Go HERE and leave a comment stating which TV show you’d like to see have a prequel. We got some great answers so far including Torchwood, True Blood, Supernatural, Fringe, X-Files and Firefly and someone wants to see Jack Bauer in grade school.

Remember there will be two winners:

– The first prize winner will receive a Caprica DVD [Run Time: 1hr. 33min.] and a Caprica T-Shirt.

– A second winner will receive a T-Shirt.

Next up will be giving away  Farscape: The Complete Series on DVD. This is an amazing box set for both the Farscape fan and anyone interested in discovering a new scifi series.

Keep watching SFUniverse for your chance to win.

Photo: Syfy

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Hartnell represents the least watched era of Whodom for me, 1963-1966. I don’t think it’s the year of the original airing so much as the fact that I never really warmed up to Hartnell as The Doctor. He’s a bit too much like a stern schoolmaster in looks and that’s always put me off to watching his episodes.

In “The Keys of Marinus,” The Doctor and his companions must fight against the evil Vood. As luck would have it the keys to the only weapon that can defeat them are scattered all over the planet! Scavenger hunt, anyone?

The DVD is lighter on the extras than usual. There are commentaries by William Russell and Carole Ann Ford, director John Gorrie and designer Raymond Cusick who gives you a closer look at the sets built for the episode. There’s also a hidden Easter egg and if you go online with a DVD-Rom you can access a full set of Doctor Who Cadet Sweet cards.

Colin Baker, on the other hand, is probably my most watched classic Doctor. This DVD is episode 137 “The Twin Dilema” and it features Peri as The Doctor’s companion.

In the episode, The Doctor has just regenerated and it’s not going well. He’s so perplexed by the change, he decides to become a hermit but that plan is set aside when a gastropod kidnaps twin boys from Earth!

Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant (Peri) and Kevin McNally (Hugo) all participate in the commentary on this DVD. There’s also a short interview with the title sequence director Sid Sutton, a nice look at the comic strip, a “Breakfast Time” interview with Baker and Bryant and an interview from “Blue Peter.” There’s also a fun look back a The Doctor’s ever changing wardrobe.

The interviews are rare gems and the featurettes are all enjoyable, you’ll also find another hidden Easter egg if you work at it.

As with all of the new BBC DVD releases, all ten episodes on these two discs have been digitally remastered which means they’re supremely watchable. Doctor Who is such a part of TV history, it’s wonderful to see them cleaned up and preserved for us and future generations.

I wouldn’t hesitate to add both of these new releases to your collection. They’re both available for a very good price at Amazon.com.

Box art from Amazon.

Post from: SF Universe

KYLE XY: THE COMPLETE THIRD AND FINAL SEASON

The boy without a belly button reaches the end of his saga in this, their third and final season of Kyle XY. Hey, wait, don’t we know that guy on the right side of the box. . .

The ABC Family series picks up with Kyle (Matt Dallas) and Jessi (Jaimie Alexander) working as a team to uncover the secrets of their origin. Kyle’s world is turned upside-down when his powers suddenly disappear, and he’s in for another surprise when Amanda (Kirsten Prout) comes home with an unexpected question. As one woman in Kyle’s life arrives, another must say goodbye – though Jessi assures him they will always be connected.

Bonus Features
• Kyle XY: Future Revealed – A look at what would have happened in Season 4
• Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentaries

TRAILER

Have you ever watched Kyle XY? Is it worth checking out on DVD?

Photo: Amazon

Post from: SF Universe

Long, long ago, Sarah Jane Smith was one of Doctor Who’s companions. Now she’s semi-retired, living in a lovely suburban neighbor and she’s teaching the local children how to fight off aliens. A good deal of the screen time is devoted to the four young teens who star in the series. There’s Luke, Sarah’s adopted alien son, his friend Clyde, smart-as-a-whip Maria and new girl Rani. Rani has a nose for news and that could spell trouble for the lot of them!

This season, Sarah and the kids face off against a creepy clown, take a trip through time, investigate the heavens and defend the Earth, once again, from the devilish Bane! There’s lots of fun and action and there are just enough scares to be exciting without giving younger viewers nightmares.

The DVD also includes interview with cast and crew, a gadget glossary, a fun quiz (you get to see a fun Easter egg if you get the answers right) and more.

Though Sarah Jane Adventures is likely too silly for the die-hard Doctor Who fan, it is the perfect beginner’s scifi show for the nine to thirteen year-old in your house.

Both the first and second season are currently available at Amazon.com.

Photo: Amazon

Post from: SF Universe

Peter Davison

Davison stars in the latest BBC Video Doctor Who release, The Black Gaurdian Trilogy. This box set is made up of  ‘Mawdryn Undead,” “Terminus,” and “Enlightenment.”

The Doctor comes into the trilogy with two lovely companions, Tegan and Nyssa but they’re soon joined by Turlough (Mark Strickson), an alien who has been living his life among the humans at a UK boarding school.

As with all of these early Doctor Who releases, the joy is in seeing where we came from. The broad acting, the flat sets, the low-tech special effects (some of which were actually very high-tech at the time) are all part of the charm of the series. So I was very surprised to see that this set offered an upgrade — an option to turn on new CGI effects to replace the outdated ones.

Except in the case of cleaning up video and audio quality, I’m not a fan of upgrades, so I’m glad they give you the option of turning off the CGI effects if you want. I do appreciate the effort that went in to delivering a clean product. You won’t realize how great the film looks until you watch the special features which include un-enhanced deleted scenes and outtakes. These bits are seriously flawed with pops, vertical lines and faded colors.

The special features on this DVD set are plentiful to the point of “I can’t believe they bothered.” I’ll give the BBC credit for trying to preserve the history of Who but many of the included clips, such as the film edits which show the few seconds before and after the scene clapper, are tedious to watch. Same goes for many of the outtakes.

On the other hand, the featurettes are all interesting to watch. They’re filled with behind-the-scenes tidbits from people who were there. It’s obvious that everyone interviewed has fond memories of their time on the show and one actress even goes so far as to say that she’s proud to have Doctor Who on her resume.

A really rare treat is a clip from Russell Harty Christmas Party
that has Peter Davison singing in what the Brits call pantomime. (Please forgive me if I’m not using that word correctly.)

Davison, Strickland and several other actors and writers get in on the commentary. There’s also a “notes” track that allows you to switch on a trivia component that appears like closed captioning. I found this very enjoyable and made it so I could watch and hear the episode while still getting my production trivia fill.

The DVD also sports the usual photo galleries, extended and deleted scenes, and a DVD-Rom library of documentation from back in the day.

The most unusual special feature is a feature length edit of “Enlightenment” with 5.1 surround sound and CGI effects. Sort of their tribute to how the episode would have been if it had been filmed today.

Doctor Who: The Black Guardian Trilogy is another piece of the Who History puzzle. BBC Video has done an excellent job capturing what it was like to be a part of the Doctor’s 20th season. It’s the perfect gift for the Doctor Who fan on your holiday shopping list.

The DVD streeted early in November and is now available anywhere you buy DVDs.

For a more in-depth review, check out Judge James Stewart’s take at DVD Verdict.

Photo: Amazon

Post from: SF Universe

When that pilot was deemed to serious for TV audiences, a second pilot was made with William Shatner in the lead. That is called “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

According to The Live Feed, an alternate version of this pilot was made and up until now, has never been seen by the general public.

CBS says they were very excited to learn of the find. They remastered the rare film and they’re releasing it as part of the “Star Trek: Original Series – Season 3″ Blu-ray release due out December 15.

The Live Feed goes on to say that this piece of footage from YouTube is a widely circulated clip from that rare pilot.

Photo: Amazon

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The 1968 series stars Patrick McGoohan as a man caught in a nightmare. After leaving his super-secret job, he is kidnapped and wakes up in The Village, a happy, Waldenesque town where people are numbers and no one is allowed to think for themselves. Under the watchful eye of Big Brother, Number Six, as he is labeled, must decode the secret of The Village so he can escape and get back to the real world. . . that is if the real world still exists to return to.

This Blu-ray features a newly remixed 5.1 surround sound track and hours of bonus footage including:

• ‘Don’t Knock Yourself Out’: a feature-length documentary chronicling the production
• Two Brand-New Featurettes: ‘The Pink Prisoner’ and ‘You Make Sure it Fits!’
• Newly restored original edit of ‘Arrival’ with an optional music-only soundtrack featuring Wilfred Josephs’ complete and abandoned score
• Ooriginal edit of ‘The Chimes of Big Ben’
• Production crew audio commentaries on seven episodes
• Archive textless material, including the title sequence with clean  themes by Ron Grainer, Wilfred Josephs and Robert Farnon
• Image Archive with over 1200 stills
• Production Paperwork Archive, featuring scripts, call sheets and press releases (DVD-ROM Feature).

I love behind the scenes materials, so that DVD-Rom feature makes me giddy with joy.

If you would like to win the original The Prisoner: The Complete Series on Blu-Ray (remember, this will not play on your DVD player, you must have a Blu-ray player), here’s how you enter:

ENTER TO WIN

Leave a comment on this post with the answer to this question: If you were a number, what number would you be?

Deadline to enter is November 18 at midnight PST. Winner will be notified by email and will have three days to respond.

US only please.

Photo: Amazon

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Legend of the Seeker

Even if you’re a fan of this kind of fantasy series you may have missed it on TV.  The show is syndicated which means it airs on local TV channels usually outside of primetime hours; early or late on a Saturday or Sunday is common. (Check the website for times and dates in your area.) Because of this, the show is sorely under promoted and that’s a shame because it’s an excellent series.

The story revolves around woodsman Richard Cypher (Craig Horner) who finds out that he is what legends call The Seeker. Together with the lovely and magaical Kahlan Amnell (Bridget Regan) and with the help of the wizard Zedd (Bruce Spence) Richard sets out on an epic journey to stop the bloodthirsty, sinister tyrant Darken Rahl (Craig Parker) from conquering all mankind

The series is based on “The Sword of Truth” book series and is produced by Sam Raimi (“Spiderman”), Rob Tapert (“Xena:
Warrior Princess,” “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”), Joshua Donen (“The Quick and the Dead”), Ned Nalle (“Xena: Warrior Princess,” “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”) and Ken Biller (“Star Trek: Voyager”), all of whom know something about epic heroic journeys!

Shot in New Zealand, Legend of the Seeker transports you with their gorgeous locations, detailed costuming and rustic village sets. It may be full of magic and monsters but you’ll buy into every second of it thanks to the talents of the cast and crew.

What I find particularly refreshing about the series is the way the leading lady, Kahlan is played as a capable warrior without losing any of her femininity. She handles and sword and fights as well, if not better, than the men of the series but you still feel a softness that makes her a very likable and relatable character.

Craig Horner is also very likable as Richard Cypher, the average Joe who suddenly finds out that the fate of the world rests on his shoulders. In this first season, you see him go from a confused boy to a man on a mission but he always keeps his performance grounded.

The DVD has all 22 episodes of the first season, audio commentaries, deleted scenes and several featurettes. If you’re a fan of Terry Goodkind, there’s an extended interview with him where he takes you inside his home and talks about his career. My favorite feature is “Forging the Sword: Crafting a Legend.” Craig and Bridget take you behind the scenes for a closer look at what goes into creating this mammoth production. I was amazed to see how many scenes that I thought were filmed on location, were actually filmed on a sound stage. You’ll learn more about the actors, see some fight choreography and spend time with the horse wrangler who cares for the animals on the show.

This series looks so beautiful in HD and here it’s presented in widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Can’t beat that.

If you have even a mild interest in sword and sorcery or fantasy TV, you should check out Legend of the Seeker. It really is the only thing like it airing on TV today.

Buy Legend of the Seeker: The Complete First Season on Amazon, then check your local listings for new episodes beginning November 7.

Photo: Amazon

Post from: SF Universe

I got to revisit that era this past week when I reviewed the new classic Doctor Who US releases from BBC Worldwide. Two of the DVD’s are from the Tom Baker era (1974-1981), “Image of Fendahl” and “The Deadly Assassin.” The third is “Delta and Bannermen” starring Sylvester McCoy who reigned from 1987-1989.

Two things impressed me about these DVD releases. First is the quality of the print. Having only seen these as grainy copies on TV with rabbit ears, anything would have been an improvement. But these digitally remastered prints are far beyond what I was expecting. Obviously, they don’t have the depth and high definition of today’s Doctor, but they’re very clean and watchable.

The other thing that impressed me was the array of special features on each DVD. All of them have commentary with the Doctor himself and other actors and crew members. “Image of Fendahl” has Wanda Ventham, whom I remember from UFO. They each include a behind the scenes looks with interviews by key players, photo galleries, trailers and a PDF of the Radio Times listing from the era.

“Delta and the Bannermen” also includes Clown Court outtakes of McCoy on The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow and a Seventh Doctor Comic Strip Retrospective. On “The Deadly Assassins” we look deeper at the novel The Manchurian Candidate which inspired the episode and find out the Doctor’s Frighten Factor.

Real die-hard fans will get a kick out of the deleted and extended scenes on “Image of the Fendahl.” These clips are made up of poor quality, black and white footage, because the original copies of these bits have been lost or destroyed. So kudos to the DVD producers who made the effort to include these rare scenes.

And here’s a hint: If you own these DVD’s I’m told there’s an Easter Egg on at least two of them.

I really enjoyed traveling through time with Doctor Who and his companions. As a fan who rediscovered the show thanks to the newest incarnation, it was nice to go back and relive my first memories of the show.

The DVDs were released on September 1 and are available at Amazon or any large DVD retailer.

Photo: Amazon

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Fringe: The Complete First Season hits stores on September 8 and it has a ton of great special features including production diaries and even an homage to Gene the cow.

Have you signed up for the Fringe Tweet-Peat party? Peter, Walter and the producers will be Tweeting away during tomorrow night’s episode. Click here for all the details including the Twitter addresses you need to follow.

Fringe returns with all new episodes Thursday, Sept. 17 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Brian Bowen Smith/FOX

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