When it rains, it pours: Not only is Keith Carradine returning to Dexter this season as Deb’s Fed ex, he’s just sealed a deal to appear in two episodes of Dollhouse, sources confirm to me exclusively.
In Joss Whedon’s Fox series (returning September 25), the Nashville Oscar winner will play a powerful businessman by the name of Matthew Harding.
And yes, as of now, that’s all I — and, by extension, you — know.
Supernatural:
If the promo images are any indication, we're in for a load of tussling in the Supernatural season premiere, "Sympathy for the Devil:"
The season's sixth episode will center on the show's version of the Tooth Fairy, whom the casting notice suggests may exist as the result of a young boy's powers:
Jesse: An all-American boy age 11 who is wise beyond his years. He was adopted as an infant and remains perplexed by his unusual powers. He possesses a childlike innocence-he believes in the Tooth Fairy (Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!)! He suddenly finds himself faced with a very adult decision. Recurring role.
[EW]
Source: http://io9.com/5340488/jamie-bamber-suits-up-for-dollhouse-and-thor-may-have-its-first-goddess
Episode 5.04: The Douchebag of Oz
Airdate: October 1, 2009
08/16 - Ever wonder what Sam would be like if he was totally evil? You'll find out in episode 4. Source: The Ausiello FilesSupernatural:
Here's a new promo for season five, featuring a few glimpses of the season opener, "Sympathy For The Devil"
Syfy's new show may be about agents who chase down technological and mystical artifacts, but it's the charming characters and Buffy-influenced dialogue that take center stage. If you haven't seen Warehouse 13, it may be time to take a gander.
Most of Warehouse 13's charm comes from two sources: the chemistry between the characters, and the more surprising and goofy artifacts located inside the Warehouse itself. Artifact-hunting agents Peter Lattimer and Myka Bering aren't quite Mulder and Scully or Booth and Bones, but the actors' ability to play off one another — and the dialogue by Buffy and Battlestar Galactica writer Jane Espenson — result in the sort of amiable sniping that's always fun to watch. And Saul Rubinek is a brain-addled force of nature as Artie Nielsen, a senior agent at the Warehouse who seems to have forgotten how to communicate with normal human beings, but his role has been much improved by the addition of Allison Scagliotti to the cast as Claudia, a young tinkering genius who has become both Artie's assistant and his verbal sparring partner.
The previous episodes have also introduced us to some of the gadgets and mystical thingamajiggers that populate the Warehouse, including a kettle that grants wishes (impossible wishes become ferrets; no one knows why), Pandora's Box (empty), and a magic mirror that lets you interact (and play ping pong) with your reflection. Yes, they tend a bit to the goofy side, but they give the series a sense that it doesn't take itself and is interested in having a bit of fun with its ideas.
However, this week's episode, "Burnout" suffers for pulling back on that sense of humor and focusing far too much on the mystery of the week. Warehouse's primary plots, in which Peter and Myka travel to a town being terrorized by an artifact, identify said artifact, and take it back to the Warehouse for safekeeping, has been the weakest part of the show, and "Burnout" is no exception. Peter and Myka discover a device called the Spine of Saracen, a Turkish machine that pulls electricity out of the wearer's body and causes them to electrocute anyone they touch until their body runs out of energy and they eventually die. And it's too predictable when the Spine becomes attached to Peter and Myka, Artie, and Claudia must determine a way to remove it without killing him.
"Burnout" is also a tad darker than previous episodes, pulling way back on the humor that's made the other episodes fun to watch despite their flaws. A running gag in previous episodes has been that Artie often forces Peter and Myka to ask victims of the artifacts a ludicrous series of diagnostic questions ("Do you smell fudge when no fudge is around?" "Do you have the sense that today is yesterday?"), a gag that could get old, but could also be easily built upon. But we get none of that here, nor are we treated to more of the Warehouse's fun and funky artifacts.
But even where "Burnout" falls flat, I have high hopes for this rough-around-the-edges show, provided it can move a bit beyond its artifact of the week format. I just hope that next week's episode brings us back to the land of shiny Warehouse toys and screwball dialogue.
Source: http://io9.com/5336212/shocking-spines-and-screwball-dialogue-burn-through-warehouse-13
We've already told you that Paris Hilton will be guesting on Supernatural this season, but now that we've found out who she'll be playing, we're wondering: Should we cut her some slack after all?
Yes, yes, we get the Hilton hate; she's rich, she's superficial, she looked particularly scary in night vision. But we can't shake the feeling that there's something more to everyone's most favorite hated socialite than we give her credit for. This is, after all, the woman who starred as a surgery-addict in Repo The Genetic Opera - not the most obvious, or glamorous, role you'd imagine for her - as well as agreeing to star in a self-depreciating-but-hilarious McCain-baiting Funny or Die video during last year's election madness. Her Supernatural guest spot continues the trend, according to showrunner Eric Kripke:
If anyone ever wanted to see a bloodthirsty Paris attack and kill somebody, this is your chance[. I'm] quite frankly shocked that Paris agreed to do it. We wrote the role just for her... We're very excited that she said yes. She plays the role of a demonic creature that takes the form of... Paris Hilton. If you know our style, you know we go pretty funny and irreverent with this stuff, so—expect that. The fact that she wanted to do the episode speaks volumes about her sense of humor. She's flat-out awesome for playing along. You'll see.
Is there a hidden, self-aware side to Hilton that allows her to play with her own public identity like this, or is she just so desperate for the spotlight that she'll go along with anything as long as it gets her name out there? We're leaning towards the former, but we'll admit it: we're biased towards anyone who did a cameo on Veronica Mars.
'Supernatural' snags Paris Hilton to play 'demonic creature' [Chicago Tribune]
Source: http://io9.com/5333021/is-supernatural-reason-enough-to-re+assess-paris-hilton
Eric Kripke, the creator and producer of "Supernatural," rapidly back-pedaled on an earlier edict that if "Supernatural" were to continue into a sixth season it would be without him during last month's 
"I never dreamt the show would go beyond five years," Kripke told the crowd. "I only had a five-year plan and now here I am at the fifth season. I was only adamant about saying I would do five seasons because I never thought we'd get this far."
If "Supernatural" does get picked up by The
"We're not going to drag it out," Kripke said. "We're not going to try to stretch it to try to accommodate another season, which would dilute and weaken it. We're going to tell the story with a bang."
After the most season finale where Sam inadvertently released Lucifer by killing Lilith and breaking the last seal, the Winchester boys now have to deal with the consequences of unleashing hell on Earth when "Supernatural" returns this fall on The CW.
The characters, played by Jensen
"It's the apocalypse," Kripke said. "We're not pulling our punches. It's the full on, end of days, out of the Book of Revelation apocalypse."
This includes the introduction of the Four
But there will be a new addition to the "Supernatural" cast this season: God. Although he's been absent in the past, now that Lucifer has been introduced, the good guys have to be a part of the series, too, Kripke said.
"We are going to meet God this year," he said. "Not anytime soon, but God is definitely going to be a character."
And a lot will happen to the brothers, Sam and Dean.
"We spent so much time tearing the brothers apart, now we feel we owe it to the audience to bring them back together," Kripke said. "It's going to be slow. It's going to be painful. We've torn down their relationship and now we're going to rebuilt it."
In facing the consequences of what they have done, Producer Ben Edlund explained that there will be an episode where Dean will have the opportunity to see what the world would be like five years after the apocalypse. Edlund said he was intrigued by the question of whether the future Dean sees will be fixed, or if it will be a fture that will be in flux and thus can be manipulated.
Producer Sera Gamble said that next season will be much lighter than last year.
"The apocalypse has not turned out to be as dark as I thought it would be," she said. "I am finding this apocalypse surprisingly amusing. We are having so much fun with it."
During all this, the fallen angel Castiel will experiment with what it means to be human, portrayer Misha Collins said. Castiel will remain 90 percent angel, but with a bit of human emotions mixed. However, Collins said he is not sure whether that angel-human mix will shift as the season goes on, and suspects it might.
For the beginning of Season 5, Castiel -- having been blown to bits -- will somehow come back, but this time with a bull's eye on his back. The angel will then be rescued from an awful fate that will put him on the run ... and hunted.
This forces Castiel to team up with the Winchester Brothers in order to survive, a process that will help him learn how to fit in and be human.
"Supernatural" remains at Thursdays this fall on The CW, returning for its fifth season Sept. 10.
Despite rumors to the contrary, it looks like Supernatural's next season may not be its last, at least according to CW president Dawn Ostroff, who's also hoping that Smallville's going to stick around, as well.
Ostroff was speaking during a presentation for the CW at the Television Critics Association's Press Tour, and addressed rumors that both Smallville and Supernatural were headed into their final years. About Smallville, Ostroff said,
I hope it's not the last season... I think the producers have come up with some really good storylines this season. I think the show has a lot of life left in it. We have high hopes for it staying on the air for a while.
Supernatural, she added, was another series that she hoped would remain "for a while."
While Smallville showrunners Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders revealed to us at San Diego Comic-Con that they were hopeful for another season beyond the upcoming ninth - and had, in fact, signed up Callum Blue's Zod for two years as part of a long-term arc - Supernatural's fate has been more in question; Creator Eric Kripke has spoken in the past about only wanting to make five seasons of the show -
Despite what the network and studio may or may not want, I don't have more than five seasons of story... I certainly would be willing to make sure there are enough villains and heroes around to continue a new story line, and I would be around to answer a few questions - that's it. I'm outta here. There's no way I'm doing season 6.
- but seems to have changed his mind, telling the audience of the SDCC Supernatural panel that he's open to a season 6 after all. Perhaps divine intervention has interceded... or maybe the CW just made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Although, knowing Kripke, that offer may have involved his eternal soul.
Source: http://io9.com/5329974/smallville-and-supernatural-could-live-longer-than-you-thought
One of the announcements that thrilled Farscape fans most during last week's San Diego Comic-Con was the news that Boom! Studios are turning their Farscape comics into an ongoing monthly series. We spoke to editor Ian Brill about the news.
So, what's the news about Farscape from Boom! Studios?
The big news at this con is that the Farscape is becoming an ongoing series, plotted by Rockne S. O'Bannon, Farscape creator, and scripted by Keith R.A. DeCandido. We've had the the first four issue mini-series, which was a huge success - and when I say "huge success," I mean, it really changed Boom! in a big way. It was the first part of this huge growth that Boom! has seen, and now, along with the Muppet Show books, the Incredibles books, Eureka, all these things have garnered us new attention. Farscape was the first one of that, the first issue came out in December 2008. So we've had a four issue mini-series and then another one, Strange Attractors, which immediately followed up, and saw very little drop in readership. It was pretty much even. We saw fans really stick with this book, which we were happy to see.
Then we just started up Gone and Back, the first issue of the third mini-series, and with the numbers we saw, and the fan response we saw, we thought, Okay. This is doing well enough to support an ongoing series. It'll be called Farscape, it'll be out every month, and fans and retailers can depend on a quality book.
The fan reaction has been really positive?
Yeah, definitely. We had the Farscape comics panel, and Keith made a great point, which was that there's not a lot of spin-off material [from the series]. There were a few novels; Keith wrote one, "House of Cards," there was a video game, Wildstorm put out two comics, and that was about it until the show was cancelled. Now, the Farscape comics being the only ongoing presence of the story, of the characters. We're lucky enough to have it be canonical, have the creator, I mean, Rockne is totally great for these books, he's really doing amazing things continuing the story, saying "This is the show. This can be seen, if you wish, as the fifth season of the show." You couldn't do that with Star Trek, because Next generation was going, then you had the novels... Obviously, with the logistics of making Next Generation, you couldn't do that with all the novels and making it work with all the material, but we're lucky. We're in a place where we can.
How involved is Rockne?
It's a pretty cool process. Rockne sends me a PDF of a plot for four issues, and getting those PDFs is a huge highlight, because he's been in the business a long time, he's smart as a whip, a great storyteller, and each of those plots is a great little short story, with a great beginning, a middle full of adventures, and when it comes to the end, I'm sitting here reading the PDF on my laptop and going, 'This is like watching an awesome movie,' except in this case it's going to be a comic that I get to work on!
So we send that to Henson, and we're very blessed in that our liason at Henson is not a guy who just rubberstamps things, he's willing to get into discussions with Rockne and Keith, and there we get the plot approve, Keith works on the script and then Rockne and Keith go on and on about the script, they work on it and then I get it, and then Rockne, Keith and I work on it, and then Rockne, Keith, the licensor and I work on it, and the process moves much more quickly than it should with all these people working on it. We're very lucky that way.
So will the structure change in the ongoing series? Will there be longer subplots, or will you keep to something you can easily put into trade paperback?
You'll probably still see four-issue plots, because we found out that those are kind of like meaty episodes of the TV show. It's a little bit more than you'd get in a forty-five minute TV show, but it works out roughly that way. Rockne has always put in all these subplots - For example, the first story of the ongoing is called "Tangled Roots," and it answers a lot of questions that were posed since the first issue of the first Farscape mini-series. So it's definitely, there's that thrill of the monthly book, and a company the size of Boom! doesn't get to do that that much, there aren't a lot of small companies that get to do long, ongoing series or long projects that have subplots, multiple characters, that kind of stuff. The kind of thing that I loved as a kid, reading X-Men.
Of course, there's talk about the webisodes. At the Farscape 10th Anniversary Panel, Rockne and Brian Henson gave a lot of discussion to the upcoming webisodes that they're hoping to make happen, and those would obviously continue. So, you know, it's one throughline you can follow. It's the first four seasons, it's the Peacekeeper Wars, it's the Farscape comics. It's one great propulsion of story.
Do you guys get say in the webisodes because Rockne's on board?
The webisodes are Rockne and Henson, and because Rockne is working on both, the comics and webisodes share story threads. That's all I can reveal at this point.
Farscape #1 launches in November from Boom! Studios.
Source: http://io9.com/5322508/farscapes-editor-talks-monthly-thrills-and-webisode-teases
Last season, midwestern monster-slayer show Supernatural left the heroic Winchester brothers in the middle of Armageddon. At Comic-Con, the writers and cast gave us a taste of the road ahead next season. Spoilers ahead!
Season 5 is an all-out apocalypse, according to producer Sera Gamble and showrunner Eric Kripke. "We call it the Walmart apocalypse because of our budget," Kripke joked. A lot of the epic action takes place offscreen, but there will be plenty of creative, unexpected twists on familiar Biblical stories. Gamble said it's their chance to "bring in all the A-list monsters," including Lucifer, "who will be very nice and likable." The writing team has played a lot with the concept of Lucifer, borrowing liberally from the fairly sympathetic depiction of Satan in Paradise Lost. "At one point he says he doesn't fly because he doesn't have to," Gamble said. Lucifer will be played by Lost's Mark Pellegrino.
All the trappings of the apocalypse will be turned on their heads, too. Kripke said the four horsemen of the apocalypse will be introduced in different episodes throughout the season – Gamble is currently working on the first episode featuring one, called War. "He's got great monologues," Kripke said. "At one point he says, 'I was in Germany. And then I went back to Germany. And then I was in Darfur. And then I got paged about coming here.' Also, our horsemen won't ride horses – they have muscle cars."
Producer Ben Edlund summed up season 5 in his usual offbeat way: "We're looking at the most classic horror story of them all - the Bible." He said that they do have an ending for the series planned, and "it will be bittersweet." Will the end of season 5 be the end of the show? Showrunner Kripke said that he's open to doing a season 6, but that they will definitely wrap up the apocalypse arc at the end of season 5. "We'll end with a bang, which isn't to say another story can't begin," he added. Basically he's flattered as hell that anybody would want to renew the show for a 6th season, and remains open to the idea. But there are no concrete plans yet.
We saw a 5-minute clip from season opener "Sympathy for the Devil," and the crowd at Comic-Con simply went wild. It opened with a jokey introduction from the Ghostfacers, and then segued to a scene where the Winchester brothers meet fanfic prophet Chuck again. First of all, brothers Sam and Dean were clearly working together, which is a good sign. But - uh oh - Chuck is picking angel Castiel's teeth out of his hair. The archangels "blew him up like a water balloon full of Chinese soup," he tells the brothers mournfully.
The archangels show up at that point, and once again try to recruit Dean to help them stop Lucifer, whom they "need to strike hard and fast." There is a great scene of angry quippery between Dean and the archangels, in which Dean calls them "asshats" and dicks. And then he pulls a pocket door out of the wall, which has an angel-banishing sign on it, sending the dicks back to heaven.
Gamble and Kripke both called season 5 "ironically the most hopeful season of the show," after "season 4's almost suicidal depression." The arc of the season will bring the brothers back together, after they were torn apart last year. They also said it's going to be one of the most fun seasons of the show.
Castiel will return to Earth as a human, and has to reacquaint himself with human ways. "He's lost and afraid, on the run and shut out of heaven," Kripke said. "But in episode 3, Dean takes him to a whorehouse." He also joins the brothers on some of their monster-of-the-week missions, and becomes an awkward third wheel. Bobby is going to undergo a dramatic transformation in the first couple of episodes, and it's something so surprising that the cast and writers wouldn't tell us anything about it. Jim Beaver, who plays Bobby, told reporters that when he read the scripts he was "incredibly shocked."
Edlund is writing a time-travel episode (episode 4), where the brothers see the world 5 years into the apocalypse. "Sarah Palin is president," Kripke said. Edlund added that the episode asks whether this dark future is fated, or if fate can be changed. He also told a group of journalists that one of the things he loves about Supernatural is that it has the balls to ask where God is. "Just like Star Trek 6, which is the best movie ever!" he enthused weirdly. (I think he meant Star Trek 5.)
Kripke explained what exactly the archangels meant last year when they said "God has left the building." Apparently God has disappeared and nobody knows where God is. (Gamble warned us that we shouldn't necessarily assume God is male.) So the archangels started Armageddon all by themselves. We will meet God later in the season, however.
Other little goodies to look out for: Gamble says old hunters like Rufus are coming out of retirement. We'll see Ellen again, who reluctantly becomes a hunter. We'll also see Sam's girlfriend Jessica again. And demon Meg will be back too, in a new meatsuit. Kripke also promised more meta episodes ala "The Monster At The End of This Book."
Fans in the audience at the Supernatural panel asked great questions (maybe I'm biased, but these fans seemed like a really smart bunch). One asked whether cast and writers have gotten any blowback from church groups for their unusual depiction of angels. Apparently very little, and in fact Kripke said he's heard anecdotally that priests watch the series because it's one of the only shows out there that actually tries to grapple with telling the story of Revelations, and ask about the true meaning of existence. Gamble added that the Supernatural team is mostly agnostic on the question of religion, and that they were raised in a variety of religious faiths (Gamble herself is Jewish, and Misha Collins is a Buddhist). They aren't trying to make a religious point, she emphasized. "We are just trying to make life really hard [for the Winchester brothers]."
Kripke joked that he is planning to turn Supernatural into a religion. "I'm gonna L. Ron Hubbard this shit!" he quipped with a laugh. Misha Collins, who plays Castiel, added, "Way better money than syndication." Just watching the team interacting at their panel, you could see exactly where the goofy humor of the show comes from.
I had a chance to grill Kripke about something I'd been wondering for a while: Why did he choose to set the show in the midwest, which isn't exactly your typical horror/gothic location? He said:
I'm from Ohio and the midwest. I find it deeply beautiful and deeply eerie. There's paint peeling on farmhouses in the distance, and thick woods. It's beautiful and ominous in a way that felt uniquely American. Often people think of the coasts, of creaky castles or Japanese horror. But I wanted to represent for the midwest.
And I asked Collins whether he thinks his character is a good guy. He answered with an emphatic "yes," and then elaborated:
I have a tendency to see all the characters I play as good guys. I played a serial killer once and while I was playing him I thought his actions were justified. It doesn't seem to me that Cas' actions are unjustified. And I think he's on the right side, and he's trying to save the world. So far I think he's a good guy.
As good as a serial killer? Hmmm . . .
I've got to say, as a fan and a critic, it sounds like next season will be as good as the last one. And that's great news. Catch up on thow show before it drops Sept. 10 by picking up the DVDs for season 4 on Sept. 1.
New anniversary DVD set for 'Farscape': Comic-Con has become a perfect launching pad for the former SciFi
The new line, set to debut in November, will include, among other things, the first-ever complete series megaset featuring four seasons of the show.
Some of the key people involved with "Farscape," including stars Ben Browder and Claudia Black, along with executive producer Brian Henson and creator Rockne O'Bannon, will be on hand at Comic-Con this year to talk about the amazing vitality of "Farscape," which ran on the channel now known as Syfy, between 1999 and 2003. The new DVD set is a collaboration between A&E Home Entertainment and the Jim Henson
The panel featuring the "Farscape" greats is scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. in Room 6BCF at the San Diego Convention Center. -- [Airlock Alpha]
And a 'Farscape' book-signing, too: Rockne S. O'Bannon is going to be a busy guy at Comic-Con this year. he will sign collector's "Scorpius Editions" of the "Farscape Vol. 1" hardcover at the Boom! Studios Booth at Comic-Con on Friday at 2 p.m. and Saturday at 3:45 p.m.
Comics writer Keith R.A. DeCandido will join O'Bannon to help sign a limited 500 copies of the book priced at $50.
Both DeCandido and O'Bannon will be a part of the Boom! Studios "Farscape" comics panel July 25 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 10 along with comics editor Ian Brill.
The "Farscape" comic series first four issues debuted last December and has been subject to sellouts and reprints. It has since been followed by "Farscape: Strange Detractors," "Farscape: D'Argo's Lament" and the upcoming "Farscape: D'Argo's Trial."
Speaking of which ... what ever happened to the Webisodes that SciFi Channel/Syfy promised us a few years back? -- [Airlock Alpha]
Both Farscape and Battlestar Galactica are narratives about homelessness, writes a woman who survived life on the streets, in the newest issue of Homeless Tales. But she finds Farscape both grittier and more inspirational.
Battlestar Galactica, writes MetisRebel, is about a group of people who've lost their homes and are cut off from everything:
Battlestar Galactica is about a group of humans who, due to their arrogance of playing God with artificial intelligence technology, find themselves on the wrong side of a genocide rained upon them by their own robotic creations, the Cylons. Humanity's planets are bombed out of existence.
Meanwhile, Farscape is about one particular human who loses his home, and it resonates a great deal with the real experiences of homeless people:
a scientist/astronaut who is accidentally shot through a wormhole alone in his experimental pod then finds himself, through no fault of his own, in another galaxy during a shoot out between escaping prisoners and their lawful captors.
"Homeless" is truly an apt description. John Crichton of Farscape is both physically and metaphorically, lost – light years from all he knows and the civilizations he encounters are far beyond his technological comprehension. It's a violent, dangerous universe. He has no idea where he is, how to get home, or how to improve his situation. He is confounded by who is allied with whom, who is reliable–or not, and the political/social/cultural realities of his new situation.
Early on, Crichton's so out of his depth, he doesn't even know how to open a door. MetisRebel can identify with his feelings of insecurity and tentativeness:
He's just a nice guy, who accidentally bounced through a wormhole into the wrong place, at the wrong time. Others alternately bully and con the new guy. Not much different than popping into the local homeless drop in, the first time... Crichton, who starts out as reasonable, compassionate and sensible is then relentlessly driven by the violence committed against him and the violence he must in turn, commit to survive, over the line of sanity... Crichton just wants what every ‘homeless' person wants. He wants to go home.
But eventually Crichton becomes so adept at surviving in his new circumstances, he can't even relate to Earth when he finally does get home. He's an inspirational figure because he does learn to master his bewildering situation.
In the end, MetisRebel finds Farscape a more helpful narrative than BSG, because Crichton and his friends band together to improve their situation. BSG's "hand of God," meanwhile, feels too much like waiting for governments or large corporations to do something to improve your circumstance, when you're out on the streets.
Source: http://io9.com/5318870/farscape-and-battlestar-galactica-speak-to-the-experiences-of-homelessness
The BBC issued its press packet for Torchwood's third season, the five-part "Children of Earth," and the Doctor Who spin-off is bigger, crazier and more political than ever. It's easy to see why Russell T. Davies is sticking around. Spoilers!
The packet includes a much more detailed plot summary for "Children Of Earth" than we've seen before.
An ordinary day becomes a world of terror, as every single child in the world stops. A message is sent to all the governments of Earth: "We are coming".
But as a trap closes around Captain Jack, sins of the past are returning, as long-forgotten events from 1965 threaten to reveal an awful truth.
Torchwood are forced underground, as the government takes swift and brutal action. With members of the team being hunted down, Britain risks becoming a rogue state, with the mysterious and powerful 456 drawing ever closer.
Captain Jack (John Barrowman), Gwen (Eve Myles) and Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd) are helpless, as events escalate until humankind faces the end of civilisation itself.
Apart from the part about creepy children, it all sounds fantastic. And I think raising the stakes dramatically for Captain Jack and the crew would be a huge plus. As long as Torchwood was just a show about the team capturing escaped monsters, or dealing with Captain Jack's brother and Captain Jack's ex-boyfriend, it always felt a bit trivial — like if Captain Jack just up and left, most of the problems he was fighting against would disappear as well. But now, at last, there's a real threat to the Earth. Contrast that with Davies' Doctor Who, which hasn't really got anyplace else to go after his constant upping of the ante.
Oh, and the political part? Well, there's the idea of Britain becoming a "rogue state" as it crumbles under the weight of whatever those secrets from 1965 are. But there's also this, from Davies:
But underneath the sci-fi and the aliens there's something very relevant to the world, I hope, the way we sit in the West and watch footage of atrocities in different countries and imagine it's all so far away, and so impossible here – which is a nice, comfy lie we tell ourselves. That was the heart of it.
I wanted to tell a story in which civilisation snaps, in which we turn on ourselves, in which nothing is safe. Plenty of people live like that on this planet. In this story, it's Britain's turn!
Davies also talks up the episode's guest stars, including Cush Jumbo as Lois, the innocent secretary who discovers government secrets on her computer, and Peter Capaldi as Frobisher, who's "heartbreaking" at the end. And Susan Brown is a "slow burner" as Bridget Spears. Nicholas Farrell is the most clever and manipulative British prime minister you could imagine. (And I wonder if they'll refer to what happened to the last PM, and the fact that Jack was there.) And then Lucy Cohu plays Alice... Captain Jack's daughter.
Davies also promises that the huge threat of the aliens, the 456, breaks down Torchwood and forces them to rebuild, so we see a new side of them and witness their humanity. And in episode three, we actually get to watch the British government engaging in diplomatic relations with an alien race, and it's just the way you'd imagine.
Most importantly, though, Davies hints that the relationship between Captain Jack and his very private secretary, Ianto, has "developed."
Torchwood's "Children Of Earth" airs July 20 through July 24 on both BBC One in the U.K. and BBC America in the U.S.
Source: http://io9.com/5292111/why-russell-t-davies-is-leaving-doctor-who-but-sticking-with-torchwood
Forget the shopping malls. SciFi Channel is taking a very non-traditional approach to promoting its upcoming new series "Warehouse 13," and is doing it by attracting people who shop at flea markets.
Yep, we said flea markets.
Brown tags will start showing up at various flea markets around New York City and Los Angeles this weekend on different items asking "does this object have hidden powers?" To find out, the curious shopper will have to hop on the Internet and visit the official Web site for "Warehouse 13," its new series that will launch July 7, the same day SciFi Channel becomes Syfy.
"Warehouse 13" stars Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly who play Secret Service agents who, after saving the life of the President, are summoned to South Dakota to help find supernatural objects that need to be stored in a giant warehouse.
It's because South Dakota is known as "America's Attic" that marketers came up with the idea of using flea markets to tag items, according to Multichannel News.
The tags will first appear Sunday at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, Calif., then move to the Fort Greene Flea Market and the Brooklyn Flea Market in New York June 27 and July 5.
Once found, the tag explorers simply visit Scifi.com/Warehouse13 where they will find Saul Rubinek as Artie on a Dick Tracy-like communicator called a Farnsworth.
For those not trolling flea markets in California and New York, "Warehouse 13" is tagging items electronically as well through sites such as eBay and Oodle.
The "Warehouse 13" pilot was written by "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Battlestar Galactica" writer Jane Espenson along with Brent Mote.
Jack Kenny, from "Book of Daniel," is the series showrunner.
Special report by Morag Cuddeford-Jones
FANS of the hit US TV show Supernatural can breathe a sigh of relief after stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles sensationally revealed that they would be returning for a sixth season.
Speculation had been rife that the show's creator, Erik Kripke, was going to stick to his original idea of creating a five-year-only story for the hugely successful ghost-hunting show.
As they hunt their way across America with only a classic car and some serious weaponry for company, this story of two monster-chasing brothers has seen snowballing popularity.
But fans had feared that, with the finale of season four approaching on ITV2, they only had one more series to enjoy before its conclusion in spring 2010.
But, in Birmingham at the weekend for the show's European convention, Asylum 3, I spoke to both Jared and Jensen, who take joint leads in the show as demon-slaying brothers Sam and Dean Winchester. They confirmed that they had signed on the dotted line for season six.
I asked Jensen if he'd made plans for any movies after he wrapped filming on series five. To begin with, he was playing his cards close to his chest: "We find out around January time if the show is going to be picked up again for another season."
But then he let it slip. I asked him if he'd want to go back for a sixth season and he answered: "I have to. I have a six-year contract." Well, that settles that, then.
When Jared was asked what he planned to be doing after Supernatural Five, he simply answered: "Supernatural Six. My best guess is that Supernatural will go beyond season five."
Jared also credited the fans, both in the states and the UK, for getting it this far: "Thanks to all you guys. It's because you've been getting the word out and we really appreciate it."
Jensen added: "Kripke does only have a five-year contract for Supernatural and the studio doesn't have to carry it on for six seasons."
But it seems that the actors, fans and studio hotshots are all keen to see the show go on. Jared told me: "Season four has had the best viewing figures we've ever seen and it just seems to be on an upward curve so the studio's really keen to see more."
Fans at Asylum 3 in Birmingham's Hilton Metropole greeted the news with whoops of joy and a deafening round of applause.
(article continues below image).
However, Jared did issue a warning. Ironically, having just starred in a season four episode entitled Jump the Shark - a term used in the TV industry for the point when a show becomes too unbelievable to be watchable - Jared told the audience that if he felt the season six storyline was going to jump the shark for real, he wouldn't go on.
He said: "I was a huge fan of Lost - I'd never seen a drama series that I loved so much. But as I continued to watch it, it started to get complicated for the sake of being complicated. It could have been so complete, it could have just answered the questions that it asked as opposed to saying 'let's blow some stuff up and we'll figure it out later'. I don't want that to happen. If there's still a story to tell and still something for me to bring to the show as Sam Winchester, then absolutely."
The growing chasm between the otherwise tight-knit brothers has had fans biting their nails to the quick as the series progresses and it's not over yet.
The final two episodes will stretch our Winchester boys to the very limit although there's light at the end of the tunnel. Jensen revealed that the split in the brothers' relationship may be set to heal somewhat in season five after some sensational revelations in the upcoming season four finale, due to be shown in the UK on June 14.
And for those who want to see an end to 'demon Sam', Jared has some news: "I like the dark side! Demons are more fun to play."
He added that he didn't think it was possible for Sam to go on being the 'good' brother forever. "Sam has grown, he's changed. He'll be redeemed I'm sure, if something goes wrong, but I love the direction it's going in, I like the dynamic of brother versus brother."
So as the UK gears up to say goodbye to the Winchester boys for the long summer holiday, fans can relax, knowing this September won't be their favourite show's last run.
And seeing as we're in a revealing frame of mind, after John, Sam and Dean all dying at the end of seasons one, two and three, what can we expect from the season four finale?
Source: http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/2009/06/supernatural-stars-sensational.html
What does Dollhouse's second season have to do with Firefly? According to TV By The Numbers, more than you may expect. And, if you follow their logic, it may even mean that we could see new Firefly on our screens.
Saying that the continued success of Firefly on DVD is likely one reason behind Fox's surprise renewal of Dollhouse, the site's Nick C writes,
Does this mean it's likely? Not really, unless Joss Whedon or somebody else at Mutant Enemy suddenly decides that it's a good idea - and, to be honest, I'd be surprised that this avenue hasn't been explored before by those who wanted the series to continue in the first place. But, then again, I don't have sources at Fox, so there's every possibility that they are ready for some more flights of the Serenity... and if they could work out schedules, a million browncoats might finally be willing to forgive and forgetI think from my talks with the people running FOX that they would bring [Firefly] back under the right circumstances. However, you must understand that right now Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Morena Baccarin, and Alan Tudyk (plus he was killed in SERENITY) all have gigs for the foreseeable future. However don't underestimate the power of a movie. FOX could likely be easily talked into a Movie or two for next season. They could air after an NFL game or playoff game. The movies would easily sell on DVD.
The question now falls into rights, but the guys at FOX wouldn't be alone. If Universal is now in possession of future rights to projects, NBC or USA wouldn't mind getting in on the cash opportunity either. A couple movies shot and made for TV and then released on DVD would be profitable for anyone involved. At the same time the cast would still be able to keep doing their normal gigs. Just shoot the movie around their schedules.
We reported the rumor on Thursday, and now it's been confirmed by producer Tony Scott: Carl Rinsch will be directing a prequel to Alien, to start filming at the end of the year. [Collider]
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Star Trek isn't just the most successful movie of 2009 to date (although it achieved that particular milestone at the end of last week), it's also already one of the 100 highest domestic box office grosses of all time. Boldly going, indeed.
The first film to pass the $200 million mark this year, the Trek revamp has already managed to crack the top 100 earners in the US box office (non-inflation adjusted), meaning that it's made more money than movies like Toy Story, Twilight and Superman Returns. Impressive for a movie that's not even been released for a month yet, but it's worth noting that it's still coming in below such cinematic greats as Alvin And The Chipmunks and Mrs. Doubtfire in the current chart. By the end of this summer, though, who knows? If nothing else, it's almost guaranteed to beat Batman Begins, earning it a place as the most successful cinematic reboot to date - and, presumably, the one to learn from in years to come.
Source: http://io9.com/5273239/star-trek-cruises-into-100-top-grossing
Supernatural is a horror series that goes a lot deeper than your average monster-chaser story. This past season, heroes Sam and Dean were caught in a dirty war between some nasty demons and even nastier angels. We asked show scribe Sera Gamble about the show's unconventional take on religion.
Last week season 4 of the show ended with Lucifer rising from Hell, aided in part by a group of double-crossing, unethical angels who say they want to do a "planetary enema." That's right - the angels wanted Lucifer to rise because they are so bloodthirsty they're looking for any excuse to wage a war. So they stopped protecting the world from demons and lied to our monster-hunting brothers Sam and Dean about their intentions.
Over the past four seasons, the show has evolved from the story of two boys stalking the demon who killed their mother, to a genuinely smart and funny exploration of metaphysics. I don't mean to say the show has gotten boring - far from it. Older, snarkier brother Dean's way of talking about the ambivalence of angels is to tell his winged friend Castiel that he's "being a dick." And he expresses his rage over the angel's unthinking obedience to a God they never meet by calling them "Stepford bitches in paradise."
Think of it as a heavy metal version of Judeo-Christian paradoxes that are as old as the Bible itself. How can there be freedom in heaven when the definition of paradise is obedience to God? How can humans hope to change their own destinies if they are merely playthings of demonic and angelic forces stronger than they are? What happens to human life when angels declare that it's time for Heaven on Earth? Will there be hamburgers and beer in Heaven? (Actually that last question has been answered with a definitive yes.)
With its dim view of angels, and hints that there may actually be no God at all, is Supernatural a show for atheists? We talked about this question with Supernatural writer and producer Sera Gamble, who has been with the show since the beginning and wrote recent episodes like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (where the brothers meet rebel angel Anna) and "When the Levee Breaks" (where Sam tries to detox from demon blood).
Gamble said the show tries to avoid sticking to one particular mythos:
I suppose the apocalypse storyline is rather Judeo-Christian, but we have been telling monster stories from all over the world for the last four seasons. We're clear that we're not a religious show, and we're not trying to tell religious stories per se. We're just cherry-picking the good bits of one of the most terrifying stories of all time.
I asked her whether the choice to make the angels into dicks was in the tradition of atheist-leaning novels like Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. In that series, the angels are just superbeings jockeying for power in what seems to be a godless universe. She replied:
When you think about it, scary and suspect was really the only viable way to characterize angels on a show like ours. Whatever we do, it has to be scary, and it has to make life harder for Sam and Dean. The only people they can really rely on is each other, or the show just isn't the show.We've been careful to leave room for agnosticism when we talk about God. There's no direct line to answers about His existence— at least not in the first four seasons. And in my mind, there's been lots of room for atheists to stay on board. First of all, no one's trying to convince anyone of anything; we're just here to entertain you. Second— even some of the angels doubt God's around, so join the club.
I think at the end of the day, we're trying to tell a story about humanism. We come out suspicious of organized anything. We're for individuals with balls and a strong moral center telling bureaucrats from heaven and hell to fuck off. That's where the fun is.
I couldn't agree more. Gamble also gave us a few hints about next season:
We just got in the room a couple weeks ago for season five, and of course all bets are off for everything I said. Lots of possible directions now, theologically — given the finale of season four, I doubt anyone will be surprised to hear that. Sometimes I just sit there listening to everyone debating about God and the devil and the true implications of free will as it relates to the hierarchy of angels and demons... and I think back to season one when I was like "well, maybe the dead boy in the water, like, wants revenge on the people who drowned him?" and I kind of can't believe how far the show has come.
Supernatural returns for its fifth and final season this fall. Lucifer is on the rise!
We're happy to have the first glimpse at our man Alpha, sticking it to the aliens along with fellow resistance leader Elizabeth Mitchell. What will be their greatest challenge? Supergirl's obscene alien cleavage.
Here is a large collection of publicity stills for the alien series revamp on ABC, V. But I would be remiss not to pull out and highlight one questionably silly frame - specifically Laura Vandervoort's insane breast-fu. Voort plays Lisa, the the alien seductress who works as a guide on the L.A. mothership. Seductress indeed - she looks like an ad for Wonderbra.
It's the news that no-one really expected, even though many wanted it: Dollhouse is coming back for a second season. But will it be the same show? Not exactly; here're some changes to expect.
It'll Be Cheaper
Part of the negotiation process for the second season centered around cost. As the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan points out,
Fox didn't renew "Dollhouse" because the show's fans would have been sad about the Joss Whedon show's untimely death. Fox doesn't care about how viewers feel (you saw "Moment of Truth," right?). No, Fox renewed "Dollhouse" because it thinks it can make money off the project — enough to keep the enterprise profitable.
According to the Hollywood Reporter's James Hibbard,
Fox received some serious budget concessions from 20th TV and Whedon to continue the show, with 20th now shouldering a greater portion of the load. Another factor was the show's unaired 13th episode, which Whedon shot on a shoestring budget for the "Dollhouse" first season DVD set. Whedon presented it to the network as an example of how "Dollhouse" can achieve a high-quality production with a lesser budget.
So does this mean we can expect a series of episodes based inside the Dollhouse, using existing sets and fewer actors? Potentially. Or, just as likely, we may see a less glossy aesthetic for the new season. Remember, Whedon made Dr. Horrible for almost no budget at all; he's probably got some ideas on how to work around cost-cutting. And besides...
It'll Be Shorter
Fox is dropping its "Remote Free TV" scheme, meaning that the second seasons of both Dollhouse and Fringe are going to have regular ad breaks, and lose somewhere around 6-8 minutes per episode as a result (On the plus side, no more glittery Eliza trying to smolder to the camera as the voiceover guy tells us that the show will be back in sixty seconds). How will the loss of that running time offset the budget tightening? Not enough, most likely - unless those were six really expensive minutes - but the added ad revenue may make the network feel better about the show moving forward.
It'll Be Based On A Different "Creative Direction"
While Fox execs were viewing pilots for next year's schedule, they also watched the now-mythical "lost" episode of the show, "Epitaph One," to decide Dollhouse's fate. So when sources talk about "a shift in creative direction" for the new season, should we start considering "Epitaph One" a second season pilot and the shape of things to come? Joss Whedon's not saying just yet (although he is saying things like "oh, the terrible things my brain is brewing... Just wait. We'll make it worth it," if that helps), but co-executive producer Elizabeth Craft has suggested that the episode may even become part of the second season:
[T]o us, we don't think of ["Omega"] as the last episode of the season, even though it technically is, because ["Epitaph One"] gets into - well, I don't want to say too much about it... Hopefully if we get a Season 2, we'll show that episode.
(Now there's a thought on how to cut costs; have one of the episodes already done and costing nothing. Of course, you'll have to pull it off the first season DVD, but still. Joss, you listening?)
Also, British viewers? Here's where you get to have the jump on the Americans - Sci Fi UK have announced that they plan to show "Epitaph One" at the end of the first season, as intended. Don't gloat too much.
For what it's worth, changing the direction of the show would make sense, given how the second half of the first season played out; the (original) arcs of Ballard and Caroline are finished, with the FBI agent having found the girl and Carolinecho having become self-aware without becoming another Alpha. I hope that the second season would focus on the themes and questions introduced at the end of the first (What is the true purpose of the Dollhouse technology? Are humans just vessels for interchangable personalities? What happens when an Active is aware of her status? How are we supposed to believe that Ballard would join the organization he'd been trying to destroy for the last twelve weeks? and so on), but as long as we don't have any more "blind girl with camera eyes working for the FBI" episodes, that's enough to start with.
One thing is very unlikely to change, however:
It'll Still Have A Shitty Timeslot
Both the Hollywood Reporter and Variety are saying that the show is likely to stay on Friday nights, which really isn't a good thing - Look at the dips the show took when geek-friendly movies opened, if nothing else. It's unsurprising, though, considering Fox's other returning shows taking up timeslots on most other nights. What we're now wondering is what will get paired with it; I said yesterday that new series Human Target would be a great partner, as it shares questions about identity as well as a format that sees its lead "become" a new person every week, but is Fox really willing to dump that show on a Friday? If they do, expect to see Dollhouse bumped to 8pm and act as a lead-in.
The renewal of Dollhouse is a strange triumph of hope versus experience; as THR's Hibbard pointed out when breaking the news,
"Dollhouse" might very well be the lowest-rated in-season scripted drama to ever get a renewal on a major broadcast network. Almost certainly if based on where the show concluded — a 1.0 among adults 18-49.
So what brought it back? It's doubtful that it was fan outcry (or jamming Fox's switchboards because Miracle Laurie suggested it, for that matter), because... well, have you seen similar surprise news for the equally-beloved Terminator series? Much more likely is Fox's belief that they can turn the series into something financially worthwhile for them, which will be fueled not only by cutting costs, but by the exceptionally good DVR audience for the show, the critical upswing for the first season's second half, the undoubtedly pleasing pre-orders for the DVD boxset and - no pressure here - faith that Joss Whedon can turn everything around the second time out.
How he'll do that, and what the show will become in order to gain more viewers without losing its existing hardcore faithful, may be the most interesting behind the scenes story of the year, whether it succeeds or not. All we know for sure is that, in order to survive, the show has to - ironically, perhaps - become something new and different while staying the same. Are you ready for your treatment, Dollhouse?
Whooping and jubilation! The Hollywood Reporter says Dollhouse is officially getting a second season. Creator Joss Whedon showed the suits his unaired thirteenth episode to prove he could do it on a lower budget.
Source: http://io9.com/5256843/dollhouse-gets-a-second-season-to-find-its-identity
Last night's season finale of Supernatural was spectacular. The angels revealed just how dirty their game gets, and monster-hunting brothers Sam and Dean discovered their true roles in Armageddon. Which aren't what you expected. Spoilers!
Written and directed by show creator Erik Kripke, "Lucifer Rising" managed to be smart and philosophical, as well as including some disemboweled nuns and major demon smackdowns. Plus it was funny as hell. Or heaven. Which turn out to be pretty much the same thing in the end.
Last week, we left the Winchester brothers in a tight situation. Dean told Sam never to come back if he was going to keep sucking demon blood - even though Sam was only doing it so he could get strong enough to defeat the boss demon Lilith. And Sam stalked out with his demon buddy Ruby, on the path to more blood-sucking and a showdown with Lilith.
Though he's still pissed, Dean has a change of heart when Bobby yells some sense into him about Sam. In a powerful and cool scene, the normally taciturn Bobby calls Dean a whiny bitch for the way he's moaning about Sam's turn for the monstery. He yells that the boys' father John was a coward because he pushed Sam away, and that if Dean doesn't want to suck like their dad did that he'd better patch things up with his brother. Somehow he manages to get through to the whiny bitch, and Dean is about to call Sam to apologize when he's whisked away to heaven.
Actually, as the irritating archangel Zachariah explains, Dean is in a "green room" in heaven where he is supposed to wait for the armageddon show to start. The angels have helpfully stocked the room with shimmering platters of his favorite burgers and beer. I love how heaven's green room looks exactly like a tacky, Midwestern idea of what a churchy room should look like: White walls, gold-painted accents, and huge paintings in awful frames depicting fights between devils and angels.
Meanwhile, Sam and Ruby have abducted a baby-eating demon who has possessed a nurse's body in a hospital. Sam has gone so far over to the demon side that he's doing the black eye thing as he tortures her. In fact, he's so busy with the torture that he misses Dean's call from heaven to say sorry. Unfortunately, the angels (or the demons?) intercept Dean's call and change the message from (and I paraphrase) "hey I'm sorry" to "you are a monster and I hate you."
So by the time Sam does listen to the message, it's the fake one and it strengthens his resolve to kill nice nursie/demon lady to drink all her blood so he can kill Lilith. Who is apparently hiding out in a church where Azazel the yellow-eyed demon gutted a bunch of nuns back in the early 1970s, thus setting this whole cycle in motion. That original nun-gutting resulted in Lucifer's request that Azazel create a child capable of helping to break the seals.
And it turns out that child is Sam - and Dean. If you'll recall, Dean broke the first seal. But Sam will break the last: It turns out killing Lilith breaks the 66th seal and frees Lucifer to hang out on Earth. And basically, as a smug Zachariah tells Dean, the angels want Sam to do that because they're trying to bring about Armageddon. So yes, the angels lied. Yes, the angels are bloodthirsty bastards. When Dean asks Zach how this can possibly be part of God's plan, the archangel laughs. "God has left the building," he says. He also adds, intriguingly, that "this isn't the first planetary enema we've delivered." Are these angels on other planets, or does he mean previous times in Earth's history? (As I've mentioned before, this whole scenario reminds me a lot of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, where God has died and angels are battling for control of heaven and several different worlds.)
When Dean hears this, it basically confirms what he's believed all along: The angels are dicks. In the clip above, you can see the funny and well-written scene he has with Castiel after the truth is revealed. I love how Dean calls the angels "Stepford bitches in paradise" and refers to Castiel being "sent back to Bible school." (He's referring to when Cas was yanked back to heaven and reeducated for being too partial to humans.) His pleas work: Castiel agrees to help him, opening a vein and drawing a bloody angel hex that sends Zach back to heaven and allows the two of them to escape to their fanfic-writing prophet. Who has of course just written a story called "Lucifer Rising," and knows about the church where Lilith is waiting to be murdered and start the End Times. Cas sends Dean to the church while he holds off Zach, which is basically a suicide mission.
Unfortunately, Dean is too late. As you might have guessed, Sam's hottie Ruby has been double-crossing him all along. She was actually Lucifer's very best servant, pretending to betray him so she could earn Sam's trust and get him to kill Lilith. Of course she prevents Sam from hearing Dean screaming through the church doors and Lilith is easily dispatched. That's when her flowing blood starts forming a creepy symbol on the floor and Ruby spills her guts about being Satan's little helper.
As Sam realizes what he's done, Dean bursts into the room and jams his anti-demon knife deep inside Ruby's gut. At this point, it's interesting to note that both Sam and Dean have been promised (by demons and angels respectively) that they'll "get their rewards" after the battle is won. So both Lucifer and Zach are planning to win the battle and will thank their human tools for their help.
Luckily, Sam and Dean want no part of otherworldly rewards - they've got each other, and that's enough. Not so luckily, that blood design on the floor of the church is turning into a giant, gaping maw of light. Not good. Really not good.
AND THEN THE CREDITS ROLLED! CLIFFHANGER! ARGH!!!!!!!!!
Tune in this fall when it's a smackdown between Lucifer's minions and those Stepford bitches from Paradise.
Source: http://io9.com/5256696/god-has-left-the-building-on-supernatural?skyline=true&s=x
Box office estimates place Star Trek somewhere in the region of a $70 million domestic take for its opening weekend, roughly half of the JJ Abrams movie's estimated budget. But what does that actually mean?
To expand a little on that box office estimate, Hollywood Reporter is estimating "somewhere between $65 million to $75 million," while the always-editing Nikki Finke is currently pinning it down somewhere closer to $72 million. This is less than last weekend's X-Men Origins: Wolverine (which raked in $85.1 million), but way above the original tracking numbers for the revamped space opera, which had suggested an opening weekend of around $50 million (For math fans, Trek also played in 3,849 theaters versus Wolverine's 4,099, not that that 250 theater difference probably affected the outcome noticably).
Add to that, Abrams' reboot is the most successful opening for the director (Unsurprisingly, considering that it's only his second movie after Mission: Impossible III) and the most successful for the Trek franchise. Most importantly, perhaps, it's also the most successful franchise reboot movie of recent years, significantly besting Casino Royale and Batman Begins in terms of opening day takes. Not bad for a series that was, many thought, best left for dead after the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005.
(International box office estimates aren't officially in yet, but rumors are that Trek is close to Wolverine's $72 million, which would be unprecedented for the franchise, and a sign that this Trek is a bona fide hit for Paramount.)
With critical response for the movie so positive - currently at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes - this movie may end up being this year's Iron Man; a nerd movie that surprises critics and mainstream audiences alike, and ends up showing more staying power than anyone expected.
The 4-decade-long space opera that is Star Trek gets a makeover in theaters this week. Why do we keep wanting more of this middle-aged franchise? Because it follows The Rules. And here they are.
Many shows as old as Star Trek might find it hard to get lots of dates on a Saturday night, but not Trek. This show has kept up its game. That's because the makers of Trek know and practice the Rules of Space Opera (not to be confused with The Rules). Want to get in on the secret that has made Trek the object of such longstanding adoration? Read and learn, cadet.
1. Have a giant object in space.
I don't care what it's for - hopping between dimensions, eating stars, blowing up planets, harboring the ultimate embodiment of evil, or trash compacting - it needs to be GIANT. Cameras pan along it forever. Its shape should probably have a few spines, and at least one region covered in strange glyphs. It should be completely unclear how such an object could move, and at some point it should be weaponized. Bonus points if it gets blown up or taken over by pirates.
2. Set the action in motion by plunging us into the middle of an extremely complicated astropolitical regime change.
A massive political system, comprised of hundreds of planets and coalitions, has discovered an ancient alien artifact that plunges them into war that's waged on a thousand shorelines connected by wormholes and dimensional portals. Or: Six different people, and their hordes of scheming alien spies, are vying for the seat of Galactic Emperor. Now one of them has altered the timeline. Could it have been caused by this strange venom from a creature believed to be legendary, and whose secret will require a quest to worlds uncharted?
3. A scrappy group of humans should be part of a rebellion that's hidden on a cool-looking moon or tricked-out asteroid.
Rebel groups never hide in apartments. They always have amazing underground hideaways or hidden airborne platforms on an exotic place with bizarro weather. Eventually the Big Bads and the Rebels will blow the fuck out of each other but not until after we've seen at least ten freaky locals near the rebel hideout and like six cool underground moon bases, which we'll reach via a series of briefly-seen but outrageously weird images of upsidown cities hovering over purple clouds.
4. There must be an enormous mothership (which must be referred to as a mothership or maybe a base ship), and it must be attacked by a bunch of tiny fighter ships.
Don't forget the tense crosstalk between the fighters, including but not limited to use of nicknames, use of made-up "futuristic" curse words, and use of breathing noises intended to sound like somebody using an oxygen tank. One of the fighters should engage in a reckless act, like singlehandedly taking down the mothership or flying really low above it to get intelligence.
5. Always fill your spaceships and intergalactic ports with random background aliens and weird-faced creatures.
Just don't allow any of them to have lead roles. We want to see the shiny green slavegirls and pimply hosenoses in the background, but please tell them to shut up when the humans enter the frame. Aliens are great as long as they are helping the people of Earth, but they should know their place: As sidekicks and extras. Aliens who look exactly like humans - except for maybe some pointy ears or fetishistically-sculpted bodies - are allowed to be important supporting characters.
6. Your heroes should always revisit the sites of old battles, the locations of terrible accidents, and the regions of space where their people were wiped from the face of the universe. But only if they don't want to.
Being reluctant to save the day is shorthand for so many space operatic things like having a dark past or conflicted motivations. But the beauty part is that if you have a reluctant hero you don't actually have to account for any of those pesky character traits. You just have him say, "No, you can't make me go." And then the authority figure says, "Look, it's your last job. We need you. You're the only one who knows about this terrible region of space associated with some bad thing of yore." And the hero says, "Fine. But I don't want to." Instant Deep Meaning.
7. If there is a male bad guy, he should have a ripped body or amazing weapons. If there is a female bad guy, she should have a high, sparkly collar or a sidekick named something like Tigerman.
Enough said.
8. There should be at least three types of weapon and three types of spaceship, each of which will be given a name that is used repeatedly.
"Sir, we've got the pulse cannon ready on the Shark." "Well, power up the plasma rifles on the Heavy Tigers." "Cadet, grab your rez gun and get your ass onto that Starmasher!"
9. There should be a captain. If there is not a captain, there should be a special agent. If there is not a special agent, there should be a cadet with a future. If there is no cadet with a future, there should be a mercenary with a dark past.
If there is no mercenary with a dark past, there should be a wisecracking stowaway. If there is no wisecracking stowaway, there should be a witch. If there is no witch, there should be a scientist. If there is no scientist, just remake Spaceballs.
10. Somebody wise should predict something, but nobody will pay attention or be able to understand the prediction.
Nevertheless, words from the prediction will be repeated over and over throughout the space opera, in echoing voiceovers that grow increasingly portentous as the ending draws nigh.
BONUS RULE!
Male heroes get laid. Female heroes fall in love in a way that tests their loyalties. Aliens yearn tragically, or develop strange relationships with machines that we laugh at. Don't even think about robots.
Source: http://io9.com/5241996/the-top-ten-rules-of-space-opera?skyline=true&s=i
What's it take to pilot the shiny new Enterprise? We asked crew members John Cho and Anton Yelchin about changing their accents, mannerisms and overall tone, to portray Hikaru Sulu and Pavel Chekov.
How much were you influenced by your predecessors?
Cho: A great deal, though, I sort of had to get it out of my head a little. I don't think any of us wanted to do imitations although the temptation was there. We just felt it probably wouldn't have made sense and distracted people.
Yelchin: There's obviously an enormous influence and a huge desire to capture what made these characters so great and what's given them this legacy for the past forty years. But at the same time, like John said, there's a certain point where you do all of your research, and then you have your character and you've added your own thing. You come on set, and you just kind of do it. You're not thinking about it anymore.
There are also a lot of really important quirks that fans are looking for, like the accent and using certain words. Did you practice saying "wessels" over and over again?
Yelchin: Yeah, I mean obviously once you watch a series you see that and you register that. Then you take sort of specific things and you use them. It's fun to embrace that, you know, it'd be one thing just to play a Russian character but that's not the goal you know? The goal is to play Chekhov. And you if Chekhov changes his v's to his w's then that's what you do. And it's a blast.
Were there any other quirks that you guys picked up on that you brought out in your character?
Cho: Yeah, I think one day my voice went a little too high, even though I wasn't really sweating doing George, I wasn't trying to do this George Takei impression. But, one day I said, "Cap'n!" [makes a high squeaky voice], and J.J. comes over and says, "a little lower.. just… lower…" and that was the one time we had.
Yelchin: A lot of it the physicality as well. They all had a very specific kind of walk, and a very, very specific kind of smile and a very specific look. There's a very natural optimism about him [Chekov] and I just thought it was really important to capture that. It's beyond the accent, there's the body language and everything that comes with that.
You two have to work a lot of gadgets on the bridge. Did you study the hand motions of your former characters? Were there a lot of re-shoots on the bridge?
Cho: There was a little bit of a tension on the first day. We got together and said, "what's this gonna be" so we had a little pow-wow with J.J., who knows how much scrutiny this is going to come under and we sort of tried figuring out a finger language.
Did you ever have a couple of times you just thought "I'm just gonna go with it. Just move this around here, and then the ship goes forward?"
Cho: I remember when I was pushing the lever once and they were getting coverage on that and the camera person said to me "let's do it again… sexier." [Laughs] Really!
John, you really kick a lot of butt in this. Did you go and watch any of the original scenes, when Takei is going nuts and mimic any of those moves?
Cho: That was a little bit different. He was doing a classical fencing style and you know he had a rapier and I have a modified electronic, I don't know, samurai sword situation. So it was a different style altogether. It was sort of like a tribute to that.
M: John I read you're working on Flash Forward? And it is possibly a show that could rival Lost? Do you think that's true and can you tell us anything about your character?
Cho: I'll tell you the series is focused on a black out that the whole world experiences for two minutes and they see a vision. Everyone sees a vision of their future. Joseph Fiennes and I play FBI agents, partners, so we're trying to piece the whole thing together. Beyond that, I'm not sure I can say much more.
We got a few minutes alone with Star Trek's Romulan bad boy, Eric Bana, and looked deep into the psyche of Nero. Bana explained how he got so revved up, he passed out on set.
Let's talk about your character, Nero. He has such a tragic back story. Did you ever feel like a tragic hero?
That's a good question. Tragic hero? I guess to a degree. I never really saw him as a villain, even though he sort of performs that function for the drama of the story. To me, yeah, he was Nero, leader of the Romulans who has been wronged and is seeking revenge, and that's kind of how I see him so I think. Yeah, I like your description.
The writers wrote a whole comic prequel about your character, did you read it?
No, no I didn't, actually. I was so engrossed in the script and had a bunch of ideas for the character, and I was very careful. I learned about some of that stuff, but I didn't want to cloud what I had going on in my own head, but I'm looking forward to reading it now.
So how did you come up with your ideas for the character? Where did you go?
Essentially, I think if a script's well-written, it sparks your imagination, and you almost like start directing the film in your head, with ideas. And for me it was a lot of his back story and the fact that he's been in prison for so long, and was so patient in enacting his revenge, which makes it a lot about the character. So it was essentially, you know, I guess... you join the dots and try to come up with something that's interesting and entertaining. You know, it's a character we haven't seen before.
I'm curious about your movements in character. You're very aggressive and strong, did you come up with any of those reactions and jumps yourself or was it all planned out?
Some of them were a bit spur of the moment. It was a pretty intense character. I passed out, I think, once during one of the takes, I got so carried away. Lost about twenty seconds, down on the floor, and got up, and the camera was still rolling and it was like, "I guess I just continue now." Um yeah. It was pretty crazy.
I can't believe you passed out on set! How did you stay that cranked up on set?
You get used to it. The reality of it is you just ebb and flow. There are times during the day when you're really really peaking, and then you just come down the other side. It's like having an espresso, you know - you just gotta allow for that and just try and jazz yourself up when that camera's rolling, but it is exhausting.
Time traveling should be very familiar to you now. You time-travel in Star Trek and you time travel in The Time Traveler's Wife. How is that time-traveling different from what we see in Star Trek?
Well it was very, very different. The Time Traveler's Wife,... it's very, very emotional context, all the time. I mean, they're going back to visit your wife as she's growing up. It's such a beautiful story, and yeah, yeah, it's a lot less about revenge and destruction.
Does the travel have any special FX in Time Traveler that are similar to Star Trek with the back holes?
No. I wouldn't really describe it as science fiction-y at all, it's a love story with some time-traveling elements.
And are we gonna see more science fiction from you after this?
I don't know. I'm sort of not such a huge science fiction guy. It just sort of happened that way. I got involved in this, you know essentially, because I thought the script was incredible and [I'm] just a huge fan of J.J., and was dying to work with him. And so it was out of a longing to get into science fiction, but yeah, I'm interested in it. It's fascinating.
See Nero in action this Thursday night when Star Trek is released in theaters.
Issue 1 of Farscape: Strange Detractors from BOOM! Studios is, simply put, a lot of fun. Not a whole lot of substance, maybe, but it's a pretty good time, anyway.
It starts with John's Leave It to Beaver nightmare, complete in black-and-white with Aeryn decked out in June Cleaver attire, which, while definitely being a thing of nightmares for her and John, actually kind of looks good on her. (Then again, I don't know what wouldn't.) After he awakens, we're not-so-subtly clued in to the fact that he's having domestic internal crises, due to the fact that he's having second thoughts about settling down to a life of domesticity with Aeryn and their son, Deke. (Nickname for "D'Argo?" I don't know. Either way, there's a baby, and it's adorable.)
After a conversation about settling down to raise a child vs. doing interesting things (which somehow also manages to touch on Chiana and Jothee's sex life), Aeryn and John join the rest of the gang for a trip planetside to go to a market. Some are going for supplies, others (the married Morad and T'Amra) are going to retouch their marital tattoos, and yet others are ostensibly going to wander. Deke-the-baby is left aboard with Pilot, who might just be the best potential babysitter I can think of right now. Sadly, though, there aren't any adventures in babysitting in this issue, as Deke mostly just sleeps. If this were a Hitchcock film, I guess Deke would be the macguffin. (That's probably not true.)
Anyway, at the marketplace, everyone begins to bicker. And that's it. (Or is it? The "To Be Continued" suggests otherwise.) At any rate, it seems difficult to define what's happened here—perhaps the planet's atmosphere makes everyone extra-irritable, more prone to arguing? At least, that's the suggestion. But since they get out all right, one can only hope that the next issue addresses the ramifications of this incident, because, when coupled with the several-page Cleaver household nightmare at the beginning, the marketplace argument epidemic wasn't given nearly enough page-time to convince me of its importance. Meanwhile, John and Aeryn have a conversation about modern art and the relative merit of representational vs. non-representational work. (Apparently John isn't such a fan of modern art, but he did once take a field trip to the National Gallery in DC. I guess we have that in common, only I like modern art. And, actually, that whole scene in the comic as well.)
I'm still undecided what I want from a first issue in general, torn between exposition and an attention-grabbing incident worthy of a Bond film opener. Here we have something between the two that more sets a tone that's fun, not too serious, and wholly enjoyable. I hope this tone carries through to the next issue. And that we finally figure out what's up with the angry marketplace effect, because logic tells me that a planet with an annoyance-inducing atmosphere is just about the worst place to set up shop. Looking forward, then, to finding out.
Story and script by Rockne S. O'Bannon and Keith R.A. DeCandido, art by Will Sliney. Color by Zac Atkinson. Farscape: Strange Detractors #1 is available in comic stores now.
Source: http://io9.com/5218725/farscapes-new-bickering-comic-entertains-teases
Wouldn't you want to see the Dollhouse being investigated by the cast of Fringe? Or watch Heroes try to avert Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' future? We have five team-ups to save television's falling ratings.
Dollhouse/Fringe
If "a secret organization that replaces people's personalities with programmable selves, who're then hired out to the rich and aimless" doesn't sound like something that Agent Dunham and the Bishop Boys should be investigating, then I don't know what does. I mean, for all we know, the basic technology that Topher is using today probably came from Walter's strangely-broad research back in the day, and Massive Dynamics may be paying Adelle DeWitt's salary. If Dollhouse does get cancelled, I'd be all in favor of Fox sneaking in a few mentions of the show into their hit Fringe, especially if Whedon brother (and Fringe staffer) Zack was involved.
Heroes/Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
So much of the NBC series has been based upon averting horrific futures that you'd think that Hiro, Matt and Peter would be completely on board with Sarah Connor's mission, but that thematic continuity isn't why we'd want to see Heroes invade the Terminatorverse, nor are we particularly amused by the possibilities of Claire meeting John and telling him that he looks a lot like her friend Zach who she knew when she was first discovering her powers (Okay, maybe we're slightly amused by that possibility, we admit). No, we simply want to see two things. One, a glower-off between HRG and Summer Glau, and two, Nathan hitting on Sarah by comparing bad parenting stories. Okay, and maybe Ando getting killed by a Terminator, just for fun.
Star Trek/Battlestar Galactica
Yeah, yeah, yeah; Captain Kirk is such a bad-ass and can get out of any situation, but how would he measure up to Edward James Olmos' Admiral William Adama? Just the idea of the meeting of the two ships already feels like a Trek episode, where the perfect Enterprise crew has to deal with a battle-scarred older ship where grudges are held and wars never end... but if you told it from the Galactica's point of view, it'd be more compelling... and probably reveal previously-unseen traumas amongst Starfleet's finest. If nothing else, it's probably give me a Scotty/Tigh drinking game.
Source: http://io9.com/5207486/5-tv-crossovers-wed-love-to-see
In the intense universe of fandom surrounding Supernatural — the CW series that follows the chisel-jawed Winchester brothers as they drive around the country snuffing out demons — there are ''Sam girls'' and ''Dean girls.'' Websites chronicle every scrap of minutiae (including the fellas' sweet ride, a '67 Chevy Impala), and bloggers dig around casting directors' sites looking for snippets of scenes to post online (they've even managed to spoil entire scripts). There's also a unique and very creepy subset of romantic fan fiction dedicated to siblings Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) called ''Wincest'' — the less said about it the better. One creative fan actually showed up on set in an orange vest, pretending to be a production assistant. ''They gave her a walkie-talkie!'' recalls Ackles. ''She worked the entire day there until somebody finally figured it out. Obviously now they've stepped up the protocol.'' Meaning, the stars have a bodyguard when they're working. Says Padalecki, ''I guess the network or the studio said, 'We [only] have two guys on this show. We'd better protect them.'''
It might be time to beef up the security detail even more, because the Supernatural cult is swelling. Sure, the show may not crack the top 10, or even the top 80 — ''You go to a dinner party and someone asks you what show you work on and you say 'Supernatural,' and they've never heard of it,'' says creator/exec producer Eric Kripke. ''Then they say, 'What network is it on?' and you say 'The CW,' and they've never heard of it'' — but lately it's been making almost otherworldly gains in viewership. Season 4, which has centered on the brothers battling angels as well as their usual demon enemies, is up an impressive 13 percent over last year, with new episodes averaging 3.3 million viewers a week — and that's against Thursday-night stalwarts Grey's Anatomy and CSI. All those new Supernatural acolytes, however, may find themselves wishing they'd showed up sooner: The cast and crew's ''godfather,'' executive producer and director Kim Manners (The X-Files), passed away in January; Padalecki, 26, and Ackles, 31, are exhausted; and Kripke has long maintained that he wants the series to last only five seasons — that's one more, then they're done. As Kripke told his writers at the beginning of this season, ''Let's be bold. Let's delve into the stories headlong. Let's not tap-dance around them because we're scared, or because we have to save something for tomorrow. Because we don't know if there will be a tomorrow.''
NEXT PAGE: ''Okay, guys, this season: angels! But they're dicks.''
On a cold February day in Vancouver, Supernatural is shooting its April 2 episode in the kind of scuzzy motel-room set that is the show's signature motif. Dean (Ackles) is lying on a bed reading a novel from a pulpy book series he just discovered called — huh? — Supernatural. It might as well be a diary, since it's full of intimate details about two demon-hunting brothers named Sam and Dean Winchester. Dean joins his little brother (Padalecki) at a laptop to look at websites devoted to the fictional book series. ''Check it out, there's fans,'' Dean says. ''Not many, but still... Though for fans, they sure do complain a lot.''
It's a winking moment Ackles can relate to. ''I'm a fan of the show, and I get gripey,'' the actor says later in his trailer. '''Where is [Kripke] going with this? What is happening? Angels and demons? Come on, man!'... Then I'll read the next script and it's like, 'Oh, I kinda like that.''' This season's story lines began with Dean clawing his way out of hell, and will end with a classic good-versus-evil clash between the brothers. In between, it has had plenty of risky, high-concept episodes like this meta nod to the show's fan base. Oh, and it's all building toward the end of days. As Kripke puts it, ''This is the smoke-'em-if-you-got-'em season.''
Which might explain the angels. The show started as a Hardy Boys-meets-X-Files mystery series, with the itinerant ghostbuster brothers driving around the country, doing their small part to take out a few demons a week. But in this season's premiere, things took a celestial turn when the angel Castiel, played by Misha Collins, appeared before Dean in a blinding revelation meant to scare a guy who slaughters the devil's minions for a living. The move was shocking to fans; the writers previously worked under a no-halo rule (too Highway to Heaven), but Kripke broke it because he had a demon problem. ''There's only so many snarky demons that can pop in with their snarky cruel attitudes and references to eating babies,'' he explains. So he came into the writers' room and proclaimed, ''Okay, guys, this season: angels! But they're dicks.'' Now the reinvigorated series is storming toward next season's climactic struggle between the angels and their brother, Lucifer, for no less than the fate of the world.
NEXT PAGE: ''Despite what the network and studio may or may not want, I don't have more than five seasons of story.''
And that, insists Kripke, will be the final battle. For him, anyway. ''Despite what the network and studio may or may not want, I don't have more than five seasons of story,'' says the producer, whose contract — along with his stars' — expires at the end of season 5. If the powers that be want the show to continue, he says, they'll have to do it without him. ''I certainly would be willing to make sure there are enough villains and heroes around to continue a new story line, and I would be around to answer a few questions — that's it. I'm outta here. There's no way I'm doing season 6.'' With the weight of their workload and Manners' death casting a pall on the set, Ackles and Padalecki are also eager to move on, even as they affirm their love for the show. ''We don't live at home. We don't sleep in our own beds. Our families aren't here. Our friends aren't here. Our girlfriends aren't here,'' says Ackles. ''To do it for another five years, or whatever, I don't know if I could handle it.'' Padalecki concurs: ''I enjoy working, but what's the point? Do I want to just keep on doing photo shoots and work so I can get more famous so I can do even more photo shoots and work and fly to more places to do more press?... I get sick of talking about myself.''
That doesn't mean The CW will just let their growing cult hit go. ''If the show's doing well, we would go on, I'm sure,'' says CW entertainment president Dawn Ostroff, who declines to elaborate on whether the network would try to woo Kripke to stay. ''It's premature for us to even address that.'' Either way, Ostroff should be prepared to open her checkbook at those season 6 negotiations: According to Ackles, ''They'd have to back up a Brinks truck.''
Kripke certainly acts with the abandon of someone whose show has only a year to live. In upcoming episodes, Castiel's human vessel will tell the Winchesters he's going to return to a normal life, and on April 23 the show will introduce a third Winchester brother, Adam (Jake Abel). The actor playing the new sibling is a Wincest buff's dream — he looks so much like Padalecki and Ackles he could be their magical gay offspring. ''The title of the episode is 'Jump the Shark,' because we know that's what we'll be accused of,'' says Kripke, clearly delighting in the idea. Meanwhile, Sam girls and Dean girls might have to throw down when, in the season finale, the brothers battle each other: Kripke won't reveal what sets off the family squabble, only that it presages next year's metaphysical death match between heaven and hell. That certainly sounds like a good way to go out, even if the word end is heresy to devoted fans. ''I don't want to be cheesy and here's Sam and Dean at age 50 sitting in wheelchairs with grandchildren,'' says Padalecki. ''I think I'd rather leave them wanting more than get to the point where they boo you off stage.'' Of course, with this show's fiery fan base, it may be a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't.
If you're not a Supernatural fanatic (yet), here are five pivotal episodes that will catch you up. Seasons 1-3 are on DVD, while 4 is on iTunes.
1. ''Home'' (Season 1)
Kripke wrote this exciting glimpse of the brothers' past in Lawrence, Kan., the mom (Samantha Smith) and dad (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) they lost, and how all four became involved with the supernatural.
2. ''Born Under A Bad Sign'' (S2)
Oooh, creepy: Sam is possessed by a demon, and in a long, frightening sequence, Dean tortures his brother/demon until he gives up supernatural info about — among other things — their father.
3. ''All Hell Breaks Loose, Pts 1 & 2'' (S2 finale)
Sam is stabbed and ''killed,'' hundreds of demons are let loose from hell, and Dean slays one of the show's best villains, the yellow-eyed Azazel (Fredric Lehne). These twinned episodes are models of how to wrap up a season: Give each star a few emotional moments, and spin the mythology forward.
4. ''Bad Day At Black Rock'' (S3)
In which we meet one of the series' more divisive villains: Bela, the bodacious, bombastic mercenary (Lauren Cohan). She and the boys tussle over a magic rabbit's foot, only to discover it brings bad luck to anyone holding it. The boys engage in lotsa atypical but hilarious sight gags.
In one Brooklyn school, three nerds have become the coolest kids around, with cheerleaders announcing their entrance and the school band playing their theme song. What caused this to happen? We blame robots.
The kids - 12 year olds Simon Shkreli, Benjamin Kelk and Gregory Chin (along with recent graduates Richard Chian and Daniel Alvarez) - are St. Edmund's Elementary School's "Nerd Herd," robot fanatics whose LEGO-built robot won them the recent New York City FIRST LEGO League Robotics Competition, leading to their entrance into the international competition next weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. Surprisingly, perhaps, their win has brought a sense of unity and pride to the school, including raising $18,000 towards the trip. Oh, and the surreal reception they get from fellow students:
Why wasn't the world like this when I was in school...Cheerleaders waved their pompoms and the students formed an aisle down the middle of the gymnasium. "Nerd Herd, Nerd Herd!" they chanted over and over as the high school's band played Survivor's thumping "Eye of the Tiger," the herd's unofficial theme song. Simon, along with team members Benjamin Kelk and Gregory Chin, both 12, ran down the aisle, high-fiving their screaming fans, like they were playing in an all-star game or something... Serenah Nevarez and Michael Loseto, both fifth-graders, waved a giant poster that read "GOOD LUCK, NERD HERD!" "This is a great energy booster for the school," Michael said. Serenah chimed in, "They're so cool!"
Never mind the potential male pill: Sex science has invented a spray that'll cure the problem of premature ejaculation, as long as you don't mind burning sensations or rashes. And wash it off quickly afterwards.
The spray, currently given the catchy name PSD502, is a local anaesthetic that you're supposed to spray onto the penis five minutes before sex so that you've got more time to let that numbing sensation really kick in. The British Medical Journal reports on recent tests:
After penetration, men (or their partners) used a stopwatch to time how long it took them to ejaculate. Before treatment, men lasted an average of 36 seconds. After using the spray, men were able to have sex for 3 minutes 48 seconds, on average. But men who were given a placebo spray barely improved, lasting an average of 1 minute 6 seconds. When men were asked about their enjoyment of sex, those using the spray said they had more control and got more sexual satisfaction than before.
A few men got a rash on their penis after using the spray, or struggled to keep their erection. Some of the partners of men who used the spray said they got a burning sensation in their vagina.
Am I the only person a little worried by the vague terms "a few" and "some" in there? Or, for that matter, the whole idea of spraying your dick with local anaesthetic in the first place? Although, if the current widespread tests go well, I look forward to people discovering new and more inventive uses for the spray.
A spray to treat premature ejaculation: worth the hype? [BMJ/The Guardian]
Supernatural -
Dean and Sam turn out to be famous comic book characters. One bath-robed comic-book writer has been making a fortune off of his Sam-and-Dean visions. But when the two boys find out he's written their life story - including an ending - they're less than thrilled. But more importantly, where is this much-vaunted naked Dean book, and how can I get it? Supernatural ever on the CW at 9 PM.
Star Trek's new trailer showed a week early at Wondercon, and it reveals more of James Kirk's struggle to become Captain Kirk. Plus J.J. Abrams beatboxed and Chris Pine talked his favorite Trek episodes. OMGspoilers!
The new Trek trailer will play before Friday's Watchmen release, but we got a sneak peek at it. Here's my imperfect summary:
You see Kirk zooming on his motorcycle, but this time there's a different snippet of Kirk's conversation with Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike. Kirk has his barfight, and Pike says he couldn't believe it when he found out who Kirk was. Kirk says "Why are you talking to me, man?", like in the Superbowl trailer, and then Pike explains that Kirk's father, George, was captain of a starship (the Kelvin) for 12 minutes. During that brief time, Kirk Sr. saved 800 lives, including that of baby James. "I dare you to do better," Pike says. "Enlist in Starfleet."
And then we see a bunch of cadets, including James Tiberius, and Spock says, "You will experience fear. Fear in the face of certain death." Then Kirk, Sulu and Redshirt are skydiving onto that orbital drilling platform over Vulcan, and someone shouts "pull your chute, go, go, go!" They're diving and then Kirk is trying to hold onto the platform by his fingertips and scraping down like a cartoon character. Then there's a snippet of a spacey scene and someone saying "We received a distress call," which I'm guessing is the Kobayashi Maru test that Kirk cheats on in Starfleet academy. And then Nero saying he's waited for this moment his whole life.
And then a planet caving in and collapsing inwards - actually imploding - which I think might be Vulcan, after Nero's drilling platform kicks in.
And then Leonard McCoy says that the Enterprise has no captain and no first officer and nobody to replace them. "Yeah we do," Kirk says, sitting proudly in the captain's chair despite his black cadet shirt.
And then we see a flash of Kirk on the ice planet looking all frosty and upset. And then some other brief shots, and Pike says something about Kirk's destiny, and asks what path will Kirk choose. Spock hugs Uhura (aww). And Sulu fights the Romulans on the drilling platform. And then Kirk, Sulu and Redshirt are in freefall as well.
And Nero says, "James T. Kirk was a great man. But that was another life." (Presumably referring to the fact that this is a new timeline, after Nero went back in time and killed Kirk's parents and otherwise screwed with Kirk's history.) Someone yells "FIre torpedos!" Pike yells, "Emergency evasive!" And Nero shouts "Fire everything!" And then everything explodes. BOOM! The end.
There was a panel discussion with director J.J. Abrams, producer Bryan Burk, writer/producer Roberto Orci, and stars Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto. Abrams bent over in several directions to assure the fans that he really is making the Trek movie for them, despite his statements in the mainstream press about how the film is "not for Trekkies." "We love and are beholden to existing fans of Star Trek," Abrams said. And he said the movie follows Trek canon as much as the original series did - which means pretty well, but not perfectly, since the original series had a lot of contradictions. Orci also added that the film is "a prequel and a sequel," and fans will see how it's building on everything that came before.
Quinto says he and the other actors just saw the movie for the first time, and he couldn't speak for 20 minutes afterwards, because it was so awesome.
Someone asked Abrams if it was true that he rapped on set, and he said it was more like he beatboxed - which he went on to demonstrate for the audience with a little help from MC Chris Pine. "Star Trek in the house."
Someone asked PIne what Trek episodes were his favorite for capturing who Kirk was, and he did a total Shatner impression: "I'M CAPTAIN KIRK!" Then Pine said: "That would be up there - the evil captain kirk, the split Captain Kirk one. [Also the one ] where he fights Finnegan. When he wrestles the young boy [Charlie X], I think, I don't know if I would do that. I think what I found about watching the old series is, Mr. Shatner's incredibly funny. I think it's the same humor he brings to Boston Legal, in a whole different way. It's that twinkle in his eye, that you think anything can happen... [That's] something I couldn't recreate."
Finally, Abrams took a question about the Cloverfield sequel. He said they have an idea that they're working on right now that would be "pretty sweet." It's something "connected to Cloverfield," but it sounded like it's not necessarily a straight-up sequel. And he added, "The key, obviously, to doing any kind of sequel is, it better not be a business decision. You better be inspired to do something. That way, you did it because you cared, not because you think you can make a buck."
Source: http://io9.com/5162153/new-star-trek-trailer-shows-a-slightly-warped-kirk
The best we can say about last night's ratings for Dollhouse and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles? I think I'm going to go with "Well, it could've been worse." Not such good news, I'm afraid.
While Terminator stayed relatively stable - essentially staying at the same ratings as last week, although this is a good thing only insofar that they didn't fall any further; last week's ratings were worryingly low, and this week CBS was airing re-runs as opposed to new programming - Dollhouse's second episode dropped 15%. While this is, according to the Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed blog, "an almost-typical second-episode slip," it comes on top of a relatively unimpressive premiere, and was, again, up against re-runs on CBS.
It's too early to claim Dollhouse as an early fatality, although these numbers don't suggest that it'll be sticking around too much, but barring a Terminator: Salvation bump (or an unusually protective Fox), you may want to start preparing for an end to The Sarah Connor Chronicles sooner rather than later.
Source: http://io9.com/5157509/dont-get-too-comfortable-with-sci+fi-fridays
02/12 - Let's just say Sam may need to start going to meetings. The kind of meeting where you step up in front of a room and declare, "Hi. My name is Sam, and I'm a Demon Bloodholic." Source: The Ausiello FilesEpisode 4.15: Death Takes a Holiday
Airdate: March 5, 2009
Episode 4.16: Title Unknown
Airdate: March 12, 2009
Episode 4.17: It's a Terrible Life
Airdate: March-April 2009
Episode 4.18: Stranger Than Fiction
Airdate: March-April 2009
Episode 4.19: Jump the Shark
Airdate: April 2009
02/12 - Jake [Abel] will only appear in one episode and is not expected to be seen again. Source: Kristin on E!Online
Episode 4.20: Title Unknown
Airdate: April 2009
This year in TV was jam-packed with climactic kisses, deaths and waffles. Here's our video roundup of our favorite moments, silly and serious, from 2008 TV.
Compilation 1:
Chuck - Smooch - "Chuck Versus The Ex"
John Casey (Adam Baldwin) is the best part of Chuck and makes the floppy-haired nerd boy tolerable.
True Blood - How To Kill A Vampire - "Plaisir d'amour
Didn't know that the rule of "if you throw up, then I'm going to throw up" applies to vampires.
Doctor Who - Cyberman Transformer - "The Next Doctor"
Jesus H Christ that's cool.
Lost - I Said All Of You - "There's No Place Like Home: Part 2"
Who knew being in a coffin could be so intimidating?
Fringe - First Walterism - "Pilot"
That is the sound of a new era of science funny, crazy-style.
Sarah Connor Chronicles - Crazy Future Ladies - "Strange Things Happen at the One Two Point"
All the ladies from the future put your hands up!
Eureka - Bye Bye Nathan - "I Do Over"
I complained about Nathan's exit on this show the first time around, but it's really grown on me after watching it a few more times.
Eleventh Hour - Flesh Eating STDs - "Spring Break Sucks"
Flesh eating STDs totally ruined my spring break, too.
The Office - Dumbledore Calrissian - "Business Ethics"
Funniest science fiction joke of the season.
Stargate Atlantis - Nerd Love, McKay Style - "Brain Storm"
The nerd gets the girl.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Derek Blows Our Minds - "Complications"
Wait, what? How many times did you rewind this part?
Battlestar Galactica - Cally Air Locked - "The Ties That Bind"
GOOD RIDDANCE. Thank you, RDM, for delivering what I needed.
True Blood - Sad Dancing For Drugs - "Escape from Dragon House"
Sparked a whole revolution of sad underwear dancing.
Compilation 2:
Dr. Who - Kiss Goodbye - "Journey's End"
Why can't I meet a man like the Doctor? Best kiss, because it kept the real Doctor at bay, and Rose off in another dimension (not that I don't love her — I'm just ready for some new blood).
Life On Mars - Sam Teaches Black Panthers About Vanilla Ice - "Things to Do in New York When You Think You're Dead"
Sam, you are the man.
Smallville - Doomsday Ruins Lame Wedding - "Bride"
Only thing worth watching on Smallville this season so far: Sam Witwer as Doomsday.
Battlestar Galactica - Finding Earth - "Revelations"
You made a wrong turn at Saturn.
Heroes - Waffles! - "I Am Become Death"
Surprise — I'm creepier when I act normal!
Venture Brothers - OSI Song
Big "Tah Dah" moment.
Lost - World's Best Phone Conversation - "The Constant"
My favorite episode of the season — just a beautiful example of a great pay-off after a long, long, long wait for these two lovers.
When Torchwood returns for its third season and something seems a little... off, comfort yourself with the knowledge that the reason behind the show's self-censorship is the proud country known as the United States.
According to the show's star, John Barrowman, the show will be... more subtle in its third season so as not to offend American sensibilities:
We're not swearing or doing anything close to the bone because it's been a huge success in the US and the networks won't accept it with all that stuff in it... I'll still be getting naked and it will still be saucy - but it's done with taste. We'll doing everything so it doesn't have to be heavily edited for the US.
Has BBC America really been censoring the show that much, or is mention of "the networks" a sign that the Torchwood mini-season might be lined up as a summer special on one of the US broadcast networks?
John Barrowman: I dropped my pantos in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's pool [The People]
http://io9.com/5119373/us-censors-torchwoods-third-season-kind-ofDec 18
Things From Another World (TFAW) provides another exclusive interview with KRAD (Keith R. A. DeCandidio), the author of the comic book story, and Farscape editor Matt Gagnon. (IS there a hint of a SECOND Farscape series??!!?)
Although I personally am not a fan of the comic book genre, and have some reservations about just how complex a Farscape comic book could ever be, I am nonetheless elated that the Farscape story continues, and does so under the helm of the original creators.
By the way, for those of you without a friendly neighborhood comic book store, you can order the Farscape comic book series from TFAW on line.
Being lazy, I ordered my set through TFAW, however, I discovered a couple of weeks ago that my local comic book store not only had them on order, but also that they are HUGE fans as well. They tell me that in my town there are a lot of fans of Farscape. So when the release date finally arrives, I’ll be waddling down to my local comic book store and also picking up an issue there.
Not only do we Farscape fans support each other, but you never can have too much Farscape stuff.
This got me excited and that doesn't happen often with Smallville.
If there's a better way to celebrate the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year than with special Star Trek-themed nutcrackers, then I'd like to see it. Click through to see more.
There's something to be said for the unusual mix of traditional - these are, surprisingly, hand-painted, wooden nutcrackers, and at the time of year where the world likes nutcrackers so much they perform ballets about them - and retro sci-fi cheese that these sadly decorative-only festive treats offer. And, at $34.95, they're a surprisingly affordable potential holiday treat. Buy both and create your very own seasonal version of "Amok Time."
Classic Star Trek Nutcrackers [What On Earth]
BOOM! Studios is set to publish a series of four-issue mini-series which will explore and expand the stories of FARSCAPE. Each four-issue series will be collected into subsequent trade-paperback editions.
....
The FARSCAPE comic book series will be taking advantage of the upcoming webisodes to be produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with RHI Entertainment for SCIFI.COM. The webisode series will re-unite FARSCAPE executive producer Brian Henson with creator Rockne S. O’Bannon.
| Dr. Horrible Newsletter | Issue #3 December 2008 |
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