​The Man In The High Castle Gets Series Order From Amazon

Amazon has placed an order for a full series adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel The Man In the High Castle. Last month the pilot was released, and we really liked what we saw. So this is good news! Let’s celebrate by watching the creepy titles once again! In a press release Amazon announced that,…

A Star Came Within 0.8 Light-Years Of Our Sun 70,000 Years Ago

An international team of astronomers has identified a star that passed through the outer reaches of the Oort Cloud some 70,000 years ago. It came within a distance of 0.8 light-years, making it the closest known flyby of a star to the Solar System. Artist’s impression of the red dwarf Scholz’s star and its brown…

What TV Shows From Today Will People Still Watch In 50 Years?

Regardless of DVDs and streaming, the shelf-life of a completed TV show can be incredibly short, but some shows manage to still be watched for decades after they’ve finished. Today, we want you to survey today’s TV landscape and tell us which shows you think people will still be enjoying 50 years from now. Will…

This week’s “Postal Apocalypse” has been delayed due to technical difficulties, “Technical Difficulties” being the name of the giant radioactive crab-wolf that stalks the post-apocalyptic badlands. The column will return next week. Probably.

​Gotham Got So Stupid It Actually Became Kind Of Awesome

Gotham has had many problems during its inaugural season, most of which revolve around its refusal to give characters other than the Penguin anything resembling compelling storylines. “The Blind Fortune Teller” has a unique solution to this — make all the storylines so dumb you can’t believe they’re happening. It’s compelling like a car wreck…

What Happens When Your Brain Always Provides You With The Wrong Word

Jargon aphasia is a strange syndrome which cause people to suddenly say nonsense words while otherwise speaking normally. Often they won’t even know that they did it. And scientists are not entirely sure what that means. Jargon aphasia arises from brain damage, either from traumatic injury or some kind of degenerative syndrome. It involves substituting…

Will Caitlin Snow Turn Villainous On The Flash?

Another round of rumors call for the death of a major character in The Force Awakens. Mark Ruffalo talks about the Hulk getting his own movie, while Sophie Turner talks about the potential for Game of Thrones to move to the big screen. Plus what’s ahead on The 100, The Originals, Flash and more. Spoilers…

The Long, Complicated, and Secret History of Harley Quinn

If you somehow don’t know who Harley Quinn is, Vulture has done a very long and detailed history on her. Even if you do know who she is, this will have new information on the best-selling female character in comics. And then there’s the question of how she got so popular, so fast From inspiration,…

Deleted Scenes from Mockingjay Part 1 Tell Us All About Peeta

Mostly. The one above has Peeta and President Snow, with Donald Sutherland at his genteel dangerous best. The one below has Katniss and Haymitch talking about Peeta. The last one is the only non-Peeta related one, but it’s probably the one that I miss from the film the most. It’s a funny and sweet little…

A Crack Appears In the Sun

This photo, taken last week by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), shows a “filament” of cooler solar material hovering over the surface of the sun. The effect is of a huge crack across the sun, as if something is preparing to burst out. Image Credit: NASA/SDO NASA explains: SDO shows colder material as dark and…

X-Men: Apocalypse Casts Its Nightcrawler

Also, it looks like Bryan Singer has finally figured out a way to bring Nightcrawler back into the X-Men movies. Singer used Instagram to announce that Kodi Smit-Mcphee (the voice of ParaNorman and Tolly on Gallipoli) will become the blue elf. Singer’s said before that he’s wanted to bring the character back to the big…

How Visual Effects Create the Retro-Futuristic World of Agent Carter

On Agent Carter, visual effects don’t just create explosions or give an extra oomph to Howard Stark’s creations, they also help the show recreate the 1940s New York in 2010s Los Angeles. In this early exclusive from WIRED, you can see just how much work a television schedule is for VFX Supervisor Sheena Duggal and…

Everything About Kepler-432b Is Extreme, Especially The Way It’s Going To Die

Astronomers are calling Kepler-432b a ‘maverick’ planet because everything about this newly found exoplanet is an extreme, and is unlike anything we’ve found before. Above: Illustration of the orbit of Kepler-432b (inner, red) in comparison to the orbit of Mercury around the Sun (outer, orange). Credit: Dr. Sabine Reffert. This is a giant, dense planet…

Game Of Thrones Season 4 Storyboards Include A Dragon Attack

Here’s a privileged look inside the making of Game of Thrones season four. The Making Game of Thrones blog posted a video about the process of making storyboards for the show — plus some actual storyboards from season four. Including a dragon attack, a battle against wights, and Ghost in action! First, here’s the video,…

No Matter How Old His Son Got, They Could Always Bond Over Giant Robots

Over the years, they’d disagree over politics and romance and money, but one thing was for certain: whenever they were walking together and spotted one of those two-story robots waiting in its charging station, they would both look up and smile. Robert Kim painted this digital piece, the second in a series of two father-son…

This Self-Published Novel Got An Award Nomination…And A New Publisher

Becky Chambers raised $2,810 on Kickstarter back in 2012 to self-publish her first science fiction novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. And this week, Angry Planet was shortlisted for the Golden Tentacle Award for best SF debut, and got a nifty book deal with Hodderscape. Angry Planet was one of Tor.com’s selections…

What Really Separates Ghost Stories From Zombie And Vampire Tales

The undead, in all sorts of forms, have been haunting our fiction, both lately and in the much more distant past. Here, author Lauren Oliver tells us why (despite competition from plenty of other supernatural characters) ghost stories remain simply unkillable. Image: Larkwind Oliver joined us today to take questions about her novel Rooms, whose…

“Gourmand Syndrome” Is The Most Delicious Kind Of Brain Injury

A person you know has just had a stroke. This, naturally, is terrible news. Apart from the initial damage, the effects can linger for years. But sometimes, the effects that linger are weird but fantastic. Top image: Cheddar on Flickr. Gourmand syndrome is both a brain injury and an eating disorder, which sounds bad until…

Dalek Baby Stroller Is Here To EXTERMINATE Your Heart

We’ve seen the Tiki Dalek and lots of Dalek dresses — but this is the best Dalek costume ever. Just remember: Even though this Dalek looks sort of like a cute baby, it still aims to exterminate all life forms. So don’t trust it! https://gizmodo.com/the-tiki-dalek-is-the-supreme-life-form-in-the-universe-5832301 https://gizmodo.com/how-to-make-your-own-amazing-dalek-dress-5905508 https://gizmodo.com/baby-dalek-dress-is-perfect-for-your-infant-cyborg-in-t-5973347 Photographed at Gallifrey One last weekend by Rye…

See What It’s Really Like To Police Superheroes In Powers 

This is probably the best look we’ve seen yet at Powers, Playstation’s attempt to translate Brian Michael Bendis’ comic to television. It’s a featurette that basically breaks down the entire concept of the comic which is basically cops for superheroes. But with more blood. Take a look — is it everything you ever wanted?