Canadian Science Fiction Hit Continuum Coming to Syfy in America

Several of our Canadian readers had asked if IGN TV, whether via a written review or on the Channel Surfing podcast, would give our thoughts on the science fiction series Continuum. But as we explained on Channel Surfing, we couldn’t do this, because we haven’t seen the show – it hasn’t aired in the US yet.

But that will change soon. Deadline is reporting that Syfy is finalizing a deal to air the series in the United States, picking up the first season of ten episodes. Continuum will join fellow Canadian-originated series Lost Girl on Syfy.

Rachel Nichols in Continuum

Continuum stars Rachel Nichols (Alias, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) as a Vancouver police officer in the year 2077 who is transported to the present, along with a group of convicted prisoners she must track down. Yes, that’s right – this is a sci-fi/genre series shot in Vancouver (where The 4400, Smallville, V, Fringe, Supernatural and so many genre series have been shot) that is actually set in Vancouver!

The cast also includes Erik Knudsen (Scream 4), Lexa Doig (Andromeda, V) and Roger Cross (24).

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Season 5 Trailer Reveals Premiere Date, a New Timeslot and an Awesome Sith Battle!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars had its Season 5 premiere tonight at Star Wars Celebration VI. And while I will be holding my full review of that premiere until it actually airs, I will say that it is a very cool, action-packed season opener, that continues that Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul & Savage Opress drama that was in play when Season 4 ended.

After the screening, there was a Q&A with The Clone Wars’ supervising director, Dave Filoni and the voice of Darth Maul, Sam Witwer. But Filoni also had another surprise in his pocket – as the Q&A ended, he revealed we would be seeing the brand new trailer for The Clone Wars: Season 5.

The trailer will be playing again tomorrow at the full Clone Wars panel at Star Wars Celebration (and likely will be online within the next few days), but I have to note a couple of highlights from it...

Namely, Darth Sidious fighting Darth Maul and Savage Opress! This was the part where the audience lost it. We’ve seen the holographic version of Sidious on The Clone Wars (and plenty more of his alter-ego, Palpatine), but in Season 5, it’s clear Sidious gets into the thick of it. Filoni had previously indicated the fact that they wouldn’t ignore how many Dark Side Force users/Sith are in play and how that violates the rule of two. And the trailer shows Sidious taking on both his former apprentice, Maul, and Maul’s brother, using two red lightsabers!

That footage definitely stole the show, but there was a lot of other cool moments as well, including Maul battling Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla and Maul also leading a group of Death Watch himself. There were moments indicating a big rift in Death Watch and the potential for all out war among the Mandalorians, as Vizsla talks about resorting them to the warriors they once were. The Death Watch vs. Death Watch aspect was previously hinted at in the below scene from Season 5, released at Comic-Con, which also shows Obi-Wan gets very mixed up in this scenario.

The end of the trailer also revealed both The Clone Wars premiere date and its new timeslot: Season 5 will premiere on September 29th, as the show moves from Friday nights to Saturday mornings at 9:30am.

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Change The Law And Win Big With Dredd 3D

To celebrate the upcoming release of the awesome Dredd 3D on September 7, 2012 (read the glowing IGN Review of Dredd 3D here) we've put together the most awesome Judge Dredd prize bundle known to man for you to try and win!

Up for grabs over the coming weeks is:

• Win your own private screening of Dredd 3D at your local Cineworld Cinema in RealD 3D
• A replica Judge Dredd helmet prop from PlanetReplicas.com
• Three replica Judge Dredd Lawmaker gun props from PlanetReplicas.com
• Four replica Judge Dredd Metal Badge props from PlanetReplicas.com
• Five copies of Judge Dredd Complete Case Files V1
• Five copies of The Best of 2000AD
• Fifty copies Dredd, a specially produced comic prequel

Real D 3D has teamed up with Cineworld to produce limited edition Dredd 3D glasses, which the screening winners will be able to claim at their free screening.

HOW TO ENTER

Entering this amazing prize draw couldn't be easier. All you need to do is follow @IGNUK on Twitter and tell us, if you were a Judge for a day, what law would you want to enforce?

It could be a ban on the music of Nickelback or the legal enforcing of high-fives as the standard greeting in the UK - whatever you like - you are the LAW!

Submit your suggestions to us via Twitter using the Hashtag #IAMTHELAW any time between now and 10am on the film's release date of September 7th 2012.

We'll be picking winners throughout the next three weeks at random times, so feel free to enter every day! This competition is open to UK residents only (sorry!) over the age of 18 with full terms and conditions on the next page.

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Jaws Swims to Theaters August 23rd!

Jaws is coming to a Cinemark XD theater near you for one night only! The 1975 Steven Spielberg classic, which just premiered on Blu-ray last week (read our review here), will kick off Cinemark’s Fall Classic Film Series on Thursday, August 23, 2012.

Rare Jaws Japanese Poster

From the official press release, "As part of Universal Pictures’ ongoing 100th Anniversary celebration, Jaws was one of 13 classic Universal films to be digitally remastered and fully restored from 35mm original film elements. Over the course of several months, skilled technicians worked with Steven Spielberg to meticulously balance color, remove dirt and scratches, and repair any damage to the film elements shot by shot and frame by frame.

“Jaws is one of the most influential pictures in Hollywood history and changed the landscape of how movies are released,” states James Meredith, VP of Marketing & Communications for Cinemark. “With this incredible restoration, fans now have the opportunity to see one of Hollywood’s legendary films in crystal clear digital projection and incredible surround sound. Some of our locations will be featuring these titles on our Cinemark XD Extreme Digital Cinema screen!”

In addition to Jaws, Cinemark has selected six titles that were visionary films at their time of release, and still stand as true “classics” in every sense of the word. The list of films and dates of their presentation are:

• August 23 - Jaws (1975)   Rated PG
• August 30 - High Noon (1952)   Not Rated
• September 6 - Doctor Zhivago (1965)   Rated PG-13
• September 13 - Chinatown (1974)   Rated R
• September 20 - The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)   Rated PG
• September 27 - The African Queen (1951)   Not Rated

For more info and details, visit Cinemark's Classic Film Series website where you can buy a ticket to see all six films for just $30!

Credit: R.L. Shaffer

Y'all know me. Know how I earn a livin'. And now, you can follow me on Twitter and Facebook for insights and adventures.

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Copper: "Surviving Death" Review

Advance Review: From TV crime veteran Tom Fontana (Oz, Homicide: Life on the Street) comes BBC America's first ever original scripted series, Copper - a gritty, gloppy "Uptown/Downtown" look at law and order in 1864 New York City. And you don't have to look much further than the cinematic world of Five Points, Manhattan in Scorsese's The Gangs of New York to know that justice rarely reared its head in this time and area that we now consider to be a fascinating hotbed of socioeconomic strife.

Copper has the appealing grime and soot for a show dedicated to showing the corruption that permeates through an entire city system, but I never quite felt invested in any of the characters; especially (and most importantly) the hero of the tale, Irish immigrant Officer Kevin Corcoran (Tom Weston-Jones). Within this first episode, entitled "Surviving Death," we're loaded up with so much back-story that there's almost no way one leading man can live up to all the potential.

Old Timey Pew Pew Pew!

Corcoran is a beloved Civil War hero and a former prized pugilist looking for his missing wife and a mysterious ship all while mourning the death of his six year old-daughter, Maggie. Sure, he's corrupt, but only enough to make him fit in with his historical surroundings, and nowhere near as corrupt as his higher-ups. As a man with - conveniently - no prejudices, Corcoran is able to utilize the entire city in order to solve a crime - from a black forensic expert named Matthew who's opinion no one will accept, to a posh city-aristocrat who Corcoran saved in the war. Copper never stops being interesting, but the predictable way that Corcoran is allowed to be, for example, the only one who cares about the death of a young prostitute sinks the show into the mire a little bit.

Business does pick up however when Corcoran starts running into bureaucratic walls after his investigation begins pointing to places and people whose reputations simply won't allow for sordid accusations. And so while a case might get solved in the pilot episode, it doesn't necessarily mean that things will play out the way we might expect them to on a contemporary cop show. And I'm not sure whether the loose ends from this premiere will get wrapped up as soon as the second episode, or if they'll play out in a Terriers/Luther-style through the rest of the season.

I will admit to enjoying watching how Matthew (Ato Essandoh) uses the science and lab techniques available at the time to run his CSI: Five Points experiments, even though anybody who's watched enough procedural autopsy TV could look at the dead girl's body and tell you the exact murder weapon.

As Copper moves forward, with several mysteries yet to play out, we'll watch issues of immigration, segregation and voter rights texturize the background, giving the series extra weight and significance. And like Scorsese showed us previously, any hero of this era is mostly likely marked by past tragedy as a way of helping us believe that he would want to see true justice served. A yearn for vengeance works well in that respect too. Unfortunately, any hero surrounded by so much interesting history can be easily overshadowed and made bland. Run Lola Run's Franka Potente is also on board as Eva, a hooker with a heart of silver - aka Corcoran's lust interest. As female characters go on this series, it'll probably be hard to find one that isn't a prostitute or a princess as such was the times.

Copper has some good seeds planted down in its muddy Mulberry Street and I'm hoping that the reason that some of it came off as bland to me is due to the fact that I've seen a lot of these characters before; in Westerns and other films and shows taking place post-Civil War. Still, a decent start.

Copper premieres Sunday, August 19th at 10/9c on BBC America.

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and IGN. WARNING: No Nudity!

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Grimm: Season One Blu-ray Review

Steven Spielberg got it right when he chose to adapt Jaws. No this isn't a continuation of our Jaws Blu-ray review. Rather, Jaws was a pure entertainment B-movie cloaked as a studio picture. It was something Roger Corman would have made back in '50s and '60s – albeit done with much better characters, much better effects, a way better story and Oscar-worthy talent...not to mention way more money.

History seems to be repeating itself here with Grimm. The show feels like a large scale, big-budget network version of pulpy B-grade syndicated shows like Buffy, Supernatural and Angel, as well as cable series like Dexter, Eureka and Warehouse 13. The only problem here is, despite porting some behind-the-scene talent from a few of the above-mentioned shows, Grimm doesn't have the “better characters, better story” part that made Jaws a smashing success. As such, Grimm actually manages to play like a low-quality variant of the often great shows that clearly inspired it.

It's a shame Grimm can't seem to find its footing in this first season. While there are some solid episodes among the lot, the overall quality here is a bit disappointing, especially in comparison to the other shows. Characters feel thin and undeveloped, and most of the mysteries are repetitive or lackluster.

That's not to say Grimm is an all-out failure. Thanks to a decent budget, the show boasts solid CG and classy makeup effects, and even manages to squeeze out a few scares every now and then. And for those who really get invested in the show's mythology, there's a lot to enjoy – even with the scent of familiarity.

Grimm was renewed for a second season, and it'll be interesting to see how the series develops. There's certainly room for improvement, and the writers and show runners had all summer to tweak the formula. After all, even Buffy was a bit of a mess during its first season. Maybe Grimm can turn things around in 2012-13.

For in-depth reviews of the first few episodes of Grimm: Season One, check out IGN TV's Grimm hub.

Grimm: Season One comes to Blu-ray presented in 1.78:1, encoded in 1080p/AVC, spread among five Blu-ray discs. Shot digitally, Grimm has a clean, theatrical look to it that is only marred by a slight hint of noise during darker moments, and a faint hint of motion blur. The encode itself is absolutely pristine, with no major compression flaws or other intrusive distractions popping up. Colors are bold and enticing, and details, textures and depth are outstanding, standing among the best of TV-on-BD.

Audio is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. It's an aggressive experience right out of the gate, but also a bit lifeless when the action is toned down. The show's scarier moments are punctuated by terrific sound design, creating that perfect balance of atmosphere and dread. But the show's cop-drama scenes are a bit soft, with scant surround usage and very little heft. Still, when it needs to, this mix is a powerhouse of frights, jumps and jolts, and should leave most fans smiling or shivering.

Extras for this first season include a relatively dull BD-exclusive interactive guide to the various monsters and mythology of the show. It's interesting, but nothing with any real replay value. There's also a series of deleted scenes, a gag reel and five featurettes. The deleted material doesn't add up to much, nor does the gag reel. The featurettes range from interesting (“Making Monsters” “VFX Progressions”) to fun (audition tapes and “The World of Grimm”) to boring or unnecessary filler (the montage reel). As an added bonus, the season also includes an UltraViolet cloud streaming copy of the show – a nice addition that I wish more shows on Blu-ray and DVD would embrace.

Grimm is likely to have its hardcore fans. It has cult appeal, and a certain charm. And it's hardly an out-and-out terrible show, just a bit too derivative at times. If you're the least bit curious, though, be sure to give it a spin now that it's come to BD. And be sure to cross your fingers for season two (read our review of the second season premiere). Hopefully it will continue to improve on the formula and find its proper footing.

"Never recreate from your memory. Always imagine new places!" Follow R.L. Shaffer on Twitter, Facebook and MyIGN for quotes, rants, reviews, news and more!

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