The 208th episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, and Michael Shanks. 
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Sci-Fi Channel airs the 55th episode of Stargate Atlantis. (more…)
ABC airs the 68th episode of the J.J. Abrams-produced series Lost. Mira Furlan (Babylon 5) and Nestor Carbonell guest star. (more…)
The 209th episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, and Michael Shanks. (more…)
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 56th episode of Stargate Atlantis. (more…)
The 733rd episode of Doctor Who (the 35th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. (more…)
ABC airs the 69th episode of the J.J. Abrams-produced series Lost, ending the show’s third season. Mira Furlan (Babylon 5), Andrew Divoff, and Nestor Carbonell guest star in a season finale that turns the series’ long-established format on its ear by introducing flash-forwards to a time when the characters have already escaped the island. (more…)
The 734th episode of Doctor Who (the 36th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. This is the first half of a two-part story, and is based upon a popular 1995 Doctor Who novel of the same name by Paul Cornell. (more…)
The fan-produced Star Trek production Star Trek: Intrepid releases its first episode. The UK-based production is shot almost entirely in front of green screen with computer-generated backgrounds added in post production. (more…)
Big Finish Productions releases the 95th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant. (more…)
The 210th episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, and Michael Shanks. (more…)
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 57th episode of Stargate Atlantis. (more…)
The 735th episode of Doctor Who (the 37th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. This is the conclusion of a two-part story, and is based upon the popular 1995 Doctor Who novel Human Nature by Paul Cornell. (more…)
Hear Music releases the Paul McCartney solo album Memory Almost Full, featuring the single “Ever Present Past”. (more…)
The 211th episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, and Michael Shanks. (more…)
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 58th episode of Stargate Atlantis. (more…)
Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off the 118th shuttle flight, on a two-week mission to resupply and continue assembly of the International Space Station. Two major structural trusses and two large solar power arrays are delivered and installed, and a damaged array is removed. Aboard Atlantis for her 28th flight are Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault, and mission specialists Patrick Forrester, Danny Olivas, Clayton Anderson, Jim Reilly and Steven Swanson. Anderson remains on the station, joining the crew of ISS Expedition 15.
The 736th episode of Doctor Who (the 38th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Though it is this season’s “Doctor lite” story – featuring minimal appearances from David Tennant and Freema Agyeman – Blink proves to be hugely popular, thanks in no small part to the most popular enemy that the new series has produced to date, the Weeping Angels, making their first appearance here. Blink goes on to win a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short-Form). (more…)
Free Clyde Music releases Joel Goldsmith‘s soundtrack from the TV Series Witchblade. (more…)
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 59th episode of Stargate Atlantis. (more…)
The 737th episode of Doctor Who (the 39th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Guest starring John Barrowman and Sir Derek Jacobi, this is the first part of a three-part season finale reintroducing the Master, the Doctor’s rival Time Lord from the classic series. (more…)
The 212th episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, and Michael Shanks. (more…)
Story: In a revised and expanded edition of this band-authorized biography, music writer Tony Fletcher recounts how Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe made their way to Athens, Georgia in the late seventies and formed a band to play at a friend’s birthday party. Eventually adopting the name R.E.M., the band became leaders in the college/alternative rock movement of the 80s and broke through to enormous worldwide success in the 90s. Fletcher tracks their story through Berry’s departure in 1997 and Buck’s acquittal in a British air rage trial 22 years to the day after their first performance.
Review: Fletcher does a great job of collecting details of the band’s recording, touring and other activities and forming them into a coherent narrative that spans more than two decades. I personally enjoyed the earliest chapters the most, because Fletcher is so effective at bringing those days to life. He quotes Peter Buck as saying “I just figured that you’d meet the right people, then you’d get in a band, then you’d make the good music, and people would come and see it.” Buck makes it sound ludicrously easy, and yet that’s what R.E.M. made happen, thanks to talent, a lot of work, and a fair amount of being in the right place at the right time. I can only imagine what it was like to live that lightning-in-a-bottle experience, but simply reading about it in “Remarks Remade” is exciting in itself. (more…)
Story: Journalist Craig Rosen collects anecdotes and information about every song on R.E.M.’s albums from 1981 through 1996. Rosen draws on his own interviews with the band plus many of the articles and books on the band in print at the time to talk about production techniques, instrument lineups, lyrical inspiration and other tidbits. Heavily illustrated.
Review: There are a number of good books about R.E.M., so at first glance it might seem like this relatively short, photo-laden book is superfluous. But its subtitle suggests the niche that Rosen has managed to find and fill quite well. Every song gets at least a few lines of discussion, and many get considerably more. Some of the detail is probably best suited to the hardcore R.E.M. trivia fan who’s interested in things like the source of the siren wail on “Leave,” or why Buck plays drums on the 11th untitled song from Green. On the other hand, someone not fully immersed in the band’s lore might appreciate this quick history that focuses primarily on the band’s recording career (as opposed to live performances, work with other artists, personal biographical information, or political activism, to name a few topics covered in detail elsewhere). (more…)
Story: In a thematically organized set of lists and essays, the author provides historical information and analysis of R.E.M.’s career from its members early musical activities through the band’s 1995 world tour.
Review: Last updated in early 1996, “It Crawled from the South” suffers somewhat from unfortunate timing. It is by now several years out of date, and it just narrowly misses the natural close point of Bill Berry’s retirement. As a result, certain comments come off as dated, such as the author’s speculation that Peter Buck’s decision to move from Athens to Seattle in 1992 might ultimately sink the band. But the book is a storehouse of trivia and information about not only the band but those people and places that intersected with R.E.M.’s path over the years. One chapter discusses collaborators and contemporaries, another maps out the clubs and hangouts where the band played its first shows. There are comprehensive lists of the band’s songs, both released and unreleased, along with the occasional pointer to well-known bootleg collections. Many television and promotional appearances are listed, and Gray tracks the development of the band’s video aesthetic from the grainy low-fi oddities like “Radio Free Europe,” “Driver 8” and “Fall on Me” to the high production values of “Losing My Religion,” “Everybody Hurts,” and the glitzy rock star clips from Monster. (more…)
Story: This compendium collects every item that appeared in Rolling Stone magazine concerning R.E.M. from 1981 to shortly after the release of Monster in 1995. Album reviews, cover stories, interview features, Random Note mentions and year-end Best Of lists are included, along with a new introduction by writer Anthony DeCurtis.
Review: I checked this book out of the New York Public Library shortly after reading of Bill Berry’s retirement; with the sense that an era was ending, I wanted to try and vicariously experience its beginning. There are a number of fine books on the band on the market, but all of those have the advantage of hindsight to lend perspective and structure to their narrative. The advantage of this book – which most of those other works cite as an enormously helpful reference – is that the story is being written as it happens; neither the band nor the writers know where things are going, so there’s an immediacy and occasional unintended irony as the band’s stature and career evolve. The album reviews and feature stories, by a variety of writers, all have an impressive level of depth, thoughtfulness and clarity – you can see why the band developed a rapport with the magazine, and how that pays off in the quality of the magazine’s coverage. (more…)
The 212th episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, and Michael Shanks. (more…)
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 60th episode of Stargate Atlantis. Jewel Staite guest stars in the third season finale. (more…)
The 738th episode of Doctor Who (the 40th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Guest starring John Barrowman and John Simm (Life On Mars), this is the second part of a three-part season finale reintroducing the Master, the Doctor’s rival Time Lord from the classic series. This episode offers the first glimpse of the Time Lords – in full classic series regalia – since the beginning of the new Doctor Who series. (more…)
Island Records releases a 
Big Finish Productions releases the 96th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Sylvester McCoy and Michelle Gomez. (more…)
The 739th episode of Doctor Who (the 41st since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Guest starring John Barrowman and John Simm (Life On Mars), this is the final part of a three-part season finale reintroducing the Master, the Doctor’s rival Time Lord from the classic series. Freema Agyeman departs the TARDIS as Martha in this episode, returning as a recurring character the following season. (more…)
Michael Bay’s Transformers is released, starring Shia Lebeouf and Megan Fox, and the voices of Peter Cullen, Robert Foxworth, and Hugo Weaving. (more…)
Magic Bullet Productions, the makers of the Kaldor City audio series, release The Logic Of Empire, an unofficial audio drama continuation set in the world of Terry Nation’s Blake’s 7. Available on cassette tape, the story features Paul Darrow as Avon, Jacqueline Pearce as Servalan, and Peter Tuddenham as Orac; Trevor Cooper (Star Cops) is also featured. (more…)
Capitol Records releases the fifth studio album by Crowded House, Time On Earth, featuring the single “Don’t Stop Now”. This album reunites the surviving members of the original lineup plus new drummer Matt Sherrod. (more…)