Sci-Fi Storm

TVShowsOnDVD.com has posted the complete interview with TV/SF writer David Gerrold, where he talks about involvement – and non-involvement – with Star Trek, Land of the Lost, and more. Also, I’ve finally set up for the completed seasons of the original Star Trek on DVD over in the SciFi TV Store – you can now order Season 1, Season 2 (including the great Gerrold episode, “The Trouble with the Tribbles”), and Season 3, and even the Mega Set!!

Muggle Net has a couple of news items regarding the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban DVD release. It is to be released on November 23rd, retail at $22.95, and include lots of goodies including extra footage, tours of Honeydukes and Lupin’s classroom, games, and more.

Lucasfilm announced the full title of the next Star Wars movie – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – at the San Diego Comic Con today. Other announcements include DVDs of the Droids and Ewoks series, and the two live-action Ewok TV movies and more. Nothing on the Star Wars Holdiay Special though… 🙂

SCI FI Wire has exclusive links to the online trailer for Warner Brothers’ A Sound of Thunder staring Ed Burns and Ben Kingsley, based on the Ray Bradbury story that shows even a slight change in the past can elicit massive changes in the present.

Wiley Saichek writes “Author Steven Erikson made his U.S. publication debut with GARDENS OF THE MOON (Tor Books, June 2004), the first book in his acclaimed Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Information about his work can be found online at his new website http://www.tor.com/erikson. Features include an excerpt and an author Q&A.

In other news, Steven Erikson is among the authors who will be chatting on Scifi.com on Tuesday, July 27, 9 PM EDT.

Erikson will also be chatting on Wavnutz.com on Wednesday, September 8, 9 PM ET.

———————
Wiley Saichek
Promotion Manager
The Book Report Network
Wiley@bookreporter.com”

A few more details have leaked about the future of Star Trek – first off, Shatner is indeed in talks to guest on Enterprise – as some “incarnation” of Kirk. Also mentioned in the article is T’Pol possibly getting married, the Temporal Cold War will be resolved, and the new season will be shot entirely on high-def video. In movie news, exec producer Rick Berman is talking with Jonathan Frakes (Cmdr. Riker from TNG), currently promoting Thunderbirds which he directed, about directing the next Trek film – and it won’t have any characters from or be based on any series.
Update 7/22: Original Trek theme composer Jerry Goldsmith, who also wrote severa of the other series and movie themes as well as for others (he won 5 Emmys and an Oscar for The Omen), died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer.

The record for a premiere of a SCI FI Channel series, set just last week by Stargate SG-1, has been shattered – big time. Stargate: Atlantis premiered this past weekend with a 3.2 household rating – beating it’s predecessor by a million viewers.

Brent Spiner, best known as Commander Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, will guest star on several episodes of Enterprise, plating the great-great-grandfather of Data’s creator, Dr. Noonian Soong (also played by Spiner in ST:TNG). Can you say “ratings booster”? Rumors are also out about Shatner also pulling a guest appearance, but there are no confirmed plans.

The comics-to-movie/tv business is all up in arms. Marvel, having sued Sony over Spider-Man licensing (since settled), is now suing Disney – claiming it is owed royalties from the airing of several made-for-TV episodes of animated versions of Marvel properties (Spider-Man, The Hulk, etc.) on ABC Family, where the contract actually dates back to when Fox owned the channel. In other news, the planned Superman remake gets another director (I think this is #6) – this time X-Men master Brian Singer. This puts plans for his Logan’s Run remake and X-Men 3 in question.

The SCI FI Channel’s documentary-turned-expose on filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, entitled The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan, is a complete hoax. The whole thing was a work of fiction, with Shyamalan in on it. Bonnie Hammer, president of SCI FI, called it a “guerilla marketing campaign” that went too far. Looks like she could be in hot water too – Rebecca Marks, NBC entertainment spokeswoman, said “This marketing strategy is not consistent with our policy at NBC.” NBC Universal is now the parent of the SCI FI Channel.