Steven Moffat might be reworking one of his own original Doctor Who works for "A Christmas Carol." Everyone is talking about Transformers Prime, while the live-action Dark of the Moon moves closer to completion...whether we're ready or not. Spoiler savings!
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The movie has now officially moved into post-production, according to Bumblebee and Jetfire voice actor Mark Ryan. He recently blogged:
"Back in the cutting room today in Santa Monica with Mr. Bay and the very switched-on post production and editing team! Pretty damn cool!"
[TFW2005]
The Thing
There's a revealing interview with Oscar-winning special effects creator Alec Guinness, who says that we never see the "original" form of the creature in this movie, which we also never saw in Carpenter's film:
I think what's important is that you never see the true form of this creature. What you see are two life forms that are close. We get to design a couple of alien life forms that are presumably evolved biologically on another planet that happen to be infected by the Thing.
Tons more at the link. [Fearnet]
Doctor Who
Some very interesting speculation suggests Steven Moffat might be looking to one of his own short stories, the 7th Doctor tale "Continuity Errors", for inspiration with "A Christmas Carol." The original story finds the Doctor subtly altering a person's life so that, when he needs it, the person is far more likely to lend the Doctor a book. That would be a neat fit for what little we know about "A Christmas Carol", which promises that history can be rewritten and suggests Michael Gambon's Kazran Sardick must find a way to redeem himself. It also fits very well with Steven Moffat's claim that this story will outdo even last series's finale in terms of time travel craziness. It certainly wouldn't be the first time a series writer adapted one of their own earlier works, and in fact some of the series's best episodes have sprung from that, including Rob Shearman's "Dalek", Paul Cornell's "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood", Steven Moffat's own "Blink", and Gareth Roberts's rather charming "The Lodger." [Find more at Doctor Who Spoilers and Life, the Universe, and Combom]
Fringe
Here's a quick synopsis for December 9's "Marionette": [TV Guide]
A case of a person having his heart removed sets off a string of bizarre events; Peter assesses his relationship with Olivia.
Chuck
Here's a sneak peek at episode 10, "Chuck vs. the Leftovers": [SpoilerTV]
No Ordinary Family
We have some script pages of a draft for episode 12, that were used for casting purposes. In episode 12, Mike Powell, Jim's ne'er-do-well brother, visits the family. Mike, who it was previously reported is being played by Third Watch's Jason Wiles, owes $150,000 to a loan-shark named Frank Matthews. Stephanie has to deal with Katie's sudden promotion (and apparent relocation elsewhere) at the hands of Global Tech corporate honcho Victoria Morrow, who may have ulterior motives...because it's Global Tech, and there's always ulterior motives there. Katie also seems to face imminent death from either an old Russian man in a speeding sedan or a crane operator whose machine malfunctions, and Stephanie has to save her. Daphne has to struggle with whether to reveal a punk troublemaker kid is taking the rap for pill possession on behalf of his clean-cut, scholarship-bound brother. J.J. also has a brush with Uncle Mike, who takes him out of school to have some fun, and the dialog suggests (but doesn't confirm) he knows about the family's new powers.
Supernatural
One more sneak peek for episode 10, "Caged Heat": [SpoilerTV]
Transformers Prime
The new cartoon incarnation of the franchise premieres tonight, and here's executive producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman taking you behind the scenes of the show: [Transformers News]
Variety has reviewed the show, and they're reasonably positive about it. They do say it's a better, more cohesive work than the movies, even if it still has "thudding dialogue and limp plotting." These problems, they say, are mostly overcome by the show's fast-paced, 22-minute action, which can get away with these problems way better than a 150-minute movie. The review also says the show is decidedly for slightly older kids:
The steady flow of mayhem (which includes "bleeding" oil), robot torture (think Gearhead Gitmo) and even snippets of dialogue ("Bite me.") characterize this as aimed more toward older kids and teens than younger tykes.
Voice actor Josh Keaton explains his character on the show:
I play Jack Darby, who is one of the humans involved with the Transformers. I grew up with the Transformers, and I know a lot of fans like the shows to be more 'bot-centric, and I have to say that Transformers Prime is definitely a lot more in that direction. There are humans in the show, and the humans have an important relationship with the Transformers, but it really is more about the 'bots as opposed to being a human-based story where the 'bots are just kind of in the background.
[The Trades via TFW2005]
Misfits
Promo photos are out for episode 4: [SpoilerTV]
V
The promos just keep on coming for the season premiere: [The V-Files]
Additional reporting by Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders.