Sci-Fi Storm

The nominees for the 2013 Hugo Awards were announced yesterday…here they are (with links when available if you want to check them out). The 2013 Hugos will be presented at LoneStarCon 3 in San Antonio, Texas, August 29-September 2, 2013 – the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention.

Best Novel:

[asin=0316098124]2312[/asin], Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
[asin=0316081078]Blackout[/asin], Mira Grant (Orbit)
[asin=1451638450]Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance[/asin], Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)
[asin=0765334798]Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas[/asin], John Scalzi (Tor)
[asin=B00B9ZEMN6]Throne of the Crescent Moon[/asin], Saladin Ahmed (DAW)

Best Novella:

[asin=1616960655]After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall[/asin], Nancy Kress (Tachyon Publications)
[asin=1616960922]The Emperor’s Soul[/asin], Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon Publications)
[asin=0956392458]On a Red Station, Drifting[/asin], Aliette de Bodard (Immersion Press)
[asin=B0089EHIA4]San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats[/asin], Mira Grant (Orbit)
“The Stars Do Not Lie”, Jay Lake (Asimov’s, Oct-Nov 2012)
(continue reading…)

I didn’t get my usual email from Aidan this week, but it looks like he’s a bit troubled with the situation with Kenny after his encounter last week, while Sally is dreading her own fate and Josh thinks about his wedding to Nora and the loss of his last tie to who he used to be…
(continue reading…)

Finally! Next week’s issue of Doctor Who Magazine confirms that David Tennant and Billie Piper will return for the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who, along with veteran British actor John Hurt, who fans would most recently recognize as the announcer and voice of the Dragon on Merlin among lots and lots of other roles, such as Ollivander from Harry Potter, Professor Oxley in Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, and he literally exploded in is role in Alien 😉

Surprisingly the episode is only expected to run around 60 minutes, but it appears that it will see a limited release in 3D cinemas!

Now, can we end the rest of the secrecy?

Who says syndication is dead…Tricon Films & Television and PPI Releasing announced that the Syfy series Sanctuary will be available in broadcast syndication, with 78% of U.S. markets already sold, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and stations from the ABC Owned Belo, Cox, Hearst, Fox, LIN, Meredith, Hubbard, Journal, Pappas, Post-Newsweek, Titan and Wiegel groups. The episodes are expected to start airing later this year.

The show, which had four seasons on Syfy after starting as a web series, was officially canceled by Syfy last May.

Before I get any questions – this appears to be strictly a deal for the existing four seasons of shows, not new content. However who knows what could happen…

We finally have an air date for Primeval: New World and the new British import, Sinbad: June 8th! From the press release:

SYFY’S NEWEST ORIGINAL SERIES SINBAD AND PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD WILL PREMIERE SATURDAY, JUNE 8

NEW YORK – March 28, 2013 – Building on the success of acquired original series such as Lost Girl and Continuum, Syfy today announced that Sinbad and Primeval: New World will join the prime time schedule beginning Saturday, June 8.
(continue reading…)

The team behind the re-imagined magical world of Merlin plan to do it again – this time around the mythical city of Atlantis.

Merlin creators Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy and writer Howard Overman are developing the new program for BBC One, set in the city and retelling the stories of the Greek myths.

The cast was announced today as well: Mark Addy (Game Of Thrones), Juliet Stevenson (Bend It Like Beckham), Sarah Parish (Mistresses, Pillars of the Earth), Robert Emms (War Horse), Jemima Rooper (As If), Jack Donnelly (House of Anubis) and Aiysha Hart.

The show is expected to debut this fall in Merlin‘s old time slot.

Sense8, the sci-fi drama which marks the first foray into the television format from Andy and Lana Wachowski, has been picked up for 10 episodes by Netflix. Georgiaville TV and Reliance Entertainment are producing in association with Studio JMS (the studio set up by J. Michael Straczynski last year.)

Details of the show are scarce, other than it being describes as “A gripping global tale of minds linked and souls hunted.” The Wachowskis said, “We’re excited to work with Netflix and Georgeville Television on this project, and we’ve wanted to work with Joe Straczynski for years, chiefly due to the fact his name is harder to pronounce than ours, but also because we share a love of genre and all things nerdy.”

Sense8 is expected to be released in late 2014, with all 10 episodes released simultaneously.

Here is the latest trailer, out today, for Defiance…a little more artsy, called “Changed Earth”:
(continue reading…)

Still can’t wait? Well, here is a bigger taste for you…the first 14 minutes of Defiance for your enjoyment.

And tune in June 15th at 9/8c on Syfy for the premiere!
(continue reading…)

Good news – we will not have to wait until next year to see the second season of Continuum in the U.S.

Syfy has announced that they will air the second season of the Canadian production starting on June 7th at 10pm ET/PT, marking both a shift to Fridays and to a later time slot – and also 13 episodes, up from the 10 episodes of Season 1.

Here is the press release:
(continue reading…)