News of the Week

Arthur C. Clarke to write The Final Odyssey

rthur C. Clarke has finally begun work on the concluding volume to his four-part series that began with the classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Clarke and Del Rey books announced a deal last month that gives Del Rey the hardcover and paperback rights to the novel, entitled 3001: The Final Odyssey.

"This new work will discard many of the elements of its precursors, but develop others -- and I hope more important ones -- in much greater detail," Clarke said. "I've never had so much fun writing, and the ideas are pouring out."

Ironically, Clarke's progress on the novel was slowed by the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster. The Challenger was to have launched the Jupiter-bound space probe Galileo. Without the data transmissions about Jupiter from Galileo, Clarke could not continue his work. He had to wait for the successful launch of the probe some years later.

Heavy Metal comes to home video, includes 3 minutes of new footage

eavy Metal, the cult science fiction-fantasy animated movie, will be released to video by Columbia TriStar Home Video on June 4. The video release has been remastered using THX Digital Remastering and features three minutes of a never-before-seen segment that was cut from the original theatrical release.

The added segment, Neverwhere Land from animator Cornelius Cole III, will be made an epilogue to the film. Originally it was meant to be a bridge between the segments Captain Sternn and Gremlins, but it was cut because the 90-minute animation was considered too long already.

Heavy Metal is Columbia Picture's most active title and has been seen over the past decades as a midnight theater show. On March 8 a new print of the film was released to 39 cities.

Jon Pertwee's 60-year acting legacy comes to an end

on Pertwee, known to millions of fans worldwide as the actor who played Doctor Who in the BBC television series of the same name, died May 20 while on holiday in America. The 76-year-old actor was in good health and his death came unexpectedly.

Pertwee became the third actor to portray Doctor Who after he took over the role during the show's seventh season in 1970, replacing Patrick Troughton. He played the Doctor for five years before passing the legacy on in turn to Tom Baker. The Times of London reported that the interpretations Pertwee and Baker lent the role are considered by fans to be the finest out of the eight actors to play the Doctor in the television series.

Pertwee was born John Devon Roland Pertwee on July 7, 1919, and began his prolific television, film, radio and stage career in the late 1930s. The BBC reported that he had ironically been thrown out of drama school as a young man and told he had no future in acting. At the time of his death he had appeared in more than 120 films and had recently performed in a one-man show.

Pertwee is survived by his second wife, Ingeborg, and two children.

TV Networks announce fall lineup

he networks have made their picks for next season, and once again speculative fiction seems to be in vogue. But while there are plenty of new series on the way, some old favorites and struggling babes bit the dust, while others have hit TV-land limbo. Below is a listing of the shows by network:

FOX

Millennium -- A new show from X-Files creator Chris Carter.

Sliders -- After near cancellation last season, FOX has ordered a full run for the fall.

Doctor Who -- This may make it as a mid-season replacement...but it's doubtful.
Kindred: The Embraced -- Cancelled, but it could pull a Sliders.
Strange Luck -- Another cancelled show that could make a comeback.
Space: Above & Beyond -- Finally cancelled.

NBC

Dark Skies -- A new series about two idealistic college students who stumble across Air Force secrets relating to UFOs.

The Pretender -- A new series about a human chameleon.

CBS

Early Edition -- A new series about a man who receives a newspaper that's printed one day in the future.

PTEN

Babylon 5 -- This show is always walking the fine line between success and cancellation, but while many fans are worried there won't be another season, expect to see it back this fall.

UPN

Homeboys from Outer Space -- Another new series from UPN. The name says it all.

The Burning Zone -- A take-off on The Hot Zone and the movies it spawned.

Nowhere Man -- Cancelled.

Tiptree Award presented at Wiscon 20 ceremony

he James Tiptree Jr. Award for the best work of fantasy and science fiction dealing with gender was presented during a ceremony on May 26 at Wiscon 20 in Madison, Wis. This year's co-winners, who were announced in April, were Elizabeth Hand for Waking the Moon and Theodore Roszak for The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein.

Both winners received a $1,000 prize and a replica of the Tiptree quilt created from 11,800 individual beads, along with the usual dose of chocolate. Pat Murphy, co-founder of the award, accepted on behalf of Hand, who was unable to attend the ceremonies.

"I can't write speeches, but I am incredibly honored because gender stuff is what I do and have always tried to do in writing and otherwise, and it is what we all are and do, ultimately," Hand wrote.

Roszak accepted in person and described his 20-year "love affair" with Mary Shelley that led to his novel. "It took me 20 years to learn how to write like a woman," he joked. Roszak concluded, "I'm overwhelmed, flattered. More power to you."

For a history of James Tiptree and her namesake award, please see our story by the award's other co-founder, Karen Joy Fowler.

Sturgeon Award finalists announced

he finalists for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for Best Short Fiction of 1995 were announced last month. The award will be presented in conjunction with the John W. Campbell Memorial Award on July 12 in Lawrence, Kan. The final judges for the Sturgeon Award will be James Gunn, Frederik Pohl and Judith Merril.

This year's finalists are:

Aldridge, Ray

"The Spine Divers" The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction

Bishop, Michael

"I, Iscariot" CRANK! #5

Chase, Robert R.

"The Wellness Plague" Analog

Hoffman, Nina Kiriki

"Home for Christmas" The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction

Kress, Nancy

"Fault Lines" Asimov's Science Fiction

Levinson, Paul

"The Chronology Protection Case" Analog

McDaid, John D.

"Jigoku no Mokoshiroku" Asimov's Science Fiction

Marusek, David

"We Were Out of Our Minds with Joy" Asimov's Science Fiction

Somtow, S.P.

"Diamonds Aren't Forever" David Copperfield's Tales of the Impossible (HarperPrism)

Stableford, Brian

"The Age of Innocence" Asimov's Science Fiction

Stableford, Brian

"Mortimer Gray's History of Death" Asimov's Science Fiction

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