Science Fiction

So today, the Sci Fi Channel made it official: We're getting a Battlestar Galactica spinoff (of sorts) -- though we'll need to be patient about it. Caprica will start filming in 2009 and premiere sometime in 2010. The premise is this: 50 years before the events seen in Battlestar, two families (the Adamas and the Graystones) will find themselves caught up in politics (sexual and otherwise), conspiracies and technology, specifically the creation of cybernetic life forms fans know as (insert ominous music) Cylons. Joseph Adama, dad to Galactica commander William and grandpa to pilot-turned-politico Lee, clashes with Daniel Graystone, computer mogul and, essentially, father of the Cylons. Esai Morales plays Adama, Eric Stolz plays Graystone, so the casting is promising. And is it just me, or do they look very Mad Men-esque (cigarettes and all) in this picture?

"Caprica will build on Battlestar Galactica's acclaimed legacy of gripping drama and extraordinary characters," Promised Sci Fi Channel president Dave Howe. “It's the beginning of a brand new epic saga that will appeal to both new viewers, totally unfamiliar with the Battlestar franchise, as well as existing loyal and passionate Battlestar fans.” So, are you in? Honestly, right now, I'm so focused on the closing episodes of the current Battlestar Galactica series (resuming in January) that it's hard to get all excited about the new thing. But I'm sure I'll be watching. -- Stephanie Reid-Simons, Amazon Video On Demand

As our colleagues at Omnivoracious and Amazon Game Room have already noted, The New York Times just released its 2008 Holiday Gift Guide with its critics' picks for top releases of the year, including movies (selected by Dave Kehr, who years ago wrote some reviews for Amazon.com, including The Talk of the Town and The Hitch-Hiker) and TV (selected by Ginia Bellafante).  They're fun lists, combining critical hits (The Dark Knight, Mad Men) with quality reissues (A Christmas Story Ultimate Collector's Edition, Freaks and Geeks Yearbook Edition) and under-the-radar gems (Murnau, Borzage and Fox, Fortysomething).  If you're interested in adding any of these to your gift list, we've made a buyable list of all their selections.  --David

(Blu Monday Wednesday is our roundup of what's new in Blu-ray...)

My Browncoat-loving heart was pretty tickled to watch Firefly on Blu-ray.  Joss Whedon's much-loved, much-lamented sci-fi/Western is one of my all-time fave TV shows, and it's a treat to have it in high definition.  The series wasn't shot in HD so it's not the best thing I've ever seen, but it is an improvement over upconverted DVDs, and the punchy sound (DTS HD 5.1 compared to the DVDs' 2.0 surround) is a definite upgrade.  In addition to the original bonus features, there are a couple new ones: a 25-minute conversation among Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Ron Glass, and Alan Tudyk in which they discuss the series and a number of specific episodes (Fillion recalls thinking he was getting fired after the first episode), and a new commentary track by the four fellows on "Our Mrs. Reynolds."  And since it's easy to get sucked into watching multiple episodes, it's nice to have a Play All feature on the BDs.  Also coming this year: the follow-up movie, Serenity, on Blu-ray.  I confess that I already have Serenity on HD DVD, DVD, and Collector's Edition DVD, and will no doubt be picking up the Blu-ray as well.  Hey, it's Firefly! --David

New Blu-ray pre-orders that have recently hit the catalog:

• King Kong
• Groundhog Day
• John Adams
• Miracle at St. Anna
• Pretty Woman
• Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway
• The Bourne Trilogy
• RocknRolla

The power of BD-Live is starting to be harnessed in some cool ways--Guillermo del Toro will be having a live chat via BD-Live for the recently released Hellboy II: The Golden Army on Blu-ray, today, November 23rd 6pm Pacific.

To participate in this event, this is what you must do:

1. Have Hellboy II: The Golden Army on Blu-ray
2. Go to www.UniversalHiDef.com and login or register
3. Click 'Director's Chat' under 'My Account' and submit up to three questions early
4. Connect to BD-Live through either your enabled Blu-ray player or PlayStation 3
5. Chat

Here are my three questions for you Guillermo:
Where does your fascination for hellish things come from?
What hellish rock and roll music are you listening to?
How's The Hobbit coming along?

--Rich

Have you seen Primeval, the BBC series about dinosaurs rampaging through modern-day Britain?  Cast members Hannah Spearritt and Andrew Lee Potts took a break from the set to answer some Amazon questions, such as how the show developed as it went along, how they like working with CGI effects, and their favorite scary moment.  --David

Last night I watched Twilight with some lucky fans who squeezed into the surprising small theater for the preview. They were linked arm in arm, wearing their Team Edward T-shirts, and the squealing that started when the lights dimmed continued when a major male character appeared on screen for the first time (Jacob, Edward, Carlisle, James, in that order of appearance). I sure hope director Catherine Hardwicke meant for those early scenes to be funny, particularly the first meeting between Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) where he looks like he's about to throw up and then stares at her throughout biology class, because the crowd couldn't stop laughing. (Not haha-laughing, but the I'm-so-giddy-my-throat-can't-stop-gurgling-over laughing). And any appearance by Jasper (Jackson Rathbone), who is silent nearly the whole film with a fixed expression of sheer terror, also brought on the chuckles. For a teen-angst romantic drama, this film was getting more yuks than You Don't Mess With the Zohan.

But then the romance, and the action, kicked in, and Twilight settled into a brisk-paced drama sure to please readers who were waiting for Bella's rescue/Italian dinner, for the first kiss, for the baseball game, and the climactic ballet-studio fight sequence to play out on the big screen. Any tense moment between Bella and Edward (and it must be said, the pair have some great chemistry) was punctuated with a choked cry of ecstasy from some girl in the audience, so it was tough to really watch it as a film. Stewart is a perfect Bella, and Pattinson, while certainly looking the part, was probably two degrees too timid to carry off the more heroic aspects of Edward fans have come to love. (With his natural accent he was more masculine in Harry Potter; here, he's doing a James Dean-esque affectation that works as mysterious but not so much as... well, a hero) The forest confrontation was particularly awkward, because as Edward flits about demonstrating how menacing he can be ("I've killed people"), you don't fully believe him. If they keep making more films, Pattinson needs to dial up the cojones if Edward's going up against the Volturi. As much as I like Pattison, as I drove home I couldn't help thinking about the actor Stephenie Meyer envisioned as Edward when she wrote the books, The Tudors' Henry Cavill, and thinking there was a little more studliness to be desired.

The only other sore spot in the film were the portrayals of Bella's classmates. Mike, Eric, and Tyler, it must be said, on-screen were completely annoying clowns who like to give each other noogies and wedgies between classes (and that's it). It's completely unrealistic for Bella to be friends with them. (Also noteworthy: in the film version Eric is Asian-American and Tyler is black, as is the nomadic vampire Laurent. Played by Edi Gathegi, Laurent is particularly inspired casting, but the caricatures created of Bella's friends might make some think this idea was too forcefully PC.)

If you aren't a fan of the books (and I am, even though I'm trying to write this review objectively), this movie will likely confuse you. The point from A to B to C leaves many unfilled holes of logic; the attraction between Bella and Edward on screen alone is never fully fleshed out, which would leave newbies going, "So.... he loves her, but is that because he wants to eat her? And why would she rather die than stay away from him again, despite this?" On the plus side, the movie leaves out many of the more overwrought purple prose from the book and is snappier, funnier (particularly anything featuring Bella's dad Charlie, played by Billy Burke).

But you know what? In the end, it doesn't matter. Will Twilight please its fans? A resounding yes. Will I watch it again? Of course-- though in my house, and any gurgling squeals should indeed be my own. -- Ellen

Diversity of approach and subject matter marked the best science fiction and fantasy of 2008, with notable titles by two new writers and excellent efforts by several seasoned pros. Brian Francis Slattery's Liberation combined the serious and the satirical in creating an unforgettable image of a future America beset by the collapse of the dollar and the specter of a new form of slavery. The Drowned Life confirmed Jeffrey Ford as the best fantasy short story writer of his generation. Jack O'Connell, noir specialist, returned after a long absence with the surreal, often stunning The Resurrectionist. Tender Morsels by Australian Margo Lanagan proved that she is as adept at the novel form as short stories, creating a stark and deeply disturbing fantasy. Anathem by Neal Stephenson showed once more that no one is better at using the novel to convey complex philosophical ideas--while at the same time creating a satisfying plot as a delivery system for those ideas.

Coming in at #6, new novelist J.M. McDermott summoned the spirit of William Burroughs in creating perhaps the first heroic fantasy collage/cut-up with Last Dragon--perhaps the most original book of the year. Another new writer, Jo Graham, showed off an emotive, often muscular style with her historical fantasy Black Ships. Jeanette Winterson returned to form with the very brave The Stone Gods, which took more chances and was more relevant to our times than any book on this list save Liberation. The Culture novel Matter by Iain M. Banks divided fans and critics, with its blend of heroic fantasy and SF, but we felt it was another major achievement by an iconic SF writer. Finally, Naomi Novik's Victory of Eagles successfully continued her popular series while demonstrating her growth as a writer.

Several worthy titles came in just under the top ten, and I will discuss those books in a December feature. Also in December, several of the writers on our SF/F list will contribute their own top tens, including Novik, Ford, McDermott, and O'Connell.

Check out all of the Best of 2008 lists.

Editors' Top Ten Picks in Science Fiction/Fantasy

1. Liberation: Being the Further Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America
2. The Drowned Life
3. The Resurrectionist
4. Tender Morsels
5. Anathem
6. Last Dragon
7. Black Ships
8. The Stone Gods
9. Matter
10. Victory of Eagles

Customers' Top Ten Picks in Science Fiction/Fantasy

1. The Host
2. Small Favor
3. Anathem
4. The Outlaw Demon Wails
5. Cry Wolf
6. Iron Kissed
7. The Gypsy Morph
8. Invincible (Star Wars)
9. Valiant
10. Revelation (Star Wars)

Lou Anders is one of a new breed of editors in Science Fiction and Fantasy who loves genre fiction but also has a lot of interests outside of the field. A 2008/2007 Hugo Award nominee, 2007 Chesley Award nominee, and 2006 World Fantasy Award nominee, Anders has served as the Executive Editor of Bookface.com, and before that he worked as the Los Angeles Liaison for Titan Publishing Group. He is the author of The Making of Star Trek: First Contact (Titan Books, 1996), and has published over 500 articles in such magazines as The Believer, Publishers Weekly, Dreamwatch, Star Trek Monthly, Star Wars Monthly, Babylon 5 Magazine, Sci Fi Universe, Doctor Who Magazine, and Manga Max. His articles and stories have been translated into Danish, Greek, German, Italian and French, and have appeared online at SFSite.com, RevolutionSF.com and InfinityPlus.co.uk.

For the past few years he's been the mastermind behind Pyr, which has published some amazing books. Anders latest project is Fast Forward 2, the second in his SF original anthology series. Contributors include Paul Cornell, Kay Kenyon, Chris Nakashima-Brown, Nancy Kress, Jack Skillingstead, Cory Doctorow, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Jack McDevitt, Paul McAuley, Mike Resnick and Pat Cadigan, Ian McDonald, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Karl Schroeder, Tobias S. Buckell, Jeff Carlson, and Paolo Bacigalupi. You can read an entire free story online and Anders' introduction here. In addition, there's a Pyr group blog, Anders personal blog, the publisher page for the anthology and