NEW YORK – January 21, 2011 – Following the enormous success of the series Riese: Kingdom Falling – which generated 1.2 million streams in only two months – Syfy.com will expand its original digital content slate with the 10-part The Mercury Men, it was announced today by Craig Engler, Senior Vice President/General Manager, Syfy Digital.
Created by acclaimed director Christopher Preksta (Captain Blasto), The Mercury Men (each episode runs approximately seven minutes) will premiere exclusively in early 2011.
Said Engler: “Mercury Men is a phenomenal project and I think sci-fi fans and Syfy viewers are going to absolutely love it. We’ve been following the series since Chris (Preksta) posted the first trailer online, and we’re thrilled to be able to work with him and host Mercury Men’s worldwide debut on Syfy.com.”
Drawing on the same retro serials that inspired films such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones, The Mercury Men is set in Pittsburgh in 1975. Edward Borman (Mark Tierno/The Road, Day of the Dead), a lowly government office drone, finds himself trapped when the deadly Men of Mercury seize the building as a staging ground for their nefarious plot.
Aided by Jack Yaeger (Curt Wootten/Captain Blasto, The Hidden Blade), a daring aerospace engineer from a mysterious organization known as “The League,” and Grace (Amy Staggs/Friday Night Lights, Death Proof), who was only at the building to get a government form stamped, Edward must stop the invaders and their Doomsday Device, the Gravity Engine.
The Mercury Men is written and directed by Christopher Preksta, best known as the writer/director of Captain Blasto, for which he was nominated for two Streamy Awards. His work has been showcased at prestigious events including the Tribeca Film Festival and Comic-Con. Producer is Kati Lightholder.
I finally caught these on Comcast on-demand for Syfy. This stuff is better than most of what SyFy airs on cable.