Jessica Steen News & Notes Jan-Jun 1998

Armageddon Premiere Reminder
Tonight at 7:00PM EST, on E! which is an entertainment channel in the U.S., is the live broadcast of the world premiere of Armageddon at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Jessica is supposed to be there, so perhaps we will at least get a glimpse of her. I will try and get some screen captures from the broadcast if she appears. E! also broadcast the Trial & Error premiere last year, but they only showed a brief shot of her during the end credits of the show. They didn't have an interview with her and her part in T&E was much bigger. So i'm not expecting much tonight. But since "The Bruce" won't be there tonight, maybe she will get some screen time.

Jessica's Excellent Blimp Adventure
This past weekend (as I mentioned yesterday) E! had a little segment with Jessica flying a Goodyear Blimp. The segment was pretty cute and Jessica seemed to be in her silly mode. She wore this Amelia Earhart outfit with the leather jacket, scarf, cap and goggles (her idea). I have a page of photos, if anyone is interested (and you know you are). Coincidentally, in 3 days on July 2nd, marks the 61st anniversary of Earhart's flight in which she disappeared mysteriously in a Pacific flight from New Guinea to Howland Island in 1937.

Jessica on TV Alert!
Jessica has been spotted on E! (An entertainment channel in the U.S.) "News Weekend" this weekend. Her segment is about 11 minutes into the show and runs for about 2 minutes. This was the segment I mentioned here back on April 7th that she had taped. The show will air again at the following days and times...

Sunday (6/28) at 10:00AM & 2:00PM EST
Monday (6/29) at 12:00AM & 7:00 AM EST

Jessica on the Official Armageddon Page
Here is a page on the Official Armageddon site that has a tiny description of Jessica's character in Armageddon.
One this page if you click on SKY MAIN and wait until it goes through a few things until it gets to a screen where you can choose between Quicktime or RealVideo, there is a little video segment where Jessica's character and the other NASA pilots are introduced.

Jessica in a European Magazine
I got an email today from one of my German correspondents about a Jessappearance(tm) in a European magazine called "CINEMA"...

"Hi George! It may not be particularly interesting for you, but certainly for all German/European JS-fans: In the July-issue of CINEMA", Europe's biggest movie-magazine (at least that's what they call themselves...) there's a cool 3 page article about Jessica with 2 brand new photos and an interview. In the heading she's called "Amazone im All" (Amazon in space) and "Canada's response to Jodie Foster!" Maybe you might want to add this to your current list of Jessica's magazine appearances?!" --Regina

I'm not positive, but I seem to recall that our local Barnes & Noble Bookstores here in Columbus, Ohio carry that magazine. So folks here in North America might want to check their local bookstores or newsstands that carry imported magazines. And by the way, I am ALWAYS interested in ANY of Jessica's appearances no matter where they are. It is important that people tell me about these things, especially in other countries. More than likely I would have missed this article if no one would have told me. The visitors to this site are my best sources of information after all! Especially since this site as well as any site on the WWW, is accessable to anyone in the world. Heck I have gotten vistors from places I never even heard of before! :-)

Cinema Mag Online Article
Here is the Online version of the Jessica Steen article from the German version of Cinema magazine.

Note the photo they are using on that page, and then note this photo here, that I have had on my site for about 10 months that I captured myself with my Snappy video capture device. Also note that they mistakenly put Jessica's character's name in Armageddon as "Jennifer Wells" (not Watts which it should be). I had "Jennifer Wells" on my Armageddon page for a long time up until recently when I noticed the mistake. Coincidence?? I think not. :-)

And for a good laugh...
1. Highlight the entire following line with your mouse, and then press your right mouse button and select COPY.

3. Click in the big box, and paste the text you copied. (right mouse click and select PASTE)

4. Select Translate from "German to English" from the pull down menu on that page.

Sit back and read the article after it is "translated". Pretty funny stuff (I hope the translator software is only in BETA).

A Few More QoP Details
I picked up a few more details about Jessica's new movie that she is currently working on called "Question of Privilege" that also stars Michael Ironside, David Keith, Ben Ratner and Eric Johnson. Apparently, the movie is about murder where 4 boys are accused of killing a young girl. As I mentioned before Jessica has the lead in the movie and plays an attorney. Jessica said in a recent interview that her character is the "Nancy Drew" of the story. This movie is probably nearing completion since a posting on a Michael Ironside web site mentioned that Michael left town yesterday since he was finished filming.

Regis & KL Arma Premiere Cancelled
Back on June 11th I mentioned that the TV show Live with Regis and Kathie Lee was supposed to be broadcasting live from the Armageddon Premiere in Florida on the 29th of this month. Well it appears they had to cancel, because they said "Unresolvable scheduling problems make it necessary for us to cancel this remote event." I was kinda suprised they were going to do it anyway, since the premiere doesn't start until well after their show is on normally (the premiere starts after 4PM EST I believe).

Armageddon Premiere Details
Click here to read the details about the Armageddon premiere in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday June 29th. Jessica is scheduled to be there. It doesn't appear that there will be any live coverage from the event.

FLARE Magazine
The issue of FLARE Magazine (the Candian Fashion Magazine) that Jessica is in, is on the newsstands now. From what I understand it is just a little piece with a small photo, so it might not be worth the hassle to get it if you don't live in Canada. I hope to have a copy of it soon and will scan it and put it up.

JS in Sci-Fi Entertainment Magazine
The August issue of Sci-Fi Entertainment (The Sci-Fi Channels magazine) has an article on Armageddon. It doesn't have a photo of Jessica but she is mentioned and quoted.
(thanks to Char for the info)

Armageddon Stuff
Jessica's new movie Armageddon (ok so it isn't exactly HER movie) is about a week away from opening in theaters, so naturally there is going to be a bunch of stuff on TV to promote the film, including "Making of" shows, premiere's, tons of commercials etc... I posted a list of all the shows (in the USA) that I am aware of on the Jessica on TV page. Please email me if you know of any others.

Viva Las Vegas
Well, I just got back from Las Vegas yesterday which was why there hasn't been any updates here for the past week or so. I had a pretty good time while I was there and got to see some pretty neat things. The highlight of the trip was that I got to see Cirque du Soleil's MYSTÈRE which is a spectacular show that I recommend to anyone who is in the Las Vegas area. I know that Jessica is a big fan of Cirque du Soleil and I can now see why. While I was in Vegas I attended the Earth 2 Breakfast/Bash which was still held even though the Crossroads convention was canceled. I finally got to meet many of my online friends in person for the first time and got to meet with Earth 2 cast members John Gegenhuber (Morgan Martin), Rockmond Dunbar (Baines) and makeup artist Marie DelPrete.

Some New Photos
After I got back from Vegas I added a few new pictures to the Photo Gallery which I am sure many of you who have been checking the Site Updates page have already found. 2 of the photos are new publicity shots, another 2 are photos of Jessica from the movie Armageddon and the other 2 are a couple of Earth 2 shots I picked up in Vegas.

Armageddon Stuff
I picked up 2 new Armageddon books the other day. One of them is called Visions of Armageddon which is a cool 176 page book on the making of Armageddon. The book has tons of color photos (even a few with Jessica) and text the talks about the making of the film and it even includes a few quotes from Jessica herself.

As cool as the Visions book is, that is how BAD the novelization of Armageddon is. It looks like the author just grabbed the screenplay and quickly translated it into a novel. I don't read too many movie tie-in novels, but some of the ones I have read (that were based on screenplays) really expand on the characters a lot. The book is about 178 pages long and has 8 pages of poor quality B&W photos.

As of today we have about 9 days until Armageddon opens in theaters, so that means there should be a lot of publicity going on (if you have been watching TV then I am sure you have noticed). Keep an eye out for specials on E! and The Sci-Fi Channel as well as other shows. I will try and keep a list on the Jessica on TV page.

Jessica in Glamour Magazine

The Jessica Steen magazine invasion continues, with the July issue of Glamour Magazine. I got a report that the issue is starting to appear on newsstands. Jessica appears in a photo on page 48 with 5 other women under an article called "6 Strong women to love this summer." Here is some of the text from the article...

In summer's past, most women's film roles had all the strength and conviction of a soggy swimsuit. But times are changing, and this year you'll see some ambitious, adventurous women who are anything but cookie-cutter ingenues; they pilot spacecraft, juggle careers and personal lives, and kick box their way out of sticky situations-some of which were shot in heat of 106 degrees or more. Glamour got six of these women together to talk about the strengths their characters share.

"Demure female characters have long been a staple in movies. But the envelope has finally been pushed on what's sexy. Adventurous, strong characters inspire girls and women."

Regis & Kathi Lee at the Armageddon Premiere
From what I hear, Regis and Kathie Lee will be broadcasting live from the Armageddon Premiere in Florida on June 29th. Here's hoping that Jessica gets a little screen time out of it. Jessica got a little exposure when Michael Richards was on the show last year and showed a clip from Trial & Error with him and her in it.

To Save the Children, On Lifetime
For those of you who haven't seen Jessica's 1994 TV movie To Save the Children, it will be shown again on Lifetime (a cable channel in the U.S.) on Sunday, June 14th at 4:00PM (EST). See the page of information and photos that I set up in the Photo Gallery for the movie.

Jessica in FLARE
I just got an email from the editors at FLARE Magazine (A Canadian Fashion Magazine) that Jessica will appear on their Buzz Page in the July issue, which should appear on newsstands on June 15th (in Canada).

Allure (June) Has a nice full page photo with a little article. On newsstands now (Cindy Crawford cover).
Flare (July) Canadian Fashion Magazine on newsstands in Canada on June 15th.
Glamour (July) This is a group photo with Jessica and 5 other women, should be on newsstands soon.
Live! (August) Should be on the newsstands in July.
Movieline (July) Photo and small article. On newsstands now (David Duchovny cover).
Smoke (Summer 98) Has a small article and nice full page photo of Jessica and is on newsstands now (Kevin Spacey cover).

Jessica on AOL
It appears that Jessica is scheduled to do a live chat on America Online on Thursday, July 2nd at 9:30PM EST. I am not sure if you need to be a subscriber to AOL or not, but it appears you can access the chat via the Entertainment Asylum (a part of AOL on the web) for free.

More Magazine Info
I got word from the kind folks at LIVE! Magazine that Jessica appears in their August issue. I would expect that the issue will hit newsstands sometime in July. Also, it appears that FLARE is a Canadian fashion magazine (which is why I never heard of it) on top of that I had the original spelling for it (Flair) incorrect. Naturally, FLARE has their own web site. I am not sure what issue that Jessica is supposed to appear in, but it doesn't appear that she is in the June issue. I would suspect it would be the July or August issues. Naturally, I will post the info here when I find out.

Trial & Error on Sale
Jessica's movie Trial & Error which has just been released for purchase on video in North America is on sale at all Media Play stores for $8.99. Media Play is a store chain in the U.S. that specializes in "Music, Software, Movie and Books".

Jessica on the Newsstand
Jessica is making a few appearances in some magazines that are currently on the newsstand or soon will be. Here are the ones that I am currently aware of...

Jessica is in the Summer 1998 issue of SMOKE Magazine which is on newsstands now. To my suprise, the complete article (with the nice photo that is in the magazine) are also online at their web site!

Jessica is also in the June issue of ALLURE Magazine which is on newsstands now (Cindy Crawford is on the cover). Since this is the June issue it should probably be replaced by the July issue very soon, so if you want a copy I suggest you grab it while you still can.

Jessica is on page 16 of the July issue of Movieline Magazine which is on newsstands now (David Duchovny is on the cover).

More Magazine Appearances
Jessica should also be appearing in a few other magazines. From what I understand, there is an Armageddon group photo in Glamour, and the magazines Flair and Live!. When I get more details (dates etc...) I will post them here. I can't seem to find copies of Flair and Live!in my area, if anyone finds these please let me know.

If anyone is aware of any other magazines that Jessica has or will be appearing in, please email me.

Trial & Error has been finally released for purchase in North America. Up until this week the tape was priced for rental, which means if you wanted to buy it, the cost would be around $100. You should be able to pick up a copy of this movie now for under $20 (U.S.) If you haven't already seen Trial & Error, by all means check it out, since Jessica is really good in it.

Armageddon Site Updated
The Official Armageddon Web Site has been updated with some new material. When you get to the site, click on the "THE LINK" to get to the new stuff.

Jessica Spotted In Movieline Magazine
Just got a report from a frequent visitor to the JSP, that the July issue of Movieline Magazine has an interview with Jessica in it. The article is on page 16 and is titled "Steen Spirit," and also features a nice photo from what I hear. The July issue (that has David Duchovny on the cover) is getting to subscribers now, and I would imagine that the issue will hit newsstands within a week or so. (thanks Jo!)

Jessica Spotted In Another Magazine (and they used my photo!)
I was in a bookstore today here in Columbus Ohio looking at magazines, when a British Sci-Fi magazine called "Space Trek Special" caught my eye. I picked it up and noticed it had an article called "Deep Impact vs. Armageddon". I turned to the page and to my suprise at the bottom of the second page was a photo of Jessica. This isn't just any photo of Jessica, but the exact one I took with my Snappy from E! (The Entertainment Channel here in the USA) and if you look closely at the image in the magazine (it is hard to tell in the scan) you can see where they digitally removed the E! logo from the photo. Now, I don't care that they did that and didn't give me credit, what sucks is that nowhere in the article do they mention Jessica or even say who the photo is of. The magazine itself is very lame anyway with poor quality photos from various sources (other web sites I'll bet) and poorly written articles. The two images side by side.

"AICN Harry" Jessica Comment
Harry Knowles of the famous Aint it Cool News site responded to an email I sent to him asking if he got to see Jessica during the filming of Armageddon when he was invited on the set a few months back in Houston...

"Yes, I did. She was very nice and kind, but was very busy and private. She seemed to be very in character. I was there during one of her big scenes where she tells the oil rig crew off during a training exercise. She did a great job. --Harry"

More Details on "Question of Privilege"
As I mentioned on May 20th, Jessica is filming a new movie in Canada titled Question of Privilege and I picked up a few little bits about the movie today. Jessica's plays a lawyer (again) by the name of Andrea Roberts. Michael Ironside stars in the film, and David Keith (An Officer and a Gentleman) who plays Jessica's husband and Canadian actor Ben Ratner is co-star in the film.

Armageddon Premiere Press Release
Countdown Begins for Star-Filled June 29th `Armageddon' World Premiere At Kennedy Space Center

BURBANK, Calif., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking the imminent arrival of its spectacular new motion picture, "Armageddon," Touchstone Pictures has invited 500 VIP guests to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday June 29th for a world premiere screening, a private party and a power-packed performance by legendary rock band Aerosmith (who have four songs on the film's soundtrack), it was announced today by Richard Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Joining the select group of celebrities and press will be "Armageddon" stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Steve Buscemi, as well as producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay.

Commenting on the announcement, Cook said, "Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay have created an extraordinarily entertaining film with 'Armageddon' and we wanted to give it a 'send-off' that would capture the excitement and spectacle. The Kennedy Space Center is the perfect site. With its unique blend of adventure, humor and emotion, we believe that 'Armageddon' holds a special place among the summer releases and is sure to be a major crowd pleaser with a wide range of moviegoers."

The screening will take place in a special state-of-the-art theater, which is being constructed just for the evening outside the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Before and after the film, guests will have a chance to see many of the sites actually used in the film and explore a wide range of exciting NASA artifacts and displays. The evening will conclude with an exclusive appearance by Aerosmith during which the band will perform "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," their new smash hit single from the soundtrack of "Armageddon," for the very first time. The film is scheduled to hit theaters everywhere on July 1st.

In preparation for the event, Disney's technical wizards are building a state-of-the-art theater in a tent just outside the Apollo/Saturn V area at the Kennedy Space Center. As part of this, a 20' x 44' screen, 35mm projection equipment and a fully-operational Dolby Digital sound system are also being installed just for the occasion. After the screening, guests will be seated under an enormous 363-foot Saturn V rocket for dinner following which they will go outside to enjoy Aerosmith's special guest performance.

"Armageddon" follows the fiery trail of an asteroid the size of Texas that is heading directly towards Earth at 22,000 mph. NASA's executive director, Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton), has only one option -- to send up a crew to destroy the asteroid. He enlists the help of Harry S. Stamper (Bruce Willis) -- the world's foremost deep core oil driller -- to drill into its surface, and drop a nuclear device into the core. On this heroic journey, they face the most physically and emotionally challenging conditions ever encountered... to save the world and prevent ARMAGEDDON.

I just got a report that the new Aerosmith video for a new song of theirs titled "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" that they did for Armageddon, premiered today on MTV, so keep an eye out for it. It was mentioned that Jessica may have been spotted in the video a few times but it went by so fast it was hard to tell. (thanks to Liz Hebert for the report)

Well, just when I thought Jessica having to cancel her appearance at Crossroads '98 was a bummer, it turns out that the entire convention has been cancelled! From what I understand, there was among other things, a series of problems that the organizers ran into. So, before things got out of hand they decided to pull the plug entirely. The organizers assure everyone that they will get their refunds within 30-60 days. I sure wouldn't want to be the organizers right now, since there are going to be a lot of people with non-refundable airline tickets that should be quite upset.

The organizer of the Earth 2 Breakfast that was going to be held on Wednesday, June 17th, has contacted Clancy Brown, John Gegenhuber and Rockmond Dunbar and they have agreed to still come out to Vegas! Instead of being just a breakfast, this will be a Earth 2 mini-con since the hotel has extended the hours from 8:00AM-11:00AM to 8:00AM to 5:00PM. So if you were coming out for just the Earth 2 guests then you are still in luck. Keep checking the Earth 2 Crossroads Breakfast Page for more details as they are added.

Over at Aint It Cool News, there is a posting from someone who got to hang out on the set of Armageddon, which is pretty interesting. Speaking of Armageddon, there is a web site by Swiss Army Brand, that is promoting some cool Armageddon sunglasses. (Hey, Jessica! Buddy, Pal. If they are giving away freebie's, snag me a pair! :-)

Well, I have some good news and some very bad news (for some). The good news is that Jessica has landed a role in a independant feature called Question of Privilege, also starring Michael Ironside. Jessica is heading to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on May 30th to start filming.

The bad news is that this prevents Jessica from appearing at the Crossroads '98 convention (her appearance was going to be on June 17th). Her management said that Jessica is very disappointed that she will not be able to attend, and that she was looking forward to seeing the fans once again.

Well, I guess that answers the question whether or not Jessica was going to be able to make it to the Earth 2 Breakfast that morning! :-)

This is just a reminder that Jessica's 1994 TV movie To Save the Children, it will be shown on Lifetime (a U.S. cable channel) today at 9:00PM (EST).

I added a Calendar to the site after visiting the Visions of Sarah Michelle Gellar site recently (and a well done site it is). Seemed like a nice thing to have, so I went ahead and added one with the months May, June and July initially. For the time being it is only going to contain North American dates until I see how this goes. Of course, if you have additions or corrections please email them to me.

I added a new (but old) photo of Jessica (and her co-star Bruce Greenwood) the other day from her 1991 TV movie The Great Pretender and thought I would comment on it. The photo comes from The Bruce Greenwood Homepage. Bruce just so happens to star with Jessica in the movie (as well as the TV movie Striker's Mountain). For those of you who didn't know, The Great Pretender was a TV "pilot" (originally titled "Dead End Brattigan") that was filmed in 1989 but never picked up for a series (like so many many pilots). The pilot was shelved for a couple of years until it finally aired on April 14, 1991 as a TV movie.

Touchstone's Official Armageddon site has been finally updated with a few things, although the page says the full site won't be up until June.

Armageddon was picked by Premiere Magazine as their top Summer film of 1998. They have the same group photo (only enlarged) as the one I have below (see May 12th) with the only evidence of poor Jessica is from her forehead up. Now, I don't claim to be a great photographer, and I know Jessica isn't one of the main stars of the movie, but whatever happened to short people up front? Or ladies first for that matter? :-)

For those of you who haven't seen Jessica's 1994 TV movie To Save the Children, it will be shown again on Lifetime (a cable channel in the U.S.) on Monday, May 18th at 9:00PM (EST). See the page of information and photos that I set up in the Photo Gallery for the movie.

Dogwatch, a 1996 movie that Jessica had a very small part in, is now available on video in North America. I rented it today to see if it was the version with the extra scene with Jessica in it (see the 8-26-97 News & Notes section) but it was the same version that was shown on cable. I guess we will have to wait until the network version airs to see that extra scene.

Check out this group photo from the movie Armageddon below (click on the thumbnail for the larger version). Jessica is indeed in the photo, so see if you can find her (there is a little hint on the picture). :-)

It was just announced that New Pacificon 98 added 2 more guests to their roster and they are, Jana Marie Bonar and Bill Traetta, who I worked on creature effects/puppetry/costumes/props etc... for Earth 2. Check out the New Pacificon 98 page for more details.

Over at Aint It Cool News there is a posting about another unfinished cut of Armageddon.

I was perusing the Online bookstore www.amazon.com when I stumbled upon an amusing error in their database. Click here and check out who they have listed as the author of the movie John and the Missus. I emailed them about it so it may get corrected before long. (Just nobody tell Gordon Pinsent. :-)

Over at The Official Grayson McCouch Page they have a "Ask Grayson" section where you can email Grayson questions. I emailed him asking about Jessica on the set of Armageddon and he responded. Check out the Ask Grayson section (first message at the top) for his response.

The Jessica Steen Page got its 150,000th hit today since I added the counter to the main page back in December of 95. WOW!

Over at The Power Base (a Captain Power fan page) there is a posting about Captain Power being pulled from a channel in the U.K. as a precautionary measure because certain scenes with flickering lights might cause epilectic fits in children. A few months ago in Japan there was a scene in a particular episode of a cartoon called "Pocket Monsters" that caused over 600 reports of children getting epilectic fits from seeing it (here a page with articles on the subject).

Sounds over cautious to me, especially since the show has aired off and on since it came out back in 1986, with no problems (at least none that I have heard). I just hope this doesn't cause other stations from around the world to decided to pull or not air Captain Power in the future. Actually now that I think of it, I seem to recall reports of young boys having seziures after seeing Jessica "power on" into her Power Suit on the show many years ago (or was that just me?).

Over at Aint It Cool News there is a posting about someone getting to see a 55 min exhibitor screening of Armageddon. I have been hearing nothing but positive things about this movie, and this report makes it even sound better.

Yesterday as I mentioned, Access Hollywood had a little segment about Armageddon. I did catch 2 brief glimpses of Jessica in a few of the shots, but you really had to look for her to spot her. Tomorrow on Access Hollywood they are going to do another behind the scenes of Armageddon. This time Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck are supposed to be the hosts. Once again, Access Hollywood is syndicated so you will have to check local listings for the channel and time in your area. As I said before, I think Access Hollywood is shown only in North America (and maybe only the U.S.).

Today on Access Hollywood there will be a behind the scenes segment about the movie Armageddon. I'm not sure if Jessica will be shown, but you never know. Access Hollywood is syndicated so you will have to check local listings for the channel and time in your area. I am not positive but I think Access Hollywood is shown in North America only.

Many people emailed me and told me that I should post something about asking folks to go over to www.people.com to vote for Jessica in their 3rd annual Most Beautiful People poll, but it turns out that Howard Stern got on the radio recently and told everyone to vote for "Hank the Angry, Drunken Dwarf". At last count Hank had over 52,000 votes with the runner up being Leonardo DiCaprio with only 5400 plus votes. So it seems it is pretty hopeless at this point since the voting ends in 2 days. Besides, is there anyone more beautiful than Hank?? :-)

While there are no pictures of Jessica, The Official Grayson McCouch Page (a page dedicated to one of Jessica's co-stars in Armageddon) has a few photos of the cast from behind the scenes in Grayson's Armageddon Photo Gallery (about half way down the page). They also introduced a new section on Grayson's page where you can email him questions (Gee, that sounds like a really nice feature for a celebrity web site to have. Hmmmm...).

Earth 2 has started airing in Scandinavia and Sweden and Homefront is now airing in Sweden. See the Jessica on TV page for details.

Variety has an article out today that talks about the summer films and has a few mentions about Armageddon.

For those of you going to Las Vegas this June for the Crossroads 98 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Convention (where Jessica will be appearing) there is a breakfast planned for Wednesday, June 17 (the day the Earth 2 stars make their appearances). For more information check out The Earth 2 Breakfast web page. (please note that Jessica has not been confirmed for the breakfast).

As I mentioned in the March 6th entry below, Jessica filmed an episode of the TV series Due South (to air during the Fall 98 season in Canada). I also mentioned below, her episode (titled "Hunting Season") was one of the 4 episodes that were not going to air here in the United States. It appears however that Turner Network Television (TNT) (a cable channel in the United States) has picked up the rights to air the reruns of the series here after its initial run is over, as this article in yesterdays Hollywood Reporter mentions...

"Due South," the big-budget series about a Chicago-based Canadian Mountie, has reportedly been sold to TNT on an exclusive basis for a fee said to be in the neighborhood of $200,000 per episode. The "fish out of water"-themed series from Canada's Alliance Communications is out of production and will no longer be on offer in the domestic syndication market following the TNT deal. A spokesman for Alliance confirmed that the series is "on hiatus," and a PolyGram spokesman said it is no longer on offer in syndication. "Due South" was a smash sales hit three seasons ago when it aired on CBS, Canada's CTV and numerous broadcast groups in Europe and other global markets.

So it appears that although Jessica's episode will not be seen in its first run in the United States this season, it will more than likely be aired once TNT gets around to airing it. Polygram (who currently owns the rights to air Due South in the U.S.) has about 4 more episodes to air before they are done with the 3rd (and probably final) season. The Canadian 4th season (Fall of 98) is actually the last 9 episodes of what was the USA's 3rd season plus 4 more episodes that weren't aired here. There doesn't seem to be any word on when TNT will start airing Due South, but I suspect it won't be until 1999.

Over at The Power Base (A Captain Power web site) there is an interview with Larry DiTillio who was the Story Editor on Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. There are a few mentions of Jessica in the interview which are interesting.

Please Note: The reason Larry DiTillio gives for Jessica leaving the Captain Power TV series in the above interview differs from Jessica's own reasons which were given in an interview with her in Starlog Magazine issue #213.

Over at Aint It Cool News there is a report about Armageddon from one of his spy's. The article has some interesting information but doesn't go into too much detail. It's worth a read anyway.

"Trial & Error" is now available on video in Germany. The German title is "Noch dümmer". (Thanks to Bernd Wernekenschnieder for the info.)

Not too much to report lately, only that Jessica recently shot a little something for E! (The Entertainment Channel in the U.S.) I'm not quite sure what it was for (maybe a promo or advertisement) but I will have to assume it was for Armageddon. I will post more information about it (such as air dates) as I get it.

I have just received word that because of the high ratings that the reruns of Earth 2 have been getting, The Sci-Fi Channel has agreed to purchase 22 new episodes of Earth 2 for the 1999 season! Apparently, The Sci-Fi Channel has gotten the majority of the cast members to agree to come back as well as most of the production staff! Read more about this exciting news here!

I just received these 2 really cool photos of Jessica today. They are publicity photos for this summer's action movie Armageddon. Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger version. For more information on Armageddon check out the Jessica Steen Page's Armageddon section.

This is only sort of Jessica related, but the TV series House Rules that co-stars David Newsom (who played Jessica's brother on the TV series Homefront and who took that nice photo of Jessica on the main page) premiere's this Monday at 8:30PM EST on NBC. More info on the show House Rules can be had at NBC's site. So check it out!

I just noticed that the Soap Opera Update article below (March 3rd), states that Jessica was on the Soap Loving in 1994. That is incorrect, she was on Loving in early 1991 (it was printed in the magazine incorrectly as well).

Scott Cooper, the Story Department Co-ordinator for Due South posted this little tid bit about Jessica's episode to the Due South Mailing List...

"Hunting Season". The second episode written by Julie Lacey, this is the story of Maggie MacKenzie, a Mountie from the north who comes to Chicago on the trail of the killers of her husband. Maggie is played by Jessica Steen. This episode is not currently scheduled to be shown in the USA.

Yes, all you American JS fans read correctly, Jessica's episode is NOT scheduled to be shown in the USA (believe me, I feel your pain). The reason for this is that Polygram (the folks who have the rights to distribute the show in the USA) only purchased 22 of the 26 episodes of Due South this season. Unfortunately, Jessica's episode is one of the last ones being shot and so it didn't make it in the batch of 22 Polygram ordered. Scott Cooper also said... "It is likely that they will still be seen at some time in the USA when the series is sold into Strip Syndication and a station/network chooses to show all 68 hours (pilot plus 66 episodes) at some time in the future."

In other words, it is going to be one heck of a long time before folks in the USA see that episode.

Canadians fear not though, you will be able to see all episodes produced this season as will all of the other countries which are showing the new episodes.

There was a brief article and picture of Jessica in the February 14, 1998 issue of Soap Opera Update. (many thanks to Kaia from The Grayson McCouch Page for the article.)

Jessica Steen (Tricia Alden McKenzie, LOVING)
If you blinked, you probably missed Steen's short-lived soap career. For five weeks in 1994 (that was a error in the magazine. It should have said 1991--George C.) , she filled in for a pregnant Noelle Beck on LOVING. But she got plenty of work after that. Her television credits include roles on episodes of ER, TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL and EARTH 2, and in January, she appeared as a history teacher in the TV movie "Principal Takes A Holiday." She's currently at work on the summer movie "Armageddon," starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton.

Jessica begins filming on Due South

Yesterday was Jessica's first day on the set of Due South, in Toronto. Today, the Earle Grey Award winning actor/director/writer Gordon Pinsent, who wrote, directed and starred in the film "John and the Missus" (a film in which Jessica played the role of his daughter-in-law) will be on the set for filming, so it will be a sort of reunion for them. Someone also informed me that the name of the episode that Jessica is filming is titled "Hunting Season" but this has not yet been confirmed. More news on Jessica's appearance on Due South as I receive it.

Jessica is heading to her hometown of Toronto, Ontario Canada this coming week to shoot an episode of Due South to play a Mountie! I don't know about you, but as cool as it will be to see Jessica in a astronaut suit in Armageddon, it will be even cooler (and as Jessica says, "fitting") to see her in a Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform! Be sure to check out the Official Due South web site for more info on this show (including the station, dates and times for your neck of the woods). From what I understand this might be one of the last episodes of Due South to be filmed since the show will end after this season. Also, be sure and check out the nicely done fan run Due South website: LJC's Due South webpage.

After work last night, I came home to find that (to my horror) the electric power was out in my area and there was only an hour and a half before the chat with Jessica was to begin! Fortunately, those wonderful folks at American Electric Power got the electric back 20 minutes before the chat started! (I wasn't saying wonderful things about AEP 20 minutes previous, but nevertheless...) Anyway, Jessica chatted with a good number of us for about an hour. It was a moderated chat, which means that no one could talk in the chat room itself, so you had to submit your questions to the almighty moderator. If the almighty moderator deemed you worthy, they passed on your question to Jessica and she in turn responded. The almighty moderator graciously allowed me 2 questions. As hard as it was to believe, I actually had to ask Jessica a question or two that I didn't already know (much to her amusement). Alas, I swallowed my pride and asked away. I guess if I was smart I should have changed my name to something else and she would have been none the wiser. I am joking of course! (I was just asking for the benefit of the others in the chat room. ...yeah that's it!

). Most of the questions during the hour were pretty good and Jessica had some pretty good answers as well. The only minor gripe I had is that during the chat if Jessica had a question for the person, there was no way to respond to her (the moderator should have given a voice to the person asking the question). But nevertheless it is a pretty interesting hour that flew right by, and I kind of wished it was a little bit longer. I have the chat transcript here on the site for those of you who missed it. I will also have a permanent link to the transcript on the Articles page for future reference.

This is a reminder about Jessica's Chat on the Sci-Fi Channels IRC server today at 9PM EST (as if that big yellow banner ad above wasn't enough). For information read the details in the February 10th entry below. I hope to see you all there!

Jessica has been spotted on the E! Entertainment news channel on their E! News Weekend show. E! News Weekend will air again 3 times today (Sunday) at 10AM, 2PM, 12 midnight and Monday at 7AM. E! is most likely only carried in the United States (although I am not positive) and not all cable networks carry it.
(Thanks Cathy!)

I added some images and a sound file from the appearance to the Armageddon page.

******************************************************
CHAT: JESSICA STEEN OF EARTH 2 & ARMAGEDDON
Tuesday, February 24 at 9pm EST/6pm PST/2am GMT
******************************************************

Jessica Steen joins us online to discuss her experiences portraying Dr.
Julia Heller in Earth 2, reruns of which premiered on our U.S. feed late
last month. Science fiction fans can also look forward to Jessica's
return to the genre this summer in the sci-fi blockbuster "Armageddon,"
in which Jessica plays the astronaut responsible bringing Bruce Willis,
Billy Bob Thornton and Ben Affleck out into space to subdue a runaway
asteroid on a collision course with Earth.

To take part in any of these chats, connect your IRC client to
events.scifi.com and join channel #auditorium at the appointed dates and
times. Or, if you're using Netscape 3.0 or later, try our java chat
client at:

I did some more screen captures of the latest Earth 2 epsiode "Promises, Promises" direct from The Sci-Fi Channel, and they can be viewed here. There are directories for each episode I have done thus far. Eventually I will take the best ones and put them in the Photo Gallery. Once again, these images are mostly of Julia Heller (Jessica).

The Fans of Fantasy are proud to announce that both Clancy Brown of "Earth 2" and "Starship Troopers", and Jessica Steen -- of "Earth 2" and the upcoming sci-fi summer blockbuster "Armageddon", have agreed to attend "Crossroads '98" sci-fi/multi-media convention, to be held June 14 - 18 at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. All proceeds from this fan run convention will go to benefit The Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Other confirmed guests include John Gegenhuber of "Earth 2", Mira Furlan, Stephen Furst & Joshua Cox of "Babylon 5", Vampire novelist P.N. Elrod, and artists Jeff Pittarelli & Jamie Myrh, with guests from Classic Star Trek, Deep Space 9, Xena, Highlander and more to be announced very soon! (All celebrity appearances will be contingent upon professional availability.)

   MSC 200 Fans of Fantasy
   450 N.Nellis
   Las Vegas, Nevada 89110.

Here is another version of that Armageddon article I posted here a few days ago. It contains a few more words from Jessica (see Jan 24th below).

WILLIS HAVING UPS, DOWNS IN BID FOR SIMULATOR RIDE
Daily News of Los Angeles (LA)
Thursday, January 22, 1998
By: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Bruce Willis, in his last few weeks of filming ``Armageddon,'' has been waiting to learn whether he'll get to ride on NASA's notorious ``vomit comet'' training jet before the feature wraps.

Turns out Willis and filmmaker Michael Bay have been lobbying - hard - for months to get aboard the aircraft, which simulates weightlessness. In fact, according to Willis' ``Armageddon'' co-star Jessica Steen, ``George Bush came to visit us on the set in Houston, with Bruce hoping he'd pull some strings.'' When Willis brought former President Bush over ``to say hello to us,'' reports Steen, ``we all started saying, `We want to go up! We want to go up!' ''

Restrictions on civilian flights aboard the special jet have been tightened by Congress since Tom Hanks, Ron Howard and other ``Apollo 13'' movie team members took their much-publicized two rides three years ago, notes Steen. But that hasn't quelled the ``Armageddon'' troupe's hopes. ``Letters are still being written. ... It's 50-50 at this point whether we'll go,'' she feels.

Steen plays a space shuttle pilot in the July release, in which Willis stars as an oil driller whose skills are enlisted to save the Earth when a giant asteroid is headed our way. She reports that the company has had great support and cooperation from NASA personnel - not only in Houston but at Cape Canaveral. She adds, ``Part of the reason NASA is being so generous with their facilities and allowing us so much access is because any kind of publicity promotes funding for them.'' Gotcha.

I did some screen captures of the Earth 2 epsiode "The Man who fell to Earth (Two)" tonight direct from The Sci-Fi Channel, and they can be viewed here. Once again, these images are mostly of Julia Heller (Jessica).

The article below appeared in the Accent section of the January 22, 1998 edition of the Columbus Dispatch. The Columbus Dispatch is the local newspaper in Columbus, Ohio (where I live). I am sure the information came from a syndicated source so this probably appeared in many papers around the country.

Bruce Willis, in his last few weeks of filming Armageddon, has been waiting to learn whether he'll get to ride on NASA's notorious "vomit comet" training jet before the feature wraps. Turns out Willis and filmmaker Michael Bay have been lobbying for months to get aboard the aircraft, which simulates weightlessness. According to Willis' co-star Jessica Steen, "George Bush came to visit us on the set in Houston, with Bruce hoping he'd pull some strings." Restrictions on civilian flights aboard the jet have been tightened since Tom Hanks, Ron Howard and other Apollo 13 movie team members took rides three years ago, Steen said. But that hasn't quelled the Armageddon troupe's hopes. "Letters are still being written," she said.

This is a reminder that The SCI-FI Channel (in the U.S.) will air the Earth 2 pilot episode today (Sunday) at 9:00PM and 1:00AM. Earth 2 is scheduled to be shown on Sunday's and repeated the following Saturday.Check the Jessica on TV page for dates and times of future episodes.

I did some screen captures of Earth 2 direct from cable tonight as I watched it. If you want to check them out they will be in this directory for a little while. I also have a zipped file at the very top of that page if you want them all. They are mostly Jessica captures but there are a few of other actors and scenes as well.

The The SCI-FI Channel (USA) has updated their Earth 2 page to include Jessica as well as the other main actors that they omitted when they first put the site up.

The Jessica Steen Page is listed in the January 1998 issue of the quarterly printed magazine Webbound. The listing is located in the celebrity section of the issue. Webbound is a quarterly magazine that lists some 60,000 plus web sites. The issue is available on newsstands now. Webbound also has a web site with a list of web sites as well.

The The SCI-FI Channel (USA) has added a Earth 2 page to their web site. Those turkey's didn't mention Jessica on the cast page, but from the response I got from the feedback I sent, their Earth 2 page is still being worked on.

Principal Takes A Holiday--7 p.m. Sunday, ABC--Disney does bring out the kid in adults.

"I can still picture myself sitting there watching Tinkerbell fly around on the TV set, and singing along," laughs Jessica Steen about her Toronto childhood memories of Sunday's 'A Wonderful World of Disney' shows.

Now it's our turn to watch her, as Celia Shine, a "bubbly, energetic, fumbling with eagerness" new teacher who sets out to prove that new principal Franklin Fitz ('Hiller and Diller's' Kevin Nealon) is just a fraud put in power by notorious prankster John Scaduto ('Home Improvement's' Zachery Ty Bryan), who needs to make it through his senior year problem-free to claim a big inheritance check.

"I have a strong belief in television shows that are kind, uplifting entertainment," notes Steen, who has had her share of dramas with 'Homefront' and 'Earth 2'. "People need to have fun. The world out there is daunting enough at times than to sit down in front of the TV and just be buried deeper by the news, or by horrendous movies of the week that focus on tragedy."

Tribune Media Services has an article about "Principal Takes a Holiday" in todays issue. You can read the article here. (thanks to Liz Hebert for the article)

The debut of Earth 2 on The SCI-FI Channel (USA) has been pushed back a week to Sunday, January 18, 1998. Here is the updated press release...

From Universal Television, Earth 2, which aired on NBC-TV during the 1994-95 season, stars Debrah Farentino, Antonio Sabato, Jr., Rebecca Gayhart and Jessica Steen, in a drama, set 200 years in the future, about wealthy colonists who crash land thousands of miles from their intended course on an Earth-like planet. The series joins Sci-Fi Channel on Sunday, January 18th with a two hour pilot airing 9-11PM ET. And will be telecast regularly on Sundays at 8PM. Michael Duggan, Carol Flint, and Mark Levin served as executive producers.

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