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Let's Talk about ... TV Stations!
If you're one of the majority of Sci Fi and Fantasy
fans who patiently await the series return of your
favourite show, these are sad times indeed. With
many of our favourite shows either not coming back
or being taken off the air midway through its season
due to “poor ratings”, there is a certain disdain being
shown towards fans by major free-to-air TV
networks.
Sure – they’re screening old favourites like Star Wars
or the odd Star Trek movie. Hey, we even got to see
the first two LOTR movies! Anime and manga fans are
getting a little screen-time on SBS TV. “Poor ratings”
seems to be the popular cop-out the networks dish
out to us and what makes me angry is they actually
expect us to BELIEVE IT!
There is one saviour in the battle for Sci Fi and
Fantasy on TV and that is Foxtel (if you can afford
it!). At least Foxtel have a wide and varied selection
of our favourites to choose from and - yes! - they
can actually tell you exactly when the show will
screen! Granted, Foxtel is not everyone’s cup of tea,
but at least they are satisfying some fans.
Let us know any comments you
have about this matter and any frustration you
have come up against.
The best way to get your message across to your
local TV Network is to **write** to the program
manager, not e-mail, and let them know what you
think.
Keep reading because we have a great issue for you
to enjoy and for all those fans out there getting
ready for the convention season proper, we have a
special feature on Terra Nova Three and the
upcoming tour of John Billingsley (ST Ent and
SG1). See our convention special and update of
Planet Oz cons for more details.
Best wishes - Stuart
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| Convention Listing Oz - valid @ April 2006 |
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Note: Only new or updated listings are
given
Promoters: if your event is not listed here
or you have new information email us
for inclusion.
April 2006
Saturday 29 & Sunday 30
April
2006 – Wellington, NZ
Armageddon Pulp Culture Expo
Presented by Armageddon Conventions
TV & Movie stars: Summer Glau & Jewel Staite from
Serenity, Smallville’s John Schneider and John
Billingsley from Star Trek ENT. Comic Guests include
Geoff Johns and Phil Jiminez (Infinite Crisis).
Animation guests include the voices from Spongebob
Squarepants, Battle B-Daman & DragonballZ.
And don’t miss out on the first ever GIANT PILLOW FIGHT
Queen’s Wharf Event Centre, Wellington, NZ
www.pulpexpo.com
May 2006 - ** Updated Listing**
Saturday May 6 & Sunday May 7 - Sydney
Buffy and Serenity Actors live on stage
Presented by The Hub Productions
Guests include Jewel Staite, Clare Kramer, John
Billingsley & Jonathan Woodward
www.thehubproductions.com
June 2006
Friday 9 – Monday 12 June 2006 - Canberra
Conflux 3 – a Convention of Fantastic Worlds
Presented by Victorian Science Fiction Conventions
Inc.
4 days of sci-fi, fantasy & horror in books, films, art,
games, comics, anime & manga, featuring Virtual
guests Arthur C. Clarke & Ray Bradbury
National Museum of Canberra, Canberra ACT
www.conflux.org.au
STOP THE PRESS
Conflux 3 Art Show & Conflux 3 Film
Festival
$6000 worth in prizes for sci fi, fantasy, horror,
surreal, astronomical, comics, manga and related
art
1st Preselection of artwork closes 27 March 2006
2nd chance to submit artwork closes 28 April
2006
Works will be exhibited at Conflux 3 from 9-12 June
2006
Art Show awards will be presented 11 June
2006
Also, Conflux 3 Film Festival is now inviting entries
For details about the Art Show and Film Festival
contact artshow@conflux.org.au
July 2006
Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 July 2006 – Parramatta
NSW
Best of Both Worlds - The Reunion
Presented by BOBW
Featuring Tony Amendola, Dan Shea, Dan Payne
Stargate SG1 & Atlantis actors live on stage along
with novelists
The Carlton Hotel, 350 Church St, Parramatta,
NSW
www.bobw.com.au
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| Comic Store Focus |
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This issue we focus on two comic stores from
Adelaide and Melbourne:
Adelaide Comic Centre
Adelaide Comic Centre, one of Adelaide’s longest
running comic stores, has a large range books, DVDs,
prints, collectables and of course a wide and varied
selection of comics.
Store owners Tony and Genni Albenese are
enthusiasts and offer sound advice in product
selection.
Mail order a speciality and there are inhouse
discounts on most products.
Located in the Renaissance Arcade, Shop 20
17 –21 Pulteney St, Adelaide
Ph: 08 8223 5593 Fax: 08 8223 4622
Classic Comics
Classic Comics has been in business for 13 years and
prides themselves on having the best and most
flexible standing order service in Australia, mail orders
welcome. Standing orders can be for just 1 regular
monthly title (no deposit) but entitles you to a 5%
discount, all the way up to a 15% discount for larger
orders. They will source any item available through
their suppliers, no matter how obscure, though some
items may require a deposit. They stock all major
comic titles as well as hundreds of trade paper backs
and collected editions. Don’t forget the action
figures, statues, t-shirts, posters, cards etc. If
you’re in Melbourne come on in and have a chin
wag - open 7 Days a week
Classic Comics
7-50 Bourke st Melbourne 3000
Ph/Fax 03 9663 7210
email us
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| Read - See - Hear |
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Publications
Titan Publishing
www.titanmagazines.co.uk
Smallville - Michael Rosenbaum speaks on
Lex’s journey to the dark side
Charmed - Will Season Eight be the last?
Battlestar Gallactica - Edward James Olmos
on Season Two
Lost – The writers currently working on a
comic book format
DVDs
How’s your collection going? With so much material
being released it’s hard to stay ahead!
Here are a few new releases for you to
consider:
The Chronicles of Narnia (The Lion, the Witch &
the Wardrobe) - Full screen edition, available
April 4, 2006
Final Fantasy V11 – Advent Children,
available April 25, 2006
Quantum Leap: Season Four - available
March 28, 2006
Tales From The Crypt: Season Three -
available March 21, 2006
Dr Who - The Beginning (featuring William
Hartnell) the First Doctor 1963-66 Series - available
March 28, 2006
Aeon Flux (widescreen edition) - available
April 25, 2006
Planet of the Apes: The Ultimate Collection
(all the movies are remastered in a special “Ape
Head” collector’s box) - available March 28,
2006
All titles available online at www.amazon.com
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| Final Word - Fan Clubs - "Tribbles" Review |
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- Tribbles @ the Adelaide Fringe -
The Sci Fi Reporter travelled to the City of Adelaide
to be amongst the sci fi community attending the live
theatre production of the classic Star Trek
episode “The Trouble With Tribbles” performed by the
Unseen Theatre Company. The production was an
official event as part of the
Adelaide Festival Fringe 2006 from March 8 to 18 at
the Bakehouse Theatre.
One word describes the show - delightful!
With nearly all performances sold out, and rave
reviews by all major local newspapers, the attending
audience were treated to a campy, satirical salute to
a cultural icon. A great replica of the Enterprise
bridge had been made for the set as had a plethora
of cuddly Tribbles! When asked what rating had been
given to the show
by the Fringe’s organisers, Unseen’s Director, Pamela
Munt, proudly boasted “Four Stars”. Pamela also
commented on how fabulous and energetic each
audience was and how appreciative they were of the
actors’ professionalism and quite “spot on”
mannerisms of some of the Enterprise’s prominent
characters.
Captain Kirk, AKA , Steve Parker, said, “I’m loving it,
having a ball.” Steve simply had Kirk down to a tee!
And with that, the crowd was in stitches at the long
pauses in mid-sentence and the classic “head and
hand thrusts” that went with each remark.
The Unseen Theatre Company moves on to their next
project “Jingo”.
www.unseen.com.au for ticket information.
- Fan Club News -
Austrek, the Star Trek Fan Club of
Melbourne
Saturday April 1st - AGM followed by Star Trek/Sci Fi
Arts & Craft Day, from 2pm, Northcote Town Hall,
Northcote
www.austrek.org
starship Mawson, Adelaide’s Sci Fi Fan
Club
Official website is
www.starshipmawson.com
The Club has the 1st draft of its starship on display on
their home page. The Shuttle was designed by John
Eaves the Conceptual illustrator for Star Trek at
Paramount. John designed many craft including the
Enterprise D and E.
Australian Costumers Guild
August 26th – the 10th Annual Costumers Ball
Burnside Ballroom, Adelaide, South Australia
www.australiancostumersguild.org.au
Quest - sci fi fan club, Queensland
Actively recruiting new members and currently
getting ready for their own costume workshop in
June
Contact Club President, Mary Kemp on Ph:07
32904243
In the next issue......
-- Anime & Manga Special
-- Mystery Stargate interview exclusive
-- Latest Book releases
-- New Collectable releases
And a galaxy of news ....
See you next issue!
The Sci Fi Reporter...
Suggestions for our
next issue - tell us!
Website coming soon -
what would you like to see?
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The contents of this newsletter are copyright 2006
The Sci Fi Reporter. All Rights Reserved. No material
contained herein may be duplicated without express
written consent of the owners.
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Convention Special - Xclusive interview with John Billingsley |
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Terra Nova Events' 1st convention for 2006 is on 6
May 2006 at the Mercure Grosvenor Hotel in Adelaide,
SA. This is a general sci fi event featuring live stage
appearances by John Billingsley of ST ENT, Claire
Kramer from Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Claudia
Christian from Bab5.
Currently offering a special price of only $90.00 per
ticket, there are also special gold passes & cocktail
function tickets still available.
www.startrek.com.au
On the eve of his long awaited tour Downunder, the
Sci Fi Reporter is pleased to present a recent
interview we conducted with John for your enjoyment:
G’day Mr Billingsley, Stuart Blair here from the Sci Fi
Reporter, Australia's Sci Fi E-Newsletter. On behalf of
sci fi fans Downunder, may I welcome you to
Australia for your upcoming tour?
JB: Much obliged! We're looking forward to it
tremendously.
SB: How did you develop / come up with the
Dr's unique accent?
JB: I played around with a lot of accents
when the audition came up (a weird audition request:
come in with a slight alien accent! Hmm . . ) and my
wife, Bonita, after many thumbs down, finally gave a
thumbs up for the one I eventually used. It seemed
to me that Phlox, as written, had the detachment
and gentle sense of humor of a Zen Buddhist so I
tried to create an accent that would have a touch of
the guru about it, maybe a little bit of an upward
inflection like you'd hear in India, nothing too on the
nose because obviously I didn't want to sound
like “Apu” from “The Simpsons”. I don't know that I
ever got as comfortable with it as I might've liked - in
fact, when I go to cons and people ask me to talk
like Phlox, I can't always do it - and every time we
came back from hiatus it took me a few scenes to
find the voice again - there were also certain sounds
I never felt I got quite right and I will still cringe,
upon occasion, if I watch an old episode, when I hear
a certain speech or certain words that 'clank' in my
ear. If I meet you when I'm there, ask me about the
squawk . . . which never made it on screen, but
which I employed at my audition . . .
SB: Regarding the Dr's physical appearance /
personal hygiene / mannerisms - how much input did
you have in developing this aspect?
JB: I really didn't have a lot of input in terms
of his physical appearance or eccentric “skill set” -
his 2 foot long tongue, his monstrous toenails, the
blowfish face, wall-crawling ability, and so on. The
mannerisms, vocal tics, etc., for better or worse,
were mine. The nudism came about because one of
the writers called my dare - I'd suggested at a cast
party one time that they should write a nude scene
for the Doc, although what I'd suggested was that he
should be puttering around in the nude when a
crewman arrived and that we should see the
crewman's eyes bug out, if you get my drift -
anyway, the writers said nah, you wouldn't do it, and
I said of course I'd do it, the goofier the better . . .
SB: Is he a nudist himself???
JB: Probably.
SB: Whose idea was it for the Dr's defensive
mechanism in the ep "Home"?
JB: The blowfish face came from one of the
writer's,
not sure which one . . .
SB: (Referring to Denobulan culture) What
does JB think of polygamy for humans? Are we ready
for it?
JB: Can't imagine having more than one
wife. I'll
leave others to interpret that statement as they will.
SB: Did you enjoy your time on "Stargate"?
JB: Yes, very much - the gentleman (Patrick,
I
believe?) who played my opposite number (Felcher?
Coombs? Can't remember who was who) was a
terrific improviser and a great sport and they gave us
a lot of latitude, room to play - I was sorry that they
never brought me back, actually. I think Patrick
returned to do another one, but what is a Felcher
without a Coombs, or visa versa?
SB: What’s up next for John Billingsley?
JB: Well, fingers crossed - I'm currently
shooting a pilot for ABC (an as yet untitled show by
Hank and KJ Steinberg - Hank is behind "Without A
Trace"). It's about a botched bank hold-up and the
way the ensuing hostage crisis plays out - great cast
(Chi McBride, Kim Raver, Tim Daly, bunch of other
terrific actors), great director (Alex Graves of "West
Wing"). I
play a sad-sack who rises to the occasion, does
something heroic and finds that his new found
celebrity gives him a shot at a brand new life. And
the best part of it is that my real life wife, Bonita
Friedericy, who is also, of course, going to be in
Australia this (north American) spring, has been cast
as my fictional
wife in the show (she's a real ball-buster in the
fiction, fortunately a doll and a pussycat in real life).
I've been recurring on “Prison Break”, did a couple of
indie films that I doubt will see the light of day, but
you never know, and après NZ/AUST, if the show
gets picked up, I will be back to work in earnest
come June . . . .
SB: The Sci Fi Reporter would like to thank
John Billingsley for his time and we wish you all the
best for your upcoming tour Downunder.
Any words for your fans in closing John.....
JB: Only my continued thank you - thank
you - thank
yous for all of the support and affection they've
shown me over the course of the last five years -
xox JB
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