Sanctuary (web series)

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Sanctuary
Format	Fantasy
Created by	Damian Kindler
Starring	Amanda Tapping Robin Dunne Emilie Ullerup Christopher Heyerdahl
Country of origin	Canada
No. of episodes	8 (to date) (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	approx. 15 minutes
Broadcast
Original run	May 14, 2007 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Sanctuary is a fantasy video series distributed over the Internet, which premiered on May 14, 2007. Sanctuary stars Amanda Tapping, Robin Dunne, Emilie Ullerup and Christopher Heyerdahl. The US Sci Fi Channel picked up the series for a full 13-episode first season on January 31, 2008.^[1]

1 Plot summary
2 Characters
3 Production
- 3.1 Technology
4 Community involvement and interaction
5 Distribution
6 Crew
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Each webisode of Sanctuary follows the exploits of Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis) as she seeks out all manner of terrifying and monstrous creatures. She is aided in her quest by her reluctant protégé Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne, Dawson’s Creek, The Big Hit, Species 3) and her intrepid, if somewhat reckless daughter Ashley (Emilie Ullerup, Battlestar Galactica). Together they will be drawn into a frightening and mysterious world populated by beings that defy explanation.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Helen Magnus

Helen Magnus (Tapping), was one of the first female doctors and scientists of the Royal College of Surgeons and was born some time in the Victorian Era. Frustrated by the stubborn male members of the College's Board of Directors (who refused to let her join despite her obvious genius), she asked her father Doctor Anthony Magnus, himself a doctor who had shaped modern medicine as we know it, to teach her. Instead of the medical training she sought, Helen was introduced to Anthony's "private research", that of studying and helping "abnormals" (the creatures and magical beings that roam the Earth). Helen persevered in continuing her father's research after he died, and (through some sort of accident) gained the ability of longevity, so she cannot age, or die of natural causes.

[edit] Will Zimmerman

Will Zimmerman (Dunne), a respected psychiatrist working in "Old City", helps the residents to survive in the poverty-stricken area. While investigating the mysterious deaths of two local police officers, Will is drawn to Helen, one of his colleagues, who introduces him into her field of research. Will accepts the post as her assistant, but is still skeptical of things that science cannot explain.

[edit] Ashley Magnus

Ashley Magnus (Ullerup), is the daughter of Helen and her brief-lover John Druitt. Ashley grew up believing her father was killed by one of the many exotic creatures in the world, and thus became obsessed with killing them, using all manner of advanced weaponry. Ashley was close to Helen, but the two became estranged when John resurfaced and the truth was revealed. Ashley, needing some time alone, has since left the institute and is now hunting extremely dangerous creatures abroad for sport.

[edit] John Druitt

John Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl), is a human from the far future who has the ability to manipulate space and time and teleport near-infinite distances. For unknown reasons, John went back in time to the Victorian Era, and, enjoying the scenery and local attractions of London, became a respected member of the community and eventually Helen's lover. Helen, a researcher into the paranormal, was horrified to discover that every time John uses his teleportation, it subtlety manipulates his DNA causing him to display increasingly homicidal behaviour. By the time Helen found out and went to help him, it was too late, as John had become Jack the Ripper and was murdering local prostitutes to satiate his growing bloodlust. John proceeded to teleport to times unknown, while Helen remained in her own time, having the child she conceived with John (Ashley), and also developing weapons to defend herself should he return. John resurfaced in 2007, baring a scar where Helen had shot him that his growing cellular instability prevented from healing properly. He was subtlety manipulating a part-monster boy named Alexei to murder people, guiding the boy to become a serial killer. Somehow, John found out about Ashley's existence, and proceeded to kidnap her and attempt to turn her to his side. But Helen, Bigfoot and Will found his hideout and engaged in a short battle. Attempting to escape, John was injected by Helen with a substance to jam his teleportation. Despite Helen's warning that he wouldn't survive it, John forced-teleported away. His fate is unknown.

[edit] Guests

David Hewlett as Larry Tolson
Dan Payne as "Monster on TV"
Ryan Robbins as Henry Foss
Chuck Campbell as Two Faced Guy
Cainan Wiebe as Alexei
Peter DeLuise as Ernie Watts
Paul McGillion as Wexford
Laura Mennell as Caird
Miranda Frigon as Danu
Leah Cairns as Tatha
Kavan Smith as Detective Joe Kavanaugh
Jim Byrnes as Dr. Gregory Magnus

[edit] Production

The series is produced by Stage 3 Media based in Vancouver, British Columbia, located in Canada, founded in 2006. The two hour pilot episode (comprising eight webisodes) was filmed from January 3 to January 31, 2007^[2] at Bridge Studios.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Technology

Sanctuary is filmed almost entirely using the green screen technique. Unlike many other shows, elaborate sets are not built for the scenes to be filmed; instead, they are created using CGI technology.^[3]

[edit] Community involvement and interaction

Fans are actively encouraged to be involved in the project in a variety of ways, ranging from joining in discussions in the forums or blog, to creating and sharing their screen captures and artwork, and creating remixes of the videos. The official fan site, SanctuaryFans, lets users communicate, discuss episodes, and share their creations.

Several unedited scenes, where the actors are seen in front of the green screen, are provided with each episode. The intention is to allow the viewers to create their own environments in which to place the actors, and they are encouraged to share their creations via sites like YouTube.

The online media player, designed for streaming the video, is designed with interaction in mind. The player provides the ability to capture and download or email screen captures of the video.

Some form of game based on Sanctuary is planned.^[4]

[edit] Distribution

Unlike traditional TV series, the primary distribution channel for Sanctuary was originally the Internet. Episodes were sold directly to viewers on the official website. The episodes, called webisodes, are about 15-20 minutes in duration and were released bi-weekly. The first four of the initial eight webisodes are available for free viewing in low resolution on YouTube, Google Video, and similar sites. All eight webisodes are freely available in standard definition on the Vuze network, with HD versions priced at $2.50.

On January 31, 2008, Hollywood Reporter announced that the SciFi channel had green lit a 13 episode season of the series.^[5] Though the show's creators initially said the deal with the SciFi channel wouldn't impact on the web access of the series, the show's web site has since been turned into an online chat forum. The SD and HD versions of the show are no longer available for sale, or download by those who had previously purchased an episode.