SCI FI'S 2008 ALTERNATIVE/REALITY LINE-UP DELIVERS SCARES, LAUGHS, AMAZEMENT AND MYSTERY

Tracy Morgan to Host All-New Season of 'Scare Tactics'

'Mind Control With Derren Brown' Returns for Second Season and Special

SCI FI Explores the Mystery of the Crystal Skulls

New York, NY � March 18, 2008 � In keeping with SCI FI Channel's commitment to delivering 52 weeks of broad-appeal original programming, Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of Original Programming, today announced the Channel's ambitious alternative/reality slate. The roster will include the returns of the hilarious hidden camera show Scare Tactics with new host Tracy Morgan (30 Rock, Saturday Night Live) and Mind Control with Derren Brown who will also appear in an extended special event. The high-octane competition show Estate of Panic and Brain Trust have been greenlighted to pilot and Indiana Jones gets a run for his money with the investigative special Mystery of the Crystal Skulls.

SERIES

SCARE TACTICS

Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) has signed on to host an all-new season of SCI FI Channel's fan-favorite Scare Tactics. The frighteningly funny hidden camera show is slated to return this year on SCI FI. Set up by friends and loved ones, unsuspecting victims are placed into elaborately staged scary situations involving movie-style special effects and makeup. The horror hoaxes are skillfully designed to tap into the wildest fears of the prank's prey. Viewers laugh along with the hilarious reactions of the show's "stars" as they are caught off-guard and on-camera.

First premiering on SCI FI in April 2003, Scare Tactics ran for two seasons. Show creators Scott Hallock and Kevin Healey also serve as executive producers under their Hallock & Healey Entertainment banner.

MIND CONTROL WITH DERREN BROWN

Last summer, SCI FI Channel introduced mind-blowing British sensation Derren Brown to American audiences; garnering rave reviews, an avid fan base, and Internet buzz. This fall, Mind Control with Derren Brown returns for an all-new second season that will kick off with a "must-be-seen-to-be-believed" special event.

Season 2 will consist of six 1-hour episodes in which Derren Brown demonstrates his beguiling skill of mental persuasion. Described as "part James Bond, part Yoda," Derren Brown has been astounding U.K. audiences with his numerous television series, specials and sold out live tours. By his own admission, Brown has no paranormal ability; he is not a psychic or medium. Instead, he uses a mixture of suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship to uncannily predict and control human behavior.

Andrew O'Connor and Anthony Owen serve as executive producers for Objective Productions.

PILOTS

ESTATE OF PANIC

From the producers of Fear Factor comes the most physically and psychologically challenging competition yet � Estate Of Panic. In the pilot, millions of dollars are hidden in a massive estate and seven strangers are invited to find the money. During the hour, contestants will be challenged in different areas of the house to overcome the terrors that await them at every corner. After each of the three challenges, two people are eliminated adding their money into a pot. The last person standing walks away with everyone's found money. Estate Of Panic is executive produced by Endemol USA.

BRAIN TRUST

In Brain Trust, a band of geniuses know as 'The Trust" are enlisted by everyday people to help find new solutions to some everyday problems. The Trust convenes and collaborates using their creative and intellectual prowess to strategize and solve the problem. The solutions hatched in their genius world are then put to the test. The "Trust" is comprised of; a Mensa member with a perfect SAT score, an award-winning computer scientist/ neuroroboticist, the man with the highest recorded IQ in the United States, a behaviorist and gamer; a math whiz and author, and a successful software developer.

Brain Trust is executive produced by Dan Taberski for Idiot Box Productions. Production is set to begin in Los Angeles later this month.

SPECIAL

MYSTERY OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS with Lester Holt

Premieres Sunday, May 18th at 9:00PM

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is this summer's most-anticipated movie and SCI FI feeds the Indy frenzy with the real story of and search for the legendary crystal Skulls. Glimmers of ancient civilizations and lost worlds have forever intrigued and tantalized but few ancient mysteries generate quite the fervor of the Crystal Skulls: 13 quartz crystal human skulls, now scattered to the four winds, discovered amid ruins of Mayan and Aztec societies. Legend tells us that should they ever be united, they may unleash untold energy, revealing secrets vital to the survival of humankind.

In the new special Mystery of the Crystal Skulls, SCI FI and host Lester Holt (NBC News/Weekend Today) explore the history of the Crystal Skulls: the myths, the legends, the controversies and the scientific tests performed behind closed doors. It digs even deeper for the truth with new lab tests, as well an expedition into the jungles of Belize to track down the missing skulls, a quest worthy of Indiana Jones himself. The special is produced by NBC's Peacock Productions in association with SCI FI.

SCI FI will exclusively air all three previous Indiana Jones movies (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Los Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) on May 18th leading into the premiere of Mystery of the Crystal Skulls.

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 93 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.