[Steve McGhee via Super Punch]

Make Your Own Disaster Movie [CulturePulp]

If the estimates for the weekend box office hold, the movie will also be the fourth biggest US opener of the year (Behind Transformers, Harry Potter and, oddly enough, Fast and Furious - Didn't see that one coming, did you?), with a $65million weekend in the US alone (The disaster porn scored an additional $160million from overseas audiences). Not bad for a movie that started as a spec script (and from a director whose last movie, 10,000 BC was considered by many a poorly-received mess). Guess we can say that that 2013 TV show will definitely be happening, then...

'2012' destroys worldwide box office [Variety]

It's a sad state of affairs that, even with all the work effects company Uncharted Territory put into the three-minute sequence that PM traces from storyboard to finished shot, the part that amused us the most was what Emmerich had to do with the real life actors:

As animators molded the virtual city, Emmerich was filming his actors in front of a blue screen. He put the actors on a "shaky floor," an 8000-square-foot steel platform on airbags. Special-effects coordinators jiggled the bags with pneumatic pumps to inspire authentic reactions from the actors. "It was the most complicated scene we created," Emmerich says. "And it's one of my favorites."

"Shaky floor"? Oh, John Cusack, what has become of your career?

The Anatomy of a Disaster Scene in the Movie 2012 [Popular Mechanics]

If 2012 is as successful as those Hollywood Insiders expect it to be - and with a $23.7 million Friday opening, that looks to be a sure thing right now - then the obvious follow-up isn't the 2013 television series that director Roland Emmerich has been talking about, but a prequel: 2011... explaining not only what happened in the year before the end of the world, but just how how the Monolith-led transformation of Jupiter in 2010 led into the whole thing. That's right: We're talking crossover territory, and who better to take us there than Nicolas Cage?

This is what we're suggesting: While Danny Glover's President and Oliver Platt's chief of staff are hurredly making plans to survive the oncoming apocalypse that they've secretly discovered (as per 2012), a maverick government scientists played by Cage is studying the data captured the spaceship Alexei Leonov (in 2010) and comes up with a plan to contact the aliens behind the Monoliths to try and convince them to cool the Earth from the core temperature-induced collapse we've been promised. Part of this involves going public with that whole "end of the world" thing, which means that before too long, Cage and his family (including surly son Shia LeBeouf) are on the run, being chased by US government agents ordered to keep him quiet at all costs.

While on the run, Cage meets up with 2010's Roy Scheider - or a CGI-animated version thereof, using motion capture technology of John Turturro, just because - who was there when Jupiter got turned into a second sun by the Monoliths at the end of the very-confusing-when-I-was-a-kid second Clarke movie, who is suitably shocked that the government is keeping this whole end of the world thing under wraps, and helps him contact the aliens through some ridiculous-yet-exciting sequence that doesn't really matter in the long run, before dying to add pathos to (a) Cage's mission, and (b) seeing Roy Scheider live again, even if it's only as a CGI character probably animated by Robert Zemeckis, let's face it. Then! Dave Bowman - again, computer generated to look like Keir Dullea, but this time, it's a motion captured performance by Ewan McGregor - appears to Cage and gives him temporary superpowers to fight off the government agents, leading to a series of Matrix-esque action sequences that don't seem dated at all, before listening to Cage try to emote while pleading for the survival of the planet.

Moved by Cage's nervous, jerky-headed plea, Bowman explains that the mysterious aliens can, in fact, save the Earth, but in order to do so, they'll have to abandon Jupiter and come and hide inside the Earth in order to do so. Acting as the ambassador for all of humanity, Cage says that that sounds like a great idea and thanks a lot, and so we're treated to an overblown moment where thousands of Monoliths emerge from the star that was Jupiter, fly towards Earth - Cut to scenes of men in front of radar screens freaking out about all the UFOs flying towards the planet, but just before they call the President, the space radar goes quiet because all the Monoliths have gone into stealth mode - and then float gently to the ground, and then through the ground, before we get a cameo of 2012's Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) looking at a computer saying "The core temperature has dropped! Now there's a chance we just might survive this damn thing!" to someone on the phone, with the additional "And that's how the end of the world didn't actually end the world, and how there aren't two suns in 2012!" being optional depending on how much the audience needs spoonfeeding.

As Dave Bowman disappears, US agents catch up with Cage and his family, killing Cage and causing Shia to not only realize that he loves his dad after all, but also swear to carry on his father's work of talking to aliens and saving the world through diplomacy, car chases and being a maverick. The movie ends with a title card of "ONE YEAR LATER" and shows Shia - with a beard, to show that it is "later" - wandering around the ruins of whatever major city is deemed appropriate, tears in his eyes and looking at the sky, telling his father that he loves him.

I'm telling you, Hollywood: This is the movie that everyone wants to see. Sure, some may dismiss it as shameless fanboy continuity pandering between two movies that are actually unconnected in all but their titles, but to them, I say: Nic Cage, Shia LeBeouf and the CGI reanimation of Roy Scheider. I'll take my 10% in gold bars whenever you're ready, thanks very much.

It seems that once Roland Emmerich was done assembling all the CG components for destroying the world and gathering a full complement of "Hey, it's that guy!" actors, he realized 2012 had no script, and decided to cull characters and situations from every other disaster movie ever made. Despite its massive scale of destruction, 2012 will be familiar to anyone whose seen any movie about an earthquake, volcano, aquatic disaster, or celestial body striking the Earth.

2012 follows the parallel stories of several characters at the end of the world. John Cusack plays the sort of fellow John Cusack always plays, though this time he's also a struggling writer whose only novel sold roughly 400 copies. And Amanda Peet plays his Amanda Peet-esque ex-wife, who is dating a plastic surgeon named Gordon. Gordon is all kinds of perfect, adores Amanda, and is great with her kids, but of course she's only with him because she can't be with John Cusack. Oh, and John and Amanda (or Jackson and Kate Curtis as they've been named for the sake of the film) have perfectly generic children. There's the requisite daughter with a quirk (she's overly fond of hats) and the son who's mad at his father (and insists on calling him by his first name).

As it turns out, years earlier, an Indian scientist discovered that solar flares are causing mutant neutrinos to microwave the Earth's core, which will cause the tectonic plates to shift and the Earth's waters to boil (but somehow doesn't cause us humans to explode). He warns his friend and fellow scientist Adrian Helmsley (a blandly earnest Chiwetel Ejiofor), who in turn warns a Washington bureaucrat that the world is ending. World leaders are informed, contingency plans are made, precious art is stowed away, and important people mysteriously die. But the hoi polloi are left in the dark, and people in California gradually get used to the regular miniquakes and surface cracks that plague their streets.

After a chance encounter with a crackpot conspiracy nut (Woody Harrelson), and hearing rumblings of the aforementioned contingency plan, Jackson realizes just in the nick of time that the world is, in fact, ending. And through a mixture of superhuman feats and incredibly unlikely bouts of luck, puts his family on the path to safety.

Although 2012's main concern is Jackson and his family, the film shifts perspectives and introduces us to a range of characters, all straight from central casting: a stocky Russian billionaire, a trophy wife who loves her purse dog above all, a pair of horrid children who look like they should be touring Willy Wonka's factory, a world-weary and noble President, the beautiful and intelligent First Daughter, a young Tibetan monk, an interracial jazz duo. It's too few characters and too Western-centric to convey an epic scale, but too many for us to particularly care who lives and who dies. Caring is irrelevant anyway; following classic disaster movie tropes will give you a pretty accurate picture of who makes it to the end of the movie.

All in all, it's a very Hollywood view of how the world ends. With the exception of a few token minorities, it's American and European characters we're tracking, American and European high culture people are trying to save, and American and European monuments we're seeing destroyed. Yes, Emmerich didn't get a shot at the Kaaba, but surely there were other non-natural monuments he could have thought to break apart. There's a lot of menfolk making decisions while the women hang out with the children, and a lot of nice speeches about respecting all humanity while Western leaders are calling all the shots. Perhaps Emmerich is being cynical about the end of the world — suggesting that even then, Westerners and Western culture will get all the breaks — but if the non-Western characters fight as hard for their lives, we don't see it on screen.

But, if you can shut down the centers of your brain that demand logic, storytelling, or characters who aren't secretly Superman, 2012 can be an enjoyable experience. We were promised beautiful footage of the world falling apart, and on that point, 2012 delivers. Whole cities break apart, monuments crumple, volcanos shoot up from the Earth, and waves pull supercarriers from their watery homes and crash them into buildings. Save for a few odd seams, the computer-generated effects look incredible and there's something strangely satisfying about watching things break down so completely. And Emmerich recognizes that the apocalypse doesn't just demand disaster porn; it needs moments of absurdity as well. He manages to make room for some offbeat sight gags, some of which are genuinely funny and surprising. 2012 might actually be enjoyed most thoroughly on mute.

Emmerich has announced his plans to follow 2012 with a television series, 2013, which would pick up after the end of the movie. Perhaps now that Emmerich has finished blowing the world to smithereens, we can get back to characters and drama, and the year 2013 can prove more interesting than the year 2012.

Disaster: Volcano
Our Breaking Point: The Subway Scene

How long do you think the people were sitting in that train? Seriously — how long? After a little while of watching people pass out, one after the other, from heat? I'd LEAVE. But no, this guy has to die a painful death walking through lava. Which in itself was a horrible thing — walk faster, melty guy!

Here's the remixed version — watch the full scene here.

Disaster: Deep Impact
Our Breaking Point: The Wave of Love

Nothing brings a daughter and a distant father back together like a giant tidal wave. Call me black-hearted, but this whole "I'm facing my destruction head on, and what? Oh hey, there's my dad who was never around. What the hey, I forgive you!" Tasted like yuck. And to all the people loading up their cars: Come on, it's the end of the world, the roads are always blocked. I bet they felt foolish when they realized they could have just stood on a high mountain to avoid the water. But the hug-it-out wave was still the worst.

Disaster: Armageddon
Our Breaking Point: Ben Affleck
Good theme music and spaceman slo-mo walking, but even if you can convince the audience that a team of misfit drillers can be trained to do their jobs in space, there's no way you can make me believe this scene. Remember, the crew went up in two ships, and they get separated. But don't worry, Ben Affleck's asteroid rover isn't damaged, and he and the remaining crew drive across a sharp-as-razors terrain, fly over a cannon, and find their way back to the other crew. After they shoot their way out of the ship. WHY DID IT HAVE GUNS IN THE FIRST PLACE? Uh, no.

Disaster: The Day After Tomorrow
Our Breaking Point: Frost Running

I didn't think it was possible for a character to piss me off more than when Dennis Quaid announced that he would be walking from Philly to New York, through the worlds most horrific storm, ever. And then his movie son Jake Gyllenhaal and his friends ran from frost, and a pack of wolves. They outran cold. You cannot run from cold, and you cannot protect yourself from cold by shutting the door, nor can you breathe air that is that cold — but screw science, you just plain can't run from cold.

Disaster: Twister
Our Breaking Point: Thank God For These Leather Straps

Twister was a fun movie about lunatics who chase twisters, thus making storm-chasing look infinitely cooler than it could ever be. But for the most part, it's just lots of driving and yelling up at the sky and seeing cows fly past, etc — you know, good stuff. Until the big one. At the end, Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt chase and get chased by the really, really big tornado, and instead of dying, they tie themselves with leather belts to a pole, and survive. Their arms remain intact and neither of them manage to get hit by any of the debris that is encircling them. Lucky ducks, eh?

Disaster: The Core
Our Breaking Point: Explaining Unobtainium

The science behind the ship. It's made out of unobtainium, so the hotter and deeper it gets the stronger it gets. And it's shaped like a penis. So yeah...

Disaster: Outbreak
Our Breaking Point: Dustin Saves The Town With His Words

Between a ton of accidental spills and the trained professional scientists sticking their hands into infected blood samples or falling asleep on the job, the worst moment of all is by far Dustin Hoffman's magical speech. Yes, it's worse than the little girl playing with the ebola host monkey. Never in a million years would Dustin Hoffman be allowed to sit up there in that plane. I'd give him two minutes before he was shot out of the sky.

Disaster: The Happening
Our Breaking Point: The Ending

First the plants attack cities, then the roads, then the small cities, then groups, then angry people, then it's the wind. What. The Hell. How can something that probably took millions of years to develop change in hours? Because M. Night said so, that's why — so quit your whining and watch the big ending payoff. Wahlberg and Zooey then decide to suicides themselves, because Zooey decided even though the plants are killing everyone, she should take their dead friend's child outside to run amuck. And now they are trapped — by wind. Time to give up hope and walk towards each other with big sweeping instrumentals, what HAPPENS? Nothing. "The event must have stopped before we went out here." Screw this movie.

Disaster: Dante's Peak
Our Breaking Point: Grandma Gives Her Life

While I agree with having those who have already lived full lives sacrifice themselves first, this is a freaking strange scene. They're like, "Five seconds to the dock," and she decides to walk to the shore too, for extra dramatics.

[Thanks to Annalee and Ray Wert for the phallic Core jokes]

Some of the hallmarks of a 2012 documentary - or any documentary about "ancient prophesies," really - are the use of British people (they are so believable!) and really bad CGI fire and/or stock footage of explosions. In Ancient Code: the Movie, hastily repackaged with the tagline "Are YOU ready for the real 2012?" we've got both British people and fire, as you can see in the clip below. However, there isn't really anything in this movie about the Mayan calendar. Mostly it's just a New Agey doc about how everybody should be seeking their inner grail and stop yelling at people on the street.

Despite a lack of British people, SyFy Channel's 2012: Startling New Secrets has the virtue of actually being about 2012, featuring interviews with scientists and "experts" in the Mayan calendar. There is a lot of stock footage of fire and volcanoes and floods, and the doc also introduces us to some random guys who think there's a giant hidden structure under ancient Egyptian ruins which will provide a key to surviving the 2012 apocalypse. I was never quite sure how the ancient Egyptians knew about the Mayan calendar, but that's OK because it was fun to see a scene of the "experts" looking puzzled when their examination of the site revealed that nothing was under the ground. But surely the best part of this doc is when we meet the "extreme survivalists" who are preparing to build underground bunkers to survive 2012. Here they are.

Possibly the most bizarre doc in this subgenre is 2012: An Awakening, which purports to be all about the Mayan calendar but is in fact just a collection of featurettes about random things like Bigfoot, Viking Satanists, angels, and Jules Verne. Luckily it has a lot of British people and bad CGI, so it still makes us feel all excited about 2012 even though we don't get to hear about that magical date at all. Instead we learn about some guy who "discovered" an image of a pentagram in some kind of Viking tunnel. Um, how are the Vikings related to 2012?

And then there's 2012: Mayan Prophesy and The Shift of the Ages. It's full of great stock footage of dust storms and traffic jams, plus random moments where metal songs play and a voice notes portentously that there have been a lot of earthquakes lately. Its main assertion? "December 23rd, 2012 is indeed the end of something." Well it's hard to deny the truth of that! If you don't believe me, listen to these British people talking about how 2012 is obviously important because of X-Files.

And let me leave you with this awesome moment of 2012 metal, from the introduction to the same film:

Lost:

So if you've been paying attention, you'll know that Benjamin Linus is a schoolteacher, and his adopted daughter Alex is a schoolgirl, in the show's new alternate timeline. And fans caught glimpses of shooting at a suburban house, where Roger Linus, Ben's dad, comes to visit Ben. And they overheard Roger telling Ben, "This is not the life I wanted for you, Ben." And then Alex shows up at Ben's door, rings the doorbell, and he answers. They talk for a while, and then she tells Ben he's the best. And then leaves. Ben lingers at the doorway, then closes it. [Hawaii Weblog]

Looks like we'll be speaking a lot of Spanish in the upcoming episode 6x09, if this casting call is anything to go by:

[ISABELLA] Latina, 30s, fluent in Spanish. Strong sense of self and adores her husband. Devout Catholic who is battling a long-term illness...GUEST STAR.

[FATHER SUAREZ] Latino, 50s to 60s, fluent in Spanish. A well educated, old school Catholic priest who is stern and has an inflexible opinion of right and wrong...VERY NICE CO-STAR, POSSIBLE GUEST STAR.

[JONAS WHITFIELD] Early to mid 30s; English; must speak with authentic accent. He's crisp and his bearing is of a British military officer. Athletic and agile, he's worked hard to rise up the corporate ladder and make something of himself. He believes in survival of the fittest...GUEST STAR.

[DOCTOR] Latino, 40s-50s, fluent in Spanish. Sophisticated, wealthy, and a somewhat mercenary upper-class doctor who has an imperious bedside manner but knows his stuff...NICE CO-STAR.

[IGNACIO] Latino, 30s, fluent in Spanish. Poor, religious and street smart. On the wrong side of the law but only because he's a victim of his circumstances... NICE CO-STAR.

[SpoilersLost]

Doctor Who:

The BBC released oodles of new photos from "Waters Of Mars." Scary! [via Den Of Geek]

Kick-Ass:

You've grooved to the trailer, now fixate on the poster. [Slashfilm]

Fringe:

OMG can you believe whom we're going to be meeting in episode 2x15? Here's the casting call:

[WALTER'S WIFE] Caucasian. To Play Walter's wife is in her mid 40's to play a little younger. She's both strong and broken, intelligent, attractive, likable, lovely and extremely versatile.sptv050769..GUEST STAR. POSSIBLE RECURRING.

[SpoilerTV]

Lance Reddick says an upcoming episode deals with the difficulty of knowing who is good or evil, when it comes to these alternate universes and tangly pasts — does it all just depend on your point of view? And this particularly comes into play with Walter's unscrupulous past experiments. Also, he says it's not out of the question that we'll see more Nina-Broyles kissing, and it's possible we'll get an Astrid-centric episode one day. [TV Guide]

And here are some more promo pics for "Of Human Action." [SpoilerTV]

Sarah Jane Adventures:

Here are a slew of promo pics from the season finale, featuring... the Slitheen. Again?? [Den Of Geek]

2012:

John Cusack says this isn't a disaster movie, it's an apocalypse movie, and the first act is like the last act of most other movies — and then it just builds from there. He explains:

This has to do with people trying to figure out, 'What do you do when there is no escape and there is no way out?' So you have a much more existential vibe than just, 'How do we survive this disaster?'

Whatever you have to tell yourself, John. [MTV]

V:

Even though Morris Chestnut's undercover alien character Ryan has a human lover — and we saw them with a pregnancy test — sources say a different human-alien coupling will produce a hybrid baby. Officially, though, all we know is that Morena Baccarin says a hybrid baby is a possibility. [TV Guide]

FlashForward:

Here are a few clips from the next episode, "Playing Cards With Coyote," that I don't think we've shown you before. [YouTube and MovieWeb]

Smallville:

A clip from the upcoming episode "Pandora" includes shirtless Clark and bland, melodramatic dialogue. [EW]

Also, when Zatanna returns in "Warrior," she's stirring up love-triangle-shaped tension with Lois and Clark. And this episode takes place at Metropolis Wonder-Con, which is basically San Diego Comic Con — and Chloe meets a new love interest at the con. [EW]

True Blood:

Sam Trammell is a fountain of speculation and inside info. When we meet werewolves in season three, they'll be disgusting, smelly creatures, like in the books. And Evan Rachel Wood is probably heading for some kind of disaster as retribution for selling all the V. Eric's hold over Sookie will grow next season, but a Bill/Sookie wedding next year isn't out of the question. [Digital Spy]

Chuck:

In episode 10, Casey does something really bad, that could lose him his job, and it's connected to Robert Patrick's new character, who's a mysterious figure from Casey's past. [EW]

Heroes:

Here are some promo pics which I think are all new from the episodes "Shadowboxing," "Brother's Keeper," and "Thanksgiving." [HeroSite, HeroSite and SpoilerTV]

Stargate Universe:

Here's a sneak peek from episode eight, "Time":

Eco-Apocalypse

2012: It's pure global catastrophe in Roland Emmerich's film. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions — every possible natural disaster seems to conspire to wipe out all life on Earth.

Decipher by Stel Pavlou: The year 2012 sees an increase in solar flare activity as scientists see unusual energy signals coming from Antarctica. It soon becomes clear that the sun could be on the verge of triggering a deluge, and all the world's cities could go the way of Atlantis.

Death from the Skies

2012: Supernova: If you're looking for something beyond the usual asteroid strike, here's a different sort of celestial doomsday. A nearby star goes supernova, threatening the Earth's survival, prompting an international team of scientists to launch nuclear warheads to reduce the effect of the impact.

2012: Doomsday: On December 21, 2012, one day before the predicted apocalypse, it is revealed that a celestial object is about to collide with Earth. But this time, it's religion, not science that averts the ultimate disaster.

World War III

Blood of the Beast: Roughly half the population dies in the war of 2012, but the world's chemical weapons render nearly all the men on Earth sterile. The world is repopulated by clones, but 19 years after the first clones are harvested in 2012, the world goes to pot once again.

Zombie Plague

Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection: The dead start rising early in 2012, and soon the plague has spread across much of North America. And corporate greed has ensured that you can become a zombie even if you've never encountered the walking dead.

I Spit On Your Rave: The film doesn't get released until next year, but its zombie apocalypse starts at the 2012 London Olympics, when a virus is released. Humanity is quickly gobbled up, leaving the zombies to their own devices.

Alien Invasion

The X-Files: Alien colonization has always been a distinct probability in the X-Files universe, and in the episode "The Truth," the Cigarette Smoking Man reveals the date of invasion: December 22, 2012.

2012: The War of Souls by Whiley Strieber: Michael Bay is looking to adapt this tale of alien invasion. It turns out that the world's ancient monuments provide a gateway for alien invaders looking to conquer Earth and eat humanity's souls. And, if the invasion is not prevented in time, the gateways will open December 21, 2012.

RahXephon: The end of the Long Count Calendar marks another alien invasion, this one by the Mulians. The Mu declare war on humanity and enclose the city of Tokyo inside a spherical barrier.

Domain Trilogy by Steve Alten: Scientists may suggest that the dinosaurs were killed off by a meteorite, but the truth is that they fell prey to an ancient weapon buried beneath the Gulf of Mexico. And, if we don't learn the truth about those extraterrestrial exterminators by December 2012, we could be next.

Doctor Who "Dalek": Fortunately, the Doctor and Rose manage to stop Henry van Statten's captive Dalek before it can surface from his Statten's Utah bunker in 2012. Otherwise, the Dalek could have very well exterminated a good chunk of humanity.

A Glitch in the System

Wapsi Square: It's not that the Mayans predicted the end of the world in 2012, it's just that the quantum clock that runs the world must be reset at precisely the time and date the Long Count Calendar runs out. Otherwise, time resets back to an earlier point in time, trapping us all in a time loop. But you won't notice it — after all, it's happened several times before.

Goats: After the untimely demise of God, the Mayan programming firm One Death was hired to keep the multiverse going. Unfortunately, a glitch in the system will cause the multiverse to crash on December 21, 2012, unless the prophesied Programmer can be located in time.

PW2: 2012 by MC Miller: Former professor Hamilton Ray begins to notice strange patterns and synchronicities in in the universe, and develops a theory about a Probability Wave, something that's about to bring about a radical change in the universe at the end of 2012.

The World Is Radically Transformed

The Invisibles by Grant Morrison: The world as we know it may come to an end on December 22, 2012, but it's hardly doomsday. Instead, humanity ascends to the Supercontext, the next level of existence, at the word of Jack Frost.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki: The priest Enrico Pucci acquires the stand Made in Heaven, which gives its user the power to rewrite the universe. And in 2012, Pucci attempted to remake the universe to suit his master Dio Brando. However, Pucci died before the universe could be completely rewritten, causing it to return to something close to its original form.

Shadowrun: Similarly, the world doesn't end in the Shadowrun universe, but as the Mayan calendar resets, the world undergoes a dramatic transformation. Magic returns to the Earth, allowing individuals, governments, and corporations to utilize a potent combination of cutting edge technologies and newly harnessed magic.

Additional reporting by Josh Snyder.

Doctor Who:

Why is "Waters Of Mars," airing Sunday, so scary? Says Russell T. Davies:

It's the intensity – it's trapped, claustrophobic, desperate – which really ups the stakes. Towards the end, the monsters aren't the scary things: it's the humans and the Doctor who really give me a chill.

[Daily Telegraph]

Shifting forward to 2010, here are some set pics showing Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, on set at the Temple Of Peace (first featured in "The End Of The World,") which is rumored to be the Silurian Senate in a new two-parter. A couple of these photos give glimpses of what might be a Silurian head poking through a window. What do you think? (For those who aren't steeped in the lore, Silurians were prehistoric lizard people who turned up in 1970's "Doctor Who And The Silurians," and then made a comeback in 1984's "Warriors Of The Deep.")

According to one poster who claims to have inside info at the Gallifrey Base forums, those really are Silurians, but they look like crap and don't have a third eye. And there's an "overweight senate Silurian" who will make us want to facepalm. (Note: Everything not supported by photos is purely a rumor at this point!)

This is believed to be the same two-parter that the earlier graveyard scenes were from, and some fans say there was a lizard woman with a Predator-style mask in the graveyard sequences. The pics also include Alan Raglan, who plays Mo Northover, the father of the little boy from the graveyard scenes. Also, there's a huge rig shining a light from an upstairs window in one of these pics. Photos by Alun_Vega on Flickr [Gallifrey Base]

Lost:

Here's a casting call for a scientist we'll be meeting in episode 6x08:

[SEAMUS] Any ethnicity, 30s-40s. A scientist with some physicality to him. Not afraid to take charge and give orders. Looking for someone interesting. CO-STAR, POSSIBLE RECUR

[SpoilersLost]

In episode 6x07, there's a big scene where Sun, Ben, Frank, Ilana and Miles are on the beach, and they're surprised to see Jack, Hurley and Richard suddenly appear out of the jungle. This could be the big reunion of the 1970s and 2007 timelines — except then why would Miles already be there? And why is Richard arriving with Jack and Hurley? In any case, everyone embraces, and Claire is there, looking tough with straight black hair. [The Transmission via SpoilersLost]

V:

Sleazy anchorman Chad Decker won't be meeting up with Elizabeth Mitchell's FBI agent character, Erica, any time soon, says actor Scott Wolf. [USA Today]

Morena Baccarin says Anna doesn't have a huge un-masking moment in the first four episodes, but there may be some effects added to her face to give a glimpse of the lizard beneath. She meets Tyler, Erica's son, setting up a plotline in which Erica may have to challenge Anna to save her son. In the next few episodes:

We get to see more about how the Vs live. There are more hints at how they do certain things and there's some really great plot twists. [There are] characters' worlds that collide that you wouldn't expect.

[TV Guide]

Here's what happens in the last episode of 2009, "It's Only The Beginning":

Erica works with newly-formed allies to uncover a biological threat they suspect the Visitors have been plotting. Aboard the Mothership, Anna meets with a special guest while managing the investigation into the murder of a V. And Chad does a segment on the V Healing Centers, demonstrating their amazing medical abilities, but then finds himself conflicted by some of his findings

[SpoilerTV]

Dollhouse:

An interview with Eliza Dushku, where she talks about getting shot, green goo, G.I. Jane, and duking it out with Summer Glau. Most of the spoilery stuff is towards the end. [SpoilerTV]

The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus:

Here's a new U.S. poster for Terry Gilliam's next film — click on the link to see the whole thing. [Slashfilm]

Fringe:

Here are some promo pics for episode seven, "Of Human Action." [Fringe Television]

Supernatural:

A new clip from Thursday's episode, in which Chuck the Prophet gets manipulated. (You'd think his prophetic powers would prevent this sort of thing.)

And here are the first four episode titles of 2010, all of which have a definite movie theme going on: "Sam, Interrupted," "Being Sam Winchester," "Back to the Future II," and "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid". [SpoilerTV]

2012:

A fairly damning review at Hollywood Reporter includes a few spoilers. This movie steals sequences from "Earthquake," "The Poseidon Adventure," "Volcano," and even "Titanic." And it follows a dozen characters through various scrapes. There's a corrupt presidential aide (Oliver Platt) who has to choose who gets to go on the nuclear version of Noah's Ark and survive the devastation. You'll know who's going to die in this movie — it's anyone who's committed any sort of "extramarital transgression." [THR]

The Prisoner:

James Caviezel and Jamie Campbell Bower are interviewed about their roles in this remake of the classic series.

True Blood:

Looks like we'll be meeting Bill's ex, judging from this casting call:

[CAROLINE COMPTON] 20's. Seen in 1866, a lovely, very strong, brave, well-bred and well-spoken Southern woman, Caroline pulls a shotgun on the intruder into her house—clearly prepared to use it—till she realizes it's her husband Bill (Stephen Moyer), whom she was sure had died in the War sptv050769. THIS IS A GREAT SCENE...ACTRESS SHOULD RESEMBLE THE ACTRESS IN THE ATTACHED PHOTO

And here's the photo in question. [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

The season's 13th and 14th episodes, respectively, will be called "Hubris" and "Conspiracy." [KryptonSite]

And here's a clip from Friday's episode, "Idol".

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Monday

What better way to start off the week than with a Syfy marathon of Stargate SG-1 running right now, from 8am all the way through to 3pm? Sure, there's that whole "work" thing, but come on. It's Stargate!

Otherwise, your television thrills are limited to an 8pm conflict between new episodes of House on Fox (A teenage girl can't distinguish between fact and fiction "after a wild night out." Am I the only one who feels like this could be either awesome or hideously embarrassing for all involved?) and Heroes on NBC, where Sylar is still trying to take control of Matt's body and Claire has to face off with her father's Sorority Girl Army. And, yes, I did accidentally make that sound more interesting than the actual show. Sorry, everyone.

Tuesday

For those calling in sick, I'd recommend skipping Syfy's Tru Calling marathon (8am through 3pm for those whose love of Dushku overpowers their bad-show gag reflex) and tuning into AMC, which goes dragon crazy with a 12:45 airing of Dragonheart (Dennis Quaid and a dragon voiced by Sean Connery!) followed by a 3pm re-run of Reign of Fire (You could stay tuned for a 5pm Batman Begins and 8pm Terminator 2: Judgment Day as well, if you were feeling particularly lazy).

If you'd rather get a delayed British take on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, then James May On The Moon (BBC America at 8pm) takes Top Gear's Captain Slow and puts him in the driver's seat for an hour long look back at those heady days where men were men and the Moon seemed an obtainable destination.

Otherwise, click over to ABC for the second episode of V and see whether it still feels like FlashForward meets... Well, the old V, really (The official PR for the episode says "A seeker among the Visitors tracks Erica and Father Jack. Chad seeks redemption by investigating the aliens ahead of his next newscast while law enforcers press Erica for information concerning Dale M…").

Wednesday

Thank God for Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel at 9pm. Without their investigation into whether cars will automatically burst into flames after crashing (Surely we have empirical proof that the answer is no already?), I'd have to find some way to pretend that Glee (Fox at 9) was a scifi show just to have something to write about for today. I figured I could always claim that it was set in an alternate reality where people aren't creeped out by Will Schuester trying to rap.

Thursday
If it's Thursday, then it's time for all the shows to run up against each other again. Sure, you could pretend that the networks aren't showing anything and watch a double bill of Demolition Man and End of Days on AMC (Sly and Arnold! In two of their most underrated - for a reason - movies! It starts at 8pm, if you're tempted), after spending the day watching Syfy's Star Trek: Enterprise marathon (8am through 3pm, as ever), but come on. I know that you can't resist the big shows people are talking about.

On FlashForward (ABC, 8pm), Aaron discovers the truth about his daughter's death, Janis returns to work and Mark and Olivia's martial troubles bring everyone down yet again, man. Things are much more fun over in Mystic Falls where Vampire Diaries (the CW at 8pm) brings a mysterious new teacher, arguments over medallions and, according to the CW, "Damon finally reveals to Stefan the stunning reason he has returned to Mystic Falls." If I watched the show and/or cared, I couldn't wait!

9pm brings the real reason to wrestle over the remote; Fringe on Fox gives Olivia, Broyles and Peter a new reason to be suspicious of Massive Dynamic when the impossibly shady corporation turn out to be involved in a kidnapping case, but Supernatural (The CW) looks much more fun than even Walter Bishop could provide:

Super fan Becky uses Chuck's phone to trick Sam and Dean into attending a Supernatural fan convention, complete with fans dressed up as Sam and Dean. One of the activities is a live action role-playing game, but things quickly turn sour after a real ghost appears on the scene.

Seriously. How could anyone resist that?

Friday

Jericho fans! You have the Syfy marathon of the day (8am through 3pm, which I'm sure you already know by now) to keep you happy during the daylight hours; the rest of us will be watching the original The War Of The Worlds movie on AMC at 10:15am (And avoiding the following Star Trek: Nemesis at 12:15pm, a movie which can best be described by blogger Kevin Church here), instead.

Still, Friday evening starts the weekend off right with the double bill of Batman: The Brave and The Bold ("The Fate of Equinox!" Yes, the exclamation point is part of the title) and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (following last week's surprisingly brutal, "Are Jedi really advocating using flame throwers against living beings what the hell?" episode) on Cartoon Network, starting at 7:30pm (Clone Wars is at 8pm, if you have an aversion of Batman. And if you do, then I'm very, very sorry.)

If you're in the mood for MOR dramas teasing the supernatural, then CBS is the place to be tonight, with new episodes of both Ghost Whisperer (8pm, with Jennifer Love Hewitt "pulled into a murder mystery by a real estate power couple" - Yes, this is what people want to watch, apparently) and Medium (9pm, which at least includes a potentially amusing-for-the-wrong-reasons subplot about posting videos of someone on the internet and "getting into trouble") on offer.

The rest of us, we'll be considering Smallville on the CW at 8pm (It features the Wonder Twins! You know you want to), Stargate Universe on Syfy at 9pm (The crew of the Destiny get a message from their future selves from the past. Or something) and Sanctuary on the same channel at 10pm.

Saturday

If you're not looking forward to Syfy's Ice Twisters at 9pm ("A sci-fi novelist is summoned to help scientists after an experiment in weather manipulation goes awry and produces deadly tornadoes made of ice," apparently), then we'd suggest that AMC's double bill of trilogies is the best way to spend your day. Start with the Mad Max trilogy (Movies starting 1:30, 3:30 and 5:30pm) before a night of The Matrix trilogy (The three movies begin at 8pm, 11pm and 1am on Sunday, respectively). Otherwise, the only thing left is Discovery's Surviving 2012... which is about all the prophecies, and not, sadly, advice on making it through Roland Emmerich's latest.

Sunday

It's the best night of television this week! Who knew, right? Start things off right with Syfy's latest screening of Serenity at 6:30 before switching over midway through - Hopefully missing Alan Tudyk's least favorite scene ever in the process - to catch the premiere of AMC's brand new take on The Prisoner at 8pm. If Ian McKellan and Jim Caviezel can't bring Patrick McGoohan's classic paranoiafest back to life, I'm going to be very depressed.

Of course, the best way to finish the evening off is coming at midnight, with the latest episode of The Venture Bros on Cartoon Network. Can we all just admit that it's the smartest and funniest show on television already?

Make It Impossible

The first rule to come from the director was, make it impossible....

The rules are — what I always say but people forget — the pictures have to be super impossible. I'm only interested in doing the impossible image. That's really hard to explain. But one of the first things I saw in my mind, was the ground opening up. And I realized what that means, when the bottom falls out under your feet.

So far that sounds exactly right as just about every single scientist and critc has said that the general ideas behind these disaster movies are, literally, impossible. But come on — who doesn't want to see people running from frost?

Stick To What You Know: You Can Always Blow Up The White House Again

[If you are going to destroy something] It has to be very original, otherwise you don't do it. I remember at one point [during 2012 production] we were discussing what will happen with the White House [in 2012]. I said, "What should happen? I cannot destroy the White House again." And Harald [Kloser, screenwriter] said, "Well you have to, if you don't destroy it people will have the same question. Just come up with something new." ... I thought I could have this object crashing into the White House, because we knew that in one of the first waves we'd have to put objects in it so you could see how big it was and thought maybe tankers or war ships. Then we came up with image of [the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy crashing into the White House, which is like] JFK returns to the White House. I was reading about the Kennedy family a lot at the time and thought that was sort of ironic and interesting in a way.

You gotta respect a man who made a career of blowing up the White House, so much that if he doesn't do it we wonder why not? But honestly, we're running out of cities for this guy to destroy, and yet he still manages to crush them differently each time. One has to wonder if he'll be able to come up with more after this last disaster.

The More Characters The Better

Multi characters help you a lot because you can constantly keep the story moving. And people from all walks of life. Every audience member has different people they like in the movie and will follow them. These movies are so expensive that they have to work for pretty much everybody. For young people, for men and women. old people probably like Danny Glover, and Harry and Tony, the Jazz musicians. Kids get wrapped up in our two kids. Create characters so everyone in the audience has an identification figure.

I guess that means my character in 2012 is Woody Harrelson the conspiracy blogger, cause I like cartoons and pickles too. Look at me, I'm bonding with the story! Still I'd like to meet the people that relate to beautiful Vivca Fox, the heart-of-gold stripper who loves dolphins and has a Fighter Pilot for a boyfriend.

Superheroes Aren't Half As Cool As Earthquakes, Tornadoes And Waves

Who wants character-driven movies about confused anti-heroes in a near futuristic world fighting Oscar-winning villains? Not me. Give me Will Smith punching aliens and Bill Pullman's president speech any day.

Look at it like this. I'm a person who doesn't like superhero movies, just personally. I like some of them but I cannot really relate to a superhero. I have trouble with fantasy stories. And famous books — I write my own stuff, a famous book is really not an option for me. There's very little left in big movie genres. It's science fiction or it's disaster movies. And what is the most successful movie of all time? Titanic. And the best part of a disaster movie is: No sequel.

Cut Other Would-Be Disaster Porn Directors Off At The Knees

You have to be a tyrant about getting your end of the world movies made. This is why Emmerich is the King of the B grade blow em up movies, because he'll make it before you. Who wants to wait until 2012 to make 2012? Not this guy.

"First when we had the idea, I said, I'm not going to do it. I don't want to repeat myself. Then we heard inklings that other people were working on something like this, also with the title 2012. Then Harald [the screenwriter] said, "Someone else is going to do it. Don't you want to be the person to do it? Look at your movies: you are perfect for this. Make it your crowning achievement."

Be G-Rated Political *Winky Wink, Nudge Nudge*

If you've seen the five-minute clip from 2012, you know there is a Arnold-esque Governor in the film reassuring the people of California that everything is a-okay, after a mess of earthquakes rocked the town, to which John Cusack yells he's "just an actor, he's reading a script." Suddenly fake Arnold gets creamed with a few lights. Subtle, no? We asked the director if this was on purpose as in The Day After Tomorrow, when actor Kenneth Welsh was cast to be a Cheney look-alike. If you remember Welsh was a bit of a dick about the whole, "we're all gonna die," situation. Which Emmerich later confirmed was a dig at the Bush administration's environmental policies. Emmerich shrugged off our political questions:

"We kind of felt that not every politician should be on the ark. I don't know where these ideas come from. We have terrible fun with what we do."

Which I'm translating as: We lob softball politics at the audience, just so everyone feels good about themselves, for being in on the obvious political joke. I wonder what Emmerich would say his reasoning behind casting Glover as the president before we knew the results of this election. Or was it simply just another near-future "Neato, a black president!" moment?

For Every Wrinkled-Shirted Scientist, You Need At Least One Crazy Prophet

Dennis Quaid, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Jeffrey Goldblum may have messy hair, messy clothes, big ideas, and know all the facts. But they pale in comparison to their crazy counterparts: the homeless guy with the dog, spouting words of humanity, Woody Harrelson's crazy tree-hugger and the drunken pilot from Independence Day who knew there were aliens all along.

[Woody] came out of the fact that there are a lot of crazy people on the internet that believe a lot of crazy things about 2012, so we thought that we have to have a character like that. And then on the other hand we have to explain what the theories are like Earth Crust Displacement. How do you describe them in scientific terms. And we thought, we can have Woody tell the audience how this all works, with a little you tube.

But Make The Destruction Glamorously Terrible

Say what you will about the exceedingly cheesy work of Roland — you can't deny, when he slaughters millions of tiny CG specks that are supposed to be people, he does it with panache and style. It may be ridiculous, but it's beautiful. Which is why, no matter how cliche or repetitive these movies get, it will make millions opening week, because people want to see the great big wave number two come careening into New York City yet again, but on a big fat splodey screen. When it comes to disaster porn, we're all addicts.

At the end of 2012 the cast members who have survived the massive floods and volcanic destruction on Earth head over to Africa, the new center of the world. What happens next has just been picked up by ABC as a television series that Emmerich is helping out with. We got the chance to find out more about his post-post-apocalypse series at the 2012 press day.

io9: You may dislike sequels but I hear you are interested in making a TV series sequel to the this film called 2013?

Roland Emmerich: But that's something different. It's something like Lost, which has a totally different feel to it. It's more than a little bit like District 9. These ships show up in Africa and [in] Cape Town there are survivors, and they are not happy people. Because they were left behind. And how do you start a new society? It has no visual effects, it's all about characters. What will the future bring? Hope for us?

Will 2013 have to happen pretty quickly after this movie is released? Do you have any actors or additional writers in mind?

They just made a deal with ABC. And we're very happy about that. I'm already discussing with the people that write and try to help them with what this could be. The original idea is from [2012 co-writer] Harold [Kloser], me and Mark Gordon. Mark is big in TV so Harold and I had an idea. Because there were a lot of things we couldn't incorporate in 2012. And we thought it was interesting what happened after all this. When we were writing the script we had to end it at one point and we left it very vague. They discovered that Africa is still existing. It has just risen a couple thousand feet. But that's it. And we ended on a really really small note about a little girl who overcame her fear. It was a very small way [to end]. Which was also kind of for us something very personal and poignant. [In the sequel] people would expect visual effects but it will be only what happened between people. We can do that on a TV show week after week after week.

It's just the fact that they come off their shiny arcs to a destroyed Cape Town. And it's not the bright and happy future everybody was envisioning. It's same old problems.

Where do I even start with this ridiculous yet brilliant blend of marketing hype? The title of the song is, "Time For Miracles," and while I'm not a huge fan of the song, you gotta love the idea behind blending the world's most hyped-up show and Roland Emmerich. Its mostly Adam walking through disaster porn and waving his arms. Because nothing says love ballad like watching your family flung into the mouth of a volcano. It shows a lot of movie footage, but this is crazy. All I have to say is, where were you Clay Aiken, with your The Day After Tomorrow music video? Can't you imagine the running with the wolves and frost sequence? That's eyeliner guy one, Aiken zero.

Thank you for pointing this out, Videogum.

Star Trek 2:

It's been a few days since we've featured an almost koan-like vague utterance from one of the creators of this film, so here goes. J.J. Abrams says it would be a "challenge" to recast Khan Noonien Singh, but no more so than recasting Kirk, Spock and the others was. And he adds: "While I don't want to approach the second film as a remake of episodes we've seen in the past... nothing is off limits in terms of what we're discussing." So it won't be a straight-up remake of an original series episode, except that it might be. [MTV]

2012:

Roland Emmerich gives SciFi Wire a rundown on the monuments he destroys in this new movie. This time around, the White House gets pulverized when a tidal wave carries an aircraft carrier, the John F. Kennedy, into it. "I've got JFK kind of coming back to the White House, which I thought was ironic," says Emmerich, who's obviously a big Alanis Morrissette fan. Also, a big cruise ship, meant to evoke the Poseidon, rolls over. A big crack appears in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The Basilica, in the Vatican, tips over and falls on people. Also, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro collapses "because I'm against organized religion," says Emmerich. (He wanted to destroy an Islamic monument, but feared a backlash.) [Sci Fi Wire]

Let Me In:

Matt Reeves has started filming his American remake of this Swedish classic, and Overture Films says it'll pay homage to the original, but reinvent it. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Doctor Who:

Here's the official synopsis for "Waters Of Mars," coming up Nov. 15:

Mars, 2059. Bowie Base One. Last recorded message: "Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it. Not one drop."...

Lindsay Duncan stars as Adelaide – the Doctor's cleverest and most strong-minded companion yet.

She and The Doctor face terror on the Red Planet as they battle against a mysterious alien living within the terrarium of life on Mars' surface which infects its victims using a water compound it creates.

Neighbours, Flying Doctors and Casualty star Peter O'Brien also guest stars as Ed, Adelaide's second-in-command at the base.

[Blogtor Who]

Someone else who went to the screening says that the "deadly water" storyline is clumsily executed. (The phrase "Water always waits. Water always wins" is spoken.) But generally it's great stuff. The dilemma the Doctor faces in the episode paves the way for his ultimate demise, and there are hints that the events of "The Runaway Bride" and "Fires Of Pompeii" will be important to the Doctor's future. Also, Russell T. Davies confirmed that Donna's mom and the Master's wife (Lucy Saxon) will be back in the final episodes, which we pretty much knew already. [Unreality TV]

Steven Moffat answered questions at the Screenwriters' Festival. He's a big fan of Peter Cushing's TARDIS from the 1960s movies, so don't be surprised if there are touches of that in the new TARDIS layout. He says the 1996 TV movie proves that you can't get too grown up with the series, and it should remain a children's show. And he's writing six episodes of the season, plus Richard Curtis is writing one — leaving six mystery slots. And Matt Smith is playing the Doctor as a much older man who just appears younger, not unlike Peter Davison. Moffat's biggest challenge? Writing the final episode.

[Den Of Geek and Digital Spy]

And here's the first clip from the animated episode, "Dreamland." I cannot get used to the look of this animation... [BBC]

Lost:

Even though Juliet is definitely dead, she's a major player in the final season, days Damon Lindelof:

Juliet basically birthed season 6 by the actions that she takes in the final seconds of season 5. She is completely responsible for the end game of the show. So the character is going to be seen in a slightly different light this year. We gave her that action for a reason, and that's because she's so important to the fabric of the story.

[EW]

Is Ben the Final Cylon? Damon Lindelof says the final season's mood, and maybe some of the storylines, are summed up by Bob Dylan's song "Visions Of Johanna":

I have that song on my iPod, and when I hear it I think about the show," said Lindelof. "There are certain lyrical phrases in that song that are very well-suited to 'Lost.'"

[MTV]

V:

Here's another sneak peek from tonight's premiere episode, which I'm pretty sure we haven't shown you. [E! Online]

Supernatural:

OMG here's the official synopsis for episode 10, "Abandon All Hope," the episode two major characters won't survive:

SAM AND DEAN FACE OFF AGAINST LUCIFER - Sam (Jared Padalecki), Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Castiel (Misha Collins) track down the Colt and head off to find Lucifer (guest star Mark Pelligreno) to send him back to Hell. It's a hunters' reunion when the crew joins forces with Bobby (Jim Beaver), Ellen (guest star Samantha Ferris) and Jo (guest star Alona Tal) for what could be their last night on Earth.

[Devoted Fans Network via SpoilerTV]

Caprica:

Three new TV spots include some new footage. [Galactica Sitrep]

Fringe:

This week's episode is all about Broyles,and revisits a case from his past. We learn that he chose the Fringe Division over his marriage four years ago, and has lived to regret it. [E! Online]

FlashForward:

Here's the official description for episode nine, "Believe":

BRYCE BEGINS SEARCHING FOR THE WOMAN SEEN IN HIS FLASHFORWARD, AARON BECOMES CONCERNED OVER TRACY'S ODD BEHAVIOR, AND MARK TRIESTO TRACK DOWN THE PERSON WHO ALERTED OLIVIA ABOUT HIS DRINKING DURING HIS VISION

[SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

Here's the official description for "Pandora":

BACK TO THE FUTURE - Tess (Cassidy Freeman) kidnaps Lois (Erica Durance) to find out where Lois went after she disappeared for weeks. Lois's memory of the future depicts a Metropolis under Zod's (Callum Blue) rule and Clark (Tom Welling) powerless under the red sun, while Chloe (Allison Mack) forms a resistance group with Oliver (Justin Hartley). After learning of these future events, Clark makes an important decision about Zod.

[Kryptonsite]

Clark's black suit is just a bridge to his classic Superman costume, and once the Justice Society convinces him to embrace his human side, he can don more of the red and blue again. The season may even see him creating a costume with a bit more color, like Tobey Maguire in first Spider-Man movie. [TV Guide Magazine]

Here's another clip from Friday's new episode, featuring Tess and Zod.

Twilight:

Here's our first glimpse, from Eclipse, of Xavier Samuel as Riley, a baby vampire whom Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) uses as a pawn in her revenge on Bella. [MTV]

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

Here's a new image from tomorrow night's all-new episode, in which:

Anakin, Ahsoka and Ki-Adi-Mundi lead a landing party to destroy a droid factory that Poggle the Lesser has rebuilt on Geonosis, but things go terribly awry when Separatist gunners shoot down the Republic ships. Despite heavy losses, Anakin and Ki-Adi-Mundi must rendezvous in time to destroy the enemy factory before it can begin production.

True Blood:

Even though Godric is dead, the show's creators are considering exploring his 1,000 year history with Eric through flashbacks. [E! Online]

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Monday

If you didn't lose most of your Sunday to Syfy's V marathon, don't despair; they're continuing it today, from 8am through 7pm (And then again tomorrow, starting at 8am again). Jane Badler fanatics of the world, unite for one last time before Morena Baccarin takes over. Talking of remakes of beloved shows, AMC have a 15 minute Prisoner Preview at 2:45, teasing the reboot that premieres later this month (It re-runs throughout the week, if you miss it).

Of course, Monday wouldn't be Monday without Heroes; this week is the much-anticipated "Once Upon A Time In Texas" episode that sees Hiro try to save Charlie's life again, even though I thought we'd conclusively proven way back in the first season that he couldn't do that. Oh, Heroes, suddenly that House re-run on Fox at the same time seems that bit more interesting...

Tuesday

Having presumably primed yourself with the end of Syfy's V marathon, you'll be eagerly anticipating the premiere of ABC's brand new, now-with-extra-Scott-Wolf V, for the first of four weeks before a winter break. We reviewed it at Comic-Con and were pleasantly surprised by the "creepy and intriguing" update of the classic show. Here are the first eight minutes or so:

Meanwhile, AMC and FX are showing off their superhero movie chops: AMC has a doublebill of Batman and Batman Returns starting at 8, while FX shows the better-than-the-first-but-that's-not-necessarily-saying-much Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer at the same time.

Wednesday

Get your humpday started properly with AMC showing of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie at 9:45 in the morning, and then stick around for Reign of Fire - one of our favorite dragon war movies ever - at 3pm. In fact, when you add in more showings of Batman, Batman Returns and Batman Forever (at 8pm) and Batman Begins (at 10:30), you could pretty much just leave your television tuned to AMC all day.

But if you did that, you'd miss a new episode of Eastwick at 10pm on ABC. Considering I've never seen the show, I'll just quote the summary instead:

After Chad visits her one last time in a dream, a grieving Roxie resolves to fulfill his last wish — if she can figure out what it is. Hounded by Max, her replacement at the Gazette, about her kidnapping ordeal, Joanna grapples with her own lingering questions while dodging his and Kat, startled by a newfound ability, realizes that Bun's old friend Eleanor Rougement may have answers for both of them.

For those looking for documentary-esque thrills, Mythbusters investigate liquid nitrogen myths in a new episode at 9pm on the Discovery Channel, and, after rocking a marathon of Destination Truth from 8am through 3pm (There's also a new episode on at 9), Syfy celebrates the power of brand loyalty by bringing in Warehouse 13's Eddie McClintock to help track down the "Ghost Of Buffalo Bill" on a brand new episode of Ghost Hunters at 8pm.

Thursday

As if the V marathons earlier in the week weren't enough, Syfy has a Threshold marathon starting at 8am and running until 3 in the afternoon. Remember Threshold?

Because it's Thursday, it's time to give your TiVos a workout. At 8pm, you can choose between a new episode of FlashForward on ABC -

Mark, Demetri, Gough and MI6 agent Fiona Banks investigate a Blue Hand club and its possible connection to some recent suicides. Meanwhile, Aaron receives a surprise visit from a former army buddy of his late daughter's, Demetri comes clean with Zoey about his lack of a flashforward, and Nicole helps Bryce uncover the mystery of his flashforward while volunteering at the hospital.

- or a new Vampire Diaries on the CW:

On his birthday, Stefan is surprised by a visit from Lexi, one of his oldest friends. Still upset by the events at the Halloween haunted house, Elena does her best to stay away from Stefan, but Lexi gives her some unsolicited relationship advice. Elena and Jenna are surprised by a change in Jeremy's behavior. At Damon's insistence, Caroline tries to get his medallion back from Bonnie. Finally, Damon's offer to help Sheriff Forbes has sudden and tragic results.

Similarly, 9pm brings a choice between Fringe on Fox -

The Fringe Division takes on a puzzling investigation where victims are inexplicably disintegrating into ash. The shadowy case casts light on Special Agent Phillip Broyles' past and leads the team to the possibility of foreign Fringe Science. Emotions run high as the alarming events stack up and revealing personal details emerge about the leader of the Fringe Division.

- and what looks like a very fun episode of Supernatural on the CW:

The Trickster throws Sam and Dean into an alternate universe where they are characters in different television series, including a sexy medical show, a Japanese game show, a forensics show and a sitcom. The brothers realize the only way to get out of this world is to play along and become the characters in the shows. However, Castiel appears and warns them this universe is dangerous and they must get out before they become trapped.

(My suggestion: Watch FlashForward and Fringe live, TiVo Supernatural and try to pretend Vampire Diaries doesn't exist. Sorry, Kevin Williamson.)

Friday

Today's Syfy marathon? The third season of Doctor Who. Again, it starts at 8am: Set your TiVo to relive the awesomeness that is Martha Jones. Otherwise, you'll be left with nothing to watch until Smallville on the CW at 8 (Jor-El meets Chloe, Clark realizes that a younger version of his dad is on Earth and Zod keeps disappointing in the villain stakes).

That's followed by the Syfy double bill of Stargate Universe at 9 (Wherein Richard Dean Anderson guests with a crazy plan about how to bring the accidental crew of the Destiny home. Spoiler: It's only the sixth episode: It's not going to work), and Sanctuary at 10 (Magnus wakes up with no idea where she is, or why everything around her has been destroyed. I know how she feels).

If you're feeling like you're missing old friends, though, you could always tune in to White Collar on USA at 9, which counts Fringe's dear departed Charlie and The Middleman's Natalie Morales amongst its cast this week. Plus, of course, Matt Bomer, whom everyone keeps telling me is the new David Tennant in dreaminess quotant.

Saturday

Syfy seems to have forgotten that Halloween was the week before, with three horror movies: Open Graves (starring a pre-Dollhouse Eliza Dushku), in which American students abroad find a deadly boardgame, the remake of The Amityville Horror, and From Within, which apparently has something to do with a Christian questioning her faith when people around her get gruesomely slaughtered.

Thankfully, the movie that follows those three, Snakehead Terror features both snake-headed mutant pirhanas and Bruce Boxeleitner, so things seem to getting back to normal in the end. (Open Graves starts at 4, and each following movie comes two hours later).

Sunday

Worried about the truth behind Roland Emmerich's new destructo movie? Then don't watch 2012: Startling New Secrets on Syfy, which sounds as if it treads the fine line between Destination Truth-esque knowing parody and tacky sensationalism. Which, come to think of it, sounds pretty like the 2012 movie itself, actually... Instead, finish off your weekend with "Return To Malice," the latest, and no doubt entirely awesome, episode of The Venture Bros. on Cartoon Network at midnight. Let's face it: Brock would be disappointed if you didn't.

According to the wire 2012 is getting ready to D-box your brains out, because this end of the world joy ride is going to include some action seats.

Audience members viewing 2012 in theaters equipped with the D-BOX motion technology will not
only see the movie, but experience it in a unique way as their surroundings respond and react to the events on screen....D-BOX's motion designers spend hundreds of hours creating realistic motion effects (referred to as "MFX") frame by frame in perfect sync with the onscreen action for each individual movie, providing an experience unlike any other on the market. Each D-BOX MFX seat comes equipped with individual intensity settings that can be adjusted to heighten or decrease the motion experience. While moviegoers feel motion effects during many of the action sequences, the seats will remain still during the more dialogue-driven scenes.

Which means, more action for your action, stuffed with action. If this is the wave of the future, count me out. The last thing I need to do is feel the car slamming into my passenger door while John Cusack screams "we're all gonna die!" Unless there's a nice "Cusack caressing the side of my face" scene — if the D-box can make that happen believably, then they can have all my money. Otherwise, you'd better make sure your popcorn bucket can double as a barf bag.

Mad Max: Fury Road:

Director George Miller says the film's many vehicles are so intricate that it could take a year just to build all of them. The vehicles will be over-the-top but also need to be safe — because it sounds like there will be a lot of live action stunts. The film will be "shot at speed" and there will be "a huge number of stunts." [The Hollywood Reporter via MTV]

Avatar:

Rumor has it that if James Cameron gets to do Avatar 2, the sequel won't be set on the planet Pandora at all. The second movie will be totally different from the first, like Terminator 2 was to the original Terminator. Pandora "is not the be all and end all of the Consortium." (The source also claims that Cameron will produce the Alien prequel that Ridley Scott is directing, and it'll be in 3-D.) Remember, this is a rumor, and you should give it the same level of credence you give everything else you read on the Internet. [MarketSaw]

And here are a couple of new stills showcasing some blue archery action. [Movies-Spoilers]

2012:

A few new (I think) TV spots for this demolition derby:

Twilight: New Moon:

Here's a colorful new TV spot:

Lost:

Hurley was filming a scene at a new camp, which looks awfully ramshackle, and there was at least one Dharma logo amongst all the detritus. And Jack was also around, wearing a red sweater with "a red spot on his forehead." And judging from the signs on the trailers, Claire was also in the scene at some point. And there was talk of fires and explosions happening on the set later. [Lost-Spoiler-Over via SpoilersLost]

Also, Titus Welliver, who played the mysterious Man In Black in the season finale, says he's coming back to film some more episodes soon — meaning maybe the MIB will abandon his Locke suit, or maybe we'll see more of him in a flashback? [Boston Herald via Doc Arzt]

Chalk up another castaway who's returning to the island: Maggie Grace will return to film some new scenes as Shannon, after a delay caused by some other film projects she was doing. (Meaning, I think, that her scenes could be slotted into the early episodes of the season, already filmed.) [TV Guide Magazine]

Sarah Jane Adventures:

Here it is — the big one, coming in a couple days. I'm only sad that it's not being saved for the end of the season, because that means we know how it ends — Sarah Jane is almost certainly not getting married. But in any case, here's a new trailer, with the TARDIS materialization sound taking the place of "Here Comes The Bride," plus a new interview with the groom, Nigel Havers:

V:

Here's another new promo spot for this remake, showcasing some nifty camera work. It's encouraging that ABC is putting so much promotion into this series. Fingers crossed!

True Blood:

Alan Ball gave a huge interview to the Advocate, full of season three hints. Among other things: We will be seeing a lot more of Ryan Kwanten (physically) in the first few episodes of the season after his relatively modest stint at church camp. If you've read the books, certain developments will not surprise you. Sophie-Anne, the Vampire Queen, is fascinated with Sookie but it may or may not turn sexual. The vampire king of Mississippi has a long-term — and that means very, very long-term — companion. [The Advocate]

Chuck:

Hannah, Chuck's new love interest, is sort of a female version of Chuck, who meets Chuck on a plane and then winds up working at the Buy More after she's lost her job. She's directionless and drifting, like Chuck was before he became the Intersect. And Shaw, Sarah's new love interest, is the new team leader at Team Bartowski and an expert on the Ring. He's a mentor to Chuck and (we think, anyway) a good guy. [ChuckTV]

Smallville:

Here's the official synopsis for Nov. 13's Twin-tastic episode, "Idol":

DC COMICS THE WONDER TWINS SHOW UP TO HELP CLARK CLEAN UP METROPOLIS Superhero twins Zan (guest star David Gallagher) and Jayna (guest star Allison Scagliotti) show up in Metropolis to help The Blur fight crime but end up botching several rescues, landing Clark (Tom Welling) in hot water with the District Attorney's office. Clark decides to come forward as the Blur to clear his name.

[SpoilerTV]

The "Society" two-parter featuring the Justice Society also will feature the return of Phil Morris as the Martian Manhunter. [EW]

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.