Sci-Fi Storm

It’s San Diego Comic-Con time again…and as usual, I’m not there, missing all the fun. Anyways, Comingsoon.net is reporting that George Lucas could create yet another Star Wars release – but this time, it will be in 3D. No idea if he’ll revise the content yet again…

The upcoming BBC1 series Merlin got some more cast today, with the announcement of John Hurt (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, as the voice of the Great Dragon), Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman, as Nimueh), and Santiago Cabrera (Heroes, as Lancelot). Previously announced cast include Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as King Uther Pendragon and newcomer Colin Morgan (Jethro on the recent Doctor Who episode “Midnight”) as the young Merlin. The show debuts on BBC1 in September, while NBC will air the series in the U.S. sometime this winter.

Joss Whedon, currently working on new Fox series Dollhouse, is shooting a new pilot to act as an introduction to the show. Fox is the same network that mucked with the episode order of Whedon’s Firefly, and then canceled the show, which makes this eerily similar. And something similar happened with JMS’ Crusade due to TNT, and it lasted even fewer episodes. However, he is on board with it. “Having been through this I should know I need to deliver a way to get into a story.”

In case you were deep in the rain forests or on duty in Antarctica, The Dark Knight broke records this weekend, including the biggest ever weekend opening at over $158 million (the previous holder was Spider-Man 3 at $151 million). And it continues to get rave reviews – the review over at Bureau 42 gave it a 41 out of 42. Update: The Dark Knight allegedly has a darker side…

For those in the U.S. watching Doctor Who on the Sci Fi Channel, just a heads up: tonight’s episode (“Turn Left”) is essentially Part 1 of a trilogy leading up to the finale of Series 4. And although I haven’t found any release information for Series 4 on DVD in the U.S. yet, two more classic DVD sets are due to be released on October 7th: “The Brain Of Morbius”, a Tom Baker episode, and the entire Colin Baker series collectively titled “The Trial Of A Time Lord”. Pre-order now so you don’t forget!

The Sci Fi Channel’s tentatively titled mini-series Mirabilis got some cast members. David James Elliott (JAG) has been cast as John, a knight and wandering warrior avenging the killing of his family. Natassia Malthe (Bloodrayne 2) will play Perfidia, another knight who also is John’s love interest. Sam Egan (The Outer Limits, Jeremiah) wrote the script.

Nominations for the 60th Annual Emmy Awards are out, and as expected genre shows are getting technical nominations – but some are also getting some mainstream nods: Tin Man and Andromeda Strain are up for Best Miniseries (although against the expected winner John Adams), and Battlestar Galactica episode “Six Of One” is up for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series.

Sometime early this morning (early being between midnight and 2am, as I was woken up by a stupid page from work), the first act of Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog went live. It is a streaming video short in 3 acts, with the other two acts released on the 17th and 19th and will remain online until the end of the day on the 20th, with a followup DVD at a later date. It features Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Nathan Fillion. Joss came up with the idea during the writers strike. And all I can say, having no real sleep so far, is “bizarre”. And I have a feeling that opinion won’t change later…but I’ll bet I’ll enjoy it more. Update 7/17: Act II is now live.

JMS posted yesterday on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated on Usenet (you can read it here with a brief update, and to follow up and various discussions regarding possibly future Babylon 5 projects. In brief, don’t hold your breath. He explains that “The Lost Tales” DVD was made on a small budget, and along with Legend of the Rangers, he felt that they detracted from the overall story of Babylon 5, than added to it. Despite rumblings from the studio about another DVD or perhaps a cable offering, that would be done on the cheap, JMS has decided that he would rather do a big-budget feature film – or nothing at all. And I agree with his decision – you could feel the budget on “The Lost Tales” was tight – it just didn’t feel right. Better to let the series itself stand on its own, than damage it further with forced material to make the studio money. It’s bittersweet, though. This site grew out of other projects and ideas I had that revolved around the show.

The first webisode of Heroes: Going Postal is now live. You can catch it here. “In “Going Postal,” the first series of “Heroes” webisodes, users will get an early glimpse of a new character with special powers and watch his destiny begin to unfold. The fast-paced, twist-filled web series sets fans on a path that leads to the explosive premiere of the third season of “Heroes” on NBC this fall.”