I’m a fan of Ricky Schroder. Yup, all the way back from Silver Spoons on up to his tour of duty on the oh-so-adult NYPD Blue. Then Ricky got into directing, and I dug his boxing movie “Black Cloud”. Really, if you’ve never seen it, I recommend giving it a shot. There are some really good visuals there, especially coming from a first-time director with a limited budget. He was also good in last yera’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. Now, after a stint fighting terrorists on TV’s 24, Ricky Schroder is now back behind the camera, and is set to direct a fantasy movie called “Hellhounds” for the Sci Fi Channel.

Now I’m not normally a big proponent of Sci Fi Channel Original Movies. Just typing that phrase conjures up all sorts of bad times with fakey sea monsters and stock footage aliens. But I gotta admit, the premise for “Hellhounds” makes the Greek history lover in me very happy.

THR has more:

Ricky Schroder has signed to direct “Hellhounds,” a telefilm that will air next year on Sci Fi Channel.

The movie, set in 500 B.C., stars Scott Elrod (”Men in Trees”) as Kleitos, a Greek warrior who with his companions fights against the hellhounds of Hades to rescue his bride from the Underworld and bring her back to life. The telefilm, written by Paul A. Birkett, is said to be full of CGI and special effects.

“Hellhounds,” which begins shooting Sunday in Romania, is a co-production between Canada’s Muse Entertainment and Romania’s S.C. Studiourile Media Pro. Muse’s Michael Prupas will executive produce along with RHI Entertainment’s Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi Jr. RHI will distribute.

I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this. I’m sure the movie itself will be barely faithful to Greek legend, but hey, it’s not like anyone will notice, right? I just hope the TV budgeted CGI isn’t too cheap looking, a common problem with Sci Fi Channel Original Movies…