Sure, you might think that flopping at the box office (well, relatively; it was a very cheap movie to make by summer blockbuster standards, after all) and being slated by critics might have made that a slightly more closed question, but that's because you weren't paying attention to the people that matter: the fans. Spotnitz explains:

I do think the fans did love it, although the popular media didn't pick up on that.

That damn popular media, paying more attention to all of the overwhelming majority of Americans who decided not to go and see the movie. Damn their anti-conspiracy-exposing agenda. So what news were we robbed of, according to Spotnitz?

My impression is that it was overwhelmingly well received by fans. But there is no denying that the box office was very disappointing. We've done dramatically better overseas. We'll probably hit $70 million worldwide, which is a profit.

A profit indeed... and one that just might fuel Spotnitz's vision of an eternal franchise:

I've always felt that "The X-Files" could go on forever. The believer/skeptic dynamic was such a great storytelling vehicle, and the fact that we could use anything we don't understand makes the possibilities limitless. There are so many X-Files that we could keep telling these for years if there is an audience.

You know what I want to believe? That that's not going to happen. Wasn't a nine-season and two movie run enough?

Reflections: Frank Spotnitz [Comic Book Resources]

In an interview with IGN, Chris Carter explained that:

"We love the alien storyline too, but we felt coming back this time — when a story like this was not only true to the series but allows us to focus on Mulder and Scully more, you don't have to deal with all the complications in the alien storyline. But if there were to be more films — and we're not at all taking it for granted that there will be — but if there were that's something we would definitely want to get back too..."

So...how'd that go Chris? I know people love Mulder and Scully (so do I) but the reason I love them is not as a result of these two sitting down and talking about "their relationship." I don't need to imagine what the X-Files would be like with out the actual X-Files, I was given it in 2, and no thanks. The part that made you love these crazy kids was the suspense and drama. Fox is hot because he's always saving Scully and vice versa — plus they push each others buttons, even when being attacked by an alien spacecraft. It's the relationship after being frozen, beaten and abducted, the parts they piece together in the wake of trauma, that make it a love that will stand the test of time. Take that love out of X-Files and you have a drama about two middle aged nobodies, who are unhappy with everything.

So praise be to Skinner, if they're going to make another, make it about aliens and for martian's sake bring back cancer man.

[IGN]

With the latest Batman movie having had the most successful first sixteen days of release ever (beating Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Curse, the previous record-holder, with an estimated take around $314 million), it's now comfortably in the realm of ridiculously successful for studio Warner Bros. To put its success in some perspective, the movie's box office take this weekend alone is seven times higher than the opening weeknd take of X-Files: I Want To Believe and $13 million higher than the entire gross to date of Mamma Mia. Of course, if Meryl Streep had beaten up her mother earlier in the week, that story may be somewhat different.

Internationally, the box office domination of The Dark Knight is just as pronounced; Variety reports that the foreign box office of the movie was larger than the cumulative take of the next four most popular movies, despite the movie not yet having been released in key markets like France, Germany and Japan.

With numbers like this, it's fair to say that Chris Nolan is probably mulling over just how far he can push his luck when Warners comes to ask what it'll take to make a third Batman movie with Christian Bale. Our advice, Chris? Demand that you won't do it until they give you your own small tropical island. We all know that they'll try and find some way to make it happen.

'Dark Knight' rules second weekend [Hollywood Reporter]
'Dark Knight' reigns overseas [Variety]

It's been many years since Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) worked together. Both have left the bureau and are pursuing their own personal work. Scully is pushing for advanced research on a cute little patient that's marked for death, while Mulder spends his time clipping articles in his crazy room and growing a fantastic beard. Mulder has all but been forgotten by the FBI and is now regarded as a alien nut (hence the beard).

Conveniently located about a few miles from where both Scully and Mulder are living in West Virgina, a young FBI agent has gone missing and the only lead the government has is a psychic priest who also happens to be a raging pedophile Father Joe (Billy Connolly). Father Joe leads the FBI team manned by Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) and Drummy (Xzibit) to a severed arm in the snow but still he can't find the girl and knows not why they're linked. Whitney believes in Mulder, but not his tag-along girlfriend Scully, and she asks him to leave his life of recluse and help the team find their FBI agent.

Back in the swing of things, Scully and Mulder team up again to go all bad cop good cop on Father Joe. Scully just can't seem to let go of the fact that Joe molested 37 altar boys in church. The actual digging and investigating that both Scully and Mulder do is by far the best part of the movie. It's been a long time since the audience has seen the pair in action, and immediately it reminds you why everyone loved these two. Scully and Mulder pushed each other and dealt with these supernatural and paranormal happenings by breaking down each others psyches and flaws. It made it more interesting to watch Scully battle her disbelief and Mulder try to rein himself in from blindly believing any psychic. It's why the two worked. But when you focus that sort of tension on a relationship, it just sounds like a pair of bickering babies. Especially when you give them lines like, "Your stubborness is why I love you, but it's also why we can't be together."

The fleeting moments where the two succeed are bludgeoned to death with the will-they-won't-they arguing. Once back investigating the "dark side," Scully freaks out and can't handle it. She hates losing Mulder to his scifi passions — which is symbolically represented by the shaving of his beard, sigh. While they are more entertaining to watch on the case, battling the big bad seems to rip the two apart as Scully lays down an ultimatum: her or the X-Files. But not before the incredibly uncomfortable moment where Scully makes penis jokes about Mulder's junk being bigger than "a little something" in bed. Too much information, Mr. Carter.

Meanwhile, the FBI team has discovered that the disappearance of the FBI agent is actually linked to multiple disappearances across the community. Father Joe leads the team to a frozen lake full of limbs and extremities. The FBI decides that all these body parts point to a black market organ-harvesting operation.

After googling Stem Cell Research a few times, Scully stumbles upon some old research where Russians try to amputate and reattach dog heads. Seeing these pictures makes her believe that this isn't a black market operation but a Dr. Frankenstein lab. She pieces this together from google? Isn't she a doctor? Wouldn't she know a little more about stem cell research? How did amputated dog heads pop up in that google search? And why is that where she goes with this discovery, erroneous. Anyways here's a video similar to the things she printed out from google.

Meanwhile the black market henchman (Callum Keith Rennie) is running all over town picking up more body parts for his monster boyfriend and pushing over anyone in his way. Callum's character is simply a menace. There is an attempt at a big reveal when they show his connection to Father Joe, but his character showed so few emotions besides rage that you can't really be bothered to care what happens to him.

Either way, the gang catches up to the Frankenstein lab just in the nick of time to catch a few monstrous creations. True to X-Files form one of the agents is put in peril and the other has to save them. You know they're never going to kill off Mulder or Scully because then they couldn't make more movies. So it's really a moot point when either of them (or their relationship) is in danger. But the fairly exciting lab scene ending makes way for one amazing cameo that brought cheers from the crowd (which I won't spoil cause it's the only exciting thing that happens in the movie).

The film spends too many moments arguing about emotions, and not enough time on monsters or aliens. I'm distressed that they decided not to follow a mythology and add to the spook factor. There are no aliens, black oil, super soldiers and not one cancer man to speak of. Any reference to the shows past was made in an extraordinarily superficial manner: for example they way Mulder off-handedly remarks about their child that passed away in one sentence, or a pan in on sunflower seeds. It's almost crass how carelessly they throw away the characters' past.

And moments for exciting character development were tossed aside. For example nothing was done with the obvious flirting the lady FBI Agent Whitney was attempting with Mulder. Why not throw in a little jealousy and mix it up? Instead the movie just uses her for a cheap thrill when nameless henchman throws her down an elevator shaft. Mulder isn't even upset when she dies.

Overall this movie could have been so much more exciting. They were experimenting with severed heads here, people! But the actual science fiction took a back seat to Scully and Mulder's relationship, which made no real process at all. So go if you're a fan looking to see what these two look like now, but don't expect any sort of validation for the years you dedicated to this show's mythology. It's just a lot of bickering and a few cheap thrills.

Terminator: Salvation:

Here's another new image from the fourth Terminator film. [IGN]

Star Trek:

So the villain of the J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot/requel, Nero, is supposed to be the leader of a merry band of Romulans. But you might have noticed, in the posters that came out the other day, that he has no pointy ears. And weird face tattoos. What gives? Co-writer Alex Kurtzman says Nero "isn't necessarily a Romulan," and that "It's all part of the plot." [Trek Web]

X-Files: I Want To Believe:

Is the new X-Files movie a shipper lovefest? Well, this smoochy new TV spot may give you a bit of a clue.

Monsters Vs. Aliens:

Some new trading cards give some more insights into the characters in Monsters Vs. Aliens, the 3-D animated movie that's just what it sounds like. Stephen Colbert is the president of the United States and Kiefer Sutherland is the crazy General W.R. Monger, who's been locked in Area 52 along with the monsters he caught. Insectosaurus is a grub who was exposed to radiation and grew to 350 feet, and Reese Witherspoon's Ginormica was hit by a meteor on her wedding day and grew to 49 feet, 11 inches. Dr. Cockroach, PhD (Hugh Laurie) was trying to combine the survival traits of cockroaches with humans, when he accidentally gave himself a cockroach head. And the Missing Link is pretty self-explanatory. [Film School Rejects and Slashfilm]

Repo! The Genetic Opera:

A new review gives some details about the organ-repossession musical. Buffy's Anthony Stewart Head plays Nathan, a blade-wielding scientist who's convinced he's responsible for the death of his wife and the illness of his goth daughter Shilo. Rotti Largo, owner of GeneCo, tricks Nathan into becoming his Repo man, collecting on debts and "the occasional kidney." Shilo is the emotional core of the film. Weird bits of casting include Paris Hilton and Phantom Of The Opera star Sarah Brightman. In a weird twist, the painkiller used in organ transplants can be harvested from the dead, and the operatic Grave Robber is the one who collects it. [Variety]

Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Here are a couple of new trailers for the Terminator TV show, which includes some new footage of crazy homicidal Summer Glau and resolute, gun-clicking Sarah Connor. Who takes a shower.

Battlestar Galactica (And Torchwood):

With both Jamie "Apollo" Bamber and Freema "Martha" Agyeman starring in Law And Order: UK, they may both be too busy to film other things. Which may mean no Lee Adama in a forthcoming BSG TV movie. And no Martha Jones in Torchwood? [Digital Spy]

Heroes:

The Petrelli brothers spend more time together this season. And Tim Kring told Milo Ventimiglia that anyone who dies this year stays dead for real. Really. No kidding. [Sci Fi Wire]

Knight Rider:

Here's a new preview of the smart-car show you're most excited for in the fall season. [Spoiler TV]

Both early reviews, at Ain't It Cool News and Voize, agree that the movie is kind of boring and emotionless. Writer/director Chris Carter has said in many interviews that he wouldn't allow the cast to have full copies of the script, to guard against leaks. And as a result, the cast appear not to know what's supposed to be going on in the movie, leading to flat, dull performances. Not a lot happens in the movie, and it feels like a TV episode padded out to 90 minutes.

But the feelings of major dread come from reading the spoilers in the AICN review. If true, they make the film sound truly hideous. First and foremost, Billy Connolly's psychic priest character, Father Joe, is a convicted pedophile who's been defrocked as a result. The FBI agents are forced to work with him because he holds the key to finding a kidnapped FBI agent, through his psychic connection with her. It's sort of a Clarice/Hannibal situation, except that Father Joe's pedophilia isn't dealt with meaningfully. And the movie hints that the victims of pedophiles are more dangerous than the pedophiles themselves.

Also, Scully mentions rather casually that her baby is dead, as a convenient way to let her and Mulder sally forth without worrying about a kid. And it's also mentioned in passing that the FBI has stopped chasing Mulder and Scully, even though the charges against them were never dropped. It's just mentioned, but not really explained. There's a subplot about Scully's administrative duties at a hospital that goes nowhere. There's a weird sight gag involving a picture of George Bush and a picture of J. Edgar Hoover, which falls flat. More importantly, the movie supposedly has a third act that verges on unintentional comedy.

[Ain'tItCoolNews and Voize]

Dragonball:

The Dragonball live-action movie follows a boy named Goku, who tries to fulfill his dying grandpa's request to find a great master and unite seven balls of power, to prevent an alien's rise to power. Jamie Chung (Samurai Girl) plays Chi Chi, a strong female character with martial arts skills. [Sci Fi Wire]

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

Here are a couple of new TV spots for the upcoming Clone Wars animated movie. [KamuiWeb]

X-Files 2:

Neither Scully nor Mulder dies at the end of X-Files: I Want To Believe. The movie focuses on the power of their relationship, and the final scene is just the two of them together, says co-writer Frank Spotnitz. [NJ.com]

Battlestar Galactica:

Right before Battlestar Galactica wrapped filming, fans noticed a Baltar/Six scene filming downtown in Vancouver. It featured Baltar wearing a suit and Six in her va-va-voom red dress, with really big hair. So it's probably a head-Baltar/Six scene. It had lots of extras wandering around them, but probably wasn't taking place on Caprica. [Television Without Pity forums]

Life On Mars:

More details about how the American Life On Mars alters the storyline of the British cult hit about a cop who time travels via head injury. The new producers hinted that we'll learn that Sam Tyler definitely isn't in a coma, or at least there may be more to it than that. "If he was ultimately just in a coma, or it was all a dream, it felt unsatisfying," says executive producer Josh Appelbaum. "So we made it a deeper mystery."

In the second episode, Sam writes on the blackboard 13 different possible explanations for his time-traveling, including the idea that he's on "a separate plane of reality." We won't have to worry about Sam changing the future through his travel back to 1973, because it's not really a time-travel show. Or maybe it is. But really it's something "much deeper" than time travel. I'm actually hoping, for the first time, that the U.S. version doesn't get cancelled after a week, because it'll be entertaining to see where they go with taking the simplicity of the British version and making it "deeper." [Sci Fi Wire]

The Sarah Jane Adventures:

The new producer of the kid-friendly Doctor Who spinoff, Nikki Smith, revealed some more details about the second season. After Maria and her dad move out of Sarah Jane's neighborhood in the first story, the Chandra family moves in to their house. The daughter, Rani, wants to be a journalist and looks up to Sarah Jane. But it doesn't sound as though Rani is THE Rani or anything. Also, a "rogue" Sontaran appears in both the first and last stories of the season, and the evil Miss Wormwood's return happens in the final story. (Which is the one with the Brigadier.) Bradley Walsh plays an alien who has three identities. And the Doctor may indeed show up. [SFX]

Heroes:

Peter gets a bullet in the back of the head (probably from when Future Claire shoots him). And whoever Ali Larter's playing this week gets her throat slashed, with tons of blood everywhere. Also, when Hiro stops time, his speedster nemesis Daphne just slows to normal speed. (I was wondering how that was going to work.) And here's a new pic of Hiro and Daphne. [Heroes The Series]

And Hayden Panettiere hinted that she plays two characters in the upcoming season — presumably present Claire and Future Evil Claire. She may not be the only person who gets to have an evil doppleganger. [Show Biz Spy]

Chuck:

Here's the first picture of Nicole Richie as Sarah's old high-school rival, from an upcoming episode of Chuck. (Click to enlarge.) [Entertainment Weekly, via Chuck Online]

Stargate Atlantis:

In the 16th episode of the current Stargate Atlantis season, "Brain Storm," Rodney McKay has a reunion with his old school frenemy, Malcolm Tunney, who's gone on to fame and fortune. Meanwhile, Rodney hasn't published in years and can't tell anyone what he really does. Rodney brings Dr. Jennifer Keller back to Earth as his "date" for Tunney's scientific presentation, in a secret desert facility. Tunney is about to test a device so important, the room is full of big-wigs. But some of Tunney's colleagues have warned of disastrous consequences should he activate the device. He switches it on, and the room's temperature drops — it seems like the device is a weather-controller, which could help to combat global warming. Everybody applauds, until they realize the device can't be shut down, and it endangers the lives of everyone there. [Spoiler Geeks]

Lost:

A few more tidibits about Lost season five. Actor Harold Perrineau was annoyed his character, Michael, was killed off, but the producers promise the show will be an "equal opportunity murderer" in the future, killing lots of white people. [TenGossip]

Knight Rider:

Another batch of Knight Rider script pages have gotten leaked, for the episode "A Hard Day's Knight." The Feds intercept a kid carrying a briefcase, but it turns out not to be the briefcase they're looking for — someone is being tricky and using the kid as a distraction. The feds need to get their hands on a bad guy who smuggled stolen National Security Agency intelligence to North Korea. Mike wears a Mission Impossible-style mask to meet the evil courier, pretending to be someone else, and then gets the drop on him.

Then Mike has to go undercover as the courier to get the goods on his bosses. Mike has to use KITT's technical wizardry to put on the courier's voice and fake the courier's retinal scans. They give Mike the case containing the "goods," but then they inject him with a hypodermic needle in the neck! The bad guy, Ash, explains that he's ensured Mike's loyalty by poisoning him! Oh noes! He has three hours before his nervous system shuts down, and he doesn't get the antidote until he makes the drop. Worst yet, Mike may have to miss a wedding he's supposed to go to with Sarah, his not-really-a-girlfriend.

Mike is struggling to complete his mission as the poison drains his strength. Wearing his Mission Impossible mask again, he has to get a ladies' purse from a coat check, and feels all embarrassed. He's searching through a crowded convention center, using computer vision that makes him all confused and wigged out, looking for his target. And his concentration is going. He finally identifies his target: a rich inspirational speaker named Damien Richards, founder and CEO of Innovative Technologies. Mike can barely walk, but luckily KITT has escape routes planned and is going to come get him. Mike shoots Richards and runs away.

Two police officers show up. KITT advises him against engaging in a physical confrontation in his weakened state, but he says "too late" and decks both cops with brutal efficiency. The murder of Damien Richards is all over the news. Worst yet, there may not be any antidote for the poison. But then it turns out that Mike didn't really kill that Richards guy — it was fake blood. Phew! The fake blood tastes like cherries.

Later, Sarah and someone named Rivai corner Ash and demand the antidote at gunpoint. Rivai says right now Ash is only facing attempted murder of a government agent, but if Mike dies it becomes actual real murder, for reals. Ash pulls out a vial, but then smashes it on the ground! Nooo! Sarah soaks up some of the liquid using her shirt and then gives it to KITT the supercar to analyze. [Spoiler TV]

Thanks to Lauren Davis for research help.

The X-Files Conspiracy Timeline

Beginning four and a half billion years ago and ending with 2002 series finale "The Truth," this timeline chronicles every event of The X-Files by episode title and exact date. Website creator Mike Marek also provides a conspiracy-specific timeline that collects only the events pertaining to the show's unique mythology, a Lone Gunmen timeline, and an essay with Marek's own interpretation of what the X-Files mythology means.

The X-Files Mythology Guide

For every mythology-related episode in each season, sitemaster Derek Beebe provides a rundown, an analysis, and a bulleted list of plot points. This is a painstakingly detailed and thoughtful exploration of the series, and, impressively, it's near-complete: the Mythology Guide covers the first eight seasons and the first movie.

Cracking the Conspiracy: Making Sense of the X-Files Mythology Arc

This giant essay by Anthony Leong takes readers through each separate aspect of the X-Files mythology, complete with pictures and quotes. Though it only covers the first five seasons of the show, it is a well-organized and reasonably concise overview of the conspiracy arc — I'm sure it was no easy task to complete. Plus, there's an appendix with summaries of all the mythology episodes.

The X-Files Wiki

In this enlightened age, there's a wiki for everything; this is the one for The X-Files, related series Millennium and The Lone Gunmen, both X-Files movies, and even two X-Files video games. It's extensive and detailed, so start clicking — and if you've got as much free time and pathetic obsession as I do, feel free to edit some articles as well.

Red Wolf's X-Files Episode Guide

It's simple, it's not image-heavy, and it's way less work than going through the complete transcripts. This episode guide collects summaries, cast lists, and memorable quotes from each installment of The X-Files. The best part? The entire thing is available in PDF files, either in A4 or US Letter paper sizes. You can thank devoted fans Jens Vogel, Autumn Tysko, and Kevin Patterson for that convenience.

BONUS: The X-Files Relationship Episode Guide

If you're looking for some mind candy after that dense parade of complex mythology, here's your treat. Fanfic writer Kipler provides us with a hilarious quip on every bit of Mulder/Scully tension in the nine seasons of the show and the film; it's shipperdom at its best. Don't miss "Ode to Bambi," by Fox Mulder (1960-?).

All this internet knowledge should save you the 300 dollars it would take to buy the complete X-Files collection on DVD. This is the great gift that keeps on giving, from a show that arguably started web fandom. Enjoy — the truth, it seems, is only a click away.

Talking about the shooting of the movie, David Duchovny is happy to explain how not fun it was:

I did a lot of running for this movie,... You know action is pretty boring to do as an actor. Action and sex are silly because it’s all faking. I mean, it’s all fake, but those things are faker than the rest. Chris wanted a scene where I chase someone as fast as I can for five minutes. I will be interested to see how it cuts together, but we sure ran our asses off, for like, five or six nights in a row, in the rain. It was pretty stupid and I hated it.

Gillian Anderson is equally ready to complain about the difficulty:

It’s been a long time since I’ve done such a long shoot - I’ve chosen things between three and six weeks, and this has been the first time for ages that I’ve done two-and-a-half months. David has a lot of physical stuff to do in the film, and I feel like on the one hand I’ve gotten off easy and on the other hand I’m still exhausted. I just feel old.

Whatever happened to interviews where the actors sound excited and enthused about whatever it is that they're supposed to be promoting?

The Dark Knight:

Here's some behind-the-scenes footage from The Dark Knight, including some minor spoilers. It's the "B-roll," which people run in the background while talking about the film in TV coverage or whatnot. You can hear Bruce and Alfred cross-referencing criminal records to track down a suspect at one point. Jim Gordon orders a search of the building, but Commissioner Loeb tells him, "You're unlikely to discover this for yourself. The Police Commissioner gets a lot of threats. I discovered the correct response to them long ago." (I'm assuming this is shortly before Loeb bites the dust.) [Trailer Addict via Slashfilm]

X-Files: I Want To Believe:

Some serious X-Files 2 spoilers are making the rounds online. We'll know in a couple of weeks if these are real or not, but meanwhile here they are: Mulder and Scully haven't actually been separated for the past six years after all. The movie's first shipper-y scene has them spooning together in bed. We see them having lots of light conversations, including one scene in Mulder's office when he still has his beard. They talk about William.

Mulder and Scully break up because of a disagreement about their future, and this leads to lots of angst. And at the end of the movie, they start having a "goodbye" conversation, but it leads to them kissing and making up. The real "happy ending" only happens after the credits, and it's truly bizarre. Meanwhile, the movie's actual plot is flimsy, incomprehensible and not very scary. [Celebridiot]

Meanwhile, Chris Carter says we'll see "someone or someones" from the TV series in the movie. [KREN]

Love Story 2050:

But who cares about the X-Files, when the Bollywood time-travel movie Love Story 2050 is out now in India? I know which movie I'm more excited about. Love Story 2050 starts out with Karan, its male hero, being a rich guy whose mom is dead and whose dad has no time for him. So he goes to Australia and takes up extreme adventure sports. Until he spots butterfly chaser Sana, and "Plonk!" he falls in love with her. (The review actually says "Plonk!") Then he chases her over buses, bridges and cars, leaping across the rooftops.

They finally meet up, fall in love, and get engaged. And they just happen to be in the same town as Karan's uncle Yatinder, a mad scientist who's invented a time machine. Karan and Sana get in the time machine and she sets the controls for Mumbai 2050. It's a wonderland of flying cars and robots. But soon the couple get separated, and the evil masked Dr. Hoshi is trying to destroy Dr. Yatinder and Karan. Somehow, Sana gets "reborn" as Ziesha, a pop star with red hair. After they reach the future, the movie's pace sort of grinds to a halt. [Screen India and India Info

Dragonball:

Piccolo will look "old, decrepit and ugly," in spite of the producers' attempts to make him look beautiful, says actor James Marsters, who insisted the make-up department add extra ugly sauce to his appearance. After all, Piccolo has spent 2,000 years in prison. And the movie has some changes but will be "true to the spirit of Dragonball." [DWScifi]

Doctor Who:

There are rumors floating around that former star Tom Baker will appear in the fifth season of time-travel action-soap Doctor Who (in 2010, so huge grain of salt here.) Also, Winston Churchill and Jenny, the Doctor's Daughter, are both rumored to show up at some point in the one-hour specials that will air during 2009. [Doctor Who Forum and The Sun]

The Prisoner:

AMC's Prisoner remake, starring Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen, will still have a big role for "Rover," the big white ball that keeps Number 6 prisoner. And there will still be futuristic gadgetry in the Village. [Sci Fi Wire]

Heroes:

Some lucky Brits got to see some intriguing clips from Heroes season three. Nathan Petrelli gets rushed to hospital after being shot, but is apparently DOA. "There was nothing we could do," a doctor tells the Petrelli clan. Elle spends a fair bit of time sparring with Sylar this season.

Angela Petrelli introduces us to the notorious Level 5, where the Company keeps its serial killers, rapists, and assorted baddies. And in Level 5, there's a giant bald man, shouting "I'm not who you think I am. I'm Peter Petrelli!" And we see Sylar come up behind Angela and put his hands on her shoulders in a friendly way.

Meanwhile, poor Matt Parkman is alone in a desert, screaming for help. And when Daphne the Speedster steals something from Hiro, she quips, "Gotta run." Finally, we see Linderman, quoting that Yeats poem about "The second coming is at hand." (You know, the gyre, the falconer, mere anarchy, blah blah blah, beast, etc. Nobody ever stands up and intones about going to Innisfree in an ominous voice. I wonder why?) [Digital Spy]

And here's a new promo video, featuring Claire with a knife and an ear-rending scream. [Heroes The Series]

Next Avengers:

Here are a few new stills from the animated direct-to-DVD Next Avengers: Heroes Of Tomorrow, about the children of the Avengers, umm, avenging their dead parents. I have to admit, I really like the way Ultron looks here. Although, don't they know Ultron's a hot naked robo-chick now? [Marvel Animation Age]

I'm not imagining it; they really are spending the first page adapting the opening titles of the show, aren't they? Right down to the random images that were meant to suggest mysterious parts of the conspiracy that I never understood (In my shame, however, I have to admit that I gave up on the series long before it finished - I never even saw the Mulder and Scully replacements they brought in towards the end).

The first issue of the new DC series takes place during the show's fifth season, and features a story that Spotnitz "always wanted to tell, but never had a chance to," according to EW. Guess that whole "executive producer" title really doesn't come with any power after all, huh?

'X-Files': Sneak Peek at New Comic Book! [Entertainment Weekly]

Here's the first picture of Keanu Reeves as Klaatu in The Day The Earth Stood Still. Oddly enough, he looks just like Keanu Reeves. (Click to enlarge.) [Film1.nl via New Film Dimension]

The Dark Knight:

Today's Joker-isms: "Does it depress you, how alone you really are?" (to Batman I guess) and: "You had plans. Look where that got you." Plus: "This town is mine now." They come from an exclusive Domino's Pizza trailer for The Dark Knight, which I guess you're only supposed to be able to see, on the Domino's site, if you order some really crappy pizza. But look, it's on Youtube:

X-Files: I Want To Believe

Here's a new TV spot for the second X-Files movie, which gives a few snippets of new footage. Including a body in a tank, for just a split second. [Shocktillyoudrop]

Battlestar Galactica:

A few new snippets about the rest of Battlestar Galactica season four from the Battlestar wiki: The next few episodes are rumored to be called "Sometimes A Great Notion," "The Disquiet That Follows My Soul," "The Oath," "Blood On The Scales," "No Exit," and "Someone To Watch Over Me." And Laura Roslin is still alive (or appearing as a ghost) by episode 15, "No Exit," judging from a call sheet.

Also, BSG was just filming some last-minute scenes in and around Kamloops, BC a couple of weeks ago — Kamloops was the setting for the Algae Planet in "The Eye Of Jupiter" and "Rapture." The scenes, believed to be from the series finale, required a lot of extras who were either clean-cut and athletic, or slim with long hair or dreadlocks. [Battlestar Wiki]

Lost:

When castaway drama Lost finally ends, the ending will take place on the island, according to actor Naveen Andrews. [Hellhound's Lair]

Doctor Who:

Some tidbits from British magazine articles: "Casualties mount" in this Saturday's season finale, and prophecies abound that one of the Doctor's companions will die. (Also, doom is "predicted for Donna," says one magazine.) And the Doctor is "effectively out of action" after getting zapped. "Lots of questions will be answered," including questions about the Doctor and Rose, says producer Russell T. Davies. It's the story of "how far you would go to save the people you love, with the greatest loved one of all being the Doctor." [Blogtor Who and Spoiler TV]

And here are a few new pics from Saturday's episode. [Digital Spy]

An "official" press release announces that Robert "Trainspotting" Carlyle will be replace David Tennant as the Doctor in this Saturday's Doctor Who episode. He'll also appear in the Christmas special, but not in the 2009 specials, which will only feature Tennant. And then Carlyle will take over as the Doctor full time in 2010. The press release is supposedly embargoed until July 6, and it contains a couple of spelling errors... so it's probably not real. [Doctor Who Forum]

Oh, and is it significant that in his Doctor Who Confidential interview, it looks like David Tennant is wearing his costume, but has dyed his hair black? Does his regeneration just change his hair color??? [The Zen Room]

Meanwhile, I feel like I want to defend the honor of spoiler-wranglers here. A lot of websites and newspapers are saying that nobody predicted the Doctor would regenerate in last Saturday's episode. In fact, the idea of a "botched regeneration" happening in episode 12 has been floating around on message boards for months now, and morning spoilers mentioned it at least twice. Spoiler pride!

Eleventh Hour:

And here's a new trailer for Eleventh Hour, Jerry Bruckheimer's remake of the British show about a scientist who steps in at the last minute to stop abuses of science from going too far — with his sexy bodyguard at his side. [Spoiler TV again]

The Middleman:

In the July 21 episode of The Middleman, not only does a boy band (Varsity Fanclub) turn out to be a group of exiled intergalactic dictators — their foul-mouthed 14-year-old superfangirl turns out to be an alien warrior sent to prevent their escape from Earth. But then it emerges that if the girl's plan to prevent the boys from returning and wreaking havoc on their homeworlds succeeds, the Middleman's trusty Ida will be destroyed. [Middlefan]

Eureka:

Season three of genius-town comedy Eureka will be lighter than the tense season two, and the ongoing story arcs will be less blatant. The mortality rate in Eureka will remain three times the national average, but you won't see as many characters in hospital beds. You'll see a lot more gadgets and weird experiments, and glimpse more of the secrets of Global Dynamics. And this year's over-arching mystery may be smaller than the "artifact" was.

As the season begins, we'll get resolution on whether Henry will go to prison after being hauled off by the feds in the second season finale, and we'll get back the happy-go-lucky Henry from season one. We'll also get closure on whether Alison will say yes to Stark's marriage proposal, and the love triangle between Stark, Carter and Allison. Alison and Carter will be working together more closely, and they'll be like the town's Mulder and Scully.

The show also will introduce a new character, the Fixer (Frances Fisher), a corporate shark brought in by the government as an outside consultant, to make Global Dynamics more profitable. [Spoiler TV again]

Gotham Knight:

Here's a new featurette about the direct-to-DVD animated anthology Gotham Knight, showing how Batman has become "like Hamlet" due to dealing with his villains. Ohh kay then. But it still looks mighty purty. [Comic Book Resources]

Next Avengers:

Do you care about Next Avengers, the direct-to-DVD movie about the kids of the Marvel Comics' Avengers superteam? If so, there's a new trailer, and the tracklisting for the official soundrack includes some spoilers. It sounds like Ultron creates his own version of the Avengers called the Iron Avengers, and the Next Avengers have to fight them. The Next Avengers also have to wake up the Hulk so he can help them fight Ultron. [Comic Book Movie]

So Mulder is still looking for his sister, sigh. I thought the addition of all the new characters like Dakota Whitney, Father Joe and Rapper Actor would spice it up, but it looks like they are going back to the same old thing. We'll have to hope that Callum Keith Rennie can save this movie with creepy side glances and alien experimentation.

In the footage shown, a guy gets hit in the face with a trowel and buried in the snow. Then Billy Connolly's psychic priest finds him buried. And that's when Mulder and Scully get involved. Scully tells Mulder, "This isn't my life any more." He walks away from her and mutters, "I'm trying to ignore you." Mulder also insists he's still looking for his long-lost sister Samantha, and doesn't believe she's dead.

Also, Spotnitz told the crowd that "shippers will be happy" with the movie, presumably meaning there'll be some Mulder/Scully lovings. And some of your questions will be answered, said writer/director Chris Carter. Finally, Mulder actor David Duchovny said he and Scully actor Gillian Anderson had some conflicts over how they were playing their characters, which "keeps it interesting."

[Defamer X-Files News and Sci Fi Wire]

X-Files: I Want To Believe:

Here's a new trailer for the X-Files sequel, which includes more about Billy Connolly's weird visions, and maybe settles once and for all exactly what it is that scared Scully. [Apple]

And here's one new still from the movie, showing all the main cast except for one. [Multiple Verses]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Some new locations for Transformers 2 include some library steps at UPenn that could stand in for any number of fancy buildings. Eastern State Penitentiary is being done up as Cell Block 7, with some electronic rigging. And then Philadelphia City Hall was done up as a French cafe in Paris, where Sam's parents are on vacation. Also, a chase sequence was filmed involving Bumblebee, an orange car and a green car. [Transformerslive]

Doctor Who:

The BBC issued a new plot synopsis from the Doctor Who season finale, "Journey's End." It's pretty spoilery, all told:

The entire universe is in danger as the Daleks activate their masterplan... The Doctor is helpless, and even the Tardis faces destruction. The only hope lies with the Doctor's secret army of companions – but as they join forces to battle Davros himself, the prophecy declares that one of them will die.

[BBC Press Office, via Planet Gallifrey]

And here's a bevy of pics from the penultimate episode of the season, "The Stolen Earth." It looks like the spoiler about Dalek Caan being all chained up and fucked up is true. And you can see the Daleks out in the streets, herding humans as in the set report we posted months ago. We'll meet a new UNIT commander, General Sanchez. The red Dalek reminds me more and more of the sports car my friend's dad got — do you think Davros is having a midlife crisis? [Blogtor Who]

Death Race:

Here's a new (I think) pic of Tyrese Gibson in Death Race. [Black Voices]

Lost:

Some guy claims on his Livejournal that not only did Jin survive the freighter explosion, but he somehow made it back to the island. He'll be chillin' with Sawyer and the crew all next season. [Hellhounds Lair]

Heroes:

In a video interview, Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Petrelli) says Angela Petrelli is the mother of three superpowered people. Does he mean that she's Claire's grandmother? Or is there a third child of Angela that we're going to discover next season? [Heroes Revealed]

Batman: Gotham Knight:

Here are a few more stills from Batman: Gotham Knight, the new direct-to-DVD animated anthology. In one, Batman glares upward from the sewers of Gotham City, where Scarecrow and Killer Croc are lurking, in David Goyer (Batman Begins)' segment. In another, the animalistic Man-Bat version of Batman (not to be confused with the actual Man-Bat) flies towards the camera in one of the Rashomon-esque tales told in Josh Olson's segment. And in the third, Batman is wounded and crawling through the sewer while he recalls his training in India, in Brian Azzarello's segment.

Wanted:

The first preview screenings of super-assassin movie Wanted were yesterday, and one guy posted a super-detailed summary to writer Mark Millar's web forum. Here's the gist:

The movie starts out with a super-assassin visiting a woman, and she freaks out. But he says if he was there to kill her, she'd be dead already. He looks across the window and sees some guys with guns targeting him, and he backs up to the elevator, then runs and jumps out the window, killing all four guys. One of the guy's phone rings, and the super-assassin picks it up, telling their boss he shouldn't have sent amateurs to kill him. The boss says those four guys were just decoys, and the guy realizes he's standing on an "X" just before a bullet explodes his brain. We "rewind" the path of the bullet, back to an apartment, where Cross has just fired it with a super-telescope.

Then we cut to Wesley (James McAvoy) in his apartment, with his nagging girlfriend, whom he knows is cheating on him. He's filled with anxiety and hates his best friend for taking advantage of him. Wesley's boss is fat and gives him lots of grief. And then, he meets Angelina Jolie in a drug store and (you've probably seen this clip) she tells him his father was a super-assassin, who just died on a rooftop. She saves him from Cross, the other super-assassin, and tells him he's inherited all his dad's money and guns.

Eventually Wesley gets taken to the HQ of the Fraternity (of assassins, I'm guessing), which is a textile factory. They make him shoot the wings off a fly at gunpoint, and Morgan Freeman offers to train him in badassery. Wesley freaks out and runs home, putting his gun in his toilet tank. He realizes he now has $3.5 million in the bank. He quits his job, telling off his boss and smacking his best friend in the face with his computer keyboard "resulting in lost teeth, blood and keys flying everywhere."

Outside, Wesley sees the newspapers list him as a wanted fugitive, along with Jolie. She's parked nearby and he gets in her car. Wesley realizes his old life is over, so he joins the Fraternity. Then the hazing begins. (Well, it is called the Fraternity!) Wesley is put through tests, in between dips in a super-healing bath that heals all wounds in no time. The Repairman breaks Wesley of old habits by beating him up. The Butcher teaches Wesley to handle a knife, slicing him up in the process. And the Gunsmith teaches Wesley to shoot a gun. And the Exterminator is a Russian guy who likes to attach bombs to rats. Wesley trash-talks the Fraternity, and gets sent to the Repairman for another beating.

Wesley thinks he's ready to go after Cross, the super-assassin who tried to kill him. But Morgan Freeman doesn't agree, so Wesley has to do baby training assignments with Angelina. He learns to jump on and off moving trains.

Wesley fails to kill some rich guy at the last moment, questioning why that guy needs to die. Then Wesley learns the history of the Fraternity: they were medieval weavers who noticed a pattern in the loom, and the pattern generates names in binary code. (ASCII?) The Frat-boys (and Angelina) kill people who would go on to kill thousands of others — and one guy whom a Frat brother failed to kill slaughtered Angelina's parents. It's Morgan Freeman's job to interpret the loom and decipher the names. In the end, Wesley goes back and kills the rich guy whom he failed to kill the first time.

Wesley kills more people, including the clip we showed where he kills a guy in a limo by flipping his car over the sunroof. Cross, meanwhile, is killing Fraternity brothers one by one, and Wesley studies his unstoppable super-assassin ways, including untraceable bullets.

Wesley breaks up with his girlfriend by making out with Angelina Jolie in front of her. Then he spots Cross outside and shoots at him, leading to a big chase. The Exterminator shows up and gets shot, then Cross shoots Wesley in the shoulder, leaving a traceable bullet. Wesley thinks Cross is goading him into a confrontation. Morgan Freeman orders Wesley to go kill Cross. And then as soon as Wesley heads off to kill Cross, Morgan turns and orders Angelina Jolie to kill Wesley.

Wesley tracks the bullet to a monastery and forces the bullet-maker (Terence Stamp) to arrange a meet with Cross at a train station. Wesley spots Cross on the train and Terence Stamp flees the scene. Angelina Jolie chases after Wesley and Cross, who are alone together on the train. There's a big shootout on the train, and then Angelina slams her car into the train, destabilizing it. The train goes careening off the tracks, and Wesley and Angelina are falling. Then Cross pulls Wesley up, saving his life, but Wesley shoots him in the chest.

The train car they're in falls into the chasm, but gets wedged halfway down. Cross tells Wesley that he's Wesley's real dad, and the Fraternity is evil. Cross was never really trying to kill Wesley, which is why he only shot him in the shoulder when he had the chance. He just wanted to get him away from Angelina. She admits it's true about Cross being Wesley's real dad, and he shoots the floor out of the train, so he falls the rest of the way into the chasm.

Terence Stamp rescues Wesley and shows him Cross' apartment, which is right across from Wesley's apartment. Cross took lots of pictures of Wesley as a kid. Terence Stamp explains that Morgan Freeman's name came up on the loom of fate, as a target for assassination. But instead of allowing himself to be killed, Morgan Freeman started manipulating the Fraternity into killing targets of his own choosing.

Wesley stumbles on his dad's secret stash of weapons, and buys a ton of peanut butter. He lures some rats (with the peanut butter) and steals a dump truck. He attaches bombs to the rats and then drives up to the Fraternity's headquarters, dumping the rats so they run everywhere and then blow up.

Wesley jumps out of the truck and starts killing everyone. He grabs guns as they fall out of bad guys' hands and shoots everyone right and left. He shoots a hole in the Repairman's face and then puts his hand through the hole, shooting a bunch of other people through it. He fights the Butcher and gets cut, but finally jams the Butcher's knife blade into his gun, then shoots it into the Butcher and kicks it further into him.

Finally, he confronts Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, plus their cronies. Wesley shows everyone the "kill order" with Morgan Freeman's name on it. Morgan Freeman admits it's true and says everyone else in the room has also had his/her name come up and been spared. All the other Frat members are welcome to shoot themselves if they want to go by the strict Frat rules — otherwise they should "kill this motherfucker!"

Angelina Jolie winks at Wesley, then shoots a bullet that curves all around, killing everyone in the room, including herself. But not Wesley or Morgan Freeman, who has fled. Then Wesley goes and checks his bank balance, which is back to being pathetic.

The next scene shows Wesley back at a desk, with a voice over as Morgan Freeman approaches and points a gun at him. But it turns out not to be Wesley at the desk but a decoy. Morgan Freeman looks down and sees that he's standing on an "X" and says "Fuck!" and then a bullet ruptures his brain. Then we "rewind" the path of the bullet to see it went through Wesley's boss' donut, and his former best friend's energy drink, and then we're back at Wesley's dad's apartment. Wesley turns to the camera and says something along the lines of, "I had a sucky life, job, girlfriend, best friend and gave it all up. What have YOU done lately?" [Millarworld]

Fox Mulder actor Duchovny hinted to Wizard magazine that, "I know it took me about a year to feel whole after the show was over. After that point I was ready, and it was always my intention, my desire, that the show would continue on in movie form."

He adds: "It's a serial show by its nature. The frame and the characters throw off an infinite number of stories and situations, it's a classic, archetypal relationship, with a believer and a nonbeliever, with this kind of unrequited love in the middle of it, and it all works. And that can work forever as long as your stories are good." Here's to a forevers worth of aliens, robots, weird people tricks and sexual tension between Mulder and Scully.

[ Wizard via Ace Showbiz]

The trailer includes rapper/actor Xzibit ordering what appears to be a search party over a snowy terrain and Callum Keith Rennie (Leoben from BSG) giving you the old shifty eyes. Between the little girls trapped under the ice, crazy Bill Connolly's blood-hued eyes and the predictable emotional tension between Mulder and Scully it could turn out to be a solid X Files. [Movies Online and IGN]

And here are those viral videos:

Fox Mulder on Dana Scully:

Dana Scully on Fox Mulder: