Sci-Fi Storm

Here are some of the big and our favorite stories we covered in 2012…

In January, rapidly rising British actor Benedict Cumberbatch joined Star Trek: Into Darkness, while CW’s Arrow dropped “Green” from the name and named Stephen Amell the lead actor.

We lost actor Ian Abercrombie and the voice of the Robot from Lost In Space Dick Tufeld.

In February, we learned of Jace Hall’s plans to reboot Space: 1999 (and he answered some of our questions), The Hunger Games figured out how to advertise to its target audience, while Disney completely botches marketing for John Carter.

In March, Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome landed in limbo; Terra Nova got stuck in the past; the Doctor gets a new companion (and we’re still trying to figure her out); The Hunger Games sets a girl – and theaters – on fire; and we got ready to say goodbye to Eureka.

We also lost illustrator Ralph McQuarrie and actor Warren Stevens.

In April, we started to learn about why a sequel to The Hunger Games could be a problem; Eureka began its final season (sniff…); Fringe prepared for the end, one way or another, but got a brief reprieve; and Defiance began production.

We lost Stargate series theme composer Joel Goldsmith.

May was really busy, especially regarding Star Wars and Disney, rumors began to swirl about Disney building a Star Wars-themed land at Disneyland Paris (still no confirmation); The Avengers wiped out most memories of John Carter; Carbonite freezing isn’t only for Han Solo (with an example); The Star Wars theme got an a capella treatment; George Lucas played development chicken with neighbors; we talked to our friend Ashley Eckstein about Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Her Universe and Disney; Syfy officially canceled Sanctuary; the Transformers took over Universal Studios Hollywood; Star Wars turned 35; and Lucas gives the first hints of a big announcement.

In June, the entire history of the Federation was printed old-school style and sent back in time to us by Admiral Sulu; Star Trek‘s Data would reunite with his kidnapper on Warehouse 13; and our friend Rosa Golijan let us know what we should have ready for the Zombie Apocalypse.

We also lost master SF writer Ray Bradbury, and actors Richard Lynch and Caroline John.

In July, principal photography was completed on The Hobbit while it gets stretched from one book to three movies; Disney grossed $1 billion in a calendar year faster than anyone thanks to The Avengers; we learned that The Hunger Games final movie will actually be two, taking after a few other franchises; Starz and JMS to take on Dracula, while JMS announced “Studio JMS”; Her Universe added Doctor Who and Star Trek merchandise; we chatted with Warehouse 13‘s Eddie McClintock and Saul Rubinek; and we begin to hear about a Blake’s 7 remake.

In August, Joss Whedon started working on Avengers 2 and a live-action S.H.I.E.L.D. show; John Barrowman would join Arrow; Syfy says it will take on the Blake’s 7 remake; Red Dwarf goes back to the old way; and Star Wars gets animated again by the makers of Robot Chicken.

We lost author Harry Harrison and producer/director Tony Scott.

In September, Neil Gaiman told us that he’s writing another Doctor Who episode; Star Trek: Into Darkness gets its name; Terry Brooks’ Shannara fantasy series is to be developed as a TV series; Chekov gets his star; and former Doctors gathered to support former companion Janet Fielding.

We lost Babylon 5 actor Michael O’Hare.

October is when it all changed, when the surprise blockbuster deal with Disney purchasing Lucasfilm was announced, along with three new movies and more in development; Stan Lee Media decides now is a good time to sue over rights of the Marvel characters; and we shed a few extra tears over the Ponds’ departure.

Huge for us was that we got to visit the sets of Defiance and Warehouse 13, making some new friends with the cast and crew as well as seeing some old friends.

In November, Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome finally saw the light of the web, and was “never intended” for TV; Doctor Who turned 49; and Merlin won’t return for a sixth season.

And that brings us to December, when Syfy turned 20; we learn Cumberbatch’s rather ordinary big-bad name – or do we?; and we talked with Being Human‘s Sam Witwer about vampires and Sith Lords.

And, alas, we lost creator/producer Gerry Anderson.

We hope you all had a wonderful 2012, and enjoyed following Sci-Fi Storm! Here’s to another great year!