A woman without a homeland...a critic without a soapbox...
You've found
Sci Fi X-ile, last refuge for a nerd who just can't shut up.
Explore the Island:
Art
Gallery Tree
Movie Theatre Lagoon
Reading Cave
TV Log
Hailing Frequencies #361
5.3.07
HELLO
And here's the three hundred and sixty-first edition of "Hailing Frequencies."
If you want to be notified when this newsletter is updated, email me to be put on my "notification" list.
I cut my hair! I cut my hair! I think I like it.....gulp
NEW AT THE SITE
Article: "Sci-Fi & Fantasy Then & Now"
Download the new May 2007 Desktop Calendar.
ANDROMEDA STRAIN
There's yet another unnecessary remake coming -- though, hey, maybe this time they won't make the girl the weakest link. A&E is producing a a four-hour miniseries of Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain (my favorite of his books, actually). Cameras will roll this summer in Vancouver. Mikael Salomon directs, Robert Schenkkan scripts, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott and David W. Zucker exec. produce.
EUREKA
Season two premieres July 10. For my take on this show, go here.
BUFFY & FIREFLY
Probably inspired by the success of the Buffy comics, Joss Whedon is considering doing a "sixth-season" comic for Angel. The Buffy comic's third issue, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Slayers
Are YOU a Firefly fan hungry for something...anything? Well, check out this River-centered Serenity fan video to the Green Day song "She's A Rebel."
HARRY POTTER
OotP director David Yates stated yesterday that he wants to come right back to do the next film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Today comes word that the studio agrees.
LeakyCauldron has some Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game images up.
 |
Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows, all 784 pages, flies to shelves July
21. The soundtrack to the film will be available July 1.
|
HEROES
Monday's Heroes saved a 7.0/10. Pretty sweet.
LOST
Lost has been officially renewed for a fourth season on ABC.
Seriously, is there some reason no one in the Lost universe seems to know what an abortion is?
THE LOVELY BONES
Okay, so here's the Next Big Thing. Four studios are vying for Peter Jackson's project to direct Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, about a victimized ghost of a young girl who watches over her family. The Hollywood Reporter says Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh (associates of Jackson) put the script out for considering on April 30, and, so far, DreamWorks, Warner Brothers, Sony and Universal want in.
MISC...
- IGN has an interesting set visit for 28 Weeks Later.
- Columbia Pictures is going to do the film version of the Dark Horse title The Ark, with Neal Moritz and Mike Richardson producing.
- Congrats to M. John Harrison, whose novel Nova Swing has been named the winner of this year's Arthur C. Clarke Award.
- 300 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest are the biggest nom-gatherers at this year's MTV Movie Awards. 300 has five, Pirates four, with both films in the running for best movie, best villain and best performance.
- Bryan Singer is working on the sequel to Superman Returns, next on his schedule after his current project, Valkyrie.
- SCI FI Wire has an interview up with Joshua Palmatier, whose The Skewed Throne
is a finalist for this year's Compton Crook Award for best first novel.
- Arnold and Anne Kopelson have secured the screen rights to Michael Scott's soon-to-be-published Otherworld, about ancient demons unleashed by global warming. (How topical!)
- Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park will host the 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards, presented by JC Penney, which will air on AZN Television on May 28 at 8 PM.
- Aw, geeeeeeze.
- Thursday's CW episode of Smallville raked in a cool 2.6/4, while Supernatural conjured up a 2.2/3. Friday's Ghost Whisperer on CBS scored an impressive 6.0/11.
- Filming has begun in Chicago for The Dark Knight, which will then head to London for the bulk of the film.
THE MUMMY
Okay, we finally get the news that Luke Ford will play Alex, the grown-up son of Rick and Evelyn, in Mummy III. There are plans to continue the franchise with the next generation. For this outing, Alex journeys into the forbidden tombs of China and into the Himalayas, where he and Fraser's character (Evelyn's not going to be in the movie) run into a new mummy. Shooting begins in Montreal July 27 with plans for a July 2008 release.
RANDOM DIALOG QUIZ
Can you name the movie? "Lar pookah."
Highlight to read the answer: Caveman
SAD NEWS
Hey, remember "The Monster Mash?" Bobby "Boris" Pickett, who made a semi-career out of his Boris Karloff impression and does the voice on the song, died of leukemia at age 69 in Los Angeles.
SPIDER-MAN
Reviews around the Net for Spider-Man 3 basically find the technical stuff impressive and the story so-so, with too many villains and not enough character development. The third Spidey has already broken records in Asia, taking in around ¥415 million ($3.47 million) in Japan and $HK7.5 million ($958,984) and in Hong Kong on its opening day, just for starters.
I recommend the LA Times review. And hey, check this out.
I'm sorry, but Marvel Studios has announced the upcoming production of Spider-Man: The Musical. Marvel has netted Tony-winner Julie Taymor to direct and..wait for it...U2's Bono to do the music and lyrics. May I suggest a verse?
Spider-Man, I'm a fan
But I'm not seeing this latest plan.
Belting songs about romance,
See you dance with ants in your pants.
Broadway! Leave Spidey alone!
Broadway wants blood from a stone.
(Hey, I promise the real thing won't be much better.)
Spider-Man 3 will be released in IMAX and regular theatres worldwide May 4.
STAR TREK
Michelle Erica Green has a retro review up of TNG's "The Battle":
Ironically, because Picard is out of commission in so many early episodes, we get a very strong sense of Riker as a command officer and a team player. He tries so hard not to step on Picard's toes that it takes longer than necessary for him to connect the dots, and it's a bit ridiculous that it takes Wesley rather than LaForge or another engineer to guess at a connection between Picard's altered brain waves and the mysterious energy readings, but despite some bumbling by the crew, the first officer comes through very forcefully, devoted to Picard and determined to clear up what he believes is a certain attempt to ruin the captain before Starfleet can start meddling.
RPGers, check out Star Trek : Infinity, a Play By Email Role-Playing Game (PBEM RPG) based on the Trek premise:
2380 is a precarious age; Three years after the return of the USS Voyager and with no major conflicts since the end of the Dominion War at a glance the universe seems to be cooperating and working within agreed peace treaties and trade agreements. There is, however, a restless underbelly that could threaten the hard won harmony. Philosophers have always said that any utopia was the work of fiction as one man's paradise is another man's hell.
STARGATES
Be absolutely sure to watch Stargate Atlantis this Friday, as "The Tao of Rodney" is a fantastic episode!
TOP MOVIES TODAY FROM THE NUMBERS
1 Fracture..........................$22,158,000
2 Disturbia..........................$53,206,212
3 Next.................................$8,199,752
4 The Invisible......................$8,558,661
5 Hot Fuzz.........................$13,401,000
6 Blades of Glory.................$108,718,648
7 Vacancy..........................$14,427,771
8 The Condemned..................$4,423,246
9 Meet the Robinsons............$88,828,891
10 In the Land of Women........$8,945,508
Weekend Box Office Estimates: April 27-29, 2007
Disturbia (Paramount/DreamWorks) $9.1 million - 3 wk total $52.2m
The Invisible (Buena Vista) $7.6 million - opening weekend
Next (Paramount) $7.2 million - opening weekend
Fracture (New Line) $7.1 million - 2 wk total $21.3m
Blades of Glory (Paramount/DreamWorks) $5.2 million - 5 wk total $108.1m
Meet the Robinsons (Buena Vista) $4.8 million - 5 wk total $88.4m
Hot Fuzz (Rogue Pictures) $4.8 million - 2 wk total $12.4m
Vacancy (ScreenGems) $4.2 million - 2 wk total $13.8m
The Condemned (Lions Gate Films) $4.0 million - opening weekend
Are We Done Yet? (Sony Revolution) $3.4 million - 4 wk total $43.8m
Source: Box Office Mojo.
TOP BOOKS SCI-FI/FANTASY @ Amazon, 4.5.07
1. Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
2. The
Children of Hurin: Deluxe Edition
3. All Together Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Bk. 7)
4. Slaughterhouse-Five
5. 1634: The Baltic War
6. No Humans Involved , by Kelley Armstrong
7. The
Time Traveler's Wife
7. Storm
Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)
8. White
Night: A Novel of The Dresden Files
10. The Last Colony
TOP DVDs SCI-FI/FANTASY @ Amazon, 4.5.07
1. Night at the Museum (Widescreen Edition)
2. Pan's
Labyrinth (Two-Disc Special Edition)
3. Deja Vu
4. Babylon 5 - The Lost Tales
5. Children
of Men (Widescreen Edition)
6. Peter
Pan (Two-Disc Platinum Edition)
7. The Fountain (read my review)
8. Firefly
- The Complete Series
9. Lost
- The Complete Second Season
10. Ghost Rider
TOP SCI FI NETWORK SHOWS - Nielsen Galaxy Report, 4.2-4.8.07
Lost 7.2
Ghost Whisperer 6.2
Medium 5.7
Jericho 5.1
Smallville 1.6
Supernatural 1.6
TOP SCI FI SYNDICATED SHOWS - Nielsen Galaxy Report, 4.9-4.15.07
Smallville 1.9
Alias 1.7
Star Trek 1.3
Stargate Atlantis 1.2
Stargate SG-1 1.2
Farscape 0.7
The Outer Limits 0.6
INSANE TREK TRIVIA
This Week's Question: Three episodes of TNG use the same space station animation background, though each episode takes place at a different station. What are the episodes?
Send your answer to julia.houston@gmail.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: What was sort of odd about Neelix' pasta?
Answer: It was hair pasta...actual hair, from a mature Alfarian.
First winner
Doug
Second winner
Pianokeyboardorg
Third winner
Sue
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.]
THIS WEEK'S WINNER:
"I told you, if we ever let the Coyote catch the Road Runner, we'd be out of a job!" - Stephen
Honorable mentions...
"Uh, which one of us is PC and which is Mac?" - Chris
Guy on Left: "Does Julia actually think anyone is going to recognize this movie poster?"
Guy on Right: "Who are you?"
- BTCHONWHLS
"Nyah nyah nyah nyah...my shadow is longer than yours." - Ozzygreybeard
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR"
Last week's topic: Stargate SG-1 lasted for ten years. What other sci-fi show on TV right now do you think might make it that long?
***
The next Heroes episode takes place 5 years from now, so if it goes on for ten years, that would be an interesting problem. But it could go on. The problem is scientific plausibility, but oh, well.
I'm glad that one guy survived, but reviving him by taking a shard of glass out of his head was a bit much to swallow. Right up there with some of Trek's finest technobabble. But, Heroes is fresh and new, so I didn't mind.
I don't think Lost will last that long.
Stargate Atlantis could.
Stephen
***
[on another topic]
Okay, I realize that certain things need to happen because "it's in the script."
HOWEVER...
Is it TRULY necessary for all the Heroes to be so incredibly frakking STUPID?!?! Mohinder has already made it clear that he's going to execute Sylar. Now, Peter's wizardry distracts Sylar, he drops from the ceiling, and Mohinder eventually rams Sylar with the big bulletin board. Sylar is unconscious. Peter is temporarily dead. What does Mohinder do? He slings a 175lb. dead guy on his back and runs out of the apartment!! He doesn't stop to bash Sylar's head in, shoot him, cut his throat, CALL THE POLICE, whatever. He wants Sylar dead, he KNOWS how dangerous Sylar is, and he leaves the guy there to recover! For that matter, why did Mohinder leave him alive long enough to recover from the curare last episode? If he really thought Sylar was that dangerous, take the sample and either knock him out again or kill him promptly! (Didn't he watch 'The Incredibles'? Don't make speeches!)
And speaking of Peter: he knows Sylar is telekinetic -- just used that against him, in point of fact. He sees Sylar lifting the glass. Sylar lets the stuff hang there for a few dramatic moments, even, just to make his point. WHY doesn't Peter get out of the way? Why does he sneak around in the room, invisible, so Sylar can conveniently spike him in the head? And Mohinder knows Peter can heal, doesn't he? Why doesn't Mohinder pull the glass out of Peter's brain? I would have done that just to tidy up when I presented the corpse to his mother!
And even if Mohinder DOESN'T, Claire DOES -- at the very least she knows Peter can heal when he's around her -- and should have been asking Mohinder how Peter died so she can figure out how to undo it!
Back to Sylar: why bother with the glass? Doesn't he have superhearing? Can't he hear Peter's heart pounding? (I can see why Peter wouldn't have the superhearing and whateverall else Sylar has absorbed yet because it might take him a minute to realize what he's glommed and how to use it.)
I was only mildly annoyed that Isaac didn't shoot himself in the head or take poison or something just before Sylar showed up, because I can believe that he painted something which makes him realize it's necessary for Sylar to be precognitive in order to die. But I was hoping.
I remain convinced, as I have all along, that it's Sprague who blows up, not Peter. I am hoping they spare New York because I find it very upsetting.
evay
***
Next week's topic: Can we hear from people who see Spider-Man III? Is it any good?
***
Send me something if you've got something to say. It can be about anything that's on your mind!
HAILING FREQUENCIES CLOSED
Visit
the "Hailing Frequencies" Archive
Julia Houston
