty to a savage parallel universe where the peacekeeping Starfleet is replaced by an evil Empire that believes assassination and revenge are the means of command! This summer, Kirk and his crew must race against time, space and an Enterprise bent on brutality to save the final frontier in both universes!
Portland actors accompanied with live music and effects bring this classic piece of television to life!
Shows are at 5:00pm Saturdays and Sundays July 9-31 (4 weekends! 8 shows total!) Be sure to get there early for a good viewing spot!
SciFi Five in Five –
Miles’ top 5 favorite things about Shoreleave 33.
5. Live action Star Blazers.
4. The great interviews we got w/ the Shoreleave guests.
3. Reconnecting w/ old friends. Dayton, Kevin, Keith the Fraizers and making new friends.
2. Meeting my new Hero Teal’c himself; Christopher Judge
1. Hanging out w/ John & Heather Fraizer. We were able to spend more time w. them this year at the con and hopefully we’ll see them at Farpoint.
Scott:
5. Coming Home: The Stargate, Ed and his Droid, Farragut, Browncoats Redemption guys/gals
4. Meeting Eric and Brian form DashPunk Media
3. Hanging with the authors
2. The Guests:
1. John and Heather Rock!