SciFi Power Ranking - January 26, 2009
For the second week in a row, an actor's passing has cast a pall on the scifi universe, and we must bid adieu to Bob May. For those who don't know, May was the man who gave life and animation to Lost in Space's robot. Sorry, Will Robinson, I guess you'll have to fend for yourself from now on. As for other news, Oscar nominations and television shows returning from hiatus led the Rankings this week. But in the battle of television versus film, which emerged victorious?
| SciFi Power Rankings | |||
| Rank | LW | Movie, Show or Comic | |
| 1 | 6 |  |
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button After the Golden Globes, was there really any doubt this was coming? Oscar nominations are out, and Benjamin Button is the clear champion this week with a whopping thirteen of 'em. |
| 2 | - |  |
Battlestar Galactica When a show's return has been as anxiously anticipated as Battlestar's, it's easy for fans to slip into a post-premiere malaise. No such problem here. Ronald D. Moore's baby is back, and baby it's huge. |
| 3 | 2 |  |
Watchmen With the legal troubles now behind them, Warner Bros. is pushing the marketing train hard on Zack Snyder's superhero epic. With new videos, talk of extreme violence, and new art from the co-creator, Watchmen is everywhere. |
| 4 | - |  |
Lost The penultimate season has begun, and the premiere was everything (most) fans had hoped for. J.J. Abrams' maddeningly mysterious drama is as divisive as ever, but audience interest in it is showing no signs of decline. |
| 5 | - |  |
Fringe J.J. is two for two with a strong return for his other network drama. Producers are promising a little more clarity with the plot soon, but as long as the hilarious mad scientist Walter hangs around, I'll be a happy camper. |
| 6 | - |  |
The Dark Knight The Dark Knight returns to the Ranking thanks to Oscar nominations, with speculation proving correct that Heath Ledger would nab a best supporting actor nod. I feel sorry for the other actors who have to compete against this posthumous shoe-in. |
| 7 | - |  |
Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince The release date for this one has been pushed so far back that I'd kind of forgotten it was coming. But the boy wizard will soon be returning to the big screen, and fans are flocking to the new Japanese trailer. |
| 8 | - |  |
Coraline Neil Gaiman rocks the house in a new trailer for Coraline. Holy crap, this guy has so much on-screen savvy it's only a matter of time before he's headlining his own $100 million blockbuster. |
| 9 | - |
 |
Big Man Japan Having seen it, I can say that this movie really is as strange as the trailer implies. But it's just as fun, too, and people are starting to pick up on that fact. Check it out, and bring along someone you want to confuse. |
| 10 | - |
 |
Outlander Don't feel bad for Outlander being at the bottom of the list -- that it made the list at all is a tribute to passionate fans who screamed and yelled and convinced the Weinstein Company to change their direct-to-video plans and put it on screens. |
anybody else think heath ledger got that posthumous nod precisely because of his untimely demise?
It certainly couldn't have hurt his chances -- but I'm guessing the movie was big enough and his role was surreal enough that he would have been noticed.
The bigger question, in my mind, is whether the fact that Ledger is dead will turn the nomination into a guaranteed win. Nobody wants to compete with -- and beat -- a dead guy.
I don't think so at all. Ledger was astounding in the role and - in my opinion - saved the movie. Most other areas were a step back from Nolan's first Batman flick but Ledger's Joker was incredible.
You entertainment "journalists" do realize that J.J. Abrams has had absolutely nothing to do with Lost for over 3 years now, right? If you do, would it kill you to refer to it as "Damon Lindelof's show," considering he's a co-createor and continuous show-runner? You know, credit where credit's due...