The live-action Speed Racer film starring Emile Hirsch, Susan Sarandon, Christina Ricci and Matthew Fox is slated to hit US theaters on May 9th. Douglas has already decided to defer his birthday celebration with friends until it opens so we can all go see it at Jordan Furniture’s IMAX Theater. I’ve watched a few of the trailers on the official movie site, and I’m guessing watching on the IMAX screen is going to feel like being inside a video game.

Before long, we’ll be inundated with tie-in promotions and contests for the film. The Speed Racer Legos are already on the market, and just this week, I learned that MTV is giving away a $100,000 tricked out Corvette. Details here.

Next topic: The Sarah Jane Adventures premiered on SciFI Channel Friday night. I have not been too enamored of Doctor Who of late, mostly because I just don’t like David Tennant’s portrayal. I know I am in the minority, but Tennant just doesn’t do it for me. For the Doctor to work, you have to believe he is capable of both the most wonderful and the most awful things. Tennant just makes me think of a little boy who has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

I always liked Sarah Jane, the Companion of Doctors’ Three (Jon Pertwee) and Four (the wonderful Tom Baker), and probably the best-known, most loved Companion. It is great to see actress Elisabeth Sladen again, and I quite liked her two young side-kicks.

Grade for the premiere episode: B+

Finally, Friday’s episode of Battlestar Galactica, Six of One. Best moments: Adama’s fight with Roslin – I loved how he told her she could stay in the room but to stay out of his head. And Lee/Kara shipper that I am, you know I loved their scene. In large part because it underscored how much the characters care for each other without all the gnashing and wailing we’ve been subjected to in past. At the same time, they realized that they have to go in different directions to fulfill their destinies. Not together but in sync, whereas Adama and Roslin are together in some sense, but clearly not in sync at all. And finally, the Six on the Cylon basestar. Loved how she faced down that slimeball Cavil.

Grade for the episode: A

Reviews: Entertainment Weekly, TV Squad (source Galactica Sitrep, the best BSG fansite out there)

Next week’s preview at SciFi.com. (I’m going to stop linking to Battlestar clips on YouTube as they seem to get taken down very quickly.)

Bye bye Cally?

[tags] Speed Racer, corvette, Sarah Jane Adventures, Battlestar Galactica [/tags]

This post has spoilers for the first episode of Battlestar Galactica, He That Believeth in Me. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, and want to remain spoiler free, go read last week’s SciFi Sunday review of the Stargate SG-1 film The Ark of Truth and enter my SG-1 action figure giveaway.

Or go watch the ep on SciFi Rewind, then come back when you’re done.

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A pretty good start to the season. As with most Battlestar episodes, there are three storylines. This year, it looks like they are going to play out as:

• The Adama arc: Storyline generally involving Adama, Roslin, Lee and Kara. Often includes Helo & Athena, and I suspect will include the Six/Sixes on Galactica
• The Baltar arc: Baltar’s storyline, including “Head Six”
• The Cylon arc: The seven, the four, the one

Let’s start with the A-storyline, the first he that believeth, Lee believing in Kara. My little shipper heart was warmed by the welcome Lee gave Kara (and the welcome she did not give Sam) as well as Lee’s immediate acceptance of her. Mary McDonnell’s performance was excellent, but I think the character is in the wrong this time. Think about it — she can have visions under the influence of drugs and send Kara on the mission to Caprica, but now she is completely closed to the possibility that Kara is right. Odds are, Lee is absolutely right — what they were meant to find in the nebula was Kara.

The two best scenes in this storyline were Adama and his children. When Kara asks him to believe her, it is heartbreaking that he can’t. That the counsel he seeks is Lee’s is heartwarming, especially given how estranged they had been over Baltar’s trial. Lee rewatching Kara’s “death” also evokes the episode Scar, another important episode in the Lee/Kara storyline. I loved how Lee makes it clear that it makes absolutely no difference to him what Kara is or isn’t. He has her back, literally and figuratively, and that’s all that matters.

Of all the characters in this episode, clearly the character of Lee has had the most visible character growth, although I expect that Kara has changed tremendously as well; we just don’t know the extent of it. Adama and Roslin, though, seem to be repeating old patterns. All this has happened before and will again….

Now to the B-storyline. Don’t need to draw us a map on this one. We get it. Baltar is a Christ-like figure, at least in that his followers believeth in him even though we know he doesn’t believe in much other than saving his own skin. I love watching James Callis perform, even though the character is mostly despicable. It will be interesting to see if/how Baltar is or is not redeemed. That said, I thought some of these scenes dragged a bit.

Finally, the Cylons. This episode focused on our friends the final, or frakked, four, and their determination to believe in themselves, as the individuals they’ve always thought themselves to be. Michael Hogan (Tigh) owns the screen when he is on it, so I for one am glad he is one of the four as that means he’ll get plenty of screentime. I thought it was particularly effective the way they had the four in various scenes discussing the possibility that Kara might be a cylon. Everything said, by them and others, in those scenes refers more to them than to her, and you can clearly tell that they know that. And what happens when Kara discovers that Sam is a Cylon…

Grade: A-/B+

Preview for next week:

Warms this fangirl’s heart, although I hope they resolve Starbuck’s headache soon. Katee Sackhoff is an excellent actor, but watching her scream “we’re going the wrong way” over and over is going to get old, fast.

[tags] Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1 [/tags]