Firefly alumni update

Interesting times in the world of former Firefly folks (“FFF”). Here’s a rundown of some things I’m excited about or at least intrigued by.

• Starting April 15, Nathan Fillion (“Malcolm Reynolds”) will be appearing in a lead role in a new Fox TV series called Drive. One of the producers is Tim Minear, also of Firefly (and Angel, and Wonderfalls, and The Inside… in fact, a long series of cancelled TV shows, poor guy). The premise of the show is that people are competing — some willingly, some not — in a clandestine road race across the U.S. Can’t say the setup appeals to me much, even though I thought Death Race 2000 was a riot, but the names of Minear and Fillion slapped on this project have me intrigued. Also, Amy Acker of Angel and Katie Finneran of Wonderfalls and The Inside will be in it. It’s a regular Minear-verse mashup!
• Fillion also appears in a movie called Waitress that should be hitting theatres in the next few months. An independent film, it was picked up for distribution by Fox Searchlight at the Sundance movie festival in the time of mourning after its director Adrienne Shelly was murdered. From all I’ve heard, the movie is very well-crafted and Fillion is quite appealing in his role of… a gynecologist! If only Shelly had lived to see her movie make the big time…
• Alan Tudyk (“Wash”) is getting great reviews for his performance in the Broadway play “Prelude to a Kiss“. My latest Entertainment Weekly commented, “Even stranger than the premise of Craig Lucas’ 1990 drama is how [John] Mahoney and Tudyk possess more romantic chemistry than practically any couple on stage this season.”
• Mark Sheppard (“Badger”) is playing a major role in the final three episodes of Battlestar Galactica season 3. His character, Romo Lampkin, is a sunglasses-wearing kleptomaniac lawyer responsible for the defense of Gaius Baltar. Sounds disgusting, but… he’s weirdly sympathetic, at least so far (only the first of the three episodes has aired).
• Summer Glau (“River”) has just been cast as a terminator in the new TV series The Sarah Connor Chronicles. In my opinion, the Terminator series went steeply downhill after the first movie, so I can’t say I’m anxious to see this show. However, with Summer on it… maybe I’ll check it out.
• And as for the creator, the progenitor, God Himself? Joss is off the Wonder Woman movie, but continuing his successful comic book career with Buffy, Season 8. My copy of issue #1 is, I trust, on the way from TFAW.
• This isn’t related to a specific person, but a whole bunch of them: Serenity will be re-released in a special edition DVD, complete with cast commentary, sometime this summer. Wheee! See Joss’s rundown of the features here.
• Update, 3/16/07: A new Entertainment Weekly arrived today and reminded me that Gina Torres (“Zoe”) is currently appearing in the film I Think I Love My Wife with Chris Rock. I’m sorry to say, it sounds terrible, and got a grade of “C” from the estimable magazine. Oh well, at least it’s a paycheck.