Maybe Vin Diesel should have showed this nice little animated video to the director of his “Babylon A.D.” before Mister Frenchie ran out and started telling everyone without earshot not to go see the movie. Could have been effective, who knows. Anyways, this is a nice little video someone put up on YouTube. I’m sure the guys behind “Babylon A.D.” had something to do with it, because I got an email pointing me to it. Or not.

Stargate: SG1 may have come to an end, in movie or TV form, but don’t worry for the cast, boys and girls. Everyone seems to have found something to do, or should, as you don’t star in a regular TV show for over 10 years and not have plenty of guest starring opportunities on other TV shows. TV just works that way. Once you’ve starred in a show, you’re offered jobs on other shows. Michael Shanks has taken up a number of offers, with a recurring role on the USA Network’s Burn Notice show, where he’ll be playing another burned spy who has to do the bidding of Carla, played by Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer, the same woman who burned the show’s lead, Michael Westen.

Apparently the Brits are scared of Decepticons, which is kind of ironic because I just posted news yesterday that a British actor had been hired to join the cast of “Transformers 2″. But here’s a funny (not in a haha way, but in a, “God, this would be funny if it wasn’t true, and thus, really, really sad” way) story about how an IT guy got hassled by security at London’s Heathrow airport after one of the security people thought his T-shirt, showing “Transformers’” Megatron was too “offensive” to be let on the plane.

What science fiction fan doesn’t know the name Arthur C. Clarke? If you count yourself among that group, then it’s time to bash your head in with a rock, because you don’t deserve to call yourself a sci-fi fan. Unfortunately there is bad news from the world of sci-fi books, as Arthur C. Clarke, author of many classics including “Childhood’s End” in 1953, “The City and The Stars” in 1956, “The Nine Billion Names of God” in 1967, “Rendezvous with Rama” in 1973, “Imperial Earth” in 1975, and “The Songs of Distant Earth” in 1986. His genius wasn’t just limited to books; he also co-wrote the 1968 screenplay for “2001: A Space Odyssey” with director with Stanley Kubrick.

How cool is this? Transformers Zippo lighters! Now my smoking days are well beyond me (thanks, will power!), but I gotta admit, these are pretty damn cool, and if I was a smoking man, I might send for my very own Transformers lighters today. But alas, I don’t smoke anymore, so all I can do is marvel at these very cool and totally geek-tastic lighters. Speaking of which, who is going to buy this, anyway? Fanboys don’t smoke, and adults wouldn’t be caught dead with a “kiddie” lighter. I guess it’s collector’s only.

I always suspected that Darth Vader, the Sith Lord in Black, was more hot air than man of action. After all, when given the opportunity, he failed to kill his son, couldn’t even achieve victory against a bunch of Ewoks, and he totally gaffs it when Emperor Palpatine needed him most. And now our suspicion is proved correct: Darth Vader is full of hot air. See the evidence below.

And you thought you liked “Star Wars”! Well, you don’t like “Star Wars” nearly as much as Rob Foster, who seems to have every “Star Wars” toys ever created, known to man, and who has, quite possibly, single-handedly paid for George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch. Or if he didn’t, he paid for the fencing, that’s for sure.

“Best of” lists are catchy, but when you start getting into the “best of” genre films, it becomes really tricky. The American Film Institute has picked 50 movies that they believe are among the best sci-fi films of all time, and on June 2008, they will narrow it down to 10 and present them on CBS as the Ten Best Sci-Fi Films of all time. But what do YOU think is the best sci-fi movies of all time?

I must admit to having a bit of a warped perspective on William Shatner. You see, every now and then I’ll see Shatner show up on my local TV channel doing advertising for a local law firm. Yes, William Shatner is now doing TV commercials for local law firms. Anyhoo. William Shatner apparently doesn’t think too highly of himself, either. Or at least, his acting.

The guys over at Entertainment Weekly likes making lists, so sooner or later they would stumble across the Top 25 Sci-Fi of the last 25 Years, including movies, TV shows, and other sci-fi moments. As with all lists, this one is pretty arbitrary, and I don’t actually agree with a whole lot of them. For instance, “Galaxy Quest” at #24? I wouldn’t put “Quest” on the list at all; it’s a goofy comedy, not real sci-fi. And Lucas “Star Wars: Clone Wars” at #20? Seriously?