Is the Governor the true hero of The Walking Dead?!

No, he’s not. Not even close. But I had a few questions about my views on The Walking Dead season 3, its finale and my recap this week, so I thought I’d address them. Plus, “Postal Apocalypse” looks at the future of genetics, nerd apparel, and the inevitable decline of civilization! Read on, but don’t…

Watch this black hole take a bite out of a rogue super-Jupiter

Astronomers working at the ESA’s Integral Space Observatory have observed a planet about 14-to-30 times the mass of Jupiter stray just a little too close to a dormant black hole. The gas giant (or possibly a brown dwarf) managed to avoid complete annihilation, but the black hole was still able to chomp down on a…

Here’s Everything Wrong With Life of Pi

Life of Pi may have proved a massive success with its captivating storyline and combination of live action and computer animation—but there’s plenty wrong with the film besides the idea of being stranded on a lifeboat with a tiger. Fortunately, the folks at Cinema Sins have scrutinized the film and pointed out every little thing…

A Gorgeous Ultra-HD Video Reel of the San Francisco Bay Area

Need a four-minute vacation? Sit back and enjoy this beautiful aerial footage of one of America’s most photogenic metropolitan areas. This is a test reel, produced by the folks at Teton Gravity Research, designed to test its new C520 gyro-stabilized camera system. Directed by TGR co-founder Todd Jones, the video’s score may be a little…

Two views of the Earth in ultraviolet

We’ve seen the famous picture of Earth as taken from the moon There are two slightly less famous versions; they’re both lunar pictures of the Earth, but they’re both pictures taken from ultraviolet cameras. On the left we have a straightforward picture of the Earth in the sunlight. It was taken by the Far UV…

This is what happens when you give a baby a lightsaber

What happens? Bad news, that’s what happens. My favorite part is the older brother’s plaintive plea at the end: “Why do they even make Baby Lightsabers?!” For the record, the title of the video is “Darth Baby’s Lightsaber;” I bring it up only to point out that Darth Baby is still a less stupid name…

A classic monster returns for Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary. Plus S.H.I.E.L.D. hints from Agent Coulson himself!

Check out new videos for Star Trek Into Darkness, Iron Man 3, Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, and more. Captain America: The Winter Soldier starts filming, while The Avengers 2 makes plans for 2014. An Arrested Development star joins Ninja Turtles. Guillermo del Toro is optimistic about a Pacific Rim sequel, while James McAvoy explains…

If Every Internet Commenter’s Wish Really Came True

I love Internet commenters because they make me laugh. The good ones are so funny! And even when they’re awful and mean spirited and filled with hate, there’s a certain humor that comes from that sort of silliness. But what if commenters actually get what they wish for in their comments? This comic hilariously explains…

Check out the first footage of Thor 2 and glimpses of Ant-Man!

Marvel already redefined superhero movies — but it looks like they have ambitious plans for their next wave! This morning we showed you some new concept art of the Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Now see the preview video that art came from. Including brand new Thor: The Dark World…

FBI comes clean about infamous “UFO memo”

A couple of years ago, the FBI freaked out UFOlogists by making a ton of old documents public online — one of which was a memo sent to J. Edgar Hoover about a man who had seen flying saucers. It is the most popular document in the FBI Vault, accessed almost a million times. The…

Cult director Jess Franco, director of classic film Necronomicon, has just died.

NASA Researchers: Nuclear power will kill fewer people than natural gas

Writing in the latest issue of Environmental Science & Technology, NASA scientists Pushker A. Kharecha and James E. Hansen report that nuclear energy leads to fewer pollution-related deaths and greenhouse gas emissions compared with fossil-fuel sources: Using historical production data, we calculate that global nuclear power has prevented about 1.84 million air pollution-related deaths and…

How does Being Human manage to make a zombie fashion show cute?

Sometimes watching Being Human is like cradling a big basket of mewing kittens. This show can channel the sex powers of Sam Witwer’s chin, the genuine sweetness of Meaghan Rath and the disarmingly comical charm of Sam Huntington. But Being Human is truly at its best when it wraps all three characters together and lets…

io9 Book Club Reminder: Meeting 4/9 to discuss Tobias Buckell’s The Apocalypse Ocean

This month, we’ll be reading Tobias Buckell’s crowd-funded novel The Apocalypse Ocean. It’s the fourth book in his Xenowealth series — but don’t worry! It stands on its own. Caveat: you may love it so much that you have to go back and read the previous three when you’re done. I forgot to remind folks…

The comic book that can explain synthetic biology to anyone

Want to understand how synthetic biology might change the world? Here’s a scientific video for you. Too much? But wait, there’s also a comic book . . . Over at science e-book review site Download the Universe, Carl Zimmer has an interesting review of a new paper from synthetic biologist Drew Endy, as well as…

What’s your favorite ultimate weapon of all time?

Science fiction is full of doomsday weapons. WMDs that can wipe out planets, or erase whole star systems from the map. They serve as a metaphor for science gone wrong, the abuse of power, or just an awesome giant planet-crushing laser. What’s your favorite massive super-weapon from science fiction? Share your choices below — and…

Maintain your geek cred with these scifi-themed computer components

Just because you’re at work doesn’t mean you have to stop obsessing over science fiction. Here are a few devices that will let you use your machines in the dorkiest way possible. The Dalek Desk Defender for the maximum security The Dalek has a motion sensor to detect the unwanted people around the computer. If…

Is it time we got over the taboo against human enhancement?

Slate writer Will Oremus has put together a fairly revealing article about how easy it’s becoming to supercharge our brains, prompting him to wonder why there’s still so much push-back against the idea of technologically enhancing ourselves. The focus of Oremus’s article is on the surprising benefits that can be gleaned from transcranial direct-current stimulation…

Your Exclusive First Look at Guy Gavriel Kay’s Epic New Novel, River of Stars

Today is the release date for River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay — a historical fantasy epic that people are calling “ambitious” and “an exceptional piece of work.” And here’s a brand new exclusive excerpt, which takes us deep inside the realm of Kitai, which we first discovered in Kay’s Under Heaven. Kay himself…

Mad gods! Jesus clones! Snow angels! Ice cream trucks! You can’t handle the insanity of This Week’s Comics!

The big news is that the terrifying Thanos returns to the Marvel universe this week! Now, you folks who only know him by the stinger during the Avengers’ movie credits may not know why he’s so scary, especially since he spends most of his time trying to impress his girlfriend. Here’s the problem: His girlfriend…