If you follow the phenomenon that is the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (and yes, you should), you’ll know that a special two-hour episode aptly named Razor is showing on the Sci Fi Channel next week. Razor focuses on the backstory of the battlestar Pegasus and one Lt. Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen), a young officer linked closely to Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) and essential to events leading up to season three.

I had the pleasure of attending one of the advanced screenings of Razor that Microsoft has so graciously (and so ostentatiously) sponsored, so after sitting through about 12 ads for the Xbox 360, I was presented with two hours of pure, sweet BSG adrenaline. No spoilers here, but if you have any interest in spaceships, guns, women in power and/or gratuitous amounts of Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff), you should check it out when it airs on November 24.

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Last week I showed you my dream 2008 calendar. Since then, I have been trying to decide what to do with myself until January rolls around so I can officially adorn my cubicle with said calendar. Unfortunately, Bionic Woman, despite Michelle Ryan's abs and Katee Sackhoff's early appearances, is doing nothing to help me pass the time. So I decided to count down the days until the premiere of the next show I can't wait to see, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

We've been keeping an eye on this show, and really, can you blame us? What could be better than Lena Headey fighting for the future of humankind?

Wait, I know what's better than that. A little help from Summer Glau certainly can't be worse.

I've found some lovely Sarah Connor eye candy to hang in my cubicle, not to mention a few videos to watch over and over again. This is the poster I'll be hanging up where it might be viewed by other folks in the office. … continue reading

Has anyone ever told you that you look weird exotic?

Do you have any unique facial characteristics?

Are you willing to make sacrifices for the sake of art?

If so, and you live near Burbank, CA, this is your chance to explore strange new worlds — like the set of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie. Open casting call is this Saturday, November 10, 2:30–5 p.m., at 3108 Magnolia Blvd., across from Pinocchio's Restaurant. … continue reading

A brief history lesson before I begin. In the 1950s and 1960s, following the development of the atomic bomb, folks were a tad bit nervous. Atomic bombs are scary things, after all. Boys and their toys, especially powerful boys with powerful toys, tend to make the rest of us a wee bit frightened. Folks had nuclear fallout shelters. (Watch Grease 2 for an example of one good use for such things.) School children were taught to hide under their desks in the event of a nuclear attack, because elementary school desks were apparently made of some kind of nuclear protection device.

As is often the case, science fiction writers saw an opportunity to point out the futility of such weapons by telling the big boys what fools they were being for developing such destructive toys. One movie from 1951 that did just that, and has since become a sci-fi classic, was The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Here's the trailer for those of you who are unfamiliar. … continue reading

What do you get when you cross Moonlighting ...

... with The X-Files ...

... and toss in a Buffy alum?

The Sci Fi Channel hopes the answer is something you're all revved up to watch. It's called Warehouse 13, and it's helmed by none other than my second favorite Buffy writer, Jane Espenson. (Joss Whedon is my favorite, of course.) … continue reading

On Thursday of last week, when international space station commander Peggy Whitson welcomed space shuttle Discovery commander Pamela Melroy on board, the meeting marked the first time ever that two female commanders have hooked up (no, not like that) in space. That's a happy addition to the timeline of women's accomplishments in space.

Sometimes I think I'm the only one who still gets excited about nonfictional shuttle launches. It's amazing to me that the same culture that paid George Lucas to crank out his craptastic Star Wars prequels treats the space program like the nerd in high school who liked math and carried around Isaac Asimov novels. (You know, ignore it most of the time, but when it's having a bad day, tape a “kick me” sign to its back and watch it careen down the hall.)

But I get the fascination with space stories. I grew up with E.T. (which is 25 years old this year!), spent one summer in the '80s watching Space Camp until I wore out the tape, and yes, I, too, forked over the money for tickets to those Star Wars prequels, though that was mostly for Natalie Portman. And I do believe we should celebrate women in space-type entertainment, because they encourage us to dream of possibilities outside of our own experience. Here are a few of my favorites. … continue reading

Torchwood, the hit spin-off of the everlasting British sci-fi series Doctor Who, has a very special episode this week. This Saturday, Torchwood team member, computer whiz and occasional odd-girl out Toshiko Sato has a close encounter of the lesbian kind. Set your DVRs, girls.

Feeling a little lonely and underappreciated, Tosh meets a sassy blond named Mary in, where else? A bar. Mary has a gift and a secret for Tosh, played with consistent awesomeness by Naoko Mori, whom you might not recognize as the actress who played Sarah, Saffy's friend on Absolutely Fabulous. … continue reading

I am not particularly drawn to the paranormal. As I mentioned previously, I had a few issues after my brother tricked me into seeing Poltergeist. And it's not just that I get scared. (Of course, it's partly that I get scared.) It's also that it's just not my thing most of the time. I did watch The Twilight Zone, and I like the occasional campy heaven-and-hell–themed movie (Two of a Kind, Oh God, Switch). And there's The Hunger. But that's not about the vampires.

It seems, however, that my tastes do not reflect the current television lineup. Alessandra Stanley, the New York Times TV reviewer who recently expressed dismay at how insecure the new Jaime Sommers is, notes that this season is paranormal-heavy. I must say I agree with her that it is pretty weird.

She noted that a few of the paranormal shows have been on for a least a couple of years:

The Ghost Whisperer

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I've spent the last several days reviewing the trials and tribulations of a certain group of humans as they trek toward Earth. I think watching Katee Sackhoff calling timeouts in Bionic Woman has made me long for more Starbuck. Well, that and rereading some of Malinda's blogs.

I was a latecomer to the Battlestar Galactica bandwagon and spent most of season 3 catching up on seasons 1 and 2. And now that I've finally caught up with the rest of the BSG world, I'm sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the return of the cylons. OK, to be honest, I'm waiting for the return of three particular cyclons. … continue reading

Don't care about Torchwood? Never visit AfterElton.com? Here's why you might want to give both a try: bad machine's Torchwood recaps, especially the most recent one. Behold these pictures of Cyberwoman:

Whoa. Read on!

I knew I shouldn't have blogged last week about how watching Naomi Watts in The Ring inflicted sweaty night terrors on me. Alas, the things I know aren't good for me, I sometimes love the more. (As I found out when I fell for that bi-curious straight girl in my dorm, and at work, and at school, and yes, I'm still on the subject of things that cause screaming horror.) So when I tried to sleep this weekend, I paid for that blog with visions of this. What is it about bathroom scenes that get to me?

Actually, I am a fan of horror and suspense. I do better when it's in book form, though, because my own imagination, scary as that can be, doesn't leave behind residual flashes of horror when I close my eyes. Since I'm not going to be able to sleep again tonight anyway, and Ace is still fighting Poltergeist flashbacks herself, I thought it might be interesting to hear about those moments from TV and movies that inspired sleepless nights in all of us. Here are my other nominations for truly scary moments, in order of traumas since childhood.

1. V: the original TV miniseries (1983). And by scary, I don't mean the '80s hair and special effects; this alien-invasion thriller is the Cold War–era ancestor of Independence Day.

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After learning of the Sci Fi Channel's Firefly marathon yesterday, I decided I could think of no better way to spend a Friday than by reminding myself how much I like Joss Whedon and the characters he creates.

So I spent the day reacquainting myself with Firefly. The only wrench in this system came when all the episodes had aiered. I was left wanting more. I simply cannot get enough of quirky mechanic Kaylee, cool-as-ice-but-vulnerable consort Inara, weird and wacky River, or tough-as-nails and second-in-command Zoe. And, yeah, the boys aren't bad either.

What I want, ultimately, is a sequel to Serenity, Whedon's big-screen wrap-up to the TV series. Seems Mr. Whedon is not against the idea. Talk of a sequel has been ongoing since the movie was released. And while such talk has cooled, it's never really disappeared entirely. We sci-fi fans don't tend to let go easily. With the new and improved DVD edition scheduled for release in the not-too-distant future, the sequel talk has resurfaced. Comments made by Joss in the newest round of chatter indicate that getting all of his actors back together for such a sequel might prove difficult, based on their current workload. Now, I consider myself a TV-phile, but I can't recall seeing his troops in any starring roles lately. So I decided to check in to see what they've all been up to. … continue reading

A while ago, I blogged about the poster and teaser trailer for Resident Evil: Extinction. I just watched the full theatrical trailer, and I have to say, this movie might kick zombie butt. Rather, Milla Jovovich might (let's just say "will"):

Having sweated through all of the Resident Evil video games, I'll admit I'm compelled by the idea of a biochemical weapon that turns people into zombies. The whole military-industrial complex angle always fascinated me. It seems particularly timely now, but maybe I'm just paranoid.

Anyway, never mind the social commentary: Look at all those zombies! … continue reading