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There have been murmurs for some time now that the Stargate franchise was about to take the next step. A third series. Some information was leaked to the internet but official Stargate channels were keeping the lid on everything. Today it has been officially announced that there will be a new series.

Chances are that it won’t begin until the current series Atlantis has completed its run. This has me concerned that they’re going to just dump Atlantis at the end of the 5th season just so they can start working on the new one, that really would be a shame. I figure if Star Trek could run two series simultaneously, why not Stargate, but apparently the crew aren’t willing to work the very long hours it would require to run the two side by side, which - from the perspective of someone who’s at times tried to worked way too many hours in a week - I can understand.

The new series, “Stargate Universe”, will be focused around a gate-seed ship that was launched by the Ancients long long ago - an automated ship that was designed to install stargates in distant space, followed by an exploration ship. The 9th chevron will allow the team to reach the exploration ship.

The Ancients never finished th project, but “we” will.

The new series’ creators intend to produce a show that will not only maintain current viewers but also draw new people into the franchise.

• Also - watch for the new Stargate movie  Stargate: Continuum coming to DVD July 29th - Richard Dean Anderson - Yay!

Joss Whedon Announced today that Nathan Fillion will play the hero in a special Internet Musical.

Whedon reports that during the WGA strike he started writing the musical which will be a limited internet series. Each of the three episodes will be approximately ten minute each.

Co-writers for the internet feature are Joss’ brothers Zack and Jed and Jed’s Fiance Maurissa . The writing has been completed and shooting commenced today.

“It’s the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to.” Says Whedon.

“Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” will star Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer, Felicia Day as Penny and a cast of dozens.

• Source: nathanfillion.org

An Australian event organiser mentioned today that they had to cancel an event they were planning but are still trying for a later date because they’re in negotiations with “the best guest from sci-fi we could possibly have” saying if we were to guess, half of us would be correct. So that got me thinking, who ARE the best in sci-fi?

So - here are my favourite Sci-Fi actors (based on their sci-fi roles)

1. Nathan Fillion - best known as Captain Mal Renolds (Firefly/Serenity)
   I just can’t say enough good things about Firefly/Serenity but Nathan Fillion - as an actor in general - is pretty awesome in my book. He plays funny well, everyone knows that, but he also plays romance and drama and scary stuff really well too, tiny changes in facial expression can totally hook you into believing what the character is going through. Totally underrated & underused by the industry!
2. Richard Dean Anderson - best known as Jack O’niell (Stargate SG1)
   Only recently become a fan and confess to having never seen an episode of MacGyver - but Jack O’neill is just the best, such a complex character - there’s a lot beneath the surface, like Nathan Fillion, it’s the subtleties in his acting that are convincing. Looking forward to Stargate Continuum.
3. David Hewlett - best known as Dr McKay (Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG1)
   It’s really sad, but apart from the fact I’m not super brilliant, I identify a lot with Rodney. Again. beneath the surface, a complex character and David plays him so well.
4. Summer Glau - best known as Summer (Firefly/Serenity) & Cameron (Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles)
   Summer is really only just getting started in her career and she’s moving along in leaps and bounds, I think she’s capable of more than we’ve seen from her so far and I’m looking foward to it.
5. Jewel Staite - best known as Kaylee (Firefly/Serenity) & Dr Keller (Stargate Atlantis)
   No doubt I loved Jewel as Kaylee - who couldn’t, but I think she’s showing some awesomeness in her role as Dr Keller in Atlantis - can’t wait to see more.
6. David Tennant - best known as The Doctor (Doctor Who)
   Funny, cute, cool
7. Harrison Ford - best known as Han Solo (Star Wars)
   Ok, Harrison Ford is only so far down the list because I didn’t like Star Wars a whole lot (don’t shoot me) but as an actor, he’s most definitely one of the best by far.
8. Connor Trinneer - best known as “Trip” Tucker (Enterprise) & Michael (Stargate Atlantis)
   I didn’t really feel Enterprise did the whole character development so well in the first two seaons and have only seen a few eps of the rest so never really got to know “Trip” that well, but I thnk that Connor does an excellent job at the complicated character of Michael in Atlantis.
9. Patrick Stewart - best known as Captain Picard (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
   I like Patrick in Star Trek Next Gen but I’ve liked him in pretty much everything I’ve seen him in, sci-fi or not.
10. William Shatner - best known as Captain Kirk (Star Trek)
    Hey, no list would be complete without Bill

I think this list may say as much about about the Sci-Fi shows I enjoy as the actors themselves!

So… who’s your sci-fi favourite?

All too often in life, things get overwhelming and everything seems impossible (like stuff I talked about in my previous blog).. sometimes aren’t.

Any regular reader will know I’m a big fan of the cancelled TV series Firefly and big screen movie Serenity - people said it was impossible for anything to be revived after the series was cancelled but through continued support of fans the movie Serenity was born. Firefly fans are passionate to say the least, but they’re also some pretty amazing people. There’s a documentary DVD that goes behind the scenes of the Firefly world and illustrates just how possible it really is to do the impossible!

I hesitate to call this a “fan” documentary because it’s so much more than you’d expect - a totally professional production so jam packed full of extra material including a bunch of extended interviews with cast members and a fully interactive PC component that lets you do so much more than just watch a documentary. I hesitated to buy this earlier but was very surprised at how good it was when I eventually did get it. If you’re a fan and you haven’t got it yet, trust me when I say it’s time you did.

If you enjoy the music used throughout the DVD you can also buy the soundtrack.

• More info at www.donetheimpossible.com or you can buy it at Amazon

I finished watching the three seasons of Stargate Atlantis on DVD and really enjoyed it. I’d seen the first two seasons already, but decided to start by watching them again before starting on the 3rd season. I think it was a good move, got me right into all the characters again. I started watching the extras on the DVDs including some of the commentaries, very enjoyable. Finally, SG1 arrived in the mail and I’m working my way through those in a hurry given that I haven’t been well and therefore had plenty time on my hands. While I’m certainly enjoying the episodes, I haven’t developed anything close to the connection to the characters as I have with the Atlantian crew. I know a number of new characters come into it at some stage and maybe that will change the dynamic. I have still had a lot of enjoyment from SG1 though, so no complaints here….well… except about how long I have to wait till the next season of Atlantis comes out on DVD!

In this interview about White Noise 2 writer Matt Venne says he’s in the midst of adapting the Stephen King book “Bag of Bones” for the big screen in an interview with 7th Son podcast novelist J C Hutchins. They’re joined by WN2 director Patrick Lussier (Note:contains spoilers for WN2 & some course language)

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