Alasdair Wilkins

io9

io9 March Madness Championship Game: Star Wars vs. Lord of the Rings!

After three weeks of March Madness, io9-style, it all comes down to this. Our quest to find the greatest work in all of science fiction and fantasy has brought us this winner-take-all battle between genre titans. Star Wars. Lord of the Rings. Let’s do this. Vote now! No need for much of a preamble at … Continued

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io9 March Madness Final Four: Harry Potter vs. Lord of the Rings!

We’re down to our last four competitors in our quest to find the greatest work of science fiction and fantasy ever! Star Wars and Doctor Who are battling it out to represent science fiction in our championship game, while Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter are locked in combat to raise the fantasy banner. … Continued

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io9 March Madness Elite Eight: Lord of the Rings vs. Game of Thrones!

We’re down to our last eight competitors in our search for the greatest work in all of science fiction and fantasy. So now it’s time for you to vote on today’s batch of titanic match-ups, as Star Wars takes on Firefly, Doctor Who battles the X-Men, Lord of the Rings crosses swords with Game of … Continued

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io9 March Madness Sweet 16: Star Wars vs. Dune! Buffy vs. Cthulhu!

We’ve reached the Sweet Sixteen in our hunt to find the greatest work of science fiction and fantasy ever. Just four competitors are left from each of our regionals, which means you’ve got some tough choices ahead: Doctor Who or Blade Runner? Harry Potter or Hellboy? Terminator or X-Men? Vote now! Top image: Theamat. All … Continued

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Science Fiction Vs. Fantasy Round Two: Space Opera and Epic Fantasy!

We’ve reached the Second Round in our quest to find the ultimate work of science fiction and fantasy, and we’ve got some brutal match-ups for you to decide. Blade Runner vs. Back to the Future! Star Trek vs. Firefly! Game of Thrones vs. A Wrinkle in Time! Sandman vs. Buffy! Dune vs. Ender’s Game! Now … Continued

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Science Fiction vs. Fantasy: Dystopia, Mad Science and Magic!

This year’s edition of io9 March Madness is dedicated to finding the greatest, most classic work from all of science fiction and fantasy. Today we wrap up the Round of 64 with the likes of George Orwell, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and the Dread Lord Cthulhu. The competition is fierce! Top image: ZachSmithson. After deciding … Continued

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Science Fiction vs. Fantasy Round One: Space Opera and Epic Fantasy!

In this year’s edition of io9 March Madness, we’re on a quest to find the greatest series in all of science fiction and fantasy. On Wednesday, we kicked things off by making eight classics battle it out just to make it into the tourney. Now it’s time to start voting on the round of 64! … Continued

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io9’s March Madness: Science Fiction vs. Fantasy!

Are you ready for another edition of io9’s March Madness? In previous years, we’ve crowned the best movie, the worst movie, and the best TV show. But this year, we’re going bigger. The most famous series in science fiction and fantasy will battle it out, to see which genre reigns supreme! Check out our full … Continued

io9Television

Behold the bizarre wonder of a Supermarionation Christmas

For some shows, a Christmas episode represents the perfect opportunity to gather together friends and family, to celebrate the essential bonds that ultimately unite the people that populate a given fictional universe. But for the 1960s puppet espionage show Joe 90, Christmas was the perfect opportunity to mix together haunted churches, counterfeiters, fake angels, and … Continued

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Four galaxies are smashed together in a space the size of the Milky Way

This area of the universe is known as Seyfert’s Sextet, although there are really only four galaxies engaged in this particular cosmic turf war. First spotted by astronomer Carl Keenan Seyfert, these tightly packed galaxies represent the most compact group ever discovered, as the space they occupy would barely be enough to fit in our … Continued

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Just for the record, beatboxing is good for your health

Specifically, the health of your vocal cords. To demonstrate this finding, researchers performed experiments like the one in the video above, which allowed them to record the movement of muscles in the vocal tract as beatboxers did their thing. Whatever else might be learned from this study, the resulting videos are somewhere between mesmerizing and … Continued

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This artwork would be impossible without a 3D printer

This amazing headpiece is the work of sculptor Josh Harker, but it also owes its existence to a 3D printer. While it might well be possible to create something this insanely complicated using more traditional means, that would have required every single element to be created separately and then painstakingly combined. These state-of-the-art printers allow … Continued

io9Television

What every Doctor Who regeneration says about each Doctor’s era

Tomorrow sees the final bow of the Eleventh Doctor, as Matt Smith regenerates into Peter Capaldi. But “The Time Of The Doctor” figures to be more than just this incarnation’s last hurrah – like so many regeneration stories before it, the Christmas special is a chance to define just who this particular Doctor is, once … Continued

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Saturn does its best to imitate a Christmas ornament

Assuming you read the headline, I’m probably not going to be able to convince you that this image is an extreme, shadowy close-up of a Christmas bauble. But it can still be hard to believe that these boldly colored, oddly perfect circles and hexagons can really be found in Saturn’s northern hemisphere. This photo, taken … Continued

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This cosmic dust is basically a gargantuan, radiation-spewing fairy

That’s how the good people at NASA’s Astronomy Photo of the Day describe this dust pillar, at any rate, and I know better than to argue with a bunch of astronomers armed with a flair for figurative language. And this gorgeous gas is just one small part of the generally just ridiculously impressive Eagle Nebula. … Continued

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Our world had oxygen 700 million years earlier than we thought

About 2.3 billion years ago, Earth underwent what is known as the Great Oxidation Event, as early lifeforms photosynthesized enough oxygen that the gas took hold as a dominant part of our atmosphere. This massive shift allowed for the evolution of pretty much all complex life… but its roots go back far earlier than scientists … Continued

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Have Independence Day 2 and Jurassic World found their stars?

David S. Goyer wants to make it damn clear that the fans aren’t writing the Man of Steel sequel. J.J. Abrams might shoot parts of Episode VII with IMAX cameras. Michael Bay releases the most Michael Bay photo imaginable from the Transformers: Age of Extinction set. The Giver adds to its cast. It’s spoilers all … Continued

io9TelevisionMorning Spoilers

Could Wonder Woman make her movie debut in the Man of Steel sequel?

The final Hunger Games movies add a bunch of new castmembers. Thor 2 director Alan Taylor explains why Tom Hiddleston and Christopher Eccleston make the perfect villains. Orphan Black begins filming its new season. Will Fox’s Commissioner Gordon show Gotham actually have anything to do with the Gotham Central comic? Spoilers! Top image from Thor: … Continued

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What are the really big questions for Matt Smith’s Doctor Who finale?

Steven Moffat reveals what we should be asking, even if he’s not ready to answer. Screenwriter David Goyer explains why Superman can be a killer, and what that means for his future film appearances. Runaways writer Drew Pearce thinks there’s still a chance the movie could happen. Plus tons more on Person of Interest, Revolution, … Continued

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Are some of Star Wars‘s most beloved aliens returning for Episode VII?

Tom Hiddleston explains why Loki is slightly different from King Henry V. Duncan Jones has some more intriguing names in mind for World of Warcraft. Alex Winter offers a Bill & Ted 3 update, while director Francis Lawrence talks Catching Fire. And a classic dystopian novel gets adapted. Spoilers ahoy! Top image from Catching Fire. … Continued