Charlie Jane Anders, Author at Gizmodo

R.I.P. Mary Tamm, Doctor Who‘s Original Romana

Mary Tamm only appeared on Doctor Who for one season, but she established the character of Romana — a member of the Doctor’s own race, who travels around with him on the quest for the Key to Time. And even though most people are more familiar with Tamm’s replacement in the role, Lalla Ward, it…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Jul 26 '12

Warehouse 13 shows us a world without the Warehouse

Sometimes, a great season opener not only launches some new storylines into motion and resolves cliffhangers — it also restates or clarifies the mission statement of the show. Such was the case with Warehouse 13’s “A New Hope,” which aired the other day. The show didn’t just pay off the huge “Warehouse gets destroyed” cliffhanger…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 25 '12

Blake’s 7 Reboot Coming to U.S. Television?

The British show Blake’s 7 is one of those TV series that has a small cult following — but a huge impact on the history of science fiction television, with its morally gray, arc-based storytelling influencing a whole generation of creators. There’s been talk of a new Blake’s 7 series, either a reboot or a…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Jul 25 '12

Black Mirror will warp your mind a second time

Black Mirror was one of the most ambitious, haunting pieces of television we’ve seen in years — so it’s excellent news that we’re apparently getting three more hours of it. https://gizmodo.com/black-mirror-is-television-science-fiction-at-its-best-5876704 According to SFX, Channel 4 has commissioned a second year of Charlie Brooker’s audacious anthology program, comparing Brooker to Dennis Potter as well as…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 25 '12

The Most Astonishingly Beautiful Pictures of Earth from Space

We’ve seen some absolutely stunning images of our planet from space before — but now, NASA and a slew of Facebook members have definitively chosen the best of all time. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of NASA’s Landsat series of Earth observation satellites, NASA asked the public to vote for the five best images out…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 25 '12

Finally, A Romantic Comedy About How Your Relationship is Doomed

Creative people are self-obsessed assweasels. And you can never really love someone else — you just love the fake version of them that you create in your head. Love is really the process of your ego attempting to crush and neutralize the ego of your object of affection. That’s sort of the nihilistic message I…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 25 '12

Why the Directors of Little Miss Sunshine Made a Fantasy Movie

The husband-and-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris made waves with their debut Little Miss Sunshine, including four Oscar nominations. And now they’re back six years later, with the fantasy movie Ruby Sparks — about a creatively blocked writer (Paul Dano) who writes about her dream girl and somehow brings her to life. Why…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 24 '12

Genre Directors Who Have Never Made a Bad Movie

The history of science fiction and fantasy at the cinema is littered with wreckage. It’s hard enough to make a movie, and nearly impossible to make a good movie. So it’s not surprising that even some of the best directors in Hollywood have at least one stinker in their resumes. With The Dark Knight Rises,…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 24 '12

An exclusive Dark Knight Rises book chapter shows just why Gotham is easy pickings for Bane

The most fascinating part of The Dark Knight Rises might be the way in which Batman’s sacrifice at the end of The Dark Knight has spawned a whole new political landscape. The Harvey Dent Act has led to a new crackdown on Gotham’s crime, and the wealthy and powerful are celebrating while Bruce Wayne hides…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 24 '12

Star Trek: The Next Generation is brand new all over again

These days, Star Trek: The Next Generation often feels like an old, fuzzy pair of socks: comfortable and well-worn. The first Star Trek spinoff show appears in syndication at all hours, looking a bit washed out and just as dated as the Original Series. It’s hard to believe it was viewed as a radical, even…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Jul 24 '12

Falling Skies raises our hopes, and dashes them, again and again

Okay, seriously. This was a frustrating episode of Falling Skies. There were a few good moments — just like last week — but also, a lot of stuff that occasioned a serious amount of head-slapping. This show is going to give us a concussion from all the head-slapping. Spoilers ahead… There were really two things…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 23 '12

How Alphas is Getting Sexier in Season Two

Tonight sees the return of Alphas on Syfy — and those superpowered mutants are in deeper trouble than ever. Now that the world knows the truth about their mutant powers, the team has been scattered… but they have to get back together to rescue one of their own. We spoke to Azita Ghanizada (Rachel), and…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 23 '12

The Bugasalt: A Miniature Shotgun that Murders Insects With Ordinary Table Salt

Want a cheap, non-toxic way to wipe out bugs at the dinner table, or at your next picnic? Check out this insane shotgun-action device, the “Bugasalt,” which uses ordinary table salt to murder the little critters. And leaves nothing but a pinch of salt (and an insect corpse) behind. This discofied instructional video will fill…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 23 '12

What would a sequel to The Dark Knight Rises look like?

Christopher Nolan promised us that The Dark Knight Rises would be the final chapter in a trilogy — not just a third installment in an ongoing series. And he delivered. But does that mean the story can’t continue after this movie leaves off? After all, any ending, no matter how final, always contains the seeds…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jul 23 '12

This Week’s TV: William Shatner mind-probes Star Trek fans, and Adventure Time goes to Mars!

Syfy’s Warehouse 13 and Alphas are both back — and both shows are changing up their formats pretty radically. William Shatner is finally getting to the bottom of the Star Trek phenomenon. Walter Bishop explains all about lobotomies. People are getting their backyard redone with Kryptonite. Syfy has its most dignified original movie everPlus you’ll…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 23 '12

Full-length trailer for The Master shows what happens to people who question Philip Seymour Hoffman

Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master promises to be one of the year’s most intense movies, using the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard as a jumping-off point to look at post-World War II trauma and people’s eagerness to believe in some weird-ass cosmology. After two teaser trailers, here’s your first longer glimpse. Among other…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 23 '12

Best of the Week: July 14-20, 2012

FIRST COMES THE DREAM | One of the absolutely stunning prints by concept art house Framestore, as part of a gallery of images of interstellar exploration prepared for io9 and Gizmodo’s “First Comes the Dream” series. These images were projected at last night’s event at the American Natural History Museum, where we spoke with Neil…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 22 '12

How will Arrow escape the curse of superhero TV shows?

Television is littered with failed superhero TV shows. If you don’t count Person of Interest, then only the only successful superhero shows of the past decade are Smallville and (for a while) Heroes. So how will Arrow, the new DC Comics adaptation launching on the CW this fall, avoid the curse of the superhero show?…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 20 '12

Falling Skies is turning into a show about the dangers of understanding your enemy

The mysterious aliens on Falling Skies are slowly getting less mysterious as the show goes on. We’ve had more contact with the harnessed kids, including Ben but also the still-harnessed Karen. We’ve learned about a Skitter uprising. And Tom has spent some time aboard an alien ship. But this increasing familiarity with the alien invaders…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 20 '12

The Scariest Food Items Science Has Ever Created

This week on the io9 show, we discuss the creepiest foods science has ever produced — from synthetic potato chips, to meat synthesized from human feces. Plus, we show you how to make you over own homemade Pop Rocks candy. And we find out exactly why Matt Damon is so desperate to get into the…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 20 '12

Charlie Jane Anders

R.I.P. Mary Tamm, Doctor Who‘s Original Romana

Warehouse 13 shows us a world without the Warehouse

Blake’s 7 Reboot Coming to U.S. Television?

Black Mirror will warp your mind a second time

The Most Astonishingly Beautiful Pictures of Earth from Space

Finally, A Romantic Comedy About How Your Relationship is Doomed

Why the Directors of Little Miss Sunshine Made a Fantasy Movie

Genre Directors Who Have Never Made a Bad Movie

An exclusive Dark Knight Rises book chapter shows just why Gotham is easy pickings for Bane

Star Trek: The Next Generation is brand new all over again

Falling Skies raises our hopes, and dashes them, again and again

How Alphas is Getting Sexier in Season Two

The Bugasalt: A Miniature Shotgun that Murders Insects With Ordinary Table Salt

What would a sequel to The Dark Knight Rises look like?

This Week’s TV: William Shatner mind-probes Star Trek fans, and Adventure Time goes to Mars!

Full-length trailer for The Master shows what happens to people who question Philip Seymour Hoffman

Best of the Week: July 14-20, 2012

How will Arrow escape the curse of superhero TV shows?

Falling Skies is turning into a show about the dangers of understanding your enemy

The Scariest Food Items Science Has Ever Created

The New ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Trailer Is Ready to Burn it All Down

This Windows 11 Pro Mini PC Packs Powerful Performance in a Compact Size at an Affordable Price, Even Mac Mini Owners Might Want This Deal

AirPods 4 Are Now Apple’s Most Affordable Earbuds After Quiet Price Drops on Amazon

Guardhouse Slashes 70% Off the WatchEye Security Camera, a Budget Alternative to Expensive Home Systems

Lego’s Biggest-Ever Ideas Review Ends With an ‘Edward Scissorhands’ Set

Chernobyl’s Wolf Population Is Now 7 Times Higher Than Before the Disaster

Dell Clears Out 6-in-1 USB-C Docking Station at 80% Off, Now Just $16 on Best Buy

A New But Familiar Villain Is Coming in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 3

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) Hit an All-Time Low, With the White Model Even Cheaper

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition Returns to Its Lowest Price Outside Prime Day, and This E-Reader Is Already Selling Fast

Soundcore Space 2 Review: A Shockingly Stellar Value for Budget ANC Wireless Headphones

Anker’s UV Printer Can Handle Almost Anything… If You Know What You’re Doing

HP’s EliteBoard Keyboard-Computer Proves We Can Stick a PC in Anything

Sleep-Tracking Earbuds Didn’t Fix Me, but They Did Open My Eyes

I’ve Tested a Lot of Bad Smart Glasses and These Are the Worst Yet

Roborock’s Qrevo Curv 2 Flow Is the Ultimate Robot Mop—If You Don’t Have Corners or Walls

Alienware’s $350 QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Nixes Everything for a Pretty Screen

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park