5.11.06
HELLO
And here's the three hundred and thirty-seventh edition of "Hailing Frequencies."
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No newsletter last week. Graduation. Need sleep. Must rest. Zzzzzzzz...
BLOG: Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Listings
ALIAS
J.J. Abrams told SCI FI Wire that he has no current plans for an Alias movie, but that it's not completely out of the question. "It's an incredible cast and crew, so we'll miss them, but I hope to work with all of them again soon. But in terms of the end of the year, it's actually a really good finale. I think it's incredibly satisfying. It connects all these pieces that have been in the Alias universe from the beginning."
CNN.com has an interview/article on Abrams and his current movie projects.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
James "Baltar" Callis slipped a few semi-spoilers to SCI FI Wire. Highlight to read: "In the upcoming episodes, the simplest way to explain what happens is that the wheat is separated from the chaff....I'm not actually sure at this moment which I belong to, which bothers me, whether I'm the wheat or the chaff. All I know is that we are necessarily separated...[Season Two is" darker and more gritty and more worrying than anything that you have seen before. I really am not just saying that. I remember just reading it going, 'My God almighty, this is remorseless and relentless.' And as such should be very gripping television. Even though it's very ... I think the word is dystopic."
The new season airs in October.
DOCTOR WHO
BBC reports that Billie Piper, who is all of 23, is writing an autobiography. The book will include stuff on her her marriage, her teenager model years, and about her work on Doctor Who has Rose Tyler.
Remember the Cybermen? They've gotten an updated image.
Circa 1985
Circa now
The guy who's directing the Cybermen episodes for season two, Graeme Harper, told SCI FI Wire that he wanted the new look to be a big secret for the show. Evidently, he's never been on the Internet. Anyway, the BBC decided to use the buzz and released its own images. Harper also said (somewhat cutely): "When I used to watch Doctor Who, I wasn't a child, but I did get worried and scared by some of what I was watching....I'm not sure I hid behind the sofa , but I wanted to get back to that idea of a family saying, 'Oh, God, what's going to happen next?' and keep everyone on the edge of their seat."
ERAGON
Remember this book? It was written by some guy when he was like, four, or something, and it sold a bajillion copies and I thought it was almost unreadable, so I had a friend read and review it, and he liked it, but now I just wish I'd written a review that said it was unreadable.
Anyway, Christopher Paolini's book will be a a videogame, to be beta'ed this summer and released this November for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PC. You'll also be able to get an Eragon dragon flight simulator for the PSP, a role-playing game for the Nintendo DS, and a card game for the Nintendo GameBoy Advance. And yes, the movie will be along December 15, starring Edward Speleers, Djimon Hounsou, Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich. In the game, players can be either Murtagh or Brom and can fight on foot or while riding a dragon.
iPod
Apple has added Fox and the NBA, for a total of 21 networks, for downloadable, ad-free episodes of TV shows the day after they air. So now, if you forget to set your TiVo/VCR, you only have to pay a couple bucks to catch up on 24.
JETSONS
Warner Bros. is breathing new life into their decade-old live-action The Jetsons movie project by getting Donald De Line (The Italian Job) and Denise Di Novi (Catwoman) to produce and Adam F. Goldberg (Fanboys) to do the script.
LOST
The street date for the season two DVD is Oct 3.
BLOG: MOVIES TO WATCH FOR
REAL SCIENCE
Word from Slashdot: "Dr. Jonathan Spanier from Drexel University has come up with a novel way to greatly increase data storage density: water. Specifically, they propose using hydroxyl ions to stabilize minute ferroelectric wires. These wires could be many times smaller than what is possible today, enabling data densities in the neighborhood of 12-13 PB per cubic centimeter. While there are still many problems to be resolved before drives using these can be manufactured this technology does seem promising. For one thing, it would be non-volatile, but could apparently be made to act as RAM."
Cool.
RED SONJA
Believe it or not, this mammoth stinker is getting interest from Millennium and Emmett/Furla. Well, the movie stunk, and it's the relaunched comic from Dynamite Entertainment that's generating the interest. But, seriously. Shouldn't people just remember to say no to this? But, according to Variety, Joe Gatta, head of Millennium Films, just thinks, "The first movie was not a good one -- all the more reason to remake it. It is a great character and a great brand."
"If you will only bow to a conqueror, little Sonja, then prepare to be conquered."
whew
STAR TREK
Nothing much going on, except 1,000 opinions from blogs and fan sites about what J.J. Abrams is going to do with the next movie.
STAR WARS
From the Official Site, LucasArts showed off its new gaming titles at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), May 10-12 in Los Angeles, CA.Two titles in particular generated interest: the LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy follow-up, and Star Wars Empire at War: Forces of Corruption. This expansion features the underworld's point of view of the Galactic Civil War. "The Rebels have just destroyed the Death Star, and the galaxy is in turmoil. As an aspiring Underworld figure named Tyber Zann, spread corruption throughout the galaxy using new strategic gameplay elements to influence other factions, steal their funds, slow their production, spy on them and more. Exciting new land-tactical options like customizable, upgradeable bases and guerilla warfare allow for innovative battlefield tactics. Take command of and confront new fighting units for all factions (Rebel B-wings, Imperial TIE interceptors, Darth Vader's Executor Super Star Destroyer and more), and take down anyone who stands in your way of ruling the Underworld, be they new battlefield heroes like Luke Skywalker and Yoda, or the forces of your most bitter rival, Jabba the Hutt. Destroy capital ships with the awesome firepower of the second Death Star, and satiate Tyber's drive for the deadliest capital ship in the galaxy, a devastatingly powerful Super Star Destroyer known as the Eclipse."
All
three movies, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the
Jedi will be released in two-disc form, with both the 2004 digitally remastered
version and the original theatrical edition of the film, in which fake-looking
CGI creatures do not roam about for no reason, Solo shoots first, and we don't
have to look at Jaba until Return. Whee! There's no SRP yet, but word
from the Official
Site is that the discs will be available from September 12th to December
31st. Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, close-captioning, and subtitles in English,
French and Spanish for their U.S. release. International sound and subtitling
vary by territory.
STARGATE
Producer Brad Wright told SCI FI Wire: "Even if I were to not do the movie, I know somebody is going to do a Stargate movie. It's the second largest franchise for MGM next to Bond. So it's got significant brand potential, and by two series doing as well as they are and a game coming out, that could really, really, really brand the show in a big way. That's what they like in this business: a larger franchise with so many legs to it that it could go into the future for years to come."
And, indeed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television 's executive vice president Charles Cohen told Multichannel News that the studio is planning to do a theatrical movie that might blend the two existing Stargate shows and introduce a third. May I suggest, Stargate Julia's House? No? Cohen said any movie would "not in any way impair the television run" of the series, though those will end in time, what with inevitable rises in salary and production costs.
The new seasons of Stargates premiere July 14 on SCI FI Channel in the US and this fall on Sky One in the UK. For spoilers galore, especially for that 200th episode of SG-1, check out Gateworld.
TIME TUNNEL
Okay, I'm sorry to say it, but this wasn't very good show. If I've offended you, then you probably care that Fox Home Entertainment will release The Time Tunnel: Volume Two on DVD June 6, 2006. The episodes are compiled on four discs in their original full screen color (aspect ratio 1.33:1) with English and French stereo and Spanish mono sound and subtitles in English and Spanish. SRP $39.98 U.S./$54.98 Canada. Compare online prices here.
TOY STORY 3
Remember when Disney said they didn't need Pixar to make the third of the Toy Story movies? Well, they were lying, as evidenced by Disney's decision to buy Pixar a while ago. Now they've made it official, as Chief Executive Robert Iger has confirmed that Toy Story 3 had started production at Pixar Studios.
"Someone poisoned the water hole!"
TRANSFORMERS
Recent cast additions include Meagan Fox as the female lead Mikaela, the love interest. (The mind shudders as the Transformer possibilities.) Bernie Mac and Josh Duhamel have also recently been signed on, joining Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, John Turturro, John Robinson, and Travis Van Winkle.
X-MEN
Sir Ian McKellen's been doing a lot of publicity for The Da Vinci Code, but I've decided that's not really sci-fi or fantasy, so I'll just report that he's slipping in a lot of talk about X-Men: The Last Stand, in which he again plays Magneto. He told SCI FI Wire that director Brett Ratner "was up against it and was running against the wind the whole time. Well, that's a happy ending, because everyone is extremely pleased with X-Men 3. So that's worked out."
Fascinating.
The movie opens May 26.
But McKellen is also eyeing a spin-off (a la Wolverine) for Magneto. IGN FilmForce reports: "The project, scripted by Sheldon Turner, is reportedly a prequel focusing on the early days of Erik Lensherr...how he became Magneto and his relationship with young Charles Xavier."
NEWS BITS
One of the following news items is false. Can you spot it? (For the answer, highlight below.)
Reveal the fake (highlight): In the world's most inevitable news, Tom Hanks is being courted by New Line Cinema to stay in an as-yet-unscripted story about Jesus Christ, who currently lives in a third-story walk-up in Manhattan.
INSANE TREK
TRIVIA
This Week's Question: What's Janeway's spirit animal?
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: Mic Fleetwood had a cameo on a Star Trek series.
Whom did he play?
Answer: He played a big fish-man, an Antedian Dignitary. in TNG's "Manhunt."
First winner
Susan
"I am still hoping for Taylor Hicks to win American Idol. Also, everyone have a good week."
Second winner
Lou
Third winner
Patty
Fourth winner
Nicole
Fifth winner
wow
Sixth winner
Vedek_n
Seventh winner
evay
Eighth winner
Damian
Ninth winner
Claudia
Tenth winner
Debbie D
"LETTERS TO THE EDITOR"
This week's topic: Is Lost keeping its quality going?
***
Who can tell? I don't remember when they had a new episode.
BTCHONWHLS
***
[On the Star Trek XI article:]
I agree with you 100%. It's the wrong idea at the wrong time. The main thing which hobbled ENT (besides the gross incompetence of the Bs) was that they were going into a period of time which was already sort of established in a franchise which is already known for being the most nitpicked in all of entertainment. It's fun for fanfic, but not for a movie.
Hiring Abrams just means that Paramount wants to continue trying to sell Trek to a wide, mainstream audience, rather than the small, devoted niche fandom. They already have our butts guaranteed in the seats. They're aiming for the masses.
So they get a hot producer who has a proven track record of mainstream hits with lots of explosions, use the characters which everyone is familiar with, go back to the spot in the universe timeline where they can insert new (or, gods help us, 'trendy') actors rather than the old/fat/dead originals, and hope to rake in buckets of money.
Unless the plot is frakking well spectacular, it will fail.
I believe that the best hope for Trek, given the current media climate and the people in charge, is to give it a rest for 10 or 15 years -- yes, I realize that means not continuing ENT. Bring it back when the entire dynamic of TV watching and TV producing has changed. Bring it back when the à la carte model is more firmly entrenched and proven to be a comfortable profit-turner, so that Paramount is not afraid to take a chance on making two or four seasons to download or release straight to DVD or create as 10-ep or 20-ep cable seasons, and to give the audience a chance to build. Get Trek away from the people who insist on playing it safe. Give it 10 years so that more people like RDMoore and Whedon and Coto are higher up on the food chain.
I hope whatever Trek does, it does well. But I have no hopes for this, any more than I did for NEM. There are a limited number of Moores and Whedons to go around, and Moore fought with Paraborg constantly on DS9. BSG2K is as brilliant as it is because SCI-FI knows enough to back off. Firefly was destroyed because Fox didn't know what the hell to do with it.
There isn't a single rumor about this movie yet that I'm happy about.
evay
***
["What's your theory on why sci-fi/fantasy stuff gets overlooked by the Oscars (and all the other popular awards shows)?" ]
You have to remember it's not just sci fi/fantasy that gets ignored - comedy also tends to be overlooked, and even though anyone who's ever acted knows it's harder to do good comedy than drama, a comedian who gets cast in a drama is considered doing a 'breakthrough' role. Award shows, and the people behind them, tend to think of it as "Art" (capital A intended) that is for the cultural elite rather than for the masses.
SCI fi/fantasy has only recently been started being treated as something other than proverbial 'junk food' in the literary field, let alone TV and/or movies. It's (pardon the bad relation) like "Monty Python" - you either love it or hate it; very few people have middle of the road thoughts about it. You either love science fiction/fantasy and see how you can't judge the whole genre on "Santa Claus Fights the Martians" (or, for that matter, on the other end of things, "2001" and such), or you group it all together and it's not for the people who are trying to make this an "Art".
***
Another Trek film
by a director/writer who thinks he knows what the fans want.
Yeah, sure he does.
How about getting someone...perhaps a real fan or one of the better Trek book
writers or maybe even several of the better Trek book writers to write some
possible storylines...
Don't limit them to what group they are working with....TOS; Next Gen...etc.
Turn them loose. Throw a couple of thousand dollars at them to come up with
a plot and a ten-page treatment.
For TOS we have to write around the loss of DeForest Kelly and James Doohan...but
it could be done. For Next Gen there is the unlikelihood that Stewart would
come back as Picard...but when you think about it...there are a million potential
stories out there that don't deal with prequels.
Heaven protect me from prequels and those that attempt to rewrite history.
If nothing else you end up with a heck of a lot of good ideas that could be
made into short stories for Pocket Books if nothing else.
Have someone go out to the conventions...the fan ones like Shore Leave and Farpoint
in Maryland, United Fan Con in Massachusetts and other ones throughout the country
and ask the real fans what they want and then deliver it.
Here's another idea....ask Joss Whedon to take a crack at it....he's the most
original Sci-Fi TV to movie writer out there at the moment. I'd love to see
what he'd do with Trek.
So much still could be done and seemingly so little talent to do it...or at
least Paramount refuses to see where the story talent might be.
Annie
***
I'm not real sure about a movie at Starfleet Academy with young Kirk and Spock. But years ago I had suggested to Leonard Nimoy the concept of doing something with Starfleet and other ships. Something with Robert April might be good since we really don't have a lot of backstory on him. As strange as it may sound I miss Enterprise. It was starting to really turn around, I think. I miss Trip. Well, take care. Live long and prosper, y'all.
***
[on another topic]
The OLD Battlestar Galactica was good for it's time, allowing for the mostly one-dimensional characters as they were put in the script back in that day (I'm not going to comment on the differences in special effects since that day, since it is in the STORY and the PEOPLE that a series lives or dies)
The NEW BG series is much more "layered" with the emphasis on the people in the story and their reactions to each other and to the horrific situation of being the last few thousand left of their civilization... but with all of the same struggles a human has always had in dealing with other humans Add to that the conflict inside and between the new humanoid Cylons... some of whom have actually learned to love humans, and you have an almost infinite range of possible stories
I for one like the new series better than the old
***
Next week's topic: Anybody else got opinions on the new Trek film proposal?
***
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.)
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Julia Houston
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Guide @ About.com
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