Science Fiction news from around the globe.

I confess, I have a deep-seated love for all things Final Fantasy. It goes back to childhood, where I played the first incarnation of the game on my best friend’s brother’s Nintendo console, and it continued from there. I have proudly played all the versions (even the lame one that was online with those stupid rabbit things– sorry if you loved that game, I personally did not), played Kingdom Hearts et cetera– I’m a true fan.

Despite “fantasy” being in the name, FF is more a blend of fantasy & scifi. The most recent US title, released last week– Final Fantasy XIII  has a lot of SciFi elements incorporated into the narrative structure. We have a world where the main city of Cocoon exists above an actual planet– a planet called Pulse. Cool vehicles that make you think of airships that are pretty modernized exist, equipped with holographic television screens that deliver the news. This upper world exists as a kind of utopia ruled by the Sanctum along with a beneveloent group of protectors called the Fal’Cie. These Fal’Cie are pretty cool until one of them goes evil and starts corrupting humans with magical powers– making for a human-fal’cie hybrid known as the l’cie. All of that is kind of fantasy-based, but imbuing them with magical powers via a glowing tatoo through some kind of magical means might be a bit on the sci-fi side. The erradication of these l’cie– beings with magic that are human and have a “focus” (a task only they can complete, and once completed, they become a crystal being granted with eternal life) becomes the main focus of the elite of cocoon and the Sanctum.

The coolest thing about FFXIII is the host of characters–all regular, everyday peeps until one day they are struck down and made into l’cie. They aren’t totally sure what their focus is, but think it might be to protect Cocoon. From what? I’m only 13 hours into this 60 hour epic game, but I’m going to vote that it’s to take down the Sanctum.

If you’re looking for a game with great character development, excellent narrative structure, stunning visuals and stellar music, then you should check out this newest installment of FFXIII. It’s just scifi enough to keep you hooked if you’re a die-hard SciFi fan!

I am one of the biggest Battlestar fans ever. I faithfully watched each episode, miniseries, online miniepisode… you name it, I was there for BSG. I loved the dynamics between the characters, the rich storytelling, and the brilliant mythos. When the series ended I was bummed (and maybe a tinch disappointed at the finale) but with great hope and excitement began to anticipate the launch of Caprica.  When the “pilot” came out on DVD, I had it the first day. I plopped down on my couch and expected brilliance.

I’m still expecting it,  but I’m not totally sure it’s going to happen. I have watched three episodes of the new series (I tivo’ed the rest) and for me, it’s like pulling teeth to watch. I am not as into it as I’d like to be, and I think that there’s something about it that feels unpolished, unrefined, and a little bit cheesy.

I’ve hypothesized that the issue at hand is maybe I’m too close to BSG. Maybe the wounds left by the series departure are too fresh, too real, and I’m still in mourning. Maybe I expected Caprica to have the same gritty, edgy feel– or maybe I just expected too much out of the series. Either way, my jury’s still out. I am going to try to watch the other eps, but I feel like if you’re kind of suffering through them, maybe you shouldn’t continue on. When Eureka brings you a bit more joy than Caprica (and Eureka is a rerun) then things aren’t looking up. But maybe that’s just me. What are your thoughts about the show?

I’m hoping that some of ya’ll out there are watching the final season of  Lost. 5 episodes in the final season, I’m interested to know what viewers are thinking about this epic closing chapter. I’ve heard a mix of responses, from fears that fans will be totally let down with an anticlimactic conclusion to that this final season is going to blow everyone’s minds. I’m in the mind-blowing camp, because I feel the writers that established a great story with a lot of history and depth in the narrative.

For the conclusion of the series, I plan to blog weekly with an episode recap of the most recent episode, discussing trends in the storyline, revealed secrets, and throwing out a few theories along the way. If you’re a viewer, I welcome your comments, questions, observations about the series.  Maybe we’ll uncover a few mysteries along the way as we go, after all, it’s all one big puzzle, right?

I’m finishing up my episode blog for last week’s the Lighthouse, so I’ll be sure to post that this week for thoughts/feedback and reponse. Until then, happy watching!

New posts up at the SGU official blog.  See exclusive cast photos and interviews! Stargate Universe writers most recent entry talks about … what else, football.

http://showblogs.syfy.com/universe/

Two of the stars from the new hilarious comedy television show Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire will play Fable® II with Xbox LIVE® Gold members April 23. Sean Maguire (who plays the titular Kröd) and India de Beaufort (who plays his beautiful girlfriend, Aneka) invite Xbox LIVE Gold members to join them in the world of Albion.

We are working out just where we are headed with this site and some big changes that have been in the cooker for a while now are soon to be rolled out.  Our goal has always been to make this blog a scifi destination for news and information as well as a community of readers that can share opinions and ideas.

One of the things we are looking for right now is contributors, this is by no means our full time job and often the site doesn’t get updated as much as we would like it to.  So, if you have a love for all things scifi and a willingness to express yourself shoot us an email at phil {at} scifispy.com.  Even if you only have one post idea let us know, we’d love to have some guest posters.  Thanks for reading!

So the cool folks at Comedy Central sent us a pre-release copy of their new show Krod Mandoon & the Flaming Sword of Fire for review.  I finally had a chance to watch it and I was not disappointed.  This show is hilarious!  If you have ever been a fan of fantasy fiction like Lord of The Rings or The Seeker then you have to check out this show.  I was reminded of some of my old favorites like Spaceballs, Airplane, Loaded Gun.  Tons of quick one line off beat comments and some great physical humor.

Sean Maguire (Krod Mandoon) leads the cast well with good timing and clueless demeanor. India de Beaufort (Aneka) successfully executes her role with decent acting and provides ample eye candy for the true fantasy fan boys out there. Kevin Hart (Zezelryck) is by far my favorite.  He plays a hopeless mage that can’t seem to get it right.  Kevin Hart’s stand-up comedy is hilarious and I think he is a perfect fit for the role.  Krod Mandoon premieres Thursday, April 9 at 10:00pm ET/PT,  do yourself a favor and watch this one.

Here is some more info from the Comedy Central Press Release:

“Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire” is an outrageous, character-driven workplace comedy set in an ancient realm.  Narrated by Chris Parnell (“30 Rock”), the series follows reluctant hero, Krod Mandoon (Maguire, “Meet the Spartans”), a thin-skinned and underconfident freedom fighter, who is the last great hope in the struggle against the evil ruler, Chancellor Dongalor (Lucas, “Little Britain USA”).  To help fight the good fight, Krod has assembled a band of loyal, but remarkably ineffective freedom fighters: Aneka (India de Beaufort, “Run, Fatboy, Run”), the beautiful Pagan warrioress whose weapon of choice is sex; Zezelryck (Kevin Hart, “Fool’s Gold”), the young warlock whose greatest magical gift is spinning B.S.; Loquasto (Steve Speirs, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”), Krod’s oafish half human/half swine servant; and Bruce (Marques Ray, “Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out”), who’s fierce and proud.  Together, they must overcome a myriad of evil obstacles in their quest to save the world, including name-calling, hired assassins and a bisexual Cyclops (or biclops).

The Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival(MIFFF), a three day international showcase of animation, fantasy, horror, and science fiction cinema, is pleased to announce its inaugural launch September 18-20th, 2009 at the SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall in Seattle, Washington USA.

As a genre film festival in Seattle, MIFFF(www.mifff.org) is a unique entity. The Seattle Metropolitan Area is home to one of the largest film attending populations in the country. MIFFF is a venue that gives a voice to genre film fans through a wide spectrum of films and related programming.

Festival Co-Founder and current President Gabe de los Angeles sees a great opportunity for MIFFF: “We are thrilled to give Seattle and the Pacific Northwest audience something special in the film festival community, a showcase of international genre cinema. It’s incredible that we’re going to be able to host on this event on the historic grounds of Seattle Center”.

The first annual MIFFF plans to screen a variety of animation, fantasy, horror, and science fiction films over three days. The festival will include feature length films, short films, and genre specific documentaries. In addition to the film screenings, MIFFF plans to have panel discussions, Q & A’s with filmmakers, and after parties.

Eric Morgret, Festival Director of Programming and Co-Founder, comments: “There are genre films produced every year that are not shown in mainstream movie theaters. Many international genre films remain unseen or get very limited exposure in this part of the country. For three nights MIFFF will bring a strong slate of these titles to audiences here in Seattle. MIFFF wants to present films of the imagination the best way they can be: on a large screen with fantastic sound, and in front of an audience full of energy.”

Isaac Alexander, Festival Director of Publicity and Co-Founder, comments: “Seattle has a great history of supporting genre films with Poltergeist, The Empire Strikes Back, & Return of the Jedi having had their World or American premieres in the city. Also Seattle has a diverse local genre fandom community, as well as it hosts the Science Fiction Museum & Hall of Fame. We will be able to promote this city and offer a venue to gather and celebrate this unique form of entertainment, and join film festivals of the fantastic across the globe in celebrating this form of cinema.”

David Hewlett’s brain child Starcrossed may begin shooting as early as June this summer for SciFi/NBC.  Hewlett reported via twitter today (see below) that a conference call concerning Starcrossed was a successful one and that shooting looked to be a go for June/July.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed!  Starcrossed, written by Hewlett, will be a comedy series based on the behind the scenes viewpoint of working on a long running space opera set.  I am guessing it will be a little bit of Battlestar Gallactica meets Galaxy Quest.  The concept to me sounds hilarious and I am very much looking forward to it.