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May 27, 2012

Rick Schroder directing a Sci Fi original

by Brett Love, posted Aug 29th 2008 10:02AM

Rick Schroder - HellhoundsIs it just me, or does the phrase "A Sci Fi Original" kind of make you cringe? They use it a lot when promoting the very special Saturday night movies, and let's be honest, a lot of them are really bad. Rick Schroder is hoping to change all that. He's signed on with RHI Entertainment to direct Hellhounds. Scott Elrod gets the starring role. He'll play Kleitos, a Greek warrior, who leads his men in a battle against the hellhounds of Hades in an effort to rescue his bride from the Underworld. It appears they nixed the idea to have S.S. Doomtrooper make a cameo.

The gig makes a lot of sense for Schroder. He's been slowly building up his directing resume with music videos and the feature Black Cloud. He also has a long history with RHI. They were the ones behind Lonesome Dove. I don't know if it's resentment over the cancellation of Stargate Atlantis, or if I have finally just seen one too many bad movies on Sci Fi Saturday, but I have trouble giving this one the benefit of the doubt. The best thing I can say about it at this point is that it sounds like a better idea than Aztec Rex, but then, that's not saying a whole lot. That said, I'll still probalby end up watching it. I just can't look away from Sci Fi Saturday. So here's hoping Schroder can buck the trend.

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dukemang

A few years ago when SciFi announced they were moving away from space based shows, they should have just said, "We moving away from scifi and into fantasy because it is much cheaper to produce total crap." Scifi original movies have captivated me...ah...ah...never.

Why can't SciFi just get back to spacefaring heros and heroines toting blasters and vanquishing aliens. It works!

August 29 2008 at 11:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Elyse

If you go to the dictionary and look up the word "Dreck", you'll find the definition: "Any movie made by SciFi Channel." They can't make good movies, nor buy decent ones (and if they get one of those, they edit them so badly it's a waste of time to watch).

August 29 2008 at 8:32 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Europa

Correction/repost:
You said it BC. Quality is not job one with them. It's all about the "Benjarmins." If it was about quality science fiction they wouldn't have wrestling as part of the programming.

August 29 2008 at 6:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Europa

You said it BC. Quality is not job one with them. It's all about the "Benjarmins." If it was about quality science fiction they would have wrestling as part of the programming.

August 29 2008 at 6:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Europa

"Is it just me, or does the phrase "A Sci Fi Original" kind of make you cringe? ... Rick Schroder is hoping to change all that."

Then you gave the description and it sounds like the usual Sci Fi crap. Believe me, if the great minds behind Farscape couldn't make two decent "Sci Fi Original" movies ("Heatstroke" and "Aztec" something or other) believe Schroder isn't going to be able to. Sci Fi channel has basically become the kiss of death for any original movie.

August 29 2008 at 1:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Europa's comment
BC McKinney

Sci Fi doesn't really care whether reviewers like the Saturday movies because they're laughing all the way to the bank. They've developed a formula that's relatively inexpensive to film, brings in adequate advertising sales, and gets ratings comparable to their other programming, and therefore makes a profit. Peabody awards aren't the objective.

August 29 2008 at 2:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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