After a changing of the musical guard leading into the show’s second season, Eureka‘s scoring duties fell to Battlestar Galactica maestro Bear McCreary. Now La-La Land Records, the label which has already released several of McCreary’s Galactica soundtracks, is unleashing his Eureka music on the public. Featuring the show’s original theme music (which remained unchanged from season one) and a couple of songs as featured in the second season, the Eureka soundtrack will not only keep Eureka fans happy, but will tide McCreary fans over until the final Galactica soundtrack. (If that’s not enough McCreary for you, be on the lookout for a soundtrack release from The Sarah Connor Chronicles later this year.) The Eureka soundtrack is now available from theLogBook.com Store.

Duchovny checks into rehab. Well, there was a prediction on The X-Files once that Mulder would die of autoerotic asphyxiation…art and life appear to be not so far apart for David Duchovny. In addition to played Special Agent Fox Mulder, Duchovny also played a sex-addicted character in the HBO series Californication, and now Duchovny has checked into rehab for the same condition. A spokesman for the actor has not released any further information; Duchovny is still married to actress Tea Leoni.

Phase II fan film to use Phase II Enterprise. The fan-made series Star Trek: Phase II, formerly known as New Voyages, really is boldly going into the realm of the never-produced 1970s series from which it has taken its new name. Following the events of the upcoming two-part episode Blood And Fire, written by David Gerrold, the original Enterprise is damaged so heavily that Starfleet orders it back to spacedock for repairs and refits, testing some new tech along the way. The result is an “intermediate” design for the Enterprise that’s somewhere between the original series and the Star Trek: The Motion Picture Enterprise – a design originally drawn up by the late Matt Jeffries during pre-production for the planned but ultimately aborted revival of Star Trek in the ’70s (and seen on the cover of Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens’ definitive book about the series that wasn’t). Created by Darren Dochtermann, who also handled some CGI duties for the DVD remaster of The Motion Picture, this will be the first time that Jeffries’ updated Enterprise has been seen anywhere other than blueprints and production paintings. The “new” Enterprise makes her debut in the episode Enemy: Starfleet, which is currently shooting.

Star Trek: The Experience to warp out on Labor Day. After 11 years of taking paying thrill-seekers as close to the final frontier as they’re likely to get this side of a film set, Star Trek: The Experience is closing its doors for good at the Las Vegas Hilton. With the franchise – or at least the ’80s/’90s slice of the franchise upon which The Experience is heavily based – generally seen as being in decline, the attraction is being removed completely rather than retooled to fit the upcoming J.J. Abrams Star Trek film. There has been no word as yet if the rides, exhibits or other elements of The Experience might appear elsewhere in the country. The attraction will close its doors after an elaborate “decommissioning ceremony” featuring Suzie Plakson.

Joel Goldsmith’s full orchestral & choral score from the direct-to-DVD Stargate SG-1 movie Stargate Continuum is now available as a limited edition through the composer’s private label. Boasting 24 tracks – basically the entire score from the movie – the Continuum soundtrack also has a 24-page color booklet with behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the movie, essays from the writers and producers (and Goldsmith himself), and plenty of photos you may not have seen before. (We’ve actually gotten a look at the booklet, and given the CD a spin, and it’s good stuff – watch our Music Reviews area in the weeks ahead.) Copies of the Ark Of Truth soundtrack are also available, as well as a special package deal featuring both CDs.

Filming has begun in Cardiff on the third season of Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood, which is scheduled to air in spring 2009. The third season will be one serialized five-part story, titled Children Of Earth, and will air in the span of a single week. Writers of the five episodes include James Moran, John Fay and series creator Russell T. Davies, with veteran Doctor Who director Euros Lyn directing all five hours. Guest stars will include Peter Capaldi, Paul Copely and Liz May Brice, with recurring guest stars Kai Owen and Tom Price reprising their respective roles of Rhys and PC Andy. Having premiered on BBC Three in 2006, Torchwood was promoted to BBC Two’s schedule for its second season, and it gets bumped up again in 2009, joining the BBC One schedule.
Source: BBC

Not too long ago in theLogBook.com’s Music Reviews we were singing the praises of the band TV Eyes, a group including former Jellyfish members who are working to bring back the various musical styles of the 1980s. It seems like we’re not the only ones demanding more: the band’s Japanese label has released a new EP consisting of 50% unreleased tracks, and 50% true ’80s-style extended remixes of songs that appeared on the group’s self-titled first album. The EP, titled Softcore, comes at a premium like any other import, but it’ll do until a second album of new material is in the pipeline. You can order Softcore and TV Eyes’ debut album in theLogBook.com Store.

After nearly a decade of rumors, promises and on-and-off announcements and speculations, there’s finally movement aboard Red Dwarf. The much-loved BBC science fiction sitcom will be revived as a one-hour one-off special to be filmed this October, featuring the original cast. Robert Llewellyn made the announcement to a somewhat small crowd gathered for a pledge drive event for Seattle’s PBS affiliate. Further details are still forthcoming from Grant Naylor Productions and the BBC (which has a hand in the production).

On the off chance that you’ve been under a rock, or on Dagobah (which may or may not amount to the same thing), a new animated era of Star Wars has kicked off, and with it, new music that marks a departure from John Williams’ much-loved library of music for the six live-action films. Although it occasionally refers to Williams’ themes, and generally sticks somewhat close to his orchestral style, Kevin Kiner’s music from the animated movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars modernizes things just a bit. You can order it now in theLogBook.com’s Store (either in CD or download form), and be on the lookout for a review very soon in theLogBook.com’s Music Review section.

Red Dwarf fans are on the edge of their seats awaiting information that has been vaguely hinted at by the show’s official site, information to be divulged by star Robert “Kryten” Llewellyn at a pledge drive appearance for Seattle PBS station KCET on Sunday. In a promo spot for KCET, Llewellyn talks about “the prospects of more Red Dwarf to come,” and reddwarf.co.uk has hinted that there is indeed a significant new announcement to come (but then again, they’ve done that for relative letdowns such as animated mobisodes and audiobook releases too). Red Dwarf has been in limbo since its final episode aired in 1999, after which the show’s producers sought to translate the SF comedy series’ success into a movie deal which has, despite numerous rumors of close calls, never materialized. As soon as we know what’s up with the Boys from the Dwarf, you’ll know too – watch this space.

After the end of its fifth season, Stargate Atlantis will cease to be an ongoing series on Sci-Fi Channel. However, in the same announcement, Sci-Fi revealed that plans are well underway for a two-hour movie continuing the Atlantis story, to air on Sci-Fi and to be prepared for DVD release as well; Sci-Fi has also signed a deal with MGM to air both of the SG-1 movies, Ark Of Truth and Continuum, both of which are already available.

If that’s not already more news than Stargate fans know how to handle, there’s the announcement that – despite Atlantis’ cancellation – another Stargate spinoff will be replacing it on Sci-Fi’s schedule. The network and MGM have fired the starting gun on production of Stargate Universe, which is said to be much more space and hardware oriented than SG-1 or Atlantis; it will air on Sci-Fi while MGM continues to produce direct-to-DVD movie adventures featuring the SG-1 and Atlantis casts for direct-to-DVD sales and eventual broadcast on Sci-Fi. No casting announcements have been made yet, or a premiere date set, for Stargate Universe.
Source: Sci-Fi Channel

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe is closing in on its first target in its flight toward a rendezvous with Comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014, but ground controllers are taking the opportunity to use a relatively close encounter with asteroid 2867 Steins for practice en route. Rosetta is optically tracking the asteroid with its cameras, having picked up on it last week from over 20,000,000 kilometers; by this time in September, Rosetta will be under a million kilometers away. The probe’s observations will refine ground controllers’ knowledge of the asteroid’s orbit and, it is hoped, will allow Rosetta to fly within 1,000km of Stein on September 5th. Rosetta still has other maneuvers to make as well, including another gravity-assist swing past Earth in 2009.
Source and image courtesy: ESA

Writer Steven Moffat, who takes over as the showrunner of the BBC’s revival of Doctor Who next year, was awarded his third consecutive Hugo Award for a Doctor Who episode this weekend. Moffat’s acclaimed episode Blink – which barely, in fact, features the Doctor or his companion Martha at all – beat out competition from other episodes of Doctor Who and its spinoffs, including the two-part story Human Nature / The Family Of Blood and the Torchwood episode Captain Jack Harkness. Also in the running was the Battlestar Galactica telemovie Razor and the fan-made Star Trek: New Voyages episode World Enough And Time, which guest starred George Takei. Blink won the Hugo for Best Short Form Dramatic Presentation, while the big-screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust won Best Long Form Dramatic Presentation, beating out such competition as Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix and the first season of Heroes, which was submitted as a long-form entry (a first for a TV series). Congratulations to the winners!
Sources: HugoAwards.org

Director Jud Taylor, who will be best known to genre fans for helming several third season episodes of the original Star Trek, died yesterday. In addition to his directing duties, he served as vice president of the Directors’ Guild of America from 1977 to 1981, and then served a term as the body’s president until 1983; the years he spent advocating the cause of film and television directors are considered among the most influential in the DGA’s history, during which he helped open doors for both female and minority directors, and had a tremendous effect on directors’ creative rights, pensions, and pay. Prior to his earliest engagements as a director, he had tried out acting, appearing in several episodes of TV series such as The Fugitive and 12 O’Clock High. He then moved on to directing episodes of The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., Love, American Style, and of course Star Trek, where he directed the episodes The Paradise Syndrome, Wink Of An Eye, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, The Mark Of Gideon and The Cloudminders. He was active behind the camera as recently as this decade, during which he directed several episodes of Law & Order: SVU. Mr. Taylor was 76.
Sources: Daily Variety, IMDb

NASA’s Phoenix lander has sampled the soil of Mars, and it has found not only water, but an unusual soil composition which would make living off the land unlikely for human travelers. The soil sample in question contains perchlorate, a chemical used on Earth to make solid rocket fuel. So while a hypothetical Mars colony couldn’t use the planet’s own soil for farming, it could certainly launch a rocket or two. But missions scientists are quick to point out that while the presence of perchlorate in the Martian dirt may be unfriendly to humans, there may still have been life on the planet at some point which adapted to that chemical; it may also be a localized phenomenon unique to Phoenix’s polar landing site. (There are some plants on Earth capable of processing perchlorate-infused soil, but they’re generally not regarded as viable crops.) The Phoenix probe’s mission has been extended to the end of September so it can continue its studies, and could be extended again at the end of that period, though the harsh Martian winter is likely to deny the non-roving Phoenix the kind of longevity enjoyed by its more mobile siblings, Spirit and Opportunity.
Sources: NASA / JPL, Associated Press

We’re back from our temporary news page sabbatical. Needless to say, our migration effort didn’t go off as planned, and we’re back at our previous hosting service (with the same previous problems). Sadly, economic reality being what it is, it’ll probably be September before we can try moving the site again. In the meantime, sincere apologies for the ongoing downtime issues, infernal server errors (wait, I think that’s supposed to be “internal”) and so forth.

Economic reality – to say nothing of the time needed to listen and review material – has also dictated that music reviews will be dropping back to every other week beginning in September. We’ve enjoyed quite a stretch of weekly music reviews, especially thanks to the labels (particularly the indie labels and self-published artists) who send us stuff, but a bit of belt-tightening with the site’s budget is required at this point.

theLogBook.com is currently in “cruise mode” which means that you’re seeing content prepared well in advance; last year the “cruise mode” was our much-loved month of Godzilla, but this year we have the much looser theme of ’70s sci-fi. (Don’t worry, we’ll have some more Godzilla coming up this summer too.) Also on tap later this month is the beginning of our episode guide to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, covering both the theatrical movie that will launch the new animated series this month, and the series episodes themselves.

Work is also continuing on Phosphor Dot Fossils, which now has all 200+ arcade game reviews in its database, and the conversion of the even larger selection of Atari 2600 reviews is more than halfway complete now. Next only to episode guides and music reviews, PDF has been the largest part of the site to move into the new format, but the new search and sorting facilities make it worth that work. While PDF remains part of theLogBook, it also has its own domain name, PhosphorDotFossils.com, for those wishing to jump straight to that part of the site; the Phosphor Dot Fossils DVD has entered its third print run and is still available.

That’s the state of the union address for now. I’ll be trying to update the news page more frequently (or at least less infrequently) as time permits.

Earl Green
theLogBook.com webmaster / editor-in-chief

Soundtrack music lovers have a lot to look forward to this summer, to put it mildly. First and foremost is the first new Star Wars soundtrack since 2005, featuring Kevin Kiner’s original music (and adaptations of John Williams’ previous movie scores) from the animated movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars, due out next week. Also out next week is Joel Goldsmith’s full orchestral/choral score from the direct-to-DVD movie Stargate Continuum (currently available from Goldsmith’s own label), while September will see the release of the soundtrack from Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood, featuring music by Ben Foster and Murray Gold. All three can be pre-ordered now!