A blog on the Chicago Tribune announced that a Battlestar Galactica movie (SPOILER ALERT) is in the works, which “may be released between seasons 3 and 4″. If there is a season 4, the movie will probably be released to DVD and aired on Sci-Fi. If not… well let’s not go there. As far as I know, the show is extremely popular, so I think season 4 is almost a given, and the idea of having a movie is incredible. It may not be much more than a two hour episode, but I’ll take as much as I can get.

The rest of the article talks about upcoming storylines. While it may spoil some things, I read the article, and it is more cryptic than anything else. However, if you want to be completely surprised by everything that happens during the rest of season 3, don’t read it. I will say that the interview in the article revealed that the rest of season 3 will take the show in a new direction, just as they did at the end of season 1 and season 2. I can’t wait!

Jewel Staite (Kaylee on Firefly and Serenity) is going to be making an appearance on Stargate: Atlantis. She confirmed this herself on her web site:

And finally, lets talk about Stargate: Atlantis, because most of you are, and I’ve been getting a ton of questions about the thing, so lets just get it out in the open. I know it’s finally been revealed that Paul McGillion is leaving the show, and since I’m coming on the show, a lot of you have it in your head that I’m “replacing” him. First of all, our characters are quite different from each other. Second of all, Paul has a penis, so we’re quite opposite from each other. Third of all, I’m not a regular cast member and I’ve only signed on to do a certain number of episodes (not 15—or at least that was news to me when I heard that on the internet!). One thing I should tell you is that Paul and I are very close friends. He lives three blocks away from me (in my mom’s building– how weird and random is that?) and we see each other all the time. I can honestly say he’s one of the sweetest and most lovely people to work with (the crew of Atlantis raves about him), and I really just adore him. I can’t comment on the why in terms of his character’s absense in the next season, but the best thing about sci fi is nothing is forever! It’s like soap operas—like, maybe in Serenity 2 Wash will have an evil identical twin! (Yeah, Joss, I know, that idea sucks—and if it doesn’t suck and you actually write that one day, I want credit for it) Anyway, I’m really excited about coming on to Atlantis and playing another prodigy—genius mechanic to genius doctor, I am truly moving up in the world! Maybe next time I’ll play the president! heh heh. Just please have an open mind, and don’t hate me—it’s not my fault. I’m just an actor who jumped at the chance to work with a really fun cast in my favorite city (mine) and play a young smarty pants MD with a cool uniform. Can you blame me?

An interesting note is that she has already appeared on one episode of Atlantis called Instinct. In it, she played a young wraith girl living with a human father. Of course, it is difficult to tell it is her with all the wraith make-up on. I’m looking forward to seeing her on Atlantis again, but it’s unfortunate that Dr. Beckett is leaving. He is one of the more likeable characters on the show. I’m sure Jewel Staite will be equally as likeable though.

I had recently read that there might be a Stargate SG-1 movie coming out after this final season is over. Well, it looks like there will actually be 2 direct to DVD movies. Yay! An interview with Michael Shanks on IGN has this info and more:

IGN TV: Though there isn’t going to be a next season, there was an announcement that movies would be in the works. Are you set to appear in the movies and is there anything you can tell us about what the movies will center around? I didn’t know if you’d got those scripts yet or not. I know I heard something about filming starting in April and June.

Shanks: I just finished negotiations - I think most of the cast has finished for appearances in movies - as far as I know, you guys by reading stuff on the Internet know as much as I do, because all we knew were we were going to do two movies, and Rob and Brad were going to pull away from the Atlantis franchise and focus on doing these movies - Rob was going to write one and Brad was going to write one. Rob was going to direct one and I think Martin Wood was going to direct the other.

We know the first shoot date of the first movie is April 15th and the second is around June 1st. As much as I know about the story, the first one Rob is writing and directing has to do with wrapping up the Ori storyline, which is the storyline that has taken prominence for the last two years of the show. I don’t know if he is going to wrap it up completely or bring it to some conclusion for the sake of the fans and the franchise, to bring that epic struggle to a close…I don’t know how he is going to do it in two hours but it will be pretty interesting to watch.

And Brad is writing one, as far as I know, is a bit more standalone that will involve some kind of time travel and has something to do with our main mustache twiddling villain Baal doing something in the past that alters…he basically finds a way to lift the stargate from Earth so the Stargate Program never happens, and I imagine the characters will have to go through some process to reset the clock and fix everything over the course of two hours. Quite frankly that is as much as I know. I haven’t even talked to the guys about it. They told us these pitches in September, so I haven’t talked to anyone since then so that could’ve changed overnight, I have no idea. Everybody is very excited to close the book on the show and maybe it will introduce the possibility of continuing the franchise in the DVD format or taking it to another level and boosting it up to a feature film or it just might be on closing the book on it or another spinoff - who knows. There is a lot of potential for the franchise and it would be a shame just for it to end, but it has been a wonderful run.

The interview also discusses a “Women of Sci-Fi” calendar released by Slacktwaddle, a company started by Michael Shanks and Christopher Judge. A “Men of Sci-Fi” calendar is in the works, and will most likely include both Michael Shanks and Christopher Judge.

Another slew of new shows this year have been cancelled. Most of them I never watched, so no loss there. I watched one episode of Vanished, The Nine, and Day Break. None of those kept my interest past the first episode, so I’m not surprised they are being cancelled. The only one I watched regularly was Justice, which was only so-so. While the trial process was interesting, the outcomes were too predictable to make each story interesting.

Luckily no cancellations for good shows like Scrubs, Heroes, and Battlestar Galactica. Unfortunately, Stargate SG-1 has already been cancelled. The current tenth season is its last. However, there are rumors of a movie possibility, maybe direct to TV or DVD.

If you like Scrubs and Charlie Brown, watch the following video. It’s the video from the Charlie Brown Christmas show with voices (and the lines) redone by Scrubs characters. I don’t know if this is available on a DVD anywhere (I got it from YouTube)… I think it may have been just something fun for the cast to do.

John Hodgman has been a correspondent on The Daily Show, and is also well known for being the “I’m a PC” guy in Mac ads. He has written a book called “The Areas of My Expertise”. The audio of the book, read by John himself, is available right now on iTunes for free! I just downloaded it myself and will listen to it later (it’s seven hours in length). If anyone else listens to it or has read it, feel free to share your thoughts.

The Cylons were created by Man.
They Rebelled.
They Evolved.
They Look and Feel Human.
Some are programmed to think they are Human.
There are many copies.

And they have a Plan.

The above is the opening text to the TV show on SciFi, Battlestar Galactica. The original series aired in 1978, but as I have not seen the original, I’m going to be discussing the new series which started in 2003. Battlestar Galatica is, in my opinion, the best show on television right now. It is now in the middle of its third season and still going strong. Unlike some other shows on now, the plot of Battlestar Galactica develops quickly. In each episode, generally quite a bit happens, and over the course of a season many different plot lines are developed… the direction of the main story evolves and changes.

If you have not seen the show, the basic premise is given in the lines quoted above. Humans created robots called Cylons, originally made of metal with a roving red eye on the front of their heads. There was a war, an agreement was finally reached and the Cylons disappeared for many years, not to be heard from for over 40 years. The series (beginning with a three hour miniseries) starts with the Cylons returning and launching a catastrophic attack on Kobol, the home planet of the humans. The survivors, most of whom were aboard space ships, flee, attempting to escape the Cylon attackers. They discover that some Cylons appear human and may be living among them, adding to the drama.

Battlestar Galactica is a Sci-Fi show, but many people who are not Sci-Fi fans enjoy it. While there are battles in space, space travel, and robots, the focus is more on the survival story of the humans and their conflicts with the Cylons (called either “Toasters” or “Skin Jobs”, depending on which version is referred to). There is a lot of interpersonal drama among both the Cylons and humans, which makes the characters more believable. They all have their faults, and the story comes from choices they make and the consequences of their decisions. The show is also intriguing because many moral choices come up, and there is usually no clear wrong or right answer. Who can be trusted? Must sacrifices be made for the greater good? Should the humans do whatever it takes to survive?

Battlestar Galactica is an amazing show, and I recommend it to anyone. If you have not seen it yet, start with the miniseries, and then watch the seasons in order. Each episode is highly dependent on the plot development, and it may be seeing them out of order may be confusing and will spoil some of the episodes. Buy the DVDs, borrow them, download the episodes (available on iTunes), whatever you can do to see them. The second half of the third season starts on Sunday, January 21 on the Sci-Fi channel.

I just read some news about the Stargate franchise. A third Stargate TV series is in development. Also, although Stargate SG-1 is in its last season, there are two SG-1 movies planned for release in fall of 2007 (probably direct to DVD). Read more on Gateworld.net.

The SG-1 series really took the Stargate world to a new level, with creative writing, likable characters, and great bad guys. I’m disappointed that the SG-1 series is ending, but since Richard Dean Anderson left, it really hasn’t been the same. That’s not to say that I don’t like Mitchell (Ben Browder) and Vala (Claudia Black). They add a new dynamic to the team that turned out better than I thought. However, I would love to see the return of Jack O’Neill in the SG-1 movies. I’m looking forward to seeing how those turn out.

Stargate Atlantis has been better than I thought it would be, primarily due to the likable characters McKay and Sheppard. It will continue on to season four next year. The opening music is also very beautiful, and I’m a sucker for any good soundtrack music. I don’t know if another Stargate series will be successful or not… it definitely needs some good characters, and good writing.

Futurama is an awesome show. Unfortunately, it was cancelled by Fox prematurely. However, just as Family Guy was brought back recently, Futurama is going to get a second chance. The writing for a new season is in progress, and animation is starting. The only bad news is that it won’t air until 2008… it seems so far away.

This news was reported in a recent interview with David X. Cohen, co-creator of the show.

How long after the last “series finale” does the new season take place? And what can we expect for the Fry and Leela relationship?

COHEN: When our story resumes, two long years have passed. As for the Fry/Leela relationship, we will be visiting that subject right away, so I refuse to tell you where it will lead on the grounds that I want you to buy the DVD.

Read the rest of the interview for more details.

In other news, the game developer Multiverse Network recently announced that it obtained the rights to turn the wonderful sci-fi/western show by Joss Whedon, Firefly, into an MMO. Firefly has some incredible writing, believable characters, and interesting plotlines. Serenity, the movie created after the first and only season of the show, was quite well done, essentially an extended episode of Firefly with better effects. However, I can’t help but to be skeptical about a Firefly MMO. It was the characters and their stories that made the show interesting, not as much the setting. I think a game would have a difficult time reproducing this appeal. Being a fan though, I will definitely be watching for future development news about the game to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Another TV show that is also being developed as an MMO is Stargate Worlds, based on the sci-fi shows Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis (which were in turn based on the Stargate movie). Stargate-SG1 has been another great show, although it lost a little of its magic when a couple of main characters left the show, most notably Jack O’Neill, played by Richard Dean Anderson (”MacGyver”). Now, in its tenth season, the show is being cancelled as of the end of the season. Stargate Atlantis, a fairly good spinoff, will continue to go on. Stargate Worlds sounds like it has a lot of potential. Stargate has an incredible universe set up, with many settings (planets, ships, home bases) and original and interesting races. The Stargate universe sounds like a great basis for a game, and I am looking forward to seeing what happens with it. As with any game, however, the enjoyment and success of a game depends upon its gameplay. Creating an enjoyable MMO is easier said than done, but I would love to see this game succeed.

‘Truthiness’ is a term coined by Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central on the premiere episode of the show. He used it to mean not something that you know with your head or read in books, but something you know with your “gut”. Watch the clip:

Well, the word ‘truthiness’ was pronounced the Word of the Year for 2005 (Merriam-Webster) and 2006 (American Dialect Society). It’s Crumbelievable!

If you haven’t seen The Colbert Report, go watch it! Pure satire (with some news thrown in).