the buzz log
The Buzz on Morena Baccarin
The remake of the sci-fi show "V" that premiered on ABC raised many a mystery. One of the biggest: Who is that woman?
Even if you didn't watch the season opener, you may recognize Morena Baccarin from the promos for the show: She's the enormous serene head projected on a hovering spacecraft with a message to earthlings: "We mean no harm."
But don't you believe it. What you can believe is this: The actress is scoring out-of-this-world searches on the Web. Lookups on the rising star soared up an astronomical 4,580% in one-day searches on Yahoo!, making the "V" headliner one of the top five searches on the Web. The buzz is paying off: A whopping 13.9 million viewers tuned in, making it one of the highest-rated new shows this season.
The leggy actress is the head of the V (for visitor) alien invasion, a reptilian species — masquerading as human — that brings health care, technology, and, oh, yeah, a secret plan to take over the planet. (You can catch up with the show and the characters courtesy of the LA Times' roundup.)
Brazilian-born Baccarin is not new to sci-fi. The 30-year-old actor played the role of Inara Serra in Joss Whedon's 2002 space-western series "Firefly," and more recently she played the villainous Adria in "Stargate SG-1."
The original "V" miniseries from the 1980s imagined what would happen if fascism overtook America. The old version's beautiful but evil leader was played by Jane Badler. In the remake, the beautiful but evil leader channels a more modern bad guy: The corporate executive armed with a PR campaign that Enron would have envied.
Check out the opening of "V," where the star's enormous, well-coiffed head is first projected. With that warm smile coupled with chilling plans for world domination, we're betting that resistance to the star — and the show — will be futile.
Filed under: TV, Science Fiction
Star Trek: The Grumpy Generation
Change is coming to "Star Trek," and not everyone's happy about it being so fun and glitzy and all.
Yes, that sounds like an Onion parody. In fact, it is an Onion parody—but humor site inadvertently stumbled into reality. All signs show that cinematic prequel should live up to its blockbuster aspirations, but crinkly naysayers—likely those with the well-thumbed copies of the "The Star Trek Fleet Technical Manual"—have been outraged that the reimagining may go against the "canon."
Perhaps admissions by director J.J. Abrams and the crew about their lukewarm attitude to the series have worried old-timers. Disgruntled diehards though may want to consider standing in the way of its beloved franchise getting a 21st-century audience. Compare Search interest for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (from kids to people in their 40s) or the upcoming "GI Joe" (mainly ages 21-44). "Star Trek" followers online are 21-54, but tilted more heavily in the 40s and 50s range.
Hollywood wants to hit the under-25 sweet spot, but right now there are youngsters out there who don't know the difference between a Cardassian and a Kim Kardashian. Solution: Start from scratch.
Some long-time aficionados dare to suggest that grumpy devotees may be too used to mediocrity (and they're not talking about the 1966 TV series's low ratings throughout its three-year existence). One commenter to "an NPR post about petulant Trekkers wrote "Sometimes it seems longtime fans—and I count myself as one—have forgotten how 'bad' earlier versions can be." Even Leonard "I Am Not Spock/I Am Spock" Nimoy himself have dismissed Canon-ites as people who "have to cling to their knowledge of the minutiae." Oh, snap.
In the end, the quibblers should be in the minority, given the Web revival of all things "Star Trek," among them the "english to klingon translator," "romulan ale" and "ferengi rules of acquisition." And in a sure sign that Hollywood still cares about its old faithfuls: The premiere opens not on the midnight hour, but 7 p.m. on a Thursday. Enough time for an early-bird and still be in bed by 11 p.m.
Below, the top "Star Trek" terms a'buzzing.
Top "Star Trek" Searches on Yahoo!, past 7 days
Filed under: Movies, Science Fiction, Star Trek
Who You Gonna Search For?
Scoff if you will, but the Sci Fi Channel has become one of the most popular cable channels on television. Spooky docu-soap "Ghost Hunters" is a big part of the the network's nerd-tacular success.
Queries for the series, which is soon returning for a fourth season, are edging upwards. Related queries on "the atlantic paranormal society," the organization to which the show's stars belong, are also stirring up trouble. Lookups are dominated by the ladies—intrepid females are responsible for 64% of the program's online interest.
In the spirit of the show's subject matter, we've looked up the top "haunted" searches from the past week. It's a mixture of houses, asylums, and, strangely enough, vacation packages. Be brave and read on...
Filed under: Paranormal, Hauntings, Science Fiction
Star Wars: It Never Ends
Usually it's the TV shows that become movies, not the other way around. But then, "Star Wars" has never been your typical blockbuster. The six-part epic is synonymous with cinematic sci-fi, and now the galaxy far, far away is coming to a small screen near you.
The original announcement was made a while back. However, recent news that George Lucas has begun working on the live-action series pushed searches on "star wars tv show" and "star wars series" into hyperspace. Additionally, queries on "star wars characters" and "the clone wars" (an animated TV series) posted impressive gains.
So, will the Force be with George yet again? Maybe, maybe not. The show won't include major characters like Luke Skywalker and his dysfunctional dad. Instead it'll focus on minor characters. On the bright side, at least that means no Jar-Jar.
Filed under: Star Wars, Science Fiction, George Lucas
Battlestar is Back
For years, the words "sci-fi" and "cool" were rarely uttered in the same breath. "Battlestar Galactica" has helped change the genre's geeky reputation with super cool characters and a sweeping story.
Searches on "Battlestar" are up 74% this month as it enters its pivotal third season. While both a critical and Search success, the show remains something of a cult phenomenon. Overall, it falls into our top 3,000 searches—respectable but nowhere near Buzz juggernauts "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost."
Not that "Battlestar" can't hold its own. The Sci Fi Channel's flagship series boasts one of Search's most sought-after actresses—the tempting Tricia Helfer. The blonde bombshell (who plays a Cylon bent on destroying humanity) proves evil can sometimes look incredibly hot.
Naturally, comparisons to "Star Trek" and all its off-shoots are inevitable. After all, sci-fi aficionados are an opinionated bunch. And while we believe the universe is big enough for Captain Kirk and Commander Adama, you may disagree. If someone held a raygun to your head, would you back "Battlestar" or stick with "Star Trek"? Leave a comment below and don't forget to check out Friday's premiere. It's gonna be frakkin' awesome!
Filed under: TV, Science Fiction, Battlestar Galactica
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worst Airports For Delays 2009 | Breakout! |
| 2 | How To Survive A Recession | Breakout! |
| 3 | Ice Cream Calorie Counter | Breakout! |
| 4 | Jayson Williams | Breakout! |
| 5 | Alexandra Kerry | Breakout! |
| 6 | Chaz Bono | 10707% |
| 7 | Kelly Osbourne | 3298% |
| 8 | Jennifer Hudson | 3218% |
| 9 | Nicole Richie | 2075% |
| 10 | Thierry Henry | 1125% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Friday | +413 | 1016 |
| 2 | Elizabeth Lambert | -677 | 263 |
| 3 | NFL | +66 | 235 |
| 4 | New Moon | +74 | 213 |
| 5 | Bing | +83 | 209 |
| 6 | Kelly Osbourne | +193 | 199 |
| 7 | Hulu | +7 | 139 |
| 8 | Nicole Richie | +124 | 130 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
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