Sci-Fi Storm

Amazon.com has started to take pre-orders for “But in Purple, I’m Stunning… : The Babylon 5 Quote Book”, which is a collection of favorite quotes from the series and the stories that go with them, plus the full script to the finale “Sleeping in Light” and a complete chronology for the series, including printed materials.

Wow. First the BBC announces a second series and christmas special of the new Doctor Who, but then title star Christopher Eccleston he’s quits the show – after only one episode has aired so far. Already bookmakers are placing odds on a replacement, with David Tennant (Casanova) leading at 1-to-10, with previous rumored Whos Eddie Izzard, Alan Davies and Bill Nighy as contenders. Billie Piper (Rose) is expected to be back.

The entries for the 2005 Star Wars Fan Film Awards are off and running – and you can view and vote for them over at Atom Films.

The long rumored “Starfleet Academy” project apparently does exist – it was pitched to Paramount last year – by none other than William Shatner. He also apparently went right to the top brass, skipping long-time Trek runner (who some say burned it out) Rick Berman, but was turned down. However, Pocket Books has asked him to turn the idea into a couple of novels which may come out next year. The idea was to follow a younger Kirk, Spock, and McCoy at Starfleet Academy.

I thought I had posted this before but apparently not. The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame has announced the 2005 inductees for the Hall of Fame. Steven Spielberg (Film, Television and Media), Philip K. Dick (Literature), Chesley Bonestell (Art), Ray Harryhausen (Open) will be inducted in a ceremony on May 6th. This is the first induction since the Hall of Fame moved to the Museum, which opened last year.

The nominees for the 2005 Hugo awards have been announced. Follow the link for the complete list. This years Worldcon will be in Glasgow, Scotland on August 4th-8th.

The BBC reports that they tracked down the source of the recently leaked Doctor Who episode “Rose” to a 3rd party company in Canada, which was working for CBC in Canada (and is a production partner). The person responsible was fired. The premiere in Britain is this Saturday. Alas, with no distributer in the US, are illegal torrent downloads the only way we’ll see it?

UPN has released some details of the upcoming two-part series finale of Enterprise, obth airing on May 13th. The first part, “Terra Prime,” deals with the beginning of the Federation and a human isolationist (played by Peter Weller) who threatens to destroy Starfleet Command. Then “These Are the Voyages” takes place 6 years later, with the Enterprise returning for decomissioning and the signing of the Federation charter. And yes, Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis will guest star.

Steve Sansweet, Director of Content Management and Fan Relationsfor Lucasfilm, has confirmed that they are looking in to a number of TV projects for the Star Wars franchise, both in animation and live action. Exactly what form it will take (series, TV movies, etc.) he didn’t say.

The web site for the uncoming The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has been updated – exactly 42 days before the movie opens (on April 29th). Now you can get all sorts of information on the characters, movie, etc. plus a few games, with more coming soon.