Basically, the Network and I had different ideas about what the tone of the show would be. They bought something somewhat different than what I was selling them, which is not that uncommon in this business. Their desires were not surprising: up the stakes, make the episodes more stand-alone, stop talking about relationships and cut to the chase. Oh, and add a chase. That you can cut to. Nothing I hadn't heard before on my other shows (apparently my learning curve has no bendy part) but frustrating as hell given our circumstances - a pilot shot, scripts written, everybody marching together/gainfully employed... and then a shutdown. Glad I was for the breathing room, but it's hardly auspicious. So back into the writer cave I went, wondering why I put up with this when I can make literally dozens of dollars making internet movies. Why I do put up with this is divided into three parts.

One: They're not wrong. Oh, we don't see eye-to-eye on everything, but wanting the first episodes to be exciting and accessible is not exactly Satanic. Being Satan is, but that's in their free time and hey, there's no judging in the Dollhouse. This kind of back and forth has happened on every show I've done, so if you liked those, chances are that was a part of why. And the need to focus on the essentials of what makes this universe tick - and which wire to cut to make it stop - really does bring up our game. So we as a staff have gone from blinking like unhoused moles to delving in with the same relish we had when we started. The show is really coming together now, in a way that I believe excites us and satisfies the Network. Of course, I have no idea if anybody else will like it, but I have the same faith in the staff, the crew and the remarkable cast that I always did. More, in fact. And what's more crucial:

Two: Nothing essential has changed about the universe. The ideas and relationships that intrigued me from the start are all there (though some have shifted, more on that), and the progression of the first thirteen eps has me massively excited. The episode we're shooting now I wrote as fast as anything I have before, not because I had to (although, funny side-note: I had to) but because I couldn't stop the words from coming. Because I can feel the show talking to me; delighting, scaring and occasionally even offending me. It's alive. Alive! Which is a far cry from how I felt a month ago. It's been hilarious trying to keep up with what's in, what's out, who's met whom and when - we've shot all of the first seven episodes out of airing order - but it's come together in a pretty thrilling way. My huge gratitude to our cast for their precision and patience.

*****

As for what's been changed, well, some things I obviously can't tell you. Some I can, for the record: The original pilot was in fact thrown out. Again, at my behest. Once it became clear what paradigm the Network was shooting for, it just didn't fit at all, even after I'd reshot more than half of it (see above re: despair). To get a sense of how completely turned around I was during this process, you should know there was a scene with Eliza and the astonishing Ashley Johnson that I wrote and shot completely differently three different times, with different characters in different places (actually I wrote it closer to eight times), and none of it will ever see air. Which is as it should be (though I'm determined to get Ms. Johnson back in the future). The scene just didn't belong anymore. Similarly, the character of November has fallen out of the mix, because the show simply moves too fast now for me to do what I wanted with her. Season three, anyone...? Happily, Miracle Laurie is still with us in a new role, playing against (and pining for) Tahmoh's character, Paul Ballard. Their chemistry is deeply nifty. The only other major cast shift is that the Dollhouse head of security, Laurence Dominic (played by Reed Diamond), who was written just for the now-defunct first ep, has stuck like fly-paper, and Reed is very much in the family for the present. (Most of my problems seem to involve my actors making themselves indispensable. This is the good problem kind.)

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Fox Picks Up More Episodes of Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles



Fox announced that it picked up the back nine episodes of Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. After all the rumors about low ratings, this one is a pleasant surprise. We love this show. In other, more perplexing news, Knight Rider has also been renewed. Knight Rider? That's just crazy. It's a terrible, terrible show. Even Val Kilmer can't save this clunker.

Posted on October 25, 2008
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Christina Aquilera is a Sci-Fi Babe



Christina Aguilera recently did a photo shoot for her upcoming album. She looks like she would be at home on the set of Flash Gordon or a sci-fi film from the 50s.

Posted on October 23, 2008
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The Making of Repo! The Genetic Opera

Repo! The Genetic Opera already has a cult following, just from the clips shown online. It's a marvelous mix: it's a musical and a horror story about a society that's addicted to surgery, especially plastic surgery. There's also a black market in organs. Paris Hilton plays Amber Sweet, a girl who's addicted to plastic surgery. With all the pain, she takes the drug Zydrate, which dulls the pain. The music and lyrics are catchy and Paris is fabulous. Buffy fans will enjoy seeing Tony Head play the Repo Man (if you don't pay, he repossess your organs). Here's a behind the scenes look:



See an extended clip of the Zydrate song here.

Posted on October 22, 2008
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Bill Shatner Talks Takei Wedding Invite Snub

The Shatner/Takei feud has taken on a life of its own. Bill Shatner has finally responds via video to George Takei's comments as to why he didn't invite Shatner to his wedding. Takei did invite other castmembers, such as Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) and Walter Koenig (Chekov). But Shatner says they were never close, he hasn't seen him in years and is puzzled why he would say these things.

It's all most puzzling. Many people have said that Shatner was egocentric in his youth, but in all fairness George does seem a bit touchy in interviews, so who knows? Here's the video:



Posted on October 21, 2008
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Ridley Scott Acquires Film Rights to The Forever War

Boing Boing reports that Ridely Scott has acquired the film rights to Joe Haldeman's Hugo and Nebula Award winning novel, The Forever War.

Ridley Scott has acquired the film-rights to Joe Haldeman's magnificent, Hugo-award-winning classic science fiction novel, The Forever War. This is one of the great anti-war novels of all time. As I wrote about it in 2003, "I picked up a copy of Joe Haldeman's classic novel The Forever War last night as a gift for a friend, but I'm going to keep it. I got to re-reading it last night (for the first time in nearly 20 years) and couldn't put it down.

The Guardian reports that The Forever War will be Scott's next film project after Nottingham and not Brave New World as was previously thought. The market is pretty saturated with historical war films right now because of the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan but maybe the time is right for a serious war film set in the future.

Posted on October 15, 2008
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Fringe Gets Full Season Pickup



Fox has ordered up a full season of Fringe.

Fox is feeling fine about Fringe, ordering a full season of the freshman series from creators J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The network has ordered nine additional episodes of the sci-fi thriller, for a total of 22. The Bad Robot/Warner Bros. TV-produced series has averaged a 4.2/11 in adults 18-49 and 10.7 million total viewers since bowing last month, making it the top-rated new show of the season to date in the key demographic.

"We're having a blast working on this show with this great team of producers," said Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly. "The series has really taken off creatively, and it's exciting to see that the audience is responding. We believe this is the first full season of many years to come."

Fringe is a very weird show, which is really growing on us. We especially like Joshua Jackson and Josh Noble's portrayals. Joshua is the brilliant son who must babysit his genius, certifiably nuts scientist father, played by Josh Noble. You will remember John for his amazing performance as Denethor in Lord of the Rings. As for the lead, Anna Torv, well, she's sort of growing on us too. But she's not who we would have cast in the role. But we do love seeing Mr. Abaddon from Lost as her mysterious boss. We're committed for the season.

Posted on October 9, 2008
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M. Night Shyamalan May Pen Unbreakable Sequel

M. Night Shyamalan says he is considering writing a sequel to Unbreakable, the film which really was a precursor to Heroes. He explained why he took so long to write it.

M. Night Shyamalan said he is considering working on a sequel to his hit Unbreakable, a superhero tale about a man (Bruce Willis) who finds that he is impervious to harm and is called to become a savior.

"I'm a strange creature," the writer/director said in a conference call with reporters last week. "When Unbreakable came out, I was like, 'God, man, I'm so excited.' I thought [it] was like comic books. No one has really done comic books like this: reality-based comic books. I really think this is a metaphor for things that people can go crazy over."

Though the film was eventually a hit, the initial reaction was mixed. "When the reaction was mixed, kind of a disappointment, I was pettily hurt, and I was like, 'God, I took so many incredible risks' and things like that," Shyamalan said.

Because of that, Shyamalan's excitement about a sequel to the movie was muted. "I felt really hurt, and I couldn't bring myself to write," he said. "It's literally like a relationship I have with the audience. ... And then, over the years, as it just grew and grew and grew, and people were like, 'You know, I really like that. That's actually my favorite movie, and I watch that all the time,' and on and on. I'll be on the street, and some kid will run across traffic with it in his backpack--he just is carrying it in his backpack--and he'll be running [saying], 'I can't believe it's you!' Will you sign my Unbreakable DVD?' And quoting the thing and all that stuff."

We just loved Unbreakable. He needs to start writing, right away. And hopefully Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson will be up for return appearances.

Posted on October 8, 2008
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Eleventh Hour Trailer

Eleventh Hour is a new CBS show from Jerry Bruckheimer written by writer Stephen Gallagher (Doctor Who). You can find the show's website here. A Chicago Sun-Time story calls Eleventh Hour the "next X-Files-wannabee" and compares it to Fringe. Two X-Files wannabee shows is a good thing. The show premieres October 9th at 10PM est.



Posted on October 5, 2008
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AMC Moving Forward With Red Mars

AMC is moving forward with a tv series based on the novel Red Mars.

"Mars," a 1992 novel by Kim Stanley Robinson, chronicles the inhabitants of the first human colony on the planet. Hensleigh ("Armageddon") is the writer and will executive produce alongside Michael Jaffe and Howard Braunstein of Jaffe Braunstein Entertainment ("The Memory Keeper's Daughter") and Vince Gerardis, Ralph Vicinanza and Eli Kirschner of Created By ("Jumper").

"This fits in with our bigger vision of wanting series that feel like cinematic one-hour movies," said Christina Wayne, senior vp original series and miniseries at AMC. "We're always looking for big genres but to do them in slightly different ways so they feel fresh and new," she added, noting as examples the network's Western mini "Broken Trail" and crime-themed series "Breaking Bad."

Jeremy Elice, vp original programming series, added that the project will be character-driven. "It's not the spectacle of sci-fi that you typically see," he said.

AMC has another great project in the works: the remake of the 1960s classic, The Prisoner. The Prisoner stars Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen. Ian McKellan is great. But....Jim Caviezel? The guy that freaked out when he had to shoot a love scene with Jennifer Lopez because of his strict religious beliefs? That's going to take some work on his part. Because Patrick McGoohan was awesome in the role.Perhaps he's loosened up a bit since then. And it's not like The Prisoner had a lot of love scenes, anyway. Lots of bit white bubbles chasing the hero, but not much romance. In any event, AMC has our attention.

Posted on October 4, 2008
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Fox May Cancel Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles

SyFyPortal reports that Fox is extremely unhappy with the rating drop off for Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles and is ready to pull the plug on the show.

With ratings far below even the network's worst predictions, Fox could pull the plug on production for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" as early as this week. The network has been disappointed by "Sarah Connor's" numbers so far this season, and some executives feel that the show is dragging down numbers for "Prison Break," which airs as a lead-out.

"Audiences just aren't responding to the show," a Fox source tells SyFy Portal. "Our biggest surprise are the 18-to-49s [a key advertising demographic], those numbers are in the toilet."

This would be bad news for "Sarah Connor," which had a strong first season despite airing just nine episodes in light of the Writers Guild of America strike. The show debuted at mid-season with an 11.1 rating/16 share -- the highest premiere of any genre show last season -- following an NFL playoff game, but quickly lost a good portion of its audience. By the time it was all said and done, "Sarah Connor" overnights averaged a 5.6/9, half of the premiere audience, with ratings reaching as low as a 4.5/7 at once point.

Getting a 4.5/7 could almost be a lifesaver for "Sarah Connor" right now, as the show hasn't even come close to reaching that number. After four episodes, the highest "Sarah Connor" has reached is a 4.1/6, and is averaging a 3.7. That's 34 percent off its audience average from the previous year.

The show is excellent: the writing, the acting, the intensity and the action are all feature film quality. The show lost its audience after the writer's strike -- just like Heroes did, although Heroes is faring better. You know how Fox is -- they cancel shows very quickly, there's little advertising and no chance to build an audience. Hey, we know it's kind of a depressing show, but we still like it. Once the Christian Bale movie version showed up on the radar, it became clear that there would be no way to stop Skynet from being created. But still...we're not happy to see it go.

Posted on September 30, 2008
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DreamWorks Extends Option for Chocky

DreamWorks has extended an option on the SF novel, Chocky, written by John Wyndam.

"Chocky" tells the story of a boy who has a mysterious imaginary friend with whom he frequently argues. As the boy's father gets increasingly suspicious, it becomes clear that an alien entity has taken up residence in the boy's consciousness. But given that DreamWorks is leaving Paramount to become an independent company, here's a question: Who will actually produce the project -- Par or the newly independent DreamWorks?

For months, speculation has been rampant about what some call a potential "bloodbath" over DreamWorks-developed projects under the just-ended Par deal. What would the DreamWorks execs attempt to take with them when they left? Ask Par execs that question and they reply that the Melrose studio owns all DreamWorks-developed properties outright. Unless DreamWorks partner Steven Spielberg and departing DW chief Stacey Snider purchase one or more of the projects, they're all staying put at Par.

DW is believed to be within two weeks of a deal with a studio other than Par -- probably Universal -- to distribute its future films. Should the famed director decide to bargain with Par, at least a handful of DreamWorks projects would seem ones that Spielberg and Snider might wish to take with them. They include "The Trial of the Chicago 7," which Spielberg was once planning to direct; an Abraham Lincoln/Civil War epic scripted by Tony Kushner; "Cowboys and Aliens," a comic book adaptation that has Robert Downey Jr. attached; and "The 39 Clues," a series of books that Spielberg has shown an interest in directing and which Jeff Nathanson is adapting.

So it's unclear whether Spielberg will take the rights with him when DreamWorks moves back to Paramount.

Posted on September 26, 2008
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Joss and Eliza Talk Dollhouse

Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku get a little silly as they discuss their upcoming tv show, Dollhouse. We certainly hope the rewrites are going well. Not to be Debbie Downer or anything, but we're convinced Fox is going to wreck this show just as surely as they wrecked Firefly. We're just saying. Let's hope we're wrong.



Posted on September 25, 2008
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The WizardMaster Will Save the Day....Or Not



There certainly isn't a lot of room for humor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. We're dealing with the end of mankind here, so it's kind of grim. But we nearly fell off the couch laughing at one part of tonight's episode. The terminator Cromartie has taken the appearance of a B movie actor named George Lazlo. Well in one scene tonight we get a news clip about how a little seen movie called WizardMaster has become a cult hit after the actor went berserk and single handedly killed 20 FBI agents. The film plays in the background and it's a hilarious Beastmaster riff -- the hero wears a loincloth, orders tigers around and consorts with blond bimbos lurking in the jungle.

There's one problem with the addition of Shirley Manson to the cast as the shapeshifting terminator who is a wealthy CEO. She's so scary and efficient it's really hard to see how Sarah and John have any chance at all of stopping Skynet. Still, there's always hope we suppose.

Posted on September 23, 2008
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Teresa Nielsen Hayden Hospitalized

Teresa Nielsen Hayden was hospitalized following a heart attack. Tests are continuing, but she is reportedly doing well. You can leave get well messages at her and her husband's popular blog. We wish her a speedy recovery and a healthy future!

Posted on September 15, 2008
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Dollhouse Shuts Down For Rewrites

Joss Whedon has shut down production on his new show, Dollhouse, for rewrites. The shutdown will last about two weeks and shouldn't delay the show.

Filming on "Dollhouse" stopped Thursday after wrapping episode three. It came upon request from creator/exec producer Whedon, who had had spent little time in the writers room lately, busy directing the first two episodes of the series. Not completely happy with the quality of upcoming scripts, he asked producing studio 20th TV for a timeout.

Production on the midseason sci-fi drama starring Eliza Dushku is slated to resume Sept. 25. The news follows Whedon's revelation in July that he was shooting a new "prequel" episode to serve as the show's pilot. Whedon said he opted to craft a new introduction to the series after meeting with Fox executives.

If Joss says the show needs rewrites, then it needs rewrites. And he's just the guy to get things whipped into shape.

Posted on September 11, 2008
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Season Two of Terminator: The Sarah Chronicles Premieres Tonight

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles returns tonight on Fox at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time and we can't wait to see it. There's a great interview at Wired with series creator Josh Friedman. He talks about the second season, casting news and comparisons with Battlestar Galactica. Friedman has a much bigger budget this year, which is exciting. And Shirley Manson, lead singer of Garbage, joins the cast as ZeiraCorp CEO Catherine Weaver. That ought to be interesting.

On kicking off Season Two with a bang: "Last year we were establishing the world and the rules of the world and bringing people up to speed. This year, we have a bigger budget, so we can give viewers more sense of the place and Los Angeles. We have some really cool action sequences and show more of the future sequences where the Terminators have completely taken over.

"We have an awesome episode where we get a good sense of Cameron's back story -- and what she was made for. That's one of my favorite episodes so far. We also will show more of Brian Austin Green's past, his point of view and where he came from. [Green plays Derek Reese, John's uncle who traveled from the future.]"

On parallels to Battlestar Galactica: "I'm a huge fan, I'm just behind a season. It's almost so good and so close to what we're doing, sometimes it's painful to watch. We have a writer on our show who was on BSG the first two years, and she serves at a checkpoint to make sure we don't cover the same ground. I don't know who the 12th Cylon is and I've threatened to fire people who tell me anything about that show. I like the idea that there are hidden Terminators ... but you have to be careful or else it becomes Where's Waldo?, and a cheap effect. There could be a Terminator that we discover along the way. I can't even remember how many there are on the show right now."

All we have to say is that Summer Glau's Terminator character better miraculously survive that car crash from the first season finale. Or we will be mightily displeased. Here's the season two trailer:



Posted on September 8, 2008
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Fringe Will Start Off Jumping the Shark

Wired has an article about Fringe, the new show from J.J. Abrams. Abrams says Fringe won't be like Lost and that it will jump the shark right from the start.

On Fringe's slam-bang setup: "When we did the pilot for Lost, we had the monster appear at the end of the first act because we wanted to say to the audience, 'We're jumping the shark now. We're not going to wait. We're doing crazy shit from the beginning.' On Fringe, we very consciously made what is in many ways a preposterous, front-end scientific story choice in order to say to the audience, 'This is what you're going to be getting on the show.' It may be more extreme in some episodes, less so in others."

On the Fringe mythology: "I'm drawn to overarching, long-term stories so there will still be a mythology through the evolution of characters and revelations about what 'the pattern' means. But we're writing the show so it is not as serialized as Lost.

"What made X-Files so great is that they'd do a number of shows that have nothing to do with the mythology. Fringe is closer to E.R. almost, where you have these ongoing relationships and story lines, and yet week to week, when the door bursts open, you're faced with the insane urgent situation of the week."

Science fact, not fiction: "Though you could say it's science fiction, the weird thing about Fringe is that a lot of the stuff is at least in the realm of possibility. It's not sci-fi -- it's just sci.

The show debuts on Fox next Tuesday, September 9th. We will be watching. You can see the Fringe website here. A few other articles about Fringe can be found here, here, here, here and here.

Here's a video with J.J. Abrams discussing Fringe



Posted on September 4, 2008
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Shia LaBeouf's Injury Written Into Transformers Script

Shia LaBeouf's hand injury he suffered in a car accident has been written into the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen script. Shia had extensive hand surgery before any of the major action sequences had been shot. Screenwriters Robert Orci said they were worried about safety issues.

"Shia just got back to the set last week," Orci said in an interview in New York on Aug. 25, where he was promoting his upcoming Fox TV series Fringe. "We incorporated his injury into it. Not because it was absolutely necessary, but [director] Michael [Bay] in particular wanted to be able to protect him on the set."

LaBeouf injured his left hand in an auto accident earlier this month. Orci said the film, which is halfway through production, is not being shot in sequence, but that the most demanding action sequences for LaBeouf are still yet to be shot. (Photos of LaBeouf on set, with his hand clearly bandaged, have recently surfaced on the Web.)

"He's still going to be running around in this movie," said Orci, who co-wrote the sequel with his partner, Alex Kurtzman, and Ehren Kruger. "[Bay] literally just wanted, for [LaBeouf's] safety, ... to make sure that we weren't playing around with his injury. ... That's why we put it in." Orci added: "The stuff ... where it would be dangerous ... has not been scheduled yet, and that stuff, it's important to put [the injury] in there."

The film has a proposed release date of June 26, 2009.

Posted on August 25, 2008
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Screenwriters Suing to Stop Release of Death Race

Screenwriter Adam Stone is suing to stop the upcoming Jason Statham film, Death Race. Stone says the producers stole his script, then used it to create the current film.

Stone claims in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court that the upcoming Universal thriller is based on a script he pitched to the film's producer-director Paul W.S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt. He seeks a court order stopping the film's release.

Stone claims that after the producers passed, Bolt made and kept a copy of his screenplay, titled "Joust," to use as a "blueprint" for Anderson's revision of the script for "Death Race." While "Death Race" is purported to be a remake of the 1975 film, "Death Race 2000," Stone contends in his lawsuit that it actually is based on "Joust" and that there are at least 39 elements in the soon-to-be released film that mirror his screenplay. Universal, which is a defendant in the lawsuit, declined comment on the lawsuit.

"Death Race," which stars Jason Statham and Joan Allen, is set for release Friday Aug. 22. Stone is asking the court to stop the release of the film. "Experience in other cases has shown that unless such orders are issued, defendants will simply continue to exploit the infringing motion picture in all media and by all methods at their disposal," the lawsuit states.

The Death Race trailers have been playing before almost every movie we've seen for the last three months. Or maybe it just seems that way. In any event, we are mightily tired of seeing the trailer.

Posted on August 20, 2008
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Transformers 2 Posters Are Here



The Transformers 2 posters are out. Reportedly, Shia LaBeouf has returned to the set, although his car accident and subsequent hand surgery have adversely impacted the filming schedule. It appears that the rumors that he would need his little finger amputated weren't true, which must have made Shia and his family happy. Not to mention Michael Bay.

Posted on August 18, 2008
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Robert A. Heinlein Awards Announced

Locus reports that the winners of the Robert A. Heinlein Award, are Ben Bova and Spider Robinson. The awards are given to recognize outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings to inspire the human exploration of space. Congratulations to the winners!

Posted on August 16, 2008
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JJ Abrams to Produce Disaster Flick

The BBC reports that Alias and Lost creator JJ Abrams has signed on to produce a disaster movie.

Director JJ Abrams is to produce a new disaster film centred around an earthquake, it has been confirmed.

Film company Universal has not released many details about the as-yet-untitled movie, except to confirm that relationships will be the focal point.

Abrams' last project, Cloverfield, created a media frenzy because all the details were kept secret until the movie hit cinemas.

A disaster film focused on relationships? The one thing we do now about Abrams is his love for the mystery box. If it's an earthquake disaster movie technically you sort of know what the big mystery is going in - that there is going to be a terrible earthquake. It will be interesting to see how Abrams does this and whether he has another secretive Cloverfield-like suprise in store. The lack of details are making us very curious. The BBC says Universal has downplayed rumors the film will be a remake of the 1974 hit Earthquake that starred Charlton Heston. The Hollywood Reporter says Omen screenwriter David Seltzer will write the screenplay for this new earthquake movie.

Posted on August 14, 2008
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Katee Sackhoff Talks About Battlestar Galactica Final Episodes

The last ten episodes of Battlestar Galactica will air in 2009. Katee Sackhoff talks about what fans can expect to see in the final chapter of the Battlestar saga. Katee Sackhoff says "it's a good solid ending." BuddyTV also has a post about what was revealed about the final episodes that will air in 2009 at Comic-Con. There are also details here about a Battlestar Galactica movie directed by Edward James Olmos that will air on Sci Fi after the tv series ends.



Posted on August 7, 2008
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The Ewok Gospel

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Return of the Jedi, one young man puts his feelings of love for the Ewoks into song. Here is the Ewok Gospel, according to Brother Andrew. Can I get an Amen! Or, perhaps not.



Posted on August 6, 2008
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Eos Offers Free Ebook Download

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of its Eos imprint, HarperCollins is offering a free download of City of Pearl by Karen Traviss. The free download lasts until August 31, 2008 and is available in Adobe, Microsoft or Mobipocket formats.

Posted on August 4, 2008
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Worst Star Trek Promotional Idea Ever

In honor of the Star Trek original series being remastered and put out on DVD, CBS did this lighhearted promo. All we can say is: Dumbest. Promo. Evah. Oh, and yes, CBS really created this. Either that or a ten year old boy snuck into the recording studio and made it. We're not quite sure.



Here's a straightforward promo clip for the newly remastered series on DVD which is available for a nice discount at Amazon.com.



Posted on August 1, 2008
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George Lucas Discusses Plans for Next Indiana Jones Movie

George Lucas discusses the chances of another Indiana Jones movie happening.

"We were hoping for box-office figures like that, which is, ultimately, with inflation, what the others have done, within 10%," Lucas explains. "So, we squeaked up there. Really, though, it was a challenge getting the story together and getting everybody to agree on it. Indiana Jones only becomes complicated when you have another two people saying 'I want it this way' and 'I want it that way', whereas, when I first did Jones, I just said, We'll do it this way' -- and that was much easier. But now I have to accommodate everybody, because they are all big, successful guys, too, so it's a little hard on a practical level.

"If I can come up with another idea that they like, we'll do another. Really, with the last one, Steven wasn't that enthusiastic. I was trying to persuade him. But now Steve is more amenable to doing another one. Yet we still have the issues about the direction we'd like to take. I'm in the future; Steven's in the past. He's trying to drag it back to the way they were, I'm trying to push it to a whole different place. So, still we have a sort of tension. This recent one came out of that. It's kind of a hybrid of our own two ideas, so we'll see where we are able to take the next one."

We have no idea what that means, but we wish he and Steven Spielberg would hurry up and figure it out. Harrison Ford isn't getting any younger, people. And we're not convinced that Shia LaBeouf is ready to pick up the hat and whip.

Posted on July 31, 2008
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Tron 2 Sneak Peek

Here's a not hi res version of the Tron 2 trailers shown at Comic-con. It even has Jeff Bridges! We can't wait.

Update:This is going to be one of those mysteriously appearing and disappearing videos. Try this site to see the trailer.



Posted on July 30, 2008
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Eureka Premieres Tonight on Sci Fi

Another of our favorite shows premieres tonight on the Sci Fi: Eureka at 9:00 p.m Eastern/8:00 p.m. Central. Sci Fi has done a host of webisodes and other content in connection with the show, which centers around a secret town filled with brilliant scientists making state of the art discoveries. Sheriff Jack Carter (who was recruited from the FBI) must keep the town and its eccentric residents in order so they don't blow up the world and accidentally create an alternate timeline. Oh, wait. That happened in season one.

Here's an infomercial for the Made in Eureka company's new product, Snatch-It. No, it's not a real product. But it should be.



Posted on July 29, 2008
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Sneak Peek at Chuck Season Two

Kristin de los Santos of E! captured the screening at Comic-Con of scenes from the upcoming season two of Chuck. It looks amazing. No wonder we love this show.



Posted on July 28, 2008
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New Star Trek Posters Are Here for Comic Con



Entertainment Weekly has some previews of Comic Con, including this new poster for the Star Trek movie. Everyone looks great -- Christopher Pine looks like Kirk should and Zachary Quinto is so Spock-like, it's eerie. We can't wait to hear him speak in the role.

Paramount has done four posters that, when fitted together, make the Starfleet logo. Fans at Comic Con will each get one poster. Alas, the word is that Paramount won't allow J.J. Abrams to bring any footage.

Posted on July 19, 2008
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Top Grossing Films are SF and Fantasy



The top films at the box office right now are all either fantasy or sf, which is pretty interesting. The rankings as of last weekend were: Hellboy II: The Golden Army which made $34,539,115 (first weekend gross), Hancock which has made $164,115,004 (cumulative), Journey to the Center of the Earth which has made $21,018,141 (first weekend gross), Wall-E, which has made $163,055,900 (cumulative) and Wanted, which has made $112,455,060 to date.

It certainly shows that the interest in sf and fantasy is there, if the films are good.

Posted on July 16, 2008
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Buzz Aldrin Blames Science Fiction For Lack of Interest in Space Program

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin told Sci fi that he partly blames science fiction movies and shows for the average citizen's lack of interest in real space exploration.

"I blame the fantastic and unbelievable shows about space flight and rocket ships that are on today," Aldrin said in an interview during an ice cream party held by the National Geographic Channel at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., this week. "All the shows where they beam people around and things like that have made young people think that that is what the space program should be doing. It's not realistic."

The second man on the moon praised real-world films such as Apollo 13. "And Tom Hanks' series From the Earth to the Moon," Aldrin added. "They were fascinating, because it was reality history, and reality fiction can be good if you stick to reality. But, if you start dealing with fantasy and beaming people up and down and traveling seven times the speed of light, you are doing damage. You're not helping. You have young people who have got expectations that are far unrealistic, and you can't possibly live up to the expectations you have created in young people. Why do they get bored with the space program? That's why."

We have great respect for Aldrin, but we do disagree with him. So many NASA astronauts and engineers credit watching Star Trek for inspiring them to take up a career in the space industry. We think the lack of interest has more to do with the government's lack of funding and failure to promote the space program than about "wild" science fiction. Aldrin's new show is called Unseen Moon on the National Geographic channel. The show uses a hi-def camera on a satellite to observe the moon where Aldrin once walked.

Posted on July 15, 2008
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Dr. Who Fans Furious Over Fake Phone Number

Dr. Who fans are furious that the Dr.'s phone number flashed during the show numerous times didn't work at all.

Doctor Who finished its latest series on Saturday night watched by a huge audience of nearly 10million. But it was another set of figures that got some fans really worked up - the Time Lord's phone number. The digits had been flashed up on screen several times in the previous week's episode as the Doctor's sidekicks Sarah Jane Smith, Martha Jones and the Torchwood team contacted him.

More than 2,500 fans - whipped into a frenzy of anticipation after a cliffhanger ending in which it appeared that star David Tennant might be leaving as the Doctor began regenerating - dialled it before the last episode aired on Saturday. One fan complained: 'They showed that number so many times, as if they were asking for it to be called.' But their attempts to contact their hero on his personal number - 07700 900461 - came to nothing when they discovered that it would not connect.

Writing on the BBC's website, one disgruntled viewer said: 'Grrr - I phoned the Doctor's phone number but there was just an annoying network message. 'What's the point in showing a phone number if you're not gonna use it?!' Ofcom, the TV industry watchdog, said the number was simply one reserved for use in television dramas.

In the U.S., tv writers usually use the "555" prefix so everyone knows it's not a real number. How odd that the British register phone numbers solely for use in television shows.

Posted on July 11, 2008
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Andre Norton Estate in Will Dispute Case

Andre Norton's estate is embroiled in a lawsuit over who owns the rights to the work of one of science fiction's best known and loved female authors. Norton's caretaker in her later years and her biggest fan and friend, an oncologist, are battling out the right to control all posthumous publication of her works.

Norton moved to Murfreesboro, a Nashville suburb, in the 1990s and established a writer's research library. As she got older, the library was closed and Norton, who had no children or other close relatives, moved in with her caretaker, Sue Stewart. Over the years, she gave Stewart more than $250,000, according to court testimony.

Norton updated her will several times and in the final version said she wanted to be cremated with a copy of her first and last books, and wanted her estate split among co-authors, friends and Stewart. Stewart was named as the beneficiary of the "residuary clause" -- all other property or money not explicitly assigned in the will. But the will also said that Norton's longtime fan, Horadam, was to get "the royalties from all posthumous publication of any of my works."

Stewart contends the will intends for her, not Horadam, to get the royalty income from any works published before Norton died. Horadam went to court, asking a judge to provide an interpretation of "posthumous publication." Stewart could not be reached for comment, but her attorney says Norton's close friends in Tennessee testified that they were surprised that Norton didn't leave control of her literary works to Stewart. The judge also heard from Norton herself thanks to a video recording.

"In the video, about a few months before her final execution of the will, she says she wants everything to go to Sue," said attorney Dicken Kidwell. "In that video, she says, 'All I have is yours.' I don't know how it could be much more explicit." But a Tennessee judge ruled in favor of Horadam, saying Norton used the terms royalties and copyrights interchangeably in her will and "posthumous publication" meant any publication of her works after her death, including reprints. The judge said Horadam had greater appreciation for the literary works than the caretaker.

It sounds like the will itself was poorly drafted. What a mess. You can be sure that whoever loses will appeal the ruling.

Posted on July 10, 2008
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Thomas M. Disch Dead at 68

Science fiction author and poet Thomas M. Disch is dead, reportedly by suicide. Disch is best known for his novella, The Brave Little Toaster and his SF novels, such as Camp Concentration. He was 68

You may know his best-known work, the novella The Brave Little Toaster, which was adapted to film as the acclaimed 1987 Disney cartoon. But Disch also wrote ten science fiction novels and scores of short stories that placed him at the center of the genre for their uncommon literary adroitness, dry wit and clear-eyed skepticism. Go read the lyrically beautiful On Wings Of Song (1979) immediately, please.

Disch's primary calling, however, was as a poet. He published a half-dozen collections characterized by a mastery of poetic forms, and in 1995 published a collection of essays, The Castle of Indolence: On Poetry, Poets, and Poetasters, that was positively inspirational in its glowing appreciation and ruthless criticism of what he considered the best and worst tendencies in modern poetry. I kept it on my bedside table for periodic rereading and inspiration.

Our condolences to his friends and family.

Posted on July 7, 2008
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The Day the Earth Stood Still Trailer

Here's the new trailer for the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still starring Keanu Reeves, Kathy Bates and Jennifer Connolly. Keanu plays Klaatu. Here's the dialogue in the trailer:

Polygraph Operator (David Richmond-Peck): Do you feel pain?

Klaatu (Keanu Reeves): My body does.

Polygraph Operator: Are you Human?

Klaatu: My body is.

The film will be released on December 12, 2008, and if it's anything like the trailer, it should be really good. Keanu did reveal in an interview that the famous phrase "Klaatu barada nikto" will be uttered. Hopefully, Gort will comply and Earth will be saved. But you never know with a remake.



Posted on July 3, 2008
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Don S. Davis is Dead at 65

Don Davis, who played Major General George Hammond on Stargate SG-1, has died of a heart attack. He was 65. Don's representative and his wife, Ruby Fleming-Davis sent this message to fans:

Dear Fans and Friends of Don S. Davis,

So many of you have been touched by not only the work and art of Don S. Davis, but by the man himself, who always took the time to be with you at the appearances he loved, that it is with a tremendous sense of loss I must share with you that Don passed away from a massive heart attack on Sunday morning, June 29th.

On behalf of his family and wife, Ruby, we thank you for your prayers and condolences. A family memorial where Don's ashes will be scattered in the ocean will take place in a few weeks, and should you wish to, please make a donation to the American Heart Association in Don's memory.

Our condolences to his family and friends.

Posted on July 1, 2008
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34th Annual Saturn Award Winners Announced

The 2008 Saturn Award Winners have been announced. Cloverfield won for best sf film and Disney's Enchanted won for best fantasy movie. Sweeney Todd won in the horror category. Lost won for best network tv series. Some of the winning actors and actresses included Will Smith, Amy Adams, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Matthew Fox, Summer Glau, Michael Emerson and Elizabeth Mitchell. Here is the complete list of winners.

Best Science Fiction Film: Cloverfield

Best Fantasy Film: Enchanted

Best Horror Film: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet St.

Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film: 300

Best Actor: Will Smith (I Am Legend)

Best Actress: Amy Adams (Enchanted)

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)

Best Supporting Actress: Marcia Gay Harden (The Mist)

Best Performance by a Younger Actor: Freddie Highmore (August Rush)

Best Direction: Zack Snyder (300)

Best Writing: Brad Bird (Ratatouille)

Best Music: Alan Menken (Enchanted)

Best Costume: Colleen Atwood (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet St.)

Best Make-Up: Ve Neill, Martin Samuel (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End)

Best Special Effects: Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl, John Frazier (Transformers)

Best Animated Film: Ratatouille

Best International Film: Eastern Promises

Best Network Television Series: Lost

Best Syndicated / Cable Television Series: Dexter

Best Presentation on Television: Family Guy: Blue Harvest

Best International Television Series: Doctor Who: Sci Fi Channel

Best Actor on Television: Matthew Fox (Lost)

Best Actress on Television: Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer)

Best Supporting Actor on Television: Michael Emerson (Lost)

Best Supporting Actress on Television: (TIE): Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) / Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost)

Best DVD Release: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (remix)

Best DVD Special Edition Release: Blade Runner (5 Disc Ultimate Edition)

Best DVD Classic Film Release: The Monster Squad

Best DVD Collection: Mario Bava (Box Sets 1 & 2)

Best Television Series Release on DVD: Heroes (Season 1)

Best Retro Television Series Release on DVD: Twin Peaks (Definitive Gold Box Ed.)

The Life Career Award: Robert Halmi, Sr.

The Life Career Award: Robert Halmi, Jr.

The George Pal Memorial Award: Guillermo del Toro

The Filmmakers Showcase Award: Matt Reeves

The Special Achievement Award: Tim & Donna Lucas

The Service Award: Fred Barton

You can find more information about the Saturn Awards on the official website.

Posted on June 26, 2008
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Masi Oka Gets Smart

Masi Oka of Heroes plays one of the gadget guys -- kind of like James Bond's Q -- in the new comedy Get Smart. In fact, the two gadget guys have their own spinoff DVD coming out July 1st called Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control. Here Masi Oka talks about his role in Get Smart:



Posted on June 24, 2008
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Stargate SG-1: Continuum Trailer is Here

Here's a short trailer for the upcoming Stargate SG-1 movie, Continuum. Continuum will be the first Stargate movie to be released with a Blu-ray version. We're looking forward to seeing General O'Neill back in action. It will be available for sale on July 29, 2008 from Amazon.com .



Posted on June 23, 2008
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AFI Names Greatest SF Films of All Time

The American Film Institute announced the top ten greatest genre movies of all time. The Science Fiction list has some notable omissions.

#1 2001: A Space Odyssey

#2 Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

#3 E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial

#4 A Clockwork Orange

#5 The Day the Earth Stood Still

#6 Blade Runner

#7 Alien

#8 Terminator 2: Judgment Day

#9 Invasion of the Body Snatchers

#10 Back to the Future

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope is a classic that began the Star Wars series. But really, The Empire Strikes Back should be on the list. And we're sorry, but E.T. is not one of the best science fiction films of all time -- not by a long shot. What about Planet of the Apes? And The Matrix (the first one)? The list needs some changes.

Posted on June 18, 2008
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M. Night Shyamalan is Happening

Dan Vergano of USA Today interviews M. Night Shyamalan, director of the new film The Happening. (Note: spoilers are ahead.)

Q: How do you come by your interest in science? Science isn't a hot topic with most film directors, is it?

A: I think it is a forgotten passion of mine, just daydreaming about some of the wonderful things we've learned from science. My family was in the medical field when I was younger, so science was always a particular (laughs) option out there for me and I saw it as interesting even after life took me to art school and then film school.

*****

Q: Are you satisfied with the science in The Happening?

A: It was a balancing act. In the early script, we had the science right away, all laid out. I felt it was more powerful to pull back, but then I wanted to put it back in, I even thought about putting it in the credits. Like I said, we were very much relying on James Lovelock and research on the brain. There is just a tremendous amount of information on neurotoxic effects on behavior and physical disorientation.

The film opened in third place this past weekend, with over $30 million in box office sales. The reviewers have been absolutely vicious, although both Ebert and Roeper quite enjoyed it. Wired has an interesting article about the science behind the film. We haven't seen it yet. M. Night is a puzzle. We absolutely loved Unbreakable -- it's a must see -- but we really hated Signs. He's a kind of "love him or hate him" kind of writer.

Posted on June 17, 2008
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