I’ll admit it, I went to see Sex and the City today with a group of female friends. We laughed, we got teary, we didn’t wear Manolos; let’s be honest, they’re so uncomfortable. But people dressed up and I was super excited, because it proves that fannishness transcends sci-fi and fantasy. Here are a couple of snaps.

This week you couldn’t get into Sci-Fi Saturday unless you had “star” power, which means we’re discussing some of my favorite fandoms.

Sci-Fi Vacation

For eight years now, Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios Resort has been holding Star Wars Weekends each summer. While the rest of the vacationers were stuck on that darn “Small World” ride, Star Wars vacationers from around the world were meeting their favorite SW characters and learning from the Masters at the Jedi Training Academy. It’s one big force-filled party held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays June 6-29, and some of our favorite stars will be there. The celebrity host, Warwick Davis, who just gave a stellar performance as Nikkabrik in Prince Caspian, will be on hand, as well as Jake Lloyd (young Anakin) and many more. For me the trip from Washington to Florida would be worth it, just to cross sabers with Vader on training day.

Movies

Star Trek XI: (Spoilers ahead!!) Checking out Reel Movie News this week, I stumbled across some Star Trek movie spoilers that I found very interesting, including word of a future Spock arriving in the past in a Vulcan 1 time-travel ship! I say “Awesomeness!” Another item of interest was the possibility of seeing some Kirk roots - a “George Kirk” is said to be the first officer of the USS Kelvin and presumably James T’s father. *smacks on the juicy Star Trek morsels*

Television

Speaking of Star Trek, when was the last time you saw The Next Generation on TV? Well, on June 3 your answer to that question can be “yesterday!” On June 2, from 7 to 11pm, SCIFI Channel is offering a mini marathon with four of the series’ best episodes. Starting with “The Naked Now” and ending with “Skin of Evil,” the episodes seem to be a showcase of some of Trisha Yar’s and Data’s most memorable moments. June 2 is one of my last days of vacation, and I’m spending four hours of it enjoying TNG the way it was meant to be viewed. How about you?

Conventions

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Figure below by DGTrekker.

Guest blogger Dee Doyle is back with this Fandom 411.

“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

–Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight

When FanLib asked me to do a 411 on Batman, my very favorite comic book series and comic book character, I was more than a little excited to get started. After ten years of faithful worship, and more than a few Batgirl-costumed incidents I’d rather forget, Bruce Wayne remains one of the most fascinating characters I have ever read, even throughout my classical education.

The comic is about Bruce Wayne, a young boy who inherits his parents’ billions when they are tragically shot down behind a movie theater one night. Raised by the family’s butler Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce swears that he will rid Gotham city of evil so that no child will ever have to go through what he did. He starts a serious and intense training program to build up his strength and stamina, but he soon decides he needs more than just that and travels the world to all the great masters and teachers in karate, kung fu, boxing, and many others. He attacks the night as the Dark Knight, a creature of fear and darkness who fights villains with the same degree of vicious ruthlessness they fight him. In time, he decides to adopt a young boy, Dick Grayson, when the boy watches his own parents die in front of his eyes. Bruce — to keep an essence of humanity within himself — trains Dick to be his sidekick Robin, giving the boy purpose. Read more »

Oh Thursday, you roll around so fast.

These contests are open for submission (there are a lot this week), but end within the next week:

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Last year at this time we were talking about Bionic Woman, K-Ville, Gossip Girl, and Sarah Connor. We wondered which would turn into rabid fandoms and which would fall to the wayside with little fuss. In the end, Moonlight grabbed the fans but not the ratings, Gossip Girl got the buzz but not the fandom that was expected, and Bionic Woman and New Amsterdam both went down without a fight.

Well, it’s that time of year again. Time to look at the shows presented at this year’s Upfronts in New York and make our predictions. Which new shows will be major flops, and which will become the hottest new fandoms?

FOX

FOX has always done well in the fannish arena, and this year they have Fringe and Dollhouse. Dollhouse is Joss Whedon’s new series, and it already has a fan forum and websites even though the show won’t hit the air until January of 2009.

With shades of Dark Angel and Alias, Eliza Dushku stars as Echo, one of several operatives who are programmed with new identities every time they’re sent out on a mission. The combination of Whedon and Dushku alone should make this show a hot new fandom.

Fringe leans more toward the X-Files camp and stars Dawson’s Creek’s Joshua Jackson, Lord of the Rings’ John Noble, and Mark Valley of Boston Legal. Here’s the plot:

When an international flight lands at Boston’s Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM (newcomer Anna Torv) is called in to investigate. After her partner, Special Agent JOHN SCOTT (Mark Valley), is nearly killed during the investigation, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to DR. WALTER BISHOP (John Noble), our generation’s Einstein. There’s only one catch: he’s been institutionalized for the last 20 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son PETER (Joshua Jackson) in to help. When Olivia’s investigation leads her to manipulative corporate executive NINA SHARP (Blair Brown), our unlikely trio along with fellow FBI Agents PHILLIP BROYLES (Lance Reddick), CHARLIE FRANCIS (Kirk Acevedo) and ASTRID FARNSWORTH (Jasika Nicole) will discover that what happened on Flight 627 is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth.

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Posted on 5/29/08 by cynthiab under TV | Comments: 3

The Internet is abuzz with a new campaign to save the Joss Whedon series Dollhouse from cancellation by Fox. The Dollhouse Forum is mobilizing the fans with a list of things you can do to show Fox that you mean business. Right now they’re considering leaving cardboard dollhouses all over cities in the US in support of the show, and they need your help. Join now! Don’t let Dollhouse become another casualty! Act now before the show even airs its first episode!

Yep, that’s right. The fans of Dollhouse have decided it’s not prudent to wait until the last minute, so they’re launching the Save Our Show campaign a full eight months before the show is even scheduled to launch.

I do see their point. Fox has already shoved Dollhouse to a mid-season slot, and they wouldn’t be the first network to change their mind about airing a previously announced show. Still, do you think it’s a bit over-the-top to start fighting for a show no one has even seen yet? Forgive me Whedon-ites for even suggesting such a thing but. . .dropping into whisper mode. . . What if the show isn’t any good. . . ?

But then again, it is Joss Whedon, so it’s gotta be cool, right? So that’s it then. I’m in full support of the campaign, and here’s my bit. Don’t wait until the last minute folks; let’s start writing Dollhouse fan fic now and avoid the post-holiday rush. Come on, you’re not going to let a small thing like having never seen the show stop you. . . are you?

Last week I posited that we had a dearth of words for when we celebrate our favorite characters, make their lives run smoothly. You answered the call. Below are the words that exist, or you invented, for just this situation. What’s your favorite? Should we include them all in the Glossary? What’s your opinion?

WAFF - Warm and Fluffy (or Fuzzy) Feelings

Fluff - Just plain fluff (I like marshmallow)

Prozacfic - I guess your characters are medicated into joy.

LoC - Lack of Conflict

Dreamfic - which could turn to Nightmarefic, which is not what we want.

Speak up!

Welcome to the inaugural posting of Comics Chick. What a Schinderful day you’re all having; first a Five Q with me, and now I talk comics, wow. So here’s the story of me as a comic book reader.

As a kid I loved comic books. Is there a kid who doesn’t? I loved the Archie books, Sabrina the Teen Aged Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, etc. Loved the Harvey books, Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, Casper, etc. Loved the Disney, Mickey, Donald, especially Scrooge. And I really loved Tintin and Astrix. Heck, I’d read Power Pack if that was the only comic around. Then, I hit a certain age, maybe twelve, and I allowed my mother to convince me comic books were for kids, and I quit reading them.

In college I dated a guy who broke my stereo and my heart, but he turned me on to The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. I was back with a vengeance. I read a ton of comics in the late 80’s and early 90’s (I know, I’m dating myself), went to St. Mark’s Comics every Wednesday for my books. Started out a more indie fan, but wound up in tights as it were. Loved everything from Jinx to Justice League, from Very Vicky to V for Vendetta. Then about five years ago, I stopped again. It wasn’t all at once, I petered out. I’d go by the store in dribs and drabs - by then I was living here in LA - but there wasn’t much I wanted when I did go, until finally, I stopped altogether. Read more »

For this week’s 5 Q’s, we didn’t have to look far. Say hello to FanLib’s Schinders.

What character in your favorite fandom do you most identify with?

Not sure I can commit to one fandom or character. Some days I’m very Lorelai Gilmore – smart and wacky; on others I’m a bit Andrea from 90210 – anxious and insecure; and then there are always angry, agro Starbuck days.

Who is your favorite creator?

It’s a mighty close call. Neil Gaiman: not only is his writing beautiful and fantastic (in every sense of the word), but he’s so prolific it seems there’s always something new by him. He’s second only to Diana Wynne Jones, who’s been my favorite author since the 80’s. She wrote the novel Howl’s Moving Castle, has several series that are more than fabulous (check out Crestomanci and/or the Dalmark Quartet), and she did a “boarding school for witches” book long before JK. Not to mention, Gaiman credits her as one of his big influences, so…

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Check out Part One of this 411 highlighting Battlestar Galactica, if you haven’t yet.

What are the main types of fic, video, or art you see related to the show?

CynthiaB on the original series:

Fan fiction for the original series generally falls to hero angst, romance, and comedy where Starbuck is concerned. There are three female characters in the series that get more airtime in fan fic than they ever did on the show probably for the Mary Sue factor: Apollo’s sister Athena (who is in love with Starbuck), hooker with the heart of gold, Cassiopeia (who is in love with Starbuck), and latecomer, hot-shot pilot Sheba (who is in love with. . . Apollo!) Young Boxey also has his share of stories usually written to evoke the “awww” factor.

Top plot? Expect to find Starbuck in trouble, be it a crash landing on a hostile planet or ducking the affections of a woman with a jealous husband. It’s all good. That’s my Battlestar Galactica and if you’ve never seen it, you can watch episodes for free at NBC.com.

Schinders on the 2003 series:

I see a lot of shipping Starbuck/Apollo, Adama/Roslin, etc. There’s also a lot of “discovery” of character motives, in-depth looks at why characters have done what they’ve done. Outside of fics, I’ve seen many great portraits of the characters. There’s not so much vid, maybe because sci-fi makes it daunting. Read more »

Breaking news in the Sci Fi faniverse! Atlantis goodbyes and an “Unexpected” Hobbit party with Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson.

Movies

Join the party! WETA, the FX company behind the upcoming Hobbit movie, is hosting a live chat this Saturday with the men behind the film. Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson will be on hand to chat about the film and answer questions directly from you. To be apart of An Unexpected Party, simply go to the WETA site and register. The live chat time is as follows:

Los Angeles (Pacific): Saturday 24 May 1 pm
New York (Eastern): Saturday 24 May 4 pm
London: Saturday 24 May 9 pm
Paris, Berlin, Rome: Saturday 24 May 10 pm
Sydney: Sunday 25 May 6 am
Wellington, Auckland: Sunday 25 May 8 am

Television

It’s sad, my friends, but I just read the announcement on SCIFI Wire that the lovely Amanda Tapping is leaving the cast of Atlantis to focus on a new series. She’s played Samantha Carter on both Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis for over a decade now, and for me, it’s hard to say goodbye.

(Possible spoilers ahead!) The folks behind Atlantis are experiencing a few more changes: first, Robert Picardo will be a regular cast member playing the infamous Richard Woolsey, who takes over for Col. Carter when she leaves. Firefly fans and Stargate fans alike may be delighted to know that Jewel Staite (“Kaley”/ “Dr. Keller”) is also going to be promoted from recurring guest to regular cast member. Dr. Carson Beckett (or his clone) will be back for five episodes in the upcoming season, and I, personally, can’t get enough of the gentle Scott. Jason Momoa (“Ronin”) has also said he may be leaving soon. That’s too bad for the fans. I don’t know about you, but I have quite a crush.

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CynthiaB, Schinders, and I were brainstorming which fandoms to cover for the Fandom 411 when we started discussing Battlestar Galactica. It turns out that CynthiaB is a fan of the original series and hasn’t seen the new one, while Schinders is a fan of the new series and hasn’t seen much of the original.

One reason why some fans of the original series can’t bring themselves to watch the new series is that Starbuck has gone from being a manly man (played by Dirk Benedict) to a strong woman (played by Katee Sackhoff). We thought it would be fun to discuss the two series side-by-side, so we bring you this Battlestar showdown.
-XtineK

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Super fun afternoon for the FanLib crew, we went en masse to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was exactly what I expected — fun, action packed, bugs, snakes, Karen Allen — and almost everything I wanted. Granted, I find Spielberg a little schmaltzy sometimes, but overall I had a good time; I didn’t want my money back, and that’s usually my criteria. Harrison Ford was great, and Shia LaBeouf was fine, but for me, Cate Blanchett stole the show; she was evil beauty to a T. My only question: Did Shia know those monkeys?

Anybody else see it yet? Planning to? What did you think?

It’s Thursday, and you know what that means… my computer’s having trouble! No, well, yes, but that’s not what I meant. I meant that it’s time to check out member contests. There’s always lots of neat competitions to get involved with, submitting, reviewing, voting, so get involved.

These contests are open for submission, but ending by next Thursday 5/29:

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Whumping.
Angst.
Hurt/Comfort.
Character Death.

There are plenty of terms in the Glossary for how we put our characters through the wringer, but we have a serious dearth of words for when we bless them with miracles, bestow riches upon them, grant their deepest, most secret desires. Why is that? Do we just love to torture our characters? Does Fan Fiction lack terms of joy? Or are there words not in our Glossary that mean just that?

Here’s what I’m looking for: a word that means a fic written where all the characters’ innermost longings are fulfilled. Fic where the characters knows everything will work out in the end, and soup will be waiting when they return home, and it will always be plentiful.

Do you know this word? If you don’t, maybe invent one. We need words of euphoria.