VOLUME 74
ISSUE 2

FEATURES

Of Spies and Survivors
By Kevin Dilmore
TV storyteller J.J. Abrams explains why it’s the small moments that make Alias and Lost work, and why directing M:I-3 is a mission he chose to accept.

She’s Elektrifying
By Resa Nelson
Rob Bowman turns Elektra from comic-book antihero to silver-screen heroine.

Entering The Matrix Online
By Daniel Wallace
Matrix Online scriptwriter Paul Chadwick jacks in to the most anticipated MMORPG of the year.

Terry Pratchett Goes Postal
By Will McDermott
Novelist Terry Pratchett comes clean about his past, his Discworld series, and why “Thud” is such a special sound for him.

Relaunching Battlestar Galactica
By Paul Hughes
Executive producer David Eick and original Battlestar Galactica actor Richard Hatch explain what’s going on with the Sci Fi Channel’s “reimagined” rendition of this classic series.

FICTION

Authorwerx
By Greg van Eekhout

Steagal’s Barbershoppe and Smoke Emporium
By Jay Bonansinga

A Vampire and a Vampire Hunter Walk into a Bar
By Keith R.A. DeCandido

The Woods
By Benjamin Percy

1,000 Words:
Mortal Dance
By David Gerrold

DEPARTMENTS

The Observatory
New editor-in-chief Jeff Berkwits asks, “Where do we go from here?”

Dispatches
Letters from readers and what J.J. Abrams is reading.

Puzzle
Try not to get “Shafted” trying to figure out the quotation in this brainteaser.

Things to Come
Star Wars TV, a Groovy movie, “cel” phones, and more.

Reviews
DVDs, books, and comics—we tell you what’s worth a look.

Time Machine
February 1984: From the first untethered spacewalk to the Grammy Awards heaped on the Thriller LP, 1984 wasn’t nearly as scary as George Orwell had predicted.

Q&A:
Gregory Benford
The author of In the Ocean of Night explains why we should skip the Moon and head straight to Mars.

Reviewed in This Issue

DVDs
Code 46
Daredevil Director’s Cut
Ed Wood
Gamera Complete DVD Collection
Human Monster
Iron Giant Special Edition
Ju-On
Lady Death: The Motion Picture
Millennium: The Complete Second Season
New Fist of the North Star, Volume One: The Cursed City!
Phantom Ship
Saddest Music in the World
Tales of Tomorrow: Collection One
White Zombie

Audio
On the Road with Ellison, Volume Two

Books
Alternate Gerrolds
Crache
Exultant
Life Expectancy
Man Who Lost the Sea—Volume X: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon
Natural History
Polaris
Powersat
Schism
To Light a Candle
Very Bad Deaths
Wizard
Wounded Hawk: The Crucible Series, Book Two

Comics
Amazing Adventures of the Escapist Volume Two
Book of Ballads
Tales of the Vampires