Sci-Fi Storm

A couple of endings occur this Tuesday: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith concludes the Star Wars Saga it what is generally considered the best of the prequel trilogy. Also timed to coincide with the release is the game Star Wars: Battlefront II, the sequel to the most popular SW game title to date, available for PC CD-ROM, PC DVD-ROM, PS/2, and XBOX. Finally, Star Trek: Enterprise comes to its conclusion with the release of Season 4.

JMS, as a “thank you” to fans and an attempt to stop the pirate trade on scripts, is offering up all his scripts in published form, plus notes, set photos, and more. There will be 14 volumes to purchase, and each volume will be $10 off for the first week it is available. Volume 1 is on sale now, with successive volumes coming every few weeks. And as a special bonus, for anyone getting all 14 volumes, a 15th volume will be printed and published for a limited time and given free (including shipping and handling) which will include The “bible” for the series, the original plan for the 5-year story arc, alternate scripts for “Soul Hunter” and “And the Sky, Full of Stars”, and more. Man, I wish I had some disposable income right now…

The British National Television Awards, which are voted on by the public, were handed out last night and Doctor Who took home all three awards for which it was nominated: Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper won for most popular actor and actress, and the show itself won for most popular series. I also hear rumors of a Region 1 DVD set in February, but that is unconfirmed.

The press team AREA 51 Radio Station writes “Our 1st Outside Broadcast is this coming weekend:
Last time’s London Expo Movie Event was attended by no less than 20.000 people, and this time round, Area 51 Radio Station’s very own presenters are to broadcast right from the heart of it. Sponsored by the London Expo, Area 51 Radio Station is the only radio station to be broadcasting from this massive sci-fi event. It can be heard at www.area51radiostation.com“ Read More for full details

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The SCI FI Channel announced today that it has picked up additional seasons of its flagship series, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis. This marks SG-1‘s 10th season – the first for American SF series. The X-Files was the previous record holder at 9.

Wiley Saichek writes “Award-winning novelist Suzy McKee Charnas has developed a study guide for WALK TO THE END OF THE WORLD, the first novel in her acclaimed “Holdfast Chronicles” epic. The series is comprised of WALK TO THE END OF THE WORLD, MOTHERLINES, THE FURIES and THE CONQUEROR’S CHILD. The guide for WALK TO THE END OF THE WORLD can be found online at http://www.suzymckeecharnas.com/Study_guide_walk_t o_the_end.html.

WALK TO THE END OF THE WORLD can be found in THE SLAVE AND THE FREE, an omnibus trade paperback edition from Tor that also includes MOTHERLINES. SuzyMcKeeCharnas.com has additional information about Charnas and her work, including excerpts from the “Holdfast Chronicles” (http://www.suzymckeecharnas.com/biblio_holdfast.h tml).”

Anonymous Coward writes “‘Who Shot Bill Gates?’ Subject of XM Radio Theater

Award-winning radio play created exclusively through Internet airs October 29th and 31st on XM Satellite Radio

Borgus.com — October 20, 2005 — Listeners to XM Satellite Radio this Halloween night should prepare to be fooled by a parody news broadcast announcing that Bill Gates has been shot. NOT FROM SPACE is an award-winning radio play created by Borgus Productions which has reached international attention in recent years.” Read More for the whole release.

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The popular character of Captain Jack (John Barrowman), who appeared in several episodes of the recent Doctor Who, will get his own show with the BBC picking up a 13 episode order of Torchwood (an anagram of Doctor Who). The show will center around a group of renegade investigators and will get its launch via the upcoming Who Christmas special and second season. However, there will be no crossover of stories between the two shows.

The on-again, off-again John Carter of Mars project, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ series of novels about a civil war veteran who finds himself caught up with a princess on the planet Mars, has Jon Favreau attached to direct. The project has wandered in development hell for many years, but Favreau believes technology has come to the point that it can be made. Now all the need is a script…that’s currently Ehren Kruger’s (Scream 3) job.

Orson Scott Card’s new pay-per-issue webzine, Intergalactic Medicine Show, has gone live with short stories from a number of authors, and Card promises a new Ender’s Game story with every issue. Each issue (published quarterly) is US$2.50.