Tom Wisdom as archangel Michael in 'Dominion.' Photo courtesy Syfy
BY AARON SAGERS
Heaven can't wait to raise a little hell. That seems to be the goal of the angels in Syfy's new series Dominion, premiering June 19 at 9 p.m.. Spun off from the 2010 film Legion, the series picks up 25 years after a war began between some irritable angelic forces and mankind.
In the post-apocalyptic show, God has taken an extended vacay, and the archangel Gabriel (Carl Beukes) is commanding a force of lower angels to tear up Earth. Now entrenched in fortified cities, humans fight with the heavenly kind, and with one another. Meanwhile, "good" archangel Michael (Tom Wisdom) tries to protect a soldier, who is "The Chosen One" (Christopher Egan).
But aren't angels supposed to rock a halo and wings, and are dedicated to looking out for God's favorite creation: Mankind?
You'd like to think that, but author Rosemary Ellen Guiley said angels are more complicated than the robed figures from Hollywood that like to play a harp and make an entrance through beams of light. And she would know; in addition to other paranormal topics, Guiley is an expert researcher on angels and has published six books on them, including The Encyclopedia of Angels and Ask the Angels.
Syfy is promising hell on Earth this June and it's all thanks to...angels? "Dominion" is a new supernatural series based on the film "Legion" and it premieres on Syfy this June 19 at 9 p.m. ET. They just launched a new trailer to let us know just how pissy these heavenly creatures really are.
The drama features Christopher Egan ("Resident Evil: Extinction"), Tom Wisdom ("300"), Roxanne McKee ("Game of Thrones"), Alan Dale ("Lost"), Anthony Stewart Head ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and Luke Allen-Gale ("The Borgias").
Here is Syfy's official synopsis and then check out the wild new trailer and let us know if you'll be tuning in this June...
"Dominion" is an epic supernatural drama set in the near future. Specifically, 25 years after 'The Extinction War,' when an army of lower angels, assembled by the archangel Gabriel, waged war against mankind. The archangel Michael, turning against his own kind, chose to side with humanity. Rising out of the ashes of this long battle are newly fortified cities which protect human survivors. At the center of the series is the city of Vega, a glistening empire that has formed from the ruins of what was once Las Vegas.
A conspiracy thriller loosely based on a short story from the paranoid imagination of sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick does not precisely sound like the source material for a successful romantic/ action/comedy movie starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.
And based on the marketing, that’s not the movie audiences might expect to see when The Adjustment Bureau opens March 4.
The promotional materials for Bureau try to sell the paranoid thriller aspect. One trailer highlights a darker, doomed-lovers message and the TV spot places emphasis on smashed cars, a body crashing into a windshield and the main characters running, running, running.
A poster shows Damon and Blunt running (again) through Manhattan as shadowy figures loom over them. Another features a grey faceless, fedora-wearing agent in an image that recalls Rene Magritte by way of Mad Men. Still another poster has our two pretty movie stars looking hard and uneasy, eyes cast slightly behind them at unseen pursuers.
But these images, while engaging, fail to serve potential audiences not interested in what appears to be a Dark City mindbending reality flick - and also sets up a disappointing scenario for viewers looking for exactly that. The Adjustment Bureau isn’t an action movie, or science fiction conspiracy flick or ill-fated lovers romance.
Each week paranormal romance author Caden Leigh will give her take on love and sex in both mainstream and supernatural entertainment. The Florida-based scribe of The Silver Septagram, published by Captiva Press, always has an opinion on what's hot - or not.
Synopsis: The war over purgatory has begun. The righteous Angels must defeat the corrupt Fallen, who have turn perdition into their own personal playground. The souls held in the dark limbo are forced to do the Fallen's bidding. So far, all the archangels (known as Arcs) sent to put an end to the ominous dominion have fallen short. Gabriel is mankind's last hope to save netherworld, and he must transform into a human to enter this middleground.
Sensual Gabriel (Andy Whitfield) roams the streets of purgatory, which has become a gritty cityscape, while new emotions, needs and desires twist in his mind. Luckily for the viewer, he has delicious Jade (Samantha Noble) to help him adapt. Jade is the former archangel Amitiel, who has been defeated in battle and forced to give up her wings.
Passion Points: I waited patiently for the love scene. The sexual tensions intensified through out the movie between the hero and heroine. Finally, the anticipated scene was delivered. Unfortunately, it was like watching daytime television - under the sheets, a few peek-a-boo scenes, hungry sensuous kissing, but not the rawness I expected. All in all, 'Gabriel' left me tepid and unable to reach a desired boil.
Paranormal pop culture looks to be as big as ever in 2010, with ghosts, fallen angels, monsters and (surprise!) more vampires ruling the box office. This list explores only the movies coming out in 2010, and not paranormal-themed flicks in production.
Not all the movie site for these are up yet, but you can link through to most. Also, in order to be considered for the list, the plots must largely take place on this Earth and in this reality where the paranormal characters are largely unexpected and unexplained.
Ghosts
The Lovely Bones - Jan. 15
Instead of crossing over, a murdered girl assists her grieving family from the afterlife to find her killer
A Nightmare on Elm Street - April 30
A reboot of the popular '80s franchise where ghostly child killer Freddy Krueger haunts and stalks teen dreams
With the new fall TV season officially begun, it would appear the trend in paranormal pop culture is still scaring up interest. No fewer than seven shows, three of which are returning for another season, are premiering in the next few weeks on network TV. Thursday is shaping up to be the biggest of para pop nights with four shows, so supernatural superfans might want to clear out space on the DVR.
(These don't include the shows rolling out in November and December, which include the reptilian alien remake V in November, along with new episodes of A&E's Paranormal State and the Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures.)
Eastwick ABC, Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Premieres Sept. 23
Normal breakdown: In the seaside village of Eastwick, three very different women discover bewitching talents they never knew they had.
Paranormal take: Based on the John Updike novel and the 1987 movie, the series is about the supernaturally-inclined ladies who hang with devilish dude. The trailer is spiffy enough and could be Charmed for 30-somethings. Then again, it could also be Desperate Paranormal Housewives.
Flash Forward ABC, Thursdays at 8 p.m. Premieres Sept. 24
Normal breakdown: When the world’s population is given a glimpse of their future due to a mysterious global event, it forces everyone to come to grips with whether their destinies can be fulfilled or avoided.
Paranormal take: The concept of a global blackout where everyone sees their personal future six-months down the road (a possible future or not?) is engaging, but can it remain so for an entire season? With Lost wrapping up its run next winter, ABC needs a mythology-driven drama (but one that doesn't drive that audience insane). The clairvoyant experience won't be enough - nor will the disasters resulting from the blackout - so the payoff better be big, scary and rolled out quickly.
The Vampire Diaries CW, Thursdays at 8 p.m. Premiered Sept. 10 Normal breakdown:Two vampire brothers - one good, one evil - are at war for Elena's soul in the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia."
Paranormal take:Yes, it's yet another high school vamp entry in paranormal pop culture, and yes, there are clear similarities to the Twilight saga. But this show is based on L.J. Smith's series from the '90s and is helmed by Kevin Williamson (Dawson's Creek, Scream). And based on the first episode, it's a fun, scintillating soap fit for the The CW. I'm betting we can expect more blood and actual vamp action than you might get from Twilight - and hopefully more character development.
Supernatural CW, Thursdays at 9 p.m. Premiered Sept. 10 Normal breakdown:Sam and Dean Winchester are following in their father's footsteps, traveling the country and hunting down evil forces. Paranormal take:Now entering its fifth season, Supernatural is a road trip/horror show about two monster-hunting brothers driving straight into an angels vs. demons armageddon. The season appears to have the boy patching things up a bit, just in time to fight off Lucifer. For those devoted fans who have been following the show for some time, crap gets real this season. But it remains to be seen whether it's enough to attract new viewers to the mythology-heavy cult fave.
Fringe Fox, Thursdays at 9 p.m. Premieres Sept. 17 Normal breakdown:The FBI's Fringe Division formed when Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) enlisted the help of institutionalized "fringe" scientist Walter Bishop and his son, Peter (Joshua Jackson), to save her partner and lover from a mind-bending death. Through unconventional and unorthodox methods, the Fringe team imagines and tests the impossibilities while investigating unbelievable events, macabre crimes, and mystifying cases involving pyrokinesis, neuroscience, cryonics, genetic engineering, astral projection, and other fantastical theories.
Paranormal take:Fringe had a slow build, but The X-Files-lite show hit a stride without getting too swallowed in an impenetrable mythology. Created by J.J. Abrams (Lost), Fringe hit it out of the dimension with a parallel reality revelation and Leonard Nimoy in the first season finale. If it continues to build on the freakiness without losing the quirky humor, the show will have the stuff to win the Thursday paranormal pop wars.
Ghost Whisperer CBS, Fridays at 8 p.m. Premieres Sept. 25 Normal breakdown:Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) has a gift - she can communicate with earthbound spirits or ghosts who cling to the living because they have unfinished business in our world preventing them from "crossing over" or going into the light ... Melinda navigates between the dead and the living with her sometimes chilling, sometimes heart-rending and sometimes amusing actions as an intermediary between the ghosts and those they haunt.
Paranormal take:At the end of the last season, Melinda got her dead hubby back after he took over Sam's body and they all eventually worked out the details and got hitched - again. This season picks up five years in the future where her son is starting to show abilities that exceed hers. The new season sounds like a more compelling , darker turn for the show when a whole new realm of spiritual beings is revealed. Typically the introduction of a kid to a show is the first sign of approaching jump-sharking territory, but this time it actually sounds like a good move.
Medium CBS, Fridays at 9 p.m. Premieres Sept. 25 Normal breakdown:Medium is a drama inspired by the real-life story of research medium Allison Dubois (Patricia Arquette), an extraordinary young wife and mother who ... has gradually come to grips with her extraordinary ability to talk to dead people, see current events and the future through her dreams and read people's thoughts. Dubois works as a consultant to District Attorney Manuel Devalos, using her psychic abilities to solve violent and horrifying crimes. Paranormal take:After five seasons with NBC, the show was canceled and picked up by CBS. So the show has a lot to prove with this sixth season. To do so, it flashes forward (it appears to be a theme with fall para pop) four months to Allison out of a coma and back to crime solving. But if CBS wants to prove the show is worth saving, there's a lot of work to be done. Maybe a crossover with Ghost Whisperer would help.
does not precisely sound like the source material for a successful romantic/ action/comedy movie starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.
by way of 
. Still another poster has our two pretty movie stars looking hard and uneasy, eyes cast slightly behind them at unseen pursuers.
mindbending reality flick - and also sets up a disappointing scenario for viewers looking for exactly that. The Adjustment Bureau isn’t an action movie, or science fiction conspiracy flick or ill-fated lovers romance.
