Sci-Fi Storm

tchansen writes “The classic and wonderful short story/essay by Larry Niven about the Man of Steel’s reproductive problems is online with permission at Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex.

Please note that the above link, while not crude, does talk about human/alien reproduction in both clinical and colloquial language and if you are easily offended (or under the age of 18) you should probably follow this link instead.”

Richard Salter writes “Two new high-quality fanzines from DWIN (North America’s longest-running Doctor Who fan club) have been released to celebrate the series’ 40th anniversary.

Myth Makers Presents: Essentials is a fiction anthology featuring stories from top Who book authors Andy Lane, Daniel O’Mahony, Jonathan Blum, Mark Clapham and more, which also features “Essential Elements of Doctor Who” chosen by Robert J. Sawyer, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Raymond E. Feist, Piers Anthony, Larry Niven and many others.

Enlightenment #118: A Forty Year Adventure in Time and Space is a huge year-by-year examination of the series by acclaimed Doctor Who author Lance Parkin, with an introduction by Lloyd Rose.

For more details and to order copies, visit www.dwin.org“

tchansen writes “According to Ain’t It Cool News, the character of Saruman has been cut from the beginning of ‘Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’. The scouring of the Shire isn’t in this movie at all, so the only place the character was featured was at the beginning. The story, a posting of an email between Harry Knowles and Peter Jackson, is that Peter felt that the seven minutes cut was really just tying up loose ends from the previous movie and messed up the pacing of the third movie. The seven minutes cut will return in the Extended Edition DVD released later next year.” You know, I read this several days ago, and never posted it.

According to Variety, the WB has ordered a pilot for a new version of the venerable undead soap opera Dark Shadows, with original producer Dan Curtis joining with John Wells (ER, The West Wing), and aiming for a 2004-2005 prime-time slot. The original ran from 1966-1971, starring Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins, and was briefly resurrected in 1991.

Dreamworks has released the trailer for Shrek 2, the sequel to the suprise hit and Oscar-winning (and non-Pixar) CGI movie. (Other formats/resolutions available via Coming Soon). Shrek 2 follows the newlywedded couple to Fiona’s home of Far, Far Away to meet her parents – who are unaware of her curse, or her husband…Shrek 2 is expected in theaters May 24th, 2004.

The WB suspended production on new series Tarzan after only eight episodes have been produced. Two episodes remain to be aired and will do so, and the network will decided based on the ratings of those episodes what will happen next. However, with its disappointing ratings so far (averaging 3.9 million viewers), it is unlikely to return.

Just a friendly reminder that Star Wars: Clone Wars, a series of animated shorts that fill in between Episodes II and III, debuts tonight at 8pm ET on The Cartoon Network. Also, The Rumor Mill at The Digital Bits is reporting that after a Lucasfilm meeting their DVD release plans are set – with the original Trilogy being released September 2004.

I apologize for the lack of any postings. I’ve contracted this 5-day virus going around which involves very high fevers (102-103 degrees), horrible headaches, etc. which has also been preventing me from sleeping, so when I feel well enough to do something on the computer I’ve got other things to do, and no earth-shattering news has really come out. If there is something newsworthy, please submit it and I will post it, but please be sure to include a link to your source…