# A new series "XIII" premiers this week on Reelz



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Somehow I missed this. Alan Gordon just added it to the TV reminders thread.

"XIII" is based on the graphic novels from Jean Van Hamme and William Vance which have sold more than 16 million copies worldwide since the first volume was published 28 years ago.

"XIII" premieres Friday, June 29th, 2012 at 9pm. It is the story of a man's quest to uncover the truth about his identity while trying to stop a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the U.S. government and could change the balance of power in the world. Named for the Roman numeral "XIII" tattoo on his neck, XIII (Townsend) is a former secret operative who has been stripped of his memory. He does not know who he is, what he is trained to be or whom he serves. Hunted by a dark anti-government organization, XIII searches for clues that will uncover the secret that makes him so valuable - and so potentially dangerous.

What we missed noting earlier is that Reelz has been reairing a two part 2008 NBC TV movie starring Val Kilmer, "XIII: The Conspiracy", called the perfect primer for the launch of the series. Fortunately the two parts will be repeated Wednesday, June 27th at 12am ET and Thursday, June 28th at 8pm ET.

Whether the movie or the series will be any good, who knows? I cannot find a review of the movie anywhere and only one review that slams the series as ridiculous. I'm sure it is if you're looking for deep meaning. But sometimes these shows just can be entertaining.

Did anyone watch the movie last week or four years ago?


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

phrelin said:


> Did anyone watch the movie last week?


Nope.... but I watched it back in 2008! 

It's nothing special, but I enjoyed it, and I was hoping it would make it to series. It did, but it took several years and switched networks (NBC to Reelz).

The movie is available on Blu-ray.

~Alan


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Thank's Alan.

I found one review of the movie which concludes much along the lines of your observation:


> The plot is all very Bourne Identity and plot holes abound. It also occasionally veers into the ridiculous (are those tattoos really such a good idea?), but we nonetheless found XIII to be a diverting action thriller, just the sort of thing we tune into to forget about bills that must be paid, our ******* bosses and so on. Check it out.


It's all Summer fare now and sounds like one could enjoy it, if one can suspend disbelief, as they say.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

I've been seeing the ads for it on Syfy and thought it looked interesting. I was thinking of recording it and giving it a shot.

Should I go back and watch the movie first or just stick with the series? I'm guessing that the actors in the movie are different than in the series.

- Merg


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I'm going to record and archive the movie without watching it. I'd rather start the series and see how it goes without having the movie to compare to.

Here's the series trailer:

[YOUTUBEHD]sxuPYfw6MHA[/YOUTUBEHD]​


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

The Merg said:


> I've been seeing the ads for it on Syfy and thought it looked interesting. I was thinking of recording it and giving it a shot.
> 
> Should I go back and watch the movie first or just stick with the series? I'm guessing that the actors in the movie are different than in the series.


If the series picks up after the events of the movie, it's a must-see first, IMO!!

If the series uses a soft or hard reboot, then it's not necessary. I don't know what their plans are... 

~Alan


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## mreposter (Jul 29, 2006)

looks interesting.
too bad Directv doesn't have it in HD.
Reelz is one of the fuzzier SD channels on D*.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

What channel is Reelz on D*?


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Alan Gordon said:


> If the series picks up after the events of the movie, it's a must-see first, IMO!!
> 
> If the series uses a soft or hard reboot, then it's not necessary. I don't know what their plans are...
> 
> ~Alan


The series preview seems to show a scene where the woman President get's assassinated, but it's unclear if it is a flashback. Because there is a video on the Reelz site showing a scene with a man President, I have a feeling that we'll get some backstory via flashbacks or unfolding through dialog.

My rationale for not watching the movie this week is simple. If I had seen the movie in 2008, it wouldn't bother me to start the series with new actors. But to watch the movie this close to the series beginning risks either turning me off to the whole thing or being disappointed in the series.

So I'll at least wait until I've seen the series pilot.


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

phrelin said:


> The series preview seems to show a scene where the woman President get's assassinated, but it's unclear if it is a flashback. Because there is a video on the Reelz site showing a scene with a man President, I have a feeling that we'll get some backstory via flashbacks or unfolding through dialog.
> 
> My rationale for not watching the movie this week is simple. If I had seen the movie in 2008, it wouldn't bother me to start the series with new actors. But to watch the movie this close to the series beginning risks either turning me off to the whole thing or being disappointed in the series.
> 
> So I'll at least wait until I've seen the series pilot.


Completely understandable... 

~Alan


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

I didn't know we had this channel on Dish. :grin:

I'll record it and check it out eventually.


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## Rangers94 (Feb 12, 2008)

You might want to watch the movie 1st, as it does explains a few things in the series.


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## Supramom2000 (Jun 21, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> What channel is Reelz on D*?


It's on 238.

Thanks for bringing this up in its own thread. I had no idea about it and now I'm going to give it a shot.


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## D*Noob (Oct 24, 2006)

Actually I believe what you guys are referring to is Season 2 of XIII, as the first season ran last year. Here's a few details from Wikipedia...

"XIII: The Series is a Franco-Canadian TV series that premiered in April 2011 in France and Canada which is based on the Belgian comic book series, originally by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance, and the game of the same title. The series revolves around an amnesiac protagonist who seeks to discover his concealed past. The series features many of the cast and crew who worked on the 2008 TV mini-series, XIII: The Conspiracy, as it was also produced by Prodigy Pictures and Cipango. The first season of XIII consists of 13 episodes.[1]
After a period of some uncertainty, a Twitter announcement on December 11, 2011 by Stuart Townsend, the actor who plays "XIII", stated the series was renewed for a second season. It further states the show will undergo "a major retooling, taking the show in a new direction". Filming began in February 13, 2012, in Toronto, Canada. The second season premiere will be written by Roger Avary. This has been due to high ratings and demands by the show's fanbase."

Here's the Wikipedia link for more details... XIII: The Series


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## D*Noob (Oct 24, 2006)

D*Noob said:


> "XIII: The Series is a Franco-Canadian TV series that premiered in April 2011 in France and Canada which is based on the Belgian comic book series, originally by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance, and the game of the same title."
> 
> Actually as I read that again it seems like Reelz is bringing this to the US for the first time as the Wiki suggests it only aired in France and Canada.


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## Supramom2000 (Jun 21, 2007)

Reelz is airing the first season, but since it previously aired in other countries, the original air date is showing in the information screen. Make sure you choose either "both" or "rerun" in the Series Link options since it appears as a rerun in the information.


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## mreposter (Jul 29, 2006)

Yep, the guide says that the first episode on 6/29 is the Pilot from 2011. So this must be the first season from Canada/France.


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

My new episode timer on Dish is picking it up on the 29th.


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## Rangers94 (Feb 12, 2008)

This is just like True Justice, it aired outside the US. Reelz showed it the past 2.5 months and has since picked it up for another season.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I'm about to send a testy email to Dish about taking Reelz HD off again for sports. I, of course, set all my timers for the HD channel, including recording the movie tonight, and it was dropped this afternoon so I had to set my timers for the SD channel.

The folks at Reelz say it is a premier of the series on their channel though they have been showing the 2008 mini-series.








According to Wikipedia:


> XIII: The Series is a Franco-Canadian TV series that premiered in April 2011 in France and Canada which is based on the Belgian comic book series, originally by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance, and the game of the same title. The series revolves around an amnesiac protagonist who seeks to discover his concealed past. The series features many of the cast and crew who worked on the 2008 TV mini-series, XIII: The Conspiracy, as it was also produced by Prodigy Pictures and Cipango. The first season of XIII consists of 13 episodes.
> 
> After a period of some uncertainty, a Twitter announcement on December 11, 2011 by Stuart Townsend, the actor who plays "XIII", stated the series was renewed for a second season. It further states the show will undergo "a major retooling, taking the show in a new direction". Filming began in February 13, 2012, in Toronto, Canada. The second season premiere will be written by Roger Avary. This has been due to high ratings and demands by the show's fanbase.


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

Well bummer, I don't do SD anymore so the recording for this failed. Doesn't look like it is available online on their website or through iTunes. Guess they don't want me to watch.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

I watched it last night. Not bad as good escapist stuff goes. But the SD was not very enjoyable. That said, the SD was better with this show than it was with True Justice on the same channel.


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## russ9 (Jan 28, 2004)

I wasn't impressed. Bad writing, bad dialog, bad directing, and of course the crappy SD feed didn't help.


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## makaiguy (Sep 24, 2007)

russ9 said:


> I wasn't impressed. Bad writing, bad dialog, bad directing, and of course the crappy SD feed didn't help.


+1
Good summary. I made it about 2/3 of the way through and canceled the series.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I always give a show like this a couple of episodes as sometimes pilots can be a bit weak. And this one was a bit weak.:sure:


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## LOCODUDE (Aug 8, 2007)

I recorded it , but have yet to watch. Will give it a shot this W/E......


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