Top 50 SF TV Shows of All Time
The 50th (April 1999) issue of the excellent science fiction magazine SFX included a special feature on the top 50 SF TV shows ever, as voted by an expert panel of SF enthusiasts. The team included authors, producers, scripters, stars and members of the SFX production crew. It was no surprise to see Crime Traveller at the number one spot (only joking). You'll have to buy the mag to find out the full 50, but here's how the top ten went:

1. Doctor Who
2. Star Trek
3. The Prisoner
4. Babylon 5
5. Quatermass
6. Thunderbirds
7. The Twilight Zone
8. Red Dwarf
9. The X-Files
10. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Crusade Over?
The ever-online creator of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski recently posted a message on Compuserve hinting at a move to the Sci-Fi Channel for spin-off series Crusade. He said the reason for this was that TNT was "not SF-friendly in terms of really getting what SF is about." However, the attempt failed and the 13 episodes already filmed will be shown by TNT. A second season will rely heavily on good ratings, but Warner Bros. are hopeful and have a strong belief in the show.

Lord of the Rings Delayed
The eagerly-awaited, live-action film of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings will now start filming in August this year. Directed by Peter Jackson, the film will have 65 actors with speaking parts, plus 15,000 extras that will be digitally multiplied for truly epic battle scenes, which producers New Line promise will "push the envelope... in terms of intensity." No actors have been cast yet, but the character Gollum will be fully computer generated by Weta FX. The film will be shot entirely in New Zealand, where several key locations have already been decided.

French Vampires
Deal of the Millenium, a forthcoming film about two young vampires searching for a vampire professor to teach them how to better drink blood, will be directed by French director Jean-Jacques Beineix, making it his first English-language film. French company UCG are backing the film, which will star Jean (Leon) Reno and possibly Jason Flemyng. Beineix is still looking for a US distributor for the $40 million film.

Bicentennial Man
Sam (Merlin) Neill and Embeth (Schindler's List) Davidtz have joined the cast of Disney's Bicentennial Man. The SF film is based on Isaac Asimov's short story of an android servant that wants to become human. Robin Williams will also star in the film, which will be directed by Chris Columbus.

Independence Day II
A sequel to Independence Day is looking very likely as Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin are in talks with Twentieth Century Fox with an idea for a plot bringing back the characters of Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum. The first film is currently the third highest-grossing film ever, but a sequel was looking difficult due to Emmerich and Devlin signing a long-term deal with Sony Pictures. Fortunately, this no longer appears to be an issue.

Top 100 SF Films Declared
Sci-Fi Entertainment Magazine has finished counting up over 20,000 votes to their poll to find the top 100 SF films. You can see the full list at the Sci-Fi Channel Dominion or in the April issue of Sci-Fi Entertainment. The top 10 films were as follows:

1. Star Wars
2. Blade Runner
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey
4. The Empire Strikes Back
5. The Day the Earth Stood Still
6. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
7. Aliens
8. Return of the Jedi
9. Alien
10. Forbidden Planet

Renewals, Alterations and Cancellations

• Buffy The Vampire Slayer has been picked up for a new season by Warner Brothers
• ABC has cancelled Strange World
• Star Wars: Episode I will be released on May 19 in the US rather than May 21 (UK still July 17)
• The X-Files has been renewed for it's final season (#7), but there will be more films
• 3rd Rock from the Sun has been renewed for next season
• Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (the TV series) has been renewed for a 3rd season
• Mystery Science Theater 3000's 10th season will be its last
• Fox has cancelled Brimstone
• Earth: Final Conflict has been renewed for two more seasons
• TNT has cancelled Crusade

If you have any news that would interest science fiction, fantasy and horror fans please send it to amithyst_mag@yahoo.com