Sci-Fi Storm

The Daily Mirror is reporting an exclusive that Billie Piper is quitting the Tardis to avoid being typecast, and will leave during the third series. The BBC is not commenting – wonder if that means its true… 🙂

The Doctor’s other favorite nemesis are making a return. The Cybermen will appear in the upcoming second series of the revived Doctor Who, and they’ve gotten a makeover. Check it out. Doctor Who will return first with “The Christmas Invasion” on Christmas Day on BBC One. Still no word on DVDs or a network in the States.

Didn’t even know this was in the works: Fox has committed to a pilot for the tentatively-titled The Sarah Connors Chronicles, based on the character played by Linda Hamilton in the first two Terminator movies, following her and her son John. Hamilton is not expected to be involved, nor is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Included is a mention of a possible 4th movie, as perhaps the start of another trilogy.

JMS, as a “thank you” to fans and an attempt to stop the pirate trade on scripts, is offering up all his scripts in published form, plus notes, set photos, and more. There will be 14 volumes to purchase, and each volume will be $10 off for the first week it is available. Volume 1 is on sale now, with successive volumes coming every few weeks. And as a special bonus, for anyone getting all 14 volumes, a 15th volume will be printed and published for a limited time and given free (including shipping and handling) which will include The “bible” for the series, the original plan for the 5-year story arc, alternate scripts for “Soul Hunter” and “And the Sky, Full of Stars”, and more. Man, I wish I had some disposable income right now…

The British National Television Awards, which are voted on by the public, were handed out last night and Doctor Who took home all three awards for which it was nominated: Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper won for most popular actor and actress, and the show itself won for most popular series. I also hear rumors of a Region 1 DVD set in February, but that is unconfirmed.

The SCI FI Channel announced today that it has picked up additional seasons of its flagship series, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis. This marks SG-1‘s 10th season – the first for American SF series. The X-Files was the previous record holder at 9.

The popular character of Captain Jack (John Barrowman), who appeared in several episodes of the recent Doctor Who, will get his own show with the BBC picking up a 13 episode order of Torchwood (an anagram of Doctor Who). The show will center around a group of renegade investigators and will get its launch via the upcoming Who Christmas special and second season. However, there will be no crossover of stories between the two shows.

I’m not sure what the criteria exactly was (I sure wouldn’t place some of the shows where they were), but Boston.com is running Boston.com’s Top 50 Sci-Fi TV Shows of All Time. Some surprises – the new Battlestar Galactica took the Number 2 spot – and could have been #1 if it wasn’t so new. And Babylon 5 gets some recognition (which often seems lost on the media) at the appropriate #5 spot. Of course there were omissions – Farscape is notably nowhere to be found.

This Saturday, Sept. 17th, sees the premiere of Warner Bros. futuristic makeover of the Looney Tunes characters, entitled “Loonatics Unleashed”. When initially announced, it wasn’t well received, but they pulled it back a bit and better explained the premise. And expect to hear some guest voices such as Tim Curry, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Florence Henderson. Read More for the full press release. In addition, there are several “secret coded” web sites you can visit: www.anx6vd.com, www.jdw4a.com, www.stno37.com, www.2tnoz.com, and www.f2nh37.com. Check you listings for your local Kids’ WB! Saturday morning lineup.

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This year’s Emmy Awards will feature something different – an American Idol-like competition of stars singing hit TV theme songs. Most will be as duets, with our beloved crooner William Shatner teaming up with opera singer Frederica von Stade to sing the Star Trek theme song (you did know there are words, didn’t you?) Megan Mullaly of Will and Grace will team us with Donald Trump for the Green Acres theme. Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) is the only solo performer, doing “Fame”. Viewers will be able to pick their favorite performers online or via text message.