'FARSCAPE' SERIES CREATOR RETURNS FOR WEB SERIES
Rockne S. O'Bannon To Executive Produce 'Farscape' Webisodes for SCIFI.COM
From Jim Henson Company and RHI Entertainment
San Diego, CA (Comic-Con) � July 28, 2007 � More good news for Farscape fans! Series Creator Rockne S. O'Bannon has signed on to executive produce and develop stories for the new 10-episode webisode series based on the beloved show. Produced for SCIFI.COM by The Jim Henson Company, in association with RHI Entertainment, the Farscape Web series is a groundbreaking endeavor that proves that television series can live again via new digital platforms.
O'Bannon will work closely with executive producers Brian Henson and Robert Halmi, Jr., and SCIFI.COM's Craig Engler, to develop the online show's storyline, which will revive and expand the Farscape universe. Each episode is anticipated to run 3-6 minutes in length.
"The characters, creatures, passions, conflicts and barely contained lunacy of the Farscape universe have never stopped. We just haven't had a window into that universe lately to see what's currently happening there. Well now we do. And it ain't calm, and it ain't pretty, and it ain't like anything anyone is going to expect. But it is totally Farscape," promised O'Bannon.
"I am thrilled that Rockne is on board to begin this next chapter in the Farscape saga," said Brian Henson, co-CEO of The Jim Henson Company. "The army of creative individuals that worked on the original series was crucial to its success. I am hoping that we will continue to reach out to additional members of that team and create a blend of both familiar and new elements in these Web episodes."
"We're so glad to be able to make this unprecedented deal to give new life to a franchise that was so beloved by everyone at SCI FI and within the sci-fi community at large," said Craig Engler, Senior Vice President, SCIFI.COM and SCI FI Magazine. "Rockne's involvement ensures that this new page in the Farscape legacy will stay true to the original."
Screenwriter/director Rockne S. O'Bannon is one of the top purveyors of speculative fiction for film and television today. From the internationally popular science fiction television series Farscape to the hit film and television series Alien Nation, to SCI FI's blockbuster 2005 miniseries The Triangle, he has pushed the limits of imagination on both the big and small screens.
A hit with both critics and fans, Farscape has been widely recognized as one of the greatest sci-fi series in television history.
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and computer graphics. Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets (the rights to which are now owned by The Walt Disney Company), Henson is the recipient of over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Credits include the Saturn Award-winning Farscape and the features MirrorMask, Five Children and It and Good Boy!. With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot complete with soundstage and post-production facilities. Independently owned and operated by the five adult children of founder Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim Henson's Creature Shop, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry's top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state of the art and vintage equipment. The Company recently launched Puppet Up! - Uncensored, a live puppet improvisational show that has played to sold out crowds in Aspen, Hollywood, Edinburgh, Sydney and Melbourne and premiered as a special on TBS. The Company has also announced the creation of Jim Henson Designs, a merchandise collection inspired by Jim Henson's earliest sketches. The Jim Henson Company's website is located at: www.henson.com
SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com ) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 89 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.
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