FADPOV

FireSky Team with MGM to Bring Fans at Comic-Con the Ultimate Stargate Experience

MESA, Ariz. - July 22, 2008 - FireSky, the new video game publisher that is publishing the online game Stargate Worlds, is teaming up with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) to bring fans at Comic-Con (July 24-27, San Diego) the ultimate Stargate experience.

Stargate Worlds is the massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) based on MGM's award-winning Stargate franchise and will be officially launched in 2009.

At this year's Comic-Con, the Firesky-Stargate franchise initiatives include the following:

On Thursday, July 24, a select group of fans will have the opportunity to view a sneak preview of Stargate Worlds prior to the world premiere of Stargate: Continuum, the new movie based on the record-breaking "Stargate-SG-1" series. The premiere takes place at the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum with a screening on the aircraft carrier flight deck.

On Friday, July 25, Firesky and MGM are hosting a special Stargate Worlds panel at 11:45 a.m. in Ballroom 20 featuring the game creators and Stargate franchise producers.

FireSky and MGM Home Entertainment will have a dedicated Stargate franchise booth on the Comic Con show floor (booth #3535). The Stargate booth will feature an interactive display gate, projecting images of the franchise with motion sensors. The booth will also have monitors displaying footage from the franchise and a number of premium items for fans including T-shirts, spray-on tattoos and dog tags.

FireSky and MGM are also co-sponsoring the Comic-Con Unlock the Gate Scavenger Hunt, where the winning fans can receive an exclusive prize. Contest rules are available at the Stargate booth.

"Stargate fans at Comic-Con are going to be blown away by the Stargate Worlds experience that FireSky is presenting," said Travis Rutherford, Executive Vice President, MGM Consumer Products and Location Based Entertainment. "The events, panels and the interactive booth will give attendees a sneak peak at the latest offerings from the award-winning and record-breaking franchise."

"This is our main event," said Stargate Worlds Studio Head Dan Elggren. "The work we're doing is an integral part of the Stargate franchise and stands side-by-side with Stargate: Continuum and "Stargate Atlantis."'

On Friday, July 25, Stargate Continuum cast members will participate in a special autograph session for fans at the Stargate booth at 2 p.m., while "Stargate Atlantis" cast members will be signing autographs for fans at 3:15p.m.

The Comic-Con Stargate Worlds panel will feature Elggren, Creative Director Chris Klug, Art Director Howard Lyon and Vice President of Technology Demetrius Comes and award-winning Stargate Producer Brad Wright. Prior to the Stargate Worlds session, there will be a panel for Stargate: Continuum featuring select cast and the producers of the film. Following the Stargate Worlds panel will be a "Stargate Atlantis" session featuring cast members and the producers of the 2008 People's Choice award winning series.

Doctor Who 4.11: Turn Left

Anyone who's seen Sliding Doors is familiar with the premise. A seemingly insignificant decision, maybe even not a decision at all, but a missed opportunity - something small, something you'd never think of twice - and yet, it's a turning point. A point from which a startlingly different life path branches, and the consequences could be monumental.

So the case is with Donna Noble, who is thrust back in time by a dodgy fortune teller and a "time beetle" (the less said about the big silly plastic bug, the better); to a literal crossroads, where she turns right, instead of left, as she'd originally done. That decision takes her away from her potential temp job at H.C. Clements, away from Lance, away from the Racnoss... and away from the Doctor.

And things only go downhill from there.

It's a fascinating concept, really. We all have probably asked ourselves "What if?" "What if I'd gone on to get my Master's degree? "What if I'd asked out my high school crush?" "What if I'd taken that trip?" And it all comes down to "How would my life have been different?" Thing is, sometimes it's the little "What if?"s that could be the most important pivot points of all. But either way, our lifelines, our potential stories, can branch out in myriad and wildly different ways – and in this episode, we get to see what Donna's life was like without the Doctor. In fact, we get to see an entire world – Universe – without the Doctor.

What happens if the Doctor dies?

According to the events of "Turn Left", plenty of bad things. How bad? To quote the Doctor "Think how bad things could possibly be, then add another suitcase of Bad". London devastated, all of southern England irradiated, tens of millions of deaths in the US, refugee camps, concentration camps, and then even the stars themselves start going out...

So yes. Bad. Very bad. And suddenly Donna Noble, who thinks she's no one special at all, becomes the most important woman in all the world.

Also, Rose Tyler is back, and that's made of awesome any way you look at it. Rose spends her time being mysterious and steering Donna away from certain death, while trying to convince her that she's the one who can change the world. And then, ironically, sending Donna to her death (or "death", depending on how you look at it) with a very Doctor-like "I'm sorry". But not before giving her a message for her other self to send to the man himself. Two words. Just two.

BAD WOLF.

And if you think the hairs on my neck didn't stand up and goosebumps pop up all over me when Donna delivered that message, and the Doctor went tearing out into the marketplace, back to the TARDIS, with the words everywhere around him and the music pounding along completely nuts in the background, then you don't know me very well.

That was a damn exciting scene, right there.

A sadder scene? The dying TARDIS. I'll have none of that, thank you very much. Is it sad that I was brought to tears at that bit?

Much like the moment Donna decided to sacrifice herself. Catherine Tate really sold that scene, much like she did every single moment she was on screen this episode. She was phenomenal in this. She carried the episode, and she was phenomenal.

Billie Piper, too, was wonderful. Talk about a triumphant return. She played Rose a little harder, edgier, sadder... but still with a compassionate heart. She also had a great line delivery with "great hair... some really great hair".

David Tennant. What can I say? When is he not brilliant Though he wasn't in this for long, that scene at the end more than makes up for it. The look on his face, the way it slowly changes as he realizes just who Donna is talking about... it's gorgeous.

I also love Rose telling Donna she was already brilliant, the Doctor simply showed her that truth. And that he does that to everyone he touches. Because: yes. That's one of my very favorite recurring themes of this show.

Well, that and Bad Wolf. Which is where we leave off, with the timeline set right and the Doctor alive and well and those two words emblazoned on every surface, even on the TARDIS herself. Heralding the "end of the Universe", if you ask the Doctor, standing there in a console room bathed in red light and backed by the sound of the Cloister Bell.

But we know better, don't we? It means Rose is coming back and we'll all get a very happy ending. Right?

Right?

Next week. The Earth gets stolen. And: Companionpalooza!

The Dark Knight or This is Not Joel Schumacher�s Two-Face

Humina, humina, humina. Two hours sleep and I’m still reeling. I asked the husband on the way in to work this morning when do we get to see it again?? This movie exceeded all expectations and then some. It was better than Batman Begins. It turned Tim Burton's Batman into even more of a joke. It set my standards for movies so high, I'm not quite certain how anything else will ever live up to them.

Oh, and they better be working on part three RIGHT NOW!!! (I'm just saying.)

The entire cast was brilliant, but I could write a novella about the late Heath Ledger in particular. Knowing that we're never going to get this Joker back affects me in ways you positively do not know. I want to cry, scream and throw things. Heath was so magnificent in this role - he brought the Joker of the comics to life. He was positively terrifying and frightening and the stuff nightmares are made of - and yet funny. I felt so entirely wrong laughing as people were dying and things were blowing up, but my god! Heath Ledger as the Joker dressed as a female nurse down to the wig??? There are few things better than that.

And I will seriously never understand how he was able to embrace those mannerisms… the constant movement with his tongue because of mouth scars; the maniacal laughter I thought only Mark Hamill was capable of; the thoroughly genius and yet completely insane plots of destruction he dreamed up. I was in awe from the first moment to the last. Heath Ledger is the only Joker that will ever matter, and he will be deeply missed by every person who walks out of this movie. If he doesn’t at least get an Oscar nomination for his performance, there is something truly wrong in Hollywood.

Also? Christopher Nolan is the only person ever allowed to write the Joker for the screen. This wasn’t Jack Nicholson putting on a song and dance show. Oh no. This Joker never told the same story of his origin twice. He lied, ya’ll. The movie ended with us not knowing who the Joker is and where he came from and that one tiny little fact, my friends, makes me want to break into song.

Runner-up for villain that left me all a-shudder was Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. And I can't even say it was because of the brilliance of Eckhart. Yes, he was good, but it was the storyline they gave to Harvey Dent, the writing of the character, and, more than anything, the freakin' makeup of Two-Face that sent me into squirms… turning my face away from the screen more than once. He was horrifying. Two-face stepped right out of the comics and onto the screen and he was seriously disgusting to look at. Yet I always had to look back because the makeup was that amazing. Just... I am in awe. Absolute awe. I will have nightmares about him for a very long time.

Christian Bale was, once again, brilliant every moment he was onscreen. He truly does turn into a completely different character from Bruce Wayne the moment he slips on the batsuit. In fact, his Batman voice sends shivers down my spine (both the bad kind and the good kind!). I love that he loves playing this role, and I love that he respects the character as he is truly meant to be. Always just toeing that thin line between hero and villain. Always willing to take the steps just far enough to have those around him call into question his motives, but never quite far enough to sacrifice his most sacred morals. Oh, and also? Christian Bale is still one of the hottest men to have ever hotted. Seriously.

Have I mentioned that they really need to be working on part three, as of yesterday, because you just don’t end a film like that without giving the fans something??

It’s difficult to review the film while not trying to completely spoil everyone for the major plot points. Although, I will say that when a certain returning someone from Batman Begins makes a surprise cameo in the beginning? I almost wept with joy. And time and time again, they do things in this film that leave you wondering if you are going to be left with disappointment.

Perhaps it’s because we had to sit through the Schumacher Batmans, and, even after Batman Begins was so thoroughly awesome, it left us fearing that Hollywood still will just never get Batman. Luckily, each and every moment , just as I was biting my nails, wondering if they slipped up and did the wrong thing, I would be pleasantly surprised… nay, absolutely thrilled when they did it right! And that’s really the best way to describe this film – they did it right.

The film was filled with little nods that will send the most avid Batman comic reader into spasms, but nothing there was dependent on the viewer having read the comics. You don’t need to know Batman to enjoy the film, though for those who don’t know what the real character, and the villains he fights, is like and they only have the Burton/Schumacher films to base their impressions off of… well, they may walk away wondering why a superhero movie is so damned depressing and dark.

I want to talk about this movie more. I want to go into detail with a fine-toothed comb over my reaction to each and every scene and every reveal and every plot point. But I think I shall leave that for another discussion – after I’ve seen it another 70 bazillion times. For now, I shall just say, if you weren’t at the midnight opening, then go see it the first moment you get a chance. Don’t hold out. Don’t wait for spoilers. Don’t wait for your friends to come and ruin every nail-biting moment. See The Dark Knight, and then come back here and share your thoughts with us!

Comic Con 2008 is Almost Here!

Let the countdown begin! In seven days, the San Diego Convention Center will open its doors for the annual San Diego Comic-Con International! Who would have thought that the small event hosted back in 1970 would have blossomed into one of the largest conventions in the world? But I for one am certainly pleased that it has, as the convention continues to pull crowds and interest from all over the globe.

The original program was made up of comic book displays, science fiction, fantasy, popular arts, and related films and television series on these genres. Over the years, it has expanded to include other pop culture elements, such as anime, manga, horror, animation, toys, collectible card games, video games and webcomics. There's a little something for all your guilty pleasures!

Comic Con begins with a bang this year, with a special Preview Night on July 23^rd for all the four-day member passes and industry professionals, including your FADPOV staff writers! We will be present and onsite to post up to the minute information... bringing the con directly to you!

So, bright and early on Thursday, July 24^th we will be embarking on four days of nonstop action, including convention panels, chats with pop culture aficionados, reconnecting with our inner geeks and, undoubtedly, plenty of squeeing with joy.

Panels include previews for upcoming movies and returning television programming, as well as for new television series, previews for games and comic books. There are also panels in furthering your skills in writing and drawing of your favorite comic books and gaming loves. There is much to be seen and we promise to bring as much of the con to FADPOV as we can to keep you in the loop, so make sure you bookmark us and check back regularly to see what’s been going on.

And for all of you who will be in San Diego with us in a week’s time… say hi if you get the chance, and have a wonderful convention!

Burn Notice 2.1: Breaking and Entering (Review #2)

The life of an unemployed spy is never boring. If there's one certainty to be garnered from Burn Notice, that's it. When you're not helping people for thousands of dollars, you're driving a friend's borrowed Cadillac into an eighteen-wheeler bound for who-knows-where to find out who burned you.

It has been a horribly long wait, a year, give or take, but Michael Westen is back, and, if I may say so, better than ever!

Surprisingly, the show picked up almost exactly where it'd left off; with Michael in Sam's Caddy in the back of the big rig that picked him up. Of course, a little time has passed; as Michael puts it, once you've cleaned your gun 30 times and conjugated every verb in five languages, you get ready to make your move.

Unfortunately, Michael's move - out of the big-rig when the mysterious "Carla" rings his cell phone - puts him right in the middle of a firefight. A private plane is in flames, a man is bound and gagged with duct tape, and the sirens of the police cars are getting closer and closer. Michael's job? Get the duct-taped "package" out of the area so he can steal data from a private mercenary firm to save his family.

Speaking of family, Michael's return to his is less than triumphant. He finds Sam in his loft, wearing his clothes, and Fiona tries to punch him while his mother uses the emergency cell phone because it's cheaper than the hotel, which charges $1 per call.

"Carla" remains a presence in the episode, through phone calls and intimidating messages, finally giving Michael the "do it or you die" ultimatum. By posing as a diamond-mining Australian, he's able to crack a way into the private security firm, and, along with Jimmy - the duct-taped "package" from before - manages to steal the data, slag the firm's computers, and get not only the police on their trail, but the mercenaries as well.

With typical Westen flair - including explosions and "hot" guns - Michael manages to extricate himself and Jimmy from the mess, implicate the mercenaries in the murder of the private plane pilot, rescue the data, and save Jimmy's family.

And what is Michael's reward?

Fiona breaks up with him, and "Carla" not only ducks out on their scheduled meeting but breaks into Michael's mother's house and shorts out a freezer full of food.

Man. Michael gets no respect.

Doctor Who 4.10: Midnight

What a brilliant, brilliant episode.

Just after watching this, I sent an email to a friend of mine. It contained four words:

DAMN. THAT WAS INTENSE.

And it was. Intense and brilliant. A definite "on the edge of your seat"-type episode, and if I were predisposed to nail-biting, I would have nibbled mine down to nubs (ew, sorry about that visual).

Nearly all this story plays out in a tiny shuttle car. There are no windows; there is no way out. The action is contained and claustrophobic, and the Doctor, alone, must rely solely on his ability to command, manipulate, and quick-talk to save everyone - and himself. Something like this - a setting, an idea that's so different, so spare, could easily slip into boring line recitation. People standing around and just... saying stuff. But with the brilliant writing of Russell T. Davies, the brilliant acting of David Tennant and Lesley Sharp, and the brilliant direction of Alice Troughton, this episode turned out to be a creepy, gripping, thrilling gem.

It's a story about people, under pressure. How they react, how they change - how they can be heroic, or murderous. It's at times touching and terrifying.

And technically brilliant. I may have mentioned the "brilliant" before. I probably will again.

Certainly mimicking must be something that many actors can do. But it was done so precisely here. When I think of the amount of rehearsal, of focus, of conscious choices and spot-on instinct needed to make this work - to make an echo so scary - it amazes me. There's a moment, when Sky and the Doctor are mirroring each other (amazing enough), and suddenly she pulls ahead, just that little bit, and the entire balance of power shifts between them. It's subtle, and yet so obvious - a tiny moment that manages to have a huge impact.

There's another moment like that, where the Doctor loses the upper hand, control of the situation, of the humans involved slips away from him. You can sense it, like a wind shift, and it's down to all the performers involved and the brilliant dialogue (thanks, Russell!) and very likely the blocking too. Suddenly the Doctor is scared; in a way we've never seen; and as things go downhill from there, for him (and, arguably, for all involved, since they show some very beastly behavior), we are completely drawn into this feeling with him. The helplessness, the desperation - even at the end, when the Doctor cannot move, Tennant shows, with only his eyes and the timbre of his voice, the struggle, the despair, and again, the fear. It's heartbreaking - and enthralling - to watch.

This whole episode relies on that - the skill of the players involved. The acting, the writing, the blocking, the details, all must be spot-on. There are no distractions, no big amazing CGI landscapes or monsters (well, not aside from a couple glances of the planet's surface, and none of those occur in the most intense parts of this story). It's a challenging format, and everyone rises to that challenge and masters it easily.

Even our supporting players do well - the other people trapped in the car with the Doctor. Each has a role: the skeptic, the alarmist, the know-it-all, the reluctant hero. Sometimes the roles even change - and the actors handle their original "setup" personalities and their "under pressure" personalities equally well. It can be chilling, watching the formerly meek turn murderous.

It can, on a geeky side note, be pretty cool to watch David Troughton, son of the actor who played the second Doctor, onscreen with our current Doctor.

It can, on a 'shout-at-the-TV' moment, be VERY cool to catch another glimpse of Unexpected Rose Tyler, this time popping up on a screen just behind the Doctor. Who would not "turn around and look, already!", no matter how loudly or often a person might yell that admonition at him.

Poor Doctor. Misses seeing his Rose, and then gets nearly killed. And after he was having such a nice trip, at the beginning. It was he who encouraged everyone to talk to each other, who encouraged Driver Joe and Mechanic Claude (now deceased, sniff) to take a peek at the gorgeous (albeit deadly) world around them. His enthusiasm and joy was high and boundless, vintage happy Tenth Doctor - which only made it more painful when all that joy and excitement and goodwill was crushed. By the time he finally makes it back to Donna at the end, he's like the Tigger who's lost his bounce. A drained, saddened, much darker Doctor.

It's not exactly a happy ending, is it?

I want to take a moment to compliment Catherine Tate here, as well. She's hardly in the episode at all, but her few moments? Are (...wait for it...) brilliant. She's understated, she's restrained, she's quiet - none of Donna's usual boisterousness. But her performance is all the more powerful for it. And the hug between her and the Doctor... it resonates with relief, and comfort. It is beautiful.

Next week - Rose is back. Properly. Well, sort of. Donna sees what a world without the Doctor would be like. And it ain't good, kids.

Burn Notice 2.1: Breaking and Entering (Review #1)

Michael Weston is back, and he’s everything we hoped for over the very long hiatus. USA Network’s Burn Notice returns for a second season this summer, gracing fans with a whopping 16 episodes instead of a measly 11. As far as I’m concerned, the more we get of Michael, the better!

The season opener picks up where last year’s finale left off, with Michael stuck in the back of a semi-truck, going somewhere unknown to supposedly meet the true people responsible for black-listing him. If only it were so simple. After spending an apparently lengthy period of time sitting with Sam’s caddy in the dark (at least it was long enough to clean his gun 30 times), the truck creaks and groans to a halt. And then we hear screams and gunfire.

Michael prepares for what may come as well as he can… he readies his pistol, because that’s all he has with him. At last all falls quiet and the truck door opens to reveal a scene of death and carnage. Right on cue, our former spy hero receives a call on his cell phone from the mysterious woman who arranged for him to get into the semi-truck in the first place. She gives him no more useful information, merely saying he’s now supposed to do a job for her people.

Michael finds a guy tied up next to a car. A guy the mysterious woman says he needs to take back to – you guessed it – Miami.

*facepalm*

That’s right, folks. After eight months of teasing audiences as to what might happen in this second season, Michael Weston is going right back to where he came from. Makes me wonder what the hell the whole truck ride was for. Just to build suspense? From the writer and producer’s viewpoint, probably. But if I want to give the show the benefit of the doubt, perhaps this woman was just messing with Michael’s head. She seems the type.

To make a long story short, Michael gets the job done, as always, through some ingenious planning. Burn Notice staples return, much to the delight of fans: the informative narratives giving instructions on how to get past motion detectors and bullet-proof glass, awesome action scenes, great humor, Michael’s worried mother, the always amusing banter between Sam and Fiona, the usual sexual tension between Michael and Fiona, and of course, yogurt.

Not to say this episode was simply a repeat of last season. A few new things popped up as well. The big kicker being Fiona’s admission that she and Michael could never be together, to which Michael stoically replies, “I know.” As shocked as I was to hear Fiona admit this (I kinda thought she’d hang onto her delusions of their relationship for a lot longer), and as much as it did bring me a small bit of relief (sometimes she can be a little overbearing), another part of me was saddened. I mean, her pestering Michael about what they really are to each other is as much a part of the show now as all the cool spy-tricks you get to learn while watching. To have that element missing just seems… wrong.

To be honest, however, I don’t see too much changing between the two. Perhaps Fiona will act a little harder to get, but she won’t be able to deny her attraction to Michael. And as for our workaholic former spy, I’m pretty sure now that Fiona has backed off, he’ll miss her affections and become more attentive to her than he was before. At least, I hope so. Because it really can’t be Burn Notice without ‘Fiona and Michael’. You know what I mean.

Also we get a glimpse of the mysterious woman behind this week’s job at the very end of the episode – they always save the best for last! While it could be slightly frustrating that we went through the whole hiatus and yet received no answers in this first episode, the crossword puzzle she left for Michael calmed my qualms. I love watching Michael solve puzzles. In fact, that’s what this show is all about: give Michael Weston a problem, and watch how creative he gets in solving it. Throw in Fiona (as trigger-happy as always), Sam (as loyal and lovable as always), Madeline (as worried and problematic as always), and a few random bad guys here and there, and you’ve got yourself a helluva summer show to watch on Thursday nights!

(And it doesn’t hurt that Jeffrey Donovan gets plenty of opportunity to show off his killer bod, either. *mrowr!*)

Ahh. Burn Notice. How I missed you.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Act I

I didn’t really need to watch it. (And, had I not watched it as soon as I had, I would have had to deal with overloaded servers the rest of the day!) I mean, all I needed to know was that Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion would sing a duet, and I was sold. I didn’t even have to hear it. Doogie Howser and Malcolm Reynolds… singing. Together. As arch nemesis’s. Is anything else truly needed to be said??

Very well. A bit more detail on the opening act of Joss Whedon’s online brilliancy, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

It all opens with Neil Patrick Harris, as one Dr. Horrible, a quasi-mad scientist (though not really) out to become a well-known supervillain (he isn’t starting out too well) and join the ranks of Mad Horses’ league (no, that’s really the guy’s name. A great song accompanies the introduction of the league’s letter… including a promise not to make Dr. Horrible his mare…).

He reads a few “viewers” emails, responding to them in the sarcastic fashion typical of anything written by Joss, and then, when asked who the “her” is that he often refers to, Dr. Horrible launches into song. The verse bemoans his difficulty in speaking to the love of his life, fellow Laundromater Penny, played by the adorable Felicia Day (Buffy fans will remember her as a Potential). Who knew Doogie has such a squee-worthy singing voice? Of course, I was most impressed when he pulled out his freeze ray gun.

So anyway, after learning that Dr. Horrible has trouble talking to his crush, his fellow supervillain-in-wishful-thinking, Moist (ewwww!), shows up with his mail, in which Dr. Horrible receives an invitation to join Mad Horses’ league of supervillains. But first, he has to prove himself! So Dr. Horrible decides to go after the last ingredient needed for his freeze ray gun, Wonderflonium.

Unfortunately, as what must happen with all good heists, Dr. Horrible gets slightly waylaid when Penny surprisingly shows up in the alley, asking him to sign her petition to help the homeless. Dr. Horrible is caught between finally getting the chance to speak to his Laundromat crush, and perform the heist needed to join with Mad Horse (no matter how many times I delete and retype that, it still sounds bad). He finally has to walk away from her, albeit a bit rudely, and once more breaks into song about how a ‘man’s got to do what a man’s got to do’.

Enter one singing Nathan Fillion. On the top of a van. In a very, very, very tight shirt. Hamming it up. No, really hamming it up. For anyone who has had the chance to meet and talk to Nathan in person, you know how much he had to have enjoyed every moment of this.

Seriously, watching and listening to Nathan and Neil sing together, as superhero and supervillain, is something I never expected to get the chance to see! (Okay, to be honest, I never even imagined it, which just goes to show the brilliant and mad genius of one Joss Whedon.) Act I had to be the fastest 13:48 minutes of my entire life. It’s something I won’t soon forget, and I find myself eagerly anticipating Act II. If only to see if Nathan’s shirt gets any tighter…

Comic Con: IDW Publishing Offers Panels and Exclusive Items

IDW Publishing is proud to present unexpected happenings and exciting news at this year’s Comic-Con. The Con runs from Thursday July 24 to Sunday July 27th, and throughout the show, IDW (booth #1705) will be offering a number of Con exclusive comic books and other items listed below that are only available during the show. IDW’s two panels will run down upcoming projects and feature special guests and surprise announcements.

Among the guests signing at IDW’s booth will be Comic-Con Guest of Honor Joe Hill, who will be signing copies of Locke & Key and a special L&K slipcase edition alongside the book’s artist, Gabriel Rodriguez.

Eisner award-winning creator Darwyn Cooke (DC’s The New Frontier) will be announcing an all-new project through IDW and signing an exclusive signature card when he speaks at IDW’s panel on Saturday July 26.

Exclusive IDW creators Ashley Wood (debuting his new World War Robot book) and Ben Templesmith (premiering Welcome to Hoxford in the form of an exclusive ashcan) will be appearing at the booth as well. Creators of titles like Angel: After the Fall, Igor, Ghost Whisperer, The Transformers, Fallen Angel, and many others will also be signing at the IDW booth. A full signing schedule will be released in the days leading up to the con and on display at the booth during the show.

IDW will be hosting two panels this year, as well:

All Hail the Transformers (Friday, July 25 4:00–5:00 PM)

TF Editor Denton J. Tipton hosts a panel of Transformers creators including writers Shane McCarthy (All Hail Megatron), Chris Mowry (The Reign of Starscream), Marty Isenberg (TF Animated), artists Alex Milne (The Reign of Starscream), Marcelo Matere (TF Animated), Klaus Scherwinski (TF Spotlight: Wheelie) and more. Advance art, surprise announcements, pints of Energon all around! As if that wasn’t enough, all this will be topped off with a sneak peek of the new G.I. Joe comic! Room 2

IDW Publishing: Ideas and Dreams 2008 (Saturday, July 26, 11:00–12:00 PM)

IDW Publisher Chris Ryall presides over a superstar panel including writer/Con Guest of Honor Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez (Locke & Key), Ben Templesmith (Welcome to Hoxford), Darwyn Cooke, writers Brian Lynch (Angel: After the Fall), Steve Niles (Epilogue), IDW Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier, and a special 30 Days of Night presentation from FEARnet.com plus some special announcements of all-new projects, too! Room 3

A list of exclusive items being offered this year include:

Spike: After the Fall #1 Comic-Con edition

The debut issue of the prequel to IDW’s sold-out smash hit Angel: After the Fall will be offered with a special Comic-Con exclusive vellum cover. Writer Brian Lynch will be signing copies at the IDW booth. - $5, limited to 2,000 copies

Welcome to Hoxford Ashcan

Eisner Award-nominated artist Ben Templesmith presents the first look at his all-new, horrific series, Welcome to Hoxford, in this 16-page Ashcan featuring eight pages of story and exclusive character bios and artwork. Templesmith will be signing the Ashcan throughout the duration of the show. - $10, limited to 1,000 copies.

Locke & Key slipcase

Comic-Con guest of honor Joe Hill will be signing copies of his hit comic Locke & Key at IDW’s booth. Two exclusive cardboard slipcases signed by Joe and containing issues 1-3 and issues 4-6 will be available only at Comic-Con. Artist Gabriel Rodriguez will be signing at the IDW booth, too. - $15 each, limited to 100 copies of each slipcase

And much more! Be certain to stop by the IDW Booth at #1705!

Doctor Who 4.09: Forest Of The Dead

So - all the questions from last week, answered. Mostly. Just who River Song actually is - or, more properly, will be - to the Doctor is still a mystery. But other than that, this episode was a neat tie-up of the loose ends from the first part of the story, with a little wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey business thrown in for good measure.

CAL turns out to be Charlotte Abigail Lux, former dying child, saved or damned (you decide) to a half-life as a living mind housed in the world's largest computer with every book ever written for company. Charlotte, bless, had saved all the people - literally - who were in The Library when the Vashta Nerada attacked, the only way she knew how. All 4,022 people, living minds, energy signatures, all saved to her hard drive and given homes in some sort of computer heaven. Or purgatory (you decide). Her nephew, Strackman Lux, who we spent the better part of this story annoyed with, due to his bossiness and insistence on contract-signing and not telling the Doctor stuff, turns out to be just a nice man who was only trying to protect little Charlotte, who was his grandfather's youngest daughter and a beloved family member.

Dr. Moon turns out to be a "Doctor Moon", a great big satellite of virus protection for CAL, who had been imagining him as the kindly/creepy psychiatrist all this time.

The Vashta Nerada turn out to be unintentional guests of The Library, their forests having been harvested to make the books contained therein. Therefore, according to Steven Moffat, we can now add "books" on our List of Things To Be Terrified Of, along with statues of angels and ticking of clocks and the space under your bed, where no doubt something horrible is hiding.

On the bright side, the Vashta Nerada are flat-out terrified of the Doctor (as are the things that hide under the bed) so at least we know that, with him on our side, we're all bound to be OK.

Donna turns out to be one of the guests of Charlotte's data core haven, living out a lovely life with a handsome husband and adorable children (and apparently, the enviable ability to teleport, not only through space but time, which I would so love to use to get me instantaneously to the end of most workdays).

Fortunately (or unfortunately, you decide) for Donna, the truth is revealed to her by a supposedly terrifyingly hideous but really unintentionally hilarious-looking Miss Evangelista, whose corrupted upload to the same place made her both brilliant and all Silly-Putty-faced. Once Donna knows the truth she can no longer hold onto her illusion, and with that, and the help of the Doctor and his compatriots trying to wake Charlotte and un-save everyone, she loses her children and her husband… and Catherine Tate really sells the horror and heartbreak of that, convincing us that even if that life was an illusion, Donna's pain was very, very real.

The Doctor turns out handcuffed (kinky!) to a pole while he watches River die (this show loves to break his hearts); but luckily, he's clever enough to figure out that his future self must have sent his sonic back to his past (current) self via River Song in order to somehow save her. So she ends up in Computer Heaven as well, where she gets to wear flowy white robes and tell bedtime stories of the Doctor to Donna's adorable children and also to Charlotte. Which is kind of a happy ending, I think, though that is probably up to you to decide as well.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable episode. Plenty of action and running and the Doctor being manic and brilliant and dead sexy (I am sorry, his opening the TARDIS doors with a snap of his fingers was hot.). There were surprisingly tender moments as well… Donna and the Doctor's "so not all right" moment, Charlotte's small smile to the Doctor, and poor stuttering Lee's catching sight of Donna and inability to call after her before he's teleported away. Tender, and quite sad. And River's soliloquy at the end? Simply beautiful.

Next week: Trapped in a cabin of some sort with a bunch of panicky people and something from outside is knocking, knocking, knocking. Brrrrr. How will the Doctor get out of this one?

Doctor Who 4.08: Silence In The Library

This week on Doctor Who, we learn the oh-so-comforting fact that shadows can, in fact, MELT YOUR FLESH. So, everyone who's troubled by an irrational fear of the dark? Not so irrational! Wander into the wrong patch of darkness, and you could easily find yourself skeletonized in just a few excruciating nanoseconds! Nighty-night!

Unsettling as that sounds, this episode was not as flat-out scary as last season's "Blink" (writer Steven Moffat's previous offering). Still, it was effectively tense, and dark, and suspenseful, with a few bonus touches of humor and plenty of interesting questions to be answered next week. We're left wondering: Who is this mysterious little girl? Who is the even more mysterious River Song and how did she get her hands on the Doctor's screwdriver (we'd all like to know that one)? Who is Doctor Moon and what branch of child psychology involves telling the child that nightmares are real?

And then there are those in peril: The Doctor and his shrinking band of explorers, pursued by a skeleton/swarm-powered spacesuit chanting "Hey! Who turned out the lights?" Which was as amusing to me to watch as it likely would be terrifying for me to experience.

So, that's the 'cliffhanger' box successfully checked, then.

This was a beautifully-realized episode. The sets, the CGI, the lighting; great care was obviously taken with all, right down to the carved wood security camera. Everything contributed to giving The Library a feeling of grandeur and elegance – and menace. Even the sound of the silence seemed deliberate, allowing the Doctor and Donna's footsteps to echo in that vast absence.

The story itself unfolds at a deliciously measured pace, with little bits of the puzzle revealed in tantalizing hints and glimpses: a truth uttered by River Song, a cryptic message from CAL, a startling fate for Miss Evangelista. Shocks and surprises interspersed with hold-your-breath pauses and contemplative moments, and even without Something Big happening every three seconds, the episode never dragged.

It's hard to get bored when you're on the edge of your seat.

Acting-wise, David Tennant was brilliant as ever, switching effortlessly from angst to manic order-giving to confusion to false cheer to rage and back again. When he reached out to touch Donna's (disembodied) face (ew), the naked heartbreak on his own face was undeniable. Showing equal range was Catherine Tate, giving us a Donna who was at times horrified, compassionate, bored, curious, exasperated, and brave. Other performers of note were Alex Kingston, of ER fame; and Steve Pemberton, who starred in Blackpool with David Tennant himself, though sadly there were no musical numbers to be found here.

Speaking of music, this week's suited the mood perfectly – as it should, and as Murray Gold always does so well. Especially spine-tingling? The tinkly music-box-y music. Brrrrr.

Random final thought: evidently, the Vashta Nerada eat in parallel lines, if poor Miss Evangelista's disconcertingly symmetrically shredded space-suit was any indication...

Next week: all our questions answered. Are you ready?

Doctor Who 4.07: The Unicorn And The Wasp

Oh, how I loved this episode!!

It was a complete 1920's murder mystery package with a silly sci-fi twist. Not only the plot and characters, but the costumes, the music (*bows to Murray Gold*), the settings... even the characters' names were fitting: 'Professor Peach', indeed. The direction and staging and editing were fantastic too: all the details were there, right down to the spinning newspapers, the wavy flashback effects, the pointing, the gasping... even plucky Donna had her very own magnifying glass for clue-hunting. Not that she needed it to see the SIX-FOOT WASP that some person who hates me decided to insert as the monster of the hour; but it did come in handy in fighting him off, so hooray for that.

It was just... very thorough in keeping to its theme, this episode. Complete with a couple of Agatha Christie's book titles worked into the script here and there. Brilliant!

I haven't laughed this hard at an episode of Doctor Who in ages. Both David Tennant and Catherine Tate have wonderful comic timing – combine the two and give them good material, and there's no stopping them. Seriously – that entire detox/charades scene was one of the funniest things EVER. "Harvey Wallbanger?!" HAHAHAHAHAHA. I was crying I was laughing so hard... and then the salt that was "too salty", and Donna guessing "Mammy?" and "Camptown Races"... by the time Donna was giving the Doctor his 'shock', my stomach hurt from laughing so hard. (I do hope they didn't really make David Tennant scarf down real anchovies. Ew. Poor David – talk about suffering for your art. And Poor Donna/Catherine… that must have been one nasty-tasting kiss.)

Even the more quietly funny moments were still notable: the Doctor crying "Show yourself!" and every single person popping out of their doors in unison; all the wink-wink references to the relationship between Roger and Davenport the cute waiter; the Doctor shouting "Maiden!" all "Eureka"-like (and startling poor Agatha) when he truly didn't have a clue; the flashbacks (especially the one with the Can-Can girls)...

And speaking of flashbacks: The Doctor with arrows and a machete? Mad hot. His smirk immediately after? When Agatha Christie calls him "crafty" MAD HOT. Getting down on the floor looking for clues and tasting things? MAD MAD MAD HOT. Besides being the funniest episode of this season, this is easily the one with the most Tenth Doctor hotness.

Which, of course, is terribly superficial of me to notice; but what can I say? I AM NOT BLIND.

But as much as I love the Doctor this episode; I love Donna just as much. She is brave: defeating the wasp twice, first with the magnifying glass and later by taking the necklace from Ms. Christie and flinging it in the lake, thereby tricking the beast into drowning itself. She is compassionate: comforting Agatha and cheering her out in the garden. She is funny: telling the Doctor she'll pluck him in a minute, totally and hilariously failing at charades, dryly noting that all the good men apparently ride the other bus... and she really seems to love her life, traveling with the Doctor. She's excited to be in each new place, including this one, she is excited to meet Agatha Christie, she is excited to watch as the lady herself unravels the mystery and reveals the guilty party.

Oh, and she looks wonderful, too. That dress is incredibly flattering; and her hair in that updo is complicated and gorgeous. Three cheers and a toast to Donna Noble this week. Hooray!

Three cheers as well to Agatha Christie herself, who is realized in this episode as refined, classy, witty, vulnerable, whip-smart, and just plain lovely. She's also quite the hero, fully ready to take on the monster all on her own. Hopefully people who watched this might be inspired to pick up one of her books and check it out, if they haven't yet. Because who wouldn't want to read the works of such a great lady? Plus, the Doctor keeps a copy of one of her books in his treasure chest (love the treasure chest). What more endorsement does one need?

And at the end, we close with that little exchange between the Doctor and Donna: "Onwards?" "Onwards." The two of them at the console, like the last, satisfying page of a book: a perfect ending to a fantastic episode.

Next week: Moffat makes me scared of shadows.

Battlestar Galactica 4.10: Revelations

Can I just give this episode an A+ and be done with it? Seriously. If you've been watching this show, and you like it, you will love this episode. And if it had ended five minutes earlier, it would have made a brilliant series finale. They could have ended things there, with everyone celebrating on Galactica, and we would have all breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the tears from our eyes, and closed the book on the story of these people we've come to love, safe in the knowledge that everyone got their happy ending.

But this is not the end; we've got a half a season left - and as is its wont, this show threw us a nice big curveball right at the end there, to leave you wondering WTF just happened and keep you guessing for... oh, at least several months or so.

Which: brilliantly played, show.

So, in this episode, D'Anna and Lee Adama play the biggest, deadliest game of chicken, just about ever; Tory embraces her new Cylon identity in a most unpleasant fashion; Baltar does not die and, in fact, helps avert an all out bloodbath; Tigh outs himself to Bill and offers himself as the sacrificial lamb for the Fleet; Bill freaks out entirely; Lee becomes truly awesome; Starbuck saves the day; a human leader and a Cylon leader shake hands and make peace; all the good guys find Earth; everyone celebrates and the music swells and I cry and it's all triumphant and fantastic; and oh, Earth apparently sucks. WHOOPS.

Standouts this week: Edward James Olmos as Bill Adama, who had that incredible, messy, vulnerable, heart-wrenching breakdown; Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh, who was brave and noble and knew just when to call Lee "Apollo"; Jamie Bamber as President Frakking Leland Joseph Adama, who kicked some very serious ass here; and last, but not least, Katee Sackhoff as Kara Thrace, whose beautiful face was a portrait of heartbreak and revelation when she found out her Sam was a Cylon. All are amazing.

Quite simply, everything in this episode was excellent. From the haunting visual of the Cylon's first hostage being executed, to the snippet of "Wander My Friends" when Lee and Bill are talking, to all the biggies in between. Acting, writing, editing... it was yet another riveting hour and I'm going to miss this show very much during the long, long hiatus.

Battlestar Galactica 4.09: The Hub

Seriously, Cylons? ONE easily blown-up Hub that controls and sustains every Resurrection Ship out there? DESIGN FAIL.

On the bright side, yay humans! Because, as President Roslin said: now Cylons are truly Humanity's 'mortal' enemies. Well, if they really are the enemy anymore. Which is where we're going with this, right? A great big, happy Cylon-Human family that finds Earth together and lives happily ever after?

I didn't think so, either. But for now it appears the alliance between the Humans and rebel Cylons is still holding, albeit a bit wobbly. Right now the Cylons seem to be the ones more committed to it - not that I blame Roslin for not trusting them. Her first loyalty is always to protecting her people, so, for better or worse, I get where she is coming from, even if I felt bad for the Eight when Helo took the Three away from her. (Also, wow, the only Three left in the universe. Isn't that weird?)

So this week, the mission was "on". The Hybrid, who appeared to have gone nuts last week with the jumping and all, ended up jumping to the Hub, as planned; and the pilots, Cylon and Human, worked together to cripple and then destroy it. Helo and the Eight retrieved D'Anna, but not before she permanently killed the Cavil who woke her. Baltar, injured in an explosion on the rebel Basestar while evangelizing at a Centurion, and under the influence of some good morpha, told Laura Roslin she is pretty and then mea culpaed to being the key to obliterating the entire human race. (Whoops!)

Laura kind of considered sort of killing him but didn't, had lots of crazy vision time with her dead spiritual advisor, thought for a moment she was one of the Final Five (a skillful mind-frak from D'Anna, there), and finally, FINALLY, told Bill she loved him (which brought a tear to my eye).

Mary McDonnell was featured heavily in this episode; and she was duly brilliant. I've enjoyed her through the run of the series, and it was nice to see her get to do a lot with Laura Roslin here. How someone can be so frail and so damn scary at the same time is amazing to me; and with just the subtlest change in her facial expression she can go from shock to amusement to wary appreciation with equal believability.

Also amazing: the beautifully-rendered battle for, and destruction of, the Hub. Such incredible visuals - I enjoy all the character-driven, intimate moments of this show, I really do; but I can't deny the thrill of watching an epic spacebattle like the one in this episode. Also very striking, visually, were all the shots of bloody Baltar lying on the table, arms dangling wide, in what had to be some sort of crucifixion type image. Right down to the blood running down his wrists and the wound in his side. Gruesome, yet effective.

Another wonderful, tense, engaging episode. And next week, it looks like fun aplenty as the Hidden Four are outed. See you then!

Doctor Who 4.06: The Doctor's Daughter

Well, not exactly. Jenny (and boo to SciFi for cutting the scene in which Donna gives her that name) popped out fully-formed from a machine that built her from the Doctor's DNA (but which of the many strands? Doesn't he have 10 by now? Wouldn't it be funny - and fitting - if she got Five's DNA? I mean, the actress who plays her is Peter Davison's daughter, after all. Plus, it would neatly explain the blonde hair); which was in turn extracted from a tissue sample taken from the Doctor's hand. Which is all good and well, but if you're going to stick the Doctor's hand into a replicating machine, couldn't we just make more Doctors? I very much like the idea of a universe populated with thousands and thousands of Tenth Doctors. Mmmm.... Doctors for everyone! Hooray!

That said, Jenny was cute as a button. I liked her a lot. She was cute, and perky, and clever, and very quickly became very dear to the Doctor. Therefore I knew immediately she was doomed. Because this show really loves to break the Doctor's hearts, doesn't it? Good grief.

So, I saw that poor Jenny was bound to die, but I was actually surprised when she came back to life the way she did. I did wonder, as she lay dying, whether there was a possibility that she'd regenerate. But then it seemed the moment had passed (I forgot that the Seventh Doctor was "dead" for quite some time before regenerating into the Eighth.)... and I assumed it was time for the Doctor to grieve, to add her to the incomprehensible list of people for whom he mourned, and move on. The sad music would swell, and the camera would pan away, and the image of the Doctor's Daughter would get smaller and smaller and that would be that.

But then we got that little puff of magic regeneration dust emanating from her (talk about the "Breath of Life") and voilà! She wakes.

But - no regeneration. Just a revival. As her dear old Doctor dad would say, "That's weird."

I won't complain too much, though. Because I thought Georgia Moffet was wonderful in this, and I'd look forward to seeing her in this role if she ever shows up again.

The general story of this episode involves a "generations-long" war between humans and Hath (partly human, partly fishy creatures with glowy green bubble-tubes for breathing and... talking, apparently? Maybe? I never did sort that out. How do the Hath communicate with each other? Anyway).

The two groups are fighting for: a) survival; or b) possession of The Source, depending on who you ask. And the Source in question is, through the progression of the show, a myth, a weapon, and a ball of gas. Got it? A terraforming device, left behind in the original colonists' ship and meant to transform Messaline into a thriving, blooming world (...the irony!). Oh, and the war that has gone back longer than anyone can remember? Has lasted a week. (D'oh!) (Supertemp!Donna Noble figured that one out.)

Speaking of Donna, she continues to impress me as both Companion and conscience to the Doctor. She really doesn't let him get away with much of anything, be it sulking or avoiding or claiming that a part of him is dead and will never come back. She can go toe-to-toe with him on the stubbornness front yet is absolutely steadfastly loyal; she will jump in and be the first to stick up for someone or speak up when she sees something wrong, and for all these reasons I am so happy she's on board this season.

Besides, Catherine Tate is an absolutely vibrant actress. Think about someone you would call "wooden", and then think of the opposite, and that's her. I hope she stays with the show many more seasons (of course, she said this week she'll travel with the Doctor forever so we know that will probably NOT be the case, because this show likes to break our hearts too.)

But wait! I sound unhappy - I am not. I love this show. It toys with my emotions with much skill, and I respect and enjoy that. Even when I'm reaching for a tissue to dry my eyes. Because that's just as satisfying, albeit in a different way, than being made to laugh or smile or stand and applaud. (And don't think I haven't applauded at this show.)

So since we're now talking about things that make us cry, how about David Tennant being all gorgeous and angsty and wonderful this week? That man can break your heart with just a look and oh boy, he did it here. I love his dark, brooding Doctor. And his fury is something to behold as well. Wow.

All in all an enjoyable episode. Lots of running ("Love the running"), Tennant and Tate and Moffet being awesome, a much more satisfying exit for Martha, and a nice little dash of paradox at the end, just to make my head hurt. Hooray!

Next week, Agatha Christie! That sounds promising...