SciFi Squad

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening:

Is the obsession with bacon, or rather BaCoN, elemental? Geekologie spots a barium, cobalt, and nitrogen-based bacon shirt.

Ian Scoones, visual and special effects designer who worked on old-school Doctor Who, has passed away. [Total Sci-Fi Online]

Albert Pyun, the director of the '80s crap classic Cyborg, has a new website, according to Quiet Earth, and he is gearing up for a return to post-nuclear action with the help of writers Kitty Chalmers, Rebecca Charles, and Cynthia Curnan.

Walter Koenig -- aka Chekov on Star Trek -- talks to MSNBC about his missing son, Andrew Koenig (Boner from Growing Pains). [SciFi Wire]

Topless Robot dares to discern the 8 Greatest Minor Characters in The Venture Bros.

District 9 scribe Terri Tatchell says she's now working on a sci-fi short film called Terminus, according to her interview with io9.

BoingBoing finds a human furniture collection. Too bad these aren't robotic legs that could bring the bookshelf to you.

Just like the bat signal, there's a big ol' question mark lurking in the sky when it comes to Doctor Who. Russell T. Davies did a whole heck of a lot for the science fiction series, wowing us with Christopher Eccleston and then managing to top it with David Tennant. But now he's out, Steven Moffat is in, and we've got a whole new Who. But we've also got one heck of a guest writer on the way.

BBC News reports that Neil Gaiman has written an episode for the show, and its working title is The House of Nothing. Gaiman hasn't shared any details about his stab at the Doctor, but he did say the show will air in 2011 if everything comes to pass. From the writer himself:

And while I know it's cruel to make you wait for things, in about 14 months from now -- which is to say, not in the upcoming season but early in the one after that -- it's quite possible that I might have written an episode.

And if I had, it would originally have been called The House of Nothing. But it definitely isn't called that any more.

I can only begin to imagine what the writer will create for the new Doctor. Thoughts?

Joss Whedon's Dollhouse has closed for good, moving from a mediocre-at-best Eliza Dushku variety show to a slow-plotted and intriguing drama, to an absolute whirlwind of OMG moments hurtling towards an apocalypse. Watching the final wrap-up episodes, I was intrigued and increasingly drawn in, glad to be rid of the boring and flat assignments and into the intricacies of the Dollhouse system, Enver Gjokaj showing Dushku how an actor truly morphs, and an all-too-brief taste of Ray Wise.

And then came "Epitaph 2: Return," an episode that was rife with deja vu. It's a shame Whedon and Co. didn't use that final episode's 40 minutes to give the whirlwind plot path a little more room to play out -- ease the last episodes' rush a little. Instead, we got Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Chosen," plus a few other Slayer perks, done Dollhouse-style.

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening:

Could Joss Whedon have a new show in the works? Matt Roush at TVGuide reports of an upcoming meeting. (This time, not with Eliza.)

The Hollywood Reporter posts that Jonathan Levinson will tackle zombie flick Warm Bodies. Let's hope these zombies are quicker than the Mandy Lane distributors.

Holy poked eyes, Batman! Gizmodo finds a batumbrella.

But an even better geeky adornment is Mystery Science Theater in eyeglass form at Geekologie.

io9 shares a peek at the dry ice-covered dunes of Mars.

Diego-san, the humanoid one-year-old with the gargantuan head. [BoingBoing]

As The Los Angeles Times shares, Versace gives his fashion take on Tron.

And finally, the web is buzzing with new Star Wars opening text. [Awesomer]

If there's one show that I think is safe in its Britishness -- one that could never be tainted by the neverending rush of U.S. remakes -- it's Doctor Who. In fact, when I first heard about this latest news blip about Torchwood, I thought: "At least it's not Doctor Who." Oh, my naivete...

The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed is reporting that Fox is developing a U.S. version of Torchwood, and buried at the bottom of the piece, they also state that Jane Tranter of BBC U.S. "might try to reboot Doctor Who for U.S. audiences." I'll ignore that last bit for now, as "might" seems like a way for Tranter to test the waters on how fans out react to an American Who, rather than actually planning to do it yet.

Torchwood on Fox... Where to begin? Should I discuss the lousy track record Fox has with these sorts of things? How a remake would be as doomed as Dollhouse? Should I cover the fact U.S. studios would never stomach the advanced opinions on sex and gender? Rue about how bland it would become? How cookie cutter? How decidedly unWho, unHarkness?

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening:

Go Team Venture! We're finally getting Venture Brothers toys, according to Entertainment Earth.

"When the aliens come, they will eat the fatties first." -- A line BoingBoing shares from a new health club ad campaign.

Michael Cera has become a light-saber wielder! [Cinematical]

Geekologie shares a tutorial on how to Photoshop yourself into a Na'vi.

Science is so cruel: Science Blogs reports that researchers use a laser to shave the barbs off fly penises to see what function they serve.

Superhero Hype reports that we should get ready for a line of Iron Man 2 spy gear for kids. Closing the door might not be enough to rid yourself of the watchful kid eye.

Did you know that Dell now has "Alienware"? [The Awesomer]

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening:

SciFi Wire shares some of John Barrowman's shnazzy "Single Ladies" moves. You know, Captain Jack Harkness.

Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter, is going to guest on The Simpsons to spoof the vampiric wonder that's Twilight, so says EW.

Plus, The Daily Beast shares the horror of Twilight tattooage, which isn't just girl fandom -- one set of guy/gal best friends branded themselves "lion" and "lamb."

Dying for the new Van Damme-led Universal Soldier? Quiet Earth alerts us all to the fact that it's now available for pre-order.

The Twitter Feed running for Production Weekly notes that the CW is still trying to adapt Warren Ellis' Global Frequency.

TVGuide shares a peek at Smallville's Hawkman.

According to The Guardian, The Lovely Bones test audience wanted more violence.

Was Jane Espenson edged out of Caprica? She tells io9 no, and hopefully she's not just being professionally nice.

As much as we all fervently and loyally love Joss Whedon, it's time to face facts: His mojo is off. It's not gone -- I'd never suggest such a thing. One look at Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and the better episodes of Dollhouse prove that the magic is still there. However, it has lost its focus, writhing in the ether, struggling to gain the fame of his earlier television work -- fame that while never massive, was solid, loyal, and passionate.

With Dollhouse canceled, the question on everyone's mind is how can he get back to the success of Buffy? How can he shrug off the pain of two battles for ratings and second seasons, and present a show that ushers in a fandom rivaling what came before with Buffy, Giles, Willow, and Xander?

Hit the jump for 5 sure-fire ways to get Joss back on track.

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening:

Joss Whedon comments on the cancellation of Dollhouse at Whedonesque.

Variety reports that Isabella Rossellini is getting into "The Solitude of Prime Numbers."

J.J. Abrams tells Entertainment Weekly that while Fringe seems to be faltering in the ratings, there's no concern yet for cancellation.

Whoa -- Alan Moore reveals that he will write part of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's upcoming opera. [BBC]

TV Guide reveals that Torchwood could get a fourth season, if everything comes together.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, io9 dips into the relationship between the Cold War and science fiction.

The site also reports that while we may never see Neuromancer on the big screen, it's about to get a 6-hour installation in New York.

MTV finds out that Dolph Lundgren may pop up in the new Conan.

The fight has come to an end.

After a massive rejigging of the show's first episodes, a struggle to find out what it wanted to be, bad ratings, a fight to stay on the air, and a month-long hiatus after only a handful of episodes, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Joss Whedon's Dollhouse will not go past episode 13. In fact, it's not even clear whether or not we'll get to see how the series wraps up on television. Pre-cancellation, the plan was to air the rest of the episodes starting December 4, but with the end of the show, that plan could very well end up in the trash.

Joss is currently shooting the eleventh episode, so there is room to try to wrap it up in the remaining two, but as with any Whedon universe, there's too much plot to just put a pretty bow on the series in 80 minutes. Then again, when Joss is really feeling the pressure, greatness often bursts forth. After an abysmal fourth season of Angel, he managed to reinvigorate the entire series and go out with a bang (death, carnage, bloody awful poetry!).

All in all, I'm not surprised and not terribly bummed by the news. I'm still holding out hope that he'll whip up a series with the magic Buffy had. And considering all the shots he gets to make his floundering projects work, I think that's everyone's hope. Could try #4 make that wish a reality?