Charlie Jane Anders, Author at Gizmodo

Your iPhone Could Become A Medical Tricorder

Any smart phone can become a medical imaging scanner, performing biopsies and imaging scans on the fly, with the help of a small USB plug-in, say researchers at Washington University in St. Louis. The researchers, led by Associate Professor William Richard and researcher David Zar, have developed technology that makes your smartphone compatible with commercial…

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X-Files Star Joins Doctor Who. The Fanfic Almost Writes Itself!

The ever-reliable British tabloids are reporting that X-Files diva Gillian Anderson is set to join the cast of Doctor Who in 2010… playing a character I really thought was gone for good. Possibly true spoilers… The Daily Express is reporting that Anderson will appear in new Doctor Matt Smith’s first season, and she’ll be playing…

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10 Science Fiction Prequels, Ranked By Crappiness

It’s prequel time, with Caprica newly out on DVD and both Star Trek and Wolverine hitting theaters soon. So we decided to rank 10 science fiction prequels in order of crappiness. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “prequel” was actually invented for science fiction by Anthony Boucher, writing in the Magazine Of Fantasy…

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It’s Official: Arnold Schwarzenegger Will Be Back In Terminator Salvation

John Connor will come face to face with the Terminator who spent all that time trying to kill him or save him. Arnold Schwarzenegger has approved his digital image in Terminator Salvation. It sounds as though Arnie was just being coy when he said he wasn’t sure if his digital image would be in T4.…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Flash Forward To Your First Glimpse Of ABC’s Next Science Fiction Epic

We’ve been waiting eagerly for our first real glimpse of Flash Forward, the new ABC series based on Robert J. Sawyer’s novel. And it looks like Wednesday’s 100th episode of Lost will include some flashes. It sounds like the short ads for Flash, which will air during Lost, are designed to create confusion and mystification…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

Major Freaking Lost Spoiler Alert!

A new Lost spoiler is so major, it broke my brain. Plus: a Star Trek pic, a Wolverine trailer, and inside dirt on Land Of The Lost and Transformers 2. Heroes clips! Supernatural death! Aaaaaaaaspoilers! Star Trek: Another day, another batch of early Trek reviews, containing some spoilers. Variety says the movie starts with a…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

Moody Concept Design For “The Road” Is Artwork In Its Own Right

The movie version of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road still doesn’t have a release date, months after it was supposed to come out. But at least concept artist Hugh Marchant’s brilliant art has appeared online. The artworks include early watercolors of key scenes from the film, and then photomontages using actual location photos. Some of the…

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Could The Girls From Planet 5 Be The Best Novel Ever?

With Texas talking about seceding from the rest of the country, who’s going to save us from the space amazons? That’s the message of The Girls From Planet 5, possibly the greatest novel ever. In The Girls From Planet 5, published in 1955, the United States elects a female president by 1988, and soon enough,…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Arnie Still Says He Might Be In Terminator Salvation… But Not Really

The face most closely associated with the Terminator franchise could pop up in Terminator Salvation… but it’ll only be a brief glimpse, by the sound of things. Minor spoilers, below. During an interview with political blogger Bill Bradley, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he might appear in the latest Terminator film — but only if…

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The Sexiest Transformer Has Something To Say

Today’s spoilers include Spock’s childhood, and a new perspective on Wolverine. Plus two Transformers actors speak! Doctor Who filming reports! Lost answers! Proof that Slusho! is coming to Fringe! Plus Heroes, Smallville and Chuck. OMGspoilers! Star Trek: The movie includes “toe-curling” childhood scenes, including one episode of Vulcan playground bullying against the young Spock. And…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

The Weirdest Monster From Japan’s New Giant-Superhero Movie

Here’s an exclusive look at the “Leaping Monster” that terrorizes Tokyo in Big Man Japan, the bizarre superhero movie coming to U.S. theaters on May 15. Click through for the Japanese drawings of the monster. Another exclusive image is the photo of Big Man Japan IV, the grandfather of the current Big Man. According to…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl: What More Could You Want?

I don’t think they used enough fake blood in this trailer for Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl, from the sickos behind Tokyo Gore Police. There’s at least five seconds with no splatter. Rockin soundtrack, though! I love all the bolts coming out of Frankenstein Girl’s face, and all the weird dismemberments. Not to mention the…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Somebody Get This Belgian Perv-Bot Away From These Kids!

I don’t know what’s scarier: the evil look of this Belgian “huggable, intelligent robot” for kids. Or the fact that he’s named Probo. Click through for more Probo ickiness. Here’s Probo making out with his creators: WTF is up with those Groucho Marx eyebrows? He looks like Sylar. According to Getty, “Probo is a social…

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Is “Sense Of Wonder” Just A Code For Returning To Childhood?

Science fiction writers and fans clamor for a return to “sense of wonder,” marveling at the richness of the universe, and technology’s brilliance. But is this another way of saying “returning to childhood”? It’s a cliche to say “The Golden Age of science fiction is 14.” When you’re young and wide-eyed, all the universe’s brilliance…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Discover Science Fiction’s Answer To Portnoy’s Complaint

Why is Robert Silverberg‘s Dying Inside not spoken of in the same breath as Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint, or John Updike’s Rabbit Run? The Los Angeles Times has an interview with Silverberg, which talks about his stature as the oldest of the writers associated with the New Wave in the 1960s and 1970s. Both the…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Star Trek’s Jar Jar, Lost’s Unlikely Meeting, And The Time Traveler’s Wife

Today’s spoilers include more Star Trek details, and Transformers and Time Traveler’s Wife pics. Also, bloody Lost photos and more Stargate lesbianism. Plus Doctor Who, Caprica, Supernatural, Heroes and Reaper. The spoiler army is unstoppable! Star Trek: Starpulse talks to Greg Ellis, who plays the Enterprise’s chief engineer Olsen. As you probably already knew, he’s…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

Gary Shandling Will Be A Skeevy Statesman, In Iron Man 2

Robert Downey Jr. explains what role Gary Shandling plays in Iron Man 2: I’m doing a Senate hearing where the government is saying the Iron Man tech needs to be turned over to the Senator and the Senator is Gary Shandling. And we had this fantastic day that was somehow this controlled chaos of a…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Can Robert J. Sawyer Save Us From A TV Wasteland?

With many science-fiction shows facing cancellation, our best hope is that next fall’s programming includes another Fringe or Lost, a thought-provoking hit. So it’s good news that ABC just greenlit Robert J. Sawyer‘s Flash Forward. Reuters reports that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is “all but gone” (although at this point, insiders are still insisting…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

Bioshock 2 Ups The Post-Apocalyptic Creepy-Girl Ante

Bioshock, one of the coolest games of the past few years, is finally spawning a sequel. And Gamespot got an exclusive look at the new edition of this bleak undersea shooter. As in the original Bioshock, you’ll be exploring the ruins of an undersea city that was supposed to be a utopia. This time around,…

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New Dean Koontz Novel Proves Book Critics Are Evil

A bad review must have really gotten under Dean Koontz‘s skin. His new book, Relentless, is about an evil book critic who gives a nice novelist a bad review — and then becomes a monster. Actually, I haven’t seen a copy of Relentless yet, but after reading the Publishers Weekly review, I’m dying to: A…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Charlie Jane Anders

Your iPhone Could Become A Medical Tricorder

X-Files Star Joins Doctor Who. The Fanfic Almost Writes Itself!

10 Science Fiction Prequels, Ranked By Crappiness

It’s Official: Arnold Schwarzenegger Will Be Back In Terminator Salvation

Flash Forward To Your First Glimpse Of ABC’s Next Science Fiction Epic

Major Freaking Lost Spoiler Alert!

Moody Concept Design For “The Road” Is Artwork In Its Own Right

Could The Girls From Planet 5 Be The Best Novel Ever?

Arnie Still Says He Might Be In Terminator Salvation… But Not Really

The Sexiest Transformer Has Something To Say

The Weirdest Monster From Japan’s New Giant-Superhero Movie

Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl: What More Could You Want?

Somebody Get This Belgian Perv-Bot Away From These Kids!

Is “Sense Of Wonder” Just A Code For Returning To Childhood?

Discover Science Fiction’s Answer To Portnoy’s Complaint

Star Trek’s Jar Jar, Lost’s Unlikely Meeting, And The Time Traveler’s Wife

Gary Shandling Will Be A Skeevy Statesman, In Iron Man 2

Can Robert J. Sawyer Save Us From A TV Wasteland?

Bioshock 2 Ups The Post-Apocalyptic Creepy-Girl Ante

New Dean Koontz Novel Proves Book Critics Are Evil

‘Butt Birth’-ing Rhinoceros from Ace Ventura Sequel Sold at Auction for a Whopping $60,000

The Ryan Gosling Sci-Fi Streak Will Continue Until Morale Improves

Study Challenges Popular Theory on Why Primordial Bugs Were So Darn Huge

Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway’s Mystery’s Sci-Fi Film Has Its First Trailer

Scientists Just Found the Salt Limit That Pushes Your Heart to the Breaking Point

White House Social Media Just Had Its Covfefe Moment

Roborock F25 Ultra Steam Wet Dry Vacuum Is Now at Its Lowest Price, but Only During the Spring Sale Window

This $450 Semi-Dumb Phone Is Barely Even a Phone

Startup Successfully Ignites World’s First Fusion Rocket

Shokz OpenDots One Earbuds Hit Their Lowest Price Yet Across All Color Options, Including the New Ones

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees