It’s the yin-yang, the perennial agony after the ecstasy for science fiction fans.Like “Farscape” and “Angel” fans before them, once again, fans are mourning lost favorites or scrambling to save those in dire trouble.The TV season has begun claiming its scifi victims. It’s the pain we fans seemingly must endure year after year.ABC has canceled “Night Stalker,” the second time, as SciFi Wire noted, that the network has killed a series about reporter Carl Kolchak and his pursuit of the supernatural.Just six episodes of “Night Stalker,” an update of the 1974 series, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker,” have aired. The original show lasted just one season, from 1974-’75.The new series, on Thursday nights opposite powerhouses “CSI” and “The Apprentice,” struggled in the ratings, falling as low as under …

There’s a renewed interest in the old “Doctor Who” programmes, which aired from 1963-89, due to the recent success of the revamped series which debuted in March, 2005, starring Christopher Eccleston, who left the series after completing 13 episodes. His successor, David Tennant, begins his journey as the 1000+ year-old Time Lord (the sole surviving member of his race) next month in “The Christmas Invasion.”As a result, there is also a renewed interest in the search for the 103 episodes from the early years of the original series featuring William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, which are still missing from the BBC archives.The missing episodes range from individual episodes, as well as complete stories, whose master tapes (as well as 16mm film prints) have been destroyed or “junked,” by the …

Here we go again.We thought we had settled the classic-versus-new “Battlestar Galactica” feud, but it’s crept back.Richard Hatch, the original Apollo from the 1978 series may have resolved his differences with the new regime, but now we’re left with the battle of the Starbucks.All of this dissension is making the BSG set look more like the Middle East and less like a television production. (We can only hope the old and new Boomers–Herb Jefferson and Grace Park, respectively–don’t decide to start their own battle royale.)In this latest controversy, Katee Sackhoff, who plays Starbuck on the new show, apparently said she won’t consider appearing with Dirk Benedict, who played the original version on the original series.”If Dirk pitched up to work on the show, I’d probably quit,” she’s quoted …

Some fans, at least, sure don’t like to compare “Battlestar Galactica” with Star Trek.”One is a space drama, one is a space opera. STOP COMPARING THEM PEOPLE,” one such fan wrote on the TrekFanUnited message board. “Each is BRILLIANT in it’s own right, but comparing these two is like comparing ST to Star Wars…….there IS no comparison. They are to [sic] different in intent and scope to be compared.”Despite the warning, I’m going to plunge ahead and compare them anyway because in the most important way possible, the two series share a common bond.Without a doubt, the series have their differences, and no one’s expecting a “Battlestar” episode in which a Klingon battlecruiser pulls up alongside the Galactica. (Although, when asked, BSG showrunner Ron Moore said a BSG/Trek crossover would be …

I’ll let you in on a little secret.When I first met Mike Hinman and Airlock Alpha, I was the scifi columnist for another website, and I had just written a piece in I which criticized SyFy’s Genre Awards.In response, I received my share of brickbats and hate mail from a variety of directions–but not from Mike himself. Although we agreed to disagree on the matter, Mike conceded I made some good points and thought the column was well-written.After that, we struck up an online acquaintance in which we’d chat on various message boards and such. From the beginning, I was impressed by Mike’s even-handedness and thoughtfulness.So about a year ago, when I was shopping for a new home for ER&RL, Mike was the first one I contacted. I was thrilled when he jumped at the chance to host the column. He promised …