It's no secret that I dislike Russell T. Davies. While the guy should be lauded for bringing Doctor Who back to television, the man was born with his forehead on the bottom of his feet (if the trashy, maudlin tenor of the last three seasons is anything to go by). He took all the fine work that the Big Finish guys have been doing with Doctor Who over the years with their audio plays and just hosed off on it. It's annoying.

But Russell T. Davies doesn't care what I think. Hell, he doesn't care what you think. Davies has recently gone on record as saying: "I'm sorry to say this, all the science fiction producers making stuff in America, they are way too engaged with their fandom. They all need to step back."

No, they don't. That's one of the reasons why sci-fi producers in America like Ronald D. Moore are making some of the best sci-fi in history: They don't look at their fans as vapid morons waiting in line at the fish and chip shop before skipping home for Coronation Street. Is it any wonder, looking at Doctor Who, that Russell T. Davies thinks his own fan base is entirely comprised of idiots? That might be true, actually... but only because Davies aimed his show at them. The sooner this guy is replaced with Steven Moffat, the better.

Doctor Who Producer Won't Listen To Fans [io9]

Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot. They're also career troublemakers. So how to keep them out of trouble en masse, behind the bars of the jailhouse? Some wardens train the prison population to re-enact Michael Jackson's Thriller. Others make their cowardly, superstitions in-mates build Daleks.

Which, needless to say, is what the Warden of the Woodford Correctional Centre in Queensland, Australia, is doing. They have recently put the finishing touches on on a full-size Dalek replica complete with wheels and voice changer, and with space for a ride-in occupant. 

The prisoners are now auctioning the Dalek on eBay, with an end date of February 8th. All proceeds will go to the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane. It's always nice to see the criminal population give back to society in the way of murderous, robot squidlings.

Crims Create Daleks To Help Sick Kids [ABC Brisbane]

Last night -- shortly before my home team the Patriots screwed up the only sure thing in football history -- Paramount Pictures premiered the newest Iron Man trailer. And it's even better than the last trailer.

This one has all new footage, but there's one main difference: The last spot focused on the Afghani terror camp Iron Man, and the new one focuses on the most advanced model. It also looks like the plot might involve the newer Iron Man versus his prototype model.

I didn't think the movie could be interesting once Tony Stark upgraded his armor past the steampunk aesthetic. Boy, was I wrong. This movie is shaping up.

Iron Man Super Bowl TV Spot [IESB]

Big news for Buffy fans -- the Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television and Radio) is hosting a Buffy The Vampire Slayer reunion in Los Angeles. The event will bring together series-creator Joss Whedon, along with his ensemble cast including Nicholas Brendon (Xander), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Seth Green (Oz), Amber Benson (Tara), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn), and James Marsters (Spike). As per usual, Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) is nowhere to be seen. I can understand that Anthony Head (Giles) isn't going, but come on Buffy! Too busy working on Southland Tales 2?

On the bright side, everyone's favorite bad girl Eliza Dushku (Faith) will be in attendance. Hopefully she'll give us more details on Dollhouse, the new Joss Whedon series she's slated to star in.

For those of you in the Los Angeles area (or those of you looking for an excuse for a road trip) the Buffy reunion will take place on Thursday, March 20th at the Cinerama Dome.

Get ticket info here.

Thanks to a lifetime of learning about science according to whatever 60s pulp writer working for a nickel a word thinks the nation's lab-coated scientists should be able to do, I imminently expect the following: Time travel, working cryogenics, dimensional tourism, sentient cyborgs, and immortality.

Needless to say, science -- that lofty, pillared institution, the deity of our non-deific age -- is working on none of these things seriously, being far more concerned with practical issues like curing cancer. Most of the world's time travel experiments are being conducted by wild-haired kooks. But there is some overlap.

Continue reading "India Asks: "Where's My Flying Car?"" »

The concept driving Marvel Zombies is better than anything Marvel has done in some time. The idea is simple: Because of a galactic plague brought to Earth by Sentry, every superhero on the planet is turned into a mindless carnivorous zombie that wipes out mankind and leaves the once-super survivors to consider other food sources.

Sadly, like most good comic book ideas, Marvel has sucked it dry through uninspired variations like Marvel Zombies versus The Army of Darkness . After that one, I was pretty sure I had lost interest in the idea of a zombified Spider-Man.

But never say never, because a lone couple of fan boys doing their own Marvel Zombies movie, have managed to bring back my enthusiasm. The "plot" of the video involves a monster Spidey eating Mary Jane's guts. It's all just gooey greatness.

via [SF Signal]

• A bizarre New Wave androgyne sings sci-fi music on public access television.

• The Signal looks to be a direct rip-off of one of Stephen King's most execrable books, Cell. Needless to say, Ain't It Cool News is already proclaiming it a classic.

• SETI may not be finding extraterrestrial communications because they've upgraded to broadband.

• Cloverfield may very well sync up, Dark Side of the Moon style, with Fall Out Boy's Infinity on High album. But then again, it might not.

• Boy, Arthur C. Clarke barely got anything right about the future...

• While guys like me resist the urge to let Lost jerk us around anymore, at least SF Signal loved the last episode.

Continue reading "Daily Scan: 02.04.08" »