StarShipSofa #227 is now available for download, containing:

Fact: Science News by J.J. Campanella

Introduction to Under The Moons of Mars by John Joseph Adams

Main Fiction: A Tinker of Warhoon by Tobias Buckell

Fact: Theatre of the Mind by Paul Finch

Narrator: Rajan Khanna

Peter Halliday, the actor who starred as Dr John Fleming in the BBC’s A for Andromeda series in 1961, has died at the age of 87. A well-known and highly-respected character actor, Halliday played numerous roles in TV, film and theatre throughout his career, including in Doctor Who, Nigel Kneale’s Beasts, Madhouse with Vincent Price, Out of the Unknown and The Avengers.

Read the BBC’s obituary HERE

Still from A For Andromeda (c) BBC

IDW Publishing will make history when it teams up the Doctor with the crew of the USS Enterprise in comic book format for the first time in Star Trek: The Next Generation / Doctor Who: Assimilation 2.

Launching in May 2012, the comic will feature the Borg and the Cybermen as they create an unholy alliance resulting in potential disaster for all humanity. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise find themselves joining forces with the Doctor and his companions, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance.

The eight-issue series will be written by Scott and David Tipton, the authors of critically acclaimed Star Trek: Infestation, with a helping hand from longtime Doctor Who writer Tony Lee, and will feature fully painted artwork by J.K. Woodward (Fallen Angel).

Doctor Who and Star Trek are two hugely successful franchises that began as television series, and have expanded into a number of other media. Nearly five decades and 1,500 episodes in the making, this is the moment that both Trekkers and Whovians have been waiting for!

Full information from IDW Publishing HERE

Night of the Living Dead actor, Bill Hinzman, has died of cancer at his home in Pennsylvania on 5 February 2012, aged 75.

At the beginning of George Romero‘s cult film, Hinzman’s zombie character is seen attacking two young siblings in a cemetery. His performance in the film set the standard for zombie characters on screen ever since.

Read the full BBC story HERE

Hammer Books have announced further publications for 2012. After initially publishing several novelisations of their classic films by authors such as Shaun Hutson, Peter Curtis, Francis Cottam and Guy Adams, they then obtained the rights to reprint three classic Graham Masterton novels.

They are now branching out further, with books including: Jeanette Winterson’s original novel based on the true story of the Pendle Witches trial of 1612 which will be published in February; a new novelisation of Hammer’s cult classic Vampire Circus by Mark Morris due in March; Tim Lebbon‘s new novel Coldbrook also due in March; and Helen Dunmore’s original ghost story The Greatcoat, about “the power of the past to imprint itself on the present, until the present is possessed by the past”, to be published in April. Further books will be announced soon.

Full details HERE

At the same time many of their films are set to be restored for release onto Blu-Ray. More than 30 films are involved, with several to include new or extended scenes that were cut from the original. One of these is Terence Fisher‘s Dracula, which will incorporate a recently-discovered extended death scene considered too gruesome for cinema release in 1958. Other titles involved include Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter, The Mummy, and Frankenstein Created Woman.

See the full BBC story HERE

StarShipSofa #220 is now available. Contents include:

Main Fiction: The Martian Chronicles Part 1 by Cory Doctorow

Promo: Sherlock and Science Fiction by Amy H. Sturgis

Vintage Serial: Exit Center Stage Part 1

Fact: Movie Soundtracks by David Raiklen

TROLL HUNTER

Momentum Pictures / DVD & Blu Ray

Norwegian w/English subs – English audio available / 99 mins runtime

Reviewed by Phil Lunt

Troll Hunter is a rather excellent documentary on the role of the troll hunter in modern day Norway. Put together using footage from a group of missing college students you’ll learn about the different types of troll, such as the Ringlefinch, Tosserlad and Mountain Kings, how to keep them at bay, that three billy-goats on a bridge really do attract trolls and how their territories are controlled by the Troll Security Service…

Obviously, there are a few genre clichés there but I’ll admit to having a bit of a soft spot for “found footage” films, even stuff like The Blair Witch Project and The Last Broadcast but don’t write me off because of that. They are released onto a public with the full knowledge that they are works of fiction but at their core they spark the imagination in different ways to other films or media. They can be the kernel or embryo of ongoing, modern day, fairy tales and Troll Hunter is no different.

Troll Hunter does a very good job of taking an existing “allegedly” fantasy creature – in this case trolls, surprisingly enough – and brings it into the present with the back-story of a trio of college film-makers on the hunt for a rogue bear hunter. Obviously, and even the DVD cover blows the mystique a little, they find a lot more than they bargained for.

Luckily, the film gets over the clichéd “What’s hunting us through the trees? Let’s run like idiots!” relatively early on in the film and opens up into much more than I expected as the story develops and you learn about the life of a disgruntled troll hunter and of the trolls that lurk in modern day Norway. It has humour and tension in almost equal measures and Otto Jesperson holds everything together well as Hans the troll hunter whilst Glenn Erland Tosterud, Johanna Mørck and Tomas Alf Larsen, playing the student film makers, were spot on in their roles and despite being the “screamy teens with no real clue what they’re up against”, weren’t overly annoying, either, which in this type of film is very good!

The effects are good for a low budget film and only falter a couple of times. The trolls might appear a tad cartoony for some yet are still menacing. The backdrop of the Norwegian countryside is amazing, though, and adds to the fairy tale aura that the film creates.

There’s also a pretty cool scientific explanation for why trolls turn to stone and explode in sunlight as well as obligatory troll-fart humour! The DVD is also chock full of extras and includes an English dubbed version as well as the original Norwegian with subtitles. Overall I was impressed with this rather excellent “mockumentary” and highly recommend it.

Sherlock actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Noel Clarke, who played companion Mickey in Doctor Who, are reportedly set to appear in the next Star Trek film. The follow-up to the 2009 film in the franchise will again be directed by JJ Abrams and is expected to be released in 2013.

Read the full BBC story HERE

Bob Anderson, a former Olympic fencer who staged swordfights for films including the original Star Wars trilogy and Lord of the Rings, died on New Year’s Day at the age of 89. He doubled as Darth Vader during light saber fight scenes in both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as choreographing sword fights in many other films. His most recent film work was on The Hobbit.

Born in Hampshire in 1922, Anderson served in the Royal Marines during World War II and represented the UK in fencing at the 1952 Olympics and the 1950 and 1953 World Championships.

Read the full news story HERE

Photo (c) Walt Disney Pictures