Fan Picks

This 1983 film isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone in 3-D is a nice reminder of how far 3-D technology has come. The description on the poster sums up the movie nicely, and it bears a strong influence from both Star Wars and Mad Max, without being nearly as good as either one. Ultimately, it's just an interesting footnote in the checkered past of 3-D technology -- a creaky ancestor to modern day marvels like Avatar.

Audiences seem split right down the middle on Tim Burton's take on Alice in Wonderland. I'm in the camp that found it a tedious mess of production design with very little in the way of story or character for me to cling to, and this is coming from a lifelong Burton fan. What I thought would be a perfect marriage of director and material was not so perfect, so why am I willing to root for him to take on the wonderful world of Oz?

The L.A. Times reports that Warner Brothers is looking at L. Frank Baum's Oz series as the next big fantasy franchise, and while no director has been announced, Alice's $210 milllion worldwide opening weekend has probably put Burton on their short list of dream directors for the series. Warners has a couple of Oz screenplays at the ready, one a traditional tale and the other a post-modern spin that sounds an awful lot like the failed Lost in Oz pilot that Burton produced in 2002.

I don't want to be let down again, but Oz has a couple things going for it -- it's easier to adapt than Alice (due to stronger plotting) and there are more novels to pull from, so there's a much richer, established fantasy world to work within. No matter how boring I may have found Burton's 3-D Disney flick, I'd be there opening day if he signed on to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Of course, there's a part of me that realizes his original projects (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands) are far better than his films based on pre-existing properties (Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mars Attacks).

What do you think? Is Tim Burton the man for the job or should he start exploring his own original material again?

I love this poster for the American release of 1961's Mothra. In the first appearance of Toho's second most-recognizable monster after Godzilla, the exploitation of an uncharted island's people by greedy Japanese opportunists leads to the wrath of the island's sole protector -- a giant, irradiated moth. Mothra went on to appear in ten more Toho films, often as Godzilla's co-star. They're the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan of destroying Tokyo.

"I realize you've been battling in the sea of comics to try and do better things," wrote science-fiction author Ray Bradbury to EC Comics writer Joe Orlando. "You have certainly succeeded in 'Judgment Day', which should be required reading for every man, woman, and child in the United States. You've done a splendid thing here and deserve the highest commendation."

I can only imagine what it must've been like to find such a bold anti-racist screed as "Judgment Day" in the pages of a1953 science-fiction comic -- Weird Fantasy #18. Segregation was in full effect, the Civil Right movement still several years away, and the allegory in Orlando's tale (with art by Wally Wood) was a shock to the system that created one of comic history's most memorable moments.

"Judgment Day", which you can read in its entirety here, relates the story of Earth representative Tarlton, sent to a world of self-aware machines who discovers that the robots have divided themselves into two class structures based solely on the color of their chassis. It's not a subtle prodding of an old way of thinking; it's a shout to the face of anyone who dares defend an outmoded, wrong-headed school of thought. The final panel drew particular attention at the time for the daring, forward-thinking statement it makes, and that last image lingers on as an iconic reminder of the power of science-fiction to challenge us, socially.

I'm starting a grassroots movement right now for Seann William Scott as Green Lantern in the (hopefully) inevitable sequel to the upcoming Green Lantern live-action film. No, I'm not recommending that Seann William Scott take over the Ryan Reynolds role as Hal Jordan, the most recognizable of the Green Lanterns. Scott is perfect for another member of the Green Lantern Corps, namely loud-mouth brawler Guy Gardner.

Gardner was selected to be the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 (Earth's sector) by alien Abin Sur's power ring, but Sur's ship was on a crash course and he needed to find someone closer to the crash site. Because of that, Abin Sur selected Hal Jordan over Gardner. Not long after, Jordan was made aware of Guy Gardner's existence, and extended an offer to the somewhat obnoxious hothead to take on the mantle of Green Lantern.

Back in the 90's when I would spitball Green Lantern casting with my friends, there were two actors that were right for the part, in completely different ways. David Caruso would've been a great fit as Guy Gardner. He's full of tough guy swagger and sports a brusque, unapproachable persona to go with his naturally red hair. Denis Leary was my favorite dream choice for the role, though. It's a shame Leary is too old for the part. He could've captured Gardner's hilarious abrasiveness perfectly, the Green Lantern we hate to love. He can also play tough, while staying funny.

It's an amusing story, but I'm not quite buying that there's some mad rush of parents looking to name their kids Quaritch or Jake. The Sun doesn't cite any specific source at all -- not a single parent or hospital administrator to back up their claim -- so until I actually come across someone named Tsu'Tey, I'm taking their claim with a huge grain of salt.

Avatar was the number one movie in the nation for the fifth weekend in a row, bringing its worldwide box office tally up to $1.6 billion.

It's almost Christmas, and you've probably finished most of your Christmas shopping, but if you're looking for some small items to stuff some stockings with, there are quite a few sci fi geek oriented tree ornaments floating around.

I knew there had to be be some out there, and while some are rather amateurish, Toxel has a great collection of geeky ornaments on their site.
Not only are there Futurama ornaments, such as the one shown here, but lots of gamer inspired ornaments, from characters in games, to the game devices themselves. Phones are apparently popular too, from iPhones to Blackberries. Star Trek (original series) Spock and Kirk along with Darth Vader are featured as well.

I decided to take a look around the Internet to see what I could find. Not much out there that isn't cheese, such as some old-school robot ornaments on Amazon.com, and McPhee.com was worse; they only had one kind of ornament, and it's not very interesting. Tinytoyarcade.com had some vintage looking ones, the best of which were old school ray guns.

Hallmark had some Star Wars ornaments, with Han Solo, Luke, and Anakin, but no Princess Leia (no fair!!), as well as more original series Star Trek, including a phaser.

Beyond that, I got lost in keyword hell, with sites that had nothing to do with what I was searching for, or fan made ornaments. One would think there'd be more out there, considering how many of us geeks like to collect.

Any suggestions on where to find sci fi themed ornaments?

I don't think there's a company better at parting a geek with his well-earned money than Sideshow Collectibles. Seems like every week they've got some new, awesome (and usually ferociously expensive) collectible just waiting to make its home beside your computer monitor or on your bookshelf.

They're offering seven different Hot Toys Mars Attacks! "Mini Cosbabies" (a fancy name for 3" vinyl action figures) for pre-order at the remarkably sane price of $8.50 US.

I still have a few of the action figures from the original Trendmasters assortment from 1996 that coincided with the release of the Tim Burton flop (a flop that I thoroughly enjoyed). The comically hideous retro design of the Mars Attacks! Martians have kept them as some of my favorite (and most commented upon) desktop decorations.

Mimoco is rolling out their 5th wave of Star Wars Mimobot USB memory sticks, and they're looking to the fans to pick the next character to be immortalized as a flash drive. You can vote on your favorite -- Tusken Raider, TIE-Fighter Pilot, Obi-Wan Kenobi, or Greedo -- on the Mimoco website, but hurry! Voting ends on December 31st, 2009.

The winner will join the previously released Mimobots -- Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Clone Capt. Rex, C-3PO, Emperor Palpatine, Wicket, Imperial Guard, and Han Solo -- in March of 2010. Thanks to Figures.com for bringing this important, life-altering decision to our immediate attention.

(I voted Tusken Raider.)