The Invasion is over, everyone. and the science fiction occupation has begun. While “sci-fi” once remained relegated to the Area 51s of the FOX Network or the Sci-Fi Channel, it has now descended from the digital cable clouds and demanded that we take them to our major network. A quick look at the weekly listings reveals NBC, ABC, CBS and the CW all kicking off prime time science fiction with new shows, returning shows, and re-imagined ones to boot. While I naturally couldn’t watch everything scif-fi/horror (I missed Supernatural), and some new shows didn’t sprout until next week (Pushing Daisies on ABC), I did what I could to watch, and rate, the premieres of the fall television sci-fi season.

Monday - Heroes (NBC)
Monday - Chuck (NBC)
Tuesday - Reaper (CW)
Wednesday - Bionic Woman (NBC)
Thursday - Smallville (CW)
Friday - Moonlight (CBS)

I’ll review them in the order I encountered them last week:

Heroes (Mondays, 9pm)
For those who slept through the last year in entertainment, this smash hit is essentially X-Men, without the stylized leather biker suits and Star Trek Captain. Grounding mankind’s genetic mutation in a more realistic backdrop, focusing on people instead of superheroics, the series featured a LOST-sized cast of characters from all walks of life converging in New York City as a prophesized catastrophe drew nigh. Unfortunately, the season finale received mixed reviews, as budget constraints made the final conflagration less than many hoped (a phenomenal earlier episode involving a glimpse of a dark, possible future, stole the finale’s thunder).

The smash hit of last season began this year’s chapter. with a whimper. Set four months after the climax, we find former senate candidate and flight-capable Nathan Petrelli lamenting the loss of his brother, medicating his guilt with alcohol. Time-bending Hiro has traveled to ancient Japan, discovering that his romanticized hero from the past is a drunken Brit a far cry from his legend. Ex-cheerleader Claire is laying low in a small town with her family, trying to normal in high school while her foster Father (and former division head of the company seeking to control the heroes) works in a local copy store (his altercation with the assistant manager is probably the best part of the episode). (more…)

There are some filmmakers that can sharply divide: some people love them, others hate them. Many times these controversial directors remain in the independent circuit… although occasionally a polarizing Oliver Stone or Michael Bay becomes notorious in the mainstream. One actor/director who makes this grade is Woody Allen, who has made headlines not only as a screenwriter and Oscar Award winner, but also for his controversial personal life. I can’t say I’m a Woody Allen fan… but I can’t avoid the fact that he’s contributed to some truly interesting films that warrant viewing and conversation. Zach Malm, a member of Mars Hill Church, reviewed Crimes and Misdemeanors at our sister site, Mars Hill Arts. Check out the review by clicking HERE.

I’m blessed to get into advance screenings and contribute movie reviews for Hollywood Jesus from time to time. This time it was precisely 3:10… the time a steam puffing train rolls into Yuma with actors Christian Bale and Russell Crowe in the newest release from Lion’s Gate Pictures. Bale is one of my favorite actors, and Crowe typically delivers great work, even if he does have personal habits I don’t relish. However, while 3:10 To Yuma takes a shot at a dark, modern retelling of a classic western, this cinematic showdown barely rates the O.K. Corral. The screenplay and direction just don’t match the caliber of acting.

My review is available by clicking here. You can browse reviews by other HJ reviewers as well, of 3:10 To Yuma and more.

J.J. Abrams has gone where no one else dared.

Not only is it officially announced that we’ll be seeing another Star Trek feature next year (by the red-hot director who gave us Lost, Alias, Mission Impossible 3, and is producing 1-18-08), it’s now on the record that this film will feature classic Star Trek characters Kirk and Spock, played by new actors. The first “reveal” came at the San Diego Comic Con where it was announced that Zachary Quinto, made a star in the immensely popular television hit “Heroes” will play the pointy-eared and pointy-eyebrowed Vulcan, Mr. Spock.

At this point, the dashing and bull-headed Captain Kirk has yet to be cast. Rumors of Matt Damon and Jensen Ackles have been floating around the web, but the casting eagle has not landed. Fans seem quite divided over the return to classic characters played by different actors. Personally, I don’t see the problem. I think it’s precisely what the franchise needs.

Would we really have wanted Batman to end with Adam West? Granted, many thought Bond should have ended with Sean Connery. but then came Daniel Craig. Harrison Ford interpreted Jack Ryan quite well after Alec Baldwin did The Hunt for Red October, but then we got Ben Affleck. sigh.

Moreover, this actually follows a far grander tradition. After all, how many men have played Zorro? Sherlock Holmes? Tarzan? James Bond? Batman? If a truly lasting character has been created, it should outlast the actor. One can point out that Star Trek originated on television with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, whereas Tarzan and most others mentioned above originated in books or comics. and only THEN found their way to the cinematic medium to be played by various actors. I understand the slight difference, but don’t think it nullifies the concept. I am personally sad to see another Indiana Jones film staring Ford; much as I love much of Harrison’s body of work, I think the globe-trotting archeologist needs fresh blood.

Back to Star Trek, I’ll agree that no one can ever hope to replace the amazing William Shatner (who. could possibly. replace the Shat? I. don’t know) but that doesn’t mean someone can’t bring us an innovative, updated, 21st century interpretation of Captain Kirk. After all, while many will cry out against me, the later Star Treks were all just clones of the original. It doesn’t take a genius to look at “The Next Generation” and see that Data was Spock, O’Brien was Scotty, and Wesley Crusher was. just annoying. Other characters were simply split or amalgamated, and it didn’t attract new fans because it felt like it had so much baggage. By the time you got to “The Doctor” on Voyager, he was a clone of Data mixed with Dr. McCoy. By the time we got to “Enterprise”, it was clear we’d taken a quantum leap down into weaksville. Beam me up Scotty; there’s no intelligent life left in this franchise.

As discussed in previous posts, there is really nothing new under the sun; the same narrative themes pop up again and again. Still, many Star Trek fans are livid that they’re re-imagining Kirk and Spock with new actors.  Criticism isn’t always wrong, mind you… but criticising something for being done at all is different from critiquing something for being done poorly. It’s certainly acceptable to criticize a BAD version of an iconic character after it’s been attempted; Joel Schumacher’s Batman will forever leave a bad bat-taste in people’s mouths. and yet Christopher Nolan proved the Dark Knight had some batarangs left in him. How many people even remember the other Captain’s names, really? Kirk and Spock, however, are known globally. A fresh start for Star Trek with their most iconic, mythical characters will likely draw an audience once again. I say we give J.J. and his crew a fair shot.

A parting shot to all the “purists” out there; what is it about a character, or actor, or show, that makes it so “sacrosanct” as not to be trifled with? Such passion about a television show seriously borders on worship. Whether it’s worshipping your favorite actor, favorite show, or just a nostalgic snapshot from your childhood, it’s time to let the false god go. Even I’m humble enough to recognize my pot is as black as the kettle, cursing the new Battlestar Galactica like a fool a few years ago, for example. now proven to be quite the slice of dynamic storytelling.

When someone shows up saying he’s Jesus and is clearly a bad imitation, I’ll shake my head and walk away. When someone is going to reprise a fictional captain of a cardboard spaceship, and I’m suddenly cruising at Warp Factor Freakout by the mere idea of it… let’s just say I think it’s time to stop worshipping a TV show and do what William Shatner himself told a gaggle of Trekkies on SNL:

Get a life.

What exactly was the obsession with the Drive-In Movie? Was it really that much more economical than building a theater? Was it our 50s love affair with the car? You know, drive-in restaurants, drive-in movies, drive-in necking at make-out point. the list goes on, followed by a much needed trip to the gym to unload that extra padding in the posterior caused by never getting off the freakin’ bench seat.

While I’m sure Wikipedia could supply all the answers, it was on a whim earlier this summer that I went elsewhere online to find out if there were any Drive-In Theatres left in Washington state.

After all, I first saw Star Wars on a Drive-In screen. though not the screen I was SUPPOSED to be watching, mind you; we were there in 1977 to watch The Shaggy D.A., but my brother and I kept turning around and watching the screen behind us to the right, catching glimpses of Darth Vader while bad Disney live-action comedy sputtered out of the speaker hooked on the car window. Today, however, I was pretty sure our local Drive-In theaters had all transformed from outdoor cinemas to swap meets, and from swap meets to the site of the latest Home Depot (coming soon!).

Much to my surprise, there were two throwback theaters within reasonable distance still operating during the summer of 2007. (There’s a great website that supplies a lot of information on these drive-in dinosaurs, many of whom seem to have web-pages built in the Jurassic period that are hard to find using search engines). Not only had they avoided being transformed into a strip mall or warehouse store, the one nearest me was showing Transformers, right after the kid-friendlier feature Ratatouille. Somehow, watching Autobots in my automobile seemed appropriate. Unpacking my clip-on mullet and slapping a cowboy hat on my wife, we threw folding chairs in the CRV and headed for Everett and the Puget Park Drive-in.

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