Technically, she's still alive and saving the day in the future...
Actress Elizabeth Sladen, better known to Doctor Who fans as Sarah Jane Smith, has passed away at the age of 63. Her first appearance was during the third Doctor's tenure when he also went by the surname "Smith." When it came time for her to leave the TARDIS for the first time, it was unlike anything I'd seen on TV to that point. I started watching Doctor Who during the Tom Baker era, and if my other TV favorites were any indication, no regular cast member left a show unless everybody left the show (I think my 'if I like it, it's going to be canceled' curse was well in effect by then). It wasn't until later I got all the stuff about regeneration and companions coming and going. She tried to make a comeback that still has one of the more facepalm-ish opening credits sequences, as it appeared that the director had just discovered and had a torrid affair with the 'zoom' function on his cameras (granted, they didn't have any show clips to work with, really). When she finally did make it back into the Whoniverse, it still seemed like we were always saying goodbye.
Keeping with time travel (hey, it's a segue) it's retro-vintage vehicle time, with a couple of transportation methods that are probably impractical by today's standards, but which look cool nevertheless. First up, some enterprising people with more mechanical skill than I could ever hope to wield have rebuilt the first passenger airliner, and it can be seen in this video. It's the wood cabinet with handy drawers that really makes it for me; I love how furniture seemed to be a major part of early mass-transit. Then there's a more (relatively) recent automobile concept that caught my eye: The Citroën Karin. Just look at that steering wheel and control console. I don't think my Civic has enough functions to warrant that many buttons, but I want them anyway. Even if they just make lights come on and play sound effects, that would be a car I'd lust after. Though I probably wouldn't enjoy the keypad parts hitting me in the face if an airbag were installed behind them. Of course, the way the car's shaped, I'd hope that in a head-on, the opposing vehicle would just ramp over me and land somewhere to my rear. Hmmm... I don't think that would work for trees. I might have research some old episodes of "Knight Rider" that took place near forests before making a final call on that one.
"A Game of Thrones" is getting a second season. The ratings were good enough, though the articles I looked at also cited the investment in sets and costumes as being a factor. I don't know how easy it is to outfit a medieval setting from existing props, but perhaps the ones from HBO's production will wind up elsewhere like some items have done in the past. I know storage costs are expensive, and I'm sure a lot of studios are getting revenue from selling used props to movie collectors, but it seems like a wasted resource that lower-budget (though still worthy) productions could rent out. In the old days, a lot of movie sets were destroyed to prevent other film crews from sneaking in when they were unmanned and using them. The sets from 'The 10 Commandments' were buried for that reason. With the advent of CGI (see below), this is less of a problem, but there's just something about having an actual, physical set for actors to work with, at least in part.
Speaking of sets, some may remember me posting a demo reel for Stargate Studios, where they show off how they can turn sheets of green into 'reality.' It turns out they did the work for 'The Walking Dead,' too. So hide any eyes innocent of zombie killin', and check out the demo reel for one of the best zombie franchises currently in production.
The creator of 'Farscape' is looking to start up a new show with SieFie. I can only hope that whatever contract he puts together gives him a little more say over what would justify cancellation if the ratings are decent. It's also a bit of a departure for the network, as the show doesn't appear to involve remaking a BBC program(me), night-vision cameras, a thinly-veiled ripoff of 'Mythbusters,' or pro wrasslin'. It's nice to know that Roger Corman movies aren't getting all of the network's budget. I wonder if there will be... muppets?
Now I've got to get back to wrapping up some loose ends and figuring out where a bunch of overseas orders went astray. A few came back in pieces, which means someone must've flipped the Post Office machines from 'sort' to 'liquefy.' I've also got some words to string together for a script or two, as well as start a few new ps238 ideas. That cloning concept I keep joking about is looking better and better all the time. That way, after a heated game of rock-paper-scissors, one of me could actually work and the other could look for stuff like this all day:
- By now, many know the blocky graphics of 'Minecraft.' So how would they look on a next-gen console?
- Tonight on News at 5, how sitting can kill you. We'll also have a report entitled 'Fruit Roll-Ups: Clothing of the Future?"
- Hotels are putting RFID chips in towels to prevent theft. In other news, planting towel RFID chips in your friend's luggage as a prank is on the rise.
- While I do usually shun celebrity news, holy crap, Carrot Top straightened his hair and put on a suit.
- It just shows with the right sound effects, a simple kitty can become Robo-Cat.
- Every time I think I've posted the last pony-mashup, someone tries something I'm morally obligated to post. In this case, it's My Little Polkarama. I have to fulfill my obligation to that "Close Personal Friend of Al" shirt I had in high school.
- From the 'sounds like sci-fi' files comes news that a giant super-organism is eating the metal making up the Titanic.
- I may have to send this one to the folks at Comics Buyer's Guide, but maybe someone out there knows who these 'Hipster Cops' are and why they're in both the Marvel and the DC universe?
- How about a puzzle-platform game where you're a little girl that can mind-control zombies? Here's Mindy in Zombieland.
- If you own a Kindle, you might want to find a way to back up your magazine subscriptions, as if you cancel your sub, you lose all of your back issues, too.
- A blood-n-guts warning for this next mashup, but since many out there are likely playing one game or the other, here's Portal Kombat.
- In case you missed it amongst the Portal and Mortal Kombat stuff, Minecraft 1.5 is now live.
- One last Portal link, and only for those who don't mind (quite cryptic) spoilers or who just love a good tune: the new Jonathan Coulton song from the end of Portal 2 (and it's just the song, not the whole ending sequence).
- Newsarama has a roundup of some Doctor Who crafts from Etsy. I'll take several regenerations worth of the peg people, please. And a slice of TARDIS cake, too.
- We close with Steamlands. It's after a war out of the pages of 'Girl Genius,' and it's up to you to save New Britannia from pirates in their steam-tanks. Grab salvaged armor and weapons as you give those scoundrels what-for!