Sci-Fi Storm

Doctor Who releases have shunned the High Definition format until David Tennant’s last “movie” episodes – mainly because they weren’t recorded in HD. [sfs=1038]Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series[/sfs], released last week ([sfs=1039]on DVD as well[/sfs]), is the first full series released on Blu-ray. So how does the video – and the new Doctor – fare?
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Haven’t received your [sfs=1039]Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series[/sfs] discs yet? Well, you don’t have to wait to check out the two “mini-episodes” included – check them out right here!

These minis fill in between two episodes, with the Doctor explaining to Amy about things, and Amy grilling him on his past companions – some brilliant dialog, including why the Doctor likes to have companions…
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Seems my Bothan-er, Warner Home Video/BBC spies have failed me – not only do I not seem to be getting my customary early X-Mas present of Doctor Who DVDs this year (Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series is out on [sfs=1039]DVD[/sfs] and [sfs=1038]Blu-ray[/sfs] this Tuesday), but I was unaware that Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss and writer/producer Steven Moffat’s critically acclaimed series Sherlock also appears on [asin=B004132HZS]DVD[/asin] and [sfs=B004132I20]Blu-ray[/sfs] the same day. I have heard nothing but good things about this version, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch (The Last Enemy, Hawking) as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman (soon to be very well known as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit) as Dr. John Watson, and have been waiting for it to come to the U.S. on television. What I didn’t realize is that it was being shown on PBS, and is under the “Masterpiece Mystery!” banner and not under its own name. Check your local PBS listings, but fortunately in Boston they are repeated all three episodes on November 14th…thanks to @dire_rampancy for the tweet about that, and @tnsears for also pointing out that it is available online on the PBS website under Masterpiece Theater.

After having met the cast of the upcoming U.S. version of Being Human on Syfy, I had the opportunity to check of part of the original British series – specifically, the Blu-ray release of [sfs=1064]Being Human Season 2[/sfs] (also on [sfs=1065]DVD[/sfs], released September 21st). I have not seen season 1 yet other than bits and pieces, so I don’t have a full sense of the show, but I can see why there is a desire to bring this to the U.S. This will, however, be a brief review mostly of the Blu-ray release itself.
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The extended version of Avatar now has a Blu-ray/DVD release date of November 16th in the U.S. (Nov. 15th internationally), and not only will it include the original theatrical release and the special edition re-release (including a family-friendly alternate audio track), but also a THIRD version of the film with another 16 minutes added, including an alternate opening scene on Earth! Links for pre-order as soon as they are available, but see the press release below for all the juicy details including all the extra special features been loaded on to this release!

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So, what ever happened to the Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis direct-to-DVD movies that we’ve been expecting? TV Death Ray has an interview with Brad Wright which covers a number of things, mainly about Stargate Universe, but also what happened. “The only thing that is blocking the SG-1 movie or the Atlantis movie, the only thing, is the fact that the direct-to-DVD market has gone away,” he said. “And, of course, there have been very big changes at MGM that kind of added to that.” Yeah, a company that can’t get an expected cash cow off the ground like The Hobbit probably isn’t going to front the money for direct-to-DVD features if they perceive the lack of a market. But don’t fret – “We have a plan B, and I’ve been talking with MGM about it, and hopefully we’ll still get our chance.”

Just a reminder that the second half of the first season of Caprica makes its early return tomorrow night (October 5th) on SyFy – and the DVDs of the first half [sfs=1060]come out the same day[/sfs]. And if you need a quick (and funny) recap, don’t forget to check out Re-Cap(rica). And also catch a clip from the DVD bonus features below.
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Interested in a free Blu-ray disc set of [asin=B003WEAW2M]Being Human: Season 2[/asin] (released last Tuesday)? I will send it to you – on the condition that you review it for us as soon as possible. If you think you can do a good review and have a Blu-ray player, make sure you register on this site, follow us on Twitter (@scifistorm), and then send email to storm AT scifistorm.org with your username and your mailing address, and why you’d be good at reviewing. Note: you must be in the U.S. (can’t deal with exports and am not sure of rules sending the Canada in this case). I might be able to get you more things to review in the future as well…

By the way, follow us on Twitter anyways to get the headlines and links to the articles! Get your SF friends to follow as well! I will probably work on a Facebook page shortly as well, as I may have some new content that could make use of that shortly…

Update: No takers? I know it isn’t in the genre I normally cover…

The sixth of the Blu-ray releases that comprised Warner Bros. Sept. 7th release date is [sfs=1061]THX 1138[/sfs], George Lucas’ original SF film based on his USC student short film.
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The upcoming DVD release of [sfs=1060]Caprica Season 1.0[/sfs] will have a bunch of special features – including a special never-before-seen sneak peek at the upcoming Season 1.5.
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