Sci Fi Friday (Memorial Day Edition): Moffat To Run The Doctor; Terminator Changes the Future; Xavier Returns; And Great Moments for Nerds

It’s been a fairly slow week due to new episodes of many shows being postponed to avoid airing over Memorial Day weekend. I thought that at least the BBC would be showing Doctor Who but when I tried to download it I found that the scheduled episode, Silence in the Library, has also been postponed a week due to the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. This is a two-parter by Stephen Moffat, who has been responsible for some of the best episodes since the show returned.

The mild disappointment in having to wait a week for the Moffat two-parter was greatly alleviated by the news that Stephen Moffat will be taking over for Russell T. Davies as show runner for the series when Davies steps down for the 2010 season. Among the episodes written by Moffett are the Hugo-award winners The Girl in the Fireplace, The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, and Nebula award winner (as well as nominee for this year’s Hugo award) Blink.

A plot summary has been released for Terminator:Salvation, the first movie in the next Terminator trilogy due for release May 22 2009:

The trilogy will be set after Judgment Day in the year 2018 and Christian Bale (who has signed for all three will take on the role of John Connor and will lead the human race to salvation. However, the future isn’t quite the one his mother trained him to save.

According to a Warner Brothers press release, the future is altered somewhat by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose final memory is of being on death row. Connor must keep an eye on the newcomer to establish if he has been sent from the future of the past.

At the same time, SkyNet prepares for a final assault that will end the war which forces Connor and Marcus to set off on a mission into the very heart of Skynet … and while there they will learn the terrible truth of SkyNet’s plan.

Those who left the last X-Men movie without watching the credits will have missed a late scene which provides hope that Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) remains alive. In a recent interview Stewart suggests that he will be returning to play Professor Xavier in X-Men 4.

Despite delaying the season finale of Lost until next week, ABC did have one weekly show which did involve jumping in time. The final moments of Desperate Housewives jumped ahead five years. This allows the show to get away from all the details of the last few years and have some changes in the characters. The biggest surprise was that Susan is living with a man other than Mike. Series creator Marc Cherry plans to leave after seven years and is even considering having the final season take place prior to the first aired season, before Mary Alice’s suicide.

How I Met Your Mother sort of jumps around in time between the present and the future. At the time this season’s finale was written it was not known if the show would be renewed and therefore the season finale ends with a scene which could have worked as the end of the series. Ted proposed to Stella (Sarah Chalke). Now that the show has been renewed the writers are free to either have Stella become Ted’s future wife or go in a different direction. With Scrubs coming to an end after a brief reprieve on ABC next year, Chalke will be free to become a more regular member of the cast. This could also mean that Stella’s receptionist, played by Britney Spears, might even return for a third appearance on the show. The finale also had Ted and Barney become bros again and there was the surprise revelation that Barney is interested in Robin.

Big Bang Theory has been the ultimate genre show of the past season. It is the only show where there are regular references to Romulans and many superheroes, and there was even an entire episode based around the time machine from War of the Worlds. The finale had Sheldon actually get a date with Penny, involving what might be the only prime time sitcom discussion ever of Schrödinger’s cat. While I doubt this romance will succeed, if it does it will be an even bigger victory for nerds since Jeremy (Joshua Malena) dated Natalie (Sabrina Lloyd) on Sports Night.

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