Shazam

Screenwriter Bill Birch says that while the Captain Marvel movie will have an edge to it — but it won't be Dark Knight gritty, and will probably have a PG-13 rating. He admitted that Dwayne Johnson could be a possibility for Captain Marvel, given Johnson's relationship with director Peter Segal. Birch says he always saw Ryan Reynolds in the role, but that's out now that Reynolds is playing the Green Lantern. [Cinema Blend]

The Hobbit

Guillermo del Toro will have a cameo as a background monster in the film. He says he'll have a line or two, then die quickly. He says many of the movie's monsters will be majestic, especially Smaug and the Great Goblin. [/Film]

The Green Hornet

Tipster Kyle discovered the Green Hornet crew was filming on Wilshire Boulevard in LA, and snagged a photo and got a good look at the set:

It is an Armed Forces Recruiting center. Inside there are a bunch of low cubicles set up and in the back was a podium flanked by various state and organizational flags. They are hanging up a sign in front (picture attached) for the center as well as a shoe store next door. I'm not sure how the shoe store fits into things, but it's there!

[Thanks Kyle!]

X-Men Origins: Magneto

David Goyer says the script for Magneto is "brilliant," but it's unlikely it'll go to production any time soon, especially if Fox wants to make another Wolverine movie. [MTV]

Breaking Dawn

Robert Pattinson says he's heard the final Twilight movie will shoot in Portland, and in his wildest dreams he'd like to see Portland-based director Gus Van Sant at the helm. [MTV]

Doctor Who

A new behind the scenes featurette for "Waters of Mars" takes us inside the biodome and shows us one of the water creatures. [Blogtor Who]

And shots from a handful of TV magazines offer a little more insight into the episode. [Blogtor Who]

A poster on the Gallifrey Base forums has a solid theory on how "Waters of Mars" will end. Poster the_silver_shade suspects that the Doctor will rescue Adelaide from her fated death, but in order ensure minimal disruption of the timeline, Adelaide will have to take on a new identity and never see or interact with her daughter or granddaughter again. If so, expect it to be a tearjerker. [Gallifrey Base]

We mentioned yesterday that creatures who may or may not be Silurians appear in the eighth and ninth episodes of the new season. Here's an alleged glimpse of one of those creatures. One message-board poster claims, based on hearsay or inside sources, that the episode takes place 15 years in the future, when global warming has greatly reduced the human population and we're searching for a cure. And a new form of energy involves recycling old mines, which disturbs lizards under the ground — and the lizards start eating corpses. Also, something (possibly a spaceship) blots out the sun. Take this, of course, with a grain of salt. But here's that picture. [Gallifrey Base]

Lost

The producers have filled the role of Kendall, previously mentioned as a sharply witty, intellectual beauty who is caught committing corporate espionage. The corporate spy in question will be played by LA Law's Sheila Kelley. [Ausiello]

And the word is that either the bomb did go off at the end of last season or the show will reset with Oceanic Flight 815 landing safely, not both (the explanation is "it's complicated"). But hasn't it already been established that the bomb went off? [E!]

The DocArzt Lost Blog has a virtual tour of Lost's Hawaiian film locations using Google Maps. You can check out the building from which Locke was thrown, where Jin first saw Sun, Hurley's mansion, the spot where Bernard and Rose met, and the Beach Camp. [DocArzt]

Dollhouse

Summer Glau's character has an unsurprising tendency to speak in riddles, but she will make one shocking direct statement, and it will bring us closer to the origin story of one of the show's most important characters. [E!]

Supernatural

Anna will come back in an episode next year, and she'll want to kill Sam so he doesn't say yes to Lucifer. She'll travel back in time to kill Mary and John Winchester (sadly, they'll be "young Mary and "young John," so no Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and Sam and Dean will naturally have to go back and stop her. [E!]

Clone Wars

In this week's episode, Ahsoka and fellow Padawan Barriss Offee will embark on a mission to destroy Poggle the Lesser's Geonosian droid factory without their masters. Barriss is Luminara Unduli's Padawan, and Luminara is a very by-the-book master. Barriss takes a similarly structured approach to her duties. But as she spends more time with Ahsoka, Barriss will come to trust her instincts more and we'll see more of her vulnerability and curiosity.

Here's a clip of their daring break in:

V

Morena Baccarin says that the Visitors have emotions, but they're very zen about it and don't get caught up in the drama of things. She also says that the relationship between humans and Vs changes by the fourth episode. [Korbi TV]

Scott Wolf says Chad isn't a shady dude, and that he has a sense of journalistic integrity. He says that Anna is control for the time being, but Chad has a few tricks up his sleeve. [Korbi TV]

Elizabeth Mitchell talks a possible Erica/Anna smackdown. [Korbi TV]

FlashForward

Here's a fresh promo for Thursday's episode, "Playing Cards with Coyote." [Flashforward.pl]

Chuck

Chuck vs. The Terminator? Robert Patrick, former T-1000 and X-Files FBI agent, will appear in the midseason episode "Chuck Versus the Tic Tac." He'll be playing Col. Keller, a mysterious figure from Casey's past. [Ausiello]

Brandon Routh and Kristen Kreuk will be coming between Chuck and Sarah this season. Kreuk's character Hannah shares a kiss with Chuck, and the pair go at it in the Buy More's Home Theater Room. But she's not what she seems. As for Routh's Shaw, he and Sarah will find themselves in a moment of peril where they confess their love for one another. [E!]

Heroes

We'll get to see the young HRG in the eighteenth episode. Here's the casting call:

[YOUNG HRG] 20 Male. Caucasian. Free spirit. Hippie turned used car salesman in the late 70s. Newlywed naively invites a stranger into his home and tragedy ensues. We are looking for someone to play the young version of the actor Jack Coleman sptv050769. CO-STAR / POSSIBLE GUEST STAR/

[Spoiler TV]

Peter uses his fancy new healing power on Parkman in the promo for next week's episode, "Brother's Keeper."

And we have the official description for episode twelve, "The Fifth Stage."

Unexpected visitors greet H.R.G.; Samuel's plan starts to come to fruition; struggling to accept the truth, Peter takes extreme measures to get what he wants; Claire's journey leads her to an unexpected destination.

[Spoiler TV]

Smallville

Things will be looking a bit greener in the two-part Justice Society arc in January. Phil Morris' Martian Manhunter will play a role in the first part, "Society," but it's the "Legend" episode where he'll really shine. [Fancast]

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder and Charlie Jane Anders.

Unsurprisingly, the second Wolverine movie was considered the furthest along in terms of pre-production, with Donner saying,

What's cool about this part of the saga is that Wolverine will be fighting in a different style to what we've seen before. Mariko's father has this stick-like weapon, so Wolverine will have to fight against that. There'll be samurai, ninja, katana blades, different forms of martial arts - mano-a-mano, extreme fighting. We're going to come up with a new style of fighting. It's going to be awesome.

When it came to Wolverine's spin-off, Deadpool, however, Donner offered up a surprising bit of news:

I want to ignore the version of Deadpool that we saw in Wolverine and just start over again. Reboot it. Because this guy talks, obviously, and to muzzle him would be insane... We're right in the thick of talking to writers right now, and hopefully by November we'll have decided who's going to do it. We need someone really imaginative because we want to do some really innovative, ambitious stuff. Ryan's mentioned this in an interview already but there are parts where he's going to break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience in the cinema. We have to work out how to do that. I don't know that Fox will agree with all our decisions, but we'll see!

Equally surprising was her take on the delay in making the long-discussed X-Men Origins: Magneto:

I'm not sure that film is going to be made. The studio has a wealth of potential stories, and they have to stand back and decide which ones to make. And Magneto, I think, is at the back of the queue. Maybe it'll get made in five years - who knows? I can tell you that Ian McKellen won't be playing the character the whole way through. We used Lola technology in X-Men 3 to de-age Ian and Patrick for one scene, but it's very expensive. To do that for a two-hour movie would be prohibitive financially.

Meanwhile, Gossip Girl and The OC creator Josh Schwartz's X-Men First Class may be heading in a different direction to what we'd been expecting:

Harry Potter is a bit of a role model for us, absolutely. But we want it to be like the recent, darker Potters. It should not be a kiddie movie - we're in the X-Men world so you can't suddenly change the tone... We want to make this a franchise, following these kids at the school, so the casting of the child actors will be all-important.

No more Magneto movie, and seven years of First Class? Here's hoping Donner manages to convince Fox of her plans...

The Future Of The X-Men Franchise [Empire Online]

The Green Hornet

We get some action shots with Kato and a cement truck, while the Hornet just stands around in his pretty suit:

[Spoiler TV]

Astro Boy

New stills show off more of this movie's adorable (and sometimes intimidating) robots:

[IGN]

The Hobbit

Ian McKellen says the scripts for the two Hobbit movies will be delivered soon, and filming will probably start next March or April. At some point, Guillermo del Toro told McKellen they'd be filing for 383 days, a symptom of what McKellen affectionately terms del Toro's "artistic autism." [Empire]

Magneto

McKellen also said that, despite rumors he would appear in the X-Men prequel spinoff, he believes he won't be involved. [Empire]

New Moon

A couple more sepia-hued images of vamps, werewolves, and Volturi:

[IGN]

Eclipse

David Slade might be bringing the blood to Eclipse, but the first official photos still reeks of tortured romance:

[Spoiler TV]

The Fourth Kind

Two new TV spots try to make you believe in alien abductions:

[ShockTillYouDrop]

Supernatural

A new promo for "The Children Are Our Future" is lighter on the urban legends, heavier on the Antichrist:

[via Spoiler TV]

Lost

A set reporter snagged some pictures of the base camp for a scene from the new season's fourth episode. The pictures themselves aren't terribly spoilerish, but the reporter saw a scene between Locke (or someone currently wearing Locke's body) and Sawyer. Locke was wearing green cargo pants and a once-white (now green) shirt and Sawyer was in black jeans and a blue button down shirt.

[Lyly Ford]

In episode six, we'll see a couple of kids likely connected to Sayid:

[SAM] Middle Eastern, 9. Raised in America and has no accent. Typical boy: smart, eager, ready to tackle anything and watches out for his little sister. Happy to see an unexpected visitor but sad he can't stay longer...CO-STAR

[EVA] Middle Eastern, 6. Raised in America and has no accent. Shy and not as willing to plunge into new situations as her brother. Happy to see an unexpected visitor but sad he can't stay longer...CO-STAR

[Spoiler TV]

Stargate Universe

Here's a slew of appropriately ill-lit promo pics from this week's episode, "Darkness:"

[Spoiler TV]

V

A nicely ominous poster of Morena Baccarin and her alien eye:

[TV Guide]

FlashForward

Are flashforwards a good basis for making medical decisions? That's the question in a clip from this week's episode, "Black Swan:"

And it looks like Wedeck will be enjoying a glass of brandy in the Oval Office at some point during the episode:

[FlashForward.pl]

In the show's October 29th episode, "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps," Simon (Dominic Monaghan) contacts a reluctant acquaintance.

And you can see some stills from the episode:

[Spoiler TV]

The twelfth episode will introduce the recurring character Timothy, a charismatic everyman and natural leader. Other people look to him for empathetic counsel. The episode will also feature Marcus, an insect-loving man in his 20s with a perpetually sunny disposition, and Roz, a schizophrenic, emotionally distant woman in her 50s, who alternates between lucidity and breaks with reality. [Spoiler TV]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown and Charlie Jane Anders.

The Mole Man
The Fantastic Four's first villain, the Mole Man's modus operandi switched up from attacking humanity because they weren't monsters to one of ecological conservation, trying to get humanity to leave Monster Island alone and stop bringing the monsters therein to the brink to extinction. Who can't get behind that? He's like a shorter, uglier Al Gore who just happens to command an army of near-unstoppable genetic accidents. If we just let him win, who knows what kind of era of ecological paradise we could be letting ourselves in for?

Zoom
The second Reverse-Flash, Hunter Zolomon was a former police criminal psychologist who became unstuck in time and mind after an accident involving the Flash's Cosmic Treadmill. Obsessed with making heroes "better" by forcing personal tragedies on them so that they'll try harder, he's the poster boy for tough love... But he really is trying to make the world a better place, albeit in a twisted manner. Instead of beating him up for that, why not try and just convince him to soften his methods and let him run free? What's the worst that could happen? Well, besides him trying to kill your family as motivation, of course.

Lex Luthor
For years, Lex has been telling us that, if Superman would just get out of the way, he's turn the world into a beautiful utopia, curing diseases and ending all problems with science. Hell, he's even managed to cure cancer before, even if it was just a ploy to lure Superman into a false sense of security. All I'm saying is this: Would Superman really mind that much if we just asked him to step aside for a bit and let Lex run things his way? If nothing else, the recent Superman/Batman: Public Enemies movie suggested that he could sort out this whole financial disaster thing within weeks...

Magneto
All he wants to do is end genetic persecution! Is that really so wrong? Sure, you can argue with his ways of going about it - I don't think anyone here would be fully supportive of his controversial "enslave and destroy the human race" agenda - but the man's lived through Nazi concentration camps, been acquitted by an international court of evildoing and, if nothing else, is fully dedicated to his beliefs. Is there really any proof that a world controlled by Magneto wouldn't be one less filled with hate? We don't think so... even if it's because most of us would be dead.

Doctor Doom
Those unconvinced of Victor Von Doom's leadership potential need only look to his kingdom of Latveria for the proof: Crime is nearly non-existent! Illness equally so! And the people love their leader (Admittedly, because to admit otherwise may result in death, but still: Details, people). Sure, evidence also points to our having to put up with a merciless police force of Doombots and having to dress and act like Eastern European villagers from the late 19th century, but aren't those prices we're willing to pay for a reduction in crime and illness? Admit it: Maybe we could all benefit from being ruled by an iron (clad) hand or two.

Darkseid
Last year's Final Crisis showed a world under self-styled Ultimate God of Evil Darkseid's will-sapping regime, and aside from the complete absence of free will and slow devolution of the planet into a red-skied radioactive wasteland patrolled by mutated dogs and men with tiger heads, we can't help but notice that those submitting to the Anti-Life Equation seemed much less in emotional turmoil or upset about the direction that their lives had taken - In fact, they seemed confident and assured, unlike those who'd chosen to resist. And, yes; those who resisted eventually assisted in the recreation of existence itself, but still. Isn't having even will-sapped piece of mind about your place in the world worth some sacrifice?

Universo
Here's one we know works from experience. Futuristic hypnotist Universo managed to hoodwink the entire planet under his command in the 1987 Legion of Super-Heroes storyline "The Universo Project," and the result was a peaceful planet where superheroes weren't needed at all. Easily the best case scenario we've seen, it didn't even involve Darkseid-esque worldwide mind control - Only figures of authority (and some superheroes) were hypnotized, meaning that the common man and woman would happily have freedom to toil and work for The Man as usual, without knowing that it was a different The Man all along. Win win!

X-Men Origins: Magneto:

With rumors swirling around that this prequel could start filming in the next year or so, Patrick Stewart hints that he'll be back. Stewart told an audience at Dragon*Con that he's eager to revisit the role of Professor X. He was recently in a production of Waiting For Godot with Ian McKellen, and the two actors agreed they weren't done with the Xavier/Magneto relationship and would like to do more with it. Oh, and Stewart said he's left Jean-Luc Picard behind, but would be open to a cameo in a future film. [CNN]

9:

The ragdolls in the movie aren't just moping around pathetically feeling bad that the human race has been wiped out — they're actually quite optimistic, seeing the post-apocalyptic world as full of raw materials for themselves. They're constantly building lots of weird gadgets and stuff. [L.A. Times]

The Box:

This Richard Kelly-directed mindfrak of a film released a new trailer, but it looks pretty much identical to the trailer we featured back in June. Which could be why it's labeled as "Trailer 1B".

New Moon:

Some new pics from the most eagerly anticipated film starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart of the year. Possibly. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Doctor Who:

A poster on the GallifreyBase forums claims that David Tennant's Doctor is alone when he dies/regenerates. It's heartbreaking and you won't see it coming. [GallifreyBase]

And this won't come as much of a shock to those of you who've been paying attention, but the Daleks are fighting for Winston Churchill in World War II, in a season five episode. The new bit is that the Daleks will supposedly be painted "battle green" and have the Union Jack painted on their top helmet thingies. [Digital Spy]

And The Sun, a British tabloid which is known for its pinpoint accuracy (if you have a large enough pin, that is) claims that Blackadder creator Richard Curtis will write an episode of season five, featuring Matt Smith. And Curtis reportedly says "There will be a monster. And a famous historical figure will battle the monster." [The Sun]

Dollhouse:

A new promo (sorry for the bad quality) spells out a bit more of the first episode's plot, and how Paul Ballard fits in now.

Fringe:

While the show's producers and actors were tweeting the other night, they answered your questions. Among other things, we learned we'll find out in season two whom the Observer was talking to at the beginning of "The Arrival." The Observer does not work for William Bell. And we'll learn much more, generally, about the Observer this year.

There will be a lot more clues embedded in the show this year. Peter will definitely have some romantic interest this year. Walter may or may not get to visit the other dimension — they're still working that one out. The books in the girl's apartment (including Childhood's End) offer a clue. And Emmanuel Grayson, the Trekkie seen in "The Road Not Taken," will turn up more in season two, and will be very helpful. And that "alternate reality" reveal is crucial to all of season two. [The ODI]

And here's an extended version of the "Paranoia" trailer, with more scenes from the season's first two episodes. [Fringe Television]

Smallville:

Here are some images from the season premiere, including Clark Kent's new Superman-ish costume. [OSCK and MovieWeb]

Stargate Universe:

Robert Carlyle did a morning TV interview and talked about his character, plus they showed a new snippet from the first episode:

MediaPundit posted scans of the promo booklet that came with the screener DVDs of this series, and they include a few nice images of the cast, plus a few plot details. The crew will struggle with the most basic necessities of obtaining food, water and air on board the Ancient ship Destiny. Robert Carlyle's character, Nicholas Rush, has dedicated his life to exploring the "ninth chevron" since the death of his wife, and he's solely responsible for the situation that strands everybody on the other side of the universe. But he has no remorse.

Chloe Armstrong is the daughter of Senator Armstrong, but she's also his aide, and she's responsible for influencing the decision to continue funding to the Stargate program. She has a wild streak.

Col. Everett Young is at the end of his military career and has a hard time hanging up his wings — but when he's chosen for one last mission, it pushes his marriage to the breaking point. Camile Wray (Ming-Na) is a human resources executive, but finds herself the highest ranking member of the International Oversight Committee on the Destiny.

Alaina Huffman's character, 1st. Lt. Tamara Johnson, wanted to be a doctor but was unable to afford medical school. The strong-willed, self-taught medic was days away from leaving the program, then found herself the only one aboard the Destiny with any medical training. And 1st. Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith) is a new member of the Stargate team with a troubled past, who's completely unprepared when he's thrust into a leadership role at a time of crisis. He struggles to maintain accord between people who have different agendas. Master Sgt. Ronald Greer has a troubled past, which has yet to be revealed. And he's got a short fuse, with no apologies. More images at the link. [Media Pundit]

Supernatural:

A new promo for the season opener from the Canadian channel Space. [Oh No They Didn't]

And it looks like our heroes will be visiting Canton in episode 5x05, judging from these awesome set pics. Way more great photos at the link. [The Scenery via SpoilerTV]

True Blood:

It's a nice day for a white wedding, in some stills from the final episode of the season, "Beyond Here Lies Nothin." [BSC Review]

Eastwick:

The evil-ish Darryl Van Horne makes his first appearance in this show stark naked, stepping out of an indoor pool in his playboy mansion. He hits on Roxie (Rebecca Romijn) who tells him he's "vain, charmless, creepy, pretentious, arrogant, your hair is from 1982. And you aren't nearly as handsome as you think you are." (And then I'm assuming they have sex.) [SpoilerTV]

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies:

Some more images from this direct to DVD movie, coming soon. [Warner Bros.]

Additional research by Alexis Brown.

In an interview with Total Film, Singer was asked about the possibility of directing another Superman movie. Singer sort of lurched around an answer:

I don't know, I don't know. There are still issues...I just...I just don't know. I don't necessarily...I don't know. It's one of those things where...It's so weird talking about stuff unless I'm about to ramp up and shoot it.

So what does that mean, Singer, are you ramping up to shoot it? This only perks my interest more, as I would like to see someone else handle America's boy scout. It needs fresh directing blood desperately. On a positive note, Singer talked about the X-Men fondly, saying "I would love to return to that universe." Does this mean the Magneto universe too, as in an interesting WW2 set prequel?

The only thing that concerns me about Magneto is that if the prequel were to follow the track I used in X-Men, which is Magneto's history in the concentration camp, then I've lived in that world. Apt Pupil, X-Men and now Valkyrie… I've lived in that Nazi universe for quite a while. I just might need to take a little break before I do something like that.

Interesting answer, but I still wouldn't mind Singer going after the Magneto movie. He is, like he said, dedicated to the franchise maybe enough to keep his friend Brent Ratner away from it.

[Geek Files]

All Donner will say about the Wolverine origins flick is that it's very much "in the tone of the first X-Men." As for Magneto, Donner said:

We have a great script on Magneto. I’ll tell you the honest truth… I’ve made four movie this year and I was so busy that I didn’t at all talk to the studio while making Magneto because I couldn’t have done it. And David Goyer, who wrote and is going to direct it, also did another movie. So now, he’s done with his and I’m done with two of mine, so when I get back that’s my first order of business to say: “Come on, let’s go and make Magneto.

So here's my question, I'm going to go ahead and assume that Wolverine's origins tale will be successful, and Magneto does well also, at least in the box office. That means more character driven movies on the rise (which has been obvious). What X-Men character (that they aren't already currently making) do you want to see get their own solo movie deal? Our vote is for Deadpool. And maybe Kitty Pryde.

[IndieLondon via Filmonic]

The Day The Earth Stood Still:

Keanu Reeves says his version of Klaatu is not quite as warm and fuzzy as Michael Rennie's version in the 1951 original film. He's more sinister. Also, when Klaatu first lands in Central Park, we glimpse that he's not yet in human form. In another scene, Klaatu (now in human form) lies on a table while Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) examines him. Helen tells Klaatu there is nothing to fear. "Nothing to fear," he repeats in an eerie voice.

Instead of being a secretary like in the first movie, Benson is a Princeton microbiologist brought in to study Klaatu. The relationship between Helen and her rebellious eight-year-old stepson (Will Smith's son Jaden) is a "story within a story" in the film. The kid isn't getting along with his mom, and "has the occasional fit," says Connelly, and they go through a lot of tension, and a transition, and then they resolve something difficult. (I was really worried there wouldn't be enough kids throwing fits in this movie.)

Also, a lot of the "science fiction staples" and technologies from the original movie are gone, replaced with new inventions, says director Scott Derrickson. Reeves says the famous line "Klaatu Barada Nikto" wasn't in the script at all originally, but he insisted it should be there. You'll hear it, but in a context that's "inverted." [Sci Fi Magazine via Movie Spoilers]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

That filming that Michael Bay just did in Paris? It included a scene where a CNN anchor is giving a report in front of L'Arc de Triomphe. [Transformers Movie Chronicles]

Dragonball:

A new still shows Goku eating a giant chicken leg. Bigger version at link. [DBTheMovie]

Magneto:

The industry magazine Production Weekly includes a semi-official synopsis for the movie detailing the origins of the X-Men villain. It pretty much jibes with the script reviews we've seen before:

The original X-Men film began with a prologue that showed the character as a child being led to a concentration camp by Nazis and that is the period in which the Magneto film will take place. This setup will allow a future villain to at least flirt with the designation of protagonist since the character will be seen almost exclusively in his formative years.

The storyline will heavily involve Professor X, the wheelchair-using X-Men leader. That character was a soldier in the allied force that liberated the concentration camps. The professor meets Magneto after the war and while they bond over the realisation that they are alike in their special powers, their differences soon turn them into enemies

[Movies-Spoilers]

Lost:

Here's the first official promo pic from Lost season five. Click to enlarge. [Doc Arzt]

Also, there's a new casting call for episode eight. The show is seeking two corporate security workers: Phil, a serious, by-the-book hardass; and Jerry, a dangerous, charming bad boy. Plus a hippie-ish doctor who's thrown into a situation outside his medical experience, and has to adjust. [SpoilersLost]

Also, Simon's Butcher Shop is back in recent filming, but it's not at its Hoffs Drawler Funeral Parlor location this time. And the Oceanic 6 have been filming scenes set at LAX airport. Meanwhile, actor Fionnula Flanigan says she'll be back as Mrs. Hawking for two episodes. [SpoilersLost again]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Remember how producer Josh Friedman announced at Comic-Con that a regular castmember was going to die this season? Judging from the trailers and other assorted hints, it sounds like it happens tonight. And since the episode description refers to John and his new girlfriend Riley taking a trip south of the border "with deadly consquences," it could just be Riley. But you never know.

Fringe:

Anna Torv gave out some details for the next few episodes of Fringe. In this Thursday's episode, an FBI agent collapses with a heart attack, and "we discover that he actually has like an orgasm growing around his heart, like a plant or a vine." (I think she meant "organism," or maybe it was mis-transcribed) And we hear our first hint about a new mysterious group of people, who may have ties to Massive Dynamic. (Ooh.) And the only guy who might have answers is in a German prison, so Olivia has to call on her old flame in Germany for some help.

And then in the Nov. 18 episode, "The Equation":

A little boy is abducted while on a drive with his father. His father stops to help this woman whose car’s broken down and sees some lights and then all of sudden his son and the woman in the car have disappeared and he doesn’t quite know what’s going on and we find out that this same kind of story has been told before, but most of the people that have told it have inevitably gone mad or had quite frightening psychotic outbreaks. And Walter seems to remember an inmate in the asylum telling the same story and he was a genius mathematician. So Walter ends up going back into St. Claire’s where he tries to get information from this old inmate of his, Dachsel. ... And then we find out that the car was registered to this woman who had died about ten years ago, and all the people that have been abducted were all kind of like geniuses in particular scientific fields, except this little boy who was in fact a brilliant, brilliant piano player and the mathematics of music kind of come into play.

And in the Nov. 25 episode, "Dreamscape," Olivia has to go back in the tank, and there's a (you guessed it) dreamscape. Here's the official synopsis for that episode:

A Massive Dynamic employee is so convinced he is being attacked by butterflies that he jumps out of a window to escape them, and the team is called in to investigate. Although Olivia’s unexplained interaction with Agent Scott leads to breaks in the case, she is so desperate to rid her consciousness of him that she demands to go back in the tank. Meanwhile, the gig is up for Peter when a former friend – and some current foes – find out he’s back in Boston.

[FringeBloggers]

Heroes:

We'll soon learn (maybe tonight) why Angela Petrelli felt the need to take charge of the Company, says actor Cristine Rose. And maybe Angela will finally meet Mr. Muggles? (She hopes so.) Also, she says Arthur Petrelli actor Robert Forster "was" terrific to work with. (Sounds like she's not working with him any more?) [Slice Of Scifi]

And here are some more set pics of Claire, still on the run. This time with a big bag. More at the link. [The ODI]

Dollhouse:

You know those ginormous scars Amy Acker has on her face as Dr. Claire Saunders, the doctor who takes care of the mindwiped puppet people in Joss Whedon's new show? We'll eventually find out where those scars came from, and why Claire chose to keep them on her face, says Acker. [Sci Fi Magazine via SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

As we've mentioned, Clark asks daddy Jor-El for help restoring Chloe's memories in Thursday's episode. But there's a price to pay when Jor-El pitches in. Also, Davis tells Chloe she should marry Jimmy. [About.com]

Chuck:

Here's the official synopsis for episode nine, "Chuck Vs. The Sensei," which we reviewed the script of a while ago:

Chuck (Zachary Levi) is still reeling from the discovery that his ex-girlfriend Jill was a Fulcrum agent and goes on a mission to take his mind of off his shock. Casey (Adam Baldwin) gets a shock of his own when he finds out that his sensei Ty Bennett (guest star Carl Lumbly), who taught him everything he knows, is now one of the most wanted rogue agents. While on the search for Bennett, it becomes clear that Casey may be too emotionally involved to continue with the mission. Meanwhile, Awesome’s (Ryan McPartlin) parents Honey (guest star Morgan Fairchild) and Woody (guest star Bruce Boxleitner) make a surprise visit to help Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Awesome plan their wedding. At the Buy More, Emmett (Tony Hale) reinstates the employee of the month contest, but Morgan (Joshua Gomez), Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay) have other plans.

Meanwhile, the show is casting a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and a Victoria's Secret model for an episode called "Chuck Vs. The Beefcake." [SpoilerTV]

Supernatural:

In Thursday's episode, a girl named Anna has the ability to hear the angels' conversations, and Sam and Dean have to find her before a demon named Alistair can make use of her powers. Ruby helps Sam and Dean find Anna, but the Alistair attacks and Ruby runs off with Anna. Dean thinks they've been set up, but then Sam explains what happened when he was in Hell, and how Ruby saved his life, to show why they should trust Ruby. Meanwhile, Castiel and Uriel demand to be taken to Anna, but not for the reason Dean thinks. [SpoilerJunkie]

These images come from X-Men Magneto: Testament series, written by io9 favorite Greg Pak, a series that traces the origins of Ian McKellen's favorite oppressor from childhood into the mass murderer that we know and love today. The series launches at the start of next month.

Witness The Origin of Magneto! [Marvel.com]

Talking to MTV, Goyer talked about his approach to adapting HG Wells' story:

My take is kind of an extrapolation. It actually deals with a nephew of the first character. It’s got some of the characters from the H.G. Wells book, but it’s kind of a continuation... It kind of crosses a lot of genres. It’s very steam punk.

One of those other genres includes the spy movie - The plot revolves around the Invisible Man becoming a spy for the British government and sneaking into "imperialist Russia", according to the writer. And if you think that you know what kind of movie to expect, Goyer's happy to tell you that you ain't seen nothing yet:

I don’t want to give too much away, but I took what being invisible could mean to the next logical extreme... We do a lot of crazy things in it that are sort of far beyond what anyone’s done with it yet.

Image from DP Challenge.

David Goyer May Bump ‘Magneto’ To Make Way For ‘Invisible Man’ [MTV Movie Blog]

Two things jump out at me about Magneto, as described by reviewers. First, it tweaks Magneto's origin by suggesting that Nazi scientists either created or activated Magneto's powers by experimenting on him in the concentration camp. This could annoy some purists, especially since the first X-Men movie showed Magneto's powers starting to work when he first showed up at the camp and was separated from his parents. Also, early descriptions of the Magneto movie suggested it would show the beginnings of the rift between Magneto and Charles Xavier. I don't think that's in this script.

So the movie starts at the 60th anniversary of Auschwitz, where Ian McKellen's Magneto surveys the metal gate he twisted in the first X-Men movie. Then we flash back to the young Magneto surviving horrific Nazi experiments at the hands of mad scientist Dr. Kleinmein. Then we zip forward to the 1950s.

Meanwhile, Erik Lehnsherr, who will one day be Magneto, has a wife and daughter — until the suspcicions ofa small town lead to their deaths. It's implied that Erik kills everyone in the town as revenge, but we don't really see it. Eventually, Erik decides to hunt down the Nazis who escaped after the war, including Dr. Kleinmein, who is still doing his evil experiments on the bodies of mutants. Magneto meets and befriends Dr. Charles Xavier, and they rescue two mutants who are being imprisoned for experiments — the mutant prisoners sound a bit like Sabretooth and Mystique.

At first Magneto tries to work with the authorities to round up Kleinmein and the other loose Nazis, including CIA agent Owen Graves. But they only get in his way. So in the end, he decides to take the law into his own hands. And in the end, Professor X offers Erik some hope for the future — and then we zap back to the 60th anniversary Auschwitz event, where Senator Kelly is warning that Mutants are the new threat after the Nazis, setting the stage for Magneto's battle with the humans.

[Coventry Telegraph and Sal's Scripts]

X-Men: Magneto:

In addition to the Wolverine prequel to the X-Men movies now filming, there's also a Magneto prequel in the pipeline. And apparently it will feature a young version of the Beast aka Hank McCoy, the blue-furred, leaping mutant with the thesaurus-boosted vocabulary. No word on who will step into Kelsey Grammer's blue makeup for the film. The special effects house doing Hellboy II and Land Of The Lost had a test photo of the young Beast, and confirmed it was from Magneto. [Latino Review]

Smallville:

Remember those Smallville casting sides we mentioned the other day? About two new characters, Davis Bloome and Tess? Well, it turns out Davis Bloome, the charming bartender, is actually Doomsday, the alien destructo-monster who killed Superman in the comics. Why is Doomsday working in a bar? It's Smallville: Everybody's just a little bit less awesome than in the comics.

Meanwhile, Tess is someone who was trained by Lex and is totally devoted to him. She has super-strength and is willing to use coercion or "seduction" to further the missing Lex's agenda. Nobody can resist her beguiling ways, even Clark. Tess doesn't remember anything from before the day she met Lex, and when she realizes her past is buried, she's desperate to retrieve it. (I'm still wondering if she's Maxima. Or some other random woman from the Superman mythos.)

Also, there's an update on whether Alison Mack will be back as Chloe next season. The current thinking is she may copy Kristin Kreuk (Lana) and only return for a handful of episodes. [Ask Ausiello]

And here's a somewhat spoilery video from tomorrow night's season finale. [Turkey Whisperer]

Spectacular Spider-Man:

Here are four new images from this Saturday's Spectactular Spider-Man, including the Black Cat, voiced by Tricia Helfer. Spidey has to team up with the Black Cat to clear his name after the Chameleon goes around committing crimes disguised as him. Also, it looks like we get our first glimpse of the Venom symbiote, contained in Curt Connors' lab. [Black Cat image from TV Guide]

Lost:

The "spectacular kiss" in the Lost season finale actually stops time for a moment. (Or maybe that's a metaphor.) And it makes the entire world vanish. Also, there's a lot of bloodshed in the season finale, and a very significant death. And we won't be seeing Libby this season. [Ask Ausiello]

Also, "Horace," the guy who built the cabin, and "Jacob," are played by the same actor according to IMDB — so maybe they're the same person? [Looking Glass Station]

At the ABC upfront, they showed a scene from tomorrow night's Lost in which the Oceanic Six land in a small plane, to face the waiting hordes of press reps. And Michelle Forbes (Admiral Cain from Battlestar Galactica) is the Oceanic Airlines rep, in stiletto heels. Everyone has family greeting them, except Kate and Sayid. Admiral Cain tells the Six they can duck out on meeting the press if they want, but Jack says they'll answer any questions the press has. If the press asks anything tough, they'll say they're in shock. Sun replies that they actually are in shock. [E! Online]

And here are a couple more sneak peeks from tomorrow's Lost episode, plus stills from both tomorrow's episode (the press conference) and the two-hour finale, coming in two weeks (the beach scenes). [Spoilers Lost]

Over on the New Scientist technology blog, David Hambling points out that the MAHEM also resembles a weapon called "Stiletto" conceived by Arthur C. Clarke. He describes the DARPA project:

Using magnetic fields it will propel either a narrow jet of molten metal or a chunk of molten metal that morphs into an aerodynamic slug during flight . . . They will come from a device that generates a powerful electromagnetic field from an explosion . . .

The concept resembles existing weapons which use an explosive charge to squirt out a jet of high-velocity molten metal on impact. Known as High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT), this type of round has been widely used since the WWII bazooka.

Like HEAT devices, MAHEM is currently envisaged as something delivered by a warhead rather than a cannon: "MAHEM could be packaged into a missile, projectile or other platform and delivered close to target for final engagement and kill," says DARPA.

MAHEM would apparently be useful against tanks and other missiles.

The X-Men already have an upcoming spinoff with the lengthily-titled X-Men Origins: Wolverine coming out sometime in the next couple of years. However, Fox wants to prime the registers a bit early and start pumping out direct to DVD movies for the lesser characters, while top-tier mutants like Magneto get their own feature films.

Joe Carnahan, who directed last year's wankfest Smokin' Aces, is already working on a direct to DVD Smokin' Aces sequel (shoot us already), and possibly a direct to DVD X-Men Origins: Juggernaut movie. Last week he posted an image of Juggernaut on his blog, saying "I'll let you guys go nuts on this one." If by "go nuts" you mean "wail in despair," then no problem.

DVDX [Comic Book Resources]

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