Sci-Fi Storm

There is a report that the SCI FI Channel has postponed any decision on the future of Battlestar Galactica until the new year. The main cast contracts have been extended until Jan 31st, so there should definitely be a decision by then. Apparently they are worried about the cost.

Looking for some gifts for the SF fan you won’t see until after the New Year? Or willing to put an IOU in a stocking? There are several eagerly awaited DVD box sets coming out in January: Lost in Space Season 1 and Babylon 5 Season 4 are due on the 6th; Jeremiah Season 1 and Stargate SG-1 Season 5 follow up on the 20th. Haven’t gotten any of the B5 disks yet? Try the first four season in one set!. And good news – we may not have long to wait for the final season – TV Shows on DVD is reporting that Season 5 will hit the shelves on April 13th!

The Sci-Fi Storm Stores will be offline for a while today while I do a much needed upgrade to the OS on that server. Hopefully it won’t take long, but it may take a bit to redo a lot of my customizations. Update: All should be well now. Update 12/23: Apparently the script that updates DNS with my dynamic IP didn’t work, and Verizon decided to change my address after two months. So the stores are down at the moment, but I’m working on it….Update: Fixed, but it may take some time for the DNS caches to get the new address, and you may need to restart your browser.

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Over at Dark Horizons there is mention that Lion’s Gate Films is working on a prequel to the interesting 1997 film Cube, where several people find themselves prisoners inside a maze of cubes, some of which move, and some of which are deadly. The prequel, named Cube Zero, looks to wipe away the “clean” look of it’s predecessor (and the sequel Hpercube, which I haven’t seen yet), and go for a dirtier, grittier look.

Not a lot newswise worth publishing over the weekend that we haven’t already covered. Even this isn’t really new news, but a confirmation – the 7 minute scene fearturing the defeated Saruman originally filmed for the The Two Towers but later tacked on to The Return of the Kins only to be cut, will appear on the extended edition DVD of The Return of the King. The original edit clocked in at 4 hours and 15 minutes. In the meantime, the limited release of the extended edition of The Two Towers in theaters brought in another $700k.

The new Battlestar Galactica miniseries premieres this coming Monday at 9PM ET on the SCI FI Channel. I recently finally watched The Lowdown on it, and there was more information about the changes that have been made. Aside from the known (Starbuck is female, and so is Boomer), the Cylons are now more humanlike (with some mechanicals) originally created by the humans (in the original the Cylon race was actually extinct, and what was referred to as Cylons were their creation). And the Galactica itself is not a flagship but an old clunker ready for mothballs. I have mixed feelings, but will at least watch it to let it stand on its own. Updated 12/10: Fast-forwarding to give people a chance to comment…

Got this in e-mail: “Profiles in History? Auction to Offer incredible selection of Film and Television Memorabilia artifacts. Including those from ?Star Wars,? ?Blade Runner,? ?Jaws? and ?The Godfather.? The auction is this Friday at noon PST, and is available online at eBay Live or in person at the Westin Hotel at LAX. Read More for the whole announcement.

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Dark Horizons has a report on a rumor that Star Trek: Enterprise‘s third season may be cut short by two episodes, with implications that either this season or next could be the last for the show, which has had disappointing ratings despite being reworked with a better storyline. In the meantime, the Programming Insider at Mediaweek mentioned a rumored move of Enterprise to Fridays, but then said that UPN said they have no plans to move it.

tchansen writes “According to postings on Ray Bradbury’s Forums, Marguerite Bradbury, Ray’s wife and partner for 56 years died on November 24, 2003 and was buried on November 28, 2003 at Westwood Memorial Park. She was born Marguerite “Maggie” Susan McClure on January 16, 1922 in Los Angeles, CA.

There is a memorial by Sam Weller available on the official Ray Bradbury Website.”