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.
Wanna make me some money?
Click on one of my Amazon.com links and buy that product, or something else entirely!
Explore the Island:
Art
Gallery Tree
Movie Theatre Lagoon
Reading Cave
TV Log
Hailing Frequencies #376
9.13.07
HELLO
And here's the three hundred and seventy-sixth edition of "Hailing Frequencies."
If you want to be notified when this newsletter is updated, email me to be put on my "notification" list.
September 2007 Desktop Calendar
NEW AT THE SITE
The 4400: The Official Companion, Seasons One and Two, by Terry J. Erdmann
Top Star Trek Planets That Sound Like Porn Names
I've added some links on the site to my personal blog, if you wanna check it out sometime.
DEATH RACE
Ian McShane is starring in Paul W.S. Anderson's remake of Death Race (which is an hysterical and totally disturbing movie that you should see if you haven't) and told EmpireOnline.com that the remake will be even "more violent" than the original: "This is set in the future, it's like NASCAR to the death inside prison. On TV. And I play the guy who runs the race, coaches the racers, from inside prison. It's a lot of fun." The remake also stars Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Joan Allen, and Natalie Martinez. From what little we know of the plot so far, it looks like they're using the plot from Running Man as well, forcing the hero to participate, which is kinda too bad. In the original, David Carradine has his own plans, and he's nobody's bitch. Oh, and the best scene is the one in front of the hospital. AHAHAHAHA!
HARRY POTTER
Warner Bros has announced with some pride that the Harry Potter films are now the top-grossing franchise in movie history, with a combined worldwide box-office gross of more than $4.47 billion. The seventh and final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is planned for a 2010 release.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has a tentative opening date of November 21, 2008.
HIGHLANDER
Check it out! Highlander, The Source, on SciFi Channel -- Thanks,ozzygreybeard!
INDY 4
Thanks to an announcement by Shia LaBeof on MTV Video Music Awards, we know that the next movie is going to be Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The Lucasfilm Ltd. picture is scheduled for global release on Thursday, May 22, 2008. Get in line now.
JERICHO
SCI FI Wire has spoilers and set info about the second season. Good bit:
Steinberg said that because of the abbreviated season, many of the unresolved threads from the finale will be wrapped up swiftly in the season premiere. But the repercussions of those events will be felt for some time to come.
"The practical element of it is going to get resolved pretty quickly," he said. "But the first season is going to bleed story all the way through the second season, especially that finale. It's stuff that they went through way too much, and it was way too terrible for them to get over it in seven episodes. So it's all in there."
MISC...
- Variety reports that NBC has ordered Tapped, from Adam Gibgot, a supposed cross between Heroes and Touched by an Angel. Why are you looking at me like that?
- FL Opening Kickoff 2007: Saints at Colts got 10.2/17, which was an awful lot of people watching while my team totally choked. Why to go, guys.
- There's a new teaser trailer out for Iron Man.
- IGN has two downloadable clips for Dragon Wars, and a few set shots from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
- IGN has more images from Sweeney Todd.
NOT SCI-FI, BUT WHO CARES?
EW has a brief article on the genesis of "Dick in a Box." If you're one of the five people who haven't seen the video, click here.
ONE FOR SORROW
Christopher Barzak talks with SCI FI Wire about his novel One for Sorrow, "a coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old boy whose rural, working-class family is coming apart at the seams." Says Barzak: "When a boy in his class disappears and is later found murdered, he begins to be haunted by his former classmate, with whom he'd been becoming friends."
PULSE
Moviehole.net reports that Jamie Bamber (Apollo on BSG) will star in two straight-to-DVD sequels to Kristen Bell's Pulse: Pulse: Afterlife and Pulse: Invasion. Bamber will play Stephen, a divorced guy whose ex-wife's phantom is going after his recently discovered daughter. No word on how often Bamber will take off his shirt.
STAR TREK
The digitally remastered version of Star Trek TOS returns in syndication this weekend "The Galileo Seven," which is the one where Spock, McCoy and some other guys are stuck on a caveman planet in the Galileo shuttlecraft. The episode has CI of the Galileo in flight and the space storm Murasaki 312.
Retro review of 'Skin of Evil."
Sad news. Actor/writer Denny Martin Flinn, whose credits include co-authoring Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country has died of cancer at age 59.
STARGATE
Only one more week until Stargate Atlantis Season Three comes out on DVD!
RANDOM DIALOG QUIZ
Can you name the TV show? "Oh, the pain, William. The pain."
Highlight to read the answer: Lost in Space
RATINGS
- NBC's rerun of Heroes got a 1.8/3.
- CW's reruns of Smallville on Sunday did better than last week's, with a 1.0/2.
- CW's Thursday reruns got a 1.3/2 for Smallville and a 1.1/2 for Supernatural.
Top Syndicated Shows, week of 8.20-8.26, 2007
Smallville 1.4
Alias 1.3
Star Trek 1.1
Stargate SG-1 1.0
Stargate Atlantis 0.9
Farscape 0.5
The Outer Limits 0.4
ROBOTECH
Transformers' success has inspired another Robot-movie. This time, Robotech, the Harmony Gold USA and Tatsunoko Productions' 1980s animated series, is stomping to theatres, produced by Warner Bros., Supercool Hollywood BigTime Productions, and Tobey Maquire's Maguire Entertainment. There's no word on whether Maguire will also star. Craig Zahler is writing the script.
TRON
The long-delayed, almost-buried sequel to Disney's Tron (1982) is on again. Joseph Kosinski is now set to direct and will script with Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Steven Lisberger, who co-wrote and directed the original Tron, will co-produce. No spoilers on the plot yet, nor any word if we'll see Bruce and Jeff again.
TRANSFORMERS
Transformers transforms into DVD and HD DVD on October 16 in a two-disc special-edition set, as well as on a single disc from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment.
TOP US MOVIES TODAY FROM THE NUMBERS
1. 3:10 to Yuma......................................$16,882,408
2.
Superbad..........................................$104,687,695
3.
Halloween...........................................$45,054,259
4. Shoot 'Em Up.......................................$6,840,000
5. The Bourne Ultimatum........................$211,168,905
6.
Balls of Fury.........................................$24,835,964
7.
Rush Hour 3........................................$129,304,000
8.
The Nanny Diaries................................$21,311,507
9.
Death Sentence......................................$8,347,460
10.
Mr. Bean's Holiday.............................$25,401,165
Weekend Box Office Estimates: September 7-9, 2007
3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate) $14.1 million - opening weekend
Halloween (2007)(MGM/W) $10.0 million - 2 wk total $44.2m
Superbad (Sony) $8.0 million - 4 wk total $103.7m
Balls of Fury (Rogue Pictures) $5.7 million - 2 wk total $24.2m
The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal) $5.5 million - 6 wk total $210.1m
Shoot 'Em Up (New Line) $5.5 million - opening weekend
Rush Hour 3 (New Line) $5.3 million - 5 wk total $122.2m
Mr. Bean's Holiday (Universal) $8.1 million - 2 wk total $21.1m
The Nanny Diaries (MGM/W) $6.4 million - 2 wk total $16.5m
Death Sentence (Fox) $5.2 million - opening weekend
WAR (Lionsgate) $5.1 million - 2 wk total $17.9m
Stardust (Paramount) $3.9 million - 4 wk total $31.9m
Source: Box Office Mojo
TOP BOOKS SCI-FI/FANTASY @ Amazon, 9.13.07
1. Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
2. Eclipse (Twilight, Book 3)
3. New Moon (Twilight, Book 2)
4. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
5. Twilight (Twilight, Book 1)
6. Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-6)
7. His Dark Materials Trilogy
, by Philip Pullman
8. Making Money (Discworld Novels)
9. Spook Country
10. Inferno (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 6)
TOP DVDs SCI-FI/FANTASY @ Amazon, 9.13.07
1. Heroes - Season 1
2. Smallville - The Complete Sixth Season
3. The Secret (Extended Edition)
4. Charmed - The Final Season (Season 8)
5. Supernatural - The Complete Second Season
6. Transformers (Two-Disc Special Edition)
7. Superman - Doomsday (DC Universe Animated Original Movie)
8. Stargate Atlantis - The Complete Third Season
9. Shrek the Third (Widescreen Edition)
10. Lost - The Complete Third Season
INSANE TREK TRIVIA
This Week's Question: What is James Kirk's brother's name?
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: Name all the musical instruments we've seen Data play.
Answer: Violin, oboe, and guitar. (And he whistles)
First (and only) winner
Pianokeyboardorg
For her request, Pianokayboardorg is featured with Spock ears for the caption contest. Also, she's reissuing a keyboard/piano CD (gospel, jazz, blues) to raise funds for Bayou Clinic which was destroyed by Katrina which can be had for $10 (checks made to Bayou Clinic go directly there and are tax deductible) Contact her if you're interested.
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:
Joy: "I don't care what you play, Harmony! Just drown out Benita Bizaare's voice. I think my ears are bleeding." - Renee
Honorable mentions...
"If I put this magic coin in the jukebox, we can play all the B(ee) sides!" - Doug
"Ask the Magic Question Machine what sort of a bug I'm supposed to be in this lame-ass pink dress!" - BTCHONWHLS
"Watch out! That's a really, really big fly swatter!" - ozzygreybeard
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR"
Last week's topic: Okay, say you're casting an old-fashioned sci-fi adventure, a trip to the stars on a small spaceship. If you could cast anyone you wanted, to whom would you assign the main roles:
- Captain
- First mate/younger version of captain with something to prove
- Engineer (usually the comic relief)
- Security Chief (usually the first one to die)
- Biologist/Botonist (usually the captain's love interest)
- Old scientist (usually dies last because There are Some Things Man was not Meant to Know)
***
Captain: Vin Diesel
First mate: Jason Statham
Engineer (usually the comic relief): Katee Sackhoff
Security Chief: Kirk Jones (a.k.a. "Sticky Fingaz")
Biologist/Botonist: Kate Beckinsale
Old scientist: Gary Oldman
***
Captain: Lean-Luc Patrick Stewart
First Mate: Christopher Meloni
Engineer: Gary Senise
Security: Luzy Lui
Biologist: Sigourney Weaver
Old Scientist: Judi Dench
BTCHONWHLS
***
- Captain BRUCE BOXLIGHTNER (B5)
- First mate/younger version of captain with something to prove JENSEN ACKLES (SUPERNATURAL)
- Engineer (usually the comic relief) DAVID TENNANT (DR WHO)
- Security Chief (usually the first one to die) KRISTANNA LOKEN (PAINKILLER JANE)
- Biologist/Botonist (usually the captain's love interest) MELISSA GILBERT (WIFE) OR MIRA FURLAN (B5) (IF NOT AVAIL, ME)
- Old scientist (usually dies last because There are Some Things Man was not Meant to Know) LEONARD NIMOY (STAR TREK)
***
[on another topic...]
Profanity, violence and sex occur once every 3.5 minutes during the family hour, according to a new Parents Television Council (PTC) 2006-2007 study of Family Hour programming (Mondays-Saturdays, 8-9p, Sundays 7-9p). Whoo hoo!!
As a parent of a five year old girl, I have to take exception to the punctuation/comment at the end of the statement above. Julia, you know I love ya, but did you actually read the statement? Do you understand its implications? Do you know how hard it is to find a TV show that strikes a balance between being so infantile that an adult can’t sit through it and being so vulgar that I can’t let my daughter watch it?!?
If I have to watch DISNEY FREAKIN’ CHANNEL any more (except for Kim Possible) I’m going to go insane!! I’ve found that we can share shows like Doctor Who and Star Trek with her. However, for the most part, if I want to watch something, I have to send her to her room or wear headphones (which drives her nuts because she wants to spend some TV time with her dad).
So my point is that “family hour” should NOT have overt profanity, violence and sex. That’s why it’s “family hour.” Let’s keep the profanity, violence and sex away from the kids, shall we? It’s only an hour, for cryin’ out loud! Why do we have to corrupt that, too?
There. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
***
Next week's topic: I've been thinking a lot about the importance of the score in movies and TV. What's your favorite movie or TV score, and why?
***
Send me something if you've got something to say. It can be about anything that's on your mind!
HAILING FREQUENCIES CLOSED
