SciFi Rewind Episode 21 - Galaxy Quest: Never Give Up; Never Surrender

SciFi Diner Podcast - Merry Christmas and Happy Life Day to You! 

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 160 - John Thinks Geek; Chris Sings Bye Bye Bye (Robot); Our Top Pick Gifts On This SciFi Diner Life Day Special

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 159 - Star Trek Goes Into The Darkness; The Haunting Man of Steel; The Potential of After Earth, and What Might Happen When Netflix Sleeps with Disney.

SciFi Diner Conversations 71 - Creating the Astrid Algorithm; An Homage to the 80's Action Hero; Why Oliver Should Remain Shirtless; and More!

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 158

Our Interview with Nicholas Eftimiades

(Author of Edward of Planet Earth and

Engineer for National Security Space Office)

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 157 - Our Interview with Musetta Vander (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate SG-1, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, Xena: Warrior Princess) Shore Leave 34

SciFi Diner Conversations 70

Bond, James Bond; On Killing Our Favorite Characters,

We're Holden On For The Governor; More.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 156

Our Interview With Vic Mignogna, Chris Doohan, and Mike Bednar

From Star Trek Continues

Shore Leave 34

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 155

Our Interview With Thomas Dekker

(Heroes, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Secret Circle)

Shore Leave 34

Movie News:

Intense new Hobbit trailer shows off crazy Middle-earth action

As we inch closer to the opening of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit next month, the studio has released a new trailer showing off some intense new action footage from the Lord of the Rings prequel.

The new footage jumps right into the adventure, with orcs and tons of epic action on display. It looks fantastic and definitely has the same feel as the previous LOTR trilogy.

Here's the official synopsis for the first installment, An Unexpected Journey:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever... Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Click here for the trailer:

George Lucas reveals how involved he'll be in Star Wars VII

After Lucasfilm's sale to Disney, the big question has been just how involved Star Warscreator George Lucas would be in the upcoming sequels. If a new interview with Lucas is to be believed, we have our answer—a lot.

In an interview explaining the deal, Lucas and Lucasfilm exec Kathleen Kennedy discuss the plan moving forward. Aside from reiterating that all those tie-in novels and comics are officially not continuity, Lucas explains what his role as "creative consultant" will be.
Essentially? He's going to have his fingerprints all over that script Michael Arndt (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Little Miss Sunshine, Phineas and Ferb) is putting together.

Check out the interview below:
It's not too surprising to hear that Disney wants the original architect involved in the scripting phase, but let's hope execs keep enough control to prevent a Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menacelevel meltdown of Jar Jar proportions.
What do you think? Are you glad to hear Lucas will be heavily involved in scripting, or do you wish he'd just back off and pass the torch?

Here is the interview:

It's now official: Star Wars Episode VII has a writer!

We've been wondering who Disney and Lucasfilm would hire to write the new Star Warssequel, and now the higher-ups have confirmed that the job has officially been filled. So who will pen Star Wars VII?

As was rumored a few days ago, Michael Arndt (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Little Miss Sunshine, Phineas and Ferb) has been confirmed as the man who will bring one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises back to the big screen.

Lucasfilm released the news Friday evening at StarWars.com:

As pre-production of Star Wars: Episode VII begins, Lucasfilm has confirmed that award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay for the new Star Wars film. As revealed in the ongoing video series posted here on StarWars.com, Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas have begun story conferences with Arndt. Arndt won an Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay for writing Little Miss Sunshine (2006), and was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for writing Toy Story 3 (2010).

Though he doesn't have a mountain of experience, Arndt's catalog is solid, and we're curious to see his take on Star Wars. Plus, with George Lucas staying on as a consultant, you'd have to think he'll also get a pass at this thing before it's all over (which could be a good or bad thing, it all depends).
What do you think? Is Arndt the man for the job?

Rumor of the Day: Star Wars VII will bring Darth Vader back to life

Though a lot of the original cast have expressed interest in bringing their characters back for Star Wars VII, one of the franchise's most famous baddies bit the dust decades ago—but don't count Darth Vader out just yet.

The Express is reporting a rumor that Disney is keen to bring iconic evildoer Darth Vader back for the latest installment, which could be tough considering that he died in the climax of Return of the Jedi.

Here's what their anonymous insider had to say:

"He's an integral part of the franchise. Replacing him is virtually impossible. The plan is for him to return and play a significant role in the new films ... This is science fiction remember. Darth Vader will rise from the ashes."

It makes sense that they'd want to use Vader, one of the most iconic characters in film, in their new trilogy. But, if true, it could irk fans to have one of the biggest moments from the original films ret-conned just to use a popular character.

It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out, but you've got to admit, it would be cool to have Han,Luke, Leia and Vader all back in one film.
What do you think? Should Vader come back from the dead?

Whoa! Fox may have 10+ Marvel comic book movies in the works

Could an X-Force, Deadpool or Cable movie be on the way soon? After seeing the success Marvel has had with The Avengers, the folks at Fox are happy to take a page from their playbook—saying as many as 10 new comic-book-based movies could be coming down the pike from the studio.
Comic guru and creative consultant Mark Millar recently opened up to Comic Book Resources about Fox's long-term plan to capitalize on the Marvel properties in their stable (X-Men, Fantastic Four), and said the upcoming Wolverine standalone represents a fresh start for the company.
If all goes well, as Iron Man did for Marvel, we could see as many as 10 new comic book movies out of Fox in the coming years:
"I felt like Iron Man was really the beginning of something for the Marvel Studios movies, and The Wolverine will be a similar starting point to build a lot off of for the Fox movies ... X-Force or Cable or Deadpool -- all these amazing characters are things we haven't really gotten to yet. You go to any convention in the world, and you'll see 20 people dressed as Deadpool.
In a lot of ways, these are Marvel's coolest characters, so I want to remind people of that and build on what we already have. I think there's a great foundation, and just from basic conversations, we've come up with ten movies we could do ... These things cost $150 million each to make, so we have to pick and choose what we want to do."
With The Wolverine, Josh Trank's Fantastic Four and X-Men: Days of Future Past all in the works, we're glad to see Fox learning from what's been successful and finally taking their comic properties seriously. With Millar on board, here's hoping they can actually hit that quality sweet spot that Marvel has perfected with Phase One of their film plan.
What do you think? Can Fox successfully build an expansive comic universe ala Marvel/Disney?

This week in Star Trek:

Want Shatner's voice in your pocket? There's an app for that

Even if we just love to hate it, there's no doubt that we all have love for William Shatner's legendary voice. In fact, some of you have probably been wishing you could just carry that voice around in your pocket all day long, right? Right? Well, this is your lucky day.

Blindlight Apps has just launched a new $2.99 download for your iPhone called "Shatoetry," which lets you create your own bit of William Shatner monologue based on pre-recorded speech from the actor himself. It's like having Shatner in your pocket, and he'll say (almost) anything you want.

Basically, you get to choose from any of the words Shatner pre-recorded, then arrange those words into a phrase or speech or poem for Shatner's voice to read back to you. You can even pick from three different cadences based on what tone you'd like to set. And best of all, you can insert a patented Shatner pause at any time to give that extra Shatnery feel.

For example, here's a "Shatism," as the app calls for them, perfect for that Friday evening commute home:

The app also comes with a "Create With Friends" mode, so you can collaborate on new Shatisms and even build on Shatisms your friends have already created. It's perfect for the die-hard Shatner fan, or for someone who just wants to really annoy a friend who's super into Patrick Stewart.

You can buy "Shatoetry" in the iTunes Store here.

J.J. Abrams to Possibly Direct Star Wars: Episode VII

November 10, 2012 By TrekNews.net Staff In Celebrity, Star Trek 2013

Following last week’s surprising merger of Lucasfilm and Disney, it has already been announced that three new Star Wars films are already planned.

With Star Wars: Episode VII scheduled to begin filming sometime in 2014 and a release set for the following year, the search for a director has become a top priority for the Disney team. The official Star Wars website has already reported that award-winning writer Michael Arndt has been tapped to write the screenplay.

   As pre-production of Star Wars: Episode VII begins, Lucasfilm has confirmed that award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay for the new Star Wars film. As revealed in the ongoing video series posted here on StarWars.com, Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas have begun story conferences with Arndt.

According to Vulture, some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Star Trek‘s J.J. Abrams, The Incredibles‘ Brad Bird and Raiders Of The Lost Ark‘s Steven Spielberg will (or possibly have already) receive a 40-something page treatment of the film to gauge their interest in taking on the directing duties for the film.

UPDATE:

Hollywood Life recently discussed the possibility of directing the next Star Wars film with J.J. Abrams during an interview. While Abrams plays down the possibility, he doesn’t entirely rule it out.

   Look, Star Wars is one of my favorite movies of all time. I frankly feel that – I almost feel that, in a weird way, the opportunity for whomever it is to direct that movie, it comes with the burden of being that kind of iconic movie and series. I was never a big Star Trek fan growing up, so for me, working on Star Trek didn’t have any of that, you know, almost fatal sacrilege, and so, I am looking forward more then anyone to the next iterations of Star Wars, but I believe I will be going as a paying moviegoer!

Scifi Five In Five

Top SciFi women who could kick our @$$

1. Zoe Warren-Washburne from Firefly & Serenity

2. Ellen Ripley from the Alien Franchise

3. Alice from Resident Evil Franshise

4. Sarah Connor-Terminator franchise

5. Summer Glau-Firefly/Serenity, Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles

SciFi Diner Conversations 69

Zombies Can Digest Bones; The Frustration Of Battlestar Galactica:

Blood And Chrome; Star Trek Must Go Future. 

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 154

Star Trek: The Complete Unauthorized History

by Robert Greenberger

The SciFi Diner Podcast

A 2012 Parsec Finalist

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

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.

Menu:

• Interview: Our Interview with Robert Greenberger, author of Star Trek: The Complete Unauthorized History
• Trivia: Trivia this week! Win Thomas Dekker
• TV News:  Blood and Chrome; Farscape and SG1 Alumni Joins CW’s The Arrow
• Movie News: Man of Steel - NOW IN 3D!; (And Superman Quits His Day Job); Mark Wahlberg in T4? That’s Transformer 4); Howard Shore and The Hobbit; Princess Leia Wants In The Sequels
• TWIST:  The Only REAL Star Trek Captains and ST:NG Season Two on Bluray
• SciFi 5 in 5 :  Great Serenity Quotes

New Trivia:

Trivia:Trivia

Question: Who was Starman, in the movie by that name?

You will have until December 11th to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person.   The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.

Promos

Trek News and Views - special thanks for combining our interviews

Tuning Into SciFi TV Podcast

Our Interview:

Robert Greenberger

A writer, editor, and project manager, Robert Greenberger has been working in publishing since 1980. A lifelong fan of comics and science fiction, he watched dreams become reality when he first joined Starlog Press in 1980. There, he created Comics Scene which he edited during its initial run. In 1984, he moved to DC Comics where he worked as an editor or administrator until 2000, earning plaudits for his work on the Star Trek comic book. After a brief sojourn to the Internet, he returned to comics in 2001, this time working as an executive at Marvel Comics. This turned out to be a stormy, frustrating year and in 2002 he returned to DC as a senior editor in their growing collected editions department. In 2006, he left DC and found himself having the time of his life as Managing Editor at Weekly World News unitl its clueless management shuttered the paper.

Since then he has been a freelance writer, working on media tie-in properties, original fiction, non-fiction for your young adults and adults, and whatever else has come his way.

Currently, he writes a weekly op-ed column for the Fairfield Patch and a semi-monthly column for Westfield Comics. He makes his home in Connecticut where he is a Fairfield representative to the Greater Bridgeport Regional Planning Agency. For more, check out his website: www.bobgreenberger.com.

To get you own copy of Star Trek: The Complete Unauthorized History, please visit here.

TV News:

Blood and Chrome

We're just two days away from the debut of the new Battlestar Galactica prequel web series Blood and Chrome, and if you weren't already stoked, this clip will definitely put you over the edge. Long before he was an admiral with the fate of humanity in his hands, William Adama was just one damn good pilot.

In this clip from the 10-part series, a partnership between Syfy and Machinima, young William Adama (played by Luke Pasqualino) finds himself in a dogfight with two Cylon fighters, and his Viper is a little worse for wear. To even his odds, he pulls off a daring, almost suicidal and seriously badass maneuver.

Pretty cool, right? And in case you wanted another primer, here's the official description:

An all-new chapter in the Battlestar Galactica saga, Blood and Chrome takes place in the midst of the first Cylon war. As the battle between humans and their creation, the sentient robot Cylons, rages across the 12 colonial worlds, a young, talented fighter pilot, William Adama, finds himself assigned to one of the most powerful battlestars in the Colonial fleet: the Galactica.

The first installment of Blood and Chrome will hit Machinima's YouTube channel Friday, with the rest following over the next month. Then, next year, we're getting a full-length movie follow-up from Syfy. What do you think? Does this clip have you more pumped for the show?

Farscape and Stargate SG-1 fan favorite joins The CW's Arrow

When it comes to sci-fi alumni, Arrow is the place to be. The CW hit has added another guest star to its growing roster. What would be better than a visit from Captain Jack Harkness? How about one from Cmdr. John Crichton?
It's being reported that Ben Browder is heading to Arrow. The actor's been cast as the DC Comics character Ted Gaynor. He'll make his debut in episode 11, where he comes between Oliver and Diggle's budding partnership.
Gaynor and Diggle served together over in Afghanistan. At the time, Gaynor was his commanding officer. Now he's in Starling City, working as a bodyguard for the Blackhawk Squad Protection Group.

Browder's best known for his roles as John Crichton on Farscape and Cameron Mitchell on Stargate SG-1. He's recently appeared on episodes of Chuck and Doctor Who. Browder makes his Arrowdebut early next year.
Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
What do you think of Browder joining the show?

Movie:

Zack Snyder says we'll get the chance to watch Man of Steel with 3D glasses

You didn't ask for it, but you're getting it anyway. Superman's latest outing, Man of Steel, will be released in 3D. Warner Bros confirmed the decision on Wednesday.

As we all know, Man of Steel wasn't shot in 3D. Therefore, the film has to be converted in post-production. It's a process that doesn't have the best reputation. But the studio has more than seven months to get it right.

In the press release, director Zack Snyder said, "The film is going to be a visually exciting experience in all formats: 2D, 3D and IMAX. Anticipating how audiences today embrace 3D, we designed and photographed the movie in a way that would allow Man of Steel to captivate those moviegoers, while respecting fans who prefer a more traditional cinematic experience. We've taken great measures to ensure the film and the story come first, and 3D is meant as an enhancement."

Hmm, do you trust his judgment?

Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, with Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White and Russell Crowe as Jor-El.

Man of Steel hits theaters June 14, 2013.

Will you be watching Superman in 3D?

 Clark Kent quits newspaper job

Writers says character is likely to start his own blog

DC Comics
(CNN) —

In the comic book series' latest issue, which went on sale Wednesday, an outraged Clark Kent quits his job at The Daily Planet after his boss berates him.

"I was taught to believe you could use words to change the course of rivers -- that even the darkest secrets would fall under the harsh light of the sun," the superhero's alter ego says in a newsroom outburst. "But facts have been replaced by opinions. Information has been replaced by entertainment. Reporters have become stenographers. I can't be the only one who's sick of what passes for the news today."

In Wednesday's issue, Kent tells his editor he's been a journalist for barely five years.

But for decades, his job as a reporter at The Daily Planet has been a mainstay of Superman's story.

Word of the superhero's career move drew attention from media critics and others who've watched the newspaper industry's struggles.

"It seems very overly dramatic," said Erica Smith, a former newspaper employee who's tracked U.S. newspaper industry layoffs and buyouts on her Paper Cuts blog since 2007. "It doesn't seem to me to fit either the industry or the character."

If he'd been laid off or taken a buyout, like more than 2,000 others in the U.S. newspaper industry this year, "it would have been a little bit more realistic," Smith said with a laugh.

The proportion of Americans who read news on a printed page is declining, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The center said in a September study that just 23% of those surveyed said they read a print newspaper the previous day -- an 18 percentage point decrease over the past decade.
But online and digital readership is growing, the study said.

Read more:http://www.wgal.com/news/entertainment/Clark-Kent-quits-newspaper-job/-/9360122/17121430/-/jmvj1tz/-/index.html#ixzz2BdxV5SSY

Did the Internet just land Mark Wahlberg that Transformers gig?

A couple of weeks ago we heard whispers that Michael Bay's next Transformers flick could star Mark Wahlberg, a rumor that Bay himself promptly quashed. But now it seems Bay might be reconsidering, and we really could be headed for a Marky Mark-headlinedTransformers 4 thanks to ... well, you people.

The initial rumor that Bay and Wahlberg could be teaming for the next Autobots vs. Decepticons showdown seemed to be a misunderstanding of actual news, as Bay did confirm that he and Wahlberg were doing a different project together. But now it seems that their previous work may be inspiring a future collaboration of the Transformers kind.

Here's what Bay had to say on his blog:
"I squashed a rumor that was on the internet last week. It was about Mark Walhberg. Mark was rumored to be staring in Transformers 4. We are working on another movie together, not T4. I had such a great time working with Mark on Pain and Gain, and he gave such a great performance - well let's say that very internet chatter gave me some ideas. We are at the inception of our story process right now on T4. Let's say some ideas are gaining traction with me and my writer - so I'm here to say thanks internet chatter."

So it would seem Bay has reconsidered ruling out Wahlberg for his next alien robot superblockbuster, thanks (at least in part) to all you guys out there who wouldn't stop spreading and discussing the rumor (and hey, we'll take some of the credit for that too). The question now is whether we really want a Wahlberg Transformers flick, since it's a little closer to really happening.

So, how about it? Is Bay heading in the right direction?

1st gorgeous cut from Hobbit soundtrack sets Middle-earth mood

Aside from the stunning visuals, Howard Shore's gorgeous soundtrack to Lord of the Rings was one of the greatest parts of Peter Jackson's trilogy. The legendary composer has thankfully returned for the Hobbit prequels, and now the first full track has leaked online. Want to hear?

Dubbed "Radagast the Brown," the atmospheric orchestral track definitely evokes the same vibe as the classic Lord of the Rings tunes. The track's title refers to the animal-loving wizard played by former Time Lord Sylvester McCoy.
Judging by the title alone, it's likely this tune will pop up at about the same time as McCoy's character. This tidbit also implies that we'll meet Radagast in the first installment of the Hobbit trilogy when it opens Dec. 14.

And now Princess Leia wants back in for new Star Wars trilogy

We already know that Harrison Ford is willing to come back and play Han Solo one more time, but he ain't the only icon who's interested. Could it be that Han's soulmate in a galaxy far, far away would come back, too? Looks like it!

Carrie Fisher was accosted on the street by TMZ (as they are wont to do) and asked what, frankly, we all wanted to know—will she come back, if asked, to play Leia?
Well, first they asked her how it felt to be a Disney princess, to which she answered, "Fantastic. Made my day." Then they asked if she'd be in the new Star Wars movie. "Yes, sure," was her response. Then, just to be obnoxiously sure, TMZ pressed on with, "So you will be in the new one?"

"Wouldn't you?" was her dry response.

So Disney would basically be fools to not sign Han and Leia up for a return. After all, that means Jaina and Jacen Solo (Han and Leia's twins in the expanded-universe novels) can also appear. How awesome would that be?

This week in Star Trek:

Kate Mulgrew says Picard and Janeway were only REAL Trek captains

It is a truth universally acknowledged among fans everywhere that there are five captains in the Star Trek universe: James T. Kirk from The Original Series; Jean-Luc Picard fromThe Next Generation; Benjamin Sisko from Deep Space Nine; Kathryn Janeway fromVoyager and Jonathan Archer from Enterprise.

However, according to actress Kate Mulgrew, who played Janeway for seven seasons onStar Trek: Voyager, that's not exactly true.

What the heck is this? "What in the Alpha Quadrant is Kate Mulgrew prattling on about?" is what you guys must be thinking right about now, right?

In an interview with Splitsider, Mulgrew was asked about a certain comment she made "that there were only two real captains, yourself and Mr. [Patrick] Stewart."

To which Mulgrew replied, "No, this is gonna go viral."

Then the journalist also mentioned that Shatner was not necessarily one, to which Mulgrew then said:

Well, there are only two captains who were lost in space who did seven years, okay?Deep Space Nine was a space station. Shatner only did three seasons. [Scott] Bakula was cancelled after four.

As you guys well know, Picard was never "lost in space," but he did do seven seasons of Star Trek: TNG and four films, so he was relatively busy in space as the captain of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D and E).

Then the journalist mentioned that Avery Brooks was only a commander (which was true at first, but fans will recall that he was promoted to the rank of captain in the season-three episode "The Adversary").

That's what I'm saying, it was a space station. He wasn't in space, lost in space. Patrick Stewart and I — Picard and Janeway — were the only two intrepid, lost-in-space captains. I really think that's true, right?

Do you agree with Kate Mulgrew's comments?

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 Blu-ray Release Date Set

For all of you TNG fans, (and come on, who isn't?), Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 is headed to blu-ray December 4th.  Hey, just in time for Christmas, or Picard Day, or whatever.  The new release will include a special edition of "The Measure of a Man" that includes deleted scenes and different angles from the broadcast version.  Pretty cool.
Also included in this special release; a must-see reunion of the cast, who were brought together earlier this year in Calgary in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the series.  Produced exclusively for the series' Blu-ray, this never-before-seen reunion roundtable chat features all of the best known cast regulars, joining together for the first time in years to tape a discussion about the legacy of the series.
You can get your copy of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2 on Blu-ray from Amazon .

Scifi Five In Five

Great Firefly/Serenity Quotes

5. Inara: (pissed) "What did I say to you about barging into my shuttle?"

Mal: "That it was manly and impulsive?"

Inara: "Yes, precisely. Only the exact phrase I used was 'don't'."

4.Kaylee: (pointing to a pink frilly dress) "Say, look at the fluffy one!"

Zoe: "Too much foofaraw. If I'm going to wear a dress, I'd want something with some slink."

Wash: "You want a slinky dress? I can buy you a slinky dress. Captain, can I have money for a slinky dress?"

Jayne: "I'll chip in."

Zoe: (to Jayne) "I can hurt you."

3.Mal: "So, she's added cussing and hurling about of things to her repertoire. She really is a prodigy."

Simon: "It's just a bad day."

Mal: "No, a bad day is when someone's yellin' spooks the cattle. Understand? You ever see cattle stampede when they got no place to run? It's kind of like a...a meat grinder. And it'll lose us half the herd."

Simon: "She hasn't gone anywhere near the cattle."

Mal: "No, but in case you hadn't noticed, her voice kinda carries. We're two miles above ground and they can probably hear her down there. Soon as we unload, she can holler until our ears bleed." (to River) "Although I would take it as a kindness if she didn't."

River: "The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems."

Mal:  (to Simon) "See, morbid and creepifying, I got no problem with, long as she does it quiet-like."

2.Mal: "Cut her down."

Villager: "The girl is a witch."

Mal: "Yeah, but she's our witch-" (cocks gun, points it at him) "-so cut her the hell down."

1.Bandit #1:  "And I think maybe you're gonna give me a little one-on-one time with the missus."

(Husband) Jayne: "Oh, I think you might wanna reconsider that last part. See, I married me a powerful ugly creature."

(Wife) Mal:  "How can you say that? How can you shame me in front of new people?"

(Husband) Jayne:  "If I could make you purtier, I would."

(Wife) Mal: "You are not the man I met a year ago." (they suddenly draw their guns on the bandits, Mal slowly pulling his bonnet off)

Mal: "Now think real hard. You been bird-dogging this township a while now. They wouldn't mind a corpse of you. Now you can luxuriate in a nice jail cell, but if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet: I will end you."

SciFi Diner Conversations 68

Arrow Becoming A New Favorite;

Peter Goes Off The Rails In Fringe;

And What The Heck Happened To Lori In Walking Dead?

The SciFi Diner Classic Ep. 26

Our Interview with Dr. Star Trek

(Larry Nemecek)

In our twenty-sixth episode of the SciFi Diner Classic, we interview Dr. Star Trek (Larry Nemecek). Since we do a news and interview show, it goes without saying that the news portion of our episodes often date themselves fast. And while the interviews with the people that make Science Fiction happen remain relevant and in our opinion important, most listeners will not listen back 100 episodes and wade through old news just to get to the interview. So what the SciFi Diner Classic aims to do is to share these interviews with you. If you have been with us from the beginning, then bear with us as we introduce some of our newer listeners to voices from the past. We're bringing you just the interview and nothing else.

Larry Nemecek

Larry Wayne Nemecek (born 18 January) is a noted Star Trek author, editor, archivist, consultant and producer. He is married to onetime script coordinatorJanet Nemecek.

A native Oklahoman, Nemecek began considering news and communications as a career in high school after being inspired by a teacher in his journalism class. He majored in theater at college with a journalism minor, and began writing aboutStar Trek because "all the Will Rogers and Sooners football books had been written." He also cites Stephen Edward Poe's classic The Making of Star Trekand Bjo Trimble's Star Trek Concordance as seminal influences in entertainment and genre writing.

As an undergrad at East Central University, Nemecek started a science fiction fan club with his best friend Kevin Hopkins, called "Starbase ECU." His favorite TOS character was Leonard McCoy and in make-up class chose a Tellarite for his non-realistic character project.

While a young newspaper reporter and editor, he chaired publicity for Oklahoma City's SoonerCons and in 1991founded ThunderCon there as an all-media/Star Trek charity convention. In 1993, after the publication of his first professional book, Nemecek began sharing his stories and archives with humor as a guest at conventions worldwide.

Nemecek had a long-distance correspondence with fellow Star Trek fan and artist/author Geoffrey Mandel growing out of points in the Starfleet Medical Reference (Ballantine). Nemecek's early drafts of Star Trek star maps led them to work together when Mandel intended to publish them in fanzine form, but when Mandel was asked to finish the incomplete Star Trek Maps for Bantam Books he managed to include Nemecek's data in the revised format scale.

In 1989, after beginning an annual episode guide and concordance fanzine for the new Star Trek: The Next Generation, Nemecek met with Gene Roddenberry in his office. He was personally thanked by Roddenberry for writing the reference works, which the staff used as an ongoing update to their writer's guide.

From 1998 until 2005, Nemecek served as managing editor of Star Trek: Communicator, overseeing the planning, writers, content and look of the licensed magazine of the Official Star Trek Fan Club. He has been a regular contributor to Star Trek Magazine since 1995, and contributed dozens of articles to Star Trek Fact Files, for which he worked all six years as Los Angeles photo editor and consultant. The topics researched and obscure references and sources tracked fueled the work of the UK-based Fact Files, later seen in the US in Star Trek: The Magazine.

Since 1986, Nemecek has conducted over 500 archival interviews of Star Trek writers, designers, crew and actors, most of them multiple or annual updates over the years and unpublished.

He also appeared in two episodes of the fan film Star Trek: New Voyages, in 2004 and 2006, and in the recently-released vignette No-Win Scenario as a Tellarite.

Contributions to Star Trek 

In 1990, the shuttle Nenebek, featured in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Final Mission", was named in his honor by Jeri Taylor. She had not yet met him but, like other writing staffers, had his fanzine concordances on her desk. She did not think to tell him the story until 1998.

In 1992, Nemecek was the author of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion. He would later update this in May 1995 and in 2003. His text commentary also appeared in the CD version.

In December 1994, Nemecek and his wife Janet pitched and sold a story, "Reflections," for the yet-to-air series Star Trek: Voyager. It was shelved for six years before being updated and written as "Prophecy", an episode for Voyager's last season in 2001.

Nemecek co-wrote The Making of Star Trek: First Contact, published by Titan Books in the UK from material he,Ian Spelling and Lou Anders wrote for Titan's magazine specials on the film. He also wrote the chapter openers and other research for Star Trek: Star Charts – a reunion of sorts with onetime Star Trek Maps colleague Mandel. He authored the original museum artifact placards and recent timeline update in the museum area of Star Trek: The Experience, and was a consultant there as well as on such projects as the Star Trek: Federation Science European tour and the Star Trek World Tour guidebooks and image references.

In 2002, Nemecek was interviewed for the bonus features (Star Trek Moments and Memories) on the seventh season DVD for Star Trek: The Next Generation. He spoke again in interviews for the new 20th anniversary DVD set for TNG in 2007, and served as Special Consultant on the overall project.

In 2005, Nemecek appeared with other cameo guests and crew in "These Are the Voyages...", the last episode ofStar Trek: Enterprise. His costume was a reuse of Avery Brooks' suit from DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars". Nemecek recounted his experience filming the episode in his "Endgame" column in Star Trek Magazine issue 124.

For many years, Nemecek was a contributor and producer on the official Star Trek website. In 1996, he was its first-ever chat guest. In December 2007, however, he and the rest of the StarTrek.com production team were laid off by CBS Interactive, the result of restructuring at the company.

He is also the sole contributor to Star Trek - Best Episode Collection, a Fact Files DVD project for Japan, and continues his two columns for Star Trek Magazine. He hopes to work again soon with Communicator publisher Dan Madsen as well.

The SciFi Diner Classic Ep. 25

Our Interview with Kevin Sorbo

(Hercules & Adromeda)

In our twenty-fifth episode of the SciFi Diner Classic, we interview with Kevin Sorba ( Hercules and Andromeda). Since we do a news and interview show, it goes without saying that the news portion of our episodes often date themselves fast. And while the interviews with the people that make Science Fiction happen remain relevant and in our opinion important, most listeners will not listen back 100 episodes and wade through old news just to get to the interview. So what the SciFi Diner Classic aims to do is to share these interviews with you. If you have been with us from the beginning, then bear with us as we introduce some of our newer listeners to voices from the past. We're bringing you just the interview and nothing else.

Kevin Sorbo

Kevin David Sorbo (born September 24, 1958) is an American actor best known for the roles of Hercules in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Captain Dylan Hunt in Andromeda and Kull in Kull the Conqueror.

Early life

Sorbo was born in Mound, Minnesota, where he attended Mound Westonka High School. He is the son of Ardis, a nurse, and Lynn Sorbo, a junior high school mathematics and biology teacher. He is of Norwegian descent and was raised in a Lutheran family. Sorbo attended Minnesota State University Moorhead and worked as a model for print and television advertising in the 1980s.

Career

Sorbo started his acting career in the late 1980s making guest appearances in several television series such as 1st & Ten, Murder She Wrote and The Commish. He was considered for and lost out to Dean Cain as Superman in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and was a possible contender for the role of Agent Mulder in The X Files which went to David Duchovny.

In 1994, he shot to fame when he played the role of Hercules in the television film Hercules and the Amazon Women. This was the first in a series of television films that served as pilots for the TV seriesHercules: The Legendary Journeys, which ran from 1995 to 1999.

Sorbo also guest-starred as Hercules in episodes of the 1995-2001 spin-off series Xena: Warrior Princess and provided the voice of Hercules in the 1998 direct-to-video animated film Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus.

Other voice-over work followed, with Sorbo providing the voices of Reiko and Quan Chi in the 1997 video game Mortal Kombat 4. In between the years playingHercules, he played his first leading film role in Kull the Conqueror (1997).

In 1997, while on a publicity tour for Kull the Conqueror and between the 4th and 5th seasons of Hercules, Sorbo experienced an aneurysm in his shoulder, which led to three strokes.  As a result, he was weakened for the next several years, a condition that he and the producers of Hercules kept secret from the public. (Sorbo only revealed the details in 2011.) During the last two seasons of Hercules, the 5th and 6th, which aired in 1998 and 1999, Sorbo was given a reduced filming schedule to accommodate his condition, and more guest stars were brought in.

After Hercules came to an end, Sorbo played the starring role of Captain Dylan Hunt in the science-fiction drama series Andromeda from 2000 to 2005. In 2006, he played a recurring role on the final season of The O.C and guest-starred in the sitcom Two and a Half Men. In 2007, he starred in the direct-to-video film Walking Tall: The Payback, which was a sequel to the 2004 film Walking Tall. He reprised his role in the second sequel, Walking Tall: Lone Justice which released later that year. He also starred in the Lifetime Channel film Last Chance Café, the Hallmark Channel film Avenging Angel, co-starring his real life wife Sam Jenkins and guest starred as a bounty hunter in the season-two episode "Bounty Hunters!" of the series Psych. He appeared in the 2008 spoof film Meet the Spartans, which was a box office success despite being universally negatively reviewed by critics. He starred in the Albert Pyun directed SciFi Vampire flick Tales of the Ancient Empire.

Sorbo voiced one of the main protagonists, Prometheus, in the Wii video game The Conduit.

Sorbo returned to the role of Hercules, albeit in a more sinister portrayal, in the video game God of War III released for the PlayStation 3 in March 2010.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 153

Our Interview with Mackenzie Mason

(Cortana from Halo 4)

The SciFi Diner Podcast

A 2012 Parsec Finalist

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.

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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.

Menu:

• Interview: Our Interview with Mackenzie Mason (Cortana from Halo 4)
• Trivia:  Kate Mulgrew Give Away
• TV News: Last night's Walking Dead S3 premiere shambles to a HUGE record, Rumor of the Day: Firefly Animated Series?, Defiance Trailer
• Movie News:  Movie News:  Robocop movie delayed.  James Bond: Sky Fall Trailer
• TWIST: Wil Wheaton and LeVar Burton To Guest Star Again On Big Bang Theory
• SciFi Five in Five:  Top 5 Philip K. Dick movies from Wayne Henderson

New Trivia:

Trivia: Since no one, and I mean NO ONE was able to answer last months trivia, we're trying a different tactic to give away an autographed picture of Kate Mulgrew, Captain Janeway of Star Trek: Voyager. All you need to do is write in and explain why you are the biggest fan of Kate Mulgrew. Please include your address and the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. We'll be drawing a name the middle of October.

Prize: An Autographed copy of Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway)

Winner: Ken Warford

Promos

Trekcast Podcast

Fringecasting with Wayne and Dan

 Our Interview:

Mackenzie Mason

Mackenzie was born in the Philippines and since has lived in Puerto Rico, Germany, Virginia and San Diego. After attending The International School of Stuttgart, Mackenzie went on to finish high school at the prestigious Miss Porter's School in Farmington Connecticut. She continued her higher education at The University of Southern California where she studied Communication and Theatre.

In college she began appearing in many performances and plays, and was quickly noticed for her stage presence and on set natural abilities.

Mackenzie has a very strong sense of comedy and has a natural ability to make people laugh. She trains at the improv schools, The Groundlings and The Second City and is currently writing sketches with a comedy group she formed with fellow classmates.

She is a self-proclaimed bookworm, spiritual guru, Sci-Fi geek, and horror fanatic who doesn't take herself too seriously.

To see a video of Mackenzie in action, click here.

TV News:

Walking Dead S3 premiere shambles to a HUGE record

Last season, The Walking Dead opened and closed its second year with record-setting numbers for a basic-cable drama. Now the season-three numbers are in, and they're enough to make even the broadcast shows quake with fear.

Last night, the third-season premiere, "Seed," racked up 10.9 million viewers and a powerful 5.7 demo rating. When you factor in the encore showings late last night, the episode was seen by more than 15 million people (and that's not even counting the people who recorded it to watch later), a number second only to prime-time football viewership on the night.

If you're wondering how that stacks up with last year, it's about a 50 percent increase in viewers from the kickoff of season two. In terms of ratings, the episode has eclipsed the season-two finale as one of the highest-rated basic-cable dramas in the 18-49 demo ever, surpassing the finale demo score by a full point. We were expecting the show to post gains, but this is just ridiculous.

Though we've still got a few more premieres on the horizon in the coming weeks, The Walking Dead's definitely got our top vote for most impressive debut of the 2012-2013 season so far. They've gotta be having a party over at AMC right now.

Rumor of the Day:

There's a Firefly animated spinoff in the works?

It's been nearly a decade since Fox canceled Firefly, and the show's rabid following still hasn't stopped clamoring for more. We've got a movie, we've got comic books, and a reunion special is on the way, but could we get something else? Could Firefly go animated?

Just as they did at San Diego Comic-Con over the summer, Firefly cast members reunited at New York Comic-Con over the weekend to talk about the show's past and future. This time it was a smaller group, featuring only Nathan Fillion, Jewel Staite and Sean Maher, but during their session they managed to unleash a tidbit of maybe-news that's liable to get Browncoats everywhere excited.

"If we're dreaming, tell me what you think about this: Firefly the animated series," Fillion said during the panel.

Really? Could our beloved Serenity fly back onto our screens as a cartoon, or was Fillion just messing around? According to Maher, the idea's actually been toyed with.

"I know somebody who is actually trying to get that done, who has approached Joss [Whedon about it," Maher said after the panel. "He used to work with Guillermo del Toro."

Just who this person might be remains a mystery (for now), but this actually seems like a viable way to carry on the series without worrying about the ages of the characters. Plus, voice acting takes less time for the cast (and you don't have to build sets and coordinate locations), which could mean that even the always-busy Fillion might make time to play Cartoon Mal and star in his hit series Castle simultaneously.

Of course, it's just a convention rumor at this point, but what do you think? Could Firefly continue in the cartoon world, even with someone other than Whedon at the helm?

Defiance Trailer: 

Movie:

You'll have to wait a little longer for that RoboCop reboot

It's a bad day for sci-fi. Sony Pictures is pushing back two of its most anticipated releases: RoboCop and Elysium. We'll have to wait a little longer for Jose Padilha's remake and Neill Blomkamp's follow-up to his Oscar-nominated District 9.

According to THR, RoboCop has been delayed a year. Instead of debuting Aug. 9, 2013, it will hit theaters Feb. 7, 2014. We're not sure why the move was made, but the extra six months will give the film ample time for post-production.

After shuffling the schedule, RoboCop's old release date has been given to Elysium. The film was originally slated for March 1, 2013, and will now open Aug. 9. The film is "set on a space station occupied by the very wealthy while the rest of humanity lives on a ravaged, overpopulated Earth." Elysium stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley.

What do you think of the scheduling shakeup? Is it a good or a bad move?

Looking forward to Skyfall

This week in Star Trek:

Wil Wheaton and LeVar Burton To Guest Star Again On Big Bang Theory

By Crewman Becky | October 5, 2012 - 10:14 pm

Short but sweet! …short story…sweet news.

Turns out that on an upcoming episode of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon is making a new “Fun With Flags” webisode, this time focusing on the flags of Star Trek. While it’s not totally clear how Wil and LeVar will play into it, we’re guessing we won’t be disappointed.

This newest Star Trek heavy episode is currently scheduled to air November 8th.

The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays on CBS

Scifi Five In Five

Top 5 Movies of Philip K. Dick by Wayne Henderson from the Fringecasting with Wayne and Dan Podcast

SciFi Diner Conversations 67

Listener's Discuss the Walking Dead,

Arrow, Looper, Revolution,

And More.  

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 152 Part 2

Our Interview with Claton Faits and Jeffery Gardner

from the Post-Apocolyptic Podio Drama Our Fair City 

The SciFi Diner Podcast

A 2012 Parsec Finalist

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Our Interview:

Our Fair City is a campy post-apocalyptic science fiction radio epic…for the internet.

A darkly funny, highly whimsical look at corporate consumerism all grown up, Our Fair City is set in the not so distant future: the skies are stormy, and the landscape is a vast frozen tundra. Lightning rigs high above the city gather energy from thunderstorms, mad scientists walk the earth, and adorably monstrous Molepeople dig tunnels deep underground to expand the city’s habitable space.

You can out more about o Our Fair City and listen to episodes here.

Clayton Faits: Creator/Head Writer:

Clayton Faits grew up in Southwick, Massachusetts, where the days are short and the winters are long. After studying theater and history at Tulane University, he moved to Chicago where conditions are much the same. In addition to writing for Our Fair City, he enjoys games of all kinds, toys that fly, and jokes that aren’t funny.

Jeffrey Gardner: Co-Creator/Director:

Jeffrey is a stage director, adaptor, and dramaturg living and working in Chicago, IL. During the day, he can often be found working as an Operations Coordinator at the Museum of Science and Industry.

In his copious spare time, Jeffrey enjoys playing folk music slightly faster than it was meant to be played, complicated board games, and commuting via bicycle.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 152 Part 1

Stuck in Amber, The Earth Sings,

Star Trek Klingon Style, and More.

The SciFi Diner Podcast

A 2012 Parsec Finalist

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Menu:

• Trivia:  Win Kate Mulgrew
• TV News: Fringe News & Walking Dead news. Revealed: 1st details for Whedon's new S.H.I.E.L.D. TV characters
• Movie News:  Siri on Robot Movies, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has a directors, Iron Man 3 set pics show new Iron Patriot armor in all its glory
• Special: The Earth Sings
• Podio Book/Drama News:  Our Fair City
• TWIST: Title of Star Trek movie sequel announcement, Ron D. Moore on bringing Trek back to the small screen
• SciFi Five in Five:  Top 5 Warehouse 13 quotes

New Trivia:

Trivia: Since no one, and I mean NO ONE was able to answer last months trivia, we're trying a different tactic to give away an autographed picture of Kate Mulgrew, Captain Janeway of Star Trek: Voyager. All you need to do is write in and explain why you are the biggest fan of Kate Mulgrew. Please include your address and the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. We'll be drawing a name the middle of October.

Prize: An Autographed copy of Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway)

You will have until October 15th to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person.   The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.

Promos

Walk the Fire Promo

Fringecasting with Wayne and Dan

TV News:

Fringe showrunner reveals surprising truth about amber's origins

Over five seasons, the team behind Fox's Fringe has built a dense sci-fi world full of quirks and nuance, all leading to the future-jump we saw this past Friday with the premiere of season five. But did you know one major plot point that has run the length of the series was actually retconned?
In an interview promoting season five, producer J.H. Wyman told Collider that the concept of using amber to seal cracks between the universes, which showed up early in the first season encasing a bus and has been used and referenced numerous times in the show's run, wasn't actually "re-contextualized" into the larger story until later:
"Well, it's been such a long road of twists and turns, and ideas come from all over.  Sometimes something you thought wouldn't really be as big as it was blows up into something else. There are certain episodes that, all of a sudden, just really touched people. 'White Tulip' came from a dream.  I thought, 'Why did that episode touch people?'  We like to be clever and say, 'Well, we knew a lot of stuff,' because we did, but the truth is that we didn't know a lot of stuff, as well. We did not know, at the beginning on the bus, that the amber was amber from the alternate universe. It was re-contextualized. It just fits like a puzzle and you go, 'Wow, that's really interesting.'
You find the things that work and the things that don't work, and you go from there.  It's like a living, breathing organism that you listen to. Sometimes we don't hear so well, but if you listen to it, it indicates where you should go, naturally. So, that idea has changed where we're going to end up, even up until the last episode. My thinking on the episode was fluctuating and vacillating between several different ideas."

Considering how twisty the show has been the past few years, from introducing multiple universes to setting the final year in a future nanny state, it's not surprising to hear that the writers made some course corrections along the way to get us here. But it's extremely interesting to see just which concepts were adapted into the plan and not part of it from the start.
The full interview is well worth a read, as Wyman discusses some of the big ideas behind the series.
What do you think of where we've ended up in season five? Do the writers have us on the right track, or do you miss the alt-universes of yore?

Get ready for Walking Dead S3 with 4 creepy new webisodes

It may be two weeks until the highly anticipated third season of The Walking Dead begins, but the network is continuing its recent trend of whetting our undead appetite with a series of webisodes. This season? A claustrophobic tale of survivors seeking refuge at an abandoned storage facility.
As the show has grown into its own, the webisodes have gotten more and more elaborate. They still feel a bit low-budget, but the storyline and casting are top-notch—with Lost alum Daniel Roebuck (Doc Arzt) in a co-starring role.
Plus, we even got a peek at Rick Grimes' past life, via his old storage unit.
Here's the synopsis:
Cold Storage tells the story of a young man, Chase (played by Josh Stewart), trying to reach his sister in the early days of the zombie apocalypse. He finds temporary shelter in a storage facility run by a former employee named B.J. (Roebuck); however, things are not what they appear.

The new season premieres Oct. 14 on AMC.

You can find the webisodes here.

Revealed: 1st details for Whedon's new S.H.I.E.L.D. TV characters
Joss Whedon and company sure don't mess around. It seemed like only yesterday that we started getting the first details on the TV series that would play home to the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and now we're already getting the first details on our main characters.

All right, let's dive right in and then see where we land. Our first character details are:

SKYE — This late-20s woman sounds like a dream: fun, smart, caring and confident—with an ability to get the upper hand by using her wit and charm.

AGENT GRANT WARD — Quite the physical specimen and "cool under fire," he sometimes botches interpersonal relations. He's a quiet one with a bit of a temper, but he's the kind of guy that grows on you.

AGENT ALTHEA RICE — Also known as "The Cavalry," this hardcore soldier has crazy skills when it comes to weapons and being a pilot. But her experiences have left her very quiet and a little damaged.

AGENT LEO FITZ and AGENT JEMMA SIMMONS — These two came through training together and still choose to spend most of their time in each other's company. Their sibling-like relationship is reinforced by their shared nerd tendencies—she deals with biology and chemistry, he's a whiz at the technical side of weaponry.

Is it just us, or do those first three characters sound an awful lot like Inara, Mal and Zoe from Joss's old show, Firefly? Not calling it a bad thing, just that it is a bit of a thing.

Otherwise, this is all very general. These are the kind of details that aid the writers as they map out where their characters' strengths and weaknesses might lie and how those characters will or will not interact with each other. They also serve as a nice little tease for us fans as we try to figure out what this show will be like or, even better, who should be cast in each part.

Movie:

It's official! Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has found its director

20th Century Fox has finally selected one of the seven names in contention to direct the sequel to last year's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Can you guess which one it is?
According to Deadline, the studio has made an offer to Matt Reeves, director ofCloverfield and Let Me In. Fox chose Reeves over a list of other highly touted filmmakers that included Guillermo Del Toro (Pacific Rim), Rian Johnson (Looper), Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter), Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage), Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) and J. Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed).
The chance to direct the film came about quickly last month after Rupert Wyatt, who was behind the camera for Rise, dropped out of the sequel. Wyatt allegedly walked away because he wasn't sure he could make the movie's May 23, 2014, release date; Reeves apparently has complete confidence that he can.
The writers of Rise, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, have already handed in a script for Dawn that the studio is apparently very pleased with, so it looks like a big old green light for the return of Caesar (Andy Serkis) as he leads his new breed of superintelligent apes into a full-scale, worldwide revolution against a human race decimated by the same virus that enhanced the apes' brains (at least, that's the story we want to see!)
What do you think of Fox's choice? Is Reeves a good pick to usher in the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?

This is what happens if you ask Siri's opinion about robot movies

Apple just keeps innovating. Last fall they released the personal assistant application known as Siri, and everyone's iPhones started answering questions and reading text messages out loud and giving directions. Now Siri's taken another step forward, into the realm of film criticism.
Last month, Apple released iOS 6, the latest version of its mobile operating system, and it included a number of expansions to Siri's abilities. It can now dictate Twitter updates for you, tell you sports statistics, make restaurant reservations and launch apps. It can also pull up movie information, but apparently if you ask it about films that feature artificial intelligence, it gives a little added commentary of its own.
Check out the responses to Blade Runner, Wall-E and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
As you can see, Siri's very sympathetic to both the Replicants and HAL. That's why we're recommending to you right now that you never, ever ask it about The Terminator. There are too many iPhones out in the world to risk a Siri-led uprising.

Iron Man 3 set pics show new Iron Patriot armor in all its glory
Marvel's next phase of films is well on its way, and flagship standalone series Iron Man is currently shooting its third entry in Florida. Luckily for us, some bystanders snapped some fantastic shots of the new armor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and company will be rocking.

According to set reports, the filming took place at a replica of the restaurant Neptune's Net, and shows off both the new Iron Man armor and the mysterious Iron Patriot suit we've been seeing around.

The third film follows the popular Extremis storyline from the character's comic run, which should make for some great nanotech intrigue.

Sadly, we still don't know how the Iron Patriot suit fits in to the latest sequel, but rumor has it that it could be adapted as a new version of War Machine. That idea makes the most sense, as the comic version of the character is played by Spider-Man's Norman Osborn, who is currently unavailable due to a separate Spidey film deal.

Check out the new armor below and let us know what you think:

Special:

Listen to the sound Earth makes when its radiation belts sing

Unless you're a fan of Queen's soundtrack for the Flash Gordon movie (and really, who isn't?), you probably don't associate space with singing very much. But that's about to change. Thanks to NASA, we can now hear the music of the radio waves coming from Earth's radiation belts, and it's spectacular.
Back in August, NASA launched a pair of Radiation Belt Storm Probes into the Van Allen radiation belts surrounding Earth. Each probe carries a device called an Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) receiver, designed by University of Iowa physics professor Craig Kletzing and his team. The probes, and the receivers, are in the radiation belts to study the effect that highly energized "killer electrons" might have on satellites and astronauts traveling through the otherwise harmless radiation.
But there's something else out there worth checking out, and it's known as "chorus." Chorus is the term used to describe the audio version of radio signals emitted by plasma waves as they travel through the belts.
"This is what the radiation belts would sound like to a human being if we had radio antennas for ears," Kletzing said.
Radio operators have been able to hear low-quality versions of chorus for years, but this is the first time such high-powered instrumentation has captured the sound. Take a listen.

Weird, right? Like a combination of crickets and sonar. As spectacular as that is, though, it's actually only a mono recording from the testing phase of the probes. Kletzing said he hopes to get a stereo version of chorus after the probes complete their 60-day checkout phase in the coming weeks. It'll be like Pink Floyd in space.

Podio Drama:

Our Fair City

Our Fair City is a campy post-apocalyptic science fiction radio epic...for the internet. It is a collaborative work of prophecy, a story of the future told through the art forms of the past, a mashup of steampunk, cyberpunk, film noir, and classic horror that will blow your mind.

Check it out here.

This Week in Star Trek:

Exclusive: Sequel Title Confirmed – ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’

As for the title itself, "Into Darkness" does not reveal anything specific about the plot. So for those who Exclusive: Sequel Title Confirmed – ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ September 7, 2012

by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Star Trek sequel (2013) , trackback

TrekMovie has an update on our earlier story regarding the title for the Star Trek sequel We can now confirm the title that has been chosen by JJ Abrams and Paramount for the 2013 movie. More details below.

Sequel title: "Star Trek Into Darkness"

TrekMovie has confirmed with multiple sources that "Star Trek Into Darkness" has been selected as the title for the 2013 sequel to JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movie. This is a title that comes out of a long process of discussion amongst the creative team. As reported earlier, Paramount tested a number of titles for the film over the summer, including at least one title that did not include "Star Trek." Also noted in our earlier article, the title (by design) does not include a colon, like were used for the past franchise films such “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” "Star Trek: First Contact," etc.

While Paramount will not officially confirm the news, multiple sources have told TrekMovie this is the title they are going with as of now. It has also been reported by ComingSoon that Paramount has secured the domain names to both www.startrekintodarkness.com and www.startrekintodarknessmovie.com, neither of which has any content.

If you were hoping for "Star Trek Khan" or "The Revenge of Gary Mitchell" you are out of luck. However, "Into Darkness" certainly gives us a hint that this film could have a serious tone and perhaps darker theme than the 2009 Star Trek film. On the other hand the title is also evocative of Star Trek’s core mission of going into the “darkness” of space, to seek out new life and new civilizations. Of course the current Trek team often point to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy as inspiration, with the second film in that series being titled "The Dark Knight" which itself had some very dark themes. Is this Trek sequel Star Trek’s "Dark Knight"? As that film grossed $1B world wide, I imagine Paramount is certainly hoping it is.

According to sources, the creative team are still working on how they will officially roll out this new title. The first acknowledgement will likely be made with some kind of visual treatment, either a type treatment for the title or possibly even a teaser poster or image. Indications are that this official roll out should be coming soon.

What do you think?

Ron Moore explains what it would take to make a new Trek TV series

While Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller and X-Men director Byan Singer are still dreaming about bringing Star Trek back to TV, Star Trek vet Ron D. Moore explains what it would take to return the sci-fi series to the small screen.

Moore was a writer and producer on many Star Trek series and films, starting with Star Trek: The Next Generation, then Deep Space Nine and Voyager, before he went on to reboot Battlestar Galactica successfully for TV.

So what does Ron D. Moore think it would take to bring back Trek on TV now in the wake of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films?

People have to understand that the Star Trek films are a different animal. And that goes for the original series' movies, as well as those from The Next Generation, and from J.J. By their nature, the Star Trek films are much more action-oriented, with space battles, big villains, lots of running and jumping. The stakes for Earth and the universe are always enormous.

But the lifeblood of Star Trek's television shows is its morality plays and social commentary. It's sci-fi that provides a prism on human society and culture. The movies are never really going to do what the episodes do, like split Picard into two in a transporter beam and then talk philosophically about the nature of humanity, which parts of our strength come from good and which from evil. The movies are never going to do that. Star Trek: The Next Generation was about those moral issues, about how societies grow and are differently affected. None of these are topics that the movies are going to tackle.

To create Star Trek in the form that people are familiar with requires another television series, and I think it will be successful again in that medium. You have to spend some time talking about its form and structure, and how to update it again for a new audience. You still want the "boldly go where no one has gone before" part with a ship, crew and ongoing mission. That's part and parcel of the franchise.

But you have to be able to tackle big ideas, which are larger than chasing the villain of the week. That's really not what the series was very good at. I mean, you could look back at the original Star Trek series or The Next Generation and find some cool action-adventure episodes with space battles, but the show is about so much more than that. If you were trying to do that flavor of Star Trek on television every week, it would just fail.

Do you guys agree with Ron D. Moore?

See an awesome Trek Gangnam Style parody done entirely in Klingon

We've seen a lot of sci-fi parodies of Korean pop star PSY's worldwide hit "Gangnam Style," but more keep beaming in. A new, extra-nerdy version of the tune just hit the 'net, and this time it's done in an alien language.

This particular version comes courtesy of the nerdy chicks at Comediva, who decided that getting into costume and doing the dance, or writing their own weird lyrics, just wasn't enough. No, this called for boldly going where no parody video has gone before. So they translated all the lyrics into Klingon, dressed up and gave the world "Klingon Style."

Scifi Five In Five

Warehouse 13 quotes

5. Artie Nelson: Y'know what the Talmud says? When someone's comin' to kill ya, get up early, kill 'em first.

 4.Claudia: Does this mean i'm an agent now?

Artie: No it means i can reach you anytime of day or night.

Claudia: Okay not so good.

3."' I knew you were not Myka when you kissed me, Myka would never kiss me even if her life depended on it"

2.Steve: Wait, Pete and Myka get a dagger and we get a plague? Why don't we stop being the B-Team?

Claudia: We are not the B-Team fool, we are the second A-Team.

2.Myka: Listen, when Cody hit you, I think that I saw something.

Pete: All I saw were stars oh and little birds.

1.Myka: You sure you are ok? You still look a little woozy.

Pete: That's my look.

SciFi Diner Conversations 66 - Listener's Discuss the Fringe Premiere, The Rumored Shannara Series, Other Fall Series And More. 

SciFi Diner Classic Ep. 24

Our Interview with David Nykl

(Dr. Radek Zelenka from Stargate: Atlantis,

Sanctuary, and Fringe)

In our twenty-fourth episode of the SciFi Diner Classic, we interview with David Nykl (Dr. Radek Zelenka from Stargate: Atlantis, Sanctuary, and Fringe). Since we do a news and interview show, it goes without saying that the news portion of our episodes often date themselves fast. And while the interviews with the people that make Science Fiction happen remain relevant and in our opinion important, most listeners will not listen back 100 episodes and wade through old news just to get to the interview. So what the SciFi Diner Classic aims to do is to share these interviews with you. If you have been with us from the beginning, then bear with us as we introduce some of our newer listeners to voices from the past. We're bringing you just the interview and nothing else.

Davis Nykl

David Nykl (born 7 February 1967 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech Canadian actor of film, television, commercials and theater.

After the Soviet invasion in 1968, he and his family left then-Communist Czechoslovakia for Canada. Upon arriving at Victoria, British Columbia, his father found work as a structural engineer and his mother found work as a nurse.

Nykl attended the University of British Columbia, where he majored in liberal arts.

Nykl has appeared heavily in Vancouver and Prague in dozens of theater, film and television productions. Known for his versatility and depth as an actor, he has also produced theatre and film projects, and in 1994, he co-founded Prague's Misery Loves Company Theatrewith Richard Toth and Ewan McLaren.

He is known to science fiction fans as the recurring Stargate Atlantis character of Dr. Radek Zelenka, a Czech scientist on Earth's expedition to the "lost city" of Atlantis. His character often provides a foil to the main scientists, who forget the limits of their situation.

He is fluent in Czech, English, French and Spanish. Though his character on Stargate Atlantis speaks English with a Czech accent, Nykl normally speaks with a Canadian accent. Whenever Zelenka spoke Czech in Stargate Atlantis, Nykl was given the lines in English, and he translated them.

On this SciFi Rewind, Scott and Miles from the SciFi Diner Podcast and John Mierau from Serving Worlds.com rewatch Starship Troopers, a controversial film as far as its place in the Science Fiction, and share their favorite scenes and delve deep into the facts and stories behind it. The episode is rounded out with listener thoughts and feedback as well. In our next rewatch, we will be rewatching the iconic film Galaxy Quest. Be sure to watch Galaxy Quest with us and send in your thoughts by October 30th.  If you want to share your SciFi Rewind with us and have us talk about it on the show or if you want to comment on our rewinds, please e-mail us at scifirewind@gmail.com (you can attach an mp3 audio file if you want) or call us at 18885084343.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 151

Our Interview with Maurice Broaddus

and Jerry Gordon editors of the Dark Faith Anthologies

The SciFi Diner Podcast

A 2012 Parsec Finalist

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Menu:

• Interview: Our Interview with Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon editors of the Dark Faith Anthologies
• Trivia:  Win Kate Mulgrew
• TV News: Message from the Observers, Shannara book series comeing to TV, Nielsan revises how it does ratings.
• Movie News:  First look at RoboCop
• TWIST: Star Trek celebrates 46 years; Life After Trek interviews with Mike Demerritt
• SciFi Five in Five:  Raul Ybarra's Most important Science Fiction television Shows of All Time

New Trivia:

Trivia: Since no one, and I mean NO ONE was able to answer last months trivia, we're trying a different tactic to give away an autographed picture of Kate Mulgrew, Captain Janeway of Star Trek: Voyager. All you need to do is write in and explain why you are the biggest fan of Kate Mulgrew. Please include your address and the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. We'll be drawing a name the middle of October.

Prize: An Autographed copy of Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway)

You will have until October 15th to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person.   The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.

Promos

Tuning Into SciFi TV Podcast

Fringecasting with Wayne and Dan

Promo

Subversion Promo from John Mierau

Gatecast Podcast

Interview:

Maurice Broaddus

“’Buyer beware’ is the cautionary theme of Maurice Broaddus’ sublime ‘A House is Not a Home’ – the standout of the collection… Broaddus’ commanding use of language coats the story with a lushness that belies its short fiction format and places it in a class of its own.”
– Vince Liaguno, Dark Scribe

“There are fewer greater pleasures in a reader’s life than witnessing a writer whose work they have enjoyed reached a new plateau in their storytelling skills, and such is the case here; with The Devil’s Marionette, Maurice Broaddus comes into his own as a writer of dark fiction. It is the brilliance we’ve all been waiting for, and Broaddus delivers in a voice that both whispers and roars and cannot be ignored.”
– Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild Award-winner Gary A. Braunbeck

The Knights of Breton Court series
King Maker – March 2010 (UK/Australia), October 2010 (US/Canada)
King’s Justice – February 2011 (UK/Australia), March 2011 (US/Canada)
King’s War – November 2011 (everywhere)
The Knights of Breton Court (omnibus) – October 2012 (worldwide)

Maurice Broaddus graduated in 1993 from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis and holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology. He works as an environmental toxicologist for a local firm, Commonwealth Biomonitoring. He comes from a family that includes several practicing obeah (think: Jamaican voodoo) people, but is now the facilitator for the church, The Dwelling Place. He is married with two children.

His areas of interests includes religious studies, folklore, and myths. His previous book was the novella Orgy of Souls, written with Wrath James White. He says he only wants to get famous enough to be able to snub people at horror conventions.

When asked, “what kind of horror writer are you?”, Maurice said…

There are kinds of horror: atmospheric, supernatural, serial killer, splatter/”gross out” and other ways I could categorize it. But I tend to think that horror writers fall into two very general camps: traditionalists and extremists (for lack of better terms). It is the tools you use to scare that define what camp you find yourself in. Traditionalists tend to be more character driven, letting the horror arise from or intrude on the mundane. They are often more atmospheric, and explore the eerie or weird with a moral code. Oh yeah, traditionalists are good vs. evil moralists. Extremists are more visceral. Quicker to go for the blood and guts/gross out or the perverse. I’m actually disturbed by how much value-loaded (read: judgmental sounding) language I’m using, but it’s the easiest way I know to describe it. I’m more of a traditionalist, which is not to say 1) that I don’t occasionally enjoy a good extremist or 2) that traditionalists or extremists exclusively write with only that set of tools. It’s a pallette: You have a broad spectrum of colors and styles to choose from to create your painting. And sometimes it’s like your taste in music: most times I listen to 70′s R&B, but sometimes I need a little Rage Against the Machine or Dream Theater to get me going. Most times I naturally gravitate toward the traditionalist stuff – Ray Bradbury, Stephen King – but sometimes I need a shot of Clive Barker or John Shirley to shock the palate.

Meet Maurice online

More Praise for King Maker

“KingMaker isn’t yet another retelling of the Arthurian stories. There are drugs and gangs and people who are almost too scared to breathe. If there’s a small world that needs saving, it’s the world of this novel: too many lives are in danger and too many people are willing to give up. What’s awesome is there is no guarantee that King is going to become the Arthur we know. His enemies understand where he comes from and what he can do before he does. ”
- Gillian Polack

Jerry Gordon

Jerry Gordon: This is the spot where I’m supposed to talk about myself in the third person.  It’s a strange but generally accepted way of doing things, fine for book jackets and magazine bios, but a little impersonal since you’ve come all this way to find out more about me.

There are a couple hundred Jerry Gordon’s mucking things up on this planet.  I’m the one that’s a fiction author, editor, college instructor, computer programmer, and occasional grad student.  If you’re wondering where free time fits into this equation, you just discovered the downside to being interested in everything.  I have an undergraduate degree in English and Education from Ball State University.  When I’m not writing, I’m daydreaming about my next trip… and a little apartment in Paris.

The most common question I get asked (when people find out I write fiction) is what kind.  Truth is all kinds.  I love just about every genre and hate labels.  I tend to blur the lines between genres, writing mash-ups that combine the best of several.  If you want to pin me down, I’ll admit to writing mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and “literary” fiction.  Usually, at least two at the same time.

If you’d like to check out my work, head over to the bibliography page.

Thanks for dropping in and don’t be shy about sending me a note via the contact page.

Jerry

Some fun facts…

• At the age of fourteen, I was a DJ for WBDG in Indianapolis.
• By sixteen, I was running that radio station.
• I ditched my telecommunications degree in favor of an undergrad in English and Education.
• It only took one semester to fall in love with storytelling and make the switch.
• I’ve been on more movie sets than I can remember.
• I was once a Klingon extra on Star Trek.

TV News:

Observers Continue to Boss Us in New FRINGE Featurette – Residency Protocol
Monday, September 17th, 2012

Remember the early days of Fringe when we thought that the Observers were a curiosity but were basically benign or, at worst, maybe interlopers for good? Ah those halcyon days. Now we know that only one of them was like that, and the rest, at least in the season that is to come, are not.

Below we have the third of Protocols that have been issued by the Fedora-ed Ones. We’ve included the previous two for your ease of reference (and protection from scans).

Featurette: Fringe Season 5 – Residency Protocol

Elfstones of Shannara to be made into a television show. Good news or Bad?

Nielsen Ratings

NEW YORK -- The number of U.S. homes that don't get traditional television service continues to increase, but that doesn't mean they don't have TVs.
The Nielsen company said in a report issued on Tuesday that three-quarters of the estimated 5 million homes that don't get TV signals over the airways or through cable, satellite or telecommunications companies have televisions anyway.
Many of these homes are satisfied to use their TVs for games or get programming through DVDs or services like Netflix or Apple TV, said Dounia Turrill, senior vice president for client insights at Nielsen.
The company's report shows how the nature of TV service is slowly changing. Before the percentage started declining about three years ago, more than 99 percent of TV homes received the traditional TV signals. Now that has dipped just below 96 percent.
Part of the decline is also economic – service deemed expendable by people struggling to make ends meet, Nielsen said.
Because of the changes, Nielsen is considering redefining what it considers a television household to include people who get service through Netflix or similar services instead of the traditional TV signals, Turrill said.
During the first three months of 2012, the average consumer spent about 2 percent less time watching traditional TV than the previous year, Nielsen said. They more than made up for that by spending more time watching material recorded on DVRs or on the Internet through TVs, computers and mobile devices.
The typical consumer spends 14 minutes a day using gaming consoles, although it's more for owners of Wii, XBox and PlayStation 3, Nielsen said. Many of these devices are also popular sites for accessing video, Turrill said.
"The gaming devices are becoming entertainment hubs," she said.
People over age 65 spend nearly 48 hours, on average, watching television each week, Nielsen said. At the other end of the spectrum are teenagers aged 12 to 17, who spend an average of 22 hours per week watching TV.
Blacks spend an average of 210 hours per month watching TV, more than whites (nearly 153 hours), Latinos (131 hours) and Asians (100 hours), Nielsen said.

Movie News:

1st look at a startlingly different suit for that RoboCop reboot

We've had a look at the handiwork of OmniCorp, we've read the official synopsis, and now it's time to get a look at the cybernetic crimefighter himself. On-set pics have just revealed what Joel Kinnaman's RoboCop reboot suit looks like, and it's definitely a departure.

It's definitely not what Peter Weller wore. The silver exterior with black accents at the joints has been replaced by an all-black theme that looks a bit like Christian Bale's Batsuit. And the bulky, muscled look has been replaced by something much leaner. Also, he seems to have saved one hand from robotic reinvention. Unless there's some kind of massive CGI overhaul coming in post-production, this is a very different RoboCop.

Of course, we've yet to really see this new suit in action, and this could just be a part of what director Jose Padilha is delivering us, but it seems clear that there's a very different look in store this time around.

What do you think? Is the new RoboCop look a refreshing, modern take, or just a remake dud?

This week in Star Trek:

Space, The Final Frontier... 46 Years Of Star Trek

 46 years ago today, Star Trek launched its 5 year mission. Unfortunately it only lasted 3 in its original form, but Trek as we now know it consists of over 700 hours of television and movies. It seems that this year Star Trek is getting more press than usual on its anniversary. Google, Oreo, and websites the world over are celebrating the launch of Trek. Some even proclaiming today as Star Trek day. Of course, we're not complaining.

Where would we be without Star Trek? I've often wondered that, but really the world would be a much different place if Gene hadn't been offered a second pilot or Lucille Ball and Desilu had passed on the show. Could there have been a different show that took its place and inspired millions of people to boldly go on the human adventure? Who can say. I'm just thankful that Gene got the chance to express his ideas through a medium that was available to so many viewers worldwide. On this anniversary, I'll leave you with one of my favorite videos of Gene... For us, no limits. Happy Star Trek Day!

Life After Trek Podcast Episode 20 Featuring Michael DeMeritt

By Captain Pyke 

We’re pleased to announce episode 20 of our “Life After Trek” podcast, featuring Michael DeMeritt. Many of you know Michael from his time on the full run of both Star Trek: Voyager & Star Trek: Enterprise as First / Second Assistant Director. He also worked, most recently, on hit shows like ABC Family's Make It or Break It, Showtime's Californication, NBC's Las Vegas, and many others. We met him at BayouCon 2012 in Lake Charles, Louisiana and got the chance to experience his inside Star Trek panels featuring many never-before-seen photos & stories. We knew, then and there, that he would be an excellent guest on "Life After Trek".

We ran the full gamut of Mike's Trek experience, on this episode, but also got to talk about his start in Hollywood and his early years as a DGA trainee. For those "Life After Trek"-ers out there, that love behind-the-scenes info, this is an episode you don't want to miss. If you would like to learn more about Michael and his work, you can check out his official website at MichaelDeMeritt.com and his full list of credits at IMDB.com.

Sci Fi 5@5: 

The Five Most Important TV Shows In Science Fiction 

By Raul Ybarra

A few weeks ago, I had made some Tweets regarding the most important TV shows

in science fiction. This generated a variety of responses that has nudged me into

writing a bit more reason behind my selections. Going into this, it's important to

note that my criteria here is "most important" rather than "best." I also am not

including non-SciFi shows though they often get lumped in together. Thus, you

won't see any fantasy, horror, or super-hero shows in the list. Likewise, you will not

see shows like Night Gallery, even though they did, at times, dip into science fiction.

So here's that list from the least to the most important.

5. Firefly

Yes, Firefly was *great* science fiction. Yet it only lasted 13 episodes, so why

is it so important. As I said, good does not necessarily equate to importance

though this show was both. It's the nature of what happened to the /show/ that

makes it so important. It's pretty universal that few shows had as raw a deal as

Firefly. The shows of this serial were aired out of order. The "Suits" interfered in

the production. It was summarily canceled without really being given a chance.

However, it was a critical reminder to both fans and network of the power of the

fans' voices. While not enough to save this show, the outcry certainly rattled Fox.

Fortunately, Fox seemed to learn its lesson. I believe that it's thanks to Firefly that

shows like Dollhouse got a second season, in spite of the terrible ratings or we are

getting a fifth season to finish the story in Fringe. Fox, as well as other networks,

pay a lot more attention to the fans as a result of Firefly.

4. Battlestar Galactica

I'm talking about the original "Classic" show rather than the 2000's reboot. People

today may not be aware of it, but introducing phrases like "Frack" or having a main

character, Cassiopia, as a "Socialator" (i.e. prostitute) were huge steps in prime-time

programming that caused considerable discussion. Equally ground-breaking was

the use of cinema-caliber special effects. Largely because of this, the show was also

the first show to break the $1,000,000 per episode barrier -- an enormous sum in

1978. The Bridge set was one of the largest regular sets ever for a show and was

functional with working electronics, communications and computer displays. It was

primarily the very high cost of the show that led to its cancellation after the first

season.

Unfortunately, BSG is important in one negative area. This is the show more

important than even Lost In Space for the "Cute Kid" problem. After BSG, every

serious SciFi show until Babylon 5 was crippled by having to have a "cute kid" for

the youngsters. I believe in my heart-of-hearts if we didn't have Boxey here, we

would have never been inflicted with Wesley Crusher a decade later.

3. Doctor Who

You cannot have a list of important SciFi shows without including the longest

running science fiction series of all time. Doctor Who will be celebrating its

50th birthday in 2013 having gone on the air in 1963. It's initial run was for 26

continuous seasons ending in 1986. It wasn't cancelled, but put on hiatus, with a TV

movie in the 90's and resuming regular airings in 2005.

Aside from the run time proving the staying power of a science fiction show, the

Doctor brought us such iconic items as sonic screwdrivers, K9 and the TARDIS.

Dimensional transcendence ("It's bigger on the inside than out."), time travel,

parallel universes, racism, women's rights, cyborgs, paradox, nuclear war, ethics -

- I've commented many times that there are few science fiction themes that Doctor

Who hasn't done first. The show was always serial rather than episodic; sometimes

being 4-6 episodes, sometimes being whole seasons. With such a low budget

for effects (the subject of MANY jokes) the show had to focus on being story and

character driven.

Doctor Who also gave us some of the great villains/enemies in SciFi: Cybermen,

Sontarans, the Master and of course Daleks. The resumed series has also added

probably the scariest monster of all time: the Weeping Angels. Science fiction

television owe a huge debt to this long running and innovative show.

2. Babylon 5

It was a close call between Babylon 5 and the #1 choice. Star Trek won only

because that without Trek, we never could have gotten Babylon 5. At some point

I will probably write a full blog article on Babylon 5 just to cover all the "Firsts" it

represents to not only SciFi TV, but TV in general.

Just to cover a few of these, it was the first successful serial sci-fi series, first fully

scored for each episode, first Hi-Def show, first all CGI effects, and first to prove

you *don't* have to follow the Star Trek model for success. In season 2, the beat

Star Trek for the Hugo and next year, did it again to prove it wasn't an accident.

Characters were only used when needed and even killed when it served the story.

The series *began* intended as a 5-season serial with all five seasons mapped out in

advance, though with enough room to allow the story to "live."

The story was cohesive and well written and the characters were compelling. The

show proved that it takes BOTH story and characters to achieve true greatness. I'm

re-watching it with my son and the story is as relevant today as it it was 20 years

ago. The alien cultures were very well developed and the makeup was amazing;

NOT just a different nose bridge or ear caps. Space flight was based on Newtonian

physics and the resulting battles were dizzying with ships flying in all directions and

every orientation: sideways, backwards, upside down.

Bottom line, every SciFi show since 1993 - including the Star Trek franchise - owes a

huge debt to Babylon 5.

1. Star Trek

First, note well that I am referring to the Original Series only. None of the other

Trek series makes this list -- and that includes Next Generation. More than any

other show, Star Trek made televised SciFi serious. The show was initially rejected

by CBS as "too cerebral." Star Trek made a conscious effort to put the Science in

the Fiction, though some purist such as Arthur C. Clark disparagingly wrote it off as

fantasy.

Though an adventurous "Wagon Train to the Stars," Star Trek still hit hard on the

serious social issues humanity did, and still, faces - racism, war, equal rights, medical

ethics, religion and on. It did it honestly and without fear of stepping on toes. The

bridge crew included a Russian, the ultimate in aliens in Spock and women. Even

more ground-breaking was that a senior command officer was a black woman.

Except for Doctor Who, without Star Trek, none of these other shows would have

been.

Summary

There could be a lot of honorable mentions, the BSG Reboot, Fringe, Stargate,

Farscape; just to name a few. These and others are all good and sometimes great

shows. However, in importance I think it is these five that set the precedents upon

which all the others depend. These five shows set standards for stories, characters

and effects that all the others have had to live up. They have proven themselves to

be timeless in that they still hold their popularity today. I would love to hear your

comments.

SciFi Diner Conversations 65

Listener's Review Dredd, Give Scott and

Miles A Grimm Chastising, Discuss the

Revolutions Premiere, And More.  

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 150

Our Interview with Jonathon Young

(Nikola Tesla from Sanctuary) at Shore Leave 34

The SciFi Diner Podcast

A 2012 Parsec Finalist

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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.

Menu:

• Interview: Jonathon Young (Nikola Tesla from Sanctuary)
• Trivia:  Win Kate Mulgrew
• TV News: Contiumm renewed; Whedon back to small screen
• Movie News:  We say Good Bye to Michael Clarke Duncan; Former Dark Knight goes from hero to villain for RoboCop
• Audiobook Review: No Small Bills by Aaron Rosenberg
• TWIST: New Con of Wrath Teaser, Update on the Star Trek/Worf film
• SciFi Five in Five:  Kahless's Top Five McCoy Quotes

New Trivia:

Trivia: In the context of the episodes of Warehouse 13 that aired on 2/13 and 2/20, what does it have in common with Stargate Universe? (Hint: IMDB is your friend if you don't watch Warehouse 13)

Prize: An Autographed copy of Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway)

You will have until September 18th to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person.   The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.

Promos

Tuning Into SciFi TV Podcast

Fringecasting with Wayne and Dan

Our Interview:

Jonathon Young is a Canadian actor known for his role of Nikola Tesla on the SyFy show Sanctuary. Appearances include The Fog, Eureka, and Stargate Atlantis. Jonathon is a well-respected stage actor. He is the co-founder of Electric Company Theatre in Vancouver, Canada in which he is also the artistic director, playwright, and actor.

He was raised in British Columbia, along with his brother and sister. Their father was a school teacher who started acommunity theatre in Armstrong, British Columbia. At a "Q&A" after the play No Exit, Young told the audience that his father often brought him and his sister to watch him act and that this is where his love for theatre began. Becoming an actor was never a choice, but rather just something he knew he was going to do.

Young is a graduate of the Studio 58 theatre school at Langara College, Vancouver. In 1996 he co-founded Electric Company Theatre along with fellow Studio 58 alumni Kim Collier, David Hudgins, and Kevin Kerr.^[4] He is a multipleJessie Richardson Theatre Award winner. His play Palace Grand was commissioned for production by Vancouver'sPuSh International Performing Arts Festival in 2008.

TV News:

'Continuum' Renewed For Second Season

Specialty channel Showcase has announced that sci-fi television show "Continuum" has been renewed for a second season. The phenomenally successful series, which performed very well over the usually slow summer season, will begin production on the 13-episode season 2 in Vancouver in 2013. Ratings for the show shattered all previous Showcase premiere records, and dominated its Sunday night 9-10 p.m. timeslot.
"'Continuum' was a tremendous success for the channel," said Barbara Williams, Senior Vice President, Content, Shaw Media, in a press release. "We are proud to green-light such a prolific ratings hit and original series for a second season, and to continue Kiera's journey through time for our dedicated viewers."
A one-hour police drama centered on Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols), a cop from the year 2077 who finds herself trapped in present-day Vancouver, "Continuum" follows Cameron as she searches for a group of convicted criminals from the future, known as Liber8. With unexpected assistance from teen tech genius Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen), Kiera concentrates on bringing down the terrorists before they can change the course of history forever. Impersonating a local law enforcement officer to expedite her investigation, she forms an uneasy alliance with her new partner, detective Carlos Fonnegra (Victor Webster).
In the season finale "Endtimes," Kiera raced against the clock trying to prevent a Liber8 bombing, which ultimately killed hundreds of innocent people. The shocking twist led to an explosive finale, leaving many unanswered questions.
Seems that fans won't have to wait too much longer for some well-deserved answers.

Joss Whedon coming back to TV for Marvel S.H.I.E.L.D. series

Avengers and Firefly fans, rejoice! Joss Whedon is coming back to the small screen, and he's bringing the Marvel universe with him.

ABC and Marvel have confirmed that Whedon is developing a TV series spinoff from The Avengers, based around the top-secret Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) organization that recently brought Earth's Mightiest Heroes together on the big screen.

The series will technically be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though Variety reports the storylines will be mostly "autonomous" from upcoming sequels such as Avengers 2 and Iron Man 3. That means it's unlikely that big-screen mainstays like Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow and Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye will be prominently featured on the show—but who's to say they can't pop up from time to time?

Whedon is signed on to co-write the pilot with his brother (and frequent collaborator) Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, and will stay on to help develop the broad strokes. Assuming it's picked up, Jed and Tancharoen would join Jeph Loeb and Jeffrey Bell as executive producers.

If some of those names sound familiar, they should, because virtually everyone Whedon is bringing on board has worked with him on his former TV projects Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

For us, that means all these excellent writers are going to have big budgets and a bigger platform to play with, and with some autonomy from the films, they may get a long leash to really dig in and make this a compelling series.

Hoping to capitalize on the box-office love, ABC is putting the series into production immediately—so hopefully we'll have some more details soon.

Sound off: Do you think the Marvel universe is a good fit for live-action TV?
Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D. series won't have much to do with The Avengers

It was recently announced that Joss Whedon is bringing S.H.I.E.L.D. to the small screen. With the exception of The Avengers, the agency has stayed in the background of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now it's finally coming to the forefront.

The day after the news broke, Whedon revealed, "The S.H.I.E.L.D. show kind of dropped in my lap, and I love working in TV." His previous television credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and the short-lived Dollhouse. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a huge organization, with many stories to tell, most of which will steer clear of The Avengers.

"I get to really build a show with people I really trust and love. What we're building is entirely autonomous from The Avengers. It's gotta be a show that works for people who haven't seen the Marvel movies. It will please Marvel fans, I think."

Marvel's done a great job integrating their properties, but it sounds like S.H.I.E.L.D. will be a separate entity. We're excited to see what heroes they'll pull from the comics. It's time to share the Marvel spotlight.

Movie News:

RIP: actor Michael Clarke Duncan is dead at 54

Michael Clarke Duncan, the Oscar-nominated actor known for his massive frame and roles in The Green Mile, Daredevil and many other films, died this week at the age of 54.

Duncan passed away on Monday (Sept. 3), two months after first being hospitalized for a heart attack in July. Known for his gentle good nature, down-to-earth demeanor and—at 6 foot 5 and as much as 315 pounds—commanding onscreen presence, Duncan was born in Chicago and worked there for a gas company and as a security guard in clubs before heading to Hollywood.

There he pursued an acting career while continuing to work security for celebrities such as Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and the late Notorious B.I.G. It was the latter's shooting death in 1997 that led Duncan to quit that line of work for good.

After landing several bit parts in films—usually as a security guard or bouncer—Duncan got cast as Bear in Michael Bay's 1998 meteor disaster movie Armageddon. He struck up a friendship with star Bruce Willis, who in turn recommended Duncan for the part that would be his breakthrough—John Coffey in Frank Darabont's adaptation of Stephen King's The Green Mile the following year.

Duncan was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe as Coffey, the simple-minded giant with a supernatural gift for healing who is falsely sentenced to death for raping and murdering two little girls. Coffey brought deep emotion and empathy to the role, earning him wide acclaim and putting him on a career track that kept him working steadily in movies, animation and TV until his death.

Duncan's other genre-related outings included roles in director Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes remake (2001), Sin City (2005), Michael Bay's The Island (2005), The Last Mimzy (2007) and the voice of Kilowog in last year's Green Lantern. In 2002 he played Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin, in the Marvel Comics-based film Daredevil (2003)—a character that had been portrayed as white in the comics and anticipated Marvel's similar color-blindness when casting Idris Elba as Heimdall in 2010's Thor.

The actor played many other roles in movies and TV shows, while also lending his voice to a number of animated features and programs, and also acted as a spokesman for PETA and the American Stroke Association. His friend Frank Darabont told Ain't It Cool News that Duncan was "one of the finest people I've ever had the privilege to work with or know. Michael was the gentlest of souls—an exemplar of decency, integrity, and kindness."

Rest in peace, gentle giant.

Former Dark Knight goes from hero to villain for RoboCop

Hugh Laurie, you have been replaced. Jose Padilha's RoboCop remake has finally nailed down a villain. After Dr. House backed out, they went after the next best thing—Batman.

Michael Keaton has snagged the role of Raymond Sellars in RoboCop. His casting comes just in time, because the film begins production next month. According to Padilla, Keaton was the missing link to this sci-fi puzzle.

"Michael is the final addition to the amazing cast we have assembled for this film and it is so great to have the last puzzle piece in place," said Padilha. "It is thrilling that everything has come together to bring this innovative new vision of RoboCop to life. We've got a great script, a great cast, some killer ED-209's and I can't wait to get Alex Murphy back on the streets."

Keaton joins Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jennifer Ehle, Jay Baruchel and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

RoboCop is scheduled to hit theaters Aug. 9, 2013.

What do you think of Keaton as the bad guy?

(via Deadline)

This week in Star Trek:

The surprise premiere of a new teaser for THE CON OF WRATH at Comic-Con San Diego July 14  showed off a few more of the early faces who have talked to us so far about “The Ultimate Fantasy” gone wrong in 1982. Only fans in that room have seen it so far—not even at Vegas....

Until today, when we posted a version of that teaser at the conofwrath.com website. You'll know a lot of those faces, too.

Our documentary on the infamous Houston "glorious failure" Trek event ... and the human spirit... is still collecting faces and moments, and I just found a couple more Survivors at Vegas. Our live meetup-fundraisers at conventions have raised cash, spread the word and most of all been a lot of fun all year long as we add more fan donors to the screen credits and gift list. We still have a lot of funding and producing to go, though.

In the new mini-teaser, watch for a few words from the first of the original Houston crew to see daylight, in an uncredited appearance: You'll see Marc Dowman up in the arena catwalk—graphic artist for the event and a stage and pyro assistant for the show. He's just burning up to tell one of the best weekend stories ....

NOTE: This preliminary piece was put together for big-room conventions and does not feature final graphics, rendering looks and of course music score. Director of Photography Neal Hallford whipped it up in July, and edited it for this showing. So—just for fun and a little taste of what's to come...

--Larry Nemecek, executive producer/director

Michael Dorn spills the latest on his Worf-centric Trek spinoff

Earlier this year we heard that Star Trek: The Next Generation star, and everyone's favorite Klingon, Michael Dorn was pitching a new Trek flick centered on his character, Worf. We've already seen how fans have responded to the idea, but what about Hollywood?

Though he's also busy with other things, most notably a romantic comedy he's funding through Kickstarter, Dorn's Worf idea has been making the rounds among people who might want to help make it happen ... and it turns out there's quite a bit of interest.

   "Once I started thinking about it, it became obvious to me that I wanted to at least put it out there, which I have, and the response has been pretty amazing. We've been contacted by different individuals-I can't say who and all that-about wanting to come on board and be part of this. Also, there's all the political stuff going on with the new movies, with J.J. Abrams and Paramount and all that stuff, which I have no clue about and what it all entails, but that's where it is right now."

According to Dorn, the film would be a darker take on Trek, and would feature a post-Next Generation Worf captaining a Federation ship, "out there in the front lines basically chasing terrorists." It's too early for even Dorn to really know if the idea will become a reality, but how confident is he?

   "Interestingly enough it has gotten traction. I was very surprised, I was on a movie not too long ago, where one of the producers was basically lobbying to be part of it. He was like 'Michael, I'd love to write it, if you haven't.' So at this point, my agents and my manager are looking at all the avenues and trying to figure out which is the best one. My agent and manager have been in the business for awhile, so they're very savvy about where to start and how to get it going. Like I said, in this business you never know and I've been through pitching things and I never want to do that again [laughs]. It's pretty brutal, but definitely I think once again, if Paramount or CBS or anybody thinks this is a viable thing, they'll jump on it."

In the meantime, Dorn will no doubt keep lobbying for the flick. But what about other opportunities to put on the Klingon makeup one more time? When asked if he'd ever appear in a dream sequence or something similar on The Big Bang Theory, where co-stars Wil Wheaton, LeVar Burton and Brent Spiner have already had cameos, Dorn wasn't very intrigued. Worf might get his own movie, but sitcom life isn't for him.

   "That's a long shot I think. Not so much about the process, but you're pushing the envelope by putting the Worf makeup on and going on another show in another genre, you're asking for trouble. Even in a dream sequence its one of those things where if you did that, I think you're driving the stake into his heart at that point-not into his heart, but into the character's heart."

 So, what do you think? What are the chances that we'll see Worf again?

B-Rela Presentz: The New Star Trek

Sci Fi 5@5

Kahless gives his top five McCoy quotes

furture 5

SciFi Diner Conversations 64 - Listener's Weigh In On The Doctor Who Season Premiere, Our Logan's Run Rewind, Warehouse 13, Zombie's Run, Grimm, And More. 

SciFi Diner Classic Ep. 23

Our Interview with Catherine Hicks

from Star Trek: The Voyage Home

Shore Leave 32

In our twenty-third episode of the SciFi Diner Classic, we interview actor interview Catherine Hicks from Star Trek: The Voyage Home. Since we do a news and interview show, it goes without saying that the news portion of our episodes often date themselves fast. And while the interviews with the people that make Science Fiction happen remain relevant and in our opinion important, most listeners will not listen back 100 episodes and wade through old news just to get to the interview. So what the SciFi Diner Classic aims to do is to share these interviews with you. If you have been with us from the beginning, then bear with us as we introduce some of our newer listeners to voices from the past. We're bringing you just the interview and nothing else.

Catherine Hicks

Hicks was born in New York City, the daughter of Jackie, a homemaker, and Walter Hicks, an electronics salesman.She has Irish and English ancestry. Her family moved toScottsdale, Arizona during her childhood. She was a cheerleader at Gerard Catholic High School in Phoenix, Arizona and a member of The National Honor Society (NHS). She graduated in 1969. After attending Saint Mary's College (Indiana), where she studied English Literature and Theology, Hicks won a prestigious acting fellowship to Cornell University. While at Cornell, she was a member of the Ithaca Repertory Theater Company.

Career

After graduating from Cornell University with a Masters of Fine Arts degree, Hicks headed to New York in August 1976, where she immediately got work in television commercials. Two weeks after arriving in New York, she landed her first major TV role as the newly recovered pediatrician Dr. Faith Coleridge #3 on ABC soap opera, Ryan's Hope. A year and half later, she left her role on Ryan's Hope when she was cast to star alongside Jack Lemmon (as Scottie) in Bernard Slade's 1978 Broadway play, Tribute,^[7] in which she played the young model Sally Haines, who Scottie sets up with his estranged son (Robert Picardo). That same year, she starred as Valerie in the CBS TV movie and TV series pilot called Sparrow.

When Tribute ended, Hicks moved to California and co-starred on the 1979–80 CBS sitcom, The Bad News Bears as junior high school principal and psychologist, Dr. Emily Rappant. She had roles in a few TV movies, playing an escort, Annie, in ABC's Love For Rent (1979), and as Beth, a camp counselor in CBS's 1980 film To Race the Wind, based on the Harold Krents' autobiography.

In 1980, Hicks beat out hundreds of actresses for the lead role of Marilyn Monroe in ABC's $3.5 million dollar production, Marilyn: The Untold Story, based on the Norman Mailer best seller. She earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini-series or Movie for her portrayal of the legendary star.

In 1981, Hicks starred in CBS's remake of Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls, as Ann Wells, an entertainment lawyer, and James Corburn's protege. She made her feature film debut in the 1982 comedy Better Late Than Never. That same year, she starred as Peter Billingsley's mom, Sally, in the thriller, Death Valley.

She took the lead role as Amanda Tucker in the 12-episode detective series Tucker's Witch opposite Tim Matheson as Rick Tucker. The program aired on CBS from October 6, 1982, sporadically into August, 1983. In 1983, she played Lisa Sage and co-starred with John Schneider in CBS's romantic comedy movie, Happy Endings.

In Sidney Lumet's 1984 film, Garbo Talks, Hicks was aspiring-actress Jane Mortimer. Hicks also played Bill Murray's socialite finacee, Isabel, in the 1984 remake of The Razor's Edge. For her work in 1986'sStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Hicks received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. That same year, she played Carol Heath in Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married. In 1987's Like Father Like Son, Hicks played Dr. Amy Larkin.

In 1988, she played businesswoman Ella Frazier in a Yugoslavian comedy Tajna manastirske rakije (also released under the titles Cognac and Secret Ingredient). Hicks co-starred with Christopher Plummer, as his estranged daughter, Tina Boyer, in the Showtime movie channel's 1988 movie, Souvenir. She played Karen Barclay in the 1988 horror film, Child's Play. Her performance won her a 1988 Best Actress Saturn Award. In 1989, she starred opposite Tony Danza in She's Out of Control, as his girlfriend, Janet Pearson.

In 1991, She co-starred in the FOX-TV comedy-fantasy movie, Hi Honey - I'm Dead as Carol Stadler. She played Allison Ploutzer in the 1992, Jeff Franklin ABC comedy pilot, Up To No Good.  She starred with John Bedford Lloyd in the 1993 ABC comedy pilot, The Circle Game as the mother, and schoolteacher, Nancy.  Catherine played Julia Riordan, opposite John Lithgow and Lea Salonga, in the 1995 ABC Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, Redwood Curtain.

In 1996, she was cast as Annie Camden on The WB's family drama 7th Heaven. In 1997, Hicks played flight attendant, Maggie, one of Ray Liotta's victims in Turbulence. The same year, Hicks played next door neighbor, Ms. Lewis, in Michael Davis' coming-of-age film, Eight Days a Week.

In 2008, Hicks also starred in the Lifetime channel's movie Poison Ivy: The Secret Society as Dean Elisabeth Graves. Also in the 2009 Lifetime Movie Network film, Stranger with My Face, she played the widowed mother Shelley Stratton. She plays Mom in the 2009 independent short film You're a Wolf, co-starring with Michael Gross and Jesse Bradford. Hicks is featured in My Name Is Jerry, an independent film shot mostly in Muncie, Indiana. Hicks won the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role from the 2009 International Filmmakers Festival for her portrayal as Dana.

In 2010, Hicks received positive reviews for her role as Hildegarde, in playwright Christopher Durang's Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them at the Stella Adler Theater in Hollywood. She was Texas family court Judge Harriet Krammer in the 2011 Hallmark Channel movie, A Valentine's Date, (which was also released under the video title Your Love Never Fails). She played Jean in the 2011 Lifetime Movie Network movie, Borderline Murder. Hicks co-starred as Anna Walker in the 2011 Walmart and Procter & Gamble Family Movie Night drama on NBC called Game Time: Tackling the Past with Beau Bridges and Ryan McPartlin. Catherine joined actors Noah Wyle, Virginia Madsen, Mike Farrell, and others, in a September, 2011 reading of Windows on the World, by Colette Keen, at Hollywood's Stella Adler Theatre, commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11. In November 2011, she starred as Irene Livingston in the Jewish Repertory Theatre of Nevada's Las Vegas production of the Moss Hart play Light Up the Sky. Hicks played Ellen in the 2011 Hallmark Channel movie A Christmas Wedding Tail.

In May, 2012, Hicks played Annette Bramble in the Lifetime Network movie Shadow of Fear. Also in May, 2012, and into June, she performed in the play Princess, in The Blank Theatre Company's 20th Annual Young Playwrights Festival at The Stella Adler Theatre.

SciFi Diner Classic Ep. 22

Our Interview with Edward James Olmos

from Battlestar Galactica

(Shore Leave 32)

In our twenty-second episode of the SciFi Diner Classic, we interview actor interview Edward James Olmos from Battlestar Galactica. Since we do a news and interview show, it goes without saying that the news portion of our episodes often date themselves fast. And while the interviews with the people that make Science Fiction happen remain relevant and in our opinion important, most listeners will not listen back 100 episodes and wade through old news just to get to the interview. So what the SciFi Diner Classic aims to do is to share these interviews with you. If you have been with us from the beginning, then bear with us as we introduce some of our newer listeners to voices from the past. We're bringing you just the interview and nothing else.

Edward Jame Olmos

 Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is a Mexican American (with dual citizenship) 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 1988, Olmos was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the film Stand and Deliver.

He has also been a longtime pioneer for more diversified roles and images of Latinos in the U.S. media in addition to his most notable roles/work by him starring, directing and producing films, Made for TV Movies and TV shows such as American Me, The Burning Season, My Family/Mi Familia, 12 Angry Men, The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca, Walkout, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit and American Family: Journey of Dreams.

Yeah, that's right! My very first audiobook is available through Audible, iTunes, and Amazon. Earlier this spring I narrated the novel No Small Bills  from award-winning, best-selling author Aaron Rosenberg, in conjunction with Crossroads Press. What do you get when a cubical office worker with the head of a duck, a hot blonde, a plumber, and an FBI agent walk into a bar? You get No Small Bills and the hilarity that ensues.  No Small Bills is a Scifi-Comedy in line with the satire and wit of Douglas Adams, and let me tell you, it is hilarious.  I can't recall how many times I just laughed when I was narrating the book.  This resulted in much rerecording. I think what made DuckBob, the main character, such an identifiable hero for me is that he is so human, so much like a regular guy, and so me. Eh, so he has the head of a duck. Who doesn't at least feel that way sometimes? After awhile, I even kind of forgot it was there. But it was integral to the story. And then there is Mary...ah, Mary... And that's all your getting. You gotta listen to the book yourself. Below is a synopsis from the Audible.com page.

DuckBob Spinowitz has a problem. It isn't the fact that he has the head of a duck - the abduction was years ago and he's learned to live with it. But now those same aliens are back, and they claim they need his help! Apparently creatures from another reality are invading the universe, and only DuckBob can reset the device that maintains the barrier between dimensions. He reluctantly agrees to help, but how can a man whose only talents are bird calls and bad jokes, and whose only work experience is punching random buttons on a computer in a standard cubicle, be expected to save the universe?

 The best news:  the story doesn't end with this book. Too Small For Tall, the sequel, is set to be released in the coming months. No word yet on whether I'll be narrating it. So if you love audiobooks and haven't read this book yet, what are you waiting for? Get it now from Audible, iTunes, or Amazon. Even if you have read the book in digital or paper format, Aaron and I would love to have you support this endeavor.  Please consider buying the book. And in advance, we thank you very, very much.

Scott Hertzog 

**No Small Bills is the hilarious new science fiction novel from award-winning, best-selling author Aaron Rosenberg, who has written books for Eureka, Star Trek, WarCraft, and many others, and is also the author of the rousing Dread Remora space-opera series for Crossroad Press.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 149

Our Interview with Jane Wiedlin

(The Go-Gos and Star Trek IV)

From Shore Leave 34

The SciFi Diner Podcast

A 2012 Parsec Finalist

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Menu:

• Interview: Jane Wiedlin (Go Go's & Star Trek IV)
• Trivia:  Win Kate Mulgrew
• TV News: Ratings Highlights,  Fringe Trailers
• Movie News:  New Mad Max Movie
• Podio Book Review: The Heavenfield
• Special Interest: Star Wars Speeder Bike almost a reality.
• TWIST: New Star Trek Pod Cast produced by Rod Roddenberry,  Larry Nemecek releases past interviews on CD
• SciFi Five in Five:  10 Movies we should rewind.

New Trivia:

Trivia: In the context of the episodes of Warehouse 13 that aired on 2/13 and 2/20, what does it have in common with Stargate Universe? (Hint: IMDB is your friend if you don't watch Warehouse 13)

Prize: An Autographed copy of Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway)

You will have until September 18th to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person.   The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.

Promos

DVD Geeks Podcast

Cyborgs a Bionic Podcast

TV News:

Ratings

MONDAY

Teen Wolf (MTV)
1.72 million viewers/0.7

As we near its season-two finale, Teen Wolf continues to show consistent strength. It broke even in ratings score this week and picked up a few viewers. We'll see if the finale gives it a boost, but even if it doesn't this show has held steady and is already on its way to a third season.

Warehouse 13 (Syfy)
1.63 million viewers/0.6

After a big dip between weeks one and two, Warehouse 13 broke even in the third week of its fourth season. It's almost half a million viewers down from where it was this time last season, but don't count this show out yet. These numbers definitely aren't weak.

Alphas (Syfy)
1.37 million viewers/0.6

Alphas picked up a tenth of a ratings point and basically broke even in viewers this week. Like Warehouse 13, it's not where it was last year, but that ratings score is definitely strong for a show with a viewership this size.

THURSDAYLost Girl (Syfy)
1.17 million viewers/0.4

Four weeks into its new Friday night timeslot, Lost Girl is doing well. Not only is it putting up higher numbers than it was for many of its recent Monday nights, but it's performing much more consistently. As we near the season-two finale, this looks like a good move by Syfy.

SUNDAY
True Blood (HBO)
4.49 million viewers/2.6

True Blood dropped a tenth of a ratings point but still ruled Sunday night. With just two episodes left (and preseason football to contend with) until it ends its year, we'll see if it can hold on to that crown for the rest of season five.

Falling Skies (TNT)
3.46 million viewers/1.3

Falling Skies broke even in ratings but picked up a few viewers, and its numbers were good enough to earn it a strong third place finish Sunday night. The season finale is next week, and as we look forward to season three we'll also be finding out if this show can pull off a big ratings finish.

MUST SEE: TWO Brand New Teaser Trailers for Season 5 of FRINGE

WOW, four teaser trailers in two days, and from my three favorite TV shows? You shouldn’t have! But thank you, TV gods, thank you! Yesterday was American Horror Story: Asylum, earlier today was Doctor Who, and now we have TWO from our beloved Fringe. And like the other two shows’ teasers, these do not disappoint. The first is for the season in general, the second is said to be for the season premiere:

http://scifimafia.com/2012/08/must-see-two-brand-new-teaser-trailers-for-season-5-of-fringe/

Movie News:

Principal Photography On MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Is Officially Underway

Production on director George Miller‘s long-awaited film, Mad Max: Fury Road began early last month, but the production company has now announced the official start of principal photography on the film, and dropped a press release that includes character names and a brief synopsis from the director.

Check it out below!

Press Release:

Principal photography began 9 July on the dystopian action adventure “Mad Max: Fury Road,” a Kennedy Miller Mitchell production written and directed by “Mad Max” creator and Academy Award(R) winner George Miller (“Happy Feet”). The film will be presented by Warner Bros. Pictures in association with Village Roadshow Pictures. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

“Mad Max: Fury Road”–the fourth in the franchise’s history–stars Tom Hardy (“The Dark Knight Rises”) in the title role of Max Rockatansky, alongside Oscar(R) winner Charlize Theron (“Monster”, “Prometheus”) as Imperator Furiosa.

According to Miller, “Mad Max is caught up with a group of people fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by the Imperator Furiosa. This movie is an account of the Road War which follows. It is based on the Word Burgers of the History Men and eyewitness accounts of those who survived.”

“Mad Max: Fury Road” also stars Nicholas Hoult (“X-Men: First Class”) as Nux; Hugh Keays-Byrne (“Mad Max,” “Sleeping Beauty”) as Immortan Joe; and Nathan Jones (“Conan the Barbarian”) as Rictus Erectus. Collectively known as The Wives, Zoe Kravitz (“X-Men: First Class”) plays Toast, Riley Keough (“Magic Mike”) is Capable, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”) is Splendid. They are joined by supermodel Abbey Lee Kershaw as The Dag and Courtney Eaton as Fragile, both of whom are making their big screen debuts. Also featured in the movie are Josh Helman as Slit, Jennifer Hagan as Miss Giddy, and singer/songwriter/performer iOTA as Coma-Doof Warrior.

The cast is rounded out by well-known Australian actors John Howard, Richard Carter, supermodel Megan Gale, Angus Sampson, Joy Smithers, Gillian Jones, Melissa Jaffer and Melita Jurisic.

Miller is directing the film from a screenplay he wrote with Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris. Miller also produces the film, along with longtime producing partner, Oscar(R) nominee Doug Mitchell (“Babe,” “Happy Feet”), and P.J. Voeten. Iain Smith, Graham Burke and Bruce Berman serve as executive producers.

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes Academy Award(R)-winning director of photography John Seale (“The English Patient”); action unit director and stunt coordinator Guy Norris (“Australia”); editor Margaret Sixel (“Happy Feet”); production designer Colin Gibson (“Babe”); Oscar(R)-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan (“A Room with a View”); and makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt (“Knowing”).

Shooting on “Mad Max: Fury Road” is taking place in Africa with the support of the Australian government. Originally slated to be shot in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, the production was forced to relocate due to severe flooding, rendering the Australian landscape unsuitable for the film. The rain turned the area into an oasis instead of the post-apocalyptic terrain that is the setting for Max’s world.

Mad Max: Fury Road starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Megan Gale, Hugh Keays-Byrne and Nathan Jones, currently has no official release date.

Special Interest: Video:

Company develops REAL Star Wars speeder bikes hovercraft
Video: Company develops REAL Star Wars speeder bikes hovercraft

Of all the cool tech to pop up in the Star Wars series, the speeder bikes from the epic Episode VI: Return of the Jedi chase scene are some of the coolest. They're fast, dangerous and pure hovercraft fiction. (Well, maybe not that last one for much longer.)

A California-based company called Aerofex seems to think it's figured out how to actually make a two-duct rotor hovercraft work. The design originated in the 1960s, but it was never perfected to provide actual usability for a rider.

Enter Aerofex, who added knee-level control bars to the system, and their prototype has actually worked pretty well in the first round of tests.

The only problem? The company still has a lot of testing to do, and at the moment they've capped human flights at 15 feet high and 30 mph—though the bike can apparently move about as fast as a helicopter in the right environment.

Early stages or not, Aerofex founder Mark De Roche believes the hover vehicle has the potential to be the "next big thing" in personal transportation. He said via Yahoo:

"Think of it as lowering the threshold of flight, down to the domain of ATV's (all-terrain vehicles) ... It essentially captures the translations between the two in three axis (pitch, roll and yaw), and activates the aerodynamic controls required to counter the movement -- which lines the vehicle back up with the pilot. Since [the pilot's] balancing movements are instinctive and constant, it plays out quite effortlessly to him."

So when can you get one of these bad boys and live out your Return of the Jedi fantasies? The company has drone testing scheduled through the end of 2013, so it'll be at least 2014-2015 before these could actually be available to the general public.

But it definitely looks worth the wait:

 Podiobook Review:

Heaven Field - Ian Hulme

This week in Star Trek:

Rod Roddenberry Talks Mission Log: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

A brand new podcast has hit the cyber "airwaves" recently and is set to examine every single episode of Star Trek. The best part about the new show is that it's a Roddenberry Entertainment production. Mission Log, hosted by DVD Geeks' John Champion and "Mac OS Ken" Ken Ray, will start with the TOS pilot "The Cage" and run all the way through the final episode of Enterprise.

With the new episode launched last week, we got the chance to ask executive producer Rod Roddenberry a few questions about the new show.

SSC: It seems that the podcast will be a continuation of the themes explored in Trek Nation.  What else can Trek fans expect from the new show?

RR: In many respects the podcast is an extension of my journey documented in Trek Nation. I always wanted the opportunity to examine the philosophy of each Star Trek episode from the Roddenberry perspective and get to the core of what has been inspiring fans for decades. I’m excited fans will be able to explore these themes with me.

SSC: Will you be hosting the podcast?  If not, who will be, and will you be joining them from time to time?

RR: Veteran podcasters and Star Trek aficionados John Champion and Ken Ray will host the show, and I’m definitely looking forward to being a guest on the show from time to time. John and Ken will offer a balanced yet critical analysis of the underlying themes, metaphors and subtexts intertwined in each Star Trek episode. They’ll dialogue around the plot points, principles and philosophies of Star Trek and how it relates to humanity both during its original airings and today. There will be plenty of wit and humor to balance their analysis. John and Ken are very entertaining, sometimes agreeing and sometimes disagreeing, but always looking at multiple perspectives.

SSC: Can we expect any sound clips or media from the Roddenberry archives?

RR: The podcast will feature items from the Roddenberry archives. I’ve offered up some rare historic resources I found in my family’s archive, such as my father’s handwritten notes on original scripts.

SSC: What can Trek fans expect on each episode?

RR: The podcast will examine each episode of the Star Trek TV series’ starting with the series pilot, “The Cage,” and progress sequentially through the final season of Enterprise and include all animated productions and movies in between.

Be sure to check out the official website for Mission log, where you can download each episode as they're made available. You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.

Larry Nemecek Presents TREKLAND: On Speaker “Future Voices, Passed”

The digital age has brought us a wealth of supplemental material about Star Trek. But no one has spent more face time with the franchise’s actors and creators than “Dr. Trek” himself, Larry Nemecek.

Now, in the first disc of “TREKLAND: On Speaker,” Larry digs into his archives for interviews with Trek luminaries who have since left us. “Future Voices, Passed” offers never-before-heard material with Michael Piller, Mark Lenard, Jerry Fleck, and Bob Justman.

We had the pleasure here at Trek.fm of working with Larry on the project, as our publisher, Christopher Jones, designed the album packaging and worked on the audio along with Ted Peterson.

Larry offered the first disc as an exclusive at Star Trek Las Vegas earlier this month. The special con edition was limited to 50 discs.

For those interested who could not make it to STLV, Larry is making some additional copies available for purchase by mail. If you’re interested in picking up these rare interviews, drop Larry a line of over on his website larrynemecek.com.

For a preview, watch the video below, which we put together for Star Trek Las Vegas.

Sci Fi 5@5:

Jen from NY

And as for my five of five rematch movies you guy's should do is, Galaxy Quest, either Star Trek 3 & or 4, & does Big Trouble in Little China count as a scifi/fantasy movie?!  I guess they have it as Action/Adventure/Comedy?!  Back to the Future or I could be their for Terminator 2!  These are some really tough choices cause they are all so good. I also just wanted to add another Five of Five movie picks, just cause it is so hard to choose from!  But here are some other Sci fi movie 5 of 5; The Fifth Element, Flash Gordon, Space balls, young Frankenstein, & Ghostbusters!

SciFi Diner Conversations 63

Listener's Weigh In On Total Recall 2012,

Zombie's Run, the Falling Skies Finale,

Our Logan's Run Review, Fall TV Series,

Nathan Lowell and More. 

The SciFi Diner Special Edition Episode

Fringe: Endings and New Beginnings - Shore Leave 34

Sunday morning at the Shore Leave 34 Convention in Baltimore, Maryland a Fringe event happened. Scott and Niel helmed a panel discussing Fringe's past season and our expectations for season 5. This is a recording of what ensued.

On this SciFi Rewind, Scott and Miles from the SciFi Diner Podcast and J.P. Harvey rewatch Logan's Run, a masterpiece in the Science Fiction, and share their favorite scenes and delve deep into the facts and stories behind it. The episode is rounded out with listener thoughts and feedback as well. In our next rewatch, we will be rewatching the iconic film Starship Troopers. Be sure to watch Starship Troopers with us and send in your thoughts by September 4th.  If you want to share your SciFi Rewind with us and have us talk about it on the show or if you want to comment on our rewinds, please e-mail us at scifirewind@gmail.com (you can attach an mp3 audio file if you want) or call us at 18885084343.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 148b

Our Interview with LeVar Burton

(Star Trek: The Next Generation, The TV Mini-series Roots,

and The Reading Rainbow) 

Download the Episode here.

The SciFi Diner Podcast

A 2012 Parsec Finalist

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Interview: LeVar Burton

The Reading Rainbow App

From the site: Hello story lovers! Great adventures are only as far away as the nearest book! Here are two books we’ve found in the Reading Rainbow iPad App that will take you and your child off on some wonderful adventures. In What a Treasure, by Jane and Will Hillenbrand, Mole goes searching for treasure and finds the most priceless treasure of all, a new friend. And then in, Pirate Boy, written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Julie Fortenberry, Danny wonders what would happen if he sailed away on a pirate ship, and his mother reassures him that she would find him no matter what. Great adventures are only as far away as the nearest book! Open one up and see where it takes you and your child!

Levardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. (born February 16, 1957), professionally known as LeVar Burton, is an American actor, director, producer, andauthor.

Burton first came to prominence portraying Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries Roots, based on the novel by Alex Haley. He is also well known for his role as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as the host of the PBS children's program Reading Rainbow.

Early life

Burton was born to American parents at the U.S. Army Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in West Germany. His mother, Erma Jean (born Christian), was a social worker, administrator, and educator. His father, Levardis Robert Martyn Burton, was a photographer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and at the time was stationed at Landstuhl. Burton and his two sisters were raised by his mother in Sacramento, California. Burton was raisedCatholic and, at the age of thirteen, entered St. Pius X seminary in Galt, California to become a priest. He attended Christian Brothers High School and graduated in the class of 1974. He is a graduate of University of Southern California's School of Theatre.

Roots

LeVar Burton rose to prominence in 1977 when he played Kunta Kinte in the ABC award-winning drama series Roots. Burton's audition for the role of Kinte was the first of his professional career. As a result of his performance, he was nominated for the Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Burton reprised the role of Kunta Kinte in the 1988 television film Roots: The Gift. When asked about the societal impacts of Roots, Burton is quoted as saying, "It expanded the consciousness of people. Blacks and whites began to see each other as human beings, not as stereotypes. And if you throw a pebble into the pond, you're going to get ripples. I think the only constant is change, and it's always slow. Anything that happens overnight is lacking in foundation. Roots is part of a changing trend, and it's still being played out."

Early career

Burton played a role as a visitor to Fantasy Island, was a participant in Battle of the Network Stars, a guest of the Muppet Show's televised premiere party for the release of The Muppet Movie, and a frequent guest on several game shows. In 1986, he appeared in the music video for the song "Word Up!" by the funk/R&B group Cameo.

Burton accepted an invitation to host Rebop, a multicultural series designed for young people ages 9–15, produced by WGBH for PBS.

Burton was host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 21 seasons, making it one of the longest running children's programs on the network. Furthermore, the series garnered several awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and twenty-six Emmy Awards, ten of which were in the "Outstanding Children's Series" category.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached him with the role of the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. La Forge is blind, but is granted "sight" through the use of a prosthetic device called a VISOR, which is worn over his eyes. La Forge is the USS Enterprise's helmsman, and as of the show's second season, its Chief Engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to the fame he gained from starring in Roots. The Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock."

Burton also portrayed La Forge in the subsequent feature films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, beginning with Star Trek Generations in 1994 through 2002's Star Trek Nemesis. Burton directed the season two episode of Star Trek: Voyager titled "Dreadnought." Burton also directed and appeared in the season five episode of Star Trek: Voyager titled "Timeless" and directed several episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise.

Other appearances

On television, Burton has helped dramatize the last days of Jim Jones's suicide cult in Guyana, the life and times of Jesse Owens, and the life of the nine-year-old Booker T. Washington. He portrayed Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 2001 film Ali. He also portrayed Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore in the television movie One in a Million, The Ron LeFlore Story.

In 1987, Burton played Dave Robinson, a journalist (sports writer), in the third season of Murder, She Wrote, episode 16 "Death Takes a Dive" starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher.

He has also lent his voice to several animated projects including Kwame in the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–1993) andThe New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993–1996), Family Guy, Batman: The Animated Series, and Gargoyles. Burton is on the audio version ofThe Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Burton has been cast as voice actor for Black Lightning in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD.

Burton appeared several times as a celebrity guest on the Dick Clark–hosted Pyramid, from 1982 until 1988. Burton also was the strongest link in the special Star Trek episode of The Weakest Link. He defeated his final opponent Robert Picardo and won $167,500 for his charity, a record for the show at that time and the largest amount won in any Celebrity Edition of the show (it was later surpassed by a $189,500 win in a "Tournament of Losers" episode).

He has made appearances in such sitcoms as Becker.

Burton is the host and executive producer of a documentary titled The Science of Peace, which was in production as of 2007. It investigates the science and technology aimed at enabling world peace, sometimes called peace science. The film explores some of the concepts of shared noetic consciousness, having been sponsored in part by theInstitute of Noetic Sciences.

He appeared in an April Fool's episode of Smosh pretending to have taken over the channel and making various edits at popular Smosh videos.

He makes occasional appearances on This Week in Tech, where he is a self-proclaimed "nerd", and also participated in the Consumer Electronics Show2010.

In 2010, he made an appearance on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as the ghost of himself in the episode "Greene Machine".

In February 2011, Burton made an appearance as himself on NBC's Community in the episode "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking" and the following week on CBS's The Big Bang Theory in the episode "The Toast Derivation".

Directing

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Burton directed episodes for each of the various Star Trek series then in production. He has directed more Star Trek episodes than any other former regular cast member.

Burton is on the board of directors for the Directors Guild of America.

Burton has also directed episodes of Charmed, JAG, Las Vegas, and Soul Food: The Series, as well as the miniseries Miracle's Boys and the documentary The Tiger Woods Story.

His first theatrical film direction was 2003's Blizzard for which he received a "Best of Fest" award from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, and a Genie Award nomination for his work on the film's theme song, "Center of My Heart."

He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House starring Katey Sagal, Kevin Kilner and Jessica Steen.

His most recent directorial project Reach for Me, in which he also played a supporting role, was released in theaters in March 2008. The film was produced by longtime producer and exec Mark Wolfe, whom Burton officially teamed with in 2010, forming Burton/Wolfe Entertainment. BWE will produce motion pictures, television, web content and more. Says Burton, "We are looking to tell stories everywhere there will be a screen, BWE will be there. That is our plan."

Personal life

Burton married make-up artist Stephanie Cozart Burton in 1992, and in 1994 they had a daughter, Michaela "Mica" Jean Burton. Burton and his wife and daughter currently live in Sherman Oaks, California. A DNA test linked Burton to the Hausa people of Nigeria.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 148a

Reflections on Shore Leave 34;

Thoughts on Looper, and More

Download the Episode here.

The SciFi Diner Podcast

A 2012 Parsec Finalist

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Menu:

• Interview is with LeVar Burton and will be released as a separate podcast.
• Trivia:  Find out who won Kate Vernon
• TV News: Space 1999 coming back? TV ratings highlights
• Movie News:  Looper Poster & Trailer
• Book Review: Re-Deus by Crazy 8 Press
• TWIST: Trek Nation DVD debuts at Vegas Con, Michael Dorn’s kickstarter project
• SciFi Five in Five:  Top Shore Leave Moments

Trivia:

Question: In the episode of Falling Skies "The Armory": Having captured Tom and the others during the raid on the armory, John Pope gives Tom this nickname. What is it?

The Answer: Papa Smurf

Prize: A signed Kate Vernon Print

Out Winner:  Gary Green

Promos

Trek News and Views Podcast

What the Cast Podcast

TV News:

Latest sci-fi TV reboot: V's producers bringing back Space: 1999

Here comes another sci-fi remake. The folks behind ABC's V (circa 2009) are tackling a new series. Get ready for a revamped version of Space: 1999.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, ITV Studios America and HDFilms have announced plans to unveil a "re-imagining" of the sci-fi series, which will be called Space: 2099.
The original program ran for two seasons (1975—1977) and starred Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. As expected, the story took place in 1999 and followed the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, a space research center stationed on—you guessed it, the moon.
HDFilms president Jace Hall (who brought us the new V) claims that Space: 2099 will feature familiar themes taken from the original.
"We are indeed re-imagining the franchise and bringing something new and relevant to today's audiences," said Hall. "I feel strongly that some of the overall tones set by the original Space: 1999television show represent an exciting platform to explore possibilities."
Do you feel concerned? A lot of space-centric shows have come and gone since 1977. How will they make Space: 2099 stick out from the rest of the pack?
Will you be tuning in to Space: 2099? Or will you stick to the original?

Warehouse 13 starts strong, True Blood rules + 32 other genre shows

Movie News:  

Looper Trailer

In the futuristic action thriller Looper, time travel will be invented – but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past, where a “looper” – a hired gun, like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good… until the day the mob decides to “close the loop,” sending back Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination. The film is written and directed by Rian Johnson and also stars Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, and Jeff Daniels.

Joss Whedon WILL be back for Avengers 2 (But wait, there's more!)

It's been three months since Joss Whedon's The Avengers hit theaters and became one of the biggest movies ever, and ever since we saw it we've been wondering if Whedon would come back to bring his particular brand of awesome to a sequel. Well, now it's official—but apparently Avengers 2 isn't the only thing we can expect from Earth's Mightiest Director.
The news came courtesy of Marvel's owner, Disney, when Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Iger announced Whedon's return during a call discussing the company's latest earnings reports on Tuesday. But Iger made it clear this is about more than just a movie. He wants to "leverage the power of the Avengers" as much as possible, and in that spirit Whedon will also be moving to the small screen to develop a TV series for Marvel.
That's right. Joss Whedon's returning to TV in the Marvel Universe.
We don't know yet what exactly this TV project will focus on, or when we'll see it, but this definitely confirms the Marvel collaboration with ABC we heard about last week. And with Guillermo del Toro still working on his own Hulk TV show, we could be set up for a very big TV push for Marvel in the coming years.
Of course, we knew already that Avengers 2 would be headed our way (with more than $1 billion at the box office for the first one, how could it not be?), but the official addition of Whedon to the second flick definitely adds a thick new layer of interest, not to mention a strong built-in audience. And after all the epic badassery Whedon brought to the first film, we can only imagine what he'll do with the second, especially with that awesome mid-credits villain setup.

Book Review:

ReDeus: Divine Tales

The gods came back.

All of them!

The change promised by the ending of the Mayan Calendar in 2012 manifested itself in an unexpected manner. Every pantheon of gods and goddess, from every belief the world over have returned … changing the world forever.

As the pantheons settle into their ancestral lands, they vie for worshippers, gaining or losing power along the way. They find the world of man a bewildering crazy quilt and each wishes to remake their lands in their own image.

Come and meet some of the inhabitants of this strangely familiar world in eleven new tales that explore what it means to worship in this new reality. But while the tales may be new, the stories are as old as time itself.

Chronicling this new tomorrow are David Galanter, Allyn Gibson, Phil Giunta, Robert Greenberger, Paul Kupperberg, William Leisner, Scott Pearson, Aaron Rosenberg, Lawrence R. Schoen, Dayton Ward, and Steven H. Wilson.

This week in Star Trek:

Trek Nation Screenings At Star Trek Las Vegas, Plus Exclusive Documentary DVD

By Captain Pyke

If there are few things in the world that live up to they hype built around them, Trek Nation has got to be one of the shinning examples. We've been writing about the the Roddenberry Productions documentary for years now and after seeing it in November of last year, it was definitely worth the wait. Now, you can check out the film twice at the biggest licensed Star Trek convention on the planet.

That's right kiddies, Rod Roddenberry and Roddenberry Productions will be screening Trek Nation at Creation Entertainment's Star Trek Las Vegas Convention... or as we loving call it... Vegas Khhaaan! August 9th & 10th at 8pm respectively, Rod will be sharing his documentary with the Trek faithful (with a Q&A session August 10th at 4:30 p.m.). If you can't make it, we'll be there live blogging the event. Otherwise, get your Andorian and or Vulcan buns down to the panel.

If that isn't enough, we've got an exclusive, Roddenberry Productions will be offering a special edition DVD release of Trek Nation with commentary from producers Rod Roddenberry & Trevor Roth. Yup, it's your first chance to get your hands on a physical copy of Trek nation... don't miss it!

You can learn more about the special Trek Nation screenings at Roddenberry.com.

Through the Fire - Life After Star Trek

by Michael Dorn

A new film created by and starring Star Trek actors

"Through The Fire" is a romantic comedy about a couple of dazzling New York urbanites who are set-up on the worst blind date ever, only to find out they have more in common than they realize. Despite their professional differences (she is an acclaimed Broadway actress and he is the theater critic who gave her a horrible review) they cannot get each other out of their minds. "Through The Fire" shows what happens in the ultimate battle between the head and the heart.

I am making this movie, along with several of my friends from Star Trek, because we want to get back to the craft of filmmaking. Our formula is simple…. great script, great actors, great crew, and great directing, equals great profitability.

We also want to show the the people who run Hollywood that "sci-fi" fans are not only interested in science fiction, but are multidimensional and a force to be reckoned with.

Directing this movie means "Freedom" for me. All I've ever wanted from the beginning is to have the artistic freedom to choose the projects that speak to me and this is my chance. Why Kickstarter? I love the Internet. It's one of the most useful tools ever invented and we are just starting to see the potential for artists to get their projects directly out to the people. Your help will make this movie a reality and everything you pledge will go straight to toward that goal.

Like Worf, the character I have played for so many years, I have always had a strong "logical/rebellious" or "Logibellious" streak in me. From an early age people have told me what I can and can't do. It was nothing malicious, but my logical mind would look around and see examples of other individuals doing exactly what I was told couldn't be done. I had to ask my favorite question... "Why?"

My favorite answer is "Why not?" Without exception, this has led to great success.

From the film "Field of Dreams," "If you build it, they will come." Together, let's make this dream a reality.

Sci Fi 5@5: Top 5 moments at Shoreleave

In this listener feedback show, Listener's Weigh In On Dark Knight Rises, Alphas, Warehouse 13, the Art of the Celebrity Interview, Future Trailers, and More.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 147

Our Interview with Mur Lafferty

(Playing For Keeps, Nanovor: Hacked!,

Marco and the Red Granny, and The Afterlife Series)

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Interview: Mur Lafferty

2012 John W. Campbell nominee Mur Lafferty is a writer, podcast producer, editor, gamer, geek, and martial artist. She also makes a mean martini. Her books include Playing For Keeps, Nanovor: Hacked!, Marco and the Red Granny, and The Afterlife Series. Her podcasts are many. Currently she is the editor of Escape Pod magazine, the host of I Should Be Writing, and the host of the Angry Robot Books Podcast. She also does a show with her daughter, Mad Science with Princess Scientist. She writes a column for the gaming magazine The Escapist, and in the past she's written for Knights of the Dinner Table, Games Quarterly, Suicide Girls, and Anime Insider.

She runs, practices kung fu (Northern Shaolin five animals style), plays Skyrim, hangs out with her fabulous geeky husband and her nine year old daughter.

SciFi Diner Classic Ep. 21

Our interview with Torri Higginson

(TekWar and Stargate: Atlantis)

"Torri" Higginson

Sarah Victoria "Torri" Higginson (born Burlington, Ontario, December 6, 1969) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles in the TekWar movies and series, The English Patient, Bliss, and Stargate Atlantis. She is also a theater actress and has appeared in Three Tall Women, Weldon Rising and Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

Career

In 1995, two years prior to Stargate SG-1's premiere, Higginson starred in the movie Jungleground with three other actors from the Stargate franchise: Peter Williams (Apophis), JR Bourne (Martouf), and Lexa Doig (Dr. Lam).

Higginson took over the role of Dr. Elizabeth Weir from Jessica Steen in a guest spot on the season eight opener of Stargate SG-1. She was then carried over as the leader of the Atlantis expedition on Stargate Atlantis and continued playing that role until the end of the show's third season, afterwards being reduced from a main cast member to a recurring role in the fourth season. She did not reprise the role for the show's fifth season.

Awards

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 146

Our Interview with J.W. Holmes and Mark Brayer

(Creators of the comic book The Nordic)

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Interview: J.W. Holmes and Mark Brayer

J.W. HOLMES

J.W. Holmes is the former CEO and Chairman of a FOX News Radio affilate, he was an executive producer and host of a local ESPN show, a broadcaster, producer, currently an author, and a U.S. Army veteran. He began his career in writing in the early 1990's. His screenplay for "The Nordic" was first pitched to the BBC and Sky in the UK market, later transforming it into a sci-fi book selling in 7 countries, thus giving way to the comic book series for the book of the same name.

MARK BRAYER

Mark Brayer is a freelance illustrator/cartoonist with his own studio, Lightspeed Studios, and has been working in the field for over 25 years. He has created a vast amount of art from greeting cards, comic books, illustrated characters, book covers and illustrations, magazines, corporate logos and branding, websites and graphic design. Mark has been drawing since he was very young. "I drew all the time--at home, school, wherever I could find a piece of blank paper. I would sit down for hours and fill the page with drawings...By creating and drawing things around me, it opened the door to my imagination, and new creations have been coming out ever since.” He not only loves bringing life to his own creations, but teaching the craft as well. He has taught cartoon workshops for kids at schools and libraries whenever he has the chance. "They love it when they learn how easy it can be to create a cartoon character of their very own...it makes their day." Mark resides in Indiana with his wife and daughter.

ABOUT THE NORDIC

"The Nordic" is a comic book series based on the adventures of William Davidson who is singled out by an alien race to find the truth of the human race here on Earth.

Taking place in the UK in a town called Sunbury, "The Nordic" is a story of William Davidson, who discovers his genetic make-up is far closer to those of the Nordic alien race than anyone else's on Earth. Because of his near perfect DNA, he has been sought out and befriended by a liaison of the Nordics named Bertil, to mentor and prepare him for announcing the truth of human history on Earth and how we came to be. But first, William and Bertil must work together to find out what that true history is! Beaten down constantly, William must persevere through the annoying trials given to him by his political power-hungry aunt, out run the real Men in Black, as well as outhink, although sometimes ally with, the U.S. military who are trespassing on UK soil to keep William quiet about whatever truths he finds, and battle back nefarious aliens who also have reasons to keep William quiet, all the while somehow keeping his personal life somewhat balanced.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

They have a kickstarter campaign with some perks you just gotta check out.  You can do so here.

What Will the Money Be Going For?

After Kickstarter takes their percentage and taxes are paid on your contributions, the remainder will be used to help us get over the hump of printing cost, mass marketing, promo materials, and lets not forget the expense of conventions, something we are in dire need to being able to do to successfully make this a strong year for The Nordic.

Launching The Nordic

If our Kickstarter campaign goes well, we will be able to run first printing almost immediately, giving us the ability to launch in print and digitally with 30-45 days, so we should have the first issue of The Nordic in stores by August. If we overshoot our budget and depending by how much, we should be able to have the next issue out right away after that, the following month of the month after. On thing Mark and agree on is 1) not making readers wait long for the next issue, and 2) giving readers not only strong artwork, but also a strong detailed story-line. This is what we deliver in The Nordic. The Nordic is not another b&w comic, but is in full color. Directly after launching comic book series, the fiction book for The Nordic will be released and we will start in on a graphic novel for the holidays, hopefully. All this depends on whether or not we have a successful campaign here on Kickstarter, and how much we overshoot our mark on here as well.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 145

The Art of the Celebrity Interview Panel at Farpoint 2012

(Steve Wilson, Miles, and Scott)

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

What is Farpoint Con?

FARPOINT is an annual gathering for fans of all genres of imaginative fiction - Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, SuperHeroes - in all the media formats in which they might appear - Cinematic Movies, Television, Direct to DVD , Books on Tape, Podcasts, Web Video - you name it, we want to celebrate it!

The con was established in 1993, by a committee led by Bev Volker and Steve Wilson.

Our focus is on Fandom, and all the wonderful, creative people who comprise it. Our mission is to encourage, to educate, to enable. So, while we certainly bring in some exciting professionals from the industries which bring imagination into the mainstream, our real goal is to give you the opportunity to meet others like yourself, to forge friendships, and to develop your own creative gifts.

We're here to welcome you, so, if you don't see what you're looking for, drop us a line. We're always happy to help.

SciFi Diner Conversations 61

Digital Versus Paper Comics: Listener's Weigh In;

Listener's Also Review Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and 

Iron Sky, Discuss the Potential Stargate Movie, 

The Arrow (CW), and Star Trek on TV.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 144

Our Interview with Michael Dougherty

(Z*Con & Browncoats Redemption)

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Interview: Michael Dougherty (Z*Con & Browncoats Redemption)

What is Z*Con?

Z*Con is feature length film about four teen podcasters who are trapped at a comic convention when the zombie apocalypse breaks out. They use social media to share what’s going on inside with the outside world. It’s kind of like “Goonies” meets “Shaun of the Dead” set in…well….a comic convention.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 143

Our Interview with Nathan Lowell

(Author of the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper Novels)

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 142

Our Interview with Tara Platt and Yuri Lowenthal

(Creators of Shelf Life and Con Artists) 

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Menu:

• Interview:  Our Interview with Tara Platt and Yuri Lowenthal (Creators of Shelf Life and Con Artists) 
• Trivia:  You can win Kate Vernon
• TV News: Tom Baker Returns, 10 Emmy-worthy sci-fi performances we're hoping earn a nomination
• Movie News:  A Swinging Time at the box office....Robocop sneak peaks, Roland Emerich eyes a possible ID4 Sequel and Star Gate.
• PodioBook Review: Star Wars: In the Shadows
• Con Update: Chris and Charity
• TWIST: Karl Urban reveals possible villain.  Robert Orci says  who won’t be in the new movie.
• SciFi Five in Five:  Chris and Charity share top recent con moments.

Trivia:

Question: In the episode of Falling Skies "The Armory": Having captured Tom and the others during the raid on the armory, John Pope gives Tom this nickname. What is it?

Prize: A signed Kate Vernon Print

You will have until August 7 to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person.   The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.

Promos

Cyborgs: A Bonic Podcast

Trekcast Podcast

Our Interview:

SHELF LIFE (web-series) is an irreverent single-camera live action comedy web-series about 4 action figures on a young boy's shelf.

Based on an idea by Tara Platt, Season One directed by Paul Jenkins, written by Yuri Lowenthal and Paul Jenkins and produced by Monkey Kingdom Productions and Ultimatum Entertainment; Season Two directed by Steven Calcote, written by Yuri Lowenthal.

Featuring Travis Willingham as Hero Man, Tara Platt as Hero Lass, Yuri Lowenthal as Bug Boy and Bryan Enk as Samurai Snake. Anyone who is a fan of comics, action figures, comedy and irreverent humor is in for a treat!

TV News:

Tom Baker will return for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary after all

Dust off your long, winding scarves, dear fellow Whovians, and stock up on those jelly babies, because it looks like Tom Baker is definitely returning for Doctor Who's big whopping 50th-anniversary bash next year.
The Daily Express reports that the 78-year old actor is going to reprise his role in 2013, the year of the big timey-wimey shindig.
A show insider has revealed that Baker—who played the Fourth Doctor for seven seasons, from 1974 to 1981—will join forces with the current Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, to celebrate the show's half-century milestone:
"It will be fitting to have Tom back to mark the 50 years. He was a big part of the show's success and is much-loved by the fans."
Not too long ago we told you that Baker was willing to return to Who—perhaps because of his notorious absence during the 20th-anniversary special, "The Five Doctors," which he had refused to do—IF he was asked nicely.
"I think if they ask me nicely or I can see what they want me to do, I'd consider it. I think the fans have been so good to me, they'd expect me to at least make an appearance."
As for the details surrounding that special episode, the Doctor Who honchos are keeping mum on that little anniversary thingie, but there are speculations (when are there not?) that the special will serve as Matt Smith's last hurrah as the beloved Time Lord, even though the actor has stated that he wanted to stick with the role for, well, like forever.
So what do you guys think of this news? Are you excited that Tom Baker will get to step back into the TARDIS for the 50th once more? And do you believe it will also serve as Matt Smith's last appearance on Who?

10 Emmy-worthy sci-fi performances we're hoping earn a nomination

We're still a few weeks away from seeing who got nominated for an Emmy, and until the official announcement, we plan on living in hope that some of these stellar sci-fi performances of the past year manage to make the cut.
It's a cutthroat business getting an Emmy nomination, and it tends to be even tougher for performers from sci-fi series. But that doesn't mean there aren't tons of worthy competitors out there.

So here are 10 sci-fi actors and actresses that definitely deserve to be included come July 19.

Jason Isaacs, NBC's Awake
The show may have mostly been ignored by the viewing public, but this short-lived series about a man living two lives was one of the highest concepts we've seen in years—and star Jason Isaacs knocked it out of the park as a father and husband dealing with the loss of his son and wife in different realities.

Jon Bernthal, AMC's The Walking Dead
Bernthal's Shane was one of the most hated characters in the show's second season, but he was also one of the craziest, most tragic and most nuanced characters on television. His arc kept season two moving, and the epic conclusion was positively insane.

Peter Dinklage, HBO's Game of Thrones
Dinklage's portrayal of Tyrion Lannister is one of the highlights of this hit fantasy series, and we wouldn't be too surprise if he followed up his Emmy win last year with another nomination in 2012.

Benedict Cumberbatch, PBS (BBC)'s Sherlock
Cumberbatch is one of the greatest actors on television today, and with a few major films coming down the pike, the actor is poised to be a much bigger name very soon. But it's his fantastic turn in Steven Moffat's hit Sherlock series that really put him on the map.

John Noble, Fox's Fringe
Everybody's favorite mad scientist, Dr. Walter Bishop, is the glue that holds this series together, and Noble was able to take the character through several transformations this past season due to the shifting timelines.

Jessica Lange, FX's American Horror Story
Jessica Lange was, hands down, the best thing about the first season of FX's creepily awesome horror series—and she was just a supporting actress. Lange is definitely worthy of a nomination, and a win, for her unforgettable turn as the cold-blooded Constance.

Anna Torv, Fox's Fringe
Torv is asked to do a lot of things as agent Olivia Dunham, and her ability to ground even the most fantastical sci-fi plot point in reality makes her more than worthy of a nomination. After everything her character went through in the latest season, plus her turn playing alt-reality versions of herself, Torv has definitely earned some respect.

Lena Headey, HBO's Game of Thrones
Her role in this fantasy drama is definitely different than her awesome take on Sarah Connor in Fox's short-lived Terminator series, but her character grew into one of the most exciting in the series during the latest season.

Karen Gillan, BBC America's Doctor Who
Amy Pond has been a highlight of Steven Moffat's run on this classic British sci-fi series, and she has definitely shown her strength as an actress tackling some of last season's storylines dealing with the theft of her daughter.

Anna Paquin, HBO's True Blood
Despite its age, the hit vamp soap remains a big draw at HBO, and Anna Paquin is still the one that ties it all together.

So who would get YOUR vote?

Movie News:

"Amazing Spider-Man" Swings To Top Spot

The Amazing Spider-Man got off to a sizzling start and then continued to do solid business, sending the reboot of the superhero franchise to the top spot at the box-office. In its opening weekend, the movie took in $65 million and since it’s opening last Tuesday has taken in $140 million.
That figure is off from where each of the Sam Raimi directed installments opened, but is probably still enough to get a second and third installment of the proposed trilogy about the web-slinger.
Meanwhile, last week’s top money earner Ted dropped a spot to second with $32.5 million. Third place went to Pixar’s Brave with $20.1 million.
Oliver Stone’s new movie Savages opened in fourth with $16.1 million and Magic Mike rounded out the top five with $15.6 million.

Omnicorp's products revealed in 1st viral peek at RoboCop reboot

We're still more than a year away from the release of director Jose Padilha's RoboCop, but with the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con right around the corner the filmmakers have rolled out our first official glimpses of the reboot. The mega-company Omnicorp has a website, and they're promising all kinds of robotic goodies.

The fictional company's official web presence went live this weekend to tease us with the various powers and creations of the corporation that gives birth to RoboCop himself. The site is still only one page, but there's a lot to look at.
First of all, there's the re-designed ED-209, which you can see above. Then there's the XT-908 aerial drone that could end up playing up a big part in the new technological landscape of the reboot. And if you look a little further down the page, you'll notice a project in development called the RC-2000, "When Human Resources Meet Robotic Engineering."
But most exciting is the video unveiling the Omnicorp product line, including ED-209 and the XT-908. Yes, it's the first real footage we've seen from the flick, but more important than that, you get to watch ED-209 blow stuff up

 

Roland Emmerich Eyes Another Independence Day and More Stargate

It's been some time since his Stargate and Independence Day hit theaters in the 1990s, but director Roland Emmerich today tells The Hollywood Reporter that both sci-fi properties could be headed back to the big screen.
Independence Day, which is slated for a 3D re-release on July 3rd of next year, would go the sequel route and Emmerich has been working with his former creative partner Dean Devlin to get the story together.
"[C]reatively, for the very first time since we did the original, I feel we have a worthy concept, a worthy path to go," he says. "...Whether or not we can make this happen, if we can get all the pieces to come together, that’s gonna be challenging."
Plans for Stargate, meanwhile, are bit less distinct. "Stargate has always had this empty hole," he adds. "When we made the first one, we always intended on doing part two and three, and we were prevented for years. And our hope is that we can get another chance at Stargate and tell the entire story we wanted to tell."
Emmerich's next, White House Down, is set to star Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx and Maggie Gyllenhaal and deals with a paramilitary takeover of the White House. Today, Variety revealed that James Woods is in talks to join the cast, playing the head of the President's secret service detail.

Podiobook Review:

Star Wars : In the Shadows

Based on the Star Wars universe created by George Lucas

Written by Dany Pépin

Produced & Directed by Dany Pépin

Music by John William

Sound design by Ben Burtt

Born and raised in a military family, Emma Wermis will slowly discover that the Empire is not what she always been taught it was. Her allegiance to the Empire will be tested and she will, during her adventures, uncover something about her family and a secret weapon kept hidden even within the Empire.

This week in Star Trek:

Star Trek' Star Karl Urban Reveals Possible Sequel Villain

In a recent interview to promote his current project Dredd, Karl Urban may have inadvertently revealed the actual name of the character who’s squaring off against the crew of the Enterprise: Gary Mitchell.

In an interview with SFX, Urban relayed his feelings about working alongside Sherlock Holmes actor Benedict Cumberbatch, revealing his long-concealed identity. “He’s awesome,” Urban said. “He’s a great addition, and I think his Gary Mitchell is going to be exemplary.”

What’s particularly noteworthy about the revelation – other than the fact that his name isn’t Khan – is that Mitchell was effectively the first villain in Star Trek history. Although the episode in which he appears, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” was broadcast third on television, it was created as a second pilot for the series after NBC rejected its predecessor, “The Cage.”

In the episode, Mitchell, played by 2001 star Gary Lockwood, is a longtime friend of Captain Kirk’s who develops superhuman abilities including telepathy and telekinesis after the ship encounters a mysterious barrier. Kirk is eventually forced to kill Mitchell after attempting to banish him on the planet of Delta Vega.

If screenwriters Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof and Roberto Orci adhere at all to the narrative of the episode, Mitchell will be a formidable enemy for Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise. In a recent interview with THR, Kurtzman revealed that in the sequel, “Kirk doesn’t understand what it means to be captain,” suggesting that the fledgling commander has yet to experience the unenviable responsibility of sending crew members to their deaths.

Mitchell’s storyline could make for some particularly interesting dramatic possibilities if Kirk is not only forced to see his crew killed, but be responsible for the death one of his oldest friends from Starfleet Academy.

Screenwriter Roberto Orci lists five characters who will not be in Star Trek 2

In a recent radio chat, STAR TREK 2 screenwriter Roberto Orci was asked about characters who will or will not be in the upcoming sequel. With all of the discussion back and forth regarding whether Benedict Cumberbatch would be playing Khan, Orci decided to name five characters, some villains and some not, who will 100% not be in the sequel.

Those characters are Gary Mitchell, Charlie X, Ruk, Janice Rand, and The Borg.

It seemed pretty apparent The Borg would not be in the movie, but assuming that Orci is being honest, this begins to lend merit back to the Khan theories. I started to get my hopes up that it would be Gary Mitchell after all, but I am one of the few that would like to see a rebooted Khan enter the fray. My problem with a lot of franchises these days is that they kill off villains after one appearance instead of prolonging them through multiple films to build that animosity between good and bad guys.

Orci also mentioned the movie title has a "75% chance" of using the words STAR TREK but no confirmation on the final name of the film. I would be willing to bet the movie has a subtitle but no number. That seems to be popular these days.

CBS and Orci have discussed a possible STAR TREK animated series, but no word on what generation would be the focus of the story. With both THE CLONE WARS and TRON: UPRISING successfully translating storied franchises into the world of cartoons, a new STAR TREK cartoon may not be so farfetched.

The Sci Fi 5 in 5:

Chris  & Charity’s top 5 things they liked at recent Cons.

SciFi Diner Conversations 60

Listeners Analyze Digital Versus Paper Comics,

Review The Amazing Spiderman, 

Discuss the Impracticality of Super Hero Outfits,

and Respond to the Possibilities of an 

Independence Day and Stargate Sequel.

SciFi Rewind Episode 18

Total Recall

On this SciFi Rewind, Scott and Miles from the SciFi Diner Podcast and Jim Arrowood rewatch Total Recall, a masterpiece in the Science Fiction, and share their favorite scenes and delve deep into the facts and stories behind it. The episode is rounded out with listener thoughts and feedback as well. In our next rewatch, we will be rewatching the iconic film Logan's Run. Be sure to watch Logan's Run with us and send in your thoughts by August 10th.  If you want to share your SciFi Rewind with us and have us talk about it on the show or if you want to comment on our rewinds, please e-mail us at scifirewind@gmail.com (you can attach an mp3 audio file if you want) or call us at 18885084343.

SciFi Diner Conversations 59

Listeners review Prometheus, Battleship, Tron Uprising,

and Falling Skies, talk about how Star Trek is trying bilk fans

out of more money, and try to convince Wayne

to give Dollhouse a second chance.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 141

Our Interview with David Gadali and Itay Gross

(Secular Quarter 3 and Europa)

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Menu:

• Interview:  David Gadali and Itay Gross (Secular Quarter 3 and Europa)
• Trivia:  Who won Michael Hogan?
• Special Interest: Firefly's Browncoats + 15 more sci-fi freedom fighting forces, Firefly's Mal and Jayne + 9 more unlikely sci-fi friendships
• Movie News:   Rumor of the Day: John Rhys-Davies' Gimli returning for The Hobbit
• PodioBook Review:  7th Son Series by JC Hutchins
• TWIST: William Shatner’s new docuementary, Robert Picardo says he would guest star in a new Star Trek movie.
• SciFi Five in Five:  Iconic Movie Music Movie Scores

Trivia:

Question: Name an actor on BSG who played 2 different characters.  Clue. Not a cylon. Prize:  A Michael Hogan signed print. Winner: Scott Chandler Here is Scott's e-mail to us with his answer: "Hi Guys....so, is this a trick question? Because you don't mention whether BSG means just the 2003 reimagined series or BSG the original and the 2003 version. So, here we go....if it's both series, then the obvious answer is Richard Hatch as Apollo and Thomas Zarek. And if it's just the 2003 version, then there's a list of several: James Ashcroft as "Spectator #1" and "Security Officer", Eric Breker as the "Captain of Gemenon" and "George Chu", Biski Gugushe as "Pilot #1" and "Sekou Hamilton", John Mann as "Major Jackson "Dipper" Spencer" and "Linden", and Ryan Robbins as "Armistice Officer" and "Charlie Conner". I'm guessing the answer you're looking for is Richard Hatch. :-) But I included all the others just in case. Thanks as always, and as always.........Good Night, and Good Luck!" Well Scott, the answer we were looking for was Ryan Robbins, but we obviously didn't do your homework.

Promos

Gatecast Promo Satureday B Movie Reel Promo

Our Interview:

Special Interets:

Firefly's Browncoats + 15 more sci-fi freedom fighting forcesWith Independence Day nearly upon us, it's a great time to remember all the freedom fighters who battled (fictional) baddies in sci-fi movies and on TV. From battles against aliens to foreign forces, the quest for freedom has been a part of sci-fi for decades. Considering that everyone loves a good underdog, most of these sci-fi fighters are overmatched from time to time, but they all share the one trait that's worth remembering this week—a quest for freedom, regardless of the potential consequences. So from recent hits like Falling Skies to classics like Star Wars, here's to you, fearless heroes.  

Movie News:

Rumor of the Day: John Rhys-Davies' Gimli returning for The Hobbit

Another Lord of the Rings favorite could be dusting off his costume for The Hobbit. We already know that Elijah Wood (Frodo), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) and Andy Serkis (Gollum) are set to return. But what about John Rhys-Davies' Gimli?

A while ago, Rhys-Davies was spotted in New Zealand visiting the Hobbit set. It led fans to believe he was on official business, perhaps reprising his role from the previous Lord of the Rings films. To add fuel to the fire, the actor attended a recent convention where he was asked point-blank if he'd appear in the movie.

A fan revealed:

At first he denied it, but after a little pressing he smiled really big, laughed, winked, and said that maybe it was possible. His smile... his laugh... I'm taking this as a pretty big indicator that he will be involved in some small way. Can't wait to see it!

Rhys-Davies also provided the voice of Treebeard in LOTR, so if he doesn't reprise Gimli, maybe he could do a voice cameo? What other character could he play?

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theaters Dec. 14.

Do you think Rhys-Davies will reprise his role for The Hobbit?

(via TheOneRing)

Podiobook Review:

Seventh Son Series by J.C. Hutchins

7th Son: 7 Days (Prequel)

7th Son: 7 Days cover7th Son: 7 Days is a free audio prequel anthology to J.C.’s thriller novel, 7th Son: Descent. Set two weeks before Descent’s extraordinary events, the series reveals the lives of seven seemingly unrelated men, and their everyday challenges.

In the world of 7th Son, “everyday” challenges are far from ordinary. Each of these seven stories stars a unique John Michael Smith. Witness criminal profiler Dr. Mike’s quest to hunt an unstoppable serial killer. Watch blue-collar musician John realize a lifelong dream. Ride shotgun with USMC captain Michael on a dangerous black ops mission in the Middle East. Behold the worldwide influence of deranged computer hacker Kilroy2.0 … and more.

7th Son: 7 Days represents the creative reboot of the popular 7th Son thriller series. Designed to tightly integrate with 7th Son: Descent’s print novel storyline, 7 Days is a perfect introduction to the 7th Son universe. Meet the Beta clones … before they knew they were clones.

This week in Star Trek:

WATCH: William Shatner’s “Get A Life” Preview As we first reported last month, William Shatner’s Get A Life! is set to premier at San Diego Comic Con on July 14th and later on EPIX and EpixHD.com on July 28th.

Robert Picardo Says He Could Appear in Abrams’ Next Star Trek Film

Robert Picardo, who played the Doctor in Star Trek: Voyager, recently praised Star Trek director J.J. Abrams and crew’s handling of the franchise, during an interview with the UK Press Association. Picardo noted that there’s a possibility that he and other former Star Trek actors could appear in an upcoming film, as Leonard Nimoy did in the 2009 movie.

“Well, it’s always possible that they’ll use one of us. I’ve met JJ, he was very kind and complimentary to me, and I know he watched the show because he’s a fan of Star Trek. Nothing is impossible.”

Picardo went on to discuss how the new films have boosted interest in some of the old Star Trek series.

“What’s wonderful about Star Trek having been rebooted so successfully by the JJ Abrams movie franchise, is that the corollary effect is that it creates a new generation of fans, and they’re interested in all of it.

“They don’t just sit around and wait for the next movie to come out, they’ll go back and re-examine episodes.

SciFi 5@5:

Five Top Five Music Scores

5. Stargate

4. Superman Richard Donner Films

3. Terminator

2. Star Wars

1. Star Trek

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 140

Our Interview with Mike Schilling

Why Go To A Con? Shore Leave 34:

Boldly Going Where No Con Has Gone Before.

The SciFi Diner Podcast

Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343,

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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.

Interview:

Mike Schilling is in charge of publicity at Shore Leave 34. Shore Leave is a fan-run Science Fiction media convention held on August 3-5, 2012 at Marriott’s Hunt Valley Inn. The convention features appearances by actors and writers from a broad variety of TV shows and movies ranging from current hits to classic favorites.

This year's guests include:

 

Kate Mulgrew ST:Voyager's Captain Janeway; Warehouse 13'sJane

Ryan Robbins Sanctuary's Henry Foss;Falling Skies' Tector,Stargate Atlantis' Ladon Radim, Caprica's Diego,Battlestar Galactica'sCharlie Connor

Thomas Dekker The Secret Circle's Adam Conanat; Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' John Connor,Heroes' Zack

Musetta Vander Stargate SG1's Shan'auc;Xena's Ilainus,ST:Voyager's Derran Tal,Buffy's Natalie French,Babylon 5's Felicia

LeVar Burton ST:TNG's Lt. Cmdr. LaForge; Roots' Kunta Kinte, Reading Rainbow

Jane Wiedlin The Go-Gos, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'sJoan of Arc; Scooby Doo,Pinky and the Brain,King of the Hill (voice work)

Vic Mignogna Fullmetal Alchemist's Edward Elrick,Dragonball Z's Burter,Soul Caliber, Final Fantasy (voice work), Director/Producer - Star Trek: Continues

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 139

Our Interview with Peter David

(Novels: Star Trek: The New Frontier Series and Babylon 5,  

Comics: The Incredible Hulk, Aquaman, Young Justice, Supergirl)

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Interview: Peter David (Novels: Star Trek: The New Frontier Series and Babylon 5,  Comics: The Incredible Hulk, Aquaman, Young Justice, Supergirl)

Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning, 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, Supergirl, and Fallen Angel.

His Star Trek work includes both comic books and novels, such as Imzadi, and co-creating the New Frontier series. His other novels include film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5,Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Space Cases, the latter of which David co-created.

David often jokingly describes his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and is noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.

David has earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and 2011 GLAAD Media Award.

Peter David’s paternal grandparents, Martin and Hela David, and Peter's father, Gunter, came to the United States in the 1930s after the political situation inNazi Germany deteriorated to the point that Martin's Berlin shoestore became the target of antisemitic vandalism. David was born September 23, 1956 in Fort Meade, Maryland to Gunter and Dalia, an Israeli-born Jewish mother, to whom David credits for his sense of humor. He has two siblings, a younger brother named Wally, who works as a still life photographer  and musician, and a sister named Beth.

David first became interested in comics when he was about five years old, reading copies of Harvey Comics' Casper and Wendy in a barbershop. He became interested in superheroes through the Adventures of Superman TV series. His favorite title was Superman, and he cites John Buscema as his favorite pre-1970's artist.

David's earliest interest in writing came through the journalism work of his father, Gunter, who would sometimes review movies, and take young Peter along if it was age-appropriate. While Gunter would write his reviews back at the newspaper’s office, Peter would write his own, portions of which would sometimes find their way into Gunter's published reviews. David began to entertain the notion of becoming a professional writer at age twelve, buying a copy of The Guide to the Writer’s Market, and subscribing to similar-themed magazines, in the hopes of becoming a reporter.

David lived initially in Bloomfield, New Jersey, where he attended Demarest Elementary School, but later moved to Verona, New Jersey, where he spent his adolescence. By the time he entered his teens, he had lost interest in comic books, feeling he had outgrown them. David's best friend in junior high and freshman year in high school, Keith, was gay, and David has described how both of them were targets of ostracism and harassment fromhomophobes. Although his family eventually moved to Pennsylvania, his experiences in Verona soured him on that town, and would shape his liberal sociopolitical positions regarding LGBT issues. He would later make Verona the home location of villain Morgan le Fay in his novel Knight Life, and has often discussed his progressive views on LGBT issues in his column and on his blog.

David's interest in comics was rekindled when he saw X-Men #95 on newsstands, and discovered the "All-New, All-Different" team that had first appeared inGiant-Size X-Men #1 (October 1975), which he subsequently purchased at a comic convention, his first in years.

A seminal moment in the course of his aspirations occurred when he met writer Stephen King at a book signing, and told him that he was an aspiring writer. King signed David's copy of Danse Macabre with the inscription, "Good luck with your writing career.", which David now inscribes himself onto books presented to him by fans who tell him the same thing. Other authors that David cites as influences include Harlan Ellison, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert B. Parker, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Robert Crais and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Specific books he has mentioned as favorites include To Kill a Mockingbird, Tarzan of the Apes, The Princess Bride, The Essential Ellison, A Confederacy of Dunces,  Adams Versus Jefferson, and Don Quixote.^[23]David has singled out Ellison in particular as a writer whom he has tried to emulate.

David attended New York University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism. His first professional assignment was covering theWorld Science Fiction Convention held in Washington in 1974 for the Philadelphia Bulletin.

David eventually gravitated towards fiction after his attempts at journalism did not meet with success. His first published fiction was in Asimov's Science Fiction. He also sold an Op-ed piece to The New York Times, however, his submissions overall were met with rejection that far outnumbered those accepted.

Comic book career

Peter David and Larry Stroman at a comic book signing for X-Factor in the early 1990's

David eventually gave up on a career in writing, and came to work in book publishing, first for Elseviser/Nelson, and later working in sales and distribution for Playboy Paperbacks. He subsequently worked for five years in Marvel Comics' Sales Department, first as Assistant Direct Sales Manager under Carol Kalish, who hired him, and then succeeding Kalish as Sales Manager. During this time he made some cursory attempts to sell stories, including submission of some Moon Knight plots to Dennis O'Neil, but his efforts were unfruitful. Three years into his tenure as Direct Sales Manager, Jim Owsleybecame editor of the Spider-Man titles. Although crossing over from sales into editorial was considered a conflict of interest in the Marvel offices, Owsley, whom David describes as a "maverick," was impressed with how David had not previously hesitated to work with him when Owsley was an assistant editor under Larry Hama, and thus, when he became an editor, he purchased a Spider-Man story from David, which appeared in Spectacular Spider-Man #103 in 1985. Owsley subsequently purchased from David "The Death of Jean DeWolff", which ran in issues #107-110 of that title in 1985. Responding to charges of conflict of interest, David made a point of not discussing editorial matters with anyone during his 9 to 5 hours as Direct Sales Manager, and decided not to exploit his position as Sales Manager by promoting the title. Although David attributes the story's poor sales to this decision, such crossing over from Sales to Editorial, according to him, is now common. Nonetheless, he says he was fired from Spectacular Spider-Man by Owsley due to editorial pressure by Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, and has commented that the resentment stirred by Owsley's purchase of his stories may have permanently damaged Owsley's career. Months later, after Shooter was replaced by Bob Harras, Harras offered David The Incredible Hulk, as it was a struggling title that no one else wanted to write.

During his run on Hulk, David explored the recurring themes of the Hulk's multiple personality disorder, his periodic changes between the more rageful and less intelligent Green Hulk and the more streetwise, cerebral Gray Hulk, and of being a journeyman hero, which were inspired by Incredible Hulk #312 (October 1985), in which writer Bill Mantlo (and possibly, according to David, Barry Windsor-Smith) had first established that Banner had suffered childhood abuse at the hands of his father. These aspects of the character would later be used in the 2003 feature film adaptation by screenwriterMichael France and director Ang Lee. Comic Book Resources credits David with making the formerly poor-selling book "a must-read mega-hit".

It was after he had been freelancing for a year, and into his run on Hulk, that David felt that his writing career had cemented. After putting out feelers at DC Comics, and being offered the job of writing a four-issue miniseries of The Phantom by editor Mike Gold, David quit his sales position to write full-time.

David also took over Dreadstar during its First Comics run, with issue #41 (March 1989) after Jim Starlin left the title, and remained on it until issue #64 (March 1991), the final issue of that run. David’s other Marvel Comics work in the late 1980s and 1990s includes runs on Wolverine, the New Universe series Merc and Justice, a run on the original X-Factor, and the futuristic series Spider-Man 2099, about a man in the year 2099 who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man, the title character of which David co-created.

At DC Comics in 1990, David wrote a seven-issue Aquaman miniseries, The Atlantis Chronicles, about the history of Aquaman's home of Atlantis, which David has referred to as among the written works of which he is most proud. He would later write a 1994 Aquaman miniseries, Aquaman: Time and Tide, which would lead to a relaunched monthly Aquaman series, the first 46 issues of which he would write from 1994–1998. His run on Aquaman gained notoriety, for in the book's second issue, Aquaman lost a hand, which was then replaced with a harpoon, a feature of the character that endured for the duration of David's run on the book. He also wrote the Star Trek comic book for DC from 1988–1991, when that company held the licensing rights to the property, though he has opined that novels are better suited to Star Trek, whose stories are not highly visual. He and Ron Marz cowrote the DC vs. Marvel intercompany crossover in 1996. David also enjoyed considerable runs on Supergirl and Young Justice, the latter eventually being canceled so that DC could use that book's characters in a relaunched Teen Titans monthly.

David's work for Dark Horse Comics has included the teen spy adventure, SpyBoy, which appeared in a series and a number of miniseries between 1999 and 2004, and the 2007 miniseries The Scream.

Other series David worked on in the 1990s include the 1997 miniseries, Heroes Reborn: The Return, for Marvel, and two creator-owned properties: Soulsearchers and Company, which is published byClaypool Comics, and the Epic Comics title Sachs and Violens, which he produced with co-creator, artist George Pérez.

David's early 2000s work includes runs on two volumes of Captain Marvel, which debuted in 2000 and 2002.

David and his second wife, Kathleen, wrote the final English-language text for the first four volumes of the manga series Negima for Del Rey Manga.

In 2003, David began writing another creator-owned comic, Fallen Angel, for DC Comics, which he created in order to make use of plans he had devised for Supergirl after the "Many Happy Returns" storyline, but which were derailed by that series' cancellation. That same year, he also wrote a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series for Dreamwave that tied into the animated television series broadcast that year. DC canceled Fallen Angel after 20 issues, but David re-started the title at IDW Publishing at the end of 2005. Other IDW work included a Spike: Old Times one-shot and the Spike vs. Dracula mini-series, both based on the character from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel television series.

David with writer Dan Slott at Jim Hanley's Universe in Manhattan, October 25, 2007, promoting the beginning of David's tenure as writer on She-Hulk.

In 2005, David briefly returned to Incredible Hulk, though he left after only 11 issues because of his workload. He also started a new series, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, beginning with a twelve-part crossover storyline called "The Other", which, along with J. Michael Straczynski's run on Amazing Spider-Man, and Reginald Hudlin's run on Marvel Knights Spider-Man, depicted the webslinger as he discovered he was dying, lost an eye during a traumatic fight with Morlun, underwent a metamorphosis and emerged with new abilities and insights into his powers. As tends to be the case when fundamental changes are introduced to long-standing classic comics characters, the storyline caused some controversy among readers for its introduction of retractable stingers in Spider-Man's arms, and the establishment of a "totem" from which his powers are derived. David's final issue of that title was #23.

David also wrote a MadroX miniseries that year, whose success led to a relaunch of a monthly X-Factor (volume 3) written by him. This was a revamped version of the title starring both Madrox and other members of the former X-Factor title that David had written in the early '90s, now working as investigators in a detective agency of that name. David's work on the title garnered praise from Ain't it Cool News, and David has stated that the opt in/opt out policy and greater planning with which Marvel now executes crossover storylines has made his second stint on the title far easier.^[2] However, his decision to explicitly establish male characters Shatterstar and Rictor as sharing a homosexual attraction to one another (a confirmation of clues that had been established in X-Force years earlier), drew criticism from Shatterstar's co-creator, Rob Liefeld, though Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada supported David's story. David would eventually win a 2011 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for his work on the title.

On February 11, 2006, David announced at the WonderCon convention in California in that he had signed an exclusive contract with Marvel Comics. Fallen Angel, Soulsearchers and Company and David's Spike miniseries were "grandfathered" into the contract, so as to not be affected by it. The first new project undertaken by David after entering into the contract, which he announced on April 5, 2006, was writing the dialogue for The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, the comic book spin-off of Stephen King's The Dark Tower novels, which would be illustrated by Jae Lee. He would also script the subsequent Dark Tower comics as well.

David took over Marvel's She-Hulk after writer Dan Slott's departure, beginning with issue #22. His run, which won praise, ended with issue #38, when the series was canceled. He also wrote a 2008-09 Sir Apropos of Nothing miniseries, based on the character from his novels, which was published by IDW Publishing.

David's other 2000s comics based on licensed or adapted properties include Halo: Helljumper, a 2009 miniseries based on the Halo video game, a 2009 Ben 10: Alien Force manga book published by Del Rey, Ben Folds Four, a "Little Mermaid" story in Jim Valentino's Fractured Fables anthology that was praised by Ain't It Cool News, an adaptation of the 1982 film Tron that was released to tie in with that film's 2010 sequel, and a John Carter of Mars prequel to the 2012 feature film.

On November 24, 2011, David was one of the balloon handlers who pulled the Spider-Man balloon during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Novels

David's career as a novelist developed concurrently with his comic book writing career. David had been working at a publisher that went out of business, and a former coworker from that publisher became his agent, through whom he sold his first novel, Knight Life, to Ace Books. Although the sale was made before he wrote any comic books, the novel was not published until eighteen months later, in 1987. The novel depicts about the reappearance of King Arthur in modern-day New York City. Another early novel of his, Howling Mad, is about a wolf that turns into a human being after being bitten by a werewolf. Ace Books also hired David to write the Photon and Psi-Man novels, though they published them under the "house name" David Peters, over David's objections. David updated Knight Life years later when Penguin Putnam brought it back into print in 2003, and made it a trilogy with the sequels One Knight Only and Fall of Knight, which were published in 2004 and 2007, respectively. Penguin would also rerelease Howling Mad and the Psi-Man books under David's actual name.

David first began writing Star Trek novels at the request of Pocket Books editor Dave Stern, who was a fan of David's Star Trek comic book work. His Star Trek novels are among those for which he is best known, including Q-in-Law; I, Q; Vendetta; Q-Squared; and Imzadi, one of the best-selling Star Trek novels of all time. He created the ongoing novel series, Star Trek: New Frontier, a spin-off from Star Trek: The Next Generation, with John J. Ordover in 1997. New Frontier continued until April 2011, with the publication of Blind Man's Bluff, the final New Frontier novel on David's contract at the time, after which the series' future was unclear to David. David's other science fiction tie-in novels include written five Babylon 5 novels, three of which were originals, and two of which were adaptations of the TV movies Thirdspace and In the Beginning.

His other novel adaptations include those of the movies The Return of Swamp Thing, The Rocketeer, Batman Forever, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, Hulk, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man. He also wrote an original Hulk novel, The Incredible Hulk: What Savage Beast, based on story ideas that he was not permitted to use in the comic book, and an adaptation of an unused Alien Nation television script, "Body and Soul".

David's 2009 novel Tigerheart is a re-imagining of Peter Pan with a mix of new and old characters, told as a Victorian bedtime story, much like the classic tale. It was praised by Ain't It Cool News, and honored by the School Library Journal as one of 2008's Best Adult Books for High School Students. His Sir Apropos of Nothing fantasy trilogy, Sir Apropos of Nothing, The Woad to Wuin andTong Lashing, features characters and settings completely of David’s own creation, as does his 2007 fantasy novel, Darkness of the Light, which is the first in a new trilogy of novels titled The Hidden Earth. The second installment, The Highness of the Low, was scheduled to be published in September 2009, but David has related on his blog that it has been delayed until the winter of 2012.

David's 2010 novel work includes Year of the Black Rainbow, a novel cowritten with musician Claudio Sanchez of the band Coheed and Cambria, that was released with the band's album of the same name, and an Fable original novel The Balverine Order, set between the events of Fable II and Fable III. In April 2011, David announced that, in addition to another Fable novel, he and a number of other writers, including Glenn Hauman, Mike Friedman and Bob Greenberger, were assembling an electronic publishing endeavor called Crazy Eight Press, which would allow them to publish e-books directly to fans, the first of which would be David's Arthurian story, The Camelot Papers. David explained that the second book in his "Hidden Earth" trilogy would also be published through Crazy Eight.

David (at far right) on a panel on comic book writing at the 2009 Brooklyn Book Festival. Beside him (left to right) are Jim McCann, Dan Slott and Fred Van Lente.

David has stated that he tries to block out different days and different times to work on different projects. He usually works in the morning, for example, on novels, and does comics-related work in the afternoon. Having previously used Smith Corona typewriters, he writes on a Sony Vaio desktop computer, using Microsoft Word for his comics and novel work, and Final Draft for his screenplays. When writing novels, he sometimes outlines the story, and sometimes improvises it as he is writing it.

David previously wrote his comic book scripts using the Marvel Method, but due to his tendency to overplot, as during his collaboration with Todd McFarlane on The Incredible Hulk, he switched to the full script method, which he continues to use as of 2003. He has stated that he prefers to plot his comics stories in six-month arcs. He has also stated that when he works on a particular title, he always does so with a particular person or group of people in mind to which he dedicates it, explaining that he wrote Supergirl for his daughters, Young Justice for a son he might one day have and The Incredible Hulkfor his first wife, Myra, who urged him to first accept the job of writing that book. David has further explained that the events of his own life are sometimes reflected in his work, as when, for example, following the breakup of his first marriage, the direction of The Incredible Hulk faltered, with the Hulk wandering the world aimlessly, hopelessly looking to be loved.

David has stated that his favorite female character of his own creation is Lee, the protagonist of Fallen Angel, which he says is derived from the positive female fan reaction to that character. Characters that David has not written but which he has expressed an interest in writing for the comics medium includeBatman, Tarzan, Doc Savage, the Dragonriders of Pern, the Steed/Peel Avengers, and Dracula. He has specifically mentioned interest in writing a Tarzan vs. the Phantom story.

SciFi Diner Classic Ep. 20

Our interview with Katee Sackhoff

(Battlestar Galactica, 24, Bionic Woman)

In our twentieth episode of the SciFi Diner Classic, we interview actor interview Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, 24, Bionic Woman). Since we do a news and interview show, it goes without saying that the news portion of our episodes often date themselves fast. And while the interviews with the people that make Science Fiction happen remain relevant and in our opinion important, most listeners will not listen back 100 episodes and wade through old news just to get to the interview. So what the SciFi Diner Classic aims to do is to share these interviews with you. If you have been with us from the beginning, then bear with us as we introduce some of our newer listeners to voices from the past. We're bringing you just the interview and nothing else.

Katee Sackhoff

Kathryn Ann "Katee" Sackhoff (born April 8, 1980) is an American actress known mainly for playing Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica. In 2004 she was nominated for a Saturn Award in the "Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series" category for her work in the Battlestar Galactica miniseries. In May 2006, she won the Saturn Award for the same role. She also starred in the horror-thriller White Noise 2: The Light and the eighth season of 24 as Dana Walsh.

Early life

Sackhoff was born in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in St. Helens, Oregon. Her mother Mary was an ESL program coordinator and her father Dennis is a land developer. Her brother Erick is co-owner of a vehicle modification shop near Portland. She graduated from Sunset High School in Beaverton in 1998. She began swimming at an early age and by high school was planning to go pro until her right knee was injured. This led her to begin practicing yoga, which she continues today, and to pursue an interest in acting.

Her first role was in the Lifetime movie Fifteen and Pregnant in which she played a teenager with a baby. The movie starred Kirsten Dunst and motivated her to move to Hollywood and pursue a career in acting after graduating high school. Sackhoff's first recurring role was Annie in MTV's Undressed, next gaining a supporting role as Nell Bickford in The Education of Max Bickford. Katee made her motion picture debut in My First Mister, and next appeared in film as Jenna "Jen" Danzig in Halloween: Resurrection.

Sackhoff's most notable role is as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace in the mini-series and followup TV series of Battlestar Galactica, for which she won a Saturn Award in 2005 for Best Actress on Television. The actress's persona led the writers to develop the character of Starbuck as a more volatile and complex character. Galactica executive producer Ron Moore described her as having magnetism while producer David Eick expanded stating:

Toward the end of the filming of Battlestar Galactica, Sackhoff began feeling physically weak. Soon after filming wrapped, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After surgery to remove her thyroid, she required no radiation treatments and is currently  in remission

In 2007, Sackhoff was cast as the evil cyborg Sarah Corvus in the short-lived NBC series Bionic Woman. David Eick, executive producer for the show, stated, "She's a very special find. Those actors who can combine the qualities of strength and vulnerability—they usually call those people movie stars."^[5]

Sackhoff plays the female lead in the action/sci-fi movie The Last Sentinel and the supernatural thriller White Noise 2: The Light.

The actress appears as the main character in the Lifetime Original Movie How I Married My High School Crush. She has also made guest appearances in Cold Case, ER, Law & Order, and Robot Chicken.

Sackhoff provided the voice of a female marine in the video game Halo 3 and is also featured in the viral marketing campaign for Resistance 2. In 2011, she provided the voice for Black Cat 2099 inSpider-Man: Edge of Time. She voiced Sarah Essen in the DC Comics animated film, Batman: Year One.

She appears in four episodes of the fifth season of the series Nip/Tuck playing a new doctor, Dr. Theodora Rowe. However, for the sixth season Sackhoff was later replaced by Rose McGowan for the role due to scheduling conflicts.

Sackhoff headlined NBC's Dick Wolf-produced cop drama Lost and Found as Tessa, "an offbeat female LAPD detective who, after butting heads with the higher-ups, is sent as a punishment to the basement to work on John Doe and Jane Doe cases." The pilot was filmed in January 2009. NBC decided not to pick up the series.

In 2009, she appeared as herself in "The Vengeance Formulation" episode of the CBS situation comedy The Big Bang Theory. In the episode, she is fantasized as Howard Wolowitz's dream girl.  She appears again in season 4, in the same role.

Sackhoff appeared as a series regular in the eighth season of the TV series 24, playing Dana Walsh, a CTU data analyst with a secret.

In February 2010, Sackhoff signed on to play the lead in an ABC crime drama pilot, Boston's Finest. ABC decided not to pick up the series.

Sackhoff is set to star in the action-werewolf thriller Growl.^[17] She also made a special appearance in the Futurama episode "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences".

In the fall of 2010, Sackhoff joined the cast of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Detective Reed, a smart investigator who does not do well with sensitivity.

In 2011, Sackhoff guest starred in an episode of Workaholics as a homeless drug addict named Rachel.

Sackhoff will star in Longmire, an A&E television series based on the novels by Craig Johnson. Sackhoff will play Sheriff's Deputy Vic Moretti.

Sackhoff has been cast as Dahl, a Nordic mercenary hired to track down Vin Diesel’s Riddick in Chronicles of Riddick : Dead Man Stalking.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 138

Our Interview with Kate Vernon

(Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: Voyager, Heroes)

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Menu:

• Interview:  Kate Vernon (Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: Voyager, Heroes)
• Trivia:  New trivia and a chance to win Michael Hogan
• TV News:  Fringe news, Ratings news
• Movie News:  Judge Dread Trailer, More Transformer 4 News
• PodioBook Review:  Earthcore by Scott Sigler
• TWIST: Data & Kivas Fajo Reunite... Well Sorta.New IDW Star Trek: The Next Generation Comic Series Featuring The Borg & Penned By Brannon Braga
• SciFi Five in Five:  Great Dr Rodney McCay quotes

Trivia:

Question: Name an actor on BSG who played 2 different characters.  Clue. Not a cylon.

Prize:  A Michael Hogan signed print.

You will have until June 26  to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person.   The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.

Promos

DVD Geeks Promo

Alpha Nerd Promo

Interview: Kate Vernon

Kate Vernon (born April 21, 1961) is a Canadian-born film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS soap opera Falcon Crest from (1984–1985), the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film Pretty in Pink (1986), Mary-John Lovejoy in 'The Lost Colony' episode of Lovejoy (co-starring with John Gielgud and Ian McShane), and Ellen Tigh on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica.

Vernon was briefly (4 episodes) a regular on Who's the Boss? in 1990 as a girlfriend of Tony Micelli (Tony Danza). She appeared in four episodes of L.A. Law in 1994 as A.D.A. Belinda Fox and seven episodes of Nash Bridges as Whitney Thomas. In 1993 she starred in an episode of Tales from the Cryptentitled "Till Death Do We Part" with John Stamos.

Vernon is known for her recurring role as Ellen Tigh on Battlestar Galactica. In April 2009, she made a guest appearance on CSI: Crime Scene Investigationentitled "A Space Oddity" which also featured cameos by her former Galactica producer Ronald D. Moore and co-stars Grace Park and Rekha Sharma.  She appeared in one episode of Star Trek: Voyager as a member of Species 8472 impersonating a human in the episode "In the Flesh". She also guest stars in two episodes of Heroes ("Close to You" and "Pass/Fail") as Vanessa Wheeler.

Her father was actor John Vernon, who was most famous for playing Dean Vernon Wormer in Animal House, her mother is Nancy West, and her sister is singer/actress Nan Vernon.

TV News:

Fringe exec offers 1st peek at S5—which is set WHEN?

It seems the rumors are true: Fringe's final season will, apparently, be very different from the first four years—we're talking different-decades different.
John Noble, who portrays everyone's favorite mad scientist, Dr. Walter Bishop, has dropped an apparent bombshell to TV Line: The majority of the fifth season will take place in the Observers-ruled world of 2036 that we glimpsed in the season-four episode "Letters of Transit." Hello, future.
"As far as I know, we're just jumping ahead [to 2036]," Noble said. "Walter, Olivia, Astrid and Peter are insurgents, so we know all the dirty tricks that have been played against us. We'll be learning from the past."
But, Noble added, the time in between won't be forgotten, and could be referenced via "found footage" to cover major moments of interest.
If you're wondering why Noble mentioned Olivia (Anna Torv), who was missing in the future we glimpsed in "Letters of Transit," he said Torv will definitely be back—along with Peter and Olivia's future-adult daughter Etta (Georgina Haig).
In case the anticipation wasn't amped up enough, Fringe producer J.H. Wyman has given us our first look at season five—via the top-secret script for the premiere episode, dubbed "Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11." Possibly a code name, or possibly something that blows our minds. We'll have to wait until Sept. 28 to know for sure.

Sound off: Do you like the idea of a future-set final season?

Falling Skies returns low, True Blood dips

Our selection of shows grew yet again this week, and the summer's just getting started. Falling Skies premiered to lower numbers than it had last year, while True Blood dropped a bit but still managed to rule Sunday night's ratings ranking. Meanwhile, Tron: Uprising dove and Saving Hope got a week-two boost.
Check out our chart and commentary for more on how your favorite shows are doing in Live + Same Day viewers and rating.

Lost Girl (Syfy)
0.91 million viewers/0.4
6-19 lost girl.jpg
It wasn't a good week for Lost Girl. The show hit the lowest viewership of its Syfy run so far, though its rating score didn't suffer the same fate. The Stanley Cup finals were in full swing that evening, so we might be able to chalk some of it up to that, but we'll see how next week fares.

Teen Wolf (MTV)
1.76 million viewers/0.7
6-19 teen wolf.jpg
After a hefty drop in its first Monday on the air this season, Teen Wolf bounced back Monday, pulling in about the same number of viewers but earning a tenth of a point more in its rating. We'll see if the climb continues.

Saving Hope (NBC)
3.98 million viewers/0.7/2 share
6-19 saving hope.jpg
After a somewhat weak start last week, Saving Hope got a viewership boost this week, putting it much closer to the 4 million mark. It broke even in the all-important demo ratings, though, and if those numbers don't improve this might be a short-lived series.

Tron: Uprising (DISNEY XD)
0.36 million viewers/0.0
6-19 tron uprising.jpg
Bad news for Tron: Uprising. After a not-bad-but-not-great debut on Disney XD the show took a serious dive in its second week, losing enough viewers that it actually ended up with a zero demo rating score. We'll see how the rest of the season fares, but numbers like this are never too promising.

True Blood (HBO)
4.41 million viewers/2.6
6-19 true blood.jpg
True Blood took a bit of a drop in the second week of its fifth season, but it still managed to top the night in cable performance. First Game of Thrones, now True Blood. It seems HBO is destined to rule Sunday night summer cable this year.

Movie News:

1st Dredd 3D trailer delivers a ballistic ballet of slo-mo carnage

There are many things you'd want from a Judge Dredd movie, and most of them are spent bullet casings hitting the ground. Luckily, this first good look at Karl Urban's take on Mega City One's infamous enforcer has all that and more.

It's got Game of Thrones' Lena Headey as a scarred drug lord named Ma-Ma who's pushing a product that slows time down to a crawl. It's got Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson, with a fetching helmet-like hairdo. It's got Urban doing his best tough-guy drawl. And it's got a high-rise filled with people who need some hot-lead judgment.

This trailer might've made a bit more of an impact if last year's Attack the Block and this year's The Raid: Redemption hadn't already redefined the "we're trapped in a skyscraper stocked with baddies that need fighting" genre. And if the "power-mad drug dealer" didn't feel like such an '80s villain.

But let's face it: Dredd could've looked much, much worse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PifvRiHVSCY&feature=player_embedded

Podiobook Review:

Earthcore by Scott Sigler

Summary:

Deep below a desolate Utah mountain lays the largest platinum deposit ever discovered. A billion-dollar find, it waits for any company that can drill a world's record, three-mile-deep mine shaft.

EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company's driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure.

But Kirkland and EarthCore are not the first to find this treasure. The mountain's history reveals two centuries of disappearances, murder, and insanity.

The discovery of ancient platinum knives, razor-sharp despite lying untouched for 1,000 years, reveals evidence of an ancient culture. If the artifacts are genuine, they show a pre-historic empire that once spanned from the Southern tip of South America all the way up through the American Southwest.

Wealth and fame lie under that Utah mountain, but at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting ... and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out first-hand why this treasure has never been unearthed.

- Was great to run with.

This week in Star Trek:

Data & Kivas Fajo Reunite... Well Sorta... Brent Spiner To Appear In Warehouse 13

By Captain Pyke

For all of the Warehouse 13 fans out there, our favorite android, Brent Spiner, will be joining Saul Rubinek & cast in a multi-episode arc. We're just stoked to see Data & Kivas Fajo interact once again on the small screen... Kinda sorta. Brent will playing Brother Adrian, leader of an intensely secretive sect The Brotherhood of the Knights of the Black Diamond. Apparently the sect descended from the Knights Templar and has loose ties to the Vatican.

Brent's first episode will be the season premiere of Warehouse 13's 4th season, airing on July 23rd at 9PM (ET/PT). Of course Brent isn't the first Trek alum to grace the Warehouse. As we reported last year, Kate Mulgrew, Jerry Ryan, & Rene Auberjonois have all appeared on the show. You can check out the full details from the Syfy press release below.

Brent Spiner Saul Rubinek Warehouse 13

NEW YORK - June 14, 2012 - Brent Spiner (Star Trek: Next Generation) will guest star on Syfy's Warehouse 13 as Brother Adrian, leader of an intensely secretive sect, when the hit series returns for a fourth season Monday, July 23 at 9PM (ET/PT).

Brother Adrian's sect, The Brotherhood of the Knights of the Black Diamond, is descended from the Knights Templar, loosely connected and protected by the Vatican. Like Warehouse 13, The Brotherhood's charge is to protect various powerful artifacts from history. However, they follow no rules and will do whatever they must to fulfill their duty.

Spiner joins Sam Huntington (Being Human), who plays jazz musician "Ethan," as an upcoming guest star.

Warehouse 13 will anchor Syfy's "Powerful Mondays" programming block this summer, followed by the second season return of Alphas at 10PM.

After the powerful, two-hour season three finale, the Warehouse team struggles with the horrible reality of the Warehouse's destruction and the tragic loss of Steve Jinks (Aaron Ashmore), Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder) and H.G. Wells (Jaime Murray). With matters so desperate, Pete (Eddie McClintock), Myka (Joanne Kelly), Artie (Saul Rubinek) and Claudia (Allison Scagliotti) must decide whether to knowingly use a dangerous artifact for their own personal gain - at the risk of deadly consequences.

Last year Warehouse 13 averaged 3.3 million total viewers and a series record 1.6 million Adults 18-49, based on Live +7 data.

 New IDW Star Trek: The Next Generation Comic Series Featuring The Borg & Penned By Brannon Braga Heading To Stores

By Captain Pyke

Star Trek scribe & producer, Brannon Braga, returns to the Trek universe to write a new chapter in the Borg saga. IDW Publishing is set to release a new series of comics featuring Picard and company as they face down the dreaded all consuming enemy. Brannon joins forces with fellow Trek scribe Terry Matalas and artist Joe Corroney to create STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: HIVE for IDW. The new series focuses on the galaxie's fight against a full out Borg invasion. Taking the crew of the Enterprise on what IDW is calling a "dynamic new journey" that's "packed with mind-bending twists, time-jumping action, and revered, genre-defining characters", the new comic series will debut in September.

"It’s a thrill and privilege to be writing in the Star Trek universe again,” said Braga. “This graphic medium will provide the narrative ambition and visual scope this story deserves -- the final chapter in The Borg saga!

SciFi 5@5:

Great Dr. Rodney McCay quotes.

5. "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the pod". - After getting Todd out of a stasis pod aboard a Hive Ship.

4."I am great with kids…the little ones that don't talk back." - When Teyla had her child.

3."You just can't resist bringing up the fact that I once accidentally destroyed a couple of planets, can you?" - To John Sheppard after being commented how he should be used to removing planets from the Ancient database, after destroying the Replicator Home World.

2.You wouldn't shoot an unarmed upside down man?!. - When caught in a trap laid by Ronon Dex, hanging upside down.

1. Dr. Rodney McKay: Can we stop for a second?

Lt. Colonel John Sheppard: No.

Dr. Rodney McKay: Look, I mean no disrespect, but this guy's heavy and ever since I was shot in the ass by an arrow, I've been prone to sciattica.

[beat]

Dr. Rodney McKay: No?

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 137

Our Interview with Pat McNamara and David G. Williams

from Legend of the Space Lord MoFo

SciFi Diner Conversations 58

Listeners chat about the Falling Skies Premiere,

review Prometheus and Saving Hope,

give their opinion of studios bilking fans

out of more money, and More.

SciFi Diner Classic Ep. 19

Our interview with Dominic Keating

(Star Trek : Enterprise, Buffy the Vampire Slayer,

Heroes, and Diablo 3)

In our nineteenth episode of the SciFi Diner Classic, we interview actor interview Dominic Keating (Star Trek : Enterprise, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Heroes, and Diablo 3). Since we do a news and interview show, it goes without saying that the news portion of our episodes often date themselves fast. And while the interviews with the people that make Science Fiction happen remain relevant and in our opinion important, most listeners will not listen back 100 episodes and wade through old news just to get to the interview. So what the SciFi Diner Classic aims to do is to share these interviews with you. If you have been with us from the beginning, then bear with us as we introduce some of our newer listeners to voices from the past. We're bringing you just the interview and nothing else.

Dominic Keating

Dominic Keating (born 1 July 1962) is a British television, film and theatre actor, known for his portrayal as Lt. Malcolm Reed on Star Trek: Enterprise.

Keating was born in Leicester to an Irish father; his grandfather, a brigadier, was awarded an OBE. His first stage performance was inprimary school, playing a character in The Ragged School. He then attended Uppingham School.

After graduating from the University College London with First Class Honours in History,^[2] he tried various jobs before deciding to be a professional actor. To obtain his Equity card, Keating worked in a drag act called Feeling Mutual.

As of 2005, Keating maintains homes in both London and Los Angeles. He enjoys golfing, swimming, music, boogie boarding, tennis, reading and traveling.

Theatre work

Keating had success on the UK stage prior to working as a television and film actor. He originated the role of "Cosmo" in Philip Ridley's The Pitchfork Disney, as well as that of "Bryan" in Michael Wall's Amongst Barbarians, for which he won a Mobil Award. He's also done additional stage work in both the UK and in Los Angeles, including the one man play The Christian Brothers at King's Cross, in The Best Years of Your Life at the Man in the Moon Theatre, Screamers at the Edinburgh Playhouse Festival, and Alfie at the Tiffany Theater.

TV work

Keating first came to major public attention in the UK when he had a semi-regular role as Tony in the Channel 4 sitcom Desmond's (1989–95). He went on from this to a role in Inspector Morse, as well as other guest-starring roles.

Having moved to the United States, he gained the role of the demonic warrior Mallos on the short-lived 2000 series The Immortal. He starred in the Zalman King serieschromiumblue.com. He also made guest appearances on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, G vs E and Special Unit 2 as well as on several other series prior to a major role on the series Star Trek: Enterprise, where he played Lieutenant Malcolm Reed. Since then he has had a guest roles on the series Las Vegas, Holby City and the CSI: NY episode "Uncertainty Rules".

Keating joined the cast of hit show Heroes for its second season and played an Irish mobster in a four episode arc. He also held a guest-starring role for three episodes on the Fox TV series Prison Break. In 2010 Keating guest starred in the FX original series Sons of Anarchy.

Film work

He has appeared in films, including The Hollywood Sign, Jungle 2 Jungle, The Auteur Theory and the upcoming films Certifiably Jonathan, Hollywood Kills, and Robert Zemeckis' animated version of Beowulf. At a Star Trek convention in Sacramento, California on 9 September 2006, he announced that he had been cast as an Australian scientist in the Species sequel Species IV. He has also recently done work in several short films, including the latest by Tim Russ, called Plugged, a satire on modern advertising.

Dominic Keating also appears as Sherlock Holmes's Brother in the 2010 film Sherlock Holmes by The Asylum.

Dominic Keating was also responsible for the voice-over in the Ricky Gervais movie “The Invention of Lying” – 2009 Release by WB.

Other work

Keating also does commercial and voiceover work, perhaps most famously on an early 1990s Vidal Sassoon commercial, where his British pronunciation of "salon" brought him some notice as well as a spoof on Saturday Night Live. He has also done voice work for various audio books, and also voiced (uncredited) the minor character 'Mouse' in Bioware's Dragon Age: Origins. He has also recently appeared in commercials for Sprint/Nextel as fictitious British rock star Ian Westbury. Keating has been confirmed as the voice of "Kormac the Templar" in the PC game Diablo 3 by Blizzard Entertainment.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 136

Our Interview with Dylann Bobei from Pieces the Series

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Music at the end of this week's episode is the song The Final Rewind by Tyrad.

Menu:

• Interview:  Dylann Bobei from Pieces the Series
• Trivia:  New trivia and a chance to win Michael Hogan
• TV News:  Nimoy lets us know what to expect from William Bell in Fringe S5
• Movie News:  Transformer 4 news. Warner Bros will make more superhero movies and World War Z news.
• PodioBook Review:  We’re Alive by KC Weyland
• TWIST: Michael Dorn pitching Worf-centric Trek , Lindeolof talks ST 2
• SciFi Five in Five:  5 Top Star Wars Gadgets

Trivia:

Question: Name an actor on BSG who played 2 different characters.  Clue. Not a cylon.

Prize:  A Michael Hogan signed print.

You will have until June 26  to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person.   The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.

Promos

Tools and Means by John Mierau Promo

Trek News and Views Promo

General News

Ray Bradbury Passes
15 Fictional Spacecrafts We’d Like to Call Home

TV News:

Congratulations to Ryan Robbins and Christopher Heyerdahl
On Saturday, May 26, 2012 the Leo Awards were presented in Vancouver, BC. The Leos are presented by The Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of British Columbia and celebrate the achievements of the British Columbia film and television industry.
This year's Leo Awards were hosted by past Shore Leave Guest Amanda Tapping and her Sanctuary Co-Star Robin Dunne. This year's winners include upcoming Shore Leave 34 Guest Ryan Robbins and Shore Leave 31 guest Christopher Heyerdahl - who have recently been working together again on the AMC series Hell On Wheels. Congratulations!

Nimoy lets us know what to expect from William Bell in Fringe S5

The character of William Bell has come a long way in four seasons of Fox's Fringe, and acting legend Leonard Nimoy says his latest persona (probably) isn't quite finished yet. So what can we expect from the maddest scientist of all in the show's fifth and final season?
Nimoy said he was intrigued by William Bell's story arc at the end of season four, which enticed him to come back for a surprising (and awesome) cameo as the puppet master behind the season's Big Bad.
"It was explained to me that we're opening up a whole world, and William Bell is being recreated as something else. He's in another universe and has taken on other characteristics. There were challenges in the character itself that were attractive to me. I could play aspects that I haven't played in a long time, so it was very welcoming to me."
If J.J. Abrams' plan for William Bell is as exciting for season five, Nimoy said he would definitely consider coming back for the final year—just to see how things evolve for the less "rational" version of Bell.
"It will depend on what they have in mind for the character. There are a lot of issues that have to be dealt with, but we'll be talking," he said. "The William Bell character started as a very intelligent and rational character. I think he's still very, very intelligent, but I'm not quite so sure that he's rational anymore."

Movie News:

Transformers 4 Will Be Michael Bay’s Last; Will Feature Redesigned Robots and New Cast

Back in February, producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura confirmed that director Michael Bay (Pain and Gain) would be directing the upcoming fourth installment of the Transformers franchise for Paramount Pictures.

The director recently told the LATimes that:

“the fourth film will include some redesign of the robots and an entirely new cast. He also said it will be his last and set the franchise up ‘for the next guy.’”

The as yet Untitled Transformers Sequel (Reboot) is slated to hit theaters on June 29, 2014.

Warner Bros. Pictures to Bring More DC Comics Heroes to the Big Screen

Just last week, we brought you the news about Warner Bros. Pictures hiring Will Beall, writer of Gangster Squad, and the forthcoming remake of Logan’s Run to pen the script that will finally unite the Justice League onscreen, and earlier today, we told you about Green Lantern co-writer Michael Goldenberg being hired to pen a Wonder Woman script for the studio.

Now, Variety reports that The Flash, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Lobo, Suicide Squad, and Shazam are all also in the pipeline for the big-screen treatment. While we knew definitively that The Flash and Lobo would be getting movies (at some point), the rest of the list is either brand new or previously long-shot rumors from way-back.

Along those hero films, and deciding how to reboot Batman post-Christopher Nolan, the folks at DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures are also reportedly trying to figure out whether or not to bring back Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern in a sequel, or reboot the franchise in a completely new way.

Damon Lindelof to Rescue Brad Pitt’s WORLD WAR Z

Back in January, we told you that Brad Pitt and Paramount Pictures’ film adaptation of Max Brook’s novel, World War Z, has trilogy and thus franchise potential. Since then, there have been problems with this production. The film is due for a series of reshoots over a period of several weeks causing  Paramount to push back the premiere date from this upcoming holiday season to the summer blockbuster season in 2013.

According to THR, Paramount has brought in Damon Lindelof (Prometheus, Lost) to save the film. Lindelof will be re-working on the third act of World War Z with reshoots to begin this fall.

World War Z stars Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, a worker at the United Nations Post-War Commission, who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself. The film also stars Mireille Enos (The Killing) as Pitt’s character’s wife, Daniella Kertesz in her feature film debut, James Badge Dale (The Departed) and Matthew Fox (Lost). World War Z is directed by Marc Forster with script was written by Matthew Michael Carnahan (State of Play).

World War Z is slated to hit theaters on June 21, 201

Podiobook Review:

We’re Alive

This week in Star Trek:

Michael Dorn pitching Worf-centric Trek pic: Here's what we know

Though J.J. Abrams' rebooted Star Trek franchise may be getting all the attention these days, there are still a few other, beloved crews drifting around the galaxy—and Star Trek: The Next Generation star Michael Dorn (Worf) thinks we're long past due to check back in with everyone's favorite Klingon.

Dorn is pitching a Worf-centric, low-budget Trek film that will pick up with Worf captaining a Federation ship. He's writing the script himself and says he's shooting for a darker, edgier take on the traditional Next Generation style.

"He is out there in the front lines basically chasing terrorists," Dorn told Trek Movie. "I think we will have some of our Star Trek people in it, but mostly new characters. It will be interwoven into the fabric of Star Trek. And also what are we going through right now?"

When asked if he thought his direct-to-DVD idea would be confusing, considering Abrams' new take on the franchise, Dorn said he believes his film could only help build the overall Trek buzz.

"Who wouldn't want to have this kind of thing going on? It is going to help their movie. The fans aren't going 'We are going to see this movie, but we aren't going to go see the big movie in the theater,'" he said. "I have [a] couple meetings I want to do before [meeting with CBS]. First with Rick Berman, who produced all of our shows, just to see what he thinks. Then my manager. And I know people at Syfy. And I'll just start gathering information. If anything happens it is going to be next year, because I have a bunch of stuff to do this year. I have already started writing the script, and excuse my language, but it's @#$!-ing great."

Admittedly, Dorn's idea is still in the early stages, and there's no telling if it can even get a green light. But it does sound fairly cool. What do you think?

Screenwriter Damon Lindelof Talks The Difference Between ST:1 & ST:2

Star Trek 2 Producer / Screenwriter Damon Lindelof Talks The Difference Between ST:1 & ST:2

Star Trek 2 wrapped production early last month and now heading into post production and its eventual release May 17th, 2013. During publicity rounds for Prometheus, ST:2 Producer & Co-writer Damon Lindelof recently stat down with IGN to talk about the new film and its difference from the first JJ-verse movie.

IGN: What’s going to set Star Trek 2 apart from the original?

Lindelof: I think that the first one was in a lot of ways an origin story. It was about how the crew comes together and a love story between how Kirk met Spock. How this emotional guy who thinks only with his heart befriends this logical guy who thinks only with his mind. And this next movie is about what it’s like now that these people are a crew.

IGN: How is Captain Kirk different this time around?

Lindelof: Kirk is now in the Captain’s chair, for the first time, not having shanghaied it. And he has to learn how to manage his responsibilities as a captain with these friendships and relationships that he’s forming with these people around him. And I think also we’re introducing what is a very cool and nuanced force of antagonism that’s a little different from the first movie, which was just a steaming Romulan ball of rage that needs to be stopped at all costs.

IGN: So who is that villain?

Lindelof: Are you insane? I’m not going to tell you that!

Star Trek 2 hits screens worldwide next May.

SciFi 5@5:

 The top 5 Star Wars gadgets

SciFi Diner Conversations 57

Listeners Review Men in Black 3, Sherlock Holmes,

the Blade Movies, Dragon Con, DS9, and More.

SciFi Diner Classic Ep. 18

Our Interview with Chase Masterson

(Star Trek : Deep Space Nine, Yesterday Was A Lie, R.U.R.)

In our eighteenth episode of the SciFi Diner Classic, we interview actor interview Chase Masterson (Star Trek : Deep Space Nine, Yesterday Was A Lie, R.U.R.). Since we do a news and interview show, it goes without saying that the news portion of our episodes often date themselves fast. And while the interviews with the people that make Science Fiction happen remain relevant and in our opinion important, most listeners will not listen back 100 episodes and wade through old news just to get to the interview. So what the SciFi Diner Classic aims to do is to share these interviews with you. If you have been with us from the beginning, then bear with us as we introduce some of our newer listeners to voices from the past. We're bringing you just the interview and nothing else.

Chase Masterson

Chase Masterson, born Christianne Carafano on February 26, 1963 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is an American actress and singer.

Masterson portrayed the Bajoran Leeta on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for five years, from 1995 to 1999, and Ivy Lief on General Hospital. Her recent prominent feature film roles include starring as a sultry singer in James Kerwin's sci-fi noir film Yesterday Was a Lie, which she also produced, and voicing "Janice Em" in the animated film Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. Her television guest starring roles include Sliders(as Kelly, the sister of Wade Welles) and ER.

Masterson was named one of the world's "50 Sexiest Women" by the men's magazine Femme Fatales, and the "Favorite Science Fiction Actress on Television" in a TV Guide reader's poll. In December 2009, AOL named her one of the "Ten Sexiest Aliens on TV", reporting that "Masterson is regularly voted the most popular guest at Star Trek conventions."

Masterson hosted an Entertainment Tonight-style news program for the Sci Fi Channel in the 1990s called Sci-Fi Entertainment and anInternet-based radio talk show for the website The Fandom in 2004-2005. She released a jazz album entitled Thrill of the Chase, the follow-up EP AD ASTRA! (Latin for To the Stars!), and the limited edition Crystal Anniversary: Songs from the Holosuite, in honor of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's fifteenth anniversary.

Following a series of stalking incidents instigated by a man in Berlin, Masterson was the plaintiff in Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, a controversial legal case in which the courts ruled against Masterson and expanded the definition of "interactive computer services" under theCommunications Decency Act.

Masterson was named Best Feature Film Producer of 2008 by the LA Femme Film Festival for her work as producer of Yesterday Was a Lie. In 2010, she voiced the role of Leeta, as a hologram, in Cryptic Studio's Star Trek Online.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 135

Our Interview with Glenn Hauman 

(Crazy 8 Press, X-Men, Star Trek) 

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Music at the end of this week's episode is the song The Final Rewind by Tyrad.

Menu:

• Interview:  Glenn Hauman
• Trivia:  New trivia and a chance to win Michael Hogan

Trivia:

Question: Name an actor on BSG who played 2 different characters.  Clue. Not a cylon. Prize:  A Michael Hogan signed print. You will have until June 26  to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person.   The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.

Interview: Glenn Hauman

Glenn Hauman is an American writer, editor, publisher and comic book colorist. He has worked in a variety of roles in print and electronic publishing, including software and website development, as well as for his TV and novel work within the Star Trek and X-Men franchises. Hauman worked was an editorial consultant to Simon & Schuster Interactive for many years, during which he contributed to a number of Star Trek CD-ROMs, such as the Star Trek Encyclopedia, Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion and Star Trek: Deep Space NineCompanion, as well as those for other properties, such as Farscape. Hauman was a founder of Hell's Kitchen Systems, Inc., which was purchased by Red Hat in 2000 for $85.6 million. He was a founder of BiblioBytes, an electronic publishing site, and was called a "young Turk of publishing" in the New York Observer. Hauman was a founding board member of the World Wide Web Artists Consortium, and was the former chair of their Netlaw special interest group. Hauman has been a featured speaker at numerous industry trade shows, conventions, organization meetings, and the World Science Fiction Convention. Among Hauman's books are the eBooks Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers: No Surrender  and Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers: Creative Couplings.Couplings was co-authored with Aaron Rosenberg, and is noteworthy for the first Klingon/Jewish wedding ceremony, for which it was covered on NPR and the Jewish weekly newspaper The Forward. He also coauthored the "Redemption" story in the Star Trek: New Frontier anthology No Limits with Lisa Sullivan. Hauman wrote the short stories "On The Air", which appeared in the anthology Ultimate X-Men, and "Chasing Hairy", which appeared in the anthology X-Men Legends. Both were featured on the Sci-Fi Channel's Seeing Ear Theater. He also contributed to the anthology Urban Nightmares. Hauman is a columnist for ComicMix. He also provided the color art for ComicMix's online publication of Mike Grell's Jon Sable, Freelance, which began in November 2007, and was the Assistant Editor on The Original Johnson, a biographical comic book about boxer Jack Johnson. Hauman is the webmaster of the websites of writers Peter David and Robert Greenberger. In April 2011, Hauman joined with Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, and Robert Greenberger, in assembling an electronic publishing endeavor called Crazy Eight Press, which would allow them to publish e-books directly to fans.

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 134

Our Interview with Keith R.A. DeCandido

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.

And check out our YouTube channel.

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.

Music at the end of this week's episode is the song The Final Rewind by Tyrad.

Menu:

• Interview:  Keith R.A. DeCandido
• Trivia:  New trivia and a chance to win Michael Hogan
• TV News:  Sanctuary Canned, Continuum, Falling Skies Returns
• Movie News:  Men in Black #1 in Theaters, Avengers
• PodioBook Review: John Mierau’s “Tools and Means”
• Real Science: Mind Controlled Video Games
• TWIST: Star Trek Movie available on Amazon Prime,Costumed Star Trek Fans Are Poised To Break The World Record At Creation Entertainment's Official Star Trek Convention, Las Vegas
• SciFi Five in Five:  5 things we liked about Balticon

Trivia:

Question: Name an actor on BSG who played 2 different characters.  Clue. Not a cylon. Prize:  A Michael Hogan signed print. You will have until June 26  to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person.   The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.

Promos

Gamma Quadrant Promo Tuning Into SciFi TV Promo

TV News:

Syfy's 'Sanctuary' Will Not Return for Season 5 - Rado

The sci-fi drama starring Amanda Tapping wrapped its fourth season in December.

The sci-fi drama led by Stargatealum Amanda Tapping will not return for a fifth season,The Hollywood Reporterconfirmed. "We’re honored to have been part of this incredible series. In addition to garnering unmatched devotion by fans worldwide, Sanctuary was a bona fide trailblazer, setting new standards with its highly innovative production techniques – including pioneering green screen and RED camera technology – and Emmy-nominated visual effects," said Mark Stern, president, Syfy original content and co-head, UCP. "It’s been an amazing ride and we look forward to our next project with Amanda Tapping, Martin Woodand Damian Kindler," the statement continued. Tapping took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to address the series' fans and thank them for their support: "To all the fans of @SanctuarySeries we love and adore you. Thank you for the love and support. Now to the long dark tea time of my soul. :(" Sanctuary wrapped its 13-episode fourth season in December.

CONTINUUM CRUSHES THE COMPETITION

1.7 million Canadians tuned into the series on Sunday #1 scripted specialty drama episode this year TORONTO, May 28, 2012 – The numbers are in and the future looks bright for Continuum. The wildly anticipated debut of the Showcase original series smashed the competition, reaching 1.7 million* Canadians throughout its two airings on Sunday night. The premiere episode garnered a viewership** of 900,000 (2+) and 427,000 (A25-54) in its 9 pm timeslot, becoming the highest single episode ever on Showcase. The massive premiere was the highest ranked show of the night across all of Canadian commercial televisionfor Adults 25-54, Men 25-54, and Adults 18-49. With this record, Continuum claims the top spot as the #1 scripted specialty drama episode for this broadcast year across multiple demos. Continuum is a futuristic police drama starring Rachel Nichols (Criminal Minds, Alias) as Kiera Cameron, a cop from the future who finds herself trapped in present day Vancouver. When a group of fanatical terrorists escapes their planned execution in the year 2077, they vault back in time to 2012 sweeping dedicated City Protective Services officer, Kiera, along with them. With unexpected assistance from teen tech genius Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen;Jericho, Scream 4) Kiera concentrates on bringing down the terrorists before they can change the course of history forever. Desperate to get back to her husband and son, Kiera impersonates a local law enforcement officer to expedite her investigation, forming an uneasy alliance with her new partner, detective Carlos Fonnegra (Victor Webster; Castle, Melrose Place). Filmed on location in Vancouver, Continuum is developed and produced by Reunion Pictures in association with Shaw Media. Thoughts from viewers: Herne: It was "OK"... your typical time travel show, IMO. The cop angle & the gadgets are a nice touch, but not new... David Hayes: Yea, have to say it's not bad looking as of the first show. Looks to be a fair bit of meat to the plot line. Well little these days is "new" so we know going in it'll be a rehash. Still not bad so far. Kevin Bachelder from Tuning Into SciFi : a good pilot episode Lee Kemp: Ok this seems interesting what do you guys think? Jason: Just watched the first episode. It was okay. Not great just yet. Rachel Nichols is good in the lead role. Falling Skies ReturnsTwo-Hour Season Premiere Sunday, June 17 at 9/8c

Movie News:

'Men In Black' Shoot Down 'Avengers' At Holiday Weekend Box Office

'Avengers' finally forced to #2 after nearly a month at the top.

By Ryan J. Downey It wasn't Loki, an army of otherworldly Chitauri nor any other super-villain that finally defeated Captain America and his pals. A satiric adaptation of a 1970s soap opera and a big-budget action flick based on a board game tried and failed. Ultimately, it was another franchise with comic book roots that ended the nearly month-long reign of "The Avengers" at the top of the box office, as "Men in Black 3"became the #1 movie in America with an estimated $70 million debut over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. The third entry in the Will Smith/ Tommy Lee Jones franchise, based on a short-lived comic series from the early 1990s, took in another $133.2 million overseas, giving it a worldwide total of $203.2 million. Box-office prognosticators had predicted a somewhat stronger opening for the 3-D film, which carried a reported production budget near $250 million. Enthusiasm and nostalgia for the 1997 original, about a pair of criminal-alien-busting special agents, remains high. But the 2002 sequel was poorly received by critics, who were a bit kinder to "MIB 3," which addedJosh Brolin as a younger version of Jones' character in time-travel scenes. The first "Men in Black" made $589 million around the world. Its follow-up trailed behind with $442 million. The opening weekend for "MIB 3" wasn't far off from "MIB 2." Will Smith, top-billed in hits like "Hancock" and "I Am Legend," broke a four-year hiatus from the screen with "Men in Black 3." Critics were not kind (the film had a 67 percent score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes at press time) and audiences who saw the movie assigned it a D-plus CinemaScore. "Men in Black 3" was able to do what "Dark Shadows" and "Battleship"failed to do in recent weeks by knocking "The Avengers" to #2, though Marvel's superhero team-up flick still generated gigantic numbers considering how long it's been in theaters. "The Avengers" earned another $46.9 million over the four-day weekend (and crossed the $500 million mark on Saturday, making it the first movie to ever do so) for a total of $523.6 million. Not adjusted for inflation, "The Avengers" is now the fourth-biggest movie of all time, behind "Avatar," "Titanic" and the final entry in the "Harry Potter" movie franchise. "Battleship" sunk even further at the box office, dropping 57 percent to #3 after a less-than-impressive debut last weekend. The blend of high-seas action and sci-fi made $13.8 million over the holiday for a domestic total of $47.3 million. "Battleship" has made $232.7 million overseas but has earned even less than Taylor Kitsch's last film, notorious big-budget bomb "John Carter," over the same amount of time in theaters. "The Dictator"was #4 during its second weekend with $11.8 million for a $43.6 million total. "Dark Shadows" was #5 with $9.4 million for a total of $64.9 million. The latest Johnny Depp/ Tim Burton collaboration won't make anywhere near the box-office coin of films like "Alice in Wonderland," though it did manage to pass "Sweeney Todd" over the weekend. The movie carried a reported production budget of $150 million. In the limited-release world, "Moonrise Kingdom" collected $669,000 from just four theaters over four days. That estimate puts it ahead of "Dreamgirls" with the highest per screen average debut of any live action film. That number is also higher than filmmaker Wes Anderson's previous best, "The Royal Tenenbaums." Also in four theaters over the weekend: "The Intouchables," a French film that has already made $340 million worldwide, grossed $137,438 through Monday. One of the stars of "The Avengers," Chris Hemsworth (Thor), will appear in theaters again this weekend as one of the title characters in "Snow White and the Huntsman." The movie co-stars Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron as the evil queen. It was directed by newcomer Rupert Sanders.

Some Notes on Avengers: Total Lifetime Grosses

Podiobook Review:

- Chat about ambiguity of the term Tools and Means  by John Mierau  Meet Tom Brogan. An ordinary guy. With a sister in a coma. Seeing visions of a mass murderer. Becoming one himself…. and Tom is the hero.        

Real Science:

Mind-Controlled Videogames Become Reality

By TIMOTHY HAY

Picture this: You put on a headset and relax your mind. Soon you begin controlling an object with your thoughts.

Brian L. Frank for The Wall Street Journal With NeuroSky's headset, people can manipulate real and digital objects This mind-power trick may seem far-fetched, like something from a late-night science fiction movie or the back of an old comic book. But several companies are bringing this technology to life with affordable headsets that determine a person's state of mind. The gadgets translate brain waves into digital information and beam it wirelessly to computers or other devices. So far the headsets are confined to mostly digital interfaces—videogames and movies whose plots can be altered with the mind—although in some cases real-world objects have been used, like a pair of catlike ears that move depending on a person's mood. The technology, still in its infancy, has the potential to not only entertain but to possibly improve education and strengthen mental health, some doctors say. Behind much of the technology is San Jose-based NeuroSky Inc., which first made a splash in 2009 when toy maker Uncle Milton Inc. used its headset for the Star Wars Force Trainer toy that let youngsters suspend a ball inside a tube. As the child concentrated, a fan would spin and blow the ping-pong ball upward. The novelty toy was more than a "gee-whiz" moment. It was the first time consumers could see brain waves translated into specific commands in the physical world. And it didn't make use of skull implants, which for years have enabled patients to control prosthetic limbs and wheelchairs. Now, about 1,700 software developers are working with NeuroSky's technology, with the majority of them making mind-controlled computer games for the company's $129 MindWave Mobile headset, NeuroSky Chief Executive Stanley Yang. He said the company is nearing profitability but declined to provide revenue numbers. Among the offerings available in the company's app store are desktop games like "MindHunter," in which players must focus single-mindedly in order to fire a weapon, and meditation aids like "Mind Labyrinth," which grants players access to 52 different levels of an ancient temple as their relaxation grows deeper. Most of the games cost between $5 and $20, but other offerings—like the "HocusFocus" attention-building game, billed as a serious educational tool—can cost as much as $150. "There is going to be a whole ecosystem of new players, and NeuroSky is very well-positioned to be like the Intel of this new industry," said Alvaro Fernandez, chief executive of SharpBrains, a brain-fitness analyst and consultancy. "They are to be inside a lot of what's going on." London-based MyndPlay Ltd. is using NeuroSky chips inside its own headset to enable viewers to control the outcome of movie scenes by concentrating and relaxing. The company has a production studio that makes short films with alternate plot lines and endings. Neurosky has developed a headset that people can wear and manipulate objects in the real or digital world. David Chung - Director of Channel Sales models the headset at the Neurosky office in San Jose, CA. In addition to being a novel twist on the moviegoing experience, the technology has implications in behavior modification, Chief Executive Tre Azam said. Two prisons in England, for example, show inmates a gangster-themed film from MyndPlay that teaches them to stay calm during threatening situations. NeuroSky faces competition from San Francisco-based start-up Emotiv Systems Inc., which offers a $300 multi-sensor headset. Emotiv sells a variety of software including a package of popular games like "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft" that are optimized for the company's headset, as well as a program designed to let users control a computer with thoughts instead of a mouse or keyboard. Emotiv is profitable, said a spokeswoman, declining to provide specific figures. All of the companies vying to emerge in the brain-wave market are using electroencephalograph, or EEG, technology, which measures the brain's electrical impulses in the forehead and has long been used to diagnose epilepsy and other brain disorders. The headsets contain a sensor that detects various mental states, and a chip converts the signals from analog format to digital so they can travel wirelessly to a computer. The technology is still limiting, however, tracking mostly the brain's ability to concentrate and relax but not specific, purposeful actions. Some players of mind games might be underwhelmed that they don't have total control in the same way they could with a joystick. But some doctors believe mind-controlled games can provide more than fun and relaxation, by improving mental health. Psychiatrists have long trained the brain's pre-frontal cortex to fight against acute conditions like anxiety, post-traumatic stress and attention-deficit disorder. Practices like meditation, exercise, and cognitive therapy have shown comparable short-term efficacy to medication. What if a person could derive the same kind of benefit from a mind-controlled videogame? The attention and focus required to control a game with the mind has the benefit of calming the mind, said game designer Jane McGonigal. Her game studio, SuperBetterLabs Inc., is attempting to introduce cognitive therapy into games optimized for NeuroSky and Emotive headsets. Michael Brody, a psychiatrist who teaches at the University of Maryland, cautions that mind-controlled games are useful only if they move beyond the novelty stage and become a standard part of patients' mental health regimens. "Don't hold your breath for the silver bullet," said Dr. Brody, who has studied the effects of various media on the brain for the past 40 years. Other developers are taking a more whimsical approach. Among the various toys and gadgets that run on mind control is the NecoMiMi headset, a fashion accessory that has taken fans of Japanese animé by storm. Built by NeuroSky and a Japanese partner, NecoMiMi is a set of catlike ears that perk up when the wearer's concentration intensifies, and flatten out when relaxed. A YouTube promotional video that has received more than 2 million views suggests it could provide a way for young people to express romantic interest.

This week in Star Trek:

Star Trek Movies Headed To Amazon Prime Instant Video

By Captain Pyke

Star Trek Movies Headed To Amazon Prime Instant Video

In breaking news today, Amazon announced a new partnership with Paramount that will roll out hundreds of hit moves to the internet giant's poplar Prime Instant Video service. According to the press release, Star Trek will be counted among the hundreds. No word on whether that will include all eleven Trek films. Also included in the list are Braveheart, Top Gun, The Italian Job and Forrest Gump, just to name a few.

"We are continuing to invest in building a vast selection for Prime Instant Video and are excited to bring Prime customers some of the most renowned and popular films in cinema history under this new agreement with Paramount," said Brad Beale, director of digital video content acquisition for Amazon. "This deal will bring Prime Instant Video customers hundreds of new movies to enjoy on their Kindle Fire or any device connected to Amazon Instant Video, including titles such as Star Trek, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Top Gun, The Italian Job and The Truman Show, and we will remain committed to adding even more great movies and TV shows to Prime Instant Video in the future."

Costumed Star Trek Fans Are Poised To Break The World Record At Creation Entertainment's Official Star Trek Convention, Las Vegas By Captain Pyke Costumed Star Trek Fans Are Poised To Break The World Record At Creation Entertainment's Official Star Trek Convention, Las Vegas. It's that time of year again where the Grandaddy of all Star Trek conventions quickly approaches. The place where everyone knows your name... not cheers... Vegas Khhaaann! Actually, Creation Entertainment's Official STAR TREK Convention, Las Vegas. The one place on earth where you can hang with all of your Trek friends and family, see four out of the five Trek captains, and play Trek slot machines. Not only will William Shatner, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, & Scott Bakula be in attendance, but over 70 Star Trek celebrities will beam in for the four full days of awesomeness. As many of you know and probably attended, the Guiness Book of World Records certified that the record for having the most people in Star Trek costumes in one place was broken during last years Vegas Khhaaan! 1040 of you gathered and smashed the previous record. This year, Creation Entertainment is setting a time & place to break the record yet again. "Coming in costume really adds to the fun and we want the world's record that was made in Vegas to stay in Vegas." Says Erin Ferries, VP of Creation Entertainment. "Cosplay is a big part of fan convention going, last year we had many attendees coming in different costumes each day." The Guinness Book of World Records attempt will take place on Saturday August 11, 2012 at The Las Vegas Official STAR TREK Convention. All ticketed attendees can participate provided they come in full costume. You can get more information by visiting the Star Trek Las Vegas convention website here or check out the official press release below. STAR TREK COSTUMES: GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT ANNOUNCED! The Official STAR TREK Convention returns to Las Vegas for the 11th year on August 9-12, 2012 at The Rio Suites Hotel. For most of the thousands of attendees the big draw is the on-stage appearances of over 70 Star Trek celebrities including "The Four Captains": William Shatner (Kirk), Avery Brooks (Sisko), Kate Mulgrew (Janeway) and Scott Bakula (Archer). For many others the chance to come in Star Trek costumes and make-up is the ultimate way to enjoy a vacation from reality. At the 2011 convention 1040 fans broke the Guinness Book of World Records achievement of having the most people in Star Trek Costumes in one place. In 2012, attendees will attempt to break their own record in response to internet chatter that other fan conventions are preparing to vie for the title. Erin Ferries, VP of Creation Entertainment, the producers of the convention, said, "Coming in costume really adds to the fun and we want the world's record that was made in Vegas to stay in Vegas. Cosplay is a big part of fan convention going, last year we had many attendees coming in different costumes each day." The Guinness Book of World Records attempt will take place on Saturday August 11, 2012 at The Las Vegas Official STAR TREK Convention. All ticketed attendees can participate provided they come in full costume. Information about the gathering, which is expected to draw over 16,000 fans from all over the galaxy, is available at: www.creationent.com

SciFi 5@5:

5 things we liked at Balticon.

The SciFi Diner Podcast Converations Ep. 56

The SciFi Diner Podcast Interview with SciFi Laura from the Parsec Awards - Vote for Your Favorite Podcast NOW!

SciFi Rewind Episode 16 - Terminator

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 133 - Our Interview with Craig Sheeler of Star Trek: Secret Voyage

SciFi Diner Conversations 55

SciFi Diner Classic Ep. 17 – Our Interview With LOST And Babylon 5 Actress Mira Furlan.

SciFi Diner Classic Ep. 16 - Our Interview with David H. Lawrence (Heroes & Lost)

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 132 - Our Interview with Marty Gear from Balticon

SciFi Diner Conversations 54

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 131b – Our Interview with Marc Okrand (Creator of the Klingon and Vulcan Language)

SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 131 - Trivia Winners, New Trivia, News and More!

SciFi Diner Conversations 53 - Listeners chat Fringe, Rebooting Star Trek, Wrath of Khan, and More!

SciFi Rewind Episode 8 – The Animatrix: The Untold Stories of the Matrix