Sci-Fi Storm

Whovians know what “Shada” is – an episode of Doctor Who featuring the 4th Doctor, Romana, and K9 written by the late Douglas Adams (“Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”) that had production halted due to a strike in 1979. It was hailed as the greatest episode ever written. It was released on video tape with Tom Baker filling in the missing parts in narration. Well, it’s going to be produced again by the BBC, with Paul McGann filling in as the Doctor.

IMDB News posted an article claiming that author J.K. Rowling has pretty much finished the fifth book of the Harry Potter series, , and after some tweaks will be sent to the publisher. It is expected to be available in 5 months. The article did not cite a source, so I’m kind of treating it like the SG-1 7th season rumor until Scholastic puts out a release…

Anonymous Coward writes “There’s a petition asking Fox to give Firefly a chance despite less than stellar Neilsons. To me, this show has the most potential since Crusade, so let’s make sure Joss gets a chance to develop it!”

For those of you that like online comics, especially Japanese manga-style with incredible artwork, head on over to MegaTokyo. I’ve been reading it for about a year now, and I have been incredibly impressed. Some geek humor (including L33T-speak) but a great story. In fact, a graphic novel containing “Chapter 0” as well as stuff not previously released is coming out in December from I.C. Entertainment. Why do I bring this up? Aside from being one of my can’t-miss sites every morning, the creator/writer/artist recently just got laid off (something I can relate to), and is going to work full-time doing this, so show him some support…

Well, after rumors and denials, it’s official: The SCI FI Channel has renewed Stargate SG-1 for a seventh season. Series star Richard Dean Anderson will return as Colonel Jack O’Neill as well as his other role as Executive Producer, and production will begin early next year.Update 11/10: And this chat transcript with supervising producer Joseph Mallozzi indicates that Dr. Daniel Jackson (played by Michael Shanks) will return full time…

Jonathan Harris, best known as the bumbling Dr. Zachary Smith in the original Lost in Space series of the 60s, and more recently the voice behind many animated characters in series and features such as A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2, passed away Sunday at the age of 87.

The next two Tuesdays are going to be expensive ones….of course, the Babylon 5 Season 1 Box Set is out tomorrow, as are ST:TNG Season 5 and X-Files Season 6 (my previous report of 11/7 was mistaken). Next Tuesday gives us movies, movies, movies – the extended Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Gift Set and Standard) and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Widescreen and Fullscreen). Since I won’t get the B5 discs until Christmas, can someone send in a review?