ONTD

NBC Pulls Saving Hope, Final Eps to Run Online!
There may be no Saving Hope — at least when it comes to viewers in the United States. Having already shuttled the Canadian-produced, Erica Durance/Michael Shanks-fronted medical drama to Saturdays and postponed its final two episodes from Sept. 1 and 8 to Sept. 8 and 15, NBC now has pulled the show wholesale from its schedule, sources confirm to TVLine.

In its last Thursday outing, Saving Hope delivered for NBC 2.54 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating. America’s Got Talent repeats, which last Saturday did barely 2 mil and a 0.4, will stay put in what was to be Hope‘s burn-off slot.

Those who get Canada’s CTV — which has already renewed Saving Hope for a Season 2 — can watch the final episodes, “Ride Hard or Go Home” and “Pink Clouds,” on Sept. 6 and 13. After the episodes air up north, others can watch them online at NBC.com.

-----------------------------------------------

JUDGE SENDS 'SMALLVILLE' VERTICAL INTEGRATION LAWSUIT TO TRIAL
A jury will decide whether Warner Bros. Television made sweetheart deals that lost millions for Miles Millar, Alfred Gough and Tollin/Robbins Productions.

A judge has ruled that the showrunners for the now-defunct CW Network TV series Smallville have a triable case against Warner Brothers, and that it will head to jury.
The basic premise of the lawsuit is that Warner Brothers signed lowball deals to license the long-running show to The WB (and later The CW), thus depriving its producers of revenue. Warner claims that the plaintiffs’ claims are purely speculative becuase it would be impossible to anticipate what they might have made had there been a different network involved or difference licensing terms in place.

Had it gone to Fox or another, larger network, Warner Brothers’s thinking goes, Smallville may have made them more money per year but likely would not have run for ten seasons and received such generous promotion and publicity, given that Warner has a vested interest in its DC Entertainment properties.

The series, which revolved around the life of Clark Kent after he discovered his super powers but before he embraced the name Superman, ran for ten seasons and a comic book series telling the ongoing stories of its “Season Eleven” by one of the show writers is currently one of DC’s best-selling digital comics.

“WBTV argues that it did not breach any of its express or implied contractual duties with Plaintiffs because it had the absolute discretion to determine the terms of its license agreements and to do business with its affiliates,” explained Judge Michael Johnson, but said that in spite of that, Tollin/Robbins Productions and Smallville co-creators/writers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough have valid enough concerns that the trial may go forward.
The judge’s decision should not be understood to suggest he thinks that Warner Brothers is guilty, only that the plaintiffs are not bringing a frivolous or totally unfounded case. Warner had filed for summary judgment dismissing the case altogether, which is what was denied. The case will now likely go to trial in early 2013.

-----------------------------------------------

SMALLVILLE DOUBLE CD SOUNDTRACK

La-La Land Records and Watertower Records present the world premiere CD release of composers Mark Snow and Louis Febre's original score to the beloved WB Television Series SMALLVILLE (2001-2011), starring Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack and Kristin Kreuk.

For a decade, audiences were moved by the saga of a young Clark Kent/Superman as composers Mark Snow (THE X-FILES, MILLENNIUM, GHOST WHISPERER) and Louis Febre (SWIMFAN, CONTROL) wove an amazing musical tapestry that pulled together all of the show's thrilling action and heartfelt emotional drama.

The first disc of this 2-CD Set is the remastered CD premiere of the 2010 digital download-only release and the second disc is jam-packed with over 70 minutes of SMALLVILLE music never-before-released in any format! That's close to 2 1/2 hours of the show's greatest musical moments, available on CD for the very first time.

Produced by MV Gerhard and mastered by James Nelson, this special release is limited to 3000 units and features a 28-Page CD Booklet with exclusive, in-depth liner notes by Brian Satterwhite.

Visit the La-La Land Records website to check out the complete track listing and to order your "Smallville: Limited Edition" 2-disc set.

-----------------------------------------------

Smallville Bosses Shape a New Breed of "Superman" in Beauty and the Beast
He may not be Clark Kent, but Beauty and the Beast's titular beast is another form of Superman - especially considering Smallville bosses Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson are helping to shape him.

In The CW's Beauty and the Beast remake, from Jennifer Levin and Sherri Cooper, Jay Ryan stars as Vincent Keller, a doctor-turned-soldier who was transformed into a beast after a faulty military medical experiment. Smallville alum Kristin Kreuk plays his beauty, Catherine Chandler, a cop who's driven by revenge after the her mother's death, which was possibly connected to the shady company behind Vincent's accident.

While Clark Kent (Tom Welling) was the consummate outsider - he was an alien, after all - the producers say Vincent's journey is the polar opposite. "Vincent never started as an outsider," Peterson says. "He was in the military, he was a doctor, he was on a very different track and never experienced what it was like to be an outsider, to feel like an alien, all the things that Clark, from the very second he was born, had started to feel. It's created a very different person and a very different approach to being a hero for Vincent."

Superman has also always been the epitome of truth, justice and the American way, but Vincent is not necessarily a hero. In fact, during the recent Television Critics Association fall TV previews, he was likened to more of a serial killer walking a fine moral line. "Clark was very guided by the morality of his parents," Peterson says. "Vincent is a beast. There are times when he's out of control and there's times where he may not do the right thing. Catherine is going to have to deal with that as somebody who works within the system."

"What we learned after a decade is that there are rules to heroes and there are expectations," Souders adds. "The complication is it's a superhero who doesn't necessarily have total control over himself."

Fans of Smallville will find some similarities between the two super men and their powers. While Clark Kent was guided through the emergence of new powers, Vincent's journey will not be as easy. "[Clark's X-ray vision] was so nicely handled in one episode with his dad and a burnt scarecrow and he'd gotten it under control," Peterson says. "Whereas, Vincent is learning that his powers are more and more out of control as the season progresses, which is the opposite problem Clark had."

Will you still be rooting for this super man?

Beauty and the Beast premieres Thursday, Oct. 11 at 9/8c on The CW.



source source source source