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Serenity Written and Directed by Joss Whedon Universal, 2005 Rated PG-13 for sex and violence In Hollywood there are very few second chances. Joss Whedon pulled off an out-and-out miracle in bringing a show cancelled after only 11 episodes to the big screen. “Firefly” was not even allowed to show its last three episodes before the Fox Network yanked it. By the time it was cancelled, it had a small but loud fan base. Normally, this would mean absolutely nothing to the suits in Hollywood, but perhaps someone noticed that this fan base was made up of the coveted twentysomething…

This Riverworld Meanders, But Doesn’t Go Anywhere Syfy, 9:00PM Sunday Written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Randall M. Badat, and Hans Beimler; based on the novels by Philip José Farmer Directed by Stuart Gillard Starring Tahmoh Penikett, Laura Vandervoort, Mark Deklin, and Peter Wingfield Movies like Riverworld make me wonder if science fiction can ever survive the transition from page to screen. Certainly space opera in the vein of Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica makes the grade, but something like Philip Jose Farmer’s theological/philosophical magnum opus is another thing entirely. How does one convey, through action and dialogue, the highly intellectual themes of theRiverworld series? One can copy the action sequences,…