News, gossip & other tidbits...


•  The summer movie season is over, but the fall TV season is now in full swing. The X-Files returned this fall with last season’s cliffhanger. Mulder survives (as if we didn’t know otherwise), and our two favorite FBI agents are back together again. In a new twist, Assistant Director Skinner seems to have finally gotten a clue. As a result, the first two episodes of this season has moved Skinner as a closer ally of agents Mulder and Scully. 

Finally, X-Philes are starting to know more about that “mysterious global organization” that our cigarette-smoking friend is a part of. All of this unraveling intrigue is coupled with even more alien sightings by Mulder and Scully. 

Are we X-Philes starting to get a few more answers? Are we any closer to The Truth? Baloney! All of this intrigue just introduced a lot more questions! 



•  Space: Above and Beyond is our new entry to television’s crowded space soap opera category. Brought to us by the Fox Network, the Space premiere episode managed to capture all the attention and Neilsen points that it wanted. Barely two episodes have passed at the time of this writing, folks. It’s still hard to determine if SAAB will be taken as a serious contender in the SciFi TV arena. The youthful cast looks like the producers took some Melrose Place standby’s and forced them into space marine boot camp for the movie “Alien”. 

More on SAAB as we start getting a better consensus on viewer reaction and the show’s future direction. 



•  Speaking of space cadets and boot camp... Star Trek: Voyager has graduated its first year with flying colors!  Despite all those previous months of trash talk and the whining (mostly from TOS or TNG purists) about how unorthodox the Voyager setup was, the show was generally well-received during the first season, and its healthy ratings continues to keep the Trek franchise in good shape. Still, the Star Trek television franchise (now DS9 and Voyager) seems to be getting plenty of competition from the growing audience of Babylon5, as well as new entries like Space: Above and Beyond. 



•  The Fox Network recently featured the much-anticipated Alien Nation: Body and Soul this October. This is the second such Alien Nation telemovie created after the original TV series was cancelled a few years back. Newcomer George Francisco (Eric Pierpoint) and detective Matthew Sikes (Gary Graham) return to uncover a secret about the ship that brought the Newcomers to Earth. 



•  The Episode List for Babylon 5 as follows: 


 Week of  No.  Title                       Writer  Director

 10-11-95 220  Divided Loyalties            JMS     JT
 10-18-95 219  The Long, Twilight Struggle  JMS     JF
 10-25-95 221  Comes the Inquisitor         JMS     MV
 11-01-95 222  The Fall of Night            JMS     JG

 SEASON THREE 

 11/06/95 301  Matters of Honor             JMS     KC
 11/13/95 302  Convictions                  JMS     MV
 11/20/95 303  A Day in the Strife          JMS     DE
 11/27/95 304  Voices of Authority          JMS     MB


*** Airing date is week of. Listed dates are tentative and may vary according to location of broadcast. Please consult the Babylon5 FAQ for an updated and comprehensive listing of episodes. 



•  Partial list of upcoming SF game titles for the Macintosh: 

   Planned for release late '95 to first quarter '96

   The 11th Hour              Virgin Interactive
   The Dark Eye               Inscape
   X-Wing Collector's CD-ROM  LucasArts
   The Dig                    LucasArts
   Rebel Assault II           LucasArts
   Pax Imperia II             Blizzard Entertainment
   Marathon 2: Durandal       Bungie Software
   Descent                    Interplay/MacPlay
   Burn: Cycle                Philips
   Escape Velocity            Ambrosia (shareware)



MSD Observer information provided with the help of Roger Ogawa.