Sci-Fi Storm

As a followup to a story we tweeted about a couple weeks ago, about Katie Goldman and how she was teased at school because she was a girl with a Star Wars backpack and bottle and loved Star Wars, and afterwards the whole geek community stepped up. Katie got support – and gifts – from all over. Ashley Eckstein (the voice of Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: Clone Wars, founder of geek girl site Her Universe and all around super-cool geek gal – nice CNN article here) sent her a care package and she and her mom wore the t-shirts to the Chicago screening of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. And Think Geek sent a light saber. And the 501st Squadron and others took pictures with her dressed a Princess Leia.

The geeks win again…we do rule the world!

This sounds vaguely SF-ish…J.J. Abrams is developing a new pilot for Fox and Warner Bros. TV called Alcatraz, which is about cop Rebecca Madsen (played by Sarah Jones, Sons Of Anarchy) and a team of FBI agents who are tracking down a bunch of Alcatraz inmates and guards who had mysteriously disappeared, and have reappeared in the present day. Now Sam Neill (Merlin) has signed on for the role of Emerson Hauser, the head of a government agency “who radiates authority and piercing intelligence.”

OK, I’ve mentioned this several times now…thanks to the great folks at BBC America (who also have their own giveaway), I’m giving away a prize pack which consists of the following DVD sets: Doctor Who Series 5, Being Human Series 2, and Top Gear Series 13, plus a Union Jack light switch wall plate! And it’s very easy to get a chance to win!

Note: I said following us on Facebook would work, but unfortunately that won’t work for this giveaway right now. I have to change the way I integrate with Facebook and won’t have that ready in time. Update: I’m working on at least a temporary solution to the Facebook issue, but no guarantees.

First, follow us on Twitter if you haven’t already. Then retweet any news article posted on Twitter (the ones that start with News – this article doesn’t count but feel free to retweet anyways) from today through Monday night (if retweeting the old fashioned way, make sure “@scifistorm” is in there as well as the link). Also send @scifistorm a tweet naming your favorite Doctor from the classic years (up through the seventh Doctor). If you don’t have a favorite from that era (perhaps you are too young to know), then choose one of the newer ones.

On Tuesday evening a winner will be randomly selected and announced. One entry per person, please – although retweets of articles are always appreciated. Spread the word! We haven’t been using Twitter very long, but I’d like to see us get the follower numbers up!

Update: This will be extended through Wednesday night…and I should add, this is for U.S. copies of the DVDs and is open to U.S. residents. I can’t ship the package internationally.

Cate Blanchett has signed on to reprise the role of Galadriel in The Hobbit – although how she will fit in is unknown as I don’t recall her in the book – but it would help bridge some familiarity to the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Also confirmed (finally) is Sylvester McCoy playing the wizard Radagast the Brown, as well as Ken Stott (Casanova) as Balin; Swedish actor Mikael Persbrandt (Everlasting Moments) as Beorn, the skin-changer; Ryan Gage (Hamlet) as Drogo Baggins; and William Kircher (Out Of The Blue) and Jed Brophy (District 9) as the dwarves Bifur and Nori. Brophy is no stranger to Middle-Earth either – he appeared in the The Two Towers and The Return Of The King as different orcs.