23 years of this site still chugging along...
Atlantis blows the doors off SG-1‘s premiere
by Doc on Jul.20, 2004, under Television
The record for a premiere of a SCI FI Channel series, set just last week by Stargate SG-1, has been shattered – big time. Stargate: Atlantis premiered this past weekend with a 3.2 household rating – beating it’s predecessor by a million viewers.
Spiner to guest on Enterprise
by Doc on Jul.19, 2004, under Television
Brent Spiner, best known as Commander Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, will guest star on several episodes of Enterprise, plating the great-great-grandfather of Data’s creator, Dr. Noonian Soong (also played by Spiner in ST:TNG). Can you say “ratings booster”? Rumors are also out about Shatner also pulling a guest appearance, but there are no confirmed plans.
Marvel sues Disney; Singer on Superman
by Doc on Jul.19, 2004, under General News
The comics-to-movie/tv business is all up in arms. Marvel, having sued Sony over Spider-Man licensing (since settled), is now suing Disney – claiming it is owed royalties from the airing of several made-for-TV episodes of animated versions of Marvel properties (Spider-Man, The Hulk, etc.) on ABC Family, where the contract actually dates back to when Fox owned the channel. In other news, the planned Superman remake gets another director (I think this is #6) – this time X-Men master Brian Singer. This puts plans for his Logan’s Run remake and X-Men 3 in question.
Shyamalan expose a hoax
by Doc on Jul.18, 2004, under General News
The SCI FI Channel’s documentary-turned-expose on filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, entitled The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan, is a complete hoax. The whole thing was a work of fiction, with Shyamalan in on it. Bonnie Hammer, president of SCI FI, called it a “guerilla marketing campaign” that went too far. Looks like she could be in hot water too – Rebecca Marks, NBC entertainment spokeswoman, said “This marketing strategy is not consistent with our policy at NBC.” NBC Universal is now the parent of the SCI FI Channel.
Thunderbirds features on DVD July 20th
by Doc on Jul.16, 2004, under General News
Two Thunderbirds feature films, Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbirds 6, part of Gerry Anderson’s best known Supermarionation franchise (and soon to be a live-action film), will be released next tuesday in a gift set. A must have for all Thunderbirds fans. And don’t forget the Series Mega Set. See the trailer: Quicktime Low, Medium, High; WinMedia: 56k, 100k, 300k.
Your friendly Stargate: Atlantis premiere reminder
by Doc on Jul.16, 2004, under Television
Just reminding everyone – the 2-hour Stargate: Atlantis premiere “Rising” airs tomorrow night at 9pm EDT, with a repeat at 11pm. It is preceded by a repeat of the 2-hour Stargate SG-1 premiere from last week (getting a 2.4 rating and setting several SFC records) at 7pm, and yet another repeat of the Lowdown special at 6pm.
MSNBC comments on upcoming SF shows
by Doc on Jul.14, 2004, under Television
MSNBC is running an interesting opinion piece about upcoming SF shows, mentioning Farscape: Peacekeeper War, The 4400 (which just premiered last weekend with record-setting ratings), Stargate: Atlantis, and others – even a quick mention of Ringworld, which I still can’t dig any information up on…
Second Narnia script in the works?
by Doc on Jul.13, 2004, under Movies
According to a rumor repeated by The New Zealand Herald, a scripot for a second Narnia film may may already be in the works. Mark Zoradi, the head of Disney’s foreign distribution arm, Buena Vista International, reportedly made statements to that effect, plus if the first film (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) does well, they may film the next two movies simultaneously. Which two films is uncertain – there is much debate as to what is the best order to the books…
Press Release: Don’t Buy My Book on Amazon.com
by Doc on Jul.10, 2004, under General News
Nick Pollotta writes “DATE: July 10, 2004
PRESS RELEASE: PLEASE DON’T BUY MY BOOK
Amazon.com has gone mad again, and has accidentally (and incorrectly) raised the cover price on the new hardback edition of “That Darn Squid God” from $24.95, to the quite bizarre $55.01.
They have been informed of this by the publisher, my agent, my lawyer, SFWA, and me, yet they refuse to admit that this is a problem.
But even worse, people are still buying the book on Amazon.
Please stop that!
Go buy it from Wildside Press (the publisher) at the normal price, from a specialty SF bookstore, or from any of hundreds of online e-stores that carry my stuff.
Or, if you’re in Europe, buy it from Amazon.co.uk. Those noble stalwarts have the right price up, and always have. They even have the new covers for the reissue of my “Bureau 13″ trilogy away ahead of anybody else. God bless the Brits!
Best wishes,
Nick Pollotta” Yeah, but I get a cut from that $55.01 if you followed our previous links… 🙂
Details possibly leaked on Star Trek XI
by Doc on Jul.10, 2004, under Movies
It appears that the unlikely Star Trek XI movie may still happen – and Enterprise executive producer Brannon Braga may have spilled the beans on the plot. While talking about Enterprisefor Star Trek Communicator, he made mention that the Romulan War – which is to conclude a few years after the current Enterprise timeline – probably won’t be part of the Enterprise plot, because it could conflict with the movie. The other exec, Rick Berman, said in the same magazine the movie would be set before Kirk’s time, but not involve the Enterprise.