SF Signal: Mind Meld: The Tricky Trope of Time Travel

At SF Signal's weekly panel discussion, Mind Meld, this week's topic is: The Tricky Trope of Time Travel. Paul Levinson, Maureen Kincaid Speller, Gwyneth Jones, Ted Chiang, Robert Charles Wilson, Veronica Hollinger, Robert Reed, Paul Graham Raven, Tom Purdom and Stefan Ekman discuss these questions: Time travel is one of the trickiest SF/F tropes to use well. Why use it at all? What stories have used it to the best effect?

Battlestar Galactica - SciFi Scanner: Ronald D. Moore Interview

Once again, many thanks to SF Signal for the heads up on the interview.

At AMC's (American Movie Channel) SciFi Scanner:

(Please follow the link for the complete interview.)



Ronald D. Moore

Battlestar Galactica's Ronald D. Moore Promises Final Cylon Reveal Will Be...

by Clayton Neuman from his Masters of the SciFi Universe interview column

Star Trek veteran and Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore discusses religion, revelations and resolutions in the series' final season, which begins January 16.

A brief excerpt:

Q: The build-up to the final Cylon has been unprecedented. How is the revelation not going to be a letdown?

A: It will never be as powerful as the build-up. I resigned myself to that a long time ago. The "Who Shot JR" of it all is an instructive lesson: No matter who it is, it's still going to be a bit of a letdown. But I decided that precisely because of that, it wasn't going to be in the final episode. I didn't want that to become the entire series. I'm sure there will be a variety of reactions. Some people will love it, some people will hate it. But I think when you see how the revelation fits into the overall mythology of the show, when all the questions are answered by the end, then it'll make sense and you'll think, "Oh, well it kind of had to be that person."

Stargate SG-1 - Cliff Simon - Cult Pop: Video Interview

With many thanks to SF Signal for the heads up:



At Cult Pop:

New! 19-December-2008

- Cult Pop 24, Earlier this year Cult Pop and Jim Hall visited the 2008 [Detroit Motor City] Comicon. He interviewed so many interesting people that we will have two shows. This is the first one where Jim interviews Eric Estrada, Ponch, from "CHIPs", Lou Ferrigno, the Hulk from the TV show of the same name, Cliff Simon "Ba'al" from "Stargate SG1", The Ghoul, one of our favorite guests, and finally Walter Koenig, "Checkov" from the original "Star Trek" TV series. Also, for those with high speed DSL or cable modems view this show in Hi Def!!

Stargate: Continuum - SF Signal: Continuum DVD Contest - US & Canada Only

From SF Signal:

GIVEAWAY: Stargate - Continuum



The latest Stargate movie, Stargate - Continuum is releasing on July 29th. And now, 3 lucky SF Signal readers can win their very own copies of the DVD! Just follow the simple rules below to win:


1. The contest runs from today, July 24 through July 31st (11:59pm CT).

2. Send an email to: contest [at] sfsignal [dot] com

3. In the subject line please put 'Stargate' so we can keep track.

4. Only one email per person. US/Canada only again.

5. Please include your snail mail address so we can pass them on for the winners.

I know there are many Stargate fans out there so get to emailing!



The evil Goa'uld System Lord Ba'al (Cliff Simon)

Download FREE SciFi Fiction through July 27 '08

With many thanks to SF Signal for the heads up!

The new TOR web site has gone live!



"Original fiction from star authors. Galleries of images from the field’s best artists. News and commentary about not just Tor books, but the SF world overall. Topical coverage of major events like San Diego Comic Con (July 23-27) and the World Science Fiction Convention (August 6-10). Weblog posts and guest appearances by some of the most interesting personalities and thinkers around. And your own feedback and discussions, plus tools to enable you to track the subjects and conversations you care about the most."

Following is a list of titles available on www.tor.com:

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
Farthing by Jo Walton
The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedies Lackey & James Mallory
Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell
Lord of the Isles by David Drake
Through Wolf’s Eyes by Jane Lindskold
The Disunited States of America by Harry Turtledove
Reiffen’s Choice by S.C. Butler
Sun of Suns by Karl Schroeder
Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest
Spirit Gate by Kate Elliot
Starfish by Peter Watts
Touch of Evil by C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp
A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham
Orphans of Chaos by John Wright
In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
In the Midnight Hour by Patti O'Shea
Battlestar Galactica by Jeffrey A. Carver
Flash by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Soul by Tobsha Learner
Darkness of the Light by Peter David
Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa

And there are desktop wallpapers available too, including:



Darrell K. Sweet’s painting, The Dragon Reborn, for Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series

Available in these sizes:

320x480 (iPhone), 1024x768, 1280x800, 1280x1024, 1680x1050, 1600x1200

Stargate Atlantis - SF Signal: SGA Season 4 DVD Contest & The X-Files!

From SF Signal:

(Please follow the link for the complete contest information.)

GIVEAWAY: The X-Files and Stargate: Atlantis DVDs

We have an very cool giveaway for our readers, courtesy of Fox. We have 2 different DVD sets up for grabs:

The X-Files Revelations is a two-disc DVD set selected by series creator Chris Carter himself. All eight full hour episodes in the compilation include special on-camera introductions by Carter and producer Frank Spotnitz, revealing why each were chosen and how they relate to the highly anticipated feature film, invading theaters on July 25th...

**snippage**



We also have season 4 of Stargate: Atlantis! In Season Four, SG-1's Award- Winning star Amanda Tapping crosses over as the new leader, joining the Atlantis cast as television's favorite astrophysicist Commander Samantha Carter, along with the return of Jewel Staite (Firefly, Serenity) reprising her role of Dr. Keller, a physician who joins the Atlantis expedition.

**snippage**

What's really cool is that we have not 1, but 2 sets of each up for grabs! And so, to the rules:

1. Send an email to: contest [at] sfsignal [dot] com

2. In the subject line put either "Xfiles" or "Stargate", to let us know which set you'd like.

3. Only one email per person, per set please. This means if you'd like a shot at both, you'll have to send us two emails.

4. Please include a snail mail address so the sets can be shipped out to you.

5. This contest will run for two weeks, ending just before midnight on July 16th. The sets should be shipped out within the week following.

6. Sit back and wait in breathless anticipation for your congratulatory email!

If you like free stuff, and who doesn't?, now is your chance to score some cool SF swag. Send in those emails!

Stargate Atlantis - NEW 'Whispers' Production Photos Apr 25 '08

From Joseph Mallozzi's blog update for April 25, 2008:

http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/2008/04/25/april-25-2008-whispers-day-3/

(Please follow the link for the complete blog update. And to view the photos in their full-size, higher-resolution format.)

April 25, 2008: Whispers Day 3

Dr. Carson Becket (Paul McGillion)



You know what would be awesome? Sleep. Unfortunately, my French bulldog Lulu sees to it that I'm awake by 6:30 a.m. every morning - barking, whining, chewing on my ear and, if I attempt to ignore her, grabbing a corner of my pillow and tugging it out from beneath my head if. So even though it's a late call, sleeping in is only a theoretical possibility for me.

Maj. Anne Teldy (Christina Cox) and Sgt. Dusty Mehra (Janina Gavankar)



But I'm not complaining. It only sounds like I'm complaining. In reality, I'm having a terrific (dare I say corking) time on set. Will [Waring - the director] is an affable host who, between fielding my last minute dialogue adjustments and assisting me in locating my oft-misplaced chair, has also found time to direct the episode. It's all coming along very nicely (and spookily) and I'm sure fans will be both
delighted with and terrified by the final product.

Sgt. Dusty Mehra




I'm able to get this entry in early today thanks to a late start which has us breaking for lunch at 4:30 p.m. today. For our 8:30 p.m. dinner tonight, I've ordered pizza and wings for the cast and crew as a thank you for all of their hard work (shooting Whispers hasn't been easy and they`ve been doing an incredible job). All-dressed, spicy chicken, pepperoni and cheese, veggie, and even a couple of ham and pineapples for the fringe crowd.

Paul McGillion, Director Will Waring and Janina Gavankar




The gang over at SF Signal were kind enough to ask me to participate in their recent Mind Meld feature, an ongoing interview/feature in which a bunch of people are asked to a respond to a single question.

They asked:

Q: Which author, living or otherwise, do you believe deserves more recognition than they currently receive and why?

http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/006576.html

**snippage**