23 years of this site still chugging along...
Fox sets up Asimov’s The Caves of Steel
by Doc on Sep.22, 2011, under Movies
Fox, having previously produced I, Robot based on the stories by legendary SF writer Isaac Asimov, will draw from the author again with his novel The Caves of Steel. Relative newcomers Henry Hobson and John Scott 3 (Maggie) will direct and write, respectively, and Simon Kinberg (X-Men: The Last Stand, Elysium) will produce under his Genre Films banner.
The Caves of Steel takes place three millenia in the future, where humans on the overpopulated Earth live in massive enclosed structures (giving the name to the book), and distrust robots to the point of them being completely banned from the planet. Robots aren’t banned on the colonized planets, however, and a “Spacer” ambassador trying to loosen the restrictions on Earth is found murdered. Homicide detective Elijah Bailey is charged to investigate the murder – but he is forced to team up with an investigator provided by the Spacers – R. Daneel Olivaw, who looks human but is in fact a robot.
Doctor Who Magazine confirms Series 7 won’t air until Fall 2012
by Doc on Sep.22, 2011, under Television
The 7th series of Doctor Who apparently is being delayed as rumored, according to Doctor Who Magazine. Reportedly shooting won’t begin until February 2012, too late for the usual start in the Spring, so the start of the series will be delayed until the Fall. How it will be broken out, or if the series will be split again and some of the episodes being held until 2013.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: The First Avenger on Blu-ray and DVD October 25th
by Doc on Sep.21, 2011, under Comics, Video/DVD
Thor just came out on [sfs=1165]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1166]DVD[/sfs] last week, and now his Avengers partner Captain America gets his time next month with the release of CAPTAIN AMERICA: The First Avenger in three formats: [sfs=1161]3-Disc Blu-ray 3D/2D, DVD and Digital Copy combo[/sfs], [sfs=1162]2-Disc Blu-ray 2D, DVD and Digital Copy combo[/sfs], and [sfs=1163]DVD[/sfs]. Read on to hear all about it.
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Alphas season finale sneak peek: “Original Sin”
by Doc on Sep.21, 2011, under Television
Here is a sneak peek of the first season finale of Alphas, airing next Monday, September 26th at 10pm ET/9pm CT on Syfy!! The Alphas team is taking on their hardest project yet as they go up against their nemesis in Red Flag. Dr. Rosen realizes that his daughter is now caught up in the mission and is being followed by Red Flag. You’ll have to watch the clip and tune in to the season finale to see just how personal the task at hand may become as the Alphas seek to keep damage to a minimum.
Note that Warehouse 13 will return in two weeks with its own season finale, “Stand”.
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Syfy renews two unscripted shows, adds Dream Machines
by Doc on Sep.20, 2011, under Television
Syfy has renewed two of its previous unscripted shows, Hollywood Treasure, which features Profiles In History auction house founder Joe Maddalena for 6 episodes, and Haunted Collector (sort of Ghost Hunters meets Friday the 13th: The Series) for 12 episodes.
A new unscripted show was also announced with a six episode order. Called Dream Machines, it follows two brothers who recreate some of the fantastic vehicles seen in movies in TV (think like the TRON light cycles!) as real working machines.
Disney announces Avatar-themed land to be constructed at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park at WDW
by Doc on Sep.20, 2011, under Fun Stuff, Movies
Disney just announced plans to construct a new land as part of it’s existing Animal Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World themed to James Cameron’s Avatar franchise. Cameron, producing partner Jon Landau and Lightstorm Entertainment will work closely with Walt Disney Imagineering to develop the plans, and expect construction to start in 2013.
Disneyphiles familiar with the creation of Animal Kingdom park are aware that when it was built, a planned section of the park was never built due to budget cuts, called “Beastly Kingdomme”, an area to be filled with creatures both magical and mystical. In fact, the Dueling Dragons rollercoaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure park (now called Dragon Challenge as part of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter) was originally designed for Beastly Kingdomme but scrapped with the area. By the sounds of it, this new Avatar land would likely take the still-undeveloped location, and perhaps even incorporate some of the area’s original designs, with new theming.
I’ll definitely provide updates as they come in over the next couple years.
The first sequel to Avatar is scheduled to hit screens on Christmas 2014.
Genre Emmys roundup
by Doc on Sep.19, 2011, under Television
There wasn’t a lot of genre stuff going on at the Emmys last night, but there were a few highlights. Although Game of Thrones was nominated 13 times, it only won one (aside from a Creative Arts award announced last week) – Peter Dinklage won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister. Jim Parsons won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory.
On other Creative Arts Emmys (where the genre shows tend to do well), Futurama won two, for Outstanding Animated Program and Outstanding Voice-Over Performance (Maurice LaMarche as Lrrr/Orson Welles). The Walking Dead also won for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup.
Other little tidbits – the pre-filmed open included Leonard Nimoy as “Television Network President” (apparently a late replacement for Alec Baldwin, reportedly upset they cut a joke at NewsCorp’s expense – it was aired on NewsCorp-owned FOX), and Marcel Vigneron was briefly shown during the open wearing his Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen shirt – although he and his show were not nominated or otherwise part of the Emmys (and I still haven’t heard confirmation that it is or is not coming back).
Current Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat was in the audience, but for Outstanding Writing for his Sherlock mini-series. Alas he didn’t win (nor did Sherlock pick any of for it’s 3 other nominations), losing to Julian Fellowes and his Downton Abbey (which is an excellent series as well).
Eureka season finale – a look at the Town of Eureka
by Doc on Sep.19, 2011, under Television
Are you looking forward to tonight’s season finale of Eureka? Need a little hit in the meantime? Here is a video where the cast talks about the Town of Eureka, how it was “created” and why. And don’t forget to tune in to Syfy at 8pm ET for the finale. Then we just have to wait for the holiday episode…
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ABC has two Jekyll & Hyde derivatives in development
by Doc on Sep.16, 2011, under Television
ABC, which has identified Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll & Hyde mythos as something they want to mine for ideas, already has two potential series in the works. Hyde, announced last month from Sheldon Turner (Up In The Air, X-Men: First Class), is about a meek ER doctor who undergoes treatment for a degenerative eye condition, which has a side effect: when he goes to sleep his id manifests as Hyde.
The other version, simply titled Jekyll & Hyde, comes from Matt Lopez (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Race to Witch Mountain), and is a modern retelling, featuring a “female criminal psychologist who is drawn into the mysterious world of a brilliant but inhibited scientist and his volatile alter ego.” Sounds a bit like the magnificent Jekyll that came out in 2007.
Can TV handle two such stories – on the same network?
Jawas invade New York City!
by Doc on Sep.15, 2011, under Movies, Video/DVD
It isn’t just humans waiting for the Blu-ray release of [sfs=1098]Star Wars: The Complete Saga[/sfs] – it seems some rather lost Jawas and a Stormtrooper found themselves in New York City, and did a little exploring…
