Are you looking forward to the return of Battlestar Galactica? If so, you might want to set your DVR for The Late Show With David Letterman tonight. Ten BSG stars will read the Top Ten list. Yes, that includes Katee Sackhoff, Mary McDonnell, Grace Park, Tricia Helfer and Lucy Lawless.

And if that's not enough to tide you over, there are BSG articles everywhere this week:

1. The Los Angeles Times previews the season in an article called "Battlestar Galactica gears up for a fight to the finish." It includes this choice quote:

"I think there will be closure for Starbuck," Sackhoff said. "But I can't see her happy, in love and with babies. She's the happiest when she's alone, feeling pain and stress. She's tremendously flawed, but out of everyone she's the most human."

2. The Chicago Tribune blog The Watcher has a season preview too, and notes that Joss Whedon wanted to direct a BSG episode but is too busy with Welcome to the Dollhouse. Bummer. … continue reading

Last weekend at at WonderCon, a few lucky souls in San Francisco witnessed the trailer for the new X-Files movie. It remains to be seen if this is a movie that should happen — I am not a huge fan of the first — but catching a glimpse of it over at Cinematical.com, I'm sure I sat at my computer with an dorky fangirl grin on my face. Anticipation is sweet.

Retrocrush.com was on the scene to interview Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny afterward about the movie and their post-X-Files perspectives. Duchovny talks a lot (why am I not surprised?), but Anderson managed to get a few words in. Here are some highlights. And a snap judgment: Duchovny needs a haircut.

First, the news is that the movie will be a throwback to the beginning of the series; there will be mythology (as is hinted at in the trailer) but the film will be a standalone project for those who've never seen the series. And for those who stopped watching during the last two seasons, when even Annabeth Gish wasn't enough to compensate for Scully's annoyingly endless weeping. … continue reading

What is it about Kansas that makes it the official site of postapocalyptic TV America? The Day After — the first of the two nuclear-bomb-aftermath TV movies of the early '80s — took place in a small town in Eastern Kansas.

And 20+ years later, Kansas had a postapocalyptic TV revival in the form of Jericho, a short-lived series about life in a small Kansas town after the United States as it previously existed is gone.

If I lived in Kansas, I don't know whether I'd be honored or offended that my home state was the official site of postapocalyptic TV. I guess there's no such thing as bad publicity. And who wouldn't want to be portrayed as a survivor? (But this assumption that the heartland will remain after the cities get bombed might possibly explain how Indiana petting zoos are considered for Homeland Security funding.) Maybe there's just something quintessentially American about the Sunflower State.

Regardless of why, postapocalyptic horror is coming back to Kansas tonight when Jericho returns to CBS, somewhat unexpectedly, for a short second season. … continue reading

J.J. Abrams recently announced the cast of his upcoming sci-fi pilot, Fringe. To most fans, I suppose the big news is that Mr. “I Discovered Keri Russell and Jennifer Garner” has chosen the beautiful-but-unknown-in-the-States actress Anna Torv to play the lead.

But the casting bit that caught my eye was the news that one of my most beloved ’80s TV stars, Blair Brown, will play “the brilliant Nina Cord, a 16-year veteran at Prometheus Corp., a cutting-edge research facility.”

Cutting-edge, indeed. The Divine Ms. B was, of course, the star of The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, a laugh-track-less dramedy that ran, starting in 1987, for two years on NBC before being picked up for another three seasons on then-nascent Lifetime. A year before Murphy Brown began its epic run redefining what it was to be a complicated woman in the 1980s, Blair Brown’s Molly Dodd was a quick-witted, complex, vaguely employed, literate libertine who captured the essence of New York womanhood at the time. She was a charmingly neurotic cross between Mary Richards and Annie Hall. And along with Woody Allen’s 1989 Crimes and Misdemeanors, 1988’s Crossing Delancey and the following year’s When Harry Met Sally, it informed my opinion of New York as a cultural, multiethnic, funny, intelligent place that I someday wanted to live. … continue reading

Last year, globalgrrl called the perfection that is casting Zoë Saldana as Uhura in the new Star Trek movie.

This year, Saldana spoke with blackfilm.com about the role, as well as her indie film, Blackout, which is released on DVD today. I'd heard a little bit about that project, and the IMDb.com synopsis promises as much drama and tragedy as the day the lights went out in Brooklyn back in 2003: “It examines the nature of man to take advantage of his own fellow man outside of normal conditions, in times of weakness and vulnerability.” You can catch clips from the film here, but here's a taste.

I'm only a casual fan of the Star Trek beast, but I found it interesting to hear from Saldana about stepping into a role practically trademarked by another actor, and her career to come. … continue reading

The economy is tanking, we're at war and the planet is getting hotter. But just how bad will it get? What if you could see the bleak future that you fear might be brought to fruition? Dystopic novels and stories offer the opportunity to explore such nightmares in waking time.

This subgenre of science fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction views human nature from completely outside of the exaggerated perfection of the Garden of Eden, while also accounting for current societal ills and postulating on what might occur in the near or distant future if these issues aren't addressed. The utopian ideal of the genesis of humans is destroyed — obliterated, even — and the anti-utopia rises from the tangle and ash.

Often employing a startlingly bleak postmodernist view, the dystopic novel challenges the very core of what defines us, what we're capable of and, often, how we're inextricably linked to the physical world despite what virtually wanders around in our own minds. And where would we be if the postmodern wasn't coupled with the existential, the questioning of a sense of self, identity?

Here are some of my favorites of the subgenre.

1. Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale

Female authors address the dystopic universe and the issue of identity much differently than men do. Classic case in point: The anti-sexualization in Margaret Atwood's 1985 book The Handmaid's Tale versus that of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, which was published in 1932. In both novels, the men have access to and control of women's bodies and their reproductive rights, but from vastly different perspectives and for equally polar reasons. Brave New World renders women little more than eager sex partners who pose no threat to “trapping” men through their desire for children and nuclear family. … continue reading

You know, I thought that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (for which Dorothy Snarker helpfully coined the acronym T:SCC) would make fans of kick-ass females happy. I mean, here's a show that is entertaining, well acted and has not one, but two hot women stars, Lena Headey and Summer Glau.

As Ms. Snarker so delightfully put it, whoever cast those two together "deserves a raise or, at the very least, a large muffin basket."

The series is not perfect, but it's definitely worth watching. And compared to Bionic Woman, T:SCC is beyond brilliant. So, what's the problem? According to some Terminator fans, Headey is too thin. Painfully thin. Emaciated, even.

Huh? That is not an emaciated woman. Thin, yes. Fit, yes. But too thin? I don't think so. Granted, Headey is not ripped like the original Sarah Connor, Linda Hamilton. But who is? … continue reading

Last summer I made my first trek to the San Diego Comic Con and oh, honey ... the sights I done saw! Liv Tyler speaking Elvish to appease a ballroom full of nerds ... a dude dressed like a 300 Spartan yet decidedly lacking a 300 Spartan’s body ... miles and miles of crap that no one needs yet everyone desperately wants ... an amputee model all done up like Rose McGowan in Planet Terror ... and $5 pretzels. Yes, I said five-dollar pretzels. What’s up with that, Comic Con? Do I not hunger yet deserve affordable snacks? Am I made out of money? What am I, Goldfinger? Do I smell like Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds? No, I assure you that I most certainly do not.

Although now that I think about it, that might be lovely.

While everyone else at the convention was drooling over the Iron Man trailer, I was drooling (with anticipation, I swear) over the panel writer-director Neil Marshall gave to talk about his upcoming “dark action thriller” Doomsday. Marshall, you see, is the man responsible for two of my favorite horror films: the 2002 “army vs. werewolves” flick Dog Soldiers, and the 2006 “hot women go caving with disastrous results” flick The Descent. Basically, I’d be willing to give any film the guy does a shot; lucky for me, however, Doomsday looks killer.

Marshall’s ode to postapocalyptic movies like Escape From New York and The Road Warrior has everything you could want in pure escapist entertainment: car chases, weirdo eye makeup on crazy people, infections and quarantines, explosions, mohawks, and a gun-totin’, sword-wieldin’, tank-top-wearin’ Rhona Mitra. It’s the end of the world as we know it, and, uh ... she looks pretty damn fine.

Six months after I went goo-goo over the film and early clips in San Diego, the official trailer has shown up online and I’m goo-goo all over again. Check it out — everything you need to know about the movie is crammed into two and a half minutes. If you’re as geeky — no wait — I mean, if you’re as savvy as I am, you’ll even spot MyAnna Buring, one of The Descent’s six chicks with a pick. … continue reading

Well, gosh, that was exciting. The two-night, two-episode premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (henceforth to be known as T:SCC because, geez, that’s a lot to type over and over again) was an apocalyptic good time.

Was it perfect? Certainly not. Were there continuity issues? Most definitely. But you’d be hard pressed to find a weak link in the acting department (OK, Thomas Dekker’s John Connor is a bit like Zac Efron with an attitude problem) or a show with more beautiful women kicking ass in tank tops. Whoever decided to put Lena Headey and Summer Glau in a series together deserves a raise, or at the very least, a large muffin basket.

Since I’m just a casual fan of the films, I came to the series with fewer expectations in terms of the Terminator mythology. But for those who demand consistentcy, T:SCC takes place after T:2 and before T:3, thus basically negating (or, more accurately, reimagining) the final film. But, again, since I’m a fan but not a fanatic of the movies, I was just looking for a good story that could balance action with emotion. … continue reading

Have you ever had that dream where it’s the future but it’s not the future — like, everything kinda looks the same but somehow you know anyway that it’s the future — and you’re standing there enjoying a fruit smoothie and all of a sudden Kristanna Loken as a Terminator and Summer Glau as a Terminator both come around the corner and you’re all, like, “Oh no!” but it’s OK because they’re fighting each other? But you’re kinda freaked out anyway and you don’t want to get hurt, so you run into this muffler shop that’s nearby but when you get inside it turns into some kind of Ye Olde Inne and Saloon and Charles Barkley is there playing the piano? And you look outside and the Terminators have spotted you and they’ve decided they want to fight you and they start running towards the muffler shop/Ye Olde Inn and Saloon so you hide behind the counter, but there’s this midget there who’s dressed up like Where’s Waldo (except that he’s also wearing a vest) and he’s totally looking at you with eeeeevil intent and he’s holding a knife? So you decide that you’d rather take your chances with Kristanna Loken and Summer Glau (Terminators or not) than with a murderous midget dressed up like Where’s Waldo so you go back outside ... and when you get outside it’s snowing and the Terminators are making out and then a unicorn comes along and offers you some gum and then you wake up?

Well, if you’ve ever had that dream, then there’s a chance that your dream could come true this Sunday at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention! Yes, folks, on the 13th, Summer Glau and Kristanna Loken (along with Leelee Sobieski) will be making an appearance and signing autographs at the fabulous Shrine Auditorium Expo Center. If my dreams mean anything — and I think they do — then there’ll be Terminators fighting and making out everywhere.

What? It’s totally possible. This one time I had a dream about my car breaking down and then 8 months later it happened! That’s not just a coincidence. … continue reading

Come with me if you want to live. Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all dramatic. But with all my favorite shows in or entering repeats, you can understand why Sunday’s premiere of the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has me all excited about taking back the future from the endless reality wasteland we’re about to enter. Well, that and the presence of Lena Headey, Summer Glau and some really big guns.

The much anticipated, much drooled-over two-night premiere airs Sunday and Monday on Fox. Since I missed the Yahoo! TV stream of the pilot last week (vacation makes you do the wacky, like not log on to your computer for days at a time), I’m looking forward to it with the proverbial bated breath. Though after looking at Summer, Lena and Lena’s mischievously cocked eyebrow at the premiere party this week, I think I may have stopped breathing altogether.

The reasons I’ll be watching are obvious: Lena, Summer, guns, explosions, fights, killer machines from the future hell-bent on destroying the world as we know it. You know, girlie stuff. … continue reading

Ever wondered what Doctor Who would be like as a woman? Me too. But even if you have pondered that prospect, Patsy and Edina probably aren't the first images that come to mind.

Nonetheless, recent reports indicate that Ab Fab alum Jennifer Saunders may be tapped to play the first ever female Doctor for a special one-shot episode. … continue reading

If you’ll allow me, I’d like to test a theory. I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer as truthfully as possible. My intent is purely scientific, I assure you. I pose it only in the interest of posterity and the advancement of humankind. So, are you ready? Again, please answer honestly.

Does the golden bikini work on fangirls like it does on fanboys?

I speak, of course, of the famous/infamous gold bikini Princess Leia wore when she was being held as a slave girl by Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. It may in fact be the most famous bikini on the planet, not to mention the least buoyant. And in the 24 years that have passed since its image first seared itself onto our collective subconscious, it has spawned countless imitators. Remember the episode of Friends where Rachel dressed up for Ross in the gold bikini? I think that may have been its official outing as the No. 1 fantasy in all of geekdom — well, at least for straight guys. … continue reading

Posters for The Sarah Connor Chronicles are all over New York City buses these days. The ominpresence of Lena Headey and her big gun is enough to make you feel like you're living in a futuristic apocalypse. (Frankly, simply walking out the door makes me feel like that, but never mind.)

Well, thanks to the magic of the Interweb, you too can pretend you're in a futuristic apocalypse with Lena. Fox has launched GetTerminated.com, "the site that allows you to become the ultimate terminator." You can upload an image and insert yourself into a scene from the new series.

Here's what happened when I uploaded a picture of Grover from Sesame Street: … continue reading

When the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 comic turned out to be so true to the television series — and so much fun — many Joss Whedon fans dared to hope that more of his canceled shows would continue in graphic form. Angel fans got their wish in November (with mixed reviews) and now comes confirmation that a new Serenity comic will be published in March 2008.

Serenity: Better Days is a three-issue series set between the end of Firefly and the 2005 Serenity feature film — the same setting as Serenity: Those Left Behind, which was published in 2005. … continue reading