SciFi Weekend: Star Trek Discovery; Sherlock; Doctor Who; DC Shows; Gilmore Girls

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Variety reports that Bryan Fuller has stepped down as show runner of Star Trek Discovery.

The decision was made late last week to hand the day-to-day showrunning reins to “Star Trek” exec producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts as “Discovery” gears up for the start of filming next month and a May 2017 premiere date. Fuller, who will remain an executive producer, will still be involved in breaking stories, and the show will continue to follow his vision for the universe that this latest “Trek” series will inhabit. Writer-director Akiva Goldsman is also expected to join “Discovery” in a top creative role…

Sources said there had been some strain between “Star Trek” producer CBS Television Studios and Fuller over the progress of production on the show, as Fuller is also juggling the final weeks of shooting and post-production duties on Starz’s upcoming drama “American Gods” and prepping a reboot of “Amazing Stories” for NBC. Fuller has penned the first two scripts for “Discovery” and has hammered out the broader story arc and mythology for the new “Trek” realm

It was previously announced that the show will have a female lead. The Hollywood Reporter has information on the rest of the crew: “the rest of the cast also will feature an openly gay actor as one of the male leads (which Fuller confirmed), a female admiral, a male Klingon captain, a male admiral, a male adviser and a British male doctor.”

It is now official that Sherlock will return in the US and the UK on January 1. Trailer above.

Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of the first regeneration of Doctor Who when William Hartnell was replaced by Patrick Troughton. Now we anticipate such changes, but it sure must have been a surprise to viewers to see the lead in the show change in such a unique manner.

Inverse looks at what we know so far about the upcoming superhero-themed Doctor Who Christmas Special (sneak peak video above):

“The Christmas specials generally always have a kind of warmer feel … this Christmas special that we’ve done … has caught the feeling of that kind of superhero movie,” Capaldi said in new sneak-peak from BBC America. He also called this superhero “ironic” and “funny,” but made it clear that this would be a legit superhero story in that it would be “quite exciting.”

The new clip from BBC America isn’t a full trailer, so we don’t have much new information about the superhero, still only mysteriously known as “Grant.” Reiterating his previous comments from New York Comic Con, Who showrunner Steven Moffat said that he feels the best superhero story is still “Clark Kent,” which doubles-down on the idea that this story and “Grant” in particular will be more focused on a secret identity than a story about superpowers.

Humans returns on Channel 4 this week. Den of Geek has interviews with members of the the cast.

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The Hollywood Reporter looks at what happened on the DC shows on Fox and The CW Network last week. This includes the revelation on Gotham that Penguin is gay, and speculation that Alex Danvers on Supergirl is also gay. We have a new version of Harrison Wells (who presumably will turn out to be evil) and the return of Killer Frost on The Flash. We are going to get yet another superhero on Arrow with District Attorney Adrian Chase becoming Vigilante. Legends of Tomorrow potentially has major changes for Ray Palmer (unless he just rebuilds his A.T.O.M. suit) and a mysterious warning from Barry Allen of 2056.

Movie Fone has additional news on the CW shows.

If there wasn’t already far too many genre related shows to keep up with, Greg Berlanti of CW’s DC superhero shows and Jason Rothenberg, show runner of The 100, are working together on a new show for The CW Network. Deadline reports:

Written by Rothenberg, Searchers is about a group of unlikely heroes who find themselves on the journey of a lifetime. Ten years after the death of their parents, a pragmatic brother and free spirited sister are forced to team up when they learn that their mother’s terrifying and bizarre stories may be a road map to discovering the great legends, myths, and unexplainable mysteries of the world.

Girlmore Girls returns on Friday, November 25. Perfect for an all-nighter after Thanksgiving dinner, and can be completed with plenty of time to spare before the Michigan-Ohio State game. Netflix released the official trailer above, complete with Wonder Woman and mention of Superman.

Gilmore girls makes its much-anticipated return with four memorable chapters from the lives of Lorelai, Emily, Rory and countless more Stars Hollow stalwarts. Picking up nine years after we last dropped in on the whimsical Connecticut town, Gilmore girls: A Year in the Life finds each of our leading ladies at a major crossroad: Lorelai’s relationship with Luke is at an unnerving standstill; Rory’s budding journalism career in New York has stalled before it’s even begun; and Emily’s world is turned upside down following the untimely passing of her beloved husband, Richard.

Gilmore girls: A Year in the Life is told through four 90-minute chapters — each spanning one season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall — and brings back to life everything from the quaint corner diner to the dreamy Dragonfly Inn to a fast-talking, quick-witted mother-daughter love story unlike any other. Gilmore girls: A Year in the Life launches Friday, November 25, everywhere that Netflix is available.

Talks are underway for a possible new season of Will and Grace.

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Email Scandal Again Affecting Clinton And Election

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This unpredictable election race suddenly became more complicated on Friday. For months I had been warning that nominating Hillary Clinton, with her history of serious ethical transgressions, was not only an improper move by the Democratic establishment, but also a politically risky move. While it is doubtful she could have beaten any other Republicans, the repeated acts of self-destruction by Donald Trump appeared to placed Clinton on path for a safe victory. The race had already become tighter, with Trump narrowing the gap in some polls, pulling within two percent in the Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll. A dramatic new development in the email scandal now means that Clinton cannot run on the clock, and might not win by the margins predicted just a few days ago.

We actually know very little other than that material found during the FBI probe into Anthony Weiner sexting a minor has led the FBI to reopen their investigation of Hillary Clinton and her private server. It is hard to believe that the James Comey would have made such an announcement this close to the election unless there was something significant. We have no meaningful information yet and and at this point it is all speculation. Among the possibilities are that classified information might have turned up on a computer or phone used by Weiner and/or his wife Huma Abedin. Possibly there might be email exchanges which shed more light on the question of intent. While the law does not stipulate that intent is a factor, the double standard applied to Hillary Clinton, as opposed to others who have mishandled classified information, has required evidence of intent in her case.

As is typical of Clinton and her supporters, the immediate response was to attack the messenger, with attacks on James Comey for sending his letter this week. In reality, Comey had no choice. He had testified before Congress that the investigation was closed, making him obligated to inform Congress of the change in status. If he failed to divulge this until after the election he would have been accused of playing politics. It is also questionable if this could have been kept secret. Many career officials at the FBI and Department of Justice have reportedly been upset with Comey’s decision not to recommend indictment of Clinton, and might have leaked the fact they are now looking into new evidence.

Unless there is a bigger bombshell, Clinton will most likely still win, with tribalism leading most traditional Democratic voters to stick with her. Trump has also alienated far too many people, for good reason, to fully capitalize on this development. Still, we have an unusual election in which the majority dislikes and distrusts both major party candidates. Whichever has their negatives most strongly in the minds of the voters on election day will suffer. Clinton is faced not only with the email scandal, but with a steady release of embarrassing information from Wikileaks, including most recently how the Clinton Foundation was used to sell influence for the personal financial gain of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

The headlines shifting from Trump bragging about assaulting women to the Clinton scandals can have an impact, both on the presidential election and on down ticket Democratic candidates. It also also likely that Clinton’s opposition researchers will release something new this week to attempt to put the attention back on Trump.

While James Comey previously said that no prosecutor would bring the case against Hillary Clinton, his statement was quite harmful to Clinton, showing both that she was extremely careless with classified information and that her defense of her actions in statements to the American people and before Congress were not truthful. The mishandling of classified information is only one aspect of the scandal, with the State Department Inspector General report also showing that she violated the rules put into effect to promote government transparency, failed to cooperate with the investigation, and has repeatedly lied about her actions. Clinton also violated the ethics agreements she entered into before being confirmed as Secretary of State, casting considerable doubt as to whether she should subsequently be trusted with another government position especially the presidency.

Clinton very well could still win due to all the problems with Donald Trump, but hopefully voters will realize that, even if they see Clinton as the lesser evil, she still deserves an extraordinary degree of scrutiny should she become president.