Hugo Nomination Ballot

Hugo Nomination Ballot
All ballots must be received by midnight GMT on 11 March 2005.

Just a helpful link.

Save The Memory of Shadows

Here's a thought.

If the Enterprise campaign fails to actually "Save Enterprise" instead of giving the money back to the donors take a poll to see how many of the people would opt to donate the funds to J. Michael Straczynski for "The Memory of Shadows".

The latest news is that Babylon 5: The Memory of Shadows is dead. J. Michael Straczynski was willing to go to bat for us and save Enterprise, why can't we got to bat for him and save Babylon 5? In my opinion, he has always received the short end of the stick with his show. The show was phenomenal! Not only will we get a better story, JMS is very hands on with the fans and he may welcome fan input.

Remember this?
Straczynski Wants To Reboot Trek

Although the studio originally passed on the treatment due to "political considerations," Straczynski feels that they might reconsider if they knew that fans were eager for such an idea. "I'm taking the unusual step of going right to the source ... right to you guys," Straczynski said in the message. "Fueled in part by a number of recent articles and polls, including one at www.scifi.com/scifiwire in which nearly 18,000 fans voted their preference for a new Trek series, and 48 percent of that figure called for a [J. Michael Straczynski] take on Trek."

People know who the guy is. He knows his audience. I don't think that money should be wasted to save something that the people who are running it want to die or let rest for awhile just because it's most popular. How about saving something that wants to be saved? How about saving something that we don't have to wait three seasons just to get interesting?

Maybe instead of hiring big studio names, JMS can attract attention by being the first writer/producer to have donated fan involvement. Hell, I sew. Need costuming? There's a donation. It's a chance for a first and I'm pretty sure some suit somewhere could make this work. Money for good programming is tight these days. People are going to have to be more creative with gathering funds for the projects they want to see. If we want to see good shows we can't be bound to traditional "showbiz" routes and safe political methods.

Fan involvement doesn't come without fan requests. So of course I have some. I have two simple conditions though. They're not big. They're reasonable.
1) He has to promise that no one will ever virtually punch a ship as a cute alternative to firing weapons. (Legend of the Rangers)
2) Marcus returns. I don't care how it's done, prequel or whatever but Jason Carter as Ranger Marcus Cole comes back.

I'm not saying that Enterprise is a lost cause. I am saying that helping JMS would get more bang for the buck.

Rocketplane XP

Does that name inspire comfort and safety? Not to me. I see XP, I think crash. I think Rocketship of Death. I see XP I see vulnerability and rushed construction. Naming your new commercial passenger space cruiser Rocketship XP just isn't a smart idea. Whoever was in charge with naming the ship will have to overcome choosing a silly name like that.

Yes, I know, don't judge a book by it's cover but this ship's name is trendy, makes people think of Windows XP and in 2007 it will be dated. It says that if these folks can't even come up with a name for the ship that doesn't suck, they probably couldn't come up with a plane that doesn't crash.

Have Spaceplane Will Travel

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico -- Reusable spaceplanes that propel ticket-holding passengers to the edge of space are slowly becoming reality.

Among several firms literally hammering away at this prospect is Rocketplane Limited, Inc., an Oklahoma corporation. The company is eager to make space travel as safe, convenient, and routine as air transportation, with work ramping up on their Rocketplane XP design.

The spaceliner’s first commercial passenger flight is projected to be early 2007.

The plan calls for Rocketplane XP to depart from the Oklahoma Spaceport located in Burns Flat and whisk customers skyward to over 60 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth. At that height, a spectacular view is promised, along with "over the top" weightlessness for up to four minutes. The company also envisions transporting innovative scientific experiments and valuable payloads to sub-orbital space and beyond.

Wil Wheaton to be on CSI

Hell yeah!!! He sounds like he really enjoyed it too. I didn't really see an episode title or the date that it would air so I guess we'll have to keep a look out.

From Wil Wheaton.net

After a week on CSI, it's no mystery why this is the number one drama on television.

Everyone I've seen is fiercely dedicated to the success of the show. The actors know and care about their characters, and how they interact with each other. When they're called to the set, they come immediately. They are prepared: they know their lines and they talk with each other and the director about the scene.

More here...

killenterprise.com

http://www.killenterprise.com/

Quoted from the site:

The blasphemous indiginant nightmare that was ST-Enterprise is finally coming to an end.

How many times did they insult our intelligence as diligent trek fans with vagrant canon violations? How many stooopid episodes did they expose us to? How come NX-01 was so much more advanced than Kirk's NCC-1701???

Why? Not because there is an issue with the Trek-Universe. DEFINATELY NOT. The issue(s) are in the details the things that fuel fandom, the very things that the creators of NX-01 simply forgot to do. They thought they could abuse our loyalty. They were wrong.

From day one this show didn't feel like a Trek show and unfortunately it never improved. Instead of wasting our time with boring rehash episodes of character x gets infected with unknown virus y, or character b and c get stranded - we could have had an all out slugfest with the Klingons. Instead Klingons appears in a half dozen episodes (maybe at best) in 4 years?? How many Classic series episodes were they in over the same period?

Science Fiction fans, especially those of the Trek persuasion are a loyal bunch (how else can you explain Episode I: A Phantom Menace or the odd numbered Star Trek(tm) Movies?) but we're also an intellectual bunch that doesn't appreciate schlock. Enterprise dies at four while Stargate SG-1 is now on season 8 go figure.

It's been a long time, getting from there to here, it's been a long time and Enterprise's time is finally over.

Good Bye and Good Riddance.

You can even join a campaign to thank UPN for ending the show. Funny.

Tsunami Uncovers Ancient City in India

Tsunami Uncovers Ancient City in India

Hopefully something good can come out of this. Sounds like a good sci-fi adventure story in the making. Maybe those proceeds can go towards more help for the tsunami victims.

MAHABALIPURAM, India - Archaeologists have begun underwater excavations of what is believed to be an ancient city and parts of a temple uncovered by the tsunami off the coast of a centuries-old pilgrimage town.
More...

The first bisexual Russian Jew in space

In other words, Commander Susan Ivanova.
Check out this article on Claudia Christian from BellaOnline.

"Babylon 5" Star Claudia Christian Speaks

Christian does not consider herself a SciFi fan, but she has appeared at conventions where she frequently meets die-hard fans. “A nice fan made me a lovely quilt and matching pillows,” she recalls. “He pulled out a (plastic) gun and shot me in the kidney area. It not only smarted a little bit, it kind of scared me—your life flashes before your eyes. It could have been a real gun, I don’t know. He was a nice guy, he thought it was funny that I got a little freaked out by it, as you can imagine.”

WTF? Bro, that was just too much! C'Mon! Let me say now that this is NOT cool. Anyone else thinking about doing something like this for the actor you worship DON'T!!! Don't make them shit, don't write them poetry, don't talk to them, don't touch them, don't make jokes, don't write them letters, don't send them e-mail, in fact, don't try to save their show. While I agree that Christian was right in feeling freaked out, generally actors don't appreciate any fan love. They don't care and they most likely don't like us. Pulling fake guns on them only reinforces that.

Danny Darko Director's Cut

Is there anything there that isn't on the original DVD? Darko 2 in the works?

Top Ten Series Being Developed by Berman and Braga

I was lurking on alt.tv.star-trek.enterprise and this is too funny not to share.

Trek is officially kaput, but the fact that Paramount even kept Berman
and Braga around this long indicates they still regard them as
producers, and the rumor from the beginning of the season is true:
Berman and Braga were supposedly working on a new, non-Trek series
while Coto was running "Enterprise." A dozen good spies lost their
parking privileges to smuggle out the following intel:

Top Ten Series Being Developed by Berman and Braga

10: "Time Voyage" A hot chick in a skin-tight catsuit travels to
various points in history, using her advanced knowledge of the future
to escape her many perilous predicaments while lecturing on the
importance of never interfering with the timeline.

9: "Voyage in Time" An android from the far future lands in
present-day Los Angeles, where he learns what it means to be human
after befriending a hot chick in a skin-tight catsuit.

8: "CSI: Infinity" A hot chick in a skin-tight catsuit follows
time-traveling criminals to various points in history, using high-tech
forensics tech to track them down.

7: "L.A. Public" In a run-down (but trendy) inner-city school a hot
chick in a skin-tight catsuit becomes the most popular new teacher (I
mean *the* most popular...).

6: "This Beach House" Hot chicks in a skin-tight catsuits, bikinis
etc. compete to win the right to appear in more competitions in even
more revealing clothes.

5: "A Girl, Another Girl and their Friends" A hot chick in a
skin-tight catsuit and her similarly like-attired pals make risque
one-liners about their sex lives.

4: "Lovely Lady lawyer" A high-powered, tough but compassionate
attorney who happens to be a hot chick in a skin-tight catsuit takes on
The System on behalf of indigent but photogenic clients.

3: "Medical Building" A brilliant, idealistic doctor who is a hot
chick in a skin-tight catsuit bucks the hospital's administration to
treat young, pretty plague victims.

2: "My Wacky Family" Heartwarming, brain-curdling shitcom about a hot
chick in a skin-tight catsuit, her brainless fuckwit husband and their
bratty kids.

And the number one show Berman and Braga are producing:

1: "Frig It: This is what the fanboys want!!" One hour of a hot chick
in a skin-tight catsuit striking sexy poses for the camera.

Whatever happened to Mr Garibaldi?

I'm not talking about the episode Whatever happened to Mr Garibaldi? This time I'm actually talking about Jerry Doyle.

Presently, he has his own talk show on WRKO cleverly called The Jerry Doyle Show.

Listen to Jerry Doyle every Saturday Evening on WRKO:
11:00 PM to 1:00 AM
ON THE TALK STATION AM 680 WRKO
Jerry Doyle hosts a nationally syndicated evening radio show. Listeners enjoy Jerry's anecdotal humor, satirical observations and well-rounded social commentary. Jerry's ability to choose compelling topics provokes lively conversations on the issues of the day. The program is caller-driven, issue-oriented, and fast-paced. Listeners enjoy Jerry's wit, as well as his ability to seriously engage callers from across the nation in fascinating conversations.

I haven't listened so I don't know what he talks about. Just FYI.

Straczynski hands are tied

From SciFi Wire:
Straczynski Ends Trek Campaign

Damn shame. I can't do anything but shake my head in disappointment. I guess the "Save Enterprise" campaign should get a clue and not waste their time either. Of course anyone who reads me regularly knows my position.

A day after calling for a letter-writing campaign by fans who wanted to see his version of Star Trek produced, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski posted a follow-up message to the same newsgroup retracting his statement. "[B]elay everything I just said," Straczynski wrote. "In the 24 hours between the time I composed the prior note, and sent it, and it made its way through the moderation software, two things happened."

The two things that changed Straczynski's mind were a tip from a trusted source at Paramount, which owns the rights to the Star Trek franchise, that the studio is "giving the Trek TV world a rest" for a year or two, and an offer to run a series premiering in the fall of 2006, which Straczynski has accepted. In Straczynski's words, the Trek campaign is now "kind of moot."

The writer/producer apologized to fans and assured them that he hasn't abandoned the project completely. "We can reconvene a year or two down the road to see where this takes us," he said. "But in the interim ... my apologies for waking everybody up in the middle of the night."

Man, you don't owe us an apology, you are a hero, always have been. We thank you for trying and we apologize for not being able to do more. I look forward to your new project and hope that it is successful!

Top 10 SF&F Syndicated Shows

1. Stargate SG-1 2.2 <---- Of course!
2. Andromeda 1.6 <---- What?
3. Mutant X 1.6 <---- Huh?
4. The Twilight Zone 1.4
5. The X-Files 1.4
6. Buffy 1.3
7. The Outer Limits 1.3 <---- WOO!
8. She Spies 1.3 <---- WTF?
9. Angel 1.2
10. Ripleys 0.9

Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 1/24/05 - 1/30/05

Farscape Syndicated!

From watchfarscape.com

A Coup for Farscape's syndication

Debmar Studios/Mercury Entertainment have informed us that they've finalized the deal that will put Farscape on Superstation WGN this fall in syndication. Superstation WGN, owned by Tribune Broadcasting, is carried on cable and satellite nationally in over 65 million homes. This is a major coup for Farscape.

In Chicago, Farscape will still be aired locally on either WPWR-50 or WFLD-32, the local Fox-owned television stations.

I couldn't confirm it but those guys are credible.

MTV 'Revenge of the Sith' Tickets Sell for $20K

From theforce.net:

A pair of tickets to see 'Revenge of the Sith' at Skywalker Ranch went for $19,601.12 in a recent auction on eBay.

The MTV Episode III event is being held at the Ranch in May, and you can read more here.

It would be awesome to see the movie at Skywalker Ranch but 20K? Jeez! I'm dating the wrong geeks.

SciFi Channel re-runs Sliders from the start

What if you found a portal to a parallel universe?

What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds
where it's the same year and you're the same person,
but everything else is different?

And what if you couldn't find your way home?

Oh yeah! We know what that means. Time for Sliders.
I was flipping channels, saw Jerry O'Connell's cute baby face and decided to watch. I didn't realize that I was watching the pilot episode. (I always wanted to know how Rembrant fit into the picture. Now I know. And knowing's half the... wait... that's another show.)

This show wasn't the best but it was fun and it managed to stay on the air FIVE SEASONS. *clears throat*

If you didn't catch the pilot yesterday you can still catch the rest of the season. Sliders comes on 4 pm (3 pm CST).

Schedule
• Sliders - "Pilot"
SCIFI, Tue Feb 15

• Sliders - "Summer of Love"
SCIFI, Wed Feb 16

• Sliders - "Prince of Wails"
SCIFI, Thu Feb 17

• Sliders - "Fever"
SCIFI, Fri Feb 18

• Sliders - "Last Days"
SCIFI, Tue Feb 22

• Sliders - "The Weaker Sex"
SCIFI, Wed Feb 23

• Sliders - "Eggheads"
SCIFI, Thu Feb 24

• Sliders - "The King Is Back"
SCIFI, Fri Feb 25

Geek Discrimination

Dorkstorm: The Annihilation

I've often wondered why people hate geeks, nerds, etc. I wonder why people get so annoyed at people who want to have a good time doing silly things. Why is dressing up like Darth Vader so frowned upon? Who set the standard for the Star Trek freak who lives in mom's basement? People wanna LARP? They're not hurting anyone, let them do their thing. People wanna collect comic books? so what? Dress like a vampire? Who cares?

The Wave Mag published an article about The Ten Geekiest Hobbies. It also went as far to show the percentage of damage each hobby has on public acceptance and sex life. I know this article was meant to be humorous but I often wonder about why sci-fi/fantasy fans are ridiculed.

What's that quote from Stovokor?
"When reality stops being so lame, we'll stop doing this".

Life is stressful. "Geeky" people usually have taken care of the "normal" everyday life things and want something to do to relax that they enjoy. Of course it would be un-American for me to say that getting laid everyday and the pursuit thereof gets old after awhile.
What is else is there to do?
Raise children?
Go to church?
Spend time with family?
Work a job I hate?
Go to a sports game?
Gamble?
Day trade?
Shop at the mall?
Hunting?
There is nothing wrong with these thing but what else do un-geeky people do that is so great? What is so wrong with a little imagination and fantasy? Why are so many people worried about what others do with their OWN time? They should be grateful that some of these people have geeky hobbies. Perhaps this keeps down murder, theft, insanity. People should embrace roleplaying games. Maybe if the Enron geeks would have been LARPing, they wouldn't have screwed "normal" people with "normal" lives with JEDI LP, Kenobe Inc., Obi-1 Holdings LLC and Chewco Investments LP. Perhaps it was geeky revenge. The next time you see that neighbor in a Renaissance costume, perhaps you should ask them if they need a sword to go with that.
Happy geeks = good.
Tortured geeks = Enron.

Matrix Online BETA Stress Test

Last week The Matrix Online team coordinated with FilePlanet.com to give away keys for The Matrix Online Beta Stress Test. The test is scheduled to begin on February 7th and go through February 14th. The goal of the test is to really press hard on the game systems in order to make sure that they are ready to go when the product launches in spring 2005. Keys for the test began to be given away at 6PM Thursday February 3rd and they were all gone by 8AM on Saturday February 5th.
You can still be a part of this and get into the Beta Test for The Matrix Online by preordering the game at your local video game retailer. Check out www.thematrixonline.com/preorder for more details.

I'm not buying into this one. Enter The Matrix (XBOX) bored me to tears, I couldn't get past the driving portion and I couldn't play Neo, Trinity or Morpheus. Matrix: Revolutions disappointed me so that I can't get into anything The Matrix. I'm still trying to convince myself to re-watch Matrix: Revolutions. No luck.

MGM has announced the Mother of All Contests

from sg1archive.com:

MGM has announced the Mother of All Contests, in which fans can guess when Amanda Tapping's baby will be born, for a chance to win a Stargate SG-1 Prize Pack! The person who guesses the birth date, time and gender of the baby will win an autographed Stargate SG-1 sweatshirt, an autographed script, and the Season 1-7 DVD box sets. Ten other winnners will each receive a Season 7 DVD box set.

You can enter the contest here. The contest rules can be found here.

Enterprise Decision 2005: Straczynski Gets My Vote

SciFi Wire has an Enterprise vote this week.

Enterprise is done. What new Star Trek do you want?
One in the 23rd century? 6%
One in the 24th century? 21%
One in Starfleet Academy? 15%
One with new characters? 9%
One by J. Michael Straczynski? 49% <------ My vote!!!
Total Votes: 11,264

That would reach a level of rockdom that no Star Trek has every reached before.

Not long ago SciFi Wire released an article that Straczynski pitched an idea for a new Star Trek series. I can hope can I? But I know that this would make Star Trek watchable and even get some ratings. Since everyone is all about catchphrases like "franchise fatigue", I doubt this will happen. I want it to happen. It needs to happen. I just finished a personal B5 marathon and I want another go at it. :D

SCI FI Renews Galactica

Well duh! They'd better. They cancelled Farscape for this. (IMO) I'm not bitter anymore but Galactica better have at least 7 seasons. The SciFi Channel has aired You Can't Go Home Again at least 10 times. I found myself sitting down to watch it everytime I saw that it was on. You know you have some good stuff when that happens.

SCI FI Channel has ordered a second season of its hit series Battlestar Galactica, which has aired five episodes of its first season of 13 episodes. Details of the renewal—including which cast members will return, how many episodes will be produced and when the second season will commence—were still being worked out at press time.

Battlestar Galactica has been a ratings winner for SCI FI since its Jan. 14 premiere. The latest episode, Feb. 4's "You Can't Go Home Again," scored the show's best ratings yet, with 3.2 million viewers.

For the show's second season, creator and executive producer Ronald D. Moore previously told SCI FI Wire that he has already been working on as many as six new scripts to resolve the multiple cliffhangers that will end season one. Moore added that he wants to delve deeper into the show's religious themes and open up the Cylon world a bit more in the coming season. Moore continues to post his thoughts on a personal blog on SCIFI.COM. Battlestar Galactica airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/PT, part of the channel's SCI FI Fridays lineup.

Hail all that is Holy!

A new LOST airs today.

Lost
ABC 13 Feb 09 07:00pm
Series/Drama, 61 Mins.
"Homecoming"
Claire returns with no recollection of the plane crash or anything that has happened since; Jack and Locke formulate a plan to defend Claire against her kidnapper, who threatens to kill off other survivors unless Claire is returned to him.


Also...
Alias
ABC 13 Feb 09 08:01pm
Series/Drama, 61 Mins.
"Nocturne"
Vaughn and Jack search for a cure when Sydney is infected with a mind-altering and potentially deadly hallucinogen, causing her to slowly lose touch with reality.

and of course there is always a Star Trek or CSI series on somewhere.

100 Days Till 'Revenge of the Sith' Hits Theaters

Straight from The Force.Net:
100 Days Till 'Revenge of the Sith' Hits Theaters

At 0:01am on Tuesday, February 8th, there will be exactly 100 days until 'Revenge of the Sith' starts its midnight screenings in most theaters around the world, at 0:01am on Thursday, May 19th.

And if you're in Belgium, France, Switzerland (French) and Uraguay, you've got even less time to wait - just 99 days.

Thanks to Jedi Master Pep, liam starwatcher, Master Omar and Rob for the alerts

Peter Jennings to do Primetime UFO Report

I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I read this.

Peter Jennings Reporting--UFOs: Life in the Universe (Feb. 24, ABC): The ABC News anchor goes all Fox Mulder on us.
Yahoo News

I went to the ABC website to confirm it and it was true. Peter Jennings is doing a two- hour primetime UFO Special.

On Feb. 24, "Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs - Seeing Is Believing" takes a fresh look at the UFO phenomenon. "As a journalist," says Jennings, "I began this project with a healthy dose of skepticism and as open a mind as possible. After almost 150 interviews with scientists, investigators, and with many of those who claim to have witnessed unidentified flying objects, there are important questions that have not been completely answered - and a great deal not fully explained."

More of the story here...
The UFO Phenomenon -- Seeing Is Believing

Smallville: More showers but that's ok

I enjoyed the two- parter Smallville; Unsafe and Pariah. A lot of character development and it helped push the storyline forward. I'm looking forward to the next episode. The Lana storyline, even with the addition of the "evil mother", bored me but has room for growth. I like evil Lana a lot better. Chole finally learned Clark's secret and remained a good friend by keeping it. Lex is the still the nicest bad guy ever. They should make teddy bears with his face on it. Clark, oh Clark that hot tormented "virgin" soul. I like how they managed to slip Vegas in the story line. It made me crave for some CSI.

Looks like Smallville is going to survive it's fourth season without being cancelled. *clears throat*

Check this out...
Battle of the Lexes! from kryptonsite.com.

Michael Rosenbaum (Lex) appeared on Last Call With Carson Daly earlier this week, and in the appearance he told the host about an encounter he recently had with actor Kevin Spacey, who is playing Lex Luthor in the 2006 Superman movie.

"All of a sudden, I feel a tap on my shoulder, and he was like, 'Well, if it isn't the former Lex Luthor'," Michael said. "And I turn around, and I go, 'Yeah, I'm playing him before he's fat and ugly.' And he just looked at me - he's like, 'Real cute, Rosenbaum, real cute'."

Not sure we like the "former" Lex Luthor comment, but Michael does deserve kudos for the witty comeback.

Nice!

Other Interesting SciFi Blogs

Woohoo!!! Those boys are kicking SciFi blog butt!
SfSignal Makes Top 40 List
SF Author and Asimov's SF contributor James Patrick Kelly has posted a list of 40 interesting SF blogs. A nice list. I've been looking for more blogs to read.

Check out the list here:
http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0502/onthenet.shtml

Ronald D Moore has a BattleStar Galactica Blog

Ron Moore's Blog
There is a lot of good information on the show here. He does a Q&A for those who want to know more about the series and him as a person.
SciFi Daily hails him as a saviour. :D

Vote on Enterprise

MSNBC is conducting a live vote on what you think of the Enterprise TV series being canceled.

Results so far....
How do you feel about the ending of "Enterprise"?
* 23107 responses

Terrible, it's a great show and should continue
75%

Fine, that show just never caught on like the other ones
10% <------- My vote.

Torn, it wasn't the best show, but there should always be a 'Trek' series
15%


If you want to vote, go to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6902611

Berman is holding out hope

Enterprise Won't Be Shopped

The more I read articles about this situation the more I think that Berman wants Star Trek to end on his terms and with him still in control. He is obviously tired of the franchise. There are plenty of people that could have this series kick ass and are willing to do so but B&B are playing politics and pissing games... I guess. How do I know? I don't. What I do sense is that the series was neglected and abandoned. The fans don't mean to attack B&B personally (some fans)..... *sigh*
you know what? This is horse is dead. I'm calling Nazi, evoking Godwin and ending this.

Rick Berman, executive producer of UPN's just-canceled Star Trek: Enterprise, told SCI FI Wire that Paramount is not shopping the series to another network in the hope that it will remain on the air past its anticipated May 13 series finale on UPN. The studio considered that option last year, when the fate of Enterprise hung in the balance, but UPN ultimately renewed the struggling series for a fourth and now last season.

"One of the greatest things that Paramount has offered us over the last 18 years has been the kinds of budgets that have allowed us to produce the show at the quality that it's been done," Berman said in an interview hours after the official announcement was made by UPN. "The budget that all of our Star Trek series have demanded are the kinds of budgets that would be prohibitive on cable. So as of now the powers-that-be seem to feel it's time to give the franchise a rest, and I think it's most likely a good idea."

Sources told SCI FI Wire that the show costs as much as $1.6 million per episode to produce, for which UPN paid about half. To win renewal last year, Paramount cut its fee to UPN, which resulted in some cost-cutting, which included shooting the series on high-definition digital video instead of film.

Microsoft Develops Halo Film

Microsoft Develops Halo Film

Microsoft hired screenwriter Alex Garland (28 Days Later) to script a feature-film version of its best-selling video-game franchise Halo, to be presented as a complete package, Variety reported.

This strategy is the handiwork of ex-Columbia Pictures president Peter Schlessel, who quit the studio to become a producer just over a two years ago. He is expected to serve as a producer in some capacity on the Halo film, the trade paper reported.

The Halo franchise is one of the most popular in video-game history, having sold more than 12.8 million units and grossed approximately $600 million since its 2001 debut. Last year, Halo 2 sold 6.4 million copies and was the second-best-selling video game of the year.

The plot of Halo centers on a warrior soldier known only as "Master Chief" who battles a group of alien religious zealots who believe one of their most sacred artifacts is located on Earth.

I have an XBox and I've never played this game. In fact, my XBox collects dust. I'd play it if I had a dual screen TV or picture-in-picture but just playing a game to me is kinda boring. I guess I haven't played Halo. We'll see if Microsoft will will cool points with this film. I personally don't have a problem with Microsoft.

SciFriday: 02/04/05

I've already stopped watching Enterprise on Friday's. I'm not going to bother. I'll catch the re-run. At least the SciFi Channel is on the ball.

Stargate SG-1
Wayne Brady? Just last week I saw this man on The Chappelle Show asking "Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a bitch". You can hear that sophisticated quote on constant loop at none other than chokeabitch.com. Now, the last time I saw Wayne Brady, he was being lame and annoying on his show. Then I see this Chappelle skit and died laughing and now the man is on Stargate: SG-1.... choking bitches... err... Harry Maybourne. (It's Good To Be King) Too bad they killed off Wayne Brady's character, I liked the Trelak/ T'ealc dynamic. Maybe they'll put a snake in him and bring him back.

Stargate: Atlantis
I'm kinda bored with this show already. A deadly nanite virus? *YAWN* McKay, Beckett and Grodin made this episode worth watching with their geek antics but that's about it.

Battlestar Galactica
Katee Sackoff is making Starbuck work! I love her character and this latest episode, You Can't Go Home Again, showed how badass she is. Bravo!!! I was surprised to see that this episode was actually a reworking of the Galactica 1980 episode "The Return of Starbuck". In that Episode Starbuck is trapped on a planet with only a Cylon for company. This episode was AWESOME!

The SciFi Channel kicks ass on Friday. Take a look at the program schedule.
7:00am Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? TVPG, CC
8:00am Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? TVPG, CC
9:00am Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? TVPG, CC
10:00am Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? TVPG, CC
11:00am Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? TVPG, CC
12:00pm Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? TVPG, CC
1:00pm Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? TVPG, CC
2:00pm Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? TVPG, CC
3:00pm Andromeda TVPG, CC
4:00pm The X-Files TV14, CC
5:00pm Stargate SG-1 TVPG, CC
6:00pm Andromeda TVPG, CC
7:00pm Stargate SG-1 TVPG, CC
8:00pm Stargate Atlantis TVPG, CC
9:00pm Battlestar Galactica TVPG, CC
10:00pm Stargate SG-1 TVPG, CC
11:00pm Stargate Atlantis TVPG, CC
12:00am Battlestar Galactica TVPG, CC
1:00am Andromeda TVPG, CC
2:00am Star Trek TVPG, CC
3:00am Buck Rogers in the 25th Century CC
4:00am Night Visions TV14, CC


The only other channel that comes close is SpikeTV.
8:00am MacGyver TVPG, CC
9:00am 7 Days TVPG, CC
10:00am Star Trek: Deep Space Nine TVPG, CC
11:00am Star Trek: Deep Space Nine TVPG, CC
12:00pm Star Trek: The Next Generation TVPG, CC
1:00pm Star Trek: The Next Generation TVPG, CC
2:00pm MacGyver CC
3:00pm Real TV TVPG, CC
3:30pm Real TV TVPG
4:00pm Maximum Exposure
5:00pm World's Wildest Police Videos CC
6:00pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TVPG, CC
7:00pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TVPG, CC
8:00pm Untold
9:00pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TVPG, CC, DVS
10:00pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TVPG, CC, DVS
11:00pm The Ultimate Fighter
12:00am By the Numbers
12:30am Blind Date TVPG, CC
1:00am Maximum Exposure

Enterprise: So That's It...

Star Trek: Enterprise is over. I can't believe it. All it would have taken is some compelling stories. I don't think that would have been a hard thing to do. Instead "they" let the show loose steam. What a waste and what a shame. I'm disappointed. It felt like TPTB gave up. I'm mad about this and the way it was handled. I would have much rather the series didn't exist then die because of poor ratings.

Farewell Enterprise.

Star Trek: Enterprise Cancelled!