Hi-Sci-Fi

This image was uploaded with the post Whedon’s “Dollhouse” Taking a Break.

by Irma Arkus

Dollhouse, the newest Whedon’s production, has halted shooting for now, and is planned to return at end of September.

Fans who are eagerly awaiting the show are a little worried that this means that Fox is up to their old tricks, recalibrating the show to “appeal to a larger audience” or “appeal to greater amount of advertisers.”

Either way, there are fears that the changes will defer from the show’s promise - to allow Whedon a great deal of freedom to produce highest quality program he can think of.

Meanwhile, take a peek at the trailer for Dollhouse.

This image was uploaded with the post TV Review: Fringe.

by Irma Arkus

One of the more exciting offerings of fall 2008 TV is the new J.J. Abrams show “Fringe.” It daringly dips into the sci-fi territory. Moreover, it critically approaches our contemporary concerns, as new technologies are increasingly invented in private labs, further complicated by industrial military complex consisting of privately owned companies. The best bit is a response of an FBI agent who explains, and I paraphrase: These days my clearance is superceded by some private company. Exasperated, the agent points to a painful truth - so many things are copyrighted, licensed, outsourced, that it is hard to manouver the currents of investigations.

Pitying the FBI agents set aside, the show brings forth some welcome new faces, including Anna Torv as Olivia Dunham, whom you won’t recognize unless you’ve been consuming as much UK TV as I have. And even if you have watched “Mistresses,” Torv brings out something different on screen this time around. A confident, beautiful but understatedly so, Torv exudes confidence of a contempoary heroine, an aspect of TV I have been sincerely craving.

She is not uber-lip-glossed, or confused, or wearing astoundingly high heels. She works for a living, and it’s the serious kind - which is why I love it!

Science fiction aspects are there too. Not to get swept away by wardrobe choices, but the pilot episode does exactly as promised - offers us a glimpse at fringes of science. From a plane that arrives full of dissolved passengers, a la The Rock style - all virus, all deadly, all hungry for soft tissue, Dunham (Anna Torv) investigates who brought it on board and why?

Her investigation leads her to fringe scientists who slowly unravel a more complicated schema that has conspiracy written all over it. Both the guys “upstairs” and the industrial conglomerates who seem to have as many secrets to match their seemingly unlimited funds, are in some kind of web of lies and conspiracies that will take entire seasons to unravel.

To help her in her immediate quest, namely to save her dying lover and partner, Dunham turns to an unlikely source of assistance - an imprisoned Harvard scientist Dr. Walter Bishop, who sat last 30 years in a room staring at walls. To help Dunham is freedom, which is why Bishop is willing to let her in his vast vault of secrets. Their collaboration is very much dependent on Bishop’s son, Peter, played by Joshua Jackson, who allows for that extra lubrigous interaction between the crazy-but-geniuous dad and great agent Dunham in her quest to get to the truth.

X-File-ish you think? Yes. Fringe very much depends on old fans of the X-Files to awaken with new hunger for distinguishing between real science, fake science, real conspiracies, and imagined ones. That, and science! And what is better than science? Nothing. So, get watching, because the Fringe show is simply put, cool.

This image was uploaded with the post Doctor Who and The Silver Screen.

by Irma Arkus

Steven Moffat, the next “it” guy of the Doctor Who universe, is not only replacing the great Russell T. Davies, but promises to bring Doctor Who onto the large screen.

Moffat currently plans two film-length features, one of which is eyed for a theatre release. The films would star David Tennant as Doctor Who, of course.

This image was uploaded with the post Joss Whedon’s *Dollhouse*.

by Irma Arkus

Dollhouse is the latest Whedon creation, and a highly anticipated show by millions of fans who have been left on hold for the last few years. After the wrap-up of Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Serenity, the only thing left with Whedon’s hands in it was Buffy comic book, and a failed screenplay for Wonderwoman. Now he’s back with Dollhouse.

Starring Eliza Dushku, the series is centered on lives of subjects who are reprogrammed to assume identities and functions required for variety of missions. There is a great deal of confusion in whether these are artificial beings, or just people who have had some cybernetic work “done.” In fact, the shadowy origins of the characters make up a great deal of the plotline itself, as the subjects slowly gain self-awareness through the process.

Dushku is the primary focus of the program, stretching her acting abilities to full extent. She is the wanton hotbod, a la Alias, who is to delight us, a la Quantum Leap, or even better yet, Pretender.

Whedon’s Dollhouse is a dip into Blade Runner, an homage to a predicted new world order. Just like Whedon, JJ Abrams’ Fringe, deals with aftermaths of privatized science experiments kept behind the corporate curtains.

Interestingly enough, the comparisons flying between JJ Abrams’ “Fringe,” and that of Whedon’s “Dollhouse” have been mostly dismissed by insiders, as well as themselves, as JJ Abrams explained that he too, is but a Whedon fan.

Another pertinent question is Fox. Rupert Murdoch network known for its tug-and-pull history with Whedon, may be the most curiuos choice for Whedon’s next project. Let’s face it, we’ve all been anticipated for Whedon to be adopted by a different, perhaps more interesting network. After all, as we speak, protests are lining up in front of Fox News network, with accusations of racism. Buffy + racism = odd choice.

Yet, Whedon assures us that this is all working out, somehow. He recently confirmed that yes, Fox is a curious home full of crazy people, but the people are different then the ones he dealt with before.

This also may provide an explanation for the current remarkable efforts by Whedon, to promote the show. It seems that, unlike in the past, this time around Whedon isn’t leaving anything to chance, having a far greater involvement with marketing of the show.

Whedon’s plan is to use the power of the net - not only is he to release the pilot, but will create a series of approximately 12 (number to be confirmed) prequel episodes to be widely distributed online.

Meanwhile, Whedon’s side project, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” an online-musical featuring Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion is striking all the right chords by reintroducing Whedon to both old and new audiences. Harris, a beloved youth icon, and a great comedic talent, plays an incompetent, yet likeable villain. Fillion, on the other hand is Captain Hammer, a dreamy, yet mildly annoying superhero.

I was always of the opinion that “the more Whedon the better,” and thus far my wish is coming along.

For Dollhouse trailer see HERE

This image was uploaded with the post Next Dr. Who? Speculations A Plenty.

by Irma Arkus

We have kissed goodbye so many, one would think that by now we’d be used to it, and still the feeling that the most infuriating thing in the world is to see one of your favorite Dr. Who perish persists.

The agony of awaiting someone, or something, to fill David Tennant’s shoes is turning the fourth season (and may I add, the best season of Dr. Who) into a nail-biting finale. One involving Rose, and Torchwood, and just about every familiar face in the franchise. And all of it culminates with a crescendo - David Tenant gone, and according to rumours, Rose dead.

But who can replace David Tennant? Let’s face it, after three worthwhile seasons, we have gained a true science fiction icon in David Tennant. And not just any icon, but a fan of Dr. Who who, after a lifelong grooming, grew into one of the most memorable incarnations of a beloved character.

We might not know until beginning of the next season, but speculations are abundant. In the world of bookies, following are bets placed on the next face of Dr. Who:

- Robert Carlyle
- Jason Statham
- Alan Davies
- James Nesbitt
- John Simm
- Julian Walsh
- Daniel Radcliffe
- Nigel Harman
- Catherine Tate
- Billie Piper

Yes. You can smell the confusion, the desperation and the sadness even amongst the bookies.

This image was uploaded with the post Battlestar Galactica: Caprica.

by Irma Arkus

Now that the fourth and final season of BSG is coming to a close (noooooooo!) I am at end of my wits. Let’s face it, BSG and I, we had some special moments. And now that the slow dance is almost over, I am kind of confused, looking either to hide in a shadowy corner and cry myself to tears, or snag a different dance partner and hit the floor again.

This is what they wanted all along. They seduce us, show us their irresistible bits, and then once we’re hooked, we need more. Which is where, I guess, Caprica comes into play.

Caprica is uniformely described as “BSG Dune.” Promised to be a major space-soap. A dynastic sci-fi saga, set across majestic Twelve Colonies. Somehow, this insight into the past of BSG will allow us to see the development of cybernetics and AI that will result in Cylon Wars, and intermittent peace prior to what I call “Number Six” period.

At heart of Caprica lies a feud of two families. One which is known for its Adama men: military strategists and legal wizards. While we get a glimpse of the corporate activities, many of which are illegal, experimenting with robotics, cybernetics and AI primarily owned and funded by Graystone family; we also get to see Adamas fighting the Graystones in court.

Althought this is somehow supposed to replace the “greatest show on TV to ever grace our small screens,” a saying I uniformely utter every time BSG comes up in conversation, there is an eerie similarity of the basic plot to a) every day news and b) JJ Abrams’ “Fringe.”

I understand that the two are seemingly as far removed from one another as possible, but hear me out. Both are concerned with new technologies, corporate corruption and consequences of corporate activities done behind closed doors. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been whining about getting to watch this kind of show for a while, but the only way I can see Moore pull this one off is if he gives us the TWELVE COLONIES in their full glory - if we truly get to see something that isn’t Earth as we know it.

Saying that, the SciFi channel in US has been less than keen on funding Caprica. There is nuanced conversation on whether Caprica will have a story arc with an embellished film-for-TV pilot, like the one that graced the beginning of BSG, or if Caprica will be an episodic show only, pending for its survival on less than spectacular viewership.

I cannot believe that I can almost hear cancellation rings without even seeing the show. Which brings us to whos who of Caprica. Thus far, the tapped talent is as following: Esai Morales, whom you might remember as “that handsome Latino dude” from Jericho; Eric Stolz, another handsome, mildly creepy, yet excellent actor who was “the child of the Fly” of The Fly II, or asshole angel Simon of The Prophecy; Polly Walker, who was the unforgettable supermom/Machiaveli, Atia of the Julii in Rome; Paula Malcomson of legendary Deadwood; and many Vancouverites…

Overall, casting not bad. Better question though: what is Katie Sackhoff going to star in, and am I going to be watching it?

This image was uploaded with the post Moonlight: Update on Cancellation.

by Irma Arkus

CBS’s Moonlight, a vampire detective/romance drama has been cancelled, causing irate fans to unite in their effort to bring the show “back from the dead,” so to speak.

Cancellation of Moonlight, a show that was off to a rocky start only to end up in that “Bermuda Romance Triangle,” in which the protagonist played by Alex O’Loughlin is a vampire detective who is falling for a journalist, came as a bit of a shock. Mostly because despite the paper-thin plot, the characters were still likeable enough to capture attention of audience.

And they have. Alex O’Loughlin, a no-name face from Australia, was voted in one of those “sexy men” polls by TV Guide, meaning that women have been paying attention and watching the show.

But then we go back to the ratings, and CBS is attempting to get the numbers back, something that cannot be managed with ratings that Moonlight provides.

This does not deter the fans to picket the fences at CBS, and petition the network to resurrect the show. Unlike New Amsterdam, a show that I have, for some reason, immensely disliked, Moonlight actually grew on me, as I endedup liking it more than I expected.

An alternative is for a second network to house the show. SciFi Channel has been petitioned to look into whether they can adopt this stray. This may sound far fetched, but not entirely impossible.

Either way, we can all agree that there are too many detectives, and not enough vampires on the small screen.

This image was uploaded with the post The Amazing Italian Spiderman!.

by Irma Arkus

While Spiderman has been reincarnated in multiple cultures, none has turned out so delicious as the Italian Spiderman!

Made by Alrugo production house, a humble team of students who shot the short film in a single day, the Italian Spiderman melds Spaghetti Western, classic Bond movies and exploitation films, all mixed to produce a low-budget cacophony of ultra-hilarity and cool.

Who is Spiderman? Who is the Italian hero behind the mask? A plumper, older version of Peter Parker, donning a hefty moustache and a home-made spider t-shirt. He hesitates not from handling guns, spiders, and other arsenal when defeating his many enemies. His machismo oozes across the screen, as he fights the terror of snake-eyed luchadore, terrifying goblin, and the ladies…yes, the ladies.

Find Italian Spiderman premier here, and get some more of my new favorite hero here.

OH BOY MORE TRAILERS!!! I apologize, but I can’t help it. Really…. Anyways, as some of you might know, the 12th Kamen Rider series, Kamen Rider Riyuki, is set to have an American adaption done by Steve Wang, the guy behind those awesome Guyver movies. It is going to be called Kamen Rider Dragon, and is supposed to be airing sometime in the next month or two on Cartoon Network in the US. of course this has been met with some terpidation and cries of NOOOOO and WHYYYYYYY by many fans of the genre known as tokusatsu, of which Power Rangers is probably the best known example of here in North Americaland. However, with the release of the trailer, which can be seen HERE , reaction to the original announcement is turning into a HOLY CRAP YES! Instead of going with the traditional inane overly moralist kiddy fair that Power Rangers is, this is looking like a far more darker series with cool bikes, cool fights, cool cgi, cool ladies, and cool evil generals in super cool government conspiracies. Sure, there is a touch of cliche to it, and yes, they are totally going to be shilling out the toys and gadgets at your local mega toystore, but damn does this look like a lot of fun and I am pretty sure that once you see the trailer you will agree.

When we last saw Venture Bros., Doctor Girlfriend was busy telling Monarch something important that she was… but we never got to hear. All we got was the Monarch’s shreik of “What!” as the second season of one of the coolest cartoons to ever come our way left us on the edge of an almighty cliffhanger. Now they are teasing us more. The teaser trailer for season 3 was rolled out at the New York Comic Con this week and it has been put online in all its streamable/downloadable/watchable glory. Needless to say I am pumped, and needless to say you better click HERE and make way for the homo superior!

This image was uploaded with the post RE-MAKE ALERT: Ghost in the Shell.

by Irma Arkus

Another remake (ugh!) has been announced. On the heel of recent announcement of Akira rights purchased for a live remake, Dreamworks announced it acquired the rights to “Ghost in the Shell,” with Stephen Spielberg helming the project.

Spielberg is, apparently, a great fan of the animated film, and the intention is to remake “Ghost in the Shell” as a live-action, 3D film. Jamie Moss is attached to the project as screenwriter, whereas Avi Arad and Ari Arad are producing the project.

Masamune Shirow’s “Kōkaku Kidōtai,” known as Ghost in the Shell by North American audiences, is considered a cult-classic, combining Japanese Manga with new, cyberpunk motifs. Shirow published his Manga in 1989, which later translated into a series of 3 animated films: Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Solid State Society (2006).

Loosely translates as “Mobile Armored Riot Police”, the storyline of “Kōkaku Kidōtai” takes place in technologically developed future and concerns covert police operatives investigating new types of cyber-crimes. Shirows remarkable stories are similar to those of great cyberpunk authors such as Neil Stephenson and William Gibson, as they address the changing nature of humanity in a manufactured landscape, exploring philosophical questions of very identity of humanness.