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Turner Network Television
Top Cow

Comics2Film's Review of Episode 1: Parallax

Comics2Film's Review and Video Preview of the TNT Original movie

Comics2Film's Reporting on the TNT Original Movie

Witchblade Fan Art

Fans who missed out on TNT's successful Witchblade TV series will have another chance to catch the show starting in January. 

TNT kicks off the series repeat with the original two-hour movie on Monday, January 21, 2002 at 8 p.m. An encore presentation airs Tuesday, January 22 at 11 p.m.

Following that, reruns of season one will air Mondays at 9 p.m. and Tuesdays at 11 p.m. starting January 28.

The series is set to return for a second season, tentatively scheduled for summer of 2002.

Thanks to blade wielder and super-fan Dex!

Yesterday the trades reported that TNT had decided to renew the successful Witchblade TV series for a second seasons. Subsequently the net issued a statement confirming the renewal.

The series finale for season 1 closed with a 2.7 rating on Tuesday, Aug. 21 at 9 p.m. (tying its highest rating ever – week one, Tuesday, June 12, at 9 p.m.). The series bolstered TNT’s line-up by delivering double-digit increases in rating, household delivery and all key target demos versus the same time period, year to date. During its 11-week run, Witchblade was watched by more than 35 million unduplicated viewers.

"TNT’s commitment to the Witchblade series is prompted by the strong performance of the two-hour pilot and our initial series run," said Robert DeBitetto, president of original programming, TNT. "We are thrilled to be able to offer viewers additional hours of a drama franchise they clearly enjoy, while continuing our successful partnership with sister company Warner Bros. Television."

The Witchblade ratings highlights for summer of 2001 include:

On Aug. 26, TNT will devote an entire Sunday to Witchblade, featuring the two-hour TNT Original pilot that launched the series, followed by episodes 1-11. The all-day event begins at 10 a.m. (ET/PT).

On Tuesday Witchblade wrapped up what is being called TNT's first successful original series. According to Variety the network has now announced that they've re-upped the show for a second, 13-episode season.

The eleven episode run pulled a 2.3 average in its first 10 weeks. Variety claims that's a 64% improvement over movies running in that timeslot last year and it's pulling in the right demographics, increasing the cable net's number of young-men and young-women.

Warner Bros. TV charges the network about $950,000 an episode. However each episode costs $1.3 million to $1.5 million to produce. The studio will make up the difference through sale of the series in foreign markets and future rerun sales to basic cable in North America.

The next season is expected to launch in June.

The Witchblade limited series on TNT wrapped with Tuesday night's episode. Fans who missed any of it can catch the marathon recap on  Sunday, August 26. The marathon begins on TNT at 10am (ET) with last year's two-hour original movie. All 11 episodes of the mini follow after that.

In an article reviewing the progress made by newly appointed Turner Networks chairman Jamie Kellner, The Hollywood Reporter indicates that the series has been drawing an average of 1.7 million households a night. That's a bit below the 2.0 rating that Marc Silvestri mentioned in San Diego. A 2.0 would have made a follow up series very likely.

However, Silvestri recently told the Comics Continuum that he's optimistic about a renewal. "We're waiting for the word," Silvestri said. "It looks strong. Keep your fingers crossed."

 Fans of the show are invited to send e-mails to witchblade@turner.com.

The Continuum also states that Top Cow's Matt Hawkins announced there will be a Witchblade DVD that will feature the two-hour movie and bonus material. The disc is targeted for Christmas this year, but Hawkins thinks early 2002 is more likely.

Comics2Film reader Dex tells us that fans who enjoyed episode #10, "Convergence" can find an interesting download on the show's official site. A deleted scene from the episode has been posted for download. The photo gallery for the site is also populated with a number of new images from episodes #10 and #11.

The final episode of  the Witchblade limited series is called "Transcendence" and airs on Tuesday, August 21st. Here's a description of the show provided by TNT:

Sara's unlikely protector surfaces with a life-threatening passion to watch over her that leads to irrevocable consequences. Sara has no choice but to accept the destiny that comes with wielding the gauntlet and use it to regain what she has lost. But every gain has its price. True to the words of the Witchblade's past wielders, "Nothing is as it seems." A startling discover about Dante and his team of corrupt cops leads to to a suspenseful showdown between the rising warrior and a band of enemies that she must conquer before her father's killer is revealed.

As previously announced, the series end will be followed up by a marathon recap on  Sunday, August 26. The marathon begins on TNT at 10am (ET) with last year's two-hour original movie. All 11 episodes of the mini follow after that.

Fans of the TNT limited series Witchblade are lobbying hard for the cable net to extend the show another season. The 11-episode series premiered last June and is set to run through the end of this month. While there's reason to believe that TNT is happy with the numbers the show has generated, fans aren't taking anything for granted.

Zap2It reports that fans have embarked on a mail-in campaign and are sending Pez dispensers to TNT's offices in Atlanta. The candy shooters represent the lead character in Witchblade, Sara Pezzini.

A spokeswoman for TNT told Zap2It that they've received several hundred dispensers since the show's premiere. 

Thanks to Ron, Jessie and Dex for the lead.

In other renewal news, the Second Season of Witchblade online petition continues to gather steam. Carrie Hults, the organizer of the petition, tells us that they've collected over 1700 online signatures so far. They aim to collect as many as they can in order to demonstrate to TNT fan  interest in another season of the show.

Episode 10 of Witchblade is called "Convergence" and it airs on August 14th at 9PM (ET). The episode guest stars Keir Dullea, who may be best known for starring in 2001: A Space Odyssey. TNT provides this description for the show:

"Sara Pezzini is investigating a crime surrounding the missing daughter of a congressman and is thrown for a loop when she finds herself in the middle of a deal being brokered by a band of crooked cops who know she is on to them. Pez is astonished when the Witchblade reveals clues that suggest Jake may be on the dark side. Keir Dullea guest stars as Dr. Immo.

Witchblade fan Dex tells us that fans of the currently-running TNT mini-series are mobilizing to ask for more. Fans have created an online petition in hopes of encouraging TNT to order a second season of the show. Last time we checked the petition had collected over 400 online signatures.

TNT is planning another Witchblade marathon for fans who missed the original airings. The next all-day Yancy block will feature the original movie and all 11 episodes of the currently running mini. The marathon is set to run on Sunday August 26th. Here's the schedule (all times are ET):

TNT provides these descriptions of episodes 9 and 10. 

Episode 10 - Convergence: On the lam from the NYPD, Sara turns to Jake for help, but is Jake in on the conspiracy against her? Meanwhile, Kenneth Irons struggles to stay alive as he spins out a plot to attain the one gruesome elixir that can save him!

Episode 11 - Transcendence: In this mind-blowing season finale, Jake plays his trump card, but ends up revealing a greater web of conspiracy and puts Sara and her friends in the lethal hands of Kenneth Irons. Now Sara must call upon the untapped powers of the Witchblade to save them all from Iron's evil scheme.

Thanks to blade wielders Dex and Ron for the info.

At today's Top Cow panel President of Production Spike Seldin ran down a list of projects the studio is developing as for film and television.

Topping the list is a new focus on the Fathom movie, which is now being developed as a live action concept rather than an animated feature. The movie is still set up at 20th Century Fox. Top Cow is currently negotiating with a major producer. Pending that deal they're ready to begin developing a script for the film.

Other projects on the slate for Top Cow include Rising Stars, which Seldin reports has a great script from creator Joe Michael Straczynski, The Cleaner, which has John Woo producing, The Project, which is due out as a comic soon, and the recently announced Inferno, which Joel Silver is producing.

The comic book version of Inferno is due out with a Wizard #0 issue in October, followed by the start of the regular series in November. Marc Silvestri talked extensively about the concept, which could be described as the Dirty Dozen in Hell. It takes place in a world where a gateway to the netherworld has been opened, and the key to closing the door has been dropped into the inferno. Each night the Earth is ravaged by demonic hordes.

Attempts to send retrieval teams consistently fail as the essentially good operatives are not permitted in Hell...only those bound for damnation may enter. Given that, a new team is recruited pulled from the worst humanity has to offer.

The ongoing comic would depart from the movie, in that it would extend the stay of the hell bound team and allow them to explore the underworld more extensively.

Other Top Cow titles currently being shopped for development are The Magdalena and No Honor.

The Top Cow team also talked about the Witchblade TV series. "I feel that what we're doing with Witchblade is the coolest comic adaptation ever done for TV," Silvestri told the audience.

The Top Cow chief addressed fan questions about why the Witchblade has the medieval look that it has, rather than the bio-armor look found in the comics. Silvestri said that one reason is that they are attempting to link the artifact to the Joan of Arc story, as a way of making the concept more accessible to mainstream viewers. However, he also said that the Witchblade will morph into something "more contemporary and specific to Sara" as the show wears on.

Silvestri said there are no plans for an ongoing show yet. However, TNT remains open to the idea as long as the current series pulls a 2.0 rating.

Comics2Film has received several inquiries about the music from the TV show Witchblade. Some fans have asked who provided to singing voice for Conchobar in the recent "Sacrifice" episode. Sources at TNT tell us that Grant Lee Phillips of Grant Lee Buffalo provided the tunes for that show. TNT would not comment on whether or not there was to be a soundtrack released for the show, which features a nice selection of techno music.

TNT did provide this description for the upcoming episode Periculum: "Sara is subjected to the ultimate Witchblade trial. Will she be accepted as a true-wielder, or will she pay the ultimate price? Jake is propositioned by the fearless leader of the precinct (Nestor Serrano) when he is asked to join the underground brotherhood of vigilante officers who use their own methods to exact justice."

Once again, blade wielder Dex writes in to tell us what's new on the WitchbladeTV.com website. Fans can download:

Thanks to Dex!

Ratings on TNT's Witchblade TV series continue to slip, according to an analysis from Inside.com. The series debuted with a 2.7/4 rating, but fell to a 2.2/4 in the second week. The third episode slipped even further to a 2.0/4. According to the write-up, Witchblade Episode 3 tied for fourth in its hour among major basic-cable channels. Episode 1 won that time period while Episode 2 came in second.

Thanks to Dex.

TNT also released a description for the July 17th episode of the show. The sixth installment is called "Maelstrom". Here's the synopsis:

"Conchobar (Kim De Lury) is abducted by Irish militants, and Sara will do anything to save him, even if it means compromising the powers of the Witchblade."

The 11 episode mini series winds down in August. The schedule for that month is:

TNT is only providing a description for episode 9 at this point: "Apprehension - Sara (Yancy Butler) is immersed in an investigation surrounding the murder of a pimp when a mysterious package is delivered to her. Her world begins to unravel when clues suggest the enemy may not be who she thought. The only thing she can trust now is the knowing eye of the Witchblade."

Thanks to Ron for the assist.

Meanwhile, Witchblade fan Dex provides a roundup of what's new at the WitchbladeTV.com website.

There are two new photo galleries available, one 9 image set spotlighting the movie and another one detailing 4,5,6.

Fans can also look to the site for series notes, mythology  about the Witchblade and information about former Witchblade wielders.

TNT has released some additional images and an episode description for the Witchblade TV show. The four images at left come from Tuesday's episode is called "Diplopia." Here's how TNT describes the show:

"Sara and Jake investigate the murder of a prominent Soho art dealer whose killer may be connected to the myth of the Witchblade. Sara struggles to bridge the gap between her job as a detective and her responsibility to the gauntlet when the Witchblade takes on a new form."

Guest stars for the episode include John Hensley as Gabriel Bowman, Laila Robins as Dominique Boucher, Anthony Lemke as Isaac Sullivan, Rory Feore as Robert Foster, Peter Cockett as Chris Pollack and S. Austin-Olsen as Dr. D’Angelo.