Sanctuary at Comic Con

Comic Con was months ago, but we decided to hang on to this report until closer to Sanctuary’s premiere so the information would be fresh in our minds.

What started out as a small internet project two years ago with only a small booth at Comic Con has become a full-fledged hit, filling a panel room full of over 2000 fans; and breaking records for the SyFy Channel as the only internet project to get a second season.

I am talking about the innovative series Sanctuary that stars Stargate SG1 alum Amanda Tapping as Dr. Helen Magnus, a 157-year-old protector (and in some instances, captor) of ‘abnormals’ and Robin Dunne as Dr. Will Zimmerman, a brilliant forensic psychiatrist who works with Dr. Magnus. Along for the ride at the Comic Con panel with Ms. Tapping and Mr. Dunne were Executive Producers Martin Wood and Damian Kindler and guest moderator Michael Logan from TV Guide.

Sanctuary returns on SyFy October 9th.

As the cast and crew took their seats, the audience was treated to a clip of old and new scenes from the show and were told that almost all of Season 2 is complete except for the extensive CGI work for which the show has become famous. In the words of Mr. Wood, the “CGI still has a long way to go to be done” in time for the October 9 return of the series. He also stated that, “if you liked what you saw in the first season, you have no idea what’s coming next”, including seeing inside the other Sanctuaries throughout the globe.

One of the greatest things about the show to Mr. Dunne is that “they push the envelope” and aren’t afraid to “be outside the box”. He and Ms. Tapping spoke at length about one particular upcoming episode entitled “Next Tuesday” where they filmed a difficult helicopter scene and spent an inordinate amount of time in grungy water. “There were no stunt people, it was all Amanda and Robin,” recounted both Mr. Kindler and Mr. Wood.

It was shared that the second half of the season premiere was filmed in Japan rather than using the elaborate green screen technique that has become a staple of the series and both stars recounted a harrowing stunt scene in which Ms. Tapping was actually racing a car with Mr. Dunne in the passenger seat. He quipped that he was “terrified of Amanda’s driving” and the reactions you see him display in the episode were “very real”. The Executive Producers also gave credit to the Emmy nomination that was received by the show’s visual effects department, explaining that it takes 60 artists 29 weeks to work on all the effects for the show.

Ms. Tapping was also excited about getting to direct an episode; this one entitled ‘Veritas’. She described the episode as being when Magnus “loses her marbles” and she raved about Mr. Dunne’s performance in that episode. Mr. Wood and Mr. Kindler also spoke about a post-apocalyptic episode that will prominently feature “Will in a very different light and see the Sanctuary ‘all messed up’.”

And when asked about injuries sustained in the making the show, Mr. Dunne joked “do you have 4 hours?” and Ms. Tapping quipped that she should never do her own stunts, but that’s precisely what she “has done over the past 13 years”.

A new character will be introduced in Season 2 – Kate Freelander, who is a freelance operative who, as the Executive Producers explain, is a “lost soul who would never admit it”. She is street-wise who speaks from the gut and is a “cool cowboy character” who will be introduced in the season opening two-parter.

Guest stars this new season will include Michael Shanks (Stargate SG1), Chris Gauthier and Erica Cerra (both from Eureka) and Callum Blue (Dead Like Me).

You can learn more about Sanctuary, its cast, watch full episodes and even see the Comic Con trailer on the Sanctuary website. And, mark your calendar for the season premiere on October 9 at 10 p.m.