3.16.06 - 3.23.06
HELLO
And here's the three hundred and thirty-second edition of "Hailing Frequencies."
If you want to be notified when this newsletter is updated, email me to be put on my "notification" list.
Oooh. I just ate about five pounds of crawfish. Yummmy.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
BLOG: "Lay Down Your Burdens" Must Hold Galatica Fans for a While
Michael Taylor, a writer for Star Trek: Voyager, is coming aboard the BSG writing team with Ron Moore, Bradley Thompson, and David Weddle for season three. Whoo hoo!
BOOKS
Greatest
Sci-Fi / Fantasy Books: 1 to A
Greatest Sci-Fi / Fantasy Books:
B to C
Greatest Sci-Fi / Fantasy Books:
D-E
Greatest Sci-Fi / Fantasy Books:
F to H
Greatest Sci-Fi / Fantasy Books:
I to L
Greatest Sci-Fi / Fantasy Books:
M to N
Greatest Sci-Fi / Fantasy Books:
O to Q
Greatest Sci-Fi / Fantasy Books:
R to T
Greatest Sci-Fi / Fantasy Books:
U to Z
FIREFLY/SERENITY
Nathan Fillion (Mal) told SCI FI's Mike Szymanski: "Did you ever see Galaxy Quest?..When Tim Allen comes out and he cheers, well that's going to be me when I'm 60. I'll be this fat and balding guy who's trying to squeeze into his [browncoat] outfit and wears suspenders." He adds: "I heard a story about Brent Spiner...and he was asked at conventions to make these vast computations that are impossible for even a computer, and he was in the position to have to tell them, 'Guys, I'm not a robot'...But they don't want to hear that. They don't want the reality. They want to continue the fantasy." Fillion says his questions are more like "'When you put your hand on her shoulder, was that your idea?'" Cute interview.
Dr. WHO
Be sure to catch the premiere on SCI FI tomorrow! 9 p.m. ET/PT
Christopher Eccleston admits he wasn't a big fan of Doctor Who as a child because it "was a bit too authoritarian for my taste," in a SCI FI Wire interview.
HELLBOY 2
Guillermo del Toro, writer/director for Hellboy II: The Golden Army and creator Mike Mignola will write an original story for the film sequel and will not based it on the comics. Details will come soon, I'm sure.
INDIANA JONES
BLOG: Looks Like Indiana Jones IV Will Happen
LOST
Emilie De Ravin (Claire) has an interview up with SCI FI Wire's Patrick Lee: "I'm really interested to see, actually, for Claire, what goes on with how she's going to deal....I mean, obviously, something happened with these injections. It...isn't visible now. I want to know what that is, that really interests me. So, OK, the baby's not sick anymore, but what were they for and what did they inject her with?" She adds: "I want to know why we're all there! But I don't know if that's going to happen this season."
SPIDEY 3
Elizabeth Banks told SCI FI's Mike Szymanski that she wants journalists to remind writer/director Sam Raimi that her character, Betty Brant, is supposed to be Peter Parker's first girlfriend, not Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson. Better yet, "Tell him I'm actually Venom!"
Cliff Robertson (AKA Uncle Ben) will be in the third film as a "ghostly personae." The movie starts shooting in May.
STAR WARS
Time Magazine has a long, though oddly uninteresting interview up with George Lucas (I blame lousy writer Richard Corliss). Here's my fave bit:
R.C. So why will people go to the movies?
G.L. Because it’s a social experience. Sure, you can see a movie at home, the way can read a book. You can do it at home on your little laptop. But a lot of people go because it’s a social experience. It’s like watching a football game. Who in the world would go out in 20-below weather, and sit there and watch a football game where you can barely see the players? Football games are on TV, and it doesn’t effect stadium attendance at all. It’s the same with movies. People who really love movies and like to go out on a Saturday night will go to the movie theater. If you haven’t built a fan-base or you’re not selling something that people want, then the attendance is going to drop. But if you have a good product that you’re putting into the theater, then they’re going to always go there.
BLOG: Superman Returns Prequel Comics Coming
BLOG: And the Latest Remake is...Wolf Man!
BLOG: At Unrest With Jason Todd Ipson
BLOG: Clips for V for Vendetta
X-MEN
BLOG: Check out the X-Men: The Last Stand Trailer!
X3: The Last Stand opens on May 26.
NEWS BITS
One of the following news items is false. Can you spot it? (For the answer, highlight below.)
Reveal the fake
(highlight): Wal-Mart and K-Mart have both announced that
they will refuse to stock the line of action figures based on the children's
fantasy Disney classic Song of the South, because of the movie's "promotion
of intolerance."
INSANE TREK TRIVIA
This Week's Question: What changes did James Blish make to the ending of "The
Naked Time" in his novelization?
Send your answer to scifi@about.com. All
correctly answering trivia maniacs will have their names mentioned in the next
newsletter. 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: What other TV show besides Star Trek likes to
keep working "47" into the dialogue and scenery?
Answer: Alias.
First winner
Paul
For his request, Paul's asked for stuff on Space: 1999, so I'll have that up soon.
BLOG: CAPTION
CONTEST (updated Fridays)
"LETTERS TO THE EDITOR"
This week's topic: What's your theory on why sci-fi/fantasy stuff gets overlooked by the Oscars (and all the other popular awards shows)?
***
Because people are stupid.
BTCHONWHLS
***
I don't think people respect science fiction. It's not because of the settings or characters or plots, but just because it's science fiction.
Imagine Pride and Prejudice only very slightly different than it is. Imagine that it's set on another planet identical to Earth, and all the characters are androids who appear completely human. Leave everything else the same -- plot, dialogue, surroundings. Would the story be as popular as the version we know?
I doubt it. Partly, of course, it's because the change would be a pointless gimmick, but I don't think that's the only reason. I think it's partly a cultural bias against science fiction, and perhaps all genre fiction. Most readers seem to think that, rather than being serious literature, it's more the sort of thing that appeals to children. That's understandable. Our first exposure to talking nonhuman beings, and other elements typical of science fiction, is in children's stories. This likely colors our associations forever. And let's face it, early science fiction and much of the film version even today haven't helped.
But diguise the science fiction nature of a novel, or just try to make it something more than genre, and it immediately becomes respectable. Brave New World and 1984 are considered very serious and important literature. And even with all the time between them, is there really such a huge gulf between Beowulf and Godzilla?
***
Next week's topic: What did you think of the season wrap-ups for the Stargates and/or Battlestar Galactica?
***
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.)
BLOG:
TOP SF/F MOVIES, SHOWS, BOOKS
& DVDS (updated Fridays)
HAILING FREQUENCIES CLOSED
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Julia Houston
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Guide @ About.com
scifi@about.com