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'Helix's' First Fifteen Brings Back the Frak, and Puts the Science Back in SyFy

By Cindy Davis | Lists | January 5, 2014 |

By Cindy Davis | Lists | January 5, 2014 |


Five tasty tidbits you may have missed this week…

5. Mythbusters Took on Star Wars.

Could Luke and Leia really have foiled Stormtroopers by swinging across a chasm? That’s just one of the Star Wars scenes Mythbusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage took on, along with actress and Mythbusters fan, Sophia Bush (as Leia). The gang also investigated Luke’s Tauntaun refuge and Ewok weapons vs. Vader’s. The episode aired last night, but you can catch repeats on Discovery.

Meanwhile, Lucasfilm Broke the News That Marvel Will Take Back Star Wars Comics.

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After more than twenty years with Dark Horse Comics, Star Wars comics returns to Marvel beginning 2015. Ah, Disney…remind me never to play Monopoly with you.

4. Geoffrey Rush Spied on His Mysterious Employer.

Giuseppe Tornatore’s (Cinema Paradiso, The Star Maker) award-winning The Best Offer stars Rush as an auctioneer (and swindler) hired to sell art pieces for a wealthy woman (Sylvia Hoeks) who refuses to be seen. Naturally, he is curious about his employer; not so naturally, he becomes obsessed. The Best Offer also stars Jim Sturgess and Donald Sutherland; it’s out in limited release and on VOD now.

3. SyFy Teased the First Fifteen Minutes of Ronald D. Moore’s Helix.

The Frak Is Back. I repeat, the frak is back. It’s been a while since we’ve had a great science fiction series, but it looks like the mucking around is finally over January 10th. Billy Campbell takes over for EJO as sensitive leader (good choice), and the appropriate interpersonal relationships are in place. But Helix’s groove is in the uncontrolled chaos and isolated location; a futuristic twist on John Carpenter’s The Thing. These first fifteen are a great primer—I’m practically frothing at the mouth for more. Helix was created by Cameron Porsandeh, executive produced by Moore (Battlestar Galactica) and Steven Medea (Lost, The X-Files), and also stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Kyra Zagorsky, Mark Ghanime, Jordan Hayes, Meegwun Fairbrother, Catherine Lemieux, Neil Napier and Jeri Ryan.

2. HBO Dropped a New True Detective Trailer.

If there’s one profession we love to watch, it’s police. Give us a broken cop (or two) hunting down a serial killer over nearly two decades, we’re sure to be intrigued. Put them on HBO, and our anticipation is doubled (swearing! sex! swearing and sex!). Pop in a couple of fantastic, offbeat actors, and no one can keep us away. I’ll meet you there, January 12th, 9 pm (EST). True Detective is created and written by novelist/screenwriter Nic Pizzolatto (Galveston), and stars Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan and Kevin Dunn.

1. Philip Seymour Hoffman Broke out a Dodgy Accent for John le Carré’s A Most Wanted Man.

Not that it matters; we love our spies, international terror and Seymour Hoffman (and Willem Dafoe). Control and The American director, Anton Corbijn helms this ninth le Carré film adaptation, based on the real-life story of Murat Kurnaz. Authorities from three countries try to determine the true identity of a young Chechen man (Issa [Grigoriy Dobrygin]) who sneaks into Hamburg, Germany and is found tortured, starved and carrying a large sum of money. Hoffman heads up the Deutschland spy team, Rachel McAdams is assigned as Issa’s lawyer, and Dafoe runs a British bank, where Issa claims his inheritance is held. A Most Wanted Man also stars Robin Wright,Daniel Brühl and Nina Hoss, and premieres at Sundance this month.


Cindy Davis, (Twitter) still misses BSG.