Season 2 of The Walking Dead has begun! Our favorite show is off to a compelling start, and Jen, Dave and Ged are talking all about it. Plus, thoughts on upcoming fall shows. You’ll find show notes after the break.

News:

American Horror Story
Grimm
Terra Nova

To Tell The Truth was a popular American game show in the 1970′s. Contestants were presented with a moderately well-known but seldom-seen celebrity and two imposters. The goal was to identify the real McCoy (no pun intended) by asking a series of open-ended questions within a short amount of time. Above is Gene Roddenberry‘s appearance on the show.

If you’re reading this, we assume you spotted him right off the bat.

Greetings, programs.

The guys at Parker Brothers Choppers have built a full-scale, working replica of the famous Tron light cycle. As you can see in the video above, it’s just about the coolest thing ever. We want one.

Fans are celebrating the 45th anniversary of Star Trek‘s original airing and we’re no exception. Who would have thought that Gene Roddenberry’s “wagon train in the sky” that first hit the airwaves on September 8, 1966 would become an international phenomenon, beloved by fans nearly half a century later.

Ged, Jen and Dave discuss the show’s origins, history, high spots and low. Join us, won’t you? You’ll find show notes after the break.

News:

The Marty McFly shoes are out!
New teaser trailer for The Thing isn’t very compelling.
Spielberg’s Robopocalypse movie will happen.
Awesome Star Trek info graphic is awesome.

Star Trek’s 45th anniversary:

WIRED’s look at Star Trek’s 45th.
The Menagerie Pt. 1 and 2.
Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Star Trek: Voyager.
Star Trek: Enterprise.
The oft-forgotten animated series.

Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed.

On second thought, be very, very proud.

Iomedes has assembled this amazing, 43,000-piece Venator-Class Star Destroyer out of LEGO. It weights 82 kg and is 2.44m long. It’s an exact replica of one built by Erik Varszegi a few years ago. Unlike Erik’s model, Iomedes’ uses no glue or screws. It’s 100% LEGO.

Fantastic work, Iomedes. You’ll find a full gallery of detailed photos here and a video after the break.

[Via Geekosystem]

Legions of Trekkies would love to see Star Trek: The Next Generation in HD, including us. We’ve got good news and bad news for those fans. The bad is that Star Trek: TNG in HD is impossible. The good news is that it’s going to happen anyway.

Here’s the problem. The show was shot at a resolution that’s fine for HD. The actors, the physical sets and so on are good to go. The effects and post-production work, however, was done in standard definition. High def effects shots simply don’t exist. The only way to create a true HD episode of TNG would be to re-do every single special effect by hand.

And that’s exactly what’s being done.

LeVar Burton recently visited CBS to observe progress on the project, and reported that he was “#mindblown” via Twitter. The first release will be a four-episode sampler disc, which will include: Encounter at Farpoint” (1 & 2), “Sins of the Father” and “Inner Light.”  Release is expected “before the end of this year,” so now you know what to put on your holiday shopping list.

[Via Graph Jam]

Epic.

Well this freaked me out.

Malgusto has published 40 rare, incredible photos from the making of the original Star Wars movies. I’m a geek, yet even I haven’t seen these images before. Some are funny (Kenny Baker in Vader’s helmet is pretty great), some are sweet and some…well, let’s just say we see why Lando was taken with Leia.

It’s an impressive collection. Check them out.

Great Scott!

Earlier this week, Nike teased the new Air Mag sneakers, modeled after those worn by Marty McFly in Back To The Future II. Now Nike has made good on its promise — the shoes are availbe today.

Michael J. Fox appeared on Late Night with David Letterman last night to reveal the details and show off the shoes in person. The short of it: 1,500 will be auctioned off, and proceeds will benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. It gets better: Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, will match all funds raised between now and December 31, 2012, up to $50 million.

The shoes are nearly identical to those worn by Fox’s character in the movie, and represent the “…first pair of rechargeable sneakers from Nike.” There is a bit of bad news, however. Contrary to initial reports, the real-life Air Mags do not lace themselves. According to the promo video above, we’ll have to wait “…until 2015″ for that.

As for the auction, it has already begun. The first batch of shoes were released on Sept. 8, at 11:30 p.m. EDT. Nike will auction off 150 shoes per day for 10 days. As of this writing, prices are very high; the “cheapest” I’ve found was around $4,000. It looks like serious collectors will grab most of the Air Mags. Of course, it’s for a very worthy cause.

To keep the 80′s theme going, I’ll quote Ferris Bueller: “If you have the means, do pick one up.” It’s just about the coolest 80′s collectable you’re going to find and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is a deserving cause. Good luck!

You’ll find lots of photos and an additional video after the break.

Source: Back4TheFuture.com

To celebrate Star Trek’s 45th anniversary, Darla at Bakingdom has created the best-looking Star Trek cookies we’ve ever seen. Heck, these are the best-looking COOKIES we’ve ever seen. Just look at McCoy’s smarmy expression.*

For a step-by-step gallery of the process as well as close-up shots of each cookie, visit Bakingdom.

Well done, Darla.

*That’s the first I’ve ever described a cookie as “smarmy.”

WIRED has listed several hypothetical experiments that would advance science significantly, if only they weren’t so creepy and wrong. For example, something called “embryo mapping” would see doctors insert a tracking agent into a human embryo and monitor its development more precisely and definitively than ever before. The result could help scientist direct the evolution of stem cells, and potentially advance research into Parkinson’s Disease, for example, significantly.

Plus, it’d make  really cool sci-fi story. As do the others. Just imagine your favorite director, actors and visual effects artists teaming up to produce movies based on:

1. Optogenetics – beams of light control brain cells of conscious human beings
2. Ape man – cross-breed a human being with a chimpanzee
3. Separating Twins – separate twins at birth and then control every single aspect of their upbringing

There’s more, of course, and we encourage to read the full list. Unethical in real life, but compelling fodder for science fiction.

Photo credit: Bartholomew Cooke. Image based on photo by photo researchers.

One of the most prolific science fiction writers of the last 50 years was the late, great Charles Beaumont. He’s written many of my all-time favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone, including “The Howling Man,” “Prime Mover,” “Miniature,” “Living Doll” and “Number 12 Looks Just Like You.”

Shadow and Substance has a great post on Beaumont’s legacy, that I suggest you read. It’s well written and researched, about one of my favorite writers.

It was only yesterday that we were celebrating the availability of streaming Star Trek: The Next Generation on Netflix. Earlier this week, the first season of Next Gen disappeared. Oh no!

There’s no need to worry, Netflix says. The disappearance was due to a glitch in Brazil of all places. ”The Starship Enterprise has veered off course temporarily because of a blip in the system with the start of streaming in Brazil,” a spokesman said. “We will welcome the Enterprise and her crew back shortly.”

That’s good news. Someone tell me when it’s back. In the meantime, I’ll be in my Ready Room.

Mr. Potato Head + Dr. Zoidberg = Dr. Spudberg. Brilliant.

Forty-five years ago today, Thursday, September 8, 1966, Star Trek first aired on NBC. Who would have ever imagined what the future held for the Enterprise and her crew? After only two seasons the threat of cancellation loomed large. Fans engaged in a letter-writing campaign, and the network renewed the show. Unfortunately, it was moved to the dreaded “Friday night death slot.” Creator Gene Roddenberry limited his involvement in the third season as a protest, but to no avail. Star Trek was cancelled in its third season.

Forty-five years later, a show that barely finished three seasons is among the most iconic in television history.  There have been six total TV series, 11 feature films (with number 12 in pre-production) and countless books, comics, games, etc. One could argue that Trek created the convention industry and is so entrenched in popular culture — internationally — that you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t even hear of the show, almost anywhere you are.

Suitably, my favorite episode is the original pilot (which didn’t air as the pilot), The Menagerie parts 1 and 2.

Let us say thank you to Gene and everyone involved in the original series. “Where no one has gone before” indeed.

I was prepared to make fun of this, but damn. I can’t.

A “learning bike” is a pedal-free variation that’s typically a child’s first two-wheeler. Many kids have one, but not like this.

The Tron-inspired Light Cycle learning bike by Ryan Callahan, an industrial designer at Trek, is freaking phenomenal and makes me wish I was a 4-year-old again, kicking my way through the slate sidewalks of Scranton, PA on the sweetest little trike anyone has ever seen.

If they know the Gamera song, even better.

[Via Destructoid]

These types of promotions make me feel good, awkward and sad, all at the same time. Years ago, a contest was held to promote The Empire Strikes Back. An adorable 8-year-old won, and his prize was to “visit” Luke Skywalker himself on Dagobah. They had a picnic, met R2, used words like “hyperspace” and engaged in other Star Wars-y things.

On one hand, there’s little Daniel. The kid is clearly wide-eyed while talking to Luke himself. How exciting! It’s impossible not to feel his anxious glee. At the same time, he’s nearly at a loss for words and poor Mark Hammil must fight for every mono-syllabic response he receives.

Ah, Mark. You know the guy would rather be home, rolling in his pile of Star Wars cash. Yet he’s got to film this soul-crushing promo.

Finally, did Chewie imply that the eats little girls?

Enjoy this sweet and creepy piece of Star Wars history.

[Via Ain't It Cool News]

This is really cool. NASA has released new photos of the Apollo lunar landing sites. These images show several landing sites, and offer the sharpest pictures yet of evidence of human kind’s visits to the moon.

The lunar soil is thin, and therefore tracks made by vehicles and even walking astronauts can be seen clearly. In fact, it’s easy to distinguish the parallel tire tracks vs. footprints. Not only are the photos compelling, they offer useful information to scientists.  Mark Robinson, an Arizona State University, Tempe scientist, explains:

“From a science standpoint, [the images] are important for two reasons. They tell us something about the photometric properties of the moon – why are they darker? Scientists are working to investigate that question. In a more practical sense, it allows us to find the exact spot where samples were collected.”

You can see more images and read additional details at Space.com. One interesting note: it seems the flags that those early pioneers planted are still there.

Nerd Rage is strong.

Ged and Dave have a brief but urgent conversation about the senseless changes George Lucas has made to Star Wars with the forthcoming Blu-ray release. This point-five episode is brief, but oh, so necessary. You’ll find the evidence show notes after the break.

“NOOOOOOO.”

No indeed, Lord Vader. No indeed.

Ben squealing like some sort of weird animal.

The blinking Ewok. Perhaps he’s stunned by Leia’s beauty.

The worst part of all: Lucas confirms to the New York Times that the NOOOOO (at least) is real.

While we’re on the topic, here’s how you alter a Star Wars film for the better.

Finally, Lucas speaks out against altering films…in 1988.

Monday is Labor Day here in the United States, a holiday where workers kick back, grill some burgers and enjoy the last huzzah of the summer. This wonderfully candid shot comes from the private collection of Leonard Nimoy who posed it via Twitter a while back. Great to see these friends and co-workers enjoying themselves out of context.

Apparently smartphones with cameras have made it impossible to shoot a movie outdoors without everyone and their brother posting photos from the set. Here we see Henry Cavill’s Superman from the forthcoming Man Of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder.

Is that Jimmy Olsen in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

What’s with dressing superheroes for a night at the latex fetish club (I’m looking at you, Wonder Woman)? Superhero Hype has more photos from the set.

The Man Of Steel is scheduled to open in 2013. Just don’t sit in the front row or he might knock you out with that thing.

Here’s what happens when a Trekkie builds a scratching post for his/her cat. We love it.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a horror novel by Max  Brooks that tells the story of a zombie apocalypse from the perspective of several characters.  It’s comprised of several anecdotes, gathered a decade after the conclusion of the zombie war. I enjoyed the novel and the audiobook, which featured a huge cast of big names, even though it omitted large portions of the novel.

Now, World War Z is being made into a movie with Brad Pitt, Bryan Cranston and Mireille Enos. Ain’t It Cool News has posted pictures of the zombies themselves. They look less than intimidating stored as the props they are, but it’s still fun to catch a glimpse and we’re sure the mood will be different once they’re on the set.

Summer is winding down and Ged, Jen and Dave are looking forward to this season’s fall movies. We talk about a few we’re looking forward to, as well as the week’s science fiction news. Plus, Jen got a new mic and sounds fantastic! Enjoy episode 54. You’ll find show notes after the break.

Big thanks to this week’s sponsor, Gobble.com.

News:

Ridley Scott to direct new Bladerunner movie
Walter Koenig hints at the possible return of Babylon 5

Summer Movies:

Apollo 18
Contagion
The Thing prequel
Underworld Awakening

If this little Duck Tape company had had the $$$ to run this TRON inspired commercial during the Super Bowl, it would have easily come away with the prize for best ad. All we can hear is “I want him in the games until he dies taping!” Nicely played guys.