The creator of Star Wars has announced that a live-action Star Wars TV series is indeed in the works, set between the prequel and original trilogies. Lucas says that the entire season will be written before production begins, a model that he used during the run of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Lucas hinted that TV series fill feature “some characters who have appeared before,” but didn’t give any further details; show runners have yet to be hired, casting hasn’t been carried out, and the earliest phases of production won’t start until 2006 at the earliest. Of his own role in the Star Wars TV project, Lucas says, “I’m going to get it started, and hire the show runners and all of that, then I’ll probably step away.” A computer-animated series set during the Clone Wars is also in development, with episodes expected to be half an hour in length. No one from Lucasfilm has yet revealed precisely how this new series will conflict with the already-contradictory books, comics, and more traditional animated series. The announcement was made at the Star Wars Celebration III convention.
Source: StarWars.com

The fan organization TrekUnited.com has announced an end to its efforts to raise money from within fandom to convince Paramount to mount a fifth season of Star Trek: Enterprise. The decision was made public after a week of news reports that caused some fans and observers alike to question TrekUnited’s motives – including a statement from Paramount itself which reveals that it had turned down TrekUnited’s offer to fund a fifth season as early as mid-March. Paramount’s letter to TrekUnited in March stated, “We cannot and will not be able to accept funds from viewers to produce Star Trek: Enterprise or any other series,” though TrekUnited steadfastly insisted that, as an incorporated entity, it would be sponsoring production as a corporation, not a group of viewers. Paramount also refuted, however, TrekUnited’s claims that the organization had been holding discussions with Paramount about a fifth season; TrekUnited claimed during the week that it had enlisted a Canadaian producer named Al Vinci to negotiate with Paramount the possibility of moving production to Canada and getting British satellite channel Sky One involved (Sky One helped to bankroll the production of the first season of Sci-Fi Channel’s new Battlestar Galactica). Several news sites, however, said they couldn’t find any background information on Al Vinci, and later revealed that Al Vinci’s only contact with Paramount had been when he was able to get a single phone call through directly to Paramount Television’s president, David Stapf. TrekUnited.com founder Tim Brazeal issued a statement on Sunday evening, saying “The main problem here seems to be us accepting fan money. This will no longer be an issue. Starting Monday or Tuesday, Andrew our attorney and I will start the forms and refunding all money that our members have contributed to this campaign per the [terms of service].” Summing up the group’s attempt to keep Star Trek on the air, he later says, “Our final proposal was knocked down by Paramount. We will not see a season five for Star Trek Enterprise.” Brazeal promises to keep up the fight for Enterprise, but not with fan donations.
Sources: TrekUnited.com, Sci-Fi Wire, StarTrek.com, SyFy Portal

The latest Star Trek novels look back and forward this month; the first book in the Errand Of Fury trilogy, Seeds Of Rage, chronicles more of the Federation-Klingon conflict of Captain Kirk’s era, while Taking Wing, the first novel in Star Trek: Titan’s post-Star Trek: Nemesis era, introduces us to Captain Riker’s new command and his crew, and proceeds to plunge them into a series of adventures that, according to Pocket Books editor Marco Palmieri, is “back to basics” Trek storytelling. (The book’s place on the New York Times bestseller list and widespread fan praise indicates that while Trek may be going into televised hibernation, it seems to be alive and well in print.) Both Star Trek books are now available from theLogBook.com Store.

You have no idea. Colin Baker and Bonnie Langford are back as the sixth Doctor and Melanie in the latest Doctor Who audio adventure, Catch-1782. But Baker isn’t the only Doctor who can be heard courtesy of Big Finish Productions this month – also available is the last of the four audio adventures based on UNIT, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce aided by the Doctor mainly in his third incarnation, starring David Tennant, who was announced just last week as the tenth Doctor. Tennant reprises his brilliant role as Colonel Brimmicombe-Wood, with Nicholas Courtney returning as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Both are now available from theLogBook.com’s Doctor Who Store.

The Doctor’s adventures continue elsewhere too, as the BBC Radio Collection continues its own trip back through time to unearth “lost” episodes of the original series that no longer exist completely in video form. The latest release, The Crusade, drops the first Doctor (William Hartnell) and his companions in the middle of a holy war in what is widely regarded as one of the finest “historical” shows in the early days of Doctor Who, starring none other than Julian Glover. Two episodes have been recovered on video (and are available as part of the DVD box set Lost In Time). The Crusade is narrated by, and includes a bonus interview with, William “Ian Chesterson” Russell, and is now available for pre-order from theLogBook.com’s Doctor Who Store.

Comparing it to The Pirates Of Silicon Valley, TNT’s well-received dramatization of the Bill Gates-Steve Jobs rivalry, A&E has announced that it is producing a TV movie dramatizing the long friendship between filmmakers George Lucas (Star Wars, Howard The Duck) and Steven Spielberg (E.T., The Color Purple). Jody Brockway is slated to produce, having worked on similar projects in the past; the working title of the movie is Celluloid Titans.
Sources: Daily Variety, StudioBriefing

On Friday night, the BBC confirmed weeks of widespread rumors that actor David Tennant will be replacing the departing Christopher Eccleston as the new Doctor Who. Eccleston, who bowed out after completing work on the first season’s demanding filming schedule, may or may not appear in the yet-to-be-filmed Christmas special, depending on how one reads the BBC’s statement (series producer Russell T. Davies is quoted as saying, “I’m delighted that new, young viewers can now have the complete Doctor Who experience, as they witness their hero change his face!”). Whether or not Eccleston’s Doctor regenerates onscreen, Tennant will make his first appearance in the Christmas special; Billie Piper will continue in the role of Rose Tyler for the entire second season. Tennant has stated in past interviews that he’s a fan of the show himself, and in the BBC’s press release he says, “I grew up loving Doctor Who and it has been a lifelong dream to get my very own TARDIS.” Filming will take place in Cardiff again this summer.
Source: BBC

Warner Brothers has given Babylon 5 licensee Mongoose Publishing – the makers of the B5 role playing game and supplements – the thumbs-up to publish a new series of original novels and graphic novels set in the B5 universe. Mongoose says the new stories will “delve into never-explored areas” of the storyline, with the first titles appearing in the fourth quarter of this year. No information on authors or artists, or any involvement from B5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, has been officially announced, though British comics writer Tony Lee (a veteran of X-Men Unlimited and Mongoose’s own Starship Troopers comics) has announced that he’ll be writing the first story, and the it will be drawn by Sam Hart, who has also worked on the Starship Troopers comic. Since Warner Brothers owns Babylon 5, it technically doesn’t need Straczynski on board to launch any new projects, though Tony Lee says the he has attempted to contact JMS.
Sources: Mongoose Publishing, TonyLee.co.uk

Big Finish Productions announced this week that their license to produce original Doctor Who audio dramas and short story anthologies in print has been extended through the latter half of 2008. In a statement, Big Finish producer Gary Russell reveals that the audio productions will continue to focus on the fifth through eighth incarnations of the Time Lord, with no mention of trying to entice departing ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston to join the fold; according to Big Finish producer John Ainsworth, the BBC is licensing all characters and situations from the new series as a separate entity from the original series, which even precludes the possibility of “prequel” stories leading up to the ninth Doctor’s reign. For the same reasons, even without the restrictions of having to hire the actors in question, Big Finish’s short story compilations will focus exclusively on the first eight Doctors as well.
Source: Big Finish Productions, Outpost Gallifrey

The inventor of the Magnavox Odyssey (and savior of the nearly-cancelled Odyssey2), the world’s first home video game system, finally gets a chance to have his say. Ralph Baer has put a combination of his autobiography and his technical journals down in writing in “Videogames: In The Beginning”, illustrated with copious photos, rare video stills, patent and design documents, and much, much more. theLogBook.com’s webmaster has gotten a chance to look at a pre-release edition of the book, and it’s worth every penny – and reveals tons of previously unknown history from the early days of interactive gaming. You can pre-order “Videogames: In The Beginning” now from theLogBook.com.

“Videogames: In The Beginning” by Ralph H. Baer:

Just days after The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy appears in movie theaters, the voyage ends for the original cast of the classic BBC radio series that started it all. May 3rd will see the premiere of the “Quandary Phase” – a four-episode adaptation of Douglas Adams’ novel “So Long And Thanks For All The Fish”, which will be followed immediately by the “Quintessential Phase” adapting “Mostly Harmless” into four episodes; both of these “phases” are already scheduled for CD release with extra material, and can be found in theLogBook.com’s Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy Store. The final eight episodes will feature an all-star lineup of Hitchhiker’s Guide veterans, from the surviving original radio cast to Sandra Dickinson and David Dixon – Trillian and Ford, respectively, from the BBC’s 1981 TV adaptation of the Hitchhiker’s Guide, and Rula Lenska from the original radio series. Also, the Tertiary Phase – already covered in our TheatEar guide to the series – has been nominated for a coveted Sony Radio Academy Award, honoring excellence within the field of U.K. radio.
Source: BBC

Who is Silverman? To find that out, we’ll probably have to grab Ben Folds‘ first full-length studio album since 2001′s Rockin’ The Suburbs. Folds has released a steady stream of short EPs since then, and it looks like at least one of those songs has made the cut on the new album. You can pre-order Ben Folds’ Songs For Silverman in time for its release next week from theLogBook.com.

Ben Folds: Songs For Silverman –

Talk about TARDIS turnaround time: before the first season of the new Doctor Who finishes airing in Britain, the first few episodes will already be available on DVD. The BBC is fast-tracking the show’s first three episodes – Rose, The End Of The World and The Unquiet Dead – for a “vanilla” DVD release (i.e. few, if any, bonus features) next month. Other volumes are slated to follow through the summer, but also already announced is a full-season box set, scheduled for November, with tons of behind-the-scenes material, trailers and promos, commentaries, and more, all packaged in a box resembling the TARDIS itself. But if you can’t wait – and hey, even we have to admit to being seriously tempted here – the first three episodes of the new Doctor Who are now available from theLogBook.com, and you can find this release and all of the other DVD releases to date in theLogBook.com’s Doctor Who Store.

Heads up, Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans – if the recent “Cheap Seats” appearance on ESPN whetted your appetite for a bit of the ol’ movie sign, you’re in luck – your next fix is on the way. The Mystery Science Theater Collection: Volume 7 packs some vintage MST3K goodness (which may or may not be the same as cinematic badness) and a favorite from the show’s latter-day run on the Sci-Fi Channel. Joel and friends riff the strongest man alive to death in Hercules Unchained and Hercules Against The Moonmen, and offer some carpet-grooming tips to The Killer Shrews, all from the fourth season, while Mike & co. are the loyal subjects of Prince Of Space, from season eight. You can pre-order this seventh MST3K DVD box set now from theLogBook.com.

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 7 –

Next month also sees the launch of Star Trek: Enterprise on DVD, and pre-orders are already being taken on the sets. The series will be released through the summer and fall, with the excellent fourth season arriving in November 2005. You can pre-order the Enterprise DVDs now from theLogBook.com, or visit theLogBook.com’s Enterprise Store for the DVDs and everything else Enterprise.

Atari has released a package of its classic arcade hits, Retro Atari Classics, for the Nintendo DS handheld. The games make use of the DS’ touch-screen capability as well as both of its screens, and are available in both their original forms and in “remixed” versions given a makeover by “today’s top New York City graffiti artists.” The games included on Retro Atari Classics are Pong, Missile Command, Asteroids, Sprint, Space Duel, Tempest, Warlords, Breakout, Centipede and Gravitar. They can also be played multiplayer, with up to four players possible via the DS’ wireless connection – bring on the Warlords wackiness! Retro Atari Classics is now available from theLogBook.com.

Retro Atari Classics for Nintendo DS –