September 2011 Archives

The Moon is out of control!

Almost 40 years ago Gerry Anderson gave us his last great creation, Space 1999.

A story of a bunch of astronauts trapped in Moonbase Alpha on the lunar surface when our rocky buddy is hurled into space after a nuclear accident.

The intro is a curious affair that starts off full of grandeur and then spirals into a full-on 70s' guitar riff before getting all serious again.

Obviously, the folks back in 1975 had a very optimistic view of what advances would have been made by the turn of the century.

Little did they know it would be more like The Beverly Hillbillies than The Jetsons.

After a hard day on the set of Merlin, Bradley James loves nothing more than simply getting out of his armour.

HBO are offering the best competition and giving you the chance to win a piece of  merchandise from the set of True Blood.

"Truebies" can visit the HBO UK Shop online (store.hbouk.com) to enter for their chance to win one of seven authentic wardrobe pieces online (www.truebloodsweeps.co.uk), just in time to wear for Halloween.

The sweepstakes will launch on September 7, and will be open for entries until October 14th, with winners drawn randomly on October 18th

AUTHOR David Wingrove will be guest speaker at the next meeting of Birmingham Science Fiction Group.

The 57-year-old, who penned the successful Myst trilogy, will be talking about his career as a writer at the meeting, to be held at the Briar Rose Hotel in Birmingham city centre's Bennett's Hill at 7.30pm on October 14.

"We would urge as many people as possible to come to this event, which should prove a fascinating insight into David's work," said a spokesman for the group.

"The meeting is open to none members who will all receive a friendly welcome."

* For more details visit www.birminghamsf group.org.uk

Image via Wikipedia

TOLKIEN fans will soon be able to enjoy a tasty break from sightseeing as planning councillors have approved the opening of a new cafe near Sarehole Mill.

The Hungry Hobbit in Wake Green Road, Moseley, is located just minutes from the inspiration for Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

It has been operating as a sandwich bar for the last four years, but will now have room for 18 covers and will open from 8am to 3pm weekdays and from 9am to 4pm on Saturdays.

Objections made by a handful of residents regarding parking, noise and litter were overruled by councillors following a visit to the site.

Fox have released more details on the forthcoming TV drama Alcatraz.

Plot Synopsis:

When San Francisco Police Department DET. REBECCA MADSEN (Sarah Jones, "Sons of Anarchy") is assigned to a grisly homicide case, a fingerprint leads her to a shocking suspect: JACK SYLVANE (guest star Jeffrey Pierce, "The Nine"), a former Alcatraz inmate who died decades ago. Given her family history -- both her grandfather and surrogate uncle, RAY ARCHER (Robert Forster, "Jackie Brown"), were guards at the prison -- Madsen's interest is immediately piqued, and once the enigmatic, knows-everything-but-tells-nothing government agent EMERSON HAUSER (Sam Neill, "Jurassic Park") tries to impede her investigation, she's doggedly committed. Madsen turns to Alcatraz expert and comic book enthusiast, DR. DIEGO "DOC" SOTO (Jorge Garcia, "Lost"), to piece together the inexplicable sequence of events. The twosome discovers that Sylvane is not only alive, but he's loose on the streets of San Francisco, leaving bodies in his wake. And strangely, he hasn't aged a day since he was in Alcatraz, when the prison was ruled by the iron-fisted WARDEN EDWIN JAMES (Jonny Coyne, "Undercovers") and the merciless ASSOCIATE WARDEN E.B. TILLER (Jason Butler Harner, "The Changeling").

Madsen and Soto reluctantly team with Agent Hauser and his technician, LUCY BANERJEE (Parminder Nagra, "ER"), to stop Sylvane's vengeful killing spree. By delving into Alcatraz history, government cover-ups and Rebecca's own heritage, the team will ultimately discover that Sylvane is only a small part of a much larger, more sinister present-day threat. For while he may be the first, it quickly becomes clear that Sylvane won't be the last prisoner to reappear from Alcatraz.

Through the course of the investigation, Madsen and Soto will learn that Agent Hauser has known about the prison's secret history and has been awaiting the prisoners' return. Soto will witness his life's work -- the history of Alcatraz -- come alive. Madsen will be forced to keep her supportive San Francisco cop fiancé, JIMMY DICKENS (Santiago Cabrera, "Heroes"), at arm's length from the highly classified assignment as she sees everything she thought she knew about her family's past shattered, all while fighting to keep the country safe from history's most dangerous criminals.

ALCATRAZ is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television. The series is executive-produced by J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk (FRINGE) and Elizabeth Sarnoff. Steven Lilien ("Kyle XY") & Bryan Wynbrandt ("Kyle XY") and Sarnoff wrote the pilot, and Danny Cannon ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "CSI: Miami") directed and executive-produced the pilot.

PRODUCTION COMPANIES
Bad Robot Productions
Warner Bros. Television
Bonanza Productions Inc.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
J.J. Abrams
Bryan Burk
Elizabeth Sarnoff
Danny Cannon (pilot)
Plot Outline
From executive producer J.J. Abrams (FRINGE, "Lost," "Star Trek" and the upcoming "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" and "Super 8") and writer and executive producer Elizabeth Sarnoff ("Lost," "Deadwood") comes ALCATRAZ, the chilling new thriller centered on America's most infamous prison and one-time home to the nation's most notorious murderers, rapists, kidnappers and thieves.

Starring
Sarah Jones as Det. Rebecca Madsen, Jorge Garcia as Dr. Diego "Doc" Soto, Sam Neill as Emerson Hauser, Parminder Nagra as Lucy Banerjee, Robert Forster as Ray Archer, Santiago Cabrera as Jimmy Dickens, Jonny Coyne as Warden Edwin James

Directed By
Danny Cannon

Written By
Elizabeth Sarnoff, Steven Lilien, Bryan Wynbrand

It's been a whopping 7 years since ABC premiered Lost on our screens.

It seems like a lot less. In my opinion the greatest TV drama of all time.

Here's a nice fan tribute.

Image via Wikipedia

Daniel Radcliffe has admitted that he's never seen Star Wars - despite calling Harry Potter this generation's version of the famous films.

The star, 22, who called himself a "geek", revealed the gap in his film-viewing history to Moviefone, blaming his age.

He told the website: "Now this information is going to be out there in the world... It's really bad."

Daniel, who appeared in the final Potter film this year, said: "I saw The Phantom Menace, and everyone's like, 'You saw that one! You didn't see the originals?!' I know! I was ten! I didn't know any better!"

The Woman In Black actor added: "I know that I would love them because I'm a geek - so I would definitely get into them."

He added "I do think of Potter as being this generation's Star Wars."

Daniel could catch up with the films in 3D, as it was announced last year that George Lucas's entire film saga is going to be shown in the eye-popping format.