Sanctuary (season 2)
Encyclopedia
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. It continues to follow the actions of a secret organization known as the Sanctuary Network, who track down a series of creatures known as abnormals and then bring them to the Sanctuary base for refuge. Amanda Tapping
, Robin Dunne
, Emilie Ullerup
, Agam Darshi
, Ryan Robbins
and Christopher Heyerdahl
are billed in the opening credits as the main cast.
The season starts six weeks after the conclusion of the first season
, where the protagonists work to defeat the antagonistic Cabal from destroying the Sanctuary Network, but in the process Ashley Magnus (Ullerup), daughter of Sanctuary leader Helen Magnus
(Tapping), dies. Later episodes involve a story arc on Big Bertha, the most dangerous abnormal on Earth.
The second season included a writing team, where as in the first there were only two writers; series creator Damian Kindler
, and Sam Egan
; however Egan left the series after the end of the first season. The producers wanted to expand on the Sanctuary Network by including episodes where the team visit some of their international sites as opposed to only mentioning them. The season was filmed in Vancouver
, British Columbia
from late March to July 2009, with some scenes of the finale filmed on location in Tokyo
, Japan
. Anthem Visual Effects continues to produce the series' visual effects
. Anthem found an exponential growth in their work, with some episodes including as many as 500 visual effects shots.
The first ten episodes were seen by an average of 1.55 million viewers in the United States, increasing to 2.2 million when time-shifted viewings were taken into account. It received generally positive reviews from critics; however, some reviewers criticized the abrupt end to the Cabal arc within the first few episodes. The introduction of the new character Kate Freelander (Darshi) was also met with mixed reactions, while there was an outpouring of fans against Ashley's demise. Season two won seven Leo Awards
after its release. The season was released on a four-disc set on DVD
and Blu-ray Disc
on June 9, 2010 in Region 4
, June 15 in Region 1, and October 4 in Region 2.
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The second season began with the original cast from the first season. Amanda Tapping returns as series protagonist Helen Magnus, a 158 year-old English scientist who runs the Sanctuary Network. The producers intended for Magnus to be more angry and vulnerable following Ashley's death after the first three episodes. Robin Dunne returns as Will Zimmerman, a former forensic psychiatrist who has been Magnus' protégé since the pilot
. After the first season, the producers made Will more confrontational towards Magnus after feeling more comfortable working with her. Christopher Heyerdahl portrays two characters: Bigfoot, an abnormal who works in the Sanctuary, and John Druitt, Magnus' former fiancé and father to Ashley. Ryan Robbins returns as Henry Foss. A recurring actor in the first season, Robbins was upgraded to a series regular in the second.
Emilie Ullerup returns as Ashley, Magnus' daughter who was written out of the series after "Eulogy". The decision to kill off the character came from an agreement between series creator Damian Kindler and the commissioning networks, as they felt this development would "have the deepest, most dramatic impact on the series and the characters." Director Martin Wood also believed that her death would add a sense of jeopardy on the show. When Ullerup first heard Ashley would be killed off, she was under the impression that her character was not well received by the fans. After the second season aired however, Ullerup noticed an outpouring from fans against Ashley's death. Following her death, the producers were willing to develop an Ashley story for the third season
.
Agam Darshi joined the cast as Kate Freelander, described by Syfy as "a swindler, con artist and thief who finds herself in an uneasy alliance with Dr. Magnus after her business relationship with the Cabal goes sour." The producers intended for Kate to be an unlikeable character at first, but by the end of the season have "99 percent of the people who don't like Kate, [...] like Kate." The producers also noted that Kate would begin to prove herself by the third episode "Eulogy", and the ninth episode "Penance" would became important to Kate's evolution from "first class bitch" to a more open character when her father's death is revisited.
The season also introduced numerous guest appearances. Babz Chula
appeared as a Cabal scientist in the season premiere, a character that was originally a German male; Chula accepted Tapping's offer to appear on the show after they met at an awards ceremony. Christopher Gauthier appears as Walter and his alter-ego, "the Adjuster", in "Hero". Gauthier modeled the Adjuster's voice from Christian Bale
's Batman
. The scenes where Walter was worn out from the suit that is killing him mirrored Gauthier's performance because of the suit he had to wear constantly, which consisted of two sets of jogging outfits, cotton padding, and a wetsuit
. Because the producers were impressed with Walter, they wanted him to return in the next season. Mandy May, the wife of director Steven A. Adelson, appears in full prosthetics as the abnormal Jack in "Fragments"; May previously appeared on the series as the face of Sally the mermaid
. In the same episode, Colin Cunningham played the antagonist Gerald. Cunningham was offered a role because he was long-time friends with some of the crew members, as is the same case when it came to casting Anne Marie Loder, wife of director Peter DeLuise, as Rachel. Eureka
actress Erica Cerra makes a guest appearance as the telepath Emma in "Veritas". Cerra's casting by the producers was "really easy" as it was based on her work in other science fiction productions, especially Eureka.
Tapping's former Stargate SG-1
co-star Michael Shanks guest starred as Jimmy in "Penance". Shanks had an interest in playing Jimmy because of the edgeness of the character. Shanks also suggested Aleks Paunovic, actor and part-time boxer
, for the part as the diacon Duke; being a boxer fit into the character's violent nature. Paul McGillion returns as Wexford in the season finale. McGillion first appeared as Wexford in the original webisodes, and since then the producers wanted him to return. Tapping believed that placing him in the finale was "the perfect place for him." Callum Blue was cast as the finale's antagonist, Edward Forsythe, as the producers believed Blue could portray somebody who is both charming and evil. In the same episode, Sahar Biniaz was cast as Kali; Biniaz was chosen as the producers believed her physical appearance was goddess-like. Balinder Johal played a cult member; she was the first person to audition for the part, and the producers cast her as she was spiritual, calm, and soft in her appearance. Johal taught the cast how to speak Hindi
in parts of the dialogue. The producers were hoping to cast David Hewlett
, another Stargate alum, in a guest spot; however, this was met by scheduling issues, as he was shooting a film at the time. Despite this the producers were confident they would cast Hewlett "eventually."
left the series after the first season
. Andrea Gorfolova, Carrie Mudd and Keith Beedie join creator Damian Kindler, director Martin Wood, and actress Amanda Tapping as the show's executive producers.
"Penance". Kindler wrote both parts of "End of Nights", "Pavor Nocturnus", "Next Tuesday", "Haunted" and the second part of "Kali". McCullough wrote "Hero", "Veritas", "Penance" and the first part of "Kali". Cooper wrote "Eulogy" and "Fragments", while Thorpe wrote "Sleepers", and co-wrote "Pavor Nocturnus" and "Haunted" with Kindler.
Following the cliffhanger of the first season finale, Kindler worked to figure out how to conclude the story and managed to write the outlines of the first two episodes in two days. He also consulted with the writing team to look at all the problems on how to conclude the story. "Eulogy" was conceived as an important episode in the lives of the main characters following the aftermath of "End of Nights", as well as dealing with the loss of Ashley. Kindler said of the episode "it's one thing to end on a terrible tragic cliffhanger, it's another in a satisfactory manner lay all things to rest appropriately." In writing the episode Cooper was knowledgeable on "medical jargon," as she once wrote for the medical drama series House
. In writing his first script "Hero", McCullough was initially concerned that it would be met by resistance from the producers because of the special effects that would be involved, but was "floored" to find out it was entirely possible because of Anthem Visual Effects. The producers were originally hesitant in including "Hero" as the fourth episode, as it was considered lighter in tone as Magnus was trying to get over Ashley's death from "Eulogy". "Pavor Nocturnus" came early in the development of the season, as Kindler wanted to show an episode about Magnus' work going "horribly wrong," and explore the opportunity to have the heroes warned that their work has consequences. Described as the "darkest, scariest, creepiest episode ever" by Tapping, it also featured scenes Kindler was never comfortable with, and did not want to show again, including the assault of naked women, and child killings.
"Fragments" was written to be in real time format. Kindler described the episode as a "nice procedural, with heart," that follows the same style as episodes of the medical drama ER
, where "stuff goes down and you have to kind of follow the team in different aspects and see how they're handling the situation." The idea behind "Next Tuesday" came when Kindler and Wood noticed a rescue helicopter that was available for rent, prompting the two to come up with a "helicopter story." The episode also introduces a next level in Will and Magnus' friendship; arguments, which would create a "far more realistic thread of tension" between the two characters who "obviously love each other," and "obviously get along," which Kindler felt made a "cool character layer." This was also based on the producers themselves, who despite being good friends, often argue while producing the series.
"Sleepers" was developed because the producers wanted to do a Tesla-centric episode, as they view him as one of their favorite characters. "Haunted" rounds Druitt to "something unexpected." The producers were aware that Druitt became more insane the more he teleports, and they wanted to find an explanation why, hence the creation of the energy creature. "Kali" was designed as a somewhat "faith versus science
" episode, with faith as the winning party, because any host to the macri would need a spiritual understanding to it; the cult of Kali are religious, so they would make suitable hosts, but Edward Forsythe is a believer of science, and would not make a suitable host as he does not share the cult's understanding. In the original draft, Magnus would fall ill, but that later changed to Will before the episode was filmed. Some episodes in the season originally followed a different order. "Pavor Nocturnus" was originally going to be the fourth episode, while "Hero" would become the tenth. "Sleepers" would also be in an earlier slot. However, the order changed, partially due to availability issues with Jonathon Young for "Sleepers". The writers were also working on a Bigfoot-centric episode, where he returns to his home. However before it could be written, the networks were unhappy with the idea.
style. Wood directed both parts of "End of Nights", "Hero", "Next Tuesday" and both parts of "Kali". Brenton Spencer directed "Eulogy", "Pavor Nocturnus" and "Penance". The producers felt that Spencer did "a great job" in making sense on a lot of moves he had to make, as well as understanding that the stories are important in getting things back on track in "Eulogy". The episode ended up being 17 minutes longer than usual, so much of it had to be cut. Steven A. Adelson directed "Fragments" and "Sleepers". Amanda Tapping directed "Veritas", her first directorial credit since the Stargate SG-1 episode "Resurrection" in 2004. To direct the scenes featuring Magnus, Tapping rehearsed them to decide how it would be shot, then appointed somebody to handle the cameras. Peter DeLuise directed "Haunted". Lee Wilson from Anthem Visual Effects directed a scene in "Hero", while Robbins directed a scene from "Fragments" when his character recorded Rachel's documentary.
Like the first season, much of the second was filmed on green screen
sets in a studio in Burnaby, British Columbia
, though also like the first season, there are more instances it was shot on practical sets and on location, most of which taking place just outside the studio. The first part of "End of Nights" had scenes filmed at a large empty warehouse. At some point, Dunne, Kindler, Tapping and Wood were sent to Tokyo
to promote the series for Syfy Asia. The four decided to use the opportunity to film some scenes for the finale there, one of which was filmed in the Shibuya crossing
. Filming took place just as a monsoon
season was kicking in. In addition, they noticed a concert hall and took pictures of one of its angles as they deem the architecture suitable for a Tokyo Sanctuary base.
During the shoot of the first part of "End of Nights", Kindler loaned his car for a car chase sequence. A later scene involved having the car shot at by snipers. To prevent damage to the car, the bullet holes were made from visual effects. In "Pavor Nocturnus", the crew had to make the Sanctuary set ruined in a post-apocalyptic state. Set designer Bridget McGuire made the set look "horrible" over night, but then had to clean it up for the last scene. They also "completely trashed" the street sets in the studio. "Next Tuesday" was considered a bottle episode
as it was largely filmed in one set, a water tank some 14 feet deep and 70 feet long, in a studio. The episode was filmed over five 13-hour days, not including a two-day break midway through, becoming the fastest time filming a Sanctuary episode. Wood directed the episode from the water rather than dry land. The following episode "Penance" was largely filmed at a constructed city set some three and a half blocks in size, which was previously used in the superhero film
Watchmen
.
The Mumbai slum set in the season finale was constructed on the parking lot of the studio, which took two to three weeks to complete. The finale was filmed during one of the hottest heatwaves to hit British Columbia; Tapping found that the set was hotter than the average temperature of the actual Mumbai. Three main cameras were used, one of which was crane-operated. 60 extras were used, the highest number used in an Sanctuary episode. For the extras to be used in more than one scene, they wore many different costumes. The streeting area was also limited in size, so the streets were recycled frequently with every scene. The practical sets of the Sanctuary offices and corridors were also redesigned to look like the Mumbai Sanctuary.
was appointed the series composer in the season. The producers liked Lockington's contribution to the score as it was more heightened than it was in the first season. Lockington would also capture the emotional temper when it comes to scoring for the emotional scenes. The composer sampled several instruments from around the world to give the score a more ehtnic, international feel. Some episodes feature the score taking different styles. For instance "Fragments" features a "cool Michael Mann soundtrack." In "Kali", the score adopted a more Bollywood
-style theme, particularly during Will's dance sequence. In addition to the score, there were occasional instances where popular music was featured. "End of Nights" featured a track from the Toronto
-based hip hop
group Down with Webster
.
changed to aviation pilot Amelia Earhart
. The producers noticed that the visual effects have been made "more wonderous than we did the season before," as they were able to produce certain actions that they never tried before. The steno in "Eulogy" was designed to look adorable, harmless and bunny-like in its infancy, but more menacing when it grows up. In making the Adjuster fly in "Hero", both visual and practical effects were used; some of the simpler sequences involved Gauthier hooked up to a velocity rig, but in order to make him fly over the city skyline, a computer-generated
avatar was created. The design of the coleanthropus in the same episode was based on a mix of insect and dinosaur.
The second season introduces "moving zorts," an upgraded technique the film crew used to complete the effect where Druitt teleports. The zorts were used specifically to make the sequences where the cast around Heyerdahl freeze until he leaves the screen. The producers wanted to have the camera move during those shots, as they believed it would be "way cooler to have those zorts on the move." One of the more difficult moving zorts included a "triple zort" with other characters who could teleport on the same shot in "End of Nights". The sequence was difficult for Tapping, as she had to carry a prop weighing approximately 73 pounds
. A three-dimensional hologram
of Rachel's office was included in "Fragments"; it was originally intended to feature the hologram throughout the episode, but because doing so would be costly, the producers decided to have one scene with the hologram, so Henry could use it as a blueprint to make an identical office with boxes. For the finale, Anthem decided to make the macri and Big Bertha look like the same creature, though Bertha would be a considerably larger creature. Some scenes involve the macri interacting with real life objects, including clothing. To make a scene where the macri enters a jacket, Wilson used fishing wire to move a sleeve slightly. Big Bertha's actions meanwhile, were largely made underwater. Anthem found that making underwater effects was difficult because there was a different style of movement. Additionally, Anthem produced a sequence where Wexford launches depth charge
s from his ship. The producers were looking for stock footage
of the dropping depth charges, but they could not find one in high-definition.
In additional to visual effects, other forms of physical effects were produced. In "Hero", there was a scene where the camera appeared to be shot from inside a water tank. Instead, a water tank was placed between the camera and the actors, where Alka-Seltzer
was placed at the bottom to simulate bubbles. Wood previously used this technique in the first season episode "Requiem" as well as in Stargate Atlantis
. The Adjuster comic books at the end of the episode were designed by artists who occasionally work for DC Comics
. Dunne wore a mullet and a white eye contact lens
in "Pavor Nocturnus" for Will's alternate self in a dystopian future. The vampire squid-related effects for "Next Tuesday" were made possible by visual aids. For the shots where the squid swims on the water surface, the production crew used a radio-controlled boat
to mimic a wake
. When the squid erupts from the water, they placed a beach ball
underwater and released it to mimic the splash. To make the helicopter sway during the battles between the squid and sea scorpion, an air pump was placed below it. However, doing so added the side effect of strong currents, proving difficult for the cast to swim towards the helicopter.
The season also includes stunt work. Weeks before filming "End of Nights", Heyerdahl practiced sword fighting to be done against the hybrids in the second part. Jonathon Young performed his own stunts for "Sleepers", including being run over by a car and falling from a car. Both stunts involved harnesses and other safety measures. Young also participated in a fight scene with the other vampire characters, but he ended up injuring two of the actors. In one instance Young hit Chad Rook in the face, which caused a fang insert to puncture his lip.
. The season started off with 1.85 million viewers. Ratings were up 18 per cent in terms of adults aged between 18 and 49, and 7 per cent in adults aged between 25 and 54 compared to the average of the first season. After "Sleepers" aired, the season was seen by an average of 1.55 million viewers per episode. Timeshifted ratings for the season increases from live viewers by 45.9 per cent, increasing the average to 2.2 million viewers per episode. In Canada, the season premiered on October 9 on Space, a cable channel that specialises in science fiction programs. Each episode would be available on demand on the channel's website after they aired. It was moved from The Movie Network
, which originally aired the first season. In the United Kingdom, the season premiered on ITV4
on October 12, 2009, and finished on January 18, 2010. It started with 334,000 viewers for the first episode, and ended with 268,000 for the finale. In Australia, the season started airing on July 12, 2010 on ABC2
.
rated it five out of five, stating that fans "will be very happy" with the season set.
John Sinnott of DVD Talk
said that while "the show still has a lot of charm," he felt it did not live up to the standards of the first season. Sinnott criticised the season for wrapping up the Cabal story line in the first two episodes, expecting it to continue throughout the season, as well as accusing the writers of throwing out "a lot of aspects that made the end of the first season so great." However, he felt there were good episodes, naming "Sleepers" as his favourite, and also saying he liked "Hero". He summed up that the season was "still worth watching and enjoyable, just not as gripping as the first season," believing it comes "recommended" to those who wish to purchase the season box set. David Blackwell of Enterline Media stated that the second season "continues to amaze as a show I first wrote off as bad. I'm glad I'm still giving this show a second chance as it continues to deliver great character arcs and stories." Blackwell named "Pavor Nocturnus", "Veritas" and "Haunted" as the standout episodes. CliqueClack TV believed the season was a "mixed bag"; "End of Nights" was considered "the most thrilling hours of television Sanctuary has ever produced," but the season later "suffered mostly from failure to follow through with the Cabal/Ashley story arc."
Critical reactions towards the introduction of Kate Freelander was also mixed. Mark Wilson stated "the growling sass-mouth feels out of place. Darshi's performance is good, at least, so we'll just have to see if the writers are capable of integrating her into the cast." John Sinnot meanwhile, started "I always found [Ashley] a bit irritating, so it was no big loss. For some reason however, they've replaced her with another annoying young woman, Kate Freelander. She's basically the same character as Ashley, tough as nails on the outside but still a vulnerable young woman on the inside, but this time in an Indian shell."
, out of 17 nominations from the same ceremony. "Pavor Nocturnus" won three of those wins; Brenton Spencer won "Best Direction", Christina McQuarrie won "Best Costume Design", and Robin Dunne won "Best Lead Performance by a Male". Christopher Gauthier won "Best Guest Performance by a Male" for his role in "Hero". Todd Masters, Holland Miller, Harlow Macfarlane, Werner Pretorius and Yukio Okajima won "Best Make-Up" for "Fragments". Christopher Heyerdahl won "Best Supporting Performance by a Male" for "Haunted", and Bridget McGuire won "Best Production Design" in the season finale, "Kali Part 2". The season was also nominated for "Best Dramatic Series", but lost to Stargate Universe
.
The second part of "Kali" represented the series for "Best Television Series - Drama" in the 2010 Directors Guild of Canada
Awards, but lost out to the comedy–drama series Being Erica. Elsewhere, Dunne was also nominated for "Best Male Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Television Episode" at the 2010 Constellation Awards, but lost out to Doctor Who
actor David Tennant
, for his role in the episode "The Waters of Mars
", by only one percent of the votes.
box set of the second season, published by E1 Entertainment, was first released in Region 1
on June 15, 2010, in Region 2 October 4, 2010, and in Region 4 on June 9, 2010 It was also released on Blu-ray Disc
in the United States and Australia on the same days the DVD counterpart was released. The four-disc set consists of all 13 episodes, each with audio commentaries
from cast and crew. The set also includes numerous special featurettes: Amanda Tapping Directs "Veritas", "Next Tuesday" - Anatomy of an Episode, Sanctuary Visual Effects, Sanctuary for Kids, Behind the Scenes and On the Set, Sanctuary Goes to Japan and Dancing in Mumbai, as well as a presentation from the San Diego Comic-Con International, a blooper reel and photo gallery.
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 Space in Canada
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...
and on Syfy
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 on October 9, 2009, and concluded on the same channel on January 15, 2010 after 13 episodes. It continues to follow the actions of a secret organization known as the Sanctuary Network, who track down a series of creatures known as abnormals and then bring them to the Sanctuary base for refuge. 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:...
, Agam Darshi
Agam Darshi
Agam Darshi is an English-born actress, now based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Early life:Agam Darshi was born Agamdeep Darshi in Birmingham, UK. At a very young age she and her family moved to Canada. At the age of 14 she left home and moved to Calgary, to pursue a career of acting -...
, Ryan Robbins
Ryan Robbins
Ryan Robbins is a Canadian actor. He was married to the actress Rebecca Reichert and they have one daughter.-Biography:...
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.
The season starts six weeks after the conclusion of the first season
Sanctuary (season 1)
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...
, where the protagonists work to defeat the antagonistic Cabal from destroying the Sanctuary Network, but in the process Ashley Magnus (Ullerup), daughter of Sanctuary leader Helen Magnus
Helen Magnus
Doctor Helen Magnus is the series protagonist and central character of the Canadian fantasy-science fiction television series Sanctuary. She is portrayed by Amanda Tapping...
(Tapping), dies. Later episodes involve a story arc on Big Bertha, the most dangerous abnormal on Earth.
The second season included a writing team, where as in the first there were only two writers; series creator 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...
, and 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...
; however Egan left the series after the end of the first season. The producers wanted to expand on the Sanctuary Network by including episodes where the team visit some of their international sites as opposed to only mentioning them. The season was filmed in 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,...
, 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...
from late March to July 2009, with some scenes of the finale filmed on location in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Anthem Visual Effects continues to produce the series' 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...
. Anthem found an exponential growth in their work, with some episodes including as many as 500 visual effects shots.
The first ten episodes were seen by an average of 1.55 million viewers in the United States, increasing to 2.2 million when time-shifted viewings were taken into account. It received generally positive reviews from critics; however, some reviewers criticized the abrupt end to the Cabal arc within the first few episodes. The introduction of the new character Kate Freelander (Darshi) was also met with mixed reactions, while there was an outpouring of fans against Ashley's demise. Season two won seven 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...
after its release. The 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 June 9, 2010 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...
, June 15 in Region 1, and October 4 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
Sanctuary for All
"Sanctuary for All" is the two-part series premiere of the science fiction television series Sanctuary, a television spinoff from the web series of the same name. Both parts originally aired on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States for October 3, 2008, and subsequently aired on ITV4 in the United...
. After the first season, the producers made Will more confrontational towards Magnus after feeling more comfortable working with her. Christopher Heyerdahl portrays two characters: Bigfoot, an abnormal who works in the Sanctuary, and John Druitt, Magnus' former fiancé and father to Ashley. Ryan Robbins returns as Henry Foss. A recurring actor in the first season, Robbins was upgraded to a series regular in the second.
Emilie Ullerup returns as Ashley, Magnus' daughter who was written out of the series after "Eulogy". The decision to kill off the character came from an agreement between series creator Damian Kindler and the commissioning networks, as they felt this development would "have the deepest, most dramatic impact on the series and the characters." Director Martin Wood also believed that her death would add a sense of jeopardy on the show. When Ullerup first heard Ashley would be killed off, she was under the impression that her character was not well received by the fans. After the second season aired however, Ullerup noticed an outpouring from fans against Ashley's death. Following her death, the producers were willing to develop an Ashley story for the third season
Sanctuary (season 3)
The third season of the Canadian science fiction–fantasy television series Sanctuary, premiered on Syfy in the United States on October 15, 2010 and consists of 20 episodes. Created by Damian Kindler, the series was adapted from a series of webisodes released in 2007. The increased number of...
.
Agam Darshi joined the cast as Kate Freelander, described by Syfy as "a swindler, con artist and thief who finds herself in an uneasy alliance with Dr. Magnus after her business relationship with the Cabal goes sour." The producers intended for Kate to be an unlikeable character at first, but by the end of the season have "99 percent of the people who don't like Kate, [...] like Kate." The producers also noted that Kate would begin to prove herself by the third episode "Eulogy", and the ninth episode "Penance" would became important to Kate's evolution from "first class bitch" to a more open character when her father's death is revisited.
Recurring cast and guest appearances
Jonathon Young returns as half-vampire Nikola Tesla. In the tenth episode, the character was "de-vamped". Kindler felt this development was a bold choice, but also believed his vampirism was the least interesting character trait against being a genius and having electricity-based powers. The producers wanted to make Tesla somewhat heroic by sacrificing that part of him. Like the first season, there were instances where Young was unavailable to shoot some of his scenes due to theatre commitments, so he was replaced by a body double. Christine Chatelain returns as Will's girlfriend Clara Griffin. Clara was killed off in the second episode; Tapping viewed the death as an "important casualty" that has resonance to the main characters. Robert Lawrenson made a recurring appearance as Declan McRae, the head of the London Sanctuary following the death of James Watson in the season one finale. The character was originally going to be introduced in "Hero", but Kindler decided it would be better for the character to be introduced earlier in the season.The season also introduced numerous guest appearances. Babz Chula
Babz Chula
Babz Chula was an American-born actress, permanent resident in Canada.-Life and career:Chula was born as Barbara Ellen Zuckerman in Springfield, Massachusetts. She was raised in Jamaica, New York...
appeared as a Cabal scientist in the season premiere, a character that was originally a German male; Chula accepted Tapping's offer to appear on the show after they met at an awards ceremony. Christopher Gauthier appears as Walter and his alter-ego, "the Adjuster", in "Hero". Gauthier modeled the Adjuster's voice from Christian Bale
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
's Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
. The scenes where Walter was worn out from the suit that is killing him mirrored Gauthier's performance because of the suit he had to wear constantly, which consisted of two sets of jogging outfits, cotton padding, and a wetsuit
Wetsuit
A wetsuit is a garment, usually made of foamed neoprene, which is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports, providing thermal insulation, abrasion resistance and buoyancy. The insulation properties depend on bubbles of gas enclosed within the material,...
. Because the producers were impressed with Walter, they wanted him to return in the next season. Mandy May, the wife of director Steven A. Adelson, appears in full prosthetics as the abnormal Jack in "Fragments"; May previously appeared on the series as the face of Sally 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"...
. In the same episode, Colin Cunningham played the antagonist Gerald. Cunningham was offered a role because he was long-time friends with some of the crew members, as is the same case when it came to casting Anne Marie Loder, wife of director Peter DeLuise, as Rachel. 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...
actress Erica Cerra makes a guest appearance as the telepath Emma in "Veritas". Cerra's casting by the producers was "really easy" as it was based on her work in other science fiction productions, especially Eureka.
Tapping's former 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...
co-star Michael Shanks guest starred as Jimmy in "Penance". Shanks had an interest in playing Jimmy because of the edgeness of the character. Shanks also suggested Aleks Paunovic, actor and part-time boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, for the part as the diacon Duke; being a boxer fit into the character's violent nature. Paul McGillion returns as Wexford in the season finale. McGillion first appeared as Wexford in the original webisodes, and since then the producers wanted him to return. Tapping believed that placing him in the finale was "the perfect place for him." Callum Blue was cast as the finale's antagonist, Edward Forsythe, as the producers believed Blue could portray somebody who is both charming and evil. In the same episode, Sahar Biniaz was cast as Kali; Biniaz was chosen as the producers believed her physical appearance was goddess-like. Balinder Johal played a cult member; she was the first person to audition for the part, and the producers cast her as she was spiritual, calm, and soft in her appearance. Johal taught the cast how to speak Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
in parts of the dialogue. The producers were hoping to cast David Hewlett
David Hewlett
David Ian Hewlett is an English-born Canadian actor best known for his role as Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay on the science fiction television shows Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:...
, another Stargate alum, in a guest spot; however, this was met by scheduling issues, as he was shooting a film at the time. Despite this the producers were confident they would cast Hewlett "eventually."
Development
Syfy officially announced the commissioning of a second season of Sanctuary on November 2008 due to the ratings success of the pilot episode, which totalled over three million viewers. Writer and executive producer 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...
left the series after the first season
Sanctuary (season 1)
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...
. Andrea Gorfolova, Carrie Mudd and Keith Beedie join creator Damian Kindler, director Martin Wood, and actress Amanda Tapping as the show's executive producers.
Writing
The second season saw the introduction of a writing team; Sara Cooper, Alan McCullough and James Thorpe were hired as additional writers to Kindler. Because of the writing team, it allowed Kindler and the team had to hold meetings, where as in the first season it was just him discussing with Egan. One of the goals in writing the second season is to further explore the global Sanctuary Network, because in the Sanctuary universe abnormals can be found all around the world. Some international Sanctuary bases were mentioned in the first season, but in the second season, the producers wished to visit some of those bases. Introducing new Sanctuaries and its characters would widen the breadth of the show. They also wished to start introducing abnormals that cannot walk, including an oil-like abnormal in "End of Nights" and the fire elementalElemental
An elemental is a mythological being first appearing in the alchemical works of Paracelsus in the 16th century. Traditionally, there are four types:*gnomes, earth elementals*undines , water elementals*sylphs, air elementals...
"Penance". Kindler wrote both parts of "End of Nights", "Pavor Nocturnus", "Next Tuesday", "Haunted" and the second part of "Kali". McCullough wrote "Hero", "Veritas", "Penance" and the first part of "Kali". Cooper wrote "Eulogy" and "Fragments", while Thorpe wrote "Sleepers", and co-wrote "Pavor Nocturnus" and "Haunted" with Kindler.
Following the cliffhanger of the first season finale, Kindler worked to figure out how to conclude the story and managed to write the outlines of the first two episodes in two days. He also consulted with the writing team to look at all the problems on how to conclude the story. "Eulogy" was conceived as an important episode in the lives of the main characters following the aftermath of "End of Nights", as well as dealing with the loss of Ashley. Kindler said of the episode "it's one thing to end on a terrible tragic cliffhanger, it's another in a satisfactory manner lay all things to rest appropriately." In writing the episode Cooper was knowledgeable on "medical jargon," as she once wrote for the medical drama series House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
. In writing his first script "Hero", McCullough was initially concerned that it would be met by resistance from the producers because of the special effects that would be involved, but was "floored" to find out it was entirely possible because of Anthem Visual Effects. The producers were originally hesitant in including "Hero" as the fourth episode, as it was considered lighter in tone as Magnus was trying to get over Ashley's death from "Eulogy". "Pavor Nocturnus" came early in the development of the season, as Kindler wanted to show an episode about Magnus' work going "horribly wrong," and explore the opportunity to have the heroes warned that their work has consequences. Described as the "darkest, scariest, creepiest episode ever" by Tapping, it also featured scenes Kindler was never comfortable with, and did not want to show again, including the assault of naked women, and child killings.
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, where "stuff goes down and you have to kind of follow the team in different aspects and see how they're handling the situation." The idea behind "Next Tuesday" came when Kindler and Wood noticed a rescue helicopter that was available for rent, prompting the two to come up with a "helicopter story." The episode also introduces a next level in Will and Magnus' friendship; arguments, which would create a "far more realistic thread of tension" between the two characters who "obviously love each other," and "obviously get along," which Kindler felt made a "cool character layer." This was also based on the producers themselves, who despite being good friends, often argue while producing the series.
"Sleepers" was developed because the producers wanted to do a Tesla-centric episode, as they view him as one of their favorite characters. "Haunted" rounds Druitt to "something unexpected." The producers were aware that Druitt became more insane the more he teleports, and they wanted to find an explanation why, hence the creation of the energy creature. "Kali" was designed as a somewhat "faith versus science
Relationship between religion and science
The relationship between religion and science has been a focus of the demarcation problem. Somewhat related is the claim that science and religion may pursue knowledge using different methodologies. Whereas the scientific method basically relies on reason and empiricism, religion also seeks to...
" episode, with faith as the winning party, because any host to the macri would need a spiritual understanding to it; the cult of Kali are religious, so they would make suitable hosts, but Edward Forsythe is a believer of science, and would not make a suitable host as he does not share the cult's understanding. In the original draft, Magnus would fall ill, but that later changed to Will before the episode was filmed. Some episodes in the season originally followed a different order. "Pavor Nocturnus" was originally going to be the fourth episode, while "Hero" would become the tenth. "Sleepers" would also be in an earlier slot. However, the order changed, partially due to availability issues with Jonathon Young for "Sleepers". The writers were also working on a Bigfoot-centric episode, where he returns to his home. However before it could be written, the networks were unhappy with the idea.
Filming
Filming began in late March 2009, and finished on the end of July the same year. Director Martin Wood wanted to film the season in a more graphic novelGraphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
style. Wood directed both parts of "End of Nights", "Hero", "Next Tuesday" and both parts of "Kali". Brenton Spencer directed "Eulogy", "Pavor Nocturnus" and "Penance". The producers felt that Spencer did "a great job" in making sense on a lot of moves he had to make, as well as understanding that the stories are important in getting things back on track in "Eulogy". The episode ended up being 17 minutes longer than usual, so much of it had to be cut. Steven A. Adelson directed "Fragments" and "Sleepers". Amanda Tapping directed "Veritas", her first directorial credit since the Stargate SG-1 episode "Resurrection" in 2004. To direct the scenes featuring Magnus, Tapping rehearsed them to decide how it would be shot, then appointed somebody to handle the cameras. Peter DeLuise directed "Haunted". Lee Wilson from Anthem Visual Effects directed a scene in "Hero", while Robbins directed a scene from "Fragments" when his character recorded Rachel's documentary.
Like the first season, much of the second was filmed on green screen
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...
sets in a studio 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 also like the first season, there are more instances it was shot on practical sets and on location, most of which taking place just outside the studio. The first part of "End of Nights" had scenes filmed at a large empty warehouse. At some point, Dunne, Kindler, Tapping and Wood were sent to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
to promote the series for Syfy Asia. The four decided to use the opportunity to film some scenes for the finale there, one of which was filmed in the Shibuya crossing
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
. Filming took place just as a monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
season was kicking in. In addition, they noticed a concert hall and took pictures of one of its angles as they deem the architecture suitable for a Tokyo Sanctuary base.
During the shoot of the first part of "End of Nights", Kindler loaned his car for a car chase sequence. A later scene involved having the car shot at by snipers. To prevent damage to the car, the bullet holes were made from visual effects. In "Pavor Nocturnus", the crew had to make the Sanctuary set ruined in a post-apocalyptic state. Set designer Bridget McGuire made the set look "horrible" over night, but then had to clean it up for the last scene. They also "completely trashed" the street sets in the studio. "Next Tuesday" was considered a 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...
as it was largely filmed in one set, a water tank some 14 feet deep and 70 feet long, in a studio. The episode was filmed over five 13-hour days, not including a two-day break midway through, becoming the fastest time filming a Sanctuary episode. Wood directed the episode from the water rather than dry land. The following episode "Penance" was largely filmed at a constructed city set some three and a half blocks in size, which was previously used in the superhero film
Superhero film
A superhero film, superhero movie, or superhero motion picture is: action, fantasy and science fiction film; that is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes, individuals who usually possess superhuman abilities relative to a normal person and are dedicated to protecting the public...
Watchmen
Watchmen (film)
Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. It is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons...
.
The Mumbai slum set in the season finale was constructed on the parking lot of the studio, which took two to three weeks to complete. The finale was filmed during one of the hottest heatwaves to hit British Columbia; Tapping found that the set was hotter than the average temperature of the actual Mumbai. Three main cameras were used, one of which was crane-operated. 60 extras were used, the highest number used in an Sanctuary episode. For the extras to be used in more than one scene, they wore many different costumes. The streeting area was also limited in size, so the streets were recycled frequently with every scene. The practical sets of the Sanctuary offices and corridors were also redesigned to look like the Mumbai Sanctuary.
Music
Andrew LockingtonAndrew Lockington
Andrew Lockington is a Canadian film score composer, who composes scores for American and Canadian films. He was born July 31, 1974 in Burlington, Ontario....
was appointed the series composer in the season. The producers liked Lockington's contribution to the score as it was more heightened than it was in the first season. Lockington would also capture the emotional temper when it comes to scoring for the emotional scenes. The composer sampled several instruments from around the world to give the score a more ehtnic, international feel. Some episodes feature the score taking different styles. For instance "Fragments" features a "cool Michael Mann soundtrack." In "Kali", the score adopted a more Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
-style theme, particularly during Will's dance sequence. In addition to the score, there were occasional instances where popular music was featured. "End of Nights" featured a track from the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
-based hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group Down with Webster
Down with Webster
Down with Webster, or DWW, is a 7-man Canadian rap rock band from The Beaches area of Toronto, Ontario who signed with Universal Motown in April 2009. During live shows the band occasionally uses a 3-piece horn section....
.
Effects
Anthem Visual Effects resumed their duties of producing the visual effects for the second season. The company's Lee Wilson noted that their workload for the second season "increased exponentially" over the first, with some episodes containing as many as 500 visual effects shots. The produce decided to "re-jig" the opening title sequence, which they wanted to do each year. The photograph where Magnus meets Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
changed to aviation pilot Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
. The producers noticed that the visual effects have been made "more wonderous than we did the season before," as they were able to produce certain actions that they never tried before. The steno in "Eulogy" was designed to look adorable, harmless and bunny-like in its infancy, but more menacing when it grows up. In making the Adjuster fly in "Hero", both visual and practical effects were used; some of the simpler sequences involved Gauthier hooked up to a velocity rig, but in order to make him fly over the city skyline, a computer-generated
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...
avatar was created. The design of the coleanthropus in the same episode was based on a mix of insect and dinosaur.
The second season introduces "moving zorts," an upgraded technique the film crew used to complete the effect where Druitt teleports. The zorts were used specifically to make the sequences where the cast around Heyerdahl freeze until he leaves the screen. The producers wanted to have the camera move during those shots, as they believed it would be "way cooler to have those zorts on the move." One of the more difficult moving zorts included a "triple zort" with other characters who could teleport on the same shot in "End of Nights". The sequence was difficult for Tapping, as she had to carry a prop weighing approximately 73 pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
. A three-dimensional hologram
Holography
Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that when an imaging system is placed in the reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the object is no longer present...
of Rachel's office was included in "Fragments"; it was originally intended to feature the hologram throughout the episode, but because doing so would be costly, the producers decided to have one scene with the hologram, so Henry could use it as a blueprint to make an identical office with boxes. For the finale, Anthem decided to make the macri and Big Bertha look like the same creature, though Bertha would be a considerably larger creature. Some scenes involve the macri interacting with real life objects, including clothing. To make a scene where the macri enters a jacket, Wilson used fishing wire to move a sleeve slightly. Big Bertha's actions meanwhile, were largely made underwater. Anthem found that making underwater effects was difficult because there was a different style of movement. Additionally, Anthem produced a sequence where Wexford launches depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s from his ship. The producers were looking for stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
of the dropping depth charges, but they could not find one in high-definition.
In additional to visual effects, other forms of physical effects were produced. In "Hero", there was a scene where the camera appeared to be shot from inside a water tank. Instead, a water tank was placed between the camera and the actors, where Alka-Seltzer
Alka-Seltzer
Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever first marketed by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company. It was developed by Treneer in Elkhart Indiana. Alka-Seltzer is marketed for relief of minor aches, pains, inflammation, fever, headache, heartburn, sour stomach, indigestion, and hangovers,...
was placed at the bottom to simulate bubbles. Wood previously used this technique in the first season episode "Requiem" as well as 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...
. The Adjuster comic books at the end of the episode were designed by artists who occasionally work for DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. Dunne wore a mullet and a white eye contact lens
Contact lens
A contact lens, or simply contact, is a lens placed on the eye. They are considered medical devices and can be worn to correct vision, for cosmetic or therapeutic reasons. In 2004, it was estimated that 125 million people use contact lenses worldwide, including 28 to 38 million in the United...
in "Pavor Nocturnus" for Will's alternate self in a dystopian future. The vampire squid-related effects for "Next Tuesday" were made possible by visual aids. For the shots where the squid swims on the water surface, the production crew used a radio-controlled boat
Radio-controlled boat
- Fun Sport :Electric Sport boats are the most common type of boat amongst casual hobbyists. Hobby quality boat speed generally start at around 20MPH and go up from there, and can be just as fast or faster than their internal combustion counterparts, with the latest in Lithium Polymer and Brushless...
to mimic a wake
Wake
A wake is the region of recirculating flow immediately behind a moving or stationary solid body, caused by the flow of surrounding fluid around the body.-Fluid dynamics:...
. When the squid erupts from the water, they placed a beach ball
Beach ball
A beach ball is an inflatable ball for beach and water games. Their large size ball and light weight take little effort to propel; they travel very slowly and generally must be caught with two hands, making them ideal for lazy games and for children...
underwater and released it to mimic the splash. To make the helicopter sway during the battles between the squid and sea scorpion, an air pump was placed below it. However, doing so added the side effect of strong currents, proving difficult for the cast to swim towards the helicopter.
The season also includes stunt work. Weeks before filming "End of Nights", Heyerdahl practiced sword fighting to be done against the hybrids in the second part. Jonathon Young performed his own stunts for "Sleepers", including being run over by a car and falling from a car. Both stunts involved harnesses and other safety measures. Young also participated in a fight scene with the other vampire characters, but he ended up injuring two of the actors. In one instance Young hit Chad Rook in the face, which caused a fang insert to puncture his lip.
Broadcast and ratings
The season commenced airing on Syfy from October 9, 2009, and aired nearly every Friday night until the two-part finale "Kali" on January 15, 2010. It aired alongside the first season of Stargate UniverseStargate Universe
Stargate Universe is a Canadian-American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way...
. The season started off with 1.85 million viewers. Ratings were up 18 per cent in terms of adults aged between 18 and 49, and 7 per cent in adults aged between 25 and 54 compared to the average of the first season. After "Sleepers" aired, the season was seen by an average of 1.55 million viewers per episode. Timeshifted ratings for the season increases from live viewers by 45.9 per cent, increasing the average to 2.2 million viewers per episode. In Canada, the season premiered on October 9 on Space, a cable channel that specialises in science fiction programs. Each episode would be available on demand on the channel's website after they aired. It was moved from 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...
, which originally aired the first season. In the United Kingdom, the season premiered 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...
on October 12, 2009, and finished on January 18, 2010. It started with 334,000 viewers for the first episode, and ended with 268,000 for the finale. In Australia, the season started airing on July 12, 2010 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...
.
Critical reception
The season was met with generally positive reviews. Mark Wilson of About.com believed that after the series was "finding its feet," and "looks like a harbinger of the new, more confident Sanctuary," but added "there's still work to be done." He also stated "because of the talents involved, the wide-open concept, and the way it's created, Sanctuary has huge potential. The season 2 premiere is good to great, with a fantastic performance from Tapping and a real escalation of the Cabal threat. Let's hope that the show continues to develop and evolves, like its characters, into the show it's capable of becoming." In a DVD review of the season, Monsters and CriticsMonsters and Critics
Monsters and Critics is a web-only entertainment/celebrity news and review publication with movie, DVD, video game, and music reviews, along with political commentary as well as coverage of world news, technology, sports, and science.- Background :...
rated it five out of five, stating that fans "will be very happy" with the season set.
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...
said that while "the show still has a lot of charm," he felt it did not live up to the standards of the first season. Sinnott criticised the season for wrapping up the Cabal story line in the first two episodes, expecting it to continue throughout the season, as well as accusing the writers of throwing out "a lot of aspects that made the end of the first season so great." However, he felt there were good episodes, naming "Sleepers" as his favourite, and also saying he liked "Hero". He summed up that the season was "still worth watching and enjoyable, just not as gripping as the first season," believing it comes "recommended" to those who wish to purchase the season box set. David Blackwell of Enterline Media stated that the second season "continues to amaze as a show I first wrote off as bad. I'm glad I'm still giving this show a second chance as it continues to deliver great character arcs and stories." Blackwell named "Pavor Nocturnus", "Veritas" and "Haunted" as the standout episodes. CliqueClack TV believed the season was a "mixed bag"; "End of Nights" was considered "the most thrilling hours of television Sanctuary has ever produced," but the season later "suffered mostly from failure to follow through with the Cabal/Ashley story arc."
Critical reactions towards the introduction of Kate Freelander was also mixed. Mark Wilson stated "the growling sass-mouth feels out of place. Darshi's performance is good, at least, so we'll just have to see if the writers are capable of integrating her into the cast." John Sinnot meanwhile, started "I always found [Ashley] a bit irritating, so it was no big loss. For some reason however, they've replaced her with another annoying young woman, Kate Freelander. She's basically the same character as Ashley, tough as nails on the outside but still a vulnerable young woman on the inside, but this time in an Indian shell."
Awards and nominations
Overall the second season won seven awards, all them Leo AwardsLeo 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...
, out of 17 nominations from the same ceremony. "Pavor Nocturnus" won three of those wins; Brenton Spencer won "Best Direction", Christina McQuarrie won "Best Costume Design", and Robin Dunne won "Best Lead Performance by a Male". Christopher Gauthier won "Best Guest Performance by a Male" for his role in "Hero". Todd Masters, Holland Miller, Harlow Macfarlane, Werner Pretorius and Yukio Okajima won "Best Make-Up" for "Fragments". Christopher Heyerdahl won "Best Supporting Performance by a Male" for "Haunted", and Bridget McGuire won "Best Production Design" in the season finale, "Kali Part 2". The season was also nominated for "Best Dramatic Series", but lost to Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe is a Canadian-American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way...
.
The second part of "Kali" represented the series for "Best Television Series - Drama" in the 2010 Directors Guild of Canada
Directors Guild of Canada
The Directors Guild of Canada is a Canadian labour union, founded in 1962, which represents more than 3,700 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. The DGC represents directors, assistant directors, location managers, production assistants and...
Awards, but lost out to the comedy–drama series Being Erica. Elsewhere, Dunne was also nominated for "Best Male Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Television Episode" at the 2010 Constellation Awards, but lost out to 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...
actor David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
, for his role in the episode "The Waters of Mars
The Waters of Mars
"The Waters of Mars" is the second 2009 special of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, broadcast on BBC One on 15 November 2009. It aired on BBC America on 19 December 2009 and was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on 11 January 2010 and in the US on 2 February 2010...
", by only one percent of the votes.
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 second 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 June 15, 2010, in Region 2 October 4, 2010, and in Region 4 on June 9, 2010 It was also 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 and Australia on the same days the DVD counterpart was released. 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. The set also includes numerous special featurettes: Amanda Tapping Directs "Veritas", "Next Tuesday" - Anatomy of an Episode, Sanctuary Visual Effects, Sanctuary for Kids, Behind the Scenes and On the Set, Sanctuary Goes to Japan and Dancing in Mumbai, as well as a presentation from the San Diego Comic-Con International, a blooper reel and photo gallery.