Here's a list of all the movies with production budgets of $170 million and over, for the past ten years. (We chose the threshold of $170 million because there were a ton of movies clustered around the $150 million-$160 million mark.) Movies that failed to make back their budget at the U.S. box office are underlined.

2009:

Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince: $250 million

Avatar: $237 million (according to AP)

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen: $225 million (according to NY Post)

Terminator Salvation: $200 million

G.I. Joe: The Rise Of COBRA: $175 million

Up: $175 million

2008:

Quantum Of Solace: $230.6 million

Prince Caspian: $225.6 million

Iron Man: 186.5 million

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull: $185.5 million

The Dark Knight: $185.5 million

Wall-E: $180.5 million

2007:

Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End: $317.4 million

Spider-Man 3: $272.9 million

The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials: $213.4 million

Rush Hour 3: $187.4 million

2006:

Superman Returns: $295.3 million

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: $223.1 million

X-Men: The Last Stand: $209.3 million

Poseidon: $171.3 million

2005:

King Kong: $232.5 million

Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe: $197.6 million

Sahara: $176.8 million

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire: $150 million (2005 dollars)

2004:

Spider-Man 2: $232.2 million

Troy: $199.9 million

Van Helsing: $182.8 million

The Polar Express: $186.6 million

Alexander: $175.4 million

2003:

Terminator 3: $238.4 million

The Matrix: Reloaded: $176.7 million

Master And Commander: $175.6 million

The Matrix: Revolutions: $175.6 million

2000:

The Perfect Storm: $175.6 million

1999:

Wild Wild West: $221 million

The World Is Not Enough: $173.3 million

The 13th Warrior: $206.8 million

Notes: All figures are in 2009 dollars, adjusted for inflation. These figures are just production budgets, and are based on the most accurate figures we could find. They don't include marketing budgets. And of course, many of the films which failed to break even at the U.S. box office did make a profit when you factor in international box office.

Conclusions:

There hasn't been a movie as expensive as Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End since 2007, so you could argue that, over all, movies are not getting more expensive. However, after a few years where there were four mega-budgeted movies per year, the last two years have each seen six movies with budgets over $170 million (in inflation-adjusted dollars.) And as we mentioned above, this year had the most movies costing $200 million or more of any year, with next year likely to see even more films over $200 million.

And the listing above doesn't reflect this fact, but we also found a steep rise in the number of movies costing around $150 million every year — this seems to be the safe point for a film that is expected to do well, but may not be a blockbuster. Films like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Batman Begins, Star Trek and many others all have production budgets in the magic $150 million zone.

At the same time, Hollywood seems slightly better at picking winners lately. We haven't had a year where most of the hugely expensive movies failed to make back their budget at the U.S. box office since 2004, when two historical epics, The Polar Expressand Van Helsing all bombed. Or 2003, when one of two Matrix sequels underperformed, along with Terminator 3 and Master And Commander.

One thing jumps out at me: There were apparently no budget busting movies in 2000, 2001 or 2002. Apparently the first X-Men movie, which came out in 2000, had a budget of only about $75 million. And the Star Wars prequels, hideous though they were, were apparently on the cheap side, costing around $120 million each (in non-adjusted dollars.)

Why would this be? Well, look at the three big-budget movies from 1999. Notice anything the three of them have in common? Hmmm... Other mega-expensive bombs in the late 1990s include Speed 2: Cruise Control, Lethal Weapon 4 and, of course, Waterworld. The only mega-budget movies to make money in the latter half of the 1990s were Armageddon and Titanic.

Sources: Know Your Money, Forbes.com, Listphobia, The Numbers, IMDB, Box Office Mojo, Wikipedia, and other sources as cited.

MGM has just announced that screenwriter Peter Morgan, who penned The Queen, The Last King of Scotland and Frost/Nixon, is joining up with past Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade for the 23rd film in this franchise.

Producer's Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli commented via release:

"Peter, Neal and Robert are extraordinarily talented and we're looking forward to working with the three of them."

Morgan is a great writer, and we have full confidence that he can take Bond's quips to an elegant and biting word-play high. He's also known for his serious dramas, so let's hope he can help out balancing the action with interesting character development. Also, we're hoping for a little style to be injected back into our mystery man and — fingers crossed — Morgan can elevate the dialog from the last film (He's Bond for goodness sakes! He doesn't just steer women into the bedroom with a nod like cattle). This is a good score for the movie... It all hinges on the choice of director now.

Daniel Craig is confirmed for the picture, but they have yet to set a production date.

British tabloid The Sun is reporting Boyle's lined up to direct Bond's next outing. So let's take this all with a grain of salt as they were once touting Eddie Murphy as the Riddler.

And Bond chief Barbara Broccoli, who now heads the huge 007 franchise at EON Productions, is leading the chase for his [Boyle's] services.

It's no surprise that Hollywood would be banging down Boyle's door after the Slumdog Millionaire Oscar sweep, but we hope he actually considers making the next Bond. First off, Boyle knows how to film an edge-of-your-seat chase scene, so he could come up with a sequence to rival Casino Royale's construction scaling action shot (optimistically speaking). But besides being masterful at the art of action, the man knows that the weight of a good story is always in the characters, which was the part that the most recent Bond, Quantum, bungled and abused with its shaky cam tactics and disjointed plot lines.

And before all of you start hollering at me for disliking Quantum of Solace, I would just like to say I'm in good company. It was a miserable film, and I, for one, want Danny Boyle to save me from a repeat experience.

When asked by Collider if the next Bond flick will be a follow up to Quantum, in line with director Marc Forester's wishes, Daniel Craig clearly stated:

No fucking way. I'm done with that story. I want to lie on a beach for the first half an hour of the next movie drinking a cocktail.

Craig knows what keeps the Bond franchise ticking: it's designer suits and sexy girls, without all the dramatic baggage. But wait, there's more. Craig's excited about the next movie because:

"We've finished this story as far as I'm concerned. We've got a great set of bad guys. There is an organization that we can use whenever we want to. The relationship between Bond and M is secure and Felix is secure. Let's try and find where Moneypenny came from and where Q comes from. Let's do all that and have some fun with it."

Yes, fun — I remember fun. Let's hope Craig gets his way and brings sexy back to the 007 franchise.

[Collider]

So it's really hard to talk about Quantum Of Solace as having any kind of a story, because it's so choppily edited that stuff just sort of happens most of the time. Someone obviously told director Mark Forster that a good action movie should be so choppy that adrenaline trumps logic or even being able to tell what's happening. But you can sort of glean that there's a story buried in all the jump cuts.

The giant irony in Quantum Of Solace is that all of the governments, and their spooks, are still thinking of oil as the world's most valuable resource. They're still in their 1990s mindset, going to war over oil and trying to control countries that have untapped petroleum deposits. There are a bunch of conversations about who controls Russia's oil, what's happening in the Middle East, etc. So when James Bond overhears our new villain Dominic Greene (who's sort of a smarmy Al Gore-type environmentalist) talking about pipelines and controlling the most precious resource in Bolivia, he assumes Greene means oil. So do his bosses.

This is what Greene and his shadowy organization Quantum are counting on. He makes a deal with the CIA: Greene will organize a coup in Bolivia, and the U.S. gets all of the country's oil deposits. But the natural resource that Greene really means to control is water, which is going to be much more valuable than oil soon. He's been damming all of the underground water flows and creating a massive underground reservoir underneath an apparently barren patch of land that he'll own after the coup.

The giant reveal of Greene's underground damming system could not be less dramatic. Bond and his sidekick Camille crash in the desert and stumble underground, then they find some kind of underground lake and mumble about damming. Meanwhile, we see shots of poor Bolivian people lining up to get water from a well or cistern and finding no water there. The poor Bolivian babies must go thirsty because of Greene, that shady pseudo-environmentalist.

This is our new new world order, apparently. Instead of fighting brutal wars over oil, we'll fight them over water. And instead of blowing the poor up, we'll parch them.

The movie makes a stab at driving this home in various ways, by having Greene give a speech about the world's aerable land that's being irreversibly destroyed every year, and by having the CIA agents debate over whether it's safe to drink the bottled water in Bolivia. But it's way too abstract an idea for an action movie.

Actually, here's how old-school Bond would have done it. You would have had a bombastic villain in a crazy tunic, and he would have built a massive facility stocked with tons of armed guards and maybe some robots. And a big guy with weird teeth. The facility would have been some kind of huge pumping station that siphons off the world's water and stores it in massive tanks, so Bomberg can blackmail the world. And Bond would have discovered this base and then led a crack assault team there, blowing shit up good in a giant fight scene.

Instead, the movie ends with Greene's pet dictator becoming the new leader of Bolivia, and Greene then demands to become the new water utility for the country, at an exorbitant rate. Then Bond shows up and blows up the hotel where they're meeting, which is conveniently built on top of a huge stash of super-flammable fuel cells.

That's the thing about Quantum — it's not afraid to be cartoony. It includes one CIA guy who's literally a cartoon of the callous American imperialist, with our old pal Felix Leiter playing the role of the good CIA guy by contrast. The Latin American general dictator guy is a total cartoon character. The scenes of everybody saying Bond has gone rogue for no particular reason are super cheesy.

But when it comes to having a larger than life main villain, the movie just sort of craps out. At the end, when Bond is having his final battle with Greene, it felt like it should be the end of the second act, before Bond goes on to fight the real bad guy. (Which actually is probably the third movie in the Daniel Craig Bond trilogy.)

Bottom line: At some point during the screenwriting and editing process, Quantum Of Solace had something to say about geopolitics and the mad science of the new environmental dystopia. But you're hard-pressed to get that out of the actual movie as it stands. Meanwhile, this is nowhere near as ground-breaking a film as Casino Royale, which really felt like a massive reinvention of the Bond franchise. Quantum is more like a standard-issue action movie — with a few really great set pieces — which you'll forget the details of five minutes after you leave the theater.

The movie is based on Max Brooks' novel which is a fictional collection of accounts from survivors after the zombies infested the world and mass panic took over.

Forster told Variety:

"The genre always fascinated me, and when they pitched it to me, it reminded me of the paranoid conspiracy films of the '70s like All the President's Men."

The action packed underwater walking zombie extravaganza is being produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B production company. J. Michael Straczynski (Changeling) is penning the screenplay, which is still not finished.

The art is from John Petersen and you can check a lot more of his amazing work at his site.

[Variety]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

More spoilers from an anonymous source. Apparently, Arcee, the female Transformer, doesn't die in the movie — instead, she doesn't show up until later on, and she spends most of her time in robot form instead of her three-motorcycles version. Only one character combines with an Autobot to make a bigger robot. The Constructicon is nine vehicles put together, but it'll only put in a brief appearance. Scorponok is back, and he uses his internal "spark" to restore life to one of the Decepticons. (Gosh, which one could it be?) [Seibertron]

Meanwhile, a guy who knows a guy has a buttload of spoilers. Apparently Soundwave is black, and does not have an Earth mode. (So not only is he not a pick-up truck, he's nothing at all, in Earth terms.) And the Decepticons mention Soundwave during their discussions.

The Constructicons join together to form Devastator more than once. Jetfire starts off as a Destructicon and then changes sides. Also, John Turturro's character dies at last. Optimus Prime "has a scene with a trailer." And Ravage is actually a biological weapon, and there's no Laserbeak. The ice cream truck, the Chevy Volt, and the Hummer HX are not Transformers. And Megatron doesn't return (possibly as a tank) until the end of the movie — when Soundwave resurrects him.

And finally, "the Fallen" is an old Cybertronian legend — it's not one robot but a whole army of robots who are supposed to protect the Cube. When Sam goes bonkers and starts talking gibberish, he's actually reciting Cybertronian hieroglyphics prophesying the return of the Fallen. [TFW2005]

And meanwhile, Transformers Live is casting a bit of doubt on the rumors we reported the other day, including the idea that Jetfire creates wormholes and Soundwave turns into a satellite. [Transformers Live]

Quantum Of Solace:

Still not sure if this movie is science fictional, but here's a tidbit: director Marc Foster said he originally filmed a cliffhanger ending where Bond sees Mr. White, the villain from Casino Royale. That scene will appear on the DVD, but the theatrical version has a tidier ending where James Bond finds his "quantum of solace." [Commander Bond]

Splinter:

I'm way more excited about this indie parasite movie after reading Sci Fi Wire's interview with director Toby Wilkins. The film takes its time to establish the characters so we identify with them and invest in how they deal with the crisis. The fungal parasite isn't from space, it's just always been here. And it "pilots" the human skeleton without any regard for how your joints are supposed to bend, or speed, or gravity, or other concerns. It has two states: dormant (which is like the spines of a sea urchin) and active, where it grows and multiplies and creates new tendons around your skeletal structure. It's basically a dumb animal. [Sci Fi Wire]

Dollhouse:

In the sixth episode of Joss Whedon's programmable amnesiac show, "True Believer," we'll meet Jonas Sparrow, a "charismatic leader of a quasi-Christian religious cult." [SpoilerTV]

Battlestar Galactica:

Edward James Olmos, the master of vague sweeping statements, says the ending of BSG "is like a great book. You love reading it and you want to find out what happens in the story, but you also are so sad it is ending. That's how I feel about Battlestar. It has been a great experience for me. I don't want it to end, but I think the ending is so strong that I am happy to have fans see it. People are going to get their minds blown." Okay.

He also said he's editing the TV movie, and: "You will actually see it come to a conclusion. That's amazing in my eyes because it is such a large story." [EW]

Lost:

Fionnula Flanagan's "creepy ring-seller" is related to a major character, who is not Desmond. Also, Abaddon actor Lance Reddick has been spotted in Hawaii filming the sixth episode of the season. Also, the show is casting a new character named Hal, a 70-something white dude who can "still fight the system and win." Finally, the show is also casting a Czech scientist named Mike, who's on the brink of something big. [EW]

It sounds like Hal and Mike both debut in episode seven. And we'll also meet a barfly named Vicki, who knows how to read a guy "better than he knows himself" and get what she wants. Also in that episode: Rupa, a sweet young Indian professional woman who can be tougher than she appears. She handles difficult customers with "charm and ease." And Nandi, another young Indian, a man who's used to working with difficult people. [SpoilersLost]

Heroes:

According to the new TV Guide, Daphne will go back to the farm in Kansas where she grew up. Matt follows her out to the farm, but he has to convince her dad to let him talk to her. Daphne is hiding a big secret in her bedroom somewhere. And as we've mentioned, an "eclipse" in an upcoming episode makes the heroes lose all their powers. Meanwhile, the title of the first episode of the "Fugitives" storyline is rumored to be called "Clear And Present Danger." [The ODI]

Fringe:

The next new Fringe episode won't air until Nov. 11, and it's called "In Which We Meet Mr. Jones." [SpoilerTV]

That episode is "really intense," says Astrid actor Jasika Nicole. She explains: "Astrid has to commandeer this weird line that they're crossing. It involves one of the members of the team directly, and then someone outside of the team, and they're trying to bridge a gap. It's similar to when Olivia was in the tank and she [communicated with John]." Also, we'll find out at some point why Astrid came back to the lab after Walter attacked and sedated her. One possible theory is that she is Dr. William Bell. [TV Guide]

Also, we'll soon learn whether Peter really has an illness, or whether references to his "medical condition" are part of Walter's paranoia. The answer is "very very interesting," says John Noble. And Peter's devotion to finding the Pattern may not be totally altruistic — he's staying close to something that could be beneficial down the road.

Olivia and Peter aren't going to be getting together any time soon. But meanwhile, Olivia kisses another boy (one we haven't met yet) and she may be open to other romances. She just doesn't have any room in her life for someone like Peter. But Olivia does connect emotionally with Walter, who manages to seem more like a normal middle-aged man and less like a crazy science freak. [E! Online]

My Own Worst Enemy:

OMG, what happens in this split-personality brain-chip show's fourth episode, "That Is Not My Son"? Here's the synopsis:

During Edward’s (Christian Slater) rescue mission to get Raymond (Mike O’Malley) out of captivity, Henry (Slater) wakes up to find himself in the midst of gunfire. Paula (Michelle Krusiec, “What Happens in Vegas”), a fellow operative overhears a panicked Henry put in a call to Mavis (Alfre Woodard), revealing his identity. Henry/Edward’s fate now lies in her hands. Meanwhile, Mary Grady (Missy Yager) finds out that her suspicions about Tom (O’Malley) are true; and a relationship between Dr. Skinner (Saffron Burrows) and Edward is exposed.

And the following episode will be called "The Night Train To Moscow." [SpoilerTV]

Chuck:

Here are some pics from episode six, "Chuck Vs. The Ex." And the following episode will be called "Chuck Vs. The Fat Lady." [ChuckTV]

Watchmen:

We already covered most of the details from the secret Watchmen screening that happened on Tuesday, but a few more trickled out. Rorschach is referred to as the smartest man in the world, in addition to having the best fighting skills. Dr. Manhattan takes apart complex engines and reassembles them. He teleports people and "can change the tint of his blue." In the trailer, when you see Nite Owl screaming in the snow, he's screaming about the death of Rorschach at Dr. Manhattan's hands. After Rorschach dies, there is a "stupid moment" between Silk Spectre and Nite Owl, and then the camera pans around a bit more and the movie ends. Oh, and the scene at the end with Rorschach's journal at the New Frontiersman is in there too. [Movies-Spoilers]

And Kevin Smith, who has seen the film twice, more or less confirms the ending is changed from the book. The new ending makes it more about the characters. (Which fits in with the "framing Dr. Manhattan" idea) and works just as well as the original, he insists. [Collider]

Star Trek:

Smith also mentioned some tidbits about Star Trek. Most notably, the movie introduces the familiar characters one by one, sort of the way Blues Brothers brings the band back together — except this time they're coming together for the first time. And the last castmember we meet is Simon Pegg's Scotty. But Scotty is still "front and center" in the movie. [Collider again]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Writer Roberto Orci went on the TFW2005 boards to throw some cold water on the rumor-mongers. He denies that Soundwave, the robot that turned into a tapedeck in the cartoons, is now a pick-up truck. But he admitted that Soundwave may be a truck of some sort — just not a pick-up. Also, he said the "Fallen" in the movie's title could be the name of a robot, or it could just refer to the defeated side in a battle. The fight scenes will be even longer in the second movie than in the first. And we'll probably meet a Decepticon who is ridiculously loyal to Megatron and the Decepticon cause. But it won't be Tidal Wave, because he's not in the movie. [TFW2005]

As fast as Orci shoots down the rumors, more rumors crop up. An inside source tells Seibertron that Optimus Prime will combine with Jetfire. And Soundwave's alternate form is actually a satellite, but he may turn into a truck as well. Ravage uses biological warfare against the humans. And Jetfire can create wormholes. Also, Scorpinok will return. Also, there's speculation that the female Transformer Arcee dies early in the movie, because those motorbikes haven't been seen on set since the "steel mill" sequences which happen early in the film. [Seibertron]

Meanwhile, sources confirm that three motorcycles combine to create Arcee, and you can see those bikes in the first set video that Wal-Mart released. [TFW2005 again]

Quantum Of Solace:

The new Bond film showed the other day in London, and a bunch of details spilled out. The movie picks up after the last one, with Bond capturing the injured Mr. White, who taunts him that his secret organization Quantum had been so paranoid about the British listening in to its conversations, when all along the spies had no clue that Quantum existed.

James Bond is a "cauldron of burning rage" in QOS, and M puts him on MI6's capture-or-kill list while the CIA threaten to take him out. (For ribs? Ribs are nice.) Matthieu Amalric's villain is a fake environmentalist who schemes to overthrow the government of Bolivia and control the country's natural resources. At one point, Bond and his sidekick Camille are in an ancient plane, being chased by a superjet through the mountains.

[The Mirror and Empire and TheShiznit and London Times via Slashfilm

And here's an interview with Daniel Craig, plus some footage. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Looks like the bad Terminator played by Garret Dillahunt is getting way closer to tracking down John Connor, judging from this sneak peek and interview with the actor. I think the clips are from next week's episode. [TSCCHypnoWeb]

The studio sent us some pics of Kendra Shaw getting all snuggly in tonight's episode.

And it sounds like Kendra Shaw will be sticking around for a while, judging from the synopsis for the Nov. 3 episode, "Brothers Of Nablus":

The Connors find themselves on high alert and in odd company after their house is robbed. Elsewhere, one Terminator terrorizes Ellison, while another gets dangerously close to John Connor. Meanwhile, Derek and Jesse continue to get reacquainted.

[SpoilerTV]

Fringe:

Here's a promo for House and Fringe that I think includes some new footage:

Life On Mars:

In the fifth episode, "Things to Do in New York When You Think You're Dead," a racial confrontation brews between African Americans and Puerto Ricans in the neighborhood, when a young African American girl's body is discovered, flung from a rooftop. Working the case with Sam and the precinct, is the young Fletcher Bellow, who will be Sam's mentor in 2008. The Black Liberation Army is intent on hunting down the Puerto Rican suspect, Angel Ramirez, and exacting their own rough justice. Meanwhile, Sam has to battle the racial attitudes in his own precinct, and in the end there's a tense rooftop confrontation which leads to shots being fired. And here are some promo pics. Check out the special guest star in one of those crowd scenes. [SpoilerTV]

Heroes:

The second half of Heroes season four, "Fugitives," will be huge and epic, promises star Greg Grunberg. All of the heroes are "working together and on the run because there's this looming power that wants us gone." [IESB]

And who could that looming power be? Well, there's one clue. Producer Jesse Alexander posted in his Flickr stream pictures of a cargo plane, labeled "Villain Transport." Who is this villain, and why does he/ she need such a big plane? (Perhaps, through the miracle of filming, the plane will appear to be complete. Or maybe it's just a piece of a plane for a reason.) Also, it sounds as though Arthur Petrelli will be in the show through at least episode 9. [The ODI]

Chuck:

Are you excited about Simple Life star Nicole Richie showing her acting chops on tonight's Chuck? Here she is talking about the role, with a few short clips thrown in. [Multipleverses]

Eleventh Hour:

Marley Shelton talks about her character, tough-as-nails bodyguard Rachel. (U.S. only, I'm afraid.) [SpoilerTV]

Knight Rider:

In the show's 13th episode (time flies!) called "I Love The Knightlife," there's a superserum called HXP serum, which enhances soldier's speed, strength and endurance, developed by Dr. Lawrence Gogol. But a freelance assassin named Victor Galt and his sexy nightclub-owning partner Alexandra Pachinko (really) steal the serum, and Mike has to go undercover to find out what happened. Dr. Gogol's right-hand women on the HXP project is a sexy, sassy PhD named Megan, who is impressed with Billy's scientific knowledge. (Rowrrr.) Colonel Partain is in charge of finding out what happened to the HXP serum, and doesn't trust Mike.

But who cares about some super-serum being stolen? What you want to know is, will there be a hot chick in a bikini, who's raising money by washing cars? And will some hapless thug get "taken for a ride" by KITT and get confused? Yes, and yes. [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

In the Nov. 6 episode, "Bloodline," Clark's cousin Kara returns, and Lois discovers she suddenly has superpowers. And in the Nov. 13 episode, "Abyss," Chloe's memories get replaced with Kryptonian code by Brainiac, and Clark takes her to the Fortress so Jor-El can fix her up. Davis tells Chloe she's marrying the wrong man. [OSCK]

Sanctuary:

Want to see the new title sequence that this Amanda Tapping show will be sporting soon? Check it out the link. [Sci Fi Wire]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

Green Lantern:

Co-writer Marc Guggenheim revealed some of the comics that influenced the script for the new movie about the ring-wielding space cop. He says they started with the classic origin retelling "Emerald Dawn," but also took in all the early issues via the Showcase reprint compilations. And they borrowed a lot of characterization from the Denny O'Neil/Neal Adams Green Lantern/Green Arrow comics, which portrayed GL as "the man" in order to explore issues like race, drugs, crime, etc.

Guggenheim adds that his formative issues of Green Lantern were the early 80s ones drawn by Dave Gibbons, where Hal Jordan quits. (I have all of those.) He's particularly interested in the relationship between Hal and Carol Ferris in those issues. And of course, the screenwriters have been paying attention to Geoff Johns' run on the title. They'd just finished a draft when Johns' "Secret Origins" arc came out, so it was interested to see how Johns solved some of the same problems. Like, for example, why is Abin Sur in a spaceship when he can fly through space unaided? [MTV]

The Spirit:

A new poster for The Spirit reveals that our cryogenically preserved hero will be in the shadows, with half his face covered by a dark shroud of righteousness. Or something. [BadTaste via CinemaBlend]

Quantum Of Solace:

Still on the fence as to whether this James Bond film is science fiction or not. But here are a couple of clips that just turned up online, which don't really help settle the question.

Lost:

In addition to the Dharma station in Ayers Rock, Australia, there's also one near Portland Oregon, at the 45th parallel, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole. [SpoilersLost]

Heroes:

Here's a new promo for Monday's episode, which has more scenes with the villains and Peter in action. [TestOnly46]

Eleventh Hour:

Sci Fi Wire has a new featurette about the making of this show. Stuff I learned from it: Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell) isn't the sort of guy to eat a sandwich over a corpse; he's deeply affected by the stuff he sees, and new to all this. He comes from a "closeted" environment. (Carefully avoiding cheap joke here.) And his bodyguard (Marley Shelton) looks like she's hooking up with Riley from Buffy soon. Oh, and does anyone else think it's weird how Sewell keeps insisting the show isn't science fiction? (It's just fiction about science.) [Sci Fi Wire]

And here's a new trailer for the tonight's episode. Sorry about picture quality:

Life On Mars:

In tonight's episode, it'll be even clearer that Annie is Sam's "solace in a land of savages," but don't expect the two of them to do the Hustle together any time soon. There's a "roadblock" keeping them from being together that gets exposed by the end of the episode, and she has a great mystery in her past. We'll learn more about her, romantically and otherwise, in the next dozen episodes. (But she's not romantically connected to any of the other guys on the show.) So they'll just be friends for now. As Sam comes to realize his situation is "real," he'll have to let go of Maya, his love back in 2008.

And yeah, tonight's episode is still quite close to the second episode of the BBC version, with Sam and Gene clashing over police methods. The first season will be all about Sam trying to win the approval of his new colleagues. And yet, the show's "mythology" helps him solve this week's case, thanks to the weird dispatches and messages he keeps getting from the universe. Another difference in tonight's episode: it's the first appearance of a (non-human) visitor who's connected to Sam's situation, delivering messenges about what's happening to Sam. That's not in the British version. [Zap2It]

And here's Entertainment Tonight's visit to the set. [SpoilerTV]

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

In Friday's episode, General Grievous takes Padmé Amidala and C-3PO hostage, and it's up to Anakin and Obi-Wan to rescue them and complete the destruction of the Malevolence. But Padmé isn't a damsel in distress. She's intrepid and daring, and just happens to get captured a lot. Also, this is the first time Anakin and Padmé are together in the new Clone Wars series, and fighting side-by-side is like their version of a date. [Lucasfilm]

Stargate Atlantis:

Here are some promo images from season five episode 18, "Identity." Jimmy gets a photo of a red-and-blue blur, and Lois vows to get to the bottom of the mystery, and... whoops. Wrong upcoming episode called "Identity." Anyway, McKay's facial expression in the pic with the hot babe is somewhat unfortunate. [SpoilerTV]

Captain America:

Industry journal Production Weekly included a synopsis of Captain America: The First Avenger, which pretty much jibes with what we've heard a bunch before. (Grain of salt time: sometimes those production listings are just based on the comic book or other source material.) Here it is:

Born during the Great Depression, Steve Rogers grew up a frail youth in a poor family. Horrified by the newsreel footage of the Nazis in Europe,Rogers was inspired to enlist in the army. However, because of his frailty and sickness, he was rejected. Overhearing the boy's earnest plea,General Chester Phillips offered Rogers the opportunity to take part in a special experiment... Operation: Rebirth. After weeks of tests, Rogers was at last administered the Super-Solider Serum and bombarded by "vita-rays." Steve Rogers emerged from the treatment with a body as perfect as a body can be and still be human. Rogers was then put through an intensive physical and tactical training program. Three months later,he was given his first assignment as Captain America. Armed with his indestructible shield and battle savvy, Captain America has continued his war against evil both as a sentinel of liberty and as leader of the Avengers.

[Cinema Blend]

Quantum Of Solace:

For now we're reserving judgment on whether the new James Bond film is science fiction or not. And anyway, here's a fairly bizarre thing. New co-star Gemma Atherton gets killed by being smothered in crude oil, in a callback to Jill Masterson's death by gold paint in Goldfinger. Atherton plays an MI6 agent assigned to keep tabs on a renegade James Bond. Atherton says her character comes to "a sticky end." Ha ha. I would have gone for a "peak oil" joke, personally. [Daily Mail via Commander Bond]

Quarantine:

Here are even more pics from the Cloverfield/28 Days Later/Blindness mashup, which still don't show much of the zombie-ish plague victims. [Movie Spoilers]

Lost:

More Lost filming. Kate and a toddler Aaron were at the "Long Beach Harbor Club." And it sounds like Ben and all of the Oceanic Six, except Hurley, also showed up at some point. Sun is now driving a silver Jaguar S-class. This may come right after the scene where Ben, Jack and Sayid are at the medical center. [Hawaii Weblog]

Meanwhile, someone witnessed filming of a scene between Ben, Desmond and a woman. (Either Sun or Penny, but the source thinks it was Sun.) Ben and the woman are talking, and Desmond runs up and demands "What are you doing here?" (Looking at the photo, it certainly looks like Sun to me. But it's super blurry and hard to tell.) [Bolo-head Man via Doc Arzt]

Also, hints that when we discover Jin's fate in episode four or five, he may not actually be alive. And there's a rumor that another favorite character (Sawyer?) gets off the island. [Doc Arzt]

Doctor Who:

More reports that Patrick Stewart will show up on Doctor Who as the Meddling Monk, the cheeky Time Lord last seen in 1966. Apparently Stewart's schedule may not align for him to take the role until 2010. But it is sounding like a recurring role, and "the role is a belter," says one unnamed insider. Meanwhile, Tom Baker is still rumored to be back, as the Doctor or some other character. [The Sun and the Daily Star and Sky]

Meanwhile, Russell T. Davies says the Doctor might show up on the Sarah Jane Adventures, but not this season. And he says the scripts are a bit more complex in SJA season two, because the six-year-olds who watched it last year are seven, and more curious about the mythology. [Times Online]

Stargate:

Amanda Tapping is definitely going to be in the third SG-1 DVD movie, but may or may not be in the first Atlantis movie. [Gateworld]

Meanwhile, the penultimate episode, "Vegas," takes place in an alternate universe where John Sheppard became a homicide detective. He investigates a case involving a Wraith, who uses makeup to disguise himself as a human. The Wraith gets into a high-stakes poker game with Sopranos stars Steve Schirripa and Frank Vincent. Someone takes a nine-story fall, and there's a lot of scenes in and around the Planet Hollywood casino. [Gateworld]

Fringe:

Here are pictures and a description of episode six, "The Cure":

CURE FOR RARE DISEASE MAKES PATIENTS RADIOACTIVE ON “FRINGE” TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, ON FOX. After weeks of being reported missing, a woman with a rare disease resurfaces in suburban Massachusetts and inexplicably causes excruciating pain and subsequent death to those she encounters. As the gruesome scene is investigated, dangerous levels of radiation are detected, and unusual circumstances surrounding the case point to illegal human drug trials and possibly something even more sinister. Meanwhile, Walter obsesses about cotton candy, Peter strikes a bargain with Nina Sharp and a startling piece of Olivia’s past is revealed.

[SpoilerTV]

Heroes:

On tonight's episode of Heroes, Future Peter tells Present Peter to use a potentially destructive ability to save the world. Then Present Peter meets Future Claire, who threatens him at gunpoint, and has a weird encounter with Future Sylar. Meanwhile, Mohinder is confused. I can't imagine why. Oh, and Hiro and Ando dig up Adam looking for info on who hired Daphne. [Ace Showbiz]

And here are some snazzy pics of Future Peter and Future Claire. They're snazzy! [Heroes Spoilers]

Life On Mars:

Here's the description of the third episode, "My Maharishi Is Bigger Than Your Maharishi," plus some pictures:

The murder of a returning Vietnam veteran has Lieutenant Hunt outraged, as he demands a quick resolution to what quickly becomes a complicated and controversial case. As Sam and the squad's team of detectives explore the circumstances surrounding the homicide, Tyler is sent down a mysterious path that may provide clues about his own family's past and why he is back in 1973.

[SpoilerTV]

Sarah Connor Chronicles:

In the Terminator show's eighth episode, "The Tower Is Tall But The Fall Is Short":

What would a T-1001 need with a doctor? Sarah, John and Cameron may soon find out as they track down another name on their list. Elsewhere, a woman from Derek's past surprises him in the present.

And here are some steamy pics of Kendra Shaw in bed with Brian Austin Green! [SpoilerTV]

Sanctuary:

Did you know that Dr. Helen Magnus "pushes the envelope of society and of science"? Well, now you do! [TV Guide]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett

Apparently, despite being a direct sequel to the fairly down-to-Earth Casino Royale, Quantum has a more way-out plot. The villain, Dominic Greene (Matthieu Almaric) is an environmental scientist who secretly works for an evil organization known as Quantum. And Greene wants to take over the world's water supply somehow. Actually, the version of the synopsis over at IMDB says Greene only wants to take over the South American water supply. Greene plots to help a South American general take over a small country. And in exchange, the general will give Greene a seemingly barren piece of land, which turns out to be really "a main source" of the South American water supply. (I'm confused: aren't there a lot of rivers in South America?) Bond gets involved in this water-based imbroglio because Green's shadowy organization because they helped give his girlfriend Vesper the death she deserved.

I'm sort of intrigued by the idea that the newest threat isn't global destruction, space lasers, or setting off World War III — or even control over the oil supply. Instead, it's control over water. With experts warning that 75 percent of the world's population will face water shortages by mid-century, and wars over control of water looming in our future, this seems like a peculiarly 21st century anxiety for James Bond to address. It combines the looming eco-apocalypse with a kind of mad environmental science (this barren ground is actually the secret source of all the water!) that I'm fascinated to see how it plays out.

Of course, Casino Royale was the best Bond film ever — right until the last half hour or thereabouts, when it fell apart completely and clattered to the ground in a pile of twitching parts. So I'm reserving judgement for now. Here are those new stills via Cinematical, some of which are quite trippy, and others of which look extremely standard-issue James Bond, with the cars and the running and babes in the desert. [Cinematical]