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Fine Tuning: Watch Helix with hand sanitizer at the ready

Billy Campbell is about to go viral. Not in the newfangled social-media kind of way, but on the new sci-fi thriller Helix. The anticipated project boasts executive producer Ronald D.
Campbell.jpg
Former prime minister Kim Campbell

Billy Campbell is about to go viral. Not in the newfangled social-media kind of way, but on the new sci-fi thriller Helix. The anticipated project boasts executive producer Ronald D. Moore, the man who gave us the fracking good reboot of Battlestar Galactica in the 2000s.

Campbell stars as Dr. Alan Farragut, the leader of a team of scientists who trek to the Arctic to investigate a deadly outbreak. Soon, they’re stuck in a horrific situation that could affect the future of mankind.

The visuals — decaying bodies, dripping black blood, veiny skulls — are enough to give you the heebie-jeebies, or at least inspire you to stock up on hand sanitizer. But in real life, Campbell isn’t scared of germs at all.

“I’m sort of the anti-anti-germ guy. I love germs. I invite them into my life,” he says. “I hardly ever take antibiotics, but I thought I might die at one point. I was in West Africa and lying on a bathroom floor for two days. So I took some antibiotics then.”

On the Montreal-based set of Helix, it helped that the stomach-churning effects of the virus were sometimes just really tasty treats, courtesy of the folks in special-effects department.

“Stuff isn’t as gruesome in person as it seems on film,” admits Campbell. “For instance, the black blood is mainly chocolate flavoured. If you have to have it dripping out of your mouth, it’s really not so bad.”

Helix represents a return to sci-fi for Campbell, who appeared on The 4400 and Eureka. And working with Moore, who was behind the scenes on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, brings out the fanboy in Campbell.

“I was a huge fan of Star Trek and of Battlestar — in fact I did an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, said the actor, who also won a People’s Choice Award for the ABC family drama Once and Again.

“Sci-fi is speculative fiction, and the thing that I’m attracted to is that there are no limits — only those you set yourself. But even in that, you can entertain any kind of notion. You can extrapolate any kind of circumstance. It’s a thought experiment.”

Friday, 10 p.m., Showcase

 

Three to see

• Banshee, known for its use of sex and violence as much as for its smartness and innovation, returns for a second season. The première picks up after the shootout with Rabbit, Lucas and Carrie, as the FBI investigates the actions of the sheriff’s department.

10 p.m., HBO Canada

 

• On Bones, the team investigates when Brennan and Booth get a special delivery — the remains of a girl who died 18 years ago..

8 p.m., Global, Fox

 

• It’s liftoff for Dangerous Flights, now embarking on Season 2. Cory and Pete team up to deliver a Caravan to Kenya, but are hit with a blizzard and some serious ice.

9 p.m., Discovery