Monday

With Heroes and House both taking a break for the holidays, it falls to Syfy to keep us entertained today, and they're definitely trying their hardest, with Stargate: The Ark of Truth at 9am, followed by Stargate: Continuum at 11.

Meanwhile, if you went down the rabbit hole last night, you'll be happy to know that Alice continues (and concludes) at 9pm.

Tuesday

Even if the day wasn't almost entirely otherwise devoid of SF entertainment, the return of ABC's Better Off Ted (ABC at 9:30pm) would still be at the top of our to-do list. In the first episode of its new run, the employees of Veridian Dynamics find their thoughts turning to reproduction, as Ted and Linda meet their genetically compatible matches, while Veronica tries to convince Lem to donate to a sperm bank. Oh, Ted. How did we get by without you?

If satires on corporate America are a little too close to the bone, then try the first episode of Outer Space Astronauts on Syfy (also 9:30); it's a new sitcom set in outer space - Maybe you missed that in the title - but we're a little worried about it based on the episode description being "Capt. Ripley invites aliens over to the O.S.S. Oklahoma for a pizza dinner, but the aliens want the ship, too." Uh, hilarity may ensue?

Wednesday

Oh, Syfy. With a Jericho marathon from 8am through 3pm, you know how to spoil us. From there until 9pm, it's a bit of a science fiction wasteland in terms of things that aren't re-runs, so consider it the Television God's way of telling you to leave the house and go and do some holiday shopping or something. Then be back in front of the visual entertainment box in time for 9 o'clock, when Discovery has a new episode of Mythbusters, with Jamie and Adam putting more gunslinging myths to the test.

Thursday

Remember 1990s SF vampire series Kindred: The Embraced? I definitely don't, but Syfy is looking to remedy my oversight with a marathon of the entire 1996 series starring former Soul Man C. Thomas Howell, starting at 8am.

Otherwise, with FlashForward, Vampire Diaries and Supernatural already in reruns, it falls to Fringe to keep the science fiction flag flying with its new episode "Grey Matters" at 9pm on Fox. Featuring the return of Leonard Nimoy as William Bell:

Friday

Get your day started off in the right way with Syfy's Outer Limits marathon, starting at 8am. You'll only wish it was Twilight Zone a couple of times, honest.

Depending on who you believe, there's either a rerun or new episode of Batman: The Brave and The Bold on Cartoon Network at 7pm (If it's a new episode, then it'll be the Plastic Man-guesting "Long Arm Of The Law," but some schedules have last season's "Duel of The Double Crossers!" listed. Your guess is as good as mine at this point).

But even if it is a new episode, that might not be enough to steal your attention away from Syfy's Sanctuary mini-marathon, starting at 7pm and ending with a brand new episode, "Penance," guest-starring Amanda Tapping's fellow former Stargate cast member Michael Shanks, at 10pm.

Or you can keep up with the latest double bill of Dollhouse on Fox at 8pm, with the "Meet Jane Doe"/"A Love Supreme" match-up offering Topher discovering the potential effects of science, Echo losing control of her multiple memory downloads, and the return of Alpha.

Once that's done, you might find yourself switching over to Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow on Cartoon Network at 10pm, just to look at how shiny the whole thing is.

Saturday

It's All Disaster Movies All Day on Syfy, starting with Earthstorm (9am) before offering up Meteor (11am), miniseries 10.5: Apocalypse (1pm), Ba'al: The Storm God (5pm), Ice Twisters (7pm), Annihilation Earth (9pm) and finishing with Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York at 11pm. Why so many disaster movies? Why not? Over on BBC America, there's a Doctor Who triple bill of edited versions of "Journey's End", "The Next Doctor" and "Planet of The Dead" starting at 7pm, but you should really wait until tomorrow, for reasons you'll discover in a second.

Sunday

...What's that, you say? A Doctor Who marathon on BBC America starting at 1pm, including 1hr 15 minute (ie, unedited from U.K. broadcast, apart from ad breaks) versions of The Next Doctor and Planet of The Dead? I thought you'd say yes. The full rundown of episodes is:

1pm: Voyage of The Damned
2pm: Turn Left
3pm: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End
5:30pm: The Next Doctor
6:45: Planet of The Dead

All of this is a lead-in to next week's premiere of "The Waters of Mars," and the following week's "The End of Time," of course. But do you care why it's happening, as long as it's happening?

Having an actual Navy submarine crash through the ice in the arctic is pretty spectacular. Wood explained that he couldn't believe how amazing the Navy was being with the Stargate crew. The DVD will be out tomorrow, July 29.

You could be seeing the recut Stargate pilot in the next few months. "I was at the final mix the night before last," Wright revealed. "It's an MGM thing now, [as to] when they want to release it."

So why did Wright feel that the SG-1 pilot needed a re-cut? "The reason I did it was because I was watching the pilot...and I thought, 'Man we can do better than this.'" The visual effects some of them were kind of shaky. And I wanted to get rid of some of the bad dialog I wrote 12 years ago. So I did. And mainly it was to incorporate Joel Goldsmith's score, brought back the way it should be. Hopefully the fans won't kill me for it, I think it's going to be great."

Besides talk of possibly destroying classic scifi there was a Stargate party going on, atop of the San Diego Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum. Many of our favorite 'gaters were there, and we got to pester them with the things you all wanted to know, like if Richard Dean Anderson thinks Colonel Samantha Carter looks hotter with short hair or long hair.

Cliff Simon (Ba'al):

Have you given any thought to the new character you're going to have to become, the person that Ba'al has been living in for 2,000 years is now free?

I've given it a lot of thought. I hope Brad Wright does. He could be a very interesting character. He could be worse than Baal, as far as being a bad, bad human being. He could be a really great guy. We don't know. I've thought about it for down the road and the future.

What's the attraction to Qetesh? She's so vicious. I would have hoped Ba'al was smarter than that.

She's beautiful. What else can I say? He's vicious too. Can you imagine them together? I've been saying, Guys, let's write an alien love scene, come on, come on. No, she's evil and she's actually a real adversary for Ba'al.

Ben Browder (Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell):

Continuum gives you a lot of screen time, what did you think when you read the script?

I called Brad Wright and I thanked him. I said thank you, you've given me some great things to do.

I have a lot of fun stuff to do. I get to put on prosthetics, I get to go to the arctic, I get a few quiet character moments. I just thought Brad did a great job with the script.

What did you think of yourself in all that make up?

Wasn't me. That was my grandfather. I actually thought they did a really nice job with the prosthetics.

Chris Judge (Teal'c):

Do you think you could be reappearing on Stargate Atlantis any time soon?

I really don't know. The time depends on what goes on with my other projects. It's just the timing issue. If I'm available I'd love to go there. I think there will be — I don't like to rehearse anything. I don't like to rehearse dialog or fight scenes or anything. But we rehearsed this fight scene, and it just showed me that Jason's in his mid twenties and I'm not.

Do you ever catch yourself saying indeed?

Ummmm, no because... You just want me to say, "indeed." Well, um, no....indeed.

Richard Dean Anderson (Major General Jack O'Neill):

What was your favorite part of being in Continuum, being with the cast or the plot?

Filming in Antarctica. Getting a chance to go to the Arctic. I've never been North of Alaska.

Samantha Carter: short or long hair?

Whatever she feels is appropriate?

Seriously...come on?

You want to know what I think? I guess whatever she feels most comfortable in. I'm stepping into a trap [laughs]. As a guy if I pick a side suddenly..oooh chauvinist. What about a buzz cut?

Continuum takes off where the last DVD Stargate Ark Of Truth left off. The great and powerful Ba'al has been captured by the human Stargaters, and now it's time for his extraction (i.e. execution). The SG-1 staff gathers to watch the demise of the ultimate enemy, including some guy that looks like he ate General Jack O’Neill. In his last words Ba'al explains, in that charming alien manner, that they all will be sorry. Within moments annoying SG member Vala and everyones favorite Jaffa, Teal'c, vanish into thin air. Baal gets loose and stabs O'Neil in the heart, but not before O'Neil squeezes a few awkward zingers into the conversation (I call them O'Neill-isms).

The SG-1 shit is hitting the fan and all of a sudden buildings and people start to disappear. Dr. Daniel Jackson, Col. Cameron Mitchell and Col. Samantha Carter jump through the gate leaving fat O'Neill to die alone. The three are then transported into snowy Arctic. The crew is now in a new world where no one has heard of Stargate, there is no Stargate and Carter, Mitchell and Jackson are simply a pack of crazy idealists.

Apparently Ba'al had a fail safe for his execution and implemented a time traveling Stargate device that brought him back in time to intercept the ship that brought America it's Stargate artifact back in 1939 aboard the Achilles (who was Captained by Mitchell's great-great grand daddy or Mitchell in old man makeup). His actions put our heroes in an alternate time line. Also, since they were in the gate during the change their memories aren't altered and neither are their time lines (that's SG-1 logic for you).

Almost every character has either been eradicated or altered and now the plot centers around Carter, Mitchell and Jackson. Finally Stargate attempts to take interest with its characters. Each character is slumped in depression, living in a world that won't believe them with people that don't recognize them. It's especially endearing to watch Mitchell longingly yearn for his family and farm city roots (Ba'al ended up destroying his family and thus his existence by intercepting the Achilles). It's also entertaining to watch a hapless Jackson make unlisted phone calls to his altered state self (now a discredited UFO chaser) encouraging him not to give up.

Plus there's a veritable parade of cameos from a beaten and down trodden Apophis (including the return of his terrible hat), Kronos, Yu, Major Davis, Hammond, and President Hayes. It was a little bitter sweet seeing General Hammond on screen with his recent passing, but he still was adorable father figure even for the brief moment he was on (even if he didn't recognize his people).

Of course Ba'al returns to Earth to conquer and enslave with his bride Qetesh and new first prime Teal'c and it's up to the remaining SG-1 crew (now discredited and disjointed) to bring down his massive army of Jaffa.

Nothing goes as planned, like it ever would on Stargate, but the plot is fun and you find yourself rooting for Mitchell. The time traveling aspect allowed the writers to take gigantic liberties including killing off nearly every character, taking Jackson's leg in the snowy wilderness, and letting crazy Qetesh unleash hell on her unsuspecting King.

But of course as all things time travel, everything goes back to the way it should be but a few of the cast members are a little wiser for wear. All in all Continuum is a great watch for SG-1 fans. But if you haven't been researching the ins and outs of the Go'auld you may not understand why a lady in love would kill her hubby in order to blow up a planet. Or why that may not mean that person is dead after all (remember Ba'al has like 1,000 clones). So unless your ready to explain years of ancient mythology to non-gaters I'd save this rental for fans only.

Wolverine:

Here's a new promo picture of Wolverine from his upcoming solo movie. [Filmonic]

The Dark Knight:

A trailer for The Dark Knight, from Wizard World, showcases more of the film's action sequences and gives a glimpse at Two Face right at the end. Plus here's a new clip, which you may have seen the first few seconds of.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of Harvey Dent as Two Face. I'm sort of thinking it's fake. What do you think? [Film Grenade]

Astro Boy:

The animated big-screen Astro Boy movie sticks pretty close to the source material. Dr. Tenma (Nicholas Cage) creates Astro Boy to replace his dead son, but then rejects him. We'll have a bit more sympathy for Dr. Tenma in this version than in the original, says director David Bowers. Astro Boy lives in a floating city, but then leaves to discover his place in the world. We meet characters from the manga, including HamEgg and Dr. Elefun, but also some new characters. And there are some cool robots. [Sci Fi Wire and Sci Fi Wire]

Heroes:

It sounds as though when Heroes' flying politician Nathan Petrelli recovers from his brush with death, he's able to see dead people, including Linderman. Or something. Meanwhile, more confirmation that Ali Larter will be playing a new character, with different powers. Also, hawt scientist Mohinder Suresh has a "love connection" with a hero we already know. And he may manifest actual superpowers at some point this season. There's more to Mohinder than meets the eye, but he may need to "scale back." (So he becomes a lizard Transformer??) [E! Online]

In the new TV Guide, Sylar actor Zachary Quinto suggests the new volume name, "Villains," might not be as clear-cut as you'd think. Claire's biological mom teaches her how to defend herself against Sylar. And the FutureClaire we meet early on is sick, dangerous and crazy. [Spoilerati]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Here's a new TV spot for Sarah Connor Chronicles season two, which hints at some new tensions around Summer Glau's mean-girl Terminator. [SpoilerTV]

Lost:

You know how Kevin Durand said his psychopathic character Keamy would never show up on Lost again? Durand is changing his tune now, apparently, and hints that Keamy is not the sort of guy who dies easily. [Mr. Eko Files]

Stargate:

More detailed spoilers for the direct-to-DVD Stargate Continuum movie showed up at DVD Talk. The alien Tok'ra are preparing to remove Ba'al's murderous symbiote, leaving his human host unharmed, but Ba'al says this isn't over and the original Ba'al is still alive. Just as Ba'al is about to be punished, people start disappearing in plain sight and buildings vanish as if they were never there.

The SG-1 crew runs to the Stargate and winds up in the icy hold of a freighter. The gang is rescued by a team that includes one former team-member who doesn't know them in this timeline. Because one member of the SG-1 gang is dead in this alternate timeline, their rescue is a huge deal, and they're taken to be interrogated. In the end, the team is split up and forced to live mundane lives, and warned not to associate with each other or attempt to change the timeline.

One year later, Ba'al shows up to conquer everything, and the SG-1 gang has a narrow window to stop him. [DVD Talk]

Life On Mars:

The first episode of the American version of time-travel head-injury cop show Life On Mars will be called "Out Here In The Fields." [SpoilerTV]

The Dark Knight:

The Hollywood Reporter review of The Dark Knight explains some plot points. The Hong Kong sequence in the movie isn't just about Batman tracking down the mob's bag-man, Lau. Sal Maroni (Eric Roberts) also takes refuge with a Hong Kong gangster, with Batman on his heels. But when Batman takes the Triad gangster down, Maroni flees back to Gotham and turns to his last hope: the psychopathic Joker. And yes, the Joker's aim is to bring the Batman over to the side of chaos. [Hollywood Reporter]

Plus some new TV spots include even more Joker-isms: "Never start with the head. The victim gets all fuzzy." "I don't want to kill you! What would I do without you?" "I'm a guy of simple taste. I enjoy dynamite, gunpowder, and gasoline!" Plus Bruce Wayne kicking much ass without wearing the mask.

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

Star Wars fansite TheForce.net has posted a complete synopsis for the Clone Wars movie, which opens August 15 and is also the first three episodes of the new animated TV series. Here's a quick summary:

Obi-Wan and Anakin are fighting the droid army on the planet Christophsis, when Yoda sends them a new Padawan: Ahsoka Tano. At first, they think she's Obi-Wan's new student, but it turns out she's Anakin's instead. She tells them to return to the Jedi temple at once, but first they have to take out the droid army. Anakin and Ahsoka smash the droids' shield generator, while Obi-Wan and Captain Rex fight the spider droids of general Whorm Loathsom. (Yes, that's really his name.) Obi-Wan pretends to surrender, but tricks Loathsom and takes him prisoner, just as Anakin and Ahsoka complete their mission.

Then Yoda turns up and tells them Jabba the Hutt's son Rotta has been kidnapped. Anakin and Ahsoka have to travel to the planet Teth to lead the rescue mission, while Obi-Wan meets with Jabba on Tatooine. Jabba tells Obi-Wan he wants his "punky muffin" back. (No, really. Punky muffin.) And Anakin and Ahsoka discover separatist battle-droids behind the muffin's kidnapping. The Jedi duo have to scale a vertical cliff, with AT-TEs, fighting the droids all the way. They head to the dungeon to rescue Rotta, but the evil Asajj Ventress is waiting for them. She tells Count Dooku everything is going according to plan, and then she asks Anakin if he knows he's walking into a trap. He's like, duh, yeah.

In spite of that, they find Rotta, leading to a "comedy scene" involving a wet baby Hutt. But Rotta is ill, and he'll die without urgent help.

Meanwhile, Dooku visits Jabba and shows him footage of Anakin and Ahsoka putting a sobbing, sick baby Hutt into a backpack. The video is edited to make it look as though the Jedi kidnapped the punky muffin in the first place. Dooku offers to get the kid back, in exchange for an alliance with Jabba. But Anakin and Obi-Wan have figured out Dooku's plan, and they decide to get Rotta back to Jabba before he dies on them. Too bad "vulture droids" have destroyed Anakin's ship, and battle droids are attacking.

They flee, but Asajj Ventress blocks their escape, first by pretending to be Captain Rex (?) and then by attacking them. Anakin and Asajj fight, and then R2D2 sends them all falling through a hole in the floor. They fight and fight and fight. Meanwhile, Ahsoka tries to get Rotta out of there, but finds herself facing a rancor... which eventually collapses on top of Asajj after being hit with lightsabers and lasers. Rotta throws up and nearly hits Anakin, hilarity ensues.

Then our heroes almost get away, but the vulture droids destroy their spaceship... again. Finally, Obi-Wan shows up with a Star Destroyer, and the ever-sicker Rotta points to a hidden ship on a mountain top: the Twilight. Anakin grabs a a sort of flying insect thingy and flies down to the others. Asajj attacks again, but has to flee when the landing pad collapses. So our heroes finally get away. Rotta burps. More fighting with battle droids.

Finally, Asajj decides to grab Rotta and return him to Jabba herself, to win him over to the Separatist cause. Obi-Wan shows up, and they fight.

Finally, Anakin and Ahsoka get to the Twilight and take off. But Obi-Wan's Star Destroyer thinks they're another enemy ship, and there's a wacky misunderstanding. And then then the Star Destroyer is damaged when a Separatist fighter crashes into its hangar bay. So they have to fly Rotta home aboard the Twilight.

Asajj contacts Jabba and tells him Rotta is dead, and the Jedi are heading to Tatooine to attack him. Dooku promises to take care of those Jedi for Jabba. When the Twilight arrives at Tatooine, some droids attack. The ship is damaged, and crash lands, so the heroes have to walk to Jabba's castle. Meanwhile, Padmé Amidala meets with Jabba's uncle Ziro and tries to convince him the Jedi are on the level. No luck, but then she spies on him meeting with Dooku. She's hauled off to Jabba's dungeon.

Dooku and Anakin fight, while more droids attack Ahsoka, who's carrying the punky muffin. Anakin steals Dooku's hover-bike and runs off to rescue Ahsoka. Jabba is about to execute Padmé, when clone troopers show up and rescue her. And take Ziro prisoner.

Anakin confronts Jabba and holds his light saber to Jabba's throat. Then Ahsoka runs in with the punky muffin. Jabba's delighted... but still wants the Jedi killed. They fight Jabba's guards, until the captive Uncle Ziro calls and admits he was involved in the kidnapping. Jabba finally agrees to an alliance with the Republic. Anakin and Padmé have a moment. Dooku says curses, etc.

Much, much more insanely detailed spoilers at the link. [TheForce.net]

X-Files: I Want To Believe:

Here's the tracklisting for the soundtrack to the new X-Files sequel, which may reveal some juicy plot twists:
1. Moonrise
2. No Cures/Looking For Fox
3. The Trip to DC
4. Father Joe
5. What If You're Wrong/Sister
6. Ybara The Strange/Waterboard
7. Can't Sleep/Ice Field
8. March and Dig/Girl In The Box
9. A Higher Conscious
10. The Surgery
11. Good Luck
12. Seizure/Attempted Escape
13. Foot Chase
14. Mountain Montage/The Plow
15. Photo Evidence
16. The Preparation
17. Tranquilized
18. The Axe Post
19. Box Them
20. Home Again [Shock Till You Drop]

G.I. Joe:

There may actually be two versions of Destro, the masked villain, in the G.I. Joe movie. David Murray, who was originally slated to play the present-day Destro but had to bail out due to visa issues, will still play Destro's ancestor, who also wore the menacing mask. And Christopher Eccleston, of course, will play the present-day Destro. [IESB]

Dragonball:

Here are some new Dragonball pics that appeared in Japan's Jump SQ magazine. [DBTheMovie]

Heroes:

More hints that serial killer Sylar is turning good on superhero soap opera Heroes. Also, another suggestion that slack-jawed polymath Peter Petrelli may be turning evil — and it looks like he gets a wicked slash across his forehead. [E! Online]

And here are two new promos that show Sylar in restraints and Knox busting out of his cell. Level 5 is the only place that can hold the baddies... until it doesn't any more. Also, Sylar says: "Hello, Claire."

Battlestar Galactica:

Here's a video from the BSG wrap party that supposedly includes some spoilers for the second half of season four. There seems to be some shots of people running around in a field, maybe on Earth. (Or it could be Kobol, from the filming of season two?) I honestly can't make out a word anybody is saying. Can anyone out there lip read? [Galactia Sitrep]

The Galactica TV movie, to be shot this September, will be set during season one, says Aaron Douglas, who's probably going to be in it. [Livejournal via Galactica Sitrep]

Doctor Who:

Is it really a spoiler to say that David Tennant will play the Doctor in the Christmas special and the 2009 specials? Well, he will. [Daily Express]

Stargate:

More details about the direct-to-DVD movie Stargate Continuum, coming out July 29: the SG-1 crew are attending the execution of the last System Lord, Ba'al, but then they're suddenly transported back to Earth in an alternate timeline, without Vala or Teal'c. A fleet of Goa'uld motherships soon shows up, led by none other than Ba'al, Queen Qetesh and First Prime Teal'c. (Vala only shows up at the beginning and end of the DVD, but we see lots of her Goa'uld counterpart Qetesh.)

In this alternate timeline, Ba'al managed to take over the System Lords by promising Teal'c to free the Jaffa. The only System Lord who still resists Ba'al is Apophis, who's killed by having the top of his head sliced off. Some Goa'uld who are dead in the regular timeline turn up, including Ra, Camulus, Lord Hu, Nirrti and Kronos. The late Don Davis turns up as Gen. Hammond. So does Brigadier General Jack O'Neill, but he dies early on. (But then we see Jack's alternate self later.) Some nice moments include a meeting with General Landry, a Daniel calling his alternate self, and some cool shots of the nuclear sub and F-15s. Also, the look on Ba'al's face, going from happy to shocked, when Mitchell shoots him in the head. [TFW 2005 forum]

Stargate Atlantis' new leader, Richard Woolsey, is an abrasive, by-the-book bureaucrat. He has trouble with the city's technology at first, and can barely open the doors. By the second episode, he's already broken protocol five times during his first crisis, and has to recognize that the rulebook doesn't always apply. [Sci Fi Wire]

A minor Stargate Atlantis spoiler: Renegade leader Larrin (Jill Wagner) may return to the Stargate SG-1 spin-off... but not until season six in 2009. [SliceofScifi]

In the third episode of the new season, "Broken Ties," Ronon comes under the spell of the Wraith and the team meet an old adversary in the process of rescuing him. In the fourth episode, "The Daedalus Variations," the team finds a ship's log of a captain of the Daedalus, who abandoned ship. He's not someone the team recognizes, so they investigate. And in "Ghost In The Machine," the Replicators try to take over Atlantis when they find a way to ascend. Weir is with them. [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

In the first episode of Smallville season eight, we'll see an unshaven Clark, since months have elapsed since the previous episode. Also, in the second episode, we will indeed meet the explosive Quebec separatist Plastique. In this version, she's a 15-year-old street kid, who's injured in an explosion, and then Chloe invites Plastique to move in with her. (Chloe's already out of the stir by this time.) [Kryptonsite]

I'm so excited for the return of Qetesh, and to watch Teal'c do Ba'al's bidding. But even more than that, I'm stoked for the Goa'uld System Lords. Look, more pics of Ra! What is Ba'al going to do to him? I hope he makes him cry like the little man-girl he is. And oooh — Cronus looks pissed. Probably because Teal'c is jumping at the chance for a beat down. I'm getting really excited for this movie, especially because I think it will finally show Ba'al's cunning intellect winning out over every other Goa'uld. [Stargate MGM]

Incredible Hulk 2:

If there is an Incredible Hulk sequel, it's not a slam dunk that Sam Sterns (the Leader) will be the main villain. Another school of thought has Leonard Samson, the psychiatrist who was dating Betty, becoming the bad guy. He occasionally clashed with the Hulk in the comics, although mostly they're friends. And Samson might be miffed that Bruce stole his girlfriend Betty. Director Louis Leterrier says he'll ask the fans at Comic-Con whom they'd like to see as the villain of TIH2. [Underwire]

Wanted:

Here's this guy's list of a dozen or so weird/wacky things that happen in Wanted. They're pretty much spoilers we've already covered, but his write-up is pretty entertaining and he puts his finger on some of the more ludicrous things in the zany actioner. [XLBBQ]

G.I. Joe:

Here are a couple more character posters from G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra, which show the Baroness and Snake Eyes looking sultry and snakey, respectively. [IESB]

Heroes:

Here are more set photos from Heroes season three, showing Future Peter meeting regular Peter. And getting all grabby with his niece Claire, who's gotten the too-much-makeup bug from Ali Larter. I guess this is right before she shoots him? Are they actually going to get together on the show, now that the actors are dating? Is Peter the character who will turn out to be also adopted? (So they're not blood relations any more?) Or is it just going to be one huge tangle of ick? Either way, it looks like a community college production of Grease. Oh, and is that a painting predicting some kind of future Earth-crack? [TheBadandtheUgly and Heroes The Series and Gilmore Girls News]

And now that you're all pumped up for a new season of Heroes (you are, aren't you?) here's some more news: Kristen Bell's electrosex kitten Elle will be in only about five episodes of the season, give or take. But Mama Petrelli will be in every. single. episode. Because she has "lots to do."

Meanwhile, Sylar and Claire's daddy H.R.G. will have lots and lots of scenes together, because they will be working together. As a team. (This could be related to that rumor that Sylar gets a change of heart?) [E! Online]

Smallville:

Smallville season eight will be more about Metropolis and the whole Lois-and-Clark thang that we used to love back in the 1990s. Plus lots and lots of Green Arrow, with sprinklings of Justice League. [E! Online again]

Doctor Who:

Based on the new trailers, plus some filming that was observed earlier, Planet Galifrey has pieced together more spoilers for Saturday's new Doctor Who, "The Stolen Earth." It starts with the TARDIS still red and cloister belly. And then it catches fire! The Doctor finds that Earth has been stolen, and goes to visit the Shadow Proclamation to find out what's going on. The Proclamation has been offering a refuge to all the races that have lost their worlds already, like the Adipose and the Rexicorocofallipatorians.

And the thuggish Judoon are keeping order for the Shadow Architects, who are skinny and have weird blond hair. The Doctor takes the floor, talking a mile a minute and being clever, but it doesn't go that well. Then he goes back to the TARDIS and has a moment of being happy that Rose is coming back — before he gets another message that shocks him again. The rest of it is spoilers we've covered before in some depth. [Planet Gallifrey]

Stargate

The direct-to-DVD Stargate: Continuum takes advantage of its feature-length format to give more little "moments" to its characters, including Mitchell going back to the farm, Carter going shopping and Daniel going to the bookstore. And later, there are scenes where the world has to adjust to "a world not their own." Carter is an astronaut who brilliantly sacrifices herself and saves her crew. Ben doesn't exist because he literally acted out the "grandfather paradox." And Daniel phones himself and reads his own book. He gives himself a pep talk, saying things like, "Trust your feelings." [Sci Fi Weekly]

Meanwhile, in case you haven't seen it, here's a promo for Stargate: Atlantis season five that's been airing lately.

True Blood:

Here are episode synopses for the second, third and fourth episodes of True Blood, HBO's science-vampires show:

"The First Taste". Sookie suspects Bill is behind the murders of the people who almost ended her life; Tara deals with family matters; and a new church threatens the vampire world.

"Mine". Tara visits LaFayette seeking comfort from her woes, Sookie meets some of Bill's rowdy friends and saves them from harm from a human among them, and, Sookie and Hugo visit the Church of the Fellowship of the Sun.

"Escape From Dragon House." One of the barmaids from Merlotte's is murdered and all signs point to Jason as her killer. Also evident is the fact that she had been around vampires, and Sookie knows just where to go to find out who the girl had been with. Bill introduces Sookie to Fangoria, the biggest vampire bar in Shreveport, and Eric, the oldest vampire in Shreveport. Her search could lead her into territory she never thought she'd cover.

Thanks to Lauren Davis for research help.

First question on our minds, now the Teal'c is Ba'al's bitch what does that make Teal'c? We know he's good on the inside, surely he wouldn't be down with Ba'als big plans, Judge clears up the misconceptions.

Well the perception of Teal'c before SG-1 entered the scene was that he was a bad guy, but he had been talking to Bra'tac for years (about rebelling against the evil Goa'uld), but he had to keep the facade of the status quo in order to have these back room machinations going on - so in Continuum it was much the same thing - only Teal'c aligned himself with Ba'al, because Ba'al offered him a chance to free his people. So it's still the same endgame, just a different route to get there.

Judge continues on, raving about the chances for a feature film and past Stargate battles.

Now with Universe coming along, we're at to the point where Stargate is no longer the 'retarded cousin' of the Star Trek franchise, but stands on equal footing. It wasn't ever that we were ever cowed by the Star Trek legacy, but we were always respectful of it. Finally as years went on, and some of the lustre was knocked off the franchise and we stopped being the 'red-headed step child'. [Laughs] It's amazing how we're perceived now. But - one Star Trek movie will bring it all back! [Laughs] But Continuum is not really shot for TV - everything is bigger. It's made to fit BIG screens. The Stargate feature films - it used to be something that was whispered about, but now I know it's being talked about.

But alas Judge knows nothing about Stargate: Universe because even if he's close friends with the men behind the machine, they won't reveal a thing. [Sci-Fi]

The Execution Of Ba'al and Other Cast Members:
Continuum starts off with the execution of Ba'al, the time-traveling would-be world dominator. From the movie stills, it looks like an Ancient appears to do the deed. But, not surprisingly, Ba'al escapes and Vala and Teal'c just vanish, only to reappear. But now Vala has been possessed by Katesh and has become Ba'al's queen, and Teal'c is now Ba'al first prime (with the mark of Ba'al on his forehead). Looks like smartypants Ba'al went back and got a hottie and the best Jaffa warrior in the universe, well played. But more shockingly, it looks like when Ba'al escapes, he stabs Major General Jack O'Neill in the heart, and now he's dead. But no worries, it's a time traveling movie. I'm sure he'll be back.

Two Legs Bad:
Producer and writer, Brad Wright, explained that sometimes messing with a character is fun, like when he decided to take off Dr. Daniel Jackson's leg.

“Daniel’s leg is a funny story because Michael Shanks was not available to do the Arctic shoot,” says Wright. “I knew I had to separate Carter and Mitchell from Daniel, but he was on the boat with them! I didn’t know what to do. I thought how do I keep him there? I called Ben to discuss the script and he asked what I was going to do with Shanks. I told him I fixed it by having him step in the water and getting frostbite. He asked ‘What happens next?’ I said, ‘We cut off his leg.’ He said ‘Man, you are harsh!’ What I did to Jack O’Neill was pretty harsh too.”

Who's Coming Back:
Nirriti the hottie female Goa'uld is back. Hopefully there will be some more seduction/brainwashing. William DeVane will be back as Henry Hayes, but if it's an alternate universe he may not be the President anymore. But most exciting is the return of Apophis and his terrible hats. He's going to be such a baby with out Teal'c. I can't wait to see Ba'al just beat the crap out of that pretty face.

Vala Won't Have That Big Of A Part:
According to producers she won't be on for too long and actress Claudia Black, in an interview with Slice of SciFi, Vala won't be in that long. Which is fine by me. More room for Katech and her new love affair with Ba'al.

Sam brings back the sexy hair. Which style is better? Discuss.

[Newsaramaand Gate World]

Battlestar Galactica:

Here's the Canadian preview for the next Battlestar Galactica episode "Sine Qua Non," which airs a week from tonight. It shows more of the power struggle in the wake of President Roslin's disappearance, plus the confrontation between Adama and Tigh (apparently over Tigh's relations with the imprisoned Caprica Six.)

Meanwhile, Aaron Douglas (who plays Chief Tyrol) read the last few BSG scripts and it was so intense, he was all teary and had a hard time getting back to filming. So, maybe not a totally smooth ride at the end, then. [Galactica Sitrep]

Chuck:

SpoilerTV posted five pages from the script to episode two of the second season of Chuck, that show about the nerdy guy who gets the CIA/NSA intelligence databases downloaded into his brain. In one scene, Chuck and his spy friends Casey and Sarah find some older guy, Roan Montgomery, passed out drunk under a bed, and then a flight attendant comes out of the bathroom. (I'm guessing maybe Roan Montgomery is the older spy who has to train Chuck?)

And then Chuck has to seduce a woman named Sasha, with the help of Sarah and that Roan guy talking into his earpiece. (It's just like that Steve Martin-does-Cyrano movie Roxanne.) At first, Chuck gets shot down and some cool guy cuts in. But then later, Chuck does smooth talk about piano players. Later, Chuck is climbing on a balcony, and a woman thinks he's a peeping tom and steps on his hand. He falls, but lands on a mattress.

Plus Chuck has gotten hold of this episode's McGuffin, something called the Cipher. But will he rescue Casey and Sarah, who have been captured, or will he turn the Cipher in to some guy named Beckman? Because the Cipher is the key to Chuck's freedom (maybe his freedom from having the intelligence databases in his head?). But instead, Chuck sends a messenger with a phone to tell Sasha (who's a bad guy) that he'll turn over the Cipher, but on his terms — and Sasha has to bring "the hostages" (meaning Casey and Sarah.) [SpoilerTV]

Doctor Who:

Want to read some more completely unfounded rumors about the end of the current season of the BBC's time-travel saga Doctor Who? Well, too bad, here they are: returning companion Rose dies at the end of season four, and the Doctor and Jack are both devastated. Or wait, Rose doesn't die, but she and her family (plus Mickey) are sent back to their alternate universe again. Or wait, Rose never actually leaves the alternate universe — she can only appear in "our" universe as an intangible ghost.

Or wait, the Doctor does something at the end of season four which causes weird "ripples" in time and space. And these ripples affect both "our" universe and the alternate universe that Rose got trapped in. So spin-off show Torchwood will deal with their effects as well. And the special one-off episodes that air in 2009 will deal with Rose searching for the Doctor, so they can rescue both universes from the effects of his "ripples." And the 2009 specials will have an overarching theme of "Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth." Or wait... [BBC America forums]

Oh, and here's a synopsis of part two of the Steven Moffat space library two-parter that starts airing in a week or so:

As the shadows rise and march, the Doctor forges an alliance with the mysterious River Song, as Russell T Davies's Bafta Award-winning time-travelling drama continues. But can anyone stop the Vashta Nerada? While the Doctor discovers long-buried secrets and revelations about his own future, the sinister Nodes declare that Donna is doomed.

Also, a sequence in the season finale will feature stock footage of fireworks in Red Square, as part of a "celebrations around the globe" montage. [Doctor Who Forum]

Stargate: Continuum:

That whole leg-amputation thing that happened to Gaeta on Battlestar Galactica was so cool, now everybody wants to do it. The direct-to-DVD movie Stargate: Continuum includes a sequence where Daniel Jackson gets frostbite, and his leg has to be amputated. (But he probably doesn't serenade his stump. Or does he?)

Continuum's script calls for Jackson to be on a wrecked ship in the Arctic along with Col. Cameron Mitchell and Col. Samantha Carter — but actor Michael Shanks, who plays Jackson, couldn't make it to the location filming in the Arctic. So producers needed a reason why Jackson would be there for the scenes on the boat, but not go outside into the exterior scenes. And they hit on the amputation idea.

But Continuum is an alternate-timeline story, so the amputation may not be permanent. And something incredibly harsh also happens to O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), which may not be permanent either. [Sci Fi Wire]

Batman: Gotham Knight:

The direct-to-DVD animated Batman anthology, Gotham Knight, includes a segment written by former Bat-writer Greg Rucka, which deals with detective Crispus Allen's distrust of the then-new Batman. Cool moments include Batman coming through the flaming wreckage of a car and looking not-quite-human. And also Batman's shadow, projected by flames onto the dusted glass of the police squad room. And here are some new pics.

Splice:

Entertainment Weekly has two new images from the genetic experiment movie Splice, starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley. (It's not called Splicers, as we'd previously heard.) And here's a new synopsis:

Two young rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism. Named "Dren", the creature rapidly develops from a deformed female infant into a beautiful but dangerous winged human-chimera, who forges a bond with both of her creators - only to have that bond turn deadly.

Indiana Jones

The soundtrack for Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull has gone up for pre-order on Amazon, and while it's not much of a spoiler to say the music will be blustery and John Williamsish, the track listing does give away some clues as to the story's flow of events:

1. Raiders March
2. Call of the Crystal
3. The Adventures of Mutt
4. Irina's Theme
5. The Snake Pit
6. The Spell of the Skull
7. A Whirl Through Academe
8. The Journey to Akator
9. "Return"
10. The Jungle Chase
11. Orellana's Cradle
12. Grave Robbers
13. Hidden Treasure and the City of Gold
14. Secret Doors and Scorpions
15. Oxley's Dilemma
16. Ants!
17. Temple Ruins and the Secret Revealed
18. The Departure
19. Finale
I love the fact that there's a track called "Ants!" Except that it should be all caps. And here are a couple of new pictures of Shia LaBoeuf as "Mutt." Do you miss Short Round yet? [Slashfilm]

Lost:

The 10th and 11th. episodes of the current Lost season will be called "Cabin Fever" and "There's No Place Like Home." (And the season finale may be a two-hour special.) [Spoilers Lost]

In case you missed it, Charles Widmore will be in the next Lost episode, "The Shape Of Things To Come." [Pop Matters]

Ricky Memphis appears in an upcoming Lost episode playing a character named Emilio, and he had some scenes with Matthew Fox and Lance Reddick. (That means Jack may be spending some time with Abaddon.) And Emilio may be back in some future episodes as well. [Doc Arzt]

Battlestar Galactica:

Here are some rumored episode titles for the second half of BSG season four: 4x14: "The Disquiet That Follows My Soul," 4x15: "The Oath," 4x16: "Blood on the Scales," and 4x17: "No Exit". [Galactica Sitrep]

Stargate:

The trailer for the direct-to-DVD movie Stargate: Continuum showed at a convention in Vancouver, and an intrepid fan put a recording of it on YouTube. (Warning: extreme cameraphone wobbliness.) Here it is, just in case it gets pulled down there. [SGAngeL_204]

Smallville:

We still don't know for sure who dies in the April 17 Smallville episode, "Descent." But we have a pretty good idea who has a crappy time in the following episode, "Sleeper," judging from these new photos. [TV Addict]