Sci-Fi Storm

Josh Silberstein writes “Brooklyn, New York ? January 12, 2006 ? Groundhog?s Day hasn?t historically been the biggest American holiday, but this year Hollywood is gearing up for what promises to be a momentous date. That?s because on February 2nd, the highly coveted Golden Groundhog will be awarded to the Best Underground Movie of 2005. The Golden Groundhog Awards were established to recognize genuinely outstanding films that lacked the distribution and marketing support needed to become the blockbuster hits they deserved to be. It was announced today that the awards ceremony will be hosted by William Shatner, an actor who has enjoyed tremendous success on the silver screen, but who also knows from firsthand experience that great films can fall through the cracks.” Read More for the rest.

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For those in the U.S. who have been waiting on the DVD set of the first season of the revived Doctor Who, you are going to have to wait a bit longer. It seems that the set has been delayed from the originally announced Feb. 14th date. Some speculation is that the delay could be tied to getting a TV network to pick up the show – a broadcaster would prefer to air the series before the DVDs are out.

The boy wizard sure does have a following. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, sold over 4 million copies on the first day alone, and 7 million overall, in the U.S. in 2005. This dwarfs the number two book, the paperback version of A Million Little Pieces, a recommendation from Oprah’s book club, did a “paltry” 1.7 million copies for the year, and that book is now running into criticism. J.K. Rowling said she’d be starting the seventh and final book with the new year.

Steve Jordan writes “My latest book, to be released on January 13th, is entitled “Midgard’s Militia.”

Imagine a world of Superheroes: The godlike figures; the daring exploits; the incredible battles; the frightening mayhem; the thrilling victories.

Now imagine a world suddenly without its heroes.

Earth’s heroes have just been killed on an outer space mission. And as the deadly force that destroyed them now rushes towards Earth, brave souls come forward to try to take the place of the heroes… to keep the world safe…

This story is in a “pulp/comic book” style, a very fun read, but at a very grown-up level, with great personal relationships, serious characters, and a realistic take on a world where superheroes walked (if such a thing is possible). As always, it’ll sell for $2.50USD, in multiple e-book formats, and as always, no DRM!

For more details on this and other novels, visit www.SteveJordanBooks.com. Handheld and smartphone browsers can access the mobile-friendly site at www.SteveJordanBooks.com/hand.”

Maybe if he just gave a straight answer, there would be less confusion – Joss Whedon apparently said in an interview with USA Today (I was unable to find an article on usatoday.com) “We’ll never make Firefly again.” But then he says that he’d like to “tell more stories of this universe and to hang out with these people.” Well, if its a movie, or another TV series, in the same universe with the same characters, isn’t it in in some sense Firefly?

Stefan writes [links cleaned up again] “Warner Bros. Germany has now released the “BABYLON 5 – Superbox” including all 5 Seasons and all 6 TV-Movies (with ever first synchronised “Legend of the Rangers”).
The B5-Fanbase dedicated Tin Box includes 2 Poster, a Cap (with 1 of 4 different Logos; B5,IPX, PSI-Corps) and a small well designed Booklet. (Release: Nov-21-2005).

Warner Bros. UK before released “The Complete Universe” including ALSO the Spin-Off “CRUSADE” but *NO* Add-Ons for the B5-Fan. (Release: Oct-24-2005).

The DVD-Box (RC2) at Amazon.de
and The Box.
The DVD-Box (RC2) at Amazon.co.uk
and The Box“ Why don’t we get this stuff in the US?

Stefan submitted the following – I cleaned up the links: “BABYLON 5 “Legend of the Rangers” out on DVD in the UK (since 24-Oct-2005) and coming soon in the US (release 03-14-2006). Link to Amazon.co.uk
and DVD-Cover
Link to Amazon.com [via Sci-Fi TV Store] and DVD-Cover“ Two very different covers – I wonder why. No word on any extras. At last, the collection is complete.

With the SCI FI Channel splitting up their seasons into “Summer” and “Winter” halves, it only makes sense for the DVDs to be similarly split up so people don’t have to wait so long. Thus we have Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.0, which is the first half of the second season of the SFC show that is getting mainstream praise. Read More for a review of this DVD set.

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Discovered a few things to add to the Sci-Fi TV Store – first, the first season of SeaQuest DSV has been released. Also, two more Roughnecks: Starship Trooper Chronicles DVDs have been released: The Zephyr Campaign and Trackers, along with a Complete Set.

Josh writes “I saw this article on some blogs and thought I’d pass it along:

William Shatner?s new DVD club casts him in the one role he?s not had during his storied 50-year acting career: film critic. The recently launched Official William Shatner DVD Club (www.ShatnerDvdClub.com), a DVD-of-the-month club, showcases the best sci-fi movies that didn?t come to a theater near you. Shatner explains, “Determining what movies get broad distribution and studio marketing support is a complicated process, and unfortunately the caliber of the film isn?t the only consideration. I?ve chosen a select group of memorable and entertaining sci-fi movies that never got the exposure they deserved, and made them available to fans everywhere at a great price.?” Read More for the rest. I also had seen this, but been pretty busy this week. Thanks to Josh for taking the time…

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