Axiom's Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

Well apparently that Johnny Jay guy knows what he is talking about in his Cancellation Watch column as Entertainment Weekly has reported that FOX will renew J.J. Abrams’ Fringe for a third season. The series has struggled all season in the ratings since the network moved it to Thursday nights where it has to compete with powerhouses CSI on CBS and Grey’s Anatomy on ABC and many sources across the internet have listed it as a “bubble” show or endangered for most of the season. John J. Joex, though, has insisted throughout the season that FOX would stick with it, especially seeing how it has improved that network’s numbers on Thursday where it previously had little success. There is no word on whether the show will remain in the Thursday 9 PM EST timeslot next year or whether this was a 13 episode or 22 episode pickup. Still, fans of the show can now put aside their worries that Fringe would not continue beyond its current season.

Once again a James Cameron movie collected multiple Oscars, but this time around not as many as (the incredibly overrated) Titanic and not Best Picture. Avatar lost out to The Hurt Locker in the Best Picture category but did get wins in the Visual Effects, Art Direction, and Cinematography categories. Two other Science Fiction and Fantasy movies took home Oscars last night as well with Star Trek winning the Makeup statue (the first time the franchise has received an award from the Academy) and Up scoring in the Best Animated Film and Best Original Score categories. District 9, which made it to the nominees for Best Picture, got shut out. You can see all of the results from last night’s awards at the Oscar website.  And one night before the Academy Awards, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen took top honors at the Razzies.

Critics may not have been enamored with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (including our own Johnny Jay), but audiences definitely flocked to the theaters to see the latest visual adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic book. The movie scored an estimated $116 million domestically, coming in way ahead of expectations and delivering the highest grossing March weekend on record. In fact, the movie had the highest opening ever for a film released outside of the typical mega-blockbuster months: May, July, and November. When you tack on the $94 million that movie also made outside of the states, it brings its opening total to $210 million which finally managed to knock Avatar out of the Number 1 spot globally (that movie fell from Number 1 domestically several weeks ago). If Johnny Jay’s assumption is correct that Disney wanted to launch a new name-brand fantasy franchise with this movie, then it has definitely gotten off to the right start. Falling this weekend were Avatar which went from Number 4 to 5 despite its Oscar buzz, and The Crazies which went from Number 3 to 6 though that one has managed to recoup its budget with its domestic take so far.  You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Both ABC and NBC announced their Summer schedules and neither included anything of interest to Science Fiction and Fantasy fans. Both of those networks had offered several entries in the genre during the hot months over the last couple of years like Defying Gravity, Merlin, The Listener, and Fear Itself along with several mini-series and burn-off episodes of cancelled shows like Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Kings. However, none of these shows did much to lure viewers to their televisions during the Summer eveings so apparently both networks decided not to bother this year. For fans of the BBC produced Merlin which NBC aired last Summer, Syfy has picked up that show and will begin airing the first season in April followed immediately by the second season. BBC has also commissioned a third season of the series which will eventually make its way stateside as well.

For more Science Fiction and Fantasy related stories from around the Net, check out our reddit.com page The Sci Fi Scroll (where you can also sign up and submit your own stories).

Survivors of the 1980’s will certainly remember one of the first ever computer animated characters Max Headroom who made a splash in that decade as the spokesperson for Coca Cola (actually, the much reviled “New Coke”) and who also had his own talk show.  However, they may or may not remember the short-lived Science Fiction series that featured the character and ran on ABC from 1987-1988.  Based on the British TV movie 20 Minutes into the Future, the series starred Matt Frewer (the real-life actor that the digital character was modeled after) and focused on a dystopian near-future where television dominates the lives of every person (wait isn’t that present day society?) and ratings and shows are monitored on a minute-by-minute basis and can get cancelled within a moments notice (that is today!).  Max Headroom gave us the first attempt to bring cyber-punk to television (and it was actually one of the very few examples of the genre in this medium) and was really ahead of its time and a bit too heady for Prime Time audiences who preferred to tune into Dallas or Dynasty or Matlock.  And it unfortunately disappeared after its initial run with little expose in subsequent years (it was available for online viewing briefly at AOL’s In2TV, but has since been pulled).  Fortunately, the series is finally receiving the DVD treatment it deserves.  Warner Bros. Home Video and Shout! Factory will team up to bring all fourteen episodes of the series to DVD along with special features.  A release date of August 10th of this year has been mentioned, but that’s probably only tentative at best at this point.  Stay tuned to Axiom’s Edge, though, for more updates as additional information becomes available.  And for information on the status of other shows working their way to DVD, visit the TV Shows on DVD site.

Audiences were not too crazy about The Crazies this past weekend as the remake of the George A. Romero classic only eked its way to the Number 3 spot at the Box Office with a tally of just over $16.5 million.  Even though the movie failed take theaters by storm, it still did pretty well considering its modest budget of only $20 million.  Seeing as it nearly recouped that in its first weekend, the movie will already be in the black by next week.  Avatar continued to wane as it dropped to Number 4, pulling in $14 million.  Percy Jackson has demonstrated some staying power as it remained in the Top 5 during its third weekend and earned an additional $9.8 million.  With its international receipts, that movie has earned nearly $140 million total so far vs. a $95 million budget and can be considered a success.  The Wolfman is not so lucky as that one fell down to Number 8 on the charts and has only amassed $120 million worldwide against a $150 million budget.  You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

With the Olympics in full swing last week, the only two Science Fiction and Fantasy shows with new episodes on the Broadcast Networks were Lost and Smallville.  Lost managed to hold fairly steady against both the Olympics and American Idol and pulled a 4.6 rating with nearly 10 million viewers.  The CW’s Smallville also continued to prove defiant on Friday nights as it posted a 1.1 rating and just over 2.5 million viewers, really good numbers for the part time network on a typically low viewership night.  Next week should bring most shows back with new episodes and we will resume the full version of the Rating Results column then.  For more information on the ratings for all shows last week, you can go to TV by the Numbers.

Also, following are some highlights of Science Fiction and Fantasy related stories from our reddit.com page The Sci Fi Scroll (sign up and submit your own stories):

What Will – And Won’t – Be Revealed In Lost’s Final Episodes
io9.com 2/28/2010
With Lost hurtling towards its series finale, the cast and writers of the show appeared at this year’s Paleyfest armed with answers, spoilers and teases – As well as a promise we’re sure they can’t keep. (Read the Full Article)

SyFy Backs CAPRICA Despite Low Ratings
Sci Fi Mafia 2/26/2010
The SyFy network is backing “Caprica” despite low ratings and mixed reviews from BSG fans. According to the network, the “Battlestar Galactica” prequel spin-off series was not expected to have a strong start even though it has a built-in fan base to start. (Read the Full Article)

Batman Breaks Superman’s Sales Record
io9.com 2/26/2010
Just days after the first appearance of Superman set a new world record for the most expensive comic book ever, Batman’s first appearance has sold for even more. (Read the Full Article)

Horror director dares: Watch my scary movie alone, win $10,000
Sci Fi Wire 2/24/2010
Bollywood filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma issued a challenge yesterday to any horror film fan who thinks he or she can’t be scared—a $10,000 reward for anyone who can watch his latest supernatural thriller alone in a theater all the way through the closing credits. (Read the Full Article)

Synthesizer Used to Create the Original “Doctor Who” Theme Up for Sale
Slice of Sci Fi 2/24/2010
Looking for a gift for the “Doctor Who” fan who has everything?  You might want to surf over to E-Bay and put in a bit on the original synthesizer used in the mid 60’s to create one of the world’s most iconic and recognizable theme songs. (Read the Full Article)

FOX Gets Movie Rights to John Twelve Hawks Fourth Realm Book Trilogy
THe Hollywood Reporter 2/24/2010
Fox has picked up the rights to the sci-fi book series known as the Fourth Realm Trilogy, written by reclusive author John Twelve Hawks, and has set “Watchmen” co-writer Alex Tse to adapt. (Read the Full Article)

It looks like excellent actress Katee Sackhoff will move further away from the sci fi roots where she made a name for herself. She has been tagged to headline a new crime-drama pilot for ABC where she plays a female detective who teams with a disgraced ex-cop to clear his name. Sackhoff had already started to veer away from science fiction with her role this season in FOX’s 24, although that series at least has some appeal to genre fans. She of course first came to our attention playing the tough-as-nails Starbuck on Syfy’s re-imaging of Battlestar Galactica and she also had a brief stint as a rogue cyborg on NBC’s reboot of Bionic Woman (and gave us the only reason to tune into that show). It seems like a bit of a waste of her talents for Sackhoff to jump onboard yet another crime drama, but it may be worth checking out just to see if her performance kicks it to the next level.

James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar may have improved its ranking in the Box Office Top 20 this past weekend by moving up from Number 4 to Number 3, but its receipts continue to drop as it only pulled in $16 million over the weekend. It leap-frogged over Percy Jackson and The Wolfman, both of which topped it last weekend but dropped to Numbers 4 and 5 respectively this weekend, but the top two slots went to romantic comedy Valentine’s Day (Number 2) and psychological thriller Shutter Island (Number 1). Expect to see Avatar continue to slide down the charts in the coming weeks, though it will not disappear just yet and it will pick up some steam right after Academy Awards night.  You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Also, following are some highlights of Science Fiction and Fantasy related stories from our reddit.com page The Sci Fi Scroll (sign up and submit your own stories):

5 Reasons Why NBC Might Not Cancel Heroes
io9.com 2/21/2010
Heroes ended its fourth season with dismal ratings and weak reviews, but NBC still might bring the troubled mutant soap opera back for one more year. Here are five reasons why. (Read the Full Article)

The Five Types of Lost Fans
TV.com 2/19/2010
Because Lost attacks drama from so many angles, it has attracted very different audiences. Audiences that, if our hypotheses are correct, can be grouped into five categories. (Read the Full Article)

Geeks Of All Shapes and Sizes, Joss Whedon Wants YOU!
Sci Fi Mafia 2/18/2010
Fan-boys and girls, ladies and gents! Heed the call- Joss Whedon wants YOU. Yes, you read that right. If you are a die-hard fan of the geekverse and have costumed up for San Diego’s geek-centric Comic-Con, Whedon would like an audience with you. (Read the Full Article)

How Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes You A Better Author
io9.com 2/18/2010
If you spent hundreds of hours playing Dungeons & Dragons in your youth, it turns out that time wasn’t wasted. Three successful authors tell Suvudu that D&D gave them the experience points to write decent novels and stories. (Read the Full Article)

Cameron’s idea for the new Spider-Man: Do it like Batman
Sci Fi Wire 2/18/2010
As for what Cameron would like to see in a new, rebooted Spider-Man? “I’d like to seem him reinvented in the same way that Batman got reinvented. … That’s very successful,” he said. (Read the Full Article)

The Secret History of Star Wars: A Critical Look at the Star Wars Screenwriting Process
The Secret History of Star Wars
Much has been made over the lackluster writing in the newer Star Wars films, which earned more than a combined ten “Razzie” nominations and drew countless amounts of media criticisms. After more than a decade since their theatrical initiation, no Blade Runner-like process of re-discovery is in sight, and it is hard to resist comparing this against the original set of films. (Read the Full Article)

Two big ticket genre films did not quite live up to expectations in their Valentine’s weekend openings as neither Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief nor The Wolfman produced blockbuster-style returns at the Box Office. Of course, the movies did not tank either, they just did not quite measure up to the performance the studios most likely expected. The Wolfman slightly edged out Percy Jackson, landing at the Number 2 slot and pulling in an estimated $31.7 million in receipts. With the four day weekend projections and worldwide receipts thrown in, that one is expected to pull in over $50 million with its debut, but it still has quite a ways to go to make up its exorbitant $150 million budget and will likely fall short of that or at best just break even before wrapping up its theatrical run. Percy Jackson was close on The Wolfman’s tail as he hit the Number 3 slot and pulled in an estimated $31.4 million in receipts (overseas number not yet available). That movie, about the prodigy of the Greek Gods, has less distance to go to recoup its budget of $95 million, but its rather reserved opening may cast doubts on whether the film will provide the launching point for a franchise with enough blockbuster oomph to take up the torch that Harry Potter will soon pass. Avatar slipped down to the Number 4 slot domestically this past weekend, but still stayed at Number 1 globally.  You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Did you think that The Sci Fi Channel’s rebranding to Syfy last year was pretty ridiculous? Well, you’re in good company because Time magazine has ranked that little endeavor at Number 3 in its Top 10 Worst Corporate Name Changes. The magazine’s quip on the name change was that the “owners of the popular television network need some serious spelling help” and they did not buy into the network’s claim that they could not own the term “Sci Fi” but that they can own Syfy.

Also, following are some highlights of Science Fiction and Fantasy related stories from our reddit.com page The Sci Fi Scroll (sign up and submit your own stories):

The Complete List Of Sources Avatar’s Accused Of Ripping Off
io9.com 2/11/2010
Avatar finally ended its stretch as America’s #1 movie, but people are continuing to point out sources that James Cameron borrowed from. It’s become a national pastime and io9.com has rounded up 16 sources that Cameron allegedly nabbed. (Read the Full Article)

Lost: What Should We Call the Alternate Reality?
TV.com 2/11/2010
We may not agree on everything, but I like to believe we can at least agree on one thing: We need to figure out a name for Season 6’s storytelling device. (Read the Full Article)

What Might Be Next for Terminator
DeadLine.com 2/11/2010
Now that Pacificor has pulled the Terminator franchise out of bankruptcy, the question becomes: How to wrap up one of the great sci-fi franchises for hardcore fans who feel neither of the last two installments measured up to the first two that James Cameron directed? (Read the Full Article)

FlashForward Gets Three New Showrunners And One Less Episode
Sci Fi Mafia 2/11/2010
ABC has announced that Jessika Borsiczky, Lisa Zwerling, and Timothy J. Lea will share the responsibility of showrunner for the freshman show and the network is reducing the count of episodes to twenty-two. (Read the Full Article)

Stan Lee to Partner with Archie Comics on Super Seven
The Hollywood Reporter 2/10/2010
Andy Heyward’s recently launched A Squared Entertainment and Archie Comics have partnered with Stan Lee for a multimedia comic book property, “Super Seven,” which will feature the comic book icon. (Read the Full Article)

Why Michael Shanks thinks Stargate SG-1 is history
Sci Fi Wire 2/08/2010
It looks like Stargate SG-1 may finally be dead, at least according to star Michael Shanks, who played Dr. Daniel Jackson on the series, which ran for 10 seasons and spurred two DVD movies in 2008 and two Syfy spinoff series. (Read the Full Article)

There Are No Successful Self-Published SF Authors, According To Robert J. Sawyer
io9.com 2/08/2010
The Internet may become sentient in Robert J. Sawyer’s new novel Wake, but there’s one thing it won’t do any time soon, according to Sawyer: Allow you to publish your novel without going through traditional publishers. (Read the Full Article)

After a record-breaking run of seven weeks when Avatar surpassed Titanic as the highest grossing film domestically and worldwide, James Cameron’s sci fi epic finally ceded the top spot at the Box Office to another movie. The romantic drama Dear John pushed Avatar out this week which slipped one notch to Number 2 and earned “only” $23.6 million bringing its domestic total to over $630 million. We actually expected Avatar to get the boot from the Number 1 slot this weekend, but figured that John Travolta’s action flick From Paris with Love would take top honors. That movie only managed to scrape its way to the Number 3 slot, though, with an underwhelming tally of $8 million.  You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Gizmodo’s Rosa Golijan has seen Panelfly’s comic book reader app for Apple’s new iPad tablet computer and believes this will change the way we read comics. The app would be a free download for the iPad and then the user could add comics to the library via in-app purchases. This app is developed specifically for the iPad and is based on the one that Panelfly created for the iPhone. Golijan was impressed with how comics looked with this app and provided some sample images in the article. The comic book industry in general has been in decline and previous attempts at eComics have failed to jump-start sales. Fans may find comics on the larger, more reader-friendly iPad more appealing, though, with this and other eReading devices possibly changing the direction of that industry.

Also, following are some highlights of Science Fiction and Fantasy related stories from our reddit.com page The Sci Fi Scroll (sign up and submit your own stories):

Neil Gaiman Confirms That He’s Written An Upcoming Episode Of Doctor Who
io9.com 2/6/2010
At last addressing the long-bubbling rumor that he would be writing for Doctor Who, award-winning author Neil Gaiman has confirmed that he’s penned an episode for the second season with new Doctor Matt Smith. (Read the Full Article)

Uh-oh—FlashForward loses another show runner
Sci Fi Wire 2/5/2010
You don’t have to have a FlashForward to know this can’t be good news, but the ABC series is facing yet another new show runner in its future. Co-creator and executive producer David Goyer is exiting as show runner of the sci-fi thriller just months after he took over for former show runner Mark Guggenheim. (Read the Full Article)

More Watchmen on the Way
Sci Fi Mafia 2/4/2010
DC’s senior vice president Dan Didio has made an expanded Watchmen universe his very own pet project, and is looking at a new series of comic prequels, sequels and spin-offs, and, possibly more films. (Read the Full Article)

Do You Need To Be A Trekkie To Understand The LOST S6 Premiere? (maybe not, but it will help)
trekmovie.com 2/3/2010
Last night was the highly-anticipated premiere of the sixth and final season of Lost, with the two part episode “LA X”. As usual with the show, it was very mysterious and at times possibly even confusing. But any fan of Star Trek might have had an advantage in trying to figure it all out. (Read the Full Article)

How Reaper would have ended, straight from the creators
Clique Clack 2/3/2010
So, how forthcoming were Michele and Tara in spilling how Reaper would have continued? Very. In fact, the only reason they hadn’t told the world of how things would have gone down on the show was simple: nobody ever asked. (Read the Full Article)

Transformers, Land of the Lost lead Razzies
Hollywood Reporter 2/1/2010
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen made a fortune. Land of the Lost tanked.  Both films are equal earners at the Razzies, though, grabbing seven nominations each (Read the Full Article)

NBC’s withering super-hero series Heroes may be on its last legs (depending on who you believe), but the peacock network is not done with super-hero stories just yet. They have greenlighted a pilot titles The Cape about a former L.A. cop who dons super-hero tights and takes up the identity of “The Cape” in order to clear his name from an attempt to frame him. The series comes from Empire creator Tom Wheeler and will have former Joss Whedon collaborator Gail Berman onboard as producer. We will find out this May whether the pilot will get picked up for series for the coming season (and whether Heroes will remain around to accompany it).

With minimal competition from new and recent releases, Avatar held onto the Number 1 spot at the Box Office for a seventh week in a row. The movie added approximately another $30 million to its tally domestically and should overtake the Titanic this week as the highest grossing movie of all time in the United States (it already has set that record worldwide). Genre entries from the past couple of weeks like Legion, Book of Eli, and The Tooth Fairy have all faded fast and provided little competition to James Cameron’s juggernaut over the week. This coming weekend, the action/thriller movie From Paris With Love, starring John Travolta, just may have a chance at finally unseating Avatar from its throne. If that one misfires, then Percy Jackson & the Olympians and the The Wolfman will give it a go on Valentine’s weekend.  ou can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Also, following are some highlights of Science Fiction and Fantasy related stories from our reddit.com page The Sci Fi Scroll (sign up and submit your own stories):

Questor Revamp Will Be As Robotic As The Original, Says Roddenberry’s Son
i09.com 1/31/2010
Buffy and Angel veteran Tim Minear may be in talks to head a revival of Gene Roddenberry’s The Questor Tapes, but don’t expect it to be a Whedonesque re-do, according to the man responsible for the property, Rod Roddenberry. (Read the Full Article)

Trek’s Quinto calms fears that he’s leaving the franchise
Sci Fi Wire 1/28/2010
Star Trek’s Zachary Quinto is clarifying remarks he made to Wired that he was taking a break from the franchise for two years. (Read the Full Article)

12 Secrets To Being A Super-Prolific Short-Story Writer
io9.com 1/27/2010
For many aspiring science-fiction authors, the first frontier of publication is short fiction. A few stories published in the right markets can launch your career. But it helps if you’re prolific. Here are 12 tips on writing more stories faster. (Read the Full Article)

Grunberg blames NBC for Heroes drop
Digital Spy 1/26/2010
Greg Grunberg has blamed NBC for the recent drop in ratings for Heroes.  Since the series launched in 2006, it has achieved figures as high as 16.97m. However, the latest episode pulled in just 3.93m viewers, representing a new low for the show. (Read the Full Article)

Avatar breaks Titanic worldwide record
Hollywood Reporter 1/25/2010
“Avatar” is the winner and new worldwide boxoffice champion.  After six rounds on the foreign circuit, “Avatar” is now the biggest-grossing film of all time. (Read the Full Article)

Planet of the Apes Reboot Of The Reboot Still In The Works
Sci Fi Mafia 1/25/2010
Back in 2001, Tim Burton rebooted Planet of the Apes and now it seems that the reboot of the reboot may be moving forward. (Read the Full Article)

Way back in 1974, a movie showed up on NBC called The Questor Tapes about a superhuman android that had lapses in his memory and who was searching for his creator to regain those lost memories and to understand his purpose. The movie starred Robert Foxworth as the android Questor and a pre-M*A*S*H Mike Farrell as his human companion, and it was created by Gene Roddenberry (with an assist from Gene L. Coon) as a pilot for a potential series. NBC passed on the series (even though they originally greenlit it ans several scripts were completed) partially because they could not agree with Roddenberry on the direction of the show and partially because they want to drop Mike Farrell’s character. But now the concept may get a second chance. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Television will partner with Roddenberry’s son, Eugene Roddenberry Jr., and Roddenberry Productions to bring the idea back to television as a series. And frequent Joss Whedon collaborator Tim Minear (Angel, Firefly, Dollouse) has been tagged as producer. There is no word at this point on whether they are in talks with any particular broadcast network or cable channel to pick up the series or when production will begin on the project. The Questor Tapes was the third of for failed pilots from Gene Roddenberry that aired during the 70’s; the other three were Genesis II, Planet Earth, and Spectre. We will look at all four of these in more detail here at Axiom’s Edge in the coming weeks.

Avatar’s Box Office receipts are declining (it “only” made around $36 million this past weekend), but it still has a lock on the Number 1 slot for a sixth week in a row. The post-apocalyptic Legion could not unseat the James Cameron movie from its throne, though that one did manage to grab the Number 2 slot (the most movies can hope for these days it seems) and pull in a respectable $18+ million in receipts despite its poor critical reception. Dwayne Johnson’s turn as The Tooth Fairy was not quite so lucky as that movie (also poorly received by critics) only managed to climb to the Number 4 slot in its opening weekend with a draw of around $14.5 million. Avatar is expected to pass The Titanic today as the highest grossing movie of all time if it keeps up its momentum from the weekend which should be a no-brainer.  You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Also, following are some highlights of Science Fiction and Fantasy related stories from our reddit.com page The Sci Fi Scroll (sign up and submit your own stories):

FX to Develop Powers Comic Book as Television Series
Sci Fi Mafia 1/25/2010
Fans of Brian Michael Bendis’ comic book series “Powers” had better hold on to their hats! Not only is the comic book series being adapted into a television series for the FX network, but Bendis is also working on the series with Kevin Falls, the creator of 2007’s sci-fi television series “Journeyman” that was on NBC. (Read the Full Article)

10 Science-Fiction Heroes Who Don’t Need Origin Stories
io9.com 1/22/2010
These days, every science-fiction hero needs to have an origin story — as if they’re all superheroes. But some heroes are actually way better off without cookie-cutter origins. Here are 10 classic scifi heroes whose origins should remain mysterious. (Read the Full Article)

To 3D or not to 3D for Clash of the Titans?
Heat Vision 1/20/2010
Warner Bros. will decide in the next 10 days whether to release Louis Leterrier’s remake of action fantasy “Clash of the Titans” in 3D. (Read the Full Article)

The ‘true story’ of how Dr. King kept Uhura on Star Trek
Sci Fi Wire 1/19/2010
If you’re a Star Trek fan, you’ve no doubt heard the story of how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. persuaded Nichelle Nichols to remain on the original series as Lt. Uhura when she was thinking of leaving after the first season.  Well, we’ve heard it, too, but given that we celebrate Dr. King’s legacy this week, it’s worth repeating (Read the Full Article)

Dr. Horrible 2 has to go now or we’ll lose it for a year
Sci Fi Wire 1/19/2010
After the ultimate cancellation of Fox’s Dollhouse, creator Joss Whedon can focus entirely on a sequel to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, but he’d better do it right quick: Star Neil Patrick Harris tells us that he has a limited amount of time to put on his white lab coat again. (Read the Full Article)

Summit develops ‘Push’ TV series
The Hollywood Reporter 1/19/2010
Summit Entertainment, the upstart film outfit behind the “Twilight” phenom as well as critical fave “The Hurt Locker,” is doing what all clever indies do: “pushing” into TV.  The company is partnering with another indie, E1 Entertainment, to jointly develop and produce a TV series based on Summit’s recent pic “Push.” (Read the Full Article)

Interview with Zack Whedon about Terminator Comic Book Mini-Series
Comic Book Resources 1/18/2010
Whedon’s three-issue “Terminator” miniseries begins in March, shining the spotlight on Kyle Reese, the man destined to sire the savior of humankind. Earlier today, CBR News brought you an interview with artist Andy MacDonald, and we continue our “Terminator” coverage with a discussion with Zack Whedon. (Read the Full Article)

For those of us pining for Bryan Fuller’s dark comedy Pushing Daisies which ABC cancelled last year, there is some good news. Fuller had promised to continue the story in comic book form (a la Jericho) and he has started on the graphic novel. Chi McBride who played irascible private eye Emerson Cod on the show and who has moved on to FOX’s Human Target has seen the first few pages and said: “It was off the hook. It’s really good.” He claims that what he has seen so far has a slightly darker tone than the series but that it should carry over well to comics and that it should “wrap up the continuation of these characters’ lives.” Since Fuller has just started on the project, there is no indication as to when it will be released in the stores.

The Book of Eli and The Lovely Bones finally broke up the Top 3 slots at the Box Office as those two movies bumped Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks from the Number 2 and 3 slots they have held onto for the past three weeks. Neither was strong enough to dethrone Avatar (though Book of Eli did beat it on Friday) which is now at its fifth straight week at Number 1 and is currently positioned to surpass Titanic as the highest grossing movie ever worldwide this coming week. Avatar has topped $1.6 billion globally so far and should overtake Titanic’s total Box Office draw of $1.84 billion either this week or the next.  ou can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Also, following are some highlights of Science Fiction and Fantasy related stories from our reddit.com page The Sci Fi Scroll (sign up and submit your own stories):

Could Joss Whedon be planning a new series with FX?
Sci Fi Wire 1/17/2010
Will Joss Whedon make a new show for cable TV?  That’s the tantalizing hint presented by FX president John Landgraf, speaking with reporters on Sunday and saying that he’s having lunch with Whedon. (Read the Full Article)

MARVEL Announces Next Wave of Greatest Comics For Only One Dollar
Sci Fi Mafia 1/16/2010
Press Release: Marvel is proud to announce the next wave of Marvel’s Greatest Comics imprint, spotlighting Marvel’s most-acclaimed series with new printings for only $1.00! (Read the Full Article)

HBO high on fantasy Game of Thrones
Hollywood Reporter 1/14/2010
Following HBO’s portion of TV Critics Assn.’s winter press tour Thursday, the HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo said the dailies for the pilot look “fantastic” and that the project looks very strong for a series pickup. (Read the Full Article)

Did Lionsgate Just Start A Terminator Bidding War?
io9.com 1/14/2010
Earlier this week, everyone thought the Terminator rights were in the bag for Lionsgate, since no-one else wanted it. But now Sony, Warner, Summit and Legendary are rumored to be readying their own bids. (Read the Full Article)

Put A Hold On The Apocalypse – SUPERNATURAL May Have Another Season
Sci Fi Mafia 1/14/2010
Word from the CW President, Dawn Ostroff, is that Supernatural creator Eric Kripke is “warming to the idea of a sixth season.” (Read the Full Article)

Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, and Alvin and the Chipmunks kept their lock on the top three spots at the Box Office over the weekend allowing Daybreakers to only open at Number 4 with approximately $15 million in receipts. Those numbers may seem anemic compared to the bloated take from movies like Avatar, but since Daybreakers only had a modest budget of $20 million, it is already on track to turn a profit. Meanwhile, Avatar has now moved up to the Number 2 slot among all-time highest grossing movies with over $1.3 billion in receipts so far and appears to have Number 1 in its sites.  You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

NBC has announced that they will pull out of their experiment with running Jay Leno five nights a week in Prime Time which will leave them with five hours of programming to fill pretty quickly. For the current season, that may be a boon for the post-apocalyptic project Day One. That show’s prospects have dwindled previously as it started out planned as a thirteen episode “event” with a chance for continuation, then got downgraded to a four-hour mini-series then more recently got demoted to a two-hour movie. However, if the movie (currently not scheduled) does even slightly well in the ratings, it could receive a quick greenlight to series seeing as the pre-production and preparation is done and it could get rolling pretty quickly. Also, Heroes could benefit from the move when decisions for next season come around. That show’s ratings have fallen to all-time lows this season, and many have considered it a sure-thing for cancellation. However, NBC will probably not want to go into the next season too heavily loaded with new properties and may bring Heroes back for its name recognition factor (which isn’t as high as it once was, but still means something). They have already asked Tim Kring to provide a pitch for a potential fifth season. It’s too early to tell at this point, but Heroes fans and those anticipating the arrival of Day One can only hope for the best from this turn of events (this will help Chuck’s chances of getting a fourth season nod as well).

President Obama stared Lost straight in the eye, and the chief executive blinked! Or the smoke monster paid him a visit. In any case, the hullabaloo over Obama’s State of the Union address preemtping the Lost Season 6 premiere is now moot as the date of the speech has moved to a different night. So apparently even the “most powerful man in the world” won’t take a chance at getting the island mad at him!

Also, following are some highlights of Science Fiction and Fantasy related stories from our reddit.com page The Sci Fi Scroll (sign up and submit your own stories):

Lost: The Next Generation Could Be On Its Way
i09.com 1/10/10
The sixth and final season of Lost begins next month, but ABC may have plans to extend the series beyond its natural conclusion. Unwilling to let one of their most lucrative franchises go, the network is considering a spin-off. (Read the Full Article)

FlashForward will reveal these big secrets when it returns
Sci Fi Wire 1/11/10
We have to wait until March for ABC’s FlashForward to return, but once it does, expect answers to everything. That’s what series co-creator and executive producer David Goyer promises. What’s first? (Read the Full Article)

Will We Like How Lost Ends?
Slice of Sci Fi 1/8/10
As the sixth season of “Lost” gets ready to debut, producers Damon Lindelof and Carleton Cuse say they’ve been looking back on the finales of other high-profile shows with a long-term story arc for inspiration and guidance.  Among them are the endings of “Battlestar Galactica,” “The Shield” and “The Sopranoes.” (Read the Full Article)

Neill Bloomkamp to do Prequel for District 9
Sci Fi Scoop 1/8/10
Amidst all the hullabaloo about District 9 turning out to be the first choice of the critics and also the film being nominated for the Producers Guild Award, it is now official that the film will have a prequel and not a sequel as reported earlier. (Read the Full Article)

Why the vampire film Daybreakers is the anti-Twilight
Sci Fi Wire 1/5/10
If you’ve had it up to your eyeteeth with sparkly swoony teen vampires, then you’re going to love Daybreakers, Ethan Hawke’s upcoming supernatural sci-fi horror movie. (Read the Full Article)

Pierre Morel to direct Dune
Heat Vision 1/4/10
Pierre Morel has signed a deal to direct “Dune,” Paramount’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel. (Read the Full Article)

In its third weekend of release, James Cameron’s mega-blockbuster, CGI extravaganza held onto the Number 1 slot at the Box Office and surpassed $1 billion in gross revenue worldwide. The movie pulled in an estimated $68.3 million domestically over the New Years weekend bringing its total in the States to over $352 million. On top of that, Avatar has excited theater-goers across the globe to the tune of almost $667 million so far. This moves the film to Number 4 among the all-time highest grossing films (passing titles like The Dark Knight and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone this past weekend), and it is still going strong. Currently, the highest grossing film of all time is Titanic, also directed by Cameron, which earned $1.84 billion worldwide. If Avatar keeps up its current pace, it could equal or surpass Cameron’s previous winner before ending its theatrical run. Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks repeated at the Number 2 and 3 slots respectively this last weekend as well, each having a strong second weekend and having pulled in well over $100 million so far across the holiday season.  You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Also, following are some highlights of Science Fiction and Fantasy related stories from our reddit.com page The Sci Fi Scroll (sign up and submit your own stories):

Big Showdown In Store For Heroes
Sci Fi Mafia 1/4/2010
What’s in store for the rest of this Season 4 of NBC’s “Heroes”?  Masi Oka gives us morsels in anticipation of “Heroes” return tonight at 8/7 pm C. (Read the Full Article)

Why Is JJ Abrams Obsessed With Alice in Wonderland?
io9.com 1/3/2010
JJ Abrams and Alice in Wonderland: What’s the connection? Lost is rife with Carroll-isms, and now Fringe is falling down the same rabbit hole. io9.com investigates the Abrams/Alice relationship just in time for Fringe to pick up January 11th. (Read the Full Article)

District 9’s Neill Blomkamp Explains Why He Won’t Make Big Budget Movies
io9.com 1/1/2010
When District 9 director Neill Blomkamp makes his next film, he won’t have a $100 million budget. Instead, he’ll keep making films on the (relative) cheap, because it’s the only way to make science fiction movies with creative freedom. (Read the Full Article)

Goodbye, Doctor Who: David Tennant’s exit interview
Sci Fi Wire 1/1/2009
What could be better than actor David Tennant, Doctor Who’s the Doctor, interviewing the show’s master re-imaginer, Russell T Davies? The two sat down and offered up a fascinating interview on BBC Radio 2 called Who on Who? (Read the Full Article)