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Sci-Fi on the Screen: 'Astro Boy' Fails to Take Off, 'Dollhouse' DOA

By Jason Hughes (Subscribe to Jason Hughes's posts), Posted Oct 26th 2009 6:32PM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi
Astro Boy

What is "Sci-Fi on the Screen" you ask? Why it's television and movies, of course! Every Monday, we'll be looking back at the previous week to see how sci-fi is faring on TV and in theaters. This will include a look back at the ratings of science fiction shows on television, as well as a glimpse of sci-fi films at the box office.

Box Office (10/23-10/25)

This weekend, the supernatural Paranormal Activity did the incredibly unlikely, climbing up the box office rankings to secure its first week at number one ... in its fifth week of release. Paranormal's $22 million shattered the dreams of Saw VI, which opened at less than half its previous three installments, but still earned enough for second place.

That dramatic battle atop the charts may have hurt the release of Japanese science fiction icon Astro Boy. The animated adaptation opened with an anemic $7 million dollars; a fraction of its $65 million budget.
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Nathan Fillion Wants to be The Greatest American Hero

By Jason Hughes (Subscribe to Jason Hughes's posts), Posted Oct 21st 2009 3:10PM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi
Nathan FillionActors say a lot of things, and they talk about a lot of roles they'd love to tackle. But when Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle) said recently to the folks at IFC that he'd love a shot at playing Ralph Hinkley in a remake of The Greatest American Hero. The original show ran three seasons on ABC in the early '80s, when I was very young. And yet, so much of it has stayed with me through the years.

That iconic costume, the flailing arms and legs whenever Ralph was flying and his complete failure to grasp how to properly use the alien, super-powered suit he picked up in the desert. It was a wonderful blend of humor and drama and superheroics ... at least to this young mind.

That concept is definitely strong enough to support a revival, and I think Fillion is a great choice for the role of Hinkley. He's not overly muscular, he's about the right age and he already has plenty of genre credentials, which means a built-in audience.
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Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series Coming to DVD

By Jason Hughes (Subscribe to Jason Hughes's posts), Posted Oct 19th 2009 11:44AM
Filed under: DVDs, DVD News, Sci-Fi
Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series

Originally available only via digital download in six "episodes," Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series is being collected and released on DVD. The story follows Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood) across post-nuclear LA in search of something called Ghost. It's set two years before the events of the movie.

While Bloodgood reprises the role in voice, the entire film is done utilizing the same CG technology that's used in modern video games, which means it actually looks pretty damned good. And it's filled with plenty of action and classic terminator models to boot.

The DVD set will hit store shelves November 3, 2009. It features a "The Making of..." featurette and interviews with the animation developers, film producers and Bloodgood herself. So even though you won't get to enjoy her true beauty during the film, at least you know she's there waiting for you in the extras.
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Devlin and Emmerich are Both Interested in 'Stargate' Sequels

By Jason Hughes (Subscribe to Jason Hughes's posts), Posted Oct 15th 2009 9:45AM
Filed under: Features, Movie News, News/Reactions, Discussion Posts, Sci-Fi
Stargate

Long ago, back in 1994, there was a little film starring Kurt Russell an James Spader called Stargate. It sparked a lot of people's imaginations, and even did pretty well for itself. So of course people started wondering about a big-screen sequel. But instead of a big-screen continuation, we got Stargate: SG-1 in 1997 on Showtime. The series picked up events about a year after the film, but did so without the involvement of the film's writers Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich.

To say it turned into a successful franchise would be an understatement. SG-1 lasted ten years, Stargate: Atlantis notched another five, and Stargate Universe just premiered to huge ratings for Syfy. Add to that the various telefilms that have been filmed, including a forthcoming continuation of the Atlantis saga, and you've got yourself one of the most successful sci-fi franchises of all time.
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Syfy Offers an Extended Peek into Alice's Wonderland

By Jason Hughes (Subscribe to Jason Hughes's posts), Posted Oct 15th 2009 9:02AM
Filed under: Trailers/Clips, Sci-Fi
Alice

No matter what you thought of Sci Fi Channel's Tin Man, you have to agree it was a pretty bold re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz. And it generated a lot of buzz. So it came as no surprise to me when they announced a Syfy mini-series based on Alice in Wonderland.

Alice features an impressive cast, including Caterina Scorsone (Crash) as Alice. She's joined by the likes of Kathy Bates as the Queen of Hearts and Colm Meaney as her King. Harry Dean Stanton is on board as the Caterpillar, with Matt Frewer as the White Knight, while Primeval's kooky Andrew Lee Potts is very well cast as the Mad Hatter. Even Tim Curry got in on the action as the Dodo.
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Blue Peter Contest to Design a Control Panel for the Tardis

By Jason Hughes (Subscribe to Jason Hughes's posts), Posted Oct 12th 2009 9:02AM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi
Doctor Who, Matt Smith

Britain's long-time children's show Blue Peter has long had an association with the equally long-running Doctor Who franchise. But I'm not sure if they've ever had any creative control of the Doctor's adventures. But that's looking to change, as Blue Peter has put together a contest wherein their viewers are to design a new control panel for the Tardis.

The idea is to use household objects creatively in the design, and to make it look like something the Doctor would come up with. And the winner will see their design in the new season, lending credence to the rumors that the interior of the Tardis will be getting a makeover along with the Doctor himself. I think it's a great promotion, as the winning entries will also get a walk-on visit to the set.

As a show of my own ignorance of things British, I'd never heard of Blue Peter and in fact thought that maybe it was a website inspired by Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen.

Two Obscure Gene Roddenberry Telefilms Coming to DVD(-R)

By Jason Hughes (Subscribe to Jason Hughes's posts), Posted Oct 6th 2009 9:32AM
Filed under: DVDs, Movie News, News/Reactions, DVD News, Sci-Fi
Genesis II and Planet Earth

I've never even heard of the PAX series of telefilms by Gene Roddenberry and ABC. Roddenberry was supposedly only involved in the first two films, Genesis II and Planet Earth, but ABC continued the premise with Strange New World without Roddenberry's involvement. This was the mid-'70s and I wasn't alive yet, which is why I've justified my not knowing about them.

But this is Gene freakin' Rodenberry? Mr. Star Trek himself. You'd think everything he'd ever been slightly involved with would be available in some form. Hell, I think Christopher Tolkien is working on a book of J.R.R. Tolkien's grocery lists right now, and Michael Jackson probably has twenty more albums coming out. That's how we honor visionary creators! Not by burying their masterworks.

These gems are buried no longer. Now both of Roddenberry's PAX films are being released through the Warners Archive program. That's where DVD-Rs are produced "on demand." Hey, there's a guy in my neighborhood who does the same thing and he charges way less than $19.99 ... but you didn't hear that from me.
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