Star Trek vs. Star Wars yet again

The Force-Cast takes on the latest hot topic with a roundtable comparing sci-fi’s two biggest fish. Joining the usual gang is Rebelscum’s Jovial Jay and former Trek and Wars fan club president Dan Madsen.

On that note, does anyone have any idea why the SciFi Channel isn’t rerunning the hell out of the original series? I was feeling the urge to DVR some TOS last night, and spent about five minutes scrolling through a week’s worth of schedule… And the only Trek I could find was Enterprise. (Poking around online shows some TNG on Friday, but nothing but that and Enterprise through most of June.)

This is why you fail, SciFi. (It’s still SciFi until July 7, by George!) I’ll get my fix – I’m pretty sure the local NBC affiliate runs it at odd hours of the night – but I’m just boggled by SciFi’s lack of action here.

Catching up with Fanboys

Above, video from the Los Angeles DVD release party at the Golden Apple. Meanwhile, for those who have moved beyond hard copy, the movie is available on iTunes and selling well – making it up to the #5 in their top movie sales. (It’s dropped to #24 at the moment, though – fell free to give it a boost.)

In related news, actor Jay Baruchel (Windows) has a part in Night At The Museum 2.

Crazy idea du jour: Buffy without Whedon?

Buffy: The Original Flavor

Fran Rubel Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui, who you may remember as the executive producers from the the Buffy and Angel credits, are looking into relaunching the Buffy franchise with another movie. Without Joss Whedon. No, seriously:

The new “Buffy” film, however, would have no connection to the TV series, nor would it use popular supporting characters like Angel, Willow, Xander or Spike. Vertigo and Kuzui are looking to restart the story line without trampling on the beloved existing universe created by Whedon, putting the parties in a similar situation faced by Paramount, J.J. Abrams and his crew when relaunching “Star Trek.”

Uhh… Yeah. Say what you will about Whedon, but the only reason anyone actually remembers that movie is the TV show. What can a Whedonless relaunch/remake do but piss off his base (aka the core of your possible audience) and ignite lots of internet ire?

…It’s totally going to happen, isn’t it?

UPDATE: Whedon’s response.

Flashback: The original Star Wars script

Mystery Man on Film devoted yesterday to a repost that I’m pretty sure I linked before… But it’s still worth a second look. The premise, if you will:

Let it be said, my friends, that the early drafts of Star Wars should be a rich source of encouragement to every aspiring screenwriter the world over – because they royally sucked.

And they do. One example: Annikin Starkiller punches the princess in the face. Sure, she’s a hell of a lot more Vespa than Leia at this point, but… In the face. Oh George, no.

Read on for a compare and contrast of the scripts from 1974 and 1977. The difference is nothing short of amazing.

If your trainwreck syndrome is strong, you can find many of the early drafts at the Jedi Bendu Script Site.

Upcoming works teased by Stradley, Miller

No, I can't spell it. That's why we have copy and paste.I don’t know if everyone out there in the fannish newsosphere missed this or if it’s just me, but Randy Stradley posted a From the Editor on how the Legacy creative team broke a rule with the upcoming ‘Tatooine’ storyline, and why he let them. Heartwarming stuff. (Or, since it’s Randy, maybe not.)

On the other end of the EU timeline, Karen Miller has finished up the fourth Clone Wars book and is taunting dropping hints to eager fans.