COOL SCI-FI

RENEWED! Stargate Atlantis gets fifth season

From www.Gateworld.net

Stargate Atlantis will continue to a fifth season on SCI FI Channel, the network announced today.

SCI FI ordered 20 episodes for Season Five of the series, which despite lower "Live" ratings this year has maintained its status as one of the cable channel's most-watched original dramas.

"'Atlantis' truly came out from under the shadow of its sister series this year and proved that it's a hit in its own right," said Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of original programming for SCI FI Channel.

"All of us at MGM are pleased to be extending the Stargate legacy with 20 new original episodes of Stargate Atlantis for our friends at SCI FI," MGM's Charles E. Cohen, Senior Executive Vice President Finance and Corporate Development, said. "Viewers the world over clamor for exciting new stories of space exploration, distant civilizations and the marvels of technology, all of which continue to be delivered by Stargate Atlantis."

The show will celebrate its 100th episode as the fifth season finale.

Other shows renewed include Eureka for a third season, according to Variety. The fate of Flash Gordon is still uncertain. A brand new series, titled Revolution, has also received the green light.

Atlantis's fourth season will end on a cliffhanger when the season finale, "The Last Man," airs in March.

Babylon A.D. (2008)

U.S. Opening Date: 29 August 2008

Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Starring: Vin Diesel, Gérard Depardieu, Michelle Yeoh, Charlotte Rampling, Mark Strong, Radek Bruna, Melanie Thierry, Lambert Wilson

A veteran-turned-mercenary (Vin Diesel) agrees to escort a woman from Russia to Germany, not realizing that she's the host for an organism that a cult wants to harvest into a genetically-modified Messiah. Based on the novel by Maurice G. Dantec.

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Upcoming - Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro
Director: Michael Bay

Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg will return as director and executive producer for Transformers 2, while Paramount has announced a June 26, 2009 release date— even if production will be interrupted by the June 2008 strike in Hollywood. Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Peter Cullen are signed on to return. Scott Farrar will return as visual effects supervisor, and anticipates moodier use of lighting as well as deeper roles for the Decepticons. Before Transformers was released, Bay expressed interest in an aircraft carrier character, while producer Tom DeSanto was interested in the Dinobots, Constructicons, and Soundwave.

Roberto Orci described the film's theme as the robots confronting "being away from home", with the focus between the robots and humans "much more evenly balanced". The tone will be similar to the first film, but "the stakes will be higher", (with a more global sensibility), and there will be more focus on the science fiction elements. Orci also said "we'll be better at modulating [the humor] this time". Structurally, the plot will be "more organically interconnected in that TF1 had the structure of 3 story lines coming together at Hoover. TF2 will have a different structure.

Upcoming - Stargate Universe (????)

According to Cooper, Stargate Universe "maintains the spirit of Stargate, but opens up a whole new 'universe'." It is "a completely separate, third entity" – as opposed to Stargate Atlantis, which was created as a spin-off from the first series Stargate SG-1. Like the first two series in the franchise, Stargate Universe will take place during the present time, not in the distant future. The show will be "set on a ship that was part of an Ancient experiment" to seed the galaxies with Stargates millions of years ago but that was prematurely ended by the Ancients' ascension. After placing Stargates throughout multiple galaxies, a second ship would follow up and explore. The basis of Stargate Universe is the ninth and final chevron, which previously unknown would serve to get to the first ship.

X-Men Origins: Magneto (2009)

Director: David S. Goyer

A look at the early life of Eric Lensherr and his friendship with Charles Xavier, and how the one-time allies became mortal enemies.

The Mutant Chronicles (2008)

Starring: Christopher Adamson, Devon Aoki, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Georgina Berriman, Jacqui Chan, Tim Clark, Dez Drummond, Christopher Dunne, Allan Arthur Fielding, Christopher Fosh, Benno Fürmann, Nicholas Gecks, Mark Holloway, Thomas Jane, Scott Joseph, Farhan Khan, Shauna Macdonald, John Malkovich, Luis Miguel, Neji Nejah, Andrew Nixon, Ron Perlman, Sean Pertwee, Raf Richard, Serge Soric, Steve Toussaint, Curtis Walker, Anna Walton, Tom Wu
Director: Simon Hunter

23rd century soldier Major Mitch Hunter (Jane) leads a fight against an army of underworld NecroMutants.

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Stargate: The Ark of Truth (2008)

Release Date: 11 March 2008

Starring: Ben Browder, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Beau Bridges
Director: Robert C. Cooper

SG-1 searches for an ancient weapon which could help them defeat the Ori, and discover it may be in the Ori's own home galaxy. As the Ori prepare to send ships through to the Milky Way to attack Earth, SG-1 travels to the Ori galaxy aboard the Odyssey. The International Oversight committee has their own plans and SG-1 finds themselves in a distant galaxy fighting two powerful enemies.

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TRAILER #2:

Battlestar Galactica: Razor

Release Date: 24 November 2007

Starring: Katee Sackhoff, Edward James Olmos, Michelle Forbes, Tricia Helfer, John Pyper-Ferguson, Mary McDonnell
Director: Félix Enríquez Alcalá

A two-hour Battlestar Galactica special that tells the story of the Battlestar Pegasus several months prior to it finding the Galactica.

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Stargate takes SyFy Genre Awards

From www.Gateworld.net

The results are in! This year 25,000 fans voted for the SyFy Genre Awards, the original fan awards hosted by genre news site SyFy Portal since 1999. The envelope, please.

Amanda Tapping, Stargate SG-1's Samantha Carter, was selected as the best TV actress, while her SG-1 teammate Richard Dean Anderson (Jack O'Neill) was voted best TV guest star for his appearance in Stargate SG-1's 200th episode.

Fans picked Stargate Atlantis star Joe Flanigan (John Sheppard) as the best TV actor.

Internet-based fantasy series Sanctuary (starring Amanda Tapping) was chosen for Best Web Presentation.

Other winners include Battlestar Galactica, named as Best TV Show. Heroes co-stars Masi Oka and Ali Larter were the best TV supporting actors, while Hayden Panettiere was selected as the best young performer. The Gene Roddenberry Lifetime Achievement Award was posthumously given to the late James Doohan, Star Trek's Scotty.

And finally, GateWorld was honored as Best Genre Web Site. Our thanks to everyone who voted!

For the complete list of this year's winners, check SyFyPortal.com.

Wall-E (2008)

U.S. Opening date: 27 June 2008

Starring: Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Ben Burtt
Director: Andrew Stanton

After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL-E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL-E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen.

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Upcoming - HALO (????)

Halo was a proposed film based on the video game series, developed by Bungie Studios. The film was to be directed by Neill Blomkamp with Peter Jackson as executive producer. The film had a target release date of summer 2008 but production had been postponed until 2009 due to production financing. Fox picked up the project in October 2006. On October 4, 2007 director Neill Blomkamp confirmed that "The film is entirely dead. In the configuration it was in."

Possible Plot: After they crash-land on an artificial ring-world called "Halo", a navy captain, his surviving marines, and a chemically-and-surgically-enhanced supersoldier named John-117 "Master Chief" must find out what the Covenant, the genocidal alien race they are at war with, are looking for on the ring. However, Halo holds more secrets than either side imagined.

Avatar (2009)

U.S. Opening Date: 22 May 2009

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Peter Mensah, Laz Alonso, Wes Studi, Stephen Lang
Directed by: James Cameron

Avatar is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival.

Star Trek XI (2008)

U.S. Opening date: 25 December 2008

Starring: Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Anton Yelchin, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Chris Pine, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood
Director: J.J. Abrams
Official: www.paramount.com/startrek/
More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0796366/

A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.

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Iron Man (2008)

U.S. Opening date: 2 May 2008

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, Leslie Bibb, Bill Smitrovich

Directed by: Jon Favreau
Official Website: www.ironmanmovie.com

Based on the long-running Marvel comic book series, Iron Man tells the story of Tony Stark, the enigmatic heir to the Stark Enterprises fortune. A driven inventor and executive who seems to have it all, Tony is haunted by his dark side. Though he commands his empire by day, by night he secretly becomes Iron Man, the living embodiment of decades of defence spending and innovation. Strapping on billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art armour and weaponry each night to fight crime, terrorism and corporate espionage, Tony begins to crack under the strain of his fractured lifestyle and must ultimately confront the one enemy he can never beat — himself.

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TRAILER #2:

FIREFLY (2002-2004)

"Take my love, take my land / Take me where I cannot stand / I don't care, I'm still free / You can't take the sky from me / Take me out to the black / Tell 'em I ain't comin' back / Burn the land and boil the sea / You can't take the sky from me / There's no place I can be / Since I found serenity / But you can't take the sky from me"

Creators: Joss Whedon
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass
Official Website: http://www.foxhome.com/firefly/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0303461/

The series is set in the year 2517, after humans have arrived at a new star system, and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a Firefly-class spaceship. The ensemble cast portrays the nine characters who live on Serenity. Whedon pitched the show as "nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things". The show explores the vicissitudes of people who fought on the losing side of a civil war, as well as the pioneer culture that exists on the fringes of their star system. In addition, it is a future where the only two surviving superpowers, the United States and China, fused to form the central federal government, called the Alliance, resulting in the fusion of the two cultures as well.

Opening:

SANCTUARY (2007-????)

Creators: Damian Kindler
Starring: Robin Dunne, Emilie Ullerup, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Heyerdahl, Cainan Wiebe
Official Website: http://www.sanctuaryforall.com/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0965394/

Sanctuary is a fantasy video series distributed over the Internet, which premiered on May 14, 2007. Sanctuary stars Amanda Tapping, Robin Dunne, Emilie Ullerup and Christopher Heyerdahl. The US Sci Fi Channel picked up the series for a full 13-episode first season on January 31, 2008.

Each webisode of Sanctuary follows the exploits of Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis) as she seeks out all manner of terrifying and monstrous creatures. She is aided in her quest by her reluctant protégé Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne, Dawson’s Creek, The Big Hit, Species 3) and her intrepid, if somewhat reckless daughter Ashley (Emilie Ullerup, Battlestar Galactica). Together they will be drawn into a frightening and mysterious world populated by beings that defy explanation.

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HEROES (2006-????)

"Save the cheerleader, save the world"

Creators: Tim Kring
Starring: Hayden Panettiere, Jack Coleman, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Masi Oka, James Kyson Lee, Milo Ventimiglia, Greg Grunberg, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Noah Gray-Cabey
Official Website: http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0813715/

The show tells the story of several people who "thought they were like everyone else... until they realized they have incredible abilities." These people soon realize they have a role in preventing a catastrophe and saving mankind.The series emulates the style of American comic books in aesthetic as well as storytelling (i.e. short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc). Kring said "we have talked about where the show goes up to five seasons."

When the series premiered in the United States, it was the night's most-watched program among adults aged 18–49, attracting 14.3 million viewers overall and receiving the highest rating for any NBC drama premiere in five years.

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Season 2 TRAILER:

Season 2 TEASER:

JERICHO (2006-????)

Creators: Stephen Chbosky, Josh Schaer, Jonathan E. Steinberg
Starring: Skeet Ulrich, Lennie James, Kenneth Mitchell, Ashley Scott, Pamela Reed, Gerald McRaney, April Parker-Jones, Brad Beyer
Official Website: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/jericho/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0805663/

Jericho is an American serial drama produced by CBS Paramount Network Television, with executive producers Jon Turteltaub, Stephen Chbosky and Carol Barbee. The show is broadcast in more than 30 countries.

After a series of terrorist attacks leave the US in a state of disaster, a small Kansas town must come together to deal with a new reality.

Season 1 TRAILER:

THE DRESDEN FILES (2007)

Creators: Jim Butcher, Hans Beimler, Robert Hewitt Wolfe
Starring: Paul Blackthorne, Valerie Cruz, Terrence Mann, Raoul Bhaneja, Conrad Coates
Official Website: http://www.scifi.com/dresden/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0486657/

Based on Jim Butcher's best-selling novels, The Dresden Files tells the story of Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne), a regular-guy private detective with extraordinary abilities. While most people see assaults, kidnappings or murders as the work of people with a depraved indifference for human pain, Harry is as likely as not to see the work of supernatural villains.

That's because he's a wizard. The real thing (and the only one listed in the Chicago phone directory). Whether consulting for the police on seemingly inexplicable crimes or following his own cases, he battles dark forces with a wry sense of humor.

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PAINKILLER JANE (2007)

Created by: Gil Grant
Starring: Kristanna Loken, Noah Danby, Stephen Lobo, Sean O. Roberts, Rob Stewart, Nathaniel DeVeaux, Alaina Kalanj, John Reardon
Official Website: http://www.scifi.com/painkillerjane/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0866432/

Jane Vasco is a DEA agent recruited by a covert government agency that hunts genetically enhanced individuals. She discovers that she can heal rapidly from any injury and begins to investigate the source of her powers.

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THE 4400 (2004-2007)

Creators: René Echevarria, Scott Peters
Starring: Jacqueline McKenzie, Joel Gretsch, Patrick Flueger, Conchita Campbell, Chad Faust, Richard Kahan, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, Bill Campbell, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Samantha Ferris

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0389564/

The 4400 is a science fiction television program produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with Sky Television, Renegade 83 and American Zoetrope for USA Network. The show was created and written by Scott Peters and René Echevarria, and stars Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie. The series ran for four seasons from 2004 until its cancellation in 2007.

In the pilot episode, what is originally thought to be a comet deposits a group of exactly 4400 people at Highland Beach, in the Cascade Range foothills near Mount Rainier, Washington. All of the 4400 disappeared at various times starting in 1946 in a beam of white light. After their return, none have aged, all are disoriented, and remember nothing between the time of their disappearance and their return.

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FLASH GORDON (2007-????)

Creators: Alex Raymond
Starring: Eric Johnson, Gina Holden, Karen Cliche, Jody Racicot, John Ralston, Anna van Hooft, Jonathan Lloyd Walker, Steve Bacic
Official Website: http://www.scifi.com/flashgordon/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0959086/

The new series, based on the comic strip of the same name and its adaptations, follows the adventures of Steven "Flash" Gordon (the nickname referring to his running ability), who lives with his mother in Maryland and whose scientist father was apparently lost in a mysterious accident when Flash (Eric Johnson) was 13 years old. Flash's former girlfriend, Dale Arden (Gina Holden), is a television news reporter and is engaged to police detective Joe Wylee. They meet the elder Gordon's eccentric former assistant, Hans Zarkov (Jody Racicot), when rifts in space appear, allowing travel between Earth and the planet Mongo.

Opening:

FARSCAPE (1999-2003)

Creators: Rockne S. O'Bannon
Starring: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Lani John Tupu, Jonathan Hardy, Gigi Edgley, Wayne Pygram, Virginia Hey
Official Website: http://www.farscape.com/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0187636/

Farscape is a science fiction television series, featuring a present-day astronaut who accidentally travels through a wormhole to a distant part of the universe. It was produced by the Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, and filmed in Australia. Drawing on Henson's traditional expertise in puppetry, two of the main characters are animatronic puppets.

The show was abruptly canceled after it had completed production of its fourth season, with a fifth season contracted, effectively ending the series on a cliffhanger. A mini-series in 2004 wrapped up some of the show's hanging plot threads and new webisodes are being produced.

Season 1 Opening:

DOCTOR WHO (2005-????)

Starring: David Tennant, Billie Piper, Paul Kasey, Freema Agyeman, Christopher Eccleston, Camille Coduri, Noel Clarke, Nicholas Briggs
Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0436992/

Rose Tyler, a young shop assistant in a London department store, lives a humdrum and profoundly average life - until the night the shop dummies where she works wake up and try to kill her. Her life is saved by a strange man who only calls himself The Doctor, and intrigued by him, she finds herself thrown headlong into a hectic battle to stop an alien presence from invading Earth and annihilating the human race. She comes to learn that her new friend is even stranger than she thought - in fact, the Doctor's an alien adventurer called a 'Time Lord', seemingly the last of his race, who travels through time and space in his TARDIS battling evil where he finds it. And if she travels with him, she'll find herself witnessing the heat-death of the Earth five billion years in the future, meeting Charles Dickens in the past, and encountering lifeforms and invaders stranger than she'd ever thought possible. Only one thing is certain - it'll be the ride of a lifetime...

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BIONIC WOMAN (2007-????)

Creators: David Eick
Starring: Michelle Ryan, Lucy Hale, Mark Sheppard, Miguel Ferrer, Molly Price, Kevin Rankin, Will Yun Lee
Official Website: http://www.nbc.com/Bionic_Woman/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0880557/

Bionic Woman is an American science fiction television drama created by David Eick, under NBC Universal Television Group, GEP Productions and David Eick Productions. The series is a re-imagining of the original television series, The Bionic Woman, created by Kenneth Johnson and based upon the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin, and retains its forbear's premise while taking on a more contemporary setting. David Eick also serves as executive producer alongside Laeta Kalogridis and Jason Smilovic.

The series revolves around bartender Jaime Sommers, who is saved from death after receiving experimental medical implants. While adjusting to her new bionic powers and raising a rebellious younger sister, Jaime agrees to work for the Berkut Group, a quasi-governmental private organization that performed her surgery.

Trailer:

BABYLON 5 (1994-1998)

Creators: J. Michael Straczynski
Starring: Jerry Doyle, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, Peter Jurasik, Andreas Katsulas, Bill Mumy
Official Website: http://babylon5.warnerbros.com/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0105946/

Babylon 5 is an epic American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on the Babylon 5 space station; a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict in the late 2250s and early 2260s. With its prominent use of pre-planned story arcs, the series was often described as a "novel for television.

In the year 2258, it is ten years after the Earth-Minbari War. Commander Sinclair takes command of a giant five-mile-long cylindrical space station, orbiting a planet in neutral space. At a crossroads of interstellar commerce and diplomacy, Cmdr Sinclair (2d season Captain Sheridan) must try to establish peace and prosperity between various interstellar empires, all the while fighting forces from within the Earth Alliance. It is a precarious command, particularly given that sabotage led to the destruction of Babylon stations 1, 2, and 3 and 4 vanished without trace.

Season 5 Opening:

ANDROMEDA (2000-2005)

Creators: Gene Roddenberry
Starring: Kevin Sorbo, Lisa Ryder, Lexa Doig, Gordon Michael Woolvett, Laura Bertram, Keith Hamilton Cobb, Steve Bacic
Official Website: http://www.scifi.com/andromeda/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0213327/

Andromeda was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and produced by Tribune Entertainment and Fireworks Entertainment. It was distributed by Global TV (Fireworks' parent company) in Canada and syndicated in the United States on WGN and other channels. It was picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel in the U.S. halfway through season four.

Captain Dylan Hunt commands the sentient starship Andromeda Ascendent, representing the vast, utopian All-Systems Commonwealth. When the Nietzcheans betray the Commonwealth, he is forced to order his crew to abandon ship and to pilot the Andromeda into a black hole. When the salvage ship Eureka Maru pulls them out three hundred years later, he finds a universe in chaos, where the Commonwealth is a memory. Alone, with a mighty living warship, and a motley crew (composed of a salvage team, a mercenary from the species that betrayed the Commonwealth, and a monk from a species of savage predator), Captain Hunt will struggle to re-establish the Commonwealth and return civilisation to the three galaxies.

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Season 1 Opening:

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2004-????)

"You cannot play God then wash your hands of the things that you've created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things that you've done anymore."

Creators: Ronald D. Moore
Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer, James Callis, Grace Park, Katee Sackhoff, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas, Tahmoh Penikett
Official Website: http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0407362/

Battlestar Galactica is an Emmy Award winning science fiction television program created by Ronald D. Moore that first aired on October 18, 2004 in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sky One, and January 14, 2005 in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel. Battlestar Galactica continues from the 2003 mini-series to chronicle the journey of the last surviving humans from the Twelve Colonies of Man after their nuclear annihilation by the Cylons. The survivors are led by President Laura Roslin and Commander William Adama in a ragtag fleet of ships with the Battlestar Galactica, a powerful but out-dated warship at its head. Pursued by Cylons intent on wiping out the remnants of the human race, the survivors travel across the galaxy looking for the fabled and long-lost thirteenth colony: Earth.

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Opening:

STARGATE ATLANTIS (2004-????)

"A new gate will open, A lost city will rise again"

Creators: Robert C. Cooper, Brad Wright
Starring: Joe Flanigan, Rachel Luttrell, David Hewlett, Torri Higginson, Jason Momoa, Paul McGillion, David Nykl, Chuck Campbell, Jewel Staite, Amanda Tapping
Official Website: http://stargate.mgm.com/atlantis/
http://www.scifi.com/atlantis/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0374455/

Stargate Atlantis is a spin-off television series from Stargate SG-1 that follows the seven season episode "Lost City" of Stargate SG-1 , where SG-1 found an outpost made by the race known as the Ancients in Antarctica. After the events of Stargate SG-1 season eight premiere "New Order", the Stargate Command sends an international team to investigate the outpost. Soon, Dr. Jackson discovers the location of the greatest city created by the Ancients, Atlantis. The premiere was on July 16, 2004 with the episode "Rising" that guest starred Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks.

This is a wonderful spin-off! I very much enjoy the characters (especially MacKay :D) the funniest character in the Stargate franchise ... of course after Jack O`Neill :D Right?), the bad guys ( especially The Wraith) and that we have again the chance to see the Replicators (the Ancient made Replicators or the Asurans). The plot,location, and the progress of the story are excellent .If it keeps like this the show can last like SG-1 for 10 seasons.

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Season 4 Opening:

STARGATE SG-1 (1997-2007)

Spanning 10 seasons with over 200 episodes, Stargate SG-1 have traveled to countless planets, encountered different races and met numerous aliens some friend and some foe...
"Michael Shanks - The Mythology of Stargate"

Creators: Jonathan Glassner, Brad Wright
Starring: Christopher Judge, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Richard Dean Anderson, Don S. Davis, Gary Jones, Teryl Rothery, Ben Browder, Beau Bridges, Claudia Black
Official Website: http://stargate.mgm.com/sg1/
http://www.scifi.com/stargate/

More info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0118480/

Stargate SG-1 follows and expands upon the Egyptian mythologies presented in Stargate. Presently, the Earth Stargate (found at a dig site near Giza in 1928) is housed in a top-secret U.S. military base known as the SGC (Stargate Command) underneath Cheyenne Mountain. Col. Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), Cpt. Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and Teal'c (Christopher Judge) compose the original SG-1 team. Along with 24 other SG teams, they venture to distant planets exploring the galaxy and searching for defenses from the Goa'uld, in the forms of technology and alliances with friendly advanced races. Later in the series, some members of SG-1 leave and new members join, such as Jonas Quinn (Corin Nemec), Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell (Ben Browder) and Vala Mal Doran (Claudia Black).

For me this is one of the greatest Sci-Fi Show if not the greatest. It is listed in the 2007 Guinness World Records as the "longest-running science fiction show". Also it has been nominated for 7 Premiere Emmy awards and had another 18 different wins. In 2007, after completion of the series run, Stargate SG-1 was named as number 28 on TV Guide's list of "The 30 Top Cult Shows Ever".

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Season 10 Opening:

Everything Else

Upcoming - Graphic Fantasy The Movie

Director : Nathan Bechtold
Official Website: http://www.graphicfantasymovie.com/

Graphic Fantasy is about three pop-culture, movie loving, comic-book collecting friends. Their misadventures to and at the World's Largest Multi-Genre Convention... In the World!!! Where they meet a numerous cast of characters, some of Geekdom's most famous people, and a mysterious stranger who travels with them. This is movie for all those Fan-Geeks of Comic Books, Movies & T.V., Cartoons, Toys, Gaming, Anime & Manga, Cosplayers, Giant Kaiju-Monsters, Wrestling, Pop-Culture, Movie Quotes, Bad Dialogue, and of course awesome Music!!!

The title and plot device are based around the first appearance of "The Savage Dragon", by Erik Larsen (Image Comics), from the pages of his 1980's independent comic series, called Graphic Fantasy.

Graphic Fantasy is a NO-budget, self-financed feature length film; with an accompanying documentary, behind the scenes, interviews, a making of, and outtakes.

"Do you have... GRAPHIC FANTASY?"

GRAPHIC FANTASY TRAILER *NEW*

GRAPHIC FANTASY TEASER

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Experts believe the future will be like Sci-Fi movies

In the latest study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, over 700 technology experts were asked to evaluate an assortment of scenarios in an attempt to determine potential trends for the year 2020. With responses from representatives of the World Wide Web Consortium, ICANN, the Association of Internet Researchers, and major corporations like Google and IBM, the report reflects the perceptions of "Internet pioneers," more than half of whom "were online before 1993."

The highly speculative scenarios presented to respondents are all vaguely reminiscent of various themes commonly found in contemporary science fiction. From artificial intelligences dominating humanity to disgruntled Luddites engaging in violence, the poll looks more like an abandoned script by Michael Piller than a serious exploration of the future. Let's examine some of the more colorful quandaries, and see how many of the concepts have been prominently featured in Star Trek:
Attack of the Amish

Expressing belief that some who reject technology will perpetrate terrorist attacks against technological infrastructure, almost 60 percent of respondents agreed with the following scenario:

"By 2020, the people left behind (many by their own choice) by accelerating information and communications technologies will form a new cultural group of technology refuseniks who self-segregate from "modern" society. Some will live mostly "off the grid" simply to seek peace and a cure for information overload while others will commit acts of terror or violence in protest against technology."

Will disenfranchised LoTeks wreak havoc on society? Comparing future anti-technology vigilantes to modern day "eco-terrorists," Internet education expert and poll respondent Ed Lyell pointed out that "Every age has a small percentage that cling to an overrated past of low-technology, low-energy, lifestyle." Respondent Thomas Narten, a member of IBM's Internet Engineering Task Force, believes that "by becoming valuable infrastructure, the Internet itself will become a target," and FirstGov developer Martin Kwapinski feels that "random acts of senseless violence and destruction will continue and expand due to a feeling of 21st century anomie, and an increasing sense of of lack of individual control."

Some of the respondents sympathized with the Luddites. Respondent Denzil Meyers said, "we need some strong dissenting voices about the impact of this technology in our lives. So far, it's been mostly the promise of a cure-all, just like the past 'Industrial Revolution.'"

This particular theme is examined at length in Star Trek Deep Space Nine season two, episode fifteen, "Paradise," in which Captain Sisko and Miles O'Brien become stranded on a planet populated by the followers of an extreme Luddite philosopher who believes technology is detrimental to human growth. One is also reminded of season five, episode two, "Let He Who is Without Sin...," in which a group of "Essentialists" sabotages the weather control system on the planet Risa in order to convince vacationers that dependence on technology has weakened them.
Strung out on fantasy

Over half of the poll respondents believe that immersive fantasy worlds will completely absorb users, leading to virtual reality addiction. Fifty-two experts agreed with the following scenario:

"By the year 2020, virtual reality on the internet will come to allow more productivity from most people in technologically-savvy communities than working in the "real world." But the attractive nature of virtual- reality worlds will also lead to serious addiction problems for many, as we lose people to alternate realities."

Although some self-described MMORPG "addicts" might be inclined to argue that this particular prediction has already come to pass, compulsive gaming has yet to become a widespread phenomenon with clear societal implications. Technology consultant Robert Eller responded, "we may see a vast blurring of virtual/real reality with many participants living an in-effect secluded lifestyle. Only in the online world will they participate in any form of human interaction."

Virtual reality addiction is a prominent theme in Star Trek the Next Generation season three, episode twenty-one, "Hollow Pursuits," in which Lieutenant Barclay's severe holodeck addiction interferes with his ability to work and relate to others.
Oh no! Cylons and Skynet!

Just under half of the respondents worry about artificial intelligence run amok, leading to the potential subjugation of humanity. 42 experts agreed with the following scenario:

"By 2020, intelligent agents and distributed control will cut direct human input so completely out of some key activities such as surveillance, security and tracking systems that technology beyond our control will generate dangers and dependencies that will not be recognized until it is impossible to reverse them. We will be on a "J-curve" of continued acceleration of change."

Will we become slaves to our own inventions as intelligent computer systems evolve to the point where they can control our society? Earlier this year, I predicted the coming Roomba insurrection. Start stockpiling ammunition now, because it's only a matter of time before those evil little circular dust busters figure out that the best way to keep the house clean is to dispose of the filthy flesh-bags that make it messy in the first place. Elle Tracy, president of The Results Group, comments, "until testing, bug fixing, user interfaces, usefulness and basic application by subject-matter experts is given a higher priority than pure programmer skill, we are totally in danger of evolving into an out-of-control situation with autonomous technology."

Many respondents, like Rob Atkinson of the Progressive Policy Institute, believe that the significant advantages of autonomous technology far outweigh the potential risks. Atkinson says, "The more autonomous agents the better. The steeper the 'J curve' the better. Automation, including through autonomous agents, will help boost standards of living, freeing us from drudgery."

The implications of artificial intelligence is a frequent recurring theme in Star Trek, and it is featured prominently in many of the best episodes. The concept is most effectively embodied in the juxtaposition between the android Data, and his morally uninhibited twin Lore, but occasional holodeck incidents also convey the concept of out-of-control AI. In season six, episode 12, "Ship in a Bottle," a sentient holographic representation of Professor Moriarty seizes control of the Enterprise.
Language, privacy, and equalization

Although the rest of the scenarios are less colorful, they are still relatively interesting. 52 percent of respondents agree that the "free flow of information will completely blur current national boundaries as they are replaced by city-states, corporation-based cultural groupings and/or other geographically diverse and reconfigured human organizations tied together by global networks." 46 percent of respondents believe that "transparency builds a better world, even at the expense of privacy," and 42 percent agree that "worldwide network interoperability will be perfected" by 2020, making mobile communication "available to anyone anywhere on the globe at an extremely low cost."

52 percent agree with the assertion that "The Internet opens worldwide access to success," and 42 percent believe that "English will displace other languages" by 2020. I'm honestly surprised that question made it on the list at all. In a world with sophisticated artificial intelligences and immersive virtual realities, one assumes that the Universal Translator would be invented somewhere along the way.

Are these scenarios really indicative of future trends? Given the prevalence of many of these concepts in science fiction content, it is obvious that the ideas themselves are at least relevant enough to warrant consideration. That said, the nature of the survey and the way that the scenarios are presented makes the entire thing seem less plausible. In looking at classic science fiction films of the past, from Blade Runner to Soylent Green, one realizes that few of them really predict with any accuracy the world we live in today. Culture and technology can change in radically unpredictable ways, and today's experts may lack the foresight to perceive the future with the clarity of Hari Seldon.

By Ryan Paul
From : http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060924-7816.html

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Sci-Fi Games

EVE Online

EVE Online is a player-driven persistent-world massively multiplayer online game set in a science fiction space setting in which players pilot a wide array of customizable ships. It is developed by the Icelandic company CCP Games; it was published from May to December 2003 by Simon & Schuster Interactive, after which CCP purchased the rights back and began to self-publish via a digital distribution scheme.

The fictional background story for EVE Online explains that long ago, humankind, having used up most of the Earth's resources, had started colonizing the rest of the Milky Way to sustain itself. Eventually, humans had expanded to most of the galaxy, resources became contested and war broke out. However, one day, a stable natural wormhole was discovered. Because it was known that the wormhole would collapse, construction began on the EVE Gate, an artificial wormhole generator that would link the galaxies after the natural one closed, Unfortunately, after several years the wormhole collapsed completely destroying itself and the star system of New Eden including the EVE Gate, wherein most of the government of the new galaxy had been based. With the wormhole closed, and the Gate destroyed, the colonists were completely cut off from their previous homes and much needed supplies. Only five known colonies would ever return to any kind of prominence again, eventually rebuilding society together. These make up the five major empires in EVE: the Amarr Empire, the Gallente Federation, the Minmatar Republic, the Caldari State and the Jove Empire. Players may choose from four of these races (Amarr, Gallente, Caldari, Minmatar) when creating a new character. The fifth race (Jove) are not currently playable, though CCP have said they intend to use the race within the EVE storyline.

Genre: MMORPG Space simulation
Mode: Multiplayer
Platform: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X (planned), Linux (planned)
Official Website: www.eve-online.com

Entropia Universe

Entropia Universe is a massively multiplayer online virtual universe designed by Swedish software company MindArk. In contrast to other similar MMORPGs, no monthly subscription is required to participate. The developers instead have decided to utilise a variant of the micropayment economic model, which consists of buying in-game currency (PED - Project Entropia Dollars) with real money that can be redeemed back into real world funds at a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar, where 10 PED = $1 USD. This means that virtual items acquired within Entropia Universe have a real cash value, and a participant may, at any time, initiate a withdrawal of their accumulated PEDs back into real world currencies according to the fixed exchange rate, minus transaction fees.

The Entropia Universe is a direct continuation of Project Entropia, with MindArk reporting a 2006 in-game turnover of over 3.6 Billion PED ($360 Million USD).

I first found out about Entropia Universe on a Discovery Channel documentary about the evolution of online gaming. I heard that someone payed about 20.000$ for a island in the game :D). That someone else made about 150.000$ in an year. I haven`t played yet but i will soon... maybe i`ll get rich over night:))

Genre: MMO/FPS
Mode: MMO
Platform: Microsoft Windows
Official Website: www.entropiauniverse.com

HALO 3

Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios exclusively for the Xbox 360. The game is the third title in the Halo series and ends the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued with Halo 2. The game was released on September 25, 2007 in New Zealand (which due to its midnight release made it first available for official retail), Australia, Singapore, India, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, and the United States; September 26, 2007 in Europe; and September 27, 2007 in Japan. GameSpot reported that 4.2 million units of Halo 3 were in retail outlets on September 24, 2007, a day before official release, a world record volume release. Halo 3 also holds the record for the highest grossing opening day in video game history, making US$170 million in its first 24 hours. On October 4, 2007, Reuters UK estimated that Halo 3 may have sold up to 5.2 million copies.

The game features new vehicles, weapons, and gameplay features not present in the previous titles of the series. Halo 3 focuses on the interstellar war between 26th century humanity and a collection of alien races known as the Covenant, who after a decades-long war have begun the invasion of Earth. The player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier, as he wages war in defense of humanity.

Genre: First-person shooter
Mode: Single player, Co-op, Online
Platform: Xbox 360
Official Website: www.halo3.com

Thru the Moebius Strip (2005)

Starring: Dee Bradley Baker, Daniel Davis, John DeMita, John Di Maggio, Michael Dorn, Jack Fletcher, Peri Gilpin, Mark Hamill
Director: Glenn Chaika
Official Website: http://www.moebiusstrip.net/
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0267024/

In the not-too-distant future, a young boy travels to an alien world to find his father and learn of his destiny.

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