According to this story in Variety it looks like there will be a big budget film version of Doctor Who hitting the big screen soon. They signed up David Yates as director, no doubt based on his last four movies (the last 4 Harry Potter films to be specific), and Jane Tranter, currently head of L.A.-based BBC Worldwide Productions and formerly in charge of the Doctor Who reboot in 2005. Thanks to SF Crowsnest for the heads up on this one.
The first film worth mentioning is Griff the Invisible, staring Jason from the True Blood series as a hapless superhero who meets Melody, a fellow traveler out to save him from himself. To me, this one holds the most promise, both because of the actors involved and the premise they explore. Another movie coming out this week that I am looking forward to seeing, even if it isn’t genre, is Flypaper, a romantic comedy in the midst of heavy gunfire. The final fictional film that might be worth looking into this week is Bite Marks, which may be cast into the overplayed field of vampires but could always have something new to offer.
Then there are the documentaries, of which there are several. Superheroes from HBO is just what you imagine; an exploration into those people who actually are real life caped crusaders, out to protect us all. Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World is both in IMAX and 3D, and mostly playing in museums, which is what makes it so collectable. A tribute to one of Sci-Fi’s great writers is also released this time around, The Magic Never Ends – The Life & Work of C.S. Lewis. If you are a fan of Narnia, you do not want to miss that one!
We have two live action TV shows of note this time around. Being Human: The Complete First Season is from the American series supported by the Syfy Channel, not the far superior UK show, but worth checking out even so. Then Whitechapel: The Ripper Returns is a UK program every bit as intense as the subject matter might make you suspect, and well worth watching.
Western animation has several programs worth watching, of which my personal favorite has to be Red vs. Blue: Season 9. Trust me when I say no animation you will watch this year will be more entertaining or important (unless it comes from Japan with an insanely good review). From the UK, Shaun the Sheep: Season 2 is the selection of choice, and almost as good as the Master Chief series. I should also mention Dreamworks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury / Book of Dragons, which looks to be a hoot. Not only do we get a couple of additional animations from the series (I really like the way Dreamworks, Pixar, and a few others are willing to add new entertainment to the archives), but this one will set you up into online game mode if you are good enough to figure out its triggers.
In Anime we have two new presentations and several cost-effective reissues. First, ICE – Complete Collection gives us a virus, which has wiped out most of the population. The survivors are all beautiful women, and the choices they make will shape society for a thousand years. Then Bleach: Fade to Black is a stand-alone movie that gives us more of the back story of this incredible complex series.
There are also a few classic anime now released in more cost effective packaging, including Blassreiter, Love Hina, and Shuffle. I personally appreciate not having to pay the huge original price for a quality series, considering just how many series I find myself buying.
The TV show Misfits has run for two seasons in the UK with the third under way now, but hasn’t appeared on traditional TV over here yet. You can buy it from iTunes or watch it on Hulu Plus, however, and now you can download and play the Misfits Community Service Game App for free. They have versions available for both the iDevices and the Android OS, you can use the links on their page or search the appropriate marketplace directly. In the game, you are on the community service team performing tasks and are looking to make money and win popularity points. If you play well enough, you will be invited to cash them in for a new superpower and a fresh mission. At the whopping cost of free, I recommend any fan of the show tries this one out.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 completes the epic series, and for those who don’t have any of the others they are also releasing the Harry Potter: Complete 8-Film Collection. This really was an amazing series, and I am glad the studio buckled down around the time they did the third one and decided to spend the time and money to do it right.
The Sleeping Beauty is a French variation on the classic fantasy with a group of witches trying to find an antidote to a lethal curse laid on the young protagonist. This one I probably will go for, as it seems much less ordinary than some other choices. Atlas Shrugged part 1 is the latest incarnation of the Ayn Rand classic story updated for the modern audience, with some interesting casting choices. This will also be on the to-be-acquired list.
On the lighter side, The Change-Up tells the story of two guys who swap bodies after expressing a wish. What, you have heard this one before? Yep, they do variations on this one every 5 years or so, always with a serious difference between the protagonists. Often that difference is age, but this time the difference is marital status. I will wait to see this one when it comes to Netflix or Hulu or HBO, whatever. And finally for movies, Mortal Combat: Legacy started out being assembled as a Web based series but has a number of quality actors involved with the project, as well as the history and background of the series.
The two entries for live action TV series this time around are both from the UK, but completely different from each other. First is Doctor Who: Series Six, Part Two, and I still object to their breaking a single season up into two parts, but it does make each part easier to afford (even though the total cost for the season is higher that way). I should probably also mention it looks like you might be able to play the new game on the web site even if you are in the US. The other UK series is Bedlam, which I have not found very interesting so far, but horror fans should love it.
In anime, Squid Girl – Part 2 continues the story of the invertebrate who became a human girl when she invaded the world of the air breathers. She does not seem noticeably more successful in her war against the bipeds. Loup Garous also comes out this week, a feature film presentation involving deadly viruses and a cloistered existence.
The other new release is Amagami SS Collection 2, but there is some dispute between different sites as to exactly when it becomes available. In this instance, it may have come out before this date, but it will definitely be available come Tuesday.
Two titles are being re-released in lower cost full series editions, Mushi-shi and Romeo × Juliet – The Complete Tragedy. If you shop around, you can pick these up for as little as $18 each.
The folks over at SFX got together with the team from Spoken Word Audio and created a Sci-Fi Quiz App that runs on various iDevices. And unlike many of the BBC offerings, this one is available for us in the US as well. If you think you have what it takes to beat the quiz and you are in America, you can grab it here; if you are in the UK, use this link instead.
The Doctor Who Experience was quite memorable, and I wanted to include a few more images from it. While it is difficult to determine what constitutes the proper chronological order for a Timelord, I have no problem posting them in episode order. The first image is from the very first Tom Baker episode, Robot. The second are two Daleks from completely different eras, while the third is the junk Tardis console they cobbled together for Matt Smith’s episode The Doctors Wife.
