SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 87 - Our Interview with Steve Wilson from Prometheus Radio Theatre and the Farpoint Con.

Scifi Diner Conversations 11 –  Just How Does Hulu Play Into Ratings? Listeners Discuss Fringe, Charlie Jade, Dark Angel, And More.

Charlie Jade Episode 1 The Big Bang - Initial Thoughts

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 86 - What's on Our SciFi Christmas List? Star Trek Authors Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore and John Fraiser from Think Geek Join Us!

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 84 - Our Interview with Kevin Sorbo from Andromeda and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

Scifi Diner Conversations 8 – Listeners discuss Stargate Universe, Caprica, Fringe, Walking Dead and More.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 83 – Our Interview with Riese: Kingdom Falling Creators Ryan Copple and Kaleena Kiff

Scifi Diner Conversations 7 – Listeners discuss the Third X-files Movie, Walking Dead, The Event, and More.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 82 – Our Interview with John Mierau, Author of the Podiobook Enemy Lines

Scifi Diner Conversations 6 – Listeners discuss the Caprica Cancellation, Sanctuary, The Event, and More.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 81 – Our Interview with Bestselling Author Graham Hancock, Who Wrote The Fantasy Novel Entangled

This is our listener feedback episode where we discuss with our listeners the shows and movies we are watching.  This week we discuss New York Comicon, how important Science is in Science Fiction, reaction to Fringe, Big Bang Theory, and other shows.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 80 - How Important is Science in Science Fiction? John from ThinkGeek, Darren from The Trekcast Podcast, and Chris from Subspace Communique and Life After Trek. 

This is our listener feedback episode where we discuss with our listeners the shows and movies we are watching.  Some of the shows we discuss are Hawaii 5O, Stargate Universe, Smallville, The Event, No Ordinary Family, Big Bang Theory and More.

We respond to listener feedback and share our thoughts on some of the current shows.

The SciFi Diner Podcast

Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343, email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com

or visit us on Twitter @scifidiner.

Facebook Fan Page

Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles

Welcome to the Diner.

Our MP3 Feed can be subscribed to here.

Download this episode (right click and save)

If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on iTunes. We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable. Visit our webpage at http://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching!

Listener Question:

How important is Science Fact in Science Fiction? We'll be discussing it in our next show on October 12!

Internet Site of the Week:

http://doihaveinternet.com

On the menu tonight:

• Interview David Nykl
• Star Trek Trivia
• Warehouse 13 renewed
• Wonder Woman comes to the Small Screen
• The Hobbit Burns
• Transformers 3
• The Superman Reboot
• Monty Python turns 41
• Superman/Batman Apocalypse DVD
• This week in Star trek: Miles brings an interview with Patrick Stewart and a new clip from a trailer for Star Wars VS Star Trek
• SciFi Five in Five: Jen from NY brings us her top Five Time Travel Movies for girls who are not really into SciFi

Our Interview with David Nykl:

David Nykl: known to Sci-Fi fans worldwide as Stargate's Dr Radek Zelenka, David is a veteran character actor with over 20 years experience in film, television and theatre. He has appeared in Fringe, Human Target, Sanctuary, Psych, Eureka, and many more science fiction shows. Born in Prague and a native of Vancouver; David has appeared in dozens of film and television projects in the U.S., Europe and Canada. As founder and former Artistic Director of Prague's famous Misery Loves Company Theatre, David appeared in dozens of productions in central Europe in both Czech and English. He lives in Vancouver with his wife and three children.

He currently promoted the movie The Beast of Bottomless Lake which won the Best Canadian Indie Feature Film at the Okanagan International Film Festival, and won the People’s Choice Award!  Below is a synopsis of the film:

Deep in the waters of the bottomless lake known as Okanagan, lives the serpent like creature, Ogopogo. Some say it’s a myth, others say they’ve seen it. For Dr. Paul Moran, Cryptozoologist, it could be his ticket to fame and fortune and the validation he’s always been searching for.

Follow Dr. Moran and his team of dedicated and not so dedicated adventurers as they embark on a hilarious and sometimes tragic expedition to prove the existence of the creature and change our perception of the world as we know it. Oh, and claim the two-million dollar bounty that goes along with it.

Here is the trailer:

This Week’s Trivia:

Trivia Question: What popular African American comedian back in the 80s was originally considered to play the cetacean biologist in Star Trek The Voyage Home?

Prize: An autographed photo of Catherine Hicks with William Shatner.

You will have until October 12th to answer this question. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner.

Podcast Promos:

Gate Cast Podcast

Trek Cast Podcast

The Main Course:

TV News:

From Allison Scagliotti: It's true... Season 3 is officially official.

Syfy's "Warehouse 13" is getting a third season.

After weeks of rumors, the cable network is set to announce a 13-episode pickup. Showrunner Jack Kenny will on board for another round and has signed a development deal with Universal Cable Prods.

During its second season, "Warehouse" averaged 3.4 million viewers and 1.5 million in the adults 18-49 demographic, making it Syfy's most-watched series this year.

"Jack Kenny's superlative leadership and the incredible talent of his cast and crew delivered an outstanding second season of ‘Warehouse 13,' " Syfy programming chief Mark Stern said. "We're excited to see this successful series return next year and to developing our next hit with Jack."

From TrekJen: Happy 41st Anniversary to Monty Python's Flying Circus! The first episode was broadcast on October 5, 1969.

Wonder woman back to small screen

This has to be the highest-profile effort to bring Wonder Woman to television: One of TV's best-known creators, The Practice's David E. Kelley, has come on board to write and produce a new series project about the female superhero. The project, from Warner Bros Television where Kelley is based, and Warner Bros' DC Entertainment, will be taken out to the networks shortly. Kelley, who has created several female centered shows like Ally McBeal, has wanted to tackle a contemporary take on the World War II-era Amazon. He recently met with the DC team who also have been looking for ways to launch a new Wonder Woman TV franchise.

The comic book Wonder Woman character has evolved significantly since she first appeared in a 1941 issue of All Star Comics and recently underwent a controversial makeover. Details on Kelley's TV series are being kept under wraps, and it is not clear if the new Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince will be the old familiar Wonder Woman or the redesigned reboot announced with great fanfare this year by DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee that looks like she's ready for Goth Day at the Galleria. (DC Comics Has Ruined Wonder Woman!) Or whether she'll keep her signature powers and weapons, including her Lasso of Truth, her indestructible bracelets, her tiara and her invisible airplane.

Wonder Woman has presented a challenge both for feature and TV creators. That's probably because she is the most famous female superhero in the testosterone-dominated comic world. And because she also is a big feminist icon. The most successful screen adaptation of the Wonder Woman comic books was the TV series The New Adventures of Wonder Woman starring Lynda Carter in the title role, which aired from 1975-1979, first on ABC and then on CBS. Carter has since become synonymous with the character. That will certainly present a challenge in casting the role if the project goes to pilot.

On the feature side, a Wonder Woman film has been in development hell for a decade at Warner Bros, with Joss Whedon at one point attached to write and direct for producer Joel Silver. In May, Warner chairman and CEO Barry Meyer confirmed that a new Wonder Woman feature is in development. There has been a concerted effort on part of Time Warner lately to better mine the DC properties across different platforms. The film division is expected to announce a slate of DC movies by the end of the year that would probably include Wonder Woman.

Warner Bros TV has brought DC characters to the small screen before: most recently with the CW's Superman-themed Smallville, which is in its 10th and final season, and Fox's Human Target, which returned for a second season. A notable recent effort to launch a new Wonder Woman series came a decade ago with Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman creator Deborah Joy LeVine as the writer.

Movie News:

LaBeouf: “Transformers 3″ Is Best of the Series - Many of us were disappointed by "Transformers: Revenge of the Fall...

Many of us were disappointed by “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

If you were one of them (and I was), actor Shia LaBeouf has good news.  He  says the currently filming “Transformers 3″ is the best of the series.

“The script is the best script we’ve had,” he said. “The first movie, we had the discovery, and this movie really is the fruition of the rhythm we’ve created out of five years working together. I’m super proud of this movie.”

He also vows this will be the last time we see him in the series.

There’s no more for me, at least. I’m never going to do it again. This is the last one, so it’s balls-out.” he says. “This is the best movie we’ve made, period, and that’s a unanimous decision by everybody. The sizzle reel that [director Michael Bay] has been showing everybody on set, it’s so outrageous. I’m very, very, very, very proud of it.”

The film is still in production.

From Herne: The Hobbit Studio Hit By Blaze

First Full Trailer for Sci-Fi Thriller 'Skyline' Sees the Alien Creature - AceShowbiz

The first full trailer for small-budgeted yet impressive alien invasion movie "Skyline" has made its way out via Apple. It starts right when the aliens come to Los Angeles and wake up the citizens. Once humans stare at the light coming out from the spaceships, they are swallowed.

A band of survivors plans to go as far as they can from the city before the entire population is taken from the Earth. But their efforts and the help sent for them are easily destroyed by the huge alien creature.

"Skyline" is made by director brothers Colin and Greg Strause with only a crew of about 20 people. Donald Faison, Eric Balfour, David Zayas, Scottie Thompson and Brittany Daniel are among the cast ensemble of this sci-fi movie, which will open wide in U.S. theaters on November 12.

Kneel before Zack Snyder: Zod confirmed for Superman reboot

Myst, best-selling adventure game EVER, heads to the screen

The classic weird-ass-island-based adventure video game is on its way to the big screen, courtesy of the producers behind the Chronicles of Narnia films and Donnie Darko. Dorm room lava lamp not included.

For a good long while there, 1993's Myst was the best-selling PC game of all time, and what enticed players was the immersive, mysterious world they could explore, filled with magic, secrets, feuding brothers and books that served as portals to other worlds. It was like Lost, but without the plane crash. Or Walt.

Aside from a number of game sequels, Myst also spawned a trio of novels—Myst: The Book of Atrus, Myst: The Book of Ti'ana and Myst: The Book of D'ni—that filled out the game's mythology and that will serve as a foundation for the feature film's story.

"Our aim with this project is to stretch the genres it operated within, much like the source material did," said Mysteria Film Group's Adrian Vanderbosch, who is partnering with Mark Johnson (Narnia) and Hunt Lowry (Donnie Darko) for the film.

"It is such an innovative property, and by utilizing the novels as our primary resource, we have the opportunity to offer audiences the essence of Myst without being limited only to the famous island of the first game. Our focus has always been on creating an entirely new visual experience driven by engaging characters and an epic narrative."

Now available on DVD:

Superman/Batman Apocolypse Tim Daly: Superman Kevin Conroy: Batman Supergirl: Summer Glau Darkseid: Andre Brauer

This Week in Star Trek

Star Wars vs. Star Trek Trailer

Sir Patrick Stewart Interview

Patrick Stewart once feared that Star Trek – and his iconic status as Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation – would prove to be an “albatross” around his neck. It didn’t turn out that way, of course. Post-Star Trek, Stewart has engaged in a remarkably expansive array of work that includes starring roles on Broadway and the West End and in films and televisions programs. His voice – that sonorous, authoritative voice – has been heard in everything from documentaries and commercials to videogames and animated shows/features. Some credits include: the blockbuster X-Men features, The Lion in Winter, Antony and Cleopatra, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, Macbeth, Eleventh Hour, Hamlet, American Dad! and Waiting for Godot

The SciFi Five in Five:

Jen from NY brings us her top Five Time Travel Movies for girls who are not really into SciFi.

• "Frequency" I absolutely loved this movie!
• "Kate & Leapold",
• "Forever Young", I had a hard time @ first trying 2 remember the name of this movie that came out in 1991, was kind of a low budget type of movie called,
• "Late for Dinner", & since I realized I seemed to be going with a time travel theme with this 5 & I don't know about guy's liking this last movie but still a nice 1, called,
• "Somewhere in Time", starring Christopher Reeves & Jane Seymour!  Classic stuff!  Sigh.

This is our listener feedback episode or what we are calling our conversations at the diner.  In this episode we cover our initial thoughts on the new and returning shows such as Stargate, The Event, Clone Wars, Supernatural, Smallville, No Ordinary Family, and more.  We also discuss your feedback, what you are chatting about, and your thoughts on the shows and news were are discussing.  We even discuss what it might cost to get cable in England so you can watch some of our delicious Science Fiction.

The SciFi Diner Podcast

Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343, email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com

or visit us on Twitter @scifidiner.

Facebook Fan Page

Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles

Welcome to the Diner.

Our MP3 Feed can be subscribed to here.

Download this episode (right click and save)

If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on iTunes. We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable. Visit our webpage at http://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching!

Listener Question:

How important is Science Fact in Science Fiction? We'll be discussing it on October 12th.

Our Interview:

Catherine Mary Hicks (born 6 August 1951; age 59) is the actress who portrayed Dr.Gillian Taylor in the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Hicks is best known for her starring role as Annie Jackson-Camden in the television series 7th Heaven. Fellow Star Trek film performer Stephen Collins co-stars with Hicks on this series as her husband, Reverend Eric Camden. Prior to this, Hicks was a regular on the daytime soap opera Ryan's Hope, playing Dr. Faith Coleridge from 1976 through 1978. Also starring on this program at that time were Star Trek: Voyager star Kate Mulgrew and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor Andrew Robinson. Hicks went on to play Dr. Emily Rappant on the short-lived series The Bad News Bears, co-starring Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'''s Phillip Richard Allen. In 1994, she and Ed Begley, Jr. played husband-and-wife in another short-lived series, Winnetka Road, also starring Richard Herd. Aside from Star Trek IV, Hicks can be seen in many other motion pictures throughout the 1980s, having had major supporting roles in such films as Death Valley (1982, co-starring Stephen McHattie), The Razor's Edge (1984), Peggy Sue Got MarriedLife Father Like Son (1987, with Armin Shimerman, Kitty Swink, Michael Horton, and Dakin Matthews), Secret Ingredient (1988, with Jeff Corey), SouvenirChristopher Plummer), and She's Out of Control (1989, with Wallace Shawn and Derek McGrath). Possibly her best known film role, however, is that of a mother vicitmized by her son's doll in the popular 1988 horror movie Child's Play, co-starring Chris Sarandon and Brad Dourif. (1986), (1989, co-starring Hicks also had the lead role of Marilyn Monroe in the 1980 made-for-TV movie Marilyn: The Untold Story (also featuring Brad Blaisdell). The following year, she starred in Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls, a 1981 TV movie also starring Jean Simmons and Janet MacLachlan. In 1989, she played Bruce Greenwood's ex-wife in the TV movie Spy. Her later film credits include 1991's Liebestraum (with Zach Grenier and Thomas Kopache), 1995's Dillinger and Capone (co-starring F. Murray Abraham, Jeffrey Combs, Clint Howard, Bert Remsen, and Time Winters) and 1997's Turbulence (with James MacDonald and Scott Lawrence). She was also seen in such TV movies as Hi Honey - I'm Dead (1991, with Gregory Itzin) and For All Time (2000, with Bill Cobbs).

On the menu tonight:

• Interview Catherine Hicks

• Trivia
• A New LOST show.
• Nine Inch Nails
• Batman 3
• This Week in Star Trek
• SciFi Five in Five

Trivia:

Old Trivia: Question: BSG Trivia   What was Laura Roslin's position in the government before she became President? Answer: Secretary of Education Prize: First two books in the autumn rain trilogy.  "And it seems appropriate that you would give aways books for knowing this, because she doesn't lend them out.  Books are always gifts." B. Hardin Winner: Kathleen G. New Trivia Question: What popular African American comedian back in the 80s was originally considered to play the cetacean biologist in Star Trek The Voyage Home? Prize: Am autographed photo of Catherine Hicks with William Shatner. You will have until October 12th to answer this question. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner.

Podcast Promos:

Fringecasting with Wayne and Dan

Ever since Lost started winding down, Michael Emerson has been joking about reuniting with costar Terry O'Quinn for a TV series in which they'd both play suburban hitmen. Turns out it was no joke! While we have no idea whether the hitmen concept is still part of the equation, the word out of NBC today is that the two men's TV reunion is a go. According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC has made a pilot commitment to a new series starring Emerson and O'Quinn. While no details have yet been released, it's been reported that the pair would be playing ex-black-ops agents. This marks Abrams' second project for NBC, following up on Undercovers, which premieres tonight. Are you looking forward to seeing Linus and Locke together again for the first time?  

NINE Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor is developing a science-fiction miniseries based on his album Year Zero.

The Year Zero miniseries will be produced by Lawrence Bender, producer of several Quentin Tarantino films, and Kelly Brown, executive producer of the TV series Roswell, the Los Angeles Times reported. Daniel Knauf, writer of the HBO series Carnivale, is writing the script. "It's exciting. I probably shouldn't say too much about it except that I understand that there's a thousand hurdles before anything shows up in your TV listing," Reznor said. "I've learned that [television development] moves at a glacial pace." Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero, released in 2007, is a sci-fi concept album set in a dystopian 2022. Reznor said on the Nine Inch Nails website that the story deals with "erosion of freedoms" and "the way that we [the United States] treat the rest of the world and our own citizens." The album was promoted with a viral campaign that included messages hidden on the prints of tour T-shirts, a network of websites relating to the Year Zero story, and USB drives containing songs and hidden messages left in public bathrooms around the world.  

'Eureka' Audience Finishes With Another Record   Most of the time, audiences for shows shrink. Even if they do grow, it's usually for a season or two before it starts to fade. Not with Syfy's "Eureka," however. For the fourth consecutive year (yeah, the number that comes after three), the quirky comedy starring Colin Ferguson has added to its already sizable audience base, finishing with 3.16 million total viewers over the course of the season. That's up slightly from the 3.15 million that tuned in for Season 3, and is leaps and bounds beyond the 2.48 million that were around for Season 1 back in 2007, according to a press release from Syfy. The numbers include not only live viewers, but those who DVR as well -- a growing segment of television's viewer base. Among the more than 3 million who tuned in each week, 1.4 million were adults between 18 and 49 (up 1 percent from the year before), a key demographic appealing to advertisers. Of that, 584,000 were adults under the age of 34, up 8 percent from the year before, marking its best audience in this particular demo ever. The growth has slowed for "Eureka," starting with a 20 percent jump in Season 2 to a 6 percent rise in Season 3. However, the fact that it's growing -- and remains one of Syfy's top-rated programs, means that there will be plenty of "Eureka" to go around in the coming years, and will remain the network's longest-running current program. The show already has been renewed for a fifth season -- something the network pretty much does without hesitation -- and will air a Christmas episode in December, like its sister show, "Warehouse 13." "Eureka" might be strong in the ratings, but it's not stopping the producers from taking chances. This season, the addition of James Callis from "Battlestar Galactica" allowed the entire show to virtually reset itself. It also featured a crossover with "Warehouse 13," bringing Allison Scagliotti to town for a single episode. The show also included some interesting guest stars including Ming-Na from "Stargate: Universe," Wil Wheaton from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Matt Frewer of Max Headroom fame, and Felicia Day. Besides Ferguson, "Eureka" also stars Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Joe Morton, Erica Cerra, Neil Grayston, Niall Matter and features Jordon Hinson.

Movie News:

Star Wars is getting redone in 3-D with a new theatrical release! http://bit.ly/bIUX4h

We probably all knew this was going to happen sooner or later, but Lucasfilm says it's going to remaster the entire Star Wars saga in 3-D and release the movies in theaters (again). You can expect Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace to kick things off in 2012, which also happens to be the year of the Mayan apocalypse. Hm... Depending on your view of 3-D, this is either a great moment in the history of Lucasfilm or a horrifying moment in the history of Lucasfilm. Deadline has the details:

This is big news and Lucafilm intends to make a big announcement about this long-awaited live-action Star Wars Saga conversion to stereoscopic 3D tomorrow. Can you imagine the Death Star trench run and the Tatooine Podraces in that format? Yikes! Plus, with Industrial Light & Magic supervising the project, led by John Knoll, this won't just just another cheezy 3D conversion. According to tomorrow's announcement, obtained by Deadline, ILM's visual effects supervisor Knoll says, "Getting good results on a stereo conversion is a matter of taking the time and getting it right. It takes a critical and artistic eye along with an incredible attention to detail to be successful. It is not something that you can rush if you want to expect good results. For Star Wars we will take our time, applying everything we know both aesthetically and technically to bring audiences a fantastic new Star Wars experience." Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace is expected to be released theatrically in 2012. A release date has not yet been set for the other five films in the saga. This is sure to be a cash cow for everyone involved. Star Wars creator George Lucas acknowledged publicly earlier this year that the 3D conversion had been stalled but that seeing first Avatar and then Alice In Wonderland become such successes gave him new impetus to make the conversion. Though never a fan of 3D, Lucas has said he'd been looking "for years and years and years" to add 3D to the Star Wars Saga but felt the technology hadn't measured up until Avatar changed his mind.

Chris Nolan admits (yes!) he's directing Batman 3 http://bit.ly/dfq9B3

Everyone's always assumed Christopher Nolan would be back to direct Batman 3, but the man himself has been cagey about it pretty much since completing The Dark Knight back in 2008. Well, we can at last breathe a sigh of relief: Nolan confirmed that he will in fact be getting behind the camera for his third go-round with the Caped Crusader. Of course, he wouldn't say it straight out at first, telling Empire, "It's becoming inevitable, I'll put it that way. I feel myself falling into it, I guess. And getting it all figured out and I'm pretty excited about what we're doing, so ... If I haven't announced it, I think that people probably all know at this point that I'm doing it." When asked if we could take that to mean he's officially, really, truly directing the thing, Nolan replied, "I think you can at this point, yes." The director also confirmed that he is currently working on his own draft of the script, which has been written by his brother Jonathan. No word, of course, on villains, plot, or anything like that, but apparently Michael Caine told BBC Radio 1 that he's been hearing about a May 2011 start date for production and that he assumes he'll be back as Alfred Pennyworth. Batman 3, or whatever they end up calling it, is scheduled to arrive on July 20, 2012. Let the speculation begin!

DVD Review:

Yes! The restored "Metropolis" is coming 11/16 on DVD and Blu-ray. Info, trailer: http://j.mp/dsozrJ Metropolis takes place in 2026, when the populace is divided between workers who must live in the dark underground and the rich who enjoy a futuristic city of splendor. The tense balance of these two societies is realized through images that are among the most famous of the 20th century, many of which presage such sci-fi landmarks as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner. Lavish and spectacular, with elaborate sets and modern science fiction style, Metropolis stands today as the crowning achievement of the German silent cinema. Kino International is proud to announce the DVD and long awaited first time ever Blu-ray release of the new restoration of Fritz Lang's 1927 science fiction masterpiece METROPOLIS, now with 25 minutes of lost footage and the original Gottfried Huppertz score. This new 147-minute version (being released as THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS), opened theatrically in April 2010 earning over $350,000 at the box office, and since it’s original restoration, has gone on to earn $1,000,000 in theatrical ticket sales! When it was first screened in Berlin on January 10, 1927, the sci-fi epic ran an estimated 153 minutes. After its premiere engagement, in an effort to maximize the film's commercial potential, the film's distributors (UFA in Germany, Paramount in the U.S.) drastically shortened METROPOLIS, which had been a major disappointment at the German box office. By the time it debuted in the United States later that year, the film ran approximately 90 minutes (exact running times are difficult to determine because silent films were not always projected at a standardized speed). METROPOLIS went on to become one of the cornerstones of science fiction cinema foreshadowing BLADE RUNNER and THE MATRIX to name just a few recent examples. Testament to its enduring popularity, the film has undergone restorations in 1984 and again in 1987. The 2001 restoration combined footage from four archives and ran at a triumphant 124 minutes. And at the time was widely believed that this would be the most complete version of Lang's film that contemporary audiences could ever hope to see. But, in the summer of 2008, the curator of the Buenos Aires Museo del Cine discovered a 16mm dupe negative that was considerably longer than any existing print. It included not merely a few additional snippets, but 25 minutes of "lost" footage (about a fifth of the film) that had not been seen since its 1927 debut in Berlin. The discovery of such a significant amount of material called for yet another restoration, carefully executed by Anke Wilkening of the Murnau Stiftung (Foundation) (the German institution that is the caretaker of virtually all pre 1945 German films), Martin Koerber, Film Department Curator of the Deutche Kinemateque and on the music side, by Frank Stoebel. Regarding the quality of the added footage Ms. Wilkening has said: "The work on the restoration teaches us once more that no restoration is ever definitive... Even if we are allowed for the first time to come as close to the first release as ever before, the new version will still remain an approach. The rediscovered sections which change the film's composition, and at the same time always be recognizable through their damages as those parts that had been lost for 80 years." DVD ITEM#K690 UPC# 7 38329 06902 5 SRP: $29.95 DVD Features: - Original 1927 score by Gottfried Huppertz, performed by the Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, conducted by Frank Strobel presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround - Limited Edition Collectible "O-Card" Packaging - Voyage to Metropolis, a 50-minute documentary on the making and restoration of the film - Interview with Paula Felix-Didier, curator of the Museo del Cine, Buenos Aires, where the missing footage was discovered - 2010 re-release trailer BLU-RAY ITEM#K713 UPC# 7 38329 07132 5 SRP: $39.95 Blu-ray Features: - Original 1927 score by Gottfried Huppertz, performed by the Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, conducted by Frank Strobel presented in DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 - Limited Edition Collectible 3-D Lenticuar Box Packaging - HD Video: 1920 x 1080p - Voyage to Metropolis, a 50-minute documentary on the making and restoration of the film (presented in HD) - Interview with Paula Felix-Didier, curator of the Museo del Cine, Buenos Aires, where the missing footage was discovered - 2010 re-release trailer

This Week in Star Trek

Life After Star Trek w/ Chris Wood Available on ITUNES.

3. Wall.E

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 77 - The Episode We Make Contact

This episode is totally dedicated to our listeners.  It's a departure from the norm as we discuss the things you are writing about and commenting on.  We love you guys!

The SciFi Diner Podcast

Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343, email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com

or visit us on Twitter @scifidiner.

Facebook Fan Page

Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles

Welcome to the Diner.

Our MP3 Feed can be subscribed to here.

Download this episode (right click and save)

If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on iTunes. We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable. Visit our webpage at http://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching!

Listener Question:

How important is Science Fact in Science Fiction? We'll be discussing it in one of our next shows.

On the menu tonight:

• Interview Edward James Olmos Part 2
• BSG Trivia
• Stephen King Dark Tower to TV
• NO more Heroes
• Gravity Movie News
• Who is playing Bilbo
• Battleship has landed a big named actor
• A DVD Review: Batman under the Red Hood
• We have Tractor Beam Technology
• TWIST: The sequel and 44th Birthday of Trek
• SciFi Five in Five: Top 5 BSG Moments

This Week’s Trivia:

What was Laura Roslin's position in the government before she became President? Prize: First two books in the Autumn Rain trilogy. For more information on the Autumn Rain Trilogy, visit here. "And it seems appropriate that you would give aways books for knowing this, because she doesn't lend them out.  Books are always gifts." B. Hardin You will have until September 21 to answer this question. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner.  

Podcast Promos:

Haitian Connection Network Promo The Signal Promo Updated The Main Course:

TV News:

Universal Lands Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' And Plans Unprecedented Feature/Network TV Adaptation

EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television Entertainment have closed a deal to turn Stephen King’s mammoth novel series The Dark Tower into a feature film trilogy and a network TV series, both of which will be creatively steered by the Oscar-winning team behind A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code. Ron Howard has committed to direct the initial feature film, as well as the first season of the TV series that will follow in close proximity. Akiva Goldsman will write the film, and the first season of the TV series. Howard’s Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer will produce, with Goldsman and the author. When Deadline revealed in April that Howard, Goldman and Grazer planned to team with King, Universal was battling Warner Bros—home of Goldsman’s Weed Road--for the property. The multi-platform deal was so comprehensive, it took months to close. It will be announced later today by Universal Pictures chairman Adam Fogelson, co-chairman Donna Langley, NBC Universal Television Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin, and NBC & Universal Media Studios Primetime Entertainment president Angela Bromstad, all of whom pulled it together. I spoke with Goldsman and Howard, who have polled enough of their peers to be convinced what they are doing here has never been attempted: using a major studio’s film and TV platforms simultaneously to tell a story. It is reminiscent of when Peter Jackson directed three installments of The Lord of The Rings, back to back, so that they could be released in three consecutive years. “What Peter did was a feat, cinematic history,” Howard told me. “The approach we’re taking also stands on its own, but it’s driven by the material. I love both, and like what’s going on in TV. With this story, if you dedicated to one medium or another, there’s the horrible risk of cheating material. The scope and scale call for a big screen budget. But if you committed only to films, you’d deny the audience the intimacy and nuance of some of these characters and a lot of cool twists and turns that make for jaw-dropping, compelling television. We’ve put some real time and deep thought into this, and a lot of conversations and analysis from a business standpoint, to get people to believe in this and take this leap with us. I hope audiences respond to it in a way that compels us to keep going after the first year or two of work. It’s fresh territory for me, as a filmmaker.” Considered King’s answer to JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth trilogy, The Dark Tower revolves around Roland Deschain, the last living member of a knightly order of gunslingers, and humanity’s last hope to save a civilization that will crumble unless he finds the Dark Tower. Howard and Goldsman describe the world as “an alternate Americana, one part post-apocalyptic, one part Sergio Leone.” Goldsman first mentioned The Dark TowerA Beautiful Mind nearly a decade ago. to Howard and Grazer while they worked on “Akiva said, ‘Stephen will not let go of it, but it’s like nothing else you’ve ever read,’” Howard recalled. “It was frustrating because it’s one of those works where you read it, and then at odd times, the imagery and sensations just pop up in your mind. This is going to be an amazing life experience for us, trying to do justice to the story and the universe.” King granted an option—for $19, a number relevant to the plotline--to JJ Abrams and his Lost partners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. They never cracked the sprawling plotline and all the characters. Goldsman pounced when the rights were available, but saw the same problems until Howard suggested using film and TV platforms. Though Howard famously grew up on a TV screen on The Andy Griffith Show, he hasn’t directed TV since the early 80s, but is eager to return. It seems hard to fathom he'd direct a full season's worth of episodes, but that is the early plan, and who says they have to do 22 to create that bridge to the next film? The plan is to start with the feature film, and then create a bridge to the second feature with a season of TV episodes. That means the feature cast—and the big star who’ll play Deschain—also has to appear in the TV series before returning to the second film. After that sequel is done, the TV series picks up again, this time focusing on Deschain as a young gunslinger. Those storylines will be informed by a prequel comic book series that King was heavily involved in plotting. The third film would pick up the mature Deshain as he completes his journey. They will benefit from being able to use the same sets cast and crew for the movie and TV, which could help contain costs on what will be a financially ambitious undertaking. "We will certainly be looking to maximize both creative and fiscal opportunities by creating one enterprise that encompasses TV and movies," Goldsman said. "Some of the shooting will likely encompass both platforms, and that has never been done before. It's thrilling, we feel like kids in a candy story." Goldsman is writing, and Howard said he and Grazer have cleared the decks to do this quickly. “I’m finishing The Dilemma, and then I don’t have anything scheduled and I plan to work hard on this with Akiva and Brian,” Howard told me. “We will refine our take on the feature and TV shows. We have a clear view of what we want to do, and we’re lucky to have a company with the nerve to back us up on this venture.” Howard, Grazer and Goldsman will exec produce the TV series for Universal Media Studios. Kerry Foster will exec produce the first film for Weed Road, along with Imagine's Todd Hallowell and Erica Huggins.  

No Resolution for HEROES Fans – TV Movie For Wrap Up Of Series Is Dead http://bit.ly/cfLMIJ

  Bad news for Heroes fans. NBC will not be moving forward with a television-movie wrap up of the series as previously thought. Show creator Tim Kring had hoped to bring closure to the four-season series. No official word from NBC as to why the project was killed, but logistically, it became harder and harder to reassemble the original cast for this project. That’s not to say that the series can’t find continued life in comic book, web comic or print form though. Kring talks about the possibilities of continuing the Heroes brand:

“…the Heroes brand is an extremely broad premise. It was a premise about ordinary people, an undisclosed number of people all over the world, who were waking up to these extraordinary abilities. Any number of stories could happen around that. We never posited a single ending or a single premise.  It wasn’t about getting off of an island or stopping something from happening. We told stories in volumes that had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Those volumes could go on and on and on with many different characters. As a result, that Heroes universe is something that can be tapped into again in many ways.”

Kring did sell NBC a script for the 2010-2011 season called III about “a third world war involving the invasion of the United States” but it did not progress past the development stage. Heroes was canceled this past May. Movie News:

Natalie Portman offered lead in sci-fi film 'Gravity'

MGM trying again to get Martin Freeman to play Bilbo http://bit.ly/bYhawi

Herne: What? Morgan Freeman to play Bilbo?!

Liam Neeson Coming Aboard “Battleship” - Daemon's Movies http://bit.ly/9I0kq4

Here's the opening to Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (spoilerish) http://bit.ly/b2lhhf

There hasn't been much information about director Rob Marshall's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides movie, but What's Playing uncovered a few details about how the opening scene will play out (minor spoiler ahead):

Film opens at night. Spanish fisherman spots something in the water. A Shape. He fishes out what he soon discovers is the body of an ancient sailor. The boat's captain rushes over for a look -- before he can make his assessment, the thought-dead sailor's eyes open. Sailor grabs Captain's arm... fade out. The Captain and his aide then arrive at the regal residents of King Ferdinand, with said body, who inform the royal that the not-so-dead sailor claims to have sailed on a vessel belonging to the ship of Ponce de Leon, who died 200 years ago. Ferdinand's first thought is that the sailor has found the legendary Fountain of Youth. He orders 'The Spaniard' to hit the seas in search of it.

Although the last two films in the series weren't particularly well received, this one could give the series new life with a different director and the addition of Ian McShane and Penelope Cruz to the cast. We hope it will, anyway. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides hits theaters on May 20, 2011. DVD Review: Batman: Under the Red Hood While a new foe who uses The Joker's old alias wreaks havoc among Gotham City's organized crime, Batman finds him disturbingly familiar. Bruce Greenwood as Batman Jensen Ackles as the Red Hood Neil Patrck Harris as Night Wing http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1007355673/ Other News:

It's now possible to move a tiny bead of glass (pictured) five feet using just laser beams. We may not be tractor-beaming humans into spaceships yet, but this is a huge step forward for a technology once called science fictional. For years, scientists have been using "light tweezers," or lasers, to move bacteria short distances. But this new device is far more powerful, moving an object hundreds of times bigger than a bacteria several feet. Now Australian National University researchers have a new device that's much more powerful. Inside Science reports:

The device works by shining a hollow laser beam around tiny glass particles. The air surrounding the particle heats up, while the dark center of the beam stays cool. When the particle starts to drift out of the middle and into the bright laser beam, the force of heated air molecules bouncing around and hitting the particle's surface is enough to nudge it back to the center. A small amount of light also seeps into the darker middle part of the beam, heating the air on one side of the particle and pushing it along the length of the laser beam. If another such laser is lined up on the opposite side of the beam, the speed and direction the particle moves can be easily manipulated by changing the brightness of the beams.

Unfortunately, the technique doesn't work in vacuum so we won't see this deployed in space any time soon. But the researchers say they could definitely move the beads farther than 5 feet, though a great deal more research needs to be done before we'll have a concrete application for the tractor beam. TWIST:

Trek Sequel Update

  In the 200th issue of SFX Magazine, published in the UK, J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman discuss what may or may not happen in Star Trek XII. As reported by TrekMovie.com, Abrams spoke generally while Kurtzman and Orci described another possible choice for the possible villain. As he did when Star Trek XI was being made, Abrams didn’t go into specifics concerning the sequel, but noted that there was much potential in the Star Trek universe from which to draw. “The universe that Roddenberry created was so vast,” he said. “And so it’s hard to say there’s one particular thing that stands out as what the sequel must be. Which is on the one hand, a great opportunity. On the other hand it’s the greatest challenge – where do you go? What do you focus on? But I’m incredibly excited about the prospects.” Kurtzman and Orci have spoken in the past about the possibility of having Khan in the sequel, but spoke about other options. “Introducing a new villain in the sequel is tempting because we now have this incredible new sandbox to play in,” said Orci. “On the other hand, some fans really want to see Klingons and it’s hard not to listen to that. The trick is not to do something that’s been seen before just because you think it will be a short cut to likeability.” More can be found in SFX Magazine, including an article in which Leonard Nimoy says farewell to Spock. More information on the contents of this issue can be found here and subscription information can be found here.

Happy 44th

Star Trek – no hyperbole here -- has changed the world, but no one could have seen it coming on September 8, 1966, when The Original Series kicked off with the episode “The Man Trap.” So much of what is commonplace today was introduced, glimpsed, inspired and/or at least hinted at by Star Trek; and yes, before you say it, we know that sci-fi existed before Star Trek. Still, consider the following: Faces of color, people of all nationalities in space: Race relations were at their worst around the time Star Trek debuted, and yet series creator Gene Roddenberry envisioned a future in which an African American – and a woman, no less – would assume major responsibilities aboard a starship. Nichelle Nichols beautifully embodied the role of Lt. Uhura, inspiring countless people of color to achieve their dreams. Uhura would also factor into another groundbreaking moment, as she and Captain Kirk locked lips in television’s first interracial kiss. Later, during season two of Star Trek and at the height of the Cold War, when the concept of American and Russian astronauts traversing the galaxy together was truly pure science fiction, the show introduced the character of Chekov, yet another canny, progressive bit of forward thinking.   Flip phones:  You may be reading this article on your flip phone right now and if you are, you have the legendary Star Trek communicator to thank for that.   PDA’s and iPads:  Captain Kirk filed his regular Captain’s Logs on a device – think an electronic clipboard -- that’s remarkably similar to the PDA’s so familiar to us all today. Perhaps even more prescient was the Star Trek: The Next Generation PADD – or Personal Access Display Device, which could be easily confused with that iPad being sold at the Apple Store around the corner from you.   Bluetooth:  Let’s bring Lt. Uhura back into the conversation. Sure, her earpieces might resemble corn holders, but they – and their open wireless technology concept -- also set the stage for the Bluetooth and all its subsequent incarnations.   Needle-free injections:  Dr. McCoy and the Enterprise medical team had no need for needles. Instead, they used hypospray. Sure, some docs today still use the handy-dandy needle, but now there are needle-free alternatives, including the Glide SDI or PharmaJet’s 0.5 ml device.   Automatic Doors:  You probably don’t even think twice about it now as you walk through doors that open as you approach, but those funky whooshing doors on Star Trek were the precursor, right? Right.   Viewscreens:  Have you looked at your TV lately? ‘Nuff said.   Phasers:  Tasers, anyone? Just saying.   OK, now it’s YOUR turn. What elements of Star Trek do you think have impacted the world – socially, scientifically, gadget-wise – we live in today? Bring it on… and bring on the debate, too.  

Zombie Trekkies

 

ScifFi Five in Five: Top 5 Battlestar Galactica Moments 5. Revelation final five 4. Window in NYC 3. Hyper Jump through planet 2. Razor - orignal cylons 1. Final Jump

The SciFi Diner Podcast

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Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles

Welcome to the Diner.

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The Interview:

Edward James "Eddie" Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is a Mexican-American actor and director. Among his most memorable roles are William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Lt. Martin Castillo in Miami Vice, teacher Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver, patriarch Abraham Quintanilla in the film Selena, Detective Gaff in Blade Runner, and narrator El Pachuco in both the stage and film versions of Zoot Suit.

In the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Olmos branched out from music into acting, appearing in many small productions, until his big break portraying the narrator, called "El Pachuco," in the play Zoot Suit, which dramatized the World War II-era rioting in California brought about by the tensions between Mexican-Americans and local police. (See Zoot Suit Riots.) The play moved to Broadway, and Olmos earned a Tony award nomination. He subsequently took the role to the filmed version in 1981, and appeared in many other films including Wolfen, Blade Runner and The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.

In 1980, Olmos was cast in the post-apocalyptic science fiction film (now a Japanese cult classic) Virus (1980 film) (復活の日 Fukkatsu no hi). Directed by Kinji Fukasaku and based on a novel written by Sakyo Komatsu. During this film, he demonstrated his acting talents along side Masao Kusakari, George Kennedy, Robert Vaughn, Chuck Connors, Olivia Hussey, Ken Ogata, Sonny Chiba and Glenn Ford. Most remarkable was Olmos playing a piano while singing a Spanish ballad during the later part of the film. Although not a box office success, the Virus was notable for being the most expensive Japanese film ever made at the time. Akin to Blade Runner, it is a shocking if less than accurate portrayal of a modern day pandemic virus outbreak akin to (SARS, Avian-flu, H1N1, and Swine Flu).

From 1984 to 1989, Olmos starred in his biggest role up to that date as the authoritarian police Lieutenant Martin Castillo in the television series Miami Vice opposite Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, for which he was awarded a Golden Globe and an Emmy in 1985. He was contacted about playing the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation when it was in pre-production in 1986, but he declined.

Returning to film, Olmos became the first American-born Latino to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in Stand and Deliver for his portrayal of real-life math teacher, Jaime Escalante. He directed and starred in American Me in 1992, and also starred in My Family/Mi Familia, a multigenerational story of a Chicano family. In 1997 he starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the film Selena. Olmos played Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in the 2001 movie In the Time of the Butterflies. He also had a recurring role as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roberto Mendoza in the NBC drama The West Wing. From 2002 to 2004, he starred as a recently widowed father of a Latino L.A.-family in the PBS drama American Family: Journey of Dreams.

From 2003 to 2009, he starred as Admiral William Adama in the Sci Fi Channel's reimagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and in the television series that followed. He directed four episodes of the show, Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down, Taking a Break from All Your Worries , Escape Velocity (and Islanded in a Stream of Stars. He also directed a television movie of the show, The Plan. Regarding his work on the show, he told CraveOnline, "I'm very grateful for the work that I've been able to do in my life but I can honestly tell you, this is the best usage of television I've ever been a part of to date."

In 2006, he co-produced, directed, and played the bit part of Julian Nava in the HBO movie about the 1968 Chicano Blowouts, Walkout . He also appeared in Snoop Dogg's music video "Vato", featuring B-Real from Cypress Hill. In the series finale of the ABC sitcom George Lopez, titled George Decides to Sta-Local Where It's Familia, he guest-starred as the plant's new multi-millionaire owner. More recently, he has been a spokesperson for Farmers Insurance Group, starring in their Spanish language commercials.

Edward Olmos has often been involved in social activism, especially that affecting the Latino community. During the 1992 Rodney King Riots in Los Angeles, when many people left the city, Olmos went out with a broom and worked to get communities cleaned up and rebuilt. In 1997, Olmos co-founded the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival[8] with Marlene Dermer, George Hernandez and Kirk Whisler. That same year, he co-founded with Kirk Whisler the non-profit organization Latino Literacy Now that has produced Latino Book & Festivals [9] around the USA, attended by over 700,000 people. In 1998, he founded Latino Public Broadcasting and currently serves as its Chairman. Latino Public Broadcasting funds public television programming that focuses on issues affecting Latinos and advocates for diverse perspectives in public television. That same year, he starred in The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, a comedy that sought to break Latino stereotypes and transcend the normal stigmas of most Latino-oriented movies.[citation needed] In 1999, Olmos was one of the driving forces that created Americanos: Latino Life in the U.S.1, a book project featuring over 30 award winning photographers, later turned into a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, music CD and HBO special. He also makes frequent appearances at juvenile halls and detention centers to speak to at-risk teenagers. He has also been an international ambassador for UNICEF. In 2001, he was arrested and spent 20 days in prison for taking part in the Navy-Vieques protests against United States Navy target practice bombings of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Edward James Olmos narrated for the 1999 film Zapatista, a documentary in support of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, a revolutionary group that has abstained from using their weapons since 1994. On January 5, 2007, he appeared on Puerto Rican Television to blame the Puerto Rican and United States Governments for not cleaning the Island of Vieques after the United States Navy stopped using the island for bombing practice. He also gave $2,300 to New Mexico governor Bill Richardson for his presidential campaign (the maximum amount for the primaries).

Listener Question:

Does Science Fiction need to contain Science Fact?

On the menu tonight: What do you want on the menu?

* Interview Edward James Olmos Part 1 * Listener Feed back * Thoughts on the Current Season of Warehouse 13 * BSG Trivia * Felicia Day's Red * Judge Dredd becomes Dredd * Whats up with Walking Dead? * Review of Browncoats Redemption * Halo Movie is Still in the works * Does Science need to be accurate in Science Fiction? * TWIST: Star Trek: The Experience and Takei on Big Bang * B. Hardin gives us his SciFi Five in Five - Five ways to end the world

Show News/Listener Feedback:

* Feedback from Raduz * Feed issues * Listener Question from the past two weeks:

Should the now defunct TV Show Heroes be made into a major motion picture?

Greg Grunberg thinks 'there has to be' a Heroes movie coming http://bit.ly/bEmvqL

Some Answers:

SusuietheGeek: My question about a Heroes movie would be "Why, exactly?"

Mike C: Maybe an argument to be made on terms of economics for the studio but in story terms a total waste of time, there is no resolution for this type of narrative hence the volumes in the show which could be concluded.

* Miles asked on Facebook: The Scifi Diner Podcast I know it aired a few days ago, but did any of you watch Warehouse 13? I think that show keeps getting better. Artie's the man.

This Week’s Trivia:

BSG Trivia: What was Laura Roslin's position in the government before she became President?

Prize: First two books in the Autumn Rain trilogy. For more information on the Autumn Rain Trilogy, visit here.

You will have until September 22nd to answer this question. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner.

Podcast Promos:

Gamma Quadrant Podcast

Leviathan Chronicles Podcast

The Main Course:

TV News:

• Our Browncoats Redemption Fan Film Review.

Ra Do for a fan film, it's very bold and nicely done. I can't believe that the fans were able to finish such a monumental project. story wise it didn't grab my attention much, but once again I congratulate all the people involved. K'pla!

• Walking Dead already gets a season 2. Here are the gory details: http://bit.ly/afeMrr Wow and season one hasn't aired yet. But not so fast: According to B. Hardin who heard it from Bear McCreary's twitter (he writes the music and wrote score for BSG and Sarah Connor Chronicles) that the 2nd season confirmation was just a rumor. Here is an article on it.
• Update: AMC has contacted IGN, explaining they wanted, "to dispel the rumor that The Walking Dead has been renewed for Season 2, as that is not the case yet."  Alas… All right, zombie fans, keep crossing your fingers!

Movie News:

• Felicia Day's SyFy Movie "Red" Will Air October 30th. LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- Syfy will get a little "Red" during its upcoming "31 Days of Halloween" event. This weekend's bookings have confirmed the Felicia Day-led telefilm - now monikered "Red: Werewolf Hunter" - will premiere Saturday, October 30 at 9:00/8:00c. Kavan Smith and Stephen McHattie co-star in the project, about "a descendant of Little Red Riding Hood [who] brings her fiance home to meet her family and tell him about the family business - they are werewolf hunters."

• Renamed 'DREDD' wants to lure you in with new title, dark story.  In what could be an attempt to distance the new Judge Dredd film from the 1995 Sylvester Stallone version -- something the producers and everyone else have been trying really hard to do since the beginning of this project -- the movie's name has been shortened to simply DREDD.   According to IM Global, who is currently selling the new movie at the Toronto International Film Festival : "DREDD takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot - if necessary. The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and the frenetic vision of director Pete Travis bring DREDD to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film that returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra's revered comic strip." As well as Karl Urban in the title role, DREDD will also star Olivia Thirlby (Juno), who has been cast as Cassandra Anderson, a character who has psychic powers that include being able to sense approaching danger, foresee events of the near future and telepathy (you can read all about the character here.) No other cast has been announced yet. Preproduction for the movie apparently began Aug. 23 at Cape Town Film Studios in South Africa, and the movie will arrive in theatres in 2012. So right now DREDD has Karl Urban, a hot new title, a futuristic neo-noir story that goes back to the roots of the comic book, and a previous (somewhat gross) promise from Urban that the movie won't make us "puke in our popcorn"? We're liking it more and more. What do you think?

• Microsoft Still Interested in “Halo” Movie:  Microsoft has admitted that they are “still interested” in making a movie out of their Halo video game seriesHalo video game series.   Frank O’Connor, the franchise development directordevelopment director at Microsoft’s 342 Industries, told Variety that the company want to make a feature that is a standalone story and not “a verbatim retelling of the game”. “We’re still interested in making an excellent Halo movieHalo movie. We’ve created an awful lot of documentation and materials to support a feature film,” he says. “We have a good idea of what kind of story we want to tell, but won’t move on it until there’s a great reason to do it. We’re in no particular hurry.” Microsoft also hasn’t ruled out the possibility of bringing Halo to TV.  A Halo movie – led by Peter JacksonPeter Jackson and Neill BlomkampNeill Blomkamp – got close to production in 2006 but collapsed due to a spiraling budget.

• 5 big-budget sci-fi films that actually got their science right:  Phil Plait is an astronomer and major sci-fi geek.   My old friends know better than to go see movies with me. Sure, I always yell at the screen when a movie spaceship make a "whooshing" noise when it flies past, but at least I don't throw popcorn: At a prorated 10 cents or so per kernel, it's simply not cost-effective. But at my best I still mutter under my breath, and sometimes even take notes for my blog.  Such is the life of an evil-hearted nerd scientist critic of science fiction movies. Still, it's not all bad. As rare as good stuff in movies can be, maybe it's time to recognize it. I love a challenge, so let's take a look: What movies got their science right?

(insert cricket noise) No, seriously, a lot of movies really do. Well, some do. OK, a few do. Let's start off with an easy one, like...

2001: A Space Odyssey

Ask any astronomer what movie comes closest to getting it all right, and they      won't  hesitate: 2001. The obvious anachronism may make this one a teensy bit harder -- Pan Am went out of business decades before the titular date, and the Space Station is hardly a giant spinning wheel in orbit -- but a lot of the actual science is good.

There's no sound in space, for example. Without air, there's nothing to transmit the sound waves, and the movie shows space as deadly silent.

A classic scene has astronaut Frank Poole jogging around the circular centrifuge, and that's on the money. Without gravity astronauts have all sorts of trouble, including serious health issues, such as muscle and permanent bone density loss. A spinning centrifuge would simulate gravity and mitigate a lot of those issues.

My favorite bit in the movie is that lack of stars in the exterior shots. If you were out in space and looking at a bright object like a sunlit spaceship, your eyes would adapt to that brightness level. Stars are pretty faint, and would be very hard to see!

And here's one you might not have thought of (and I'll risk geek blasphemy for saying it): Interplanetary travel is boring. A trip even to the moon takes three days. Mars is six months, and Jupiter would take years. Space is big and empty, so for 99 percent of the time there would be nothing to do. 2001 shows that beautifully by being boring. I mean, by showing that boredom!

Deep Impact

In 1998, two blockbusters came out about impacts: Armageddon, and Deep Impact. Armageddon was one of the worst movies in the history of humanity, if the not the universe in its entirety, so I'll leave it alone (it does have one thing right: It's about asteroids, and asteroids exist. Other than that ...).

Deep Impact, on the other hand, got a lot right. The comet was discovered by an amateur astronomer (which was still common in the '90s, though less now, with robotic surveys scanning the heavens much more efficiently). In the flick, a nuke only managed to split the comet into two pieces; in reality that's likely to be what would happen to a fragile comet nucleus. The impact scene (damn! I forgot to say "spoiler alert!") is wonderfully accurate, with the actual moment of collision and subsequent tsunami beautifully detailed and terrifying. Even the scenes filmed at the comet itself were good; the lack of gravity makes it impossible to land a ship, for example, so they tether themselves to it.

It was attention to that kind of detail that made my geeky inner (OK, outer) astronomer sing.

Contact

I have my suspicions that when we make first contact with aliens, it won't be when they land their flying saucers on the White House lawn. That whole "space is big" thing really is a problem, and it's a whole lot worse when the distances are measured in quadrillions of miles.

In Contact we find aliens because they beam an intense radio signal to us (though points are taken off for Jodie Foster's character using headphones; computers are a wee bit better at detection than humans). That makes sense: A radio wave is easy to send, it travels at light speed, and you can encode a lot of information into it. So right off the bat, the movie has it right.

Not only that, but it also shows astronomers as, y'know, people, instead of cardboard caricatures, as usually done. Foster's character actually -- gasp -- has a sex life!

Even the depiction of faster-than-light travel is consistent and well done. But none of this is surprising: The script was penned by Carl Sagan himself, an astronomer and brilliant writer. If you haven't seen this flick, then stop reading my dorky stuff and go get it! Also, read the book Contact. If the last page doesn't give you chills, you're not a bona fide nerd.

Star Trek

Yes, the 2009 Trek reboot that pissed off a bazillion fans, who were appalled that suddenly their franchise could be made appealing to a broad audience. Still, despite all the debauching of science usually performed by Trek, there was one sequence made of win: Early on, when the Kelvin is attacked, we see explosions and running crewmen and lots of yelling and screaming. Suddenly, amidst the hullabaloo, a hull breach opens up and a crewmember is blown into space. We follow her out the hole, and suddenly all the noise is cut off.

Like 2001, this is a good depiction of space. Without air, there's no noise. And the movie wins a second kudo from me because it was used dramatically: The sudden cessation of noise punctuates that death scene for the poor, unnamed crewperson, making it that much more chilling. Of course, that saves her from the awful science later in the movie as Vulcan collapses into a black hole (and don't even get me started on "red matter").

The Fountain

This wasn't a blockbuster, but it was still a beautifully told tale of love, life, death and rebirth. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that this is, to my knowledge, the only movie that has ever used supernovae correctly.

When a massive star explodes at the end of its life, all the heavy elements it's created (like iron, calcium and so on) are blown out into space, where they can merge with gas clouds. These clouds then collapse to form other stars, planets ... and you. The iron in your blood and the calcium in your bones were literally forged in the hearts of ancient supernovae. When a star dies, it gives life to others ... and that theme is used perfectly in the movie. It's a metaphor for rebirth, but it's also used in that way by the movie quite literally. Astrophysics as poetry! Awesome.

I could go on and on, but after this it's a state of diminishing returns. I know there's more good stuff out there on display in small doses in lots of movies. And I just bet you have more examples in your own movie collection. So tell me: What flicks do you hold up as a shining example of Science and Reality?

Anytime I read an article like this, it makes me want to hunt the author down and punch them square in the nose! Science fiction is science FICTION! I do really enjoy learning real scientific facts, but NOT when I go to see a fictional movie for the purpose of entertainment! If someone wants to make a science fact movie, fine. Just leave the fictional movies alone when you do. — Ethan

TWIST:

Two Years Ago Today, The Trek Community Lost A Dear Friend... Star Trek: The Experience

As many of you have probably read before, we had the pleasure of visiting Star Trek: The Experience twice during it's run. Both times, we unequivocally felt like we were home among family and friends. Unfortunately, on September 1st, 2008, Star Trek: The Experience closed it's doors for the last time and we're here to mark the two year anniversary of our dear departed friend.

A Brief History of ST:TE

Star Trek: The Experience was a US$70 million permanent Star Trek-themed attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, owned by Cedar Fair Enterprise, containing shops styled after the Deep Space 9 Promenade, a restaurant styled after Quark's, The History of the Future Museum (which was a large collection of props and artifacts), and the Klingon Encounter and Borg Invasion 4D rides. The store was the largest Star Trek-themed store in the world.

The Experience opened with 2,500 on hand for a gala premier on 3 January 1998. It was originally a property owned by Paramount Parks, built by Landmark Entertainment resort/ theme park developer and coordinated by the Paramount/Viacom licensing division. It was sold to Cedar Fair, owner of Knott's Berry Farm, with the other Paramount Parks division amid the parent Viacom split of CBS and Paramount Pictures in 2006. The facility played host to parties, receptions, weddings, scheduled events, and conventions. Those who wished to hold their wedding there could have it in Starfleet uniform on the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D, with Star Trek aliens such as Ferengi and Klingons as witnesses. The bridge facility was available for photo opportunities and costumes could be rented for the same.

Star Trek: The Experience "Klingon Encounter" and "Borg 4D" adventures uniquely combined ride simulators, accurately detailed sets, special effects and trained, dedicated costumed live actors to make guests truly feel they were actually in the Trek universe. The site offered tie-in parties, photo opportunities and sidebar events when Creation Entertainment's annual Star Trek convention was held at the Hilton in August. (source Memory Alpha)

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of (for the lack of a better word) experiencing "The Experience", there are a ton of resources available on the net that can give you a taste of, what we called, Star Trek Nirvana. Starting with a complete virtual tour of ST:TE. From inside Quark's Bar all the way through both rides and even the backstage areas.

We've had the great pleasure of meeting many of the former ST:TE cast & crew, on the net and in person at Vegas Khhaaan!. All of which we can now call friends. One of our buddies in particular has put together a comprehensive video history of Star Trek: The Experience, called "Star Trek: My Experience". Many of you may know him as ST:TE's 7 of 16 or Lt. "Pep" Streebeck, but in the real world he goes by Vernon Wilmer. Vernon is the unofficial historian of ST:TE and his growing series of videos give great detail and insight to its history and origins. He also features many of the cast & crew.

Jennifer M. It was such an awesome place! I went on that ride like 10 times, every time I went to Vegas! Sigh! It's not going to be there anymore?! I hope they build something else just like it!

B. Hardin I've never gone, but that had to be hard for them to lose such an amazing and unique job! It seems that if they could have hung on a few more years, they would have gotten a new wave of visitors b/c of the new movie. But it seems the timing wasn't in their favor.

George Takei To Appear On The Big Bang Theory w/ Katee Sackhoff [UPDATED]

The nerdy CBS hit comedy The Big Bang Theory has had a number of Star Trek references over its first three seasons, including guests spots for TNG’s Wil Wheaton. And now it has been confirmed that Star Trek’s George Takei will be appearing on the show. More details below plus more Takei news. UPDATE: More details reveal Takei will appear with BSG’s Katee Sackhoff.

Takei headed to Big Bang Theory

It hasn’t yet been confirmed if TNG star Wil Wheaton will be returning to The Big Bang Theory and it looks unlikely the producer’s will get their wish and bring Leaonard Nimoy out of retirement. However, one Trek star is definitely going to show up during the fourth season of the CBS comedy about a group of nerdy scientists. Executive producer Bill Prady confirmed via his Twitter that Star Trek’s original Sulu George Takei will be appearing in the fourth episode of the fourth season airing October 14th. Prady followed up his announcement with the following tweet on Friday:

TrekMovie has confirmed that Takei will be shooting his episode this week. Also in an email, George Takei reveled some details about the episode, saying:

I am indeed currently working on THE BIG BANG THEORY. It is a delicious script in which I am playing a figure of Howard’s fantasy.

Caltech engineer Howard Wolowitz, played by Simon Helberg, is one of the main characters on the show. He, like most of the other characters on the show, is a Star Trek and sci-fi fan. This will not be Howard’s first fantasy sequence with a sci-fi guest star. Last season he had a fantasy with Katee Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica (see below).

UPDATE: More details – Takei to appear with Sackhoff

Bill Prady has revealed to AOL that Takei will appear alongside Katee Sackhoff, where she will be reprising her role as Wolowitz’s conscience. Takei and Sackhoff will take opposite points of view as Wolowitz contemplates getting back together with his ex-girlfriend Bernadette (Melissa Rauch). Prady didn’t reveal the location, but did say that it won’t be in a bathtub.

Takei also to appear in new Seagal show and more

George Takei continues to be on a bit of a roll in terms of popularity. He recently appeared on the Disney sitcom The Suite Life on Deck, and he tells TrekMovie he just filmed an episode of Steven Seagal’s new series True Justice. The actor also recently filmed a part in the new Tom Hanks directed movie Larry Crowne. Takei is also in the cast of Supah Ninjas, a live-action comedy for Nickelodeon. A pilot for the high-school comedy about a bunch of kids who are also ninjas has been shot, but it has not yet been picked up. Later in the year Takei will also be appearing in a new series of Sharp TV commercials promoting their new 3D TVs.

ScifFi Five in Five:

Top 5 ways for the world as we know it to end according to Sci-Fi post-apocalypse masterpieces. - B. Hardin

5. Natural turned Unnatural Disasters- As seen in 2012, the Happening, and Day after Tomorrow. Admittedly, I hated all three of these movies, but the concepts were interesting. 4. Attack- As seen in Battlestar Galactica. Cylons invade and destroy. Only a few escape and survive. And for now the twist: the creations become the destroyers of their creators. 3. Zombies- As seen in Dawn of the Dead. Virus that turns people into mindless brain eaters teetering Sci-Fi and horror. 2. Rage Virus- As seen in 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. The only thing more terrifying than zombies are zombies that can run. 1. Question Marks???- As seen in the The Road. The fact that the author of the The Road left the reason of the apocalypse out of the story really assisted in making the story so complex in its simplicity. It was clear this was a story about a father and son- not the world. Humanity not entire mankind.

The SciFi Diner Podcast Star Wars Celebration V Edition - Miles and Scott chat with their good friend Matt Mather who attended the convention. Download this episode (right click and save)

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  Download this episode (right click and save) Our Interview: Hello, my name is Ian Hulme, and I am the author of The HeavenField, a novel released on this website as a serialised audio podcast. If you are unsure as to what a podcast audio novel is, then you can skip to the 'What is a podcast?' section on the next page for an explanation. I was born in 1971, and, after leaving school, spent the next 15 or so years as an artist and musician. Some of my paintings from that time can be seen on my website www.ighulme.com. I started getting interested in computers in 1998, using them for graphic design as well as creating audio pieces for various collaborations and performances. I have always had an obsession with the written word - writing song lyrics, poetry, and the odd short story. But around 2002 I began work on a screenplay for a planned 3d animation which quickly spiralled out of control. The more ideas I put down, the more I wanted to know about the story I was creating, and before long, the idea of the animation was forgotten as I wrote chapter after chapter. Shortly after I began writing in earnest, my wife and I moved to the tiny fishing village of Robin Hood's Bay. In the summer it is a busy tourist location full of packed holiday cottages. But in the winter, the village is practically deserted, and I had the great good fortune to have the winding streets and rocky beaches practically to myself. It was here that I wrote most of The HeavenField, sat on the rocks at the foot of the cliffs as the waves hurled themselves at the shore. For the next three or four years I re-read and edited the manuscript countless times, until I began work as a web designer at Media Vision, for the most wonderful Chris Ellis. He listened patiently to my ramblings about The Field, and, after reading through the novel, offered to edit it (without quite realising the amount of work he was taking on!). We set about devoting occasional Saturdays to the task, and I personally found this immensely rewarding – at times literally chopping up and rearranging passages that weren't working – sections that had always troubled me, yet I was unable to fix on my own. As we edited the work, we talked about putting it out to the world, and, decided a great way would be to release it onto the internet in serialised format. Having been a musician for many years, and having recorded and engineered music in the past, I had the tools to record the readings myself (though I never seem to have enough time!), and podcasts are a great way to keep people up to date with the latest episodes. It has been great fun and hard work to finally get to the point of releasing The HeavenField, and my one hope is that I can continue to work in The Field that I love.

Listener Question:

Should the now defunct TV Show Heroes be made into a major motion picture?

• Greg Grunberg thinks 'there has to be' a Heroes movie coming http://bit.ly/bEmvqL
• Quote: No, I think there has to be [a movie]. But I also predicted they wouldn't just out and out cancel it, so what do I know [laughs]. It makes business sense to do something—there's a huge fanbase that wants some sort of conclusion and I think the actors want to do it. It's not about making a fortune to come back—we all appreciate the fans so much, I think if the call went out, we'd all be on board.

On the menu tonight:

• Interview I.G. Hulme, author of Heavenfield
• The Listeners Speak Out
• StarGate Trivia Winner
• Douglas Adam's Returns to TV
• Doctor Who Changes the Game
• Star Wars from the 1920's
• The Planet of the Apes Prequal
• Ghostbuster's 3
• Magneto is Dead
• The Rise of the Fangirl
• TWIST: Shatner Boldly Claims We Are Not Alone
• Rado gives us his SciFi Five in Five - Shows he thought would be terrible but ended up good!

Show News/Listener Feedback:

• B.Hardin: How is LOST treating you? Season 3 was my favorite season. John Locke is my hero.
• iTunes Feedback

• RaDo: Wanted to mention in the wake of last week's show that he is also looking forward to the Big Bang Threory.  He suggested that our Geek Levels might "level Up" if we watch this show.
• Some Vampire Diaries Love: Mike C. - Said it started Teen angst but shifted dark and violent.  Noy quite True Blood but stomps all over Twilight in writing, acting, and the world it creates.
• B. Hardin - Yeah, I have never been to a convention.  I feel like that would be a big step for me as a new SciFi genre embracer. If they had a LOST convention though, I would be there in a heartbeat.  Don't get me wrong, my heart still beats Klingon. * Interesting question, when does one make the decision to attend conventions?  What motivates one to shift from observer to participant?
• People loved the Televixen episide
• Shout out to Mary & John Champion from DVD Geeks for giving us a little love on their show last week.  We love you guys too.

This Week’s Trivia:

Trivia: What name is given to the Atlantian vehicle which can move through stargates ? Prize: Two Starship Farragut Items: DVD of Powersource Animated Ep. and the Comic Book “Dearly Departed” Winner: Rado

Podcast Promos:

The Signal Podcast Tuning into SciFi TV  

The Main Course:

TV News:

Our name sake: Restaurant at the end of the Universe - Dining at the End of the Universe - SciFi Diner Douglas Adams returns to television with new Dirk Gently show -   Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy creator Douglas Adams' other great work of anarchic science fiction, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, comes to the BBC this fall/winter, as a one-hour pilot. But what happens if Dirk gets an ongoing series?   From the sound of things, the first 60-minute Dirk Gently episode will be an adaptation, at least in part, of the first book — the only plot summary so far is that Dirk tries "to solve the disappearance of a cat from an old lady's house." It's being shown on BBC4 — not exactly the most high-profile channel, it must be said — and the script is written by Howard Overman, creator of Misfits and Vexed.   If the one-hour pilot does well, the BBC will consider commissioning an ongoing series. And given there are only two Dirk Gently books to adapt (plus Salmon of Doubt), I wonder how long it takes before Overman and other writers have to resort to creating their own Dirk Gently stories. It could be awesome, or terrible, or some baffling mixture of the two, but just the prospect of getting more Adamsian weirdness on television again is thrilling. No clue who's playing Dirk Gently yet — the above image is Harry Enfield, who played him in the radio adaptations.  

Shocking news in the world of Doctor Who today: The BBC just announced that series six will be split in two for the first time since it started in 2005, with one block of episodes airing over the spring of 2011 and the second one airing in the fall. Steven Moffat claims that the move will essentially turn series six into two separate series, but more importantly, that there will be a GAME-CHANGING cliffhanger separating the two.   That's what the show runner revealed while speaking during the Edinburgh International Television Festival. And that game-changing cliffhanger—whatever that will be—is what will lead to the series being split in two. Steven Moffat said:

"Looking at the next series I thought what this show needs is a big event in the middle. "I kept referring to a mid-season finale. So we are going to make it two series—seven episodes at Easter building to an earth-shattering climax, a cliffhanger we could never normally do because it would be too long before it came back. An enormous game-changing cliffhanger that will change everything. "The wrong expression would be to say we are splitting it in two. We are making it two separate series."

So what do you think about this news? Any guesses as to the kind of "earth-shattering climax" Moffat could be coming up with? And—what do you think of the idea of having a season split into two separate series?  

Movie News:

Movies this fall: Tron, Resident Evil, and Skyline - that I am looking forward to. Silent Movie Star Wars    

There hasn't been much news recently about the prequel to Planet of the Apes, that is, until one fan happened to wander past the set and snap these great behind-the-scenes shots. These new photos from the set of Rise of the Apes won't give away any details about what the CGI primates will look like in their final stage, but they do show a bit of what it takes to create them. Here's a glimpse of a stuntman wearing a mo-cap suit and shambling on all fours on the streets of San Francisco.

Though so far we don't know too much about the plot, IMDB describes the film as "an origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy." We won't know for a little while, though, as it's not set to be released until June 24th, 2001.  

Were you looking forward to that solo Magneto movie everybody (including Ian McKellen) has been talking about for the last couple of years? So were we. But now someone who knows reveals ... it ain't going to happen.   Lauren Shuler Donner, who produced all of the mutant films so far, is producing the upcoming X-Men: First Class and certainly would have been in charge of any standalone Magneto movie. She told craveonline that First Class had swallowed up that other rumored film.   When asked how Magneto was coming along, she replied that it wasn't:

No. You know, there's internal discussions but probably not. It kind of got incorporated into this one, a lot of it.

She also shared what parts of David Goyer's Magneto script would survive into the X-Men reboot:

Magneto history. Stuff from the Marvel/Magneto history.

Disappointed? Or did you figure the Magneto character couldn't carry a movie on his own anyway? Other News: The rise of the fangirls: Love of superheroes, science fiction and comic books isn't just for guys anymore -  Atlantic City Press   Jessica LeBlanc spends her days selling comic books and game supplies at Jester's Playhouse in Northfield. So, what does she do for fun?   Earlier this month she headed out to Illinois to attend the Gen Con gaming convention in Indianapolis, spending a couple of days learning about what's new in gaming.   While she was there, LeBlanc, 21, noticed there were a fair number of women mixed in among the hordes of fanboys flipping through stacks of comics.   "In the last couple of years, I've been talking to a lot more women that are into it. There were a lot of women dressed in anime costumes. I think the women are feeling more comfortable," the Galloway Township woman said.   The cliche of a bunch of dateless geeky boys and men being the only ones to attend comic book conventions or spend their days engaged in role-playing games is out of date.   More and more women are proudly letting their devotion to specific TV shows, movies, comics and games shine. The growing visibility of these fangirls is altering the pop culture landscape.   Comic-Con International 2010, the largest comic book and popular arts convention in the world, was held last month. Panels included "Geek Girls Exist," "Girls Gone Genre: Movies, TV, Comics, Web" and "Women Who Kick Ass: A New Generation of Heroines." There is an effort on the Web to organize a Geek Girl Con next year in Seattle.   The Web is full of sites created and maintained by fangirls including geektress.com, www.thediscriminatingfangirl.com, www.geekgirlsnetwork.com, geekfemme.blogspot.com, allthingsfangirl.blogspot.com and others. The entertainment industry is beginning to realize there is money to be made from these fangirls.   So far this year, movie multiplexes have played host to Angelina Jolie in the spy thriller "Salt," 13-year-old Chloe Grace Moretz as Hit Girl in the movie "Kick-Ass" and Scarlett Johansson as a martial arts expert in "Iron Man 2." Milla Jovovich battles in the undead in "Resident Evil: Afterlife" next month and Vanessa Hudgens, of "High School Musical" fame, is among the five women starring in the action-fantasy thriller "Sucker Punch," out March 25. Meanwhile, actress Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano in the TV series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," has launched Her Universe, a company devoted to merchandising for female sci-fi fans.   Even Marvel Comics has gotten in on the action, in March launching "Girl Comics," a three-issue anthology celebrating its female creators.   Whether there are more females into fanboy stuff - or whether the numbers are the same, but they are more open about it - is debatable.   Brenda Kirk, who runs Geektress.-com, a website aimed at science fiction, fantasy and comic-book loving nerds, said one reason for the emergence of fangirls is that women are more open about their interests in these subjects.   The 30-year-old Ohio woman also credited the late 1990s TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" with awakening an interest in fantasy and science fiction among women and sending them to the Internet to feed that interest.   "The Internet opened things up, so that you don't have to go to some weird genre store somewhere. You can just have access to the stuff, 24/7," said Kirk, who began reading comics when she was 8. "The Comic-Con that I go to in New York, they have women panels all the time... because it's so mainstream now, it's not something you have to hide."   It really doesn't seem like that big of a deal for girls to be into these things, said Laura Galiffe, an illustrator, who lives in Somers Point.   Galiffe, 31, went to the anime convention in Baltimore, known as Otakon, for the first time in 1997, and has been attending annually since 2001 and has attended Wizard World in Philadelphia at least five times.   "At the anime convention, there are a good number of girls. I would say it's probably an even mix. It probably wasn't like that at first. Anime, there is a good deal of it that's oriented towards women, so you do tend to see a lot of women. It's not really strange," Galiffe said. "I do see a lot of women there (at Wizard World). I see a lot of families."   Not all women have had such an easy time making their way in this mostly male world, and they are happy that more members of their sex are stepping out of the shadows.   Angie Booth, of Pleasantville, has been told that she has no life because she read comics and plays videogames.   "I guess it's hard for people who don't share the same interests to understand. I just don't like getting such a negative reaction," said Booth, 28, who admits her interest in all things Batman is bordering on obsessive. "I actually feel like I get looked down upon by some guys. The place I used to get my comics was kinda snooty about it, like girls shouldn't like comics or something. I got the same attitude from some of the customers when I worked at EB Games. I couldn't possibly know about video games because I'm a girl." LeBlanc said some customers at Jesters were taken aback when she began working there in May 2009 after graduating from Cumberland County College.   But now, the people who come into the comic book and games shop, regard her as one of the guys. "After a few words, they realize it's easy for people to talk to me. For a lot of the younger kids, it's, 'Oh, there's a girl behind the counter,' but they get over it." As might be expected, the men and fanboys who love comics have noticed the influx of women into their domain.   There are definitely more girls and young women interested in what had traditionally been geeky boy subjects, such as fantasy and superheroes. That's because these topics are now more mainstream across the board, said Robert Thompson, professor of pop culture at Syracuse University. The turning point was probably when Hollywood started making blockbuster movies about superheroes and released the first of "The Lord of the Rings" movies in 2001, Thompson said.   "I think it happened in a big way when Hollywood starts making those very artsy Batman movies (in 2005), 'Spider-Man' and "Lord of the Rings' and all that kind of thing. Suddenly, those things were no longer a subculture. They've become part of the mass culture and that brought a lot of women into an arena that might have normally been considered for young men, but it also brought in a lot of other people, adults and everybody else," Thompson said.   For many years, especially with the term fanboy, the impression was that things covered by the Comic-Con International convention were all considered boy genres, said David Glanzer, director of marketing and public relations, Comic-Con International, which is based in San Diego.   Although there were women at the first show in 1970, it was dominated for the most part by males, Glanzer believes. "We noticed that that started switch in earnest during the '90s. A lot of Japanese animation and manga (Japanese comic books), in particular, appealed to a lot of girls and women. We started to see a lot more participation by them. Right now, our demographics are probably 60 percent male and 40 percent female, and that's switching to be more equitable as the years ago by," Glanzer said. TWIST:

William Shatner Says "There is no doubt... there is life out there" While Launching Yet Another TV Show.

  William Shatner apparently has another show in the works that's premiering this fall?! Called William Shatner's "Weird or What?" the show will look at extraordinary events and try to explain them scientifically or logical. What we would like someone to explain is, when does William Shatner sleep? This is the third television show he's premiering this fall! Along with "Aftermath", "Bleep My Dad Says", and now "Weird or What?", The Shat is also still working on "Raw Nerve" while filming a documentary about all of the Star Trek captains called simply "The Captains". One thing that did just cross our minds, maybe The Shat is one of those new-fangled day walking vampires. When we saw him up-close at Vegas Khhaaan, he was awfully sparkly. Maybe we should clarify here, "Weird or What?" has been on in the States since April of this year on the Discovery Channel. The show is actually premiering this Wednesday on the Canadian version of the History Channel. We just didn't mention it because the first paragraph had such a good effect. Moving on...   During an interview with the Times Colonist (Victoria & Vancouver Island News Since 1858), The Shat gave us his intergalactic insight into whether or not aliens exist; "There is no doubt that there is life out there; the mathematics of it lead you to that absolute conclusion," Shatner says. "In my mind, there is no doubt that the universe teems -- teems! -- with life in all its forms. But why they would come visit here and not let themselves be known to everybody is beyond my sense of logic."   If anyone would know, it would be the captain of the flippin' Enterprise. He continues, "Why would you fly the years or millenniums [it would take] to [get here]?Why wouldn't they just land and say, 'Here we are, we're tired, got any ice cream?'"   In the second episode of "Weird or What?", the show focuses on a small Texas town where witnesses claim they saw U.S. air-force planes in hot pursuit of UFOs. Shatner says the show "explains the unexplainable." He adds "Everything that takes place is weird, whether it's a social transaction or physical event -- anything that we perceive is, in its final analysis, weird, because there are ramifications that we don't even know. The possibilities that are suggested in quantum physics tell us that everything we are looking at may not in fact be there . . . so that the underlying nature of 'being' is weird ... ." The Shatner Empire expands this Wednesday at 8pm on History (Canada) ScifFi Five in Five: Top 5 movies that people who aren't into SciFi would Love

#5 Doctor Who. I’ve been thinking about giving Doctor Who a chance for the last five years or so. The biggest problem for me was to figure out where to start. Too many seasons, too many doctors, a confusion nonetheless. Thanks to wikipedia I was able to narrow down my starting point to the 2005 series starring Christopher Eccleston. That was about three years ago. I watched the first episode called “Rose” and was appalled. What are these silly looking plastic mannequins about ? I stopped at the twenty minutes mark. Then a year later I tried again, same result. This year, after hearing way too many good things about the “latest doctor” I took a different approach. I watched a recent episode. Very nice! I was pleasantly surprised. So I gave the “Rose” episode one more chance and watched it all the way through, cringing. Then the next episode, and then next. Suffice to stay I am now a Doctor Who regular. Not going back in time before 2005, though ;-) #4 Firefly / Serenity I have to say I don’t like westerns much. After suffering through way too many Deadwood episodes I was not very excited about the prospects of a so called “western in space” TV show. Just one season and then cancelled ? Not very encouraging. Only after hearing about a movie follow up about to hit the theaters I started watching, reluctantly. I was very relieved to find no cows or cowboys in the show. A very imaginative Scifi show with very exciting character and plot developments. I was very sad at the end that there wasn’t more of it. Wait! I forgot about the Serenity movie. I went to see it the next month and was blown away, how well done and true to the series it was. #3 The Big Bang Theory. A friend of mine was always boasting about the Big Bang Theory during lunch breaks and how awesome it was. A show about four nerds and people making fun of them ? Why would I want to watch THAT ? I watched a couple of episodes and it seemed to be about four dudes, trying to get the girl. Another high school inspired TV show ? I stopped watching, but after getting assured the “girl chasing aspect” was not what the show was about I gave it another shot. Bazinga!!!. I now love the show, the characters and the daily doze of embarrassment. Most of the time it feels like re-living parts of my own life :-) #2 Stargate franchise I’ve always been an avid Star Trek fan and a viewer. I have to confess I was very jealous about this Stargate TV show that kept on going even after all of my beloved Star Trek shows got cancelled. I was NEVER going to invest myself into another franchise. Then High Definition came along. Stargate Atlantis was the first Scifi show that I had the ability to watch from the beginning in High Def. I got thoroughly hooked and when SGA ended I was ready to give SG1 a try as well. I have to say I was missing out big time not watching SG1 all those years. Both wonderful shows. #1 Farscape. A few years back I ran out of things to watch, so I started looking around for something new to watch. Suddenly I recalled reading something about a muppets in space tv show. Say What ? I googled “farscape images” and found pictures of silly looking creatures alongside some Sesame street muppets. Suffice to say I was questioning the sanity of the creators right off the bat. Boy was I wrong. Not a kids show, not a silly show at all. What a ride through the four seasons and the movie. Exciting characters development, unique and daring story lines. Top notch special effects and VERY expensive muppets.

The SciFi Diner Podcast

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Tonight’s Diners: Scott, Miles, and Mary, The DVD Geeks' Televixen

Welcome to the Diner.

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Download this episode (right click and save)

On the menu tonight:

• Stargate Atlantis Triva
• Those shows which will not return: Dollhouse, Legend of the Seeker, Heroes, 24, Flash Forward, Lost
• Those shows which will return: Vampire Diaries, Fringe, V, Caprica, Human Target, Dexter, Chuck, Big Bang Theory, Smallville, Supernatural, Sanctuary, Stargate Universe.
• Those shows which will debut: The Cape, The Event, No Ordinary Family, $#*! My Dad Says, Walking Dead.
• Miles and the TWIST
• Mary, the DVD Geeks' Televixen, brings The SciFi Five in Five.

Show News/Listener Feedback:

• Facebook is now facebook.com/scifidiner
• The shows listeners wanted to see.
  • Ra Do Definitely Fringe. Also Caprica (eventually). Not so much SGU.
  • Duncan M Fringe without a doubt. SGU has got better all the time so that also. Sanctuary smallville and supernatural (if they can really be classed as sci-fi, I think not but I enjoy them anyway). Caprica which will hopefully improve as I feel its a little to slow
  • Mike Crate SGU is the big one closely followed by Clone Wars whose season 3 trailer is very impressive.
  • Ra Do yeah, I like SW the Clone Wars too!

• Comments about interview with Torri Higginson
• Itunes reviews:  Where have they gone?

This Week’s Trivia:

Trivia: What name is given to the Atlantian vehicle which can move through stargates ? Prize: Two Starship Farragut Items: DVD of Powersource Animated Ep. and the Comic Book Dearly Departed You will have till August 30th to answer this question. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner.

Podcast Promos:

* DVD Geeks * Lostcasting with Wayne and Dan Podcast

The Main Course:

TV News:

Ra Do About Lucas not having funding for the Star Wars live action TV series ?

Shows We Will Miss:

• Flash Forward:
• Dollhouse:
• Lost:
• 24:
• Legend of the Seeker:

Returning Shows:

• Dexter (Returns September 26)
• The Big Bang Theory (Returns September 23) The show is moving to Thursday nights. That's the big news. Additionally, Sheldon and Mayim Bialik will be continuing what is certainly the most awkward romantic relationships on TV.
• Chuck: Sept 20 Monday 8 NBC She'll be back. In this case, the "she" in question is Mama Bartowski, and she'll be played by the one and only Linda Hamilton. How cool is that? Also Dolph Lundgren, Olivia Munn, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Old Spice Guy will be put in guest appearances and likely make Chuck's life miserable.   Computer geek Chuck Bartowski opens an e-mail that has been subliminally encoded with vital government secrets, triggering a massive download of critical information into his brain. With assassins and international terrorists eager to nab Chuck's noggin, it falls to Maj. John Casey and his partner, CIA agent Sarah Walker, to protect the U.S. Government's newest and most unlikely secret agent.
• Fringe Sept. 23rd 9 PM
• Vampire Dairies Sept. 9 CW Our heads are still spinning from the season finale. Seriously, Katherine is one badass vampire, and we cannot wait to see how it all plays out. Also, there will be some new residents in town, which we expect to lead to major characters getting killed. After all, there's no mercy on this show.
• Human Target Fox Oct 1 If you didn't follow Fringe's Mark Valley or Pushing Daisies' Chi McBride or Watchmen's Jackie Earle Haley to this show, then you missed out on a season of MacGyver-esque escapades that were almost A-Team-like in their preposterousness. Of course, minus the nostalgia factor, not every episode was as awesome as that sounds. Still, finding out that Christopher Chance got his name from The Fall Guy is pretty cool, and we need to see if he and Armand Assante will be able to rescue McBride's character from some goons. Also, a new female lead (Indira Varma) has been added to the mix this season, in the form of a billionaire client who becomes a controlling partner of the company, so the show won't be as much of a sausagefest.
• Supernatural 9 PM CW  Sept. 24 We've been tough on Supernatural lately, and rightly so, but they've got a new showrunner in Sera Gamble (creator Eric Kripke needs a long vacation) for this season, and she's promised to cut back on the mythology that's been dragging the show down and incorporate more fun, monster-of-the-week episodes. So, for the first time in a couple years, we may be spared an impending apocalypse, maybe there won't even be nary a Winchester in hell and maybe, just maybe, Dean will be able to order a burger in a disgusting diner without Sam getting all judgmental on him for a whole season. Ch-ch-changes...
• Smallville 8 PM CW Sept.24 When last we saw Clark Kent, he'd been stabbed in the gut with blue kryptonite and was falling off of a tall building. We're sure he'll be fine, but given that the late Pa Kent (John Schneider) will make an appearance this season, Clark may see the other side before he comes back. Supergirl will also return, hopefully to kill Lois now that she's found out that Clark is the Blur, and Chloe will supposedly leave the show -- which is strange, because it was recently announced that Chloe was going to be introduced in the Superman comic books. We guess ten years is a long time to play any character. Hopefully, that means this tenth season will be the last -- for real this time -- and it'll go out on a bang with Clark facing off against Darkseid and the New Gods. But we've been surprised before. And not always in a good way.   We already knew that Papa Kent would be back, but now it looks like Papa Luthor (John Glover) is also returning for "Smallville's" 10th and final season. Can we have the sons go head to head? We're waiting on you, Michael Rosenbaum!
• Stargate Universe Sept 28 9 PM Syfy
• Sanctuary Sept 28 10 PM Syfy The third season of Sanctuary, starring Amanda Tapping, goes into its third season on the Sy-Fy Channel with new special effects and even more episodes.
  Sci-fi fans won’t have to wait much longer for the third season of the Sy-Fy channel’s top-rated show Sanctuary starring Amanda Tapping to premiere. The show enters its third season on September 28th with an ambitious twenty new episodes instead of its usual thirteen. Sanctuaryinterview he gave at Comic-Con 2010. creator, Damian Kindler, hopes that the additional twenty episodes will help bolster the background of the characters in the upcoming season, according to an
• V? November sometime..."It comes back in November, and we just started filming. And it's so much better. I feel like [season one] set the groundwork and then it's off and running, which I needed it to be. It's more fun for me. [Erica]'s far more intense," she says. Bret Harrison, who starred in the CW's sadly short-lived Reaper, has joined the cast of V in a recurring role. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, who first broke this "exclusive," says that Harrison will be playing Dr. Sidney Miller, an evolutionary biologist who may have the scoop on what caused the sky to turn red in the finale.  Look for him to show up first in the Season 2 premiere, when Erica comes to his doorstep looking for answers.
• Caprica? January 11th rattles around my brain... What is their deal?

NEW SHOWS:

• The Event: NBC 9 PM Sept 20th This is another complicated, high-concept show like FlashForward, so we were totally hesitant about getting invested. Now that we've seen the pilot, we already like Jason Ritter far more than Joseph Fiennes, although we're worried the show will fall victim to unflattering Lost comparisons (and not just because both had crashing planes in their pilots). The storyline involves a mysterious government operation and how it affects the lives of everyone from the president (Blair Underwood) to a guy on vacation with his girlfriend. Laura Innes co-stars in a totally shady role, which brings back fond ER memories. There's enough intrigue in the premiere to make us want to go along for the ride... but if Dominic Monaghan suddenly shows up with a missing finger, all bets are off.
• 'No Ordinary Family'  ABC 8 PM Tuesday Don't worry, this show isn't really attempting to be the new Heroes; these aren't folks from all around the world coming together to prevent some massive catastrophe. Instead, the show's about a family that goes on vacation, crash-lands in a mysterious lagoon and ends up returning home as supercharged beings with powers of speed, strength, smarts and telepathy. It's more like The Incredibles with the spirit of the original Stan Lee-Jack Kirby Fantastic Four. Michael Chiklis plays an unstoppable force (much like his Fantastic Four character); Julie Benz, Kay Panabaker and Jimmy Bennett round out the nuclear family. Romany Malco from 40 Year Old Virgin steals most of his scenes as Chiklis' overenthusiastic best friend and advisor.
• $#*! My Dad Says! 8:30 PM Sept. 23 CBS William Shatner might want to stick with interviewing criminals because he's far better at that than he is on this tossed-together series based on a Twitter feed. That's not to say that the Twitter feed isn't amusing, but this is a watered-down, sanitized version. There are no Archie Bunker-style insights here, only predictable jokes about a father being disappointed in his son.
• Walking Dead  Premieres October AMC AMC has greenlit The Walking Dead as a six-episode series based on the comic book written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. The Walking Dead tells the story of life following a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, traveling in search of a safe and secure home. Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually, Teachers, Strike Back) will portray the lead role of Rick Grimes while actor Jon Bernthal (The Pacific, The Ghost Writer) will portray the character Shane, who worked with Rick in the police department before the zombie disaster. Other cast includes Laurie Holden (The Shield), who plays Andrea, one of two sisters who join the survivors of the zombie plague, Steven Yeun as Glenn, an expert scavenger and Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break), who plays Rick's wife Lori. The Walking Dead begins production in June in Atlanta with six, one-hour episodes for season one. The series is set to premiere in October 2010 during AMC Fearfest, the network's annual blockbuster marathon of thriller and horror films. AMC announced development of The Walking Dead in August 2009 and announced the pilot in January of this year.

• About the Producers Robert Kirkman serves as an executive producer on the project and three-time Academy Award-nominee Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) serves as writer, director and executive producer. Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Aliens, Armageddon, The Incredible Hulk), chairman of Valhalla Motion Pictures, serves as Executive Producer. David Alpert from Circle of Confusion serves as Executive Producer. Charles “Chic” Eglee (Dexter, The Shield, Dark Angel) will also serve as Executive Producer, and Jack LoGiudice (Sons of Anarchy, Resurrection Blvd) will serve as Co-Executive Producer.

The TWIST :

Dr. Phlox Is Turning In His Tricorder For A Little "Leverage"   John Bilingsly will be a guest at the Farpoint Con

Catchy title, eh? We spent a good deal of our evening coming up with that little gem. We'll maybe not the whole evening... Anyway, since we've started re-watching "Enterprise" from the very beginning, we've fallen in love with Dr. Phlox, all over again. At the moment, and this could change at anytime, Phlox has become our favorite Trek doc. Not that we don't love Bones, The EMH, Dr. Bashir, & Dr. Crusher (well maybe not Crusher). The man responsible for bringing Phlox to life, John Billingsley, is joining a show that seems to be a new magnet for Trek talent, TNT's "Leverage".  On the list of Trek alumni who have worked on "Leverage" he joins the likes of Wil Wheaton, Jeri Ryan, & Jonathan Frakes. In an interview with iFMagazine.com, John talks about how he scored his new role and what it was like working on the set. iF MAGAZINE: How did you become involved in LEVERAGE? JOHN BILLINGSLEY: I auditioned, which is the fate these days for most character actors, as opposed to the days of yore, when we might get offered the occasional part flat out. Many years ago, the casting gals, Angela Terry and Barbara Stordahl, cast me in COLD CASE and they brought me in earlier this season to audition for an episode that Jonathan Frakes was directing, about a dweeby guy who’s helping the Iranian government. Arye Gross got it and I was disappointed at the time, because I thought it was a fun part and it seemed like a fun show and I love to work with Jonathan, but as is the way of things, you get lucky sometimes, because the second go-round was a particularly charming episode, I thought, plus Arvin Brown was directing. It’s a tough choice between Arvin and Jonathan, because they’re both wonderful guys and wonderful directors. Arvin I’d worked with several times before, so I feel really fortunate that I got to get a second whack at the piñata.

ScifFi Five in Five:

The Top 5 Shows That Should Never Be Remade by Televixen 1. Blade Runner and 2001: A Space Odyssey 2. Metropolis 3. Plan 9 from Outer-space 4. City of Lost Children 5. Wall*E

On the menu tonight:

• Torri Higginson Interview
• Star Gate triva
• Gene Roddenberry's Birthday
• 10 most controversial ST Eps
• Eureka and Warehouse 13 holiday episodes
• Torchwood: A Whole New World
• Katee Sackhoff
  
• Star Wars: Two ways you've never seen
• Hayden Christensen-
• Book of Eli
• TWIST: Pike Wants Outta his chair.
• Radooz: Brings us his biggest 360 episodes in the SciFi Five in Five

On the menu tonight: What do you want on the menu?

• Katee Sackhoff Interview
• Listener Feed Back
• We reveal our Star Trek Trivia winner
• Chris from Subspace Communique brings us a VegasKhan report
• Extra's Coolest SciFi TV Shows of All Time
• Total ReCall Remake
• Skyline Movie
• TWIST: Chase Masterson Gets Featured in Star Trek Online
• John Fraiser from Think Geek bring us his top 5 Best Bad Movies to Love in the SciFi Five in Five

On the menu tonight: What do you want on the menu?

• Katee Sackhoff Interview
• Listener Feed Back
• We reveal our Star Trek Trivia winner
• Chris from Subspace Communique brings us a VegasKhan report
• Extra's Coolest SciFi TV Shows of All Time
• Total ReCall Remake
• Skyline Movie
• TWIST: Chase Masterson Gets Featured in Star Trek Online
• John Fraiser from Think Geek bring us his top 5 Best Bad Movies to Love in the SciFi Five in Five

On the menu tonight: What do you want on the menu?

• Katee Sackhoff Interview
• Listener Feed Back
• We reveal our Star Trek Trivia winner
• Chris from Subspace Communique brings us a VegasKhan report
• Extra's Coolest SciFi TV Shows of All Time
• Total ReCall Remake
• Skyline Movie
• TWIST: Chase Masterson Gets Featured in Star Trek Online
• John Fraiser from Think Geek bring us his top 5 Best Bad Movies to Love in the SciFi Five in Five

Tonight we sit down and interview Dominic Keating from Star Trek Enterprise and Heroes.  We have some more Star Trek Trivia (I blame Miles).  In news we chat about a potential Battlestar Galactica Web Series, Ron D. Moore comes clean on what really happened to Starbuck (You'll hear what Katie Sackoff thinks of her demise as well), A trailer is out for Felicia Day's Red, just who is playing Chuck's momma?, You thought Children of Earth was dark? Wait till you see Torchwood season 4, Karl Urban on the Judge Dredd Remake, the Death Star is one ship to rule them all and the Dark Lord of the Sith has fallen on hard times and taken up bank robbery.  Some Star Trek news in This Week in Star Trek and Miles brings you his top five strong female characters in the the SciFi Five in Five.

On our menu tonight, we interview Christof Laputka from the Leviathan Chronicles.  We also discuss the future of Dollhouse and what is going on with Warehouse 13.  We also discuss the rumors about CN9.  Miles discusses Star Trek 12 and the real Enterprise.  Christof Laputka gives us his top five soundtracks in the SciFi Five in Five.

Tonight we bring you our interview with actress Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Yesterday was a Lie.) There is Star Trek Trivia on the docket for tonight and with a chance to win a DVD of the Starship Farragut Animated Episodes. We talk through a list we found on the ten most disappointing female characters in Science Fiction.  Miles talks about Star Trek Tech becoming a reality in his This Week In Star Trek segment. We wrap up the show with our top five Shore Leave 32 moments in the SciFi Five in Five.

Tonight we will be interviewing Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore and chatting a bit more about Shore Leave 32.  We reveal the winner of our Star Wars Trivia contest. We have some listener feedback, some news on Dr. Who and Johnny Depp, Stargate Universe goes dark. Miles brings you This Week in Star Trek with Summer Glau and Star Trek 12 News and Wayne and Dan from the Fringecasting with Wayne and Dan Podcast give you their top five Worst Ways to Die in Season Two of Fringe in the SciFi Five in Five.

Tonight we bring you our interviews with author and comic book writer Keith R.A. DeCandido and Media Relations Coordinator Mike Schilling about the Shore Leave Convention and specifically this year's Shore Leave 32.  We obviously discuss the guests of this years con: Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica's Adm. William Adama; Blade Runner's Gaff), Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica's Capt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace; 24's Dana Walsh; Bionic Woman's Sarah Corvus), Torri Higginson (Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis' Dr. Elizabeth Weir), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' Hercules; Andromeda's Capt. Dylan Hunt), Catherine Hicks (ST:IV Voyage Home's Dr. Gillian Taylor; 7th Heaven's Annie Camden; Child's Play's Karen Barclay), and Dominic Keating (ST: Enterprise's Lt. Malcolm Reed; Buffy the Vampire Slayer'sHeroes' Will).  We also discuss the friendliness of the con, many of the authors that will be there, the multiple charities supported by the con, and much, much more.  You can find out more about Shore Leave by visiting their website.

Tonight we bring you our interview with author and script writer Larry Doyle from Go Mutants! We also share some listener feedback and Star Wars Trivia with the chance to win four, mind you, FOUR Smart Pop books!  We of course share our thoughts on the Stargate Universe Finale, the True Blood season 3 Premiere, Battlestar Galactica Online, the A-Team Movie, the latest news regarding the X-men Origin movie, The Hobbit Movie, Summer Glau News, and Nazis.  Miles talks about Star Trek 12 and Patrick Stewart in his This Week In Star Trek segment and then wraps up the show with his top five fight scenes in Science Fiction in the SciFi Five in Five.

Tonight on menu, we serve up The Yorker's Top Ten Scifi Movies of all time...do we agree? What SciFi can you look forward to this summer, some Star Wars Trivia, The Heroes Mini-Series, Batman, Crow, and Spider-man news, psychologists deem Darth Vader mentally ill,, George Lucas releases yet another version of Star Wars (well at least the Cantina scene), Stra Wars had it in for AT&T, Miles brings you This Week in Star Trek with Nimoy Fringe and Steve Jobs news, and  Scott and Miles give you their top five movies to watch while running on the treadmill  in the SciFi Five in Five.

Tonight on menu, we serve up an interview with Leo Roberts, founder of Temporal Studios and writer of the new Fan Series Star Trek Phoenix. Tons of listener feedback. Announce the winner of our signed Lost print. In news we discuss the Flash Forward Season and Series Finale and why some people thought it failed. The Stargate Universe Finale and what we are looking forward to. We're Abrams fans but are we ready for an Alias Reboot? Guillermo Del Toro QUITS The Hobbit: what does that mean? There's a Logan Run remake in the works, and Neuromancer is finally getting made into a movie. True Blood Season 2 is out on DVD this week. Miles brings you This Week in Star Trek and Jen from New York gives her top five SciFi finales in the SciFi Five in Five.

Tonight on menu, we serve up an interview with David J. Williams, author of the Autumn Rain Trilogy. In our trivia, answers have begun to roll in to win a signed Lost giveaway.  Do you have the Geek knowledge to win it? We start off our news by talking about the Fringe, Smallville, and V Finales and share what we're hoping from in the SGU and Flash Forward Finales.  What will we be watching this summer?  We'll tell you that too! Two future shows we're looking forward to: Alphas and Speilberg's Terra Nova. Hitler kills Megan Fox. The Associated Press is Star Wars confused. And for you gamers out there: Mass Effect is being made into a movie.  The Road DVD is out and talks about the apocalypse.  Miles brings you This Week in Star Trek and Scott gives you his top five SciFi crashes in the SciFi Five in Five.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 61 – Our Interview With LOST And Babylon 5 Actress Mira Furlan

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 60 – Our Interview With Starship Farragut; Iron Man 2 Review.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 59 – Our Interview With Science Fiction Author Richard C. White.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 58 – Our Interview With Lee Arenberg from Once Upon a Time, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Trek.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 57 – Our Interview With Michael C. Dougherty, Producer & Director of Browncoats: Redemption, A Firefly Fan Film.

The SciFi Diner Podcast

Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343, email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com

or visit us on Twitter @scifidiner.

Facebook Fan Page

Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles

Welcome to the Diner.

If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on iTunes.  We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable.  Visit our web page at http://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching!

On the menu tonight:

Tonight on the science fiction menu, we serve up a wonderful interview with the beautiful Felicia Day, and, just by answering some trivia, you can win a signed print to boot.  We discuss the Caprica Season Finale, The Guild takes the Streamys, SyFy picks up Streamy winner Steampunk Fantasy Reise, we give you Mile’s Clash of the Titans review (in 3D), we’re gonna discuss Small, what critics are calling the next 2001/Blade Runner, LOTR on Blu-Ray? True Fans are not fans. We’ll tell you why. Since this is a diner, we’ll also talk about a Star Wars AT-AT made of Bacon.  Last we chat about a dancing Storm Trooper in Paris (not because we’re a diner.)

The Interview:

We had the privileged of interviewing Miss Felicia Day, known for her work on The Guild, Dollhouse, Legend of Neil, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog, and Buffy.  She also stars in the upcoming SyFy Fairy Tale adaptation complete with Werewolves “Red.” She talks about The Guild and The Guild Comic Booksthat are currently being published.  She also talks about what it is like being a girl gamer.

Show News:

• We are a part of the Lifestyle PodNetwork
• Fringecasting with Wayne and Dan – Fringe has to be one of the best shows out there.
• We’ll be discussing the shows we love (Flash Forward, Fringe, Caprica, SGU, V) more in-depth with the lovely Mary, the DVD Geeks Televixen next week.  Let us know if there are any shows or anything you would like us to discuss. UPDATE:  We will be talking to Mary later in May!!!
• Richard White who wrote "Echoes of Coventry" in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers series for Star Trek, Ultimate Hulk, and Gauntlet: Dark Legacy#1 "Paths of Evil" will be joining us in just a few weeks.

Trivia:

Prize: A signed Felicia Day Guild Print

Question: In Dr. Horrible Sing-Along-Blog, Felicia Day’s Character is called Penny. After she dies, how does the newspaper refer to her?

You will have two weeks to answer this question.  Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner.

Podcast Promos:

DVD Geeks

Stranger Things TV

The Main Course:

TV News:

Caprica: Record demo ratings for mid-season finale, scoring 1.7M total viewers. Nice work! Compared to the first 5 eps of Caprica, the last 4 were up 21% in Adults 18-49 & 12% in Adults 25-54. Always good to see!

The Guild:

Felicia Day and The Guild PWN at the Streamy Awards

The Streamy Awards, honoring Web programming, singled out two talents from The Guild—Felicia Day's Web series about an online World of Warcraft guild meeting in real life—at the International Academy of Web Television's second annual awards ceremony, Sunday at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles.

Day herself won for best female actor in a comedy Web series for the second year in a row. As the creator and writer of the series, winning acting awards was her plan all along. "It means quite a lot, because I created this role for myself because I didn't see that role out there and I didn't see myself getting that role even if it was out there in Hollywood," Day said. "That's just the way I am. I'm a little quirky. This is for geek girls everywhere. I hope I continue to make content in the future and act in roles in the future that inspire people to go on and create themselves."

The Guild director Sean Becker won for best directing for a comedy Web series, his first Streamy. The show won awards last year for best comedy Web series. Becker was especially proud to win for directing because he's seen the competition get even tougher.

"We had the first Streamys last year and the Streamys this year, and I feel that the competition has gotten so much more intense this year," Becker said. "One good thing about the Guild is that they had come in early, so we kind of got to build a following. Now we're at that level where I believe it's just completely equal ground. To be even nominated, I know that's the cliché to say, but there are a lot of Web shows out there, so to be able to still be acknowledged is just great."

Syfy goes steampunk with fantasy-adventure series Riese

A mysterious wanderer named Riese has been on the run in an online futuristic fantasy-adventure series—and now she (along with her webisodes) has run all the way to Syfy. Syfy Digital has acquired the rights to the entire award-winning 10-part series with an eye toward possibly developing it for broadcast on air, just as the channel did with the Web series Sanctuary.

Here's Syfy's official announcement.

SYFY DIGITAL ACQUIRES RIESE

ACCLAIMED, STREAMY AWARD- WINNING 10-PART FANTASY-ADVENTURE WEB SERIES FOR FALL 2010

Season One and The Never-Before-Seen Season Two To Be Streamed on Syfy Digital With Eye Towards Development for Broadcast

New York, New York - April 8, 2010 - Syfy remains on the forefront of cutting edge fantasy based digital entertainment with the acquisition of the highly acclaimed web series, Riese, it was announced today by Craig Engler, SVP and GM of Syfy Digital. Syfy Digital has acquired the rights to the entire 10-part series - which is distributed by Fireworks International, the television and digital distribution arm of ContentFilm plc - with an eye towards development for a broadcast air. Riese consists of two five-part episode seasons, with season two premiering fully for the first time exclusively on Syfy.com. Season one and two are both slated for a digital launch in the fall 2010.

For web only.

"Riese is a fantastic web series with a lot of room to grow, and we're excited to work with the very talented cast and crew to help them take the show to the next level, backed by the full promotional efforts that Syfy can bring to the table," said Engler. "At the same time we'll be working hand-in-hand with our TV development team to see if Riese has the potential to make the jump to TV, just like our hit show Sanctuary did."

Riese recently scooped the Streamy Award for 'Best Cinematography in a Web Series' with a further three nominations for Best Sound Design, Best Foreign Series and Art Direction. The digital series starring Christine Chatelain (Sanctuary, Fringe), Sharon Taylor (Smallville, Eureka), Ben Cotton (Stargate Atlantis, Haper's Island), and Patrick Gilmore (Fringe, Stargate Universe), was shot in Vancouver, BC, and is created by Ryan Copple and Kaleena Kiff and produced by Galen Fletcher and Nicholas Humphries.

Jonathan Ford, Executive Vice-President, Digital Acquisitions and Distribution at Fireworks International added, "Syfy is highly regarded in the digital community with a fantastic background in identifying and securing the best in new multiplatform content. We are delighted to announce this significant deal for the important US market and look forward to working with the Syfy team on the web series as well as developing Riese for television."

Riese is a fantasy-adventure based web series that chronicles a mysterious wanderer named Riese, (portrayed by Chatelain). A life-on-the-run from a world with a dim future, Riese and her trusted wolf companion, Fenrir flee their dying land of Eleysia in search of freedom as they are hunted by assassins of 'The Sect,' a terrifying religious entity. As she tries to piece together her mysterious past, Riese will take on a life and death journey with the balance and the fate of the world lying in the palm of her hands.

About Fireworks International

Fireworks International is Content Film's international television and digital distribution division with over 3,000 hours of high-quality and commercially appealing programming including an extensive slate of major drama series, non-fiction entertainment, kids live action comedy and drama series, TV movies, mini-series and special event programming. Recent additions include comedic drama series, REPUBLIC OF DOYLE, primetime drama series, THE BORDER and heart-warming family drama series, HEARTLAND; non-fiction primetime documentary specials HUNTING THE LOST SYMBOL and I KNOW WHAT I SAW; U.S. tween comedy THE ASSISTANTS; high definition multi-platform thriller series VALEMONT, GIRL NUMBER 9 and Sci-Fi thriller, RIESE; new children's programmes HALF MOON INVESTIGATIONS, FAMILY BIZ as well as the classic anime series, ROBOTECH; plus over 200 U.S. network mini-series and TV movies; and specials including the Annual U.S. PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS show. This new product is combined with the large and valuable Fireworks library catalogue, which is complemented by a raft of formidable television shows including Gene Roddenberry's ANDROMEDA, MUTANT X and RELIC HUNTER.

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 95 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. Syfy. Imagine greater.

Movie News:

Clash of the Titans Review - Miles

Concept art for the film that's the next 2001/Blade Runner

According to Slashfilm, director Carl Erik Rinsch has already completed a full story for a feature film called Small, from which he drew the short movie as a starting point:

I have also learned that Rinsch has met with various nobel prize winning scientists and theorists in designing a world and a narrative that could be scientifically plausible. He's pretty hardcore about creating a world that could actually exist, ala 2001. I've heard that in the past, Rinsch has joked that the project is a mix between 2001, Blade Runner and Doctor Zhivago with a bit of Bourne-style action. Sounds pretty awesome and absurd at the same time (but I think that is the intent).

The Blade Runner link is no coincidence: Rinsch is a commercial director who works for Blade RunnerThe Gift. Rinsch was also the guy that Scott originally tapped to direct his proposed Alien prequel before Fox said Scott himself had to direct. Also, the Philips short movie mentions a unicorn. director Ridley Scott, and Scott is the guy behind the Philips short film experiment that produced

DVD News

Thousands trash LOTR Blu-Ray BEFORE its release!

Man, those Amazon reviewers may be the toughest crowd in Middle-earth! Even before The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy was released on Blu-ray a few days ago, thousands of angry fans had trashed the product without ever having seen it.

Of the 3,156 customer reviews currently up on the site, an amazing 2,850 of them—more than 90 percent—gave the release 1 star, the lowest rating possible. What possible problem could these users have with a trilogy made up of some of the highest-grossing films of all time, one that won 17 Academy Awards?

Turns out the low ratings weren't because the thousands of Amazon users hated the film. In fact, it was because they loved it.

As C. BURNS put it in his review:

Some confusion among other reviewers that somehow we're obligated to post a five star recommendation for the movie. This is an incorrect understanding of the review process. If I were reviewing the movie itself it would get a five. This review is for the product, as listed--in other words, I DO NOT RECOMMEND BUYING THIS PRODUCT/DVD. This product is being created FOR NO OTHER REASON than to dupe people into buying this movie twice...again. Those of us who were huge fans bought the original DVDs of the theatrical releases. THEN the studio FINALLY released the extended editions, even though they could have released both at the same time. Now that Blu Ray has won the High Def battle, the studios are salivating at screwing us all again the same way!

Please do not let them get away with pretending that Blu Ray can't hold both versions on one disc--it certainly can! A simple menu option would let you watch the Extended Edition when you have time, or Theatrical Edition when you don't.

Their other argument, that "Peter Jackson is busy working on The Hobbit and will work on Extended Editions later" is 100% total BS. He's ALREADY DONE THE WORK--just copy what he did for the regular DVDs onto a new Blu Ray master!

BOTTOM-LINE: The studios will make whatever argument they think will fly to convince us they can't put both versions on one disc, because they want to double their income on this movie. Which has ALREADY MADE THEM A BILLION DOLLARS. Don't play along--let friends know not to buy ANY LOTR Blu Ray that doesn't have BOTH versions on one disc.

So what do you think? Will the fans' fury sway New Line?

And will you be buying the new Rings Blu-ray? Or waiting until something better comes along?

Justice League: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1494772/

Misc News.

Awesome or disgusting? Star Wars AT-AT made of BACON

We were just thinking there aren't enough Star Wars items made out of pork when This Is Freaking Ridiculous posted these images,/

Yes, it's an All Terrain Armored Transport from The Empire Strike Back, made out of bacon.

Here's the official description:

The Bacon AT-AT stands 3 ft tall and is made with over 40 lbs of bacon. The body was made from foam, then the bacon was attached. This beast took 21 non-stop hours to build. If you've ever once thought to cook 40 lbs of bacon in your kitchen in one sitting, I can now personally advise against it.

Kids, don't try this one at home.

Dancing Storm Trooper tours Paris, startles the locals

You may not recognize Danny Choo's name, but his dance moves? Those we bet you'll recognize.

Choo's videos of himself dancing through the streets of Tokyo while dressed in full stormtrooper gear have been seen by millions. (In fact, the one we've embedded on our site has been viewed more than 3 million times.)

Now it looks like Choo has decided to spread the stormtrooper love to a new country—he's invaded France. He just posted images over on his blog and on Flickr from his recent trip to Paris, during which he brought "la Force" to the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and other famous landmarks.

Scifi 5 in 5

Top 5 (Well 6) SciFi Weapons

M41a Pulse Rifle - The M41A Pulse Rifle is the primary weapon of the USCMC in the Alien movies

Lightsabers

Crysknives - A crysknife is a fictional weapon in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. According to the 1965 novel Dune, it is made from the crystal tooth of Shai'Hulud, the giant sandworms that live below the sands of the desert planet Arrakis.^[1]

The Death Star

Star Trek Phaser

The BFG-9000 – from Doom

The SciFi Diner Podcast

Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343, email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com

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Tonight’s Diners: Scott, Miles, Kevin, and Keith

Welcome to the Diner.

If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on itunes.  We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable.  Visit our webpage at http://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching!

  On the menu tonight: This is our first ever SciFi Retrospective looking at shows with cult followings and examining how these shows have influenced SciFi today.  This retrospective focuses in on Farscape and joining us are Keith R. A. Decandido, author of Farscape novels and comic books, and Kevin Bachelder form the Scapecast Podcast.  They both share incredible insights into what made this show great and the impact it has had on current science fiction.  By the way, Farscape turned 11 two weeks ago.  News on Firefly. Show News:

• We are a part of the Lifestyle PodNetwork

Trivia will be BACK in April. Podcast Promos: The Scapecast Podcast Chronic Rift Podcast

The Main Course:

TV News:

Farscape turns 11! Check out the pre-release trailers from way back when - Most of us found Farscape on Syfy, but the show didn't launch there, remember? Those lucky enough to live in a land down under got the jump on U.S. viewers, because John Crichton first went through the wormhole when the series debuted on Australia's Nine Network March 19, 1999.   Courtsey of Billy Fens: in case you hadn't read... The Secrets of Firefly's Shepherd Book Will Finally Be Revealed Shepherd Book, possibly the most mysterious character on Joss Whedon's ill-fated space-western Firefly is to star in in a comic book that will finally let us in on his past. A character with a mysterious past is hardly a new idea for Joss Whedon, by Firefly's Shepherd Book was a particularly good one. Played by Ron Glass, the Shepherd - the term used for men of the cloth on the show - clearly had not been a God's servant all his life, and some pretty high-level connections with the Alliance. What made the mystery extra-potent however was that the show got cancelled, and we never got to find out what his mysterious past actually was. All that is about to change though, as a new comic book, entitled The Shepherd's Tale, is coming out that will finally cast some light on the preacher's colorful life. The book is written by Zack Whedon, and based on a detailed scene-by-scene outline from brother Joss. Zack Whedon said about the book: "You will see Book's full trajectory... How he became the man he was in the show and who he was previous to that. It takes you deep into his past. You really get to see the entire evolution of this man ... Book specifically is a great character to do the origin of because we know so little about it in the show, the little hints that we get are so enticing and his history is very... complicated. It's an intricate set of circumstances that created the man we meet in the show so that is very fun to explore." The Shepherd's Tale comes out in November, as a hardcover graphic novel.

Movie News:

  Courtesy of Dayton Ward: Neil Patrick Harris talks DR. HORRIBLE 2 and Possible Theatrical Release There's been talk about a sequel to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog for some time now. There's no doubt that the sequel will eventually happen, it's just a matter of how we end up watching it. I serious doubt we'll be watching the sequel online though. There is a strong possibility that the sequel will get a theatrical release. This isn't new news, Joss Whedon and Jed Whedon have been talking about Dr. Horrible 2 getting a feature film release since last year. Here's what they had to say in a previous interview, We've talked about doing an actual studio film. The story we've talked about is pretty big, so it may end up being longer. The one fear they had was that any studio they do the movie with will hold them back creatively. They want to do it their way with no studio influence. In a recent interview with MTV Neil Patrick Harris talked about the project saying that it he hopes they do make it into a feature film. Apparently they're making a 'Dr. Horrible' sequel—a feature film, I hope. I hope they cast me in it—we'll see. That's their plan. I don't know of what scale. They're talking all options, because they made the first 'Dr. Horrible' in five days on no budget at all—that was its intention. I think it would be awesome for this great web series to actually get a big screen sequel, that would definitely be a first. What do you think of this?  What do we think?      

Farscape:

A groundbreaking sci-fi production, FARSCAPE is a global favorite. Named by TV Guide as one of television's "Best Cult Shows Ever" and by Empire Magazine as one of the "50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time," FARSCAPE is known for the overwhelming fan-based campaign that led to its miniseries production, FARSCAPE: The Peacekeeper Wars. The show has continued to find new audiences as it airs in syndication and is available on DVD around the world as well as on iTunes, where it debuted as the top selling sci-fi show. Figurines and plush are also available along with the FARSCAPE comic book series which was entirely sold out five days after its first volume premiered in December 2008.   Firefly was perceived as derivative of Farscape when it hit the scene -- although the similarities were certainly coincidental. But the fact that Farscape had four full seasons and then a very successful mini-series to wrap up the major story arc was apparently not enough for it to get a mention here. Then again, Farscape wasn't directed by Joss Whedon and doesn't have a pending major motion picture. (Hello, Serenity.) When I watch the new Battlestar Galactica, I find it evocative of Farscape in many ways: the pacing, the immediacy, the grime. Trek existed in a genteel, leisurely universe by comparison (although Deep Space 9BSG so great came first in Farscape. approached gritty from time to time). But all the things that make the new Farscape had it flaws, and many of them ("trying too hard" came up often). But its omission from this list is nothing short of egregious. If you've never heard of Farscape before and would like a fairly detailed, one-page intro to the program, here's one I wrote way back in May 2000: Where No Series Has Gone Before, originally published in Bob Furnell's Jigsaw Magazine, by and for fans of science fiction television. In case you were wondering: the best thing about this list? That Farscape's legacy continues, even if it is uncredited, in shows like Battlestar Galactica.   http://www.boom-studios.net/farscape-ongoing-05-cover-a-1.html   Farscape (Ongoing) #05 (Cover B)

Top of Form

  $3.99 Writer(s): Rockne S. O'Bannon, Keith DeCandido Artist(s): Will Sliney The beginning of a new Farscape cracker, “Red Sky at Morning.” The crew of Moya take in all they’ve seen recently. Crichton, Aeryn and especially Chiana will never be the same. But soon it will be another member of the ship thrust into the harsh spotlight. They crew visits…Pilot’s homeworld. A don’t miss issue of the new ongoing FARSCAPE series written by the show creator Rockne S. O’Bannon.    

The SciFi Diner Podcast

Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343, email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com

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Facebook Fan Page

Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles

Welcome to the Diner.

If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on itunes.  We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable.  Visit our webpage at http://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching!

On the menu tonight:

On this science fiction podcast, we interview David H. Lawrence VII, AKA Eric Doyle, the Puppet Master from Heroes.    Also on the menu tonight we announce the Star Wars Trivia winner, our discision to join the Lifestyle Podnetwork, our Farscape show two weeks from now, Fringe Season 3 is a go, Felicia Day comes to SyFy,  new Tron Legacy and Iron Man 2 trailers are out, Star Trek finally wins and Oscar, Alice in Wonderland breaks the Box Office, the new Aliens will be in 3D, and Jay from Georgia brings us his top five SciFi Classic Movies in the SciFi Five in Five.

Interview:

In tonight's interview, we chat with David H. Lawrence the XVII, who played Eric Doyle (the Puppetmaster) from NBC's hit show Heroes.  We discuss the him being the grandfather of podcasting, his switch from radio to acting, how he landed his role on heroes and why his character  has been reoccurring, and we wrap up by looking at his cameo on Lost.

Show News:

• The SciFi Diner Podcast is now a part of the Lifestyle PodNetwork
• Our Farscape Retrospective in two weeks with Kevin Bachelder from the Scapecast: call in with your thoughts on Farscape, what it meant to you, how you think it impacted the SciFi TV industry - 1.888.508.4343
• Keith RA DeCandido – Thanks for the plug on his blog!
• Congratulations to Chris & Subspace Communique for being on a year. Be sure to enter his 1 year Anniversary Reader Contest! You could wind Captain Kirk and buttload of Tribbles. By the way our friend Chris from Subspace Communique posted our show with another one. He checked before Miles said anything. This guy's on the ball.
• Also, I was mentioned on the last DVD Geeks episode. Mary had asked for opinions on Flash Forward. ABC released the dvds for the mid season. So we got a little air time on their show.

Trivia:

Prize: A signed print of Sam Witwer as Starkiller from the Force Unleashed.

Question: Who was in charge of bringing down the deflector shield of the second Death Star?

Winner: Susan - Her name was drawn out of a hat from all the correct answers.  The correct answer was that it was led by Hans Solo.

Podcast Promos:

DVDGeeks Podcast

Aussie Geek Podcast

The Main Course:

TV News

Cue the exploding heads: Fringe renewed for season 3!

Here's the best news of the day: Entertainment Weekly reports that Fox has decided to renew Fringe for a third season!

Here's what they said:

Though the show isn't exactly blowing the roof off of Nielsen—it's been averaging just 7.6 million viewers and is ranked No. 50 in the all-important adults 18-49 demographic this season—it managed to survive in a tough new time period on Thursdays. The show returns with new episodes—and the promise of more visits from Leonard Nimoy and to the parallel universe—on April 1.

That means we'll get more of the delicious weirdness, more loony awesome John Noble as Walter Bishop, more sexy Joshua Jackson-Anna Torv tension, more mercury-blooded alt-dimension assassins, more Nimoy, more Blair Brown-Lance Reddick action, hopefully more Kirk Acevedo, and lots more 'splodey heads. (And, yes, how could we forget: More of the button-cute, spunky Jasika Nicole as Astrid!)

Can't wait till April 1!

Ultimate sci-fi TV pilot guide: Your favorite shows of the future

ABC

The Gates The supernatural crime drama sort of sounds like an anti-Eureka. It's about "a big-city cop who becomes chief of police in a seemingly sleepy planned community only to discover there's much more to the residents than meets the eye." What could that be, you ask? How about a cardiologist who is actually a "vampire-like creature" in the form of actor Luke Mably. Prison Break's Frank Grillo plays the new police chief, Nick Monohan. Janina Gavankar plays Leigh Turner, a sexy cop with a secret. Chance of pickup: 100 percent. The Gates has a blind 13-episode commitment and will likely find a home during the summer.

No Ordinary Family Could this potential series be the new Heroes? The Shield's Michael Chiklis and Angel/Dexter's Julie Benz star in this drama, which revolves around a typical American family that experiences strange things when they suddenly find themselves with new abilities. Chiklis plays the dad and Benz plays mom, Stephanie, "a gifted scientist who develops a power for superspeed." No Ordinary Family comes from Jon Harmon Feldman (Tru Calling) and Greg Berlanti (Eli Stone). The series also stars Autumn Reeser, Romany Malco, Jimmy Bennett, Kay Panabaker, and Christina Chang. Chance of pickup: 75 percent. Chiklis is a star, and with Heroes certainly at the end of its run this season or next, we're liking No Ordinary Family's chances.

Fox

Terra Nova Steven Spielberg must be getting bored with movies, or maybe he's just missing dinosaurs. He and Peter Chernin are trying to put together a deal for this time-travel drama "about a family from 100 years in the future who travel back in time 150 million years to the strange and inhospitable environments of prehistoric earth." According to Variety, the project would involve sets and special effects that are so elaborate, it would only be cost effective to order it directly to series. That means it's either all or nothing on this one, so there's no actual order for a pilot yet. Craig Silverstein and British writer Kelly Marcel wrote the script based on Marcel's idea. Chance of pickup: 20 percent. It's Spielberg baby! And that means it's really, really expensive, baby!

Torchwood Doctor Who/Torchwood's Russell T. Davies no sooner came to the U.S. than he promptly pitched Fox a U.S. version of Torchwood. There's also been talk that original star John Barrowman might reprise his role as Captain Jack and that the series about a covert group of alien hunters would focus on more internationally-based stories. It's a longshot that this would go through. BBC America still holds the broadcast rights, and, as far as we know, it hasn't been canceled across the pond. That doesn't mean that there couldn't also be an American version, but there's some work to do to make a deal come together. It all sounds too good to be true. Chance of pickup: 20 percent. We'll believe it when we see it, and we'd really like to see it.

NBC

The Cape The other superhero offering is The Cape, about "a former cop framed for a crime he didn't commit who becomes the Cape, a masked hero, to clear his name and reunite with his son." ER'sHuman Target). Chance of pickup: 65 percent. Lyons is a star waiting to happen, and NBC isn't afraid of superheroes. Australian actor, David Lyons, plays the ex-cop, Vince Faraday. The series was created by Tom Wheeler, and the pilot is being directed by Simon West (

Day One Oh, poor Day One. Did NBC screw this one up, or what? Originally, Jesse Alexander's (Heroes, Lost, Alias) "series" was picked up as a mid-season replacement, only to have its order trimmed down until it was nothing more than a two-hour TV movie. The story follows what happens when "an eclectic group of neighbors in a Van Nuys, Calif., apartment building" find themselves on a quest for survival after "a global event devastates the world's infrastructures." Huh? Well, the "global catastrophe" turns out to be an alien invasion, but why NBC couldn't just come out with it? Who knows. Maybe they were scared of ABC's V taking all the alien invasion mojo away from them. All that said, the script is great, and Alexander knows how to write sci-fi television. On the unfortunate side, the "series" stars David Lyons, who's also been cast in NBC's The Cape. Day One's cast includes Adam Campbell, Julie Gonzalo, Catherine Dent, Derek Mio, Carly Pope, Addison Timlin and Thekla Reuten. Chance of pickup: 8 percent. For whatever reason, NBC's turned its back on this one, and it will be lucky even to air as a television movie at this point.

The Event Who knows if there's actually any real sci-fi or fantasy at the core of The Event, but we're liking the chances. From The 4400's Nick Wauters, the pilot is "a thriller with a unique storytelling device that features multiple points of view concerning a decent, regular fellow who battles against mysterious circumstances that envelope a larger conspiracy." The "decent, regular fellow" is played by Jason Ritter, who stars along with Blair Underwood, Sara Roemer, Scott Peterson, Zeljko Ivanek, Ian Anthony Dale, Taylor Cole and Wes Ramsey. Chance of pickup: 25 percent. Well, the summary couldn't be any more vague and reminds us of Day One's "global event." We're thinking this one is a bit of a long shot.

Nine Lives Call this Spielberg 2.0. Originally developed for Syfy, it's been reported that Spielberg is interested in reviving this near-death drama. "Nine Lives unfolds as an epic story of love, exploring the greatest mystery of all ... what happens after you die? The drama focuses on several characters, each grieving over the loss of a loved one. First by accident, then intentionally induced, each has discovered how to reunite with their loved ones in the afterlife through near-death experiences. But each journey to the other side brings closer an unknown evil, which is about to be unleashed on mankind." Written by Taken's Leslie Bohem. Chance of pickup: 15 percent. Bohem is brilliant and Spielberg's a force of nature, but we're not liking its chances.

Undercovers J.J. Abrams' latest takes him back to the spy game as "a domesticated husband and wife return from years in retirement and are re-activated as CIA agents. As they work together for the first time on new cases, they discover new aspects from their past—even as they re-ignite their passion for each other." While this certainly could be a sci-fi-free series, we also know that Abrams loves sci-fi and loves to sell a sci-fi story as spy story, at least based on his work on Alias. The pilot was written by Abrams and Dirty Sexy Money's Josh Reims and features Boris Kodjoe (Surrogates) as Steven Bloom and British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Doctor Who) as his wife, Samantha. The pilot also stars Carter MacIntyre, Gerald McRaney, Jessica Parker Kennedy and Ben Schwartz. Chance of pickup: 80 percent. Undercovers seems to have a good chance considering Abrams knows how to do spy stuff. If he can rein in the Alias-esque bizarre sci-fi plots just a bit, this has great potential.

CABLE

AMC

The Walking Dead You've got to love what happens after a good zombie apocalypse. The Walking DeadThe Green Mile's Frank Darabont, with Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert executive producer. Chance of pickup: 75 percent. The Walking Dead has a strong crew behind the scenes and let's face it, it's time for a good television zombie apocalypse. follows a group of survivors who travel in search of a safe and secure home. Based on the comic book by Robert Kirkman, "the comic goes on to explore the challenges of life in a world overrun by zombies who take a toll on the survivors, and sometimes the interpersonal conflicts present a greater danger to their continuing survival than the zombies that roam the country. Over time, the characters are changed by the constant exposure to death and some grow willing to do anything to survive." This one is from

TNT

Steven Spielberg's Untitled Alien Invasion Series Steven Spielberg 3.0. We don't have a title yet, but this "untitled alien invasion series" does have star Noah Wylie (The Librarian) playing the college professor who becomes the reluctant leader of "a rag-tag group of soldiers and civilians as they struggle against an occupying alien force." The series begins "shortly after aliens have wiped out most of the human population. The aliens are now rounding up the few people left, but they are met with strong resistance from a group of soldiers and civilians who fight for their survival all while struggling to maintain their humanity." The series was created by Saving Private Ryan's Robert Rodat and is produced by DreamWorks Television. The series also stars Moon Bloodgood, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Jessy Schram and Seychelle Gabriel. Chance of pickup: 100 precent. It's already headed to series, and 10 episodes have been ordered.

Network Unknown

Untitled Star Wars live-action TV Series This project's been in the works for years and still doesn't have a title. According to rumors, George Lucas is courting Britain's top writers for pitches, OR scripts have been written, OR casting has started, OR none of the above. The idea is that the series would be set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope and would focus on minor characters, such as the smugglers and bounty hunters. Lucas would definitely like to do this, and he's said he would write and produce the first season, and then "hand it off from there" and oversee the series as executive producer. Chance of pickup: Who knows? No network is attached, and even though Lucas says he can produce the episodes for $1 million, it's going to take a lot of special effects to pull this one off. Still, he's faced greater odds, like getting Star Wars made in the first place.

Felicia Day comes to Syfy

Felicia Day (The Guild, Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog) will portray a werewolf-hunting descendant of Little Red Riding Hood in the new Syfy Saturday Original Movie Red, which is slated to premiere in 2011.

Movie News:

Sexy Tron Legacy teaser trailer: babes and light cycles!

Remember that teaser trailer for Tron Legacy we told you about? It's now live and you can view it below.

What did we tell you? Pretty awesome, right?

Tron Legacy opens on Dec. 17, way too long from now.

New Iron Man 2 trailer: Black Widow, Whiplash, War Machine! Try top put trailer in show notes

The new trailer for Iron Man 2, which premiered during the Jimmy Kimmel show following the Oscars on Sunday night, is now online, and you can view it above.

It show us a first real good look at Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow and more of Mickey Rourke's Whiplash in action against Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark/Iron Man. We also get a better look at Sam Rockwell's rival, Justin Hammer, and Don Cheadle as Rhodey/War Machine.

There's also a taste of the rockin' new action. Iron Man 2 opens May 7, and we can't wait.

With makeup award, Star Trek finally brings home an Oscar

It wasn't a great night for 10-foot-tall blue aliens, but it was a historic night for Star Trek: J.J. Abrams' movie won an award for best achievement in makeup, marking the first time a Trek movie has ever won one of the coveted gold statues.

Backstage at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday night, Trek makeup winners Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow talked about the history being made.

"I think we have a whole new generation of fans," Hall said. "And that was one of our goals. We wanted our Star Trek to appeal to the current fan as well as a new generation, a younger generation, and kind of a younger, hipper Star Trek, if you will. It's fantastic—fantastic for the whole franchise."

Over the years, four Star Trek films have received various nominations (none for directing or acting or best picture), and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home earned four nominations in 1986, but none has ever won. Until now.

"As a makeup artist I think we all try to make people as believably realistic, whether it's a strength or beauty or some kind of extreme prosthetic makeup," Burman told reporters backstage. "We make them as realistic to the eye as we possibly can. So hopefully we never have to utilize or rely on lighting or editing to help correct our work. So I think the three of us strove for perfection, I think, every day, and with an amazing army of makeup artists that were of like mind, to make things as realistic and believable to the eye as possible. And, you know, and J.J. Abrams, God bless him, he demanded, he wanted to create a world and universe where everybody can live and breathe as though that's a real place, and I think we achieved it."

Harlow was asked about his influences. "It was just sort of a, you know, the Star Trek mythology," he said. "When you talk about the tattooing, I presume you're talking about the Romulans, and that was the mythology of Star Trek, was that the Romulans and the Vulcans sort of began as the same race, and the Romulans followed their more animal tendency and the Vulcans followed their more logical tendency."

Alice is a wonder, breaking box-office records

Oh frabjous day: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland killed the competition at the March 5 weekend box office, taking in an estimated $116.3 million domestically to set a new record.

Worldwide, the 3-D fantasy movie took in $210.3 million, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Even accounting for ticket-price inflation, that's the biggest-ever (domestic) opening in the first quarter of the year, easily beating the record of $83.8 million set by The Passion of the Christ in 2004.

In the 40 foreign territories where it opened simultaneously, Alice in Wonderland collected an additional $94 million. That's also a record for the biggest foreign opening in the winter or spring, Disney said.

Ridley Scott's Alien will be 3-D and—a trilogy, too?

All the Alien reboot news that's slowly been coming out over the past year has been exciting, but now we're really starting to salivate.

First we learned there was going be a prequel, and that Tony and Ridley Scott would be involved, though neither would direct. Then we found out that Ridley Scott was stepping in to direct after all. And a few months ago, he let slip a few details about the plot—that the film wouldn't deal with the backstory to that giant alien ship the crew of the Nostromo discovered in his 1979 original movie.

But now it all gets even more interesting, because Roger Christian, art director for the original Alien, spilled big news over at shadowlocked: "Ridley's doing the next Alien in 3D."

And in even bigger news than that, the film may turn out to be the first of a trilogy:

Ridley told me some of his ideas when we were here in Toronto. He has a very clear understanding of where this should go. They kind of stopped dead one of the greatest horror franchises there's ever been, and it had legs to go on. So I'm hoping he'll revive another three. The world certainly wants it, and the fans want it—everybody.

Now, perhaps Christian is only speaking for himself and not Scott with his talk of a three-quel. But it does make us wonder whether the two have discussed the possibility, and whether it could be more than just idle speculation.

In any case, even if the trilogy talk is just a rumor, the 3-D sounds solid, so—can you think of any scene better suited for 3-D than an Alien chestburster? Not us!

Scifi 5 in 5

Jay's Top Five Classic SciFi Movies

1. The Day The Earth Stood Still 2. Planet of the Apes 3. 2001 Space Odyssey 4. Aliens 5. Godzilla (The Original Japanese Version)

By the way I said that the original Japanese version of Godzilla, Gojira, was one of my top 5 classic sci fi movies, I just wanted to clarify, because if you played my message on the air I am sure some people will say that it is not a sci fi movie, it is a monster movie. Which is partially true, there is a ton of science in the story where the Japanese scientists are explaining the existence of Godzilla, and the Oxygen bomb kills him, its full of science fiction. Sorry just wanted to defend this.

Thanks Jay from Canton, GA

SciFi Rewind Episode 16 - Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (30 Years Later)

SciFi Rewind Episode 15 - Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys

The SciFi Diner Podcast

Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343, email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com

or visit us on Twitter @scifidiner.

Facebook Fan Page

Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles & Tom

Welcome to the Diner.

If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on itunes.  We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable.  Visit our webpage at http://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching!

On the menu tonight:

On this science fiction podcast, we have with us Keith R. Decandido.    Also on the menu tonight we have Star Wars Trivia, V gets Revealing, July 13 and Warehouse 13, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee get Makeovers, Terminator Salvation: The Machinma Series DVD, Miles is running for the Governer of Florida, Zombies have rights, and a man with too much time on his hands build Minas Tirith.

Show News:

• Shout outs! To Our friends on the Trekcast Forum.
• Shore Leave 32 – the line up.

Trivia:

  Prize: A signed print of Sam Witwer as Starkiller from the Force Unleashed. Question: Who was in charge of bringing down the deflector shield of the second Death Star? You have one week to answer this question (until March 10th).  Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner.

Podcast Promos:

DVD Geeks! Podcast and Radio Show Trekcast!

The Main Course:

TV News

V will reveal more spaceship! Lizard skin! Anna's true face! You'll see a lot more of the Visitors' mother ship—and a lot more of their true alien selves—when ABC's V finally returns on March 30. Andrew Orloff, executive creative director/visual-effects supervisor for Zoic Studios, the visual-effects team behind V's spaceships and aliens, revealed his studio's work on the upcoming episodes. (Spoilers ahead!) "It's just more," Orloff said in an exclusive interview Sunday in Century City, Calif., at the Visual Effects Society awards, where Zoic was nominated for its work. "If you're a fan of the show, you see the engine room of the ship in the last episode. We'll keep continuing to open up and explore different rooms and parts of the ship that'll be, I think, interesting for the viewers. It'll drive the story forward, and for us, ... since the entire interior of the ship is virtual, that means more visual effects work for us, for sure." Finally! Warehouse 13 comes back in July Yay! It's about time: Syfy announced that its hit series Warehouse 13 has begun production on season two, which will premiere on July 13. All the main cast members are back, along with special guest star Nolan Funk (Nickelodeon's SpectacularDrake & Josh), who will appear in a four-episode arc. and Season two will consist of 13 brand-spanking-new episodes. Below is the official announcement.

Movie News:

  Transformers 3's Optimus, Bumblebee getting makeovers     As the third Transformers movie gears up preproduction this month, we've learned that Optumus Prime and Bumblebee will get a makeover. The Industrial Light & Magic team is hard at work updating the robots in disguise for their third big screen adventure. "Our two lead characters, Optimus and Bumblebee, needed to be updated for the next chapter in the Transformers series," said animation supervisor Scott Benza in an exclusive interview Sunday at the Visual Effects Society Awards in Century City, Calif., where he and visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar were nominees. "Bumblebee's matured a little bit, so I would just say look for subtle changes to his physique that have him look more mature." Subtlety might not be what you expect from a Michael Bay movie, but Farrar suggested the changes to Prime would be of the easter-egg variety that only true fans would notice. "[Prime will have] little tiny things that maybe the average viewer isn't going to notice but probably the fanboys will," Farrar said. "You actually will run into pieces that are maybe always in the way, and wouldn't it be nice if that part wasn't there? Maybe you make a shift in the shoulder, in the chest or what have you. So it might be proportioning, but it also might be for usability, so [the animators]' task could be easier, too." Benza added that Prime's updates would be badass. "We always want the robots to look cooler than they did the last time, so he's going to look a little more heroic, I would say," Benza said.    

DVD News

  Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series (2009) $5.95   "My name is Blair Williams. I fight for the Resistance." The resourceful A-10 pilot from Terminator Salvation has her own story in this kick-'bot prequel filmed via the innovative Machinima process that turns video-game elements into a full-blown animated story. Moon Bloodgood reprises her T4 role, providing the voice of Williams as she takes on an explosive mission to track what or who is disrupting comm links during the Resistance’s fierce guerrilla war against Skynet. T-600s emerge, guns blazing. MotoTerminators patrol post-Apocalyptic L.A. Aerostats hover. Hunter Killers rain death. Machinima delivers action and style in a big way. Reboot the future with Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series.  

Misc News.

Self-described vampire to run for governor of Florida – Miles?

Wasn't there a politician who campaigned on the slogan "Morning in America"? Well, it turns out there's at least one politician for whom morning's not such a good thing. Because gubernatorial candidate Jonathon Sharkey is vampire. Really. Sharkey, a self-described vampire who'd previously announced plans to run for governor of Minnesota on the Vampyres, Witches and Pagans ticket, has called off that campaign, even though Minnesota seems like a state suited to eclectic candidates. After all, it sent a former professional wrestler to the statehouse, didn't it? But Minnesota's loss will be Florida's gain, because Sharkey has now set his political sights on the Sunshine State, according to citypages. "Instead of running for Governor of MN, I will now run in Florida as a Republican for probably a nation position. I have unfinished business in Tampa Bay, too," said Sharkey in his announcement. "I intend on seeking support from my fellow Republicans in the House and Senate to pass federal laws to address child protection and harsh criminal punishment upon those who abuse their children." Guy spends 3 years building Minas Tirith out of 420,000 matches - was he smoking crack?  What to do when your laid…. off…. I don't think a matchstick model has ever had me in lust before, but the painstaking Patrick Acton has pulled it off, by building Middle-earth's Minas Tirith out of 420,000 matches. Just look at that thing! It took Acton, who's been supplying Ripley's Believe It or Not with such models since 1994, almost three years to complete this particular model, which contains hundreds of city buildings and is topped with the Citadel, the Tree of Gondor and the White Tower of Ecthelion. Awesome 'Alien' sculpted from 1,200 lbs. of motorcycle steel Three artists. 4,000 pieces of steel. 1,200 pounds of parts recycled from Yamaha motorcycles. One scary-as-hell 8-foot-tall "Alien Queen." $6,000. Gotta love those numbers. (Well, all except that last one.) But still—we want one! Zombies have First Amendment rights, too, says U.S. court Who knew that zombies were being persecuted? But thanks to an appeals court in Minneapolis—no more! A group of zombies (OK, not actual zombies, but rather several costumed protesters) have been given the OK to proceed with their lawsuit against the police who arrested them for disorderly conduct, Yahoo News reported. At the time of their arrest in 2006, the plaintiffs lurched stiff-legged through a mall urging shoppers to "get your brains here" and "brain cleanup in aisle five" while wearing white face powder, fake blood and black circles around their eyes. They were also carrying audio equipment, including loudspeakers and wireless phone handsets, which police had decided to describe as "simulated weapons of mass destruction."      

Scifi 5 in 5

The Sexiest Women in SciFi TV – according to Mile and what he is watching

1. Jeri Ryan
2. Summer Glau
3. Morena Baccarin
4. Kandyse McClure
5. Elyse Levesque

SciFi Rewind Episode 14 - John Carpenter's "The Thing" 1982

SciFi Rewind Episode 13 - Aliens

SciFi Rewind Episode 12 – Equilibrium

SciFi Rewind Episode 11 – Enemy Mine: A True, Undervalued SciFi Gem

The SciFi Diner Podcast

Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343,

email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com

or visit us on Twitter @scifidiner.

Be sure to join our Facebook Fan Page

Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles

Welcome to the Diner.

If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on itunes.  We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable.  Visit our webpage at http://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching!

Everyone can leave feedback – let us know what you think about our discussions and what shows you are watching! 18885084343

On the menu tonight:

On this science fiction podcast, we interview Sam Witwer, Starkiller from the Force Unleashed, Crashdown from BSG, and Doomsday from Smallville.    Also on the menu tonight we have two listener e-mails to share, trivia with a very special prize, what TV shows are coming back, might come back, and have been axed, a New Flash Gordon Movie in the works, DVD news on 2012, Where the Wild Things Are, and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and find out whether Kirk and Spock would have survived warp speed.  I also give my top 5 SciFi’s Sexiest women in our SciFi Five in Five.

Show News:

• iTunes – you can leave us a review!
• Find out other ways to support us

Trivia: IS BACK

Prize: A signed print of Sam Witwer as Starkiller from the Force Unleashed.

Question: Who was in charge of bringing down the deflector shield of the second Death Star?

You will have two weeks to answer this question (until March 10th).  Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner.

Podcast Promos:

The Seeker Cast

Toothless Audiobook Podcast

The Main Course:

TV News

Which of your favorite shows could live, which could die

ALREADY RENEWED

The Big Bang Theory (CBS) Renewed for a fourth season. – Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore will love this.

Eureka (Syfy) Renewed for a fourth season.

Stargate Universe (Syfy) Renewed for a second season.

Sanctuary (Syfy) Renewed for a third season.  Give me some more Heyerdahl!

Supernatural (The CW) Renewed for a sixth season.

True Blood (HBO) Renewed for a third season premiering in June.

The Vampire Diaries (The CW) Renewed for a second season.

Warehouse 13 (Syfy) Renewed for a second season.  Oh yeah we’re waiting baby…

Updated:: Dollhouse (Fox) Canceled Eastwick (ABC) Canceled Lost (ABC) Series finale airs May 23.

UP IN THE AIR

Chuck (NBC) For once, Chuck is in the Likely-to-Return category. The coolest superhero nerd show ever is actually the top-rated Monday night drama for NBC, and considering the shambles that NBC's schedule has become since The Jay Leno Show was removed, the network needs good reliable performers like Chuck.

Latest ratings: 6.61 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 80 percent

FlashForward (ABC) Remember all those ratings everyone was all worried about when the series begin last fall? Well, forget about them. They don't matter one bit considering the long, long break for new episodes to return. The good news is that the series has 13 episodes to prove itself. The bad news is that there's been some trouble behind the scenes with rotating show runners. FlashForward is starting from scratch in more ways than one.

TVbytheNumbers.com's Bill Gorman reported: "If FlashForward keeps falling when it returns, it has no future. We'll now have to wait until mid-March to see its next ratings."

Latest ratings: 7.29 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 50-50

Fringe (Fox) Despite low ratings, Fringe has managed more or less to hold its own in the most difficult timeslot on television, Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. This has been especially noticeable since Past Life has taken over the timeslot to the tune of 2 million fewer viewers while Fringe takes a break. All things considered—the rabid fan base, the terrible timeslot, the excellent showing in DVR ratings—and it adds up to a solid performance.

Latest ratings: 7.76 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 70 percent

Heroes (NBC) Believe it or not, despite terrible ratings, Heroes has a chance at fifth season. The ratings have stabilized, and the series gains another million-plus viewers when DVR ratings are counted in. NBC is trying to rebuild its schedule thanks to The Jay Leno Show debacle, and Heroes at least brings in a loyal audience, it does well overseas and it's a high-profile, original series. That said, a very strong case could be made for the show's cancellation as well.

James Hibberd's Live Feed commented: "This season, Heroes continued its decline and is now at a level—around a 2.0 adults 18-49 rating—that would warrant cancellation under most circumstances. The deciding factor here is NBC's internal balance sheet for the production. Don't be surprised if NBC announces a 12-hour 'final chapter' for next fall."

Latest ratings: 4.41 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 40 percent

Human Target (Fox) This new midseason replacement is finally leveling off to some decent ratings. While it's certainly getting a bump from American Idol, the last couple of episodes have been very entertaining, and the series seems to be finding its feet. And considering the series will most likely do well in reruns, given its episodic nature, we're liking its chances for a second season so far.

Latest pre-Olympic ratings: 8.92 million viewers

Latest ratings opposite the Olympics: 7.14 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 45 percent

Smallville (The CW) When The CW moved Smallville from Thursdays to Fridays, it looked like it could be the end of this reliable performer. Certainly Smallville didn't quite seem to fit with the younger-skewing shows the network was banking on, such as The Vampire Diaries. Then something strange and wonderful happened: Apparently the fans weren't ready to let Smallville die. The producers are still doing fine creative work, and the series has finally given The CW some ratings on Friday nights. While SmallvilleVampire Diaries or Supernatural, it's looking very good for a 10th season, with Super Clark and his friends. And BTW, don't be surprised if it does get another season and we see one or two additional Smallville movies along the lines of Absolute Justice. didn't get an early pickup like

Latest ratings: 2.48 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 90 percent

V (ABC) Those beautiful alien invaders are in the same boat as the FlashFowarders. The series returns on March 30, and it's airing after Lost in the 10 p.m. timeslot, which is a good thing. With Lost in its final season, V's likely to grab a few viewers, which should help its bottom line. But V is pretty much starting over, and it will only have eight episodes to get you caught up in the revolution.

Latest ratings: 9.20 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 60 percent

Movie News:

No Current Movies Cause Movies Suck right now.

New Flash Gordon movie: No Queen, no camp, but 3-D!

Director Breck Eisner promises that his upcoming new Flash Gordon movie won't be a remake of the campy 1980 version or even the Buster Crabbe serials from the 1930s—and he promises it will be in 3-D.

"It's a movie that is in no way a remake or a re-imagining or a reboot of the '80s version or the serial version," Eisner told SCI FI Wire. "No Queen [music]. It is not camp in any way. We're going back to the original Alex Raymond [comic strip] scripts and imagining if he were living today, what would those strips be like?"

Eisner is moving forward on his new movie version of the classic sci-fi story. "Flash Gordon is a movie I've been pursuing for years, and I finally was able to orchestrate it going to Sony from Hearst," Eisner said while promoting his new sci-fi horror movie, The Crazies.

Gordon will also enter the third dimension this time out: "It will definitely be in 3-D, unless they come out with 4-D before then," Eisner says with a laugh. The director adds that he is even testing a new binaural German 3-D sound system that could be employed for the film. "It's supposed to push 3-D to the next level," he says.

Cost is the primary obstacle the space hero will have to overcome. "It's a very expensive movie," admits Eisner. "Do they have and do they want to spend the kind of money it's going to take to pull this thing off?"

For now, Eisner is simply intent on developing the best filmic version of Flash Gordon possible. "It's one that I will be passionate enough about forever and will hope to be able to make," says Eisner. "It's action, it's adventure, it's intense, it's dynamic. It's a strong central character who goes on a dynamic journey. It should be a really amazing movie if we can get it made."

Will you blast off with Eisner's Flash?

DVD News

2012 ~ John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, and Woody Harrelson (DVD - 2010) $15.99

Now this is how you destroy the world. Roland Emmerich's 2012 pounces on a Nostradamus-style loophole in the Mayan calendar and rams the apocalypse through it, gleefully conjuring up an enormous amount of Saturday-matinee fun in the process. A scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor) detects shifting continental plates and sun flares and realizes that this foretells the imminent destruction of the planet. Just as the molten lava is about to hit the fan, a novelist (John Cusack) takes his kids on a trip to Yellowstone; later he'll hook up with his ex (Amanda Peet) and her new boyfriend (Tom McCarthy) in a global journey toward safety. If there is any safety. The suitably hair-raising plot lines are punctuated--frequently, people, frequently--by visions of mayhem around the globe: the Vatican falls over, the White House is clobbered (Emmerich's Independence Day was not enough on that score), and the California coastline dives into the Pacific Ocean. Unlike other action directors we could name, Emmerich actually understands how to let you see and drink in these vast special-effects vistas--and they are incredible. He also honors the old Irwin Allen disaster-movie tradition by actually shelling out for good actors. Cusack and Ejiofor are convincing even in the cheesiest material; toss in Danny Glover (the U.S. president), Woody Harrelson (a nut-bar conspiracy-theorizing radio host), Thandie Newton, and Oliver Platt, and you've got a very watchable batch of people.

Where the Wild Things Are ~ Forest Whitaker, et al. (DVD - 2010) $17.99

Through his handcrafted ode to the trials of childhood, Spike Jonze puts his own unique imprint on Maurice Sendak's enduring classic. In the prologue, 9-year-old Max (Max Records) stomps around the house, feeling neglected. When his mom (Catherine Keener) sends him to bed without supper, Max runs away (something he doesn't do in the book). He finds a boat and sails to a distant land where fuzzy monsters are raising a rumpus in the forest. Since his wolf suit allows him to fit right in, he joins the fray, catching the eye of Carol (James Gandolfini, excellent), who notes, approvingly, "I like the way you destroy stuff. There's a spark to your work that can't be taught." With that, they pronounce the diminutive creature king, hoping he can bring cohesion to their fractured family. After Max comes across Carol's scale-model town, he decides they should build a real one, but the project stalls as Alexander (Paul Dano) and Douglas (Chris Cooper) mope, Judith (Catherine O'Hara) browbeats Ira (Forest Whitaker), and Carol pines for K.W. (Lauren Ambrose), who prefers the company of owls Bob and Terry. Max realizes he has to make a choice: stay with the wild things or return home, where he has to keep his aggressive impulses in check. For readers of Sendak's slim tome, his decision won't come as a surprise, but Jonze ends the story on a lovely grace note. Until that time, the squabbling is a bit much--these monsters never stop talking--but Jonze, cowriter Dave Eggers, the Jim Henson Company, and singer/songwriter Karen O. have gone all-out to re-create the inner world of a child with as much empathy as was mustered for the inner adult world of Jonze's Being John Malkovich. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians ~ John Call, Pia Zadora, and Leonard Hicks (DVD - 2010) $9.98

Martian children have become unhappy watching Earth television programs showing Christmas cheer among humans. The wise old Martian Chochem tells the adults that Mars needs Santa Claus to bring fun and joy to their children. A group of Martians arrives at the North Pole and kidnaps Santa, but the angry Martian Voldar wants to get rid of him instead. With the help of two Earth children and the clumsy Martian Dropo, Santa defeats Voldar and brings happiness to Mars!

Misc News

Scientists say warp speed would have killed Kirk and Spock

So you remember how Zefram Cochrane became the first human to travel at warp speed after transforming a Titan missile into Earth's first warp-capable ship in 2063, attracting the attention of the Vulcans and ushering in a new era of peace and harmony that led to the development of the United Federation of Planets and humanity's trek through the stars?

Well, the reality is that he would have fried instantly, and any other Starfleet travelers such as Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise would have perished had they really attempted to travel at faster-than-light speeds.

That's the conclusion of a new research reported in New Scientist:

Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew would die within a second of the USS Enterprise approaching the speed of light.

The problem lies with Einstein's special theory of relativity. It transforms the thin wisp of hydrogen gas that permeates interstellar space into an intense radiation beam that would kill humans within seconds and destroy the spacecraft's electronic instruments.

Frak me! But there's more:

According to William Edelstein of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, that sparse interstellar gas should worry the crew of a spaceship traveling close to the speed of light even more than the Borg decloaking off the starboard bow.

Special relativity describes how space and time are distorted for observers traveling at different speeds. For the crew of a spacecraft ramping up to light speed, interstellar space would appear highly compressed, thereby increasing the number of hydrogen atoms hitting the craft.

At faster-than-light speed, the effect would be like standing directly in the beam of the Large Hadron Collider. The fatal dose of radiation for a human is 6 sieverts, but Edelstein's calculations show that the crew would receive a radiation dose of more than 10,000 sieverts within a second.

Edelstein presented his results on Saturday at the American Physical Society meeting in Washington, D.C.

Our guess is he traveled there at less than warp one.

Interview:

We had a phenomenal time interviewing Sam Witwer at the Farpoint Con in Maryland.  Not only has he been in Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, and Star Wars, but he is a fan himself and a video game fanatic.

Scifi 5 in 5

The Sexiest Women in SciFi TV – according to Scott and what he is watching

1. Tricia Helfer - BSG
2. Alessandra Torresani – Zoe Graystone - Caprica
3. Laura Vandervoort as Lisa – from V
4. Summer Glau – Dollhouse, Terminator: Salvation, Firefly, 4400
5. Morena Baccarin as Anna — the manipulative High Commander of the Visitors and mother of Lisa.
6. Allison Mack – Smallville Chloe Sullivan

The SciFi Diner Podcast

Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343 and let us know what you are watching,

email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com

or visit us on Twitter @scifidiner.

Also please check out and join our Facebook Fan Page

Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles.

Welcome to the Diner.

If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on itunes.  We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable.  Visit our webpage at http://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching!

On the menu tonight:

On this science fiction podcast, we have with us Shane Felux,  the director and producer of the Trenches webisodes.  We also hear from Dayton Ward. We are going talk about the Farpoint Con in Baltimore Maryland, Farscape, the International Space Station is now a Tie Fighter, Heroes Finale, Smallville Justice Society Episode, Planet Hulk DVD.

Show News:

• The Geek Squared Dollhouse Roundtable Podcast is now out. Scott was a part of this.
• Scott also appeared on Podcaster’s Emporium.
• Also check out Scott's other Podcast the Haiti in Focus Podcast

Promos in the Show:

Balticon Podcast

The Signal Season Six Podcast

Our Interview:

WATCH TRENCHES NOW AT CRACKLE.COM Produced and directed by Shane Felux, creator of the internet phenomenon "Star Wars: Revelations" and the award-winning short "Pitching Lucas" (as chosen by George Lucas and audiences around the world), this latest film adventure takes you to a war-torn planet and the soldiers who fight for its control. But when the smoke of battle clears, these enemies find themselves facing a danger beyond their worst imaginings.

TV News

• Scott is watching Season 1 of Farscape. He blames Kevin Batchelder for this.
• Smallville: Justice Society Episode. We liked this two hour movie.
• Heroes' Finale.  Miles loved it.  Scott liked what he read about it.  If you missed it, you can watch it below.

DVD News

Planet Hulk DVD. If you liked the animated series, you will want to check out this latest incarnation of the Incredible Hulk.

Misc News

International Space Station's New Window - Looks a lot like a Tie Fighter, doesn't it?

Scifi 5 in 5

Scott and Miles share their top five moments from the Farpoint Con in Baltimore Maryland.

1. Our interview and later conversations with Sam Witwer were awesome.  I mean, who wouldn't love chatting with Crashdown from Battlestar Galactica and Starkiller from the Force Unleashed?

2. Ello Poppet! We had an awesome time talking about Hollywood and movies with Pirates of the Caribbean actor Lee Arenberg.

3. Who wouldn't love spending time talking to and interviewing Felicia Day?

4. Our time with the Starship Farragut

5. The Location was nice and the Con Staff were phenomenal

SciFi Rewind Episode 10 - Stargate (The Movie): Give My Regards to King Tut...

SciFi Rewind Episode 9 – Matrix Revolutions: Everything That Ends Has A Beginning

SciFi Rewind Episode 7 – The Matrix Reloaded: We Are All Victims Of Causality

SciFi Rewind Episode 6 - The Matrix - Free Your Mind

SciFi Rewind Episode 5  -  The Matrix Has You!

SciFi Rewind Episode 4 - Dark Angel and Charlie Jade Wrap

SciFi Rewind Episode 3 - Dark Angel and Charlie Jade

SciFi Diner and Tuning Into SciFi TV Podcast Viewing Challenge Episode 2: Initial Thoughts 

SciFi Diner and Tuning Into SciFi TV Podcast Viewing Challenge