If you saw Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling” and didn’t glance at the credits, I doubt you would know that J. Michael Straczynski, creator of the sci-fi opus Babylon 5, was the screenwriter of that movie. But that’s JMS for ya — the man is an incredibly flexible writer, and he can do anything, from comic books to sci-fi TV to period dramas. But JMS is returning to a familiar world with the announcement that he’s been tapped by Warner Bros. and uber producer Joel Silver to write an updated adaptation of the sci-fi classic movie “Forbidden Planet”. Robbie the Robot, we assume, is giddy over the news.
I’m not the biggest fan of Doctor Who out there, but I have seen an episode here and there, and from what I’ve seen, I’ve liked. The show’s got that strange, British rhythm about it that just screams “this is NOT an American sci-fi show!” It’s kinda nice to see every now and then. But the show has a massive following around the world, and I’m sure this news will hit them hard: David Tennant, the current Doctor Who, will be leaving the show, and making way for a new Doctor. Not really a problem for the show, since the whole Doctor Who character was designed in such a way that replacing current the Doctor with new actors in the same role was always easily achieved, thus Tennant taking over for Christopher Eccleston a few years ago. 
Behold, the wonders of a wooden Keanu Reeves as he plays the role he was born to play — an alien humanoid devoid of personality! Marvel at the crappiness of a totally CGI Gort as he shoots laser beams out of his cyclop eye at attacking fighter jets! Wonder at the inherent fascism of alien beings that threatens to destroy the human race if we don’t conform to their beliefs and pick up our garbage! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, here’s a 5-minute trailer for the upcoming “The Day the Earth Stood Still” remake, which, if nothing else, really brings the point home that environmentalists can be fascist douche bags sometimes.
Apparently Stargate producer Joseph Mallozzi has been hearing the not-so-pleasing rumblings that his new Stargate show, Universe, is little more than an odious attempt by the suits to “young up” their aging franchise. I’ve gone on record calling this a poor attempt at going the youth route (I think I’ve called it Stargate: 90210 in the past), while others have dubbed it Voyager: 90210. I kinda like my own name for it better. But in any case, Stargate producer Joseph Mallozzi would like to assure fans that Universe is not Voyager: 90210. By which I mean, Joseph Mallozzi apparently hasn’t read his own press releases, because if this thing isn’t stinking of Voyager: 90210, I don’t know what does.
Oh, those rascals at The Asylum. If you don’t know who The Asylum are, then you’ve probably never seen one of their rip-off movies like “Transmorphers”, “Snakes on a Train”, “100 Million BC”, or “The Da Vinci Treasure”. Basically, the Asylum’s M.O. is to scan the trades for a big-time Hollywood movie that’s due to come out soon, then rush their own similar-sounding copy into videostore shelves before that big-budget movie to capitalize on the free publicity. You can probably guess what “Transmorphers” and “Snakes on a Train” were trying to crib. The Asylum’s latest is “The Day the Earth Stopped”. Gee, I wonder which soon-to-be-released Hollywood movie this one’s trying to crib?
Will Stargate: Universe be the Star Trek: Voyager of the Stargate universe? Time will tell, although taking into consideration the age of the characters that are currently being cast for the show, I’m getting this sinking feeling they’re going the 
See if the plot for the Sam Raimi-produced TV show Legend of the Seeker sounds familiar: a young, simple country boy who dreams of being something more is sought out by an attractive, mysterious woman who is leading a rebellion against a tyrannical ruler whose very name causes people to shudder in fear; with the help of a crazy old man who lives alone, the boy learns to accept his destiny and embrace his role as savior. Okay, so maybe it doesn’t take a whole lot of imagination to guess that whoever wrote the “Legend of the Seeker” books probably got an itty bitty inspiration from George Lucas’ Star Wars flicks. Except instead of space ships and lightsabers, Legend of the Seeker has horses and swords. Now if only Sam Raimi and the producers can convince Bridget Regan to slip on a gold metal bikini…
With NBC having announced that the new Knight Rider has gotten a full season order, here’s your promotional images for the show’s cast. I know, just a little bit late, but better than never, right? I’m still not a fan of the show quite yet, although I admit that it has some potential, especially with its solidly hot cast. Really, who knew scientists looked as good as Deanna Russo? On TV, anyway. Featuring Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Bruce Davison, Paul Campbell, Yancey Arias, and Smith Cho.
They’re not just plumbers, they’re also ghost hunters! Okay, I have to admit, that premise sold me on the Sci Fi Channel’s Ghost Hunters TV show when it first premiered a few years back. On the show, two plumbers name Jay and Grant go to supposedly haunted locales and try to catch ghosts (well actually, they don’t “catch” them, they pretty much just record them on audio and video recorders and show it to the home owners) with a small team of dedicated flunkies — er, I mean, assistants. It’s a pretty entertaining show, even if, undoubtedly, 90% of the “atmosphere” is manufactured in post. The show proved so popular that it is now launching a second spin-off show, College Edition.
Captain Kirk isn’t happy that Sulu didn’t invite him to his gay wedding, but according to Sulu, he did invite the good Captain, who just didn’t take the time to RSVP the invitation. Who is right, who is wrong, and why do we care? Well for one, it’s interesting if you’re a Trek fan, but not all that relevant to just about every other facet of life. Except for the fact that Sulu aka George Takei is marrying a guy, and Captain Kirk aka William Shatner is pretty miffed that he didn’t get invited, even though ex-Trek castmates of theirs, Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig, were.