Ronald D. Moore's new Pilot - Virtuality

[Geekyfanboy]

Fox OKs Moore's Virtuality

Fox has given the green light to Virtuality, a two-hour backdoor SF pilot from the mastermind behind SCI FI Channel's Battlestar Galactica, Ronald D. Moore, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The project, from Universal Media Studios and producers Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun, is set aboard the starship Phaeton, on a 10-year journey to explore a distant solar system. To help the 12 crew members endure the long trip and keep their minds occupied, NASA equipped the ship with advanced virtual-reality modules, allowing them to assume adventurous identities and go to any place they want. The plan works until a mysterious bug is found in the system, the trade paper reported.

Virtuality is a brainchild of Braun, who shaped the idea with Berman, his producing partner at BermanBraun.

The two approached several writers, including Moore, who sparked to the premise and quickly developed it into what became the concept for Virtuality. He brought with him Battlestar writer-producer Michael Taylor. The two penned the script and are executive-producing the project with Berman and Braun.

Under BermanBraun's first-look deal with NBC Universal, Virtuality was pitched to UMS and NBC. UMS, which also produces Battlestar, quickly came on board. After NBC passed on the project, considered to be too science fiction for the network, it was taken to Fox.

The project, slated to begin production in July, reunites Berman with Fox, where she served as entertainment president from 2001-'05.

(UMS, NBC and SCI FI are owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.)

[jedijeff]

Sounds cool, but nervous that it will be on Network TV, and that NBC passed because they felt to much Science Fiction. Hopefully it turns out well, and has a future past the Pilot movie.

[Rico]

Sounds intriguing.  I'd definitely watch.

[moyer777]

Well if it's on Fox, it will be awesome and then be cancelled after the first few episodes.

:laugh:

[Darth Gaos]

Rick, that is so cynical and wrong.....Actually, it will be awesome, played completely out of order so certain things in the continuous plot make no sense, THEN be cancelled after a few episodes. :D

SO NBC said it is "Too Sci-FI"?  Lord are we not past that yet in network TV? 
Whatever...sounds good I will definitely be checkin it out.

[Blackride]

They will move it to Friday night when show flourish! Don't worry about it!

[iceman]

Interesting

[Geekyfanboy]

Virtuality Getting Underway
Posted by Sam on Monday, 21 Jul 2008

http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2008/07/21/virtuality-getting-underway/#more-10306

The new Fox skien from "Battlestar Galactica" executive producer Ronald D. Moore is ready to get underway for its first episode for the possible SF weekly series.

"We start shooting the end of the month," stated Moore. "We've got a cast. Peter Berg's directing. It's for Fox. It's a completely different kind of show."

"Virtuality" stars "New Amsterdam" actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the lead as Captain Frank Pike, the commander of a deep-space mission.

The rest of the crew is composed of Clea DuVall, James D'Arcy, Sienna Guillory, Ritchie Coster, Joy Bryant, Jimmi Simpson, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Omar Metwally, Nelson Lee, Erik Jensen and Kerry Bishé.

Moore descibed the series in a recent interview with SCI FI Wire as "A group of astronauts who are on the first long-range mission to another star, which is going to take about 10 years to get there and back. So it's 12 people in a tin can going in a very straight line for a very, very long time."

The series is first slated for a 2-hr film pilot and if picked up could be turned into a weekly series as a Fox backdoor project.

"The public and private consortium that put this mission together gave the astronauts virtual-reality headsets that allow them to relax in their off hours, and, sure enough, things start going wrong, and they start wondering what's really going on, and certain strange mysteries start occurring," Moore said. "And yet these people are isolated and trapped, just with each other, a very, very long way from home and beyond anyone's help, and they have really only themselves to deal with the strange things that are happening on the ship."

According to Moore, it's likely "Virtuality" will first air as a movie of the week.

[Rico]

THIS PILOT AIRS TONIGHT!  June 26th on Fox!

Virtuality - Preview

[moyer777]

Thanks for reminding me.  My DVR is now set!

[Rico]

I really liked this and think it has a lot of potential.  I've always enjoyed movies and TV shows that portray space flight in a fairly realistic and current way.  And the virtual reality stuff was cool and integrated well.  I hope we get to see more.

[Dangelus]

Looks very interesting! Might watch the pilot this weekend...    ;)

[wraith1701]

That looks like it has a lot of potential!  I have to check it out. :)

[moyer777]

I watched part of it.  I think it was a cool idea.  There were some pretty adult parts, so it wasn't too family friendly, but I hope to see more of it.  Unique and kind of 2001 ish, yet Alienish, yet Survivor.... hmmmmm.

[wraith1701]

...With a little bit of MTV's "The Real World" thrown in?  That's the impression I get from the trailer.