THE ZOCALO TODAY – September 3, 2006

What's New

Two things: I've noticed an increase in page views at the website
and in subscriptions to the e-mail newsletter. I want to welcome
all the newcomers – and say Thank You to everyone for sticking with
me here at The Zocalo Today.

The other thing:
I forgot something during last week's update, so I figured I'd wait
and send out a new one. What did I forget?

STARGATE SG-1 CANCELLATION
There are bound to be a number of fans very upset at the
cancellation of STARGATE SG-1 by the SciFi Network. While there is
talk about continuing the franchise in one way or another, it is
very much up in the air as to what form that would take. For those
of you who may want to write a letter of support for the show -- and
to voice your displeasure at the cancellation of this program, here
are some addresses for you to use.

Bonnie Hammer, President , NBC Universal | Sci Fi Channel,
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY, 10112

Mark Stern, Executive VP Original Programming, NBC Universal | Sci
Fi Channel, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY, 10112

David Howe, Executive VP and General Manager, NBC Universal | Sci Fi
Channel, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY, 10112

Charles Cohen, Executive Vice President, MGM Television
Entertainment, 10250 Constellation Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90067

For letters of support for members of the cast and the production
care of:

Stargate SG-1 Productions
Bridge Studios
2400 Boundary Rd, Burnaby, BC
Canada, V5M 3Z3

DISCUSSION TOPIC:

It seems like people enjoy talking about Babylon 5. Got some good
responses to last week's discussion topic about favorite special
effects. Here's a new one for you. What has reminded of you of
Babylon 5 this week? Road sign, restaurant name? A reader recently
wrote in that the logo for Crestor reminds him of Kosh. Next time
you see it, see if you agree!

Send in your comments to sgbruckner@... and I'll post them for
everyone to share.

KEEPING UP WITH CAST AND CREW
BILL MUMY AND BAND
Live in Concert - Saturday, September 9, 2006 at 8:45 sharp.
Place: Molly Malone's Irish Pub, 575 S. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles,
CA 90036
Phone: 323-935-1577
For more information, go to http://www.mollymalonesla.com
ONE SET ONLY - $6:00 cover
The Band: Bill Mumy: Vocal, Guitar; Steve Patt: Guitar, Vocal;
Chris Ross: Drums; Chris Verosy: Keyboards, Vocal; William Wasson:
Bass

Performing songs from Bill's brand new CD, "With Big Ideas".

The Bill Mumy Fan Club has Bill's new CD "With Big Ideas" available.
Bill has SIGNED and NUMBERED the first 100 CDs for his fans!! This
will be a collectors item.

These 100 CDs are signed in Silver, each with a number between 1-
100. NO other cds will be numbered after these run out. The number
on the cd you receive will depend on the order in which I received
your order.

The signed and numbered CD's are $20.00 each plus 3.00 US or 5.00 UK
shipping. The Mumy Mall paypal is mumyclub@... for payments.

BABYLON 5 BIRTHDAYS
Pat Tallman - September 4
Cinzia Zanetti - September 5
Robin Atkin Downes - September 6
Mira Furlan - September 7
Walter Koenig - September 14
Paul Williams - September 19
Robert Rusler - September 20
Gary Cole - September 20
Bear Burge - September 23
Jason Carter - September 23
Manny Case - September 23
Peter David - September 23

This month's birthday list includes some of my favorite people.
Happy Birthday Patty, Robin, Mira, Bear, Jason!

BABYLON PODCAST: Show #30
by Summer — Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Jeff's amusement at how we warm up pre-taping leads to the throwing
open of the live feed doors. So the question now goes out to the
fans: do you want to listen to us live, as we record the shows?
If you want to listen to us record live, that will be be available
starting September 6th. You can find instructions here, including
instructions on how to join the IRC chatroom for live interactive
feedback from the Draco Vista Studios.

This week's episode discussion: There is no episode discussion. We
ran really long with the listener feedback, so this week is pretty
much an All-Feedback show.

Listener Feedback: Tim, Summer and Jeff address a few listener
emails and comments: First, Edmund throws out some guesses on
upcoming Lost Tales subjects, which leads Tim and Summer on a merry
chase on related tangents in B5 and Crusade; Chris adds his thoughts
on what he'd like to see in the new stories; varied stories
connected by a common theme. Tim also reads some blog posts from
Beth about the stories being about the Telepath War; Nan votes for a
David Sheridan tale, Jake wants a tale about Morden, and Shellock
wants to see a Technomage tale.

For voicemails, Jonathan in CA comments on the "Babylon Squared"
discussion, expanding on the time travel paradox, which leads to a
convoluted discussion about what happened when, and where certain
objects caught up in the time loop appeared the first time; Jonathan
in CA comments on the Great Machine in "Voice in the Wilderness",
and a guess about what the machine's purpose might have been, which
leads to another geek discussion between Tim and Summer about time
travel and multiple possibilities; Michael from Charlotte asks
Jeffrey about joint character portrayals in TV shows and gets a
rather detailed response from Jeffrey; Jarsto from Netherlands with
many comments from previous shows, and a question about Vorlon
behavior leads Tim and Summer into another long tangent.
Now you know why there's no episode discussion this week!

Go to http://www.babylonpodcast.com to listen.

NEW DVD RELEASES
LOST SEASON 2
Release: September 5, 2006
Synopsis
The Extended Experience

4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42. Push the button and prepare to be blown away
by the groundbreaking television event USA Today calls "TV's best
series."

The multiple Emmy® Award-winning drama reaches new heights in its
spectacular second season as the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815
discover they are not alone in their battle against "The Others,"
and a contested decision to open the hatch reveals a new realm of
mystery and intrigue. Prepare yourself for the DVD experience of
Season Two, complete with over 8 hours of original bonus material
you can't see anywhere else - including unaired original flashbacks -
and you'll discover for yourself why "everything happens for a
reason."

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2004): Season 2.5
Release Date: September 19, 2006

ROAR: THE COMPLETE SERIES
Release Date: September 19, 2006

Some of you may remember this series when it aired on the SciFi
Channel. Heath Ledger is the star -- but Babylon 5 fans will
remember Jason Carter was a recurring character.

SMALLVILLE: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON (DVD)
Original Product Release Date: 09/12/2006
Synopsis:
An astonishing season of destiny! Clark Kent now carries a full load
of classes at Central Kansas U., but that's not all he carries. He
carries the full weight of his - perhaps the world's - destiny. "We
call this season Superman in Training," series co-creator Alfred
Gough says. "Clark is going to accept his destiny." During this
exciting pivotal season: The Fortress of Solitude rises. A spaceship
mystery unfolds. A dark tragedy - one even Clark's powers can't
prevent - strikes. These and more key elements of Superman lore fall
into place.
Special Features: Documentaries

For more information and some video clips from the DVD, go to
http://www.isnnews.net/zocalo/smallville.shtml Smallville page.

NEW SCI-FI MAGAZINES
TV Zone Special #72: TORCHWOOD - New Doctor Who spin-off series.
Producer Richard Stokes introduces us to the Cardiff branch of
Doctor Who's anti-alien organization Torchwood, where John Barrowman
will be defending the Earth as Captain Jack Harkness… SPOOKS - As
techie Ruth Evershed, actress Nicola Walker wonders how much longer
her character can survive in the series as Ruth ventures into the
field more and more… SUPERNATURAL - Jared Padelecki talks about his
experience of fame before and after hitting the road… CRIMINAL
MINDS - As the second season begins (and the first reaches Britain),
star Shemar Moore discusses how he's overcome his dislike of guns to
play psychological profiler Derek Morgan

INSIDE SCI-FI NEWS:
ICE AGE 2
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced its initial slate
of titles for the Blu-ray high-definition format, the first of which
will be the computer-animated sequel film ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN. The
film will be released on Blu-ray disc in North America on Nov. 21,
the same day it comes out on DVD. The release will include special
HD extras, including an exclusive short, "No Time for Nuts," three
additional CGI shorts, a commentary by director Carlos Saldanha,
several featurettes and a blooper reel. Additional titles to follow
for the Blu-ray platform include the recent remake of THE OMEN,
FANTASTIC FOUR and THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, all
scheduled for release later this year. Blu-ray is a next-generation
optical-disc format developed for HD video. It can store as much as
six times the amount of content of a standard DVD and features
advanced copy protection, backward compatibility, connectivity and
advanced interactivity.

THE WB ENDS ON SEPTEMBER 17
The WB network will treat viewers to showings of the first episodes
of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Dawson's Creek," "Felicity"
and "Angel" on Sunday, Sept. 17, its final night on the air, Variety
reports. "How do you end a network? This will be an homage to our
shows," WB Chairman Garth Ancier tells the trade paper. WB
affiliates cede five hours of airtime, from 5 to 10 p.m. ET, to the
network on Sunday nights, so airing the four pilots ("Buffy's" first
installment ran two hours) won't be a problem. The night will begin
with the first episode of "Felicity," followed by "Angel" and the
two-hour "Buffy" debut. The premiere of "Dawson's Creek," which had
the longest run on The WB of any of the four shows -- six seasons --
will end things at 9 p.m.

The final night, which will also include a look back at the
network's promotional history -- including the resurrection of long-
time network mascot Michigan J. Frog -- was a little tricky to put
together, since rights to most of the shows currently rest in the
hands of other networks. Ancier tells Variety that The WB will air
promos for the cable airings of the shows, along with spots hawking
the DVD sets for each series to appease the studios that made them.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
According to the Hollywood Reporter, action star Jason Statham
demonstrated slightly more drawing power than Hollywood veteran
Nicolas Cage. The boxoffice tracking site boxofficemojo.com notes
Statham's "Crank" from Lionsgate, led the day's listings, grossing
an estimated $3.25 million. With Buena Vista's inspirational
football tale "Invincible" (which led the rankings last weekend)
shifting to second place with an estimated take of $2.95 million,
Cage's horror remake "The Wicker Man," from Warner Bros. Pictures,
had to settle for the third spot with its estimated Friday haul of
$2.75 million. Meanwhile, Sony Pictures' basketball-set
drama, "Crossover," bowed in ninth place with an estimated $1.15
million. Livelier performances were posted by two films that began
as limited releases and are now reaching out successfully to wider
audiences: Fox Searchlight's comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" ranked
fourth, picking up an estimated $1.85 million from 1,602 theaters.
And the period drama "The Illusionist," from the Yari Film Group and
Freestyle Releasing, placed fifth with $1.6 million from 971
theaters.

SUPERHERO WINNER
Matthew Atherton as Feedback was the winner of Sci Fi's WHO WANTS TO
BE A SUPERHERO?, Stan Lee's reality series, which conclude its six-
episode run on Thursday. Atherton's character will be featured in a
Dark Horse comic book and a television movie on the channel. No word
yet on ratings for the finale, but Sci Fi issued a press release
saying that ratings grew with each of the first four episodes.

FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER
Director Tim Story has updated his official Blog and says that
filming has started on the sequel:
So it has begun! THE FANTASTIC FOUR have been photographed for RISE
OF THE SILVER SURFER. Felt like old times. Everyone's back in the
mix and really picking their characters up where we last left off.
We also shot Andre Braugher for the first time. He plays General
Hager, an old acquaintance of Reed Richards and one of the major
additions to the movie. Jessica is looking amazing. Chris has his
energetic performance firing on all cylinders. Ioan looks great and
Chiklis is funny as ever as the blue-eyed Thing.
One of the days was pretty long. Just happened to be one of those
locations that we can't come back to and we had a lot of effects
shots. Those things always take forever. The background plates, then
the actor buy himself, then the crowd. Blah blah blah. Wish we could
shoot everything practically, but then again, I guess stretching
Ioan may not go over too well.
More to come guys. Fairly straightforward start. 3 days off then
we're back to it.
20th Century Fox will release FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER
SURFER on June 15, 2007.

GODZILLA
Steve Ryfle, author of Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized
Biography of Godzilla and commentary contributor on the new GOJIRA
(aka Godzilla) DVD, says that the release of the original Japanese
film will surprise fans who thought they knew Godzilla. "It's like a
rebirth for Godzilla in a way," Ryfle said in an interview for the
release of the new DVD set. "It's my hope that now a lot of people
will see that the cartoony Godzilla movies of the '70s weren't the
original intent of the character and the franchise. In truth, the
Godzilla from 1954 is a different creature than the one in the later
films that did the flying and the corny antics. They are two
different beasts with the same name. Now we finally are getting to
see these films as they were intended. On these discs, in
particular, you get the American version we grew up with and the
Japanese version. That's really exciting to finally see how you
remember it, and then see it as it was originally intended, and
compare and contrast and finally draw your own conclusion as to
which is better." GOJIRA, filmed in Japan in 1954, was shot as a
serious film inspired by a real-life nuclear accident involving a
Japanese fishing boat contaminated by an American nuclear test site.
The film's original anti-war message has long since been
forgotten. "Unfortunately, a lot of the people who made the original
film have died, but the interesting thing to me is that the
director, Ishiro Honda, was fully aware that his film has been
reconstructed for America," Ryfle revealed. "He was a very polite
and reserved man and never expressed any displeasure about that.
And, on the contrary, he expressed he was just happy that it was
shown abroad. But because of the fact that he was so committed to
the pacifist message of the film and the anti-nuclear sentiment, you
have to assume deep down inside he was very disappointed that the
film was so drastically altered, and much of what he was trying to
say was taken out of it. I think he would be very happy now." GOJIRA
is available on DVD Sept. 5.

24
More new faces on this Fox drama. Marisol Nichols has joined "24" in
a recurring roll. Nichols is playing Natalie, the boss of Chloe
(Mary Lynn Rajskub) and the right-hand woman to Bill (James
Morrison) at CTU. Nichols, whose credits include the series "Cold
Case," "Blind Justice" and "In Justice" and the feature "Big Momma's
House 2," recently wrapped the comedy feature "Delta Farce."

FOX PREMIERES
According to the Hollywood Reporter, "Justice" - the new legal drama
at Fox had an underwhelming start in the 9 p.m. slot against mostly
repeat competition. The sophomore-season debut of "Bones" also was a
lackluster performer for Fox in the 8 p.m. hour. "Bones" opened the
night with an average of 8.6 million viewers and a 2.7 rating/9
share in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen Media
Research data. "Justice," an ensemble drama led by Victor Garber,
upticked slightly to 8.9 million viewers and a 2.9/8 in the demo at
9 p.m.

OUTER LIMITS CO-CREATOR DIES
Variety reported that Joseph Stefano, co-creator of the SF anthology
series THE OUTER LIMITS, has died at the age of 84. Stefano passed
away Aug. 25 at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand
Oaks, Calif. The cause of death wasn't disclosed. Stefano co-created
the classic television series with screenwriter Leslie Stevens in
1963. It ran for three years and featured the memorable opening
lines "There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not
attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission."
Stefano will also be remembered for adapting the screenplay for the
classic 1960 Alfred Hitchcock thriller PSYCHO, based on the pulp
novel by Robert Bloch. Besides his wife, Stefano is survived by his
son, Dominic. A private family funeral was held earlier this week.

THE LOST ROOM
According to Variety, Kevin Pollak, Margaret Cho, Dennis Christopher
and Ewan Bremner have joined the cast of the SCI FI Channel original
miniseries THE LOST ROOM. The six-hour thriller stars Peter Krause
as a homicide detective who stumbles upon a mysterious key that
unlocks the door to a world of unimaginable power, and becomes a
target of those who will stop at nothing to claim it. Julianna
Margulies, Roger Bart and Elle Fanning also star. Pollak will play
Karl Kreutzfeld, a wealthy Pittsburgh businessman who's after the
key, the room's highly treasured object; Cho portrays Suzie Kang, a
tough, chain- smoking independent operator who will sell information
to anyone about the room's powerful objects for the right price;
Christopher plays Martin Ruber, a county coroner and colleague of
Miller with questionable intentions; and Bremner plays Harold
Stritzke, a petty thief who teams with Miller to recover the
latter's lost daughter. THE LOST ROOM is set to premiere on the
SciFi Channel in December.

JAMES BOND 22
Columbia Pictures has moved James Bond 22 -- the yet-to-be-named
film that will be produced after November's CASINO ROYALE -- to Nov.
7, 2008, rather than the original date of May 2, 2008, where it was
in competition with Jon Favreau's IRON MAN adaptation. Sony Pictures
Entertainment vice chairman Jeff Blake told The Hollywood Reporter
that the studio, along with partners MGM and British production
company EON Prods., are in talks to bring on a new director after
Roger Michell (Notting Hill) bowed out of the project. The new date
also gives the filmmakers the standard two years to complete the
next film -- the usual time between Bond movies. "Eighteen months
was a very short window," Blake said. "We're going to stay the
course." Daniel Craig will star as 007 in the 22nd Bond film as
well.

CSI: NEW YORK
Former teen heartthrob, Edward `Terminator 2' Furlong, is headed to
TV. The troublesome actor, who infamously lost the role of John
Connor in "Terminator 3" because of just how much of an insurance
risk he was, has joined the cast of the hit TV series "C.S.I : New
York". Furlong, whose other credits include "The Crow : Wicked
Prayer" and "Pet Sematary Two", plays Shane Casey, a young man
embroiled in a case where a serial killer uses the codes and stories
found on a series of trendy t-shirts as inspiration for his grisly
murders. He makes his first appearance in the series' fourth
episode, titled "Hung Out to Dry," on "CSI: NY," Wednesday, Oct. 11
(10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS.

STAR TREK
CBS Paramount Domestic Television is releasing digitally remastered
episodes of the 1960s STAR TREK sci-fi series, with all new special
effects and music, to celebrate the groundbreaking series' 40th
anniversary, it was announced today by John Nogawski, president of
CBS Paramount Domestic Television. The new episodes also mark the
first time in 16 years that the original "Star Trek" series can be
seen in broadcast syndication. The episodes will begin airing on the
more than 200 stations that own the rights to the weekend broadcast
syndication window starting Sept. 16. All 79 episodes of the
original "Star Trek" series will eventually be remastered, with the
first batch of episodes chosen from a list of "Star Trek" fans'
favorite shows. The most noticeable change will be redoing many of
the special effects, created with 1960s technology, with 21st
century computer-generated imagery (CGI). That includes:
- Space ship exteriors -- The space ship Enterprise, as well as
other Starships, will be replaced with state of the art CGI-created
ships. The new computer-generated Enterprise is based on the exact
measurements of the original model, which now rests in the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
- Show opening -- The Enterprise and planets seen in the main title
sequence will be redone, giving them depth and dimension for the
first time.
- Galaxy shots -- All the graphics of the galaxy, so frequently seen
through the window on the Enterprise's bridge, will be redone.
- Exteriors -- The battle scenes, planets and ships from other
cultures (notably the Romulan Bird of Prey and Klingon Battle
Cruisers) will be updated.
- Background scenes -- Some of the iconic, yet flat, matte paintings
used as backdrops for the strange, new worlds explored by the
Enterprise crew will get a CGI face-lift, adding atmosphere and
lighting.

The refurbished episodes also feature higher quality sound for the
famous opening theme. The original score by Emmy Award- winning
composer Alexander Courage has been re-recorded in state-of-the-art
digital stereo audio with an orchestra and a female singer belting
out the famous vocals. A digitally remastered version of William
Shatner's classic original recording of the 38-word "Space, the
final frontier…" monologue continues to open each episode.
The remastered episodes have been converted from the original film
into a High-Definition format, which gives viewers a clearer,
crisper, more vibrant picture than before, even when viewed in
standard definition. Once stations upgrade and start broadcasting HD
signals, the episodes will be all ready for viewers to enjoy in HD."

REMINDER:
If you have something you'd like to sell, remember we have a Trading
Post here to list items people may be interested in picking up. If
you have a suggestion for a discussion topic, send that along. If
you have seen a Babylon 5 or Crusade cast member in a TV show or
movie, send along your B5 sighting report.

I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend. It's pretty wet
here on the East Coast, but no one is complaining too much. Our
parched Earth has gotten a good soaking.

Be safe,
Sandy

Sandra Bruckner
Editor/Publisher
ISN News: The Zocalo Today
http://www.isnnews.net