Is 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.

And when I say Sci Fi, I mean the network, not necessarily the content. I'm sure we could easily open up that oldie, but goodie, about what is science fiction and why certain things are ending up on the channel. We'll save that for another time though, as right now we should talk about JAG, with swords. Elliott (JAG) is set to star in Mirabilis. The four-hour mini tells the story of four knights who must come together to save their land, the titular town.

Elliott plays John, a knight seeking vengeance after his family was killed. He'll be joined by Natassia Malthe (DOA: Dead Or Alive. Yes, I watched it) as another of the knights, Perfidia. Perfidia is also John's love interest. The script is by Sam Egan (Jeremiah) and is being produced by Reunion Pictures. If you are wondering about the quality of production, I'll add that RHI Entertainment is involved and they are responsible for such Sci Fi treats as The Lost Empire. To be fair though, they also had a hand in Tin Man, so it could go either way. I'll watch it, but then I'm kind of the Mikey of bad sci fi. I'll watch anything, even SS Doomtrooper. It had Corin Nemec!