Giant Freakin Robot

With only about a month until it hits theaters, Pacific Rim is probably one of the biggest question marks of the summer movie-going season. Yes, the movie features giant mechs called Jaegers battling giant sea monsters, but will that be enough to bring in hordes of people this July? Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are hoping so, and with a new international TV spot it looks like the movie just might be the giant spectacle we’re waiting for this summer.

Although the U.K. TV spot doesn’t reveal anything new, it features more footage of drift space, the process of syncing together humans with Jaegers so they can battle the monsters called Kaiju. There’s also an emphasis on Idris Elba’s character (who has one of the coolest names in science fiction), Stacker Pentecost, as he leads his troops into battle.

We have an uneven love for Hugo-nominated science fiction author John Scalzi here at GFR. I love love love Scalzi’s Old Man’s War, and would easily classify it as one of the best science fiction novels I’ve ever read. However, publisher Josh Tyler was not a fan of one of Scalzi’s most recent works, the amusingly titled Redshirts. But while Redshirts may have left a bad taste in the boss’ mouth, Scalzi has recently returned to the Old Man’s War universe with a serialized e-book entitled The Human Division, which was collected and released as a whole a few weeks back. Now Tor.com has some extra goodies for Scalzi fans: two new Human Division short stories you can download for free.

You’ll have to sign up for a Tor.com registration, but once that’s out of the way you’ll be able to download “After the Coup” and the uniquely titled “Halfte Sorvalh Eats a Churro and Speaks to the Youth of Today.” They’ve got it available in several formats, including PDF, .epub, and .mobi.

The Human Division follows up on the events of The Last Colony, which was itself the third volume of Scalzi’s Old Man’s War saga. You can pick up the hardcover right here, and check out a synopsis for The Human Division below. And while we’re at it, you should totally be reading Scalzi’s blog.

Well, this is one of those stories where I had to double check the byline to make sure it didn’t include the words “the Onion.” It seems that a new book collecting essays about Doctor Who has called the show “thunderously racist.” Why? Because there hasn’t yet been an Asian or black actor in the role of the Doctor, and, according to Digital Spy, the book claims the Doctor is “dismissive” of his black companions.

The book in question bears the ominous title of Doctor Who and Race, so we probably shouldn’t be surprised. The “thunderously racist” comment comes from the book’s editor, Lindy Orthia. The essays also pan the show for “outdated attitudes” and for portraying primitive cultures as “savages.” (Wait, are we sure this book wasn’t written by Q?)

Pictured: the terrible face of racism

If you were one of the lucky folks who got to hit up the Phoenix Comicon this past weekend, just know that I am seething with jealousy and resentment toward you. I’m sure the con would have been a good time regardless of its guest lineup, but this one was a doozy for Babylon 5 fans. In honor of the show’s 20th anniversary, series creator J. Michael Straczynski was joined by 13 cast members in a huge reunion panel. Several of my friends who attended have been going on about what a cool event it was, which just makes it all the worse that I didn’t get to be there.

But screw all that. This is the internet, baby! Yes, thanks to this most wondrous of world-wide webs, you can now watch the entire Babylon 5 reunion panel, nearly two hours of video, via the embeds above and below. As somebody who’s been a fan since the very beginning, it’s awesome to see the cast onstage together for an event that isn’t a funeral, and even aside from amusing anecdotes and remembrances, there are some really positive messages in here.