Barrie Ingham, actor, dies

Barrie Ingham with Dorn, Stewart, RoddenberryActor Barrie Ingham, one of the few actors to have played speaking parts in both the Doctor Who and Star Trek franchises, dies at the age of 82. Having appeared alongside William Hartnell in the 1965 Doctor Who story The Myth Makers, Mr. Ingham went on to play a more visible role as Alydon with Peter Cushing in the movie Dr. Who And The Daleks. He also appeared in the 1989 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Up The Long Ladder as the leader of a throwback space colony.

Dawn: first in a Ceres

CeresThe unmanned NASA spacecraft Dawn transmits a series of pictures of Ceres, the minor planet which is the largest known object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, back to Earth, representing the best view yet of an object which had been seen as little more than a point of light since its discovery in 1801. From a distance of only 147,000 miles, Dawn is able to see more detail on Ceres than the best Hubble Space Telescope images of the same body. Dawn will arrive at Ceres and use its ion propulsion system to enter its orbit in March 2015.

Star Wars: Rebels: Vision Of Hope

Star Wars: RebelsCable channel Disney XD premieres the 11th episode of the series Star Wars: Rebels, a CGI animated storyline falling between the original and prequel trilogies of the Star Wars saga. Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation) guest stars. Read more

Winter Dragon

The Winter DragonCable network FXX airs Winter Dragon, a half-hour, low-budget proof-of-concept pilot for a potential TV series based on the late Robert Jordan’s Locus-nominated, best-selling Wheel Of Time books. Red Eagle Productions, which has held the option to adapt the Wheel Of Time novels to film or TV since 2004, rushed the pilot presentation into production and onto the air in order to beat a February 11th deadline, at which time the rights would – if nothing had been produced – revert to Jordan’s estate; Red Eagle bought paid programming time (normally reserved for infomercials) to ensure the pilot aired in time. (Jordan’s series is considered hot property in the wake of the success of HBO’s TV adaptation of another series of fantasy novels, A Game Of Thrones.) Jordan’s widow, Harriet McDougal, expresses surprise and disappointment in the pilot, drawing a lawsuit from Red Eagle Productions, which claims she was fully aware of the production and its distribution method. The lawsuit is later withdrawn, and in any case, the broadcast of Winter Dragon does indeed win Red Eagle an extension on the rights to adapt Wheel Of Time, rights which Red Eagle later brokers to Sony Pictures and then to Amazon. Though all parties prefer to leave Winter Dragon buried in its one-off, 1:30 A.M. time slot, a series proper will be announced in 2018, and will premiere in 2021, with Red Eagle Productions listed in the show’s credits.

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The Flash: The Nuclear Man

The FlashThe 13th episode of The Flash, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ superhero starring Grant Gustin, airs on the CW. Victor Garber (Alias, Legends Of Tomorrow), Clancy Brown (Highlander, Earth 2), and Chase Masterson (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest star.

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Ladyhawke (expanded soundtrack)

Ladyhawke soundtrackLa-La Land Record releases a remastered, expanded 2-CD edition of the soundtrack from Richard Donner’s 1984 film Ladyhawke, scored by Alan Parsons Project orchestral arranger Andrew Powell, and featuring most of Powell’s Project bandmates, including production by Parsons himself. Clocking in at over two hours, this edition of the soundtrack features more of the orchestral and choral pieces from the score than the prior CD release. Read more

The Flash: Fallout

The FlashThe 14th episode of The Flash, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ superhero starring Grant Gustin, airs on the CW. Victor Garber (Alias, Legends Of Tomorrow), Clancy Brown (Highlander, Earth 2), and Robbie Amell (The Tomorrow People) guest star.

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Arrow: Nanda Parbat

ArrowThe 61st episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Katrina Law (Spartacus), and Marc Singer (V) guest star.

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Leonard Nimoy, actor and director, dies

Leonard NimoyActor Leonard Nimoy, known for nearly half a century as the face and voice of Star Trek‘s Mr. Spock, dies at the age of 83, several days after news reports that he has been rushed to a hospital with severe chest pains. A busy actor and director on stage and screen for most of his career, Nimoy became forever associated with Star Trek, and in turn became the “face” of the unlikely hit show (despite the fact that he wasn’t the show’s nominal star). Nimoy was the only cast member to carry over from the 1964 pilot, The Cage, into the rest of Star Trek in the same role. He directed several movies, including the hit comedy Three Men And A Baby, Star Trek III and Star Trek IV, but turned down an invitation to direct Star Trek: Generations in 1994. At one point, he was attached as director to a 1990s TV movie revival of Doctor Who, though he had to pass on that project as well. Mr. Nimoy had revealed, months before his death, that he was suffering from COPD.

Star Wars: Rebels: Fire Across The Galaxy

Star Wars: RebelsCable channel Disney XD premieres the 14th episode of the series Star Wars: Rebels, a CGI animated storyline falling between the original and prequel trilogies of the Star Wars saga. This episode closes the first season, and increases the story connections between Rebels and the previous Clone Wars animated series. Read more

Dawn arrives at Ceres

CeresThe unmanned NASA/JPL space probe Dawn arrives at its second and final destination, the dwarf planet Ceres, a body which dominates the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Beginning to bring itself into a closer mapping orbit around Ceres, Dawn has already spotted unusually bright surface features, drawing early speculation from scientists that the highly reflective points on Ceres may be indicative of ice formations or cryovolcanism. Though its main engine is powered by charged ions, Dawn is scheduled to remain at Ceres for as long as its chemical propellant supply holds, powering smaller traditional rockets needed for attitude control.