serenity

If you haven't seen Firefly yet, or the spin-off feature film Serenity, then be warned that I'm going to get spoilery.

If there's one thing Browncoats can all agree on, it's that none of us liked it when Wash (played by Alan Tudyk) died. I think a lot of fans' problems with Wash's send-off in the movie Serenity had to do with how quickly he was written out while the crew moved on to the next bit of action. Sure, no one wanted to see him go, but it might've been nice if writer/director Joss Whedon would've slowed down for a moment and let the characters (and fans) say goodbye.

That goodbye is coming, and from a surprise celebrity Browncoat -- actor/comedian Patton Oswalt. Oswalt is writing the one-shot comic Serenity: Float-Out for Dark Horse, set for release on June 2. In the comic, Wash's old friends, from the days before he piloted Serenity, gather together to tell stories about their dearly departed friend. Oswalt hopes to give the fans some closure, while taking a deeper look at one of his favorite characters.

(via MTV)

It wasn't love at first sight for me and Syfy's Warehouse 13. The first few episodes showed some promise, but the series' fun and kooky concept was weighed down by a batch of stale case-of-the-week procedural plots. Thankfully, things got better as the first season progressed. The show got funnier and weirder, and it took on a more serial tone, leading to a thrilling season ender that left me jonesing for more.

And more is on the way. Syfy says production on the 13-episode second season officially kicks off this month, for a premiere on July -- you guessed it -- 13! The ol' relic hunitin' gang -- Saul Rubinek, Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly, Allison Scagliotti, and CCH Punder -- is gettng back together to take down big bad MacPherson (Roger Reese) and to bag some more supernatural souvenirs. And just like last year, the show will welcome some geek-friendly guest stars in season two.

The first will be Jewel Staite, aka Firefly/Serenity's Kaylee. Staite tweeted the news about her upcoming guest appearance earlier this week:

"Got offered a lovely role on Warehouse 13. Wish I could tell you more. All I can say is, you Browncoats are gonna freak," she posted.

So what's so "freaky" about Staite's Warehouse role? Will she be playing a spaceship mechanic? Will she appear as twins, with one twin acting like Kaylee and the other walking and talking like Dr. Keller from Stargate Atlantis? Whatever the case, I can't wait to see her, and the show, return to TV.

Graphic designer hewtab is keeping the signal alive with her own custom Serenity shirt, featuring a Firefly in a jar. I see what you did there, hewtab.

The shirt is available for $20.99 from MySoti and comes in three colors (powder blue, navy blue, and black -- though I wish one came in brown). I think Firefly fans have been a largely untapped market for merchandise, so whenever I see something cool like this, I have to share it with my fellow Browncoats.

(Thanks to @ReelDistraction for the link!)

Wrestling with issues of life and death in genre films: ordinary and customary. Doing so from a religious and/or spiritual perspective: not so much. Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, which expands wide tomorrow, tackles Alice Sebold's novel and flings its spiritual concerns firmly into the realm of wide-eyed, teenage fantasy. The director successfully added drama to the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien, but critical reaction to the heavy dose of other-worldly whimsy that he adds to the criminal / domestic drama of a young girl's murder has been mixed. (See, for example, the thoughtful review by Cinematical's Elisabeth Rappe.)

By its very nature, science fiction invites debate on the past, present, and future of mankind, thus treading boldly into arenas formerly reserved for sacred discussions. Religion in sci-fi movies becomes a hazier issue to define by today's terms. Is 2001: A Space Odyssey a religious picture? How about Planet of the Apes? Rather than split any more hairs, and without passing judgment on the merits of the religions involved, here's a list of the Top Ten Religious Sci-Fi Characters.

1. Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope)
As if his desert home and hooded robe weren't enough, old Ben spills off religious platitudes like water over a broken dam. He doesn't force his faith down anyone else's throat, but neither does he hesitate to speak about it in warm, personal terms. In repudiation of lapsed believer Darth Vader's contempt for his "devotion to that ancient religion," Obi-Wan displays genteel grace and self-sacrificing faith in a key climactic scene, providing admirable inspiration for everyone.

My invitation to an early screening of James Cameron's Avatar got lost in the mail (cough, cough), so I'm just as eager as the rest of the world to see what a little imagination -- and $250 million -- has wrought when the flick finally opens in theaters tomorrow. We may never know the actual budget of Avatar, but if it delivers on the early buzz, we won't care. Money talks, but it doesn't guarantee that good scripts will be written or that actors will give good performances or that directors will find new ways to surprise and amaze us.

Here are ten sci-fi films from the past 40 years that delivered the biggest bang for the buck, in my estimation. Some had micro budgets, while others had $30-35 million at their disposal, yet still exceeded expectations, delivering thrills and chills that rank among the very finest the genre has to offer. As it happens, the list is weighted toward more recent fare, so feel free to share your favorite 'bang for the buck' sci-fi flicks.

1. Timecrimes
One of SciFi Squad's best science fiction films of the decade, Nacho Vigalando's stylish thriller gets tremendous mileage out of its simple concept: a man travels in time and wrecks increasing havoc upon himself. The script is clever, intelligent, thoughtful, and entirely logical as it plays out the consequences of the man's actions, progressing from lighthearted playfulness to something darker and richer. The film is aided immensely by Karra Elejalde's performance as that ordinary man caught up in extraordinary circumstances.

It's been ten years since we crossed into the seemingly futuristic "Year 2000." While we didn't get moon colonies or hovercars, we did get a collection of amazing science fiction films, both blockbusters and indies. The staff of Sci-Fi Squad has compiled their top ten (okay, eleven) favorite films of the decade, a list that will allow you to nod your head in agreement or spit venom at us in the comments. So now, in alphabetical order...

Children of Men (2006, Dir. Alfonso Cuarón)

The opening scenes of Children of Men plunge the viewer neck-deep into an icy future with an expiration date firmly set. The human race faces extinction because women all over the world have become infertile: no children have been born for a generation. The British government endeavors to stave off chaos by deporting all foreigners, but many of its citizens have already succumbed to hopelessness and despair. Theo Faron (Clive Owen) strides through this terrible new world with a cynical air of resignation until a glimmer of light -- the possibility of a future - turns his head. Adapting a novel by P.D. James, director Alfonso Cuarón and his collaborators (notably cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and production designers Geoffrey Kirkland and Jim Clay) meticulously create a nightmarish future in which the walls are closing in, and then proceed to smash through the limitations of imagination. Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Clare-Hope Ashitey, and Julianne Moore bring varying shades of humanity to their ultimately haunted characters. (Peter Martin)

Last night's Halloween-themed episode of Castle, starring a spry as ever Nathan Fillion, featured a few surprise winks to Joss Whedon and Firefly fans. Not only was Buffy referenced in an episode involving vampires and werewolves, but Fillion even dusted off the ol' brown coat and boots to dress up like Firefly's Captain Mal Reynolds.

The get-up was part of novelist/detective Frank Castle's "space cowboy" costume, but those of us who attend Serenity midnight showings on a regular basis know that Fillion and the show were giving a huge shout out to Firefly fans.

Head after the jump for a clip of Fillion reliving his Alliance-fighting glory days on Castle. And, yeah, we really, really miss Firefly too.

Their engines whine; their walls creak. These spaceships may look like antiques from the future, but many pack more punch under the hood than they let on. Never judge a book by its cover, and never judge a spaceship by its rust-holes and sputtering warp drive. What space-faring rattletraps make the cut in our top five list of "hunk of junk" spaceships?



5. EAGLE V from Spaceballs

The most impressive thing about the Eagle V is its amazingly pristine (and retro-hideous) 1973 Winnebago chassis. Piloted by Captain Lone Starr and his Mawg co-pilot, Barf, the Eagle V is a ship-for-hire last seen crash landing on the surface of MoonaVega. I would say it was last seen on the recent Spaceballs cartoon series, but that would imply that people actually watched it.

FEATURES: Interior shag carpeting, perfect for camping.

DRAWBACKS: Screen door, chemical toilet, small fuel tank.

Need that perfect gift for the Browncoat who has everything? Got an extra couple thousand dollars laying around? Quantum Mechanix is offering pre-orders for their gorgeous 1:180 scale Serenity Firefly-class replica starting on October 30th, 2009.

The beloved spaceship, last seen in Serenity, the film version of Joss Whedon's Firefly, is limited to a mere thousand pieces, and signed by "Captain Mal Reynolds" himself, Nathan Fillion. It's selling for a cool $2,495, but what do you get for all that dough? Three customization options ("Crazy Ivan" mode, docked or undocked shuttles, open or closed reactor shutters), a remote control to activate realistic "hard burn" engine lights, 32 different lighting effects, eight tiny crew figurines visible in the ship's bridge, hand-painted graphics (no decals!), and your very own in-person session with a highly trained Companion! (Please note that the personal visit by a trained Companion is not guaranteed by Quantum Mechanix, and may solely be the wishful thinking of this author. Especially for that price.)

The Serenity model is absolutely loaded with bells and whistles for the hardcore collector, and comes with its own display stand so you have somewhere to put it when you aren't flying it around your room by hand and making spaceship noises with your mouth. Each unit is hand-made by actual cinematic special effects artists employed by QM when they aren't out there building models for movies.

Honestly, with today's economy, Serenity: The Big Damn Replica may be a fairly sound investment. If not, then you've got something truly spectacular to display in your foreclosed home.

It's been nearly unavoidable. Even if the movie doesn't live up to the hype, Jennifer's Body has burned a new image into our subconscious: the murderous Megan Fox in a bloody white blouse, eager for more boys to kill. In the sci-fi realm, it's much more common to encounter men who murder than their homicidal female counterparts. When women kill on screen, it tends to be downplayed.

Thus, we have Carrie-Anne Moss in The Matrix, who identifies more strongly as a great action fighter and/or great and cool intellectual, rather than a murderous vixen. Likewise with Famke Janssen in X-Men: The Last Stand, who only wants to kill when she is transformed into the Dark Phoenix, and even then her homicidal inclinations seem less important than the outfit she's wearing. In honor of the intentionally wanton murderers, here's a list of my top ten killer sci-fi chicks.

1. Mathilda May as Space Girl in Lifeforce
If you call her nothing more than a space vampire, you've only hinted at her power. First is her power to distract, which is a given when you're talking about a beautiful woman who has a great body and is always naked. Next, though, is her power to desiccate, sucking more than blood from everyone she meets, or, at least, everyone she manages to grab hold of to give them the shock of their lives. And she refuses to stop! Unlike normal vampires, who just want a pint or two of blood before heading back to their coffins, Space Girl wants nothing less than everything -- which is why she's the #1 killer sci-fi chick in my book.