Universal Home Video has announced a September 19th release date for Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5, the second half of the latest season of Sci-Fi Channel’s hit “re-imagining” of the series; in addition to commentaries, deleted scenes and other features, this set also includes the extended-length version of the cliffhanger episode Pegasus, which was originally intended for the Season 2.0 set but delayed until now. And maybe, just maybe, all of that Galactica goodness will tide you over until the third season begins in October. You can pre-order Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5 now in theLogBook.com Store.

SF publisher Jim Baen, the founder and chief editor of Baen Books, has died after a hospital stay which followed a stroke he suffered on June 12th. He entered the publishing business by working in Ace Books’ complaints department, and later became the editor of both Galaxy and If magazine in 1974, where he published works by John Varley, Jerry Pournelle and others, and received several Hugo nominations. He later started Tor Books’ science fiction imprint, and then in 1983 struck out on his own to form Baen Books. In addition to publishing novels and short story compilations by authors like David Drake, Eric Flint, Mercedes Lackey, Lois McMaster Bujold, Larry Niven and David Weber, he also pushed the envelope of electronic publishing by releasing many of these works in unencrypted e-book form, and even offering electronic editions of upcoming novels to members of a subscription service. In addition to holding court with his authors and readers alike at the Baen’s Bar message board, he was also trying to resurrect the medium of the science fiction short story magazine at the time of his death. Mr. Baen was 63.
Source: Baen Books

Richard E. Grant (seen here in his animated form from 2003′s one-off Doctor Who internet drama Scream Of The Shalka) is out to raise the score – or at least to raise music fans’ awareness of film scores. A soundtrack afficionado himself, Grant has signed a deal to host a radio series, Richard E. Grant’s Great Movie Composers, on the UK’s Classic FM station. A slightly cryptic announcement claims that in his show, Grant will portray the composers whose work he is highlighting. The series begins on July 23rd.
Source: Film Music Magazine

Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski is going Hollywood – possibly in a big way. Daily Variety reports that he has sold a script for a thriller called The Changeling to Imagine Entertainment (headed by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard); it’s said to be on a short list of projects Howard is considering for his next directing duties. Supposedly based on a true story, The Changeling concerns a mother whose son has been kidnapped and later appears to return, only to arouse her suspicions that she hasn’t really gotten her son back. Straczynski himself, in a Usenet post, says that The Changeling is the “biggest deal” of his career, and “stands to be a huge movie.”
Source: B5tv.com

In May, the Hubble Space Telescope’s eye was trained toward the tiny planet Pluto, and now scientists say that long-exposure images taken during that observation session have confirmed two additional moons of Pluto. The satellites, previously observed from telescopes on the ground, already have names ratified by the International Astronomical Union – Nix and Hydra. Plans are already being made for the unmanned New Horizons probe, which will reach Pluto’s system in 2015, to take a closer look at the two moons, as well as Pluto and its existing satellite, Charon.
Source: NASA

Star Trek star William Shatner is going from the captain’s chair to the hot seat, with his doubtless comedic talents (and occasionally dubious dramatic instincts) as the subject of Comedy Central’s all-star Roast Of William Shatner. The network hasn’t yet announced who else will be on hand aside from the man himself. The special airs on Sunday, August 20th at 10pm eastern.
Source: The Futon Critic

Scientists and engineers are puzzling over the unexpected closing of the Hubble Space Telescope’s main eye last Monday. The problem may be as simple as faulty memory, which is an issue that can be fixed by ground controllers. Sensors are reporting that an excess of electrical voltage has left the Advanced Camera for Surveys in a safe shutdown mode. The ACS was installed during a 2002 service mission flown by a shuttle crew (the above picture was taken during that mission); post-Columbia flight rules for the shuttle fleet currently don’t allow for another shuttle visit to repair or retrieve the 16 year old satellite. The other Hubble instruments are still functioning normally.
Source: Associated Press

Or is it in the Doctor’s mind? In the eighth Doctor’s latest TARDIS travels, he finds himself stuck inside “the Cube” – a place from which escape is not only forbidden, but even the thought of escape brings harsh punishment. Paul McGann stars with India Fisher as Charley and Conrad Westmaas as C’rizz in Something Inside by Trevor Baxendale, Big Finish’s newest Doctor Who audio adventure. And of course, you can find it in theLogBook.com Store.

Hit-making television producer Aaron Spelling, whose string of TV hits helped to fuel ABC’s ratings in the 70s and 80s, died Friday of complications from a stroke he suffered on June 18th. Known most recently as executive producer of Charmed and 7th Heaven for the WB, he won fans (and relentless critics) for virtually inventing the genre of the prime-time soap, with such shows as Dynasty, Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210 and others. His work had genre connections aplenty, such as the aforementioned Charmed, T.J. Hooker (starring Star Trek’s William Shatner), and the original Fantasy Island. Despite his track record of hits, he also gave the television landscape plenty of one-season wonders as well, from Chopper One and Firehouse in the early 70s, through recent misfires such as Clubhouse and Deep Cover. Mr. Spelling was 83.
Sources: Associated Press, IMDb

Just when you thought you’d seen all the Ed Wood goodness there was, Legend Films is revamping Plan 9 From Outer Space yet again. Next week, Plan 9 is being released for the first time in color – quite a good trick since the original was shot in black & white! The new edition will also feature the remastered B&W original, with commentary by MST3K’s Mike Nelson, and as an added bonus to the color version, an on-screen subtitle of facts and trivia about the movie and Wood’s career by theLogBook.com’s own Ed Wood expert, Philip R. Frey (who has also brought you our very detailed guides to the KTMA season of MST3K and Blackadder). You can pre-order the new color edition of Plan 9 now from theLogBook.com Store – just think of it as one of those future events that may entertain you in the future.

Tim Russ is donning Tuvok’s Vulcan ears again, to direct and co-star in a fan-written Star Trek web miniseries. Filming begins in July on Star Trek: Of Gods And Men, co-written by DS9/New Voyages scribes Jack Trevino and Ethan H. Calk and PlanetXpo organizer Sky Douglas Conway. (Conway also produced Russ’ previous indie film, Roddenberry On Patrol.) Set after the apparent death of Captain Kirk aboard the Enterprise 1701-B in Star Trek: Generations, the production will star Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols as Chekov and Uhura, Alan Ruck as the Enterprise-B’s hapless Captain Harriman, and of course Russ as a younger Tuvok. Also starring – though most likely not in their original Trek roles – will be Grace Lee Whitney, Garrett Wang, Chase Masterson, frequent Enterprise guest star Gary Graham, and Crystal Allen, who appeared as one of the Orion slave girls encountered in the Enterprise episode Bound. (One local newspaper also pegs original series guest stars Gary Lockwood and Robert Walker Jr. as guest stars, but the same article seems to get quite a few facts wrong when compared to the official announcements, so it’s worth taking that news with a grain of salt.) The cast and crew are venturing to the Star Trek: New Voyages set in New York for part of the filming, though the producers of New Voyages emphasize that Of Gods And Men is a completely separate project. You can find the official web site for the project here.
Sources: Star Trek: New Voyages, Press Republican

BBC Video has announced that the incomplete Doctor Who 8-parter The Invasion, featuring Patrick Troughton, Nicholas Courtney (in his second appearance as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) and the Cybermen, will be released on DVD this fall. But two of The Invasion‘s eight episodes are AWOL; in an early 90s VHS release, the two episodes were replaced by Courtney, narrating the action out of character to fill in the gaps. On this occasion, however, the BBC is teaming up with animation studio Cosgrove Hall (who also animated the 2003 web adventure Scream Of The Shalka) to recreate the entire missing episodes as animated segments. The success (or lack thereof) of The Invasion in this format may pave the way for other releases with animated missing episodes.
Source: BBC

SF publisher and editor Jim Baen is reportedly in intensive care after suffering a serious stroke, according to a note on the Baen’s Bar discussion board posted by author Julie Cochrane. Little else is known about his current condition, but his publishing company is said to be operating under “very detailed emergency plans” that he left for his staff. Distributed by Simon & Schuster, Baen Books focus entirely on science fiction and fantasy novels, and the publisher was working on breathing new life into the SF anthology magazine this summer; Baen’s stable of authors includes David Drake, Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon, Eric Flint, Timothy Zahn, David Weber, and Fred Saberhagen. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Source: Sci-Fi Wire

But is it the Time War that finished off the Doctor’s people, the Time Lords? The opening volleys of civil war break out in the latest Gallifrey audio drama, Warfare, just released by Big Finish Productions. Starring Lalla Ward as Romana (and former Romana Mary Tamm as the villainous Pandora), with Louise Jameson as Leela, John Leeson as K-9, and Lynda Bellingham reprising her role of The Trial Of A Time Lord‘s Inquisitor, Warfare can be ordered now in theLogBook.com Store.

NASA has announced a July 1st launch date for the next flight of space shuttle Discovery. The crew of the first shuttle flight in 11 months is scheduled to test new inspection and repair methods in orbit, as well as transferring supplies to the International Space Station. Additional refinements have been made to the problem-plagued external fuel tank to prevent its outer foam from falling off in chunks large enough to damage the shuttle’s heat shield, and though extensive ground testing has been carried out, NASA admits that the only conditions that will really test the changes to the tank will be an actual launch. The countdown clock begins running on June 28th.
Source: Associated Press

Simon Quernhorst has announced the completion of his long-awaited Atari 2600 homebrew game A-VCS-tec Challenge, an Atari edition of the Commodore 64 favorite Aztec Challenge. The first 55 copies will be boxed, and will include a soundtrack CD as well as a new PC CD-ROM game, Azteca, by original Aztec Challenge programmer Paul Norman (who has given his blessing to A-VCS-tec Challenge). Orders for the 55 limited edition copies will begin on July 1st at this site; afterward, unboxed cartridges minus the extras will be available from Packrat Video Games and AtariAge.com.

The CBC has announced the premiere date for the second season of Doctor Who in Canada; the TARDIS returns to the Canadian airwaves on October 9th.