Do You Enjoy Fan Films/Fan Series?
July 28th, 2009
The other day I read at TrekMovie that the first act of the first episode of fan series Starship Farragut: The Animated Episodes is now available online. I think I remember reading about this fan production when it was first announced. I haven’t watched the first act yet but I was impressed with the trailer, although some of the voices had a strange echo sound. Reading the TrekMovie article got me to thinking about fan films, fan series and fan productions in general. How many are really worth watching?
Interested in IDW’s Star Trek (2009) Comics?
June 29th, 2009
Star Trek (2009) just finished its eighth weekend at the box office (and has now made $246.3 million domestically). A sequel has been ordered but won’t hit theaters until Summer 2011 at the earliest. But that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop. There are already tons of memorabilia and collectibles relating to the movie available. A novelization, action figures, trading cards, toys, a soundtrack and more.
Plus, IDW Publishing has a pair of comic miniseries planned that will continue the story of the movie. Are you interested?
Catching Up on Harper’s Island (Again)
June 27th, 2009
With every new episode I find myself more and more engrossed in Harper’s Island. It hasn’t gotten any better and I long ago gave up trying to keep track of who could be the killer and who, by virtue of having an alibi, can’t possibly be responsible for all these grizzly murders. There are only three new episodes left (the eleventh episode, “Splash,” airs tonight at 9PM Eastern on CBS) and only perhaps a half-dozen characters still among the living. Maybe eight at most. I’ve lost track.
Here’s a scene from last week’s episode. It’s a bit of a shocker at the end and will spoil the episode if you haven’t seen it.
Did you catch that? There’s. Someone. On. The. Roof. It’s almost as cliche as the phone call coming from inside the house.
Ronald D. Moore’s Virtuality Airs Tonight on FOX
June 26th, 2009
Tonight on FOX you can watch the two-hour pilot telefilm for Ronald D. Moore’s Virtuality. It runs from 8-10PM Eastern. Originally scheduled for the July 4th weekend, the pilot tells the story of a group of astronauts on a ten-year mission who spend their days immersed in virtual worlds designed to keep them from going insane. Things apparently go very, very wrong and people start dying. Oh, and the entire journey is being filmed as a reality show.
Sounds weird, right?
Stargate: Universe Looking Less and Less Like Stargate
June 7th, 2009
The latest teaser trailer for SCI FI Channel’s upcoming Stargate Universe series makes the show look less like the third installment in the Stargate franchise and more like a Battlestar Galactica wannabe. Which could very easily be the case. The 50-second spot, titled “Survival,” features brief comments from members of the cast, including Robert Carlyle, Ming-Na and Elyse Levesque. Says Lou Diamond Phillips:
These are real stories and real people with real concerns.
We get it, Lou, it’s going to be REAL. Perhaps the most telling comment comes from Brian J. Smith:
“It’s gonna have a different look, it’s gonna have a different feel, it’s gonna be written differently.
In other words, it won’t be anything like Stargate: SG-1 or Stargate: Atlantis.
Let’s Talk About Land of the Lost
June 5th, 2009
Five weeks ago a movie based on a popular television show opened in theaters. It was something of a revamped version of the original show and there were those who weren’t thrilled with its take on beloved characters. That movie was Star Trek (2009). Today another movie based on a popular television show makes its way to the big screen: Land of the Lost. It too has purists up in arms. The television series focused on the Marshall family (Rick, Will and Holly) and was a serious drama. The movie stars Will Ferrell and is a comedy.
But the similarities between the two franchises don’t end with disgruntled fans.
Land of the Lost
Both Star Trek and Land of the Lost were originally broadcast on NBC; Star Trek ran from 1966 to 1969 in prime time and Land of the Lost from 1974 to 1977 on Saturday mornings. Several episodes of Land of the Lost were written by David Gerrold, who also wrote “The Trouble with Tribbles” for Star Trek. Other Star Trek alum involved with Land of the Lost include D.C. Fontana and Walter Koenig.
Like Star Trek, Land of the Lost would spawn a television spin-off decades after going off the air. From 1991 to 1992 a new version aired on ABC in which a new family (the Porters) found themselves stuck in the Land of the Lost. This might be hearsay to some, but I must confess that the 1990s version of Land of the Lost is my favorite.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Cancelled
May 18th, 2009
By now I expect most people have heard the official news that FOX’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is officially, completely, totally and 100% cancelled. FOX announced its 2009-2010 schedule today and the show wasn’t on it. If that wasn’t enough to convince the more hardcore fans, executive producer Josh Friedman has posted a farewell letter to fans at FOX’s website for the show. An excerpt:
And what an audience we found: passionate, intelligent, kind of nuts in a good way. My only complaint about the T:SCC fans is that there aren’t ten million of them. But I prefer to be happy for the ones we had instead of lamenting the ones we didn’t.
[...]
Thanks to a brave and talented cast, a feature crew working on a TV schedule, and everyone else who I could list but won’t because they know who they are. Mostly I’d like to thank those of you who’ve supported us and fought for us and given up hours of your life to watch our show. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about. The watching.
Finally, the futon critic has some quotes from FOX entertainment chief Kevin Reilly about the cancellation:
“‘Terminator’ has completed its run,” FOX entertainment chief Kevin Reilly told reporters in a conference call this morning. “And I think it had a nice little run. It was a good show. It was not [a question of keeping either 'Dollhouse' or 'Terminator']. We did see it tailing off a bit. It had a nice creative core, but ultimately we made the bet on ‘Dollhouse’ for the night. We had some other shows we thought would make a better profile for the night. So that’s it for ‘Terminator.’”
Judging from the response we’ve had here at Lower Decks there are going to be a lot of unhappy people. Our poll asking if Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles should get a third season drew 111 responses (a record!) and 95 of them said yes. Unfortunately for them, it just wasn’t meant to be.
Catching Up on Harper’s Island
May 11th, 2009
I’ve been excited about Harper’s Island since the moment I first heard about it. A murder mystery set on an island with a disturbing past? Sounds brilliant. After watching the latest episodes at CBS.com I’m now up to date and can say with some authority that Harper’s Island isn’t brilliant. I can’t stress that enough. The plot has holes large enough for a ditzy blonde to fall into and be lit on fire.
Still, the show is surprisingly entertaining if watching ditzy blondes fall into holes and be lit on fire is your kind of thing. Here’s a trailer courtesy of CBS.com:
Loading ...
There’s Going to Be a Galactica 1980 Comic Book?
August 23rd, 2009
I love the original Battlestar Galactica. It’s a deep, intense love, a jealous love that initially precluded me watching the “reimagined” version on Syfy (I ultimately did, but sometimes find myself regretting that decision). One thing I don’t love, though, is Galactica 1980. Sure, I’ve seen nine of the ten episodes and actually liked the final episode (“The Return of Starbuck”) but only because there was a marathon on Syfy and I had nothing better to do that day.
But does there really need to be a new “reimagined” comic series based on Galactica 1980? I didn’t even know this series — which begins next month — existed until a few minutes ago when I read a post at io9 about the current popularity of remakes and rehashes and reinterpretations and continuations on television, at the movie theater and in print. I’ll admit that I’m excited about the upcoming miniseries based on Jericho. And I’d pay any price for a comic book continuation of Earth 2.
But Galactica 1980?