SFTV Blog

One more quick UK update with a couple of pictures...

2008-08-27T13:52:00.006-06:00

For the last week I've been in the UK and got to see some of the sights in London, go to the Doctor Who Exhibition at Earls Court, attend the Discworld Convention in Birmingham. Here's a quick picture update...

The Model of Big Ben used for Doctor Who on display at the Doctor Who Exhibition.

The real Big Ben, still in one piece (with the London Eye - no longer in use by the Nestene) in the background.

Daleks exterminating!

Me at the Discworld convention with Twoflower's Iconograph and hat from the Colour of Magic miniseries.

My time is up and I have a plane to catch back to Arizona....

Discworld UK & WorldCon

2008-08-25T16:02:00.001-06:00

Quick update to the blog.

Still in the UK with reports on WorldCon and the UK Discworld coming soon.

Lee

The Blog that Couldn't be Killed... More Comic Con Photos

2008-08-03T23:57:00.016-06:00

OK, for whatever reason (maybe all of my links to reports on Comic Con), Blogger decided that my blog might be a spam blog and locked me out from editing it until they had a chance to review it. It appears that I do have control again, but they never sent me any confirmation or apology about it. In any case, here's a few more pictures from Comic Con. I was hoping to get more of an organized report up, but I'm in the process of trying to get ready to go to WorldCon in Denver, Denvention 3, this coming weekend.

I've put up a report about Connie Willis at Comic Con over on the Connie Willis blog (it wasn't locked out even though it is under the same account). Connie will also be at WorldCon, and is nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novella.

There were lots and lots and lots of people in costumes, most of which I didn't get pictures of. These three I did manage to catch, though, as well as the Batman and Wonder Woman seen at the top of this entry that were hanging around the Sony DC Online booth.

There were stormtroopers, ghost busters, jedi knights, all sorts of comic book characters running around all weekend. Some of the costumes were OK, but there were a good number that were very impressive, like this pair below.

I caught up with a Rincewind and his Luggage from Terry Pratchett's Discworld. This Green Lantern was busy texting or playing a game while waiting for the Masquerade. I also came across a Hal Jordan Green Lantern and a Green Arrow in the lobby where the Green Lantern was conversing with someone (Black Canary? Carol Ferris?) who he was trying to find and had just been told that she was standing in front of a Starbucks. There's only about five or six Starbucks in the convention center alone. Needless to say, GL was a bit frustrated....

There were also lots of authors and comics writers and artists there. I did catch up with John Howe, who it was nice to meet him in person

finally (after having exchanged a few emails with him). I also caught Dave McKean at the Allen Spiegel Fine Arts booth and had a few things signed, inclding one item that Dave was surprised to see. The original UK edition of Neil Gaiman's Don't Panic, for which Dave did the cover art for when he was just starting out. He wasn't too embarrased, though, since he had to show it to Allen. I also was lucky enough to get a ticket to the Amano signing at the Dark Horse booth and got a couple of things signed. Watching Amano draw a sketch is always a neat thing. I brought a few things for Todd Klein to sign (or letter, since that is how he does his signature, too.) He has some real neat posters available on his website that he was selling at his table that you can also order. He has done most every comic written by Neil Gaiman, Fables, Castle Waiting, and lots of other stuff, and has been a consistent winner of the Eisner Award for Lettering.

Down at the Donato Arts booth, they did several art demos in association with Spectrum and Tor, I caught a bit of the Greg Manchess demo, where he painted an image of Hellboy. Tor.com has an article on the demo as well as a sped up video of him painting the picture.

At the DC booth, I made it to the X-Files signing with Co-Producer Frank Spotnitz and artist Brian Denham. The suprise was that Chris Carter was also there, signing the comic and some promotional photos for the X-Files movie (for the few of you who did see the movie, did you stay all the way through the end credits? Is that the Lost island they are heading for?), Unfortunately Chris decided to lean back as I took my picture, so all you can see is the top of his head behind Frank. It was nice to chat with both Frank and Chris for a bit. Also at the DC booth, I caught up with Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming, who were responsible for the original Ambush Bug comics and are working on the new Ambush Bug series, Year None. Get it, you'll be glad you did.

Finally, to close out this entry, one of the not-usually-at-comic-con celebrities was singer/songwriter Tori Amos, promoting the release of Comic Book Tattoo. Once I have the time, I'll devote an entire blog post to the Odyssey of Comic Book Tattoo at this year's Comic Con...

SDCC Coraline Figures

2008-07-30T23:58:00.006-06:00

One of the things somewhat hidden at San Diego Comic Con this year was a display at the NECA Booth. This article at the LA Times talks about them a bit, but doesn't really give you a good look at them. The movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Coraline is being done in stop motion by Henry Selick and is scheduled for release next February. DreadCentral also took a lot of closeups of the figures, but missed the one with the faces.

This figure of Coraline with a multitude of faces wasn't in the display to start with but showed up later in the show.

The Other Mother (Teri Hatcher)

Coraline's Doll & Mr. Bobinsky

Coraline and Wybie

The Ghost Children

Comic-Con Survival Guide Episode One

2008-07-28T23:04:00.000-06:00

Comic Con is over and I survived!
Yes, it was a long hectic weekend which I spent running around the exhibit hall tracking down authors, artists, producers, writers of stuff and so forth. I will hopefully have some coherent reports covering a wide variety of subjects ranging from the futile search for an Arc Welder to the Comic Book Tattoo Odyssey.

In the meantime, here's some links to sites that covered the convention pretty thoroughly in their areas of expertise:

Newsarama ComicCon Index

Comic Book Resources

ComicMix

Tor Books, searching for Comic Con

Suvudu.com (Bantam's new SF news website)

NBC's Comic Con website

SciFi's Comic Con Website

BBC America's ComicCon Website

The End of an Era: Star Trek: The Experience Beams Out

2008-07-18T01:37:00.001-06:00

A little over ten years ago, a new attraction opened at the Las Vegas Hilton that became the destination of choice for Star Trek and science fiction fans visiting Las Vegas, Star Trek: The Experience. But now, the owners of the attraction (Cedar Faire, who acquired it when Viacom split itself up) and the Las Vegas Hilton have not been able to come to terms to extend the lease for the exhibit and it will be closing down on September 1st. What it will be replaced with is unknown, but it will likely not be anything similar. The Hilton will likely create something entirely new to take advantage of the monorail stop that will generate more income for them than they got by leasing the space The Experience was in.

The Experience was launched during the latter part of the run of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the attraction relied heavily on the look of that incarnation of Star Trek for the décor and atmosphere as well as the names for Quark’s Bar, Moogie’s Trading Post, and Garak’s Clothiers. The main attraction was the Klingon Encounter that took fans into the future and onto the bridge of the Enterprise D where you learned that one of that one of your group was a ancestor of Captain Picard and that you needed to be returned to your own time with help from Geordie and Commander Riker. The ride ended with a simulator ride that featured your shuttle being chased down the Las Vegas strip by Klingons. In later years, the ending video sequence became very dated as most of the casinos seen in the sequence were long gone or remodeled and jokes were made that your group had been returned several years early. On your way to the ride, you got to take a look at the History of the Future, featuring many props and costumes from the entire history of Star Trek, which was periodically updated with information and props from the newer versions of Star Trek on TV and in the movies. In 2004, the Borg Invasion 4D was added, which made use of newer high definition video technology to provide an updated ride tied into Star Trek: Voyager. It featured Admiral Janeway, the Emergency Medical Hologram, and The Borg Queen in an adventure on a space station being overrun by The Borg. The ride was an example of what can be done with newer technology, but the simulator part was a bit tame.

The attraction has been a very popular location for weddings and other events, with many couples taking their vows on the bridge of the Enterprise D over the years. Additions of a behind the scenes tour and photo opportunities on the bridge set were also popular with fans. But what kept fans coming back even if they didn't go on the rides was the Star Trek atmosphere of The Experience. The Quark's Bar menu features themed dishes (my favorite is the Holy Rings of Betazed for the Onion Rings) and the Warp Core Breach was always a popular drink. The ambassadors (waiters) and the roving aliens (Ferengis, Klingons, and Borgs) were always fun to talk to and usually did not break out of character and some fans more than likely tested their patience at times. The Hilton has also become the site of the annual big Star Trek convention run by Creation and the Experience has always been a focal point of the convention. With the attraction gone, it is unclear if Creation will continue having the events at the Hilton. This year's convention happening August 6-10 will definitely be a bitter-sweet one for the fans who have considered The Experience part of their annual convention experience.

Over the years, I've made many visits and had many dinners at Quarks. Sometimes it was a quick stop while I was in town for the Consumer Electronics Show and other times it was with friends as part of a group trek. The United Federation of Phoenix has made several trips as a group to the Experience which always have been fun outings and they are organizing one last trip the weekend of August 1-3.

I was in Las Vegas for the Westercon 61 convention over July 4th weekend and made sure I went back there for a final dinner at Quark's and spent some latinum for a few trinkets to remember it by. Saturday night was still pretty busy and they also had a couple of weddings going on, so it was pretty much business as usual. It did appear that a lot of the people there had heard about the closure and the employees were acknowledging it but they were still fairly low-key about it. The waiters and gift shop employees should be able to find similar jobs without too much trouble, I'd think, but I'm not sure what having "Ferengi host at Quark's", "Klingon Ambassador", or "Enterprise-D pilot" on their resumes will do to help them find a similar job.

It was hoped that with the advent of the new Star Trek movie coming in May 2010 The Experience would be kept going for another year, but in the end it was decided to shut it down. Hopefully something new will be created somewhere that can give fans old and new a place to go to experience the Star Trek universe in person. I've enjoyed my trips there over the years and will remember Star Trek: The Experience fondly.

PS. They do now have a Star Trek video slot game, sitting right outside of the Experience....

ComicCon Craziness is Coming!

2008-07-17T21:34:00.002-06:00

Yes, next week is the annual Comic Con International in San Diego. Lots of stuff will be happening and I'll be attempting to point you to the neat stuff and will be trying to catch some of it myself (but there's only one of me to go around). In any case, stop by the Arizona SF Conventions table in the fan table area on the mezzanine (where the food services are halfway up the escalators).

For all the official schedules, there's the Comic Con web site, where you can check out the exhibitors, the programming, and the autographs. But that's just the beginning. There's also booth signings and parties and giveaways and who knows what else going on. Here's some handy reference links to try to make sense of all of it....

CBLDF's Thursday night Welcome Party details, I plan to be there....

NBC/Universal's Comic Con Plans on the official NBC Website

BBC America is making a big splash at Comic Con this year with Doctor Who, Torchwood, Primeval, and Spaced. Details on their Comic Con minisite.

Bantam Spectra's Schedule (including Connie Willis and a free magazine with an excerpt from George R.R. Martin's forthcoming novel) is laid out on their MySpace page.

Jim Butcher's Comic Con Schedule (it's Jim's first time there).

DC Comics listing of writers, artists and other personnel.

Official Marvel Plans

Dark Horse Comics Booth Signing Schedule (tickets handed out with random drawings)

Image Comics Schedule (including Tori Amos)

IDW Publishing's Comic Con Events

Virgin Comic's Comic Con Plans

Io9's Guide to things to catch at Comic Con

Mysterious Galaxy's list of author's signing at ComicCon
More to come as I find it...

2008-06-19T22:27:00.001-06:00

The Deadline for voting in The Hugo Awards is coming up and I thought I'd take a look at the Dramatic Presentation Categories, starting with the Dramatic Presentation Short Form categorie.

In the Dramatic Presentation Short Form category, we've got the following:

Doctor Who: Human Nature/Family of Blood
Doctor Who: Blink
Torchwood: Captain Jack Harkness
Battlestar Galactica: Razor (televised version, NOT the DVD version)
Star Trek: New Voyages: World Enough and Time

Doctor Who and Steven Moffat stories are definitely on a roll, ahving won the last two years, but htis year's race might be really close. Of the five, I see the weakest one as the Torchwood entry. It got enough support to get onto the ballot, but I don't think that will equate to enough first place votes to give it any chance at the hugo.

Battlestar Galactica has a strong support base, and has gotten a fair number of votes in recent years for its entries (the first episode of the series, "33", did win a Hugo. There was some talk to put the DVD version on the Long Form ballot and it may have gotten some votes, but not enough. It would have been interesting if it had made both ballots for the different versions, though. Mojo was really pushing for the DVD version to be nominated at Gallifrey One, but I don't think there were many Hugo voters there.

STNV: Director/co-writer Marc Scott Zicree has talked this up quite a bit and did a screening of it at last year's WorldCon in Japan. He also went through a bunch of stuff to justify its nomination for the Nebula Script award. There's also still a lot of Star Trek fans out there and it could get a significant number of #1 votes. The sympathy factor may play a role with co-writer Michael Reaves suffering from Parkinson's disease. Reaves made an appearance at LosCon last year when they screened it and it was a bit hard to see him in his weakened condition. He's recently had some surgery, but I haven't seen anything about how he's been doing following it.

Doctor Who: Both entries are strong contenders and have been getting mentioned a lot. There appears to be some sentiment to lean towards Paul Cornell's two-parter since he hasn't got one yet. Of course, these are the same voters that have given the same award to Locus Magazine (for semi-prozine) and Dave Langford (fan writer) for many years running (although Langford may finally get unseated by John Scalzi this year). Moffat will be taking over the show for its fifth season in 2010, so he stands a good chance of continuing to have episodes nominated. Since it is not clear how often Paul will get to write for the series, he might not get another chance for a while.

The Neil Gaiman Factor: Neil Gaiman has come out in support of each of the two Doctor Who nominees and the ST NV nominee over the last several months, and has made additional mentions of all of them in other blog posts. Gaiman did co-write a novel with Reaves and recently had a dinner with Moffat turn into a big rumour about Neil writing a script for Doctor Who.

What will I be voting for? I'm still trying to decide. There are good and valid reasons for nominating four of them and maybe in a week I'll figure it out for myself.

In any case, the voting deadline is coming up so if you are a member (attending or supporting) of Denvention, make sure you use your vote. I could have made a difference in one category (and likely two) if I had voted last year. I think this category may be pretty close, so if you have a favorite, make sure to vote for it.

A Few Random Notes.

2008-06-19T21:49:00.001-06:00

What is Science Fiction?

First of all, John C. Wright has a very extensively researched post about just What is Science Fiction? With many great examples like the one above.

Charlie Jade Banished to 3 am.
Following two weeks of lackluster ratings, SciFi has once again pulled an "acquired series" out of the 8 pm ET/PT time slot. This time, it is Charlie Jade, which now has a "NEW TIME MONDAYS AT3 AM!" notice on SciFi's Charlie Jade page (which translates to really early Tuesday morning). For the time being, SciFi will be repeating the previous week's Doctor Who episode in the 8 pm ET/PT time slot.

Middleman Ratings
I haven't seen any official report on the ratings for the debut of The Middleman on ABC Family this week. Indications are that it was less than spectacular, though. Hopefully it is good enough to not get it banished to 3 am in the moring. It is worrying that The Middleblog has not been updated for a week, though.

Fear Itself

Over on NBC, Fear Itself has not been tearing things up in the ratings, but is probably doing about what NBC expected and is likely drawing the demographic they want.

Galactica Mid-Season Finale, Ghost Hunters Ratings & Darth Mojo!
SciFi appears pleased with the ratings Galactica drew in the first half of it's final season. Check out their press release. SciFi is also quite pleased with the summer run of Ghost Hunters, doing even better than Galactica! For a report on the special screening of the Galactica mid-season finale, check out Darth Mojo's blog. Mojo has a lot of neat stuff on his new blog, looking back at his work on Babylon 5 and Star Trek as well as his current work on Battlestar Galactica. He's also responsible for the Pon Farr edition of Star Trek: TMP.

MiddleMan Mania

2008-06-13T19:01:00.000-06:00

This coming Monday night is the debut of the new series, The MiddleMan, on ABC Family at 8 pm ET/PT. It is a series created by Javier Grillo-Marxuach, who has worked on many genre shows over the years including Lost, Charmed, Medium, and The Chronicle. The series is based on the Viper Comics series of the same name, which itself was created when Javier wasn't able to sell the concept as series initially. The complete run of the series will be collected in The Middleman: The Collected Series Indispensability by Viper Comics in July.

At Gallifrey One, Javier joined us for the SFTV panel and talked a bit about the series and how he'd had the script locked down before the writer's strike and filmed the pilot during the strike and then got the series pickup once the strike was over. He split his time between working on the pilot and joining picket lines. He was excited to have his first show as a series picked up (he'd had a few pilots before this not get picked up). The series very much will draw on its comic roots, with the pilot episode and the third episode being a faithful adaptation of two of the three arcs done in the comic series.

As part of the promotion for the debut of the show, the pilot episode is available to download for free for a limited time on Apple's iTunes as well as on XBox 360. I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to more of the series.

Javier has been all over the place of late doing lots of interviews on the show and there's a fairly comprehenisive fan site, MiddleFan, up and running already. They've been keeping track of all of the news and interviews on their News Page. Javier has also been blogging a lot about the show's production at the MiddleBlog. ABC Family has been doing their part with the official ABC Family Middleman pages.

New This week, Fear Itself & Charlie Jade

2008-06-04T23:35:00.001-06:00

This week sees the debut of two shows, one a new anthology series on NBC, and the other an "acquired series" on SciFi that has aired in most of the rest of the world.

NBC Has nothing to fear, but Fear Itself (and low demographics)
Fear Itself is the new horror anthology series on NBC featuring top line horror directors and writers and some recognizable actors in the starring roles. If it seems like a familiar concept, it is. The majority of the people involved behind the scenes were also involved with Masters of Horror, which aired for two seasons on Showtime. As you might expect, Fear Itself will be subject to broadcast TV standards and will thus not have near as much nudity, violoence, gore or language as Masters of Horror could get away with on pay cable (although expect there to be special unrated DVDs released eventually). Here's the specifics on the first four episodes airing on Thursday nights at 10 pm ET/PT starting this week.

Premiering June 5, "Sacrifice" has a screenplay written by Mick Garris ("Riding the Bullet," "Amazing Stories") from a story by Del Howison ("Dark Delicacies") . Breck Eisner ("Creature from the Black Lagoon") directs. When four criminals find themselves stranded in an old, snow-covered fort, they slowly discover both the fort and the seductive trio of sirens who reside there are filled with deadly secrets. Jeffrey Pierce ("The Nine"), Jesse Plemons (NBC's "Friday Night Lights"), Stephen Martines ("Port Charles"), Rachel Miner ("Californication" ) and Mircea Monroe ("Drive") star.

Airing June 12, "Spooked" is directed by Brad Anderson ("The Machinist") and written by Matt Venne ("White Noise 2: The Light"). While on a stake out in a haunted house, a private eye (Eric Roberts, NBC's "Heroes") is made to confront the demons of his past. Jack Noseworthy ("Judging Amy"), Cynthia Watros ("Lost") and Larry Gilliard Jr. ("The Wire") also star.

Debuting June 19, "Family Man" is directed by Ronny Yu ("Freddy vs. Jason," "Bride of Chucky") and written by Dan Knauf ("Carnivàle," "Supernatural" ). This action-charged, psychological thriller focuses on a likeable family man (Colin Ferguson, "Eureka") who switches bodies with a serial killer (Clifton Collins Jr., "Star Trek") after a near-death experience. Now, he must fight from behind bars to keep the murderer from adding his wife (Josie Davis, "Ghost Whisperer"), son (Gig Morton, "Psych"), and daughter (Nicole Leduc, "Kyle XY") to his long list of victims.

Debuting June 26, "In Sickness and in Health" is directed by John Landis ("An American Werewolf in London") and written by Victor Salva ("Jeepers Creepers"). On her wedding day, a beautiful bride (Maggie Lawson, "Psych") receives a mysterious note that reads: "The person you are marrying is a serial killer." James Roday ("Psych") stars as the groom. Christie Laing ("The 4400"), Sonja Bennett ("Eureka") and Marshall Bell ("Hamlet 2," "Tales from the Crypt") also star.

It will be interesting to see how much of an audience NBC is able to get for the show and if they stick to the entire 13 episode run. Since their primary group of advertisers will be movie companies, as long as they keep the demographics up, it might stick around for the rest of the summer. If not, they can always burn them off on SciFi or Chiller TV.

For more details, check out the NBC website for the series or The Futon Critic's show page.

SciFi Gets Jaded, Finally.
SciFi will be adding Charlie Jade to their SciFi Friday lineup this week, airing it at 8 pm ET/PT as a lead-in to Doctor Who. The series debuted in Canada in 2005 and at the time SciFi passed on it. It has developed somewhat of a cult following, though. As usual, since it is an acquired series, SciFi is doing their minimal promotion for it. They do have a web site for it at SciFi.com. You can also read more about the series at Space's mini-site for it . There's also a good writeup at Wikipedia . Unfortunately, the powers that be that controlled the official show website at http://www.charliejade.com/ have opted not to keep that site going, however, it does appear you can still look at it via archive.org .

In any case, the series does a good job handling three parallel Earths and a multitude of characters with a limited budget. Jeffrey Pierce does well as the title character (and his variations). The big question is if enough people will tune in to keep the show on Friday nights, or will SciFi decide they can do better with SG-1 repeats.

Next Zicree Supermentors Class & Special Weekend Class

2008-05-31T20:16:00.000-06:00

Passing this along for Marc Scott Zicree. Of note is the special weekend session with showrunner guests Tim Minear (BUFFY), Joe Dougherty (SAVING GRACE) and Michael Nankin (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) being held at the end of June. More details can be found at the Supermentors page at the Zicree/Simkins Podcast.

SUPERMENTORS CLASSFOR ACTORS, WRITERS, DIRECTORS, PRODUCERS
GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL!
What's your goal, your big dream?
To create your own TV show?
Write big features?
Star in your own series?
Create a one person show?
Direct powerful, successful films?
Team with the top people working in the Industry?
Or maybe just have a financially successful career in film and TV…You're trying to carve your niche in the Industry, make a name, get established, earn a living – and it can be pretty challenging.

Well, imagine what it would be like to be mentored by someone who has triumphed in all the areas of the Industry you want to succeed in.

Not just sold one script but over a hundred, with hundreds of produced credits on many of the hit shows of the last few decades, someone who has personally hired lead and guest actors for numerous series and pilots, who has written bestselling novels and non-fiction books that have changed and influenced film and TV greatly. What if every question you had could be answered? What if every step of the way you had someone guiding you, rooting for you, giving you real answers YOU could apply? Showing you how to get your work in shape to where it will blow people away – and helping you get to the people with the power to say YES. Marc and Elaine Zicree, the Supermentors, are that someone. Successful writer-producer-directors, they've worked for all the major studios and networks, and their work has been nominated for the Humanitas Prize, American Book Award, Writers Guild Award, Hugo and Nebula Awards, and they just WON the TV Guide Award! "Great, that's them - what about me?" Every month, over a period of years, their students have landed leads and guest star roles in features, series and pilots, gotten films produced, sold pilots, episodic TV scripts, novels, landed on TV writing staffs, launched and advanced thriving careers.

Six Week SuperMentors Class Beginning Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 for six consecutive weeks in West Hollywood.
Six-Week Teleconference Class Beginning Monday, June 2nd, 2008 for six consecutive weeks (for those not in the Los Angeles area)

SPECIAL ADDED NOTICE!

How to Create, Pitch, Sell, and Run a Network ShowJune 28-29, 2008With showrunner guests Tim Minear (BUFFY), Joe Dougherty (SAVING GRACE), Michael Nankin (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) and many more - details are below! Don't wait any longer, feeling clueless or hopeless. It's all possible, just by starting now. But the six-week classes are limited to only ten students each, so they'll fill up fast!

SPECIAL DISCOUNT!!
Mention this email when you register for the Supermentors Six Week Intensive, or the Teleconference Class, and get $200 OFF!! Classes are normally $799 but THE SPECIAL DISCOUNT PRICE IS JUST $599! How to Create, Pitch, Sell, and Run a Network ShowAlso sign up for this special weekend class, and get $226 OFF!! For just an additional $199 (normally $425!), get a bonus two-day weekend class (June 28-29) on how to create, pitch, sell, and run a network show, with showrunner guests Tim Minear (BUFFY), Joe Dougherty (SAVING GRACE) and Michael Nankin (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA)! Class will be held in North Hollywood.TO REGISTER, or for questions or more information, feel free to call (323) 363-1259 OR email
marc@zicree.com

Catching Up a Bit, TV & Doctor Who News

2008-05-24T18:03:00.000-06:00

Catching Up

I'm getting caught up a bit, between LepreCon 34, going back to Kansas for my father's funeral, and bringing a nasty cold back from Kansas, I've not been keeping up with a lot of stuff, including the SFTV Blog.

I have gotten the SFTV Schedules updated, including schedule information for the new NBC series Fear Itself, the new ABC Family series The Middleman (and the fan site, Middlefan), and new to SciFi series Charlie Jade (more details at the Wikipedia Charlie Jade web site). Check it out on the SFTV Schedule links to the right of the blog. I'll have some more details on the new stuff as well as information on the broadcast networks Up Fronts soon (highlights are in the SFTV Schedules News section if you can't wait).

Doctor Who New Executive Producer - Steven Moffat
The BBC announced that writer/producer Steven Moffat will take over as Executive
Producer and Head Writer of Doctor Who starting with Series five in 2010. Russell
T. Davies will step down after producing the four planned specials in 2009. Moffat has been the writer of the Hugo award winning episodes The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances and The Girl in the Fireplace (and is also nominated this year for Blink) and the upcoming Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead two-parter is highly anticipated). It is good to see another well-respected writer/producer who is also a fan take on the show. I've had a chance to talk with Moffat at the Gallifrey One conventions and, while he indicated last year that he wasn't interested in the job, being much too busy doing things like scripts for Tin Tin movies for the likes of Steven Spielberg, I have a feeling it was already in the works and he was just trying to avoid the question. I'm looking forward to seeing what he will do with the series as well as who he might bring in to write an episode or two that hasn't yet had the chance. The only downside I can see is that he may no longer be able to join us at Gallifrey One now that he is the person in charge. But, since he is the person in charge, he may be able to change the current BBC policies.

Other Doctor Who Writer News
Paul Cornell recently survived a nasty car crash which he documented quite thoroughly on his blog. I'm glad to hear that Paul and his wife, Caroline, both escaped with relatively minor injuries when it sounds like it definitely could have been a lot worse. Paul has been a fun guest at Gallifrey One for the last ten or so years and it has been fun hanging out with Paul and Caroline occassionally at WorldCon and World Fantasy recently. Besides some of the better received Doctor Who episodes (including Human Nature/Family of Blood, also nominated for a Hugo this year), Paul has recently written for Robin Hood and Primeval and has been working on pitching his own series to the UK production companies. He's also started doing comics for Marvel, having done a Wisdom miniseries last year and having just launched a new series, Captain Britain and MI-13 with a Fantastic Four miniseries on the way (and who knows what else is coming up that he can't talk about). Here's a nice list of all of the recent and upcoming comics Paul has done for Marvel. Paul has also published a few novels as well, including British Summertime, recently published in the US by Monkeybrain Books. He'll be at WorldCon in Denver in August, hoping to take home his first Hugo award for Doctor Who.

James Moran has been writing about his experiences writing for TV on his blog. He's started a series of posts on his experience writing for Torchwood and promises a detailed report on his experiences at Gallifrey One. He wrote The Fires of Pompeii episode for the current series and has episodes in the new series of Primeval as well as the new UK version of Law and Order. He's also got several other things in the works that he can't yet say what it is. James was a big hit at Gallifrey One this past year with the fans and he is already scheduled for a return visit next year.

In Rememberance of my Father

2008-05-14T10:24:00.001-06:00

Ed Whiteside

1925-2008

Battlestar Streaming Again

2008-04-11T02:04:00.001-06:00

It appears the one time (noon ET) streaming of the season opener was a success and that SciFi will be continuing to do that on a weekly basis for the time being. So if you have access today at noon, head over to Scifi and watch the episode early.

Also, SciFi has started up a Humans vs. Cylons social network/game. I figured I'd give it a try and see if I can help the Cylons to win the war. Following this link will take you to a signup page where the whizzy heads will gain points by signing up new recruits.

Sarah Jane comes to SciFi

2008-04-11T01:27:00.001-06:00

Tonight is the debut of The Sarah Jane Adventures on SciFi. What SciFi won't tell you is that it is a show made for younger viewers to watch and that is not a bad thing in this case.

The show is somewhat simpler in plot and lighter in tone than the current Doctor Who but actually has a lot in common with Classic Who. Tonight is the one hour (90 minutes with commercials) debut story which sets up the series, although one of the kids (the mostly annoying friend) does not return for the series. Next week starts the airing of the regular episodes, which are half hour episodes that are essentially two parts of an hour long story.

They may rely a bit too much on the Slitheen for villians (but they appear to be popular with kids in the UK) but the stories overall hold up pretty well and are certainly worth catching regardless of if you have a kid to watch them with.

The neatest thing about all of this is that it has given Elisabeth Sladen a chance to continue the character of Sarah Jane Smith, who was brought back in the School Reunion episode of the new Doctor Who series. The year before all that happened, Elisabeth was a guest at Gallifrey One, a month before the new series debuted and one of the questions asked her was if she thought that they might want to bring back any companions from the original series. She didn't think they had any thoughts in that area, but sounded like she'd consider it if she was asked. This was before the show had aired and became a big hit in the UK. In any case, Elisabeth has always been a fan favorite and I think it is great that she's been able to revisit her character 35+ years down the road.

The first series did well for Children's BBC and a second series is in the works. There are also rumours that we may see Sarah Jane turn up in the new season of Doctor Who. If you believe all of the rumours (and some of the revealed appearances), it sounds like everyone that's been a part of the new series will be back this season. Stay tuned. Next week The Doctor is back on SciFi!

As an addendum, my email to Matt Roush about Sarah Jane made the Ask Matt column today. And to boot he put in some snark about Flash Gordon!

April Fooling - A Roundup

2008-04-06T00:59:00.000-06:00

First up, this special preview of the new season of Doctor Who appeared online on April 1st.Locus Magazine had their usual selection of April Fools news items as well including the first season of Top Writer on Bravo and Cory Doctorow releasing himself under the Creative Commons license. No direct link to the stories, but look at all of the April 1st stories.George R.R. Martin also had a post about a solution to how to end The Song of Ice and Fire series by a crossover with the Wild Cards universe!TrekMovie.com has a roundup of some of the various Star Trek related April Fools jokes from this year.

A Package Arrived Today....

2008-03-31T22:16:00.002-06:00

A couple of days ago, I filled out a form, promising that I would keep certain information to myself and not divulge anything about the last fifteen minutes of what I was going to see because I filled out the special document. So, was it a secret government document I was being entrusted with? No, it was the first episode of Season 4 of Battlestar Galactica, "He That Believeth In Me", that will debut online at noon ET on Friday on SciFi.com and be aired at 10 pm ET/PT Friday night on the SciFi Channel.

For those of you who need a refresher on where we were at the end of the season, the episode starts out with a 2 and half minute "previously on..." and the episode picks up right where we left off, with the Galactica and the fleet being attacked by a large fleet of cylons and Lee Adama having just met up with a returned (or is it resurrected?) Starbuck, who was last seen going to pieces in an exploding viper a few months back. Needless to say, everyone is a bit skeptical about Starbuck, but being a bit occupied with a possibly devestating cylon attack, they order all pilots out to join in the fight and Starbuck joins into the fray.

The battle and fight with the cylons is very dramatic and when it turns on a single instance (that only the Watchtower group knows the truth about), they are saved for the time being, albeit with some losses. As expected, Starbuck is not trusted, especially when her ship looks like it just came off the assembly line, and she is kept under watch even while she tries to explain what happened to her.

When we last saw Baltar, he was being whisked away by some women and we get to meet his followers, who want to protect him (and make him feel much better). Of course, they don't know that he has the Six in his head for that, but they are right about trying to protect him from those that would want to hurt him.

The four newly revealed cylcons (the Watchtower group) no longer hear the Dylan song but are starting to develop their own sign language, giving each other knowing looks when the subject of hidden cylons come up. They're also having a bit of trouble dealing with it on a personal level, leading to one very surprising daydream early in the episode which would liken Bill Adama to the bowl of petunias in the HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy ("Oh No, Not Again.").

As the first installment of the final season, it keeps things ramped up and ends with one of those "To Be Continued's" that make you want to wish they were showing two episodes this week instead of just the one.

For those of you in the NY or LA area, you may be able to take advantage of a special "Free Pizza for Humans" promotion, so watch for special ads in your area and be prepared to make a call for a late night snack. When you call them up, say ""I want to order a frakkin pizza!" and if you give them the proper answer to a question, you'll get a free one! Don't ask me which pizza places are participating, that is being kept under wraps as far as I can tell. Since it is only in the two areas, I certainly can't take advantage of it...

For lots of links and such about Galactica and the new season (and a link to scans of Tricia Helfer's FHM magazine spread - although I think we've seen her in less on the show...), check out the Galactica Sitrep blog.

Battlestar Galactica: What the Frak?

2008-03-19T23:15:00.000-06:00

If you need to catch up on the first three seasons of Battlestar Galactica to getr eady for the fourth, here's your chance in this video similar to the recent one done for Lost...

For more Galactica videos (including snippets from the Battlestar Galactica Revealed special airing on Friday, March 28th, visit the official SciFi Channel YouTube page.

Also, the Battlestar Galactica Season Three DVD set has just been released and can be ordered from Amazon via the Magrathea Marketplace.

Caprica Pilot, BG Webisodes, New Scare Tactics, Alice Miniseries

2008-03-19T22:50:00.001-06:00

The Scifi Channel had their upfront presentation last night and announced a bunch of things coming up soon and in development. I'll summarize the highlights with links to the press releases at the NBC Universal Media Village SciFi page.

The Battlestar Galactica prequel, Caprica, has been given the greenlight for a two hour backdoor pilot. Production will beging soon with an airdate likely this fall. The official description for the pilot movie is "Set 50 years before Battlestar Galactica, Caprica follows two rival families - the Greystones and the Adamas - as they grow, compete, and thrive in the vibrant world of the 12 Colonies. Enmeshed in the burgeoning technology of artificial intelligence and robotics that will eventually lead to the creation of the Cylons, the two houses go toe-to-toe. Caprica will deliver all of the passion, intrigue, political backbiting, family conflict and hardcore action that always leaves Galactica fans begging for more. " Full Caprica Press Release

Also on the Galactica front, SciFi will debut the fourth season opener online at Noon ET on Friday, April 4th, the same day it debuts on the channel. They will also be having new webisodes but didn't announce any details. Finally, they will be launching an online social gaming experience pitting humans versus cylons. Other new online features will be a new site, The Game Site, that "will be a hub for reports on all things relevant to the gamer lifestyle." and The SciFi Game Center collecting various casual online games to play. The David Hewlitt produced series Starcrossed will be an online show and will debut in late 2008. Finally, the SciFi Rewind video player will have a large catalog of SciFi channel shows to watch on demand. Full SciFi Digital Press Release

SciFi Reality

Reality shows include more Mind Control With Darren Brown, the return of Scare Tactics (now hosted by Tracy Morgan), more Ghost Hunters International, and a couple of new pilots, Estate of Panic and BrainTrust. In conjunction with the release of the new Indiana Jones movie, SciFi has a new documentary special on The Mystery of the Crystal Skulls that will air on May 18th following a marathon of the first three Indiana Jones movies. Full Reality/Alternate Programming Press Release. Full Ghost Hunters International Press Release

Scripted Development

New scripted developement includes the following:

(Full Scripted Press Release)

Alice - The producers of Tin Man adapt Alice In Wonderland for a mini-series.

The Stranded - A pilot movie based on the Stranded comic by Mike Carey, recently part of the SciFi/Virgin Comics partnership. Carey is writing the script for the pilot. Virgin Comics has part of Issue 1 of the series available to view online.

From a Virgin Comics Press Release: “From day one,” Carey says, “working on The Stranded has felt like being at a nexus point of creativity. Virgin and SCI FI created the perfect platform, and then supported the book and the creative team through all the stages of development. This feels like something we all own, and we all love. I can't wait to take it forward into its next incarnation.”

True Believer - Rosario Dawson produced pilot that is "a quirky, contemporary dramedy about a 20-something comic book nerd who hires a washed-up real-life Superhero to be his crime-fighting sidekick and teach him the ropes. Together, this unlikely duo set out to save the World. "

Deputized - A 2-hour pilot written by Joe Gazzam, Deputized is a dramedy in which an "average Joe" suddenly finds himself possessing special abilities after being accidentally fitted with an alien exoskeleton that cannot be removed. As a result, he is enlisted to serve on the inter-galactic police force that patrols the universe.

Finally, Richard Branson (head of Virgin) has joined SciFi's Visions for Tomrrow Advisory Board. Full Branson/VOT Press Release

SciFi Friday is Back with a Vengeance in April

2008-03-13T20:39:00.001-06:00

April 4 - Battlestar Galactica

April 11 - The Sarah Jane Adventures

April 18 - Doctor Who Series 4

(although Donna isn't in it until April 25th)

A Statement from Marc Scott Zicree

2008-03-01T21:38:00.001-07:00

I've been following the various comments in regards to nominating "World Enough and Time" for the Nebulas and Hugo awards and thought that the statement Marc Scott Zicree prepared for SFWA should be posted publicily. Marc has given me a revised version of it to make available for the blogosphere. Instead of posting it in multiple places, I have made it available on my blog and will post links to it. Feel free to post it elsewhere.

Lee Whiteside
SFTV.org

===========================================================

STATEMENT FROM MARC SCOTT ZICREE

Hi, guys –

I’ve just been informed that there have been some misconceptions relating to the professional status of STAR TREK NEW VOYAGES “World Enough and Time,” starring George Takei and written Michael Reaves and myself, which has just been nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Script.

First off, I just want to say how deeply honored I am to be nominated for the Nebula Award. When I was a teenager and being mentored by Theodore Sturgeon at the beginning of my career (I’d just gotten back from Clarion, having sold my first short story), I remember going to his home and seeing the Nebula on his mantle. With its spiral galaxy held in that gleaming block of Lucite, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I was so impressed by Ted having written a work that had won such recognition, and hoped that someday I might create something of such merit it might have a possibility of winning that award.

I am so grateful to my fellow writers in SFWA, and so proud to be part of this community. Michael Reaves has just undergone brain surgery and is temporarily out of commission, but I know I speak for him when I thank every member of SFWA – and all those who worked on “World Enough and Time” so selflessly and well -- from the bottom of our hearts.

As co-writer, director and executive producer of “World Enough and Time” (and also as someone with a thirty-year career as a writer-producer in network television), I’m glad to clarify things and categorically state that “World Enough and Time” was a professional production that utilized literally hundreds of men and women, many of whom work full-time in film and television, and that it was done entirely with Paramount’s knowledge and approval, and in no way violated their copyright.

First, a little history on STAR TREK NEW VOYAGES. Prior to my arrival on the scene and writing “World Enough and Time” with Michael Reaves (both of us having previously written for STAR TREK – THE NEXT GENERATION), STAR TREK NEW VOYAGES had produced three episodes. Although a number of Industry pros worked on the episodes – including STAR TREK writer D.C. Fontana and STAR TREK actors Walter Koenig, Malachi Throne, William Windom and Barbara Luna – they were primarily episodes produced by the fans and intended for a non-professional fan audience.

When Walter Koenig told me of NEW VOYAGES and I viewed their impressive work, I first got the idea of teaming with the NEW VOYAGES crew to create “World Enough and Time.”

I didn’t want to exclude the STAR TREK fans from the production in any way – many of us who are now professionals in the Industry were inspired to these careers by watching STAR TREK when we were kids and still consider ourselves fans – but I was committed to raising the level of STAR TREK NEW VOYAGES to that of a network show and bringing aboard Industry professionals that I knew personally to augment the already-existing and very-talented NEW VOYAGES personnel to help make that happen.

This is in no way to denigrate or minimize the many in our cast and crew who came from other careers or had day-jobs in other pursuits; I found them as hardworking, dedicated and professional as the Oscar and Emmy winners they were often working shoulder to shoulder with on our production.

In all, “World Enough and Time” took one and a half years to make, and required all the skills and talents I have honed in a career that has included sales of over 100 scripts to all the major networks and studios. Pre-production took six months, we shot nine days in New York, two days in Los Angeles at the Gigapix Production Facility, and one day on the Universal lot in Florida with the effects team at the renowned DAVE (Digital and Visual Effects) School facility. Post-production took a full year. The episode was shot on state-of-the-art Hi-Def and boasts 700 effects shots, far more than any network show would ever be able to afford, and more than most features (made possible in part by my having decades of working relationships with the finest artisans and technicians in the Industry, and by relationships fostered by James Cawley and others on the team).

As to any rumors regarding STAR TREK NEW VOYAGES being unpaid and thus unprofessional, in several key and vital areas payments were made. Michael Reaves and I were paid for the script of “World Enough and Time” by James Cawley through his production company, Cawley Entertainment Company, prior to production. We negotiated a contract with James which was under WGA rules, as both Michael and I are members of the Writers Guild, as well as SFWA. In addition, my contract was under DGA guidelines, as I was also the director of the piece.

Beyond this, George Takei was paid to star in the episode. This was under a SAG contract negotiated with George’s manager and agent. Grace Lee Whitney was also paid under a SAG contract. All of our actors who were SAG members were hired under SAG contracts.

At an early stage of pre-production, I founded my own production company, the Magic Time Company, made up of myself, William H. Wallen – formerly Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sony/Columbia-Tristar – and one other partner, an investor in the film and TV industry.

It was clear by that point that “World Enough and Time” would be a huge undertaking in terms of production logistics and would require the full commitment of not only James Cawley’s production company, but mine as well. As a result, “World Enough and Time” became a co-production between Cawley Entertainment Company and the Magic Time Company.

In all, my company invested significant funds, largely for production expenses and key crew salaries. I personally hired my editor, Chris Cronin – a professional who works in Los Angeles on numerous TV shows, features and music videos – full-time for a solid four months, again at Industry rates.

Although “World Enough and Time” was not produced through Paramount, it was done with Paramount’s full knowledge, from Business Affairs on down, including J.J. Abrams, director of the new Star Trek feature, and Bryan Burke, producer of that film. J.J., in fact, advised me during pre-production as I was planning my directorial angle of attack, as did Guillermo del Toro, Frank Darabont, Roxanne Dawson (director of HEROES and LOST), Michael Nankin (director of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) and Armin Shimerman (Quark on DEEP SPACE NINE).

I consider all of these actors and directors friends and professional compatriots (I accepted Guillermo’s Hugo for PAN’S LABYRINTH at Worldcon when he couldn’t be in attendance) and, in fact, have worked with Armin when I wrote for DEEP SPACE NINE (“Far Beyond the Stars”) and collaborated with Michael Nankin when he and I wrote a pilot for Showtime.

“World Enough and Time” premiered August 23, 2007, at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. The event was extensively covered by the press, including the L.A. Times, CNN, NBC and ABC News and many other radio, TV and print outlets. Since then, the episode has been screened at venues around the world, including Spain and Greece, at Worldcon in Yokohama with George Takei in attendance, at numerous conventions and professional conferences, and at the 2007 Nebula Awards, to standing ovations and rave reviews. In addition, the episode has been streaming online at http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/ and been seen by many millions all over the globe.

Which speaks to the core issue at hand. The best way for anyone to be satisfied as to the quality and professionalism of “World Enough and Time” is to simply watch the episode. You can view it real time streaming in Standard Def or Hi-Def by logging onto http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/ (or if you’re a SFWA member and would prefer, drop me an email at marc@zicree.com and I’ll be happy to mail you a DVD). The work speaks for itself.

Since its premiere, numerous executives at Paramount/CBS in a number of key divisions in Los Angeles and New York have seen the episode and reacted favorably to it, as have the producers and stars of the new STAR TREK feature.

I should add too that “World Enough and Time” just won the TV Guide Award. The other nominees were all produced by NBC Universal. None of us were considered amateur productions in any way, and I’m proud to say that “World Enough” won the award.

In all, over 300 people worked on “World Enough and Time.” The following list covers only a small percentage of those who labored on the episode – not even most of our major department heads – but gives sense of our professional credits and standing, along with what we did on “World Enough” (and to our cast and crew, if I left you off this list it’s in no way a reflection of anything other than merely trying in a reasonable space to address the concerns that have been voiced by SFWA and others; I urge everyone to read our episode credits fully, and I thank every single person who made the episode what it is):

MARC ZICREE, Co-Writer, Director and Executive Producer: In addition to the 100-plus script sales (including STAR TREK – THE NEXT GENERATION, DEEP SPACE NINE, BABYLON 5, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE, FOREVER KNIGHT and many others), I’ve served as executive producer on numerous network pilots, producer on SLIDERS and THE LAZARUS MAN, executive story editor on BEYOND REALITY and story editor on FRIDAY THE 13TH – THE SERIES. My work, which includes such bestsellers as THE TWILIGHT ZONE COMPANION and the MAGIC TIME trilogy, has been nominated for the American Book Award, Writers Guild Award, Diane Thomas Award and the Humanitas Prize. Currently, I’m in negotiations to write, direct and executive produce the series MAGIC TIME, based on my bestselling trilogy of novels for HarperCollins, in partnership with executive producers of a hit network show. I’m also in talks with a major Industry writer-producer (who must remain nameless at this time) to have his company come aboard to produce a previously-unfilmed Rod Serling TWILIGHT ZONE pilot, with myself as director.

MICHAEL REAVES, Co-Writer and Executive Producer: Emmy-winner for THE ANIMATED BATMAN, with over 400 script sales to all the major networks and studios. Other credits include STAR TREK – THE NEXT GENERATION, THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE (WGA Award nomination), SLIDERS, INVASION AMERICA (for Steven Spielberg), GARGOYLES and many more. He’s the only writer I know who’s personally worked with Spielberg, Lucas and Roddenberry. In addition, he’s been on the New York Times bestseller list many times (including twice in the last five months) and was nominated for the British Fantasy Award.

JAMES CAWLEY, Senior Executive Producer and Star: the producer-star who started it all and who has had a decades-long career in the entertainment industry, which includes work on STAR TREK - THE NEXT GENERATION and who will be seen in the new STAR TREK feature film. None of this would have happened or been possible without him.

ELAINE ZICREE, Executive Producer: Numerous network credits as a writer and executive producer, including series and pilots. In pre-production on the feature film, THE VOICELESS ROAR, which she has written and will direct. Actors from THERE WILL BE BLOOD and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN are attached, as is Ed Asner, with Ed Harris currently reading the script to star.

WILLIAM H. WALLEN, Executive Producer: For seven years, served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sony/Columbia Tristar, previously head of Wallen Media, the top marketing and design firm in Hollywood. Credits include the first three STAR WARS films, the Indiana Jones films, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, E.T., POLTERGEIST, MEN IN BLACK (which he discovered and brought to the studio), JERRY McGUIRE, AS GOOD AS IT GETS, STARSHIP TROOPERS, hundreds more.

DOUGLAS DREXLER, Executive Producer: An Oscar and Emmy winner, Doug worked for many years on the STAR TREK franchise series, including THE NEXT GENERATION, DEEP SPACE NINE, VOYAGER and ENTERPRISE, and is currently head of CG Effects on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

MAJEL BARRETT RODDENBERRY, Enterprise Computer Voice: Extensive TV credits, including Nurse Chapel and Computer Voice on STAR TREK and Troi’s mother on STAR TREK – THE NEXT GENERATION; is also the widow of STAR TREK creator Gene Roddenberry.

IAIN McCAIG, Character Designer: Lead concept designer on the last three STAR WARS films, designer of Darth Maul and Queen Amidala. Other feature credits include INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, HARRY POTTER, CHARLOTTE’S WEB, the live action PETER PAN and many others. Most recently, Iain worked on PRINCESS OF MARS for director Jon Favreau.

GABRIEL HARTMAN, Storyboards: Many feature credits, including SPIDERMAN 3, where he worked directly with director Sam Raimi.

LEE STRINGER, RON THORNTON, RON B. MOORE, DAN CURRY, DAREN DOCHTERMAN, JOEL BELLUCCI, Special Effects: Multiple Emmy winners (more than ten among them), with credits that are a who’s who of film and television, including CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, E.T., BABYLON 5, the recent STAR TREK features and TV series, many more. Stringer and Thornton head up the spectacular DAVE School, which did the vast majority of the incredible effects shots.

STEPHEN LES, Post-Production Supervisor: Numerous film credits, the most recent being ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS for Rhythm and Hues.

TASHA HARDY, Line Producer: Many professional credits on features and music videos. Currently producing the feature film HUMANITY’S END.

DON BALDERAMOS, Co-producer and Unit Production Manager: Currently serving in that capacity for Gigapix, a noted soundstage and production facility serving the film and television Industry in Los Angeles.

SCOTTY MOODY, Producer: Works full-time in production at the CBS affiliate in Burlington, Vermont.

ERIC GOODRICH, Producer: Works full-time in production at the CBS affiliate in Burlington, Vermont.

CRYSTAL ANN TAYLOR, script supervisor: Has worked in that capacity on numerous network shows, most recently JOAN OF ARCADIA.

NEIL JOHNSON, Post Production: Editor and Director of thousands of music videos and nine feature films.

ALAN DERIAN, composer: Has composed scores for over fifty feature films.

LESLIE HOFFMAN, Stunt Coordinator: Stunt woman on many features and TV series, including DEEP SPACE NINE.

JOHN VULICH & OPTIC NERVE, Special Effects Makeup: Multiple Emmy and Oscar winner, credits include BABYLON 5, X-FILES, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and BATMAN.

JACOB PINGER, Director of Photography: Cinematographer for many years on numerous network shows, including REAL STORY, the pilot Elaine and I wrote and executive produced in association with Executive Producer Tom Fontana (HOMICIDE, OZ).

JOHN LINDAUER, Camera Operator: Emmy-winning director of PEEWEE’S PLAYHOUSE, currently writing the sequel to THE 300.

And on and on.

All of which goes to show the enormous amount of time and effort and manpower it takes to create a piece such as “World Enough and Time.” I consider it my masterwork, of all the many shows and books I’ve done, and it pretty much sums up everything I have to say about why we’re alive and what makes the journey worth the candle.

And finally, of all the accolades we’ve received, for me the greatest lies in the many people who have gone out of their way to tell me how profoundly the episode has moved them, that they’ve found themselves in tears at the end of the episode. It’s true for me, too. I still cry when I watch it.

Again, thanks for all the many kind words that have been said, and for this wonderful science fiction community that has given me not only a rewarding career, but such a rich, full life.

All good wishes,
Marc Scott Zicree

STAR TREK NEW VOYAGES “WORLD ENOUGH AND TIME” BLURBS

“It’s just great!” RAY BRADBURY

“Great production values and an insightful, emotionally resonant script.” JOSS WHEDON, creator BUFFY, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

“A major accomplishment. It’s a knockout.” JOSEPH DOUGHERTY, Emmy-winning writer-producer, THIRTYSOMETHING, SAVING GRACE

“It was cracking! I loved it!” PAUL CORNELL, writer, DR. WHO

“Enormously entertaining, and beautifully done.” MEL GILDEN, STAR TREK novelist

“Wow… a major turning point in the history of mass communication! I teach a mass communications class at my college and you’re now part of the curriculum.” PROF. SANFORD FRIES, Chicago

“It really is one of the best classic Treks, not a ‘fan’ film as the others have been, but a real episode -- and the best Sulu one done.” MARV WOLFMAN, creator BLADE

“The final product is very impressive indeed… An emotional story that focuses on a parallel life lived by Sulu following an away mission, it has a genuine feel of classic sci-fi and Trek” STAR TREK.com

“Despite low production costs (in comparison to a studio episode) the NEW VOYAGES production team has brought passion, meaning and good storytelling back to STAR TREK. Thanks for keeping the dream alive.” EUGENE “ROD” RODDENBERRY

“J.J. watch out! Wow. I felt like I was 9 years old again, sitting at the TV and watching Star Trek. Great job!” MARK ROSMAN, director

“Trek now has an 80th episode...well done.” MARK ALTMAN, writer-producer, FREE ENTERPRISE