Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Happy Friday to everyone! I hope everyone has some great plans for the weekend and will be enjoying some much deserved time off. For now, let’s get into the news for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Julia Ormond will guest star as a police psychologist who will be conducting mandatory sessions with Detective Goren (Vincent D’Onofrio) on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She is set to appear in all eight episodes of the show’s final season, which premieres on the USA Network on Sunday, May 1. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

The youngest member of the original New Kids on the Block, Joey McIntyre, has been cast as – get this – the “buff new officer” at the Santa Barbara Police Department on the USA Network series Psych. This will be a guest-starring role in which Shawn and Gus suspect the new officer is living a double life as “The Mantis,” the city’s mysterious masked vigilante/superhero who has single-handedly been taking down a drug syndicate. Psych will return with new episodes this fall. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Mark your calendars! Syfy has announced their summer schedule with Eureka and Warehouse 13 both returning with new episodes on July 11 at 8 and 9 PM (respectively); Haven coming back for a second season on July 15 at 10 PM; and the new series Alphas debuting on July 11 at 10 PM. Alphas follows a team of ordinary citizens with extraordinary mental and physical abilities. The team is lead by Dr. Leigh Rosen(David Strathairn) and the cast includes Malik Yoba (New York Undercover), Warren Christie (October Road), Laura Mennell (Watchmen), Ryan Cartwright (Bones) and Azita Ghanizada (General Hospital: Night Shift). (PopCultureZoo)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

HBO has begun talks to acquire the Neil Gaiman novel American Gods to be developed into another fantasy series. The 2002 book follows an ex-convict on a cross-country journey through a modern day United States where all the mythological gods and monsters of ancient history have immigrated to. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

In addition to announcing the summer returns of their TV shows, Syfy announced the summer movies they will be airing on Saturday nights. Those include the following (thanks to PopCultureZoo for the details):

Red Faction: Origins, which will debut on June 4, at 9PM. The movie stars Robert Patrick (Terminator 2), Brian J. Smith (Stargate Universe) and Kate Vernon (Battlestar Galactica) star in a TV adaptation of the hugely successful video game franchise. The story goes like this: Twenty-five years have passed since Alec Mason (Patrick) led the Martian Colonies to freedom and 12 years since vengeful enemies killed his wife, kidnapped his daughter Lyra, and left a broken hero in their wake. Jake Mason (Smith), Alec’s only son and an officer in the Red Faction Militia, has his world turned inside out when he discovers that now, 12 years after her kidnapping, his sister is still alive. As a powerful new enemy swarms across the planet, Jake goes out to find her, only to learn that his lost sister is one of them — a cold-blooded soldier sworn to destroy the Red Faction. Vernon portrays The Matriarch, leader of the tribal Marauders sect.

Ice Road Terror, debuting on June 11, at 9PM is about Truckers (Brea Grant from Heroes and Michael Hogan from Battlestar Galactica) as they face a deadly ice creature on the frozen roads.

Swamp Shark premieres on June 25, at 9PM, starring Kristy Swanson (the original Buffy Summers), D.B. Sweeney (Jericho) and Robert Davi (Profiler) in the story of mutant sharks terrorizing the Louisiana bayous.

Age of Dragons stars Danny Glover in a re-imagining of Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick. This movie will be set in a mythical realm where Captain Ahab and crew hunt dragons for the vitriol that powers their world. The movie will air in July.

Super Eruption is about a scientist and a park ranger (Juliet Aubrey from Primeval and Richard Burgi from Desperate Housewives) who try to stop the eruption of a massive volcano under Yellowstone Park. This movie will also air in July.

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor James Tupper (Men in Trees and Grey’s Anatomy) has joined the cast of the box office film Playing the Field that centers on a former soccer star (Gerard Butler) who is forced to coach his son’s soccer team and then has trouble resisting the demanding yet seductive soccer moms. Tupper will play the fiancé of Butler’s ex-wife (Jessica Biel) and the soon-to-be step-dad to Butler’s son. Uma Thurman and Catherine Zeta-Jones also star. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Actor Nestor Carbonell (Lost) is in negotiations to reprise his role as Gotham’s Mayor in the upcoming box office film The Dark Knight Rise. (Variety)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: Theatrical Trailer for Jon Favreau’s ‘Cowboys & Aliens’

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!