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Stargate SG-1 Celebrates 25 Glorious Years! And What’s Next?

Stargate SG-1 is celebrating 25 years, not 28! (that’s Stargate the Movie).

25 Years ago today, Stargate SG-1 gave new life to a then three-year-old movie, which original creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin struggled to decide if a sequel should be made. They sold all rights to MGM, and they handed development to Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner to reimagine.

This series started on Showtime, a speciality network which wanted something unique to boost viewership, but eventually, moved to SciFi (now SyFy) before being picked up by local stations. I remember when Chek TV (now Chek News) showed it, because Victoria, BC a ferry ride away to Vancouver, where the series was made.

The History and Personal Thoughts

Honestly, I consider Stargate SG-1 its own entity. The early seasons delivered a lot more than just a weekly Ancient Alien inspired tale every week. It was serialised storytelling in the style of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the grander arcs–especially concerning Sha’re (Daniel’s wife)–spanned multiple seasons than just one. But this shift wouldn’t be embraced until after the second season. What made this series special was the camaraderie between the stars, Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping and Christopher Judge. It also had many guest stars who are the who’s who of Canadian genre television programming. From Gary Chalk to Matt Frewer to Barclay Hope in later episodes or newer series, I was sold.

Any relation to the movie is explained with the episode “Point of View.” Alternate realities exist. Also, we heard Jack emphasising, “That’s O’Neill, with two ‘L’s!”

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What’s Next Niantic, After Daring to Cancel Transformers: Heavy Metal?

The shakeup at Niantic Inc. cannot go unnoticed. Despite making billions one year, they’re laying off the next, and cancelling titles, like Transformers Heavy metal too.

Pokémon Go creator Niantic announces Transformers: Heavy Metal AR game - Polygon

The shakeup at Niantic Inc. cannot go unnoticed. As published on Entrepreneur 360, Tristan Rose wrote, “According to Niantic’s Crunchbase profile, Niantic, the developer of Pokémon GO, has raised $770 million over 5 rounds giving them a post-money valuation in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion as of November 23, 2021.”

And eight months later, this company is laying off workers (up to 90, according to Bloomberg) and changing priorities. In other reports, John Hanke wrote in an internal email to say this company is “facing a time of economic turmoil” and had already been “reducing costs in a variety of areas.”

The shift is unusual, and many fans are speculating.

The effect on upcoming products means cancelling them altogether. Not only was Niantic to help market and distribute Transformers: Heavy Metal, a Pokémon GO like game, but also they were to produce three other games using the same engine. Whether that’s a good or bad thing, fans can’t say. Very few people may have seen a demo. I wasn’t too excited myself when I offered my opinion about it, but I’d still try the game out. The website for this game is still online at time of writing.

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Can Spider-Man diehards Get #ReleaseTheRaimiCut?

Whether this studio will consider #ReleaseTheRaimiCut depends less on demand and more on support from the team who helped make Spider-Man 3.

Back in 2020, fandom’s #ReleasetheSnyderCut movement caused Warner Brothers to release an alternate Justice League movie. Now, fans of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 are hoping Sony can give this old product a similar treatment. They even have found information on what was filmed and lost, in hopes bits can be restored.

Whether this studio will consider #ReleaseTheRaimiCut depends less on demand and more on support from the team who helped make this film. Earlier this week was Tobey Maguire’s birthday, and social media used that fact as a platform to remind fans they’re still trying.

In the years since, this actor resumed working on television. He has done no other superhero type work after his tenure was finished.

For now, all fans have is an Editor’s Cut which didn’t amount to much in 2017. Owners of that set noted there were three new scenes, three alternate endings and an extended. It was part of the Legacy Collection 4K/Blu-ray Box Set.

Sadly, I feel that nothing will be done to further enhance the old films. Even though reception for the past actors reprising the role was praised in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the only way it can go forward is for a business executive at Sony Entertainment to say to the board, “People love Sam Raimi! He did well with Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, so let’s try again!”

All supporters can hope for is a fan edit should an update come. It isn’t too hard to put back dropped or deleted scenes into a film from what’s available (i.e. trailers). After finding Spider-Man 3 Editor’s Cut on rental, it didn’t do anything for me to further improve the work. As for whether footage from the Venom films can be used, it’d be a challenge! It may even flesh out the problems with the third film’s story arc about the sentient alien goo.

To stay current with the latest plans, please follow https://twitter.com/RaimiCut

What’s Next after The Batman? One Fan’s Wish…

As for what writer/director Matt Reeves has in mind, it’s safe to say we’ll see more threats in the sequel to The Batman and it’ll come from terrorists.

The war with gangsters is only going to be bloodier in The Batman. This movie is part one to a three film arc because we’re not offered a clean ending. Confirmed news include a spinoff series about The Penguin and Arkham Asylum. There may also be other empires who’ll descend on the power vacuum left behind after a certain Al Capone type meets his untimely death. Gotham City will never find peace. It’s not in the cards. Not even the Mad Hatter has those kinds of grandiose plans, but I’d be beside myself should that be the case!

As for what writer/director Matt Reeves has in mind, it’s safe to say we’ll see more threats from terrorists. It’s not likely the Justice League will help; an accidental entry from a parallel Earth might appear, but that’ll be it. This product is very standalone–much like The Joker–and we’ve always known the hero operates alone.

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When to Expect More Night at the Museum

Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian review | Den of Geek Anyone who loves the premise behind the 20th Century Fox’s Night at the Museum most likely knows about the upcoming animated sequel by the new franchise owners, Disney. Development may have stalled. The original news was revealed in 2020, during the pandemic, and reports back then suggested a 2021 release.

Hopefully plans have not been shelved. When considering other franchise properties recently released, namely Home Sweet Home Alone and Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild, hope is alive again, and it may show up later this year.

In the trilogy of live-action films, the Golden Tablet of Pharaoh Ahkmenrah is the raison d’être behind why many animals and statues came to life. Instead of dealing with a threat we’re all familiar with, the tentatively titled Kahmunrah Rises Again shifts the story to Nick Daley and how he’s going to continue in his father’s legacy of being a night custodian. Any other details are, pardoning the proverbial Ancient Egyptian pun, under wraps.

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Pokemon GO in 2022

Unless players are keeping tabs on the latest news, it’s easy to miss out on when specific pocket monsters will make appearances

Pokemon GO isn’t off to a good start in 2022. Players are getting a mix of both worlds; the developer of the game, Niantic, believes everyone is returning outside to play but not everyone truly is! Some parts of the world are knee-deep in pandemic woes, and are self-isolating. Also, what’s offered in the coming weeks feels tailored towards new players rather than old. Where’s those missing Pokemon for those wanting to complete their PokeDEX? And why can’t we have other options to gather coins?

Two Community Days for grabbing Spheal and Bulbasaur were not terribly exciting. According to reports, this cute walrus type beast is worthless in combat situations. It’s not recognized in the meta and it’s a shame I can’t harvest all that ivory and convert that into coins. I also get the sense the next one won’t be as exciting (confirmed in update: Hoppip? Really?) As for the plant-based pocket monster, I was semi-excited to go grinding for mega candy. I thought the shorter three-hour window made more sense so an entire day is not wasted with a game.

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