stargate

The ever-fickle FOX has renewed the struggling sci-fi drama Fringe for its third season. I guess it's about time I start watching, huh?

I'm always complaining and moaning about the lack of good science fiction on the television (and don't bring up Stargate unless you want a good hard slap to your facial epidermis), but I've sat idly by while the buzz surrounding Fringe has gotten stronger and stronger and the storylines have apparently gotten more daring.

"The spiritual follow-up to Lost and The X-Files!" and so forth and so on.

I wasn't too impressed with the pilot (it felt like it was trying waaay too hard to be the spiritual follow-up to Lost and The X-Files), so I gave up on it, but I've since endured friends and acquaintances ranting and raving about how good it got about halfway through the first season. After FOX moved it to Thursdays, up against juggernauts like Grey's Anatomy and The Office, it looked like the show was sunk, but it's managed to cling to the schedule despite mediocre ratings.

With Lost ending, I need a new show to sink my teeth into. Since it's looking like it may be around for awhile, I may as well just jump on the Fringe bandwagon.

In other news, the always-struggling CW has given the always-tedious Smallville a tenth season. Ten years. A decade. A decade of a flightless Superman and his various soap operatic adventures. I've heard the last season got pretty zany (as in Adam-West-Batman-but-not-self-aware zany), but not even that is enough to get me interested. If you are one of the eighteen people still watching this show, please let me know why I'm wrong.

(Via Entertainment Weekly and Ain't It Cool)

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.

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.

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.

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Here are this week's notable DVD and Blu-ray releases:

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (DVD & Blu-ray)
Dean Stockwell's depraved Cylon baddie Cavil takes center stage in The Plan, a BSG flick that retells some the series' major events through the eyes of the "toasters." The Plan certainly won't please every BSG fan with its awkward mix of old and new footage, but Stockwell is great, and this return trip to the Galactica offers some nice surprises. Director Edward James Olmos and writer Jane Espenson offer commentary on the DVD and Blu-ray, both of which are loaded with mini docs and deleted scenes.

More of this week's DVD releases after the jump.

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Here are this week's notable DVD and Blu-ray releases:

Stargate Atlantis: The Complete Series Collection
I was never a big fan of Stargate: SG-1, but its goofier, action-oriented spinoff hooked me from the start. I counted Atlantis as one of my favorite guilty pleasures for years, but I really grew to love the show's amusing -- if thinly drawn -- characters, its game cast, and its silly but somehow engaging stories and plots. It's no BSG or Firefly (what is, really?), but Atlantis delivers fine fun and fantasy while riffing on age-old sci-fi tropes. The DVD set features all five seasons and some really gorgeous packaging. Stargate fans will be glad to know the set is priced under $150 at most online retailers.

Trick 'r Treat
I haven't seen X-Men scribe Michel Dougherty's horror anthology yet, but people (and by "people" I mean "the Internet") tell me its destined to become a Halloween classic (read our own Peter Hall's review at Horror Squad.). The studio inexplicably botched the film's theatrical release, but it's available today on DVD and Blu-ray to give you fresh nightmares and put Rob Zombie to shame.

More of this week's DVD releases after the jump.

When word broke that the Stargate franchise was moving into darker territory with Stargate Universe, fan reaction ranged from cautiously optimistic to downright angry. The anger mostly came from fans who felt jilted by Syfy's sudden cancellation of the veteran show Stargate Atlantis (it didn't help that Syfy announced the new series in a press release that also announced the cancellation of Atlantis). To some, it seemed like the fan favorite (Atlantis) had to die so the edgy new experiment (Universe) could live.

Universe –- a fine, scrappy show packed with great actors – might now be facing an uphill battle with some of its target audience members. Stargate fans unwilling to give the show a chance should know one thing: The franchise's spirit of adventure remains intact in the first three episodes of Universe. It is different and darker than Stargate: SG-1 and Atlantis – even blatantly dreary at times – but it's still Stargate.

- Finally! ABC has canceled the awful space soap Defying Gravity. To be fair, I stopped watching about four episodes in, but the show seemed to get worse every week. Did things ever turn around after that, or did it deserve the ax after only eight eps?

- Super hot movie star (or guy in need of a job, it's kinda hard to tell) Jeffrey Dean Morgan says he'd like to reprise his role as Pa Winchester on The CW's Supernatural. "If it really is going to be canceled after this year, I'd like to come back," he told SciFi Wire.

- Bad news, Battlestar Galactica fans. It looks like the Caprica cancellation rumors are starting to turn up, even though the series has yet to premiere on Syfy. I loved the two-hour DVD premiere, and I think the show could turn out to be just as good as BSG.

More TV news after the jump.

- Fox has released new promo images for the second season of Dollhouse featuring solo shots of all the cast members, including a fresh-faced Victor (Enver Gjokaj), who was last seen getting his mug sliced up by Alpha last season. These come just days after a batch of very, very tiny (and spoilery) promo pics for the season premiere showed up online. Dollhouse returns to Fox on Sept. 25.

- A&E Home Video has tons of special features planned for its upcoming Farscape DVD releases. The sets are due November 17. Anyone think huge DVD sales could lead to a new season of Farscape, or a jump to the big screen, ala Serenity? (Or at least a Blu-ray release?)

- Damn, those Smallville folks give good trailer. Head after the jump for the first official look at season nine -- and Clark Kent's Matrix-style super suit. Smallville premieres Sept. 25 on The CW.

Now that's a cool poster.

The marketing folks at Syfy are bent on packaging Stargate Universe as a darker and more mature take on the Stargate story. This brand new promo poster looks a lot sleeker and more intense than anything we've seen promoting Stargate: SG-1 or Atlantis. The cast members are shown running from an unseen danger, but the image also promises adventure and action, two things that have always been at the heart of the successful sci-fi franchise.

See the full version after the jump.