Wednesday, July 30, 2008

7-31-08

Warner Brothers is planning a movie for Marvin the Martian.

If you missed Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog when it was free a couple weeks ago, you now have a 2nd chance at Hulu.com.

Quark is coming to dvd! The sci-fi parody from the 70s about an interstellar garbage collector which ran 8 episodes on NBC (of which I think I've seen 4) will be released on dvd October 14th.

Mike Brotherton and The Book Bark are having a discussion of good worldbuilding books. Help me remember which great examples they've left off.

Solar Flare lists 15 classic Doctor Who stories to show to fans of the new series.

100 Science Fiction novels recommended by a high school teacher. Some are the usual suspects, some are fairly odd selections. I think I've only read 5, but many have been on my TBR list for years.

NASA has confirmed water ice has been found on Mars.

DVR for tonight:
Burn Notice

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

7-29-08

Today is the 50th anniversary of NASA.

Alaska is investigating using their volcanoes for geothermal energy.

The founders of New Line Cinema (now running Unique Features) will be producing the movie(s) of Isaac Asimov's Foundation books for Warner Brothers.


DVR for tonight:
6pm or 9pm Eureka (3rd season premier)

Monday, July 28, 2008

7-28-08

The preliminary Worldcon schedule has been published. If you're going, you can now start to plan your days. If you're not going, see what you're missing.

The Futon Critic has coverage from the San Diego Comic-Con. Each show has its own link with a rough transcript from the discussions. Trailer Addict has a leaked version of the Wolverine trailer shown at the con. (Note that it is in 2 parts!)

The Space Fellowship has images of Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo aircraft that will carry SpaceShipTwo on the first steps to space. CNet also has a slideshow and article.

DVRs for tonight:
The Middleman
The Closer

Friday, July 25, 2008

7-25-08

BBC America has confirmed that they will air the 3rd season of Torchwood next year, shortly after it airs in the UK. Unfortunately, it is still being listed as 5 episodes.

Dark City is going to have an additional 10-11 minutes of footage on the 10th anniversary Director's Cut dvd coming out next week.

Tor and io9 have interviews with Steven Moffat.

Scientists studying geomagnetic storms now have a better understanding of the trigger for the aurora borealis. cNet has a slideshow illustrating the discovery. SFGate article. NYTimes article.

Microsoft engineers have developed a new type of display that is much more efficient than an LCD display. It is essentially telescope optics on a pixel scale.


DVRs for tonight:
Doctor Who
Stargate Atlantis
Monk
Psych

Thursday, July 24, 2008

7-24-08

EW is giving constant updates (sometimes with video included) from the San Diego Comic-Con.

The US version of Life on Mars has re-cast the role of Det. Hunt as Harvey Keitel instead of Colm Meaney.

SciFi Wire has an interview with Steven Moffat about how he'll approach Doctor Who as the new showrunner.

MTV is planning to remake Rocky Horror Picture Show. I really can't imagine who thought that would be a good idea.

Joss Whedon is planning to have as many webisodes as episodes for Dollhouse (13 each).

Solar Flare says Why British SciFi TV is better than American.

DVR for tonight:
Burn Notice

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

7-23-08

Joss Whedon has been asked to shoot a new first episode for Dollhouse. Sources: SyFy Portal and Yahoo!

The first 3 seasons of the new Doctor Who are now available on iTunes.

Audible.com's free offer for Kristine Kathryn Rusch's story The Disappeared expires tomorrow.

SciFi Wire has more on the upcoming new show, Sanctuary.

If you liked the Robot Chicken: Star Wars special (released on dvd yesterday), then tune in on November 16th for Episode II.

Nothing new for the DVR tonight.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

7-22-08

RIP Estelle Getty. The comedienne who played so many great sarcastic little old ladies has died at 84.

SciFi wire has an interview with Amanda Tapping about her new show, Sanctuary.

Scientists have identified phosphorous as the sole trigger for toxic algae blooms.

No timers set for the DVR tonight.

Monday, July 21, 2008

7-21-08

Tor.com has launched. Part source for original fiction, part blog, part news and discussion of all stuff SF-related. Check out the article about it at SciFi Wire, or go directly to the site itself. The free eBooks and wallpaper art they've been providing as promotion will only be available until this Sunday, so if you've been waiting, go get them now.

One of the first 2 stories at Tor.com is a John Scalzi short story set in his Old Man's War universe. It is available online as text or audio.

It sounds like the replacement for William Peterson on CSI may be a serial killer (or just afraid of becoming one).

NBC has announced a schedule change for their fall lineup. "Life" will have double airings for the first 2 weeks (Mondays and Fridays at 10pm). Christian Slater's new show "My Own Worst Enemy" which was to have the Monday 10pm slot will now be delayed until October 13th.

DVR for tonight:
The Middleman
The Closer

Friday, July 18, 2008

7-18-08

Space.com has an article on the Perseid meteor shower, which will be at its peak August 11-12.

As part of the 30th anniversary of ElfQuest, they are putting ALL of the comics online for free viewing. If you haven't read them all, want a refresher, or just want to know what this thing is that has me waiting for a movie for so long, check it out.

DVRs for tonight:
Doctor Who (6pm or 8pm)
Monk (6pm or 11pm)
Stargate Atlantis (7pm or 9pm)
Psych (7pm or 10pm)

Thursday, July 17, 2008

7-17-08

Emmy nominations were announced today.

Den of Geek has an interview with the supervising animator of Wall-E.

Amazon is introducing a new video on demand service for streaming TV shows and movies.

DVR for tonight:
Burn Notice

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

7-16-08

ABC has announced premier dates for the fall. It looks like shows I plan to watch start on October 1st or 9th.

HPR Resources has developed 6 safety signs styled after 40s & 50s Pulp Scifi cover art. I want to put a couple of these up in my office. :) I hope they make more.

Simon Tofield, the guy who made the Wake Up Kitty YouTube video, has made a 3rd installment. Cute Overload has it along with the earlier 2 installments.

Nothing for the DVR tonight.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

7-15-08

JMS has said that he has no interest in continuing B5: The Lost Tales. He doesn't want to revisit B5 in a low-budget version again. A full-budget feature film would be the only way we'd see more B5.

William Peterson will be leaving CSI after the 10th episode this season (and not just temporarily).

Sue Stewart has responded to the AP article about the lawsuit over Andre Norton's estate.

Last week, Buzz Aldrin blamed scifi for the lack of interest young people have in real-life space exploration. This week, io9 lists stories it thinks hinder and inspire real science. I think both theories are seriously flawed though, because I think science is just as interesting without the special effects, and cautionary tales aren't intended to make you ignore scientific discovery, just consider possible ramifications of discoveries.

Scifi wire has an article with JJ Abrams talking about how they came up with the idea for Fringe, and how it is not an X-Files clone.

Remember, if you can get through the traffic to the jammed server, Dr. Horrible part 1 was released online today.

There is nothing scheduled for the DVR tonight.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

7-10-08

NBC.com will have new Heroes webisodes online as of next Monday, July 14th.

More info on the incredibly badly written and interpreted Texas law covering PC techs needing investigator licenses.

Expect to see more SF projects on AMC. They are actively looking to add mini-series, movies, and remakes of genre projects. I just wish they would plan new or original projects instead of just recycling the old stuff.

The Solar Flare article on the History of Science Fiction has released part 2. If you missed it before, here is part 1.

The Screen Actors Guild still doesn't have a new contract, but a strike seems unlikely.

Forbidden Planet is conducting a 30th anniversary poll of the best in Sci/Fi in the last 30 years. The top 10 in each category will be announced August 20th.

DVR for tonight:
Burn Notice (USA) - 2nd season premier (check time)

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

7-9-08

Warner Brothers has announced they are developing an ElfQuest movie!!!!! Rawson Thurber will write, direct & produce. They haven't announced a format (live action or animation) yet. I have loved this story since I first read it about 27 years ago, so I'm thrilled the movie they've been talking about for years looks like it may finally happen. I just hope it ends up being a good adaptation. Links for coverage: Letter from Wendy Pini, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Empire, CanMag, CinemaBlend, IGN, Cinematical, and ElfQuest.com forum announcement.

MGM has given a greenlight to "A Cabin in the Woods", a movie co-written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard.

NBC has revealed their coverage plan for the Olympics. 75% of events will be televised live for the east coast.

NASA plans to retire the shuttles in 2010, even though the replacement spacecrafts won't be ready for 4 more years.

City of Pearl by Karen Traviss is available from Eos as a free ebook until the end of August. This is the start of a good series, so check it out if you haven't already. (Thanks to SF Signal for the info.)

The Campbell Memorial Award (In War Times by Kathleen Goonan) and Sturgeon Award winners (Finistera by David R. Moles and Tideline by Elizabeth Bear) have been announced. I think Finistera is overrated, but Tideline was excellent.

Apparently, Locus changed the way votes are counted for the Locus Awards after the ballots were cast. (They counted subscriber votes twice.) A lot of people are upset by this since it changed some of the winners.

Andre Norton's will has been challenged, leaving unpublished works on hold pending a resolution.

Popsci.com has a nice slideshow of Mars landscapes.

Monday, July 7, 2008

7-7-08

The Futon Critic has a first look at Virtuality today. It looks good. I just wish it weren't going to be on Fox.

TV Squad has an interview with Robert Picardo and Joseph Mallozzi about the new season of Stargate: Atlantis starting this Friday (warning: mild spoilers).

The "It Just Has to Sound Right" blog has a list of 20 British SF Novels You Should Read. Several have been on my TBR pile for ages, but I don't think I've actually read any of them. Anyone else?

The Watcher has an interview with Tricia Helfer (Six on BSG) about her upcoming role on Burn Notice.

DVR for tonight:
The Middleman (ABCFAM)

Thursday, July 3, 2008

7-3-08

3 reels of Metropolis previously believed to be lost have been found in Argentina. I look forward to seeing the restored version once they're done with it.

The Boston Globe has 17 photos of lunar exploration (10 from the Apollo era and 7 showing prototype gear for future missions).

There is nothing on TV tonight or tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

7-2-08

Another reason I'm glad I don't live in Texas: they have a new law that requires a Private Investigator license to fix someone's computer. PC repair shops may have to shut down until licensed or face a $4,000 fine or a year in jail. Customers can also be liable for going to unlicensed repair people. The law is currently being challenged.

John Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, and Karl Schroeder have built a shared world and written novellas that will be part of an original audio project for audible.com.

Reminder: Hugo votes are due by Monday night. Time to finish reading and vote if you are a Worldcon member and haven't already.

TV Guide has a review of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (coming next week) with excerpts from an interview with Joss Whedon. This looks like it will be fun.

There is nothing on TV tonight.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

7-1-08

RIP Don S. Davis. General Hammond of Stargate will make his final appearance in the dvd movie Stargate Continuum since the actor died Sunday of a heart attack at age 65. I'll miss spotting "oh him" in all the bit parts he had in other shows and movies.

Solar Flare has an article on the History of Science Fiction.

There is nothing scheduled for the DVR tonight.