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- Welcome to the Archive for December, 2007
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- December 1
Clive Barker (born October 5, 1952) is a British author, artist, and filmmaker, with a BA (with Honours) in English Literature, University of Liverpool, 1974.
After university, Barker wrote plays for, directed, and acted in The Dog Company, a small touring theatre company he co-founded. Many of his early plays contained elements of the fantastic, erotic, and horrific that would later become part of his literary work. After reading Kirby McCauley's anthology Dark Forces (1980), Barker tried his hand at short fiction. The resulting stories were eventually published as The Books of Blood, Volumes 1-6 (1984 and 1985). It was, according to his biographer Douglas E. Winter, "a moment in which talent and time entwine and enrapture an audience eager to read and learn." Barker became one of . . .
- December 2
Rick Overton {b. August 10, 1954), is an American actor, writer and comedian who has appeared in many sci fi films and television programs.
His first credited role was that as Ino, the voice of a computer, for the 1980 film, Target... Earth?, where he started a career of playing supporting characters or guest starts to established shows.
As a guest star he has appeared in such TV series as Charmed, Lost, Joan of Arcadia, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and Alias. His largest recurring role was that of Count Gregory in the 2001 SCI FI Channel series, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne.
Overton also has appeared in several genre films in featured supporting roles, including Willow, Groundhog Day, and the 2007 film The Astronaut Farmer.
In addition to film and TV, Overton has appeared in . . .
- December 3
Forest Steven Whitaker (b. July 15, 1961, Longview, Texas) is an Academy Award-winning American actor, producer, and director. Whitaker has appeared in several genre roles, perhaps most memorably, his supporting role in Phenomenon alongside John Travolta. Whitaker is best known for his compelling and convincing performances in films such as The Last King of Scotland which earned him an Oscar playing dictator, Idi Amin, Good Morning, Vietnam alongside Robin Williams and The Crying Game with Miranda Richardson.
Though Whitaker earned a football scholarship to attend college he left sport behind to concentrate on music at the University of Southern California. He earned scholarships as an operatic tenor and at Berkeley, focused on stage performance. He made his film debut in the raunchy classic . . .
- December 4
Shiri Appleby (b. December 7, 1978) is an American actress born in Los Angeles, California to Jerry and Dina Appleby. Appleby began acting at a young age primarily in commercials. She made her television series debut on the soap opera Santa Barbara and later made appearances on thirtysomething, and The Bronx Zoo.
Appleby is best known to television audiences for her role on the sci-fi series Roswell. She made her genre film debut in the 1988 horror Curse II: The Bite. Appleby has made guest appearances on popular non-genre series such as Who's the Boss?, Knots Landing, ER, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Baywatch as well as the films Swimfan, The Battle of Shaker Heights, Havoc, and The Other Sister. Her genre roles include appearances on Freddy's Nightmares, Raven, Xena: Warrior Princess . . .
- December 5
Molly Walker is a fictional character on the series Heroes portrayed by Adair Tishler.
Molly Walker was young girl living in Los Angeles when both her parents were murdered by the serial killer Sylar. Her father, whose ability was taken by Sylar, was discovered pinned to the wall by several knives. His skull was cut open. Molly Was discovered inside a closet in the midst of the gruesome crime scene by police officer Matt Parkman, whose telepathic abilities allowed him to hear her cries for help.("Don't Look Back'") Molly was taken into FBI custody and an attempt was made on her life by Sylar. She was rescued again by Matt with help from agent Audrey Hanson ("One Giant Leap").
Molly was taken into custody by "the Company" and became known as the "Walker Tracking System". She was used to locate individuals, particularly those with abilities. She lost her abilities when . . .
- December 6
The Sodan are a group of Jaffa in the Stargate universe. Five thousand years ago, they broke away from their Goa'uld master, Ishkur. They sought out the planet Kheb and ultimately enlightenment. They never found Kheb but instead settled on the planet designated P9G-844.
The Sodan have survived for the past five thousand years by raiding Goa'uld symbiote transports, to replace their own symbiotes once they mature. They are proud, legendary warriors with a great sense of honor. They are role models to some free Jaffa, including Teal'c. The Sodan do not return the respect of other Jaffa, however, resenting them for their continued enslavement to the Goa'uld and their late realization of the need to fight them.
The Sodan homeworld was once inhabited by the Ancients. The Sodan realized that the Ancients had . . .
- December 7
Gabriel Gray aka Sylar is a fictional character on the NBC series Heroes played by Zachary Quinto. Sylar is a serial killer with superhuman powers.
Gabriel Gray was a watchmaker working at his shop, Gray and Sons, in New York when he was approached by Dr. Chandra Suresh who believed he might possess extraordinary abilities. Despite not having displayed anything more unusual than a natural affinity for time pieces, Gabriel was quick to believe he might be special hoping the discovery of hidden powers would elevate him from his insignificant family.
When initial tests proved nothing more than Gabriel's good health, Chandra was ready to move on and find other subjects. Gabriel became angry with Chandra, questioning whether he would treat future subjects like Brian Davis . . .
- December 8
Terrence Vance Gilliam (b. November 22, 1940, Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an Academy Award–nominated American filmmaker and the only American-born member of the acclaimed Monty Python. Gilliam moved with his family to Los Angeles at eleven where his attraction to film began. He also developed his drawing and cartooning skills. He attended Occidental college where studied physics and later, politics. Following his college graduation, he went to work for comic producer Harvey Kurtzman. He worked on the magazine Help! writing, drawing and designing. While there, he met John Cleese, who convinced him to participate in a spoof photo-story about a man involved in an affair with a small doll.
His work with Help! ended when he joined the National Guard . . .
- December 9
Roxann Dawson (b. September 11, 1958) is an American actor and director born Roxann Caballero in Los Angeles, California to Richard and Rosalie Caballero. She is best known as the half Klingon B'Elanna Torres on the series Star Trek: Voyager.
Dawson made her television series debut on the soap opera Another World as Adrienne Morrow. In 1988 she appeared with William Shatner in Broken Angel and The Fortunate Pilgrim which starred Edward James Olmos. In 1989 she became a series regular on the short-lived series Nightingales. She also made guest appearances on Matlock and Jake and the Fatman. Dawson took on the role of B'Elana in 1995. Other genre appearances include Star Trek: Enterprise, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die and . . .
- December 10
Stephen R. Bissette (Stephen Russell Bissette) (b. 1955) lives and works in Marlboro, Vermont, with his wife Marjory and son Daniel. He toiled in the comic book industry for almost a quarter of a century as a cartoonist, writer, editor, and publisher. Bissette remains best known for his work on such titles as Sojourn, Heavy Metal, Sgt. Rock, the graphic adaptation of the Steven Spielberg film 1941 (with Rick Veitch) and DC Comics, Saga of the Swamp Thing (1982–1987).
He co-created, edited, and published ten volumes of the Eisner Award–winning horror comics anthology Taboo (1989–1995) and earned the comics industry . . .
- December 11
Cuba Gooding, Jr. is an Academy Award-winning American actor. Cuba grew up in Los Angeles after his family moved to the area in 1972. His father left the family two years after the move and he and his two siblings were raised by his mother. He was involved in student government in three of the four high schools he attended. He met wife, Sara Kapfer in high school and the two married in 1994. They have three children, Spencer, Mason, and Piper.
Gooding began acting in the '80s, appearing in commercials. He made guest appearances in the late '80s on Hill Street Blues and The Bronx Zoo and made his film debut in a minor role in Coming to America. In 1989, he landed a recurring role on McGyver during the series' fourth season. He made appearances in notable films A Few Good Men with Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, the sci-fi film Daybreak, 1995's Outbreak with Dustin Hoffman . . .
- December 12
Ghostbusters is a 1984 comedy directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis who also appear in the film as Dr, Raymond Stantz and Dr. Egon Spengler. The film also stars Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman, Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett, and Rick Moranis as Louis Tully. Stantz, Spengler, and Venkman are unemployed experts in parapsychology. They decide to start up an unusual business called Ghostbusters, spectral investigation and removal service. Venkman learns that a spectre known as Zuul is haunting the apartment of the object of his affections, Dana Barret. The haunting is just one of many however. Paranormal events are on the rise that lead to the Ghostbusters facing off against the ancient Sumerian God, Gozer the . . .
- December 13
Battlestar Pegasus is a Mercury-class Battle ship on the reimagined series Battlestar Galactica. The ship was captained by Admiral Helena Cain.
Before the fall of the Twelve Colonies, the Pegasus had just docked at the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards where it was due for a three-month overhaul. Many of the ship's systems were offline, including the Command Navigation Program that the Cylons used to disable Colonial defenses during their attack. The Cylons' opening wave hit the shipyard with several nuclear warheads, destroying five ships, including two Battlestars. The Pegasus lost over 700 crew members but survived the attack by performing a blind FTL jump, a jump in which the ship's FTL drive was activated without inputting any coordinates. This blind jump resulted in the ship . . .
- December 14
Pirates of the Caribbean is a Disney franchise that originated as a ride at Disney theme parks and has spun off into movies and video games.
The original concept for the theme park attraction came in the early 60s inspired by drawings from Disney animator Marc Davis. The initial concept envisioned the attraction as a walk through pirate wax museum centered around New Orleans Square. The exhibit would focus on pirates, vampires, and voodoo in Crescent City. The Attraction opened at Disneyland on March 18, 1967 and proved a great success. The concept was reimagined for Walt Disney World in Florida and opened at the Magic Kingdom on December 15, 1973. Pirates of the Caribbean was the last attraction Walt Disney personally oversaw.
In 2000, Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Bucaneer Gold . . .
- December 15
Robert Sheckley (July 16, 1928- December 9, 2005) is known as one of the funniest science fiction writers ever. He began his career in the Fifties for magazines, particularly Galaxy, for which he helped set the tone of humor and social satire. His characters faced problems extrapolated from those of the Fifties, such as suburbs, organization men, gray flannel suits, status seekers, and hidden persuaders. For instance, the protagonist of "Bad Medicine" purchases a psychotherapy device from the Home Therapy Appliances Store. Unfortunately, they send him a Martian psychotherapy machine. Hilarity ensues. Another Galaxy story, "Seventh Victim," became the basis of the popular '60s movie, The Tenth Victim.
Sheckley's first novel, Immortality, Inc. (1958), originally published as Immortality Delivered), set the pattern for Sheckley's fiction, with an Everyman protagonist thrust into a world he never made, complete with hostile or at least wisecracking machinery. It was made into the movie Freejack . . .
- December 16
The Borg are a fictional race in the Star Trek universe. The name is short for cyborg. They are somewhat similar to the Replicators in Stargate SG-1 in their relentless nature. Unlike the replicators however, they are partly biological; humanoid species implanted with cybernetic implants that alter and enhance their physical abilities and make their minds one with all others in the vast collective.
The Borg seek for perfection through the ruthless assimilation of alien technologies and the absorption of the individuals they encounter into their collective. Their motto and introductory speech is simple and intimidating: "We are the Borg. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. You will be assimilated. Resistance is . . .
- December 17
Flash Gordon remains one of the most recognizable names in science fiction, but the SF adventure character’s fame rests ultimately on just ten years of newspaper comic strips by the extraordinary artist Alex Raymond (1909-1956). When the Buck Rogers comic strip became a sudden success, William Randolph Hearst and his mighty King Features Syndicate decided they needed a competing science fiction feature. They invited auditions, and the winner was a young artist who had assisted Chic Young on Blondie and then found fame drawing Dashiell Hammett’s strip, Secret Agent X-9. Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon debuted January 7, 1934.
In the first continuity, Raymond and writer Don Moore began the epic battle between evil Emperor Ming of Mongo, who dreamed of conquering the galaxy, and the forces of Earth led by . . .
- December 18
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!
These chilling lines, originally delivered as a lead in to a 1931 radio show called Detective Story Hour, became the inspiration for an iconic figure of pulp radio and fiction for 18 years. When listeners of the Detective Story Hour began to clamor for stories about the mysterious Shadow, the show's producers, Street and Smith, turned to a newspaperman and magician named Walter P. Gibson to chronicle the adventures of the Shadow in a pulp magazine they were about to publish. Writing under the pen name Maxwell Grant, Gibson created the Shadow, a man of amazing skills, infallible deductive abilities, hypnosis, the ability to become nearly invisible in near darkness, and command a network of agents that seemed always a step ahead of even the most masterful criminal. The Shadow was a master of disguise, and took on many different identities, though his most famous role was millionaire . . .
- December 19
Avery Franklin Brooks (October 2, 1948) is an American actor and director born in Evansville, Indiana. He is best known to genre fans in the role of Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Brooks also directed several episodes of the series and has lent his voice to related games.
Brooks attended Oberlin College, Indiana University, and Rutgers University where he became the first African American to graduate with a MFA in acting and directing. Brooks is also a tenured professor of theater arts at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers. He became the Artistic director of the National Black Arts Festival in 1993, a biannual festival celebrating African American culture. Brooks is devoted to the celebration and promotion of African American culture and has worked with the Smithsonian Institute in it's program in Black American Culture.
In addition to his acting talents, Brooks has a unique voice that . . .
- December 20
Cordelia Chase is played by Charisma Carpenter on the TV Series Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Born into a rich Sunnydale family, Cordelia was the person to know if you wanted to be considered cool at Sunnydale High School. She was a cheerleader and the leader of the most popular clique, a group that taunted those they considered beneath them. Instantly recognizing her kind, she tried to befriend Buffy Summers on Buffy's first day at her new school. Cordelia was precisely the type of person Buffy would once have been interested in, having once been in Cordelia's position at her old school. But after her experiences in Los Angeles, being rejected by friends like Cordelia, Buffy was more drawn to the "losers" Willow and Xander whose friendship was more honest.
After rebuffing Cordelia's attempts at friendship, Buffy became anathema to . . .
- December 21
When Worlds Collide is a 1933 novel by Philip Gordon Wylie & Edwin Balmer. The novel was adapted for the screen in the 1951 film When Worlds Collide. A second adaptation is scheduled for 2008 to be directed by Stephen Sommers. The novel was followed by a sequel, After Worlds Collide.
South African astronomer Sven Bronson makes a world changing discovery. A pair of runaway planets is headed for Earth's solar system. The first, Bronson, Alpha will pass close enough to do significant damage to Earth before returning for a second pass after a swing around the sun to obliterate the planet. The second, Bronson Beta is expected to assume a stable orbit.
Earth goes to work building ships to save as many people and animals as they can to . . .
- December 22
Keanu Charles Reeves (b. September 2 1964) is a popular Canadian actor born in Beirut, Lebanon to an English show girl, Patricia Taylor, and American Samuel Nowlin Reeves. Reeves is best known for his role as Neo in The Matrix trilogy as well as appearances in hit film Speed and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
Reeves made his first genre appearance in Young Again and his breakout role came in River's Edge costarring Crispin Glover. Several teen movies followed in the form of The Night Before, Permanent Record, and Life Under Water. In 1988, he appeared in Dangerous Liasions as Le Chevalier Raphael Danceny. The film also starred John Malkovich and Glen Close.
In 1989, he starred with Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure as . . .
- December 23
The Odyssey is an Earth deep space battle cruiser, registry PB3865. It is the second battle-ready spaceship made on Earth and was based on the design of the first Earth ship, Prometheus. Both ships benefited significantly from Asgard technology.
The ship was rushed into service, under the command of Colonel Paul Emerson, before completion in order to rescue SG-1 from P6G-452, where the team was being held captive by members of the Lucian Alliance. Following the destruction of the Prometheus, the Odyssey became Earth's main ship.
The Odyssey faced off against The Ori ships in the episode "Camelot," alongside Earth's latest ship, the Korolev. The Korolev was destroyed and the Odyssey . . .
- December 24
Oliver Reed as Ali Khan in
The Brigand of KandaharOliver Reed (February 13, 1938 – May 2, 1999) British leading man, the nephew of director Sir Carol Reed (1906-76), who began his film career at Hammer playing handsome young rakes or twitchy psychopaths in such films as The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (aka House of Evil, 1960), The Curse of the Werewolf (1960), Captain Clegg (aka Night Creatures, 1962), Pirates of Blood River (1962) and Paranoiac (1963).
An accomplished film swordfighter, Reed portrayed Athos in Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974), and Return of the Musketeers (1989). He played Vulcan in Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) and Miles Hendon in Crossed Swords (1977), based on The Prince and the Pauper.
Cast as unruly rebels in films like The Damned (aka These Are the Damned, 1961), he subsequently lived out his life as one. He died . . .
- December 25
Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and commemorates the birth of the Christian Savior, Jesus Christ. Many traditions have been built up around the holiday. Christmas traditions range from religious symbols to the mythos of Santa Claus and their origins are both Christian and pagan.
The history of the Christmas tree has its roots in pre–Christian Germany. Religious rites were held in the forests and trees were decorated with candles. The oak was sacred to . . .
- December 26
Telepathy is the ability to directly perceive the thoughts of another entity. A person who can use telepathy is called a telepath.
Although telepathy is often thought of as being passive reception, thoughts could also be sent deliberately. It has been proposed that such mental communications might be especially influential, and attempts have been made to ilicit specific behavior in "targets".
Scientific experiments have been conducted in an effort to determine the reality of telepathy. Some of the most famous work was done at Duke University by J. B. Rhine.
People encountering ufonauts frequently report that the communication is conducted telepathically. This has also been reported in a few Bigfoot cases.
If telepathy is a fact, it might explain other paranormal happenings. For example, a medium who believed that they were receiving communications from a dead relative for someone might be picking up information . . .
- December 27
Catwoman is a fictional comic book character, sometimes an adversary, sometimes an ally, of the comic book superhero Batman. Batman and Catwoman are owned by DC Comics. In her original appearance, she did not wear a costume and was called the the “Cat”. Despite many interpretations of the character, and repeated attempts to reform her throughout the years, Catwoman remains one of the favorite characters of the Batman mythology.
Catwoman, as her name implies, is the ultimate “cat burglar”. She is a master thief and scam artist, enjoying the challenge of beating the most difficult security precautions to steal her prize. She is distinct from most Batman villains in that she doesn’t kill, and prefers stealth to intimidation. In fact, she has a soft spot in her heart for animals, particularly cats.
Catwoman began as a Batman villain, a status she still maintains in many versions of the Batman franchise. Over the years she has shifted . . .
- December 28
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is a cult classic 1984 movie from writer Earl Mac Rauch and director W. D. Richter about a brain surgeon/rock star/martial arts expert named Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller) and his posse of adventurer sidekicks called the Hong Kong Cavaliers. The complex plot starts when Buckaroo seemingly drives his Jet Car into the side of a mountain, although he actually takes it into the 8th dimension using a device called an oscillation overthruster.
This triggers a series of events that leads Buckaroo and the Cavaliers to the realization that Earth was really invaded in 1938 during the Orson Welles "War of the Worlds" broadcast, and the radio show was just a cover up. The invaders were Red Lectroids from Planet 10 though, not Martians, and they are still around. Their leader, the evil Dr. Emilio Lizardo (John Lithgow), wants Buckaroo's overthruster so he can return to Planet 10 via the 8th dimension. The rival Black Lectroids tell Buckaroo he has to stop Lizardo or they will be forced to destroy . . .
- December 29
Helen Shaver (b February 24, 1951 St. Thomas, Ontario) is a Canadian actress and director who began acting in her teens and may be best remembered by genre fans for her role on the series Poltergeist: The Legacy as Dr. Rachel Corrigan. Shaver has been nominated three times for a Gemini award and won in 2001 for directing the episode Death's Details for the series Just Cause. She had been previously nominated for her directing on The Outer Limits and the miniseries We All Fall Down. She was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy for the children's special Summer's End. Though best known for her acting opposite popular actors such as Tom Cruise and Paul Newman . . .
- December 30
"Mewhu’s Jet" is a short story by Theodore Sturgeon about a an alien who has come to Earth, where he is adopted by a human family. The story was first published in the November 1946 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.
While a family is vacationing in a house out in the boondocks, a spaceship crash lands nearby. An alien survives, and the family calls him Mewhu. Mewhu has a jet-propelled gadget that enables him to jump over buildings and land softly. The family's daughter can communicate telepathically with Mewhu, and when Mewhu hurts . . .
- December 31
Wonder Man is a fictional comic book superhero, owned by Marvel Comics.
Wonder Man started as a criminal, but became a long-time member of the Avengers, present in its various line-ups and incarnations over the years. His body is permeated by ionic energy, and, as such, is not really human anymore. He doesn’t need to eat, sleep, and doesn’t tire or age. He is in a strength class with the powerful character Thor. He can fly at speeds of almost 700 miles per hour. Very few things can harm him.
Simon's eyes are usually solid red, glowing with ionic energy. For this reason, he usually wears sunglasses. Simon can make his eyes seem normal for short periods of time.
He is also a professional . . .
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