Sci-Fi Storm

Finally…the BBC has finally nailed down the broadcast day and time of the next Doctor Who special episode – now dubbed the Easter Special, but titled “Planet Of The Dead” – on BBC One and BBC HD on Saturday, April 11th at 6:45pm BST. No idea on a U.S. broadcast at this time.

Liam Neeson (in his first signing since the death of his actress wife, Natasha Richardson) will play Zeus, and Ralph Fiennes will play Hades in the upcoming remake of Clash Of The Titans. Hades did not appear in the original movie, but in this one he plots to take over Olympus…

Joss Whedon’s fans were probably already a little leery about doing another show with Fox…and there may be reason. With the ratings seemingly on the increase, Fox will apparently not air the 13th episode, already shot and titled “Omega”, instead ending the season on May 8th with the 12th episode, “Epitaph One”. Various theories are in play, and everyone seems to be insisting that the show has not been canceled – but networks don’t seem to like saying that word even when its true…Update 4/10: Consulting producer Tim Minear clarifies a bit – Fox’s TV order ended with the 12th episode, because the original pilot was scrapped. However, a 13th episode was required for DVD contract fulfillment, so “Epitaph One” was filmed as a standalone episode for the DVD. Don’t know why Fox wouldn’t air that at some point as well – but I can also see holding it until AFTER the DVD release…

D&D co-creator Dave Arneson, who along with Gary Gygax (who passed away 13 months ago) created Dungeons and Dragons, passed away Tuesday peacefully. Another d20 roll in his honor.

Leonard Nimoy, who has been making the rounds for the upcoming Star Trek remake, will appear in another Orci/Kurtzman collab effort – Fringe. Nimoy will guest star on the season ender as the mysterious William Bell, the former lab partner of Walter Bishop at Harvard and the founder of Massive Dynamic.

Eventually they have to run out of things to remake as well…this time they are after Freddie Krueger. Being prepped for an April 2010 opening, the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street now has its Freddie – in the form of Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen). The original became a star vehicle for Robert Englund – who seemed to be cast against type after appearing as the ultra-meek Visitor Willie in the original V productions. In the meantime, producer Brad Fuller is talking about Freddie’s make-up on his official blog.

Want to take the world on with a phaser, but don’t have one? Got an iPhone (or iPod Touch) instead? Problem solved with the Star Trek Phaser app, available in the iTunes store. It has both 1-player and 2-player (via Wi-Fi) modes, along with trailers and images from the upcoming movie. And its free. Now I just need a free iPod Touch…

Three new images from Star Trek have been released. Click to view: Eric Bana as Nero; Kirk on ice; Kirk and Spock. In the meantime, the MPAA has officially given Star Trek a PG-13 rating. I wonder what the original would have gotten by today’s standards.

Angie Robert writes in to let us know about a new web series called Slay Angels. Read More for the press release.

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Just a heads up that if you want to catch a glimpse of the upcoming Stargate Universe, a new trailer will debut tonight during the airing of Stargate: Continuum on the SCI FI Channel at 9PM ET. Some time later the trailer will be available on SCI FI Wire.