It's wrong and terrible and I'm sorry, but still one does have to consider the implications of hanging out with the child version of his lover for so long.

ABC claims it has been working with Kauffman for years on a possible small-screen adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger's novel. The plan is for the romance between Clare and the time-traveling (and, incidentally, television-allergic) Henry to unfold over the course of several seasons, with individual episodes having their own story lines.

Normally, I'm all for adapting novels for television and giving them more room to breathe than they get in a feature film, but with The Time Traveler's Wife, I'm much more hesitant. The novel is such a self-contained animal, constantly folding in on itself and exploring the predestination paradox created by Henry's time travel and the tragic consequences of his condition, making it much more suited to a miniseries or feature film than a long-form television epic. And Journeyman, Fox's now-defunct series that also focused on involuntary time travel, worked because it was an adventure and mystery story, and its time-traveling protagonist was able to alter the timeline with his actions. Henry is, by comparison, leading a fairly ordinary life, and can alter nothing. But I suspect that, in a full-length series, Henry's time travel would be an incidental part of his character, and we would be seeing more of a How I Met Your Mother where the romantic lead occasionally happens to visit younger and older versions of his wife.

'Time Traveler's Wife' Series Travels to ABC [The Wrap via /Film]

Imagine if someone from the future came and told you what was going to happen to you: You'd be trapped in a story. In a sense, that "trapped in a story" feeling is what The Time Traveler's Wife is about — both Audrey Niffenegger's masterful book and the new movie. The difference is, the novel uses a million grace notes to show how you can still live a joyful life, even though you know you're trapped inside a story you can't really change. The movie, meanwhile, just shows us that we're trapped and there's no escape from the plodding story beats.

In most love stories, after all, you know what's going to happen. Including time travel as a concept just solidifies the sense we already have that love stories — especially Hollywood love stories — are utterly predictable, and the most you can expect is carefully titrated levels of quirkiness, mostly coming from the supporting cast. Unless the leading man is Jack Black — then he gets to bring the quirkiness himself.

But of course, in a larger sense, life is a story whose ending is known to us from the beginning, since as Prince says, "We're all gonna die."

The basic story of The Time Traveler's Wife is one that could be intensely schlocky, but isn't at all in the novel. Henry De Tamble has a weird, made-up genetic condition that causes him to become unstuck in time, and he journeys back to emotionally significant moments in his own life. (He visits his own mother's death often.) And he frequently appears during the childhood of Clare Abshire, the woman he marries as an adult. Because she grows up seeing him as this mysterious, sophisticated apparition, she grows to love and mythologize him — only to have to make a relationship with the real Henry when she meets him in real time. And then, of course, Henry's always vanishing into the past and future while he and Clare are building a life.

I just re-read Niffenegger's novel this week, so I apologize if I talk about the book as much as I do the movie. (The truth is, the book impressed me anew, and the movie seemed instantly forgettable.) The novel is a meditation on time, and the way in which we're all trapped inside linear time — even Henry, who can't stop getting older or advancing towards the bad things he knows are waiting for him. And yet, all the ways in which we're all time travelers. Niffenegger packs in funny observations about the socially constructed nature of time — you can travel backward an hour just by crossing over from Michigan to Illinois. The longer Clare and Henry are together, the more she, too, travels backwards in time, except that she does it in her mind. She's constantly thinking about the things that took place between the two of them when she was a child — even when Henry isn't physically returning to them.

As Henry says towards the end of the book, minutes and years are "the same thing" when you're dealing with a traumatic or powerful event — something that happened decades ago can feel like it happened just now. His time-slipping condition just makes that fact less metaphorical.

In all relationships, Niffenegger seems to say, we are constantly living in both the past and the future — you can't help reminiscing about how the relationship started, and you can't help imagining what'll happen when you have a child, or one of you leaves — or dies.

Like I said, this story would be trite, cheesy or even squicky in the hands of a less sure-handed writer. But Niffenegger gives these characters enough life, enough weirdness, to make the Henry-Clare relationship feel like ones you've known. Clare grabs Henry's cock through a hole in his suit, during their wedding, to try and keep him from slipping away through the timestream during their wedding (and it doesn't work.)

So, since I re-read Niffenegger's novel right before going to see the movie, I can report that the film follows the structure of the novel quite closely, with a few changes. (You're not going to see a middle-aged Bana taking an 18-year-old McAdams' virginity. Also, the Gomez-loves-Clare subplot is gone, probably for the best.) The skeleton is the same, but in the movie it's covered with flab.

It would probably be impossible to convey the books's awesomeness in a movie, but the screenplay (by Ghost scriptwriter Bruce Joel Rubin) doesn't even try. Instead, it takes Niffenegger's basic story and uses it as a vehicle for such overwhelming schlockiness that I was sickened. In the novel, Henry and Clare are both witty and weighty, talking about their relationship and their lives in self-aware, clever ways. In the movie, they mostly talk like little kids — Clare, in particular, is whiny and annoying, something she never is in the book.

The biggest problem with the film is the dialogue, honestly — you're not going to be able to pack as much complexity into a movie as you could into a novel, of course, but every single word that comes out of these people's mouths is utterly banal and dull. There were dozens of moments where instead of saying something else and letting the subtext convey an emotion, the characters stated their emotions in the blandest possible way: "I am feeling anxious." "I am filled with unease." That sort of thing. The screenwriting is so hamfisted, after a while everyone sounds like an android trying to identify the proper emotion for the situation.

It's uterly pointless to say that the movie version of a book is worse than the source material, or that the movie ruined the book. I am not saying that at all. Instead, I am saying: Niffenegger's basic story could be intensely schlocky in the wrong hands, and she avoids that pitfall with a balletic grace. The movie dives right into it. It would have taken immense skill and determination to avoid nausea in crafting the story of a man who's constantly vanishing on his wife becuase he's traipsing off to visit her as a little girl. And the movie simply lacks that skill, and what's worse, it doesn't care.

On the plus side, the movie is genuinely funny in parts — including some parts that are deadly serious in the book — and stars Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams have great comic timing, when they decide to play the material for laughs. The audience I saw the film with laughed boisterously and often. So there's that.

My biggest problem with the movie, actually, was that I didn't like these versions of Clare or Henry — they seemed shallow, boring, petulant. Clare whines an awful lot about the fact that Henry keeps disappearing, even though she knows he can't control it and is trying to prevent it at all costs. The movie seems determined to create melodrama out of moments that should be quiet, and to create comedy out of moments that should be dramatic.

In many ways, TTTW reminded me of a slightly worse version of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button — they're both about a man who has a weird condition, and the woman who loves him. In both, the man's condition compels him to disappear on the woman just as they're building a life together. (Although Benjamin Button has a choice, and just does the wrong thing because he's an asspot.) And they're both intensely cheesy, drowning us in sentimentality because they ultimately don't think there is any meaning in human relationships. (Sentimentality being the rich, creamy sauce you pour over the essential nothingness of empty romance.)

It makes me sad, because there seemed to be a boomlet in smart, quirky literary novels that played with time, about five years ago: Niffenegger's novel was one of them, and Andrew Sean Greer's Confessions Of Max Tivoli was another. And now we've gotten the movie version of that boomlet, with TTTW and Benjamin Button (which felt like an adaptation of Max Tivoli, even though it officially wasn't.) These movies are like the chick-flick versions of G.I. Joe — cheesy, silly, and sporting one-dimensional characters. It's only sad because the books they're based on actually did demand smarter takes, and lord knows we could use some more thought-provoking, grown up science fiction stories.

In the end, though, what I really can't forgive the movie for is saying that we're trapped, there's no point, it's all useless. Because it never even tries to answer the question Niffenegger deals with in her book: What do you do when everything is predestined? How do you make a meaningful life? Instead, it just revels in its own predictability and dullness, because it's a Hollywood love story. And predictability is the Hollywood love story's meat and drink, without which it withers away.

Criminal Activity

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: Involuntary time travel comes with plenty of disadvantages, not the least of which is finding yourself suddenly and unexpectedly naked without any money. Fortunately, the predestination paradox can be a handy survival tool. Time traveler Henry often finds himself sent to the same points in time and space as his younger self, and teaches him how to find clothing, pick locks, and steal wallets. It's sort of like illicit father-son bonding, just with himself.

The Joy of Sex

The Time Traveler's Wife: Another unexpected side effect of time travel is that a horny, adolescent Henry is every now and then confronted with a nearly equally young, equally horny duplicate of himself. This makes for some rather spectacular instances of masturbation, but it's really awkward when his father walks in on him.

—All You Zombies— by Robert Heinlein: The Unmarried Mother was an intersex, though apparently female, teenager who was seduced by a mysterious older man. Many years and a sex change later, she, now he, is sent back in time, where he meets and makes love to a very familiar girl.

The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold: Daniel Eakins is the sort of time traveler who throws caution to the wind, sampling all that time travel has to offer: foiling assassinations, visiting great moments in history, and using his knowledge of the future to bet on the ponies. So it's no wonder that when he meets up with the same- and opposite-sex versions of himself, he tends to get it on with them.

Futurama: Bender's Big Score: When the alien nudists get a hold of the time travel code tattooed on Fry's rear end, they're mostly interested in stealing artifacts from 20th Century Earth, although they do at one point take a time out for Nudar-on-Nudar nookie.

How to Win a Fight

The Kid: Russel Dritz's dirtbag ways may go back to his childhood, when he was picked on by bullies and lost his mother to illness. When Rusty, his younger self, ambles into Russel's life, he finds there are some subtle ways that he can change the past. First on the agenda: Getting the kid into a boxing ring so he can learn how to throw a punch.

How to Become Rich and Powerful

Back to the Future, Part II: The 2015 version of Biff decides that all of his troubles would be solved his he had been extremely wealthy in the past. So he steals Doc Brown's time-traveling DeLorean and, with a 2015 sports almanac in hand, travels to 1955, when he gives the almanac to his younger self. And it seems to work: Biff is rich beyond his wildest dreams, he's quietly had his rival George McFly murdered, and he's married to George's now artificially-endowed widow Lorraine. Of course, it all goes to hell when that pesky Marty McFly appears on the scene.
Gargoyles "Vows:" In move that revealed the entire series as one big predestination paradox, David Xanatos travels back in time on his wedding day to give his younger self a collection of priceless gold coins, along with instructions on how to invest the proceeds from their sale. Is it cheating? Probably, but in Xanatos's mind, it makes him the very definition of a self-made man.

By His Bootstraps by Robert Heinlein: When Bob is pulled thirty thousand years into the future by a slightly older, though no wiser version of himself, he discovers that humans have become a primitive, compliant people. Diktor, a fellow native of the 20th Century, explains that a technologically advanced person could easily become king of these sheep-like folks, and gives Bob a list of 20th Century items to bring to the future. Bob complies, but travels to a point ten years before he meets Diktor. It takes Bob a shockingly long time to realize that he's in a Heinlein story and that he is himself Diktor.

How to Win the Girl of Your Dreams

Futurama: Bender's Big Score: Fry is distraught when Leela, the love of his life, is won over by an older and more mature stranger named Lars. When Lars is revealed to be Fry's older (and this time wiser) duplicate, Fry should probably recognize that he could woo Leela if only he'd successfully reign in his adolescent nature. But it being Fry, he fails to take the lesson to heart, and quickly moves on to another girl.

How to Travel Through Time

The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter: In Baxter's sequel to H.G. Wells The Time Machine, we learn that the Time Traveller didn't build his device completely unaided. A mysterious benefactor gave the Traveller a sample of a radioactive substance to study, a substance that ultimately makes time travel possible. Of course, like all mysterious strangers in time travel stories, the Time Traveller's benefactor is, in fact, an older version of himself.

How to Save the World

Heroes "Five Years Gone:" One of the great things about the power to travel through time is that if you get that whole "save the world" business wrong the first time, you can just keep trying. And Hiro Nakamura has the added benefit of traveling through time to change events himself, and leaving instructions for his much less bad-ass past self.

Doctor Who "Time Crash:" The Doctor meets up with himself a great deal, if for no other reason than two or three or five Doctors are better than one. But sometimes it's just to ensure a little predestination paradox magic. The Fifth Doctor watches the Tenth Doctor create an artificial supernova that cancels out a giant hole in fabric of reality. Naturally, the Tenth Doctor only knows how to do this because he watched himself do it when he was the Fifth Doctor.

Doctor Who "The Parting of the Ways:" Rose Tyler gets her own predestination paradox going when she looks into the heart of the TARDIS. The TARDIS gives her the power to transcend time and space, letting her leave the message "Bad Wolf" to herself in the past that ultimately lead Rose and the Doctor back to this time and place.

Teen Titans "Titans Tomorrow:" When the Teen Titans travel to the future, they're eager to see what they're like as adult superheroes. But the future is unexpectedly bleak, with many of the Titans turned to violence and destruction, tearing the United States in two and turning the Western half into a police state. Fortunately, the Titans are able to learn from their future selves what set these events in motion, and are able to prevent their dystopic future.

Babylon 5: To add another wrinkle in the predestination paradox, Jeffrey Sinclair finds that his entire life is being guided by his future self from the past. Sinclair eventually learns that he is the great Minbari historical figure Valen, and Sinclair must eventually travel back in time, become Valen, and write the prophesies that will guide Sinclair's life in the future. Fate, or proof that his talents transcend time and space?

Wolverine 2:

As we reported the other day, Logan's second outing is headed to Japan. And Hugh Jackman specifically says it'll be based on the Claremont/Miller Japan "saga," because the fans love it. [MTV via Comic Book Resources]

Iron Man 2:

As we reported a while back, there's going to be some major conflict between Rhodey and Tony in the second movie. Actor Don Cheadle explains:

We kept asking ourselves: How does that play out with Tony Stark being an independent contractor doing what he wants to do, and Rhodes actually being in the military? There's a real chain of command he has to follow. What's the conflict that creates?

And it sounds as though this difference in their outlooks plays into the military's desire to take control of the "Iron Man weapon." [MTV via Comic Book Resources]

District 9:

Here's a new "redband" clip from this alien segregation thriller, opening Friday:

And here are some new TV spots:

New Moon:

Here's a 17-second teaser for this movie's full trailer, which comes out this weekend. [Cinemablend]

Taylor Lautner explains that his character joins a wolf pack, which includes the alpha dog (Sam Uley), the funny one (Jared), the hothead (Paul), and the best friend (Embry). Paul goes out with Jacob's girl, so Jacob tears him to shreds. And Lautner's favorite scene isn't in the books — it involves werewolf Quil Ataera and his attempts to be smooth with the ladies. Bella and Jacob are working on his bike, and Embry and Qui come in. Quil tries to be all 007, saying "I'm Ataera. Quil Ataera." Hilarity, no doubt, ensues. [MTV]

The Time Traveler's Wife:

Here's a new-ish TV spot for this romantic time travel drama, opening on Friday:

Supernatural:

I haven't seen this reported anywhere, so this may actually be a bit of a scoop. A casting agency has posted a casting call for episode five — and they're looking for actors to play Abraham Lincoln and Mohandas Gandhi. Apparently these are "heavily featured co-star" roles, but neither character will actually talk. I'm wondering if they have a voiceover speaking thru Lincoln and Gandhi, or if they just stand around? Actually, I'm really wondering if Sam and Dean will be forced to team up with Lincoln in an arena of death. Did Ben Edlund write episode five? [Casting Call]

Lost:

Elizabeth Mitchell says Juliet is in about 20 percent of season six. And there will be some resolution to the Juliet storyline that will make you sigh — so, possibly a bittersweet resolution? — and later on in the season, something that might make you smile. [E! Online]

Mitchell also told a press conference: "I can't say whether I'm dead or not, but as in all things in Lost, it will be fairly tricky." [Wired]

Fringe:

There's no Leonard Nimoy in the first episode of season two, sadly. But he's already filmed one episode for season two, and will be back after that as well. [The TV Addict]

In episode 2x06, "Earthling," we meet Timur Vasiliev, who's wanted in Russia for stealing his brother and bringing him to the U.S. Timur feared the government was experimenting on his brother, so he spirited him away to Russia, where he's been in hiding the past five years. [SpoilerTV]

A blurry cameraphone copy of a new season two trailer:

Dollhouse:

Episode 2x04 is called "Belonging," and in it, we'll meet Matthew Harding, a powerful businessman in his mid-thirties to mid-fifties. He has a strong presence, and is probably a recurring character. (Rossum Corp., maybe?) [SpoilerTV]

Stargate Universe:

The casting call we mentioned yesterday, for brilliant and beautiful paraplegic scientist Eleanor Perry? It's for episode 16, "Sabotage." [Casting Call]

And here are the first 19 episode titles of this new show: "AIR, PART 1," "AIR, PART 2," "AIR, PART 3," "DARKNESS," "LIGHT," "WATER," "EARTH," "TIME," "LIFE," "JUSTICE," "SPACE," "DIVIDED," "FAITH," "HUMAN," "LOST," "SABOTAGE," "PAIN," "SUBVERSION." Are you getting a theme here? I'm getting a theme. [Gateworld]

Heroes:

Here's the official description for season four/volume five, straight from the network:

Claire is finding that her biggest challenges are forgetting her old life and starting college. How does someone who has led such an extraordinary life assimilate back into everyday college life? Any semblance of normalcy is shortly overturned when Claire's roommate commits suicide and Claire discovers her new friend, Gretchen (guest star Madeline Zima), is hiding a secret herself.

Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) goes back to his old life in Japan, but discovers that he has a terminal illness. When Hiro can no longer keep his illness hidden, he sets out to fulfill his own personal bucket-list – righting the mistakes of his past. But will Hiro be able to correct the errors of his ways without severely altering the past and present?

Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) returns to work as an ordinary New York City EMT, but he uses his abilities to save lives. Peter has become obsessed, looking for redemption and shutting out the rest of the world he once knew. How can he forget the past and begin anew? Peter's life will quickly change when a hearing impaired woman, Emma (guest star Deanne Bray), enters his life. Emma has used her disability as an excuse to shut herself off from the world. But as a new and unique ability manifests, the shell she's built around herself will begin to crack apart – as will Peter's.

H.R.G. is adjusting to life as a single man. Charged with creating a new company, he is rapidly discovering that he needs more from his life. But how does a company man become ordinary? And, when Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) returns and offers H.R.G. compelling evidence of a new danger, it makes H.R.G. wonder if he should get back in the game.

Tracy Strauss, having risen from the dead, is consumed with seeking vengeance, but soon realizes that she has a real opportunity to reinvent herself. The question is: who should she be?

Nathan Petrelli, not realizing who he really is, returns to the Senate and begins to notice strange changes in himself. Most alarming, Nathan discovers that he has new abilities. These changes are not lost on Angela, who recognizes them for what they truly are – the emergence of Sylar.

Meanwhile, racked by the guilt of what he did to Sylar and Nathan, Matt Parkman returns to life as an ordinary family man. All he wants to do is to raise his son, love his wife and return to a fulfilling career as an LAPD detective. But what Matt doesn't know is that something unfamiliar is buried deep within his psyche – Matt can see and hear Sylar. And this specter will haunt him until Sylar is returned to his body.

The biggest challenge for our heroes is a strange and dangerous carnival comprised of a traveling band of outsiders with powerful abilities, led by a charismatic and powerful leader, Samuel (Robert Knepper). Alongside Samuel is his right hand man, Edgar (guest star Ray Park), a deadly Speedster with a talent for knives, and Lydia (guest star Dawn Olivieri) the Tattooed Lady.

Samuel leads his flock to intersect with the lives of all of our heroes. He will find them, and he will entice them to join him. And together, they will ask the same basic questions: Who are we? What does having powers mean to the world? How should we live our lives – shameful or proud? Should we hide or live out in the open? And if the world of powers is revealed, how will the world ever recover?

[Herosite]

Vampire Diaries:

The first three episodes of this vamp-tastic show will be called "Pilot," "Night Of The Comet" and "Friday Night Bites." [SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Avatar:

MarketSaw's description of the Comic Con footage from this film includes a few new details. Like, the disabled Jake Sully muscles his way out of his wheelchair and into his control bed, grabbing each of his legs in turn by the pants leg and swinging it over. Then, his mind is transferred into his alien Avatar body, and everything is different. The technicians tell him "Welcome to your new body," and he tries touching his thumb with his fingers. He steps down onto the floor, and we focus on his giant blue feet. Jake gets startled by his own tail, which wraps around him, and causes havoc in the lab. Jake, unused to his new Avatar body, goes a bit berzerk, and the technicians try to sedate him, but Jake rips off his electrodes and leaves the lab, with the technicians giving chase. [MarketSaw]

Star Trek:

Nero won't fiddle while the Federation burns. Eric Bana confirms he won't be back for any sequels, and his character was just a one-off for the first movie. [MovieWeb]

Iron Man 2:

A couple more tidbits from Marvel's set reports. SHIELD agent Coulson (the guy who couldn't come up with an acronym in the first movie) will be back, which seems surprising since we have Nick Fury now. As for Fury, all that Kevin Feige would say is that his role will be at least comparable to his appearance in the first film — which is an odd statement, given that he was in the first film for 20 seconds, and we've already seen more footage than that featuring him.
[Marvel]

The Time Traveler's Wife:

Warner Bros. released a slew of promo pics from this time-crossed romance film, coming August 14. [Warner Bros.]

Gamer:

There's a new trailer for this deadly-video-games film, plus a new TV spot... and a new trailer in German, which I think is the same as the other one. Only more Teutonic.

Jennifer's Body:

Fangoria visited the set of this film, and watched a scene where Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried visit a bar, pretending to be over 21 when they're still in high school. Also, writer Diablo Cody says her screenplay references horror masters Herschell Gordon Lewis and Dario Argento. And the film is definitely a callback to 1970s-early 1980s horror films, rather than a straight-up gorefest. The movie's horror conceit is a metaphor for what's happening in the relationship between Fox's and Seyfried's characters. Fox's character has to feed on human flesh, or else she wastes away — which only has the effect of making her look like a lot of typical girls. [via SpoilerTV-Movies]

[Rec] 2:

A new trailer for this Spanish horror sequel includes some new footage. [Bloody Disgusting]

New Moon:

Apparently that thing about the ancient and powerful Volturi sitting around stark naked in one scene was just a joke on the part of actor Jamie Campbell-Bower, says director Chris Weitz. [Bella And Edward]

Lost:

A new Italian trailer for season six makes the show sound all suave and sophisticated. And reveals, ummm... that there'll be an island. And stuff.

Dollhouse:

Joss Whedon explains that in the new season, Echo (Eliza Dushku) will start out being aware that "As a person, she exists, and she has a mission. She has something she wants. This year, we're going to see the results of everything she went through... We're going to find her to be a great deal less passive and more directed in what she wants. And that's going to make her life a good deal harder." [New Jersey Star-Ledger]

Fringe:

Here are a set of new promo pics of our cast members. [Fringe Bloggers]

Smallville:

Here's a new teaser for season nine, plus the spoilery clip they showed at SDCC. [OSCK]

Vampire Diaries:

Here's a new trailer for the most hotly anticipated show with "diaries" in the title:

And there are some casting script pages from the third episode, where Jenna meets her old flame Logan, who's in his late 20s and they trade insults and barbs that prove they have tons of unresolved sexual/romantic tension. Like she tells him he has a receding hairline. Smouldering! [SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Gamer:

Here's a sneak peek from this deadly video game movie, showcasing the rapport (or lack thereof) between Kable and his young "player":

G.I. Joe:

New TV spots cover the basics. Legs, boobs, nanomites, disaster, explosions, super-power-armor, grim faces — it is on.

Green Hornet:

The Green Hornet's car will be the original 1966 model, but with huge massive weapons that weren't around in 1966, like Gatling guns and stuff. And Seth Rogen talks how campy the film will be. [Cinematical]

Jennifer's Body:

Here's another new image of the sexy-but-deadly-but-sexy Megan Fox. [Cinemablend]

The Time Traveler's Wife:

Here are a few new TV spots that show off this movie's tormented love story:

Asteroids:

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura says he was attracted to this film because "it tells you that there's going to be this big thing in space." And he explains more about the film's storyline:

We've crafted a really strong, deep mythology for the thing. Without divulging too much about it, it's two lead characters – two brothers – who have to go through a seminal experience to figure out their relationship, against this huge backdrop.

[Sci Fi Scoop]

2012:

Some new stills, plus a new poster. [Sci Fi Scoop]

G-Force:

They're guinea pigs. And they fight evil. Behold:

Harry Potter:

And finally, a Harry TV spot:

The Prisoner:

Wired had a one-on-one interview with Sir Ian McKellen, who plays Number Two — although, really, he's actually Number One. And this version of Number Two has a wife and son, and his family is crucial to the reason for the Village's existence. McKellen described his character:

Number Two is very ironic. At times, he's very loving and bewlidered, because he's confused. He's not convinced that he's doing the right thing, because it causes him a lot of pain. And that's the sign of a mature script. Jim was saying in an interview that it is easy to see Number Six is right and that Number Two is a dreadful man. But then, in the next scene, one can see it from a different point of view.

[Wired]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Star Trek 2:

Is this movie Trek 2 or Trek 12? You decide! In any case, co-writer Roberto Orci hints that some more changes to the timeline could happen in the sequel, although nobody's scribbled so much as a napkin so far:

I think the major lesson we learned is that fans were willing to accept differences and surprises, provided that they were somehow echoes or inspired by canon. We still have to be true to Star Trek the next time around, but we've also been blessed with being able to be unpredictable. And that doesn't mean we can just be shocking for no good reason and just throw everything away. ... It still has to echo everything that Star Trek has been.

[Sci Fi Wire]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Now it's the trade journals' turn to review this movie. Variety says the special effects are improved and the robots are more expressive, but nothing else has changed. When Sam goes to college, he attends a frat party that appears to take place in a strip club, and then he's "treated to a sort of lap dance by a Decepticon posing as a nymphomaniacal freshman." (But they didn't get the "Desexycon" memo.) And there's a shot of John Turturro in a G-string. Because you demanded it, whoever you are. At one point, Optimus muses, "If God made us in his image, then who made Him?" The big forest battle leaves Optimus Prime ready for the scrap heap. The actors have to shout to be heard over the noises and the thunderous music.

The Hollywood Reporter says the movie is an Indiana Jones-style quest for a 1,000-year-old "matrix" that will bring life back to the stricken Optimus Prime. And the movie is basically 147 minutes of colored metal flying around and people shouting loudly and quickly, so you can't understand what they're saying... but you don't really need to know what anyone's saying anyway.

Empire Online says there's a notable moment during the big robot-smackdown in Egypt, when Devastator (made out of several construction vehicles) is cilmbing a pyramid. The camera tilts so we can see Devastator's underside, and two wrecking balls dangle in our faces. Yes, Constructicon tea-bagging is here. Also, dogs hump each other, robots hump human legs, and the camera is glued to Megan Fox's torso. There are 42 robots, including one that can become a jaguar, one that can become a Dyson vacuum cleaner, and one that can become ball bearings to get inside secure facilities. You won't remember which robot is which, and there are four gremlin-esque bots that seem interchangeable. The Fallen can toss tanks around using his jagged staff. (Oh, and the Fallen is voiced by Tony Todd, not Leonard Nimoy as hinted a while back.) In the movie's opening Shanghai sequence, Optimus jumps on the face of a giant unicycle and tells it to "pull over." [via TLAMB]

We3

The comic-book adaptation I'm most excited about is still on track. Producer Don Murphy says he has a director for this film, John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) — and the film will be live-action, with a combination of CG, puppetry and real live animals. The cyborg animals' voices will be realized as a sort of robotic monotone, reflecting the fact that the animals have electrodes in their larynxes. Murphy's still looking for a studio for this picture, though. [Sci Fi Wire]

Ghostbusters 3:

During an interview about the new video game, Dan Aykroyd teases what you'll see in the third movie:

Well, for sure we need new recruits. We need a whole new team of Ghostbusters, because the generation of my Ghostbusters are all getting hip and knee replacements. Also, we don't have the strength to handle the heavy equipment to catch the ghosts. We need fresh and new blood to fill up the uniforms. That's the first element we need. And if we can train them with the ethics we had and a similar sense of humor, I think we can have good characters and a good story there. I think as far as bringing back the old cast it will be more like in the new STAR TREK — with cameo styles. But for now, I call this video game our third sequel.

[iF Magazine]

The Time Traveler's Wife:

This time-traveling romance put up a new website, with the following synopsis:

Clare (McAdams) has been in love with Henry (Bana) her entire life. She believes they are destined to be together, even though she never knows when they will be separated: Henry is a time traveler, cursed with a rare genetic anomaly that causes him to live his life on a shifting timeline, skipping back and forth through his lifespan with no control. Despite the fact that Henry's travels force them apart with no warning, Clare desperately tries to build a life with her one true love.

[Time Traveler's Wife via Sci Fi Wire]

Shorts:

Here's the new poster for this Robert Rodriguez joint about a kid who finds a rainbow stone with magical properties. [IGN]

The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Some new set pics show Monica Belucci and Nic Cage... I have a bad feeling about this. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Fringe:

A casting call for the series opener includes three new characters. There's a nurse in her early thirties, who takes care of a patient after an accident. She has olive skin and dark hair, but "could be a dark-skinned caucasian." She seems trustworthy, chatting with a patient in the hospital room, but it's clear there's something weird about her. And the actor should be able to portray an assassin.

Also, there's Rebecca, a "real-looking," not glamorous girl in her late teens, early twenties, around 1978. She gets "stoned beyond belief" on some concoction that Walter was working on back then, and talks in a "sexy/funny/scary stupor." And finally, there's Lloyd Parr, a "hyper-competent" guy in his thirties to early fifties. They're seeking a "strong character actor" who can play someone out of John Frankenheimer movie. [SpoilerTV]

Heroes:

Here are the first set pics from season four. Claire is on campus, with her roommate Gretchen (the black-haired woman behind her) and they're going to some kind of anti-war rally. (I love how this show keeps up with what the kids are doing nowadays.) And she pauses to chat with some cheerleaders. More pics at the link. [The ODI]

Lost:

I don't think Michael Emerson has seen any scripts for season six yet, but he says he's got a vague sense that Ben still has an important role to play in season six, and he "hopes" Ben survives until almost the last episode. And he says that it's entirely possible Ben will escape any retribution for his crimes. If the island itself gets destroyed, Ben will still find a way out, says Emerson:

Ben is a great man for the secret exit. Ben always has an escape, I think. It may be a piece of wood, floating on the ocean. Or it may be a rope, or a secret door. Or, you know, an Ecuadorian passport and a plastic bag, something like that. He's probably going to survive

[E! Online]

Flash Forward:

A couple new promos for this ABC series based on Robert J. Sawyer's book. [FlashForwardSeries.com]

Chuck:

Not sure if this is a spoiler or just speculation, but TV Guide's Matt Roush believes the new shorter season of this show will feature fewer annoying subplots at the Buy More. [TV Guide via Chuck TV]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Green Lantern:

Thank goodness, that flawed draft of this superhero movie's script we reviewed a while back wasn't the final version. Screenwriter Marc Guggenheim says he just turned in another draft. And he calls it a "loving, respectful approach" that draws from comics throughout the character's decades in comics. [Sci Fi Wire]

Inception:

A couple of minor details about Chris Nolan's widely anticipated next movie. Joseph Gordon-Levitt confims he has a fairly major role in the film, and says Nolan has a particular way he wants the project to be unveiled to the public — suggesting there's some kind of mystery or secret inside the film. Also, the Calgary Sun quotes sources as saying a lot of filming will happen around Fortress Mountain, with an elaborate set being built. This film's only description says it takes place within "the architecture of the mind" — could that literally be a type of architecture? [MTV and Calgary Sun]

The Time Traveler's Wife:

We showed you a smaller version of this movie's poster the other day. Now here's the giant version. [New Line Cinema]

G.I. Joe:

Someone who claims to have seen a test screening of this powersuit epic has a fairly damning review. There are tons of silly one liners and far fetched tech, but the film also tries to ground itself in today's sociopolitical reality. G.I. Joe is actually a branch of NATO that recruits members from all over the world. The story revolves around a suitcase full of warheads full of self-replicating, super-destructive nanomachines, which keeps changing places between COBRA and the Joes, over and over again. Also, the film starts with a 1700s era flashback explaining villain James McCullen Destro XXIV. Oh, and those famous power suits don't turn up that much in the movie. [Slashfilm]

John Carter Of Mars:

Add another star to this Martian epic. Thomas Haden Church told an interviewer he'll play a role that's "very dramatic," which people are guessing refers to Tars Tarkas, an alien warrior who butts heads with John Carter but eventually becomes his sidekick. [Reel Talk via The Cinema Post]

Wanted 2:

Timur Bekmambetov told Russian media that he plans to start shooting this sequel late this fall or in the winter, and shooting will take place in America, India and Russia. Also, he claimed he's found a way to bring back Fox, Angelina Jolie's character. Also coming back: the Executioner, played by Kostya Khabenskiy. [Coming Soon]

Lost:

There's now mutual interest between Dominic Monaghan and the producers for having Charlie reappear in this show's final season, sources say. [E! Online]

Battlestar Galactica:

Ronald D. Moore says "The Plan," the TV movie airing this fall, has lots of surprises, even though we know how the story ends now. There are lots of breadcrumbs and tidbits that give us a new slant on the events we already know. And apparently the focus of the movie is in-fighting among the Cylons, after their scheme to wipe out humanity leaves resistance fighters and a fleet of refugees. [Wired]

Supernatural:

Sources say Anna will reappear next season. Yay! [E! Online]

True Blood:

In next week's episode, Jessica is having trouble adjusting to her new vampy status, and she misses her family, so she asks Sookie to drive her to her parents' house so she can take a look. But she ends up nearly killing her dad before Bill steps in, and blames Sookie for stirring up a mess of trouble. Also, more is revealed about Tara's boyfriend Eggs, who spent time in prison for drugs, armed robbery, and assault. Lafayette asks Eric to turn him into a vampire. And Sam turns into a dog again. [E! Online]

Also, in season two we'll go deeper into Eric's character and realize that he actually has a sensitive, loyal side. He doesn't like that many people, but if he likes you, he'll be a great friend. [Sci Fi Wire]

Eureka:

Here are the titles of the first four episodes of the new half-season: "Welcome Back Carter," "Your Face Or Mine," "Insane In The P-Brane," and "It's Not Easy Being Green." [SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

The Time Traveler's Wife opens August 14. And hopefully we'll get a bigger version of that poster soon. For now, you can watch the trailer in high definition over at Yahoo. [via RopeOfSilicon]

• A possibly fake but super-detailed summary of Cloverfield says the monster is a giant humanoid, with a scaly face and angry red eyes. It sheds parasites which grow inside people until they explode and smaller jagged-tooth monsters bust out. (Or maybe the parasites come from tainted Slusho! drinks?) The annoying "slut" dies early on (shockingly) and pretty much everyone dies later. Going back to find the injured Beth turns out to be a mistake. So does getting on that evac helicopter. The movie ends when the "cameraman" and his battery are both about to die. [1-18-08News]
• There are a lot of "really really unique" robots in the maybe-delayed Transformers 2, promises director Michael Bay. [Slashfilm]
• Another tidbit about Cadet Kirk cheating on the Kobiyashi Maru no-win-situation test in Star Trek: apparently his brilliant re-programming of the simulation consists of seducing a woman into fixing it for him. [CinemaBlend]
• Shannyn Sossamon's character in One Missed Call has an abusive past, which may be why the evil force chooses her cellphone to hijack. Meanwhile, a diminutive knife-killer slaughters tons of cute young girls, exults star Edward Burns. [ShockTillYouDrop]
• Battlestar's Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol) is an alien-hater who locks Clark in a special prison, on Smallville. [Kryptonsite]
• Heroes rumor: Volume Three, "Villains," will feature a new big bad named Benjamin Washington who rampages through New Orleans and kills Micah. [SuperHiro.org]
• Besides the "Oceanic Six" who get off the island in Lost, one other person escapes during season four. [SpoilerFix]
• First two Doctor Who episode titles in season four are "Partners In Crime" and "The Sontaran Stratagem." The latter is written by Helen "Daleks In Manhattan" Raynor, so be warned. [Spoiler TV]
• Meanwhile in Who spinoff Torchwood, Jack and Ianto follow up their "stopwatch" innuendo by going on a real date. [ickleprince]
• If you miss Journeyman, you'll welcome preview images from The Time Traveler's Wife, the movie of Audrey Niffenegger's novel about a woman (Rachel McAdams) who marries a guy (Eric Bana) who time-travels when he gets stressed.[CinemaBlend]