Shot entirely in San Antonio, the horror comedy – written and directed by Bryan Ortiz and produced by Michael Druck – centers on a mysterious scientist (Rick Carrillo) and a cheerleader (Alicia Shaddeau) who battle a zombie outbreak in the town of Crystal Oaks. Originally written and shot as a fictitious trailer for Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse trailer competition, and then expanded to feature length, Doctor S: The Movie has become a festival favorite since its 2008 premiere, winning the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2009 San Antonio Film Festival, the First Feature Award at the 2009 Brainwash Drive-in Bike-in Walk-in Movie Festival, and the award for Best Comedic Horror Film at the 2009 Chicago Horror Film Festival. With screenings across the U.S., Doctor S: The Movie has developed a devoted cult following, with the blog Quiet Earth declaring “We demand a sequel!” and The Overtime Theater working with Ortiz to turn the film into a stage musical (set to premiere in October).

Rick Carrillo will face the zombie hordes of Atlanta when Doctor S: The Movie screens at the Dragon*Con International Film Festival on September 6.

“Doctor S was a labor of love,” says Ortiz, “made by horror fans, for fans. So we’re thrilled to be able to bring it to Dragon*Con and introduce it to a whole new universe of fans. Hopefully they’ll enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it!”

The Dragon*Con Independent Film Festival is one of the featured events of Dragon*Con, one of the largest science-fiction and fantasy conventions in the world. Previous attendees at the festival have included George A. Romero (director of Night of the Living Dead) and John Carpenter (director of Halloween). “Directors like Romero and Carpenter have been huge influences for me,” Ortiz recalls, “and we paid tribute to them in Doctor S, so it’s such an honor to be included in their company and be a part of this festival.”

For more information on Doctor S: The Movie, check out the film’s official website, or find the film on MySpace, Facebook, and the Internet Movie Database.

Thank you all for the great year. We look forward to much more in the year to come.

Sanford Allen

Quarantined by Joe McKinney: Part murder mystery, part apocalyptic SF, McKinney’s latest novel moves quickly but carries real character depth. Detective Lily Harris investigates the mysterious death of a World Health Organization doctor as San Antonio grapples with a viral outbreak that’s wiped out a huge swath of the population. An SAPD detective himself, Joe ably handles the action sequences and the procedural stuff. The pleasant surprise is how well he weaves domestic drama into the story as Lily tries to keep her family sane, stable and together as the world falls apart around them.

John Picacio

The Texas in 2013 WorldCon Bid: The most exciting San Antonio science fiction news of the year was that San Antonio is a proposed city for the 2013 World Science Fiction Convention bid. Note that San Antonio is NOT guaranteed to win the bid, and at this point, there’s no word which cities are bidding against Texas for that year’s convention. One way or the other, the Texas bid will have its work cut out for it, but it’s quite an opportunity for San Antonio’s sf/f community to rally together. If you’re a San Antonian who wants a more literate, sophisticated sf/f scene in SA, or just a driveby Alamo City fan of sf/f media, now’s your chance to make a difference and make San Antonio a better science fiction city.

Mistah Pete - Left Foot Red Productions

The Brain that Wouldn’t Die at the Overtime Theater: Let it first be said, I hate theater.  I don’t go to plays.  I have the attention-span of a caffeinated gibbon, and you’ve got a very brief window before I’m bored enough to start ripping up the seats and lighting fires. And unlike movies and books and music, I feel an obligation to sit through it all; the people who made it are there in front of me and will look at me walking out and suddenly it’s the screaming pyromaniac vandal who’s the bad guy.  But the Overtime Theater‘s production of The Brain That Wouldn’t Die was fun. Even for me. The songs were peppy, the set design was beyond clever (that car was aaaawesome!), and the cast was engaging. What’s more, it adhered to that great San Anto tradition of snatching up the discards of those with more money than sense and turning it into something useful: the producers took a cheesy public domain movie, copped the plot and title and characters, and fed it back to us with a heaping tablespoon of attitude. It worked. Worked enough that they should take it on the road.  And one day, I hope to see the movie of a play of a movie, raking in the bucks at the multiplex. That’ll show the fatcats. Next time they’ll spend their money more wisely!  Wait, then maybe they’ll not make the bad movies that the Overtime can rip off… hmm, gotta rethink this…

James Hartz – Film Classics Productions

Dr. S Battles the Sex-Crazed Reefer Zombies: OK, since I’m obviously biased as all hell on this one I’ll let part of this review from Quiet Earth do the talking: “[Bryan] Ortiz gives us three chapters, which help to structure the story and keep-up a flowing narrative in a film that could have easily fallen apart. With the imposed three-act structure in Doctor S, as well as a rather saucy intermission, it’s a fun ride to follow the story without worrying too much about missing any important plot-points. I’d go as far as to say that Doctor S is a film that doesn’t really require in-depth analysis, it’s simply an excellent example of itself as a spoof/homage and any attempt to see it as anything other than a bit of fun, anyone trying to seriously look at it as a morality tale or cautionary warning on drugs, communism or teenage sex is going to be left scratching their head by the end. It’s presented as a wacky horror comedy, that’s clear from the poster and tag-line, but the talent on display is at times quite staggering. Ortiz uses the fact that the budget was low to his advantage, basing the film on a style of 50′s sci-fi that was cheap and, by today’s standards, laughably cheesy. He manages, however, to create enough moments where the viewers expectations are confounded; special effects actually look special, fight scenes are amazingly graphic and well co-ordinated, jokes are laugh-out-loud funny, references to old horror films and b-movies are noticeable and witty, etc, etc, to transcend it’s limitations and to seriously impress. Honestly, there were moments during the two viewings I’ve seen of Doctor S. where the word genius wasn’t far from mind…”

Paul Vaughn

In Astrovision by The Sandworms: I love music that caters to my genre taste and this disc I picked up at a live show did that in spades. I actually missed the Sandworms when they were on stage, but everybody said they killed so I purchased their CD, In Astrovision. It was a great choice. Straight ahead goth surf rock instrumentals. Like if Dick Dale was pierced, tattooed and alienated. With song titles like Red Planet Green Love, Frankencrisp, Thundercorpse, Agents of Terror, Vampire Clam Babies from Outer Space and Invasion of the Octopus People it’s almost like they were making the disc with me in mind. If you are looking for some high-energy instrumental music for your next goth rave or the perfect score for your vampire zombie surf movie, take a look at The Sandworms. A close second was Hyperbubble’s Better Set Your Phasers to Stun. A synthpop homage to Star Trek is always worth a listen!

Jeff from Hyperbubble

1984 by The City of San Antonio: The City of San Antonio gets The Maxwell Award this year for covering downtown with shiny new closed-circuit TV cameras. Now everyone is a star. The National Security Agency is also working on a new data archive in SA, said to be about the size of The Alamodome, to house our email, phone calls, web searches, bookstore visits etc. For more info on the NSA, read The Secret Sentry: The Untold History of the National Security Agency by Matthew Aid (2009)… Hola, Big Brother.

Frank Zieglar - KiDDandGEEZER

Missions Unknown: Not to be brown nosing, but honestly, the best genre-related item from San Antonio in 2009 is Missions Unknown. I’ve known for years that San Antonio is home to some great stuff, but I had no idea about most of the things I’ve learned about from this website. The people and events that you guys bring to my attention is unbelievable sometimes. Thanks guys for all your work!

Scott A. Cupp

The Texas in 2013 WorldCon Bid: The best Genre related thing to come out of San Antonio in 2009 did not actually come out of San Antonio. More accurately, it came into San Antonio. I am talking about the announcement of bid for the 2013 World Science Fiction Convention. While this is nowhere near a sure thing, I will be working hard for the next two years on the bid process. The bid will be determined at the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention in Reno, NV. The various bids will be voted on there and the 2013 site will be selected. Then the real work begins to show the rest of the world what a cool place we live in. The last Texas World Convention was held in San Antonio in 1997. I did not live here then, but I attended and it was an extreme amount of fun and work. I worked briefly on that convention and now that San Antonio is once again my home (my third tour here in the last 42 years) I want us to give the most exciting Texas related whup-ass convention seen in a long time. I will keep touting the bid here during the two year bid time and will be trying to get locals very involved. It takes a lot of folks to make one of these things run. The more locals involved, the better. Check out the website.

Michael Mehl – Fotoseptiembre USA

The Sasquatch Bigfoot of the Southside: Or as I call it: El Sasquatchale Patotas. Of course, it’s only fitting that El Sasquatchale will breed with El Chupacabras (at the end of the day all SF monsters are gay), begetting the heretofore renowned -and feared- El Chupaquatchale. Hear the actual 911 call below.

So, what was the best genre-related (SF/F/H) item you enjoyed in 2009. This does not have to be something that came out this year, just something you read/watched/played and really dug. Book, TV, Movie, Album, Game, Comic…whatever. Drop us a comment and let us know.

John Picacio

Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist by James Gurney: My favorite art book of 2009. Despite the title, it’s not a ‘how-to’ book as much as it is a window into how a great illustrator solves problems and makes pictures. Gurney offers the kind of practical info that all illustrators, novice to professional, covet when they talk shop or visit each other’s studios. His writing is concise, generous, and personal, and he’s a great example of the truism that great artists never stop learning. His book feels less like a “voice of authority” laying down absolutisms and more like a friend inviting you into his studio for the day. I wish it was available in hardcover because it’s a keeper.

Sanford Allen

26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss by Kij Johnson. I’m going to cheat and name something that was released in 2008. I rationalize this in two ways: First, so uninformed am I that I wasn’t aware of its existence until this year. And second, it won the 2009 World Fantasy Award for best short story. “26 Monkeys” is about a woman who buys a travelling monkey show then tries to figure out the secret behind the primates’ nightly disappearing act. But, as with other great short stories, it’s about more than that. Namely learning to work through grief and loss. As shitty as 2009 was for many of us, “26 Monkeys” has special resonance for that reason. And there, I suppose, is a third way to rationalize my cheat. Read it online at Kij’s website.

Mistah Pete – Left Foot Red Productions

Film: if you miss 80s action movies like I miss 80s action movies, you must see Punisher: War Zone, out now on DVD. The most subversive Hollywood action movie since Robocop. All blood and neon and exploding chest cavities, but fun. If you’re of an artsy stripe and can get past the subtitles, I strongly endorse Tokyo! It’s one of those anthology movies, where three directors make short films about their favorite city. Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Joon-ho Bong: if you’ve seen anything by the famous first and last ones, you know how incredible it is when I tell you that the middle one is just as groovy. And The Men Who Stare at Goats is one of those divisive movies that some people love and some hate. Despite the Star Wars references, it’s not strictly science fiction. It purports to be docu-drama. Me, I don’t care if it’s true; there’s psychic phenomena, a cast I’d go gay for, and it makes me laugh at 80s cock-rock in a whole new way, and that’s enough for me.

TV: Television has become so much better than movies. If you watch Mad Men or Dexter or Battlestar Galactica, that’s probably not news to you. But what might surprise you is how much better kiddie TV has become. Chowder and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack are two new fantastical entries from Cartoon Network that are not just amazing to watch, they give you hope that a generation of children will grow up demanding their entertainment be this good. Coming soon is Adventure Time! which promises to make me just as giddy.

Comics: Scud: The Whole Shebang is a collection of Rob Schrab’s incredible series, Scud the Disposable Assassin. He started it in the early 90s, then quit, leaving fans with an impossible cliffhanger. This new volume includes the entire run, along with the final four issues that wrap the story up ten years later, in a most satisfying way. You start reading for the zombie dinosaurs and robot sex and psychotic devil-worshipping American forefathers, but you stick around for the story of a killer robot in love. This is one of the great achievements in funnybooks, and it’s finally available in one big volume.

Crystal Shedrock-Rangel, President – Doctor Who Fans Unite

David Tennant/Doctor Who: Looking back on 2009, the one thing in the Sci-Fi realm that stands out in my mind is that this is our last year with David Tennant as Doctor Who. Tennant cemented himself in the hearts of many fans after portraying the 10th Doctor for the last four years. Season 4 ended with a spectacular finale and left the Doctor without a companion. Beginning at the end of 2008, the BBC ran a series of specials throughout the year: The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead and Waters of Mars. Though many fans loved these specials, I felt that they were missing something. Could it be that the news of Tennant leaving skewed my opinions or does the Doctor just function better with a regular companion? Now at the close of 2009 we find ourselves standing at the end of time itself. Part 1 of The End of Time aired on BBC America last Saturday night and part 2 airs this upcoming Saturday. This is Tennent’s farewell with Matt Smith waiting in the wings to take his position as the 11th Doctor.

Though we will be losing Tennant, the series will be taken over by Steven Moffat as head writer and executive producer. Moffat wrote the award winning episodes, Blink, The Girl in the Fireplace and The Empty Child, to name a few so the Doctor’s prospects look good. Part 1 of The End of Time left me guessing, but I didn’t find myself reaching for a kleenex. I am very curious to see where outgoing writer Russell T. Davies is taking this story line because right now I have no idea. He has a lot of questions to answer in part 2. For a complete review of Part 1 check out Geek Speak.

Doctor Who Fans Unite is not going to let Tennant leave without a proper farewell. On January 20th we will screen both Parts 1 & 2 of The End of Time at The Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes. It will be an event not to miss. We will be celebrating his departure with blow out bash. There will be: Trivia Contest, 10th Doctor Era Costume Contest, Special Doctor Who Art, Shirts, Buttons and Adipose will be for sale.

Frank Zieglar - KiDDandGEEZER

I watched Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica this year. I don’t have cable television, so I got the DVD’s from the San Antonio Public Library and watched everything they had on both. I never watched the original Doctor Who as a kid, but this new series makes me wish I had. Now my teenage daughter considers herself a Whovian. One of these days we’ll make it a showing at the Drafthouse. I did, however, watch the orginal Battlestar Galactica as a kid and it helped me appreciate the new version even more. Now if I could only get my daughter to watch it…

I loved the Watchmen movie that came out in March. I’ve been a fan of the graphic novel for years now, and thought the movie was very well done. Faithful to the source (mostly) while still being it’s own independent creation. Last but not least was Star Trek. I thought this movie was so well done, including lens flares. Sure, there were a few minor things to overlook, but this movie ROCKED! One of my favorite scenes is Spock (Zachary Quinto) fighting with Kirk, because it feel like I was a kid watching a young Leonard Nimoy again.

Michael Mehl – Fotoseptiembre USA

Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue: The best example of SF/F/H I’ve seen (but not read) in a long time.

James Hartz – Film Classics Productions

Doctor Who: I recently became hip to Dr. Who this past year via my friend’s involvment in Dr. Who Fans Unite. I came into the series cold. All I knew about it was that is about a time-travelling alien who has adventures throughout the universe. I saw one episode (“The Girl in the Fireplace”) and was hooked. The show is stylish, witty, and most of all, fun, which is something you don’t see in a lot of sci-fi these days. Dr. Who embraces its silly campiness and still manages to deliver heartfelt stories with well-developed characters. One of the best things about the show is that it doesn’t condensend to it’s audiaunce. Dr Who throws a lot of high concepts out there very quickly without getting bogged down by explaining every little thing or holding the viewer’s hand. Dr Who brings you along for the ride instead of just watching it.

Paul Vaughn

I finished (sorta) two great series of books this year. Kim Stanley Robinson‘s excellent Mars Trilogy: Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars. These books present the concept of colonizing and terraforming Mars in brilliant detail with compelling characters. Spanning more than 200 years, the series follows the three aspects of humanities efforts on Mars, from colonization by an elite hundred (Red Mars) to terraforming (Green Mars) and finally to the long term results (Blue Mars).

Along a different tact, I also read George R.R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series…at least all of the books that are out. The first four books (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows) spin an intricate tale of a noble family’s struggle to survive in an epic fantasy world filled with treachery, intrigue and just enough of the fantastic. Each chapter follows a specific character and I was continually spurred to get back to favorite characters only to discover that every character is fascinating. I found myself talking to the book, not believing where the story was going but unable to set it down. The last book of the series, A Dance with Dragons is long overdue, but with HBO filming an adaptation due to air in 2010, Martin should have heavy incentive to get the book out the door.

Jeff from Hyperbubble

The Mighty Boosh by Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding: First off, any show that draws inspiration from The Goodies is already on the right track. The Mighty Boosh pick up where The Goodies, at their peak (the Kitten Kong episode), left off and then crank the volume up to eleven. Their TV series has gotten braver and weirder with every episode, and has now reached a point where anything can happen. The show is impossible to describe in a paragraph, so I’ll use the age-old “recipe” bit: Put Gary Numan in a blender with Monty Python, add a dash of Flight of The Conchords, sprinkle gently with The Mahavishnu Orchestra, top it off with Freddie Mercury’s hairstyle from Queen II, and you’re still only halfway there. There was some stiff competition this year from Tim Exile’s album Listening Tree, but the Boosh boys make the top of my list for their excellent cast, costuming, concept, and for televising the ultimate sci-fi synthpop band, Kraftwerk Orange.