About.com Sci-Fi / Fantasy

This Week: Movies/DVD (Nov. 23-30)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:41:17 +0000

Fantastic Mr. Fox, previously in limited release, opens everywhere Friday.

��20th Century Fox

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�	Life on Mars (UK), Season 2
�	Buck Rogers (1939)

MOVIES--Opening this week:

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). If you were worried that magical animated films have been replaced by bloated experiments in excess (or that Hollywood is losing the capacity to successfully adapt Roald Dahl), Wes Anderson's latest offering may set your mind at ease. (Details below.)
-- Trailers, clips, and video for Fantastic Mr. Fox.
-- Movie Review of Fantastic Mr. Fox.
The Road (2009). Based on the Cormac McCarthy "masterpiece," this story of endurance will be considered bleak by some, inspiring by others. (Details below.)
-- Trailers, clips, and video for The Road.

HOME VIDEO--Out on DVD this week:

Life on Mars (UK Version): Series 2 (2007). Curious about how different the excellent U.S. version was from its original British counterpart? Now that the second season is out on DVD in North America, you can find out. (The American version came out on DVD at the end of September.) In the U.K. version, the present-day detective trapped in 1973 is played by John Simm, known to American audiences primarily as the Master. Includes The Return of Life on Mars documentary (45 min.); Bonus behind-the-scenes footage for episodes 3, 5, and 7 and tour of the set (48 min); The End of Life on Mars featurette (28 min).
-- Compare prices on Life on Mars.
Buck Rogers (1939). A basic 70th anniversary rerelease of Universal's 12-chapter Buster Crabbe serial. On two discs. Includes Liner Notes by author Hank Davis; "The History of Buck Rogers" by Clifford Weimer; Photo Gallery; and the 10-minute 1933 Buck Rogers short feature starring John Dille Jr.
-- Compare prices on Buck Rogers.

This Week: TV (Nov. 23-30)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:11:29 +0000

Kahlan and Richard set out to keep Annabelle (guest star Aimee Teegarden), the only other living Confessor, from accidentally unleashing her powers on Legend of the Seeker.

��ABC Studios

This Week's TV Listings

�	New Episodes
�	Active Shows
�	Movies on TV
�	Classic TV
�	Shows by Title
�	Movies by Title

Most of our shows are taking the week off because of the holiday or have already had their midseason finale and are off until January (Supernatural, Smallville). But there is new stuff this week from:

Guest stars this week include Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights) on Legend of the Seeker.

Next week most of the shows are back, including the just-canceled Dollhouse, which will be airing its remaining episodes twice nightly on Fridays starting Dec. 4.

Synopses below the jump. For details see the listings (regular or alphabetical). Read more...

This Week: TV (Nov. 23-30) originally appeared on About.com Sci-Fi / Fantasy on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 06:11:29.

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Update on Final Tennant Specials

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:19:47 +0000

David Tennant in Doctor Who: The End of Time, Part 1.

��BBC America

The final days of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor approach, and the anticipation on both sides of the Atlantic is intense.

As previously announced, the next special, Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars, premieres in the U.S. on Saturday, December 19 on BBC America. It's already aired in the U.K., where The Times of London called it "a big-budget, knock-yer-socks-off blockbuster," and the Guardian exclaimed "it's a belter, a watery nightmare--scary, moving, relevant, believable." Fans seemed to appreciate exploring the Tenth Doctor's fallibility after a string of adventures in which he's exhibited a certain cockiness. The special was watched by 9.1 million people and earned a very high appreciation rating of 88.

The final two specials, Doctor Who: The End of Time, Parts 1 and 2 will premiere over the holiday season, starting with the American premiere of Part 1 on December 26 on BBC America, the day after its U.K. premiere. The U.S. air date for Part 2 has not been finalized. Guest stars John Simm, Timothy Dalton, Catherine Tate, Lindsay Duncan, and Bernard Cribbins join Tennant on his final journey, which form Russell T. Davies's last scripts for the series as its executive producer and lead writer..

BBC America has posted sneak peak video clips for both The Waters of Mars and The End of Time, Part 1. The latter involves the recurrence of the Ood, and a hint of the Tenth Doctor's final foe.

Update on Final Tennant Specials originally appeared on About.com Sci-Fi / Fantasy on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 08:19:47.

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Update: Chuck Season 3

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:39:40 +0000

Zachary Levi in Chuck.

��Trae Patton/NBC

NBC has announced that Chuck will rejoin the schedule for its third season on Sunday, January 10, with two back-to-back new episodes. Meanwhile, NBC will be heavily promoting the high-testosterone show during the football playoffs, hoping to convert the nearly canceled cult hit show into a mainstream ratings success.

The series will then move to its regular time slot of Mondays at 8 p.m. on January 11, with Heroes moving back an hour (displacing Trauma, to the point of having three episodes in limbo). The third season was recently lengthened from 13 to 19 episodes.

Several big-name guest stars have been announced for season 3, including Angie Harmon, Brandon Routh, Robert Patrick, Kristin Kreuk, Armand Assante, Steve Austin, and Vinnie Jones.

Update: Chuck Season 3 originally appeared on About.com Sci-Fi / Fantasy on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 08:39:40.

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DIY Sci-Fi: Outer Space Astronauts

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:41:40 +0000

Captain Bruce Ripley (Russell Barrett) and Pilot Johnny Boothe (Benjamin Nurick), two of the Outer Space Astronauts, are both terrible at their jobs.

��Syfy

Next month, Syfy launches a new show created and produced entirely in someone's basement.

No, I'm not talking about their latest made-for-cable giant bug movie. The show in question is Outer Space Astronauts, which premieres Dec. 8 (following the season finale of reality series Scare Tactics) and is set to air Tuesday nights for a total of five episodes.

Outer Space Astronauts is a live-action/animation mix that, we're told, was completely developed, executed, and edited by executive producer Russell Barrett from his own home, and stars Barrett's friends and childhood buddies. Read more...

DIY Sci-Fi: Outer Space Astronauts originally appeared on About.com Sci-Fi / Fantasy on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 07:41:40.

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This Week: Movies/DVD (Nov. 16-23)

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:49:05 +0000

Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, and Kristen Stewart star in New Moon, opening Friday.

��Summit Entertainment

�	Compare Prices on Star Trek

MOVIES--Opening this week:

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009). Bella has all the luck: not one but two dreamy supernatural hunks are totally into her. The best thing about the first film was the direction, so naturally Catherine Hardwicke was dropped in favor of Chris Weitz--whose most recent credit, the hugely overdirected Golden Compass, does not inspire confidence. Synopsis: When the Cullens decide they are a danger to Bella, she turns to her friend Jacob, who harbors his own secret. Directed by Chris Weitz. Starring Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan), Christina Jastrzembska (Gran/Bella), Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen), Billy Burke (Charlie Swan), Anna Kendrick (Jessica), Michael Welch (Mike), Justin Chon (Eric), Christian Serratos (Angela), Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black), Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen), Jackson Rathbone (Jasper Whitlock), Russell Roberts (Mr. Berty), Cam Gigandet (James), Michael Sheen (Aro), Jamie Campbell Bower (Caius), Christopher Heyerdahl (Marcus).
-- Trailers, clips, and video for The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

HOME VIDEO--Out on DVD this week:

Star Trek (2009). Yes, it literally destroys established continuity, and yes, some of the lower-tier casting is wonky (Simon Pegg?), but I loved this movie. It's not as great as Wrath of Khan, but it stands alongside the best of the Trek films and took a lot of risks to bring us a much-needed new incarnation of a flagging franchise. Synopsis: Starfleet cadet James Kirk encounters an angry Romulan from the future who changes the destinies of the Enterprise and its crew. Directed by J.J. Abrams. Starring Chris Pine (James T. Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Leonard Nimoy (Spock Prime), Eric Bana (Nero), Bruce Greenwood (Capt. Christopher Pike), Karl Urban (Bones), Zoë Saldana (Nyota Uhura), Simon Pegg (Montgomery Scott), John Cho (Lt. Hikaru Sulu), Anton Yelchin (Pavel Chekov), Ben Cross (Sarek), Winona Ryder (Amanda Grayson), Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk).
-- Compare prices on Star Trek.
-- Trailers, clips, and video for Star Trek.
-- Movie Review of Star Trek.
Farscape (1999). A special edition of the fourth season and a box set of the complete series are both coming out this week. Saddled with a lightweight reputation in some quarters because the cast included Jim Henson creatures, this was a powerful, sharply written show with some great characters: Claudia Black's Aeryn Sun and Ben Browder's John Crichton are two of the best-explored figures in sci-fi. (The main problem was continuity lock-out.) If you missed it before, check it out. Synopsis: Astronaut John Crichton, on an experimental space mission, is accidentally hurled across the universe into the midst of an intergalactic conflict. Trapped among alien creatures wielding deadly technology and hunted by a merciless military race, Crichton ends up on an epic odyssey to try to find his way home. Directed by Rowan Woods. Starring Ben Browder (John Crichton), Claudia Black (Officer Aeryn Sun), Anthony Simcoe (Ka D'Argo), Lani John Tupu (Pilot / Capt. Bialar Crais), Jonathan Hardy (Dominar Rygel XVI), Gigi Edgley (Chiana), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius / Harvey), Virginia Hey (Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan), Paul Goddard (Stark).
-- Compare prices on Farscape.
-- Trailers, clips, and video for Farscape.

This Week: Movies/DVD (Nov. 16-23) originally appeared on About.com Sci-Fi / Fantasy on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 04:49:05.

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This Week: TV (Nov. 16-23)

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:41:27 +0000

The team uncovers details about the mysterious man known as The Observer (guest star Michael Cerveris) in this week's episode of Fringe. Don't we already know he's from Antar?

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New episodes this week from:

Guest stars this week include Tom Verica (American Dreams, The 4400) and Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files, Stargate Atlantis) on Medium; Mark Sheppard (Crowley), Samantha Ferris (Ellen), and Alona Tal (Jo) returning on Supernatural.

Synopses below the jump. For details see the listings (regular or alphabetical). Read more...

This Week: TV (Nov. 16-23) originally appeared on About.com Sci-Fi / Fantasy on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 03:41:27.

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Video Clips: This Week's Supernatural

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:58:23 +0000

Jared Padalecki in "Abandon All Hope," this week's episode of Supernatural.

��The CW

�	Go to clip 1
�	Go to clip 2

Previously on Supernatural: Sam and Dean went to a Sam and Dean convention.

Before that: Let's see. Sam was turned into KITT the talking car. Dean huffed up stairs as an old man, having gambled away 25 years of his life to a male witch. Before that, Dean grew hair on his palm (don't ask), and Sam was attacked by Gandhi and Paris Hilton.

Has anyone else been shouting back at the screen, Apocalypse? Hello?

Don't get me wrong, I totally love a goofy Supernatural episode as much as the next guy. But after five goofy episodes in a row, Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) is starting to lose some credibility as a serious threat. It's like, "I want to destroy humanity, but I'm not in a hurry. You guys go and play poker and hunt down James Dean's key-chain." Goofy episodes of Supernatural are supposed to leaven the dark stuff that's going on, not supplant it.

Thankfully we have an "Oh yeah, the world is ending" apocalypse story-line episode this week, with Bobby (Jim Beaver), Ellen (Samantha Ferris), and Jo (Alona Tal) joining Sam, Dean, and Castiel in the hunt for the Colt--that magical gun that the Winchesters think is their only hope of killing Lucifer.

The bad news is, it's the last episode of 2009--the next new episode is Jan. 14, 2010. So after a month and a half of comedy, we return to this season's Big Bad for one episode, with another month and a half of reruns to follow. Supernatural is still one of my favorite shows, but I'm wondering whether they've lost track of how to balance the smirks and the screams.

Clip 1--Sam and Dean lay a trap to retrieve the Colt, but Crowley (Mark Sheppard) beats them to it.
Clip 2--Ellen, Jo, and Castiel join Sam and Dean in investigating a seemingly empty town.

Video Clips: This Week's Supernatural originally appeared on About.com Sci-Fi / Fantasy on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 05:58:23.

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Prisoner Graphic Novel Online

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:14:23 +0000

A scene from the first chapter of the graphic novel.

��AMC

�	Go to the web site

With the premiere of their adaptation of The Prisoner about to start, AMC is also publishing a Prisoner online graphic novel.

The graphic novel's storyline starts with "Book One: As the Air, Invulnerable," involving not Six, but Rebecca, who's looking for her missing sister. It's part of a story that will span ten chapters. Chapter 2 will be posted immediately following The Prisoner finale on Tue., Nov. 17.

Be advised: it's animated in that flat-things-moving-in-front-of-flat-things way, which uses a bit of memory, and the first installment is only 10 panels long.

The Prisoner airs over three consecutive nights, with two episodes each evening, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on AMC.

Prisoner Graphic Novel Online originally appeared on About.com Sci-Fi / Fantasy on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 01:14:23.

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Eastwick Canceled

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:42:17 +0000

The ill-fated Chad (Matt Dallas) on Eastwick.

��Richard Foreman/ABC

ABC has canceled the worst network sci-fi/fantasy series this year, the ill-conceived adaptation of John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick.

Eastwick, starring Rebecca Romijn, had some series potential but was fundamentally flawed. After all, how do you keep three women whose powers are geared toward manipulating men from seeming like--well, witches?

Also deep-sixed by his character, the smarmy Darryl van Horn, was poor Paul Gross, too nice a person to be trapped in this morass. The only character I actively enjoyed watching was Chad, the boytoy played by Matt Dallas, whose bright-eyed energy perked up every scene he was in. But they killed him off a couple weeks ago in the most preposterous way possible (a statue of Darryl fell on him), and that coupled with the jarring kidnapped-by-the-suddenly-insane-preacher plot had me writing off the show then and there.

ABC said it will air the episodes of Eastwick that have already been produced. Thirteen were produced, which leaves six episodes left to air.

Eastwick Canceled originally appeared on About.com Sci-Fi / Fantasy on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 09:42:17.

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