Looks like they have someone for the lead in the US version of Life on Mars. The Hollywood reporter is reporting that Jason O’Mara who starred in Resident Evil: Extinction will play the lead in David E. Kelley’s time-travel drama pilot for ABC.

The US version of the hit BBC series sees a detective time travel back to the 1970s after his girlfriend is missing.

The project, from 20th Century Fox TV, David E. Kelley Productions and Kudos Film & Television, was ordered as a pilot this past development cycle, but production was pushed to summer because of difficulties casting the lead.

Kelley is executive-producing the pilot with Kudos’ Stephen Garrett and Jane Featherstone.

Reference for posting: http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire

Michael Parkinson has announced that he is to quit his popular chat show after the next serie.

He said: “After three enjoyable and productive years at ITV, and after 25 years of doing my talk show I have decided that this forthcoming series will be my last.

“I’m going to take next year off to write my autobiography and consider other television projects.

“My thanks go out to all those who have worked on the shows down the years and the viewers for their loyal support and occasional kind words.”

Michael Parkinson brought his show to ITV in 2004 after over 30 years at the BBC.

Reference for posting: http://uk.news.yahoo.com

Don Herbert, who explained the wonderful world of science to millions children on his Nickelodeon cable TV show “Mr. Wizard’s World“, has died after a long battle with multiple myeloma. He was 89.

Herbert used basic experiments to teach scientific principles to his TV audience via an in-studio guest boy or girl who assisted in the experiments. Herbert liked to perform his scientific experiments as “tricks” to get the kids hooked, then explain the science behind it later.

Herbert wrote several books, including “Mr. Wizard’s Supermarket Science” and “Mr. Wizard’s Experiments for Young Scientists.”

In recent years, he helped set up his website mrwizardstudios.com.

[Via latimes.com]

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The BBC picked up a new Australian soap drama to replace Neighbors which it let go to Five recently. All Saints, a drama set in a hospital ward of the All Saints Hospital in Sydney will be shown weekdays mid afternoon from mid-July.

The soap was the top rated Australian-made drama in the country last year and the BBC must surely believe that they are onto a winner.

BBC head of series, Sue Deeks, said the show had “engaging” characters, “compelling” storylines and “superb” production values.

Deeks added: “We are delighted that BBC viewers are finally going to have the opportunity to see this multi-award winning series.”

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

Variety is reporting that HBO Films and the BBC are to co-produce a miniseries about Saddam Hussein’s time as leader of Iraq. The miniseries will be called Between Two Rivers and will be shown in four hour-long parts.

Yigal Naor, who played the role of Mahmoud Hamshari in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 film Munich, will play Saddam. The Bill’s Christine Stephen-Daly has been lined up to play the role of Samira, one of Saddam’s wives.

The miniseries will tell the story of Saddam’s relationships with his family and advisers between 1979 and 2003 and the series will start filming in North Africa later this year.

HBO Films and the BBC have collaborated successfully on a number of projects such as Rome.

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

According to the Daily Star, George Michael may be appearing in the final episode of the popular comedy, Extras.

The singer is apparently a big fan of the comedy written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and “immediately agreed” to be part of the final episode, which will be shown on our TV screens this Christmas.

If the report is true then George Michael will join a host of famous names that have enjoyed a stint on the show such as David Bowie, Kate Winslet and Samuel L Jackson.

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

Good news for Apple TV and the iPhone. Starting today, Apple TV owners can start watching YouTube content on their TV sets. YouTube content will also be available to the iPhone when it officially launches on June 29th.

Apple TV users can download a free update via the built-in software update option to enable a new YouTube content menu. An option to “check for updates” is listed under the Apple TV settings screen.

iPhone users will be able to enjoy YouTube’s originally-created content on their iPhones when they begin shipping on June 29. A YouTube player application on the iPhone will wirelessly stream YouTube’s videos to the iPhone over Wi-Fi or EDGE networks and play it on iPhone’s 3.5 inch display.

Both AppleTV and the iPhone will play YouTube content that has been reencoded into Apple’s h.264 video format. 10,000 of YouTube’s videos have been converted so far with the remainder expected by the fall. An Apple press release claims that h.264 was chosen “to achieve higher video quality and longer battery life on mobile devices.”

Reports coming out of WWDC 2007 say that one of Apple’s justifications of avoiding Flash video playback on the iPhone is improved battery life. The iPhone contains dedicated hardware capable of playing h.264 content, while Flash content would require more intensive use of the iPhone’s CPU, resulting in higher battery drain.

You can read a review of the Apple TV here.

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A new dragon has joined the BBC’s Dragon’s Den. Venture capitalist James Caan has joined the lineup for the new series after Australian dragon Richard Farleigh was dropped from the panel last month.

The entrepreneur, who divides his time between London and Cannes, has been creating, building up and selling businesses for more than 20 years.

“I’m thrilled to be invited to be in one of the highly coveted ‘Dragon’ positions,” said Caan. “I make a point of investing in people, as I’m a great believer that it is people who create a success in business through their passion and conviction.”

The new series will begin filming shortly and should be shown towards the end of the year.

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

Two new US shows from Disney-ABC are on the way to Channel4. Channel 4 has a long-standing “first look” agreement with Disney-ABC - formerly known as BVITV - that recently yielded it hit comedy Ugly Betty and now channel4 will see “Dirty Sexy Money” and “Reaper”.

Starring Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), Dirty Sexy Money follows an idealistic attorney who becomes personal lawyer to a filthy-rich and morally “flexible” family. Also on the cast are Donald Sutherland and William Baldwin.

Reaper - a “supernatural dramedy” - is about a young slacker who, after turning 21, discovers that he has sold his soul to the devil and must now serve as Satan’s bounty hunter.

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

A new survey suggests that due to the digital switch over, approximately 8 million TVs and VCRs will be ditched. The findings were based on a poll of 2,500 UK adults.

Not only will televisions not work but video players will not work in the same way when the analogue signal stops. When the signal changes viewers will no longer be able to watch one channel while recording another, the independent switching service, uSwitch.com explains.

The company estimates that the cost of replacing these VCRs with digital recorders will exceed £1.1bn.

Of the 25 million TV sets yet to “go digital”, nearly five million are incapable of receiving a digital signal and the national bill to make TVs work will exceed £2.2bn.

Fifteen per cent of households plan to throw their old sets away, the poll of 2,599 UK adults shows.

Whitehaven in Cumbria will be the first place in the UK to switch to digital in October.

Reference for posting: http://news.bbc.co.uk

On Tuesday, the American soap opera, Days of Our Lives, debuted on iTunes (US). Full episodes of the soap will be offered at the standard $1.99, but consumers will be able to shave off 50¢ per episode by ordering a 20-episode multipass for $9.99.

iTunes Link: Days of Our Lives

The producers of the show have had several conversations about including bonus scenes from Days of Our Lives in the iTunes version, though nothing has been decided yet.

Days of Our Lives will now be the most widely distributed daytime soap in the U.S., with episodes available on broadcast (NBC), cable (SoapNet) and online (iTunes).

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So Simon Cowell is back tonight as a judge on the new talent show, Britain’s Got Talent and it seems that the show could be even more interesting than The X Factor. Contestants show off their talents in the hope of winning a spot on the Royal Variety Show.

One act, however, alarmed almost everyone who watched including the judges. Father and daughter Brian and Melanie Webber auditioned for the ITV1 reality series as a knife-throwing act but the audience, presenters Ant and Dec and the judges were alarmed by the fathers shaky hands and his inability to hit the target.

“Is this legal?” Ant asked. “You are about to throw knives at your daughter in front of 2,000 people, will you be able to hold it together?” Brian Webber could hardly hold onto a bottle of water due to nerves.

“I hope so,” Melanie replied. “I might as well start shaking because I could be dead by the sound of things!”

The judges were forced to tell Brian and Melanie to stop the act almost immediately when Brian’s knives consistently missed their targets and flew off around the stage.

“I had to stop you before you had an ex-daughter,” judge Piers Morgan said.

Cowell added: “I just saved your life Melanie.”

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

If you walked through Times Square this past Tuesday, then you probably noticed American magician Criss Angel suspended in midair. Angel was enclosed for 24 hours in a clear box that was encased in cement as fans and reporters watched. The box was then hoisted 40 feet above the ground in a parking lot just off Times Square.

Hundreds gathered to watch his escape, and a big screen showed Angel inside the box, kicking at the walls and dejectedly holding his head in his hands. When a countdown clock hit zero, the box was sent plunging to the ground.

As organizers called for paramedics and fans went quiet, Angel appeared atop the screen’s nearby scaffolding, waving to the crowd and with his hand across his heart.

While much of the crowd cheered, several people were heard asking: “Was he actually in the box?”

“Well, I was in it when I fell — that’s the truth,” Angel told Reuters, adding that people should be asking how he got from the fallen box to the scaffolding.

The stunt was meant to draw attention to the third season of his show “Mindfreak,” which started airing on A&E this week. Angel said the first episode would reveal how he escaped.

[Source: Hollywood Reporter]

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American broadcast network, NBC, has removed the shroud of secrecy around their new controversial reality dating series called Age of Love.

The series centers on Melbourne tennis champion Mark Philippoussis (age 31) as he’s wooed by a group of 13 special ladies. What Philippoussis doesn’t know is that these women range in age from 21 to 48. Will he go for one of the younger gals (Kittens), or will he become smitten by someone more mature (Cougars)?

Age of Love’s “Kittens” will feature six young, enthusiastic women in their 20’s who could probably better keep-up with Philippoussis’ fast-paced lifestyle, while the “Cougars” will consist of seven women in their 40’s who are more sophisticated and thus probably better equipped to deal with his fame as a tennis pro.

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Similar to the manner in which the “geek versus hunks” twists on NBC’s Average Joe reality dating shows played out, Philippoussis will initially be introduced to his older “Cougars” suitors. Later, he will learn that the younger “Kittens” — who will also initially be unaware of the “Cougars” and vice versa — will also be attempting to vie for his affection.

Once the “Cougars” meet the “Kittens,” the claws come out and all the bachelorettes will try to win him over. From there, the field of suitors will be narrowed until Philippoussis picks his final bachelorette.

I guess “Age of Love” just sounds better than “Primetime Catfight,” though I would argue the latter is a more fitting title.

Age of Love premieres on Monday, June 18 at 10PM ET. You can see a preview clip of Age of Love on Vmix.com or get more info about the show at nbc.com.

[Via TV Squad]

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As its fans have feared, Sci Fi’s Battlestar Galactica will end its run after this, its 4th season. Executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eik (Bionic Woman) said they will wrap up the show’s storyline with these 22 episodes. The fourth season is in production in Vancouver and will premiere in November. The official announcement, planned for Friday, ends months of speculation from the show’s core group of dedicated fans.

“We respect the producers’ decision to end the series and are proud to have been the home of this groundbreaking show,” said Sci Fi Executive Vice President of Original Programming, Mark Stern in a statement.

“This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and finally, an end,” said Eick and Moore in a joint statement. “Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end and we’ve decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms.”

[Via broadcastingcable.com]

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