Actor Leo McKern, best known for starring as Horace Rumpole in Rumpole Of The Bailey as well as being the only recurring Number Two in The Prisoner, died July 23rd at a nursing home in Bath, England. Born in Australia, Mr. McKern made his mark in British television and in film, with appearances in Lawrence Of Arabia and the Beatles’ Help!. Mr. McKern was 82.
Source: Associated Press

British astronomers are keeping a wary eye on a newly-detected asteroid which, according to their calculations, has “a chance” of colliding with Earth on February 1, 2019. Scientists on both sides of the Atlantic are downplaying the alarm that might be caused by these initial calculations, but in the wake of June’s asteroid near-miss, they’re not completely discounting those dangers. So be sure to celebrate Valentine’s Day early in seventeen years, because nothing kills the mood like a global catastrophe.
Source: Associated Press

Ever forget to renew your domain name? So did Neil Finn – most likely what with being terribly busy with touring the U.S. and all. But when he went to reclaim the nilfun.net domain, he found that it had been snatched up by a party who wished to sell it back to him (at, of course, an astronomical markup). Finn has now reestablished his foothold on the web at nilfun.com, updated with some new live material. Also in the works is something Finn fans should love: a Region 4 (Australia/NZ) DVD release of the Split Enz video compilation History Never Repeats, with the documentary Spellbound included on the same disc. That DVD is scheduled for later this year, which a possible Crowded House DVD title – most likely a combination of Farewell To The World and I Like To Watch, a now-rare Crowdies music video compilation – has been put on the back burner due to rights issues.
Source: SevenWorlds.net

Thank God there’s more to the Muppets’ 25th anniversary than those annoying Denny’s commercials (c’mon, did we ever hear the mean-spirited humor of Kermit making fun of Miss Piggy’s weight while Jim Henson was alive? I think not!). The Muppets 25th Anniversary Celebration: Who Let The Frogs Out will be hitting music stores on September 17th, with 27 songs culled from the original Muppet Show, The Muppet Movie and other big-screen outings. And that’s not all! Two volumes of The Best Of The Muppet Show will be arriving on DVD on September 3rd, one of which will include Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill’s fabled appearance on the show (complete with Miss Piggy in a Princess Leia ‘do). We’ll have pre-order information as soon as it’s available so you can get your Muppet fix right here.
Source: Billboard.com

Composer Carey Blyton, who created the distinctive music for several Doctor Who episodes in the early 70s, died on July 13th. Blyton is probably best known for writing the theme song from the children’s series Bananas In Pajamas, and also taught film music courses at Guildhall for many years. He specialized in small ensembles with unusual instrumentation, with a heavy emphasis on saxophone. Mr. Blyton was 70.
Source: Outpost Gallifrey

No doubt Joss Whedon’s steaming over the accidental (yeah, honest, it really was!) exclusion of the Buffy musical from Emmy consideration, but other genre favorites – and some very surprising ones at that – did make it under the wire for Emmy nominations. Here are the categories with nominations that may be of interest:

Animated Program Less Than One Hour

• As Told by Ginger – Lunatic Lake, Nickelodeon
• Futurama – Roswell That Ends Well, Fox
• King of the Hill – Bobby Goes Nuts, Fox
• The Simpsons – She of Little Faith, Fox
• South Park – Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants, Comedy Central

Art Direction for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special

• Band of Brothers Part 7 – The Breaking Point, HBO
• Dinotopia: Part 1, ABC
• James Dean, TNT
• The Mists Of Avalon: Part 1, TNT
• Stephen King’s Rose Red: Part 2, ABC

Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie

• Band of Brothers Part 8 – The Patrol, HBO
• James Dean, TNT
• The Mists of Avalon: Part 1, TNT
• Path to War, HBO
• Shackleton: Part 2, A&E
• Uprising: Part 2, NBC

Costumes for a Series

• Alias – Truth Be Told, ABC
• Farscape – Into the Lion’s Den (Part 1): Lambs to the Slaughter, Sci Fi
• Sex and the City – Defining Moments, HBO
• Six Feet Under – Back to the Garden, HBO
• That ’70s Show – That ’70s Musical, Fox
• Will & Grace – A Moveable Feast, NBC

Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special

• Anne Rice’s The Feast of all Saints: Part 1, Showtime
• Dinotopia: Part 1, ABC
• The Gathering Storm, HBO
• James Dean, TNT
• The Mists of Avalon: Part 1, TNT
• Victoria and Albert: Part 1, A&E

Hairstyling for a Series

• Alias – Q&A, ABC
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Hell’s Bells, UPN
• Enterprise – Two Days and Two Nights, UPN
• Sex and the City – Ghost Town, HBO
• Six Feet Under – I’ll Take You, HBO

Hairstyling for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special

• Anne Rice’s The Feast of All Saints Part 1, Showtime
• Band of Brothers Part 5 – Crossroads, HBO
• Dinotopia Part 1, ABC
• James Dean, TNT
• The Mists of Avalon Part 1, TNT
• Path to War, HBO

Main Title Design

• Band of Brothers, HBO
• The Mind of the Married Man, HBO
• Six Feet Under, HBO
• Wolf Lake, CBS/UPN

Makeup for a Series (Non-Prosthetic)

• Alias – Q&A, ABC
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Hell’s Bells, UPN
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Slaves of Las Vegas, CBS
• MADtv – MADtv’s 7th Season Premiere, Fox
• Six Feet Under – Pilot, HBO

Makeup for a Series (Prosthetic)

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Hell’s Bells, UPN
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Overload, CBS
• Enterprise – Broken Bow, UPN
• Six Feet Under – A Private Life, HBO

Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Non-Prosthetic)

• Band of Brothers Part 9 – Why We Fight, HBO
• Dinotopia Part 1, ABC
• James Dean, TNT
• Jim Henson’s Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story Part 2, CBS
• The Mists of Avalon Part 1, TNT

Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)

• Blue Planet – Seas of Life: Ocean World, Discovery
• JAG – Adrift (Part 2), CBS
• 24 – 7:00 a.m.-8 a.m., Fox
• The X-Files – The Truth, Fox
• Xena: Warrior Princess – A Friend in Need II, syndicated

Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Dramatic Underscore)

• Dinner with Friends, HBO
• Jim Henson’s Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story Part 2, CBS
• Last Call, Showtime
• The Mists of Avalon Part 1, TNT
• Shackleton Part 2, A&E
• We Were The Mulvaneys, Lifetime

Music Direction

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Once More With Feeling, UPN
• Dinotopia Part 1, ABC
• The Kennedy Center Honors, CBS
• Opening Ceremony Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games, NBC
• Ultimate Manilow!, CBS

Main Title Theme Music

• A Day in Their Lives, History Channel
• First Monday, CBS
• Justice League, Cartoon Network
• Six Feet Under, HBO
• Wolf Lake, CBS

Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie

• Joan Allen in The Mists of Avalon, TNT
• Stockard Channing in The Matthew Shepard Story, NBC
• Anjelica Huston in The Mists Of Avalon, TNT
• Diana Rigg in Victoria and Albert, A&E
• Sissy Spacek in Last Call, Showtime

Best Miniseries

• Band of Brothers, HBO
• Dinotopia, ABC
• The Mists of Avalon, TNT
• Shackleton, A&E

Sound Editing for a Series

• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Chasing the Bus, CBS
• Enterprise – Broken Bow, UPN
• ER – Partly Cloudy, Chance of Rain, NBC
• Smallville – Pilot, WB
• Third Watch – Falling, NBC

Special Visual Effects for a Series

• Enterprise – Breaking the Ice, UPN
• Enterprise – Broken Bow, UPN
• Smallville – Pilot, WB
• Stargate SG-1 – Enemies, Showtime
• Stargate SG-1 – Revelations, Showtime

Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special

• Band of Brothers: Part 4 – Replacements, HBO
• Band of Brothers: Part 2 – Day of Days, HBO
• Dinotopia: Part 3, ABC
• Superfire, ABC
• Walking With Prehistoric Beasts, Discovery

Have you ever wondered where Doctor Who‘s Cybermen got their start? For the first time ever, the origins of the all-conquering Cybermen (who first appeared in 1966 and presaged the Borg’s kidnap-and-assimilate reproduction technique) will be explored in Big Finish’s newest Doctor Who Audio Adventure, Spare Parts. Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton, as the fifth Doctor and Nyssa, travel to a doomed world called Mondas – and witness the Mondasian people’s last-ditch attempt to survive their world’s fate. Spare Parts is now available in theLogBook.com’s Store.

The August 2002 Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas isn’t just trying to shatter previous years’ attendance records, it’s also going to blow away previous years’ records for the number of previously unreleased prototypes and homebrew games. At least a half dozen titles for the Atari 2600 will be making their first appearances here, including very limited editions of Atari’s own unreleased RealSports Basketball and Snow White And The Seven Dwarves cartridges. Unreleased 20th Century Fox games Crack’d, Save The Whales and Pick-Up will be debuting at CGE as well, along with a new Atari 7800 release, an unreleased game called Missing In Action. Based on the Chuck Norris flick of the same name, Missing In Action was first announced in Atari’s upcoming games catalog circa 1987 before it, too, went MIA. For the Atari 5200, be on the lookout for games such as Koffi: Yellow Kopter, Haunted House II 3-D (an updated sequel of the original 2600 game) and Castle Blast. A to-be-announced unreleased Neo Geo title will see the light of day too, as will Cube Quest, a previously unreleased game for Milton Bradley’s Vectrex vector graphics console will also be appearing at CGE2K2. For more details on the new game releases, and the much-anticipated panel of ColecoVision programmers and game designers, check out the Classic Gaming Expo web site. The Expo takes place over the weekend of August 10th.
Source: Classic Gaming Expo

Big Finish Productions, the makers of the current range of Doctor Who Audio Adventures as well as the Dalek Empire audio spinoff series, is bringing yet another Doctor Who spinoff to our ears: Sarah Jane Smith, starring Elisabeth Sladen, who originated the role of the Doctor’s journalist companion in 1974. Sladen reprised the role of Sarah in the only BBC-made Doctor Who spinoff, 1981′s one-off pilot K-9 & Company, but neither the Doctor nor K-9 are featured in the new series, which kicks off with Sarah on the run after her latest investigative report has uncovered a particularly deadly conspiracy. Sladen’s daughter, actress Sadie Miller, also guest stars in the new series. The first of five audio “episodes, Sarah Jane Smith: Comeback, written by veteran Doctor Who scribe Terrance Dicks, is now available in theLogBook.com’s Store.

Feast your eyes on this – it’s the cover of the Babylon 5 season 1 DVD box set, due in November from Warner Bros. Home Video. Including all 22 episodes in widescreen and Dolby Surround, plus bonus interviews with the cast and crew and audio commentaries on a couple of pivotal episodes by series creator J. Michael Straczynski (plus an on-camera interview), this set has jumped to the very top of several fans’ DVD box set to-buy lists. We’ll have pre-order info for it as soon as we possibly can.

Oh, say it ain’t so. The Sci-Fi Channel is reportedly working on a remake of Quantum Leap, minus the original cast, with an eye on making a series out of it. Creator Donald Bellisario is behind the new version, though there’s no word on whether or not this will tie into the original version starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, or if they will appear in it in any capacity to hand off the torch. There’s also word that the leaper could be female this time around.
Source: Sci-Fi Wire

Okay, are we ever going to give up trying to pin down the final adventure of Classic Trek’s original crew? Maybe, and maybe not. Christie Golden – author of the novelization of the Star Trek: Voyager series finale – brings us “Star Trek: The Last Roundup”, the tale of a post-retirement Kirk who decides to try his hand at colonizing a planet. Of course, with Kirk (and eventually the rest of the Enterprise crew, some retired and some not) involved, you know this world isn’t going to be colonized easily. “Star Trek: The Last Roundup”, the final adventure of the original Enterprise crew (yeah, right!), is now available from theLogBook.com’s Store.

The current “season” of Big Finish Doctor Who Audio Adventures – featuring Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor – comes to a cliffhanging end with Neverland, written by Alan Barnes. This release was originally intended for a June release, but duplication delays have pushed it back to mid-July. The double-disc adventure features returning guest star Lalla Ward as Romana, now the president of the Time Lords, who seems to be acting most strangely in this story. Big Finish warns that the Doctor Who mythos may “never be the same again” after this story. Also included – but only for those lucky souls who are Big Finish subscribers – will be a bonus adventure with Colin Baker as the sixth Doctor and Robert Jezek as Frobisher, The Maltese Penguin. (Big Finish has said that Maltese Penguin might be available to non-subscribers at a later date.) Neverland is now available – really, it is! – in theLogBook.com’s Store.

So much for that extra life. With great reluctance, Classic Gamer Magazine editor Chris Cavanaugh has announced that his retrogaming-oriented print publication has reached its end on paper. Those who subscribed to Classic Gamer will be refunded their outstanding subscription fees, though out of financial necessity the refunds will occur in waves instead of all at once. And the good news is that the content of Classic Gamer will survive for a bonus round online. Articles written for the upcoming seventh issue, which has been upcoming for nearly a year, will begin appearing soon online in both HTML and printable PDF format, and Cavanaugh plans to continue offering original articles thereafter.
Source: Classic Gamer Magazine

It may be quite a while – weeks or more – before the space shuttle takes to the sky again. Cracks were found in parts of the main propulsion systems of Atlantis and Discovery during recent inspections, and the planned July 19th launch of Columbia has been postponed so NASA engineers can look over that shuttle’s fuel lines as well. (Presumably, Endeavour will be given the once-over as well.) There’s no word on when the launch schedule will resume, but the current crew of the International Space Station does have a means of returning to Earth – a Soyuz capsule docked at the station – should the schedule suffer a large disruption.
Source: NASA

This month’s Star Trek books from Pocket continue the publisher’s new focus on reinventing the Kirk era. The first two books in the Janus Gate trilogy appeared last month, and the cycle closes this month with the third volume, “Past Prologue” by L.A. Graf. A new trilogy starts this month in Kevin Ryan’s T”he Edge Of The Sword”, and of course the next two books arrive in August. The latest take on Classic Trek fiction is now available from theLogBook.com’s Store.