Sci-Fi Storm

I just learned of this…finally, The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy is getting the [sfs=999]Blu-ray treatment[/sfs] on April 6th! This release is only for the theatrical editions plus the extras, but also includes digital copies as well. Hopefully the extended versions will follow!

Doctor Who: The Complete Specials comes out on [sfs=991]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=992]DVD[/sfs] this Tuesday (along with the individual specials “The Waters Of Mars” – [sfs=987]Blu-ray[/sfs]/[sfs=988]DVD[/sfs] and “The End Of Time” – [sfs=989]Blu-ray[/sfs]/[sfs=990]DVD[/sfs] – the others were previously released and can be found in the Doctor Who section of our store). We’ve already seen the DVD release, so catch a review both of the specials and the DVDs. WARNING – it would be impossible to talk about the features and stories without possibly spoiling some of the surprises, so do not read what’s below if you haven’t seen them, haven’t read anything, and still hope to be surprised. Know only that you want these DVDs.

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They won’t be out in time for the holidays, but next up for classic Doctor Who DVDs are [sfs=985]”The Keys Of Marinus”[/sfs] (William Hartnell) and [sfs=984]”The Twin Dilemma”[/sfs] (Colin Baker’s debut) on January 5th, and [sfs=986]”Frontier In Space/Planet Of The Daleks”[/sfs] double feature (Jon Pertwee) and a new release of [sfs=138]”Rememberance Of The Daleks”[/sfs] (Sylvester McCoy) on March 2nd. On the new Doctor side, “The Waters Of Mars” ([sfs=987]Blu-ray[/sfs]/[sfs=988]DVD[/sfs]), “The End Of Time Parts 1 and 2” ([sfs=989]Blu-ray[/sfs]/[sfs=990]DVD[/sfs]) and sets of all 4 special episodes ([sfs=991]Blu-ray[/sfs]/[sfs=992]DVD[/sfs]) are available February 2nd, all available for pre-order. And if you are still looking for presents for you Whovian, the following were recently released: [sfs=983]The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete Second Season[/sfs], [sfs=982]”The War Games”[/sfs] (Patrick Troughton’s last episode), and [sfs=981]The Black Guardian Trilogy[/sfs] (Mawdryn Undead/Terminus/Enlightenment) (Peter Davison), which are all available now.

The Thunder Child Science Fiction and Fantasy webzine received a press release from the Land o Lakes, Florida Blockbuster announcing the great activies they have planned for the pre-release party of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince DVD.

Check out their press release at http://dailyspace.blogspot.com/2009/12/calling-all-muggles-dec-7-hp-and-half.html.

And if you’re not in the area of Land o’ Lakes, check out your own local Blockbuster for a similar party.

In case you haven’t heard, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince gets its public release next Tuesday (Dec. 8th) on both [sfs=964]Blu-ray[/sfs] and several DVD formats ([sfs=970]Two-Disc Limited/Digital Copy[/sfs], [sfs=965]Widescreen[/sfs] and [sfs=966]Fullscreen[/sfs]). Also, Ultimate Editions of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ([sfs=971]Blu-ray[/sfs]/[sfs=972]DVD[/sfs]) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ([sfs=973]Blu-ray[/sfs]/[sfs=974]DVD[/sfs]) will also be released…it is Christmas soon, after all…

Long before CGI basically replaced all sorts of model-based visual effects, some work was still done with computers. /Film has an article and video about the making of the original computer effects used in Star Wars – and we aren’t talking about what George Lucas did with the “Special Edition”. Larry Cuba shows how he created the computer-generated image of the Death Star and the trench run, including real-time manipulation (very hard to do back then, even for the simplistic graphics), and using pictures of models and a digitizing pen.

Robin Fischer writes to let us know about two events at Blockbuster locations in the Chicago and Orlando areas for the release of Star Trek on Blu-ray and DVD. Read More for all the details.

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Tomorrow sees the Blu-ray exclusive release of Stargate 15th Anniversary Edition. Is it worth buying yet another version of the movie? I’m not sure how it compares against the Ultimate Edition DVD or the first Blu-ray release (I never got those), but this is a great version to have…

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Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince reaches homes on December 8th (in several forms: Blu-ray, 2-disc Limited Edition DVD, Widescreen DVD, and Fullscreen DVD), and for those with the Blu-ray version and a BD-Live compatible player, you’ll be able to take part on a worldwide Live Community Screening on December 12th at 3pm EST/12pm PST, including star Daniel Radcliffe and director David Yates watching along with you and answering your questions. Read More for more details, and pre-order your Blu-ray copy today to make sure you have it in time!

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21 years after its very first series, Red Dwarf returned to TV, in the form of a three-part mini-series called Back To Earth, which came out last week on Blu-ray and DVD. Does it return to its early zaniness, or fall flat like its last series?

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