The Happening:

Another bad early review of M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening has gone up online. It's "The Birds without any birds." A neuro-toxin is released without any warning around the Northeastern U.S., and it causes people to murder themselves in terrible ways. Early on, we see a cellphone video of a guy walking into a lion cage without any awareness of what he's doing. And a row of people shoot themselves, and when each person drops the gun, the next person picks it up and uses it.

Mark Wahlberg is a passive-aggressive high-school teacher who's on the outs with his wife, Zooey Deschanel. They flee together, along with a few other people (plus the daughter of a fellow teacher) and they try to figure out what's happened. There are some War Of The Worlds-style fleeing sequences, including a barn with a trigger-happy farmer. And then it turns out the plants are releasing the neuro-toxin to get rid of the pesky humanity. Shyamalan attempts to "cut to a menacing-looking tree." And then they find a nice old lady whose house was built for hiding slaves — which turns out to come in handy. And instead of the trademark Shyamalan twist ending, the film has no ending at all. It just stops. Oh, and here are some images I don't think we've shown before. [Collider]

Fringe:

Here's the first promotional still from Fringe, J.J. Abrams' show that's really not an X-Files rip off. This must be from the scene where Anna Torv puts on a bikini to go inside the mind of her comatose boyfriend John. [New York Times]

Smallville:

On tonight's Smallville, Lex tells Clark he loved him (like a brother). And then they have their big showdown, and a buttload of stuff falls on top of Lex. The show ends with a big cliffhanger: is Lex alive or dead? [Serrico]

Stargate: Atlantis:

In season five of Stargate: Atlantis, Teyla keeps the baby. [Friendshipper]

Doctor Who:

Here's a snippet from the script for Saturday's Doctor Who episode featuring Agatha Christie:
ROGER: Miss Christie, I've a question. Why a Belgian detective?
AGATHA: The Belgians make such lovely buns
REVEREND GOLIGHTLY: Where do you get your ideas from?
AGATHA: Murder is easy, vicar, when you've killed as many people as I have.
And a clip. It's not really a spoiler to reveal that the Doctor and Donna will have to explain they're not married at this point, is it? [Planet Gallifrey]

Chuck:

Chuck's producers are looking for a major star to play a retired secret agent who gets called out of retirement to tutor Chuck. [Chuck TV]

Heroes:

Here's a first look at Daphne, the speedster who confounds Hiro in the new season of Heroes. [Heroes TV Show Spoilers]

Lost:

Here are some more sneak peeks at tonight's episode, including Michelle Forbes:

Kyle XY:

In the Kyle XY third season premiere, Kyle will meet face to face with the scientists of Latnok at last. He'll mostly interact with one of them, Daniel Cassidy. Kyle insists he'll never work for Latnok, but Cassidy is sure Kyle will eventually come back to the people who created him. [TV Squad]

The sprawling saga that loses the thread is a more common problem in fantasy books than in science fiction — think the Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time, or Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover books. But science fiction still has its own never-ending stories that really ought to end. Here are the biggest problems:

Changing the rules: When I first read To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer, I was incredibly excited by its story of an artificial planet where everybody who's ever lived comes back to life. Until I got to the end of the book and realized it was actually Book One in a long series, and none of my nagging questions about the resurrection planet, Riverworld, would be answered for another three or four books. I was even more annoyed when a friend of mine told me that Farmer changes the rules of Riverworld after the first book, to make it easier to keep spinning out tales. I think there my have been some book-throwing involved.

The heir apparent. As I mentioned, a reviewer coined the term "Herbert's Syndrome" in 1984, when Frank Herbert was still alive and had yet to publish his sixth Dune novel, Chapterhouse: Dune. The reviewer defined it as when "a large advance induces a good writer to extend a successful series beyond its natural span." You may have your own opinions about whether six Dune books were too many — but since Herbert's death, his son Frank and his collaborator Kevin J. Anderson have already written seven Dune books, with more on the way. Say it with me: "The cash must flow."

The neat trilogy that becomes a messy tetralogy, and more. The first two Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy books by Douglas Adams seemed pretty well-rounded, encompassing more or less the same arc as the original radio series and TV series. So I was a little nervous about the third book, Life, The Universe And Everything, but it was still a fun ride and seemed to move things forward. I was less thrilled by the fourth volume in what Adams called "the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's trilogy." So Long And Thanks For All The Fish, felt sort of anemic, as if Adams really didn't have any more ideas for the series, but he needed the Ningis. And then I think I read the fifth volume, but I have no memory of it whatsoever.

The need to explain the meaning of everything. Feminist science fiction blogger Liz Henry says this is where many series break down:

People write a series, and then they feel the need to finish it off and Explain it and they go all mystical and metaphysical. [They] try to solve every giant Burning Issue of Existence and good and evil, and why does the universe exist at all, and [the meaning of] utopia. So often, you get the underlying Manifesto or attempt to come up with a coherent philsopy of the author, but all too often, you sure wish they hadn't. By the time Herbert hits God Emperor of Dune, he has gone compeltely mad, trying to explain Everything, and there is no plot any more.

The random left turn. Isaac Asimov gave into fans' pressure, after a thirty-year gap, and started writing more Foundation novels again. And few would argue that Foundation's Edge or Foundation And Earth are in the same league as the original trilogy. One major problem: a slew of new characters, including one who's introduced right at the end of Foundation And Earth, who might have played a bigger role in a final Foundation book, had Asimov written one. But in the end, it just feels as though Asimov is floundering a bit, in the unnecessary sequels.

The miraculous save. In Suzette Haden Elgin's Native Tongue series, there's a clan of women and children who become language experts, and learn a ton of alien languages so they can serve as translators. But over time, they create their own secret language that the men don't understand. Which is great, but then in the third book, suddenly the women discover that they can eat sounds. They can survive by ingesting noises — sort of like a plant's photosynthesis, except noisier.

The shrinking protagonist. Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat books become less and less fun, as his roguish protagonist, Slippery Jim DiGriz, becomes more and more of a pussycat. But worse yet is when we get a new protagonist whose story cheapens our original hero, like Bean in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Shadow.

To be fair, why shouldn't novels go on and on and on? It's what movies do, with their endless sequels. And TV series — who really thinks Smallville deserves an eighth season? On the other hand, the thing that makes novels superior to other media is the fact that they have a single author, who puts his/her stamp on them. When that one person runs out of ideas, the novels themselves start to deflate.

With TV, movies, comics and other media, as long as the corporate copyright-holder can find another Akiva Goldsman or Roberto Orci to spin out a new idea, you can have endless installments. In theory, no TV series ever needs to go stale, as long as the writers have the grace to leave when they run out of ideas. (Which almost never happens.) It's a bit harder with books though — and I like picking up a novel and discovering a new universe for the first time.

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]

Tonight

Tonight sees the two-hour season premier of American Gladiators on NBC. This show is set in a bleak future dystopia where a drugged populace watches people compete in brutal events like "Rocketball" and "Vertigo," where survival is the greatest prize. Oh, wait.... never mind. If you like your contests of life and death a little more fictional, AMC is showing Terminator 2 at 8 PM.

Shia LaBoeuf is on Letterman tonight at 11:30ish, talking about Indiana Jones and explaining why he thought it was a great idea to play a "swashbuckling biker" named Mutt.

Tuesday

Shia LaBoeuf continues his TV rampage by appearing on Good Morning America, along with William Shatner.

The History Channel has two episodes of Mega Disasters at 8 and 9 PM, including a new episode, "Mega Tsunamis." Did waves taller than the Statue of Liberty smash the coasts of the Mediterranean sea 8,000 years ago — and could a tsunami like that happen again? Also, at 11 PM, the History Channel has a rerun of Earth's Black Hole, a special about black holes and whether they affect our life here on Earth. The answer, apparently, involves going to the Bermuda Triangle. (Of course it does.)

Also, FX is showing League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen at 5, and Hellboy at 8 and 10:30.

And Wednesday morning at 1:10, TMC has The Man Who Fell To Earth starring David Bowie at his absolute freakiest.

Wednesday

The History Channel comes to our rescue once again, with an episode of Modern Marvels called "Mad Electricity" — it's all about Nikola Tesla, and how we're all using his discoveries constantly today. That's at 8 PM, followed by reruns of MonsterQuest and UFO Hunters.

And at 10 PM, TMC is showing Hollow Man 2, in which Christian Slater plays a cop pursuing an invisible killer. Yeah. I didn't know they made a sequel either.

Thursday

It's the Smallville season finale, "Arctic." This could be the last time you ever see Lex and Clark face off, with the smouldering and the Lex wanting to probe Clark's secrets. After tonight's episode, Lex actor Michael Rosenbaum is leaving the show — possibly never to return — and Lana will only be back for a few episodes. Also possibly gone? Chloe. Oh, and the show's co-creators Miles Millar and Al Gough are also taking off. So even though Smallville is coming back next season, this may as well be the show's final episode because it'll be almost unrecognizable next year. So maybe we'll actually get some resolution of the show's main plot arc? It might be worth tuning in just to find out. In any case, Lex finds Clark's Fortress of Solitude and learns Clark's secrets. Anyway, it's on The CW at 8. Here's a clip:

And then Lost has the first hour of its three-hour season finale, "There's No Place Like Home Pt. 1." The survivors and the freighter people begin their final confrontation. And here's a trailer:

Also, TVLand has the 1999 movie of My Favorite Martian, starring Christopher Lloyd, at 8 PM. And TBS has the original Austin Powers at 9.

Friday

The Sarah Jane Adventures is already zooming towards the end of its first season on Sci Fi, with the second half of "Whatever Happened To Sarah Jane?" airing at 8 and the first half of "The Lost Boy" airing at 8:30. Sarah Jane gets restored to our timeline, but then her cozy little family gets broken up a different way: a family turns up claiming that her adoptive son Luke is their child. Oh, and Maria's dad finds out all about Sarah Jane's world-saving activities, and decides Maria should have no part of it. Here's a clip:

And at 9 PM, Sci Fi has the first half of a Doctor Who two parter, "The Sontaran Strategem." Some people liked this episode a lot better than I did, with the campy dancing and weird Sergey Brin knock-off. In any case, it brings the Doctor and Donna back to present-day Earth for a reunion with Martha Jones and the military organization U.N.I.T. You can read our recap of the episode here.

Battlestar Galactica has a new episode at 10 PM on Sci Fi: "Guess What's Coming To Dinner." The human survivors of the Cylon genocide reluctantly join forces with a group of rebel Cylons to destroy the crucial Resurrection Hub. And it looks like Hera has a favorite auntie. Oh, and if you're in Seattle, you can watch it with a group of fans. Here's the trailer:

Saturday

As usual, the CW has two Spectacular Spider-Man episodes starting at 9:30, including a new episode at 10. But this week's new episode is pretty special, because it features the debut of the sexiest female character from Spider-Man's comics (sorry, Mary Jane): the Black Cat. And just to up the sexiness quotient considerably, she's voiced by none other than Tricia Helfer, aka the Cylon Six on Battlestar Galactica. How much sexiness do you think you can stand at 10 AM on a Saturday morning?

And meanwhile, the Cartoon Network has another new Ben 10: Alien Force at 10: "Max Out." "The team searches for Gwen's missing brother Ken and uncovers a secret of the DNAliens invasion." And then at 10:30, there's a new Transformers: Animated, which sounds like the sort of wheel-spinning episode (sorry!) that TV shows do while they're waiting for the end of the season to shake things up: "Investigating a mysterious race car, Bumblebee gets involved with an illegal underground street racing circuit, which also captures the attention of the Decepticons." Street racing? Why would the Autobots care about street racing? Whatevs.

The Sci Fi Channel is showing all three 1980s Indiana Jones movies, starting at 4 PM. (They're also showing during the day on Sunday.) Also, at midnight, Sci Fi has Timeline, followed by Tremors 4: The Legend Begins and Prophecy: The Foresaken. (Why did it take until Tremors 4 for the legend to begin??)

Sunday

At 9 PM, Sci Fi is showing its big promo special about the new Indiana Jones movie: Mystery Of The Crystal Skulls. Apparently there really are 13 crystal skulls, of which a few have actually been found in Mexico and Central and South America. And they're a huge mystery to archeologists because they're so perfect and awesome. Not only that, but it turns out that if you assemble all 13 skulls, you can stop the world from coming to an end in 2012. (Why is Sci Fi the only channel reporting on this? You'd think CNN and C-Span would be interested in whether the world was ending in four years as well.) Anyway, it's investigative journalism at it's finest, and in no way is it just a cheesy promo stunt.

And Spike is showing Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back at 8 PM.

The Happening:

The secret of The Happening, M. Night Shyamalan's newest movie, is that it's a virus produced by plants and trees to fight back against humanity. It spreads through the air and makes people kill themselves. And the main characters, a family fleeing from the disaster, finally kill themselves at the movie's end. [Edward J.R.]

Smallville:

Someone claims to have casting sides for two new characters who will appear in Smallville season eight. There's a twentysomething bartender at Ace Of Clubs named Davis Bloome, who meets Lois when he serves her whiskey, and seems to read her mind as she's musing about a friend. It's a "weirdly sexy" moment. They snark back and forth, but then the conversation gets too weird for Lois. In a second audition scene, Lois seems to know Davis much better, and she finds him with blood on his hands. He says a waitress broke a tray of glasses and cut herself, but Lois doesn't believe him. And then it turns out Davis has blackouts where he can't remember anything he did. Lois offers to help, but Davis just begs her not to tell anyone. And she suddenly feels afraid.

The second character is Tess, who meets Clark in his barn, where she's wearing a pencil skirt and high heels. She tells Clark she's moving into Luthor Manor in Lex's absence. And she baits Clark about the fact that he was the last one to see Lex alive, and asks why Lionel Luthor would take a farmboy under his wing. Clark says Lionel was just a family friend, but Tess thinks Lionel lusted after Martha Kent. And her second scene involves Jimmy sneaking into the Daily Planet archives. Tess has been looking for Jimmy, but he's a hard guy to find. Jimmy tells Tess he didn't work for Lex, but she knows better. She tells him to spill what he knows about Lex's last trip... or else.

So... Lex is being replaced by a woman. And Lois is getting a new creepy love interest. [Notes... Written On Water]

Battlestar Galactica:

Battlestar Galactica just recently filmed a scene that started to explain how Starbuck came back from the dead. And "it's not an uplifting understanding," says star Edward James Olmos. "It's as dark as everything else. You sit there and you go, 'You guys are sick!'" [Boston Globe]

Doctor Who:

Once again, Digital Spy has a bunch of spoilers for Saturday's Doctor Who episode, three of which are fake. Off the top of my head, I can believe Donna tries to fit in with the 1920s by saying "spiffing" and "chin chin," Agatha Christie hits on Donna to no avail, Chief Inspector Smith shows up, and Donna thinks that Enid Blyton's "Noddy" is real and that "Murder On The Orient Express" is a song. [Doctor Who Insania]

Lost:

Time travel is definitely happening on Lost, say producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. And you shouldn't be asking if Claire is dead, but rather "What happened to Claire?" And we should be asking, "What is dead?" (Whoah.) Richard Alpert will be more prominent in the future of the show. Some of the show's mysteries, like the numbers, will never be explained, for fear of cheapening them the way the Force was cheapened on Star Wars after we learned about midichlorians. By the season's end, you'll have a sense of where the Penny-Desmond storyline is going. [E! Online]

Someone who's on set says the last week of filming includes scenes in the jungle, in a church, in a rescue plane and on the studio lot. And the "extra babies" (doubles for Aaron?) are girls. Significant? Or just random? [Lyly Ford]

Stargate: Atlantis:

Stargate: Atlantis will have a big two-parter halfway through its fifth season: "First Contact" and "The Lost Tribe." Dr. Daniel Jackson (from Stargate: SG-1) will visit Atlantis to do research on Janus, the scientist who invented a time-traveling puddle jumper, and who also saved Dr. Weir when she traveled back in time 10,000 years. Daniel and Rodney McKay discover a research laboratory on another planet, which belonged to Janus. But the other Atlanteans did not look favorably upon Janus' work. And Jackson and McKay aren't alone there.

Meanwhile, "Todd" the Wraith seizes control over the Earth battlecruiser Apollo, and only Ronon and Keller remain at large. Todd threatens to start killing people unless Ronon and Keller turn themselves in. Todd is heading to Janus' laboratory, to shut down the "Attero device," which threatens his new alliance. But Col. John Sheppard and Dr. Zelenka have joined up with a Traveler ship led by a captain named Katana, and they're are rushing to get to Janus' lab first. Sheppard and Zelenka work with a 15-year-old engineer, Mila to upgrade the Traveler ship's engines, because if they don't make it to Janus' lab before Todd, Jackson and McKay may be dead. [Gateworld, via Leliana McKay]

Firefly:

An upcoming Firefly comic book series, The Shepherd's Tale, will detail more about the mysterious pastor, Shepherd Book. According to actor Ron Glass, we'll learn that Book found God in a soup bowl, something about Book is artificial, Book's greatest victory was his worst defeat, and Book took the name of someone he killed. [Firefly Fans]

Star Wars: Legacy Of The Force:

More spoilers for Star Wars: Invincible, the Legacy Of The Force book that comes out on Tuesday: Jaina kills Jacen, after injuring him severely. Jacen has gone totally batshit, but really is trying to save Tenel Ka and Allana from some sort of danger. But Jaina doesn't believe him. Daala becomes chief of state. And Luke Skywalker is "around" but doesn't do much. His son, Ben, fights Tahiri and captures her. [Jacen's Heart]

TV Guide reports that Mack still hasn't signed on for season eight. She was using Rosenbaum's departure as leverage, because the studio knows if they lose her, there aren't very many characters left. Michael Ausiello quotes one insider:

If Allison leaves, they've essentially got Lois and Clark left... And that show's been done before.

In fact, the writers will be really screwed if Chloe leaves the show. Who's going to further the plot with her witty reporting and computer hackery? Who will Clark save every now and again when they introduce a pointless, one-episode villain? But most important, who's going to give Jimmy Olsen some lovin'? Sorry it doesn't matter how many Doomsdays you bring in, if Chloe leaves it's only a matter of time before the real money makers walk out the door... oh wait, he already did. [TV Guide]

Moon:

Remember Moon, the movie directed by David Bowie's son Duncan Jones, and starring Sam Rockwell (Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind)? Now that it's in post-production, a few more details have leaked out. The reason Rockwell is stranded alone on the Moon for three years: he's mining a gas that Earth needs to solve its energy crisis. And while he's stuck up there, he has an encounter that will change the course of human history. Even though Rockwell is alone on the Moon, he has costars in the movie: Matt Berry (The IT Crowd) and Kaya Scodelario (Skins). Are they playing aliens he meets, or other people who turn up? Or the people waiting for him back on Earth? [Slice Of Scifi]

The Dark Knight:

In the new Batman movie, part of what drives Harvey Dent over the edge into becoming Two-Face is that his fiancee is killed. This is presumably Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal). This will also give Batman something else to angst over, since she's his old flame and his "hope for a normal life." [Comic By Comic]

Battlestar Galactica:

Someone posted a ton of spoilers for episode 9 of Battlestar Galactica season four, "The Hub," which airs June 6. Roslin and Baltar are in the hands of the rebel Cylons (the Leobens, the Sharons, the Sixes) who are planning an attack on the "Resurrection Hub," without which no Cylon can resurrect anywhere, even with a resurrection ship. The humans have an uneasy alliance with these rebel Cylons. And some human pilots help with the attack, including Helo, Seelix and "Gonzo" Pike. The humans also decide to help the rebels to retrieve D'Anna (Lucy Lawless) so they can learn the identity of the Final Five within the fleet. D'Anna is un-boxed and immediately starts being manipulative and playing mind games again. The battle to destroy the Hub is "insane."

Helo feels very threatened when he realizes that when "his" Sharon died and was resurrected over the algae planet, her memories became available to all the other Sharons.

Baltar does the one thing that could surprise me at this point: he confesses his role in the destruction of humanity to Roslin — leaving her with a tough moral quandary. We see Roslin's death in a flash-forward, and the "L-word" is finally spoken between her and Adama. Elosha puts in an appearance as Roslin's spiritual adviser. [Battlestar Blog]

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

Here's our first look at Asajj Ventress, one of the main villains of the Star Wars: Clone Wars movie (coming this August) and TV show (coming this fall). As with previous versions, she's bald and venomous-looking. [USA Today]

And more story details about the movie have come out. Jabba the Hutt's son has been kidnapped, and the Jedi agree to rescue him in exchange for access to shipping routes, but this may be a plot to divert the Jedi to the remote planet of Teth. Anakin, his student Ahsoka, and a Clone squadron, travel to the B'omarr monastery on Teth to find Hutt Jr., but they find themselves surrounded by General Grievous' battle droids and hunted by Asajj Ventress. R2D2 helps them find a way out, and Obi-Wan brings much-needed reinforcements. [Jedi News]

Lost:

Lost's Sonya Walger (Penny) was spotted in Hawaii. Does that mean Penny's coming to the island? Or just that she's going to appear in an upcoming episode? Also, there are hints another one of our "favorite castaways" will die in an upcoming episode. [Spoilers Lost]

Smallville:

Here are some pics from the Smallville season finale, where Lex finally gets into the Fortress of Solitude. [The TV Addict]

And this week's episode, "Quest," follows Lex to Zurich, where he keeps trying to learn about the "Veritas" mythology. Lex gets attacked by a monastic-robed stranger with Kryptonian symbols carved into his chest, which seem to be a message for Clark. Meanwhile, Jimmy takes an interest in the symbols carved in the Kawatche caves, and Clark thinks about their symbolism. Clark and Chloe team up to investigate and learn that a member of the Veritas clan has survived and is hiding out in a church. Clark and Lex race to be the first to find this Veritas member, who holds the key to Clark's survival. [Buddy TV]

Doctor Who:

Here's a possibly spurious summary of the last two episodes of the current Doctor Who season. Former Prime Minister Harriet Jones is consumed with hatred for the Doctor, especially after she finds out her successor as prime minster was a member of the Doctor's own species. She managed to get aboard the Valiant and witnessed the entire year of Harold Saxon's reign of terror which "never happened." It was Harriet who stole the Master's ring from his funeral pyre, and uses it to help an army of Daleks, led by Davros, to escape from beyond reality.

This causes Rose's alternate universe to unravel. As head of her universe's Torchwood London, Rose knows what's going on, but doesn't know how to stop it. She desperately tries to reach the Doctor. Meanwhile, Donna has read her own life story in that future library (the one from the Steven Moffat two-parter) and knows she'll be killed by the Racnoss, the spider-creature that ruined her wedding day.

Donna is left alone inside the TARDIS, hurtling out of control, and doesn't know what to do. Then Rose appears on the screen, having managed to get a signal through a fracture in reality — after the Doctor has already completely vanished from our universe. Donna and Rose try to use the TARDIS to bring the Doctor back. They keep colliding with alternate realities, including their own lives if they'd never met the Doctor. Finally, they manage to bring the Doctor back. He's confronted Davros and Harriet, who's now the Red Dalek.

Realities collide, bringing Jackie and Mickey back to our universe. And then the Daleks kill Donna's mother and grandfather. And then Donna is controlled by the insect on her back, by means of a Racnoss Empress from an alternate reality, which came to our universe through the hole the Daleks have made. The alternate Empress joins forces with Davros and Harriet. The only way to stop Donna's evil back-spider is to kill Donna, which the Doctor refuses to do. Meanwhile, all the universes are threatening to collide, destroying everything. The Doctor reaches the Medusa Cascade, but the only way to close the rift again is to sacrifice a human life. The Doctor falters, unable to sacrifice anyone. But then Donna chooses to sacrifice her own life to save everything.

But after Donna is gone, the Doctor decides to break his most sacred rule for her, and goes back in time 24 hours to change his own past, so the Daleks and Harriet can be stopped without sacrificing Donna's life. Then Captain Jack erases Donna's memory so she has no clue what's happened and won't try to find the Doctor again. She won't remember him at all. This restores everything to the point it was before, with Rose, Mickey and Jackie once again sealed in their alternate universe. [Planet Gallifrey]

Transformers: Animated:

Here are some screencaps from an upcoming episode of Transformers: Animated called "SUV: Society For Ultimate Villainy," which already aired in the Middle East but won't air in the U.S. until June or later. It features a Decepticon called Swindle, and a villain who fires a time-freezing blast, using a pocket watch. The "clockwoman" teams up with Nano and the Angry Archer to build a time-control machine for Swindle. [TFW2005]

Spectacular Spider-Man:

And meanwhile, Spectacular Spider-Man is unaccountably airing its Halloween episode this Saturday. Here's the blurb:

"The Uncertainty Principle"... presents a number of perplexing situations for Peter Parker and Spider-Man as they both try to find clarity amid the masks, mysteries and menace of Halloween. While Colonel John Jameson struggles to land his damaged space shuttle, Spider-Man continues his ongoing battle with Green Goblin, who also threatens Hammerhead and Tombstone. Still, Peter's greatest challenge will be facing the awful truth when he finally learns the Goblin's "true" identity.

Iron Man 2:

Iron Man 2 will be about Nick Fury recruiting Tony Stark to help battle the super-terrorist known as the Mandarin. And the Mandarin will have super-dragon Fin Fang Foom on his side, according to sources familiar with the movie's storyline — but there's no script yet. [Cinemablend]

Batman 3:

And the third Batman movie will feature a lot more of Two-Face, the villain who debuts at the end of The Dark Knight. But the Joker won't be in it, largely due to Heath Ledger's death. And the story will be based on the graphic novels "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory" — especially the second one, which charts the rise of Two-Face and introduces Batman's sidekick Robin.

Indiana Jones:

Here's a new TV spot for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, with a bit of new footage. In particular, Shia tells Indy: "Get on, gramps!" [ComingSoon.net]

Doctor Who:

The first (lukewarm) review of Saturday's Doctor Who episode "The Doctor's Daughter" is online. Jenny, the Doctor's you-know-what, has amazing abilities and challenges the Doctor at every turn. Martha gets captured by the fishlike Hath, while the Doctor and Donna fall in with the humans, who want their help in continuing their war against the Hath. The Doctor tries to stop the fighting and explores "what makes a person a person." Martha and the Doctor hardly have any time together, making their farewell at the episode's end a bit hollow.

And there's the usual mixture of spoilers and red herrings from Digital Spy, including Martha helping to set a fish's dislocated shoulder, the Doctor putting a gun to someone's head, Donna calling the Doctor's daughter "G.I. Jane," and the Doctor being surprised what he finds when he puts a stethoscope to Jenny's chest. [Doctor Who Insania]

The Doctor-less episode, "Turn Left," happens in a bombed-out looking Leeds with corrugated tin covering people's windows. And Donna has some kind of animatronic insect on her back, and people keep commenting on it. Soldiers (including UNIT soldiers) are running around, and one soldier tries to arrest Donna because of her back-insect. The Racnoss spaceship (from Donna's first appearance in the 2006 Christmas special) is attacking Earth. Towards the end of the episode, Donna runs out in the street carrying something that looks like a "vortex manipulator" and gets hit by a car. Rose appears and kneels next to Donna's body.

Rose is in a relationship with someone in the alternate universe, and it's not Mickey. And there are more rumors the Daleks recruit former Prime Minister Harriet Jones to become a new Supreme Dalek. The Supreme Dalek is red and has three head-lamps instead of the standard two.

Also, more details on the final scene of the fourth season, which we reported on a while ago. Donna falls down, and the Doctor and Grandpa Wilf help her to her feet. Then Wilf and the Doctor have this parting moment as the Doctor is leaving:
Doctor: Get a lot of this. Atmospheric disruption. (The rain stops.) Bye, Wilfred.
Wilf: What about you? All those friends of yours....who have you got?... Next time, at night, when the stars come out... I'll look up and I'll think of you... out there on your own... on her behalf...
The Doctor turns, walks sadly across the road, gets out his key, opens TARDIS and goes inside... Also, the Doctor shouts "You can never tell her!" at Wilf right before this exchange. The person watching filming surmised that maybe Donna has lost her memory of him.

And it's rumored the Chrismas special is based on the "One Doctor" audio play, in which a con artist pretends to be the Doctor. And those bronze Cyber-Shades are fakes cooked up by the fake Doctor (David Morrisey.) But then the real Doctor and the real Cybermen show up. (I think this is a bit dodgy, actually.) [Doctor Who Forum]

Lost:

It turns out Sawyer isn't in that scene of the Oceanic Six getting on the raft after all — that was Desmond's stand-in. And Desmond is definitely in the scene. [Lost.sc]

Both Sawyer and Locke are still alive and on the island in the future "Oceanic Six" timeline. And it sounds as though the finale's "spectacular kiss" may be between Sawyer and Kate. Also, the next two seasons will include more stories about the Oceanic Six's adventures off the island. And here's another new preview clip from Thursday's episode. [E! Online]

Smallville:

In the tail end of Smallville season seven, Lana gets better and then decides to leave town, which is why she's not in next year's episodes. [E! Online again]

Tonight

Another slow Monday in scifi-land. FX is showing Elektra at 9 PM, just in case you want a yardstick to compare Iron Man to. And Sci Fi is showing a ton of Star Trek: Enterprise episodes, which means there's an even chance you'll see Jolene Blalock decontaminating herself if you watch all of them.

Robert Downey Jr. is on Jay Leno tonight at 11:30 on NBC, probably gloating about how many truckloads of cash Iron Man made over the weekend, and making completely random predictions about the storyline of Iron Man 2.

And at 1 AM Tuesday, AMC has The Cell, in case you want to fantasize that it's your disturbed unconscious that J.Lo is wandering into.

Tuesday

The History Channel has a new Mega Disasters at 9 PM, with an episode called "Hypercane." Somebody offered me some Hypercane at a party recently, but I heard that stuff eats away at your sinuses. Actually, here's the blurb:

65 million years ago a massive asteroid crashed into Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. 75% of all life on earth vanished; but could a single asteroid have been the lone killer? Theories about what happened after the impact have been speculated on by the entire scientific community. Ranging from global warming to lethal worldwide firestorms, ideas have been put forth—but none have been proven. Then in 1995 a new theory claimed that a powerful mega storm known as a Hypercane caused the extinction. The Hypercane allegedly reaches 20 miles into the stratosphere and has wind speeds of up to 700 miles per hour. 3-D computer animations will reveal how this storm could have brought down nearly all life on the planet.

FX is showing Batman Begins at 8 PM, in case you want to refresh your memory before The Dark Knight comes out.

And at midnight, Encore has the original Alien.

Wednesday

The History Channel has another new UFO Hunters at 10 PM, featuring analysis of NASA's actual UFO footage. If it comes from NASA, it must be real, right?

Encore has Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me at 8, and Waterworld at 9:40.

Emile Hirsch is on Letterman, talking up Speed Racer, which comes out Friday.

Thursday

There's a new Smallville on Sci Fi at 8 PM. Robert Picardo, the holographic doctor from Star Trek: Voyager, takes some time out from his role on Stargate: Atlantis to play a funny monk guy who has a whole serve-the-Traveler thing for Clark. Here's the trailer:

And then there's a new Lost at 10:02 PM, "Cabin Fever." Things heat up on the freighter, and meanwhile we learn a whole lot of new stuff about Locke. Here are a couple of preview clips:

Sci Fi has the first two Resident Evil movies at 7 and 9 PM.

And at 4 AM Friday morning, AMC has 1958's Earth Vs. The Spider, about hot-rodding teens who have a run-in with a giant arachnid. But is one of that motorcycle-riding kids named Mutt?

Friday

Sci Fi has another unstoppable Friday night lineup. At 8 PM, Sarah Jane Adventures has two more episodes, the end of "Warriors Of The Kudlak" and the first half of "Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?" "Kudlak" has a somewhat disappointing revelation that you can see coming a mile off, but still features some great ass-kicking Sarah Jane moments. And "Whatever Happened" is basically pure win, making you realize quite what a dire place the world would be without our hero.

And at 9 PM, there's a new (to Americans) Doctor Who episode, "Planet Of The Ood." It's the return of those subservient wormy-faced slave creatures from season two's "Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit," now with more nonsensical exobiology. The episode in general doesn't make much sense, but it does feature some good moments between the Doctor and Donna. You can read my recap here. And here are the first 10 minutes of the episode:

And at 10, there's the sixth episode of Battlestar Galactica season four, which means we're halfway through the 2008 episodes already. This is the episode featuring Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Nana Visitor as another cancer patient, and that means you can expect to see lots of President Roslin battling her own cancer. I wonder which book the Admiral will read to her from this week. Here's the trailer. Poor Gaeta:

Also, at 8:30 PM, TCM has 1959's On The Beach, one of the earliest post-apocalyptic movies ever, where survivors of a nuclear war wait in a submarine off the New Zealand coast for the radiation to reach them.

Saturday

There are two Spectacular Spider-Man episodes starting at 9:30 on The CW, including a new episode featuring the Green Goblin and John Jameson, the astronaut son of newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson. And another classic Spider-villain may make an appearance.

The Cartoon Network has a new Ben 10: Alien Force at 10, followed by a new Transformers: Animated at 10:30. Transformers features "the debut of Wreck-Gar as well as the return of the Angry Archer."

IFC is showing the scifi-ish Human Nature at 9 PM — it's one of the lesser known Charlie Kaufman scripts, but still very worth checking out for its weird neuroscience and mice learning to eat salad with a knife and fork.

And the Sci Fi Channel has B-movies all day from 9 AM to 5 AM, including quite a few Sci Fi Original Movies. I want to list all the titles, just because they make me giggle: RAPTOR ISLAND, CARNOSAUR, CARNOSAUR 2, CARNOSAUR 3: PRIMAL SPECIES, PTERODACTYL, ROCK MONSTER, AZTEC REX, SABRETOOTH, and RAPTOR. I think Aztec Rex is appearing for the first time ever, at 9 PM and 1 AM. Somebody is excited, to the point of making a celebratory LOL-dinosaur.

Sunday

At 7 PM, Sci Fi has the movie Hybrid. It's either the 1997 movie about people who go into a dark, scary lab and get chased by a half-something, half-something else monster. Or the 2000 movie about the guy in the 1930s who was obsessed with creating a new breed of corn. Or maybe... it's a hybrid of the two! Anyway, whichever hybrid it's about probably won't lurch out of the bath and blather about Kara Thrace causing the apocalypse, sadly.

And FX is showing I, Robot at 8 PM.

Speed Racer:

On the heels of its featurette about Racer X, IGN Movies has a 3-minute clip featuring Speed Racer himself. It's mostly footage we've already featured, but I think there might be a teeny bit more of it. [IGN Movies]

X-Files: I Want To Believe:

X-Files 2 features a scene between Mulder and Scully in the FBI offices. And Scully is struggling with the conflict between her rational scientific outlook and her faith (as a Catholic.) Mulder is still struggling with his faith in the paranormal. [XFilesNews]

Hancock:

That scene in Hancock where the slovenly superhero has sex with an underage girl? It's been cut, to try and get the film a PG-13 rating instead of an R rating. Apparently there was a scene where he gets drunk and fools around with a 12-year-old too, but that was mostly a "bargaining chip" to try and convince the ratings board to let a similar scene involving a 17-year-old stay in. But now all the underage girls are gone. The movie is about "why Superman can't get a date," and involves Hancock being physically unable to spend the night with a woman he meets at a party. (Because of the "woman of tissue paper" thing, or something else?) [New York Times]

The Happening:

M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening is a 90-minute paranoia movie, which pays tribute to Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. A group of people are trying to get out of an area affected by some other-worldly threat, and they understand the situation better than everyone around them... but nobody else will listen. [LA Times, via Defamer]

Doctor Who:

The title of episode 12 of Doctor Who's current season is still a mystery, but fans are speculating it could be "War On Skaro." (Skaro is the name of the evil Daleks' home planet, which has been destroyed a couple of times.) After all, British toymaker Play.com has started taking preorders on a "War On Skaro" playset, which goes on sale in October. And the playset includes a Davros action figure. [Room 515]

In next week's episode, "The Doctor's Daughter," the daughter in question says "Hello, Dad!" to the Doctor. And she wields a machine gun. And the aliens in the episode, the Hath, are half fish, half human, and communicate using bubbles. [SciFiPulse]

Heroes:

Heroes' Noah Bennett, aka HRG, is currently imprisoned at the bottom of Level Five in the Company's secret facility. "I think there may be an escape in the offing, but at a cost," says actor Jack Coleman. And HRG will probably be hunting those escaped psycho villains who are like a dozen Sylars. Meanwhile, Mohinder is getting a lot less mild-mannered, and Claire wants to use her powers for a greater good instead of just blending in. And I'm not sure what to make of Coleman's prediction for Hiro:

"He's firmly planted in Yakamoto Industries now," says Coleman. "I think Hiro's more the guy who starts out wealthy and comfortable and is very unhappy taking over his father's business and needs the quest. That's his destiny."

Smallville:

Even though Michael Rosenbaum just announced he's through with Smallville, the producers are still dropping hints he may be back for the eighth season finale, which may be the show's finale episode ever. Also, all the signs point to the show's new female villain being Maxima, the alien queen who wanted to marry Superman in the comics and wasn't willing to take no for an answer. And apparently this time around, Clark may not want to give no for an answer anyway. [ComicBookResources]

Lost:

Castaway drama Lost just filmed a scene for the season finale in which the Oceanic Six (plus Sawyer, and some person who's not moving) swim onto a life raft. (And it looks like Desmond might be there too.) [Ryan's Flickr page, via Approaching Lost]

Also, in Thursday's episode, Claire goes into Jacob's Cabin with Locke, and we learn more about why we saw her dad (and Jack's) in there. We see Ben's father figure Horace Godspeed (who got Ben's dad his job and died in the purge) back from the dead. And Michael and Frank argue on the freighter. [Nicole's Lost]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

We will see some more of the mysterious girl at John Connor's high school, Cheri, again at some point in TV's Terminator spinoff. But season two of the Sarah Connor Chronicles will move towards having one plot per episode, instead of juggling three or four plots every time. And the show's second season will flip some of its character dynamics on their head, as John becomes more of a man instead of a boy. [IGN]

Eureka:

Do any of you guys watch the Sci Fi Channel's Eureka, the show about a town full of supergeniuses and weirdos? If so, then you'll be happy to hear that Sheriff Jack Carter may actually get a girlfriend in the new season. Also getting lucky in love may be Sally, the Smart House and possibly even Fargo. The new season will also include a Biodome-themed show, a Groundhog Day riff involving "2 AM and ice water," a "robot mangy dog show," and maybe more disappearing pizza guys. Eight episodes of the new season will air starting in late July, with the rest airing later. [Monsters And Critics]

Star Wars:

The blurb for the upcoming Star Wars novel Millennium Falcon gives some spoilers about what happens in the earlier novel, Invincible. The brief-but-brutal rain of Darth Caedus (worst "Darth" name ever) comes to an end, and the formerly evil Imperial Admiral Daala unites the galaxy to forge a lasting peace. Luke Skywalker tries to chart a new future for the Jedi Order and tries to understand why his nephew Jacen Solo turned to the Dark Side. Leia and Han, grieving for both their dead sons, adopt Jacen's force-sensitive daughter Allana, at the request of her mother, Queen Tenel Ka of Hapes. The newly formed family goes off to research the history of Han's ship the Millennium Falcon, but then they stumble on a new threat to the Jedi Order — and maybe to the Force itself. [The Force.net]

And the blurb for the first graphic novel based on the new Clone Wars movie/series has gone up on Amazon: In "Shipyards of Doom," Obi Wan and Anakin lead a mission to destroy the Separatists' shipyards, but the enemy finds out. They're forced to rely on their new wet-behind-the-ears padawan, Ahsoka, who must face the droid armies of General Grievous. [Amazon]

Two new villains are stepping up to take the place as the antagonist in Smallville. Expect to see the DC Comics' character Doomsday (notorious for slaying Superman) along with an unknown female baddie. But this may not be the last you hear from Luthor. Although he's no longer a series regular, producers of Smallville released a statement that hinted at a few cameos later in the year saying, "He is one of the best actors on television and has never failed to bring a new layer to the character of Lex Luthor in every episode. While Michael won't be a series regular and we won't have the pleasure of working with him on a weekly basis this fall, we like to think that we haven't seen the last of Lex Luthor."

But the real question is, now that Doomsday is coming to the show are they going to try and kill Superman only to bring him back as four other versions of Superman, like in the comics? Or will young Clark Kent kick Doomsday's ass? [Hollywood Reporter]

Tonight

The special two-hour Star Wars episode of Deal Or No Deal airs at 8 PM. According to the official Star Wars blog, it features models dressed in the famous Leia slave-girl outfit from Return Of The Jedi, plus Carrie Fisher herself in the audience. Chewbacca and R2D2 are there to provide moral support to the two Star Wars fans competing for money. Oh, and Darth Vader takes place of the "villainous banker." (Why is the banker villanous? Is this some kind of Bear Sterns reference?)

Tonight's Letterman features Gwyneth Paltrow promoting Iron Man. Expect pithy quotes about how her Pepper Potts is a new type of comic-book-movie heroine. And tomorrow night, Robert Downie Jr. is on Letterman promoting possibly the same movie.

And early Tuesday morning, TMC has Aeon Flux at 1 AM and Encore has the original Robocop at 2:30 AM.

Tuesday

On the History Channel at 9 PM, The Universe gives major spoilers, with an episode that reveals "the future of the universe." Who lives? (Nobody.) Who dies? (Everybody.) Here's the blurb:

The Universe as we know it is condemned to death. Space, matter and even time will one day cease to exist and there's nothing we can do about it. Harsh realities are revealed about the future of our Universe; it may collapse and burn or it might be gripped by a galactic ice age. Either of these scenarios might be a long way off. However, our Universe could suddenly be destroyed by a "random quantum fluctuation", a bubble of destruction that can obliterate the entire cosmos in the blink of an eye. No matter how it ends, life in our Universe is doomed.

And on Wednesday morning at 2:00 AM, BET is showing Hood Rat, about a swarm of super-intelligent mutant rats that go around killing people in a housing project. It's sort of a remake of Willard, except that instead of training them, I think Isaiah Washington's character just sort of befriends them and they turn out to be super-rats. Ice-T is the comic relief in this film. And it features a scene where rats "come out of a toilet to devour a crackhead's anus." This either just got on your must-see, or your must-avoid list, depending on your taste in bizarre horror films.

Wednesday

This has nothing to do with science fiction, except tangentially, but the worst pain from last winter's writers' strike is yet to come. The proof comes in the form of a new reality TV series which premieres tonight on The CW, called Farmer Wants A Wife. It's about a farmer. Who wants a wife. Suddenly Flash Gordon is sounding really great right now.

Speaking of which, Sci Fi is showing another Flash Gordon marathon all day, allowing you to experience the greatness of croptops, hairgel, hawk people and castrating amazons if you missed it the first time.

Also, the History Channel brings us yet another new UFO Hunters at 10 PM, about a UFO sighting at a U.S. military base.

Thursday

Tonight's Smallville is the 150th episode, and it's directed by star Tom Welling. Clark visits an alternate reality, where Buffy never came to Sunnydale Clark never came to Smallville. In this alternate reality, as in all right-thinking universes, Lex is president of the United States. Here's a pretty great scene from the episode, which airs at 8 on The CW (sorry about the sound quality):

And then there's a new Lost at 10 PM on ABC. Jack's doing poorly, and hovers on the brink of nasty death. Meanwhile, Sawyer, Claire, Aaron and Miles try to make their way to the beach, but something goes horribly wrong. We featured two clips from the episode on Friday.

At 7 PM, Sci Fi is re-running Warbirds, its TV movie about pterodactyls in World War II.

You face an impossible choice on Friday morning at 3:00 am: AMC is showing the original Species, while Sci Fi is showing Decoys 2: Alien Seduction. I would advise watching (or taping) Decoys 2 instead of Species. Sure, Species features the super-hot Natasha Henstridge as a human-alien hybrid who's desperate to find someone to reproduce with. But Decoys 2 features a whole squad of alien women who transform themselves into college boys' naughtiest fantasies so they can seduce them and implant their alien eggs inside them. It's like Species mashed up with Alien mashed up with a weird teen sex comedy. We featured a clip from it a while back.

Friday

At 7 PM, NickToons is premiering a 90-minute "TV movie" of Speed Racer: The Next Generation. It's basically the first three episodes of this cartoon series mashed up together. The movie is also getting a DVD release on Tuesday, May 6. In this new series, the son of Speed Racer studies to become a race-car champion and rebuilds the Mach-5. Racer X is the new Speed Racer's brother, and his uncle is the school's headmaster. Oh, and Chim Chim is a robot monkey. The TV movie is written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, who wrote the fluffy but fun Heroes For Hire comic among others. Here's a clip:

At 8 PM, Sci Fi has two episodes of Doctor Who's kid-friendly spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. She polishes off those evil nuns, and then squares off with an alien army that's recruiting teenage humans through a sort of laser-tag arcade. The second episode features my favorite Sarah Jane scene of all time, where she builds a weird energy-detector machine out of bits and pieces, wearing a badass welding mask. You go, Sarah Jane!

And then at 9, there's easily the best episode so far of the current Doctor Who season — the Doctor visits Pompeii right on the eve of its destruction by a volcano. His new companion Donna asks some tricky questions about where the Doctor draws the line on interfering with history, and the Doctor has to struggle with his answers a bit. Here's our recap, including a clip from the episode.

And at 10, there's another new Battlestar Galactica. "A possible truce with rebel Cylons leads Starbuck to put her trust in an old enemy." It looks like Starbuck and Leoben are reunited, and it feels so fine. Here's the trailer:

Sci Fi is showing episodes of Stargate SG-1 all day, in case you need to catch up.

Saturday

There are two episodes of Spectacular Spider-Man at 9:30, including one new episode at 10 AM: "Reaction" introduces Doctor Octopus to the cartoon universe, and also brings back the Green Goblin.

And also at 10 AM, the Cartoon Network has a new Ben 10: Alien Force. Ben and Gwen start to trust Kevin 11 — but then he steals the Rustbucket and tries to trade it for alien technology.

And then at 10:30 AM, the Cartoon Network has a new Transformers: Animated, called "Mission Accomplished." (Is this some kind of subtle dig at George Bush?) Here's the episode description: "Convinced there are no Decepticons left on Earth, the Elite Guard prepares to take Optimus Prime and his crew back to Cybertron — unaware of the increasing Decepticon activity taking place under their very noses." They're not called Decepticons for nothing.

And at 1 PM, The CW has Virus, featuring Jamie Lee Curtis and one of the Baldwins versus an alien disease.

Sunday

At 2 PM, TNT is showing The Tuxedo, which isn't in the top 100 Jackie Chan movies but does have a few great scenes, most notably the "pants-only mode" scene, when Jackie is only wearing the super-suit's pants — so only his legs are super-agile. It's not a bad thing to watch on a slow Sunday afternoon. Oh, and then there's this bit, where Jackie Chan knocks out James Brown and has to take his place, complete with a moment of weird ass-fetishism.

Sci Fi is showing horror movies all day, starting with Children Of The Corn at the churchgoing hour of 9 AM, and ending up with Final Destination 2 at 9 PM. I don't think any of those films are actually science fiction.

Oh, and at 8 PM, FX has the sort of scifi-ish Mr. And Mrs. Smith, while Spike is re-running Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. If you flip back and forth, you could mash them up into one totally awesome movie called Mr. And Mrs. Sith.

Transformers:

Here are two concept sketches of the Transformers movie version of Optimus Prime, with a special trailer attachment that combines with his cab/body in robot mode. This is either concept art for Transformers 2, or kewl fan art. [Seibertron]

Indiana Jones:

Some guy posted tons of info on Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (supposedly from an unreleased press kit) on his MySpace page. It could even be true. Here's the gist, along with an image that could be from the press kit, or could be cheesy fan art.

The movie starts in the desert Southwest in 1957, and Indy and his sidekick Mac (Ray Winstone) have just escaped a close call with some evil Soviets on a remote airfield. (And the big warehouse scene from the trailer is part of the film's opening set-piece.) Indy comes home to Marshall College, only to find out from the dean (Jim Broadbent) that his recent activities have made him the object of McCarthyite suspicion, and the college is under pressure to fire him.

Indy heads out of town, but runs into the rebellious young punk named Mutt (Shia LaBoeuf) who holds a grudge against him, but also has a proposition: if Indy helps Mutt on a mission with "deeply personal stakes," Indy may be able to score one of the greatest archeological finds in history: the legendary Crystal Skull of Akator. But the Russkies also want the Crystal Skull, because they think it'll help the USSR dominate the world.

Indy and Mutt head to the remotest part of Peru, an area of "ancient tombs, forgotten explorers and a rumored city of gold." (And we'll see the little red line going across the map, superimposed over the plane, etc.) But the Soviets, led by Cate Blanchett's Irina Spalko, are there too. There's a jungle chase sequence where Blanchett sword fights, and then another chase where she does a karate chop. Spalko has a muscley sidekick, Col. Dovchenko, played by Igor Jijikine, a former trapeze artist.

And John Hurt plays Professor Oxley, a recluse, who's been on his own for a couple of decades, and has become "possessed" and sort of insane, because of the skull.

Besides a Peruvian cemetery, and a local village near the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an important location in the film is a military bunker in New Mexico. (Hopefully related to the whole "Area 51" alien plot.) There is one gigantic snake in the movie, an Olive Python, which menaces Indy. [The KOTCS Fan Page]

Doctor Who:

They're still filming the Doctor Who 2008 Christmas special, and here are a couple of pics. The TARDIS arrives in a Victorian marketplace, and the Doctor appears to be alone. But he also has a scenes with Velile Tshabalala, who appears to be his new companion. (No Rose, not surprisingly.) And David Morrissey is playing the character referred to as the "other Doctor" on the actors' trailers. At one point, Morrissey says to Tshabalala, "The Doctor's companion will do what the Doctor says. Now go!" Oh, and the real Doctor looks quite cheerful on arrival, which doesn't seem consistent with one or more of his companions having died horribly. (But he's a resilient chap.)

And then the Doctor attends a funeral, while the Cyber-wraiths spy on him from a discreet distance. [Spoiler TV and Planet Gallifrey]

Lost:

The Lost fourth season finale will show us what happens after that flash-forward scene involving Jack and Kate, in the third season finale. In an upcoming scene, Sawyer, Miles and Claire find a dead body and an extra dismembered arm in the jungle. And Sawyer turns all protective towards Claire. Actress Emilie de Ravin says she hasn't yet heard anything about her character dying. And in the May 1 episode, Juliet has to perform emergency surgery on Jack after he collapses on the beach, and she realizes she loves him... but his flash-forward in that episode is all about Kate. Also coming up: Future Hurley delivers a "chilling message" from Charlie to Future Jack. And Christian Shepard reaches out to both of his children.

And the season finale will include some scenes involving Sun's father, the powerful mogul Mr. Paik, set in his business office. [Spoilers Lost]

Greg Grunberg, who plays the pilot of Oceanic Flight 815 who was killed by a monster in the first episode, was spotted in Hawaii filming some scenes for an upcoming episode. We'll finally see the Orchid Station, and it'll be a big set going into the fifth season. [E! Online]

And here are three new sneak peeks for Thursday's episode, including a longer version of a scene we featured yesterday. [Doc Arzt]



Heroes:

Heroes season three will introduce a new character named Jesse, who is "mean, angry and out of control." [E! Online again]

Smallville:

Here are four new stills from the May 1 Smallville, which takes place in an alternate universe where Clark never came to Earth. Lois is a Pulitzer-winning journalist, who wears a really shiny (pleather?) skirt. [Devoted Fans Network]

Tonight

It's sort of a wasteland tonight. I've scoured the TV listings, to no avail. Sci Fi is having its usual Monday night Star Trek: Enterprise marathon. The Oxygen network is showing Catwoman twice in a row for some ungodly reason — and yes, I know Catwoman isn't science fiction, but it is an object lesson in the absolute worst way to do a superhero movie, plus the worst use of CGI ever. (Halle Berry's butt is CGI. Why???) Ummm... the History Channel has a new Cities of the Underworld, about Stalin's secret city under Moscow, which could be a springboard for all sorts of alternate history.

Note to self: Next week, on Monday and Tuesday, Letterman has Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downie Jr,. promoting Iron Man two nights in a row.

Tuesday

Nova has a new episode about the "Car Of The Future." This may actually be better than it sounds, for a few reasons. For one thing, it features the hosts of NPR's Car Talk hitting the road to look at possible future cars. They'll talk to alternative-technology gurus and test-drive cutting edge cars. Check your local PBS listings for time.

And then on the History Channel at 9, there's a new episode of The Universe, all about scientists studying the nature of gravity.

And at 8 PM, AMC has back-to-back War Games and King Kong (the 1976 version featuring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange.) The two movies sort of blend together into an examination of our primal fears: out-of-control technology and bestiality.

Wednesday

PBS has the very apocalyptic sounding National Geographic's Strange Days On Planet Earth, a two-hour special about how everything is fucked. It's the first time this periodic series has appeared since April 2005. The latest episode is about how stocks of commercially important fish are 90 percent depleted, and how the death of the oceans may affect other life on Earth in ways that we can't see immediately. It doesn't feature the guys from Car Talk, but it still could be worth watching.

TMC has a David Cronenberg double feature at 8 PM and 9:45: Existenz followed by Shivers, two very different takes on the "body horror" motif, one involving video games that jack into your spine and the other involving weird parasites that make you into a rampaging sex fiend.

The History Channel has four UFO Hunters in a row, but I think they're all reruns. Starting at 12:30 (noon-ish), AMC is showing the War Games-King Kong combo again.

Thursday

There's a new Smallville on The CW at 8 PM. Here's the official description:

Clark (Tom Welling) desperately searches for Kara (Laura Vandervoort) and Brainiac (guest star James Marsters, as Brainiac is the only one who can reverse Lana's (Kristin Kreuk) condition. Clark asks Chloe (Allison Mack) to check any large power surges in the area, so she breaks into several government computers, setting off alarms. Jimmy (Aaron Ashmore) is caught between the Department of Security - who threatens him with jail time unless he helps them arrest Chloe - and Lex (Michael Rosenbaum), who offers to help clear Chloe if Jimmy agrees to be in his debt.

And there's that new Lost episode. Other-ton comes under attack, and Locke and Ben have to work together to defend themselves. Here's a preview clip:

Also, FX has the first big Fantastic Four movie (not the Corman version) at 8 and 10 PM.

Friday

Once again, Sci Fi has a strong line-up. At 8 PM, there are two half-hour episodes of the Doctor Who spin-off, the Sarah Jane Adventures. They include the final episode of "Revenge Of The Slitheen," which is where you first see that the kid-friendly Sarah Jane can actually be a teeny bit subversive after all, and also create a cast of engaging characters who actually seem to care about each other and work well as a team. There's also the first episode of "Eye Of The Gorgon," the one about the kinky nuns.

Then at 9 PM, Sci Fi has the real Doctor Who fourth season opener, as opposed to last week's Christmas special. Donna, the loudmouth who appeared in the 2006 Christmas special, is back as this season's full-time companion. But this time she's taking more of an initiative, investigating a crooked alien corporation that's doing something sort of hard to explain with diet pills. You can read our recap of the episode here.

And at 10 PM, there's another new Battlestar Galactica, the post-apocalyptic space-opera show that's gotten its groove back after a bit of a slump last year. In "Escape Velocity," Chief Tyrol deals with what happened this past Friday, and Gaius Baltar starts getting more vociferous about promoting his one-true-god beliefs among the humans — leading to a debate about religious freedom. Here's the trailer:

Saturday

Saturday is all about the animated shows again. Spectacular Spider-Man has two episodes at 9:30 AM on The CW — one of which is new. It's the big prom, and Mary Jane is threatening to overturn the social order at Peter Parker's high school. But even more seriously, the Green Goblin wants to unseat Tombstone as the Big Man of crime in the Big Apple. Is Peter willing to screw up his date in order to stop the Goblin?

Meanwhile, Ben 10: Alien Force moves to its new time on Saturdays at 10 AM on the Cartoon Network. "Gwen discovers that Grandpa Max's badge is able to signal other Plumbers. By using it, they meet up with a familiar face, a pyronite! " And then there's a re-run of Transformers: Animated.

Sunday

FX is showing Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man at 8 PM.

Indiana Jones:

Here are some new pictures from Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull — including a lot of detail of an elaborate temple-like set. [Slashfilm and TrekMovie]

The Happening:

And here are three new stills from M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening. [TrekMovie again]

Heroes:

Heroes vol. 3, "Villains," will take up only the first 13 episodes of the 25-episode third season. And the good guys will save the world at least twice next season, which will have a much faster pace than the sluggish season two. Actor Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder Suresh) is "thrilled" with what's in store for his character next season. Also, we'll learn what Mama Petrelli's power is, and she'll play a super-important role in the season. And we'll learn more about "the evolution of powers." [HeroesTelevision]

Lost:

In the eleventh episode of the current Lost season, Locke finds out where Jacob's cabin is, while life on the freighter becomes dangerous. And in this Thursday's episode, we'll learn something about the smoke monster. We'll know who shot Karl and Rousseau. (But we haven't seen the last of Rousseau.) And we'll find out why Mrs. Hawking was with "that monk." And in this episode, a few minor characters die in the first 15 minutes — and then a major character is shot in the head, execution-style, later on. And it's not who you think! And here are some new pics from this Thursday's, um, explosive episode. [Spoilers Lost]

Doctor Who:

In the upcoming Doctor Who two-parter featuring the Sontarans, the potato-headed clone warriors have a plot to choke the Earth to death. To make matters worse, the paramilitary organization U.N.I.T. has a traitor in its ranks. And the Doctor has to choose between Martha and Donna. (Choose Martha! Choose Martha!) Oh, and the second half's description asks whether the Doctor will be forced to "make the ultimate sacrifice." (Answer: probably not.) [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

Here are some new spoilers for this Saturday's Smallville, courtesy of some cellphone-only clips. Jimmy tries to cook Chloe the "Wholesome Olsen" breakfast, but she's running late. So Jimmy whines about wanting to put the spark back in their relationship. Chloe says it'll just take a little time. And then in another scene, Vanessa has Chloe tied up and is roughing her up, asking about how Chloe accessed the power grid exactly when/where there were power surges. Jimmy sneaks up behind Vanessa as she starts tasering Chloe. [Operation Save Clark Kent]

And here's a new trailer showcasing the next few episodes — including Lex finding a certain cold stronghold:

Battlestar Galactica/Caprica:

The title of the Caprica pilot TV movie is "Revolution," and it's an allegory for the American Revolution, says Sci Fi Channel executive vice president Mark Stern. [Wired]

X-Files: I Want To Believe:

Mulder has been living for the past six years in a house on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. at the start of X-Files: I Want To Believe. The house includes an office that's a loving recreation of Mulder's FBI basement space, including a poster with the words "I Want To Believe" on it. The office also includes some other touches from the TV show: a bowl of sunflower seeds, a board with newspaper clippings, a drawing of the creature from "Post-Modern Prometheus," pencils stuck in the ceiling, a photo of Samantha, and a basketball. Another room has a fishtank in it. There's a scene where Scully shows up at the house in a long camel coat, while Mulder is clipping something from a newspaper. He turns to face her, and that poster comes into focus in the frame. [Sci Fi Wire]

Splice:

Splice, the genetic experiment movie starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, includes a very "lax" laboratory that looks as though the couple is doing DNA experiments in a slapdash manner, very much under the radar. Their "child," Dren, ages rapidly but her room in a nearby farmhouse still looks like a child's room, including a teddy bear. Delphine Chanéac, who plays Dren, had to shave her head and also wear weird clothes that allow the VFX crew to superimpose effects on her body, especially her legs below the knees. Dren develops into a deadly winged half-human creature. (And here's an early design of what Dren is supposed to look like. You can see more photos here, but some of them are NSFW.) [Bloody Disgusting]

Iron Man:

There's a new featurette showing