Many sci-fi fans wonder what classic Doctor Who might look like if the BBC bosses of the '70s and '80s could have budgeted more than £6 per episode for visual effects.
A new Who DVD set from BBC Video features a specially remastered episode that offers you just that experience.
Doctor Who: "The Black Guardian Trilogy" serves up a trio of 1983 Who episodes featuring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor in a life and death struggle against a supernatural evil force.
A team of restoration and digital effects artists took the final episode of that trilogy ("Enlightenment" -- a well-written, high-concept adventure featuring a simulated sailing race in deep space) and laid in 21st Century CG visuals.
If you're like me, and I know I am, you've wondered what it would like if the U.S.S. Enterprise descended on the Hollywood Hills.
Fortunately, Paramount held the big DVD and Blu-ray release party for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie at the Griffith Park Observatory Monday night, and the Enterprise took up a standard orbit around the famous planetarium landmark.
While the film's creators and cast mingled inside the observatory, a high-definition multimedia system projected video images of Trek visual effects up against the building's walls.
So, for a few moments, the Enterprise (almost to scale) swooped in for a visit before heading away at warp factor one.
Director Stephen Sommers might want to discourage the production of animated lead-ups to his feature films. They keep outdoing the movies they're supposed to set up for audiences.
Before his Van Helsing reached theaters in 2004, Universal released Van Helsing: The London Assigment. Written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, the animated half-hour was clever and action-packed. Van Helsing? It was not clever and action-packed.
Now, the DVD release of G.i. Joe: Resolute, an 11-episode series of animated shorts that originally aired on Adult Swim before the release of Rise of Cobra, brings a cooler and more visually compelling "Yo, Joe!" to screens.
We'll have a lot of season premieres coming up in the next few weeks, but I would say that tonight is a big night, too. Not only do we have the season opener of Gossip Girl on The CW, we also have the long-awaited debut of The Jay Leno Showon N "we don't have scripted shows at 10 anymore" BC.
What are you going to watch? Lincoln Heights and Greek? Monday Night Football? One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl? Or are you going to watch something on cable or the news? Or maybe DVDs/DVR stuff you haven't watched yet? Will you give Leno a try?
The Emmys are coming up in a few weeks, and if it's an event you've always wanted to go to but never thought you would, maybe this is your chance.
The Emmys Foundation is holding a big auction on eBay that features not only several tickets to the awards show (some of them VIP and red carpet!), but also several items from TV shows and memorabilia signed by various stars. You can get a House cane signed by Hugh Laurie, VIP tickets to The Daily Show, set visits to shows like Monk and Medium, signed posters, and DVDs. You can also win a visit to a Family Guy table reading!
You can also win dresses worn on the ABC Family show Greek. In fact, there are no bids on those particular items yet so click that link and maybe you can wear one on your next trip to the supermarket. The auction ends on September 3.
If you ask the average zoologist what makes mysterious creatures like Bigfoot or El Chupacabra so impossible today when once scientifically-dismissed species like the Mountain Gorilla or Giant Squid are now common enough concepts, they'll probably say, "The difference is the gorilla and the squid are real, and Bigfoot isn't."
The scientific dismissal isn't keeping Animal Planet from releasing a new DVD featuring stories of cryptozoological oddities.
Announced this week and set for release this fall (October 6), Lost Tapes operates under the thesis that, while thousands of new species are discovered and classified each year, there are some creatures that science still refuses to recognize.
We've talked a lot about this before, the shows we love that haven't been released on DVD for one reason or another. Now PremiumHollywood.com has chosen the 26 shows, A to Z, that they bought on the shiny little discs.
It's a great idea, though I don't understand why they call the list "cult TV" when it has shows on it like L.A. Law and Eight is Enough. Some good choices here though. I would have chosen Ed, Private Eye, Something So Right, Shannon's Deal. A lot of shows that I never thought would be released on DVD are now getting released, so every year my dream list gets smaller and smaller.
Do you remember a long time ago when you had no options to watch a TV show if you didn't see it when it aired (you had to wait for a repeat)? Of course you don't, you people with your Twitters and your iPhones and your space-age Saran Wrap. But there was a time when if you wanted to watch, say, The Magician, you had to stay home and watch it. No iTunes, no Hulu, no YouTube, no DVDs.
Then came the VCR, and everything changed. Only $1000! (Full-sized ad here.) Notice the fine print at the bottom: "Caution: The unauthorized recording of television programs and other materials may infringe the rights of others."
With DVRs and iTunes and Hulu and other ways to time shift your TV viewing, it's not necessary to watch TV when the shows air live. But a lot of people still plan their TV viewing for the night and actually sit down in front of the TV when their shows are on. Two of my favorite shows, Chuck and Heroes, ended their seasons last week. Now I have to find something else to watch between 8 and 10.
If you're a Chuck/Heroes fan, too, what are you watching tonight?
Last night on this show, Stephen Colbert had a special message for you TV fans who might decide to record his show and then burn it onto your own personal DVD. Consider this a "DVD commentary."
I'm just wondering how you go about obtaining press kits from networks. Can anyone get a press kit? A lot of web sites and blogs get them which surprises me because I thought that only huge corporations (national trades, etc) could get access to them. If I were to write a network requesting a press kit, do you think they'd send me one?
There's some confusion about the TV industry and press kits. A lot of people think that your publication or web site has to be really large and influential to get them. But that's not really the case. It actually comes down to secret passwords and insider information. Odd, but true.
So let me help you out here. If you call ABC and introduce yourself and your publication/site to them and ask to be on the list to get press kits and advance screening copies of new shows, they'll probably turn you down. When this happens, you simply utter the words "Rod Serling loved chicken salad." The network person will immediately put you on the list to get every press kit they send out.
I've never interviewed Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski and don't know him personally, but he sure seems like one classy guy. He recently posted a note on his web site, giving readers his thoughts on more Babylon 5 DVDs.
He writes that The Lost Tales was commissioned at a $2 million budget, and they did the best they could with it. Apparently, the studio wasn't sure there was an audience for Babylon 5. Silly studio.
I know I have a problem. I don't need anyone to tell me that I was a child of television and it's been in my life all my life. Yes, I read. Yes, I listen to music. And, obviously I write.
But most of my writing these days is about television!
I recall the last writers strike. It was during that time that I wrote a really horrible horror novel to occupy my time outside of my day job. I'm not doing that again this time. I refuse to spend weeks writing dreck just because the television and film writers are on strike.
Many sci-fi fans wonder what classic Doctor Who might look like if the BBC bosses of the '70s and '80s could have budgeted more than £6 per episode for visual effects.
Director Stephen Sommers might want to discourage the production of animated lead-ups to his feature films. They keep outdoing the movies they're supposed to set up for audiences.
We'll have a lot of season premieres coming up in the next few weeks, but I would say that tonight is a big night, too. Not only do we have the season opener of 
The 
If you ask the average zoologist what makes mysterious creatures like Bigfoot or El Chupacabra so impossible today when once scientifically-dismissed species like the Mountain Gorilla or Giant Squid are now common enough concepts, they'll probably say, "The difference is the gorilla and the squid are real, and Bigfoot isn't."
We've talked a lot about this before, the shows we love that haven't been released on DVD for one reason or another. Now 
Do you remember a long time ago when you had no options to watch a TV show if you didn't see it when it aired (you had to wait for a repeat)? Of course you don't, you people with your Twitters and your iPhones and your space-age Saran Wrap. But there was a time when if you wanted to watch, say, 
With DVRs and iTunes and Hulu and other ways to time shift your TV viewing, it's not necessary to watch TV when the shows air live. But a lot of people still plan their TV viewing for the night and actually sit down in front of the TV when their shows are on. Two of my favorite shows, Chuck and Heroes, ended their seasons last week. Now I have to find something else to watch between 8 and 10.
We got this question today from a reader:
I think this was a demise that you could see coming. Remember, back in April, when Chicago Sun-Times film reviewer 
I've never interviewed Babylon 5 creator 
I know I have a problem. I don't need anyone to tell me that I was a child of television and it's been in my life all my life. Yes, I read. Yes, I listen to music. And, obviously I write. 
If you haven't entered our latest giveaways yet, here's a reminder that some are ending today. You've got until 5PM Eastern today to enter the 
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
