The best science fiction on television isn’t on the networks and it’s definitely no longer on the SyFy channel. It’s all happening in the BBC where, in the void left by BSG and Lost, Doctor Who is now the best science fiction series on television. But the new Doctor just finished his first season, and it’s a long wait till he returns. Don’t worry, the BBC has Outcasts.

It’s their next big-budget science fiction TV series and from the description it sounds a lot like Earth 2, minus the greatness of Tim Curry. In an eight episode arc it tells the story of a group of people given the chance to start new lives on another planet. They lose contact with Earth and things get mysterious. Yep, definitely Earth 2… and that’s not a bad thing. The short-lived 90s TV series was big on ideas, short on execution. If Outcasts can take those same ideas and do something big with them, I’m in.

Den of Geek has an early glimpse at the show in the form of production stills. They look simply brilliant… and a lot like Earth 2. Sorry, I just can’t get past it. But I’m still in. Take a look: read this entry »

I don’t think anyone saw this coming, which is perhaps why no one was really paying attention when Scott Bakula broke the news at Comic Con that Quantum Leap is being turned into a movie. There’s a problem though: Bakula isn’t involved. No surprise, he’s now too old. Here’s what Blastr picked up from the original Sam Beckett:

The good news is that Don [Quantum Leap creator Donald P. Bellisario] is working on the film script and has a big time Hollywood producer who wants to do it … It’s about time. But what I always thought would happen, happened … [that he's now too old for the role]. But Dean [Stockwell, who played Al] and I will have a part in it somehow.

Don did say that as he was writing, he told me he was having trouble, ‘getting you and Dean out of my head.’ But I know he will do it.

It’s hard to imagine the Leap without Bakula in the lead and Stockwell has his ever-present sidekick Al, but there’s no denying that they’re both probably too old for the role now. On the other hand, the storyline of the show could be fantastic if turned into a movie series and because of the way the show was structured, with Sam leaping into a completely different life every week, they could do it without having to really revisit territory the show already covered. Don’t think of it so much as a reboot as a resurrection of one of the greatest science fiction stories ever told on television.

Lost is gone, Battlestar Galactica is long gone, and for fans of science fiction the television landscape is quickly turning into a wasteland. If you’re looking for quality sci-fi programming, all we really have left is Doctor Who, and with the new season all but over even that’s about to be taken away from us. I use this lack of decent sci-fi programming to excuse my Stargate Universe viewership, but even I have sort of given up on shows like Eureka and I really don’t have the patience for Fringe.

So if you’re a sci-fi fanatic you’ve probably really been looking forward to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming series Terra Nova which sounds sort of like a serious version of Land of the Lost. If anyone can give quality sci-fi on TV a shot in the arm it’s Spielberg, and since it has dinosaurs, people might actually watch it. Or they would, if it was airing any time soon. read this entry »

It feels like Family Guy and Robot Chicken have pretty well flogged this parodying Star Wars thing to death. Still they’ve gone this far, I guess it makes sense to finish the trilogy. I’m watching and I’ll probably pick up a copy of the third installment in Family Guy’s skewering when it hits DVD and Blu-Ray December 21st.

They’re calling it Family Guy: It’s a Trap. Apparently they’re big Admiral Ackbar fans. Yep they’re taking on Return of the Jedi this time which should mean plenty of Ewok jokes and the inexplicable hotness of Lois Griffin in Princess Leia’s gold bikini. That bikini, by the way, is definitely a trap.

We have first look at the cover art for Family Guy: It’s a Trap along with complete details on the release from Fox Home Ent. Check it out: read this entry »

When David Tennant left Doctor Who, it almost tore me apart. His final episode as The Doctor left me in a weepy wreck. Then, against all odds, they managed to find someone new to play The Doctor who was almost as good. I’m not going to try and tell you the current season of Doctor Who is even half as good as Tennant’s years in the Tardis, but blame that on writing and not Smith, who’s absolutely brilliant.

He’s only been at it for a single season and things are really just settling in. So of course he’s going to quit and put us through the misery of Tennant’s departure all over again. Maybe.

The Sun claims 27-year Smith plans to abandon the series after his second season as the character in pursuit of a film career. It should however be noted that this news comes from one of the most unreliable sources on the planet. That leaves plenty of room to believe this is completely untrue. read this entry »

In case you haven’t heard, Torchwood is coming back for another season, only this time it’ll only be seen exclusively on the pay cable channel STARZ. While some of the original cast will be back and they’ll probably keep the central premise, they’re retooling the show and, among other things, adding new characters.

Till now we haven’t known much about who or what those characters might be but EW has new information. Here it is:

Among the casting intel I’ve gathered on the new season (airing on my new favorite cable network, Starz), the show is out to cast a new series regular — Rex Matheson, a wickedly funny (operative word: wicked) CIA agent born to make waves. Almost as key to the new season are recurring characters Esther Katusi, a CIA grunt in her early 20s who learns what she’s really made of only when she’s forced to, and Oswald Jones, a convicted murderer and pedophile who will be as shocked as anyone to learn how easily infamy and fame can be exchanged for one another.

What’s the CIA doing involved with Torchwood, a British organization? Torchwood is moving to America.

I’m a little burned out on Zombies. After Zombieland’s comedic take on the genre, it really feels like we’ve gone everywhere there is to go with the re-animated corpses on film. But what about on TV?

AMC is planning a new series called The Walking Dead and the image you see above is the show’s first ever cast photo. The series follows a police officer named Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) as he leads a group of survivors to safety after a zombie apocalypse. It’s a familiar zombie premise, but how will it play out in the long form, more detailed oriented format of a television series? I’m intrigued.

If there’s anything at all to hate about SyFy’s exceptionally affable original series Eureka, it’s that as they role into their fourth season they’re still dressing Erica Cerra in those unbearable dumpy, unisex police uniforms. That seems unlikely to change any time soon, but even hidden beneath bad khaki Deputy Jo Lupo’s one of the best reasons to keep coming back to their quirky little show. Besides, there was that one episode with the red dress.

Cerra is a Vancouver, BC native of Italian decent and the thirty-one-year-old actress has been working pretty steadily in film and television since 2001. You might have seen her in Blade: Trinity as the Goth Vixen or caught her in The 4400, or if you were really lucky seen her steaming it up on The L Word. But it’s the part of Eureka’s tough as nails Deputy Lupo that really earned her serious geek attention. The town wouldn’t be the same without her.

Eureka kicked off its fourth season this week and that seems as good a time as any to spend some time on some of Cerra’s all too rarely appreciated attributes. In addition to being a dependable actress, she’s kind of a looker. Here’s the evidence: read this entry »

It was a lot of fun the first two or three times Robot Chicken and Family Guy did it, but really guys, this animated remaking of Star Wars movies is starting to feel kind of old. Yet they’re at it again, or at least Robot Chicken is. If form holds, Family Guy is sure to follow eventually, especially the way those Blue Harvest DVDs sold.

For now though, it’s all Robot Chicken. Adult Swim has announced that Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III is on the way. It’s the third installment in their highly rated series of Star Wars themed specials. They’ve done so well in fact, that they’ve landed a big name to voice Anakin Skywalker. Zac Efron (a closet sci-fi geek) is on board to whine his way through the character. The rest of the cast from the previous installments returns, and that means actual Star Wars actors voicing their characters. In particular, Billy Dee Williams and Ahmed Best will voice their characters. read this entry »

The San Diego Comic Con, the biggest geek event of the year, looms large.  It’s only a few weeks away and to prepare, the Con overlords have just released the complete convention schedule.  It’s huge.  To help you sort your way through it, we’ve filtered through it and dug out the most must-see events for the average sci-fi fan. For the complete schedule visit the Comic Con official site, otherwise there’s this: read this entry »