Roundel Books publishes the non-fiction book Go Figure by Richard Lloyd, a detailed chronicle of every figure released in Character Options’ two decades of producing Doctor Who action figures, initially for the BBC’s 21st century revival of the TV series but eventually adding many characters from the 20th century run as well. 
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CBS Studios releases the first episode of the scripted podcast Star Trek: Khan, a long-gestating project dating back to the early days of Star Trek: Discovery as a television proposal by Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan), finally produced in audio form. Naveen Andrews (Lost) stars as Khan. (more…)
Interscope Records releases the soundtrack to Tron Ares by Nine Inch Nails, inlcuding the single “As Alive As You Need Me To Be”, nearly a month before the movie itself debuts. (more…)
Disney releases Tron Ares, a sequel to both Tron and Tron Legacy, starring Jared Leto and Greta Lee, with Jeff Bridges again reprising the role of Flynn. Trent Reznor & Atticus provide the soundtrack (credited in studio publicity as Nine Inch Nails, but in the movie’s credits as themselves). (more…)
The British Stereo Collective / Federation collaborative EP Marked To Kill is released via Bandcamp, with lyrics (and a video) connecting the song to the BBC space opera Blake’s 7. The release of the single both digitally and on vinyl benefits charity. (more…)
Actor Nabil Shaban, who portrayed the slug-like alien capitalist Sil in late 1980s Doctor Who, dies at the age of 72. First appearing in 1985’s Vengeance On Varos, Sil was penciled in for a rematch against the Doctor in an episode that would’ve been titled Mission To Magnus, which was ultimately abandoned as the BBC demanded a rethink of the series’ 23rd season; despite this, Sil still make a comeback in parts five through eight of The Trial Of A Time Lord. Mission To Magnus would later be released as a novelization, and finally as a full-cast Big Finish audio drama, in which Shaban revived the role of Sil. (He appeared in another Big Finish audio, Antidote To Oblivion, in 2014, and revived Sil onscreen in the direct-to-video project Sil And The Devil Seeds Of Arodor. The character of Sil was popular enough to become an action figure.) Shaban turned his disability to his advantage in playing the part of the legless creature, but also advocated for other actors with disabilities throughout his career.
Actress June Lockhart, best known to genre fans for playing Dr. Maureen Robinson, mother figure of the Robinson family on Lost In Space, dies of natural causes at the age of 100. Prior to her three-season stint on Lost In Space, Ms. Lockhart was already a household name from an even longer run in a maternal role on Lassie. Big screen appearances included She-Wolf Of London, Strange Invaders, Troll, C.H.U.D. II, and a small part in the 1998 reboot Lost In Space. TV appearances included Science Fiction Theatre, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, Darkroom, Whiz Kids, Amazing Stories, Babylon 5, and even a voice role on the The Ren & Stimpy Show.
Streaming service Paramount Plus premieres the first episode of the Star Trek spinoff Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, created by Gaia Violo and set in the post-Discovery 31st century time frame. Holly Hunter stars, with Paul Giamatti guest starring and veterans of past Star Trek series (Robert Picardo and Oded Fehr) also joining the cast. (more…)
Streaming service Paramount Plus releases the second episode of the Star Trek spinoff Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, created by Gaia Violo and set in the post-Discovery 31st century time frame. Holly Hunter stars, with veterans of past Star Trek series (Robert Picardo, Tig Notaro and Oded Fehr) also joining the cast. (more…)
Lakeshore Records digitally releases Jeff Russo’s soundtrack from the first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, featuring the Rufus Wainwright cover of “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)” featured in the first episode. (more…)
Streaming service Paramount Plus releases the third episode of the Star Trek spinoff Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, created by Gaia Violo and set in the post-Discovery 31st century time frame. Holly Hunter stars. (more…)
Streaming service Paramount Plus releases the fourth episode of the Star Trek spinoff Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, created by Gaia Violo and set in the post-Discovery 31st century time frame. Holly Hunter stars; Martin Roach (The Umbrella Academy, The Shape Of Water) guest stars. (more…)
Streaming service Paramount Plus releases the fifth episode of the Star Trek spinoff Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, created by Gaia Violo and set in the post-Discovery 31st century time frame. Holly Hunter stars; Cirroc Lofton (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Chiwitel Ejiofor (The Martian, The Life of Chuck) guest star. (more…)
Streaming service Paramount Plus releases the sixth episode of the Star Trek spinoff Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, created by Gaia Violo and set in the post-Discovery 31st century time frame. Holly Hunter stars; Paul Giamatti guest stars. (more…)
Writer Rob Grant, best known for creating the sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf with his former writing partner Doug Naylor, dies at the age of 70. Embarking on a career writing comedy first for radio and then for TV in 1979, Grant and Naylor found an easy working rapport and, after a series of rejections, broke into radio comedy with the sketch series Son Of Cliche, which included a recurring comedic sci-fi storyline about a spaceman stranded with his talking computer. That idea, expanded greatly, became the unlikely pitch for Red Dwarf. Rejected at first by the BBC, Red Dwarf emerged as a fast favorite with audiences upon its premiere in 1988, by which time Grant and his collaborator were also the head writers on the puppet-based sketch satire Spitting Image. Grant remained with the show for its first six seasons, co-writing every episode with Naylor, until the working relationship deteriorated and Grant left the show. Grant had enough clout as co-creator of Red Dwarf to launch a few ventures of his own, including the 2000 sci-fi comedy The Strangerers, though his post-Red-Dwarf projects remained somewhat obscure. At the time of his death, he had completed a Red Dwarf prequel novel with Andrew Marshall, which was mere months away from being published.
Artemis 2 lifts off, carrying an astronaut crew of four (Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen) for the first mission around Earth’s moon in over half a century. The mission is slated to loop the crew of the Orion command module Intrepid around the moon’s far side at a greater distance from Earth than any previous human crew (a goal somewhat analogous to Apollo 8’s orbital-only mission in 1968).