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io9
Too Many Skeevy Uncles And Stepdads On Sarah Connor
Did you have a skeevy uncle when you were a kid? One who hung around the house way too much, drank all your parents’ beer and shouted random obscenities at your boyfriends or girlfriends? Did you ever wish you could watch a whole TV show about that uncle, plus maybe a skanky stepdad for good … Continued
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There’s Great Cellphone Reception At The Center Of The Earth
Journey To The Center of the Earth, the least dreaded SF remake on Hollywood’s slate, will be just as cheesy as you’d expect, judging from this new trailer. Brendan Fraser brandishes his monkey bone, meaning there are tons of goofy faces and zany slapstick moments. And the CGI dinosaurs and glowing fairy birds will probably … Continued
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A Guide To Fan Husbandry
Doctor Who producer Russell T. Davies caused an uproar recently, when he said he doesn’t want to listen to the fans. American science fiction shows pay too much attention to what fans think, and they suffer as a result, he claimed. Davies was totally right, of course, but he violated one of the crucial rules … Continued
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Britney Spears Battles Batman’s Gay Robots
Adam “Batman” West is a record exec who creates evil robot popstars, in Sexina Popstar, P.I., a super-cheesy new comedy. The only one who can stop him is Sexina, a Britney Spears clone who fights crime by night. I saw Sexina at IndieFest here in San Francisco on Saturday night, and it struck me as … Continued
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Loving The Alien In New Bollywood Movie
Science fiction romantic comedies may be treacherous territory, but trust Bollywood to venture in with both eyes open and Bhangra beats bouncing. A new movie will star Ayesha Takia (left) as a girl from the planet Venus who comes to Earth looking for love. She meets an Earthman, Riteish Deshmukh, and their relationship has a … Continued
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Go Solar Racer, Go!
There are no beer logos on this race car, because every inch of available space is taken up with solar panels. The Solar Fox, from University College London, is one of two British cars that will be competing in the 2009 World Solar Challenge in Sydney, Australia. The Fox will be racing at speeds of … Continued
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5 Eras In Science Fiction TV Theme Tunes
Here’s a catchy compilation of theme tunes from the late 70s and early 80s, featuring Shaft-esque guitars and stomping drum-beats. It’s amazing how every science fiction TV show from a particular era features a similar-sounding opening theme tune. And the trends in theme music say something about the shows of the eras they belong to. … Continued
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New Sulu And Hulk Pics!
This morning’s spoiler roundup is mostly pictorial. We have another batch of photos of Sulu from the new Star Trek, and they give away something about what John Cho will be doing in the new film. We also have a glimpse of the new Red Hulk in action, in his forthcoming comic book. But we … Continued
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How To Tell When The Fans Are Killing Science Fiction
Science fiction fans are like the bacteria in your stomach: most of the time, they help to keep you healthy. But when the pH balance goes wrong, and the bacteria start running the show, they can make you sick. We’ve expressed our view that Star Trek deserves euthanasia partly because it inevitably caters too much … Continued
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Terminator Vs. Kung-Fu Master In Hot Shirtless Action
The ultimate German fighting robot poses in a halter top and shiny thong over his black tights, in this seminal moment from Robotrix, the 1991 Hong Kong robosploitation epic. When a random guy in the audience decides to challenge this Terminator wannabe to a kung-fu fight, you just know it’s not gonna go well. Click … Continued
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What Movie Remake Are You Dreading Most?
The fact that another science fiction remake is announced every week doesn’t mean Hollywood has run out of ideas. It just means nostalgia is the mind-killer. And it’s only going to get worse, now that the Omega Man remake I Am Legend was such a huge success. So which planned remake makes you want to … Continued
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io9
A Holy War Against Nanotech?
Only 29.4 percent of Americans believe nanotechnology is “morally acceptable,” compared with 62.7 percent in Germany and 72.1 percent in France. The difference has to do with religion, says a University of Wisconsin professor: Americans believe nanotech researchers are “playing God” by trying to extend humans’ capabilities. With nanotech poised to give sensation to artificial … Continued
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A Garden That Recharges Your Cell Phone
The elevated garden in Queens, New York this summer won’t just provide organic veggies to the neighborhood — it’ll also let you recharge your cell phone. New York-based WORK Architecture Co. won a contest to come up with a temporary use of the courtyard at the P.S. 1 Community Art Center, with a plan to … Continued
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TV This Week: Crunch Time For Scifi Shows
The biggest cliffhangers on TV this week are the ones that you, the viewers, will resolve on your own. Will Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles pull out of its ratings slump in time to win a second season? Will Jericho improve on last week’s blah performance enough to avoid a second cancellation? It’s crunch time … Continued
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io9
Giant Squids Invade The Dead Zones Of California
Every summer since 2002, the waters off the West coast die. And then the giant squids come. It’s all thanks to global warming, which causes massive “low oxygen zones” off the coast, in which almost everything in the water dies off due to oxygen starvation. It’s already too late to reverse the ocean’s “George Romero … Continued
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New Watchmen Hints, Plus Batman and Wolverine Spoilers
We were excited to see Peter at Slashfilm striking a blow against excessive spoiler sensitivity with his rant on Saturday. It’s not just because we revel in spoilers and wish there could be spoilers for real life, either. It’s also because we want the term “spoiler” to refer to only the juiciest and most forbidden … Continued
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Darth Vader Vs. The Spartans
If you’ve ever wanted to see Star Wars mashed up with 300, then this clip from the short-lived 1978 show Quark may make you happy. Or maybe not. The Great Gorgon, a transparent Darth Vader rip-off, comes in his big orange Death Star to conquer the planet of Spartans… who surrender. I remember loving Quark … Continued
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How To Create The Most Boring Villains In The Universe
Now that we know volume three of Heroes will be called “Villains,” it’s not too soon to start bracing ourselves for the worst. After all, that show hasn’t had the greatest track record in creating and sustaining villains so far. There’s no surefire way to make a villain scary and memorable. But there are some … Continued
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The Greatest Spaceships Made From Scrap
With the space shuttle program about to be retired, we need a new class of crewed ships for space exploration. But Congress may never cough up the money to build them. Luckily, science fiction teaches us that anything can be a spaceship: an old airplane, a World War II battleship, a fairground ride… or even … Continued
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Buy Yourself A Retconned Happy Childhood
People spend the GDP of Peru in therapy trying to cope with the crap that happened to them when they were kids. It’s such a 20th century approach to childhood suckage. Maybe soon, we’ll be able to pay to turn our childhoods happy retroactively. Click through for our roundup of ideas for making your childhood … Continued