Hailing Frequencies, Issue #293

5.13.05 - 5.20.05

HELLO

And here's the two hundred and ninety-third edition of "Hailing Frequencies."

If you want to be notified when this newsletter is updated, email me to be put on my "notification" list.

Slow news week. Maybe no one wants to compete with Star Wars' stuff? Or is it that there are only so many stories one can do on "Enterprise cast & crew say good-bye"?

CHARMED

Last week's poll:

Should they renew CHARMED another season?

Yes! It's still got life! 79%
No, it's done. 9%
Don't care. 11%

FARSCAPE

Crank up your Windows Media Player to view the online interviews with Brian Henson, Rockne O'Bannon, and Claudia Black. The interviews were done at the Saturn Awards, where Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars received three Saturns for Best Television Presentation, Best Actor: Ben Browder, and Best Actress: Claudia Black. There's good talk about a Farscape feature film, and some Stargate SG-1 talk for good measure.

GAMING

Ubisoft and Universal Studios Consumer Products Group will debut their videogame version of Peter Jackson's King Kong at Ubisoft's booth at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, in Los Angeles, May 18-20. Trade members only.

HARRY POTTER

Check out the trailer!

Now check out the shot-to-text comparison of the trailer to the book at The-leaky-cauldron.org.

This week's poll:

Goblet of Fire's coming to theatres November 18, and Half-Blood Prince will be available July 16. German edition will be released on Oct. 1, 2005. Amazon.de is selling it at 22.50 Euros.

SHREK 3

Exec. Producer Jeffrey Katzenberg spilled the plot to SCI FI Wire. Here's the spoiler-ific breakdown (highlight to read):

1. Story takes up with needing a new king, as the current one is, well, a frog.
2. Shrek & Co. go looking, and find a teenage King Arthur, voiced by Justin Timberlake, who's got 'tude and doesn't particularly want to be king.
3. Prince Charming takes advantage of Shrek's absence to move against the throne.
4. Fiona organizes all of the princesses into the resistance movement to hold things together until Shrek & Co. return.

STAR TREK

In a fitting end, TrekUnited will have a featurette on its efforts to get a fifth season for ENT on the fourth-season DVD.

If you're interested in protesting the cancellation of ENT, try SaveEnterprise.com and/or The Enterprise Project. TrekUnited.com is trying to get fans themselves to pay for a fifth season. You can also write your own plea to Bonnie Hammer, Sci Fi Channel, and David Stapf, Paramount.

Ms. Bonnie Hammer
President and General Manager
Sci Fi Channel
1230 Avenue Of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Mr. David Stapf
President
Paramount Television
5555 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038-3112

If you're interested in having ENT cancel on schedule, just wait.

STAR WARS

See the news round-up.

The Ep III soundtrack has two downloadable bonus tracks, but you only get one for two different places. If you buy it at Wal*Mart, you get a digital download of an interview with John Williams. If you buy it at Target, you get a DownloadCard to access a radio-edit of "Battle of the Heroes," which has dialog and sound effects.

TheForce.net has updated its Parents' Guide to RotS.

And Jason, our old friend and Star Wars expert, writes me: "I am totally jazzed about Episode 3. To steal a line from Kevin Smith, George Lucas has been grooming me for this movie like Michael Jackson grooms a 10-year-old. I'm a bit worried about the postpartum depression that I'm sure will set in around June, and may have to fill the void with something like Star Trek... oh, wait... nevermind. ;-) "

grrr

STARGATE

Michael Shanks Online is doing an eBay auction to benefit The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. Over the next couple weeks, there will be 40-odd items, all autographed by Shanks and/or others Stargate cast and crew. So buy something!

NEWS BITS

• Director Peter Hewitt (Garfield) will next direct Nickelodeon Movies' Chuckle Bears, about aliens in the guide of brightly colored teddy bears on a mission to Earth to elminiate human sadness. Man, that sounds awful.
• Steven Spielberg and author Philip K. Dick were inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame for their contributions to "fact, fiction and fantasy." Also honored: stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen and artist Chesley Bonestell.
• Moviefone.com has the new trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.
• Producer Joel Silver says he'll probably film Wonder Woman in Australia, basically because he likes it there.
• HBO has canceled Carnivale after two seasons.
• Check out the trailer for Batman Begins.
• Cinescape reports the unconfirmed news that Scott Madej has gotten the role of Gambit in X-Men III.

INSANE TREK TRIVIA

This Week's Question: What did Martia claim was probably Kirk's life's ambition?

Send your answer to scifi@about.com. All correctly answering trivia maniacs will have their names mentioned in the next letter. The first winner gets to make a request, anything they like -- within reason -- for the next "Hailing Frequencies" Issue. Please let me know if you don't want me to post your email address if you win.

Last Week's Question: In what episodes do we hear the songs "Isn't It Romantic" and "I Only Have Eyes for You"?

Answer: TNG's "Data's Day" and VOY's "Lifesigns."

No winners. :-(

CAPTION CONTEST

Send in your best caption for the picture below. The best (as in, my favorite) entry will appear in next week's issue.

[Insert caption here.]

Today's lesson? Never tickle a firestarter.
"I told you that was too much lighter fluid on the barbecue!"
"You've been starting fires again. For that, you get an atomic wedgie!"
"Man, that was some serious belching. You okay?"
and
"How are we gonna ever get out of here?"
"I don't know, but feeling you up is sure helping me deal!"

"LETTERS TO THE EDITOR"

This week's topic: Are there others who want to applaud ENT's demise?

***

I didn't get any this week. Are you guys all in line?

***

Next week's topic: Okay! Let's hear from people who've gone to [i]Revenge of the Sith[/i], please.

***

Send me something if you've got something to say.  It can be about anything that's on your mind! (Please let me know if you don't want your email address to accompany your name in either contest or for the LTE.)

TOP MOVIES FROM THE NUMBERS

1 Kingdom of Heaven.................$24,181,000
2 Crash (2005).........................$11,722,000
3 House of Wax (2005)..............$14,631,000
4 Hitchhiker's Guide...................$37,820,000
5 Interpreter, The.....................$56,022,000
6 XXX: State of the Union..........$21,884,000
7 Amityville Horror, The..............$61,186,000
8 Sahara.................................$62,338,000
9 Lot Like Love, A.....................$19,549,000
10 Sin City...............................$72,596,000

TOP SF/F NETWORK SHOWS, NGR, 4/18- 4/24/05

1. Desperate Housewives 14.6
2. Lost 6.5
3. Medium 5.5
4. Alias 5.4
5. Joan of Arcadia 5.1
6. Tru Calling 2.8
7. Smallville 2.8
8. Charmed 2.5
9. Enterprise 1.6

TOP SF/F SYNDICATED SHOWS, NGR, 4/18 - 4/24/05

1. Stargate SG-1 1.8
2. Andromeda 1.5
3. The X-Files 1.5
4. Mutant X 1.3
5. She Spies 1.3
6. Twilight Zone 1.1
7. Angel 1.0
8. Buffy 1.0
9. The Outer Limits 1.0
10. Ripley's 0.8

TOP SCI-FI/FANTASY BOOKS, Amazon - 5/6/05

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2. The Da Vinci Code
3. Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl 4)
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
5. Eldest (Inheritance 2)
6. Angels and Demons
7. Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampire)
8. The Time Traveler's Wife
9. Map of Bones
10. The Five People You Meet in Heaven

TOP SCI-FI/FANTASY DVDS, Amazon - 4/29/05

1. Phantom of the Opera
2. The Incredibles
3. Star Wars trilogy
4. Team America: World Police
5. Star Wars: Episode I
6. Star Wars: Episode II
7. Blade: Trinity
8. Joan of Arcadia season one
9. Star Trek: Enterprise season one
10. House of Flying Daggers

Source: Amazon.com, top-selling genre DVDs, 5/6/05

HAILING FREQUENCIES CLOSED

Visit the "Hailing Frequencies" Archive
http://scifi.about.com/blhailarchive.htm
Julia Houston
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Guide @ About.com
scifi@about.com