From: Alliance News Entertainment Desk

December 27, 2195

2196: The Year of the Biovids

By Joan Calder

MILGROM, BEKENSTIEN - 2196 will be the "Year of the Historical Vid," claims vid critic Roger Eberron of Milgrom Morning News. A dozen vids based on historical evens will be released next year as studios across the galaxy rush to cash in on the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Earth.

The year kicks off with an action/drama vid "based on true events", Archangel: Omega Nights staring Anton Vilius as the mysterious vigilante that shook up the Omega underworld and managed to unify the station's worse merc bands against him. Michael Betchel of Miraflor Studios is so confident of the new franchise that he personally signed the Turian action star to a multi-vid contract for an as of yet unspecified amount. At least two other movies Archangel: Illum Dawn and Archangel: Citadel Days were filmed concurrently with Omega Nightsto be released in 2197 and 2198 with more on the pipeline.

New Krogan documentaries are also on the pipeline. After the success of Wrex?, Sheppard! a documentary about the relationship between Urdnot Wrex and Admiral Shepard, Set the Record Straight productions is set to release Shamans & Battlemasters!, the story of the greatest leaders in Krogan history. In a press release Urdnot Talmok said, "We hope to revive interest in Krogan history and clarify a lot of misconceptions about our people while presenting an entertaining and accurate portrayal." Set the Record Straight gained a reputation for well researched documentaries that do not flinch when it comes to the visceral truth.

The Human/Turian partners at Nova Star Productions hope to hit it big with back to back docudramas: Sapphire and Die for the Cause: Miracle at Palaven. The first recounts the heart wrenching tale of a former colonial militiaman caught with his family on Earth during the Reaper Invasion. Separated from his Asari wife, Ricardo Alvieri fights through the streets and tropical forest of the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico with his newborn baby in his arms. Miracleportrays the heroic sacrifice of a group of young Turians as they see their community torn apart by the Reapers and the sacrifices they make to stop them. Twenty percent of the profits will go to charities for Alliance and Turian war widows and orphans.

In other news, the Quarian New Wave continues with three new films: a surrealist-existentialist Preserver Awakening, the organic-synthetic comedy Those Two Geth, and the coming-of-age drama Merchant Fleet. Critics hail this explosion of new quarrian cinema as,"Breathing a new air of artistic expression and realism to modern holographic entertainment." Vigor vas Rannock, director of Preserver Awakening, won several Academy of Holographic Arts' awards for We Will Be Free and Synchronicity.

The producers of the Blasto series hope to hop on the proverbial bandwagon with Blasto 8: Collect This!This time Blasto faces down an organized slaver ring run by Collectors in the Terminus systems. The Hanar Anti-Defamation has abandoned plans to boycott the movie. A spokesperson for the league said, "This one realizes the futility of past protests and will endeavor to bring consciousness to the public by other means."

The last entry vid comes from former ANN anchor Diane Allers, Battlespace: The Real Story. Built as the story of a war correspondent during the Reaper invasion it is seen by many as a bid to restart her scandal riddled career. The scandals include but are not limited to, buying illegal biotic breast/buttocks enhancement packages, transmitting nude images of herself in various explicit positions (and with several expensive erotic toys of Asari make) on Alliance classified channels and criticizing former ANN anchor Emily Wong reporting on the Reaper Invasion (during which she lost her life). Her reputation suffered further after two tell all books by former spouses; My Time in Allers by Marco Blond and Media Viperby Samantha Traynor. Suffice it to say that expectations are low, to say the least.

Joan Calder is a correspondent for ANN Entertainment Division.