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Twitter'Virtuality' launches -- and ends? -- its FOX mission
Describing the pilot for "Virtuality" back in January, FOX Entertainment president Kevin Reilly called it "a little dense." He didn't necessarily mean it as a compliment, but co-creator Ron Moore is happy to take it as a badge of honor.
"It was very complex material," says Moore, who wrote the sci-fi show with fellow "Battlestar Galactica" scribe Michael Taylor. "The initial reaction when he saw it was, Kevin Reilly said 'Wow -- if this was just a movie, I'd say ship it right now, it's fantastic.' But it's a pilot."
And even though FOX is airing the two-hour "Virtuality" pilot as a movie Friday night (June 26), the project isn't especially likely to go anywhere after that. Moore is taking a "never say never" attitude toward the show's prospects, but he acknowledges that it's something of a long shot to earn a place on the FOX schedule.
"[The network's] attitude is kind of wait and see. I think they want to see what the reaction is going to be: What will the critics say, is there going to be word of mouth, will the sci-fi community turn up for it," Moore says. "... Right now it doesn't look like it will go to series, but if enough people watch, anything is possible."
Now, about those "dense" remarks. It's true, "Virtuality" -- whose cast features Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Clea DuVall, Sienna Guillory and James D'Arcy -- isn't the easiest concept to grasp: A 12-person crew is sent on a 10-year mission aboard a spaceship called the Phaeton. To help pass the time en route, crew members have access to sophisticated virtual-reality worlds that let them become anything from a Civil War soldier to a rock star. There's a bug in the system, however, that causes their fantasies to take disturbing turns at times.
On top of all that, the crew are also the stars of a reality show that's being beamed back to Earth, and they start to wonder if they're being manipulated to make better TV.
"The astronauts start to wonder themselves if they're being told the truth about what's happening on Earth," Moore says. "It starts to become this interesting psychological crucible."
You'll get a chance to judge the relative density of "Virtuality" for yourselves at 8 p.m. ET Friday. Here's a preview.
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They are airing this on a Friday night in the summer and think they may get some ratings? I'll be shocked if this gets more than a 1.
I'm tivo'ing and will watch later, but I think it sounds like it could be fun.
I forgot it was on.
Been waiting to see this series for a year. Wish it got some better treatment. Oh well, at least they're airing the pilot.
Just finished watching it -- it was very, very good. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is fantastic, and I was actually quite upset at his character's outcome.
If he continued to be on the show, I'd watch it, but if the show went to series without him, I wouldn't have as much motivation...
I really enjoyed the pilot movie. I doubt it had huge numbers or will continue, but I really thought it was a brilliant idea that could really have a lot of interesting plotlines. It's a shame that FOX is too afraid to run complex dramas.
Brilliant, intelligent, and intriguing pilot with a strong cast and a plot that can go in any direction. Quite a mind-bender and full of promise!
Fox would be foolish not to pick this up.
Watched this tonight and i really enjoyed it! yes, there are many good plotlines that could follow from this pilot. Nikolaj's character could continue in the series as a "clue guy" (so to say) in the virtual world.
Probably will do even worse in the ratings than expected due to all the FF and MJ tributes airing at the same time. Very bad timing, sad to say. It was excellent.
Marvelous storyline and
handsome astronauts. Love
the gay couple, what a sur\-
prise.
I thought this was brilliant. It had a very professional look and an interesting plot line. I was rather confused by the ending however. Is the Captain really dead or was that whole last bit just virtual reality? Interesting about the gay and straight couples. I guess NASA figured that 10 years would be a long time without sex so they sent couples.
This just goes to show what you can come up with when the writers are allowed to be creative.