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Controversy will run and run on this one as Lost fans finally try to unravel the intricate strands, bizarre mysteries, weird time travel, odd characters and strange puzzles of the plot over the last 6 years. There is an old Taoist saying – “The journey is the reward”, which in this case is certainly true whatever you feel about the ending and no matter how Lost we all got along the way.

The penultimate Doctor Who story to feature David Tennant as the tenth Doctor has now aired, and all that remains is the two part finale to his era, is this episode treading water to the big ending? Not in the slightest. In fact, as we head to the downfall of the tenth Doctor, we have been given one of the best episodes in a long time. The tension is definitely building towards his final episodes, and the character takes a rather stunning turn with Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars.

While the plot of this special episode isn’t particularly new, i.e. the Doctor trapped on a research station (this time on Mars) with a bunch of scientists and pioneers, who then start getting picked off one by one by an alien entity. The beauty of this episode centres around David Tennant’s performance and the moral dilemma that the Doctor finds himself trapped in. Without giving too much away for those of you that are yet to see the episode, the Doctor is placed in a situation where he must decide between what he has been taught since his first incarnation and what he feels in his heart(s).

The alien entities, essentially water-spewing zombies, look fantastically scary, and I am sure there were a fair few nightmares had by kids up and down the country, especially if there was a tap running in the house at the time. The new Doctor Who special is well written, beautifully shot and briskly paced, and the visuals give it a suitably epic feeling, which is much needed if it’s to be seen as more than just an extended regular episode.

There are a few things that didn’t work completely though, such as the inhabitants of the station weren’t really given much in the way of characterization beyond some rather standard deep space SF stereotypes. Then again, SF stereotypes can be fun, which they are for the most part here. It is the script itself and the nature of the Doctor’s dilemma that are the most compelling thing with this special, along with a very, very strong performance from David Tennant. The tenth Doctor really does surprise you towards the end of the episode, which sets up what is to come very nicely indeed.

The links to earlier events in Doctor Who series four are a nice touch, keeping it in continuity with the larger DW universe. Lindsay Duncan is on fine form as the main companion of the Doctor for the episode, but she is more a partner than a companion, really, and heads up a fine supporting cast who are sadly not given a great deal to do other than run around and shout.

There are some great character touches, such as the videos from home, but the special would have needed another twenty minutes or so to fully flesh these characters out. A fine special episode indeed, and certainly the best so far after The Next Doctor and Planet Of the Dead. The teaser trailer of ‘The End of Time’ looks amazing, and what’s going on with the Master’s head turning invisible, revealing his skull? We shall soon find out…

The new series of Doctor Who has started production today! The first photo of eleventh Doctor Matt Smith and Karen Gillan (as new companion Amy Pond) in costume has been released online, as you can see here. The reaction online has been mixed, with some fans unimpressed and others loving the new look.

Personally I think it is a bold move to put the Doctor in a rather traditional outfit (which actually reminds me of Peter Cushing’s outfit from the Doctor Who big screen movies from the 1960s) instead of a trendy outfit more akin to the tenth Doctor. Many of us were fearing some awful emo/goth outfit, but the geography teacher/hobo look is very much in keeping with the character of the Doctor.

In a press release from the BBC, new show runner Steven Moffat tells fans: “And here it is, the big moment – the new Doctor, and his new best friend. And here’s me, with the job I wanted since I was seven. 40 years to here! If I could go back in time and tell that little boy that one day all this would happen, he’d scream, call for his Mum and I’d be talking to you now from a prison cell in 1969. So probably best not then. Matt and Karen are going to be incredible, and Doctor Who is going to come alive on Saturday nights in a whole new way – and best of all, somewhere out there, a seven-year-old is going to see them, fall in love, and start making a forty year plan…”

So then, welcome to Matt Smith as the eleventh Doctor Who! Good luck mate. The universe is counting on you.

Until the eleventh Doctor arrives onscreen, there are galaxies of Doctor Who DVDs and Merchandise to enjoy!

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Movie collectibles in the US- Visit Entertainment Earth

in the UK - Visit Starstore.com for Movie Collectibles and Forbidden Planet

We’ll be covering as much of the San Diego Comic Con news as we can across our many blogs, so stick with the Starstore blogs for a unique British perspective on the latest developments from SDCC 2009!

We swear one day we’ll make it there and report to you live from the event itself, but until then, we’ll be scouring the net for the best news and announcements so that you don’t have to!

This year’s event runs from the 23rd to the 26th of July, with a preview night on the 22nd before the shenanigans commence for real. There are some suitably awesome panels, previews and product unveilings going on this year, and we’ll cover as many of the big ones as we can.

There are some fantastic workshops and signings right across the event, but the big ones for many fans will be the TV previews, movie previews and merchandise previews. We’re personally really looking forward to finding out what Sideshow Collectibles have on offer this year in the way of new products.

Other panels and stuff of note throughout the SDCC weekend? Summit’s Astro Boy preview, the reveal of details on the next Tetsuo movie, a preview of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, a look at the groundbreaking new James Cameron science fiction epic Avatar, the next developments in the Halo franchise, a presentation of material from Terry Gilliam’s Imaginarium of Dr Parnassuss, a Doctor Who panel with Russell T Davies and David Tennant, a panel on the Kick Ass movie, a talk with fantasy legend Terry Brooks, the premier of the animated Green Lantern movie, The Guild, Farscape’s 10th Anniversary, a look at the new version of The Prisoner, Star Wars Day, Sideshow Collectibles‘ panel, Dr. Horrible The Totally Rad Show Live, Ray Bradbury… gah, so much!!!

We’ll be covering as much as we can right here! It may not be as cool as actually being there, but we’ll be bringing you as much of the AWESOME as we can.

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Have a look and see some sneak previews of the greatest movie collectibles from Sideshow - Visit now!

The double DVD set of Torchwood – Children of Earth is out in the UK now! The five part miniseries, which was shown over five successive nights in one week, follows the Torchwood team (now down to just three members) as they try to stop the sinister 456 overthrowing humanity. The problem is, will the government destroy Torchwood first? This is the Torchwood story that has thrilled and horrified fans in equal measure, and is an absolute must-have for any fan’s collection. The two-disc Torchwood – Children of Earth DVD set features all five episodes of the miniseries, along with extra features including the Torchwood Declassified shorts and an audio clip from a Torchwood novel read by Eve Miles. This really is the British science fiction event of the summer, and an essential DVD set for any collection. Finally, Torchwood has become an entity in its own right, and much more than just a Doctor Who spin-off series.

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Movie collectibles in the US- Visit Entertainment Earth

in the UK - Visit Starstore.com for Movie Collectibles and Forbidden Planet

So then, Futurama is coming back for 26 brand spanking new episodes, which are to play as two seasons of 13. This is quite frankly awesome. If there was a show that had potential to continue, then it was Futurama.

Granted, the ratings were down when the show was originally taken off the air, but isn’t that how things usually go for franchises that start off huge? There tends to be a lull before the series picks up a regular, larger audience, just as the Futurama series was doing..

This was proved when the Futurama DVD movies started coming out. They may not have been quite as good as getting a new series, but they did meet the needs of a rapidly growing fanbase that was just getting into Futurama, and also showed the network that there was certainly call for more.

The original voice cast are said to be returning, along with many of the original writers. Futurama is back- Bite my shiny metal ass!

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Latest and greatest Movie Posters - find Movie posters hereand more - superb film posters here

I’m honestly rather pleased about this. As much as I loved the Spaced TV series (and believe me, I love it- it is genuinely how my life is lived), I don’t think it would work as a film. Hell, I don’t even think there should be a third series or even a special. Those two series of the original TV show were perfect. They were of their time, and they captured a certain demographic in a manner which was in turns hilarious and incredibly close to home.

Spaced is ideal for TV viewing, and while it would be lovely to see how the characters’ lives turned out, I think it’d be best to leave it be. Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and the others have all moved on to new pastures now, and while I’d love to see them work together on TV again, I think Spaced shouldn;t be revisited. It was bad enough when we were all worried about the aborted US remake!

Simon Pegg, Scotty in the new Star Trek movie, played the iconic geek Tim Bisley in the original TV run, and he’s said: “I wasn’t so sure about doing a Spaced movie, I feel like Spaced is very much a TV show. It was about big ideas in a small world and if you saw those big kind of grand movements you’re used to seeing on the screen, you’re used to seeing it there, whereas Spaced worked very much as a TV show.

At least with him being in the new Star Trek movie, we can be safe in the knowledge that Tim Bisley would be absolutely ecstatic, even if it *is* an odd-numbered Star Trek movie. Aaah, in-jokes. Lovely.

The story, following Captain Jean-Luc Picard as he flashes from era to era while attempting to correct the effects of a special anomaly, also serves as a perfect bookend to the show’s first story, Encounter at Farpoint’. Q is back in All Good Things, and the story appears to be the final act of the trial that began in the pilot episode.

While the story has the possibility to be hugely confusing and convoluted, it is handled with such panache on the part of the cast and crew that it works beautifully. Loose threads are tied up, and a tantalizing glimpse into the possible futures of the main characters adds a whole new dimension to the series. The scenes between Patrick Stewart and John De Lancie in their trademark roles as Picard and Q are brilliant Star Trek, the perfect payoff to the seven years it took for the story to come full circle.

All Good Things works incredibly as a movie (which it was edited into for some releases on video and DVD), and grips from start to finish. Watching Jean-Luc grapple for his sanity while all around him changes and evolves and flits back and forth in time is a wonder to behold, and the talent of Patrick Stewart helps give the wild science fiction of the story some serious gravitas.

This iconic two-part story isn’t just the perfect ending to Star Trek: The Next Generation, it is one of the finest moments in science fiction television that has ever been broadcast.

Fans of TV based science fiction shouldn’t worry following the opinion-dividing end of Battlestar Galactica and the damp squib that wasthe end of Stargate Atlantis, as the universes of their favourite shows will live on in the much-anticipated spin-offs Caprica and Stargate Universe.

You’ve known about these new projects for a while now, but finally there seems to be movement on both projects that we can check out. This week, seven clips from the Caprica pilot were released online and promptly pulled down, with the promise that they would return with new material. I guess this is a production issue, as the clips didn’t look quite finished to these eyes.
We shall soon see.

The other show, Stargate Universe, also had a brief trailer released this week (see the embed below), which is a tad underwhelming due to it being essentially some shots of the cast running around on set. The premise, nicked almost directly from Star Trek: Voyager (or even Farscape, for that matter) doesn’t seem that compelling, but with such a strong cast I think it will turn out to be a very enjoyable show.

I doubt these properties will be anywhere near as successful as their forebears, but there will still be some very happy fans out there.

If there was a science fiction TV to be broken, then the much loved Farscape series was more than happy to break it. The show that brought us the adventures of John Crichton (Ben Browder) and a not-so-merry band of aliens first hit screens ten years ago (as of March 19th).

It divided opinions for much of its run, but the fans that stuck with it through its four seasons and the miniseries that ended it (the Peacekeeper wars) were rewarded with one of the most satisfying SF epics ever to grace a TV screen.

With production values that were, erm, out of this world, a cast that was uniformly brilliant and stories that gripped and confused in equal measure, Farscape was utterly unique.

Created and partly produced by the legendary Jim Henson company, Farscape was made in Australia and as such avoided many of the staple actors and plotlines of conventional science fiction television. The plots and interpersonal relationships on show throughout its run were gloriously complicated and believable, despite the outlandish SF setting.

While some viewers took issue with the look of the alien puppets, branding them ‘Muppets in Space’, the fact that these creatures were created with physical effects instead of dated CG means that the show hasn’t aged as much as it could have done by now. It stands up as a powerful and epic tale that has a very personal and emotional centre.

Farscape merchandise and DVD sales proved there was a strong fanbase for the show, and helped the big ending, The Peacekeeper Wars, to be made after the show’s cancellation.

That final miniseries was a perfectly fitting and satisfying ending to a TV franchise, and while the movie may never get made and the show may never return, it’s okay, as it stands perfectly as a whole. Farscape is a rare thing indeed- a science fiction series that can be enjoyed again and again on many levels, and that is one hell of a legacy.

Happy anniversary Farscape- we miss you.