AlphaBits: McG Ready To Do Some Terminator Films

PLUS: David Tennant once again denies a 'Doctor Who' movie is in the cards

By MICHAEL HINMAN Dec-9-2009
Source: Airlock Alpha
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Director McG thinks there's enough Terminator story left to do at least two more movies. But who will actually make and finance the films, that's another question.

Sharing the news in the DVD commentary for the recently released "Terminator: Salvation," McG says he wants to helm the next two films where they would explore not only the beginning of the character Marcus, but also what exactly happens to John Connor himself, played in the most recent movie by Christian Bale.

While the company that made the last film went bankrupt, when a new buyer steps forward in February, it's almost definite it will want to make more films, so McG might not be blowing smoke. The last film, despite not being necessarily adored by critics, earned $371.3 million worldwide. It also starred Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas Howard and Helena Bonham Carter. -- [Ace Showbiz]

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No 'Doctor Who' movie: It was brought up during San Diego Comic-Con, and now former "Doctor Who" star David Tennant has to emphasize it again: There is no movie based on the popular British series in the works.

Tennant, who recently made his move to Hollywood to take part in the new NBC pilot "Rex is Not Your Lawyer," said he doesn't see himself doing such a project with the Tardis and his trusty sonic screwdriver.

"I don't think there is a Doctor Who movie ... It's not like I'm hell-bent on braking into movies, but it's a nice notion," Tennant told Radio Times.

Tennant comes back as the Timelord one last time this holiday season on both BBC in the United Kingdom and BBC America in the United States, but has pretty much moved on from the franchise since then.

By the way, are you curious to see what Tennant looks like in his new American role "Rex"? Check out The Sun's exclusive photo by clicking here. -- [The Press Association]

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Star Trek Online: The Book: Fans have been patiently waiting for years for "Star Trek Online," the massively multiplayer online role playing game that is set to compete with the likes of "World of Warcraft" and "Lord of the Rings Online" in terms of the MMORPG market.

But fans can get more than just the game early next year. There is also a book.

The Star Trek gaming fan site Hailing Frequency apparently uncovered a tie-in novel with the game written by MIchael A. Martin, who has penned books such as "Star Trek: Enterprise - Romulan Wars." This latest novel will be called "The Needs of the Many," and will be released at the end of March.

So if wasting away in front of your computer playing a game (I can't talk, I just signed up for LOTRO, and I love my Warden!), now you can waste away when not in front of your computer by reading Martin's latest book. -- [TrekWeb]

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Mohinder is not your lawyer: David Tennant is still working on the NBC pilot "Rex is Not Your Lawyer," but one casting move that has led to renewed speculation that "Heroes" could be ending after this season, has already been undone.

Sendhil Ramamurthy, who plays Mohinder Suresh on "Heroes," was supposed to have a regular role in the new Tennant series when it was announced earlier this month. That announcement had fans wondering if Airlock Alpha's report that "Heroes" could be facing cancellation from Halloween actually had some merit.

But as quickly as Ramamurthy joined "Rex," he was already gone. The actor departed from the show, citing scheduling conflicts, and has since been replaced by the unlikely Jerry O'Connell.

O'Connell joins the show just as production was set to begin earlier this week.

Mr. Rebecca Romijn isn't the only person that was cast in the eleventh hour. Lindsay Kraft and Cleo King both joined "Rex" as well. Kraft has no genre credits to her name, but King -- who is a celebrated character actress from shows like "Deadwood" and "Sons of Anarchy" -- did appear as an unnamed government worker in a 2007 episode of "Lost."

As for "Heroes," we're still hearing it's most likely a goner whether Ramamurthy can make the time to come back or not. -- [The Hollywood Reporter]

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Taking the g-a-y out of 'V': We all know what ABC thinks of "American Idol" finalist Adam Lambert and is same-sex kissing ways, but does it have something against lesbian lizards as well?

Columnist Laura Vess thinks so. The original "V" baddie, Diana, was played by Jane Badler. And like the current ABC series where Morena Baccarin's character of Anna seems to have some sexual tension with a journalist, Diana had the same thing -- except she was a woman, and so was the journalist.

"The interaction between Diana and the journalist-turned-alien press secretary is rife with sexual tension," Vess wrote. "Although nothing obvious is ever shown to viewers about their relationship off-screen, there is certainly much implied. Diana, as a character, comes across as blatantly bisexual if you're looking for subtext."

If you're looking to find that with Baccarin's character of Anna, however, think again.

"When I finally dived into the new 'V,' I was immediately disappointed," Vess said. "ABC has made changes, certainly, but not in big ways overall. Annoyingly, the character of Kristine has been coverted into a male journalist, Scott Wolf as Chad Decker. Right away, the strong same-sex sensuality between the original Diana and Kristine pairing has been turned into a heterosexual relationship."

Well, to be honest, we can see why ABC did it. The last thing we need is to have Anna get so excited about taking over Earth that she suddenly starts making out with her female weapons officer. It's hard to control television that is taped months in advance of airing, you know. -- [SheWired]

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Tweeting, speaking Klingon: It's actually kinda cool that Klingon is a real language that exists, and something I'm sure longtime Airlock Alpha community member Khalessa knows fluently.

Well, with "Star Trek Online" prepping for a launch the same day "Lost" returns, Cryptic is entertaining fans with the ability to use Twitter ... in Klingon.

Yes, that's right. You can now Tweet using 140 characters or less.

If you would like to Tweet in Klingon, simply visit Cryptic's Facebook page by clicking here.

There is one Star Trek fan who doesn't need an online translator, however. OK, d'Armond Speers isn't exactly the biggest Trek fan in the world, but he loves languages, including the Klingon language. So much, in fact, the first three years of his 15-year-old son's life was spent speaking only in Klingon, according to the Los Angeles Times.

We can only imagine how that one went: "Son, go to your room or else." "I dunno, Dad. Today is a good day to die. But remember, revenge is a dish best served cold."

And then his father replied, "I am not a merry man! Go to your room!"

I could go on forever with Klingon pickup lines ... -- [ZAM News]

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SGU first Stargate series to hit Blu-ray: The first season isn't even over yet, but MGM doesn't want to miss a good chance to cash in on viewer delight over its new Syfy series "Stargate: Universe."

The first half of Season 1 will be available on DVD and Blu-ray Feb. 9, just weeks before the second half of the season is set to air.

Believe it or not, this is the first time that MGM has put a Stargate series (outside of specials and movies) onto Blu-ray. It's unclear why, but SGU will have to pioneer the way.

If you can't wait to get these episodes playing on your high-def television, expect to pay $70 (remember the days when something marked this high was considered "priced for rental?"). However, Amazon.com is offering pre-order for just under $39, so that sounds like a much better way to go. -- [The HD Room]

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'FlashForward' awes audience in United Kingdom: Our friends across the pond will have to take a long break from ABC's "FlashForward" just like American audiences, but they seem to be tuning in big-time to see what it's like to pass out for a couple of minutes and see your future.

The first group of episodes finished Nov. 30 with 2 million viewers. While that might be The CW-style numbers in the United States, it's big business in the United Kingdom.

"FlashForward" is airing on Channel Five, and premiered with 3.2 million viewers last Fall. How does that compare with other shows? Well, apparently the most recent episode beat an art competition on BBC Two (yeah, such a different life there, apparently) that attracted 700,000 viewers. -- [The Guardian]

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Peter's mom cast on 'Fringe': Obviously showing up in some sort of flashback scene, Fox has cast Orla Brady, most recently of the James Woods series "Shark," to play an interesting role on "Fringe": Peter Bishop's (Joshua Jackson) mother.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello was the first to report the casting news, which is a bit interesting, because Brady is old enough to be Peter's sister, not mom.

But knowing "Fringe," it will be something worth looking out for later this season. -- [Entertainment Weekly]

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Alpha Waves Live secrets: If you missed Alpha Waves Live Wednesday night, you actually missed a really crowded place.

Although it's no longer live (the show can't go on forever), the replay is still available at AlphaWavesRadio.com.

You might want to check it out, because a secret about one of the stars of the new Syfy series "Stargate: Universe" was revealed by, of all people, his mother.

It's great, juicy stuff. You want to click the link above now to check it out.

The next podcast version of Alpha Waves Radio will air Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. ET and will include Curt Wagner, a writer for RedEye Newspaper's Show Patrol feature in Chicago as well as some comments from outgoing "Doctor Who" star David Tennant during media roundtables at San Diego Comic-Con last July about the upcoming specials. -- [Airlock Alpha]

About the Author: Michael Hinman is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha and the entire BlipNetwork. He owns Quantum Global Media Inc., the parent corporation of the BlipNetwork. He's a print journalist by day, and lives in Tampa, Fla.
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