Seeds of Doom coming to DVD

Play.com is currently running a Doctor Who competition: A chance to meet and greet Tom Baker as he records the audio documentary for the upcoming Seeds of Doom DVD, which was unconfirmed until now.



Seeds of Doom (1976) is one of my earliest memories of watching Doctor Who, and a splendid reworking of the classic sci-fi b-movie The Thing from Another World (1951).

Transformers Hall of Fame

Hasbro wants fans to chose the fifth inductee into the "Transformers Hall of Fame": joining Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron and Starscream.

HASBRO “ROLLS OUT” TRANSFORMERS HALL OF FAME
TRANSFORMERS Fans Will Participate in Selecting One Robot for the Class of 2010

Pawtucket, R.I. (March 26, 2010) — After more than 25 years of “MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE” action, Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) is announcing the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame that will honor both “ROBOTS IN DISGUISE” and those influential in creating and building this iconic entertainment brand.

Heroic AUTOBOTS OPTIMUS PRIME and BUMBLEBEE, as well as evil DECEPTICONS MEGATRON and STARSCREAM, will be the first robots honored with admission as chosen by Hasbro’s TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame internal panel of judges. TRANSFORMERS fans around the world will determine a fifth robot to join the inaugural class via voting on the Transformers.com website starting on Monday, May 10, 2010. The winning robot will be revealed Saturday night, June 26, 2010 in Orlando, FL at the annual TRANSFORMERS convention known as “BotCon” when the entire Class of 2010 will be officially inducted.

“The TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame celebrates a global entertainment property that has sparked the imagination of millions of kids over the past 26 years and remains one of the world’s most iconic brands,” said Greg Lombardo, senior director of marketing for TRANSFORMERS. “Starting in 2010, Hasbro will annually honor fans’ most-loved characters from the world of CYBERTRON as well as those individuals who have helped shape a brand that has spawned an army of popular action figures, multiple animated series and two blockbuster live action movies that set worldwide box office records.”

First introduced in 1984 by Hasbro and Takara as a toy line, the TRANSFORMERS brand has provided kids with hours of MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE fun with their action figures that convert from robot to vehicles and back again. Legions of boys around the world grew up creating fantastic adventures and battles set on both the planet CYBERTRON and Earth that featured the “good-guy” AUTOBOTS and the “bad-guy” DECEPTICONS. Since then, more than 7500 robots have been introduced and are now eligible to earn a slot in the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame’s inaugural class.

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About HASBRO
Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time products and services with a rich portfolio of brands and entertainment properties that provides some of the highest quality and most recognizable play and recreational experiences in the world. As a brand-driven, consumer-focused global company, Hasbro brings to market a range of toys, games and licensed products, from traditional to high-tech and digital, under such powerful brand names as TRANSFORMERS, PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, CRANIUM and WIZARDS OF THE COAST. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at Hasbro Toys, Games, Action Figures and More... © 2010 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Malkovich and Hot Rod in Transformers 3?

Michael Bay has announced, on his official blog, that John Malkovich has been signed for the upcoming Transformers 3 movie, which goes into preproduction in April.

Following the risible appearance of an Audi R8 Decepticon in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I hope Bay makes better use of the Ferrari 458 Italia. Odds on it'll be Autobot Hot Rod? Would be a left field choice if Malkovich provides voice over chores, but comedic actor Ken Jeong maybe the front runner!



Transformers 3 can't be any worse than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, can it?

You can read my Transformers (2007) review here.

New Doctor Who and Amy Pond promo images

To coincide with a second teaser trailer, the BBC has released new promo images depicting the new Doctor and his companion Amy Pond.





The organic space vortex evokes the Third and Fourth Doctors' opening title sequences. Hopefully the main theme harks back to the unsurpassed original composed by Ron Grainer and realised by Delia Derbyshire. Murray Gold has an opportunity to undo the mess he's made of it in recent years... Regardless. I'm looking forward to Steven Moffat and co. taking Doctor Who in a new direction.

Jonathan Ross' 'TURF' signing at Forbidden Planet

Forbidden Planet is pleased to announce a signing by JONATHAN ROSS and TOMMY LEE EDWARDS. They will be signing the very first issue of Image Comics’ TURF at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2h 8JR on Wednesday 14th April 6 – 7pm.



Needing no introduction, Jonathan Ross is not only a national celebrity but a lifelong comics fan - now making his writing debut with Image Comics and this fantastic four-issue mini-series! Tommy Lee Edwards is a top-drawer illustrator famous for his versatility. His clients have included just about every major film company, and his comics work includes 'Hellboy', 'Batman' and 'Marvel 1985'.

TURF is a hard-boiled noir crime thriller bristling with girls, guns, fangs and aliens. It’s New York, 1929, the height of prohibition. The cops turn a blind eye while the mobs run the city - but the arrival of the Eastern European Dragonmir Family coincides with a series of brutal attacks on the gangsters themselves. As the gangs fall before fangs, an unlikely alliance forms between tough guy Eddie Falco and a character from a LONG way from New York City - a long way from Earth in fact – and offers the humans a glimmer of hope.

For more news about our signings please go to: http://www.forbiddenplanet.com/Signings.html.

Kick-Ass signing at Forbidden Planet

Diary Date: Sunday 21st March 2 – 3pm

Forbidden Planet is pleased to announce a signing by MARK MILLAR and JOHN ROMITA Jr. They will be signing the graphic novel KICK-ASS and the movie companion book KICK-ASS: CREATING THE COMIC, MAKING THE MOVIE at Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2h 8JR on Sunday March 21st 2 – 3pm.

The KICK-ASS phenomenon unites acclaimed writer Mark Millar and award-winning artist John Romita Jr. for one of the 21st century’s most outrageous and acclaimed series. What would happen if you tried to be a superhero – if an ordinary kid in spandex came face-to-face with the criminal underworld?

In the graphic novel, Dave Lizewski is just a regular American teenager with a MySpace page, a comic book collection, and no girlfriend. As self-styled vigilante Kick-Ass, however, he’s about to find out exactly how a superhero would fare in the real world... and it’s going to get really, really violent!

To accompany the film release, Mark Millar has also written the full and official page-to-screen story of KICK-ASS, collecting the input of the cast and crew as well as artist John Romita Jr. With eye-popping art from the original comics, script extracts and hundreds of movie photos, this is the indispensable guide to every aspect of ass-kicking.

PLEASE NOTE: WE CANNOT OFFER THESE ITEMS AS SIGNED PRE-ORDERS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A SIGNED COPY, YOU WILL NEED TO BE AT THE EVENT.

For more news about our signings please go to: http://www.forbiddenplanet.com/Signings.html.

Forthcoming signings at Forbidden Planet

Forbidden Planet is the largest store of its kind in the world. Some of the biggest names in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comics and Cult Entertainment have come to our London Megastore for signing events, including: Sam Raimi, Terry Gilliam, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Simon Pegg, William Gibson, Mark Millar, Guillermo Del Toro and Stephen King.

We are delighted to be welcoming: -

Saturday 13th March 1 – 2pm
Alastair Reynolds signing Terminal World

Saturday 20th March 1 – 2pm
Joe Hill signing Horns

Tuesday 23rd March 6 – 7pm
Kelley Armstrong signing special advance copies of Frostbitten

Wednesday 24th March 6 – 7pm
Scroobius Pip signing Poetry in (E)motion

Thursday 25th March 6 – 7pm
Mike Carey signing The Unwritten

Friday 26th March
Brian and Wendy Froud signing The Heart of Faerie Oracle

All of these signings will take place at the Forbidden Planet London Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8JR, the foremost location for genre and cult signings in the heart of London.

For more news about our signings please go to: http://www.forbiddenplanet.com/Signings.html.

Bigtrak is back!

Bigtrak, one of the most beloved programmable toys from the 1980's, is being brought back by Dubreq Ltd (creators of the famous Stylophone pocket synth) with new updated accessories to include a rocket launcher and a digital camera - the scourge of pets everywhere.



Zeon will relaunch an authentic reproduction of Bigtrak, boasting all the features of the original model, including 23 button keypad, front-mounted blue photon beam headlamp and the ability to store up to 16 preset programmes.



Simon Gilham, general manager of Zeon in London said: "This is a very exciting time for Zeon. Bigtrak was one of the most exciting toys from my childhood and it’s so exciting to see the revival of this product.

“We wanted to take the incredibly popular toy and do something truly spectacular for the millions of children that came to love Bigtrak in the 1980’s by enabling parents of today to buy one of the most memorable toys from their past and bring it back to life for their own children to enjoy and of course for those who simply wish to have the toy they were never lucky enough to own as a child.

"This introduction mirrors the trend for retro toys and games but even by today’s standards of technology, this is still an immensely fascinating toy to play with what ever age you are!“

Bigtrak will be available in stores nationwide from July 2010, priced at £39.99, with accessories following in 2011. Pre-order Bigtrak from Amazon.

I originally missed out on owning one of these bad boys, my parents bought me MB's Star Bird and Command Base, and can't wait to see Bigtrak in retail stores this summer. I seem to recall that there were white and gray variants released to international markets.

How about Star Bird and ROM the Spaceknight? Make it so.

Follow Bigtrak on Twitter.