Here’s a cool article about the future of TV.

How Battlestar Galactica killed Broadcast TV (http://www.mindjack.com/feature/piracy051305.html)

Here’s a quote from the article. My comments, for what they’re worth, are below.

Widespread piracy of television programming has short-circuited this process, connecting the producer directly to the audience. As yet there are no viable economic models connecting the television producer directly to the audience. Industry pundits talk about audiovisual downloads through some system like Apple’s iTunes Music Store, and perhaps we’ll see something like this in the near future, but this works against the simple fact that people do not expect to pay for television programs. People will pay for movies, when they choose to pay for movies, but they won’t pay for television programming. Not if they can get it for free. The audience is not at all involved in the economic value chain of television production; that’s been the rule for a half-century. It’s reasonable to presume that any attempt to change the economic behavior of the audience is doomed to failure.

I’m a big fan of Battlestar Galactica (BSG) and I watch it every week. But never on TV. I haven’t seen a single episode via broadcast TV. I began, as the author above mentioned, downloading each episode with eMule - an open source P2P program.

I really can’t stand to watch broadcast TV with all the commercials. It interrupts the flow of the story and is just a plane nuance. But, until recently a necessary one. As the author mentions. The economic model is based on producer, distributor, sponsors, audience.

But the author doesn’t think that there is any way to eliminate the middle man - distributor and sponsors. He doesn’t think that people will pay for a TV show. Of course he wrote that before iTunes began selling episodes of BSG the day after they aired.

I could still download each episode from Bit Torrent or eMule or something similar. But that takes time. Once the episode runs it takes a few hours for someone, usually a few people, to make their copies available. Then they begin to spread, slowly at first but picking up speed exponentially as more and more people have the bits to share. In my experience with a variety of shows that I watched in this manner I would say that on average I could watch the show in question about 36 hours after it aired - give or take. But sometimes I would download a file that was frakked up and have to start over. It didn’t happen often but it was a real nuance when it did.

Now that iTunes and Google are making TV shows available I have a reliable source to download from. And for $2 it’s a bargain. Not only do I get the show that I want to watch, without commercials, but I also get something that I can watch repeatedly if I want. But you know what is best about all this? I get to support the creator of the show. I’m voting with my money and telling them that I love their show. I hope that enough people are downloading to provide a revenue stream that will allow them to keep the show running indefinitely.

I just took a quiz over at QuizFarm to see which crew I would best fit in with. Looks like I’m most like Mal, which isn’t half bad.

Which sci-fi crew would you best fit in with? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) The universe is erupting into war and your government picks the wrong side. How much worse could things get? It doesn’t matter, because no matter what you have your friends and you’ll do the right thing. In the end that will be all that matters. Now if only the Psi Cops would leave you alone. Serenity (Firefly) 94% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 94% Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) 88% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 75% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 75% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 69% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 63% FBI’s X-Files Division (The X-Files) 56% SG-1 (Stargate) 56% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 56% Moya (Farscape) 56% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 44% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 25%

I just took a quiz over at QuizFarm about which crew I would most fit in with on a SciFi spaceship. It looks like I’m most like Mal, which isn’t half bad.

Which sci-fi crew would you best fit in with? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) The universe is erupting into war and your government picks the wrong side. How much worse could things get? It doesn’t matter, because no matter what you have your friends and you’ll do the right thing. In the end that will be all that matters. Now if only the Psi Cops would leave you alone. Serenity (Firefly) 94% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 94% Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) 88% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 75% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 75% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 69% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 63% FBI’s X-Files Division (The X-Files) 56% SG-1 (Stargate) 56% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 56% Moya (Farscape) 56% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 44% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 25%

Battlestar Galactica is coming to an end and Season 4 poster reflects it. Katie Sackhoff says that there is nothing to read into it, but where’s the fun in that? So lets geek on!

view larger image

Things I’ve noticed. First for the obvious:

• Tyrol is holding a knife that he’s staring at. Maybe he’s having a hard time coming to grips with his newfound Cylon-side? Ya think?
• D’Anna, Number 3, is pointing at Six. That could mean lots of things.
• Starbuck is back in Anders’ loving arms. Well Anders is a Cylon and who the hell knowns what Starbuck is. Well, I have my theories - below.

Maybe not so obvious:

• It looks like Baltar’s book My Triumphs, My Mistakes is sitting in front of Lee Adama.
• There are two glasses of water on the table. But a chalice between Lee and Tigh.
• There is something on the floor behind Starbuck.
• Adama and Roslin don’t look like they were actually in this shot. They look like they were CGed and added in later. And they are the only two who have a slight glow around them. It’s more noticeable with Adama than Roslin.
• There are 4 books on the table.
• What is the design on the table cloth? Red and white stripes along the top and bottom with a blue background in the middle with two yellow circles. Could the circles be the icon from the Temple of Jupiter? I don’t see any details in the circles but it’s hard to tell.
• Everyone except Adama, Roslin , Lee and Six are focused on something. Those four are the only ones in their own world.
• Helo and Tyrol are the only ones who don’t have both feet on the ground. Sometimes that has been used to foreshadow death. Boomer’s right foot is obscured by the table leg.

Who’s missing?

Da Vinci’s Last Supper had 12 apostles and Christ. This photo only has 12 characters. Is Christ missing? My theory on the matter is that Romo Lampkin is the Christ figure. He’s the 5th and original hybrid Cylon.

The opening credits always end with “…and they have a plan”, referring to the Cylons. My wife and I joke “No they don’t. They’re making this up as they go along.” Clearly we have seen the Cylons change their opinion on matters. They admitted that the attack was a mistake, etc.

So maybe the plan doesn’t refer to the Cylons that we know but the five remaining Cylons. They are the ones with the plan. The humans and known Cylons have been following a plan, influenced by the four - Tyrol, Tigh, Anders and Tory - and of course the mastermind Lampkin.

Where does that leave Starbuck? Perhaps she is the goddess Aurora. I can’t wait to see where that goes.

Perfect (pur’ fikt)
1. Complete of its nature or kind.
2. Being without defect or blemish: a perfect specimen.
3. Thoroughly skilled or talented in a certain field or area; proficient.
4. Completely suited for a particular purpose or situation: She was the perfect actress for the part.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow may not be the best movie ever; I wouldn’t even say that it’s my favorite SciFi film. However, I do think it was perfect. It’s perfect because after re watching it and listening to the commentaries I just can’t imagine that it could have been any better.

It’s impossible to review Sky Captain and not talk about the beautiful visuals and the style of which the film was shot. The work they did is just incredible. I’m not going to name names here - Phantom Menace - but there have been many recent SciFi films that have over used CGI. Often it’s like watching a cartoon and a film spliced together and the effect just comes off as amateurish. Sky Captain brings the best of CGI and cinematography together seamlessly, and, dare I say, perfectly.

But don’t think that Sky Captain is just a bunch of cool visuals. The story here is fabulous. It captures the early SciFi films of the 40s and 50s. You know, those films that used to come on TV during late Sunday afternoons. These were SciFi films that threw caution, and realism, to the aether. An innocent time when things were so much more unbelievably believable and realistically impossible.

Sky Captain comes close to being a parody. The secret base is always remotely located right around the corner; robots the size of buildings can fly - much like bricks don’t; planes can fly underwater and of course they save the day at the last possible moment. However, the story is well paced. It doesn’t slow down enough for you to say to yourself, “This is ridiculous.” Instead it’s more of an homage to the early classics in much the same way as <em>Raiders of the Lost Ark</em>.

Beyond that there is the interaction of the characters. Even here they draw inspiration from the classics. Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow play off each other wonderfully. Again, it reminds me of Karen Allen and Harrison Ford in <em>Raiders</em>. Plus you have to give all of the actors kudos for acting on a mostly empty stage surrounded by blue screens.

The DVD has all the extras you would want. There’s the commentary with Writer/Director Karry Conran and the VFX Crew. I enjoyed that mainly because I like hearing of the technical details and easter eggs in the film. There’s another commentary with the producer Jon Avnet that is okay. It’s hard for one person talking to do much with a commentary.

I wish they would have had a commentary with Gwen and Jude but that probably would have been pretty boring, “Hey, remember this scene? It’s where we were standing on a big, empty sound stage surrounded by blue walls. Oh, and this scene was great. I particularly liked sitting on a box, surrounded by blue walls, while pretending to drive a car.” It probably would have been a lot like that so maybe it’s best there was no actor’s commentary.

There are a few deleted scenes, a “gag reel” that’s full of bloopers and then “The Art of World of Tomorrow” that’s definitely worth watching.

The best part of the DVD extras is the two part “Brave New World” which is a behind the scenes look at making the movie. When you see that you’ll probably want to go out and buy another copy of the DVD just to give these guys some more money. This film was a vision of one man and the hard work of hundreds. People who put up with no money but wanted to see this project through. If you’ve ever thought of putting a film together you’ll want to see this.

Passwords used to be something that only kids with a tree house or CIA agents needed. Could you have imagined 10 years ago that you would have so many places where you would need passwords? Doubtful, unless you thought you would grow up to be a spy.

With the need for so many passwords it’s hard to keep them sorted out - of course, everyone tells you not to use something that is too personal that someone might be able to guess. So, here’s a list potential passwords from, mostly, science fiction movies.

Star Trek

• 16309 : Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan: The prefix number for Reliant’s combination code.
• 17346721476C3278977763T732V731171888732476789764376 : From Star Trek: TNG, “Brothers”. This is the password that Data uses - while imitating Picard’s voice - to lock out the Enterprise’s computer.
• aaaDistructA : Star Trek: The Search for Spock: Kirk’s distruct code for the Enterprise.

The Matrix Trilogy

• B166ER : From the Animatrix: This is the first robot to murder a human and get the war between man and machine started.
• 2-19-96 13:24:18 : The date and time that the movie starts.
• 312-555-0690 : Trinity’s phone number - you have to read the script for this one.
• room1313 : The room where Neo meets Morpheus.
• room303 : The room Trinity is in at the beginning of the movie.
• room101 : The apartment Neo lives in inside the Matrix.

X-Files

• MN1068-06 : In Redux II (5.03) Mulder finds Scully’s file in the basement of the Pentagon. Inside is the vile that contains the microchip that cures Scully’s cancer.
• trustno1 : Little Green Men (2.01) Mulder’s password is ‘trustno1′, the final words spoken by Deep Throat in the first season’s closer.
• 202-555-1030 : Call this number to for the cure for cancer.
• 1013-113 : Gibson Praise’s FBI file number.
• QUEEQUEG0925 : In the episode Trust No 1 Scully’s screen-name is QUEEQUEG0925. Queequeq was Scully’s dog in Season 3, which was eaten in ‘Quagmire’. 09/25 is the birthdate of Gillian Anderson’s daughter, Piper.
• Season 9 Credits : :  The opening credits for season 9 displayed a list of fan usernames and anagrams from character names. Visit the X-Files UK fan site for a complete list.

Contact

• W9GFO : Ellie Arroway’s HAM radio callsign
• 18h 36m 56.2s / +36d 47m 1.291s : Right ascension/declination for Vega
• 4.4623GHZ : Hydrogen x Pi - the frequency that the message was being transmitted on

Terminator

• 08/29/1997 : This is the date of Judgement Day according to the first two Terminator movies.
• 07/24/2004 : The date for Judgement Day in Terminator 3.

War Games

• CPE 1704 TKS : The launch code that Joshua “figures out” at the end of the movie.
• 399-2364 : The phone number that David used to call the Norad WOPR computer.
• RONCTTLA : The launch message given at the beginning of the movie.
• 220040DL : The authentication code for the launch message given to the officers in the silo.
• DLG2209TVX : The launch code given to the officers in the beginning of the movie
• PUBLIC, HANDLE, EFFORT, Points, Double, Pencil : The passwords to the school’s computer that David uses to change his grades.
• J08 9515 VNS : The launch code on the panel in the silo.
• 65050 : The high score on the video game that David is playing (I can’t remember the name of that game to save my life.)
• June 23, 1973: 062373 : The date reported as Falken’s faked death
• 7KQ201 : McKittrick’s username
• Joshua : And of course, the backdoor password that David figures out just to log into the WOPR computer

Sneakers

• SETEC ASTRONOMY : Anagram for: TOO MANY SECRETS
• 46-99402 : This is the first line from the movie. It’s the “ABA Source ID” for the Republican Parties checking account.
• 53-01138 : The “ABA Receive ID” that the money is being deposited into which belongs to the Black Panthers.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

• 90216 : The “Emergency Protocol” that is broadcast to call Sky Captain
• h1-1-od : The call letters on the side of Sky Captain’s plane. When seen reflected in the water it spells out “polly”.

Miscellaneous

• THX1138 : The name of George Lucas’ first film.
• Cell2187 : Star Wars IV A New Hope: The Death Star cell in which Princess Leah is being held.
• 9906753 : Raiders of the lost Ark: The number that is stenciled on the box which the Ark is placed in the government warehouse.
• AE35 : 2001: A Space Odyssey: The name of the antena that HAL reports has malfunctioned.
• LV-426 : Alien/Aliens: The planet where all hell brakes loose.
• Swordfish : Swordfish: The title of the movie comes from the classic 1932 Marx Brothers’ film, Horse Feathers (1932). “Swordfish” was the password for entering the speakeasy - one of the movie’s funniest scenes - and became the archetypal password (at least for older movie-goers).
• Mellon : “Speak Friend and enter”, From LOTR/Fellowship.

Kill the Queen
An Alien queen can lay 2.5 eggs per minute. You have 13 soldiers in your platoon. On average, a soldier will kill 4.2 face huggers before one lands on his face. How much time do you have to get to the egg room and destroy the eggs before your entire platoon is impregnated?

Death Star
You are in an X-wing fighter going full speed. You must release your photon-torpedo and hit an exaust port that is only 2 meters wide while dodging TIE fighers. At what distance from the port must you release your photon torpedo?

Boxcar
Lets say that there is a box car that is 60 feet long. One third of it is across the switch. Okay? And now another train is coming. How far do you have to move the box car off the track so that the other train doesn’t smash it? Quickly, there are thousands of lives at stake.

Replicants
Which of the following is a replicant?
A. A man who dreams of unicorns.
B. A girl who can play the piano without ever having a lesson.
C. A man who makes origami unicorns.

Answers:

Kill the Queen
If each soldier kills 4.2 face huggers before getting an Alien Facial and you have 13 soldiers then simply multiply 4.2 X 13 = 54.6. But this isn’t the final answer because you must have one soldier to survive to take on the Alien Queen. So there can be no more than 53 eggs in that room when your soldiers arrive. That being the case you have 53 eggs divided by 2.5 eggs/minute which is 21.2 minutes to get to the egg room.

Death Star
It’s a trick question. It can’t be done without using The Force

Boxcar
20 feet. Unless you want to see a crash then don’t move the boxcar at all.

Replicants
Both A and B. Reason: Person C knows that person A dreams of unicorns. How? Because person C knows that A is a replicant and all replicants of that type dream of unicorns. Obviously a person who can play the piano without ever having lessons is a replicant because her memories come from another person.

Here’s a cool quiz if you’re a FireFly fan: QuizFarm.com - FireFly
These are my results:

What would happen if the Empire took on the Federation? Check out these fan flicks to see.

Battlestar Galactica Vs Star Wars Vs Star Trek Vs Babylon 5

Star Wars Battlestar Galactica Video

Here’s an interesting list of the best space ships in SciFi.

For me the hardest part of making my own list is separating the ship from the show. But here’s what I’ve come up with:

1 - USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)
Picking my favorite Enterprise is tough but I’m going with D for two reasons: first, it has the most history as far as episode time. It was really like a cast member and not just a prop. Secondly, and this is what pushes it over the top, in the alternate future in the series finally All Good Things… it was the bad-ass of all Enterprises. Who can forget it cutting up those Birds of Prey like yesterday’s turkey?

2 - Millennium Falcon
I originally had this one first on the list and then I asked myself this question: if I could be the captain of either the Enterprise D, or the Falcon which would I choose. Got to go with the Enterprise. It just has too much to offer.

3 - USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
It wasn’t the first and it wasn’t the last but it is the Enterprise.

4 - Battlestar Galactica
Any ship that can take a direct blast from a nuclear weapon has to be tough.

5 - Sulaco
We barely spend any time with it but something about it just sings.

6 - Heart of Gold
It’s the fastest of the bunch since it can go anywhere in the Universe in an instant. That alone puts it high on the list.

7 - Discovery One
Simply here because it’s the most realistic. Thanks AC.

8 - USS Defiant
Can’t leave this tough little ship off the list.

9 - Serenity
This is really isn’t a great ship but the crew more than makes up for it. Now if I asked myself the question, “Which ship would I most want to be the captain of?” and Serenity came with Kaylee as the ship’s mechanic then I might just put this one at the top of the list.
10 - to be added at a later date.

I would have put a Bird of Prey on the list but I hear the smell is horrible. As for the Imperial Star Destroyers: I can’t really put one on the list because they don’t have any character to them, no matter how big they are. They’re just triangles in space until then.

I could keep adding to this list and changing the order but I’m just going to go with this. What would be on your list?

Here’s a link to Category:Fictional spacecraft at wikipedia.org to help you think about it.