When it comes to anime, I am more of a mech-style anime viewer. My favorite series is Robotech, followed closely by Starblazers, Voltron, and Transformers. Truth be told, I was not really a fan of the original Thundercats cartoon that aired in the 1980s — but the newly animated 2011 version of the Thundercats is simply some of the best cartoon storytelling I have ever been privileged to experience. The first nine episodes that aired earlier this year were riveting and wonderfully crafted, and they kept me acutely interested. This series has shown that in 2011 cartoons can indeed be for the entire family. The best part is, after a short hiatus, Thundercats resumes its Friday evening Cartoon Network run on November 4th. I highly suggest you “toon” in and catch this amazing series.
It’s been over a year since we’ve seen any significant developments regarding Slingers, the Firefly-meets-Ocean’s Eleven television show from UK writer Mike Sizemore. The last anyone heard, Slingers was in a developmental holding pattern, existing only as a “sizzle reel.” But now it seems that the show might be moving forward sooner than anyone realized. Jose Molina (fan-favorite writer of sci-fi gems Firefly and Dark Angel) revealed in a tweet that he was prepping to start writing Slingers with Sizemore. Follow the jump for all the details.
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Though the BluRays don’t release until September 16th, Twentieth Century Fox released an iPad app which they claim offers “a varied sampling of bonus materials featured in the collection including never-before-seen content sourced from the Lucasfilm archives.” Admittedly, it seems that all the cool stuff in the app will be available on the BluRays when they hit shelves. So if you’re planning to buy them maybe it makes sense to just wait. But if you’re not planning to spring for the new collection, this might give you a bit of fun — for a hell of a lot less cash. In fact, it’s free.
Earlier this year Warner Bros’ Alcon entertainment made entertainment news headlines by acquiring the “film, television and ancillary” rights to Blade Runner sequels, firing up the rumor mill with possibilities of new Blade Runner content — though not a remake/re-boot as “Alcon’s franchise rights would be all-inclusive, but exclude rights to remake the original.” Fans much lamented the possibility of a Scott-free ‘Runner future. Weep no more, though: Today Alcon announced that Ridley Scott will helm the next Blade Runner.
Audra and I ventured down to the Angelika this week to check out an indie sci-fi flick about which we’d heard good things: Another Earth. Penned by the director, Mike Cahill, and the lead actor, Brit Marling, Earth tells the tale of “an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer” whose “paths cross in a tragic accident on the night of the discovery of a duplicate planet in the solar system.”
Cahill, from a video interview: “I love the fact that audiences will not get what they’re expecting… You see the concept–this other Earth and this thing. It feels like a certain thing. Is it sci-fi? Is it a drama? Is it minimalist sci-fi? Is it a story of redemption?” By Sean’s classic definition, it’s sci-fi simply because it includes modified scientific elements — in this case, a second, duplicate Earth. But in the film, the alternate Earth serves only as a backdrop to a classic indie-film drama plot. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, either.
After ordering episodes so far ahead that when we talked to Colin Ferguson back in May (GWC #273), he was already on the set shooting season five before we’d even begun to see the second half of season four, SyFy announced yesterday the end of Eureka. It was a roller-coaster week for fans of the show as the possibility of cancellation leaked, followed by word that we might receive six “final” episodes. SyFy’s official statement:
“After painstaking consideration, we have had to make the difficult business decision to not order a season six of Eureka. But Eureka is not over yet. There is a new holiday episode this December and 12 stellar episodes set to debut next year, marking its fifth season and six memorable years on Syfy. The 2012 episodes are some of the best we’ve seen, and will bring this great series to a satisfying end. We are very grateful to Bruce Miller and Jaime Paglia, their team of incredible writers, and an amazing cast and crew who have consistently delivered a series we continue to be very proud of. We thank the fans for their support of this show and know they will enjoy its final season in 2012.“
Voltron is a recipe for a geek-gasm. Start with a mysterious oppressed planet, uncover five ancient transforming robot lions, insert young, highly-trained warrior pilots, add a galactic monstrous evil villain empire bent on universal domination, sprinkle in glamorous royalty, knead in hilarious dialogue, mix in magical spirits, cook it under the heat of a life-or-death confrontation of good versus evil, and top it off with a giant robot that defends the universe against other giant robots. Originally aired in 1984, Voltron rapidly rose to the top of the ratings in its after-school time slot and arguably became one of the most successful cartoons to date. With talk of a new live-action Voltron movie on the horizon and a revamped Voltron cartoon series set to air on Nicktoons June 16, 2011, I thought that the time was right to give GWCers the low down on the 1984 cartoon. If you’ve never experienced Voltron, and the thought of five magical robot lions who link together to form one mighty magical robot warrior and defender of the universe turns your space knobs — you should give Voltron a try. Perhaps you’re one of the fortunate and have seen all 124 episodes of the original Voltron series and all you require is a refresher. Either way, I suggest you get comfortable and turn on your space communicators to receive and enjoy the basics of Voltron: Defender of The Universe!
I’m usually one to be completely engrossed in watching a movie at home. In fact, to make sure I hear the dialogue correctly, I usually turn on the closed captioning. But with a movie or franchise I’m really interested in, I know I’ll be watching the movie over and over again, like the obsessed geek I am. I’ll watch the movie, the commentaries if they’re available, and the included special features on the DVD or Blu-ray — then I’ll listen to podcasts that discuss the movie. This week I discovered a new way to geek out over a movie with more in-depth material than I’ve seen before: Disney’s Second Screen.
One of the frequent gripes in the SciFi community is the lack of quality programming for our genre. The shows that do come along don’t seem to get the network and/or fan support they deserve and often end up cancelled before they hit their stride. We all whine, wail, and barbarically yelp about this subject all the time.
So imagine my pleasant surprise when I picked up the April 11-17 issue of TV Guide and saw their SciFi Review. Not only did they spotlight upcoming new shows like Falling Skies (TNT’s alien invasion drama) and FOX’s Terra Nova (now set to premiere in the fall), but they reminded viewers of existing standbys set to begin new episodes or seasons this spring, like Chuck, Torchwood, Sanctuary, and Dr. Who. This list didn’t even include other renewed favorites like Eureka, Warehouse 13, and SyFy’s very successful American version of Being Human.
With all these shows (including all the ones I didn’t name), paranormal fare like Vampire Diaries and Supernatural, as well as the Wonder Woman reboot, I’m left wondering, What exactly are we complaining about?
I’ve been in a GWC fantasy football league for the past two seasons. Fantasy football is a fun way to spend time with the GWC community as well as learn more about players, teams, and football in general than you’ll ever want to learn. The GWC Fantasy Sci-fi League is like that except better. You get to read and learn about characters you may have never heard of otherwise. Certain characters that others chose can pique your interest enough to lead you to picking up a book, comic, film, or series. If you don’t feel like completely diving into a character’s story, then a quick Google or Wikipedia search are great for filling in gaps. I cannot guess how many times I’ve had to use those tools. Plus, the GWC community is indescribably awesome with their creativity and entertainment.
To start off, I don’t have plans to kick off another GWC Fantasy Sci-fi League, sorry. Still it’s been several months, and I’ve had a character on my mind for my next team for what seems like ages. Then, others came to mind. I didn’t have an outlet, so I’m making one.
The Andromeda Galaxy as seen by Terry Hancock from Michigan (with permission)
Andromeda. Few words immediately bring forth imagery of science fiction, fantasy and real-life astronomy to me like Andromeda does. Andromeda is our heavens, Andromeda is in our history, Andromeda is in our music and literature, Andromeda is in our oceans and Andromeda is in our science fiction and fantasy. I’ll admit I am less knowledgeable about Andromedas than I am about Enterprises (see my 20 Favorite Ships Called Enterprises post), but several Andromedas are also at the root of my geekdom. Recently I decided to take some time and run through the Andromedas that I’m aware of. I’m confident that there are additional Andromedas of relevance out there. If you know of one, please let me know in the comments section below because I would greatly appreciate and enjoy learning about it. In the meantime, please sit back and allow me to take you through my tour of the Andromedas.
Image from SyFy Mobile Website
In the past two minutes I turned off the final episode of Caprica, hit save on the DVR and turned on my laptop. Almost three weeks after SyFy aired the final five Caprica episodes I was able to complete the January 4th, 2011 marathon. Somehow I had managed to stay Caprica spoiler-free until today and it payed off in spades. My feelings are somewhat like watching the last episode of Firefly: pleased with the show and totally enraged at its network cancellation. The final five Caprica episodes were phenomenal and the final five minutes were even more amazing to me. I will be looking to pick up the DVD of season 1.5 shortly. It was that good. And to those that have not seen the series or the final five episodes you are missing out, especially those of you that were Battlestar Galactica fans. Well Done, Caprica. Well Done!
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