Nothing new here but the press release...
SYFY’S SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE JUST GOT SUPERSIZED WITH THE 4-HOUR PREMIERE OF RIVERWORLD ON
SUNDAY, APRIL 18 FROM 7-11 P.M. (ET)
Alan Cumming, Tahmoh Penikett and Laura Vandervoort Star
NEW YORK, NY – March 12, 2010 – Syfy sets sail this spring with the 4-hour Sunday night television movie, Riverworld premiering Sunday, April 18 from 7-11 p.m. (ET). Starring Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica/Dollhouse), Laura Vandervoort (V/Smallville) and Alan Cumming (Tin Man). Riverworld is an epic adventure featuring familiar characters in an unfamiliar world and is based on the popular award-winning series of novels by Philip Jose Farmer. Riverworld is produced by Reunion Pictures and will be distributed internationally by RHI Entertainment.
Matt Ellman (Penikett) is an American war zone reporter who has witnessed the worst of humanity first-hand, yet still grasps on to an optimistic spirit. When a suicide bomber kills both Matt and his fiancé Jessie (Vandervoort), they awaken separated in a mysterious world where everyone who has ever lived on Earth seems to have been "reborn" along the banks of a seemingly endless river. Determined to locate Jessie, Matt joins forces with a 13th century female samurai warrior named Tomoe (Jeananne Goossen) and American novelist Sam ‘Mark Twain’ Clemens (Mark Deklin). Together they sail upriver in search of its source, and to discover where they are and who put them there. Cumming guest stars as the mysterious ‘Caretaker.’
Reunion Pictures (www.reunionpictures.ca) is a Canadian-based company that develops and finances high quality television and multi-platform properties. Launched in 2004 with the partners’ experience of having collectively produced over a billion dollars worth of award-winning filmed entertainment, Reunion Pictures has received multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and has won Genies and Gemini's as well as the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for Excellence in Television, a #1 US network mini-series (10.5), and two #1 cable mini-series (Tin Man and Earthsea, both produced with RHI Entertainment for Syfy.)
RHI Entertainment (NASDAQ: RHIE) develops, produces and distributes new made-for-television movies, miniseries and other television programming worldwide, and is the leading provider of new long-form television content in the United States. Under the leadership of Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr., RHI has produced and distributed thousands of hours of quality television programming, and RHI’s productions have received more than 100 Emmy Awards. In addition to the development, production and distribution of new content, RHI owns rights to more than 1,000 titles, or over 3,500 broadcast hours of long-form television programming, which are licensed to broadcast and cable networks and new media outlets globally. For more consumer information visit www.rhitv.com <http://www.rhitv.com/>
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 95 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. Syfy. Imagine greater.
“13th century female samurai warrior”
There's only so much disbelief that one can be reasonably expected to suspend.
why didnt syfy just make a sequel to the last riverworld with the same cast and same story line there looked to be a sequel there plus the last riverworld was pretty damn good
it simply looks like a re-do with a higher profile cast and a refresh/tweak to the premise….
but seriously i agree w John about the silly 13th century female samurai warrior
If there's a sharktopus in this river, I'm watching.
I honestly thought that was a picture of Tamoh with Michael Jackson.
Is this still considered as a backdoor pilot, or have they given up on turning it into a weekly show?
4 Hours? Really? Even summer blockbusters don't last that long. Can't imagine many tuning in.
Why not make this into a more digestable two nights rather than four hours? I can't imagine they have that crowded of a schedule that they can't squeeze this in on back to back nights or back to back weeks?
I'd also like to know if this is still considered a backdoor pilot. I can assume it will be harder to gain rating approval for such a pickup with a four hour “marathon”.
What (other than a different cast and a couple different characters) makes this different/better than the 2003 rendition?
In answer to your question – nothing. Maybe they'll not tick so many Riverworld fans off this time around? Also, dear Kevin Smith (Ares on Xena and Hercules) was one of the actors in the original and he's passed on so better a redo I suppose.
I have to agree though, 4 hours? Didn't they learn their lesson with Alice? That's the trouble with Syfy, the accidentally get it right like with Tin Man (I was bored but a lot of folk liked it) and then they think they know what they're doing. LOL
There is only one need for the title of “Riverworld” and that is for Joss's epic miniseries about Summer Glau's River from Firefly! In it, River discovers she comes from a world where everyone looks JUST like her! A world called . . . wait for it . . . Riverworld! Summer Glau plays eighty different roles in it, and it is likely to win her an Emmy, a Golden Globe, a People's Choice Award, and a Nobel Peace Prize!
But this blasted SyFy thingy makes the true Riverworld about 5 percent less likely to happen! Darn you SyFy! Darn you to heck!
Summer Glau! Summer Glau! Summer Glau! Summer Glau rules! SyFy drools! Dollhouse!
I hope this tries to be faithful to the spirit of the books.
I don't have a lot of faith in the SYFY suits at this point though.
I hope they at least try to keep with the spirit of the books.
Wouldn't bet on it though.
Smallville's Laura Vandervoort is the only reason I'm gonna b seein this movie.
Is anyone actually going to tune in for 4 hours straight?
Yup. I'm going to tune in for 4 hours straight. I like good TV you see. SO when some comes along, I watch it.
Yup. I'm going to tune in for 4 hours straight. I like good TV you see. SO when some comes along, I watch it.