Charlie Jane Anders

“They Wrote That Cliffhanger Without Any Clue How To Resolve It”

A startling cliffhanger is basically the best thing ever. But you know what makes a cliffhanger even better? When they’ve figured out how to resolve it already. What are the cliffhangers where it’s obvious (or they’ve admitted) that the writers had no idea how to resolve them? Please include a clip or picture. And please…

The Double Shows Just How Soul-Draining A Terrible Office Job Could Get

The Double is based on a Dovstoevesky story about a man who meets his doppelganger — but this movie by Richard Ayoade owes a huge debt to Kafka, too. And stylistically, it really is like a fan-film of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. And it does a brilliant job of capturing the horrors of a soul-crushing job…

This Could Have Been The Face Of The New Godzilla

The great thing about the new Godzilla movie is how perfect the Big G looks. But the designers experimented with some pretty far-fetched ideas, including Fish Godzilla and Dragon Godzilla. We’ve got exclusive art from the movie’s art book. Plus concept artist Eddie Del Rio shared some of his Godzilla art exclusively with io9. https://gizmodo.com/too-bad-about-the-boring-humans-in-this-awesome-godzill-1577275588…

Tragic Hunger Games Set Photos, Plus Is Zac Efron A Major Marvel Hero?

Harrison Ford really could play Deckard in Blade Runner 2. Jason Momoa pokes fun at those Aquaman casting rumors. Story of Your Life gets major distribution. Doctor Who snags the director of Tank Girl. Plus tons of new footage from Extant, the supernatural medical show Proof, The Flash and Maleficent. Spoilers right now! Top image:…

Tough time for Orbit authors. First Orbit Books’ parent company Hachette clashed with Amazon, causing the online retailer to delay sending books and raise prices. Then Orbit announced it won’t send free copies of books to Hugo voters, putting authors at a distinct disadvantage.

Popular New Baby Names Of 2013: Vanellope, Kaptain, Tuf, And Kyndle

The Social Security Administration just released its 2013 list of baby names in the United States. And once again, Game of Thrones rules. There were 1135 Aryas, 241 Khaleesis and 67 Daeneryses born in 2013. And 15 Theons and five Robbs. But some new names also came on the scene. For one thing, there were…

Who’s The Coolest Fictional Assassin Of All Time?

Assassins are deadly and stealthy — so it’s no surprise that they have a certain mystique and glamor going on. Science fiction and fantasy are full of assassins who win our admiration while taking lives. But who’s the most badass fictional assassin of all time? Please include a picture, book cover or clip for your…

Person Of Interest‘s Creators Had To Fight For The Show To Include A.I.

Person of Interest is one of the most fascinating explorations of artificial intelligence in pop culture. But executives originally pushed for the show to avoid mentioning where Finch’s “irrelevant” numbers came from at all, according to creator Jonathan Nolan. The show’s producers also told us what’s next in season four. We were lucky enough to…

This 5-Minute Extended Flash Trailer Is The Justice League We Want

This five-minute extended trailer for the Flash TV show is basically the whole first episode boiled down to a series of highlights — and it’s a thing of pure beauty. They completely nail the heart of the superheroic origin story, in which the hero gets powers randomly — but chooses greatness. The one reservation I…

Last Night’s Originals Finale Actually Got Me Teary-Eyed

Not only that, but it was a pretty intense hour of television, with a lot of twisty plotting that paid off. On a night that also saw the superlative Person of Interest finale and the quite good Agents of SHIELD finale, this still stood out as something pretty special. I love the fact that Klaus…

The New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books That You Can’t Afford To Miss

The best days of science fiction and fantasy books aren’t in the past — they’re still arriving. Every month, new books come out that pack a hell of a whallop. Just check out our list of the 23 new books that you absolutely must not miss in May. Reach for Infinity, edited by Jonathan Strahan,…

“They Turned An Epic Villain Into A Weird Forgettable Joke”

A lot of the time, an adventure story is only as good as the villain. A truly memorable villain can make any story feel massive. But sometimes, when we reboot a story or translate it to a new medium, the villain becomes kind of useless. Or turns into abstract art. What’s the saddest reimagining of…

Can The Agents of SHIELD Stand For Protecting People Ever Again?

John Garrett turns out to have been a terrific villain for the first season of Agents of SHIELD — both because he perverts the ideals that SHIELD stands for in a fascinating way, and because he becomes an entertaining nutbag. But he also leaves me wondering if these people can still stand for something good.…

10 Comic Books That Would Make Excellent TV Shows

It’s official: The most exciting new genre shows on network TV are based on comics. iZombie, Constantine, Flash, Gotham… But the networks are just scratching the surface of what’s out there. Here are 10 comics that are crying out to become television shows right now. The comics on this list have a few things in…

One Of Doctor Who‘s Creepiest Stories Is Now On DVD

The 1967 Doctor Who story “The Web of Fear” is best remembered as the first appearance of Colonel (later Brigadier) Lethbridge-Stewart, the Doctor’s steadfast friend. But now that it’s finally on DVD, the thing you’ll remember most about it is how skin-crawling the whole thing is. It was a huge big deal last fall when…

Europa Crisis: Read The First Chapter Of Jeff Carlson’s Frozen Sky 2!

Last year, we brought you an exclusive look at Frozen Sky by Plague Year author Jeff Carlson — and now, here’s the first chapter ofthe sequel, Frozen Sky 2: Betrayed — in which the situation with the alien sunfish on Europa is only getting more drastic. Plus some exclusive illustrations! BETRAYED 1. The ice shook…

Star-Crossed‘s Final Episode Ended With A Nearly Perfect Cliffhanger

Gotta hand it to Star-Crossed — this doomed CW show left us wanting more, with a final sequence that pulls back the focus and raises the stakes, while leaving a ton of characters in jeopardy. Too late to save the show, unfortunately. See for yourself, above. Spoilers ahead… Seriously, that is a great cliffhanger. Reminds…

Warehouse 13 Finally Proves That Love Is Stronger Than Artifact Magic

Warehouse 13 wrapped up most of the arc of its final mini-season last night, with the frenetic “Shisi Cangku.” Claudia’s sister and the evil alternate Benedict Valda collide in a frenetic story in which a record player nearly kills people but a capella singing saves everyone. Spoilers ahead… Warehouse 13 has always been a show…

Robot Bartender Struggles With Asimov’s Laws In This Amazing Short Film

Alex Rivera rocked our brains with Sleep Dealer, his movie about menial laborers who telecommute from Mexico. Now at last, he’s made another film project: a short film called “A Robot Walks Into a Bar,” as part of the FutureStates series. And we’ve got an exclusive first look! Top image: The Robot (Sam Allen) pours…

All The Secrets Of Person Of Interest‘s Most Charming Privacy Vigilante

Tonight on Person of Interest, the anti-surveillance vigilante Collier finally gets his moment to discover the truth about government spying… and A.I. We talked to Leslie Odom Jr., who plays Collier, and he helped us invade Collier’s privacy. Spoilers ahead… We were lucky enough to have a phone interview with Odom this morning, and he…