Star Wars: Clone Wars: Chapter 1

Clone WarsBridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network premieres the first three-minute mini-episode of The Clone Wars, with character design and direction by animator Genndy Tartakovsky. Executed in a cel-animation style (rather than the full CGI of the later Clone Wars series), the shorts chronicle the battles between the Republic Clone Army and the Jedi vs. the Droid forces of the Separatists. Read more

2003 Robot Hall Of Fame inductees

R2-D2SojournerThe first four inductees – two real and two fictional – are inducted into the Robot Hall Of Fame created by Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science.

  1. Unimate (1961, General Motors) – the first robotic arm used in car assembly
  2. HAL-9000 (1968, from 2001: a space odyssey)
  3. R2-D2 (1977, from Star Wars)
  4. Sojourner (1996, NASA) – the first successful Mars rover

The panel of judges in future years will pare down the number of nominations awarded to fictional creations. R2-D2 actor Kenny Baker and Douglas Rains, the voice actor behind HAL, are in attendance.

Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

Doctor Who: The Scream Of The Shalka

Doctor WhoA new animated Doctor Who adventure, Scream Of The Shalka, premieres on BBCi, the BBC’s web site, starring Richard E. Grant as the ninth Doctor, Sophie Okonedo, and Sir Derek Jacobi. Written by popular Doctor Who novelist Paul Cornell, this story is heavily promoted well in advance with the announcement that Richard E. Grant is the official ninth incarnation of the Doctor; BBCi is unaware of the behind-the-scenes negotiations elsewhere in the BBC with Russell T. Davies. (The BBC’s unexpected announcement of Doctor Who’s imminent return as a live action series invalidates Shalka before its premiere.) Read more

Sedna

SednaAstronomers using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope announce the discovery a tiny planet, with a diameter of only 2,000 kilometers, orbiting the sun three billion kilometers past Pluto. That places it at an average ten billion kilometers away from Earth – with a solar year that lasts around 10,000 years. Sedna is also spotted from ground-based telescopes as well, using the initial observations made by the Spitzer Telescope; its diameter, only 300 kilometers less than that of Pluto, intensifies the “Pluto as a planet” debate that has been raging since the discovery of Quaoar.

Star Wars: Clone Wars: Chapter 10

Clone WarsBridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network premieres the tenth mini-episode of Genndy Tartakovsky’s The Clone Wars animated shorts. This concludes the 2003 run of The Clone Wars; the series resumes in spring 2004. Read more

Doctor Who: Zagreus

Doctor WhoBig Finish Productions releases the 50th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann. This story, which unites many past stars of TV Doctor Who in unusual roles, celebrates 40 years of Doctor Who. Read more

Doctor Who: The New Audio Adventures – The Inside Story

The New Audio Adventures - The Inside StoryBig Finish Productiions publishes the hardcover non-fiction book Doctor Who: The New Audio Adventures – The Inside Story by Benjamin Cook, a history of the series of licensed Doctor Who audio plays and audio spinoffs that the company has been producing since 1999; the book is timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who. Read more

Battlestar Galactica: Part One

Battlestar GalacticaSci-Fi channel airs the first part of the miniseries re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. A reboot rather than a sequel to the late ’70s series, this more hard-edged version of the story plays fast and loose with many of the character outlines and is influenced heavily by the post-9/11-attacks western mindset. Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell star, with the script written by Ronald D. Moore (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). Hotly anticipated due to over a year’s worth of speculation about the far-reaching changes to the show’s story outline, the miniseries is an instant hit. Read more

Battlestar Galactica: Part Two

Battlestar GalacticaSci-Fi channel airs the second part of the miniseries re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell star, with the script written by Ronald D. Moore (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). The miniseries wins instant critical acclaim for its writers and cast, and many critics hail the new Galactica as the best Sci-Fi Channel original series to date. However, it takes some time for a full series order to happen, and will eventually involve an infusion of money from British satellite channel Sky One to be approved at all; this results in the first season airing first in the UK, and not until 2005 in North America. Read more