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The following article contains spoilers for up to episode 4.05 of Battlestar Galactica.

Coming into the fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica, I had high hopes.  The sublime season finale, and standard of the season which preceded it offered a great deal of excitement and promise for the final year.  However, five weeks in, and I can’t help but feel a little disappointed.

If this were any year other than the closing season, the negative aspects of the last few weeks could probably be over-looked.  After all, it’s not that the show is bad; far from it.  Galactica remains, behind ‘Dexter’, one of my favourite shows on television.  The acting is still top-notch, as is the style of production and the intensity of performance on the screen.  So where’s it gone wrong?

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In-brief:

Wow.

(Very) In-depth:

I’m a little bit shocked actually. I just sat down and watched the second of a two-part episode of Doctor Who, and not only did it manage to build upon the first episode, with no stone left not fully unturned, it did so in a way that was, quite simply, brilliant.

Plot; Martha has been cloned, the Sontarans are flooding the world with somekind of poisonous gas, Donna’s granddad is being poisoned to death by said gas and the Doctor, and UNIT, stand helpless…

…but not for long.

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In brief:

Someone’s back! Oh! And it’s good!

In-depth:

So far with this series, there has not been a single episode I wouldn’t want to go back and watch again. I’ve got the DVDs for Series 3, but quite frankly, I tend to skip the Shakespeare episode (I feel the need to point out I had to think for a few long moments before I remember what the second episode was…), skip the first 20 odd minutes of ‘Gridlock’… With this collection, I could quite happily just sit back, and let the DVD play all of them.

And this episode is no exception.

Plot! A mysterious academy looms and a journalist is thrown from the building, ranting about how ATMOS is somekind of conspiracy… her death by her car driving into a river with the doors locked, is seemingly arranged by the satellite navigation device in her car, the ATMOS previously mentioned.

Onboard the TARDIS, Donna learns how to pilot, and the Doctor receives a phone call. Except it’s not his phone. It’s Martha Jones’, and only one person promised to ring that number…

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In brief: Solid storytelling.

In-depth: Okay. Now this is a curious little Doctor Who tale.

I simply can’t fault how beautiful this episode looked; the CGI effects of the snow covered planet, the interior and exterior designs of the Oodsphere complex… it was an alien planet that looked and felt like an alien planet! The design team here did some fantastic work.

Back to the story though, as it transpires, the Ood were a docile race that humans found and decided to take of; to educate as one character within the episode calls it. We know something has gone wrong though from the opening scene where one of the humans running the Ood servants company is murdered by the Ood who serves him. One who has a familiar looking red colour to his eye… The Doctor and Donna arrive and quickly the Doctor determines that the Ood are somehow being controlled by an outside force again – it simply isn’t in their nature to kill.

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In-brief:

Better!

In-depth:

Ah. Now. This is tricky. I’m extremely tempted to call this an absolutely fantastic showing of what Doctor Who can be when it’s on top form based solely on the second half of this episode, but that would not be fair to the first half!

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In brief:

Fun with good gut kick.

In-depth:

Russell T. Davies. I think what this man has done to Doctor Who, is absolutely nothing short of fantastic. He brought back to life a series which had been thought gone, and has helped to turn it into the powerhouse it is today with a strong guiding hand.

For that I am extremely thankful because it’s brought an element of fun to Saturday nights in front of the tv that hasn’t been there for a good while. All that said, I will freely admit I’m not entirely sure he’s the best person to write episodes of Doctor Who. I think, although he has brilliant ideas and themes, the execution gets a little bit mixed up sometimes.

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One of the most anticipated Direct-to-DVD movies of the century for sci-fi fans worldwide, Stargate: The Ark of Truth hits shelves on March 11th.

We’ve got copies to give away! You know us, we’re far too soft on you lot.

This thrilling feature-length film picks up where “Stargate SG-1,” left off, thrusting the Stargate team into their most exciting adventure yet. In search of an Ancient artifact they hope can defeat the oppressive Ori, the team learns that the Ori are set to launch a final assault on Earth and a double-crossing I.O. operative is aboard the Odyssey!

Hop over to our Competitions page to enter!

Well, it’s here.

We’ve finally got our hands on the much anticipated Russian "Day Watch" on Region Two DVD, and we’re giving away three copies to our lucky readers in the UK and Europe.

It’s stunningly stylish, dark and gritty and with just the right amount of vampyric fantasy.

The sequel to the original hit, "Night Watch", which made for a mere $4 million,  eventually taking in more than $16 million, DAY WATCH (DNEVNOI DOZOR) has done even better, grossing over $30 million.

Hop over to our Competitions page to enter!

The following was written by myself for the Sci-Fi Studios Magazine. Please give the magazine a look, if you have the time. Otherwise, simply enjoy the article.

Deep Space Nine is one of the most critically acclaimed Trek incarnations. There, I’ve said it. Sure, The Original Series and The Next Generation undoubtedly hold special places in the hearts of a great many fans, but to those citizens of the world who aren’t Star Trek fans (or perhaps not even sci-fi fans), Deep Space Nine is very highly thought of. Being a fan, unfortunately, doesn’t grant you that godly power of critical acclaim. TV Guide stated that it would be remembered as the finest of all the Star Trek shows.

So why do some feel it faltered? Certainly, it isn’t the most popular in the Trek fandom, and is often overlooked by networks both in the US and abroad when it comes to repeats; it’s like a shameful relative that the others try to sweep under the rug.

“Read the rest…”

Everything you’ve read is true. I guess, in hindsight, JMS was facing a “lose/lose” scenario here. Which makes one wonder why he even bothered. Two of the show’s main cast have shuffled off their mortal coil(“Gone beyond the Rim”, as the show eloquently puts it), the budget he was allotted looks like […]

One greedy politician wants money.
One overzealous politician wants control of a space colony.
One misguided scientist wants scientific knowledge.
One group of mistreated citizens want a new leadership.
And the Daleks? Well, they want power.
Of course, the newly regenerated Doctor and his companions, Ben and Polly, are caught in the middle.
I’ve begun watching the fan reconstructions of the […]

Doctor Who
3.11
“Utopia”
Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Graeme Harper
It’s fitting that series three’s final story begins at the end of time and space. Forget the ridiculous number of years the TARDIS jumps ahead; forget that the only difference to humans in this far flung future is a “Mad Max” makeover. This is part […]