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dollhouse
Why Dollhouse's Original Pilot Will Make A Better Second Episode
I know you're concerned that Joss Whedon is making a new pilot for his mind-wiped puppet show Dollhouse, and turning the original pilot into the second episode. What if this ruins the show before it starts? But you can forget that worry, almost as if a high-tech device had erased it from your mind to make way for a new personality. We've looked at both pilot scripts, and the original pilot really does work way better as a second episode. Spoilers ahead. More »
new comics we crave
Flight Attendants and Jedi Apprentices Blow Your Mind In This Week's Comics
It's a relatively light week at comic stores this week, but that's to everyone's benefit, as what is coming out may just blow your mind so much that you wouldn't be able to read anything else anyway. New (non-Clone Wars) Star Wars, new futuristic superheroes, the return of Spider-Man's favorite alien and something to deal with your David Tennant-longing while Doctor Who is off-air all await you under the jump. More »
9:00 AM on Tue Aug 19 2008
By Graeme McMillan
4,599 views,
22 comments
space mega-construction
One day, when you hear someone is a construction worker, you'll have to ask whether he or she wears a spacesuit on the job. We're already assembling massive structures in space — like the International Space Station and Dextre, the "monster" robot that got built in space this past spring — but space construction will soon become more and more common. So it's a good thing science fiction is full of awesome examples of space construction, from Asimov to Star Trek.
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Scifi's Greatest Space Builders — And How We'll Copy Them
One day, when you hear someone is a construction worker, you'll have to ask whether he or she wears a spacesuit on the job. We're already assembling massive structures in space — like the International Space Station and Dextre, the "monster" robot that got built in space this past spring — but space construction will soon become more and more common. So it's a good thing science fiction is full of awesome examples of space construction, from Asimov to Star Trek.
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sneak preview
A lot of Star Wars fans first discovered the expanded Star Wars universe via the Knights of the Old Republic video games. Now you too can create your own characters and experience the rich, exciting era that took place thousands of years before the saga of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. The Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide is a sourcebook for the current edition of the Star Wars role-playing game. It comes out this week, and we've got all the details, plus previews of some awesome interior art.
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Game Your Way into the Star Wars Expanded Universe with a New Guide
A lot of Star Wars fans first discovered the expanded Star Wars universe via the Knights of the Old Republic video games. Now you too can create your own characters and experience the rich, exciting era that took place thousands of years before the saga of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. The Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide is a sourcebook for the current edition of the Star Wars role-playing game. It comes out this week, and we've got all the details, plus previews of some awesome interior art.
More »
world's end
When Superheroes Fail To Save The World
Superheroes, as we all know, exist to save the day. It's what they do - Swoop down from on high, solve the problems and swoop back on out again. But what happens when they not only don't save the day, but play an active part in the destruction of the world? That's the basis for the latest relaunch of DC Comics' Wildstorm line, entitled World's End. More »
1:00 PM on Sun Aug 17 2008
By Graeme McMillan
10,491 views,
29 comments
star wars
5 Things We Want To See In The Clone Wars TV Show
By now you'll have seen the movie - or, perhaps, decided that you don't want to see the movie because even just the idea of Ahsoka has scared you off - and know what kind of thing to expect from the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show: Anakin Skywalker frowning a lot and hanging out with stormtroopers and stereotypically camp Hutt monsters. But that's not enough for us, so here are five additional ways that the Clone Wars could win our hearts. More »
1:00 PM on Sat Aug 16 2008
By Graeme McMillan
6,020 views,
37 comments
watchmen
It's already calling itself the movie adaptation of "the most celebrated graphic novel of all time," but if a certain group of masochistic fans have their way, "visionary director" Zack Snyder's version of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' comic may also be the longest comic strip movie ever made - But is the general public ready for three hours of watching the Watchmen?
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Who Wants To Watch Three Hours Of Watchmen?
It's already calling itself the movie adaptation of "the most celebrated graphic novel of all time," but if a certain group of masochistic fans have their way, "visionary director" Zack Snyder's version of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' comic may also be the longest comic strip movie ever made - But is the general public ready for three hours of watching the Watchmen?
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tragic heroes
The whole time we're watching Star Wars: Clone Wars in theaters and on television, we'll be knowing that Anakin Skywalker is destined for a horrendous end. But the true tragedy of Anakin is that he's kind of a pale reflection of the truly great tragic heroes of science fiction. Seriously, here are like a hundred tragic heroes who are more awesome or terrible than Anakin. Okay, not a hundred. But a lot. Spoilers for old books and movies ahead.
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Tragic Heroes Who Are Cooler Than Anakin
The whole time we're watching Star Wars: Clone Wars in theaters and on television, we'll be knowing that Anakin Skywalker is destined for a horrendous end. But the true tragedy of Anakin is that he's kind of a pale reflection of the truly great tragic heroes of science fiction. Seriously, here are like a hundred tragic heroes who are more awesome or terrible than Anakin. Okay, not a hundred. But a lot. Spoilers for old books and movies ahead.
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OMFG bigfoot
The Bigfoot press conference yielded no results and has only enraged the Bigfoot Field Research Organization. The watchdog group voiced its expert opinion on the OMFG Bigfoot situation we covered yesterday. The experts claim fraud, and the press conference did nothing to put out the fires of controversy sweeping the nation. Is the cooler full of Bigfoot really just a costume? Video from the Georgians and more pictures from the press conference after the jump. UPDATE: video link to press conference is included.
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Bigfoot Conference Verdict: Big Fat Hoax
The Bigfoot press conference yielded no results and has only enraged the Bigfoot Field Research Organization. The watchdog group voiced its expert opinion on the OMFG Bigfoot situation we covered yesterday. The experts claim fraud, and the press conference did nothing to put out the fires of controversy sweeping the nation. Is the cooler full of Bigfoot really just a costume? Video from the Georgians and more pictures from the press conference after the jump. UPDATE: video link to press conference is included.
More »
point
Young Adult Books Will Save Science Fiction
The biggest growth in science fiction publishing these days, hands down, is happening in the young adult market, and that's great news. While the "real" science fiction publishers are chasing a shrinking — and graying — readership, tweens and teens are discovering SF for themselves, thanks to books from a diverse range of writers. Best of all, YA science fiction isn't aimed at a subculture, but at everybody of a particular age. More »
counterpoint
Stop Writing Young Adult Science Fiction
Whenever I hear that a favorite author of mine is working on a young adult novel, my heart sinks. "Oh, that won't be for me," I say to myself, "I am not a young adult." Sure, I know adults can read YA fiction: I read the His Dark Materials trilogy and the Harry Potter books along with the rest of the universe. But I object to the idea that young people need their own special, segregated genre of books, as if their minds are so dramatically different from adult minds that they require their own category of fantasy. Once a person has reached adolescence, relegating their reading material to its own gated subgenre seems at best condescending and at worst censorious. More »
mangobot
Welcome back to MangoBot, a biweekly column about Asian futurism by TokyoMango blogger Lisa Katayama. I'm a total sports nut. Olympic season makes my bones shiver with excitement. But this year, I took my mind off record-breaking swim relays and super-twisty gymnastics routines for a minute to consider the host country's techno-socio-political future. The opening ceremony confirmed my theory that China is breeding robots. (We already know that the cute girl who performed the patriotic song was lip-syncing and that the fireworks shown on TV were fake. I'm pretty sure that the 2008 drummers who kicked off the five-hour technological spectacularity were androids, too.) But what else is up in the giant nation that many believe will be the next world superpower? I called some experts and came away with a list of five predictions for China's next half-century.
More »
Coming Soon from China: Dystopic Futures, the Next Steve Jobs, and a World Full of Drumming Androids
Welcome back to MangoBot, a biweekly column about Asian futurism by TokyoMango blogger Lisa Katayama. I'm a total sports nut. Olympic season makes my bones shiver with excitement. But this year, I took my mind off record-breaking swim relays and super-twisty gymnastics routines for a minute to consider the host country's techno-socio-political future. The opening ceremony confirmed my theory that China is breeding robots. (We already know that the cute girl who performed the patriotic song was lip-syncing and that the fireworks shown on TV were fake. I'm pretty sure that the 2008 drummers who kicked off the five-hour technological spectacularity were androids, too.) But what else is up in the giant nation that many believe will be the next world superpower? I called some experts and came away with a list of five predictions for China's next half-century.
More »
9:00 AM on Fri Aug 15 2008
By LISA KATAYAMA
15,225 views,
23 comments
Alien Designers
Creating cool alien creatures for TV and movies is no easy feat. It requires constant innovation, an ability to create characters who are at the same time surprising and believable, and the magic power to smother actors in pounds of makeup and foam without killing them. Here are galleries showing off the work of our favorite six artists and studios who use makeup, prosthetics, and animatronics to keep pushing alien life to the next level.
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6 Mask-Making Magicians Who Create Your Favorite Aliens
Creating cool alien creatures for TV and movies is no easy feat. It requires constant innovation, an ability to create characters who are at the same time surprising and believable, and the magic power to smother actors in pounds of makeup and foam without killing them. Here are galleries showing off the work of our favorite six artists and studios who use makeup, prosthetics, and animatronics to keep pushing alien life to the next level.
More »
death sports
Maybe the Olympic Games are all about fostering world peace and crap like that, but we know that sports of the future will be the stuff of bloody, oil-fueled nightmares. To celebrate all the sports that don't foster cross-cultural understanding, we bring you a list of the very best scifi death sports captured on film. Competitive games should always lead to death, or at least maiming, don't you think? Well, yeah — duh. Check out our entrail-spattered list of future entertainments that kill.
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Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves -- The Ten Most Gruesome Scifi Death Sports
Maybe the Olympic Games are all about fostering world peace and crap like that, but we know that sports of the future will be the stuff of bloody, oil-fueled nightmares. To celebrate all the sports that don't foster cross-cultural understanding, we bring you a list of the very best scifi death sports captured on film. Competitive games should always lead to death, or at least maiming, don't you think? Well, yeah — duh. Check out our entrail-spattered list of future entertainments that kill.
More »
9:15 AM on Thu Aug 14 2008
By Annalee Newitz
46,316 views,
69 comments
review
We've given you ten reasons why Star Wars: The Clone Wars would rock the awesome, shown you sneaks at the new cast members and behind the scenes glimpses of the making of the movie, and even made Annalee into a very excitable, kill-happy droid. But, with the actual movie coming to a theater near you tomorrow, you may be wondering whether it'll be worth your time and money. We've got an answer for you under the jump.
More »
Clone Wars Is A Good Enough Trailer For The TV Show
We've given you ten reasons why Star Wars: The Clone Wars would rock the awesome, shown you sneaks at the new cast members and behind the scenes glimpses of the making of the movie, and even made Annalee into a very excitable, kill-happy droid. But, with the actual movie coming to a theater near you tomorrow, you may be wondering whether it'll be worth your time and money. We've got an answer for you under the jump.
More »
when titans clash
Downey Jr: "F*ck DC Comics"
Apparently, Robert Downey Jr.'s love for Marvel Comics goes deeper than just playing the title role in Iron Man. Talking about the movie that made his the second most-popular superhero of the summer, Downey went further than anyone would've expected - and maybe further than was necessary, as well - in complaining about the competition. More »
kronk burger
20 Things That Should Be Their Own Genres (But Aren't)
One of the great mysteries of the universe is why some types of story get to repeat, with endless variations, while others just don't. How is that space opera gets to be its own genre? Or the amnesiac detective story? Or time-travel romance? Who decides that these things are genres, but some other perfectly great story ideas are denied genre status? Here are 20 things we think are way overdue to become genres of their own. Fight the power! More »
9:00 AM on Wed Aug 13 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
9,688 views,
69 comments
