The Knights

New Avengers Poster!!!! Still Called The Avengers In The US

2012-02-28T13:16:00.004-05:00

Here is the new one sheet poster for The Avengers. This is the US version. Apparently it's called Avengers Assemble for the International market.

Are The Zygons Returning To Dr Who In Series 7???

2012-02-28T09:16:00.001-05:00

Are one of the most popular villains from the Tom Baker era about to make a comeback. I hope so as Terror of the Zygons is one of the all time classic Doctor Who stories. Well nothing is confirmed or denied but a quote from Caroline Skinner to SFX Magazine might tell us something is up.

SFX: The Zygons are in it! Is this a hint they’re going to be returning to the show anytime soon?
Caroline Skinner: [Laughs] “Wait and see.”
Well that's not a yes or a no so maybe for we'll be seeing the orange shape shifters sometime in the near future.

CBS Elementary Casts Lucy Liu As Watson

2012-02-28T08:51:00.002-05:00

In a move that will no doubt piss off Sherlock Holmes fans CBS has cast Lucy Liu as Dr Watson for their Elementary series. It's bad enough that they are ripping of Sherlock but now this. Well we'll file this one under wait and see what happens.

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #11

2012-02-27T19:13:00.001-05:00

My Top 25 Movies of All Time - #11

By Ken Parker

So many TV shows, novels and movieshelped my interest in Sci-Fi grow throughout my childhood and intoadulthood. The following is one of those movies that captured myimagination, being one of the earliest Sci-Fi movies I ever saw. Years later I revisited the movie after seeing visually stunningmovies such as Star Wars, Close Encounters of the ThirdKind and 2001: A Space Odyssey and was amazed at howincredible the effects and sets were in this movie, A movie that cameout more than 10 years earlier than the earliest of those films.

14 - Forbidden Planet – 1956

IMDB Story Summary -

WhenAdams and his crew are sent to investigate the silence from a planetinhabited by scientists, he finds all but two have died. Dr. Morbiusand his daughter Altaira have somehow survived a hideous monsterwhich roams the planet. Unknown to Adams, Morbius has made adiscovery, and has no intention of sharing it (or his daughter!) withanyone.Writtenby RobHartill

This movie reminds me of watching Saturday afternoon movies as a kid. The lure of playing outside was strong but the sounds and visuals offlying saucers and scary monsters kept me inside more often than not.

I also remember in my High School and college years sitting down infront of the TV at midnight to watch some of these classics and inthe haze of early morning sleepiness, fended off with soda andchocolate cupcakes, I would experience these movies with a non drugaffected open mind.

Forbidden Planet matches this type a movie to a T. One of myfavorite types of Sci-Fi is space exploration and for once the plotdid not revolve around Earth. The flying saucer does not come from analien planet but instead, comes from Earth and actually visits thealien planet. Earthlings, to an extent are invading the planet. Inthe end it is the alien technology and the human mind trying to useit that endangers our protagonists. Flipping this imagery aroundmust have been a refreshing twist to get away from the confines ofEarth. Couple this with another twist in that all the aliens havebeen long gone for centuries and yet something is still alive killingthe crew and you have a great formula for excitement.

If this film as any weaknesses it may be some of the acting and datedconcepts. The crew, with their tongues hanging out over thebeautiful Altara, is sort of embarrassing to watch these days. Straight man Leslie Neilsen can be hard to accept as the leader ofthe mission especially because all of his comedy work since. Hisperformance is good until he pairs up with the stunning Anne Francisand the writing falters, magnifying the dated feelings toward 'dames'and so forth. This plot line is important for it fuels Morbius'ssub-conscious creature into attacking but the dated relationships aremore awkward now than years ago and sort of stand out as bad actingat times.

Still, Forbidden Planet deals with the human mind and thedangers of allowing technology to get beyond our control. It alsodeals with the coming of age of a young woman and the loss ofinnocence. We are also introduced to Robby, the Robot which shows usthe good part of scientific advancement as well as giving us aglimpse at the Asimov rules of robotics.

To really sell the fact that this movie takes place on an alienplanet, the producers spent money on elaborate sets and convincingmatte paintings and effects. Bringing in a Disney animator to punchup the final touches and giving us a terrifying monster, the creatorsof the film ultimately succeed in this classic film that will go onto influence many other films and TV series. No other influence wasmore apparent and credited than for Star Trek. Many of thevisuals and story would lay the ground work for Star Trek afew years later. This in of itself makes Forbidden Planetvery important and now fondly looked upon by many.

A couple of notes, I recently just purchased the blu-ray ($7.99) andwatched the movie. I found it to still be excellent but did drop itdown a couple of spots only because something else moved up and thisfilm had those silly and clunky 'boy meets girl, boy falls in lovewith girl and boy lasers girl's tiger because it attacked her'moments. I also enjoyed the deleted scenes which included somepretty good material.

I have seen this film probably 8-10 times

I first saw this on a Saturday afternoon on TV

I have the Blu-ray

IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049223/

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Planet

Review - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/forbidden_planet/

Amazon -http://www.amazon.com/Forbidden-Planet-Blu-ray-Walter-Pidgeon/dp/B0019NB9A2

Doctor Who "The Silent Stars Go By" Book Review

2012-02-27T13:23:00.000-05:00

Doctor Who
The Silent Stars Go By
By Dan Abnett

Boring, complicatedand not all that good are not the words that I would use to describe thisbook. Exciting, very good and a greatread are the exact words that best describe Dan Abnett’s Doctor Who book TheSilent Stars Go By. Not only that but also this book heralds the return of TheIce Warriors. Yes, The Ice Warriors return to the Doctor Who universe and faceoff against the 11^thDoctor.

Ok it is in book form but who cares one of theiconic villains from the Troughton era has returned and I couldn’t behappier. But enough of my love fest withThe Ice Warriors how was the actual book?

The book wasawesome. I thoroughly enjoyed readingthis novel. It was the type of book thatwhen you get started reading it you can’t put it down. The book is actually quite interesting as TheDoctor, Amy and Rory have materialized on a planet that is in the heart ofwinter. Soon The Doctor and Amyencounter the Morphans. The Morphans aresettlers from Earth trying to get a colony to strive despite the hardships theyhave encountered. Rory gets separated fromthe Doctor and Amy when he returns to the TARDIS to get a coat. What Rory does discover while trying to catchup to the group is something sinister is lurking. Something from the Doctor’s past that seemsto have thrown a spanner in the works for the Morphans. Butare the Ice Warriors the true threat to life on the planet or is theresomething far sinister at work.

Dan Abnettweaved a very enjoyable story that has quite a few surprises and has enoughaction and character interaction that does not bog down the overall story. I could easily see this book as a story ontelevision or more accurately a story that could easily have fitted in theclassic series. Maybe that is why Ienjoyed the book so much is that it reminded me of the classic series exceptwith the current Doctor taking center stage. I will always have a soft spot for the classicseries because that is what I grew up with and if you love the classic seriesthen I implore you to buy this book now (or later in paperback) and startreading. You’ll give your brain asatisfying treat.

Could We See Benedict Cumberbatch Playing The Master???

2012-02-26T18:03:00.001-05:00

Take this one with a grain of salt but I am hoping that it is true. The Express is reporting or a better word would be speculating that Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing The Master during the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who. The Express have a quote from an anonymous source that states

“It’s fitting that the Doctor comes face to face with his ultimate enemy, The Master, for the 50th anniversary and it’s felt Benedict is the perfect choice if schedules can work,” a source told the paper. “Fans will love the idea of the man who plays Sherlock Holmes taking on the Doctor’’.

Well the thing going in the favor of this coming true is that Steven Moffat works with Benedict Cumberbatch on Sherlock so maybe the Moff can convince his star to take on the part of the Master. You can form your own opinions as we wait and see what transpires.

Full Article here.
http://www.express.co.uk/features/view/304650

Watch Matt Smith On Top Gear

2012-02-26T16:36:00.002-05:00

In case you missed it and for those in the USA here is Matt Smith from Top Gear which aired 2/26/12.

Game of Thrones Series 2 Trailer and Premiere Date

2012-02-26T15:17:00.000-05:00

For fans of Game of Thrones you'll be happy to know that series 2 will be premiering on April 1 on HBO in the US and April 2 on Sky Atlantic in the UK. Not much longer to wait and enjoy this new trailer for Series 2.

Matt Smith On Top Gear Tonight

2012-02-26T13:04:00.000-05:00

Watch and see if Matt Smith can do better than the previous incarnations of the Doctor.

First Pictures From Star Trek 2 With Sherlock and Spock

2012-02-24T15:39:00.001-05:00

Here are a few pictures released today of on set going ons with Spock, Uhura and who ever Benedict Cumberbatch is playing.

Check Out This Picture of The Hulk From The Avengers Movie

2012-02-24T10:16:00.002-05:00

Yes I know it's a slow news day. But anyway here is a decent picture of the Hulk from The Avengers movie.

Check Out The Dr Who Toys From Toyfair 2012 NYC

2012-02-24T09:33:00.001-05:00

Toyfair was held this month in NYC and Underground Toys was there showing off all the cool toys for Doctor Who. MTV Geek has a cool article and video showing lots of cool stuff. Enjoy the video and head over to MTV Geek with the link below. I gotta get the TARDIS rubbish bin.

http://geek-news.mtv.com/2012/02/22/toy-fair-2012-underground-toys-brings-doctor-who-to-toy-fair/

Get More: Geek: Event Coverage, Full Episodes

Wrath of the Titans International Trailer

2012-02-24T09:07:00.002-05:00

This movie is looking pretty good and I am looking forward to seeing it.

Has the death of 'Fringe' been greatly exaggerated?

2012-02-23T21:26:00.000-05:00

Going, going ... wait, not so fast.

We've all been through this before - the ratings for one of your favorite television shows, despite its imaginative appeal, keep sinking lower and lower ... until the inevitable. Then you curse the network executives and swear off television forever - or until the next show that catches your attention, whichever comes first.

To many, that would seem to be the case with cult favorite (any story of this nature is required to use the phrase "cult favorite") "Fringe." As the show nears the end of its fourth season, it appears to be nearing The End.

Maybe.

Hope for fans comes courtesy of Michael Ausiello at TVLine. Responding to a question from a fan "in pre-cancellation mourning," Ausiello writes:

And don’t administer last rites to the show just yet. Despite those apocalyptic Nielsnes, Fringe very much remains in the hunt for another season. One scenario allegedly being bandied about has it returning for a final 15-episode run. If that happens I will be an extremely happy person.

Adds Trent Moore of SyFy Blaster:

I'm sure fans are psyched at the option, but if you think about it on the business side, it also makes some sense. Fox has kept the show alive this long partly because of critical praise, but if the ratings get low enough, all the fan love in the world can't save it. But, once you factor in potential syndication revenue, this rumor makes a lot more sense. Series typically need at least 100 episodes to reach a syndication deal, but once the current fourth season ends, Fringe will only have 87 episodes in the bank. Add 15 more, and that puts the show at an attractive 102 episodes.

In a separate post, Moore asks: "Could 'Fringe' be the first TV series saved by a Twitter hashtag?" For more about the campaign by the folks operating Fringenuity, click here.

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #12

2012-02-23T21:09:00.000-05:00

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #12

By Ken Parker

I have already mentioned how importantit is to have a great movie viewing experience. An unforgettabletime watching an excellent movie can shape the way you perceive thefilm forever. I already mentioned one time I saw a double feature ofThe Road Warrior and Blade Runner. That experience,coupled with the fact that they were excellent movies helped shapehow I see them today. Of course I have fond theater going memoriesof Battlefield Earth but that film is on an entirely differentlist. A bad list.

The experience and what mood you are incan also influence the perception. I also stated before thatexpectations can alter the final perception, either making the filmseem better or even worse than it really is.

The following film is the only film onthis list that I actually took a day off from school to see. It wasa major event in my movie going history, probably more so than anyother movie on this list. The expectations were sky high and for meit happened at a time in my life where a lot of changes were goingon. It would be the end of my childhood at around this time(although I did continue to buy toys until sometime a few weeksago.....) but I would never again enjoy the adventures of childhoodas much as I had during this time period.

12 – Return of the Jedi (1983)

Despite one particular friend whobelieves all the Star Wars films should be bundled into onemassive movie, I have ranked this one just outside of my top 10. Itwould be safe to say not to expect to see any more than two more StarWars movies on this list. The later prequel trilogy have lotsgoing for them. Seeing The Phantom Menace in the theaterrivaled Return of the Jedi in terms of an excellent memorablemovie events. Still, the three prequels pale in comparison and onlyRevenge of the Sith approaches the level of quality of the“original” trilogy.

IMDB Story Outline -

DarthVader and the Empire are building a new, indestructible Death Star.Meanwhile, Han Solo has been imprisoned, and Luke Skywalker has sentR2-D2 and C-3PO to try and free him. Princess Leia - disguised as abounty hunter - and Chewbacca go along as well. The final battletakes place on the moon of Endor, with its natural inhabitants, theEwoks, lending a hand to the Rebels. Will Darth Vader and the DarkSide overcome the Rebels and take over the universe? Writtenby ColinTinto <cst@imdb.com>

Never had I waited with more difficultythan for this film to finally come out. For the first time I scannedfor every piece of news and rumor about this film. I remember seeingphotos of the filming of Blue Harvest and saw a photo ofYoda's cousin, a small blue elephant (who turned out to be none otherthan Max Reebo of the band playing for Jabba the Hutt.) Remember thecomic book that was accidentally released a few days before the moviecame out? All of this hype was part of the expectations I had.

The anticipation was so high my brotherand I took the day off from school and traveled to the less crowdedHadley Mall to wait in line for the first showing. We were first inline. If the guy who cut in front of us right as the line started isreading this, hope you choked on your popcorn.

Well, how was the movie? It made itthis far up on my list, right? Now it is ranked below the first two(more on them soon). The film is considered the weaker of the threebut I would argue only because The Empire Strikes Back was sogood and Star Wars (also known as A New Hope), was theoriginal. Return of the Jedi had some flaws and let downs butperhaps that was all expectation influenced. The film included someof the most incredible and emotional scenes. The final battlebetween Vader and Luke and the return of Anakin Skywalker was themost emotional and stunning scenes for the entire franchise.

I think there was some disappointment,perhaps mostly because the ride was over. Not being able to live upto the expectations and no promise of a continuation may have beenpart of the let down. One could argue that some elements of the filmwere not as strong as the could have been. Examples include thefizzling of Boba Fett. Here was a very popular character who didnothing but shoot and miss Luke, transport a frozen Han Solo toTatooine and, in his moment of glory, flew out into battle, got hisgun cut in half and accidentally hit in the back by a blind man andfinally falling into a creature's mouth.

The powerful Empire fared no better,being stopped by a bunch of teddy bears and putting their new DeathStar into operation a few months too early. These types of thingsmay have been part of the reason why Return of the Jedi ismany people's third favorite Star Wars film.

Still, the conclusion was satisfying. Cheering in the theater for these heroes in their final adventure wasone of the memories I have of the film. The Star Wars trilogyhad concluded in spectacular fashion.

I have given away two of my upcomingmovies on my list when mentioning Star Wars and The Empire StrikesBack but I hope to surprise you with their placement on that list.

When did I first see this movie –opening day

How many times have I seen it – 5times in the theater (including the special edition release). Yes,you heard me. Not 50. Not 500. 5 times. I have probably seen it atotal of 30 times including cable, DVD, etc.

I have the special edition on DVD(although my nephew borrowed it a few years ago). I have yet to getthe blu ray.. someday.

IMDB -http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086190/

Wikipedia -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_VI:_Return_of_the_Jedi

Review -http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/return_of_the_jedi/

Amazon -http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Original-Trilogy-Episodes/dp/B000PMLFRA/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1330047192&sr=1-1-spell

The 11th Doctor Meets The Stig!!!!

2012-02-23T11:11:00.001-05:00

For fans of Top Gear know The Stig is awesome and now here he is with Matt Smith. Don't forget Matt Smith dons the racing helmet and hits the track this Sunday on Top Gear.

Grumblings From The Long Box # 1

2012-02-23T10:45:00.001-05:00

A newsemimonthly article about my take and rants on the comic book world. So here we go with the first rant from mysuper intelligent mind. Well I have recently read two graphic novels.One graphic novel I did like and one graphic novel I was pretty muchdisappointed in.

We’ll start offwith the one that I enjoyed. Here Comes…Daredevil by Mark Waid, Paulo Riveria and Marcos Martin and it is a collectionof the relaunched Daredevil comic book issues 1 to 6. I don’t read a whole bunch of Marvel Comicsbut I went on the recommendation of a few friends from Twitter and decided togive it a try. I used to read Daredevilback in the day when Frank Miller was writing the book and kind of wasdisenchanted with the character during Bendis’s run so I was a tad hesitant inpicking it up.

I was glad Idid. For I really enjoyed readingDaredevil in fact I read it in one go which is something very rare for me. So considering that I read it in one go youcan assume that it was pretty good. Wellin fact it was pretty amazing. In factit was a whole new take in Daredevil that dealt more with Matt Murdoch helpingpeople out in the court room. This is somethingthat hasn’t been done that much but what makes it interesting is that MattMurdoch coaches his clients into defending themselves. Plus don’t worry there is plenty of MattMurdoch dressed up as Daredevil taking down the bad guys and helping the innocents. Ienjoyed this new version of Daredevil that I am eagerly awaiting the nextvolume of Here Comes… Daredevil.

The othergraphic novel that quite frankly disappointed me was Teen Titans: Games. It was written by Marv Wolfman and art bythe legendary George Perez. The problemI had with the story was that it was dull. Not really very exciting at all. Sure there was action in it but there just seemed to be too muchinteraction going on. What is disappointingwas that this was planned over 20 years ago and at that time the Titans was akick ass book. This book just doesn’tlive up to Titan stories of yesteryear and that in itself is quite disappointing. Besides the dull story I did love the art inTeen Titans: Games. In fact the greatart is the main reason it took over 20 years to complete the book. As fans of George Perez art work know all toowell. But the art work is indeed worth theprice of the graphic novel and is just pure classic George Perez.

If you haven’tbeen reading Batman written by Scott Snyder you are doing yourself a disservice. He has written probably one of the bestBatman stories in a long time and has introduced us to a new protagonist forthe Caped Crusader. The Court of Owls isone of the more unique Bat villains to come down the pike in a long time and Iam really curious to see what happens next and how The Court of Owls will affectthe rest of the Bat Books. Plus Greg Capuloart is fantastic also so go out and read Batman as issue 5 and 6 are reallygood. That is all for now so go outthere and support your local comic book store and happy reading.

Trailer for Morgan Spurlock's "Comic - Con Episode 4: A Fans Hope

2012-02-23T09:46:00.001-05:00

A trailer that is both amusing and disturbing as well as intriguing especially to those who are regular convention goers.

Jeff Noon Interview By Kneel Downe

2012-02-22T14:50:00.000-05:00

MESSAGESWRITTEN IN SKY MUSIC - Fragments of Noon
(Thanks to the Cult Den for sharing this Interview)

In the late80's and early 90's I was living in Manchester, spending my time betweenWhalley Range and Didsbury. Time spent pounding greasy rain soaked streets,recording and devouring any literature that came my way. Robert Anton Wilson,Dick, Thompson and all manner of cyber-punk novels were the flavour of the day.Then, at the end of 1993 I was bought a novel that had a profound and lastinginfluence on me. This rare and exciting gem ripped the future from far flungTokyo and deposited it here, slap bang in an environment I knew and understood.It contained characters just a poetic inch away from people I knew and spenttime with. It blended poetry and prose in a fashion that was both exhilaratingand fresh.

The book wascalled VURT. The author was one Jeff Noon. An addiction spanning nearly twodecades had begun.

Born inDroylsden, Lancashire, in 1957 Jeff Noon had been a book seller, punk musicianand playwright. 1986 saw the production of his play Woundings but it was notuntil the release of Vurt in 1993 that his name became truly well known. Raisedin Greater Manchester in a time of evolving music and youth culture, one cannothelp imagining that his surroundings of age old factories, slowly being closedand left to decay whilst modern neon decked cafes and shops sprang upalongside, helped to play a major part in his depictions of futures gone wild.

VURT, hisdebut novel concerns the adventures of Scribble and his loose gang (The StashRiders) as they attempt to retrieve his missing sister, Desdemona, from thealternate reality or drug fuelled realm known as Vurt. Accessed by placingcolour coded feathers into the mouth, this reality shares much with thecomputer gaming experience and also works as a metaphor for a sharedHallucinogenic dream.

In typicalNoon style we are placed directly into the action. Info-dumps are few and far between,instead we are left to ingest concepts at our own pace. Part poetry and partfantastical prose, the novel weaves it's reality around you until you becomepart of the narrative. A bit player in a much wider trip.

Despite theauthors insistence that the book was not as popular as we all like to think,VURT went on to win the 1994 Arthur C Clarke Award and served to influencecountless artists, writers and musicians.

Jeff Noon hadarrived.

1995 saw thearrival of POLLEN, sequel to VURT and in some ways the Empire Strikes Back tothe originals Star Wars. Concepts are bigger. The action is breathtaking andthe budget seems to have been ramped up considerably. Telling the tale of oneof the first skirmishes of 'the looking glass war', it concerns the attempts ofthe Vurtual world to conquer and infect our own by the means of pollination.This future Manchester is explored in much wider detail, giving us hints andviews of the world beyond. The outskirts of Limbo. The Vurt universe is alsogiven a more immersive back-story and hierarchy. As with the previous book,nods to past literary classics abound. Pop culture references are sprinkledthroughout. A playful take upon Greek mythology forms the spine of the tale andfor those of a Brit Pop bent we may even get to find out just what a'Wonderwall' was all along.

Interestinglywe also get the first real appearance of two Noonian mainstays. Spores andPirate frequencies, concepts that still play a part in the writer's work today.

Much has beenmade of Noon's love and stylistic homage to Lewis Carroll, so it was with muchanticipation that AUTOMATED ALICE was released in 1996. Tackling such a workmust have been a touch daunting but here Noon echoes and channels Carroll'sprose with consummate ease. The nonsensical wordplay is a joy , with Aliceencountering such delights as, Civil Serpents, Newmonians and a vanishing catnamed Quark in a twisted future version of Manchester. Still part of the muchwider Vurt saga it is in fact chronologically the first, with Nymphomationbeing the second part. Further fragments and short stories would expand thetale and it is up to individual readers to place them in a timeline they arehappy with.

Essentially atale of normality fighting a pointless war against the forces of Randomness,AUTOMATED ALICE is an unabashed triumph and a pleasure to read.

Another yearand another book. 1997 saw the release of NYMPHOMATION, a playful swipe at theNational Lottery and yet another piece in the expanding Vurt universe. Domino's,curry, the introduction of 'blurbs' and a secret groups efforts to crack thelottery code all add up to produce another fine slice of futuristic fantasy.Lyrically Noon was still making advances and the flow of language is never lessthan enthralling but of all his works I would place this book as the nearestNoon would become to being a 'safe' writer. Beautifully visualised and full ofevocative imaginings it was, however, perhaps the closest he came to beingeasily labelled as 'that Noon guy.' I understand that any piece such as this isentirely subjective and I bow reverentially to those reading who may share adifferent view.

Five years andfour books in, it would seem that Noon had carved a subtle genre all of his ownand was happy to spend his career playing and tweaking his own creations.

I was to beproven wrong in the finest possible way.

Make nomistakes here, PIXEL JUICE is an absolutely towering triumph of a book. Thescope, audacity and sheer beauty of some of the concepts explored within wouldkeep many a lesser author happy for their whole career. Here are 50 shortstories that explore and expand the Universe in which Noon was dreaming. Manyrelate to and add to the Vurt mythology. Many do not. All, without fail are ofthe highest calibre. If anything is wrong with this book at all it is perhapsthe way that many, groundbreaking visions are thrown our way to be digested andthen apparently forgotten, never to appear again. Here is an author truly atease with his own use of language and form, transforming, perhaps from onephase to the next?

Trust me whenI say that should you only ever buy one book by Noon, please, for your ownenjoyment, make it this one.

Imaginationhas rarely, if ever, been woven quite so well.

Two years nowto wait but 2000's NEEDLE IN THE GROOVE proved to be more than worth it.Featuring the adventures of Elliot, bass player and ex junkie, stuck forever onthe pub-rock circuit until his surprising invitation to join a new band thatfuse DJ artistry, voices and rhythm section unveils a magical and futuristicmethod of music creation. Taking Noon's experimentation to even greaterheights, this book is told in what can only be described as 'dub speak.'

There is anunstated sense of joy in this work as Noon plays and shifts words and meaningsto create a particularly fluid and musical piece.

Surely suchexperimentation could only go so far?

COBRALINGUS,released in 2001 is a strange and dangerous beast. Part poetic anthology, part'do it yourself' manual for prospective writers, it was either embraced byreaders or met with a somewhat blank stare. Not a novel in any sense of theword, it is however a fascinating and slightly shamanic look beneath the hoodof word creation. Any budding wordsmiths reading this should go and track thisbook down as soon as possible. The introduction of 'filter gates' and a cut andpaste style 'engine' are methods Noonhas expanded upon and still uses to this day.

And so the endapproaches and what better way to go than to go out on a high?

FALLING OUT OFCARS 2002 is my joint favourite of Noon's output and a staggeringly excellentvision of fractured reality. A road novel, set against a world where visualinformation itself is destroying all we understand and hold dear, the novelfollows the journey of Marlene, Henderson and Peacock as they attempt to locatefragments of a broken mirror that may be the cause of the increasingillness. The affliction is portrayed ina chilling and yet beautiful way, with the daily dose of 'Lucidity' slowlydoing less and less to hold back the hallucinogenic tide.

Here is Noonat his fluidic best. Scenes unfold that will unnerve and stay with you foryears to come. It is hard to conceive that an author so clearly at the peak ofhis talents could just so simply disappear...

Thefrequencies were dead. Rumours and snippets would often surface of Screenplaysand Theatre work but the books had dried up and gone.

Monthly Iwould trawl the Internet and despite a brief appearance in 2008 with the BABELSTREET website it seemed as though Noon had lost all interest in a genre he hadall but made his own.

Some weeksago, dismayed at modern fiction I wrote a retro review of VURT for this verywebsite, in the hope I could at least turn one person on to this missingwordsmith. The same night it was posted I received a random retweet that oncloser inspection contained a familiar name. The Universe really does work inmysterious ways...

I loveTwitter, it's the closest we have got to Spider Jerusalem's very own News Feedsbut I was aware that many official accounts can be little more than selfpromoting blurbs. With trepidation I went searching and to my joy, and morethan a little pride, I saw that rather than being a bland faceless account Ihad discovered a feed full of fragments and spores of new work. Even better, Idiscovered that Jeff was not only responding and interacting with his followershe was also using his own space to promote other writers and artists.

Tweets wereexchanged and I was delighted to find an enthusiastic and friendly man, clearlyenthused by life and future projects.

When Imentioned my article and fished ever so slightly for a few comments to use Iwas met with a "Sure. But lets keep it brief because I do tend to getcarried away with interviews."

The results ofthis brief interview can be found below. I hope you enjoy.

ThanksJeff....we missed you.

Cult Den interview answers - Jeff Noon, Feb 2012

Hello Jeff. Thanks for taking the time to talkto us. I suppose the obvious first question is just where have you been? Iunderstand you have been working on screenplays and there was the appearance of217 Babel Street but apart from that the frequencies were silent… was a periodof withdrawal necessary?***

I wrote Falling Out Of Cars and that came outin 2002. I felt that novel represented a transition of some kind: I'd left myhome town of Manchester, and moved to Brighton. The book also seemed to presenta slightly more mature outlook at the world, and of the possibilities of British SF in general.So I was ready for a change. I didn’t realise just how big that change wouldbe, however.

Itstarted when my publishing editor told me that my next novel, whatever it mightbe, had to reach a wider readership. They'd supported me for a good number ofyears, and I was probably, at the time, their most "left of field"author. But he said that he could no longer keep publishing me, unless I had abreakthrough book. After a period of feeling bad about this, I saw it has anopportunity. I thought I would have a go at writing a weird detective novel.I've always loved the noir genre, and in fact that task is still on my list ofthings to do. I made a few starts at this, but nothing came of it. Basically, Iwas now stuck.

Ican't remember the exact sequence of events, but two things now happened. Istarted to get offers to write screenplays, and I wrote a theatre play. Theatrewas my first love, so I was happy for that to happen. The play was called TheModernists, and it looked at the very early days of the Mod movement inEngland, and how ideals are diluted over time, by fashion, and by othercommercial concerns, and how that dilution affected the original Modernists,the young men who had started the movement. The play was produced at SheffieldCrucible Theatre. Anyone interested can read an extract on the metamorphictionsite. Now this doesn’t sound very science-fictional, but there are connections,especially with the construction and destruction of personal image, a subjectI’ve been obsessed with for while now.

Ialso started work on a screenplay of Falling Out Of Cars for a Londonproduction company. Nothing came of this, because the company collapsed beforethe final draft was completed (the hazards of film production!), but theprocess taught me a lot about film scripts, and how to create them. I startedto work for Dan Films, another London company, working on an adaptation ofCreeping Zero, a story that originally appeared in my collection, Pixel Juice.I had, by this time, really fallen in love with the film industry, and withwriting screenplays in particular. I'm the kind of person that, when they do something,has to do it completely and utterly, and so other kinds of writing were put onthe side-burner, so to speak. Creeping Zero had a testing history, like allfilm scripts seem to have, but I'm hopeful that it will be made, one day. Infact, if things go according to plan, we may start filming this year. Fingerscrossed on that.

Now,during these years, I would still write prose pieces now and again: stories,the starts of novels, remix pieces, but nothing that reached the public in anymajor way. The Babel 217 site was an experiment in collaborative writing, thatcame from this period. But for myself, I just wanted to be a screenwriter. Sothat's where I've been for the last eight years or so, seeking to establishmyself in that world. I have another script, Apparition Park, that I'mcurrently writing. And I know I'll continue to seek out further film projects,as I go along.

Butsomething happened. I won't go into the details, it's too personal, but it mademe suddenly realise that I needed an audience once again. So I got in touchwith my friend, long-time fan and general expert on my work, Curtis McFee. He’sa designer and coder, and together we created a website where I could bringtogether all my old pieces, as well as displaying new work. This became www.metamorphiction.com.As you can imagine, I had a fair bunch of things to write about, after tenyears of being lost in film!

Ihad novel called Channel SK1N, that I’d been working at, on or off, for a numberof years, but which never seemed to get finished. I went back to thatmanuscript, and worked it through, to the end. I looked around for a publisher,almost went with one, but decided in the end to self-publish. The reasons forthis are two-fold: firstly, they wanted to publish it in March 2013. That’s waytoo late for me. As I mentioned, I was in real need of connecting with anaudience once again. And secondly, I really wanted to be free to put out what Iwanted, when I wanted, including, alongside narrative based works, lots of moreexperimental stuff. Basically, I wanted to just write, and not have to wait.Just do it. See what happens. That’s my current attitude, and self-publishinggives me that freedom. I think you’ll see a whole bunch of works coming fromme, over the next few years, each one placed somewhere along the avant-pulpborderline.

I wonder how you feel about your previous workthese days? Was revisiting them a joy or a shock? I worry that maybe with Vurtyou created your own School’s Out or Anarchy in The UK. Was there pressure toconstantly replay the same old song?***

A writer’s relationship with older work isnever easy. It swings between embarrassment, sadness, sheer incredulity that Imanaged to write that, and tetchiness. But with the self-publishing step, andreading all the things that people say about me online, and on twitter, I’m nowhappy to look at the old books once again. A number of those older books werewritten under the influence of a very heavy alcoholism, and so the pain of thattinted them, in my soul. But now, I’m like, okay, those works are still valid,they still have things to say, and also I think they might have an added retrovalue. Not that I’m interested in nostalgia or anything, but it’s always intriguingto examine the SF futures of the past, and the whole cyberpunk thing nowqualifies for such a reappraisal. It will be interesting to see how they fare.

Ithink Vurt probably had less of an impact than people imagine, but it was animportant book, I guess. I don’t think anybody had really tried cyberpunk froma British angle, and it also sprang from the Rave era, and all its attendantdesires and concerns. I think if you add those two elements together, you get abook that needed to be written, at that time, in this genre, in this place. I’mcertainly glad I was there to write it.

Regardingthe dangers of replaying the same old song, I honestly don’t think it’spossible for me to do such a thing. Sometimes I get a little jealous of writerswho manage to create these giant, seven part epics, you know, but on the wholeI prefer to explore different pathways, to go off on tangents, to follows loosethreads, connect wires to the wrong socket; basically, anything that willkick-start my imagination, and push me in a different direction That’s what I’mlike. That’s the essence.

Iwas talking to a friend the other day, about whether all of my books are set inthe same world. He claimed that they were, and that they all took place in theUnknighted Kingdom of Singland. Now I couldn’t remember writing that, butapparently I did. The phrase appears in one of the novels, I’m not sure where.So there we are, let’s say that everything I write takes place somewhere inthat land.

Many Authors are notoriously protective oftheir craft but with the release of Cobralingus I sensed almost an attitude ofthose old punk rock pamphlets or even the KLF’s pronouncements… here’s threechords, now go make your own art. Was this the intention and do you see the dubremix section of Metamorphiction.com a natural progression of this?***

A series of events led to believe that thereis no fixed and final state for a piece of art, whether it’s painting, writing,music, or whatever. This stems back mainly to the convergence of punk music anddub reggae in the 1970s. Basically, dub turned my head inside out: here was amusic operating on itself, revealing its own muscles and bones, and presentingthat internal sound to the world, to be listened to. We’re used now to theconcept of the musical remix, but back then, it was all strange and new. Thiswas a tremendous influence on me. To this day, if people say: “Oh, you must beinfluenced by William Burroughs,” I always reply, “Actually no, it’s Lee‘Scratch’ Perry.” He’s the wellspring.

Thebig breakthrough came during a night-club reading tour for the anthology “DiscoBiscuits”. We were reading in one room, and techno music was playing in theroom next door, and the music and the words intermingled, and I remember sayingto the editor of the anthology, “I wonder of you could do a dub version of astory?” That was the start. I was halfway through writing Nymphomation at thetime, and when I got home, I started to remix sections of the manuscript, justexploring the possibilities of what that might mean. Following that spark, Ihave, over the years, explored various ways in which writing can take ideas andprocesses from music, for the simple reason that music seems to get there first:years ago, it entered a liquid state, one that I envy. So much of prose, ofwriting, novels, stories, etc, is fixed within a basic 19^th centuryform. I wanted to break that form, and studying and adapting musical techniquessuch as remixing, dub, segueing, sampling, scratching etc, helped me along thatway. This research continues, the laboratory is still at work, still lit byfizzing bulbs and littered with weird things in jars. The new novel, ChannelSK1N, springs directly out of this same impulse.

Soyes, anything that allows change, that celebrates mutation and hybridism...bring it on! Let’s use this stuff. Collaboration is an important way to breakthe mould of yourself, to step outside yourself. It’s so easy to decorate yourrut, you know: and we can cover it with the most beautiful paintings andwallpaper, but we’re still decorating the rut, the channel of ourselves, thecomfort channel. Working with other people helps to put cracks in the walls.

Thedub fiction technique, as laid out in the “Ghost on the B-Side” article, isjust me saying, look, here are some ideas, some techniques I’ve developed overthe years, do with them what you will, make up your own techniques, explore.Language is a fluid medium. This is sometimes lost to us because words are sotied up with meaning, and narrative. But they are a substance in their ownright, like paint, and they can be manipulated as such, and new substancesdiscovered. I can’t emphasise this enough: language is liquid. But it’s not athin liquid, it doesn’t flow easily: it’s gooey, sticky, like treacle. It’s notwatercolour, its oil paint. And that’s even better. It’s malleable, but itretains shape. It’s an organic fluid. Actually, I stumbled on a technical wordfor this: thixotropic.The property exhibited bycertain gels of becoming fluid when stirred or shaken and returning to thesemisolid state u

Meaning in a text is the semisolid state: but until that meaning isfixed, words can be. I guess Cobralingus is the most complex working out ofthese ideas. It’s a software that exists inside my skull, a way of manipulatingtext, of structuring transformation. Mappalujo is another writing technique,developed by Steve Beard and myself, to further a collaborative process. We’rehoping to publish the complete Mappalujo manual soon, with stories,instructions, lists, appendices, the lot. Science Fiction is a massive,ever-expanding experiment with content, and I love it for that, I really do.Nothing else comes close. But I’m always surprised by the way the genre tends(apart from some notable examples) to ignore the experimentation of form.

Formis the Host, Content is the Virus.

Thecontent of a story can infect the way that story is told. What’s reallyimportant in all of things I’m talking about, is that these techniques areactually very similar to well-known tropes in science fiction novels:infection, mutation, liquid life-forms, info viruses, alien languages, hybridentities, and so on. Science Fiction is unique in literature because of thisporous interchange between form and content, between the way a story is told,and the subject matter of the story. For me, the relationship between form andcontent is almost sexual. God, that does sound weird! But I hope people can seewhat I’m trying to say. And SF should be pushing ahead, creating new kinds ofstories for the way we live now. No other genre can do it as well. My motto? Ifyou’re showing me a membrane, make it a porous one.

Ahh... but now the future beckons; Iunderstand that new covers are being made for an eBook re-release of your oldwork. Can you tell us more about this and also the twitter experiment that isSparkletown?***

Yes, new covers are being designed. CurtisMcFee is doing this for me. He just gets my world, and what I’m after; at thesame time he has a unique vision of his own. Somehow or other, he manages tofuse the two together. I really don’t know how he does that. I wanted a designthat would work across all the books, to represent my fictional world, mystyle, and so on, but with strong individual images. And of course something abit different than the standard SF fare. Also, there are new considerationssince I was last in the publishing field: tiny thumbnail images, grey Kindleimages, Amazon colour images. Modern covers need to work on all these levels.

Sparkletownis a series of stories all set in the same location, and all created ontwitter. It’s the latest outpouring of a large-scale project I’ve been workingon for years: Electronic Nocturne. This is the depository of all my ideasconcerning the end of the digital age, and its immediate aftermath. So muchnear future SF, I find, seems to be trapped in a kind of extension of thedigital age. I think this is at least partially the cause of all the currentgenre talk of the future being already here. It might well be. But there arepossibilities of change we haven’t even considered yet, both for good, and forbad. And as soon as you start considering that one day the digital age willend, new vistas open up. Anyway, that’s the theory. In reality, I have morethan 300 pages of notes, images, events, brand names, concepts, poems, maps,fragments of dialogue, chapter titles, etc. All set in the same location, atower block estate, and all to do with making music, and writing, and singingand painting and broadcasting sound and vision after all the CPUs have burntout. What then? How will we cope, what will we do? What will art look and feellike? I love this, because it allows me to do the near-future thing, whilststepping out from the usual digital environment.

Ichannelled some of these ideas into a play for Radio 3 called “Dead Code:Ghosts of the Digital Age”. And so when I started on the twitter stories, Iwent back to that Electronic Nocturne datahoard and pulled out some moreimages. Sparkletown is the result. It will all become a novel one day. But atthe moment I’m happy enough to use twitter as a kind of open door workshop, toexperiment, improvise, nail and glue ideas together to see what works, whatdoesn’t. I’m loving that process, both for the Sparkletown tales, and for thesmaller microspore stories. What’s brilliant about twitter is that I feel thatI’m working in real time, to pick up on what people are tweeting, turning thatinto spores or even longer works, sending those back out, and then other peoplefollowing on with their own tangents, images, offshoots, diaspora of manykinds. It’s a community spirit.

Finally, whispers suggest that a new book isin the offing. What can you impart about Channel SK1N? Should we all be tunedto pirate frequencies?***

OK, first of all a warning: I can’t talk aboutChannel SK1N without getting utterly excited. I got the idea a couple of yearsago whilst listening to the song “All the Young Dudes”, written by David Bowiefor the band Mott the Hoople. It was these particular lyrics that got me going:

“Televisionman is crazy,

sayingwe're juvenile delinquent wrecks.

Ohman I need TV, when I got T Rex.”

Televisionman is crazy. I kept thinking about that. Television man is crazy! Televisionman. And I suddenly got this image of a man who was a television. That was it.A human being who somehow or other transformed into a television.

So,I got round to writing a first draft, or the start of one, showed it to a fewpeople. Put it aside. And then one day I just started writing again, andwriting and writing. I hadn’t written a novel in a long time. I felt I was setfree. I just couldn’t stop writing! My lodger came home, stared at me, saidwhat’s wrong, you look like you’re in a trance. I was. I was in a trance. Attimes I would cover up the laptop screen with a tea towel, to stop myself fromgoing back and checking things, from trying to get things right. To just letthe words have their own say. And the story flowed out: a woman starts to pickup tv broadcasts on her skin, they take her over, transform her. She’s in pain,she’s desperate, on the run, everybody’s after her, they want a piece of her,they want to turn her into product. And then, one day...

Ahwell, soon enough Nola’s story will be told. The old dot, dot, dot trick.

It’sa book of ghost frequencies, of static overload, pirate broadcasts, programmesthat exist between channels, stray signals, noise, interference patterns. It’sall skin and blood and image-blur and transmission and fizz and buzz andscreenflesh crackling in the night of phantoms. My word processor allowed me tomake a list of words I had added to its dictionary, just for this novel alone.All these neologisms I had created to tell the story of this woman. There werehundreds of them. Hundreds of new words. At the same time, I hope it’s got agood old story to tell. Somewhere along the avant-pulp interface, Channel SK1Nexists. The screen clicks on.

Forthose interested in learning more here are a few links to help feed your head:

www.metamorphiction.com The official Jeff Noon site. News, storiesand Bios.

www.twitter.com/jeffnoonThe official feed...tweet tales and news, chat etc.

www.twitter.com/temp_user9The feed of Sparkletown, an ongoing twitter story.

http://microspores.tumblr.com/start 50short tales with art and creation from fans and admirers of Jeff's work.

Dr Who Series 7 Promo Picture and Casting Details

2012-02-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

The BBC have released this promo picture for series 7 of Doctor Who and some details on the upcoming season. First this blurb about series 7

Filming has just started on Series 7 of Doctor Who in Cardiff. This series will see the last days of the Ponds with Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill returning for their final, rollercoaster voyage with The Doctor. Amy and Rory have been at the Doctor's side for more than two series but what will he do after their heartbreaking departure?

On returning for his third series as the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith says: "It's thrilling and exciting to be back and working with two of my closest friends."

Karen Gillan adds: "It's just brilliant to be back on the TARDIS with Matt and Arthur for our craziest adventures yet."

Series 7 will then see a dramatic turn of events when The Doctor meets a new friend. Prepare yourselves for thrills, adventures and dramatic surprises as the show builds towards its enormous, climactic 50th anniversary year. Fourteen big, blockbuster-movie episodes - each a brand new epic adventure featuring new monsters and some familiar foes as you've never seen them before.

Plus they have also given us an update on some casting news. Joining Mark Williams will be another Harry Potter actor David Bradley. David Bradley played Argus Filch in the Harry Potter films. Joining them also will be Sherlock star Rubert Graves who played Inspector Lestrade in Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat's Sherlock which just finished series two last January.

Space Elevator Under Construction

2012-02-22T07:33:00.000-05:00

Japan is working on a Space Elevator and claims it should be done by 2050.

http://gizmodo.com/5887210/japan-will-have-a-space-elevator-by-2050

This would be very cool to see if it ever got built!!

AT-AT Volkswagen Van

2012-02-22T07:28:00.001-05:00

http://gizmodo.com/5886969/i-want-this-imperial-at+at-volkswagen-van

Doctor Who Eternity Clock Preview Trailer

2012-02-21T13:07:00.001-05:00

Neil Gaiman's "The Doctor's Wife" Up For Nebula Award

2012-02-21T10:09:00.002-05:00

Neil Gaiman's Doctor Who story from series 6 "The Doctor's Wife" is up for a Nebula Award. It is nominated in the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation. The winners will be announced May 17 to May 20 2012 at the SFWA's 47th Annual Nebula Award Weekend in Arlington Virginia. To read more about the Nebula Awards and the other nominees follow the link below.

http://www.sfwa.org/2012/02/2011-nebula-awards-nominees-announced/

How much would it cost to build a Death Star?

2012-02-21T00:18:00.000-05:00

Yes, 852 quadrillion. Not sure how much that is in quatloos.

The short answer - a lot.

The slightly longer answer: $852,000,000,000,000,000 for the steel alone. That many zeros translates into quadrillions. It also amounts to about 13,000 times our world's gross domestic product, according to the folks at Centives, who decided to tackle the question of constructing the ultimate weapon from the "Star Wars" movie series. Centives is a blog operated by economic students at Lehigh University who apparently have too much time on their hands.

For all the mathematical details - and the answer to whether the Earth contains enough iron to even build a Death Star - click on the Centives link above.

Paul McGann To Replace Sylvester McCoy As ICON 31 Guest

2012-02-20T19:00:00.000-05:00

Paul McGann will be stepping in for Sylvester McCoy who will be in New Zealand a tad bit longer to film his scenes for the Hobbit. Sylvester McCoy is eyeing to attend ICON 32 next year. I'm not at all sadden by this as I have never met Paul McGann yet and will be looking forward to meeting him. It should be interesting to see him and Daphne Ashbrook together at the same convention. ICON 31 is March 30 - April 1, 2012. Here is a video from the ICON website announcing the change.

The Ballad of River Song - Ally Rhodes

2012-02-20T18:37:00.001-05:00

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #13

2012-02-20T17:30:00.000-05:00

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time

By Ken Parker

If you have kept up with my series of top 25 Sci-Fi movies you mayhave noticed that I have not included too many sequels. Actually Ihave only listed one sequel (Mad Max- The Road Warrior). Iguess you could call Serenity a sequel to the series Fireflyif you want. For my remaining list of 13 I have a total of fivesequels so I guess that means I hold sequels in high regard. Interestingly of the sequels on my list a total of four have theiroriginal counterpart also on the list and the following is one ofthem.

13 -2010: The Year We Made Contact (1984)

First off let me say that because this movie is a sequel to one ofthe classics in Sci-Fi history it suffers from unfair comparison. Itis a totally different movie. It is more of a standard tale withmore dialog within the first half hour than the entire 2001movie. You can also say that because this movie is a sequel it hasthe momentum to be excellent because of the set up and story byArthur C. Clarke.

IMDB

Inthis sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, a joint American- Sovietexpedition is sent to Jupiter to discover what went wrong with theU.S.S. Discovery against a backdrop of growing global tensions. Amongthe mysteries the expedition must explain are the appearance of ahuge black monolith in Jupiter's orbit and the fate of H.A.L., theDiscovery's sentient computer. Based on a novel written by Arthur C.Clarke.Writtenby KeithLoh <loh@sfu.ca>

I absolutely love this film. It is often forgotten about and rarelymentioned in the same level as 2001 but this may be a bitunfair. The film does an excellent job as a sequel both in matchingthe look of the original while logically continuing the story along. The cast is excellent and demonstrates how different the movies areto one another. The characters are subdued and virtually nonexistent in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. In 2010,characters are front and center. Roy Scheider is excellent in the film.

It is funny to note that 15 years after the original film, 2010'seffects still pale in comparison to 2001. More on 2001later I would think.

The film is highly dated because of the Russian vs America stand off. The film seems set in the 80's with the politics and since this issuch an important aspect of the film, it can't be ignored. The endresult of the story does support and keep the original theme of 2001going.

Some sequels “bring down” the original to a degree because ofchanging meaning or elements of the original. The film could becriticized for not keeping the standard of the original but I don'tthink it was meant to. It is so far removed from the original in bothyears in between coming out and type of film, that while 2010is a sequel, it seems almost a stand alone movie.

When did I first see this movie – in the theater during itsoriginal release

How many times have I seen it – 5-6

I do have this on DVD

IMDB -http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086837/

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_(film)

Review - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/2010_the_year_we_make_contact/

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/2010-Year-Make-Contact-Blu-ray/dp/B001993Y1S

Mark Williams of Harry Potter Fame Guest Starring In Series 7 of Dr Who

2012-02-20T15:21:00.001-05:00

As spotted on combom it appears that Mark Williams will be guest starring in Dr Who as he was spotted on set today. The big rumor surrounding his role in the new series is that he will be playing Rory's Dad.

New Trailer For Safe (UK Version)

2012-02-20T09:09:00.001-05:00

Safe comes out April 27 in the US and May 4 in the UK. This Jason Statham movie looks pretty promising.

Filming For Series 7 Of Dr Who Starts Today!!!!

2012-02-20T07:29:00.001-05:00

It's finally here the day we've been waiting for. The first day of filming for series 7 of Doctor Who. Now it's time to gaze at photos of the filming and speculate what the story they are filming is all about. Let the fun begin.

Out on the (Time)Lash

2012-02-19T15:43:00.001-05:00

First things first, hello! As you will all probably notice, it's my first post here for The Knights, with hopefully many more to come! If you like what you read, please feel free to catch up with me on Twitter @LonelyGod

Along with the general geek news and thoughts, you'll find my posts mainly focusing on Classic Doctor Who. Since last year I have started collecting the DVD releases (or soundtracks where appicable), and working my way through viewing them all, not in any particular order. To date I've seen a vast amount, but starting from today I'll be recording my thoughts and views on some of these older stories.

As you would have no doubt noticed, and therefore probably stopped reading by now, this first post is concerned with a story which has a rather dodgy, and in my opinion unfair, reputation within the fanbase - Timelash.

I want to start by saying that I don't agree with with popular fan opinion, so this won't be the usual list of things wrong with the story, or knocking the production values. You can see what I thought after the break...

Do you have any thoughts on Timelash? Leave them in the comments section below!

It's fair to say that I've done my research on Classic Who, and probably enough for everyone else too, therefore I was more than aware that Timelash doesn't have the best reputation. It was no accident that it is the last Colin Baker story I have sat down to watch, and I did so expecting the worst. However, I was pleasently suprised.

Sure, there wasn't as much money thrown at it as The Two Doctors and Revelation of the Daleks either side of it, but even New Who has stories which stand out as having the purse strings pulled a little tighter. (Though admitidly, modern production teams cope with it a bit better.) The sets and costumes might be bland, but don't stand out as anything massivly cheap compared to the majority of stories.

The writing is generally good too, with the inclusion of H.G.Wells a particualr master stroke. I hadn't realised that it wasn't made obvious who Herbert actually was until the end of the story, making it a suprise for a first time viewer, which is a nice change for someone used to the New Who way of treating historical guest stars.

The Doctor is nicely written, even if Bakers' performance is a little below par due to other commitments forced upon him by John Nathan-Turner at the time. Waching it in conext of the series though, it does feel as if it should have been placed earlier. At this point, the Doctor and Peri have gotten over their bickering phase, and instead share witty exchanges. However, right from the start of Timelash they are at each others throats again, which just feels a little out of place.

Although I would never go out of my way to defend Timelash's dodgy monster and drawn out TARDIS scenes, I did enjoy it, and that's probably the difference. In the grand scheme of things it isn't a good story, but I enjoyed it, and in the end that's all that really matters.

Do you have any thoughts on Timelash? Leave them in the comments section below!

Matt Smith To Be On Top Gear Next Sunday

2012-02-19T09:20:00.001-05:00

Before heading on the train to Cardiff Matt Smith found time to film a segment of Top Gear. Of course that segment is the "Star In A Reasonable Priced Car" His segment was filmed last Wednesday and is scheduled to air February 26 at 8PM GMT. Matt Smith joins former Doctors Christopher Eccelston and David Tennant in taking the racing track challenge.

John and Carole Barrowman To Write Torchwood Novel

2012-02-18T10:13:00.000-05:00

In an interview with Graham Norton on his radio show John Barrowman revealed that he and his sister Carole are writing a Torchwood novel that will be released in September of this year. It will be titled Exodus Code. So fans of Torchwood you have a book to look forward to written by the Captain himself. Also be on the look out for the childrens book that the pair have written called Hollow Earth and is available now in the UK.

Doctor Who To Film In Spain

2012-02-18T09:56:00.002-05:00

Not since the Colin Baker Story The Two Doctors has Doctor who been back to Spain to film an episode. Until now. According CastingCallPro actor Rob Cavezos will have a role in Series 7 of Dr Who playing a guy called Walter. Here is the blurb from there website.

Rob Cavazos shortly flies to Spain to play Walter in the new series of 'DOCTOR WHO' (BBC).

Eisenhower met with aliens, author claims

2012-02-17T09:48:00.000-05:00

President Eisenhower meets with an alien - or maybe vice president Nixon.

Lecturer and author Timothy Good claims former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had three secret meetings with extra-terrestials at a remote air base in New Mexico in February 1954, according to a report in the UK edition of Huffington Post.

Good, a former consultant to Congress and the Pentagon, says the aliens communicated with humans at the meeting at Holloman Air Force base through "telepathic messages."

"We know that up to 90 per cent of all UFO reports can be explained in conventional terms," Good said. "However, I would say millions of people worldwide have actually seen the real thing."

Just in case the "it must be true, it's on the Internet" argument is not good enough for you, the report also is being published online by our favorite news source, Weekly World News, which also provided the photographic evidence above.

Prometheus International Trailer (More Footage)

2012-02-17T09:36:00.001-05:00

This movie is looking really good. Could be the dark horse best movie of the year.

Prometheus - International Teaser Trailer #1... by addictomovie

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #14

2012-02-16T22:02:00.000-05:00

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time

By Ken Parker

You ever see a list of top movies or TVshows and barely recognize any of the list? Or perhaps you seemovies and shows so obscure or so odd that you wonder how wouldsomeone pick those? I know some reviewers go out of their way tomake picks that are controversial. Also some people love to showthat they are more of an expert and stay away from the classicalchoices. For the most part they just have their own opinion and maychoose less obvious picks.

With that said, the following movie isprobably the number one movie on this list with the least amount offamiliarity. It will probably be by most controversial pick. Veryfew people have seen it and less have it on their top list. In myopinion it is an outstanding movie in many ways.

#14 – Sunshine (2007)

IMDB Story Summary

50years into the future, the Sun begins to die, and Earth is dying as aresult. A team of astronauts are sent to revive the Sun - but themission fails. Seven years later, a new team are sent to finish themission as they are Earth's last hope. Writtenby harpster_2004@yahoo.co.uk

Danny Boyle (28 Days Later) directed this film which featuresa realistic space mission to save the Earth. The cast nearsperfection including Cillian Murphy (Inception), Rose Byrne(X-Men First Class) and Chris Evans (Captain America). The effects are outstanding and the music ranks as one of my favoritesoundtracks of all time (Composed by John Murphy).

On the surface, the movie deals with a mission gone astray due tohuman error and then turns into a bit of a slasher film (believe itor not). But digging deeper one can see a movie focusing on thepower of the sun. Whether it is the science of the sun's enormityand importance to the human race or the individual reaction in theface of a greater power, be that the sun or even God. The Sun'spower can infect people in different ways, turning some to an almostpeaceful contentment and others to the edge of madness. Could thechanges in the crews stem from the confines of the ship or theimportance placed on their shoulders?

I have to point out while looking down my list that visuals are notthe only thing with a common theme. Music is very important and manyof my list have soundtracks that are superb and John Murphy's musicin this is near the top for me. On a personal note, this musichelped me cope through a very tough but miraculous period of my lifewhile my baby girl was in the NICU. Listening to this music and itsuplifting qualities, as seen in the film, helped quite a bit.

When I first saw this movie it was under less than ideal situations. The movie had yet to get a release date in America and a poor bootlegcame along that I could not refuse. All I really got out of it wasthe story as the imagery was hard to see but already I loved the filmand when finally seeing the film in its final showing beforevanishing all too quickly from the theaters, I was amazed even more.

Sunshine, I would argue, has similarities to 2001: A SpaceOdyssey with a mission gone wrong and a overwhelming presenceultimately shaping the outcome of the people involved. It may not beseen in the same company as 2001 but I think Sunshineis much more than the 'slasher movie' label it sometimes receivesbecause of the final reels of the film.

It may sound like this film deserves to be higher on the list andmaybe it does but it is going up against some movies that have stoodthe test of time so for now, here it is.

First time I saw the film - As I mentioned, bootleg and in the final showing in the theater

How many times have I seen it - 5-6 times

Do I have it on DVD/Bluray - Actually, no. I just traded the DVD in and have yet to get my Blu-Ray upgrade.

IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448134/

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_(2007_film)

Review - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sunshine/

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Blu-ray-Cillian-Murphy/dp/B000Y7U98W

Just a heads up - this trailer annoyingly has some big spoilers in it.

My favorite scene - spoiler!!

I had to include a link to this scene - watch it in HD - great stuff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp7z8Gvexas&feature=related

The Woman In Black Review

2012-02-16T11:02:00.000-05:00

I’m not abig fan of today’s horror movies. Iprefer the horror movies of the past that don’t have to rely on gore and shockto scare people. You know thosefilms. The slasher films that they comeout with now a days. Films like Saw andHostel and the later movies in the franchise that star Freddie, Jason andMichael. That’s why I was intrigued whenI saw the trailer for The Woman in Black.

Whatintrigued me was the fact that it was centered in an old house and that themain character was seeing things that was not there. Ghosts! This movie was about ghosts hauntingthis house and village. How cool isthat.

The makers of the film went back to the basicsof how to make a movie scary. There wasnot any crazy guy going around with a knife or an ax killing unsuspectingprey. Instead you had a ghost of a womanwho is taking her revenge on the town where she lived. She blamed her sister for taking away herchild and blames everyone else for not trying to save him when the carriage hewas in sunk in the marsh resulting in his death.

I reallyenjoyed how the movie played on the fears of the main character Arthur Kipps. Arthur is a lawyer who has the daunting taskof going through the paper work at the house. He needs to make sure that thewill that is on file is the only one. What he finds out is far more disturbing and it seems to involve theentire village. See Kipps is strugglingwith the death of his wife during childbirth of his son and doing this assignmentfor the firm he is working for is his last chance to keep his job.

What alsoworked in the favor of The Woman in Black was the feel of paranoia that I hadwatching it. I was ready to jump at theslightest sound and sight. It was reallycool to watch a movie and not have it over blown with lots of cgi effects. In fact The Woman in Black relies on the oldstyle of horror like doorknobs moving; open doors with no one there, rockingchairs rocking with no one in them stuff like that. I’m not one that scares easily while watchinghorror movies but The Woman in Black did get me to jump a couple of times witha few nicely timed scares. But what is itsstrength was also one of the things that were its downfall. As I felt as there were one to many doorknobsmoving and the like. But nothing majorto dampen the movie. I also did not likethe pace also. For a movie that has arunning time of 90 minute give or take I felt it got off to a slow start.

What isreally cool about The Woman in Black is that it is the comeback film for HammerStudios. You remember Hammer Horrormovies that usually starred Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. I do and that is why I had to check out TheWoman in Black. I also like the gothicfeel of the film. All too often horror movies are set in present day so it wasa nice to see one set in the past without modern technology. Loved the gothic feel and the sets andcostumes were awesome. Another thingthat should not be overlooked is the performance of Daniel Radcliffe. His first movie since finishing Harry Pottermovies and I have to say that he was excellent in it. He was really convincing as ArthurKipps. You could really see the frighton his face and actually believe what was happening to the character. Daniel Radcliffe is a true talent and thismovie proves he isn’t just the pretty boy wizard that everyone loves. So if you are in the mood for an old fashionhorror movie and love gothic ghost stories then this is the movie for you. But if you want to see it because you thinkDaniel Radcliffe is hot, well, just save your money and watch the Harry Pottermovies on Blu Ray.
Grade B+

Karen Gillan Joins The Guest List For The Offical Dr Who Convention

2012-02-16T09:39:00.003-05:00

For fans of Karen Gillan you will be happy to know that she will now be joining her other TARDIS crew mates at the official convention. So those who have there tickets for the March 24 & 25 convention being put on by BBC Worldwide will be seem to be getting a good convention. Here is the press release.

The Convention brings the makers of Doctor Who together for a full day, in-depth event designed to reveal the inner workings of the series. On the main stage live pyrotechnic demonstrations will thrill attendees, while in detailed prosthetics masterclasses fans will see a monster made flesh in front of their eyes. Throughout these sessions the secrets of their craft will be revealed by masters of the trade including Danny Hargreaves, Doctor Who’s SFX Supervisor and Neill Gorton co-director of Millennium FX, Europe’s leading supplier of cutting-edge prosthetics, animatronics and special make-up FX.

Karen Gillan joins a full contingent of Doctor Who professionals ready to give fans an unrivalled glimpse into the behind-the-scenes world of Doctor Who. Everyone from the Production Designer Michael Pickwoad, responsible for Doctor Who’s eye-popping visuals, to Casting Director Andy Pryor revealing what it takes to find a Doctor will be gathering in one place to celebrate the creativity (and elbow grease!) that goes into the series.

The Official Doctor Who Convention line-up includes: Matt Smith; Steven Moffat; Karen Gillan; Arthur Darvill; Mark Sheppard; Nick Briggs; Ian McNeice; Raquel Cassidy; Neill Gorton; Danny Hargreaves; Tom MacRae; Toby Haynes; Barnaby Edwards; Caroline Henry; Stephan Pehrsson; Michael Pickwoad; Andy Pryor; Gary Russell; Simon Fisher-Becker and Marcus Wilson.

Happy Birthday Christopher Eccelston!!!

2012-02-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to the 9th Doctor and the one who relaunched a classic TV show.

Trailer For Fringe To Air 2/24/12

2012-02-16T09:22:00.000-05:00

The last Fringe until the end of March. It looks to be one that will leave us speculating for awhile.

Check Out Clive Owen In "Intruders"

2012-02-16T08:48:00.002-05:00

This movie looks pretty creepy. Hopefully the movie doesn't disappoint me like most horror films do.

More from 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'

2012-02-15T16:54:00.000-05:00

I. Cannot. Wait.

'Amazing Spider-Man:' Expanded International Trailer

2012-02-15T16:42:00.000-05:00

Watch. Enjoy. Then wait for July 3.

CBS "Elementary" Has It's Sherlock Holmes

2012-02-15T13:06:00.001-05:00

CBS has cast it's Sherlock Holmes for it's Sherlock rip off Elementary. It is Jonny Lee Miller. The Former Eli Stone star has been tapped to play Sherlock Holmes in CBS modern take of the character that takes place in modern times and takes place in NYC. You can read about it at this link.
http://www.deadline.com/2012/02/jonny-lee-miller-to-play-sherlock-holmes-in-cbs-pilot-elementary/

Interview With Kneel Downe The Man Behind Virulent Blurb

2012-02-14T10:29:00.002-05:00

Every now and again something comes along that is pretty cool and interesting. Like Virulent Blurb. Virulent Blurb is an original story that is published on Twitter. For those that don't know you have only 140 characters to get your message across on Twitter. So imagine writing a story at 140 characters at a time. Pretty cool huh. So I decided to ask the man himself all about his ongoing Twitter story @Virulentblurb and see what made him want to take on this different type of endeavour. So here he is Kneel Downe.

1. Whatwas the inspiration behind your Twitter story Virulent Blurb?

Hello! The inspiration behind Virulent Blurb was, as always, a case ofthe Universe colliding in a series of unexpected and surprising ways. Back inthe late 90’s and early 2000 I had published, online, a number of books and hadalso found some of my short stories making their way onto the printed page.However, due to a rather severe illness and real life raising its ugly head, Ihad turned my back on the Internet and this part of my life.

Last year I finally relented and rejoined the modern world. I instantlyfell in love with Twitter, as I knew I would do and over the coming months Imade a number of valued friends. This eventually led me back into my old job asa freelance journalist.

I noticed with some interest that one of my most trusted of these newfriends, @renzelen was using a similar model as I used to use, of publishingher stories online but then collecting them and selling them via Kindle. I wasintrigued but not really ready to plunge into large scale fiction again. Then,almost by accident, I discovered that my favourite writer of the last twodecades (@jeffnoon) had made a reappearance after nearly ten years of silence.I tracked him down on Twitter and to my surprise we began conversing. This ledto me interviewing him for the Cult Den; the interview was fascinating but whatexcited me even more was the way he had taken Twitter itself and turned it intoa delivery tool for tiny contained stories.

Suddenly all those small fragments of writing I had continued to jotdown over the years made sense to me. I dug them out, added some new ideas andbegan to ‘remix’ them into the framework of an older novel…

The result is Virulent Blurb.

2. How would you describe Virulent Blurb and whatdirection would you like it to take?

Virulent Blurb is an ongoing story set in an as yet unspecifiedreality. It would seem that 50 years ago a conflict has taken place and leftthe world ‘broken’ in a number of ways. This is a world of intelligent inktattoos, gene splicing (where people can adopt animal and bird traits), oldinformation technology and a certain mystical quasi-science. There is unrestand the hints of an upcoming revolution against a, so far faceless, rulingclass.

The story is told via individual tweet ‘fragments’ which take the placeof more normal paragraphs. I try to make each fragment as visual and intriguingas possible; essentially a blending of poetry and prose.

We are currently in Phaze 3 which has given me the chance to ease backon the action and paint a broader picture of this strange world. Phaze 4 willjump straight back into the action…people have complained I left the story onsomething of a cliff-hanger.

As for the direction I would like to take it in? I’m as unsure wherethis is going as the rest of you. I have the barest of story arcs but the joyof this project is that it changes day by day. Hour by hour to be brutallyhonest. I’m enjoying the trip. I hope you are as well.

3. Are there any plans to make Virulent Blurbmore accessible to those who are not on Twitter. Like a website withillustrations maybe?

I had a rough idea of perhaps gathering all the fragments into oneplace some day but nothing concrete. However, I’ve been truly stunned by theresponse to Blurb and so yes, a website is currently under construction.

I would love nothing more than to illustrate the story withcontributions from people who have been inspired by the piece. I have alreadygot two of my favourite artists working on a few illustrations and am lookingforward to hearing from more people.

It will, unfortunately take a little while yet, as real work needs tobe done at the same time. My trusted friend Paul (@time2wonder70)is currently working on the site’s graphics and we are trying our best to makeit clean and unique in its own way.

Interestingly, I was just contacted by an independent film maker whohas expressed an interest in providing mini 30-60 second clips based on individualfragments. This has excited me more than a little!

4. What authors did you get inspiration from todo Virulent Blurb and who are some of your favorites?

This is a toughone. Due to my work I read an incredible amount of books. To tell you the truth,there has been very little that has inspired me recently. Don’t get me wrong, Ienjoy many novels a year but that all important ‘Whoompff!’ has been missingfor quite a while. I did love Zoo City by Lauren Beukes and recently I’vefallen in love with The Hathor Diaries by Ren Zelen-you can find it on kindleor check out her new work on her website.

More long term I’ve been influenced by writers such as Burroughs,Hunter S Thompson, Carroll, Ballard and of course the perpetually wonderfulPhilip K Dick.

However, the moments in my life where an author has physically taken mybrain and shook it to within an inch of its neurons are few and far between.The first was probably Robert Anton Wilson and his work on and after TheIlluminatus Trilogy. Here was narrative that jumped between first and thirdperson, space, time and location all within one paragraph. Grant Morrison’s TheInvisibles did something similar for me via the medium of graphic Novels. Atruly outstanding work.

Warren Ellis smashed into my life with Transmetropolitan and totallyredefined what a comic story could be. Despite being hailed for his creation ofSpider Jerusalem I tend to think many people overlook the damaged poetrybeneath the work. Indeed, the city in Virulent Blurb owes more than a little tohis vision.

It was in 1993, though, that I discovered perhaps my greatestinspiration. They say that philosophy is just the obvious truth related back tous in a way we understand. For me I found something similar in Vurt, by JeffNoon and this continued with his later works. Noon pointed out, quite rightly,that language and the written word were not fixed points but rather, likemusic, fluid and malleable. It may seem odd to you but for me this was oneresounding Eureka moment. Someone had pointed out to me what I knew all along!

Here I must take the time to point your readers in the direction ofJeff and his work. Virulent Blurb is perhaps worth a tenth of what he iscreating via his two Twitter accounts @jeffnoon and @temp_user9. Here is microfiction at its mind bending best.

5. So a bit about you. How did you get yourself hooked on sci-fi andwhat are some of your favorites in the genre.

Ok, here’s where I may ramble for a while. I was lucky, in some ways,to have an older brother who was deeply smitten with Doctor Who, so my veryfirst memories are of a slightly comic, black and white fellow fightingCybermen and all manner of beasties. This love has endured my whole life, forall its flaws Doctor Who is still my abiding love. From such Sci-Fi taintedbeginnings sprung a lifelong obsession. Star Trek, Space 1999, Hammer Horrorfilms…the creepy joy of Quatermass, all of these things shaped and distorted myview of the world.

But now, a confession.

In 2004 I had gained an agent and a publisher for my novel Veil. Withinthe space of one week my agent tragically died, the imprint publisher foldedand my Multiple Sclerosis kicked back in in a big way. Taking this as a messagefrom the gods I did what any right thinking person would do. I climbed a highhill, built a fire and burned all paper copies of my work. I then sold my houseand moved to Menorca.

For three years I was cut off from the world I knew. My only treat wasnew Who, in a bar full of drunken Spaniards. It was, in some ways a healingprocess. I can still no longer tolerate TV. I watch all the latest Genre fareof course but at my leisure, when I see fit.

Most days are spent listening to the radio, I love the sound and playof voices, or blasting obscure and varied music at myself. The Internet isagain a major part of my life and Twitter has proven to be the joy that WarrenEllis hinted at with his ‘news feeds.’

Current favourites include, of course, the good Doctor, the fadesamused me and I will happily sit through most genre shows.

I do feel, however that the visual media has hit something of awall…I’m patiently waiting for the next big thing.

6. Besidesreading your story @VirulentBlurb where else can people read your writing?

Well, if people are really interested they can keep an eye out for myfrequent reviews, interviews and articles that pepper the web, usually at TheCult Den. Fiction, however is a different beast.

I do still have, on some dusty hard drive somewhere, my first twobooks-SOMEWH3RE and SID3WAYS. If people show enough interest than I will forcertain make them available somewhere. They will take a certain amount of‘filtering’ though, so this may take a while. Style wise they are a crossbetween Blurb and, of all things, Twin Peaks.

7. Last question people should follow VirulentBlurb and start reading it because?

Haha! First, before I plug myself shamelessly, can I say a big thankyou for showing such an interest in @VirulentBlurb. Your interest and supporthas been a great joy for me.

Also, to anyone who stops by and enjoys the story, please considersubmitting artwork, thoughts or even fragments of your own…I have a filealready that I’m sifting through and gaining inspiration from.

If the Blurb excites you, why not create a similar project of your own?At the very least please check out my favourite authors and be sure to find,follow and learn from the viral wizard that is Mr Jeff Noon.

Ok…you should be following/reading @VirulentBlurb because its anexciting, fragmentary explosion of future noir…and hopefully it will play withyour head.

Oh and if you wish to converse with or comment on the Blurb pleasedirect your thoughts to me @kneeldowne.

The Blurb is only a story and can’t actually answer back.

Yet…

So At this time I would like to thank Kneel Downe for his time and for allowing me to interview him. So if you enjoyed the interview and are interested in the Virulent Blurb then go out and follow @Virulentblurb and @KneelDowne and read his cool story. You'll be glad you did.

It's Official!! Doctor Who/Star Trek Crossover Mini Series Beams Down In May

2012-02-14T04:30:00.000-05:00

Coming out in May The Doctor and Captain Picard will join forces to do battle against the combined might of the Borg and Cybermen. This should be a pretty good team up as both series have been extremely popular for a long time. You can read the full announcement over at this link.

http://www.idwpublishing.com/news/article/2224/

Doctor Who: The Sensorites Out Today In North America

2012-02-14T04:00:00.000-05:00

Today sees the classic William Hartnell story The Senorites getting its DVD release.

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #15

2012-02-13T20:41:00.001-05:00

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #15

By Ken Parker

As you will see on my completed list, I have very few sequels andonly two of these sequels without their originals making the cut. This is the first. I love many sequels but will often steer moretoward the original because of the ground work it has created. Inthis case, the original is an outstanding and bleak look at thefuture but that is but a setting and no more. This sequel amps upthe 'future' and puts the sci-fi elements into the plot .

The Road Warrior - (1981)

Called Mad Max 2 in many countries, many probably saw thismovie before seeing the first, Mad Max. I actually did seeMad Max first and it was a superb movie. It was gritty,powerful and depressing. The Road Warrior tweaks the idea andamps up the action quite a bit. Max's character turns from revengeto more of a hero and this continues into the third film, Mad Max:Beyond Thunderdome. Despite being toned down and rated PG-13,the third film is lots of fun. The progression of this film seriesis obvious to see as we go further away from the Mad in Mad Maxand more into a hero state. The Road Warrior is more like thefirst movie but I like the less depressing more heroic feel to it.

IMDB Plot Summary -

Aformer police officer is now a lone wanderer, traveling through adevastated Australia after a nuclear war looking for now-pricelesspetrol. He lives to survive and is none too pleased when he findshimself the only hope of a small group of honest people running aremote oil refinery. He must protect them from the bike gang that isterrorizing them whilst transporting their entire fuel supply tosafety. Writtenby GraemeRoy <gsr@cbmamiga.demon.co.uk>

What a great film. Having been a fan of the original, this one wasjust so perfect in every way. The frantic direction and editing,present in the first film as well, is used to an extreme and on agrander scale. A little less grit and depression makes this filmmore agreeable and main stream. It is probably the film that reallykicked Mel Gibson's career into high gear.

One could argue that the Sci-Fi content in this film is the lowest ofany on my list. The fact that it takes place in a post apocalypticfuture is really the only thing making is Sci-Fi, hence it is moreaction. Still, the fact that the crux of the story is lack ofgasoline ties into that fact. The original Mad Max supposedlytakes place before the 'war' and is more present day like.

Anyhow, it is included here because of all the elements listed. Theanti hero of Mad Max is an excellent character and one wonders howthe reboot will look.

First time I saw the film– with my mother and brother in a doublefeature with Blade Runner – doesn't get much better than that.

How many times have I seen it – 15-18 times

I have it on DVD

IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082694/

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Max_2

Review - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mad_max_2_the_road_warrior_1981/

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Road-Warrior-Blu-ray-Mel-Gibson/dp/B000OCZD5G/ref=tmm_blu_title_0

Kevin Sorbo Stroke Part 2

2012-02-13T18:32:00.001-05:00

Star Wars- The Phantom Menace In 3D Review

2012-02-13T16:01:00.000-05:00

Ever go toyour favorite restaurant and order your favorite meal. You’ve waited all week since you knew youwere going to said restaurant and when your favorite meal that you usuallyorder is brought out to you and you bite into it. Well then you find out it isn’t as good as itusually. All that buildup of excitementfor your favorite meal and disappointment as it wasn’t prepared as good as itusually is. That’s how I felt after watchingStar Wars: The Phantom Menace in 3D.

We all knowthe story of Phantom Menace so there is no need to rehash that. (If you don’tfor shame and go and rent Star Wars all 6 movies) Well my gripe isn’t with the movie per sayeven though The Phantom Menace isn’t my favorite of the 6 movies (In fact it ismy least favorite) but it is with the 3D that was supposed to be there. When Ithink of 3D I expect objects to be coming out of the screen at me. Well theredidn’t seem to be much of that happening in The Phantom Menace. The one time that they did try that effectit looked pretty bad.

The Phantom Menace had a few cool scenes thatI thought would look pretty neat in 3D. But they weren’t. I’m talking ofcourse about the pod racing scene and the light saber duel with Darth Maul, QuiGon Jin and Obi Wan. I felt that was anopportunity that was not realized by George Lucas or whatever cronies that werein charge of transferring the original film to 3D. The Phantom Menace could have been a good 3Dmovie using the 3D Technology to have laser beams and space ships popping outat you but alas that didn’t happen either. The main reason for this is the fact that this movie wasn’t filmed for3D in the first place and is only being released again to capitalize on the 3Dmarket that seems to be the craze right now.

But anywayit was good to see a Star Wars movie back on the big screen. It will be a good time for younger fans thatmay not have gotten the opportunity to see the movie in the theatres when itfirst came out way back in 1999. I knowI did enjoy seeing it again on the big screen and probably would have gone andseen it again without the 3D gimmick. Soif you are on the fence about seeing The Phantom Menace in 3D and expecting agreat 3D experience the only thing I can say is save your money and watch yourBlu Rays Star Wars set. But if you are aStar Wars fan then go ahead and see it as the disappointing 3D won’t bother youmuch. But at least see it during thecheaper matinee showing.

Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter Teaser

2012-02-13T13:30:00.002-05:00

Batman: Earth One Being Released This July

2012-02-13T10:31:00.000-05:00

Here is a book that I have been looking forward to since it's commission was announced a few years ago. Based in the same universe as the critically acclaimed Superman: Earth One by J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis. Batman: Earth One is written by one of my favorites Geoff Johns and drawn by another of my favorites Gary Frank.
Here is the press release taken from the web page DC Comics The Source

BATMAN: EARTH ONE HCWritten by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by GARY FRANK and JON SIBAL
Cover by GARY FRANK
On sale JULY 4 • 144 pg, FC, $22.99 US
• From GEOFF JOHNS and GARY FRANK, the acclaimed team behind SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN and the SHAZAM! stories in JUSTICE LEAGUE!
• In the tradition of SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE, this spectacular original graphic novel gives new insight into BRUCE WAYNE’S transformation into BATMAN and his first year as THE DARK KNIGHT.
• In this all new take on the Batman mythos, Bruce Wayne is on the hunt for his parents’ killer. His target? The Mayor of Gotham City!
• Plus, who is Alfred Pennyworth – and why is he so determined to put an end to the Batman?

Trailer For This Fridays Fringe

2012-02-13T09:44:00.002-05:00

Check Out Some Footage About Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter

2012-02-13T09:28:00.001-05:00

The Doctors Nine, Ten, and Eleven—One Point of View

2012-02-12T14:28:00.000-05:00

As viewers currently know the character, Doctor Who is a 900-year old human-male-looking alien from the planet Gallifrey. He travels the past, present and future of the universe and its planets, particularly Earth, in a vehicle called a TARDIS. In his last three regenerations, he is now, so far as he knows, the last of his people, the Time Lords. His regenerations have changed his appearance from that of an elderly grandfather, to a sandy-haired cricketer, and most recently, a youngish, athletic collegiate-looking affable chap.

This article comments on and ponders the Doctor’s latest three incarnations: Doctors Nine, Ten, and Eleven. While Doctor Who affords great entertainment, and may certainly never intend to teach anything about life and people, there are lessons that might be learned. The opinions and viewpoints contained herein belong solely to this writer.

Three Different Doctors:

The Ninth Doctor is assuredly a dark and gloomy fellow. How he regenerated into this form is unknown. Clad in black leather, he has become the last survivor of Gallifrey, after a great and terrible Time War. His experiences from that war, in his own few words now and then, have scarred him. Where once he seemed generally always kindly and genteel, he now initially seems hardly able to welcome any contact with others. He no longer has admiration for humans, even referring to them angrily as stupid apes. He rather cold-bloodedly allows Cassandra to die, “executing” her for the deaths she caused. To the Ninth Doctor’s credit, he rejoices when nanogenes save a child and everyone else in the near vicinity, restoring lost mobility and even lost limbs. Nobody dies. Instead, everyone lives. Perhaps that wonder and delightful joy began to remind him that the universe is not filled only with fire, rage and death, and that he can be part of life and living. However, later on, he dispassionately and readily intends to bring Margaret “Slitheen” to justice (and death) on her home planet. Would his Fourth, Fifth, even Sixth regenerations have instead been content to give her a second chance?

With all that, it seems remarkable that the Ninth Doctor would have invited anyone along to travel in the TARDIS. But he does, and in part there, may lie his “salvation.”

Nine can remind us that no matter how dark and dire life becomes, it is always best shared with someone. But one might always feel uneasy and uncomfortable around him.

Eventually, as he must, the Doctor regenerates, and becomes a new man. Gone is that dark and somewhat sinister warrior. The Tenth Doctor is a “lad next door,” the pal with whom you might just spend hours listening to music. He now wears a blue or gray suit, trainers, and a long tan coat. Occasionally he puts on spectacles. He looks something like a teacher, and in fact, pretends twice to be just that. While several of his incarnations have been easy on the eyes, Ten is more outwardly flirtatious. As this new regeneration stabilizes, he even ponders if he is “sexy.” During his time, he had romances with several women. Ten indeed seems a very romantic, endearing, boy-next-door/best-friend person. While he has shed much of his survivor’s guilt-he has once again demonstrated his complete admiration for humanity, and is far more comfortable around people, than his previous incarnation. Yet, by his “death,” Ten has become arrogant. He breaks Time’s laws, saving a human whom history had already shown was to die-simply because he was Time Lord Victorious. Later he showed resentment, at least for a while, about saving the life of a different human. Where Nine had been clad in blackness, Ten’s behavior at the end became even darker, and in fact, in some ways he is more frightening and alarming than Nine ever was.

The Tenth Doctor is most assuredly a romantic figure. He is tragic as well. His regeneration never quite exorcised whatever demons that burned in him as Nine. He formed a bond with his companion that became romantic love—but it was more as if he wanted to escape from being the one who always saves everything and everyone. The Time War had shown him the absolute worst in destruction and desolation—the only answer to that has to be to connect forever with someone close and specific.

Ten’s need for that kind of love made him the center of fantasy dream, an understandable perspective. It was certainly enhanced by his tall, lithe appearance and boyish charming smile. But, regretfully, that is also a limiting, viewpoint. It betrays the greater strength of what, and, pun aside, who, the Doctor represents. He is the alien “other,” and yet, at the very same time, he is “best friend.” How often we dream and hope intently for that kind of loyal caring trust, from those more like us than less.

Ten also demonstrates that, at least sometimes, there is always a consequence for our actions. But at the same time, there may always also be a new chance. In his case, his once again making that seemingly impossible choice-he may have flailed against it, but when it came to it, he saved Wilf’s life after all-he regenerated into a new chance to finally perhaps purge, heal his scars, and purify his spirit.

If Ten’s incarnation purged some of Nine’s survivor guilt and gloom, Eleven exorcises Ten’s ending self-glorification. Remarkably, and somewhat perfectly for the purpose, the Eleventh Doctor meets the girl who will eventually be his companion first as a child. She is innocent and trusting. Eleven himself, eventually wearing the bow tie and tweed jacket, seems more childlike than either his Ninth or Tenth incarnations. Where Nine could not abide families or children, Ten accepted invitations to Christmas dinners. Finally we see Eleven, minutes after emphatically stating the rules are he never gets involved, rushing out to see why a child is crying. This is the Doctor who told another child, “Trust me.” With his youthful and more boyish appearance, it might be easy to underestimate the Doctor in his current form. But, to mistake Eleven as innocent or hapless would be a mistake. He chastises alien invaders and defeats the awful and formidable Weeping Angels. He might flirt oddly with a woman from his future, but he faces off against his darker side, (still bearing some baggage?) and reboots the universe. He still also has a dose of that overweening, alien, ancient, arrogance-don’t ever think to play games with him.

Eleven is perhaps not such a romantic figure as is Ten. He is definitely more playful and whimsical than Nine. All of them are still the best “best friend” one can hope to have. They also inspire one to “be” the best friend one can ever hope to be.

Three incarnations—dissimilar in appearance, in personality quirks, and in attitudes about the life, the universe and all things in between. Yet—the connections between the Doctors are constant and present. He may change—but he is always, at hearts, the same.

Three Faces-One Doctor

The Doctor stands as Earth’s defender. Nine tells the Slitheen to leave the planet, or he would stop them. Ten tells the Sycorax, and Eleven tells the Atraxi, in quite similar circumstances, that Earth is defended (inferentially, or directly, by him).

The Doctor hates Daleks. Their appearance brings out a visceral reaction in him. But he also always fights against any injustice, any person, people, or “race,” that attempts to enslave or destroy another race.

The Doctor is fascinated by technology, by life-forms he has not yet encountered, and mostly, by humanity’s adventurous and unstoppable spirit. If he offers nothing else, he provides a mirror by which we can always see ourselves at our best. Sometimes his curiosity gets him into trouble! But he never hesitates to explore and learn.

The Doctor thinks various things are good, or cool. Nine liked bananas, said they were good. Ten claimed he invented banana daiquiris. Eleven thinks bow ties, hats, and fish fingers/custard are cool.

The Doctor is prone to saying odd things. Ten said “Correctamundo” and immediately said he would never say that word again. Eleven said “Who da man” and immediately said he would never say that again. Perhaps some time the Doctor may again even say “wicked,” with some delight.

The Doctor is protective of his companions. He delights in showing off his TARDIS, and sharing all possible adventures with new people. While he does love adventure, when it comes to their safety, he is not averse to yelling, “Run!” He also would rather say good-bye to them than endanger them. Nine and Eleven sent their companions home to keep them safe. Ten was angry when his companions put themselves in danger to help him. It is noble that he is so protective, yet at the same time, his companions have always walked into danger at his side. Four never told Sarah Jane to stay behind-in fact at times he asked her outright to do something only she could manage. Seven did not discourage Ace from using explosives. The most damnable thing ever said to the Doctor was when Davros told him he shaped his companions into weapons. Piled on top of his other baggage, those words may have helped unhinge Ten toward the end of that incarnation. It did not stop Eleven, however, from taking on new companions. Hopefully it won’t stop him after Amy and Rory have left!

The Doctor’s Themes

Doctor Who presents viewers with thematic treasures.

What’s “Average”:

Rose was a shop girl. Martha was studying medicine. Donna was a temp. Amy was a kiss-o-gram. Rory was a nurse. None of them were soldiers, or scientists—nobody of any note. They each are just average people, like most of us. We often see our being “average” as obstacle. We tell ourselves that, or we take it from others around us. But the Doctor tells us average does not have to exist. When challenged by alien races and planets, weapons, and dangers, each of those “average folks” found they could think outside the box, ask the right questions, be better, more clever, ready to meet it all head-on, with just their own wits, strength, and trust to guide them. “Average” is not in the Doctor’s vocabulary.

Act even when Afraid:

The Doctor never says don’t be afraid-instead, he says that only morons are never afraid. The places he goes, the battles he fights, are not ones that will ever face any of us. Then again, we fight all manner of things every day that he probably would never understand. The Doctor never stops. He never gives up. He always has a plan. He always thinks there is a solution. The Doctor is not what saves humanity and the Earth, well, outside of that fictional universe. We in fact save ourselves every single day, so long as we act, and don’t let the fear stop us.

Be Ready to see with New Eyes:

The Doctor is more than 900 years old. He has seen time past and future, and knows what happens when. He has yet to seem bored, however. He is nowhere close to “seeing it all.” Nine and Ten each acknowledged that they will see everything as if for the first time, because, in truth, they will themselves be new, with new eyes, new outlook, new-everything. The Doctor certainly encourages the same notions for anyone who journeys with him.

Friend and Friendship:

This is perhaps the most powerful theme within the Doctor Who tale. Two people meet, each from literally completely different worlds. They differ greatly in knowledge, age, experiences, genetics, self-image and more. In some circumstance and time, one might think how could they ever become or stay friends? Yet, they do. These two disparate individuals become friends, to the point of meeting danger, together, as partners, and even as equals. It is a mutual friendship. The companions trust the Doctor beyond question, and the Doctor trusts his companions beyond question. He may tease and mock them, and they may be frustrated at not understanding him. Each, however, always has the other’s back. All the amusing flirty bits, those fantasy elements of a mysterious stranger sweeping one away to travel in a time machine, might get in the way of this magnificent wonder, this tale of friendship. But it is there, powerful and poignant, nonetheless. The Doctor and his companions represent the magnificence of friendship, the kind that surpasses question, strangeness, fear, self-image, self-confidence, gender, age, and looks. He eagerly anticipates sharing all his amazing and fantastic sights and adventures. There can be just one reason for that eagerness. The Doctor genuinely, deeply believes that both the adventures, and the companions, are assuredly worth it. He never ever considers he may ever be disappointed by his friends. His friends never consider they may ever disappoint him. Because friends just are.

May the Doctor continue to travel, and take all of us with him.

Supernatural - Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie - Spoilers

2012-02-11T14:51:00.000-05:00

Some mysterious murders are centeredaround a kid's entertainment center. A killer octopus (or possiblyan vamptopus) and a killer Unicorn raise the Winchester's suspicionseven further into thinking something is not right here. The factthat there are clowns at this place is not going over well with Sam. Sam is frightened of clowns.

Spoilers

Octovamp or vamptopus?

Parents are being killed one by one andthey seem to be being done in by their own child's greatestnightmares. Now we have a shark in the ball tank and killer clownsgoing after Sam. There may even be a giant killer robot with laserscoming out of its eyes.

Mystical Killer

This is obviously one of the comedicepisodes of the season and usually these are done very well. Thestory behind who is doing this and the wrapping up of the story is abit lame but the rest of the story is pretty good, complete with Dean chasing down a man in a lion costume and Dean trying to win a giantslinky toy.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Its always good to have these episodesfrom time to time and this one fits right in with the rest of theclassic funny ones.

Screencaps - http://homeofthenutty.com/supernatural/screencaps/index.php

Supernatural - The Slice Girls (Spoilers)

2012-02-11T14:35:00.001-05:00

Dean has a fling with a girl he met ata bar. Okay, nothing unusual there but this time the woman becomespregnant. Okay, still not unheard of. Well, this time the baby girlgrows up to a teenager within a few short hours and Dean's life maybe at risk because of it...

Spoilers

Don't do it Dean!!

Dean has gotten himself in a bunch oftrouble with this one. A cult of Amazons (The kind that are strongwomen and not an internet company to order stuff) are breeding theirnext generation of kids. The rite of passage for these fast growinggirls is to kill their biological father. Emma, the latest childseems to be troubled by this and appeals to her father's emotions. Could this be a trap to catch Dean unawares? You betcha. Of courseSam comes in to save the day and in a scene mirroring Dean's killingof Sam's friend, Amy earlier this season, Sam kills Emma. The ironyis not lost on the two.

Daddy, why can't I borrow the car keys?

The story is pretty solid and stepsfurther away from the whole “Dick” story. What is veryinteresting is Dean begins to suspect something else is going on withtheir papers being mysterious moved around and such. For the firsttime he suspects that the ghost of Bobby is with them. The fact thatthe start of each episode continues to show us scenes from Bobby's“final” episode supports that something is up with that.

Screencaps - http://homeofthenutty.com/supernatural/screencaps/index.php

Karen Gillan to make 'heartbreaking' departure from 'Dr. Who,' Steven Moffat says

2012-02-10T23:40:00.001-05:00

She may be laughing now, but ...

No happy endings for Amy Pond, apparently.

"Dr. Who" showrunner Steven Moffat says the character portrayed by actress Karen Gillan will make a memorable exit as Matt Smith's companion.

“I’m writing that right now, the big Rory and Amy heartbreaking finale," he told The Daily Mirror. "I think you’ll be in trouble watching it.”

Oh, yes, Rory, too. Why do we always forget about Rory?

"Make It So " Doctor Who/Star Trek Crossover By IDW Comics

2012-02-10T14:52:00.001-05:00

Bleeding Cool is reporting that there will be an official comic book cross over with Dr Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is pretty cool news as IDW has the rights to make comics of both brands. IDW will be attending next weekends Gallifrey One Convention in Los Angeles and it is expected that an official announcement about the crossover will happen there. For the full story follow the link below.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/02/10/scoop-doctor-who-star-trek-official-crossover/

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #16

2012-02-09T22:43:00.000-05:00

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #16

By Ken Parker

As time goes on we may experience afilm in a different way. Personally my top 25 list is in constantflux with movies moving up and down the list. Usually the moves areminor, moving a few spots up or down. A new incoming movie on mylist will obviously push others off the list. This ever changinglist is bound to be different 10 years from now.

16 - The Matrix (1999)

IMDB Story Summary -

ThomasA. Anderson is a man living two lives. By day he is an averagecomputer programmer and by night a hacker known as Neo. Neo hasalways questioned his reality, but the truth is far beyond hisimagination. Neo finds himself targeted by the police when he iscontacted by Morpheus, a legendary computer hacker branded aterrorist by the government. Morpheus awakens Neo to the real world,a ravaged wasteland where most of humanity have been captured by arace of machines that live off of the humans' body heat andelectrochemical energy and who imprison their minds within anartificial reality known as the Matrix. As a rebel against themachines, Neo must return to the Matrix and confront the agents:super-powerful computer programs devoted to snuffing out Neo and theentire human rebellion.Writtenby redcommander27

The Matrix is an outstanding film. It was original and itsgroundbreaking special effects completely outdid George Lucas andhisreturn to the Star Wars franchise - The Phantom Menacereleased the same year. The idea is pretty complex and exciting,spawning two sequels. While the sequels were a mixture ofdisappointment and confusing concepts, they did stretch the ideas setup in the original and did a fairly good job with the story.

I love movies that are complex and have alternative realities. Noteverything is as it seems and the entire idea is so simple yet woveninto a complex structure of a story, it really stands out as anexcellent film. Ultimately it is the action that pushes the wholething along and the superhero like powers that everyone possessalmost places this in the superhero genre. It is about someone whois more than he appears and he alone can save the human race – orsomething like that.

Whether you like the sequels or not, they are mostly the same as theoriginal except amped up quite a bit. The visually stunning battlebetween Neo and Smith was a true climax in The Matrix. In fact this film is so visually stunning with its incredible stunts and artistically pleasing gun battles.

Takingthat a step further with hundreds of Smiths battling one Neo wasimpressive but a bit hilarious and silly. Those sequels fall wellshort of my top 25 but I don't hate them. I don't think the sequels reduced my opinion of the original but itis hard to not think of the three films as one story. I feel filmslower on my list may have been better films than this one but sincethe visuals were so powerful and I remember being impressed to agreat degree, I have to put this up high on my list. You can't beat an intelligent concept that is beautifully shot.

IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix

Review - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/matrix/

Amazon -http://www.amazon.com/Matrix-Blu-ray-Marcus-Chong/dp/B00319ECGK/ref=tmm_blu_title_0

Space: 2099 - Official

2012-02-09T20:02:00.000-05:00

A remake of Space: 1999 is in the works. ITV Studios America and HD Films are working on an updated remake. Jace Hall (the recent V Remake) is Executive Producer.

http://www.space2099theseries.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Space2099TheSeries

http://www.deadline.com/2012/02/contemporary-reboot-of-1970s-sci-fi-series-space-1999-in-the-works/

This is different than the fan production Space: 2099 Monbase Alpha's Legacy.

Smallville Season 11 In Digital Comic Book Form

2012-02-09T11:39:00.001-05:00

Fans of the TV series Smallville will be happy to know that the series will be continuing in comic book form. What has been done before with Buffy The Vampire Slayer over at Dark Horse Comics DC Comics will be doing something differently by releasing it digitally first then a comic book or trade later on for season 11 of Smallville. Here is the press release.

Smallville Fans Rejoice! New Comic Book Series, SMALLVILLE SEASON 11, to Pick Up Where Show Left Off
Fans of the smash-hit TV series Smallville haven’t had much to cheer about since the show ended its critically acclaimed 10-year run on The CW last May. That’s all going to change with the upcoming new comic book series from DC Entertainment: SMALLVILLE SEASON 11. Written by former Smallville show scribe Bryan Q. Miller, the new digital first series will be published digitally on April 13, 2012, with new digital chapters released weekly thereafter. Additionally, the online chapters will be offered in a print periodical, along with an episode guide to the hit television series, with the first print issue released on May 16.
The new comic book series picks-up where the show left off (with Clark officially now as Superman!) and features other fan-favorite characters including Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Chloe Sullivan-Queen, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and General Lane. The book features an all-star creative team – in addition to Miller, SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 creators include print cover artist Gary Frank (SUPERMAN SECRET ORIGIN), digital cover artist Cat Staggs and interiors by Pere Perez (BATGIRL).
“Six months after Clark Kent donned the cape and took to the skies to save Earth from Apokolips… enter Season 11!” enthuses Miller. “New allies abound! New enemies afoot! And old friends return where they’re least expected! Pere and colorist Chris Beckett have done a fantastic job of capturing the look of the show and the players, and Gary and Cat are knocking it out of the park on covers. I couldn’t be more excited to help give seasoned viewers and new readers an all-access pass to Clark’s first year in the cape.”

Ridley Scott On Blader Runner and A Possible Prometheus 2

2012-02-09T11:18:00.001-05:00

Ridley Scott has been pretty candid about a new Blade Runner movie and the possibility of a second Prometheus movie. I hope all this comes to fruition as Ridley Scott is pretty awesome when he puts his mind to it. Here is the quotes from the man himself.

We're still in discussions about whether it should be a prequel or sequel. It's an interesting conversation. I'm meeting with writers and I've also gone back to [original Blade Runner screenwriter] Hampton Fancher and he still speaks the speak. He's right there. I spoke with him this week. But we don't even have a script yet.

And the best quote that got me all jazzed up.

I'm also thinking about what the hell I might do for a Prometheus 2.

For more check out the full interview over at EW.COM

Kevin Sorbo Talks Candidly About His Stroke

2012-02-08T19:58:00.000-05:00

Recently Sorbo talked about his stroke he had while filming the series Hercules. Part 2 to come out later.

The Bourne Legacy Official Trailer

2012-02-08T17:20:00.002-05:00

Looking Back: The Last Starfighter

2012-02-08T16:01:00.000-05:00

Looking Back At Sci-Fi Movies of Yesteryear
by Jeff Zyra

While scouringNetflix for 80’s era Sci-fi movies I came across this movie which I haven’t seensince the 80’s. The Last Starfighter cameout in 1984 during the height of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. It is also the year that my son’s gymnasticteacher won the gold medal for team all around for USA in Los Angeles and it wasalso the year that The Boston Celtics, Detroit Tigers, Oakland Raiders and theEdmonton Oilers all winning championships in their respectful sports.

Well since Ihaven’t seen this movie since the 80’s I was wondering if it held up after allthese years and would my childhood memories be ripped apart by my adult mind asI watched it again. Another reason for watching this movie was sothat I could watch it with my son and get his reaction to it. As a normal 7year old he enjoyed the movie with all its archaic looking effects and sappystory. That’s more or less how I feltafter watching this movie back in the 80’s but at an older age than my son.

So what didI think about The Last Starfighter now that I’m older and much wiser. Well one thing for sure. This movie will not be on anybody’s top 25 listsof sci-fi movies but for what it is The Last Starfighter is not all that bad. Sure the effects are dated and they usesomething that resembled the effects style used in Tron. But for those of us watching movies in thisday and age those effects look pretty lame. The overall story isn’t thatbad. A boy is super good at video gameswhich is what the aliens use to recruit starfighters. A pretty clever premise using video gameswhich had just come into its own in the 80’s and as anyone who grew up duringthat decade knows that playing video games in an arcade was all the rage. But other than that The Last Starfighter wasa pretty basic story with some pretty funny moments. But with most 80’s movies it is also prettysappy when it comes to the love interest and this movie is no exception.

The LastStarfighter is not a classic by any means but if you want to watch a movie thatis pretty enjoyable and kid friendly then this movie still holds up in thataspect. If you’re looking for a greataction movie well then this movie is not for you and maybe you should check outStar Trek 3: The Search for Spock. Afterseeing this again I did enjoy the movie even though it was dated and thespecial effects were pretty lame to today’s standards. But I did enjoy The Last Starfighter eventhough it had those quirks and that some of the acting was well not all thatgood. But The Last Starfighter did havesome pretty good moments and did have some scenes that did garner a chuckle ortwo.

Grade C+

For more on The Last Starfighter check out the summary at IMDB and the trailer

http://www.imdb.com/The Last Starfighter

Will Harrison Ford Be In The New Blade Runner Movie???

2012-02-08T11:11:00.001-05:00

Well I would like to see it but really wouldn't he be to old to fit in with the Blade Runner timeline. Here is what the Executive Producer says.

"It is absolutely patently false that there has been any discussion about Harrison Ford being in Blade Runner. To be clear, what we are trying to do with Ridley now is go through the painstaking process of trying to break the back of the story, figure out the direction we're going to take the movie and find a writer to work on it. The casting of the movie could not be further from our minds at this moment."

But what about maybe in a fast forward to the future. Still not possible though.

"It's like asking if we're going to make the sky red or blue, there has been no discussion about it. What Ridley does in Prometheus is a good template for what we're trying to do. He created something that has some association to the original Alien, but lives on its own as a standalone movie. In advance of knowing what we're going to do, I supposed you could say yes, he could. But I think it is quite unlikely."

Two Writers Confirmed For Series 7 Of Dr Who

2012-02-08T10:38:00.000-05:00

Two writers have been confirmed to be writing stories for Series 7 whose name isn't Moffat or Gatiss. They are Who vets Chris Chibnall and Toby Whitehouse. Chris Chibnall penned the Series 5 story The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood that reintroduced the Silurians and Toby Whitehouse penned the Series 6 story The God Complex. Things are truly starting to take shape for Series 7 of Doctor Who.

The Wolverine Release Date Announced

2012-02-08T10:19:00.001-05:00

Fox has announced the release date for the much maligned The Wolverine. The Wolverine will finally hit theatres July 23, 2013. So hopefully it won't be delayed anymore as 2013 is starting to take shape as a pretty good movie year with Iron Man 3, Superman, and Star Trek.

Happy 80th Birthday John Williams

2012-02-08T09:16:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to the best musical composer of the modern age and for all sci-fi geeks everywhere who get goose bumps when they hear his music. So Happy Birthday to the man who gave us the themes for Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Superman.

Stan Lee launches new website

2012-02-07T23:47:00.001-05:00

Spider-Man is Amazing.

The Hulk is Incredible.

But there's only one Stan Lee. The living legend of comic books - he created Spidey, Hulk, Daredevil, Thor, the Fantastic Four and others - this week launched his own website, The Real Stan Lee. The site made its debut Monday. Lee himself welcomed fans Tuesday with a question-and-answer session hosted by NBC and G4TV’s Alison Haislip.

For more on Lee's latest project, watch the video above.

Daniel Radcliffe as Dr. Who - what?

2012-02-07T23:19:00.001-05:00

Is David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter films, going to make a Dr. Who movie? He says yes. Who showrunner Steven Moffat says no. Yes, we've been through all of this before.

Now comes an interview in which Harry Potter himself, actor Daniel Radcliffe, is asked whether he'd be interested in playing the Time Lord. Thankfully, Radcliffe has more sense than most of the people reporting every Who movie rumor they can get their hands on and starting ones that they can't get their hands on (Wait. Did I just take a shot at myself?) Anyway, his reaction in the video above - just the look on his face - is priceless. Or timeless, if you will.

"I don't know if I could play him. Matt Smith plays Doctor Who and does a wonderful job. They don't need me!I would never presume to jump into somebody else's franchise, not at all."

Next rumor, please.

Incredible movie still!!

2012-02-07T15:25:00.000-05:00

Some iconic movie images stick with you forever. ET flying a bike, Darth Vader vs. Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones cracking his whip. Now we have a new one that is bound to be memorable forever.

The Amazing Spider-Man Official Trailer

2012-02-07T09:07:00.002-05:00

The Dog Strikes Back - Superbowl Ad

2012-02-06T19:25:00.001-05:00

Battleship - Superbowl Ad

2012-02-06T19:22:00.001-05:00

John Carter - Superbowl Trailer

2012-02-06T19:21:00.001-05:00

The Avengers - Superbowl Trailer

2012-02-06T19:19:00.001-05:00

Not sure why but most trailers and ads seen during the Superbowl were shortened versions of what is available online.

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #17

2012-02-06T19:03:00.000-05:00

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time

by Ken Parker

Some of my favorite movies are the onesthat sneak up on you. These are movies you have heard little aboutor may not even be looking forward to. Expectations can sometimesruin a film especially if you are hoping for much more. Hype andpositive reviews can also dampen your viewing of the movie. Somefilms on my list are movies I went into not knowing much about themand may have gone to see them because that was the movie of the week. This film certainly fills this description. I know that I wasinterested from the trailer and was always eager to see true Sci-Fimovies as a change from the action packed movies with Sci-Fi elementsin them.

17 - Contact (1997)

AstronomerDr. Ellie Arroway has long been interested in contact to farawaylands, a love fostered in her childhood by her father, Ted Arroway,who passed away when she was nine years old leaving her thenorphaned. Her current work in monitoring for extraterrestrial life isbased on that love and is in part an homage to her father. Ever sincefunding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) was pulled on herwork, which is referred to some, including her NSF superior DavidDrumlin, as more science fiction than science, Ellie, with a few ofher rogue scientist colleagues, have looked for funding from whereever they could get it to continue their work. When Ellie and hercolleagues hear chatter originating from the vicinity of the starVega, Ellie feels vindicated. But that vindication is short livedwhen others, including politicians, the military, religious leadersand other scientists such as Drumlin..

I really enjoyed this film and all ofits messages. I guess the messages of God and so forth were a bitover the top but still the entire scope including the character studyof Ellie Arroway are perfect in this film. As with many of the filmson this list, I was especially interested in the science part of thetale including the discovery of the signal and building of the traveldevice. Taking a book from This Island Earth and A is forAndromeda, the aliens in the film send an Earth scientist theinformation in enabling them to communicate/ travel to them.

Every film has its flaws and someconvenient developments including the second construction of thealien device diminishes the final product a bit. I always find thesetypes of movies to be a breath of fresh air. We don’t need all theanswers. We don’t need the aliens revealing themselves toeveryone. The pay off is the character development. A very get set of actors all around, for the most part, keeps the movie believable and Jodie Foster does a great job in the part.

I found the trip to the far away planetto be very 2001 like in its scope and like a child fell in love withthe wonders of the universe as seen in this movie. An attempt atkeeping it realistic and routed into the present day was handled wellwith the use of real news footage.

This movie keeps moving up and down mylist and until recently was up a bit higher, for whatever reason.

When did I first see this film –opening weekend in the theater

How many times have I seen it – 6-8times

I actually do not have this on disc.

IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_(film)

Review - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1078021-contact/

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Contact-Blu-ray-Jodie-Foster/dp/B001AQT0RC

The Moff Gives Some Clues To The New Companion

2012-02-04T18:35:00.002-05:00

In grand Steven Moffat style he gives his trademark cryptic clues as to who the comapnion will be. Steven Moffat wrote a piece for the program for the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular that was preformed in Melbourne, Australia. The cryptic passage reads.

“Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary is coming. In Cardiff, we’re gearing up for the biggest, the best and the most ambitious season we’ve ever made. There will be shocks, surprises and heartbreak – the Doctor is about to say goodbye to his very best friends, Amy and Rory.
And then he’s about to say hello to someone very different – the Doctor is going to meet someone very new in the very last place he could ever have expected…”

The Hunger Games Super Bowl Trailer Commercial

2012-02-03T09:10:00.001-05:00

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time - #18

2012-02-02T19:51:00.002-05:00

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All time - #18

By Ken Parker

One thing my list is lacking is sci-ficomedies. One could argue there have not been that many good onesand while I would agree that Galaxy Quest, Sleeper and Dark Star areall funny and pretty good, only one comedy made my list.

18 -Back to the Future (1985)

IMDBStory Summary

MartyMcFly, a typical American teenager of the Eighties, is accidentallysent back to 1955 in a plutonium-powered DeLorean "time machine"invented by slightly mad scientist. During his often hysterical,always amazing trip back in time, Marty must make certain his teenageparents-to-be meet and fall in love - so he can get back to thefuture.Writtenby RobertLynch <docrlynch@yahoo.com>

I have seen many films on my listmultiple times but this film is one of only a few that one can watchmany times and find something new. The detail in this film isincredible. What I find amazing about this movie is its ability toset up pay off scenes all the time. You don’t have to pay closeattention to the movie and come away enjoying it. But if you payclose attention, you will see so much more. I am not just talkingabout all the cool signs in the town or just the irony of the entiresituation. There are so many little details. The running over ofone of the twin pines, changing the name of the mall to the Lone PineMall is just one example.

So many scenes punctuate the irony andhumorous side of this time travel plot. The entire movie ismeticulously integrated into itself. This continues to an extreme inBack to the Future 2 which certainly does an adequate job followingalong the same vein, but is perhaps a bit worn out by that time.

My favorite scene is when Marty is having dinner with his family from 1955 - Michael Keaton does an incredible job as do all the actors.

The film has a great cast and isendearing to all kinds of audiences. The comedy has a big heart as well.

When did I first see this film –missed it in the theaters but caught it on cable

How many times have I seen it – 12-15times

I have it on DVD

IMDB -http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088763/

Wikipedia -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future

Review -http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/back_to_the_future/

Amazon -http://www.amazon.com/Back-Future-Complete-Trilogy-Widescreen/dp/B00006AL1E

Marvel Counters Before Watchmen With Spider-Men

2012-02-02T11:14:00.000-05:00

I believe this story that will be coming out in June will be a meeting of the Amazing Spider-Man and the Ultimate Spider - Man from the Ultimate Universe. That's my guess but since it is a Marvel product it will probably be boring and disappointing.