9/4         Michael Moreci tells how you can save the Sleepless Phoenix Comics Anthology!

9/11       Wizard founder and president Gareb Shamus!

9/18       She’s the girl who sings “Fuck Me Ray Bradbury!” — Rachel Bloom!

9/25       Dirk Manning spins over fifty interconnected stories in the latest installment of NIGHTMARE WORLD!

10/2       Legendary UFO expert Stanton Friedman!

10/9       Scarewolf and the horror-host gang from Saturday Fright Special!

10/23     Hunter Ligoure returns for the long-awaited release of the Last Man anthology

Plus — surprise guests, random listener prizes and the usual gang of deviants.  C’mon down and check out the fun!

Walking Dead TV show to debut on Halloween; full trailer now available (via comicsbeat)

Comment on this post to win a copy of the Lovecraft documentary on DVD!

In this day and age, with so much raw material to glean from, why are we remaking/sequeling (is that even a word?) what was at best a 1982 B movie that attempted to be a proof of technology for computer generated movies and fizzled miserably. Lord knows they tried, and in trying set a stage for things to come. It was nominated for 2 Academy Awards (Sound and Costume) but didn’t make the cut. Why?

Jim Cameron. That’s right, Jim Cameron. When the concept for Avatar was first hatching for him, he understood that technology had to catch up with him in order to make it work. In doing so, he made the film he really wanted to. Tron Legacy is finally at a place where the visuals can do justice to the story  The plan is a triple release, Digital, Digital 3D and IMAX 3D. Based on the script, cast and leaked photos, I am willing to give this a try

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain, Beau Garrett and Michael Sheen. Release date 12/17/10.

This Dome, sayin’: Wait for it, and it will come.

First of all lets check out IMDB and see all the inherent beauty in the opening episode. I count…. lemme see… smiles happily…more than enough to keep me visually interested. Add to that Ms. Silk has an impressive..um…resume… and the script currently leaked on the interwebs is very very good and BAM! Ladies and Gentlemen, WE HAVE A WINNER… Lost Girl premieres on Sunday, September 12^th at 9pm on Showcase in Canada.

Oh,  wait………OH CRAP…..what the hell do you mean only in Canada. Nobody frackin’ picked this up for US release?

This is Dome sayin’: Thank you Mr. Gore. The Interwebz is nice.

Wickersham De Le Croix, you got served.

It stars Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz, Jimmy Bennett and Kay Panabaker as the ‘Ordinary” family. As with many Super-Heroes-from-the-masses stories, this family is doused in some magic Amazonian waters as a result of a plane crash. In the pilot we gets to see how this all happens and a liberal dose of the structure of this family as well as the structure of the show. If the structure stays, it’s told in third person from the vantage point of marriage counseling.  Gotta say, this is a nice twist. With Chiklis and Benz as the somewhat dislocated parents and Bennett and Panabaker as the angst ridden teens trying to survive school, it makes a believable unit. This hour drama has some very good possibilities; smart acting, a better than average cast, decent writing and a good starting-off time slot.

This is Dome sayin: Good luck, I think I will be watching this one.

• Ray Bradbury complains “We’ve got too many internets“!
  • And he gets all the chicks.
  • And listens to them sing to him.
• News about X-Men First Class news (via Geeks of Doom)
• Harlan Ellison’s famous disaster Starlost adapted into comics(via io9)
• IJ5? God, no. No. Noooooooooooo! (via slashfilm)
• Limited edition BUFFY soda!!!!
• Our friends at Double Midnight are expanding their store.
• Interview with Nick Mayer of the Lifenaut Project.

2. Do not use gasoline to dry clean clothes at home. Instead, pay professionals to do it!

3. How to make a fancy headdress out of grass. (The kind that grows on your lawn, not the kind you’re thinking of.)

4. These three guys are so funny that once they get going, you don’t miss the MST3K robots anymore. Well…maybe you do a little, but you’re no longer disappointed by their absence.

5. The robots aren’t real. This fact is disappointing.

6. People in the 70s made some messed up educational materials. We sat through a movie about things you can do with the grass growing in your yard. (Hence the fancy headdress.) The fact that the Rifftrax guys managed to make these things funny instead of claw-your-face-off boring is a tribute to their comedic mastery.

7. Pot smoke is distinguishable from cigarette smoke because it comes in several neon colors including green, pink, blue, and purple. Also because it will make you kill people and go crazy.

8. You can buy their stuff! In a fun and versatile digital format! And since it’s digital, it’s cheap! The shorts, at $0.99, are an especially good deal.

9. If you’re kicking yourself for missing last night’s show, there will be an encore showing on August 24th.

10. The next Rifftrax showing will be Thursday, Oct. 28th, and the movie will be House on Haunted Hill. This promises to be a rollicking good time, and you should go. But if you go in the Boston area, please leave your skunky weed at home. For us. Thanks.

This post is dedicated to Grandma Zombrarian, who decided to start reading the blog on the day I review a stoner movie. (At least it wasn’t a porno…)

Love you Grandma!

Atomic Robo’s Scott Wegener to draw all-ages “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”

Pushing Daisies creator to adapt John Christopher’s THE LOTUS EATERS for SyFy

August 28th is Read Comic In Public Day! To, um, you know… get people to read comics. In public. We invite our legions of listeners to send us pictures of them reading comics in public to post in a special section.

Marvel & DC want you to endure another Smallville.

Comment to win the prize from last week, Kabuki!

All of us here at Sci Fi Saturday Night were just marveling over the last unsolicited piece of artwork you sent our way, and looking at all the links and news items and Facebook posts you’ve shared with us; your great interviews and comics, and… uh… well, it’s… I guess we just have to come out and say it:

We love you Frankie.  And we want to have your baby.

The SFSN crew

PS:  It’s okay… we can live with my mother.

Staring Liam Cunninghanm, Amy Manson, Jamie Bamber and the aforementioned Jeanne Kietzmann, the storyline is an oldie but goodie (see other images here via Den of Geek). Think Earth 2, without the baggage that series brought along. What makes this interesting is the BBC way of doing this as a limited run. Notwithstanding the fact that a cross cast of British and American actors, Genre and General Actors, makes the mix mighty interesting, and then there’s Jeanne Kietzmann.

This is Dome, sayin’: Yeah, this is one I think I am really gonna look forward to…and then, there’s Jeanne Kietzmann.

The animation is quietly above par, giving a rich texture to the grimy underside of Gotham City and the rest of the Batman universe. Vaguely visually reminiscent of the many different comic incarnations, Batman comes across as a stunning, stark night creature, much more like a movie than a cartoon. When added to the rich voice characterizations and the very good score/soundtrack, this is a fun ride and frankly, you can’t ask a whole lot more from a super hero movie than that. That a review of a cartoon mentions the director is kinda funny, BUT the cut and feel of this is really good.

Directed by: Brandon Veitti

Written by: Judd Winnick

Voice Casting includes: Bruce Greenwood, Neil Patrick Harris, Gary Cole and Kelly Hu. Insane props to John DiMaggio as The Joker.

This is Dome, sayin: No spoilers……… but…..the last 10 minutes is…as The Joker says….”to die for!”

It’s easy. This production has been plagued by rumor, actor tantrums and every conceivable technical glitch known to live stage. Starring, at this moment,  Reeve Carney (Spidey), Jennifer Damiano (MJP) and Patrick Page (GG)… and the rest of the cast has not even been announced. What should be noted is that Alan Cumming and Evan Rachel Wood have withdrawn from the cast due to “scheduling conflicts”. Let’s not hold our collective breath on this one. Much as I adore Taymor’s work, this is just not something that’s  going to interest me at all.

This is Dome sayin’: Spidey deserves better…or maybe not. Has anyone thought of adding some sparkly vampires?

RE: Google Wave

Dear Mr. Google

At our weekly staff meeting yesterday evening, we were informed by our resident technical wizard, Kriana, that sometime on or before December 31, 2010, Google in planning to discontinue support for Google Wave and discontinue the application. On behalf of the Cast and Crew of Sci-Fi Saturday Night, What The Hell? Google Giveth and Google Taketh Away?

For the clueless, Google Wave is was an amazing app that allows allowed people to collaborate in r/t on documents. For our purposes at SFSN, we use used it as a running show log. It served as collaborative workplace for our shows from our segment producers in the far reaches of the planet and on Saturday afternoons became a community story board to put the show together. While it might be feasible to find another application for our needs, Mr. Google, we were all very happy with it.

VERY HAPPY WITH IT!

I, The Dome, am officially asking you to license SFSN with the source code. What the hell, you’re not gonna use it any more, are ya? I am striking a blow for all the dying apps across the cyberverse, the ones that were loved, and used, and never given a chance to blossom and grow. What if Darwin had said, “Hey, nice crabs”, and moved on? What if Edison had said, “Watson, come here…” and forgotten why? What if……… arguh………..

This is Dome sayin’: Don’t tease me with apps that work and do exactly what they’re supposed to do…….and then take them away.

RiffTrax is showing Reefer Madness Thursday, August 19 2010, at select theaters near you!

Kevin Bacon is in newest X-Men Movie (Via Geeks of Doom)

An unproduced Jim Henson screenplay to become original graphic novel(via Comic Related)

While you’re waiting for that, check out the Muppets Youtube channel.

At last a movie for Winos, Vegans and Zombies Attack of the Vegan Zombies!

Filming of Green Lantern 2 rumored to begin before #1 is released (via Bleeding Cool)

Why would anyone want a superpower that allows you to teleport anything 3 inches? And are we surprised SYFY is doing it? (via Deadline Hollywood)

Comment on this post with the best appearance in fiction of a real-life sci-fi author (like HG Wells in Time After Time, or Warehouse 13). (via IO9)

We’ll pick a commenter using the random number generator to win one of David Mack’s Kabuki Comics. (Actual prize may differ from image shown)

• Elizabeth Terrell and Andrew Marnik from Browncoat’s Redemption
• A Review for Saturday Fright Special Spooktacular.
• Superman saves a family home from foreclosure (via Fox news)
• Frank Miller drops Batman from latest Batman graphic novel.
• Nick Cave rewriting script for latest Crow movie.
• The Lost Room is coming to comic form!
• Interview with Bruce Duncan of the LifeNaut project.
• Their Robot Bina48.
• They have a movie, 2B

You can win: The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by commenting on tonight’s show!

Steve Bissette talked about the Spooktacular IV event at Colonial Theatre in Keene NH 7/31/10 — includes a showing of Son of Godzilla .

Comment on this post in order to win a copy of Runners: Bad Goods by Sean Wang.

There are a couple of reasons for this, the most major being the quality of the show. Talkshoe users experienced longer than normal lag, and consistent boots from the servers. This does not make for a good SFSN experience.

The main reason we began using Talkshoe in the first place was so that we could have guests call in. At our talkcast inception, this was important to us. Times have changed however, numerous guests have complained about the charges arising from making a long distance call to the Pittsburgh area, and rather than giving the sometimes less technically savvy guests complicated instructions for how to log in over the phone, it’s much easier to just call them ourselves.

Another main feature we used from Talkshoe was the chatroom. After some careful consideration I’ve decided since we’re removing Talkshoe, to also remove our mibbit IRC channel. However as a replacement for those two rooms, I’ve turned on the chatroom within uStream. Think of this not as a removal, but a consolidation.

And now for something completely different. I’m sitting here in my cube, diligently working on this post instead of my day job and wondering, how come I’m not in San Diego. This week is ComiCon.  For those of you lucky enough to be going as I slave away, I am totally jonesing for a Heather Morris Autograph Card, and am so jealous of our friends at Browncoats Redemption and Airlock Alpha, but enough about me. This year proves to be the most diverse yet with a slew of companies, from Hallmark to Toynami, exhibiting. The panels are more diverse than ever. On Thurday alone, DC Comics Writers Unite features J. Michael Straczynski. Then go see  Tron: Legacy and and then Bruce Campbell is in a panel for USA Networks Burn Notice. I am amazed at the depth of experience going on and dismayed that I am stuck in Area 51 once again.

This is Dome sayin’: Next year in San Diego…….’cept I said that last year, already.

Tonight’s Talkcast brings us Frankie B. Washington and Elizabeth Terrell from Browncoats Redemption.

EW has first real pix of Green Lantern, also on Bleeding Cool. Is Johnny Depp the new Barnabas Collins? R.I.P. hard science fiction writer James P. Hogan. Check out AMC’s upcoming zombie miniseries Walking Dead. Our first guest, Elizabeth Terrell from Browncoats Movie. They rocked Shore Leave last weekend and you can go watch it on UStream if you’d like. They are almost at 3k fans on the Facebook fan page. Michael Dougherty and Heather Fagan will be at San Diego ComicCon this weekend and Browncoats Backwoods Bash: http://wildandbad.com/browncoatsbash.  Our second guest: Frankie B Washington – Zombies Vs Cheerleaders .

Comment on this post to be entered to win a copy of Zombies vs Cheerleaders by Frankie B Washington.

Comment on this post with your opinion on this season of Doctor Who in order to win Peter Vinton’s print, Bad Wolf.

To give you a jump start, I thought I’d share with you what I’m reading now: Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest. So far it is filled with rampant steampunkery and zombies, the latter of which I was not expecting based upon the review I read. I’m about a quarter of the way through and enjoying my oil lamps, goggles and airships thoroughly.

Our second half was a review of the rough cut of Browncoats Redemption and a nifty interview with Mike and Miriam (huge heart!). Then drinking ensues as we celebrate being able to celebrate tomorrow. Some days I’m glad we don’t have flying cars yet.

Leave a comment on this post between now and next week’s show for a chance to win: Bad Wolf, by Peter Vinton Jr.

As background, I have recently become acquainted with many of the cast and crew of this movie and the Browncoats themselves (waves to ‘em). They are, all in all, a fun group to hang around with. So, shall we begin?

As with all good films, its strength rests on three things: characters, story and synergy.

Browncoats Redemption takes place within the Whedonverse of Firefly at another pocket of settlers. It chronicles the trials and life of the crew as they struggle to survive against an oppressive regime. A portion of the beginning gives us a glimpse into the world they live in as well as the outer shell of the crew, chief among them Capt. Laura Matthews, played with charm and heart by Heather Fagan. Heather brings to the screen a presence that is captivating, strong and vulnerable and quite frankly just wonderful. When she smiles, the screen lights up, when she is angry, the universe trembles, for such is the life of a Big Damn Hero, thrust into a situation she did not want.

John Patrick Barry as the wheeler dealer Banks is just fun in his sly way bringing a sardonic sense of reality to the work that Redemption does. His eyes are a tell to the universe, letting anyone know that he means business and business is what he does.

Guy Wellman plays Cameron Alan, keeper of the personal history and when push comes to shove, the quiet strength of conviction behind this group. As with any good story, the writers left me wanting more from him, more back-story to bolster his quiet strength.

I would be remiss without mentioning Miriam Pultro as hired pilot Petra Jo Chen.  From her introduction in the bar to the final frame of the movie, she sparkles with an infectious energy that made me question who “Pete” really was and what she really wanted.

The rest of the crew: Kevin Troy, PJ Megaw, Michael Levy and many others make for a wild ride.

Kurt Skarstedt is chilling as the amoral Thadeus Stevens, putting a face to the arrogant evil that is the government forces. From his first appearance onscreen, the viewer knows the darkness underneath and its reveal is even more evil that first imagined.  Also, Ted Taylor, as Minister Turner,  is as cold as the dark space personifying the power that corrupts, the Alliance.

I would love to list everyone in the cast,  on the ship, ever person in the towns, every child on the sidewalk, every Browncoat… but suffice to say that this is a herculean effort  An effort that shows in every single frame.  An effort that belies the term “fan film”.  Ultimately, the viewer is rewarded with another glimpse into the Firefly universe. 94+ minutes came and went so quickly for me; it was as a bad cliché, wanting so much more.

More Characters.

More Redemption.

More Big Damn Heroes.

In our second half, Greg and Laura regale us with stories of Trek and Hollywood from their perspective and what it was like to work in that system. Andrew brings us an update on the finishing  being done on Browncoats Redemption and  preorders for the film.

Talkin’ about what’s new this week, a porn Avatar movie, Buffy is too old school for sparkly vampires, Plan 9 From Outer Space to be colorized and remastered in 3-D, and some uber-cool merch on a site called Quantum Mechanix. On a sad note, UberCon’s Director, Alyssa Smith lost all her possessions in an apartment fire. To get more information and see a cool way to help, check Jess Hartley’s post here.

As a reminder, to win this week’s ” NOT A TRIVIA QUESTION” prize, simply make a comment about this weeks talkcast. The winner will be chosen at random.

This should hopefully give everyone who downloads the podcast rather than listening live a chance to win some prizes.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

Picture Courtesy of [RaeA]

I got to meet Al once.  I think it was ten years ago, and I think it was Pittsburgh, but it was definitely Al Williamson — there in the flesh, with a stack of original Secret Agent X-9 pages for sale which I stupidly did not mortgage my house to buy.  I did pick up a gorgeous print and asked him to sign my Superman #400, the only book of his I’d happened to have on me at the time.  He started to put pen to paper… and then his hand started shaking.  He stopped.  Started again… and stopped.   He cursed, looked up at me and said “I just can’t do it anymore”.

My heart shattered.  It was like Beethoven telling you he never heard his 9th symphony because the ringing in his ears drowned it all out.  In a distant voice I told him that it was alright and reached for my comic, but he waved me back, in that way that only angry old men can do.  He focused himself for a second, squinting… and signed the comic.  Then he took his print out of my hands and signed that, too.  “There you go”, he said.

I remember gushing thank-yous at that point and telling him how much his work meant to me, and I remember him barely acknowledging my words; bitterly turning his head away.  It was AWFUL.  Eventually I finished stammering out whatever I was saying and backed away.

I’m glad I got to meet Al Williamson for the briefest of moments and got to thank him for all that gorgeous artwork.  But I wish I’d never asked him to sign my comic.

Rest in peace, Al Williamson.  You’ve earned it.

X

In the second half Raedia Albinson & Jackie Musto join us to talk about Silver Circle films new animated project and we learn all about” When they control the money, they control everything…”. A dystopian future with The Federal Reserve as villain (not as far fetched as you might think). Enjoy!

Download

Name the movie this phrase comes from:

“Shall we play a game”

http://faceinspace.nasa.gov/index.aspx

p.s.

Still watin’ for my damn flyin’ car.

Download

Well, Jack Harkness fans and Gwen detractors unite. It seems as though STARZ is willing to give Torchwood a home and because it is a premium pay network, all the taboo’s are gone. This does not bode well. Torchwood always skated a very fine line and it was that thin line that made it so good, even at its worst. With a lack of compass as to what one is able to do, I worry the character of Jack will be lost in what can only be called his amorality. The new series is set to debut  simultaneously on BBC One and STARZ next summer, so all we can do is wait… and hope.

Download

What was the name of Lucifer’s nightclub in the Sandman and Lucifer Vertigo comics?

For one of the few times, I can remember I am at a loss for words. I leave you with these thoughts . Spider, our thoughts and prayers are with you and Jeanne always. Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased — thus do we all refute entropy.

You can read more here.

An hour of inspired lunacy prior to the Sunday showing of new footage in Manchester, NH. Enjoy, we all did!

What’s the name of the cat in Space-Time For Springers?

Who is rumored to having been offered the part of Ant Man in the new Avengers Movie?

Possible new shows for the Fall Season

NBC – The Cape, Undercovers, The Event

ABC – No Ordinary Family

FAUX – Terra Nova

CW – (is this really a network?) Betwixt, Nikita

Chris Proulx dropped in to talk about The Granite State ComiCon and some of the special events happening. “Pat, can I get a ruling” is the new catch phrase. Discussion was somber about the death of Frank Frazetta, an artist who will be sorely missed. In the second half of tonight’s cast, we were joined by Ed & Adrienne Ludvigsen, creators of the alternate history internet game site, What Happened to Sarah.

Who is directing Glee this week?

Artists!  Get your name out there!

One of the hardest parts of being a creator is getting your name out into the field so that you can pick up some work or sell your merchandise.  As a writer, I know the importance of branding your name.

One of my goals is to spread the word about my book series, The Chameleon Chronicles, which is a science fiction/fantasy series for teens and adults.  The premise of the story is a cross between Heroes and Saved by the Bell, wherein our hero, Andrew Webbur, discovers he has the magical ability to change the texture of his skin.  A mysterious stalker, who seems to know Andrew’s secret, begins leaving threatening notes.  Andrew and his friends discover that there is a magical time emerald that they must race to find before it falls into the hands of a powerful, evil dictator who wants to rule the Earth.

To spread the word about The Chameleon Chronicles, I am creating a free online illustrated eBook.  Chapters one thru six are already posted on the official website, www.chameleonchronicles.com. I am looking for artists to complete chapters seven thru twenty-four.

Artists interested in helping out with this project will be assigned a page to pencil, ink, and color.  It doesn’t matter if you work with other people as a team just as long as the finished product is in color.  Artwork must be width 7in x height10in and 300dpi and set to RGB.  Only one page will be assigned per individual or team at a time.  Each artist or team will of course be given credit in the credits page, as well as their own bio page at the end of the chapter with links to their website.

To submit your digital portfolio or website for consideration please contact andrew@chameleonchronicles.com

Thanks,

Andrew S. Leiter

Author of The Chameleon Chronicles

So this is why I knew I was onto something when I read Brave & The Bold #33 for the fifth time in two days.

I’m talking about the current series being written by J. Michael Straczynski.  For those of you not familiar with this book, each issue promises a team-up between two or more superheroes (usually Batman and someone else, like the cartoon show of the same name).  This issue’s cover promised an artist’s dream and a fanboy’s delight:  Wonder Woman, Zatanna, and Batgirl.  While there really aren’t any slam-bang battles with the Legion of Doom, this issue hit me hard with the emotional impact of… look, I hate spoilers, so let me just say that this standalone issue serves as a prequel/sequel to a VERY popular graphic novel, and holds up admirably.  So admirably, in fact, that I found myself in my local comic store a few days later buying all the back Straczynski issues I could find.  Every one of them was a winner!  Straczynski is one of the best writers out there, and his runs on Thor, Rising Stars, Midnight Nation and Amazing Spider-Man are essential reading (well, not all of Spider-Man, but JMS has been very vocal about his not wanting to have anything to do with the “One More Day” and “Gwen Stacy needs some of that Norman Osborn lovin’” storylines).  Over the course of a few issues, his Brave & The Bold stories hold more genuine feeling and character development than the last five DC crossover events combined.

JMS is about to kick off his runs on both Superman and Wonder Woman — why DC didn’t include previews of these in their Free Comic Book Day books, I’ll never know.  Until then, please go out and pick up one or all of his Brave & The Bold issues.  You will NOT be disappointed.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go read B&tB #33… for the umpteenth time.

From all of the staff here, a deep thanks to Spider and Jeanne for their precious time.

Dream for Jeanne Auctions

In cinema news, we talked about movies clustering for summer 3012, to include Battleship, Dark Knight 3, ST2, Spidey Reboot and Avengers. The new trailer for Trek Nation is garnering some serious acclaim.  New footage of Metropolis has been found. Turning to TV, if there is a reason for genre television to die ungracefully, Heroes season 5 is it.Former writer and Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller will be back full time for Volume 5, though it may be too late for most of us. We had a round robin on an article about Joss Weadon’s Top 6 Character Deaths. SyFy’s latest idea, a cooking show? Enjoy.

1. (1) Lost (ABC) — 5.6/9 — [85.5]

2. (2) Fringe (Fox) — 4.1/7 — [76.9]

3. (3) V (ABC) — 3.8/6 — [88.9]

4. (4) FlashForward (ABC) — 3.4/6 — [66.2]

5. (6) Vampire Diaries (CW) — 1.8/3 — [74.2]

6. (7) Supernatural (CW) — 1.5/2 — [81.0]

7. (8) Smallville (CW) — 1.2/2 — [84.2]

[ ]= Loyalty Index rating

After the trivia break, we spoke with DJ Sucklord. You can find his website here. It was, to say the least, an interesting conversation, with a PG-13 Rating.

Join us and enjoy!

The Gift going to be made into full length film. The new Doctor Who gets a Hell Yes!

In 1966, there was enough reason for pessimism. A quick snapshot of the world shows revolution in many disparate forms and RAH brought it to a focus by looking backward to penal colonies of our collective past and extrapolating a future of universal struggle not only on Terra but also on Luna, seen through the eyes of Loonies….. oh, and a self aware super computer.

This novel is one of many in which RAH gives personality to a computer and treats technology as a full partner in tomorrow. Mike Holmes endearing as we the reader watch him grow and mature and become an integral part of the Lunar Revolution and eventually its hero. A quick, seductive and thoroughly enjoyable read, this book is certainly one of my personal favorites.

Keep reading, kids!

Which actress plays the Red Mist’s mother in KICK-ASS, and which superheroine did she used to play?

In the continuing quest to bring to our readers some of Heinlein’s works, I have decided to focus today on one of his most misunderstood ones (second only to Starship Troopers).  In this novel, one written during the latter half of his prolific career, the reader is faced with a series of moral, ethical, and medical dilemmas.  In doing this RAH forces the reader to either make certain assumptions or fight against the author the entire time. The premise itself is a simplistic question, where does “self” reside; is it in the mind, the root of intelligence or in the body, the root of all being at the cellular level?

The paradox is discussed within the mind of the protagonist, whose brain has been transplanted into the body of the “other” main character. The duologue between them gives you, the reader, the option to form one of 2 conclusions. One, two separate selves can coexist within one body; or two, there is only one persona alive and it is insane, trying to cope with a situation far beyond its ability. Unlike earlier incarnations of this theme, where the murderous hand of a killer is transplanted on the arms of an unwilling innocent in need of a transplant, this is handled with both a wry humor and skilled storytelling, making the most absurd situations seem more than normal, all within the framework of a dystopian future and a society gone well off kilter.

This is Dome sayin’: Read it, you might actually enjoy the experience.

Bid on our items now at: Dream for Jeanne Auctions

Edit 4.28.2010

Added the 25th item, DJ Sucklord’s CD.

Edit 4.23.2010:  If you would like to add a link on your site to this post in order to help promote the auction, you can use this code:

<a href=”http://www.scifisaturdaynight.com/?p=972″ target=”_blank”><img src=”http://www.scifisaturdaynight.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/SFSN_charity_auction-copy.jpg” alt=”" /></a>

which results in:

—–

If you haven’t heard (and by “haven’t heard” I mean “are living under a rock”) or have just joined us, on May 8th we are  extremely grateful to have booked the renowned author, Spider Robinson, for our Robert A. Heinlein special. Unfortunately Spider’s wife Jeanne has cancer. As we all know, being ill can be quite pricey and we wanted to do something to help. Instead of raising a small sum of money from our listeners and giving it to the Robinsons we came up with a better idea that could include a great number of people in the community who expressed an immediate desire to be part of our efforts.

We decided to do an auction. Our initial conception consisted of a single Jam sketch, to be contributed to by any artist at GraniteCon Nashua or Boston Comic Con who was interested. We were consistently bowled over by the positive and enthusiastic response that we received. We completed not one, but SIX jam pieces, and several artists kindly donated signed originals or prints.

Artists who donated a sketch to our jam pieces include: SERGIO ARAGONES, MIKE MIGNOLA, JOE LINSNER and EVA HOPKINS, BEN TEMPLESMITH, AMBER BENSON, BILLY TAN, JIM MAHFOOD, SCOTT WEGENER, SARA RICHARD, TRACY LEE QUINN, ILLUSTRATOR X, Jason Casey, Shawn M. Corliss, TJ Dort and Joe Haley, Nicole Hansche, Corey Hodgdon,, MKT Productions, Enrique Savory Jr., Scott Cohn, Shawn Griffin, Mike Huddleston, Rich Woodall, Ron Smith, Amanda Norden, Peter Vinton Jr., Frankie B. Washington, Cara Judd,  Amy Fletcher, Chris Hebert, Tyler James, Amos Madruga, Angela Costello Nueves, Joshua Santa-Cruz, Scott Hamilton, Norman Lee, Andrew LoVuolo, Lauren Monardo, Greg Moutafis, Craig Rousseau, Scott Ethan Ambruson, Dave Gordon, Jay Kennedy, Ian NIchols, Matt Ryan, Rich Tenorio, Alex Sylvia.

Thank you all of you, for your passion and excellence in producing these pieces.

At the final tally, we have an incredible 24 items to offer as e-bay auctions to benefit Jeanne. The auctions will be held by Dream for Jeanne Auctions and begin on May 8th during our Robert A. Heinlein special. The auctions will end on May 15 during our show.

1. GraniteCon Nashua Jam Sketch

2. Callahan’s BCC Jam Sketch

3. Lady Sally’s BCC Jam Sketch

4. BCC Jam Sketch 1

5. BCC Jam Sketch 2

6. Dance Party BCC Jam Sketch

7. Quasar Page (original comic artwork, pencil and ink) signed by Mike Lilly (artist)

8. The Tick (original comic artwork)

9. Batgirl and Robin (print) signed by Cara Judd (artist)

10. The Hulk (print) signed signed by Craig Roussau (artist) and Bob Almond (inker)

11. Nightcrawler (print) signed by Mike Lilly (artist) and Bob Almond (inker)

12. Nightwing (print) signed by Mike Lilly (artist) and Bob Almond (inker)

13. The Eleven Doctor Whos (print with original sketch) by Kelly Yates (artist)

14. TofuSquirrel (print) signed by Elizabeth Siegel

15. Strange Attractors/Poison Elves (print, limited to 1000) signed by Mike Cohen (artist) and Drew Hayes (artist)

16.  Vampirella Revelations #0  Special Collector’s Edition limited to 1,500 copies; (Joe Jusko cover artist) signed by Mike Lilly (artist) and Bob Almond (inker)

17. Vampirella Revelations #1  (Pepe Gonzalez cover artist) signed by Mike Lilly (artist) and Bob Almond (inker)

18. Vampirella Revelations #1 (Mark Texiera cover artist)  signed by Mike Lilly (artist) and Bob Almond (inker)

19. Vampirella Revelations #2 signed by Mike Lilly (artist) Bob Almond (inker)

20. Vampirella Revelations #2  (David Michael Beck cover artist) signed by Mike Lilly (artist) Bob Almond (inker)

21. Strange Attractors Issue 2 Page 30 (original, pencil and ink) signed by Mike Cohen (writer, artist)

22. Strange Attractors Issue 9 Page 19 (original, pencil and ink) signed by Mike Cohen (writer, artist)

23. The Ferryman (short story pamphlet) signed by Christopher Golden (author) and Eric Powell (illustrator) [picture added!]

24. The Ferryman (hard cover novel deluxe edition, limited to 1000 copies) signed by Christopher Golden (author) [picture added!]

25. Star Wars Breakbeats (CD) by DJ Sucklord

Heinlein was a personal favorite of mine growing up. His stories were part of what was, at the time, referred to as juvenile fiction; a tag that in retrospect was a misnomer at its very core. From his earliest works to his final notes, Heinlein was a true original. His works span a history of our lives in both fact and fiction and his Grumbles From The Grave, is one of the more endearing books I have ever had the pleasure to read.

One of the first books I ever read by RAH was a collection of two novellas, which seem to have always been linked, Waldo & Magic, Inc. In these two stories, he takes the reader in 2 divergent directions, into two completely different futures. In “Waldo,” we are given a glimpse of the redemption of man through science. In “Magic,Inc.”, we see a future in which the private detective/sorcerer is a revered profession. Read them if you can take the time. See the infinite possibilities that Heinlein had to offer us. Over the coming weeks, I will be posting suggestions for you to read, and books I hope to talk about in the podcast on May 8^th. In a world of constant acceleration, read. It’s worth the effort.

This is The Dome, sayin’: Recognize that what he wrote in 1940 that has come true today.

What is the name of the science fiction film with a dystopian future starring Bruce Dern and Huey Dewey and Louie?

Upcoming events:

It’s official: Harlan Ellison booked for May 29th!

Browncoats Redemption coming to GraniteCon Manchester on May 23rd.

May 8th, Robert Heinlein Retrospective featuring Spider Robinson.

In Movies some very interesting independent stuff.

Beyond The Iron Sky looks very intense. Piranha 3-D‘s director Alexandre Aja promises 3-D Double-D boobs and more bloody violence than Quenton Tarentino.IronMan has a new viral site.

In Genre Television:

Flash Forward continues to have great acting and scripts and shitty numbers and may not make the cut for next season. Chuck gets good numbers and lots of fun. Fringe has its best episode yet! Smallville returns; nothing happens. Are we surprised? Lost, is anyone still watching the Flash Sideways?

Some amazing  April Fools Web Jokes. The best ones we found were League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen 1988, Canned Unicorn Meat and Google Translate for Animals.

Recovering from a near-fatal car accident, Garson Poole discovers that he’s not human after all — he’s an Electric Ant; a robot programmed to think it’s a real person.  All his thoughts, his memories and feelings are artificial.  But why?  For what purpose was he created?  How can he tell the people in his life that he’s not one of them?  Do they already know?  Can he change his programming, or is he doomed to remain a slave; one that can see his chains but can never remove them?  If this sounds like something out of Blade Runner or Total Recall, you’re absolutely right, ’cause those movies are based on PKD stories as well.  Hell, the creators of The Matrix might as well send all their royalty checks to the Dick estate.  Dick’s world is one of sci-fi paranoia, where reality can shatter into a million fragments at any moment and you’ll never quite fit them back the same way.  It’s like contemplating “I think, therefore I am” on low-grade acid and never being sure if you’ve come down or not.

David Mack has done a wonderful job of adapting PKD into comics without losing the nervous frustration of his stories.  Kudos to Pascal Alixe and Chris Sotomayor for bringing a realistic quality to the artwork — these look like real people (heh) with real body language and expressions.  No Kirby poses here (although wouldn’t the King have done a great adaptation?) or wild distortions; the normality of the artwork makes the situation that much more unnerving.

During our Philip K. Dick special back in February, David Mack mentioned that Electric Ant is pronounced “electricant”.  Which sounds like “replicant” which are the synthetic protagonists of Blade Runner and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Mack stated that although each of PKD’s stories were separate, that the Marvel adaptations will shed light on the occasional overlap, creating a more cohesive world.  Seen this way, an Electric Ant would be the precursor to a replicant; and indeed, this issue mentions that Garson is an “older” model.  Which stories will come into play next?  PKD fans should keep an eye out for I Chings, stigmata, and mechanical animals in the background of future issues.

The first issue of Electric Ant is on sale now at fine comics stores everywhere.  Now, when will we see David Mack paint an entire PKD graphic novel?

What kind of cars were used on the 70s Gerry Anderson live action series UFO?

The return of Flash Forward: The 2 hour reopening was surprisingly good, but the numbers suck.

Caprica wraps.

Chuck More solid episodes.

The new Dr Who Trailer is up

Dr. Horrible II is for real but it will NOT be online. It, according to NPH will be a major motion picture.

Review of David Niall Wilsons Orffeyreus Wheel and and 30% off coupon for our listeners.

Our first guest is an artist and good friend of the show, Sara Richard, who will have a new sketchbook available at Boston Comic Con.

Our second guest is Mike from www.sheldonsshirts.com.

In the continuing adventures of The Howard Foundation Books by Robert Heinlein, what is the name of the cat who walks through walls?

Welcome newest member of SFSN — Phoebe!

Thank you to everyone at Granite State Comic Con for Jeanne Robinson jam sketch art; thanks to all artists volunteering for Boston Comic Conart — The auctions will take place starting on our Heinlein tribute episode w/Spider Robinson.

Friend of SFSN Frankie B. Washington releases new sketchbook

Paperback Book Lost Nugget Of The Week:

Invasion America by Christie Golden

The Underburbs Guys: TJ Dort and Joe Haley are with us live to talk about their newest project.

and

Michael Dougherty, Director/Producer of Browncoats -Redemption The Fan Movie

“I am a Browncoat” Campaign video includes Nathan Fillion at the end and the Cast of the Guild

Author: David Niall Wilson

Format: E-book (epub format)

Summary: The Orffyreus Wheel is written around the historical figure Johann Bessler (1680-1745), or as he called himself, Orffyreus. Bessler was known for allegedly creating a perpetual motion machine in the form of a wheel. The story intersperses glimpses of Bessler’s life with the main plot surrounding his descendants and their recreation of his work and the consequences thereof.

The Good: The Orffyreus Wheel utilizes historic fact and intrigue a la The Da Vinci Code while maintaining a secular point of view. The plot alternates between action packed spy scenes and moral contemplation.

The Bad: The book uses almost every fact listed on the Wikipedia page for Bessler – perhaps not much more about his life is known, but it would have been nice to learn even more about him in the context of the story. The plot about his descendants seemed to end rather abruptly.

In Conclusion: A thoroughly entertaining read. I want a sequel.

Rating: 4.5/5 Pulsars

Where to buy: Macabre Ink (5.99) (Available as  pdf, prc, epub, or kindle format) **Special! From now until 3.30.2010 get 30% off using the coupon code: SciFiSat **

Do yourself a favor and check out What Happened To Sarah? — and see where the mystery takes you.

Name the actress that appeared in both Firefly and Angel?

All of which brings me to this weeks rant, the impending reboot of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. In many ways this could be a good idea. Joss gets back into movies binging back “his” iconic Buffy Summers and the Scooby Crew, perhaps Faith returns, Cordelia. No, this isn’t what Hollyweird wanted to do. Setting the WayBack Machine for stun, Hollywierd went to the movie, with Kristy Swanson and Donald Sutherland and said THIS IS THE REBOOT WE WANT, and by “we” one can only infer they meant the viewing public.

Well, the Scooby Crew has commented on this in a unified “no”, from Anthony Stewart Head, Allyson Hannigan, Sarah Michelle Gellar and, the latest to comment, Amber Benson. To a person,  so far there has been a “meh” to the idea and it deserves nothing more than that. The original movie was mediocre at best and some of the plot points were downright ridiculous: not glittery vampire ridiculous, but damn close. Even though Joss Weadon was listed as writer of the movie, it wasn’t until he wrested creative control in the TV series he was able to make his vision complete, thus creating the Buffyverse we have come to know and love.

This is Dome, sayin: ‘till Willow and Tara are back, it ain’t really Buffy.

Our planning and organization are very different for each event. I guess the point I am making is that there is a lot to be said for smaller local conventions, they have a lot to offer and you won’t have the crushing crowds you get at a major city event. I got the chance to converse in a very relaxed atmosphere with fans of Sci Fi Saturday Night. That was a real plus for me personally. Getting first hand feedback about what our listeners do and don’t like is great, and at a larger con it is never quite so easy for a myriad of reasons.

I also got a chance to see artists interact with fans. That was really cool. Watching artists smiling and talking with fans and fans getting some real time with artists they like is a win for both. There was a Gaming Room next door, but the dividing wall kept the roar of the Thunderdome down to a minimum. I did wander in for a moment and quickly regained my senses and left; better for the gamers to fight over their point cards, since I was lost anyway.

I want to thank Double Midnight Comics of Manchester New Hampshire for extending the invitation for us to participate. I want to thank the artists who are working on a “Special Project” with us which will be announced shortly. I want to also extend thanks to our fans that came out and said some very kind things to us. You guys are the reason we keep doing this.

This is Dome, sayin: Thanks Everyone…and there are some very very interesting things to come!

Hugo Weaving to play the Red Skull.

Comics Corner: Alice In Sunderland by Bryan Talbot review

Avatar gets screwed at the Oscars but gets 10 nominations in The Saturn Awards.

Spiderman The Musical is dead, God save the Queen

Iroman 2 new trailer is out and it rocks

Summer Glau gets a new series, The Cape

2010 Sci Fi Hall of Fame inductees: Octavia Butler, Richard Matheson, Douglas Trumbull, and Roger Zelazny. Ceremony to be held 6/26 at Sci Fi Museum in SeattleWA.

Our Special Guest

Tracy Lee Quinn

Tracy talks about her carreer, what she is currently doing and just mainly charms the entire staff.

http://www.tracyleequinn.blogspot.com/

Girls Drawin’ Girls

Who was the voice of the computer on Star Trek-TOS?

The Good News: Julie Benz

The Bad News: The Incredibles

What’s Hot: Julie Benz

What’s Not: Pray it’s not a sit-com

Things To Watch For: Who develops what “ability”.

Things To Be Afraid Of: One of them turning into a sparkly vampire.

What I Hope Might Happen: Some classy scripts and production values make this a sleeper that is worth watching.

What I’m Afraid Might Happen: Live action Incredibles

This is Dome, sayin’: I will watch Julie Benz read the phone book.

Set in upscale, Yuppiefied So. Cal, “Paranormal Activity” introduces us to Micah (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherston), a young couple who have just made the jump to move in together. But this is just the first jump in a long line of jumps, dear viewers.
Katie comes with a past – haunted by an entity since the age of 8, victim of a fire that took her parents’ home (all made it out), and haunted again at age 13, this follows documented demonic possession cases with almost textbook veracity. Oh, and did I mention? It’s shot in that documentary style a la “Blair Witch”. The only camera people are either our brave (but stupid and hubris ridden) Micah or increasingly terrified Katie. There is no background music, no Cameron-esque special effects – instead, the stripped down, extended YouTube video style of “Paranormal Activity” is what increases the fright here. Other than some cheesy, but effective text – letting us know the number of days the camera has been running – and the ominous clock that runs each night letting us know it’s time for this movie’s witching hour (usually about 3am), we have no other production interference.
I won’t get into specifics for fear of lessening your fright – I mean, fun – but know as Micah attempts to call out the spirit like a Blood calling out a Crip, things get stranger, more frightening and even – yes – terrifying. I can’t imagine more than $5K was put into their budget with its minimal tech and only four actors int he film, those who contributed should deservedly see dividends on their investment.
As you will, dear viewer, if you follow the DRH’s advice and watch “Paranormal Activity” with the lights out, sound up, free imagination and only a poor, over cuddled feline companion to stave off the devils that be. In complete honesty, the DRH has boasted of late that she has not been scared by a movie since the late 80′s (seeing “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” for the first time, albeit late); congratulations “Paranormal Activity” team – you scared the bejeezus out of me. Nice job! Not with fake scares and buckets o’ blood, but in the same vein as Mr. Lynch, Mr. Cronenberg and old Tobe Hooper – hitting those deep, dark Jungian recesses of the soul.

TV: Fringe renewed for 3rd season

Smallville renewed for 10th season, Chuck has another season but……so does Heroes.

The curse of Chi McBride continues as The Human Target tanks and will not be renewed.

Pat from Double Midnight talks about GraniteCon – March 14th in Nashua NH

David Niall Wilson interview

New novel is called “Vintage Soul”; came out in December.

http://macabreink.com/store

Who is the author and editor of the anthology Dangerous Visions?

A shout out to all our international listeners.

Walter Koenig’s son (Andrew) apparent suicide.

Dead Red Head: Crazies, Nightmare on Elm Street, Alice.

Late breaking news: Max Headroom coming to DVD!

Prop Daleks go for $31,100 & $23,784 in auction yesterday.

Action Comics #1 sells for 1 million dollars; Detective #27 beats it by 70K four days later!

New Superman flick to be titled ‘Superman Unleashed’?

Video Games – Bioshock 2 and Mass Effect 2

Halftime Trivia

Fun With Internet  Sci-Fi:

Steve talks about Sci-Final.com and what it offers that nobody else does?

Which series he recommends as a starting point and why it offers a diversity that mainstream media cannot and does not.

I like my horror to be like the second frog. If a horror story needs to startle it’s audience to get a reaction, it’s just not a good story. Don’t get me wrong, surprises and gore and gripping moments are also key, but the mood of the story has to come gradually, so that the audience doesn’t notice until it’s too late to get out.

Douglas Clegg’s novel Neverland delivers just this kind of delicious slow horror. He moves his characters seamlessly from the everyday horror of a family falling apart to the supernatural horror of devil-worshiping children.  The child characters are refreshingly convincing, and Clegg falls into neither of the two most overused stereotypes in horror: the paragon of innocence that must be protected, or the adult/demon in a a creepy child’s body.

The real kicker of this book is its ambiguous nature. Good and Bad, Right and Wrong have no real place here. There is just the Bad Choice and the Worse Choice, giving the story a level of complexity that is utterly chilling.

Neverland is due to be released in May, but it’s available now for preorder through Amazon. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to put a library hold on one of Clegg’s other novels, because if they’re anything like this one, I’m an instant fan.

Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1; Batman first showed up in Detective Comics #27. Which comic heralded the first appearance of Wonder Woman?

Joss Whedon to make film about San Diego Comic-Con attendees

Director Jeffrey Blitz/Producer Sean Welch making documentary on history of DC Comics

Smallville returns to Baywatch-quality scripts. You are now allowed to sleep.

Evil Wil Wheaton returns to Big Bang Theory

DVD -The Time Traveler’s Wife – It’s not science fiction. It is however a great movie!

Sheldonshirts.com has EVERY SHIRT that Sheldon has worn on Big Bang Theory; also have Leonard’s shirts, Wolowitz’ belt buckles, and a whole bunch of Big Bang stuff you need so very desperately.

Comics Corner: Legendary Talespinners #1 — buy or die.

Supergirl 50th issue – Jamal Igle has never been better

Our Guest tonight: Bill MacKenty educator & video game designer.

The Dead Redhead’s Wall of Weird!

Singapore is stealing beaches, a scoop at a time.

Doctor Who vs. Thatcher

New site dresses your inner goddess

Toblerone from outer space

Many moons ago I had heard of a wonderful independent films called The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. This is an Indie throwback to any and every B movie, Sci-Fi  flick of the 50’s. It is strictly tongue in cheek, deliciously overacted and such wonderful fun, filmed in “SKELETORAMA” and sanitized for your protection. Folks, they wont make movies like this anymore. If you can find it, rent or buy it, but for goodness sake, get it and enjoy it.

Name the group started in the 19th Century whose purpose was to extend the lives of individual humans and the species as a whole. This group first was mentioned in the book Methuselah’s Children and continues in Time Enough for Love, To Sail Beyond The Sunset and The Cat Who Walked Through Walls.

First however, a question to you, the reader. Why am I mentioning Vonnegut and this movie in the same breath? Two reasons actually. First, Vonnegut claimed amazement at the fact that he wrote Science fiction, claiming the he didn’t know he has until he saw one of his books in the Sci-Fi Section of a bookstore. The same holds true for this move, as it defies being put into any one genre and is very slippery to define it into any box. Secondly, the amazing similarities between Vonnegut’s Billy Pilgrim and Eric Bana as Henry is somehow both amazing and yet very different; amazing because they both have become “unstuck in time” and different because unlike Billy, Henry is not the main focus of the film, as very accurately implied by the title. Henry is, in fact, a catalyst for Clare’s adventures and the subsequent interplay with all the others in their universe.

What makes this movie interesting is not the visual effects, but the story. Nothing beats a good love story; nothing trumps the heart, ever. The fact that it’s set within a Sci-Fi framework with meticulous attention to detail makes it all the more a glorious experience. It breaks a cannon of time travel: you cannot occupy the same space twice, you cannot meet yourself. It breaks it repeatedly and yet, it’s ok. This is a great move. If it has a fatal flaw it is that it defies convention, it resists definition, it asks so very much from the audience and that is not something many American audiences are willing to give. Is this a great movie? Yes, it is, without reservation. What may keep you from enjoying it is your own convention. It is, without a doubt, heartbreakingly beautiful.

This is Dome, sayin:  Here’s hoping someone loves you enough to leave shoes for you in the forest.

Human Target- Dear God, why?

Smallville has actually been decent; hell freezes over.

I havent been watching Caprica for a reason

What’s up with that Palestinian group dressing up like the Na’vi?

Hot hot HOT pics of the chicks from Fringe and Caprica on syfy.com

Space shuttle crew awakened to Firefly theme

Roger Corman to make SHARKTOPUS for Syfy network. We suggest Sharktopus Vs. Mansquito and implore everyone to write into SyFy.

Chris Proulx from Double Midnight Comics with what the hell is new.

Scott Wegener

Atomic Robo Vol.4, Atomic Robo & The Revenge of the Vampire Dimension

He will be at GraniteCon on 3/14 for a Panel Discussion with Brian Clevinger, and also at Boston ComiCon on 4/11-12.

Superman had various super pets. Name the super monkey from the comic series.

Christopher Chance is a dark figure. He is a man of hyper-ability, not super powers and this gives him a unique perspective on his “mission”. Each episodic comic not only gave us action and adventure but also a glimpse into his soul, allowing us, albeit vicariously, to look under the hood, as it were: to see what makes him tick. The television show, not so much. It is a gimmicky Mission Impossible/I Spy/Get Smart type of show, so no matter how deep or emotional the storyline wants to take you, it seems to always be overpowered by the gimmick of the day. This week it was a micro-miniaturized ingested GPS. This took center stage, even though there was an achingly good story of a beautiful Assistant District Attorney being hunted by crooked cops. A much more human drama was once again overshadowed by technology instead of being enhanced, and therein lies the problem.

Mark Valley was much better served on Boston Legal. Chi McBride, well who can say? I have to really give this a resounding I Don’t Know Yet and hope for better scripts.

This  is Dome, sayin’: DC’s track record remains intact, mediocre at best and deserving much better.

His Website

His Fansite

He talks about how he got involved in this project and which stories are adapted?

He discusses editing anything from his adaptations? Is the PKD estate allowing him to make changes?

Will the art be in the same watercolor/dreamy style as *Kabuki* or will he be doing something different?

We all discuss why PKD? Are his novels still relevant for today’s readers?

Dome adds a personal narrative of his correspondence with PKD, how it happened and reads a portion of a letter from PDK to him.

When he is nine years old, Finnikin joins in a pledge with his best friends, Prince Balthazar and the Prince’s cousin, to protect their homeland Lumatere.  Soon afterward, the royal family is slaughtered by a usurper to the throne, and a curse is laid upon Lumatere so that no one can enter or leave the kingdom.

Trapped outside for ten years, Finnikin’s destiny begins when he meets Evanjalin, a young Lumateran who claims to enter the dreams of those inside the kingdom, including Balthazar’s. She calls on Finnikin to fulfill his destiny to gather their people and lead them home.

Why It’s Good:  Although slow at first, the writing gains purpose and momentum along with Finnikin, and I was totally sucked in by the end. Marchetta also does an admirable job presenting a strong female character who is not only realistic in herself, but also in her relationships with others. Unlike many “girl power” fantasies, Finnikin actually addresses the tensions that arise for the men who are raised to lead but then asked to follow.

The stark, moody style of this book is a breath of fresh air in the fantasy genre, where overwriting and flowery language is king. The realities of refugee camps, prisons, hard travel, and war are presented without apology, but also without so much detail that it become a “shock and gore” novel.

What is PKD’s term for waste that seems to grow on its own?

to win a random assortment of autographed Kabuki comics!

PKD wrote The Man In The High Castle guided by what divination system?

to win a random assortment of autographed Kabuki comics!

What does VALIS stand for?

to win a random assortment of autographed Kabuki comics!

Interesting Things To Consider:

Characters: This was a character driven show. You were forced into caring about them, even if there were times it confused the hell out of you.

Technology: A show of this nature has to have a believable technology at its core. If it doesn’t, it crumbles, because anyone can pull out a gadget and make everything better whenever they want to. Joss Whedon took this tech and made it flawed and KEPT it flawed purposefully. It worked.

Exceptional Actors: Originally a series built around Eliza Dushku, this series spawned a cast of absolutely wonderfully gifted actors, who took risks, made some amazing character decisions and in the midst of mayhem and terror, made the audience stop, smile and say, OMG, they are amazing! Chief among those who became legendary standouts because of their work on this series are Fran Kranz, Enver Gjokaj, Dichen Lachman and Miracle Laurie, among many many others. When you add in Dushku, Olivia Williams, Amy Acker and Alan Tudyk, you have an awesome ensemble. Trust me when I say I am leaving out tons of other very talented actors who has a chance to shine and did so.

The Run: 2 Seasons  of 13 episodes. In retrospect, this may have been a perfect run. All too often, a series like this becomes the gadget of the week and becomes boring. I do wish the endgame had used the unaired 13^th. episode from season 1 as a run up to the final episode. I understand that it worked, but having watched it both ways, there is a much better sense of closure and quite frankly, I just feel it works better that way, but I defer to Whedon.

My Conclusion: In looking at Whedons body of work, I have noticed something interesting. Every series of his that I have enjoyed, has come to what I believe to be an unsatisfying conclusion. Buffy ends with the destruction of the Hellmouth , Angel ends with the begining of the Fight against Ultimate Evil, Firefly/Serenity escapes the Reavers and the Government at the expense of Wash and others, and in Dollhouse the world gets reset, a do over, after years of violence, even as Topher says they can’t put the genie back in the bottle. The mark of a Whedon project is this social ambiguity, this sense of moral greyness, this sense of reality, that the fight must always go on, move forward, regardless of the obstacle. Joss brings a sense of reality to a format in which reality is a gift that keeps the viewer engaged and wanting more. Joss, I hope you get to see this and I really hope you keep your vision. You have a lot to bring to us all. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

This is Dome, sayin: Did I fall asleep?

Stephen King – Dome expects royalties!

The conclusion of Dollhouse – EPICworthy, with the possible exception of the fact that it was kinda necessary to have seen ep. 13 from season 1. but a cosmic wonderful conclusion.

Our Guest Tonight: Jess Hartley

White Wolf Games

ICC 2009 was where White Wolf announced their “plan for the future: including online tools for managing games and content, including digital content

Wizards just canned Star Wars Saga and their Minis line.

How will the iPad change tabletop gaming?

What famous Pittsburgh PA horror host appeared in Night of the Living Dead? Hint: his daughter was the star of Day of the Dead.

To win Luke and Yoda by Art O’Callaghan.

TV News

Last Friday’s Caprica has some new scenes, is very dark and sexual.

Dollhouse ending and Smallville JSA episode delayed by one week due to a Haiti Earthquake Telethon

Rod Roddenberry resurects The Questor Tapes

Possibility that Torchwood will become Americanized

Primeval returning; no one seems to care.

Walking Dead to be an AMC series.

MTV wants “Dawn of the Dead” TV series. Just say no!

Seriously, SS is one of the most prolific Producer/Directors of this or any other era in American Cinema and Television, which is why I am so damn confused at this latest project. Noah Whyle and Moon Bloodgood in a yet unnamed pilot for TNT all about alien invasion. Here’s a thought, call it Alien Invasion and forget Noah Whyle (Remember The Librarian??) Fans of Moon Bloodgood, those of you males with eyes, are going to be in for a treat. Her rather voluptuous body….um…… of work  is about to have another notch in it (Check out the photo gallery here) So, the question remains, why Noah Whyle? What has he proven? Where are his creds?  He is NOT the next Indiana Jones, not even Minnesota Slims, so why him? What we do know the are following things, it is greenlit for 10, 1 hour episodes, it will probably air in early 2011 and it will have Moon Bloodgood-ness and that alone may be enough to balance out the Noah factor. Yet another wait and see in the genre.

This is Dome sayin: Turkey Pastrami isn’t turkey and really isn’t pastrami either. God knows what this will be.

As an added bonus every time you purchase from our store, we get a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

2/6/10       Philip K Dick Special featuring David Mack

2/13/10     Scott Wegener - Atomic Robo

2/20/10     Bill MacKenty

Join us live at 8:00pm or catch the Podpeat on our website or on iTunes.

So it is with more than a small amount of trepidation knowing that Rod Roddenberry, his son, has moved forward to a redo of this project. The memory I have of the original was positive and my recollection is that it was ultimately pulled because NBC had its hand tightly gripped on the creative aspects and The Great Bird of the Universe, said no. There were, according to internet  rumor, as many as 5 scripts for the never shot series before its demise, so I am left to wonder if/when/how they might work into a reboot. My fear is that the country has moved on, the genre has moved on, man has moved on. No one here wants innocence anymore. SkyNet, Splosions and Spattering Blood is the new watchword, and it pains me to think this may have finally met its day. It hurts to think that an honest attempt at AI without destruction and devastation is no longer possible, and yet, even Avatar proves my fears are somewhat justified. A part of me is anxious to see just what happens with this project, another part fears that this is a bygone era. If you wish to see a more realized version on this theme, check out the 1983 movie Prototype

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084546/

This is Dome, sayin: growing up is a bitch, but the toys are better

More information at:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070585/

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/roddenberry-productions-in-development-with-imagine-entertainment-on-classic-gene-roddenberry-pilot-the-questor-tapes-82223957.html

Spider-Man: the Julie Taymor/U2 musical

Michael Bay: “Transformers 3 will be about character”

Green Lantern Casting

TV

Merlin S2

Dollhouse -2 Weeks left

Chi McBride on Human Target: series doomed

Mike Hinman joins us for a spirited round of Truth Or BS.

Zombrarian Books

Cthulu Tales

Pushing Daisies GN in production; will wrap the series

Zombrarian at ALA

Perhaps one of the ugliest rumors currently floating on the net is that you are bringing Torchwood to America, in fact to Fox TV. Such reputable sites as the Hollywood Reporter have more than just speculative articles about an American production. As a responsible blogger and dedicated fanboy, I have a few issues with this.

1. Reboot the series? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
2. Reboot the series in the USA? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
3. Fox? FOX TV? ARE YOU REALLY KIDDING ME?
4. BBC Worldwide in an unholy alliance with FOX? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
5. Sanitizing Capt. Jack? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Here are some points to ponder. Why reboot the series in America? Of what possible plot point does that play? If you do, where will it be set? I have some suggestions:

New Orleans – Cardiff without the floods

New Rochelle – Cardiff without the bedroom community

Newark – Cardiff without the Superfund.

Why in god’s name does Fox have to get involved with the assassination of yet another Sci-Fi show? When did FOX believe in anything? I, for one, refuse to believe in Fox anymore, this insanity has to stop.

This is Dome sayin’:……..please, no more.

Besides Stan Lee, who has a cameo apperance in every Spider-Man movie?

1. You can probably get that book/movie you’re eyeing for free at the library. (Note: If the library doesn’t have it, ask about interlibrary loan options, you’ll look super smart.)

2. Newer and flashier stuff is bound to have a wait list.

While you’re waiting for your turn with the shiny stuff, here’s some literary gems that may have flown under your radar, but are worth the read:

• World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Brooks, author of The Zombie Survival Guide and a writer for Saturday Night Live, moves away from funny and into an incredibly well thought out horror novel.  Told through a series of interviews with survivors, soldiers, politicians, and scientists, we are given a firsthand account of the war from start to finish. Brooks shows true literary chops with this one, as his ability to give each character a distinct voice might just convince you that you’re reading a real history book.

Why It’s Good:  This is a very smart and fresh approach to zombies. One of my favorite bits was the underwater zombie cleanups. Because, well, if zombies can’t drown, then they’re bound to infest underwater areas too. And the unexpected places where storylines overlap make my literary heart sing.

• The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James Owen

Written and illustrated by the creator of Starchild, this series is tons of fun for anyone who loves fantasy classics…and I can’t tell you why, it’s a spoiler. I will tell you that the basic premise is that every imaginary land that ever existed in literature is real, and hidden away in a place called the Archipelago.  The Imaginarium Geographica is the only existing atlas to the Archipelago, and there are always Caretakers from our world who keep this important book safe. The first book, Here There Be Dragons, is the story of how three new caretakers assume their roles.

Why It’s Good: Tons of referential nods to fantasy readers, and one or two sci-fi references thrown into later books. If you don’t say, “That’s from (insert fantasy classic here)!” at least once, you needed that library card more than I thought. The illustrations are also a huge plus, since they bring back fond memories of the old Illustrated Classics many of us read as kids.

• Little Brother by Cory Doctrow

Kriana insists that this is not a sci-fi book, but I couldn’t bear to leave it off this list.  From his hot air balloon high above the clouds, Cory Doctorow has bestowed his answer to 1984 upon us mere mortals. Set in San Fransisco in the near future, our hero Marcus and his friends sneak out of school for an afternoon of gaming and instead get caught up in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.  Declared a person of interest by Homeland Security, Marcus still decides to fight back.  He and his army of hackers are soon wreaking havoc wherever they can, trying to win back the freedom of the city.

Why It’s Good: Hacking, Gaming, Flash Mobs, Hippies, Constitutional Law, Terrorism, and even a little bit of Romance make this an action movie in book format. Except it’s an action movie where the geek is the hero, not the sidekick.

• I hear you say. “But Zombrarian, I do not read novels! I read comic books!”

If you’re strictly a comic book sort of person, rest assured! Many libraries have started graphic novel collections. You may have to go to the teen section to find them, but do not be afraid! If you feel like a creepy old man hanging out with the teens, ask a librarian for help. Then you’re just a comic book geek, not a potential felon.

First Issue Special #6: The Dingbats of Danger Street — Even the most diehard Kirby fans cringe at the mention of this dud.  Unintentionally hilarious — with stellar dialogue like “They call me Non-Fat!  No matter what happens — I’m hanging on to this hot dog“!, you can see why this group of Little Rascals rejects never became the next Fantastic Four.  And speaking of which…

Fantastic Four Roast #1 — Written by Fred Hembeck but illustrated by dozens of the industry’s finest artists, this is a rare gem.  You know how Mel Brooks can tell the worst jokes in his films and they just work?  This is the comic book equivalent, complete with half the Marvel Universe to boot.  A classic.

Through The Wood, Beneath The Moon #1 — Good luck finding this one-shot from Caliber Comics.  This treasure, described as a “dark poem” would more accurately be called “a twisted nightmare collaboration of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton, with dead children and lollipops”.  I can’t recommend it highly enough — your favorite goth doesn’t own this and will love it!!!

Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame — Neil Gaiman’s story of these two heroes, condemned to Hell.  Drawn by a dozen very talented artists, including that one that you like so much.  You know which one I mean.  For those friends of yours who wish Neil would stop wasting his time writing best-selling novels and get back to comics, where the real glory is.

DC Comics Holiday Super-Special — Okay, I’ll be impressed if you can track this one down.  This is the first Christmas-themed comic that I can remember DC doing, where it’s a collection of short stories featuring a variety of heroes all hell-bent on saving Christmas, one way or another (and did you ever notice, that it’s always Christmas that needs saving?  Halloween can take care of itself).  This features stories with Jonah Hex, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Sgt. Rock, the House of Mystery, and oh yeah, the first-ever Batman story illustrated by Frank Miller.  It cost me a whole dollar when I bought it back in 1980… hopefully your local comic store will charge you the same!

There’s plenty more, but why spoil your fun?  Dive into the nearest back-issue bin and treat your friends and yourself to some fun!

News of The Lantern: Blake Lively has been set to play Carol Ferris, idiot floozy charming but ditzy g/f of Hal Jordan. Eye candy aplenty in this one, kiddies. Perhaps this should be called Sisterhood of The Traveling Lantern. In not so sexy casting developments, Peter Sarsgaard has been tapped to play Mr. Big Head, aka Hector Hammond and Jackie Earle Haley is being rumored to be cast as Sinestro. For those of you not in the know about the Green Lantern, both of these are great roles, by great actors.

Robert Downey, Jr. has dropped out of his bff’ Jon Faverau’s Cowboys and Aliens, because of prior commitments to his “Iron Man Franchise” and his new “Sherlock Holmes Franchise”. Rumors abound that he is also picking up a KFC franchise in Van Nuys.

Finally, in Who Gives a Rats Behind News, three items. First, Robo-Cop will most likely be shelved rather than a 3-D version that was being shopped. Robo-Cop stopped being fun a way long time ago and I don’t want be upset at this, so… whatever, I won’t be. Second, rumors abound across the inter-webs about the new incredibly cool Thor movie bumping the incredibly lame Spiderman 4, but I am leaving this to Illustrator X to talk about on the podcast this weekend. Third, all of this pales to me when thinking about the new Captain America Movie.

This is The Dome, sayin’: waiting for Iron Man 2 is a pain in the can.

Dollhouse – Second to last episode.

Marvel stops Models, Inc after 4 issues.

Our Special Guest

Chris Golden

The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology

Bio

http://www.christophergolden.com/bio.html

Movies:

Avatar

-Go see it!

TV:

Doctor Who

- Finale of David Tennant’s reign as the Doctor

Demons (UK, coming to US)

Human Target -Another chance for FOX to screw something up

Books

Spider Robinson’s Wife is battling cancer via i09

Guests: Bob Shaw Boston Comicon in April.

Boston ComiCon on Facebook

Comic Art House

Intersect, rev.2 has transformed Chuck into a super-spy, not just a fountain of knowledge, giving him valuable tools and abilities when he needs them. The funny part comes in when his nerves take over and block the download so it becomes a constant balancing act for him, to keep himself under control and allow his abilities to come out.

Here’s What’s Good: Yvonne Strahovski is even hotter than last season, if that is humanly possible (God help me, there is a scene in the 2 hour premiere that’s is better than a Victoria’s Secret Private Fashion Show). Adam Baldwin is so damn funny it hurts. The rest of the cast is solid, the writing is crisp, the filming is clean and each episode is very very sweet while maintaining the integrity of the concept. What a country!.

What’s Not So Good: I am missing Anna Wu, big time. She was one hell of a funny sexy character.

Grade: A-, because nuthin’ is perfect, but this is coming close for Network TV

This is Dome sayin’:Geeks are still cool, just ask one.

In May, we are officially going to have the incredible author, Spider Robinson, on our show for a very special Robert A. Heinlein episode. Unfortunately Spider’s lovely wife Jeanne is currently battling cancer. Please visit, http://www.wedreamforjeanne.blogspot.com/, any contribution would be greatly appreciated.

Also, stay tuned – we have something very special coming up; our own unique contribution to help a lovely woman who is married to one of our most beloved authors.

—————————————————————-

We are now proudly the OFFICIAL podcast of the Boston Comic Con!

Answer in the comments to win Deadpool by Sara Richard and a copy of The New Dead edited by Christopher Golden.

Green Hornet: Sorry folks, as good as this might possibly be, the ghost of Bruce Lee haunts every incarnation since his death. PREDICTION: retro pulp

Tron: James Cameron waited almost 20 years for the technology to come into place before attempting Avatar. The sad reality is , for all of its high tech concept, that’s all Tron ever was and in this day and age, the audience expects more. PREDICTION: The first one was better and that one wasn’t all that good.

Red Dawn: In 1984, the specter of invasion and hostile takeovers was churned by this movie, not Enron and Derivative Funds Ponzi Schemes. One can honestly ask, what the hell is the point of remaking this move? The answer might well be, all you have to do is look at The Day the Earth Stood Still remake. That remake was horrific and this one has no real chance of anything better. PREDICTION: The Chinese already own our economy, the movie is moot.

Predators: This is the movie with Arnold vs. The Alien Hunter. As usual Arnold wins. This remake has some good things going for it. Among the best is Robert Rodriguez. Planet Terror gives me slight hope for this one. PREDICTION: It could be fun.

Iron Man 2: HELL YES! ‘NUFF SAID!

The Wolfman: This is another movie with promise. Benicio Del Toro is awesome and can defiantly pull this role off. Its working towards an R Rating, which is a good thing. PREDICTION: Possibly something to watch for.

This is Dome sayin: Damn Your Eyes, Bollywood! Do something original or the terrorists have already won.

Happy Birthday Mrs X!!

Best Geek Gifts we got for X-Mas

Dome:

Star Trek Scene IT DVD

Harley Quinn Print

Hellboy II DVD

Kriana:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Angel/Frankenstein Crossover Comic

Java

Munchkin

Star Trek DVD

Favorite Xmas Movie

Kriana – Elf

Java – Home Alone II

Dome  - Colbert Christmas Special

Best and Worst of Sci Fi for the past year:

Dome:

Love: Dollhouse

Hate: V

Love to Hate: Torchwood:  Children of Earth

Kriana:

Love: Chuck

Hate: Sanctuary

Love to Hate: Dollhouse

Java:

Love: Warehouse 13

Hate: 2012

Love to Hate: Heroes

The new Year for Sci Fi Saturday Night

Next week Jan 2  - Bob and Kim Shaw

Jan 9 – Chris Golden

March 14 2010 GraniteCon, Nashua NH

Boston ComiCon April 10-11, 2010

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wait for it……

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GHOSTBUSTERS III

Anyone old enough to remember the complete disappointment of the sequel, aptly named Ghostbusters II, is now gagging on their own phlegm at the thought of yet another incarnation of this glorious masterwork of comedic Sci-Fi.  Honestly I have no argument with sequels and prequels and Nyquils, OH MY! I am a huge fan of Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. I loved the whole concept of the original very much. I take issue with GB3, The Next Generation, whereby the old guard is there with a new, hip and younger bunch of Twilight-type sparkly ectoplasm eradicators. Set for a shoot in summer, 2010 and release in 2011, pray that Ramis has a huge hand in the pre-production and script. Otherwise, I am very afraid of this ghost.

This is Dome, sayin: I have been slimed one too many times already!

In a scene reminiscent of The Last Starfighter, Grandpa Wilfred and the aliens play Laser Tag with NATO missiles to a rousing score. Mickey and Martha come back to join us, Sarah Jane and her son say hello, Captain Jack gets a quick lesson in redemption, Rose spends a New Years Eve to remember..my god, this is the BBC at its best. John Sim puts in one of the most magnificent performances ever seen in this series. Enjoy the last of David Tennant and savor the first glimpse of Matt Smith.

This is Dome sayin: May the Universe Sing You to Your Sleep.

Dome:

Star Trek

Moon

District 9

Illustrator X:

Star Trek

Up

Ponyo

Awake by Java:

Avatar

Watchmen

Disctrict 9

DVD Picks by AwakebyJava

Red Dwarf–Back to Earth (DVD and Blu-ray)

Land of the Lost–Season 1, 2, 3

The Prisoner–The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

Lost–The Complete 5th Season (DVD and Blu-ray)

The Clone Wars–The Complete Season 1 (DVD and Blu-ray)

Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series

Fraggle Rock–Complete Series Collection Giftset (new packaging)

TV Talk

- Fringe

- Dollhouse

8:25 Trivia

Prize: Peter Vinton Amazon Print.

Guest: Steve Kenson

Prizes

Darth Vader doll
Buddy Christ Action Figure
Sky Pirates Xmas Loot

You can see Tamara’s work at:

http://tamararogers.blogspot.com/

http://www.tamararogers.co.uk/retouching.html

http://www.etsy.com/shop/tamararogers

http://flickr.com/photos/tamj

“What’s it about?”, I asked, all innocent and wide-eyed.

“Who cares?” he replied.  “It’s the new Mark Waid book, and it’s AWESOME!!”

Well, it wasn’t.  Not even close.  What it was, was the same old tired “what-if-superheroes-lived-in-the-real-world” premise we’ve been seeing for decades.  This time, the spin is that a former supervillain is trying to go straight.  Good idea; worked great in Astro City‘s “Steeljack” storyline.  But not so much here.  Let’s face it:  all the stories have been told by now.  What differentiates a bad story from a good one is passion.  Now, Mark Waid is a good writer.  Kingdom Come is a great story, never mind Alex Ross’s eye-candy artwork.  Waid’s run on the Fantastic Four was rightfully hailed as one of the best in the series — and that’s saying a lot.  But you could tell, from reading those books, that he was enjoying himself, and he really cared about what he was writing.  Enthusiasm is infectious; you can’t help but be swept up in it.  I’ll take an Ed Wood movie any day over the latest sci-fi disaster flick — what the man lacked in talent, he more than made up for with love.

This book… I mean, there’s nothing here to hook me.  I don’t feel like I know these characters.  By the end of the book, I didn’t care if any of them lived or died.  And I’m sorry, but where this costs me four bucks an issue; this is not something I can afford to “let it grow on me”.  Maybe I’d be more forgiving if these were characters I’d grown up with, but I don’t think I’d have read this even as a kid.  Feh.

Mr. Waid, if you’re reading this, the reason I’m being so hard on you is because you wrote one of the most poignant slice-of-life stories I have ever read.  Christmas With The Super-Heroes #2, back in 1988… the text piece on the last page.  The story of how you sat in your college radio station, listening to the AP announce that John Lennon had just been shot.  The shock of the moment forever affecting you; binding you to everyone in that studio in a way that will never be broken.   That story moved me.  It moved me because it moved you, and your feelings jumped out past the printed page and touched my heart and I’ve never, ever forgotten it.  I hope someday to meet you so I can shake your hand and tell you in person how much that story means to me, and how the series you’ve worked on have been enriched by your keen storytelling style.

I won’t be bringing up Incorruptible.

What was the title of the book used as the basis for the movie Bladerunner?

to win a gorgeous colored pencil piece by Peter Vinton Jr. entitled ‘No biggie… it’s only your SOUL”.

Our “good friends” at Fox Television are about to put up a new Science Fiction series in January, based on a comic. What is the name ?

Fringe, Sanctuary, Dr. Who (The End of Time), and Movie Moon: pros and cons.

Christmas shopping for your favorite Geek. (Disclaimer: All of these retailers are e-stores. Geeks don’t do brick and mortar in 2009)

Cool Stuff:

X-tremeGeek.com

This is like the Sky Mall of Geek toy stores. Mostly filled with useless crap but every once in a while you find something you just can’t live without.

A Bone Collection Flash Drive

Max Brooks’ The Zombie Survival Guide

ThinkGeek.com

This store is much more well marketed than any others. They know who their demographic is and how to connect with them. If you can’t find something for your Geek here, you’re probably out of luck.

Highlights:

Bacteria Growth Science Kit

Star Trek Enterprise Bottle Opener

Tauntaun Sleeping Bag

20 Sided Fuzzy Dice Danglers

Not Cool Stuff:

Kindle/Nook

- locked down with DRM

- limited selection of books, and what there is are ridiculously priced

-Nook does not currently let you use giftcards

We also had special guest Frankie B Washington (illustrator of Marooned on Mogo, a children’s book based around a band of children stranded on a strange planet) who discusses his new book, as well as art-cards as an affordable way of collecting your favorite artists.

Since the award, Branson has been taking reservations for tourists. It hasn’t been decided when the first flight will take place, but one thing is for sure:  if you can pay for it, you can go sometime soon, and so far there are over 300 reservations. Virgin Galactic is expected to build a fleet of 5 commercial spacecraft to begin serving their clients in the coming years at a cost of over $ 400 Million just to build.

This is Dome, sayin’: I will have “I Went Into Sub-Orbital Outer Space And All I Got Was This Lousy Tee-Shirt” shirts on sale here soon!

In other comics news, Norman Osborn is still loopy as ever, the Punisher was killed and resurrected as the FrankenPunisher (no I am not making this up) and the dead have returned to the DC Universe to bore the crap out of us.  Oh, and Archie finally married Betty, after marrying Veronica, of course.  Wouldn’t you?  If you can afford the five-dollar cover price, this week’s Dark Avengers annual features a new chapter in the life of Grant Morrison’s Marvel Boy, and introduces a new character destined to have a Bendis-penned miniseries out sometime next year.  And is it just me, or has Ultimate Spider-Man lost something without Mark Bagley’s pencils?  The new issues just don’t feel right, and I have no idea how Peter gets his Spidey mask on over that anime peninsula of hair he’s sporting.

Until Cerebus votes for Sarah Palin, this is Illustrator X keeping it sci-fi!

The book Day of the Triffids, which was the basis for 28 Days Later, was written by whom?

We would really like to be at Arisia this year. However table space costs $10 per hour (in two hour blocks), and the Dome, Illustrator X and I are all tapped out from buying brain buttons. We really need your help! Please use the button below to donate if you’d like to see us at Arisia. For every 20 dollars donated by Christmas we will apply for 2 hours of table space in Artist’s Alley/The Pro’s Nest. (whether they give it to us or not is obviously up to them)

Find more information about Arisa at http://www.arisia.org.

Edit: Upon more investigation renting a table does NOT get you into the show. So we need to raise money for registration as well as table space. Our funding goal is to get two days worth of table space and at least three of us into the show (for Sat. and Sun.) which comes out to about $370. I’ll post a running total of donations here:

Update #2: Since we have such a high minimum total needed to get in the door (up to 120 dollars just for three of us to get in for a day!) we won’t be able to go unless we hit that minimum. If we fail to gather that many donations, the money will go towards promotional materials for Sci Fi Saturday Night.

Donations so far: $50

Thanks to Derrick, MrWashy and Lisa!

Alyson Hannigan – “that’s a very big mistake in my opinion.”

Anthony Stewart-Head – “I wouldn’t want to see it, no.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar – no interest in any Buffy comeback at all since forever

Also not on board, the main writer, Marti Noxon.

This is a bad idea, and just a sad reason to make a quick buck at the expense of fans who should know better than to pay a cent to see this, sans what made it flower from a very very schlocky B movie to a landmark TV Series. Joss, find a new vehicle soon. There’s not much out there

This is Dome sayin:  “Pert. Wholesome. Way Lethal.”, does NOT describe my first wife!

http://trekmovie.com/2009/11/23/read-the-star-trek-2009-scene-written-for-william-shatner/

I love it and actually wish it had been put in, but that is not the point. As ST had taken a turn for the new, so must the old make room for the new.

This is Dome sayin – Yo, Kirk. Enjoy the Denny Crane residuals. We missed you in the movie.

Drinking Game: Drink every time IllustratorX does his evil laugh.

Sponsor: Brian Belanger
Trivia Question

SPOILER ALERT:

We fight them. We almost lose. We ultimately win.
Don’t bother watching.

Drinking Game – Every time someone says “Mansquito”

Sponsor: Illustrator X

Trivia

SKULLDUGGERY! Episode 1 from Raging Vole on Vimeo.

to win:

Issues 1 and 2 of 23 Skidoo autographed by Brian Belanger.

Leave your answer as a comment on this post!

Leave a comment on this post with your answer to win:

Boneyard, for those of you who didn’t know, was a great comedy-adventure indie series by Richard Moore.  The premise was simple:  Michael Paris inherits a cemetery, and by default, all its Nightmare Before Christmas-type residents.  Mayhem ensues.  Think Berke Breathed and Phil Foglio collaborating on Dark Shadows, with all the quirkiness and heart they could muster, and you’ll get the idea.  It was well-written, very well-drawn and funny as all hell.  And since it was an independent series that had nothing to do with superheroes, it’s gone.  As Richard Moore himself says in the final issue, “As one grows older, romantic phrases like ‘labor of love’ begin to seem slightly less important than ‘I’d like to eat tonight’”.

As someone who lost a few grand himself publishing his own indie series, I wholeheartedly sympathize with you, Mr. Moore.  All I can offer are my sincerest thanks and praise for a great series that I will truly miss.  Hopefully, these original, endearing characters — Abbey, Michael, Nessie, Brutus, Glump, etc. — will someday return and your story can have the ending it deserved.  Until then, I urge our readers to discover Boneyard for themselves.  NBM Publishing has collected the entire series in trade paperbacks, reasonably priced for your holiday budget.  You can order them direct from the publisher at www.nbmpublishing.com, or wherever finer comic books are sold.  And if your local store doesn’t stock them, well… that’s why I had to write this melancholy post in the first place.  Shame.

• Added a login balloon at the top of the sidebar
• New improved show notes starting next week

In Progress:

• Image Galleries (They’re sub-par or non existent now, but it’s just a matter of finding the right plugin. Suggestions welcome.)
• About Page (Because apparently you want to know more about us. Your wish is my command.)
• Links Page (So we can show off our buddies and sponsors.)
• Sponsor Information Page (So you want to be a sponsor? This page will eventually tell you how.)

In the Future:

• Contact form – send us your comments via email through the web. We used to have one of these but it started getting Russian spam. Captcha required.
• Twitter integration
• Nicer Post formatting – WordPress seems to mangle post formatting pretty badly, I’m doing the best that I can to fix it, but it’s an uphill battle.
• New improved theme with enhanced usabiliy. (Someday)

That’s about it. Comments, and suggestions are quite welcome, leave them in the comments or contact me directly via kriana (at) scifisaturdaynight.com.

I really don’t know how to react to this news. The complexity of the show is intriguing, but it doesn’t haunt the audience in their dreams. Though the show could have had a ‘monster of the week’ flair it attempts to delve deeper with every character and episode. The weird in between that Whedon flirted with in Firefly is the same strange thing that happened in Dollhouse. There is the potential for a deep and intense story, or a thrilling action ride, but trying to do both ends up not delivering completely on either. The seasons show so much promise, but ultimately fail to deliver on that promise. While my imagination can supply the extra information needed to enjoy this series, I am pretty sure that the majority of Fox’s prime time audience cannot. It comes down to how much the audience must be involved in a show. If the creators expect their audience to think, then no matter how great the show it will ultimately cave to CSI and America’s Next Top Model.

Here’s the question: What is wrong with FOX?

If your answer is selected, you’ll win an art booklet by the beautiful Tracy Lee Quinn.

This will be open until next week’s show! Tune in next week to find out who wins.

We are no longer in any way affiliated with the New England Fan Experience. We hope to see you all at Boston Comicon in April!

Enjoy!

 First, let’s talk about the joke of ratings. In these modern times, there are many ways to ”watch” a TV show. So, when ratings come out that ONLY reflect who was watching a show during its “broadcast”, it is a disingenuous number at best. At worst, it is a hatchet, used to cut a viable entity from the network programming, while suits (I HATE FOX) sanctimoniously hold up a number like a bought off judge in the Winter Olympics.

 Never has this ridiculous standard of measurement been more abused than in this current season. Never mind time shifting on HULU or on the networks’ OWN DAMN WEBSITES! Let’s talk ONLY about DVR shifting that can be measured. Three shows have to be reassessed by their respective networks:

Fringe – ABC      Even though JJ Abrams says confidence is high for the sophomore series, the numbers are dismal until you add in DVR, and then the viewership jumps over 40%. Not too bad considering what it is up against.

 Dollhouse – FOX               Over 55% increase in viewership ONLY with DVR usage added in. God forbid FOX would have the foresight to see what they have. Live viewers only tell a small portion of the total intake. Joss Whedon needs to make the suits understand he can’t have another Firefly happen to him.

 Heroes – NBC    Lets face reality, NBC is getting beat up by Univision in the ratings, and there will, in all probability be a good housecleaning of the suits in brisk order, BUT, when you add in DVR numbers, Heroes viewership increases by 30%. The sooner someone over there smartens up and gets Chuck back on the air, the better off they will all be!

 Other Sci-Fi programs caught in the “Not Watching It When Its Broadcast” dilemma are  Flash Forward and The Big Bang Theory.

 Unless you suits are going to embrace new technology and factor it in when you assess viewership, you are doomed to become less and less of a driver in the entertainment industry. You could very well end up like NBC!

On a happier note, the second episode of V aired last night and I have to honestly tell you, I was impressed on a number of levels.

First, the script, acting and CGI effects were a hoot to watch. I can honestly say I was having a hell of a good time.

Second, The character of the priest and the 4400 references were so damn funny, not to be outdone with the Wash and Firefly references, I love inside jokes and there were a ton of ‘em last night.

Finally, with only two more episodes left to go before the big sleep till spring, I am actually looking forward to seeing what they are going to cliffhang us with. This is a fun ride, so , my hint is, don’t miss it.

 This is Dome, sayin’: Was the address on that warehouse REALLY 4400?

What was the name of the first animated Dr. Shroud story arc?

to win Sky Pirates 1-5 courtesy of Free Lunch Comics!

Free Lunch Comics

Guests:

• Sam Costello (Split Lip)
• Travis Roy (Granite State Skeptics)
• Joe Haley (The Underburbs)

Sponsors:

• Artist: Christopher Gibbs
• Novelist: Dan Graffeo
• Comic: The Underburbs
• Comic: Split Lip

Smallville has a ridiculous Guest Star from “The Wonder Twins” on November 13. Avoid this at all costs.

Fringe keeps getting better and better. From a show where I couldn’t even remember the characters names, it has really grown on me as the conspiracy is slowly unveiled. Their contribution to Sweeps is on November 19 when The Observer is revealed, at least somewhat. Cool stuff.

New England Fan Experience is coming up soon. It’s being held at the Courtyard Marriott in Boston on Nov. 13-15. Sci-Fi Saturday night will be there. Please come by our booth and say hi,. Or for more fun, we are hosting a forum on podcasting. For more info see:

http://www.nefanx.com/

Last, but by no means least, one of our old friends, Chris Golden, has just announced he will be at ComiCon Boston in April 2010. Check out his blog at:

http://christophergolden.blogspot.com/

This is Dome, sayin: Sweeps………………. Maybe Leno will be taken off for a test pattern.

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest! Keep listening — more prizes and giveaways every week!

What phobia do you suffer from if you have an intense fear of Halloween?

will win the Underburbs Trade Paperback, and the ink Scarecrow by Christopher Gibbs.

Good Luck!

What is the real name of Elviria, Mistress of the Dark?

will win Split Lip (Australian Volume 2) and End of the Long Walk (the novel).

There’s no time constraint on this – so if you’ve picked this up late, come and check it out! I’ll update this post when someone wins!

For this very special halloween episode we have TWO trivia prize segments.

The first prize set we’re giving away is Split Lip #2 (thanks Sam!) and “Halloween Night Fever: End of the Long Walk” a novel by Dan Graffeo. Set number two includes the Underburbs trade paperback (thanks to Joe and TJ), and a Christopher Gibbs ink drawing of a halloween scarecrow.

So drop in for your chance to win!

(Pardon our appearace: still working out the galleries!)

Stay tuned, later on today we will announce the prizes for next week.

In 1972, I was unemployed, and would spend the mornings looking for work and afternoons in the local public library. I would wander through the stacks reading to escape the depression of my circumstances. I remember sitting and watching the Fischer-Spassky Chess Matches and being bored. So I went into the books and found The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. I remember clearly pulling the  book off the shelf at 1:13pm and finishing it by the time the library closed that evening. I went home and began to compose a letter to Mr. Dick. In the letter, this ended up being 2 pages, handwritten, both sides, I tried to tell him what reading his book meant to me. There WAS another person who felt the way I did, whose life went from light to darkness and how reading this book had helped me to cope with my current circumstances and move forward. The following morning, the letter sealed in an envelope with stamp affixed, I walked back to the library, trying to find an address to send it to. A fruitless search for hours left me sending it to the publishers, to Mr. Dicks attention, and there it was, so I thought, the circle completed, assured in the knowledge that it would probably never get to him, even if it did, the odds of him reading it were even smaller, and there was no chance he would respond.

Flash forward about a month later. The 6 page typewritten letter appears in my mailbox from Mr. Dick. This became the beginning of a correspondence relationship that continued until his breakdown, 16 months later. The treasured letters are always a part of me.  I read everything of his I could find. When he died I felt robbed. I then found The Secret Ascension by Michael Bishop in1988. The line that resonated in my head was:

“Philip K. Dick is dead, alas. Let’s all get together and kick Gods ass.”

That about covered it for me.

Fast forward one last time to last weekend. I met so many wonderful people but spent almost an hour with the incredibly talented David Mack. X and I talked about his past work and his present series Kabuki (check this series out. It is amazing and beautiful). During the course of the interview I mentioned, “so, what’s coming up for you?”. David then proceeded to tell X and I that he had been working with the estate of Philip K. Dick to converts his collections of short stories into comic book form. The conversation went on for almost an hour and I felt I had made a new friend and ally.

http://www.davidmack.net/

We promised to keep in touch and he will be on the podcast very soon for an hour all about Mr. Dick. David, thank you so much for your time on Sunday and for the project you are about to undertake.

Tonights question:

5 Billion years in the future a mysterious alien who calls The Doctor”Old Friend”, looks  like a face in a jar. What  is it called and for extra geek points, whom is it rumored to be?

It is described by DARPA as a small blob that moves from place to place by a process called Jamming, which allows it to to grow or shrink and roll around (Scully, Mulder, for god’s sake, help us!). A “proof-of-concept prototype is rumored to be able to pass through cracks in a wall and join back together on the other side.

This is Dome sayin’: I’ll be hiding in the closet. I’m not here. Dome, who?

We’ll also be kicking off a new project, so stay tuned.

So come, hang out, chat with us, and enter to win!

Illustrator X is attending The Hack and Gore Exrtavaganza this weekend in Worcester, Ma. His presence will be missed, in a pool of blood. I will be gushing about my latest guilty pleasure comic, and the rest of Our Merry Band of Aliens will join Us in our studio in Area 51.

This is Dome sayin: Hey Balloon Boy! You’re all over Faux Newz.

While network ratings are in freefall, the suggestion I have for them is to keep what’s working and let their audiences grow, but it will take time.

This is Dome, sayin: Who in their right mind is gonna listen to me, anyway?

The fun begins at 8:00pm est!

1. How do I listen to the show?


In order to listen to the show the most critical criteria is that it is 8pm Eastern time on Saturday Night. We are scheduled to broadcast from 8-9pm, so if you log on at 8:15 please still feel free to join us. There are two sites you can visit in order to listen to us live: Talkshoe and UStream. These links will take you directly to our show’s page on each of these sites. Then just follow the onsite directions (if any) to listen in.


If you’ve missed our live broadcast, be patient! Usually 24-48 hours after a show is broadcast, it is posted up on this site embedded in a blog post. To show a list of all past shows (without any of the other blog posts), in the sidebar on the right of this site, find the dialog bubble that says “Categories” and select “Podcast”. This will show a list of all the posts that contain a recording of the show.


2. What’s this Trivia thing? How do I win?


In the middle of the show – around 8:30 – we will have a trivia segment where you can enter to win FABULOUS prizes donated by our sponsors. There will be one question/prize per show. In order to win you must:

• Have a twitter account (sign up for free at Twitter.com
• Your twitter updates must NOT be protected
• After we ask the trivia question: tweet the answer with @sfsn somewhere in the message. For instance, if the answer was “Dalek” you should tweet “@sfsn Dalek!”

The first person who gets the correct answer (who hasn’t won before!) wins the fabulous prize. If you have won, we will announce it on the air, and send you a direct message on twitter asking for your address (in order to send said fabulous prize). If the winner does not send their address within 48 hours of receiving the direct message they forfeit the prize and the runner up will be contacted. (Side Note: Direct messages on twitter are COMPLETELY private, and we won’t share your address with anyone. Promise.)


3. Ok so now I’m Listening and Tweeting, but I want to ask a question!


There are a couple of ways to communicate with us during the show:

• Twitter: It’s not just for trivia! If you tweet something @sfsn, we’ll probably see it.
• Chat: We have an IRC room on moofspeak.net (#scifisaturdaynight). If you have no idea what that means, don’t worry, just chat with us by clicking here (opens a popup).
• Call in: there will be specific points in certain shows where we MAY allow people to call in. If this happens, we will give directions live on the show.

So what’s the best way to talk to us? Chat.


4. I think I’ve got it, but should I bookmark this post?


There’s really no need to save this post, because all of the links included are located for your convenience on the sidebar to the right. Look for the dialog bubbles entitled “How to Listen” and “How to Interact” for quick links to all of the services mentioned in this post.

This is Dome sayin: We know all your moves.

The question is, why? Cute babes, teen angst, brooding Vampire brothers, blood and lust. All the formulaic aspects are here and that is the problem. This is a cookie cutter project, to be found in almost any television executives’ bottom drawer, right next to the bottle of scotch. There is nothing new here nothing, NOTHING. And the bottom line is 13 year old girl will think it’s kewl, and 13 year old boys will stare at all the girls in the cast, because there is as much substance here as fog in the first episode. If this is the best we can do, perhaps the CW should fold, as the WB did, and let’s find something of substance to watch, because this isn’t it. I could give you a run down of the characters and who plays them but they will be doing bit parts on Grays Anatomy as Corpse #2, before the season ends.

This is Dome sayin: Enough already, gimme something I can sink my teeth into!

I came across this story in a random sort of way:

http://news.aol.com/article/mystery-of-easter-island-statues-hats/658339?ncid=bannadusaolp00000003

and was more than a little bemused. While it spread a little light on why they are here, it did give some important and valuable insight on how they were produced. There is nothing else I have ever seen in my life that has made me feel so small in the universe. Granted the article asks more questions than it answers, but where I begin to lose my lunch is when I scroll down to see the comments from the vast unwashed, uneducated, uninformed and uncaring illiterate. The unabashed stupidity is just not to be believed.

We live in a time when the written word seems to mean little, if nothing anymore. We live in a society where blame is more important than cure, where hatred is more valued than peace, where bloodshed is the norm. I have little hope for a future in which division and hatred is the key aspect of daily life. I have no hope for a world in which cultural imperialism takes the place of respect. We, as a planet, have been living under the spectra of global destruction since the 1950’s. Be it the A Bomb, The Cold War, loss of key natural resources, the pollution of our oceans and land, Love Canal or climate change the sword has been at our necks and our stupidity as a society will certainly be its downfall. Check out the comments at the end of this article and be prepared to vomit

This is Dome, sayin’: Duck and Cover.

http://shop.genkiwear.com/Star_Trek_Fragrances_s/91.htm

At first I thought about the possibility of smelling like James T. Kirk and became mildly disgusted. My personal favorite is Pon Farr Perfume for Women (glad they made that distinction for me). This is probably the ultimate gift for the discriminating Trecker, but  somehow reminders me more of the fall of civilization as we know it. Imagine the possibilities, Hulk Anti-Perspirant,  Batman Underoos (damn, already got them) Spiderman Hand Sanitizer and a Nick Fury line of Cigars.

This is Dome, sayin’… a perfect Friday post!

http://granitestateskeptics.org/

They are a small group who refuse to blur this line between reality and never never land, and there is more than enough blurring going on in this, our modern world. This item on their website:

http://exeterufofest.com/

got me to listen to that old podcast still available on this website. There is a fine line between being a skeptic and a luddite and this group is finding that line. The Exeter UFO Fest is a family event and although it is scattered with some “expert” symposia, the children’s chalk drawings of aliens is more fitting for this day. If you wish, take a moment to listen to Betty Hill, with an open mind. Be the skeptic, but listen to her.

I applaud The Granite State Skeptics, and wish them well.

This is Dome sayin’ Klatu, Barada Nikto

Well Cats and kiddies, get ready for the homogenization of Marvel comics as Disney is about to spend 4 BILLION FREAKIN DOLLARS to acquire it. The deal includes the ownership of some 5000 seminal characters, among them The X-Men and Fantastic 4. They will now reside in the same company as Hanna Montana and High School Musical.  Could Hanna fall in love with Ironman. Is it possible that Mickey will show in the new Avengers Movie? A love duo with Namor and Ariel, Bruce Banner and Jasmine or perhaps Magneto and Cruella DeVille?

Here is the real question. Do we, as consumers, want a sanitized version of the cadre of super-heroes we have come to love?

This is Dome, throwing up.

First off is a motorized wheelchair which resembles more o f a 3 wheeled scooter than the conventional style. This chair allows greater mobility and less work from caregivers, and is a huge leap from Dean Kamin’s impressive invention of stair climbing wheelchair.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.496a1714b2e37448f36545d7593e1a02.1c1&show_article=1

Also this week, they unveiled a “Robot Suit” (don’t think Iron Man) which allows easier walking. It’s really analogous to Heinleins Waldoes . Use this as a warning to readers of this blog. We are becoming a Third World Country

This is Dome sayin’….as Ben Bova said “Science Fiction is simply history that hasn’t happened yet”.

Instead of an Anna love note, I am passing along this link:

http://io9.com/5337859/dress-your-favorite-true-blooders-in-their-best-sparkly-thongs

 Discuss among yourselves and enjoy

This is Dome saying: ……………………….Anna..oh god…….Anna.(sorry)

http://www.kittyhell.com/2009/07/24/hello-kitty-pink-stormtrooper/

Enjoy and thanks for the chuckles. Kudos.

Torchwood – Children of Earth: OK, I was so angry at the way last season ended, I cannot even write coherently about it. As much as I despised Owen and loved Tash, taking the time to really flesh them out, give them a poignant back story and make them real and whole, so just to kill them was criminal writing and I could have written the series off at that point. I made a choice to view Children of Earth, and felt a visceral pull, and was once again about to be profoundly disappointed.  After a very pleasing start, by the end of Episode Three you know nothing god is going to happen and without spoiling it beyond that, I will simply say, I do believe I am done with this franchise (oddly, BBC has not yet renewed it….)

The New Improved Younger Doctor Who: who cares?

The Sarah Conner Chronicles & Dollhouse: When shows are thrown into the Friday Death Row, you know just how much the network is going to back them. By puting these shows back to back on Death Row it was a clear indication to everyone that Fox was once again willing not to care, as they did with the constant meddling with Firefly and its abrupt cancellation. After, Joss Weadon swore never to do network television again. Against his own very good advice, He came to FOX (which by the way, sux) with Dollhouse. Fox (you know the mantra by now) coupled it in Death Row with Sarah Conner. While both shows showed fairly weak Nielsons,  when coupled with TVR viewings by young time shifters the total number of viewers was significantly better, one might even go so far as to say respectable. My God, You MORONS AT FOX, they were actually good numbers! So, naturally, Sarah has been cancelled and Dollhouse was in limbo but has been finally picked up. YAY for being half right, Fox (oh, by the way…oh never mind) Interestingly, in an interview Weadon was quoted as musing “if it had been my decision, I might have chosen the other show, not mine” Gotta love the integrity of that man, and we do!

Chuck: In limbo forever, it has finally been renewed. My guilty pleasure will be back so I can see more of Anna Woo.

This is Dome sayin: I’m back, and FOX SUX

Of course, in this Dilbert age, most newspaper comics are squat, stunted creatures who eke out a meager existence between the Lifestyle and Automotive sections.  This is why I’ve been so happy to read Wednesday Comics!  DC has, for the last few weeks, putting out a weekly newspaper with no news whatsoever — just big, big comics!

And I mean BIG.  Each full newspaper page is a single separate ongoing strip.  This is how comic art was meant to be read, on a panoramic scale unknown to all but Alex Ross fans.  Paradoxically, it’s this very format that pretty much guarantees that mint copies will be few and far between.  This is newsprint, people — a disposable format that was never meant to be bagged n’ boarded.  You almost WANT to roll it up and stick it in your back pocket, just for the fun of it. 

Not only is this a great format, but the stories are much better than most of the comics out on the stands right now.  Batman, Superman, Sgt. Rock, etc. — each one gets an out-of-continuity full-page installment that’s enjoyable and easy to follow.  The best by far is Kamandi, telling the Jack Kirby saga by way of Alex Raymond.  Actually, the artist in this case is Ryan Sook.  I admit, I was never a big fan of his work before, but I am just FLOORED by these pages!!  My hat’s off to Sook and the most breathtaking artwork I have seen all year.  I can only hope that this story continues for a long, long time! 

The one exception, I’m afraid, is whoever’s doing Wonder Woman.  This is just unreadable.  Ignoring the IMAX format of the strip, this artist feels compelled to cram the page with teeny-tiny panels in hard-to-read font.  The story itself isn’t even worth it.  It’s a shame, as the figure artwork is pretty good — this guy just needs a few lessons in layouts.

Wednesday Comics has given me another reason to love Wednesdays again…

Until now. 

How they got the rights to it, I don’t know.  But the thought of Marvelman by Marvel Comics makes me physically ill.  One would hope that they will reprint all the Moore & Gaiman issues, and then follow-up by finishing that run with Gaiman’s unpublished scripts.  After all, Gaiman wrote a final ending to it all; he just never had a chance to wrap his run.  This would be the story that fans have been clamoring for years for; a story that would remain in print indefinitely as it’s such a milestone series by the top talents of the field.  Or, Marvel could do a Hulk vs. Marvelman miniseries.  I really want to be optimistic about this, but…

Please, Marvel.  Neil Gaiman — NEIL GAIMAN!!! — has scripts already in the bag to wrap this all up.  Pleasepleaseplease do the smart thing, the financially profitable thing, and USE HIS SCRIPTS!!!!  Because we don’t need another strong guy in tights beating up another strong guy in tights story.

I was annoyed. Why does little Jimmy Kirk have to get beaten up so many times in the first half hour? I will admit that my personal buy in came right after the wide shot of Starbase. The effects were clean and relevant. And thank you Great Bird of The Universe, the script didn’t suck and the score was fantastic.

I have ben thru some interesting times and wanted to give you all a glimpse. For the past few months, I have been recuperating. I am well now and things were looking up, till I totaled my car on my second day back at work. Am back now,,,,,,,and diligently working  to keep you all informed . Thanks to X and Kriana for their posts while I was recuperating.
This is The Dome sayin…..I ain’t dead yet

And I do want to give a shout out to my favorite stores:  Double Midnight, of course, here in good ol’ Manchester NH.  Family-friendly with a large gaming area; good place to drop off your kids on a Saturday afternoon.  There’s the appropriately-titled “Comic Store” in downtown Nashua NH — the largest selection of independent titles in the state, and a huge inventory of movies to boot.  Worcester MA has That’s Entertainment, a vast store with an extremely knowledgeable staff; I’m convinced that the roof is held up through sheer willpower!  Salem MA has Harrison’s Comics & Collectibles, which all comic stores should model themselves after as far as store layout.  And when in Pittsburgh PA, stop by Phantom of the Attic, where Jimmy sold me a copy of Kirby’s FOREVER PEOPLE #1 in great shape for a mere $10.00!  Also in the ‘burgh, at the end of the Strip (ask a local — they’ll know) is the mammoth monstrosity known as Eides.  Three floors — music, esoterica, and in the basement (of course!) comics.  Pure heaven.

According to Gizmodo, 26 new episodes will air on Comedy Central.

Woohoo! The Simpsons can bite my shiny metal… well you know…

For all my praise, I have to admit that the storyarc about Haddo creating a “moonchild” to bring about the apocalypse is scant and somewhat vague.  What child?  How will this ritual work?  I can’t complain about the focus on Nemo’s or Mack the Knife’s stories, but knowing Moore’s fascination with the occult, I was hoping for more detail on the creation of this new magical era.  Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this issue and can’t wait for the next installment!

 In other news, the Ultimatum storyline is wreaking havoc as it takes down the entire Ultimate line of Marvel comics.  While I can’t say I was a fan of all of them, or most of them (alright, I only read Ultimate Spider-Man, but it’s damn good), I must admit that it was a good attempt on Marvel’s part to bring in new readers with comics that were more accessible for today’s audiences.  Brian Michael Bendis has been as prolific a writer as Kirby was an artist, and his run on Ultimate Spider-Man is a highlight of his career.  Good luck with the relaunch, Marvel!

Anyway, back to the blog.  Free Comic Book Day was yesterday, and once again we saw… well, the same old faces we see every year at this event.  Yes, free comics were given away, and (depending on your store) there were sales and promotions and artists doing in-stores and even free pizza.  The storeowners I talked to said that they had done their weekend’s worth of business in a few hours on Saturday.  But who was buying all this stuff?  Regulars.  Most of the people I saw at both stores I visited were old friends and acquaintances.  The whole point of this event is to bring NEW CUSTOMERS into the stores, but this has just turned into a company holiday for comics fans.  Where was the promotion?  Where were the TV crews?  Why didn’t the major newspapers have any articles leading up to this?  Why didn’t the print & TV media have any ads hyping this event? 

For the past week, I’ve been telling everyone I know at work and elsewhere that Free Comic Book Day is coming, and they should really go and check it out — if only to grab some Archies or Owlys for their kids.  Everyone; EVERYONE I talked to about this thought that this was a great idea — are other stores doing this too?  How long has this been going on?  Close to ten years now, I told them, and they shrugged and wondered why they hadn’t heard of this before.  Simple:  it’s because NOBODY BOTHERED TO ADVERTISE THIS PROMOTIONAL EVENT OUTSIDE OF THEIR EXISTING CUSTOMER BASE!!!!  If you want to get people’s attention, you gotta advertise.

Before I wrap, I would like to give a hearty thumbs-up to a new miniseries full of wit and humor, great art and storytelling and is one of those rarities — an all-ages book that can actually be enjoyed by adults.  Yes, I’m talking about The Muppet Show comic by Roger Langridge.  This is such a dead-on funny comic that I can actually hear the characters talking in their voices from the show!  Folks, this is worth it for Statler & Waldorf alone.  I know you think that buying a Muppet Show comic may make you look childish, but you can always hide it under whichever superhero comic you’re reading — you know, the one with muscle guys wearing tight form-fitting spandex, hitting each other in a way that doesn’t look a thing like repressed sexual frustration.  That one.  I’m sorry, am I not being specific enough? 

Just buy the Muppet Show — it’s absolutely amazing.

Second,  As this is my first post back since, may I just say a deep thanks to the fine doctors and nurses at the Lahey Clinic, who did an awesome job

Blah, blah, blah, enough said, whats the major upside and downside of ComicCon this year?
UPSIDE: Any new Sci-Fi  Movie Projects?
Any New Sci-Fi TV Projects???
Any new or emerging Sci-Fi Authors?

DOWNSIDE: SWINE FLUE
Enjoy the empty aisles and wait till next year when the massive water shaotage willl cancel the event.

I know I’ve come into this strip late, and for those of you who’ve been reading this for the past few years I humbly apologize.   But let’s look at “The Ten Doctors”.  First of all, this is one for the fans.  This is one for the fans who know each and every incarnation of the Doctor by heart and revel in their idiosyncracies.  This is a story that involves the first ten Doctors, their companions, their continuities.  This involves the Time Lords and their High Council, and the Hand of Omega.  We see the Master, the Sontarans, the Ice Warriors, Alpha Centauri, and even K9.  And this is less than thirty pages in!!!  In fact, there are nearly three hundred pages to this sprawling epic, and I’m not even halfway finished, but I had to rave about this — it’s just that good!  So good in fact that you don’t really notice that this is all done in pencils and that the whole thing looks like it was drawn up in a high school notebook between gym class and history.  If anything, the art style reminds me of Terry Moore’s work on Paradise Too, another underrated cartoon series deserving of a second chance.  So yeah, the art’s a bit rough, but this guy nails each and every character dead on.  And oh my God is that a great Tom Baker!

I shall be leaving Sci-Fi Saturday Night for a month or so, to recuperate from some medical issues. I beg the indulgence of my readers and hope K and X and pick up some of the slack while I am gone. In the early 90’s, I had the good fortune to interview Betty Hill ( and if you don’t know who she is, look it up) The last words she spoke to me , and it was the last known interview before her death, are the words I leave you with:
This is Dome sayin’,        look to the skies

Japan, defacto world leader in robotics has come out with a new model, Saya2. It is being field tested in classrooms in Japan as well as nursing homes. The robot is capable of 6 basic vocal and facial emotions, surprise, fear, disgust, anger, happiness and sadness, but still requires a human interface to control it. In fact it is really nothing more than an extremely updated version of Disney Anamatronics. Here’s the rub. In the not too distant future, by combining a sophisticated AI/Turing Interface (Look It Up) with this humanlike robotic face(which currently exists) and a humanlike body(in production) is just one step closer to computerized beings. A quick look backward to 1954, shows that Isaac Asimov wrote about that deep division between human and robot beings with the 2 protagonists Lije Bailey and Daneel Olivaw in The Caves of Steel and later in The Naked Sun. By looking back to the keen eyes of 1954’s futurist, it becomes clear that this is a fledgling industry that is about to take over portions of the workforce. No to sound Luddite, but, SkyNet bothers me.

Bad Robot News:

J.J. Abrams Star Trek got its first real good preview before Watchmen on the big screen this weekend. From the strictly fanboy point of view, it rocked, giving everyone in the theater a glimpse at the sets, the characters and the overall pace and cut. From a pragmatic POV, I am hoping against hope that it isn’t a bore-fest. We shall see, soon enough.

Watchmen:

If you go to this movie without ANY prior knowledge of the universe it is set in, you are in trouble, I think. Even knowing what to expect, I came away from the 2:30+ movie with a number of thoughts:

Stunning Visuals and Characters

One of the finest Alternate History Movies ever done

Too much blue penis

Incredible Soundtrack

I grew very uncomfortable with mutant male nudity, or, too much blue penis.

Score: A-

Random TV Update:

Heroes is renewed for a 4^th season, despite lackluster ratings.

Sarah Conner/Dollhouse tandem kicks ass on Friday nights, debunking the graveyard myth.

BattleStar has 3 more awesome episodes and keep off the net if you don’t want to know how it ends.

Dome Sez: Am I getting too old for this? HELL NO

In other nudes, Family Guy will host an animated Star Trek TNG reunion featuring the voices of Patrick Stewart, Levar Burton, Gates McFadden(a personal favorite of mine), Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Wil Wheaton, Denise Crosby and Marina Sirtis. The story takes place at the Vegas Convention (another of my favorites).

This is Dome wondering why my VCR still blinks 12:00

As a quick background, the “Higgs boson” particle is nicknamed The God Particle because its existance explains why matter has mass, beginning at the sub-atomic level. While its existence has been recently theorized, it has never been seen. The process of finding it is by crashing 2 sub-atomic particles into each other and the Higgs, if it indeed exists, emerges from the rubble.

In science research there are always races. This particular race to find the Higgs has been between the European CERN LHC (Large Hadron Collider) and Fermilab Tevatron accelerator. As is the case with most experimental science, serendipity plays a huge role. Fermilab must have been secretly smiling when a freak accident in the CERN system brought it down. At this point Fermilab is working feverishly. LHC is planning on working through the Christmas break (yes, Christmas 2009!) in order to bring their collider back online, and Fermilab is banking on having some quantifiable results right around then.

All this begs the question, what will this tell us about the nature of our universe and how this knowledge brings us closers to an understanding of who we are.

Dome sez – I am both mystified and intrigued by this and will continue to monitor it.

HOUR 1

The Sarah Conner Chronicles – Projected Score B+  Actual Score  SOLID B

What went wrong – The plot is getting muddled and bogged down, having multiple story lines is one thinking. Having them intertwine to the point where you lose track of who is doing what to whom is quite another.  Is Riley such a conniving bitch that she actually faked a suicide attempt just to make John love her more, and Oh gee, what a shock that the crazy rich lady is a killer robot.  Not enough sexy robot goodness, LISTEN TO ME.

What Went Right – Nice Explosions!! Weird but interesting Baby Daddy Sequences.  Summer Glau is so hot, I am willing to forgive anything if she is in more that she was.

dollhouse – Projected Score A   Actual Score A

One of the biggest problems with a premiere episode is that there is a fine line as to how much back-story you want to lay out and how much to keep salting into future episodes. It was a tug of war between Joss Weadon and Fox on this and while Fox, to some extent won, the final product was not as good as it could have been. I have been a Dushku fan since before Buffy, and there are very few women on TV today who can mix smoldering sensuality with kick-ass action the way she does. The 2 scenes she had with Amy Acker were just amazing, and yet did nothing whatsoever to move the plot forward. Thank you Joss, your touch there was masterful. I have some misgivings about the whole FBI thing and how it will work into the mythos, but for now, Excellent Job, despite meddling by Fox exec’s. The final scene of Echo curling up in her crypt, all sweet and innocent, was chilling and a beautiful foreshadow.

Hints – More Amy Acker, please?

BattleStar Galactica – Projected Score A                Actual Score A

God, can this show get any better? Ellen Tigh as the Final Cylon? Masterful! The script is tight and terse, the cinematography is alternately grainy and gritty and bathed in pastels; just brilliantly done.  The actors have reached within themselves and given the viewers such a beautiful show, I will be sad to see it go but happy that it was given the chance to chose its own demise rather than a brutal cancellation mid-season.

Scene that stole the episode – Ellen being helped up by a toaster. A simply stunning moment.

Dome sez – For as long as the network hacks let it be, Friday Night is Geek TV Night

8:00pm Fox  The Sarah Conner Chronicles.           grade B+

 For at least 10 more episodes Fox will carry this, and word is that the endgame of this first season is a shocker. Summer Glau is as beautiful and enigmatic as ever, the violence is over the top and the scripts are more and more complex and engaging. Always a fan of Summer, I am having a lot of fun watching Lena Headey and this seasons new cast member Leven Rambin who plays the traitorous Riley. Good clean explosion apocalyptic fun.

9:00p     Fox         dollhouse            grade  A-

Eliza Dushku and Amy Acker in another Joss Weadon vehicle. If Fox keeps their hands off it, this is the hit if the second season, and that, my friends is the BIG IF. Fox seems to be the network that never learns its lessons. They took perhaps a great show of Weadons, Firefly, and killed it with their uncaring stupidity. Woird is out they are meddlesome boobs once again and Weadon had vowed never to do network TV again, especially after the success of the internet sensation, Dr. Horribles’ Sing Along Blog. Keep yer freakin hands off and let Weadon be Weadon!

10:00pm               SciFi       BattleStar Galactica         grade A

Finally a show where there is a beginning, middle and end. God Help Me, I was listening to Howard Stern the other morning and he was crowing about how wonderful it was that any show and especially this show was allowed to have a proper ending and he, God Help Me again, is right. The acting is better and better, the shows are tight and precise and awesome and I will mourn its death. Thuis show has been a real thrill ride for us fans.

With an aggregate score of A-, Friday night is the best night of Sci Fi, period. Enjoy it while you can. Fox is bound to screw it up.

This is Dome saying…….god , is Amy Acker hot!

http://www.worldsuperheroregistry.com/world_superhero_registry_maine.htm

(cut and paster the url in as autoformating doesnt seem to be working, Kriana!)

Having stumbled across this site and doing more than a bit of crosschecking as to its reality, I have to say with all due respect, I am stunned. The World Superhero Registry is a website devoted to those among us who have taken a great leap into an honest mix of the fantasy of what we all read when we open a comic with the reality of one person making a difference.

I can clearly remember as a child laying on my bed on a hot summer afternoons surrounded with Capt. America, Superman et.al, or perhaps running through the neighborhood backyards with a thin towel for a cape. Laugh all you will (and I am sure you are, X), but we have all been there. At some point, the “Superhero” struck a chord within the collective and individual Us, and in doing so instilled values, and gave us pause about the fate of man, in beautiful colors and full pages of action.

Stan Lee took it one ridiculous step further with his ill-fated Who Wants To Be A Superhero series, attempting to bridge the reality to Fantasy gap, and falling just short of unintentional mockery.

I urge each of you to look at this site with open eyes and know that there are those among us who have somehow bridged this gap and are making a difference. I know this is hard to accept . It was for me, as I was reading it. Think of it this way. Curtis Sliwa created the Gurdian Angels in NYC as a reaction ot the needs of citizens. Is this  a logical progression? Perhaps it is.

I make no claims about the existence of The Fantastic Four or Superman.  I will just say this. The Superheroes listed and talked about on this site are a logical progression of what we all need in our collective psyche.

This is Dome saying, Peace and Love, Peace and Love. Ringo was wrong.

A few days ago, I asked Randy if he liked his comic.  He said that it was his favorite comic-related gift this year (coming from a guy who’s worked in a comic store for at least the last ten years, that says a lot).  However, he also said that it made him feel very sad.  Why?  “Because it’s so great —- this is how comics SHOULD be.  I read any new Spidey comic nowadays, and I realize how much comics have changed for the worse”.  He’s got a point.  Back in the day, you knew that any given Marvel comic would include action, amazing artwork, great characterization, enjoyably basic plots, and the wittiest dialogue that Stan Lee could spout.  Crossovers were usually limited to Thor flying past the SHIELD Helicarrier, or Peter Parker taking photos at an Avengers press conference.  And if the world was going to end, you knew it was because a giant purple guy with a “cosmic wok” had shown up with some bald guy on a flying surfboard — AND IT MADE PERFECT SENSE!!!

Ah hell, before I slide deeper into comic-book depression, let me tell you about a rare back-issue gem:  Godzilla #16, by Marvel Comics.  This is the second half of a storyline involving cowboys — cowboys! — who think it’s a great idea to go lasso and hogtie Godzilla.  You’d think that a story like that would last half a panel, but writer Doug Moench found a way to stretch this epic tale into two parts, giving us a whole subplot about cattle rustlers that has nothing to do with our favorite green lizard stomping the hell out of Tokyo.  Towards the end of this saga… oh, wait:  SPOILER ALERT.  There, happy?  Okay, anyways, the missing cattle has been found and the rustlers have been rustled, but the head bad guy is standing on top of a mesa aiming a high-powered rifle at the head good guy.  At this point, Godzilla sneaks up on him.  Yes, you read that right — GODZILLA,  A FRICKIN’ 400 FOOT GIGANTIC RADIOACTIVE FIRE-BREATHING MONSTER WHO SHAKES THE EARTH WITH HIS EVERY STEP, somehow manages to sneak up behind the bad guy and knock him off the cliff.  Don’t take my word for it; plunk down your quarter and buy the comic just for that scene!  As if this couldn’t get any better/worse, the last line of dialogue is — are you ready?  “Who was that masked lizard?”  Like your head wasn’t about to explode anyways!  Truly a trash gem; buy ten copies and keep your local store in business.

When Dick York was replaced by Dick Sargent on Bewitched, it was because HE HAD FREAKIN DIED!. And it was terrible, but nobody’s fault. While we are on the subject of Dick Sargent, who the hell IS Matt Smith? I already hate him…………. oh crap, you know I’m gonna watch. BUT DAMNIT, I WILL BE PISSED!

For more information on My bile and anger:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/4124591/Doctor-Who-Introducing-Matt-Smith-the-26-year-old-Time-Lord.html

Set in Victorian London ,with the requisite Dickensian overtones, The Doctor takes on one of his perennial foes, The Cybermen, with an added twist, The CyberKing (which to my mind should by all rights have been the CyberQueen). Filled with both action and a solid plot line, the show gave us, at the end, a look to the future of The Doctor. Certainly there will be another companion, the  question remains in what new capacity, because it turns out that The Doctor does indeed have a heart, and in remembrance of Rose Tyler, through the character of Rosita, He is again confronted by His love of Rose and the heart that remains broken at her loss.

Does this foreshadow a return of Rose?. THAT My Friends would be a wonderful Christmas Present indeed.

Happy New Year From The Dome and all of us at SciFiCo