Sanctuary (season 1)
Encyclopedia
The first season of the Canadian
science fiction
–fantasy
television series Sanctuary premiered on the Sci Fi Channel
in the United States
on October 3, 2008, and concluded on ITV4
in the United Kingdom
on January 5, 2009, after 13 episodes. It follows the actions of a secret organization known as the Sanctuary, who track down a series of creatures known as abnormals, and then bring them to the Sanctuary for refuge.
The main story arc of the season involves the Sanctuary working against the Cabal, an organization who seek to control all abnormals for their own gain. Amanda Tapping
, Robin Dunne
, Emilie Ullerup
, and Christopher Heyerdahl
are billed in the opening credits as the main cast.
Initially an eight-part web series
, Sanctuary was successful enough for Sci Fi to commission a television series. Series creator and head writer Damian Kindler
hired Sam Egan
, and the two wrote all the episodes and composed the season-long storyline. Many episodes had been written throughout the 2007 Christmas season before the season was green-lit. Principal photography started in May 2008. It was the first instance in North American television where RED cameras were used. Most of the season was filmed using green screen
in a warehouse in Burnaby, British Columbia
, though there are instances throughout that were filmed on location, including the Riverview Hospital
in Coquitlam and the North Shore Mountains
outside Vancouver
. Anthem Visual Effects produced the season's visual effects
. The virtual sets meant that they produced around 400 visual effects per episode. Other forms of special effects, including prosthetics, were used to present the abnormals. The first season was budgeted at an estimated $21 million.
Sanctuarys first season aired in over 50 countries worldwide. The season premiere drew the largest audience with 2.7 million viewers, the highest rated Sci Fi premiere since Eureka
in July 2006. Including time-shifted viewing, the season was seen by an average of 2.35 million viewers per episode; the ratings success allowed Sci Fi to renew Sanctuary for a second season
. Critical reactions of the season were mixed. Some reviewers noted that, although the first six episodes were "hit and miss", they liked the later episodes. In total, it won five awards: one Gemini
and four Leos. The first season was released on a four-disc set on DVD
and Blu-ray Disc
on September 9, 2009, in Region 4
, September 15 in Region 1, and October 15 in Region 2.
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Christopher Heyerdahl plays two characters: Bigfoot, an abnormal who works in the Sanctuary, and John Druitt, Magnus' former fiancé and father to Ashley. As Bigfoot, Heyerdahl had to wear prosthetics. Tapping believed that Heyerdahl "has this incredible gift wearing prosthetics and acting through them and creating real humanity, and he does it with Bigfoot." Ullerup also felt nervous, yet excited playing every scene with Heyerdahl when he plays Druitt.
plays "two-faced guy", a character with another face at the back of his head. The back face was accomplished using visual effects. Panou
plays Sylvio, an associate of Ashley's. The character was originally named Ernie and was played by director Peter DeLuise
in the webisodes, but he was unavailable to reshoot his scenes for the season premiere. Jonathon Young stars as Nikola Tesla. Heyerdahl suggested Young to the producers, who ended up being highly impressed by his performance. Young also played Tesla in a one-man show before appearing in the series. Whilst filming the second part of "Revelations", Young's scenes in the underground city were filmed first, as he was scheduled for another play while the episode was shot.
At the time of filming "The Five", the actors who played Watson and Griffin had not been cast yet. The producers would later cast Peter Wingfield as Watson. According to Amanda Tapping, casting Wingfield was "so easy" as "he has this sensibility about him, much like [Christopher Heyerdahl] does." While filming his scenes, Wingfield did not want his exoskeleton prop to be removed between takes, as he wanted to stay in character. When the producers conceived Clara Griffin, the granddaughter of Nigel Griffin, they were looking for a young local actress to play the part who would look like a potential love interest to Will Zimmerman. Christine Chatelain would later play the part after she was recommended by Dunne, as they had worked together before.
When Adrien Dorval auditioned for his part on "Kush", Kindler did not like his performance, but Wood did, as he believed the actor's performance was perfect for a character who was stranded on a plane. For the same episode, Sarah Strange and Thai-Hoa Lee had to learn how to speak Standard Tibetan
phonetically a week in advance of filming. Katharine Isabelle
guest starred in "Nubbins" as Sophie. While filming her scenes, Isabelle complained of a dry eye problem, which kept making her almost tear up. However, it ended up being beneficial for her portrayal of her character. Canadian actor Daryl Shuttleworth
guest stars as a fight promoter in "Warriors". During a readthrough of the script, Shuttleworth decided his character should speak with a British accent like in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
. The producers wanted to cast Rekha Sharma in "Instinct" as she appeared in several other Vancouver-based productions, including Battlestar Galactica
. The producers felt she "rocked" her audition, as she brought a lot of energy to her character.
conceived the pilot in 2001. When he became a Stargate SG-1
writer, he later asked Martin Wood
, a director from the same show, if there was potential for a series, which Wood believed there was. A few years later, Kindler asked Amanda Tapping
to take part in the project, and she accepted. Sanctuary originally started as an eight-part bi-weekly web series
in 2007, produced by Vancouver
-based Stage 3 Media
. The producers of the series were looking to expand the series on other mediums, including television. Due to the success of the web series, in January 2008, the Sci Fi Channel
announced the commissioning of a first season of 13 episodes. The move to television has allowed the producers to widen the scope for the season. According to actress and executive producer Amanda Tapping, the season "is very different from what you've seen on the Web". However, her character, Helen Magnus, would still be a "crazy character; [...] very eccentric and very sexy and very unapologetic". The season was given an estimated budget of $21 million.
and Kindler; Kindler hired Egan to assist in writing the first season, as he believed Egan to be creative, passionate, and talented. Several episodes of the first season were written throughout the Christmas season in 2007. After the series was given the green-light, they were rewritten to establish a season-long storyline. Some of the episodes finished their writing stage as little as two and a half weeks before filming commenced. At times after the scripts were written, Sci Fi executive Mark Stern fed back to the writers, asking for certain elements to be explained so the audience could understand.
Kindler wrote both parts of "Sanctuary for All", as well "Fata Morgana", "Kush", "The Five", "Requiem", "Instinct", and the second part of "Revelations". He penned his scripts quickly, with "Kush" being written in three and a half days. Wood contributed to the story of "Fata Morgana" by bringing up the idea of incorporating the Morrígan from Irish mythology
, which would start giving the season an ancient and mythological feel. "Kush" introduces a series of episodes involving the working relationship between Will and Magnus. "The Five" became a significant part of the series mythology, revealing the Five, which Magnus is a part of, how Magnus got her longevity, and that Henry Foss is actually part werewolf. Tapping believed that introducing the Five was a "cool concept". Kindler introduced vampires in the episode, and felt it would be best to introduce them as a dead species. He also felt that including real-life historic figures such as Tesla
was a "very ballsy thing". In "Requiem", Kindler wanted a scenario in which Will has to make a difficult decision to content with Magnus when she becomes the threat of the episode. Though Kindler at first believed it was not a good episode, it ended up as a highlight of the season according to the producers. In writing "Instinct", Kindler, inspired by Cloverfield
, wanted to show the audience the protagonists hunting an abnormal in real-time, where it does not always go according to plan.
Egan meanwhile, wrote "Folding Man", "Nubbins", "Edward", "Warriors", and the first part of "Revelations". He also co-wrote "Sanctuary for All" with Kindler. Egan liked to include the Rashomon effect
in some of his scripts, a plot device which interprets scenes from different points of view. After writing "Folding Man", Egan realized that he inadvertently based it on an episode of The X-Files
. "Nubbins" was inspired by the Star Trek original series
episode "The Trouble With Tribbles". "Edward" was inspired by Egan hearing of a young English man with savant syndrome
, who flew over a city he had not visited before, and was able to accurately draw the city on a mural
some 20 feet wide. Because the episode involved an abnormal, Egan wanted the boy to draw much faster. In writing "Warriors", Egan wanted to reintroduce Magnus' father Gregory Magnus from the webisodes; there were plans to introduce him in "Fata Morgana", but the idea did not make it to the final episode. Gregory was written not to have the longevity of his daughter. Egan decided not to include a full explanation of how he survived a hundred years without aging, but wanted to hint to the audience that he was in fact cryogenically frozen
by the Cabal. The intention behind "Revelations" was to tie some of the previous episodes together, particularly involving the Cabal, and then set them up for the second season. The main issue with writing the finale was showing Ashley being interrogated, where in fact she was experimented on to turn her to the Cabal. Because Kindler wrote his script quickly, he believed that the misdirect did not turn out the way he hoped.
. Each episode took around seven days to film, though some were completed in as little as five and a half. The first three episodes of the season were reshot from the original eight webisodes; the two-part premiere "Sanctuary for All" was reshot from the first four webisodes, while the third episode, "Fata Morgana", was reshot from the final four. Eighteen months passed between shooting the web series and the first three episodes. Difficulties with this included the fact that Cainan Wiebe, who portrays Alexi, grew taller, and the actors consciously played the characters to be more open to each other. It was filmed using Red One cameras, the first series in North America to use them. The Red camera system does away with tape and film and records straight to a hard drive, allowing Anthem Visual Effects and the series' post production team immediate access to the day's footage, and is capable of recording at 4K resolution
—four times the resolution of current high-definition
.
The season was filmed using five directors. Wood directed eight of the thirteen episodes; he spent 17 days preparing to film the premiere. He found that "Requiem" was his favorite episode to direct, while "The Five" was his least favorite, as he had to keep reorganizing six styrofoam
sets. Among the remaining five episodes, James Head
directed "Folding Man", Peter DeLuise directed "Nubbins", Brenton Spencer
directed "Edward" and "Warriors", and Steven A. Adelson directed "Instinct"; Adelson filmed the episode with 40 long takes to accomplish a real-time perspective. DeLuise was approached by Wood to direct "Nubbins" as it was considered a lighter episode, which DeLuise preferred over a dramatic episode. In the past DeLuise would make cameo appearance
s in his works, but broke tradition in directing this episode.
According to Head, about 70% of the season was filmed using green screen
in the Burnaby warehouse. Unlike many other shows, elaborate sets were not built for the scenes to be filmed; instead, they are created using CGI
technology. Because of the virtual sets, the actors had to visualise what the rooms they were in looked like. To aid them, practical props were placed. The production crew also used rain and wind machine
s to film scenes set outdoors. However, practical sets were also used throughout the season. The first 20 minutes of "Sanctuary for All" was filmed at the partially decommissioned Riverview Hospital
, described by Kindler as a "Swiss Army knife
of locations". Elsewhere, the studio parking lot
and alleyways of The Bridge Studios
provided a surrogate for several different types of locations, like city streets. A Volvo
warehouse provided the filming location for "Instinct". The final filming days were spent on the North Shore Mountains
outside Vancouver.
The fifth episode, "Kush", was filmed on a damaged fuselage set, which was built by production designer Bridget McGuire. The episode's cast disliked the episode the most because they had to act as if they were in freezing temperatures, where in fact it was around 40 degrees Celsius
. Because it was an expensive set, the producers wanted to reuse it. It was later redesigned to look like the inside of a submarine for "Requiem". It was redressed again for "Revelations". Although released third, "Fata Morgana" was filmed as the fourth episode, and was considered to be aired after "Folding Man". However, Tapping felt strongly that it would make a great stand alone episode after "Sanctuary for All", and the characters appeared more comfortable with each other in "Folding Man". Swapping the episodes caused a major continuity issue, in which Ashley appears to show scratches on her neck from "Sanctuary for All" in "Folding Man", but not in between.
were produced by Anthem Visual Effects, with the company's Lee Wilson serving as co-producer and visual effects supervisor. Because it was filmed in green screen, each episode contains an estimated 400 visual effect shots. In contrast, an average episode of Stargate SG-1, which Tapping starred in, contained only 12. One of the larger visual effects sequences was the opening sequence of the premiere, which took three months to produce. Each visual effect produced in the original webisodes was remastered. Among the characters, the movement of two-faced guy's rear face were made with Computer-generated imagery
(CGI), though it was a difficult effect to produce. A prosthetic application was added to the back of Campbell's head when the second face is not talking. The mermaid
character, Sally, was entirely a visual effect, with the face of Mandy May, wife of director Steven A. Adelson, rendered onto it. Creating the eponymous abnormals in "Nubbins" and their predator was what Sam Egan described as "a proper budget-driven issue" because rendering several CGI creatures at once and having them move would be difficult. It was decided to have them camouflaged in an attempt to make work easier for the visual effects team, but it did not work out as well as the producers hoped. To achieve Nubbin interaction with the cast, guide versions, nicknamed Oompa-Loompas, were made for them to carry. In designing Tesla's transition to a vampire, the producers, realizing vampires were included in several other works in the past, wanted to make them look unique. Wilson based the vampire look to the 2007 film 30 Days of Night
.
Because of the hard work by Anthem, the producers made "Kush" and "Requiem" into bottle episode
s, to give the visual effects team a break. Instead, other forms of special effects were used. To create the Himalayan feel of "Kush", the production crew used wind machines and paper snow
. However, the fake snow became a problem for the cast, as they suffered from bloodshot eyes
and scratchy throats when exposed to it. Aquarium
s were placed outside each port hole of the set in "Requiem". To complete the effects where Druitt teleports, Heyerdahl would walk out of the shot while every other cast member has to stay still, until the directors signal them to react; the shot of Heyerdahl walking out of frame would later be cut. Another effect involving Heyerdahl is a scene between both his characters, Bigfoot and Druitt, in "Revelations". To complete the shot, Heyerdahl had to film two different shots: one with him as Druitt talking to nothing, and another with him as Bigfoot talking to nothing. When both characters can be seen walking together, a stand-in would replace Heyerdahl as Bigfoot.
Another form of special effects are prosthetics used to create abnormals. They were composed by a team of make-up artists. Todd Masters stated that his team tried to make them interesting and unique every week. The abnormal shown at the end of "Kush" was a stand-in who wore a full prosthetic suit; the costume took a long time to apply. Among the prosthetics used in "Warriors", Dunne wore a muscle suit that was previously worn by Vinnie Jones
during the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand
.
The corpses used in the beginning of "Sanctuary for All" were mannequins the props department had in their possession, with holes added in the foreheads. Using mannequins was easier than using actors. The drawings in "Edward" were produced by Sanctuary art department. The season's stunts were coordinated by Marshall Virtue. To develop the Fight Club scenes in "Warriors", fight coordinator Rob Hader helped with choreographing
the stunts. While filming the scenes, Hader played one of the fighters. He replaced an actor who broke a knee after filming for six seconds.
, it aired on Movie Channel One of The Movie Network
. In the United Kingdom
, the season was picked up for broadcast by ITV4
. The first episode was broadcast on October 6, 2008, only three days after the release on the Sci Fi Channel. In Australia
, the season debuted on ABC2
on March 1, 2010.
in July 2006. It was the number one prime time cable entertainment program among adults aged 25 through 54 years, and fourth among adults aged 18 through 49 years. Because of the high ratings, views of Sci Fi's Sanctuary page rose to 1.2 million, as well as 287,000 video streams the day it was broadcast. Viewing figures for the following episodes were somewhat under 2 million, but the finale drew its biggest audience since the premiere; "Revelations (Part 2)" was seen by 2 million viewers and received a 1.6 household rating. Including timeshifted viewings, the first season averaged 2.35 million viewers, and a 1.8 rating. The first season of Sanctuary beat the fifth season
of its lead in Stargate Atlantis
by two tenths of a point. Because of the success, Sci Fi ordered a second season
on November 2008. In the United Kingdom, the first part of "Sanctuary for All" was seen by 565,000 viewers. The second part received 608,000 viewers the following week. Since then, ratings have steadily declined to 398,000 by the season finale. The penultimate episode received the lowest ratings of the season, with only 279,000 viewers.
gave the season a normalized rating of 56 out of 100 based on seven reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Linda Stasi of the New York Post
stated "the monsters are first rate, the virtual sets are very cool, the acting is excellent. Why I was fighting fatigue while watching, I can't say. It was either the martinis from Steve Dunleavy's farewell party - or the plot." Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune
felt the pace was "a little on the stately side", and was unclear why Tapping "speaks with an iffy English accent", but believed the "low-key, low-budget but well-intentioned sci-fi/action hybrid might be of interest to fans of Tapping's earlier work as Samantha Carter
on Stargate SG-1
". Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times
felt that "much of it feels dreadfully slow, not so much moody as stretched for time. Hard-to-sell dialogue such as 'Such imperfect children are often adopted by well-meaning immigrant families' doesn't make it flow any faster", but still stated "it looks great".
Brian Lowry of Variety
called the first two episodes "competent but uninspiring", and said it "suffers by comparison with any number of similarly themed dramas, most recently BBC America
's fun-loving Torchwood
". Lowry also believes that "it's hard to imagine this series doing much more than satisfying some of the odd humanoids still pining for (and emailing on behalf of) Stargate
". Mike Hale of The New York Times
felt that Sanctuary "sits at about the same level of writing and performance as the Stargate shows, which means it doesn't have the narrative force of Battlestar Galactica
or the wit and creativity of Sci Fi's best original series, Eureka", adding that "it's not an embarrassment for the channel, but it doesn't raise the stakes either". Hale also noted that there is a connection with Stargate, which is "in its 12th year and still going strong".
David Blackwell of Enterline Media thought that Sanctuary was an "interesting concept", but felt the first six episodes were "hit-or-miss". Of the series' use of green screen for sets, Blackwell stated "sometimes it really works and sometimes the CGI sets could use improvement". He also felt that Amanda Tapping was convincing as a British scientist. In conclusion, Blackwell stated "Sanctuary does take a while to kick in, but it is a very good series once the writers actually write something with depth." Alex Walker of Den of Geek rated the first season three stars out of five, stating "the acting and scripting is good, but Sanctuary lacks the wit and charm of the genre's top shows like Doctor Who
and Battlestar Galactica
. Also, the way some episodes alternate between fighting and exposition gives the impression of watching someone else play a videogame." Walker also dubbed it a "poor man's Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but said that it "makes for "agreeable early-evening viewing". Walker also believed that the DVD of the first season should really be for "die-hard fans only".
Paul Simpson of Total Sci-Fi rated the season 7 out of 10, and summed it up as "although frequently predictable, Sanctuary usually provides an entertaining hour." John Sinnott of DVD Talk
, being a fan of Tapping's earlier work of Stargate SG-1, believes the first season is "highly recommended". Sinnott also noticed that while "the first six shows are so-so [...] the last seven are great".
for Best Visual Effects. The other four were Leo Awards
. "Warriors" won "Best Make-Up in a Dramatic Series". Actor Ryan Robbins won "Best Guest Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series" for his role as Henry Foss in "Edward", beating co-star Jonathan Young. Gabrielle Rose
won "Best Guest Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series" for the same episode. Amanda Tapping won "Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series" for her role as Helen Magnus in "Requiem". The most prestigious nomination for the season was for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for "Sanctuary for All", but it lost the award to Heroes
.
box set of the first season, published by E1 Entertainment, was first released in Region 1
on September 15, 2009, in Region 2 on October 12, 2009, and in Region 4 on September 9, 2009. The season was later released on Blu-ray Disc
in the United States on June 15, 2010, and in Australia on June 9, 2010. The four-disc set consists of all 13 episodes, each with audio commentaries
from cast and crew, as well as the original webisodes in two installments. The set also includes three behind the scenes featurettes: Welcome to the Sanctuary, The Sanctuary Residents, and Sanctuary Visual Effects, as well as a blooper reel, photo gallery, and sneak preview of season two. John Sinnott of DVD Talk reacted positively to the number of extras, rating it four and a half stars out of five; Sinnott was also "very pleased" to see the original webisodes included in the set.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
–fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
television series Sanctuary premiered on the Sci Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on October 3, 2008, and concluded on ITV4
ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on January 5, 2009, after 13 episodes. It follows the actions of a secret organization known as the Sanctuary, who track down a series of creatures known as abnormals, and then bring them to the Sanctuary for refuge.
The main story arc of the season involves the Sanctuary working against the Cabal, an organization who seek to control all abnormals for their own gain. Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...
, Robin Dunne
Robin Dunne
Robin Dunne is a Canadian actor who is mainly known for having had numerous leading roles in sequels throughout his career, and lately for his role as Doctor Will Zimmerman in the cult Science fiction Television series, Sanctuary....
, Emilie Ullerup
Emilie Ullerup
Emilie Ullerup is a Danish actress. She is best known for playing Ashley Magnus on the television series Sanctuary.-Early life and education:...
, and Christopher Heyerdahl
Christopher Heyerdahl
Christopher Heyerdahl is a Canadian actor who has had roles in many prominent television shows and movies. He is tall.-Biography:Heyerdahl was born in the mountains of British Columbia and is of Norwegian and Scottish descent...
are billed in the opening credits as the main cast.
Initially an eight-part web series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
, Sanctuary was successful enough for Sci Fi to commission a television series. Series creator and head writer Damian Kindler
Damian Kindler
Damian Kindler is an Australian-born Canadian writer and producer. He emigrated to Toronto, Canada, when he was young. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia. He lives with his wife and his two children Hannah and Phoebe Kindler.He is most noted for his contributions to the Stargate...
hired Sam Egan
Sam Egan
Sam Egan is a journalist, and a writer/producer for television.His credits include writing and producing for such shows as: Quincy, M.E., The Incredible Hulk, The Fall Guy, Northern Exposure, The Outer Limits, Sanctuary and Jeremiah...
, and the two wrote all the episodes and composed the season-long storyline. Many episodes had been written throughout the 2007 Christmas season before the season was green-lit. Principal photography started in May 2008. It was the first instance in North American television where RED cameras were used. Most of the season was filmed using green screen
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
in a warehouse in Burnaby, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, though there are instances throughout that were filmed on location, including the Riverview Hospital
Riverview Hospital (Coquitlam)
Riverview Hospital is a mental health facility located in Coquitlam, British Columbia, operating under the governance of BC Mental Health & Addiction Services. Originally called The Hospital for the Mind, and then Essondale , Riverview opened in 1913 and had 4,630 patients at its peak...
in Coquitlam and the North Shore Mountains
North Shore Mountains
The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city....
outside Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. Anthem Visual Effects produced the season's visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
. The virtual sets meant that they produced around 400 visual effects per episode. Other forms of special effects, including prosthetics, were used to present the abnormals. The first season was budgeted at an estimated $21 million.
Sanctuarys first season aired in over 50 countries worldwide. The season premiere drew the largest audience with 2.7 million viewers, the highest rated Sci Fi premiere since Eureka
Eureka (TV series)
Eureka is an American science fiction television series that premiered on Syfy on July 18, 2006. Since then four seasons have aired, and a fifth is currently being filmed. The second half of season 4 began on SyFy on July 11, 2011 and ended on September 19, 2011...
in July 2006. Including time-shifted viewing, the season was seen by an average of 2.35 million viewers per episode; the ratings success allowed Sci Fi to renew Sanctuary for a second season
Sanctuary (season 2)
The second season of the Canadian science fiction–fantasy television series Sanctuary premiered on Space in Canada and on Syfy in the United States on October 9, 2009, and concluded on the same channel on January 15, 2010 after 13 episodes...
. Critical reactions of the season were mixed. Some reviewers noted that, although the first six episodes were "hit and miss", they liked the later episodes. In total, it won five awards: one Gemini
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
and four Leos. The first season was released on a four-disc set on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on September 9, 2009, in Region 4
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
, September 15 in Region 1, and October 15 in Region 2.
Episodes
In this table, the number in the first column refers to the episode's number within the entire series, whereas the number in the second column indicates the episode's number within this particular season. "U.S. viewers in millions" refers to how many Americans watched the episode live or on the day of broadcast.|-
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Regular cast
The first season consists of four principal cast members. Amanda Tapping plays series protagonist Helen Magnus, a 157 year-old English scientist who runs the Sanctuary network. Tapping darkened her hair color for the role. Robin Dunne plays Will Zimmerman, a former forensic psychiatrist and then Magnus' protégé since the pilot. Damian Kindler noted that Dunne's portrayal as Zimmerman differed vastly between the webisodes and the first season, often joking that Zimmerman was played by two different Dunnes. Emilie Ullerup plays Ashley, Magnus' daughter. Ullerup enjoyed working with the cast during the first season. She felt that Tapping was "such a teacher" to her, and that it had been "such a treat" working with Tapping as a young and new actress.Christopher Heyerdahl plays two characters: Bigfoot, an abnormal who works in the Sanctuary, and John Druitt, Magnus' former fiancé and father to Ashley. As Bigfoot, Heyerdahl had to wear prosthetics. Tapping believed that Heyerdahl "has this incredible gift wearing prosthetics and acting through them and creating real humanity, and he does it with Bigfoot." Ullerup also felt nervous, yet excited playing every scene with Heyerdahl when he plays Druitt.
Recurring cast and guest appearances
Ryan Robbins plays Henry Foss, who runs the Sanctuary's computer and security systems. The producers wanted Henry to set a lighter tone to the series and add "goofy and fun" humor, including in somewhat dire situations. The producers cast Robbins, and were pleased with his performance. Chuck CampbellChuck Campbell
Chuck Campbell is a Canadian actor who portrayed the role of Chuck the Technician on Stargate Atlantis. He had a role in the webseries, Sanctuary.-Personal life:...
plays "two-faced guy", a character with another face at the back of his head. The back face was accomplished using visual effects. Panou
Panou
Panou is a Canadian actor.His birth-name translates to 'God Among Us' in his native Creole. He is 5'11". His first feature film was Trial of a Serial Killer in 1997; he has since had roles in such film projects as Steal This Movie! , the independent feature Fizzy Bizness, and the feature film The...
plays Sylvio, an associate of Ashley's. The character was originally named Ernie and was played by director Peter DeLuise
Peter DeLuise
Peter John DeLuise is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, perhaps best known for directing episodes of science fiction television shows, particularly in the Stargate franchise.-Career:...
in the webisodes, but he was unavailable to reshoot his scenes for the season premiere. Jonathon Young stars as Nikola Tesla. Heyerdahl suggested Young to the producers, who ended up being highly impressed by his performance. Young also played Tesla in a one-man show before appearing in the series. Whilst filming the second part of "Revelations", Young's scenes in the underground city were filmed first, as he was scheduled for another play while the episode was shot.
At the time of filming "The Five", the actors who played Watson and Griffin had not been cast yet. The producers would later cast Peter Wingfield as Watson. According to Amanda Tapping, casting Wingfield was "so easy" as "he has this sensibility about him, much like [Christopher Heyerdahl] does." While filming his scenes, Wingfield did not want his exoskeleton prop to be removed between takes, as he wanted to stay in character. When the producers conceived Clara Griffin, the granddaughter of Nigel Griffin, they were looking for a young local actress to play the part who would look like a potential love interest to Will Zimmerman. Christine Chatelain would later play the part after she was recommended by Dunne, as they had worked together before.
When Adrien Dorval auditioned for his part on "Kush", Kindler did not like his performance, but Wood did, as he believed the actor's performance was perfect for a character who was stranded on a plane. For the same episode, Sarah Strange and Thai-Hoa Lee had to learn how to speak Standard Tibetan
Standard Tibetan
Standard Tibetan is the most widely used spoken form of the Tibetan languages. It is based on the speech of Lhasa, an Ü-Tsang dialect belonging to the Central Tibetan languages. For this reason, Standard Tibetan is often called Central Tibetan...
phonetically a week in advance of filming. Katharine Isabelle
Katharine Isabelle
Katherine Isobel Murray , better known by her screen name Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress, best known for her portrayal of Ginger in Ginger Snaps, and as Gibb in Freddy vs. Jason.-Biography:...
guest starred in "Nubbins" as Sophie. While filming her scenes, Isabelle complained of a dry eye problem, which kept making her almost tear up. However, it ended up being beneficial for her portrayal of her character. Canadian actor Daryl Shuttleworth
Daryl Shuttleworth
Daryl Shuttleworth is a Canadian actor. He has had numerous small roles in a wide variety of North American television shows and films over the years, but is best known for his role as Detective Sean "Bub" Bailey in the gay-themed Donald Strachey mystery films.Shuttleworth is the former president...
guest stars as a fight promoter in "Warriors". During a readthrough of the script, Shuttleworth decided his character should speak with a British accent like in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 British crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie. The story is a heist film involving a self-confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three card brag...
. The producers wanted to cast Rekha Sharma in "Instinct" as she appeared in several other Vancouver-based productions, including Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
. The producers felt she "rocked" her audition, as she brought a lot of energy to her character.
Development
Series creator Damian KindlerDamian Kindler
Damian Kindler is an Australian-born Canadian writer and producer. He emigrated to Toronto, Canada, when he was young. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia. He lives with his wife and his two children Hannah and Phoebe Kindler.He is most noted for his contributions to the Stargate...
conceived the pilot in 2001. When he became a Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
writer, he later asked Martin Wood
Martin Wood
Martin Wood is a Canadian television director who has been directing since the mid 1990s. Specializing in science fiction, where he is best known for his work as a director and producer on Stargate SG-1 , as well as its spin-off series Stargate Atlantis .-Career:Martin Wood began his television...
, a director from the same show, if there was potential for a series, which Wood believed there was. A few years later, Kindler asked Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...
to take part in the project, and she accepted. Sanctuary originally started as an eight-part bi-weekly web series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
in 2007, produced by Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
-based Stage 3 Media
Stage 3 Media
Stage 3 Media is a video production company. Their premier production, Sanctuary is the first high definition dramatic series designed specifically for the web.The company, which is based in Vancouver, was founded in 2006....
. The producers of the series were looking to expand the series on other mediums, including television. Due to the success of the web series, in January 2008, the Sci Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
announced the commissioning of a first season of 13 episodes. The move to television has allowed the producers to widen the scope for the season. According to actress and executive producer Amanda Tapping, the season "is very different from what you've seen on the Web". However, her character, Helen Magnus, would still be a "crazy character; [...] very eccentric and very sexy and very unapologetic". The season was given an estimated budget of $21 million.
Writing
All episodes of the first season were written by Sam EganSam Egan
Sam Egan is a journalist, and a writer/producer for television.His credits include writing and producing for such shows as: Quincy, M.E., The Incredible Hulk, The Fall Guy, Northern Exposure, The Outer Limits, Sanctuary and Jeremiah...
and Kindler; Kindler hired Egan to assist in writing the first season, as he believed Egan to be creative, passionate, and talented. Several episodes of the first season were written throughout the Christmas season in 2007. After the series was given the green-light, they were rewritten to establish a season-long storyline. Some of the episodes finished their writing stage as little as two and a half weeks before filming commenced. At times after the scripts were written, Sci Fi executive Mark Stern fed back to the writers, asking for certain elements to be explained so the audience could understand.
Kindler wrote both parts of "Sanctuary for All", as well "Fata Morgana", "Kush", "The Five", "Requiem", "Instinct", and the second part of "Revelations". He penned his scripts quickly, with "Kush" being written in three and a half days. Wood contributed to the story of "Fata Morgana" by bringing up the idea of incorporating the Morrígan from Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
, which would start giving the season an ancient and mythological feel. "Kush" introduces a series of episodes involving the working relationship between Will and Magnus. "The Five" became a significant part of the series mythology, revealing the Five, which Magnus is a part of, how Magnus got her longevity, and that Henry Foss is actually part werewolf. Tapping believed that introducing the Five was a "cool concept". Kindler introduced vampires in the episode, and felt it would be best to introduce them as a dead species. He also felt that including real-life historic figures such as Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
was a "very ballsy thing". In "Requiem", Kindler wanted a scenario in which Will has to make a difficult decision to content with Magnus when she becomes the threat of the episode. Though Kindler at first believed it was not a good episode, it ended up as a highlight of the season according to the producers. In writing "Instinct", Kindler, inspired by Cloverfield
Cloverfield
Cloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...
, wanted to show the audience the protagonists hunting an abnormal in real-time, where it does not always go according to plan.
Egan meanwhile, wrote "Folding Man", "Nubbins", "Edward", "Warriors", and the first part of "Revelations". He also co-wrote "Sanctuary for All" with Kindler. Egan liked to include the Rashomon effect
Rashomon effect
The Rashomon effect is the effect of the subjectivity of perception on recollection, by which observers of an event are able to produce substantially different but equally plausible accounts of it. A useful demonstration of this principle in scientific understanding can be found in an article by...
in some of his scripts, a plot device which interprets scenes from different points of view. After writing "Folding Man", Egan realized that he inadvertently based it on an episode of The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
. "Nubbins" was inspired by the Star Trek original series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode "The Trouble With Tribbles". "Edward" was inspired by Egan hearing of a young English man with savant syndrome
Savant syndrome
Savant syndrome , sometimes referred to as savantism, is a rare condition in which people with developmental disorders have one or more areas of expertise, ability, or brilliance that are in contrast with the individual's overall limitations...
, who flew over a city he had not visited before, and was able to accurately draw the city on a mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
some 20 feet wide. Because the episode involved an abnormal, Egan wanted the boy to draw much faster. In writing "Warriors", Egan wanted to reintroduce Magnus' father Gregory Magnus from the webisodes; there were plans to introduce him in "Fata Morgana", but the idea did not make it to the final episode. Gregory was written not to have the longevity of his daughter. Egan decided not to include a full explanation of how he survived a hundred years without aging, but wanted to hint to the audience that he was in fact cryogenically frozen
Cryogenics
In physics, cryogenics is the study of the production of very low temperature and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. A person who studies elements under extremely cold temperature is called a cryogenicist. Rather than the relative temperature scales of Celsius and Fahrenheit,...
by the Cabal. The intention behind "Revelations" was to tie some of the previous episodes together, particularly involving the Cabal, and then set them up for the second season. The main issue with writing the finale was showing Ashley being interrogated, where in fact she was experimented on to turn her to the Cabal. Because Kindler wrote his script quickly, he believed that the misdirect did not turn out the way he hoped.
Differences from the webisodes
Differences were made between the original webisodes and the first episodes of the season. One example is the introduction of Druitt. In the webisodes, Druitt murders a prostitute after arriving in Old City, but in the pilot, writer Damian Kindler included dialogue between the two characters before Druitt murders her, as a way of proving to the audience how evil he is. Another is the ending of "Fata Morgana", where the Morrígan leave the Sanctuary with the Cabal mercenaries; in the webisodes, the sisters escape. Druitt directly tells Ashley in one of the first webisodes that he is her father. In the first season, the producers decided that she would not be aware of this until midway through, and even then, they did not want Druitt to tell her directly, but rather hint it to her, so that Ashley can pick up the pieces herself.Filming
Initial photography started in May 2008, and took place mostly in a warehouse in Burnaby, British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Each episode took around seven days to film, though some were completed in as little as five and a half. The first three episodes of the season were reshot from the original eight webisodes; the two-part premiere "Sanctuary for All" was reshot from the first four webisodes, while the third episode, "Fata Morgana", was reshot from the final four. Eighteen months passed between shooting the web series and the first three episodes. Difficulties with this included the fact that Cainan Wiebe, who portrays Alexi, grew taller, and the actors consciously played the characters to be more open to each other. It was filmed using Red One cameras, the first series in North America to use them. The Red camera system does away with tape and film and records straight to a hard drive, allowing Anthem Visual Effects and the series' post production team immediate access to the day's footage, and is capable of recording at 4K resolution
4K resolution
4K is an emerging standard for resolution in digital film and computer graphics. The name comes from its approximately 4,000 pixels of horizontal resolution. The fact that it describes the horizontal resolution is contrary to the standard resolutions 720p and 1080p, which represent the number of...
—four times the resolution of current high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
.
The season was filmed using five directors. Wood directed eight of the thirteen episodes; he spent 17 days preparing to film the premiere. He found that "Requiem" was his favorite episode to direct, while "The Five" was his least favorite, as he had to keep reorganizing six styrofoam
Styrofoam
Styrofoam is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company for closed-cell currently made for thermal insulation and craft applications. In 1941, researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab found a way to make foamed polystyrene...
sets. Among the remaining five episodes, James Head
James Head
James David Head is a Canadian television director.-Cameraman:Head began his career as a cameraman on various film crews. In 1985, he was a second assistant camera for the concert film 9012Live by Yes. In 1987, he was a second assistant camera for the movie Stakeout...
directed "Folding Man", Peter DeLuise directed "Nubbins", Brenton Spencer
Brenton Spencer
Brenton Spencer is a Canadian film and television director. His television credits include Earth: Final Conflict, Andromeda, 21 Jump Street, Mutant X, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Sanctuary, Stargate Atlantis and among other series. His film credits include Blown Away starring Corey Haim, Corey...
directed "Edward" and "Warriors", and Steven A. Adelson directed "Instinct"; Adelson filmed the episode with 40 long takes to accomplish a real-time perspective. DeLuise was approached by Wood to direct "Nubbins" as it was considered a lighter episode, which DeLuise preferred over a dramatic episode. In the past DeLuise would make cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s in his works, but broke tradition in directing this episode.
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
in the Burnaby warehouse. Unlike many other shows, elaborate sets were not built for the scenes to be filmed; instead, they are created using CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
technology. Because of the virtual sets, the actors had to visualise what the rooms they were in looked like. To aid them, practical props were placed. The production crew also used rain and wind machine
Wind machine
The wind machine is a specialist musical instrument used to produce the sound of wind. One type uses an electric fan with wooden slats added to produce the required sound...
s to film scenes set outdoors. However, practical sets were also used throughout the season. The first 20 minutes of "Sanctuary for All" was filmed at the partially decommissioned Riverview Hospital
Riverview Hospital (Coquitlam)
Riverview Hospital is a mental health facility located in Coquitlam, British Columbia, operating under the governance of BC Mental Health & Addiction Services. Originally called The Hospital for the Mind, and then Essondale , Riverview opened in 1913 and had 4,630 patients at its peak...
, described by Kindler as a "Swiss Army knife
Swiss Army knife
The Swiss Army knife is a brand of pocket knife or multi-tool manufactured by Victorinox AG and Wenger SA. The term "Swiss Army knife" was coined by US soldiers after World War II due to the difficulty they had in pronouncing the German name....
of locations". Elsewhere, the studio parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
and alleyways of The Bridge Studios
The Bridge Studios
The Bridge Studios is a Canadian film studio in Burnaby, British Columbia. It operates the largest effects stage in North America. Its eight studios, ranging in size from to , are located on a lot at 2400 Boundary Road, in Burnaby....
provided a surrogate for several different types of locations, like city streets. A Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
warehouse provided the filming location for "Instinct". The final filming days were spent on the North Shore Mountains
North Shore Mountains
The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city....
outside Vancouver.
The fifth episode, "Kush", was filmed on a damaged fuselage set, which was built by production designer Bridget McGuire. The episode's cast disliked the episode the most because they had to act as if they were in freezing temperatures, where in fact it was around 40 degrees Celsius
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
. Because it was an expensive set, the producers wanted to reuse it. It was later redesigned to look like the inside of a submarine for "Requiem". It was redressed again for "Revelations". Although released third, "Fata Morgana" was filmed as the fourth episode, and was considered to be aired after "Folding Man". However, Tapping felt strongly that it would make a great stand alone episode after "Sanctuary for All", and the characters appeared more comfortable with each other in "Folding Man". Swapping the episodes caused a major continuity issue, in which Ashley appears to show scratches on her neck from "Sanctuary for All" in "Folding Man", but not in between.
Effects
The season's visual effectsVisual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
were produced by Anthem Visual Effects, with the company's Lee Wilson serving as co-producer and visual effects supervisor. Because it was filmed in green screen, each episode contains an estimated 400 visual effect shots. In contrast, an average episode of Stargate SG-1, which Tapping starred in, contained only 12. One of the larger visual effects sequences was the opening sequence of the premiere, which took three months to produce. Each visual effect produced in the original webisodes was remastered. Among the characters, the movement of two-faced guy's rear face were made with Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
(CGI), though it was a difficult effect to produce. A prosthetic application was added to the back of Campbell's head when the second face is not talking. The mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
character, Sally, was entirely a visual effect, with the face of Mandy May, wife of director Steven A. Adelson, rendered onto it. Creating the eponymous abnormals in "Nubbins" and their predator was what Sam Egan described as "a proper budget-driven issue" because rendering several CGI creatures at once and having them move would be difficult. It was decided to have them camouflaged in an attempt to make work easier for the visual effects team, but it did not work out as well as the producers hoped. To achieve Nubbin interaction with the cast, guide versions, nicknamed Oompa-Loompas, were made for them to carry. In designing Tesla's transition to a vampire, the producers, realizing vampires were included in several other works in the past, wanted to make them look unique. Wilson based the vampire look to the 2007 film 30 Days of Night
30 Days of Night (film)
30 Days of Night is a 2007 American horror film based on the comic book miniseries of the same name. The film is directed by David Slade and stars Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, and Danny Huston...
.
Because of the hard work by Anthem, the producers made "Kush" and "Requiem" into bottle episode
Bottle episode
The term bottle episode is used in episodic television to refer to episodes which are produced using the least money, and restricted in their scope to use as few, or no, non-regular cast members, effects, and sets as possible...
s, to give the visual effects team a break. Instead, other forms of special effects were used. To create the Himalayan feel of "Kush", the production crew used wind machines and paper snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
. However, the fake snow became a problem for the cast, as they suffered from bloodshot eyes
Red eye (medicine)
In medicine, red eye is a non-specific term to describe an eye that appears red due to illness, injury, or some other condition. Conjunctivitis and subconjunctival hemorrhage are two forms of a red eye....
and scratchy throats when exposed to it. Aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
s were placed outside each port hole of the set in "Requiem". To complete the effects where Druitt teleports, Heyerdahl would walk out of the shot while every other cast member has to stay still, until the directors signal them to react; the shot of Heyerdahl walking out of frame would later be cut. Another effect involving Heyerdahl is a scene between both his characters, Bigfoot and Druitt, in "Revelations". To complete the shot, Heyerdahl had to film two different shots: one with him as Druitt talking to nothing, and another with him as Bigfoot talking to nothing. When both characters can be seen walking together, a stand-in would replace Heyerdahl as Bigfoot.
Another form of special effects are prosthetics used to create abnormals. They were composed by a team of make-up artists. Todd Masters stated that his team tried to make them interesting and unique every week. The abnormal shown at the end of "Kush" was a stand-in who wore a full prosthetic suit; the costume took a long time to apply. Among the prosthetics used in "Warriors", Dunne wore a muscle suit that was previously worn by Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones
Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
during the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,...
.
The corpses used in the beginning of "Sanctuary for All" were mannequins the props department had in their possession, with holes added in the foreheads. Using mannequins was easier than using actors. The drawings in "Edward" were produced by Sanctuary art department. The season's stunts were coordinated by Marshall Virtue. To develop the Fight Club scenes in "Warriors", fight coordinator Rob Hader helped with choreographing
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
the stunts. While filming the scenes, Hader played one of the fighters. He replaced an actor who broke a knee after filming for six seconds.
Broadcast
Originally airing on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States, the first season was broadcast in over 50 countries worldwide. Tapping believed the channel was a "good home base", because she had worked with the network for several years before, adding "they understand the genre. They understand the fans." The season commenced with both parts of "Sanctuary for All" on October 3, 2008. The following episodes aired almost every Friday during the 10 to 11 pm time slot from October 10, 2008, until January 9, 2009. In CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, it aired on Movie Channel One of The Movie Network
The Movie Network
The Movie Network is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service, owned by Astral Media. The service is licensed to operate east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, excluding the territories...
. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the season was picked up for broadcast by ITV4
ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
. The first episode was broadcast on October 6, 2008, only three days after the release on the Sci Fi Channel. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the season debuted on ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
on March 1, 2010.
Ratings
"Sanctuary for All" started off the season with over 2.7 million viewers and a household rating of 2.2 after its original broadcast. It became Sci Fi Channel's highest rated series premiere since the pilot episode of EurekaEureka (TV series)
Eureka is an American science fiction television series that premiered on Syfy on July 18, 2006. Since then four seasons have aired, and a fifth is currently being filmed. The second half of season 4 began on SyFy on July 11, 2011 and ended on September 19, 2011...
in July 2006. It was the number one prime time cable entertainment program among adults aged 25 through 54 years, and fourth among adults aged 18 through 49 years. Because of the high ratings, views of Sci Fi's Sanctuary page rose to 1.2 million, as well as 287,000 video streams the day it was broadcast. Viewing figures for the following episodes were somewhat under 2 million, but the finale drew its biggest audience since the premiere; "Revelations (Part 2)" was seen by 2 million viewers and received a 1.6 household rating. Including timeshifted viewings, the first season averaged 2.35 million viewers, and a 1.8 rating. The first season of Sanctuary beat the fifth season
Stargate Atlantis (season 5)
The fifth season of the military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis commenced airing on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States on July 11, 2008, concluded on the same channel on January 9, 2009, and contained 20 episodes. The show itself is a spin off of its sister show, Stargate...
of its lead in Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
by two tenths of a point. Because of the success, Sci Fi ordered a second season
Sanctuary (season 2)
The second season of the Canadian science fiction–fantasy television series Sanctuary premiered on Space in Canada and on Syfy in the United States on October 9, 2009, and concluded on the same channel on January 15, 2010 after 13 episodes...
on November 2008. In the United Kingdom, the first part of "Sanctuary for All" was seen by 565,000 viewers. The second part received 608,000 viewers the following week. Since then, ratings have steadily declined to 398,000 by the season finale. The penultimate episode received the lowest ratings of the season, with only 279,000 viewers.
Critical reception
The season received generally mixed reviews from critics. MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the season a normalized rating of 56 out of 100 based on seven reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Linda Stasi of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
stated "the monsters are first rate, the virtual sets are very cool, the acting is excellent. Why I was fighting fatigue while watching, I can't say. It was either the martinis from Steve Dunleavy's farewell party - or the plot." Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
felt the pace was "a little on the stately side", and was unclear why Tapping "speaks with an iffy English accent", but believed the "low-key, low-budget but well-intentioned sci-fi/action hybrid might be of interest to fans of Tapping's earlier work as Samantha Carter
Samantha Carter
Samantha "Sam" Carter is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction Stargate franchise, appearing in television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. SG-1 and Atlantis are both about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien...
on Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
". Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
felt that "much of it feels dreadfully slow, not so much moody as stretched for time. Hard-to-sell dialogue such as 'Such imperfect children are often adopted by well-meaning immigrant families' doesn't make it flow any faster", but still stated "it looks great".
Brian Lowry of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called the first two episodes "competent but uninspiring", and said it "suffers by comparison with any number of similarly themed dramas, most recently BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
's fun-loving Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
". Lowry also believes that "it's hard to imagine this series doing much more than satisfying some of the odd humanoids still pining for (and emailing on behalf of) Stargate
Stargate
Stargate is a adventure military science fiction franchise, initially conceived by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Stargate. It was originally released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, and became a hit, grossing nearly...
". Mike Hale of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
felt that Sanctuary "sits at about the same level of writing and performance as the Stargate shows, which means it doesn't have the narrative force of Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
or the wit and creativity of Sci Fi's best original series, Eureka", adding that "it's not an embarrassment for the channel, but it doesn't raise the stakes either". Hale also noted that there is a connection with Stargate, which is "in its 12th year and still going strong".
David Blackwell of Enterline Media thought that Sanctuary was an "interesting concept", but felt the first six episodes were "hit-or-miss". Of the series' use of green screen for sets, Blackwell stated "sometimes it really works and sometimes the CGI sets could use improvement". He also felt that Amanda Tapping was convincing as a British scientist. In conclusion, Blackwell stated "Sanctuary does take a while to kick in, but it is a very good series once the writers actually write something with depth." Alex Walker of Den of Geek rated the first season three stars out of five, stating "the acting and scripting is good, but Sanctuary lacks the wit and charm of the genre's top shows like Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
and Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
. Also, the way some episodes alternate between fighting and exposition gives the impression of watching someone else play a videogame." Walker also dubbed it a "poor man's Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but said that it "makes for "agreeable early-evening viewing". Walker also believed that the DVD of the first season should really be for "die-hard fans only".
Paul Simpson of Total Sci-Fi rated the season 7 out of 10, and summed it up as "although frequently predictable, Sanctuary usually provides an entertaining hour." John Sinnott of DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
, being a fan of Tapping's earlier work of Stargate SG-1, believes the first season is "highly recommended". Sinnott also noticed that while "the first six shows are so-so [...] the last seven are great".
Awards and nominations
The season won a total of five awards. The pilot episode "Sanctuary for All" won a 2009 Gemini AwardGemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
for Best Visual Effects. The other four were Leo Awards
Leo Awards
The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry, celebrating excellence in artistic achievement. Held each May in Vancouver, Canada, the Leo Awards honour nominees and winners in 13 program categories and up to 19 craft categories...
. "Warriors" won "Best Make-Up in a Dramatic Series". Actor Ryan Robbins won "Best Guest Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series" for his role as Henry Foss in "Edward", beating co-star Jonathan Young. Gabrielle Rose
Gabrielle Rose (actress)
Gabrielle Rose is an accomplished Canadian actress. She has an extensive resume that includes multiple nominations for Genie Awards and Gemini Awards...
won "Best Guest Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series" for the same episode. Amanda Tapping won "Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series" for her role as Helen Magnus in "Requiem". The most prestigious nomination for the season was for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for "Sanctuary for All", but it lost the award to Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
.
Home video releases
A DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
box set of the first season, published by E1 Entertainment, was first released in Region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
on September 15, 2009, in Region 2 on October 12, 2009, and in Region 4 on September 9, 2009. The season was later released on Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
in the United States on June 15, 2010, and in Australia on June 9, 2010. The four-disc set consists of all 13 episodes, each with audio commentaries
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
from cast and crew, as well as the original webisodes in two installments. The set also includes three behind the scenes featurettes: Welcome to the Sanctuary, The Sanctuary Residents, and Sanctuary Visual Effects, as well as a blooper reel, photo gallery, and sneak preview of season two. John Sinnott of DVD Talk reacted positively to the number of extras, rating it four and a half stars out of five; Sinnott was also "very pleased" to see the original webisodes included in the set.