Sci-Fi Storm

Remember the 2011 Super Bowl ad from Volkswagen featuring the kid dressed up as Darth Vader attempting to use his force powers on everything from a doll to a car? (If you don’t, scroll down to the bottom of the article to see it). Well, the boy who performed in the ad, Max PAge, now 7 years old, is facing the Dark Side of a different kind. He was born with a congenital heart defect, and now it’s time for an operation. He’s scared…but he’s facing it like a Jedi.
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Here is the trailer for the upcoming fifth season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and it looks like the fights are escalating, with Darth Maul and Savage Opress leading the charge – and it looks like the darksaber will return!

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Syfy’s hit drama series Being Human, starring Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath and Sam Huntington, begins production on its third season today in Montreal. Anna Fricke (Men in Trees, Everwood) is Executive Producer/Showrunner with Muse Entertainment producing thirteen 1-hour episodes for Syfy.

In Being Human, vampire Aidan (Sam Witwer), ghost Sally (Meaghan Rath) and werewolf Josh (Sam Huntington) share the creature comforts of their Boston brownstone while struggling to keep their supernatural secrets from the outside world. Together they strive to resist the temptations of their true paranormal natures and live lives that are as near to “normal” as possible.
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As I get back to work after a very busy weekend, let’s start out with a clip from Disney/Pixar’s Brave, which will be released on June 22nd…
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Is Paramount’s World War Z in serious trouble? The movie, which had already finished principle photography but recently announced that they were expecting 7 weeks of reshoots, reportedly had a third act that was so bad that Lost creator Damon Lindelof has been brought in to rewrite it.

World War Z, based on the novel by Max Brooks, was originally adapted by J. Michael Straczynski and then received rewrites by Matthew Michael Carnahan and stars Brad Pitt.

Actress Amy Aquino (The Finder, ER, Harry’s Law) has joined the cast of Syfy’s Being Human. Her character, Donna, run a local soup kitchen and helps to find Sally after her disappearance at the end of Season 2.

It’s been a while since I posted one of these, but enjoy the latest video from Peter Jackson behind the scenes on the production of The Hobbit. This time they take it to the studio…
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Warner Bros apparently sees some money still in the classic 60s Batman TV series, which starred Adam West and Burt Ward as the caped crusader and his sidekick Robin, in a very campy take on the otherwise Dark Knight of Gotham. Today Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced an all-new licensing program for the series, which for years only made available the Batmobile for licensing. But now the new program includes all sorts of art, gadgets from the show like the Bat-phone, as well as the likeness of the stars and many of their arch enemies, including Cesar Romero as The Joker, Burgess Meredith as The Penguin, Vincent Price as Egghead and Eartha Kitt as Catwoman.

What is interesting is that the original series still has yet to see a digital release of any kind – long rumored to be due to disagreements about the various rights holders. The theatrical movie that was released between the first and second seasons has both a [asin=B0016MOWPA]DVD[/asin] and [asin=B0016MOWOQ]Blu-ray[/asin] release, however, but this new licensing program makes no mention of the actual footage from theseries being available.

In next Monday’s Lost Girl, Bo’s efforts to help Trick find a stolen body uncover a lethal Lich. If you’ve ever played Dungeons & Dragons, you’ll know a Lich means trouble…tune in to Syfy and find out what happens at 10/9c!
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Whenever you come up with a short list of science fiction authors, Ray Bradbury is on that list, although he didn’t like to be called one. He’s one of the few authors that almost everyone has read, as part of school reading. He wrote such classics as The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes. The SFWA has an award named after him, as is an asteroid. He has an Emmy Award, and a National Medal of Arts, among many others. He influenced many in various forms of media.

Ray Bradbury passed away last night peacefully at the age of 91.

The White House even released a statement from President Barack Obama.

“For many Americans, the news of Ray Bradbury’s death immediately brought to mind images from his work, imprinted in our minds, often from a young age. His gift for storytelling reshaped our culture and expanded our world. But Ray also understood that our imaginations could be used as a tool for better understanding, a vehicle for change, and an expression of our most cherished values. There is no doubt that Ray will continue to inspire many more generations with his writing, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”

There was only SF book I recall reading as a child in school that everyone was required to read in class, The Martian Chronicles – and we read one of the stories in short story form separately. I also remember Dandelion Wine being required reading, something of a fictionalized version of his childhood. I remember the TV miniseries adaptation of The Martian Chronicles, and an episode of Ray Bradbury Theater that adapted the same short story.

Although TV and movie based SF dominated my childhood, Ray Bradbury dominated the written SF, and pressed me on to other other authors like Asimov and Niven.

Ray, you will be missed.