Fans of the SyFy Channel’s “Sanctuary” and Amanda Tapping rejoice: the SyFy Channel has renewed the green screen heavy sci-fi action show for a fourth season.

Official press release ahoy:

Here are two minute-long clips from the SyFy Channel’s “Sanctuary” episode “Penance”, airing later this week, and which features a reunion between Amanda Tapping and her long-time “Stargate: SG1″ co-star Michael Shanks. Shanks, who plays Doctor Daniel Jackson on “SG1″, gets to put away the smarty glasses to play an abnormal (the show’s word for mutants) named Jimmy. Too bad General O’Neill is currently stuck as a bloated sidebar on “Stargate: Universe”, but what about Teal’c? Is Christopher Judge even still acting? anyways, two preview clips.

I hope the Sci Fi Channel’s Sanctuary lasts for a while. I really like the idea behind the movie, and the fact that the whole thing is pretty much shot on a sound stage in front of a green screen is kinda cool, too. Plus, it has Amanda Tapping, and I’ve always had the biggest crush on her. Anyways, the LA Times recently went behind the scenes of Sanctuary to see how they make the show, what it cost, and other topics of interest. Besides the article, there are some great shots of Amanda and company doing their thing in front of the infamous green screen. You gotta admit, acting this way is infinitely harder than with real people and real surroundings you can touch.

The good thing about being an off-network TV show is that people tend to give you second and in some cases, even third chances. Now I don’t know if the new Amanda Tapping show Sanctuary has managed to maintain its high ratings from its premiere episode, but the Sci Fi Channel has enough faith in it that it’s greenlighted a second season for the show, okaying 13 new episodes for next year. I haven’t been keeping up with Sanctuary since its premiere, but I’ve been meaning to add it to my list of DVR’ed shows.

It looks like The Sci Fi Channel is pretty pleased with itself this week, especially since the premiere of the Amanda Tapping series Sanctuary delivered (what I’m gathering) great ratings for the cable network. I liked what I saw of the show’s 2-hour premiere, but I have to admit, I kind of tuned out and back in every now and then throughout the episode. The show seemed to lag for me at times, and although it had a nice premise, and it’s great to see Tapping weekly again, I don’t know, I think Sanctuary could stand some retooling. For one, make it move faster, pick up the pace. In short: less talk, more action.

Yes, yes, I know, it sucks that Amanda Tapping is no longer on Stargate: Atlantis, and that we’re now forced to stare at Robert Picardo’s shiny dome instead of Amanda’s nice curves, but there is a bright side: Amanda Tapping is returning to TV with Sanctuary, the TV version of her web series of the same name. The Sci Fi Channel has greenlight the series, which Amanda stars in as Helen Magnus, and the whole thing will be shot on a green screen studio ala “Sin City” and “300″.

I was a very happy little clam when The Sci Fi Channel announced that they would transplant Amanda Tapping’s web series Sanctuary over to their network, and would start by ordering a 13-episode run, including a brand spanking new pilot. According to Tapping herself, the TV version of Sanctuary will be a little different from the web episodes that have aired so far, but much of the premise remains intact, including Tapping as the main character, an immortal name Helen Magnus.