Gary is a longtime blogger, editor, writer, and critic. Most recently, he spent eight years as Senior Writer at Entertainment Weekly, where he launched and edited EW.com's flagship blog, PopWatch. Other regular outlets have included CNN, MSNBC, People, the Village Voice, Life, the Guardian, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Boston Phoenix, for which he has written since 1989. He is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics. He blogs about popular culture and politics at Pop Culture Warrior. He lives in New Jersey, which as we all know is a parallel reality.

Say hi to Gary - he'll be with us all week.

Why Is It So Hard To Start A New Franchise?
In an alternate universe, we're all obsessing about the impending release of The Matrix V and Chronicles Of Riddick 9. Even as we're drowning in retreads of things that launched in the 1960s, just think of all the more recent works that tried — and failed — to launch a franchise. Why is it so difficult?

Gift Ideas for the Ten Major Species of Science Fiction Fan
We've got the definitive guide to what you and your fannish pals should have on your holiday lists this season. Not sure what to buy for the Star Wars fan in your life? Got a steampunker or zombie lover on your list and no clue where to look? Wondering what's out there for the Battlestar Galactica watcher, the Trekkie, or the Whedon devotee? Our gift guide offers ideas for the ten major species of scifi fan.

No Final Cylon Will Ever Be Good Enough
With Battlestar Galactica returning in less than two months, anticipation is at fever pitch over the identity of the show's Final Cylon. We've looked at the clues to date and offered some theories of our own, but with SyFyPortal claiming that it knows the character's identity for sure - and then offering up five possible choices to choose from - it's time to look at it from another angle: Which character would be ruined if they turned out to be the Final Cylon?

What Superpower Should Wil Wheaton Have On Heroes?
Final proof that social networking can make the world a better place: Heroes' Greg Grunberg and baby-faced Wil Wheaton (Star Trek:The Next Generation) have been networking publicly on Twitter. And the upshot may be that Wheaton becomes the latest Trek veteran to pass on his wisdom to those troubled mutants. But which superpower should Wil Wheaton have? Click through to vote.

Plagues, Hidden Cities, and Harbingers of Doom at the Bookstore This Month
Nothing is better than curling up during the holidays with a good book, and December brings a lot of terrific options. Dark urban fantasy dominates, with The Engine's Child and Knights of the Cornerstone, but there's also some good space opera from Mike Resnick and Karen Miller - and a whole lot of apocalypse with a new Wild Cards novel and Scott Sigler's latest "virus ate the world" book. Check out what's coming to your local bookstore in the next few weeks, below.

Hot Flashes: 10 Uses For Lightning That Ben Franklin Never Guessed
It can power a time machine, steal Superman's strength and even help Zack Morris graduate high school. Oh, lightning – is there anything you can't do? Long before nuclear energy and genetic engineering joined the team, lightning reigned as the top catch-all explanation for the funky phenomenon of the week, even transcending genre to become a standard sitcom plot device. Click through for clips of the flashiest lightning this side of Mt. Olympus.

You Will Sweat Nanoblobs: Your Future Workplace!
Chances are, you're reading this blog at work. At the same time, you're pretending to be a cat princess in a bestiality-quest MMO with your left hand, making a new Lynyrd Skynyrd/MC Frontalot mashup with your right hand and denouncing Saxby Chambliss with both feet. And you're still bored. But fear not — the workplace revolution that's coming will eradicate boredom forever. You will be amazed.

Exclusive Clip Shows Why Keanu Can't Fill Original Klaatu's Boots
Michael Rennie, stoic actor and first to don the silver spaceman duds in the 1951 classic The Day The Earth Stood Still, has left Neo some mighty big space boots to fill. Don't take our word for it — just check out this exclusive clip from one of the featurettes from the new TDTESS DVD re-release, and find out what went into making Rennie the definitive Klaatu.

Gifts for Geek Causes
If you'd like to donate to a geek cause this holiday, we've got a big list of fifteen organizations you might consider helping out with a charity gift. Let's say you'd rather not get another sweater for the holidays (even if it has a Star Wars pattern). Consider asking people to give that gift money to a charity instead - the kind of charity that helps nerds in need.

Hundreds Of Tests Needed To Get Spaceship Right, Says Earth Stood Still Designer
Those giant glowing spheres that trash Manhattan in the Day The Earth Stood Still remake took painstaking work — on everything from color schemes to the way they looked reflected in people's hazmat suit visors. We talked to production designer David Brisbin about reinventing a science fiction legend, and he explained why the new film is such a visual departure from the 1950s version.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

What does it stand for? Originally, it stood for Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division. In the 1990s, it was changed to Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorate. Then, in the Iron Man movie, it was changed again to Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. No idea if this final change is cannon or not. Will the comic books start calling it by its new, DHS-inflected name?

Where can you find it? Marvel comic books.

Key members: Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabriel Jones, Tony Stark, Maria Hill, Clay Quartermain

Its mission, as far as we can tell: To protect the world from bad things like Godzilla, terrorists, aliens, giant robots, and communism. In the recent series Civil War, SHIELD had to uphold the Superhero Registration Act and force all heroes to register with the U.S. government. This resulted in a major pissing match between Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D., and ended in Captain America's death. S.H.I.E.L.D. is randomly associated with the U.N. or the U.S. (People from the U.S. have a hard time figuring out the difference between their country and the rest of the world.)

Any counter-organizations? HYDRA, which is spelled in all caps but is not an acronym. Warren Ellis made fun of S.H.I.E.L.D. with a group called H.A.T.E., which stands for Highest Anti Terrorism Effort.

SD-6

What does it stand for? Section Disparu 6 (French for Disappeared Unit 6)

Where can you find it? Alias TV series

Key members: Sydney Bristow (though she's tricked into it), Jack Bristow, Arvin Sloane, Jean Briault, Edward Poole (played by Roger Moore!)

Its mission, as far as we can tell: Weird spy shit. Digging up semi-mystical objects, retrieving semi-mystical objects from the bad guys, working with the CIA sometimes, killing people who know about SD-6, propagating weird family psychodrama.

Any counter-organizations? K-Directorate (with the wondrous Gina Torres) and FTL.

CONTROL

What does it stand for?

Unknown

Where can you find it?

Get Smart TV series

Key members: Agent 86 (Maxwell Smart), Agent 99, The Chief

Its mission, as far as we can tell: To work with the United States government to protect the nation from bad guys. Usually bad guys with bombs.

Any counter-organizations? KAOS, which is a Russian group nominally headquartered in Delaware for tax reasons.

U.N.I.T.

What does it stand for? United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, now shortened to Unified Intelligence Taskforce

Where can you find it? Doctor Who, Torchwood

Key members: the Doctor (in the 1970s), Doctor's former companion Dr. Martha Jones, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw

Its mission, as far as we can tell: To protect the planet, and especially England, from alien invaders. They're barely secret at all, and work with the United Nations. Their first great battle was with the Cybermen.

Any counter-organizations? None.

The Dharma Initiative

What does it stand for?Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications

Where can you find it? Lost TV series

Key members: Founders Karen and Gerald deGroot, from spooky University of Michigan

Its mission, as far as we can tell: Funded by the mysterious Hanso Corporation, its mission was to be a scientific collective where people could study meteorology, psychology, parapsychology, zoology, electromagnetism, and what is hinted to be utopian socialism (the scariest discipline of all!).

Any counter-organizations? The Others, who gassed them and took over their research stations.

The Syndicate

What does it stand for? Not an acronym, but perhaps a metanym. It's also known as the Elders, the Consortium and the Group.

Where can you find it? X-Files TV series

Key members: The Smoking Man, X, Alex Krycek, William Mulder (Fox's dad), Alvin Kurzweil (no relation to Ray)

Its mission, as far as we can tell: Like an old-fashioned Illuminati-style group, they secretly influence world affairs in government and business. Originally they banded together to fight a group of aliens who wanted to colonize Earth using the black cancer, or black oil. But somehow they are also involved in lots of other ooky-gooey projects to hybridize humans and aliens, as well as create creepy diseases.

Any counter-organizations? The colonizer aliens.

M.I.B.

What does it stand for? Men In Black.

Where can you find it? The Men In Black movies.

Key members: Agent J, Agent K, Agent L

Its mission, as far as we can tell: To deal with alien life on Earth, which sometimes means protecting humans from aliens but mostly seems to mean protecting aliens from each other.

Any counter-organizations? Unknown

Star Trek Cake Upsets Nerds
Everyone likes cake, right? Especially if the cake is a Star Trek-themed one made by Charm City Cakes. But if that were really true, then what's behind the meltdown from Trek fans once pictures of Charm City's cake were leaked online?

10 Books That Prove Science Fiction Just Got Harder
Why do so many books labeled "hard science fiction" actually contain technology that works pretty much like magic in a fantasy novel? Hard science fiction is supposed to be the branch of SF that's rigorously scientific, and doesn't gloss over difficult problems like faster-than-light travel. We've got a list of ten books that we think are redefining hard SF for the twenty-first century.

When Did Battlestar Galactica Jump The Shark?
The reboot of gritty robot-apocalypse show Battlestar Galactica was a breathtaking revelation, with its complex characters and hard-edged political allegories. But over the past three and a half seasons, little bits of schlock have started clinging to the show like so many barnacles.

New "Andromeda" Strains Credulity
The new version of Strain left some saying, "Wow, it's like a Sci Fi Channel original movie, only with an A-list cast."

Spock Has A Sweet New Ride In Star Trek Movie
Some new details about the starships in the new Star Trek movie have come out — and they answer a major nagging question about the movie's over-arching plot.

A Facelift Pill That Makes 80-Year-Olds Look 20
It may be a long time before humans can extend their lifespans to hundreds of years, but the technology to make humans look sixty years younger than their actual age is right around the corner

The Robots That Wall-E Stole From
Everyone already knows that WALL-E is a direct rip-off of Short Circuit's Johnny 5. But J5 isn't the only track bot that Pixar borrowed the WALL-E look from. We've taken a deeper look into the world of androids and bulky square robotics and compiled a list of other machines that may have given WALL-E his lensy eyes or tank-track feet.

Ass-Kicking Asian Women with Machine Guns Meet the Apocalypse
Fight scenes featuring beautiful Asian women with machine guns are sexy, scary, and fetishistic.

This Week's Comics: Babes, Zombies And The Love Of Fat Cobra
If there was one word to describe this week's (one day late, due to the holiday) haul of new comics, that word may be "brutal".

8 Things You Didn't Know About Extrasolar Planets
While most of us have our eyes on Mars at the moment, there's a special class of astronomers who have their telescopes trained on planets a little bit farther away. Actually, a lot farther away - completely outside our solar system, in fact. We've found almost 300 extrasolar planets (or exoplanets) so far, and the search continues.