SCI FI PI

November is slowly changing from stubble-vember to Mo-vember in sunny Australia as the last spurt of work between Melbourne Cup day and Christmas keeps us frantically busy until 2009.

The best way to relax in these turbulent times is with a steady and understanding course of Sci Fi - on where else, but SCI FI!

We've got a great week lined up for you - with 7.30pm every night devoted to Gemini Division, our brand new show starring Rosario Dawson. This series is just starting to cook, so make sure you tune if you can. If you can't you can catch every episode online right here at 8pm, and all the previously aired episodes, so you never have to wonder just what the H is going on.

Our other new November addition, Animax, has been going gangbusters, with lots of people tuning into Anime for the very first time, and other 'old hands' feeling the joy of seeing some of the very best in Anime beamed out to living rooms across Australia.

A case in point - this Wednesday night, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex at 10.20pm, leads our 4 Ep Animax block with the classic 'Testation' episode. Ghost in the Shell is the ongoing series about Section 9, a new wing of the police force operating in futuristic Japan who deal with criminal (and other) activity that involves, in a broad sense, 'the cyber'.

Androids, software that is self-aware, humans who hack into more than just the net are just some of the things that they have to deal with - luckily they're cybernetically and physically enhanced as well!

Whilst the name may sound a bit funny, the 'Ghost', for want of a better word, could be better described as 'Soul', the essence of a human (or a machine) which in this world can be transferred from computer to human and back again. The 'stand alone complex' is in fact 'the ghost in the machine' - where life can be thought, and it doesn't have to be made from flesh and blood.

There are some astonishingly complex ideas that are brought up by this show, and, if you do like a bit of futuristic tech, some really cool gadgets. The update on international passenger jets alone are worth a look!

This week's episode starts with devastation and leads to a cross country chase - and possible disaster - all when the latest six legged (and ferociously armed) tank runs amok.

It's pretty cool. 10.20pm, Wednesday. Don't miss it.


On Thursday, The 4400 continues with double episodes, from 7.35pm.

This week includes one of those classic Sci Fi staples, the 'what if the entire world that we know was different' episode, with Agent Tom Baldwin (Joel Gretsch) waking up in a world without The 4400. Although he knows there is one. Really he does. And things get a little bit hairy when he tries to convince everyone else that there should be a bunch of people tramping around earth who've been 'returned' and have strange new powers. It's a tough ask.

You'll be amazed to see how and why he's in the pickle he's in. If you've not seen just how good The 4400 is, this week is the week to start!

The 4400, from 7.35pm, Thursday.

We also have a treat this week for the night owls.

On Saturday, November 15 at 3:25am, Babylon 5's classic episode, 'Intersections in Real Time' screens. This is the one where John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) undergoes horrific mental and physical torture in what is essentially a show with just two men in a room, but is now considered one fo the very finest B5 episodes, ever. It is a tremendous battle of wits and sometimes sickening look into the psychology of manipulation. Great Sci Fi writing at its best. If you're up, tune in.

Ont he other end of the scale, for the early birds, Saturday also has a treat - Thunderbirds!

Yep, relive your youth by waking up super-early, sneaking out to the tellie and watching International Rescue save the day one more time. This week - Terror in New York City sees them save The Empire State Building!

If you're up (or haven't been to bed yet!) put a giant grin on your face as Gerry Anderson's genius entertains you once again.

Thunderbirds, 6.40am on Saturday the 15th.


The fun doesn't quite end there this week, with the classic Phillip K. Dick movie, Screamers, taking us out on Sunday night at 10.50pm. Starring Peter Weller as a hard-bitten soldier on a remote frozen outpost, this film pits man against self-evolving machines in what is a clever, often bone-chilling tale. Finishing off with a classic twist, this is an entirely satisfactory Sci Fi tale that will have you glad that you're just the right kind of person to not only know, but love, the work of Phillip K. Dick.

If you've never seen it - do.

Screamers, classic Sci Fi movie, on Sunday the 16th, at 10.50pm.