LOST star Terry O’Quinn (John Locke) filmed an episode of Masters of Science Fiction, from the producers of Masters of Horror, but ABC has now announced it is trimming the limited run series from six to four episodes. O’Quinn’s LOST pedigree will no doubt make his installment “The General Zapped an Angel” a shoe-in for the airings, which will begin Saturdays in August at 10:00pm est.
The series, like its horror counter part, brings together directors with significant credits in the Science Fiction genre to adapt short stories from prolific contributors to the Science Fiction genre. Where Masters of Horror played it safe appearing on ShowTime, the producers decided to take a gamble and present Masters of Sci-Fi to a network audience.
LOST’s O’Quinn stars as a commanding officer in Iraq who discovers that something very unusual has been shot down from the Iraqi sky, and no, it isn’t an Angel. The segment is based on the classic short story of the same name by Howard Fast (which does not take place in Iraq, as you might have guessed) and is directed by “Till Human Voices Wake us” director Michael Petroni.
Ironically, O’Quinn has one of the most extensive lists of credits for any LOST star, yet has done the least extra-curricular work since joining the show as a regular cast member. With ninety-eight credits on IMDB so far, one could easily assume that O’Quinn has nothing left to prove.
Science Fiction fans are disheartened at ABC’s decision to air the series in a time slot that essentially amounts to the network slagheap. Regardless of the quality of the show, the Saturday 10:00pm airtime does not bode well for a future run of installments for the series. To be realistic, the move is indicative of the shaky relationship between networks and Science Fiction. LOST snuck into the schedule by hiding its fantasy/science fiction roots, but since then most science fiction/fantasy endeavors have failed.
– Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image © 2006 ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
