stargate universe

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Check out this week's notable sci-fi home video releases.

Stargate Universe: 1.0 (DVD and Blu-ray)
Relive or catch up with the first ten hours of Syfy's latest Stargate series with this three-disc set (two disc on Blu-ray), featuring commentaries from the cast and crew and behind-the-scenes video diaries.

Running Man (Blu-ray)
Watch Ahnold crush the competition as a contestant in a brutal futuristic game show in this late '80s favorite, remastered and updated with a 7.1 DTS-HD soundtrack.

The Phantom [Blu-ray]
Every flop has its fans, as proven buy this new high-def release of 1996's The Phantom, starring Billy Zane as the purple-clad do-gooder and a pre-Zorro Catherine Zeta-Jones.

One of the most frustrating things for film fans of any genre is waiting for older films to get released on DVD or Blu-ray. The fans of the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Running Man only have to wait until tomorrow.

While The Running Man is not exactly the height of substantial science fiction, it's interesting to see King's interpretation of a celebrity obsessed world in 2019 twenty-three years after the film was released. The story surrounds Arnold Schwarzenegger as a wrongly convicted man trying to survive a public education via a game show. Arnie is pictured above with game show legend Richard Dawson. You know, the original Family Feud?

It looks like it only has one annoying trailer at the beginning, unlike the usual 5 or more that every DVD and Blu-ray seem to have these days. Extras include two commentary tracks, one with director Paul Michael Glaser and producer Tim Zinneman and another with executive producer Rob Cohen, as well as two featurettes and a theatrical trailer. Sorry, no special Ahnold track.

Other sci-fi Blu-ray releases tomorrow include Halo Legends, Stargate Universe - SGU: Season 1.0, and The Time Traveler's Wife.

Welcome to TV Transmissions -- your (semi) daily sci-fi TV news briefing. Here's what's happening:

- Friday's latex-heavy Smallville "Absolute Justice" event looks like two hours of good geeky fun. Check out some brand new photos of Smallville's JSA in action, courtesy of Comic Continuum.

- Syfy is sticking with what works. After the ratings successes of Tin Man and the recent Alice miniseries, the cable net has ordered a batch of Saturday night movies that give classic fairy tales a contempo twist. Expect bizarro updates of Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel, Beauty and the Beast and other favorites to start hitting the air late February.

- Rod Rodenberry, Gene Rodenberry's son, talks about updating his father's 1970s TV pilot The Questor Tapes for a modern audience. Being a fan of the original, I'm really looking forward to this update from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Television. Joss Whedon pal Tim Minear is in talks to write and produce, but Rodenberry says not to expect a huge departure from the original.

- Fred Willard and Swoozie Kurtz are teaming to play a super spy couple on an upcoming episode of Chuck. The pair will guest star later this season.

Lost, Caprica, and Stargate news (plus more) after the jump.

Welcome to TV Transmissions -- your (semi) daily sci-fi TV news briefing. Here's what's happening:

- Good news, Ron Moore fans. The Battlestar Galactica creator's doomed but intriguing TV pilot Virtuality is coming to DVD on May 4. Sadly, a Blu-ray version doesn't seem to be in the cards, and we don't have a list of special features yet, but stay tuned to SciFI Squad for the latest on this much-anticipated release.

- In other Ron Moore-related DVD news, Universal is releasing another BSG complete series Blu-ray set that includes The Plan.

- Stargate Universe producer Joseph Mallozzi is asking fans what they want to see when the show returns to Syfy in April. Personally, I'd like to see Col. Telford get punched in the face at least once every episode. Hard.

- Here's another Stargate tidbit: Show co-creator Brad Wright says SGU was originally a movie pitch.

- In a mad dash to plug some holes in its primetime lineup, NBC has picked up a pilot for a superhero show called The Cape. Billed as "a light drama with a comic book sensibility," The Cape follows a cop who becomes a masked superhero to "clear his name and reunite with his son."

Head after the jump for Caprica, Doctor Who and Lost news.

A look at tonight's sci-fi TV:

Dollhouse, "The Public Eye/"The Left Hand" - Dollhouse is officially done for, but Fox still has a few episodes left to air, including tonight's tense-looking two-parter. Echo is sent to dispatch Senator Perrin (Angel's Alexis Denisof) before he can expose the Dollhouse, while Adelle and Topher meet up with genius programmer Bennett (Summer Glau) at the D.C. House. Later in the ep, Adelle clashes with the another Rossum head honcho (the always brilliant Ray Wise) while Bennett plays mind games with Echo. Elsewhere, November finally goes public with what she knows, spurring Topher to experiment with some cool doll "disruptor" tech. Let's hope tonight kicks off a string of great final episodes that will leave us wanting to send those impatient Fox execs to the attic. (8 p.m. on Fox)

Stargate Universe, "Justice" – Tonight's mid season finale is packed with big developments. Someone aboard the Destiny is murdered with a gun found in – gasp! – Col. Young's quarters. Did the weasly Telford somehow sneak aboard to frame the good colonel, or is there something even more distressing going on? (9 p.m. on Syfy)

Sanctuary, "Next Tuesday" – Will and Magnus spend the episode swimming in sea creature-infested waters after their helicopter crash lands on a decommissioned oil rig. And Will screams, a lot. (10 p.m. on Syfy)

Head after the jump for previews and clips.

It looks like a pretty standard week TV-wise, unless you're as excited as I am about getting to know more about The Observer on Fringe or watching Zod take over the world on Smallville. Nothing else is really popping out at me this week. I'm hoping V gets more interesting, I'm still trying to wrap my head around all the goings-on at FlashForward central, and I'm still on the fence about The Prisoner.

Read on for this week's TV picks and previews.

Heroes, "Brother's Keeper" – Peter uses his new power to heal Parkman/Sylar (I think we all saw that one coming), and The Haitian reveals the truth about Nathan/Sylar to Peter. Mohinder returns after uncovering yet another conspiracy that puts him on Samuel's radar. (Monday, 8 p.m. on NBC.)

Head after the jump for more picks and preview videos.

Will AMC's new take on The Prisoner be any good? I'm not sure what to think. I like the cast, and the sleek trailer makes it look like a decent thriller, but will it deliver on multiple levels the way Patrick McGoohan's 1960s classic did? We'll find out when it premieres this Sunday. And don't forget to tune in to IFC on Friday night to catch a few episodes of the original.

This week also brings a new take on the Wonder Twins (Smallville), more lizard skinned bad guys (V), a time travel tale (Stargate Universe) and more. Read on for this week's TV picks and previews.

Heroes, "Shadowboxing" – Sylar continues to play head games with Parkman, leading to a roadside murder. Claire and HRG battle Claire's evil sorority sister, and it looks like Peter is becoming addicted to his superpowers, a story idea that doesn't sound at all tiresome. Last week was fun, but this week looks like a messy one for Heroes. (Monday, 8 p.m. on NBC.)

Head after the jump for more picks and preview videos.

I'm starting off the week with a sore throat and a pounding headache (yay for me!) but at least there's a new episode of Fringe to look forward to this Thursday. Plus, Heroes takes us back to season one, and ABC finally debuts its brand new take on V starring Lost's Elizabeth Mitchell and Firefly's Morena Baccarin.

Catch the first nine minutes of V below, and read on for this week's TV picks and previews.

Heroes – "Once Upon a Time in Texas" – Heroes takes us back to the good ol' days – season one to be exact – when Hiro travels back in time to visit his dearly departed gal pal Charlie (Jayma Mays). But can he save her from Sylar's death grip this time? Hiro himself, Masi Oka, has compared "Once Upon a Time" to the incredible season one ep "Company Man." Could it really be that good? (Monday, 8 p.m. on NBC.)

More TV picks and previews after the jump.

What is "Sci-Fi on the Screen" you ask? Why it's television and movies, of course! Every Monday, we'll be looking back at the previous week to see how sci-fi is faring on TV and in theaters. This will include a look back at the ratings of science fiction shows on television, as well as a glimpse of sci-fi films at the box office.

Box Office (10/23-10/25)

This weekend, the supernatural Paranormal Activity did the incredibly unlikely, climbing up the box office rankings to secure its first week at number one ... in its fifth week of release. Paranormal's $22 million shattered the dreams of Saw VI, which opened at less than half its previous three installments, but still earned enough for second place.

That dramatic battle atop the charts may have hurt the release of Japanese science fiction icon Astro Boy. The animated adaptation opened with an anemic $7 million dollars; a fraction of its $65 million budget.

Fox is putting Dollhouse on the shelf until December, when Summer Glau joins the show, and we'll have to wait another week for a new episode of Fringe, but I'm looking forward to seeing some new faces on Smallville and FlashForward this week. Plus, Syfy has a marathon of the original V miniseries this weekend. Read on for this week's TV picks and previews.

Heroes, "Strange Attractors" – Poor, poor Matt Parkman. It's bad enough that Sylar is living inside his head and driving him batty. Now Sylar is taking over Parkman's body and sleeping with his wife! I wouldn't be surprised if Greg Grunberg is the cast member rumored to be leaving the show, because now seems like a good time for the miserable Parkman to finally off himself. This week's episode also takes us back to Claire's creepy sorority, plus HRG and Nikki team up to help Jeremy, the healer we met last week. (Monday, 8 p.m. ET on NBC.)

More TV picks and preview videos after the jump.