Note: Techtite.com is returning to its original, end-of-week update schedule, so Techtite News will now be updated on Fridays.

Feature: Most Intriguing New Fall Shows, 2005. The fall season is nearly upon us, and that means that Techtite.com (as well as every other television critic source) is posting a list of the most intriguing new fall shows. Among the members of the list are many of the shows most publicized by various networks, including Threshold, Invasion, Close to Home, and others. It also notes the various intriguing comedies, many of which seem to be vying for the coveted fan base that once loved Sex and the City (at least three new shows are about 30-something women dating in the "big city."). You can look at Techtite.com's feature story for September here. As always; responses to the latest feature story can be sent to Techtite's Letter page.

ABC's Invasion Promos Suffer After "Katrina". Hurricane Katrina has affected many people in many ways, but what about the latest fall schedule? ABC has halted all promotions and advertisements for their upcoming sci-fi drama, Invasion, because the series premiere involves the after effects of a hurricane. To hear the fictitious drama claim it, such natural disasters are a ruse by aliens so they can more easily approach Earth with their invasion forces. The series premiere has one such town suffering from the after effects of a hurricane; a vision that many felt was too controversial, after the devastating effects of hurricane Katrina this past week. Said the network in a statement, "As with anything as serious as this, we are taking great efforts to assess sensitivities with regard to our series." As of this news posting, however, the series is still slated for a September 21st premiere, which is right on schedule.

"Stupidest Reality Show Ever" Has Husbands Growling. Here's a reality show concept that had one here-anonymous message board patron calling it the "stupidest reality show ever" (which, we realize, is saying a lot). The BBC recently aired a new reality show called Bring Your Husband to Heel, where a dog trainer told wives how to use his methods for canines on their husbands. Not surprisingly, many did not see this as the alleged "joke" intended. In fact, the BBC announced Wednesday how it had received many complaints that called the show offensive and sexist. Said the network: "There was never an intention to cause offense, but we recognize that some viewers have felt the program to be inappropriate and we are sorry if any upset has been caused."

Rename a Town "Dish," Get Free Satellite TV! It sounds like a bizarre offer, but it's totally legit, or so says the head company of the Dish Network, EchoStar Communications Corp. The offer claims that any town that renames itself "Dish" will get a free satellite receiver for every home. It is unclear if the offer includes the monthly fees for such a service, but it sounds like a nice gesture anyway. Interested towns have until November to accept the offer.

New Movie Reviews: The Brothers Grimm. A review of the latest film The Brothers Grimm has been placed in the Techtite's Movies section. In short: not bad, but it would've been better had the movie decided on a audience to appeal to, and just stuck with the plan. At times the movie is too graphic for young kids, while at others it is too tame for the "thriller" crowd. Even more surprising is how Terry "Monty Python" Gilliam failed to deliver the same sort of dark humor that made his films like Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen into cult favorites. Mind you; Gilliam also directed what is still the best of all Monty Python movies, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which was even made into a Broadway musical recently. More information, of course, is in the full review.

Roberts "Bans" Brother From Talking About Her(!). If you were on the bubble as to whether Julia Roberts has become a little bit of a diva lately, here's a hot one: she's told her brother, Eric Roberts, to cease and desist from all conversations about her or her children. As the actor told it to New York Daily News: "Mom has told me Mom wants to talk about the kids. Mom doesn't want Uncle talking about the kids."

A Dukes of Hazzard Sequel...In London? If you wondered if a sequel to the film The Dukes of Hazzard would bring the remake closer or father to its TV series' roots, here's a hot one: producers are said to be planning a sequel...in London. The news is a little usettling to fans of the original television series, who would almost likely insist that if the Dukes are not in "Hazzard," what is the whole point? But to hear Jessica "Daisy Duke" Simpson tell it, to web site Sky News.com: "They would be lost in London. I think Daisy and those crazy boys will have a great time in the UK."

New TV Reviews: Brat Camp, Big Brother 6. The weekly update of news from Big Brother 6 is now online, with a mini "review" of the latest evictee, James. In addition, the controversial ABC reality show Brat Camp recently ended, and is reviewed as well.

Beloved Shakespearean Theater Director Passes. Clifford Williams passed away on August 20th. Williams was a well known, Welsh-born thespian, and associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company during the 1960's. He also is known for plays on Broadway in the US, after directing the productions "Sleuth" and "Breaking The Code." He also delivered the controversial "OH! Calcutta" to London stage in 1970. He was 78 years old.

Techtite.com To Have PSP-Compatible Web Pages. If you were wondering where all the PSP reviews have gone here at Techtite.com; they are all being reformatted, to be totally compatible with the PSP's new web browser function. The Techtite PSP Page will include the latest reviews of PSP items, all fully readable from your PSP's screen (presuming you have downloaded the latest upgrade to the system, of course). However, since the main pages of Techtite.com will still be "regular" sized, additional pages will be added to Techtite's PSP Page, with reviews of movies, television, and maybe even a PSP-related editorial or two. When fully operational, look for a link to this page here.

First Impressions: PSP Firmware 2.0. As the above news byte implied; version 2.0 of the Playstation Portable's internal firmware has been available for download since early last week. The update is available via either the system's own "system update" menu option, or you can use the link here to download the update to your PC and transfer it to your PSP that way. In either case, version 2.0 of the PSP's main menu screen adds a "WWW" menu option, which offers the ability to look at the world wide web via the system's wireless network functions. So, after almost two weeks of using this new firmware, what are our first impressions? Well, while using a laptop for the internet is always the better option (a larger screen, for one), it is actually very intriguing to be able to log into the internet with an easy-to-carry PSP. Many large hotels have begun offering wireless networks in their lobbies and convention centers, and while it may seem a bit awkward at first to be logging into the 'net from your PSP, it's more convenient to do so. On the other hand; users should be forewarned that the only sites that are 100% PSP compatible at this point are Sony's own official PSP sites, although many web sites (including Techtite.com) are working to change this limitation, and very soon. In addition; version 2.0 of the firmware seems to be slightly more fussy with video on a memory duo stick. While all the home video that I transferred to PSP format still works perfectly, some game demo videos I downloaded online were no longer compatible. Still, that's a small price to pay for internet connectivity.

EA's Begins Its "Half Life" With Valve. Due to a recent lawsuit between Valve and Half Life 2 publisher Vivendi Universal Games, the popular FPS has been looking for a new home. It got one last Monday, when EA games signed on as the new distributor of the latest Half-Life games, including the multiplayer game Counter-Strike, as well as the X-Box version of Half-Life 2, coming soon. The bad news; while this means continuing sales of the latest games in the series, there is no word on what this agreement will mean for sales of older games by Valve, including the original Half-Life, and all its many expansion packs.

Atari Flashback "V 2.0" Great, But Very Bumped! The good news still stands; after mixed opinions based on the original Atari Flashback, (review) A second "version" of the console is planned. It is to resemble a replica of the Atari 2600, right down to the controllers. The bad news? This system, originally slated for August, has been "bumped" right out of the park until mid October. Then again; it'll make a great holiday season gift for gamers.

PC's Advent Rising Falls To August.  It isn't that the game got spectacular reviews on the X-Box, when released some weeks ago. It's just that PC gamers want to finally see the game that was advertised in many a movie theater (seriously!) during the early Summer season. That week was supposed to be now...tomorrow (Tuesday), to be precise. Now the game has been bumped to an August 9th release date, and even that, if you were asking us, is very debatable. Then again; nobody likes a game that needs a patch right off the shelf, right? They're probably just removing a big or two before release...or so we all hope.

Justice League Goes RPG. Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment is said to be currently producing an RPG based on the Justice League of America comic book series, claims Gamespot.com. The JLA series of comics has been in print in various forms since the 1960's, and has led to various cartoons on television, such as Superfriends in the 1970's, and Cartoon Network's hit series Justice League Unlimited. Though the developer for this game has not yet been announced, Warner Bros. did give word that the RPG will include all of the lead members of Justice League, including Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The RPG is slated for a fall 2006 release, on the X-Box and Playstation consoles (which, by that time, will probably mean the Playstation-3 and this holiday season's big buy, the upcoming Microsoft X-Box 360).

Dead or Alive Goes PSP...Soft Of. Tecmo announced plans to release a game for the PSP. However, the title is not from their two most popular game series, Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, but is a brand new PSP game called Tokobot. The game puts you in control of a team of robots as you try and save the world. The hero of the game uses these teams of robots to create such items as ladders and wings. Tokobot is slated for release this coming November. More news on this game when it becomes available.

American McGee's Alice Goes to the Movies. American McGee's Alice was one of the darkest spins on the classic story that I've seen. Regardless, there is a movie in the works, and it will star none other than Sarah Michelle Gellar from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series, as reported by, appropriately enough, Hollywood Reporter. Before you say she's too old for the role of Alice; this is McGee's spinning of the tale, where Alice is much older and Wonderland is more mature. Alice is not the same blond tot you knew in the Disney film Alice in Wonderland, but is in fact an older teenage Alice returning to Wonderland to cope with the loss of her parents in a fire. In addition, the storyline implies that Wonderland is a creation of her subconscious and therefore is a bit "twisted" now because of her darker view of life after the fire. Still; it will be interesting to see how this latest video game movie fares. No release dates have been mentioned yet.

Note: Due to game news occurring more randomly than celebrity news, Techtite News may on occasion "bump" the biggest news of the prior week(s) to the bottom of the list, To complete the game news column on this news page.

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