Universes, Franchises & Characters – Page 133

Star Trek

Paramount Pictures releases J.J. Abrams’ film Star Trek, starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, and Karl Urban. A reboot of the classic TV era of Star Trek, this movie is explicitly stated to be the beginning of an alternate timeline (referred to later as the “Kelvin Universe”) separate from the “prime timeline” seen in all prior movie and TV iterations of the franchise. With a marketing blitz clearing the way for its premiere, this turns out to be the most financially successful film in the Star Trek franchise.

Doctor Who: Enemy Of The Daleks

Big Finish Productions releases the 121st Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Sylvester McCoy.

Doctor Who: The Beast Of Orlok

Big Finish Productions releases the 19th episode of the new Eighth Doctor Who audio dramas, starring Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith.

Caprica (soundtrack)

La-La Land Records releases Bear McCreary’s soundtrack from the Battlestar Galactica spinoff pilot Caprica.

On The Outside, It Looked Like An Old-Fashioned Police Box

BBC Radio 4 airs the factual radio program On The Outside, It Looked Like An Old-Fashioned Police Box, hosted by Mark Gatiss, a brief history of the Target Books novelizations of classic Doctor Who episodes.

Doctor Who: Wirrn Dawn

Big Finish Productions releases the 20th episode of the new Eighth Doctor Who audio dramas, starring Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith.

Doctor Who: The Angel Of Scutari

Big Finish Productions releases the 122nd Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Sylvester McCoy.

Torchwood: Asylum

Torchwood: Asylum BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a made-for-radio Torchwood audio play, starring John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, and Tom Price.

Torchwood: Golden Age

Torchwood: Golden Age BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a made-for-radio Torchwood audio play, starring John Barrowman, Eve Myles, and Gareth David-Lloyd.

Torchwood: The Dead Line

Torchwood: The Dead Line BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a made-for-radio Torchwood audio play, starring John Barrowman, Eve Myles, and Gareth David-Lloyd.

Devious

Devious A tantalizing trailer for the unfinished Doctor Who fan film Devious, which included Jon Pertwee’s final performance in character and in costume as the Doctor, is released as a bonus feature on the Doctor Who DVD The War Games.

Torchwood: Children Of Earth: Day One

BBC1 airs the 27th episode of Russell T. Davies’ science fiction series Torchwood. Unlike previous seasons, this season – subtitled Children Of Earth – is only five episodes long, broadcast at a rate of one installment per night, with the implication that the story is unfolding more or less in real time. Peter Capaldi and Paul Copley guest star.

Sci-Fi to Syfy

Syfy The Sci-Fi Channel, launched in 1992, implements a major rebranding campaign, in the process renaming itself Syfy (a change that meets with some derision from the genre fan community). Unlike the generic term “sci-fi”, the new name can be copyrighted and marketed more aggressively. (Though the “Syfy” spelling was originated by a fan-run website called Syfy Portal, that site’s owners sold that brand earlier in the year, renaming their site Airlock Alpha in the process.) Along with the rebranding comes a somewhat more expansive view of what constitutes genre programming, with reality shows and sports programming (some of it shared with other cable channels under Comcast/Universal ownership) now, another move that meets with criticism and will be somewhat reduced over time.

Torchwood: Children Of Earth: Day Two

BBC1 airs the 28th episode of Russell T. Davies’ science fiction series Torchwood. Unlike previous seasons, this season – subtitled Children Of Earth – is only five episodes long, broadcast at a rate of one installment per night, with the implication that the story is unfolding more or less in real time. Peter Capaldi and Paul Copley guest star.

Torchwood: Children Of Earth: Day Three

BBC1 airs the 29th episode of Russell T. Davies’ science fiction series Torchwood. Unlike previous seasons, this season – subtitled Children Of Earth – is only five episodes long, broadcast at a rate of one installment per night, with the implication that the story is unfolding more or less in real time. Peter Capaldi and Paul Copley guest star.

Torchwood: Children Of Earth: Day Four

BBC1 airs the 30th episode of Russell T. Davies’ science fiction series Torchwood. Unlike previous seasons, this season – subtitled Children Of Earth – is only five episodes long, broadcast at a rate of one installment per night, with the implication that the story is unfolding more or less in real time. Peter Capaldi and Paul Copley guest star.

Torchwood: Children Of Earth: Day Five

BBC1 airs the 31st episode of Russell T. Davies’ science fiction series Torchwood. Peter Capaldi and Susan Brown guest star. The experimental five-episode season proves to bit a hit with critics and viewers, particularly in America, where it’s hailed as one of the television events of the year, imported or not.

Starship Farragut: Power Source

The fan-made internet series Starship Farragut releases its first animated episode, in the style of the 1970s Filmation animated series, following the crew of a sister ship of the Kirk-era Enterprise.

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (expanded soundtrack)

Film Score Monthly releases an expanded CD edition of James Horner’s soundtrack from Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, presenting the movie’s full score for the first time.

2009 Doctor Who Comic-Con exclusives

Doctor Who action figures British toymaker Character Options and American distributor Underground Toys release a wave of exclusive Doctor Who action figures at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. This wave includes the first action figures ever made of the Doctor’s two earliest incarnations, as well as the first Cyberman design not from the current series. Rounding out the wave is the first action figure of any Doctor Who character in a costume specified by the Big Finish audio adventures.

Battlestar Galactica Season 4 (soundtrack)

La-La Land Records releases Bear McCreary’s soundtrack from the fourth season of Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica reboot. The two-disc set covers much of the fourth season’s highlights on the first disc, with the entirety of the second CD containing music from the three-hour series finale, Daybreak.

Doctor Who: The Company Of Friends

Big Finish Productions releases the 123rd Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Paul McGann.

Doctor Who: The Scapegoat

Big Finish Productions releases the 21st episode of the new Eighth Doctor Who audio dramas, starring Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith.

Torchwood: Children Of Earth (soundtrack)

Silva Screen Records releases Ben Foster’s soundtrack from the Doctor Who spinoff TV series Torchwood: Children Of Earth.

Blake’s 7 – The Early Years: Blood & Earth / Flag & Flame

Blake's 7: The Early Years - Blood and Earth / Flag and Flame Andrew Mark Sewell’s B7 Media releases its sixth Blake’s 7 audio drama, featuring stories written by Marc Platt and Ben Aaronovitch (Doctor Who). Jan Chappell, the original series’ Cally, returns in a new role.

Category: Universes, Franchises & Characters