This movie is barely 90 minutes long. And “Lockout” was the longest movie I’ve seen in the past year. At least.

It’s still a little unclear how this is possible. Was it the fact that in 2032 or whenever this movie is supposed to be set, it seems that anyone can be an astronaut? Was it the entire scenes and plot points that were so poorly cribbed from better movies such as “Blade Runner”, “Die Hard” and “Con Air”? Was it Guy Pearce’s inept Harrison Ford impression? Was it the near constant threats of rape against the President’s daughter who’s on the space prison where there’s a mass breakout?

Was it because the movie takes place in a space prison?

Let’s just call it all of the above.

Here’s what I think happened. Celebrated action director Luc Besson (“The Fifth Element,” “The Professional”) had a super-cool idea about a world where people keep their most hardened criminals in stasis in an orbiting space prison. There’s a breakout, and the government turns to one man to go in (Pearce), save the President’s daughter (Maggie Grace) who’s there on a humanitarian mission, and quell the riot. As movie ideas go, it is indeed pretty super-cool.

Then poor Luc hired a couple of rooky screenplay writers with only a vague idea of how to edit and produce a finished work, and just for good measure got a bunch of jagweed producers involved in the re-writes. Everyone was feeling lazy that day, so they just stole a bunch of crap from “Blade Runner” (a whole chase scene in a rainy, depressing futuristic Chinatown), and “Con Air” (the prisoners escape partly because the idiot secret service agent wouldn’t relinquish his gun).

Pearce deserves a lot of blame too. His version of Harrison Ford’s trademark sexy dickishness was half-assed and ridiculous- I’m fairly certain he actually called the President’s daughter “Princess,” though that may have been a hallucination. There might have been more for him to do, but the movie is so badly cut together, you never have a chance to get a handle on anyone, even the main character.

Grace is a little bright spot, imbuing her character with more dignity than this movie deserves. And British character actor Joseph Gilgun is mesmerizing as a mentally unhinged prisoner who keeps being pesky and shooting people for the funsies. Gilgun acts circles around Pearce and everyone else in this time-suck, providing comic relief while being simultaneously really, really terrifying.

Going to see a movie about space jail, you come prepared for a lot of things. You come prepared for crappy dialogue, and silly plot twists, and timers counting down ominously to zero. You come prepared for shlock. But dammit, you do not come prepared to be bored. To be bored in a movie that includes a line like “The International Space Station didn’t crash into the prison! The prison crashed into the International Space Station!” is simply unforgivable.

What would have happened if Besson had the time or the energy to complete this project on his own? Probably it still would have been silly and fleeting. But maybe it would have been a self-contained little work of pop art, the way “The Fifth Element” was, or “La Femme Nikita”. It may not have had the staying power of those movies. But at least I wouldn’t have left the theater, turned on my phone and been shocked it was only 8:30 p.m.

Never send a boy to do a man’s work or so the old saying does. But what about sending a man to a boy’s (or girl’s) movie? Such was the question I asked myself when Blast Magazine asked me to review the latest sensation in the young adult novel/movie genre: “The Hunger Games”.

I was not a fan of “Twilight” and checked out after the first film. It was a decent enough movie, but it didn’t hold my interest. Something about a rural, logging town in Washington State where everyone looks as if he or she walked out of an Old Navy ad did not sit right with me.

“Twilight” was pretty much my only frame of reference as I sat down for “The Hunger Games”. I hadn’t read the novel and only vaguely knew it was set in a bleak future. This post-apocalyptic future works to “The Hunger Games’” advantage, for I was not relating the action in the movie to any real life situation— whereas in “Twilight”, despite the vampire aspect, the story world was very much present day America. Thus, a detail about “The Hunger Games,” where our protagonists come from a starving community but seem too rosy in the face, bothered me less than the lapses of logic in “Twilight”.

A quick plot summary: “The Hunger Games” depicts a world where an autocratic central government holds twelve outlying districts under its sway. In return for protection, every year each district sends two of its children –a boy and a girl—as “tributes” to compete in a battle to the death, with only one winner emerging. The “Hunger Games” are a hugely popular television show, and the society seems to revolve around this mashup of American Idol and Survivor. But in this reality show competitors don’t vie for points, cash, or flattering comments. They want each other’s blood.

From District 12, we follow Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as they are chosen (Katniss volunteers to go in place of her frail sister), trained, and set loose in the wilderness to fight for survival against an array of other children, some savage and some ill prepared for this deadliest of games.

“The Hunger Games” very much reminded me of “The Running Man,” the Arnold Schwarzenegger action vehicle where political criminals are stalked in a game zone by maniacal gladiators while rabid fans watch on television and bet how long competitors will survive. “The Running Man” seemed to succeed more than “The Hunger Games,” for not only does Arnold’s character survive, but he also manages to launch a rebellion against the oppressive state which sponsors the show. Perhaps this will occur in what appeared to be the set up for an inevitable trilogy at the “The Hunger Games” end, but since we don’t see that in this chapter of story, the latter half of the movie felt flat.

Indeed, there seems to be a moment in “The Hunger Games” when Katniss’s heroics put the game’s producers on edge. They scramble to change the rules to the game as a rebellion breaks out in one of the districts. There can be only one, (for you “Highlander” fans) becomes Well, there can be two. But then the rules change again…and again…and nothing seems to come of Katniss’s triumph (plot spoiler: she survives). In a movie where the stakes could not be higher — life and death — the story meanders about halfway in and loses the strength it had built up.

Furthermore, in The Running Man, the host of the television show –played obnoxiously and brilliantly—by real game show host Richard Dawson, is the focus of Schwarzenegger’s revenge and that eventual showdown feels natural and satisfying when it comes. In “The Hunger Games”, Stanley Tucci and Wes Bentley play an announcer and “The Hunger Games” organizer, respectively, but they are the two hats Dawson wore in his one role—and Dawson did both better—and having two characters dilutes any power either can muster. Tucci is more engaging as a smarmy and saccharine version of Ryan Seacrest, but the inclusion of all these characters (including a brooding Donald Sutherland as the President of the government) leaves too much on the table and none are really resolved in any more than cursory fashion.

But our real interest and attention is with the children on the field (it’s actually a forest) of battle, and one of the reasons I preferred this to “Twilight” was that our heroine, Katniss, is truly heroic. In “Twilight,” Bella was a weak and passive character, always requiring the protection of others. In “The Hunger Games,” Katniss is a warrior, as good as Robin Hood with a bow and arrow, who uses strength, intelligence, and cunning to outlast all others. I really was rooting for her to win.

In all honesty, I simply might not get this movie. It’s an adventure for younger people, though I think you can enjoy it even if you are 30 and up. It appears as if it will be a box office and pop culture hit, but I’m not sure I found anything meaningful to hold onto in “The Hunger Games,” It’s a fast two hours, and if you don’t go in expecting too much you’ll most likely emerge hungry for more.

Imagine the following story elements. The rain forests of Mexico and Latin America, alien beings loose in said rain forests, and a man and a woman trying to make their way through this landscape (without being eaten) to get home to America. Sounds exciting, no? Similar to Skyline or Battle Los Angeles?

Not exactly…

Monsters, the 2010 sci-fi, alien invasion movie, is not at all what you would expect. Yes, there are huge monster aliens in this film. They look like giant squids or octopi and stomp around like Godzilla or Cloverfield, but they are only backdrop. This film is not about aliens: it’s about two people, who live lives of quiet desperation, trying to outrun their own emotional turmoil with the aliens being the external manifestation of their feelings.

Monsters does have a plot. At some point in the future, the United States launches a probe to seek out alien life somewhere in our solar system. The probe returns but crashes into the jungle south of the border. The aliens escape and begin to multiply in this area. The United States and Mexican governments have a hard time controlling these entities and establish an “infected zone” where travel is discouraged.

Unto this come Andrew and Samantha. Samantha is the daughter of a wealthy American publisher. Andrew is a freelance photographer who works for Samantha’s father. Samantha is traveling in Latin America but finds it hard to get home. Andrew is tasked with finding Samantha and bringing her home. Naturally, this is not easily done, and the pair must travel through the infected zone to get to America.

Samantha is engaged but doubts her fiance. Andrew has an out of wedlock son whom he rarely sees. As the two brave travel via planes, trains, and automobiles (substitute boats for planes) and a variety of corrupt and suspicious locals, we learn more and more that neither Andrew or Samantha is at peace. As they continue to skirt the aliens –the encounters becoming increasingly frightening—they reveal more of themselves and their pain to one another. By the film’s end, when we finally see the monstrous aliens up close, Andrew and Samantha realize they are in love with one another. As the monsters engage in a right of courtship hundreds of feet in the air, Andrew and Samantha share their first kiss. Metaphor city!

Monsters is beautifully shot, and the characters’ journey on the rivers of Latin America reminded me of Werner Herzog’s seminal work, Aguirre, Wrath of God. If you are looking for heart-pounding chases, heroic acrobatics, or a shoot ‘em up flick, Monsters will disappoint. Netflix categorizes this film as “sci-fi, fantasy” and “sci-fi, horror/thriller,” but it really should be classified as a drama and one with an indie feel at that. Monsters is not a popcorn film, but if you must think of it that way have this snack lightly-salted.

Movies or television series’ are not just about the actors, but about the visual aspect of what you are watching, especially when it comes to the science fiction and fantasy genre, which sometimes relies heavily on CGI and such.

In the world of film making many steps are taken to bring you that visual aspect and most times we don’t think about the hours, days and processes that go into the work.

A company in Venice Beach, CA called Lightcraft Technology, has created the perfect camera system to improve the production pipeline. Click here to read a little more about that.

Eliot Mack, the founder and system architect of Lightcraft Technology has for the past 8 years been helping filmmakers work in real time visual effects with the system he developed with Co-Founder Phil Mass called Previzion.

We asked Eliot some questions about his camera system and here are his answers:

BLAST: Why did you create this product? What was the thought process behind it?

ELIOT MACK: I started building Previzion out of frustration with both the traditional production process (sets, locations, etc.) and the traditional visual effects process (tracking, keying, rendering, compositing, etc.) I had learned enough VFX to complete about 2 shots with standard methods, but simply could not believe how hard it was to do basic things, like pulling a key well or matching a lens accurately. At that point, I understood the underlying math and could start building a system to handle the repetitious, boring tasks like lens matching and camera position tracking.

BLAST: What movies/TV shows might the readers have seen this unique tech involved in?

EM: The productions with the widest viewing audience are probably “Alice in Wonderland,” the 2010 Tim Burton film, and “V,” the sci-fi television series.

BLAST: What future projects might this technology be used in?

EM: The two major areas we work in are feature film/high end episodic previsualization, and real time finishing, where the show is composited on the stage. We’re being used on complex stereoscopic motion pictures, to integrate stereo live action cameras and animated CG characters, as well as in telenovelas, where the production volume is high but the keying has to be very good. The underlying connection is our focus on high accuracy and image quality.

BLAST: Is this the only technology of its kind in the market today? And if no, how does your company differ from others?

EM: There are other types of real time keying systems that have been used for years in TV news, weather, and sports. Previzion is the only commercial real time system that is specifically designed for the demands of motion picture and television VFX production.

BLAST: How will Lightcraft Technology benefit movie making in the future?

EM: Previzion lets productions do much more creatively while saving money. Visual effects open up the storytelling palate, but the cost and complexity has limited their use. We’re already creating photorealistic sets that render in real time and fit on a thumb drive; painting a wall green and setting up some tracking targets is a lot less expensive than blocking off city streets or sending an entire production crew to some remote area.

BLAST: Where do you see your company in five years? In 10 years?

EM: We’re going to continue making the systems faster, more accurate, and easier to integrate into productions. Most people think of visual effects as limited to science fiction or summer blockbusters, but the rate of VFX speed and accuracy available in Previzion lets a wide range of productions use them.

BLAST: In regards to film school/students do you see your Lightcraft Technology being utilized in school as a teaching method?

EM: Very much so. In fact, we think that the technology could change the nature of student films. Our photogrammetry tools make it possible for a single person to go out with a DSLR and capture enough stills to create a photorealistic 3D background model. Students can expand the scope of their projects while they are learning to use the same on-set tools used on the largest VFX projects out there.

BLAST: For the average movie enthusiast who loves film, will they see a difference between traditional methods of creating film (actors filmed in front of a green screen) over your Lightcraft Technology?

EM: Previzion is in many ways similar to traditional VFX work. It uses the same blue and green screens and some of the same 3D modeling tools to create the backgrounds. The key difference is the speed – it’s a complete visual effects pipeline that happens to run in real time.

Where did we go wrong?

Prophetic beginning in a cacophonous manner to illustrate that what we think was the cause of the future human near-genocide off the face of the planets, might not be as simple as we thought. Taking place 58 years Before The Fall, CAPRICA follows the Greystone and Adama families as they plan to take destiny into their own hands. From the start of the episode we see that all is as normal as can be; for a family that has everything, it seems something is amiss.

In this way, Caprica takes the Viper and flies. With absolutely no back story, no prologue, many viewers new to the franchise may find themselves asking whether this even takes place on earth. Fans of the BSG universe will analyze this episode from the very first scenes. Searching for clues or cameos, or anything that will give them an answer. We as viewers, fans and newcomers alike, will try to reverse engineer a genocide and try to find the impetus that began all that we know.

An attack on the local train leads to the involvement of two separate yet equally important families. The Greystone family loses a daughter, and the Adama family loses a mother and a daughter. The two fathers are then joined through grief in an effort to communicate their loss, and find a way to move on, or in the case of Daniel, to fix it. We then see how two totally different approaches to the loss of a loved one is dealt with. One through scientific (advancement), and one through humanistic (tradition).

While Daniel Greystone tries to regain his daughter, Joseph Adama tries harder to lay the memory of his wife and daughter to rest. All the while, Daniel’s wife is trying to deal with the reality of official inquiry and coming to grips with a life her daughter kept hidden. Daniel is trying to connect, Joseph is trying to connect, and Amanda is trying to connect. Which is where this series shines. Battlestar Galactica showed us how far we can go to keep our human connections, CAPRICA is trying to show us how far we can go to make them.

As Daniel Greystone, Eric Stoltz, is a perfect match. An adult nerd who keeps struggling and tries to find the answers to what seemingly are just complex puzzles. His delivery of his lines are spot on with an air of calm, and a cool honest inquiry into the world around him. While very hard pressed to show emotion, his awe at technology is quite realistic. The way he presents quite deep psychological themes, and metaphysical ideas works on a natural level, without sounding contrived, but a light touch of arrogance. He is endearing, but altogether despicable and morally questionable in his ways. You want him to find solace, but he’s dedicated in finding it in his own manner.

Esai Morales as Joseph Adama is just as solid. His family values upheld even in the light of an attack on them. He conveys a warmth that can quickly turn cold, or even passionate. Make no mistake, Joseph Adama is driven by his heart, in opposition to Daniel’s cerebral approaches. In this pilot we see his loyalty extends to the realm of the traditions embedded in off-world dealings, in his home-world of Tauron. Comprise will seemingly break apart a normal man, but Joseph seems adept at handling even the most crucial of choices when it comes to matter of loyalty and the heart.

Paula Malcomson plays the distant mother and friendly wife, Amanda Greystone. Personally, I think she plays the role quite realistically. While obviously not given much screen time, she gives each of her scenes more depth for the world around Daniel and Joseph. Without her presence and personal emotional displays, I wouldn’t care about, nor believe Caprica as anything more than a one-dimensional city.
Magda Apanowicz plays Lacy Rand, Zoe’s best friend. While her character basically serves as a platform for much of Zoe’s connection to the real world, Magda allows her youth to shine through to show how naive and yet understanding Lacy is. Even if not much screen time is given to her in this episode, she is integral to the main story, as seen in the end of the pilot.

Finally, we have Zoe Greystone, played by Alessandra Torresani. Alessandra can convey so much, and yet leave you feeling as if you truly are listening to a teenager. Theoretical computer terminology flow from her without a feeling of unbelievability. She actually presents emotional, technical, and expository monologues with riveting proficiency. Which is needed on science-fiction. Plus her demeanor at times of thoughtfulness isn’t contrived nor does it leave me with a ‘she-wouldn’t-do-that’ thought at all.

At the time of this writing some of you have seen the CAPRICA movie on DVD/Blu-Ray.

As far as the visuals and audio of the show go, they’re top notch. We have the similar detailed sets that make a living room of the Greystone family seem as barren and character focused as the hanger bay of the Galactica. Cinematography is headed by Stephen McNutt, whom worked on many BSG episodes. So you’ll see similar lighting styles and angles and even that slight bobble (aka handy-cam like) technique to present the sets and even outdoor locations with a realistic framing. Hell, even Lee Jeffery, a professional stand-in, comes over from the BSG series.

The music is composed by Bear McCreary. So you know you’re in for an aural presentation of ear soothing or rumbling proportions. I enjoy that some of the crew that worked on BSG are now working on Caprica.

But I’m also glad that Caprica is no Battlestar Galactica.This means that you won’t be seeing starships go pew-pew, or even any feeling of military duty. This is purely a civilian point of view. Regular people dealing with extraordinary events. Asking much of them, and not letting them rest to even have a chance to absorb what is happening to them. And perhaps that lack of self-reflection is what began to bring down not only Caprica, but the entire Twelve Colonies. In any case, this is only the beginning. Where we have a chance to find out, what went wrong.

The New Zealand folk-pop duo of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie of the HBO comedy “Flight of the Conchords” announced that they will not renew the show for a third season.

No finales tonight, but two minor premieres: “The Sing-Off” on NBC at 8 p.m. and “Bank of Hollywood” on E! at 10.

CBS will test the waters of science fiction in a time travel project called “Murmurs.” CBS gave a script commitment to Jason Smilovic and producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas that revolves around a world where time travel is normal and an agency called Commission is in charge of it.

A snow storm made this West Chesterfield, N.H. reader’s mini gas grill look like Darth Vader

It’s actually an uncanny resemblance. Thankfully, the snow did not make the grill look like Jesus, or we’d have a serious religious phenomenon on our hands in New Hampshire.

When Blast interviewed Michael Shanks last month, we learned that the new, anticipated “Stargate SG-1″ straight-to-DVD movie does not exist yet. That is, it’s not under production as of now. MGM is out of money and for sale, and they own all the rights to Stargate.

Nonetheless, we believe the movie will get made eventually. Stargate remains a popular and potentially profitable franchise.

If a new SG-1 movie is to be, the producers and writers have a high bar set for them. It would likely be the last we ever see of SG-1, and with the uncertainties raised by “Stargate Universe,” and the cancellation of “Atlantis,” this untitled DVD movie might be the last gasp of Stargate as its original fans know it.

Here is what we think the producers should do to make it a success — and a proper sendoff.

1. Create a funeral ceremony for General Hammond. Actor Don S. Davis gave his last media interview to Blast in March 2008, a few months before his death. In the Stargate world, they named a new ship, under the command of Col. Carter, after their beloved General Hammond and acknowledged that he died of a heart attack in the first episode of “Universe.” But Stargate never did anything to remember or commemorate him and the amazing actor who played General George Hammond. The new movie should begin with or feature early on some sort of ceremony, and feature Bra’tac in some way.
2. No time travel or alternate universes. The “SG-1″ episode called “1969″ was the only good time travel story the franchise ever created. Don’t get us started on “Stargate: Continuum.” The new movie should stick to the troubles of modern Earth and the SGC.
3. No religious bad guys. There are ways we could go with a new movie that don’t involve more fake religions. The Lucian Alliance is obviously still a problem.
4. No replicators.
5. Fix the Asgard core. Obviously the Stargate world has only had the gifts of the Asgard for one episode and two movies, and they haven’t done much good with this power and knowledge yet.
6. It’s time to disclose. It’s time to tell everyone about the Stargate. This would be the perfect arc to develop a movie. The people of Earth have been blind to the true nature of the universe for too long, and it’s time to open their eyes. We’re anxious to see how this would play out.
7. Let there be a genuine human conflict. There are a lot of humans in the galaxy. Now that the Goa’uld are wiped out and the Ori are defeated, the humans of the galaxy are going to rebuild. Maybe some “United Nations” style coalition will develop among dozens or even hundreds of worlds. Stargate’s biggest strength was always in its ability to be a “human” drama.
8. Make the movie at least two hours. This 1:40 crap has to go. If you’re going to make a movie, make a feature-length movie. Stargate fans would watch a 2-hour or 2:30 film — and we would watch it over, and over, and over again.
9. Pax Tau’ri. The Tau’ri — Earth — has once again saved the galaxy. This should usher in a Golden Age of sorts. It’s even possible that the new movie could easily be set 10 years in the “future,” which isn’t too hard since SG-1 ended three years ago. Earth can change. We can open with some kind of montage with Hammond’s funeral, and a glance at the team’s victories over the years. Then the people of Earth are told about the Stargate. We spend a few minutes dwelling on that and setting the stage. There will be some panic. Some riots. Then people will calm down. (It’s kinda like when the Red Sox won the World Series in 04). Then we show “Pax Tau’ri,” the period of relative calm. Time goes by. Then we formally start the movie. Get it? It’s opening the door for a clean slate.

What do you think?

Sex and affairs. Sex and affairs. I have a few aunts back home who would love this show.

We are so close. I’m mixed on this episode. I like the dark character twists. I don’t like the love triangles so much. Cheating and affairs and all that shit … I just don’t know.

I liked “Time.” Poof. It was gone. Not on television. They even wrapped up the interesting “Time” storyline online. I guess, there wasn’t enough time to finish “Time.”

Enter “Life.” With an initial impression that screams: “Days of Our Lives.”

Here’s a sci-fi question: They have no fresh food. They’re rationing what they have. Why are they all doing heavy calisthenics and burning all their calories? You lose weight when you starve to death too.

The interesting thing in this episode was the discovery of an Ancient chair that might hold the knowledge the crew needs to use the ship or maybe even get home.

There’s a lesbian story arc with Ming-Na’s (E.R.) character. I like it. It’s well done. It’s romantic instead of pornographic like most shows show lesbians. It adds value to the story and the character, which is always a struggle in Stargate with International Oversight Committee members. I just loved it. It is the only relationship that feels real so far. Ming-Na, a guest, supporting character, has shown the most talent.

And that’s just interesting. Homosexuality is lampooned on television. It’s debated in most of the country. And on this show, this show that I’ve trashed all fall, there’s a homosexual relationship that’s portrayed as real is real life is.

Also, Lt. Scott has a kid. We saw that coming.

What I also like is the intrigue being shown by Rush and the conflict between Col. Young and Dr. Rush. We actually have some interaction between the characters that’s meaningful.

Let’s go back to an argument I’ve made for three weeks now: If we were in week four or week five, we’d be on the right track. We’re still behind. We’re through 10 episodes with five episodes of story.

Yes, I’ve decided it: I liked “Life.” It sets a stage. Even a seed sprouts in the end, a sign of hope.

Cause, maybe, just maybe, they’re not doomed every week.

Well … FINALLY.

This week the team of flirty, dramatic lost wanderers finds themselves on a jungle planet with weird food, and suddenly people start getting sick. The race is on to figure out what’s making everyone sick and how to fix it before time runs out.

It’s an episode! Get it? Well, almost. Because it’s another multi-part episode.

But it’s progress. We’ve well established that they’re stranded on a ship in outer space with no chance of getting home. That doesn’t mean they can’t have a little off-world fun, does it?

There’s drama, jungle, disease, rain, but oh no wait, it’s all just a flashback from an alternate reality that they now need to work to prevent. Perhaps even two alternate realities.

Finally, it almost feels like we’re watching Stargate again.

Character development: We learn about these people. We learn their human stories; where they come from; what their burdens are. We learn what makes them tick, and it makes is relate to the characters. How many people gasped when they learned *spoiler* that Eli’s mom’s mystery sickness is that she was a nurse who got HIV from a junkie who stabbed her in a hospital.

These are the kinds of things that add value to the show. The soldier and the scientist working together, helping each other.

In the episode, a team from the Destiny arrives on a jungle world and finds one of their floating recording devices already on the planet with a full recording file. They return immediately and see that the video is actually of them. The team on the tape arrives, comes down with a horrible disease, and they can’t risk going home. But at night, horrible lizard-like creatives emerge and attack, laying waste to the team. Lt. Scott gets bit and goes into a coma. He wakes up to find he’s the only one alive. The alien snake’s venom cured the disease. An unstable wormhole meant that when Scott tried to return to Destiny, it sent him back in time, and that’s how the “real” team found the recording device.

Back to the present, the disease isn’t from the planet, it’s from the water the team brought back two episodes ago. Now the team has to go back to the awful snake planet to capture one of them and extract its venom to cure everyone else.

Things don’t go well, but that’s all the time we have for today. Tune in next week for the dramatic conclusion.

I don’t like all of these multi-part episodes, but it’s progress. It’s already late in the season, but I can sense that we’re getting closer to “good” here in SGU.

As I’ve said before, if we were at this point a month ago, things would be a lot cheerier in the SGU world, especially among fans of SG-1 and Atlantis. If the setup wasn’t so awful leading up to this, I don’t think I’d have said a negative word about the show so far.

Tonight’s premiere is “Ghost Hunters Acadamy” on SyFy at 10 p.m. The lone finale is “Secret Girlfriend” on Comedy Central at 10:30.

In the news today, ABC made some moves, giving an order for five more episodes of “The Forgotten,” and canceling the new series “Eastwick,” which nobody watched.

ABC also nixed “Let’s Dance,” on news that Kathy Griffin was to host and celebrities weren’t flocking to join the show, according to reports. ABC will use a filler reality series in that time slot, instead of “Let’s Dance,” which was set to debut November 23.

“Lopez Tonight” scored 3.2 million viewers on TBS, TNT and truTV when it premiered Monday, beating Conan O’Brien and David Letterman in the 18-34 demographic.

truTV will launch a new reality series about professional football, going behind the scenes from draft day to the Big Game in “NFL Full Contact” produced by NFL films.

The CW will premiere “Life Unexpected” January 18, tagging in for “Gossip Girl,” until that mega-popular show returns with 12 more episodes later in 2010.

Finally, Nielsen has reported that Americans are watching more television than ever before, with an average of four hours and 49 minutes per day, per American. This is a 20 percent increase from 10 years ago. We have more choices than ever, and we can DVR anything we want. Life is good, right?

Ch-ch-ch-changes.

The inclusion of Richard Dean Anderson in this episode of “Stargate Universe” was a happy anecdote. He’s now a 3-star general.

Totally changed is the senator’s wife, role from a raging alcoholic who’s emotionally out of control to this oddly grounded matron who has to comfort and reassure her daughter. I guess grief is a process.

Oh wait … HEY! A sex scene! Col. Young, (Justin Louis) millions of light years away, used one of the ancient communications stone devices to take over a soldier’s body on Earth to communicate with everyone back home. And he has sex — in that soldier’s body — with his wife. I’ll leave that one out there for you to comment on. We also learned that Young had an affair with Johansen (Alaina Huffman) before any of this all happened. It might has also been the reason she has decided to leave the Stargate/Icarus program shortly before the attack that forced them to evacuate through the Ninth Chevron.

And then, two of the other characters, in two other people’s bodies, get drunk and go clubbing. Elyse Levesque plays a decent drunk. Not great, but decent.

We do learn more about these characters. The senator’s daughter role (Levesque) gets a back story that’s not too surprising. She was a shallow, rich, bitch, whose boyfriend is dating her best friend now. She didn’t have real friends, and she’s beginning to learn that her happy little life wasn’t so great. This is all good stuff. This is character development. There remains much work to do on the three fronts of character development, writing dialog, and acting it out.

The Eli character (David Blue) was also improved. We knew he was an underachieving misfit with a sick mom, but we saw more of his inner monologue. We gets to take over the body of an attractive, fit man and gets to be popular with the ladies for once.

Improvement was made in this episode, but I still can’t help but wonder if this much progress could have been made in three episodes instead of seven. We are also having all of these “good” moments on Earth, instead of on the ship the show is set in.

We learned in previous episodes that the ship, “Destiny” recharges its power by flying through a sun, but each pass doesn’t recharge the batteries to 100 percent. Earth has a master plan to fire the ship’s weapons, to lower the ship’s power, to force the ship to further recharge its batteries entirely by flying through another star, hopefully giving the ship enough power to dial the Stargate back to Earth. We know this fails, because that would essentially end the show. A nice twist is the fact the plan might have worked — or it might have blown up the ship — if Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) hadn’t staged the whole thing to fail.

Rush showed me something in this episode. He’s spiteful and arrogant, but we’re finally seeing clearly that his goal is to study the ship and learn more about the universe. The ship might be very well able to get everyone back home, but Rush’s experiment is ongoing.

On a side note, it’s so refreshing to continuously see the talent that Carlo Rota brings to the table every time. The man who played Morris O’Brianon in “24″ added something to “Stargate Universe” in his brief appearance as a member of the International Oversight Committee.

This was the best episode of “Universe” yet, but it came six weeks and seven episodes later. You get the feeling we’re an an impasse here. They’re stranded. Earth tried to intervene/interfere and failed, and now they have to figure things out for themselves. If this were week four, I think people would be more drawn in to the suspense.

“V” is a hit. There’s no doubt. As far as science fiction on network television goes, it’s primed to be the most successful one we’ve seen, maybe ever.

Therefore, in good network television form, ABC is doing everything it can to totally screw it up.

According to ABC, 14.3 million people watched Tuesday’s series premiere of “V,” which challenged CBS and the current No. 1 show in America, “NCIS” in the Tuesday night ratings battle. In fact, “V” had the best debut of the 2009-10 fall television season.

It’s all gravy so far.

But ABC has decided only to air four episodes this fall. It will hold the remaining episodes for March — March — until after the NBC Winter Olympics coverage. Also, news came recently that the producers, who made “V” the ratings and popular success it is, are departing the show. “Chuck” executive producer Scott Rosenbaum will join the series as executive producer and showrunner, to pick up production, which was halted for what ABC called a “creative hiatus.”

ABC only filmed the fourth episode of “V” a few weeks ago, and the show will not go back into production — they won’t film the rest of the episodes — until January.

I have no explanation for any of this. Usually if a show debuts with the best ratings of the season you leave it alone and let the magic happen. This move reeks of no uncertain lack of confidence on ABC’s part.

Michael Shanks is an actor, and while it’s easy to get lost in the character he has played on, off and on again for a dozen years, there’s a lot under the surface.

Born in Vancouver and raised in small town British Columbia, Shanks began his acting career playing Charlie Brown in the fourth grade play. He witnessed his first television production in college while taking a beach break from trying out for a play. Ironically, it was “MacGyver” that Shanks saw being filmed, not knowing of course that he would one day star beside Richard Dean Anderson in “SG-1.”

He made his television debut in a 1993 episode of “The Commish,” a popular ABC crime drama. He landed a lot of minor roles before getting his big break on “Stargate SG-1″ in 1997, staring in 196 episodes in the series as an adventurous archeologist named Dr. Daniel Jackson. Since the end of “Stargate SG-1″ in 2007, Shanks, 38, has been trying to remake himself as an actor

“Well its a double-edged sword, I will say this,” Shanks said in his interview with Blast. “The things that come down the pipe, career-wise, that are offers to pay the bills are sort of sci-fi related projects.”

But, humbly, Shanks admits that all he can do is keep trying to land roles — hopefully roles that aren’t nerdy archeologists. “You just have to get back in a line as if you’re starting all over again,” he said.

We saw some of this. Shanks left “SG-1″ after season 5 and landed a few small roles, including two episodes of “Andromeda,” where he met his wife. It’s possible we may never have seen Daniel Jackson again if Shanks was offered another starring role (pure speculation). But Daniel’s was a popular role, and Shanks returned to “Stargate,” first as a guest, and then in his everyday role.

After “Stargate,” Shanks got to show some range by playing a pseudo-villain in the popular USA series “Burn Notice.” He played Victor, a rogue secret agent taking revenge on the shadowy intelligence agency that killed his family. He also recently landed a role that could bring him more into the mainstream by appearing in The CW’s “Smallville,” as comic book hero Hawkman. It’s still in the realm of sci-fi/fantasy, but the show has a wider following.

Still though, we can’t forget what Shanks and the “SG-1″ crew did in making the Sci-Fi/SyFy channel what it is today. A new Stargate show, “Stargate Universe” began this year, even as a rumored “SG-1″ straight-to-DVD movie is on the shelf.

“Stargate Universe” is a much younger, more melodramatic, almost juvenile take on the franchise, and fans are conflicted. Shanks is too, even though he’s slated to appear in at least four episodes this season.

“It is really slick and pretty,” Shanks said. “[But] from what I’ve seen I’m not on board. … I’m not hooked in.”

Shanks said the drama and conflict seems forced. “They’re creating tension, pathos and angst,” he said. “The conflict with the characters seems a bit forced.”

One thing I did not dig deeply into was Shanks’ relationship with Christopher Judge. At the San Diego Comic-Con International in 2008, Judge boasted that he and Shanks started their own production company. We later heard about a production about the archangel Michael. But Shanks said the production company was off. He didn’t discuss his relationship with Judge, and I didn’t press him any further on the matter.

BLAST: So you and Christopher Judge are best buds. You have a production company you’re putting together? What’s happening with you guys?

MICHAEL SHANKS: Yeah. Let’s just say the production company’s not happening anymore, and I’d rather not go down that road and talk about Christopher Judge at this particular junction.

Shanks lives in Vancouver with his wife, the beautiful British-Filipina-Canadian actress Lexa Doig (Jason X), whom he got to work with when she played a doctor in 11 episodes at the end of “SG-1′s” run. She is also known for her sci-fi/fantasy work. The couple has two children, and Shanks has an 11-year-old Daughter, Tatiana, born in 1998 to then girlfriend Vaitiare Bandera, who played Daniel Jackson’s wife, Sha’re on “SG-1.” Shanks also said he’s been known to enjoy a good game of Hockey — like any true Canadian.

Editor’s note: After readers called out Blast — and called us liars — for not including the audio of the Christopher Judge portion of the Michael Shanks interview, we are posting it in the interest in full disclosure. We wouldn’t lie about or improperly quote an actor who agreed to give an interview to Blast.

Wow … more sex drama. Ooo … Scott got caught with the senator’s daughter by his former lover. Why exactly did he stop banging the first girl anyway?

“General Hospital” is on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. on ABC, but that’s not what we’re talking about.

I’ve been holding back so far in my “Stargate Universe” episode reviews. I’m a fan. I keep hoping they’re going to bust out with “the big one,” and everyone is going to be happy.

We noticed later on in the “Stargate SG-1″ and “Atlantis” runnings that the powers that be would put together a fantastic opening plot, fraught with unimaginable danger and peril, only to hastily wrap it up when they ran out of time. We saw this when SG-1 “fought” Ares. How about “Red Alert?” That’s what’s happening so far in “Universe,” only it’s happening at the beginning of the series. And it’s happening on two fronts. The makers are building up this fantastical plot in every episode, complete with certain death. Only each episode spends 40 minutes building up a 5 minute plot. And each episode is building up to what we assume is going to be something, but we’re deeply into the season without any hint of the endgame.

In this episode, “Water,” Lt. Smith (Brian J. Young) nearly dies on an ice planet only to not die. This is maybe the third time this has happened to him.

Oh and an alien bug that may or may not be benevolent was flushed out of the ship via the Stargate. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of that.

And that’s it. That’s all that happened on this week’s episode of “Stargate Universe.” It was 43 minutes of “oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, what are we gonna do?” and no substance. We know little more about the characters, and, frankly, I am starting to care less and less about each one to the point where I’d like to see someone killed off just to make things interesting. Do the producers forget what happened when Daniel Jackson died/ascended to a higher plane of existence on “SG-1?” People went nuts. People created “Save Daniel” websites. People were truly in love with these characters. To a slightly smaller extent, the same applied to the now-abandoned characters on “Atlantis.”

“Universe?” No one gives a shit about these people. Even Ben Browder has a proper introduction to “SG-1″ that made us care about him. And he’s a better actor than anyone on this new show. Even Robert Carlyle is beginning to let down (though, to his credit, it’s mostly the writing that’s making him look bad).

The producers are acting like they have a three-season order in place already from SyFy. All seven episodes have been garbage so far. They have done nothing to build a community feeling for the viewers. In the past two shows — and on any good sci-fi show — the audience is naturally brought in somehow. They feel included. In “Universe” we feel like the outsiders. We’re the nerdy kids watching the high school football game. There are aspects of a good sci-fi series that make people go apeshit and dress up in full-on cosplay costumes — that they make themselves, spending sometimes thousands of dollars on — to attend conventions.

What you never saw, was someone dressing up as their favorite Gilmore Girl. It’s a different fanbase, people.

Sadly, “Universe” fails both as a sci-fi show and a teenage melodrama, because the elements that attract sci-fi fans religiously aren’t there and the writing just sucks.

So we’ll see what happens next week.

This isn’t your older brother’s Stargate.

And for people who have been loyal to Stargate and Sci-Fi Channel and now SyFy, this isn’t our Stargate either.

What’s left is for us to decide if that’s a bad thing or not.

Through the first four episodes? Yeah. It’s a bad thing.

Now we get to the fifth episode of the series. Once again, the crew is facing imminent demise.

Only 15 people will fit aboard a shuttle that can leave the “Destiny” for another planet. The melodrama unfolds but becomes difficult — actually impossible — to believe when half of the main cast of the show is not picked in a lottery to decide those 15 shuttle-mates.

Oh my god, MacGyver, how can you possibly get out of this one??

Of course, they do. Everyone lives to die another day.

The ship was on a collision course with a sun. What happens? Instead of crashing into the sun and dying, the ship’s tiny remaining shield power protects it while the ship flies directly into the sun, which recharges the ship’s power. All is well.

Yay.

This whole experience — after more than a month of episodes — unites this crew of misfits. Now they’re all friends. Or are they? Another cliff hanger at the end of Episode 5: “Light.”

This month has taught us definitively that “Stargate Universe” is absolutely not “Stargate SG-1.” In the second episode of SG-1, the crew was already out visiting new planets and encountering new civilizations. SG-1 and Atlantis were shows about societies and groups of people. Universe is a show about a few people. The main problem so far is that I don’t give a damn about these people. There’s no depth to them, except maybe Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) who is easy to single out as the bad guy or just a pure Machiavellian.

But there’s too much build up and anticipation and not enough performance. Every episode of “Stargate Universe” is prom night with chevrons.

Thinking outside the box here, maybe they should have brought back Ben Browder for this one? Or Joe Flanigan? There’s a lot of inexperience on this show. It’s already written like The CW’s version of Stargate

I’m not saying that we need a new episodic adventure every week. SGU is obviously tied into this main story for survival far from Earth. I get it. All I’m saying is we don’t need an hour to realize that the crew isn’t going to die for the fifth time. Let’s explore a bit. Let’s have some adventures.

The show has two elements that can be used to make a few interspersed episodic adventures work: When the ship stops in a solar system, there’s a ticking clock until it will jump back into “faster than light speed.” The crew can disembark on an adventure. You can leave the ticking clock at the bottom of the screen and let then get into all sorts of mischief, trying to make sure they can get back in time.

You also have a love triangle emerging with Chloe (Elyse Levesque) and the muscular hero Matthew Scott and the lovable nerdy genius Eli. The Stargate overlords skirted (totally ignored) the love triangle in “Stargate Atlantis,” but now you can use it. There are more ways to make drama than “death at every possible turn.”

The show is still getting better ratings than “Dollhouse” though.

Tonight is the finale of “Shark Tank” at 8 p.m. on ABC, as well as “Flipping Out” on Bravo at 10. No premieres tonight. The American League Championship Series continues on FOX tonight, so that will take up all the television-related attention.

Leading up to the new sci-fi drama “V,” ABC is hiring skywriters to draw huge letter V’s in the sky at 26 major landmarks across the US from Friday until the series opens November 3. “V” will have four episodes before a hiatus until early 2010.

FOX recently approved a new comedy called “Rehaab,” from writer/producer Sam Laybourne (“Cougar Town”). The show centers around a man who pretends to need rehab in order to re-connect with a former high school sweetheart who’s now a rock star.

Finally this morning, Samuel L. Jackson has two products in the works for CBS. The first is a comedy about the wife of a congressman who inherits her husband’s seat after he dies suddenly. We wonder if Victoria Kennedy is paying attention to that one. The second is a medical drama about an ER doctor who treats patients in unusual ways. Jackson will executive produce both shows. He is, after all, the highest paid man in Hollywood.

Will you please just get on with it already?

We get it. They’re in space. It’s dark. It’s a big freaking void.

But I’m so sick of the “Stargate Universe” crew facing imminent death at every foreseeable turn.

Can we start watching the show now? Please?

We’re three weeks and four episodes in, and they’re already recording the “Dear Home, If we die out there…” messages. They didn’t get to that until the end of the first season of “Atlantis.” Although we knew they would go there, because Brad Wright and company stopped writing new show ideas sometime around 2001.

I don’t mean to be bitter. I’m still glad that some semblance of Stargate is back on the air, even if it is just a semblance.

This week’s episode, “Darkness” felt too similar to the first three episodes. Maybe frustration is a good thing? I admit that I’m really looking forward to whatever enemy or actual plot will start to develop.

There’s also just — I never thought I’d actually say this — there’s too much sexual tension. It seems like any 10 characters are just going to drop down and bang at any given moment. Stargate Orgy, anyone?

We do have a genuine McKay/Zelenka between Rush and Volker.

Nothing else happened in this episode. They were dying before “Darkness,” and they’re still dying. They found some new planets, but now they might crash into the sun. They’re out of power. Etc.

“Darkness” could have been a 10 minute intro to a real episode.

Kinda waiting on one of those…

Just a few premieres tonight, and they’re all on cable.

ESPN starts up “30 for 30″ at 8 p.m. Discovery opens new seasons of “Dirty Jobs” and “Ghost Lab” at 9 and 10 respectively. SyFy has “Scare Tactics” at 9, and A&E has “Parking Wars” at 10.

CBS has new episodes of “NCIS” and “NCIS Los Angeles” tonight, and we expect the network to carry the night.

MTV will air the Adam “DJ AM” Goldsten hosted/created series “Gone Too Far” starting October 12 at 10 p.m. The network had to get consent from the entertainer’s family. Goldstein died from a drug overdose in August.

Showtime has renewed “Californication” for a 12-episode fourth season in 2010.

Sony and Mark Barnett are re-booting “Fantasy Island” and developing a new hour-long elimination reality show involving 12 contestants at an exotic island resort, battling to become the next “Mr. or Ms. Roarke.” The contestants will battle to best fulfill the fantasies of the guests arriving on the island.

The show opened with chaos and questions.

Then there was a flashback, followed by an old 80s movie plot line where a young, ingenious nerd beats a video game that the government set up.

Then Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) shows up to beam the nerd aboard a spaceship. Then there’s a appearance by Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks). The first reaction was simple: I really miss Stargate. I miss the characters I’ve become familiar with and watched struggle through every imaginable enemy

That comes to an apex when our young teen (David Blue) is beamed to a space ship called the “George Hammond” named for the late commander of the Stargate program, General George Hammond, played by the late, great Don S. Davis, who gave his last media interview to Blast before his death in 2008.

Even Gary Jones, an SG-1 series regular, makes an appearance on the two-hour opener of “Stargate Universe.” It’s a reminder that Stargate is back, but not in the way fans have known for the past decade. This is a new Stargate. It’s younger, edgier. There’s even a sex scene, which we don’t think we’ve seen in either of the previous shows or the movies.

Robert Carlyle plays a brilliant yet frustrated scientist trying to solve the mystery of the Stargate’s “ninth and final” chevron. A secret off-world military base has a special stargate on it that is tapped into the planet’s core for power. It’s purpose is to dial that ninth chevron. His character, Dr. Nicholas Rush, the scientist who has endeavored for years to solve the riddle of the last Ancient stargate secret. He’s got some work to do. I’m still seeing Renard from “The World is Not Enough” at times.

When the base comes under attack by an old enemy, the Lucian Alliance, the base is forced to evacuate through the ninth chevron address, which lands them on a massive ship built by The Ancients, the old and advanced race that built the Stargate System. The ship has been traveling faster than light for hundreds of thousands of years. It’s several billion light years from Earth.

Nerd moment: There’s a little plot hole that old Stargate fans will catch. When the base is attacked, its only real defense is The Hammond, a brand new Earth ship with all kinds of amazing gear and weapons. It’s attacked by three “motherships,” an antiquated enemy vessel that the Hammond could dispatch easily with a single blast from its Asgard weaponry. But that moment is not important to the rest of the show.

The ninth chevron leads to the ancient ship, which can travel faster than light without using hyperspace technology. The life support is failing and people are injured and dying.

That completes the first hour of this two-part episode.

In the second part, the team is floating along on the ship trying to get things in order, doing the usual sci-fi stuff.

David Blue plays the math whiz, Eli Wallace, and he sells his part well like a television Jonah Hill.

The producers know that they have to do a lot to make us fall in love with these brand new characters, and halfway through the second part, they come as close as I would have thought possible. A gut-wrenching scene of self-sacrifice involving one of the main character’s fathers draws the viewer into the show.

There’s conflict. Much like the first few episodes of Stargate Atlantis, there are scientists and soldiers and even some politicians jockeying for position, trying to figure out who knows best. Meanwhile, the ship is dangerously high on carbon dioxide.

The show has all the elements to get us interested and leave us wanting more. There’s even a mini cliffhanger ending where we learn that the ship’s autopilot brings it to a planet every so often.

But the 80 minutes of footage in the first two parts of the opening episode was either poorly edited or made to purposefully leave plot holes. At some point, Dr. Rush uses an ancient (and reusable) communications device to contact Earth, but no footage of his contact with Earth is shown, and the team inexplicably never uses the device again. I guess they have to be able to contact Earth sometimes, and that does leave open the possibility of cameos from old SG-1 and Atlantis characters, but it’s a bit gaping. We’re pretty sure this gets closed up in the third part of “Air” which airs next Friday.

The big issue is that one or two of the characters need to separate themselves. They need to stand out in the way Sheppard and McKay did on Atlantis. I didn’t quite get a feeling for who would take the lead here, though it’s possible that Blue will stand out, while Brian J. Smith, who plays the number two military guy, Lt. Scott, has potential. But Sheppard and McKay stuck out from the first few minutes of “Atlantis.” Not so in “Universe.”

Next week will be big in terms of the show’s success or failure. The season is tentatively scheduled for 20 episodes, and we’ll have to see what happens. Right now I’m left wanting more, but I’m not sure why.

BURBANK, Calif. — Easily one of the most anticipated shows of the season, ABC’s “FlashForward” promises not only thrills but an ensemble cast sheet that reads like a roster for some big budget Hollywood film.

The plot surrounds 2 minutes and 17 seconds, when people all over the world inexplicably experience a power blackout at once. As if things were not eerie enough, survivors of the event discover they have caught glimpses into their own futures, a flashforward. With such such a dramatic and mysterious start, it’s easy for someone to label it offhandedly as a sci-fi series, when in fact the only really surreal element is the blackout itself. After previewing the pilot earlier this summer, it became clear that the driving force will be how individual people take charge in shaping the future. Will some of them fulfill their futuristic visions? Or will some change it?

After the debut of the series, there is no doubt that most viewers will be asking the same questions.

After a series of set visits, our meet up with the cast of “FlashForward” took a different spin. Upon arrival we immediately crossed the threshold of what is the interior of the federal building. The set is impeccable and very see-through, as glass windows encircle the room leaving little room for hiding out.

We sat in a tucked away office on set with Courtney B. Vance (Stan Wedeck) and Christine Woods (Janis Hawk). Both actors said they were excited about the new series.

The cast also includes Dominic Monaghan (“Lost,” “The Lord of the Rings”), John Cho (Harold from the “Harold and Kumar” movies), Sonya Walger (“Lost”), Genevieve Cortese (“Wildfire”) and Jack Davenport (“Swingtown,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies). The series is produced by Marc Guggenheim, David Goyer, and Brannon Braga.

We wondered how each character’s “flash” would play out.

Courtney B. Vance stars in FlashForward (Blast staff photo/Conception Allen)

Woods added, “And it’s interesting because, as an audience, for some flashes, you know what’s going on. You’ve seen the flash, and it’s interesting to watch the way they are or are not forthcoming to other (characters). It’s like you get to watch some people lie about it, but as an audience you know.”

And while both actors may not always know what to expect for their characters, they conveyed to us their thoughts about it.

“Well, you can’t prepare for what you don’t know, really.” Vance said.

“For me, I kind of like not knowing because in that way you can be in the moment. To not have these (expectations)” said Woods.

When we asked further about working with an ensemble, and whether characters’ storylines overlap at some point, it was interesting to find that for their roles, they’re spread out a bit more.

“Are you in this episode?” Vance turned to ask his co-star.

“I’m in episode eight.” Woods replied.

“Yeah, see I’m in episode seven and eight. I was crazy in episode five, and a little in six.

So I relish the idea that there will be some times when we’ll be absolutely crazy. And since we’re doing two or three at a time (episodes), it’s especially crazy on all of us.” Vance concluded.

“And I think because it’s two episodes (filming) at once, I think it’s a lot easier for them to keep secrets from us,” Woods said. “Because it’s such a puzzle, the way that they shoot the series with so many people, you look at the schedule and it’s confusing. Even if you’ve read the script.”

Vance added, “On top of the fact we may be shooting one, and reshooting another one. So continuity wise, it’s hard trying to get a sense. On Thursday we were shooting four and five, then reshooting five and six. So it’s just crazy.”

Vance with Woods (Blast staff photo/Conception Allen)

For the cast of “FlashForward” it’s easy to see the friendly vibes among them are mutual, where big egos don’t seem prevalent. As a veteran on stage, and recently part of “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” we asked how Vance felt taking up the role of FBI handler Stan Wedeck, another character in law enforcement.

“For me it’s different because in ‘Law and Order’ there was no characterization. You’re just the facts man. This is refreshing because we’re all (together), and we’re all involved,” Vance said.

“And we are all so personal,” Woods said. “We take it to the personal side of things because it is really a mystery show, an investigative show. These people are what essentially make it.”

While the hype is still out there about the series and fans anticipate its premiere, Blast says the show is much more than a sci-fi series. FlashForward is more about the human elements that make you care about those characters onscreen.

This is the first of our two part feature covering “Flash Forward”. Coming up, more details about the series after the pilot from the series producers, plus more with Courtney B. Vance and Kristine Woods and our interview with Joseph Fiennes.

It was admittedly a challenge for Jody Thompson to play the character Lana in R.W. Goodwin’s “Alien Trespass,” a faithful retelling of a 1950s B movie.

Playing a 50s housewife in the film, Thompson, 32, has gained critical acclaim with praise from the New York Times as well as a Leo Award for Best Supporting Performance by a female in a Feature Length Drama. Not too shabby for a girl who, in high school, thought actors were “losers and not very smart.” She went on to later catch the “acting bug” after appearing in several TV commercials, and the rest is history.

Set to release on DVD August 8, “Alien Trespass” also stars Eric McCormack as Thompson’s husband. He is a witty scientist who has his body taken over by an alien from a crashed UFO in the Mojave Desert. “Urp” this alien, needs to stop the hideous, extra-terrestrial “Ghota” from destroying humankind with his voracious appetite. The story ensues as Dr. Lewis (McCormack) continues on his quest to be a hero and capture Ghota.

Speaking with Thompson, it’s obvious she’s smart. She is the kind of person you could sit and stare at all day, in sheer amazement at her energy level and motivation. Seemingly superhuman, like her blood runs a mix of Red Bull and espresso, she is a self-described Type A”¦but in a good way. She even managed to fit in a bit of woman-to-woman advice during the course of our interview. Without divulging all the details, let’s just say it’s now clear what kind of bra to wear when I’m headed out for a run with my baby in a jog-stroller.

“When I’m not busy I don’t feel fulfilled. It keeps my brain from turning to potatoes,” Thompson said. “Relaxing in the shade with a glass of wine would be nice, but it’s not my first choice.” Again — the motivation thing (as I sit typing away and drinking a glass of red)

With television credits including a recurring role on USA’s “The 4400″ and appearances in “Stargate SG-1″ and “Stargate: Atlantis.” Her sci-fi trending is an accidental pattern. While Thompson is no stranger to the genre, playing Lana in Alien Trespass, however, was an entirely new and demanding experience. Describing it as “frightening” Thompson says she struggled with trying not to overact the part. Corsets and other wardrobe accouterments, including a new Julia Child-esque haircut, helped her get into character. “It took a lot of research and physical adjustments,” she said. “It changes your attitude just by putting the wardrobe on.”

Thompson said it was a pleasure working with McCormack, best known for his part as the hilariously gay Will, in the sitcom Will and Grace. “He was like so cool. He like didn’t have any Hollywood stuff,” she said. “He was just funny the whole time.”

Doubly fortunate to have also worked with R.W. Goodwin, producer of the X-Files series, in this film, Thompson says she just really trusted him from the beginning. “He was so great,” she said. “He knows the genre inside and out.”

The film has done very well and was a big hit at this summer’s Comic Con International in San Diego. Goodwin and McCormack hosted the Alien Trespass panel, introducing it to viewers with a featurette about its origination in the 1950s and recent uncovering by construction workers.

So, is there any truth to the story? “I don’t think I will be in trouble for saying that’s part of the drama. It puts the viewer in the right frame of mind for approaching the work,” Thompson grinned.

An actress, mother and dog-trainer (yes she does that too), Thompson wears many hats. She is also a filmmaker and president of the International Filmmakers Institute. Her debut film, “Montana de Luz,” documents the stories of children in an orphanage in Honduras living with HIV. “If they can get through each day with positive attitude, there really isn’t any excuse for us” she said.

Claiming to have had a difficult time playing the typical 195os housewife in “Alien Trespass,” its evident Thompson is deep down a caretaker. Whether it’s jogging with her 14-month-old son in the stroller, caring for her Alzheimer’s stricken mother, training her German Shepherds or making movies about disease-ridden children, Thompson is probably not an alien, but she probably has some superpowers.

SAN DIEGO — There is one thing certain, “Fringe” the Fox television show, is not the typical science fiction series. A year ago, this edgy drama introduced audiences to a taboo area of science termed “fringe science.” Its focus and practices include genetically mutated humans, deadly dreams, necromancy and teleportation. Though often compared to another beloved Fox series, “X-Files” the show takes the paranormal to a heightened level.

With the stars and its producers at day three of Comic-Con International, Blast sat in and discussed
“Fringe’s” upcoming season and characters. The panel included J.H. Wyman, writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman and followed by cast members Joshua Jackson, Jasika Nicole, John Noble, and Anna Torv.

The second season of “Fringe” has already been plotted out by the, Wyman said.

“Peter (Bishop) is going to learn a lot about his existence, who he is,” Wyman said. “We have many things we have that we want to bank out here as a character, and then actually make him the hero he needs and wants to become.”

Wyman explained the fate of Peter (Joshua Jackson) who ended the season with a cliffhanger, leaving fans wondering about his identity. “There are many things beyond the ideas of aliens” Wyman responded to the “no alien” stance from the show’s writers.

“The keys in the character and what is happening with the show and how it’s different than last year, is that we’re actually looking at the first season as a prologue” Wyman said.

The basic theme of science, it’s catastrophic and uncontrollable nature, is the angle the show has taken and molded since it started last year. What makes it interesting is finding the show is developing its own groove.

“You’re really going to fall in love, this year we work with Walter’s emancipation,” Wyman said. “Peter is going to start to come into his own, and develop in an internal way … it’s really all delicious.”

The series tries to transcend science and be a show about people, building on the back stories of the characters. The writers described Peter and Olivia’s (Anna Torv) relationship as a “brother and sister” pairing.

There are no current plans to develop any romantic storylines between the characters at the moment, which in many ways is a godsend. What makes “Fringe” one of the most successful pilots is its focus on adding drama with the occasional humorous banter. Family also plays a pivotal role especially between Peter and his formally estranged father.

Joshua Jackson gave his views on the relationship between father and son: “There’s always this state of play,” he said. “The big reveal in the end of the season will inevitably lead to break up, until that break up we’ll see them getting closer and closer.”

The strength of “Fringe” is its ability to explore uncharted realms of science, bring them to life, and through it provide a mirror to the world and lives of its characters.

“Fringe” airs at 9 p.m. Thursday nights on Fox.

Blast took a moment to talk to actor Corin Nemec about his role in the chilling “Bundy,” playing the title character of serial killer Ted Bundy. We also asked Nemec what inspires him, like … “The Goonies?”

BLAST: So “Bundy” is coming out on DVD soon, and we have to ask: How did you prepare for playing a character like that?

CORIN NEMEC: Well, you know, really it’s about research. The thing that helped me out most was watching certain videos that he did. Namely the big interviews that he had “" he did several of them. What caught me most was in some of the video footage of him by news teams when they were filming them, and he was not necessarily aware that he was being filmed. He would get these looks on his face. These really jarred, sardonic looks … He would kind of break character as I call it. He would go from his social Ted Bundy to whatever is going on inside. That was kind of my peep hole … and I’d think, “this guys has got a serious dark side.”

Not that it wasn’t obvious in the first place, but that’s what was helpful to me. His motivation “" and this I can’t confirm “" it’s what I discovered in my research and what Mike Feifer had discovered in writing this script “" though we don’t address it in the film “" when he realized that he was an illegitimate child, but his father still claimed to be his father. What dawned on me was him possibly being a child of incest. And this was a discovery he’d made after college. And so that to me was the catalyst for his so-called insanity. I thought it was that point that he just completely lost it and went over the edge and really embraced all the dark fantasies that he had.

BLAST: And what attracted you to the script and the character for this role?

CN: Well, Mike Feifer and I worked on “Chicago Massacre,” where I played Richard Speck, and I had a great time working with him as a director, and I think we really gelled and work well together.

I hope to work with him again in the future. He also worked on “Boston Strangler,” and I played a small role in that, the Boston Strangler’s lawyer. And when Ted Bundy came up, and we got the green light on that and he asked me I jumped at that chance because I had the opportunity to work with Mike Feifer.

BLAST: Did you ever find it difficult or chilling to get into the mindset of the character?

CN: You know, not necessarily, but I definitely found moments; about halfway through it “" which is rare for me, because I’m not a method actor and I don’t take things home with me “" where I really felt nauseated by the guy. It wasn’t when it was necessary for me to be the character but those in between moments. I was like, “Wow. I just feel so creepy.”

BLAST: Speaking of acting and technique, we heard you were very much influenced by “The Goonies.” Is this true?

CN: Well yes, in many ways. My father was the art director in that movie and when it came out “" although the characters were about two years older than I am “" when it came out I was about the same age. My father told me it was something I would really love. I came from an artistic family … so I had been around theater and music and then film and TV. So I knew that film and TV, there was a process that went into making it. And I understood that these people were acting and that they were on sets and all this stuff and then at the end they would put it all together and these people would have this life outside of it … and I was such an imaginative kid, and I realized that, you know, it was an opportunity to do that same thing but on a much more dynamic level. And be able to watch it back. That was what blew me away the most. I can go pretend to be someone else in a real setting, someone will film that, and put it together. And then you can watch the experience that you had back, in the order its supposed to be in! And I was just ten or eleven years old and thought, “Wow! This is incredible.”

And that’s what struck me about it and inspired me to become an actor.

BLAST: So what genres attract you the most? Adventure? Sci-fi? Horror?

CN: No, I’m not really specific with what I look for in a project. Is there something I can bring to the character? Is there an arc? Do I think I can bring something to the project that is going to possibly make it better than what it already is? And if I can answer yes to those questions, then … its really about what character am I playing.

BLAST: But you have worked in sci-fi before, correct?

CN: Oh yeah, I did “Stargate SG-1,” the series. And then have done numerous of these sci-fi oriented movies for the SyFy Channel but, outside of that, my previous work before that was drama and comedy. The first time I got to do anything outside of the box was “The Stand,” playing Harold Lauder, which was my first step into that sci-fi horror kind of world.

BLAST: What character would you love to portray in a film?

CN: Well again, I don’t know what I’m looking for in a character until I read it. Its not like I’m pursuing a type of character out there that I’d like to play. If the character is something exciting for me to play that I can bring something to,then I would go for it.

BLAST: So, what are your aspirations for the future?

CN: Well, I have a production company with David Faustino. We’ve had a production company for a few years now. It’s opened up a lot of doors. We’ve been working on some reality shows and fully scripted shows and feature films. We have a lot of things in development and in the meantime I pursue my other acting projects on the side. But that’s what is exciting to me right now with the production company; it gives us the ability to write our own stories … instead of being at the whims of Hollywood.

BLAST: What is the series that your production company worked on?

CN: Star-Ving. (The series was released in January 2009)

Nemec will star in “House of Bones,” set to be released later this year, along with Charisma Carpenter (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel”). “Bundy” comes to DVD July 21.

MGM Home Entertainment asked fans to pick their favorite Stargate Atlantis episodes, and now the company is putting out a Blu-ray disc created literally for fans by fans, coming out August 4 for $29.99.

More than 20,000 fans voted, and it’s all about the beginning and the end. The series pilot “Rising” and an extended version of the series finale “Enemy at the Gate” will be packaged together.

The disc will feature 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio and HD video.

It’s a lot to pay for two episodes, and we’re not sure about any special features. We just figured you’d wanna know.

So I caught up on “Dollhouse” a few days ago (as my Twitter followers can attest, thanks to my wild exclamations and general giddiness) and I’m gladder than ever that it was renewed. In fact, here are nine reasons why it’s a great thing that “Dollhouse” is coming back for round two:

1. The Joss Whedon Method, otherwise known as “Buffy” season two. For all the cheese and not-as-good-ness of “BtVS” season one, season two was amazing. Season two introduced Spike, Angelus, Oz, et cetera and was just better all-around in terms of plot complexity, character development, acting, and so on. I expect the same story development to happen in “Dollhouse.”

2. The premise of “Dollhouse” is saturated with potential. This show has the scaffolding in place to explore issues just as deeply (and perhaps even more thoroughly) as “Battlestar Galactica.” The concepts of self, self vs. body, informed consent, identity, death, perception… all of these are fascinating topics that “Dollhouse” season one touched on and upon which season two will hopefully expand.

3. Speaking of “Battlestar Galactica” “" and I hate to say it “" it’s over. Yeah, there’s “The Plan” coming as well as “Caprica” (which looks to be tackling some of the same issues as “Dollhouse”), but for now, the space where deliciously layered and complex Sci-Fi used to be on my TV is currently empty. Even emptier, now that “Terminator: TSCC” is canceled. “Dollhouse” fills the void and I think the last five or so episodes proved that it can be equally as thrilling.

4. The all-star cast… and Eliza Dushku. It’s the general consensus that Eliza Dushku’s charisma shines through just a little too much when playing Echo in all her incarnations. She’s the weak link, acting-wise. But there are other actors on this show “" the impeccable Olivia Williams, Harry Lennix, Fran Kranz (who has somehow managed to make the amoral and at-first disgusting Topher one of the highlights of the show), Enver Gjokaj (the best actor of all the Dolls for certain), Dichen Lachmann, Reed Diamond (if he comes back), and of course the brilliant Alan Tudyk (please come back!). Not to mention Tahmoh Penikett’s pecs. The supporting cast is, quite frankly, outstanding.

5. Longevity. The “Dollhouse” premise has the potential to tell a wealth of different stories, and not simply because the Dolls can be programmed for anything. Consider this: the show has already established links between the Dollhouse and the corporate world, government, the National Security Agency, and rich people in general. The possibility for in-depth conspiracy storylines with just one of those connections is tenfold… all together? The potential is limitless. Remember that episode with the fake documentary subjects talking about the urban legend of the Dollhouse? Exploration into that could prove fascinating.

6. It’s been said the Dollhouse does not want to go the route of “Battlestar Galactica” and the local news approach of “Is your neighbor the twelfth Cylon? Tune in tonight at eleven… or will you make it until then?” when it comes to sleeper Dolls, like Miracle Laurie’s Mellie/November. But that isn’t the only way to use the idea of the Secret Doll. The concept of being sent to the “Attic” or that a character we come to know might either become a doll, be a doll already, or even a client adds another aspect of “who are you really?” to each character introduced.

7. Dollhouse (and Mutant Enemy) have proved to have serious cojones when it comes to subject matter. The idea of Dolls is already icky enough and yet the show has fearlessly confronted the issues of prostitution, exploitation, slavery, rape, and murder. Yes, there are viewers who are simply too freaked out to watch, but the idea of a network show dealing with some hardcore, difficult issues in prime-time is absolutely unthinkable and incredibly bold. It speaks to the fearless storytelling we have come to expect from Joss Whedon and he hasn’t even had to kill a character yet.

8. Alan Tudyk. Or, more specifically, Alan Tudyk as (spoiler!) Alpha. Joss Whedon has a cadre of amazing actors who willingly follow him from project to project. This says a few things: one, that there is a guaranteed set of amazing guest stars, and two, there will be great actors for great villains. Alpha is a character who could only be good if performed by a great actor and I doubt that anyone disagrees that Tudyk is brilliant. With a Whedon show, not only are we pretty well assured of exciting villains but we are more importantly assured of quality actors to portray them.

9. “Dollhouse: The Musical!” Whedon has proved, with “BtVS’s” “Once More With Feeling” and the fantastic “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” that just about any kind of storyline is ripe for both comedy and music. The episode of “Dollhouse” where everyone accidentally loses their inhibitions thanks to some drug or another reminded those watching just why Whedon is so revered; the guy can make almost anything funny. And the cast showed that levity is possible even in such a dark world. Plus, how amazing would another musical episode be?

We’ve got the frakking 411 from Universal on the release of several Battlestar Galactica DVD and Blu-ray sets, including a $350 complete series collection on Blu-ray that does everything but fly you away into outer space.

They’ll all be released on July 28.

The science fiction epic that not only bridged generations but brought a whole new generation into the genre is over, but season 4.5 on DVD and Blu-ray will have 13 hours of extras including three extended episodes of the series finale that were never aired. There will also be deleted scenes and behind the scenes fun. Finally, there are commentary tracks and podcast-able interviews with executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick.

Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series is a ridiculous 20 disk Blu-ray or 25 disk DVD set with every episode and just about every bonus feature you can think of.

Season 4.5 bonus features on Blu-ray only:

• U-CONTROL: Universal’s exclusive signature feature puts viewers one click away from going deeper into the making of the film without ever leaving the movie.
• THE ORACLE: An interactive guide including ships and characters.
• BATTLESTAR ACTUAL: A glossary of all the unique Battlestar Galactica terms.
• WHAT THE FRAK HAPPENED TO YOU? Explore the history and connections of your favorite characters through video clips and relevant facts.
• BD-LIVE: Access the BD-Live Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers, and more!
• BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ULTIMATE BATTLE: Players can battle their friends as Colonials or Cylons using strategy and luck to achieve victory.
• MY SCENES: Pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage.
• THE MUSICIANS BEHIND DAYBREAK: Composer Bear McCreary interviews and explains how many unique musicians have contributed the show and specifically the series finale, Daybreak.

Blu-ray and DVD features:

• EVOLUTION OF A CUE: Composer, Bear McCreary takes us step by step through his process of creating the music of Battlestar Galactica.
• What the Frak is Going On With Battlestar Galactica?: A recap of Battlestar Galactica’s first three thrilling seasons “" in only eight minutes!
• “¦AND THEY HAVE A PLAN: What do they mean every episode when the opening sequence on the Cylons states “And They Have A Plan?” All will be revealed in the upcoming movie The Plan.
• THE JOURNEY ENDS: THE ARRIVAL: Battlestar Galactica has traveled full circle. The journey has concluded never to be revisited. But how did we arrive at the end?
• A LOOK BACK
  • SO SAY WE ALL: Executive Producer Ron Moore and the cast and crew reveal their personal insights on Battlestar Galactica.
  • MANIFESTO DESTINY: It all began with this manifesto. Why was it written and what was the response?
  • BATTLE-STYLE GALACTICA: Those behind the camera delve into their approach to visual style of Battlestar Galactica.
  • MARTYR TO A CAUSE: As the only actor to appear in both the original and reimagined series, Richard Hatch offers his unique perspective on Battlestar Galactica.
  • THE SINS OF THE FORGIVEN: Insights on the curious religious aspects of Battlestar Galactica.
  • BATTLESTAR REVELATIONS: Firsthand accounts from those on the Battlestar for the past five years.
  • AUDIO COMMENTARIES BY RONALD D. MOORE, DAVID EICK, AND EDWARD JAMES OLMOS
• Moore’s Podcast Commentaries
• Eick’s Video Blogs
• DELETED SCENES

The Battlestar Galactica saga began on one devastating day, when the human population of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol was annihilated in a series of surprise attacks by their own creation”"the Cylons, a race of sentient robotic clones. The few survivors huddled together on space ships, facing almost certain death at the hands of their ruthless enemies. In Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5, Commander William Adama (Emmy Award-winner Edward James Olmos), the hawkish military leader of the last surviving battleship, searches for a habitable planet as the murderous Cylons follow relentlessly. As mysterious premonitions help Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) the President of the Twelve Colonies, guide the ship to the fabled Thirteenth Colony, Earth, treacherous double agents, Cylon spies and internal dissent plague the Galactica. The ship’s crew and passengers battle for their lives”"and the survival of the human race”"armed with only cunning and determination against the military might of the Cylon Empire.

NATICK, Mass. — “The Day The Earth Stood Still” would have been a fine movie if you had watched it on mute.

Everything was there visually. The cinematography, the CGI, the emotions and the acting were all as spot-on as they can be in a sci-fi movie that’s only goal is to be a sci-fi movie.

It was the script, written by David Scarpa, that fell flat. The story line didn’t make sense. An alien named Klaatu (Keanu Reaves) came to Earth to save it from the humans, who are killing it by what can only be assumed is global warming but is never explicitly stated.

Spoiler warning.

Then, without any sense of change in the behavior of the humans – who are still trying to kill Klaatu up until the movie’s final moments – a teary-eyed Jennifer Connolly and her son (Jaden Smith) are enough to convince Klaatu that the Earth is worth saving, which he does.

Whatever.

End of spoiler warning.

The script could have nailed its point home so much more effectively, like “The Day After Tomorrow” did in 2004. Instead, it settled at being a decent visual adventure without a strong enough message to coat over the plot holes.

I have never seen the original 1951 version of “The Day The Earth Stood Still,” but after watching all the excitement at Comic-con over the film and whether or not the character Gort would be in the movie, I was a bit let down to discover that a character so apparently beloved by the original film’s fanbase had only one truly epic scene and spent the rest of the film held captive in a bunker.

Keanu Reeves did an expectedly good job playing the only role he knows how to. Instead of a stone-faced computer hacker turned savior like he played in “The Matrix” trilogy, here Reeves plays a stone-faced alien come to destroy the human race in order to save the Earth. His self-control and lack of emotion was perfect for the character of Klaatu, and was especially effective during the big interrogation sequence.

Jennifer Connolly did a great job as Helen Benson, an Astro-biologist picked to help figure out what the giant sphere heading towards Earth was (it ended up being Klaatu’s space ship). She fleshed out the role of an essentially flat character and made the movie as much about the relationship between a single step-mother with her step-son as it was about the end of the human race.

Jaden Smith continued his path to greatness that began with “The Pursuit of Happyness” in 2006 as Benson’s step-son, Jacob Benson. While his acting was all there, the plot fell flat on him as well when he goes from giving Klaatu up to the US government and wanting him killed in one scene and in the next, after Benson is captured by the Feds, whiningly asking Klaatu to take him home since he was all alone.

The movie is not a must-see, but anyone looking for a fun sci-fi film, go see “The Day The Earth Stood Still.” Anyone who won’t be annoyed by the fact the film tends to not make sense, go see it. Anyone who likes special effects more than plot and character development, by all means, go see it.

But as a film based on a film that was a warning to take better care of our planet, “The Day The Earth Stood Still” does not nail its message home. Anyone going to the movie theater to see a quality piece of film, take your money and go see something else.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — I can’t, for the life of me, think of a good reason you should see the remake of “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

It takes itself much, much too seriously, and it should not.

Everybody knows the story of the original movie pretty well, whether they think they do or not. Alien comes to earth, says, “Whoa, everyone, chill, or I’m coming back. Okay, Klaatu Berata Nikto,” gone. Right?

It would seem that the directors of the movie are basically as familiar with the story as anyone else. The rest, all summer action movie explosions – marketed for the Oscar-grabbing winter season. What the hell?‚ You’ve got a good cast in this thing. Jennifer Connelly. John Cleese, even Don Draper is in it! And yet … Keanu Reeves is also in it, sort of.

I’m not going to defend his acting, really, because he doesn’t do too much of it. (Has he emoted since he put down his Wyld Stallions air guitar after all?) But critics, I’ve noticed, have bent over backwards trying to explain his wooden delivery. One critic said he’s an alien not used to his human body.

I’d chalk it up to Keanu being made out of wood, or maybe low-budget Computer Graphics. All the effects budget was spent, probably, trying to convince John Hamm he needed the movie for his career. These are the things that are destroyed in the movie: a truck and truck driver, a stadium, and most of the hipster part of New York.

Jennifer Connelly’s adorable step-kid, Jacob Benson played by Jaden Smith, (who was so, so annoying) acts his role to a tee. So much so, his shrieks stuck with me on the commute to work this morning. I saw this film three days ago. Is this a movie that will stay in the box office strictly because it will annoy you with its earnestness?

Picture this. A bunch of left-leaning Prius-driving celebrities get together and say to themselves, “we’ve got to make a movie about climate change, only Leo DiCaprio’s not available, and also the movie can’t be a comedy.” This is what you would get: a scientist, played by Don Draper, is one of the key players doing something about global climate change, and he drives an SUV. He was the actor I bought the ticket for this movie for, and I ended up joking he appeared late in scenes because he was off banging someone else’s woman and drinking expensive scotch.

“We can change,” is Jennifer Connelly’s repeated line. That’s fine, Jen, you have an Oscar already. But hey, Klaatu, he doesn’t care. You screwed up the planet. Exept in this movie the 11^th-hour change is so abrupt, you’d honestly believe Klaatu was just trying to get the hell away from the whiny little Smith and Connelly, which is sad.

Not to wave my dork flag or anything, but in the original movie, Klaatu carries an anti-nuclear proliferation message, and addresses it to the People of the Earth.

In this case? Save the whales. And he addresses it to a mother and child.‚ A wasted opportunity, more or less all the way. From script, to internal logic, to the total mistreatment of the cast.‚ The movie is number one at the BO right now. Maybe there is something wrong with Earth. ‚ 
‚ ‚ 

Michael Crichton, award winning author and filmmaker, best known for his work on “Jurassic Park” and the television series ER, died Tuesday in Los Angeles, after a private battle with cancer. He was 66.

Mr. Crichton’s success began with his first novel, and his first bestseller, “The Andromeda Strain,” which was published in 1969 while he was still in medical school at Harvard University. It was adapted to film by Universal three years later.

Although he didn’t stick with medicine, his experiences had a hand in the creation of ER, and science and technology were integral parts of his fiction. Some of his most popular works include: Congo, Sphere, Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Prey, State of Fear and Next.

“Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand” his family said in a statement.

From the very start, the exciting nature of Mr. Crichton’s novels easily translated into screenplays, which led him to co-write, direct, and produce the adaptations of many of his own works and even get involved with other screenplays, such as Westworld in 1975 and Twister in 1996.

One of the most well known writers in the world, Mr. Crichton’s works have been translated into 36 languages. He even had a dinosaur named after him “" the ankylosaur, or the Crichtonsaurus bohlini.

He was a loving husband and father to his wife Sherry and daughter Taylor, and leaves behind a science fiction legacy that many will fall short of meeting.

A private funeral is planned.

Players who pre-ordered the upcoming Electronic Arts DICE Studio title Mirror’s Edge received a code to unlock the game’s Time Trial mode from the demo that is about to be released.

Time Trial mode challenges players to find the fastest route across the rooftops and through the streets. Players can upload their best time to the Mirror’s Edge leaderboards for their friends to download and compete against. Players can see their friend’s “Ëœghost’ run as they race their way through the course to the top of the leaderboards.

We first heard about Mirror’s Edge at E3 this year, and we love the prospects for this title.

Mirror’s Edge hits stores November 11.

Here’s a gallery of images that we were not allowed to release until right … about … now.

I’ve often heard people claim that many facets of entertainment, be they movies or music or video games or anything else, are masturbatory.‚ For example, ever since Denis Dyack proclaimed Too Human to be a trilogy and one of the stand out franchises of the video game industry, he’s been stroking his own ego.‚ 

Before anyone could get a hold of his game Dyack had managed to create a lot of press surrounding his very adamant bragging regarding how awesome his own game is. And, on top of that, it’s clear that he doesn’t care about what other people think about his game.‚ He acts as if, in some way, that the appropriate stance to take.‚  Well Denis, you’ll be the only one singing praises.

When Too Human first kicks on, it blasts you in the face with a flashy menu of various things to do.‚  Options include a campaign mode, an online mode and some other menu’s you could glide through if you really cared about spending time at the menu.‚ 

The real meat can be found when players first decide to pick up the campaign.‚ Making it through the drudgery they call story was hard.‚ Apparently your character Baldur, the son of the Norse God Odin, is tasked with stopping a machine race built to eradicate humanity.‚ Recalling the story was hard because after letting the game collect dust on my shelf I forgot what it was about.‚ 

I definitely hoped that Dyack didn’t intend for Too Human to excel in a story.‚ I hoped he’d make up for it with innovative game play and captivating boss battles and exciting adventures online. At some points in the development of a story derived from the bowels of a teller, I couldn’t do anything but laugh. Jumping from generic cut scene to generic cut scene was bad; I was ready to turn the game off.

Too Human, a game that’s supposed to stand out and be one of a kind, falls terribly flat when it comes to the graphics and aesthetics. They are so terrible that it was hard to work up the motivation to even try and upgrade my character.‚ I literally had to have a friend of mine come over and upgrade my character, for the mere sight of a white guy with no hair wearing all black in a world that is various shades of grey with some lava splattered places was just too much.‚ I wish the puke induced by the game could have been black or white.

At least Too Human, while being a terrible game, could be likened as a rip-off of an actual good game.‚  Back in the late 90′s Phantasy Star Online was breaking down barriers in terms of what it meant for taking a home console and putting it online.‚ On top of that, the game was fun and new and offered players a lot of variety.‚ Many hours can be logged into PSO and I’d still consider it anything but a waste of time.‚ 

Too Human successfully took the basic formula from that game and made it worse.‚ 

When my character walks into an area enemies pop and charge at me.

Exactly like in PSO.

Likewise, when they die, they drop items that you then sprint too to pick up as quickly as possible.‚ The better the weapon, the better the character.‚ 

Exactly like PSO.‚ 

But, where PSO excelled was in its ability to make an easy yet intriguing battle system and implement it into its own world successfully.‚ A button combo or two would allow you to mow your enemies down, which you could then pull up a menu and cast magic, lay a trap, or use an item.‚ It was good, and easy to learn and follow and very face paced and intense, much unlike Too Human.

When the enemies first tried to approach my dreadfully dull character surrounded by dull grey and black walls I remembered my character was one of the few classes that excelled in ranged attacks.‚ Of the five available options, only one peeked my interest.‚ 

The other four classes were:‚  Champion, average melee fighter, Defender, defensive melee, Beserker, offensive melee, Bio Engineer, healer, and Commando, ranged combat.

In the first room, when combat actually began, I pulled out my rifle and started blasting at enemies as they approached.‚ At first this seemed pretty fluid and ideal for a third-person action game, but once the auto-targeting system, which seems arbitrary if you want people to enjoy playing a ranged class, takes over you can’t do anything but complain. All I managed to do with my rifle was continually shoot one enemy until they were dead and then shoot them some more while they lie, flaccid on the ground.‚ 

The targeting system, on this superb next-gen console, prevented me from killing more than one enemy with a projectile.

Once I got over the fact that I couldn’t manage to get my character to fire at anything but a dead body I decided I’d slash some prices.‚ They couldn’t have messed that up, could they?

The highly acclaimed fighting style that I’ve heard about, where all melee combat is directed towards the analog stick and how you swing it, appears sluggish, and as another fellow reviewer noted, “it looks like Baldur has to pause and smile for a picture after every successful swing.”‚ 

What he means is that when your character attacks, no matter what combination of analog swings you use, he’ll pause for a split second.‚  Just enough time to capture a screen shot or something.‚ This slows the combat down and cuts into the fluidity a few quick swirls from an analog stick should offer.

After struggling with a campaign worth chucking rotten food at, I reluctantly tried the game online.‚  Besides running around with a friend online, doing the same thing one does offline, the game is no different.‚ 

Limiting an online game to a strictly two-player co-operative experience seems like a rushed conclusion to a problem.‚ I feel like the idea was there, of including at least four player co-op (The Dreamcast did it, Why do current generation games purposefully lack what previous games had?), but someone forced Dyack and his team to put the game out early.‚ 

Before it was done.‚ 

Although playing this game online took away some of the drudgery of playing it alone, it was still the same game.‚ 

Too Human is an utter let down. I never once uttered a, “that’s cool,” or even smiled.‚ I frowned a lot.‚  But, no smiles.‚ It lacked in story, in gameplay, and it certainly didn’t live up to any of my expectations.

Lighthouse announced Wednesday that the PC space simulation expansion pack Sword of the Stars: A Murder of Crows has gone gold, meaning it is nearly ready for release.

In addition to the debut of the Morrigi (the sixth new race in the Sword of the Stars universe) new ships, sections, and weapons are available for the Human, Zuul, Hiver, Liir, and Tarkas races, which brings a competitive and fresh style of gameplay to the series.

A Murder of Crows is available exclusively at GamersGate.com beginning October 9. Players are required to have either Sword of the Stars: Collector’s Edition or Born of Blood to play “Crows”.

Six never-before-seen screens have been released to go with the news.

For more information about Sword of the Stars: A Murder of Crows, visit: www.swordofthestars.com or www.lighthouse-interactive.com.

Mastiff, otherwise known for making the competitive eating game, announced on a more serious note that their upcoming Nintendo DS game, Moon, will be released November 18. They’ve teamed with GameStop to offer anyone who preorders the game a free telescoping Moon stylus and game case, too.

Moon is described as a sci-fi, action-adventure, first person shooter.

Game summary:

Developed by Renegade Kid,‚ Moon‚ is an intense sci-fi, action-adventure title for Nintendo DS.‚ Moon‚ places gamers on the cold lunar surface in the year 2058. Researchers of the newly established Lunar Base Alpha are shocked when they discover a sealed, alien hatch during construction of a new lunar base, but it’s a shock that soon pales in comparison to what they find beyond the hatch.

Game features:

• Renegade Kid’s patented formula of sick and twisted FPS adventure features a cinematic storyline and white-knuckle shooting action.
• Built on the Renegade Engine 2.0, Moon delivers rich environments and robust FPS gameplay that screams at a blistering 60 FPS.
• Collect alien artifacts and challenge insane difficulty levels to unlock premium hidden content – only the hardcore need apply.
• Annihilate alien hostiles as you rip up the lunar landscape in your turret-equipped buggy, or pilot the Remote Access Droid to delve into the Moon’s darkest corners.
• Deliver Major Kane’s style of intergalactic diplomacy as you wield powerful alien technology like the Lepton Spread – a particle shotgun that can tear your enemies a new black hole.

For more information please visit‚ www.moon-game.com.

Stargate: Continuum came out last week hot on the trail of Stargate: The Ark of Truth. This movie finally ties all story threads in the SG:1 Universe — a fitting end to a series that started with an alien invasion.

The direct to DVD and Blu-ray feature is directed by series veteran, Martin Wood. Written by Brad Wright and Johnathan Glassner, developers and creators of the TV series, this movie is sure to please hardcore fans. The budget is clearly much bigger this time around. Everything from the back-from-the-past costumes, the CGI, and even the on-location filming looked far more detailed, expansive, and expensive than even the previous movie.

The movie is not advised to be seen by the unconverted. It is not only rich with time paradoxes and alien technology dialogue, but it’s also deep in Stargate universe mythology and SG-1 history. New people will get lost, and fans of the show will find their trivia knowledge absolutely put to the test. What you thought you knew about Stargate will need to be re-visited or you will have questions.

So far, fan reviews have given it praise. That being said, there are always the fans who will see this and ask ‘what the hell?’ While the movie clocks in at an average length of 1 hour and thirty minutes, it will seem short. Not rushed, but will seem as if more could of been included to show what happened than the explanations that were verbally given. Stargate is known for this sort of scripting, where days pass by and an explanation for an obvious gap in visuals is just spoken of as a cheap way out of actually filming something.

This movie will get confusing, as it is with all time-travel stories, logic will need to take a step outside. In Stargate:Continuum, Ba’al is the last of the Gou’ld to be sentenced to death in the new Tok’ra headquarters. Interesting to note that Tok’ra are nomads, but have finally chosen to settle. The well internet leaked appearance of Jack O’Neill comes early, and doesn’t disappoint as the one true fulcrum of the SG-1. The plot begins to take off when the SG-1 team members begin to disappear one by one.

The featured characters turn out to be Colonel Mitchell, Daniel Jackson, and Major Samantha Carter. They escape the disappearing phenomenon by jumping into the stargate. They find themselves not back home inside the SGC, but instead, inside a frozen boat, far away. What makes this movie worth while, as the remaining SG-1 team figures out away to foil Ba’al’s plans, are the numerous cameos by past Goa’aulds. This movie is truly meant for the Goa’auld lover out there.

One of the returning characters that should be reveled, specifically for Blast readers is the appearance by Don S. Davis, as General Hammond. Davis, who died this summer, gives an all too familiar performance as the well-loved authority figured who’s so partial to SG-1. This time it comes with a twist, but he has optimal screen time to do him final a Stargate farewell. Which is more that I can say for Apophis. Again.

While not wholly loved by the Stargate community, Beau Bridges gives a stellar monologue that finally does justice to what we all thought of about the alternate realities. He really gives voice to the ‘alternate universe’ perspective of why they wouldn’t just allow another SG-1 copies to run the place just so they can get back to their own time and/or space. With this movie we even get some semblance of normalcy and real heart break toward the end.

Fans of the series will need to see this one to finally wrap-up those 10 years of adventure. SG-1 has already proven themselves legends among the stars. And now they the prove how timeless they really have become.

I’ll leave you geeks, nerds, dorks, fans with something from Brad Wright himself: “MGM has suggested we start thinking about that and start putting a story together, and that’s what we’re doing right now. But not just a movie … it seems that MGM is confident SciFi Channel or some television outlet will pick up the previously announced third series “Stargate: Universe” as well.”

Rekha Sharma, who plays Tory Foster on the SciFi Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica,” did not always want to be an actress. Born in Vancouver, Canada, to Indian parents born in Fiji, she leaned more towards the musical punk side of her creative mind after developing a love of music.

With the sounds of David Bowie and Bauhaus providing the soundtrack for her adolescent romps through Canadian forests, it was clear a future of tours and gigs was where Sharma was headed. But as her teenage years began, a love of acting began to manifest itself. 

“I was going through life after graduating from high school trying to figure out all my shit,” Sharma said. Upon graduating, she enrolled in the Emily Carr Institute of Design, inspired by the likes of Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. In a continued youthful attempt to find her career path, she also earned a Holistic Counselor Certification from the West Coast College of Massage Therapy soon after.

It was then that Sharma decided to devote herself to the pursuit of acting as a career choice. She knew the odds were stacked against her as an Indian woman in a predominantly white industry.  

She trained at Ivana Chubbuck Acting Studio, and later the Lyric School of Acting. She acted in roles on the cult classic series “The Lone Gunmen” (2001), and “Dark Angel” (2002), along with parts in well-known series such as “The Twilight Zone” (2002) and “John Doe” (2003). Pretty soon she had secured the part of Dr. Harden on the series “Smallville” (2006).

Her auditions and unique career choices got her noticed, because soon she was filming on the sets of the major motion pictures “The Core” (2003), and “The Chronicles of Riddick” (2004), then on Showtime’s “The L Word (2004). Finally, she landed her a role on the award-winning show “Battlestar Galactica” (2006).

“Battlestar Galactica” is a re-imagining of the original 1978 television series of the same name. It follows the last remaining human refugees who fled their home world after a nuclear disaster.

On the show, Sharma’s character Tory is an aid to the president, played by actress Mary McDonnell. In this season of the show, plot twists involving Sharma’s character have garnered mixed reactions from fans.

Sharma said she often finds herself defending her character’s actions, after she was revealed to be a Cylon, part of the race of robots and human-looking cyborgs who launched the apocalyptic nuclear attack. In the story, the Cylons’ ultimate goal is to pursue the last of humanity and wipe them out.

“I think even Tory the Cylon is still human,” she said. “If you look at all the characters on the show, they’ve been starved, hunted, homeless, dying, imprisoned and after all that, they’re still living together in space. Sometimes what is seen as evil under one circumstance, will seem the most humane thing to do in another.”

In terms of filming, Sharma said it’s Tory’s on-screen romance that cause her more stress than her character’s moral dilemmas. 

“Love scenes are extremely anxiety-filled,” she admits, “especially being half-dressed in front of the film crew. But, hopefully our hard work shows through on screen.”

The recent strike by the Writers Guild of America left shows like “Battlestar” at a stand-still. Many actors and crew members in the industry were left without work. Sharma used the break to work on other projects and to spend some time at home in Vancouver. She recalled an awkward dinner with other Battlestar Galactica cast members where no one was even sure if the show would even return.

She also began to focus more on humanitarian work. “I was lucky to grow up with such loving parents,” she said, “whom showed me how to be humble, so I can help those in need.” She supports various charities, including helping victims of 2005 Hurricane Katrina, and victims of the 2006 tsunami in Southeast Asia. She has even supported, through donations of time and money, womens’ shelters across Vancouver. In the past she has given free acting lessons to youth in Vancouver.

As Battlestar Galactica draws to its finale, Sharma is keeping herself busy with a role in “Traveling”, a film in post-production starring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart due out in the fall. Although Sharma acknowledges an off-screen romance, when asked about a significant other she would not reveal any details. She said her significant other has kept her grounded and her newly-acquired and much larger sci-fi fan base is making her focus more intensely on the quality of her performances. 

Looking ahead, Sharma said she is taking her acting career one role at a time.

When Blast commissioned an interview feature with Don S. Davis, it wasn’t simply because he was an interesting character actor who our readers know, love, and largely grew up with. It was because I was inspired by the amazing range — actor, stunt man, painter, sculptor, set designer, writer.

He was never really a leading man, and he always seemed happy with the lovable roles he played, notably as Major General George Hammond on Stargate SG-1.

What we did not know, and what we certainly did not expect, was that we would produce his last media interview. Mr. Davis died June 29. He was 65 and had been in declining health, causing him to reduce his acting duties since 2003.

Mr. Davis has been a warrior, educator, actor, artist and much more. His inspirations come from his military background and his upbringing in Aurora, Mo. in the Ozark Mountains.

“It’s a small town filled with good people in a beautiful area,” Davis told Blast in March. “It’s a beautiful area with picturesque towns and farms set among rolling hills, which are crisscrossed by many rivers," he writes in his biography on his art website, donsdavisart.com. "The towns and farmsteads contain wonderful old homes, barns and other buildings that provide nearly limitless opportunities for artistic inspiration."

“So many of you have been touched by not only the work and art of Don S. Davis, but by the man himself, who always took the time to be with you at the appearances he loved,” his family wrote in a statement after his passing. “On behalf of his family and wife, Ruby, we thank you for your prayers and condolences.”

His fans always said it best.

"Mr. Davis will always be one of my very favorite people because he cares so much for Stargate and for the fans," said Patricia Stewart, a fan from British Columbia who met Davis at a convention last August. "And when I saw him later that day, he remembered my name! He’s a real gentleman."

We will remember Mr. Davis, the actor, artist and gentleman.

A private memorial service will be held in the coming weeks. His ashes will be cast into the ocean.

Blast Magazine correspondents Manuel Uribe and Sarah Gantz contributed to this report

If you ever find yourself thirsting for a taste sensation by the same name, Chelan Simmons will know she’s made it.

Viewers first glimpsed the gorgeous Simmons, 25, two years ago in her recurring role as Hillary on ABC’s “Kyle XY,” a Sunday night sci-fi/ teen drama hybrid that takes the angst of feeling out of place during those formative years to a whole new level.

And if her star should ever burn out, she’ll always have her dreams of becoming a gourmet chef. After all, the family has their own top secret recipe for scalloped potatoes said to inspire mythical-type cravings.

At five Simmons landed her first commercial role after her first audition. Three years later she landed a part in the 1990 TV movie version of Stephen King’s “It” as a tricycle riding tot and the first victim.

“It was actually not too scary being a child on a horror movie set,” Simmons said. “I did all my scenes without Tim Curry (who played the infamous Clown). The director just told me how to react and he told me where to look.”

Careful editing makes it look like Simmons appeared on-set with Curry, but eighteen years later she’s still thankful that it wasn’t the case. “I’m scared of clowns still to this day!”

From the start, Simmons idolized child star du jour Shirley Temple.

“When I was little, no matter what restaurant I went to, I always ordered a Shirley Temple,” Simmons says. “(As a child) I wanted more than anything to have a drink named after me. I thought that that meant that you really made it as an actress.”

Simmons also worshipped funny girls Carol Burnett, Kate Hudson and Reese Witherspoon. But Temple held her longtime awe. “I always wanted to be just like her as a child, she was such an amazing triple threat, and I always thought that she just lit up the screen when she was on it,” Simmons says.

The native of White Rock, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver, had plenty of chances to strike out into science fiction.

“I just kind of fell into the genre,” she says. “A lot of sci-fi projects are filmed here in Vancouver, so it has just been pure luck that I was able to audition for so many of them.”

The experience helped establish Simmons as a scream queen. “I love any chance I get to scream and run away from some monster.”

With puberty came the opportunity to play a host of sexy, funny teen roles. Her credits include roles like Carol in 2007′s “Good Luck Chuck,” Ashley Freund in “Final Destination 3″ and Hot teenage girl in “2gether: The Series.”

Even at 25, Simmons is still regularly cast in roles that require her to shave off nearly a decade.

Harkening back to her high school days isn’t difficult. “I feel more like a teenager some days than I do an adult,” she says. “I love doing high school scenes … I had some of my best times in high school.”

Her longest stint to date is as part of “Kyle XY,” spending nearly four years with the cast and crew of the ABC hit. “The cast is so connected with each other and everyone is so sweet and talented,” Simmons said. “It really makes going to work everyday such a delight.”

That bonding extends to Simmon’s character Hillary, who’s had the opportunity to mature during the run. “I’m really beginning to love her,” she said.

“At first she was always wanting to be the center of attention, she was boy crazy and wasn’t the best friend in the world,” Simmons says. “But now, she has really grown up and has discovered herself a lot more.”

Simmons and the cast will start filming season three soon, though the actress is tight-lipped about any upcoming plot points. “I can’t give you any hints, because the writers don’t even tell us what’s going to happen,” she says.

On the silver screen, Simmons is looking forward to an upcoming role in Hollywood Brats, a comedic portrait of real-life celebutantes and starlet train wrecks directed by Terry Ingram and slated for release next year, where she’ll play Lindsay Lohan.

The film has been touted as strictly based on documents from the public record in the hopes of dodging the potential lawsuit this kind of undertaking attracts.

To brush up on her best LiLo impression, Simmons studied the starlet’s body language and cinematic r©sum©.

She’s no dead-ringer for Lohan, and she knows it. “I know I don’t look identical to her, or sound just like her, but my job was to act like her as much as I could and get the story across.”

When she’s not on set, Simmons keeps her body ripped with Crossfit training, a mix of gymnastics, Olympic weight lifting and sprinting with her personal trainer at Vancouver’s Studio 55. “My trainer, Nathan, works my butt off,” she said.

Down time is reserved for her other loves: spending time with her beloved four-year-old Yorkie Talula, playing Rock Band on Xbox 360 and cooking.

“I am a big foody,” Simmons admits, “and I am most relaxed when I’m cooking.”

Friends and family are already fans of the hobby, reaping the rewards after a day spent slaving away in the kitchen.

Recent culinary creations include fish delicacies and one of her favorites, Simmons Scalloped Potatoes, concocted from the family’s secret recipe. “Once you taste our Simmons Scalloped Potatoes you can’t stop eating them.”

On the web – visit Chelan Simmons on www.myspace.com/chelansimmons or the soon-to-be launched www.chelansimmons.com . “I always love hearing from my fans after a show has aired … it’s so sweet to hear what they thought of the show that night. My fans are the ones that keep me reaching for the stars.”

Look for the name Don S. Davis in the credits of television shows and movies, in the corners of oil paintings, on a military badge and, soon, on a screenplay cover. He is a man of many roles, many talents and, appropriately, many fans.

People often don’t see the person behind the TV character or movie hero, but behind Davis — who has 134 acting credits according to IMDB.com — there lies a warrior, educator, painter and writer.

Davis has played many roles over the years, but he has been an artist his entire life.

“I started drawing and painting when I was a kid,” said Davis in a recent interview with BLAST. “I’ve always liked drawing and painting landscapes and buildings.”

Davis’ art portfolio is a combination of oil paintings, drawings, wood carvings and stage designs, all of which exhibit attention to detail and affection for the simplicity of the country life he grew up in. Originally from Aurora, Mo., Davis now resides in British Columbia, but he says the inspiration for his artwork is rooted in his rural hometown in the Ozark Mountains.

“It’s a small town filled with good people in a beautiful area,” Davis says. “It’s a beautiful area with picturesque towns and farms set among rolling hills, which are crisscrossed by many rivers,” he writes in his biography on his art website, donsdavisart.com. “The towns and farmsteads contain wonderful old homes, barns and other buildings that provide nearly limitless opportunities for artistic inspiration.”

Though the picturesque towns inspire his work now, Davis says that in college he was greatly inspired by abstract painters, including Robert Motherwell and Jackson Pollack, who are still among his favorite artists. “I like abstract art. I still do a bit of it,” he says. “But spending 16 years teaching stage design and technical theater seemed to change my personal creative orientation toward more representational work.”

Perhaps most well-known for his roles as Major General George S. Hammond on the Sci-Fi Channel television series “Stargate SG-1″ and Major Garland Briggs on “Twin Peaks,” spaceships and eerie towns are not the only settings Davis performs well in. Before picking up acting in the late 1980s, he taught at the college level, served in the military and completed a master’s degree and doctorate in theater.

Davis’ hometown in the Ozark Mountains inspired much of his artwork, but the powerful, authoritative characters the 65-year-old actor plays best came from his years in the military during the mid-1960s, when he was stationed in Korea. He entered the US Army with the rank of lieutenant and left as a captain with a collection of memories to fuel his acting career.

“I draw on my experiences in the military and the unique people I met and worked with in a lot of my work as an actor,” Davis said.

Now that “Stargate SG-1″ is no longer in production after 10 seasons, the general has retired his Stargate Command badge and picked up his paintbrush. Painting will not become a new career for Davis, who says he does not sell his work — yet.

“Over the years I’ve often thought of opening an art gallery — I still think about it,” Davis said. He is entertaining the idea of marketing select prints of his paintings if he can find an arrangement that suits him well.

For now, painting is just a way to relax and forget about the aliens left thwarted in his path.

“I paint for myself and my family and my friends,” he says.

The Missouri native has come a long way from his childhood landscape sketches, on a journey that’s taken him to the far corners of the galaxy and back again. It was not until after the army, his own education and the subsequent years of teaching that he decided to pursue acting full time.

Davis may not be a space captain in real life, but he is a true science fiction fan. His favorite sci-fi shows are “Dr. Who,” “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and “Lexx.” He is also a fan of Spider Robinson, the Nebula award-winning author of “The Callahan’s Series,” the Stardance trilogy, the Deathkiller trilogy, and other science-fiction novels.

Since starting out, Davis has appeared in numerous films and TV shows. He was the coach of the Racine Belles in “A League of their Own” and had roles in “Alaska,” “Best of Show,” “The West Wing,” and “The X-Files.”

His favorite role was Donald P. Carstairs from the Canadian television series “Slick Air.”

“Carstairs is a ‘tough-guy’ private eye. He’s a slob, and not the brightest bulb in the pack,” Davis said. The show, also starring Shannon Tweed and David Elliot, is about a couple who run an under-funded charter airline service. “When Carstairs is not repossessing their office furniture and equipment, he is often being hired by them to do bodyguard work,” he said.

Davis is currently involved in a number of projects, portraying starkly different roles in each. Set to release later this year are “Woodshop,” an indie comedy about making it through high school alive, “Viper,” a made for television horror flick and “Far Cry,” an action-drama.

“I am a character actor, and I enjoy playing a variety of roles,” he said.

Davis is also appearing in the straight-to-DVD Stargate movie, “Stargate: Continuum,” which will serve as a mid-summer fix for SG-1 addicts. Davis says he is working on his own screenplay, though he is keeping the details to himself for now.

His characters — past and upcoming — differ greatly but share one common gene that draws Davis to them. He is a sucker for “any well-written role that allows me to portray an interesting character in a good story, with a talented director and talented actors, who happen to also be nice people.”

“I’ve been fortunate to have this experience many, many times while working in both TV and film,” most notably, with “Stargate” and “Twin Peaks,” Davis said.

Charlotte Stewart is one of those talented actors and nice people. Stewart, who played Davis’ Catholic wife on “Twin Peaks,” has fond memories of the show and her fictional husband.

“I think Don got a great kick out of being in Twin Peaks,” said Stewart in a recent interview. When the show aired, she says, “he was like a kid enjoying a private party.”

“(He is) one of the most genuine, sweet human beings I have ever met,” she said.

The fans seem to have taken an equal shine to Davis.

“Mr. Davis will always be one of my very favorite people because he cares so much for Stargate and for the fans,” said Patricia Stewart, a fan from British Columbia who met Davis at a convention last August. “And when I saw him later that day, he remembered my name! He’s a real gentleman.”

Other Stargate fans say they’ve had similar experiences.

“I’ve always found Davis to be 100,000 percent professional when dealing with his fans,” said H.C. Taylor, a Stargate fan from Newburgh, N.Y. “He’s always been absolute aces.”

Taylor has been a Stargate fan for years, but she became a true Don S. Davis fan in 2004 at a convention where he spent time talking to her group and encouraged them to approach for pictures or a handshake throughout the event.

“You could have knocked our table over with a feather,” said Taylor. “Nobody does that at a convention.”

Like many Stargate fans, Taylor kept up to date with the actors’ post-gate lives, careers and interests, which included keeping tabs on Davis’ growing collection of original artwork. After inquiring about purchasing a print, a copy of Davis’ “Oregon Coast” arrived at her door, as a token of his appreciation of her Stargate tribute website, selmak.org.

The painting of a rocky coastline reminds of the coast of Maine, where she often visited with her father. The print has become a priceless possession and represents the growing appreciation among fans for the complexity of the man behind the role. It is a strong appreciation that binds people beyond a television show or movie set.

“If my house was burning, I’d grab my purse, my dog, cat, undies, and it,” Taylor said.

Star Trek: Conquest was a low budget game from the start.

The game is a feeble attempt at entertainment. The game is so simple that it completely fails at holding any type of storyline, maps or anything. Bethesda disappointed many “trekkies” with this one.

The gameplay is turn-based strategy, which in the proper element can be good, like in a Mario Party game. However, this was not the proper element.

You find yourself in the middle of a universe surrounded by a bunch of baddies. You move one space at a time in a map that is quite large and one space at a time doesn’t really cut it. Your enemies also move one space, and once you finish hearing their speech (which never changes) you get to make your next move.

After you move, you find yourself some trouble with enemy ships. You have the choice of simulating it, or entering arcade mode.

SIMULATING?

If all I elected to do was “Sim This” I would be watching a little ship move space by space, until it gets to an enemy. Then I’d let the game play with itself.

In arcade mode you will be surrounded by several ships, and you have to take them out. Why? Who knows! There is no storyline! So you destroy them, because everyone in this universe hates each other. No plot. No intrigue. No intergalactic politics. No Star Trek.

The graphics are remnant of the old Star Fox 64 with some advances. The graphics aren’t necessarily awful, and there are some moments where the ships look pretty cool and the planets look bright.

That’s about it for the graphics — stars and ships. I guess it’s pretty hard to screw that up.

The controls are awkward as you move the Wiimote to select targets. The guns are hard to aim, and unless you hit right on target you won’t be doing anything but flying around in a circle, aiming your Wiimote, trying to make something happen.

Online Play? None. Would have been a possible savior of this game.

Storyline? None. Everyone in the universe hates each other, so they shoot each others’ ships down.

Soundtrack? Bad. No voiceovers from the actors. No Star Trek music.

Star Trek: Conquest doesn’t belong on the Wii; at best this is a 25 cent play at your local arcade, and that’s being pretty generous.

If you’re enough of a Trekkie and a fan of the series, maybe pick it up for rental.

Quick hits:

Publisher: CBS Consumer Products
Developer: Bethesda Softworks
Platform: Wii
Genre: Turn Based Strategy/Sci-Fi
Players: 1

Playability: 2 out of 5 stars
Learning Curve: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Sound: 2 out of 5 stars
Graphics: 3 out of 5 stars
Overall: 2 out of 5 stars