Doux News: July 14, 2013

This Week: Cory Monteith – Comic-Con – This Week in Casts – The Iron Throne – Samwise Takes on The Strain – Wayward Pines – This Week in Dogs


Cory Monteith

Cory Monteith of Glee has passed away. His body was found in a Vancouver hotel room on Saturday the 13th. According to the LA Times, Monteith had been struggling with addiction, and since Vancouver police do not "suspect foul play," it seems likely that he overdosed. My thoughts go out to Monteith's family and friends, including his girlfriend Lea Michele.


Comic-Con

It’s been a very slow news week in Fantastika (the sunny land inhabited by Whedonites, Westerosi, and hard-core SFs, all living peacefully together). Why? Because everyone is holding back until the big event of summer: San Diego’s annual Comic-Con, which begins next Thursday. Although I will once again not be attending (due to laziness and intimidation), check out Doux News next week for updates on all the exciting stuff.


This Week in Casts

• Troy will only be in five episodes of Community. Let’s all take a minute to think about how much that sucks.

• Giancarlo Esposito will return to Once Upon a Time for a brief guest-starring role as either the Mirror or the genie or the newspaper reporter. Or maybe all three.

• Summer Glau will have a recurring role on Arrow.

• Kristin Bell will guest star in an episode of Park and Rec in the fall. Kristin Bell + Amy Poehler = Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?

• Justin Hartley, who played Green Arrow on the last few seasons of Smallville (and helped make it bearable according to our resident Smallvillian, Billie) has been cast for Season Three of Revenge. Billie--who is a Smallvillian, not a small villain--has this to add: “He also looks incredible without a shirt.”

• Lisa Edelstein (House) will join the Castle team for a few episodes next season. Warning! I think the article about her character spoils (by implication) a few plot points for next season.


The Iron Throne

George R.R. Martin has issued a declaration: this is what the real Iron Throne of Westeros looks like—or at least it’s the closest representation he’s seen. Martin apparently likes the Game of Thrones throne (that was awkward) well enough, but is happiest with artist Marc Simonetti’s rendering, below:

Samwise Takes on The Strain

Do you all remember The Strain? We’ve mentioned it a few times here in Doux News: it’s the new FX vampire show from Carlton Cuse and Guillermo del Toro in which a “Center for Disease Control team in New York City is tasked with investigating a mysterious viral outbreak with the hallmarks of an ancient, evil strain of vampirism” (according to TVLine). We have an update: Sean Astin—Mr. Samwise Gamgee himself—will join the lovely Mia Maestro and the inimitable John Hurt.

Although FX hasn’t officially confirmed an episode order for the show, according to Variety it looks pretty certain, and I’m excited. But it’s a cautious excitement: Carlton Cuses’s most recent show, Bates Motel, never drew me in, and The Strain sounds a bit like a dark apocalypse movie a la The Walking Dead, which I’ve also abandoned. It is based on a series of comics by del Toro and collaborator Chuck Hogan: if you’ve read the comics, give us some clues as to what to expect in the comments!


Wayward Pines

Have you heard about the new M. Night Shyamalan TV series Wayward Pines? Matt Dillon plays a Secret Service agent searching for….okay, honestly: it was such a slow news week that I was desperate for content. There’s no way that a “mind-bending thriller” from M. Night Shyamalan is going to be any good, even if it does include Carla Gugino. Let’s not kid ourselves. I know you’re all just itching to get to…


This Week in Cats Dogs

Once again, all gratitude goes to Paul, our resident lover of all things furry.