Those old enough will remember that “space 1999″ was a science fiction series created by Gerry Anderson and starred Martin Landau (as Commander John Koenig). It chronicled the adventures of Moonbase Alpha (a research center stationed on earth’s moon), after an enormous nuclear waste explosion sends the moon, and men, women and children living on it, hurling through the galaxy. As they journey toward the unknown, the residents of Moonbase Alpha encounter many different forms of alien life, new civilizations and experience bizarre occurrences outside of human understanding.  If we forget about the plausibility of story (wouldn’t an explosion on the moon either blow it up entirely or actually drive the moon INTO the Earth) at the time it was a fantastic series to watch and I loved it.

ITV Studios America is teaming with HDFilms to re-imagine the series, and make it accessible to fans of the original, as well as those who’ve never heard of the program before.  Science fiction is a powerful format capable of visualizing the human condition in thought-provoking ways,” said HDFilms president Jace Hall,who will spearhead the effort and serve as an executive producer. “While we are indeed re-imagining the franchise and bringing something new and relevant to today’s audiences,” continued Hall, ”I feel strongly that some of the overall tones set by the original “Space 1999″ television show represent an exciting platform to explore possibilities.”

Not much is know about the cast or story at the moment.  Although it is thought that in this new one it’s going to be down to a dangerous super-collider style physics experiment going wrong and opening a rogue worm hole which sucks the moon away and keeps on spitting it into new solar systems every episode.

At the moment I’m unconvinced at to whether this will work or not.  In my opinion, most of the time, reboots just don’t work.  They don’t have to the atmosphere or story of the original.  Take the reboot of “V” which was an absolute failure in my opinion.

So what do you think? Do you agree with me? Do you know of any reboots that has worked? And are there any other classic Science fiction TV series you would like to see rebooted?

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I know its only been just over a month since the christmas special of “Doctor Who” but I am afraid I am missing it.  I am so sad that I have even been doing a lot of thinking about what delights we may have in the new series. I am a huge Doctor Who fan and have been watching it on & off since the 70′s and in my opinion it has got better and better. Although I  did not watch it much when Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy played the Doctor I got hooked again in 2005 when the series returned with Christopher Eccleston. I must admit that when Chistopher Eccelston left I never dreamed that David Tennant would do a better job.  But he did.  And when David left my heart sunk even lower because I thought he was amazing and irreplaceable, but Matt Smith (who I’m afraid I had never heard of before Doctor Who) has made it his own.

And now later this year we will see a new series of this classic science fiction series back on our screens.  Filming is due at the end of february. Thus far Steven Moffat has been pretty tight-lipped about the new series. It’s not even clear how many episodes there will be. Or even if it will be split between 2012 and 2013 to incorporate the 50th year anniversary.  We do know that we will see a bit of Amy and Rory and that they will be leaving during the series. He is quoted as saying “Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary is coming. In Cardiff, we’re gearing up for the biggest, the best and the most ambitious season we’ve ever made. There will be shocks, surprises and heartbreak – the Doctor is about to say goodbye to his very best friends, Amy and Rory.”

There is even rumour of a new companion but no news as to who it is. Mr  Moffat says “And then he’s about to say hello to someone very different – the Doctor is going to meet someone very new in the very last place he could ever have expected…” What ever that could mean I do not know.  Does it mean we might see something other than an earth-born human joining the Doctor?

There has also been a lot of speculation about what/who is going to appear in the 50th year anniversary. Will there be new monsters? Will the daleks or master return? Will it be a cross over story with an “old” Doctor Who series (like with the Star Trek deep space nine episode ”Trials and Tribble-ations” where Captain Sisko and his crew go back to the time of Captain Kirk in the original “star trek” to find a bomb disguised as a tribble) or something completely new and unexpected?  Personally I would like to see a couple of older companions joining him, for example Donna, Rose Tyler, K9 and Captain Jack Harkness.  Wouldnt that be fantastic.  And since there is no “Torchwood” this year does that mean that John Barrowman is leaving time open for him to film in “Doctor Who”, or am I just clutching at straws? I even read somewhere, can’t remember where, that there maybe a remote possibility of different past “Doctors” appearing in some sort of reunion story.

Anyway, all I know is that I can’t wait. And when I get news I will blog it .

Have you heard any gossip or want to see something in the new “Doctor Who” series let me know.

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If you know me then you will know I don’t normally ask people for money but as you may know one of my goals for 2012 is to complete the Bupa Manchester 10 k run in under an hour.

The Manchester 10K run takes place on the 20th May and last year I completed it in an 1 hr and 30 mins. Normally I would run in aid of cancer research (as both of my parents were taken from me by this disease) but this year I thought I would raise money for something different and run for a couple for a local charities instead.  Its taken me a couple of months but I have finally decided what charities to run for.

There are two charities that I have chosen. The “one in eleven” appeal and “Sanctuary for Veterans”, described below.  My aim is to raise £200 which will be split between the two charities.  You can either sponsor me when you see me in person or you can sponsor me using the link below. Also if you prefer you can wait till I have completed the event.  It’s up to you.

To sponsor me online please click here

The details of each of the charities are as follows…….

1) One in Eleven

The one in eleven appeal aims to raise a million pounds to create a new Neonatal Unit at Leighton Hospital, Crewe. Its called the one in eleven appeal because One in eleven babies born in Mid Cheshire every year needs additional support – ranging from a few hours of special care to a few weeks in an intensive care unit. The One in Eleven Appeal is aiming to raise significant funds for a new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to further enhance the facilities at Mid Cheshire Hospitals. This will help transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable babies born in our local area.

This is very close to my heart as when Oscar (my son) was born he needed additional support in Crewe’s neonatal unit due to complications from an infection and jaundice. He was in there a week and we felt very lucky to have such a unit to treat our son.

2) Sanctuary for Veterans

The sanctuary for veterans will provide purpose-built luxury accommodation and support for injured veterans and their families.  It will also provide a bespoke service for widow(er)’s and their children. I personally don’t think we do enough for the men and women who protect our country. And with the recent wars and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan the statistics of service personnel being discharged through injury are set to rise dramatically.  Our country cannot cope with the needs and requirements of these brave individuals, because the demand and responsibility is too much.

Sanctuary for veterans is the brain child of Joe O’Connor who I have met through networking.  He is an inspirational speaker, who was seriously injured in  1999 whilst on a Special Forces training  exercise. He suffered a broken neck after a 400ft fall down a Welsh  mountainside. After spending years rehabilitating and rebuilding  his  life the idea was born  and Joe  became determined to turn a negative into a positive,  turning  this dream  into a reality.

So that’s it really.  I will keep you updated with progress of my training. At the moment my training is going really well and I am on target to smash last years time.

If you want to join me in the fun then click  http://www.greatrun.org/events/event.aspx?id=4 for more information. There is still time to enter .

To sponsor me online please click here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and if you are going to sponsor me, thankyou .

This month’s character and space ship of the month, Batman and Babylon 5.

And I reveal My Top 10 Superheroes and villains

And this months short story

And your comments and letters

And more………

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In the present day, scientists in the Arctic uncover a circular object with a red, white and blue motif.

In March 1942, Nazi officer Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) and his men invade Tønsberg, Norway, to steal a mysterious tesseract possessing untold powers. In New York City, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is rejected for World War II military duty due to various health and physical issues. While attending an exhibition of future technologies with his friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Rogers again attempts to enlist. Having overheard Rogers’ conversation with Barnes about wanting to help in the war, Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) allows Rogers to enlist. He is recruited as part of a “super-soldier” experiment under Erskine, Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones), and British agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). Phillips is unconvinced of Erskine’s claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure but relents after seeing Rogers commit an act of self-sacrificing bravery. The night before the treatment, Erskine reveals to Rogers that Schmidt underwent an imperfect version of the treatment, and suffered side-effects.

In Europe, Schmidt and Dr. Arnim Zola (Toby Jones) successfully harness the energies of the tesseract, intending to use the power to fuel Zola’s inventions. Schmidt, having discovered Erskine’s location, dispatches an assassin to kill him. In America, Erskine subjects Rogers to the super-soldier treatment, injecting him with a special serum and dosing him with “vita-rays”. After Rogers emerges from the experiment taller and muscular, one of the attendees kills Erskine, revealing himself as Schmidt’s assassin, Heinz Kruger (Richard Armitage). Rogers pursues and captures Kruger but the assassin commits suicide via cyanide capsule before he can be interrogated.

With Erskine dead and the super-soldier formula lost, U.S. Senator Brandt (Michael Brandon) has Rogers tour the nation in a colorful costume as “Captain America” to promote war bonds rather than allow scientists to study him and attempt to rediscover Erskine’s formula. In Italy 1943, while on tour performing for active servicemen, Rogers learns that Barnes’ unit was lost in battle against Schmidt’s forces. Refusing to believe that Barnes is dead, Rogers mounts a solo rescue attempt with Carter and Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) flying him behind enemy lines. Rogers infiltrates the fortress belonging to Schmidt’s HYDRA organization, freeing Barnes and the other captured soldiers. Rogers confronts Schmidt who reveals his face to be a mask, removing it to display the red, skull-like face that earned him the sobriquet, the Red Skull. Schmidt escapes and Rogers returns to base with the freed soldiers.

Rogers recruits Barnes and some fellow soldiers to attack the other known HYDRA bases. Stark outfits Rogers with advanced equipment, in particular a circular shield made of vibranium, a rare, nigh-indestructible metal. Rogers and his team successfully sabotage various HYDRA operations. The final HYDRA stronghold is located and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from using WMDs on American cities. In the resulting fight on board Schmidt’s plabe carrying the tesseract, Schmidt is killed and Rogers crashes the plane into the Arctic. Stark later recovers the tesseract from the ocean floor, but is unable to locate Rogers or the aircraft.

Rogers awakens in a 1940s-style hospital room. Deducing that something is wrong due to an anachronistic radio broadcast, he flees outside into what is revealed to be present-day Times Square. There Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) informs him he has been “asleep” for nearly 70 years.

In the post-credits scene, Fury approaches Rogers, proposing a mission with worldwide ramifications.

In my opinion, this was a thoroughly enjoyable film with some pretty good special effects and lays the foundations for this years “Avengers” movie.  I think It has been very clever how they have managed to link the Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America films for the “Avengers” movie. I just hope it satisfies my expectations. Anyway, as a Science Fiction Superhero film I thought Captain America was pretty good.  I think it’s always nice to see how superheroes start and where they get their powers from.  In addition, I thought Chris Evans was awesome as captain america. Although I must admit I thought he was going to say “flame on” at one point .

So well worth a watch in my opinion.

What do you think?

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January has always been hard for me.  The cold winter months and dark nights really did make me feel down and unmotivated.  November and December are just about bearable as there’s christmas to look forward to.  But after the new year celebrations I normally felt down and I just want to sleep and mope around. And it’s not until spring kicks in that I feel human again.

when you are self-employed and work from home, like me, it can be even worse.

I don’t think I am the only person that thinks this as psychologists believe January is a depressing time for many. The weather’s awful, you get less daylight than a stunted dandelion and your body is struggling to cope with the withdrawal of the depression-alleviating calorific foods, such as chocolate, of the festive period. January is one long post-Christmas hangover. And the media even claim that the third Monday in January is the most depressing of the year.

But I find that a couple of things help me…

1) Exercise and remain active. I think exercise helps a lot. Just getting out of the house and going for a walk or run makes me feel a lot better. And getting air into my lungs and raising my heart rate makes me feel great.  At the moment I go for a run twice a week and go for a walk with the dog every day. And because I am in training for the Manchester 10k run in May this has given me a goal to aim for, which helps. In addition, keeping active not only helps with depression and motivation it also helps to keep me warm .

2) Networking. Getting out of the house and meeting others really peps you up as well. One of my goals for this year is to network at least once a week. I find that when I goto to networking events and meet other business minded people it really motivates and energizes me.

3) Maintaining a balanced diet.  I think eating a varied balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables helps you keep healthy. And when you are healthy I think this helps prevent depression and ward off illness. I particularly enjoy making/drinking fresh orange juice.

4) Cuddling/keeping warm on the sofa with your loved ones.  I don’t think I need to say any more on this .

Dont get me wrong, it is still hard motivating myself but I think these steps help. Well, they help me anyway .

So what about you, do you find January hard going and what are your tips for getting through these cold dark winters days?

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Before I start I will tell you what it is about (I think).

It is a tale of guardian angels amongst us, sent down from the  heavens by somebody called Mr. Mountjoy (God) to help the helpless. And they do this by, wait for it….. by becoming barristers (that’s lawyers for you American’s) and establishing a small legal practice in York.

I hope you had great christmas. I took about 2 weeks off to spend with my family so that I could recharge my batteries and now I feel refreshed and energised.  And having time off, especially when you are self-employed, is very important I think.

And now we are in the new year it has got me thinking about the year ahead and my goals and objectives.  2011 was a good year but I want to make 2012 better.  I havent made any new years resolutions as such, I have just made a list of business/personal goals for the year and I thought I would share them with you.

First (which applies to both business and personal) I want to be more positive, learn to appreciate the good and bad in life and learn not to say “can’t”. There is no such thing as “can’t”.

Business

1. Set up Key Performance Indicators (KPI’S) and put measures in place to measure my sales generation.

2. I want to do more networking and attend at least 1 networking/trade fair each week.

3. Review my business plan every month and always look at ways to improve my business

4. Continue to set goals and objectives.

Personal

1. Get fitter (Keeping my walking/running regime going).

2. Get healthier (Eating more fruit, nuts and fish).

3. Run the Manchester 10k run in under an hour.

4. Learn something new (for example a foreign language).

5. Start work on my next novel

6. Continue to set goals and objectives.

So, those are my goals, what are yours?

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Its been a pretty good year on the whole.   It was a year of remakes, sequels and superhero movies. And there  has been a vast selection of movies and television I really enjoyed.

Best of 2011 (in no particular order)

Dr Who

Matt Smith shone in the new series of Dr Who, Read my Review of the season finale.

Limitness

This was a good science fiction yarn which I watched on DVD recently and may have slipped below the Radar of the summers blockbusters.

The fades

This was an excellent horror series that sneaked onto our screens on BBC2.  For more information, please read my review of the Fades.

Harry Potter and the deathly Hallows part 2

The Harry Potter phenomenon came to an end with the final chapter.  This was my highlight of the summer, the film was awesome, for more information read my review.

X-men 1st class

read my review

Transformer dark of the moon

This was an unexpected pleasure, read my review.

Superman Requem

I can’t leave without mentioning this superman fan made film.  read my review.

Worst of 2011 

In my opinion there was only one thing I did not like and that was the new series of Torchwood. I thought the new series was a real let down, it promised much but failed to deliver, read my review.

So whats ahead for 2012?

I think 2012 will be dominated yet again by the superhero movies. It’s very likely that The Dark Knight Rises will probably dominate next year’s screens, but there are dozens of other films that will be fighting desperately for second place.  I’m particularly looking forward to The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man and Battleship.

But there are a couple of other films that also might be worth a watch. These include women in black (starring Daniel Radcliffe who continues his attempt to shake off his Harry Potter typecasting in this literature remake), Men in black 3 (Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones/Josh Brolin return in the comedy caper),  Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, the Wrath Of The Titans, the hobbit and twilight:breaking dawn part 2.

On TV there is an intriguing new series called ‘Eternal Law’, which comes to ITV1 in January and imagines two angels sent to earth to work in a law firm and influence humanity for good. Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham, writers of ‘Life On Mars’, are the men behind the idea. In addition Dr Who will be returning later in the year which I am also looking forward to.

I am sure I have left a lot out and you may disagree, so let me know, what do you think?

And by the way, Happy new year

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Transformers: Dark of the Moon, is the third in director Michael Bay’s series of sci-fi epics featuring the heroic Autobots and the nasty Decepticons.  I am not a fan of Transformers and I didn’t particularly like the 2nd film in the series so I watched this film with an open mind.

Before I start you should know that Megan Fox was dismissed from Dark of the Moon before shooting began for dissing Bay in a magazine interview.  To replace her we have Huntington-Whiteley who plays Carly Miller who works for some Washington government organisation.  She hooks up with the movie’s human hero Sam Witwicky ,played ,for the third time by Shia LaBeouf.

Bay sets the story up well with a prologue set in the early 60s, when Kennedy was in the White House, and the movie suggests that the space race between The USA and Russia was kicked off when each nation detected an unknown vessel had crashed on the dark side of the moon. By the way, that reminds me of another summer blockbuster that begins in the Sixties, Oh yes it was the brilliant X Men:First Class. Which was also set against a backdrop of the 60s, read my review here.

Anyway, In 1961, the Ark, a Cybertronian spacecraft carrying an invention capable of ending the war between the Autobots and the  Decepticons, crash lands on the dark side of Earth’s Moon. The crash was detected on Earth by NASA, and President John F. Kennedy authorizes a mission to put a man on the Moon as a cover for investigating the craft. In 1969, the crew of Apollo 11 lands on the Moon.

In the present, the Autobots assist the United States military in preventing conflicts around the globe. During a mission to Chernoble, to investigate suspected alien technology, Optimus Prime – the valiant leader of the Autobots – finds a fuel cell from the Ark, discovering that it had survived its journey from Cybertron.

Optimus Prime is none too pleased about the fact  that the humans have hid their knowledge of a crashed Autobot ship on  the moon during the historic space race. The Autobots travel there to explore the Ark. They discover a comatose Sentinel Prime – Optimus’ predecessor as leader of the Autobots – and 5 of the Pillars he created as a means of establishing a Space Bridge between two points to teleport matter. After returning to Earth, Optimus uses the energy of his Matrix of Leadership to revive Sentinel Prime. Leonard Nimoy is excellent as the voice of Sentinel Prime.

Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky is frustrated that he is unable to work with the Autobots and is failing to find a job. He also becomes envious of the close relationship between his new girlfriend, Carly Spencer, and her boss Dylan Gould. After finding work, Sam is provided information by his eccentric co-worker Jerry Wang about the Ark, before Jerry is assassinated by the Decepticon Laserbeak. Sam contacts the now-independently wealthy Seymour Simmons, and together they realize that the Decepticons and their leader, Megatron, are murdering people connected to the American and Russian space missions to the Ark. They locate two surviving Russian cosmonauts, who reveal satellite photos of hundreds of Pillars being stockpiled on the Moon. Sam realizes that the Decepticons raided the Ark long before the Autobots’ mission and intentionally left Sentinel and five Pillars behind to lure the Autobots into a trap – Sentinel being the key to activating the Pillars and the Decepticons lacking the means to revive him. The Autobots rush to return Sentinel to their base for protection but Sentinel betrays them and kills the Autobot Ironhide, revealing he had made a deal with Megatron to ensure the survival of the Cybertronian race.

Sentinel uses the Pillars to transport hundreds of concealed Decepticons from the Moon to Earth, and Carly is captured by Gould, who is revealed to be in the service of the Decepticons. The Autobots are exiled from Earth at the demand of the Decepticons to avoid war, but as their ship leaves Earth it is destroyed by Megatron’s second-in-command, Starscream, seemingly killing the Autobots. The Decepticons, led by Megatron and Sentinel, seize Chicago as their agents place Pillars around the world. Gould reveals to Carly that the Decepticons plan to transport their homeworld of Cybertron to the Milky Way, then to enslave humanity and use Earth’s resources to rebuild their world. Sam teams with USAF Chief Robert Epps to go into Chicago to save Carly, but they are nearly killed by Decepticon forces before the Autobots intervene, revealing they concealed themselves during the launch of their ship to convince the Decepticons they were destroyed.

Working together, the Autobots and human soldiers manage to rescue Carly and save the day.  The films finale is an epic battle between Optimus and Sentinel.  While they are fighting Carly convinces Megatron that he will be replaced as leader of the Decepticons by Sentinel. Sentinel severs Optimus’ right arm, and is about to execute him when Megatron intervenes, incapacitating Sentinel. Megatron asks Optimus for a truce, having the desire to become the one-in-charge again. But Optimus attacks Megatron, knowing Megatron’s true intentions, decapitating and killing him. Then Sentinel pleads for his life but Optimus executes him too, for betraying his own principles.

With the Decepticons defeated, Carly and Sam are reunited and the Autobots accept that with Cybertron gone, Earth is now their home.

As I said I not being a huge fan watched it without any expectations and I have to say the film was pretty good. It had me on the edge of my seat.  This film was so gripping and action packed that you don’t notice that it is nearly 2 1/2 hours long. I think it is for every one, fan or not.  It had everything including gripping emotional scenes, deception, betrayal, fabulous action sequences and epic battles that take your breath away. By the way did any body notice the nod to Star Trek by Sentinel Prime.

In my opinion the action in  DARK OF THE MOON eclipses everything from the first two films.

So well worth a watch in my opinion.

What do you think?

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