Sci-Fi Storm

It seems spinoffs are “in” in Britain. Before the first Doctor Who spinoff, Torchwood goes into full production, another spinoff is announced – but it won’t be on the BBC, and it features one of the classic characters – K9. K9 Adventures will air on Jetix Europe, and will also feature a new look to the metallic pup – looking a bit more like a Sony design. No word on any human companions, or if John Leeson will provide the voice. In the meantime, K9 returns to Doctor Who with Sara Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) this weekend.

In a presentation to advertisers yesterday, the SCI FI Channel announced a prequel to Battlestar Galactica called Caprica to be produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, along with writer Remi Aubuchon (24). Taking place more than 50 years prior to the events of Galactica, Caprica will deal with the creation of the Cylons, and follow two families – the Graystones and the Adamas (of which one presumably very young William Adama will one day become commander of the Galactica).

Per Variety, Brendan Frasier (The Mummy) is set to star in a remake of Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, this one being produced in 3D. There have been a few remakes before, but some were pretty darned poor, having little to do with the original story except in name…

J.J. Abrams, who created the hit series Lost and also took over the production of Mission: Impossible III, will apparently take over another franchise (original Variety article – requires subscription) – the on-an-off Star Trek XI movie. He’s set to co-write, produce and direct, with an aim at a 2008 release. It will reportedly be based on the often-rumored “Starfleet Academy” concept, following Kirk and Spock when they first meet and their first mission. UPDATE 4/24: Rick Berman he has nothing to do with this one – perhaps to the rejoicing of Trekkers everywhere…

In celebration of the upcoming and record-setting 10th season of Stargate SG-1 starting in July, Sony Home Entertainment is re-releasing the first 8 seasons on DVD in new packaging, and may be including some more extras (forcing us completists to re-purchase everything again 🙁 ). I understand the new packaging should be slim-line cases for each DVD. Once I know more I’ll let you know, but I have added links for 6 of the 8 seasons to the Stargate SG-1 Store. For some reason Season 5 isn’t listed yet, and Season 8’s information is all wrong at Amazon (looks like they mixed it up with Ben-Hur, so I’ll update as soon as Amazon does.

The second season of Doctor Who began airing yesterday in the U.K., with the first episode titled “New Earth”. This episode sees the return of a seemingly dead enemy, and another planet – something that hadn’t happened yet with the new series. Still waiting to hear about a U.S. pickup – we’re halfway through the SFC airings, with “Dalek” just having been broadcast. Might need to go to my underground network (i.e. family) for some imports…anyone heard about ratings on SFC?

In this world of new media, I’ve not seen a trailer for a book – until now. The upcoming U.S. release of Frank Beddor’s The Looking Glass Wars (Due out in September) has just that – and interestingly storyboarded and narrated introduction to the premise of the novel. Note that the cover design for the U.S. release has not been shown yet – the image is of the U.K. paperback. The novel itself is an interesting re-imagination of Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland.

Russell T. Davies is giving a preview of what’s on tap for the eagerly awaited second season (series if you’re British). Some highlights: “The Rise of the Cybermen” two-parter; Queen Victoria and a werewolf in “Tooth and Claw”; and “School Reunion”, featuring none other than Sarah Jane Smith (played by Elizabeth Sladen, who played the role in the Third and Fourth Doctor eras) and K-9.

Peter Jackson’s massive remake of King Kong was released on DVD recently, and I finally had the opportunity to watch the DVD. Here is a brief review (no scores) – only because I started a new job and couldn’t devote enough concentration to a full-on review of a 3+ hour movie…

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SCI FI Wire reported yesterday on who is involved with the new ABC anthology Masters of Science Fiction (I wonder if the name got expanded at Harlan Ellison’s request), but a few of the details were wrong, and rumors about how much J. Michael Straczynski was involved. JMS clarified it a bit in a UseNet post (not on JMS News yet). Read More for more details.

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