It was a stellar evening for “The Dark Knight” as the Christopher Nolan film garnered five Saturn Awards at the 35th Annual Saturn Awards. The film was named Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film. The Warner Bros. release also received awards for Best Writing: Christopher Nolan & Jonathan Nolan, Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, Best Music: Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, and Best Special Effects. Also receiving multiple Saturn Awards were “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Iron Man” which won three Saturn Awards apiece.

“Battlestar Galactica” proved to be the most decorated series of the evening with three Saturn Awards including Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series, Best Actor on Television: Edward James Olmos, and Best Actress on Television: Mary McDonnell. “Lost” received the Saturn Award for Best Network Series. Show co-creator, J.J. Abrams accepted the award on stage.

The highlight of the awards ceremony was the special awards presented throughout the evening. Actor Lance Henriksen received the Life Career Award for his strong body of work in film and television. Actor Ed Harris presented the award to Henriksen on stage.

DreamWorks Animation studio head, Jeffrey Katzenberg, was awarded the inaugural Visionary Award for his efforts in advancing 3D film presentation. Top filmmaker Jerry Bruckheimer presented this prestigious award to Mr. Katzenberg at the event.

Genre icon Leonard Nimoy was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in film and television which covers five decades. Mostly known for his portrayal of the Vulcan, Mr. Spock, Leonard’s accomplishment extend to many more projects including the series, Mission Impossible, Columbo, and the recent show, Fringe. Presenting the award was top filmmaker J.J. Abrams, who recently directed the hit film, Star Trek, for Paramount Pictures.

Many genre leaders were in attendance including: Michael Emerson and Mark Pellegrino (from Lost), Zachary Levi, Justin Hartley, Kevin Feige, Jack Coleman, Cristine Rose and Adrian Pasdar (from Heroes), Scott Porter, Ann Robinson, Sean Faris, Carlos Bernard (24), Kristin Bell, Andrea Roth, Casper Van Dien, Kevin Sorbo, Jim Parsons & Simon Helberg (from The Big Bang Theory), Larry Cohen, Frank Darabont, Greg Cannom, Michael Biehn, Jennifer Carpenter, Dean Devlin, Edward James Olmos, Tom DeSanto, Vince Gilligan, Aaron Paul (from Breaking Bad), James Newton Howard, and Hans Zimmer. This year’s reception was hosted by Entertainment Weekly. The Afterparty was sponsored by Highlander Films.

The 35th Annual Saturn Awards were presented by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, a non-profit organization created in 1972 to honor, recognize and promote genre entertainment. The Academy was founded by noted film historian, Dr. Donald A. Reed, who passed away in 2001. Robert Holguin currently serves as President of the Academy. Mark Altman is Co-President of the Saturn Awards.

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With the first part of the Battlestar Galactica finale airing tonight, I thought it would a cool idea to see what the television landscape would look like in the next year following the show’s conclusion. Shows like ‘Lost’ and ‘Heroes’ are beginning to show their age and once in a while it’s nice to get a glimpse of something new and refreshing to feast our visual appetites. Here’s what we can expect in the next little while.

I think the biggest thing people are expecting from the Sci-fi Channel is the spin-off series Caprica. This series has been in development hell for the past few years and few thought it would ever be made into a pilot, let alone a series.

The show takes place ten years before the first Cylon War (fifty years in the past from Battlestar Galactica) and follows the lives of two families, the Adamas and the Graystones. After one of their daughters is killed in an act of terrorism, she is magically reborn through the power of cybernetics. Honestly, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time and while it might be more ‘tame’ than Battlestar Galactica, I enjoy a good family saga.

The most anticipated show to expect this fall would have to be Flash Forward, from Treshold’s David Goyer and Star Trek’s Brannon Braga.

Based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer where everyone on Earth blacks out for two minutes only to see themselves in the future. The show revolves around events in the year 2009. At CERN the Large Hadron Collider accelerator is performing a test run to search for the Higgs boson. During the run the entire human race loses its consciousness of the present and experiences events from about 21 years in the future. Each individual, except for those asleep, experiences their own future through the senses of their future self. This “flashforward” lasts a matter of two minutes, but when it is over many are dead in accidents involving vehicles, aircraft, and any other device needing human control.

Kings is an upcoming TV series airing on NBC based on the King David story. The series is set in the modern day metropolis of Shiloh, a city under siege where the fighting has gone on for too long and cost far too many lives. When David Shepherd (Christopher Egan), a brave young soldier, rescues the King’s son (Ian McShane) from enemy territory, he sets events in motion that will finally bring peace.

As reported, HBO recently bought the rights to George R.R. Martin’s ‘Songs of Fire and Ice’ series. If all goes well then each book (roughly a thousand pages a piece) will encompass an entire season. Very rarely is a fantasy series given precedence in the television medium, so it will be interesting to see them adapt these books should the pilot ultimately go forward.

Two other television shows to keep an eye on are Eastwick, a show based John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick about three modern-day women who discover they have magical powers, and V, a chronicle of human resistance fighters battling aliens with The 4400’s Scott Peters.

Then of course if all of these shows don’t pan out there’s always Dollhouse, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fringe, Heroes, True Blood, and many others provided that they get renewed. In the last couple of years it seems the market for quality science fiction programming has exploded, and I have no doubt the genre will continue to expand in the years to come.

3) Join Her Guild

The internet has allowed us to meet loads of people without ever having to actually talk to them fact to face. Email, instant messaging, it has all allowed us to communicate in ways we’ve never imagined. Some people take it to a whole new extreme. MMORPGs (massively multi-player online role playing games) take it to a new level, no pun intended. Games like World of Warcraft, Everquest, Project Entropia, and others have allowed groups of people, known as ‘guilds’ to battle online in real-time. You wouldn’t believe it but it’s actually a great way to meet women, that is if you know what you’re doing.



I actually had a friend who went to California to the annual Blizzcon convention and hooked up with one of the members of his guild after meeting her in person for the first time. If you’re not into these games, it’s very playful to challenge a girl to Guitar Hero or DDR if that option is available to you.

For more regarding these online role-playing games click here.

4) Pretend You’re a Famous Author

Nothing impresses a woman more than a man who’s written a novel, or two, or three. Fortunately for us, most people don’t keep tabs on many authors profile save for a few favorites. Simply say to her you’re a well known author who’s just finished his book signing for his latest novel. For extra points keep a copy of your ‘book’ handy to show her as proof. Just make sure it doesn’t have the author’s picture on the inside jacket. I suggest paperbacks for this. While copyright infringement may be illegal, pretending to be someone famous to sleep with a woman has been going on unregulated for generations. Keep this tip close to home.

5) Be Yourself

When all else fails this is the best advice I can give you, just be yourself. If you’re talking about us hardcore science fiction aficionados it is very much still a boy’s club. If a gorgeous woman is attending an event like that it is not by accident, she’s a fan of the genre. Use this as a launching point for your relationship and build it from there. It’s much easier to get into a relationship with a girl if you already have mutual interests. Don’t get discouraged. Be yourself.

Don’t get me wrong I loved Cloverfield and will probably see this movie. But if Abrams isn’t careful he could quickly turn into the next Michael Bay (if he hasn’t done so already).