Sanctuary makes online premiere

The first “webisode” of Sanctuary, the new Internet-based fantasy series that stars Amanda Tapping (“Samantha Carter”), is now online! Visit SanctuaryForAll.com to download the 17-minute installment (hi-res, $1.99), or check it out for free (low-res) at YouTube.

Webisode 1 is the first of eight, which together make up the new series’ approximately 2-hour pilot movie. The first four installments will be offered to the worldwide public free of charge via YouTube and other video distribution sites, with future downloads priced at $1.99 each.

The show was conceived and written by Damian Kindler, a former writer-producer for Stargate SG-1, and directed by Martin Wood.

The world’s first broadcast-quality series made specifically for online distribution, Sanctuary tells the story of Helen Magnus (Tapping), a 157-year-old scientist who runs a secret organization that seeks out extraordinary people.

Though Sanctuary has no official ties to Stargate, other familiar faces from the Vancouver talent pool who appear in the first webisode include Christopher Heyerdahl (“Halling,” Wraith) as the sinister villain John Druitt, David Hewlett (“Rodney McKay”) as a psychopathic murder, and Kavan Smith (“Lorne”) as a police detective.

Watch the first webisode for free now at SanctuaryForAll.com!