Sci Fi Ramblings

By John J. Joex

Today marks the bow of this year’s first genre film (The Devil Inside) with quite a number more coming in the next four months before we then head into the big budget arena that is the Summer Blockbuster Season. The January through April months often have films that are either studio cast-offs or that execs felt had a better chance of success without all the competition of the Summer months. The studios also tend to throw in a few big dollar warm-ups for the Summer season (in fact, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus which was originally scheduled for a March release got called up to the majors and will now bow June 8th) and this year has several of those as well. You can see a comprehensive overview of the genre films coming out over the next four months at our Sci Fi Movie Page, and I will quickly cover the highlights here.

January doesn’t offer too much of interest, though the Twilight Zone-ish The Divide (which is only getting limited release) could be worth a look and I’m curious about Amityville Horror: The Lost Tapes which takes a found footage approach to that aged franchise. Fans of the Underworld series will flock to theaters for the fourth entry in that franchise and a re-imaging of the cult classic The Wicker Man, titled The Wicker Tree (from original director Robin Hardy), will make its way into some theaters in limited release.

February starts to ramp things up, as ex-Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe makes the jump to a more adult-oriented film in the supernatural entry The Woman in Black. Also in February Chronicle bows, which I at first thought was the kick-off to another tween/teen movie franchise with its plot about high school students getting superpowers. But then the trailer suggests they take their abilities and act the way you would expect asshole teens to act. And its found footage format may just give this one an extra boost. Journey 2: Mysterious Island continues on from 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth with Dwayne Johnson taking over the lead from Brendan Fraser. I skipped out on the first film because I thought it was a kiddified version of the Verne classic, but I have since heard good things about it and perhaps that provided the starting point for a franchise that will allow a new generation of movie-goers to experience the wondrous worlds created by Jules Verne. The Ghost Rider sequel coming out in February does not interest me too much, but the Anime take on The Borrowers, The Secret World of Arrietty, may be worth a look.

Things really kick into gear in March with four big name releases. John Carter hopes to kick off a big screen franchise based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs books and the trailers thus far have made it look like a winner. Mirror Mirror is yet another reworking of the Snow White tale, but Julia Roberts has a blast chewing up the scenery in the trailers. Wrath of the Titans is a sequel to 2010’s Clash of the Titans and will hopefully deliver on some of the magic the first film failed to deliver. And then The Hunger Games kicks off another new film franchise, this one based on the young adult novels written by Suzanne Collins. All appearances suggest that this one is shooting for a broader audience than the younger-skewing Twilight and Harry Potter films and it should be worth a look. And I also have to confess to having a soft spot for the upcoming CGI adaptation of Dr. Suess’ The Lorax which will get the month of March started.

After a jam-packed March (which also includes Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, The Raven, and Pirates! Band of Misfits), things slow down considerably in April as far as genre films. But then this month will deliver the long-delayed, Joss Whedon penned film The Cabin in the Woods. Looks like that one gives us a sci fi take on the old theme of teens fleeing from a psycho-killer in the back woods and it could deliver the surprise hit of the season. That month also has French action-director Luc Besson (District B13) bringing us his sci fi thriller Lockout which should at least deliver some popcorn fun. Apart from that, the only other April genre entries currently on the schedule for wide release are another Scary Movie entry and another visit to Oz with the animated Dorothy of Oz.

March definitely provides the biggest feast for genre film fans over the next four months, though each month appears to have at least one or two gems. Then Summer will kick things into high-gear with The Avengers (from director Joss Whedon) premiering on May 4th. You can check out all of the coming early 2012 genre films at our Sci Fi Movie Page as well as a teaser for what to expect in the Summer. And check back in April when we will have the full preview for this year’s Blockbuster Season.

By John J. Joex

There’s plenty of Fall Preview rundowns on the many sci fi/entertainment sites around the web (and we have the full schedule plus premiere dates of this season’s genre shows over at the Sci Fi Scroll site). But only here do you get a preview that also gives you a good idea of whether the series will last past the current season. My Cancellation Watch column is now going into its fourth year, and I will continue to bring you the most updated ratings results (despite how much we revile that system) each week as well as my predictions on the futures of each of the shows currently running. If you want an idea of my track record of predictions, take a look at my wrap up from last season. I don’t have a sophisticated system with complex algorithms and in-depth calculations, but I know how to read the trends and I have seen in the past how network executives react to them, so you can count on my predictions steering you in the right direction (the guys over at TV by the Numbers have a pretty good, more numbers based system with their Renew/Cancel Index that I recommend keeping an eye on as well).  Yesterday, I looked at the cancellation prospects of the new sci fi shows, so today I will be covering the returning ones.  So read on and feel free to scream and shout and holler (in the comments section below) if I have one of your favorite shows gets pegged as a casualty for the current season.  (Links below are to the official sites for each of the shows.)

My Cancellation Alert statuses are as follows: Low, Moderate, Medium, Elevated, High

Being Human (Syfy, Returns at Midseason) – Syfy’s adaptation of the series about a vampire, werewolf, and ghost that just want to be human did okay in the ratings in its first season, but not spectacular. But then it fits that network’s “sci fi-lite” template and it can’t be too expensive to produce. If it maintain the same numbers as last season, it should be safe. But if it drops off, Syfy can be just as quick to pull the plug on a show as the broadcast networks.
Cancellation Alert: Moderate

Chuck (NBC, Returns October 21) – Don’t fool yourselves, this geek-favorite spy fi series got the axe last season. NBC just gave it a slightly extended lease on life with a thirteen episode final season. So fans should enjoy its last remaining episodes and also appreciate the fact the peacock network gave it a chance to wrap up all its storylines with a final run.
Cancellation Alert: N/A

Fringe (FOX, Returns September 23) – This show has given us fringe science, parallel worlds, a war between universes and when it returns for its fourth season, we find out what a world where Peter Bishop never existed looks like. And fortunately they have a full season to unfold that story as FOX gave the series a full twenty two episodes, but don’t expect much beyond that, because I have a feeling this might be the show’s final year. FOX claims they were happy with Fringe’s Friday night ratings last season, but those numbers were pretty low for a scripted series that surely isn’t too cheap to make. And the fourth season renewal the show did get last year came most likely because its production company wanted to get it to the 88 episodes necessary to make it attractive as a syndication package. It will have that after the season is completed, so FOX has no incentive to keep it going if its numbers stay low or even stay relatively flat with last year. So let’s hope they make the most of this season, because I don’t see much beyond it.
Cancellation Alert: Elevated

Game of Thrones (HBO, Returns at Midseason) – This series which adapts George R.R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice books did good enough in the ratings last year and continued to grow its numbers as the season progressed. Expect that trend to continue and fans should also take comfort in HBO’s statement that the series would continue as long as Martin keeps writing.
Cancellation Alert: Low

Nikita (CW, Returns September 23) – This spy fi series was one of the CW’s lowest rated shows last year, and that’s saying a lot for the fifth place network. But they kept it around because they are the fifth place network and I guess they saw some potential for it (or just did not have much confidence in the pilots they had to choose from in May). And remember, this one pulled pretty low numbers even though it had their hit The Vampire Diaries as its lead-in. Now it moves to Friday nights (though Smallville did well in this slot last season) and goes up against similarly-themed Chuck. Nikita will have to show a turnaround in its numbers pretty quick, otherwise it could be gone by midseason.  But then again, this is the fifth place network . . .
Cancellation Alert: Medium

Sanctuary (Syfy, Returns October 7) – Now entering its fourth season, this show about monster hunters—make that “abnormal” hunter—may be on the verging of bowing out. It slipped in the ratings last season, then took a dive with Syfy’s ill-advised scheduling decision to move it to Monday nights. They’re putting it back on Fridays this season, where it previously performed better and which suggest they have not completely given up on it. But then they did only give it a thirteen episode order vs. Season 3’s twenty. Basically, the show needs to reverse the downward trend it saw on Fridays the first part of last season if it wants to stick around.  On the other hand, this plus one more season will get it real close to that magical 88 episode count . . .
Cancellation Alert: Medium

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network, Returns September 16) – The animated continuation of the adventures of Anakin Skywalker before he became Darth Vader still delivers strong numbers for the Cartoon Network, so expect this one to stick around through this, its fourth season, and beyond. George Luca claims that he has at least 100 episodes planned for this one, and he will hit that number about the middle of next season. But you know if this is still turning a profit (and it’s currently raking in the bucks on merchandising alone), he’ll keep it going well beyond that.
Cancelation Alert: Low

Supernatural (CW, Returns September 23) – For the first time in two season, this series about supernatural hunters Sam and Dean Winchester does not kick off with claims that this will be its last season. Apparently the CW decided to give up on that line and plan on trying to break Smallville‘s ten season record. A lot of people were happy with Season 5 and 6, but I thought both fell short of the highpoint the series achieved in Season 4. But viewers are still tuning in and the CW likes the show’s Friday night results, so count it as a mainstay until the producers beg them to let it end (which series creator Eric Kripke already did) or the network tires of it.
Cancellation Alert: Low

The Walking Dead (AMC, Returns October 16) – This adaptation of the beloved zombie comic book was last season’s biggest genre hit, outpacing even the network sci fi entries in the ratings. There’s been a lot of chatter and anxiety over AMC’s behind the scenes moves the past few months, though, with the dismissal of Frank Darabont and the budget cuts. But new showrunner Glen Mazzara insists it will still be business as usual and that they will stick to Darabont’s vision. As long as the quality stays close to what we saw in the first season, this one should be safe. I’m thinking it would take a serious change in the show’s direction, or AMC turning hostile toward it, to see it really falter at this point.
Cancellation Alert: Low

The Vampire Diaries (CW, Returns September 15) – As I said yesterday, this is the CW’s biggest hit in years and it should be safe for another season. However, the tween audience that first tuned in when the show debuted two seasons ago has aged and many have probably lost interest. Still the show did target a broader audience base last season, so that should help. I wonder about this one’s staying power, though. But I don’t think that will become a factor until next season at the earliest.

Also See Our Cancellation Watch Preview of the New Science Fiction and Fantasy Shows

By John J. Joex

There’s plenty of Fall Preview rundowns on the many sci fi/entertainment sites around the web (and we have the full schedule plus premiere dates of this season’s genre shows over at the Sci Fi Scroll site). But only here do you get a preview that also gives you a good idea of whether the series will last past the current season. My Cancellation Watch column is now going into its fourth year, and I will continue to bring you the most updated ratings results (despite how much we revile that system) each week as well as my predictions on the futures of each of the shows currently running. If you want an idea of my track record of predictions, take a look at my wrap up from last season. I don’t have a sophisticated system with complex algorithms and in-depth calculations, but I know how to read the trends and I have seen in the past how network executives react to them, so you can count on my predictions steering you in the right direction (the guys over at TV by the Numbers have a pretty good, more numbers based system with their Renew/Cancel Index that I recommend keeping an eye on as well).  Here  I will take a look at the new shows and for my predictions on the returning shows, go to this link.

As far as the new shows go, this season I have to admit there are a few that I consider to be a complete toss-up (more on that below). So going in, I’ll grudgingly concede the possibility that I might miss on a couple more than I have the previous seasons (where I haven’t missed too many). But it’s not going to stop me from making my predictions and standing by them, so read on and feel free to scream and shout and holler (in the comments section below) if I have one of your favorite shows gets pegged as a casualty for the current season.

My Cancellation Alert statuses are as follows: Low, Moderate, Medium, Elevated, High

Fall 2011 New Science Fiction and Fantasy Shows:

Alcatraz (FOX, Premieres at Midseason) – Former prisoners from the infamous Alcatraz long thought dead begin to reappear and carry on their criminal streaks. A group is brought in to investigate (including Lost’s Jorge Garcia) and they are startled to learn about the secret, mysterious history of the prison.

This is another J.J. Abrams product and looks like it will be pretty arc-heavy and possibly pretty dark as well. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m not certain if the typical Prime Time viewer will be willing to invest in this one.
Cancellation Alert: Medium

The American Horror Story (FX, Premieres October 5) – Glee creator Ryan Murphy brings us this “psycho-sexual thriller” about a family moving into a creepy mansion in Los Angeles (not really the usual locale for a gothic tale, though). The early buzz suggests this one is angling for a Twin Peaks-style horror tale and that could work in its favor or quickly sink it.

This is one of the new series I lump into the toss-up category. FX is not really known for its scripted original genre shows, so it’s hard to say how committed they will be to it. The show has generated some early buzz, though, and could actually turn into a dark horse breakout for this season.
Cancellation Alert: Moderate

A Gifted Man (CBS, Premieres September 23)
A brilliant surgeon gets some help from beyond when his deceased wife appears to him and begins teaching him the meaning of life.

This one is definitely reaching out to the audience that used to tune into The Ghost Whisperer on Friday nights and it has a chance if they decide jump onboard. Despite the genre cluster-frak that is Friday nights this season, this one shoots for a less sci fi-oriented audience and won’t really compete with the viewers who tune into Chuck or Nikita, the shows which share its 8 PM EST timeslot. But if it falters and doesn’t grab the Ghost Whisperer crowd, expect CBS to give up the ghost pretty quickly.
Cancellation Alert: Medium

Grimm (NBC, Premieres October 21) – In this new series from the peacock network with an incredibly original concept, Sam and Dean Winchester—er, make that Nick Burkhardt—finds out that he is a Hunter—I’m sorry, a “Grimm”—one of a group of people who hunt down supernatural creatures that threaten normal people. Wait, am I experiencing déjà vu? Was there a change in the Matrix?

I usually don’t go higher than Elevated when assigning a pre-season Cancellation Alert status, but the writing is on the wall for this one. It’s concept is too familiar, it hasn’t achieved much advance buzz, it bows on Friday night (when was the last time a new genre show broadcast networks succeeded on that night), every other network is cramming their genre shows onto Friday nights, and it’s up against Supernatural (the series it borrows heavily from) and Fringe. I can only say that the future of this one looks grim . . .
Cancellation Alert: High

Once Upon a Time (ABC, Premieres Sunday October 23) – Storybook characters living in the modern world but not knowing their origins discover that the Evil Queen has frozen the fairytale world in time and they have to stop her . . . say what?!?!

I’m sorry, I just don’t get a good feel for this. Sure it comes from two Lost veterans (Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis), but does this really sound like the type of thing that your typical prime time viewer would tune in for? And are genre fans really anticipating this show’s debut?  Maybe its 8 PM Sunday timeslot indicates ABC is going for more of a family show, and/or maybe this will be one of those quirky, dark horse shows that takes us all by surprise. But I’m not putting a lot of money on it. The early trailers just make it look like an over-the-top, (bad) camp-fest.
Cancellation Alert: Elevated

Person of Interest (CBS, Premieres Thursday September 22) – Lost’s Michael Emerson plays a software genius who has created a pattern recognition program that can predict criminal activity before it happens. He then teams with an ex-CIA agent played by Jim Caviezel to prevent these would-be crimes.

Yet another new J.J. Abrams entry and yet another that I consider to be a toss-up. This one would seem a shoe-in for success seeing as CBS is giving it the plum CSI slot. But then the eye network has been notoriously ungracious toward genre shows the last few years (assuming this one really counts as a genre series which I’m thinking it will), and if it does not return CSI-like ratings early on it could be in trouble. Remember that they cancelled Eleventh Hour, which flirted with genre elements, a few years back and that show ended the season in the top 25.
Cancellation Alert: Moderate

The Secret Circle (CW, Premieres Thursday September 15) – A teenage girl moves to a small Northwestern town to live with her grandmother after her mother dies in an accident, and while there the girl discovers that she and several others in the town are witches. And if this sounds like Vampire Diaries with Wicca, then you’re not too far off because it comes from L.J. Smith who also penned that book series and it has Kevin Williamson as its producer.

Vampire Diaries is the CW ‘s biggest hit of the last few years and this one looks to replicate that success seeing as The Secret Circle follows a similar template and has the hit show as its lead-in. I’d say there’s a pretty good chance that Vampire Diaries viewers will stick around for this one.
Cancellation Alert: Low

Terra Nova (FOX, Premieres Monday September 26) – The world of the future is dying from overcrowding and overdevelopment. So a group of people decide to go back into the past, to the age of dinosaurs no less, to build a new civilization and a new hope for the human race.

Yet another one in the toss-up category. You would think that with Steven Spielberg’s name attached to this one the network execs would basically give it a free ride, and that just may be true. But it’s pretty expensive (they already cut it to only 13 eps to keep costs down), and we have seen several high-profile genre flops over the past few years. This one will definitely debut with big numbers because of the advance buzz. But if it does a FlashForward / The Event style drop-off in the Nielsens, Spielberg’s name may not be enough to save it.
Cancellation Alert: Moderate

New Midseason shows not yet on the schedule: Awake (NBC), The River (ABC), Touch (FOX)

Also See Our Cancellation Watch Preview of the Returning Science Fiction and Fantasy Shows

By John J. Joex

So the Summer Blockbuster season is now over and I have to admit it was a pretty good one, delivering some strong contenders like X-Men: First Class, Captain America, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Super 8, Thor and more. But with the coming of the Labor Day weekend each year, the flash and spectacle of the Summer movie season dies down as we get a few months of more somber cinematic fare (as well as the cast-offs that the studios just want to crank through the theaters before their DVD release). Then, starting in November, the brief holiday blockbuster season looms as several big-budget films try to lure into the theaters those people taking time off at the end of the year. Amidst all of this, you always have a few gems and more than a few misfires and duds. You can see the full list of the science fiction and fantasy films coming out from September through December at this link. But I thought I would take this opportunity to look at some that I definitely consider worthwhile or that will probably be generating some significant buzz as their debuts get closer. I have these listed here in order of their release dates.

Apollo 18 (Opens September 2nd) – This found footage film of the (fictional) concealed Apollo 18 mission to the Moon has been on the schedule at several different times this year, but finally now gets its bow on the big screen. Call it Blair Witch on the Moon, but I think it definitely looks worthwhile based on its intriguing premise and the creepy trailers I have seen so far. Should provide a refreshing change of pace from the mega-dollar blockbusters from the past four months.

Contagion (Opens September 9th) – Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow star in this film about a deadly virus that kills within days and quickly begins to spread throughout the world. Personally, I’m a sucker for movies like these and it looks like they may do a better job with the concept than 1995’s Outbreak, which was still a decent (if flawed) movie.

Tucker & Dale vs Evil (Opens September 27th in Limited Release) – This movie takes aim at the backwoods killer sub-genre of horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Two guys head up to their mountain cabin but get mistaken for killer rednecks and things only go downhill from there. The film has Tyler Labine (Reaper) and Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Dollhouse) teaming up, so if nothing else it’s worth seeing for that alone! And the trailer looks absolutely hilarious.

Real Steel (Opens October 7th) – Hugh Jackman does Rock’em Sock’em Robots in this odd Fall entry about the near future where robots are now pounding on each other in the ring instead of humans. I’m kind of on the fence on this one, but it does have Jackman and it is based on a Richard Matheson story (though I hear director Shawn Levy has taken plenty of liberties with it). Might be good fun.

The Thing (Opens October 9th) – This one acts as a prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 classic film and the script was penned by Ronald Moore. But can it really add anything to what Carpenter already did? I’d say I’m more on the fence with this one than Real Steel.

In Time (Opens October 28th) – The director of science fiction classic Gattaca brings us what looks like another good genre entry. It takes place in a future dystopia where time is money, literally, and sounds like it might have some similarities to Logan’s Run. But I’m guessing that Niccol will not give us a derivative genre film and will deliver a much more intelligent film than that campy, but fun, 1976 film adaptation of Logan’s Run.

The Immortals (Opens November 11th) – I’m not quite certain about this film that brings the Greek Gods to the big screen. I’m hoping, though, that maybe it will fulfill the promise that last year’s Clash of the Titans remake fell short on.

Melancholia (Opens November 11th in Limited Release) – Dubbed as a “psychological disaster movie”, this film gives us the tale of people dealing with the impending collision of the planet Melancholia into Earth. It’s an art-house film which is an odd mix with sci fi, but it teams up Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man) and Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood) with Kiefer Sutherland (24) and it is helmed by controversial Danish director Lars von Trier. It won’t hit many theaters Stateside, but if it comes near me I just might check I out.

The Adventures of Tintin (Opens December 23rd) – When’s the last time that Steven Spielberg directed a good genre film? War of the Worlds? No. Minority Report? Nope. Jurassic Park? Not a chance. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? Maybe. And that one was over twenty years ago. Still this motion-capture (another knock against it), action-adventure film that brings the world renowned comic character (though not well known in the states) to the big screen may at least be worth a look. Can’t be worse than his War of the Worlds. Can it?

The Darkest Hour (Opens December 25th) – The premise of this one makes it sound like Skyline set in Moscow. But then that actually has me intrigued. May be a late sci fi sleeper for the year.

MTV’s Death Valley gets the Fall season off to an early start as it debuts at 10:30 PM tonight. This mockumentary series done in the style of Reno 911 follows the UTF (Undead Task Force) of LAPD as they deal with a rash of vampires, werewolves, and zombies that have overrun San Fernando Valley (you can see the trailer at this link). Sounds like it could be good fun and could add another notch in MTV’s belt of viable genre entries (after their previous success with this past Summer’s Teen Wolf).

Then beginning in late September, the Fall season will kick into high gear with new shows like Terra Nova, The Secret Circle, Grimm, Person of Interest, and Once Upon a Time as well as returning series like Fringe, The Walking Dead, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, and more. We have pulled together the full schedule of Fall shows, along with their premiere dates, over at the Sci Fi Scroll blog page. Click here to see what’s currently on the schedule and when they will have their Fall debuts. And keep an eye out for Johnny Jay’s Cancellation Watch Fall Preview, which will be hitting this site soon.

Fall 2011 Science Fiction and Fantasy Television Schedule and Premiere Dates

The Summer Blockbuster Season is just about over, but there’s still four more months of the year to fill up seats in the theaters.   And the studios still have quite a number of science fiction and fantasy entries on the slate hoping to lure you to the Box Office.  Traditionally, the months of September and October have the cast-offs that the studios just want to crank through the theater circuit before they move on to their DVD releases or that they felt could not quite compete with the mega-blockbusters of Summer.  But not all of the movies coming out during those two months are fodder.  Among the promising entries coming out in September and October, we have Apollo 18, Contagion, The Thing, and In Time.  Then once November arrives, we have the shortened holiday blockbuster season which sees more than a few big-budget flicks hitting the theaters.  Among the selections during those months for this year we have The Immortals, the Sherlock Holmes and Mission: Impossible sequels, and Steven Spielberg’s Adventures of Tintin.  And we have pulled together the full slate of all the science fiction and fantasy films (as well as several that should interest genre fans) over at our Sci Fi Movie Preview Page.  So click on over there and peruse the upcoming offerings so that you can mark your calendars for the movies you will definitely want to see over the next four months.

Fall/Winter 2011 Sci Fi Movie Preview Page

By Sam Christopher

The new Previews came out this past Wednesday and it is full of comics goodness, such as…

Dark Horse brings back the story of a vampire-with-a-soul and his hot, friendly Slayer in Angel and Faith #1 (page 20). The end of the IDW run of Angel was too ugly to look at so it’s nice to see his appearance in Buffy Season 8 pay off here. There’s also a little more for the Whedon fan in all of us as Dollhouse: Epitaphs #2 (page 40) hits us as well. The DCU is rife with mischief as the aftermath of War of the Green Lanterns (pp. 62-64) coincides with the end of the Flashpoint stable of books (pp. 66-83). Flashpoint and Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for the Swamp Thing #3 (pg. 84) point toward DC’s future while DC Retroactive (pp. 88-93) revisits its past. Also ending in this Previews are Joe Straczynski’s Superman and Wonder Woman stories, “Grounded” and “Odyssey” respectively. Image offers The Infinite #1 (pg. 166), a Robert Kirkman/Rob Liefeld creation which looks good here. Further into the Comics Section, we find that Dynamite has Kevin Smith and Phil Hester and artist Jonathan Lau for The Bionic Man #1 (pg. 262).

The Books and Magazines Section has its usual neat stuff in it but the gem here is the Kirby: King of Comic HC (pg. 348) for $12.99. Magnificent book for an incredible price! The Apparel Section was pretty good, with Halloween costumes and such. The Toys and Models Section had some excellent stuff, though. The Shadow 1/6-Scale Figure (pg. 378) is fantastic, as is the Return of the Living Dead: Tarman Deluxe Action Figure (pg. 384). The Iron Maiden: Eddie “The Final Frontier” Action Figure (pg. 386) is a great reminder of that great album, while all the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer stuff on page 390 is great for everyone who loved that classic Christmas tale. And, of course, there’s no way we can leave this section without mentioning the Thor Modern Museum Statue and the Nova Modern Mini-Bust (pg. 404) which are both fantastic. In the Import Section, my favorite thing would have to be the Hammer: Christopher Lee as Dracula Mini-Bust on Page 416.

The Collectibles and Novelties Section has a couple of majorly cool things, most notably the Marvel Covers Lamps-In-A-Box on page 427, with Captain America, Iron Man and Thor. There’s also the Thor’s Hammer Pewter Keyring and the Captain America’s Shield Pewter Keyring, both on page 429, and the Drew Struzan: The Walking Dead Poster on page 430. The Games Section offers Bazinga! The Big Bang Theory Party Game on page 440 and a bunch of other stuff which looks interesting but I’ve never really played, although I have heard a lot of good things about Steve Jackson’s Munchkin games (pp 446-447) and I have played Heroclix. Just not sure I care at all about the video game Clix on page 448.

By John J. Joex

There was once a time when the Summer months offered nothing more than reruns and cast-off shows as far as television viewing is concerned. And while there’s still a fair amount of that, the cable channels have come to realize this is a great time to syphon off viewers from the broadcast networks and have begun to offer more and more in the way of scripted programming. And sci fi fans have definitely benefited from this as it has delivered Summer staples like Eureka and True Blood and also given us a few short-lived gems like Defying Gravity. And as the current season has all but wrapped up and we’re mostly done with looking ahead to next season’s schedule, it’s time to take a quick look at what the hot months have to offer as far as Science Fiction and Fantasy viewing.  We have put together a full preview of the Summer sci fi offerings at our Sci Fi TV Page, but I thought I would take a few minutes to mull over what we have to look forward to.

One of the first things you may notice with the list of upcoming shows is the lack of any entries from the broadcast networks. But I would assume those nets have decided to shy away from genre entries because of the string of ratings slouchers from the past few years including The Listener, Persons Unknown, Defying Gravity, and The Gates. But the cable networks are happy to pick up the slack, even if that means more returning shows than new offerings. Among the list of returning shows, we see such steady performers as True Blood, Futurama, Eureka, and Warehouse 13.

Among the new offerings, TNT’s Falling Skies looks he most promising. This is an alien invasion series executive produced by Steven Spielberg, and looks like it could be the sleeper hit of the Summer. Syfy’s Alphas sounds a lot like a Heroes knockoff and seems like another of the “sci fi lite” shows that have become that network’s trademark. I’ll tune in for an episode or two, but I don’t have high hopes for this one. Of even less interest to me is the entry from ABC Family, The Nine Lives of Chloe King, which sounds like another teen angst drenched quasi-genre show (more Kyle XY than Buffy).  And speaking of Buffy, MTV’s Teen Wolf (which leads off the Summer season with its premiere this Saturday) promises to be more like that show than the movie it takes its name from, so maybe it will be worth a look.  And I was never a huge fan of Voltron back in the 80′s, so the reboot, Voltron Force, does not excite me too much but I will sample an episode or two.

One other show that is kind of new to American audiences is Torchwood which jumps from the BBC to Starz, and is a continuation of the British series, not a remake like Syfy’s Being Human. This Doctor Who spinoff delivered some good episodes in its British incarnation and will hopefully keep up the same level of quality now that it has American producers at the helm. However, they have promised more action, more sfx, and more sex in the new season, so I’m hoping the show does not completely lose touch with the intelligent and off-beat stories that became its trademark while across the waters.

You can peruse through all of the Summer offerings at our Preview Page. And be sure to check back on a regular basis because the schedule could Change and or new entries could be added.

By John J. Joex

The upfronts are over and the schedules from the broadcast networks for the upcoming season are now set (but not in stone because plenty of changes can happen between now and Fall). Below is the schedule as it currently stands which includes a few marginal entries because they may not have much in the way of genre elements (like A Gifted Man on CBS) or they have stars or producers of interest to genre fans (like Ringer starring Sarah Michelle Gellar or J.J. Abrams’ Person of Interest with Michael Emerson). Currently there are eighteen shows on the schedule or slotted for midseason (that’s excluding two of the three mentioned above) which is about the same as last year, and Syfy has not announced which new shows it will unveil in the Fall, so more could be added.

Looking at this schedule, there’s a glaring trend that jumps out. Because Smallville and Supernatural did well for The CW on Friday nights this season and because Fringe was allegedly a success for FOX on that night, the networks have decided to cram as many shows as possible into Friday. If you count A Gifted Man as a genre show, that’s seven programs that will air from in the 8 PM and 9 PM (Eastern time zone) slots! A quick look shows that Nikita will probably be the loser in the 8 PM hour as CBS shows just tend to pull more viewers and diehard Chuck fans will certainly follow that show with its move to Fridays. And ultimately A Gifted Man could get cancelled as well even if it wins its timeslot (which it almost certainly will) because CBS sets higher standards for its shows and tends to look for some pretty large ratings returns to earn a renewal (remember that they cancelled Top 25 show The Eleventh Hour a couple of seasons ago). And at the 9 PM, NBC’s Grimm is a certain goner, squashed between Fringe on FOX and Supernatural on The CW. I know networks have had some success with genre shows on Fridays, but these moves seem rather excessive and sure to doom several shows before the season even begins.

I will be looking at more of these shows in detail and analyzing their chances for success next season as wells as taking a final look at the cancelled shows from this season in several upcoming posts, but wanted to go ahead and get the schedule out there now. Watch for more on this topic in the coming week.  And to read the official synopsis of each of the new shows (and see some of the trailers) go to this link.

2011-12 Season Schedule for Genre Shows:

Sunday
8:00-9:00 PM Once Upon a Time (ABC – New Series)
10:00 PM – 11:00 PM Game of Thrones* (HBO – Returning Series, 2012)
10:00 PM – 11:00 PM The Walking Dead* (AMC – Returning Series)

Monday
8:00-9:00 PM Terra Nova (FOX – New Series)
9:00-10:00 PM Alcatraz (FOX – New Midseason Series)
9:00-10:00 PM Sanctuary* (Syfy – Returning Series)
10:00 PM – 11:00 PM Being Human* (Syfy – Returning Series)

Tuesday
9:00-10:00 PM Ringer** (CW – New Series)

Wednesday
No Genre Shows Scheduled

Thursday
8:00-9:00 PM The Vampire Diaries (CW – Returning Series)
9:00-10:00 PM Person of Interest** (CBS – New Series)
9:00-10:00 PM The Secret Circle (CW – New Series)

Friday
8:00-9:00 PM A Gifted Man* (CBS – New Series)
8:00-9:00 PM Nikita (CW – Returning Series, New Night)
8:00-9:00 PM Chuck (NBC – Returning Series, New Night)
8:00-8:30 PM Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network – Returning Series)
9:00-10:00 PM Supernatural (CW – Returning Series)
9:00-10:00 PM Fringe (FOX – Returning Series)
9:00-10:00 PM Grimm (NBC – New Series)

Midseason shows not scheduled yet: Awake (NBC – New Series), The River (ABC – New Series).

2010-11 cancelled/ending shows: No Ordinary Family (ABC – Cancelled), V (ABC – Cancelled), Medium (CBS – Cancelled), Smallville (CW – Final Season), Human Target (FOX – Cancelled), The Cape (NBC – Cancelled), The Event (NBC – Cancelled), Undercovers (NBC – Cancelled), Caprica (Syfy – Cancelled), Stargate: Universe (Syfy Cancelled)

*Night and time indicated for these series are tentative.
**These shows contain only marginal genre elements and/or include actors and/or producers that will interest sci fi fans.

Things get kicked off today with the release of Marvel’s latest epic Thor (which has scored well with the critics so far pulling a cumulative 81% Fresh Rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website). But this is just the beginning with plenty more big name movies and big name people coming up among the Science Fiction and Fantasy films on the schedule.

Following is a glimpse of the films scheduled to hit this month and you can read more about these and the rest of the Summer’s movies (and vote on which ones you want to see) at our Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview Page.

Priest – May 13th

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – May 20th

Kung Fu Panda 2 – May 27th

See the Full Summer Schedule at out Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview Page