A page has appeared on Amazon for the first installment of the new direct-to-DVD Babylon 5 series: Amazon.com: Babylon 5 – The Lost Tales. So, it should be here sooner rather than later (at least for Region 1 release). Will it stand up to watching in the post-Firefly universe though?

More information over at:

• J. Michael Straczynski – B5:TLT Pre-Production – Babylon5scripts.com
• Lurker’s Guide to B5: “Voices in the Dark”

Update

• Babylon 5 DVD news: Date, Price, Extras and Artwork for ‘Babylon 5: The Lost Tales’ | TVShowsOnDVD.com

Damaris have released some study resources for Firefly to go with the Serenity resource,

See Culture Watch – Firefly and Culture Watch – Serenity.

Wired News: Firefly Reborn as Online Universe.

I’ve tended to avoid MMORPGs, but this one might be irresistible.

Looks like the new Serenity comic book series from Dark Horse will be called “Better Days”, and will be set before the Serenity movie. It will explore some of the unresolved plots from Firefly and will be written by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews (who did the first series). Can’t wait.

Firefly and Buffy are now in the iTunes store (well, at least for the US).

Well, it’d be interesting if they get it going, but I imagine it’d have US-only stamped on the delivery mechanisms. See Joss Whedon’s Firefly Season 2.

It’s Serenity Day!

The Serenity was released today in NZ (DVD Region 4). A display stand at the door of the local Whitcoull’s had a pile on display with the sign “Get your free gift too.” And so I’m now the excited owner of the “Limited Edition” double-disc edition and I have a Serenity mouse pad to complete my desk. A Serenity poster would be nice for the office too but I haven’t seen any for sale in NZ.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to enjoying the movie again and I’ll actually be interested in the extra features on the DVD this time – unlike many other DVDs I have. (The other exception to this rule is the “I, Robot” double disc set that has some quite good documentary stuff on the second disk – a veritable who’s who from my thesis bibliography.)

At some point I’ll have to watch all the Firefly episodes, read the comics and watch the movie in a marathon to get that real fan boy experience.

BTW – Steve has a review here. Written from the point of an “outsider” but still contains many good points. See EmergentKiwi: Serenity Film Review.

I’ve been a big fan of Doctor Who ever since I learnt to hide behind the couch and I really enjoyed the recently rebooted series. So when I saw that Damaris have just published Back In Time: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Doctor Who I was intrigued. The sample text they have online looks like it has possibilities so I’ll add it to the following list of books to acquire at some time:

• What would Buffy do? The Slayer’s Guide to Spiritual Life by Jana Riess (Jossey-Bass, 2004).
• Finding Serenity: Anti-heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon’s Firefly by Jane Espenson (BenBella Books | Smart Pop Books, 2005).
• Interacting with Babylon 5: Fan Performances in a Media Universe by Kurt Lancaster (Uni. Texas Press, 2001).

Any suggestions to add for Star Trek, Stargate and others gratefully received. (See also: Greenflame: Battlestar memories and Greenflame: On the bookshelf)

There’s another advanced screening of Serenity on this Sunday at Village Cinemas on Queen Street (Auckland). Tie in with the Pulp Culture festival also on at the Aotea Centre.

See: Serenity – Special Advanced Screening – 23 Oct.

Also, Serenity interviews here and the River Tam viral marketing campaign for Serenity here.

You can see the first 11 minutes of Serenity as an video stream here.