Falling Skies

New from Dreamworks this June is an alien apocalyptic TV show called Falling Skies. The preview looks pretty good, nothing too special. But, who am I kidding they had me at apocalyptic. With Syfy moving away from science fiction maybe TNT can help us out.

Preview and photos below. On a side note: I do find one photo troubling. The one where the entire cast is looking down and the camera is pointing up. Hopefully it's only a promo shot, because if they are looking at an alien corpse I'm going to scream.

From the official site:

FALLING SKIES opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign against the occupying alien force.

Thundercats Reboot Coming to Cartoon Network

Okay, I'm on the record for not liking reboots. But, if this is done right I'm for it. Thundercats has so much potential as a franchise and as a medium for entertaining fantasy/science fiction stories.

My main concern is that it'll be "gritty" or "edgy." I know what people mean when they say those things, but unsually it leads creators down the wrong path. I wish the writers and prodcers would throw out those words and focus instead on excellence. Done right this won't be a reboot, it'll be a rebirth.

Look for Thundercats on Cartoon Network sometime this year.

Image credit: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Land of the Giants (1968-1970)

Why have I never heard of this show? Seriously, I had never heard of this show until yesterday. Of course, it was before my time but still I should have heard of it. Oh well, every episode is on Hulu! I'm going to be busy the next few days.

From Wikipedia:

Land of the Giants was an hour-long American science fiction television program lasting two seasons beginning on September 22, 1968 and ending on March 22, 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen. Land of the Giants was the fourth of Allen's science fiction TV series. The show was aired on ABC and released by 20th Century Fox Television. The series was filmed entirely in color and ran for 51 episodes. The show starred Gary Conway and Don Marshall. Author Murray Leinster also wrote three novels in 1968 and 1969 based on the television series.

Set in the then-future year of 1983, the series tells the tale of the crew and passengers of a sub-orbital transport spaceship called the Spindrift. In the pilot episode, the Spindrift is en route from Los Angeles to London via the ultra-fast route of a parabolic trajectory. Just beyond Earth's boundary with space, the Spindrift encounters a strange space storm and is transported to a mysterious planet where everything is twelve times larger than its counterpart on Earth. The Spindrift crew calls the inhabitants "the giants".

Read more:
Land of the Giants

Watch every episode on Hulu!

YouTube Fan Club

Are People Afraid of Science Fiction?

Are producers afraid to call their shows science fiction? Here's an article discussing just that. Terra Nova, Lost and other TV shows have avoided the label, but why? Most likely it's because science fiction is seen as geeky. But when you put out a TV show it has to be cool and hip. Though, in the case of Mr. Braga it's probably because he hates science fiction.

TV shows reluctant to accept sci-fi title

Terra Nova: Hit or Miss?

Here's an article and an interview considering Terra Nova's future. It's expensive. It's a gamble. Will it be entertaining? I think the biggest flaw is that it's about a family.

‘Terra Nova’: TV’s ‘Waterworld’ or ‘Avatar’?

Twenty Minutes into the Future...

For 14 exciting weeks when I was in Junior High those words in the post title started off one of the most unique TV shows ever: Max Headroom. Most people remember the Coke ad campaign featuring the computer video jockey, but the TV series is where real stuff was going down.

Cyberpunk before cyberpunk was cool, this show and it's technological commentary shattered the mold. Ground-breaking and even visionary, this show predicted much of our world looks like now. Twenty-four hour news? Check. The Internet? Check. Constant adverting? Check. Video pirates? Check. Five hundred TV channels competing for ratings? Check. And much, much more.

Visionary? Ground-breaking? Unique? Strange? So of course it was canceled after only 14 episodes. TV networks still haven't changed. If a show is ahead of it's time it has to go. You have to make room for that new cop show, right?

Finally though, Max Headroom is officially on DVD. If you've never seen it check it out now. Here's Max on You Tube.

Battlestar Galactica Open

I loved this show. It was a great top off to Saturday morning cartoons back in the day.

M.A.S.K. Intro

I remember watching this cartoon eons ago. It was good stuff.

G.I. Joe Intro

More 80's memories. I had so many of the action figures it was silly.

Thundercats Intro

I'm staying with 80's cartoons. Thundercats was awesome back in the day.

Voltron Opener

This show shaped my childhood and also probably helped to warp my mind.

Otherworld (1985)

I have never met anyone else who has ever heard of this show. I was crazy over it when it aired. I made Zone Trooper insignias. I drew maps of cities and other Zones. Of course, now it seems quite dated. Only eight episodes were produced. One episode featured Mark Lenard as a guest star. Lenard will always be remembered as Spock's father Sarek.

A family is drawn through a vortex inside the Great Pyramid. They find thenselves in a world called, Thel, that is ruled by a harsh government. They family is constantly on the run and struggling to find the way home.

Buy it on DVD here.

Check out the awesome fansite Otherwrld Online.

Read about it on Wikipedia here.

Watch the intro:

ST:TNG - "The Inner Light" A Review by SRC

If you've never watched the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The inner light", or if you have watched it and NOT watched it several times, then you owe it to yourself to enjoy this masterpiece.

To put it simply, this is one of the best, most original, well written pieces of science fiction ever produced.


A short synopsis: Captain Picard is entranced by a beam from a probe created and launched by a long extinct alien culture. During his short encounter, his medical condition is closely monitored by the crew of the Enterprise, meanwhile Picard lives an entire lifetime on the alien world, in his mind.

During Picard's encounter, he realizes that he's in an unfamiliar reality, accepts his situation and goes on to live a full and normal life. He takes a wife and has children and grandchildren, helps his community and makes and loses friends, including his best friend. As Picard ages in the alternate reality, his new home planet is threatened by global drought and a warming star and is doomed for destruction. Towards the end of his apparent lifespan, Picard helps to launch a rocket from his alien home world containing scientific equipment meant to study the drought problem.


To tie things together in the episode, the rocket that Picard helps to launch, actually contains the probe that eventually entrances Picard. The probe was actually meant to find someone to tell the tale of the alien culture to, long after the culture was extinguished, to preserve their history. That someone turned out the Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

When Picard wakes from his entrancement, the life that he lived was still vividly real to him, and he later finds an artifact (a flute-type instrument) from his encounter.


This is one of the top 3 or 5 Star Trek episodes ever created, and one of the best pieces of science fiction ever made. It tells a different story, from a different perspective in a different way. It is well worth the watch. ~ SRC