Oh, and there will be some spoilers for recent TV episodes here — most notably Fringe.

This is mostly a list of people whose characters died or departed forever, but then they went on to play a totally different character. This doesn't include people whose characters died and then came back to life, which is a totally different trope. (And I'm not including actors who played more than one minor character in a show, or a minor character followed later by a major character.)

Garret Dillahunt on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

This amazingly versatile actor plays Cromartie, a Terminator sent from the future to kill John Connor. And after a season and a half of cat and mouse games, Cromartie finally gets blowed up good. But then his body gets repurposed and used as a UI for the childlike AI known as John Henry. (You could also say the same for Brian Austin Green, but that's slightly different — he came back as the exact same character, Derek Reese. It was just a different timeline where Derek hadn't died (yet.))

Sheryl Lee on Twin Peaks.

Laura Palmer dies (as you may have heard), but then actor Sheryl Lee shows up as Laura's nearly identical cousin Maddy. Good thing they wouldn't kill off the same actor twice... right?

Ali Larter on Heroes.

Larter plays the troubled webcam girl Niki, who's also the psychotic killer Jessica sometimes. But then Niki/Jessica dies... but it turns out Larter has an identical sister named Tracy. (And another one named Barbara, but apparently we'll never actually meet her.) And there's a mad scientist guy involved, who decided to give one sister weird water powers, and the other sister weird "psycho mirror" powers, because hello, mad scientist!

Doctor Carson Beckett on Stargate Atlantis

This jolly Scottish doctor is great at cooking up retroviruses and coming up with last-minute saves... but after he died at the end of the third season, fans were outraged. Good thing he was able to come back as his own clone. Also notable: Elizabeth Weir dies, but comes back as a machine intelligence (although I'm not sure if Torri Higginson ever played the mecha-Weir.)

Kirk Acevedo on Fringe .

This is the somewhat spoilery one: Acevedo's character, Charlie, dies at the end of the first episode of season two. But he's been replaced by an evil (or at least morally suspect) shapeshifter from an alternate world — where, presumably, there may also be another Charlie Francis running around. So we could eventually see Acevedo playing a third character. (And then a fourth, when the shapeshifter impersonates alt-Charlie?)

Amy Acker on Angel.

We were heartbroken when Fred died, but then chilled and shocked when she was reborn as the psychotic demon god Illyria. And then we learned to love her new persona almost (well maybe half) as much as her original one.

Terry O'Quinn on Lost.

Locke appears — emphasis on appears — to be stone dead, although maybe he's alive in another timeline? In any case, after Locke died, someone (or some thing) impersonated him, allowing O'Quinn to stretch his acting muscles and play Locke as, well, kind of a dick.

Denise Crosby on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Oh. The pain. Tasha Yar dies, but then Crosby later reappears as Tasha Yar's daughter (from an alternate timeline) with a Romulan. You see, Picard sent alt-Tasha back in time to the Enterprise-C so it could be destroyed by Romulans and the timeline could be repaired, but alt-Tasha didn't die, and so she shacked up with the Romulans, and... oh, whatever. It's Crosby with pointy ears. Look!

Steve Bacic on Andromeda.

He plays Gaheris Rhade, who betrays Dylan Hunt and is killed in the show's pilot episode — although Gaheris reappears several times in flashbacks and one alternate history episode later. And then in later seasons, Bacic takes on a new character Telemachus Rhade, who's the descendant of Gaheris. (Thanks to Xicer for the heads up!)

Lalla Ward on Doctor Who.

Okay, so Ward's character, Princess Astra, didn't actually die — but she did get written out of the show forever. And then the Doctor's Time Lady companion, Romana suddenly decided to regenerate, and randomly chose to refashion herself into the guise of Princess Astra. You could also mention Anthony Ainley, who played Tremas in "Keeper Of Traken." Tremas died — but then his body got taken over, and he became the new incarnation of the Master — but Tremas was always just intended to be a new host body for the Master.

Katee Sackhoff on Battlestar Galactica.

This is another edge case — Starbuck definitely died, because there was a body. But did she come back to life? Is Sackhoff playing a different character in the final season of BSG? Your theory is at least as valid as mine, because I haven't a clue. Like the video says, "You Will Know The Truth."

Thanks to Alexis Brown, Meredith Woerner, Sam J. Miller, Paul McEnery, Sean Passmore, Katrina James, Rus McLaughlin, Kathleen Warnock, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, S.J. Edewards, David Daw, Debcha, Barclay Sylvester, Karen Meisner, Brooklyn Erica, and "Dillahunt News" on Twitter (is that actually Garret Dillahunt, or a fan?), plus anyone else who helped out.

1: Pump the atmosphere full of nanomachines to get "smart weather."

In Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds, people seed the oceans and the upper atmosphere with tons of tiny floating machines, "invisible to the eye, harmless to people." They controlled the weather and fixed the climate by reflecting radiation here or absorbing it there. The machines made clouds appear and disappear and controlled ocean currents. And it works — for a while. The climate starts returning to pre-2050 conditions. But then the nanomachines stop obeying orders, and even create an obscene symbol off the Bay Of Biscay "that had to be airbrushed out of every satellite image." The scientists try to release even smarter nanomachines to deal with the first batch of nanomachines and — well, you can guess how well that turns out.

2: A ring of ice.

In the Stanislaw Lem novel Fiasco, scientists launch an artificial ring of ice into the atmosphere of the planet Quinta to reduce temperatures so the oceans will recede and more land mass will be available. The mass of the ice ring is equal to around 1 percent of the oceans' volume. The protagonists speculate that the ring was created by causing lightning in the upper atmosphere to create a kind of ice rail-gun that could shoot the ice up into orbit. This being a Stanislaw Lem novel, the whole thing falls apart due to political wrangling before it can be completed, so huge chunks of ice rain down onto the planet's equator in a never-ending torrent.

3: Use special bacteria.

In the story "Noah's Ark" by Narendra Desirazu, we find bacteria on Mars, with bizarre properties — it hibernates just below the freezing point of water, but when the water melts, the bacteria goes into frantic activity to get the water to refreeze. So scientists struggle with the effort to introduce the bacteria only to the icecaps and other areas where they want to reverse melting — without letting it get into, say, our oceans and stuff. Luckily, there's a happy but "ambivalent" ending.

4: Build a giant sunshade around the Earth.

We build huge space elevators and a massive sunshade in The Night Sessions by Ken MacLeod, causing the dawn light to look all trippy:

The dawn sky glowed innumerable shades of green, from lemon to duck-egg to almost blue, like the background colour in a Hindu painting, and turned slowly to a pure deep blue over ten minutes or more as he watched. He dozed again.

Also, Arthur C. Clarke's Fountains Of Paradise includes a ring of satellites and space stations linked together around a planet's equator by cables and other connectors, which becomes an unbroken wheel of tremendous stability — which presumably can reflect a lot of sunlight. And in Clarke's Childhood's End, the Overlords are able to use polarized fields to "make the sun go out" for a particular region of South Africa, to punish the residents for depriving the white minority of civil rights. And in Venus Of Dreams by Pamela Sargent, colonists cool the planet Venus by using a giant Parasol to shade the planet, plus bombarding the planet with ice asteroids.

5: Take Earth further away from the sun.

The Futurama episode "Crimes Of The Hot" is like a smorgasbord of global-warming solutions. We learn that humans stopped global warming in the 21st century by bombarding the oceans with ice from space. And now that the planet is heating up again, due to the emissions from unsafe robots, there are a few solutions, including a giant space mirror (which goes awry) and shutting down all the robots. But in the end, the easiest solution is to have all the robots emit their exhaust at once, sending the planet further away from the sun — and giving us an extra week in each year, which can be Robot Party Week!

And in the novel The Circle: A Science Fiction Thriller by Harold R. Watson, the High Rulers Of Earth decide to haul the planet away from the sun to put it into a deep freeze for one year. At the end of that time, they'll return Earth to its original orbit. As some of the planet's icy covering melts, it'll have the effect of restoring the ozone layer, and after about five years, enough vegetation will have grown to make the planet habitable again. Suuuure.

6: Hack The Human Genome

It's a radical solution, but it might be the only way. In the story "Dear Abbey" by Terry Bisson, a group of radical environmentalists come up with a plan:

Dear Abbey is a radical, long-range plan for saving the environment that will make Ted Kaczynski look like Mother Teresa. It involves an alarmingly complex but theoretically possible piece of genetic engineering that will, let us say, severely inhibit the ability of humans to degrade the environment. Severe being the operative modifier. You can't call it terrorism because no one will be killed, directly at least, and no one will even know for sure what is happening until it has been operating for at least a decade, by which time it will be too late to undo it. The human cost will be high but not nearly as high as the cost of doing nothing, or of simply continuing with the kind of pointless stunts for which the environmental movement is known.

7: Restart the Gulf Stream

Kim Stanley Robinson is the champion of depicting environmental disasters and geo-hacking projects, and his environmental thrillers Forty Signs Of Rain and Fifty Degrees Below deal with the disastrous effects of global warming. Among other things, Fifty Degrees includes scientists trying to restart the stalled Gulf Stream. The ice caps melt completely, and in the winter, Washington, D.C. hits fifty degrees below. So an enormous fleet of ships ventures out to dump millions of tons of ice into the ocean in the hopes of rebooting the Gulf Stream. A fleet of 3,500 oil tankers is available to transport the salt, and five hundred million metric tons of salt is needed — about two years' worth of total world production.

8: Shut down all our technology

I'm still not entirely sure what happened at the end of last year's "remake" (quotation marks are necessary here) of The Day The Earth Stood Still. Keanu/Klaatu was going to unleash nanomachines to disassemble everything on Earth, because that would save the planet. You know that makes sense! And then he changed his mind and did some kind of EMP-ish thing that made all electricity go out and all technology stop working. So the human race was allowed to survive, but with no technology. Keanu is merciful! All hail Keanu!

9: Open a big hole.

Global warming? No problem! Just open a dimensional gateway and pump all the extra heat somewhere else. That's the scheme that a science whiz comes up with in the Stargate Atlantis episode "Brain Storm" (featuring Bill Nye the Science Guy, among other luminaries.) Of course, it all goes horribly wrong and the gathering of eminent scientists is in danger of freezing to death.


Also, in the Syfy movie Lost City Raiders, the world is flooded due to global warming. And the Catholic Church has the answer — an ancient hole in the ground, which will drain off all the excess water to... somewhere. But you need to find the secret hidden keys to open it. It all makes perfect sense!

10: Kill the aliens who are causing the problem in the first place.

But of course, you know deep down that global warming can't really be the result of our own completely harmless activities. There must be aliens behind it — probably evil dinosaur aliens. In the Syfy original TV movie, Heatstroke, it turns out that dinosaur people have been secretly working to pump out greenhouse gases to raise our planet's temperature and prepare the way for their invasion. But the U.S. government knows about this and sends a secret taskforce (why not a whole army? Budget constraints, I guess) to stop them. The aliens are operating on a tropical island, where an ex-swimsuit model just happens to be shooting a new calendar. It's like synergy! Oh, and there's also The Arrival directed by David Twohy, where Charlie Sheen discovers that weird double-jointed aliens are producing greenhouse gases to mess us up and transform our planet. Good thing it's Charlie Sheen, then.


Oh, and the Silurians in Doctor Who And The Silurians also have a similar idea about raising the planet's temperature, but they don't get very far with it.

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown. This post also would have been a lot harder to write without the never-ending awesomeness that is Technovelgy.com.

According to Dynamite, the SG-1 comic will be called Season Eleven and Stargate Atlantis will be titled Season Six. You see what they are doing here, yes? The SG-1 series will be penned by Doug Murray, SGA by Battlestar Galactica comic vet Brandon Jerwa and the new SGU series will be written by Chuck Dixon, with covers from Dave Dorman and interiors by John Watson.

These will be Stargate's second comic incarnation; Avatar previously held the license. There is no release date set just yet.

(No, this is not an image from the new comic - it's from artist twoseamfastball).

[Via CBR]

1950s and 1960s:
Space vessel design in the actual Space Age tends to involve either sleek rockets or funny flying saucers — until Star Trek comes along, with the U.S.S. Enterprise's weird mix of saucer and rocket-like nacelles, bonded to a tuber shaped main section. Not to mention the fierceness of the Romulan warbird and the gun-like Klingon warships. Model design is already starting to change drastically:

1968 to 1977:

And then with 2001: A Space Odyssey, you start seeing more rugged, lived-in-looking ships, with weirder shapes, like the probe's long neck and rounded front. And ships start having more bumpy weird bits. This trend only continues with Space: 1999's squat Eagles, which look like they could survive anything (even blowing up multiple times) but aren't as elegant as an old-school rocket.

1977 to 1986:

And then Star Wars comes along, with its awesome space dogfights, and suddenly, hugeness and imposing scope are a must. It's no accident that later iterations of the U.S.S. Enterprise are way huger than the 1960s original. The crazy shapes of the T.I.E. fighters and other craft inspire some other weird models in things like The Black Hole. And the X-Wing fighters inspire everything from Buck Rogers' fighter ship to the Last Star Fighter's vessel.

1987 to 1997:

Star Trek: The Next Generation saw in a whole new era of space opera, but the main thing that changed in the late 1980s was the rise of CG effects, allowing spaceships to look much more diverse and weirder than models ever could. From the Borg cube to the many bizarre shapes of vessels in Babylon 5, starships no longer had to look like a few pieces stuck together.

1998 to present:

I can't think of one defining franchise of the past decade that has shaped how we view space opera the same way these earlier franchises did. Star Trek has kept innovating, but so have BSG, Farscape, Stargate and a number of others. CG has gotten a lot smoother and ships can move in much more natural, organic ways — just look at the Narada, to bring us back to our first example. At the same time, as nostalgia has reigned the genre, we've come full circle and resurrected a lot of classic designs, with a few tweaks.

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

The first SGA movie will be called Stargate: Extinction. The producer posted a picture of the script on his dog's Twitter feed — posted above — so there's your proof.

Gateworld confirmed the new name from producer Mallozzi. He elaborated slightly on why "extinction"

"It's the working title," Mallozzi added, "but I kind of like it because a) it's story appropriate, b) a dynamic title, and most importantly c) not ‘Dark Gambit.'"

So what do you think it means? Personally, I think it's a character story about Rodney McKay saving a planet from possible Extinction, perhaps because the secrets are locked into his past. Okay, I just want to see an all-McKay movie. Is that so wrong?

Not that I had my doubts, but it's great to hear that the studio is going ahead with a third SG-1 DVD movie. The first two were pretty solid examples of where Stargate can go (given time and money). I especially enjoyed the character development that happened in Stargate Continuum.

Executive Producer Brad Wright confirmed to Gateworld.net that the movie would most likely begin this year and would continue to be a RDA-centric storyline. Which is exactly what the people want.

But don't worry, Atlantis fans: Producer Joseph Mallozzi promises that the Atlantis movie will also be made. In fact, he's hard at work on the script right now, with Paul Mulli, and hopes to have the draft done this April with a potential production in the fall. So thank goodness for that - I need a McKay fix.

All that's left is settling on a title, which I leave in your hands.

[via Gateworld]

Dr. Leonard McCoy ("Bones") (Star Trek)
Kind of the obvious place to start, right? It's kind of hard to think of something to say about McCoy that hasn't already been said. He's probably the original Awesome Space Doctor, providing not only medical expertise to the Enterprise, but also being one-third of the trifecta that is Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. If Spock is the logic and Kirk is emotion, then McCoy is morality glue that holds it all together. (Morality glue?) Originally portrayed by DeForest Kelley, he will be played by Karl Urban in this summer's film.

Dr. Pieter Cross (Doctor Mid-Nite) (DC Comics)
Dr. Cross is actually the third DC hero to don the mantle of Doctor Mid-Nite, and like his predecessors, he a) can only see in pitch darkness, and b) is a doctor. Despite the fact that the chosen spelling of midnight looks like the name of a bad motel, it's a little refreshing, really, to have a superhero who uses the title of "doctor" and has the medical degree to back it up. Cross, in addition to his vigilante activities, still puts in a full day at the office and is always willing to take time to deal with a medical emergency. On top of that, he's the superhero community's physician of choice, having done everything from emergency surgery on Hourman to removing the Brainiac virus from Oracle to removing a bullet from Lois Lane to giving Power Girl her annual checkups. (I kid you not; Pieter Cross is a lucky man.)

Dr. Janet Frasier (Stargate SG-1)
Dr. Frasier is basically amazing. She is a compassionate physician and finds herself not only dealing with Earth diseases, but alien ones as well, as she treats extraterrestrial refugees. Over the course of the show, she adopts a daughter, Cassandra, an alien orphan.

Dr. Owen Harper (Torchwood)
Owen is the medical officer for Torchwood Three. He's kind of sarcastic, kind of abrasive, and eventually also kind of wonderful. He spends his spare time getting romantically entangled with both of his female coworkers, a female aviator from 1953, and, well, pretty much whoever else he happens to run across. In the show's second season, he dies, but gets better. Sort of. In that he essentially becomes the team's resident snarky zombie boy for the rest of his run.

Dr. Simon Tam (Firefly TV series, Serenity, 2005 film)
A brilliant young doctor (graduating in the top three percent of his class at the Medical Academy), Simon became a resident trauma surgeon in a major hospital and his future looked bright. That is, until he has to bust his sister out of the Academy, where she's being experimented on, escape, and join up with a less-than-savory crew that conducts less-than-legal business. Lucky for him, their business tends to keep his medical training pretty well in demand. (Plus, he's pretty much a shoe-in to win Best Dressed among the ship's crew. He owns some nice waistcoats.)

Dr. Carson Beckett (Stargate: Atlantis)
If there were a competition for Most Awesome Doctor On This List, chances are Beckett probably wouldn't win, although he might earn a few points for sharing a last name with an existentialist playwright. At the same time, he's a pretty competent physician and has the honor of being the only Scottish doctor on this list. He also probably holds the honor of having the most awkward character death on here, but at least he's back now. As a clone. Which is also kind of awkward.

Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Maybe he's not exactly a certified physician, but you have admit that creating a living being out of a bunch of dead people is about as impressive as you can get when it comes to medical skill. Unfortunately for everyone concerned, however, Victor both fears and rejects his creation because of its ugliness. Way to be a pansy, man.

Dr. Thomas Elliot (Hush) (DC Comics)
He started out as Bruce Wayne's childhood friend, despite being kind of a nutjob of a kid, and went on to become a successful, Harvard-educated surgeon. Unfortunately, he eventually becomes the doctor of one Edward Nigma (The Riddler), which spells bad news, considering Elliot is the guy who tried to kill his parents as a kid (and half-succeeded) and now hates Bruce Wayne. Well, he and the Riddler realize they have that in common, and Dr. Elliot invents himself an alter-ego to work on the whole bringing-down-Batman plan. And thus, Hush is born.

Dr. Stephen Franklin (Babylon 5)
Dr. Franklin is the chief medical officer aboard the space station, and as Wikipedia describes him:

Dr. Franklin is a strong-willed, kind person and idealistic leader on Babylon 5; he is also a workaholic. He is not afraid to take risks to save a patient's life; this habit can occasionally get him into trouble. He has strong moral and ethical values, but he can also be self-righteous and a perfectionist at times.

And while those qualities make him kind of awesome, they also kind of make him addicted to stimulants in the show's third season. He, of course, beats the addiction and goes back to the awesome.

Dr. Miles Bennell (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956 film)
The good doctor is called into town to look at the uncle of the cousin of his ex-sweetheart, who somehow seems not to be himself as of late. (This ex-sweetheart also seems to be able to call in some pretty convoluted favors.) Dr. Bennell is at first unable to find anything wrong, but a little more investigation leads him to discover the pod people, come to Earth to replace us. And, of course, snatch our bodies in the process-A fate which Bennell warns us of the last dramatic fourth-wall-breaking moments of the film. (The 2007 adaptation, The Invasion, features Daniel Craig as a doctor named Ben Driscoll. It unfortunately also features a bad movie.)

Dr. Sherman Cottle (Battlestar Galactica)
The Chief Medical Officer of Galactica, Dr. Cottle is also the only real physician-surgeon aboard. As the Battlestar Wiki describes him:

Cottle is somewhat eccentric and is considered a "bastard" among some of Galactica's crew, in addition to his penchant for being a heavy smoker, despite knowing the risks, and one not overly impressed by positions of power. He is, above all things, a healer. To him, nothing else really matters, be it rank, riches, or species.

Despite his somewhat abrasive manner, he's still well-trusted among the crew.

Dr. Samuel J. Loomis (Halloween franchise)
While its debatable whether or not the Halloween films are remotely science-fiction (although Michael Myers pretty inarguably displays some rather superhuman abilities), it's pretty safe to say that Dr. Loomis is just about the most awesome licensed psychiatrist in the business. After all, one of his main charges is more or less Unmitigated Evil. Then again, Loomis also doesn't have a great track record with keeping Michael from killing people. But he does get to say things like, "Death has come to your little town, Sheriff." And in Donald Pleasance's voice to boot.

Dr. Donald Blake (Thor, Marvel Comics)
Dr. Blake was Thor's original alter ego, having somewhat accidentally discovered the ability to transform into the god while on vacation in Scandanavia. Blake was a surgeon and while not being Thor, was actually seen practicing medicine in the comics. He is also said to have worked with Thor on multiple occasions, but what exactly that entails is a little beyond me.

The Doctor (Star Trek: Voyager)
The Doctor might be an Emergency Medical Hologram, but he's more than just a bit of hardware. In an attempt to build his own personality, he develops artistic talents and a holographic family, as well as friendships with his crewmates. He even writes a novel titled Photons Be Free.

Doctor Gogol (Mad Love, 1935 film)
Doctor Gogol is a brilliant-but, of course, completely mad-surgeon. After all, he's played by Peter Lorre, who pretty much invented brilliant-but-mad. Gogol is (madly) in love with an actress named Yvonne, and when her husband, a concert pianist named Stephen, has his hands crushed in a tragic accident, she comes to him, begging for help. He obliges by replacing Stephen's hands with those of a recently executed knife murderer. The results? Well, let's just say that Stephen and that kid from Idle Hands should get together and form some kind of support group. And Doctor Gogol? Completely mad. But also brilliant.

Dr. Cecilia Reyes (X-Men, Marvel Comics)
A Puerto Rican doctor, Cecilia has the ability to project a forcefield around her. As Wikipedia says:

Cecilia Reyes decided to become a doctor when her father was gunned down in front of her as a child, and she was unable to do anything to help him. The X-Men tried recruiting her when it was discovered that she was a mutant, but Reyes had no interest in being a superhero. However, when Operation: Zero Tolerance, a government-backed anti-mutant task force, targeted her, she was forced to join forces with the X-Man Iceman and other mutants to escape New York City and track down Bastion, Operation Zero Tolerance's leader.

Doc Benton (Supernatural, 3.15 "Time is on My Side")
When people started turning up with surgically removed organs and a dead man's fingerprints all over them, the Winchester brothers begin looking into it, as they are wont to do. Their investigation leads them to Doc Benton, a nineteenth century surgeon who discovered the secret to eternal life and now has a habit of replacing his parts whenever they wear out. Maybe it's not the best plan to win a guy friends, but it sure makes great use of his surgical skills.

Doctor Strauss, along with Professor Nemur (Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes)
Although nobody really remembers the name of the doctor who tripled Charlie Gordon's IQ, you have to admit that pulling that off is no small feat. Unfortunately, the effects are-not to ruin the ending-not exactly all they're cracked up to be. Additionally, Strauss and Nemur can claim the credit for one of the most famous mice in sci-fi.

Dr. Julian Bashir (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
As Wikipedia tells it:

As a child, Julian Bashir fell behind in school, and was evaluated as having learning difficulties. Because of this, his parents, Richard and Amsha Bashir, had him subjected to genetic engineering. The procedure made him mentally superior to most humans, and greatly enhanced his physical abilities. However, because human genetic engineering is illegal in the United Federation of Planets, Bashir and his parents kept his procedure a secret throughout most of his adult life.

Throughout the course of the show, he gets to do such exciting things as end up in a prison camp, see the woman he loves (Jadzia Dax) marry someone else, and attempt to integrate some other genetically engineered people into Federation culture.

Dr. Henry Jekyll (Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Unlike his more temperamental counterpart, Dr. Jekyll is a well-liked, friendly doctor. The secret life he leads as Mr. Edward Hyde, however, puts that likeable reputation at stake, thanks to a potion Jekyll invented. Perhaps the lesson here is that you shouldn't mix your own drinks, even when you're a trained professional.

The final episode of SGA managed to score 2 million viewers, capping off an incredibly successful season that had seen the show grow its audience by 5% compared with the year before. More impressively, its household rating increased by 14% when compared with last season. Sanctuary, meanwhile, also managed to grab 2 million viewers, giving the show its best ratings since the season premiere.

The one-two finale punch managed to make the channel the fourth most-watched cable network for the night, something that has to make the people in charge very happy... especially knowing that this Friday sees the start of the final episodes of Battlestar Galactica, replacing the departed shows.

'Stargate,' 'Sanctuary' Give Sci Fi Stellar Ratings [TV Week]

There was a lot of material left over for Stargate's season 6. We picked out the very best of the left-overs that may have helped explain why the directors, writers and producers did what they did in the finale.

Atlantis Here On Earth:
The best part of the finale was that Atlantis came back to Earth, because it opened up so many possibilities. Now that Atlantis is on Earth, will they stay there? Episode #1 and #2 for season six would have dealt with Atlantis now being back in the hands of the I.O.A. on Earth. I'm sure the crew would spend some time perusing the planet, but you know these kids would get hungry for the Pegasus galaxy, and then they'd have to take it up with the top brass about letting go of Atlantis. Mallozzi explained that this may be a good starting off point for a character-driven TV movie.

Since the idea originally conceived for the opening two-parter will now be the basis of the first Stargate: Atlantis movie, the difference being that we’ll be able to tell our story on a much bigger, visual effects-laden, character-centered canvas.

Children of the Corn Episode:
The crew stumbles upon a ship full of sleeping kiddies. After awakening all the wee ones, a mystery ship appears and opens fire on the cast.

Our heroes try to outpace their pursuer and, as a game of intergalactic cat and mouse ensues, the team begins to suspect that their young passengers may not be as innocent and harmless as they appear.

More Crazy Test Stories Like "Ghost In The Machine":
Carl Binder was most likely going to come back and tell more spooky Atlantis stories about ghosts and replicators.

The placeholder title is Carl’s Replicator Story but it could just as easily have been Carl’s Ghost Story.

Flashbacks:
I'm super depressed they didn't get to write or film this story, especially since it was "Marty G's" idea and he is by far my favorite brain in the Atlantis hive. Here's the pitch:

#5: Classic Atlantis: Marty G. wanted to do a story that took place in the early years of the Atlantis expedition, sort of a flashback to an adventure we’d never seen (along the lines of the Lost SG-1 Episode Rob had discussed doing years back). Given Torri’s reluctance to reprise the role of Elizabeth Weir in Ghost in the Machine (after all, the whole point of doing the episode would have been to reconnect with some familiar faces) and Paul‘s reluctance to do a flashback episode that begged the question “Why the hell DIDN‘T we see this in season one?”, the story was shelved.

But wait there's more, much more, from pissed-off Asgard seeking revenge on Atlantis (I think) to time traveling McKay. Check them all out, over at Joseph Mallozzi's blog.

And finally here's the filming of SGA's final scene from Mallozzi as well. It still gets me all choked up.

Todd the Wraith is back, bringing a plot point with him. Turns out Todd is a crappy leader and his crew turned on him, but not without leaving him valuable knowledge of a Super Wraith Hiveship with a ZPM (If you're wondering, "ZPM" basically means "indestructible"). Also, turns out the bad guys also have the Super Secret Wraith Code that punched through the fabric of space in last week's CSI Stargate episode (which I loved). So, the Wraith baddies now have a Hive that's headed straight to Earth that no one can beat. Todd is moved to the brig and pretty much forgotten: Thanks for the help, Todd, now go away while we use your valuable information to create a show around.

But back to the task at hand: bad Wraiths headed to Earth. Time to call Amanda Tapping and other past SG-1ers. Tapping dons the old Samantha Carter wig and delivers a heart-felt tip of the hat to Stargate cast member Don S. Davis (General Hammond) who passed away last year, and she explains that top Stargate brass renamed the Phoenix the General Hammond. It was a truly nice moment, and I'm glad the producers saw it fit to memorialize this actor who was an important part of the franchise. And then Dr. Peter Kavanagh pops his head in so that McKay can flair his nostrils and come close, so close, to having a funny moment. But it passes.

Atlantis has to high tail it over to Earth to protect our home planet, and Sheppard powers up a ship to fight Wraith in the air over on Earth. Quality time is wasted with science jargon and McKay discovers that their Stargate will take them into the super-bad Wraith ship, which means the others will have to actually fight.

Woolsey takes Teyla and Ronon aside and tells them that this is the last call if they want to bail. Of course, they say hells no and adorable Woolsey smiles. This isn't really a super important moment in the grand scheme of this episode, but it did demonstrate (in a very heavy-handed Stargate way) how far Woolsey has come as a character. Robert Picardo, you are a gentleman and a scholar, and you made Woolsey's climb from by-the-book boss to accepted member of the crew enjoyable... if not believable. Thank you for joining the cast and bringing your own touch of elegance to the Pegasus galaxy.

So together, guns ablazin', the crew (minus Sheppard, 'cause he's on Earth, but with one possibly gay Lorne) sets upon destroying the evil Wraith ship via Stargate. More fighting and finally something happens! Ronon gets shot and has a heavy breathing death scene. "Holy crap!" I cried, a plot point that has some sort of weight upon the characters. This is sad and unfortunate, but it's war and war is hell. Sometimes people have to die to save an entire planet. Goodbye Ronon, you were a warrior and deserved to go out in the thick of battle, Jesus Christ, is he getting healed? WHAT?!? HE'S STILL ALIVE! WHY, WHY, Why, why... Oh wait, it's Stargate. I forgot.

I was tremendously disappointed when Ronon came back to life. Then I remembered that NO ONE DIES ON STARGATE ever, so why would the final episode be any different? In fact, it was right at this point in the episode that I stopped looking for a grand finale and set back and just enjoyed Stargate for what it was: simple. It would have been wrong, no matter how climactically interesting, to kill off a character because it would be going against the grain of Stargate. I gave up wanting more and embraced SGA for all that it had been. What was I thinking? Of course Ronon is going to come back and have long-haried babies that punch things and like guns.

So Ronon doesn't die and the Earth is saved because Atlantis splashes down in the nick of time and some sciency stuff that doesn't make any sense.

Moving forward. Hey it's what's-her-face! She's happy because Ronon isn't dead, but not surprised because she knew that by being a member of the Stargate team they are both issued passes on the "we'll live forever" train. She says some words and Ronon gives her the old bedroom eyes and says he wasn't going to die because "there's still something he needs to do," which I assume means breed. It wouldn't be Stargate without cramming in a forced relationship in somewhere. But why Ronon? Because he's the jilted ex lover of Dr. Keller? And by "lover" I mean "someone he shared screen time with"? So he's upset, but not truly deeply upset, but now he's happy because he'll get walking from what's-her-face. Either way, everyone is now happy because no one died, not like they ever would.

The crew then gathers on the balcony over looking what I assume is San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge (but I thought the map showed the splash down for Atlantis in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but whatever! It's prettier this way). UPDATE: Finally got a chance to check out the map again, it's all good. But it's too bad the world didn't get a chance to see Atlantis, as it was cloaked.

Like a group of Austrian brothers and sisters tired from a long night, the SGA crew assembles on the balcony overlooking a world unaware of just how close it came to being Wraith slaves. Together they stand, for their final farewell clasping onto each others' shoulders and snuggling tight in their quickly-created relationships.

Was it a great farewell, bring-down-the-house episode? Nope. Did it masterfully let McKay and Sheppard spar in the witty banter as only those two know how? Sure didn't. Do I wish that the writers spent less time trying to justify the plot with science jargon and more time on the funny dialog that made SGA beloved by many? Yes. But the final moment is still rooted in love as the cast looked upon the Earth with glistening eyes. You could tell this was the last scene they shot together as a group, and it was the long hug the dedicated fan deserved. In fact, "Enemy At The Gate" really felt like just another jumbled Stargate episode until this final moment, and it was sad. It was exactly what I expected, but didn't really desire, but it was still Stargate through and through. McKay got to fix everything by typing, Sheppard did all the leg work, and no one died. I will miss SGA very much because when it was good it was a welcome relief from the overwrought, depressing and brutal scifi out there, but still treated each episode with dignity (even when McKay was a girl). So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, goodbye, Stargate Atlantis.

The hardest part about losing Stargate Atlantis is that we're losing yet another scifi series that didn't take itself so seriously, but respected the actors enough that it didn't become Knight Rider.

SGA, for me, was less about the Wraith, or even character development, but more about what ridiculous one-liner will Ronon try to work this week. Sure, I cheered when McKay bagged the girl and when Sheppard saved someone's life... once again.

But what I'll remember from the crew of Atlantis was the funny. It's the string of clever moments (some more than others) is what I'll look back on fondly over the years. And yes, I'll light a candle to say goodbye to dear, sweet Rodney McKay — but he really, truly is only as good as the people who roll their eyes around him.

So here are, in my humble opinion the top 10 funniest moments from Stargate Atlantis. (Please add on your favorites as well.)

10. "Crap Indeed"
See above clip, why is everything more funny when the Asgard say it?

9. Steve The Wraith
Only because I will forever know him as "Steve."








8. World of Warcraft "A Silent Passion"





'Nother WOW Reference





7. "Duet"


The entire episode is hilarious — even Ronon has a few great one-liners here and there. But check out McKay's face, after the big kiss with Dr. Carson Beckett. This episode beats out "Trio" as the funniest episode in my mind, but only by a hair.



6. "I'm sorry for shooting everyone"
Sheppard has to apologize, in "Phantoms."




5. Rodney Always Eating Everyone's Food
Check it out, just about every time someone is injured Rodney eats their food.


4. Ford Never Being Allowed To Name Anything
I couldn't find a video clip of this but looking back it's pretty cute how Sheppard never let Ford name anything. Thanks for pointing this out, SGA fans. It's pretty cute — until he goes crazy.

3. McKay Gets Shot By An Arrow
The Perfect Response








2. Canada Jokes

Between calling the ZPM the "Zed PM" and listening to Sheppard explaining hockey to Ronon, the Canada jokes keep a comin', and they're hilarious. Not because Canada is a bad place, but because they filmed SGA there, and it's good to be able to tease your own.

1. McKay Is Invulnerable
"I shot him."

(Oh to tide you over if you still need a McKay fix check out the McKay message service. But how the crap does he not have MEREDITH — it's his name!)

Watchmen:

While you're waiting to see if this movie actually comes out, Total Film has a bunch of awesome new photos. More pics, and bigger pics, at the first link. [Total Film via Bad Taste]

Transformers: Revenge Of the Fallen:

Here's a new one-sheet for the transforming-robot sequel. Is this our first look at the Fallen? [Yahoo! Movies]

We've been avoiding toy spoilers, but now we're finally hitting rock bottom with candy spoilers. The new Transformers 2 tie-in M&Ms confirm that "the Twins" are a pair of Autobots, known as Skids and Trax. (And one of them is that Chevy Beat.) "Skids" and "Trax" are the sleaziest names I've ever heard, and they bring to mind the image of heroin addict in dirty underwear or something. Doesn't that make you want some candy? (Bigger pic at the link.) [Transformers Live]

Terminator Salvation:

Does the new movie bring some much-needed punch back to the Terminator franchise? Ask star Sam Worthington: "This is an apocalyptic fairytale filled with characters fighting under the most trying circumstances. And it features fuck-off killer robots to boot. What do you think?" ("Fuck-off killer robots" is my new catch-phrase, which I will use in every conversation today.)

The new installment is a war movie (think Apocalypse Now) and is the origin of John Connor as a leader. We meet Kyle Reese some 10 years before he travels back in time to save Sarah Connor, and he definitely doesn't die in this movie. But Bryce Dallas Howard can't promise the same of her character, Kate. Most importantly, the Hunter-Killers are back for sure. [Total Film via Sarah Connor Society]

Battlestar Galactica:

Someone thinks Felix Gaeta's boyfriend, Lt. Hoshi, is the final Cylon, based on a red flash you can see on his visor during one of the webisodes. [Pmpub]

Tahmoh Penikett confirms he's not in the TV movie, "The Plan," which focuses on the Cylon version of events we've already seen. (Just in case you were clinging to the idea of Helo as the final Cylon.) [TV Guide]

Dollhouse:

Penikett also adds a little detail to the Dollhouse picture. Yes, people think the Dollhouse is an "urban legend" and it's not real, but absolutely everybody in L.A. has heard of it and people talk about it all the time. Penikett's character, Paul, is investigating the Dollhouse because he's ambitious and wants to advance in the FBI. And as you've probably gleaned, he's recently divorced and has no real friends. [TV Guide again]

Lost:

Michael Emerson says he's seen Sterling Beaumon, who plays "Young Ben" hanging around the set, so we should get more Ben backstory soon. And he explained how Ben is afloat in time and space:

When these wormholes are passed through, I don't think they are purely temporal. They are temporal and geographical. When Ben pushed the donkey wheel and moved the island, he moved in time and space. His next waking moment he's in his parka in the middle of the Sahara. And that's not only a great distance but he calculated it was like a year and a half later. But I don't think he has any control of that.

And we'll soon see that Ben has not lost his capacity "to take a licking." (Trying very hard not to read that as a double entendre.) [Three8Six]

Meanwhile, Kate Beckinsale was dying to know what happens to Hurley, so Jorge Garcia answered her "Celebrity Question." Hurley starts out on the run with Sayid, but in the second episode, Hurley "takes center stage" and reunites with his dad and Ana-Lucia. And then in February, Hurley hangs with Jack and Ben. Later in the season, Hurley will bond with Miles (the Freighter guy) over their shared ability to talk to the dead. "We may have a similar gift," says Hurley. And there will soon be a new dead person among the Losties for Hurley to talk to. [TV Guide via SpoilersLost]

This week's Entertainment Weekly has a picture (which I can't scan right now, sorry) of Sawyer and Juliet being threatened by soldiers. More mentions of Constantly Shirtless Sawyer, and more hints that danger will bring Sawyer and Juliet together. (What are Sawyer/Juliet shippers called? Sawlieters? Jawyers? Jewelers??) [EW]

Here's a new promo that shows a bit more mayhem:

And a new Israeli promo, in case you're wondering how it's marketed there:

Heroes:

An unnamed star, who's been with the show since the beginning, wants to leave at the end of this season, and the producers have indulged him/her with a big "death" somewhere in the last few episodes of season three. (But NBC is unlikely to let this person out of his/her contract.) If he/she does come back in season four, there's an easy way to undo the death in question. It's someone a lot of fans would actually be sad to see leave. Any guesses? [E! Online]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Star Thomas Dekker says the show gets more plot heavy in the remaining nine episodes, and there are tons more revelations. And is it just me, or is he hinting that the season ends with some kind of major change to the status quo, which would turn it into a "whole new show" in a third season, if one happens? (Sort of like the end of Angel season four, I guess.) [JoBlo]

Stargate Atlantis:

Not sure if this counts as a spoiler, but David Hewlett explains what he'd like to see happen with his character in an SGA TV-movie: "Maybe some God-like powers... . Maybe a planet of just women. Now I'm going back to the old Star Trek episodes! (Laughs)." [TV Guide]

Also, apparently tonight's final episode includes a plot device that was old when Independence Day stole it from Star Wars. [Reading Eagle]

True Blood:

Also in this week's print edition of EW: Alan Ball says Sookie and Bill will jet to Dallas and help the local bloodsuckers to find their missing sheriff. But they're stuck with a third wheel: Jessica, because Bill made her, so he's responsible for her. Also Lois Smith's Gran returns in flashbacks. And Sookie's brother Jason will get involved with the nefarious Fellowship Of The Sun, because he realizes something's missing in his life. [EW]

The episode picks up right where last weeks alternate-reality CSI episode ended. And let me say, "Vegas" was a fun little forensic, cop show mystery. It was almost sad how much I enjoyed this crazy deviation from the regular SGA series, because I knew there would never be another. But bravo, Joe Flanigan, for a fun time as a lone-wolf detective in the hot Nevada desert.

But in the season finale, the crew's worst nightmares have come true and the evil frog-skinned Wraith have found a way to the Milky Way Galaxy. Which means a fate worse than death for the Earth.

So what does the SGA crew do? Call on some old friends! As it's been widely reported, Amanda Tapping pops in as Colonel Samantha Carter, giving a much-needed heartfelt shout out to long-gone cast members, and bringing a few old SG1-ers aboard. And just for a mere instant, we're reminded of the SG1 beginnings of some of our beloved SGA crew.

Richard Woolsey passes out warm fuzzy feelings amongst the crew, solidifying his place among the cast, and his personal growth as a character. We will so miss Robert Picardo's adorable mug each week.

The crew has to scramble to protect the Earth, and a great battle ensues — in the sky, on land and in a Wraith ship. Limits are tested, Sheppard is forced to do everything himself again for a while, and sciencey jargon is heaped on top of sciencey jargon.

At the climax you'll raise your hands and say no — how can it be? Will this be the final episode for some of our dear SGA crew members? Possibly, but then again, it is Stargate. Overall, it's a nice long hug with good dose of drama to send you off into the good night, remembering why it is you came to love each character. (Oh, and Teyla only has a few lines, so good all around).

Terminator Salvation:

The new movie happens in 2018, after the bombs have gone off, but never specifies exactly when Judgment Day happened, to avoid tangly timeline issues. The film does make an effort to respect the earlier movies' timeline, says McG. [Star-ECentral]

Dollhouse:

A new review of the Joss Whedon show's replacement pilot, "Ghost," includes some details I haven't seen before. In this version, we actually meet Eliza Dushku's character before she becomes a mind-wiped puppet. When we first meet Dushku, she's playing Caroline, a girl who's gotten herself into a tough spot. She winds up at the Dollhouse, where Adelle DeWitt offers her a five-year contract, and promises the organization is there to help people. The next time we see Caroline, she's having the time of her life dancing with a man she met three days earlier. But then she goes back to the Dollhouse and all knowledge of that encounter is erased from her mind. Now she's an "Active" known as "Echo." And as we mentioned in our review of a partial copy of the script, most of the episode's plot involves Echo serving as a hostage negotiator for a Mexican businessman, Gabriel, whose daughter has just been kidnapped.

A new character we meet (who isn't in earlier scripts, I think) is Lawrence Dominic, Adelle's right-hand man who puts the well-being of the Dollhouse above everything else. Also, in this version, Echo has lingering memories of walking in on computer geek Topher reprogramming her fellow "Active," Sierra. And her hostage-negotiator personality has an unforeseen flaw. The rest of the script seems to be the same as the pages we read, including another "Active," Topher, trying to confuse FBI agent Paul Ballard, who's on the trail of the Dollhouse. [Futon Critic]

Doctor Who:

It's never too soon to start obsessing about spoilers for the Easter special — which starts filming Jan. 19, hopefully yielding lots of set reports. So far, there are a few facts, like the Doctor meets new characters Malcolm and Christina, and gets reunited with the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. Also, he's supposedly without his TARDIS, and Tunisia is supposed to be standing in for an alien planet.

More fanciful rumors: we visit the Daleks' homeworld of Skaro (hence the title, "Planet Of The Dead," since our first trip to Skaro was in the episode "The Dead Planet.") Also, maybe Tunisia is the site of the eighth Doctor's final battle against the Daleks during the Time War, as shown in a huge flashback? Or maybe not. [Ultimate Doctor Who Site]

Battlestar Galactica:

Another short clip went up on the "clues" site, and this time Adama is having a quiet freak-out. Is he changing places with Tigh, becoming the drunk lunatic to Tigh's quiet steely leader? Also, note only one toothbrush: is Roslyn gone? [YouWilKnowTheTruth via Battlestar Blog]

And here are pics of new BSG billboards, showing people's cut-off faces. A clue? Will everybody on the show lose their eyes? [Galactica Sitrep]

Lost:

A new ABC 2009 promo includes snippets from Lost, Life On Mars and other upcoming shows. [SpoilerTV]

Heroes:

Some new details about the start of Volume 4, "Fugitives." The arc picks up three months after the end of Volume 3. Claire is getting ready to go to college, when she finds out that her bio-daddy Nathan has created a special section to detain anyone with superpowers. Nathan's mission excludes Claire, Peter and Angela, so Nathan himself won't be exposed as a superhuman. But Claire hears that Nathan's next target is Matt Parkman, so she rushes to save him. Meanwhile, Mohinder and Tracy are still working on developing a new superpower formula (why why why?) and the special properties in Mohinder's blood make him an important factor in fighting the new heavy, the Hunter.

At last, most of the heroes are captured and on a plane en route for Guantanamo Bay. Claire gets loose and tries to free the others. Tracy freaks out and freezes the plane, killing the pilot. The plane crashes, but first Peter jumps out with Claire.

In the second episode, we discover most of the heroes survived the plane crash, but Maya was captured. Meanwhile, we learn more about the Hunter's past ties with HRG and Angela Petrelli. And Hiro and Ando help Daphne search for Matt Parkman, who meanwhile discovers his ex-wife Janice is about to give birth to a son who's important to the Hunter.

In the third episode, Matt's son is born and we see the death of a character who first appeared in Volume Two. (Maya?) In the fourth episode, "Cold Wars," we learn still more about HRG's ties with the Hunter, and a Cold War program that trained people to hunt down superhumans. And in the fifth episode, Sylar infiltrates the team that's hunting superhumans. Sylar discovers his dad is still alive — and it sounds like he's the team's next target.

And then in the sixth episode, "Shades Of Gray," we discover the whole story about (yawn) Sylar's past. We'll get flashbacks, but no actual time travel. In the seventh episode, Monica (remember her?) reappears, and she's the key to helping some of the heroes escape from captivity. And allegedly, invisible man Claude is back in episode nine. In the penultimate episode of the volume, there will be two major deaths, and in the final episode, there'll be "the mother of all deaths," plus a shocking plot twist. [Zona Heroes, via Google Translate]

Stargate Atlantis:

Are you tired of reading interviews where the stars of BSG make statements about how the show's final episode will potty-train your kids and leave your grout spotless? How about Robert Picardo's thoughts on the SGA finale instead?

I thought they pulled out all the stops for the finale, not only with different beloved characters in the Atlantis gallery that pop up, but I think it's a pretty spectacular one hour [with] three different storylines really hurtling toward the conclusion... It's going to have good action, great visuals, and it's got a nice little emotional punch at the end. I think it was a very nice way to not only wrap up the series but to open the door to some television movies, because where we left off at the end it certainly begs the question of what's next. I think it's a very well-crafted finale.

Now isn't that better? [Gateworld]

100 Feet:

Are you excited about this horror movie, which is making its debut on the Sci Fi Channel instead of in theaters? Maybe this synopsis will get you lathered up:

[Famke] Janssen plays Marnie Watson, a woman granted early release from her prison sentence for manslaughter (killing her husband – a violent NYC cop – in self defense) on condition she wear an electronic ankle bracelet and remain within her home, effectively under house arrest, for the remainder of her sentence. Her late husband's partner keeps tabs on her from a patrol car parked across the street, hoping she'll violate probation and he can send her back to prison. But the 100-foot radius her ankle bracelet allows isn’t the worst of her problems. Her dead husband – now a malevolent ghost is still in the house, where he died - intent on savage revenge.

They say revenge is best served savage. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Brave And The Bold:

OMG, a couple of clips from Friday's new episode, where Batman and Green Arrow meet Merlin, and then Bats has an unfortunate transformation.

Knight Rider:

Here's the official synopsis for the Jan. 21 episode, "Knight To King's Pawn":

Sarah is not coping well with her father's death and decides to leave town. Concerned, Mike goes looking for her and in return gets the answers he has been searching for about his past. Meanwhile, the NSA has decided to dismantle the SSC now that Dr. Graiman is dead and they can then move forward with KITT's nemesis KARR. With Torres' permission they take out KITT's chip that contains his personality and memories and place it in KARR. Upset by what has happened, Mike, Sarah, Billy and Zoe devise a plan to find where KITT has been taken and get him up and running and destroy the evil KARR once and for all.

[Knight Rider Online]

Avatar:

Here's a picture of James Cameron on the set of his space epic, with Sam Worthington. Notice what appear to be spaceship controls in the background. [L.A. Times]

G.I. Joe:

The bad buzz continues. Someone saw an early trailer for this toy movie, and it was "worse than horrible." You see Dennis Quaid talking to his newly formed crack anti-terrorism squad, and then there are terrorist attacks. (Anti-terrorism squads are not like umbrellas.) And then a whole bunch of G.I. Joe guys, all dressed like Snake Eyes, jump out of a plane, and the Eiffel Tower is covered with green goop.

Then we glimpse characters, like Channing Tatum's Duke on a motorcycle and the Baroness (Sienna Miller) sliding down a bannister. And we glimpse the Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow fight, which is "about as bad as a fight from the Double Dragon movie from the early 90’s." More action scenes, then some bad CG as rockets are fired at the Joes dressed like Snake Eyes. They do a fancy mid-air twirl to avoid the rockets, and then everybody dances. (I'm kidding about the dancing part.) [Nuke The Fridge]

Dragonball Evolution:

Sort of a very minor spoiler. Veteran director and voice actor Chris Sabat won't be voicing Shenron in the new movie, despite being listed in IMDB and various other places. [DBtheMovie]

Doctor Who:

BBC News toured the set of the Christmas special and got some very non-illuminating answers about whether David Morrissey is the Eleventh Doctor. But more importantly, check out the filming of a sequence where the Doctors are in a Cyber-factory, and Morrissey's Doctor seeing the inside of Tennant's TARDIS for the first time. [BBC]

Meanwhile, the BBC site posted a snippet from the podcast commentary for the Christmas commentary, featuring Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner, and they drop a couple hints about the 2009 specials, including a "two-part climax" and something in the Easter special that RTD worries might be going too far. [PlanetGallifrey]

Also, RTD says the companion at Easter will be another young woman, but the companion next Christmas will be an older woman, in her fifties or sixties. [TARDIS Updated]

Heroes:

New set pics and video reveal exactly which heroes are on that transport plane that crashes, in the next episode of the super-powered soap opera. [The ODI]

Lost:

Some new set pics from episode 5x10, "He's Our You." [SpoilersLost]

Smallville:

I know you've been wondering: Will the Legion of Super Heroes look cheesy? Here's your answer, in gallery form. Plus the villanous Persuader, who looks like he could get into the Bondage-A-Go-Go club without paying full cover, for sure. [Devoted Fans Network]

Stargate Atlantis:

Some guy claims to have seen the final scene of this series. His reaction: "...the hell?" [Livejournal]

Kyle XY:

Some upcoming episode titles: 3x08 "Tell-Tale Heart" (March 2), 3x09 "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?" (March 9), 3x10 "Bringing Down The House" (March 16).

Wonder Woman:

More new pics from the direct-to-DVD movie, including Steve Trevor looking pissed, and an Amazon lineup. [Warner Bros.]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

Terminator Salvation:

Fans asked Arnie if he'd be in the new movie, and he said, "You never know." [Arnold Fans via Moviehole]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Toy spoilers! That blue Chevy Volt in the movie? Is a Transformer named Jolt. He comes with "electro whips," which make him almost unstoppable. "He is chaotic and impulsive, always out for the next big adventure." [Transformers Live]

And more toy pics, showing "Fast Action Megatron," "Legends Jetfire," and others, are at the links. [Transformers Live and Transformers Live]

Meanwhile, Tyrese Gibson says his character has been promoted to Master Sergeant in the new movie. "I am bringing on more air strikes. Michael Bay beefed up my presence in this sequel." [Transformers Live again]

Dragonball Evolution:

Here's a new pic of Bulma and Goku that appeared at an event called Jump Festa. [DBtheMovie]

The Spirit:

So maybe I'm the only person who doesn't know this, but apparently one of the changes in Frank Miller's movie version of Will Eisner's comic is that Miller gives the eponymous Spirit a super-power: the Spirit has a healing factor, like Wolverine, that lets him recover from almost any wound. [Newsday]

Battlestar Galactica:

Here's a new clip that popped up on the BSG "You Will Know The Truth" site. Gaeta is definitely getting to show more sides of his personality these days. Do you think the "people will know who I am thing" is meant to point to him as the final Cylon, or is it another red herring? And what does Felix have against disabled people anyway? [YouWillKnowTheTruth via Battlestar Blog]

Doctor Who:

Comedian John Culshaw toured the set of the Christmas special and interviewed David Tennant. And there's a bit more of that clip from the episode we showed the the other day, where Tennant shouts at the Cybermen that he's the Doctor. (Segment also includes which actors bookies think are in line to play the role. I would love to see Chiwetl Ejiofor as the Doctor!) [Whovian World]

And meanwhile, Dervla Kirwan did an interview on Paul O'Grady. Apparently, the Cyberman follow Miss Hartigan because she has something they want. And she showed a clip from the episode — roughly the scene fans watched being filmed many months ago. [Doctor Who on LJ]

The BBC posted its usual "Fear Forecast" for the episode, including a hint that the Other Doctor describes his regeneration at one point, and you get to hear the Cloister Bell. [Planet Gallifrey]

Lost:

Eagle-eyed reader Ajax noticed something in the latest trailer: a hooded figure sitting at an old-school Hatch-style computer, with the display saying "Event Window Determined." Does this mean there's a limited window to return to the island? Also is this figure in another Hatch, somewhere off the island? Like L.A.? [Thanks Axel!]

Our sister site Jezebel had a nifty rundown of Lost spoilers over the weekend. [Jezebel]

Terry O'Quinn (Locke) says his favorite scene in the new season so far is one he's shot with Michael Emerson (Ben). Do Locke and Ben meet up in the "present," or is this a flashback? Or something else? [SpoilersLost]

Britain's Sky One interviews the cast. [SpoilersLost]

Heroes:

This spring, we'll see two "significant" female deaths on the show... one of which will be permanent. The other one is "up in the air at the moment." [EW]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

A casting call for two minor characters in episode 19 of the current season. Dr. Martinez, a female Hispanic doctor in her forties, and a rugged UPS delivery man known as Delivery Man #2. (Does that mean there's a Delivery Man #1?) [SpoilerTV]

Stargate Atlantis:

Here are some pics from the final episode, "Enemy At The Gate." Man, every day is a bad hair day for Amanda Tapping, isn't it? [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

Here are the official descriptions for episodes 8x11 and 8x12, "Legion" and "Bulletproof":

The aftermath of Doomsday’s (Sam Witwer) attack on Chloe (Allison Mack) and Jimmy’s (Aaron Ashmore) wedding leaves Clark (Tom Welling) in shock, but before he can search for the kidnapped Chloe, The Persuader (guest star Fraser Aithceson) appears and attacks him. Rokk (guest star Ryan Kennedy), Imra (guest star Alexz Johnson) and Garth (guest star Calum Worthy), also known as The Legion, step in from the future to help vanquish the Persuader and the group realizes Brainiac has taken over Chloe once again. Meanwhile, up at the Fortress, Chloe, as Brainiac, informs Davis he is Doomsday and was created to kill “the other Kryptonian” and destroy the world.

Clark (Tom Welling) discovers John Jones (guest star Phil Morris) was shot while working as a police officer, so Clark dons the uniform and goes undercover to find the culprit. Meanwhile, Lana (Kristin Kreuk) confronts Tess (Cassidy Freeman) and tells her Lex isn’t the man she thinks he is. Lana’s shocking news forces Tess to reevaluate her position as the head of Luthorcorp.

Life On Mars:

Here are some groove-tastic upcoming episode titles:

Episode 1.07 - 20 Nov 2008 - The Man Who Sold the World
Episode 1.08 - 28 Jan 2009 - The Dark Side Of The Mook
Episode 1.09 - 04 Feb 2009 - Revenge of the Broken Jaw
Episode 1.10 - 11 Feb 2009 - The Simple Secret of the Note in Us All
Episode 1.11 - 18 Feb 2009 - Take a Look at the Lawmen
Episode 1.12 - 25 Feb 2009 - Let All the Children Boogie

[SpoilerTV]

Knight Rider:

First footage of KARR from the January 21 episode. [Knight Rider Online]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

If there is a scifi god/overlord looking out for us all it will let The Sopranos' Frank Vincent and Steve Schirripa unleash lots of fists and fury on the Wraith in this episode. In this murder mystery, Sheppard is sent to Vegas as a detective and apparently has to play a card game with Todd Brunson (pro card player and Doyle Brunson's son), Stargate composer Joel Goldsmith, and some execs.

But more importantly, Vegas is going to have some Sopranos stars in this episode. So when the Wraith starts feeding on the Vegas masses, does this mean that Leotardo can order a hit on the white haired aliens? I really hope so — SGA needs a taste of incredibly brutal violence.

"Vegas" airs January 2, 2009 on the Sci Fi Channel.

Star Trek:

Screenwriter Roberto Orci gives an interview to TrekMovie, and talks about the issue of canon. As you'd already surmised, the new movie takes place in a new timeline, for James Kirk at least, because the Romulan Nero goes back in time and kills Kirk's parents on board the USS Kelvin. But Kirk still ends up on the Enterprise, because the universe is trying to hold itself together. Orci has clearly thought very carefully about how time travel works in the Trek universe: it creates new timelines, and you won't wink out of existence if you kill your own grandparents before they procreate. [TrekMovie]

Terminator Salvation:

McG says the Harvester machines are grabbing humans and harvesting their stem cells so Skynet can create the T-800. Says McG:

The T-800 is a major figure. What is the T-800 at its core? How that's expressed is something that I can't speak about. But the film definitely speaks to the coming of the T-800.

And Connor is exposed to the equivalent of visiting Hitler's Germany and finding a bunch of nuclear missiles under construction. Skynet is way more advanced than it's supposed to be. Marcus (Sam Worthington), meanwhile, is something totally new, and he's the reason why Connor says he thought he knew his enemy, but he was wrong. [Filmstalker]

Producers Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek talked to fans at Dubai, and they said the film answers a lot of the questions fans have had for a long time. And something does end in the movie, whether it's the war, or humanity, or something else. (I think that's in reference to the bit in the trailer, where Connor says "This ends tonight.") Also, the story of Marcus has a lot of twists and turns, and is really deep. [SarahConnorSociety]

Iron Man 2:

The replacement of Terence Howard with Don Cheadle doesn't have anything to do with Jim Rhodes' role being scaled back in the sequel. Rhodey is present in a very big way. "He's COMPLETELY present," says screenwriter Justin Theroux. [IGN]

Also, the working title for this film is Rasputin. Make of that what you will. [Slashfilm]

Dragonball:

One new pic of Joon Park as Yamcha, plus two pics showing Piccolo (looking a LOT more green) and Mai. [DBtheMovie and DBtheMovie]

Kick-Ass:

Here's a new set pic. Bigger version at the link. [AICN via TrekMovie]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Here's the cover of Transformers: ROTF: Alliance #4, a prequel comic to the forthcoming movie. It shows all the Autobots in their vehicle modes, including new bots Sideswipe (silver Corvette), Skids (green Chevy) and Arcee (three motorcycles.) [ComicNewsI via Seibertron]

And there are some alleged pics of some more movie-related toys, at the link. [Transformers Live]

Doctor Who:

David Morrissey won't say if he's actually playing a future Doctor in "The Next Doctor," but he does say all will be revealed in the episode. [BBC]

And here are a few new behind-the-scenes photos, including a Cybershade mask on its side and the Doctors about to film a scene. [BBC via TARDIS and Torchwood Treasures]

Battlestar Galactica:

The "Face Of The Enemy" webisodes take place during the next BSG episode, so you're getting a slight glimpse into the future of the show, says writer Jane Espenson. [TV Guide]

Lost:

Yet another bout of filming in "Russia," this time Moscow's Red Square. Ben and Sayid were there, and most of the action took place in a building labeled "VERSO" in Cyrillic. [Hawaii Weblog]

There's a casting call for episode 5x11, seeking someone to play Erik, a tough military type who doesn't question orders. And Debra, a field nurse who's smart and can respond to emergencies quickly. She doesn't shrink from new situations. Erik may be a recurring character. [SpoilersLost]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Summer Glau says her Terminator character is definitely getting more human:

I keep working towards it. I want to build it. I want to earn it. I don't want to just say 'well, my Terminator's more human.' I want to earn it every week in the way that she absorbs things around her. And I think that her relationship with John is more complicated than any of us understand yet. This year they've brought on a love interest for John and it's been this love triangle and I love it because I've been trying to explore the possibility if a robot could be jealous.

[IGN]

Heroes:

D.H. Lawrence speaks! (David H. Lawrence, who plays Doyle, the "Puppetmaster.") He confirms that Doyle loves Meredith, Claire's bio-mom. And we find out what happens to Meredith tonight. (In other words, yeah, she dies.) [The ODI]

Smallville:

Here's a new full-length trailer for January's first two episodes. [OSCK]

Stargate Atlantis:

Here's the official description for the final episode, "Enemy At The Gate":

Todd contacts Atlantis and reveals that a Wraith subordinate has managed to acquire several Zero Point Modules that he has used to power a formidable new hive ship. He urges Woolsey to attack and destroy before it becomes a threat to Atlantis.

On board the Daedalus, Colonel Caldwell, Colonel Sheppard and the rest of the team, rush to engage the new hive ship. But the Z.P.M. powered vessel proves itself an impressive opponent, crippling the Daedalus before making a sudden and inexplicable jump into hyperspace.

Puzzled over the Wraith's sudden departure, the team picks up a weak subspace signal in Wraith code. McKay is quick to recognize that the communique was sent, through subspace, from another reality. Once deciphered, their worst fears are realized. The Wraith message contains a familiar set of coordinates. The hive ship is on its way to Earth!

[Gateworld]

Stargate Atlantis producer Joseph Mallozzi took to his blog to write about the "What Ifs" of SGA including the queer love square they never followed through with, and which character is still in the closet to fans.

According to him, Captain Alicia Vega (played by the gorgeous Leela Savasta) was supposed to be a vying for the affections of Dr. Keller (Jewel Staite) along with Rodney McKay and Ronon, thus turning that incredibly cold love triangle into a love square. (Love rhombus?) But alas, the scene where Vega asked Keller out on a date was cut from the "Search And Rescue" episode this season. Sadly, we'll never get to know this adorable supposed lesbian because she was unfairly slain in "Whispers" by one of Michael's test subjects.

From Mallozzi's blog:

The character of Alicia Vega, meanwhile, did offer an opening that an established character did not: she was new and the final scene of the season five premiere felt neither forced nor insignificant. Of course, as Paul pointed out: “Do we really want to make this love triangle a love rectangle?”. Well, again, the decision was made for us when the episode ran waaaay too long and a good portion of Vega’s scenes, including the last one, had to be cut for time.

It's sad to think that Vega could have had a fun side story, but instead she was killed. Still you never know, because NO ONE DIES ON STARGATE. She could be back, and gayer than ever. Oh, Mallozzi — you should have gone through with it. I would have applauded the effort, and it would have brought in more character development, something SGA can always use more of.

But wait, there's more under the big rainbow of SGA. Another character on the show is secretly gay, and we'll probably never find out who he is. Here's a hint from Mallozzi:

The prospect of introducing a gay character to the Stargate universe was always an interesting possibility, but one that would require the right circumstances. In fact, for several years now, there has been one recurring character who, in my mind, is gay, but there has never been an opportunity to confirm the fact. While I feared that suggesting it in a throw-away (“I’m heading back to Earth to spend time with my boyfriend. See ya!”) would seem like a truly forced WTF moment for fans, alternately, making a big deal of it felt wrong as well. So, unless the right circumstances present themselves for this character, the fans can simply go ahead assuming he is heterosexual until such a time that, in a Rowlingesque postscript, I can add: “And, oh yeah, by the way - he was gay.”

Okay, so it's Lorne — at least I think it is, why because I always knew there was more to him than just that guy standing there. Or maybe I just wish it was Lorne, cause he's far too pretty compared to the rest of the crew, and even though I think he had a thing for Teyla, it seemed forced.

You can tell that this was the type of character that the writers always thought they were going to do more with but couldn't find the time. Now we'll never know who it is until more details come out, and I know the final episodes are in the can. But I could always do with more Lorne. A few other sites threw out Chuck the technician and Radek Zelenka, but my money is on Major Lorne. Zelenka is another good call, as I know nothing about the man's back story but it would be a bit jarring for both Z and L to just off handedly mention that they have a boyfriend. So while I agree that they couldn't just toss it in there, I wish they'd at least tried.

Now that all of this is coming out, I feel the need to say: Kinda lame, guys. You know I love Stargate,, but this Monday quarterbacking a dead show is a little frustrating. Cool that one character had a gay love storyline that was actually shot, but to make another recurring character gay off-camera is kind of disappointing. Also, didn't J.K. Rowling already play this card?

[Joseph Mallozzi via Gateworld]

Monday:

The Sarah Connor Chronicles -
Sarah and Cameron have to protect Derek's past family. But of course the family doesn't really believe them until Cameron takes a round of bullets to the chest and doesn't flinch. Then they start listening. The new Sarah Connor Chronicles is on 8 PM on Fox.

TSCC Promo:

TSCC Clip:

TSCC: Clip:

Chuck -
Find out why Sarah's con-man daddy (the fabulous Gary Cole) was in prison and watch Sarah move heaven and hell to help him get out of trouble from his last big con. Also there appears to be a Delorean in this episode somewhere. Because Chuck, if you haven't figured it out yet from NBC bludgeoning you over the head about it, is a GEEK. "Chuck Versus the Delorean" is on NBC at 8 PM.

Chuck Promo:

Heroes -
Hiro and Claire time-travel around, leaning about how Noah got the baby cheerleader from Kaito Nakamura, but I'm sure none of this temporal meddling will change the present a bit. Oh and there's yet another climatic fight that we've all been waiting for. Heroes, the show with no real consequences, is on 9 PM on NBC.

Heroes Clip:

Heroes Promo:

My Own Worst Enemy -
Nobody can get along this week, over at Christian Slater's magical super secret agent spy agency. Mavis and Alistair (real names) are arguing about how to rescue these hostages that Edward and Raymond found in Angola. Then Dr. Skinner (not the yellow-faced principal from The Simpsons, mind you, but a lady) is called in about her relationship with Edward. My Own Worst Enemy is on NBC at 10 PM. Watch if you dare.

Gundam 00 -
One full hour of mecha madness on the Sci Fi Channel from 11 PM until 12.

Movies:

Get a glimpse of a young Winona Ryder before she went all crazy. She's paired with a super emo Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands, on HBO at 1 PM.

Tuesday:

There is a Tales From The Darkside marathon on the Sci Fi Channel from 6 AM until 2:30 PM.

No new Fringe this week.

The Universe -
Curious to see the faces of our interstellar alien friends? Well, check out The Universe at 9 PM on The History Channel.

The Universe Promo:

Movies:

The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice — or National Treasure for dummies — is on TNT at 7 PM.

AMC has its usual scifi round up of sweaty chested lovelies Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale getting all hot and bothered over dragons in Reign Of Fire at 8 PM, followed by more intense action with Terminator 2 on 10 PM.

Wednesday:

There's a Special Unit 2 marathon on the Sci Fi Channel from 8 AM until 3 PM. Wait, you don't remember Special Unit 2? Let me refresh your memory, rocking guitar opener and all:

Pushing Daisies -
Olive leads the team to crack the mysterious murder of the lighthouse keeper, and Ned has to deal with the sudden appearance of Chuck's Pappy and all his creepy bandages. Pushing Daisies is on ABC at 8 PM.

Pushing Daisies Promo:

No new Knight Rider this week.

UFO Hunters -
This week, let's crack the whole mystery behind the Arizona lights. Apparently there's been a bit of a situation with light/alien/just-a-plane activity in the Arizona skies. The new episode is on The History Channel at 10 PM.

Here's a news report about when UFO Hunters came to Phoenix:

UFO Hunter Promo:

Movies:

TCM is having a fabulous day of scifi specials. The Cat People are taking over at 6 AM, followed with Return Of The Cat People at 7:30 — and this classic movie is dayum scary especially when you can hear the cat person nom, noming it's prey. But for serious, it's scary.

At 12:30 and 2 PM, TCM will fill you up with evil children with Village of the Damned first, followed by Children Of The Damned.

2001: A Space Odyssey classic will be appearing at 3:30 PM on TCM, and at 6 PM there's 2010.

Thursday:

No new Smallville this week.

No new Supernatural this week.

No new Life On Mars this week.

No new Eleventh Hour this week.

Testees -

This week on Testees, the boys lose the ability to feel pain. So Ron becomes a daredevil, and Peter a boy toy for a dominatrix. "Mr. Pain and Danger Lad" are on Fox FX at 11 PM.

Movies:

Go crazy with board game fantasy and that hairy comic that talks really fast, when some poor children get sucked into a violent board game called Jumanji at 1 AM on TNT.

Embrace John Carpenter's wonder before they remake it into crap, with The Thing on the Sci Fi Channel at 7 PM.

Friday:

Batman: The Brave And The Bold -
Batman gets into the holiday spirit, bringing a bad Santa who's on a crime spree to justice. Batman is on Cartoon Network at 8 PM.

Clone Wars -
Finally, it's all Grievous all the time, or at least that's what I'm hoping this week's Clone Wars turns out to be, it's all about his Lair. To which I wonder: how does Grievous decorate his lair? Does he have a smoking room, or a pool? What about a balcony? This week on the Cartoon Network at 9 PM, we shall finally see.

"Lair Of Grievous" Behind The Scenes:

General Grievous Jam:

Stargate Atlantis -
Off with her head, or something close like it. This week Jewel Staite gets involved in a case of mistaken identity. So if Dr. Keller dies, does this mean I can have McKay? Because I'd be okay with that. Stargate Atlantis which has only THREE episodes left, will be on the Sci Fi Channel at 9 PM.

(editor's note: sorry I confused this weeks with last weeks, when clearly this last Friday's was "Infection" and this is "Identity.")

Stargate Promo:

Sanctuary -
This week the monster kids are tracking down a secret fight club where the people battle to the death. You know like Fight Club, only not cool in the slightest. The new Sanctuary is on 10 PM on the Sci Fi Channel.

Movies:

ABC family is premiering The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. Check out James McAvoy as the little fawn, Mr. Tumnus, before he got all Wanted hot (I preferred the shirtless goat-scarf look, to be honest). The movie will air at 6 PM and 9:30 PM.

Tumnus!

Saturday:

Movies:
Get bouncy with Flubber at 9:40 AM on TBS.

Sunday:

Movies:

One of the best Disney scifi movies ever is The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, staring Kurt Russell. Please do enjoy this clip — it's on 12 PM on TCM.