New Sanctuary details revealed

Stargate SG-1 co-star Amanda Tapping recently shared new details on her new online fantasy series, Sanctuary, in an appearance on Canada’s morning show Urban Rush. Tapping will executive produce and play Dr. Helen Magnus on the pioneering new media series, set to debut on the Internet later this year.

“She’s 157 [years old],” Tapping revealed of her own character on the show. “She’s a doctor. She was one of the first doctors in the Royal College back in Victorian England. She was engaged to Jack the Ripper.”

Magnus also has a daughter by Jack the Ripper. “The daughter’s pretty cool,” Tapping said. “She’s kick-ass.”

The show is set around a modern-day sanctuary established for all sorts of creatures and powerful beings. “Her father started this sanctuary, where he collects all these disparate creatures and the ‘abnormals’ from around the world. So anyone from werewolves to vampires … they have to have some sort of skill, otherwise they’re not interesting!”

“In our pilot we have a little boy, Alexi, who is from Chernobyl, who has a weird thing happen to him because of radioactivity.”

Through Dr. Magnus’s work with these creatures, Tapping said, she has been given the gift — or perhaps the curse — of longevity.

Sanctuary is now in production for a spring premiere on the Internet. The show is produced by Stage 3 Media, created by SG-1 writer Damian Kindler, directed by SG-1‘s Martin Wood, and executive produced by Tapping and N. John Smith. Here’s how the studio describes the new show:

Stem cells, gene therapy, transplants, cloning … The very meaning of the word “humanity” changes daily in the modern world. But there is a darker side to the evolution of mankind, a truth only a few brave souls are willing to face: There are monsters loose in the world. And they are the key to the future of our race.

Each webisode of Sanctuary follows the exploits of Dr. Helen Magnus (Tapping) as she seeks out all manner of terrifying and monstrous creatures. She is aided in her quest by her reluctant prot‚g‚ Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) and her intrepid, if somewhat reckless, daughter Ashley (Emilie Ullerup). Together they will be drawn into a frightening and mysterious world populated by beings that defy explanation.

Fusing stunning visual effects, video game technology and cutting edge web design, Sanctuary takes the viewer into a thrilling world where science meets the supernatural. This fictional online universe fills the void left by traditional network television by providing multiple High Definition resolutions, immersive interaction, and direct communication between the viewer and the Sanctuary creative team.

Tapping also told the show that former Stargate SG-1 leading man Richard Dean Anderson could appear in at least one of the upcoming feature films — probably the second, Stargate: Continuum. “Fingers crossed for the second one,” she said. “We’re hoping. But I don’t think anything has been finalized.”

Watch the full Urban Rush segment now at YouTube. Also don’t miss the brand new Sactuary teaser trailer at the show’s official Web site, SanctuaryForAll.com!

(Thanks to minigeek and Liam Murphy for contributing)