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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Last year I wrote about this amazing SyFy show that debuted in July 2010 set in a quaint Northeastern coastal town called Haven. Based loosely on Stephen King’s The Colorado Kid, this show continues to amaze and captivate me. It’s a well put together story with great acting and, as Chuck often puts it, “a lot of heart.”
But Haven’s got troubles. No, not the kind that face Eureka (or any Fox show). Haven’s residents are somehow bestowed with special powers — powers that laid dormant but recently returned. Together these powers are called “the troubles.” But what are these troubles exactly? Who or what is causing them? And more importantly: what could ultimately quiet the troubles?
How was the universe created? What would an alien invasion be like? Why do people like sex? It almost sounds like any given GWC podcast. In fact, if you put GWC on TV with amazing special effects as well as international expert guest hosts like Stephen Hawking, NASA experts, and Hollywood stars like Michelle Rodriguez, you’d have the new Discovery Channel program called Curiosity: The Questions of Life.
Fans at last week’s Las Vegas Star Trek convention got a bit of a shocker from Walter Koenig. His quote (via TrekMovie.com):
“[J. Michael Staczynski] told me that he is in negotiations to re-acquire the rights to Babylon 5 and it looks pretty good. Now what that portends I am not entirely sure. It could be a new series or it could be a feature film, but he was quite animated about it. He seemed very excited and Warner Brothers is dealing with him in good faith. So you might see another Babylon 5 in the not too distant future.”
So maybe there’s reason for B5 fans to get excited after all. Or maybe not. Straczynski is denying the rumors. “Walter misspoke,” he told Spinoff Online, “I am not in negotiations with WB to develop more Babylon 5.”
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!
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?
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!
ABC's V (Image from ABC's Mobile Website)
In the fall of 2009, there seemed to be an endless number of continued and new television shows Shooter Jr and I were looking forward to watching. Eighteen months later, it is a very different landscape on our DVR and TV Guide. Granted, there are still some great shows left but there a quite a few empty holes that will be difficult to replace. In the wake of the SyFy cancellations of Caprica and Stargate Universe in late 2010, I find myself wondering if ABC’s V will be able to survive for another season in the 2011-2012 timeframe.
A Depiction of Star Trek's Original U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 (Special thanks to Jeff Quan at http://www.jcquan.com for the use of the cool art!)
A few months ago GWCers The Operator, ThotFullGuy, and DawnAZ flooded my Twitter stream with references to the Starship Enterprise. While it was clearly evident The Operator and ThotFullGuy were discussing the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 from the 2009 Star Trek reboot movie, DawnAZ wasn’t nearly as specific. In fact, I listed off 10 different Enterprises off the top of my head in a reply requesting her to specify. It turned out that the exact ship wasn’t relevant to her Enterprise reference, but the conversation reminded me how fondly I regard the many ships called Enterprise. For those that have served on board an Enterprise or watched the various Enterprise versions on the movie or television screens over the years the name Enterprise has a special reverence in our hearts. If you search the internet you will find many web pages devoted to these fine ships. By no means am I attempting to duplicate the many long hours of work it took to assemble those fine resources. Rather, what follows is simply a list of my favorite Enterprises and where I’ve run into them over the years. I think even the most die-hard Enterprise enthusiast might find a surprise or two. So enjoy the tour and as always, drop a comment below. I’d love to hear what you have to say on the subject.
The 8 1/2 Foot Tall 2010 Shooter Family Geek Christmas Tree
I’m sure just about everyone reading this article has some sort of a holiday tradition. Our family has several and usually includes the boys in the family going to see whatever SciFi blockbuster is out. This year our plans are to see Tron Legacy together. One of our other long lasting traditions involve each member of the family receiving a Hallmark Christmas Tree Ornament in our stockings. My mother, Mom Shooter, has been responsible for assembling this gift each year for the past 20 or 30 years. Everyone has one or two series that they follow from year to year. My father, Dad Shooter, has received the Classic American Car series every year since 1991. The girls usually end up with a Disney series ornament. I have received the All American Trucks series off and on since 2000, but each and every year Mom Shooter makes sure I receive some sort of a SciFi Hallmark Christmas Tree ornament. In fact, our family have received so many Hallmark ornaments that we’ve had to add a second full-sized tree in our home to handle all of our favorite ornaments. For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you’ve already seen our “geek” tree, but for those of you who didn’t get the chance, here’s a little tour of the vehicle and ship ornaments on our tree.
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