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Doctor Who (3.01) “Smith and Jones” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
Martha Jones is walking down the street in London, going to work, and dealing with various phone calls from her family over the birthday party for her brother that evening. The Doctor walks up to her and pointedly tells her, “Like so”, takes off his tie and says, “See?” and walks off. Martha ignores the odd behaviour and walks into the hospital where she is a medical student studying to be a doctor herself. She bumps into a motorcycle helmet-clad man who walks purposefully into the hospital.
All is not what it seems, as a storm gathers above them which is blandly ignored by the staff and patients. Martha attends to her duties as a student doing rounds with a rather pompous Attending doctor. Her first patient is an older woman complaining of dizziness, and the next patient is the Doctor, going by the name “John Smith”. He was admitted with an intestinal issue the day previously, even though Martha asks him why he was just outside, taking off his tie. The Doctor tells her that he was in bed and to check with the nurses. Martha notes that her patient has two heartbeats, but shrugs it off with her Attending.
Martha notices odd things happening around the hospital. The rain that comes from the storm directly over the hospital is going up, not down, and patient “Smith” is wandering around giving her looks, and then after a flash and some shaking, she finds the entire hospital has been transferred to the moon. As she and a co-worker run to see if their vision isn’t an illusion, the Doctor shows up and Martha and he exchange words regarding the situation. Martha goes with the Doctor to see what’s keeping them still breathing and discovers that there’s a forcefield keeping the air from vanishing. When they look up they see three spaceships coming over the hospital, landing a ways away from the entrance. The ships disgorge some troops that march into the hospital.
The female patient, Mrs. Finnegan, comes into the Attending doctor, Mr. Stoker’s office. Her motorcycle helmet-clad buddies come in with her and grab Stoker, as she brings out a straw and tells him she needs his blood. She then uses the straw to drink him dry. The aliens march into the hospital and one of the med students come up to them, giving some weak greeting. The Judoon, according to the Doctor, are for-hire “police”, and they’re looking for a specific non-human, so they begin cataloguing everyone to find their suspect.
The Doctor is hurriedly trying to find who they’re looking for, but the Judoon have wiped the computers clean. Martha runs off to see if Stoker knows who might’ve come in with weird symptoms, but instead finds Mrs. Finnegan still drinking from the now-dead doctor. She takes off, but with one of the thugs that Finnegan has with her following, ordered to kill poor Martha. The Doctor meets Martha in the hall and she tells him that she found the alien, just as the thug bursts through the door. The Doctor runs off with Martha and manages to kill the thug with a massive burst of radiation, absorbing the rest, shaking it out through his shoe.
Martha tells the Doctor about Mrs. Finnegan, and the Doctor figures out that Finnegan is actually a plasmavore. He tells Martha that they must find Finnegan in order to expose her to the Judoon. The Judoon find the Doctor and Martha, cataloguing him as non-human, but the two run off before he can be apprehended. The Doctor thinks Finnegan has taken refuge in the MRI room and asks Martha to hold off the Judoon, and kisses her before running off. When the Judoon catalogue her, they find non-human elements on her lips. This causes enough of a delay that the Doctor manages to trick Finnegan into drinking his blood. When the Judoon come into the MRI room, Finnegan is confident that she’ll pass the increased scan. Martha turns the tables on her and scans her with the Judoon’s device. The Judoon see the results and sentence Finnegan to death, killing her thug and then her, but leaving before the MRI is set to explode. Martha swings into action, saving the Doctor’s life, who in turn, saves the lives of all the people in the hospital by turning off the power source to the MRI.
The Doctor picks Martha up and takes her to a window, praying for something to happen, and it does. As the Judoon ships lift off, the rain begins, and then a flash of light, and the hospital is placed back home in its place in London. Martha’s sister, Tish, races up to Martha, who is sitting on the back of an ambulance as people race about. While Tish tells her sister how worried they all were about the missing hospital, Martha watches the Doctor wave and then disappear long with a Police Box. Later that evening, as her brother’s birthday party disintegrates into a fight with her father’s girlfriend, Martha spots the Doctor in an alleyway. She follows him in and he invites her on a trip to thank her for saving his life. They banter, and Martha, incredulous at the thing that is the Tardis, goes with the Doctor on her first adventure in the Tardis.
I missed the Doctor, and was really glad to have it back. While I liked Rose, and was sorry to see her leave the series, I think Martha will be a very good Companion to the Doctor. I remember the kerfuffle that came about when they leaked the kiss to the public, as some were quite upset that something “romantic” would be introduced to Doctor Who. I think some of those Whovians had prematurely jumped the gun in regards to any romantic inclinations they felt the writers were sneaking in. This episode clearly allays any fears that the writers would screw up their beloved Doctor. Genetic transference, that was really clever. I laughed.
I liked how Martha wasn’t one of those flighty girls who freak out when something odd happens. She managed to keep her head and think rationally, which is an admirable trait. Her co-worker, Julia, doesn’t keep her head, freaking out at being on the moon. Patients act like little children, screaming and crying over the shock, which annoys me. Of course, I deal with the odd and out of sorts every day, and I personally feel that panic is a wasted emotion. Therefore, it is rather logical that I’d like Martha. She can think on her feet, and while things can flabbergast her, she recovers quickly and takes it in stride. She’s going to be marvellous, I think.
I liked how Martha referred to her cousin, Adeola, who was also played by Freema Agyeman, who is now Martha Jones, as never coming home from Canary Wharf. The Doctor clues into the link and is overtaken by emotion in regards to the tragedy. Adeola was the woman at Torchwood who was used by the Cybermen in the episode “Army of Ghosts” during the second series. It was a tidy way to link Martha to Adeola and fix any misgivings that fans may have over her re-casting as Martha.
Call me crazy, but I noticed that David Tennant has kind of icky feet. I’m not expecting a pedicure, but he should probably keep his feet covered. His bare feet made me a little squidgy, which didn’t help me since I was eating dinner when I watched this episode. Made a lovely dinner a little less pleasant. Sure it’s a small gripe, but that was the only gripe I had about this episode, which means it was pretty darned good.
I really liked this episode and have to give it the gold standard of a 9.5 out of 10.0, having shaved off the .05 due to the incident with the ugly feet. Anyone who thinks that a pedicure can’t help them, clearly haven’t had one, as they can do wonders for an ugly foot.
Roswell (3.17) “Four Aliens and a Baby” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
Michael is fascinated with the device he took that belongs with the spacecraft that crashed. Max wants Michael to chill out, and he advises that everybody stay away from the ship. Michael is convinced that aliens are still on it, which Max feels is the best reason to stay away.
Back at the base, the scientists are trying to get the ship open when suddenly part of the ship opens up and a baby is seen, sitting inside. Just as one of the scientists reaches for the baby, violence erupts and everyone in the hangar is killed. The baby vanishes, as it’s carried off by some unknown being.
Max and Liz are making out when Max’s mom calls, looking for Max. She wants Max and Isabel to come over to their house for a family dinner. She won’t take no for an answer. Isabel and Jesse argue over the demand, as Jesse doesn’t want to have to pretend anymore about Isabel being normal.
As Valenti and Kyle come home, they see their house has been ransacked. Just as Valenti opens the door to Kyle’s bedroom, as someone shut it as they got close, a flash of blinding light occurs. When Valenti enters the room, the two see that the window has been blasted through, and whoever was in there is gone.
Helicopters are out searching the area, as the Air Force is buttoning down Roswell, in order to find whoever killed all the scientists. Mr. Evans notes the lights from the copters, and turns his attention back to the family. They show everyone the videotape, and both Isabel and Max are upset at the invasion. As Diane and Phillip ask who Max and Isabel really are, Max tells them that they are their kids.
A noise in the laundry room disturbs the tense moment, and Max goes to investigate. Tess calls out Max’s name weakly, and she comes into the kitchen holding the baby. She gives the baby to Max and collapses onto the floor. The rest of the family come in and Phillip Evans asks who it is, to which Max replies that it is his son.
As Phillip and Diane are coming to grips with what is going on, Max is questioning Tess. She explains that Kevar betrayed her and her baby, planning to execute him, so Tess escaped with the baby. As they talk, Jesse answers the phone and Kyle tells him that the Air Force is looking for an escaped alien. Jesse tells him that they know, and it’s Tess, but they’re in the middle of something, so he’ll talk to Kyle later. Jesse tells Isabel, and they have to get Max, Tess, and the baby out of there. The Air Force show up and the trio escape to Michael’s apartment.
Michael wants to kill Tess, but Max explains that the baby is linked to Tess and if she dies the baby does too. Liz comes in and knocks Tess across the room, fully prepared to kill Tess for all the grief she’s caused. Max convinces her not to kill Tess, and Liz makes Max promise to make Tess pay when it’s all over. She leaves in anger, and Kyle walks in. The minute Kyle sees Tess, he is enraged. They exchange angry words and Kyle tells Tess that she’s the only alien he’s ever met that doesn’t have a soul.
Back at the Evans’ home, the Air Force is still searching through the place, as Diane and Phillip question their daughter. As they talk, one of the military personnel takes the videotape of Isabel and put it into an evidence bag. At the Crashdown, Liz explains what happened with Tess to Maria, who wants to rat Tess out to the military.
Max gets a call and tells Tess, Michael, and Kyle that the military found the baby’s blankets. They have to leave and Tess must mindwarp her way through the traffic checks. She manages to do so, but the baby cries and the military personnel fire upon the car. They go to Isabel’s apartment, and the entire gang meet and decide what to do. Tess fesses up that she’s not actually bonded to the baby, as Zan is entirely human, which is why he was rejected by Kevar. Max, Michael, Isabel, Maria, Liz, Kyle, and Valenti vote on whether or not to turn Tess in. Jesse abstains as he has never met Alex or Tess, and doesn’t think he should be counted. They vote to keep her alive, and Liz is the one to break the tie between factions.
Tess wakes Liz up in the middle of the night, asking why she didn’t vote to kill Tess. Liz tells her that she’s not a killer, so Tess asks Liz to drive her somewhere. Liz drives her out to the base and they talk about how much Max loves Liz and how Tess is going to do one last thing for everyone. She walks onto the base and blows it up, killing everyone.
A week later, Max and his father are talking about Zan and the threat to the group. Max tells his dad that Zan needs to be given to a good home, away from Roswell. A few days later, Max says goodbye to his son, with Liz by his side, and Phillip and Diane drive off with Zan to bring him to his new home.
So, Tess came back. And screwed things up for everybody, yet again. All right, she did make the supreme sacrifice, killing herself to protect her son, and make things right for everyone, but that doesn’t make good on everything. Did the tape of Isabel get destroyed too? I have a feeling that it didn’t. Sure, Tess had to save her baby, but going back to Antar was one of the most idiotic acts she could’ve done. Killing Alex was not idiotic, but really, really intensely selfish on her part. Tess proved to be mostly incapable of being able to understand another person’s emotions and be able to relate to them. She was not only narcissistic, but sociopathic. Now she’s dead, good riddance.
I’m sure Isabel’s parents are upset at themselves for being the cause of so much pain in their children’s lives. If they had only been patient, they might’ve found out freely, instead of putting their kids at risk like that. Now that the military have the tape, they’ve really screwed the pooch. It’s going to get messy and it is their fault.
Max’s son is completely human. Good for him. He doesn’t need to grow up with that kind of hassle. Look at Max, Isabel, and Michael, they’re completely paranoid. Not a good way to deal with your formative years, considering growing up is already hard to do. It’s bad enough that kids have to deal with hormones, peer pressure, drugs, sex, bullying, among other things. To have to also hide your alien identity and powers that you may not be able to control could be damaging. Zan totally needs to be in a supportive family, or he could turn out to be another Tess.
Now that Isabel’s real identity is in the hands of the military, this is just going to lead up to an explosive finale. Hopefully it is as good as I want it to be. I just can’t handle a lacklustre ending. This episode earns an 8.0 out of 10.0, simply for being so close to the end. Plus, Tess is dead which is always a bonus.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- July 6, 2007
'Cloverfield' Hype Begins
scifi.com is reporting that the mysterious teaser trailer playing with Transformers this weekend touts Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams' upcoming SF project, an as-yet-untitled movie code-named Cloverfield, and a viral Web promotion has also begun.
Two new viral Web sites have gone live, Ethan Haas Was Right and Ethan Haas Was Wrong, with puzzles somehow related to the movie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the entire project has moved forward under a cloak of secrecy. Abrams is producing the film, which is being directed by Matt Reeves, who co-created Abrams' Felicity, and it's written by Drew Goddard, who has worked with Abrams on Lost and Alias.
To cast the film, no scripts or even scene pages were sent out; agents who were contacted were simply asked if their client wanted to be in the movie or not. The cast includes Michael Stahl-David (The Black Donnellys), Odet Jasmin, Mike Vogel (Supercross) and Lizzy Kaplan (The Class). The movie is slated to open Jan. 18, 2008.
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'Invasion' Invades Washington
scifi.com is reporting that Celia Weston, co-star of the upcoming SF film The Invasion, told SCI FI Wire that the Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig vehicle is Hollywood's latest variation on the genre classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The twist, the actress said, is that the new film takes place in Washington.
"The Invasion I'm very excited to see," Weston said while promoting her new film, Joshua. "I haven’t seen it, ... but it's set in Washington, D.C., and it has all those implications of mind and soul snatching at the nation's capital. So it becomes really insidious with these heads of state."
The 4400: "Audrey Parker's Come and Gone" Review
By: jiggyj
Another week, another "4400 of the week," though of course the only ones we've seen this season have been promicin users in the regards, perhaps we should call them "promicin user of the week." With this week's installment, we're introduced to Audrey Parker, an old lady with bad arthritis in her hands, who took promicin because…well…why not. When you're that old and with such debilitating arthritis, why not? Audrey survived the promicin and was given the ability to astral project, where she roams the world as a younger version of herself.
Everything runs smoothly for Audrey to begin with, as she spies on a young artist who is being taken advantage of by a con artist working as her manager, and she even poetically waxes on the good that can come from using promicin. Things are going a little too well when suddenly Audrey finds herself flicking in and out of her astral projection, and it's all because her real body has died. Through the course of the episode Audrey and NTAC work to figure out if Audrey really killed herself or if someone else did it.
The episode plays out much like the movie Ghost, with an invisible specter walking around, following those she thinks are responsible or could figure out the case. The episode works relatively well, but there are flaws. The biggest flaw of the episode is the fact that the ultimate killer kind of comes out of left field and there was absolutely no way to know who murdered her and why, other than the fact the killer shows up very briefly in one early scene for no other purpose than to show the killer once so when the end comes it doesn't feel like a complete deus ex machina.
Much more interesting was Shawn opening the 4400 Center and getting Heather – the teach who can unlock the potential gifts in students – to join him. Throughout the course of the show, Shawn at his most humanistic has probably been our favorite character, as he is a good guy and one that is likable. Shawn was also involved in the healing of the NTAC boss' father, which was completely predictable after last week's episode, though gladly they didn't drag it out over the season and resolved it quickly.
On the Kyle front, his promicin prophet vision convinced him to steal the prophecy book of the cult/religious group, and it ultimately led him to a corner where a traffic accident happened, involving a police transport vehicle. And who so happened to walk out but Isabelle herself. Yes, Isabelle was kind of predictable, because we don't really know anyone else in jail at the moment.
The episode was good enough, but the major focus on Audrey Parker and the way she affected Diana from a life perspective was kind of boring. Shawn was the most interesting aspect of this episode, though not really given enough time. We have liked Heather in her various appearances through past seasons, so hopefully she might be joining and being a more visible presence from now on.
Rating: 5.8
Sci-Fi Brain News -- July 5, 2007
Catherine Tate Is New 'Doctor Who' Companion
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that Catherine Tate has been confirmed as David Tennant's new companion in the next series of Doctor Who.
The comedian will reprise her role as Donna, who featured in the most recent Christmas special, 'The Runaway Bride', for the full thirteen-episode run of series four. As previously reported, Freema Agyeman will return to the show mid-way through the series, which begins filming this month for broadcast from next Easter.
"Catherine was an absolute star in The Runaway Bride and we are delighted that one of Britain's greatest talents has agreed to join us for the fourth series," said exec producer Russell T Davies. "Viewers can expect more ambitious storylines and a whole host of guest stars in 2008."
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Dennis Hopper In Talks For 'Doctor Who'
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that Dennis Hopper is in talks to make a guest appearance in the next series of Doctor Who.
The 71-year-old American actor is being lined up by show producers to play a baddie in series four, which starts filming next month.
A source told The Sun: "Dennis is a big fan of the show and bosses are really keen to get him on board. Discussions have been going on for some time but his diary is proving a nightmare to work around. However everyone is hopeful they can make something work."
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'Transformers' Sets New Tuesday Record!
superherohype.com is reporting that after making over $8 million in Monday preview screenings, Paramount/DreamWorks' Transformers brought in $27.4 million in its first full day according to estimates, easily setting a new Tuesday box office record over Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest's $15.7 million made last year. It has grossed an impressive $36.3 million in just 28 hours.
Flash Gordon - Retro Review (1980)
By: Aelora
FLASH – Ahhhh! He’ll save everyone of us!
How can you speak of the classic Flash Gordon without mentioning the Queen soundtrack? Okay, so there’s like one song played over and over again, but it really gets stuck in your head… for, like, days. Weeks, even. Now that’s a film with power. After all, it’s the movie that George Lucas wanted to make, that Kurt Russell auditioned for, that Dennis Hopper was considered for, and that Pink Floyd might have done the soundtrack for… Now, those components could have made for a very different movie. But you really can’t complain when you get people like Timothy Dalton before he became James Bond, Deep Roy before he became an Oompa Loompa, and Richard O’Brien… who makes me want to break into the Timewarp every time I hear his voice.
Okay, okay. Classic though Flash Gordon may be, anyone who watches it also has to admit it’s one of the corniest, cheesiest, campiest films ever made. And the surprising part is… it works.
Based on a comic book, and the opening of the movie really gets this across to you so that you can be forewarned as to what you’re getting yourself into, Flash Gordon is about a football player, for the New York Jets, who saves the Earth. It begins with Flash (Sam J. Jones), and a beautiful travel agent, Dale Arden (Melody Anderson), boarding a plane while, unbeknownst to the majority of people on Earth, an alien warlord from the planet Mongo, named Ming,(Max von Sydow) is slowly destroying the Earth for the fun of it. During their flight, the sun disappears, as do the pilots, and Flash and Dale are forced to crash land the plane.
Unfortunately for them (but fortunately for planet Earth), they crash land into the science lab of Dr. Hans Zarkov (Topol) who, though he knows exactly what is happening to Earth, isn’t completely what one would refer to as sane. He had just finished attempting to force his assistant at gunpoint into a homemade rocket ship so that they could battle the evil forces destroying the planet, when Flash and Dale arrived. Seeing a new opportunity for help in his plan, he tricks them onto the rocket, and after a struggle with Flash, the rocket is accidentally started, and they shoot off into space. Luckily, the rocket steers straight into the oddly colored, psychedelic vortex that leads them to Ming. When Ming hears of the ship, he asks that it be safely landed, and the travelers brought to him.
Shortly after arriving in Ming’s stronghold, Dr. Zarkov makes the keen observation that the people around them are ripe for an overthrow of their leader – they just need someone to join them together in their struggle. A hero, let’s say. Sure enough, when they enter the grand room where Ming is meeting with his subjects – rulers of other worlds who are forced to pay him homage – it is immediately evident that no one really likes him. Of course, they don’t like each other, either, so the whole working together thing isn’t even a consideration.
After Ming takes an immediate lustful admiration of Dale, deciding to make her his, Flash, who has already fallen in love with her, makes an attempt at escape. This leads to one of the more humorous scenes in the film, where the action turns into a football game. Flash is tossed a football-shaped ornament by Dr. Zarkov, and begins eluding the guards, like Joe Montana and Rich Gannon in their best games! During the action, Prince Vultan (Brian Blessed), the leader of the Hawkmen, offers some brilliant comedic moments when surreptitiously taking out a few of the guards on his own. Dale plays cheerleader on the sidelines, while Ming’s beautiful daughter, Princess Aura (Ornella Muti), watches in growing admiration beside her father. It all comes to an end as Dr. Zarkov tosses Flash another heavy ornament, only to hit him in the head, knocking him out. Ming orders the immediate execution of Flash.
Unbeknownst to Ming, Princess Aura has taken such a liking to Flash, that she persuades the doctor into faking Flash’s death during the execution, and they bring him back so that she can help him escape. After an almost very successful attempt at seduction in her ship, she takes her fiancé, Prince Barin (Timothy Dalton), to keep him safe. Unfortunately, the prince is already jealous of her attention toward Flash, so the moment she leaves, he throws him into prison in their swamp. Wanting to kill Flash but having promised the princess he would protect him, Barin sends his second-in-command, Fico (Richard O’Brien), to befriend Flash, tricking him into escaping. Once Flash exits the swamp, Barin challenges him in an odd type of Russian Roulette involving a very deadly scorpion-type creature. It’s a show of testosterone to see who is manly enough to continually stick their arms into the tree trunk, waiting for the creature to strike. Flash outwits Barin by pretending to have been bitten, and begs for death. When Barin removes his sword, Flash turns the tables and escapes.
Meanwhile, back at Ming’s stronghold, Aura is captured and tortured for her traitorous act, Dr. Zarkov is brainwashed, his mind wiped of all his life’s memories, and Dale plans her own escape. She’s so good at it, in fact, that she performs cartwheels through the hall to avoid laser blasts from the guards around her, takes them all out on her own, and never once leaves her shiny, high-heeled shoes behind. You’ve gotta admire that kind of pluck! Seeing her escape, the now-brainwashed Dr. Zarkov is sent to stop her only – wait! He’s not really brainwashed after all! Having recited Shakespeare and mathematic calculations while the brainwashing was occurring, Zarkov remembers everything! Together, they escape the stronghold.
Like any good adventure film, eventually all of the heroes have to meet up again, and this is no exception. They’re all captured by the Hawkmen, and their leader, Prince Vultan, scoffs at the notion of teaming up together to battle Ming. Instead, he would rather watch his rival, Prince Barin, and Flash, go at it in a battle to the death. Barin is more than happy to comply, determined to get Flash out of the way. Of course, unlike the audience watching the movie, Barin has no idea that Flash is the hero in this story, and therefore has to defeat everyone he goes up against so, of course, Flash wins, saving Barin’s life in the process. This convinces Barin to work with Flash in the overthrow of the government, but Vultan still won’t have anything of it. As Ming’s people arrive to recapture Flash and the others, Vultan tells his people to grab what they can and run, er, fly for their lives. Barin, Zarkov and Dale are taken into custody while Flash is left behind to deal with Ming, who offers the hero the chance to rule his own kingdom. Ming will allow Flash to rule over Earth, as long as he promises his loyalty to him. When Flash asks why he would do such a thing, Ming replies that he has never met anyone like Flash. Well, of course not. I mean, not only is he the hero of the story, but he’s also a New York Jet! I don’t think Mongo has football…
Of course, Flash declines the offer, and Ming leaves him there to die. The thing is, Flash is the hero, and like all good heroes, he executes his own brilliant escape before the place blows up, flying in some personal hovercraft-type jet ski thing through the air. He ends up contacting Vultan on the radio, and after giving Vultan another chance, and touching the old Hawkman’s heart, the Hawkmen team up with Flash to bring down Ming and rescue their friends.
I’m not going to go into detail as to the end except to say the resulting battle is exactly how a comic book based battle should be. The bad guys are so bad their blood is black, there is some question as to whether or not another ruler will simply return in Ming’s place, and the heroes and their beautiful women will obviously live happily ever after. Of course, Flash, Dale and Zarkov still need to figure out how to get back to Earth, so this is obviously just the beginning of the story…
As much as I groan my way through some of the campy dialogue and cheesy moments of Flash Gordon, I can’t help but have fun while doing it. While some of the “aliens” are a bit ridiculous in their design, the costumes are positively gorgeous. Many of the scenes where all of Ming’s subjects are gathered together are reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz to me, and even bits of the Mos Eisley Spaceport in Star Wars. If nothing else, one has to give a nod of appreciation to the sheer creativity involved in the production of this film. The colors involved in both space as the rocket ship travels through it, and the atmosphere around the planet Mongo are very odd, and very cool. The majority of actors chosen for the individual roles can only be described as exotic, in both looks and mannerisms. While Flash stands out as the All-American jock – blond, tanned and built, everyone else around him only adds to the other-worldly feel of the film with a much darker look.
There isn’t much for back story or setup in this film, so don’t go looking for it. It’s an action-adventure flick, pure and simple, meant to be appreciated for the fun and look of the movie. If you can go into Flash Gordon prepared to enjoy it for the comic book feel, then I think you’re going to come out loving it. Besides, there’s the Queen soundtrack, which always makes for a good movie.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- July 3, 2007
9 Million Tune Into 'Doctor Who' Finale
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that a peak audience of over 9 million viewers witnessed the climax to the season finale of Doctor Who's third season on Saturday night.
'The Last of the Time Lords', guest starring John Simm as The Master, averaged 8 million viewers throughout its specially extended running time of 51 minutes, beating the overnight ratings for the previous two season finales.
A combination of heightened public interest due to a publicity blitz and dismal weather keeping casual viewers at home, is likely to have played a part in the outstanding figures and 39% audience share. In recent weeks, the third season has developed the narrative arc concerning British politician Harold Saxon, a pseudonym for The Master, leading towards the epic showdown between the two surviving Time Lords.
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Kylie Confirmed For 'Doctor Who' Xmas Special
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that Kylie Minogue has signed up to appear in this year's Doctor Who Christmas special alongside David Tennant.
The Australian singer will start filming one of the lead roles for the episode this month in Cardiff, Wales.
It has been confirmed that the storyline for the show, Voyage of the Damned, will follow on from the end of series three where the Titanic crashed into the Tardis.
Executive producer of the show, Russell T Davies, said about the news: "We are delighted and excited to announce that Kylie Minogue will be joining the Doctor. Doctor Who Christmas specials are always a joy and we feel very confident that this will be the most ambitious and best Christmas episode yet."
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'Torchwood' Ignites Terrorist Fear In Cardiff
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that the filming of an explosive scene for the latest series of Torchwood reportedly sparked fears that a terrorist attack had taken place in Cardiff.
According to The Sun, the BBC had warned police in advance that a detonation would take place in a disused building near to the Millennium Stadium, but the news had not filtered through to many of the public in the city centre, wary after the recent attacks on Glasgow and London.
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Dominic Keating Joins 'Heroes'
superherohype.com is reporting that Variety reports that Dominic Keating has joined the slew of new cast members for the second season of NBC's "Heroes". He'll play an Irish mobster in the hit show.
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'Sunshine' Contains Homages
scifi.com is reporting that Danny Boyle, the British director of the upcoming SF movie Sunshine, told SCI FI Wire that the film features several nods to SF movies that influenced it, including Ridley Scott's Alien and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The movie centers on a team of astronauts sent on a doomsday mission into space with a Manhattan-sized nuclear device designed to reignite the dying sun.
Early in the movie, the camera rests momentarily on a bobbing toy in one of the cabins. It's a deliberate wink at Scott's Alien, which had a similar shot, Boyle said.
Dark City - Review
We're going to go into our backlog of material now that some shows have ended, and let people see some reviews and articles they might not've seen the first time they came around. We're going back to our old Retro Review series today, with a review that seemed to piss a great deal of people off that day - Dark City.
So what do you get when you put together a film that is nothing but great ideas and interesting visuals? You get the movie Dark City. Does that necessarily make Dark City a great movie or even one you should actually see at all? Read on and find out.
This 1998 film starring Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, Rufus Sewell and William Hurt is the story about a group of aliens – the Strangers as Sutherland’s Dr. Daniel Schraber calls them – who are an old race of beings who can alter physical reality in a process they call ‘tuning.’ The Strangers came to our planet seeking a cure for their own immortality. Dr. Schraber helps the Strangers conduct their experiments and we see that at midnight every single thing in the city – from people to cars – simply freeze and stop.
We soon meet the hero of the film – John Murdock – as he wakes up in a bathtub unaware of who he is or what is going on. He soon gets a call from Dr. Schraber who tells him that he has lost his memories and that they were erased. Dr. Schraber tells Murdock that he can help him, but he hangs up on him and leaves. As he leaves the apartment he woke up in, he sees the dead body of a hooker. He doesn’t know what is going on, but he decides to leave quickly since Dr. Schraber had also informed him that people were soon coming to get him. As he makes his way to the streets he runs into his first encounter with the Strangers.
The Strangers are all bald men – ranging in size from little children to average sized men to taller than average – which wear black trench coats and matching black fedoras. The Strangers are able to put people to sleep by simply dragging their hands in front of their victim’s faces and saying the word ‘sleep.’ The Strangers also talk in a garble of snake hisses and clicking voices.
Murdock soon finds himself using some mental power – a clear wave of pushing energy that emerges from his forehead – that he uses to gather his wallet and learn his identity. Murdock also uses his power once again on the Strangers when they have him cornered and they say that he has the same ‘tuning’ ability that they have. The movie from here is all about Murdock trying to find out what is happening, Dr. Schraber trying to stop the Strangers, and Inspector Frank Bumstead trying to capture Murdock who he believes to be a serial killer who preys on hookers.
I seem to recall trying to watch this movie a year or two ago – hearing people talking about it and thinking that a DVD with a Roger Ebert commentary had to happen for a reason – and not liking what I saw and giving up on it halfway through. I tried to watch this movie again and once again failed at my attempt to watch this mess. I got the beginning watched just fine, even the end, but I fell asleep during the middle. I eventually went back and watched the middle again to see what I missed – not much mind you – but if it weren’t for the ending I wouldn’t have even done that much.
The problem with the movie is that it is a jumbled confusion of schizophrenic, attention deficit disorder pacing that jumps from one shot and one set piece to the next so that you can hardly follow what is going on. I’m reminded of some of the commentary tracks Joss Whedon did for his DVD sets – mentioning about how some of his best episodes came from his desire not to do the typical Hollywood one-shot, one-shot, two-shot type of directing – and this is a good example of what he was talking about. The movie never lingers on anything, never gives you a quiet moment that you can later appreciate and look back on fondly, and instead simply throws one shot up after another for the sole reason of delivering the ending and visual effects. I didn’t care for any of the characters of the film, mainly because they didn’t let me get to know them. There were a few times – maybe only once or twice – where they did slow things down a bit (in regards to pacing) but still managed to even speed up those moments by doing quick cuts between the people talking. I felt dizzy with all the head turning the camera was doing.
The acting is also very poor in this movie. Rufus Sewell delivers his lines like a robot with no emotions, Kiefer Sutherland speaks and acts like the clichéd mad from so many science fiction movies, William Hurt delivers his uninspired lines like he usually does, and even Jennifer Connelly (who has shown her acting ability in such movies as A Beautiful Mind and Requiem For A Dream) fails to deliver any resonating power whatsoever. Maybe I shouldn’t blame them as actors, but rather the script for delivering nothing important for them to say. Oh, there is maybe one important line that is uttered throughout the film, but other than that there was absolutely nothing.
The ending and visuals– as stated earlier – is the only reason to watch this film. It has an interesting twist at the end and the final moments are pretty cool on a visual level. The visuals of the Strangers is also a neat blend of Hellraiser’sPinhead and the albino boy from the movie Powder. The overall general look of the movie – a science fiction film set in a dark, nighttime city that looks exactly like Tim Burton’s version of Gotham in the first two Batman movies – is an interesting and visually pleasing site to see. It is just sad to see that with all these visuals they couldn’t let the actors and story just move through them at a fair stroll instead of the NASCAR race that it is.
So can I recommend you to buy or even rent this movie? Absolutely not. I wouldn’t even advise someone to watch this film if it came on their television. It is just a horribly done movie on about every scale. I can’t help but think that the story might have been better told as a comic book or novel instead. If you want to know what happens just ask someone who slaved through the film and regretted it afterwards. I can’t for the life of me see why Roger Ebert would do a commentary track for this retched film – though I’m not saying he is a perfect reviewer by any means – but how could someone who did a track for the DVD release of Casablanca sink so low as to find this film worth his time to do a commentary track. I’ve heard from people that The Matrix took some inspiration from this film – and it shows since it seemed a lot like The Matrix to me even before someone told me that fact – but I must tell you that The Matrix (even as the widely hated trilogy, though I liked the final two films more than the average person) is a better film in all respects. Give The Matrix a watch if you haven’t seen it before, but please take my advise and leave Dark City alone at all costs.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- July 2, 2007
Tennant Pledges Future As 'Doctor Who'
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that David Tennant has insisted that he has no immediate plans to leave Doctor Who.
The actor admitted that he is baffled by the constant speculation about his future in the role - because he is enjoying every minute of playing The Doctor.
"From the moment I took the job there has been speculation I was leaving. I'm having the time of my life and I wouldn’t want it any other way at the moment," Tennant told Wales on Sunday.
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Freema and New Companion For 'Doctor Who' Series Four
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that Freema Agyeman will return in the next series of Doctor Who, despite appearing to make an exit in Saturday's finale.
The BBC confirmed today (Monday) that Freema's character Martha Jones will make a "triumphant return" in the middle of the next series, which starts filming this month for transmission early next year. She will also appear in three episodes of the new series of Captain Jack spinoff Torchwood.
"Series three has gained outstanding reviews and Freema has been a huge part of that success," said exec producer Russell T Davies. "Now we are taking the character of Martha into brand new territory with a starring role in Torchwood."
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Video Set Report: IESB On The Set of 'Flash Gordon'
iesb.net is reporting that the second day of our whirlwind Vancouver Sci Fi Channel tour started with a visit to the set of Flash Gordon, one of the newest additions to their fall slate.
With 22 episodes ordered, the cast and crew have jumped into a rigorous weekly schedule. Cast members Eric Johnson (Flash), Gina Holden (Dale), Dr. Zarkov (Jody Racicot) and Karen Cliche (Baylin) sat down with our big group of journalists to talk about the newly reinvented series!
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Moore Uncertain About 'Southland Tales'
scifi.com is reporting that Mandy Moore told SCI FI Wire that she's not sure what's happening with director Richard Kelly's apocalyptic SF film Southland Tales and added that she's not even sure she's still in the long-delayed project. Starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Miranda Richardson, Kevin Smith and singer-actress Moore, Southland Tales is set in near-future Los Angeles on the eve of an unnamed disaster.
"I have not seen any incarnation of that yet," Moore said in an interview while promoting her latest film, License to Wed. "I had a great time working on it. It was one of those things where I met with Richard maybe two weeks before they started shooting. I had just finished that movie American Dreamz at the time, so I was like, 'Um, yeah, sure, I'll jump into this one. Why not?' I play the Rock's wife in the movie, if I'm still in the movie at all. They had to cut it down so much, and maybe they just cut out my character altogether."
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'Sunshine' Sun Voyage Is New
scifi.com is reporting that Danny Boyle, director of the upcoming SF movie Sunshine, told SCI FI Wire that the film offers a never-before-seen space mission: one headed directly toward the sun.
"There are a limited amount of things that you can do in these stories, and they do tend to resemble each other a bit," Boyle admitted in an interview in Beverly Hills, Calif., on June 29. But this film offers something other movies in the genre, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris, don't: "We have this journey to the sun, which was the original thing which hasn't been done. Astonishingly, to our amazement, we couldn't find [any film with it]. It hasn't really been done."
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GM Fretted Over 'Transformers' Car
scifi.com is reporting that Shia LaBeouf, star of Michael Bay's upcoming Transformers movie, said that he and co-star Megan Fox were watched like a hawk by a General Motors representative because the actors shot scenes inside GM's costly new Camaro concept car, one of only a few prototypes in existence. The sleek yellow sports car was used as the vehicular incarnation of the transforming robot Bumblebee in the movie.
"We had a dude on set with us from GM, who was a real loser," LaBeouf said in a group interview in Beverly Hills, Calif. "He was all over us."
Fox added: "He wouldn't let us sneeze or [anything]. ... You couldn't do anything inside the car, and we're trying to act in this scene, and we couldn't even move or touch the leather."
But when the GM rep wasn't watching, LaBeouf said: "When we [got] away from him, we're pushing the car at 140 on the freeway. The second we get back, ... he's, like, washing down the leather. We just, like, rode it through gravel."
Roswell (3.16) “Crash” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
We join the kids at the Crashdown; some are studying, while Maria and Michael are working a shift. Michael is still refusing to apologize for his behaviour when he had the royal seal of Antar. Michael goes off in a major huff and while out in the desert, he sees a crash in the distance. He drives up to it on his motorcycle, and finds some wreckage of a plane that had been hit mid-air, and sees a helmet of the pilot’s in the refuse. Michael leaves before the military can get to him, as they have a helicopter and jeeps out looking for the wreckage.
The next day, Jeff Parker is getting things into full swing, as the news has announced that there was an unexplained crash in the desert the night before. He’s hoping to make a mint off the UFO nuts that will flood the town if the Air Force confirms the crash is unexplained. Michael comes in the back and tells Max about the crash. Max is concerned about unnecessary exposure for the group.
Isabel is trying to get a hold of her husband at work, but her mother knocks in the middle of her call. Mrs. Evans has come over to shop with her daughter, and possibly find out why Jesse was acting funny with Mr. Evans. Isabel tells her mother that nothing is wrong, and why don’t they blow the wad on some shoes.
Meanwhile, Michael has shown up at a press conference to see what the Major has to say about the crash, and he sees the daughter of the crash victim speak. Michael asks to confirm that the Colonel didn’t eject from the plane before the crash and the daughter, Connie, confirms that. Michael follows Connie to her motel and confronts her about the lie that the Air Force told her. She gets angry and kicks Michael out.
Jesse and Mr. Evans are sitting in a gentleman’s club having a drink. Mr. Evans is grilling Jesse about his marriage, and at that same time Mrs. Evans is grilling Isabel. It seems that Isabel’s mom and dad are trying to get to the bottom of what is going on in Isabel’s marriage to Jesse. Jesse feeds misinformation to Phillip, as Isabel agrees to come over to her parents’ home to shut her mother up.
Connie Griffin meets with Major Carlson to find out what really happened to her father. The Major places the blame on her father, asking if he was suicidal or something, as he’s gone missing. Connie is not happy with Carlson’s allegations, and leaves. A man who was at the press conference comes out from a hiding place to speak with Carlson, who tells him that it isn’t safe to talk, and they’ll meet him later. On the way home, Connie is run off the road by an unknown assailant, who turns out to be that same man. He puts a bomb on the car and drives away. Michael drives up and saves Connie, and as she berates him for following her, her car blows up. Michael takes her back to his place, where Max and Liz are studying. Connie tells them that Michael said that they could help her find her father. Max confronts Michael outside for bringing this danger into their homes. Michael tells him that he needs to do the right thing, and helping Connie is it.
At the Crashdown, Major Carlson is meeting with the strange man, and asks him if he did “it”. The man confirms the deed is done, nothing was found in Connie’s motel room, and Michael Guerin was the one who found the helmet. Maria goes to the kitchen and Michael pulls her into the back. He introduces her to Connie, and he, Max and Liz talk about what to do. When Liz sees the two men leave, Michael and Max walk out into the dining room. Michael comes up with a plan to get to the bottom of things.
Carlson goes to a room on the base and pulls a bag off the head of a man in chains. It is Colonel Griffin, and they are holding him illegally. Carlson tells Griffin that he’s already dead according to media reports, and he will never know what is inside the UFO that they took from the crash site, as he will really be dead.
Isabel is at her mom’s place, and Diane is pressing Isabel for information about her marriage. Isabel thanks her mom for being accepting of her and Jesse, and her mom asks her to stay the night. Isabel balks but then accepts the invite. On a late night call with her husband, Diane confirms that she has done what Phillip wanted, not divulging what it is that Phillip has asked her to do.
Meanwhile, Max and Michael have dressed up like aliens, and have captured the assassin. They interrogate him, demanding to know where the ship is and where they are holding Colonel Griffin. The next morning, Max and Michael tells Connie that the Air Force is going to kill her dad, but they’ll get there first. Max tells Liz to meet them in two hours out in the desert, and Michael apologizes to Maria, finally. Connie is freaked that they’ll get caught.
Max, Michael, and the assassin gain entry to the base with the assassin’s ID. Michael, disguised as the assassin, goes to see about the ship, while Max takes a gurney to the cell they are holding Griffin in. He brings out the assassin and trades places with Griffin, chaining the assassin to the gurney that Griffin was chained to. They manage to get out of the base safely, but Michael took an alien artefact, which alerts Major Carlson. Carlson shoots “Griffin”, but when he takes the hood off, he realises that it was the assassin that he shot. Max, Michael, and Griffin meet Liz, Maria, and Connie out in the desert. Connie is thrilled to see her dad again, and they drive off in the van for a life on the run. Max, Liz, Michael, and Maria drive home, happy that they have saved someone else for a change.
Back at the Evans household, Diane is making her daughter some pancakes for breakfast. Isabel is on the phone with Jesse, who tells her that her father is onto her. She’s so upset by this revelation, that she uses her powers to swirl things in her room around. This is all caught on videotape by a camera that her mother hid inside her room. That night, Phillip and Diane see the tape, which disturbs them to no end.
Well, an alien aircraft crashes in the desert outside of Roswell, how unusual. This episode felt like filler, as we wait for the show to end. It basically sets up the idea that the “Alien Nation” can help other people, not just themselves, and opens the door for Tess to come back. You all know that Tess is coming back, right? She had Max’s son, so you just darn well know that she’ll be back.
It also establishes the Evans being brought into the fold through subterfuge on their part. Max and Isabel have worked so hard to keep their parents safe, but Phillip just wouldn’t leave well enough alone, even if it is in his best interest. Phillip annoys me. As long as his kids aren’t doing anything illegal or unethical, he should be satisfied. Sure, you want to know what your kids are up to, but most kids don’t want their parents completely in their business. Phillip has abused their trust in a most despicable manner. Max and Isabel aren’t doing drugs, they aren’t committing crimes; they are simply lying to their parents to keep them safe. It would be different if there wasn’t a safety issue to consider. Sure, most kids don’t have to worry about hiding their alien status from their parents, but in this show, what is a reasonable action has changed definition slightly.
Michael manages to redeem himself somewhat, given his terrible behaviour in the previous episode. He was a bit of an ass at the beginning, considering how he didn’t see the need to apologize for his actions right away. Hopefully, this means the Bickersons are back. I really miss them. Being a giant dork to your girlfriend does not constitute the witty repartee identified with the Bickersons.
This episode didn’t set off anything remotely akin to pleasure for me, so I can’t justifiably give it anything higher than a 6.0. I was bored through most of it, and even the rescue was not gripping. Two more episodes and I hope they’ll be a bit better, but at this point I’m not holding my breath.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- June 29, 2007
Jon Favreau's 'Iron Man' Cameo
superherohype.com is reporting that Robin Leach has revealed Iron Man director Jon Favreau's cameo in the film on his Blog:
Robert Downey Jr.'s character in the "Iron Man" film shooting at Caesars Palace called for a security guard, so to save time and money, director Jon Favreau cast himself in the part - and then after shooting the scene yelled "wrap" to end final Vegas shooting of the Marvel Comic hero.
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'Transformers' Writers Orci and Kurtzman
superherohype.com is reporting that Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have a lot of experience writing for franchises that have fanatic fanbases, having gotten their start on the popular cult TV shows "Hercules" and "Xena" before moving over to J.J. Abrams' popular spy show "Alias." In the last few years, they've written a number of prominent summer movies including Michael Bay's sci-fi flick The Island and then teaming with J.J. for his first movie Mission: Impossible III.
Superhero Hype! had a great opportunity to talk to the duo about their latest movie with Bay, a little thing called Transformers, and find out how they got involved in reinventing Star Trek from the ground up with J.J. Abrams. They had some great insights into working with Michael Bay on one of the summer's most anticipated films and how it compares to working with J.J., making it fairly clear that Transformers and Star Trek are both in really good hands. If you're a would-be writer looking into doing a bit of genre writing for TV or movies, you can also learn a lot from these guys.
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Three More Sequels For The Pile
moviehole.net is reporting that word on a few sequels has come trickly in…
Firstly, there’s already buzz – and I’m not surprised – that Dreamworks and Twentieth Century Fox, respectively, has greenlit sequels to their tent-poler’s “Transformers” and “Fantastic Four : Rise of the Silver Surfer”.
An insider told Moviehole a few days back that the next “Four” movie will again be dependent on who they can “team the Fantastic Four up with” – speaking, of course, in relation to the Silver Surfer’s presence in the latest movie. “That worked, so don’t expect to see a solo effort”.
And according to ‘Jeremy’, Michael Bay’s website is abuzz with talk of a “Transformers 2”. That’s pretty much a no-brainer though, right? (Here in Australia, “Transformers” was the second biggest opening day of 2007, behind “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” and the fifth biggest ever non-sequel opening ever). I’m aware the producers are keen to get moving on film number two… it’s just up to Dreamworks to fire the starter pistol.
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Brandon Routh Talks 'Justice League'
moviehole.net is reporting that with word that the ‘’Justice League’’ script is ready to roll, the question now is a ) when will it kick off (will it kick off before the “Superman Returns” sequel?) and b) who will be a part of it, cast-wise.
The new Man of Steel, Brandon Routh, tells IESB that he’d definitely be interested in reprising his role as Superman for the “Justice League” movie and he’d be keen to “work with Christian [Bale, who plays Batman] and whoever else was to be a part of it”.
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O'Mara Time-Jumps In 'Life on Mars'
scifi.com is reporting that Jason O'Mara (Resident Evil: Extinction) has been tapped as the lead in Life on Mars, David E. Kelley's time-travel drama pilot for ABC, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Based on the BBC series of the same name, the show centers on a detective (O'Mara) who finds himself transported back to the 1970s after his girlfriend is kidnapped.
The project, from 20th Century Fox TV, David E. Kelley Productions and Kudos Film & Television, was ordered as a pilot this past development cycle, but production was pushed to summer because of difficulties casting the lead.
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'Transformers' Stars Got Blasted
scifi.com is reporting that Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson, who play soldiers in Michael Bay's upcoming Transformers movie, told SCI FI Wire that they found themselves surrounded by very real explosions, gunfire and crashing cars during the production. "You had all the explosions going on around you," Duhamel said in a group interview in Beverly Hills, Calif. "[It] gets your adrenaline running right there, to have all the sounds."
Duhamel and Gibson play members of a U.S. Army squadron who narrowly escape an attack by a giant alien robot in Qatar, only to find themselves caught up in the epic battles between factions of robots in the United States. In reality, the actors found themselves a part of one of action director Bay's patented military campaigns.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- June 28, 2007
'Doctor Who' Supremo Reveals Master Inspiration
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that Doctor Who supremo Russell T Davies has spoken about his reinvention of classic villain The Master for the current series.
Speaking to Radio Times, Davies said: "John Simm's incarnation of The Doctor's nemesis is thoroughly contemporary. Previous Masters seemed to appear on a whim, merely to thwart The Doctor with a throaty cackle."
Referring to the character disguising himself as politician Harold Saxon, Davies added: "The moment I thought of having an evil Prime Minister, I thought, 'That's the key to it!' How much fun would The Master have in that role?"
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The Making of Danny Boyle’s 'Sunshine'
iesb.net is reporting that the IESB has been supplied with an exclusive featurette on the making of Danny Boyle’s Sunshine starring Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne and Chris Evans.
Fifty years from now, the sun is dying, and mankind is dying with it. Our last hope: a spaceship and a crew of eight men and women. They carry a device which will breathe new life into the star. But deep into their voyage, out of radio contact with Earth, their mission is starting to unravel. There is an accident, a fatal mistake, and a distress beacon from a spaceship that disappeared seven years earlier. Soon the crew is fighting not only for their lives, but their sanity.
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Finales Give 'Stargate' Ratings Boost
gateworld.net is reporting that Stargate SG-1's on again, off again love affair with the Nielsen ratings is back on, with the series finale winning strong viewership numbers for SCI FI Channel. The heavily promoted (or should we say promoted) episode "Unending" scored a 1.7 rating, about 50 percent higher than its recent numbers.
This represents 2.2 million viewers for the swan song of the veteran series.
"Unending" made SCI FI Channel the number one cable channel among the 18 to 49 and 25 to 54 demographics at the 8 p.m. hour, and even beat broadcast networks FOX, CBS and ABC among men 25 to 54 and 18 to 49.
It is the show's highest rating since the mid-season finale "The Quest, Part 1," and for Season Ten second only to the more heavily promoted two-hundredth episode (1.9).
Season finale night (June 22, 2007) also proved big for Stargate Atlantis, which followed with a 1.5 rating at 9 p.m., SCI FI announced. With almost 2 million viewers, "First Strike" turned in the spin-off show's srongest ratings since the mid-season finale "The Return, Part 1" (1.6).
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Campbell Begs For 'Battlestar' Role
scifi.com is reporting that Bonnie Hammer, president of USA Network and SCI FI Channel, told reporters that The 4400 star Billy Campbell approached her after the network's upfront advertising presentation in New York last month and begged her for a role in the final season of Battlestar Galactica.
"He literally assaulted me trying to do whatever he possibly could to bribe me to have me bribe [executive producers] Ron [Moore] and David [Eick] to create a character arc inside Battlestar Galactica," Hammer said in a press conference during SCI FI Channel's digital press tour in Vancouver, Canada, on June 26. "That is the only show he ever wanted to be in. That is the only show he would do for free. Billy Campbell, literally, saying, 'Give me an arc, any kind of arc, in Battlestar Galactica, please.' And it was very hard to get away from."
Kyle XY (2.02) “The Homecoming” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
Kyle has shown up at the Tragers, and is welcomed with open arms. Before Nicole or the kids can grill Kyle, Brian Taylor shows up as Kyle’s family lawyer to give a full explanation. He tells the Tragers that Kyle’s “parents” were killed in a car accident a week previously. Kyle is back with the Tragers as his “parents” named the Tragers as guardians if anything should happen to them. The Tragers have to make a decision in regards to whether they will keep Kyle and make it official.
Meanwhile, XX is loose from Zzyx and manages to kill a local hunter, who thought he was going to have some fun with the goop-covered naked girl. She eats the food sitting over the fire and takes his coat to keep warm, leaving the scene in disarray. At Madacorp, the “official” arm of Zzyx, Ballantine has seen XX’s tracking device move away from the wreckage at Zzyx, and calls in special help to track her down. Emily Hollander is a special ops agent the corporation has used before to track hard to find people, and she is given the task to find XX and bring her in.
Brian Taylor is sitting with Nicole and Stephen Trager, explaining what needs to be done, and telling them that he has to fly home the next evening, so they have some time to mull over their decision. The kids are all upstairs, in Kyle’s old room, talking about what’s going on. Stephen and Nicole get Kyle ready for his tub, and letting him know it’s okay to talk to them about what he went through. Nicole and Stephen then go to their room and talk about what to do. Nicole feels residual guilt over what happened to Kyle, and wanting him back so badly.
The next morning, the family is trying to be sensitive to Kyle’s needs, but Kyle just wants to keep things casual. Kyle gets a call from Thomas Foss wanting to meet him later. After he hangs up, Lori asks if he’ll come with her to meet Declan later, as Declan has been in a bit of a funk since Kyle left.
Hollander finds evidence of XX’s presence at the camp site, where the dead hunter is found. She calls Ballantine and lets him know what’s been happening, and lets him know that XX has super-strength. XX had left the knife she threw through the trunk of a tree, still stuck, and that has Hollander worried. Ballantine reiterates how dangerous XX is, and wants her found before anything else happens.
Kyle walks through the kitchen and sees a glass of water on the counter. He tries concentrating, but before he can do anything, Josh walks in. Josh is still convinced that Kyle isn’t quite human, so Kyle tricks Josh. Kyle drinks the water and tells Josh that his new trick is making the water disappear. He leaves and runs into Declan on the street. Declan wants to know what’s really going on, because the coded message Kyle left him has been freaking him out for months. Kyle begs off and leaves Declan in the lurch.
XX is making her way through a park, and people are staring at her lack of clothing and dirty appearance. She sits by an elderly man, and touches his face, curious of his wrinkles, compared to her smooth face. She spots Kyle, and something inside resonates with her. Kyle stops, almost as though he knows he’s being observed, but continues on his way. XX gets up and leaves in her confused state.
Nicole meets with Brian to talk about Kyle’s missing years. Brian tells Nicole that Kyle, or Noah as he gives his “real name”, was kidnapped by Adam Baylin. He lied, telling her that Adam thought that Kyle was his own lost child and kept him, teaching him advanced mathematics and physics; but as Adam had a mental illness, he ended up killing himself in the woods, leaving Kyle by himself for the Tragers to find. Brain tells Nicole that Kyle/Noah just wants to leave the past in the past, and move forward, hopefully with the Tragers.
Kyle has meanwhile made his appointment with Foss. Foss has all of Adam’s belongings, and wants Kyle to learn from them. Kyle tells Foss that he wants to tell Declan, but Foss warns against it. While Foss tears a strip off Kyle for getting Declan involved in the first place, Kyle experiences an emotional vibration that causes the glass above in the skylight to collapse. Foss tells him that it is things like the glass shattering that must not be explained, because they are unexplainable.
At the local coffee shop, Amanda and Josh are waiting for Kyle, when he shows up just in time to see his secret crush, Amanda Bloom, walk in. Kyle is still all thumbs around her, but pretends everything is cool, promising to get together with her sometime soon.
XX sees herself in a broken mirror near the docks, and is disturbed by what she sees. Hollander tracks XX to a shipping container, where XX is painting pictures of everyone she has seen. Hollander sedates XX in order to gain control of the situation. She calls in to Ballantine, telling him that he needs to see what’s going on inside the shipping container.
Nicole and Stephen sit Lori and Josh down to talk to him about what “happened” to Kyle. They all agree that Kyle should be a part of the family. When Kyle walks into his room, Declan is waiting, wanting explanations for what has been going on with Kyle. Declan creates another emotional surge in Kyle and a pane of glass in his window splits. Kyle tells Declan that keeping his secret wasn’t all for nothing, but he cannot tell him anything else.
Hollander shows Ballantine what XX was up to with all the art, and he sees a picture of Kyle on the wall of the container. He tells Hollander that XY must’ve survived, so that will be her next assignment.
Back at the Tragers, Kyle is watching everyone get ready for dinner. Nicole tells Kyle that they know about Adam Baylin, and they want to go ahead with making Kyle a permanent part of the family, but they’ll let him lead. Kyle tells them that he wants to be part of the Tragers lives, but to please call him Kyle, not Noah. Brian Taylor comes by to make sure everything is all right, and Kyle tells him that he doesn’t like the lie about Adam and the kidnapping. Brain tells them that he had to lie to close the puzzle for the Tragers. Brain gives him a handkerchief from Adam, and inside is a ring with an unusual design. After Brian leaves, Kyle settles into a family dinner with his new family.
Okay, so apparently XX isn’t entirely evil. Sometimes I hate the promos that a network decides to use. They are so misleading. I can’t remember if Kyle had such vocalisation issues when he came out of the woods, but XX isn’t making much of an effort to try on a new language. I wonder if she even has any capability to speak. She’s been out for more than 24 hours, and she’s made no effort to even squawk a little, which strikes me as strange.
Kyle’s managed to reintegrate himself back into the Trager family without too much ado. Sure, the writers tried to make it seem so much more dramatic than it actually was, but Kyle slipped back into the family like a puzzle piece put in the right spot. His meeting Amanda was slightly funny though. I haven’t the foggiest idea why he would think that she and Charlie weren’t still an item. Last season made it pretty clear that she was with Charlie, much to Kyle’s chagrin. Amanda treats Kyle like a cute little puppy, and I don’t think she clues into how much her presence discombobulates him.
Josh is pretty funny with how much he wants Kyle to be some kind of uber-being. The fact that Kyle actually is, is even funnier in its irony. I could watch Josh be strung along indefinitely, simply for the cheap laugh. Josh reminds me of my older brother when we were kids. He thought he was so smart, until you proved he clearly wasn’t.
I personally don’t think that the lies that Brian told the Tragers will hold up for very long. Sooner or later, Kyle will have to tell them the truth, especially with Hollander hunting him down. Madacorp will not go away, and Kyle cannot rest easy. The Tragers will have to be let in on the secret, or they will be letting themselves get into inadvertent danger. Kyle would die if he knew he put them in such a spot. I’m just wondering when the cat will be let out of the proverbial bag.
This was a good episode to bring Kyle fully back into the Trager fold, and it looks like Declan will have to remain frustrated with his lack of knowing the mystery that is Kyle for a while longer. I’m giving this episode a solid 8.5 out of 10.0. I want to get more into the meat of why XX exists and what is going to happen how that Madacorp knows Kyle is alive.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- June 27, 2007
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura
superherohype.com is reporting that there aren't that many mega-producers in Hollywood, guys who have dozens of big projects on their plate in various stages of development, but one of the few who seems to get stuff done is Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who spent nearly 13 years at Warner Bros. as their President of Worldwide Production, involved in the production of nearly 130 films including little movies like The Matrix, Ocean's Eleven and the early "Harry Potter" movies. After leaving the company, he formed his own production company to produce the movie based on Vertigo Comics' Constantine, and in recent years, he produced Mark Wahlberg's Four Brothers and Shooter, both for Paramount.
This summer, he's keeping busy with two more high profile Paramount projects: Michael Bay's Transformers, based on the toys and cartoons (in case you didn't know), and Stardust, directed by Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake) and based on the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. (He also produced Dimension Films' 1408 based on a Stephen King story, which opened this past weekend.)
Superhero Hype! got on the phone with this producer to find out more about these two projects, but you can also read more with him about a possible Transformers sequel and G. I. Joe movie here and the status of Beverly Hills Cop 4 here.
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'Transformers' Turturro Aped Bay
scifi.com is reporting that John Turturro, who plays a preening government agent in Michael Bay's Transformers movie, told SCI FI Wire that it was easy getting Bay to go along with his outlandish performance: He simply based it on Bay.
"I kept looking at him, and I was thinking, 'Well, maybe I should do it more like Michael Bay, you know?'" Turturro said in an interview in Beverly Hills, Calif. "At least a little bit. And I would say, ... 'Well, I was doing you.' He'd say. 'Well, that was really funny.' ... He's such a narcissist. [laughs] 'You're in love with yourself,' I said, 'so you're just seeing me through you, ... but you're better looking, so it's OK.'"
The 4400: "Fear Itself" Review
By: jiggyj
Oh come on, those clowns were such a ripoff of Pennywise!
I've been a fan and watcher of the show since the beginning, and it feels like The 4400 is getting away from one simple truth that was prevalent in the beginning – all the abilities had a purpose. Given, the people injecting themselves with promicin are doing it out of purely selfish reasons, but I miss the good old days (like the first season) where though you might not have seen a purpose for an ability from the get-go, through that trickle down effect you eventually saw that the future graced these 4400 with certain abilities for very specific reasons. This season, however, we've already had one kid who uses his God like abilities to score with women and takeover a town, while this week we have a kid who makes people afraid. If you ask me, not a very helpful ability.
The episode started out with people freaking out, having their worst fears come to life, like being cramped in an elevator with a lot of people in there as well though there is nobody else there, or imagining that a bunch of evil looking clowns are chasing after you to kill you. NTAC investigates and ultimately leads to a little autistic boy whose father gave him the promicin shot in hopes it would cure his son, since he couldn't stand his son not recognizing him there or even smiling at him. Eventually the boy's story is resolved when they bring in the newly wakened Shawn, who suddenly is able to heal the boy of a developmental disease, something the character even claims he has never been successful at in the past. We cry sham and deus ex machina!
As for the other characters we've followed off and on since the beginning of the series, we've got Isabelle being tested regarding if she can regain her powers, and we learn from the government that if she takes promicin she'll have an allergic reaction and die. Yeah, like we are going to trust what a shadowy government official says. Good try 4400 showrunners. We've also got Diana coming back to NTAC for the time being, as long as it takes to find her sister. We've got the new boss of NTAC Meghan mentioning the poster again (not cute or funny callback) and the introduction of her sick father in the hospital who is dying. Hmm, why do we predict she'll either ask Shawn to save him, or she'll give her dad a promicin shot or will take one herself in hopes of getting healing powers? We've also got Shawn's brother saying he wants to take a promicin shot and Kyle revealing he did take a shot, though he didn't die or get a power…or did he. It turns out Kyle does have an ability – a prophet ability. It turns out the young girl last episode was his ability manifesting itself, and this week it leads to him to the reveal of the White Light, a cult whose messiah looks an awful lot like Jordan Collier.
Overall, we were really disappointed with the episode. The story of the "4400 of the week" wasn't very interesting and was really too predictable, with every plot point being too obvious to call. Meanwhile, we've got way too much foreshadowing with more story points that are screaming "look at me" cause you know they'll play a factor later. If this episode was any indicator, we've quickly found ourselves not looking as forward to the future to come this season as we once thought.
Rating: 5.2
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