Charlie Jane Anders, Author at Gizmodo

The Next Best Thing To Tezuka’s Verdict On The Astro Boy Movie?

Astro Boy gets a dismissive review in the New York Times, and Fred Schodt, translator and friend of creator Osamu Tezuka, responds: “This film may not win an Oscar, but it works, and it is great fun.” [NYTimes via TokyoMango]

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 26 '09

Explosive Pics And Clips From Doctor Who, Supernatural, The Prisoner, Fringe And Stargate

New Doctor Who pics include both the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, and there are intense stills from The Prisoner and Fringe. Zoe Saldana talks about disrobing in Star Trek 2. Plus Harry Potter, Supernatural, Smallville, Heroes and Stargate Universe spoilers. Star Trek: Zoe Saldana says she can’t wait to take off her shirt again, although…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Oct 26 '09

Rape Is One Tick Short Of Armageddon, On Dollhouse

Everyone who’s been complaining that Dollhouse pulled a bait-and-switch, showing us a post-apocalyptic world at the end of season one, then failing to revisit it in season two: quitcher bitchin’. We saw the roots of that dystopia last night. Oh, and this is your spoiler warning: I’m going to assume you saw last night’s episode…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 24 '09

12 Unfinished SF Novels We Wish We Could Read

Of all the alternate worlds we’re dying to visit, the greatest is that mythical room containing every book that was never written. Here are the dozen unfinished novels by science fiction’s greatest authors, that we wish we could read. The Masks by Ray Bradbury Masks, myths and metaphors” play an important part in much of…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 23 '09

The Year’s Most Important SF Anthology Is Out Now

If you wish science fiction would have a bit more actual science (and focus on the near future instead of the year 5 billion), you’ll be thrilled that When It Changed, an anthology pairing scientists and SF authors, is out. To create When It Changed, editor Geoff Ryman (author of the multiple award-winning novel Air),…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 23 '09

Astro Boy: Subversive, Awesome Flying-Robot Action

Early in Astro Boy, a squad of combat drones goes into battle against an experimental war robot. One drone turns to his friend and mutters, “I really hate this job.” That moment helps crystalize what makes Astro Boy so great. This review definitely contains spoilers, although it won’t give away anything major, that you couldn’t…

Anime Charlie Jane Anders Oct 23 '09

Double The Dollhouse In December!

Savor tonight’s all-new Dollhouse: It’ll be the last one until December. But you’ll get a concentrated dose of the mind-wiping during the holiday season, including two hours in a row of Summer Glau. A Fox rep tells io9 that this is the airing schedule for Dollhouse between now and 2010: Friday, Oct. 23 (tonight) –…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 23 '09

Journey To The Bottom Of Jules Verne’s Legacy

We all know Mary Shelley was the mother of science fiction, but was Jules Verne the father? One blogger claims Verne wasn’t really interested in science at all. But Verne’s reputation has an unexpected defender: literary novelist Margaret Drabble. John Derbyshire wrote in the New Atlantis a while back: You could make a case, in…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 23 '09

The Books That Stick With You Long After You Read Them

We’re used to having snap judgments about books — especially if you’re reviewing them, but even if you’re just putting them aside and talking about them. But the best books often stick with you long after you’ve read them, and keep mutating in your consciousness months later, writes Graham Sleight in Locus Roundtable: As I’ve…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 23 '09

FreakBots, Ear-Pulling Helmets And Anti-Monster Bad-Breath Guns: Japan’s Latest Weird Inventions

The weird and outright inappropriate inventions at Japan’s Digital Contents Expo include a fembot who doesn’t just visit the uncanny valley, she owns it. Plus a helmet that yanks on your ears to guide you, and a bad-breath game. The Digital Contents Expo includes some actual, serious inventions — check out Gizmodo’s report on the…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 23 '09

Female Android Can Only Be Activated By Sex Power [NSFW]

A super-advanced female android is almost ready to awaken: she just needs a flesh-and-blood woman to have sex near her, so she can absorb the female energy. Or something. Luckily, her dorky brother android gets laid nearby, in this clip. 1982’s Android is a truly wretched movie, but it does have some hliarious android-sex-related scenes.…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 22 '09

Lessons Joss Whedon Can Bring Back To Dollhouse From Glee

Whedonites rejoiced when it was announced Joss Whedon will direct an episode of television’s best show, Glee. But you know what would be even cooler? If Whedon could pick up some tricks from Glee and bring them back to Dollhouse. (And no, I don’t believe Dollhouse is for-certain doomed — the ratings are picking up…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 22 '09

Fame And Fortune (Well, Fame Anyway) Can Be Yours By Submitting To These Online Magazines

Writer and marketing guru Jason Sanford has a nifty roundup of webzines that publish short science fiction, including handy facts like their payrates and which ones will help you qualify as a professional writer under the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America rules. (And if six cents a word seems kind of a puny…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 22 '09

How Will Iain M. Banks’ Culture Translate To The Big Screen?

Iain M. Banks‘ Culture novels helped energize a whole new movement in vast, thrilling space opera. But the news of a big-screen Culture adaptation makes me nervous. Will the celluloid version of the Culture lose its Minds? Spoilers below. Reading the news that Iain M. Banks’ story “A Gift From The Culture” is being adapted…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 22 '09

It’s A Robot Art Jam — Bring Your Spray-Cans And Flame-Throwers!

The people behind the amazing Concept Ships blog have neglected their sister site, Concept Robots, for months now — until this week, when they finally posted two updates, from Peter Popken and Romain. Good thing they were worth the wait. This is the first update over at Concept Robots since July, but it’s a double…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 22 '09

Michael Caine Reveals His Inception Role, And Lost’s Emilie de Ravin Gets A Weird New Island Role

Michael Caine drops a huge Inception spoiler! Sam Raimi talks Venom! 2012’s ending revealed! A Lost character’s surprising new side! Spoilers are life-altering, and Star Trek 2, Supernatural, The Road, Twilight, Stargate, FlashForward and Fringe are embracing the spoiler lifestyle. Inception: Michael Caine spills the beans about what part he plays in Christopher Nolan’s first…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 22 '09

First Glimpse Of Doctor Who’s New TARDIS Interior

Time-traveling action-comedy Doctor Who was filming on location again, and fans were able to peer inside the TARDIS and get a glimpse of the backdrop that’s set to match the new interior of the Doctor’s time machine. Gallery below. Thanks to the amazing Scooty for the pics, and thanks to Jesse Six for the heads…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 21 '09

The Secrets Of Astro Boy’s Floating Robot City

Here you can see a massive Peacekeeper robot shredding combat drones, in exclusive Astro Boy concept art. We loved this movie’s floating mountain city full of robots, so we talked to writer/director David Bowers and two designers about its creation. Oh, and this post includes minor spoilers for Astro Boy, but doesn’t give away any…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 21 '09

Isamu Noguchi’s sculptures

All images by Getty Images

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 21 '09

Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap

Jonathan Strahan may call steampunk "Victorian cyberpunk," while Paul Cornell dubs it "the moment the future died," but this "steampunk pumpkin" is the ultimate proof of steampunk overload. Since when do pumpkins need to be steam-powered, anyway? [Instructables]

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 21 '09

Charlie Jane Anders

The Next Best Thing To Tezuka’s Verdict On The Astro Boy Movie?

Explosive Pics And Clips From Doctor Who, Supernatural, The Prisoner, Fringe And Stargate

Rape Is One Tick Short Of Armageddon, On Dollhouse

12 Unfinished SF Novels We Wish We Could Read

The Year’s Most Important SF Anthology Is Out Now

Astro Boy: Subversive, Awesome Flying-Robot Action

Double The Dollhouse In December!

Journey To The Bottom Of Jules Verne’s Legacy

The Books That Stick With You Long After You Read Them

FreakBots, Ear-Pulling Helmets And Anti-Monster Bad-Breath Guns: Japan’s Latest Weird Inventions

Female Android Can Only Be Activated By Sex Power [NSFW]

Lessons Joss Whedon Can Bring Back To Dollhouse From Glee

Fame And Fortune (Well, Fame Anyway) Can Be Yours By Submitting To These Online Magazines

How Will Iain M. Banks’ Culture Translate To The Big Screen?

It’s A Robot Art Jam — Bring Your Spray-Cans And Flame-Throwers!

Michael Caine Reveals His Inception Role, And Lost’s Emilie de Ravin Gets A Weird New Island Role

First Glimpse Of Doctor Who’s New TARDIS Interior

The Secrets Of Astro Boy’s Floating Robot City

Isamu Noguchi’s sculptures

Steam-Pumpkin Proves Steampunk Needs A Nice Nap

Before ‘Witch Hat,’ Kamome Shirahama Blessed Us With a Hilarious Romp About Gals Being Pals

Meta Axes Contractors Who Had to Review Explicit Video From Smart Glasses

World’s Slowest Rocket Company Suddenly Wants to Churn Out 60 Rockets a Year

Lego’s May Releases Are Swooshing In

Buying Prescription Smart Glasses Might Not Be Such a Good Idea After All

Spirit Airlines Is Reportedly Moving Forward With Plan to Shut Down

Trump Resurrects Keystone Pipeline Killed Over Climate Concerns

The Old Republic Reigns Supreme in Hasbro’s New ‘Star Wars’ Figures

Everything You Missed From Elon Musk’s Testimony in the OpenAI Trial

New FCC Satellite Rules Could Improve Starlink Capacity to a Surprising Degree

The Best Tech Gifts for Mother’s Day 2026

Asus’ Dual-Display Gaming Laptop Will Ruin Your Single-Screen Lifestyle

Steam Controller Review: Trackpads Change Everything for PC Gaming

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