Sci-Fi Storm

Next up on the “remastered” episodes of the original Star Trek airing this weekend: “The Ultimate Computer”. This has a lot of potential with the space battle between the Enterprise and 4 other Federation cruisers, although I think its still unlikely that 4 cruisers on an attack would be so close together. Still, it would be good to see. Read More for the episode description and 4 still images. Check local listings for when it airs in your area.

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Anonymous Coward writes “DINOSAURS: RETURN TO LIFE? premiers on Discovery Channel February 17th 9 pm EST –

Ever since Jurassic Park, we?ve dreamed of recreating dinosaurs. But the
science behind this fantasy seemed impossible — until now. Remarkable
genetic advances are revealing that the DNA of dinosaurs and birds are
extremely similar. And scientists are uncovering ancient dinosaur traits in birds? DNA like teeth and long dinosaur tails. Advances in genetic engineering are moving so fast that famed paleontologist Jack Horner believes within our lifetime it will be possible to retro-engineer a dinosaur-like creature from a bird. In Dinosaurs: Return to Life, learn why the dream of recreating the dinosaurs is coming closer to reality…”

You can either blame Ford, or blame GM, depending which car manufacturer you dislike more, but the car makers are behind the reason that the voice of K.I.T.T. in the new Knight Rider telefilm/pilot is being replaced. Will Arnett had already completed his voice work for the role, but he has also been the voice of GMC Truck commercials for years. Well, when GM found out that Ford was not only providing the car (a Mustang) for the show, but also is taking part of the marketing, GM asked him to pull out. K.I.T.T. will instead be voiced by Val Kilmer (Batman Forever, Deja Vu).

Some good news – fans in the U.S. will get to see the second Doctor Who spinoff, The Sarah Jane Adventures, on the SCI FI Channel starting in April, along with the 4th series of Doctor Who, according to Gallifrey One. A more child-oriented show (although it can still be a bit scary – but my 7-year-old loved it), it provides a counterbalance to the far more adult-oriented Torchwood.

Sam Raimi, recently having directed Spider-Man 3, is returning to syndicated TV with a new live-action weekly fantasy show – not seen since he gave us Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. The new show, Wizard’s First Rule, is based on Terry Goodkind’s “The Sword of Truth” book series, and is about a woodsman who becomes a magical leader against a bloodthirsty tyrant. Although the show will be produced at ABC Studios and distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, the show will be syndicated – which is becoming more and more rare.

An Anonymous Coward writes in to let us know about the new Torchwood magazine, with a YouTube commercial sneak peek. Interestingly, the URL at the end of the video doesn’t seem to work. No word if it will be available in the U.S.

The second series/season of Torchwood begins airing tomorrow night (January 26th) at 9PM ET on BBC America, only a week after it airs in the U.K. HDNet, which has been showing it in HD on some cable systems, does not list the second series episodes in the near future, although the “coming soon” page lists them returning on February 11th (probably after an exclusive “grace period” for BBCA). In the meantime, SCI FI Wire has an article about John Barrowman playing Captain Jack Harkness for years to come, and Burn Gorman (Owen Harper) is glad that the U.S. is getting the show, and how its got a life apart from its parent show (Doctor Who).

What would happen if every humon on Earth suddenly disappeared? After our cities crumble to the ground? Wildlife encroaches one once concrete meccas? How would the world be different? That’s what the History Channel’s 2-hour original event, Life After People, speculates about. It will air on Monday, January 21st, at 9pm ET. In the mean time, you can catch a sneak peek (Ed: video not currently available). For a more humorous take, I wrote some time back what would happen if aliens visited a certain Central Florida location after thousands of years…although Fans of the Mouse may find it more humorous than most…

NBC has said that it will air the two remaining produced episodes of Chuck on January 24th, at 8 and 10pm (surrounding Celebrity Apprentice). Although Chuck received a full order, the writers strike has halted production, which means these could be the last two episodes of this “season”.

Don’t forget! Season 4 of Stargate Atlantis picks up again tonight at 10pm ET with “Be All My Sins Remember’d”, where Atlantis joins the Wraith against the Replicators.